worst fear - kitty losing it's fur :(

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Registered: 01-05-2004
worst fear - kitty losing it's fur :(
4
Fri, 04-29-2005 - 1:26pm

Hi ya'll! :) I'm back after a long break and I need your help once again!

To refresh- I just moved out from some LOUSY "bachelor" roommates, into a condo, taking my 2 cats and dog (and DH) with me. I've noticed that as the dog gets bigger, the cats like him less and less. Right now, he's 7 months old (almost 8) and I'd estimate about 45-50lbs (Boxer). He's beautiful, sweet, and a bundle of energy. If he caught the cats, he wouldn't know what to do with them. The cats have given him a couple of good scratches and that usually makes him back off better than any discipline we could give him.

I'll admit, I'm much more of a dog person than a cat person, but I love all animals (I'm actually going into vet school this year myself). Vance, one of my cats, was a stray rescue. When we found him, he was bald from the neck down, malnurished and covered in bleeing hives. We learned he was allergic to fleas and stuck it out while he recovered. All of our animals are flea treated. If he gets bit by even 1 flea, he'll break out in hives and start losing his fur for months.

But this time is different. Vance has been licking at one side of himself and I noticed last night that it's noticably starting to bald! It's not the "usual spot" where he starts balding if he gets bit by a flea. He seems pretty comfortable, though I've noticed he's choosen new sleeping places lately.

He actually tolerates the puppy better than our other cat - but I still have this fear the vet will say it's stress related and we'll have to choose to either rehome our pup or rehome the cats. I say "cats", because I really don't think they'd do well alone.
Any other thoughts/ideas?
-Jay

- J. Darling

Singehttp://img.photobucket.com/albums/v244/JDarling/Headshots/Picture001.jpgr, Songwriter, Author for Celebr

Avatar for cl_lcni
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-19-2003
Fri, 04-29-2005 - 5:34pm

Hi Jay.


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iVillage Member
Registered: 01-05-2004
Fri, 04-29-2005 - 5:55pm
Thanks! :) I got advice also to help train the dog not to chase after the cats. And we do have Clydas crate trained - at least for now. And the cats seem to know it's safe to come out when he's crated. First thing out of the crate though Clydas greets us and then goes to find his unwilling play mates! LOL Vance hides under the sofa when he's had enough. Sometimes he can just lay down under a chair and Clydas won't even notice him. Shayde (our other cat) is far more vocal about his displeasure at the dog, but oddly enough - when Clydas does the "army man crawl" to get under the bed (belly to the floor - he's almost 50lbs and still manages to fit under the bed!) with Shayde under there, Shayde is quiet and just watches him. But if Clydas is near Shayde out in the open, Shayde hisses at him. Go figure! I'm hoping they become buddies later. I couldn't imagine life without them!
- Jay

- J. Darling

Singehttp://img.photobucket.com/albums/v244/JDarling/Headshots/Picture001.jpgr, Songwriter, Author for Celebr

Avatar for cl_lcni
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-19-2003
Sat, 04-30-2005 - 1:15pm

If Clydas is chasing the cats, the cats will never like him.


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iVillage Member
Registered: 01-05-2004
Mon, 05-02-2005 - 1:14am

Yup. We're squirt bottle training him. Since all of our animals are pretty much in door animals (except for Clydas' daily couple hours at the dog park and numberous potty runs), keeping Clydas on a least 24/7 we don't feel is fair. Clydas does have a crate and the cats know when he's in his crate, it's time for them to come out and play and when he's out, it's every animal for himself! We are working on squirting him (which he HATES) every time he runs after them first thing out of the crate. So far so good this weekend. :)

Vance sometimes starts it. We've noticed that Clydas may just be walking by, completely unaware and uninterested in the cat, and then Vance will swat him and start a game of "chase Vance around the dining room chairs". Clydas can't get to him. When Vance has had enough, he slips under the couch and, since Clydas is trained not to scratch at the couch - end of game.
- Jay

- J. Darling

Singehttp://img.photobucket.com/albums/v244/JDarling/Headshots/Picture001.jpgr, Songwriter, Author for Celebr