Thankful Thursday

 Not all Thankful Thursdays have to be about major deep thoughts.  So today I am just thankful that Taz seems to have lost his habit of marking territory each time he pees and doesn't seem to want to wet the bed either.

That may seem a major thing, but after Laz becoming insane again and having to be euthanized after suddenly attacking Lori viciously and constantly, Ayla's euthanism due to not being able to eat anymore in 2023, Taz was a 2 on the scale of problems.

Taz has become a "very good mancat".  He is a clean cat.  He comes in when called.  He sits on my lap easily.  He is good with the litterboxes.  At 9.2 pounds, he is easy to deal with.  He gets into the PTU easily for vet visits, and is tolerant of the minor indignities they have to do.

I'm glad I adopted him from the Shelter.  His first day...

It must have been a confusing day for him.  From a community room with a dozen other cats, to an empty room.  I sometimes wonder what he thought that day.  Something like "Where are all the others"?

I had Binq in another room so that she could sit calmly and adjust as well.

But Taz adjusted faster, and came out 2 days earlier.

I'm glad he is in my life.  I wasn't so sure after he started peeing high, but things are a lot better now.

Caturday Saturday

TBT:  I brought Taz to the Vet yesterday regarding his weird peeing problem.  He was a very good boy for the Vet.  I brought my camera but forgot to take pictures.  So here is a general pic of him (since every post needs a cat pic).

I explained about "marking territory" style of peeing he adopted shortly after I adopted him and Binq from the shelter last year.  Raised butt, tail-twitching, seeking distance and coverage.  I cautiously mentioned suggestions of the cause and cure from some of you ("cautious" because no professional really wants to hear a client's opinion of causes and cures).

So I asked about incomplete neutering, UTIs, and stress.  I asked about how those could be tested for and of course anything else she could recommend.  She took it well (years of bureaucratic office work taught me how to politely ask some things of experts, LOL).  

She felt him up pretty thoroughly (whoo-hoo!) and decided Taz was properly neutered so it wasn't that in his case.  So much for that possibily.  Then she took him away ("for 10 minutes") for a urine sample and testing.  Half an hour later (thank goodness for free green tea and a cat magazine to read, but why do they always lie about how long it will take?) and reported no signs of urine crystals or infection.  So much for that possibility.

So we discussed stress.  She asked about his "normal squatting and peeing" and was surprised when I said that I had never seen him do that.  She asked another way, and I assured her it was always "marking" style.  That surprised her but seemed to nail down the problem as stress.  OK, that was the answer I expected, but also the hardest to deal with.  

So I explained about Laz.  How he arrived here in mental distress, seemed to get other it, how Laz and Lori becme best friends, how that ended suddenly when Laz's mental demons re-emerged and he started attacking her badly.  

And how, when I adopted Taz and Binq a week later (seeking calmer playmates for Lori), she suddenly developed diarrhea and rejected both of them with whaps and fussies.  Which I originally blamed Taz for, but finally realized Lori was initiating.  

And how Taz had gone from peeing on the bed once a month, then once a week, then sometimes daily.  But also how Taz seemed to be a happy cat otherwise.  I think the idea that Taz adores me, likes Marley and Binq, eats and plays normally confused her a bit.  I guess that, normally, a stressed cat is not like that.

She asked about his food.  Wet food all the way (well a few kibbles tossed on the floor to chase), various flavors (so no apparent allergies), almost always Fancy Feast (though I occasionally try "better" brands - which The Mews don't like much).  She asked about how much water Taz drinks.  I've actually never seen him drink water.  But there is a small pond in the back yard (and I have had a few cats who only drank from the pond).  Or maybe he is a secret night-time toilet bowl drinker.

I mentioned that I have tried calming collars and alway use Feliway dispensers.  She is not impressed by calming collars (but said they certainly cause no harm) but encouraged using Feliway (which I have been for at least a decade).  So we came home with a bottle of 10 mg Paroxetine tablets for both Taz and Lori to take daily for "chill".  

We will see how that works out...

  -----------

There is some good news and some silly news.  The good news is that I haven't heard much fussing the past week.  Maybe Lori is adjusting to Taz and Binq "some".  And for the past couple weeks, her poops have some shape to them.  Not entirely normal (I'll spare you the details).  But "better is better" and I'll take that for now.  And there are some days when Lori and Taz sit within paw-reach and nothing happens.  Maybe I just need to stay patient.

Other good news was that we discovered Taz was overdue for his annual rabies shot.  It was supposed to be last month, but I didn't get the usual email notice from the Vet.  She said that is usually automatic and will look into it.  So he got his shot while we were there.

There are 2 silly news items.  First, I discovered recently that of Marley's 2 kidney-care diet (Hill's and Royal Canin) Royal Canin is mostly pig liver.  I think I mentioned that previously.  But the Royal Canin cans don't list the ingredients.  The cans just say E, D, and T.  A Petco staff member was able to find out that they are all based on pig liver.  One is just pig liver, one is pig liver with some chicken.  The other is like that but with some salmon

But the Vet said she looked up the initials once.  The letters mean nothing!  E= Enticing, D=Delicious, and T=Tasty.  Talk about uninformative...  I suppose mentioning pig liver would turn off some customers.  And I have no idea whatsoever why pig liver is good for kidney problems, LOL!

Second, I was reading a Modern Cat magazine while waiting.  One article mentioned that cat fur color has no influence on personality.  Another article said that it does.  The contradiction in the same magazine was hilarious and when I showed that to the Vet she cracked up. 

Caturday Saturday

BINQ:  I've been a Bad Girl.  I peed on the bed.  Twice.  Well, I sleep by myself each night, and only come into the bedroom when TBT gets up.  Then I dance all around him and seek stritchies  (which are allus provided).

Taz pees on the bed too, so TBT bought a waterproof sheet he can soak clean and hang to let dry.  Really, TBT has watched Taz pee right on him (but on the special sheet).

But a few days ago, while I was the only Mew there, he suddenly saw a puddle.  I jumped cuz my paws were suddenly wetted!  But yeah, it was me.  And the litter boxes were all clean!

And then a couple mornings later, he saw me sniffing around the bed.  The instant I squatted, he shot me with the water gun!  But yeah, I had started to pee again.  There was a few spots before I ran.  I don't know why I am doing this suddenly...

TBT:  I have the waterproof flat sheet because Taz has this bad habit.  He even peed right on me one morning and he pees high like marking.  Taz and Lori have some stress between them, so I assumed it was that.  But Binq really surprised me!

Since she sniffed around carefully before the first peeing incident, I assume there is some smell that gets through the waterproof sheet.  So I have to do laundry.  Which, with a waterbed, is a real pain.  Even a heated waterbed needs insulation.  So it has a blanket, a sheet, a blanket, a sheet, and a blanket, and a sheet.  I sleep on that last sheet.

There is a sheet, a blanket, and the waterproof sheet above me.  But I suppose I need to strip the bed of all and launder them just in case some cat pee has gotten through.  That 4 blankets and 4 sheets.  It will take all day to launder them all.

And The Mews won't by sleeping with me for a while.  Lori is "all claws" against me at night.  Marley is fine, but he is happy to sleep alone.  I need better calm sleep...

No pictures.  Who needs to see cat pee puddles?  I'll see how this works out.

Caturday Saturday

TBT:  Weird Stuff...

Skeeter used to drink from the toilet bowl.

As a kitten, LC sniffed the bathtub drain then turned around and peed into it.  I thought that was utterly cute.

Ayla's breeder used to train the kittens to perch on the edge of the toilet and pee there.  The training doesn't stick when there are litter boxes, and I had to have litter boxes for Skeeter and LC.  But I did see her do that a few times before she lost the training. 

And nothing like that happened again until recently when I got 3 surprises in the past week...

So I was surprised to see Taz drinking from the toilet.  There is a waterbowl now that I had a flavor enhancer to, and there is a water fountain.  So he suddenly drinks from the toilet!

And then I was in the bathroom and Lori hopped up on the rim and peed into the bowl!  What?  Why did she decide to do that?  The litterboxes were all clean.

And then, I found a black whisker on the old platform tree.  I thought all cat whiskers were white.  It had to be from Binq.  But Binq is not a lapcat.  She generally stay around, but not "real close".  So I never noticed her whiskers were black!

And the last surprise of the week.  Binq seems to feel the bedroom is not her space.  She jumps on the bed in the morning and seeks attention (which I of course give thoroughly).  But she has never slept on the bed.  It is routine to wake up at night and see Marley, Lori, and Taz sleeping on the bed in corners or up against me.

So imagine my surprise when I got up briefly and saw Binq sleeping in a corner of the bed!  And she has done that 3 nights in a row.  Not that she is quite ready to sleep in contact with me, but it is a good start.  Just that much (after nearly a year) is a positive adjustment.

I'm sure there will come a day when I discover Binq sleeping next to me.  

Mancat Monday

TBT:   I mentioned Saturday that Taz peed on the bed several days before.  Well he did it again Saturday morning.  Fortunately, I was just awake.  I saw "the pose", so I said "no" but that didn't stop him.  The instant he started, I shoved him but that wasn't sufficient.  I (sadly) had to whack him on the flank to chase him off the bed.

And he stopped as soon as he was off the bed.  I don't know what is causing this to re-occur (he did this several times last Spring).  I don't think it is a uti because he doesn't do it anywhere else that is inappropriate.  But he literally aims at me recently.  

Which seems odd.  He likes me.  He stays near me.  He likes my attention and I give him plenty.  He talks to me and I talk back.  He curls up on my lap.  

At least this latest time, I had the waterproof sheet over the blanket, plus he didn't get a chance for more than a squirt. 

It's not lack of a litterbox available.  I have a showerstall bathroom off the bedroom.  I don't use the showerstall (preferring the main bathroom tub shower).  There is a litterbox in the showerstall available.  So it isn't like he has to go far to use a litterbox.  And I see him use the( 4) basement litterboxes, so it isn't like he doesn't know where they are.

Taz and Lori have never gotten along well.  Not exactly "fur on the floor", but there is more than enough paw-whapping and unfriendly chases.  That comes and goes.  Sometimes there is a week of complete peace, then a whap-attack  several times for a few days.   Either will initiate them suddenly, so Lori is not exactly innocent.

I've considered that Taz may be trying to "mark" me as his (rather than Lori's), but his "high-peeing" isn't quite the same as a normal "marking-sprinkling".

I've also considered the possibility that Taz is just hungry (this peeing thing seems to occur in the late morning.  Could he be trying to wake me up just to feed him?  I don't think so because I've tried feeding him late at night until he won't eat any more.  

I'll ask the Vet about that.  If Taz has a tapeworm, a stool sample will reveal that.  And I will ask for a uti test too.  And anything else the Vet can think of.

Caturday Saturday

TAZ:   I used to pee on the bed.  Often enough that TBT bought a waterproof sheet he had to spread out every morning and remove at night so he could sleep [TBT:  It was annoyingly hot and crinkly-sounding for me to sleep under].

But then I stopped fer a couple months, so he stopped using it.

Well, I was a bad boy a couple days ago.  It was late morning and TBT was still sleeping.  Suddenly he felt "damp".  I was not only peeing on the bed, I was peeing on him.  I don't know why I did that, but ya know it must have seemed like a good idea at the time.

He shoved me off the bed (and I left a slight trail as he did).  Of course he got up and was upset.

TBT:  I was surprised and annoyed.  I thought Taz was done with that bad habit.  But I awoke to actually seeing him doing it.  So first, I got up and tossed the sheet/blanket open.  Then I put Taz outside in case he had more desire to continue.  Pulled off the peed clothes, showered, and got dressed (it was time to get up anyway).

Went down to the basement to see if I had forgotten to clean the litterboxes...  Nope, all mostly clean from overnight and 2 entirely unused.  I have 5 litterboxes for 4 cats.  

The amount of pee was actually very impressive.  I literally didn't know he "had that in him".  😒  A good 2' circle, soaked!  And a trail as he ran off.  So I am back to covering the bed with the waterproof sheet again

Meanwhile Taz was outside.  And not for adventure, but for penitence!  And he seemed to understand that.  He just sat on the deck and lawn not doing much.

I pulled off the blanket and sheet that go above me, the sheet and blanket below me and dragged them all down to the laundry washer.  Sniffed the layers of sheets and blankets (it's a waterbed and needs layers of them so I don't get cold at night).  Couldn't smell any pee that far down, but what is my nose compared to a cat's.  But anyway, I sprayed peed area with a urine neutralizer, given that it had been a few months since previous problems.  

When I let Taz back inside, I didn't shower him with attention (that might have signaled some sort of apology); I just let things go back to "normal".  

I hope that was a one-off event...

Thankful Thursday

TBT:  Loki has a peeing issue.  Sometimes, he thinks the bed is the perfect place.  He never poops there, just pees.

I resorted to a plastic tarp covered with an old sheet (so I could see a wet spot easily but not have to launder everything below the tarp).   And I found a long 4' wide cardboard tube in the garage that allowed me to roll and unroll both up and down easily.  Worked fine, but it went I couldn't leave the bedroom door open at night (the tarp was too annoying to sleep under).

So I bought a waterproof sheet to put on the top at night.  It didn't say it was "fitted" and since I have a waterbed (king size), "fitted" doesn't work.  So I returned it.

Last week, I found a flat waterproof sheet.  I was annoyed it only came in charcoal gray, which doesn't fit the burgundy walls and wood furniture.  So I covered it with the old red sheet again.  It doesn't look "too bad" and it isn't like I have other people inspecting my bedroom, so "who cares".

But it is light enough to sleep under and I can let The Mews into the room again.  Now we just need to find out if Loki decides to stop peeing on the bed.

As part of a possible solution, I set up a litter box in the bedroom shower stall (which I don't actually use myself.  It gets used, and maybe that would have been a solution by itself.  But 2 solutions are better than one.

And, for all I know, Loki simply has decided to stop peeing on the bed on his own.  Still, some insurance is good!  So I am thankful to have found a king-size flat waterproof sheet.

I would post a picture, but Amazon seems to prevent copying images.

Tinkling

AYLA:  TBT noticed that SOMEKITTY was pooping on the bath mat.  He assumed it was Laz cause neither Marley nor I had been doing that before Laz arrived.

It was me.  I got caught...  Now obviously, there are not going to be any pictures.  I demand my dignity after all.

But it wasn't the nice small firm clean poops that gave me away.  Those could have been Laz's too.  It was the peeing.  Don't get me wrong.  I'm a good clean girl. 

TBT was safely asleep in bed, so I expected no problems.  But the tinkling sound woke him up.    He didn't get up immediately but checked for some water leak later and didn't find one.  But the next morning, he left the door a little more open and heard it again.  And he saw me right there.  I was tinkling into the toilet!

Well, I SAID I was a good clean girl...

Here's the thing.  My breeder taught all her kittens to use the toilet.  I don't want to leave the bedroom because Laz pounces me and chases me.  So I remembered about my kittenhood.  I can't seem to remember how to manage the toilet pooping though.  It seems a bit more awkward. 

I'm in the bedroom all day.  Well, sometimes in the Mews Room napping on a box.  I love it when TBT picks me up and carries me around the house while I purr on his shoulder.  Safe from Laz.  I love TBT.  I love Marley.  I don't love Laz.