Pet Information

You’re describing a “love nip” and many cats do this. It does tend to be an expression of affection, of enjoyment, sort of a bubbling-over-with-emotion type of behavior. My cat Seren(dipity) does this occasionally, too, sometimes holding my hand gently and then licking. It’s quite a kitty compliment!

Hmnn, well the fact that they do better with people there seems to indicate they’d possibly do well at the vacation home. How do they tolerate the trips to the veterinarian? If they do well on those infrequent rides, and don’t cry excessively or become car sick, your kitties may be good candidates. If, however, they throw a fit and take several hours or days to get back to normal after the veterinarian visit, it would take quite a bit of time to get them used to the trips. In most cases, after about fifteen or twenty minutes riding in the car, the pet settles down. I do NOT recommend sedation because it also depresses breathing and heart rate, and in some cases the most common medication given for this (acepromazine) can actually make the cat more hyper. Your veterinarian should be able to advise you best on this.

Be aware, though, that cats can take several days to become used to a new routine and environment. So if you’re only there two or three days a couple of times a month, it could take a few months for both cats to become comfortable in the place. If they’re both confident kitties, though, they could fit in without any problem whatsoever. You could give it a trial, and if the cats don’t like it, you can always go back to the house sitter.

Don’t take it personally. You’ve done nothing wrong. It may be that Trouble simply dislikes your perfume, or maybe the smell of the other two cats is strong on you. Since you don’t have as much contact with him, you don’t smell enough like him. Cats identify their friends because they smell like each other.

You may help him better accept you by having your husband take a clean pair of your socks, and rub all over Trouble (especially his cheeks). Then you wear them. That way you’d smell more like Trouble. In the meantime, let Trouble be the one who approaches you, and you avoid staring at him (a challenge) or trying to touch or get close to him. Good luck! Usually cats start to get curious and want to approach the people who ignore them the most.

How fun! If she’s decided that her regular water dish is a recreational playground, perhaps you can augment that. I sympathize with the mess. Can you perhaps get a jumbo-size storage bin, one of the sterlite or other clear/translucent containers, and place the water bowl inside? If it’s clear, she can see out and not be quite as nervous. If you have a bathtub, you could also possibly place a bowl of water in the bottom of the empty tub and float some toys in it—a ping pong ball might be fun. Show her the set up but don’t expect her to use it for many days or even weeks. When you use the tub, of course remove the setup, and then put it back later. You could even just run a small amount of water in the bottom of the tub instead of the bowl of water for her paddling pleasure.

Cats can sometimes become obsessive about this. It can disappear as quickly as it appears—or may become worse. Thankfully, Dixie isn’t acting aggressive or fearful of the reflection. Rather than the image, it may simply be the texture of the glass or the shiny surface. You can try altering the appearance/texture of the mirror by taping paper across the bottom portions that Dixie can access. Or even layer self-adhesive plastic wrap across the glass, to see if that will help.