Comrade Quack posted:

Did you mention any of this at the vet while she was getting her nails clipped?

I'd try taking the lid off the box if you can, sometimes that helps the box smell less (inside the box). You might also try putting another box in a different spot or moving the box, in case it's something about the location. You might also want to try scooping more frequently - as I was just mentioning my cat is picky, I get dirty looks sometimes despite the fact I have two boxes for one cat and I scoop them every 12 hours or so.

Also I would be surprised if the Febreze is actually cleaning up the smell all the way. Just because you can't smell it doesn't mean your cat can't. I would try something enzymatic and actually labeled for cat waste. If there was ever cat urine on the bed I'd recommend a professional cleaning.

Skutter posted:

I didn't mention it to the vet, probably because she hadn't done it recently at that point. Like I said, there is no rhyme or reason to it. It's weird. I'll try taking the lid off of the box. Really, the only reason we got a covered box was because she would spend 20 minutes scratching up everything around the box, but not cover her poop at all, and then the whole kitchen would smell terrible because her poop wasn't covered. I've thought about moving it, but we live in a very small house and there isn't any other good spot to put it except it's current location in the kitchen. We could try moving it to the den, but then if she didn't poo poo in the litter box, she'd be making GBS threads on carpet instead of tile and that's a lot more clean up work.

She's never urinated outside of the box, just pooped. I will look into getting some enzymatic cleaner though. Thanks for the suggestions.

Synnr posted:

Soooo a very, very tiny stray kitten has appeared in my backyard...

It is even smaller than my cat that I got as a really young kitten and seems to be trying to treat my cat as a surrogate mother/buddy. Not that my cat approves. HOWEVER my parents have seen it (it is quite beautiful, sort of a cheetah and tiger pattern of gold dust and grey) and are keen on it. I, being a softy for all things small and furry told them I would help them get him/her so they can take it to the vet.

Does anyone have any advice on how to coax a kitten? I've never tried to catch a stray. It is rather skittish, but a bit of food and milk seems to have made it less anxious around me. My brief contact with it in my first attempt at picking it up make me think it is at the very least dehydrated from this weather. Really, I'm worried the little thing is going to up and overheat or get sick and wander off.

Shebrew posted:

Soo....I think my new kitty already has an eye infection. It's pretty goopy, she squints it a lot, and keeps on shaking her head like she's annoyed. Think it's okay to wait for a Monday morning vet visit or should I try to get something sooner?

Crooked Booty posted:

You can try to tame it with tasty food and see if you can grab it eventually, but the quicker/easier way would be to get a humane trap. You can typically rent one from a humane society, cat rescue group (check petfinder), or feed store. You will want to specify that it's for a kitten because if it's really tiny, it may not be heavy enough to trip the mechanism in a full-sized trap.

Once it's trapped, it's best to keep the kitten in a tiny room like a bathroom or closet where you can handle it easily for a few weeks. Feral/stray kittens tend to become comfortable with people pretty quickly if you keep them in a place where they can't get away from you (i.e. go under a bed) so you can handle them several times per day without having to chase them around.

Don't give cats/kittens cow's milk -- it will only upset their tummies. I would get some stinky canned catfood to lure it, which will also help with possible dehydration. I would also be prepared to take it to a vet as soon as you get it, especially if it's tiny and thin. It's very likely it has worms and fleas, and may have something more serious, too.

Shebrew posted:

Alright, switched to tomorrow at 1:45. Poor kitty

Synnr posted:

I was always told to just introduce a new animal in a cage so the others can sniff around and get used to it. Was I misled? My cat seems a bit...agitated by the little guy.

Eggplant Wizard posted:

Read the OP a bit on introducing cats. With a little babby kitten it shouldn't be too bad, since it's not really a threat to the existing hierarchy. Expect some hissing & batting about, but you don't really have any problems till blood is drawn.

ChairmanMeow posted:

I was just at the vet again with an eye infection. I feel for you.

Shebrew posted:

I just got her Wednesday and she's already sick. I'm the worst kitty mom ever.

I keep on rotating between wondering if I made a mistake in adopting her because I'll just wind up being in over my head and being totally in love with her. Anyone else get that kind of weird post-adoption depression or am I just weird?

Crooked Booty posted:

It is soooooo common for cats to break with eye or upper respiratory symptoms right before or after adoption. At every clinic where I've worked, it has been standard procedure to assume that every "healthy" cat coming for a checkup right after being adopted from a shelter is contagious with URI or kitty herpes or whatever, and to quarantine and disinfect accordingly. Stressed cats + germs = URIs and goopy eyes. It is totally not you!

I think most people go through the weird adoption depression thing, too. My mom just adopted a new dog a couple weeks ago, and it's funny to observe it from the outside. She was saying ridiculous stuff like "What if I figure out that this dog isn't as cute as I thought it was the other day?" (as if pet-lovers don't always think their ugly-rear end pet is the cutest thing ever and getting cuter every day because they know their personality and love them and blah blah). She was also convinced that her other dog was totally depressed and feeling betrayed when the dog clearly gave no gently caress. She also kept talking about how the old dog was probably going to die within a few days because the dog knew she had been replaced. That was a few weeks ago, and now my mom is acting like a normal person again and loves the new dog. Anyway that was kind of off-topic, but the point is that I think when people who really love pets get new pets, it's pretty common to go a little crazy with the what-if's.

sailorjosh posted:

Scooter
- Age - 1 year or so
- Sex - Male
- How long have you had your cat? - 2 weeks
- Is your cat spayed or neutered? - Yes
- What food do you use? - Iams
- When was your last vet visit? - Few months ago (previous owner)
- Is your cat indoors, outdoors, both? - Indoors
- How many pets in your household? - 1
- How many litter boxes do you have? - 1


Me and my fiance recently adopted this little orange bastard. He's pretty cool most of the time but has a serious case of the night crazies. No matter how much I try to play with him to tire him out during the afternoon and evening he just goes ballistic at night for like two hours. It's like clockwork, same time every night. Do cats ever grow out of this, even a little? It's pretty funny until you realize you have to get up for work in 2 hours and the cat is still tearing rear end around the apartment. I realize cats are nocturnal but I never realized they were batshit insane.

RheaConfused posted:

Why don't you just help him to adopt his own cat? There are millions that need homes. That seems the best solution to me. Find a grown cat for him. Then everyone is happy and one more kitty is saved.

invalid posted:

I know, and I plan on adopting a cat to replace my loss either way. But since my girlfriend lives there, she wants to keep at least one of her cats.

RheaConfused posted:

That's silly. She needs to realize that your two cats are already adjusted and bonded (even if sometimes it doesn't seem so). Neither of them needs the trauma of being moved again so soon. It's a bit selfish of her, to be honest. PLUS besides stressing out the cat you choose to move you will stress out the cat you keep with a new cat and it's all for no reason. And whose cat will the THIRD cat be?

Maximusi posted:

The vet told me that I need to watch and make sure my cat's gums dont become all red (because the gums along the smallest teeth in the front are pretty red). But how do I treat this gingivitis? He seems to be eating fine and everything, though I noticed he tends to stick his lip out, I guess cause his gums are bothering him.

invalid posted:

I don't think it's silly. It's been less than 6 weeks and the cats hardly seem bonded. I think it'd be more selfish to keep a pair who barely seem to tolerate each other (see my older posts here) as well as tell her that she can't keep one of her cats, as well as her sick dad to gently caress himself on an offer I made a while ago.

I think it's the best scenario to rehome while it's still early and find a better match for the other.

invalid posted:

I suppose I am, but perhaps skittish is the wrong word. She's just scared of the other cat. They've come a long, but up until a week and a half ago I was keeping them seperated.

I figured this would be best for both the cats and the people.

invalid posted:

I suppose I am, but perhaps skittish is the wrong word. She's just scared of the other cat. They've come a long, but up until a week and a half ago I was keeping them seperated.

I figured this would be best for both the cats and the people.

invalid posted:

Now he wants one of the cats! After this week and my offer still standing (I never thought it would actually come to that), I can't say no to the man...

But this isn't easy, and I can't decide which to give him...

RheaConfused posted:

Uh, ok. So why talk about him at all then? You are being very unclear. Basically, your girlfriend wants to move one of her cats. And you are going to replace it. This is a weird situation all around. She should do what is best for the cats and unless this is a permanent move this isn't it. This is the worst situation to be in and really not the mature approach. Anyone here would agree, I think, that adopting two cats that aren't "yours" when you two don't live together was a bad idea, and now it is only getting worse.

invalid posted:

Well, they're "our" cats, but more specifically mine. I know that makes sense but the deal was if I couldn't handle owning them since I've never been a pet guy, they'd go to her house. I should be more clear, I agree.

However, still don't see moving one to her house as the worst thing to do. Hell, I'm moving to a new apartment a couple months, then a new house later this year. How is that worse?

gowb posted:

Hey! I have more kitty concerns, though its probably nothing. My kitty, Robert Meachem, will sometimes pant (like a dog!) after excessive playing. Is it bad to play with her to this point? I've been trying to tire her out in the evenings, and I got an awesome cat...fishing pole thing, with a lure of big feathers and a jingle bell and well...she just loves it. She loves it! It's like she cannot resist chasing it, and will do so until shes absolutely pooped.

I've read some stuff about kitties panting from a Google search, and some of them sounded a little scary. Should I get my kitty checked out? She's slightly less than a year old, and doesn't ever pant, other than after a lot of play.

ChairmanMeow posted:

I bought this http://www.amazon.com/Vet-Solutions-Viralys-L-Lysine-Powder/dp/B0013LLHW0/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top
for my sweet herpes head. I thought I was done with her eye infections, but alas I am not. She is an amazingly hard to medicate cat and normally knows if I hide anything in her food and won't ever touch that type of food again, but she actually doesn't know when I mix this powder in. Stress seems to bring on her pink eye and the doctor thinks this helps. I still have to do the eye cream also though, but anything that helps.
Good Luck.

Victor Nightingale posted: