Family pets, our other children stressors.

sumertidwell · May 2015

So yesterday I had to take my 4 year old cat to the vet because he was self mutilating his tail. I am the crazy lady that loves her cats like they are my children. So I have been battling this self mutilation thing for a while. Last year we amputated half his tail because it was broken and he stopped self mutilating and I was thrilled. Well he started back again a week or so ago. It completely stresses me and the hubs out when he does this. So now my sweet little baby kitkat is wearing the cone of shame until his wound heals. It's breaking my heart to see him like this. I feel like a horrible mom when he looks at me like please take it off my sister is laughing at me. He is also now taking kitty prozac daily to help with anxiety.

Anyone else crazy about their pets and treat them like furry humans?

Mommaswizz · May 2015

You're in very good company on this board with your love of your furry family. My puppy Luna is my baby and I worry so much about how she'll adjust to having a sister next month. We've been doing our best to break her of her puppy tendencies of jumping on people, nipping and barking all too frequently. She's pretty much done with nipping, like 80% done with jumping, but the barking when we tell her "no" is still going strong. She's like a little teenager yelling "you're not my real mom!!!". We need to work on the back talk so she doesn't wake a sleeping baby. Though they always say baby can hear what you say at this stage of pregnancy so my daughter should be born expecting to hear a lot of barking lol

alcrimmins · May 2015

Ugh, that stinks. My oldest cat 13 y/o starting plucking the hair off his back & eating it about 7 years ago. He's been on all types of steroids and meds to calm him and it never works. It's more stressful to give him the meds than to try and stop it when we see it happening. Fast forward to Christmas this past year when I got a puppy! Both of my cats hate him and the plucker is now hairless. He does seem to be tolerating the puppy more than the other one though, which is strange b/c the other cat 12 y/o is way more laid back.
The cats love my belly and I think will adjust fine when the baby comes. The puppy loves having all of the attention and may take awhile to adjust.

jessieR358 · May 2015

We have 3 dogs and I worry about them like children too! I'm that crazy dog lady that has an urn in the tv room with my dogs ashes. I was heartbroken when she died unexpectedly 2 summers ago.
I do wish they'd behave better before the baby comes. The little Maltese I'm not worried about except her barking, but the 2 big dogs can get crazy despite professional training. Those two will be spending lots of time in our backyard this summer!

rsalata2015 · May 2015

I love my pets they are my babies! I miss my puppy soooo much. He couldn't come to the new apartment with us cause they don't allow pets. He's staying at his grandpa's. So I can still see him. It broke my heart. It's like losing a child. It's been a few weeks but I still cry because I miss my baby.

megtyrrell · May 2015

I have two cats and I love them so, so much. I'd do anything for them. I have had my older cat, Helen, since she was about four weeks old and I had to bottle feed her at first. We have a very close bond. I'm a little nervous about how she'll react to the baby but I've been following guidelines on preparing kitty for a new baby, so hopefully my efforts will pay off.
Good luck with your kitty! It's so hard to see something you love so much struggling. It sounds like you're doing everything you can for him and your love and compassion towards him will go a very long way. Our furry babies appreciate us more than we suspect.

klkonwi · May 2015

RIP mushrooms. @devyns2nd

CBHoneyB · May 2015

I know you feel, our 6 yr old cat is allergic to chicken and the other day for into a can of kitten food from the kitten we are fostering. Her face is now covered in little pusstuals, time for steroids.

aliciac2008 · May 2015

Yes, you are in very good company on this board. We love our animals. I've got a dog who is just over 1 year old who is great most of the time. However, a couple times a day she gets super excited and all her behavior training goes out the window. She jumps and runs around the house. It definitely worries me with a baby coming, but we got an exercise pen and will be keeping them separated in the the house until we can trust the dog to not jump. We've been working on a lot of training with this one and can get her to "stay" and "leave it", but I bet if there was a distraction of a baby she wouldn't be able to help herself.

If anyone is interested, my husband and I use these videos to train our dog. They work really well, and have been able to teach her a lot of stuff fairly fast. He's even got a video dedicated solely to introducing a dog to a baby. I'll post the link.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIJpLQrKGPo

btm013 · May 2015

OH yes, I love my dog!! He is 11 and completely blind - we had to have his eyes removed at 6yrs old. He is completely self sufficient and a happy little pup. I wonder how he will do with the baby. He loooves my nieces and nephew so I think he will take to the baby well. I can't wait to see them together

.

MaliKaela · May 2015

Aw... poor baby. I'm definitely an animal lover with 4 cats and a dog. They are my little babies! You mentioned your kitty is on prozac. How long has he been taking it? My sister's cat started on it and it made a HUGE difference for her. So maybe it will do the same for your cat!

Zeuskay01 · May 2015

You're not alone at all....I love my dog as if hr were my child. Poor guy has gotten sick on us pretty bad a couple times and I've forked up plentyyyyy of money to figure out why he was sick and to get him feeling better. He's my baby, and even though I will now have a human child I'm still going to love my furry guy

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Family pets, our other children stressors.

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