My cat is crazy -- Not in a good way.

[Traci]

As far as me saying that you don't appear to have ever owned a cat, it just seems to me from the statements posted by Traci (alot of which I have read since joining the board), it seems that Traci takes a more medical, mechanical if you will, approach to what a cat needs.

Please read the House Rules. Noted there is the primary intention of the forums and my position statements.

Chit chat in the Feline Health forum is not my primary intention (there are other sections of the forums for chit chat). The goal here is to answer questions as promptly as possible, with an emphasis on education. Much of that emphasis is in fact, medical or clinical in nature. Consider if you will, taking a history in the exam room...not much different here. It's necessary to get to the heart of the matter. On an internet forum, however, one has to rely soley on what the person posts, and form a response on what limited information has been given.

The OP's post in particular, contained concerns regarding both health and behavior. It is clear in the posts that there is a health issue that has gone or is currently going unaddressed. Some of the behavior aspects of this situation may very likely be related to the health issues. The owner needs to address them, with the help of a competent vet who is willing and committed to his patient.

I mean cats have been around for longer than humans and they survived all by themselves before we built a house for them inhabit

.

Not quite. Before domestication, wild cats had to struggle with various difficulties to survive. Wild cats rarely lived beyond relatively young ages, due to diseases, lack of food sources, weather elements, predators. Today, the same still applies. An outdoor cat's lifespan is rarely beyond 2 years of age, whereas an indoor cat increases his/her longevity to nearly 17 years of life, some cats even longer.

The person who posted this in the first place said that she provides toys for her cat that he is not interested in them. Again I don't think the teaser toy would be a good idea for a cat that already injures people with it's claws without provocation.

The OP simply stated "toys", nothing about the type, or if she had actively engaged with the cat and the toys. I made suggestions based on this information. The teaser toy issue really is redundant unless or until we know if the cat has been introduced to it, how the cat reacts to it, does he enjoy it, is he stimulated by it and is his scratching/biting behavor deterred as a result of using the toy.

...and the vets I had taken Tiny to, did make it clear that the tests would diagnose what was causing Tiny's weight loss, but would not be treatable and he would die.

Well, that seems quite a contradiction in terms on the vet's part. Rhetorically: "I don't know what's wrong with your cat without bloodwork and additional testing, but I will tell you that it won't affect the outcome, because it isn't treatable." How is that a valid diagnosis? Did you consider a second opinion?

I don't know anything about your case beyond what you've posted here. But, if you had posted that here at the time, and if I was asked for advice, or was to form an opinion, the first thing I would say is, of course, get your kitty to a new vet pronto. Limited information clause here.

I know it is your job to give advice about the cats well being, but again you seem too clinical and cold, unaware or uncaring for what the owner is going through or what the cat may be feeling emotionally only physically.

I'm sorry you get that impression. On the contrary. I don't feel it is always necessary to explain how much I care about a person or their pet. I wouldn't be in this profession, and I wouldn't be here on these forums on a daily basis if I didn't care. I wouldn't express my concern for pets here if I didn't care. I wouldn't take much time out of my daily life here to devote to care and education if I didn't care. As well, many of the posts here demand immediate attention, there isn't time for chit chat. My priority is the health and welfare of cats, to give direction to the best of my ability and capacity, and hope the pet owner gives it fair consideration and acts promptly.

It bears mentioning that the OP made several references to her clear disdain of her cat. It was also clear by the use of language and terms she used regarding her cat, that she needed direction on how to handle both the situation, as well as her approaches. Disdain and anger are not productive and only worsen the situation as anyone knows. I took a considerable amount of time to address the issues on a point-by-point basis. I felt it was necessary to point out to her exactly what was not working and why.

....when you say "this is counterproductive" please explain to the owner why, so maybe they have an opportunity to understand what they are doing wrong and not feel as if they are being told that they don't know what they are doing and have no business owning a cat. Saying "this is counterproductive" and going on with your thought is counterproductive, it's the same as putting a cat outside for being bad, they don't know why and will continue the Behavior , same goes for humans, if we don't know why we don't care and continue doing it.

Please point out to me where in my posts I did not explain "why" whenever I mentioned "counterproductive". Point-by-point, I was very thorough. The "why's" are explained in detail in my posts.

Perhaps you do not understand my position statement on indoors only for cats. When you've seen countless of cats harmed, maimed, debilitated for life, or killed from various outdoor hazards, knowing full well every single one of them could have easily been prevented, then you may understand my position. When you've tried to counsel children over the loss of their treasured pet, perhaps you will understand. When you've tried to educate stubborn and self-serving adults with no regard to the life of an animal, perhaps you will understand. When you take work home with you and cry every night for those pets, then you may understand. Yes, I am strong-willed on that position, for obvious reasons.

For what it's worth, I don't intentionally try to alienate anyone here on the forums. I do my ultimate best and there may be times I may offend someone. But, I do reasonably expect the owners to act responsibly toward the health and welfare of their pets. If they don't want to apply advice given here, that is their choice.

[preciousdaddy84]

Understood. And for what is worth maybe my approach to the whole indoor/outdoor thing stems from me living in the country and having a large area for my cats to roam and being a good distance from the road and having few neighbors. I understand that some people may not have these things which would raise the dangers that there cats face. My indoor/outdoor cats range from 10 years old to 6 years old and they very rarely if ever run off for long periods of time. I understand your position here and why you do what you do, I am a person , like I said before, who is easily misunderstood and who is high stung and opinionated, I will word myself more carefully in the future and I hope to put this entire post behind is. Thank You Traci.


P.S. You said putting the cat outside was counterproductive but did not explain why this is. (below)[quote]The cat is not human, and the human took the wrong approach, period. As explained, it was a counterproductive approach...."[/quote]

[Traci]

Understood. And for what is worth maybe my approach to the whole indoor/outdoor thing stems from me living in the country and having a large area for my cats to roam and being a good distance from the road and having few neighbors. I understand that some people may not have these things which would raise the dangers that there cats face. My indoor/outdoor cats range from 10 years old to 6 years old and they very rarely if ever run off for long periods of time.

There is a first time for everything. For every cat who was injured or killed as a result of an outdoor hazard, that was the first, and sadly, only time for the cat.

I grew up on a ranch in the country. I had numerous farm cats and barn cats. They were always treated and vetted as necessary. Unfortunately, some of them were hurt or killed by machinery, cars, or by any one of the common outdoor hazards I've outlined in the link, or elsewhere. But if living in the country also affords you the capacity to allow your cats indoors, then clearly, the indoor-only initiative is better for the cat.

I realize that this is not always possible for those who live in the country, etc (although we will still encourage indoor only), but when someone on this forum indicates they are NOT in the country, then we will not hesitate to advocate indoors only for cats.

P.S. You said putting the cat outside was counterproductive but did not explain why this is. (below)

The cat is not human, and the human took the wrong approach, period. As explained, it was a counterproductive approach...."

Me: Putting him outside is not only dangerous, but as counterproductive as you can get (there is no purpose whatsoever for putting a cat outside just because you feel there is a behavioral problem, it solves nothing).

Me: The cat is not human, and the human took the wrong approach, period. As explained, it was a counterproductive approach...."there is only so much you can take" implies to me that you are completely unwilling to put your stress and emotions aside to address the real issue and the needs of the cat. The issue is taking approaches to address the behavior, in a calm and rational manner, one that is not going to harm the cat, one that the cat can associate with.

Perhaps a better way to address this would be to ask you or the OP:

Did tossing the cat outside resolve the situation? To what purpose did it serve?

Obvious answer: No purpose other than to alleviate the owner's emotional stress, and additionally creating confusion for the cat because he did not understand or associate the "tossing him outside" with the behavior. The owner clearly indicated animosity toward her cat, but her emotions prevented her from taking a more rational, calmer approach, one that the cat would have responded to more appropriately. The suggestion for a more appropriate approach was then given.