- Joined
- Sep 19, 2024
- Messages
- 3
- Purraise
- 6
I've had Poppy for 3 years, almost 4, poppy grew up with a lot of mental baggage as a kitten, she was born on the street and mated with a male cat and had kittens while still a kitten herself. She was found with her kittens and taken to buddy's place shelter where I found her. Everyone wanted the kittens but no one wanted poppy so I adopted her. Poppy was fearful and hid a lot at first but she was resilient and turned into a very sweet, loving and huggable girl. For the past two years poppy has happily adjusted to my home with no litterbox issues and minimal to no hiding. She loved to get on my chest and hug me while licking my nose while I'd rest on my couch. In spring 2023, I brought home my second cat, a rambunctious and hilarious orange cat named Fergie. Poppy was afraid of Fergie at first but quickly warmed up to her after two weeks of proper introduction. Fergie is playful, funny and adventurous, the total opposite of poppy. For 9 months, they got along beautifully, playing together, snuggling, watching tv, just having a blast. Poppy has always had bouts of anxiety and in January 2024, developed hot spots from overgrooming. Fergie had some non recognition aggression after poppy came back from the vet but was over it in a few days and poppy bounced back to her regular happy self. Two months later, poppy developed another hotspot from overgrooming and was taken to the vet by my sitter while I was away in Florida. Fergie had no aggression this time and poppy remained her happy self. Four months after that, she created a third hot spot on her neck with itching and the dr treated it, Fergie was aggressive and got into poppy's face and hissed a few times which upset poppy and made her feel cornered. Fergie got over it in a day though and poppy started to bounce back, until a week later a fourth hotspot appeared on her back. She was taken to the dr, they put her under and did a biopsy to test for everything from cancer to allergies. When poppy woke up and came home, Fergie was fine, no vet visit aggression. Poppy was afraid and hid. Poppy was separated from Fergie for a week to prevent the sutures from coming out too early and she once again began to rebound but when the sutures came out and she and Fergie were reunited, she became the fearful cat that I had adopted from the shelter. She was ok with Fergie but she'd hide, shake, avoid me and hold herself in tight poses. She was put on prednisone after the surgery and that can alter behavior. After a month, she began to purr more again and seek out petting but the couch cuddles still had not come back. The results of the biopsy were totally negative for anything medical so the hot spots were a behavioral creation. She then developed a fifth hot spot at the end of august. She was put on penicillin and the pills made her stomach hurt. She regressed back into the withdrawn cat. I went on a trip to Chicago to have a biopsy done on a possibly cancerous cyst and poppy began to rebound with her favorite sitter. When I got back 95% of the old poppy was there. She was purring, snuggling with Fergie, playing, napping, happily enjoying life, but there was still some anxiety there. She still wouldn't reach out for cuddles on the couch though. At times over the last two weeks she'd go into a state of withdrawal for a few hours and then go back to happily purring and resting like she did before the operation. Today, she woke up very cheerful, but at 12, she went into her shell, stopped purring and hid. Fergie didn't do anything, she was asleep on the couch the whole time while poppy napped on the cat bed. Poppy did purr when I pulled out treats but I left the home to give her time alone for a few hours but she still isn't back to her normal self. She'd bounce back every time but what's different now? Why is it taking over two months for her to recover mentally? Poppy has hyperesthesia which has been managed by removing her collar and that's helped greatly with the licking and creating the hot spots but I really miss taking naps with her on my couch and falling asleep to her happy purrs. I miss her kisses and biscuits on my chest. Is she scarred for life from the surgery or will the old poppy one day come back in full? Is she upset with me specifically? Should I rehome her?
Below I have images of poppy (tortie) and Fergie (orange) as well as an example of poppy's hot spots and a final image of what poppy was like prior to this event.
Below I have images of poppy (tortie) and Fergie (orange) as well as an example of poppy's hot spots and a final image of what poppy was like prior to this event.
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