Caregiver's cats behaving badly.

Is your cat now keeping you up late at night, or are you keeping the cat awake? How can you tell?

When we had our dog, it helped dH keep a schedule, practice giving outside of himself, and express love. It was like a therapy dog. It brought so much energy to our home! It was, however, a whole lot more work for me, especially when the dog declined and needed caregiving.

Cats have more pet peeves than dogs.
A dog will almost wolf down it's food,
but a cat is notoriously a picky eater.
imo.

If you don't have a pet, you can complain about how your neighbor's cat sprays your car tires every season.

I have three cats and a dog. They are clearly my animals (although I deny knowing the dog) and follow me around relentlessly. A couple of them acknowledge my mother but usually don't care about her either way (even though they have to pass through her living room to get to the pet door)

Mom went to the hospital and then rehab for about 5 weeks. Discovered Sebastian Cat would look for her in her bedroom while she was away. When she returned, he hovered until bedtime and slept part of the night with her. Now, I often find him sitting in her apartment with her. I tease Mom that she has stolen my cat.

While trying to help my parents, I had noticed that my 3 cats were also aging [16-18]... and not only was I putting off my own doctor appointments, I was also putting off their own appointments.

My parents enjoyed seeing the cats whenever my parents came over for supper. But once my parents started to use canes, the noise tended to freak out the cats, so when my parents were quietly sitting on the sofa, the cats would slowly come out.

Elderly pets have their age decline. One cat has had dementia for a few years now.... another cat has glaucoma so I have to wrestle with him to get eye drops in, usually he wins... [sigh].... and the third cat had a stroke.

The cat who had a stroke, who use to fall over any time she tried to stand up, and who we had to carry her about and hold her up for her to use the little box.... how she was determined at 18 to fix matters on her own... in a few short months she was back on her feet, not very graceful, but she gets around, and uses her litter box on her own. Her eyesight isn't good close up but she can notice things at a distance. Her mind is just as sharp as ever, she lets me know when she needs my help.

I have a cat and a dog. Tiger has been with me since 2004 and is my dear sweet companion. Midget ( 8yr old toy poodle) was my mother's dog who I took over care for in 2013. Midget is a cute pest that I have come to love very much. She came with me to visit my mom in memory care 1-2 times a week. Midget is a thief, lol!!! She steals my socks, hair brush and even the checkbook. I find them hidden in her crate or stuffed down between the couch cushions. When she wants to go out during the night, she grabs my blanket and pulls it off me to wake me up!!!! Yes, she and Tiger are very loyal to me. Love both my pets and their antics. Tiger will use one claw to poke me when he wants fed,haha.

We have 2 dogs and 3 cats. All of them come running if Grannie needs ANYTHING it is amazing,lol.

My Charlie-girl is our first dog ever! She is very much like your doggy SharynM, stealing my Sox and other items, especially likes getting into my husband's underwear, YUCK! I tell him to put them into the hamper, but typical male, he leaves Sox and undies on the floor of the bedroom, so fair game! Lol!

She has brought such joy to our home, but does not like my FIL's Rollator, and she barks at him when he's moving about the house. She lays in wait for him to come out of his bathroom, right before he goes to bed, and attacks his feet! Not maliciously, just in fun, but it is annoying!

She's more like a cat, in that we have to coax her to eat, and we make her a special diet of chicken, potatoes or rice and vegetables too! So spoiled she is! I don't know what I would do with out her! She's the Love of my Life!

The Dog’s Diary

8:00 am - Dog food! My favorite thing!
9:30 am - A car ride! My favorite thing!
9:40 am - A walk in the park! My favorite thing!
10:30 am - Got rubbed and petted! My favorite thing!
12:00 pm - Milk bones! My favorite thing!
1:00 pm - Played in the yard! My favorite thing!
3:00 pm - Wagged my tail! My favorite thing!
5:00 pm - Dinner! My favorite thing!
6:00 pm - Oo. Bath. Bummer.
7:00 pm - Got to play ball! My favorite thing!
8:00 pm - Wow! Watched TV with the people! My favorite thing!
11:00 pm - Sleeping on the bed! My favorite thing!

The Cat’s Diary

Day 983 of My Captivity. My captors continue to taunt me with bizarre little dangling objects. They dine lavishly on fresh meat, while the other inmates and I are fed hash or some sort of dry nuggets. Although I make my contempt for the rations perfectly clear, I nevertheless must eat something in order to keep up my strength.

The only thing that keeps me going is my dream of escape. In an attempt to disgust them, I once again vomit on the carpet. Today I decapitated a mouse and dropped its headless body at their feet. I had hoped this would strike fear into their hearts, since it clearly demonstrates my capabilities. However, they merely made condescending comments about what a “good little hunter” I am. Bastards!

There was some sort of assembly of their accomplices tonight. I was placed in solitary confinement for the duration of the event. However, I could hear the noises and smell the food. I overheard that my confinement was due to the power of “allergies.” I must learn what this means, and how to use it to my advantage.

Today I was almost successful in an attempt to assassinate one of my tormentors by weaving around his feet as he was walking. I must try this again tomorrow, but at the top of the stairs.

I am convinced that the other prisoners here are flunkies and snitches. The dog receives special privileges. He is regularly released, and seems to be more than willing to return. He is obviously retarded. The bird must be an informant. I observe him communicate with the guards regularly. I am certain that he reports my every move. My captors have arranged protective custody for him in an elevated cell, so he is safe. For now ...

Send I think you have created a monster judging from the fast responses.
We have had a large number of pets but now down to one much loved kitty who is getting elderly now. I would love another dog but am most fond of larger breeds like Labs and can't exercise them anymore. Most were gifts or stays but we purchased our first dog a German Shepard puppy, she was our first "baby" We have had horses, dogs, cats, a mouse, gerbils and rabbits. Oh and I almost forgot Chicken who just turned up one day. As Winter approached we wondered about shelter for her but she made her own arrangements. We found her one evening nestled in one of the horse's hay. One of the cat's liked to lie on one of the horses backs when it was cold. We think he came from a nearby farm and was used to sitting on a cow's back at night. One of the gifted dogs was a huge groundhog hunter. She carried them home and took great pleasure in lying on the lawn and chomping away. Disgusting but useful! all were great characters and fondly remembered.

If My Dog Could Talk....

Dog: WAT DOING
Me: Nothing. I just stood up.
Dog: WHERE GO
Me: I'm literally just walking 3 feet away. I'm not even leaving the room.
Dog: CAN I COME
Me: I mean...sure, but I'm literally just...
Dog: I COME TOO
Dog: WAT DOING
Me: I need to open this door.
Dog: I HALP
Me: But you're in front of the door! Move please.
Dog: I HALP
Me: (sigh...)

(I can't take credit for this, found it online)

A dogs nightmare.
My parents were moving to the USA taking their kids and a couple of rabbits. They had a special cage made for me ( this was before you could buy nice plastic crates) We all turned up at the airport ( long before security was an issue so we did not get searched)
The rabbits and I were handed over to airport personell who clearly knew nothing about care of animals. THEY forgot to put us on the plane and worse than that did not let me out of my prison cell for two whole days. The rabbits did not care they just peed in their boxes. There was panic when the family arrived in chi cargo the family went into panic mood. Where were their furry children? Does anyone know? Two days later all three were safely delivered to the family. The minute the dog got out of his cage he raised his leg and peed so much he had to change legs. Not the smartest dog on the planet but he was very well house trained.

Veronica, It was only six hours ago that you suggested this new thread, so all credit goes to you!

We had 3 cats and 1 dog when Mother was here all the way to her end and then she left and 2 of our cats and our little dog died too.Just 1 cat is still here with me that went through the whole ride with Mom and these 15 months after she left.He is a sweet,old man cat and Iv'e been so grateful to have him by my side.
Then a kid brought us a little dog and our neighbor insisted on giving us a kitten and now it's had 5 kittens so the house is full of little lives again and it's wonderful.
At bedtime though,it is just the old cat and I.Its our special time each day.I just don't know why he has to sleep on top my head.

Just got home and just spotted this thread. Good idea Send/Veronica!

First, CM, hilarious post! Did that come from your brilliant mind? Wow!

All your posts! Great! Just came back from my two cats annual vet visit. Well, it's official, my Daniel is 21 lbs.. She says he is one of the fattest cats she has seen. It's a cats only vet so that is saying a lot. Before anyone thinks it, I'm not a bad owner. Daniel is just a greedy cat. But.......having said that, he is officially on a diet, starting now. She said we can teach him to go on the treadmill. Wish me luck! :P

Then there is Henrick. He is a lean, mean machine. Totally healthy. He was very smug when we left the vet.

I have all sorts of funny stories about them but I will leave them for another day. :)

Poor Daniel.

Poor Daniel nothing. He's a greedy little bastard. But a lovable one and I adore him.

Oh gosh no, not mine, Gershun - my son emailed it to me to fwd to his granny, years ago, not sure where he got it.

My mother was appalled by it. The very idea that cats are not happy and grateful in their loving homes! For a woman with a keen interest in the natural world, my mother was pretty romantic about her cats' attitudes to The Staff.

Properly brought-up, not abused Staffies are famous for being "nanny dogs." My DIL's family had a Staffy girl called Lola who took her duties very seriously: at the big post-wedding get together at Lola's home, my mother and my MIL were settled comfortably in the sitting room and Lola spent the entire afternoon going from one to the other of them, guarding them alternately, instead of running around with the children and being fed treats.

When my mother had her first clear stroke - she suddenly appeared in her underclothes in our sitting room, talking gibberish - I got her to sit down on the sofa so that I could hurtle upstairs, get my shoes on, fetch her coat and grab my car keys. When I went back to help her up and take her to the car, my Staffy Zach was sitting right by her on the sofa and watching her every move. Maybe he even understood what she was trying to say.

Hang on. That's off topic - dogs not behaving badly!

I did also have a spectacularly greedy cocker spaniel who was forever stealing anything that even resembled food. I came into the kitchen to find a little trail of individually wrapped dishwasher detergent capsules on the floor. The first had been properly chewed, the second slightly chewed, the third, fourth, fifth just nibbled a bit and spat out again. Evidently it had at last dawned on him that these candies were really horrible...

Whatever you do, don't teach your cat to ring the doorbell. The cat who had a stroke [mentioned earlier on this thread] quickly learned that if the doorbell is rung, a human will appear. It was nice when she wanted in she would ring it... but then when the other cats wanted to come in, and she was outside, she would ring the doorbell for them, too..

It was pretty funny whenever I was on the telephone, the person at the other end of the line could hear the doorbell and wanted me to go answer the door... I would say "it's just the cat wanting in". If it was Dad on the phone he would always start laughing :)

ff funny!

Susan, Lol!
Wanting to change my screen name to: I HALP.

(grin) Send....

I have to tell you about my big yellow cat. He was a stray that was hanging around our house and begging for food, so I fed him. He was so scrawny, you could count his vertebrae, see his hip bones and all his ribs. He appeared to be a medium-to-short hair run of the mill Tabby mix. He was skittish, but enjoyed the food and started hanging around. After a month or so, we got used to him being out there, but winter was coming soon, and Mom was worried sick that he would suffer. With her dementia, she kind of became obsessed with the cat and his well-being. Soooo, being the dutiful daughter I am, I took the cat to the vet, got him fixed and all the necessary stuff done, and brought him home $300 later. Dang expensive "stray" cat.  Now he is the biggest, most gorgeous LONG-HAIRED cat you've ever seen, with huge greenish-yellow eyes.  I wish we could post pics here. Mom just adored him, and he loved her right back. However....he is the *weirdest* cat I've ever seen in my life.

His peculiarities:
-Eats not only his food but the dog's too, if we don't pick it up at night. (probably from being outside so long)
-Eats *anything* - so we have to be careful what is left on the floor, which is a problem with the messy housekeeper my DD is.
-Chews on *anything* as well - phone charger cords being his favorite - but he loves anything that's rubbery to chew on. I've actually found tooth marks in the cord on my hair dryer, which hangs on the wall in the bathroom! So that means he leaped up on the sink and found the cord and chewed on it. He's never gotten a poke from one of these cords, apparently, or he'd probably stop.
-He BITES. And we're not talking little love bites here. It doesn't appear that he's really trying to be mean, just that he doesn't seem to understand that biting hurts. In a normal litter situation, his litter-mates would have taught each other that biting hurts by doing it to each other - but I think he may have been separated from his litter too soon and was on his own for a long time, so he didn't have litter mates to teach him "manners".
-He has an incredibly wet mouth - like a dog. If he puts his mouth on you, it leaves a very wet spot - not just a little damp. Weird.

He *loves* my 100-lb dog and will chase him through the house and play fight with him all the time. We worried that they wouldn't get along, because the dog is so big and tends to be aggressive towards other animals. He really wants to play with them but doesn't understand how to go about the meet-and-greet thing, so he gets too rough. One day when the cat was still outside, he strolled through the yard when the dog was out. The dog ran right to the end of his tie-out to get to the cat, but the cat never budged, hissed or even acted like the dog was anything other than a friend. He walked right up to the dog, touched noses with him, and they've been buddies ever since. They play fight all the time. The dog smacks him around with his huge paws and nibbles on his neck or leg like an ear of corn, using only his tiny front teeth, which looks absolutely hilarious. Even more hilarious is the cat just laying there, letting him do it! Occasionally the play gets a little rough and the cat gets ticked off and launches himself at the dog, grabs a mouthful of whatever skin is handy (often a lip) and just hangs off the dog like some kind of growth. Or the dog steps on the cat and the cat lets out a yowl. You know it's all over when the cat gets angry enough to hiss at the dog - then the dog stops right in his tracks and sniffs the cat's face as if to say, "Hey! You ok?? Your face is leaking or something!"

Susan your cat sounds great. People who don't like cats don't realize their little personalities are so unique. Every cat I've ever had was a little person to me. The two I have now are brothers or litter mates is the correct way of putting it i guess. Daniel is a big teddy bear. He actually has the face of a teddy. Big round eyes, beige with a white vest and white paws. Henrick is a classic tabby, ginger, also with a white vest and white paws. Smart as a whip. Very calculating. Makes a little bed out of whatever is available. Tries to climb into any little box. Good thing he is an indoor cat or he would get locked in someone's garage or even worst. He sees something new, he has to explore. Whereas Daniel is just big and cuddly. I'll be doing something somewhere in the house and look over. He will be laying flat out on his back with his paws stretched out waiting for a tummy rub. When I am sitting on the toilet he puts his front paws on my knees and reaches his face up and rubs it against my cheek. A total cuddly bear. Unfortunately, there is a little too much of him to love right now. I'm racking my brain on how to get him to lose weight without depriving him too much. Problem is, he is kind of lazy so don't know what to do. Any ideas much appreciated.

Six months before Mom went into NH while home alone she found a classified add. She called. She wanted to see the puppies. The woman selling the puppies lived about 45 miles away. Mom told the woman she couldn't possibly get there. So the woman brought the puppies to Mom's house! She bought a puppy! She had a checkbook hidden! It was a 6 month disaster. Mom goes from hospital to NH for rehab. I bring Peanut home with me temporarily until Mom gets back home. Mom ends up staying in NH. Temporary began August 2012. Guess who is still here? A 5LB Pomchi named Peanut. I love the little pest.

Lizzy, your Mom's loss is your gain. Yay! Peanut!

We had an Australian shepherd when we first bought our house. His name was Toby. Toby was a character as our son would sit on his back (son was a year old). When Toby had enough, he would slowly stand up so our son just gently slid down to the ground. One day when my hubs came home from work, Toby was very sluggish. Hubs thought he was sick,then he notice what appeared to be poophanging out Toby's back end. So hubs grabbed an old shirt to wipe the dog and low and behold hubs discovered fabric. He started to pull it out, he pulled and pulled.... it turned out the dog ate a sleeve off an old shirt in the garage. Poor thing, he perked right up when hubs pulled it all out, lol!!!

Tiger has always been an avid gopher hunter. We had a doggie door that existed the house to the garage and another one which exited the garage to the backyard. Tiger liked to bring his trophy in the house to us which were usually very disabled by this time. However, one time he brought in a gopher that was not disabled. It got away in the master bedroom. I yelled to my hubs to come help get it. Now you have to picture a cartoon setting while visualizing my hubs who is a big man.... hubs takes off chasing the gopher.... I did not think a gopher could run fast since they live underground. It was like a chipmunk... zooming around the room. I was laughing so hard doubled over seeing my big hubs chasing this little gopher and running right behind my hubs was Tiger!!!! It was like a cartoon. I laughed so hard my stomach hurt.

Promised my mother I would take her cat if something happened. She went into a nursing home two years ago, so I ended up with the cat, even though I had 7 rescues of my own, and didn't want her. She had to stay in our bedroom for a year, with a screen on the door, because she hadn't seen another cat in ten years and could not adjust. Finally we had enough and let her loose in the house. The other cats avoided her like the plague, but our largest cat insisted on chasing her. She would not back down even though she was half the size, and the fights often ended up in our bedroom, under the bed, where moms cat would get explosive diarrhea. Try moving a king size bed to clean under it. That happened twice, and now our original cat lives in the basement/outside. Its not fair to him, but what can you do

emma22, one thing I learned to have other cats adjust to a new cat in the house.... is to use the same cat brush on all of them.... that way each other has the other's scent. I worked great for me. Worth a try.

They tolerate her now, but know not to get close. They let her make the first move. We have a three legged one that is starting to chase her now, but she knows he can't catch her so she just hisses and runs slowly.. The brush is a good idea, anything is worth a try.

We had an old pony called Gypsy who learned to turn on the barn light when she knew it was feeding time. They were supposed to be horse proof switches but I guess the electrician did not have horses.
I used to ride Gypsy a lot because i was not the bravest rider and one day out with a friend we got lost in the woods, so I said I would give Gypsy a loose rein and let her find our way home. Sure enough she did.