Caregiver's cats behaving badly.

Playing music on my kindle causes Ming to go absolutely berserk! And if I start singing, well never mind.😳

Flashing lights can cause seizures in humans, it would not surprise me if it affected animals as well. Hope there is tons of lake fun and no sick kitties.

Noise can trigger a seizure in a pet. My cat had his first one a few months ago. Sig other was watch basketball, and I wouldn't be surprised if the noise of the players sneakers on the wax floor, which gives out a loud squeaking noise, didn't trigger it.

I know I can't be in the same room when basketball is on due to that sneaker noise, and the flashing light which comes from the advertisements flashing up high around the arena that flashes down onto the floor.

Veronica think how happy she will be to see you, and explore her new home! I know nothing is better than walking in the door after a long shift and see one or two happy wiggle butt dogs waiting for me, wanting to be picked up and loved! My cat is more,,, meh,,,,

Aw, Ali - it's a shame you're not here. There are 2 elderly cat siblings at the shelter that desperately need homes to live out their "golden years". They are part of a family of 4 that lost their owner when he passed away and had to come to the shelter. 2 of them have been adopted, but 2 remain at the shelter. It's sad.

Guest, that's really odd - must be some sort of trigger for the poor dog! Mine hasn't had any more episodes - at first I wondered if it might be related to his flea treatment medicine, but he had one episode a week before I gave it to him, and one after - so I can't say that's the cause, either. He has a vet appointment next week just to follow up and see if any further testing is needed, but I suspect they're going to tell me there's not much that can be done unless I want to medicate him - and if he's having them so infrequently, and they're not harming him, I can't really justify that. (Not financially, but out of concern for the cure being worse than the disease type of thing - you know?) He's with me almost all of the time, so the chances of him having a seizure while I'm not here are relatively slim.

He's going on the transport trip with me this weekend - his first trip to a big lake. We'll see how he does with that. I suspect there will be much digging in the sand.

Susan my sister has a terrier that has seizures with certain dog foods. Yam/sweet potato specific. Weird

I'll take two, Susan. I've been to the local shelters to find a couple of older cats to bring home forever but haven't decided on any yet. Still looking... not exactly sure what I'm looking for but hoping I'll know it when I see it.

Making another shelter-to-shelter transport trip this weekend. 13 kitties going to a new shelter in another part of the state to find homes, rather than being euthanized because our local shelter doesn't have enough space for them. (Kitten season is upon us, too - so that doesn't help!)

Hope this one goes a little better than the last one and no one gets car sick or has nervous diarrhea!

My little kitty will finally be able to come to her new home at the weekend. She seems quite happy at DDs house and l won't let her come home till i am there. DD has a strange room in her basement where the cat is confined. it has big sunny windows and the kitty sits on the cushion from her carrier and suns herself. I think she would have been fine with DH because she is as attached to him as me

Whoa.... thanks Dorianne! My little ex barn cat, Becky, bites at me (hasn't connected yet), so I'll try what you did. She's better than she was, but I don't like it, and was confused because she also rubs on my legs and sits on my lap a lot.... guess it's time to play mama cat.

Dori - the seizures are a form of epilepsy that Doxies are prone to, unfortunately. For the most part, the seizures are harmless. He could be put on medication for it, but I'm not crazy about medicating him unless it becomes a real problem - I'm sure the vet will want to chart how often he's having these episodes and then make a judgement call on medicating him or not - since I have no idea if he's had these before. That's the only problem with getting a dog from a shelter - you have no idea what their medical history is. The person who surrendered him didn't say anything about seizures.

Dorianne, be sure to bump heads with Bruce, to let him know that YOU are the head cat of the household :) Too bad that doesn't work with people :P

Aww, Susan, that must be kind of scary to deal with! Do you know what causes the seizures, besides that being "typical" for that kind of dog? I've never heard of seizures being normal or typical, but I've never had a dog and I don't know very much. Hey, maybe he wouldn't leave your lap just because you make him feel safe!

Send - that's so lovely about the dog helping you get through all that! Also it gives me hope that little Bruce pestering his elder sister Carmella to play all the time will keep her thriving! She is 13 and hated this little intrusion at first! But I do see her perked up a bit, finally....

FF - I love it when cats do the running sideways thing! It's hilarious. Did her tail fluff all up too?

Barb - realized I missed part of your last post....I haven't asked the vet about Bruce possibly being MC or part MC. Last time Bruce saw the vet, it was when he had peritonitis in January (5 months old), and all I wanted to know was that he would be ok and could come home! And before that he was just too little to know anything about him. Heck, when I got him, I couldn't even tell how long his hair was going to be!

Well, I think I may have broken Bruce of the biting thing, finally!! Please don't be grossed out....out of desperation, I started biting him on the scruff of the neck! Like his mama would do. Not hard or anything - I would just hold him in my arms and hold the scruff of his neck between my teeth until he stopped. I usually had to do it 2 or 3 times in one session, but he figured out what I was saying really quickly!  (Fortunately for ME, he doesn't shed very much hair.  Blech!)

Now I just have to do it with my hand, and he gets the message and stops. No, I don't pick him up by the scruff - I think that's dangerous and people shouldn't do it. I hold him in my other arm at the same time. He knows exactly what I mean by it, and he's almost completely stopped the biting behaviour now.  (Occasionally, I still have to use my teeth before he remembers.) And the funny thing is.....I tried doing it before with just my hand but it didn't work.  It's like he needed me to do it like a mama cat would before he understood.  Plus I never did it with my teeth before because I didn't want to make him afraid of me, or to become distant from me. But he is even MORE sweet and loving than ever! It's like I finally learned how to speak his language and he's all in. Lol!

I couldn't be happier....I've got my sweet little boy kitten back!  Let's hope this lasts and keeps working, because I was totally out of ideas otherwise.....

Thanks mally and send! He has an appt. with the vet in a couple of weeks and we'll address this again just to make sure they still aren't concerned about it. The dog was acting a little odd yesterday, but I can't be sure it was a seizure. He got up on my lap and wouldn't let me put him down, which is not normal for him. He's not a real "hold me" kind of dog - he will get on my lap but only stay briefly before wanting down. This time, though, if I tried to turn him around to put him down, he would keep twisting back to put his paws on my chest and stand straight up. Not sure what all that was about! After a few minutes, he finally let me put him down.

He seems fine today - we had a nice walk, met a couple of neighborhood dogs and even took a ride, so he's snoozing now in his favorite sun spot.

Our sweet female doberman/shepard had epilepsy; lived to be 14, went deaf at 12 or so, but up and down stairs to her last day without any trouble (maybe because we bought her a loveseat to sleep on?). She was on an inexpensive med most of that time, and only had a few seizures; no trauma.... does that help?

Oh Susan,
I am so sorry.
The very best dog I ever had came down with distemper wihin the 3 days of bringing her home from the county animal care shelter. Somehow, I knew she would be living about only ten yrs, vs. her lifespan expected for a normal dog. Of course, I could have returned her. But I didn't.

She kept us up all night, vomiting white fluid. She was in a cage at the end of the bed.
Then my narcissist hub at the time decided this was a good time to move out/ in with his affair. Best thing that ever happened to me, so you see, the dog was already a blessing! Saved my life really, because any more gaslighting and I would have been his victim.
This dog, brought into the home when my elder dog was 12, and severely declining, also saved her life by pestering her to play and exercise. Elder dog lived to age 17!

Looking back, I never would have realized she was my favorite. But this dog, the one I had waited for, the one I looked everywhere for, the one who brought so many good experiences into my life, she was my favorite. She lived 10 years.

Hoping your dog can maybe outgrow the seizures, and improve.  I sincerely hope you will have many good years with your new pup.

Learned something new about my new dog - or at least his breed. Not only are they prone to back problems (due to long body), but also seizures. He's had 2 since I brought him home. The first one I thought was something else - he acted like his leg was asleep or something and kind of stumbled around after laying down for a long period of time. Now looking back at that, I know it was a seizure, because the 2nd one followed the same pattern, but was worse. Vet says they are "typical Doxie siezures" and not harmful, but of course, to watch and make sure they don't last longer than a minute or so, and that he recovers well afterwards - and to bring him in immediately if he doesn't. (sigh). Go figure!

I hate that he has these - they really frighten him.

I did have a "guard cat" at one time. Oh my gosh, heaven forbid if any one walked their dog on my front yard. Kitty, a medium hair tordi, would hide in the front bushes, and out she would come, in full Halloween stance, running side ways. Well, we rarely had a problem with anyone walking their dog, or any animal coming onto the property.

The only animal she was scared was was a huge buck who was upset that the deer feeding tray was empty. First time she saw him, she blasted into the house with that "what the he!! was that?" look on her face :)

Barb - I started Bruce on the harness when he was just 9 or 10 weeks old, so he is very accustomed to it. I've been taking him with me to different places - friends' houses, my place, the massage therapist, etc. Never used the harness for vet visits, only places he'd associate it with good times.

I never got a chance to try walking him till now because the snow was so heavy this past winter. But I do think he's starting to understand the concept!

So I dunno.....I think maybe it helps to start them early. I've never had an older cat take to the harness! I've tried it on 2 of the adult cats I've had in my life, but both of them have just done the "FORGET IT, LADY" thing and flopped over. But it's always worth a shot - I don't think I did it right before. I think I expected they'd either walk on the leash or they wouldn't.

Maybe try taking your harnessed kitty to the park or a friend's place a few times, even if you have to carry him....seems to me now, the important thing is that a cat comes to associate the harness with fun and exploration.

I've had a pure bred Maine Coon and currently have a cat that's a "half" and from his picture, Bruce looks like he's got some MC DNA. Does your vet have an opinion about this?

I used to try walk my Maine Coon on a leash, but he wasnt having it. I might try it with one of my tabbies, the one who loves to himself for a "walk" in the hallway of my apt building when anyone goes in or out. He can open the door himself with paw to get back in as long as it isn't latched.

smeshque - Bruce is curiously not scared of people. At. All. He was born into a house with two adult brothers and a little girl, who brought ALL her friends to see the kittens. Then I've been pretty much pushing him into the hands of strangers since he was 8 weeks old! He considers himself the official greeter of the home support workers now, even the new ones, and gets quite sulky if they don't say hello. So if a couple of burglars were smart enough to give his little ego some attention, I'm sure he'd show them where the best stuff is kept!  (Edit:  of course, burglars aren't usually smart.  That's why they have to resort to burgling!)

So I just gave Bruce a good once over in the bathroom light. He DOES have a side ruff, but no major throat ruff. The vet DID shave his throat for a needle back in January, when he had peritonitis, but surely it would have grown back by now if there was a ruff? It's fluffy there, but not a big ruff.  I dunno. Still no clue!

Dori- glad Bruce got an outing. Most cats are bad guards as they are usually scaredy. :)

Now I gotta look up Maine coon

mally - I just don't know! His mama was a normal-looking, normal-sized, short-haired tortie - just a bit stout, and with short legs. But no one knows anything about the father. Bruce is big, with a very broad chest and tufted feet....and the fluffy tail seems to point to Maine Coon....but he doesn't have that lion's mane thing around his throat. So I just don't know. Maybe? Maybe partly?

Dorianne, is Bruce a Maine Coon? My mom has one and it sure sounds like he could be......

Bruce - who would be a terrible guard cat - got his first visit to the park today. 

There are all kinds of "No Dogs" signs at the park. But I noticed none of them say "No Cats Either"! So we chanced it. (I had a time gap in between massage therapy and the chiropractor - I take him with me.) Nobody seemed to mind. In fact, the sight of a fluffy-tailed black cat on a red leash actually seems to make people grin and giggle.

So Bruce was having a blast climbing around on the rocks above the beach, and sniffing EVERYTHING. Then he saw 2 big Canada geese down on the sand....and tried to squeeze himself into crevice in the rocks! I don't blame him for wanting to hide, though. Those honkers are mean!  And the male goose was staring us down, for sure.

But he's sure never going to keep any burglars away from the electronics.

Cwillie- And I did some research on the sheep milk. More protein, more calcium, than cows milk, but more fat. I think I read some Ricottais sheeps milk, also.

Did not know Llamas were good guards. I'd certainly get one if I had sheep. i have known so many people have their flocks destroyed by wild dogs.
My brain has let the building so can
t think of anything else but we did have a german sheperd who was agood guard, then there was the Lab that hid under the bed every time the door bell rang

cwillie - yeah but now you got me thinking about getting a guard llama.  That'd make any burglars think twice!

That would have to go on "My Favorite Things" thread Send~

Time for coffee. Where do we post that?