Lewis and dinnertime

Lewis must have been born starving. And for some reason, he's afraid he'll never get another meal.

I don't get it! It's not like I have ever "forgotten" to feed him. But starting about an hour before his mealtime, he cries incessantly for his food. I try not to ever give in so as not to encourage the behavior. It doesn't help that my computer is right next to his dinner bowl. Today I was looking online for an unlocked phone (since I dropped my cell phone in water and now it doesn't work), and he continually meowed pathetically and climbed all over the desk and the chair. He acted all cuddly - rubbing against me, putting his paws on my chest and rubbing his face on my nose or chin - but it didn't work. I remained steadfast about the 5:00 feeding time.

I've thought of a few things. One is to set an alarm and always feed him when the alarm goes off. That way, he won't think that his crying is getting him fed. Or perhaps he'll think that his crying will make the alarm go off faster. I don't know, but it's probably worth a try.

One thing I've also done is get out the spray bottle. We fill a bottle with water and spray the cats when they get on things we don't allow - the counters, the dining room table, and the back of the couches. This time I sprayed him when he meowed. He ran away, and stayed quiet. My husband is concerned that this method is going to confuse him - that Lewis will think I'm punishing him for being near me, and not for crying.

Does anyone have ideas? Is there a way I can communicate to Lewis that I WILL feed him today, and he doesn't have to remind me for an hour straight? Do you think the spray bottle is a good idea, or do you think it just will confuse him?

More frustration

I've talked about being frustrated with my cats peeing everywhere here.

We moved a few weeks ago, and I was really concerned that they would mess up the new place. We bought some Feliway and put it in the main room (the living/dining room). It seems to be working; no messes to report!

HOWEVER... the bathroom is another story. For the first time in my post-college life, we have a bathroom that doesn't have carpeting! We also have a perfect alcove for the litter box. We try to keep it clean and change it daily because I know cats are fastidious.

At one point, we had three bathrooms so we had 3 bathroom rugs leftover from that. We had put two in the closet and had the one down that matched our shower curtain, towels, and other bathroom accessories. However, the cats peed on that several times and pooped once - completely destroying it. (We thought we'd go replace it, only to discover that it cost $35!!) Then we put another one down, which they peed on. We washed it and put it down again, and they peed twice more. Then we put a third down and they peed on that one several times too. We finally just threw it away.

Today we noticed that they peed in the same place, just right on the linoleum. (Or vinyl. Or whatever the non-carpet-material is in our bathroom.)

I'm frustrated because we've never had trouble with them peeing on the bathroom rugs before. I have the second rug in a plastic bag and when we get back from vacation I'll research the best way to clean it so it gets rid of the pee completely. Perhaps some green products will have the enzymes necessary to kill that smell. I also will need to wash the shower curtain, as they have peed on the bottom of it several times. (It touches the floor when it's hung from the rod.)

I also want to try and find a bathroom rug that's plastic - something that we can step on when getting out of the shower.

Argh!! I love cats, but... so frustrating!!

Feliway to the rescue

I got an email from a friend this evening. It said:

We also have two cats. We were having problems with them peeing and puking, and we got the Feliway diffuser thing. It looks kind of like a Glade plug-in, and it supposedly releases pheromones to make cats feel happy. It was kind of expensive, but SO worth it! They haven't peed on anything (and we just bought a house, so we were freaked that they would pee everywhere), and our one anxiety-ridden puke-y cat throws up so much less now.

Anyway, just wanted to recommend Feliway. :) Give it a try. I hope it works. I know cat pee smell is wretched. :)

This definitely intrigued me! So I decided to look it up.

I found a helpful FAQ about Feliway on this site. I was going to copy-paste, but I decided it would be better to just point you to the site and suggest you read it yourself if you're interested. It explains everything in good, easy-to-understand detail.

It is interesting reading about Feliway. They claim that it not only will help with urinating outside the litter box, but also will stop cats from fighting. This especially intrigues me, because Lewis and Ebony fight all the time. My last two cats (Koko and Yum Yum) were so cuddly and friendly with each other that it makes me said that Lewis and Ebony seem to dislike each other.

Does anyone else have experience with Feliway? Anyone know of a good place to buy it? I would like to look into it further, but I definitely think this might be an answer for us! It's like with acne treatments - you get to the point where you'll just try anything! I'll see if the vet has any recommendations when I go on Saturday.

Frustration

I love my cats, but sometimes they are so frustrating!

Lewis and Ebony's new trick is to PEE EVERYWHERE. We've always had wall-to-wall carpeting in our apartments, and we've never had trouble with them not using their litter box until now.

I can attribute it to several things:

• Traveling - we've been gone a lot this summer, especially in the month of August
• Being busy - we've added some weekly things to our schedules that require us to be gone from the house
• New job - I started a new job about 6 months ago that no longer allows me to come home at lunch, and because of the commute I'm overall gone more hours of the day
• Stress - I know that cats can sense their owners' stress, and ours has been high as of late. We're getting ready to move, and the frustration that has led up to that decision has been great.

Things will calm down after October, and hopefully be all still by next spring! But it still concerns me that any time we start traveling they'll revert back to their old ways. While things may calm down for the school year, we're always going to be the type to travel during the summers - whether it's visiting friends or camping (which we LOVE), it's just something we're going to do. And we've never had problems with them before this summer, and we haven't traveled any MORE than usual.

I've heard that once kitties start peeing on the carpet, it's hard to make them stop. I'm praying that's not true!! I am going to buy some Nature's Miracle that was recommended to me - I need to go to Petsmart to get it I think, and it's an out-of-the-way trip for me so I haven't had a chance to get it.

But in the meantime... SOOO frustrating!! And very stinky. :-(

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Slightly concerned

So either Lewis or Ebony or both have gotten into a bad habit of using the carpet as their litter box. It's gotten especially bad as the humidity has gotten worse. We have two litter boxes which we try to keep clean and yet they still seem to prefer the bathroom carpet. (Side note: Who puts carpet in the bathroom??? Bad idea!)

So I'm not sure what to do. At first I thought they were mad at us for going on vacation, like when we're gone for the weekend camping or chilling in some Outer Banks rentals, but now they seem to be doing it even when we're home. I wonder if they are getting less attention somehow? I used to be home a lot more before I started a new job 6 months ago. They do seem to walk around the house crying for no reason.

I'm slightly concerned, and my mom suggested I talk to the vet. I realized they are due for their annual vaccines anyways so I should take them in anyways. I hope they're okay. :-/

Couch potatoes

When my cats and I first moved to Atlanta, we settled in a nice little apartment. First I had the couch at a right angle to the large front window, and I put a small table in front of the window so Lewis and Ebony could sit there and watch the goings on outside.

A few months later I rearranged the apartment and put the couch in front of the window. That ended up being a mistake, because the kitties have a mind like a computer memory and learned something they have since never forgotten: the back of the couch is an awesome place to sleep. They never used to get up there before but once it became the Prime Spot for Window Watching, they soon settled themselves in and wouldn't move. About a year later, the apartment was rearranged again, and the couch came away from in front of the window. Since then, it has never been in front of the window, but alas - it was too late. Their favorite spot to sleep has since been on the back of the couch. It's great - they can see everything that's going on, be closer to our eye levels (especially when we're sitting), and it's comfortable to boot.

A few months ago we finally saved enough money to buy a new couch and loveseat. My thoughts were that with this new couch, which had a different type of back cushion, the cats would find a new place to rest.

Who was I kidding? Once they got over their fear of the new couches (really, why were they so scared of them?) they happily settled onto the back. And now they have pushed the cushion down enough that it's more comfortable and less attractive for us. Sigh.

I need to find something that will keep them off the back of the couch. I'm thinking that perhaps some tub mats with the suction cup side facing up would be good. I've also heard that most cats will avoid tinfoil. Or perhaps I should just not worry about it, because let's face it - cats will go wherever they please, isn't that true? We'll see.

Mean kitty

When I was in high school, I had two adorable Siamese cats. They were litter mates and the best of friends. They played together, slept together, licked each other, and were overall just adorable. Most of the pictures I have of them are of the two of them and not one or the other.

Since then I have been a strong advocate in the benefits of having two cats! I don't think I'd ever purposefully go back to one cat. So, when I finally graduated from college and was able to get some cats again, I decided to get two. And thus entered Lewis and Ebony. They are litter mates, but NOT the best of friends.

Lewis is the sweetest, most cuddly cat - with humans. With his sister, though, he's a little bully. They never, ever play together. He's more interested in chasing her and we often hear hissing. Perhaps they are playing together, but not in the same way that Koko and Yum Yum played.

One thing that Lewis does: a lot of times, when Ebony is laying somewhere asleep (for example, on the bed), Lewis will jump up and start attacking her until she gets up and leaves. He then curls in her spot. Sometimes he doesn't do the last part - it's like he just wants her to be displaced. So basically, he's a brother!

I don't like how he treats her, but I'm not sure how to "fix" it. I usually leave them alone because I want Ebony to learn to fight back, but she never fights back. I don't know if I should interfere or not. Sigh.

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Annoying cat

I have always fed my cats twice a day, 1/4 cup each at 7:30am and another 1/4 cup each at 6pm of dry food. It's what my vet originally told me to feed them, and so I've always done it that way. Recently, with my new working schedule, I have switched the schedule to 6am and 5pm.

Lewis has always been the annoying one, especially in the mornings. He usually starts an hour before the mealtime, finds me wherever I am, and walks over me crying. If I'm asleep, he rubs his face against mine until I wake up. I usually push him off the bed, which doesn't bother him - he just gets right up again. This is so frustrating to me who is trying to grasp the last precious 60 minutes in my comfy bed before I have to get up and face the day. Sometimes I hide under my covers, but that usually doesn't last long because I'm quite a fan of being able to breathe.

This has been a problem for years, and I'm getting quite frustrated with it. The other day I mentioned to my husband that perhaps we should keep food out all the time for our cats. Ebony, the female cat, would do just fine with that. I doubt she would eat more than she needed. Lewis, the fat male cat, already struggles with being overweight and he is constantly hungry. I honestly think he would just eat himself silly, and if I left food out all the time then I wouldn't be able to control the amount he eats at all. My husband doesn't think it would be good to leave food out.

Has anyone dealt with this? Does anyone have any ideas?

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Wild and crazy kittens

A few years ago, my now-husband was living in Rhode Island with a roommate. One day, they found an abandoned kitten about 2 weeks old. They took the kitten in and took care of it. The kitten grew up happy and healthy, and was named Chipi.

I met Chipi when he was about 3 months old. He was wild and aggressive, racing all over the house, ready to Pounce and Destroy anything in his path! My husband's roommate pleaded for advice on how to control this crazy kitten.

Now I'm no animal behavior specialist, but my guess is that the kitten was bored. Since he didn't grow up with any siblings, he needed to get his normal kitten play out sometime. I recommended getting a second kitten about the same age, which they did a few weeks later. After that, there was SUCH a change in Chipi! My husband said that it was like Chipi was afraid that they had gotten the second kitten as a replacement. Because they were so young (3 and 4 months old), they were immediately best buddies.

I've seen this happen three times - a wild and crazy kitten/cat who has calmed down with the acquisition of a second kitten/cat. I would highly recommend this as a method if your cat is crazy. Better yet, start out with two cats! A second cat isn't any more work, and only slightly more expensive. It's only slightly more food, and they can be less destructive in your house because they have each other to play with. I've also found that vets give a discount for the second cat if you bring them both for an office visit, so the healthcare costs are not quite as high.

If getting another cat isn't an option, try to increase the amount of play-time you have with the kitten. Get lots of toys, and rotate them so he doesn't get bored. A cat climbing tree is also a great investment. You can also try finding another kitten for a "playdate". Definitely talk to your vet if your kitten has serious issues - I read one case where a vet prescribed some "calming" medication for the ultra-hyper cat. I don't know if it's a good idea to do that, but it might be worth looking into. It's better than having your furniture, curtains, luggage sets, and everything else torn to shreds!

For further information:
Paws and Effect: My kitten acts more like a wildcat. Help!
Cat Healthcare: Cat Boredom... Find the Cure