An Update on Snafu in June
But first, some fun photos of him playing with his newest favorite toy.
He loves to carry it about and keep it away from the other kitties.
Never a dull moment!
As of today, Snafu is not on any herbal remedies or pharmaceutical medications. If you are new here and need a historical reference of where we’ve been with Snafu and why you may want to read Mancats Can Wear Pink Thongs, Snafu - Extended, Situation Normal All F**ked Up, Homeopathy, and Snafu on the Offensive (otherwise know that he is cat aggressive, has fear/anxiety issues and is a territorial in-house peer). We did try Bach’s Rescue Remedy which at first made him more anxious, then we took him off the homeopathic album tincture and the Rescue Remedy seemed to work better. But…nothing we gave him seemed to make any consistent relative difference in his behavior and he still sprayed and attacked other cats. So, ultimately we decided to just monitor him when he is out of his room and only let him out when we can give him lots of attention.
In fact we have learned the best way to calm him is heat. A hot day (or in the winter, the woodstove) takes the aggression right out of him. Case in point - the other day when it was sunny and in the 80’s here, he and Penny actually tapped noses in passing. Taps instead of hisses and flat ears! Imagine that! Otherwise, on cool rainy days, he trys to beat the crap out of Angus, who insists on teasing him.
For the most part I keep his “trigger housemates” Penny, BJ and Angus in another room (if they are agreeable) when Snafu has his time out to run and play through the house. If he decides to curl up and take a nap, only then do I let the other kitties out, too.
Simply put, we are managing his behavior. At some point, we may try a different pharmaceutical when we have the money and perhaps reach a new tipping point because sometimes it is hard to see him so full of anxiety, but for now management (and heat) works best whether he is on or off medication.
By the way, the thong we had him wearing on occasion proved unhelpful when he had to go #2...which we could not predict. I only had to clean that up off him once to nix that accessory.
Thanks for reading this and thank you for your continued concern over our troubled boy. If anyone would like more specific or detailed information on what we've been doing and why, please email me at the Gmail address above. I know some of you have similar problems and are looking for answers too.
~Lisa Co9T
