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clyemne posted:Any tips for brushing cats? My long haired cat Spencer seems to hate it. His reaction is combat mode where he attacks the brush either until I stop or until he squirms away and runs off. The only brush he tolerates for a short lengths of time has really soft bristles, and basically does nothing on tangles. He is starting to get mats around his hindquarters, and cutting them out is even more difficult than brushing him is. I am a bad lazy cat owner. My longhair tolerates being brushed pretty well, except for his back end. Hates it. I don't want to fight with him, so I just wait til he's asleep and cut the mats out of his hindquarters. Lately I've started trimming his butt while he's sleeping, preemptively getting the hair before it turns matted. I trim claws the same way. Stealth attack, one paw at a time very gently while the cats sleep. Generally you can't get much done before the cat wakes up, but every little bit helps.
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May 25, 2008 07:51
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TheGreatFezini posted:The landlord has a cat that has a horrid reputation. It bit his cleaning lady and she had a pretty bad infection in her leg. I've had great success with an ultrasonic dog/cat repellent in breaking up cat fights and chasing off aggressive ferals. (It also seems to piss off nutria.) Obviously, you're not going to make friends with the cat this way, but if you're just trying to say "back off, Buddy," it's pretty effective. It's also something you can do surreptitiously, even from a pocket, so your landlord won't get defensive about his demon cat.
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May 25, 2008 11:42
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Authentic Jams and Jellies posted:Figaro is 11 months old and is fed Solid Gold dry food. Box gets cleaned daily. New litter is now on my shopping list, but would you recommend a vet trip anyway? Well personally if your not too worried id wait and see how the new litter approach goes. Now we havent had a problem with smelly urine, its the pooping that has stunk us out because the litter is at the end of the kitchen corridor. First thing i did (with the expert help of PI), is find a decent cat dry food without corn (extremely hard in the uk) and i took them off cheapy wet food, because there really isnt anything better. Now i feed them dry twice a day, theyve adapted to it quite well actually. Often if im cooking id give them cooked chicken or raw mince as a treat.
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May 25, 2008 14:58
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pioneermax posted:Well personally if your not too worried id wait and see how the new litter approach goes. Now we havent had a problem with smelly urine, its the pooping that has stunk us out because the litter is at the end of the kitchen corridor. I picked out Solid Gold from the Pet Nutrition Megathread, so I think his diet is pretty good.  He has some Fresh Step in his box now (next time I'm asking for litter suggestions), so I'll clean it again tonight and see just how stinky it is.maplecheese posted:If the poop is runny or otherwise weird, yeah. If it's otherwise normal AND it's not bothering you that much, it can probably wait until the next checkup. I'm fairly sure it's the urine that stinks, because I can see/smell the poop, and it looks/smells just fine. As much as poop can look and smell "just fine", that is. Thank you guys for the advice. If I still have to wear a mask when I clean his box tonight, then I'll schedule an appointment with the vet. EDIT The litterbox has begun to smell surprisingly pleasant. It was all in the litter. Thank goodness. Authentic Jams and Jellies fucked around with this message at 00:46 on May 31, 2008 |
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May 25, 2008 21:35
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pioneermax posted:i took them off cheapy wet food, because there really isnt anything better. Not sure if this is of any interest to you at all, but the pet store "Pets at Home" in the UK stocks a couple of good quality wet cat food (high real meat %, no by products). I only had a quick look when I last visited the UK a few weeks ago, as I was scouting out food possibilities for when I move back there in the future. The names I recall are "Hi-Life", "Applaws", "Feline Fayre" and "Nature's Menu". I was actually pleasantly surprised with the available range, given the difficulty I have getting high quality food in France (I have to order all mine online here).
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May 25, 2008 22:06
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There's a cat that keeps visiting our kitchen window. He and my cats normally sit looking at eachother through the glass for hours (Is this because my housecats want more feline company? We've already got 3.) and lately we've started giving him some cat food. He's a longhair with really tatty fur, he's got scars all over his face, his ears are ragged with scabs on the inside, he drools quite a lot, and he's not neutered. Also, he's got a lazy eye with copious amounts of yellowish discharge. I can't really judge if he's underweight or not because of his masses of hair, but I can see his shoulder blades pretty clearly. My family think some guy up the road owns him, but they're only basing this on that fact that they've seen him sitting on his car occasionally. I've never seen him go into anyone's house. Would it be appropriate to take him to the vet for a check-up, or perhaps to the pet rescue centre? I really want to, but I'm worried that he could be someone else's cat and therefore not our place to take him anywhere. We'd be willing to take him in if he's a stray, but I don't want to feel like I've stolen someone's cat. Then again, he looks pretty unloved... Surely a cat with that many visible problems can't have a home 
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May 26, 2008 01:10
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At what point should my puppy be able to recognize his own name? It's two syllables, so I'm sure it's short enough, but even after three weeks he doesn't seem to recognize it when I call to him. In the same vein, is calling taking him outside "bathroom" too long of a word?
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May 26, 2008 01:13
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Firequirks posted:I just started a small herb garden on the balcony a few days ago. I bought a cheap Ikea shelf and wrapped some garden netting around it to keep my cat away from the plant pots. I like diatomaceous earth brushed swept around the floor, so it's in all the crevices and such, and Terro liquid ant bait. The way I use Terro, I either put the cardboard where the animals can't get at it (behind a door, actually on the shelf by your plants in your case is probably good) or I cut a small piece out of the rim of one of those tiny disposable tupperwares and tape it down over the bait. After you put down Terro there will be an increase in ants because the poo poo is apparently the ant nectar of the ant gods in the form of delicious liquid crack, they will mob the bait, stuffing themselves with it and going back to the nest to share. If the bait is dry put a few more drops on. Within a few days no more ants. And the best part is no ant corpses all over the floor. Once the first ones start dying the ones that are still alive are so busy moving corpses around they stop coming inside. XD loving ants.
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May 26, 2008 01:35
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Benzene posted:mystery cat You could try putting a cheap, breakable tag around his neck (think the kind that airlines give you to put on your luggage, paper on thin elastic) and writing "ARE YOU MY OWNER? Call [number]" on it. Or you could be less of a goon and just go and ask the guy if he knows who owns it.
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May 26, 2008 01:46
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maplecheese posted:You could try putting a cheap, breakable tag around his neck (think the kind that airlines give you to put on your luggage, paper on thin elastic) and writing "ARE YOU MY OWNER? Call [number]" on it. Or you could be less of a goon and just go and ask the guy if he knows who owns it. I noticed that idea on the RSPCA website, but I thought if I'm willing to do that I may as well go and ask the guy myself. It's not so much that I'm a goon but English, and knocking on a stranger's door and asking him if he owns a cat would get a wtf reaction in my street. I'll do it anyway. The guy's really old (like late 80s) and can barely seem to walk, so it could be possible that he owns it but can't look after it very well.
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May 26, 2008 01:57
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Is it illegal for a pet shop to sell a Coatamundi? If I can get this place shut down I will, the living conditions are atrocious. Thye had 5 full grown degus in a 10-gallon aquarium running around on bare cedar shavings. No shelter, and no food or water that I could see. It was packed full, a horrendous way to live. Everything else was just horrifying. They had a Fennec Fox curling in a corner of his cage, just laying there wimpering; obviusly seriously ill chinchillas; ferrets absolutely PLEADING for attention; and all kinds of other miserable animals. I'm hoping that the Coatamundi is an illegal sell and that enough will be able to shut them down, other than that I'm not sure what to do. This shop is in Rural Arkansas. If anyone knows how to help me, either PM or my aim is redhair4321 ...should be online pretty regularly starting tomorrow, depending on my currently hospitalized grandfather's condition They also had the aforementioned Fennec Fox and a Kinkajou. Those, along with the Coatamundi, are the ones that caught my mind as possibly being illegal here. We can't even have pet skunks. **This browser does not have spelling check so I apologize, I've done I best could do with the animal names.
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May 26, 2008 09:03
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I don't know about the Coatimundi, but I'm almost positive that it is very illegal to sell Kinkajous in the U.S. I would bet the Coatimundi is illegal too, but I'm not sure on that. Edit: After looking, it looks like Kinkajous may be allowed with a permit, but I'm not sure. You could probably call animal control, or someone like that and ask them. I'm assuming they would know. Olive Bar fucked around with this message at 18:03 on May 26, 2008 |
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May 26, 2008 18:00
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Olive Bar posted:I don't know about the Coatimundi, but I'm almost positive that it is very illegal to sell Kinkajous in the U.S. I would bet the Coatimundi is illegal too, but I'm not sure on that. They have a kinkajou in our pet store for sale here in TN, along with wallabies and sugar gliders. Maybe it's illegal to sell Kinkajous here. I hope so, it breaks my heart to see the Wallaby in a 5 x 8" pen with no toys, just tile floor, food and water. She just hops in a circle all day, breaks my heart. Edit: additional thought girlscoutdropout fucked around with this message at 18:11 on May 26, 2008 |
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May 26, 2008 18:07
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I have a bit of an oddball question I suppose. My girlfriend and I were discussing our child hood pets and she talked about her Australian Shepard growing up. Their house is kind of small so I asked her how her family managed to keep it from ripping apart the house while they weren't there. She told me that they would exercise it twice a day and they eventually bought a bunny as its "herd" to look after. I was totally flabbergasted and asked if it worked. "Worked great." Is this common practice? I guess in their case it worked quite well as the dog now looked after the bunny.
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May 26, 2008 21:03
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I have a quick question for someone that knows anything about turtles. I live in an apartment complex that has a water feature, and I noticed the new arrival of at least one turtle and a great deal of green goop (I'm guessing from someone dumping an aquarium). I live in Western Washington, and it certainly does not seem to be a native turtle from the resources I can find on the internet. Is this little turtle going to freeze to death in the winter? (The pond freezes over almost entirely a few months of the year) My instinct says I should catch the guy and take him to my local humane society, but if pet turtles do well in this climate I'd just as well leave him there as the pond isn't connected to any other body of water where he might become a nuisance to the native species.
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May 27, 2008 00:05
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Sprue posted:My instinct says I should catch the guy and take him to my local humane society, but if pet turtles do well in this climate I'd just as well leave him there as the pond isn't connected to any other body of water where he might become a nuisance to the native species. Your instinct is correct. Chances are the little guy won't last long if he's a pet. Even if the turtle will do just fine in your climate, it's an introduced species, and those can be a serious problem, even if the pond isn't near anything else. Turtles can roam up to several miles and still be in their "territory." Even if he never leaves the pond, he could have parasites or diseases that might cause harm to local species. Edit: Neglected to make my point: take him to the animal shelter.
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May 27, 2008 00:39
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rds posted:At what point should my puppy be able to recognize his own name? It's two syllables, so I'm sure it's short enough, but even after three weeks he doesn't seem to recognize it when I call to him. In the same vein, is calling taking him outside "bathroom" too long of a word?
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May 27, 2008 02:08
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We brought home an eleven month old male kitten yesterday morning who is supposedly box trained. So far, he's not used his box--it's been about twenty four hours. We've checked out all the places he's been hanging out to see if he's been going somewhere else and so far have found nothing. He's been eating and drinking normally and has been shown his box several times [picked up and put down in the box]. The litter is normal no-dust clumping stuff. Is this normal adjustment behavior? Is there a better way to introduce him to the box?
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May 27, 2008 13:25
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variegated posted:Is this normal adjustment behavior? Is there a better way to introduce him to the box? Cats will often "hold it" when they're nervous. The more medically-inclined PI goons can tell you better how long a cat can go before you should start worrying, but this is definitely within the realm of normal cat behavior in a new situation.
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May 27, 2008 13:52
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Helanna posted:
Oh really? thats great thank you for saying otherwise i wouldnt of never known and trusted my judgment to let them have something like that. Theyre on James Wellbeloved biscuits at the moment but my Pets at Home doesn't stock the wet. Thank you again! i pray for the day where they bring chicken soup for kitties over, my cats would go bananas!!.
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May 27, 2008 19:03
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RazorBunny posted:Cats will often "hold it" when they're nervous. The more medically-inclined PI goons can tell you better how long a cat can go before you should start worrying, but this is definitely within the realm of normal cat behavior in a new situation. He FINALLY pooped in his box about 34 hours after we got him home. Hurrah!
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May 27, 2008 22:49
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What does one use to get glue out of pet hair? No, I did not spill glue on my dog. The breeder I got him from hadn't decided whether she was going to show him or not, so his ears were glued down to make them curl evenly. She said that they would come unglued after bathing, (which they both did), but I can't get the glue off of his right ear. It's a small space, the size of a dollar coin, from the tip of the ear downward. I've tried a good shampooing and brushing it out but it's being stubborn. I considered using a bit of orange oil, but I wasn't sure if that was safe for his skin or not (so I held off on that). Any suggestions?
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May 28, 2008 16:19
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MsJoelBoxer posted:What does one use to get glue out of pet hair? I don't think the orange oil will hurt him. What kind of glue is it? If it's superglue, get some acetone nail polish remover and use that, just make sure he can't consume any of it. Pretty much the same with most glue solvents. If he's smooth-coated (I'm guessing boxer from your username, but who knows), it might irritate his skin a little bit, but just clean the area thoroughly afterwards and dab a little bit of Neosporin or even just plain petroleum jelly over the irritation and it should do fine. Can you tell I grew up in a house with a bunch of kids who liked to spill things on the cat? 
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May 28, 2008 16:30
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RazorBunny posted:I don't think the orange oil will hurt him. What kind of glue is it? If it's superglue, get some acetone nail polish remover and use that, just make sure he can't consume any of it. Pretty much the same with most glue solvents. If he's smooth-coated (I'm guessing boxer from your username, but who knows), it might irritate his skin a little bit, but just clean the area thoroughly afterwards and dab a little bit of Neosporin or even just plain petroleum jelly over the irritation and it should do fine.
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May 28, 2008 17:38
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MsJoelBoxer posted:I'm fairly sure that his mouth cannot reach his ear, although it would be amusing to watch him try. Also, as much as I love boxers, he's quite the opposite: A very small sable and white sheltie. Well then I don't think I'd be terribly worried about his skin, the fluff should protect him 
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May 28, 2008 17:43
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Depending on the type of glue, you may not be able to disolve it with anything you've got around the house. Just (CAREFULLY) cut the fur off with some sharp scissors; its better then having some hairs ripped out when it starts to come loose. Now, on to my grooming question: can you trim a cats nails? I'm quite familiar with trimming dog nails, is it basically the same? The reason I don't know is becuase I've never had to. Cats generally keep thier claws sharpened by scratching, right? My current kitty has a scratching post and one of those cardboard scratchers, so her front nails are fine. But the back ones! She clicks around the house like she is wearing stilletto heels. This is totally new territory for me. I guess I could just leave her be, but it just seems wrong that I can hear my otherwise stealthy cat walking around the house.
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May 28, 2008 21:10
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Dr.Khron posted:Now, on to my grooming question: can you trim a cats nails? We've trimmed Charlie's before with no problems. I'd recommend getting some really sharp nail scissors or the kind of clippers designed for animal claws, though - we used regular nail clippers and they split the tips of his claws a little bit. Didn't hurt him, and he wore them down smooth pretty fast, but I felt bad. He was clicking too. Be careful, though. Charlie's really laid-back and tolerant, and even though he doesn't like having his feet touched he didn't really struggle or anything. Some cats would probably scratch your face off.
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May 28, 2008 21:13
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RazorBunny posted:We've trimmed Charlie's before with no problems. I'd recommend getting some really sharp nail scissors or the kind of clippers designed for animal claws, though - we used regular nail clippers and they split the tips of his claws a little bit. Didn't hurt him, and he wore them down smooth pretty fast, but I felt bad. He was clicking too. I recommend the kitty burrito technique, where you wrap the cat in a towel & pull out just the leg you're working on. Cat's nails clip really easily, just make sure not to cut too short.
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May 28, 2008 22:48
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MsJoelBoxer posted:What does one use to get glue out of pet hair? Do you think baby oil might work it out? I don't know why this came to mind, but it did. At least if she/he somehow consumed it it wouldn't be deathly.
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May 29, 2008 00:55
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I want to try some Royal Canin Special 33 with my parents' cats, who are old and barfy beyond belief. Where's a good, cheap place to find it? $14 for a 3 pound bag just seems insane.
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May 30, 2008 02:32
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Store locator not helping, or are you looking for a place to buy it online? That food definitely helps my friend's cat, who used to be ridiculously barfy. (now she is just somewhat barfy)
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May 30, 2008 05:31
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Most places around here are just Petco/PetSmart type joints, or little pet shops that don't carry premium food. I'm just trying to find if there's a place where I won't pay that much.
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May 30, 2008 17:38
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My dog Jax is acting kinda weird and sick tonight, and I can't decide if its serious enough to warrant a trip to the emergency vet tonight, or if I should just wait and see how he's feeling tomorrow morning. Two and a half year old Beagley hound. He's vomited twice today, once this afternoon (mostly grass) and once a few minutes ago (same). He's been pretty lethargic today, but he's extremely lazy and chill most of the time anyway. He has been up and around plenty this evening, so at the very least he hasn't felt too ill to bark at the new people occasionally. Today has been a pretty high-stress day, with lots of visitors all day long and very little down-time for him to chillax and get his usual naptime. This evening he didn't want dinner (Merrick kibble), but I just chalked it up to him waiting to see if he could get a hotdog or something from someone at the party. After the second vomit session, he seemed pretty shaky and unstable on his feet, which is when I started to get worried. Not interested in food at all at this point (extremely unusual for him). I was worried about low blood sugar, so I got some high-fructose corn syrup down him, just in case. I put him to bed in a room away from the party, so he's resting now. Respiration seems normal, bowel sounds were nice and clear, and I'm about to go check for heart rate and the color of his gums. Anything else that I should check for that would be a clear sign that he's sick enough to go to the e-vet? update: Thanks for the reply Olive. I was about to call the e-vet when my boyfriend told me he was able to hand-fed Jax a hamburger patty later last night. This morning he seems to be doing okay. I caught him really going to town eating grass though, so his stomach may still be bothering him. I gave him some canned Merrick, which he gobbled up, so all is well for the moment. MoCookies fucked around with this message at 17:18 on Jun 1, 2008 |
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Jun 1, 2008 05:20
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Hmm, if I were in your position I would call the e-vet to see what they think, and if they don't think it's important enough to be seen tonight then make a vet appointment for the next day. But the refusing food part would worry me, so I would definitely give them a call.
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Jun 1, 2008 09:50
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I found out that certain family members have been sneaking my kitty little gobs of peanut butter once in a great while. I have a strict no-people-food rule only because I'm really scared of something poisoning him. Is this safe? Apparently he really, really likes occasional peanut butter.
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Jun 1, 2008 17:47
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I adopted a beautiful cat last week, but she's only been eating tiny bits of food. At the adoption place they were feeding her some kind of crappy tan coloured, x-shaped food... I know I've seen it before, but I can't remember what it is. We bought high quality dry food for her and have been trying to get her to eat with a little bit of wet food and boiled meat (just a little), but it really seems like nothing's working. Does anyone know what cat food that tan one is (I guarantee it's cheap) so I can transition her over to the good food?
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Jun 2, 2008 03:42
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I think Meow Mix has X's When you go to the grocery store, most of the bags will have images of what their food looks like on the packages. Especially when they make the "fancy" shapes.
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Jun 2, 2008 15:03
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I don't frequent this thread that much so I apologize if this has been addressed. With the search function down though I thought I'd post anyway. I have 2 cats that are now about a year old. I had them since they were about a month old and they've been using just a normal traditional litter box ( with a cover to limit the amount of litter they kick on the floor ). A couple months ago though I was in a car accident and really wrecked my leg. I can still move around but it's not easy and cleaning a litter box every 2 days has become quite an ordeal. I was wondering if anyone has any experience with auto-cleaning boxes. I know they're fairly expensive but I'd be worth it if I could reduce how often I need to manually change the litter. I know they have some that hook into the toilet and flush the waste into it and others that just have a box they scrape the waist into and then you empty the box. Either one of those would work but reviews for both have been mixed so I was wondering if anyone has some personal experience they'd be willing to share. I appreciate any and all advice I can get. Thanks!
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Jun 2, 2008 18:24
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Thank you to everyone who posted advice for getting the glue off of Dioji's ear. I was on my way out the door to get some orange and baby oil this weekend, went over to pet him and noticed that the glue (and fur that had been sticking to it) had disappeared  .I found the glue blob the next day and I'm guessing after my many attempts to wash it out it finally lost it's stickiness. At any rate, all is well now and he is quite happy to have both ears glue-free. edit: His little sheltie ears are the cutest when they can both just pop up at the sound of his name. He looks like a little fox.
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Jun 2, 2008 18:33
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Darodeth posted:I was wondering if anyone has any experience with auto-cleaning boxes. We have one for our cat, and my only serious complaint about them really is that they allow whoever's job it is to maintain the catbox to be lazy. Luckily Charlie is not a picky cat, or there'd be cat surprises everywhere - it gets pretty nasty. And the suggestion was made that we move the upstairs box into the storage room where the second box used to be, back before it broke. I put the kibosh on that, because a) it's asking Charlie to go pretty far to use the box, and b) it would get ignored ten times more than in its current home in the laundry room. However! It works really well as long as you keep an eye on it and don't let the mechanism and tines get gunked up. It does have a tendency to break up the clumps and leave little tiny clumps in the box, so it will start to smell, but if you dump everything out from time to time and totally change the litter you can avoid this problem. My big concern in your situation is that they're heavy, and picking it up to dump it out might be a lot harder for you with a busted leg. Some cats are also frightened by them and refuse to use them, so be prepared for that.
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Jun 2, 2008 20:14
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