My housemate and I are having a new and interesting problem with our Doyle. We've had him about 2 years and this has just started. Doyle is the youngest (he might be 3) and most recently acquired, and as befits his lowly position in the pecking order, he defers to everybody, despite the fact that he's bigger than most everybody and has all his claws. And the others really take advantage -- even my laid-back Luc delights in rousting him from his safety zones (the kitchen table and window sill). Several months ago, finding some pee and poop on the kitchen floor, we put a small litterbox under the kitchen table so Doyle wouldn't have to make the pilgrimage across the kitchen and into the next room in order to do his business (and we put small bowls of food and water on the table so he wouldn't have to venture far for those either). That worked for a while, but then of course EVERYBODY started using this tiny box so of course then things started appearing outside of it. A few times there was pee that had, due to our floors being 86 years old, run under our microwave stand/storage cabinet and into the corner. After having to move stuff a few times to clean this up, my housemate decided to move the cabinet out to where the table was and put the table in the corner so it would be easier to move. We don't eat at the table anyway so that seemed like a good idea. We also hoped Doyle would feel more protected with his box in a corner. At the same time, every night when we're watching TV we try to bring him into the living room for a while. He's such a loving little guy, we feel terrible with him stuck in the kitchen out of fear all the time. Sometimes he'll stay for a while (he likes to be on your lap, and if you cover him so he can't see the others he'll sit for a long time) but he eventually makes a break for the safety of the kitchen. Last week we bought a refill for our long-unused Feliway diffuser and put it centrally in the living room, and have been dosing his water with Good Cat as well, hoping to make the living room more welcoming to him (and de-escalating the territoriality of the others) and take the edge off his fear. Now he has started peeing and pooping on the windowsill. We have a chest-high sideways slider in the kitchen, and the pee collects in the track, and sometimes the poop marinates in it. I'm usually pretty stoic about cat stuff, but I cleaned up my first "incident" yesterday (housemate had already done a couple) and I nearly gagged from the smell. In desperation, this morning my housemate put him in the spare room where we kept him for a while when we first got him, hoping he'll enjoy the peace and quiet. I hate to reconfine him, and that room really isn't conducive to us hanging out with him in there right now, but we do need to break this cycle of behavior. I'm wondering if he'd like being in there during the day (when I'm gone and my housemate is sleeping) and just coming out at night. I think we need to get some Feliway spray to augment the diffuser, and maybe spray it -- where? on the sill, after we give it the scouring of its life? According to the website, the theory is that they won't pee or scratch where the Feliway is, right? The stuff is so damn expensive (when we went to Petco for the refill, it was in a locked cabinet and the person who opened it brought the refill to the checkout, wouldn't let us touch it till paid for, which cracked me up) I hate to buy even more of it if we're not sure it's working. Any advice would be deeply appreciated! Diane R.
________________________________ From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of C & J Sent: Tuesday, May 22, 2007 7:11 AM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: Anyone feed a raw diet to their FeLV+ cats? Unfortunately, I can't give Kisa any food. If I even come towards her with food, she vomits. I'm taking her to the vet as soon as they open today, I really hope its not too serious. She's not feeling very well at all. I'm about at my wits end here. Cassandra ----- Original Message ----- From: Marissa Johnson <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: [email protected] Sent: Tuesday, May 22, 2007 5:58 AM Subject: Re: Anyone feed a raw diet to their FeLV+ cats? I will mention that to her, thanks. I think Mouse and I may go visit her this morning just to say hi (that way he doesn't think every time we go to the vet he'll get poked and prodded). By the way, Cassandra, I haven't seen anyone mention this yet and I'm certainly no expert, but if it's been 36 hours since Kisa ate (more now since you wrote that a day or two ago), I would syringe feed her something. Avoiding fatty liver disease is probably of paramount importance right now. You can syringe baby food, A/D, KMR, or anything else you can get to a syringe-able consistency. Your main goal at this point would be getting SOMETHING into her. Just my thoughts...perhaps others with more experience will chime in. Hope she's feeling better already! Marissa Marylyn <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: You might suggest to your vet that she try another variety of raw. There was no way Dixie was going to eat raw the first few times I tried. Finally I hit on the Primal and she loves it but it does need to be mixed with some water and/or veggies because it is so concentrated. If you have men who will exclude any of God's creatures from the shelter of compassion and pity, you will have men who will deal likewise with their fellow man. St. Francis ----- Original Message ----- From: Marissa Johnson <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: [email protected] Sent: Monday, May 21, 2007 8:29 PM Subject: Re: Anyone feed a raw diet to their FeLV+ cats? Hi everyone. I fed Slinky (+) raw, and am feeding Mouse (-) raw as well. I use Nature's Variety frozen raw, mostly chicken and turkey (though sometimes I mix it up with some lamb or venison) - www.naturesvariety.com <http://www.naturesvariety.com/> . I've found the cats have all loved it once they got used to it. I, too, would be nervous about trying to balance it myself. Slinky died of his felv, but I'm sure it had nothing to do with the raw. I asked my vet the other day (remember? the amazing Dr. G who helped me look for Georgia)...an ALLOPATHIC vet...what she thinks about feeding raw. She said she thinks it's the best thing for them if you do it right (said she tried it with her cats but they didn't like it...she was disappointed and wished they had). She seemed to prefer the idea of buying pre-made since it can be tough to balance it. But she said if I decided to make my own I should just use a trusted recipe, follow it closely, and try to avoid the ones that are high in grains. My best friend asked her HOMEOPATHIC vet about feeding raw to cats and she said she feeds her cats Nature's Variety. That's what I know about feeding raw. There are several good books out there and lots of info online. Good luck...hope they start feeling better!!!! GLOW to you and the furkids. Marissa, Mouse, Georgia, Angel Slinky >^..^< p.s. Georgia has not been found yet and is still out there somewhere. Please keep sending glow to bring her home!!! Thanks!!!! C & J <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: And how has it worked for you? I started feeding a raw diet from here http://www.catnutrition.org/recipes.html a few weeks ago. The problem is, i've been having crisis after crisis in my house with my 5 cats, and am wondering if the raw diet has anything to do with it. After Tomi got sick with anemia and he and Kisa tested positive for FeLV, I started out trying the raw diet, hoping to improve everyone's health. Well last weekend, my 15 year old cat Koda died due to her liver and kidneys shutting down. The vet had no idea what caused it. Then early last week, my 9 year old cat Link seemed a bit under the weather, but pulled out of it just fine. Now, Kisa (my other FeLV) is sick. She's never been sick, and she's almost 3 yrs old. Yesterday morning she vomited after I put her morning food in front of her (without eating anything). She continues to vomit anytime she smells food. I've tried all her favorite treats and she won't touch any of it. She's been over 36 hours now since she's eaten anything. Due to today being a holiday, I can't take her to the vet until tomorrow. Hopefully she'll be safe from fatty liver though, since she is a normal weight. I'm really hoping that my change to raw food isn't causing this. My cats seem to really enjoy the food, and I was hoping that my older overweight ones would reduce to a normal weight on a natural diet, and everyone would be healthier. If anyone has had experiences with raw food, any input would be appreciated. Cassandra "If you talk to the animals they will talk with you and you will know each other. If you do not talk to them you will not know them, and what you do not know you will fear. What one fears, one destroys." --Chief Dan George "I hold that, the more helpless a creature, the more entitled it is to protection by man from the cruelty of man............ The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated." 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