Need help with my Tonkinese
Posted: Mon May 13, 2019 6:17 am
Hi all,
I am new here. To say I am desperate would be an understatement. I would like any advice or tips regarding my 9 year old Tonkinese, Snoopy. A bit of background:
I have two Tonks both are 9. They have been together since the slightly older one, Hugo was about 6 months. So about 8.5 years.
Both cats required dental work in January. Snoopy has always had notoriously bad teeth. We were expecting that he required extractions. Both cats went to our normal vet and underwent their procedures. It turns out that Hugo had his teeth cleaned and extracted. Snoopy only had his teeth cleaned, none extracted as we expected. Anyway, both cats returned home that night. That is where it all went bad. When they visit the vet, they are usually standoffish towards each other for maybe a day or two, this is normal for them, but then go back to being friends. This return home was like no other. There were fights like I have never seen before. The fighting never settled down. We spoke with the vet and said keep them apart and give it time. This never worked. Snoopy will only ever sit on top of his cat tree and spend 24 hours a day there. It is quite sad. They are both usually lap cats and quite playful.
We took them to another vet to seek advice and it was seen that they may still be in residual pain as well as anxieties. Lovan (fluoxetine) was prescribed along with Meloxicam for both cats. Was informed the Lovan may take some time to take effect. No improvements were seen. Snoopy would hiss and become aggressive any time Hugo would be in the near vicinity. Neither cat is usually an aggressive cat.
No improvements were seen. Another trip to the vet (the new vet) and it was discussed that Snoopy would require teeth extraction (which is what we expected at the original vet, although it was not carried out for unknown reasons. We have cut all ties with this vet as they have shown lack of caring). Snoopy had 6 teeth extracted last week (8/5/19). They have been kept separate since his return home (he stayed one night overnight at the vet). They are both still on Lovan and Meloxicam.
Snoopy never leaves his bed. He is eating ok. His toilet use has decreased but he does not appear to be in any pain. We can only get him to leave his bed with intense coaxing. When he does come out to say hello, he is friendly and purring and will rub on you, all his normal behaviour.
What can we do to help him return to normal? He has been a changed cat now for about 5 months. He doesn't roam the house anymore, he doesn't play, he doesn't sit on your lap. He will stay on his cat tree or in his bed and whine when he is hungry or whine when he wants to go to the toilet. It's almost as if he is petrified. I don't know what to do. I've tried positive reinforcement when they are near each other, I've tried rubbing the same towel on each of them to transfer scent and I've tried feliways.
Since he has been in a separate room, with the door closed, we make sure to spend plenty of time with him in there. We open the door so he can see out, and we try and feed them as close as possible with what he will tolerate. This is fine, until who knows what triggers in his mind, then he hisses at Hugo and runs back to his bed.
I miss my loving kitty and want to do anything I can to help him return to his normal friendly self. Any advice is appreciated.
I am new here. To say I am desperate would be an understatement. I would like any advice or tips regarding my 9 year old Tonkinese, Snoopy. A bit of background:
I have two Tonks both are 9. They have been together since the slightly older one, Hugo was about 6 months. So about 8.5 years.
Both cats required dental work in January. Snoopy has always had notoriously bad teeth. We were expecting that he required extractions. Both cats went to our normal vet and underwent their procedures. It turns out that Hugo had his teeth cleaned and extracted. Snoopy only had his teeth cleaned, none extracted as we expected. Anyway, both cats returned home that night. That is where it all went bad. When they visit the vet, they are usually standoffish towards each other for maybe a day or two, this is normal for them, but then go back to being friends. This return home was like no other. There were fights like I have never seen before. The fighting never settled down. We spoke with the vet and said keep them apart and give it time. This never worked. Snoopy will only ever sit on top of his cat tree and spend 24 hours a day there. It is quite sad. They are both usually lap cats and quite playful.
We took them to another vet to seek advice and it was seen that they may still be in residual pain as well as anxieties. Lovan (fluoxetine) was prescribed along with Meloxicam for both cats. Was informed the Lovan may take some time to take effect. No improvements were seen. Snoopy would hiss and become aggressive any time Hugo would be in the near vicinity. Neither cat is usually an aggressive cat.
No improvements were seen. Another trip to the vet (the new vet) and it was discussed that Snoopy would require teeth extraction (which is what we expected at the original vet, although it was not carried out for unknown reasons. We have cut all ties with this vet as they have shown lack of caring). Snoopy had 6 teeth extracted last week (8/5/19). They have been kept separate since his return home (he stayed one night overnight at the vet). They are both still on Lovan and Meloxicam.
Snoopy never leaves his bed. He is eating ok. His toilet use has decreased but he does not appear to be in any pain. We can only get him to leave his bed with intense coaxing. When he does come out to say hello, he is friendly and purring and will rub on you, all his normal behaviour.
What can we do to help him return to normal? He has been a changed cat now for about 5 months. He doesn't roam the house anymore, he doesn't play, he doesn't sit on your lap. He will stay on his cat tree or in his bed and whine when he is hungry or whine when he wants to go to the toilet. It's almost as if he is petrified. I don't know what to do. I've tried positive reinforcement when they are near each other, I've tried rubbing the same towel on each of them to transfer scent and I've tried feliways.
Since he has been in a separate room, with the door closed, we make sure to spend plenty of time with him in there. We open the door so he can see out, and we try and feed them as close as possible with what he will tolerate. This is fine, until who knows what triggers in his mind, then he hisses at Hugo and runs back to his bed.
I miss my loving kitty and want to do anything I can to help him return to his normal friendly self. Any advice is appreciated.