More trouble for Mama Zen
December 9th 2008 06:36
Since the babies left, I have marvelled at Zenith's transition from feral to domestic cat. I said what a wonder she was what a darling - to learn to play and sleep and eat with abandon and never again think of the days of hunting to survive, roaming to find a mate, and brawling for territory.
What a fool, to assume such a transition could be done so smoothly and easily. I know animals so much better, and I should have known that the stress would manifest itself in another way. I should have seen this coming. But, as usual, I put my hands over my ears and cried a "LALALALA" hoping it would be as good as I had first assumed.
When Zen first returned from the vet, I could tell she felt weird. She was so heavily in season when she went to be desexed - writhing on the floor and moaning. And then it just suddenly - Went Away. She wakes up and its gone. I could tell that got to her, high on the full swing of the procreation homones only to be dropped right down to rock bottom. Poor girl. But then we took two babies, brought her inside and asked her to live with the other 5 cats. Stress on top of stress.
I had noticed her scratching, but I knew it wasnt fleas because she's had her treatments and its currently up to date. It was only today I saw her viciously attacking her own skin between moans and noticed the amount of places it is actually broken and weeping. There is a spot on one of her forepaws gone to blood.
I examined her carefully, thought watchfully, zoning out mums cries of "What is it, Oh whats wrong" while I studied the situation. I said..."I think....Its a nutrient deficiency plus seperation anxiety. Stress caused by so many changes at once, causing her to knaw on herself, and because she had such a bad start, gave all her goodness to her babies, she has no natural defence"
Mum says, "Like Spirit?"
"Yeah" I agree, "Like Spirit" Mums horse Spirit is a collection of rotten genes, and he has a very poor immune system. He gets addicted to scratching sometimes, when he's bored or stressed, and like Zen, with no natural defences, his skin just breaks open and becomes an infection so fast. And then they cant stop, because the infection makes it itchier. Then the healing process itself makes them itch. Oh Lord....
Im slightly terrified, deep down inside, because Ive seen this behaviour before. Oh, My Zee girl got this stress scratch a few years ago, but it wasnt so pronounced. Im talking about when I was a little kid - we had a pair of cats named Bonnie and Clyde - pun intended - and one sweet summer afternoon the guy next door - for reasons that will always be a mystery to this woman and the 5 year old child that saw it happen - set his two german shepards on our cats. He actually screamed "Sick em!" while I watched in horror with the next door neighbor. The dogs flew after Bonnie and Clyde, and like their namesakes they flew, Clyde made sure Bonnie went first, over the gate into the safety of the backyard. I remember his quick, terror stricken look behind him as he checked for the pursuit and then leapt himself for the top of the gate. He made it, but before he could get over, both shepards hit the wooden double doors. They shook, Clyde fell. I remember flying limbs, ecstatic growls and barks over the screams....I think my neighbor was screaming, I cant remember if I was. The whole street seemed to be screaming.
Bonnie never recovered. She started to lie in the middle of the road or high up on the roof. She cried constantly and chewed her skin into running sores. She was given antibiotics, cortizone and finally, when nothing else worked, sedatives. Her and Clyde had never been seperated, ever, once, their whole life. I remember her screams as she was dropped off to the Animal Welfare league, the hopless yet frantic moaning. The quick panting. I always thought, surely I could have done something. Instead I just let her go, I know she was put down. So many people wouldnt believe it but her mind had broken. It wasnt fair to ask her to live like that, or even try to, when salvation and Clyde were so close.
Zen isnt quite that bad, but its the same middle stage Bonnie went through. The miaowing. The restless wandering. The constant skin chewing and running sores. Zen is nowhere near as healthy and strong as bonnie had been, BUT, Zen is younger. Zen still has two babies with her, and I have a good chance here.
I looked up her condition on the internet, and Viola, there it is in the 6 top reasons for cat dermititas - Number One is Nutritional dermititas. No matter what, a vet visit will result in supplements, and no vet will treat her agressively until she puts on at least a kilo and gets some oil in her coat. Way down the list at number 6 is Nuerological dermititas - listed as, when no cause in bacterial, allergic or nurtitional can be found and the animal simply seems determined to chew on itself.
I told Kman I dont want to take her to the vet. The first thing they will do is push Hills Science Diet on us. Then they will give us cortizone for her - so we can feel like we are 'doing something' - and then charge us a few hundred. Kman said, "Quite frankly, Im geting sick of paying out hundreds to go to the vet and hear him say exactly what you said" So its settled, I get condition on her and resolve that before I worry about the vetrinary world.
I prescribe - eggs and a few drops of oil in every feed. Eggs will boost her immune system, oil will transmit directly to the coat and hopefully lubricate her skin. Today, Zen had a bath, in lavendar and tee tree, and all her wounds carefully cleaned with salt water. She went for a walk outside when she got stressed. She also had a groom to remove dead hair.
A big part of the problem is that Zen is not mature, she is barely 10 months old, yet she has never played, never been a kitten, never been allowed to be a cat. I thought she was doing well with that concept, but here we have stress bleeding out in other ways. Throughout that first 10 months of life, she has been nutrient deprived the whole time, and spent a lot of it pregnant and nursing. She was almost dead when I found her. I suppose, to have done as well as she has is a goddamn miracle.
The important thing is that she starts to put on weight - once she is comfortable weight wise all the other problems will get smaller. Prime predators need full bellies to feel safe and de stress. I am going to look into vitamin supplements too, and if nothing improves in about a week I will consult our doctor Geoffrey. I truly believe the seperation anxiety/stress is only balloning out of control because of the nutrient deficiency. But I can only do what I can do. She has to help. My one great hope and faith is that Bonnie was older - Zen is immature. The older she gets the more her thought processes will change and she will forget her stress, 'move on' so to speak, and become a different cat. Just like when she was killing from starvation pains yet still, stubbornly nursing her babies, I'll hold out my hand so she can grasp it with her paw and say...."Hold on, hold on to me, or my life will just blow away...." I'm happy to honey, but fight with me, dont give into it....You silly little PTSD cat! Come on you Westie Brawler, dont you dare turn into a pampered puss on me, Fight like a Feral with mum and dont let this stress get atcha!
What a fool, to assume such a transition could be done so smoothly and easily. I know animals so much better, and I should have known that the stress would manifest itself in another way. I should have seen this coming. But, as usual, I put my hands over my ears and cried a "LALALALA" hoping it would be as good as I had first assumed.
When Zen first returned from the vet, I could tell she felt weird. She was so heavily in season when she went to be desexed - writhing on the floor and moaning. And then it just suddenly - Went Away. She wakes up and its gone. I could tell that got to her, high on the full swing of the procreation homones only to be dropped right down to rock bottom. Poor girl. But then we took two babies, brought her inside and asked her to live with the other 5 cats. Stress on top of stress.
I had noticed her scratching, but I knew it wasnt fleas because she's had her treatments and its currently up to date. It was only today I saw her viciously attacking her own skin between moans and noticed the amount of places it is actually broken and weeping. There is a spot on one of her forepaws gone to blood.
I examined her carefully, thought watchfully, zoning out mums cries of "What is it, Oh whats wrong" while I studied the situation. I said..."I think....Its a nutrient deficiency plus seperation anxiety. Stress caused by so many changes at once, causing her to knaw on herself, and because she had such a bad start, gave all her goodness to her babies, she has no natural defence"
Mum says, "Like Spirit?"
"Yeah" I agree, "Like Spirit" Mums horse Spirit is a collection of rotten genes, and he has a very poor immune system. He gets addicted to scratching sometimes, when he's bored or stressed, and like Zen, with no natural defences, his skin just breaks open and becomes an infection so fast. And then they cant stop, because the infection makes it itchier. Then the healing process itself makes them itch. Oh Lord....
Im slightly terrified, deep down inside, because Ive seen this behaviour before. Oh, My Zee girl got this stress scratch a few years ago, but it wasnt so pronounced. Im talking about when I was a little kid - we had a pair of cats named Bonnie and Clyde - pun intended - and one sweet summer afternoon the guy next door - for reasons that will always be a mystery to this woman and the 5 year old child that saw it happen - set his two german shepards on our cats. He actually screamed "Sick em!" while I watched in horror with the next door neighbor. The dogs flew after Bonnie and Clyde, and like their namesakes they flew, Clyde made sure Bonnie went first, over the gate into the safety of the backyard. I remember his quick, terror stricken look behind him as he checked for the pursuit and then leapt himself for the top of the gate. He made it, but before he could get over, both shepards hit the wooden double doors. They shook, Clyde fell. I remember flying limbs, ecstatic growls and barks over the screams....I think my neighbor was screaming, I cant remember if I was. The whole street seemed to be screaming.
Bonnie never recovered. She started to lie in the middle of the road or high up on the roof. She cried constantly and chewed her skin into running sores. She was given antibiotics, cortizone and finally, when nothing else worked, sedatives. Her and Clyde had never been seperated, ever, once, their whole life. I remember her screams as she was dropped off to the Animal Welfare league, the hopless yet frantic moaning. The quick panting. I always thought, surely I could have done something. Instead I just let her go, I know she was put down. So many people wouldnt believe it but her mind had broken. It wasnt fair to ask her to live like that, or even try to, when salvation and Clyde were so close.
Zen isnt quite that bad, but its the same middle stage Bonnie went through. The miaowing. The restless wandering. The constant skin chewing and running sores. Zen is nowhere near as healthy and strong as bonnie had been, BUT, Zen is younger. Zen still has two babies with her, and I have a good chance here.
I looked up her condition on the internet, and Viola, there it is in the 6 top reasons for cat dermititas - Number One is Nutritional dermititas. No matter what, a vet visit will result in supplements, and no vet will treat her agressively until she puts on at least a kilo and gets some oil in her coat. Way down the list at number 6 is Nuerological dermititas - listed as, when no cause in bacterial, allergic or nurtitional can be found and the animal simply seems determined to chew on itself.
I told Kman I dont want to take her to the vet. The first thing they will do is push Hills Science Diet on us. Then they will give us cortizone for her - so we can feel like we are 'doing something' - and then charge us a few hundred. Kman said, "Quite frankly, Im geting sick of paying out hundreds to go to the vet and hear him say exactly what you said" So its settled, I get condition on her and resolve that before I worry about the vetrinary world.
I prescribe - eggs and a few drops of oil in every feed. Eggs will boost her immune system, oil will transmit directly to the coat and hopefully lubricate her skin. Today, Zen had a bath, in lavendar and tee tree, and all her wounds carefully cleaned with salt water. She went for a walk outside when she got stressed. She also had a groom to remove dead hair.
A big part of the problem is that Zen is not mature, she is barely 10 months old, yet she has never played, never been a kitten, never been allowed to be a cat. I thought she was doing well with that concept, but here we have stress bleeding out in other ways. Throughout that first 10 months of life, she has been nutrient deprived the whole time, and spent a lot of it pregnant and nursing. She was almost dead when I found her. I suppose, to have done as well as she has is a goddamn miracle.
The important thing is that she starts to put on weight - once she is comfortable weight wise all the other problems will get smaller. Prime predators need full bellies to feel safe and de stress. I am going to look into vitamin supplements too, and if nothing improves in about a week I will consult our doctor Geoffrey. I truly believe the seperation anxiety/stress is only balloning out of control because of the nutrient deficiency. But I can only do what I can do. She has to help. My one great hope and faith is that Bonnie was older - Zen is immature. The older she gets the more her thought processes will change and she will forget her stress, 'move on' so to speak, and become a different cat. Just like when she was killing from starvation pains yet still, stubbornly nursing her babies, I'll hold out my hand so she can grasp it with her paw and say...."Hold on, hold on to me, or my life will just blow away...." I'm happy to honey, but fight with me, dont give into it....You silly little PTSD cat! Come on you Westie Brawler, dont you dare turn into a pampered puss on me, Fight like a Feral with mum and dont let this stress get atcha!
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