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HondaCivet posted:I think that as long as you introduce them properly the deaf kitty and male would have a good chance of getting along with your other cats. You could talk to whoever is taking care of the deaf kitty and maybe get a little more history on her interactions with other cats? Waiting to hear back from them now, but from her description she's easy going and not bothered by other animals. LargeHadronColada posted:Riff Raff: Deaf cats are awesome! You can hoover them! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WvWGnXkcaKI I want a deaf cat so bad now!
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Aug 10, 2010 21:39
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Hey I'm not sure if this has been said, or suggested - but I want to post a quick bit of advice, its very specific though. If you have a cat that learns how to open the doors where you live (like I do) chances are you don't want your cat to open every door, especially if they are indoor cats. Also cats don't close doors behind them, which pisses me off. After trying a few things, what seems to work is putting tape on the door handles (sticky side up) so that when the cat jumps up to open the door, the tape comes off onto the cat (or makes an undesirable sensation.) Keep the tape on for a week or so, until the cat stops jumping at whatever door you want to stay closed (or all doors even.) Hope that helps for any owner with a cat too smart for it's own good =P
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Aug 10, 2010 23:51
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I have grown up with cats all my life. However, the last few years in college I havent been able to have one. I recently moved in with my girlfriend and 3 other roommates to a new house. My girlfriend brought her one year old cat. I was wondering about tips to help him get used to the new house. He is a male, 1 year old. We have been here nearly 2 weeks and he still mostly stays in the bedroom. He wanders around at night and sometimes during the day, usually when no one is around or when I try to coax him out with treats or with lots of chin scratching. Any tips or stories on how to get him out of the room? I have been letting him do it at his own pace, as all the furniture, the house, and the people are new to him. I think this is the best route. However, I would like to get him out of our bedroom as he keeps me up all night when he plays with his toys around the room or knocks things down from our shelves..not to mention the litter box in the closet... Any wisdom would be appreciated.
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Aug 12, 2010 05:18
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ThatPersson posted:I have grown up with cats all my life. However, the last few years in college I havent been able to have one. I recently moved in with my girlfriend and 3 other roommates to a new house. My girlfriend brought her one year old cat. I was wondering about tips to help him get used to the new house.
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Aug 13, 2010 06:18
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Ok, so I have some questions about a cat I should be getting next week. I am adopting him from my coworker, and he is declawed on all four paws (she adopted him that way as well). What does this mean for his ability to use cat trees and jump up on things? I'd like to get him a cat tree, but I'm trying to figure out what kind would be best since I don't want to get one he wouldn't be able to fully use. Would he be able to reach upper levels without his claws? Secondly, he is kind of fat. Actually, he's like a 7 or 8 on that cat weight chart, so I guess what I'm saying is that he's pretty fat. I'm planning on transitioning him on a good weight management food and also taking him off of free-feeding, which is apparently where his weight problem comes from. What is a good feeding amount/schedule? I guess I can figure out the amount based on the calories when I choose a food, but would it be best to feed once or twice a day? Lastly, I need some litter box suggestions. The problem mainly resides in the fact that my ferrets are stupid and like to snuffle around in grainy litter (which is why I use Yesterday's News for their box), so I was thinking of going with the Rubbermaid tub with a hole cut in the top to keep them out of it. Do you think a fat cat would be able to jump up into the box? I'm just worried he wouldn't even make the connection that it's his new litter box since I think he uses regular ones right now. Maybe if I left the lid off for the first week or so until I was sure he got it? Should I try Cat Attract to be sure? Clearly, I am very anxious and excited about getting this cat, which is why I have a zillion questions. I've never had a cat before, so I have no anecdotes or experience of my own to go by, so any info regarding fat, declawed cats would be super helpful.  I also need to think of a new name for him since his current one is terrible. 
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Aug 15, 2010 16:31
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Serella posted:Ok, so I have some questions about a cat I should be getting next week. 2) Do you know how much he weighs? I assume you'll be taking him to the vet at some point soon after you get him, so find out how much he weighs and how much the vet thinks he should weigh ideally. While dieting, cats should only lose about 1% of their body weight per week, and definitely no more than 2%. The best way to do it, if you're serious about getting the weight off, is to either see if your vet will let you bring him in for free weight checks every week, or get a baby scale. I got mine for about $30 on amazon, but craigslist is another cheap option. Catinfo.org has tons of great information about cat food and dieting. catinfo.org posted:Example 1: If your cat weighs 18 pounds but really should weigh 12 pounds, please make sure that he is consuming at least ~180 calories per day. (12 pounds lean body mass X 15 calories/pound/day = ~180 calories/day) Twice daily is generally better than once daily feedings. He'll also bug you less about being hungry. An ideal weight loss food will be super high protein (40%+) and very low carb -- probably any of the dry cat foods that are great for ferrets will be a good dieting food for cats. Canned food is great for urinary health, and sometimes helps dieting cats feel more full due to the added moisture. I feed my cats only canned food, but lots of people mix it up.3) I would do the Rubbermaid thing and leave the lid off at first, like you said. Usually cats are pretty overwhelmed in a new environment, so it's good to start them off in a bedroom or bathroom and start opening up more doors as they get comfortable. This way, he'll always know where his box is, and you shouldn't have any problems. Cat Attract probably isn't necessary, but it certainly won't hurt.
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Aug 15, 2010 17:02
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Thanks for the quick response. I'm heading to the store this afternoon to pick up what stuff I'll need for him. Luckily, I've already got a lot of stuff for the ferrets that will be just fine to share with the cat, like treats and toys. I probably won't pick up a cat tree for a few weeks, but it's good to know that he'll be able to use it. I think I may do a split of wet and dry feeding, or at least give one meal of wet food every few days. Something tells me this cat won't be picky. Thanks again for that website detailing weight loss info, I'm sure it'll come in handy. I'll have to pick up a new scale since the one I use for the ferrets is pretty small. I hope the new cat likes laser pens too, since he's going to need the exercise. :P
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Aug 15, 2010 17:33
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Hi all - My friend wants a pet, and is only allowed cats among the larger, furrier sorts of animals, so she's fostered one. It had a lovely life before she adopted it, and she's trying to give it a good one. However, we have run into a bit of a stumbling block, which is that the cat meows, loudly, all night long. It has food, water, toys, and a place to poop. We think she just wants to be social, now that she has a nice home, and the my friend wants to play with her. It's all very sweet, but it's also kept us up for the last week. We want to give her love and attention, but we also need to sleep! My friend has a studio, so there's not another room to put the cat in. I guess what I'm asking is - is there a way to train a cat to not meow loudly all night? Or any other solutions we might pursue? My friend would like to adopt the cat and give it a good home - especially since she's taken so nicely to it, after her lovely life and already having been returned by an 'adoptive' family once - but we do need to figure out how to sleep!
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Aug 16, 2010 15:19
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start by forcing her to be social when you're awake
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Aug 16, 2010 15:25
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Fiskiggy posted:start by forcing her to be social when you're awake What is a good way to do this without being cruel?
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Aug 16, 2010 16:12
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You can't force a cat to be social. What you can try, though, is playing with hier a bunch right before bed, so that she gets worn out. It might be an uphill battle finding what toy works best, but laser pointers and Da Bird work well for my cats.
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Aug 16, 2010 17:35
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The kittens have been running around for about a week now. We went camping on the 6th with the parents as catsitters, and sometime between the parents leaving on the morning of the 8th and us returning in the evening, they all abandoned the closet entirely and started exploring the apartment. They're up on the bed frequently and they like to nap on or under it.  Our main concern at the moment is getting them on to solid food. They've all shown some interest in canned food and will eat it if offered, but their mom is a brat and will shoulder them out of the way and eat it all if given a chance. At the moment our plan is just to feed her, then lock her in the bedroom and feed the kittens; does anyone have better suggestions? In the meantime, have some photos! We're still trying to think of names for them, but have tentatively labeled them for now.  Collar showing off her hunting skills. That bedsheet isn't going anywhere!  Socks one-ups her sister by taking down a wild paintbrush.  Bear tries to imitate his sisters, but has a bit of trouble staying balanced on the bed. One thing I found really cool is that they all have the same pattern, just different sizes. Collar has a white underside and socks, a white collar and a blaze on her face; in Socks, that shrinks so that she loses the collar and the rest of the white patches are much smaller; and Bear just has a patch of white on his chest and one of his paws. The pattern is very similar to their mom's, too, just black on white rather than grey on white. Genetics! 
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Aug 17, 2010 00:17
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Petey posted:What is a good way to do this without being cruel?  along with the toy suggestions.
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Aug 17, 2010 01:39
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ToxicFrog posted:SO CUTE AAAAAH. They are SO ROUND. You'll probably just have to separate them to let them eat solid food, yeah. Some cats are just piggies, even towards their own babies.
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Aug 17, 2010 01:40
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Sadly - for me anyway - the deaf kitty I was looking at adopting was taken the day before I contacted her foster person, they just hadn't gotten around to taking her listing down. Now there's a few neutered males I'm looking at, but I have another question at the moment. We took one of my boyfriend's two cats in to be spayed today. The other one would not cooperate at all and we couldn't get her fat butt into the carrier without being ripped to shreds. So she goes next week. The one we did take in today is doing fine and is back home now, recovering nicely. But, the one we didn't take keeps hissing and growling at her. We have them seperated at the moment, the non-spayed one is in the bedroom and we have the just spayed one out in the house with us so we can keep an eye on her. I've never had this happen before, and I'm wondering what exactly I should do now. I don't want the just spayed kitty to get hurt by the not spayed one or have some horrible incident happen that leads to her going right back to the vet to have her incision closed back up. She's still a little wobbly, she's been home for about 3 hours now and they told us to feed her after two, which we did. She's just not up for a fight with the other cat at the moment. Anyone have any suggestions on what we ought to do to keep the not spayed kitty from freaking out on the just spayed one? Or will this just take time.
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Aug 17, 2010 17:32
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It just takes a little time. When a cat gets spayed or neutered, their scent changes. I've seen the same thing happen with each of my cats when they went in. Within less than a day things were back to normal.
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Aug 17, 2010 17:45
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Fire In The Disco posted:It just takes a little time. When a cat gets spayed or neutered, their scent changes. I've seen the same thing happen with each of my cats when they went in. Within less than a day things were back to normal. Ok, thanks a lot. I thought that was what the deal was, but I wanted to check. We were freaked out by it mainly because the not spayed one is always totally non-aggressive and actually rolls over and immediately shows her fat little belly to the just spayed one if she so much as looks at her sideways.
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Aug 17, 2010 17:58
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There are a couple of good tricks for getting a unwilling cat into a carrier. What I find helpful is to tilt the carrier so the door is up at somewhere between a 45 and 90 degree angle. Then, lower the cat butt first into it.
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Aug 17, 2010 20:48
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When I know my cats have to go to the vet I put the carriers out in the living room with the doors taken off for about a week prior. They end up sleeping in them a lot, so getting them into the carriers for the vet trip isn't too hard. I put them away when we're done with the vet, so it's like a new treat for them every time they come out.
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Aug 17, 2010 20:51
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I don't know why I didn't think of those suggestions about cats and carriers, thanks for reminding me! Next time, I'll be sure to do just that and it will hopefully go much better.
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Aug 17, 2010 22:25
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Minor update if anyone remembers my posts. Our kittens have grown so quickly and drat, they are a (sickeningly adorable)handful.  Click here for the full 800x600 image. Grey and white is Emma, grayish brown tabby is Teyla, the brown tabby behind her is Ronon, and the one at the end is Carson. I have a question. Their mom absolutely detests them now and I have no idea why. She cries for them and when they come to see her, she starts hissing and beats them up. What gives? It's really upsetting because Emma is a bit retarded(literally) and she looks so sad and hurt. 
RepliCarter fucked around with this message at 23:27 on Aug 17, 2010 |
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Aug 17, 2010 23:12
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Riff Raff posted:I don't know why I didn't think of those suggestions about cats and carriers, thanks for reminding me! Next time, I'll be sure to do just that and it will hopefully go much better. They also sell ones that have a grill in the top that opens. I find those much easier for shoving in the unwilling. Something like this. Honestly worst case scenario, take the drat thing apart. Scruff the cat with one (or both) hands and put it in the bottom half of the carrier with your arms going out the hole where the front grill goes. Have friend/significant other put the top half on and clamp all the latches but the fronts ones. Friend can shimmy front grill in and then hold down the top of the crate while closing front grill and you remove your arms. Latch front grill and rest of carrier latches. That probably made no sense, but maybe it did so I shall leave it!
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Aug 18, 2010 00:25
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Enelrahc posted:They also sell ones that have a grill in the top that opens. I find those much easier for shoving in the unwilling. Something like this. Honestly worst case scenario, take the drat thing apart. Scruff the cat with one (or both) hands and put it in the bottom half of the carrier with your arms going out the hole where the front grill goes. Have friend/significant other put the top half on and clamp all the latches but the fronts ones. Friend can shimmy front grill in and then hold down the top of the crate while closing front grill and you remove your arms. Latch front grill and rest of carrier latches. That probably made no sense, but maybe it did so I shall leave it! I also always do my cat stuffing in the bathroom with the door closed. I learned my lesson the first time I had to cancel a vet appointment because Nyanko-chan was hiding under the Cal King size bed, and I couldn't reach her or flush her out.
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Aug 18, 2010 00:48
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First of all, I want to thank all of the wonderful PI people who have posted advice and suggestions about new kittens! We went from 0 to 2 to 4 in a fairly short period, and now have regular adorable kitten piles and zoomies as a result! They are all happy and playful lap kitties. Our two black kittens are brothers, Fury and Mr. Bojangles, about 6 months old and pure hilarity. We adopted them together from a local shelter when they were roughly 4 months old. They both have broken tails, Mr. Bojangles has such a crooked tail, it reverses on itself entirely. Fury's is just a little crooked at the end. Our bengals, Lucifer and Lasciel (brother and sister) are tiny 13 week old babies who came to us at 9 weeks old, which I know is a little young but they eat solid food and use the litter box like champs. The only weird thing is that Lucifer tries to knead and root for a nipple on Mr. Bojangles, purring and making biscuits and putting his head low. He never actually suckles, but he seems to be searching for milk. They are currently eating Solid Gold Katz-n-Flocken dry food and Solid Gold, Wellness, or Natural Balance wet (1 can per day between the 4 of them). We also give the bengals a daily dose of NurishUm paw gel for supplemental nutrition. Is there anything else we could be doing to help our bengals grow faster? They have grown since we brought them home, but they are definitely small for their age from what I can tell. They were born in a litter of 8 though, so we assume that was part of it. Am I just an over-worried kitten owner? Pictures, so my kittens don't explode from internet shyness:  Click here for the full 1000x750 image. This is all 4 in a pile on the couch. Lucifer, the male bengal is snuggling with Mr. Bojangles on the blanket. Fury's collar is reflective as all hell and does this every time I use flash. Lasciel prefers the smooth surface of the couch and stretching out away from the boys. They annoy her.  Click here for the full 1343x643 image. The Bengals, Lucifer (left) and Lasciel (right, eyes open) cuddled up and napping on my leg! Thanks again for the help. Sorry for such a wordy post!
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Aug 18, 2010 04:58
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Fire In The Disco posted:It just takes a little time. When a cat gets spayed or neutered, their scent changes. I've seen the same thing happen with each of my cats when they went in. Within less than a day things were back to normal. It's been over a day now and they're still at eachother's throats, but the nurse at the vet clinic told me that it's just a matter of time (I hope!) because of said change of scent/the anaesthetic leaving the body. Went down early today and got a Feliway diffuser with pheromones that are supposed to calm them down, I certainly hope that helps a bit because they got into two or three really ugly bitchfights yesterday. We're keeping them in separate rooms for now, it's really sad to see two cats that have been living together peacefully for ~6 years (save the occasional playful sparring) suddenly be ready to tear eachother apart like rabid alley cats. 
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Aug 18, 2010 13:39
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I just got a kitten and he's doing pretty well. Poops in all the right places, takes his medicine, sleeps on me, etc. Only thing is that he keeps wanting to sit on my back during the evenings, he even falls asleep there occasionally. It's cute for a while but eventually I feel like I can't move anywhere, and when I put him down on the floor he climbs right back up. . What's the best way to show him when enough is enough? I've scoured google and no answer, only other cat owners discussing the same phenomenon
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Aug 18, 2010 17:47
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Nastyman posted:I just got a kitten and he's doing pretty well. Poops in all the right places, takes his medicine, sleeps on me, etc. When he gets up there, immediately put him on your lap and pet him there. Hopefully he'll learn that lap is where cats go, not back.
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Aug 18, 2010 17:56
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[timg]http://img.waffleimages.com/2c978528f64de02b5625dde0a8fbfd9ea3110081/P1000638 [800x600].JPG[/timg] I got kitties. Fleet Admiral Karl Gustav "Tuna" von Higginbotham and Air Commodore Sir Crumbles Fluffybottom, BSC, SSC moved in a few days ago. And they are disgustingly cute.Everything is going well so far, but I have a few questions. These two terrors have discovered that the big dumb human has better food than they do. Is there any reason (behavioral issues aside) that I can't toss them a bite of REAL tuna or salmon every now and then as a treat, instead of relying on bottles of chunks of weird poo poo flavored and shaped like things? And they have fleas. Which isn't unexpected, they came from a litter that was birthed in a hedgerow and lived in a screened-in entryway under a mud sink on a farm till I adopted them. I think I've brushed most of crawlies out (about 8 total between the two), but all the flea preventers/killers I've seen say to not use them on cats under 12 weeks of age. These dudes are about 10 weeks now. They don't show any overt signs of illness and aren't aggressively scratching themselves. In the meantime is there anything I can do to guarantee a win in the war on fleas without declaring a 2 week ceasefire and stepping up peacekeeping patrols with the flea brush?
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Aug 19, 2010 04:48
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Propagandalf posted:[timg]http://img.waffleimages.com/2c978528f64de02b5625dde0a8fbfd9ea3110081/P1000638 [800x600].JPG[/timg] Cute with awesome names. You can use Advantage on kittens older than 8 weeks.
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Aug 19, 2010 05:41
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Giving them some fish every once in a while will definitely not kill the kittens, but be careful because begging cats can become annoying very quickly.
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Aug 19, 2010 09:35
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Yeah, Braki's ^^^ avatar is pretty much my life now.
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Aug 19, 2010 12:19
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Braki posted:Giving them some fish every once in a while will definitely not kill the kittens, but be careful because begging cats can become annoying very quickly. They get really annoying if your chair is large enough for them to sit on the back, so they can head bump you repeatedly as you try to eat. Nothing like a cat forcibly slamming you into your own dinner. Also if you turn around to stop her, she'll rub herself all over your now unprotected food, leaving it coated in cat hair  poor Ryan didn't look before he took that bite of apple...
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Aug 19, 2010 13:49
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Braki posted:Giving them some fish every once in a while will definitely not kill the kittens, but be careful because begging cats can become annoying very quickly. Fantastic avatar/post combo. It's not super horrible to give them human food sometimes but they'll probably bother you every time you eat if you keep it up. My b/f can't resist giving them little bits of whatever he is eating so they bother him incessantly whenever he has food. I don't usually give them anything so they bother me less but still hang around expectantly and will attack my plate if I get up. My cats are pretty food-oriented though so YMMV if your cat is pickier. My mom's cat will barely eat her own food, let alone ours, because she's a picky brat. You also need to be careful about what you give them because some common people food ingredients like onions and garlic can make cats sick. The OP has a list of some other stuff kitties shouldn't have.
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Aug 19, 2010 18:34
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I have a super small apartment and my kitty's litter box is in the living room, do yall think thats ok? There's no room for it anywhere else. I don't want it in my bedroom because I need to sleep sometimes when the kitty wants to play. The bathroom is wayyyy too tiny, plus it connects to my bedroom anyway. I dunno if kittys need privacy. I haven't had any problems so far, but I don't want her to be unhappy. I'd like to recommend meow mix wet food...its awesome for my kitty! She loves it, and it makes her fur soft and lurstrous. I give her a container of that every other day, and dry food for the rest of her meals, and she's super healthy and awesome and pretty. Oh! I had one more question about laser pointers. Are they healthy for kitties? I remember reading a long time ago that they weren't great to rely on too much, because the cat doesn't get the visceral feel of catching something with their claws, and they need that. What do yall think
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Aug 19, 2010 19:04
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gowb posted:I have a super small apartment and my kitty's litter box is in the living room, do yall think thats ok? There's no room for it anywhere else. I don't want it in my bedroom because I need to sleep sometimes when the kitty wants to play. The bathroom is wayyyy too tiny, plus it connects to my bedroom anyway. I dunno if kittys need privacy. I haven't had any problems so far, but I don't want her to be unhappy. I think it's fine to have in the living room as long as you keep it clean. Make sure you scoop every day and vacuum around the box all the time if she tracks stuff. Even the cheapest wet foods are usually passable, they at least generally have some sort of meat-based product in them. Cheap crappy dry food is more of a problem. I hope you've got her on some good dry food at least. They're fine, just make sure she has other toys to play with and that you don't hit her in the eye with the beam or anything. You could also have the beam land on a toy sometimes so she thinks she's attacking something real.
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Aug 19, 2010 19:32
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HondaCivet posted:I think it's fine to have in the living room as long as you keep it clean. Make sure you scoop every day and vacuum around the box all the time if she tracks stuff. I sweep around the box and scoop her poop daily! Plus I have some air freshner that I spray around it, so it doesn't smell. What constitutes cheap, crappy dry food? I usually just grab a random bag of dry food, I think this time I got Meow Mix...or maybe that Cat Deli stuff? I think it might be Cat Deli. I guess I should check out the nutrition thread. And yeah, today I started to land the laser beam on her cat wand, so she has that to attack! Thanks for the advice!
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Aug 19, 2010 20:50
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gowb posted:I guess I should check out the nutrition thread. Definitely check out the nutrition thread. Meow Mix is of the devil. I've never heard of Cat Deli, but I'm willing to bet it's just as bad.
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Aug 19, 2010 21:15
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It's purina cat deli, and yeah its pretty dang bad, but I'm just using the container it came in because its way easier than using a bag. I'm not sure what it's filled with, probably Meow Mix dry.
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Aug 19, 2010 21:36
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Yeah, Deli-cat comes in those big plastic jugs. Just keep the jug, wash it and fill it with something nice from the Pet Nutrition megathread. Most supermarket dry food brands are about as healthy as feeding your cat Captain Crunch every day unfortunately.
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Aug 19, 2010 22:41
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gowb posted:It's purina cat deli, and yeah its pretty dang bad, but I'm just using the container it came in because its way easier than using a bag. I'm not sure what it's filled with, probably Meow Mix dry. Taste of the Wild is pretty good, relatively easy to find, and relatively cheap (a $25 bag lasts both of our cats longer than a month and one of them is a big fatty)
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Aug 20, 2010 01:00
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