- Joined
- Apr 1, 2018
- Messages
- 10
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My 10yo rescue cat, Ellie, seems to be miserable and I think she associates her new home with negativity. We've had her for 4 months and things have only gotten worse. I don't want to give her back but I don't know what else to do.
Background...
We have 2 children, 10 & 16. The 10 year is a hyper clown but good with our zoo. We have 2 senior 65 lb dogs that we've had since pups. We adopted a kitten in November and decided he needed a friend...enter our sweet rescue cat, Ellie, in December.
We wanted a young, attention loving adult cat to play with and teach the kitten manors. She was described as the perfect cat: motherly, loves attention, tolerant, 2 years old, healthy with a grain allergy. Ms.Ellie turns out to be 10+ years old and was in desparate need of dental work.
We changed both cat's food when she came to suffice her grain allergy. Which resulted in the kitten getting bad diarrhea. After a bunch of tests on the kitten and a delay of his neuter, we switched to an Rx food for both.
Ellie has never really come out of her shell with us humans as described by the rescue, but would often play with the kitten. She mostly recoils every time I try to pet her and has only come to me maybe a dozen times. On a weekly basis, she would vomit or have diarrhea. She is losing hair like crazy. I felt all of this was from her mouth being so painful.
I have researched a ton and have tried it all. The cats have numerous places to retreat, including a 6 ft cat condo, a hammock, and 3 different cat bed locations. There's a scratch post in every room. Tons of toys. We play every day. They have 4 litter boxes that are all cleaned daily. These cats are royalty, my dogs are like wth!
Problem....
She had dental work done in February where they removed 6 teeth. She was already missing 14. So she's almost toothless. Since surgery (5 weeks ago) she has had diarrhea every day, the explosive kind that requires clean up multiple times per day. She just runs and hides from the kitten who wants to play. We've changed her food 3 times. I finally found a food that stopped her diarrhea and as soon as I got the kitten transferred over to it, he got diarrhea and she stopped eating it. She keeps trying to get into the dog's food and any food in the kitchen (this has been since the beginning). She is even less affectionate now and hides most of the time.
The balance in our home is awful. We're all miserable. Dr. suggested kitty prozac. I don't want to give up but I cannot keep 4 animals separate when eating, in addition to the cost of two geriatric dogs. I cannot afford more meds for a geriatric cat that I did not plan for.
I feel guilty just thinking of giving her back to the rescue. I want to save her, but everyone is ripping their hair out. Thoughts? Advice?
Background...
We have 2 children, 10 & 16. The 10 year is a hyper clown but good with our zoo. We have 2 senior 65 lb dogs that we've had since pups. We adopted a kitten in November and decided he needed a friend...enter our sweet rescue cat, Ellie, in December.
We wanted a young, attention loving adult cat to play with and teach the kitten manors. She was described as the perfect cat: motherly, loves attention, tolerant, 2 years old, healthy with a grain allergy. Ms.Ellie turns out to be 10+ years old and was in desparate need of dental work.
We changed both cat's food when she came to suffice her grain allergy. Which resulted in the kitten getting bad diarrhea. After a bunch of tests on the kitten and a delay of his neuter, we switched to an Rx food for both.
Ellie has never really come out of her shell with us humans as described by the rescue, but would often play with the kitten. She mostly recoils every time I try to pet her and has only come to me maybe a dozen times. On a weekly basis, she would vomit or have diarrhea. She is losing hair like crazy. I felt all of this was from her mouth being so painful.
I have researched a ton and have tried it all. The cats have numerous places to retreat, including a 6 ft cat condo, a hammock, and 3 different cat bed locations. There's a scratch post in every room. Tons of toys. We play every day. They have 4 litter boxes that are all cleaned daily. These cats are royalty, my dogs are like wth!
Problem....
She had dental work done in February where they removed 6 teeth. She was already missing 14. So she's almost toothless. Since surgery (5 weeks ago) she has had diarrhea every day, the explosive kind that requires clean up multiple times per day. She just runs and hides from the kitten who wants to play. We've changed her food 3 times. I finally found a food that stopped her diarrhea and as soon as I got the kitten transferred over to it, he got diarrhea and she stopped eating it. She keeps trying to get into the dog's food and any food in the kitchen (this has been since the beginning). She is even less affectionate now and hides most of the time.
The balance in our home is awful. We're all miserable. Dr. suggested kitty prozac. I don't want to give up but I cannot keep 4 animals separate when eating, in addition to the cost of two geriatric dogs. I cannot afford more meds for a geriatric cat that I did not plan for.
I feel guilty just thinking of giving her back to the rescue. I want to save her, but everyone is ripping their hair out. Thoughts? Advice?
So sorry it's all Ellie's trouble that brought you here. 
To me it's telling that she behaves so differently when "an experienced cat person visits" as compared to how she behaves with you, in that she doesn't approach you except minimally.
