My little tuxie boy (ok – so he’s 10, and he’s not very little, but he’s still my baby!) seems incredibly depressed often. He’s mopey and just lays around looking sad. We tried the calming treats from Petsmart, but he won’t eat them. Our vet recommended Feliway, but it’s expensive. Do you have any ideas? (I think he needs a buddy, but we have another cat that would NOT like another cat in the house – she’d be happy if our tuxie packed up his toys and left, so that’s not an option.) Thank you so much!
GD said: I would get out interactive toys (feather wand, laser, etc) and insure you have daily/nightly play sessions with him followed by a little special treat. See if that helps.
I’m glad you addressed the getting-another-cat issue, that was going to be my first suggestion! I do agree with GD that maybe some extra play, followed by a favorite treat or two, and some one-on-one attention would help.
Also, Alyslinn mentioned that Feliway is cheaper at Amazon than at the vet’s office. I agree and will suggest eBay, too – I get mine from Pets 4 Vets.
If anyone else has any suggestions, I’d love to hear them!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Robyn – I know you’ve done a chart of which cats get along (or don’t!) with each other – but I am curious about which cats are snugglers with the humans? We’ve got 3 in the house right now and one is literally *always* by my side (or on me) if I settle anywhere, one will sit with her human maybe 1/3 of the time and comes to ask for petting, but then walks away, and the other almost never settles down with anyone, but does come to *demand* head scratches. Where do your cats fall on the human interaction spectrum?
It’s funny that you ask this, because Fred and I had a discussion about this very topic just yesterday morning. We determined that we have four snugglers – Dennis, Stefan, Alice and Kara are the ones who want to be on or up against us. They aren’t hardcore snugglers, and they come looking for snuggles when THEY want the snuggles, but when they’re in the mood for love, they are SUPER sweet and snuggly. None of them are at the Miz Poo end of the spectrum – Miz Poo wanted to snuggle always. If you picked her up to snuggle, she’d stay on you, purring like crazy, forever. So if you consider Miz Poo a 10 on that spectrum and Stinkerbelle at a 1 (because she did occasionally allow a little tiny bit of petting for a moment), our current permanent residents would rank like so:
8: Dennis, Stefan, Alice.
7: Kara (this would be higher, but she won’t sit still. You’ll get her settled in, think you’re going to take a nap together, and then she leaps up, runs off, then comes back and stands over you with her tail whipping back and forth.)
6: Jake. He’ll let you pick him up and snuggle him, kiss him, flip him onto his back like a baby, but he doesn’t really snuggle up to you if left to his own devices. He LOVES to be petted, really likes to be brushed, but won’t snuggle up for a nap or a TV show, much as I try to convince him otherwise.)
4: Joe Bob, Newt, Maxi. They really like to be petted, but don’t want to snuggle, and don’t want to be picked up at ALL. They don’t want to sit in a lap and watch TV, won’t sleep curled up against you. They need their SPACE, thank you very much.
3: Archie. Archie likes us, he likes to be petted, but he does NOT like to be picked up (he goes completely stiff when you pick him up), and he can only handle being petted for a short amount of time. If you’re petting him and he wants you to be done, he’ll hiss at you. He has never ever bitten or scratched either one of us, no matter what we’ve done to him – I can pick him up in the middle of a hiss-off with Stefan and put him outside, and he hisses and growls the entire way, but has never ever lashed out at me. The only time either of us has been scratched by him is the time Fred leaned down to pick him up, and it startled him – which is Fred’s fault, not Archie’s.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ste-FAWN is my favourite. He seems like the most chill cat in the world. Is he cuddly with people at all?
He’s a cuddler – and even better, if he flops down next to you when you’re ready to take a nap, and you hug him close to you, he’ll just lay there like a big ol’ huggy pillow and snooze the afternoon away with you and let you hug him the entire time.
I’ve always said that orange tabbies are the laid-back catnip-smokin’ surfers of the cat world, and Stefan certainly holds true to that stereotype.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I think that is one of the cutest pics over ALL the years!!!
I agree – let’s see it again!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Who decided coconut needed to be in cat food?? Are there island cats somewhere shimmying up coconut trees and batting the coconuts down to drink the milk? Someone call Animal Planet because this is something we need to see! 😉
Right? Fred posted this on Facebook the day I fed that cat food to the cats: I am regularly amazed at the things cat food manufacturers put in their products to make it seem appealing to people. #CoconutMilkIsntMilk
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A California blogger I follow posted about a Russian Blue they adopted from neighbors who moved to Hawaii. He is allergic to cats, but relented to his children since Russian Blues are supposed to be hypoallergenic. I come to the experts to ask if this is true. He said he is doing fine allergy wise and the cat is a wonderful family member.
I had never heard that, so I went looking. I found this page, which said: Fel d 1, a protein in cat saliva, is one common trigger for people allergic to cats. Remember that cats constantly lick themselves to stay clean. The Russian blue’s saliva contains less of this protein than the average cat. Of course, the Russian blue still produces dander, urine and excretions from the sebaceous glands, all of which can cause allergic reactions. However, it appears that Fel d 1 content in saliva is the strongest predictor of allergies.
That’s pretty interesting – I had honestly never heard that about Russian Blues, and wouldn’t have expected it, since they have such thick fur. You learn something new every day!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Webster in the background, Felix in the middle, and that big blur of orangey goodness is Stefan.
Webster’s ears just crack me UP.
Felix has the prettiest eyes, doesn’t he?
His ears look even bigger here!
I got the Pounce toy out to distract them while I cleaned the foster room. Felix was all over the toy, and Webster mostly sat back and watched. Eventually, Felix just sat on top of the “mouse”, and the toy made a sad clicking noise, so I turned it off.
These boys have for sure hit their long and lanky stage. Look at how long Felix is!
Yesterday, the boys had their rabies shots. They’ll be with us through the weekend, and then Tuesday evening they’ll be going home together.
I mentioned this when I first introduced the boys, but in case you missed it: they were actually already adopted before I got them. They came here to wait out the time for their last vaccinations. Their people came out a couple of times to visit, and I know they can’t wait to get these boys home. I think they’re going to be spoiled rotten!
Wouldn’t it be nice if I actually got their pictures in the sidebar before they went home? Let’s see if I can manage to make that happen!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Look at my foot, innernets. LOOK AT IT.” I love that serious look on Dennis’s face. He ain’t kidding – you better look at and appreciate that foot if you know what’s good for you!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Previously
2015: Playing with Da Bird. Naturally Stefan had to get involved.
2014: Why do they have to grow up? Whyyyyy?
2013: I think we can all tell exactly what move Scorch is considering here.
2012: No entry.
2011: Finnegan’s face is cracking me up. “THIS ARE MY SPOT YOU GO AWAY.”
2010: Bolitar, at home wherever he happens to land.
2009: Saying goodbye to Mister Boogers.
2008: Poor little monsters, they have no idea what’s coming!
2007: No entry.
2006: No entry.
2005: For the most part Mister Boogers left the kittens alone, though Oy kept going over and sniffing at him, and he could hardly stand it, and he would growl and raise his paw to smack that kitten across the room, but then I would say “Mis. Ter. Boog. Ers.” in my Mean Lady voice, and he’d put his paw back down and walk away.
TGIF and Happy 4th of July weekend everyone.
Please be safe and don’t be scaring all your and your neighbors’ pets with those illegal fireworks! Ha! I had to mention this because, my husband and I were chatting with a new neighbor. The neighbor across from her came over and said that they wouldn’t be doing fireworks this year and he actually apologized for it “getting out of hand” last year. I thanked him. Last year, some of my cats were FREAKED OUT and were running and slamming into doors in terror trying to hide. I had to grab them and put them in a spare room so they would not hurt themselves. The fireworks were soooo beyond illegal that they were actually quite scary in a neighborhood.
Snuggler ratings in my household:
Sidney = 10 a total whore (is this legal to say on the internet? LOL)
Lola = 6 because it is on her terms. I can hold her and kiss her all I want and she seeks pets, but to laydown on you is up to her.
Emma = was a 7 in her youth…now she sleeps 90% of the time.
Laney = 6-7 as she will seek you out and if you pet her, she will flop over next to you for snuggles, rubs and kisses.
Binx = 5 only because he is a 5 week old kitten on fire. He has places to go and toys to beat up. However, when he needs a nap, he will seek out his humans for cuddles and to be on you when he naps. He will come when called for pets. I suspect that as he grows up and the fire on his tail smolders, his rating will get much higher.
Sorry that was so long winded.
Don’t be – I loved it! 🙂
Re Feliway, my two cats are mostly peaceable, but I do use the spray from time to time. Now for instance, since we have a new guy from the kill shelter in the throes of a URI, quarantined in the bathroom! I also have the much more reasonable Nature’s Miracle Calming Spray, which seems to work just as well. Catnip, too, has its uses.
I’m pretty sure that Amazon and Chewy monitor each other and price accordingly. And I can’t say enough about Chewy: such a great outfit. How great? They sent me flowers when I changed an autoship after one of my guys died.
Thanks for the tip on Nature’s Miracle Calming Spray!
That is so nice about Chewy sending you flowers! What a great company. This makes me want to order from them more often.
Chewy is awesome. Their customer service team is so very friendly that if anything is ever wrong, it’s a 20-minute chat like you would with a long lost friend… btw, Robyn… THEY know about you 🙂 at least the rep I had last time did. I mentioned that I came to Chewy from a kitten fostering blog I follow. I don’t want to make it sound like there are a lot of problems, only two in the 3 years I’ve been using them.. both involving trying to get a 27lb pail of cat litter shipped … not their fault – somewhere in the shipping it was knocked hard enough to crack the plastic pail.. so, I had litter seeping out of the box on my porch and it rained so it was a mess… they sent me two bags of royal canin (what I ordered in addition to the litter) you know, as litter had gotten all over the outside of the packaging.. whooda thunk? I was just calling to let them know that the litter pails were – apparently – not unbreakable.. never expected anything really… but those bags of food were twice the amount I spent on the litter! Sorry – long winded… cannot say enough about Chewy! Thanks, Robyn, for sharing them with us – I would have never known…
Their customer service is AMAZING! I tell everyone about Chewy, they’re awesome. 🙂
Happy Canada Day!!!!
my snugglers are:
Tibby -who constantly wants attention and will sit on the table beside me and casually touch my arm. if I ignore her, she adds claws. If i sit back for even a second, she is on me in a flash.
Luna- she is my howler monkey cat, always vocal in her part siamese way. she is happy to lay on me and not expect lovins. she is my licker though and constantly wants to groom me. she is in my profile pic, grooming my head
Periwinkle (Bert) and Patches (Art) are absolute cuddlers. They love to climb into my lap and snooze the day away. I thank Robyn for helping them become snugglers.
Awwwwww…..
LOVE those boys!!!
Does anyone else have “I whip my hair back and forth” stuck in their head now?
Yes!
Haha – I do now!
Thank’s everyone! We’re willing to try anything to get our little dude happy again. I pinky promised him a Da Bird play session tonight. We’ll also look into a Feliway b/c he’s awfully jumpy sometimes too, and the vet said that could help on both fronts.
I <3 the Love and Hisses community!
Keep us posted! Yeah, this community is full of knowledge…Robyn has certainly helped my friend and I out a few times. AND everyone is sooo sweet here! 🙂
Webster’s face is SO cute! I can’t get enough of it.
There´s a little tuft on Dennis front paw that seems a little bit like he’s giving us the finger. That’s a badass picture of him! Photoshop some chains and a sideway cap and he’s all gagsta. xDDD
TOES!
Trixie is a 9 – my love bug who, if not in my lap, will tap impatiently at me when I’m right beside her but not looking at her!
Jinx sleeps with me at night, and Tuxie likes to be on the back of the sofa right at my head (Actually, I think he and Jinx compete to see who can get to this spot on the sofa first!). Sabrina, the baby, gives wide berth to the older cats, but loves to get on any fleece blanket with me. But Jinx, Tuxie and Sabrina all need what I call “mama time” every now and then, when they will climb up in my lap and just stay. I drop everything when someone does this, because I know he/she is seeking specific attention and I am more than happy to love on them as long as they want it! 🙂
Dennis: That is a foot.
I really like the snuggler ratings paragraph! I like how it continues to flesh out the personalities of each cat…and I would have NEVER guessed Kara was a snuggler.
Right? She is full of surprises, that one! 🙂
I have a petite orange female tabby(?) – Liza/LizaBeth/Lizzy/etc. that is all of 7 lbs at the age of 14 that can NOT get close enough EVER! When I work from home I probably remove her from my lap / keyboard / desk at least 50 times a day… If I hold her like a baby on my shoulder, she will continue up my shoulder rubbing her head on my neck, under my hair, etc… she also jumps up from the floor into my arms if I stand in front of her and tap my chest. She also walks across me like I’m part of the furniture… lap, shoulders, whatever is in her path… She sleeps on me every night and waits for me to go to bed. My grey girl (looks Russian Blue), Macey Grey will come to me several times a day for petting, doesn’t like to be picked up or cuddled (but I make her because she is sooo soft) and sleeps by me but not on me. My oldest, a ‘cow’ kitty named Princess Shelly is not one for pets or cuddles and privileged are the days she asks for a few strokes.. she prefers high places, overseeing her ‘kingdom’ and alerts me constantly if the bottom of the food bowl appears at any place and will not stop until I refill it… She is also litter box monitor and will leave one freaking turd (yep, I said it) either outside the box or on the litter mat in front of the closet where the litter box is when she feels I’m late in my poo scooping rounds… GAH! Don’t know that I’d change any of them. 🙂
Your Liza sounds exactly like my Pandora, all the way down to the size. Teensy (6.5lbs) orange tabby girl, 17 years old, and has never met a person she didn’t like to snuggle. She’ll cuddle with me all night and all day, tucking herself right in close, and in the wintertime, she’ll crawl inside whatever hoodie or sweater I’m wearing and curl up and snooze. 🙂
Has the depressed cat always seemed depressed, or is this a new behavior? You mentioned the vet, but did you get a CBC, especially to rule out kidney disease? Is he peeing as much as he always has? Has the consistency of his stool changed? What about his appetite/ how much he drinks?
Otherwise, I totally agree with play sessions. Maybe get him some new toys/ rotate his old ones or put a bird feeder outside. Even if you have one type of ball or mouse, they might actually go nuts for a different type. You could also try to clicker train the cat. Or get him some new tall furniture. Sometimes you have to try to play for a while before you can really coax them into playing. I think it helps to have a routine, so maybe try to play with him at the same time every night, and maybe a little in the morning.
I know of one my cats gets mopey when he has hairballs, so try Furminating/ brushing him if that might be likely.
I’d also suggest rotating toys for the depressed tuxie. Leave out a few and rotate, maybe weekly, with “new” toys.
If the tuxie has the nip gene, use a lidded container of catnip to refresh a toy or two. My cat particularly enjoys her Nip Nanner after it has been in the catnip container. I use a larger container than needed so I can shake off some of the excess catnip. She also loves her tiny mice toys.
Thanks for the heads up on the Feliway ordering-I bought our first one at PetSmart, and was hoping to find a cheaper place for the replacements. Tried Amazon but they wouldn’t deliver it to AK-why I’m not sure. Anyway, I placed an order with Pets 4 Vets, and there didn’t seem to be any problem.
The picture of Dennis’s foot is too cute. For some reason the song “Everybody is kungfu fighting…” started running through my head when I saw it. He looks like he might be doing a fancy martial arts kick.