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- Feb 21, 2018
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Hello again,
I've written on this board quite a bit, and quite frankly, I'm frustrated, concerned, and confused over the behavior of my littermate Siamese kittens, and I'm hoping someone can help advise.
As some of you may know, I am the owner of 5-month-old Siamese, Luna, a female seal point, and Artemis, a male chocolate point, and they are littermates as mentioned above. They have always been loving, bonded to each other (often to the exclusion of their humans), and the best of friends. In fact, I often remarked that they got along better than most human siblings! However, that changed after yesterday.
Both were scheduled for spaying/neutering yesterday. As is usually the case, I was able to get Luna into her crate (which is actually the size of a small apartment: it can fit not just the two of them, but a litter box, bedding, etc with plenty of room to spare), but Artemis could not be caught. This happened a few weeks ago, when we took them on a "trip to grandma's house", (a five-hour trip one way). They loved being there, but while I was able to catch Luna easily, Artemis took THREE HOURS to catch. So this is hardly news.
So Luna went to get spayed, and we have to figure out a way to get Artemis there (which I ask about later in this thread,) but when she returned, Artemis started acting antagonistically. I realize he was stressed from the multiple "catching attempts" so I get why he would hiss and growl at me, but when he started doing it full-time from his perch in my boxspring (where he goes when he gets freaked out) to the point I could hear it even with the tv on, I knew something was wrong. I was further reminded of this when I saw him growling louder when Luna came near, which she did, not realizing that her brother was being hostile towards her, hissing at her, and even swiping at her if she didn't get the hint.
Obviously, I didn't want her hurt, especially in her condition, so I did what others in this forum recommended in similar situations, finally getting Artemis to move to my mom's bedroom down the hall and keeping the door closed so he stays in there, while Luna stays with me. Despite what everyone has said she should do, she still climbs a bit to get on my bed (which I'm trying to discourage, don't want her messing up her stitches) but both are relatively better now, despite crying all night for each other.
To add to the problem, I don't think the cats were very well socialized. While they did come from a breeder, they also were in their own "wing" with three adult cats, (mom, dad, and aunt) and other than cursory visits from the breeder to feed them, replace their litter, etc, I don't think they had much socialization. So all the tools listed in this article work for folks whose cats let them near, but not necessarily in my circumstance. I did rub a towel on Luna to try to get the "vet stink" off, but good luck getting anywhere near Artemis to get his scent to rub on her! I even had to raise my voice at him to get him away from her (they were under the bed, so I couldn't physically seperate them) which I hate to do in their traumatized state.
My next challenge will be getting Artemis to the vet, since he is the one who is hardest to catch. The irony is, I have the crate out all the time as sort of a "Cabana" for them, and he loves hanging out in there...when we don't need him to be there. I'm wondering how that's going to go, and if Luna will suddenly start acting hostile towards him because of the "vet smells" and if this will have to start all over again.
I've kind of been going crazy over here (in case you haven't noticed lol) and not sure what to make of all this.
So I have a few questions:
1) How long should I keep them apart? I think this article said "a few days" but I'm not sure what worked for your cats, specifically Siamese? To clarify, there will be someone with each of them 95% of the time, my mom and I are keeping an eye on both, especially Luna, until she heals.
2) Is socialization only possible during a window of time, as one vet suggested, or is there still hope? I can only really pet/hold Luna when she's in repose, or if she's not actively playing, but Artemis is my loveable coward who is seemingly afraid of everyone and everything, so only lets me pet him when he's in repose/sleepy and even then, if I move my other arm as if to lift him, he freaks out. In the two months I've had them, I have lifted Luna countless times, but only lifted Artemis a few, after which he wriggled out of my grasp. Any suggestions?
3) Will they get any more social towards me? Part of the reason I wanted Siamese is because they are supposedly "vocal", yet perhaps because of Luna and Artemis' bond, they only seem to chat with each other, no matter how much I speak to them. I'm honestly a bit disappointed that they are relatively aloof and not super-social....any suggestions?
4) For the lovely experience of trying to get Artemis to the vet, I read on this forum about gabapentin to mellow him out - anyone with Siamese experienced with this? I know pedigree cats tend to be high-strung and more sensitive (these cats eat better than most humans I know) so I wasn't sure if they are a good idea....I would of course ask my vet for the prescription, but wanted to get the Siamese perspective before I ask.
Thanks again everyone, and sorry for the rambling, I'm really worried about the kitties and want to make sure I do everything correctly. In case you didn't notice, these are my first kitties, and they are quite a challenge!
I've written on this board quite a bit, and quite frankly, I'm frustrated, concerned, and confused over the behavior of my littermate Siamese kittens, and I'm hoping someone can help advise.
As some of you may know, I am the owner of 5-month-old Siamese, Luna, a female seal point, and Artemis, a male chocolate point, and they are littermates as mentioned above. They have always been loving, bonded to each other (often to the exclusion of their humans), and the best of friends. In fact, I often remarked that they got along better than most human siblings! However, that changed after yesterday.
Both were scheduled for spaying/neutering yesterday. As is usually the case, I was able to get Luna into her crate (which is actually the size of a small apartment: it can fit not just the two of them, but a litter box, bedding, etc with plenty of room to spare), but Artemis could not be caught. This happened a few weeks ago, when we took them on a "trip to grandma's house", (a five-hour trip one way). They loved being there, but while I was able to catch Luna easily, Artemis took THREE HOURS to catch. So this is hardly news.
So Luna went to get spayed, and we have to figure out a way to get Artemis there (which I ask about later in this thread,) but when she returned, Artemis started acting antagonistically. I realize he was stressed from the multiple "catching attempts" so I get why he would hiss and growl at me, but when he started doing it full-time from his perch in my boxspring (where he goes when he gets freaked out) to the point I could hear it even with the tv on, I knew something was wrong. I was further reminded of this when I saw him growling louder when Luna came near, which she did, not realizing that her brother was being hostile towards her, hissing at her, and even swiping at her if she didn't get the hint.
Obviously, I didn't want her hurt, especially in her condition, so I did what others in this forum recommended in similar situations, finally getting Artemis to move to my mom's bedroom down the hall and keeping the door closed so he stays in there, while Luna stays with me. Despite what everyone has said she should do, she still climbs a bit to get on my bed (which I'm trying to discourage, don't want her messing up her stitches) but both are relatively better now, despite crying all night for each other.
To add to the problem, I don't think the cats were very well socialized. While they did come from a breeder, they also were in their own "wing" with three adult cats, (mom, dad, and aunt) and other than cursory visits from the breeder to feed them, replace their litter, etc, I don't think they had much socialization. So all the tools listed in this article work for folks whose cats let them near, but not necessarily in my circumstance. I did rub a towel on Luna to try to get the "vet stink" off, but good luck getting anywhere near Artemis to get his scent to rub on her! I even had to raise my voice at him to get him away from her (they were under the bed, so I couldn't physically seperate them) which I hate to do in their traumatized state.
My next challenge will be getting Artemis to the vet, since he is the one who is hardest to catch. The irony is, I have the crate out all the time as sort of a "Cabana" for them, and he loves hanging out in there...when we don't need him to be there. I'm wondering how that's going to go, and if Luna will suddenly start acting hostile towards him because of the "vet smells" and if this will have to start all over again.
I've kind of been going crazy over here (in case you haven't noticed lol) and not sure what to make of all this.
So I have a few questions:
1) How long should I keep them apart? I think this article said "a few days" but I'm not sure what worked for your cats, specifically Siamese? To clarify, there will be someone with each of them 95% of the time, my mom and I are keeping an eye on both, especially Luna, until she heals.
2) Is socialization only possible during a window of time, as one vet suggested, or is there still hope? I can only really pet/hold Luna when she's in repose, or if she's not actively playing, but Artemis is my loveable coward who is seemingly afraid of everyone and everything, so only lets me pet him when he's in repose/sleepy and even then, if I move my other arm as if to lift him, he freaks out. In the two months I've had them, I have lifted Luna countless times, but only lifted Artemis a few, after which he wriggled out of my grasp. Any suggestions?
3) Will they get any more social towards me? Part of the reason I wanted Siamese is because they are supposedly "vocal", yet perhaps because of Luna and Artemis' bond, they only seem to chat with each other, no matter how much I speak to them. I'm honestly a bit disappointed that they are relatively aloof and not super-social....any suggestions?
4) For the lovely experience of trying to get Artemis to the vet, I read on this forum about gabapentin to mellow him out - anyone with Siamese experienced with this? I know pedigree cats tend to be high-strung and more sensitive (these cats eat better than most humans I know) so I wasn't sure if they are a good idea....I would of course ask my vet for the prescription, but wanted to get the Siamese perspective before I ask.
Thanks again everyone, and sorry for the rambling, I'm really worried about the kitties and want to make sure I do everything correctly. In case you didn't notice, these are my first kitties, and they are quite a challenge!
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