4yr old female constantly meowing

Question
QUESTION: I have a strange problem, for four years I've had this small silver and white cat, she's a very silent cat unless she wants to really be noticed.
A little back story on her first. She was owned by a very careless person, I first saw her when she was still a little kitten and then I hadn't seen her since she was about 9 months old. She was infested with fleas, her gums were almost completely white and she had very little human contact. It took a bit to finally catch her as she was basically locked up inside a dark room filled with boxes. Once I got her home we gave her a bath, which she did very well in, and treated her for fleas. We nursed her back to health but I'm guessing she didn't weight more than two pounds(And even now, I highly doubt 4 or 5 pounds. But she's quite filled out). It was about a month later we got a kitten, and the two bonded and every night they'd chase each other and play fight(It's stopped now, they can't play since the dog will chase them). And as she started getting better we noticed her back legs were bowed in. We pass it off even now as a birth or malnutrition defect from her first months being in that house. There's a chance she could be un-fixed, but when we got her(and even now) She looks too skinny to have all that inside of her.
Well, lately she's been acting stranger than usual. Before, if she wanted to be noticed she'd stand in front of you and meow but now she's walking around the house and meows her type of meow. It's not really an in-heat meow, though we have no idea if she's fixed since she's so little and has no vet records(I kinda stole her from someone, she was infested with fleas and near death), I have no idea what type of meow it is but it's just really odd sounding. My mom and I checked her for some type of pain, but she doesn't seem to be in pain. And she's not purring(only does that when you scratch her head for a bit).
Ever since around January of 2009(Back in Nov. we got a dog), she's been slowly drifting away from me. She won't come to me if I call her name like she use to, and the only time she ever wants to be near me is when I'm basically sleeping and she might sneak up on my bed and sleep until I wake up and then she gets down and walks out of my room.
She's eating just fine, (from what I know)going the bathroom just fine, she sleeps in excess though.
Her meow is repeated many times, it kinda sounds like 'Murr ow wow'
I suggested depression to my mother, but she said the cat has nothing to be depressed about..
I know you're not a vet, but I just want to know what you think, does this sound like cat depression due to a change of events suddenly?(Like getting the dog) Or is it something else..?

Thanks,
Al

ANSWER: Al,

She is a lucky cat for you have rescued her!

If she were depressed she would just lay around and lose interest in everything. But you should lock up the dog and let the two cats still continue to play with each other and have quality time with you. They need the exercise and the mental stimulation. Don't ever let your dog chase the cats. You need to train him not to!

It sounds like she is in heat. Does she raise her back-end when you scratch her back by her tail? That is one indication.

If she continues her meowing I would take her to the vet for a checkup. He can also see if she has a scar under her fur from being spayed, but I doubt she does.

Tabbi






---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Okay, I'm glad it's not depression then.
My mom pretty much objects to locking the dog up even for a short time unless we're away, and even when in the crate it's stuck out in the middle of the living room where the dog can taunt the cats(all the cats basically wander into my room for most of the day while we're away because of this).. since the dog is 'family' it stays outside of any crates or anything(unless we're not home). It basically took over the house and made everything too complicated, especially since the thing doesn't listen to me unless I physically tell it not to like grabbing it and pulling it away. My mom does nothing but squirt water at the animals if they do something wrong.

It sounds like she is, but she doesn't react to that. She just sits there and looks at you like a normal cat.

We have a 17 year old cat that's most likely past her prime, and sadly, most likely ready to pass away. The second cat who we got for my cat to play with is extremely mellow. Could my cat be meowing constantly as to 'claim' the house in stead of the older cat?

Thanks,
Al

ANSWER: Al,

Wow!  A 17 years old cat? She is approximately 84 years old in human years. A thought on that....it sounds morbid, but it's been proven that cat's can sense impending death. There is a slight possibility that your cat senses something with the old cat and is reacting to it, or 'telling you about it'.

If you do need to put poor kitty to sleep at some point here, or lose her, here is an EXCELLENT site for emotional support, and where you can have a memorial for your kitty:
http://rainbowsbridge.com/hello.htm

Can you tie the dog up outside for short periods of time to let the cats have a little 'dog-timeout'? Being on a leash when the cats and dog are together will help control the dog. Make sure the cat has high places where she can go to get away from the dog if she feels she needs to. Keep the cat's claws trimmed also. Feed both treats together so they associate each other with something pleasant. Rub one towel on each animal so they recognize the scent of the other, and exchange sleeping blankets, etc. for the same reason.
The longer the dog goes without correcting unwanted behavior (like tormenting the cats), the harder it will be to correct in the future if it gets out of hand. It is a personal decision, but some people who have cats with a dog use a 'shock collar' and give the dog shocks when it chases cats to train them not to do it. I have never used one because I don't have dogs, but one of my neighbors has good luck using one on their Jack Russell (known cat-killer breed).

As far as the meowing, if there is nothing that can be found to cause it (any Siamese in the cat's background?), then sometimes only the cat knows for sure why it is behaving in a certain way.

Tabbi




---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: I've lost one other cat to old age, but I do think she's getting to the point of death. She's extremely raggedy and sleeping a lot, I have a feeling she'll be gone with in a month or so.. and maybe my cat is telling us to that too.

No, we're actually not even allowed to have the dog in the first place. We were told on to get a dog and my mom ended up getting one, she's getting better with leaving the cats alone though. Just today she made a reaction to bark at the cat and she had listened to me when I told her no. We actually did try the blanket thing, my cat and the 17 year old walked away from them if you set them down. We also tried the same thing with the rabbits, they basically just started to shred the blankets.

As for the genes, she's so mixed up I can't tell what she could be. She's a semi-long haired cat with a silver/gray base and strange white belly and white paws. She looks seriously just like a Turkish Angora, she has the body and the fur length of one(Not sure on texture though) But she doesn't have that very large neck mane and her tail most likely isn't what it use to be as it never really recovered from the fleas.(If I could attach a picture I'd show you her.) And she's most likely not as heavy as she should be if she was that breed, over the past five months I'd say she's fattened out in the middle by a lot.

Answer
Al,

Only 3% of all cats are purebred. She is probably a mix of some type of persian, or a standard domestic longhair (which is a longhaired cat of no definite parentage).

Keep working with the dog. And you may want to worm the cat if she had a bad case of fleas. Don't get over the counter wormer because the worms are getting immuned to it. Get it from a vet. He has the lastest products, plus you need the correct dosage for the cat's weight and the correct wormer for the type of worms she may have.

Tabbi