If the vet is happy that she doesn’t have any medical problems preventing her eating, I’d ease back a bit. I think force feeding her will be counter-productive, she’ll learn to stay away from you in case you put the syringe in her mouth again. If she has access to outside, she could be either filling up on mice or other rodents or going to another house and being fed there. This happens more often than you might think.

Having her teeth cleaned is a fairly major event and she could be getting over that. The smells from the vet will have probably upset her and the strange taste and feeling in her mouth will further put her off food. If she isn’t lethargic and looks well, I’d leave the biscuits there for her to eat when she wants and try to tempt her with some moist food (a small amount) around 6pm each day. If she hasn’t eaten the moist food after 15-20 minutes, put it in the fridge with a cover on and try her again the next evening.

Do keep an eye on her urinating and excreting if possible. If she stops these contact the vet again as she could have a blockage somewhere. Let me know how she goes and if I can help further.

Kathy

i’m so baffled as to what’s going on with her, the vet has done blood tests on her and they came back fine and she doesn’t seem unwell or lethargic at all which is very surprising considering she’s barely eating. i’ve now resorted to forcing baby food in her mouth with a syringe as i’m worried sick she’s gonna get seriously ill if she doesn’t get some nutrients in her. i’m thinking now it’s a pyscological problem, maybe because food was giving her pain or disomfort for awhile she doesn’t trust it anymore? i’m just wondering if this is the case what can i do to get her eating again? am i maybe putting too much pressure on her by constantly trying to get her to eat? would it be best to back off abit? please help!

I wonder if Carter had a bad experience when he was neutered. He shouldn’t be that aggressive still and after 3 months, the hormones should have settled down. This medication is an anti-depressant and is usually given to cats to stop spraying or urinating outside the litter box and anxiety. My research didn’t show it being used to treat aggression. I’d suggest talking to your vet again about the aggression and trying a different medication.

Congratulations on not getting rid of Carter after he put you in hospital. That shows someone who loves cats as much as I do. Please let me know how you go with Carter, he must be mortified that he hurt you.

Kathy

Thanks for letting me know how your cats are doing after de-clawing. I’m truly glad that they don’t have any problems. However my personal opinion, and the opinion of all the vets I’ve talked to, is that de-clawing cats is akin to us having our fingers and toes amputated at the first knuckle. And of course every cat is individual, what works for one cat won’t necessarily work for the cat next door. I hope that they’re never confronted with a cat invading their territory. They’d have a hard time defending themselves and fighting without their claws.

Kathy

I am having major aggression problems with my 11 month old Himalayan/Ragdoll cat, Carter. He was neutered at 9 months, and before being neutered was somewhat aggressive and began to spray. The spraying stopped after he was neuterd, but the aggression has escallated. The week he was to be neutered, a new roommate moved in, and I attributed this behaviour to not being happy with a change in his home.

It has been about 3 months since the change in his environment, but Carter still hisses, and growls, and has even attacked me and my boyfriend. He exhibits extreme aggression when there are people in “his house.” He actually attacked me so badly one night, that I had to go to the hospital for antibiotics and and IV drip as he bit and clawed me several times. He has also bitten my boyfriend. We got him at 8 weeks of age, and he was handled and introduced to people fairly regularly.

About 5 weeks ago I took him to the vet for a consulation. The vet recommended amitriptaline (Elavil Rx 10mg/daily as he weighs 12 lbs approx). Carter takes the pill quite well, but I am not seeing any dramatic differences. The first day he seemed sedated, but other than that, he is still very active. The cat is still acting out aggressively, hissing and growling at people, and I don’t know what to do. Any advice?

This could be one of those ‘suck it and see’ situations. If you are going to be out at work all day, your cat will be left alone in a new home. This would create a double stress – the new home and being left. If the cat loves you enough, and she sounds like she considers you her primary person, once she gets used to the new arrangements she could be quite happy. You would need to give her extra attention at night and leave her with enough toys and entertainment to stop her getting too bored. If possible, an open window with fly wire or a mesh screen can keep her entertained watching the outdoors and will also give her fresh air. Remember cats spend a lot of time asleep, even during the day, so she might not have a problem.

Would your mother be happy to have her back if she can’t adjust? Try it for a few weeks (3-4) and see how she goes. Let me know how she goes and good luck with moving out.

Kathy