In 2023, I scheduled an hour-long consultation with Ingrid at Fundamentally Feline regarding the behavior issues and relationship issues between my two cats, Dio and Luna. Dio would relentlessly pursue Luna and it would get violent often. Luna was stressed and urinating outside of the box among other things. Being so overwhelmed and with the Internet so full of dangerous misinformation, I found it really difficult to navigate the situation by myself. I am now grateful pretty much every day for the impact that hour-long consultation had on my life! Over a year later, I'm writing this because at the time, Ingrid had suggested that I adopt a similarly aged kitten to bond with my more rambunctious cat. I went to rescues with strict guidelines straight from Ingrid so that I had the best chance at finding a perfect match. It was a success! We chose the "roughest" kitten we could find and followed Fundamentally Feline's social introduction guidelines. It was less than a month later that I captured an adorable photo of Dio and Neil cuddling together - and before I knew it, they no longer needed my close supervision. Dio was no longer attaching himself to Luna to satisfy his social needs with the introduction of Neil: instead, he's able to interact with her at a much lesser level of arousal because his brother provides him with the rough play that he apparently needs! Luna and Dio will groom each other now, but most importantly, Dio's behavior has positively changed and he's now able to give Luna the space she needs. Luna has been freely roaming the home and generally being the queen of the household again. The change felt magical! The evidence-based guidance I received from FF genuinely changed our lives for the better.
But also, without Ingrid, I wouldn't have come across Neil (also known as Little Bitty). Pretty much everything he does is outrageously adorable and he's got the pinkest nose and toes. He loves to scream and make the best noises in the world. Getting to know him has been the most rewarding experience, especially knowing that he was struggling to find a home. I would never describe him as rough after living with him for a year now. He's the only one that will snuggle me for hours! Best of all: he loves to headbutt, violently. Record number of "bonks" in a day so far is 18. So, I could never be thankful enough - and Ingrid can never deny having made an incredible impact in someone's life! <3
There's still more! FF has so many free resources online and I've used them ever since our consultation. My cats can take medicine with zero force now thanks to Ingrid's knowledge of cooperative care strategies. Even my 6 year old kitty has learned this new "trick!"
Ingrid - It's wonderful that you exist and that you found yourself where you are, helping so many different lives.
Yours - always!
Jena P, Luna, Dio, and Neil
Adrian, Michigan
