# A cat problem



## liesel (Feb 13, 2013)

My cat always had anxiety about being left home alone even for a few hours but for no apparent reason it's getting worse. yesterday when I was out she apparently scream meowed for over an hour so loudly that the apartment downstairs complained. I don't know if it's cause I don't normally go out on Fridays but this separation anxiety is getting crazy. any suggestions on what to do? I don't want to leave my rats out with her when I'm not there to supervise and cannot afford a dog or other cat to keep her company. Why is she so lonely?


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## RatAtat2693 (Jan 13, 2016)

Anything changed recently? Sights, smells, people?

Does she have a safe place to go to? One that never changes.


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## liesel (Feb 13, 2013)

I did move around furniture in the living room. and we got a new baby rat but that's all that changed. I guess maybe furniture moving worried her?


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## Gribouilli (Dec 25, 2015)

It could be any of that. Oftentimes anxiety is created by some nutritional deficits. Yes, anxiety is also genetic, but nutrition can make it better or worse. I would research if there is a better nutrition fir your cat. There are also natural supplement I read people were using with success on their keys, never used any of them myself so I can't tell from experience. Maybe getting her a friend would help too. If you are renting it is even more if a problem obviously. I hope you figure it out.


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## liesel (Feb 13, 2013)

about getting her a friend - she hates other cats. would that possibly change if we got a second and did introductons properly? Also I worry about getting a second cat cause my current one loves my rats, gets along well and never hurts them. She only allowed with them under supervision just incase but she's a good cat. I worry a second one won't be.


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## RatAtat2693 (Jan 13, 2016)

I never advise getting a second animal as a friend unless you really want a second cat. It could go well, but it could also go horribly and now you have two cats that hate each other and twice as many vet bills.

I would give it a week and see if she calms down. The furniture probably freaked her out. 

I'm also a big fan of leash and crate training your cat because even if you never lock her in the crate, she'll still have a consistent place to stay if you have to move, etc. I always keep her crate in the same place, and when I moved, I put everything in the exact same place and leave it there for the next two weeks. 

Plus, my indoor cat loves her outdoor time.

Mine is an old DFN and looks like this:


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## liesel (Feb 13, 2013)

I actually really like the crate idea. I will look into that for sure. it'd be good too cause within a few years I'm hoping to eventually invest in a house and maybe having the consistency of the crate will help her with a move.


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## RatAtat2693 (Jan 13, 2016)

liesel said:


> I actually really like the crate idea. I will look into that for sure. it'd be good too cause within a few years I'm hoping to eventually invest in a house and maybe having the consistency of the crate will help her with a move.


If you do pursue it, I would try to find another DFN instead of an actual cat crate, unless you plan to spend a lot of time on the road. The cat crate will be more portable, but the doors come completely off of the DFN and can be stored away during training. They're both the same amount of usable space; the DFN has more height to it because of the stand. Though, I admittedly only used the DFN because I already had one from the rats. The main difference is that the cat is a lot heavier than a ferret or a rat - mine is six pounds, so the shelves on a DFN have to be secured with zip ties to keep them from flipping erratically when the cat jumps from one level to the next. 

I tried to find you a decent guide for crate training your cat, but they were all for litter box training, which probably isn't what you need and involves many unnecessary steps. It's basically the same as training a puppy. 
http://www.humanesociety.org/animals/dogs/tips/crate_training.html?

For Kaida, I initially set it up with all of the doors off of the hinges and put her food bowl on the top shelf, away from my dogs. I left the litter box where it was because she tends to always go where the box/food has always been, and I don't need cat waste in my closet. I move the litter box into the bottom about a week or two before I start packing.

Each week, I would add a door to it, starting with the one next to her food and moving clockwise. I left the last door off, as in the picture, so she could go in or out of the crate as she pleases. 

After about a month of her eating and sleeping in the crate, I finally just shut the last door for a half hour. She's a freak cat with a freak background, so she just sat there quietly plotting my death for about 20 minutes and went back to sleep.

We're in the process of moving out right now, so my house is mostly boxes and very little furniture. Nothing is in the right place, and with two people, three big dogs, three rats in a rabbit cage, and a cat, it's tight. But she loves the thing, and I've made it a point not to move it at all. It'll be the last thing out the door. I've also set up her carrier in the crate, so she's had the benefit of using it as an alternate bed.

She retreats there when we vacuum or the dogs get crazy, and it doubles as a cat tree. I'm contemplating getting a cover for it so she can have somewhere dark to go. She also has to do some work to get to the food bowl, so she's noticeably dropped some fat since I set it back up. And if we're moving furniture out the door, I'll be able to safely keep her from slipping out the door.


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## catty-ratty (Feb 21, 2016)

I'm not encouraging you to get another cat, but if you do go that way, I'm throwing out my 30 years experience with having cats. 

I've been something of a cat rescue for about 20 years now. At one time, I had 41 of them. I've been introducing new cats for a very long time. A lot of people think they can't get another cat because they've usually only seen what happens the first week or less with a new cat. 

It's very rare for two cats to get along famously right away. Usually, they screech and hiss and sound like they are going to kill each other. In my experience, those same two cats will be grooming each other and napping together by the end of the month. Even those cats people gave up that didn't get along with other cats. 

In the past 20 years, I have only ever had 1 cat that never warmed up to the others. She just stays away from them and there are no problems.


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## RatAtat2693 (Jan 13, 2016)

Agreed. That goes for most species (and siblings). Force them in the same small space for long enough, and they'll get along. It's why the carrier method works and why you make office friends with people you wouldn't normally look at.


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## InuLing (Dec 26, 2015)

I agree with the crate and leash training. I've also taken an x-large dog crate and installed a shelf to make it work for cats. (It was mainly for fosters but my cat would use it when it was empty.) I am also a huge advocate for leash training a cat. The majority of cats can be leash trained if it's done right and it's a great way for them to safely explore. It also expands their territory to include the yard which does wonders for a cat's confidence. It's all about territory to a cat.

If you do decide to go the second cat route you'd have to choose carefully what exactly you get. My cat (despite being a mother herself in the past) cannot stand kittens. If there's one in the room she WILL attack it. That being said she is perfectly fine with adult cats and has no issues with them. I think she just doesn't like being jumped on and assumes all kittens will jump on her at some point, which she's probably right about that one.


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## smoteymote (May 28, 2016)

Gonna toss in my 2 cents here too.

Crates are amazing. We always had it open and it's a safe space. We even use it for the vet because it gives my cat a place to retreat too when he's scared. He sleeps in his crate a lot and it's always left open when we're at home. Definitely a great thing to have.


Things that have helped my friends and I dealing with separation anxiety prone cats.

More toys. All the toys. Anything that will stimulate them. Puzzle feeders, lasers that go off on a timer, hidey holes and scavenger hunts. All that helps. If you can put a bird feeder outside and put a cat tree by that window, that's a great one! TV and radio can help too. I know a number of studies have been done that cats are less prone to anxiety when there's noises on in the house instead of dead silence.

Avoid giving your cat food and treats while you're home. Save those things for when you're gone so that your cat associates good thing with you not being there too. And don't reward your cat for clingy behavior (ie: meowing while you're in another room so you return. However, when he's quiet or entertaining himself, then you should reward him. Show him that these are the behaviors that you want.

Are you going overboard saying goodbye? Cats don't do that. Just leave the house without saying goodbye to them. If you're worried especially they'll easily pick up on that. In the same vein, if you cat starts stressing out the moment you walk to the door or the moment you grab your coat or keys just do that a ton over the next month without actually leaving every time. Eventually your cat becomes desensitized to it.

And in the end, if none of this works and everything you've tried doesn't take, it might be time to go the vet to get diagnosed and receive meds. All of this will need to continue but I've definitely seen some extreme cases where medication has gone a long way to helping the behavior modification take hold better.


Also I hate promoting things but like.... Bach Rescue Remedy (Pet) and the Sentry Calming Spray/Plug Ins helped tremendously for when we moved. Nimbus was still himself but the crazy anxiety and unusual behavior slowed and stopped and we stopped needing them after we all settled in. I've also heard good things from my friends about the Jackson Galaxy Spirit Essences which they have used and liked too. It's not the type of thing I normally go in for but cats are so affected by scent and pheromones that I suspect that's a large part of why they actually seem to work.


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