Highly requested per my first post but Lennox is around 10/11 months old now. It’s been super funding hot in San Diego but do we think he is TOASTING? (First pic is first day i got him, to now)
I know this is long, but I'm hoping to get some outside perspective because I honestly don't know if I'm overthinking things or if there's something I should be doing differently.
I have two boys: Louie (gray, my first-born, about 1 year and 2 months old) and Lennox (brown, about 8.5 months old). I genuinely have never loved anything as much as I love these two.
I adopted Louie in November of last year. From the second I brought him home, he acted like he'd lived here forever. He had zoomies, cuddled with me constantly, slept next to me every night in his little couch that sat on my bed, and honestly became my little soulmate.
I've been laid off since February, so I'm home most of the time now (previously I worked a hybrid schedule with three days in the office and occasional travel). Louie has always been an extremely social, high-energy cat who constantly wanted attention. Because I worried he'd be lonely whenever I eventually went back to work, I decided to get him a brother after reading how beneficial companions can be for some cats.
I adopted Lennox in February. He was around 3 months old, and Louie was around 8-9 months. I followed Jackson Galaxy's introduction process, although it ended up only lasting about three days because they were incredibly curious about each other from the start. There was basically no hissing, and Lennox eventually decided climbing the mesh barrier was a better idea than waiting.
Since then they've always played pretty rough. A while back I actually posted videos asking if they were fighting, and pretty much everyone agreed it was normal play and that they seemed to like each other.
That said, I've noticed some changes in Louie that make me wonder if he's actually as happy as he used to be.
He almost never sleeps next to me anymore like he used to. Lennox is much more skittish in general, but he's also incredibly affectionate. He purrs almost instantly when I pet him, flops over for belly rubs, follows me around like a dog, and is very much a physical-touch cat.
Louie used to be that cuddly too, but it's definitely decreased since Lennox came home. He still follows me around and sits in a loaf position, and will once-in-a-blue-moon come plop up next to me.
On top of that, I made what I now wonder was a mistake by trying to harness train Louie. I live in an apartment complex in San Diego with no backyard, so I thought supervised walks might be good enrichment.
Ever since the second or third time I took him outside, he's become obsessed with it.
Even though I stopped taking him outside months ago, he still sits by the door and makes these incredibly sad, drawn-out meows that are completely different from his normal little monkey/chirping noises. It's honestly heartbreaking to hear.
Before anyone tells me to just make him an outdoor cat—I won't. There are coyotes everywhere around here, and I see constant posts about missing cats that either never come home or end up in shelters. That's not a risk I'm willing to take.
I recently bought harnesses for both cats because I'm wondering if properly committing to leash training would actually help satisfy that curiosity instead of teasing him with it. But I honestly don't know if that would make things better or worse.
I also don't feel like they entertain each other as much as I'd hoped. They wrestle and chase each other throughout the day, but Louie also seems hyper-aware whenever Lennox comes to cuddle me. Sometimes it almost feels like he's guarding his spot.
Then tonight, while I was doomscrolling in another room, I looked over and found them just quietly hanging out together (picture attached), which made me second-guess everything all over again.
My last question is about working from home.
I don't know whether my next job will be remote or in-office, but when I do work from home, Louie becomes impossible. He insists on standing directly on my keyboard or in front of my monitors. I've tried redirecting him to my lap, giving him space on the desk, buying one of those little wooden desk dividers, etc., but nothing works. If I'm looking at my three monitors instead of him, he seems determined to insert himself between me and the screen.
Closing them in another room isn't really an option because:
I honestly feel like I've gone overboard trying to make them happy. They have multiple cat trees, shelves, scratching posts, tunnels, puzzle toys, automatic toys...my friends think I'm insane with how much I've spent.
I just want them to have the happiest, most enriched lives possible, and sometimes I worry I'm failing them.
So I guess my questions are:
Thanks for reading my novel. Any advice or reassurance would be greatly appreciated.
Hi all,
Diagnosed ADHD (not sure of the specifics).
I notice most people tend to speak rather fast with ADHD from what I’ve read. I do too at times when my brain is in line with my mouth, but curious if anyone has the opposite issues at times?
I feel like when I am trying to be concise and practice brevity (for example I’m in sales, and one of my directors said I needed to do better at “getting to the point”), I notice I talk really slow and seem to have a hard time gathering my thoughts and what I want to say.
And trust me, I listen to all videos in 2x (sometimes faster if applicable), and hate rewatching/hearing myself talk afterwards because I literally sound slow.
It’s super frustrating because when I write I am very quick to jotting down what I am trying to state but when it comes to verbal communication it’s like my mind is a black hole.
Anyways, I should be prepping for an interview and i took my medication and seem to be focusing my attention to Reddit instead of setting myself up for success, LOL.
Greeble infestation X pole dancing!
Is there a science behind cats loving sink & shower drains?
Idk if I’m a crazy cat lady but it’s the first time I’m away from my two boys (louie (grey), ~ 1Y & Lennox (brown), ~ 7months) for more than a few days. I’m in Thailand for family vacation for 2ish weeks and it’s only been 24 hours.
I have a friend who’s visiting them daily and spending time with them while I’m gone.
Please feel free to share pics of your fur babies, and how to not feel like crying in their absence :’)
I hope I explain this correctly, but since I’ve adopted Louie (he’s now around 1 year old), we have played this hide-and-seek/hunter game.
It’s quite easy to start the game with him, but rather than hiding in a different room, I simply hide behind an object and we make eye contact. Sometimes my body isn’t even hidden, but my eyes are. Then i move my eyes out of his view, back in his view, and on and on. Sometimes he will sneak closer to me when i recede, it reminds me of those hallway video games where the scary creature gets closer when you look away and look back.
Anyways he then tries to run up on me, it’s never aggressive but so funny. His eyes will be dilated the entirety of this game, which is when I know stealth mode is activated. I have a short video to showcase our little game (usually we play for longer before he sneak attacks me).
Curious if anyone else’s fur babies do this?
This is Lennox. He kinda has a more smush face like a Burmese (rescue vets said this not me) but nonetheless he is my baby and he’s perfect idc what he is.
How dark we think he’s gonna get?
Meet Lennox! My beautiful second son. He’s around 6/7 months old.
Rescued him but they suspect he has some Burmese in him due to his flatter face. No clue. Doesn’t matter to me.
His fur color is so unique to me so just curious what genetics would generate this beautiful coat, and if he will get darker brown as he ages? He has dark pink toe beans.
He doesn’t have stripes, those are just ghost stripes, although it certainly looks like it!
Age: 26
United States
To preface, already been to emergency vet last night ($1,600 later).
Main issue: my cat Louie was positioned in the same spot sitting near window stairway I have for him and eyes were extremely dilated and he seemed to be looking around frantically, grooming himself more than usual, and star-gazing. Cognitive function seemed very off. Almost looks stressed out.
Age: about 12-13 months old / neutered / can afford pet care but running low on his annual insurance maximum
I administered Revolution Plus yesterday around 3/4 PM, which he has received before. Slightly above the shoulder blades behind his head/neck as he has been able to paw at it before. No issues in past. I took him to the emergency vet when I noticed this around 8pm as he was not moving from his spot really and seemed to be frantically looking around and licking his lips and grooming himself. Not sure if Feline Hyperesthesia Syndrome, as he hadn’t shown this before, but some of the videos i see online look kind of like it minus the aggression to his tail.
We did X-rays, eye pressure test and dye, blood test, and blood pressure (his was slightly high at 140). Everything seemed OK according to the vet. His pupils were dilated throughout the rest of the night until this morning but he still seems super out of it just staring with his tongue out. They did give him some half-sedative (can’t recall the medication) just because he seemed really stressed (which isn’t normal for him).
I’m at a loss for what to do because his pupils went down but he’s still acting a little off. They said he did show some gastrointestinal upset and not sure if the sedative can cause loss of bowel control but he did go #2 and kept licking in that area while in my bedroom when he knows to use the litter box. There was a tiny bit of bright red blood but again not sure if that was from the medication and since he was holding it in for quite a bit. The only changes yesterday was I gave him Pate Turkey Liver wet food (he’s been super picky lately and i only gave him a little) and then the Rev Plus..
I’ll show what he looked like last night and this morning, and the video that seems to look a little bit like how he was acting last night when we got back (he did get a random burst of energy towards his tail), but other than that haven’t noticed any discomfort in his back or skin.
I just don’t know if this is a temporary issue with Rev Plus and if i should wait it out as the vet suggested maybe some sort of toxin or if we should jump to Neurologist visit. He seems stable otherwise is eating. Going to bathroom Normal again (he is prone to upset stomach in general).
Appreciate any help in advance - im a wreck.