Caregiver's cats behaving badly.

Tell us more about the puppy, Pam! I could use some "cute" stories this weekend. :-)

I have had a terrible week with mom, and last night was pretty awful. Mom was mean and combative and completely dismissive of me. Well, can I just say how awesome my cats are? They both slept on my pillow all night, even though they are not even sure they like each other yet. Carmella slept curled up to my face, and Bruce on top of my head. This morning, when it all came rushing back, I had a big cry - Bruce let me hold him tight and cry on his fur, then he actually licked away my tears.

My cats are my comfort.

Thank god for animals. I like them better than most people

Well after wondering how this new puppy was going to work out with Mom,, it's been great! She is so happy and entertained, and so are we! Mom has a whole new attitude and someone to "take care of", and its wonderful.

I picked up one of those lighted blossom "trees" yesterday - the ones that look like a bare-branched little winter tree, with lights on the ends of the branches (made of clear cherry blossom-shapes). Tonight I set it up. I thought I would have a problem keeping the kitten away from the cords, but apparently the box it came in is the BEST THING EVARRRR! According to BOTH kitten and elder cat.

The tree is very, very bright, by the way! If you have been thinking about getting one. And it could be about a foot taller.  It does have a heavy-ish base that could be screwed down, to keep it safe from climbing cats. 

I don't think there is a way, Lonely. I just had a look around and there don't appear to be any options for that. :-(

Angel demon child lol. So lovely when they snuggle into you and the world suddenly comes good thanks to their beautiful little hearts.

Quick question: is there a way of jumping to the last comment without having to open the first page and click on last?

Gotta watch those laces, Dorianne. He's guarding you - turn your back for one moment and those sneakers will live up to their name! Kill! Kill!

My lease was specially amended from "no pets" to "no pets except for one dog." I'm thinking of crossing out dog and putting cat. Dog is in dog house, and I don't want to talk about it, and neither does he - yes, he may very well hang his head and hide in his basket.

Aww thanks, Lonely. Well, it got better thanks to my little demon child. After I got mom home tonight, home support came and I slipped away to my little box room/office. I opened up the forum, and wrote one or two things....then Bruce climbed up on me and settled down with his head tucked into my neck. Well, there's no computering with a kitten sprawled across your chest! We both fell asleep in the office chair for two hours. It was so sweet. I'd wake up a bit, he'd nuzzle me, I'd fall back asleep....

It's funny how a tiny animal can do so much to preserve one's sanity. Demon or angel? Lol.

He's currently murdering one of my Skechers on the floor beside me.

Your day is so hectic. Hugs and I hope it got better. Your kitten cat sounds divine and ever so demon child like haha

Mom and I had another spat this morning. Another, "I'm not going to dialysis" day. Not going to shower, not going to get changed, not going anywhere. Like she's 4. She actually hit my hand when I tried to give her her meds. So we argued. Finally I said it wasn't up for debate, and she huffed that, FINE, she would go to dialysis ("Oh al-RIGHT, let's GO."). And then home support showed up JUST at that moment. Badgered her into a shower, made her a cup of coffee, and all is forgotten. Not really, but sort of.

Usually Bruce is pretty chill in the morning, but today, he totally picked up on the energy! He was all "fighty" this morning, like, "I'm gonna attack your elbow and also everything in sight!" And then after the fight with me and mom was over, he started racing around the house like his tail was on fire! Then he played furiously with one of those ball-in-a-track toys for 20 minutes without a break, and I think he just laid down for a nap, now that I am just about to hustle mom out the door.

I think he picks up MY energy, because I try SO hard to keep my temper down. It's like he was expressing my inside thoughts this morning, lol!

Lol, no they haven't, Countrymouse! But I've been wanting to travel for a long, long time, so I decided if I was going to take on a new baby, he was going to be trained for going out into the world someday. :-)

There is an Instagram of a young lady sailing around the world with her cat! And I recently saw a photo essay from a guy traveling around Australia in a van with his cat - she even has a GPS collar. Stories like that kind of inspired me to think I could take on a new little one and still travel at some point. I've hardly even seen much of Canada yet, and I've lived here all my 48 years! But I don't know when I'll be able to do it in a serious way, so I want to keep this fellow used to leaving home, at least. 

He has actually visited my friend's house a few times, plus he's been to my apartment (I've sublet to a friend while I'm caring for mom), and he also goes to massage therapy with me.   I have dreams of travel, but I at least want him to be leash-trained and get to see the outside world (unlike my apartment, which is on the 2nd floor in a nature setting, mom lives on the 6th floor in a busy area - the only birds are a couple of roosting pigeons!).  He seems to enjoy his outings. And he's actually not afraid of too much! But at my friend's, with all the animals there, he does keep me in his line of sight....which is true just as much at home, honestly. I can't even go to the bathroom alone! :-/

Gosh!

He's probably terrified you're going to take him Out There again. Have all your cats been so well socialised?!

My mother had a good traveller cat called Willow, a Russian Blue who went everywhere with her in the days when she was young and fancy-free and living alone in London. But by and large cats are strictly territorial and solitary by preference. Getting them used to company early on is a good thing, of course, but didn't he find your friend's house a bit of a lion's den???

Bruce and I went over to my friend's today. She has 3 cats, a dog, and a 5-year old grandchild. We're home now. He is so tired out that he's napping somewhere I can't see, and didn't even come out when I served up pork roast for dinner!!

I used to use it religiously when I had other cats and dogs but because this cat has been a 100% indoors one until recently, and I've never found a flea on her, I haven't used it. The fur thing has been around since she was a kitten, but maybe since stepping foot outside she has managed to get a flea or two, and then picks them off, hair  included, with a passionate commitment that adds to her baldness! I'm going to try some just to see if it helps!

They reformulated the FrontLine for cats quite a few years ago - fifteen or twenty? I've lost track! - so it is perfectly safe for them now, which I'm not sure it was when it first came out, yikes. Not totally safe for you, in that you will certainly get the "eye basilisk" when you put it on her - you might have to go to a #5 of the Seven Levels of Apology - but anything's better than evil expletive-deleted fleas.

We check for fleas all the time and never find any - but now you say that, maybe she pulls them off herself and that's part of her fur pulling thing. I will have to look into this more. It would be amazing if front lining her stopped it!

I'm sure you have checked already and that she's Frontlined regularly, but can I just mention the F word? - F for fleas, that is. If the fur is sparse on her back towards the tail, the little devils could be congregating there and irritating her skin, but you might find them hanging out in her armpits.

Overgrooming, it's true, can also be a sign of stress - I'd try a special cardboard box somewhere secluded to help her feel really secure first. A lot cheaper than $200 anti-depressants! Plus fewer side-effects.

My psychiatrist SIL used to use Feliway diffusers to calm things down between her Norwegian Forest cat and his smaller, younger, common or garden variety "brother." She thought it helped. I think they're supposed to boost oxytocin levels or something?

She doesn't gnaw skin thank goodness! But she has a baldish butt! Our vet said they could pout her on antidepressants but it's not a proven science and they're over $200 per month. Normally she's not too bad thank goodness! She used to suck the end of her tail too 😄

@LonelySoLonely - when I finally took George to the vet for the hair-pulling and skin-gnawing (about 2 or 3 weeks out of hospital for me), they said it was like when teenagers engage in "cutting"....they start under stress but continue because it gives them some weird enjoyment. They gave George a depo provera shot (yes, the birth control), which they said would interrupt the enjoyment he got from doing it. It actually worked!  But I really was worried about the skin-gnawing....he was a mess, poor thing!

You can never be allergic to cats lol

@dorianne my little catto was a rescue cat and she pulls her fur out. It's heartbreaking but she is a very happy catto other than that. Your cat was very enlightened; they know.

My father developed a nasty skin rash soon after retirement. His GP tested him for allergies, and warned him that even though there'd been cats in the house forever it was possible to become sensitive to allergens you'd never had trouble with. But he knew who my mother would turn out onto the streets if this did prove to be the case, and it wouldn't be the cats.

The culprit was eventually identified as a Virginia creeper he'd been cutting back - new hobby, he'd never spent much time in the garden before.

Also, any negativity, yelling, screaming in the home can upset any pet.
If that is happening, it may be a person's choice to live that way, but
get the pets a better place to live, or change it. imo.

About 10 years ago, I was so sick with a kidney infection that I almost died in my bed at home. I didn't know I was that sick (the ER doc told me it was a bladder infection and sent me home!!!), but my beloved cat George (rip) did. He was in the bedroom closet, ripping his fur out and gnawing on his skin from the stress! He'd never done anything like that before, or since.

I prefer to think enlightened!!! We were tight, me 'n' George....

The nurses said your temp goes up just before you're going to go and cats like warmth so they go snuggle that person. I prefer to think they're enlightened. Also, my cat just snuggled up to be...haha

When a resident died at hoca earlier in the year, the house cat laid upon his db

The daughter who arrived minutes after his passing wasn't too pleased

Me too Dorianne!

Did you hear about one care home in the states where the resident cat knew when people were about to die and would go to their room and sit on their beds till they died?

I imagine you would be terrified every time that cat walked past your door. "Keep going, keep going" Whew!!!

@Gershun - I've been thinking about a combo senior home/cat rescue lately. The kitten has been so good for mom. And dang it, if there was a facility like that, I'd start making the payments for my bed now!

Speaking of cat cuddles............my one cat just finished doing that kneading thing they do on my stomach. I was feeling constipated but now.......not so much. Who'd of thunk it.
I was listening to Christina Aguilera doing a medley of Whitney Houston songs whilst kitty was kneading. Christina just smashed it on the American Music Awards.

So, forget Metamucil. Just get a cat if you don't have one already and point them to your stomach. You'll be regular in no time. Great idea for senior homes?

Also, I haven't spent much time around chickens, but pigs, on the other hand....pigs are ruthless jerks.

@Countrymouse - lol, I don't have a fever but I may have been a teensy bit warm-feeling. Though I am at the hot flash age, so theoretically he should be at my side all the ti....wait a minute, I THOUGHT HE JUST FOLLOWED ME AROUND OUT OF LOVE!!! ;-)

Dorianne you are going to think me very cynical indeed at this rate, but did you by any chance have a slight fever with your cold? Extra cozy human...

Cats do enlightened self-interest more charmingly (and therefore successfully) than any other species. I used to think they were pretty ruthless with it, too - but that was before I got to know chickens.