I Have More Trust Issues Than This Feral..

Buffster7

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Hopefully Finn will actually like an enclosed box! Try it.
I looked at the link to the box you have. Very interesting! Is it really easier to clean? I would love to roll and clean! Of course that removes my images of panning for gold....,:lol:

I just had another image. With my kitties, would they get inside to roll and clean themselves! Would Banjo stand outside and roll Kodiak? :flail:

If Finn will not go inside a covered box, you could make a wall around the outside. Just three sides from cardboard covered in plastic. It might not be purrfect but could help. I actually find these cats like going into the large clear containers so maybe Finn would accept one of those with a lid?
They would definitely be a pain for you and the multiple kitties! Again, not bad for one or MAYBE 2 small kitties, but cleaning them can be a pain. You have to take the lid off and the drawer out and clean those. There's a grate inside that sifts the clean litter from the waste, so that pops out and you have to clean that. Yeah, no....for multiple kitties, definitely big, open pans. Fewer parts to clean, and the Omega doesn't really have a lot of 'floor space' on the inside.
 

Buffster7

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Oh, and P.S. - The thyroid meds must be giving Charlie energy, because he's starting to play again! He hasn't played in a very long time! He was chasing the laser around with Finn tonight, and now he did a zoomie through the house! :jive:
 

pearl99

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Charlie!!! You are having zoomies!!! :musicnote:🎶🎵 what a feeling....!!!!🎹🎶!!
That makes me heart feel good.

Yes the rolly box sounds like too much trouble. I don't mind panning either.

And for the tall Rubbermaid, is there a way to put it the tall way? Short side on the floor? A way it would fit right behind the litter box? If I knew how to draw here I'd draw it. Or as Jcatbird Jcatbird said flexible plastic shield put on 3 sides, attached somehow.

My big thing for the day was Waffies and Gracie both in my bedroom about 30 minutes ago! Waffs/Moo do not like Gracie near them. I don't know why. Maybe she hits them with her Grandma purse when I'm not looking. Waffies has been encroaching on my bedroom on the nights Gracie sleeps with me (alternating with Moofles sleeping with me.) He's been sitting in the doorway, sitting closer, running under the bed when I am awake in the morning...he's challenging himself. Tonight he was on the cat tower in there and Gracie was meatloafed on the bed.
And clicker training with Ziggy, it took 3 clicks before she started immediately coming to my hand for the treat. No waiting for me to put the treat bit on the floor :lol:.
 

Talien

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It's the strangest thing. I've never seen him act this way. I wasn't in the room with him when he got scared, but he came tearing out of the room. There's a window he likes to sit in there; he may have seen something outside. But ALL of the windows in the house that they have access to face my side and back yard, so they can't see neighbors. (The windows along the front of the house are rooms they don't have access to, and the front door window is too high for them to see out.)
Are there any Coyotes in your area? They do occasionally come out during the day, especially in suburban areas where they start to lose their fear of people. If he saw one through a window that could have spooked him, especially if he had a run in with one when he was living outside.
 

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I have an elevator butt peeing cat. He sprays the sides of litter boxes. I only use rubbermaid containers now. They are harder to clean when it's time to dump and sanitize since they are a bit bigger and heavier. Yet it's the only thing I can use for my boys. I just keep a spray bottle of sanitizer and paper towels by each bow and wipe the pee off each day. With the rubbermaid you can just the opening any way you want and as low or as high.
 

Buffster7

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I have an elevator butt peeing cat. He sprays the sides of litter boxes. I only use rubbermaid containers now. They are harder to clean when it's time to dump and sanitize since they are a bit bigger and heavier. Yet it's the only thing I can use for my boys. I just keep a spray bottle of sanitizer and paper towels by each bow and wipe the pee off each day. With the rubbermaid you can just the opening any way you want and as low or as high.
This is the one I'm currently using. I wonder if I could find one large enough to put inside this one just to shield the walls? Might still be easier to clean than a huge one. Maybe not, though.. Frisco High Sided Cat Litter Box, Extra Large 24-in (Free Shipping) | Chewy
I actually find these cats like going into the large clear containers so maybe Finn would accept one of those with a lid?
Where did you find this clear box, Jcatbird? That even just looks more appealing.
 

Buffster7

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Well, Charlie is in time out, but he's not in trouble. He's just wild today. Completely crazy-eyed, doing random zoomies, and trying to get a rise out of Finn non-stop. Finn has been trying to ignore him for the most part, but now and then he'll engage and there'll be chasing - but then Finn doesn't know when to stop, and it ends with hissing, swats, and fear on Charlie's part. Once Finn is minding his own business again, Charlie starts back up. It's strange - his pupils are dilated and he is crazy-eyed with ears back like he gets on Zylkene, just bizarre acting and doing weird things. Like scratching like a madman in the litter box, then settling down and laying in it (which Charlie never does). When Finn came to investigate, Charlie leapt straight up out of the box and right over Finn's head to go do another zoomie. Or he'll lay on his scratcher and bunny kick the wall which he KNOWS is a no-no - and then make eye contact with me like, "What ya gonna do?" After several hours of this, I had to put him in my room with the door shut. I hope he doesn't think he's in trouble, but I'm trying to study and he needs to calm down. Does this behavior ring a bell with anyone, or do you think he's just "feeling" the thyroxine?
 

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Well, Charlie is in time out, but he's not in trouble. He's just wild today. Completely crazy-eyed, doing random zoomies, and trying to get a rise out of Finn non-stop. Finn has been trying to ignore him for the most part, but now and then he'll engage and there'll be chasing - but then Finn doesn't know when to stop, and it ends with hissing, swats, and fear on Charlie's part. Once Finn is minding his own business again, Charlie starts back up. It's strange - his pupils are dilated and he is crazy-eyed with ears back like he gets on Zylkene, just bizarre acting and doing weird things. Like scratching like a madman in the litter box, then settling down and laying in it (which Charlie never does). When Finn came to investigate, Charlie leapt straight up out of the box and right over Finn's head to go do another zoomie. Or he'll lay on his scratcher and bunny kick the wall which he KNOWS is a no-no - and then make eye contact with me like, "What ya gonna do?" After several hours of this, I had to put him in my room with the door shut. I hope he doesn't think he's in trouble, but I'm trying to study and he needs to calm down. Does this behavior ring a bell with anyone, or do you think he's just "feeling" the thyroxine?
It's possible it could be the thyroxine, you never know what kind of reaction there will be from medication until you use it. Even if it seems ok at first there could always be a delayed reaction.
 

Buffster7

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It's possible it could be the thyroxine, you never know what kind of reaction there will be from medication until you use it. Even if it seems ok at first there could always be a delayed reaction.
Interesting, and makes sense. There was a cat in the back yard this morning, but we've seen this cat nearly daily and he hasn't acted like this before. It was just the hyperactivity that made me think of the thyroxine. Will see if it's an isolated incident or if it happens again.
Hours?!?
If this were me I'd be calling the vet .
The behavior is unusual for Charlie, but not concerning to the point of calling the vet. More disruptive than anything. Once I put him in my room he calmed down, and now is back to his docile self. If this becomes a daily occurrence, I'll call.
 

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If this becomes a daily occurrence,
Him being like that with dilated eyes, and for hours is a serious issue but hopefully a one-time occurrence. Otherwise I'm thinking his thyroid medicine needs to be adjusted and that's why the vet should know now, today, or keep a log of his behavior so that the vet has something to work with.
 

pearl99

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It's such a change, it sounds like he could need a dose adjustment of the thyroid medication. I'd give a call to the vet too, just to check if this is normal after starting (and may settle down.) If his dose needs to be decreased, in the meantime it's going to keep building his blood level as it's given.
 
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Jcatbird

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Well, since I take thyroid meds, I can tell you that too much made me feel stressed. Too little and I have no energy. I do think it could be a dose adjustment. Dilated pupils can be excitement from lots of things so it might be possible he is finally feeling energetic again but a vet call is what I would do too.

The clear containers came from the dollar store. Dollar General. I have seen them other places too though. You can put a litter box inside it or use it as a litter box. Either way should work. Mine are large so it would take more litter.
 

Buffster7

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Thanks, guys. I am keeping an eye on him, and want to be sure that this was not just an isolated incident. He is on the lowest dose possible: 0.1mg, and I believe thyroxine doses are anywhere from 0.1 to 0.8

The tablets are able to be broken in half, though, so today rather than give a whole tablet with breakfast, I will split it between breakfast and lunch. Remember that Charlie is always more 'aggressive' in the morning and will go after Finn with too much vigor even long before the thyroid meds. I'm wondering if the extra boost from the meds doesn't have him feeling his oats even more and exacerbating his morning tendency. He was fine the rest of the day yesterday.

This morning he was fine with 1/2 the tablet, but an hour after I gave it to him, I could tell he was starting to get amped up again. I sang to him while carrying him to my room (so he didn't think he was in trouble) and closed the door behind us. Cuddled him on the bed briefly and he settled right down. Not sure what to think...is he just feeling better for the first time in a long time, or does he need a dose adjustment? Is this just part of adjusting to a new med? Which he had this morning; I'll give him his next half with lunch. Will watch for another day I guess, and just keep a log for my vet.

It would make sense that he would be more sensitive to this med, though... as I think about it, he's sensitive to any supplement I've tried. He can't tolerate Zylkene - makes him crazy eyed and ghosty. I remember how Composure Max made him snore like a train when I first gave it to him, so I lowered his dose back during integration days. He gets a different dose of sedative at the vet for teeth cleaning after he stayed drunk for 3 days after the first time. Hmmmm
 

Talien

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Thanks, guys. I am keeping an eye on him, and want to be sure that this was not just an isolated incident. He is on the lowest dose possible: 0.1mg, and I believe thyroxine doses are anywhere from 0.1 to 0.8

The tablets are able to be broken in half, though, so today rather than give a whole tablet with breakfast, I will split it between breakfast and lunch. Remember that Charlie is always more 'aggressive' in the morning and will go after Finn with too much vigor even long before the thyroid meds. I'm wondering if the extra boost from the meds doesn't have him feeling his oats even more and exacerbating his morning tendency. He was fine the rest of the day yesterday.

This morning he was fine with 1/2 the tablet, but an hour after I gave it to him, I could tell he was starting to get amped up again. I sang to him while carrying him to my room (so he didn't think he was in trouble) and closed the door behind us. Cuddled him on the bed briefly and he settled right down. Not sure what to think...is he just feeling better for the first time in a long time, or does he need a dose adjustment? Is this just part of adjusting to a new med? Which he had this morning; I'll give him his next half with lunch. Will watch for another day I guess, and just keep a log for my vet.

It would make sense that he would be more sensitive to this med, though... as I think about it, he's sensitive to any supplement I've tried. He can't tolerate Zylkene - makes him crazy eyed and ghosty. He gets a different dose of sedative at the vet for teeth cleaning after he stayed drunk for 3 days after the first time. Hmmmm
Has he ever acted like that previously? If he used to be like that when he was younger then it may be that, like you said, he's feeling better for the first time in a long time.

If he never acted like that before then yeah it's probably a reaction to the medication.

If he never used to act like that but started being more active after you adopted Finn then it could be that he's just excited to have a "roommate" and doesn't quite know how to handle it since he's was an only child until that point.
 

Buffster7

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Has he ever acted like that previously? If he used to be like that when he was younger then it may be that, like you said, he's feeling better for the first time in a long time.

If he never acted like that before then yeah it's probably a reaction to the medication.

If he never used to act like that but started being more active after you adopted Finn then it could be that he's just excited to have a "roommate" and doesn't quite know how to handle it since he's was an only child until that point.
I'm thinking hard. He used to be A LOT more energetic when I first brought him inside years ago.. But the dilated pupil episodes didn't start til Finn moved in. Nope wait, that's not true. Now and then he would have them, but they became more evident/frequent when Finn moved in. Before that, there are times when he would come to me in the morning and paw at my chair. I could tell by the dilated pupils that if I were to stroke him, he would bite. I learned this by trying to stroke him a few times; he'll wrap his paws around my hands and bite; he won't break the skin, but it is more than a love bite. It's like an over-stimulated bite. I always just thought it was a weird quirk of his.
I saw it here and there, but the morning aggression became noticeable when Finn moved in.

Charlie's DEFINITELY been more lethargic to the point where I wondered if he wasn't hiding an illness. Very low energy. So...the need for thyroxine makes sense. Yet even with only receiving half the dose at breakfast, I'm watching him while I type this, he's still more active than usual. Finn has already crashed for his daytime nap, and Charlie is still prowling and looking very alert.

Nope...he's now in time out. While I was typing this, he got wild-eyed and nipped at Finn. I don't think time-outs are going to be good for the camaraderie they've established, but neither will Charlie instigating. Could half of a 0.1mg dose cause this?
 
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