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Is there a medicine for my "mean girl" cat?

11 years ago

My cat Cali is still on the warpath for Amy, our newest adoption (a year and a half ago) and won't let Amy use the litterbox, eat, anything that cats need and like to do.

It is all Cali, the other two are fine with her Amy and Amy totally ignores Cali all the time except when Cali is chasing her.

Is there a kitty Xanax that we can get Cali on to make her less aggressive?

TIA!

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Comments (6)

ms_minnamouse
11 years ago
Medication doesn't work that way. It doesn't cure behavioral problems, it can aid them, but not alone. Xanax is for anxiety and Compulsive Disorder (animal version of OCD).

Have you worked with a reputable cat trainer? Behavior modification can be paired with medication, if appropriate, but medication isn't to take place of BMod.

Let me know if you need a referral to a trainer in your area.
EATREALFOOD
11 years ago
If you have one or two children and then decide to foster another child would you put them on anti-depressants if they all didn't get along ? Why are we always reaching for the pill ...
Cats are territorial and are upset by any changes in their routine. The original cat or dog must be respected and introduced to a new roommate deliberately, slowly and even then jealousies may still exist. Have you read any books are how to make introductions ? Anita Frazier writes excellent cat books.
Would you like a complete stranger to be sharing your bathroom and eating dinner at your table ? That's how your cat feels.
Resentments burn long if they are not addressed.
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A couple of ideas, maybe not so good, maybe they don't apply, but here's what's on my mind. If Cali is stalking Amy all the time, that must be incredibly stressful for poor Amy! How about a time out for Cali if she is that wound up? My cat would quite literally jump me for the first year we had him- it was unbearable for me. When he would do it, we would calmly put him in a room by himself to decompress. He had all the amenities he needed in there except stimuli. I'd leave him in there for 15 minutes or so, then if he immediately tried his behaviors again, back in he would go for another 15-30 minutes-- and so on. He learned to associate the behavior of jumping me, with being isolated, and it settled down a lot. Every once in a while he still does it, and right back in time out he goes. When you do something like this, it can feel a little hopeless at first because it feels like you are constantly attending to this (same as with a little human kid), but in time as they learn the inevitable consequences, the behaviors will hopefully change. Maybe Cali needs more hunting play? Something to help her burn off all that energy she has? That's definitely a problem with my boy, he needs to be played with in a way that satisfies his hunting instinct and wears off energy- if he gets this activity, then he much mellower and well behaved. BUT, don't make the mistake I did, which was to get the laser pointer and start playing with him when he got wound up-- that just led to him getting wound up in order to play laser pointer! You have to initiate the play time on your schedule, so they don't associate it with bad behavior. Also, in regard to litter boxes, I just recently saw on My Cat From Hell, a similar situation with a cat who could not use a litter box because the other cat was always attacking him. The host suggested that the problem was the distinctive noise of traditional clay litters when a cat steps in them. That sound would bring the other cat from anywhere in the house. He suggested trying a different type of litter, like wheat litter, just because it would be stealthier for the other cat. (As an aside, I didn't really care much for the wheat hull litter when we used it, but there are other types to try too). Finally, I think cats can definitely learn from positive reinforcement, so any time you catch Cali being civil with Amy, even if it's just relaxing across the room (hey, it might happen at some point), make a point of petting her and telling her how good she is being. Every cat I've had has loved to be told whaaaaat a goooood kitty you are! Good luck. It's rough. I'd like to get another kitty at some point, but am afraid that this cat we have now would act like your Cali, and I'm not sure I'm up for the challenge at this point.
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How's your kitty doing? I just saw this post and it reminded me of my cat Emmett a little. He's 14 1/2, big cat like Sylvester, very lanky, not overweight. In 2010 he started to have issues with throwing up -projectile- and his back legs going a little limp, pooping issues, he's always had pooping issues! After many, many vet visits involving multiple tests, scans, sonograms, xrays, they decided to scope him. I see you said you can't put Sylvester under, have they tried a sonogram? Hopefully you can find a clinic close by. I never realize how much I take for granted having state-of-the-art veterinary facilities just down the street. Anyway, Emett had a mass of hardened mystery goop stuck in his lower esophagus. They saw fur, partially digested food, god knows what. He eats fuzzies and used to eat the plastic off of our clothes hamper until we got rid of it. He's really weird. This didn't explain his back legs though. He's polydactyl with 7 claws on each front and 6 one each back paw so we thought maybe he's just getting old and starting to walk funny, arthritic perhaps. So after the mass was knocked out of place by the scope, he started a round of steroids, medicine to help him poop, medicine to help him eat, the whole deal. He did really well and for years we experienced no big issues, just general check-ups, nothing special. About a year ago he started showing symptoms like he did last time. Our doctor thinks is it's IBD which makes so much sense. He does have some serious gut issues so we started feeding our cats only non-GMO, grain-free, organic, made in the US food which has helped insanely. (should have been doing that since day one) They also get pro-biotics daily with exception to Emmett. I find that giving him some makes him vomit after eating every time. But all in all, after switching his diet, giving him a boost of vitamins sometimes we give him some CannaPet - it has CBD oil in it and really helps when he's starting to flare again, he's been doing really well with us treating his medical problems as an autoimmune disease. His back paws still flare out, especially his left one, but he doesn't seem to be experiencing any more weakness. When he had the blockage and when he flares, his back legs go almost limp. But this could be a spasm or pinched nerve, he's only lost minimal bone density from all of this. I hope everything works out for you and Sylvester. I hate seeing furry little critters sick. Maybe sharing what Emmett deals with will help in some way, maybe not. But either way, we'll be thinking about you guys and hoping Sylvester gets better.
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lzrddr
11 years ago
I have not had a lot of luck with 'training' cats to get along, and behavioral modification in cats can be frustrating (many cats seem to want to be the only ones in the home and misguided attempts to get them a 'friend' often end in disaster). Still ,it is certainly worth trying.

I have several clients who own cats and have one 'bully'. Sometimes fluoxetine works well for these cats (I have actually had very good success with this medication when used for this purpose in cats). This is the generic for Prozac and it's now sold as Reconcile specifically for animals. This drug works very well, too, for anxious cats that tend to have behavioral urination problems (way better than any other medication I have tried). I know medications are not the cure all for behavioral problems, but some do help a lot, often saving a pet from being sent to the pound for euthanasia.

Still, in some homes, there remains some tendency for fighting and a constant tension may exist... and some of these owners elect to separate the cats into a few permanent groups if possible.
ms_minnamouse
11 years ago
Clinical Applied Animal Behaviorist or even a Veterinary Behaviorist. The $ is worth it to save a life and keep the home.
mazer415
11 years ago
To start with Go get a second cat litter box or a third if needed, Multiple cats require multiple litter boxes,
annzgw
11 years ago
gogwmos has been dealing with this for 1 1/2 years and I believe posted on this site around June of this year. IMO, before trying to control Cali with drugs, and it appears she has no intention of changing, I'd start looking for a good home for Amy.
I believe such ongoing stress will eventually cause some type of illness in Amy and from your description, she's too sweet to lead such a fearful life.
And Cali will be much happier..............

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