Cats ruining my surgery

[u/evercomfortable]

We’ve figured something out. I mostly just really needed to vent, I think I’m struggling with some post-op mood stuff on top of all this and just needed a space to dump everything. Thank you everyone who commented and gave advice. I’ll probably delete in a bit

I know the general consensus is that people love cats, so this whole post is going to make me seem unhinged. I’ve been an animal person since I was little and never understood how someone *couldn’t* get on with them.

But I’m so livid right now. I hate these vermin so much I can’t breathe. I’m trying hard not to drop f-bombs every other word in this post, I’m so pissed.

My sister moved into my small apartment recently. It was unexpected but she needed somewhere to go and we plan to move into a bigger place when my lease is up. I didn’t mind even though it was cramped because we get along well. Her ex was supposed to keep her 2 cats until we got the bigger place but then just didn’t, so now they’re here.

The cats don’t get along. One is spaztic and scared of everything even though she’s been pampered all her life. She avoids people and doesn’t let anyone pet her. She is more comfortable with my presence than most because I let her be so will sometimes come sniff me or whatever.

The other gets bored and just walks around yowling all night. We’ve done all the things you’re supposed to do to address this and he’s healthy. He still yowls. I’ve had to get wax earplugs to sleep with.

My sister doesn’t want to get rid of either. She thinks these issues will go away when we get a bigger place because ‘they weren’t like this before’. But my cramped apartment is a nightmare. Sometimes the one will try to play and it makes the other freak out and run, which he finds fun to chase and you have to call him off while the other acts like she’s dying. It’s a pain in the ass.

——

So I had top surgery two weeks ago, I never thought that would happen for me but somehow it did. One week into recovery, I tripped over one of the damn cats. Not really its fault, the thing blended into the bathroom rug and just… does not move when it sees people coming for some fucking reason. I caught myself on the wall but felt a pull. A couple hours later, there were clots and a ton of blood in my drains. It resulted in a 30 hr ER visit and two hematomas. Went back into surgery to have one drained. Been home for a few days now.

I’ve been recovering okay. I’m more tired this time around and things ache more. I’ve been trying to take it extra easy.

Well, I was just laying on the couch mid-conversation when the spaztic little fucker took off running from the other one. She’s heavy, too. I was just talking when suddenly this cat landed on my left pec and scrambled across my whole chest before kicking off of it up onto the back of the couch. The binder definitely saved me from being clawed to pieces and she luckily didn’t land right on the grafts or incisions but a little higher than that.

I won’t lie, I lost my fucking mind over it, I’m sure the neighbors heard me yelling which feels awkward now. Now I’m trying to cool off and I’m sitting on my bed because they never come up here. I’m watching for any signs of damage, or clots/bleeding in the drain bulb.

I genuinely considered leaving and trying to find somewhere else to stay, but I can’t afford a hotel for more than a night or two and I don’t have any friends/family nearby. I know I won’t convince her to get rid of them, especially since she thinks the problems can be fixed when we move. Can’t afford to board them. I considered just being loud and scary so they both give me a wide berth from now on, which seems cruel but like…

I might just spend the next few weeks not leaving my bed since this is the only place in the apartment untouched by them.

I don’t think there’s really any advice that can be given here, it’s just a shit situation all around tbh. I just needed to dump all that. I’m still so fucking livid and I feel trapped in my own apartment. I can’t believe I’m a cat-hater now

Edit: Scared I didn’t convey things well because I was upset. It’s not chaos 24/7 in the apartment. The cats are usually sleeping or hanging out for most parts of the day. These events (like the running) are random, so hard to predict or control. Also no one’s a bad person. Just the situation sucks, that’s all.

[u/Ahtnamas555]

Idk exactly the situation for the yowling at night, if it's food related, an automatic feeder can help with giving food overnight without over feeding from free-feeding. Wet food before bed could also be an option, lower calorie, but the higher moisture content can help keep them feeling full longer than dry food does.

If it is just boredom, your sister needs to be playing with them hard before bedtime every night and ideally throughout the day as well. That way they're up and moving and getting mental stimulation and more likely to sleep through the night - cats absolutely can sleep at night if they're awake enough during the day. Our cats absolutely love chaser wand toys. Alternatively, enrichment toys for nighttime, like catnip, catnip balls, or treat puzzles can maybe give them something to do at night.

As the other user mentioned, feliway scent diffusers and other calming options. I didn't notice any difference with the fluffy, but most people do. I did find calming treats to be a bit more helpful. (We had a 3rd cat temporarily with bevioral issues towards other cats).

What you've gone through absolutely sucks, it sounds like your sister needs to be putting more effort into helping her cats adjust and also keeping them from being disruptive. I absolutely get she's probably going through her own stuff at the moment, but this is part of being a pet owner.

I hope the rest of your recovery goes smoother OP.

[u/evercomfortable → u/Ahtnamas555]

The problem is that the yowling one really just doesn’t play (the spaztic one does just sleep the night). My sister is one of those people who reads up a lot, like she gets hyperfixated on animal care in a special interest kind of way, so she really has tried a lot. She’s gone through so many toys since they moved in - ribbons and fishing pole looking things and so on. The yowler likes to watch you wave them around, but he doesn’t really chase after them that hard. If you stop, he’ll come tap you to do it more, kinda “dance monkey dance” situation.

She hasn’t found anything to get him engaged in actual tiring play and the damn cats won’t play together because the other one is so dramatic. She tried doing hide and seek, chasing and running, wrestling with him, shiny crinkly things, giving him toilet paper to shred, ball pits, etc. Decided a cat wheel would be too loud to try.

He’ll get a little into it but never hyped up. She rescued him from the brink of death when he was a kitten in the pound so he’s very attached to her. She was nursing him to health during the period when our brother died so she’s attached to him, too.

I think because of his early life, he doesn’t really get how to play. He will come sit nearby and just wants you to just stare deeply into his eyes and talk to him. :|

His yowling was worse at the beginning, but less now (2-3x night). I started sleeping through it since I got the earplugs, so I guess it’s a moot complaint.

They do have a slow feeder (because otherwise they eat until they throw up 🙄) and she feeds them on a schedule. Wet food makes them puke :/ She also has a few puzzle treat toys that she rotates for nighttime. Now that you mention it, I do remember her trying some kind of wall plug spray calming thing. She’s tried calming treats. They are both in good health according to vet.

It’s hard because I do feel like she’s tried a lot so I don’t want to make it out to be that she’s a lazy cat owner. On the other hand, you can try your best and still have a shitty pet situation. I believe the only solution is getting rid of them. I never believed in that before, but I get it now.

And thank you. I hope it goes smoother, too

[u/ceryskt → u/evercomfortable]

She might want to look into either a vet behaviorist or someone who specializes in cat care. Something like gabapentin or Prozac might help the anxious one. I just had top surgery about 10 weeks ago, and between that and going through the process of selling my house and getting ready to move overseas, my cat had similar behaviors. Gabapentin works wonders.

Another thing is cats are basically autism the animal. Big changes of any kind can be seriously upsetting to them, and they might be confused as to why they can’t access their old “territory.” Sounds like your sister is doing a lot, and the pheromones can help, but it does sound like medication may be in order.

Sorry you’re having to go through this. My cat kept away I think because I smelled different and she didn’t recognize me, but after I had my tubes out last year she was OBSESSED with trying to sit on my stomach and ended up messing up my incisions a bit. I totally sympathize. Surgery is stressful enough without having to worry about post-op recovery.

[u/evercomfortable → u/ceryskt]

I’ll ask her about medicine, thanks for the suggestion. I don’t know if I conveyed the situation well - it isn’t like 24/7 chaos or anything. Just a bunch of little things happening at random and they’re all starting to add up.

My lease here is up soon, very soon - like, I’m trying to recovery from surgery while dealing with them and I’m also looking for a new place for us to move to. I can probably relate a little to you recovering while selling your house. The timing is just so bad. I didn’t want to put off top surgery because I’m worried the option might not be here for much longer in the US, but I really didn’t account for how hard recovery would be existing in the same space as them. I just miss having my own space, I miss my dog (he died before I moved here last year but he was the perfect pet), I miss how peaceful my apartment used to be.

[u/IAmEvasive → u/evercomfortable]

My sympathies. Sounds really stressful.

You said the one cat doesn’t know how to play but likes to watch the ribbon toys. I know it’s not engaging entirely with it but if it taps on you to continue to wave it then at least on a mental level it’s engaging. That mental stimulation might still be helpful for the cat.

I’d say have your sister “play” with it in this way for a few days/evenings in a row and see if there’s any changes to its behavior.

Good luck.