CATNIPS of Notting Hill
For the best feline advice
is a cat care company founded in 2023 byAnita Kelsey, an accredited cat behaviourist (BA Hons 1st, MCFBA,CIBDT). Anita is also a qualified cat groomer and specialises in grooming aggressive or phobic cats using ground breaking low stress handling techniques. She is a regular writer on feline behaviour for the CFBA (Canine and Feline Behaviour) magazine, The Cats Protection and Your Cat, as well as resident cat behaviourist for new on line pet magazine Style Tails.
My aim is to make cats lives as wonderful as possible and to educate cat owners along the way. This blog will hold a wealth of information regarding cats and their behaviour to assist any cat owner seeking advice. I have gained much insight during my years working with many different breeds of cat and feel I now know enough to pass on the knowledge!
Anita runs a vet referral cat behaviour consultancy in Notting Hill London and offers cat behaviour consultations in and around London.
We hope you enjoy the blog.
I need your help. A few months ago we introduced a 6 week old kitten (Sansa) to our beloved 3 year old cat (Stella), both females- thinking Stella seemed bored and we hoped she would like some companionship. We definitely started off wrong by allowing Sansa free roam for the first couple days. When we realized this was stressing out Stella, who was in turn stressing out Sansa, we got advice from our vet and had Sansa in a separate room for 90% of the time. Making sure to visit Sansa and give Stella her love. This seemed to work well and after a while we allowed Sansa out of the room. They would usually be separate in the day while we were at work, Stella outside the house, and Sansa in. Both are outdoor cats. Stella seemed to tolerate the kitten & they even napped on our bed on a few occasions. However, things seem to have gotten worse lately. Stella hardly comes inside, only to eat and occasionally nap. She is not snuggling with us like normal and seems to, quite frankly, hate us. When I try to spend time with her I get a lot of upset sounds and meows. It makes me so sad because she is truly my first baby and if I didnt feel attached & guilty, I would consider giving up Sansa. Sansa does seem to go after Stella and Stella will hiss and swipe and the mere sight of her. We try to put Sansa in her room to allow Stella her space but she still wont cuddle or have anything to do with my husband & I. Ive given up on them becoming bosom buddies but Id really like Stella to feel happy in our home again. We are separating food/water/litter and plan to get another perch (right now each cat does seen to have an assigned spot on the perch). I dont know what to do to help Stella, I dont know if we revert back to complete separation (in fear of how that might affect Sansa), or at one point if we have to find a new home for Sansa. Please help me! Im sad and my cats are sad too!
Like Like
Dear Aja,
I would suggest you contact a cat behaviourist to assist you.
If you wish me to assist you please email my offices at info@catnips.co.uk and I can go through
consultations prices and see if you wish to proceed. Consultations are via email or a personal visit
depending on which area you are based in.
We are based in the UK.
Kindest regards and I do hope you find help to solve this problem.
Like Liked by 1 person
What are the best tools for shaving mats from the underside of a large, aggresive cat. My vet has provided me a sedative for him but I want to be sure I have of the tools assembled before I start. I noticed that the Furminator is NOT the correct one, so what do you suggest?
Like Like
Hi, I would not suggest any owner shave their cat and especially one that is aggressive so moving around alot. Groomers train to use clippers on cats. It is extremely easy to cut a cats skin if you dont know what you are doing. My suggestion is you seek a holistic cat groomer who can handle difficult cats. I am surprised your vet has given you a sedative for home use because if anything goes wrong you do not have professional help at hand. Sedatives that half put a cat to sleep make them far worse because they feel out of control and they may get panicked. May I ask why why your vet doesnt sedate to quickly do the grooming whilst your cat is fully asleep. You can start some form of mild training to get your cat used to being groomed on a matt free coat. Hope this has helped.
Like Like
Hi Anita! Thank you for visiting and following HoB. Much appreciated! Mr. Bowie says Meow!
Like Like
You are most welcome. I love your blog!
Like Like
I used to live in a country location, we bought two kittens who were brothers from the same litter, they loved there environment, played outside most of the day and night, busy catching mice and rabbits from the fields, they worked together most of the time.
We moved recently to a more built up area and near a road which is moderately busy, unfortunately one of the cats got knocked down and had to be put to sleep, so now we only have the one cat.
His habits have changed since his brother got killed 3 weeks ago, he does not seem to want to leave the garden ? And I am a little worried about him, can you help please ?
Anthony
Like Like
Hi Anthony, Thanks for your comments. Its understandable you are worried. You didnt state how old your cat is now or how old they where when you moved to a more urban area. Let your remaining cat grieve. Let him remain in the safety of the garden and, if your really worried about the roads, then cat proof the garden. Theres so much on the net about cat proofing and lots of DIY suggestions. Its a good compromise and keeps both human and cat happy.
Like Like
Hi Im a cat groomer from Canada. I need help for my client. I groomed her two cats and now one of them is attacking the other. This is not the norm as they booth came in the same carrier to be groomed. How can I help her?
Like Like
They could be reacting to a number of things and its quite common. Smelling differently, stress of the groom, looking different if they had a lot of fur shaved off. She would need to do a slow cat to cat introduction again which could take days or weeks. I never use any scented products when grooming cats in a multi cat household. Both cats should be in a separate spacious carrier when being taken and collected from a groomer. Try reading: http://iheartcats.com/jackson-galaxys-6-steps-to-properly-introduce-cats/ Hope this has helped.
Like Like