Is something wrong with Cleo?

Greetings

Its been a long time since my last post and for that I am sorry. We moved to a new city and bought a house so things have been crazy lately. Our cats seem to be adjusting well to the new place with a few exceptions.

These issues are a carry over from our last place.

Cleo is continuing to rip and chew and cardboard or paper products she can find. She does not eat the items, just tears and spits them out all over the floor. Can anyone give advice on this type of behavior?

Also Cleo talks and talks and talks. Its like she is crying, this occurs constantly. If I am in the condo working away she crys and crys and sits at our front door (this will get her in trouble because you can hear her int he hallway. When I pick her up she starts purring and cuddling, licking etc... but she will only stay in my arms for a few seconds before she wants to be put down. Then the crying starts again.

I have tried ignoring her but she just sits at the condo door crying, I have tried lputting her in the bedroom which does stop the crying and often I find her asleep. The issue here is that she cant eat or use the litter box while in our bedroom.

Just some background on Cleo, we found her abandoned in our apt hallway, crying at the fire door. No one claimed her or even called the shelters to report her missing. I think this behaviour might have something to do with her past.

Any thoughts would be helpful.

Thanks

 

my Sessy used to do this - to get outside and I always, stupidly, gave in...haven't seen her in 2 years.

Maybe you are reenforcing this behavior by responding to her cries by going to her and cuddling her - even though it's only on her terms....but you have responded on her terms.

It could take some time but maybe by distracting her with something other than the cuddling - maybe throw a toy for her to play with or even ignoring it (I know it's like ignoring a crying baby who needs a nap)

 

ignoring her

Believe me I have tried ignoring her many many times. It doesn't change a thing, also she has no interest in any toys.


Another issue is with her feeding. she is on a matience diet from the vet and eats plenty. But she is always hungry. She also eats like a speed freak. Sometimes she eats so fast that she accidently bites her dish instead of the food. Again I think this all leads back to her past, I've tried spreading her meals out, and giving her treats in between. We have tried 4 different kinds and she won't eat any of them.

She does like to sleep in cardboard boxes and the cat house we bought her. She sleeps beside my wife every night and she gets along well with our other cat (most of the time).

 

hi garith1977....

here are a couple of suggestions....

i would call a cat communicator or a cat behavioralist in your community. a behavioralist may be able to give you some tips on what to do about the crying. if you cant find one, i can get the name of one here in phoenix and maybe you can do it long distance.

you may want to try a pet communicator. someone posted not long ago about them...they do phone consultations. vene will probably be able to give you info about it.

max...my kitty...LOVES to chew paper and spit it out. [-X his favorite is napkins....he will come running when he hears a napkin...its crazy. but very harmless. i dont mind the paper or napkins on the floor. only take a second to pick it up....

mikey does it with the toilet paper...then max joins in. :shock:

your kitty most likely imprinted that behavior in her brain. i would imagine it is automatic at this point.

im sure others will post too. good luck, and welcome back

 

hiya! sorry to hear about cleo...

she might be suddenly ripping and tearing things apart and crying due to stress... u said u moved to a new place right?

just my suggestion heh the others were better :y_the_best:

 

thanks

thank You to all that have posted so far.

I would attribute the behavior to the move but she acted this way before at our old place. Its sad that someone left her in the apt hallway and moved out I can only imagine what she went through.

Would you be able to post an e-mail addy for that specialist?

 

3 of my 4 cats love to shred paper and cardboard boxes. Must be fun. Martica spoke of using a pet communicator in this thread:

http://www.auspet.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=46492&highlight=#46492

 

It sounds like seperation anxiety. You said she was abandoned in a hallway and was crying. She is still carrying out the same behavior, just at a different door. Aside from distracting and or comforting her, there's not much you can do about it other than let her get over it in time. How long have you had her?

If she ever manages to duck outside and you lose her, you can probably be sure to find her at your old place.

My kitten is much the same way (on a lesser scale though). I can't even go to the bathroom without leaving the door open or she will sit outside the door and cry and cry. Same thing when I go to bed at night. She cries relentlessly if the door is closed. She also follows me around the house constantly. Even if she's sound asleep, If I head for another room she hops right up and follows me.

 

nods

Cassie

We have had her for just over 1 year now. In the beginning it was pure hell, Cleo attecked and bit Ameratto badley. I came home to find blood all over the carpet anf Ameretto shivering under the table. Cleo gained a ton of weight very fast. She was upto 12 lbs and the vet wanted to see her around 11 or 10.5. We put her on a diet and slowly she came down to her healthy weight. Now she is on a matience serving which is more than we were giving her on her diet. She stilll seems hungry all the time. I wonder if she speed eats because in the past maybe she didn't get fed properly, or had to fend for herself and eat quick outdoors. When we found her she had scars all over her face and the vet said they were from cat fights.

 

It sounds like her social skills have improved quite a bit since you first got her. I'm sure the fights were a territorial thing that all cats have to work out for them selves (and it sounds like they did).

You're probably right about her eating habits. She was probably used to eating as quickly as possible before some other animal came and took it away. That too should calm down in time. I know that a year seems like a long time but not really when you consider that it's a deep seated mentle lesson/experience that she has to put behind her. And with another animal i the house, I'm sure it's in the back of her poor little mind.

ETA: I just wanted to add, watch to see if she digs at the floor around her food dish occasionally, like she's trying to cover it up. Cats in the wild will bury food to protect it from other animals and it's like an instinct (sp?) thing that indoor cats will do occasionally.

And if you decide to introduce a new kitty to the household in the future, watch Cleo closely as she may revert to the hostile territoral behavior.

 

continued

Cassie

Luckly for all of us she has never appeared to be hiding or covering up food. She will gorge herself and come back for more. One time we went away for the day and I left a full dish of food for both cats. By the time we got our shoes on Cleo had eaten both dishes of food and was looking for more.

I'm going to look into cat behaviourlist. of further info.

Thanks

 

Garith, how much interactive play do you do with your kitty? You know, like taking a fishing pole-type toy with a dangly thing at the end (like "da bird" or other commercial toys) and moving it about as if it were prey, for your kitty to chase around and "hunt". It can be therapeutic in so many ways, and is actually a necessity for indoor cats, not just an added diversion. It has been essential for transitioning my own kitty to becoming an indoor only cat, and gives her the most satisfaction out of anything else that she does during the day. Just a thought. I can give you more info if you'd like.

As for the paper tearing, my cat will do that as well if we leave out pieces of paper on the floor or on the couch. She has a lot of fun tearing it up, and we sometimes put out "safe" paper for her to tear up, and keep our important stuff put safely out of her reach. I think that for a lot of indoor cats, where fun and prey-stimulation is at a minimum (or completely non-existant, sadly) something like shredding paper is one of the few outlets they have for aggression/boredom.

 

sad

I think part of the behavoir (the crying and sitting at the door) stems from Cleo missing either my wife or I when we are out. She only doesn't cry at the door when we are both at home. I wonder if she fears us not returning?

 

poor little girl. :m10:

a couple other ideas. recently there was a post by wtpooh...her kitty eats ravenously...someone posted that it could be linked to hyperthryroidism. you may want to check that out with your vet.

some people put their animals on meds...prozac, valium. i have no opinion about that...i dont know that much about the use of antidepressants and tranquilizers in cats. i think the behavioralist is a better idea. there is one in phoenix that gives monthly classes for the shelter i volunteer at...unfortunately its on a night i see clients.....

 

Sounds like Cleo are very attached to the both of you. She's found great parents!

 

Fraidycat did that with the cardboard (he had been a feral for two years before I got him) and we determined he was either making bedding/shelter (the colony's little hidey hole was under the root of a tree and full of leaves, paper, yarn, string, etc.), or they were doing a little dental work of their own. The entire colony had *pristine* teeth, way better than my indoor cats', and they were (and are) all cardboard rippers. As for the crying, Puck's mother Mugsy did that constantly and actually got evicted from my apartment. We had tried valium to settle her down and all it did was make her bang into furniture so it wasn't continued, and she had to be adopted out to live her life as a farm cat. If you need to keep her away from the apartment door, try spraying cat repellant about two feet in from it - we had to do that to a 'darter' and it helped alot. The worst thing was that we could smell it, too. lol. Poor thing is probably worried you'll dump her like the last owner did. Hopefully the behaviourist will be able to help!

 

Thanks

Wow I hope we don't have to get ride of her. I am worried about someone in the apt complaining about her. I do leave the stereo on now and you can't here her cry over it in the hallway. Cleo didn't hide the rippings anywhere, as I found out when I had to clean our place before moving. She just left peices all over the place. Thats a good idea about the repelent and the doorway I think I might give it a try, thanks

Can anyone reccomend a behaviorlist?


:roll:

 

A few observations

I have made a few observations over the last couple of days. I have been forced to shut Cleo in the bedroom for some of the afternoon as she continously crys at the front door. I've noticed that she actually stops crying when shut inside the bedroom and I find her sleeping or sitting contently on the bed.

Is it plausable that she doesn't like open spaces? i tried this in our computer room as well and she seems to calm down and not cry when the doors are shut.


I'm going to ask my vet about Hyperthroid as suggested by someone in this post. Can anyone tell me what medical effect this could have on my cat?

 

http://www.lbah.com/Feline/hyperthyroidism.htm

http://www.sniksnak.com/cathealth/hyperthyroidism.html