Expert: Ali - 6/13/2009

Question
My friend is late 70's and she rescued an American Shorthair Male who was used by the breeder only for breeding purposes (we just found this out) He spent his entire life locked up in a cage.my friend (who is disabled and can only sit in a barkalounger where the kitty will not come), He will not allow you to pick him up altho he wants to be petted. The fact that  she cannot pick him up has caused problems as we cannot cut his nails and he has no people interactive skills (not his fault) He has been with Jerri for 5 mos. IS there hope that he will be able to be handled & how does one do that he is so cute you want to hug him. He does love to sit next to the computer when she is on it and play with the arrows, so that is as close as it gets. Is there change for an 11 yr. old? Thank You Kindly

Answer
Janet,

Unfortunately in many jurisdictions it's not illegal to keep cats or dogs used for breeding in tiny cages for their entire lives provided that they receive food, clean water, a litter pan that's routinely cleaned and medical attention. In my opinion the laws that allow this kind of factory meant to produce kittens and puppies in large numbers to be sold for a substantial profit are antiquated and need to be addressed and changed immediately. Cats, dogs and other animals are sentient beings and they deserve so much more than being used as an assembly line to produce offspring. Sadly the cats used in a kitten mill (I can't see any other way to refer to it# miss out on normal life experiences such as the loving touch of their caregiver, the chance to bond with other animals as well as human beings providing their care which can lead to a somewhat stunted emotional growth for these unfortunate animals. In many cases these cats #and other animals# are only handled when their money hungry humans deem that frivolous action absolutely necessary - often just for breeding and cleaning of cages.

In kitten mills kittens are often removed from their mother very early so that they can become relatively healthy animals used to being handled, unfortunately removing kittens from their mother's care too early often opens up a whole host of other physical, emotional and psychological problems for these babies. While hand rearing kittens is occasionally necessary for one reason or another that shouldn't be the way they're raised 100% of the time. Although it's legally okay to remove a kitten from its mother it's not something that's appropriate or recommended, however if the kittens born in facilities like this were allowed to remain with their mother they'd be quite fearful and undersocialized which would mean they wouldn't be adopted into forever families very easily - most pet parents prefer a well socialized kitten that's going to respond well to being handled and cared for, sort of a ready to love model if you will.

Based on your description of this kitty it sounds very much to me like he's probably lived his entire life in a cage only being handled when he was moved from one cage to the other in order to breed with a receptive queen. These conditions can have serious effects on the cat's ability to relate with people simply because they've not been socialized or had a chance to learn how to interact with a world that they've learned to approach with deep distrust because of the environment they were forced to spend the majority of their lives in. I don't think that this cat is a lost cause, in fact with the appropriate practitioner and treatments I think this cat could improve dramatically in terms of showing more social behavior and being less stand offish.

Over the years I've tried a variety of different approaches with fearful, abused, abandoned or otherwise traumatized cats and kittens rescued from a variety of situations and exhibiting a wide variety of behaviors. I've come to believe that rehabilitating these cats works best when a holistic approach is used, this essentially allows the cat a chance to heal him/herself. I'd suggest seeking the advice of an experienced holistic veterinarian - these vets are trained both in conventional medicine as well as one or more alternative therapies instead of or in addition to conventional medicine. I suspect that this kitty has been pretty seriously traumatized throughout his life and it will take some time, determination, commitment, patience and infinite love to help the normal, special cat hiding somewhere deep within this cat's mind, but I think that with help your friend can accomplish this. My own veterinarian uses homeopathy and conventional medicine in her practice and I've seen some absolutely amazing things happen with physical and psychological ailments. I have nothing but praise for my vet, she's fantastic at what she does and I'd recommend her to anyone.

The main goal for this cat at this point is to find ways of helping him to improve his ability to interact with the people in his life as well as the world around him. It's important to realize that this is by no means an overnight project, it takes as much time as that cat needs in order to recuperate from his life experiences, a substantial amount of calm, quiet patience, often loads of ingenuity and in many cases an experienced holistic veterinarian's treatment. A holistic approach to health care differs significantly from a purely scientific medical approach and the use of traditional medications in that the whole picture is looked at. I've taken my cats to traditional vets many times over the years and the focus is primarily on treating symptoms rather than getting to the root cause of a specific problem. In traditional medicine the doctor uses drugs to treat symptoms while a holistic practitioner sees a patient's illness or condition as part of a larger picture. My own vet uses homeopathy to help pets with an amazing variety of conditions and although I was initially skeptical about whether or not homeopathic remedies would effectively treat different problems I decided to give it a chance because I wanted to provide the most natural care for my cats as I possibly could. Sometimes questions that holistic vets ask may seem irrelevant to the cat's overall condition but in reality seemingly insignificant behaviors, traits or symptoms can mean that a totally different remedy needs to be used. The beauty of homeopathic medicine is that the worst thing that will happen is absolutely nothing - administering the wrong remedy simply won't work while giving the wrong drug in conventional medicine could have disasterous consequences, on the other hand the right remedy administered at the right time can have incredible results.

One of the most recent experiences I've had with my vet administering homeopathic remedies was with my eldest cat, MC #short for Miracle Cat#, she was a rescue that I hand reared from 1 week old and she had a history of beating the odds when things didn't look good for her. MC was diagnosed with renal failure during the Menu Foods pet food recall in 2007. The vet at the emergency clinic told us that renal failure wasn't uncommon in middle aged cats #MC was 8 at the time# and that given the severity of her kidney failure I would most likely have to euthanize her soon, this opinion was echoed by my veterinarian's clinic partner - my own vet recommended immediate treatment and a wait and see approach. MC was admitted to our family vet's clinic just a few hours after blood tests showed that she was in severe acute renal failure. While in hospital my veterinarian made use of conventional treatment for kitties with kidney failure which is IV fluids and a prescription diet and she also administered a few homeopathic remedies to help MC's kidneys recover. It may sound ridiculous to some, but the most recent results of the holistic treatments given to MC during the first days after her diagnosis and hospitalization has made me truly believe that if my vet hadn't given MC the homeopathic remedies she did my baby girl probably wouldn't be here today. In the first 48 hours or so that MC was in the hospital blood tests showed that her kidney failure was getting worse, on day 4 of MC's hospital stay my vet's clinic partner called me with MC's latest test results - my heart stopped because I really believed that she wasn't going to come home by this point. I believe that homeopathic remedies my vet administered during MC's stay in the hospital combined with the conventional supportive care and hybrid vigor saved my little girl's life. By some miracle this kitty's kidney values were in the normal range - two vets had gently suggested that I consider euthanasia, my own vet advised me to wait and see if treatment was successful and I'm so glad that I did. I'm very aware of how lucky MC really is, thousands #and many more) of cats and dogs died during the Menu Foods pet food recall, tens of thousands are now reliant on expensive prescription diets, routine follow up blood work and subcutaneous fluids administered at home. MC responded very well to her supportive treatment and she did something that absolutely amazed everyone - her kidney function has stayed right in the middle of the normal range in spite of the fact that she no longer receives supportive care or a special diet, her kidney function has spontaneously returned to normal and she's a happier, healthier cat than most as a direct result of proper holistic health care. asked if I was sitting down - my heart went into my throat and all I could manage was a tightly squeezed out yes, the vet then went on to let me know that by some amazing miracle MC's kidney values were within the normal range and I could bring her home that day if I wanted to...I wasn't able to get there before the clinic closed, but I was there bright and early the following morning.

While conventional medicine may be willing to try different treatments which may include any number of tranquilizers or powerful psychotropic drugs, sometimes this will mask the outward symptoms that the cat is showing, however they never go away so when you stop the medication the cat's mental health may deteriorate rapidly and you can find yourself back where you started. Anti-depressant/anxiety medications are often given in small doses with the hope that they'll help the cat's overall condition to improve, what many people don't realize is that these medications are often small doses of human anti-anxiety/depressant drugs. I don't recommend using these types of medication as a first approach to helping a cat, these drugs aren't without risks or side effects. I normally recommend more natural treatments such as acupuncture, homeopathy, massage or herbal medicine be tried first so that the cat has an opportunity to heal himself.


I make use of Bach Flower remedies quite frequently in my household and I've found them to be gentle, well priced and effective in a variety of situations. Many retails that sell Bach Flower remedies will have a little wheel that details specific symptoms and matches them with the appropriate remedy. You can also do your own research and find out exactly what each remedy is for and administer one remedy that you feel might help at a time. Rescue Remedy is a great general purpose remedy that may have a significant impact on this kitty’s state. I’d suggest adding 7-10 drops of Rescue Remedy to a clean bowl of fresh water each morning for awhile to see if that makes any difference in this cat’s overall demeanor and comfort with being handled. You can often find Rescue Remedy in health food stores, naturopathic pharmacies, some mainstream pharmacies stock this remedy in the same aisle as vitamins/nutritional supplements and as far as I know you can also purchase this remedy online. I have the names of a few other Bach Flower remedies that can be tried if Rescue Remedy doesn’t work or only partly deals with the problem if you’re interested. Hopefully the information I've provided is helpful in terms of giving you and your friend some hope that this kitty has a chance to recover from his earlier nightmare and become a relatively normal, happy cat. If there are any points within this answer that you'd like me to clarify or you'd like more information to help further your understanding of the information I've provided so far I'd be more than happy to offer as much help as my experience allows and make referrals to appropriate practitioners where necessary.