Afraid of mistake on attaching porch
barncatz
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
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cpartist
6 years agobarncatz
6 years agoRelated Discussions
Cat is afraid of ceiling fan
Comments (23)My Cat Floyd was one and a half when I moved into my present store top apartment(above a pizza shop). Due to the the fact it was early summer and the heat from the shop below I installed ceiling fans in the living room and bedroom. Within a day of installing Floyd freaked out, disappeared and hid behind my water bed. He did not eat or go near his litter box for three days. After an expedition that can only be compared with an Indiana Jones movie (a story in itself), I managed to remove Floyd from behind the water bed and take him to the vet due to my concerns, never realizing it was the ceiling fans causing this behavior (due to the amount of ongoing change and commotion from the move). Once at the vet I was informed that Floyd's bladder was rather hard and he must have not urinated in at least a few days. Large in part that he freaked out at the sight of the black fan blades against the white ceiling. The vet managed to induce urination stating she could have possibly saved him from urinary infection. Once home it all came together when I realized all of Floyd's attention was on the ceiling. Even in the safe haven of my arms all attention was upwards. I have attempted to acclimatize Floyd and in 4 years. He will still freak out with even the slightest movement from above. As stated by the previous poster I do believe that the movement from above sparks an inherent instinct of possible predators above such as a hawk or eagle. I have never been able to come up with any other explanation. Thanks to Floyd never adjusting, I have since put in air conditioners(window rattlers) and have incurred a larger electric bill to ensure his comfort and not forgo the previous water bed expedition once again. P.S. When extricating a freaked out cat from a confined space consider wearing oven mitts which go to the shoulders. Ike...See MorePure bread Shelty afraid of outdoors.
Comments (18)When Sheltie's were really popular they suffered from questionable breeding. I would suspect that one of the parents is very timid. Purebred means you can check their lineage and have some idea what they look like. Saying that, my middle sheltie, was just like her mother. I knew it was questionable breeding but my son was determined to get another dog. He went along and viola we had a puppy! Her mother was very timid and her dad was a goofball. HA! So I knew we could have a shy dog. She was very shy/timid. She was also one of the smartest dogs I've had. But she was my dog and only really minded me, and did not like going with anyone else. You need to make him look forward to going outside. Buy a harness so you are not choking him while he struggles when he's out. Then I would get some kind of food that he will just drool over, such as rotisserie chicken. Shelties aren't nose driven (i.e. hounds) so it takes something really good to keep their attention. My shy sheltie was a very picky eater. She hated dog treats and was very picky about what human food she would eat. So before feeding I would put both dogs on a leash to go outside. The idea is you want them hungry. Before going outside I would make a big deal about going out to have a cookie, bite, whatever you want to call it. Then take them out and take turns feeding each one a nibble (very small bites) of food. Start with the other dog. You want to keep his mind on the fact that the other dog might get more than him. Plan on feeding them quite a bit. Each time you feed say your "word". Example: Lassie, do you want a cookie?!! Be upbeat and when they are done, pet them, telling them "what a good dog" and bring them back in the house. You want him to associate "the word" with the food and actually look forward to going outside. Don't try to make him do other things. Just do this one simple exercise then return to the house. Depending on how he is doing, you can probably take just him out around the fourth day. Once you have at least a week, maybe more, depending on how he's acting, then put something else in the mix. Just have him at the state where he wants to go outside and eat his "cookie" before you add anything else. You should find that shelties can easily pick up tricks in a few days with very little effort on your part. Just be consistent and use the same hand motion and word for each trick/command. Start with the "cookie" then feed a few bites and then walk him around. Use the "cookie" as enticement. You're trying to keep his mind focused on you. Don't let him pull at the leash. STOP and make him sit. Use your "cookie" to get his attention. Each time he pulls stop and go back through the sit routine. The goal is to make him like going outside. So use the harness to take him out to do his business. But don't mix the two together at first. So for now just harness put on a leash and stand out with him kind of doing what you've been doing. Eventually when you get to the walk, stop, treat session, then you can throw in going to the potty. Hopefully, he will be less stressed by then and it will get easier for the dog and you. If he does happen to go, I would definitely praise the dog. You'll always have a timid dog, but he if you can get him to look to you it will help with his fears and help with your problems. By keeping him on a leash when he's "doing his business" you can keep him from running off at every little sound he hears. The goal is to eventually change the running behaviour so you won't have to leash. With the weather being what it is, I feel for your predicament. Saying that, my first sheltie was a prima dona. She didn't like getting her feet dirty. She didn't like the rain. So it was always a problem to get her to go outside when the weather was nasty....See MoreLet's talk about being afraid to decorate.
Comments (41)gyr_falcon LOL That sounds like my preteen room back in the days of posters all over the walls. melis918, I think part of the problem is there are so many choices to make now that you didn't know about 30 years ago. You named the reasons for that too. The internet and online forums. My advise? Back away from the computer, head to a brick and mortar store and make your choices from what's available in your area. The reason I know this is because, though I don't fear actually doing it, what I do fear is that I'll miss something going on in the virtual world instead of doing what needs to be done in real life. Which is why a couple weeks ago I decided to challenge myself to getting things done that have needed to be done. I'm pleased to say it's working! Here's one of the things that needed to be done that I did. A couple years ago a cleaner leaked under our sink causing the pressed wood floor to swell. Instead of really fixing it, I covered it with some vinyl wallpaper I had to use as shelf lining. Which I don't have a picture of. This is the damage done by the leaky cleaner. It would not have been possible to actually replace the floor as corner cabinets are not full cabinets. They come with the front piece and a square floor piece for the installers (hubby and I in this case) to figure out how to put together. I came up with the idea of piano hinges to attach the front to the adjoining cabinets. Anyway, my solution to this dilemma was to use scrapes of Masonite we had from other projects because of their flexibility. The next picture was before I nailed the pieces in place using our finish nail gun. And here is the finished flooring with peel and stick tile to protect the floor underneath from any future mishaps. I've also done the two shelves in the corner cabinet above where I keep brushes and such needed for washing dishes and the floor of the cook top cabinet with this same peel and stick tiles. Before I'm done with kitchen challenge I'll use them for the recycle cabinet too....See MoreChristmas decorating tips for two story house (afraid of heights)
Comments (11)My daughter moved into a two story house this year. Her husband was out of the country for the weeks preceding Christmas. She wanted to have the exterior of the house decorated for Christmas when he came home. She bought Star lights, a gizmo you set in the ground in your front yard and it shines a light with various designs over your house. She had stars but I've been Christmas scenes of all sorts with them. They are often used by the elderly or others who don't want to climb around on their house. Her husband loved them and stood outside the house just looking at the stars for a long time after he returned home....See Morebarncatz
6 years agocpartist
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