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Cat Forum / Health and Behavior / August 2006Need behavior advice
Jake is one of two cats my elderly parents adopted from the humane society as kittens (indoors, male, neutered). He's a spaz and spooks very easily...usually for no apparent reason. My mother (who is in her 70s) was holding him yesterday, when the phone rang. Jake panicked and literally ripped the skin off her hand completely. It was one of the worst degloving accidents I've ever seen; her skin is like parchment paper and it required over 30 stitches to put everything back in place (tendons, blood vessels etc were completely exposed). Jake is also a very destructive chewer- he obsessively gnaws phone cords, computer cables, electrical cords etc and nothing we've tried so far has deterred him. He ignores hot sauce and bitter topical sprays, and will gnaw at where plugs/wires exit the protective conduit we installed. If company comes over, he will eat the shoestrings right off their shoes- right under their very noses!- or get into handbags/purses and chew anything he can find. (Truth be told, I'm terrified this cat will short out a wire and cause the entire house to burn down!) We're all at our wit's end. Finding Jake a new home is out of the question, as my parents (well, my dad anyway LOL) absolutely adore him...and since he's got "issues" his chances of being placed elsewhere are slim and none. I've suggested declawing but my mother is absolutely against it...(I am too, ordinarily, but this is a very extreme situation and I'm scared that he might do even more damage should the situation arise again). It would be even worse if Jake pulls a 'spaz' when my dad is holding him, as my dad is a "bleeder" (on blood thinners) and even the slightest scratch requires a trip to the ER. Any suggestions on what my folks can do? We're willing to try just about anything in order to keep "Shaky Jake" and my parents all SAFELY under one roof. Thanks in advance for your assistance, Molly K > Jake is one of two cats my elderly parents adopted from the humane society > as kittens (indoors, male, neutered). He's a spaz and spooks very [quoted text clipped - 31 lines] > > Molly K Have you considered using Soft Paws? I have never used them, but several people on this newsgroup have and they report good results. You can read about them here: http://www.softpaws.com/ MaryL Photos of Duffy and Holly: >'o'< Duffy: http://tinyurl.com/cslwf Holly: http://tinyurl.com/9t68o Duffy and Holly together: http://tinyurl.com/8b47e Recent pics: http://tinyurl.com/clal7 > Have you considered using Soft Paws? I have never used them, but several > people on this newsgroup have and they report good results. You can read > about them here: http://www.softpaws.com/ > > MaryL Hi Mary, thank you for your response. :) I've suggested that they try using Soft Paws, but the moment I brought it up, my father got upset; I guess he thinks it's cruel, for whatever reason. He won't even allow me to trim Jake's nails- I had to do it when my dad wasn't home. I hate to be sneaky, but I may have to put Soft Paws on Jake behind my dad's back (he's very stubborn). *sigh* Molly > Photos of Duffy and Holly: >'o'< > Duffy: http://tinyurl.com/cslwf > Holly: http://tinyurl.com/9t68o > Duffy and Holly together: http://tinyurl.com/8b47e > Recent pics: http://tinyurl.com/clal7 > Jake is one of two cats my elderly parents adopted from the humane > society as kittens (indoors, male, neutered). He's a spaz and spooks [quoted text clipped - 31 lines] > > Molly K >> Hi Molly , Your parents sound really nice caring people and I sorry you mum was hurt. I'm not sure what you mean by spazz, does he have brain damage? Cats have very different personalities and the first few weeks of their lives affect how they will be as adults. If he wasn't socialised in a household at that age, he will always be nervous of noisy scary things like phones etc. I'm going to state the obvious but it is necessary for your parents to pick him up? My one cat is not keen to be picked up so I only do it when its necessary. I wonder why he is chewing so obsessively? Some reasons are he could be in pain or has bad teeth , he is stressed (chewing relieves stress), he is bored and its become a habit or he has some brain damage. I would get him checked by a vet , provide toys or things that he is allowed to chew and try to look at his life and make it more exciting. If he is kept indoors , he might not be getting the stimulation he needs. Have you tried mentol or something like Olbas oil on the cables.You can get cable covers too. Alison >>Jake is one of two cats my elderly parents adopted from the humane >>society as kittens (indoors, male, neutered). He's a spaz and spooks [quoted text clipped - 52 lines] > cable covers too. > Alison If it turns out that Jake is stressed and/or bored, a second cat might alleviate some stress as Jake will then have a buddy to wrestle with and blow off some of his pent up aggression. I had my first very skittish, very active kitten for about a month and then decided to get him a pet ;-) Best thing I ever did - two really are easier than one! <snip> > If it turns out that Jake is stressed and/or bored, a second cat might > alleviate some stress as Jake will then have a buddy to wrestle with and > blow off some of his pent up aggression. I had my first very skittish, > very active kitten for about a month and then decided to get him a pet ;-) > Best thing I ever did - two really are easier than one! Hi, thanks for youyr kind response. ;-) Jake and his brother were adopted together 5 years ago from the humane society, and my folks have a 19 year old calico as well....so it's not a single-cat situation. And believe you me, those two boys are holy terrors when they start running wild during the night crazies-- they are rambunctious enough to practically walk the house off its foundation! :-D Molly K <snip> >Hi Molly , Hi Alison, thanks for your response. ;-) > Your parents sound really nice caring people and I sorry you mum was hurt. They're kind-hearted people, but this wasn't the first time my mother has been injured by Jake. He's nailed her quite a few times already...this last time, however, was by far the worst. > I'm not sure what you mean by spazz, does he have brain damage? Oh, not that I'm aware of...'spaz' is my way of saying he's half a bubble off plumb (and has been ever since he was little). I don't think he's brain damaged, but he (and his brother too) have always been, well, peculiar. But Jake has always been very shy and spooky, whereas his brother is a total love and has to be right in the thick of things (he's fearless and loves everyone). > Cats have very different personalities and the first few weeks of their > lives affect how they will be as adults. If he wasn't socialised in a > household at that age, he will always be nervous of noisy scary things > like phones etc. I'm not entirely sure how old Jake and Junior were when they were adopted- 8 weeks, maybe? And I don't really know a thing about their early background, but they were both raised together in a loving home and exposed to the same stimuli. He's always been very spooky and shy, though. Oddly enough, Jake was the one who absolutely adored my parents' dog (a big BIG rottweiler who was a total baby). Before she died, the two of them were inseperable- he followed her everywhere (poor dog, she was so tolerant). > I'm going to state the obvious but it is necessary for your parents to > pick him up? My mother refuses to allow them up onto her lap any more, but my dad is another story. *sigh* He's nearly 80 and of course will NOT listen to reason. I've tried telling him to quit picking Jake up and stop letting him up on his lap, but dad gets very offended with my 'interfering'. I think I'd have an easier time arguing with a brick wall, frankly- that man is stubborn enough to make a mule weep (how my mother's put up with him for 54 years, I'll never know LOL). > My one cat is not keen to be picked up so I only do it when its necessary. Yup, my own cat is the exact same way. ;-) > I wonder why he is chewing so obsessively? Some reasons are he could be in > pain or has bad teeth , he is stressed (chewing relieves stress), he is > bored and its become a habit or he has some brain damage. He's done this since he was a tiny kitten. Over the years, he's destroyed phone cords, computer cables, and EVERY electrical cord in the house. Drives my mother crazy, too- she bought a brand new computer & sewing machine, and within 5 minutes Jake had gnawed through every last wire. (They keep him locked out of the computer & sewing rooms now...replacing cables is quite expensive) He focuses his attention the most on wiring, but any kind of string gets chewed as well. > I would get him checked by a vet , provide toys or things that he is > allowed to chew and try to look at his life and make it more exciting. If > he is kept indoors , he might not be getting the stimulation he needs. > Have you tried mentol or something like Olbas oil on the cables.You can > get cable covers too. He and his brother have plenty of stimulation- they wrestle, and have tons of toys to play with. They've also got lots of "Cat TV" to watch, since my folks feed wild birds. The vet has looked him over and said there's nothing wrong; I thought maybe he had thyroid problems, since he's always been 'bug-eyed' (looks like he's on the verge of a freakout 24/7). Mom and dad have tried every substance they could find to stop Jake's obsessive and destructive chewing- Mom even went so far as to put pure capsicum concentrate on the wires, and Jake will completely ignore it and STILL chew. Dad finally installed electrical conduit and ran the exposed wiring through that, which Jake cannot gnaw through- but he focuses on the ends of the conduit and will work on chewing the plugs off right at the outlet. They try to leave things unplugged when they're not around to supervise, but my dad 'forgets' and occasionally something is left plugged in. It's a frustrating and quite dangerous situation...and quite frankly, I don't understand how they can put up with it. About the only thing I can do is worry, it seems. Molly I can't think of any thing else except for a Feliway diffuser which might help calm him. What is it about dads that makes them so stubborn, mine was the same <G.> Good luck!  SignatureAlison http://catinfolinks.mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk/ http://doginfolinks.mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk/ > <snip> >>Hi Molly , [quoted text clipped - 85 lines] > > Molly >I can't think of any thing else except for a Feliway diffuser which might >help calm him. > What is it about dads that makes them so stubborn, mine was the same <G.> > Good luck! Thanks! *g* You know, I replied to another person on here about using Soft Paws...and the more I think about it, the more I'm tempted to just order them and put them on BOTH cats (Lady, their elderly calico, isn't a problem). I'm sure my mom can be easily convinced, although dad will be a 'hard sell'. But, I'd much rather have dad ticked off at me for 'being cruel' than see either of them wind up in the hospital again... My cat is a chewer and while he isn't quite as destructive as Jake, when I posted a message about my cat chewing, someone responded that it may be an obsessive compulsive behavior (called pica) that can be treated with anti-anxiety medications such as prozac. I don't think my cat's behavior is quite that bad that I need to go the medication route, but it sounds like Jake's behavior seems especially bad. You may want to pursue this route. Talk with your veteriarian. Sue > Jake is one of two cats my elderly parents adopted from the humane society > as kittens (indoors, male, neutered). He's a spaz and spooks very [quoted text clipped - 31 lines] > > Molly K
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