My Kitty- Luna

[knowledge_of_self]

Aside from the 2 weird incidents I shared here

I’ve had some long term observation from Luna that I would like to share with you all.

Firstly, when I got Luna she was only like a week old. I got her from a cat house shelter where she was brought to after her mother died giving birth. (That’s what the lady told me) She was picked on by all the other cats in the house and was a VERY frightened little kitty when I met her. The term “scaredy cat” seems to fit Luna perfectly. Although after observing her, I noticed some things. It’s not so much that she’s “scared” when she meets new people. It’s that she does not like being violated. She doesn’t like when someone pets her without having to smell them first. So when someone wants to pet her, I let them know to let her smell you first. She doesn’t bite or scratch or anything, but she meows her displeasure and runs away ducking down to a dark corner of the house.

I've noticed her interaction with different people and she reacts differently towards everybody. She’s very catty when it comes to liking someone, it’s like, she’ll like you on her terms, lol. I noticed she doesn’t seem to like my mom very much, even though she’s spent a lot of time with my mom. (My mom cat sits for us whenever we have to go away) My mom can be forceful when it comes to petting her though, which might be why. Meaning she doesn’t let Luna smell her hand or anything, she just does it which I think annoys Luna. The one person I’ve noticed Luna really likes is Nima’s (my spouse) handy-cap brother. He is very respective towards Luna and she never gets scared when he comes over, and is always very comfortable around him. She doesn’t see him often, but when she does she’s very calm and doesn’t mind his company.

Moving on, for a long time, I fed Luna dry cat food. She ate the dry food with her hands. I haven’t seen very many cats do that, but it always amazed me when I saw her do it, because it seemed like she was eating like a person. Does anyone else’s cat do that with dry food? Speaking of dry food, after doing some research I found that dry food is VERY bad for cats. So I started feeding her natural organic wet food, which made her lose weight, seem MUCH happier and active, and not throw up hair-balls as much as she used to while eating “ hair-ball control” IAMS dry food (which is supposed to be the best of it’s kind) But moving on…

She also has a habit of lying flat on her back, which she did from when she was very young and always amazed me. Although I know other cats do that as well so it’s not so uncommon.

Luna has always had a very keen sense of my emotions. Whenever I get upset or cry, she always runs over to comfort me. And I have to admit it works most of the time. lol
And another amazing thing I’ve experienced dealing with her, is when I go through that time of the month… I usually have very extreme cramps, and I’ve noticed that when I do, I let her sit on top of me and I pet her. Her purring and the vibrations created by her purr is the weirdest sensation that for some odd reason, extremely helps alleviate my cramps.

Anyway, these are just some of my observations that I can recall right now. If I remember more I’ll write some later :)

 

[theos]

My former cat, Fatty, (now in kitty heaven) looked a lot like your cat, Luna. She used to dip her paw into her water dish and drink from it. Other times she would drink from the bowl like normal. She also used to lie flat on her back.

I adopted another cat a few months ago. He is a scaredy cat. I'm in the process of changing his diet from Iam's to a more organic cat food. I'm curious if it will change his behavior.

 

[Lauranimal]

Ahhhhhh ... Luna sound so much like my Pantera, who died a few years ago. Such a loving comfort .... my best friend for 16 years, who taught me many lessons.

She was diagnosed with end-stage kidney failure and given anywhere from 6 months to a year to live. I wasn't having any of THAT! I did a huge amount of research and she lived very happily for another 5 years, with much special care. One of the most important things I did for her was to switch her food. None of that Science Diet crap or cheap fillers stuff. And most importantly, I looked for and found some products low in phosphorus with really high quality ingredients.

I just did a search for what I had been feeding her, and the packaging looks different, but I'm pretty sure it is the same company. Innova; California Naturals. ( http://www.californianaturalpet.com/search/ ) I fed her the wet food twice a day and left a dish of dry food out in hopes that she would munch a little while I was at work. (the dry food was great for her teeth, and as long as it is a high quality and is not the only thing being fed, dry food seems to be ok in moderation. Ideally, starting animals out on a raw diet would be optimal as transitioning them to such later, is difficult at best ... especially when they aren't feeling very hungry.) I was using the formulas intended to help keep weight on her.

Every time I opened a can of tuna, I filled a dish with the tuna water for her to drink. Every time I had avacado, green pees, cantalope or sweet potato, I mushed some up for her with a tinkle of nettles tea to moisten it up. She LOVED those!

I am glad to know you have such a dear friend who shares her special "vibe" with you =^..^=

 

[knowledge_of_self]

My former cat, Fatty, (now in kitty heaven) looked a lot like your cat, Luna. She used to dip her paw into her water dish and drink from it. Other times she would drink from the bowl like normal. She also used to lie flat on her back.

I adopted another cat a few months ago. He is a scaredy cat. I'm in the process of changing his diet from Iam's to a more organic cat food. I'm curious if it will change his behavior.

Aw yeah, when I first got Luna, she was so young and didn't know how to drink water. So she went a while without drinking it, and I noticed how she was breathing really strangely like a dog. like she was sticking her tongue out and breathing through her mouth as if she was really thirsty. So i put the water in front of her and she wouldn't drink any. Finally, I put this little glass fishbowl that had these glass fishes in it in front of her, and she started playing with the fish balls that floated on top of the water. Her hands would get wet, so she would lick her hands, and so she started drinking in that fashion for a long time. Until she got older, than one day she stopped and just drank normally.

I think you'll be surprised at how much your cat's behavior will change when you change his diet. Before I changed Luna's diet, she almost seemed depressed to me, and when I did she became so much happier and able to move so much better due to the weight loss.

Ahhhhhh ... Luna sound so much like my Pantera, who died a few years ago. Such a loving comfort .... my best friend for 16 years, who taught me many lessons.

She was diagnosed with end-stage kidney failure and given anywhere from 6 months to a year to live. I wasn't having any of THAT! I did a huge amount of research and she lived very happily for another 5 years, with much special care. One of the most important things I did for her was to switch her food. None of that Science Diet crap or cheap fillers stuff. And most importantly, I looked for and found some products low in phosphorus with really high quality ingredients.

I just did a search for what I had been feeding her, and the packaging looks different, but I'm pretty sure it is the same company. Innova; California Naturals. ( http://www.californianaturalpet.com/search/ ) I fed her the wet food twice a day and left a dish of dry food out in hopes that she would munch a little while I was at work. (the dry food was great for her teeth, and as long as it is a high quality and is not the only thing being fed, dry food seems to be ok in moderation. Ideally, starting animals out on a raw diet would be optimal as transitioning them to such later, is difficult at best ... especially when they aren't feeling very hungry.) I was using the formulas intended to help keep weight on her.

I feel kind of stupid, but I fed Luna dry food for a long time, because someone told me it was the best for them. Oh how wrong i was... because apparently cats aren't supposed to eat grain at all which is the product inside most dry food. They are supposed to eat meat since they are carnivores by nature. And most of the pet food (non-natural) ie. IAMS, Wiskas wet-food are like McDonald for cats & dogs. They get addicted to it, and that's why they always seem to want more. Also, most pet foods are tested on animals only for 6 months and if the animal doesn't react badly to it within 6 months, it is eligible to be put on shelves in stores. No one knows what long-term affects of those foods are on animals.

Every time I opened a can of tuna, I filled a dish with the tuna water for her to drink. Every time I had avacado, green pees, cantalope or sweet potato, I mushed some up for her with a tinkle of nettles tea to moisten it up. She LOVED those!

Oh wow, I've never tried giving Luna any of the above. I'm surprised at the fact that your cat liked veggies hehe. The one thing Luna does love, is eggs (raw) and i give her some of that at least once a week. It keeps her coat shiny too. This is the food i give her...
http://www.wellnesspetfood.com/cat_wellness_can_index.html

I am glad to know you have such a dear friend who shares her special "vibe" with you =^..^=

Yes, thank you very much for your comments. She really is like one of my best friends and I'll take care of her the best I can for as long as she's with me :)

 

[theos]

I've still only bought dry food for my cat, Chico. The links to california natural foods and wellness petfood list natural flavors (msg) and carrageenen (msg-type tumor inducer). I'm still on the lookout for a better alternative.

Meanwhile, I've noticed some changes in Chico. Usually, if I have company over, he runs straight into the other room when they arrive. The other day, Chico stayed in his bed in the living room and even let a stranger pet him. He hung out with us for a while before going to the other room. He also greets me and is more active when I come home.

 

[Maia]

Jack our Domestic Gray (also a rescue) sounds a lot like Luna. He would prefer for the new person to introduce themself politely and let him come to them and smell them vs rushing right up and pawing him.

Jack was never scared though - at 28 pounds he stood his ground when my son's gentle 200 lb Mastiff, Zeus approached him.

That was a day! Zeus charged in the door and ran right up to Jack to play and make friends.

Well Jack curled up his back, flattened his ears back, his eyes got a wild look and his hiss could be heard all over the house. He stood his ground and Zeus backed off. Jack is normally a real layed back kind of guy but boy, don't mess with him.

Later on when Zeus learned to let Jack approach him, they became good friends, but it was always on Jack's term.

Odie and Jack got along, sometimes they would curl up and sleep together - but Odie was always sensitive enough to know everyone's mood. When my second son moved into a townhouse he took Jack with him for company.

He use to be more stand offish towards me. Now when we come over to visit, Jack is the friendliest cat, can't get enough petting and scratching.

Jack is on IAMS Adult lite cat food. As he is a big boy, a little over weight but he is just a big cat.

Brian, my second son talks to him a lot as they live alone together and Jack now, when Brian says something to him, he will occasionally reply back :O

Maybe animals are evolving just like humans are?

We got Jack around the same time as we got Odie and the vet said he also wasn't a kitten, he was about 4 years old so he's around 18-20 and still going strong. He doesn't like to be picked up, he would rather just be petted. He will lay in Brian's lap when they watch TV.

Jack's never been sick (knock on wood).