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Thought I'd ask in here as well: could anyone recommend a cat-carrier backpack that can cope with two ~5kg cats? I need one for getting the cats down 7 flights of stairs when the fire alarm goes off, and my big bulky plastic carrier is frustratingly heavy and unwieldy. This happened last night. Kitties were not happy. Fortunately was a false alarm.
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Oct 23, 2015 04:36
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Vestral posted:My cat is broken. I bought her toys, but she doesn't want to play with them. I tried a feather wand with her, she looked at me with disdain, then grabbed the string in her mouth and walked off with it. She likes string, and the wand handles. SHE LIKES CHEWING STICKS. I think my cat is a dog. Please help. That sounds like 100% normal cat behaviour.
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Oct 26, 2015 10:40
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I feed my two cats half a tin of wet food each in the evening. Lately, my white floof monster Wolfgang has only been picking at his food (though he eats all his breakfast, with gusto). He licks the sauce off his dinner, nibbles it a bit, and then walks off. And then when his brother James finishes his dinner, he falls upon Wolfgang's and devours it, unless I stop him. Any ideas for getting him to stop doing that, or getting Wolfy to finish his dinner? The vet said they were overweight, so I'm trying to be more careful about how much they're eating. It's not going to do much good for Wolfy to slim down while James balloons up... e: also, I've just noticed that Wolfgang's right fang looks like it's got a bit missing off the end. It's shorter than the left, and blunt. No idea when that happened; they're adopted, about two years old. Hyperlynx fucked around with this message at 09:42 on Oct 29, 2015 |
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Oct 29, 2015 09:31
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Tendai posted:Can you feed them in separate rooms with a door between them to give Wolfgang more time, maybe? Either that or buy one of those fancy electronic feeders that only opens for a certain cat, but it seems like the former would be the easiest try and then if that doesn't work, try the other. I could give it a shot. I'm in a small apartment, so I could only really shut him in the bathroom. Not sure how happy he'd be about that, but I could try it. Thanks.
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Oct 30, 2015 23:12
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Tendai posted:Can you feed them in separate rooms with a door between them to give Wolfgang more time, maybe? Either that or buy one of those fancy electronic feeders that only opens for a certain cat, but it seems like the former would be the easiest try and then if that doesn't work, try the other. Tried it now. Wolfy hated being shut in the bathroom, and I know James will hate it even more 
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Nov 4, 2015 08:52
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JohnnyCanuck posted:Mocha: 2001 - 2015 RIP good kitty
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Nov 5, 2015 12:17
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Elpato posted:So, I have never really been a cat person. I grew up on a ranch where we had cats all over the place, but they were all semi-wild, mouse-catching, livestock instead of real pets. However, I was out getting milk a couple days ago and found this slinking across the lot: What a sweet kitty! She'll relax eventually. Just keep doing what you're doing. You can probably accelerate the process if you shell out for a Feliway diffuser, which is synthetic cat facial pheromone, and basically the cat chemical signal for "everything's cool, this is a safe area, no need to worry about anything". Other than that, while I was getting my very skittish cats used to me and settled in, I actually made my movements fairly slow and deliberate rather than fast and jerky. I also didn't make eye contact without giving a slow blink. Cats can find staring offputting, while a slow blink means "I'm really relaxed around you/I loooove you". Hyperlynx fucked around with this message at 04:34 on Nov 11, 2015 |
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Nov 11, 2015 04:21
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Elpato posted:She still spends most of her time like this:
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Nov 12, 2015 04:41
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Evfedu posted:Coolio, thanks for the advice, guess we dial it back until they're feeling more safe. What everyone else has said, but also: Feliway.
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Nov 17, 2015 01:50
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Lady Gaza posted:My mother and her partner are now retired and will be travelling the world for a while, so my girlfriend and I will be adopting their cat in January. As always: Feliway. Heh. I should get a commission or something... Standard cat introduction procedures apply. Keep them in a small room at first, with foot water and litter. Cats like small spaces. Give her time to get settled in and calm down, and once she's calm let her out into the rest of the house. Give her time and space if she's hiding and backing off from you.
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Nov 17, 2015 23:08
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Puppy Galaxy posted:My cat poops in a random spot outside the litter box roughly 4 times a year. I cannot find any rhyme or reason behind this - I have a couple different types of litter I use and it never lines up with me changing it. I clean his box every 1-3 days and refresh it every 2 weeks. It doesn't line up with when its fuller than normal. He only gets one type of food. I'm reluctant to move the box as it's a rare occurrence. But I'd like him to stop. The locations he poops in are seemingly random. Has anyone experienced this? Have you actually witnessed him taking a dump where he shouldn't, or just found evidence? I occasionally find poo where it shouldn't be, and it turned out to be because of danglers. Is he a medium/longhair? Does he get danglers?
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Dec 3, 2015 03:50
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quote:Danglers and bum trims For my part, Wolfgang has a dangler more or less every month. I'm just used to cleaning up the odd stray turd, or wrestling him down and snipping the offending hair off now.
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Dec 4, 2015 01:17
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drat. Sorry so hear about your kitty In poo news: this morning, Wolfgang left two separate turds out on my floor. I'm philosophical about it at this point. At least they're dry, discrete, and he points out where they are by scratching at the floor trying to bury them.
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Dec 4, 2015 23:24
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nexus6 posted:Ok, I scanned and searched the giant OP but couldn't find an answer to this small question: does it matter what room the litter box is in? I have a 3yr old female indoor cat. She doesn't have any problems using it - I am just not sure where in the apartment it should go. Somewhere mess isn't an issue, or at least less of one, for stray particles of kitty litter. Mine's in my bathroom/laundry. I use flushable litter, so it's convenient to be able to pull it next to the toilet, rake out the offending lumps and flush them.
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Dec 8, 2015 23:54
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I've just noticed a little bit of blood on James' head, in front of his right ear, in that patch where there's less hair. It looks like a small scrape. Worth another trip to the vet? Can/should I treat it myself?
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Dec 11, 2015 09:21
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 "Oh hi Wolfgang. Why haven't you finished your breakfast?" *huk* *huk* *hork* "Oh, a hairball, I guess that..." BLAAAAARGHI've never seen a cat projectile vomit before. Poor Wolfy.
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Dec 20, 2015 05:26
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Marchegiana posted:My cats are indoor-only fat pampered assholes who still try to scratch up my couch despite my efforts. Seriously, the drat thing has a minefield of scratching posts of all shapes and consistencies around it, and slipcovers on the arms, and we've sprayed it with every sort of anti-scratch deterrent on the market- my one cat will actually make the effort to climb under the slipcovers to scratch the arms of the couch. Just a thought: have you got horizontal scratch pads? Some cats just like scratching horizontally rather than vertically.
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Dec 22, 2015 22:56
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Marchegiana posted:I have a horizontal, two vertical, one at an angle, and two curvy things in a variety of options from cardboard to sisal. Each cat has their own preference, but Persephone's preference is apparently the couch. Dayum. Kitty knows what she wants, I guess...
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Dec 22, 2015 23:47
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Dixie Cretin Seaman posted:My cat just spent a minute wheezing like she wanted to hack up a hairball, but nothing came out. According to my wife she did this once before last week. Otherwise she seems OK. How long should I give her to get it out? Should I take her to the vet? One of my cats does this all the time. He doesn't hairball, he shits out pellets of hair. Has your cat hairballed before?
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Jan 7, 2016 09:14
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Puppy Galaxy posted:Considering the number of cats in shelters I think getting a "purebred" cat is kind of insane. ^this. There are so many perfectly affectionate, loveable cats in need of a home that - unless you have an extremely compelling reason - you shouldn't get a purebred.
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Jan 11, 2016 23:20
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Thunder Moose posted:I am thinking of getting a rescue cat in the near future - any advise on what to get/look for? Should I aim for a younger or older cat as a first timer? If you'd consider adopting more than one cat, look for paired cats (such as siblings). Cat pairs are even harder to adopt out than single adult cats, and these are pairs that are close enough to be inseparable, so they also sit in foster care or shelters for ages. As for cat maintenance issues... I don't really think there's much difference. The younger the cat the more likely they're going to want to play and need exercise, and the older the more likely they'll just want to cuddle and chill (or just chill by themselves), so in that respect a younger cat would be more demanding. Cats are pretty low maintenance really.
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Jan 19, 2016 03:46
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Sypher posted:I have been thinking about getting a cat for awhile now. An old co-worker of mine is currently fostering a 2 year old cat. The cat is getting spayed on Friday. Once the cat is feeling up to it, I am going to be going over there to meet her and decide if we are a good match. Aww, what a cute cat! And good on you taking in a young adult rather than a tiny kitten. A bit surprised she's only being spayed now, they usually get spayed as kittens. I can't think of anything to ask, but I wouldn't worry about relocates traumatising the cat. She'll might hide for a bit, but she'll get over it eventually. Start with confining her to one smaller room, like a laundry or bathroom, with her food and water and litter. Once she's settled in and comfortable around you, let her out to the rest of the place. Cats like small spaces, it makes them feel secure. And, as always, if you want to absolutely maximise kitty happiness then shell out for some Feliway.
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Jan 20, 2016 03:07
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I think the cat is more likely to be worried about the strange new human and being away from the humans she knows than about being in a new house, for what it's worth.
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Jan 20, 2016 06:35
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I'm going to shave my cat. He gets matts in his fur all the time, and today I had a disastrous runny-poos-stuck-to-bumfur scenario. Any particular pointers? As far as I understand, it's just a case of "subdue cat, shave, wash oil off with cat shampoo". He's not compliant when wrestled down, but not bitey or clawy, just wanting to get away. I've had some success so far sort of wrapping my legs around his torso to hold him down, using my left hand to move his tail out the way and my right to trim the fur, though that was for bum maintenance.
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Jan 20, 2016 12:35
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When you say "apparently no chip", does that mean you've taken kitty to a vet to scan for one, or just looked for one yourself? It's not always possible to find them without a scanner, as far as I know.
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Jan 21, 2016 05:31
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toe knee hand posted:RIP Hyperlynx. For what it's worth: I didn't die, but my clippers aren't good enough to get through the fur other than in teeny weeny quantities, so I switched to scissors. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fb2bq5Wjxto
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Jan 22, 2016 14:34
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demota posted:I adopted an older cat to serve as a mom for my kitten, except the older cat growls at the little one. I tried introducing them by scent through closed doors for like a week. She's okay through closed doors and even visual range, but my idiot of a kitten keeps trying to charge her to play, and she will have none of it. The growling discourages him for a while, but within a few minutes, he'll try to wrestle her and she smacks him and hisses. This never actually drives him away for more than a couple minutes. They just had an altercation where he jumped on her and they rolled around for a while before the kitten ditched. Feliway.
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Jan 26, 2016 10:16
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Deteriorata posted:Your cat is a cat. They are largely solitary animals. Don't anthropomorphize him. That's not actually true, though. Feral cats form social colonies all the time. There's also the fact that pet cats need mental stimulation and play, and that can come from playing with another cat just as easily as a human.
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Feb 4, 2016 02:18
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I've just spotted a wound of some kind on the right ear of one my cats, James. I think his brother might have been playing too rough. It's near where the ear meets the head. I think it's a scrape. There's some fur missing and a bit of blood. He doesn't seem too bothered by it. I've tried to take some photos but my camera's too crappy and blurry. I guess I just leave him to heal on his own, right? It's not a serious wound. Anything I can/should do to help? Meanwhile Wolfgang opened a nice cut on my hand earlier today when I was trying to brush his buttregion, so I guess he's just doing damage today.
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Feb 4, 2016 11:14
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James has another scrape on his ear (or it's reopened) and I see three parallel lines in the fur on his other ear, so I think the boys have been playing rough again. I didn't do anything about it last time, and it still doesn't seem to have bothered him in the slightest, so I guess I'm cool with it. Just double checking that there isn't some horrible risk of infection and his ear falls off or some other kind of horrible consequence?
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Feb 10, 2016 23:39
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Organza Quiz posted:All open wounds have a risk of infection. I guess keep an eye on it? Get some disinfectant that you can use for it when it happens? Are Wolfgang's claws clipped? Hm. I'll keep an eye on it. No, they're not. Maybe I'll go to the vet and see if I can get some cat-friendly disinfectant, unless there's human disinfectant I could use. I wonder if vinegar would work...
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Feb 11, 2016 12:26
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I'd totally vinegar myself. If a cursory google after I posted hadn't indicated that it's poo poo for wound care, that is.
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Feb 11, 2016 13:43
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Cythereal posted:Also, outdoor cats have a habit of devastating local rodent and bird populations. Cats are efficient predators and are known to kill simply for fun and not for food. This is the main problem with cats in Australia, because feral cats have no predators here and most of the native wildlife is not very good at evading predators overall. The thing about keeping cats inside vs not keeping them inside depending on region is: there are risks if you let them outside which vary depending on where you are. However, it's always harmless to keep them inside, regardless of region. They're cats. They're the same all around the world. Just get 'em a cat tree and/or shelves to jump on. Kitties can always go upwards if you don't have much area for them to go sideways in. Hyperlynx fucked around with this message at 00:09 on Feb 15, 2016 |
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Feb 14, 2016 08:03
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Puppy Galaxy posted:My cat's mats are out of control. I've been trying to stay on top of them and have had some success, but he recently got two huge ones in his neck area that I cannot brush out. And I think I was too aggressive trying to pull one apart and ripped out a big chunk and now some of his skin is showing. Might be irritated, it's tough to tell. Gonna try and bring him to the vet tomorrow, hopefully they can give me some guidance on how to deal with mats in the future and maybe shave out the super tight ones. When my cat mats I cut them off with scissors. Some people say "don't do that, it's easy to cut the skin", though in my case it's always been easy to tell where the skin is. They also make tools specifically for cutting apart mats, so you could try that. I don't have any experience with them myself.
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Feb 15, 2016 00:14
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Blackchamber posted:man this is tough. I feel bad reading the stories about where these cats are coming from, or how long they've been waiting to be adopted, lots of sob stories that make me want to adopt all of them. Of course I can't,
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Feb 18, 2016 00:27
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dopaMEAN posted:I know this is a bit old, but:
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Feb 25, 2016 05:07
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Megadyptes posted:things you learn after decades of cat ownership and not paying attention to what the stupid things do. If she'd actually pulled her claw out, there would have been blood everywhere. It would be like pulling off your whole fingernail with pliers. Yeesh. Now I have the heebie jeebies.
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Mar 7, 2016 04:29
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Hey cat thread. I'm planning to go on holiday in about two months, for 10 days. I'd like to get someone to come take care of my cats while I'm away. It's an easy job: dry food, water, scoop poos into toilet, done. They're scared of strangers and can happily keep themselves amused, so they probably wouldn't interact with their caretaker. I was thinking of putting up ads in my apartment. I figured people would be happy to do it because it's convenient. Then I started thinking that I'm contemplating relying on a total stranger to ensure my furry buddies don't die while I'm away and got cold feet about the idea. Am I being silly, or is it actually a dumb idea? How can I suss out how trustworthy prospective caretakers are? Is anyone going to even consider it for $100AUD? Hyperlynx fucked around with this message at 04:58 on Mar 9, 2016 |
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Mar 9, 2016 04:56
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Puppy Galaxy posted:If you're willing to spend some money (and you don't have any friends that would do it) just hire a pro pet sitter, that way you probably won't get robbed. Pros start at twice as much. I'll probably just bite the bullet though. That said, I've just had another idea and I want to see if it's actually a dumb one: I could get an automatic feeder, an automatic waterer, and put out a ton of kitty litter. That would work for ten days, wouldn't it?
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Mar 10, 2016 02:59
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Deteriorata posted:If any of your neighbors has kids, hire them. If they're pre-teen, their parents will usually supervise so it should work out. duckfarts posted:If you have an IP camera you can check on watching the food area and a friend who can come over when you need them to, maybe. That said, I'd be more worried about the litter box going off and other parts of your home getting pissed on as a result. It's best to have someone pop in every other day or so to check on them. That's really not a bad idea. Basically, I'm thinking that if it's going to cost me several hundred bucks to get the cats looked after for this one trip, I might as well spend that kind of money on automatic cat devices I can use for the next trips too. If I do end up trying to automate things, I'm going to do a trial run first. I've got enough time. I can also test out the stankitude of two litter boxes very full of litter over ten days. SynthOrange posted:Get a kiddie pool, fill with cat litter. Hyperlynx fucked around with this message at 11:23 on Mar 10, 2016 |
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Mar 10, 2016 11:16
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