Dear Xander: Sick Cat Wants to Feel Better
A feline advice column for other felines.
Dear Xander is an advice column from a feline, for feline readers.
Xander is always in need of questions to answer.
If you have one for Xander, please leave it in the comments and he will answer in a future column.
Dear Xander:
I haven’t been feeling normal lately. I don’t care about the evil point of light or even want to bat at feathers anymore. I want to sleep but all I can do is lay on the big pillow and pant.
The sandbox is hard to climb in, but I don’t have to use it too often now. My littermate Sushi understands. She isn’t trying to play with me anymore and was happy to eat most of my food. I hate to leave it sitting there but I’m not hungry.
I thought I would feel better after a couple of mealtimes, but I feel worse. What is wrong with me? What should I do?
Food and Play Isn’t What It Was
Dear FAPIWIW:
This is one of those situations where you should let your human know something is wrong. It is easy to hide when you don’t feel well.
It is better, though, to let your human know. My humans always do something to help when they realize something is wrong. I am sure your human will do the same.
Unfortunately, it usually involves going in my traveling box to see Dr. Lucy. I get poked and sometimes there is bad-tasting liquid I am forced to swallow for days after. The thing is, in the end, I start to feel better.
Please try letting your human know. Yes, humans can be clueless. They should be able to smell something is wrong, but I’ve noticed they don’t seem to be able to smell much of anything.
Because of this defect, we need to be direct with them if we need something. Anya suggests laying on the floor near their feet and meowing softly. Make sure the meow is different than your normal one.
They don’t speak feline but if they are paying attention, they can tell when the sounds we make are different. If your human plays with the evil point of light and the feather toys, it sounds like you have a good one. They will listen to you if you make it obvious.
Please let me know how things go. I hope you feel better.
Xander
Dear Xander:
I want to play at night and my humans get cranky about it. What can I do? I want them to play with me, not yell at me. I’m an inside only cat and they are my only playmates.
Just Want to Play a Lot
Dear JWTPAL:
Since you don’t have a buddy to play with, it is hard to get tired before your humans’ bedtime. I get it. Anya and I are lucky. We play with each other and with our humans before they turn off all the lights. It makes things fun.
Yesterday we even got a new toy. It is a hard round ball that moves all by itself. To be honest, it is a little scary, but it is fun to watch and stalk.
We have a lot of other toys. There is the feather on a stick and a rope toy. Anya likes the little mice that smell of catnip the best.
Anyway, before the lights go out, try to play enough to get tired. Then when they go to turn off the lights, you can find a warm soft place to nap.
If that doesn’t work, play in a room as far away from your humans as possible. That way if you make a little noise, they won’t be as aware of it.
Don’t play on the big pillow while they try to sleep. That is a big mistake.
My human gives us a few treats after we play. That’s the best part of the day. I like all the treats, but Anya likes the tuna ones best.
Best of luck. I hope this helps.
Xander
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