I have 6 cats and they generally get along with some hissing once in a while but for the last 2 days, 3-4 cats have kept bullying poor Heidi to the point where she won't leave my bedroom. It breaks my heart to see this and I am trying to figure out how to stop this so she can wander around my home again.
I have made an appt with my vet for Thurs to have her examined but wanted to get your thoughts on this.
Originally, when I first took her in, one cat (Pepper) terrified her so badly (once Pepper bit Heidi's tail and it got infected so I had to take Heidi to vet to have it treated) so she refused to leave my bedroom for about 2 years (I had to keep the bedroom door shut while I was out for her safety). This is really ironic since Heidi is TWICE THE SIZE of PEPPER but she got TERRIFIED of Pepper. It was not until I moved here (utah) from DC that Heidi finally came out and since then, she had the run of the house which thrilled me to death. Most of the cats ignores her and Pepper got to the point where she'd be on the same couch with Heidi and would ignore her. Once in a while, they'd swat at each other and hiss but nothing big until now.
I do not want Heidi going back to hiding in the bedroom so I have been thinking and trying to figure out what triggered the bullying. I have Feliway plugs in kitchen, living room and bedroom going day and night. I want to find Bach's remedy but am having a HARD time finding this.
I have noticed that for the last couple days, Heidi's urine smells really strong- when she goes into the litterbox to pee, I will know immediately. that's how strong the smell is. I also have noticed a bit of blood in stool and I THINK it's from Heidi. I have also found drops of blood on floor and on windowsills. I've tried to examine Heidi to see if she was injured by Pepper but she is not very receptive to me examining her and I don't want to stress her out more.
I am wondering if the other cats are picking up on an health issue from Heidi and that's why they are picking on her? If so, what are some possible health issues that could be causing her urine to smell real strong and have a bit of blood in stool once in a while..
Heidi has had a hard life (went through 2 different homes where she was neglected and ignored) until I took her (after the 2nd owner threatened to put her to sleep if I didn't take her in) and I know I can't give her up to another home since she's very very very attached to me. Most people will not WANT her since she has a lot of issues.
It took me a month to coax her out from under the bed and let me touch her when I first took her in. I have to keep plastic covers on my couches since she'd pee/poop on my couches once in a while (originally due to UTIs but later became an habit even though I took her to vet immediately each time she'd pee/poop outside of the litterbox). Plastic covers makes it easier for me to clean up afterwards and not worry about the couches being ruined. I've replaced TWO couches (one was BRAND NEW) and now am on 3rd couch so you can see that I am trying to work around her issues.
She is also very fat (finally got her losing weight to the point where she now can jump up on counters).
She always want to be with me and sticks to me like glue most of the time so I worry about how she'd act in another home. I really want to get this resolved asap before it gets worse so she can have the run of the house again. I really love her and want the best for her. She's a PURR MACHINE whenever I touch her..
Attached is a picture of her.
Please let me know your thoughts about this ASAP before Thurs afternoon so when I discuss this with Vet, I'd have more information for us to work with.
I have made an appt with my vet for Thurs to have her examined but wanted to get your thoughts on this.
Originally, when I first took her in, one cat (Pepper) terrified her so badly (once Pepper bit Heidi's tail and it got infected so I had to take Heidi to vet to have it treated) so she refused to leave my bedroom for about 2 years (I had to keep the bedroom door shut while I was out for her safety). This is really ironic since Heidi is TWICE THE SIZE of PEPPER but she got TERRIFIED of Pepper. It was not until I moved here (utah) from DC that Heidi finally came out and since then, she had the run of the house which thrilled me to death. Most of the cats ignores her and Pepper got to the point where she'd be on the same couch with Heidi and would ignore her. Once in a while, they'd swat at each other and hiss but nothing big until now.
I do not want Heidi going back to hiding in the bedroom so I have been thinking and trying to figure out what triggered the bullying. I have Feliway plugs in kitchen, living room and bedroom going day and night. I want to find Bach's remedy but am having a HARD time finding this.
I have noticed that for the last couple days, Heidi's urine smells really strong- when she goes into the litterbox to pee, I will know immediately. that's how strong the smell is. I also have noticed a bit of blood in stool and I THINK it's from Heidi. I have also found drops of blood on floor and on windowsills. I've tried to examine Heidi to see if she was injured by Pepper but she is not very receptive to me examining her and I don't want to stress her out more.
I am wondering if the other cats are picking up on an health issue from Heidi and that's why they are picking on her? If so, what are some possible health issues that could be causing her urine to smell real strong and have a bit of blood in stool once in a while..
Heidi has had a hard life (went through 2 different homes where she was neglected and ignored) until I took her (after the 2nd owner threatened to put her to sleep if I didn't take her in) and I know I can't give her up to another home since she's very very very attached to me. Most people will not WANT her since she has a lot of issues.
It took me a month to coax her out from under the bed and let me touch her when I first took her in. I have to keep plastic covers on my couches since she'd pee/poop on my couches once in a while (originally due to UTIs but later became an habit even though I took her to vet immediately each time she'd pee/poop outside of the litterbox). Plastic covers makes it easier for me to clean up afterwards and not worry about the couches being ruined. I've replaced TWO couches (one was BRAND NEW) and now am on 3rd couch so you can see that I am trying to work around her issues.
She is also very fat (finally got her losing weight to the point where she now can jump up on counters).
She always want to be with me and sticks to me like glue most of the time so I worry about how she'd act in another home. I really want to get this resolved asap before it gets worse so she can have the run of the house again. I really love her and want the best for her. She's a PURR MACHINE whenever I touch her..
Please let me know your thoughts about this ASAP before Thurs afternoon so when I discuss this with Vet, I'd have more information for us to work with.
