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loving hell, this loving cat. I don't know if she's just quicker than me, or if I'm being a massive wuss about holding her, but she is NOT going to do anything she doesn't want to. I tried and failed to burrito her in a towel. I spoke to the vet about sedating her and putting soft claws on, and they said that either way I would have to bring her in for a check up- either as a health check before they will give me sedatives or alternatively to just do the soft claws for me. Which is fine, except that the loving cat won't go in the drat carrier. I practiced grabbing the other cat and stuffing him in there as he is more tolerant and very stupid, and managed to get the hang of it on the third attempt when I grabbed his legs in each hand. But problemcat isn't having any of it. She's under the bed hissing at me now, and I don't know what to do. I have to move house soon too (which is why I need to protect the sofas), and I'm just dreading it now, my stomach is all in knots  What the gently caress do I do?
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Jun 10, 2010 14:31
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Start leaving the carrier out with the door off or propped open in a way that it can't accidentally close. She'll get used to seeing it there and going in and out of it. Makes getting her in it to go to the vet or to move a lot easier.
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Jun 10, 2010 14:55
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You could also get a bigger carrier. It's a good idea to have one per cat anyway, but having a bigger door to work with can really help. Top-loading carriers can be easier, too. If the opening is big enough, you can basically throw a blanket over the cat, ball it up, and stuff the whole wad of cat/blanket into the carrier -- no getting scratched, and no legs sticking out to brace against the door.
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Jun 10, 2010 15:02
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Crooked Booty posted:Not sure if you have dogs or cats. I have a cat and a dog. Sorry about that.  And thanks for the information. I'll check it all out.
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Jun 10, 2010 17:03
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I have two kittens and the first thing they do after they eat is scrape their paws across the floor like they were cleaning them, despite the fact that they don't put their paws in their food when they eat. Why do they do this?
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Jun 10, 2010 17:14
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Silas the Mariner posted:I have two kittens and the first thing they do after they eat is scrape their paws across the floor like they were cleaning them, despite the fact that they don't put their paws in their food when they eat. Why do they do this? It's left over ancient instincts. They are trying to 'bury' the food. They might do this when they really like something, to save it for later, or they might do it to something stinky. One of my cats tries to bury my coffee every day. 
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Jun 10, 2010 17:37
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Oh I see. That makes sense, thanks!
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Jun 10, 2010 19:49
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Crooked Booty posted:Dr. Mouser is great all around. There's a cat doctor named Dr. Mouser? 
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Jun 10, 2010 20:47
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That is a great cat doctor name. On a question of my own, how often should the clumping feline pine litter be changed? We transitioned from more clay/gravelly stuff. As of a couple of days ago, Shinobi poops outside one of the litterboxes. I'm watching to see where else she goes. I think she pees in the pine just fine. Would fresh litter+cat attractant help out?
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Jun 11, 2010 01:26
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My girlfriend has an outdoor cat (yes I know) and it got tapeworms. Now this cat is an ornery gently caress and she's trying to figure out a way to get him to take a pill. The best idea they've (her family) had thus far is to wrap him up in a sweatshirt (or use oven mits) and force feed it. I think force feeding is the only option (aside from a syringe, tunawater, and a mashed up pill) but I decided to weigh in with PI. What do ya'll say? EDIT: VVV This cat doesn't like wet food, It is a problem kitty. Samuel L. Hacksaw fucked around with this message at 03:10 on Jun 12, 2010 |
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Jun 12, 2010 01:58
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The mashed up pill idea works pretty well. Just put it in some wet cat food and they'll usually eat it easily.
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Jun 12, 2010 02:52
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Lackadaisical posted:The mashed up pill idea works pretty well. Just put it in some wet cat food and they'll usually eat it easily. If any one goes this route try to hide it in something besides their regular food, if they catch on, you can turn them off their food. It has been successful for a lot of people though. Greenies makes a pill pocket also, and if your cat likes greenies these should work pretty well they are soft and moldable and they sell them at most chain pet stores for about $8.
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Jun 12, 2010 03:14
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Driving home from the vet the other day, I noticed my cat panting a bit. He did it twice, a few minutes a apart, each time lasting for about a second or two, and then stopped as soon as we got back to the house. He acted normally the rest of the day. It was a warmish day but not all that hot, so I was surprised it affected him that much, but after reading up on it, I see that it's pretty easy for their internal body temperature to get out of whack during the summer. A couple questions: 1) I've read that heat stroke can cause organ damage, but I'm not sure how to recognize it or tell it apart from the cat just being a little too hot for comfort. I also read that panting in cats is rare, so should I be worried and get my cat to the vet to get him checked out for possible aftereffects? 2) Any tips on keeping him cool during the summer would be appreciated. Thanks!
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Jun 12, 2010 04:06
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nemesis_hub posted:Driving home from the vet the other day, I noticed my cat panting a bit. He did it twice, a few minutes a apart, each time lasting for about a second or two, and then stopped as soon as we got back to the house. He acted normally the rest of the day. Could have been the stress of the vet visit and nothing to do with the heat. My brother's cat and my cat both pant leaving the vet. Well, mine actually pants the entire time she's at the vet to the point she even freaks the vet out. But thus far they haven't found anything wrong with her that would cause it and it seems to just be a stress reaction. I'd call and ask your vet about it before you subject him to the stress of another visit, in case that was what caused it.
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Jun 12, 2010 04:13
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Ceridwen posted:Could have been the stress of the vet visit and nothing to do with the heat. My brother's cat and my cat both pant leaving the vet. Well, mine actually pants the entire time she's at the vet to the point she even freaks the vet out. But thus far they haven't found anything wrong with her that would cause it and it seems to just be a stress reaction. That's a good point I hadn't considered, thanks.
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Jun 12, 2010 04:18
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nemesis_hub posted:That's a good point I hadn't considered, thanks. Yeah, just seconding what Ceridwen said. My cat pants when frightened. When overly hot, he just spreads out all meltylike.
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Jun 12, 2010 05:42
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My cats have had issues with walking in their poop and tracking it around the house, so I decided to upgrade to a larger litter box. I was already scooping it at least once a day, but I figured with a larger surface area, they would be less likely to step in it. Plus, the old one was covered and I thought maybe they couldn't see what they're stepping in. Well, the new non-covered one may give me other problems. It's in the kitchen, and now every time I walk in the kitchen, if someone's in the litter box, they look at me and immediately jump out. I don't know if it's just a privacy thing, but I know sometimes they just hang out in the litter box (and sometimes lay down inside  . So I don't really know if they're just chilling in there, if they're afraid to poop around me, or if they're just unsure about the new litter box in general. At least one is using it, but this morning it looks like one of them used the floor instead (couldn't tell if it was vomit or liquidy poop).Should I look into a larger litter box with a lid, or maybe hiding the drat thing in a closet or something? Will they just get used to it eventually? I don't want them leaping out every time I walk by. They're starting to cover my kitchen floor with litter.
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Jun 12, 2010 14:10
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Can you move it to another room? You don't want to do that quickly or you run the risk of them just going where the box used to be, whether there's a box there or not.
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Jun 12, 2010 14:20
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Fire In The Disco posted:Can you move it to another room? You don't want to do that quickly or you run the risk of them just going where the box used to be, whether there's a box there or not. There's a closet right next to it, but it has the water heater in there. I don't know how hot it gets and I don't want them getting hurt. Otherwise, there's not a whole lot of options. We'll be moving to a larger place hopefully soon, but in the meantime we're stuck here.
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Jun 12, 2010 15:51
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Just seeing if I'm going about this the right way--our pug, Marley, was super spoiled when my husband's grandma took care of him and we're trying to train him out of some behaviors now, one of which is begging for our food or trying to steal food from people. He only gets food or treats in his bed and only after sit-stay. When we do this, he growls. He will fight the command for a few minutes, then finally sit there and stare at you, growling. So far all I can think to do is not give him the food or treat until he stops growling. Is this what I should be doing or am I reinforcing that if he growls for long enough he gets his way?
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Jun 12, 2010 23:08
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Beichan posted:Just seeing if I'm going about this the right way--our pug, Marley, was super spoiled when my husband's grandma took care of him and we're trying to train him out of some behaviors now, one of which is begging for our food or trying to steal food from people. He only gets food or treats in his bed and only after sit-stay. When we do this, he growls. He will fight the command for a few minutes, then finally sit there and stare at you, growling. So far all I can think to do is not give him the food or treat until he stops growling. Is this what I should be doing or am I reinforcing that if he growls for long enough he gets his way? Have you set up a reward marker for him (such as a clicker or a particular word)? As it is right now you do run the risk of him deciding you just want him to growl longer because you haven't established a way to communicate to him "that thing you just did right now was what I wanted", which is what a reward marker does. I highly recommend you pick up the book Don't Shoot the Dog by Karen Pryor and start using a clicker or other reward marker with him, combined with that you are already doing (making him wait, making him be in a particular place). You will make progress much faster that way.
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Jun 12, 2010 23:15
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Ceridwen posted:Have you set up a reward marker for him (such as a clicker or a particular word)? Does 'good boy' count as a reward word? He gets told 'good boy' in a high tone of voice when he does a command properly and when he stops growling and I give him the food. I'll check the book out also, thanks.
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Jun 12, 2010 23:16
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Beichan posted:Does 'good boy' count as a reward word? He gets told 'good boy' in a high tone of voice when he does a command properly and when he stops growling and I give him the food. I'll check the book out also, thanks. It depend on whether you "charged" it properly (basically when you say it and give them a reward over and over without asking for anything yet), whether you time it properly, and whether you use it only for that situation or say it other times as well. It's also better to shorten it up to a single word, the shorter your reward marker is the better. And you can use multiple reward markers. I use a clicker some of the time when working with Kara and the word "good" at other times. The book does a better job of explaining exactly how and why the reward marker works than I can in a post here, so it will probably make more sense once you check it out. You are definitely on the right track with him though.
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Jun 12, 2010 23:26
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Ceridwen posted:It depend on whether you "charged" it properly (basically when you say it and give them a reward over and over without asking for anything yet), whether you time it properly, and whether you use it only for that situation or say it other times as well. It's also better to shorten it up to a single word, the shorter your reward marker is the better. And you can use multiple reward markers. I use a clicker some of the time when working with Kara and the word "good" at other times. Oh, okay, that makes sense. We'll try to find a copy of the book and get a clicker or pick a different word, we also use 'good boy' when we're just cuddling him and cooing over him so that probably ruins it, I didn't realize. Thank you!
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Jun 12, 2010 23:30
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Beichan posted:Does 'good boy' count as a reward word? He gets told 'good boy' in a high tone of voice when he does a command properly and when he stops growling and I give him the food. I'll check the book out also, thanks. When you get the clicker, pair the click with the treat immediately, even if he does something stupid in the interim like start growling at you. You can teach a quiet command as well, but you want the click to let him know he's done well, not some sort of conditional interim step.
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Jun 13, 2010 03:32
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I need to shave my fat cat. He's on a diet (eats 2 meals of evo a day, has to jump to top of cat tree to get it) but partly due to genetics (ragdoll) he's a fatass and doesn't groom his back or butt well. Ragdolls aren't supposed to mat, but apparently he developed the retard fur from his father, and is a matting machine. I take the furminator to him constantly, but he still gets mats and a poopy rear end. He also really hates being brushed. So, I want to shave him. Question is, what kind of electric razor do you guys recommend? I've never bought one before, so I don't know what to do look for. Specifically, are there any good ones for pets? I don't want to break my wallet, but I don't want one that will fall apart. Also- any tips for shaving cats? I've only very little experience shaving animals while they are sedated before surgery. Even though Nathan is a ragdoll, he's still a little brat about being held down and groomed and such. I really hate stressing him out - I know this sounds weird, but he's really sensitive.  Any advice would be great.
Carebear fucked around with this message at 12:43 on Jun 13, 2010 |
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Jun 13, 2010 12:41
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I apologize if this has been answered before! Our male cat Boots has suffered from urinary crystals in the past and anti-inflammitories cleared him right up (we caught him very early). We had switched to a cheaper food (Nutrience) which seemed to cause the flare up. We immediately switched back to Orijen Cat & Kitten and he hasn't had any issues since. We know that this is because of pH, but to be honest, we have no idea what the numbers mean! What kinds of numbers should we be looking for when it comes to pH in a dry cat food? The reason I ask is because we are considering switching over to Orijen's 6 Fish dry to cut the chicken out of their diet. Our other cat has a small rodent ulcer which we believe may be caused by a chicken allergy. So my question is 1) will this food still be safe for Boots' past-pee-problems and 2) how often does chicken cause rodent ulcers?
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Jun 13, 2010 15:10
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Carebear posted:any tips for shaving cats? SamLikesCake posted:So my question is 1) will this food still be safe for Boots' past-pee-problems There is no way to know if the new food will cause problems for Boots. pH is not the only important factor. Urinary crystals are a lot more serious than an ulcer, and have the potential to cost you a whole lot of money to fix, so personally I would not gently caress with his food. If you really must, and the crystals were struvite before, I would take a urine sample in to your vet to check his urinary pH now and regularly during the food transition. That's the only way you're going to know for sure how a food is affecting your particular cat's urine. You could also just feed them separately. Also you didn't mention this, but if he had urinary problems, I'd be feeding 100% canned food and no dry. Diluting the urine will absolutely reduce the risk of crystals recurring, so that may be a safer option if you're looking for a chicken-free diet. Whatever you do, do it with veterinary supervision.
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Jun 13, 2010 16:07
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Carebear posted:I need to shave my fat cat. He's on a diet (eats 2 meals of evo a day, has to jump to top of cat tree to get it) but partly due to genetics (ragdoll) he's a fatass and doesn't groom his back or butt well. Ragdolls aren't supposed to mat, but apparently he developed the retard fur from his father, and is a matting machine. I take the furminator to him constantly, but he still gets mats and a poopy rear end. He also really hates being brushed. So, I want to shave him.
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Jun 13, 2010 18:42
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My boyfriend's family dog attacked me twice. I know why he did it the second time-someone left an empty box which had previously contained food out where the dog could reach it, and he found it, dragged it into the living room, and was chomping it right by the door. I was just leaving his house for work, and when I walked by the box, he lunged at me, barking and trying to bite, thinking I was going to take it from him. The first time is still sort of fuzzy to me, all I did was a take a phone from someone in the family when it was offered to me, and he lunged and bit my arm. Normally, he's a nice dog. It isn't like he goes around randomly biting people. But this family does have younger children over quite frequently, and he's growled at two other people before, so they've decided its unwise to keep him. They're talking about taking him to the humane society or something, and I'm terrified he'll get euthanised over this. Is that pretty much what is going to happen? I already feel awful that they're going to get rid of the dog because it attacked me, but knowing that a dog is going to die because of me is like a million times worse. Is there any chance they won't put him down? Like I said, he's fine normally, just when he gets a hold of something-usually food-which he shouldn't have, he gets aggressive about it. Is there even the slimmest of chances that he will pass as an adoptable pet, or am I just going to have to cry like a bitch all day knowing he's going to die?
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Jun 13, 2010 19:57
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Would you rather be responsible for the dog dying, or for the humane society to adopt him out to an unsuspecting family and someone to get torn up? The general rule is that aggressive dogs are unhappy dogs. If the owners aren't willing to do what's necessary to retrain him, or if he's too broken to retrain, then the best thing for him is to be humanely euthanized. They need to take some responsibility for this animal.
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Jun 13, 2010 20:08
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They did try training him. These two incidents happened months apart, so after he bit me the first time they realised they had two options-get rid of him or try to train him, so they went with the latter...and I guess it didn't do too much. And I mean, no, I don't want someone else to get hurt by him but at the same time I don't want him to die. It's just frustrating I guess.
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Jun 13, 2010 20:22
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HELP. There's been a cat lurking around our backyard most of tonight and judging by its condition (well-fed, glossy coat, seems to be free of mites/ticks/fleas), it's either someone's indoor cat that's gotten out or someone decided to dump their cat out in an area where coyotes frequent. It's very affectionate and not afraid of people, so it's definitely not feral. I can't imagine the cat's been on it's own for very long but nobody in the area has ever seen it before (which is why I wonder if its been dumped). When my dad got home from work around 11, he decided to let the cat in. Thankfully, our two cats were in their respective rooms (Lucy in my brother's, Tucker in mine) so it was just a matter of shutting doors. We're bringing it to the shelter as soon as it opens tomorrow so my question to you guys is, what is the possibility of my other two cats getting sick after this cat's been roaming the kitchen/bathroom/living room areas? Both our cats were given their Frontline a week ago and I intend to flea bomb the living room just in case but is there anything else I should do? Any disinfectants I should use on the bathroom/kitchen tile? Am I overthinking this way too much? EDIT: The shelter isn't accepting any more cats right now. What do I do now? Jackalope Stew fucked around with this message at 14:13 on Jun 16, 2010 |
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Jun 16, 2010 06:41
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Jackalope Stew posted:HELP. Look on petfinder for other shelters. Your cats will probably be fine; just keep them separated from the stray.
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Jun 16, 2010 14:44
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Kind of a silly question. I have two cats, a boy and a girl, from the same litter, just over 2 years old. They're both playful, love being petted and chasing each other around the house etc, the only thing is the boy has always been very nervous. He'll jump at the slightest noise and seems to be constantly wary. He's been like this since we got them as kittens, but he used to be more dominant; he'd sometimes hiss at her if they had a particularly tasty meal and she'd scuttle away from their food dishes and wait for him to finish before she ate her share. The two of them seem to be 'play fighting' a lot more recently; the girl gets very excited and will charge around like a little furry rocket meowing to herself and then pounce on him. She seems to like pinning him down and either biting the scruff of his neck or licking the gently caress out of his head. It doesn't seem like she's hurting him or anything but I'm a little concerned as he's usually a very quiet cat, but since this has started he makes these little yowling noises (usually when she's gone charging off somewhere and he'll sit alert making these noises waiting for her to come pouncing on him) and I'm not sure if it's normal or not. He'll occasionally try to pounce on her when she's not looking at him, but because he takes so long building up to it, she usually spots him before he gets the chance, and he'll do this little baby leap and land near-ish to her, then skirt around her and run away. They still seem friendly enough as they'll still sleep side by side and eat together. Myself and my fiance always tend to worry more about him because of how jumpy he is. He's our wussy cat does this seem like normal behaviour or not?(apologies for wall of text)
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Jun 16, 2010 17:33
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Sounds normal to me. My boy cat is a big pussy too.
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Jun 16, 2010 17:40
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PI often recommends Feliway, any negative experiences with it? New kitty Robber is over his sniffles and integration is going... okay. Resident cat Fuzzball tolerates him with nothing more aggressive than a hiss and a swipe if he gets too close. Robber, being an rear end in a top hat kitten-cat, is constantly testing boundaries but there's been no growling or blood drawn. Sometimes they play chase or swat at each other from the cat tree or the edge of the bed and they seem to enjoy it, even if Fuzz hisses a few times to make a point. I'm just worried because Fuzzy is tense all the time, even when Robber's off doing his own thing. She sometimes hisses at me when I try to pick her up, which is completely unlike her -- she's not a cat, she's a teddy bear. Obviously she holds me responsible for bringing this invader into her life. She's on to me.  So I picked up a Feliway diffuser and plugged it in last night, and now she's more pissed off at me than ever. I get warning growls if I try to scritch what are usually her favorite spots and she snubs my pillow in favor of a sulking spot at the foot of the bed. It's also possible that she's holding a grudge because Robber snuck into her heated cat bed last night, or is grumpy because it got cold and wet last night and her arthritis is bugging her. The reason I suspect the Feliway is that I offered the diffuser to Robber to sniff, and he was fascinated (but he's fascinated by everything) -- I offered it to Fuzz, and after one whiff she hissed and retreated to the other side of the bed. Is it possible she thinks this is another cat?  Of course the instructions say to give it a month, but that sounds like the same logic behind cold medications -- seven days if you take them, a week if you don't. I'm sure she'll get over it on her own, I just hate to see her so cranky in the meantime.
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Jun 16, 2010 18:05
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I am officially stalking my cat Kleng. This morning I saw him laying in the litterbox. He's almost a year and a half, not a weird little kitten. This afternoon I cleaned the litterboxes. Kleng watched, hopped in one, scratched a bit, squatted...nothing, then hopped in another, scratched, and jumped out.  OMG!!! I'm paranoid about a UTI now, but I'm hoping he was just excited about a clean box (we're not as tidy as we should be) and he was marking them.If I see him straining again, I'll certainly rush him to the vet. Or if he dribbles 'frequently.' But how frequent is frequent? Obviously if it's 30 or 40 times a day like I've heard some people say it's vet time, but what about if it's 5 times a day? (I hate being a hypochondriac cat lady) drat me for not logging how many times a day my cat normally pisses!!!!  Edit: Well, it's been a little over 4 hours, and he hasn't made any trips to the litter box. I hope it's safe to say I'm a paranoid weirdo and that Kleng is fine. Meow Cadet fucked around with this message at 04:41 on Jun 17, 2010 |
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Jun 17, 2010 00:47
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Ok, here's an odd one, I apologise if it's been asked before. You know how when cats are especially thrilled about a cuddling/petting they sometimes drool? Why does my cat drool from his nose, and why is it ice cold? It's not a URI, it ONLY happens when he's purring up a storm and occupying space on my lap. Edit: It also might be worth mentioning though that the cat in question is a one-eyed, 7-pound, brain-damaged retard. As I type this he is insistently shredding my mail with his teeth. If your Pissmas comes from me this year and the card is in pieces, this is the culprit right here.  To be fair though, he's the most emotion-sensitive cat I've ever met. He always knows if I'm in the mood to play or if I need him to curl up on my lap and drool on me. The only time he ever tolerates hugs is when I'm upset about something. He also has a bizarre habit of holding random poo poo and staring out the window (pictured above). His favorite thing to hold while staring is socks, preferably dirty. Supernaturalist fucked around with this message at 23:04 on Jun 17, 2010 |
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Jun 17, 2010 21:40
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When we took Husker in for his first well-dog visit a couple of months back, I mentioned to the vet that he had a little bit of gunk in his ears. She checked it out, told me it was harmless and that some dogs are just gooey, and cleaned them for me. Since then, I've noticed it's mostly his left ear that produces more crud. Nothing unhealthy, no smell of infection or excessive scratching or anything, just a slightly extra waxy ear. So I thought, hey, she recommended Epi-Otic, I'll get a bottle.  Half-dissolved dog ear wax is one of the most disgusting substances I have ever encountered. Regular dog ear wax is only mildly icky, but as soon as the Epi-Otic had softened it it became this foul substance that wouldn't come off my fingers. I guess I'm lucky it's a gooey ear and not chronic anal gland impaction or something, but I had a brief moment of "Why did I want a dog again?" On the flip side, I definitely recommend Epi-Otic for cleaning out a dog's ears. His left ear is now clean as a whistle. He's still holding it like I broke it and shook his head like a thing possessed, but he'll get over it.
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Jun 18, 2010 02:32
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