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older cat suddenly starts acting strangely, maybe lost a fight?



 
 
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  #1  
Old January 12th 04, 05:14 PM
Gail
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Default older cat suddenly starts acting strangely, maybe lost a fight?

The older cat needs to see a vet.
Gail
"Reid Fleming" wrote in message
.. .

a couple of months ago we added a foundly kitten to our household which
already had a ~2 year old neutered male. the older cat did not take to
the new arrival exceedingly well, there were rough&tumbles and hissing
and the like, but up until a couple of days ago things seemed to be
going OK. they hung out together, chased each other around, ate out
of the same bowl.

the kitten seems to be doing great. he's grown a lot, he's full of
energy. the older cat is eating a lot more though, and he's put on a
_lot_ of weight. he scratches a lot and licks and cleans himself much
more than he used to, but we figured it was fleas or something and that
a flea-treatment would deal with it.

a couple of days ago the older cat began exhibiting strange behaviour.
he started hiding in really odd places (for him), such as under the
kitchen sink or on my bedside table. all the time. i mean _all_ the
time. pick him up (oof! he's heavy), he complains, put him down, and
he's right back in/up there again. he won't come down to the floor.
he seems to be wary of the kitten, hisses at him if he comes near.

we examined him and found an irregularly-shaped bald patch about
0.5 x 1.0 inch on his back. it looks like a chunk of hair either
fell out or was ripped out. touching it doesn't seem to hurt, and
he appears undamaged aside from that.

if the kitten isn't around, he's pretty relaxed and sleeps a lot.
but the moment the kitten shows up, he seems to get agitated.

the kitten seems pretty confused about this. he wants to play with
the older cat, but the older one wants nothing to do with him at all.

has anybody encountered this kind of situation before? if so, what
did you do? how did it resolve?



  #4  
Old January 14th 04, 05:52 AM
Dennis Carr
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Default

On Wed, 14 Jan 2004 04:17:36 +0000, Reid Fleming wrote:

since
i couldn't afford the $100+ for the lab tests, he prescribed
mox..something, an antibiotic, to be given 2x day.


Clavamox perhaps?

--
Dennis Carr - | I may be out of my mind,
http://www.dennis.furtopia.org | But I have more fun that way.
------------------------------------+-------------------------------

  #5  
Old January 14th 04, 05:52 AM
Dennis Carr
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Default

On Wed, 14 Jan 2004 04:17:36 +0000, Reid Fleming wrote:

since
i couldn't afford the $100+ for the lab tests, he prescribed
mox..something, an antibiotic, to be given 2x day.


Clavamox perhaps?

--
Dennis Carr - | I may be out of my mind,
http://www.dennis.furtopia.org | But I have more fun that way.
------------------------------------+-------------------------------

  #6  
Old January 14th 04, 03:48 PM
kaeli
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Default

In article ,
enlightened us with...

i'm not familiar with cat psychology, and thought only dogs were
into the i'm-the-dominant-animal-bow-down-before-me/i'm-the-submissive-
animal-i-don't-dare-intrude-on-your-territiory thing. do cats do this
too?


Yes, they do.

Cats have a complex social structure, just different from the
heirarchical structure of a dog pack. They can switch roles sometimes
and they can be on even footing. Dominance and territoriality are the
main reasons an intact male sprays. Submissiveness is why a cat buries
its excrement. A truly dominant cat will not bury it.
There are reams of books on the subject, far too much for me to put
here. Look over at amazon or google the subject. You'll find lots.

how long is this going to last? am i doomed to have a cat who won't
_ever_ come down from the table/bedstand/windowsill?


Depends. On many, many things, not least of which is how adaptable he
is and how much of a **** the other cat is. You can influence their
behavior by rewarding appropriate responses, punishing inappropriate
behavior, using time-outs, etc. If the brat likes attention, remove your
attention when he's evil and lavish it when he's good. He can earn extra
playtime by being good, etc.
Took almost a year for my one girl and my boy to get along well. Took
nearly 6 months for her to allow him within a foot of her (no fights,
just a spitting and hissing female cat and a perplexed male). He's
friendly with anything that moves. She's a brat affectionately termed
"Princess" . LOL
Now, the other female accepted him pretty quick and they became good
buddies within a couple months. They sleep together, groom each other,
etc.
None of my cats are particularly wallflowers, though, and don't take to
being pushed around. But they're not aggressive, either. So, I have it
pretty easy. The brat gets a time out if she's evil, so she usually
behaves. heh

--
--
~kaeli~
Once you've seen one shopping center, you've seen a mall.
http://www.ipwebdesign.net/wildAtHeart
http://www.ipwebdesign.net/kaelisSpace

  #7  
Old January 14th 04, 03:48 PM
kaeli
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

In article ,
enlightened us with...

i'm not familiar with cat psychology, and thought only dogs were
into the i'm-the-dominant-animal-bow-down-before-me/i'm-the-submissive-
animal-i-don't-dare-intrude-on-your-territiory thing. do cats do this
too?


Yes, they do.

Cats have a complex social structure, just different from the
heirarchical structure of a dog pack. They can switch roles sometimes
and they can be on even footing. Dominance and territoriality are the
main reasons an intact male sprays. Submissiveness is why a cat buries
its excrement. A truly dominant cat will not bury it.
There are reams of books on the subject, far too much for me to put
here. Look over at amazon or google the subject. You'll find lots.

how long is this going to last? am i doomed to have a cat who won't
_ever_ come down from the table/bedstand/windowsill?


Depends. On many, many things, not least of which is how adaptable he
is and how much of a **** the other cat is. You can influence their
behavior by rewarding appropriate responses, punishing inappropriate
behavior, using time-outs, etc. If the brat likes attention, remove your
attention when he's evil and lavish it when he's good. He can earn extra
playtime by being good, etc.
Took almost a year for my one girl and my boy to get along well. Took
nearly 6 months for her to allow him within a foot of her (no fights,
just a spitting and hissing female cat and a perplexed male). He's
friendly with anything that moves. She's a brat affectionately termed
"Princess" . LOL
Now, the other female accepted him pretty quick and they became good
buddies within a couple months. They sleep together, groom each other,
etc.
None of my cats are particularly wallflowers, though, and don't take to
being pushed around. But they're not aggressive, either. So, I have it
pretty easy. The brat gets a time out if she's evil, so she usually
behaves. heh

--
--
~kaeli~
Once you've seen one shopping center, you've seen a mall.
http://www.ipwebdesign.net/wildAtHeart
http://www.ipwebdesign.net/kaelisSpace

 




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