There are long term psychological and physical damages to declawing and pulling all teeth. I think if a cat is suffering and there is nothing to be done then it should be put to sleep.
No offense taken. I know everyone is just trying to help, and I appreciate it!
@Mani of course! The reason why I wrote what I wrote was out of support, not criticism.. I apologize if it might seem that way!
What I meant by "making decisions without her", was mainly about the declawing/dental options. Had I not seen that @karenrhyne is really trying to solve this, I wouldn't even bother to give any advice or opinion..
It's just that the declawing/dental issues can indeed create a multitude of problems and I had to stress that it is not to the cat's benefit.
@karenrhyne I truly apologize if I seemed like criticizing or "judging" in a negative way! Trust me, I wasn't! We are all here to help and enlighten you (and everyone else) based on our own experiences
Oh, I could write a book about how super sensitive animals are. I have said for years, we will never know how intelligent they really are, and it's probably a GOOD thing that we don't understand some of the things they see that we don't see. They do have extra senses and we would probably be scared if we knew some of the things they knew. It can seem creepy at times, especially when they start staring at something. I am sure you have heard about the cat who knows when someone is going to die. I believe there are probably many more cats (as well as other animals) who can sense this. Humans are using dogs to sniff out certain cancers. God created them just like he did us, and they have purpose.
She hasn't fallen as much. What seems strange to me is that if something grabs her attention (like this am, a bird pecked on a window) she will leap on to high places and never miss and never fall, but if she's just jumping up on the bed or desk, she will sometimes not jump high enough.
@karenrhyne I wrote it here:
Take my word for it @karenrhyne it IS well worth it. I had a really disturbing incident a year ago, with my Grizzly.. He attacked my mother so viciously, she had to go to the hospital and her wounds were being treated for months, because the ignorant doctros stiched them, instead of treating them to drain.. We went through hell.. Honestly, I can totally relate to what you're going through. The fear, the anxiety, the panic.. all of that.
I was not in a good financial state when it happened, but still I hired a behaviorist. Mind you, here in Greece, there is only ONE behaviorist.. I was lucky enough he exercises his occupation in the same city I live.
I hired him, in spite of all the expense, he cut me a deal, due to my unemployment and we got to work. I will never ever ever regret hiring him. He helped us a great deal.. It was a slow process but we got to keep Grizzly with us and we managed to learn how to handle him from scratch. He is so much better now. We gave him meds to calm him down, but it was not for long, because he would "detect" the pills by smelling them in ANYTHING i put them in!That was hillarious, to be honest! So, I got down to mainly work with him. I stopped the meds, as it was a truly stressful process for both him and me and it ended up not helping.
Now, my cat's aggression was solved with the help of a behaviorist. It is just one case. We don't know if it is the same case with your cat. BUT a behaviorist can identify some traits of your cat, to conclude more safely whether this is a medical issue, or a bevioral issue..
My recommendation would be to take some videos of your cat while she's "rampaging" or behaving abnormally.. Try to contact a behaviorist and ask them to send them these videos via email or upload them on Youtube, so they can view them.. Try to make a deal with them and explain to them that you cannot afford their whole fee..
If you send them the videos, you will help them identify your problem without making them visit all the way to your house. So, my guess is that they might lower their price, or might even not ask for any money..
It doesn't hurt to try!I hope this helps!
I haven't seen that show either due to not having cable.
Thank you! I wonder if "thundershirts" help with cats? I used to see them advertised for dogs. I will check this music out.
Lol I tried to make a video of one of her rampages this afternoon, but all I got was a blue. She is so fast! She is having less of them and the ones she has are shorter. Another thing I have noticed is, I no longer hear her meow when I leave the room. For a long time, I thought a cat was trapped under the house, and then I realized it was her. She would stop when I went back into my bedroom, but she would always seem normal and have a toy...but then when I would leave, she would meow, sort of a bewildered meow, if that makes sense.
I've never tried it before for either cats or dogs, but found this:
I tried it! It worked at first! But then Grizzly started getting intrigued by the sticky tape! Hahahahahah! So, he climbed on the table just to "attack" the tape! THAT was hillarious!
@karenrhyne LOL I understand!
I don't mind her jumping on most anything, but my night stand is small and she knows EVERYTHING off...lamp, alarm clock,etc. I used to keep other things there, but I had to add a squirt bottle so there's not much room left. It's guaranteed that whenever she jumps up there, something is going to go flying. It scares her, too....but for some reason she is determined to jump up there.
I tried it! It worked at first! But then Grizzly started getting intrigued by the sticky tape! Hahahahahah! So, he climbed on the table just to "attack" the tape! THAT was hillarious!
To be honest, I don't mind him climbing on surfaces.. Because when he is told not to, he listens.. It's good when we have guests.. But when it's just us, we have his little bowl alongside our dishes and he eats with us..
Mental note: must capture him on video when he is having a fight with a sticky tape
@karenrhyne LOL I understand!It's a bit tricky to make a video like that.. But keep trying and make sure the video has a sound. Because the sounds she makes, can help the behaviorist as well! Also the sound can help determining where that "blur" you captured went! I hope I am making sense. Try to keep up with her when you're holding your camera. If she goes left, go left - if she goes right you go right etc.
If her rampages start to become shorter and rarer that means she's maybe improving..? Not 100% sure.. Try not to deal with her when she's having them.. Try to be indifferent.. Like nothing happens.. Like she's not there.. She WILL continue to do so, if she sees she's got your attention when she's acting like so.
Of course try to film her while she's having the rampages (so you can send the videos to a behaviorist), but generally do not give her your attention while she's having them.
I tried it! It worked at first! But then Grizzly started getting intrigued by the sticky tape! Hahahahahah! So, he climbed on the table just to "attack" the tape! THAT was hillarious!
To be honest, I don't mind him climbing on surfaces.. Because when he is told not to, he listens.. It's good when we have guests.. But when it's just us, we have his little bowl alongside our dishes and he eats with us..
Mental note: must capture him on video when he is having a fight with a sticky tape
@karenrhyne LOL I understand!It's a bit tricky to make a video like that.. But keep trying and make sure the video has a sound. Because the sounds she makes, can help the behaviorist as well! Also the sound can help determining where that "blur" you captured went! I hope I am making sense. Try to keep up with her when you're holding your camera. If she goes left, go left - if she goes right you go right etc.
If her rampages start to become shorter and rarer that means she's maybe improving..? Not 100% sure.. Try not to deal with her when she's having them.. Try to be indifferent.. Like nothing happens.. Like she's not there.. She WILL continue to do so, if she sees she's got your attention when she's acting like so.
Of course try to film her while she's having the rampages (so you can send the videos to a behaviorist), but generally do not give her your attention while she's having them.
I tell others all the time that cats are just like toddlers, but I seem to forget that when thinking about my own cats. Lol...they are brats, for sure. I try to ignore Cissy whenever she starts gnawing on one of my CD cases, or plastic bags (anything plastic....and she likes wood, too) and it does seem to shorten the time she does it, but I find evidence that she also gnaws when I am not home. She went into my closet and somehow, was able to paw a CD out of a container (LOL It was my "Cats" one) and has gnawed almost to the cd part. I did put them out of her reach.
It sounds to me more like she is a bright little cat and too full of energy and mischief. Your description of her rampages and testing out doing things she knows you will react to and looking at you that way sounds exactly like a young Mouse, and an older one when he's in a cheeky mood. He wraps his fangs round what ever he can find that he's sure is banned and then looks directly at me....Ignoring is so hard but it is the only thing that has worked for getting him to stop doing such things constantly. I had to wait for him to stop and go off to try something I wanted him to do then reward with the attention.
It is a wierd concept for us humans (unless perhaps we have had a very neglected childhood) but for cats, any attention no matter how mean and unpleasant will reinforce attention seeking behaviours. It can make then nervous and skittish at the same time but still they will repeat the behaviour because they got a response.
If there is some less easily dislodged sticky material than regular stucky tape to try on that side table I think it is worth trying - anything in an attemt to break the cycle of behaviour there, and also the use of squirty bottle which can add anxiety and therefor unpredicatable behaviours. (I used to have 2 cats who liked water and it had no effect at all on them other than getting a response from me).
