Woman preoccupied with herself does not realise her Siamese cat is stressed and unhappy

Yes, I am being provocative and a little tough but sometimes you have to be. The video on TikTok tells me very strongly that this owner (Beth) does not realise that her Siamese cat which cost her $600 (cheap) is unhappy because he or she is stressed. In the video Beth is seen running a bath and her cat is unsure of what is going on and therefore takes up the meerkat position, raising himself up on his hind legs to see better. Beth finds this ‘creepy’ and asks her cat to stop doing it. She does not recognise the fact that the fur on the inside of the thighs of her cat has been removed through overgrowing. This is a clear sign that her cat is stressed, and a stressed cat is an unhappy cat.

Just looking at Beth on her TikTok channel tells me that she is not in a great place to look after a cat properly. I might be mistaken but at 73 years of age I don’t think I am. She’s too preoccupied with herself, her appearance, and gaining TikTok followers and likes and all that sort of crap to be really concerned about her cat. And she’s filming her cat looking anxious with fur missing from her thighs. That’s an admission of failure by the way. And she doesn’t know it. And the way she talks to her cat is awful. And she’s videoing it at the same time. I guess everything she does she bloody well videos.

Beth preoccupied with herself
Beth preoccupied with herself and social media celebrity. Screenshot.

You may well know that domestic cats groom themselves to feel better because grooming is a pleasurable exercise. But judging by the way Beth relates to her cat I have a strong feeling that she is not doing a great job in cat caregiving. I don’t want to be too critical of her as I don’t know her circumstances. But if a domestic cat is stressed then the owner is doing something wrong. They are creating an environment for their cat which is unsuitable.

 
My guess is that this is a full-time indoor cat who might be left alone all day while Beth goes to work. That on itself will stress a cat by the way. It depends upon the cat of course but normally due to separation anxiety a cat will become stressed and anxious when left alone all day.

I do not believe in the scenario whereby a cat owner works all day and leaves their cat in an apartment alone and the cat is a full-time indoor cat. This is not going to work out 99% of the time for a domestic cat. It is fine for the person because they come back to a companion but it’s never going to be great for the cat and I think common sense applies.

Stressed Siamese cat caused by poor cat caregiving
Stressed Siamese cat caused by poor cat caregiving. Image: MikeB based on screenshot.

The video is unpleasant. She finds her cat adopting the meerkat position as creepy behaviour. It isn’t. It is normal and indicative of a cat who is anxious about what is going on in front of them. There needs to be more tolerance of cat behaviour. I have a strong sense, too, that Beth is not actually switched into domestic cat behaviour. She is not sensitive to the needs of her cat. I feel sorry for that cat in ending up where he has, in the wrong place.

The video does shine a light really on what happens in many homes in which there is substandard cat caregiving. Well, let’s be kind and say ‘non-optimal cat caregiving’. I think we owe our cats optimal cat caregiving and if our lifestyle is such that we are unable to deliver it then we should not adopt a cat.

Adopting cat can be a selfish process and often is. “I WANT a cat companion”. That’s the kind of thought process that might occur before adopting. The thought process should be “I would like to adopt a cat but am I in a position to provide good quality cat caregiving for the life of the cat?”

“Do I know enough about cat behaviour to provide optimal cat caregiving?” And “Can I afford to look after a cat for the lifetime of a cat?” You know, it costs about US$15,000 or the equivalent to look after a cat properly throughout their lifetime. You have to budget. In fact, budgeting for cat caregiving is the most important pre-step to adopting.

Below are some more articles on cat caregiving.

8 thoughts on “Woman preoccupied with herself does not realise her Siamese cat is stressed and unhappy”

  1. The author of the best comment will receive an Amazon gift of their choice at Christmas! Please comment as they can add to the article and pass on your valuable experience.
  2. Sorry to post again the same night and same subject, but after listening to the woman’s “air-head” complaint about her cat, I agree with you, she’s too clueless to be responsible for any pet!

    Reply
  3. Perhaps that self-absorbed woman, as you term her, is self-absorbed enough, and has the means to avoid housework by hiring a housekeeper who can also be company for the cat while the mistress is away during the day.

    Reply
    • I sense that her budget is tight! And I wonder if she is in a position to have a cat companion. There are too many cat owners who are not best placed to have a cat and therefore there are too many cats who live lives that are less than happy.

      Reply
  4. Hey Mike looking at the cats belly it looks like maybe it had been recently spayed. Looking closely at the fold on her stomach the fur looks shaved off to me. I use 2 vets for spaying and one shaves them nearly bald and into the top of the leg, while the other vet just does the stomach area. But you could be right.

    Reply
    • Sorry but I disagree,I adopted my ‘Reesy’ who passed away a few yrs ago and after I got her she started over grooming and I suspect it was because she was stressed by my other cats,she was hissy towards them and finally took her to my vet and she concured my Reesy was acting out by over grooming so I got her a calming collar and Feliway plugins and it worked,the siamese cat is doing the same thing,also I assisted in spays for our local SPCA SNIP program and females are not shaved up to their front legs only half way up on their bellies.

      Beth needs to rehome her cat because as long as she puts her needs before her cat this will not stop.

      Reply

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