Pet(s): Photos & Discussion

[Bastet]

19 minutes ago, FanOfDorks said:

Yes he is named after Spencer Reid lol.  Definetly not got the brains though.  Love him to bit but he has no idea he is a cat 

He went through a cute but very evil phase that I conseider changing his name to Tate *langdon*

I had to go look up those characters, as I don't watch either show (Criminal Minds and American Horror Story).  I associate the name Spencer with Spencer Tracy. 

My cat Maddie was named after Maddie Hayes (Moonlighting) - only I spelled her full name Madeleine, while the character was Madolyn.  And my cat Louise was named after the titular character from Thelma & Louise.  In fact, her middle name was Elizabeth, because that was the character's middle name and it just seemed to flow so nicely.  I almost gave Riley the middle name Nora, in tribute to Nora Charles (The Thin Man), but with my last name I wouldn't have liked her initials.  So she's Riley Alexandra.  Alexandra is just a name I like, plus Maddie and Baxter both had A middle names - Alice and Adam, respectively - but I suppose it could represent Alexandra Spaulding from Guiding Light.

Piper is another name on my list.  It's a name I've liked since I first heard of Piper Laurie.  As an X-Files fan, I cannot associate Piper with any middle name other than Maru, so if I ever name a cat Piper, she will have to be Piper Maru, and then I'll look like some crazy fangirl who named her cat after Gillian Anderson's daughter.  (There's an XF episode titled Piper Maru, which was the name of a ship involved in that episode's investigation, but the ship/episode was named after the kid.)

Thus concludes my list of cats named after TV/movie characters.  Back to your regularly scheduled programming.

[FanOfDorks]

I also have a hamster named Harry his nickname is Hannibal as he likes to have a bite.  *I dont have any pics of him but will try get some*

[Lantern7]

Unbearable chubby French Bulldog puppies.

Paddington helps Butler with his bath.

"Fun" with Goofy & Logan.

ETA: Those poor, poor Pugdashians.

[Qoass]

Quote

Piper is another name on my list.  It's a name I've liked since I first heard of Piper Laurie

Just make sure your cat doesn't take after Piper Laurie's character in Carrie!

[Lantern7]

Found this on Facebook . . . baby elephant has trouble bathing.

Also: Instagram of Paddington the Pig. And here's Paddington the Shar Pei and his preferred snack. Which Paddy has the cuter nose?

ETA: I got three likes, but I didn't notice the chain on the mama elephant. And I should've mentioned the BM. Sorry about that.

[RainbowBrite]

I just found this thread and thought this may be a good place to ask my question: 

Axl, our seven-year-old Shih Tzu has been with us since he was about 8 weeks old. A couple of months ago, we adopted a three-month-old kitten, Phoebe. They have not yet found a comfortable way of living together. Axl is afraid of Phoebe, and Phoebe tries to play with Axl. She has taken over his big dog bed, and he seems to be over-all a little more stressed than he was before she arrived. He has also developed some pretty bad tear stains around his eyes and I'm wondering if he may be allergic to her. I called my vet and they said that as long as he doesn't seem to be in pain there's no need to bring him in, but suggested I give him Benadryl. 

1. Have you ever given your dog human allergy medicine?

2. How can I help Axl and Phoebe get more comfortable with each other? I see all the pictures of dogs and cats snuggling and can't imagine that happening in our house. 

[Lisin]

2 hours ago, RainbowBrite said:

1. Have you ever given your dog human allergy medicine?

2. How can I help Axl and Phoebe get more comfortable with each other?

We've given several of our dogs Benadryl over the years, the standard dose is 1 mg per pound according to petmd.com, but for a little dog who has never had it before I would do less. It's never harmed any of our dogs though my current pup gets a bit hyper on it which is unusual so I don't give it to him for the purpose of calming him down which was the original intent... Though I also wouldn't plan on giving it forever in a case like this. Probably I'd just wipe my pups eyes more while waiting for him to adjust. My boy gets tears more when he's stressed so it may just be the change causing it not an allergy.

As for part 2, time is really all you can do. Our cats always hate new dogs and the dogs always want to play with the cats so it's a bit of the opposite problem, but it's been two years for us with our new pup and he and the cats were cuddling together after about a month or two. I'd get another bed for Axl and always make sure he has a place to "escape" where Phoebe can't get to him for when he wants to be left alone and let nature take it's course. We have one cat that doesn't like snuggling with the dogs quite as much as the other and we had one dog who never really loved it when the cats would walk on him while he was sleeping but he got over it and tolerated them eventually. The biggest thing is giving Axl a place to feel safe so he can come to terms with Phoebe on his own time. 

[DeLurker]

@RainbowBrite - your Phoebe and Axl are so cute!

I've given my cat Bonine (similar to dramamine) when I had to take her on a car trip to Florida (from Houston area).  He's about 10 lbs so I only gave him about a 1/3 of a pill.  The active ingredient in Bonine is the same stuff they prescribe for dogs & cats.  I only gave it to him 1x because as soon as he figured out we were all going together, he was fine. 

I adopted the cat last February from a cat rescue.  He was about 2 1/2 years old.  I did not adopt the dog until early September.  He was about 7 months old at that point, but big compared to the cat.  Kokuma (dog) was pretty indifferent to the Sir Robin (cat) until he was here a few months.  Then he started to play chasey games with the cat - the dog will chase the cat around the downstairs and follow the cat upstairs.  Then they reverse and the cat will chase the dog.  The Sir Robin wanted to be cuddley but the Kook wanted no part of that until probably around New Years - so a good 5 months.  The cat still wants more cuddle time than the dog does, but...

You might try sitting where they can both get to you and pet or groom whichever comes up first.  My two have jealous hearts so if one is getting attention, the other is immediately right there.  I would just switch back and forth between the two - don't know if it made a difference, but I used the cat's brush on the dog sometimes and the dog's on the cat.  I was thinking if the dog got more comfortable with the cat's scent and associated it with something pleasant...

[RainbowBrite]

Thank you for your suggestions Lisin and DeLurker! I'm really struggling to find a place for Axl to hide away from Phoebe; he doesn't do stairs, so he's stuck on the main floor which is pretty wide open. I'll have to get creative. 

Phoebe gets spayed on Friday and I'm hoping she may be a little less aggressive afterwards, which would be good for poor old Axl. 

[riley702]

My brother and SIL have a tiger cat named Phoebe! Well, Phoebe Jo, to be precise. I suggested Phoebe and she added a middle name. Their other two are the black Ida Mae (AKA the inky slinky) and the red Pippi Short-Stuff, nicknamed Pip, because man, is she one! 

Edited February 1, 2017 by riley702

[DeLurker]

We had a cat named Slinky when I was a kid.  That is one of my favorite names.

[BrittaBot]

Hey guys.

Our english bulldog had TPLO surgery on her left leg last Thursday (one week ago). It's a surgery for repairing a torn ACL. Following the vet's instructions to keep her confined, we set up a small pen in the living room with a no-slip rug and a few blankets and that was probably the best thing we could have done. For the first 2 weeks we have been instructed go out side 4 times a day, 4-5 minutes at a time basically just for bathroom use. We have been really good about keeping her in the pen otherwise. My husband carries her outside (about 60 pounds) so she doesn't have to use the stairs to the backyard.

My only concern is her lack of pooping. Surgery was Wednesday, took her home Thursday. She still hadn't pooped by Tuesday. Peeing completely normally, eating normally (ravenous in fact). She is on a bunch of pills. I did call the Vet on Tuesday and they suggested bringing her in. I made an appt. with our regular vet instead of surgeon (distance-wise and it was snowing). Before that my husband tried bringing her somewhere (to a park) because she is the type that would always poop on walks. He let her walk around for like 10-15 min (on a leash of course with a towel sling) and she did poop. So I called the vet and canceled the appointment. We tried that again the next day and she didn't go. I keep being terrified we set her back by trying to get her to poop. Like when we did that yesterday, she kept trying to jump and play in the snow. He kept her restrained and on a tight leash as much as possible but you know how some dogs just will not calm down once they are in that state of mind. I don't think we could have walked more than 10 min and the distance wasn't really that long but now I'm afraid we set her back. I was just trying to get her to poop!

Even little stuff I am afraid I set her back. I will take her cone off when she's eating and like occasionally she will jump back a bit while doing that because of the noise. She was very sleepy the first few days but now is definitely "up" a lot more. She keeps hitting the side of the pen with the cone like she wants to knock it down. (She doesn't).

I think I just keep blaming myself and being paranoid. I know I am doing the right thing mostly but I just kick myself like when we tried to get her to poop and it seemed (in my imagination maybe?) that the leg was "more" sore than before. But like I said, we keep her in the pen at all times except bathroom. Should I be worried she's not pooping more? She is on raw, so I know they poop less. She doesn't even try to go.

I think I'm more traumatized and worried about this than her...I freak out about every little thing. Which I know is crazy, but I feel crazy. Like logically, I know that "mistakes" aren't the same thing as doing something horrible and no one is perfect and all we were doing was trying to get her to poop, but I just kick myself over every little thing. I was kicking myself for days when she tore her ACL, thinking "if only we stopped her from getting the zoomies right before bed when it happened. If only we took her out on a leash that night, even though we have a fence and would have never done that...." 

Ugh. I'm crazy.

[Bastet]

Constipation following surgery is common.  Is she on an opiate painkiller (e.g. Buprenex), post-op?  Those cause constipation.  So do the drugs they use for anesthesia.  So does not moving around much.  So, basically, it would be a medical wonder if she was pooping normally.  Sometimes stool softeners are recommended, to help ease things along.  Added water and added fiber (e.g. psyllium husk, or canned pumpkin) are natural aids.

You're not crazy, you're worried.  It's what we do.  And, yeah, she's probably totally fine with all this.

[JTMacc99]

21 minutes ago, stewedsquash said:

that's a story for the stupid idiot thread.

That should be a whole sub forum. We can put the Family thread, the Pet Peeves thread, and the Workplace threads in there to start.

[ABay]

Per my post in A case of the Mondays thread, I'm having a very hard time coping, it feels like nothing will ever get better, and any little thing is going to set me off. At the moment, I'm focusing some of my desperation on the girl cat who is now so portly that she can't get all of the clumping litter off her butt. I've wiped her down with wet paper towels the last 2 days. I don't know how to get her weight down while keeping the boy cat's up. I can't believe I'm crying over this. It's not this, really, it's everything. This is just the moment's object of despair.

[riley702]

I'm so sorry. Take a deep breath...

[BrittaBot]

Thanks guys. Was spiraling yesterday and then when I was leaving work, my husband sent me a long text that essentially went as such:

"Took her to PARK, walked around for a while, she was acting like a butthead. Finally got back into car and she lets out a huge fart. Drove to different part of park and she let out a huge log."

Felt a lot better after that. At least she's gotten two out and now we can just take it slow. Talking with other people, we realized she is taking her sweet ass time going because she is not getting to be outside/walking now with the injury. So she's like HA, I'll prove you, I just won't poop until I absolutely to."

[DeLurker]

Overall, Kokuma is a pretty good dog so I am just working on refining some of his behaviors.  He paws at the back door when he wants to go out back.  I've been telling him to sit before I will open the door.  The first couple of times he happily plopped his fluffy butt down, but when it kept happening he started to get defiant.  

DeLurker:  Sit

Kook:  casually looks in the other direction.  After a minute*, sneaks a peek to see if I am watching him ignore me.

DeLurker: Sit

Kook: attempts to stare down me for another minute

DeLurker: 1 - 2 - 3 and walks away.

wash, rinse, repeat several times.

Finally, Kook will sit, but with such reluctance it is in slow motion.

In the meantime, the cat is desperate to go out and will come in front of the door and sit.  Sadly, the outside is offlimits.

* and a real minute. 

[Moose135]

3 hours ago, BrittaBot said:

"Took her to PARK, walked around for a while, she was acting like a butthead. Finally got back into car and she lets out a huge fart. Drove to different part of park and she let out a huge log."

Because I'm, you know, 12 years old, I literally laughed out loud at this.

 

2 hours ago, DeLurker said:

I've been telling him to sit before I will open the door.  The first couple of times he happily plopped his fluffy butt down, but when it kept happening he started to get defiant. 

You would think he would figure out that sitting would get him outside sooner.  My neighbor back home had a Spring Spaniel, and when he was out for the day, I'd go over and let her out.  When we came back in the house, I would give her a dog biscuit, but would make her sit before I gave it to her.  It got so she would come about two step in the door, stop, turn around to face me and sit, waiting for her biscuit.  I'm not sure who trained whom, but it worked out for both of us.

Edited February 3, 2017 by Moose135

[DeLurker]

He's totally figured it out, he just is testing me.  Since he is half Great Pyrenees and they were bred to be independent in herding sheep, they are not the most compliant of dogs - they are smart, but see no purpose in doing a command just because you say so.  And my pooch, relative to the breed, is pretty mild mannered.

We went through this when I was teaching him not to pull when walking.  I have balance issues and can't have my big brute of a dog pull me over.  He would start to pull, I would come to a complete stop until he backed up a few steps and there was some slack in the leash.  Start walking again and he's good for a bit, but then he starts to pull again so wash/rinse/repeat.  There were times where our walks came to a halt for 3 or more minutes while he tried to wait me out.  But I kept at it and after a week or so, he became more conscious of how he was walking and would self correct. 

Edited February 4, 2017 by DeLurker
Because I corrected my misspelling of bred with bread and then breed. Ugh.

[harrie]

23 hours ago, BrittaBot said:

Thanks guys. Was spiraling yesterday and then when I was leaving work, my husband sent me a long text that essentially went as such:

"Took her to PARK, walked around for a while, she was acting like a butthead. Finally got back into car and she lets out a huge fart. Drove to different part of park and she let out a huge log."

Felt a lot better after that. At least she's gotten two out and now we can just take it slow. Talking with other people, we realized she is taking her sweet ass time going because she is not getting to be outside/walking now with the injury. So she's like HA, I'll prove you, I just won't poop until I absolutely to."

Yay! Very happy that the pup is progressing!  

I am also happy to find out that the hub and I are not the only ones who discuss this stuff and sometimes text poop reports to each other.  We run into weather-related poop stuff with the mutt.  We can gauge how large a storm is headed our way if he poops on all his walks in advance of the weather because when the storm is in force, he sort of shuts down for a while. We make jokes about talking about it, but it's something we talk about.  So enough about Handsome's bathroom habits, but it's so nice to know others do the same thing. 

Edited February 4, 2017 by harrie

[harrie]

44 minutes ago, DeLurker said:

He's totally figured it out, he just is testing me.  Since he is half Great Pyrenees and they were breed to be independent in herding sheep, they are not the most compliant of dogs - they are smart, but see no purpose in doing a command just because you say so.  And my pooch, relative to the breed, is pretty mild mannered.

We went through this when I was teaching him not to pull when walking.  I have balance issues and can't have my big brute of a dog pull me over.  He would start to pull, I would come to a complete stop until he backed up a few steps and there was some slack in the leash.  Start walking again and he's good for a bit, but then he starts to pull again so wash/rinse/repeat.  There were times where our walks came to a halt for 3 or more minutes while he tried to wait me out.  But I kept at it and after a week or so, he became more conscious of how he was walking and would self correct. 

Handsome boy is largely the same way. He's smart, and he gets what we're asking, but he's not always into it. Like, we taught him to shake paw - except that he would go into this slump when he'd give paw, because apparently it's really demeaning to him.  (Quite the contrast to his predecessor, who lived to serve us and would do anything at the drop of a hat.) Now Handsome will offer up a paw if we're grating cheese or cutting up carrots, strawberries, or something else he likes; but it seems like it's on his own terms, so it's okay with him. 

[isalicat]

Okay, some more advice needed from the catexperts out there :)  As I posted previously, my husband and I have been adopted by a beautiful tom (ginger and white) who is 10 years old and was abandoned in a field near here and picked up by animal control (he is super tame and sweet, so probably was happy as hell to be picked up) - we went the local animal shelter and he made it quite clear he was coming home with us in about 2 seconds flat. So after a week we took him to our vet for a check up and was told his teeth needed real attention - I guess his previous people never had him in to a vet anytime recently. He was neutered but now he is microchipped and fully vaccinated. So we waited a month before the dental procedure so he could settle in and today was the day - he went in at 8:30 AM and they were totally done by 10:30 AM but I was not allowed to pick him up before 2:30 PM (I guess they want to monitor them after the anesthesia wears off). The vet was really pleased that they did not have to pull any teeth (he is missing three and along with a wonky back left leg has made the vet and I come to the conclusion he may have been hit by a car some years ago and did not heal properly). So my question: he is home and seems still a little dopey as you might expect but otherwise okay except his eyes are "tearing" or running (not like dripping but obviously) - is that a normal effect of anesthesia in cats? Should I call the vet?

[riley702]

Hmm, I've never noticed tearing after anesthesia. They're usually really groggy until the next day. Anyone else?

[isalicat]

Okay, well whatever the excessive tearing was about seems to be over. Louis ate a plateful of minced grilled fresh, wild ahi tuna  (not to worry - I don't give him anything with spices and we were having it anyway - I'm not that weird :) and has now retired to the bedroom for what I presume will be an extended nap o' recovery, poor boy. His right front leg is now shaved like a poodle, which I assume will be a source of embarrassment for some time to come. (by the way, the vet said to take the bandage off when we got home on his right front leg where the IV was hooked up but it was so securely wrapped and sealed I thought we would have to hold him down and try to cut it off without cutting him, but within 30 minutes of coming home Louis had the end of the bandage unsecured so I could just unwind it off his leg without any stress to him - such a smart kitteh).

[smeds]

Glad to hear Louis is doing better and is eating after the anesthesia.  They usually put artificial tears on the eyes once they are under anesthesia to prevent the eyes from becoming dry, so they can sometimes look a little wet after the procedure.  That is awesome that you adopted an older cat and got his teeth taken care of - he knew you were good people when he picked you!

[Sandman87]

Mom's cat has apparently taught herself the cat version of one of the Bantu languages. She's taken to sitting up on something (never on the floor), at least halfway across the room from me, and going "prrrt (click, click)" at me. It's not like the chittering noise they sometimes make when they're watching birds 'n' things; it's an actual clicking sound.

I'm still working on figuring out exactly what she wants when she does that.

[riley702]

Get video!

[Bastet]

On 2/2/2017 at 3:06 PM, ABay said:

Per my post in A case of the Mondays thread, I'm having a very hard time coping, it feels like nothing will ever get better, and any little thing is going to set me off. At the moment, I'm focusing some of my desperation on the girl cat who is now so portly that she can't get all of the clumping litter off her butt. I've wiped her down with wet paper towels the last 2 days. I don't know how to get her weight down while keeping the boy cat's up.

ABay, you're among good company; most sentient beings are freaking their shit.

The best weight loss strategy is to feed fewer calories per day (e.g. 180 for weight loss in an average cat, but it can be more or less depending on the cat's size and what has been previously fed) of a nutritious food -- in other words, "diet" food is usually crap, and it's far better to feed less of a good food -- but portion control becomes a real battle for those who have more than one cat.  It's hard to feed two cats two separate diets, especially if they won't both just eat breakfast in a set time and be done, and lather, rinse, repeat at dinner (in which case you can separate them for an hour twice a day and be done). 

With the girl's mobility issues (if they still exist), is there someplace high you can put the boy's food that she can't jump to access?  Baxter was great at eating each meal within 30-45 minutes of when I put it down, and a total big who'd eat his entire meal in that time frame, but Maddie was a grazer who took most of the day to eat her breakfast and most of the night to eat her dinner.  Thankfully, Baxter had an ass made of lead, so he couldn't jump like she could, so I put her food on top of the dryer; she could return to it all day/night, but he couldn't steal it because despite his nose telling him good things were up there, he couldn't haul his body up to infiltrate.

In the most general terms, you want to reduce the caloric intake of the dieter by 20%, and you'll probably have to get creative as to how to do this while letting the non-dieter go to town.  If you feel like sharing some specifics of the two cats and their feeding habits, dietary needs, etc. I may be able to help brainstorm some individualized strategies.  But, basically, it all comes down to keeping Thing One out of Thing Two's food, regardless of who is who and who eats what.  And how best to try that depends on how each one approaches food.  It's hard, and we do the best we can.  Continued good thoughts and kudos to you.

[JTMacc99]

If any cat owners want to amuse themselves, there is a Friskies Cat Fishing app I downloaded for my tablet. My Luna smacked around the fish on it. It was super cute until she started biting the corner of the case. 

[EyewatchTV211]

Whether this will convince anyone will remain to be seen: http://ew.com/movies/2017/02/03/dogs-purpose-video-investigation

On 1/27/2017 at 0:19 AM, Cranberry said:

If you can afford the basics -- food, flea prevention, and annual vet checkups -- the money shouldn't be an issue. I'd look into pet insurance if you're worried about emergencies that could rack up a big vet bill. As for the apartment size, I had two dogs (small, but of active breeds) in a studio apartment for a year with no issues. We went for nice long walks every day and they just chilled when we were at home.

Also, depending on where in the country you live, heartworm prevention.

Edited February 5, 2017 by VMepicgrl

[bosawks]

Super bowl game face!!!

[DeLurker]

Since Kook was getting jealous of @bosawks' Alli, my daughter and I took him to some wooded areas nearby where he could go off leash.  He stayed reasonably close to me when I had done this before and managed to stay out of the water.  Today, he did not.  He needed to chase some birds who were peacefully enjoying the water, investigate frogs in slightly larger puddles and chase ducks.

Since I had planned on giving him a bath today anyway, I did not care that he brought half the dirt home with him.  Unfortunately, I couldn't wait to wash him until he dried (I'm assuming the mud would brush out easier then) and had to do it right away since it looked like rain was going to hit us (total psych)

[raven]

In my car seat on the way to the park.

So happy to be outside!  Her attitude is amazing...I have a bum knee and am pretty whiny about that and Tai just bounces along.   We can't walk anywhere near as long as we used to, though she wants to try.   I call it our hop-n-hobble - she hops and I hobble. 

[bosawks]

@DeLurker, I've learned that a muddy dog is a happy dog.....

[raven]

7 minutes ago, bosawks said:

I've learned that a muddy dog is a happy dog.....

bosawsks, you have a great subject and get the best pix!  That is an awesome one. 

What kind of camera do you use?

[bosawks]

37 minutes ago, raven said:

bosawsks, you have a great subject and get the best pix!  That is an awesome one. 

What kind of camera do you use?

A Nikon D5500 DSLR (sometimes an iPhone 6s....).

Alli makes it easy.

[ratgirlagogo]

10 hours ago, VMepicgrl said:

Whether this will convince anyone will remain to be seen: http://ew.com/movies/2017/02/03/dogs-purpose-video-investigation

I was kind of waiting for the other shoe to drop on this one.  The truth remains to be seen but the long delay between the making of the video and its public release is suspicious.

ETA: if I were on the set of a movie or TV show and I saw animals being abused I sure as hell wouldn't wait FIFTEEN MONTHS to tell the world about it.  That shit would be online that very fucking day.

Edited February 6, 2017 by ratgirlagogo

[isalicat]

HALP! Yes, I will be calling my vet first thing in the morning and this doesn't seem like an emergency but I am completely freaked out by it nonetheless: My ten year old tom Louis seemed to get through his dental procedure (that involved anesthesia) last Friday and since then has been eating, sleeping, eliminating....everything normally. All of the sudden today I notice a significant (quarter sized) bald patch on his formerly snowy white furry chest and it is getting larger - it looks like he is licking to the point of taking the fur off. Now I have had numerous cats previously and the only time I have seen this before is when one of them got into a fight and has an infection/abscess they are trying to self heal, in which case its immediately off to the vet for drainage and antibiotics. In this case there is no swelling, no skin irritation whatsoever and Louis has had no possibility of contact with another cat. When I touch the newly bald place it doesn't seem to hurt him at all and again, absolutely no heat or swelling. Is he doing to himself for some reason anyone out there can identify? I can't imagine it would be an allergy without some irritation showing and he has been with us well over a month now without any previous issue. If any of you lovely people have any ideas whats going on please do let me know....

[DeLurker]

@isalicat - One of my brother's cats did this when it got stressed out when there was some disruption to the normal household routine.  Your guy has been through a lot - between adopting, vet visits, etc...it has all been good stuff, but his little cat sensors might be overworked since this is such a big change for him.  Are there any areas that he has kind of claimed for his own?  His fortress of solitude as it were?  If they caught the cat licking that spot, my brother would try to distract the cat by playing with him.

I know there are certain medical conditions that can cause over-grooming too, but just in the vaguest terms so hopefully someone else here and your vet can give you a better idea as to what to be wary of.

[isalicat]

DeLurker: Thank you! This is exactly what I have been thinking which is why I don't think taking him to the vet would be the best option....he has the run of the house without any other creatures besides my husband and myself to contend with and I think today I may have been "the last straw" (as it were) on top of last week's vet procedure and weekend recovery as I put a mound of clean laundry on the bed where he normally sits for his late morning long nap...I have to remember that some cats are very specific about where they want to take a secure long sleep. He was also following me around all day and jumping up into my lap in my office several times more than ordinarily so perhaps for whatever reason he felt particularly anxious today. Poor boy! He is asleep next to me at the moment and actually has a small (cat sized) plate of chicken breast left over from our meal left over for his last meal of the day when he wakes up.

[riley702]

My late kitty, Micheline, was an incredibly anxious girl even though I'd literally had her since birth. She pulled the hair out on her tummy until it was almost bald. When she started on her flanks, I took her to the vet. A course of steroids in case the hair pulling had caused a physical irritation helped a little, so we moved on to a short course of kitty Prozac. That seemed to snap the funk she was in and she stopped.

[DeLurker]

10 hours ago, isalicat said:

perhaps for whatever reason he felt particularly anxious today.

Well hopefully it is something easily remedied - take a picture of the spot he's already over-groomed and watch it over the next few days to see if it gets bigger or if other spots show up on his body.  I don't have any experience with natural cures for a cat's anxiety, but I remember seeing some on some websites and in stores.

I have good luck with catnip on Sir Robin - not for anxiety though.  I just put some on his scratching box and he goes a little nutty for 10 or so minutes, but then settles down into a pretty zen state.

[isalicat]

Thank you all....I can't imagine it is anything other than stress, so the plan is just to maintain a very peaceful and regular atmosphere around the house and hopefully Louis will stop licking that spot and the fur will grow back. It is not any bigger this morning so it doesn't look like he bugged it last night. His right front leg already looks like a fussily groomed poodle's leg as they shaved it all the way around just up from the paw and about 1/3 up for the IV, so I'm sure he is a bit discombobulated every time he looks down at himself. I'm not going to take him to the vet unless it gets worse as the combination of the carrier and the car ride could not possibly help him calm down.

[Bastet]

Yeah, excessive grooming is a common self-soothing measure, and unfortunately some cats can do it so much they create sores rather than just lose (or discolor) their fur.  Given the timing, stress is a likely culprit for his actions.  Just keep an eye on it while you give him some time to get back into his groove.  If it turns into a recurring problem, or he makes a sore this time, we can chat about potential remedies, but for now I don't think there's any need to do anything other than exactly what you're doing.  And, for heaven's sake, don't steal his nap spot with your laundry, silly human! :-)

Edited February 7, 2017 by Bastet

[Jaded]

@isalicat maybe you can try a Feliway diffuser if you haven't already? One of the things it's supposed to help with is over grooming.

http://www.feliway.com/us

[Schweedie]

Best wishes for Louis!

Just a quick update about my dog-yearning - I've applied to volunteer at the shelter where I've been looking at dogs, which I'm pretty excited about. And who knows, maybe one day a dog comes in that I completely fall in love with and can't resist.

[DeLurker]

That's great!  I'm guessing there is a high probability that you end up not being able to resist one.  In the meantime, a lot of scared and neglected animals are going to get  some much needed kindness and patience!

[isalicat]

Quick Louis update! He is not doing any more excessive self-grooming although he still has the bald patch on his chest :(  We gave him some catnip Sunday afternoon which he thoroughly enjoyed and this weekend as the weather improves (I'm in rainy coastal California) we will introduce him to our super deluxe cat door (its built into the wall of the house) so he can go in and out of the back garden as he chooses (I've been letting him out there when it is not raining but leaving the patio door open for him to come back in and not allowing him out at night as yet). Our garden has very high fences so nothing has ever come in other than other cats (not for very long - our previous cat was extremely territorial and enormously large) so he should be quite safe there. I would like to get rid of the litter pan eventually (never had one with the previous cat) but I'm not sure if Louis will take to eliminating outside - it will be up to him over the next few months to let us know what works best for him.  Thank you to all the cat people here for your concern and suggestions!

[DeLurker]

Kokuma is 1 today!

He got a new can of tennis balls and a new chewy toy (substantially shredded already) so he's a pretty happy camper.