The little purr before the mewow

[lexiegirlblue]

Princess Elise is doing wonderfully.  She has totally recovered from her pneumonia.  Healthy and looking beautiful.  To be truthful even when she was sick she looked beautiful to me.  My question is since that awful experience with the veterinarian she has begun gently pulling my face to her so she can kiss my forehead.  She follows me everywhere and when I come in the door after being gone she gives me this purr right before the mewow.  Any ideas why this behavior has suddenly started since I threw a (kind of I just refused to put her down which that idiot vet said to do) hissy fit with her in the room?  She has kissed me on the forehead before that, but it seems to be more a need now with her taking her paws and gently pulling my face towards her so she can kiss me.  Is that normal?

 

[tammyp]

I don't know if it is 'normal' - as in all cats do it - but it is a beautiful thing!  Enjoy her expressions of love.  The thing you might be concerned over is if she is overly attached and has 'separation anxiety'- in this case, she will be fretting and distressed at being apart from you.  So, is she content to be in her home when you leave?  If so, all is very very good!

 

[lexiegirlblue]

I'm not real sure if she is content when I am gone.  I volunteer to help the homeless here in OR and in the past month she has peed on my bed twice while I was gone.  Any thoughts?  A little background on Princess Elise she was living on the streets for 1 1/2 years and then went to a shelter for a year before she found me.  They told me at the shelter if she bites you you can not bring her back and I told them she is not coming back.  I hope this background helps.

 

[tammyp]

So glad you rescued her!  Here are a couple of posts that might be of help in working out if she is feeling separation anxiety (or abandonment):

http://www.wayofcats.com/blog/dear-pammy-my-cat-is-clingy/236

http://www.wayofcats.com/blog/abandonment-issues/4644

I can't tell you if the peeing on the bed was because she was alone while you were gone,or for some other reason.  If you have ruled out a medical cause, then it is likely she peed on your bed for comfort - the mixing of her scent (pee) with you scent (its strong on the bed cause we're there lots!).  I had bed peeing about 4-5 times over 2.5yrs with my big boy.  From observation, it was from stress (dogs barking all day in the neighbourhood, us packing to leave for a weekend after just coming home from a trip 2 weeks earlier, my husband being ill with leukemia).  Feliway helps out a lot to soothe a cat and say 'this is my territory, it is all safe' - it's probably a good thing in your case too.  Of course, we had to clean properly, and havent had any pee incidents since we got a new bed, new linen, don't use certain brands of pillows (probably a scent thing), and got a new kitten as a playmate - which he clearly needed.  We watch him though, and keep the feliway on.  We also remove pillows each morning, and cover the bed with HIS rugs.  As a precaution, we also invested in a mattress protector!

But that's the pee thing.  If you think your furry is stressed, or not totally content, then habitually do lots of things that help dispel cat stress - play time each day is key, and reliable routines:

http://www.wayofcats.com/blog/the-cascade-of-stress/19408

http://www.wayofcats.com/blog/what-should-we-shield-our-cats-from/4426

And enjoy her displays of affection!  My cats ask for affection regularly too, in cute ways, and constantly follow me; it can just be a sign that they love and trust you!

 

[lexiegirlblue]

Play time is a good idea.  She doesn't like the conventional toys you buy from the pet store, but I picked up my new glasses yesterday (she has never seen me in glasses because my dog ate my last pair) and at first she just stared at me and then she started playing with them once I took them off.  I think it is because of my scent on them.  Princess Elise is just too darn precious!  On a different topic DO NOT LET YOUR BELOVED FURRY CATS NEAR THE RUBBER OF A TENNIS BALL!!!!  IT IS TOXIC FOR THEM AND WILL SHUT DOWN THEIR ORGANS!!!!  I found out the hard way when my dog promptly chewed one up and Porsche got hold of one of the rubber pieces and promptly ate it.  $4,000 and two surgeries later, one in which they took the rubber out of her abdomen, the toxin systematically shut down her organs and they could not save her.  RIP in peace my beautiful Princess Porsche.