E-mail Story
Print Friendly
Send E-mail
Reprint story
Friday, November 19, 2010
Houseful of cats is growing calmer
By Dr. Jeff Nichol
Of the Journal
Bill and Debbie Grady love cats, all seven of their own plus the six kittens they've been fostering. It's a good cat house, but not perfect. There's been urine in some very bad places. Of the permanent members of the feline colony, Atticus, Fiona and Morse are known offenders. Angeline is an agitator.
This feline behavior is like a never-ending political campaign, with urine as the advertising. Morse has marked anything on the floor including shopping bags, boxes and shoes. He is assertive and chases Fiona. He is sometimes pushed away from food by Atticus.
Atticus is tough, but he isn't happy. He can get real aggressive when he is playing with Morse. His hair stands on end because he is highly agitated and afraid. He is shy and reacts to sudden noises.
Fiona has seniority. She started spraying after Atticus and Morse were added to the household and sometimes takes a swipe at them. She is shy but hisses at the foster kittens and tries to smack them. Angeline sometimes "pops" Fiona when Fiona is sleeping. Not to be outdone, Fiona ambushes Angeline. Everybody wants to get noticed.
The presence of the foster kittens may be the biggest factor. There are six of them, ages 3 to 5 months, wisely kept on a different floor in a separate room. Fiona and Morse occasionally sneak into the kitten room and express their feelings by urine marking.
Bill and Debbie are wonderful people who, like legions of volunteers all over Albuquerque, open their home to cats in need. They have a large outdoor play enclosure complete with perches and hidey holes. They keep lots of clean litter pans and interact with their cats, but there is still way too much angst.
Cats spray urine to increase their comfort level — not as a territorial mark to other cats. To get control of the situation, I started Atticus and Morse on the anti-anxiety medication fluoxetine. For Fiona, the shrinking violet, I prescribed buspirone. There was improvement at the four-week follow-up, but not enough. I changed Atticus and Morse to paroxetine. They are much more relaxed now; bathroom etiquette has improved dramatically.
Dr. Feelgood is important, but there is so much more. The Grady cats were crowded. To help distract the permanent residents from their stress, I recommended not feeding them from their bowls for a few days, instead providing all of their sustenance in jars laid on their sides (without lids) hidden under the furniture. Moving these little treasures each day would require the cats to occupy their time by foraging like their free-living cousins.
I counseled Bill and Debbie on interactive stalk-and-pounce play and enzymatic urine odor eliminators. We also fitted each cat with a Nurture Calm pheromone collar. To the great relief of Atticus, Morse and Fiona, I also strongly encouraged the placement of all foster kittens in permanent homes.
As the feline stress in this good home gradually dissipates, there may be less need for medication. Like all of us, each of the Grady cats will age and ultimately pass on. I suggested allowing the population to shrink. Fewer cats usually translates to better behavior.
Dr. Jeff Nichol provides medical care for pets at the Petroglyph Animal Hospital in Albuquerque (898-8874). He treats behavior disorders at the Veterinary Specialty Centers in Albuquerque and in Santa Fe (505-792-5131). Contact Dr. Nichol on his website www.drjeffnichol.com (click Submit a Question?) or 6633 Caminito Coors NW, Albuquerque, NM 87120. Find me on Facebook.
You also can send comments via our comment form
|
|
