after 40 years of owning and fostering cats i've finally gotten one that has me at a loss, i'll limit this to the most frustraiting things we are trying to work with. he's a 3yr old maine coon with autism, this causes extreme reactions to the slightest changes. i'm in a wheelchair and have to have a daily care giver. he's made a few quit because he bullies them then will slap them if they don't tend to him (sadly for him the insurance doesn't cover him having an assistant) it's gotten to the point i now must put him in his cage when they come and that breaks my heart. secondly he will eat wet food or fruit with no issues but someone must hold his bowl or he wont eat dry food. his throat was enlarged when he was a kitten and would choke unless his head was up, it's fine now but he won't adjust to eating without help. wich leads to the last issue his i'm hungry notice is a single claw in my lower back, painful and not something i see coming to stop or distract him from. anyway these are the things i'd really love to help him adjust, all his other quirks just really make him special.
thanks for any thoughts or advice
char and shadow
my special needs cat needs behavioral adjusting
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Re: my special needs cat needs behavioral adjusting
I didn't realise cats could get autism. For his dry food issue, have you tried a raised pet feeder? That should give it a similar height to a human holding it, if he has issues with bending his head to eat
Re: my special needs cat needs behavioral adjusting
i didn't know about cats having autism until he was diagnosed, it's a big part of why it's so hard to teach him new habits. he has a raised feeder bowl, he never would use it, i even tried different bowls and mixing wet and dry food together, he ignores it because no one's is holding it.
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Re: my special needs cat needs behavioral adjusting
Just some thoughts............
How about putting his food in the raised feeder and holding it at the same time then over a period of time move your hand a little bit further away just bit by bit very gradually ?
When, or if, he accepts that you might be able to move on to free feeding and he won't come clawing at your back when he is hungry.
How about putting his food in the raised feeder and holding it at the same time then over a period of time move your hand a little bit further away just bit by bit very gradually ?
When, or if, he accepts that you might be able to move on to free feeding and he won't come clawing at your back when he is hungry.