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Hello. I'm about 4 days out from welcoming a 9-week-old kitten into my second floor flat (third floor apartment in the US). To justify: outdoor cats are the norm here in the UK, and shelters and rescues will absolutely refuse to rehome to indoor homes. We absolutely didn't want to adopt a cat who has previously had free access to outside and would suffer from being permanently inside. I wanted to go for two kittens, but was shut down by landlord. Fortunately, I'm in a situation where someone will be home with cat pretty much all the time. That said: What have I possibly missed in preparing for incoming baby? All cables are covered with protectors and not dangling. We have a tall cat tree, several scratch posts, and multiple covered beds as hiding spots. Many toys that will be rotated in and out. Two litter boxes. Windows have restrictors. No dangerous plants. No ropes or bag handles he could catch on. Everything fragile is on a high shelf or removed. If you can think of anything else that might be an issue in a standard living room with a dining table area, please let me know. He'll be in this one large room until he's a bit older. Also trying to go for a varied diet - if anyone in the UK has input? Blink and Cool Cat Club for wet food, Lily's Kitchen for dry? He's currently on Whiskas kitten for everything which will not continue eating only apples fucked around with this message at 23:58 on Apr 4, 2022 |
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Apr 4, 2022 23:53
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Organza Quiz posted:Sounds like you're good! Cats are pretty easy really. Yeah, I thought that, but then I read that it would be good to provide a variety of high-quality wet food in case of ie food being discontinued or having to switch to a medical diet? I figured that if the wet foods are varied from early on and aren't garbage it'd be okay. Also the brand I'd mainly like to use (Blink) has 4 kitten flavours and I think 6 adult flavours.
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Apr 5, 2022 01:23
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Deteriorata posted:Switching foods often will result in a lot of diarrhea and vomit around your house. Find a brand it likes and stick to it. Switch to something else if it's discontinued, but not before. Don't try to solve a problem that doesn't exist. Noted! Thanks from an overthinker. He's not even here yet and I'm flipping my poo poo. Will try to chill out. Hawkperson posted:Yeah you’ll be a great cat parent. Maybe take some time to mentally prepare for the cat to turn its nose up at all of your toys and immediately go play with a piece of trash. Already hanging onto cardboard boxes just in case 
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Apr 5, 2022 01:58
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eating only apples posted:Hello. I'm about 4 days out from welcoming a 9-week-old kitten into my second floor flat Just wanted to update and thank people for the kind advice of "chill out". Ferdie has been here a while and he's a cool guy. He likes cuddles and food and biting everything. He spends four hours every day sprinting around the room and trying to destroy everything he owns, and the rest of the time he is asleep in increasingly ridiculous positions. I love him and it is impossible to get a non-blurry photo of him. He is 14 weeks old today.  
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May 17, 2022 00:46
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I've done all the reading and watched all the videos (a lot of Jackson Galaxy's content has been really helpful) but I'm still not sure I'm doing things right. Ferdie bites. And he bites. He's 3.5 months old, and he hurts. We can redirect him to toys some of the time, he has a variety of nice bitey toys, but sometimes he just wants to bite. He wants to cuddle with me but also bite me at the same time. When he's being cuddly and starts to grab me and bite, I redirect him to his toys, but about 75% of the time he then jumps back up to me and starts trying to kill my hand or elbow. I've started leaving the room at that point. I stay out for a few minutes, and when I come back he's generally much more chill. Sometimes when he's super excited he also jumps up and starts trying to chew on me. I play with him at that point with wand toys or just sitting with him, but it's not always enough and I have to leave again. I know he's probably teething and it's annoying for him. I've been keeping an eye on his teeth but haven't seen any changes. Anything else I can be doing to a) help him be comfortable and b) stop him shredding my hands and arms. The preschoolers I work with are absolutely horrified by how scratched up my hands are.
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May 24, 2022 00:25
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There Bias Two posted:I sometimes find that kittens can be overzealous when they aren't getting enough exercise and stimulation. Is he getting a lot of attention and playtime consistently throughout the day? Yeah he's almost never alone in the daytime, he has two humans who play with him regularly, we're trying to set the boundaries. He seems to sleep through the night and wake up ready to play, and we're fortunate enough that someone is always there for him. We're actually trying to make time to leave him alone for a few hours while we go out for dinner or something, otherwise he'd never be rid of us. He makes his need for space clear and we leave him alone when he clearly wants to be alone. e: I'd also like to know what about my post implied that he isn't getting lots of attention and stimulation? just for future reference VelociBacon posted:Quill will bite me somewhat hard but be very gentle with everyone else. I'm just her sparring partner. Its never bothered me so I never redirected with toys and stuff and she seems to enjoy playing that way. He's drawing blood with both teeth and claws, I'm sure to him it's just sparring but I'd like him to learn the boundaries. Disengaging and walking away seems to be the way to go. Thanks cat thread. eating only apples fucked around with this message at 02:10 on May 24, 2022 |
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May 24, 2022 02:06
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kaworu posted:Don’t take it too personally - most people who randomly post here will bring up various issues and then neglect to mention something sort of critical, like… “My cat bites a lot what should I do?…. Oh yeah, he gets locked in alone for 10 hours every day while I’m at work, what does that have to do with it?” That sort of thing. Oh that's fair. I did post here before he arrived (and was told to chillax). Yeah it's nothing like that, no dripfeed bullshit, little man gets all kinds of attention and most of the time he's brilliant. mcmagic posted:Are you able to get another kitten? That might help him learn how to cat correctly without being a dick about it. I pushed for two but the landlord would not allow it. Doing our best with what we have.
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May 24, 2022 03:12
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Hey, if anyone has some feeding tips I'd be appreciative. Ferdinand used to eat his 1/2-pouch of kitten wet food 4 times a day on a regular schedule. 8-12-18-23 usually. But lately at some mealtimes he's been showing no interest at all, until he decides to go back to it an hour or more later. Sometimes he'll eat it all and I can't figure out what the difference is. I don't like leaving his wet food out especially as the weather's getting warmer. Between me and my partner the schedule is pretty stable and there's no reason he shouldn't be hungry for breakfast at the time it's served. He's 16 weeks old. According to the wet food he's on (UK-based, Blink) he should now be eating 2-3 pouches a day, he eats most of 2 and has some dry food at night. He's gaining weight at a ridiculous pace and pooping normally. He never eats a whole 85g pouch in one meal - we've tried bigger meals less frequently, most of it gets wasted. Is he just being an rear end in a top hat? I figure as long as he's eating something he's okay. Should I be taking the food away if he doesn't eat it right away? Ideally we'd like him to eat at the times we set due to work schedules.
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May 29, 2022 02:22
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Ferdie's been in a cattery for a week, we picked him up yesterday afternoon and the staff said he did great, was eating well and acting friendly and relaxed. He's been understandably clingy since he got home but he's worrying me by refusing to eat. He's drinking fine and has had some treats and a small amount of dry food. He also hasn't peed or pooped yet and has been sleeping a lot. When he's awake he's been playing and exploring and getting his scent back on everything. He's been home about 20 hours. I know he's stressed and anxious and needs to settle back in, but I'm worried that if this continues tomorrow I won't be able to get him to see a vet (Sundays suck). I've plugged the feliway diffuser in this morning and his food is there if he wants it. I topped his breakfast with a churu puree treat this morning and he just licked it off and didn't eat any of the food  It's my first experience with this. Any advice, reassurance? How long until this becomes a problem?The cattery sent us the most Ferdie photo 
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Aug 6, 2022 11:08
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Ferdie's so big now that he's squashed down one side of the top platform of his cat tree, and he's fallen off it three times now. I've turned it around so the squashed side is at the back, and he seems a lot more cautious about sleeping up there now. Yesterday I saw him do it, it's when he's asleep or half-asleep, moves or stretches out and he just flops off. It's about a 4ft drop onto an ottoman but yesterday we had the tower fan there and he landed on top of it He seems fine, I've kept a close eye on him, but it definitely spooked him. If he does it again I'm taking the top platform off until he realises he's too big to stretch out there now  e: I have had all kinds of embarrassing panicky first-time cat owner posts in this thread before, all totally unnecessary, we are fine, he is awesome. Here he is in all his enormous 9 month old glory  
eating only apples fucked around with this message at 00:43 on Oct 30, 2022 |
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Oct 30, 2022 00:35
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I'd consider a fountain for drinking water, I know Ferdie wasn't at all interested in bowls of water, but he drinks well from his Miaustore ceramic fountain. I recommend that fountain so often I probably sound like a bot, but it is so awesome. Expensive, but it'll last, and their customer service is top notch. Keep the boxes the toys and beds came in, they'll play with them more than the actual toys kaom posted:Edit: I guess also if anyone has a recommended guide regarding household hazards? I still need to do an assessment of our plants to make sure none of them are poisonous to cats, for example. I’m not sure if we own anything else that could be bad news. Cables were my big worry, I got a whole lot of cable protectors and boxes to store the majority of it, tied a lot of cables together so they didn't dangle (ie at the back of the TV where all the consoles are plugged in). Plastic cable protectors on my laptop cable, anything that goes out into the room, because they love chewing that poo poo. Ferdie's really good about them now but when he was a baby he did have a big cable chewing phase, so the protectors were really vital. He didn't get through any of them. eating only apples fucked around with this message at 22:56 on Nov 19, 2022 |
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Nov 19, 2022 22:53
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Arsenic Lupin posted:A laser pointer, Agree with your post mostly except this. I've read nothing but negatives about laser pointers and the obsessiveness they can cause. I'm not an expert of course but just from how Ferdie reacts to light reflected on the ceiling I can see where that view comes from. I don't have one for play with Ferdie and he isn't missing out.
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Nov 20, 2022 01:59
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We can't give toys with feathers to Ferdie because feathers are his absolute favourite snack 
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Dec 17, 2022 11:41
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Lucky Guy posted:I adopted a new cat around a month ago, the vet thinks that she's 2 years old but she looks like a kitten that has a little growing left to do before she's done. I've never had a cat that grooms as much as she does, easily twice as long as every other cat I've had as an adult or kid, but she isn't making any bald patches in her fur due to overgrooming, and she doesn't seem anxious at all. She barfs up a loose hairball every 3 days or so. I know every cat grooms to their own tune, but she just spends so many of her waking hours cleaning herself compared to all my experiences. She was a stray from a feral colony, and when she came into the shelter she had a pretty bad flea infestation, so I'm sure there's some trauma response there. Does anyone have any advice? I think she's fine, but it's something new to me so I'm a bit nervous. Am I worrying about nothing? Is she long or short haired? You could get her used to being brushed or combed to cut down on the hairballs. Are you sure she's not got residual fleas or allergies? Sounds like she's pretty itchy.
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Jan 17, 2023 03:19
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Ferdie really hates food straight from the fridge, but he also usually eats his whole bowl in one go. He has 3 meals a day. In the summer if he didn't want food for whatever reason it would go in the fridge, but we learned quick that he doesn't want it cold. It's been harder in the winter when the flat gets pretty chilly but I think he's used to it now. We tried warming it up but he also hated that, so. Here's special boy, sleepy but also keeping an eye on me 
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Jan 31, 2023 01:41
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Actually, why does his fur look like that? He's not greasy, lumpy, flaky, or overly hairy for a shorthair, and he gets brushed regularly. Not stressed or anxious. He's fast asleep right now and I can still see it all standing on end like goosebumps. Why does he always have hair that sticks up? He always looks spiky but feels very smooth.
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Jan 31, 2023 01:47
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Taima posted:I'm a light sleeper so the kitties sleep in the living room. This would be pretty hosed imo if it was just one cat, but because they are bonded, they just bundle up in the cat bed together and they're happy as a clam. Ferdie has spent night time in the living room since we got him as a kitten, we used to stay up with him and gradually increased the time spent alone. He's an adult now and does full nights to himself. When the lights go off he knows it's bedtime. He seems to appreciate the time away from us, since someone is with him basically all the time with my work hours and working from home. He goes to bed and enjoys the silence
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Mar 27, 2023 12:08
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nunsexmonkrock posted:We need to get squiggles to gain weight because he is old so when he wants to eat he gets to eat. We give him pate wet food because he doesn't really have to chew it. I think I fed him like 6 times today. But Poundy needs to lose more weight and not gain it because if he stays at the same or above he can get diabetes. I think I need to send my husband to human training school daily to make him stop. or maybe tell the vet this stuff and maybe he will listen to her, because he sure as hell won't listen to me. Feed them in separate rooms and take the bowl away when they're done. Small cat gets more meals than fat cat. Your husband needs to realise that the fat cat is not going to get jealous. Please let him (husband, not cat) read these posts, because if he wants Pound Cake to not die he needs to get on board.
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May 28, 2023 03:07
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Ferdie's had a good variety of food since he was a baby, and he eats almost everything almost every time, but when he gets his favourite he headbumps my hand before going to eat (it's the Pets At Home's own brand Seriously Good mackerel. UK only and you can't get the mackerel ones separately but they're all good). One time I had mackerel pate for myself and he wouldn't leave me alone, but every time since me eating mackerel hasn't bothered him for some reason. Arsenic Lupin posted:Does anybody have a puzzle feeder that has been a puzzle for more than a week? Diana is too drat smart. UK based so not sure if it works for you but the big wheel on this kept Ferdie busy for well over a month. Think he's got the hang of it now but still not consistently so it still confounds him occasionally
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Jun 4, 2023 23:55
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19 o'clock posted:
My boy used to fall asleep on top of his cat tree and get so floppy he slid right off. He hasn't done it in a while and this was a 5' tree, and after the first time we put cushions below for if it happened again. It sound absolutely brilliant to have a climbing area and looks unlikely that they'll fall asleep there.
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Jun 12, 2023 22:19
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Ugh Ferdie's favourite food has changed recipe and he just has zero interest any more. This was the food he used to run ahead of me when I showed him the bowl. We have other food he will eat but not so enthusiastically. There's nothing similar on the market that's complete. Gonna try mixing what little we have of the old recipe into the new and see how he goes. Poor boy loved his mackerel (30%) with tuna. Now it's tuna with mackerel (8%) he could not care less
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Jul 1, 2023 22:59
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VelociBacon posted:If you don't need specific prescription food, try Tiki Cat wet food, I switched over to it and get the big mixed packs of different flavours. The sardine and mackerel one specifically sounds like your cat would love it! It's got huge pieces of fish in it. That does look amazing but I'm in the UK
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Jul 2, 2023 18:48
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Not to say that Ferdie is particularly smart, but he's over all his puzzle toys. I love the Nina Ottosson range and the turnover toy is arriving tomorrow, but can anyone recommend other puzzle toys available in the UK? Kid loves them, and bonus, we've convinced him that his particularly expensive dry food (Catit Nuna) is actually treats. He doesn't care for treat-dispensing balls. Doesn't get it, won't bother trying. But a few moving parts on a flat tray and he'll be engaged for ages. e: thoroughly recommend this as a puzzle toy, the big wheel in particular took him weeks to work out. You can set it up to be fairly complicated. And it looks real pretty. He knows how the wheel works but at least once a day he will stand on it with both front paws and then look incredibly confused as to why it won't turn
eating only apples fucked around with this message at 23:15 on Jul 9, 2023 |
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Jul 9, 2023 23:12
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The first day we left Ferdie alone for ~6 hours he got into a box of tissues, I arrived home to shredded paper everywhere and a very happy kitten.
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Jul 18, 2023 15:18
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I got an expensive ceramic fountain from Miaustore very early into owning Ferdie and it's been great, the pump broke once but it has a guarantee so they sent another out immediately, we clean it once a week or so and he drinks every day. He also gets pretty much only wet food in 3 meals a day. Sometimes a bit of dry food, usually Catit's Nuna insect-based food which is inexplicably his favourite thing. He eats a decent variety of high quality wet food, getting pickier though and they keep changing his favourite recipes
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Aug 15, 2023 21:02
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hooah posted:We have a cat door installed in an interior door so the litter box is kind of hidden away. Our 60-pound German Shepherd mix has recently discovered that she can fit through the door (I didn't think it was [i]that[i/] big) and get to the yummy "treats" in the litter. Short of replacing the entire door so we can install a smaller cat door, what can we do to prevent her from going in that won't also freak the cats out? Microchip cat flap? Not sure that'll be less expensive than replacing the door tho but there might be a decently-priced option.
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Aug 26, 2023 01:47
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I got this ceramic fountain and found it requires a lot less cleaning and gets a lot less gross than plastic ones https://miaustore.com/uk/ The pump is good too, pretty durable. It claims it lasts a lot longer than plastic ones, idk.
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Oct 27, 2023 22:31
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Ugh, Ferdie's always had a strong stomach but two days ago he had a bit of diarrhoea. A normal poo this morning and then a gross, liquidy, farty one this afternoon. He seems fine in himself but if he does it again he's off to the vets.
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Nov 18, 2023 20:47
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an iksar marauder posted:I use a heavy miaustore fountain that the cats can’t push over, they learned pushing over the eversweet fountain gave them a lot of water instantly Same, invested in one the day Ferdie spilled an entire plastic fountainsworth of water on my carpet
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Nov 21, 2023 11:25
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lmao Ferdie loving hates my backscratcher too, as soon as it comes out (mostly used for retrieving springs from under the sofa) it's kill time
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Nov 23, 2023 21:09
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Ferdie went to the cattery for a bit while we visited my family. We picked him up today and the report was "He was very friendly! Then he escaped his accommodation. He had a nice run around. Then he wouldn't go back in. We had to put a towel over him." ...good to know my boy is gaining a reputation, I guess.
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Dec 28, 2023 23:08
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boneration posted:We said goodbye to Miss Malarkey today. Seven days of kitty ICU was enough to learn that they could not diagnose her, and a horrific regimen of medications just to keep her alive was not something I was willing to put her through. Thankfully the condition was not painful and we were able to discontinue treatment for a day so she could come home and have a couple nights and a day of love and snuggles. My heart is shattered and my other little girl is wondering where her sister is. God I'm so sorry. She had such a great life with you.
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Dec 29, 2023 00:44
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Organza Quiz posted:This sounds like a great idea right up until one of them accidentally leaves some crap just outside the box. After some crime scene investigation recently we worked out that Ferdie had turned the roomba on, then needed his normal pre-dawn poo but didn't feel safe so pooped on the floor The roomba then joyfully spread poop all around the room. We had to get a new one At least this one has a child lock
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Dec 30, 2023 11:17
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Talorat posted:A friend of mine's cat has FIP and isn't looking too good. The Vet says there is some sort of blackmarket cure for it? Is this a real thing or a scam? Does anyone have any experience with it? Tell your friend to join Pet Vet Corner on facebook, it's a group run by vets with only vets allowed to comment and I've seen them talk about a potential FIP cure many times before. It's a huge group of over a million members so your friend will get in quick and probably get information quickly. Best wishes for Bento.
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Jan 7, 2024 00:48
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cash crab posted:does anyone else have cats that, instead of greeting you, both run to the nearest scratcher and start going to town while making pointed eye contact Ferdie does this. Very pointed eye contact. We just say "oooh so angy".
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Jan 13, 2024 14:34
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I taught Ferdie "paw" from a very young age, now he still needs to hear it a couple of times before he does it and there MUST be a treat after. If I hold a treat too long he hits my hand because he assumes I must want him to paw. I'm trying to teach him "spin" now and after some initial pushback (he started running away whenever I held a treat in my hand) he seems to understand what I want of him.
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Feb 4, 2024 03:01
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smackfu posted:Can anyone suggest a water fountain that is actually quiet? Is this possible? We have this one which varies between almost silent and constant dripping noises which drives me mad. The Miaustore ceramic one is silent unless it gets clogged and needs a clean. You can also get a motion sensor attachment so it doesn't run constantly. https://miaustore.com/
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Feb 12, 2024 12:59
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mawarannahr posted:4 weeks seems a little pointless then ... anyway whatever they were talking about emergency circumstances though
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Mar 17, 2024 21:12
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cash crab posted:so, update. it wasn't giardia. I'm so sorry, that's the absolute worst outcome and you did everything you could for her
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Apr 5, 2024 21:18
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