By Darlene
Introduction by Michael
Darlene lives in America. She has been visiting this site for many years. She loves cats. They help her cope. Please excuse the grammatical errors.
Hello everyone its darlene and koal here i hope all of you are doing well sorry it took us so long for us to write to you a lot has happened since the last time i wrote first of all i want to let you all know koal is doing wonderful ! he is like a shining star that never fades in my eyes a couple months ago i took koal to the vet just for a routine check up koal was due for a few shots i can tell you one thing for certain he did not at all like the vet visit he actually growled and hissed a lot at the vet koal’s eyes widened and the color of his eyes deepened in color he wasn’t thrilled to be there but when i brought koal home from the vet and let him out of his crate he was all happy and glad to be back home i hate seeing koal sooo upset like that glad its done and over with though until his next visit to the vet
koal has been helping me through a very hard time in my life and i can’t thank koal enough for being with me every step of the way (my dad) (ronald burrow) had lung cancer at the end of 2015 doctors removed part of his lung to remove the cancer but there was a chance that the cancer could come back but in a different place in the body it did come back and now he has liver cancer he is doing chemo but with chemo doctors say he has 6 months to a year left to live the chemo will help him live longer but won’t save his life i have been helping him everyday until he was forced to move out because his land lord wanted him out because my dad is dying that is purely wrong my dad was living right down the street from me but now he is living with his mom and brother in van dyne the chemo is making him so sick he never gets a break it breaks my heart to see my dad dying day by day from the chemo my depression is getting a lot worse and koal comforts me in any sweet loving way and heals some of my depression
koal now loves to sleep on my bed at night before i go to bed koal jumps on the foot of the bed and lays down on his back and he starts to purr so loud as i start to pet him and tuck him into bed each and every night it truly is the most precious time of the night with my sweet baby koal within this time koal gives me wet nose kisses goodnight i get these kisses a lot throughout the day everyday i truly believe that the beloved cat milo that i was so very blessed with gave me koal as a angel whom will watch over me everyday i thank god every day for koal and i tell god how blessed i really am with koal koal is so sweet
koal loves to play i play with him and sometimes he gets so hyper and excited i seen him jump air borne all fours up in the air better yet koal does back flips very well it makes me bust out laughing if only i could get him to do that as i video type him but he is to quick but it is sooo funny to see he always makes my day when he does that
i truly believe koal thinks he is a dog at times because he for one lays down in the kitchen when i cook every time and when i am not home and koal hears me coming to the door he waits on the other side of the door and greets me as i walk inside my apartment i love it! he is soo loyal
bath time is fun too for koal after i take a bath koal loves to jump in the bath tub after the water drains out and he walks around sniffing the tub as he licks the wet tub it looks to funny to put into words he also is a very smart cat because he walks up to the drain which he knows water comes out of it sometimes koal likes to paw at the faucet for the fun of it and most of the time koal watches me take a bath he lays down on the bathroom floor and sometimes he puts his paws on the edge of the tub and sticks his head over the tub to see the water moving in the tub silly kitty
i truly love the time i spend with koal every day i gotten a love seat from my dad and ever since its been here at my place koal claims that that love seat is his but now we share it now i get one cushion and koal gets the other one as i sit there patting koal i love this time this i must tell everyone koal has a great talent in chasing after flies and crawling things that might sneak into my place once in a while even though that has been said there is no need for me to have a fly swatter in this household because koal is talented in chasing after those things i even video taped koal chasing after a fly once and captured it on video was koal catching the fly and killing it and after it was dead he ate it now ever since koal does the job well and he enjoys trying to catch the flies and crawling things all in time he does catch every one of them and he has a snack in the end
The Questions
i do have a few questions about koal though he is a wonderful cat what can i do to prevent koal from scratching and sharpening his claws on things he shouldn’t be even though koal knows that certain things he should not be doing but does anyway i do have a scratching post but he doesn’t want to use it i will Not declaw him whatsoever is there anything else i can do so koal won’t scratch and sharpen his claws on things he shouldn’t be and that he knows he shouldn’t be doing?
koal does not like children and i have two beautiful god children who like to visit me a lot and nevaeh which is the oldest out of the two is ten years old and sharade just turn nine years old what can i do to ease koal into tolerating children better even though sharade likes to stick her head right into the cat’s face even though i tell her so many times not to do that but she does not listen the kids do like koal a great deal its just koal not liking them
there is another issue koal actually gets mean toward my sister jenny he dislikes her more than the kids he tries his best to scratch her face and hisses a lot at her whenever she tries to pat him she hasn’t done anything mean to him and she does like animals what can i do in these cases like this to better it ? why does he dislike her so much it breaks my heart for both of them my sister and koal
well i really hope everyone is doing great and koal and i are hanging in there god bless take care from darlene and koal
Darlene
Please search using the search box at the top of the site. You are bound to find what you are looking for.
DE-I love your downsizing tactics and making things simple.
And you are correct by adding that furniture is just stuff_
Eva_
Have you tried moving the scratching most to different places? I have Purrfect post Mondo and all 6 of my cats love it. I do find they like me to move things around. I have gotten beds for them that they never cared about until i
moved it to a new place, all of a sudden they love it! Huggs thanks for not declawing!!!,
yeah i have tried to move the scratching post in different places but seems not to be working for this cat anyway i am glad your cats it worked with and you are welcome about not declawing koal thank you for your input and suggestions and ideas
BTW, Darlene… I remember your beloved Milo well. It broke my heart.
Please visit again. I really miss you.
Yes Dee, it is nice to hear from her again.
thanks
yeah i am sorry it broke your heart too milo i still miss a lot sometimes i have dreams about milo and visions and sometimes yet feel her presence surround me so beautifully i still continue writing in my journal about milo her own personal life story all about milo if only we were allowed visiting hours to heaven i would visit milo everyday i write poems about her too one poem i wrote it is called whispers by an angel
i hope you are doing well ?
Hi Darlene. I’ve missed you.
I know that belongings, like furniture, can seem important. But, it’s only stuff that can be replaced or done without. In my case, I tossed all my furniture out, replaced carpeting with tile, and and am looking for decent indoor/outdoor furnishings. My goal is to just spray and wash. My stress levle is at an all time low now.
i missed you too its been so long since i wrote i know my e-mail account was hacked into and was acting up alot after that i could not get into my account anymore i made a new e-mail account with gmail and it worked for a short term until gmail locked me out of my own account so for a long time i didn’t have an e-mail account because there were so many problems with it i was certainly thinking of all of you here at poc but now i am glad i am back i hope you are doing well
Agree with all advice given above — especially Michael’s. .. one note to add — you could try nail caps as well. . .♥♥♥
Nice thought Diane and thanks for you input which is much appreciated.
thank you so much for the input you given me
Dear Darlene_ I tend to go along with Michael’s advise. Aside from this, ‘Koal sounds like he’s a very clever and discerning cat, so it may turn out that he feels an uneasiness around your sister for reasons you are not aware of?
In regards to small children it is quite normal for a cat to be cautious of them, not knowing what they might do.
If you wish to break him from scratching the furniture, you need to spray a lemon or type of mint oil on the areas in question. Or if you want ; wrap the armchair, legs or other places he is scratching with aluminum foil* cats do not like the sound or feel of it.
Retrain him gently that although you Love him deeply, you are still his superior and will set the house rules. If he becomes aloof at these new idea’s-then make his bed on the floor until he changes his habits. After a few days ‘Koal will get the idea that you are not happy with his bad habits and try to please you. Not because he wants to become subservient; but only so he will be allowed to sleep on your bed again. As you help him to change his habits, in return he is rewarded by you for doing so.
Final note: ‘Koal may be a one and one cat, protecting you and keeping you all to himself.He may not conform, but it’s worth a try isn’t it Darlene.
Eva say’s
Thanks Eva for your valued input. Always appreciated.
Smiles & Meow’s all around the house.
wow! that is very good ideas for me to do for koal where can i purchase the lemon or mint oils to spray the areas in which he scratches on certain things thank you
I hope these comments help Darlene and good luck.
oh yes michael the comments do help indeed i will be trying every idea that you and everyone else suggested it was very good ideas and advice thank you so much
You can buy natural lemon and mint scents in Kroger’s grocery store. Do not purchase Aromotherapy type oil scents as these are toxic to animals and too concentrated.
Cat nip is a good idea to rub or sprinkle on the scratching post ‘Koal already has at home *This will attract his attention where you want it. also_ lemon, mint and clove powder or cedar shavings help to repel fleas somewhat; so using them has an added bonus. however-do not use cedar oil directly on your cat as it is too strong for their skin and toxic if licked, which cats do all day long. Right?
Good Luck
Add 5 or 6 drops of oil to a small 1-cup sprayer bottle to use.
Eva
thank you soo much
hi thank you so much for your suggested input in this where can i find lemon or mint oils to purchase i really like this idea you told me about
I continue to learn about ways to deter cats from scratching, and one thing is to spray the furniture lightly with water that has a few drops of essential oils of lemon and eucalyptus. Cats don’t like these scents.
Also be sure to trim the tips of Koal’s nails which will help a lot. I trim my cat’s nails about once a month. She has places to scratch, but still likes certain chairs, but does no damage, because they’re “tight weave” fabric. I recommend this for any home with cats.
Many children “approach” cats (and dogs) rather than sitting still and waiting for the animal to approach. No child should put her face near a cat or dog, because that’s very confrontive. How would we like it?
My friend’s 13 year old son is very sweet and gentle, but my cat is wary. He doesn’t visit often, so she doesn’t know him well. He cries because he wants to pet her so bad. He has two cats of his own, but the rescued one won’t let him come near. She lived in a house with abusive boys, so she may never come around.
Sitting at a distance, playing with a string or other kind of interactive toy might work if the environment is peaceful. Or tossing a favorite treat could be tried.
My cat is very scared of people, even some that she sees on a regular basis, like the neighbors. One time, she shook the whole time I held her, while I talked to a neighbor. She was a feral before I adopted her, so she may have some frightening memories.
thank you for all your input on this subject i am open to trying anything to help koal in anyway thank you so much i did learn some a big thank you!
Hi Darlene, thanks for posting. I have some pages on the site which should help. Just click on the links and then come back to click on the next link:
Training your cat to use a scratching post etc.
Will my cat use a scratching post?
As for Koal disliking children and your sister, I believe the same cause relates to both.
Koal may not have been socialised that well during the very early years of his life. That may be a factor. When well socialised they are more friendly with people generally.
Cats vary considerably in their friendliness. Some are adventurous and sociable with strangers while others are more timid and shy.
Cats have individual preferences like people. Some cats like one person and no others it seems to me.
I would suggest that your sister spends more time with Koal by playing gently with him using a cat tease and other toys and then in play to gently stroke and touch him until he is familiar with her and her presence. She might feed him his favorite meal too.
The same goes for the children but they must be supervised and taught how to handle Koal. The place should be quiet and calm. The kids should be quiet and respectful of Koal’s temperament.
Gradually he should learn to accept them and then you can build from there.
thank you so much for answering my questions it means a lot to me and i will certainly try my best in all the things you told me to do i can’t thank you enough and i really hope you are doing well and your cats too