I'm afraid I have a neurotic cat

[newsguyatl]

i'm coming to terms with the fact that my older cat, nikko, has really severe mental problems... it's becoming more and more prominent everyday...

i never noticed it as much until i got my second cat, jesse, who's completely the opposite of him...

nikko: nervous, doesn't like being petted, likes to be alone, doesn't like commotion
jesse: loving, overly affectionate, alpha, VERY playful

i first noticed how nikko's a bit OCD about using the litter box... he'll scrape at the actual litterbox for like 15 minutes until i holler at him to stop...

but he's getting worse... like last week, i walked upstairs to my bedroom to find him alone in the dark in the corner on the floor -- a rarity seeing as how i have a plethora of comfy places for my cats to rest... and just last night i walked upstairs and when i got up there to say hello, he ran under my bed!?! almost like i've abused him or something! ... then only to have him come in my lap about an hour later and watch tv with me. (this kinda thing has been happening lots lately -- ie, being scared of me for one minute, and the next sitting in my lap!)

i also constantly see him staring at drains -- my tub and the sink -- and i mean CONSTANTLY. god only knows what he's looking at. he'll do it forever.

he's very afraid/hates other cats and their smells. i mean, it took a good week and a half before he'd even BE around jesse... a neighbor was throwing away a kitty condo the other day (really nice btw!), and i asked to have it... so i cleaned it up for a couple hours (vacuuming, scrubbing, deodorizing, etc.) and the moment i brought it in -- nikko starts hissing, growling, acting very scared... jesse on the other hand, loved it and stays on top all the time now like he's the king of the castle.

i'm just wondering what i can do? my mom and friends think it's because he's still jealous that i brought jesse home and that i give jesse more attention... (in truth, i do give jesse a little more attention but only because he's so affectionate and loving -- i've bonded with him more than i have nikko)-- nikko does NOT like being held or petted, unless it's on his terms...

is he neurotic? are meds available? i mean, he's always been the stereotypical "scaredy cat" and i don't think he'd been abused before i adopted him at 6 months old, he showed no signs at least.

any ideas, thoughts, similar experiences?



nikko:


jesse:

[Sanity Claws]

1. Health question

Nikko has a bald spot near his ear. Does he have ear mites? I had a cat who used to scratch himself near his ears because he was always getting ear mites. When he was badly infected with mites, he was miserable. He was short-tempered and scratched a lot, even though he basically loved me, his mommy.
If Nikko is not feeling well, or if his hearing has been affected by ear mites, this could explain some of the behavior you described.

[NMDemDist2]

2. that's just his hair growth pattern I think, my grey kitty's hair there

looked the same

but if mites are a problem a little mineral oil clears them right up

[newsguyatl]

5. nah, just the way in looks in the pic

doesn't look like that in person...

and i clean their ears regularly.

[BrklynLiberal]

3. Giving Nikkko a good health check up is not a bad idea though.

He sure has been such a wonderful big brother for Jesse.

[NV Whino]

4. How old is Nikko?

Cats do sometimes go a bit batty in their old age. And there could be many causes for that, among them loss of hearing.

[newsguyatl]

6. he's about a year and 2 months

[NV Whino]

12. Well that rules out old and batty

But all cats "see ghosts" at one time or another. Give it some time and give him a lot of attention.

[newsguyatl]

13. yeh, been thru the "ghost" thing twice now with nikko

freaked the hell out of me! lol

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

7. A trip to the vet sounds like a good idea.

You might also try Feliway, which might help him calm down. Good luck; he's such a cute cat.

[demnan]

8. Here's a couple of suggestions

Have a special time with Nikko every day. You might want to feed him seperately for a while. Bring him into another room and put his food down. When he's done eating offer to pet and groom him. Does he like being brushed? A little alone time brushing might help.

He might like to have his own litter box as well. If you can establish a room just as a hide out for Nikko for a while I'd do it. If he wants to go in, let him, if not don't force him, but leave that as a room where Jesse isn't allowed to go.

Also, didn't Jesse at one time have some spraying problems? Are you sure he isn't spraying in places that might be upsetting Nikko?

The inclusion of a Siamese into a cat family can be rather stressful. They are aggressive in ways that isn't as apparent to us, and it takes a little time and work to get the non-Siamese to accept the Siamese sometimes. But by spending a little extra time with him, you can probably get him calmed down. Pay extra attention to the litter box and the sides of the litter box as well.

I always give Lily a bit of extra attention. She is 14 now and is far more accepting of Pad Thai than when I got him 7 years ago. It wasn't always a smooth ride, and she's half Abyssinian.

[newsguyatl]

14. great advice demnan!

thanks very much! the food idea is an especially good one -- even though they have two separate bowls and i always try to feed nikko first, jesse makes his way to the bowl first and knocks nikko out of the way... so maybe i'll give it a try...

[Patiod]

9. Seriously, aren't they all crazy?

I'm new to cats, and a lot of the behaviors I see that cat people tell me are "normal" don't seem all the normal to me.

- Running around, richocheting off the side of the bed for no reason, with the tail all puffed up
- Puffing up, arching back, and running around sideways for no reason
- Immediately making a point of sitting on any nice clothes that are laid out on the bed
- Digging at the litterbox until the plastic has a hole in it (and we keep the litter full and scooped). We're constantly yelling in at her to "knock it off!" or she'll keep at it for 15 minutes at a stretch, and try to include the rug, the towels, the tiles, and the toilet paper in the burying effort
- swatting people as they walk by
- walking up to a person's head and yelling for no reason
- knocking things off tables and nightstands at 4am
- running here and there with no purpose

This is a cat who gets lots of attention - the only pet that lives with a childless couple.

I think they're all nutty.

[demnan]

10. You need a kitty playmate for your cat

your cat has a lot of energy and is bored.

[Patiod]

11. You're probably right

We have two adults in a tiny one-bedroom, and my S.O. says its already crowded enough.

We let her outside when we can, and that seems to wear her out (we're pretty far off the road, in a compound which used to be part of an old horse farm)

[japple]

16. Sticking their little pink wrinkled assholes in your face

is one you left off the list! :-)

[Lorien]

15. My late kitty Peewee was like that for a while

he loved to be held by me because I bottle raised him, but no one else could get near him. He's run under the bed for no reason at all. If I picked up an object he hadn't seen before, he'd hide. He'd also spend a long time scraping in the litter box. He was at his worst between ages 2-8, then he started to mellow out. He became severely neurotic again when put on Tapizol for hyperthyroid, so the vet also put him on liquid Prozac; after then he was a very content and happy kitty!

[Eurobabe]

17. try some Feliway diffusers

that may help Nikko's neuroses. It's helped the Daemon stop peeing in the dining room.

Good luck. My mom's second cat is hopelessly neurotic, she tried Wellbutrin for him, didn't work. We now just accept that he's a wacky cat.

[BrklynLiberal]

19. Great pic!!!!!!

[superconnected]

18. Good luck to nikko though his nerosis.

I hope its only temporary.

Cats go through phases like humans do. My 18yo mismatch has gone through periods where she doesn't want to be pet and wants to be alone. THis lasted 3 months last time. It stopped when I stared making a point of showing her attention everytime I came home and then I started picking her up and taking her to bed with me.

At first she resisted but now I've got my bed companion back.

She was sleeping in the kitchen btw and I put one of my seaters down in her spot for her to sit on - even though it looked aweful in the kitchen, and she stared to demand to be on my sweater, before she finally moved back upstairs to my bedroom at night.

I don't know what nikkos problem is, but I'm sure just having you there and caring will hope.

One more thing, my kitten Mismatch was never as social as the other cats. She's just recently started letting me pet her even though she's a year old this month. She's the only one that I give a special treat to once in a while when the other cats aren't present and don't partake in. Its always made her very happy and suddenly run around elated. I've only done it too her about 4 times, but it shows her she's special since she doesn't demand attention so doesn't get it from me usually like the other cats do. I always recognize her, say her name, etc. though. She's just not much of a responder who would jump on my lap and let me pet her, or even seek me out.

Neurotic drugs may be the answer but I would use them as a last resort if I were you. That's just me, I have no medical back ground.

[newsguyatl]

23. great advice everyone...

update:

i've taken some of the advice given here and i see a DRAMATIC improvement already...

the first thing i did: when i feed them food and start with the first bowl, i tell jesse NO! that it's for nikko, and i make jesse wait second... ((usually jesse makes his way to the food first even if it means knocking nikko out of the way))

also, i've made it a point to talk to nikko more, referencing his name lots, playing more specifically with him and holding him.

he's sat in my lap twice today! (a rarity) -- he's also taken to the kitty condo FINALLY! he now sits atop it.

we still have a ways to go, but the progress in just a few days has been remarkable!

you guys are the best.

on edit: 5 minutes after i typed this message, nikko hopped in my lap again! THIS IS GREAT! though jesse's not too happy right now... lol

[janx]

20. Is Nikko as big as he looks in that pic?

Both cats are beautiful, newsguy.

[newsguyatl]

24. eh, probably not as big as you'd think

but yeh, he's a pretty big cat.

and thanks for the compliments, janx.

same goes to your dog!!!

[superconnected]

21. btw my cats blacky and mismatch

both do the 3am digging tirades where I swear they're digging in the litter box for hours.

Blacky also trys to dig tile floors and metal filing cabinets - I kid you not, he gets on his back legs and tries to dig them. The 3am litterbox ones are the worst though.

So it's not uncommon for a cat to not be able to figure out he isn't making any progress getting to china when he hits the end of the sand and he's still going.

[Sanity Claws]

22. Digging tirades

I thought some cats scratched and scratched in their boxes because they're constipated and the scratching helps them to be able to move their bowels. I thought it was like humans feeling the need to tinkle when they hear water running.
Anyone know?