Community ClicksDog loves seat ledge
Dear Dr. Fox,
We installed one of those seat ledges for our Chihuahua, and she absolutely loves it! She can overlook the whole backyard, including several bird feeders, and will often carry one of her toys up there for company.
— B.S., Sequim, Wash.
Dear B.S.,
Your short communication is much appreciated, as it supports my advocacy for greater recognition of companion animals’ need for environmental enrichment and stimulation. I cringe at the thought of the thousands of dogs left alone and imprisoned in crates all day across the United States. There is no point to this, when they can be properly house-trained and treated for separation anxiety. Their boredom can be rectified with something as simple as the seat ledge you have set up for your dog.
Adopting a second dog or a cat also would provide considerable social enrichment!
Communicating discomfort
Dear Dr. Fox,
I’m writing about my cat Marshmallow, who has hopped on my toilet seat many times to poop or pee. I never taught her that.
Another interesting thing is that when she has a urinary problem, she shows me when I am on the toilet. She will go in the tub next to me, pee and stare at me. Or while I’m scooping litter, she’ll come to show me she is straining.
— J.Z., Ayr, N.D.
Dear J.Z.,
Cats are notably adept at communicating to their human caregivers when they are ill. Cystitis is one of their most common maladies, and many cats will deliberately squat, strain and, if they can, void some urine (often tinged with blood) at their human companions’ feet. A few uninformed owners think their cats have suddenly become house-soilers and scold them or put them outside. I would like to hear other readers’ comments about when, how, where and why their cats, dogs and other animals have communicated that they are ill, suffering or in need of help. Many simply go into hiding out of pain and fear.
Remember that any such sudden change in temperament calls for an immediate veterinary evaluation.
Hair loss linked to stress
Dear Dr. Fox,
Over the years, you’ve published letters from people asking about cats who licked off their hair. You’ve responded with possible physical explanations, but you haven’t said the causes may be emotional or psychological. I think you should include that suggestion in future responses. I believe the experience of Milady Cat (my companion of 19½ years) suggests that such compulsive behavior can result from emotional states such as depression. We moved from a pretty, well-lighted second-floor apartment after 10 years together there (where she grew up from a 4-month-old kitten) to a much darker, ground-floor “garden” apartment. She hid away for hours after the move. After six to eight months there, her belly hair started to disappear. This continued, and I found a local vet who tried several physical remedies (not food changes), including a strong drug that affected her so powerfully she was limp on the bedroom floor. After four years there, we moved to a town house with lots of windows and lots of light. This was our second move together, and she clearly knew what was up this time and let me know she approved of our new place — rubbing on a corner, coming back to rub on me, back to rub on the banister, back to me, and purring at megaphone level. This was a huge, important “thank you,” an enormous “yes.” After a year in this new place, her belly hair started to grow back. I hoped she would recover all that hair before she died, and she did — completely grown back, totally beautiful, for the last years of her life.
— A.T., Silver Spring, Md.
Dear A.T.,
So-called psychogenic alopecia in cats who groom excessively — to the point of self-mutilation and patchy, often extensive hair loss — is an issue worth revisiting. It is a condition triggered by emotional stress such as the death of a companion, moving to a new place or even one family member going off to college. In my book Cat Body, Cat Mind, I tell the sad saga of one cat who was so grief-stricken that he chewed off part of his tail after his companion kitten died. The rule of thumb in diagnosing possible psychogenic and psychosomatic disorders in animals is to first eliminate physical causes such as flea-bite hypersensitivity, food allergy or thyroid gland disease. Cats are extremely tactile and sensitive to touch, and they will briefly groom themselves when they are suddenly surprised or become anxious, such as before a thunderstorm or after a spat with another cat in the home. This is a self-comforting behavior that can become an obsessive-compulsive disorder when stress factors persist. The herb catnip, as well as various psychotropic prescription drugs, may alleviate symptoms.
