Artie and his Issues

[inkysmom]

Glad Artie seems to be feeling better, hope it lasts! I know how draining it can be spending so much time taking care of a pet with chronic health issues, have done it with quite a few.
It's also tough to balance other responsibilities and wanting to have a normal social life and take care of yourself and sleep too. Sounds like you're doing the best you can.
Not to go off on a tangent but it's interesting to me to learn that others have neutered cats who still seem to have a sex drive. In all my many years of having cats I've never seen any kinds of behaviors like that once they were neutered. But all of my dogs, who were all male, all kept humping other dogs or objects or people long after being neutered and in the dog park I've even seen spayed female dogs do it.
But my little cat Ruby who's 6 til September has for years always persisted in trying to do that to Inky, who just died. Inky either ignored it if he was sleeping or would get mad and attack Ruby. I haven't seen him do that to anything or anyone else. But I neutered him right at 6 months as far as I could guess from the vet figuring his age as a kitten since I found him at 3 months old on the street. And I neutered him before he ever started spraying. I was always too embarrassed to mention it to the vets at checkups. So this is normal for male cats too?

 

[IndyJones]

I've always assumed it was. But Kabby was over a year old when he was neutered so at first glance he looks intact he has the chubby face, muscular build, and overall bulky look of a tom. He tried to mount Hector once but she tore a good chunk out of his ear for it.

 

[inkysmom]

My stray male cats who I took in literally off the streets and so were neutered as adults never did it that I saw. Tiger was 1.5 to 2 when I found him and gave him to my mom. She called me the very next morning and said get him neutered immediately he's spraying everywhere and it stinks. So I did and he never sprayed or did anything like that ever again. Lived to be 12 til cancer got him. Inky looked like a true tomcat as well, he just died and was I think 15 so when I found him he was probably around 3.5 the vets guessed. Never sprayed inside before or after neutering or acted that way but he was the one Ruby always went for, no one else. He has the face and jowls you mention too. Fawn was 4.5 when I found him outside with Inky same thing, no spraying or anything else ever and neutered that late. But they were all in a little colony with Tiger and Tiger was definitely the boss of the 3 of them. Fawn was very passive his whole life with other pets and people and always hid a lot. I think he was badly abused he looked like he had cigarette burn marks on his nose when I first saw him. Inky was truly feral but he and Tiger never bonded only coexisted. And Tiger was very dominant and always fought with the other males and terrified both my large dogs. The only one who he was afraid of was my huge female cat who was 18 pounds. She was very gentle and sweet but took no disrespect from other cats. She had a mean right and left hook. One cuff from her across the head and any other cat would go flying. And go carefully around her from then on. So maybe that affected their behavior.

 

[tarasgirl06]

Glad Artie seems to be feeling better, hope it lasts! I know how draining it can be spending so much time taking care of a pet with chronic health issues, have done it with quite a few.
It's also tough to balance other responsibilities and wanting to have a normal social life and take care of yourself and sleep too. Sounds like you're doing the best you can.
Not to go off on a tangent but it's interesting to me to learn that others have neutered cats who still seem to have a sex drive. In all my many years of having cats I've never seen any kinds of behaviors like that once they were neutered. But all of my dogs, who were all male, all kept humping other dogs or objects or people long after being neutered and in the dog park I've even seen spayed female dogs do it.
But my little cat Ruby who's 6 til September has for years always persisted in trying to do that to Inky, who just died. Inky either ignored it if he was sleeping or would get mad and attack Ruby. I haven't seen him do that to anything or anyone else. But I neutered him right at 6 months as far as I could guess from the vet figuring his age as a kitten since I found him at 3 months old on the street. And I neutered him before he ever started spraying. I was always too embarrassed to mention it to the vets at checkups. So this is normal for male cats too?

IDK about "normal", but my Nila continued to do this after neutering. I called his vet about it. His vet chuckled and said something to the effect of, "Oh, let him have his fun!" which I didn't exactly appreciate, but he is an excellent vet and we had a very good relationship when we lived in the area, so as I was assured that he (Nila) was "shooting blanks" and could not get anyone pregnant, I just had to live with it. Nila's two paramours were both his biological sisters.

 

[inkysmom]

Lol. Actually I just remembered that a few years ago my friend took in her very first cat and was calling me with all kinds of cat questions. A stray literally walked up to her in the yard and moved in. Once she figured out it was a male, ( her stupid vet tried to spay him before thinking to check and then realized he was an already neutered male! I told her not to go back to that incompetent idiot), she called me having figured out what her new little darling was doing to her leg and her favorite expensive pillows. I'd forgotten about my cat doing that to his brother since I didn't usually see it. She didn't have another cat at the time. She eventually did have a female cat too, but I don't know if he tried it with her. It sounded like she was in charge and bullied him so maybe not.
My Ruby never tried it with my one female cat that was the boss of all of them. He tried to chase and play with her a few times and got literally thrown across the room she cuffed him so hard. He might have tried it with my other female though she used to hide a lot and was scared of him. And with Inky a male, but I had five males and two females and for the past two years only three or four males so I guess limited options. My dog is male and neutered and will go for any dog he meets in the park, male or female. With dogs it's a dominance or socially awkward thing if they're too excited but maybe pets can be bisexual too. Who knows. Sorry to get off topic!

 

[tarasgirl06]

Lol. Actually I just remembered that a few years ago my friend took in her very first cat and was calling me with all kinds of cat questions. A stray literally walked up to her in the yard and moved in. Once she figured out it was a male, ( her stupid vet tried to spay him before thinking to check and then realized he was an already neutered male! I told her not to go back to that incompetent idiot), she called me having figured out what her new little darling was doing to her leg and her favorite expensive pillows. I'd forgotten about my cat doing that to his brother since I didn't usually see it. She didn't have another cat at the time. She eventually did have a female cat too, but I don't know if he tried it with her. It sounded like she was in charge and bullied him so maybe not.
My Ruby never tried it with my one female cat that was the boss of all of them. He tried to chase and play with her a few times and got literally thrown across the room she cuffed him so hard. He might have tried it with my other female though she used to hide a lot and was scared of him. And with Inky a male, but I had five males and two females and for the past two years only three or four males so I guess limited options. My dog is male and neutered and will go for any dog he meets in the park, male or female. With dogs it's a dominance or socially awkward thing if they're too excited but maybe pets can be bisexual too. Who knows. Sorry to get off topic!

Oh, absolutely other (non-human) animals can be, and are, homosexual. That's what I tell people who are homophobic (I'm straight, but very tired of people's ignorance when they say people "choose" to be one way or another.)

 

[inkysmom]

Oh I believe people don't choose but are born with preferences. I guess I didn't really think about animals since they go by the instinctive biological need to reproduce. Although my cat and my friend's cat seem to go for whatever and whoever is available lol.
I know for dogs this can be a social behavior and not just a sexual behavior which explains to me why my dog is so bad about it even though apparently he was neutered early. He wasn't socialized or trained when he was a puppy or until I got him at 16 months.
But for cats I thought this behavior was based on sex drive and since my cat was neutered young before he ever showed obvious signs of developing a sex drive I'm just surprised to see it since I thought neutering removed the hormones and source of that drive. If he was an adult tomcat like my other 3 and remembered enjoying the behavior it woukd make more sense to me. But they never did it and he does or did since there's no one left now. My other cat wouldn't tolerate it I'm pretty sure.
Anyway hope Artie is having a good day!

 

[tarasgirl06]

Oh I believe people don't choose but are born with preferences. I guess I didn't really think about animals since they go by the instinctive biological need to reproduce. Although my cat and my friend's cat seem to go for whatever and whoever is available lol.
I know for dogs this can be a social behavior and not just a sexual behavior which explains to me why my dog is so bad about it even though apparently he was neutered early. He wasn't socialized or trained when he was a puppy or until I got him at 16 months.
But for cats I thought this behavior was based on sex drive and since my cat was neutered young before he ever showed obvious signs of developing a sex drive I'm just surprised to see it since I thought neutering removed the hormones and source of that drive. If he was an adult tomcat like my other 3 and remembered enjoying the behavior it woukd make more sense to me. But they never did it and he does or did since there's no one left now. My other cat wouldn't tolerate it I'm pretty sure.
Anyway hope Artie is having a good day!

Me too. And I'll make this my last comment on the other issue so as not to be OT. Nicolas T. Cat was neutered early, too, and I don't think he ever had any feelings of that type, because most beauteous, flirtatious and loving Rani fell for him hard, but he spurned all of her advances up until very late in his life, when he (I think) enjoyed her loving friendship. Numerous other gorgeous female cats were in the family then, too, but he paid "that kind" of attention to absolutely none of them. His voice was always very high, small, and squeaky, too, very untypical for a big guy who attained 22 lbs. in his prime.

 

[Margret]

I, also, will stop after this one comment, because it really is off-topic. The hormones may be gone after neutering/spaying, but the nerves are intact. I'm postmenopausal, and have been for many years, but it doesn't affect my sex drive. No reason it should with animals, either.

As for other animals being gay (some of them), and the desire to procreate (which even gay people have), I ran across this heart-warming article the other day: 'An unbelievable sight': Same-sex vulture couple hatches abandoned egg

Margret

 

[maggiedemi]

Any Artie updates? It sounds like he might have let you sleep in...

 

[artiemom]

I have had a very busy week with appointments, meetings, etc.. Up really early for many of them.

Artie was cuddling last night, but not a straitjacket. I woke up with him on my bed, near my body.. touching it but not on top of me.

He is still not feeling well. After all the poops from Thursday, nothing more since then, except for a small squish of poop: 4 x 1/2 inch of soft stuff.

He is not eating much either. sigh..
It seems like he wants to eat, but only takes a couple of pieces at a time, and that is it.

Artie is even refusing 'our' playing food game.. That is unusual.

He is also hiding in his quilt a lot.

I really do not know if I should increase his lactulose or cut it back a bit.
If his poops are too soft, then he cannot get it out.. too hard and then he cannot get it out either.. sigh..

I accidentally gave him a bit more sub-q fluids this morning..an extra 20 cc..for a total of 120 cc...I hope I am not hurting him...

The NVet will return on Tuesday. We have an appointment with him on Wednesday. It is good timing.

I am kind of wishing he was in today..

The weather is not all that good. Honestly, I feel that even though people and cats are inside all day, in a controlled environment, the outside weather can impact them. It is grey, humid, off and on drizzling.. yucky weather.

 

[tarasgirl06]

I, also, will stop after this one comment, because it really is off-topic. The hormones may be gone after neutering/spaying, but the nerves are intact. I'm postmenopausal, and have been for many years, but it doesn't affect my sex drive. No reason it should with animals, either.

As for other animals being gay (some of them), and the desire to procreate (which even gay people have), I ran across this heart-warming article the other day: 'An unbelievable sight': Same-sex vulture couple hatches abandoned egg

Margret

That IS incredible -- thanks for sharing! And they're both males! That's pretty cool. As far as I see it, love is love, and there's far too little of it in this world, so whether I "like" the couple or not, who am I to judge? I think that's best left Elsewhere.

 

[artiemom]

Artie just pooped.. I guess all the extra lactulose has finally kicked in. He had a pile of pudding... yuck..

Still refusing his food...sigh...and still looks like he is hurting.. I do not know why..
Hopefully, it is not a food aversion.. sigh

 

[Mamanyt1953]

At least we have some poop. As for the not eating, just... I'll be glad when Nvet is back in! I know you will be thrilled and relieved beyond words.

 

[tarasgirl06]

Artie just pooped.. I guess all the extra lactulose has finally kicked in. He had a pile of pudding... yuck..

Still refusing his food...sigh...and still looks like he is hurting.. I do not know why..
Hopefully, it is not a food aversion.. sigh

Awww, c'mon, Artie, it's CATurday! All cats have to enjoy their food on a CATurday, right? (My Elvis is quite a picky boy sometimes, too. He harangues me for food and then when I present him with a bowl of something delectable, he delights in turning up his nose and pounding out of the room in a huff. *CATS!* )

 

[katlady-18]

Artie just pooped.. I guess all the extra lactulose has finally kicked in. He had a pile of pudding... yuck..

Still refusing his food...sigh...and still looks like he is hurting.. I do not know why..
Hopefully, it is not a food aversion.. sigh

Sorry about Artie and many hugs to you for everything you do for him even when you're so exhausted.

 

[katlady-18]

As for everyone else, sorry to go off topic but I came into this late...I've never seen any sexual behavior in my kitties but my Pumpkin began spraying from around the age of two until his passing. He was around 5 months old when he was neutered and hadn't exhibited that behavior before his procedure. I'm not sure what triggered that behavior AND aggression towards all other cats; even if they were just walking along the street minding their own business, if Pumpkin spotted them he'd want to fight them. Again, this began at around 2 years of age; before then, no marking and if he saw other cats in the yard, he would begin to happily chirp as if wanting to make friends.

 

[Margret]

The weather is not all that good. Honestly, I feel that even though people and cats are inside all day, in a controlled environment, the outside weather can impact them. It is grey, humid, off and on drizzling.. yucky weather.

That "controlled environment" does not include air pressure control, and barometric changes are a lot of what makes us feel rotten when the weather is bad. It's not terribly obvious, like clouds and precipitation and temperature, but our bodies pick up on it all the same. That's one of the reasons windy days are so wearing on the nerves, even when you're inside, out of the wind.

When we used to live in Bend, Oregon (just east of the Cascade Mountains, and fairly high) we used to occasionally drive to Eugene or Portland on a weekend (both west of the Cascades, and in the Willamette Valley). Roger would drive because I was always exhausted by the time the weekend rolled around, and I would nap in the car. But Roger never had to wake me up when we reached our destination; my arthritic knees would do that as soon as we reached the valley, because of the lower altitude/higher air pressure there.

Margret

 

[artiemom]

It was late last night when Artie decided to eat a bit more. Honestly, I think his tummy was feeling a bit better, after pooping. It did take a while, and he was much happier after he ate a bit. He had been nibbling a few pieces at at time. He ate 3/16 of a cup during the night.

I ended up giving him his last dose of cisapride late because of him eating late. This morning, I am up early for Church. I am changing up the order of his meds. He does not understand. Poor thing. I gave him some meds, and put some food down for him. He does not realize the food is down. Poor thing ~~ creature of habit.

Artie was still cuddling with me, during the night. I woke up to him on the coach (quilt).

Quite day again for me. I am done with my crazy week. I think I will just fold and put away some laundry, and relax---again.

I think I broke my little toe, yesterday. I was walking barefoot, and stubbed it into something. It is really hurting, and lovely shades of green, purple. If I can find some tape around here, I will tape it to the other toe. It is not the first time I broke that toe.. sigh...

 

[artiemom]

Artie is acting sick...still.. Cannot wait for him to be seen on Wednesday.

He did not eat anything this morning. I tried to tempt him with 'our game". He only half heartedly ate 8 pieces.
He immediately went over to the water bowl and drank a lot of water..non stop. Then he proceeded to walk into the great room, and vomited all the water and food up..

I am still thinking this is a food allergy.. and a food aversion...sigh

I weighed him.. 10.3 lbs. He has lost 0.7 lbs in less than a week.. too much.. too fast... He looks so skinny and emaciated. He is not eating much at all. I think I am going to open up a can of kitty tuna for him.

sigh...

Back to square one.. he is also looking 'meat loafed'... he has for the past couple of days.. Sub-q's are warming up.