When to give, and how much?

[krystal55]

I adopted our third cat, Fluffy, in February, and because she acts aggressive toward my 2 older cats, I started Fluff on Jackson's Hyper Helper drops. However, as I think I mentioned in my first posts, my mother is elderly with health problems, and she can no longer participate in our pets' care. In fact, she just had a stroke and is now in a nursing home for rehab. This of course means I have even less free time at home than before, AND it concerns me that little Fluffy is not getting her "drops" 3 times a day anymore, but only twice a day. I put them on watered-down salmon and she is CRAZY about this treat. But formerly she was getting about 4 drops on salmon 3x daily. Is it OK to give 6 drops in the morning then in the evening? She has been getting them for about 3 weeks now, I have not seen any big improvements in her generally somewhat anxious/nervous behavior although she has been gentler with me, even rolling on her back to show her widdie white belly and then most recently letting me stroke her (very carefully!) there. Occasionally I still get a small bite or minor scratch but I don't get upset about it since she is improving. I don't know whether the drops are affecting her that much or if it's just her learning that I am to be trusted 100 percent!

But is it enough to give her 6 JG drops in the morning then 6 in the evening or do they HAVE to be doled out a certain way?

 

[Columbine]

I've not used the spirit essences range, but I have used other flower essences. Giving more than the recommended dose won't do any harm, but you'll be wasting your money. Any excess will just be excreted via the urine. Stick to 4 drops at a time. Would you be able to give one dose last thing before you leave for work, another as soon as you get back from work and a third just before bed? That would be better than 6 drops twice a day. If three doses a day really isn't possible than drop to 2 normal doses and see how she goes. Sorry to hear about your mother. I can't imagine what a stressful time it must be for you at the moment.

 

[krystal55]

Okay, that was originally what I was doing. These days 2 trips to the nursing home, one before and one after work, are not uncommon. So therefore our poor kitties are feeling neglected. Probably explains some of the peeing and pooping by the two older ones around the house, 

Fluffy still lives in the garage, I don't need the pandemonium she would doubtless cause if she were let into the house...

Well, I will just give her 2 doses a day and see how she gets along. Do cats ever get so they don't "need" these essences? Could Fluffers eventually be taken off them? These little bottles are rather expensive!

Also on the topic of anxiety and aggression, Fluffy usually holds her tail vertical or even slightly angled over her back. When it is vertical she often twitches it, we used to have male cats who did that, and I understand that female cats can spray too, as males will. But I don't know whether she's spraying (she is spayed!) or doing the twitch out of lingering nervousness, or is it just a sign of happiness when I'm with her?

 

[Columbine]

My understanding of flower essences is that they are used short - medium term while the animal un learns its old behaviour (usually letting go of whatever issues were informing the behaviour in the first place too) and re learns healthy behaviour patterns. Basically, keep on it until all signs of negative behaviour have gone, continue for another month or two and, if all seems stable, try them without the flower essences for a bit. If the behaviour returns, go back to using it again. It's trial and error really. I would always continue treatment for at least a month after the problems resolve, sometimes longer.

Regarding spraying, I've never known a spayed cat to practice spraying. My little girl often walks around with her tail right up. If it twitches in that position it's usually due to over stimulation of some sort (generally excitement/prey drive when she's begging for a game, but sometimes mild worry or anxiety).

Hope that all makes sense. Good luck with everything. It's such a difficult, stressful time - I'm not surprised the other's are having litterbox issues. Maybe some extra boxes would help. Yes it's a little more work, but nothing like as frustrating as having to clear up accidents every night.

 

[krystal55]

That is good to know, that we could be using these expensive drops for just a while. Fluffy has become almost a perfect little trusting lovey-dove when it's just the two of us, her only big flaw is how she behaves when she sees the other two older cats. Stretching her neck and snuffing and stiffening her whiskers, etc. I don't dare allow her to approach them for fear of another fight. I am sure Missy the oldest cat would forgive and make friends with her, as she has gone back to her old habits around the garage 'headquarters' and did I mention she was even seen inside Fluffy's pet cage sniffing around Callie the middle cat though is still frightened of Fluffy. And with my elderly mother's problems, I have to keep peace and quiet around the house as much as possible.

I did try to place an extra litter box in the kitchen but neither of the elder cats paid the slightest mind to it. Maybe it was too "public" whereas their personal box in the garage is in a more secluded area. I prefer them to have their own box, although when Fluffy first was adopted they all had to share the same box. Fluff now has her very own somewhat smaller one in her pet cage.

My SIL scoffed and said "oh just throw them together and let them fight it out." Right. She is the same one who says that in future, when I am expected to move from my country house to a small retirement apartment (I am 60 now), I have to get rid of my cats, she probably means have them all euthanized. I try to forgive my SIL's snobby and bossy behavior, but this is totally over the top. No one has the right to try to force someone else to live a certain way, and they certainly don't have the right to force them to get rid of their beloved pets!! I will never have much money, but I would sooner starve than give up these girls before their natural time comes to pass from this world. This convo came up today while we were visiting my mom at the nursing home. It kinda threw a pall over Mother's Day for me.

 

[Columbine]

The attitudes and ignorance of some people never cease to amaze me. You SIL clearly has no clue what she's talking about. 60 is way too young to be thinking about retirement communities. My parents are in their 70s and mum is down the stables most days mucking out and dad goes for long walks with the dogs every day. They're definitely nowhere near retirement community housing! They'd be pretty insulted if it were suggested too. Quite apart from that, there are retirement communities (in the uk anyway ) that allow cats to come too.

Anyway...you're doing great at keeping the peace between the furry members of your family. It's wonderful that you're making progress with Fluffy. In time, they may all be able to live in the same part of the house without killing each other. If not, it sounds like they have a pretty great life right now As I'm sure you know, patience really is the key. Don't let the idiots get you down. You know you're doing the best thing for your cats. Keep hold of that.

 

[krystal55]

Thank you, Columbine!! My SIL thinks she knows what is "best" for me; but I wonder how she'd feel if the shoe were on the other foot and she was expected to get rid of loved ones even if they're 4 footed loved ones. I am all these kitties will have when my Mom passes someday and it's likely that, considering my isolated life, they're all that I will have too. We may be very poor (I work at a restaurant for minimum wage so I expect to be working till I am at least 80, that's how old my mother was when she had to retire for health reasons) but we will survive somehow, and I expect us to be together, me and my cats. Missy is 13 now but could outlive all other cats we've had and go on till she's 20 or more. I cannot fathom the coldheartedness of anyone who would suggest "getting rid" of an aged pet because of personal financial problems, but I am sure people have done it. Not me, though!

Our local retirement centers are nice, one is for the wealthier element while the other is "pay as you are able."  My SIL's sister and her spouse run that establishment, so SIL knows something about it. In a past email she said they allow at least 1 pet or perhaps more. But now she seems to have forgotten that statement, she makes it sound like they don't allow any. I will have to go and talk to them, just ask questions. I might have all 3 of our girls for some years to come. No one can force me out of my home till I am ready to go! And getting rid of any or all of these kitties will not be a factor.

They are all happy and we are a family, even if Fluffy currently can't be trusted to make up with her bigger 'cousins.'  Mom will be helping in her own way to care for them whenever she gets home from the nursing facility. I have to be 3 people most days, running after Mom, running around being referee for the kitties, running after my job, most of the time I feel like I'm in a marathon! But it is my life, and yes, it requires infinite patience, something many people would not have. Maybe my SIL just does not possess such patience, at least not on my level, and cannot imagine loving pets as much as I have always loved mine over my lifetime. SIL's own cat turned out surly and mean; maybe SIL is not the best pet Mom, feeling that animals are not as important as people are. If she was a good pet mother, she'd have been trying out Jackson Galaxy drops or Comfort Zone or one of those remedies, maybe her cat would have benefited.

 

[Columbine]

You've certainly got a hell of a lot to deal with at the moment. I really hope things ease up a bit soon, and that your mom makes a quick recovery. Stick to your guns - you know better than anyone whats best for you and your cats. For goodness sake, its not like you're an animal hoarder or anything Sounds like your SIL just doesn't 'get' cats I'll never understand those people Anyway...This site exists as a support network for people like us...when the idiots get you down its a great place to vent and recharge :nod:

 

[krystal55]

This is true! And we have never been animal hoarders even though at one time years ago we had 5 dogs, 2 cats and a horse...that was as many pets as we ever had all at once, back in the day. Today, my SIL seems to think her poor simpleminded relative is turning into a hoarder just because I wound up adopting this poor starving little mite during the bitter February storms. "Oh she would have just wandered off somewhere else, cats can travel a long way." Yes, if they are grownup healthy cats with enough strength and stamina, not a little 6-month old kitten that is freezing and starving to death in snowstorms. "She was probably mooching off the neighbors and decided to try you, since she could smell that there were other cats there." The vet could see she was in decent shape but starved, no one was feeding her. This is "dog country" anyway, I don't think anyone else around here has got cats anymore. The people across the road used to have lots of cats but they were not vaccinated, they were like farm cats who came and went, lived and died without any special care. And they spread disease like distemper which killed a close neighbor's cat some years back, the lady was certain her cat had contacted it from the cats across the road. But, the neighbor cat was not vaccinated either. "Cats can take care of themselves, you would be surprised," said my SIL from her fountain of sage advice on every topic in the universe. How does she know cats can somehow magically take care of themselves with no food, no loving care, no vet trips? My SIL has always been like that, spouting off on any random subject like she is an authority, but in truth she knows a lot less on some matters than I do. I can't say she's an idiot but sometimes she certainly has foot in mouth disease!

  And because she is bossy and overbearing, no one dares cross her, certainly not me! I just clamp my mouth shut and "grin and bear it" even though I often feel like slapping some sense into her.

Well, my mother is weak but improving a little each day, maybe she will get home after 2 weeks, or 3. My SIL once said "she might never have another stroke now that she's on new medication, she might fool everyone and live to be 100." I doubt that, since she does have Alzheimer's along with the other issues. But I don't think she'll be dying any time soon. And I think my SIL who is supposedly so wise had best display some wisdom by leaving off beating the drum about me selling out and moving to a retirement center....without my cats! I've enough on my plate these days without fretting about that.

 

[Columbine]

Your SIL sounds like the kind of person that makes my blood boil! I know a few very like her. I never have the guts to say anything to them either - I just keep quiet then go home fuming quietly I recently rescued a (then) 8 month kitten from the stables where I keep my exmoor. She wouldn't have lasted much longer. (I was also after an adult semi feral but I blew that big time...). The so called 'wisdom' that was spouted by several of the other owners could have come straight out of you SIL's mouth by the sound of it. I'll never understand some people. Btw, we've had up to 6 animals at a time (various combos of cats dogs and horses). Definitely not hoarding My aunt on the other hand...well, let's just not go there

My heart goes out to you and your mother. My grandmother had severe dementia before she died - its one of the cruelest illnesses on the planet imo. A stroke on top of that must be hell for you both