Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I am a veterinary technician, and am pretty good with doggy behavioral problems, but I must admit, I am a bit lost with cats.

I currently have had two adult cats, both rescues from the hospital where I work, for about two years. They are what I think of as almost perfect cats. I say almost, because if they would stop getting on the counters and stop eating things, they would be perfect.

Loki ate an ear plug at 6 weeks old, and almost starved to death for the next three weeks because his former owner failed to realize that vomiting and losing weight for three weeks was a bad thing. The kitten was a lesson in skeletal anatomy when he was brought into my clinic. I adopted the cat when the owner wanted to put him to sleep. Over the last two years I have pulled many a thing out of his mouth, but mostly he is over that. Recently he has been tentatively diagnosed with feline asthma and is now on medication. But I still think he is close to perfect. He is sweet and gentle and loves attention. He is also the brains behind the operation.

Bartelby is a big loving dummy, and loves to eat plants, which has caused some problems including eating morning glories which are slightly poisionous. But he is probably the nicest cat I have ever met, he really is like a golden retriever. He has 4 pounds on Loki but routinely gets his butt kicked when they play.

So this is really what I have to go by.

Recently I have rescued another kitten, he was 5 weeks old and came into my clinic in a coma. The owner claims the kitten was playing with her 5 year old son, the son "kissed" the kitten and it suddenly spun around and fell over. He had his head thrown back and front leggs outstretched in front, very stiff all over and pretty much non-responsive. This little boy has a distrubing history of being violent and my boss would bet her life this kitten was hit in the head very very hard, causing brain damage. Anyways, the kitten was given to us, and I took him home. He made it throught the first night, and the first week was touch and go. But he has recovered amazingly and continues to improve every single day and is a little joy. He is still wobbly and falls over sometimes, and may be so the rest of his life, but he can make it into the litter box, and can feed himself. We have named him Reboot because his little brain needed to reboot like a computer.

My problem with Reboot is he will guard special food or toy. He doesnt do it with his crunchies, just soemthing real good. He will have the item in his mouth and growl and snarl very loud and even starts to spit sometimes, with all his hair standing up. He does it mostly when the other two cats or a person are nearby, but I have seen him do it when he was completely alone, across the room from anyone. He has not attacked anything, but I fear he may start too. I have been taking the item out of his mouth and not letting him have it at all. I only give him a treat when he takes it nicely without growling. This is how I would treat a puppy with the same problem.

I dont know if this is part of his brain damage or not, and honestly, do not really know how to go about fixing this problem.
I half wonder if he needs to be pushed around a bit by Bart and Loki to show who's boss, but both of the big kitties are so nice and bewildered by the growling, that they back down. Otherwise they all play together so nicely.

Any ideas?

Thanks

Sarah

Brain damage or not, he's normal.

He is just letting the world know this is his treat and he is not sharing. He may still feel a little insecure about his place in the house and is standing his ground. I imagine that when you take the treat away and give it back, he is learning the "big kitty" (you) is still top cat but that doesn't mean he loses out on all the good stuff. Just make sure if he gets brave enough to actually take a swat at you - you end it. Reinforce you are big kitty and you won't tolerate aggression. But praise and reward good behavior often, cats can be like kids, they will do what gets them attention over and over again.

Congrats on your new family member! (and love the nod to Dogma)

hehe, I am glad someone caught the Dogma reference. It's not a movie for everyone though. I thought about naming him Rufus, or Silent Bob. But silent he is not! And Reboot fits better!

Thanks
Sarah

Hi Sarah,

You are a vet tech and you only have 3 animals at home? I am a tech in a cat hospital and I have 10! All but one came from animal hospitals where I have worked, and that cat is feral.
Anyway, welcome to the Board!

I have some experience working with brain damaged cats, two of which I know very well. These 2 guys fell off the roof of a restaurant where their feral mom had taken them when they were 2 weeks old. Both kittens experienced severe head injuries. They are now 2 years old and have become clinic cats.

Even though these boys are "slow" they play very much like normal cats. One likes to carry around his favorite toy and he is possessive of it. He is kind of in his own world, and is deaf, but purrs all the time and is extremely playful. He doesn't have much of a relationship with other cats other than his brother. Both cats get along well with other cats ( even though the one keeps more to himself) and seem to be able to read their body language. They both fall over on a regular basis.

I believe that cats should be allowed to work things out among themselves. Some of my cats at home have favorite toys that they carry around and they all have their favorite spots. There is no real fighting here, ever, so it's working. My cats are all special needs of some kind, yet they are able to live together peacefully. The ones that have behavioral issues are more loners than the others, and my feral and semi-ferals have their hiding spots but they all seem to have respect for each other.

Remember, that cats should not be treated like small dogs. They communicate with each other by hissing and growling at times and it's almost always safe to just let them work things out. It sounds like your kitten will be able to take care of himself

Hope this is helpful.

PHKitkat

Bless your heart (and KitKat's) for taking in kitties in need and working with them. I have a friend that runs am SPCA in Mississippi that has always had a large conglomeration of special needs dogs animals at home. The most memorable was a furless Poodle with a skin disease that looked like a pink piglett and smelled horrible. Horrible. All he wanted to do was sit on laps. So, we put towels on our lap and he sat and watched TV with us. After a few minutes, your olfactory nerves get used to any smell... She had him for years. Mixed in with all the dogs, from large to small, she has a 16 year old cat, Storm, who was the first pet and only cat... Storm is a sage old cat who has seen it all, LOL...

Sounds like Reboot has had a harsh live so far with the violent little boy. Who knows what the boy did, if he tormented him and followed him constantly, Reboot probably didn't get much peace or time to eat. I am sure, along with the brain damage, his experiences so far have him on guard. He probably needs a little time to understand this new home is full of love and OK -- nothing is going to suddenly happen to him. It should all work out on its own... Sounds like he is all noise right now and no attacking...

One non-painful way to stop bad behavior is with a water bottle. Spray bottle with clean water in it. Only use it if they are bad and use it with a loud NO. Try clapping your hands really loudly with some loud NO's before going to the water.

In Reboot's case, I don't know that I would go to water just yet. He is finding his ground. If he starts biting, say NO loudly and hiss or meow loudly at him and that may startle him to stop. Blowing on his face will bother him, too. Always with a NO and they quickly get the idea and stop before the blow/noise/water start. People will think you are crazy if they are around and you start saying NO loudly, blowing on him, and hissing and meowing. But, find what works.

I'd try water last if increases and doesn't respond to you or latches on and dosen't let go.

I had to laugh. I have a Loki and Bart. Stanley and Pookey -- the brains of the operation and the "golden retriever" as you put it. They are night and day different. Stanley has spent his life looking after his slower brother. He used to go in the litter box and bury Pookey's #2 after he got done. Pookey would dig and dig and dig and dig forever and when he left the box, the #2 would be on the top of a huge pyramid, uncovered. They're now 15. Stanley doesn't care anymore and Pookey doesn't dig as much. The stories I could tell... However, instead of a golden retriever, I always likened Pookey to a male Chrissy Snow (Three's Company). Perky and friendly, but no lights on...
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Tammy
Stanley and Pookey

Thanks for the info, and support.

One lucky thing about this kitty is, he only lived with this boy for 24 hours, so it could have been worse!

I have tried saying NO and clapping my hands when he gets into things, to no effect. It doesnt even startle him, but then other things might, so I do not, at this point think he's deaf or anything. I have used the spray bottle a couple times since he did not respond to clapping, and he does respect that, but he immediately comes back for cuddling.

Sarah

"Perky and friendly, but no lights on..."

With Bart, we also say he is like a surfer dude.... dumb as a box of rocks but is gorgeous. He is a orange classic tabby with incredible constrast. I have had numerous people think he is a Bengal, and are surprised when I tell them he was born in a barn.

Pookey is also an orange tabby. He is very affectionate and is night and day different from his brother, Stanley. Stanley is smart, graceful, laid back, etc... He picks things up the first time. Pookey bumbles and stumbles thru life with a blank look on his face. He once played with a fly, ate it (accidently), had a strange sour puss look on his face, and then spent the next 20 minutes looking for the fly (not realizing he ate it).

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Tammy
Stanley and Pookey

Did I say I only have three animals? LOL! I have three cats, four birds, 22 snakes, 13 bearded dragons, 6 leopard geckos, 2 poison dart frogs, 2 whipscorpions, 1 crested gecko, 4 different kinds of exotic cockroaches and fish.

I only got the three kitties from work though. Here's the funniest part, I am allergic to everything with fur!!! Especially cats!

I understand kitties will work it out amongst themselves, however, I do not like when they growl at me, because I am the big cat of the house! 95% of the time, he is a good little kitten, of course I love him anyways!

Sarah