Buddy has always been a control freak, and comes unhinged when he loses control. He also has FIV, FHV, and a history of urinary tract inflammation, which can be aggravated by stress.
The vet recommended Feliway diffusers and Zylkene, which for the most part, has helped to keep the stress at bay. Then Tiki Cat had to go ruin Buddy's life and discontinue half of his daily menu, and we haven't been able yet to find suitable replacements to tickle his fancy. Then we recently took Buddy to the vet for a mild skin infection, and he's been traumatized ever since. To make matters worse, I'm the one who feeds Buddy and has to give him his medicine, so now I've become part of the problem.
So the vet prescribed Ativan, but that didn't help at all, and made Buddy stumble around and lash out like an angry drunk. A calming collar is out of the question, because collars stress him out. I thought about trying Bach Rescue Remedy for Pets, but Buddy won't drink water from his bowl, and I don't know how else to get it into him that won't further stress him out.
I've also tried playing with him more to help him work off some nervous energy, provided him with more boxes and things that usually comfort him, sprayed Feliway spray on some blankets for him to curl up with, and brushed him with his Furminator, which usually blisses him out.
On the bright side, he only has a couple of more days of his antibiotics, and hopefully he'll settle back down once he realizes that's no longer part of his daily routine. I'm not sure what I can do about the menu issue though, since Buddy will only eat shredded textures, and some of them are too high in carbs for his needs, or contain too many vegetables for his taste.
Am I overlooking something simple that might help calm him down?
The vet recommended Feliway diffusers and Zylkene, which for the most part, has helped to keep the stress at bay. Then Tiki Cat had to go ruin Buddy's life and discontinue half of his daily menu, and we haven't been able yet to find suitable replacements to tickle his fancy. Then we recently took Buddy to the vet for a mild skin infection, and he's been traumatized ever since. To make matters worse, I'm the one who feeds Buddy and has to give him his medicine, so now I've become part of the problem.
So the vet prescribed Ativan, but that didn't help at all, and made Buddy stumble around and lash out like an angry drunk. A calming collar is out of the question, because collars stress him out. I thought about trying Bach Rescue Remedy for Pets, but Buddy won't drink water from his bowl, and I don't know how else to get it into him that won't further stress him out.
I've also tried playing with him more to help him work off some nervous energy, provided him with more boxes and things that usually comfort him, sprayed Feliway spray on some blankets for him to curl up with, and brushed him with his Furminator, which usually blisses him out.
On the bright side, he only has a couple of more days of his antibiotics, and hopefully he'll settle back down once he realizes that's no longer part of his daily routine. I'm not sure what I can do about the menu issue though, since Buddy will only eat shredded textures, and some of them are too high in carbs for his needs, or contain too many vegetables for his taste.
Am I overlooking something simple that might help calm him down?
