Aug 9, 2010

Crazy Kitten's Cockroach Dance (and a Little Meow Update!)

I'm pretty sure that most of the time a kitty goes after a bug, it's not to kill it... it's to play with it. How fun! They pounce and paw and sometimes nibble, and those buggies just keep on keepin' on.

Allow me to submit Exhibit A:


...and Exhibit B, Exhibit C and Exhibit D. Cute rests their case.

Little Meow Update
Well, Little Meow has had her good days and bad days. Lately, she's taken to peeing where little girl cats are not supposed to... like on their humans' bed and in their cat beds. She did it three times last week all of the sudden -- she'd been a good girl the whole time before that (one oops, but we chalked that up to a new environment, so she was excused).

It could have been several reasons, probably behavioral why she did it, so we have done a few things to help her stop. We bought her four Feliway diffusers to put throughout the house and some Feliway spray to spray on her spots.

She is also spending the nights in her room now, instead of free roaming around the house. Her new mommy says their cat, Shongy, has been chasing her a little more, so that could be stressing her out. This way, she gets some relaxing separation (and she's been doing her bad peeing at night, so this should help that). So far, pretty good with the new plan.

She also went to the vet Saturday to rule out any urinary infections, which could cause this as well. She was a horrible patient and the vet couldn't check her out, and he didn't want to sedate her since she hadn't fasted and she could throw up and choke on it. (Awww.) But he did speak with Giselle and her husband and they all agreed it was probably behavioral.

They are going out of town next week and Little Meow is going to stay in her room during that time. Giselle's parents will be staying there so Little Meow and Shongy won't be alone, but paws crossed Little Meow decides she likes them! She has met them before and even rubbed on their legs, so it should be OK...

Basically, we have to get the pee pee behavior under control. We have taken some good steps and now it's up to Meow to do her part. And she HAS to do her part... (She will, I just know it!)

I don't have any new pictures today, but check her out on the header at the top of the page! :) Have a great day, everyone!

Updated update!
I talked to Giselle this morning. Little Meow was good last night -- no pee pees outside the litter box! But, she's noticed she's been limping a little. We think maybe fighting the vet might have strained her little leg or something. It's not bad, she doesn't seem to be in pain and she is acting totally normal and unaffected by it, so I told her to just keep an eye on her and hopefully she'll rest and shake it off. :) She's a trooper!

14 comments:

  1. We sure hope Little Meow can get her peeing under control. Do you know if they've tried Cat Attract yet? It really is wonderful. Best of luck!!

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  2. What a cute kitten in the video. Unusual color. Sure had fun with that bug.
    Thanks for the update on Little Meow. It sounds like it is just going to take her a while to get used to living inside. She is probably just really stressed out. She misses her friend and just being outside in general. I sure hope it works our for her. Have a great week.

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  3. Poor baby, something is bothering her...I feel so bad for her. Hope they are able to find out what it is.

    Cat Chat http://opcatchat.blogspot.com

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  4. That was a cute video! Little Meow will get there, I know she will!!!

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  5. Hey everyone. I bought Cat Attract--40lbs worth! hehe. That's all they had left at the store. Cross your fingers that it works while I'm away and that her little leg feels better.

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  6. Cute video!

    We are glad things are going better for Little Meow! It sounds like she has a wonderful home and after adjusting, everything will be okay. We're purring for her!

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  7. We have been having the same problem at our house - but with Lola, who has been with us forever. We have been separating her and it helps a lot. But I still say they should try to get a sample to take to the vet to be safe (get two cheap litter boxes, drill holes in one, use shredded paper, something to seprate them a bit (I used a cookie cooling rack) and you can get a decent sample - as long as it is within 12 hours of checkign it should show if there is anything). And maybe rescue remedy could help calm both cats down - that helps. Cat Attract is ok, but if it is behavioral it doesn't always work (we used it and sure, Lola would pee in the box, but also still on the couch and bed).

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  8. Nah, we kitties just like to play with our food. It helps to tenderize it.

    Paws crossed that whatever is bothering Little Meow gets sussed out!

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  9. Haha! We loved watching that kitty play with that buggy!

    We hope Little Meow continues to do well and not pee...hopefully the feliway will help. All the recent changes can cause her to be a little stressed out.

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  10. Haha! We loved watching that kitty play with that buggy!

    We hope Little Meow continues to do well and not pee...hopefully the feliway will help. All the recent changes can cause her to be a little stressed out.

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  11. Poor baby, something is bothering her...I feel so bad for her. Hope they are able to find out what it is.

    Cat Chat http://opcatchat.blogspot.com

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  12. I was having a problem with my Charlie peeing outside the litter box after we moved into a new place and tried EVERYTHING we could think of~even locked him in a kennel at night and when we were gone (did NOT like being locked up~what a mess!!) I finally tried Dr. Elsey's Cat Attract Cat Litter and we haven't had a single problem since!  I HIGHLY recommend it to anyone whose kittykids are having oopsies!

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  13. I usually don't post here, but a couple of things came to me - first, what a nice group of people are here!! Helpful and encouraging! I'm impressed.

    Second, my experiences mirror those of many of your stories. Without knowing the exact circumstances, I would say that hormonal stuff (feliway, et al) is good for when there is a change, like moving; but if that doesn't work, it's behavioral, and has to do with fighting for status and control between two kitties or something similar.
    The best advice someone gave me isl to put a struggling kitty in a small room for a while, make her world smaller with way less stimulation, and separate her from the other kitty that is bothering her. All of those things are good to begin with.
    If, after a while, you attempt to re-introduce her into the rest of the world, and you still have problems, you gotta talk to the vet. She'll be able to diagnose the problem and give you some good ideas.
    But don't give up! I've had, rescued and fostered maybe forty cats in my life, and even though I've been angry and frustrated, in all but one case, we were able to get a better outcome with changes to the environment or hormones.

    The one case that did not respond? He had something quite rare. The vet said that kittens are born with an instinct he called 'substrate sensitivity', which means when you put their paws in the litter, the feeling they get fires a synapse in their little pea brains, and they instinctively know that they are to pee there. Well, this little stray cat just didn't have that. He would pee and poop anywhere, literally, and we tried EVERYTHING. He just didn't think he was doing anything wrong. This kitty did not come to a good end; I just couldn't keep him (rotting floor boards) and he was unadoptable.

    I'm sorry to post such a terrible thing here, but I'm trying to say that almost always, there is a reason why the cat is purposefully thinking outside the box, and you just have to find it and fix it. And you will!

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  14. Thanks for the comments and suggestions here, Alice! I hope many people who come by will use them. I totally agree with "making their world smaller" -- and it's a phrase I use exactly! 

    The good news is that Little Meow and Shongy are now good buds and all is calm in the house. Phew! They had me really worried there, but a good ending came from all the patience and everyone's help.

    So sorry it didn't work out for that one kitty. Sounds like you did all you could for sure. Thank YOU for doing so much to help needy cats!

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