Frannie



So lovely and yet so very disturbed.

You would never guess from her pristine appearance what demons haunt poor Frannie. When she isn't folowing Clarence or Mimi around with a single-minded predatory intent, she is pulling her own hair out (usually all over a freshly-vacuumed carpet.) We make allowances for her because we realize the life of a deaf cat is one of isolation and confusion but I have heard of several apparently well-adjusted deaf cats so suspect some of her problems may stem from having had such a chaotic kittenhood.

Still--you would think six years of (relative) sanity and stability with us would count for something.

Not to make any generalizations, but almost all our white cats seem to be psycho to some extent. The only normal white cat we had was the late-lamented Pickle Boy, who was as down-to-earth and sensible a cat as you would want.

One the other hand, there's BeBe, posing in his pretty pink Piddlepants as he helps trim the tree.

Comments

Meggie said…
Even if I put piddle pants on Casper, my white cat, he needs to be separated from two of my other ones because he beats them up. Are there any good tranquilizers out there?
Laura said…
That is why BeBe has lived in semi-isolation for several years--he has a fear-aggression toward the other cats that only recently has moderated enough that we feel we can allow him out into the general population for short periods. The rest of the time he has the downstairs bathroom and vestibule to himself, kept away fromt he other cats by a screened door.

I haven't found a magic bullet but there are several medications you might discuss with your vet. Buspar was popular fifteen years back--we tried that just for spraying but it didn't work with our subject.

Frannie was on Prozac for a while for her aggression and it did seem to mellow her out but she was still fixated on Clarence. But she gets that single-minded thing going and you just can't stop it. That situation resolved when Clarence moved tothe back room and Frannie transferred her attentions to Mimi.

The best medication I have found is the old stand-by--Valium (diapazam). There is a chance of some liver issues but I have used it off and on (on various cats) for many years with no problem. The dosage I get from the vet is always too strong, though. I have found that a quarter tablet every day or so will take the edge off quite a bit without leaving the cat stagger around and falling off the furniture. I would try it for two weeks then taper it off once the non-aggressive behavior is established.

Feliway spray is also a good way to de-stress a household. I haven't seen dramatic results but it does seem to lessen the friction in a house of over twenty cats.

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