[REPOST] Advice wanted - Mr Kittenhead

[Repost - the original didn't seem to get through]

Ryan (the bub who had hte kidney operation) shares his home with Sophie and
Mr Kittenhead (a black girlcat and ginger boycat), as well as his Mum and
Dad.

Before Ryan came along, his parents went to Canada thinking it was a
permanant move, and took Sophie with them. Whilst in Canada they also
adopted Mr Kittenhead. The two cats got on great. But things didn't work out
in Canada and they returned back to Australia, bring both Sophie & Mr
Kittenhead with them.

Both cats had to endure 6 months of quarantine - 3 in Canada and 3 here
before being allowed to return to Ryan's parents. Sophie is still the same
as ever, but Mr Kittenhead was obviously traumatised. Since being in
Australia, he no longer gets on with Sophie, and they are always fighting.
He has developed a very bad overgrooming problem, having removed every scrap
of fur his mouth can reach. They've tried kitty prozac, feliway, steroids
etc etc etc, and nothing has worked (The prozac actually made it worse
because of the stress of actually doing the pilling).

And now Ryan has arrived, and Mr Kittenhead is getting even less attention
than usual. He's started to try to escape the apartment at any oppurtunity,
which usually involves running full tilt through Ryan's Mum's legs. He's
particularly adept at doing so when Ryan's mum is holding Ryan. Twice now,
Ryan's mum has nearly fallen over Mr Kittenhead in his quest to escape, and
of course, with Ryan in her arms, falling down prsents a bigger hazard to
both Ryan and his Mumthan before. Also whilst she's carrying Ryan, she can't
go chasing after Mr Kittenhead without first putting Ryan down ina safe
place, by which time Mr Kittenhead has well and truly gotten away. Whilst he
always comes home, it can be hours and hours before he returns.
Unfortunatley, the rules of the apartment complex in which they live states
that whilst they are allowed up to 2 cats, they absolutely have to be indoor
cats.

So, to sum it up, Mr Kittenhead is a very stressed cat because of Sophie,
he isn't getting the attention he obviously needs because of a new babyinthe
house, and he keeps escaping the apartment at every oppurtunity, causing
danger to Ryan and his Mum and breaching the strata laws at the same time.

As much as Ryan's Mum doesn't want to see Mr Kittenhead go, she wonders if
he'd be a happier and healthier cat if he was at a place where he was
allowed outdoors and could be the King of all He Surveys (ie, an only cat).
She also thinks that if Mr Kittenhead does leave, she'll need another cat
that Sophie can get along with a bit better otherwise Sophie will start
biting and peeing on things when she doesn't get the attention she thinks
she deserves again (bad mix with a baby) - as it stopped when she had
another playmate (she doesn't have issues with Mr Kittenhead, its Mr
Kittenhead that has issues with Sophie).

So, Ryan's Mum wants your advice. Is there anything else they can try to
make Mr Kittenhead happy and not overgroom to the point of being bald? Or is
the only solution to try and re-home him where he'd be happier and less
dangerous to her & Ryan? And if she does find another home, should she try
again and hope she gets a less neurotic cat this time round to play with
Sophie?

Any constructive advice welcome.

Yowie

"Yowie" wrote in message
...
[Repost - the original didn't seem to get through]

So, Ryan's Mum wants your advice. Is there anything else they can try to
make Mr Kittenhead happy and not overgroom to the point of being bald? Or
is
the only solution to try and re-home him where he'd be happier and less
dangerous to her & Ryan? And if she does find another home, should she try
again and hope she gets a less neurotic cat this time round to play with
Sophie?

Any constructive advice welcome.

Yowie

Sorry, I did see it but I was late for Yoga class and didn't have time to
reply.

This is a tough one. The cat is very obviously unhappy, so it may be best
to see if she can re-home him, but that's going to be hard to do in his
condition (it's hard enough finding homes for healthy, happy, playful
kittens!). Does she think he might respond well to a new kitten? Maybe a
smaller, less intimidating companion might help him calm. Is there a chance
she could foster a young kitten? Would she be willing to take on a third
cat for the sake of her second?

Hugs,

CatNipped

The first thing your friend needs to do is separate the cats
*completely* for a few weeks and give them a *long* break from each
other. The constant fighting is just exacerbating the problem and things
need to cool down for awhile. She can rotate who is separated so neither
cat feels as though it is being punished, and if she uses her bedroom,
each cat can rotate having a full night of special cuddle time which
will also reduce stress. After that time she can start *slowly*
reintroducing the cats. I would definitely still use Feliway diffusers,
especially one in the room where one of the cats is separated. They do
work and I think that she assumes they don't because the situation is so
out of hand. The other thing she can do is train Mr. Kittenhead to wear
a harness and take him out for walks. If she makes this a routine and
gives him something to look forward to he may, over time, stop running
for the door. It will certainly reduce his stress level. She can also
eliminate this behavior by making sure he is the cat that is confined to
another room any time she leaves.
Regardless of the baby, she's also going to have to figure out a way to
give the cats attention and have some regular quiet time with them.
Again, making it part of a routine will be easier for her and the cats
will love it. I think it would be better to work on working this out.
After everything Mr. Kittenhead has been through, rehoming him could
cause even more stress and be the last straw for him.

Megan



"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do
nothing."

-Edmund Burke

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http://www.stopdeclaw.com

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elementary truth the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and
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providence moves too. A whole stream of events issues from the decision,
raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents, meetings and
material assistance, which no man could have dreamt would have come his
way."

- W.H. Murray

CatNipped wrote:
"Yowie" wrote in message
...
[Repost - the original didn't seem to get through]

So, Ryan's Mum wants your advice. Is there anything else they can
try to make Mr Kittenhead happy and not overgroom to the point of
being bald? Or is
the only solution to try and re-home him where he'd be happier and
less dangerous to her & Ryan? And if she does find another home,
should she try again and hope she gets a less neurotic cat this time
round to play with Sophie?

Any constructive advice welcome.

Yowie

Sorry, I did see it but I was late for Yoga class and didn't have
time to reply.

This is a tough one. The cat is very obviously unhappy, so it may be
best to see if she can re-home him, but that's going to be hard to do
in his condition (it's hard enough finding homes for healthy, happy,
playful kittens!). Does she think he might respond well to a new
kitten? Maybe a smaller, less intimidating companion might help him
calm. Is there a chance she could foster a young kitten? Would she
be willing to take on a third cat for the sake of her second?

Hugs,

CatNipped

The apartment rules say 2 indoor cats. And I doubt as a new mother she's up
to bringing in a third, in any case. Purrs she can find a good
understanding (about the fur picking) home; it sounds like he dearly needs
one.

Jill

"jmcquown" wrote in message
. ..

The apartment rules say 2 indoor cats. And I doubt as a new mother she's
up
to bringing in a third, in any case. Purrs she can find a good
understanding (about the fur picking) home; it sounds like he dearly needs
one.

Jill

Ah, right - I didn't read the entire re-post before responding since I read
it last night - but I slept since then and forgot she had written about the
2 cat rule. Megan had good advice though - I agree with what she wrote.

Hugs,

CatNipped

Yowie wrote:

[Repost - the original didn't seem to get through]

Ryan (the bub who had hte kidney operation) shares his home with Sophie and
Mr Kittenhead (a black girlcat and ginger boycat), as well as his Mum and
Dad.

The first did come through, but I didn't feel like I had any useful
suggestions. Rehoming seems to be the best option. Unless it would be
possible to do a slow reintroduction? Isolate Mr Kittenhead in one room
for a space of time and go from there. I realise it might feel a bit
overwhelming when they have a small baby to look after. We'll be purring
for a good solution.

--
Marina, Frank and Nikki
marina (dot) kurten (at) pp (dot) inet (dot) fi
Pics at http://uk.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/frankiennikki/
and http://community.webshots.com/user/frankiennikki

Yowie I saw it too, but could come up with any suggestions.
Suz

My friends have made the sad decision to re-home Mr Kittenhead. The were
still undecided until Ryan's Mum, whilst carrying Ryan, did actually trip
and fall over Mr Kittenhead in his latest escape attempt.Although both are
OK (my friend has a sore coccyx), Ryan shouldn't be shaken up like that
after the operation, and there's no guarantee it won't happen again with
much worse results.

They're upset, but Ryan has to come first, and Mr Kittenhead would no doubt
be happier elsewhere.

So, if anyone wants a very handsome (when he has fur) ginger neutred tomcat,
who is affectionate, lively and funny, and you have a place suitable for a
kitty to go outside, please let me know. Mr Kittenhead is in the Wollongong
area, NSW, Australia.

(and don't yell at me if you disagree with their decision)

Yowie

I'm sorry it worked out that way but at least you tried to help them, Yowie,
by giving them input from others and maybe it will work out to be the best
for Mr. Kittenhead after all.
Christine
"Yowie" wrote in message
...
My friends have made the sad decision to re-home Mr Kittenhead. The were
still undecided until Ryan's Mum, whilst carrying Ryan, did actually trip
and fall over Mr Kittenhead in his latest escape attempt.Although both are
OK (my friend has a sore coccyx), Ryan shouldn't be shaken up like that
after the operation, and there's no guarantee it won't happen again with
much worse results.

They're upset, but Ryan has to come first, and Mr Kittenhead would no
doubt
be happier elsewhere.

So, if anyone wants a very handsome (when he has fur) ginger neutred
tomcat,
who is affectionate, lively and funny, and you have a place suitable for a
kitty to go outside, please let me know. Mr Kittenhead is in the
Wollongong
area, NSW, Australia.

(and don't yell at me if you disagree with their decision)

Yowie

Yowie wrote:
My friends have made the sad decision to re-home Mr Kittenhead. The
were still undecided until Ryan's Mum, whilst carrying Ryan, did
actually trip and fall over Mr Kittenhead in his latest escape
attempt.Although both are OK (my friend has a sore coccyx), Ryan
shouldn't be shaken up like that after the operation, and there's no
guarantee it won't happen again with much worse results.

They're upset, but Ryan has to come first, and Mr Kittenhead would no
doubt be happier elsewhere.

So, if anyone wants a very handsome (when he has fur) ginger neutred
tomcat, who is affectionate, lively and funny, and you have a place
suitable for a kitty to go outside, please let me know. Mr Kittenhead
is in the Wollongong area, NSW, Australia.

(and don't yell at me if you disagree with their decision)

Yowie

I hope Mr Kittenhead finds his foreverhome soon.
--
Adrian (Owned by Snoopy & Bagheera)
A house is not a home, without a cat.