cat wants company while eating

"cybercat" wrote in message
...

"Elizabeth Blake" wrote

Stinky will be 7 next month (more or less). It amazes me to realize
that.
She's the only cat I got as an actual kitten (around 3 months old, but
still
small & babyish) and I keep thinking of her as my baby cat.

Ah, well, she is not old enough to be acting senile! That's good.

No, not senile. She knows *exactly* what she wants and she apparently knows
how to get it! A year or two ago she managed to train a new, temporary girl
to come in my office and give her extra dry food. I couldn't figure out how
Stinky's bowl kept getting filled, when the last time I checked it had been
empty. I started asking around and finally found the guilty party, who said
"But she's hungry - she told me. She keeps asking."

Well, why have them if you can't spoil them! I had a friend who would come
in, take one look at my cat, and say with disdain, "she is so SPOILED."
I always thought, "and your point is ...?" Of course she is spoiled! And
as
long as I was willing to do it forever (her forever, anyway) then what
could
be wrong with that?

My boss always says that Stinky is spoiled and I know she is. But, she
deserves it! I recently got Harriet a cheap cat tower/furniture. My boss
just shook his head when he saw it. I *had* to get it for her, since Stinky
wasn't about to give the bed back to her. Harriet loves her furniture and
is very happy to find something she can easily climb. She's not the best
jumper, but the furniture has different levels that are easy for her to
reach. She's very proud when she makes it to the top, maybe 5' high.

My oldest cat (at home) is 15 1/2 and she has become super clingy in the
last few years. She also wakes up meowing sometimes, and she'll come
looking for me. As soon as she sees me, she stops. Probably was having
a
nightmare about me petting other cats, and couldn't handle it!

So you do know what I mean. There is something so special about having
a cat long enough to see all the phases they go through as they develop
and
age. The process always makes me wonder how anyone can say that cats
are not affectionate or emotionally connected to humans as dogs are. I
will
never forget the look my RB cat gave me when she wanted something, in
her last years. It was an expectant, totally entitled look that said, "You
there, the one in charge of my every need and whim. Snap to!" It was a
development our 19+ year-long relationship. I still miss her.

Tiger, my 15 year old, used to be a work cat. When we got her she started
off being terrified, and his for months. Then she came out of her shell but
was very indifferent toward everyone except one of my bosses. Eventually I
won her over, but it took a couple of years! She would come racing to me
when I called her and if someone else was paying attention to her, she'd
leave them if she saw me. She did also grow to really like several
co-workers as well, but for the most part she ignored people, especially
customers. Now that she's older, she wants to make friends with anyone that
comes to my apartment. Cable guy? Her new best friend! Here to fix the
bathroom tiles? You can pet me first! She's not very demanding except when
it comes to getting in my lap and being pet. She doesn't beg for food or
anything else. Otto is the one who will demand to be played with, or
brushed, or fed.

--
Liz

"Elizabeth Blake" wrote in message
ink.net...
"Diane" wrote in message
...
In article . net,
"Elizabeth Blake" wrote:

Her medication doses seem to be set correctly
now and she's pooping regularly.

That's great! I was beginning to worry because I haven't heard any news for
awhile. They say no news is good news- but it also makes me wonder and
worry.




Is she going to have to be on medication permanently?
--

Probably. She's had problems with constipation in the past and the vets
said that since this last round went on for so long she might have messed
up
her colon.


Chronic constipation can culminate in a syndrome called dilated megacolon.
But its too soon to tell if she has any permanent loss of colonic structure
and function. The medical treatment for megacolon is exactly what she's
getting now: propulsid and lactulose.



She's taking Propulsid and Lactulose twice a day. I'm going to
call the vet soon ask him what he thinks about cutting back on one or both
medications. She was on 4ml of Lactulose twice a day, then 3.5ml and now
3ml.


Is that 3 ml once or twice a day?


On 3ml her poops have been mostly solid, except for today. Not rock
hard, but not total mush either. She might be able to get away with a
slightly lower dose but I'll wait until I talk to the vet before doing it.


I wouldn't be any rush to taper her lactulose any further unless her stools
were consistently mushy. Stools on the softer side of normal put less
stress on the colon- less stress, right now, might help her colon recuperate
and regain some normal function.


I know the Propulsid is supposed to help her move the waste through her
colon. I'm not sure if her problem came from not being able to move it
out
on her own, or if she got blocked for some reason (like hairballs) and the
feces built up until they were too large to pass.

If her constipation was due to dysautonomia, she would probably have other
signs of autonomic nervous system dysfunction like urinary incontinence and
especially prolapse of the third eyelid. There is a way to find out but
that would involve tapering her propulsid- and I wouldn't play around with
her meds right now since she's doing so well. The longer she goes without
bouts of constipation the better the chances are of her colon regaining
normal function.




The Lactulose is
definitely helping that.


Especially when you don't end up wearing most of it! ;-) The flavoring
seems to have worked wonders- like the difference between success and
failure.

Best of luck for continued success.

Phil

"Elizabeth Blake" wrote in message
ink.net...
"5cats" wrote in message
...

Aww, that's so cute!

How's Harriet doing?

It actually is very cute. Stinky is a *great* communicator. She has
different vocalizations for different things and I usually know exactly
what
she wants.

Harriet is doing much better. Her medication doses seem to be set
correctly
now and she's pooping regularly. Today is was a loose puddle, but for the
past 2 weeks or so she was passing actual turds, and going pretty much
every
day. She's been having some bitchy fits and going after people (to bite)
but those are also slowing down.


Her aggression could be related to her constipation- that type of aggression
is termed 'pain-induced aggression'. Her disposition might improve as her
condition improves- which seems to happening since her attacks are becoming
less frequent.

Phil

On 29 Oct 2005 08:56:39 -0700, "Elizabeth Blake"
wrote:

Stinky, one of my cats at work, is starting up with a behavior she has
shown on & off over the last few years. She likes to eat in her own
little "safe zone" at the back of the basement, where her bed & cat
furniture is.

I'll bring her food back there and she starts eating. I return to my
office and a few minutes later she comes in, screaming at me. If I
ignore her, she'll come over and put her paws on my leg and scream some
more. She'll continue to do this until I get up. She then heads back
to her safe area, looking back to make sure I'm following her. Once
there, she goes to her bowl and waits for me to squat/kneel down and
she finishes eating her food.

She seems to want me to be near her while she eats. She doesn't want
me to pet her, just watch while she eats. She does eat about half of
the food on her own before she comes to get me. I am usually not the
first person to get here in the morning, and other people usually give
her breakfast. She has no problem eating it all on her own and she
doesn't "ask" anyone else to watch her eat, just me. She does it every
day when I feed her dinner. Today I got to work early and she came to
get me after eating about 3/4 of her food.

That's weird. Henry the stray used to do that while outdoors..

BLink