I just got a new cat!
By daeckardt
@daeckardt (6237)
United States
September 1, 2012 2:42pm CST
It was actually about two weeks ago, but I wanted to wait until the new month started to start posting a lot again. I went to the humane society back in July looking for what pets were available planning to get a dog, but they didn't have any that I was interested in and I didn't have approval to get a pet anyway at that time. I did look at the cats as well and found one that was available at no charge and they said they had never seen her take to someone like she did to me. I finally gave up when they closed for the day since they hadn't heard from my landlord about whether a pet was allowed. Probably a good thing too since I wound up in the hospital the next week.
I went back again last Tuesday and found Indie, a 3 year old female that was still available for free so I took her so I wouldn't lose out again. It took almost a week before she did more than hide from me, but now she always wants to get petted. I just wish she liked cuddling as well because if I try holding her in any way she goes crazy! I took her to the vet on Tuesday (a week after I got her) and found out there was nothing wrong with her but when they looked at a fecal sample they found she had worms and I'm having trouble getting her to eat the medicine the sent home for her. Oh well...
6 people like this
14 responses
@nenyalorien (899)
• Philippines
1 Sep 12
Hi there, daeckardt! :-) I personally would have wanted to have a cat, too, but since I'm renting, and landlords in my country don't usually allow pets in their units, I can't get one, just yet..
Question though, after deworming, did your cat respond better to hugs? Was it from a shelter? Sometimes, pets with a history of being abused have issues like those.. Either way, sounds like you actually have a sweet, adorable cat. Good luck and here's to happy times with her! :-)
4 people like this
@nenyalorien (899)
• Philippines
2 Sep 12
She didn't want to come out of the cage at all: Oh my goodness. I believe that she must have been abused by her previous owner. :(
But I guess a whole lot of love and gentleness will do her a lot of good.
2 people like this
@daeckardt (6237)
• United States
2 Sep 12
I'm thinking the same thing. I just keep giving her all the love she will take and she comes around asking for more. I hope that my health will improve with her presence as I'm sure it will!
@daeckardt (6237)
• United States
2 Sep 12
I find that many landlords in this country also don't allow certain animals, whether it is cats or dogs or in some cases no animals at all. Fortunately, my landlord is pretty flexible so I was able to get the cat. I could have got a dog up to 50 lbs as long as it wasn't a bully bread, but I wouldn't want one of those anyway...
I will have to let you know because she hasn't eaten the medicine yet, but she is asking to be petted more so maybe she is warming up to me...I did pick her up at the shelter and I don't know what her history was but she didn't want to come out of the cage at all.
2 people like this
@Hatley (163776)
• Garden Grove, California
1 Sep 12
hi daeckardt have not seen you in awhile. I am glad uyou foumd a cat you really love. sooner or later she will want to be cuddled. Did
you try putting the medicine in some food she really loves? something that helps.poor kitty guess worms can be hard on
them. hope she starts taking her medicine and gets well
'quickly . hugs
4 people like this
@daeckardt (6237)
• United States
2 Sep 12
Hi Hatley,
I have been around, but I am way behind on responding to many posts. I respond to comments that people send to me, but I am 8 months behind on discussions. I guess there will be some posts that I will not be able to respond to because the links don't work in my email and I saw in a digest that there were some days that other people had the same problem about the same time so I guess I am stuck.
I tried to put the medicine into a piece of cheese last night and she wouldn't eat that and then I got some wet food today and she hasn't touched that either. I have no idea what she really loves so I'm hoping that not giving her anything else to eat until the wet food is gone will get the pills eaten. Have a great weekend!!!
1 person likes this
@GardenGerty (160777)
• United States
1 Sep 12
I imagine that she will become more of a cuddler as time goes on. It is hard to get animals to take medicine. I put diatomaceous earth in my cats' food and it is a dewormer. It is even used for that purpose in cattle feed. I hope you can get her to take what the vet supplied and I hope you have a warm and loving relationship with Indie.
@GardenGerty (160777)
• United States
2 Sep 12
I would be worried as well about getting injured. When I had to have cats wormed it was always just one pill. The vet even would do it if I wanted her to. Maybe rolling it in cheese would be the best.
1 person likes this
@daeckardt (6237)
• United States
2 Sep 12
I tried cheese and it didn't work. My kitty was about 11 lbs when she was checked and the vet said that was the most she wanted to see her at. I think that is why it took 1 1/2 pills. I didn't have the sample with me when I took the cat to the vet and I didn't have the cat with me when I went with the sample. She did eat about half the wet food that I put the pills into yesterday so hopefully she will finish it off today and eat the medicine and start feeling better. Oh well...
@AmbiePam (93313)
• United States
1 Sep 12
I'm lucky I've always had success at getting my dog to take any medicine they need. Sherlock would pick it out of his food, so we got to reach an agreement. He'd roll over on his back, open his mouth, I'd place the pill at the back of his throat, and he'd swallow it. Then he'd get a treat. With Annabelle she'll either eat it right away, or I can put it in a piece of cheese and she's good.
3 people like this
@daeckardt (6237)
• United States
1 Sep 12
I tried cheese last night and wet food today and she wouldn't eat either of them. I guess she knows the pill is in there or something. I did crush the pill and put it into the container of wet food but she has turned her nose up at that as well. I just wish she would cooperate! Oh well...
1 person likes this
@savypat (20216)
• United States
1 Sep 12
Sounds like your new cat has not had a lot of contact with humans or may even have be abused. Some cats do get over this with time and some never do. If you want her to come on your lap you could try giving her a treat to lure her up there, It will take time but it a nice rub comes along with the treat she might grow to like the rub well enough to stay for a bit, if that happens it takes nothing more than time to win her over. Good Luck
4 people like this
@daeckardt (6237)
• United States
1 Sep 12
She does seem a bit uncomfortable around other people still. She did seem cooperative when I took her to the vet and didn't try to jump off the table or run away but she looked scared during the entire visit. She does seem to be more comfortable around me now than she did a week ago and wants to be petted and rubbed but not held. I tried to hold on to her to giver her the pill and she fought that effort. I just hope I can get her feeling better soon!
2 people like this
@stk40m (1119)
• Koeln, Germany
1 Sep 12
glad you found a new friend! I promise you you will learn to love it (well, her :D). You must know that cats can see and recognize much more than we think they can. They 'feel' if something is wrong with their friends (which includes of course humans, too). Once I was faced with some very uncordial people (just to avoid the expression 'fascists') at home and one of our cats which was present noticed that. She stared at them as if she wanted to kill them, I wish she ... *censored* ... They didn't notice but I certainly did! The point is they didn't attack me or something like that but she knew that they were up to no good.
There were further incidents where the cats behaved very strange and only later their behavior made sense to me. On two occasions the same cat as mentioned above was scared by something I obviously couldn't see. It was like she had seen a ghost or an invisible creature. And they know when their time has come, that's the most strange thing of all... either they will want to be very close to you or they want to enjoy life to the full for the remaining days.
I miss mine very much, all four of them. Good luck with yours!!
4 people like this
@daeckardt (6237)
• United States
2 Sep 12
I think I have noticed the same kind of thing with Indie. I don't get visitors often so I can't give any examples, but she does seem to be sensitive to how I am feeling at any given time. I just hope that she will eat her medicine so that she can regain her full health again so I can see how she is then. Have a great weekend!!!
1 person likes this
@buenavida (9984)
• Sweden
1 Sep 12
I am sure your cat will be more used to you and let you hold her.
Wish you great time with your new cat..
1 person likes this
@daeckardt (6237)
• United States
2 Sep 12
I'm sure as time goes on, she will become more comfortable being around me. Already she is becoming more affectionate but she just doesn't like being held. Thanks for the comment and have a great weekend!!!
@shaggin (72206)
• United States
2 Sep 12
Congrats on your new cat. I think that is so awesome you were able to get a free cat and so awesome that you were willing to take a 3 year old cat instead of a kitten like most people go for. Sounds like shes adjusting now. Worms are gross glad she will be free of those soon. My cats have had them a few times. Thankfully not in a long time. My husband used to have to give them their pills because I couldnt I would start to faint having to push it down their throat. If you can quick push it down they wont be able to spit it out. They dont have a gag reflex so if you can get it in the very back they will swallow it down. I was just so scared I could not do it my husband had to.
1 person likes this
@shaggin (72206)
• United States
2 Sep 12
At a pet store around here they used to charge I think it was $85 for cats. It didnt matter how old they were. They fixed the cats and vaccinated them and wormed them. The cost was to cover all thats as well as if the price to adopt an animal is higher they wont have people going in just buying pets and dropping them off at the pound again a week later. If people are going to spend almost $100 on an animal its hoped they will take care of it and love it and keep it.
1 person likes this
@daeckardt (6237)
• United States
2 Sep 12
The biggest problem with getting a kitten is that they wanted $65 for adoption and Indie was free since she had been at the shelter for so long. I think I might have saved her life. As far as being able to push the pills down her throat, I don't think I could do that since I'm afraid of getting bit and scratched and being on chemo and blood thinners neither of those would be very good since I clot slower and am susceptible to infections. I did try to get her to eat the cheese by force and I had trouble getting her mouth to even open so I don't know how that might work for me. Oh well...
1 person likes this
@daeckardt (6237)
• United States
3 Sep 12
I don't think I would be able to get any kind of pet if I had to pay that much for it. I like the fact that they try to give animals away at the humane society before they have to put them down. There was one dog they tried to talk me into taking that was scheduled to be put down soon, but she was too big (my landlord only allows dogs up to 50 lbs and no bully breeds and I think that was one).
@bunnybon7 (50973)
• Holiday, Florida
1 Sep 12
like what ambie said. i put cocos in a peice of cheese. if its big ,i chop it up small enough to go in cheese pieces. sometimes i noticed we dont get the pet we at first want because its not the one meant for us. when i first went for a dog, i saw one i wanted. but, i told them i would be back for her after i called my husband about it. he was in the hospital and had told me not to get either a small dog or an abused dog. this one was skitish having not been treated well. he said go ahead and get her since she wasnt small. he said small dogs bark all the time.
anyway, when i went back they had decided to leave her with a foster family to bring her around to social again. and i looked up to see a woman crying, bringing in her big lab that she had been praying would get a kind home. i took him and he was such a wonderful dog for years. i eventually had to let him be put down cause he got so sick and beyond help
before that though i aquired coco from my son. hubby had already passed away. coco hardly ever barks unless its called for
shes been a great mindful dog. John would have been happy with her.
anyway, when i went back they had decided to leave her with a foster family to bring her around to social again. and i looked up to see a woman crying, bringing in her big lab that she had been praying would get a kind home. i took him and he was such a wonderful dog for years. i eventually had to let him be put down cause he got so sick and beyond help before that though i aquired coco from my son. hubby had already passed away. coco hardly ever barks unless its called for shes been a great mindful dog. John would have been happy with her. @daeckardt (6237)
• United States
2 Sep 12
I wish the cheese would have worked. I finally took the pills out of the cheese this morning and bought a container of wet food hoping that she would eat that but so far no go. I just hope that she cooperates soon! Have a great weekend!!!
1 person likes this
@dorannmwin (36392)
• United States
3 Sep 12
Worms are something that is really common with animals and it is also something that definitely needs to be taken care of because it can also be something that could cause your new pet to have some serious issues.
With that said, I know what you mean about cats that really don't like to be held. My cat Peaches is just like that. We adopted her as a kitten and now she is just about two years old, she has never been one that likes to be held. I'm pretty much the only one that she will ever allow to hold her, and even then it is for a very limited amount of time.
1 person likes this
@daeckardt (6237)
• United States
3 Sep 12
I'm not really sure, but I think she is getting more affectionate now as time goes on. With any luck she will lay by me more often and let me scratch and rub her and her do the same to me. It is such a relief to know that she is starting to trust me at least a little bit...
@natliegleb (5175)
• India
2 Sep 12
how does it look,i guess its awesome cute and so stylish too,take good care of her and the pet is very friendly i guess,i really like them
@NailTech (6874)
• United States
2 Sep 12
Hi! Yay for now owning a new cat, she will come around after awhile. Meanwhile about the dewormer med. I might ask the vet if you could crush the pill and put it in alittle water then use a syringe to squirt it all (most of it all at once as too much water in her tummy might cause her to throw up, I had my cat do this once but he was very very ill) into her mouth near the back of her throat so she swallows it that way. Or even better still if there's a liquid form of this dewormer and syringe it into her mouth that way at the proper dose. I wish you the best of luck with it, she will feel better and possibly come around even more when that medicine can work it's magic.
1 person likes this
@daeckardt (6237)
• United States
2 Sep 12
I'm sure she will start coming around soon. Already she is coming around trying to be affectionate even though she hasn't finished the medicine yet. I don't know that I could handle a syringe any better than the pills, but if she doesn't finish the wet food off by Tuesday, I might have to ask them about that as an option. I am just a little frustrated with this medicine thing...Oh well...
1 person likes this
@factorial (977)
• Philippines
2 Sep 12
We got two new kittens! My son (a nurse) saw two abandoned kittens on the roadside so he took them and brought them in our home.
1 person likes this
@41CombedaleRoad (5952)
• Greece
2 Sep 12
Try hiding the tablet in a spoonful of sardines. She probably will take it then. It is impossible to get a pill down a cat without cheating her! I have a friend who has had a couple of cats from a centre. They were both terrifed and it took months before they responded with affection. Your new cat may have bad a bad experience in the past and it will take a lot of love and patience for her to unlearn a bad experience and trust you. She doesn't know yet how lucky she is!
@daeckardt (6237)
• United States
2 Sep 12
I might have to get some new pills because I crushed them up and put them in wet food yesterday and she only ate about half of it so far. I don't know if she got the right half or not. She is starting to warm up to me now so maybe she will become even more affectionate after she gets over this problem. Thanks for the response!
1 person likes this
