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Conference misery::feline_v1

Title:	Meower Power is Valuing Differences
Notice:	FELINE_V1 is moving 1/11/94 5pm PST to MISERY
Moderator:	MISERY::VANZUYLEN_RO

Created:	Sun Feb 09 1986
Last Modified:	Tue Jan 11 1994
Last Successful Update:	Fri Jun 06 1997
Number of topics:	5089
Total number of notes:	60366

2297.0. "Feline post-traumatic stress syndrome" by CTCH22::CASHMAN () Tue Mar 14 1989 14:17

    About a month ago, we had a fire in our house.  One of our cats
    died afterwards from the effects of smoke inhalation, the other
    was unscathed.  After the fire, we stayed with neighbors for 12
    nights, then moved into a trailer on our front lawn, where we will
    be for the next 3-4 months at least until house repairs can be
    effected. 
    
    Our surviving cat seemed fine at the neighbors', which is a house
    similar to ours and out of sight of ours, and which also has a cat.
    Since moving into the trailer, however, our cat seems to mope about,
    eats next to nothing (she wasn't a big eater to begin with), mews
    a lot (which she never used to do), and spends a lot of time sitting
    in the window which looks directly onto the front steps of the house.
    When we let her out of the trailer, she'll run up onto the front
    steps and cry to be let in the house.  On the few occasions when
    she did get in, she would try to run downstairs into the cellar,
    where she tried to take refuge during the fire, and which is still
    a smoky mess.
    
    Has anyone else had similar experiences?  Will she come to accept
    the fact that the house is off-limits, and settle down in the trailer,
    or will she continue to mope?  Does she miss our other cat, as my
    wife thinks?  (We plan to get at least two kittens later in the
    spring.)  Any opinions or advice?
    
    -- Paul

T.R	Title	User	Personal Name	Date	Lines
2297.1	normal reaction for anyone..	PARITY::DENISE	And may the traffic be with you	`Tue Mar 14 1989 16:48`	15
	I'm sure she is feeling stress and confusion by the whole thing, it must have been rough enough to experience the fire, lose her best buddy, and her home all at once. She probably can't understand why you're parked right in front of her home, but she can't go in. She must miss her friend. All things sacred and secure in her life have been uprooted and destroyed. I'm sure she'll adjust, especially as normalicy returns. I'm sure all of you are feeling the very same feelings as she is. What a terrible thing to happen, it's so sad to lose a pet that way. I'm sure she'll be fine, just give her a little reassurance, maybe take her to the house and show her what is happening and convince her she'll be back there soon. Good luck, and I hope you all get your lives back in order quickly! Denise
2297.2		AIMHI::OFFEN		`Wed Mar 15 1989 11:15`	13
	Oh, poor baby!!! Poor you!!! To lose her home and also to lose her compatriot at the same time is definitely very traumtic. When Fluffy (many years ago) lost her kitens to sickness, she moped around and acted strangely for about 2 months. Then she slowly came around and was the same sweet cat that she had been. Grief takes time, even for animals. Sandi (Lightning, DejaVu & Thunder's mom)
2297.3		YOSMTE::CORDESBRO_JO		`Wed Mar 15 1989 12:33`	4
	Momma Kitty certainly grieved after Jesse's death. She would walk around the house meowing all the time, and she is a very quiet cat. Jo
2297.4		CRUISE::NDC		`Thu Mar 16 1989 07:32`	10
	If you let me know the name of the lost kitty, I'll add her to the list for the memorial gift this quarter. Then some good can come of something so sad. I'm terribly sorry to hear about your losses. Fire is something my husband and I worry about. We're away from home so much for work. I worry what would happen to our four should a fire start. Take care and let us know how the repairs and your other kitty are doing. (And yourselves too, of course) Nancy DC
2297.5		MARKER::REED	All the world's a stage	`Fri Mar 17 1989 13:48`	27
	How awful for you all, to lose your home and companion all at once. If there's anything you need or could use, please let me know. I definitely believe that your kitty is grieving for all the things she's lost recently. It does take time. I know when I had to put my Harry to sleep, my roomates cat, Scooter-pie, would look in all of Harry's favorite places, look at me a meow then look for Harry. Scooter who was usually a _non-talker_ and aloof tended to hang around us more afterwards. He even doubled up on his _presents_ since I now had no one to hunt for me. (I was surprised and touched by this) It took a while for him to adjust...then I brought home Escho. He looked at me like, I just got used to being the cat of the house, NOW you bring in this pint-sized, non-stop, runt of a kitten! How quaint. Seriously, give your kitty time to adjust, introduce some new friends, maybe take her with you into the house during the remodeling, include her into as much of your activites as possible/as much as she needs. Don't worry, she'll be okay. Good luck! Roslyn, Escho and Brandy
2297.6		CIRCUS::KOLLING	Karen, Sweetie, & Holly; in Calif.	`Thu Mar 23 1989 18:04`	7
	Be careful about taking her into the house during the remodeling, as there are various hazards (nails, I think dust from dry wall is dangerous, wet paint....). I am sure cats grieve; I saw this with my neighbor's cat after her kitten died; she used to sit right at the spot where the kitten had been hurt, for weeks afterwards.