Ally Cat Updates

[Emeraldgreen]

I like Nancy... I think she is very good.. BUT I just wanted to add...

I had a reading from her about one of my "vicious kitties"... I was told the same thing, never going to change, evil, no way she will change, put her to sleep.
I opted not too, and within 3 months of the reading, well, my cat is happy, healthy and COMPLETELY the sweetest cat on the planet. While I do believe that Nancy has great insight into animals AND their feelings, I just want to point out, that sometimes, they can be wrong.... In this case, she was....

I'm so glad you wrote this. It is a very important addition to this thread and shines a hopeful light where is it is very much needed. Thank you.

[carole]

I agree with emeraldgreen,i think your post is extremely valuable, and i am glad you stopped by to post this,i personally have little faith in this type of thing, however i respect that others firmly believe in it,but it just goes to show how wrong they can be, taking her to the vet is indeed a wise choice on your part, i wish you well and all the best of luck with the visit, let us hope there is a positive outcome to it all.

[shais_mom]

I too am glad that Katie wrote that -
I have used Nancy and found her amazing.
All the finger pointing at her being a fraud was starting to leave a really bad taste in my mouth for PT
And I don't ever remember Ally being a happy go lucky cat.
But I can't find posts of Julie's back that far...

[Medusa]

All the finger pointing at her being a fraud was starting to leave a really bad taste in my mouth for PT

I think she wasn't being called a fraud; I think most of us agree that her choice of words was unfortunate. Nancy's provided a wonderful service to a lot of PTers.

[Kirsten]

On reading the pet of the day article by Julie, it sounds as though Ally was a completely different cat back then, i certainly could not believe she was writing about the same cat,so maybe introducing connor did have an effect, but you would not think it would be so drastic would you?

Well, yes, but I also found some posts by her saying that Ally was acting aggressive; obviously she bit Julie several times, and in one post, in which she reported that Ally bit her mother-in-law, she considered putting Ally to sleep. She was worried about Cali, too, with a cat like that around. But I'm not sure if all this happened after Connor moved in; maybe Ally was really happier as a single cat...

Kirsten

[ChrisH]

In regard to when Ally began biting, this is a post from 18th of August 2004

Thank's everyone for their concern, PM's etc - it really means a lot to me!!

I have a doctor's appointment later this morning, so I'll let you know how that goes. Just some background:

- Ally HAS bitten me before - and BADLY. The first time I posted about it was in response to Lisa's thread when Mr Magoo bit her so badly.
- She only started to bite me after Connor came into the house - of course he has now been here for 10 months, so I was hoping she would have settled down a bit by now.
- when she does bite it is totally RANDOM - this one happened whilst I was dishing up supper in the kitchen, the one before was whilst we were relaxing watching TV - one minute she is normal then she goes crazy! I can't connect it to any particular event, and I do avoid excessive excitement / aggressive play with her
-my tetnus is up to date - I checked when I started helping with trapping for the shelter, and I'm still covered from my last jab
- we OFTEN have visitors in the house - very often with several young noisy children, so I can't really see a connection with visitors resulting in her getting upset. She has always had people in and out of the house. My In-Laws are quiet, and my MIL spoils Ally quite a bit - they have "naptime"every day, as my MIL loves Ally to bits, having met her when she was a kitten, so I can't imagine their being here would cause this.
- the vet prescribed an anti-anxiety medication for Ally, but she is the worst cat in the world to pill. The stress level was higher after a couple of days on the meds, as Ally would freak out every time I took a step towards her, thinking another pill was coming, so that just made matters worse.
- I would gladly pay for a cat therapist, but we don't have any on the island
- the vet has suggested hormone injections - but I can't find much info on the web, and I don't know when the long-term side effects are

Another frustration is that all the books I have talk about agression, and the web sites too, but they describe the problem without offering any suggestions as to how to resolve it.

I think that, as some of you have said, the BIG hurt is at an emotional level - Ally is so close to my heart, and I am devastated when she does this! It also erodes the trust I have with her, so for weeks after I will be mentally checking where she is, to make sure I don't turn my back on her.

This morning she is once again as sweet as sugar! I'll let you know how the Doctor goes!

Thanks again to everyone for caring - it really makes this easier to deal with.

I've found a whole lot of posts about Ally, from before Connor arrived and after, and I have to say that I believe something, or rather a series of things/events happened to make Ally the way she is today.

I will try to sort them into links, beginning with the earliest, and post so you can make up your own mind.

[ChrisH]

She hasn't always been bad for sure.

July 10th 2003 Ally the Hunter
Aug 10th 2003 Ally helping Meowmie
August 30th 2003 Settling in slowly - but does not like kids
September 9th 2003 Finally - pics of Ally in the new house
October 14th 2003 Look how she has grown!
October 18th 2003 Ally in the kitchen

[Killearn Kitties]

Well, yes, but I also found some posts by her saying that Ally was acting aggressive; obviously she bit Julie several times, and in one post, in which she reported that Ally bit her mother-in-law, she considered putting Ally to sleep. She was worried about Cali, too, with a cat like that around. But I'm not sure if all this happened after Connor moved in; maybe Ally was really happier as a single cat...

Yes Kirsten, all those things happened after Julie introduced Connor to the household. I remember her thinking, early on, that Connor's deafness was part of the problem; he could not hear Ally growling and back off.

If Julie had concerns about Ally prior to Connor's arrival, I don't think she voiced them. Really though, I think everything was fine before Connor arrived.

[Kirsten]

I'm also glad to read this, maybe there's still hope that Ally will find a way out of her own personal hell...

Hope the other new vet has some new ideas how to help her.

Jenn, I'm glad you're not giving up on her!

Kirsten

[carole]

Staci i guess even the best can be wrong at times, I don't think anyone would put an animal to sleep based on a reading anyhow.

On reading the pet of the day article by Julie, it sounds as though Ally was a completely different cat back then, i certainly could not believe she was writing about the same cat,so maybe introducing connor did have an effect, but you would not think it would be so drastic would you? it is indeed puzzling as to why a cat would be so aggressive, so i think the vet check will indeed be a good idea for sure.