I have been working with Ingrid for over a year now. I reached out to her when I was desperate for help. We had 4 cats and for many reasons that I now understand they started spraying in the house. I have had cats all my life and considered myself pretty knowledgeable about cat behavior. I love being with my furry kids and no matter how bad this problem was becoming, getting rid of them was never an option. So, I researched deterrents and cleaners and spent a good part of my day cleaning, washing the carpet and disinfecting our house. They weren’t just spraying in a few areas but against baseboards and many things in every room. I felt so defeated when nothing was working to solve this issue. Why were there so many people on line with success stories and no matter what I bought nothing was working for me?
I was referred to Ingrid and reached out knowing at that point I had nothing to lose because I couldn’t imagine it could get any worse. She taught me about how to choose the correct litter and that didn’t mean the one I liked the most but the one our cats liked the most. I doubled the number of litter boxes in our home. I also gave up on putting the boxes in places that were convenient for me. I chose locations that were best for them.
We discussed the impact cats that lived outside coming to our door had on my cats. I thought they believed it was fun to see other cats outside. I was so naive. For a period of time I followed Ingrid’s advice and covered all the windows and doors to the outside world with poster board so my cats couldn’t see any unwanted visitors. Like I said, I was all in to listening how to help my cats and 100% committed to following Ingrid’s advice.
I also explained to her the personality of all my cats as individuals and the dynamic between all of them. We experimented with medications and dosages suited for each cat. I learned a handful of ways to give cats medications that I had no knowledge of before. The goal was to not keep them on medication forever, but to provide what they needed throughout this process. Meds have changed over time for each cat.
The biggest change was changing all 4 cats diet. I added more wet food to their diet and introduced foraging for their dry food. I have foraging toys all over the house. It’s like having a baby again with plastic stuff all over the house. It doesn’t bother me because they embraced this way of eating. They are happy hunting for their food and each of them have their own favorite foraging toys. Some of the cats prefer the more difficult ones and some like to hunt for food that I hide that is not in a toy. Ingrid introduced me to the world of foraging and explained in detail why it is best for cats to eat this way.
Throughout this past year Ingrid has been there for our cats through every change in our household helping the cats adjust especially after the loss of our amazing Dobby cat. Our cats are now doing great. Ingrid helped me understand their needs so much better than I truly ever thought was possible. They bring us so much joy and when you have concerns about their behavior don’t give up on them. Ingrid will help you work through your issues step by step.
Cari and Joe Roman
Marietta, Ga
