Will I be able to take my cat with me to an ATOS medical?

Scared45

Crisp_£_note wrote: »

If you're not in the house, how do you know what the cat gets up to ?

Read the thread.

anguk

Scared45 wrote: »

Well, ok, then, if it really isn't good for her.

It's not so much that the supermarket isn't good for her it's more of a hygiene issue, there's a reason that animals (other than guide dogs) are banned from supermarkets. I'm surprised a manager hasn't asked you to leave the store if you've had your cat with you.

I suspect that you're actually more reliant on the cat rather than the other way round and if you've constantly been there with her she's got used to it. Maybe start with not always being in the same room as her all the time, then perhaps leave her in the house while you're in the garden, then short trips away. She'll soon get used to being on her own and will probably just do what mine does when we're out and just sleep!

Just had another thought, if your cat is quite happy being out and about with hustle & bustle of outdoors and supermarket it might be a good idea to leave a radio on when you leave her, it may be the quiet that upsets her.

soupdragon10

If your cat becomes distressed when you leave the house why not feed her just before you leave? This would both distract her and associate something pleasant (being fed) with you leaving home.

One of my cats is very attached to me (he slept outside my bedroom door every night for 3 weeks when I was in hospital), but he is equally happy during the day doing his own thing.

You mention a local MH organisation, do they have a befriending service? Maybe meeting one person at a time might be better than starting with a large noisy group. Or if you have a CPN they might know of a local befriending service.

Meeting new people when you have isolated yourself is very difficult so taking the first small steps now might help you to deal with these situations more easily in the longer term.

rinabean

tinktinktinkerbell wrote: »

i shouldnt laugh

but i did...... a lot

maybe they can assess the cat at the same time

Hahaha! Mentally ill people are so funny! Hahaha! I also love laughing at ill people! I'm so proud of it that I post about it online, too!

Is it the hot weather? The full moon has been and gone. What is wrong with some people? At least there's meds and treatment for me and the OP, nasty people are just stuck like that forever...


OP, your cat will be alright, I swear. If you're worried she'll manage to do a lot of harm while you're gone, put her in her basket while you're out or something, maybe?

I am not trying to be rude but I feel like perhaps you are treating your cat in the way you'd like to be treated. That's not the worst you could do, you're not being cruel to it after all, but I feel like you may be projecting your feelings of anxiety and agoraphobia onto the cat, and then sheltering the cat in the way that perhaps you want to be sheltered from the world. The cat is just a cat - maybe it is a little anxious, but we use the phrase "scaredy-cat" for a reason - but you're not well. Instead of focusing all of this caring energy onto the cat, try focussing some of it onto yourself. Don't stop seeking outside help, but the cure for this - or at least the amelioration of your worst symptoms - will have to come from within.

CountryGuy

Scared45 wrote: »

The psychiatrist did mention CBT - I think, like you say, he wanted to try out meds first.

But this is the 3rd different anti-depressant I've been on and it's not really helping so I think I am going to push him on the CBT when next we meet.

The cat is fine when I'm in the kitchen, or in any other room in the house - she doesn't always even sleep in my bedroom. It's just when I leave the house she can act up (more like some dogs, really).

I've taken her to the supermarket with me before and she seems to quite enjoy it. I know that sounds insane, as per the title of this thread, but wasn't meant as such.

I'm curious to know what you mean about your cat acting up if you leave the house? I have 4 cats, one hand reared and he is totally and completely soft, if I go out he sits on the windowsill until I come home but I'm quite sure he sleeps most of that time. When I'm home he will follow me everywhere, stairs are a nightmare as he will wait on the next step down from the one I am on and won't move until I step on to his step, it is like that all the way down but going up he will run ahead of me and wait at the top. When I'm in the bath he will try and pull me out with his paw and cries so I have to make sure he ins't in the bahroom while I have a bath as this is obviously too stressful for him, but he is always waiting at the door when I get out of the bath

One of my other cats his due kittens in 2 weeks time and although she adores my attention she does also like to go off and curl up for asleep alone.

CountryGuy

tinktinktinkerbell wrote: »

i shouldnt laugh

but i did...... a lot

maybe they can assess the cat at the same time

I laughed too but only because I saw a little of me in the OP, I hate to leave them for any length of time and I'm always fussing over them

CountryGuy

dmg24 wrote: »

If there is one person that really should know better here, it is you. You are quite capable of working, yet you will not take a job that interferes with looking after your hamster. How dare you judge someone who is incapable of work through mental illness, when you do not work through sheer laziness?

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

I once phoned work saying I'd be late because my hamster was dying and I didn't want him to die alone. My boss was quite supportive at the time

Scared45

Thanks to everyone who's replied - I will try those tips about feeding the cat before I go out, not that I'm out very much.

I live in a flat, but outside my window at the back, down the fire escape - it's just one level, there are lots and lots of gardens and quite a bit of wild, overgrown land. It's really ideal for a cat to play and explore in (I see other cats out there and no dogs at all), yet my cat will only go out for 30, 40 minutes at the most - even when it's a nice sunny day, she just doesn't seem to want to be outside much unless I'm with her.

But I will try what the sensible posters have suggested.

shegirl

OP,I take it your cat is a house cat?I would also guess that the reason it gets stressed when you leave it alone is because you have been so needy with it that you are always fussing it etc that's you that has the needs not the cat and the more you continue the worse it will be for both of you.It's not fair on the cat and it will,in the end,end up causing you a lot of problems.Have you talked to anyone about this attachment issue?It will get in the way of your life and what would happen if,god forbid,something were to happen?

I have to say when I first read this thread and replied this morning with the laughter I actually thought it was a wind up and I'm sorry for that if this is genuine but you do need to sort this out.

Scared45

Well, yes, she is a housecat, but as in my last post she has every opportunity of going out but she won't - or at least not for very long.