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Please help after 7 years may need new home

nala1842 Apr 12, 2005 12:19 AM

I hope some one can help me if this is long I'm sorry. First when I got Nemo he was 6-8 months old abused from the SPCA. He has a "dead" eye and we took him to a cat opthamologist like the vet suggested and they said he was abused as a very young kitten or it was a birth defect. I already had 2 cats one 8 months and one 4 years all are fixed. From day one he had problems with the litter box. He was litter trained but only when he wasn't mad. If I didn't spend enouph time with him he peed, and not just one spot about 12 spots that are ever changing. We tried all the vets recommendations: litter boxes per cat, feline "happy" phermone spray, we felt to awful about the cage business with the others running around and the vet felt it would make the cat more upset. We know why he pees just not how to fix it. It happens when he us upset which is most of the time, because I won't sit with him all day and let him "hug" my neck and kneed my hair. I have tried taking time everyday with him, but it doesn 't help. He comes and goes, sometimes he will go months using nothing but the litter box then with no environmental changes going on he will stop, not even a change in affection time. I'm a sucker for animals and 5 months ago when we were camping my daughter came across a half starved 8 month old kitten who took to her right off the bat. We took him home and slowly introduced him to the others and everything was cool at first the peeing continued, but didn't get worse (suprisingly) then a little over a month ago he started alienating himself from the other cats and attacking the new one. There is nothing wrong with him physically, but the vet is perplexed. The cat will socialize but only with the original 2 and he doesn't socialize as much and is short with his usual playmate (being mean when Timone just wants to play) he used to just tell him off and leave now he attacks Timone and takes off running. Timone got tired of being nipped at and stopped trying to play with him. Basically I have one unhappy little boy. I have put up with his antics now for 7 years and two kids and I'm tired of sitting on the floor to play with my 2 yr old and smelling pee. We disinfect where he pees and even used the phermone spray exacly how it said and he just found new places to pee. The new cat goes out door (as he was raised outside and will use but hates the litter box he goes out just to poop then comes back in), so we let Nemo in the back yard supervised (he is declawed, because him and timone started tearing up carpet as soon as we recarpeted the house) and so far (only a week) he has not peed in the house. Any help on making this cat happy would be appreciated. I know it would be killing him to take him to a shelter and impossible to find a new home for a one eyed cat that has behavioral problem. I've found a Cat Protection Society, but love the cat and want to try to salvage this relationship.

Replies (7)

PHMadameAlto Apr 12, 2005 09:09 PM

Probably the fact that he is blind in one eye makes this cat a little more wary of other cats than normal. Also being abused didn't help.The new kitten added to the mix upset the balance that had been worked out and all the cats are trying to find their new places in the hierarchy. Nemo is probably showing some mis-directed agression towards the other cats - he is taking out his problems with the kitten on Timone.

Talk with your vet about trying some sort of cat antianxiety medication like Buspar or Prozac or Elival. Also see if there is an animal behaviorist in your area that might be able to help.

If you have to re-home the cat - there may be more people than you think willing to help with this!

Good luck!

>>I hope some one can help me if this is long I'm sorry. First when I got Nemo he was 6-8 months old abused from the SPCA. He has a "dead" eye and we took him to a cat opthamologist like the vet suggested and they said he was abused as a very young kitten or it was a birth defect. I already had 2 cats one 8 months and one 4 years all are fixed. From day one he had problems with the litter box. He was litter trained but only when he wasn't mad. If I didn't spend enouph time with him he peed, and not just one spot about 12 spots that are ever changing. We tried all the vets recommendations: litter boxes per cat, feline "happy" phermone spray, we felt to awful about the cage business with the others running around and the vet felt it would make the cat more upset. We know why he pees just not how to fix it. It happens when he us upset which is most of the time, because I won't sit with him all day and let him "hug" my neck and kneed my hair. I have tried taking time everyday with him, but it doesn 't help. He comes and goes, sometimes he will go months using nothing but the litter box then with no environmental changes going on he will stop, not even a change in affection time. I'm a sucker for animals and 5 months ago when we were camping my daughter came across a half starved 8 month old kitten who took to her right off the bat. We took him home and slowly introduced him to the others and everything was cool at first the peeing continued, but didn't get worse (suprisingly) then a little over a month ago he started alienating himself from the other cats and attacking the new one. There is nothing wrong with him physically, but the vet is perplexed. The cat will socialize but only with the original 2 and he doesn't socialize as much and is short with his usual playmate (being mean when Timone just wants to play) he used to just tell him off and leave now he attacks Timone and takes off running. Timone got tired of being nipped at and stopped trying to play with him. Basically I have one unhappy little boy. I have put up with his antics now for 7 years and two kids and I'm tired of sitting on the floor to play with my 2 yr old and smelling pee. We disinfect where he pees and even used the phermone spray exacly how it said and he just found new places to pee. The new cat goes out door (as he was raised outside and will use but hates the litter box he goes out just to poop then comes back in), so we let Nemo in the back yard supervised (he is declawed, because him and timone started tearing up carpet as soon as we recarpeted the house) and so far (only a week) he has not peed in the house. Any help on making this cat happy would be appreciated. I know it would be killing him to take him to a shelter and impossible to find a new home for a one eyed cat that has behavioral problem. I've found a Cat Protection Society, but love the cat and want to try to salvage this relationship.
-----
Smile, it will make them wonder what you are up to!

nala1842 Apr 13, 2005 09:29 PM

Thank you for trying to help. How would I find a behavior specialist? Through my vet? I'm going to brouse the internet to see if I can find an index of behavioral specialist. If you have any ideas other than the vet or know of a web site I'd really appreciate it.

My vet does not like to give medicines that are not completely and medically necessary, but will if I would ask. I would like to help him be happy not just cover up the problem, which is what I believe anti-anxiety and anti-depression drugs do. And I know from being an nurse that some of them can have adverse effects on certain people (i.e. making them calmer until an aggressor is in place and then they get more angry than normal when they do get angry) making the drugs trial and error and some go through that and can't find a suitable medicine. I think I prefer the behavior specialist, first. I'm not meaning to be against your advice I'm just not happy with those types of drugs given to anyone.

JaimeMarie Apr 14, 2005 06:19 AM

. I would like to help him be happy not just cover up the problem, which is what I believe anti-anxiety and anti-depression drugs do. And I know from being an nurse that some of them can have adverse effects on certain people (i.e. making them calmer until an aggressor is in place and then they get more angry than normal when they do get angry

That is so true. I have seen it happen with a little boy I work with. He was on medication that made him extremely agressive. I thought it was just his personality but now he is off the drug he is so loving.
-----
Jaime owned by
Mya the dog
and the cats:Crash, Moxie, Gabby and sometimes Tucker

PHMadameAlto Apr 14, 2005 08:51 PM

You should ask your vet first for a recommendation for an animal behaviorist.

There are also behavior help-lines that you can call for advice - the one from Tufts will interact with your vet.

ASPCA Companion Animal Services Behavior Helpline (New York), 212-876-7700, ext. 4357.

San Francisco SPCA Behavior Help Line (California), 415-554-3075. One can leave a voice mail message 24 hours a day. Within 48 hours, a behaviorist will return the call (collect) or they will send written information.

University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine Behavior Clinic, 215-898-3347. If the clinic is not open at the time of the call, their recorded message will give their call-in hours for the week.

Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine Behavior Clinic (Massachusetts), 508-839-7934. Offers consultations for a fee.

>>Thank you for trying to help. How would I find a behavior specialist? Through my vet? I'm going to brouse the internet to see if I can find an index of behavioral specialist. If you have any ideas other than the vet or know of a web site I'd really appreciate it.
>>
>>My vet does not like to give medicines that are not completely and medically necessary, but will if I would ask. I would like to help him be happy not just cover up the problem, which is what I believe anti-anxiety and anti-depression drugs do. And I know from being an nurse that some of them can have adverse effects on certain people (i.e. making them calmer until an aggressor is in place and then they get more angry than normal when they do get angry) making the drugs trial and error and some go through that and can't find a suitable medicine. I think I prefer the behavior specialist, first. I'm not meaning to be against your advice I'm just not happy with those types of drugs given to anyone.
-----
Smile, it will make them wonder what you are up to!

AstiLover Apr 15, 2005 02:02 PM

I understand that you don't want to cage the cat, however, you may need to do this on a short-term basis in order for him to stop the urinating behavior. Is he truly urinating or is he spraying? There is a difference and if he is spraying (my one 6 year old male bengal who is neutered still sprays sometimes due to stress, anxiety and over-stimulation-squirrels). He marks his territroy and I had him on Buspar for a month, now he is fine. He began this behavior when I introduced a new kitten a year ago. It's been fine lately but I'm adopting another so I'll have to go through it all again.
He may feel safer being in the cage with a litterbox and you can let him out for play time and slowly expand his area after about 2-3 weeks. Keep reassuring him by giving attention in and out of the cage. I'd hate to see the relationship be ruined. It amy turn out that he would do better in a home where he is the only cat. Good Luck!

nala1842 May 01, 2005 11:26 PM

He is not spraying, because it is a puddle and I mean a puddle. When he does it in the bathroom (easy to clean) it looks like my 2 year old when she spills a 8 oz drink and requires just as many bounty paper towels as a glass of water. When my one cat sprayed before he was fixed it was a damp misting that stunk. This is not as odorfull(thank the lord) and is and actual puddle. We have seen him use the boxes and it will sometimes stop for 3 month and then start up again, and we can't figure a prevocation for it unless it is something between the cats. He hasn't peed now for 3 weeks knock on wood, and he stopped chasing the new cat for 2 weeks and just 3 days ago started again.

AstiLover May 03, 2005 11:27 AM

It sounds like something is triggering this behavior since it appears to run in cycles. Maybe he is getting overstimulated by soemthing outside or with the other cat and now the behavior has gone on so long it has become a hait for him. If you're willing to put the time in, you may want to isolate him or crate him for up to 2-3 months to break the cycle and see if you can retrain him. Being parents, whether for felines or kids is never easy, but we also can't give up on them either.
Good Luck, let us know...

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