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Feliway and open windows...

post #1 of 5
6/4/10 at 1:26pm
Thread Starter 
So...she did it again. After switching to World's Best Cat Litter (which she seems to love!) and having a great run with the Feliway/partial sequestration (she's still not allowed in the living room/kitchen while I'm at work), Imogen had her first accident in a long while...she pooped on the living room rug while I was asleep. (I don't keep the barrier up at night, and she's been fine up 'til now.)

I haven't had any major routine/food/litterbox changes at all this week, and I don't understand why she suddenly decided to do this...
Also, she went to the vet last week to have an injection site bump checked (no verdict yet...we may have to do a biopsy in a couple of months, vet said), and she was just fine then, no intestinal/other issues.

My only answer could be that, now that it's warm weather and I've been leaving a few windows open (including the one in the bathroom where the Feliway is), could it be that the secret magic power of the Feliway is slowly dispersing through the open windows and becoming less effective throughout the rest of the apartment?

(To save $$, I've been trying to live off of open windows and ceiling fans this summer. I'm determined not to have to turn the air conditioning on at all costs...my utility bill would be 3 times higher if I did!)

Anyway, has anyone else had any experience with something like this?
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post #2 of 5
6/4/10 at 4:21pm
I see you're in GA - I have family in Savannah, and I recall temps over 100 F and unbelievable humidity one summer when I stayed with them. I think I would DIE without a/c there!

I actually had my Feliway plug-in pretty close to the cracked-open window in the upstairs bedroom, and one day when the sunlight was just right, I could see the vapor coming out of it and streaming right out the window - I never get air movement coming IN to the house, it creates more of a vacuum effect and sucks air OUT. I'm guessing that even if the diffuser is all the way across the room, the ventilation from the open windows won't allow it to build to the normal levels in the room.

Just a thought though, is it possible that Imogen is reacting somehow to new smells/sounds from the open windows? I haven't had any litter box issues with either of mine, but their behavior is definitely different when the windows are open, even just a crack - in our case, with a huge tree outside the window filled with birds, they go into full hunter mode, much more than when they can just SEE them. Maybe the combination of less Feliway + new smells/louder outside noise has knocked her off her routine a bit?

I've never lived in a house with central a/c, so I have no basis for comparison, but would investing in a window or portable a/c unit help? There would be the initial cost, of course, and it will still drive up the electric bills a bit, but I would imagine it would still cost less than running central air all summer. If you get a portable (they're on wheels and have no permanent installation needed) and have double-hung windows and not sliders or crank windows, you can just move the unit from room to room when you need some extra cooling power (there's a tube that has to be vented out the window to allow the hot air an egress point - a double-hung window can just be closed over the metal plate with the vent tube in it, but if you have sliders, they don't stay seated as well - I had to secure mine to keep the kitties from knocking it out of the window). Unfortunately, if you have crank windows, I don't think there's any way to seal the ventilation tube into the window.
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post #3 of 5
6/8/10 at 7:24am
Thread Starter 
Thank you, at129, I think you're right! I closed the windows and she's back to using her litterbox as if nothing were ever wrong

And I hadn't thought about the sounds/smells from outside, though that would make a great deal of sense. Because she's not allowed outside, every time she hears a strange car/noise outside, she'll stiffen in a very "guard-dog" like posture, lol. Poor thing; she must have been terrified...

I hadn't thought much about a window a/c unit, mostly because I have old unreliable slider windows and I'm on the ground floor of the apartment. Only on the back side of the building (kitchen, bathroom, i.e. the ones I left open) are the windows high enough off the ground for me to feel comfortable opening them...my mommy taught me well about stranger danger! Therefore, I'd be a little scared that someone might take advantage of the open window around the a/c unit to break in or something...

So, looks like I'll be investing in stand fans and scouring the living room ceiling for the missing socket box that for some reason got covered up with drywall... (There's a light switch in the living room, but it doesn't do anything, and there's no central light at all in that room...crazy! My theory says there must be a mounting box hiding in there somewhere, and if I find it, then I shall ceiling fan it. And yes I just made ceiling fan into a verb )
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post #4 of 5
6/8/10 at 7:36am
Never run a fan in a house or apartment with all the windows closed. This is very very dangerous.

Fans make the air move, but raise the temperature in the room, because the motor puts out heat.

Free standing fans use as much, or more, energy than most modern window air conditioners, anyway.

Is your central air zoned? Or can you shut doors of rooms not in use, and/or keep vents closed, to control how often the CA runs?

Cats feel heat too, and can suffer heat exhaustion or heat stroke if the temp goes over...I think it is 107, but not sure...in your home. If you see her panting, it is too hot.
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post #5 of 5
6/8/10 at 7:49am
Thread Starter 
Thanks, otto. I was aware of that, though I only run the ceiling fans when I am at home, in the evenings, (never when kitty is home alone!) and I open at least one window at night (either the kitchen or my bedroom) to try and catch some cool night air. Don't know if it's really working, though. And according to the internal temp reading on my a/c unit, the interior of the apartment stays around 75-80 degrees F throughout the day. I predict that I will have to turn on the central air eventually, as it's only going to get hotter. I have not yet seen Imogen pant, though, but I'm keeping an eye on her.

I'm pretty sure my air isn't zoned, but I do have extra rooms blocked off and as many vents closed as I could...the apartment building is so old that some of the vent turning dials are broken or missing...

I should really get onto my landlord about that, but it's unlikely that he'll care...
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