Dear Dr. Forsythe: My boyfriend has a cat that will not leave me alone. I am a little upset by this because I am not a “cat person.” I have tried telling “Chris” about this but it just falls on deaf ears. He is too busy with his other interests to even worry about his crazy cat that seems to think I am the best thing that has ever happened. In addition to biting my toes when I move even one inch under the covers, his cat has now begun sleeping on my face at night. Don’t bother suggesting closing the door to the bedroom, because she can open the door. And speaking of doors, last night she waited behind the bathroom door and jumped out and attacked me in the middle of the night. I almost had a stroke while “Chris” slept through the whole ordeal. Have you ever heard of a cat targeting a specific person before? Is there anything I can do? Needless to say, I’m sleeping in my own house this week, until you come up with some suggestions.
Sleeping with one eye open
Dear One Eye: Occasionally I have heard of thwarted lovers who don’t seem to get along with their boyfriend or girlfriend’s dog or cat. In this case, the prissy cat seems to just be running the household and having difficulty making adjustments. I’ve never heard of a cat that could open doors before, but when it comes to felines, nothing surprises me anymore. I suggest that you and “Chris” make a pact for success to win this cat over by taking the following steps. First you want to make sure there are no physical problems with the cat such as a thyroid problem or bad tooth that could be causing the cat to act strangely. Try placing her in a separate room if possible at night, with a childproof lock on the door to keep her separated. You can also try enclosing her in a large airline kennel with a small litter pan overnight. If this seems too extreme, you can first take steps to calm her down in the bedroom by going to bed a couple hours earlier each night, and playing with her in bed so she gets worn out and will conk out by the time it’s “lights out.” It may be that she is jealous and starved for attention from you, so spending more time with her will get her to calm down and lessen the chance for a late night shake down. Please let me know how things progress, and please write back before you break up.
Dr. F
Dear Dr. Forsythe: Do those new hypoallergenic diets really work for a dog with a food allergy, or is it better to just change the dog’s food to a different type of protein every few months?
Dale
Dear Dale: The new hypoallergenic diets are working very well because they rely on a technology that creates protein base made up of very low molecular weight protein. One example of this food is Hill’s Z/D food for dogs and cats. The proteins used in the food are very tiny (low number of Daltons – the unit of protein) so they can’t be recognized by the immune system as “foreign.” Since very low molecular weight proteins aren’t recognized by an allergic dog or cat’s body (the way normal beef, pork or lamb is) their body can’t form the irritating antigen/antibody complexes the way it could if they were eating regular food. This is because there are no “normal” sized proteins for antibodies to attach to which leads to inflammation and itchiness. Because the complex doesn’t form, the allergy doesn’t flare up. It is a rather complicated issue that I’ve distilled down to a simple one – but the new food available is quite remarkable in its science and is helping pets enormously. Thanks for your question, and good luck with your food allergy pet.
Dr. F
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