Source: Gary Bogue
Dear Gary:
Can illness in a cat cause a personality change?
Our 10-year-old cat, Abbey, recently had a serious constipation problem. Without going into gory details, he spent two stressful days at the vet getting de-pooped and receiving a lion shave to rid him of the extremely long hair that was causing the constipation problem.
Anyway, glad to report that he is fine now and on a steady diet of daily pumpkin mixed with his food.
My husband and I have noticed some changes in his personality. He is SOOOO affectionate (I'm not complaining). Every night he sleeps almost on my head and during the day he'll jump up on us and purr and want to be petted. He dives under the covers to sleep during the day if I don't make the bed soon enough. He's never done this before but I am guessing he might be cold due to the lion cut.
I wonder if the extreme affection is his way of thanking us because we spent tons of money to make him feel better? Or maybe he wants to cuddle more because he has no hair and is cold. Your thoughts?
Lee Anne, cyberspace
Dear Lee Anne:
I suspect it's because Abbey feels so much better now that his pain is gone.
He may actually have been in pain for a lot longer than you think. Cats are good at hiding their hurt. They'll purr when they don't feel good, fooling you into thinking they DO feel good.
But when that long-term pain suddenly leaves, they sometimes respond with great affection. It'll be interesting to see how long his "personality" change lasts.
Fourth of July solution
I found an excellent solution to the terror the Fourth of July fireworks caused our two American Eskimos. After I couldn't stand their shaking any longer, I put them in my car, which was parked in the garage, and closed the doors and windows. Modern cars are well soundproofed. Putting them in the car, which they love anyway (they usually can't wait to jump in), worked perfectly. They immediately stopped shaking and fell asleep. I let them sleep in the car all night, and in the morning they were fine. (Ron Glas, cyberspace)
Lost & Found
A desert tortoise found near John Muir Hospital in Walnut Creek was taken to Animal Services in Martinez. Give them a call if it's yours at 925-335-8300.
A cocker spaniel I reported lost Tuesday in Livermore has been found. The owner is overjoyed.
A final note
I was working in our backyard garden last night when I heard a noise. I turned around and saw a mama skunk waddle out from under the deck "... followed by her six tiny babies. Uh-oh.
In seconds those black-and-white balls of fluff were milling around my legs "... sniffing my shoes, nudging my ankles with their noses "... as mom stood back and proudly watched her kids playing with the trembling man.
Several loud THUMPS made us all pause, look around and see my orange kitty Jasmine batting on the inside of the sliding glass door with her paws. The six little fur balls bounced over to the glass door and started sniffing noses with Jasmine through the glass. That gave me the opening I needed to sneak off and into the house through another door.
By the time I got to my office, Jasmine's buddies had gone. "Thanks for the distraction," I said as I scratched my little kitty's head. "I thought Mom was getting ready to teach them how to spray."
A few minutes later the skunk babies were back, so I got down on my hands and knees and we both bumped noses with them through the glass together.