Plan B for Miley girl - she is gone now...RIP Sweetheart

[jazzcat]

I'm so sorry to hear the extent of Miley's problems. I never had a clue it was that bad. You have my sympathy and my support. I really wish I had some great advice but as you already know I can't even solve my kitty problems. I am very happy to hear there were no accidents yesterday. Sounds like this might work. Fingers crossed.

Ripley is a behavioral sprayer and shows us his discontent by peeing on things. He usually gets this way when we change something in the house like paint, flooring, drapes. Yes, he has marked all of those brand new things in his protest. Now being a kidney patient makes it even worse because he acts out when he feels bad. Well to add insult to injury he started having constant diarrhea and if he couldn't get to his "preferred" litter box he would just go in the dining room. Thank goodness my vet recommended Pro Plan Sensitive Skin and Stomach. As long as he eats that and nothing else, not even on tiny treat, he has regular poop. Now of course his thing is to go beside the box but he only does that out in the garage on the concrete so it's not a big deal. With all his other issues it's hard to deal with him and trust me when he is feeling grouchy, peeing and pooing inappropriately and just generally miserable which in turn makes the whole house miserable I have to really consider quality of life - he's over 15 years old. I hate to put it like that but it is the truth.

Anyway, I just wanted you to know I understand how you feel.

[Catty1]

I hope she continues to be accident-free. Is the allergic food the same as the gastro-intestinal?

If she is doing well on it, that is wonderful. During the tainted cat food tragedy, when I was reading every label everywhere, I was surprised that my vet presc food contained corn and other starch fillers. Just a thought if Miley's tummy troubles return (God forbid! )

Give her scritchies for me!

[Vermontcat]

I'm sorry to hear that Miley hasn't been feeling well.
Hopefully she will do better in a smaller space and the other campers will stop bugging her.
Give her some scritchies from me, I know she loves getting one on one attention.
Let me know if you want some company or if you want to send the other rowdy campers down here for a vacation.

[sasvermont]

I think as long as she has nothing to poop on/in, other than a litter box, she will be fine. I cleaned her box this morning, fed her, etc. and she was content to be in the cage. She didn't even attempt an escape.

JuniRose was on the top of the cage when I left this morning. I have a blanket over the top, to prevent peeping kitties from putting their peeping paws in the cage to terrorize Miley.

So, hopefully, this confining will do the trick. I have been looking in to Prozac for kitties, too. I shall talk to my vet. Prozac is cheap these days, so it might be an alternative for me/us. We shall see.

Thanks for listening.

Sas and her Campers!

[Barbara]

Good to hear that there were no accidents in two days and good to hear that Miley feels quiet and well. Anyway she is not VERY rambunctious for an Aby. Give her some kisses from me. I still can feel her raw little tongue on my arm

[sasvermont]

So far so good. She is quiet and seems ok with the new arrangement. I don't know how long she can tolerate being held captive. She sleeps quite a bit, but then don't most cats? It sure has made my life easier, not worry about where to look for the next pile of poop.

[neko1]

I am currently doing the same thing with my Aby Tama. He's been having quite a few problems which a few people here know about, but anyway, my last resort was to get a cage for him.

He has his blanket, catnip toy, food, water, and litterbox in there. I thought when I first put him in there that he would freak out crying and trying to get out but he loves it in there! Whenever I'm home I leave the cage door open for him to roam the house but he rarely comes out. When he does come out, sometimes he'll just perch himself on top of the cage.

Since he's been in there, he has stopped pooping and urinating on the floor. He is a spite pooper, I've been dealing with that for his entire life..sigh.

I still can't believe how much he likes it in there. When I come by to see him, he just purrs.

I think that maybe he likes it so much because to him, it's his 'safe spot'. Kinda like his own little room.

I'm sure it looks like I'm being mean to the cat, but it has solved a few problems (he's still got a LOT of problems I can't seem to fix) and he seems to not mind it, so I'm fine with it.

[sasvermont]

Neko, I am so happy you posted that. Maybe Miley is a spiteful pooper too? I have spent so much money and energy trying to fix her problem and now it seems that you came up with the same solution. Isn't that odd? Maybe its an Aby thing? I remember Tama. I remember the problems you were having with his stools etc. Hmmmmmmm. I know some Abys do have intestinal issues.

Thanks so much for posting your message. I feel much less guilty now.

Actually, my vet suggested I confine her.

Thank you, thank you.
SAS

[Barbara]

Filou just says he is not happy with ot being considered an Aby thing. He says we are NOT spiteful
But I am happy that Miley as well as Tama get along with it.

[sasvermont]

Dear Fiolou,

My Mom didn't mean to hurt your feelings so. She was referring to the intestinal problems and not to the spiteful comment about Abys. Everyone knows that Abys are all very different, as I have two Aby sisters and boy are they "different" .

So please accept my Mom's apology for having made us all sound "alike" .... actually, we are all alike in some ways....but only the positive ways.

Love to hugs to you and your family,
Miley girl

[Randi]

Sas, I'm glad to hear the arrangements work well, and Miley seems happy. Perhaps after a while in there, she will not even consider pooping on the floor.

Best wishes and kisses to Miley. How old is she now?

[Pawla]

I had to confine Ellie. I dealt with issues for almost seventeen years with him. He was confined to the kitchen by a baby gate, and this worked really well for us. I would allow him out when I was home, but when I was at work or in bed, he was in the kitchen. Good luck, because I've been there and know the frustration this brings.

[Barbara]

Dearest Miley,
I agree with you. We are so different you can make a rule out of it.
Sending headbumpies with my little wooden head (that's what my mom says about it )
Filou

[neko1]

And the funniest (well maybe that's not the right word) thing happened re: the pooping the other day. We left his cage door open during the day to see if he would 'roam free'.

That little stinker actually went over to Neko's litter box and pooped on the floor right in front of it!!!! (that was his usual poop on the floor spot)

Now when he's in his cage, he has no problems going to the bathroom in the litter box.

I've also found that he likes to eat in there too. I feed him and Neko together but Tama will only eat a few bites and then hops back in his cage. At that point I put his food dish in there and he gobbles it right up.

I'm glad I was able to make you feel better. I was so upset when I first decided to confine him- I felt like I wasn't doing the right thing, that I was a horrible person for doing this and that if I told anyone, they would think poorly of me. But with time, and since Tama seems to love it in there, I'm coming to grips with the fact that he may spend many years in there.

He's never given me any indication that he's upset or in distress over it.

[jenluckenbach]

I find this all so fascinating!!! I had to confine Sterling and Jim for a 2 week period while they were being retrained and starting on amitriptylin and Jim YOWLED 24/7 for 2 weeks straight! They each had a tall multi-level cage, but I never considered it large enough for a permanent solution.

But hearing how both Tama and Miley seem to accept and even LIKE their "home"...................well, let's just say I am VERY VERY glad that this is working for you both.