I hope I am not doing EVERYTHING wrong with this cat .... - Page 2

I have two litter boxes in the townhouse for my original three cats - one on the first floor, one on the third floor - and we never had any issues.

Now with David being confined to the first floor during the day when I am not home so the other cats don't hassle him - the other three are sharing the one upstairs - with no problems there either. It is just David who will not use the cat box if the dome is on it - so I have taken it off. And instead will move his bowels in the cat litter - but pee NEXT to the box.

I have been washing the - fortunately - concrete floor daily and using an enzyme treatment - but it does not seem to affect him at all. I have even placed a urine soaked paper towel into the cat box to give him the hint ... nada.

And if anyone has any suggestions for getting him used to having the hood back on I would be very grateful as the flying litter is gettin gon my nerves

I realize I have not posted an update on David in quite a while.

Last weekend I thought I should get him more used to my touch and I wanted to look him over and see how his physical condition is coming along. So I put on my heavy duty work/garden gloves and off I went. Or rather down I went onto my knees to get him out from his bookcase hiding spot.

THAT didn't go so well as he managed to snag me good on the right hand - even through the gloves! And then he ran past me and took off. Upstairs to the kitchen, flew down the hall and under the buffet in the dining room. Then with Tigger hot in pursuit he flew upstairs and under Anne's bed. I was able to prod him out from there and back he went down to the dining room again.

By the way - Anne was still in the bed and opened a bleary eye to glance up but never really woke up during this escapade.

Eventually David paused on the stairs leading back up to the bedrooms and after several minutes of talking to him quietly I was able to pick him up.

His fur still seems rather dry to me and his skin also. He did let me clip his front claws and then groom him a bit as I removed a lot of the heavy undercoat he is shedding at the moment. Once you have him he doesn't growl anymore or try to bite - it is just while you are approaching him he still exhibits this aggressive behavior.


For about a week I have been keeping the door to the office on the first floor, where David mostly hangs out, ajar at night. I have heard him a few mornings "talking" or "calling" from upstairs in the kitchen - so he is moving about the condo on his own. Of course another bad side of this development is that he has occasionally peed on my kitchen floor.

But another upside is that it lets him and the other cats interact as they will - so far there have been no more hostile encounters. Even when Naomi or Tigger wander over to help themselves to a nibble of his dry food or some of "his" water he exhibits no aggression towards them.


The last couple of evenings I have come home to find that he is perched atop a small box of fat quarters that sits an a short dresser I keep craft supplies in. This means that he is able to look out the window at the hedges which buffer that side of the building from the main street.

Now usually he will give me a quick look when I come in from outside and jump down to dart off. But last night he just sort of watched me quietly. I approached and while he did hiss and show me once again that he has no teeth except for his molars - he did not try to scratch me again. And he let me gently run the top of his head and behind his ears.

However I am concerned because it seems as though the area just below his right ear and his right cheek seems to be puffy and swollen - but not hot to the touch. it may be another abscess. I need to take a closer look and in better light that I had last night.

A few days ago, which was Saturday, I wanted to take a closer look at David's face as there seems to be some swelling on his right cheek. Catching him this time seemed to go much better than the last attempt. He was crouched down near the back door and I was able, by moving slowly, to grasp him behind the neck and lift him up. Then it was onto the lid of the washing machine which has become my defacto exam table.

There is some inflammation, however it does not feel warm to the touch nor is it very "squishy" which usually indicates an abscess. I did try to excise a small area to see if there was anything that needed to be drained out - but no luck. While not thrilled with my amateur DVM efforts David did not try to bite or claw me during this process. He is due soon for his second round of shots and I will ask the vet what she thinks this bump may be - it doesn't seem to bother him and he doesn't react when you press on it either.

However my gently brushing him to remove more of the loose and unneeded undercoat was cause to protest .. a lot! He actually did rather well until you get too close to his tail - that seems to be what sets him off. I was able to keep one hand on the nape of his neck so I could feel if he was ready to "go off" and avoided getting any new scratches this time - that's progress.

I have tried to interest him is various toys which the other cats like - but he seems supremely disinterested in such things. I have noticed though that at least half the time when I come home from work he will be either sleeping atop the box of fat quarters on my craft chest or on the floor near my desk. However he has still not tried even once to race out the door when I am coming or going.

This morning I came downstairs and as I rounded the end of the staircase to head into the kitchen I saw him sitting on the top landing of the stairs that lead down to the front door. So he is getting braver.

And last night I saw him skulk off into the laundry room and when I peeked in he was using the cat box with the cover! I saw his head poking out and almost gave a YaaaaHoooo ... I thought he would not adjust to using a hooded cat box. However we are still having issues with him peeing in various other locations ... so back to the drawing board on THAT!

Okay, regarding the cat box situation:

There are two boxes in the laundry room on the first floor where David spends most of his time. One is the dome hooded model and next to it is a simple rectangular shaped box. However David still seems to prefer peeing on my kitchen or laundry room floor.

Every time I clean up such an accident I do use an enzyme neutralizer that I have had good results with in the past ... at least with my other cats they did not "re-offend" on a treated area.

Perhaps David's "sniffer" is broken???

I know I have not updated in a bit .... things seemed to be progressing until these two incidents .... any insides would be greatly appreciated:

05 July 2010

Most nights when I come home he is on his perch atop a shallow box of fabric cuts which I have covered with an old towel to try and protect the contents. He will raise his head and watch me come in but no dash to the door and no hissing. For the last week or so I will quietly walk over to him and start gently rubbing his head and scratching behind his ears ... and even run my hand down his back and gather shedding hair. He normally will allow this for a few minutes before he declares he has had enough and jump down.

Well last week, at least twice, I came in and moved to pet him as has become our routine when I became of aware of something new. Slowly I slipped a finger under his jaw and it was true .... he was PURRING!!!! Not very loudly but he was purring.

And this event repeated itself for the next few days. However just when I was feeling good about the progress and making note I need to get him back to the vet to look at his "lump" .... well, he went all "CUJO" on me Saturday.

Not sure if it was the adrenaline rush from seeing the ground hog outside our back door. Perhaps it was my holding Tigger in my left arm and therefore over David's head by default as I moved into the office. Perhaps he though Tigger was in danger and he was trying to free his friend.

For whatever reason he charged me ... hissing loudly and swiping at the air. He's never charged me before - his hissing is usually accompanied by his backing up quickly. Then he charged again and made contact several times with my knee through the denim skirt. I dropped Tigger and grabbed the large package of paper towels I had bought to use as a sort of shield and he attacked my knee again and again and shredded the paper in the process. I honestly have no idea what set him off but for the first time he really scared the shite out of me.

I know have six new holes around my right knee to show for this little encounter. And the next morning he acted as though nothing at all had happened.


26 July 2010


Okay, I don't know WHAT the F*** got into him this morning but I could go a very very long time without THAT kind of adrenaline rush again.

My neighbor two doors down has two small kittens - a black one and an orange tabby. He also has yet to put screens on his bedroom windows. I often see one of both of the kitchens sitting in the open window. And on more than one occasion have retrieved a kitten from the back deck after they have fallen or jumped out of said window.

And so it happened again today. I hear a sad mrowling and there outside my back door was the black one. After a few moments of coaxing I got a hold of it and not getting any response at their door (and needing to get to work) decided I could not leave it outside in this heat so I would put it in the guest room with some food and water until tonight.

Then I walked back into the house.

Remember how David went all "Cujo" on me earlier this month when I was holding Tigger in my left arm? Well his did it again. Only this time was much worse. I had the kitten held under my left arm with a light grip on it's paws so it would not scratch. All of a sudden as I went to go upstairs David went psycho.

He was leaping up for the kitten .. hissing and spitting and attacking my right knee. I tried turning my body away and getting upstairs and he cut me off ... I was truly afraid of him and was yelling and trying to keep a grip on the kitten while using my feet to stomp and push him back. FINALLY I got him to the other side of a doorway and slammed the door closed between us. I am not sure who was more scared ... the kitten or me.

No idea if this is a territorial thing ... the smell of a new cat (though he did it with Tigger and they get along fine) .. Or the holding a cat above him ... Although when I came into the room David was no where to be seen.

After getting the kitten settled and myself calmed down I treated the puncture wounds on my left hand and right knee. Then feeling incredibly pissed off I stormed back into the room and read him the riot act ... eye to eye ... telling him I had been MORE than patient and understanding with him but by God this was NOT going to be allowed. And if he thought for one bloody minute he was going to get away with that he was sadly mistaken.

Now, I really have no freakin' idea how much he got .. except that I was PISSED. Perhaps if I have him fixed sooner rather than later it would help?