Caregiver's cats behaving badly.

I used to think there were two kinds of cats, short hair and long hair. Oh yes, Siamese makes for three types. This site has taught me much more than elder care, I've learned about cat breeds too (the rag dolls sound adorable).

Gershen I hope everything goes alright with your cat and you get some answers. I’m allergic to cats but I still have 3 of them. I take an inhaler for asthma and allergy shots. One of my cats is a rag doll cat that acts like a little puppy. She is 4 years old and greets me everyday when I get home and loves to be held and coddled. I got her one year ago at our local SPCA. She came from a hoarding situation along with 100 other rag doll cats. The woman was a backyard breeder and ended up with 100 ragdolls living in a trailer. I think it was a double wide trailer.A lot of the ragdolls were sick and unhealthy and the SPCA came and got all of them. I was fortunate to adopt one. She is 4 years old now and still plays like a kitten. Also, for all you kitten lovers, the kitten bowl is on this Sunday on the Hallmark channel at 2:00 eastern time. Howard Sterns wife is hosting it.

lealonnie, we did originally try a soft cone but it flopped over enough that he was still able to get at his sutures. That's why we went instead for a plastic cone. Daniel is pretty sly. I take his cone off when he eats and supervise him and now that he knows that he sits by his water bowl pathetically looking down at it but when I take the cone off he just wanders off and doesn't drink his water. So now that I'm wise to that I have a little syringe thingy that I squirt water into his mouth with. In fact he's probably getting more water in his system now than before the cone. He's a smart little bugger.

I just can't wait to get this cone off of him though not just for his sake but for mine. This supervising his eating and so on is driving me bonkers and my other cat is feeling neglected so I have to show him extra love too. It's become like a full time job.

Need, I would feed him some plain yogurt to see if you can settle his stomach.

I guess that this wasn't caught until he was a bit older and that is why the vet says no cure. When that happens you can only treat the symptoms and the symptoms from treatment.

Remember to feed the yogurt 2 hours either side of his meds. I would feed him as much as he will eat for a few days and then when he stops having the trots give him a few tablespoons on his daily meals.

Witch hazel doesn't hurt when applied, even to an open wound.

It is not harsh at all. But it is a wonderful external issue solution.

Gershun............they make a soft cone for the dogs & cats now. BIG difference from those awful giant plastic ones!!

https://www.google.com/search?q=soft+cone+for+cats&oq=soft+cone&aqs=chrome.2.0j69i57j0l6.4623j0j4&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

Check em out. My little dog had to be surgically repaired after her foster mother let her run wild after being spayed!!! When I took her home, I meant business! I went out and got her a soft cone & a kennel and she was like new in short order. The soft cone is a lot more comfy, I think.

Gershun I was going to suggest trying a suitical (the onesie thing your hubby ordered). I was thinking that If perhaps it’s a rug or something he’s coming in to contact with that is causing the irritation, maybe the suitical would help protect the affected area. Those suits are great for let’s that have just been spayed/neutered but don’t know how well they work for anything else. And it would eliminate the need for a cone. Poor guy, my dog recently had to wear one when his toe nail started to puncture his toe pad & had to be removed, I know just look Daniel is giving you. You would think vets would have something better than those huge cones.

NHWM I think the vet was probably trying to protect you by not letting you hold the kitty if you are allergic.

Worried I hear you about noise waking you up. Poor Daniel bangs into things constantly with this big cone he is wearing. I have tried to pull my furniture out more to accommodate him but when he is using the litter box etc. he gets caught between the door and the wall sometimes. Poor little thing.

I'll maybe try the witch hazel. I'm worried it may be too harsh for the area. It looks so sore.

This whole thing has me so stressed. I hate seeing him so upset and he looks at me with his big eyes like I'm punishing him or something by making him wear this cone. My hubs went so far as to order one of those onesie type things for him to maybe wear as an alternative. It has a cutout for his butt area obviously but I still foresee it getting poo and pee all over it. Yuck! I told him not to order it but he went ahead and did it anyway. I doubt it will work but when he picks it up we'll take it with us to the vet on Sunday and see what they say about it.

ITRL, May I call you Dr. Real and Chef Real? LOL You are great with animals and a wonderful cook!

You are so knowledgeable about the care of animals. My little granddog is really having a time with his Cushing disease. He is 9 years old. He isn’t responding well to the meds. Poor baby. The vet explained if he gets too high of a dose it can kill him. So he is cautious with the dosage but the lower dose isn’t working well. 🙁

He’s having a reaction to the meds too, throwing up and diarrhea. I like this vet a lot. He was excellent with my schnauzer and my greyhound. This dog is a poodle.

So, I asked him if Cushing is common. He told me that it isn’t uncommon and he has seen several dogs with it.

So, I asked how the other dogs responded to the meds. He said that some needed a little time finding the right dosage but then did fine afterwards. There is no cure for Cushing but it can be managed with meds.

This little guy is struggling to find the right dosage and is having side effects on the meds that won’t go away. I am at a loss. My daughter is very upset. Have you ever sought a second opinion from a different vet for your dogs? Not sure what to do at this point.

Gershun,

I wish you well with your kitty. I have my daughter’s dog while she is busy with school and her internship details. Poor little guy has medical issues too so I have been doing vet visits.

There was a darling kitty that was in a large crate in the lobby area with a sign on it that read, “Free cat for loving home.” I was so tempted, an adorable calico about six months old. He looked so sweet. I had cats and dogs all of my life.

Problem is that I am allergic to cats, dogs too but the cat allergy is worse. I inquired about the cat anyway and explained to the office worker that I have severe reactions to some cats and mild to others. I read where that happens. We are allergic to the dander and saliva.

Anyway, the office worker wouldn’t let me hold the kitty saying that I should not tempt myself if I am allergic and shouldn’t own a cat again. I kind of pouted 🙁 and paid my vet bill and left. Do you think she should have let me hold the kitty? She may be right but this cat looked so sweet.

Gershun, I would clean the area with witch hazel before I put the cream on it.

It is a great antiseptic and I have seen some amazing results using it in place of an expensive prescription cream.

I hope it helps.

I bought my daughters cat one of those plastic wand toys with feathers on the end back in December and he played with it until it broke. I bought it at Target. So I decided to buy him another one but target didn’t have any and I went to 3-4 different store trying to find one with no luck so I ended up finding, at a pet store across town, something a little similar except the handle contains a laser pointer and a long sting attached to the wand laser and at the end of the string is the feathers. For what it is, it really wasn’t expensive, only $6.99. But I am regretting buying it now because not only is the cat not really a fan of laser pointers, he also is afraid of this toy! He runs when we try wave it at him.

And it’s made him behave badly! He won’t play with the dang thing the way it’s intended but he drags it around the house very loudly (because the handle bangs the wood floors and hit chair legs). I made the mistake of leaving it on the dining room table and last night after everyone else was asleep, I was watching the first 48 in the living room and all of a sudden I heard scurrying movements and banging! Scared me half to death and I thought for sure the whole house had been woken! I thought for sure hubby was going to stomp out of the bedroom and get on my case but he slept right through it. It was the cat, having found the toy on the table. He grabs the feather part with his mouth and drags the wand behind him. He did the same thing with the first wand too. So that is what all that racket was. And what gets me is, he does not like loud noises yet he drags this stupid thing all over the house making all this racket and it doesn’t scare him but the minute you wave the toy, he runs off scared! It is the silliest thing. You should hear the noise this thing makes as it’s dragged across the floor.

Luckily, the long string the feathers are attached to are attached to the wand with a piece that screws off so I took it off and now he can drag it all over the house in silence :-)

Gershun, Daniel really can’t catch a break can he? I have no advice for the sutures but I hope the spot is just normal healing.

I've got a question for any smart cat lovers out there.

My cat has had his share of health issues lately. I may have posted that on here.

Anyway after his latest surgery late December he got at his sutures even with the cone on,they became infected, so we brought him to the vet where they prescribed oral and topical antibiotics. We put another even bigger dreaded cone on him which he has been wearing now for almost a month now. Longer even I think. His sutures were removed on the 14th of January but it still hasn't healed. I've been applying the topical antibiotic/antifungal/antiinflammatory ointment faithfully but still there is still one spot that looks red and inflamed. We have an appt. scheduled for Sunday to get it looked at but I'm afraid they being veterinarians will just follow the company line and say keep the cone on, keep applying the antibiotics etc. etc.

Does anyone on here have any experience with this type of situation and know of an alternative solution? I know a friend on here did suggest coconut oil which I applied and seemed to irritate it more. No problem.....I'm not mad about the suggestion. But if anyone has an idea please feel free to let me know on the public thread or privately

Meanwhile, carry on............didn't mean to get serious on a light-hearted thread.

Thanks CWillie,
He loses his egg to me AFTER the egg is peeled, ha ha.

I tried dill pickles in the eggs once,, they were not our happy place. I just made them for us,, we like them as snacks! And I never knew birds would eat eggs? Our dogs and cats love them!,, scrambled

Here's a tip that may help Tweety. Before you boil the eggs put an X on one of them with a pencil, that will remind you to set it aside for her. Him?

Pammzi,
Would Deviled eggs be good with a tart dill pickle?

Are you making deviled eggs for the big game?
What who when where? Is it football?

There are knockworst (we use them as hot dogs) on sale.

My bird can eat boiled eggs, but I forget and season it, then Tweety cannot have it! Tried 3 times now.

Ah,, here is the thread I was looking for ! My puppy loves pickles,, who would have thought? Maybe I should watch her sodium intake?

Cats rule!

Dogs are people too!

Now, I have my bird....

🐦🐦🐦🐦🐦🐦🐦🐦🐦🐦🐦🐦🐦🐦🐦🐦🐦🐦🐦🐦🐦🐦🐦🐦

But just one.

I have my dad's cat. My dad passed in his sleep and the cat was with him when he died. The cat that I originally did not want has turned out to be a sweet little guy. My vet warned me that we tend to place our feelings about our loved one onto the pet and it can be tricky. I found that very very true when the cat got out and I thought I had lost him. I sobbed hysterically for a cat I didn't want and felt like I had let my dad down and lost him all over again. Luckily, the little guy came back. The weird thing he does though to both me and my husband is while we are sleeping he takes his paw and gently pats our lips. We both swear he's just checking to make sure we're still breathing. Every time I just tell him, it's ok, we're still here, you'll still get fed. I do wonder if he was traumatized a little with my dad his only caregiver and passing away but he was only alone with him after he passed for a few hours before I came and found him.
I take care of my mom and my dog loves her to pieces. She once told me that when I bring him to visit it makes her feel "normal" which I thought was interesting.

Sorry Lu,
Bootsie loved you too.

So sorry, luckylu

Sad day for you 🙁

This morning I lost Bootsie,when my dH took her to the Humane Society,a No-kill shelter here.
It breaks my heart to see her go.We've been through so much together and grown so close through the years.
While I am thankful for the very special time we had together,I am very sad she is gone.
She will be deeply missed~

Oh my gosh, my newer cat [Jesse who is 8 years old] is a strange little fellow. If sig other and I have a disagreement, the cat takes my side. Jesse will yell at sig other with a variety of sounds as loud as he can be, with stance that he means business.

Ms. Madge,

I agree. It’s crazy to do that. Why die a dog’s hair?

Omg
I was channel surfing tonight and came across a show on cable about creative dog grooming - how these folks haven't been targeted by peta is beyond me
they dye dog's coats and cut them into mondo bizarro shapes and enter them into contests
one woman retired her standard poodle because his coat became damaged 😿

Aw, you're fine just the way you are Lu! I wish there was something we could do for old Bootsie though. :(

Maybe both Bootsie and I need some Prozac Gershun-

Lu, there is prozac for pets. Have you considered that?

Pam, I've put out a Pam alert for all the deer in the universe. They've got your number now so be careful. ;)