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I have a hamster in a Habitrail on top of a bookcase. I also live in a basement apartment with a lot of bugs... It just ocurred to me...what happens if a bug gets into Henry's cage?  How well do hamsters deal with bugs...? Anyone know?
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Jul 28, 2008 04:18
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Xoobee posted:I have a hamster in a Habitrail on top of a bookcase. Just more buddies for him to hang out with. 
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Jul 28, 2008 14:00
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TigerMoJo posted:So we've been taking care of my cousin's cat for the summer... peed on a wet towel that was left in the floor of the bathroom... pees on any clothing that is on the floor Might be worth getting her vet checked for a urine infection, like one of mine currently has? She started peeing on clothes on the floor, much to my frustration. The antibiotics seem to be helping nicely. Xoobee posted:How well do hamsters deal with bugs...? Anyone know? My childhood hamsters made short work of moths (mmm tasty), though I don't know about other bugs. On another note... Two of my cats went to the vets this morning and were knocked out so that he could get a blood sample from both of them (my vet doesn't like doing it while the cat is conscious). All went fine, I collected them at lunchtime, and they're both walking around happily, albeit they're both a bit wobbily. I've noticed that one of them is drinking a *lot* of water though (nice bowl of chilled water on the balcony for them); is that normal after anaesthetic? He hasn't eaten yet (even the nice roast chicken, then a prawn that was offered) but he has used the litter tray. No reason to be worried at this point is there?
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Jul 28, 2008 15:22
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What would be the best way to change my cats sleep schedules? It seems like they sleep all day, and want nothing more than to play and be active beyond 9pm.
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Jul 28, 2008 17:07
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Brucie Reference posted:What would be the best way to change my cats sleep schedules? It seems like they sleep all day, and want nothing more than to play and be active beyond 9pm. Cats are largely nocturnal animals. Ours certainly sleeps through most of the day unless someone is there to interest him, and then sleeps in bed with us much of the night, though he gets up to prowl around. He's pretty active in the evenings when we get home from work, so I'd say 5:30-11:30 he's awake and moving, and probably not much more than that. They're lazy beasts, especially older ones. You might be able to adjust them by a few hours, but you won't be able to make them active in the daytime and sleepy at night, it's just not part of their nature. Encourage them to be up and playful earlier in the evening by using toys or treats, and maybe try to wear them out before it's time for you to go to bed so they're not running around when you're trying to get to sleep. Once you've gone to sleep, them getting up and being active won't be nearly as disruptive.
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Jul 28, 2008 17:15
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RazorBunny posted:Cats are largely nocturnal animals. Ours certainly sleeps through most of the day unless someone is there to interest him, and then sleeps in bed with us much of the night, though he gets up to prowl around. He's pretty active in the evenings when we get home from work, so I'd say 5:30-11:30 he's awake and moving, and probably not much more than that. They're lazy beasts, especially older ones. Well...learn something new everyday....I didn't know they were nocturnal
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Jul 28, 2008 19:18
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Brucie Reference posted:Well...learn something new everyday....I didn't know they were nocturnal Really? Have you ever watched a single nature film? I mean, you know that they have excellent night vision, right? Night patrol is part of the job description for a cat. One thing I've noticed about kitty sleep-schedules is that they seem to always change, particularly with the seasons. Since my bedroom has the only AC in the house, my kitty has started sleeping in bed with me all through the night (she loves AC). This is pretty unusual for a cat, its more like dog behavior. Its kinda nice, but I doubt it will last when the weather cools off...
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Jul 28, 2008 19:28
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Brucie Reference posted:Well...learn something new everyday....I didn't know they were nocturnal Are you serious? 
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Jul 28, 2008 20:22
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Argh, I'm so confused. I bought a betta today, and I got him Hikari betta food because someone recommended it. I read the bottles of some other foods as well and noticed there was a big discrepancy between recommended feeding schedules. Some said every other day, some said once a day, but the one I bought says two to three times per day. The internet's not helping me on this one; I've now read everything from twice a week to "Oh, you don't have to feed bettas!" (..what. Name me a pet that you don't have to feed EVER. Rocks don't count.) So, should I just assume that the package knows best and go with 2-3 times a day, since it probably varies with the ingredients of the food? Oh, and the freeze dried bloodworms, which I sort of got on a whim.. why the hell are there so many warnings about never touching or sniffing them on the package; I'm worried they're going to kill me or something. And one last thing: everything I've read seems to indicate that it's really easy to tell females and males apart. The males are the floofy pretty ones and the females are duller colored and have shorter tails. My new fish has a kinda short tail, but he/she's really tiny in general. The cup it came in definitely says it's a male, but when we went to check out, Petco dude said it was a female because it's not brightly colored. True, it's not blue or red, but it's a pale orange color with a pink tail and dark red spots. It's not exactly DULL. So, I'm thinking the guy either had no idea what he was talking about or he just wanted to save me money, because the females are a dollar cheaper.
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Jul 29, 2008 01:39
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Silly Hippie posted:Argh, I'm so confused. Hard to say if you have a female or male without pictures. But it's easy to say that it is SO easy to overfeed, especially when you have a single fish. Overfeeding will result in rotting food, will will contaminate your water, which can make your fish sick. This is ever more true, if you have a tiny bowl with no filter, like many beta owners do. Please consider a filtered 5-10 Gal tank if you haven't already.
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Jul 29, 2008 01:47
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TigerMoJo posted:Are you serious? Seriously. All I knew about cats up until I got one is that they poo poo in a box of clay. (more or less)
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Jul 29, 2008 01:54
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Silly Hippie posted:Argh, I'm so confused. I bought a trio of females from PetSmart that all ended up being male. Either that or females also flare and build bubble nests. All the containers were marked female and they were all dull coloured, but I think they were just too young to sex properly. Live and learn, I guess.
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Jul 29, 2008 01:59
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Meow Cadet posted:Hard to say if you have a female or male without pictures. But it's easy to say that it is SO easy to overfeed, especially when you have a single fish. Overfeeding will result in rotting food, will will contaminate your water, which can make your fish sick. This is ever more true, if you have a tiny bowl with no filter, like many beta owners do. Please consider a filtered 5-10 Gal tank if you haven't already. I have no idea how to get pictures of a fish, sorry I don't have a small bowl, no, it's a really large glass container. 3 regular sized pitchers of water fill it up to about two inches from the top. I asked about bowls and tanks a couple pages back and was told that filters can tear a betta's fins, so I figured it was probably a bad idea to get a filter.
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Jul 29, 2008 02:27
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What I generally do for bettas is feed two small meals a day (2-3 pellets of the Hikari Bio-Gold), and take one day off on the weekend. Every once in awhile (every 1-2 weeks) I'll give him a tiny bit of pea for fiber instead of a meal, and replace meals with brine shrimp or blood worms probably once a week also. That's pretty specific, so you can mix it up to see what works for you. What I do is more or less what was recommended on the betta-talk website in the PI FAQ.
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Jul 29, 2008 04:33
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That's the exact same food I bought. Okay. Thanks. I KNEW I'd seen a link to a betta website here somewhere, why it didn't occur to me to check the FAQ I don't know... To be quite honest, it's my mom's fish, and she decided to buy it today for no particular reason. I haven't read a thing about bettas in years. Until this afternoon! Yaaaay.
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Jul 29, 2008 08:22
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Fishbulbz posted:I bought a trio of females from PetSmart that all ended up being male. Either that or females also flare and build bubble nests. All the containers were marked female and they were all dull coloured, but I think they were just too young to sex properly. Live and learn, I guess. Did they kill each other? In species where the sexual differences result in social/antisocial behaviors, it's very upsetting that stores get it wrong. When I did my mouse diet experiment in middle school, my dad went out and bought ten white female mice for me to use. I had an after-school thing and couldn't go myself - I really wish I had, because one of them turned out to be a boy. They were certainly old enough to be easily sexed. I wound up returning him and getting another female, but like a week later, and she was slightly older. The other four in her cage ganged up on her and made her miserable, and she got very sickly and died. All because someone didn't bother to look for little mouse balls.
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Jul 29, 2008 14:46
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Our 4 month old kitten went to the vet today for shots and a checkup. The vet noticed that he has some pretty awful gas. I figured it wasn't anything to worry about because I had a kitten before that had really bad gas, but grew out of it. Anyway, she said to feed him a teaspoon of active culture yogurt everyday for a month or until it goes away. If that doesn't work, then we need to change his food. Right now, he is eating Solid Gold dry. Has anyone else heard of giving your cats yogurt for gas? I was kinda surprised by the prescription.
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Jul 29, 2008 15:19
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There's a kitten just outside my office. He looks very young - 9 weeks, tops - and is extremely skinny. I saw him digging through the trash for food, but he won't come too close for me to pick him up and take him. I don't want to leave him outside, it's very warm today and he's just so small, but he's skittish. What's the best way to get a kitten to immediately trust me at least enough to get within grabbing distance?
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Jul 29, 2008 15:38
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whoopdeefuckingdoo posted:Has anyone else heard of giving your cats yogurt for gas? I was kinda surprised by the prescription. I personally go out and buy a container of probiotic yogurt every time I'm prescribed an antibiotic - prevents several unpleasant problems. Your little kitty may be gassy because he doesn't have enough good bacteria in his guts, and probiotic yogurt (which these days is most yogurt, actually) has live cultures that will promote healthy digestion. Plus kitties usually like it. My rat was on antibiotics for several weeks and got very soft stools and a lot of abdominal discomfort, which cleared up almost immediately when I started giving him yogurt. The vet also suggested Mylicon for the other rat who was having breathing problems, because his intestines were full of air bubbles from gulping air. It's made for human babies, so it's pretty mild stuff. Definitely ask the vet first, because I've never used it on a cat, but it might help him.
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Jul 29, 2008 15:50
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Women's Rights? posted:What's the best way to get a kitten to immediately trust me at least enough to get within grabbing distance? A trap is probably the best way, but failing that you could try putting out a bowl of stinky wet food, or kitty crack like the solid gold tuna food that everyone thinks is great 
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Jul 29, 2008 16:15
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Helanna posted:A trap is probably the best way, but failing that you could try putting out a bowl of stinky wet food, or kitty crack like the solid gold tuna food that everyone thinks is great Unfortunately a) the kitten got startled by a large truck and ran off and b) there's no good pet stores near my office. But I did go out and get a little tin of Fancy Feast (best I could do ) to let him know where a source of food is. Tonight I'll dart up to the store to get some solid gold and see if I can get him out again tomorrow.He's just so little and scraggly looking, I want him to be okay 
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Jul 29, 2008 18:12
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Is it normal for a cat, or female cat at least, to have some kind of loose hanging mass on their lower tummy down near their hind legs, sort of like two large soft lumps? I'm trying to convince myself it's just muscle/tissue because it smooths out when she stretches fully, and she didn't seem to mind being stroked or prodded around there before but after today i'm beginning to think it bothers her more than she lets on. Is she just getting pissed off with my paranoid poking or is there the possiblity of this being something I should be worrying about? I know nothing of cat physiology so I'm just not sure what should be there and what shouldn't.
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Jul 30, 2008 01:32
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Crazedscot posted:Is it normal for a cat, or female cat at least, to have some kind of loose hanging mass on their lower tummy down near their hind legs, sort of like two large soft lumps? Yeah, lots of female cats get this.
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Jul 30, 2008 01:40
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Crazedscot posted:Is it normal for a cat, or female cat at least, to have some kind of loose hanging mass on their lower tummy down near their hind legs, sort of like two large soft lumps? I'm trying to convince myself it's just muscle/tissue because it smooths out when she stretches fully, and she didn't seem to mind being stroked or prodded around there before but after today i'm beginning to think it bothers her more than she lets on. Is she just getting pissed off with my paranoid poking or is there the possiblity of this being something I should be worrying about? I know nothing of cat physiology so I'm just not sure what should be there and what shouldn't. It's pretty common and most cats don't like their tummies touched at all.
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Jul 30, 2008 01:42
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RazorBunny posted:Did they kill each other? In species where the sexual differences result in social/antisocial behaviors, it's very upsetting that stores get it wrong. They were separated from the very beginning, since they hadn't lived together previously. My ten gallon quarantine tank was set up with two in floating breeder tanks and one swimming freely. The first night I clued into the free swimmer. "She" was being a hugh jerk to the confined ones, swimming up to the floating boxes and flaring. So that put an end to my hope for friendly Betta intereactions, the other genders were uncovered later as they matured. Now everyone is happily segregated. One of them lives in my planted 25 gallon. The other two share the quarantine tank, now divided in half with craft mesh.
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Jul 30, 2008 01:50
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Good thing this thread is here because I was nervous about making my own. I need help. My sister has been given a tiny little cat by my niece's teacher, who found it wondering out in the street on its own. I can't tell its age but from what I've seen on this forum, it's probably no more than 4 weeks old or so. A tiny, dirty, cream colored little thing. So we washed it a bit in warm water and it started purring loudly and shivering, but barely resisted the whole thing. Its temperament is wonderful, it's a sweet little thing that, once it dried off and calmed down welcomed the pettings. So, we have some dry food, we have a little cat bed, we have the litter and the scooper, we have the toys and she's been closed off in the kitchen to give it space to play around. But now we're scratching our heads with how to teach it to use the bathroom in the litter. I tried putting him in the litter and leaving him there a bit, and I tried rubbing the front paws against it, still, it pooped in the bath tub while we were washing him and peed on me when I was toweling him off. How do I teach this little cat it needs to use the litter?
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Jul 30, 2008 03:37
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Prune Juice posted:How do I teach this little cat it needs to use the litter? Put its poops in the litter box. If it's as young as you say, it's not necessarily going to figure it out right away. The burying instinct is pretty ingrained in them, though, so it should figure it out. You're lucky it's already eliminating on its own - my sister found a 4-week-old kitten a little while back that hadn't quite grasped that yet and still needed to be stimulated. I wouldn't bathe it again. Little kittens are really bad at regulating their own body temperature, and if it was shivering that means it was cold. The purring might be a good thing and it might not, because cats also purr when they're scared. I've never raised an orphan, but we've taken in plenty of young kittens who didn't have a firm hold on the concept of the litterbox. It's not going to get the hint from you placing it in the box. By putting the poop in the litter you're signaling that's where the poop goes. Make sure to carefully clean up any "accidents" he has. We used to just use white vinegar when I was a kid, but after reading suggestions here I've used Nature's Miracle in the (extremely rare) instances where Charlie goes outside the box.
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Jul 30, 2008 03:43
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RazorBunny posted:Put its poops in the litter box. Thank you, I will do that as soon as it poops again. We washed him because he was so dirty. In fact, we thought he was white with gray spots but he turned out to be a beautiful cream colored cat, no gray spots at all, it was all just dirt. And there is still some dirt in his coat (he may have fleas but we can't tell because he is so squirmy).I will call tomorrow to schedule a vet appointment. He is so small though that I am terrified something might happen to him. We all have been pondering over getting a cat for a while now and this was so unexpected...we're basically all freaking out about what to do next.
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Jul 30, 2008 03:53
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Rather than trying to wash him with water, if he's still dirty, you can use a warm damp washcloth, and that way he won't have as much chance to get chilled - and it's kind of like what his mom would do to him, so it might comfort him.
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Jul 30, 2008 03:59
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I know I've seen similar questions here before, but I can't seem to find them. My chihuahua has suddenly decided that her harness is the yummiest treat in the land, and she has chewed about 5 of them off in the last month. I've tried bitter apple and other sorts of deterrents, but I think the problem is that none of the ones I can find fit her properly. So I'm wondering if any chihuahua owners (or similar shaped pups) can recommend a site with properly shaped harnesses.
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Jul 31, 2008 09:25
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RazorBunny posted:Rather than trying to wash him with water, if he's still dirty, you can use a warm damp washcloth, and that way he won't have as much chance to get chilled - and it's kind of like what his mom would do to him, so it might comfort him. Thank you, it worked, and the kitten seems to be using the litter box now on its own. One huge concern: the house smells like cat pee already (after only 2 days) and my sister says it's coming from the litter box, which, ironically, is filled with Arm and Hammer anti odor litter! And yes, we do scoop up anything new right away. Does having a cat automatically mean the house will smell or are we not doing something right?
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Jul 31, 2008 13:43
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RazorBunny posted:I personally go out and buy a container of probiotic yogurt every time I'm prescribed an antibiotic - prevents several unpleasant problems. Your little kitty may be gassy because he doesn't have enough good bacteria in his guts, and probiotic yogurt (which these days is most yogurt, actually) has live cultures that will promote healthy digestion. Plus kitties usually like it. Thanks for the quick response. I actually asked the vet about Mylicon, but she said doesn't recommend this medication for cats/kittens. She said the yogurt should be enough for this problem. Last night, I started the treatment. My kitten LOVES the stuff. I was so surprised because I always thought plain yogurt was disgusting! I was very happy that I didn't have any problems with him eating it. However, this morning, there seemed to be a poop accident on the floor. It was not diarrhea. It looked like a normal poop. I am pretty sure it was the kitten because it was smaller than my adult cat's. The litter boxes were scooped last night. This is the first time I have ever had a cat have an accident on the floor like that. Do you think it might be related to the yogurt? Or just an "Oops, I didn't make it. Sorry mom!"?
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Jul 31, 2008 14:16
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Prune Juice posted:Thank you, it worked, and the kitten seems to be using the litter box now on its own. One huge concern: the house smells like cat pee already (after only 2 days) and my sister says it's coming from the litter box, which, ironically, is filled with Arm and Hammer anti odor litter! And yes, we do scoop up anything new right away. Does having a cat automatically mean the house will smell or are we not doing something right? Kittens seem to be stinkier than adult cats, and cats in general will have nasty urine if they're not well hydrated. Make sure he's getting plenty of liquids into him. We've never had good luck with the Arm and Hammer stuff. I've always liked Tidy Cat, but I don't know if it's safe for little kittens - I've heard that clumping litter can be dangerous for the very little ones. Having not had a kitten in a number of years, it hasn't been an issue for me. A covered box will help contain the smell, but you might want to find a better litter for odor control. whoopdeefuckingdoo posted:However, this morning, there seemed to be a poop accident on the floor. It was not diarrhea. It looked like a normal poop. I am pretty sure it was the kitten because it was smaller than my adult cat's. The litter boxes were scooped last night. This is the first time I have ever had a cat have an accident on the floor like that. Do you think it might be related to the yogurt? Or just an "Oops, I didn't make it. Sorry mom!"? If he's having any kind of discomfort, he might associate the box with pain. Or it may have just been an accident. He's young, and he was having intestinal issues. I don't think the yogurt caused the accident, but it might have helped get things moving. Unless it happens again I wouldn't worry about it.
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Jul 31, 2008 14:25
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McDougirl posted:I know I've seen similar questions here before, but I can't seem to find them. Maybe try only putting the harness on when you're going for a walk?
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Jul 31, 2008 14:30
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McDougirl posted:I know I've seen similar questions here before, but I can't seem to find them. Your dog shouldn't wear a harness 24/7. Have you considered that she may even be chewing them off because they are uncomfortable for her to wear all of the time?
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Jul 31, 2008 16:18
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sucks to ur assmar posted:Maybe try only putting the harness on when you're going for a walk? That's what I'm doing now, I just still can't find anything that fit just right at my local stores, and am hoping for some hot tips. MoCookies posted:Your dog shouldn't wear a harness 24/7. Have you considered that she may even be chewing them off because they are uncomfortable for her to wear all of the time? I have considered that, and the reason I doubt it is because there is extra room where she is chewing, and it doesn't seem like it would be uncomfortable if it's too big. Also, she only just started this recently, like she just figured out she could do it, not like she just started being bothered. I will say, though, that the very first thread I ever posted in PI was something along the lines of: "Do you keep your harness/collar on your animals all 24/7?" and the overwhelming response was yes at that time. What a wild roller coaster ride it is.
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Jul 31, 2008 16:49
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McDougirl posted:I will say, though, that the very first thread I ever posted in PI was something along the lines of: "Do you keep your harness/collar on your animals all 24/7?" and the overwhelming response was yes at that time. What a wild roller coaster ride it is. I can take a guess that most people were referring to collars and not harnesses. You keep a nylon harness on all day and see if it doesn't get uncomfortable.
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Jul 31, 2008 17:40
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RazorBunny posted:Kittens seem to be stinkier than adult cats, and cats in general will have nasty urine if they're not well hydrated. Make sure he's getting plenty of liquids into him. This is important. Most kittens at 4 weeks are still on a liquid-only diet (mom's milk). You said you have dry food, maybe mix in some warm water with a bit of KMR to make sure she's getting enough hydration. Also, I don't mean to frighten you, but make sure kitty hasn't peed somewhere unwanted, like on the rug. If she poo poo outside the box, she might piss as well and once cat urine has a chance to set it will be unpleasant and difficult to get the smell out.
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Jul 31, 2008 17:51
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I am considering purchasing a second Bengal, probably next year (too much going on this year to think about it seriously), and I've got my eye on a particular breeder. http://www.chetilas.no/default.asp?Lang=GB Seems fairly reputable, parents of the litters often seem to be champions, and some of those cats look incredible (they make my Bengal baby look like a mixed breed ). Pet cats are sold with a spay/neuter contract. What does PI think? On another note, my bf has agreed that once we have the space and the money to do so, we can build a cat jungle like that breeder has  http://www.chetilas.no/default.asp?page=274
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Jul 31, 2008 17:59
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I have a 5.5 month old kitten that I need to have spayed. I'm thinking of having it done at the Humane Society vet clinic because it's cheaper than what my vet would charge. Two questions: Can I trust the Humane Society to do a good job with my kitty? Will my vet be offended when she finds out I had the kitty spayed at a different clinic?
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Jul 31, 2008 23:06
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