Re: My Cat's Sensory Needs

[Guest guest]

>My cat seems to have some rather strange sensory

>needs...particularly when it comes to chewing things. His two

>favorite things to

>chew are sponges and curling ribbon. Of course he ends up eating

>those things, getting sick, and then throwing them up along with

>whatever else he has eaten. His very favorite thing to lick is

>emery boards.

Be careful with the ribbon... If he doesn't barf it back up, it can

get caught in his intestine and kill him. Or it might not get all

the way down his throat and choke him -- I had that almost happen

with Belle a few months ago, had I not been there to grab her and

pull it out (the very edge was prodtruding from the back of her

mouth) she probably would have died.

>Has anyone else had to deal with similar behaviors, and how have you

>handled them? Are there any good sensory products out there for

>cats? I'm not really looking to keep him from chewing plastic

>because he really seems to enjoy it. I just don't want him to get

>hurt doing

>it.

Yeah, I have the same problem with some of my cats -- Casey and Belle

in particular. They'll try to eat plastic wrap, plastic film (the

sort used in display boxes), plastic bags, you name it. I don't

think it's a craving for a particular nutrient... As you put it, I

think it's entirely sensory. They like the feel of the plastic, as

far as I can tell.

There are two toys I've found that are safe replacements for that

particular habit. I'm using " make a shorter link " so the urls aren't

gigantic...

http://makeashorterlink.com/?W5FC22F14

The wavy rings and curls are both favorites with my plastic-craving

kitties... During the summer, I drop some in the water dish and the

cats have fun fishing them out or batting them around.

http://makeashorterlink.com/?A1AD21F14

This is a ball made of crinkly mylar that sounds & feels pretty much

like a plastic bag. The sound alone brings the plastic-cravers from

all over the house...

http://makeashorterlink.com/?D2DD21F14

A four-pack of slightly smaller mylar crinkly balls.

Hope this helps!

DeGraf ~*~ http://www.sonic.net/mustang/moggy

[Guest guest]

Sandi tap tap tapped into the keyboard:

>Tinsel (the other thing he likes) is not good either.

I remember a little too well the time that Serai ate Christmas tinsel back

when I was still a young teen (i.e. too young to know about tinsel being bad

for cats)... It was terrifying at the time, but in retrospect her running in

circles after the shimmering tinsel is a fairly amusing mental image.

DeGraf ~*~ http://www.sonic.net/mustang/moggy

[Guest guest]

Jane Meyerding tap tap tapped into the keyboard:

>I also have two " cat towers " for my cats, one of them near a big window (for

>bird watching). Also half a dozen catnip " pillows " (the size of a playing

>card) of various ages.

That's what I have in my house too... Two 8' carpeted climbing structures

which they are slowly destroying, catnip blankies, and toys everywhere. Most

of them also enjoy playing fetch, among other games like tag or hide-and-seek,

either with myself or one another. Most people frown on having multiple cats

in a household, but mine love being able to interact with one another -- it

seems to help their mental health a great deal.

DeGraf ~*~ http://www.sonic.net/mustang/moggy

[Guest guest]

dani wrote:

>lol -funny! yes I've had some odd cat behaviors - one was convinced he

>was invisible if he hid his head under something - he could never figure

>out how we found him and was always quite indignant. ;-)

My cat Harold has a slow-motion walk he does when he

wants to be invisible. When he wants to eat out of

's bowl, for example. It's truly amazing to see.

And it's effective, too. He can make it right up to

the bowl without drawing himself to my attention.

And Harold is a BIG cat!

Jane

[Guest guest]

Sent: Monday, April 07, 2003 1:15 PM

> maybe your cat is autistic? :-\ (oh yes I know I'm being silly) but

> the items you mention him being attracted to are the same or similar to

> many autistic people who seek sensory stims orally especially during

> childhood. I had a cat ate one of the christmas tree balls that is

> basically wrapped silk... one string at a time - eeww!

The autism thought has definitely crossed my mind. His other " hobby " is

sitting on the desk staring at the light fixture. I have no idea what the

attraction is. I've joined him a couple of times, but I don't get much out

of it ;o).

[Guest guest]

Sent: Monday, April 07, 2003 10:48 AM

> My cat adores leather. He will scent it to almost ecstasty level. He

also

> likes aluminium foil - which I do keep away from him as it can be harmful.

> Tinsel (the other thing he likes) is not good either.

>

> For your cat, could you let him chew the plastic bags as much as he wants,

> then when it's all chewed around the top, cut 5cms or so off, so it's an

> unchewed section. I don't know if his chew habits would accomodate this,

> but it's an idea. Curling ribbon sounds nasty. You might have to be

> vigilant about keeping it out of the house or at least out of his reach.

He extremely picky about his chewing plastic (yet another point in favor of

him being autistic). He requires a double layer, and the stiffness must be

just " right " for it to keep him entertained. He will chew the edges of

zip-lock bags, but he doesn't go at them with the same gusto as stiffer

plastic bags. He also seems to prefer chewing the corners where there is a

pretty large separation between the layers.

Curling ribbon IS nasty. I keep it out of the house as much as I can, but

occasionally the boys will have mylar balloons with ribbons. Those I park

on top of the shelves in the boys' room, out of reach of Webber. He did

find a nice long piece of ribbon back in the fall...god only knows where

because I could have sworn we didn't have any in the house at all. He

usually only swallows short pieces because he chews them pretty thoroughly.

But that time he ate a long piece whole. I knew he had eaten ribbon because

he was throwing up little pieces of it. He ended up being pretty sick. He

didn't eat anything for a few days, and I took him to the vet. They x-rayed

him, and the ribbon hadn't caused his intestines to be twisted, and in fact,

I think he threw up the last piece of ribbon the morning I took him to the

vet because he didn't throw up any more after that.

He was pretty pissed off about being treated. Can't say that I blame him.

His stomach had to be incredibly irritated, and he didn't appreciate being

stuck with needles. They actually had to put him in one of those squish

cages they use for wild and feral animals! Luckily he didn't seem to hold

it against me.

Despite his very traumatic experience, he didn't learn that curling ribbon

makes him sick.

>

> What are his teeth like? If they are plaque-y you could give him raw

> chicken wings. That may be a sensory alternative for him too.

> Hope this helps.

> sandi

Raw chicken wings? Really? Huh...I had no idea. His teeth stay pretty

clean because he only eats dry food, and I give him tartar control treats.

He used to catch and eat flies, but he seems to have given up " fresh " meat.

[Guest guest]

Sent: Monday, April 07, 2003 12:09 AM

> In general, I find that my cats engage in much more

> self-stim behavior during periods when I am not playing

> much with them myself. Even two fairly brief play sessions

> per day, where I have them racing around after a toy on

> a long string (for example), cuts down on the stim

> activity and seems to make them happier overall. One

> reason why it cuts down on the stims, I bet, is because

> they sleep better after the exercise. (They do get some

> exercise on their own, of course, racing around, leaping,

> patroling the windows....) Think of lions. They engage

> in short bursts of extreme activity, but most of the

> time they are either napping or sleeping. That's the

> general feline lifestyle, I believe.

>

> Jane

Webber is my first indoor cat, and he's middle-aged now. He was much more

active when he was younger, but at 8 years old, he's become quite sedate.

He does like to do gravity experiments. Anything small enough for him to

knock off of any surface that is accessible to him ends up on the floor.

He's also a sock thief ). His favorite form of exercise is chasing the

dog. She's a westie, so they are about the same size. He lopes along

behind her until he gets her really wound up, and then he sits back and

watches her run laps through the house. He usually swipes at her as she

passes him to keep her going.

I've had literally dozens of outside cats...thanks to a very fertile cat

that I had when I was a kid. Since we lived in a very small, very rural

town, our cats could be outside. They could prowl and hunt and climb trees

and hang out on the roof. We usually had kittens of varying ages around.

Now, thirty years after Penny's first litter, every single cat who lives in

Pilot Knob, Missouri, probably has some genetic link to Penny. ).

[Guest guest]

Sent: Monday, April 07, 2003 12:16 AM

> P.S.

>

> I also have two " cat towers " for my cats, one of them near

> a big window (for bird watching). Also half a dozen catnip

> " pillows " (the size of a playing card) of various ages. I

> pick them up and squeeze them occasionally; that seems to

> make the catnip interesting again, and I often come across

> a cat fully engaged on rubbing one of those little pillows

> all over her/his face. :-)

I wish I could get Web interested in catnip. But he's one of those cats who

is " immune " to it. I've had cats from one end of the catnip sensitivity

spectrum to the other. My favorites are the ones who could rub catnip toys

on their faces for a couple of minutes and then be completely stoned ).

>

> There are also at least half a dozen small balls (plastic)

> around the house. Both cats can play soccer on their own,

> when they're in the mood. Harold likes to play " fetch "

> (when I'm in the mood) with the ball that he can pick up

> in his mouth (and return to me) because it is plastic

> mesh with big enough openings for him to get a grip on it.

We have a whole bunch of those little fake mice in our house. Every once in

a while the saturation level in our house is exceeded, and one will fall out

of " solution " . Then the dog usually finds it and chews it into a pulp and

leaves it on the floor. Then I have to buy more mice to dissolve into our

house.

>

> If you don't want to buy toys, some cats enjoy playing

> soccer with balls of tightly scrunched paper.

Yeah, Web likes those. He can pick them up and carry them around.

>

> Oh, the cat towers have sisal on the vertical parts,

> for claw-sharpening. That's important to cats (even

> though I trim the claws back).

>

> If you're amibitious, plant or build/hang bird-attracting

> plants/feeders outside the cat-accessible windows.

>

> Jane

[Guest guest]

Sent: Monday, April 07, 2003 1:56 PM

>

> That's what I have in my house too... Two 8' carpeted climbing structures

> which they are slowly destroying, catnip blankies, and toys everywhere.

Most

> of them also enjoy playing fetch, among other games like tag or

hide-and-seek,

> either with myself or one another. Most people frown on having multiple

cats

> in a household, but mine love being able to interact with one another --

it

> seems to help their mental health a great deal.

> DeGraf ~*~ http://www.sonic.net/mustang/moggy

We currentlly only have one cat, but we have a dog who thinks she's a cat a

lot of the time ). She's a westie, and we got her about four months after

we got the cat, so they are about the same age. Ganny, the dog, learned

everything she knows about being a cat from Webber. She climbs on top of

the furniture and perches like a cat. She also fights like a cat, which is

about the funniest thing I've ever seen in my life. Her " attack " position

is lying on her back, waving her short little stubby legs around in the air.

Not effective at all...but extremely entertaining.

[Guest guest]

lol -funny! yes I've had some odd cat behaviors - one was convinced he

was invisible if he hid his head under something - he could never figure

out how we found him and was always quite indignant. ;-)

dani

Rakus wrote:

>

>

> Sent: Monday, April 07, 2003 1:15 PM

>

> > maybe your cat is autistic? :-\ (oh yes I know I'm being silly) but

> > the items you mention him being attracted to are the same or similar to

> > many autistic people who seek sensory stims orally especially during

> > childhood. I had a cat ate one of the christmas tree balls that is

> > basically wrapped silk... one string at a time - eeww!

>

>

> The autism thought has definitely crossed my mind. His other " hobby " is

> sitting on the desk staring at the light fixture. I have no idea what the

> attraction is. I've joined him a couple of times, but I don't get

> much out

> of it ;o).

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

> lol -funny! yes I've had some odd cat behaviors - one was convinced he

> was invisible if he hid his head under something - he could never figure

> out how we found him and was always quite indignant. ;-)

We've got one who meows when she's trying to hide.

Ride the music

AndyTiedye

> dani

>

> Rakus wrote:

>

> >

> >

> > Sent: Monday, April 07, 2003 1:15 PM

> >

> > > maybe your cat is autistic? :-\ (oh yes I know I'm being silly) but

> > > the items you mention him being attracted to are the same or similar to

> > > many autistic people who seek sensory stims orally especially during

> > > childhood. I had a cat ate one of the christmas tree balls that is

> > > basically wrapped silk... one string at a time - eeww!

> >

> >

> > The autism thought has definitely crossed my mind. His other " hobby " is

> > sitting on the desk staring at the light fixture. I have no idea what the

> > attraction is. I've joined him a couple of times, but I don't get

> > much out

> > of it ;o).

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

[Guest guest]

>

> > lol -funny! yes I've had some odd cat behaviors - one was convinced he

> > was invisible if he hid his head under something - he could never figure

> > out how we found him and was always quite indignant. ;-)

>

> We've got one who meows when she's trying to hide.

I have a cat who doesn't realize that if her tail is visible, that means

we know where she is.

Iris

Iris Gray, Puff, Calli and Munchkin

Peace cannot be achieved through violence.

It can only be attained through understanding.

--Albert Einstein

Personal website: http://victoria.tc.ca/~rainbow/

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