My Sampson... I'll start us off by introducing Sampson. He's a handsome brute, mischievous, rambunctious and extremely sensitive. I've just recently learned something about him that may help you with a 'trouble' animal.
About 3 years ago I was able to rescue a little kitten who had been abused. He was only about 6 weeks old when I took him home and just the most adorable, loving, curious little kitten I'd ever seen. He and I connected right away.
To make a long story shorter, Sampson eventually learned that he could bully Lilo, (the kitten). Lilo wasn't used to being around an aggressive cat, so he'd run like his hair was on fire any time Sampson would look at him... Sampson of course took Lilo's running as a challenge and thus produced the BULLY in Sampson. It was not a pretty scene. Of course I was so angry with Sampson that I'd be running and screaming trying to capture Sampson, while he was running after Lilo...and poor little Lilo probably thought the whole house was after him... It was nothing but a fiasco!
This went on for 3 years!... Lilo sees Sampson, Sampson sees Lilo and the fur flies... Not to mention my temper. It just angered me to no end to see Sampson scaring that precious little kitten.
Well, just recently I took Sampson in to the vet because he had begun to have severe diarrhea issues, and I noticed that he was licking his hair off on his belly... So off to the vet we went. They examined him, and found his stool was loaded with bacteria. They were amazed at the 'health' of the cat and couldn't believe he hadn't become dehydrated. She gave me some pills for killing the bacteria and some paste that I could feed him to help strengthen his bowels.
Ok... if you have cats... you KNOW what happened next... Picture this in a cartoon form... a cloud of dust and popping out of the cloud you could see an arm and a leg of me and a cat... Yes, it was not a picnic. I quickly realized that I was playing a losing battle to get Sampson to cooperate. It was stressing him out so badly, that he started to run from me and hide under the bed every time he'd see me coming! Now how am I supposed to care for a cat that won't come near me? Then I got to thinking about what the Vet told me...
She had asked me how things were at the house... I, of course, freely told her this same story. She also asked me how he was in thunderstorms... I've got to tell you, at the first sight of rain, Sampson, this big bad bully, can be found sitting on my desk so he can see my face. He walks right next to me if I move and is just simply totally frightened of rain and thunder. When I'm away from home and a storm comes, I picture Sampson and how he's probably cowering under the bed, right next to Lilo!
Then she began to tell me that I might take some time to love on Sampson a bit. Show him how much I love the little rascal and maybe, put Lilo in a room and let Sampson rule at night... just reverse everything I had been doing. I thought to myself for a moment and shrugged her advice off due to the fact that I was not about to hurt Lilo to give Sampson more confidence... But at the point of not being able to get medication down Sampson's throat, I really took a look at how I treated Sampson. So here's what I did.
I didn't reverse rolls between Sampson and Lilo, however I made a decision not to ever yell or chase Sampson again. When he was misbehaving, I'd go to him, gently, lovingly and whisper sweetness to him. I'd pet him and love on him and pick him up and take him to his favorite window seat to help him calm down. I kept my voice in control, my temper in my back pocket and guess what? Within 3 weeks, his stools were back to normal and the hair he had been licking off was growing back. He still remains very protective of me, but without raising my voice, getting angry or losing my cool, we've managed to get my Sampson back. He's now a more loving cat tome, jumping when I come home instead of running away from me. Rubbing my legs and actually wanting attention.
It's been three long years dealing with this cat, and I'm so glad to have him as my buddy once again. Pets...be sensitive to how you treat them. Be nice. In the long run you'll have happier, healthier pets. Just what the doctor ordered!
Deborah Sheehy is author and publisher of an online magazine for the Gainesville, Florida area and can be found at [http://www.welcomehomemyflorida.com]
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