Friday, April 29, 2011

Hiding


A basket of stuffies and thee...


Penny!


A small update on Snafu. He's been off the Amitriptyline for over a week now. He zooms back and forth around the house, getting into trouble and will not settle down unless he's put back into his room. Spraying continues, fur flying fights still occur. I can't tell if the herbal remedy did anything for him at all. It was only a single dose. Anyway, we begin daily doses of the tincture today. Perhaps that'll do something.

~Lisa Co9T

Friday, April 22, 2011

O & Y



We have no shortage of Yukon and Owen pictures. 
Here they are on the top of our highest cat tree with laser eyes.


~Lisa Co9T

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Just 10 Minutes


Snafu off drugs takes 10 minutes to calm down when I get home from work. I think I can manage that. This time I brought a watch with me into Snafu’s room and the same scenario played out (except for the biting my ear part).

The herbal tincture was accidentally given to Snafu two days in a row, but it’s very hard to tell if it’s making any difference in his behavior. He may be a bit less aggressive, but that could be because he can think straight. He had two altercations with Penny but if we catch it in time, it can be averted…so he could have had more except that we saw it coming and said something before any action or contact was made. Sometimes it only takes a few words, other times it requires physical removal and as much as a time-out (which is a brief return to his room).

I plan to call the vet to give her an update today and see where to go from here, herbally.

~Lisa Co9T

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Snafu Off Meds

When I came home from work last night, I went into Snafu’s room (DP leaves for work about an hour before I get home) and spent time playing with him. He was at that extreme level of stimulation where he’s purring loudly and rubbing on everything frantically to the point where he could get hurt, depending on what he rubs on (dogs for instance or objects that could fall on top of him). Since we were in his room, he was relatively safe.  

He is three whole days off the Amitriptyline, and in his over stimulated state, it was hard to keep his attention on the toys and other flying objects I wanted to engage him with. Maybe three or four minutes had passed and he stopped going after the toys, but kept kneading and head butting things, so I sat down on his couch. He marched back and forth, jump up on the couch and then off, went to the door (which is a screen door), where Penny was sitting on the opposite side, and rubbed all over it, the door frame and wall. He did not spray anything, though at one point he stopped in front of Penny at the door. I could see he was getting himself worked up…which is this strange little huffing sound he does, so I called to him. He immediately broke out of it and came back to me on the couch.

One thing I have noticed off the Amitriptyline is his responsiveness is better. It seems his mind is clearer, even though it may be agitated. On the couch he rubbed all over me. I had my hands tucked inside my sweatshirt because I knew I could easily get a very excited love bite even though at this point since arriving home I had not petted him at all. Unfortunately my ears were vulnerable and when he jumped up onto the back of the couch rubbing behind me, he crunched my ear. Yeow! Thankfully, he did not puncture me or draw blood which he has done in the past. I put the hood of my hoodie into good use after that.

I will time this out next time, but I’d guess it was 15 minutes or so before he totally flopped on the floor, still purring. He got up a couple of times, but kept laying back down. Another minute or two later after he flopped, I picked him up and air lifted over Penny and the rest of the cats waiting in the hallway outside his door, and brought him into the kitchen. He just lay on the floor and watched me (which is what he used to do while on Amitriptyline) while I did a few chores, then I lit the woodstove and gave the kitties their dinner.

This will be the new regimen: One on one play/attention, food, warmth.  DP gave him his one dose of the herbal tincture today. I’m not quite sure what to look for, but it may take a day or so.

~Lisa Co9T

Monday, April 18, 2011

Miss Penny




At one point during our long conversation about Snafu's anxiety problems with Dr Herman, our new homeopathic vet, she stops and says, "So, let's talk about Miss Penny." 




"What color is she," she asks?




I can't imagine what she is getting at, can you?

~Lisa Co9T

P.S. We plan to give Snafu his test dose of new homeopathic herbs today. He has been a pee wielding wildcat.



Saturday, April 16, 2011

Situation Normal All F**ked Up (S.N.A.F.U)


Here is an update on Snafu's visit to Dr Judy Herman. I posted it on my human blog HERE.

I'll be back to regular cat blogging sometime next week.

Thank you for your support!!!

~Lisa Co9T

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Snafu - Extended





A couple commenters from yesterday's post brought up some interesting points about Snafu's situation. 


Kari asked about Snafu's neutering and I thought this was an excellent point. As a matter of fact we had Snafu's neutering job checked specifically for the possibility of cryptorchidism because Nick had this condition when he was a juvenile. Snafu was neutered at a young age at our local humane society where most of our crew is from (Penny, Angus, Yukon, Snafu and Owen), and we knew some unfortunate stories about their staff vet. Alas, he checked out fine. No leftover manparts making him crazy. It was at this point we started him on Amitriptyline (last October).


#1 brought up Rescue Remedy and we actually have not tried this. We expect this homeopathic vet will put him on this first. We were going to do it on our own, but we wanted to consult a veterinarian who works with it. 


I want to stop the Amitriptyline because, other than our concern for the long term effects, it doesn't stop his unwanted behavior anymore.  So we wonder if it's Spring smells triggering this bad bout or if he's just adjusted to medication...and would this happen to every med we try. I need to review everything with a professional who will look at his whole situation - physiological and environmental so that I can feel confident I'm doing everything else right.


Connie brought up the idea of an animal communicator. This does intrigue me, but I have no idea what to expect. DP and I came across, not one, but two animal communicators just this past weekend at a local "Holistic and Mystic Fair." If you read my human blog, you'll know that we found it very disturbing to see them BOTH eating meat - ham even! It just doesn't make sense to me that a person who claims the ability to communicate with animals would eat them.


I'd love to know if anyone of you have had experience with an animal communicator and what you gained from it? What were they like and how did they...do their thing? I'd like to hear about what others have learned before we hire someone to tell us that Snafu is very unhappy, would rather I stay home from work to be with him and not have the other cats around. He's already told me this in so many stinking ways!


Thanks for your advice and continued purrs!


~Lisa Co9T







Monday, April 11, 2011

Mancat Monday with Snafu


 Mancats Can Wear Pink Thongs!


Snafu has adopted wearing the thongs that Moseley wore.


The worst of his spraying is contained in a panty liner and he can still do everything he likes.

He can still pester and threaten the other kitties like he is doing here with Yukon.


He can still groom himself.


He can still kick himself.


He can still pace around the house and mark things.


Still able to leap off tables and counter tops.


Still able to nap by the woodstove.


But, most importantly to Snafu...


He is still able to KICK YOUR A**!


Friday we are taking Snafu to a Homeopathic Vet who works with behaviors. Even though he has his own room, takes Amitriptyline daily and we marinate in Feliway (three diffusers in our small mobile home), he still sprays and is very aggressive towards the other cats. It's like having a four year old we can not take our eyes off when he is out of his room. We look ahead and wonder how we are going to live like this for the next 15 or so years. We love him dearly and want him to feel secure and happy without drugging him and possibly causing long term damage to his organs. And we would like something that actually works. Your purrs would be appreciated.

~Lisa Co9T


Friday, April 8, 2011

Two Kitties Not Sharing

A Fight, but not exactly a Friday Night Fight.





I love how Owen bites Snafu a little too hard and when Snafu screams,
you can see Owen think, "Oh, no! I'm in trouble now!"

~Lisa Co9T

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

A Tailless Tabby on Tuesday



One of my favorite poses.


I love seeing his stubby tail sticking straight out.
It looks like a pom-pom on his head.

~Lisa Co9T



Friday, April 1, 2011

King or Queen of the Mountian

Who will be King or Queen of the Mountain (or cat tree)?


In a subtle battle of wills, Nick and Penny
 vie for the top of the cat tree. 
(pay no attention to the blue towel hanging off it)




Still cozy...

Hanging in there...

Must you lean back into my space?

I'm fine, how about you?
Nothing's bothering me.

There's plenty of room, really.

Well, that's a bit much...

Big sigh!

You're one of my best friends...

Love you too, deary...

You're such an a##!

What? 
Nothing...

That's it!

Oh, don't go, really...so sad...too bad!

~Lisa Co9T