Crazy Cat Lady Club - CCLC - Open for new membership

a reply to: Shana91aus

Hehe!
Us convicts don't have it too bad eh ! ??

a reply to: Shana91aus

go to account settings and copy paste the following into the box that says signature.
You need to add [ in front of the pic]ic53f63737.jpg[/pic], i took it out so it would paste here without putting the picture up.

pic]ic53f63737.jpg[/pic]

Matilda and Izzy are pooped from chasing birds around and bringing them in the house this morning.

awww pooped out
a reply to: Jennyfrenzy

Closet supercat ...

originally posted by: zazzafrazz
a reply to: Shana91aus

go to account settings and copy paste the following into the box that says signature.
You need to add [ in front of the pic]ic53f63737.jpg[/pic], i took it out so it would paste here without putting the picture up.

pic]ic53f63737.jpg[/pic]

Thankyou so much ill do it wen i jump on my ipad i know how to embed pics & do my avatar but wasnt sure about my sig lol

originally posted by: Timely
a reply to: Shana91aus

Hehe!
Us convicts don't have it too bad eh ! ??

Haha you are right, i must admit though im a little sad to be back in Aus.. Back too reality haha but my pets are thrilled lol, i almost didnt go because i was so freaked about Ebola but glad i did go.

a reply to: Jennyfrenzy

Aww Jenny, What a couple of cutie pie's.

My babies are both special needs cuties so they have yet to catch a bird but my Lily has come very close. She does however bring the hammer down on the mouse community.

My sweet boy Hunny was born blind so he treats all the critters that get close as buddies. I once watched a mouse attempting to get away from Lily by running right toward him, then proceeded to stand for a second on his sleeping body as if they were old pals. He did catch a bug once though, I was very proud.



Penny

Looking for advice from the CCLC to help recently adopted "Crazy Ivan" cat get along with Joe, the couch potato dog. Background: Joe's the sweetest mutt on the planet, and he's been our only pet for about 4-5 years. He's so good-natured that he lets the little neighbor girl ride on his back like he's a pony, and simply ignores the other dogs who bark at him during his walks. But [sigh] Ivan just attacks Joe at random intervals, with no apparent provocation. This cat transforms from a nice, purring little ball to pure rampaging evil in less than a second. Any ideas?

a reply to: graceunderpressure

Poor Joe. I would love to share what I know to try to help, I take it Crazy Ivan is a male, I do have a few questions though.

How old is he and has he been neutered ? Do you know what his history is, was he an outdoor stray or an indoor cat that ended up in the system for whatever reason ? Has he been de-clawed ?

Could you describe his body language when he attacks ie. does he make any noise before or during, does he stalk and if so are his ears down ? Does he get his hackles up with a fluffy tail ? Is his body like a Halloween cat or does he stand up on two legs before he does it ?

Oh and is Ivan a pure breed or a mixed domestic ?

Penny

a reply to: pennylemon
Penny --thanks for caring. Your post with your beautiful sight-impaired kitty nearly brought me to tears. What a sweetie!

Yes, poor Joe. Sometimes, I feel so guilty for bringing this gorgeous little ball O' evil into his placid life. Here's the scoop on Crazy Ivan. We were kayaking the Russian River, staying in a lovely cabin in Guerneville, CA when this beautiful Russian Blue kitty just showed up and plopped in my lap. He looks exactly like a cat that I had 15 years ago -- a dead ringer. Anyway, I've been allergic to cats for the last decade (sneezing, itchy eyes, the whole bit) but this cat, with his snuggling and rubbing my face didn't affect my allergies at all. We hung out all weekend.

On our last day at the cabin, the resort owner stopped by and we complimented her "concierge cat." It turns out, people dump cats at that location all the time because it's the last stop in Guerneville (stupid reason!), she had already adopted 5 such kitties, and our Ivan, another stray, was headed to the pound. Just then, he appeared, gave one pitiful little "mi" cry, and adopted us.

So, we think he spent a lot of time outdoors as a kitten. We believe he's about 9 months old, judging from his size, demeanor, etc. He's grown about 1/3 of his body weight in the last month, so we think he was malnourished while roaming the Russian River. But, it's also obvious that he was used to human loving because he adores being held and rubbing his face against yours. He'll sit for hours on my lap while I'm working. He is neutered and still has all his claws. Interesting thing -- he often gets his claw stuck in his favorite ribbon toy or another surface. He seems to have trouble retracting it. Also, about 25% of the time when we pet him, he purrs and loves it, and then turns around and bites/claws our hands without any swishing tail, stiffening posture, or other warning. Hence the name: Crazy Ivan.

When he feels threatened by poor Joe, he growls and turns into Halloween cat with a very puffy tail. Most impressive. I believe he feels insecure, and is trying to be as big as possible.

a reply to: pennylemon

Also, not sure if he's a mixed breed or purebred. I'll ask him.

a reply to: pennylemon

Hunny has beautiful makings and seems to be enjoying a nice sunbath! Love love love when kitty's stretch their awns out in front of them like that, so darn cute!!! squeeeee

You are amazing for taking on special needs cats!!! My husband and I thought about taking a special needs cat who is blind and has 3 legs but decided he would do better in another home because we have a huge staircase and were afraid he would injure himself on it. One day though I plan on adopting at least one special needs cat.

You rock!!!

a reply to: graceunderpressure

Oh no!! I had a male cat that was very lovable one second and would snap at you in the next. He had major anxiety issues and litteraly picked all the fur off of his belly. I'm wondering of Ivan has some anxiety issues?

I'm not sure what advice to give other than checking out Jackson Galaxy's website. There may be some advice on his site, Jackson is a cat behaviorist and has a show called My Cat From Hell. If you haven't watched it you should check it out, I think it's on animal planet but I'm not 100%.

Jackson Galaxy: Learn

Hope you figure out a solution to your issue, poor Joe Keep us updated if you find anything out! Good luck

a reply to: graceunderpressure

Oh my goodness Grace, he is my main man and the little angel found me almost 13 years ago now. I was still working with feral colonies then I was coming out of a meeting, walking through the hot bus station parking lot. There he was, about the size of a fat hamster making his little way across. I walked over and picked him up and as soon as I looked into his sweet face I knew he was blind and I knew I was taking him with me. Some street kids hanging about said they had been feeding him potato chips and little coffee creamers. The first two vets I took him to see wanted to euthanize him immediately, but it was clear to me that he was so determined to live. He was my biggest strength when I had my fight with cancer. Oh, I Love him.

Anyhoo, I could go on all day about the little guy but... Crazy Ivan. First of all, Wow the Russian River area is amazing and Wild. It's clear from his affectionate ways that he is not feral and must have spent at least the first few months with someone who did pay him some attention. You are correct in that this likely added to both his insecurities and his use of what I think of as strictly animalistic forms of communication.

The other thing is that feral colonies are extremely ritualistic and being a young neutered male it must have been so hard for him. Cats are wired for social structure and it would have been stressful and scary for the little guy out there.

The great thing is that he is still a young boy and can be taught the ways of his new family.

The first thing is the biting/attacking suddenly, during or immediately after affection is a very common thing. Generally it's a way for young cats to bond with their siblings and most of the time the Queen or dominant female will have schooled him, this is how they are supposed to learn how far they can take it. He has yet to realize that while he is protected by fur you are essentially fur less and while his intent is not to hurt, I'm sure it does. You mentioned that this comes out of nowhere, but to him the signal is clear. It could be a dilation of pupils or he might get very still all of a sudden. What works for me is the moment he attacks, calmly drop your arms to your sides or behind your back and look up and off to the distance. What you are telling him is that you will not play this game and will ignore him if he chooses to do this. When he calms down you can touch him again but do so casually, as if it never happened.

So, on to Poor Joe. I wanted to ask if Ivan is ever calm around Joe. If he is I'm curious about when this might be and what is Joe doing when it happens. Does Ivan have a climbing tree or a few high perches that Joe cannot possibly reach ? Often times this helps so much when cats feel like they can escape, even if the need to escape is all in his head so to speak.

I hope I'm not getting too wordy but a couple of last thoughts. When he was out there in the wild woods his games and toys would have been incredibly varied. Mice, moths, lizards, plants, in other words, an entire forest of things to check out. If he is an indoor cat, and honestly he probably should be in his case, it might be great if you can, create not only a few perches but an indoor cat walk. This could be a couple of shelves with a bit of carpet on them so he can sneak about off the floor and essentially explore his space in a new way. It's also fun to hide treats in different spots that only he can get to so he will use his energy to basically go "hunting".

Lastly, his claw. It's very possible that he injured it while exploring or getting away from one of many predators in the area. It's quite amazing that he made it without more serious injury. One solution could be to clip that claw a bit shorter than the rest, carefully as not to cut the quick. The other solution could be to get a set of "Soft Claws". These are little soft plastic covers that could be used on this nail only leaving the rest to do what they do.

I hope this helps and please don't hesitate to send a u2u anytime.

Penny

Oh, I almost forgot. If Ivan has Bright green eyes, black nose and mauve paw pads he is either a Russian Blue or is a direct relation.

a reply to: Jennyfrenzy

Jenny, He is my handsome boy and he loves to romp about in the outdoors. Usually he looks like a happy kid with a face full of dirt because he loves to get his face right down to the ground and smell the earth. It must be Incredible what he can smell and he sure does enjoy himself.

I realize I'm biased but when it comes to the idea of special needs, they really are for the most part not that different from any other, aside from the tendency to go for it. A lot of folks ask me if I have to keep the furniture the same or how he can find his food or litter and honestly once he figured it out it's not been a problem. I happen to be a person who loves to rearrange my space and I'm an artist so there are always new obstacles about. As a matter of fact he seems to enjoy checking out a new set up or object in the room. Now that he is a bit older, he is a bit slower to the potty so I got some Huggies and made him some cool denim covers so he still looks cool.

My other sweetie is Lily and has Cerebellar Hypoplasia. This is not really a disease but a malformation caused by exposure to the panleukopenia virus (FPV). She was born in Seattle and I was looking for a buddy for my boy that might be a bit more his pace and a friend of mine called me and said that the vet she worked for was contacted by a woman who had wanted her euthanized and was keeping her alone in a basement until it could be done. I was horrified and so we called friends up and down the coast and created a sort of freedom train, volunteer to volunteer and they got her to me.

Here's a couple of stories about great cats who might other wise be lost, and we all have some special needs really.

www.youtube.com...

www.youtube.com...

Penny

Great news, one of my feral Blue Russians has been adopted by a neighbour. YAY.

iPad for cats

a reply to: InTheLight

That is indeed great news InTheLight. Congratulations ! It does feel so good knowing that they will have a home place to call their own.

Yay!

Penny

originally posted by: pennylemon
a reply to: InTheLight

That is indeed great news InTheLight. Congratulations ! It does feel so good knowing that they will have a home place to call their own.

Yay!



Penny

Yes, he certainly deserved a good home, which deserved a good cat. YAY