The Pets Thread

Shadow had a very hard day today. He woke up, had breakfast, barked at nothing, slept some more, barked at the garbage truck, slept some more, barked some more, and ate again.

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I’m sad to report that I’m fairly certain Sugarplum has reverted to her feral ways.

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Did something happen to set her off?
Cats have irresistibly strong instincts, but she seems to have socialized somewhat for you in the past… with loving care maybe she’ll remember those happy days and resocialize, more quickly this time.

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She still lets me pick her up and pet her; heck, she even rubbed my nose with her face when I said, ā€œKiss-kissā€ earlier today, when she ran to me this morning.

She just doesn’t want to be in the house any more. So she’s not totally feral. This started happening about a month ago. Who knows what weirdness lurks in the minds of felines? I dunno!

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Could another pet be the issue? Long ago my family had an indoor/outdoor cat who would not share the house with another cat (or dog), and would spend long periods (sometimes days at a time) out of the house.

Or… Is she spayed? I had an unspayed cat who would sit and howl by the front door for an hour or so each night when she was in heat. Her heat season was closer to the end of the year.

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She’s been okay (translation: mostly tolerates) with other cats that visit outside. She’d been visiting us I think a year before the pandemic - it was definitely before Luke died in 2020 - and started coming into the back sunroom soon after he died, so she was the only cat in the house. We’ve looked for the the little barred-circle tattoo on her tummy that cats are s’posed to get (or used to) when they were fixed, but couldn’t find it. She’s shown no signs ever of being in heat.

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I’m stumped. Does she normally go potty indoors or outdoors? Cats who are used to doing their business outdoors may sometimes not want to come inside if an illness or infection makes them feel like they always need to pee or poo.

You may want to ask a veterinarian about possible medical causes.

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When she lives inside, she uses the litter box; outside, she uses someplace outside.

I can’t afford to take her to a vet. She seems happy otherwise. I don’t know if she’s ever been owned by humans. She still lets me pick her up & she purrs when I do so. I think it’s some instinctual thing, perhaps relating to Fluffy, the formerly pregnant, barely-out-of-kittenhood cat who’s been coming around the last month or so. But we don’t even know where the kittens are, though I suspect they’re across the street or the next street over, as I’ve seen her cross the street and go up a certain driveway (kitty-corner from our house).

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Not my pets, but they are cared for.

To me, it’s about dogs, not QEII. But my mom loved corgis, too, and she was born in the same year, so…

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This is my cousin’s adorable new puppy.

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My little old lady, Sylvia, passed away in my arms today. She lived to be 18, and was mostly healthy right up to the end, and the end was mercifully fast.

Sylvia came to live with me when my best friend died. We were both 37 and now I’m 50, so I had Sylvia with me longer than she was with him. But today, she can go and be with him. I don’t even know if I believe that literally, but the idea is extremely comforting to me.

I’m sad, but after a long life and an easy passing, it’s the way of things, and better than it might have been. RIP my sweet Sylvia, buried by the apple tree, with all the kitties who have gone before.

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my condolences. it never gets easier, but at least with time’s passage the pain lessens, and the good memories persist.

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Time for a feel-good story, though it’s from three years ago.

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You have my deepest sympathies. <3

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I’m sorry for your loss, but it’s very sweet she has company in the afterlife we hold in our hearts for our lost loved ones, be they human or furry. :hugs:

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Sona passed her 20 11/12 birthday but she is fading fast. We don’t think she’ll make it to 21. But we are trying to enjoy her. She’s the sweetest kitty we’ve ever had. Never cranky, except for the other cats, but they’re all gone now. We decided not to get any more cats so she could live out her life with just us.

I don’t know what’s harder, losing a pet, or trying to decide when. Cats just don’t tell us, unless it’s something obvious like a stroke. A vet (not her usual) told us that if you’re sure she should go, it’s a day too late.

:cry:

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Losing, at least to me. Luke dying was the worst thing because I was there when he did.

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Same with dogs. We’ve all done it. Looked back and realized we were keeping them alive for us, not for them.

It shows how much love and compassion you have, but yes, at this point, if you get the slightest indication, you’re within 24 hours at that point, so don’t prolong the suffering just because you can’t bear to say goodbye.

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