Cat's eye

[bunn]

Just a brief note to self that today was the day I took Fankil to the vet because his eye was swollen.  He has a small ulcer, has had antibiotics and (oh no!) we have five days of eye drops for him.  I am not optimistic about achieving five days of twice daily eye drops, but we shall try. 

Asked about angry cats that will not get on, and was recommended a pet remedy valerian spray.  I don't know if it makes them more likely to get along, but Gothmog seemed very blissed out by it. 

Comments

[krait]

Best wishes to Fankil! And to you for the eyedrop procedures.

I continue to be charmed by their names. (My youngest cat is Findekáno.)

[hhimring]

Good luck with the eyedrops! I hope Fankil recovers quickly.

[adaeze]

Poor Fankil! I hope the eye drops and valerian work.

[chainmailmaiden]

I hope the eye drops they gave you are in a better bottle than the ones we have had in the past for Floss. You had to turn the bottle upside down and wait for the drip - it was impossible to squeeze it to time the drip. Of course by the time you'd got the drip to come, the cat had inevitably squirmed out of the line of the drip, and you'd have to start again. I almost ended up dripping them onto a teaspoon instead first to make it easier, but Bacchus seemed to manage to get enough into her eye to heal it.

Interesting about them recommending Valerian spray. I remember one time while staying at yours Kjetil being very interested in my wash bag because I had valerian tablets in there. I use them to help me sleep if I'm having trouble dropping off. They tend to work to stop your mind racing, I find it's almost like someone flicks an 'off' switch with me. They're supposed to be good for anxiety too, and it sounds like they've hit the spot with Gothmog.

As with humans it doesn't work the same on all cats though. Rather than switch their minds off, Bacchus and my Mum find valerian has an agitating effect on their minds, so it's useless for helping them sleep. So it's something to watch out for with Fankil as it could over-exite him, which doesn't sound like it would be helpful. Or it might have no effect at all, some cats lack the gene(s) which makes them react to it.

Enough cats do like it though for it to have been historically associated with witches, who supposedly used it to attract cats and other small animals to them. Rats are also supposed to be attracted to it, Which incidentally has given rise to the theory it was that and not pipe music which allowed the pied piper to lead the rats out of Hamelin.

[bunn]

Is he valiant? I must say my cats seem to be the opposite of their Tolkien name personalities!

[bunn]

He seems to be feeling much better now!

[bunn]

The eye drops were actually pretty good. They seem to have done the job.

I think you may be right on the valerian having variable impact. I gave Fankil a dose of it, then went through and stroked Gothmog for a bit with my hands all covered in the spray (and it definitely does give her confidence, she went and looked out of the windows at the builders, and ignored Fankil peering through the screen at her).

Feeling this was going well, I took the handful of Goth-fluff that I had gathered in stroking and offered it to Fankil, who immediately bit me really hard, drawing blood from my finger and hand! So. Better not do that again, I think. :-/

[krait]

Ahahaha, yes, that was a decision I should perhaps have considered more carefully. I find myself yelling "Findekáno Astaldo!" rather frequently when he, say, takes a fearless dive off the top of the fridge, or runs up the stairs so fast that he loses his footing and slams into the wall, or (as a kitten) challenged the other cats to wrestling matches while being outweighed by a factor of 5. :D