Help!!!
I moved in with my boyfriend 6 months ago. He has a Burmese, and I had two "all sorts" cats. The burmese was adopted by my boyfriend when his landlady had to move out of state. Sammy, the Burmese, is obviously very attached to my boyfriend. It seems that since my cats and myself moved in, Sammy has done a lot of pacing. He comes into the house and will pace on his "trail" constantly, exact same route all the time. My boyfriend said that Sammy has done this before. We recently adopted a kitten who was dumped at my workplace, and it was good for Sammy as Sammy and the kitten play constantly and are always together. Sammy still paces. No matter what we do he cannot stop focusing on pacing. It happens about 2 times a day, usually at nighttime. I have been attributing it to the fact that he is purebred (he is a thoroughbred although we don't know much about his breeders as my boyfriend never received papers from his exowner). Could it be that Sammy is inbred? A bit too much of a thoroughbred, I'm used to having purebred dogs, but not used to cats. I'm also not familiar with the burmese breed, I know that they are extremely intelligent. Sammy seems overly neurotic. Does anyone have any suggestions???
Thankyou so much
Michelle
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My Burmese paces constantly, and almost neurotically!!!
Replies (4)
Michelle, this is very interesting. Sorry, I can't offer any solutions. Like you, I've had all sorts of cats too, 4 of them to be exact and none are purebreds. None have never paced either, however pacing at night sounds sort of 'normal'.
My best guess is, that Sammy is pacing to announce his 'territorial rights'. Perhaps when he paces, he leaves his scent on his 'trail' via his little paw pads, which supposedly announces to the other cats that this is 'my territory'. Pacing is so much better than what two of my cats did to claim territory, PEEING to the point that my house became their litter box. Finally I got that situation under control. I just wish that it would have been pacing, like your Sammy is doing.
The nighttime thing is absolutely normal too, since cats are nocturnal. My male cat, Simba, gets worked up every night and walks around whining like a puppy. The other cats try to sleep and he goes up to them and tries to fight. I usually end up putting him downstairs in the family room till morning just so that I can get some sleep.
So good that Sammy has found a little kitten that he has bonded with. This is probably a very positive step in the right direction. You might want to try a Feliway Comfort Zone PlugIn or just spraying Feliway in the room a couple of times a day. Feliway mimics the happy scents that cats give off and seems to take the edge off of tense situations with cats. I've used it with great success in the past and to this day, still purchase and use Feliway on a weekly if not, daily basis.
Another thing that you could try is Bach's Rescue Remedy. I've not tried it but have heard rave reviews from others on this board and would definitely try it if you're worried about his pacing. It's something that can be rubbed in the ear or a drop or two in the water. I believe that you can purchase this from Drs Foster and Smith and definitely know that you can purchase the Feliway from them. Feliway costs about $25 (lasts about a month) and probably about the same for Rescue Remedy.
Good luck with all of your kitties and do come back and give us updates.
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Ruby and the Kitties
Simba, Samantha, Katrina & KatyKatt
Meow!! Meow!! Meow!! Meow!!
Hi!
Yeah I went onto the website and am seriously looking into the Feliway product. I will get it. Sammy is also spraying inside the house. We have tried all sorts of ways to stop him, he knows he's doing wrong but still does it. He paces and then he gets so wound up he sprays. I know it's because one of my cats is about the same age as Sammy and so they have territorial issues. I'm okay with the spraying and just clean up after him, I've learnt to let it go, there's no way I'd get rid of Sammy!
The pacing almost seems like some mental thing. I don't think it's a territorial thing. I personally think he's a little bit nuts. I'm not kidding. I've seen inbred purebreds and sometimes they have some weird personality issues. He paces and there is NOTHING anyone can do to stop him.......
Thanks for your advice;
Michelle
Sounds like Sammy does have some issues that need to be addressed. Here is some advice for litterbox problems which might be of interest to you:
He needs to go to the vet for a check up ASAP.
If all is clear on the health front, then the problem is behavioral. You will need to take steps to retrain the cat to the box. Basically you need to confine the cat to a room like a bathroom, or a large cage with only food, water, bedding and the litterbox. As he begins to use the litterbox consistantly you can expand his space. There is more information at this link:
Litterbox Problems
Cats need easy access to boxes and you may need to put several boxes around the house. In muliple cat households there should be one box per cat plus an extra! Be sure to keep all boxes very, very clean. Scoop at least once a day! There is also a litter called "Cat Attract" which might help.
You need to thoroughly deodorize wherever the cat has been peeing. Petastic is highly recommended as is Heaven's Own. It is the smell of the "accidents" that causes a cat to reuse the place.
Check into using Feliway, a spray that mimics the happy scent cats leave when they rub their check against something. You can get it from your vet or from Cat Faeries at http://www.catfaeries.com
If you visit the website, you will see a phone number that you can call and for a fee discuss your cat's problems with someone. The person who does this is very knowlegeable and it may be worth the $$ for you. Feliway is also available in most large pet supply stores. There is also a plug-in with Feliway that can help.
Finally, if all else fails, ask you vet about using an antianxiety medication such as Buspar or Prozac. These very often work, however the decision to prescribe them will rest solely with your veterinarian who will be able to monitor the dosage and side effects.
>>Hi!
>> Yeah I went onto the website and am seriously looking into the Feliway product. I will get it. Sammy is also spraying inside the house. We have tried all sorts of ways to stop him, he knows he's doing wrong but still does it. He paces and then he gets so wound up he sprays. I know it's because one of my cats is about the same age as Sammy and so they have territorial issues. I'm okay with the spraying and just clean up after him, I've learnt to let it go, there's no way I'd get rid of Sammy!
>> The pacing almost seems like some mental thing. I don't think it's a territorial thing. I personally think he's a little bit nuts. I'm not kidding. I've seen inbred purebreds and sometimes they have some weird personality issues. He paces and there is NOTHING anyone can do to stop him.......
>> Thanks for your advice;
>> Michelle
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Sounds like Sammy is really aggitated by outside activity and showing it with the pacing and marking. Introducing the feliway,rescue remedy & possibly Buspar may help reduce some aniexty but another suggestion is to reduce outside traffic.
I found a motion activated sprinkler called the "Scarecrow"
it definitely detours cats in my yard that like to hang around my bird feeders of course I haven't been able to use it through the winter and have seen an increase in traffic again around my property with paw prints in the snow. I can tell when someone is around cause my Lily will get anixous watching out the windows and jumping to the next keeping an eye on things. Once we get above freezing the sprinkler is going back up! Way to many free roaming cats in my neighborhood!
Sure hope you get results to reduce Sammy's anxiety.
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