Whining and staring

Question
Hi Tina,

We have two cats with two very distinctive personalities. Jazz is a quiet but affectionate little thing who we have never had any problems with. Mags on the other hand, has always been a talker and attention seeker.

Recently however, Mags has become much more talkative or "whiney". She will whine loudly constantly for maybe an hour. Then stop and stare, blankly for a little while. After a while, she'll sleep like a normal cat does, but repeat the pattern again. She does this 2 or 3 times a day.

A number of factors have changed in the last 3 months or so and this is about as long as Mags has been doing this.

- A friend has moved in with me and my wife as he is going through a difficult period in his life.
- We have a snake now, a small corn snake.
- Mags developed tape worm(which we have no dealt with recently).

We can't understand her behaviour at the moment. We always feed her, she always has fresh water. The litter tray is cleaned regularly.

Could any of the above factors have anything to do with it? The friend that has moved in plays with her alot. Could it be that when she has gotten used to the attention and is unhappy when she isnt getting it? Is she threatened by the snake? Could it have anything to do with the tape worm?

We just want our little Mags to be happy and healthy.

Please advise.
Herve and Kim

Answer
Hi Herve & Kim,

While it's quite possible that your cat's behavior is related to stress or anxiety about changes in her life, if this were my cat I'd want to be absolutely sure there was not something else wrong first. I'd take her to the vet and have a full blood panel run, check her eyesight and hearing, and general health. Also make sure the fleas are gone - tapeworms are transmitted by fleas. Sometimes cats try to tell us something is wrong in the strangest ways!

If she checks out OK, you might want to try some stress reducing strategies. The Feliway spray and/or plug-in can help - Feliway mimics relaxing pheromones that cats exude from their cheek glands. The plug-in diffuser creates a constant release of Feliway, the spray is best for local and immediate but short-term effect. The spray and diffuser work well used together. It is not detectable by humans at all (the spray smells like rubbing alcohol when you first use it, but that quickly evaporates). It is sold in most pet stores and online, for example at www.drsfostersmith.com.

You can also try a herbal calming supplement - I have had good luck with Bach's Rescue Remedy, available in health food stores and online. Simply add a few drops to her food or water. I don't administer it directly by mouth because it has a strong alcohol taste (to preserve it) which evaporates quickly enough in the water or food but directly from the bottle would be a bit much.

In addition, try to provide your cat with a stable predictable routine as much as possible - feed at the same time each day, play time at the same time of day etc. Cats like to feel in control of things and knowing when things will happen reassures them.

Good luck!

Good luck!