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15:39:02

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Gabi and Lolita Hi Ali,

I emailed you some time ago concerning my cat Gabi that I had neutered and who's personality and behavior has changed a lot since then. As you recommended I took her to my vet and blood taken from her and her sister Lolita. The tests came back negative for cat leukemia and cat HIV. I was SO relieved! I still need to take their urine samples and I will do that soon. I tried to explain the situation of Gabi to the vet that was there (the clinic alternates between vets) but I felt rushed because he had many patients that day. I did not have the time or the opportunity to ask about Gabi's operation. He did tell me that Gabi's changes can be a hormonal change after the operation. He said that happens to some cats.

My other question to you is concerning Lolita and how to get her comfortable with being touched. Once I approach her to touch her, she immediately runs off, sometimes in a playful way. It's like we are playing cat and mouse. When I want to lift her up I have to sneakily do so, when she is not expecting it. Any tips to get her to more openly accept affection? She only allows me or others to touch her when she wants.

Also, concerning neutering her, I'm still scared. I know that it's in her best interest, but I don't want her to change negatively. Also, her heat cycles have significantly changed. When she first started being in heat, it would start again within a week and half. She did that for some time, really crying alot and being super affectionate. And once it was over, she would resume to her somewhat moody ways. But I have noticed that she barely cries does not cry and the only way I notice that she is in heat is because every now and then she becomes super sweet, or has some discharge from her private, and then I realize what's going on, but apart from that it no longer occurs like before, or as frequently as before. Is there an explanation for this?

Lastly, I bought the Bach's Rescue Remedy, and I don't know if it was a coincidence, but that same day they seemed to be sweeter.

I have enclosed a picture of my "babies." Lolita is the one with mostly white and Gabi is the yellow and white one.

Thanks again for your help.

Answer
Lilian,

Your babies are absolutely gorgeous. I would recommend that you continue on with the Rescue Remedy as you mentioned that it seems to be helping some. I would suggest that you try conditioning your cats to come to you for attention by using food as a reward/motivator. Many cats enjoy foods like chicken, wild game type meats (often popular with cats because they aren't generally given as treats) including venison, caribou, pheasant, duck and bison. While these meats are a bit on the pricey side they can generally be found in a well stocked butcher shop. Using a clicker which is typically used to train dogs is a good idea. The way that the clicker training works is to use the clicker's sound paired with a food reward to create positive associations with affection. Once your cats pair the sound of the clicker with the meat then the clicker becomes the reward for allowing you to pet the girls. The idea is to make sure that the meats are thoroughly cooked to avoid the potential for food poisoning or other illnesses. While cats would eat raw meat in a perfect world I think that most people would agree that this isn't a perfect world. The idea is to reward the girls for coming to you and allowing you to touch them. This is somewhat similar to Pavlov's classical conditioning experiment with the dogs except that you aren't looking to cause the cats to salivate when they hear a specific sound. It's not a bad idea to play with your cats daily as this can help to drain excess energy and create a stronger bond between you and your cats. Sometimes draining the surplus energy can make your cats more accepting of affection. I would recommend using interactive toys like kitty teases, kitten mittens and even old shoelaces. If you choose to play with your cats using shoelaces you need to make sure that they are only allowed to play with these types of toys under direct supervision. Cats can and often do swallow thread (sometimes with the needle attached), yarn, strings and shoelaces so these objects must be stored where smart and determined cats aren't able to get ahold of them in order to prevent serious injuries requiring emergency vet care. Essentially the idea is to get your cats used to the idea that affection and human contact are rewarding on a couple of different levels (physical, food rewards). Lots of patience, love and time will often give you the results that you are looking for in terms of changing kitty behaviors. If things don't seem to be progressing then you can certainly send me another update and let me know about any progress you have made.

Spaying Lolita shouldn't have any negative effects. Ultimately spaying your girl is in her best interests for a variety of reasons. Sometimes heat cycles change and there isn't a concrete reason, so I am not really able to speculate why Lolita's cycles have changed. Spaying and neutering provides countless benefits as I mentioned in the earlier e-mail reply. I haven't seen too many cats that have been negatively affected on any kind of long term basis after being spayed or neutered so I wouldn't expect Lolita to have any problems unless there are surgical complications which are pretty rare. I know that you are uncomfortable making this choice because of the changes in Gabi, but the main thing to remember is that you are doing the best thing for Lolita and Gabi's health by spaying them and ensuring that they don't contribute to serious pet overpopulation issues or develop serious medical conditions related to continued exposure to sex hormones and heat cycles. I see no reason to be concerned about spaying Lolita. If you aren't entirely comfortable with the vet that spayed Gabi doing the surgery I see no reason why you shouldn't have Lolita spayed by another vet in your area. I hope that you have found this information helpful. If you have any further questions, concerns, or you would simply like to send updates or pictures my way, please don't hesitate to contact me again.

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