Very nervous cat

[mceve]

Originally Posted by bab-ush-niik

if you are moving to this house permanently, I think it is best to take her there at once, and start treatment there. Going back and forth could cause problems.

That is such a shame..... the cabin is for recreational use so wewould go back and forth. Thomas loves it out there, but he's got a very strong psyche, he takes everything in his stride. It takes a LOT to bring him out of balance

I can see from the experience you have all been kind enough to share with me that we will have to rethink our approach to how we can use this cabin...

Poor Susie, I would jsut love to se her playing out on the lawn together with Thomas

I can see this will be very difficult, if not impossible, to achive now...

 

[larke]

A little blob of butter, Cheez-Whiz, etc. works too.

 

[stephanietx]

Your Susie is such a pretty kitty!!

I, too, have a fraidy cat, but has done wonderfully with the plug ins and Rescue Remedy. (Esp. the Rescue Remedy) The Rescue Remedy is a liquid that you can give them with canned food (just mix it up). Also, I give medicine mixed in with about a teaspoon of plain canned pumpkin. She laps it right up and I don't have to traumatize her to get the meds down her.

My vet wanted to put my cat on Prozac and I told him no way until we tried some other "alternative" treatments.

Stephanie

 

[mceve]

Susie is slowly coming back to us. She no longer sleeps with her paws under her body and her ears down, she now sleeps on the side and her ears are coming up for short periods of time. She's been out in the living room three times today, and said hello when we kneel down and reach our hand out to her. She's still not making any sounds, no purring or cooing, but I think she's on the mend.

We praise her when she comes out of the bedroom, but not every time. She might want to go potty or go eat without being noticed sometimes too. We try to read her body language and see what she needs.

She'll be alright again I'm sure, but it really is a shame that she can't come with us to the cabin..... Luckily we have relatives (male ones

) that can look after her when we're gone, but I still feel unconfortable with leaving her alone. After all, the babysitter can't stay with her all the time!

It's good to se her fighting her way back to normaility though

Actually I think she's very brave and strong to handle the panic like she is. I know people that can't deal with it as good as her....

 

[lookingglass]

Originally Posted by McEve

Susie is slowly coming back to us. She no longer sleeps with her paws under her body and her ears down, she now sleeps on the side and her ears are coming up for short periods of time. She's been out in the living room three times today, and said hello when we knel down and reach our hand out to her. She's still not makeing any sounds, no purring or cooing, but I think she's on the mend.

We praise her when she comes out of the bedroom, but not every time. She might want to go potty or go eat without being noticed sometimes too. We try to read her body language and see what she needs.

She'll be alright again I'm sure, but it really is a shame that she can't come with us to the cabin..... Luckily we have relatives (male ones

) that can look after her when we're gone, but I still feel unconfortable with leaving her alone. After all, the babysitter can't stay with her all the time!

It's good to se her fighting her way back to normaility though

Actually I think she's very brave and strong to handle the panic like she is. I know people that can't deal with it as good as her....

That is so good to hear! I've been thinking about your little girl all weekend. Give her a pat on the head for me when she is ready.

 

[mceve]

Thanks I will

Here she is together with old "nothing brings me out of balance" Thomas

 

[yosemite]

Bless her sweet little heart. You are such good cat owners to be so concerned with her mental welfare.

If all that love you folks have been giving her doesn't do the trick, then nothing will. Seriously, it sounds as though it is just a matter of patience and time.

 

[akovesi]

I have the same problem with one of my cat, who is with me more than 5 years. She is very affectionate, and comes to my lap many times, but when she is scared or does not want something, gets histerical. Than she is hissing, running away, even bites and screames. i.e. she does not like brushing, I do that every day and sometimes she is still does that behavior when I want to do it.
I will move back to Europe by airplane, and I am already scared how I will put the harness on her, and put her in the carrier. It is a long flight.For a couple of months I will be on one place with them, than I will move in my own home, but it will be in the same city, so that move won't be that long.But still worries me what to do with her.

 

[mceve]

Hi, I thought I'd give you an update on how Susie is doing. We took her with us back to the cabin 2 weeks ago to give it another try. This time we came prepared, with Feliway, and plans to stay for a while to allow her time to get used to the new surroundings. She stayed under a blanket for a few hours, but was out and about in the cabin already the same evening! Today she's ventured outside for the first time

She's her usual skittish self, but at least now she's not paralyzed with fear! I believe the Feliway did all the difference. Our problem now of course is how to get her home again, as she wont let her daddy hold her anymore, so getting her into the carrier will be a big problem, but at least she's happy for the moment, so we'll take that problem when the time comes, which will be the 16'th.

I also believe her getting a new playmate made a difference. Thomas is too old to want to play, while she's stilll young enough to want to have the odd playtime. It wasn't really planned, but yes, we now have three cats, which is just on the border of being too much, but we ... we found this kitten on the highway one cold and dark evening last november. We were driving to the cabin when we suddenly noticed the cars in front of us swerving to avoid something in the road. When we got closer we did the same thing, as we could see a little shadow lying in the road, half buried in 2 inches of slush (it was snowing), a mix of wet snow and salt. As we passed, expecting to see a runned over animal, I suddenly caught the critters eyes, and yelled "stop!". It was alive, and we couldn't just leave i there!

Turned out it was an about 3 month old kitten. Unharmed (!) but all skin and bones, totally exhausted, just laying there. Long story short, we took him home, got him clean and warm and fed him. And did he eat! it was obious that he haden't seen food in a long time. We took him to the vet the next day, where he got a clean bill of health, part from being severely emaciated, so we took him home and decided to feed him up before finding a new home for him. It took him three days of just wanting to be petted and fed, didn't want to play or nothing, just laying on our laps and purring (loudly!) before he on the fourth day started exploring the surroundings. Now he's all over the place, and has proven to be a prolific mouse hunter!

Well... he's not the prettiest cat in the world, but what a personality! I think this is the happiest cat I've ever seen! He won our hearts, and is now a member of the family, and Susie is thrilled to have somebody to play properly with

Don't you just love happy endings

Here's a pic of them together:
Susie and Myst

Thanks for your good advice and all your encouragment!

 

[larke]

Hi... Mom-of-Many sounds pretty sensible, and ignoring her to an extent may be what you have to do indefinitely, as long as she's eating, drinking, peeing and pooping routinely. It wouldn't hurt for your husband to spend time in the room, just sitting and talking to her, but not urging her to DO anything, or come out, though if she likes to get close to him, that would be terrific also. Girls are more likely to attach to boys and vice versa, but it's not hard and fast, or necessarily forever. Get her a 'Da Bird' toy (feathers on a stick) and see if that doesn't perk her up a bit too.