Conference misery::feline_v1

    
    
    	Have you considered (or your vet suggested) exploratory surgery
    	to make sure everything was removed during her spay? I know
    	of a couple of cases where a whole ovary was left behind, causing
    	behavior like you've described to occur because hormones are
    	still being produced...It's worth asking the vet about, anyways...
    	Good luck....
    
    
    

    RE.1
    I was thinking if that might be what's doing it but I wasn't sure
    of what signs in behavior to look for. One minute she seems like
    she is going into heat and the next she gets crazy.
    The vet did not suggest the possibility, but I will definitely have
    Peter find out about this.
    I hope it is something that can be corrected because Pete is heart
    broken that his cat may be incurably whacko, and I have been slowly
    losing my cool as I have never been afraid of an animal as I have
    unfortuantly become of Lil. We both have scars from her previous
    antics, and I am dangling at the end of my kitty patience.
    

    Hi Fran -
    
    Boy do I know what you are going through!  I have been struggling
    with this same problem, continuously since December when we moved
    into our new home.  I have four cats - a real family too.  I can't
    really pinpoint the blame on any ONE of them, because they all have
    taken their turns being the aggressor.
    
    I will give you an idea of what questions I had at first, what some
    of the suggestions were, and the status now (Things have quieted
    down quite a bit!) . . . 
    
    - Will this behaviour stop if I get all three females spayed?  They
      seem to display more aggression when one of them is in heat.  Well,
      my vet and feliners did suggest that it MIGHT help.  But my vet
      also said that the pecking order in this family needed to be worked
      out.  I can see that is true even to this day.  Our first, and
      the mother (Kiwi) always had the "say", even when we introduced
      our second, a male (Weazy).  Eventually, Kiwi and Weazy did mate
      and now we have two female additions, Tigger and Hitla.  Weazy
      is somewhat of a fiesty and large cat, and the first aggression
      was between him and Kiwi (threats in the pecking order!)  Then,
      as each female went into heat, hormonal tensions ran high and
      the fighting was constant!  I was in tears every time too!  So
      I had the females spayed just about 2 months ago and things have
      quieted down quite a bit.  My conclusion is that dominance and
      hormones played a great part in their aggression!
    
    - Is Kiwi trying to "push" her daughters out of the nest?  She is
      attacking them whenever they go into heat, alternately she will
      follow them around as if she is trying to protect them!  This
      I didn't understand at all!  Kiwi would attack Weazy if he got
      within 10 feet of them, even though he is neutered and not really
      interested but just curious as to who is making all the noise.
      No answers on this one, but my conclusion - Hormones Again!
    
    To sum things up for you, I still have one of the daughters who
    remains still so jittery from all the previous aggression that
    she will attack, on occasion if she feels "threatened".  She screams
    the loudest too - isn't that awful?   Kiwi stills wants to be the
    dominant one, while Weazy is still *playfully* too fiesty for her.
    
    One thing I make sure of is that their claws are all clipped, at
    least once a month.  I too have many scars on my hands from trying
    to referee the fights.  Now what I try to do is talk calmly if I
    see something beginning - coo to them.  When a fight is in progress
    my legs get in the fight too, a *gentle* kick here and there!  Sorry
    feliners, but this seems to help.  Mine too were given the basement
    treatment for a whole night and day at least, and sometimes longer!
    But introducing them back into the regular scene can be strenuous
    too.  
    
    Sorry for being so long-winded, but I hope that some of my experiences
    and suggestions will help.  If you want to discuss this further
    outside of the notes file, call me at DTN 297-7299.  There doesn't
    seem to be any definite solution to solving this -- just time I
    guess!
    
    Good luck,  Pam
                                                                      

    Hi from me too Fran- My 7 year old KoKo has been really crazy
    lately - she took off after and GOT little Misha last night -
    he's only a baby - I told KoKo that, but she didn't even care.
    She has been spraying since his arrival - she hisses at him
    when ever he dares to pass by her.  All in all , KoKo has
    been a real creep!  All of her life, she has lived with me
    and one would never know she was there - a VERY quiet,
    unassumingl kitty, no problems, sleeps with Sasha (who
    raised her from 6 weeks old - Sasha is 9) never even
    meowed! NOW, it's like we are living with Miss Beastie
    (the second - Lara holds the real Beastie title).  She
    follows me around the house - asks to be picked up.
    I've never had this syndrome in any cat before - 
    WHAT IS IT??
    
    E.T.

    Can you take her back to the vet for another shot (but at a reduced
    dosage so she doesn't turn slithery)?  My impression is that shots
    deliver more medication than pills -- perhaps I am wrong.  perhaps
    she could get a "reduced" shot every six months or so as a
    preventative?  Or a pill once a month or so?  Are there side effects
    of the shots or pills that might be dangerous?  If all works out for
    a couple of years, you might then try weaning her off the medication.
    

    Believe it or not what Lil is on is a birth control pill of some
    sort!!!! Heaven help us if it had the same effect on humans and
    we ended up slithering all over the floor too!!!
    When she had the initial shot, she slithered for days and then for
    about a week you could pour her out she as she was totally hanging
    loose!
    I am all for taking her back to the vets and hoping he can give
    her a reduced dosage that will set her on "slinky". A slinky cat
    I can live with, but Lilith the Hun is impossible!
    
    Fran
    

    Fran,
    
    I would suggest that you go back to the vet and see what they can
    do.  There could be something despirately wrong with Lil.  I hope
    things work out for you.
    
    Holly
    
    

    Well, Lil the Terrible was a'hissing and a'howling when I got home
    last night. The vet perscribed a sedative for her to get her through
    the  night. We moved her into the guest room and calmed down even
    though we noticed that she hadn't touched the food in her dish with
    the sedative in it.
    The vet ruled out an incomplete spay as her behavior doesn't match
    such a possible cause. He thinks it is a behavior problem and it
    looks like its going to take some figuring out as to what makes
    Lil crazy. The possibility, however, of something else (physically)
    that may be wrong with her still hasn't been ruled out yet and will
    require a good check-up.
    Until then, Lil has her own room, complete with a radio (she prefers
    soft rock) for some reason the way she has been behaving I thought
    she'd prefer Heavy Metal!
    Fran
    

    What did the vet say about another shot of the "birth control type
    " stuff?
    

    RE.9
    He did mention that she probably O.D.d on the stuff the first time
    he gave it to her ergo the SLithery Effect occured. Frankly, I've
    never seen her so happy as she was that time, but she was absolutley
    puddles! It was slighlty obscene from where her nickname the resident
    sex-kitten developed; I never knew a cat could lie on the floor
    and literally spread out in a puddle shape!
    Anyways, he did mention that a lower dosage was a possible solution
    but we have no definte info yet hopefully we'll know tommorrow.
    Fran
    

    I received a memo from a feline notes saying they were appalled
    by my lighthearted approach to Lil's condition. I am sorry if
    this has been misconstrued, it is, unfortuantely my way of trying
    to ease up a bad situation. Pete and I both know that the bottom
    line of Lil's condition could possibly be that she has something
    incurable and will get more vicioius as time goes on. If it is
    that she needs to be the one and only cat we have options of
    putting her in a single cat environment with family members,
    however if she is incurable and truly a disturbed cat we will
    be in the heartbreaking decision of having to put her to sleep.
    Believe me we are doing our best to cover every base first and
    don't find it amusing but try to keep our chin's up.
    For us it has been like watching an elderly person slowly go
    downhill when one minute they are with you and the next it
    seems they left while standing right in front of you.
    We are taking Lil with us this weekend to Pete's grandfather's
    to see how she behaves as a single cat, our vet is consulting
    a behavior specialist at tufts etc. etc. So, we are not in our
    daily lives making light of this in any way. AAnd I am in contact
    with noters daily who have been very supportive, and still for
    Lil's sake we are reaching out to anyone who can offer help and
    cover every base we can. 
    So if I seem devil-may-care I am basically full of it, yet Lil
    has always been quite a character and she always made us laugh
    with her antics in the past and that's what we keep in mind and
    what spurs us on to help her however we can.
    
    Fran
    

    It's been a few weeks since the last entry in this note.  I hope
    things have worked out for you.  If not, I have the name and number
    of an animal behaviorist here in MA who might be able to help. 
    If you contact me off-line, I'll give you the reference.

    In case anyone else ever has this problem I thought I would add
    an update on Lil and her behavior complications.
    We took her to see Doctor Nord who was wonderful and was able to
    fit the pieces together of what we observed with Lil. It seems
    that cats (an animals in general) experience stress during the
    changes of seasons as they are able to detect changes in atmosphere
    etc. Also cats, as many of us know, are very territorial, and
    for Lil who is an extremely sensitive animal the combination of
    the seasonal changes and her territorial claims among the other
    cats result in her aggressive behavior.
    Also, Lil who loves to petted is too sensitive to too much intensive
    petting ;-) and cannot differentiate between pain and pleasure,
    and we noticed this confusion as often times when we are petting
    her she mingles purrs and growls, Dr. Nord recomended a mild
    sedative during seasonal changes and rules out hormonal imbalance
    in Lil's case.
    So, if anyone else notices this aggressive behavior during the
    change of seasons it is something that simply happens and wears
    itself out, and if your cat is extermely sensitive you may notice
    it more pronounced than in more subdued cats.
    Dr. Nord and the staff at Framingham Animal Hospital are wonderful.
    thet are not only concerned about the animal's physical but are
    very atuned to their need of attention and concern.
    
    Fran
    

    Snuggles doesn't have a behaivor problem like your Lil but you're right
    about the change of seasons having an affect on them.
    
    Now that spring has started Snuggles has started to meow extremely
    loud.  He's been nuetered and doesn't spray but I'd swear the meow
    sounds like he's calling a mate.  I think he's part Siamese when
    he meows like this.  He also gets much more rambunctious (?sp).
    The funny thing is is that his usual meows are so soft he really
    doesn't sound like a boy cat until he starts up with the other meow.
    His meow suddenly becomes deeper and it doesn't sound like a meow.
    It's more like a rraaoowwwwww.  I was on the phone last night with
    my mother (in the livingroom) and she could hear Snuggles (in the
    kitchen) raowwing.  It drives my husband batty too.  Anyway, once
    the summer is over he stops. (Thank good!!)
    
    Kathy