Conference misery::feline_v1

4713.0. "WHAT IS WRONG WITH HEATHER ... IF ANYTHING?" by CANYON::WARKMEISTER () Wed Jun 12 1991 15:51

    What is wrong with Heather?  Sometimes she acts like the kitties
    described in note 4710.  She has a wonderful mother, and there
    were a total of six kittens in the litter.  I took her away when
    she was nine weeks old.  They were born in a dresser drawer in the
    garage.  Rosemary, the lady that owns Heather's mother, was still
    moving things gradually into the house.  The garage was very clean.
    They even played out in the grass in front of the house, and Kitty,
    their mom, would only let the kittens go so far before she scolded
    them for going too far!
    
    I had Heather declawed in the front, and she got spayed at seven
    months.  She is about one year, and one month old.  She has all her 
    shots, and we try to give her the best of everything.  She has an 
    aggressive personality, and she is very independent.  Mike likes to
    play with her rough sometimes.  I give her the love, and nurturing
    she was used to receiving from her mother.  There were a couple of her
    brothers who seemed "real" wild.  The one didn't want anything to do 
    with the rest of the litter after a few weeks.
    
    I'm sure she doesn't like being left alone while we are at work.  She
    loves to sit in the windowsills.  We don't want to let her outside.
    I wonder if that is what she wants when she gets nasty.  Sometimes I
    take her out front, and I just hold her up in my arms.  Our street is
    busy, and this is another reason we don't want her to go out.  She 
    absolutely will not wear a collar.  She had only experienced outside
    with her mother/brothers/sisters as mentioned in first paragraph.  We
    keep her indoors!
    
    While I am sleeping in the morning, sometimes she will attack my hand
    under my pillow.  Is she trying to tell me she wants to play?  We do
    play this way sometimes before bed.  She sleeps by my side at night.
    When she wants attention, she will cry, and sometimes jump up and bite
    my leg with all of her paws wrapped around my leg.  Once, she bit me
    after I scolded her!  She isn't a kitty you can pick up and love 
    whenever you want.  She was mad at me the other night because we
    wouldn't let her go in the garage, and when I tried to love/hold her
    she made angry teeth at me with her ears laid back.  She seems to be
    very possessive toward Mike and I.  She doesn't like when visitors come
    into the house.  She doesn't hide from them,  it is like she protects
    her territory.
    
    What do you think from what you have heard?  Mike thinks we should
    put her in the bathroom for a few minutes when she gets like this...
    ignore her.  Do you think we should get another kitten?  Mike doesn't
    think so ... besides we'd have double the bills!  We love her very
    much.  Sometimes I get so mad, but Mike says, "She is a cat, and this
    is her personality."  We really want to keep her inside if possible.
    I never have had a cat like her before.  All the cats I grew up with in
    the Maryland countryside were indoor/outdoor cats.  See what I mean ... 
    she isn't too bad ... she does have her moments though.  What is going on 
    in that little kitty head of hers when she gets so aggressive?  I don't
    think she has health problems.  I do think she is S P O I L E D !!
    
    Hope to hear from you!

    P.S. - I did forget to mention that I took Heather up to Rosemary's
           a few months ago to reunite mom/daughter.  Kitty didn't remember
           Heather, and Heather didn't remember Kitty.  I had Heather in
           my arms, and Rosemary had Kitty in her arms.  They touched
           noses, and started growling at each other.  We put Heather in 
           a kitty kennel (the one Kitty went to get spaid in) in the
           kitchen.  Kitty ran in the house from outside, and stared at
           her growing baby, Heather, in that kennel.  They growled, and
           hissed loud.  It probably scared Heather to death.  She didn't
           want to get out of the kennel to go home.  She was mad at me
           for days.  She even swatted at me on the car ride home.  Do you
           think any of her bahavior now is related to this incident?  Do
           you think she hasn't forgiven me?  Does she vividly remember it?
           The reunion didn't go the way we planned.

    It sounds to me like you have a Bored Baby.  She's at a very high
    energy age.  I would see if you can adopt another kitten on a trial
    basis, so that if s/he and Heather don't adjust to each other in a few
    weeks, you could return the kitten.  (I can't tell from your
    description is Heather is really too aggresive to tolerate another
    cat, or if that's exactly what she needs.)
    
    I would stop the "rough play", however.  This is probably making
    her nervous and excitable.
    

    I agree that she probably needs a companion but expect some hissing
    and spitting.  That's normal.
    
    re: reunion - yup, that's exactly what you should expect.  Cats don't
    remember other cats they've lived with usually.  They are very smell
    oriented and react to unfamiliar smells.  
    
    Heather sounds like an expressive little lady.  Isis was the first
    cat I met who "hisses" to express her opinion.  Prior to that I had
    thought cats only hissed when they were about to bite or something
    (that was 7 years ago), but Isis hisses to express herself and
    nothing more.  
    
    re: outside - Since Heather is declawed don't even consider letting
    her outside unless you leash train her and supervise her or build her
    a safe outdoor enclosure.  
    
    Nancy DC