RE: OT - Zack

[Diane Rosenfeldt]

Phaerwyn, I certainly respect the depth of your feeling on the subject, but I think your personal take on the *human* need for physical freedom is clouding your perceptions of what the CAT would want.  Remember that they're lair animals, so cages judiciously used don't automatically scream "prison" to a cat, they say "safety."  I'm not saying contain them 24/7 but they're really not going to mind the cage the 20 hours a day they're sleeping.  ;-)  If you could give Zack some quality time both in and out of the cage, maybe he would gradually lose his "issues."  Personally, we've got a "psycho kitty" of our own, he's sorta the feline equivalent of Popeye's Bluto, all swagger and bullying.  Please don't kill me, but when Gail and I combined households and Tribble had 4 other cats to beat up on, we very reluctantly made the decision to have him front-declawed, though it was against everything in our philosophies, for the sake of the others.  We found a place that uses laser, to minimize the pain.  This was not an ideal solution, not only because of the mutilation, but also because he still has his teeth.  But at least he has to get closer to them now, and they all know enough not to let him.   We haven't been able to vet him for a long time, and we often half-joke that if he ever needs pills, he's doomed.  Let me tell you, the post that mentioned Elavil ear-cream is making me go hmmmmm.  We both know that if Tribble weren't here, we would have many fewer hassles, but neither of us would dream of sending him along.  There are moments when he's utterly endearing.  He's never been actually diagnosed with anything, but I think there must be some disorder.  Sometimes he'll want to just press his forehead against you, maybe he gets migraines or something.    As for making Plexiglas cage partitions, you can get window-replacement Lexan for maybe $15 for a large sheet at home stores.  It's very clear (I used it, with mirror hangers, to protect my many posters in my last place), and you can cut it down fairly easily, and drill vent holes with a regular drill, a Dremel tool, etc.   That might mean one less hurdle to finding a solution for Zack.   Diane R.