If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below. |
|
|
Thread Tools | Display Modes |
#11
|
|||
|
|||
Advice on Shadow, Pls
|
#12
|
|||
|
|||
Advice on Shadow, Pls
Granby wrote:
Cats are wonderful but, the Yowlet comes first. Mess up his safety at night, from his point of view and you all pay. FWIW I would let him be an indoor/outdoor cat. It is clearly what he wants and a patient husband is a rare thing so don't fool with that. Other cats around survive that way so there must be safety for them. I know it won't be easy but I can't imagine the horror of Cary being in that kind of a mess. Poor baby. Well, its not the first time he's woken up covered in poo, but it is the first time he's been covered in poo that doesn't belong to him. I'm wavering between Shadow becoming and indoor/outdoor cat and just plain rehoming her. If I can control her 'outdoor' time to early mornings and late afternoons, then the UV risk would be lower - the neighbourhood is boring suburbia and I think cats pose more of a danger to the wildlife and environement than the risk the environment poses to the cat (other than the UV risk, the only cars we get are the ones that live in our street, we are not a 'through' road. There are dogs in the area, but dogs can't jump onto the top of 5' and 6' fences like cats). Of course, that does raise the problem of letting her out and keeping Pickle in (Suki has no interest in the place without a ceiling at all) but I"m sure we can deal with that one. An enclosure sounds great, but that will take time to build and neither of us are handy people. If indoor/outdoor is a solution, then perhaps an enclosure for all the cats would eventuate in the future. However, its not a short term solution. Rehoming her would, at this point, be the kinder option I think. The home needs to be a special home, though, because if the crapping all over the place is related more to not being allowed outside than the situation of a more dominant cat in the hosue plus child, she'll continue to crap all over the place wherever she is, as we're all told that white cats should not be allowed outside at all. Whoever they may be, they'll have to be willing to forgive a phantom crapper. They'll also have to be able to cope with her angry outbursts, because she gets pretty darn violent when she's peeved, and goes into full street-fighting mode (including caterwailing) very quickly. She does *not* back down or run way (and I wish she would, because then she & Pickle wouldn't have to fight), but does have the good sense to growl a warning first. That beign said, though, she is a total love bug when she's in a good mood and thinks being brushed is awesome (she needs to be brushed). I suspect she'd like to have slaves that are home all day and have nothing better to do than dote on their one and only fluffy white cat. This home will be hard to find. The only other drawback to rehoming will be explaining where Shadow has gone to Cary. Cary loves all his critters very much, even if he doesn't play with Shadow he talks to her alot and does alot of roleplaying with toys with all the critters featured. Gonna have to talk to the family tonight and decide, I guess. Yowie |
#13
|
|||
|
|||
Advice on Shadow, Pls
On Jun 17, 10:43*pm, "Yowie"
wrote: wrote: snip Find this kitty a new home. Putting her outside would be wrong and put her health at risk and she is no less deserving of a loving, caring, happy home than any other cat. She did NOT do this out of a motivation for revenge. This is NOT how cats are. Why his bed then? Why not on mine? Or Joels? Or in the sink where she usually goes? or on the carpet? or anywhere else? Why on *Cary's* *Bed* when she has the whole house to crap in? Because it was a soft surface and probably the closest acceptable surface (to her) available at the time. She may have been in his room unable to get out if the other cat or cats were blocking the door or she saw them close by and did not want to pass them. This is not an uncommon occurrence in such situations. There also may be a territory related issue here too as she feels nothing is hers (especially litterboxes) so she is trying to let the other cats know that she is claiming "something." Many times, other people have mentioned cats crapping on their personal stuff to express their displeasure at that particular individual. *Many* times. The fact that she *chose* to crap on Cary's bed when the whole rest of the house is available strikes me as a pointed comment in cat language.. Her response was completely appropriate cat reactive behavior for the situation regardless of the fact that it was icky to you. She wasn't introduced into the home and other cats properly, I tried. At least she has been saved from being PTS even if our home is a mere stepping stone for her. she's stressed, unhappy, not getting along with the other cats and your husband hates her. Joel does not *hate* her. He isn't *happy* with her, but at the moment, neither am I. If Joel hated her, she would have been gone a long time ago.. Last night he gave her a good scritching as she trotted over his chest. That is not a guy who *hates* her. She is desperate to call this home her own/fit in, is probably being ambushed by the other cats in the litterbox and had no choice but to find another option which just happened to be your kid's bed. This is NOT HER FAULT. Wait, you just said it was reactive behavior. And now your saying its an 'oops' in desperation. Which one was it? It's the same thing. She is reacting to her circumstances and the other cats. Not an oops in desperation, but a desperate measure as she feels there are no other options for her (at the moment) or anything of her own to use. It has nothing to do with your son personally. It has everything to do with stress. Please take the time to find someone that is compassionate, understanding, well-educated about the care and behavior of cats and does not have other cats in the home. It may take a little time, but the alternatives should not be options. In the meantime, why not alternate the cats between the bedroom and the rest of the house so she can have some time (and a litterbox) to herself without the stress of the other cats. I think that might be the best option. She's safe where she is, but she's not happy. I wish I knew her history more, this might be part of the reason she was abandoned in the first place - as I can't possibly imagine why an otherwise *gorgeous* and very affectionate girl would just be left behind.. It may have started with a neglected litterbox. If the jerks that abandoned her couldn't be bothered to take her along, they probably didn't bother to give her a clean box and she developed an aversion. I can't tell you how many people I've counseled that had a cat with such an issue and almost without fail, it came down to they weren't taking care of the litterbox properly (and that means using a good clumping litter, scooping at least twice daily and washing the box and changing the litter completely out on a regular basis.) And once it became a habit, well, there you go. Bad habits are hard to break, especially if they've been exhibited for a long time, but it's not impossible and so far I've been very successful helping these people, usually with behavior modification (for the owner!) and sometimes medication for the cat if it has been a longstanding issue. I don't know if fluoxetine (prozac) is able to be prescribed to animals in Australia, but considering the circumstances, if this is a possibility it might be worth a try ( if that is not an option, Clomipramine aka clomicalm would be my second choice.) It will help resolve Shadow's anxiety and is very effective for litterbox issues as well. No guarantees, but when medication is warranted (as I believe it is in this situation) this is my first recommendation to clients during my behavior consults and in the majority of cases it has been very effective. Even if you do find her another home, I think it would be wise to start her on meds now and see if she improves. If she does and you find her a home, I would recommend keeping her on the meds untile she is well settled at the new place and then her new slave can start weaning her off and see how it goes. I realize that this is a very frustrating situation, but please try to always keep in mind that this is a damaged cat and who knows what kind of hell she lived in before she was discovered. What she is doing is actually a form of communication, as unpleasant as it is to you or I, and she knows no other way of trying to get her particular point across, whatever that point may be. Poor old Suki, she so desperately wants to be friends and continues to do all the catly friend things any cat could hope to try, to absolutely no avail. The weird thing is Shadow is absolutely *fine* with Fluffy, they touched noses and are happy to sit together. There has never been even the slightest hint of agression towards Fluff from Shadow, which is not what I could say about Suki & Pickle. As an only cat, coming into your home was probably quite a shock for Shadow and the fact that she is tolerant of one of the cats is worthy of attention. If there is a way to separate her from the boys by alternating rooms, you may see her relax a bit and be better about the box. Yowie |
#14
|
|||
|
|||
Advice on Shadow, Pls
|
#15
|
|||
|
|||
Advice on Shadow, Pls
Despite the fact that Nocturne can be vindictive and autocratic, her
phantom piddling was caused by a combination of stress at her new home and the resultant loss of "Authority" to the kittens, the sounds of people in the hall and the momentum of peeing in that one spot. We could yell at her for not crossing the hall to use the box in the closet or we could give her a box in the spot where she felt compelled to go. Option #2 was best all around and the problem is now solved. Unless Shadow is repeatedly aggressive towards Cary, I would suspect other motives for pooping the crib. You've checked she hasn't got a medical reason for this behaviour? Have you tried feliway and anti stress medications? Can you try isolating her for a while and giving her various boxes with different kinds of litter to see if there's something she likes? Can you arrange for someone to build her a run she can use in the morning and evening so she can do business outside in safety? If you feel you must try to rehome her, please give the person the option of returning her, so that if she continues to poop floors, she won't be killed for it. At worst you'd get her back and know it's not you, at that point indoor/outdoor may be your last option. --Fil |
#16
|
|||
|
|||
Advice on Shadow, Pls
|
#17
|
|||
|
|||
Advice on Shadow, Pls
On Jun 18, 12:33*am, "Yowie"
wrote: All of my cats so far (besides Shadow) have strongly preferred the gritty clay stuff - I now use the silica gel material because it feels like the cheap clay stuff, but absorbs the liquid and is defiantley a marked improvement in the smell department. I've seen her go No.1 in a box once, and that was before Pickle marked it as his. She has never ever done No.2 in a box. Since I haven't found *any more suspicious puddles(by feet or by smell), I think she's probably using the kitchen sink for No.1s - and I dont' have a major problem with that, its easily washable. I'd *prefer* a box, but hey, compared to on Cary's bed, the unused side of the kitchen sink (I have two sinks, one big and one little,s he goes int he little side) is pretty good. If I get a compeltely different litter, perhaps like the recycled newspaper stuff, that Pickle & Suki don't like, d'you think she might go in that? Sometimes she howls at the door - d'you think that means she wants to go out to do her business? if so, d'you think I should let her go out to do it? If you let her out when she howls you will reinforce the behavior and end up with a larger problem. As to type of litter I think she may actually prefer a softer litter since she may have in the past been going outside in dirt. If you suspect at some point she was going outside, she would probably do better with a very soft textured clumping litter that would allow you to scoop out the pee as well as the poop to keep the box as clean and attractive as possible. Since poop seems to be at issue here, make sure to pay attention to the consistency. If it is hard she is suffering from constipation and that would certainly cause her to associate the box with being uncomfortable while pooping and cause her to search out other spots. If this is the case, removing all dry food from the diet and feeding a strictly canned diet will usually resolve the issue. habit, well, there you go. Bad habits are hard to break, especially if they've been exhibited for a long time, but it's not impossible and so far I've been very successful helping these people, usually with behavior modification (for the owner!) and sometimes medication for the cat if it has been a longstanding issue. I don't know if fluoxetine (prozac) is able to be prescribed to animals in Australia, but considering the circumstances, if this is a possibility it might be worth a try ( if that is not an option, Clomipramine aka clomicalm would be my second choice.) It will help resolve Shadow's anxiety and is very effective for litterbox issues as well. No guarantees, but when medication is warranted (as I believe it is in this situation) this is my first recommendation to clients during my behavior consults and in the majority of cases it has been very effective. Dumb question, but are these drugs pills or pastes or injections? When I got her spayed, she had a minor infection in the stitches (due to licking) and the vet gave me some antibiotics in pill form. He got he first one down her with his hand. He showed me how to do it with a pill popper. So I bought the pill popper, followed the instructions, and got my hand mauled - clearly I wasn't doing quickly enough. I got a total of 5 pills into her by crushing it into her gooshy food, but then she got wise and stopped eating gooshy food with the crushed pill in it (and gooshy food altogether for a while until I changed brands). Thankfully by that time, the wound was fine and whilst it would have been better to finish the antibiotic course, at least hte reason why it was prescribed had cleared up. Pilling her would be stressful for both me and her (and very painful for me), thus why I ask whether the medications come in some other form? Not sure I could pill a cat who is used to street fighting. Do they have Pill pockets in Austrailia? Best thing ever here in the states for pilling cats. The good news is that both medications I recommended would probably require that the pills be divided so the piece you would administer each day would be quite small, and both are also once a day meds. You could probably easily dissolve one in a tiny bit of plain chicken baby food and administer it with a syringe if you can't hide it in a little food or find the pill pockets. If hiding it in food succeeds I would suggest giving her something different at every meal. It may have been she just got tired of the same flavor 5 days in a row. :-) As an only cat, coming into your home was probably quite a shock for Shadow I don't know whether or not she was an only cat before she came to me. All I know is that she clearly used to have access to the outdoors (because of all the burrs in her fur, and her insistance and trying to get out) and that she was found locked in a rental apartment that new tennants were moving into.. She seems used to dogs, so she probably didn't come from an 'only pet' household, whether or not she was an only cat is unknown. She is *extremely* skittish around loud, sudden noises (Suki being deaf doesn't even hear them, and Pickle might turn his ear) and hates my broom ( don't sweep with her in sight). and the fact that she is tolerant of one of the cats is worthy of attention. If there is a way to separate her from the boys by alternating rooms, you may see her relax a bit and be better about the box. Both Suki & Pickle are actually neutered boys. I call Suki a 'she' simply because she was introduced to me as a 'she' and that he's such a pretty, princessy cat, and her boy bits so well covered by 'her' pantaloons, I can't imagine 'her' as being a boy. Pickle, on the other hand, is all boy. Even struts around like he's still intact (thankfully no spraying or other intact behaviour though) Yowie PS, appreciate the advice, thankyou You're welcome. I hope that some of my suggestions will work and we can find a viable solution for this little one. |
#18
|
|||
|
|||
Advice on Shadow, Pls
|
#19
|
|||
|
|||
Advice on Shadow, Pls
Marina wrote:
wrote: UGH, poor Cary!! I would be traumatized by that, too, and I'm not 4 years old! That's really gross. I have to disagree on this. I grew up with cats and experienced all kinds of ickyness from them. I wasn't traumatised. On the contrary, I still love cats, and I don't get grossed out easily. I was sort of kidding. I mean, I would have found it extremely unpleasant, but "traumatized" was just an overstatement for the purpose of humor. Or empathy. Or something... A friend of mine was visiting old family friends in Russia last fall, and after sleeping there for several nights, she discovered that the bed was full of mouse poop. Eww. -- Joyce To email me, remove the triple-X from my user name. ^..^ |
#20
|
|||
|
|||
Advice on Shadow, Pls
On Jun 18, 1:26*am, "Yowie" wrote:
Her stools are usually well formed but soft, but are sometimes loose enough to not have a 'poo' shape, sorta like partly whipped cream - not a runny liquid but definatley not 'solid' either. haven't noticed any trend with regard to the occasional spoonful of gooshy food treats. Soft, loose stools like you describe can be very unconfortable and would also be a reason for litterbox avoidance. She sounds like she has some irritable bowel issues. I would still recommend strictly canned food, but if you can find some with no grains or wheat gluten, etc and eliminate fish flavors that may very well improve things. At my clinic we always take this course of action first and sometimes will even graduate to a raw diet if the switch to grain-free canned food is not enough. Grains in dry food and the high levels of histamines in fish are usually the culprits in inflammatory bowel conditions in cats. If you want to try a raw diet it would be easy enough to make it yourself with the right resources. There is an excellent guide and recipe at this website which is balanced and approved by a veterinary nutritionist IIRC: http://www.catnutrition.org Pilling her would be stressful for both me and her (and very painful for me), thus why I ask whether the medications come in some other form? Not sure I could pill a cat who is used to street fighting. Do they have Pill pockets in Austrailia? Best thing ever here in the states for pilling cats. The good news is that both medications I recommended would probably require that the pills be divided so the piece you would administer each day would be quite small, and both are also once a day meds. You could probably easily dissolve one in a tiny bit of plain chicken baby food and administer it with a syringe if you can't hide it in a little food or find the pill pockets. If hiding it in food succeeds I would suggest giving her something different at every meal. It may have been she just got tired of the same flavor 5 days in a row. :-) I varied the gooshy food flavour (I was giving to the other two as well) - but she's now eating gooshy food again. Di d I say 'eat', I meant 'vacuum' - this girl is a piggy, no 'free feeding' for her. snip You're welcome. I hope that some of my suggestions will work and we can find a viable solution for this little one. I hope so, too. Even if it comes to rehoming. She's a nice cat, but has issues. Yowie- Hide quoted text - - Show quoted text - |
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
Shadow on my lap | Adrian[_2_] | Cat anecdotes | 9 | May 1st 08 09:50 PM |
Shadow | Adrian[_2_] | Cat anecdotes | 11 | December 31st 07 06:30 PM |
Shadow RB Emergency Purrs for Shadow | Victor Martinez | Cat anecdotes | 16 | July 14th 04 05:47 AM |
Did Shadow get out? | KellyH | Cat health & behaviour | 9 | June 24th 04 07:59 AM |
Shadow & IBD | Betsy | Cat health & behaviour | 34 | February 6th 04 12:56 AM |