non-kitten sucking behavior

Carey, 10 yo tortie, has a probable brain tumor (everything else ruled out and
decision was made to treat this assumption), her meds seem to help her
behavior MOST days, although not completely. Her physical self is stabilized
by them though.

Since kittenhood, she has been a "sucker". She initially nursed on my golden
retriever until she got blocked with too much of his hair, and had abdominal
surgery at 5 months due to that (and got spayed at the same time). She stopped
for several years until the death of another dog, and then she started right in
again. The addition of a new dog curbed it for the most part. After the
golden died, she started sucking on the "new" dog and has never really stopped.
Another dog entered the picture (3 years ago) and since the onset of her
medical/neurological problems over a year ago, she has been a sucking fool.
There are some favorite times of the day, but she also disturbs the sleep of
all of us with her behavior - the dogs have to walk around to avoid her and
she's relentless in following them. She has another cat as a pal/playmate who
she likes (and who has a peeing problem that Feliway is NOT fixing. Reading
other threads, am going to stop his dry food entirely to see if that helps.
$350 at vet showed some slight struvite crystals, but no infection), and is
fond of the dogs. When she's not attacking them for squeaking a toy or
roughhousing (activities that she accepts just fine 90% of the time), she's
sucking on them.

The dogs have been saints, but I'm afraid that will wear thin over time. They
have various strategies when they get tired of her, but she just doesn't take
no for an answer. They don't react adversly when she attacks them either -
very grateful to have these pooches!

Can anyone shed some light on this sucking obsession and what I may try to stop
it? She responds (momentarily) to me telling her no, but it's not a long term
solution. She was born 2 days after the rest of her litter - don't know if
that has had any or substantial effect on her little psyche, but she's mostly a
very sweet little cat with some very strange habits.

Janet Boss
Best Friends Dog Obedience
"Nice Manners for the Family Pet"
Voted "Best of Baltimore 2001" - Baltimore Magazine
www.bestfriendsdogobedience.com

Sounds like classic OCD to me.

http://www.vin.com/VINDBPub/SearchPB...00/PR00026.htm
-------------------------------------------------
~kaeli~

I agree (and thanks for the link). She's already on valium, but I need to call
her neurologist and talk to him about possible other meds and dosages.

She drives us all a little crazy sometimes! She also [has always] vocalized a
great deal, and has some key times that she does that. We used to think it was
cute when she would vocalize when we sat in the family room to watch TV and she
would "call" to us, even though we were pretty much in the same space every
evening. We'd call out to her and she'd come bopping in like "oh - THERE you
are!". Lately, the vocalizing has been weirder and she takes forever to come
to us, but is happy when she does. Her middle of the night yowling has gotten
more dramatic as well. Last night (like 3 a.m.!), she went on for quite awhile
before finally coming into the bedroom when called. As soon as she came in,
she was perfectly quiet (although sucking on a dog! ;-( ).

A call to the neurologist, more Feliway - arghhhhh!


Janet Boss
Best Friends Dog Obedience
"Nice Manners for the Family Pet"
Voted "Best of Baltimore 2001" - Baltimore Magazine
www.bestfriendsdogobedience.com

Sounds like classic OCD to me.

http://www.vin.com/VINDBPub/SearchPB...00/PR00026.htm
-------------------------------------------------
~kaeli~

I agree (and thanks for the link). She's already on valium, but I need to call
her neurologist and talk to him about possible other meds and dosages.

She drives us all a little crazy sometimes! She also [has always] vocalized a
great deal, and has some key times that she does that. We used to think it was
cute when she would vocalize when we sat in the family room to watch TV and she
would "call" to us, even though we were pretty much in the same space every
evening. We'd call out to her and she'd come bopping in like "oh - THERE you
are!". Lately, the vocalizing has been weirder and she takes forever to come
to us, but is happy when she does. Her middle of the night yowling has gotten
more dramatic as well. Last night (like 3 a.m.!), she went on for quite awhile
before finally coming into the bedroom when called. As soon as she came in,
she was perfectly quiet (although sucking on a dog! ;-( ).

A call to the neurologist, more Feliway - arghhhhh!


Janet Boss
Best Friends Dog Obedience
"Nice Manners for the Family Pet"
Voted "Best of Baltimore 2001" - Baltimore Magazine
www.bestfriendsdogobedience.com

I agree (and thanks for the link). She's
already on valium, but I need to call her
neurologist and talk to him about possible
other meds and dosages.

You might want to try Prozac. It is a much more appropriate drug for
obsessive compulsive behaviors. I would also worry about the risk Valium
poses to the liver. All drugs carry risks, but, to me anyway, Valium is
more worrisome. I have a cat that was on Valium for a long time and I
chose to switch to Prozac because of the long term use concerns with
regards to the liver. It has worked just as well, and maybe a little
better than the Valium. It did take a little bit of tweaking the dose to
get it just right.

Megan



"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do
nothing."

-Edmund Burke

Learn The TRUTH About Declawing
http://www.stopdeclaw.com

Zuzu's Cats Photo Album:
http://www.PictureTrail.com/zuzu22

"Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one
elementary truth the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and
splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then
providence moves too. A whole stream of events issues from the decision,
raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents, meetings and
material assistance, which no man could have dreamt would have come his
way."

- W.H. Murray

I agree (and thanks for the link). She's
already on valium, but I need to call her
neurologist and talk to him about possible
other meds and dosages.

You might want to try Prozac. It is a much more appropriate drug for
obsessive compulsive behaviors. I would also worry about the risk Valium
poses to the liver. All drugs carry risks, but, to me anyway, Valium is
more worrisome. I have a cat that was on Valium for a long time and I
chose to switch to Prozac because of the long term use concerns with
regards to the liver. It has worked just as well, and maybe a little
better than the Valium. It did take a little bit of tweaking the dose to
get it just right.

Megan



"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do
nothing."

-Edmund Burke

Learn The TRUTH About Declawing
http://www.stopdeclaw.com

Zuzu's Cats Photo Album:
http://www.PictureTrail.com/zuzu22

"Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one
elementary truth the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and
splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then
providence moves too. A whole stream of events issues from the decision,
raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents, meetings and
material assistance, which no man could have dreamt would have come his
way."

- W.H. Murray

From: (J1Boss)


Carey, 10 yo tortie, has a probable brain tumor (everything else ruled out
and
decision was made to treat this assumption), her meds seem to help her
behavior MOST days, although not completely.

I'm sorry to hear about your cat.

Can anyone shed some light on this sucking obsession and what I may try to
stop
it?

She has another cat as a pal/playmate who
she likes (and who has a peeing problem that Feliway is NOT fixing. Reading
other threads, am going to stop his dry food entirely to see if that helps.
$350 at vet showed some slight struvite crystals, but no infection), and is
fond of the dogs.

If I remember correctly from your past posts that you had a cat or cats
declawed. Are either of these cats the one? Perhaps these problems are
related.

Lauren
________
See my cats: http://community.webshots.com/album/56955940rWhxAe
Raw Diet Info: http://www.holisticat.com/drjletter.html
http://www.geocities.com/rawfeeders/ForCatsOnly.html
Declawing Info: http://www.wholecat.com/articles/claws.htm

From: (J1Boss)


Carey, 10 yo tortie, has a probable brain tumor (everything else ruled out
and
decision was made to treat this assumption), her meds seem to help her
behavior MOST days, although not completely.

I'm sorry to hear about your cat.

Can anyone shed some light on this sucking obsession and what I may try to
stop
it?

She has another cat as a pal/playmate who
she likes (and who has a peeing problem that Feliway is NOT fixing. Reading
other threads, am going to stop his dry food entirely to see if that helps.
$350 at vet showed some slight struvite crystals, but no infection), and is
fond of the dogs.

If I remember correctly from your past posts that you had a cat or cats
declawed. Are either of these cats the one? Perhaps these problems are
related.

Lauren
________
See my cats: http://community.webshots.com/album/56955940rWhxAe
Raw Diet Info: http://www.holisticat.com/drjletter.html
http://www.geocities.com/rawfeeders/ForCatsOnly.html
Declawing Info: http://www.wholecat.com/articles/claws.htm

I don't really have any advice, just want to add that I have a cat that
started sucking at age 3. He does it every morning.
Maybe the increased sucking behavior has to do with her brain tumor. Could
be affecting her behavior.
--
-Kelly
kelly at farringtons dot net
Check out www.snittens.com


"J1Boss" wrote in message
...
Carey, 10 yo tortie, has a probable brain tumor (everything else ruled out
and
decision was made to treat this assumption), her meds seem to help her
behavior MOST days, although not completely. Her physical self is
stabilized
by them though.

Since kittenhood, she has been a "sucker". She initially nursed on my
golden
retriever until she got blocked with too much of his hair, and had
abdominal
surgery at 5 months due to that (and got spayed at the same time). She
stopped
for several years until the death of another dog, and then she started
right in
again. The addition of a new dog curbed it for the most part. After the
golden died, she started sucking on the "new" dog and has never really
stopped.
Another dog entered the picture (3 years ago) and since the onset of her
medical/neurological problems over a year ago, she has been a sucking
fool.
There are some favorite times of the day, but she also disturbs the sleep
of
all of us with her behavior - the dogs have to walk around to avoid her
and
she's relentless in following them. She has another cat as a pal/playmate
who
she likes (and who has a peeing problem that Feliway is NOT fixing.
Reading
other threads, am going to stop his dry food entirely to see if that
helps.
$350 at vet showed some slight struvite crystals, but no infection), and
is
fond of the dogs. When she's not attacking them for squeaking a toy or
roughhousing (activities that she accepts just fine 90% of the time),
she's
sucking on them.

The dogs have been saints, but I'm afraid that will wear thin over time.
They
have various strategies when they get tired of her, but she just doesn't
take
no for an answer. They don't react adversly when she attacks them
either -
very grateful to have these pooches!

Can anyone shed some light on this sucking obsession and what I may try to
stop
it? She responds (momentarily) to me telling her no, but it's not a long
term
solution. She was born 2 days after the rest of her litter - don't know
if
that has had any or substantial effect on her little psyche, but she's
mostly a
very sweet little cat with some very strange habits.

Janet Boss
Best Friends Dog Obedience
"Nice Manners for the Family Pet"
Voted "Best of Baltimore 2001" - Baltimore Magazine
www.bestfriendsdogobedience.com

I don't really have any advice, just want to add that I have a cat that
started sucking at age 3. He does it every morning.
Maybe the increased sucking behavior has to do with her brain tumor. Could
be affecting her behavior.
--
-Kelly
kelly at farringtons dot net
Check out www.snittens.com


"J1Boss" wrote in message
...
Carey, 10 yo tortie, has a probable brain tumor (everything else ruled out
and
decision was made to treat this assumption), her meds seem to help her
behavior MOST days, although not completely. Her physical self is
stabilized
by them though.

Since kittenhood, she has been a "sucker". She initially nursed on my
golden
retriever until she got blocked with too much of his hair, and had
abdominal
surgery at 5 months due to that (and got spayed at the same time). She
stopped
for several years until the death of another dog, and then she started
right in
again. The addition of a new dog curbed it for the most part. After the
golden died, she started sucking on the "new" dog and has never really
stopped.
Another dog entered the picture (3 years ago) and since the onset of her
medical/neurological problems over a year ago, she has been a sucking
fool.
There are some favorite times of the day, but she also disturbs the sleep
of
all of us with her behavior - the dogs have to walk around to avoid her
and
she's relentless in following them. She has another cat as a pal/playmate
who
she likes (and who has a peeing problem that Feliway is NOT fixing.
Reading
other threads, am going to stop his dry food entirely to see if that
helps.
$350 at vet showed some slight struvite crystals, but no infection), and
is
fond of the dogs. When she's not attacking them for squeaking a toy or
roughhousing (activities that she accepts just fine 90% of the time),
she's
sucking on them.

The dogs have been saints, but I'm afraid that will wear thin over time.
They
have various strategies when they get tired of her, but she just doesn't
take
no for an answer. They don't react adversly when she attacks them
either -
very grateful to have these pooches!

Can anyone shed some light on this sucking obsession and what I may try to
stop
it? She responds (momentarily) to me telling her no, but it's not a long
term
solution. She was born 2 days after the rest of her litter - don't know
if
that has had any or substantial effect on her little psyche, but she's
mostly a
very sweet little cat with some very strange habits.

Janet Boss
Best Friends Dog Obedience
"Nice Manners for the Family Pet"
Voted "Best of Baltimore 2001" - Baltimore Magazine
www.bestfriendsdogobedience.com

Nice site , Thanks for posting it. This topic has just come up on a
behaviour forum and I was able to pass it on .

--
Alison
(remove the X's to reply)
Photos of dogs needing homes and links to Rescues.
http://mysite.freeserve.com/AnimalRescueLinksUK/

Links to animal information websites
http://mysite.freeserve.com/petinfolinks/
"kaeli" wrote in message
...
In article ,
enlightened us with...
snip

Can anyone shed some light on this sucking obsession and what I
may try to stop
it? She responds (momentarily) to me telling her no, but it's not
a long term
solution. She was born 2 days after the rest of her litter -
don't know if
that has had any or substantial effect on her little psyche, but
she's mostly a
very sweet little cat with some very strange habits.


Sounds like classic OCD to me.

http://www.vin.com/VINDBPub/SearchPB...00/PR00026.htm

--
-------------------------------------------------
~kaeli~
The secret of the universe is @*&^^^ NO CARRIER
The more ridiculous a belief system, the higher
the probability of its success.
http://www.ipwebdesign.net/wildAtHeart
http://www.ipwebdesign.net/kaelisSpace
-------------------------------------------------