Cat Ownership Experiences: Lessons Learned – Part 1
Cammie was a dilute calico Scottish Fold who I got at the age of 3 months. She lived with me until she was 15 years old and then one day she disappeared. I searched the entire house and found an open door in my sunroom! I am in the habit of keeping the doors locked but I neglected to lock one of the sunroom doors. There were a few children in the neighborhood who were fascinated by my cats and always hanging around to look at them through the windows, and I believe they tried the door handle and came in to play with my cats and didn’t close the door when they left. I spent several months searching for Cammie: knocking on neighborhood doors, putting up flyers, contacting shelters and veterinarian offices, putting cameras around the neighborhood in hopes that I would see her. In short, I did everything I possibly could to find her; but she was gone for good. (She had never been outdoors in her life and her vision was failing so she was completely helpless. It tortures me to this day that I don’t know what happened to her!)
*Lesson learned: Keep your doors locked and be especially vigilant of neighborhood children who might be fascinated by your cats. Don’t ever assume that your cat won’t wander away if a door is left open.
Chloe, a little calico cat, was a recent foster. I own 4 cats. My plan was to allow Chloe access to the entire house so I followed the tried and true method of slowly introducing her to the other cats: making sure they were familiar with each other’s scents and that they were able to see each other without actually being able to interact. After a month I allowed Chloe access to the house and she immediately started chasing and cornering the other cats!
*Lesson learned: While the vast majority of cats can co-exist with other cats if introduced properly, there are some cats who are bullies who must be the only cat in a household. So, if you are told that a cat doesn’t like other cats or needs to be an only cat, heed the warning. Don’t try to accomplish the impossible.
Dickie Boy was a big white DSH male cat that our family owned. My family believed that cats belonged outdoors, so he spent most of his time wandering around our 3+ acres of property. One day my younger sister decided that Dickie-Boy’s whiskers were too long, so she took a pair of scissors and trimmed them short. About a week later we noticed that we hadn’t seen Dickie Boy in a while and we started searching for him. We finally found him stuck in the crook of a tree! He had tried to jump through the opening, but he was too wide and had become wedged in tightly. If we hadn’t found him it is likely that he would have died there.
*Lesson learned: Don’t ever trim a cat’s whiskers. Whiskers are essential for them to navigate tight spaces (the length of their whiskers is often proportional to the width of their bodies) as well as to detect vibrations and air currents, and even to communicate emotions.
Elvira was a calico kitten that I volunteered to foster. When I first picked her up, she hissed and growled at me. I was tempted to back out at that point but was talked into taking her home because I was told that she was actually a very sweet kitten who was just a bit stressed from being transported. Well, she may have been a sweet kitten with other people, but she remained hostile towards me; and to make matters worse, she came down with the Calici virus and I had to nurse her back to health while fending off her attacks. After a couple of weeks, she finally recovered, but she continued to be hostile towards me. I was eventually able to return her to the rescue group.
*Lesson learned: Don’t foster a kitten that is hostile towards you during your first meeting. The odds are that their behavior towards you will not change.
Kyra was a sweet little long-haired dilute calico cat that I adopted when she was a year old. She was a joy to live with: loving to be around people and loving to be taken everywhere. Unfortunately, as one out of six cats living with me, I didn’t pay attention to her feces in the litter boxes. I remember that I noticed small round feces on the floor, and it still didn’t worry me - I didn’t even try to determine which cat it came from! However, one day Kyra stepped out of the litter box and then peed on the floor! That got my attention, and I immediately made an appointment with the vet. It turned out that she was badly constipated and the vet said it was clear she had been having a problem with constipation for a long time. She was diagnosed with megacolon. There is surgery that can be done for that condition, but she was eight years old at the time and surgery wasn’t recommended. Sadly, after trying every other option, she had to be euthanized.
*Lesson learned: Check what your cats leave in the litter box and take them to the vet immediately if you notice anything out of the ordinary, especially if it’s constipation. Although diarrhea can be concerning, it usually isn’t deadly. However, constipation can be deadly if it isn’t treated.
Nigel was a Tonkinese cat that I bought from a breeder at the age of three months. The breeder told me that she had given him a minimal amount of ‘watered down’ vaccines because Tonkinese cats don’t react well to vaccinations. Unfortunately, I trusted her. A year later he developed a chronic sinus infection which resulted in several years of constant vet visits and a variety of medications. Nigel had a great deal of pain and suffering. After the vet had tried every medication she could think of and the last one stopped being effective, she recommended that he be euthanized the next time he stopped eating rather than being given an appetite stimulant yet again.
*Lesson learned: Vaccines (the full series) are crucial for the health of your cat. Don’t skip them no matter what anyone says.
