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Any recommendations for keeping them from scratching at carpet? Every morning I am woken up by scratching at the carpet under my bedroom door, and the damage is really starting to show.
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Mar 24, 2010 13:40
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Mine is doing that too. But he does it out in the middle of the floor. I bought a scratching post, but he doesn't use it. I'm thinking of getting one that lays down, maybe he'll use that. I also bought some Soft Paws, but need to get clippers because his nails are like loving needles. On another note, my cats are assholes. I've had them for about 2 weeks, one's around 2 years old, the other one 10 or 11 months, and all they do is tear around the goddamn apartment and fight/play ALL NIGHT. I've tried playing with them for an hour before bed and all, but they just won't shut the gently caress up. I kind of feel bad about the people downstairs, and hope the apartment people won't come and tell me to get rid of them because of noise.
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Mar 24, 2010 18:04
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quote:How long ago is "just recently"? 
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Mar 24, 2010 19:07
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Yeah, chances are some of it is due to a change in food quality from whatever she was getting before to the higher quality TotW. I'd still do the pumpkin, though, it'll make her stools a lot easier to handle.
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Mar 24, 2010 19:10
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Another question: Evalina hacked up a hairball a couple of days ago (fortunately on hard flooring). Is there some supplement that I can give her that will ease hairballs or something else I should be doing?
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Mar 24, 2010 23:40
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Does she have them often? If not, then don't worry about it. Every cat (ok, most cats, I guess there's probably some freak cat somewhere who doesn't get em) gets occasional hairballs.
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Mar 24, 2010 23:43
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Fire In The Disco posted:Does she have them often? If not, then don't worry about it. Every cat (ok, most cats, I guess there's probably some freak cat somewhere who doesn't get em) gets occasional hairballs. We've only had her a month and a half, but this was the first time she had them.
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Mar 25, 2010 01:10
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You're good, don't worry. If she starts having them a lot more regularly, like more than once a week, you can talk to your vet about stuff to ease her hairballs. But they're totally natural, I mean, they clean themselves all the time and are bound to swallow a bunch of hair.
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Mar 25, 2010 01:59
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So, my semi-stray doorstop kitty has been doing well, lazing around my house and putting on a little weight from being fed, but just now I was petting him and felt a lump about the size and shape of a golf ball in his stomach area. Am I right in responding to this by taking him down to the free vet tomorrow morning, or is it some cat thing I don't know about? 
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Mar 25, 2010 03:59
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Teatime Prize posted:So, my semi-stray doorstop kitty has been doing well, lazing around my house and putting on a little weight from being fed, but just now I was petting him and felt a lump about the size and shape of a golf ball in his stomach area. Am I right in responding to this by taking him down to the free vet tomorrow morning, or is it some cat thing I don't know about?  I'd take him to the vet if you can. With cats, lumps are typically bad and typically need to be removed. The only thing I'd be worried about is that he could be dealing with other medical issues that his "owners" know about and you don't. I doubt a free clinic is going to be able to do much about the lump anyway. On the bright side, if you pay a bunch to have the cat checked out and the lump removed, you could probably claim the cat as yours due to being the one who spent the money on it.
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Mar 25, 2010 04:09
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Yeah I just found out the free vet changed their catchment area and we're no longer in it, so it's down to the local one tomorrow. The owners should be bloody doing something about it, and if it's some inoperable thing, they shouldn't be letting him roam around outside getting thin and matted. gently caress 'em. EDIT: lump's much less noticeable when he's standing up, and is up around his last rib on the left hand side. Looking at a couple of vet sites apparently it could be that his stomach's really full and it feels lumpy. I'm still getting him checked ASAP but boy, false hope is fun! Teatime Prize fucked around with this message at 04:44 on Mar 25, 2010 |
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Mar 25, 2010 04:14
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Ok, my cat is going to drive me insane. She's just under 2 years, spayed and declawed. I have one of those food/water dishes that automatically refills the water from a soda bottle. Anyways, she keeps trying to flip the thing over. It has handles to pick it up, and she sticks her paw under it and pulls it up. It splashes water everywhere, and makes a loud banging noise on my hardwood floor. Is there anything I can to to stop this behavior? Edit: This is recent behavior, she only started doing this in the last couple weeks.
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Mar 25, 2010 22:32
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Get a different water dish. She may not like that the water isn't fresh. Also, she probably just wants to gently caress with it.
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Mar 26, 2010 00:39
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Rev. Bleech_ posted:Any recommendations for keeping them from scratching at carpet? Every morning I am woken up by scratching at the carpet under my bedroom door, and the damage is really starting to show. Double sided tape, upside down carpet protector (like you use for under your computer chair), or vacuum cleaner by door, turned on but unplugged until they start (at which point you plug it in and scare the poo poo out of them).
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Mar 26, 2010 04:24
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Ceridwen posted:Double sided tape, upside down carpet protector (like you use for under your computer chair), or vacuum cleaner by door, turned on but unplugged until they start (at which point you plug it in and scare the poo poo out of them). You forgot the Scaat spray. http://pet-supplies.drsfostersmith.com/petsupplies/Scaat
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Mar 26, 2010 04:56
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So, I got a 14 day run of Clavamox from the shelter's vet-type person, and I'm about 5 days from the end of the run. The cat's been having some pretty bad diarrhea for awhile (can't remember if he's had it since I got him, since I've been transitioning to another food), and decided to look up the meds, and found it's got a pretty good chance of causing diarrhea. Should I keep going since we're pretty close to the end and make sure I finish? Or just get some pumpkin for the last couple days? Stop completely? He's had plenty of water, and he hasn't run out in any single day, so I suspect he's not dehydrating. What say you, forums? Oh, and it was for an upper respiratory thing causing sneezing, gooey eyes, weezing, etc. Vet at the shelter took a quick look and said eh, it's probably upper respiratory, give him these. He seems over it, but since you need to finish the course, I'm not sure what stopping and taking him back in would do.
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Mar 26, 2010 05:12
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Finish the course, definitely. Add some pumpkin to his food, or get some forti flora, but he needs to have the whole course.
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Mar 26, 2010 12:46
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So I have this friggin adorable little American short-hair, female, maybe a two years old. We love her to death, but she pees funny... Like, instead of of putting her back end down to pee, she kinda hikes it up and pees straight out, right onto my bathroom floor. The litter box we use was made by my fiance's uncle who kept the cat while we were house hunting. Its essentially an old Rubbermaid plastic tub with high walls and section cut out so she can step into it better- all because of the funky way she pees. Sometimes it'll hit the walls of the tub, most of the time she'll just pee out the little opening straight onto the floor. This bugs the everliving hell out of me. Is there any way to make her pee "correctly", or is it too late and we get to enjoy the smell of cat urine and washing my bathroom rugs every two or three days? It would be more annoying if she weren't so drat cute..
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Mar 27, 2010 13:52
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Has she been fixed? When was the last time you took her to the vet?
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Mar 27, 2010 14:20
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RheaConfused posted:Has she been fixed? When was the last time you took her to the vet? She's very fixed- she was a stray and the vets opened her up and tried to fix her for us, but when they got inside they saw that she had already been fixed. They said it was very odd that they couldn't see any evidence of the first fix, but whatever. And my fiance is a vet tech, so she's kinda with a vet every day. Other than the peeing, she's completely normal as far as we can tell.
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Mar 27, 2010 14:30
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Keep going with the Rubbermaid idea, but don't cut a hole in the side. She's cat; unless she's an invalid, she should be able to jump in and out. The other option, which I personally wouldn't do because I don't like covered litter boxes (I know other people have had success with this though) would be to cut a hole in the lid, and keep it lidded. Top down entry boxes are good for cats who tend to make a mess.
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Mar 27, 2010 14:42
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Fire In The Disco posted:Keep going with the Rubbermaid idea, but don't cut a hole in the side. She's cat; unless she's an invalid, she should be able to jump in and out. I had thought about that. We have limited space for a cat box in the first place, but the tub does fit under the sink nicely (its one of those that just sticks out of the wall, not a full cabinet or anything). Maybe we'll shuffle down to Target and grab a cheap one and give it a shot. I actually watched her do it today after I heard it splashing on the floor, she really does end up lined up with the hole, another two inches and it wouldn't be a problem. I have to admit, its kinda cute though when she paws ineffectually at the walls of the tub trying to cover them with cat litter. She usually just wanders off after a while...
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Mar 27, 2010 14:50
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Just brought home two kittens yesterday! They are brother and sister, about two months old, and were spayed and neutered on Thursday. The boy (Fred) had a fever after his surgery and we were told to keep a close eye on him whereas the girl (Lucy) was supposed to be fine. Both of them hid for the first part of the day, Fred in darker spot in our room while Lucy found out the back of the refrigerator is pretty swell. Last night we had too many people over but Fred was really playful even though Lucy kept hiding. This morning I woke up to Fred ripping up the carpet and Lucy, you guessed it, still hiding. There was poo poo and piss all over the floor. Now, we have ripped up newspaper in their litter box because the vet said litter could be damaging to their stitches, but they really don't seem to like the paper. Also, the fuckers won't quit scratching my carpet and don't care for their sweet fifty-dollar post and perch. They're too young for catnip, or so I hear, so how can I attract them to the right places to poop and play? In short: Kittens need to scratch post, not carpet and sofa. Kittens need to use litter box even though it is sans litter. Edit: And one more thing, I saw this posted earlier in the thread but never found the reply, granted, I've been doing a marathon read of this forum this past week. I live in a one bedroom apartment with my lady, how important is it that the kitties' box and food are far apart? I currently have their food and water in the kitchen, as it's laminate, and the box around the corner, in the hall. In y'all's experience, where's the best place for these things? Notice, I don't have too much room to work with. mdtyson fucked around with this message at 18:27 on Mar 27, 2010 |
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Mar 27, 2010 18:23
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They need some litter, what you can get is a litter made of recycled newspapers, often called yesterday's news. It should be fine for the stitches, it's what we use in the clinic where I work. Get a different style scratching post. Lots of cats love the super cheap 'whisker city' corrugated cardboard scratchers. They may also prefer the rope kind.
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Mar 27, 2010 20:17
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When I first got my cats I got them a scratch post with carpet and sisal rope, but the one never used it and continued clawing at my carpet. Got a sisal mat that lays flat on the floor, and he loves it, the two fight over who's going to lay on it, and I haven't seen him scratch the carpet in the last ~12 hours.
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Mar 27, 2010 20:22
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RheaConfused posted:Get a different style scratching post. Lots of cats love the super cheap 'whisker city' corrugated cardboard scratchers. They may also prefer the rope kind. I really should upload the clip of my cats when I got a new one and sprinkled  on it; the battle over who got to scratch first was the kind of savage brutality that can only be accurately depicted by a Ralph Steadman drawing
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Mar 28, 2010 04:35
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You can also try picking up the kitten, putting his paws on the scratching post and make him do some scratching motions. Sometimes kittens just don't get the vertical scratching right away. As for your question about food and litter, as long as the food isn't right in front of the litter box then you are good to go. I actually have 2 litter boxes on the floor about two feet away from my cat table which has all their food on it. TMMadman fucked around with this message at 07:19 on Mar 28, 2010 |
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Mar 28, 2010 07:16
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Cardboard scratchers work wonders. I got one for Oreo and they tore the box it came in to hell and back, then they nudged the cardboard part near the staircase. Him and Tigger fought over who got to sit on it, he won, then Tigger nudged the box down the staircase with Oreo on top. He ended up surfing down the staircase. It's still intact too after lots of brutal scratching and fighting over who gets to sit on it.
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Mar 28, 2010 11:01
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Just over two weeks ago we adopted a female cat/kitten (between 4-6 months old). We found her wandering around on the streets, but think she was, at least for a while, a house cat as she is super-friendly and knew how to use the litter box from the second we brought it home. We live in a studio apartment and have not had a single peaceful night of sleep since the day we brought her home. While we got used to her jumping on the bed and sleeping with us, the last few nights have been characterized by her sitting by the window and meowing like it's doomsday. This goes on for 30 or so minutes, then she gets bored and does something else. Then gets bored of that and comes back to meow again. We are playing with her for several hours a day (in the morning for a bit and in the evening) so I don't think it's boredom. She's yet to be spayed (appointment next week) and I was thinking it has something to do with that. So my question is - why is she doing this and how do I make it stop (short of moving to a bigger place).
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Mar 29, 2010 05:35
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A cat in heat is one of the loudest most annoying thing in the world. She might still be a loud cat, but I would get her fixed first off and see if it's that.
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Mar 29, 2010 05:44
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An update on my kitten situation - switched to real litter and now they're using the litter box, woo hoo! I was tired of cleaning up poo poo. Also, they're both becoming much more playful although they continue to ignore their mini cat tree in favor of the overpriced cardboard scratcher. I'm going to have to make a few more of those out of some leftover boxes and stash them around the apartment. I can't wait until they're old enough for
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Mar 29, 2010 16:30
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Any advice on "boarding" (at my parents' house, haha)? We're only going to be gone for a couple of days but it's just a little too long to leave them alone. I'm going to bring their litter box, some toys and beds, maybe some dirty clothes so they can smell us . . . Would anything else help? I know they won't be happy but I think they will be OK, they like exploring new places. I'm only a little worried about my mom's cat. She really hates cats. I'm afraid she is going to hiss at them through the door all day or something. They are only going to be in a spare bedroom or something with no real contact with the rest of the house, should it be a problem?
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Mar 30, 2010 17:53
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They should be fine. We boarded my brothers three cats for about four months (two in one bedroom, one in another) along with our two cats. There was a lot of hissing and whatnot, but they were fine for the most part. My parents looked after my cat Ed for a week and she took over the place... I think she started sleeping on the dining table 
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Mar 30, 2010 21:06
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Billy Black posted:-Age So he's been a lot more friendly lately, but he still runs from us sometimes. Now we have the problem of him running out of the litter box with crap on his paws. Just now, he was leaving noticeable footprints, so we grabbed him, and its all along his stomach, paws and face. We washed him off in the tub, but I really don't know what to do to make him not lay down in the litter box, or whatever he's doing. Also, his crap has been very squishy, so it's even worse
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Apr 1, 2010 02:12
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Age: 5 months Sex: Female How long have you had your cat: 2 months Is your cat spayed or neutered: not yet What food do you use: Orijen When was your last vet visit: 40 mins ago Is your cat indoors, outdoors, both: Indoors How many pets in your household: 3, older dog and her brother How many litter boxes do you have: 1 She has had diarrhea on and off for the past 2 months now and has gotten worse lately, when we first got her she was being fed Purina but I switched her to Orijen shortly after getting her. Her brother which is the same age is doing great, we went to the vet got her poo analysed and everything was fine so they gave us some sort of paste to give her that's supposed to help digestion it didn't help. We went back and now they gave us metronidazole. The thing I wanted to ask is that they told me to use their food now. Should I just continue with mine since it looks like what they gave me is just their typical overpriced vet food. Maybe throw in some pumpkin?
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Apr 1, 2010 02:14
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It's not typical overpriced food, it's a prescription diet that will actually help her to get her digestion back in order, then you can switch her back to the regular food. It's a good food that I have used myself and it will help with this problem. They aren't telling you to use it forever.
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Apr 1, 2010 04:00
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RheaConfused posted:It's not typical overpriced food, it's a prescription diet that will actually help her to get her digestion back in order, then you can switch her back to the regular food. It's a good food that I have used myself and it will help with this problem. They aren't telling you to use it forever. I don't want to sound like an rear end I'm just seriously curious what makes it a prescription diet? I/D Diet quote:Water, Pork Liver, Pork By-Products, Chicken, Wheat Flour, Chicken Fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols and citric acid), Corn Starch, Brewers Rice, Dried Beet Pulp, Chicken Liver Flavor, Dicalcium Phosphate, Calcium Carbonate, Powdered Cellulose, Guar Gum, Potassium Chloride, Taurine, Choline Chloride, Iodized Salt, Vitamin E Supplement, DL-Methionine, Thiamine Mononitrate, Ascorbic Acid (source of vitamin C), Zinc Oxide, Ferrous Sulfate, Niacin, Beta-Carotene, Manganous Oxide, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Riboflavin, Biotin, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Folic Acid, Calcium Iodate Compared to the ingredients in Friskies which has quote:Water sufficient for processing, beef, liver, wheat gluten, meat by-products, turkey, corn starch-modified, soy flour, artificial and natural flavors, calcium phosphate, salt, added color, potassium chloride, taurine, choline chloride, thiamine mononitrate, zinc sulfate, Vitamin E supplement, ferrous sulfate, niacin, calcium pantothenate, manganese sulfate, Vitamin A supplement, copper sulfate, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of Vitamin K activity), pyridoxine hydrochloride, riboflavin supplement, Vitamin B-12 supplement, biotin, folic acid, Vitamin D-3 supplement, potassium iodide. A-6112 or Purina Pro quote:Water sufficient for processing, beef, liver, wheat gluten, meat by-products, chicken, corn starch-modified, artificial and natural flavors, salt, soy protein concentrate, corn starch-modified, potassium chloride, tricalcium phosphate, added color, taurine, choline chloride, Vitamin E supplement, calcium phosphate, zinc sulfate, thiamine mononitrate, Vitamin A supplement, ferrous sulfate, manganese sulfate, pyridoxine hydrochloride, niacin, Vitamin B-12 supplement, riboflavin supplement, copper sulfate, calcium pantothenate, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of Vitamin K activity), Vitamin D-3 supplement, folic acid, potassium iodide, biotin. I don't give my cat friskies it was just to compare it to a low end food. What ingredient am I looking for that makes it better for her health?
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Apr 1, 2010 14:51
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jizzpowered posted:I don't want to sound like an rear end I'm just seriously curious what makes it a prescription diet? I'm sorry, I can't answer your question regarding what is specific to the ingredients. I just know I've used it on my own cats when they've had diarrhea and it has worked, and I've also seen it work many times prescribed for patients at the clinic where I work.
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Apr 1, 2010 18:18
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Panthrax posted:So, I got a 14 day run of Clavamox from the shelter's vet-type person, and I'm about 5 days from the end of the run. The cat's been having some pretty bad diarrhea for awhile (can't remember if he's had it since I got him, since I've been transitioning to another food), and decided to look up the meds, and found it's got a pretty good chance of causing diarrhea. Should I keep going since we're pretty close to the end and make sure I finish? Or just get some pumpkin for the last couple days? Stop completely? He's had plenty of water, and he hasn't run out in any single day, so I suspect he's not dehydrating. What say you, forums? Ok, so, he's done with the course (I think Wednesday morning was the last dose), but around Monday he started having these horrific smelling, paint-peeling shits that are worse than I've smelled anywhere out of anything ever. It's not a bad smell Oh, the cat took a poo poo smell, it's an Oh god, I'm having dry heaves and going to puke if I don't get out of here smell. WTF is going on? His shits are getting a little more firm, so I guess the drugs are coming out of his system, but the smell had been fine up until Monday on the Clavamox. I feed both cats Chicken Soup for adults, and the other one is fine. He's 10 or 11 months old. What the gently caress is going on?
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Apr 2, 2010 14:54
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I never thought I'd start a post with "I've been a long time PI reader, but I never thought it would happen to me.." Saturday night I was heading back to my car(in an access-controlled lot), when I hear a faint meow from underneath. I kneel down, and a ball of orange fur shoots across to under another car. After ten minutes of meowing back to it, it creeps out to investigate..and immediately starts rubbing against me and acting like it's known me for years. Never having seen a stray be this affectionate with a total stranger, I see no choice but to take her in for the time being..except I've never taken care of a cat in my life. I've felt around, and I think it's a neutered female, but it's nearly impossible to get a handle because she's either rubbing on every surface, me, or headbutting me if I don't get to petting. She was a bit grimy(wiped down with a wet washcloth, grudgingly let me do it), but her friendliness and no collar seem to mean she's a recent stray or an abandonee. I had her in my bathroom for the night and gave her a box with some old towels in it, but she was crying all night and still cries if she can't get to me. I let her out to explore the apartment this afternoon, and all she wanted was to be next to me/on me all the time and chill. Doesn't seem interested in playing yet. Is almost constantly purring when she's near me. (There are pictures, but my phone is being a butt) I picked up some dry food today(Iams), and she wolfed a dish of it down. I've kept a dish full of water, and she drank a bunch the first time, and since then she's lapped a few times from it. I just fed her again since she was yowling in the general area of the bin with the food(and is now eating ravenously again). However, she hasn't used the litterbox once. I got an (admittedly small)litter pan and some World's Best litter and she's investigated it a few times tonight, but nothing. Since the OP has lots of warnings about regular eating/eliminating habits, I'm all that I am a horrible person somehow. I'm going to put her in the bathroom again tonight, but should I be (more) worried about this?
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Apr 5, 2010 10:32
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