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Reunion

May 27, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Sorry it’s been a while since updating, especially with all that’s been going on.  Here’s where things are at:

  • Tulip joined Moo over at Janet’s house while we were out of town for my graduation.  Thanks once again, Janet for helping us out.
  • The kitties returned from “summer camp” on Sunday.  It was very amusing to watch them explore the house and realize that they were back home.  When they first arrived we split them up in separate halves of the house to make sure Moo had time to readjust to the idea of a full-blown reunion with Tulip.  That lasted for a very short while because they sat next to each other at the baby gate that was separating them.  Really, what was the point?
  • Tulip is doing very well on her kitty Prozac.  She has regained her energy and appetite.  Some noticeable changes in her behavior include:
    • She can graze now instead of oinking down her food all at once and demanding more several times a day.
    • I can pet her without getting bitten.
    • She snuggles!  On Monday I picked her up and lay down on the couch for a nap.  She was slung across my neck like a scarf, where she slept until I woke up.  Sweet!
    • She doesn’t mess with Moo.  I haven’t heard a single squeal or squabble since they’ve been home.  Good kitty!
  • Moo has been using the litterbox faithfully so far.  We got her a larger box with clay litter.  She seems to prefer this arrangement.  At this point, whatever works is whatever she will have.  We’ll see how it goes.  I’m sure it helps that Tulip has been leaving her alone in the litterbox.
  • Moo is still just a little bit unsure of Tulip, but willing to try.  They touch noses a lot.  If Moo decides she’s dissatisfied, she just walks away instead of getting upset.  Fortunately, Tulip seems to be able to just let her go now.

All in all, things seem to be going very well.  We’re SO happy to have them both home, and happy to see that they are handling each other better.  Hopefully our luck will continue.  Yay for happy kitties!

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Tuzac

May 20, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Miss Tulip has been on kitty Prozac (or as Eve calls it, Tuzac) for a few days now.  She’s doing really well.  She gets half a tiny pill once a day.  We wrap it up in half a pill pocket, and she gets it right before her dinner.  That seems to work out well.  She thinks she’s getting a treat every night.

So far she seems like her appetite is dropping a bit.  She leaves a few crunchies in her bowl, which was unheard of before.  She lounges around a lot.  In general she seems really content.  Obviously the real test will be when Moo comes back.  We’re hoping for the best.

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Kitty Prozac

May 16, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Sorry it’s been so long since I posted anything.  There have been some things going on behind the scenes that I’ve been reluctant to post about.  But I think they’re important, so here’s the scoop.

Every since she was a kitten, Tulip has been fairly aggressive.  I’ve always tried to downplay it because she definitely has a very sweet side.  But she has some trust issues and tends to use the claws and teeth first, and ask questions later.  While she has gotten better about this over the years, the tendency is still there.  The real problem is that she takes out her frustrations on Miracle.  As a result, Miracle is stressed out so she pees on the floor.  Not a fun situation for anyone.

Moo has been staying with Janet for 2 weeks now.  We miss her terribly and struggle between wanting to visit her and wanting to let her be.  The plan is to bring her home after my graduation next weekend, and we can’t wait.  We thought the time-out would do all of us some good, and it seems to be helping.  Tulip has calmed down a bit.  Moo seems to be more relaxed, and hasn’t peed outside the litterbox at Janet’s house.  The issue now is, how do we keep things going well when Moo comes home?

We talked to Dr. Côté about the situation. To make a long story short, we are going to start Tulip on kitty Prozac and see how she does. We are still contemplating if we want to do the same for Moo. In any case, both cats have had extensive blood work and are cleared to take it if we decide to do so. We’re going to pick up Tulip’s prescription today, so I will comment back to let you know how things go.

I’m not sure how I feel about all this. I’m certainly not looking forward to giving the cats medication every day. I’m torn about giving them medication to modify their behavior to suit our needs. But I guess the bottom line is, there are things we need them both to do in order to keep them in this house. We love them both to death, so I hope this will be the appropriate solution. In paying closer attention to Tulip’s behavior, I can see that without a doubt she is a lovely cat and has a heart of gold. She just has some issues that she can’t seem to deal with.  I’m praying that she’ll be calmer and learn to trust even more.  And more than anything, I’m hoping that she and Moo can become close.

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