Rafiki

[Rafiki]

It could just be a change in her routine, meaning you are gone.


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That is what I am hoping and praying for! It means that it will be a pain in the butt every time I have to go but I dont like being away anyhow. I no longer work where I have to be away 25% of the time but my mother has been ill hence the frequent trips to Florida. She returns to Montreal at the end of the week so hopefully I will be home bound for a nice long time.

 

[Patti]

Poor Rafiki, I hope she will settle down quickly once you have returned home. At least she is still eating well, that tells me that her behavior is more psychological than physical in nature, and although that sucks too, she certainly doesn't need anymore physical health problems!!

 

[Rafiki]

I came home yesterday afternoon after being gone for 2 weeks. Rafiki was under the bed in the spare bedroom. She started doing her flip-flop routine when I saw her and extended her arms as far as they would go so that she could grab my hand with her paws and I was able to pet her. She followed me out of the room but stayed at a distance when I unpacked and also when I went to the kitchen. She ate treats from my hands but was very skittish and kept bolting. I had to feed her under the bed but stayed with her and talked to her. When I went to bed, she crawled in bed about a half hour later and was absolutely glued to me all night long. She washed and gave me little love bites all night long.

When I got up, she bolted again. She followed me out to the catio but fled a few minutes after my hubby joined us. Breakfast was served under the bed in the guest bedroom. But, when I checked on her a bit later, she was sprawled out on top of the bed! I was able to pet and kiss and cuddle her without her freaking out. Later in the afternoon, the hubby was also able to approach her and pet her. Dinner was back under the bed again. Ugh. Baby steps. But she joined us again in the catio for our evening wine.

I was able to get a good look at her ears - no signs of infection or build up and the previous scratchings are healed. Her appetite has been fantastic - clean plates at every meal. This does appear to be psychological. Hubby thinks that she may have been wondering if he had done away with me! It will take a bit of time to get her back to normal but things are looking up. Fortunately I have zero plans to travel again until the end of September.

 

[Carykd7kau]

Keep telling her that you love her and you will never go away ... Permanently.

 

[WitchyWoman]

Considering her other health issues, it seems that the emotional roller coaster she goes through with her separation anxiety would contribute to those other health issues. Regardless of whether you travel frequently or infrequently, her system undergoes stress.

Does her other issues preclude putting her on an anti-anxiety med? Wouldn't having her on an even keel all the time be better than the ups and downs.

 

[Rafiki]

Debra, the normal kitty anti-anxiety meds such as Prozac and Diazepam are contraindicated for cats with liver disease. I have some NutriCalm but have not tried it yet. It would have to be added to the food for someone other than me to administer it.

 

[Patti]

I'm very glad that Rafiki is settling back into the 'old' routine fairly easily. I can only imagine how distressing it is for you to see her so distressed. I'm glad you will not be traveling in the near future - she needs her mommy!!!

 

[Rafiki]

I'm very glad that Rafiki is settling back into the 'old' routine fairly easily. I can only imagine how distressing it is for you to see her so distressed. I'm glad you will not be traveling in the near future - she needs her mommy!!!

Unfortunately she has not settled yet. She is still very skittish and bolts at the least provocation. I am still feeding her in odd locations such as under the guest bed. If I sit on that bed and read, she will climb up and cuddle within a few minutes but not if the hubby is around. He thinks that she believed that he had done away with me or something during my absence. I have not been able to pick her up since I got home. She is still sleeping with me but runs off the minute we get up. She was doing her little flip flop routine with the paws doing the "I want" gesture to Steve but wont come out if he is around. I did notice a small red bump near her left bottom fang but cant tell if it is on her inner lip or the gum. I can rub her face without her flinching and she has a huge appetite (except for that danged kangaroo meat) so it does not seem to be bothering her. It is near the area where I was treating her for a self-inflicted scratch a month ago. For now, there is not much I can do about it. The vet called wanting to do follow up bloodwork and I had to tell them that it would be at least a month before I have her calmed down enough. We are also resuming the search for a good home vet.

 

[Patti]

Poor baby, it must be heart wrenching to see her like this

 

[Rafiki]

Quite a few ups and downs over the last 2 weeks. Rafiki has the herpes virus and the stress of my being gone activated it. From what I have read, that is what the bump on her lip is. A few days after my last post, her right eye was all squinty. My major line of defense is l-lysine added to her food. It took me several days until I could place a drop in the eye. I also applied antiseptic to the bumps near her mouth. I was unable to touch her for 2 days after that but at least her eye was doing better. She had another flare up a week later and again, one application of the eye drop had a dramatic improvement. I have not attempted the antiseptic again but I really need to. It seems like if the eye acts up, she scratches her eye area, ear and mouth. It has now been over a month since I clipped her nails so they are wicked sharp. I know that the best thing would be some antibiotics but I would need to get her to the vet for that. I did add a feliway diffuser to the bedroom that she has been spending the most time in.

On the bright side, she forgave the hubby a couple of days ago. She loudly demanded pets while he was on the porcelain throne. I can only imagine that she was thinking that he could not catch her and bring her to the vet from that position. She is now spending time with us (or even the hubby alone) on the catio both morning and evening. She is still twitchy and bolts at the least provocation but her fur feels great. Her appetite is thru the roof but most meals are still under the bed. I am able to cuddle and pet and kiss her pretty much as much as I want but I don't want to do anything at this point to break her trust so cleaning up her owies or bringing her to the vet is not in the immediate plans.

Going forward, I need to investigate what can be done to calm her down when I am away. I don't know if the feliway is working or not. I have nutricalm but have not used it yet as it would have to be added to her food right now as giving her oral meds would result in a total freak out. She is currently getting both l-lysine and hepatic support in her food. As far as the herpes virus, Kristin suggested lemon balm and I plan on giving that a try.