Hello everyone, we have been missing for awhile. The pawrents have been slightly busy, but today we have decided to give you guys an update on a long term project that we have been working on for a few months now.
Some of you may know that Dodo has always been an aloof and sometimes grumpy cat. She wasn’t always like this of course, she was quite a playful kitten when she first came. However, as she grew older, she seemed to mellow down a lot. For the longest time we just took it as her transitioning into adulthood and that is just her personality. Pea Pea joining the family didn’t really do much difference either although she did seem to take on the role of a mother/elder sister, grooming him, allowing him to follow her wherever she went. But as Pea Pea grew up, Dodo retreated back into the shadows again. It took Cat Dad some effort to convince me that that is not how Dodo should be and he eventually succeeded. We figured that living with a rain cloud hanging above her head is probably not good for her psyche and might even lead to physical illnesses. Hence, we’ve been trying different ways to get Dodo back to being the adorable and curious cat she once was.
Our main objectives were to get her to show interest in anything and to have some possessiveness in things that belonged to her. This was because, a lot of times, we noticed that she would adopt the passive way of dealing with Pea Pea. We wanted her to have a bit of fighting spirit in her and to stand her ground when Pea Pea tries to be funny. As of now, I think it is safe to say that that Dodo has shown significant improvement since we started a few months ago. We dare not say that we have it figured out and we have a surefire way of handling her. We are definitely still in the process of coming up with new and novel ways to mentally stimulate our little princess.
Catnip
The first time in a long time we saw her react enthusiastically to anything was catnip. We tried the dried grass version but she wasn’t very interested in that so Cat Dad got some catnip sprays and to our surprise, they work! In the past, she would always be very cautious when Pea Pea was around, but catnip allowed her to relax so well that she started rolling around on her back and showing her belly even when Pea Peas was beside her. She would even smack or hiss at Pea Pea when she felt that he was coming for her catnip toy. Fortunately, Pea Pea was more curious than interested in it, so there really wasn’t much competition there.
Diet
A few months ago, Dodo was hospitalized. Her weight had dropped below the healthy level and she was running a fever for no apparent reason. At the vet she was given meds for her fever and was put on drip because she was not eating. Thankfully she was only kept under monitoring for the day and we were able to bring her back that night.
In retrospect, we realized that the reason why she was always lethargic was probably because she was under eating. In order to get her energy level up, we needed her appetite to improve. Dodo was never one to finish all her food in one sitting. She always take a few bites, go off to do her thing, come back for a second round, go off, and if Pea Pea hadn’t finished her food for her by then, she would come back for a third round. Before this, she really didn’t have much interest in food and to add to it, she was extremely picky and cautious towards new food. As such, we went on a hunt for good quality and nutritious food to introduce to her. For the most part we stuck by our choices even though she didn’t like them at first, and slowly got her to accept them because good quality food would provide them with their daily nutrients. Only when their bodies are healthy would they have energy for playing and exploring. In addition, we also introduced some multivitamin supplements and digestive supplements because Dodo is prone to puking fur balls.
We got a wide selection of treats to switch around and tried our best to get treats that have nutritional value or oral hygiene properties as well. We would like to believe that she understands and is happy that we got the treats and yummy food for her, which we’re convinced, have contributed to her positive change in behavior.
Getting Along with Pea Pea
A few months ago, she wouldn’t show much interest in any toys and even if she did, she would at most give it a few swipes before walking away. We also noticed that she would stop playing whenever Pea Pea came over. It was as though she didn’t want to play with him or she didn’t want to compete with him for the toy. It was difficult for us to separate their play time because everytime we took out a toy, Pea Pea would appear. We also tried putting Pea Pea in the room while we played with Dodo. As soon as he hears the sound of toys on the other side of the door he would start meowing and Dodo would get distracted and not play anymore and clearly, that was not a viable solution to our problem.
Dodo’s relationship with Pea Pea isn’t exactly bad, however, she seems to choose not to be in the same space as him most of the time. If he approaches, she will move away, but other than that, they don’t really get into serious fights that resulted in any injuries. However, Cat Dad and I then decided that in order for her to be happy and comfortable in the home, tolerance towards Pea Pea is not enough. We NEEDED to get Dodo to be okay with Pea Pea coming near her before we could even get them to play together. Before this, the only time of the day where they are within touching distance of each other is during meal times and even then, if Pea Pea looks at Dodo’s bowl or tried to eat from her bowl, she would just give up and walk away. We wanted to get her to stand her ground and protect her food bowl.
We tried a lot of methods before deciding on the most straightforward training method – reinforcement. We started to only give them treats when they are together so Dodo can learn to associate being near Pea Pea with treat treats, and hopefully thereafter, whenever Pea Pea comes near her, she will automatically have a positive feeling. This took awhile before we saw results and we believed that this is when having a wide variety of treats come in handy. Switching around the treats we give out helps her to stay interested in the training process.
Another thing that we think have made Dodo more accepting of her brother is letting them sleep in the same room. This was actually an accidental discovery because our initial intention of putting them in the same room was not for this purpose. Dodo grew up sleeping in my bedroom and it’s only natural if thinks that my room is her room. Confining them within the space of my room forced them to find their own comfortable and safe space within close proximity of each other. As Dodo got used to falling asleep with Pea Pea in the same room, she also got used to having him near her during other times of the day. In fact, I have, on multiple occasions, caught them playing with each other in the middle of the night and they seemed to be having a good time 😂.
Recently, Dodo has started showing interest when we are playing with Pea Pea and most of the time she would join in the fun. She has also been inviting Pea Pea to play by luring him into chasing after her and we would see them running around the house on a daily basis.
The next goal that we are working towards is to get them to groom one another because that is a true sign of affection in cat language. In fact, a few days ago, I happened to catch Dodo playing with Pea Pea’s tail and in the midst of playing she groomed it a few times!
Our hopes are high now!!
As of now, we’re happy to say that Dodo is back to being the mischievous and playful cat that she was meant to be. She has taken on a new hobby of following her hoomans into the bathroom on the daily. She has also been meowing a lot more these days, especially when she rediscovered a new toy. Her weight has been steadily increasing with the improvement of her appetite. We’re taking it slow with her weight because we wanted her to gain weight healthily and with the proper nutrients.
The entire process of changing Dodo’s behavior took months and at some point we were not even sure if we were doing the right thing. We were quite lucky that we saw improvement relatively quickly because some other cat owners are having it harder than us. One thing that we always believed in is to have patience and take things at the pace that the pet is comfortable with. Although they may not understand our words, they are able to sense when we are feeling frustrated and they would feel pressured. We also try to remind ourselves to think in the perspective of the pet and not just focus on our need to see results. Seeing such a significant improvement in Dodo gave us a lot of gratification and motivation to do even more for her.
If you are a fellow pet owner, do let us know what are some tips and tricks you use to help your pets get along! We would love to hear from you!
scratchingposts.home.blog 