My cat Tortie has been tortured by children! As far as i know, she was forced in a plastic box and left for hours. There were many scratch marks inside and signs of struggle. Now all she does is scurry up next to my leg on the couch and pathetically curl up in a ball. She hasnt moved from the couch in almost 48 hours! Whenever I try to move her she crouches and eventually runs back up on the couch staying close to the ground. She doesnt like any treats and barely reacts to catnip. Is there anything I can do to excite her back into her normal self?

I replied:

I think THE CAT BIBLE will be really useful in understanding how to let a cat recover from traumatic situations. (Also, you would learn facts such as:  many cats don’t react to catnip at all.)  Couple of ideas: give her safe vertical escapes like a big study cat tree and also leave an empty book shelf and tack down something soft there for her to jump up onto. I highly recommend that you get a Feliway diffuser from your veterinarian — it’s a synthetic version of the  “feel good” pheromone that cats rub on things with their cheeks and can be really calming. If you do get THE CAT BIBLE send me your mailing address and I’ll send you an autographed bookplate to stick inside it inscribed to the kitty — or I can send you a copy already inscribed to her. In either case, along with a free coupon for $20 worth of Dr Elsey’s Kitten Attract litter!

–Tracie Hotchner

The Cat Bible

I have a 3 year old ragdoll cat, Molly, but we’d just adopted her about 9 months ago. We have a very good bond, I feel, but didn’t realize how much until I see the way she reacts when I cry or am upset about something.

She meows and tries to crawl on my arm and/or start licking me. She doesn’t ordinarily get that close to me at any other time (except in the a.m. when she jumps on my bed to wake me up to feed her, she gets very affectionate; otherwise, she doesn’t even like to be held.)  But how does she know I’m upset and that crying means I’m usually sad? What is she trying to do? I’ve had cats my entire life and never had a cat that reacted as she does.

Lillian F.
P.S. Love your show on Martha Radio; have your The Cat Bible and never feed her any dry food Thanks!!!

I replied:

Yes of course she knows you are upset!! Isn’t hat sweet? And one of the reasons we have kitties as our companions — because they care & are non-judgmental and make us feel better when we are blue. I hope whatever has caused you sadness has passed by now — and you are feeling more cheery.

Thank you for giving up “kitty crack” & feeding wet food only! Maybe she’s extra loving in gratitude!

Send me your mailing address so I can inscribe a bookplate to Molly to stick in the front of your Cat Bible (and thanks for getting it!) And I’ll also send a coupon for up to $20 of Cat Attract litter from Precious Cat, too, for buying the book.

P.S. In the month of November, any purchases of PRECIOUS CAT litter will be donated 100% to research for a human cancer cure for Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation — so please buy some in November when your free container runs out!

–Tracie Hotchner

Thank you for taking my message.  I have a most loving, wonderful 6 year old cat.  He is now an only cat, living in our 1850 house in Haddam Neck, Connecticut.  His humans are me and my husband, we have never had any children and our house is quiet.  We have busy jobs, but Jaco is rarely alone for more than 8 hours.  He has lots of toys, I play with him often each day, and he has access to our screened in porch where he watches birds and squirels.  About six months ago, he started to pull his hair on his groin area, and he has increased the pulling over a large area of his body.  When I first got him, we had another older cat named Taj.  Taj tolerated Jaco at first, but ended up sort of liking him and they ran each other around the house amusing each other.  They seemed to always want to be at least near each other.  When Taj died at 19 years, Jaco had an adjustment to being the “only” guy.  He changed, and seemed OK.  He stills seems OK, but he is very skittish, hides when people visit, but is loving, sits on my lap, loves to play, is very snuggly guy, the most snuggly guy I ever had.

I am starting to think that perhaps he needs or wants another cat to share his hours with.  I don’t know if that will cure his hair pulling, but I just want the little guy to be happy.  I feed him only dry Evo food because I haven’t caved in to his refusal of moist food.  He never wanted moist food, another strange thing, I always had cats that loved wet food!

So, I appreciate your insight.  Thank you for everything you do.
Jane

I need you to call into CAT CHAT® please!! This Wednesday or any Wednesday night. You MUST get him off dry food — it will change his life, his personality and his longevity I think his behavior changes are around grief & loneliness for Taj and yes, the right new cat would be a terrific companion for the fantastic life you are already providing him. I think the Spirit Essence “changing times” rubbed inside his ears and drops on his new WET FOOD!! will help him emotionally, too. Go to the Spirit Essences link on my website and say you are a CAT CHAT® listener and get a 5% discount. My book THE CAT BIBLE and Dr. Elizabeth’s book YOUR CAT would be a great addition to understanding the nutrition importance of getting off any “kitty crack” and onto a real meat diet — and to understanding his emotional states. Thanks for caring for him so wonderfully- and caring about him so much

–Tracie Hotchner

Thanks so much for putting Ruby’s photo on your website. She’s so cute — but eating rocks and vomiting them up at night. Hopefully that will stop!

I would love to have you sign my THE DOG BIBLE — believe it or not, it’s been passed around and around, getting a ton of exposure. My mother has it now, with Ruby. But it is SO informative I’ll pick up another one at the Bennington Book Store for you to sign and keep at my own house for reference and safety.

Tiffany

So glad the book is making a difference!

The rock eating will NOT stop and can cause a huge medical issue and vet bill — not to mention broken teeth. I need to bring you the brochure for Pets Best pet insurance with my listener’s discount code (AP 5252) because this is just the kind of behavior that can wind up in a surgical procedure if she does NOT vomit them up. You have got to keep her away from rocks or anything else she is swallowing — even use a muzzle if need be to keep her safe. You also need to find a few good chew items that will satisfy her teething and need to chew.

–Tracie Hotchner

The Dog Bible

So many of you have written me and called into my shows about your dogs who are so terrified of thunderstorms that you now live in dread of stormy weather — your dogs have created storm phobia in you! When I researched and wrote THE DOG BIBLE I knew there were a lot of dogs who got shaky during storms and I had learned about the Anxiety Wrap as the most effective tool to manage the problem. In my own canine pack the only thunder phobic members was Yogi Bear, my 110 lb Rottweiler, who was otherwise the most happy-go-lucky guy but when there was thunder he trembled and panted drips of saliva everywhere. But with him, I didn’t need any special management tools. I could encourage him to go lie down underneath the hanging clothes in a walk-in closet that did not have any exterior walls, and that contained his fear enough that it never became panic.

But once I spent time on the radio I discovered how many people have dogs who come completely unglued in a storm — people whose dogs will jump through screen doors or plate glass windows if they are alone when a storm hits. Other people have dogs who will try to chew their way through a door from the terror of thunder. And for all these people, it is distressing and makes them feel powerless to help their dogs when they are with the dog in a storm to experience the fierce trembling, panting, whining and misery of a dog who has become unglued by the effects of a thunder storm. When they call or write me for advice I recommend the Bach flower remedy made by Spirit Essences called “Stress Stopper” but I know that it doesn’t work in all dogs and for a dog going bonkers, it may take the edge off at best. I would mention Anxiety Wrap to people — saying that my research showed that this tightly fitting but breathable “body glove” that compressed a dog’s torso like a glove had been proven to calm and settle those dogs to varying degrees. Mothers in every culture know how swaddling a baby tightly helps with a fussy little one, who quiets down because of the security and comfort being tightly wrapped.

I have always felt terrible for these people whose homes are under siege and their dog is in jeopardy whenever the storm season arrives.

And I have always felt grateful and a little proud that none of my dogs has ever made a big deal of thunder. I thought it might be because I was such a calm and reassuring leader. I had to think again. And go hunting in my doggy closet for the Anxiety Wrap I had received as a sample and had kept in case someone needed it in the future. Well that day was here — and the recipient was me, which was the last thing I’d expected!

One not-so-fine day one of my very own dogs, Scooby Doo, woke up and was suddenly thunderstorm phobic — as though someone had waved a nasty wand over his head. When the thunderstorm rolled in, Scooby came over to me trembling and panting (all the classic symptoms) and then he tried to squeeze underneath my desk. He’s over 100 lbs. so there is not room for him and my legs under there! I quickly put a dropper full of Stress Stopper from Spirit Essences in his mouth — and I slipped him into the Anxiety Wrap. [I saw later that the directions said to try it on your dog once before a thunderstorm so he doesn't make an association between the "Wrap" and the storm and deduce that the Anxiety Wrap was responsible for the storm -- but I had no time] The Anxiety Wrap had not been on his body 5 minutes when Scooby Doo was a changed man — and I was a true believer!

The Anxiety Wrap

Synchronicity occurred because the two women who developed the Anxiety Wrap reached out to me and asked if they could become website sponsors.  And yes it is a two-woman company: two people who put an idea into action and have been perfecting it ever since. For example, they stayed on the lookout for a new and improved 4-way stretch fabric that is light, can breathe, and has just the right cling to squeeze a dog’s body just enough so he can pull himself back together.

Happy ending: Scooby Doo slides into his Anxiety Wrap at the least sign of noisy storm and is a much braver boy. And I invited the Anxiety Wrap ladies, Susan and Kimberly, to join my team so I can get the word out to other storm-phobic dogs. Susan is coming on DOG TALK® and CAT CHAT® too, to explain that her expertise as a dog trainer is available free for a lifetime to any dog who is lucky enough to get Anxiety Wrap to really chill him out in stressful time.

Tracie

The Dog Bible

My cat Tom is eating our clothes and shoes.

He came to us as a kitty, we had a 13 year old Jack Russell and they were good friends, well the Tom thought so, good ole Chip the Jack Russell tolerated getting his ears washed on a regular basis. He started almost immediately eating shoe laces and then elastic bands for the new paper in the morning went missing. Then he started getting into the laundry and eat anything that had some elastic to it, bra strap tank top straps and so on.

Now he just eats anything from the dish cloth in the kitchen sink to the tea towels, terry towels in the bathroom and face cloths he loves, he has also eaten huge holes in sweat shirts, tee shirts and last week he got into my closet and demolish over $400 of sweaters. He has chewed I don’t know how many pairs of shoes, he eats the whole straps and chews the backs and heals, well he will chew and eat just about anything.

We have had him at the vet and they put him on Prozac which just made him spacey and a little scary and he still chewed.

We got him a cat friend when Chip died and he didn’t care too much for her so our son took her to live with him.

He eats a can of wet food a day, also has some crunchies to chomp on. He like to also crunch on dog milk bones when he get into the cupboard and helps himself to the dog treats that I have for my sons dog when he comes to visit.

He doesn’t chew the curtains in the house or the furniture, or the cushions on the couch. He did once chew a throw that I had on the back of the couch though. And he did once chew through a pillow case on the bed but has never chewed the bed linen or duvet.

I just don’t know what to do with him. He is a very loving cat and he adores me, follows me everywhere. He is a large ginger tom — fixed — he has a very long tail. After he has chewed some thing he acts quite weird and almost has a bit of an evil look about him, but it doesn’t last long.

If you have any suggestions, I would be most grateful

So I turned to Dear Sally (Bahner) the Official Cat Behavior Consultant on CAT CHAT® and here were her suggestions:

First, are they locking up all the “chewables”? Might be hard to get into that habit, but it sounds as if they haven’t been doing that.

Of course his behavior sounds like OCD (and Spirit Essence has an OCD remedy, but Tom might be beyond that…), but I’m wondering if there isn’t some kind of nutritional deficiency. Having blood work done might reveal something.

What kind of canned food are they feeding — maybe upgrade to a higher quality, lower carbohydrate brand?

How about trying some raw chicken/cornish game hen necks to chew on, maybe some wings. (Remember that cooked bones splinter.) Or some chunks of raw meat? Might redirect Tom’s need to chew.

Re: giving him medication, the pharmaceutical that the AAFP (American Association of Feline Practitioners, the cats-only vets) recommends Clomicalm (Clomipramine) for OCD-type/ritualistic behaviors. It takes 5 to 7 days for the initial effect and 3 to 5 weeks for long-term effects. I think some vets prescribe a one size fits all recommendation for drug use.

Check this out, too.

Then, just to cover all bases with my experts, I turned to Jackson Galaxy, who is a cat behavior consultant and the owner of Spirit Essences, which I call “emotion potions” and are based on Bach flower remedies to deal with cat, dog and horse emotional issues. And Jackson wrote:

This sounds to me like a Pica variation — when cats will chew on or eat certain items. This one with Tom is pretty serious.

Quickie solutions?

1) Keep all elastics, etc out of reach. It calls for creativity, consistency and patience, but it’s better than surgically fishing a bra strap out from around the intestinal tract.

2) They have stumbled on one solution that has helped many a Pica cat — crunchies. Put SMALL bowls around, in places like in front of the closet, etc where the cat has gotten into the most trouble. It satisfies his chewing need. Also try something like the small sized Buster Cube, which will occupy the mind and satisfy the crunching need at the same time.

3) Other than that, we get into the land of a more personalized consultation, which of course I’d be happy to help with. I can make a Spirit Essence tailored just to him. Oh, and of course there is always the Spirit Essence called Obsession Remedy!

Jackson Galaxy | Cat Behavior Consultant
Phone | (310) 376-6616
Fax | (310) 318-0711
E-mail | jackson[at]jacksongalaxy[dot]com

Thank you Tracie. We listened to your 1pm show on out drive to NC and really enjoyed it. I have adopted Gracie’s brother Sam who was brought back to the shelter. He is very standoffish and won’t let us touch him. I went to your web site and ordered 3 different Spirit Essences and will let you know how they work. Thanks for all the info you provide you cat lover fans. I really appreciate the knowledge and your personal time.

Best,
Susanne

And I wrote her back:

Hurray for you bringing Gracie and Sam back together! Siblings make the best buddies, although once separated it takes awhile to get to know each other again. Be patient, he’ll come around.

A quick word about the Essences — do not waste it in water since cats eating wet food rarely drink anyway. Put 5 drops on his two meals and then rub inside his ears and underneath his paws on his paw pad with the 3rd essence.

Be sure to let me know how it works out — you need to be consistent with the essences — give it a few days, or longer if the problem is more severe.

Good Luck!
Tracie

How can we get our cats to sleep in? Our cats used to get us up at 4:00 am, and a week ago we switched them to canned food only (because of your book) and now they get us up to feed them at 2:30 a.m. (coincidence?) HELP! We would love to train them not to bother us at all until we get up at 5:00 am. Any tricks to that?

Your darling “spousal equivalent” (great word by the way) can keep putting that water down for as long as it makes him happy – since he got your pussycats onto the right food!

I realize I have an email from you from a few days back with your feeding question – but here are some basic ideas to consider:

1) Garth is obese – so getting off kitty crack is harder for him. He needs MORE QUANTITY – AS MUCH AS HE’LL EAT at two or even 3 meals.

2) Lots of high protein snacks are fine to help him make this transition. With your bookplate you’ll be getting some Whisker Smackers from Dr. Harvey’s from me and you can use those or any protein treat to help with his hunger issues, like little pieces of cooked steak, a bit of deli meat, etc.

3) Play with him before bed to tucker him out.

4) He has taught you to get up to feed him. The hour has improved or worsened, but he has you trained. You have to hang tough and not get up and give him food or attention. Try closing him in a laundry room or other room as far from bedroom as possible at night until he realizes you won’t be getting up.

5) Call in next Wednesday and tell me if this has worked and if so, great – if not I’ll give you a plan B.

Tracie

The Cat Bible

So to make it short, we have a cat that will seek out and find my shoes, sandals, slippers, whatever. Roll on them and then sleep on them, any ideas of why this is?

Thanks,
Dave & Aubrie in Salem, Oregon

It must be that you have delicious smelling feet and your kitty cat loves you very much. Either that, or s/he has a shoe fetish! Each cat is a quirky individual and this is what makes yours happy! Just be glad it’s not a puppy, who would be chewing and destroying them!

The advice to leave additional lights on for Catie (the 15-yr old black cat who cries incessantly at night) worked. She cries occasionally but nothing like before. Unfortunately she continues to pee in inappropriate places.

Hi Mary – I’d like to suggest that you go to the Spirit Essences page of my website and try “Graceful Aging.” I think this will help Catie, too, as she copes with the changes of getting older. THE CAT BIBLE has so many suggestions on ways to ease her life as she ages. Out-of-litter-box issues for older kitties are different. Please check out the BLOG and Q&As on my website to find more suggestions.

Tracie

The Cat Bible