|
spatula posted:I am irrationally nervous about leaving my cats alone for 5 days. Obviously I'll put out plenty of food and water and clean litter. Neither of them have ever given a poo poo about a litterbox being full of poop, so I'm not worried about that really. But if they did poo poo somewhere else, eh, whatever. I have a friend nearby that usually checks in on them, but he's out of town. They'll be fine right?! I'll even leave the air conditioning on for them... Honestly, 5 days is too long in my opinion. I admit, I've allowed my cats to be home alone for the weekend back when they were still freefed because putting down an assload of food and leaving clean litterboxes was ok for them. I'd try to find another friend that can check in on them or possibly look into hiring a pet sitter? Depending on your neighbors, maybe you can ask one of them to check on your cats?
|
#
?
Jun 25, 2013 23:10
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 20, 2024 07:16 |
|
|
Pretty much the exact thing I feared has happened today. My cat accidentally ran into neighbor's dog; she arched her back and hissed before bolting back into the apartment. She has been extremely nervous and bitey since, it's like the dog incident caused her feral instincts to kick back into gear. She is afraid of pretty much everything including me, she won't let me near her and isn't interested in treats. gently caress I'm afraid to sleep now, cat thinks something is in my bed and tries to drive the mystery mouse from underneath the bedsheets. She's been spending the last couple of hours neurotically moving the litter around the box and making GBS threads right next to the actual litterbox. I hope she'll come around till morning.
|
|
#
?
Jun 26, 2013 00:17
|
|
GAY 4 ORGANS
|
So, my house currently is infested with bed bugs and tomorrow I'm getting it treated. During the treatment I need to get the cats out of the house and there was only one friend I found that is willing to let me bring them over. The problems is that he obviously doesn't want to get bed bugs himself. Does anyone know of any way to make sure my cats aren't carrying any bed bugs on them at the time I put them in their carriers? I looked around online and could find no good answers.
|
|
#
?
Jun 26, 2013 06:25
|
|
|
Could you call and ask the people treating your place? (Assuming a company is treating it, if not maybe call exterminators and see if they know a safe way?)
|
|
#
?
Jun 26, 2013 06:30
|
|
|
Aw damnit, I got so caught up in things and running up and down the stairs that I forgot once that the cat was laying in the doorway, and seem to have partially trod on her. She immediately jumped up and ran away, and now she's calm and she seems to be walking around just fine but... gently caress. She should be okay, right? She seems to already have gotten over it, but 
|
|
#
?
Jun 26, 2013 06:31
|
|
|
axleblaze posted:So, my house currently is infested with bed bugs and tomorrow I'm getting it treated. During the treatment I need to get the cats out of the house and there was only one friend I found that is willing to let me bring them over. The problems is that he obviously doesn't want to get bed bugs himself. Does anyone know of any way to make sure my cats aren't carrying any bed bugs on them at the time I put them in their carriers? I looked around online and could find no good answers. Ofaloaf posted:Aw damnit, I got so caught up in things and running up and down the stairs that I forgot once that the cat was laying in the doorway, and seem to have partially trod on her. She immediately jumped up and ran away, and now she's calm and she seems to be walking around just fine but... gently caress. She should be okay, right? She seems to already have gotten over it, but
|
|
#
?
Jun 26, 2013 07:08
|
|
|
I am in the process of rescuing an adorable kitty family of 4 that has been hanging out in my backyard. There's a young mama cat and 3 little kittens that are at least a month old. Mama went from running away terrified when I went out back to running towards me purring. She is super affectionate now, but the progress I've made with her kittens is less promising. A no kill shelter has agreed to take all of them in, but first I have to catch them and get them socialized. As it stands, the kittens will eat in my presence (especially after their mama does a particular meow at them) but they get very scared when I move and certainly won't let me touch them. Does anyone have advice on catching the kittens without traumatizing them, or anything else I could try to help put them at ease with people? Any advice would be greatly appreciated as the weather is getting hotter and the longer they live outdoors the more likely it is mama cat will become pregnant again.
|
|
#
?
Jun 26, 2013 18:53
|
|
|
Question(s): I have two black cats from the same litter, they are about 1-1.5 years old now. One seems to have nose or breathing problems or something but I haven't taken him to the vet yet. Until now, he would just breathe heavily every once in a while, I've heard him snore once or twice, but he was always running around with the other cat and jumping around. Recently though, about the last few days, he has been sneezing a lot and I can see him breathe in with him mouth and our of his nose sometimes to try to clear it I guess. His left eye has also been running a bit more than usual. Does he have cat allergies or asthma or something? I have never taken them to the vets for a checkup and they've only had their basic shots from when I adopted them a year ago. Also I have no clue about good vets at all, specifically in the North Dallas area, if anyone has recommendations I'd be happy to hear.
|
|
#
?
Jun 26, 2013 19:16
|
|
|
Save Target As posted:Question(s): Kittens and cats can have what are called "upper respiratory infections" (URIs) that will cause nasal discharge and/or inflammation, as well as eye discharge. Sometimes, there can even be some outer eye damage (called a corneal ulcer) with these URIs. The most common causes are viral (Cat herpes virus does it most common usually). However, bacterial infections can set up after the viruses and cause more clinical signs. Taking them to a vet would let them check the eyes to see if there needs to be eye meds, as well as antibiotics if the nasal discharge is bad. However, the are other causes of sneezing and nasal discharge in cats (polyps, other masses) that a vet would need to see to treat.
|
|
#
?
Jun 26, 2013 20:47
|
|
|
So follow up to my previous question: I took the cats over to my friends today and they acted nervous the whole time. One of my cats wandered around for a while until settling in a corner and my other cat didn't leave her carrier until really late in the day and then she started meowing for a few hours. Now during this time the few times they got near each other they acted really nasty towards each other (hissing, growling and even swiping). Now they usually tolerate each other. They don't like each other but they don't fight or anything either. I figured since they were both on edge they were acting a little nastier than usual. The thing is I just got them home and they're still acting really nasty to each other, so I guess I'm just asking, any idea what's up with that?
|
|
#
?
Jun 27, 2013 00:11
|
|
|
HelloSailorSign posted:Pyelonephritis would show up on a UA. You'd see evidence of casts (globs of white blood cells or protein coming from the damaged kidney), white blood cells... likely a whole host of other goodies as well. TCC would not necessarily show up on a UA. Rarely can you pull cells in your cysto sample. You may get evidence of bleeding or inflammation from the UA, but you said it was reported as unremarkable. Was the UA done in house or sent out? A chronic kidney cat with lower urinary tract signs has got a UTI in my book until proven otherwise - I've definitely seen animals negative on UA come up culture positive on culture, but they're the animals with really dilute urine (such as a chronic kidney disease cat). Just wanted to say thanks for the advice, but we put her to sleep yesterday afternoon. My mom finally took her to the E-vet after visiting her regular lovely doctor who did nothing, and the E-vet said that the swelling in her urethra was so severe they were apprehensive to catheterize, and we weren't willing to put her under general anesthesia. Her bladder was incredibly full and they weren't able to express any urine. All the vets were saying it was very strange as her labwork and UA all came back unremarkable as I said - though the E-vet mentioned slightly elevated BUN and Creatinine, but it was probably from her urinary symptoms. Everyone commented that she looked much younger than her 17 years and for all intents and purposes appeared to be a very healthy cat. Her neuro exam came back unremarkable, along with the rectal exam and the quick ultrasound they did. We're chalking it up to cancer of some sort and leaving it at that. They just kept saying the swelling was so profound it was unlikely to be a stone or FIC. I miss her so dearly, and it was all so sudden. Life definitely feels a bit more empty without her here.
|
|
#
?
Jun 27, 2013 00:44
|
|
|
Save Target As posted:Question(s): I can't really help with the diagnosis or anything, but depending on where you're at in North Dallas I would recommend Dr. Brantley ( address on this page: http://www.kudzu.com/m/Brantley-Gary-C-6228411 ). We used him growing up and he was always great with our dogs and cats. My grandmother still uses him for her current cats 
|
|
#
?
Jun 27, 2013 01:42
|
|
|
I'm debating adopting a kitten. Tell me why I should and shouldn't get one, besides the fact all cats are fickle little adorable bitches with shiny eyes and whiskers.
|
|
#
?
Jun 27, 2013 02:27
|
|
|
HeartNotes3 posted:I'm debating adopting a kitten. Tell me why I should and shouldn't get one, besides the fact all cats are fickle little adorable bitches with shiny eyes and whiskers. Do you have a lot of time to spend on the kitten? Socializing it and training it and keeping it out of trouble? Why a kitten? Why just one? If all you want is one or if you can't afford more, have you considered a full grown cat? There are tons of them, already trained and social, and with personalities the shelter can describe to you so you are more likely to get a good fit! Plus adults are cheaper than kittens! If you must have a kitten, consider two unless you have the time to spend taking on the energy it would have to burn yourself.
|
|
#
?
Jun 27, 2013 02:34
|
|
|
axleblaze posted:The thing is I just got them home and they're still acting really nasty to each other, so I guess I'm just asking, any idea what's up with that? A lot of cats get freaked out by change like that, and it's not something they snap back from once everything goes back to normal. They should settle in a day or two.
|
|
#
?
Jun 27, 2013 02:53
|
|
|
axleblaze posted:So follow up to my previous question: I took the cats over to my friends today and they acted nervous the whole time. One of my cats wandered around for a while until settling in a corner and my other cat didn't leave her carrier until really late in the day and then she started meowing for a few hours. Now during this time the few times they got near each other they acted really nasty towards each other (hissing, growling and even swiping). Now they usually tolerate each other. They don't like each other but they don't fight or anything either. I figured since they were both on edge they were acting a little nastier than usual. The thing is I just got them home and they're still acting really nasty to each other, so I guess I'm just asking, any idea what's up with that?
|
|
#
?
Jun 27, 2013 03:07
|
|
|
Um, so.. odd question here. I got back from the gym and was petting Sadie on the couch and she just jammed her face right into my arm pit and went nuts sniffing at it. I had to keep pushing her away and eventually pushed her off the couch because she started to bite at the athletic shirt fabric. I'm guessing "omg strange smell must investigate" along with her addiction to petting, or is my cat just really really strange?
|
|
#
?
Jun 27, 2013 03:50
|
|
|
Shifty Pony posted:Um, so.. odd question here. I had a cat once who loved sticking her face in shoes. The smellier, the better. She would find the stinkiest shoes, cram her whole head down in one, then come up for air a full minute later panting and purring. 
|
|
#
?
Jun 27, 2013 05:20
|
|
|
Shifty Pony posted:Um, so.. odd question here. One of my cats loves to steal my dirty underwear. Is cat.
|
|
#
?
Jun 27, 2013 05:39
|
|
|
Kugyou no Tenshi posted:I had a cat once who loved sticking her face in shoes. The smellier, the better. She would find the stinkiest shoes, cram her whole head down in one, then come up for air a full minute later panting and purring. Almost every cat I've own has done the exact same thing. Also, to follow up to my last post, yeah, the cats have already settled down so yeah they were still just freaked out. The most amusing thing yesterday was one of my cats refused to leave her carrier most of the day at my firends house, then eventually she finally came out, just to walk directly into the other cat carrier and hide in there for about another hour.
|
|
#
?
Jun 27, 2013 09:28
|
|
|
Kugyou no Tenshi posted:I had a cat once who loved sticking her face in shoes. The smellier, the better. She would find the stinkiest shoes, cram her whole head down in one, then come up for air a full minute later panting and purring. My cats think nothing of my shoes, but EVERY single person who's lived at my apartment gets their shoes nearly destroyed when they take them to someone else's house and they have cats. I took my socks and shoes off at a friends house and one of their cats absconded with a sock never to be seen again. There's something in my carpet that is like cat heaven, and it's not the fact I have cats. I've had cats less than a year, but this behavior has been going on since I lived in this apartment 6 years ago.
|
|
#
?
Jun 27, 2013 09:58
|
|
|
Update: Fattles has been using the litter box all week. An has taking to spending 3-5 minutes digging in the litter now for no good reason. And yeah, An buries her face in my armpit when i'm in bed, and my underwear when on the toilet. 
|
|
#
?
Jun 27, 2013 12:42
|
|
|
Ema Nymton posted:Even a fountain isn't good enough for this cat anymore? Perhaps try taking the fountain away and replacing it with a regular water bowl for a while, and then putting the fountain back. The vet suggested putting a none MSG chicken bullion cube in it. Works like a dream.
|
|
#
?
Jun 27, 2013 14:57
|
|
|
My furbabies don't recognize me anymore  I just came back from a year of studying aboard and all three of them fled at the sight of me, especially the oldest one, we used to be so close together! Now she wailed and hissed at me like a stranger! I'm so upset about this. What must I do to win them back???? Adrastus fucked around with this message at 16:19 on Jun 27, 2013 |
|
#
?
Jun 27, 2013 16:14
|
|
|
Adrastus posted:My furbabies don't recognize me anymore Give it time, don't rush things.
|
|
#
?
Jun 27, 2013 16:44
|
|
|
Quick question with backstory: I adopted a cat who was pretty drat brazen in his younger years. He was 9 months when I got him, maybe 5 years old now. It was just me and him for about a few years and then I got married. Ex wife had two cats. All three got along to a degree (her two were very very skiddish). Got divorced, she took her two cats. He's been fairly good since then, though I noticed a slightly more "neediness" in his behavior. Whether it was there or I imagined it I couldn't tell you. What I am sure of is that within the last year/year and a half, he himself has become very very skiddish. Things that used to not bother him make him flip the gently caress out and run to the other side of the room. Just curious if anyone could possibly explain why he's grown skiddish. ed He's also adopted the habit of spitting at things he plays with, be it string, a ball, or a laser pointer. Other than that he's pretty well behaved outside of banging on doors he wants out of, banging on cabinets he wants inside, and sometimes biting too hard when playing. Zuhzuhzombie!! fucked around with this message at 18:15 on Jun 27, 2013 |
|
#
?
Jun 27, 2013 18:07
|
|
|
NOT a twink posted:I am in the process of rescuing an adorable kitty family of 4 that has been hanging out in my backyard. There's a young mama cat and 3 little kittens that are at least a month old. Mama went from running away terrified when I went out back to running towards me purring. She is super affectionate now, but the progress I've made with her kittens is less promising. A no kill shelter has agreed to take all of them in, but first I have to catch them and get them socialized. As it stands, the kittens will eat in my presence (especially after their mama does a particular meow at them) but they get very scared when I move and certainly won't let me touch them. Anyone have any tips on trapping the kittens? I've never done this before and I'm super worried I'll mess up and lose their trust! I have access to a big metal dog crate that I was going to put in their normal feeding spot with a bowl of their favorite canned food inside. Once they all go inside I would then close the door. Is there anything wrong with this plan? I just want to catch them as safely as possible so they can get the help they need.
|
|
#
?
Jun 28, 2013 18:22
|
|
|
^^ That seems like a good plan, otherwise I've seen people recommend borrowing cat traps from local shelters if the kennel doesn't do the trick.^^ Question: My ex recently was accepted into the national guard and while I haven't been in regular contact with him in two years, I know that he hasn't been keeping good care of the cat we had together. He says it only comes to his place twice a week and has gotten really fat from multiple families feeding it. Apparently it has been hanging around neighbors who do drugs as well (does that have lasting effects on cats?) Should I insist on getting this cat before he leaves town? My only hang up is that he was very controlling during our relationship and I am worried he would use the cat as a reason to keep in contact with me.
|
|
#
?
Jun 29, 2013 14:11
|
|
|
My black Siamese just passed, me and my wife want the high energy personality and were thinking of getting a regular Siamese. We are located by Charleston, SC and was checking to see if anyone has had any experience with any of the breeders around here. So far we are talking to Kittentanz Cattery and O's Sweet Faces Siamese. Has anyone ever heard of them or know if they are terrible people?
|
|
#
?
Jun 29, 2013 20:25
|
|
|
Adrastus posted:My furbabies don't recognize me anymore Food.
|
|
#
?
Jun 29, 2013 22:35
|
|
|
Shifty Pony posted:Um, so.. odd question here. After the gym I usually toss my sweaty shirts on the floor before tossing them in the hamper and one of my cattes will roll around in it like its the best thing ever. He also loves to lick my armpits and will jam his head into my shoes. Cats are just weird. Even though he rolls around in my shirts and does the hind leg kick at them, he has yet to tear one.
|
|
#
?
Jun 30, 2013 17:55
|
|
|
Mocha Frost posted:After the gym I usually toss my sweaty shirts on the floor before tossing them in the hamper and one of my cattes will roll around in it like its the best thing ever. He also loves to lick my armpits and will jam his head into my shoes. Cats are just weird. Mine does the same thing!
|
|
#
?
Jun 30, 2013 19:23
|
|
|
My cat is still licking holes in herself. When she started doing it about 6 months ago, we chalked it up to seasonal allergies after we took her to the vet and they said it wasn't ringworm. Her belly has had thin hair ever since but what concerns me is that occasionally she'll lick and bite at a particular spot until it she has taken the upper most layer of the skin off and it oozes plasma. These spots range from the size of a dime to the size of a quarter, are usually on the back of her thighs and look really painful. The problem doesn't seem to be going away and although the vet gave us some Genesis, we were kind of hoping for something a little bit more long term because she is extremely difficult with medication and will not let us apply it. Are allergy shots for cats a thing?
|
|
#
?
Jun 30, 2013 20:47
|
|
|
Are they positive its allergies? Obsessive cleaning and biting like that can also be anxiety related or even a food allergy, which would require just a diet change. Does it come and go with the seasons? Can you think of anything noteworthy that could be stressing her out? Genesis is the spray, right? She hates being sprayed with it?
|
|
#
?
Jun 30, 2013 22:01
|
|
|
Shnooks posted:Are they positive its allergies? Obsessive cleaning and biting like that can also be anxiety related or even a food allergy, which would require just a diet change. Does it come and go with the seasons? Can you think of anything noteworthy that could be stressing her out? She very well could be doing it compulsively but she scratches an awful lot too so I think she is genuinely itchy. If it was a food allergy, we can't do anything it since one of the other cats is on a prescription diet. We'd have to stop free feeding altogether so I'm hoping this is not the case. Sometimes she stops long enough to let some hair grow back but starts it up again. She hates having ANYTHING applied, it doesn't matter how. You could dab it, you could spray it on. It doesn't matter. She hates it and she will let you know she hates it.
|
|
#
?
Jun 30, 2013 22:13
|
|
|
Lareine posted:My cat is still licking holes in herself. When she started doing it about 6 months ago, we chalked it up to seasonal allergies after we took her to the vet and they said it wasn't ringworm. Her belly has had thin hair ever since but what concerns me is that occasionally she'll lick and bite at a particular spot until it she has taken the upper most layer of the skin off and it oozes plasma. These spots range from the size of a dime to the size of a quarter, are usually on the back of her thighs and look really painful. The problem doesn't seem to be going away and although the vet gave us some Genesis, we were kind of hoping for something a little bit more long term because she is extremely difficult with medication and will not let us apply it. Are allergy shots for cats a thing? Allergy shots can be done, but they don't always work. Oral steroids or other immune modulators drugs can be tried - steroids are cheap but get the job done (but can have many side effects) whereas the other drug is more expensive but less side effects (though still has them).
|
|
#
?
Jun 30, 2013 23:55
|
|
|
Lareine posted:She very well could be doing it compulsively but she scratches an awful lot too so I think she is genuinely itchy.
|
|
#
?
Jul 1, 2013 00:35
|
|
|
1337_ScriptKiddie posted:My black Siamese just passed, me and my wife want the high energy personality and were thinking of getting a regular Siamese. We are located by Charleston, SC and was checking to see if anyone has had any experience with any of the breeders around here. So far we are talking to Kittentanz Cattery and O's Sweet Faces Siamese. Has anyone ever heard of them or know if they are terrible people? No idea of your local breeders, but regarding Siamese I'd recommend to avoid more extreme breeders. Just giving a quick google didnt give me any concrete information or examples, but apparently the tendency of some breeders to push for narrower and narrower skulls has led to some suboptimal health outcomes for the unfortunate freaks. I'm sure the people you're dealing with aren't trying to palm off bulging-eyed inbred moron-cats with neurological disorders, but just thought I'd mention the obvious. gently caress it, the old "avoid the most extreme breeders" is probably a useful rule of thumb to apply to everything from cats, to toy dogs to horses. For the record I've lived with a few Siamese over the years, never met a sealpoint that I didn't want to keep. I quite like the heavy set and beefier versions of them, rather than the ephemeral and ghostlike tiny little things. The kind of cat who combines the Siamese personality with a robustness that lets them to go outside and catch rabbits. Though the "applehead" fashion with the squished snout looks as bizarre to me as the most extreme elongated-snouts and bat-ear brigade. --------------- Unrelated: old cat personality check. I've an adopted tabby who is around 7-9 years old, a very sweet girl who is the only animal in the house. She absolutely loathes other cats. I've not had another cat be this antisocial before - even when presented with extremely old/young and unthreatening cats she has a heightened fight/flight response with continual growling, moaning and the odd hiss. IME most cats do eventually get to chill the gently caress out when confronted by a non-threatening kitty, but my tabby doesn't seem to want to dial it down. She's had an old sick cat come to live with her for 9 months and it wasn't till he was literally on his deathbed in his last weeks of life that she stopped freaking out. At the place we've been living for the past year any of the five neighbourhood cats who bump into her elicit an over the top reaction. She seems extremely fearful of them, and her lack of self-confidence leads to her acting like a dick. I suspect her main issue is sub-optimal socialisation as a kitten - she's a former rescue animal who decided to runaway from home when young. I started looking after when she dropped past my innercity apartment looking hungry and covered in fleas. The local shelter identified her as one they had adopted out by her ancient ear tattoo. Six years later she's absolutely inseparable with me and my partner - maybe spending only a waking hour or two outside of our company a day. And we're talking about the prospect of getting a puppy. Question: how is she going to cope if I decide at some point to introduce an indoor dog? How successful have people been integrating a new animal into a situation like this one? I guess her anxiety makes her a candidate for kitty-SSRI and/or those hormone spray.
|
|
#
?
Jul 1, 2013 02:09
|
|
|
LoreOfSerpents posted:Do you have any vet dermatologists in the area? As Schnooks said, a lot of things can cause excessive grooming, so seeing a specialist might help you identify it a bit faster. The first time I encountered over-grooming, my cat actually had mange, which my vet had never seen in a cat before. The vet did a skin scraping and it was just covered in microscopic mites. Not in the immediate area. Just the regular vets. Anything like that would most likely be more than a 1+ hour drive.
|
|
#
?
Jul 1, 2013 02:19
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 20, 2024 07:16 |
|
|
dusty posted:Though the "applehead" fashion with the squished snout looks as bizarre to me as the most extreme elongated-snouts and bat-ear brigade. Pretty sure "applehead" siamese are the ones with a traditional, dsh-like head shape: 
|
|
#
?
Jul 1, 2013 04:07
|
|
