Yes, really. Another kitty update.
Seth lounging on the couch
It’s now been over 10 weeks since we adopted Seth, a 5 year old tabby, and brought him home from the animal shelter.
To be brutally honest, it’s been a lot tougher than I imagined.
Seth has found it hard to settle into a home after 6 months at the pound; and also seems to be stressed by the fact that there is another cat here (despite sharing an enclosure with 3 other cats at the animal shelter).
He even had a bladder infection – had trouble weeing and passing a bit of blood – which required an urgent trip to the vet a couple of weeks ago. Fortunately it turned out to be nothing sinister – just stress! Apparently this is very common in cats – my vet described them as being a bit like Sheldon from “Big Bang Theory” – they stress and just don’t cope if people move their belongings, or there is some change in routine. Yes, really.
All this stress and anxiety means that even though Seth is neutered, he has taken to spraying to mark his territory. Sigh …
I was quite despairing last time I gave an update, because he and Fleur weren’t getting along. Thanks to the tips from you guys, I bought some Feliway spray and although it took a day or two to take effect, it really seemed to help. Plus, I got some great tips from Dr Jo Righetti of Pet Problems Solved.
We were actually at the point of beginning to enjoy being a two-cat family.
Miss Fleur thinks my in tray makes a cosy bed
One Step Forward, Two Steps Back
Alas, last week I forgot to use the spray two days in a row. This happened to coincide with moving one of the litter trays to a different area.
I’m not sure which of these in particular upset Seth’s applecart, but next thing I knew he was spraying on EVERYTHING. He constantly roamed the house, restless and miaowing, looking for somewhere to unleash his weapon of deadly destruction; one day I think he sprayed or was caught about to spray at least five times! I felt like all I did was clean up cat wee.
I was literally at the end of my tether, and even thought of surrendering him back to the pound – which broke my heart. It must have been bad if this confirmed crazy cat lady had had enough! We started locking him out on the cat patio 24/7, which although gave me (and him) some relief in the short-term (as he doesn’t seem to spray out there), it really wasn’t ideal in the long-term.
Fortunately, after about 3 days of hell, his behaviour settled once again.
The Kitty Chiller
On the upside, Seth and Fleur seem to be getting on okay now, and even play together sometimes.
Both sitting on my desk. Note how Fleur has to be “top cat” 😉
At night time we put them to bed – confining them to the laundry and cat patio – which we have christened the “Kitty Chiller”. If the name seems familiar, it’s because Kitty Chiller was the Australian Chef de Mission at the recent Rio Olympics. Her name amused us, and just seemed incredibly apt for the place where our cats like to hang out and chill – and so it became the Kitty Chiller!
Just chilling in the kitty chiller!
Although Seth originally picked Miss 19 and I as his new owners, he seems to have bonded most of all with Mr 22 – as you can see:
A Cat Named Really
It’s been such a trying time, that we joked that we should give Seth a new name: “Really”!
It felt like every time we turned around he was being naughty, to the point where we would just look at him in exasperation, and say, “Really?!”
Hopefully next time I bring you a kitty update, it will be all good news. Really 😉 .
Linking up with Denyse Whelan Blogs for Life this Week.
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