Need to Vent

I am so stressed right now... I feel overwhelmed and exhausted. I woke up to a notification from my bank that I had $0.00 in my checking account. I had to scramble and beg to get enough funds to hold me over until I get paid on Thursday. Why is it so ****ing hard for me to make ends meet? I don't spend money on luxuries, I keep a budget spreadsheet that I update constantly, I make $17/hour full-time. I should not have to beg my family for money. Denver is so ****ing expensive these days and my insurance is a ****ing joke. Over $200 a month. Unfortunately, I need insurance for my meds if for nothing else. I have a lot of shoulder pain, have had it for a week and a half and I've been applying hot, moist compresses as the doc recommended, and it isn't helping. He also suggested I take NSAIDs but as soon as I did I started getting really bad heartburn, so I switched to Tylenol instead. Still not helping. My 10-month-old kitten is lovely and I wouldn't give her up for the world, but she is biting me. A LOT. I keep telling her "NO!" and she still does it. I called the vet to ask what they would suggest I do to discourage her, and they said I should spray her with cold water or flick her on the nose when she does that. I've opted for the spray technique, as I know their noses are quite sensitive and they rely on their olfactory senses a lot. She's mad at me now for having done it. Oh well LOL. She's clearly in her teenage phase right now haha. Work has been god-awful-- one of our automation machines broke down last night, so all those prescriptions had to be filled by hand. It sucked. And today I'm at a station where the equipment is broken. I can hardly contain my excitement. Sorry, I just really needed to get all this off my chest. It's giving me a massive headache.

I'm so sorry you have so much to deal with. I will say on the kitten front usually that behavior stops at a certain age and it's good you are letting her know that it's not acceptable. One of our cats as a kitten went through a foot phase. If you walked past her she'd attack the hell out of your feet. We started spraying her for it and it took about two weeks but the phase passed.

If you can work it into your budget I'd get the shoulder looked at. Too bad the pain didn't start at work then you could get care for it under workman's comp.

I hope things improve at work and eases at least a little of your stress

I used to do a lot of foster/rescue work with abandoned cats/kittens. In a regular cat family, when one kitten bites too hard, the other one screams and then stops playing. If you do that - not a rage scream, but a squall like "OW! that hurt" and then walk away & don't engage for 5 minutes or so. Go in the bathroom w/ door closed, or whatever. If it's a poor bite inhibition (not knowing how hard to bite before it hurts) that'll cure it. On the other hand, if it's boredom/loneliness you can cure by playing w/ kitty more. Best thing to do is get a wand toy (stick, string, feather/etc on end) and draw it over the ground so kitty can chase/pounce. Do this until kitty gets bored, and then feed kitty. Mimics their natural behavior - they hunt, pounce, then eat. Makes them feel more calm & gets out the energy, etc. Don't use hands for toys until kitty is really good at bite inhibition & careful with your skin. I have cured many a bitey kitty w/ the above, including adults who were ingrained in the behavior. nose flicking will just confuse them. Spray will stop them from biting, but will also stop them from approaching and interfere with your bond and make for an insecure and confused kitty. insecure and confused kitties tend to act out in other ways, like potty outside the box, scratching, etc.

Can't offer advice on $ or health situation bc I stink at money management and am in chronically poor health, but wanted to give my animal behaviorist expertise, lol. Sorry if you weren't looking for advice, I know unsolicited advice can be annoying. I hope you are able to get through these issues and find a way to thrive!

Thanks for the feedback both of you... Toughcooki, thank you so much for the advice on how to stop her from biting. I really appreciate it!

Absolutely no problem, glad to help out a fellow-animal lover