Pets and you

[Keit]

The two things we are doing are:
1. Feliway Pheremone infuser which operates at night in her sleeping area.
2. Homeopathic remedy called "Stramonium" - we give her 7 drops a day in her food

We have found significant behavioral improvements with this combination of treatment.

Thanks you very much for the info.

Stramonium is for Datura Stramonium? Isn't it toxic and acts as hallucinogen?

 

[Z...]

Please do not prescribe homeopathic remedies like this, its wrong.

Flashgordon's cat reacted well on Stramonium but yours might just prove the remedy. So don't even dream of using remedies without proper homeopathic consultation.

Yes Stramonium comes from Datura but we are talking about homeopathic remedies - have a look here http://www.cassiopaea.org/forum/index.php?topic=6407

Feliway is a product which reproduces certain pacifying properties of cat facial pheromones.
The placing of facial pheromones is a behaviour which is well known to all cat owners. When a cat feels safe in its environment, it rubs its head from the side of the chin to the base of the ear, against the furniture, the corners of walls or the bottom of curtains. By doing this, the animal is depositing facial pheromones. These marks convey a message of well-being and a feeling of security.

This is how producers are pushing Feliway:

When there is a change in the cat's environment (such as visits to the vets, return from hospitalization, moving house, new arrivals, rearrangement of furniture) or if the cat is scared, a state of disquiet or stress may develop. This state can be expressed by changes in behavior, such as urine marking, vertical scratching, loss of appetite or refusal to play and to interact.

I am not sure what to think of this kind of "therapy".
Even the feedback I get from clients who tried it is very contradictive some claim miracles and some no effects at all.

 

[Keit]

Please do not prescribe homeopathic remedies like this, its wrong.

Flashgordon's cat reacted well on Stramonium but yours might just prove the remedy. So don't even dream of using remedies without proper homeopathic consultation.

Yes, Decard, thanks for the warning, I didn't intend to use it or look for it without consulting our vet first.

When a cat feels safe in its environment, it rubs its head from the side of the chin to the base of the ear, against the furniture, the corners of walls or the bottom of curtains. By doing this, the animal is depositing facial pheromones. These marks convey a message of well-being and a feeling of security.

Then our cat doesn't need Feliway :) Most of the wall corners in our house lost their color because of her facial and body rubbing. And we actually thought that it was weird that she love to rub herself against the wall, especially when we give her attention and she pleased, but she becomes nervous when we touch her more then she likes. In fact, I am the only person who allowed to pet her for a limited period of time, when she is openly aggressive toward others (hissing and such).

I am not sure what to think of this kind of "therapy".
Even the feedback I get from clients who tried it is very contradictive some claim miracles and some no effects at all.

Well, I will be happy to get her something that will make her less neurotic and reactive in aggressive way. Sometimes it can be real hazard because she may suddenly scratch and cause serious harm (she was pretty close several times).

But thanks again for the warning.

 

[Z...]

Well, I will be happy to get her something that will make her less neurotic and reactive in aggressive way. Sometimes it can be real hazard because she may suddenly scratch and cause serious harm (she was pretty close several times).

Allopathic vet wont be able to do much about this. Conventional veterinary medicine doesnt have many solution to behavioral and psychological problems. Also dont forget some animals are just born that way, neurotic or even shizoidal - actually i noticed this slighlty more in cats then in dogs. What causes it -we dont have a clue, but then again even human psychiatrists are clueless in was majority of cases.

Puting your cat on prozac maybe? Just kidding :)

I suugest you try to find either homeopathic vet which will thorougly take the case or if there arent any in your area try to find human homeopath that deals with animals.

Homeopathy indeed can help in cases like this, I have seen it many times.

 

[domi]

Puting your cat on prozac maybe? Just kidding :)

Prozac is prescribed for cats (and dogs). I know of one person who gives it to a cat with anxiety problems (which causes the cat to spray).

 

[mugatea]

I uploaded a video of both my dogs a month or so ago on Photobucket. They are collie crosses. Juno (the black and white dog) is 5 years old and wee Ruby is about 8 months, she has some beardie in her, hence the longer fur.

Juno loves to swim and play in the water more than anything, Ruby prefers it dry but will go in to retrieve a stick or plastic bottle. They are full of beans and love to play. Balls are their favourite toys, altho Ruby loves anything that's chewie like shoes.


http://s70.photobucket.com/albums/i109/mugatea/?action=view&current=d672a3aa.flv

Jamie

 

[Keit]

Puting your cat on prozac maybe? Just kidding :)

I suugest you try to find either homeopathic vet which will thorougly take the case or if there arent any in your area try to find human homeopath that deals with animals.

Homeopathy indeed can help in cases like this, I have seen it many times.

Thanks Deckard, I think I'll try this option.

 

[Mike]

Puting your cat on prozac maybe? Just kidding :)

Prozac is prescribed for cats (and dogs). I know of one person who gives it to a cat with anxiety problems (which causes the cat to spray).

I had a dog when I lived in Seattle and he had severe separation anxiety. One option was giving him doggy prozac, but I decided against it. I lived in a condo and his barking and crying was driving my neighbors nuts. He now lives with my parents.

Franklin, aka 'Wolf Beast'

 

[Beau]

I really like the two different colored eyes Mike :)

 

[Ruth]

We have a cat called Bella. Bella is about 4 years old now. She was the runt of the litter when we got her and has developed into a very idiosyncratic little animal. She appears to be a touch schizophrenic.

There may be an organic reason for this, too. When in the womb, if they don't receive enough good nutrition, it does something to their brains and they become like feral cats.

I once found a feral kitten and she was much like this. Not domesticated at all. She really didn't fit into our world at all.

 

[Zadius Sky]

I have managed to find the time to take the pictures of my family dogs.

Behold, the remarkable Scotty!

We got him sometime around 2001. We think he's half-Scottish, half-Poodle, and half-shitzu. He's a very smart dog.

Here are Scotty (left) and Mickey (right).

We got Mickey (shitzu) about a year later. However, someone came by the house one day and gave him to us at no charge (the guy doesn't want the dog anymore because he's cross-eyed). Mickey was very small, about a size of one's hand, at 3 months old when he first came to us. He was very traumatized. So, we kept him. Scotty became Mickey's role model (actually following Scotty around alot) and Scotty takes care of him (e.g. cleaning his eyes).

 

[Wisteria]

Adam, I recognize every single letter of your post. I've had the same experiences and the same feelings with my cat, although he never got lost for more than 24 hours.

Deciding what is good or not good for animals/pets is often, but not always a STS-driven problem. Consider this: would you feel uncomfortable if some 4D dude treated you the same way you treat your cat? Would you feel enslaved or imprisoned?

I also resonate with your post. I often think how frustrated and angry I would feel if some 4D dude didn't allow me to leave my home state and I realise my complete hypocrisy. I have a back garden, so I added some special netting to the surrounding fences so that my cats can run around, hunt and explore outside, but not out on the road. I live in an inner city suburb in Melbourne, Australia. Cars roar past my house at high speed at all hours. Neighbours cats never last long - three years at most it seems. It would devastate me if any of my cats died, but far worse is thinking of them lying in the middle of the road in severe pain for hours on end while I am asleep or out. If I lived in the country I would definitely let them all roam free, but I don't, so this is the decision I made - although I feel guilty about it often.

 

[Wisteria]

I should possibly add that on odd occasions when the guilt becomes too overwhelming, I do let them out the front for a few hours - fretting all the while.

 

[crystalicdream]

My family has only ever had one pet, and that would be our German Shepherd/Border Collie Mix named Max. He is currently 16 and a half years old and very sweet, and I miss him very much, now that I am in Canada and away from him for such a long time. One just starts to miss all the little things, even down to the way your pets smells.
We have two Dachshunde were I live now, and one is named Toodles and is a bit hyperactive and always gets his way. I have decided to go on walks with him since his owners only hold him in the house all day.

But back to Max. With his advanced age, he cannot walk on his own any more. His hind-legs have given out, at first he tried to still use them, but now he has resigned to just let them drag on behind him. I have made a stock of knitted socks for him so that he doesn't rip apart his own feet on the concrete when he lets his hind-legs drag like this, and it works fairly well, preventing injuries.
We have also made special braces for him so that we can hold him upright and assist him in walking. His front legs work just fine, but since he cannot stand on his own or move on his own, he relies on our family members to assist him in his mobility.
This of course also includes signaling to us whenever he wants to be moved around the house, which he does by whining. For larger distances, we have a bycicle trailer attached to a bycicle, and can drive around with him in that way. He really enjoys these rides.

Apart from this, he is still a very lively dog and has no other major health problems.
We often have met people on the streets though that insisted that we are torturing our dog and that we should euthanize him as soon as possible. Some of them even stated that if their dog would be like ours, they wouldn't bother with all the effort and just put them to sleep.

But if you see a pet that looks like this, would you really do that?

 

[Palinurus]

But back to Max. With his advanced age, he cannot walk on his own any more. His hind-legs have given out, at first he tried to still use them, but now he has resigned to just let them drag on behind him. I have made a stock of knitted socks for him so that he doesn't rip apart his own feet on the concrete when he lets his hind-legs drag like this, and it works fairly well, preventing injuries.
We have also made special braces for him so that we can hold him upright and assist him in walking. His front legs work just fine, but since he cannot stand on his own or move on his own, he relies on our family members to assist him in his mobility.

Hi crystalicdream,

Thanks for sharing. I was wondering whether an old skateboard (or just half of it) tied to his hind-legs might empower him to walk more comfortably on his own, rolling the legs behind him in stead of just dragging them? Might be more fun too... Just a thought, FWIW.

Hope this helps a bit. He certainly seems worth every effort. :)