Sendhelp Posted March 2017
Caregiver's cats behaving badly.
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Does your Cat (or any pet) misbehave since caregiving your loved one?
Have you been required to take care of your loved one's pet after they have passed? Does your pet have cute antics that entertain your loved one?
And finally, has the cat or dog transferred their loyalty to your Mother?
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.....
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.
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.
I hate that he has these - they really frighten him.
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 :)
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 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.
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!
Now I gotta look up Maine coon
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.
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
"Most research on the effectiveness of guard llamas has been done with sheep. A 1990 study reported that 80% of sheep producers with guard llamas rated them as effective or very effective. The study found average rates of loss to predators fell from 21% to 7% after the introduction of a guard llama. In other studies, over half of guard llamas completely eliminated losses due to predators. Dogs and coyotes have been injured and even killed by llamas"
FF - I've actually had better luck with regular old grass seed in a pot, but it's not working here. I don't think there is enough sun at Mom's. I think the stuff in the kits....they just don't give you enough dirt! That's awesome that Charlie is swooning over Rosey, but......does she feel the same? Or is she humouring him? Lol!
Brucifer (that's what I call him when he's bad) is enjoying his oat grass, but he keeps leaving bits of it all over the place....he really is an all or nothing kinda guy. And mostly all.
My male cat Charlie is now smitten with the recent adopted cat Rosey. He's 17 and she is 12. At 3 in the morning we can hear him calling for her.... with the sounds he is making I would be running the opposite direction, but she comes out of her room.
One night I heard my sig other say to Rosey at 2 in the morning "where are you going young lady at this time of the night?"
One night I told Charlie that Rosey is busy, she is washing her hair [I remember back in high school that was an excuse a lot of girls used not to date a boy].
I picked up some already sprouted stuff (yay, garden centre!) to keep them away from the baby seedlings while I grow them fresh. I'm going to plant a "grass patch" in a proper, heavy planter that Big Burly Bruce can't knock over. Because he's good knocking stuff over!
He's really huge. How can I even explain how huge he is at 8 months? He is a full size cat already. With a big, wide chest and a giant, fluffy, curly tail. His head is twice the size of my 13-year old girlcat's. He's going to be a monster. A monster with a giant, fluffy, curly tail.
The only real danger is that she might migrate to your head to use your hair for a better grip. In which case it isn't the chicken's dignity you need to worry about.