Put up cat shelves and lost my lap cat! Should I remove them?

[maryann118]

About a month ago, I finally put up some cat shelves that I'd bought for my Olive (3 years old) this past fall.  She was going through an awful time, as she was injected Oct. 23 with four meds at the vet for a minor skin issue, one of which was Convenia, and she nearly died. (My posts on all that are on the Convenia discussion board.) So I thought it a good time to distract her with some new entertaining lounging spaces.

It took awhile for her to catch onto them, but once she did, she became addicted, and now my little lap baby is spending hours on end, sometimes the whole day!, on those dang cat shelves!  Mind you, this whole medical ordeal also put her into an antisocial period for awhile (even a depression, according to my vet), which seems to have improved, but oh how I miss our daily and nightly cuddles! I work from home, so she used to follow me room to room, and if I was working on my laptop on the couch, she was always right next to me.

On top of that, I won a cat bed at a raffle this past weekend, so if she's not on the shelves, she's in the new cat bed, so now I've got double trouble! Everything now is just so different in how we interact.

I'm trying to be happy for her, that she loves these new spaces, especially after she's been through such an ordeal, but I've been thinking of taking the cat shelves down, just so that we can get back to our old daily routine.

I adopted Olive in June, and our first four months together were truly heaven...just a perfect fit. Then that stupid vet (who I'd never been to before) injected her with just too much medication (Convenia is a known cat killer), and the six weeks since have been hell.  There are some other details, too, but I don't want this to get too long.

I suppose I'm just asking for opinions as to whether to take the shelves down. They've only been up a month, but would taking them down traumatize her? Or is there some other way to get my baby back on my lap again? She does pop on once in awhile, and sometimes she'll hang out for a belly scratch, but it's nowhere near like what it used to be.

I know I sound like a big baby, but I'm on disability with some real health issues, and my Olive was such a balm to my soul. Any thoughts about all this out there?

Thank you so much for even reading all this!

Mary Ann

 

[handsome kitty]

Where did you put the cat shelves?  Did you put any near your workstation so she can hang with you in that room?

I would leave them up if she is enjoying them so much.  I have two cats and they periodically change their routine.  Sometimes due to weather and the temp in the room I am in.   Other times, who knows, they're cats.

Where did you put the cat bed?  Can you move it to your couch so she can enjoy it next to you?

 

[maryann118]

Handsome--the cat shelves are in the other room, and as my two-room apt is so small, I really can't move them. The cat bed is a basket with this cool piece of sheepskin or something in it (I won it in a raffle this weekend), and it's right under where I have the Feliway plug-in. (That's in the TV room, where I am now.) I suspect that's one of the reasons she likes it there, as she's smelling all those pheremones. I suppose I could take the sheepskin out and put it on the couch next to me, which is what I was thinking of doing, but I'd want to get a replacement skin before I'd do that.

Like I mentioned, she's recovering from a near-death experience in that she had such an awful reaction to those shots six weeks ago. So maybe I just need to be more patient with her. It's just sad to see her be so antisocial, not just with me but with guests who come in, who she used to be all over.

We saw the vet (a new one) last week, and he believes Olive is in a bit of a depression, and we did discuss the possibility of low dose Prozac, given as a salve on her ear, for a short period, just so stabilize her. He was out this week, so hopefully I'll speak to him tomorrow.

I miss my little cuddle monkey!  I was addicted to smushing my face in her belly!  If I took the shelves down, would things go back to the way they were?

But you're right. Cats change their minds about things all the time, as to what the "new" place is.  I was just lucky that her constant "place" was always next to me, wherever I was.

I'm having a hard time with this.

Thank you so much for responding.

Mary Ann

 

[handsome kitty]

Can you get more shelves to put in the office?  I've seen people use Ikea shelves as an inexpensive solution.  Then she can be on her shelves and near you as well.  Or a cat tree next to your desk.

I have seen sheepskin sold at some pet stores.  You could always get a piece for your couch and then take it to your bed at night.