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Does your Cat (or any pet) misbehave since caregiving your loved one?
Have you been required to take care of your loved one's pet after they have passed? Does your pet have cute antics that entertain your loved one?
And finally, has the cat or dog transferred their loyalty to your Mother?

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We used to have a cat that was neurotic. You would have thought that he'd come from a rescue centre and previously been mistreated, but he was one of the litter my friend's cat had and was well looked after.

I dealt with his behaviour tics with Feliway (the brand name of a spray or plug-in that delivers pheromones that calms pets) and toys with catnip, which he would cuddle up to, once he'd stopped going crazy with them!

Perhaps you could use an old tee shirt or sweater of yours, with your smell on, to place on your cat to comfort her?

I only ever used a spray bottle a couple of times when teaching him to not go on tables and counters. Otherwise, I wouldn't use that - especially when it's taken this cat so long to trust you and feel safe.

Ask the vet (or pet supplies store) about other ways to calm cats and also about what pheromone treatment brand is available where you are. Good luck!
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Daisy - that's very cute abut the gloves and the slippers especially. She's looking after you!

ITRR - she is not a GS - she's a mutt and from a reservation so I expect she is used to eating scraps. R does speak kindly, I am sure. It's how he is, and maybe it will work in time. You could be right that a stern voice would do it. I know there are several reasons why a dog barks and I suspect this is a combination of them. Her owners are away all day so she may want attention. She seems to be somewhat fearful and may well be territorial etc. Hopefully he can work something out with the owners. There's always animal control but that's a last resort. Meanwhile it is very hard on him. We have to find a solution.
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Golden, I have neighbors that get dogs, throw them in the backyard and expect the neighbors to listen to persistent barking in our own backyards. Grrrrrr!

I have found that speaking kindly and gently to them, every single time, has really been beneficial to shut them up. Takes a bit of time and an occasional no bark! but, it does eventually stop.

If being kind and gentle doesn't register with this dog, maybe telling it to go home in a stern voice can help.

As a German Shepard owner, I would encourage you to ask the neighbors if and what you can feed it. Many GS have glass stomachs and I pray nobody gives my girl anything to eat, changes in her diet make her puke and always on the carpet. (I know you didn't say it was a GS, I am just saying that not all dogs can get treats.)

I feel for R, insistent barking grates on the nerves all the way to the marrow. I pray that the dog figures out he is allowed to be there and it doesn't have to protect anything from him.
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Golden, haha yeah she can't get much more attached to me. I leave my gloves out, when I'm not home she carries them around the house. Couldn't believe, when we went on vacation. I came home, couldnt find my slippers any place, and I really couldn't look hard because I had sea legs for a few days, so I just suffered. Then got up one morning, and the slippers where right where I sit , next to the couch. She brought them back to me! It was so adorable..


Hopefully the dog owners will work with hubby, maybe try buttering them up, make them cookies or something.
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Daisy - petting/stroking/brushing a cat causes the release of the "feel good" hormones (endorphins) so they love it. I suspect this poor kitty hasn't had much of that. It will help keep her healthier and also bond her with you more, though she she seems pretty bonded to you now. She needs that kind of attention. Pets can be a lot of work and differ in those needs. Some need it more than others. Rocky has become a real cuddle bug lap cat. Pumkin, her late sister, liked to be stroked but rarely came on my lap.🐈🐈

Too right, the owners need training. A bark collar might work if they would be around enough to use it. Yesterday, Saturday, so perhaps not a work day for them, when G went out she started to bark, then suddenly she ran away. Could it be the owners called her?
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Golden, that makes so much sense, and will be easier to have more patients with now.

Yeah, sounds like that dog needs a lot more than a few bones. He needs some doggy behavior classes. Which usually is more about training the owner 😝. That really would be so hard to listen to all day, I feel for your hubby.
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boj -that's funny. Years ago when I visited my dd, I slept on her very large sofa and the cat she had then slept on my head
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“Behind every great person,
there is a great cat.”
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🙂🙂🙂🐈
“Happiness is…waking up in the morning with a cat on your head.”
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daisy - Yes, he gives her scraps, bones and treats regularly. He is trying to make friends with her. The first time she growled all the time she was eating a bone. Now she eats them but still barks. When her owners come home they drive their truck in and she chases it barking all the time. They think it's good exercise for her.

Ahh, your poor kitty has been deprived of affection and now that she has found someone she trusts she is desperate for affection and is trying to make up for lost time. Rocky was basically feral on the farm. It has taken 6 years for her to allow me to pick her up a few times. Does she like treats? I can train Rocky to some things with treats and praise. I don't know if love bombing would work on this kitty. Siamese have their own personalities. Spend a few days concentrating on her and giving her affection when she wants it then try to get some structure in that so she knows she will get it at certain times. Rocky knows she gets brushed first thing in the am and again after supper and she lets me know she wants it then.

cw -sounds similar. R says this dog is sneaky - the kind that would come at you when your back is turned. R says they may not know she is barking all day and hopes talking with them will bring some resolution. It's very wearing on him as he has to spend hours outside clearing snow, doing repairs etc. I found a device on Amazon that sends out signals that are unpleasant to dogs but humans can't hear. Some are good for about 50 feet, but he has about 400 ft of fence so at times he would have to carry it with him or something. It might be worth trying to see if it works.
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Golden, we had a neighbour's dog that acted that way, she was a big german shepherd and gave me several heart attacks because she would sneak up and suddenly be barking and lunging at the fence (chain link) right beside where I was working. I tried to make friends with her by talking quietly and tossing her doggie treats but never got her to trust me, at the time I wondered if it might have worked if I had been able to sit together with her and the neighbours. The neighbours were very apologetic and mostly tried to keep her inside when I was out but we weren't really friendly so I wasn't able to try that.
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Golden, ohh that would really be annoying! My neighbor's dogs do this, but she never leaves them out long enough to be annoying. I will say even 5 minutes is enough, of that. Has he tried making friends and giving them treats, I'm sure making friends with them is the last thing hubby wants to do at this point, 😂

This cat is special, I can't pick her up and put her in a room she doesn't let me get close enough unless I'm sitting. She is kinda a stray, step daughter dropped her off anyways. Took about 2 years till she would come out during the day, so we knew what she looks like. 😂 , and 2 more years before she would come to me. Then she came to me, but won't separate from me, unless hubby is inside then she hides again.
I just want her to give me some space without doing anything so she hides from me again.
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Daisy - can you put her in a different room for a while each day to give you peace? More and more mine likes to sit on my lap and will come and interrupt me to get that. I use a laptop and sit on the sofa so it requires some rearrangement for her to occupy my lap.

Sometimes I talk to her and tell her "No." I think she understands that word. Cats can learn a number of words. I do brush her twice a day on my lap and she cuddles at other times so i know she isn't deprived.

R has a different problem A dog that lives next door to the farm barks all the time when he is outside. When R is working anywhere on the property the dog runs up and down the fence barking. It is wearing on him when he has stuff to do that takes a few hours. The owners are away working all day. He has just recently met them and will talk with them.

The dog acts as if it was abused in its early life - not by the owners. It's fearful/anxious/aggressive. There is an older dog too, and she has checked him out, but now just sleeps by the back door of the neighbours house.

Does anyone have any ideas how else deal with this? He doesn't want to alienate the neighbours.
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I have a cat so freakishly in love with me, she is driving me nuts, up my butt all day , if I'm alone. She is Siamese, so picked me to love on, which I think is normal. I can't do anything without her gently pulling my hand so it's on her. If I'm sitting she insists I have my hand on her head , she won't let me do anything with out pulling my hand away. I'm starting to get a bit frustrated, even trying to write my complaints about her she's pulling at me to pet her. I hate to do it but to have some form of peace I might have to get a spray bottle of water, unless anyone has better ideas. 😡
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🌸🐈🌸🐈🌸
If you are very, very lucky,
you will have spent part of your life
…being owned by a cat.
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You know what I like about people??
Their pets.
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🐾🐾 When it’s raining cats and dogs, what do you risk stepping in?

A poodle.
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🐾 Always think pawsitive. 🐾
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🐈
One cat won’t fix all your problems…but three might.
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A friend visited with a large dog this week, my cat got out dog chased cat, up the tree, and she kept going, 😮 up and up. She finally came down on her own , but ugh it was nerve racking.
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🙂⭐️🙂⭐️
When you’re a kid, you want to be a teenager.
When you’re a teenager, you want to be an adult.
When you’re an adult, you want to be a cat.
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🐈🐈🐈😉
You know nothing about rejection until you get a cat…
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Quotes from two famous science fiction writers:

“Cats have no guilt and very little shame.”― Ursula K. Le Guin

“Never try to outstubborn a cat.”― Robert A. Heinlein
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🐈🐈🐈
I don't need a knight in shining armor. I need a cat in a decent mood.
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🐈🐈🐈
Mission im-PAW-ssible
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Wizard of Paws
🐈🐈🐈
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cat quotes:

"Living my best nine lives."

"I'm not spoiled, my human is just well trained."

"I was normal three cats ago."

"One cat just leads to another." 
🙂🙂🙂🐈🐈🐈
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Golden, I often look at your avatar thinking how cute! I'm
assuming that is Rocky.

I'll for sure get another couple of sweeties one day.
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Gershun, I wasn't going to get another one after my previous kitty passed, but I relented and am so happy I have Rocky now. I know you will very much enjoy having a couple of sweet kitties around the house again.

She is a Maine Coon cross and her vocalizations are so endearing,
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Thank you Real.

I know I will definitely be getting two more kitties eventually.
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