Excited :)

[WitchyWoman]

Yeah Azidi. She is being a little S... Today. Refused to come out to go to the vet. So, I was given some drops to put in her ears for the ear mites. I just went in to try to put them in. It was a blood letting. It is impossible with only 2 hands. This cat cannot be held.I need one or two people to help. It makes me so sad that I cannot be the good dad I need to be and want to be for her. I don't know what to do. I can't scruff her..Takes 2 hands. I can't towel her. Takes 4 hands and is traumatic. I just want to cry.

Cary have you spoken with your vet about an Ivermectin injection? It supposedly gets rids of the mites and requires only 1 subq injection.

 

[Carykd7kau]

I have not Deb. Was not aware of that. I will ask. But I still have the problem of getting her to the Vet. That is why she gave me the drops. Because Zidi will not come out when it is time to go. It is like she knows where she is going. She hides under the bed. And I cannot get her out.

Chris. they look like they would hurt .. Not sure I would even be able to get them on her.

 

[Carykd7kau]

I will figure out something. Earlier, when she dug me, I got upset and walked out of the room and slammed the door. Later I went in and laid on the floor and told her I was sad and hurt that she fought with me. She looked at me and slowly walked over to look at me. Then she went to her wand toy and told me she wanted to play. I guess she was saying she was sorry. Now she will lie down and let me rub her ears. I think maybe soon I will be able to put the drops in.

 

[WitchyWoman]

I have not Deb. Was not aware of that. I will ask. But I still have the problem of getting her to the Vet. That is why she gave me the drops. Because Zidi will not come out when it is time to go. It is like she knows where she is going. She hides under the bed. And I cannot get her out.

I've always left a soft cat carrier in the house and used it to play with the boys. Toss toys and treats in it, swing them in it. I took Maliik onto the catio in it when he was a kitten so between play time with it and being taken somewhere he liked, he associated it with pleasant time. When it comes time to take Maliik to the vet (he can't be picked up), I bring the carrier into the house a day or two before and all I have to do is tap it and say "let's go" to get him into it and off we go. They have to actually gas him in the carrier because he can't be handled. With a cat like Maliik, it was important to get him used to the carrier in the event I have to get him out of the house in a hurry (flood, fire, emergency evacuation, whatever) and in the event he becomes seriously ill or injured.

 

[Chris Elliott]

If you can scruff her you can clip her, in my experience. And it's really the kindest thing as the cats don't suffer anxiety while clipped or scruffed. Ohio State has studies that no damage or bruising occurred. This post explains the research and references the paper from Ohio state:

http://clipnosis.blogspot.com/2010/06/how-clipnosis-came-to-be-guest-blog-by.html?m=1

 

[Carykd7kau]

Well. I have scruffed her once to get her in the carrier. But now when I try to grab her to scruff her, she does not go quietly into that good night. She fights like a wild cat. And even though she is a tiny kitty, she is strong as hell and very fast. When I do get a hold on her, I am almost afraid to hold on tight enough. I am afraid I will injure her

 

[Chris Elliott]

I understand. We don't want to hurt our cats, and we don't want to damage their trust in us. You've worked so hard to gain Zidi's trust.

Remember how loose a cat's skin is. Think of how rough cats play. Their skin is tougher than ours by a good measure. Then think about the necessity that the mother cat must be able to move her kittens quickly and quietly. This has led to this physical reaction they have to scruffing. Kittens must stay still, silent, and in a posture that's easy to carry for the mother as she moves them to a safer den. Kittens in the wild that didn't do this were killed. Most cats retain this reaction into adulthood. Think about a mother cat's teeth. The kitten is hanging by her large front teeth.

I recommend scruffing with short nails, but I suspect that our nails won't hurt a cat even during scruffing. You shouldn't pick up an adult cat by their scruff, but you can pick them up with the other hand as you scruff them. You might need to use gloves at first. If you do, get them used to the gloves first. I was fortunate with Ziggy--he has no adverse reaction to gloves at all. He must have been handled with gloves before and he retained no ill feelings toward them. Use them to pet and groom the cat, and while feeding treats.

Harbor Supply has a good selection of leather welding gloves for $6-$10.

This will not work on all adult cats. Zidi may be one of these, but I'm not convinced yet. I wasn't sure I could scruff and clip Ziggy, but I did and it worked. Maybe practicing with Kilifi first would help to understand the reaction.

Try to scruff her when she is quiet and relaxed. Grab her firmly just behind the ears with a firm grip. If you have her held firmly in the right place, she should relax and even seem to become a bit catatonic--her eyes will often become unfocused and her body will take on a fetal position. However, this is the ideal. Often it takes a bit more, like it did with Ziggy. He saw it coming and was tense when I scruffed him. He tried to scratch and bite, but couldn't reach me. I laid him down on his left side and spent probably 10 minutes petting him, rubbing his nose, and acting like I was his mother washing his face--not with my tongue, my hands! He continued to try to bite, but he started to relax and finally relaxed on his side and let me slowly cut his nails. I'd do a bit and then stop and pet him.

Once you release them, cats seem to not remember the event. You can really tell when a cat is traumatized because they remember and actively avoid whatever they associate with the event. But with scruffing there seems to be some lapse in memory of the event during their "clipnosis", as Ohio State is calling it. They usually will get right up and act normal, as if it didn't happen. Even with all the work it took to relax Ziggy, he just stood up after I unclipped him and went on his way, with shorter nails.

I really do think it's the kindest way to handle the things we must do to keep them healthy.

 

[Patti]

Scruffing is really going to bring out the antithetical response in Azidi. She was very traumatized as a kitten for being scruffed twice a day for medications for several weeks and has never gotten over it. Some kittens are just more sensitive (and less forgiving) than others.

Having said that, I have used the binder clips on a wild woman here with success, it really does work - if you can get them on Azidi. Alternatively, you should ask your vet about using Advantage Multi or Revolution instead - I'm guessing it would be a lot less traumatic for both of you to simply use a topical agent between the shoulder blades. The only problem with that is the debris in the ears may still need to be cleaned out. With Kilifi's known ear issue (being more prone to debris and therefore ear mites) it might be smart to simply treat them both on a routine basis to avoid a recurring problem.

 

[Brandy DW]

So the only thing I can think with Sabriel making the moaning/groaning noise, only sometimes is she's dreaming... Likely in agitation.

I talked to my vets office about it this morning, they're recommending a pheromone like feliway - good idea?

 

[Patti]

Yes, Feliway can often work wonders with cats.