Thursday, September 22, 2011

Forlorn Felines


I came across a pet psychology article a few months back and confirmed that animals too have several behaviors similar to man. They can be depressed as well and lose a sense of reality and may even commit suicide.
Laguna is my hometown and I see to it that I get to visit the place several times in a month, I currently own three cats, two kitties and a really old one. 


 
Marius has lost a claw and it was just recently that I realized he’s depressed. Over his feline life he had his stomach punctured so awfully he had a hole on his belly for a month and I covered it up with cloth from an old shirt my mom bought from Thailand that I hated so much and packing tape. Eventually it healed. I thought of going to the vet, I asked my cousin’s husband who was a vet and said that since time has passed and the wound lining the hole of my cat’s stomach has dried up, I should get a razor, re-new the wound and glue it up with mighty bond or super glue. 

 
He doesn’t have a hole anymore but he has lost a claw, leaving a wound that never seemed to heal. 

 
Almasy on the other hand was a kitten that my dad took from my grandmother's place. He said that Marius is dying, I told him to take back the cat because I don’t have time to take care of them and Marius wasn’t dying. Eventually two kitties were added, the last one was Luca.

Luca was the smallest and since I wasn’t home all the time, my dog Cinnamon out of jealousy has murdered Luca in front of Almasy. When I came back, I heard the news and saw Almasy who seem to have lost all hopes in life. He used to be playful and frisky but when I saw him, he was just lying on a rug staring into the cosmos. He hasn’t eaten in days and despite a pile of sardines prepared for him he didn’t dare move. After that he disappeared for a time and came back with the same behavior, he did start to eat a little but he still seemed unhappy. I bought him a catnip for P10, a genius toy that moves on the ground with the help of a thread and a spinner. He just looked at it and gave out a hopeless breath. He has stopped meowing and has stopped doing other activities such as climbing on the car’s roof.

My dad on the other hand took another kitty from my grandmother’s place and again, we named it Luca. Hopefully he would get over his mental illness and soon resume to normal behavior. Otherwise, I might just take him to the vet and have him take prescribed anti-depressants. I wonder how much it is to get a cat to be put to sleep… 

Almasy
According to this article about cat depression, owners should give cats lots of attention and reassurance so they can regain their normal behaviors. The main reason I liked cats is because they aren't as demanding as dogs... I guess I thought wrong.

1 comment:

  1. Just read this, Aww poor Luca don't worry Almasy will be alright. I currently have two cats right and also my siste's persian cat. Thanks for sharing this article. :)

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