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We are having difficulty with our 6 year old Ragdoll cat.
Sent to Cat Experts July 16 02:41 PM

We are having difficulty with our 6 year old Ragdoll cat. She is hissing and "swatting" at our 1 year old daughter. This past week has been even worse. I don't trust our cat in the same room with our daugher. When we are alone with our cat, she is very affectionate and enjoyable! But when the baby comes around, she changes mood instantly. Any suggestions or medications?

 

Customer (name blocked for privacy)
Status:  Closed   Value: $15
Answer
July 16 3:07 PM (25 minutes and 55 seconds later)
         
REPLIEDCheck Mark

Your kitty is probably uncertain still exactly who this 'new' person is in the house. I'm assuming your girl is spayed - if not, that is one thing I would take care of very soon. You can try putting a couple of Feliway Plugins in the house - they can be purchased at most pet supply stores and contain phermones that are very soothing to cats even tho they are odorless to humans.

This is probably going to be a situation you will have to monitor until your baby is of an age where you can work with her to turn your kitty into her friend. I imagine with your daughter being small and down on the floor, this is disturbing to your cat as she has never had to deal with this situation before. I would also purchase a squirt gun or spray bottle so that if your kitty starts swatting or acting inappopriately, you can simply give her a quick squirt. This usually helps with inappropriate behavior very quickly. I would not let her actually see you do it. Just the feel of getting wet and not knowing where the water comes from will most likely deter the problem.

Please let me know if I can assist further.



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Lori McLaughlin
Your veterinarian should ALWAYS be consulted first and foremost when your pet's welfare is at stake.
Lori -- Feline Healthcare100% Positive Feedback on 2816 Cat Accepts
14 yrs health care mgmt & issues relating to cats, reproductive issues and multicat environments
Reply
July 16 3:19 PM (11 minutes and 12 seconds later)
         
Reply to Lori's Post: Good suggestion for the Feliway plugin. I will check that out tomorrow at our local vet.

Any suggestions for our daughter and cat's interaction time? My wife and I have taken time to hold our cat on our lap and then slowly bring our daughter over to her. We let our daughter get as close to her as we can before the cat shows signs of stress. Then we back off.

Anytime our daugher gets close enough to Ariel (our cat) we use "good Ariel" and other positive praise to try to encourage her. Ariel spends most of her time under the bed, and out of sight.

Just don't know if Ariel's behavior can be changed over time. Or if this could be an on-going problem.

Any medications that may help? Is that even an option?

Thanks
Customer (name blocked for privacy)
Answer
July 16 4:48 PM (1 hour and 29 minutes and 31 seconds later)
         
ACCEPTEDCheck Mark
Once your baby is to the age where you can do more interative play, like giving her a feather teaser to use with Ariel, that may help alleviate some of the tension. You can try a product called Rescue Remedy that they carry in the health food store. You can put it in her drinking water to help with stress. Your vet may be able to prescribe a short term anti-anxiety medication such as Buspar, but it would be something to use in the short-term, not a long term product. The Rescue Remedy can be used for any length of time.

Please Press ACCEPT if my answer helped solve your problem.
Lori McLaughlin
Your veterinarian should ALWAYS be consulted first and foremost when your pet's welfare is at stake.
Lori -- Feline Healthcare100% Positive Feedback on 2816 Cat Accepts
14 yrs health care mgmt & issues relating to cats, reproductive issues and multicat environments
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