Pets With Mental Health Problems

[HA]

Just as humans have mental health issues, so do animals. My mother cat has *overprotection of kitten syndrome*.

It is so bad that when the kitten plays with the adult male cat and makes a little squeak or they run as they play, she attacks the male cat. An all out cat fight ensues in my house with fur flying every which way. :shocked:

She has been spayed and the male has been neutered. Poor poppa kitty is more of a nervous, scaredy cat and this has upset him so that he is too afraid to be in the same room with her.

My only solution was to put her outside and have her in for short periods to eat and have exposure to the male cat & kitten playing without her attacking in the hopes that it would diminish. From what I read, the male cat being scared makes the situation worse and the more the attacks happen the more difficult to repair the relationship.

Momma cat has never been aggressive before or under any other situations accept the playing of the kitten with the poppa cat. :roll:

The attacks still happen so my next solution is to try medication. The hope is that she will be exposed to the playing and not be triggered to attack and that this will unlearn the behaviour. The medication is Bio-Calm and the ingredients are Thiamine (Vitamin B1) and L-Theanine.

If this does not work then I have to take her to the cat psychologist. :search:

Anyone else with pets that need therapy or medications?

 

[ThatLady]

Dr. Bach's Rescue Remedy often helps in these cases. You can get a diffuser (sorta like a plug-in air freshener) that will release it into the air. It really does help relieve this kind of aggressive behavior in cats, and is often used by feral rescuers to assist in taming their more recalcitrant rescues.

 

[Daniel E.]

Dr. Bach's Rescue Remedy often helps in these cases.

There's a lot of anecdotal "evidence" that this is true, but I would be very skeptical. There is a Google cache of a www.psychlinks.ca/phpbb/viewtopic.php%3Fp%3D10219%26+sitesychlinks.ca+rescue+remedy&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=1]previous discussion[/url] regarding the lack of evidence for Rescue Remedy treating anxiety, albeit human anxiety rather than feline anxiety.

 

[ThatLady]

I, personally, have my doubts about the effectivity of Rescue Remedy on humans. However, I have used it on cats (I do some rescue work involving ferals), and have found it very effective to reduce their aggressiveness. I place the newly caught feral in the bathroom with a Rescue Remedy diffuser, food, litter box and bed. I've tested it without the Rescue Remedy and the animals are far more restless and likely to spit and claw than if Rescue Remedy is used.

I should add that Rescue Remedy can also be added to the cat's food. This is difficult with ferals, as they often won't eat when first captured; however, with a pet cat it might work just fine.

 

[David Baxter PhD]

I agree that there's not a lot of evidence that the Bach Remedies actually do anything in humans, Daniel, but it's possible that the effect is different with animals. Look at cat nip...

Edit: I started that reply and then was on the phone for quite a while and when I eventually hit "Submit" TL had replied.

Weren't the Bach Remedies, and perhaps especially Rescue Remedy, originally developed for use with animals? Or am I remembering that incorrectly?

 

[ThatLady]

Yes, David. I believe the remedies were originally developed for use with cats. At least, that's what I recall being told when it was suggested that I use Rescue Remedy for my first feral rescue. I did a bit of research, on the internet and on my own, and discovered that Rescue Remedy really does have a calming effect on cats. Don't know about dogs, as I've never tried it.

Thankfully, catnip doesn't make me drool and make an arse of myself like it does my cats! I've tried catnip tea, just to check it out. Tastes awful, does nothing!

 

[Daniel E.]

If the Remedy Rescue works at all, it's worth the $10. Maybe the 27% brandy alcohol that is in most formulations of the "Rescue Remedy" helps out, but I doubt that since only a few drops are given.

BTW, Dr. Bach's biography is interesting, though it doesn't add credibility. He was a medical doctor that, according to him, received divine inspiration for developing his flower remedies, which were originally given to his human patients and then later to animals. Basically, the guy was more into spirits than science. The most interesting story has to be:

[Dr. Bach] "saw" the spirit of a drowned man hovering over the man's body and insisted that artificial respiration be continued for eight hours.

http://www.mystrobl.de/ws/bachfle.htm

 

[Meg]

My grandmother's dog had separation anxiety when it was younger, and she gave it Rescue Remedy whenever she had to leave him somewhere. In the end it worked out in a completely unintended way: the dog disliked the rescue remedy so much that it stopped whinging when she left just to avoid being given the stuff

 

[David Baxter PhD]

LOL! That reminds me of my mother's home made cough syrup. She used to boil water, brown sugar, onions, and god knows what else down into a thick disgusting syrup and she always claimed that it would cure a cough in one dose. What she didn't know was that after that one dose we were afraid to cough again because then we'd have to have another dose. We'd stuff socks in our mouths or hold our breaths to avoid coughing rather than do that. mg:

 

[Daniel E.]

BTW, HeartArt, how long has it been since the mother cat gave birth? In other words, how old is the kitten? I would think that time is on your side since the maternal instinct would decrease with time and, of course, the kitten will obviously get bigger and eventually stop squeaking when playing.

Regarding traditional meds:

If behavior or environmental modification alone doesn?t work, discuss drug therapy with a veterinarian. ?Anti-anxiety drugs including anti-depressants will lower arousal level,? says Dr. Lindell. ?Some cats are explosive and an anti-anxiety drug will help with impulsive aggression. It?s important to work through environmental factors, though.?

http://www.catwatchnewsletter.com/sample/fights.html

 

[Cat Dancer]

I feel sorry for the poor male cat. I think medication is a good idea. I was attacked once by a protective mama cat and she tore my face up pretty badly. It was really scary. :yikes:

Hopefully, as Daniel said, the mama cat instinct will decrease soon. Is there just one kitten left?

I like the term "explosive cat" though. Some of them ARE very explosive. :yikes:

 

[Holly]

Do Dogs Get Depression?
From Krista Mifflin, Your Guide to Dogs

Like humans, dogs do occasionally suffer from bouts of depression. They get mopey, lethargic, stop eating, and drink only minimal amounts of water, stop wanting to play, and even lose drastic amounts of weight.

What can cause this in pets?

Grief, change of scenery, or sometimes it is a chemical imbalance, needing medication to correct it. Even the weather can adversely affect a normally happy dog. Or your health.

As a pet owner, how do you fight an invisible, inner enemy? The first step is recognizing the problem. You've ruled out all the possible physical causes with help from your veterinarian, now it is time to start looking at the mental causes.

Has your pet recently lost a friend? Perhaps a neighbourhood dog he played with is gone, be it on vacation, or gone over the Rainbow Bridge, but gone nonetheless? Or perhaps his child grew up and moved out?

Losing a playmate, especially an in-home playmate is often a reason for canine depression. We may not notice it very often, but pets do grieve, and in some cases, especially concerning a violent death or even just a disappearance, dogs can grieve to a dangerous point, and it can be very hard to bring them out of it.

Slow deterioration and loss of initiative is a glaring clue that something is bothering your dog. If this is happening to your dog, you need to get right on it and start to make life fun again. Ask your vet about Anti-depressants available as well. Depression may not seem like it, but left too long and it could very well turn into a life-threatening physical condition.

Be sure to have all physical aspects of your dog's health checked out by a veterinarian first. While prescribing Prozac may perk your pet up a bit, it won't help one bit if it's Canine Coronavirus or Distemper that has your pooch in a slump. Those blood tests your vet mentioned could be crucial in determining the problem.

Once you and your vet have determined that depression is the cause, there are a few options. One is medicated therapy. That would be Prozac for dogs, or other veterinarian recommended anti-depressants. An increase in your activity level, or at least your dog's will also likely be called for. In cases of grief, playdates with other dogs or Doggy Daycare would definitely be worth looking into. If you are ready, you may even consider getting another dog.

Not sure if it aplies to cats but it could! More articles at the site! take care everyone!

 

[HA]

I feel sorry for the male cat too, Janet. The last few days with the medication is helping. She is spending longer time in the house and is not responding much to the playing except during the morning play time but it is short milder aggression. I think the medication has worn off by morning.

Hi Daniel!
The kitten (Bear) is now 3 mths old and this only started when he was 7 wks old and there was still 2 other kittens here until they were eight weeks then they went to their new home.

My concern was that it would not stop when he got older and that he might start beating up the male cat too. I was seriously thinking the only solution would be to place the kitten in a new home but I'm too attached to him now This medication cost $50.00 so it's more expensive then the flower one but it seems to be working. The vet said that if this does not work then there is a horomone medication that may work but it's more powerful and she feels it would be the last resort.

Holly, thanks for this interesting article. I assumed animals got depressed but never realized it was that similar to humans :! I like the part where it says, "Or perhaps his child grew up and moved out?" So cute eh?

In the beginning of momma cats attacks on the male it was within a week of the kittens all leaving to their new homes. She had 8, and would be searching and calling for them even though she had the 3 left to care for. At first I thought that maybe she thought the male cat was the reason that her babies were missing but I think that may be attributing too much ability to think in human terms on the cat.

 

[Holly]

Hi HeartArt,
Not a problem I enjoy reading it, and found it interesting!

 

[^^Phoenix^^]

Hi,
I have a very anxious dog, and was wondering if these infusers actually work?
And, Because theoretically rescue remedy works on humans too, would everyone benifit??

 

[ThatLady]

Hi,
I have a very anxious dog, and was wondering if these infusers actually work?
And, Because theoretically rescue remedy works on humans too, would everyone benifit??

They've worked for me when taming feral cats, Phoenix. I don't really know much about dogs, though.

 

[David Baxter PhD]

You might want to get some anyway, Phoenix. If it doesn't work on Cujo, maybe Ed can use some of it on you mg:

 

[^^Phoenix^^]

lol, I've already got some!!
I was just wondering where I'd get the infuser

 

[ThatLady]

Heh. Apparently, I confused Rescue Remedy with Feliway. It was Feliway that had the diffuser, so sorry for the confusion. I'd still swear I used Recue Remedy in a diffuser, but...well, I'm gettin' old, dern it! According to everything I've found, Rescue Remedy only comes in oral or spray form.

I'm posting a link to an Amazon site that has a product called D.A.P., for dogs, that does come with a diffuser. As I said, I don't know much about dogs, but this might be worth a try. If it works on dogs, it should work just as well on men.

Anywhoooo...here's the link:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/browse.html/102-8730916-2788909?node=12926341

 

[David Baxter PhD]

I was just wondering where I'd get the infuser

Go to the dollar store and pick up a small plastic spray bottle.

Or did you mean to search for confuser?