Weird cat "addicted" to fake medicine:) (eating, foods, antibiotics)
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We have a strange cat, Audrey, who has always been a "drama queen," attention-seeking, and very jealous of my boyfriend's attention (it took her almost 4 years to accept me, because I got in the way of her and her Daddy. She's the only cat I've had who loves to be given pills, eye drops, ear drops, any kind of ointment, etc. It's like she has Muenschausen symdrome! when another one of our cats needs to be given medicine for whatever reason, she's clearly jealous--she'll whine and try to get in between my boyfriend and the cat getting the medicine.
Well, for a few years, since she's gotten old (she's 12), she has been getting skin rashes, goopy eyes, runny nose, off & on. Took her to the vet a bunch of times, which, by the way, she LOVES, and nothing was really found to be wrong. Antibiotics never helped, she never had fevers or other signs of infection, and the vet finally determined it's a immune system reaction to anxiety or other emotional problems (of course, it's Audrey).
He prescribed this liquid medicine for her, Vetri-DMG, which is really more of a supplement than a medication. It boosts the immune system, or something like that. Since taking one dropper-full a day, she has had no rashes, and her eyes are nose do seem to be less goopy.
But here's the thing: We keep the bottle of Vetri on the bathroom counter, and every morning she'll be waiting right there on the bathroom counter, whining for her medicine. She'll get a dropper-full, but then later when we go into the bathroom, she's up there whining again.
We got the brilliant idea to take an empty bottle and dropper and just fill it with water. So she'll get her one dose of Vetri per day, plus a couple of "doses" of water. Now she has my boyfriend programmed to give her a dropper-full of water every single time he goes into that bathroom or even near that bathroom. She just loves the attention of being given "medicine," whether it's real or not.
Now whenever I go near that bathroom, she yells at me, wanting me to give her a dose. I thought it was funny at first and gave some "fake medicine" to her, but now, I decided I'm not going to feed her habit.
She's hooked on fake medicine. She needs a fake intervention to get the fake monkey off her back!
Wacky girl. Anyone else with a personality-disordered, drama-prone kitty?
I have never had a cat that liked medicine, just goes to show how every cat is an individual with their own weird quirks. I'd probably be loathe to ruin such a good setup as an older cat who happily takes whatever medicine I offered. I'd probably keep going with the "fake" meds. A little extra water certainly won't hurt her, and you could use some "doses" for something like salmon oil that would be good for her. It's how she likes to interact with you, how she feels pampered and special. I'd just humor her and giggle at her silliness.
By the way, some of her issues sound like they might be related to food allergies, have you ever tried an elimination diet or a restricted allergy-type diet? The idea is you pick a protein that the cat has never been exposed to, like venison, and feed that for a month or so and see if the symptoms improve. If they do, then there is probably something she is allergic to in her regular food. Most cat foods contain multiple protein sources, both animal and plant, so it can be difficult to really put your finger on what the problem is, but if a novel protein food works, you can just keep her on it indefinitely. Natural Balance makes a nice variety of these types of foods that don't require a prescription.
It's not as though it's impacting her job or her relationships with others! My only worry is how she handles time when you are away. Do pet sitters have to do this to keep her functioning properly (ie eating, drinking, litter habits)?
That's hilarious! Well, be grateful that you have a cat that likes the vet, taking medicine etc. Most of us have the opposite problem. It sounds like she just likes the attention so you could try going in the bathroom and playing with her or doing something else to distract her while giving attention. She's associating the bathroom with attention, so you could give her any kind of attention while you're in there. And why not, she's a good kitty, she deserves it
L-lysine can help with the goopy eyes. The pure powder is best, 1/4 teaspoon a day.
Yeah! Another medicine we can give her! She'll be thrilled!
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