Hey all,
New to the forums, but have had animal companions all my life. A couple days ago, i brought home a cat that was rescued outside my workplace, for 3 days (freezing cold up here) some of my coworkers where keeping an eye on this kitty, gave her food and a little box to sleep in, but no one wanted to take her home because they thought she was pregnant due to her weight distribution (i thought so too when i took her home, but now i think she is just a large senior kitty with associated "sagginess"). On taking her home i realized she was blind, with fully dilated pupils which at first i thought was from anxiety. I've kept her in my room with food/water and litter box which i have not moved since the start, as i have a 12 year old cat that has been with me since she was 6 months that was given the rest of the apartment to roam.
I'ved had her for about 4 days now, and i've noted that both the new blind kitty and my old companion have been getting more curious about each other. As the new kitty, Lola, comes running to the bedroom door as soon as she senses me coming in and tries to get out of the room, while Mitsy, the 12 year old, hangs outside the door often and also tries to peek in.
Mitsy always slept with me, and she is not too happy about me keeping the bedroom door closed (she actually hates any closed doors, always has). But had been fairly well behaved up to last night. Yesterday as i went to sleep, Mitsy hunkered down outside my bedroom door and proceed to serenade until i finally gave up and came out to see if i could calm her down. Unfortunately Lola followed me, and as soon as i opened the door a little bit, Mitsy peeked her head in and saw Lola (Lola was ofcourse oblivious). Mitsy freaked, hissed and tried to swipe at Lola from behind the door, she did not touch Lola as i was in between and put my hand as a shield (she did scratch my hand pretty vigorously thou, which worries me cause it means she would have used her claws on Lola), but it traumatized Lola as she herself started giving off some weak hisses and even a couple swipes in the air (she didn't use her claws thou as one of the swipes touched me and it was all furry softeness, good thing as Lola's nails are like twice the length of mitsy's), and afterwards kept going back to the door.
My questions are, did i ruin the chances of them getting along with this incident? I fear that since Lola has no sight that she will forever judge Mitsy based on this initial agression, despite what appeared to be curiosity to get to know each other before. And second, is there any way that i can make Mitsy see Lola's disability so that she feels less threatned by Lola? And finally am i correct in my assessment that old age in cats would lead to sagginess of their muscle/fat mass leading to a bony back, legs, arms, etc, and what looks like saddlebags off her shoulders and upper abdomen? or could this kitty really be pregnant as my coworkers and i initialy thought? she has no ear tattoos or noticeable abdominal scars, so i don't think she has ever been spayed. Her coat is also a bit rough instead of silky/smooth, and she has quite a bit of dandruff, even after i gave her a nice hot bath with a organic cat shampoo.
I'm taking her to the vet at the end of this week, both for her blindness (thinking hypertension as her intake/output seems good, solid bowel movements with no vomiting noted, and been voiding 2 times a day at least) and because she has a bit of sniffles and wheezing at times, but she has been fully on my mind and was hoping to hear from others with experience in this kind of thing.
Sincerely,
Shalis.
Rescued Blind cat - introducing to new home
Re: Rescued Blind cat - introducing to new home
shalis wrote:Hey all,
New to the forums, but have had animal companions all my life. A couple days ago, i brought home a cat that was rescued outside my workplace, for 3 days (freezing cold up here) some of my coworkers where keeping an eye on this kitty, gave her food and a little box to sleep in, but no one wanted to take her home because they thought she was pregnant due to her weight distribution (i thought so too when i took her home, but now i think she is just a large senior kitty with associated "sagginess"). On taking her home i realized she was blind, with fully dilated pupils which at first i thought was from anxiety. I've kept her in my room with food/water and litter box which i have not moved since the start, as i have a 12 year old cat that has been with me since she was 6 months that was given the rest of the apartment to roam.
I'ved had her for about 4 days now, and i've noted that both the new blind kitty and my old companion have been getting more curious about each other. As the new kitty, Lola, comes running to the bedroom door as soon as she senses me coming in and tries to get out of the room, while Mitsy, the 12 year old, hangs outside the door often and also tries to peek in.
Mitsy always slept with me, and she is not too happy about me keeping the bedroom door closed (she actually hates any closed doors, always has). But had been fairly well behaved up to last night. Yesterday as i went to sleep, Mitsy hunkered down outside my bedroom door and proceed to serenade until i finally gave up and came out to see if i could calm her down. Unfortunately Lola followed me, and as soon as i opened the door a little bit, Mitsy peeked her head in and saw Lola (Lola was ofcourse oblivious). Mitsy freaked, hissed and tried to swipe at Lola from behind the door, she did not touch Lola as i was in between and put my hand as a shield (she did scratch my hand pretty vigorously thou, which worries me cause it means she would have used her claws on Lola)Can you whack her claws? Getting even a couple of them a day will help a lot., but it traumatized Lola as she herself started giving off some weak hisses and even a couple swipes in the air (she didn't use her claws thou as one of the swipes touched me and it was all furry softeness, good thing as Lola's nails are like twice the length of mitsy's), and afterwards kept going back to the door.
My questions are, did i ruin the chances of them getting along with this incident?I doubt it. Lola sounds like a pretty mellow girl. They usually have to sort themselves out, and there isn't usually a whole lot we can do to help it. I fear that since Lola has no sight that she will forever judge Mitsy based on this initial agression, despite what appeared to be curiosity to get to know each other before. And second, is there any way that i can make Mitsy see Lola's disability so that she feels less threatned by Lola?My monsters figure such things out really quickly. When the Baby, who has a triple dose of cerebral palsy, came home, she was positively EVIL to the rest of them, even though she can hardly do a thing for herself. It took the others no more than 2 days to realize that she's a strict floor dweller, so all they had to do was go up. And finally am i correct in my assessment that old age in cats would lead to sagginess of their muscle/fat mass leading to a bony back, legs, arms, etc, and what looks like saddlebags off her shoulders and upper abdomen? It's true. Eventually they tend to get bony/skinny/frail, just like very hold humans tend to do.or could this kitty really be pregnant as my coworkers and i initialy thought? Possible, of course. The first sign of pg that I know of is that the nipples fill out and become erect; it's never failed me yet!she has no ear tattoos or noticeable abdominal scars, so i don't think she has ever been spayed. Her coat is also a bit rough instead of silky/smooth, and she has quite a bit of dandruff, even after i gave her a nice hot bath with a organic cat shampoo.My Georgie tended to have loads of dandruff; his was from food allergies. Combing usually helped, and a flea comb would pull the dandruff out too.
I'm taking her to the vet at the end of this week, both for her blindness (thinking hypertension as her intake/output seems good, solid bowel movements with no vomiting noted, and been voiding 2 times a day at least) and because she has a bit of sniffles and wheezing at times, but she has been fully on my mind and was hoping to hear from others with experience in this kind of thing.
Sincerely,
Shalis.
