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- Oct 13, 2016
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Hello,
I have a foster kitty with many behavioral issues. She came to me with self grooming issues and was frightened and distrustful. Initially I kept her in my office because she fought with my own cats and clearly needed a peaceful place to relax. When it was clear that she was not getting enough attention there I moved her into my bedroom with me and that is where she is now.
Lily remains quite nervous and easily stressed. loud noises or changes in the house cause her to vomit her food and her skittishness increases. My vet has put her on a limited ingredient diet and amytriptyline cream to address the stress and possible food allergy. I have had her now for two months. She has learned to trust me a little, allowing me to pet her sometimes and sometimes biting me. She sleeps tight against me/on top of me at night.
I think I am making mistakes and I would appreciate your help.
First, I think I am treating her as if she were an actual traumatized person... walking quietly into the room, trying to move around her carefully so that she does not rush frightened from place to place. It's kind of driving me a little nuts because sometimes I just need to come and go normally and not worry so much about upsetting her.
Second, I have insomnia and I don't sleep very well as it is much less with a cat. Im willing to keep trying if you can help me with suggestions. I am in and out of bed all night...usually half asleep. She sleeps on top of me. It's really hard to get her off. I try to push her off gently because I don't want to stress her but she doesn't move. She is heavy and I have to push very hard. Sometimes when I finally get her to move, I have completely woken up and it's hard to get back to sleep because she kind of runs anxiously about the room and in and out of the bathroom for an hour or so after. Also, sometimes she bites. I will get up in the middle of the night and when we get all settled back into bed she likes to be petted. Sometimes out of the blue she gets upset, bites me, and jumps off (to do some frantic pacing etc.). Bedtime can be hectic and worrying about keeping her calm is kind of rough.
My vet says that it's perfectly okay to walk normally about the room and if she stresses just let it happen because she needs to get adjusted to normal everyday home life. She also states that I should simply push her firmly off when I need to get up at night. She suggests that the biting is her way of dominating. She has increased the amytriptiline dosage and that starts now.
I know that lily is probably permanently mine. I don't mind that she lives in the bedroom. I don't think many people would be interested in a slightly antisocial kitty who is half nude and bites. I like her. She has an interesting personality. I hope she gets better.
I have a foster kitty with many behavioral issues. She came to me with self grooming issues and was frightened and distrustful. Initially I kept her in my office because she fought with my own cats and clearly needed a peaceful place to relax. When it was clear that she was not getting enough attention there I moved her into my bedroom with me and that is where she is now.
Lily remains quite nervous and easily stressed. loud noises or changes in the house cause her to vomit her food and her skittishness increases. My vet has put her on a limited ingredient diet and amytriptyline cream to address the stress and possible food allergy. I have had her now for two months. She has learned to trust me a little, allowing me to pet her sometimes and sometimes biting me. She sleeps tight against me/on top of me at night.
I think I am making mistakes and I would appreciate your help.
First, I think I am treating her as if she were an actual traumatized person... walking quietly into the room, trying to move around her carefully so that she does not rush frightened from place to place. It's kind of driving me a little nuts because sometimes I just need to come and go normally and not worry so much about upsetting her.
Second, I have insomnia and I don't sleep very well as it is much less with a cat. Im willing to keep trying if you can help me with suggestions. I am in and out of bed all night...usually half asleep. She sleeps on top of me. It's really hard to get her off. I try to push her off gently because I don't want to stress her but she doesn't move. She is heavy and I have to push very hard. Sometimes when I finally get her to move, I have completely woken up and it's hard to get back to sleep because she kind of runs anxiously about the room and in and out of the bathroom for an hour or so after. Also, sometimes she bites. I will get up in the middle of the night and when we get all settled back into bed she likes to be petted. Sometimes out of the blue she gets upset, bites me, and jumps off (to do some frantic pacing etc.). Bedtime can be hectic and worrying about keeping her calm is kind of rough.
My vet says that it's perfectly okay to walk normally about the room and if she stresses just let it happen because she needs to get adjusted to normal everyday home life. She also states that I should simply push her firmly off when I need to get up at night. She suggests that the biting is her way of dominating. She has increased the amytriptiline dosage and that starts now.
I know that lily is probably permanently mine. I don't mind that she lives in the bedroom. I don't think many people would be interested in a slightly antisocial kitty who is half nude and bites. I like her. She has an interesting personality. I hope she gets better.