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This isn't a question anymore! I finally found a place that is managed by a gentleman with a soft soft for dobermans! The yard is so large there is a contractual obligation to take care of it too!  Thank you neighbor that is a 23 year veteran of the police force K9/drug unit that loves my dog!
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Sep 9, 2011 13:56
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That's great news, seriously. It really is very difficult to find a nice place that allows commonly restricted breeds. Make sure you get everything important in writing. 
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Sep 10, 2011 07:46
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My neighbor is a K9 unit veteran of the force, and he adores my dog. So I have to thank him and owe him for allowing me to find a place. Hell, he even offered my boyfriend a well paying job when I asked him for a reference. I will miss having a real neighbor.
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Sep 10, 2011 16:07
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I know the answer is to contact a local wildlife shelter, but we have found a weeks-old squirrel who was being mentally tormented by a local cat. The squirrel was nowhere near a tree/nest, so I imagine the cat was just stalking him and cackling like a jerk; tormenting the runt in the same manner my indoor-only cats torment moths/spiders. I shooed the cat away and plopped the tiny little thing in a cat carrier with some blankets. His eyes are not even open yet. He survived the night, and I've called 4 or 5 Denver-area shelters/vets/wildlife centers and things are looking bleak as far as someone experienced taking the critter off our hands. The first call was to my vet, who said they wouldn't even let him in the door due to communicable diseases. Totally understandable. So I called the hospital they recommended, and since the critter doesn't appear to be dying, they only gave me other people to contact. There are a few 'squirrel rehabilitators' around here but the only one to answer so far already has like 10 of them. My wife is doing the motherly thing and had me buy some goat's milk and a baby bottle (that actually says on the package that it's designed for squirrels...) She's feeding it and I guess we have to manually poop/pee the little fucker until we find someone experienced/licensed to take over care for him. I fully expect and hope to drop him off with someone who knows what their doing. But until then, he sure is a cute little filthy disease carrying vermin and we can only hope to do good by him.
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Sep 10, 2011 20:35
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Is there any breed of dog that will be happy if left alone during the day? He would have access to a large garden, shed, and heated garage but we're out 8-6 Monday to Friday. We're pretty certain it's not a good idea but my own knowledge of different breeds is pretty poor.
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Sep 10, 2011 22:40
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Sanford posted:Is there any breed of dog that will be happy if left alone during the day? He would have access to a large garden, shed, and heated garage but we're out 8-6 Monday to Friday. We're pretty certain it's not a good idea but my own knowledge of different breeds is pretty poor. A greyhound would possibly work with the schedule, but it'd be a hell of a lot better being indoors, in a crate or something. Plus greyhounds are awesome.
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Sep 10, 2011 22:46
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Greyhounds -can- work in that situation (if you let the dog stay INSIDE), but that's still a lot of time alone, and you'd probably need to come home at some point during your day. An indoor cat however is perfect for that kind of schedule.
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Sep 10, 2011 23:11
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If you can see your way to getting someone to come by midday (whether that's you or a professional dog walker or a trusted neighbor kid) and let the dog out to pee and race around the yard a bit, a greyhound would be more than happy in that situation. But yeah, they can't be left outside for more a little while even under the best weather conditions because they're quite temperature sensitive. We try really hard not to leave my guy alone for more than 5-6 hours at a time, but on the rare occasions where something has happened and he's on his own longer he's been fine. We got trapped in a really horrible traffic situation earlier this year and he was alone for almost 10 hours, and other than really needing to pee when we got home, he didn't seem any worse for it.
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Sep 11, 2011 00:22
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talaena posted:words on a squirrel I've contacted 6 rehab folk and had other people contact a few more and everyone is booked up and unwilling to take another squirrel. I have a few more names I can try calling tomorrow (off of the state wildlife special licensing page). I'm not confident in finding anyone to help; nor am I really confident we can properly care for him if anything goes wrong beyond what already has. But I'm not going to club him in the head and throw him in the trash. I'm simply going to ask those who were unwilling to board him for help and read as much as I can and hope. We have him drinking goats milk (switching to some other puppy formula soon) and he's a lot more active, but not peeing yet. If he doen't pee soon, then this'll be a short babysitting gig. Poor little tyke. edit: He pooped. Totally stoked to see this pellet sized piece of poo extruded from him like a sausage. So I might be in this for the long haul (10 whole weeks) talaena fucked around with this message at 04:21 on Sep 11, 2011 |
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Sep 11, 2011 03:46
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We have a dog door, so my shepherd Comet can go in and out while we're away. On Tuesdays, he's alone from 7am-6pm, and we've never had any problems aside from his occasional discovery of unwashed takeout containers in the recycling bin. We give him a raw bone before leaving, and he spends the day chewing on it and sleeping on the kitchen floor/yard. Of course, it helps that we specifically chose a lazy dog, and he gets walks, runs, and hikes on a regular basis. We also live somewhere without seasons, so we don't have to worry about extreme temperatures making him uncomfortable. But it's completely possible to have a dog and work full-time.
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Sep 11, 2011 03:48
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The kitten I found at work last weekend went to its new home with one of my mom's coworkers today! A couple pictures to end the story of Batcat: 
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Sep 11, 2011 04:05
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Awww, Batcat. The kitten and the man both look so happy about it.
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Sep 11, 2011 12:10
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Sanford posted:Is there any breed of dog that will be happy if left alone during the day? He would have access to a large garden, shed, and heated garage but we're out 8-6 Monday to Friday. We're pretty certain it's not a good idea but my own knowledge of different breeds is pretty poor. Can you get the dog an appropriate sized doggie door? I have a doberman and can't recommend the breed enough, but it depends on what you are looking for in a dog. No hounds! Hounds will seek and destroy any and all yummy smelling things, and tend to follow their noses, fence or not, to whatever it is he or she is seeking.
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Sep 11, 2011 14:03
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Hey kiddo This guy just came into my life on a permanent basis, after a few years of semi-permanent. Since he's getting old (we're not sure how old, but definitely more than 9 years) and I'm a worrier, I'm wondering what kinds of things I should look out for in terms of hygiene and general maintenance. For example, I've been told that floppy eared dogs should have their ears cleared out periodically, but every time I look I don't see anything. Am I missing something? What should I use to clear out his ears? Something else that worries me: he sits funny, with his hips out at weird angles. I've never had a small dog so I don't know if this is usual. He doesn't seem like he's in pain, but I worry about his hips anyway. Also, he gets pretty furry if I don't have him groomed every few months. Grooming around my place is pretty expensive -- is there a chance I could clip his fur myself? Anybody have experience doing this?
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Sep 11, 2011 18:44
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If you can afford it, I would definitely recommend a "well dog" visit at the vet. You might want to have his teeth looked at especially - older dogs often have tooth issues, and him being a small breed with a short muzzle might make him more prone as well. There are lots of groomers around PI, I'm sure someone can recommend tools and tricks for trimming him at home.
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Sep 11, 2011 18:56
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I'm having a two cat problem that I'd love some insight on. Summary: fat cat is eating thin cat's food, and we can't figure out how to stop it. I've seen some other folks post here with similar problems, but I hadn't seen workable answers. If I missed a crucial post, please point me to it! Details: the perp and vic are 1. Maddy, a grey doughball female tabby, about 7 years old. She was found on the streets, is neutered, and cannot regulate her food. She constantly begs for food, and in the past has wolfed down an entire day's worth in one shot, threw it up, and begged for more. Because of this, we feed the cats in several small meals throughout the day. She is a thick cat and getting fatter, moving into we're-getting-worried fat. Oh, the food is all dry food, the weigh-control, indoor cat, anti-hairball kind. 2. Riley, a tiny male tuxedo, about 3 years old. He was born in a shelter, and had vet care his whole life. He eats by nibbling at his food throughout the day. I think he undereats- when we adopted him, you could easily feel his spine. He's slowly started to get to normal level. Here's how it goes: the cats have separate food bowls in separate rooms. We put out the food; Maddy wolfs hers down; Riley nibbles about 1/4 of his, wanders off, then Maddy swoops in and eats the rest of it. Maddy is getting fatter and we're concerned Riley is not getting enough nutrition. If we're home, we try to be vigilant, but it's difficult. Riley leaves a fairly full bowl sitting out throughout the day, and Maddy cannot resist. Also, my wife and I are usually gone all day on weekdays, so we have food bowls on timers to open throughout the day, and have no control who eats what. Anyone have anything that works? The best idea we've come up with is a little "house" to put Riley's food in, with an opening just big enough for him, but it sounds a bit too wacky-scheme to work. I also lack the skills to put something like together, so if some company makes something, that'd be great...
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Sep 12, 2011 01:26
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Littlest Gobot posted:Anyone have anything that works? The best idea we've come up with is a little "house" to put Riley's food in, with an opening just big enough for him, but it sounds a bit too wacky-scheme to work. I also lack the skills to put something like together, so if some company makes something, that'd be great... Actually, people often do this or put it up high if the fatty cat can't jump well. You can also try feeding them separately at designated meal times. Put them each in a room with their meal and take it up about half an hour later. Fatty cat shouldn't have a problem, but skinny cat should eventually learn that he has a limited period in which to eat his food. Obviously, you would have to monitor skinny cat's intake and make sure he gets it and is eating during meal time, but it would give him a chance to eat as much as he needs without having to refill every time fatty cat clears out the bowl. Also, as someone with a hoover cat, I can definitely vouch that meal times greatly help reduce whatever anxiety they have about food. In my cat's former home, the teenage son was in charge of feeding him, so he never had a consistent schedule and this likely led to his tendency to gorge himself on all the food until he puked like your cat does. I feed him at about 7:30 am and pm (give or take in the evenings), and he has a lot less gorge-and-puke episodes than he did when I got him about a year ago. At this point, the schedule's not even particularly strict, but as long as hes fed on time, he never even feels like he has to eat every last kibble out of the bowl, just eats what he needs. e: You mentioned that their meals are timed during weekdays, but what about weekends?
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Sep 12, 2011 01:41
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Serella posted:Actually, people often do this or put it up high if the fatty cat can't jump well. Because of the fat cat, we rigorously time their meals. They eat at the same time everyday; the timed food bowls just helps us enforce that when we're not home. The fat cat doesn't care- she starts meeping and begging for food about 30 minutes to an hour before her normal feeding time. We've had her about 4 years, and she hasn't gotten any better. I think her life on the streets messed her up permanently. Just to paint a picture: the fat cat has actually jimmied open the timer food bowls in past, and has broken two of them in the process. She's kind of an eating machine. The thin cat could not care less. We've only had him for 6 months, though. Unfortunately, the fat cat is the better jumper. The thin cat has shockingly weak leg muscles, and has trouble making jumps the fat cat can do with her eyes closed. It's like watching a blimp outmanuever a jet fighter. Picking up the food after 1/2 an hour sounds good. I'll talk it over with the wife. We're stuck with the weekday meals, but we can still do that for breakfast, dinner, and weekends. Maybe that will start new behavior. If the thin cat ate his food, there wouldn't be a problem. edited to describe comical Garfield-like hunger of fat cat. ASMR Yodeling fucked around with this message at 02:06 on Sep 12, 2011 |
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Sep 12, 2011 01:56
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Littlest Gobot posted:Because of the fat cat, we rigorously time their meals. They eat at the same time everyday; the timed food bowls just helps us enforce that when we're not home. The fat cat doesn't care- she starts meeping and begging for food about 30 minutes to an hour before her normal feeding time. We've had her about 4 years, and she hasn't gotten any better. I think her life on the streets messed her up permanently. The thin cat could not care less. We've only had him for 6 months, though. If separate, timed feedings don't work, you can always fall back on a narrow opening that only skinny cat can get through. Just make sure you do a better job than this. Haha, so resourceful.
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Sep 12, 2011 02:06
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Serella posted:If separate, timed feedings don't work, you can always fall back on a narrow opening that only skinny cat can get through. Just make sure you do a better job than this. Haha, so resourceful. Raise A Hamster (umm or a name just like it) made their wonderful fatty an anti-fat temple and posted the resulting photos in the Plus Size Beauty Pageant Thread: 
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Sep 12, 2011 09:29
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Littlest Gobot posted:Because of the fat cat, we rigorously time their meals. They eat at the same time everyday; the timed food bowls just helps us enforce that when we're not home. The fat cat doesn't care- she starts meeping and begging for food about 30 minutes to an hour before her normal feeding time. We've had her about 4 years, and she hasn't gotten any better. I think her life on the streets messed her up permanently. Just to paint a picture: the fat cat has actually jimmied open the timer food bowls in past, and has broken two of them in the process. She's kind of an eating machine. The only thing that worked for my fatty was consistent timed feedings every day, locked in another room. Also, what brand food and how much are you feeding? Sometimes bumping up the quality can help with between meal harassment.
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Sep 12, 2011 12:45
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I know PI hates goldfish bowls for just about everything, but would a single fancy guppy do ok in one?
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Sep 12, 2011 19:26
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Greycious posted:I know PI hates goldfish bowls for just about everything, but would a single fancy guppy do ok in one? One of those evil fish ate one of my mini frogs once. It was a sad sad fate. Mean fish.
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Sep 12, 2011 19:40
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So Abby likes to hang out on the living room floor when I'm watching tv. Sometimes I lie down next to her to give her some extra attention. I just realized this may be a bit of an issue in my role as a pack leader. Would this possibly cause her any confusion? Obviously if I'm sitting above her and I call her over it's pretty obvious I'm in charge, but I'm not so sure her since I'm heading into her "turf." She has no objection to me being there - she actually likes it quite a bit.
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Sep 12, 2011 21:13
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actionjackson posted:So Abby likes to hang out on the living room floor when I'm watching tv. Sometimes I lie down next to her to give her some extra attention. I just realized this may be a bit of an issue in my role as a pack leader. Would this possibly cause her any confusion? Obviously if I'm sitting above her and I call her over it's pretty obvious I'm in charge, but I'm not so sure her since I'm heading into her "turf." She has no objection to me being there - she actually likes it quite a bit. Don't worry about being a "pack leader". Dogs aren't wolves and very few are plotting to take over their households. If you both like snuggle times, have some snuggle times.
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Sep 12, 2011 21:38
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InEscape posted:Raise A Hamster (umm or a name just like it) made their wonderful fatty an anti-fat temple and posted the resulting photos in the Plus Size Beauty Pageant Thread: That is awesome, and that is a crazy chunky cat. Our cat is not that bad, but she's going that way. RheaConfused posted:Also, what brand food and how much are you feeding? Sometimes bumping up the quality can help with between meal harassment. We're using Iams ProActive Health Adult Indoor Weight & Hairball control. We feed them four times a day, so we feed them a 1/4 amount each meal. I don't remember how much that is- we use some plastic cups with the levels marked with sharpies. Whatever it is, it's too little for the fat cat and too much for the thin cat. We've thought about going to wet food, which the thin cat likes more, but we don't know how that will work with the timed bowls. My wife is concerned that the smell will drive Maddy (fatty) crazy. It all smells like hot death to me, so I don't know. For now we're going to ask a neighbor if he can build a no-fatties-allowed box for the thin cat's food bowl. If it works out, I'll take some pics and put'em up. We'll make sure to make the box longer than the fat cat's reach 
ASMR Yodeling fucked around with this message at 23:52 on Sep 12, 2011 |
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Sep 12, 2011 23:49
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Littlest Gobot posted:That is awesome, and that is a crazy chunky cat. Our cat is not that bad, but she's going that way. You should check out the Pet Nutrition Megathread: http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3394882. Iams is kinda crap food. Changing to something better nutritionally could really make a difference. While your food lists "chicken by product meal" as the first ingredient, corn grits and corn meal are the next to ingredients. Not good. You really shouldn't have to feed your cats 4 times a day, and giving in to fatty will just keep fatty begging. I know from experience. RheaConfused fucked around with this message at 00:28 on Sep 13, 2011 |
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Sep 13, 2011 00:24
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I think my kitten is getting a boner... is it time to get him fixed? I estimate his date of birth to be late April, or around May 1st. That means he isn't even 5 months yet. I've heard everywhere I should wait until 6 months to avoid urinary infections but I've also heard that if he's getting erections he should probably be fixed soon. Before I make a call to the vet... does anyone have any input? (I think it is an erection, but google images isn't coming up with anything helpful)
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Sep 13, 2011 00:32
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RheaConfused posted:You should check out the Pet Nutrition Megathread: http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3394882. Iams is kinda crap food. Changing to something better nutritionally could really make a difference. While your food lists "chicken by product meal" as the first ingredient, corn grits and corn meal are the next to ingredients. Not good. Well... holy crap. I had no idea Iams was that bad. Carb heavy would explain a lot, too. Fits the fat cat to a T. Okay, we'll change that too. Thanks for the tip!
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Sep 13, 2011 01:01
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Littlest Gobot posted:Well... holy crap. I had no idea Iams was that bad. Carb heavy would explain a lot, too. Fits the fat cat to a T. Okay, we'll change that too. Thanks for the tip! My cats were never fat, but Wellness Core has kept them super fit and trim and given them awesome muscle tone. They are also full of energy which keeps them exercising and has given them the softest silkiest fur ever.
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Sep 13, 2011 01:58
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nm
actionjackson fucked around with this message at 02:29 on Sep 13, 2011 |
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Sep 13, 2011 02:23
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Red Robin Hood posted:I think my kitten is getting a boner... is it time to get him fixed? I have never heard of a cat having an erection - dogs do them all the time... but not cats. Really, if he was coming of age he'd be a wanderlusted fool spraying all over your house. That said, I have not heard of reliable evidence showing that neutering cats early could lead to increased urinary infections. I'll probably spend some time searching the literature at some point. There's been some new stuff on orthopedic issues with neutering when the cat is mere weeks old, but not months. There's a plethora of other disease processes that people are trying to attribute to pediatric neutering, but again, at this point, this isn't pediatric neutering. Personally, I think neutering of male cats should be: - between 5-7 months of age - or at the time that male-specific behaviors start manifesting, because it's better to stop them before they get ingrained into the little bugger's head
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Sep 13, 2011 02:53
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HelloSailorSign posted:I have never heard of a cat having an erection - dogs do them all the time... but not cats. Really, if he was coming of age he'd be a wanderlusted fool spraying all over your house.  They most definitely get 'lipstick' like dogs, I wish they didn't. 
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Sep 13, 2011 02:55
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Geolicious posted:My cats were never fat, but Wellness Core has kept them super fit and trim and given them awesome muscle tone. They are also full of energy which keeps them exercising and has given them the softest silkiest fur ever. Interesting. Any suggestions on how quickly to switch them over? It sounds like they'd be going from a carb-heavy food to a much richer food. My wife is now telling me (literally, she's standing behind me right now) that a few years ago she tried giving fat cat high-protein food, but the cat couldn't keep it down in either direction (yuck). She did a sudden change-up for a few days, not a gradual introduction, and then changed it back after a few days of scooping up really messy litter.
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Sep 13, 2011 03:25
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This is pretty stupid, but is there a "way" to find out if you have dog or cat feces? Someone recently started pooping in the house and we have no idea if it is the cats or the dog. It looks like dog poop to me; they are fat looking pieces. I think cat poop tends to be thinner and long...yea, this is pretty weird. My cats have pooped outside of the litter box when it has gotten really dirty & it was next to it, not anywhere else in the house (this happened when I didn't have time to buy more litter to replace the old one). The poop was in my room yesterday and just today, next to the kitchen table. Thanks :P Edit: Bleh, I guess I should mention that the reason I'm even bothering to post is because my litter box is actually pretty gross right now (I clean it everyday, but the litter needs to be replaced) so I thought it might have been one of my cats. Otherwise, I would have just assumed it was the dog. daynip fucked around with this message at 03:47 on Sep 13, 2011 |
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Sep 13, 2011 03:42
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This is just from my general smell memory, but dog poop tends to smell more musky, while cat poop tends to smell more sharp and acidic. I'm bothered that I know this offhand.
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Sep 13, 2011 04:11
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Littlest Gobot posted:Interesting. Any suggestions on how quickly to switch them over? It sounds like they'd be going from a carb-heavy food to a much richer food. My wife is now telling me (literally, she's standing behind me right now) that a few years ago she tried giving fat cat high-protein food, but the cat couldn't keep it down in either direction (yuck). She did a sudden change-up for a few days, not a gradual introduction, and then changed it back after a few days of scooping up really messy litter. You have to do it gradually. Most suggestions are over 7 days are so, which is what the Wellness bag even says, but my guys are picky pants and it took me closer to 3 or 4 weeks to get them completely over. A sudden change like that is going to upset kitty's tummy. Even if it is to better food. Slow and steady change. I used a measuring cup so I could better estimate my percentage of old/new per day/week (but I am nerd). Once they are happily on the higher protein food, litter box clean-up is a lot easier. Smaller and way less smelly kitty poops in my house.
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Sep 13, 2011 04:18
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HelloSailorSign posted:I have never heard of a cat having an erection - dogs do them all the time... but not cats. Really, if he was coming of age he'd be a wanderlusted fool spraying all over your house. Like I said... I wasn't really sure what it is. Here's a quick photo of it: 
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Sep 13, 2011 05:23
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Red Robin Hood posted:Like I said... I wasn't really sure what it is. Here's a quick photo of it: Our neutered cat has had an erection, its pretty gross :P
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Sep 13, 2011 05:52
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Yeah neutered animals still get boners and hump things and can be absolutely foul and rude, I know because Frankie is a horrible perverted sex fiend and rapes any soft toy he can get his horrible wretched paws on. He was neutered at like 4 or 5 months. 
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Sep 13, 2011 12:15
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