Would like to share

[greycat]

Hi, I tried to share my story with Boris my love (my kitty). It was probably too thought out and it seems by the time I press submit it doesn't go through, probably timed out.

I have so much I would like to discuss about my cat, his attitude and health primarily. Pictures also...Nakita makes my heart skip a beat and brings tears of drunken joy to my eyes....she's so pretty.

Anyhow, here's a starter to see if this works, a test if you will

Marc

 

[rosiemac]

Marc, anything you can tell us about Boris and Nakita will be brilliant

Those names sound familiar?, did something happen to little Boris?

 

[greycat]

Bor's daddy was gotten from some kind of storm round-up. His mother had papers according to his owner, I didn't care.

His mother was so sweet and her owner told me that she didn't normally take to people that came around her but she seemed to rub on me and like me (shrug).

Ever since I got this kitten, he's been so stubborn in certain things. Mainly meeting new people or places and not being able to take him to the vet is my main concern.

But I was talking with a friend recently and he brought up the old proverb that if it's not broken don't fix it.

I do wonder about taking Boris to the vet for check-ups or whatever. He seems very healthly to me but I worry about things I can't see.

to be continued

 

[hissy]

Greycat, that happens to me sometimes on the board, where posts are lost. I found a way around it. I just start a post on a blank email, and write out what I want to say. Then I highlight and copy the post- come to the board, and paste it in a thread, hit submit and no time out.

 

[greycat]

Ah the name shouldn't be familiar from me atleast and Nakita is not mine. She's the beauty I've seen in the pics on this site, all felines pictured within are beyond verbal description but...she takes my breath away!

Boris is named aptly from his russian heritage...he is quite sharp, claw and all.

 

[rosiemac]

Marc to put your mind at rest, i would take Boris for a check up at the vets and while your there do what i do, which is to ask any question that is on your mind so you don't have to worry about it.

Rosie and Sophie are very timid with people until they've known them for at least an hour

And yes my two can be stubborn also!

 

[greycat]

When he was about 6 months old (if that) I took him to the vet to get him fixed. I dropped him off one evening and next morning naturally I was very concerned about my babe so I called the vet to check the status.

The girl I talked to alarmed me because she put me under the impression that something was wrong with Boris. She assurred me nothing was wrong with him but told me that I would have to pick him up from the office, they couldn't do anything with him at his state.

I went to pick him up and he hissed at the girl as soon as she opened the main door to the room. On a wall of cats mine was the one with a "red tag" and she very much cautioned me about him.

They told me that it was dangerous to put a cat under temporarily especially if he's as stressed as Boris was being.

to be continued..

 

[greycat]

I've taken him to vet years ago, he met 2 vets. One guy I didn't like at all and he got mad at Boris and was the one that suggested sleeping pills for him for the next visit, so we could test at all. Same office, that one guy was a stand-in or whatever for the normal doctor. The normal doctor spent close to an hour on Boris when he was just a baby and Boris wouldn't let him get anywhere near him.

He's far worse now.
Edit: Worse = Nobody but me and very few people can get close to him

 

[rosiemac]

Marc i know if my vet got mad at one of my cats, he'd see me get mad at him and i would be finding a new vet who would understand.

Is Boris a housecat?

 

[sweets]

Marc,

My Shalimar (RB) had a great big BITER on the front of her chart and no one would touch her. The vet techs used to refuse to carry her anywhere when she needed blood drawn. I learned from a friend how to restrain her at the vets. Its mostly using your body weight and forearms to hold the cat's body and your hands controlling the head with your fingers above and below the mouth. It doesn't hurt the cat at all, and allows YOU to take care of your cat. The last time I allowed a vet tech to restrain Shali, he used this glove that had 3" of cat hair on it, and all the other cat's stress hormones. After he shook her in anger, he almost went thru the wall when I took her away from him. I was that angry with him.

Sandy

 

[rosiemac]

Sandy i can understand how you felt

Have you ever heard the angry term "I could knock doors through windows"?.

If i ever caught my vet shaking Rosie or Sophie, that's where he would be going!.

 

[dottiemaggie]

No cat is impossible. I'd say at least half, if not more, of the cats we see are fractious when it comes to us doing things to them.. but there's always a way around that (that doesn't involve shaking! dear lord...)

We had one particularly bad cat, who the owners would only take to this one vet because the cat was relatively better behaved for this particular vet (though that's really not saying a lot...) We had to take blood and urine because he was suspected diabetic, and it was a battle, but it was done with out harming or sedating the cat (though I'm sure he felt harmed to have a cone around his head

) and the vet, myself, and the coop student were also none the worse for wear (except the coop student got peed on

)

You should try to find a vet who is willing to figure out how best to work with Boris. It's best to not wait until, heavens forbid, something happens to Boris and you can't afford to try out a vet but need them to be ready to do everything they can for you furbaby.

.maggie

 

[greycat]

Thank you so much for all the advice. He does live strictly indoors and I really worry about him getting out of the house. Traffic could be heavy just a few blocks away at times but he's never really been out of the house on his own since he was a baby, he's 6 now.

And yes I've considered vet alternatives, like exotic animal ones and home visitation doctors. Nobody has shaken him! The one vet chased him around with his helper boy in the room with me for about an hour; each of them with a towel in hand, till they finally could get hold of him just to give him a quicky shot behind the neck, had to do that twice.

I really rather admired that doctor for taking the patience and time with him. I figured he would think I was a crazy person bringing in a stray wild cat just to mess with them.

But even with all the doc's patience, Boris is not comfortable out of home or anywhere. I've always wondered if there's maybe some sort of home kit you can take blood or samples and maybe mail them somewhere for home check-ups? Good idea I think!

 

[greycat]

Maybe the mail-in doctor idea is not a good idea as doctoring shouldn't be done online

But Sweets-Sandy, you mentioned how to control it with your forearms and hands around his head. I would love to see a photo of the technique.

Bad part is Boris won't even let me pick him up or get near him without drawing back some bloody limbs myself, if too much is going on...ie; trip to the vet or even noisy visitors at the house.

He's not timid at all but he seems to feel the need to be in control of all situations which is not the case...is it? How can I cater to that? lol If the doorbell rings he runs right to the door like a dog and sits there waiting to see who's coming in. Even when the doorbell rings on the Domino's commercial on TV he perks his ears up and looks toward the door, it's so cute

Anyhow, just adding stuff about him and the many questions and ideas I have as they come to me. I don't want to look like an idiot by asking too much that's already been answered or anything.

I'm very interested in the BITER people and just how many are Russian Blues? I read that RB's were only acknowledged by the AKC? or whoever registers, only maybe 30 years ago because they were not tame enough to take to shows until then.

 

[turtlecat]

Oh, that'd be one male vet technician that quickly became a eunuch vet technician if I caught him shaking my cat.. I would have had him fired for sure..

HMF! oh wow ... just thinking about it I want to do something highly inethical and horrific to him.

But on that note, I would like to say that you might want to slowly get him used to other people handling him. have him get aclimated to other friendsf yours, have him get used to having two people pet him.. just go slowly.
Take him on car rides every so often, and slowly increase the amount of rides, o that he sees he's okay in the car. not very far, but just more regularly.

maybe that will help?

 

[greycat]

Ahhh nobody has shaken the kitty, I think that was a reference by somebody earlier (perhaps a bit of cruel humor but purely humor nonetheless)

He knows a few of my friends very well. A few he does not like at all. One of my good friends comes over and ever since Bor was a baby I would suggest to him not to be afraid of my kitty, pick him up even if he looks at you funny and suggests he'll scratch.

It actually worked, he can still come over to this day if Boris is feeling mellow enough and he can pick him up and hold him ( a rare feat attempted by few)

He seems to require a very long time time to only gets a few close bonds and that's it, he's content with that I guess, hehe

Marc and Boris
PS I'd still love to post a pic in the picture area but still working on it

 

[amberthe bobcat]

Originally Posted by dottiemaggie

No cat is impossible. I'd say at least half, if not more, of the cats we see are fractious when it comes to us doing things to them.. but there's always a way around that (that doesn't involve shaking! dear lord...)

I agree with this. Marc, I would say it is time for a new vet if they do not know how to handle Boris. If the vet is stressed out, your cat will be too. As you can see, my wife and I are proud owners of a wild bobcat. Yes, she does go to the vet and our vet can handle her. I drive out of my way to go to this doctor for all my cats, she is that good. It is about a 30 minute drive.
As for the shaking. If I that happened to one of my cats, I probably would be sitting in jail

 

[greycat]

Wow how awesome that you have a bobcat!! She is So pretty!

Is the vet you mentioned listed or self-named as dealing with exotic animals? Or is she just the right doc for Amber? And also the others you mentioned. Does she cost more than any other normal vet if she is not your average vet? Sounds kinda weird but my cat isn't normal I don't think and very hard to deal with as I've been trying to get that point across

I can only imagine having something so beautiful as a bobcat. Exotic breeds interest me very much. I guess it came with Boris's raw natural attitude.

 

[amberthe bobcat]

The vet I go to does handle exotics. However, I have been going to her a long time before we got Amber. Yes, she costs about the same as any other vet, but she is also at or ahead of the game in some things. They now do laser surgery for spaying. It costs a lot more, but the healing time is so much quicker.

I can only imagine having something so beautiful as a bobcat. Exotic breeds interest me very much. I guess it came with Boris's raw natural attitude

Well, it is different to say the least

Actually, I can never stress enough that it does take a lot of time, patience, work and dedication on our part. You must always remember that this is a wild cat. They bond to their owners so close, that it is very difficult to place them in a new home, should the owner decide they can not handle owning such an animal. She is an extreme amount of work, but my wife and I love it and love Amber to pieces, as well as our 7 domestics

 

[dima]

Marc - have you tried Feliway yet? I'd go so far as to take the plug in with you to the vet and ask them to use it in any room his is in. What can it hurt? Call them up and ask them beforehand if they would be willing. Boris (still love that name!!

) needs a good checkup at 6 years old. There MUST be a way to get your guy to calm down a bit. Feliway works for my Pookie, who was a stray and the day I adopted him he was on his way to be PTS as he was "untamable." Yeah, right!

But even now he HATES to be confined and the vet? Well, the first time I took him he tore both of us to shreds. I got a new vet who has Feliway always in his office and I couldn't believe the difference in Pookie. He was still restless, but he didn't try to kill anyone