The Birthday Girl

This is a slightly different post today as I want to tell you about our cat…she just turned 18, so is definitely a senior, a lady of leisure.

Tilly came to us when she was about 10 weeks old, so I’d say we know each other pretty well. It has been a joy to have her in our lives, sharing in all the ups and downs of life.

Tilly (which is short for Tiger Lily) is a true lady, but she can totally look after herself in a spat. Nowadays, she rarely goes outside, and if she does it is just to lie in the sun on the deck. She spends most of her day either on “her” chair (pictured in the photo), on my desk or tucked in under the stairs.

For most of Tilly’s life we had another cat too, a neutered male named Taz (Tazmanian Devil). He was a bit of a bully, so on and off over the years, Tilly would go through stages of licking all of her fur off. Now, we realise that that was all about stress and maybe a bit of depression - since Taz crossed the rainbow bridge 2+ years ago, Tilly has been a picture of health. And long may it last.

I brush her regularly, an exercise which she just loves and I kinda like too, so her coat looks fabulous and glossy. Her breakfast is a small amount of milk with some chow on the side, and her dinner is tuna with chow on the side. This has basically been her food make-up for her entire life. Canned cat food just did not pass the taste test. Recently, when I have been preparing fresh fish, she has come snooping around, so I give her a very special treat of a few pieces, which she has eaten with great relish. For the first 17 years of her life she had zero interest in anything raw, so I was quite surprised when the raw fish seemed to be a hit - occasionally. And a bit of vanilla ice cream as a very special treat.

Grooming Kitty

We all want to have a great relationship with our cat companions, understanding their individual wants and needs, and grooming is just one of the great ways to gain your cat’s trust.

Aside from the practical benefits of less hair on the furniture, floor and your clothes, grooming is usually a very pleasurable experience for both cat and human, and I’m not talking about grooming for show purposes. 

If you have a long haired cat, chances are that you already do a bit of grooming to keep kitty’s fur in good shape - nobody wants to deal with matted fur. But grooming is beneficial for any cat, irrespective of their coat type.

Granted kitty may not be too keen at first, but once you go carefully and gently, and be very aware of kitty’s signals for when he or she has had enough, it will gradually become a pleasurable experience for all concerned.

Which brush or comb to choose? That’s a good question and there are dozens (if not hundreds) to choose from. Personally, I tend to go for simple and functional, and have always used a silicone brush on both my short haired and medium haired cats, plus a flea comb to tidy up loose strands and, of course, keep tabs on any fleas that may invade my cat’s coat. I like the silicone brush because it’s comfortable in my hand, it can be washed regularly, it’s gentle on my cats and it works really well.

So the brush or comb you use is very much about what’s suitable for the cat’s coat and what is comfortable for you to use. There’s no point buying the latest brush with all the bells and whistles but finding that it’s awkward in your hand. And yes, it’s possible that you may buy one and find it’s not suitable and have to go get something different, but it’ll be worth it in the end.

Vet Stress in Cats

Many cats (and their humans) get stressed when it’s time for a visit to the vet, and there’s a very simple solution out there that helps most of the time: Rescue Remedy. You can buy this in health stores, supermarkets, pharmacies, and maybe even in pet shops. A few (4) drops on your cat’s lips half an hour or so before you’re ready to load your cat into it’s basket/carrier should do the trick. However, cats are very smart, and they know when it’s time to go to the vet, so you might want to catch yours a little earlier as the Rescue Remedy will last for several hours. You can have a few drops too if you get overly stressed when taking your cat to the vet (or yourself to the doctor). And you can give him or her a few drops later in the evening after the vet visit too if it was a particularly unpleasant visit, just to seal the deal.

Rescue Remedy is a homeopathic remedy that has been around for many many years. It is one of the many Bach remedies that have been tried and tested by humans (and their pets) for donkeys (pardon the pun) years. It keeps very well, so don’t be phased by using just 4 drops at a time and having to throw out the rest. That won’t happen. Give it a try, your cat (and vet) will thank you.

A Safe Christmas for Kitty

Christmas and all the decorations and trimmings that go with it are more than appealing to cats, especially kittens and young adults. So with all that fun and frolic come the accompanying hazards, but a little forethought can make all the difference to keeping it a safe time for your cat or kitten.

The tree itself is a magnet - something to climb and hide out in and under, maybe even chew on some of the needles (if it is a real tree) or synthetic lookalikes if it is an artificial tree. Either way, your cat cannot help itself but to be drawn to this fun addition to the home. Putting a tree out of reach of the cat is not really an option, but weighing the base down can help stop it from toppling over when your kitten finds itself at the top of the tree. Some people do, however, go to great lengths to suspend the tree from the ceiling or surround it by a barrier such as portable fencing, having a very non traditional tree.

If, from past experience, you know that your cat likes to sample the needles, it might be better to keep the cat out the room entirely, use an alternative “tree” until he or she has outgrown the habit or get really creative with an alternative solution.

Decorations are also very appealing to cats, so try putting the breakable ones a bit higher up so that even if your cat does bat them, they won’t shatter when they high the ground, and put unbreakables on the bottom section of the tree. Make sure that the cords of the lights are out of sight wherever possible. Gift wrappings and ribbons can be hazardous too - chewed up ribbon in your cat’s gut is not a good thing.

If you are going out, it might be a good idea to make sure that kitty does not have access to the tree in your absence. The rule of thumb at Christmas - make sure that your cat does not have unsupervised time with the tree, especially if it is a kitten or young adult. A bit of vigilance can save your cat’s life.

Changing Diet in an Older Cat

Anyone who has ever had a cat knows that they can be very set in their ways and resistant to change. My nearly eighteen-year old cat never showed any interest in raw food for the first seventeen years of her life. She pointedly turned her nose up at it and walked away. It did not matter what kind of raw food it was. If it did not come out of a can, a bag or an ice cream container, it was not worth eating.

Well the new seventeen year old decided that it was time for a change. I was preparing fish for myself and put a few offcuts in a dish for her and they were gobbled up with delight as she waited for more. I knew I must have imagined this, so I gave her a couple more pieces. What a hit.

The next time I was preparing fish, I did the same thing and again, it was a hit. Now, as soon as I start to prepare the fish, my 4-legged companion comes to investigate. She has only had it once as an entire meal, and I’m sure would again quite happily, but for now, it’s just a spoonful of chopped fish in a dish as a special treat.

The point of this post is that your elderly cat is not too old to try something new, and just as our tastes can change, so can those of your cat. I don’t cook with meat, so I haven’t had an opportunity to try her with raw chicken, but I would be most interested to see how she responded.

If you wanted to change your cat over to raw food, it is something that needs to be done gradually, as the cat’s digestive system will need to adjust to the different food, so adding a little bit more of raw each day and a little less of canned or bagged food would be recommended. Then maybe canned tuna becomes the special treat. Obviously, feeding your cat an all raw diet is more expensive (at least it certainly is where I live), but don’t feel that just because your cat wasn’t interested a few years ago that he or she would not be ready for a change.

Cat Not Talking To You?

Anyone who knows cats knows that this is very real, but for someone who is new to cats or doesn’t know them at all, this may come as a surprise. You know you’ve told someone that you went home and your cat wasn’t speaking to you and they thought you were nuts, but this is real, and if you are new to cats or have just got a new feline in the household, it is in your best interests to figure out what you did wrong and fix it sooner rather than later.

You go and sit on the sofa and your cat walks right up to you, turns around and settles a few feet away from you with it’s back very deliberately turned to you. What did you do wrong? When you got home did you immediately go and speak to your cat, praise him or her for being such a good kitty and thank them for looking after things in your absence? Well you better go and beg for forgiveness immediately, apologise profusely and praise kitty for being the best that there is.

Have you not paid much attention to kitty today? Well you know what to do, get in there and shower kitty with love and attention. Brush kitty, play with kitty, let him or her know that they are a very important part of the household, and always remember to apologise and beg forgiveness for your faux pas.

Kitty will usually come around quite quickly once you have made amends, but don’t make it a habit or it could get out of hand. Kitty has feelings too!

Sudden Behavioural Changes

Sudden behavioural changes in your cat are, more than likely, the result of a medical problem. A bladder infection can have your cat peeing all over the house. Erratic behaviour can be the result of something going on in the brain. If your cat is becoming very lethargic and just wants to sleep, this can be a symptom of a thyroid problem. So if you notice any sudden behavioural changes in your cat, your first course of action is a visit to the vet. Depending on the problem, a course of medication and your cat could be back to normal in a matter of days.

Unfortunately, if your cat has a brain tumor, the outlook is not quite so positive, and erratic behaviour will get worse until you decide it is time for euthanasia. This is the situation we had with one of our cats, now deceased. When his quality of life disappeared, we made that very difficult decision.

Sudden behavioural changes can also occur if there is a change in the household - someone moves in or out, there is a death in the household (human or animal), a traumatic event in the household. Cats are very sensitive to the energy of others and can respond negatively to a change in the household. Depending on the situation, the remedy can take some time.

The onus is on you the human, to be aware of changes in your cat’s behaviour and take the necessary steps to nip the problem in the bud so that life can get back to that happy balanced household.