Wednesday when we got home from work, my brother mentioned Tinker Bell had been a little off all afternoon. He opened the front door to let some light in (we have a storm door) because the cats have always enjoyed looking out the windows.
Apparently on Wednesday a stray cat decided to waltz up right on our front doorstep and it really got Tinker Bell in a tizzy. She came downstairs like she always does when we get home because we give them a can of wet food, but this time she stopped 4 steps from the floor. I tried to approach her and she hissed and growled at me. Hardy attempted to approach her and she did the same thing and took off upstairs.
She remained upstairs the entire night and even into the next morning. She didn't want to be near me, Hardy or our other cat Flower. I was pretty upset about it because Tink has never acted that way. It was to the point where I was afraid to enter the same room as her. Sadly, Flower was pretty scared too. So much so he wouldn't even cross her path to go to the litter box and ended up using the bathroom elsewhere.
We made him a separate litter box Thursday night and kept Tink closed off in our spare bedroom. Friday morning when we gave her food she meowed and let us pet her, but only for a few minutes. I ran home for lunch and gave her some more food and she wanted to be loved on so bad, so I pet her as long as I could before returning to work. Friday evening she let Hardy approach her so things were looking up.
She's still touch and go with Flower, so we try to be near if they're going to be near one another.
The vet came out Saturday morning for their annual visit (we use Shelton Mobile Vet, its only $70 for the house call regardless of the number of pets you have) + whatever shots/vaccines/other services you request. Since our cats never come in contact with other cats or animals we only get the rabies vaccine. After she had a chance to look at them, she said it would be best to put Tinker Bell on a low-dose tranquilizer to keep her mellow until this blows over. She said it was normal behavior for cats...especially inside cats. If they see/hear/smell a stray (especially male strays) it can set them off. Since they're inside they don't really have anywhere to go and let out their aggression so in turn, the people/pets closest are the victims. So we have a prescription of Amitriptyline to give her in the evenings.
Here's to hoping it works - - I want my cat back!
By the way...Tinker Bell weighs a whopping 21 lbs!!! It's mostly fluff....I think :)
Apparently on Wednesday a stray cat decided to waltz up right on our front doorstep and it really got Tinker Bell in a tizzy. She came downstairs like she always does when we get home because we give them a can of wet food, but this time she stopped 4 steps from the floor. I tried to approach her and she hissed and growled at me. Hardy attempted to approach her and she did the same thing and took off upstairs.
She remained upstairs the entire night and even into the next morning. She didn't want to be near me, Hardy or our other cat Flower. I was pretty upset about it because Tink has never acted that way. It was to the point where I was afraid to enter the same room as her. Sadly, Flower was pretty scared too. So much so he wouldn't even cross her path to go to the litter box and ended up using the bathroom elsewhere.
We made him a separate litter box Thursday night and kept Tink closed off in our spare bedroom. Friday morning when we gave her food she meowed and let us pet her, but only for a few minutes. I ran home for lunch and gave her some more food and she wanted to be loved on so bad, so I pet her as long as I could before returning to work. Friday evening she let Hardy approach her so things were looking up.
She's still touch and go with Flower, so we try to be near if they're going to be near one another.
The vet came out Saturday morning for their annual visit (we use Shelton Mobile Vet, its only $70 for the house call regardless of the number of pets you have) + whatever shots/vaccines/other services you request. Since our cats never come in contact with other cats or animals we only get the rabies vaccine. After she had a chance to look at them, she said it would be best to put Tinker Bell on a low-dose tranquilizer to keep her mellow until this blows over. She said it was normal behavior for cats...especially inside cats. If they see/hear/smell a stray (especially male strays) it can set them off. Since they're inside they don't really have anywhere to go and let out their aggression so in turn, the people/pets closest are the victims. So we have a prescription of Amitriptyline to give her in the evenings.
Here's to hoping it works - - I want my cat back!
By the way...Tinker Bell weighs a whopping 21 lbs!!! It's mostly fluff....I think :)
Your low dose tranquilizer is an antidepressant. In humans it takes a full month of daily use to start to feel the effects of the medication, hopefully it works faster in kitties :) good luck, hope she comes around.
ReplyDeleteYea I googled it. It seems to have made some effect on her because she's been downstairs since her first dose last night. Makes her walking a little wobbly and her pupils are dilated but at least she's social. The vet warned it may take a week for her body to get used to it.
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