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Has anyone had experience with successfully introducing a loner stray (or any cat of solitude) with other cats? We rescued a stray off the street a few weeks back. We kept him quarantined until the bloodwork came back to show he was negative for FeLV since we don't want to put our cats at risk when we try to integrate him. Well he isn't thank god, but the poor bastard was FIV positive. Now this cat has taken to us just fine, but we have him now sectioned off in our bedroom while all the others just constantly wonder who the new guy is hiding out in our room. So far we have had him introduced to three cats without disaster. But two of those three still were letting out slight hisses or audible noises. But we have had two other cats hiss immediately when seeing him or in his presence. My one fat orange one just hissed three times and turned around to get back out the door, this was after making eye contact from like eight feet away. And my one calico hissed once I brought her through the threshold, just knowing she crossed into his territory she freaked. When we got this stray, he was in pretty rough shape: bad flea allergies, open scratch wounds on his side. There's some tough tom cats in our neighborhood. So after a few rough weeks on the streets, it makes sense that he's way too defensive/skeptical. Just yesterday he got worked up when he peaked a look at the calico when I cracked the door open and that was enough time for him to be agitated for a few minutes afterward.
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Sep 20, 2022 21:33
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| # ¿ May 9, 2024 10:36 |
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No we are prepared for a loooonnng road. Having talked with a rescue, we weren't too concerned regarding non-FIV cats living with a positive one. But the potential concern of a bite is keeping this process slow going. Our Maine Coon thankfully has been the one to show the stray that some cats don't even care that he's in the same room. He walked in, rubbed around on a few things, and then flopped on the ground.
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Sep 20, 2022 21:54
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The vet does want us to retest after December just in case. This cat looks to be about 1 1/2 to 2 years old based on size. The blood test info had the cat down as 7-8 years old and we were like, for real? He had a medicated bath while at the vet too, he healed up nicely. This cat is a TNR cat. Our city is a now a no-kill city and from what we are told by our rescue friend is that some of these rescue groups are just dumping back cats with unregistered chips and just hoping for the best (like us suckers scooping up any friendly stray). The suckers get them scanned, see no owner, and then register them for themselves online. Now I know that FIV vaccines have been done away with here in the US, but I'm just hoping that for some dumb reason the group that trapped him had vaccinated him since they know they're throwing caution to the wind by releasing non-feral cats back on the streets.
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Sep 20, 2022 22:38
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I like to use vinegar for cleaning up cat pee. It really is the best at eliminating the smell and providing a terrible smell that they don't like. Also, vinegar smell dissipates relatively fast. Mind you, put it in a spray bottle. Don't just going pouring it all over.
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Sep 26, 2022 20:24
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These three are litter mates that we fostered (eventually kept). The grey one is the only male. Left to right they go coarse, plush, and fine. And if any of you follow Beth Stern on Instagram, I'm sure you've seen their bad tortie Pebble.
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Sep 28, 2022 22:29
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They foster and have rescued thousands of cats. Pebble the tortie is so troublesome, they kept her. They only have a few that they fully adopted themselves, but most of the cats on her insta, she finds them forever homes. They've rescued cats on other continents even. My wife usually keeps me up to date on her posts. But they even raise tons of money for their local cat rescue. She's a great follow for heartwarming cat posts.
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Sep 28, 2022 23:14
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I use pine pellets with our cats. And they can hold a lot of pee. And if you have a feed and tack store in the area, you can buy it there for a third of the price as the pet store.
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Oct 25, 2022 02:56
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RapturesoftheDeep posted:So, what are people's thoughts about social dynamics between sibling kittens? I'm going to adopt 2 of the 3 kittens my sister is fostering, and it looks like I am going to go with the feisty calico and one of two tabbies: one of them is shy and sweet, the other one is more outgoing and frisky. This is all based on like 3 weeks of fostering and an afternoon of hanging out with them, but in general does anyone have any recommendations? All are females, btw. Also, who is taking the third? If the third one is going to be left alone, you should take all three. But if the third one is getting place with other cats, they should be young enough where they're not super bonded yet.
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Oct 27, 2022 02:21
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Hiro Protagonist posted:I got a new cat that's very skittish. We've left him alone in a closed room, but we suddenly had to get into another room. I had to chase him around and got bitten pretty bad before getting him somewhere else. Now I'm concerned he's gonna be even more disturbed and have more anxiety as we try to integrate him. Any advice? You're going to have to let him have his own space. And unless you can dedicate the time to acclimating them, get used to everyone being cordoned off for a while. I currently have one cat separated from seven. It is a pain. But I don't have the free time to acclimate them properly, not until Xmas probably. But I'm also dealing with an FIV cat, and we are getting him retested in December anyway to see if it was a false positive. We can't risk him biting the others, so that is why our process has been kind of slow to start. Watch Jackson Galaxy's video on acclimating a new cat to others. You'll see why you will have to just be stuck with them separated for a good amount of time, cats are just slow to adjust to new things. And I understand the fact that a skittish cat doesn't help this process. But the key is to make them as comfortable as possible. Does he have a perch to get up on? Just giving them some height off of the floor is enough to give them some reassurance that they can't get snuck up on. Cats want to be like Obi Wan, they want that high ground.
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Nov 14, 2022 21:19
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My dad's cat Bert would just eat the mice. Saw him ripping one apart in the driveway before dawn. Ate the whole thing by the time I got back from my bike ride.
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Dec 3, 2022 03:54
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Dr. Eldarion posted:Can anyone recommend a cat tree for an older (16!) somewhat large (~14lbs) cat? He can't jump quite as well as he used to, but generally can still climb pretty well. I wanted to get him something nice to sit on and watch the birds outside, but a lot of the trees I'm seeing require a bit of acrobatics or have platforms that may be too small for him. Bonus points for something he can also scratch up. (he loves his sisal scratching post) This is the time of year that Costco brings in some nice tall cat trees in the $90 range. And I have plenty of older cats that have no problem going up and done those ones. The platforms are spaced and offset enough for them to hop/long step up and down. And Pet Food Express, they tend to have cat tree sale a couple times a year too for $99 trees comparable in height to the ones at Costco. Mind you, this has always been in-store. The online selection is pretty lacking.
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Dec 5, 2022 21:44
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I live in a condo with a balcony approximately 15 feet above the ground. That is the only outdoor space that our cats get, it's where the litter boxes reside. I'm in the middle of Long Beach. This shitten (she's full grown now obviously) managed to catch a sparrow on said balcony. She was gently holding it in her mouth when I figured out what was going on, so I was able to set it free unharmed. She's also avoided at least two hawk swooping attempts. I've seen fresh impact mark from a rather large one on the sliding glass door (it's not a big balcony) this past year. I had watched a hawk hang out on the neighbor's roof for 15 minutes waiting for her to come back out another time. A couple months ago I saw a juvenile coyote trot out of the alley by my condo. Plenty of cats are roaming around my area. Most of them come and go, but there was only one I would see on the regular. He obviously is a little more street savvy, he was our Top Cat. I've seen him once dragging around a sticky trap stuck on the length of his hind leg. I then saw him weeks later without that sticky trap thank god. I've also seen him torment other neighborhood cats a block down the street. But I have not seen him in recent months.  And I could show you the before and after photos of the recent friendly stray that we rehabilitated. I would have given him maybe one more week on the street before he'd be a goner, if we hadn't made him an indoor cat.
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Dec 22, 2022 22:57
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We’ve come to terms with one dedicated bedroom cat while the natives run the rest of the house. I just don’t have enough free time to build a custom gate to help with integrating.
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Jan 6, 2023 08:28
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Sorry to hear that. My wife just put her favorite cat to sleep today. She'd put up with him making GBS threads all over if it meant him getting healthier (because I'd have to clean it up). Her cat just couldn't keep up with the diabetes over the last eight years. Doctor said that his pancreas was just too taxed. He had lost 4 pounds since our last scare (he was having grand mal seizures from his high glucose levels). He was blind and as of last night barely could hold himself up. RIP Hopscotch. Honestly, reach out to a rescue if you think your cat still has quality of life besides some accidents.
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Jan 13, 2023 01:14
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Trim their nails when least expecting it/they are still sleepy or lethargic. And only trim a couple nails at a time if they get fidgety. No point in fighting them to get the last couple.
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Jan 17, 2023 07:34
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What quantity of Vetmedin did the vet give you for $60? From what I'm seeing on Google (going off the 1.25 mg size), it is $10 cheaper for 50 pills if you autoship from a couple websites. And Chewy has it, just go with them. I was getting our cat insulin between them and Walmart PetRx and Chewy never had a problem getting it to me fast. I used to get my insulin from a local pet pharmacy that had it for cheap. But once Chewy started doing prescription meds they are hard to beat price-wise.
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Jan 24, 2023 21:04
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Boogalo posted:I introduced two adult cats by creating kitty fortress with 3 baby gates stacked on each other to fully block the door. Only had to remove one to get in. You can probably find them cheap/free 2nd hand on facebook marketplace. Do you have the brand/style that you used for this setup? Or even better, do you have a photo of this monstrosity? I'm mostly concerned with certain gates just having too much gap and them just squeezing through. I figured getting two and stacking would be optimal (especially for me getting through it). I saw a DIY gate which seems good for customizing the height and also being relatively cheap, but I don't have the free time for that project.
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Feb 7, 2023 01:34
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Yeah, that's pretty tame play mode. My one calico girl wont even let our siamese boy get that close without hissing. And once she hisses we yell his name and he turns to us and just rubs his head on the nearest surface, pretending to be doing absolutely nothing. And for cheap cat scratchers, I've had success with ones at Big Lots before. Their pet section have been pretty depleted the past few times I've checked (when it's time for new litter boxes I check them out). I like the single post-style ones for a couple of my cats, but cat trees with a big lower beam seem to be best for the whole group. They all like carpeted or the wrapped rope ones. They just need to be tall enough for the longer cats to want to stretch out to scratch on them. Too short and they ignore them.
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Feb 9, 2023 21:52
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Also, vinegar is great for neutralizing the odor rather than masking it. I wipe it up , then spray the cleaned area with vinegar and let that sit for a minute. Luckily, vinegar smell goes away on its own too.
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Feb 12, 2023 22:31
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Our last street cat rescue, I trimmed his nails after the first full day he spent inside, quarantined in our bathroom. He wasn't up to full strength and was so skittish that he wasn't willing to be aggressive. I figured it best to introduce this future torture early on so he'd be used to it. After he filled out, the initial period of him having his strength back and still getting use to being spooked by the sight of our other cats through the door, I was reluctant to cut his nails again because he was swiping a lot and on edge. So I had to surprise him with the nail trimming. Right after he ate, or drank water, I'd swoop him up and try and trim one paw and then let him go before he could get annoyed. Now he doesn't mind at all. He's also learned how to play gently and is more careful not to use nails. We will probably finally start acclimating him with the others this month. We've had him since August now. Jack B Nimble, try and get Charlie's nails trimmed stat, since he's the aggressor.
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Mar 14, 2023 19:58
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Ah, I didn't catch that Charlie was a female. My mistake. Haven't known a Charlie since my dad's old cat (male tuxedo). He was more my stepmom's cat, but he preferred to poop in my dad's shoes.
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Mar 14, 2023 21:00
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We had one cat with a constant runny nose. He always had a dry boog just hanging there. Thought it was just something he was always going to live with dripping. Fast forward, one day he's laying in my lap and lets out a big long yawn. While his mouth's open, I grab his fang and tell my wife to look how long it is and that poor kitty let out a howl from the pain. Took him vet, they extracted it, and no more runny nose.
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Mar 30, 2023 19:49
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Not a tooth that was too long, but an abscess or similar tooth infection. He was a street cat that we took in. He never showed any discomfort while eating. But when I heard him howl, I just pictured "Tom Hanks ready to pop it out with an ice skate" level of pain. Vet pulled that tooth, gave him meds for the infection, and that's it. But it was the source of that runny nose, that infected tooth. Tooth looked fine too. We have a diabetic cat whose fangs all fell out over the course of two years. And our Siamese just dropped one too, I think he has a genetic issue. They all look like they need to be pulled. That one with the abscess and our Mainecoon both have abnormally long fangs compared to the rest of our cats. I've poked at all of the other cat's teeth without them complaining.
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Mar 30, 2023 21:17
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I was convinced one of our cats had hung on until we got back from a long trip just to see us one more time. We had a friend housesit too, who was very appreciative of this needy cat and gave her plenty of affection. She was so happy to see us return, but then within two weeks she just nosedived into a just full system failure. She was elderly, no doubt, but just the way she had reacted to our return (extra loving, more vocal). She was definitely more spry than normal, less standoffish with one of her least favorite cats in the house. It was almost like she was saying thanks for picking me off the streets all those years ago (my wife's old place, the neighbors moved and left her to fend for herself). And then she just let go.
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Apr 26, 2023 20:08
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And not to be morbid, but I was told by many rescues that collars are just an easy way for them to hang themselves.
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May 11, 2023 21:01
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Buy the box of Borax that is in the laundry detergent section at the store and sprinkle it on all your carpet(s). And then vacuum it up like 24 hours later. If you have hardwood/laminate floors, sprinkle it along the baseboards. Get a flea light too if you have weird spots like under big pieces of furniture. Revolution has been the only topical flea medication that kills and keeps them away for us. And you can buy it without going to the vet. Canadapetcare.com sells it. And as for the growth inhibitor, I've used Gentrol Point Source for roaches at work and boy lemme tell ya it works. And it's not a spray, but a disc that just wafts it out there in the air. Says it has a 75 foot spread but I'd probably do two or three in a big enough area. But I'd only use this if Borax wasn't enough.
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Jun 1, 2023 21:34
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Taima, the cone alone will be enough to make the sister cat hiss. Just give it time. Once all the hardware comes off, the universe will realign for those two.
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Jun 19, 2023 20:30
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Reaganomicon, don't you have coyotes in your area? I wouldn't waste time on buying a drone when really you should have spent the first 24 hours searching high and low. No offense. I'm seeing this post two days later. It's time to probably do one last search and then it's reevaluating pet ownership. I see too many lost chihuahua/lost cat posters in LA to ever consider reunions after a couple days lost anywhere in Southern California.
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Aug 14, 2023 23:30
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Years ago our mainecoon did that to an our older female cat after a few months integrated with the rest of the cats of the house. He eventually outgrew it, especially if my wife's fave cat was nearby because he would step in and break it up. And we have a newer situation with our siamese doing it to one of our foster fail sister calico cats, and it started well over a year after we go him and integrated him. They are closer in age though. But that calico is overly sensitive. She hisses at her own siblings if they roughhouse too much with her. Sometimes all you can do is throw a flipflop or spray them with water. We can prevent any situation if we are in the room because we can tell when one is in pursuit. Once in a while we wake up to some screeching. I also trim the siamese's nails down on the regular and leave the calico's nails as sharp as possible so she at least has that advantage.
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Sep 5, 2023 19:46
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We currently have six cats, and only one of them will claw anything other than a cat tree or cat scratching post. As long as you provide them with the goods, they tend to stick with those scratching surfaces. And honestly, the one that will scratch the couch doesn’t really do it too often anymore, we yelled at him enough where it has deterred him for the most part.
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Nov 14, 2023 05:23
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I think the cat carriers that are made out of cardboard that you can get Petco or Centinela and what not are great because all of our cats think we’re just putting them in a box and they are just excited to go into a box until the lid shuts and they go ah crap. and they’re actually really good sized, all of our cats fit comfortably in them.
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Jan 31, 2024 06:46
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Nuclear Tourist posted:I found that building one of these things I just made this and my wife just left me.
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Mar 8, 2024 08:12
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Nuclear Tourist posted:drat dude, sorry your wife doesn't like good air filtration. Anyway gl with the divorce maybe they'll let you see your kids once a month or something. Well see she was glaring over the thing, looking at me and complaining that it was took up more room than the dining room table and then she leaned too hard on it and it collapsed under her and she was first embarrassed and then she realized how much dust had stuck to her and started looking like pig pen with her dust aura and i started laughing.
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Mar 9, 2024 00:38
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Funny, that’s how we just got our second FIV positive cat. Actually, it’s more of a kitten.
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Mar 14, 2024 05:08
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