BEAM question

[JoannC]

Would like to discuss tonigh on Empower HOUR 11/5/18:

Hi Dr Jeff, is it the proper place to ask a question concerning behavior at the empower hr tomorrow or maybe you or Dr Chambreau could help me with.

As you know I am new at home cooking, I am not feeding raw yet and they are doing well on the receipe given to me. I do add some unrefined coconut oil and of course pumpkin,  when stools are very hard. But my question concerns Teddy, the one that had 15 ug on rabies titers when WHO says immunity is there over 1.5.

In his BEAM and as a young kitten he is naturally more active than Timmy, but in the evening after his meal, a half hr of play and then I give them both a finger size treat of chicken or some other cooked meat, after about 15 minutes he starts to walk around meowing, rubbing his face on furniture, when I call him he comes over and wants to play again and will not stop until I occupy him for another hr and then he settles down. I thought it was the previous supplements, but he is doing this with RX essentials for cats too.

I am a retired nurse so I listened to his heart and it was about 120, but he seems restless just for about an hour each night and come to think of it even at 9 or 10 months he was very over active when the other was sleeping. I think he has some anxiety because he never lets me out of his sight.

They both sleep well all night and wake up in the morning. It’s a behavior problem but I wonder if he has overactive thyroid? I don’t want to sedate him but maybe use a essential oil or spray that calms cats?

I would be interested in what others have to say about this behavior. It occurs almost every night for an hour after his treat like he wants to do something.

 

[Dr. Jeff]

Thanks for posting this JoAnn-

We'll discuss Teddy's behavior further tonight to get some more context about it.

For example, does he seem to be rubbing his face because it seems itchy or because he is marking and happy?

Other things you'll want to know include his tendency to rub/itch or overgroom in general?

How long this behavior has been going on and is it becoming more frequent or of longer duration?

Is this behavior always at the same time regardless of whether he gets a snack or not?

The diagnostic testing is a good idea if you don't have any  senior test results in the past 6-12 months.

 

[JoannC]

Dr. Jeff, just to save time I wanted to respond to you so others could help with some recommendations.  Teddy seems to have this hour of being very vocal, wanting to play, rubbing his face on my couch side table, but it is not an itch, he grooms very little, does not scratch himself, he has a beautiful soft coat now, it may be that he is happy  never looked at it that way, but it is attention getting because he walks in and out of the room, like he is bored or restless.( they both have a lot of toys)

I can remember when my sister was here visiting and he was 1 yr he would walk in and out of tv room, meowing, like he wanted something and my sister said he was the bad one, OCD.  I thought it was because he was so young but now thinking about it, this behavior continues when I am relaxed on the couch and does not stop unless I play with him extra until he is calmed down. I use to think maybe it is over active thyroid?p, a bad diet, he has been on a long journey of canned cat food the vet gave him, Purina EN Gastrointestional, then I took him off that and started wellness, then moved to First Mate, now total cooked meat with Balance It supplements, now RX Essentials for Cats. I also use a probiotic and zymes from NWC total biotics and ZYMES.

This hour of meowing for attention happens every night unless there is company, then he does not do it.?

Timmy settles down in the finished basement and I settle on the couch and Teddy starts vocalizing. I Will at some point get his blood drawn, but the experience we had at the vet put him in a week of anger, he was hissing at his brother but now is over the shock and is himself.

These guys lived in a basement bathtub the first 8 wks of their lives, with no running water and 40 other  flea infested cats.  The women tried her best but I rescued them at 10 wks and it took a yr to straighten out their systems. They are both easily frightened but very loving now and loved to be held.  So tonight maybe someone has experienced similar behavior, I know it is hard to dx thyroid on such a young cat. I think blood work will also let me know how well they are doing on alternating supplements with cooked meat that is cooked rare now. Thank you!

 

[Dr. Jeff]

Hi JoAnn-

Thanks for the further clarification and for letting us explore this during tonight's Empower Hour!

As we discussed, it sounds like Teddy might  just be a really smart and engaged kitty.

I bet playing with him more and or the new interactive toys will help this behavior.