Posted on 03/17/2017 12:23:59 PM PDT by Kaslin
RUSH: I’ll tell you, I look battle-scarred here today. I had the most unpleasant experience at home today. You know, I have my little cat, my little Abyssinian named Allie. I got Allie a little while, about six months after my previous beloved cat passed away, Punkin.
They have two completely different personalities. Whereas Punkin from one year of age was like an old lady, slow moving, totally affectionate, wherever I went the cat was there. This cat Allie is the most independent, like I thought all cats were, doesn’t give a rat’s rear end except when she wants to eat or something. She’s a lovable cat, don’t misunderstand.
But I made a mistake with this cat when she was a kitten because the place I live has many danger points for a kitten like second story balconies to jump or fall off of, nooks and crannies to get lost in. For the first, I don’t know, nine months or year the only place the cat got to go was my library where I could keep an eye on her. And it’s a big enough room as it is, and it has an upstairs and a balcony, had to close that off. I closed off the staircase so that nobody could get up there, including the cat.
Well, this meant that at the end of the night when it was time to go to bed I had to catch the cat and take her up with me. She didn’t like it and she began to hide and to hiss and to basically threaten me when I tried to pick her up because she didn’t want to be captured. But I had to do it, and this went on for nine months. And I’m afraid I have forever scarred this cat into thinking that whenever I approach, she’s gonna be captured and sent back to the zoo or something.
Well, today she had to go to the vet, the annual checkup and to get the claws clipped. I did not remove the claws this time like we did with the previous cat because I thought that was a little bit too much, plus there are dogs running around so the cat needs some defense mechanisms. They’re giant dogs. They’re sheepdogs. So it was time today, and yesterday we could not get her into the travel cage. She just ran away from the staff attempting to — she would hide in places they couldn’t get her.
So I get this note yesterday, “Look, we’ve tried for two hours, but we’re gonna need your help tomorrow,” meaning today. I said, “Aw, no. You mean I’m the one that has to catch her and end up being hated?”
So we devised a plan. The cat every morning, when I’m in the shower, goes to a window sill in my closet and waits for me. I come out of the shower, get dressed, and then go scratch her butt and pet her. So I said, “What I’m gonna do, I’m gonna go in there and I’m gonna grab her and you run in with that cage.” We left the cage in a room overnight so she could get accustomed to it. Well, all of that went according to plan until she saw the cage. And I have got cat scratches all over my hands. That cat was hissing, the mouth was wide open, her eyes, her pupils were wide open.
I said, “This cat’s either traumatized or mad, or maybe both, at me!” So we get her in that cage. She jumped out, I mean, lickety-split. We found her after another 10 minutes, get her back in the cage, and the guy had forgotten to zip up the end and she darted out the edge of it. It took three times, three traumatized cat experiences. And, I don’t know, it’s not cruelty, because we had to take the cat to the vet to make sure she gets her annual shots, checkup and all this.
But I had Band-Aids and styptic pencils all over my hands for 20 minutes after this. I’ve never seen the cat so mad and I’m just convinced it was that first year. (interruption) Well, it’s getting worse. I mean, this is the first time this happened. Last year when we put her in the cage, I mean, she objected, but there weren’t any claws and fangs and hisses. If I would have thought about it, I would have put on a hazmat suit or some such thing.
Anyway, got her to the vet, got the claws trimmed, got the shots, she’s back home now. But man, oh, man, I’ve never seen such a traumatized pet. And this cat is treated with the greatest affection and nobody is ever mean. I’m convinced that I made the cat paranoid in that first year.
L tryptophan pills, the same stuff in turkey that makes you fall asleep after thanksgiving dinner. Vets have it, calms them down enough to transport. Rush may want to think about desensitizing the cat by picking it up and giving it treats at least once a day. Then it associates being picked up with something positive.
CC
Oh for heaven’s sake, never let the kitty have an idea you are putting them in a crate. Turn the cat carrier on end, open the door and drop kitty in. I have had up to ten kitties over the years.
Rush is rich, have the to your door vets do the job.
K
Next time grab it by the scruff. It will freeze.
Then, using a clothes pin or any like device that solidly squeezes, put it on the scruff.
The cat will stay frozen until you remove the device.
I had a cat like this. It was suffering get from cancer and frequent needed transporting to the vet.
I used those metal clips you buy at an office supply store, for holding and securing large amounts of paper, when stapling is impossible due to the volume.
Christine?
Yer photo won’t load.
The album is private...
There's a shelter for cars now? Are they real old ones or are they in pretty good condition?
The vet used to have to wrap my cat Louie in a blanket to give the shots. He was a wild one.
My son had a cat that the vet staff nicknamed “The Tasmanian Devil.” The cat was fine until he got to the vet. The problem got so bad that whenever the cat had to be seen by the vet, my son had to leave him all day so he could be sedated before they’d examine him.
I arranged for a mobile vet to come check out my MILs three cats.
Two were easy, the Maine Coon cat tore up the vet pretty good.
He got through the weighing part but Vinny lost patience before the shots.
I told her to do the shots first! Forget the weight, the cat is obese and is not going to lose weight because of my MIL.
My main point is $90 to come out was well worth it to me.
The two other cats are on thyroid medicine now.
Now my widowed MIL has someone to take care of again. Those thyroid blood test were expensive.
I think Rush needs to have the My cat from Hell guy out to his place.
I got one that you have to lure, grab and stash in the carrier and dash. The poor wired Orange Tab is Psycotic when trying to catch but goes completely limp at the vet. I think it goes in a panic terror mode and freezes up.
It has even crapped itself in the carrier before which sucks.
I'm using the mobile next time.
It was $500 then $50 for the thyroid medicine.
They seem better. Two sister cats are about 12 years.
Best thing for the cat is find it a loving home, start over w a new cat, and do it differently the next time.
Rush loves his cat, and this a beautiful one, but the breed—Abyssinian—is not a good choice. They have the breeding for beauty, for looking like Egyptian cats—but they don’t have the breeding for domesticity and affection. I would have suggested he check out Ragdolls or Maine Coon—and I’ve always liked male cats better than female.
There are vets who make housecalls. I’m surprised with all of Rush’s money, he hasn’t found a vet he can trust to come and examine the cat at home. When my son had to put his wild cat down, instead of putting the cat through the traumatic experience of being put in the container, and drive him to the vet, he contacted a vet who made housecalls, and had the cat put to sleep at home. Afterward, the vet took the cat, cremated him, and returned the ashes to my son. It cost more, but it was so much easier than putting the cat through any more stress than it already was.
Since Rush reads Free Republic,
replace the bad memories with good. Pick up the cat, once a day, and take her to a pleasant place. A room with a floor to ceiling, carpeted, cat tree with cat nip.
Soon Allie will pair you holding her with the pleasant new place.
Then always have someone else catch the cat for the vet.
DEAR RUSH: leave kitty in empty room with litter, food and water until she cries of loneliness. It might take a few days, but she will get lonely and cry for you. At that time, she will have gotten over the outrage she feels. Cats I understand.
What a hoot! Plenty of good advice for Rush on here, but you hit it - that cat is a Democrat. I knew it when I saw her laid back ears. I had one that was a democrat once, and I could sure tell. Then one who was an obvious Libertarian, and the third, all in the house at once, was a Republican (she didn’t like anything to happen that hadn’t happened before). The one I have now makes deals & she always wins. She’s just right. :-)
Lorazepam. Kitty won’t care...
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