 Barked: Fri Jan 18, '13 12:25am PST |
 | |  | | *chuckles* Charlie is just...jumpy. My sister found her as a ~8-10 week old kitten, and I adopted her a few days later when it became very clear that Charlie and my sister's cat did NOT like one another. She bonded with the other cat we had immediately, though when we added a third last year she was NOT thrilled. She tolerates the third cat now, but disciplines him for getting too close. Third cat has decided that the solution for this is to run by her a few times a day and smack her nose. She is slowly learning to tolerate this too. -_- Those pesky kids, eh? 
I am almost never allowed to touch her unless I get to her in a very relaxed moment. I can count on one hand the number of time she has sat in my lap in the four-ish years I've had her. She *was* a little better before suffereing some recurring bouts of cystitis two years ago where I had to pill her and give her SQ fluids over and over for awhile.
The cystitis still comes and goes, but it's sterile and I've decided that administering the pain meds is worse for her than the pain the cystitis causes. Plus I'd like her not to be terrified of me. So...I know she has some chronic pain contributing to her behavior.
If a person approaches her, she bolts. SHE might approach a PERSON on occasion, but she likes to initiate contact. I can't really tell with regards to the other animals if she's the boss or the bottom of the ladder....sometimes she sits at the top of the stairs and swats any animal who tries to pass her, on the other hand she's last to eat, and either of the male cats can and will kick her out of the food. With Jasper too...sometimes she whacks him out of 'her' bed(actually his bed, but don't tell her that), other times she runs from him, especially if he's playing with a toy or bounds into a room.
She seems to have a hard time letting go of stressful events. Once a month I catch her and trim her nails, and she's extra jumpy for the next week. I hate this, and I wish she didn't need such regular nail trimming, but hers grow FAST. I'd LOVE to try her on prozac or clomicalm....but the act of medicating her is so stressful that I think it would likely negate any benefit she would take from the drug.
I've been playing with all of the cats in the evening, to prevent "herd of elephants galloping up and down the stairs" syndrome all night. At first, she just sat on the sidelines and watched the boys play, but after a week or so she opted to join in occasionally. She stops if a toy hits or startles her or if another animal gets too close, and she plays much more gently than the boys, but she IS engaging. It might be in my head, but she seems more willing to accept affection when she's had some playtime too. I tried a calming collar on her, and was bitten for my trouble....also I didn't notice a difference in the month she wore it. We tried feliway, and discovered that not only did we not notice a difference, it gives members of my family migraines. (D'oh!)
Wow, that got longer than I planned...sorry for the ramble! |  |  | |  |
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