Howdy,
This might be a long post, but any help would be appreciated. I am sharing all the details that I can to help clarify things.
For much of my life my family has had cats and I have always been close to them but they were never mine. The two that I grew up with were well-adjusted, friendly, and any behavioral problems that they had were resolved by the time they were about four years old. In November our calico, Angel, developed a tooth infection and when we took her to the vet we found out she was in liver failure so we had to put her down. Within a month, our other cat followed and I fell into a severe depression. I felt like the only way I could get better was if we adopted a new cat.
In December, my mom's friend told her that she had an acquaintance who fostered cats and directed her to the woman's Facebook profile where she had posted a new kitten looking for a forever home. That kitten was Lita and I fell in love immediately. Within a week, my mother went to meet the woman and I became a first-time cat mom. I would be responsible for vet bills, food, maintenance, etc. etc. and that was a sacrifice I was willing to make.
When we received Lita, she was the liveliest little hell-raiser I had ever met and it just made me fall even harder. She was talkative, busy, and she had the energy of a child on a sugar high all the time.
Then, after about four days, she became sick. She was lethargic and refusing food. I panicked and booked a vet appointment for the next day. She had a temperature of 107 degrees. It was a week of chaos. I was syringe feeding her, cold compressing her, and trying my best to make her better. Eventually she recovered but the ordeal resulted in brain trauma and she will be ataxic for rest of her life.
Now she's beginning to overgroom and it's making me a wreck because she's already been through so much and I can't figure out what's wrong. I have some ideas, but I don't know where to start with them because some of the possible stressors have been around for a while and she has never displayed any other kind of self-mutilation. I know she is very susceptible to stress because that was what caused her high temperature and it scares me because sometimes she even overgrooms where I can see her and it breaks my heart. I don't yell at her or scold her. I just redirect her with wands but I can't see what she's doing when I'm not at home and I'd rather eliminate the stressor completely - but some of my ideas require changes that might further her stress, so I don't know what to do. I will attach a picture of the bald patch on her hind leg and a list of all the possible stressors and I'm hoping maybe somebody out there can give me some advice on where to start, what doesn't seem plausible, and how to cope with my own anxiety about this situation.
Sincerely,
A Concerned Pet Parent
This might be a long post, but any help would be appreciated. I am sharing all the details that I can to help clarify things.
For much of my life my family has had cats and I have always been close to them but they were never mine. The two that I grew up with were well-adjusted, friendly, and any behavioral problems that they had were resolved by the time they were about four years old. In November our calico, Angel, developed a tooth infection and when we took her to the vet we found out she was in liver failure so we had to put her down. Within a month, our other cat followed and I fell into a severe depression. I felt like the only way I could get better was if we adopted a new cat.
In December, my mom's friend told her that she had an acquaintance who fostered cats and directed her to the woman's Facebook profile where she had posted a new kitten looking for a forever home. That kitten was Lita and I fell in love immediately. Within a week, my mother went to meet the woman and I became a first-time cat mom. I would be responsible for vet bills, food, maintenance, etc. etc. and that was a sacrifice I was willing to make.
When we received Lita, she was the liveliest little hell-raiser I had ever met and it just made me fall even harder. She was talkative, busy, and she had the energy of a child on a sugar high all the time.
Then, after about four days, she became sick. She was lethargic and refusing food. I panicked and booked a vet appointment for the next day. She had a temperature of 107 degrees. It was a week of chaos. I was syringe feeding her, cold compressing her, and trying my best to make her better. Eventually she recovered but the ordeal resulted in brain trauma and she will be ataxic for rest of her life.
Now she's beginning to overgroom and it's making me a wreck because she's already been through so much and I can't figure out what's wrong. I have some ideas, but I don't know where to start with them because some of the possible stressors have been around for a while and she has never displayed any other kind of self-mutilation. I know she is very susceptible to stress because that was what caused her high temperature and it scares me because sometimes she even overgrooms where I can see her and it breaks my heart. I don't yell at her or scold her. I just redirect her with wands but I can't see what she's doing when I'm not at home and I'd rather eliminate the stressor completely - but some of my ideas require changes that might further her stress, so I don't know what to do. I will attach a picture of the bald patch on her hind leg and a list of all the possible stressors and I'm hoping maybe somebody out there can give me some advice on where to start, what doesn't seem plausible, and how to cope with my own anxiety about this situation.
Sincerely,
A Concerned Pet Parent
