Anxiety Cat Food

[Kwik]

Krienze
I'm so sorry you and your Mom are having debilitating pain,I can certainly sympathize and you are both in my prayers
Don't despair,as I said-dont put the cart before the horse ,one thing at a time-these things do happen,suddenly ,unexpectedly and seemingly without ryhme or reason but there is always a reason- and you will figure out what it is and how to FIX the issue- you're doing what needs to be done right now and that's getting to the Vet
So try to relax,let's see what tye Vet says,hopefully it's nothing and then we will take it from there,together-youre not alone!There's alot of really wise folks here that have experienced the same thing-and resolved the problem.....
Don't neglect YOU though,cats are especially sensitive to our issues too and no doubt they are disturbed by your discomfort as well----we have to stay well to care for our fur babies,right?
Unfortunately we can't assign litter boxes ,wouldn't that be nice!But adding another one is always a plus(options,cats love options..... and one less in a common box makes one less territory issue no matter who goes where,so it can't hurt.... the pup is a problem and I've found any''dog away" products to be offensive to cats as well -so how are they with hooded boxes?Something he can't really get into for snacks,lol?

 

[Krienze]

Krienze
I'm so sorry you and your Mom are having debilitating pain,I can certainly sympathize and you are both in my prayers
Don't despair,as I said-dont put the cart before the horse ,one thing at a time-these things do happen,suddenly ,unexpectedly and seemingly without ryhme or reason but there is always a reason- and you will figure out what it is and how to FIX the issue- you're doing what needs to be done right now and that's getting to the Vet
So try to relax,let's see what tye Vet says,hopefully it's nothing and then we will take it from there,together-youre not alone!There's alot of really wise folks here that have experienced the same thing-and resolved the problem.....
Don't neglect YOU though,cats are especially sensitive to our issues too and no doubt they are disturbed by your discomfort as well----we have to stay well to care for our fur babies,right?
Unfortunately we can't assign litter boxes ,wouldn't that be nice!But adding another one is always a plus(options,cats love options..... and one less in a common box makes one less territory issue no matter who goes where,so it can't hurt.... the pup is a problem and I've found any''dog away" products to be offensive to cats as well -so how are they with hooded boxes?Something he can't really get into for snacks,lol?

Thanks. I have pain from an injury, same with her. It's awful depending on the weather which makes travel a pain. It's mostly a matter of getting the weather to chill for a bit so we CAN get her to the vet lol.

As for litter boxes...we cleaned up and cleared out one of the back rooms in our house. We lined one wall with seven litter boxes. So they have a lot of litter boxes already and it doesn't seem to be a territorial issue, as what happens is she'll be in the box and Gracie will sniff he and she'll react by hissing/growling, which makes Gracie react with aggression or panic. Mia then typically takes off running, regardless of whether or not they chase her. I watched her the other day use the litter box, thenBOLT out like she was being chased - but she wasn't. In fact none of the cats but Gracie were in the room and Gracie was laying down on her big floofy donut bed.

Though as for a little bit of an update:
I picked Mia up the other day, because for the past few weeks/months she hasn't been snuggling with me like she used to either. So I picked her up and carried her into the living room to snuggle with her. She stayed for a bit then left and I thought that'd be the end of it, but then I woke up that night and found her sleeping on my hip. I was surprised because she hadn't done that in SO long.
Last night, I was awake and playing on myphone when I saw her jump the kitchen gate and come running in. She took nervous looks around then made a beeline to come run and jump to sit with me. It's DEF progress for sure. She hasn'tcome to sleep with me in sooo long

 

[Kwik]

Hi Krienze
Good to hear Mias progress report,it'll be good to know what the Vet has to say as well,we(they) all have good and bad days and who knows,perhaps the weather has some impact on what she's feeling as well-,just like you and your Mom... right?I can stay indoors 24/,7 with the A/C on & yet Mr Arthur( arthritis) has a field day when it's extremely humid outside-,Go figure?!!!!
I just want to ask,besides the room with the 7 litter box wall( good you have that extra room) you do have other boxes throughout the house still,is that right?It's good to place some on opposite walls if that's possjble,cats can be so weird about their toilet space-side by side is not that much difference to THEM- the area they choose to soil is a huge claim of space and territory.. and also,cats naturally,instinctively prefer a spot that gives them easy escape routes all around-so it's a common belief that our feline friends want privacy when doing their business but in reality it's the exact opposite.... they simply adjust to the accommodations we ( humans ) provide for them but it's quite unnatural ..... Most adjust very nicely and simply do their business where we assign the spot,others are uncomfortable with the placement- you can try taking a box and moving it away from walls to see if she's more relaxed being able to see all around her
Lol,no one really wants a litter box in the middle of a room but if that's what works for her then you can gradually move it a few inches a day until it's in your preferred location- just some thoughts
Continued prayer for you and your Mom

 

[Krienze]

I can stay indoors 24/,7 with the A/C on & yet Mr Arthur( arthritis) has a field day when it's extremely humid outside-,Go figure?!!!!

I have arthritis in my knee XD Humidity is the bane of my existence. I feel you!!!

I just want to ask,besides the room with the 7 litter box wall( good you have that extra room) you do have other boxes throughout the house still,is that right?

No, just the 7 lined up - because our house is all open, we had to move them in the room because one of our dogs was constantly getting into the cat boxes and getting sick as a result. So since we couldn't keep HIM out, the room became the only option. However she was fine with this for the longest time, we set the room up i want to say last june? the problem started in december. I don't think it's a litter box issue, I think she's afraid to travel to the back because she's gotten so nervous about the other cats - but her reaction tends to be what causes them to GO after her, if that makes sense.

My hope is the vet will give her something for her anxiety, and she'll feel more confident walking to the back >.<

 

[Kwik]

Krienze
Ah,I see-so she was fine until 6 months later-and the reason the boxes were moved was because of Mr Pooch......
I'm pretty sure your Vet will give her low dosage( perhaps gabapentin)..... do you use any Feliway plug-ins?
I know everyone raves about the Feliway products buy its very hard for me to know whether it makes a significant difference because my 4 get along so very well,I've only started using it because I brought in a 7yr old feral that's never been indoors BUT he's in an enclosure for starters,I have the Feliway plugged in outside his enclosure,who knows what it's doing...?

I did notice he responds favorably to a nice little spray I found( pheramones),it seems he reacts to it like most cats around catnip-hes not attracted to cstnip in the least..... you might want to look into the pheromone sprays & diffusers if you've not already done that... here's the one I'm actually pretty impressed with

 

[Krienze]

do you use any Feliway plug-ins?
I know everyone raves about the Feliway products buy its very hard for me to know whether it makes a significant difference

I did buy calming spray and the feliway HOWEVER I noticed her anxiety INCREASE when using it. She was actually a lot worse and more sporadic when I used them and calmed down a bit when I stopped plugging it in/spraying the calming spray >.<

 

[Furballsmom]

I've read that sometimes feliway has that unfortunate effect

 

[Kwik]

I did buy calming spray and the feliway HOWEVER I noticed her anxiety INCREASE when using it. She was actually a lot worse and more sporadic when I used them and calmed down a bit when I stopped plugging it in/spraying the calming spray >.<

Hmm,Catnip can do the same for some,my Cheech( RIP my Love);used to go bonkers you'd think he was on speed going 200mph,head for the scratching post and go to town like he was killing it and then grab toys to disembowel.... quite the spectacle,my boy did not look like he was enjoying what he was feeling and I thought it was a one off-nope,it was just an adverse reaction-,no catnip for him

 

[thefiresidecat]

ask your vet if you can put her on gabapentin. it has done wonders wiht my cats with anxiety

 

[jclark]

Look for calming treats which contain tryptophan.

This is the ingredient found in prescription food like Hill c/d multicare stress