|
I also live in Austin and I agree with CB that you won't find a shelter who will adopt to you, and also 100% with everything else. What up Austin PI buddy! 
|
#
?
Feb 8, 2011 01:44
|
|
|
|
| # ? Jun 8, 2024 03:59 |
|
|
- Age: 9 months - Sex: F - How long have you had your cat? about 4 months - Is your cat spayed or neutered? Yes - What food do you use? Life's Abundance - When was your last vet visit? About 2 months ago - Is your cat indoors, outdoors, both? Indoors. - How many pets in your household? One. - How many litter boxes do you have? One. I have a litter box question. I'm using what my breeder recommended for litter (small wood pellets used for pellet burning stoves). I hate cleaning this litter box. There's nothing to cover up the smell, the urine doesn't clump into anything like I'm used to from my cat as a kid, and it always breaks into even smaller pieces and gets all over the bathroom floor. The breeder said cats lick the clumping litter off their paws and to not use it. Is this true? If so, does anybody have any recommendations for litter? Also, do those auto-scooping litter boxes work? Are they safe?
|
|
#
?
Feb 8, 2011 02:26
|
|
|
I've never had problem with clumping litter and I've been using on my various family cats almost my entire life. From what I understand there's sometimes problems with male cats and urinary tract infections. If you think this might cause you to delay or dread doing litter down the road I'd recommend switching. I've never heard the whole licking paws thing but I wouldn't put it past a cat? I use Tidy Cats small spaces clumping litter fwiw.
|
|
#
?
Feb 8, 2011 02:37
|
|
|
ryan_woody posted:I have a litter box question. I'm using what my breeder recommended for litter (small wood pellets used for pellet burning stoves). I hate cleaning this litter box. There's nothing to cover up the smell, the urine doesn't clump into anything like I'm used to from my cat as a kid, and it always breaks into even smaller pieces and gets all over the bathroom floor. If you switch to clumping clay litter, make sure your kitten isn't eating it. Problem solved.  I think the consensus on automatic litterboxes is that they rule if you shell out for an expensive one like the Cat Genie or Litter Robot, but that the cheaper ones are hit or miss. There's a thread about them somewhere around here... ETA: recent litter thread and automatic litterbox thread
Crooked Booty fucked around with this message at 02:39 on Feb 8, 2011 |
|
#
?
Feb 8, 2011 02:37
|
|
|
Crooked Booty posted:Good stuff RheaConfused posted:Reiteration of said good stuff Thanks dudes, I kind of figured as much. The thought did enter my head that Dora may pass soon (knock on wood) but I would much prefer her to live as long as possible as opposed to being able to get another kitten sooner. She's 2+ right now, I hear the FELV+ kittens live to ~5? 
|
|
#
?
Feb 8, 2011 02:43
|
|
|
Kittens are generally the ones you worry about with clumping litter. By 9 months he's probably okay. Maybe get a small bag and be prepared to toss it if he starts to eat it? Auto boxes are pretty good for less cats, in my experience. Lots of cats, and they become a lot more expensive. When I had 2 cats the kind with the rake that goes across the box was fine. It wasn't so much for 4 cats.
|
|
#
?
Feb 8, 2011 02:48
|
|
|
Well my cat hasn't ever eaten litter to my knowledge, so I'm going to change to clumping litter (and I'm looking into the litter robot, as well). Thanks for your help, everybody.
|
|
#
?
Feb 8, 2011 03:12
|
|
|
ryan_woody posted:Well my cat hasn't ever eaten litter to my knowledge, so I'm going to change to clumping litter (and I'm looking into the litter robot, as well). Thanks for your help, everybody. I can vouch for the litter robot- worth every penny, but it's been said. We use world's best, clumps well and is made of corn, so basically safe if your cat MUST try it out as a snack.
|
|
#
?
Feb 8, 2011 04:57
|
|
|
Crooked Booty posted:Clumping litter is also arguably a lot more sanitary than stuff that dissolves, like pellets, because your kitten isn't walking all over its own waste and tracking it through your home as much. I disagree about the pellets, if you clean the box by sifting once a day. I've played with the pellets, and a small amount of liquid turns it into sawdust, which is easily removed with the sifting box. If you scoop solid as soon as you notice it and remove sawdust daily/every other day, then it's very sanitary. I have more trouble with them tracking whole pellets around (which suck to step on barefoot) than sawdust.
|
|
#
?
Feb 8, 2011 06:26
|
|
|
ryan_woody posted:The breeder said cats lick the clumping litter off their paws and to not use it. Is this true? If so, does anybody have any recommendations for litter? Also, do those auto-scooping litter boxes work? Are they safe? You could try World's Best litter - it clumps but it's made from corn, so apparently it's fine for them to eat it. Also you can flush it down the toilet which helps with the smell 
|
|
#
?
Feb 8, 2011 13:32
|
|
|
Thirding (fourthing, fifthing, eleventymillionithing?) World's Best. It clumps really fast and tight without sticking to your cat. Safe to flush, safe for them to eat, and it controlls odors really well. Target has a deal on it right now at ~$8 for a smaller bag, and each bag has a $3 off coupon stuck to it. This size bag is usually $10-$12 everywhere else, so if you decide on it I suggest you do what we did and stockpile several bags. It's got a good life to it too with one bag lasting us well over a month (one full refill, and several top-offs) before it needs a complete change.
SunknLiner fucked around with this message at 17:09 on Feb 8, 2011 |
|
#
?
Feb 8, 2011 17:07
|
|
|
SunknLiner posted:Thirding (fourthing, fifthing, eleventymillionithing?) World's Best. It clumps really fast and tight without sticking to your cat. Safe to flush, safe for them to eat, and it controlls odors really well. Target has a deal on it right now at ~$8 for a smaller bag, and each bag has a $3 off coupon stuck to it. This size bag is usually $10-$12 everywhere else, so if you decide on it I suggest you do what we did and stockpile several bags. It's got a good life to it too with one bag lasting us well over a month (one full refill, and several top-offs) before it needs a complete change. Hmm, maybe I'll check into this when my current clay litter runs out.
|
|
#
?
Feb 8, 2011 20:47
|
|
|
First off, thank you very much for this thread. It answered nearly every question I had about cat ownership and made me feel stupid for not thinking of more. One thing that was not covered, however, and is important to my situation is how well a kitten or pair of kittens relate to adult dogs. I have two dogs: one is a German shepherd mix, the other is a Rottweiler mix. Both are extremely friendly toward other dogs and submissive in confrontations, but I have never observed either one interact with a cat. Should I follow the normal steps for introducing a new puppy to the household and expect similar reactions from the adults? Are there extra precautions I should take for a cat? Is it a flat-out bad idea? Arec Barwin fucked around with this message at 22:20 on Feb 8, 2011 |
|
#
?
Feb 8, 2011 22:18
|
|
|
Age- 1 1/2 year Sex- Female How long have you had your cat?- 5-6 months Is your cat spayed or neutered?- Yep What food do you use?- Solid Gold Katz-n-Flocken When was your last vet visit? 5-6 months ago Is your cat indoors, outdoors, both? indoors How many pets in your household? Just 1 I have a question about my cat that I got from a shelter. When I got this cat it had a really bad tapeworm problem but I dewormed it and there hasn't been any signs of them coming back. Recently however, my cat has started balding! It started off with parts of her black fur turning grey and then white. What the heck is causing this? Could she still have worms? Would worms even cause this? I was thinking it may be a nutrition thing but, I am using Solid Gold, which is considered a Premium cat food. I'm not sure if I should go to the vet because, she is acting completely normal and doesn't seem sick. Is it just a cosmetic issue or should I be worried?
|
|
#
?
Feb 9, 2011 01:06
|
|
|
Go to the vet. It might be allergies but from what it's hard to say. It could be from her food, even good foods have things that they can be allergic too. Sometimes cats compulsively lick certain spots constantly and it causes balding in those areas. Have you noticed that happening at all? Either way a cat suddenly balding is not normal.
|
|
#
?
Feb 9, 2011 01:53
|
|
|
Arec Barwin posted:First off, thank you very much for this thread. It answered nearly every question I had about cat ownership and made me feel stupid for not thinking of more. Do you have any friends with cats? I'd take your dogs somewhere they can meet a cat while on leashes and see how they respond. If your dogs want to eat cats, you can try to work on it with training, but it will probably never be a good idea to leave the dogs alone with a cat.
|
|
#
?
Feb 9, 2011 02:21
|
|
|
I think here is the best place for this: Most of my cats obviously love running water. They love it so much, they'll get in the tub (Which the faucet leaks, ugh), and use their fat kitty heads and bump the lever handles and turn the water on. All night. Hello water bill! What I'm looking for is to turn my current cat water bowl (It's a metal dish about 8 or so inches in diameter, and about two and a half inches deep. It's normally a dog bowl, but works great for the cats) into a running water bowl. Do you guys recommend a good pump? Mind you, this is for 4 cats, and I don't wanna spend a crapton on this.
|
|
#
?
Feb 9, 2011 02:41
|
|
|
I moved in with my Girlfriend, and we introduced our cats and it's been alright, but they're still fighting and it's been at least 2 months. We get that they may not get along and be best friends, but the freakouts are getting really irritating, and my girlfriend gets anxious every time they fight. We're hoping to improve the situation as much as possible, we would be happy if they just ignored eachother. They're both fixed, and they both eat a raw meat diet. We live on the second floor, and they're both indoor cats, and always have been. We have 2 litter boxes, and both of them use them both. We've owned both of the cats independently for several years My cat is a 4 year old female, and she seems fairly territorial and defensive about her space. She won't let the other cat get close to her without her freaking out, hissing, growling, screaming, and swatting at him. She's comfortable in the environment, and is fine if he's not around, but he can't get close to her. Her cat is a 7 year old male. He's submissive, but inquisitive. He follows her around and really wants to know what she's doing (he likes to watch her poop), and this often gets him in trouble because she thinks he's chasing her, and she freaks the gently caress out. She'll usually back herself into a corner where he'll just stand there and stare at her while she's hissing and growling at him. He is not aggressive, he doesn't swat back he just cowers and skulks away if she attacks him. We live in a fairly small apartment, so they don't have a tonne of room to get around, but they can be in separate rooms and don't have to be around eachother all the time. I understand that they may not ever get along, but I'd really like to get the screaming and freaking out under control because it's waking us up, or interrupting whatever we're doing (watching movies, reading, homework, etc.) There's at least 2 or 3 freakouts a day, on a good day. Should I be spraying her with a water bottle if she freaks out on him to discourage the violence? Or would that just gently caress her little brain up too much.
|
|
#
?
Feb 9, 2011 04:09
|
|
|
- Age: 5 months - Sex: F - How long have you had your cat? 5 months - Is your cat spayed or neutered? No (still trying to make that happen...) - What food do you use? Purina cat chow - When was your last vet visit? Almost three months ago - Is your cat indoors, outdoors, both? Indoors. - How many pets in your household? Five: three cats, on of which is the mother of the other two (the cat in question is one of the kittens), and two dogs - How many litter boxes do you have? Three So lately I've noticed one of our kittens has gotten some unusual skin condition around her face. Started off as two scar-like marks, one on either side of her nose. I thought at first it might actually be some strange natural trait or some actual scars, but I've noticed now that it's definitely progressing. Now the skin on the bridge of her nose is very dry and cracking deeply. Part of it is forming into a hard flap that I fear may come off if she picks at it. Strangely this stuff does not seem to bleed, ooze, or smell at all. And it doesn't seem to bother her at all except when I try to examine it closely. No other symptoms from what I can see. Obviously this is something that requires a visit to the vet. The only reason I'm posting here is because I don't know how urgent the condition is. My room mate (who rescued all the cats) has a car and thus I rely on her when we need to take them for vet visits. Unfortunately she's not very... attentive... and I will likely have to convince her that this is serious before she'll actually commit to it. Believe me, I'm not happy about the situation either (I've been reminding her to get them spayed for about a month now, even offered to share costs)... So anyways, any info on what the condition might be and what needs to be done immediately would be very helpful. Unfortunately I'm not able to share pictures of the cat right now, but I'll do my best to describe it. ANIME AKBAR fucked around with this message at 05:34 on Feb 9, 2011 |
|
#
?
Feb 9, 2011 05:31
|
|
|
fatrick posted:Absolutely do not punish her for her reaction to the other cat, she is stressed and acting naturally. How did you go about introducing them? It can sometimes take up to six months for cats to adjust. If they are not drawing blood, they are ok. A lot of people have success with restarting introductions. Read the FAQ in this thread regarding introductions and follow it. If you have a bedroom you have enough space to separate them. She is probably in need of a break from him, especially if he follows her around like you say.
|
|
#
?
Feb 9, 2011 13:02
|
|
|
We introduced them quite slowly over a few days. Keeping them separated and exposing them through doors while being supervised. They're to the point where we can let them be in the apartment alone and they're fine. It's just that every few hours they'll get a little too close to eachother and the freakouts begin. I guess we just need to wait it out.
|
|
#
?
Feb 9, 2011 17:48
|
|
|
Yeah, I think you do. For what it's worth, it took my two girl cats about 6 months to be okay with being in each other's presence. Even now, two years later, they sometimes get pissy at one another. Some cats will never be best friends, others will just take time to get closer.
|
|
#
?
Feb 9, 2011 18:51
|
|
|
What is a safe (if any) pain reliever to give to a cat? I have a cat that is almost 20 years old now. When she was about 2 or 3, she had an accident and had to lose one of her back legs. She did well without it and still does, but hopping around on one leg and being so old has caused her to develop arthritis. You can tell she hurts and she aches but I'm not sure what to do about it. She's always been a sort of outside cat and refuses to come inside, even when the temperature drops below freezing. Being in Florida, luckily it hasn't been quite that cold lately but regardless, it's still cold and I know how cold can affect achy joints. We have a hot tub that runs and we leave the cover for it open so she can crawl underneath and get next to the heater, which she does almost every night. Today when I was holding her, I noticed that she was shaking really bad. I thought she might have been cold, even though it wasn't really that cold outside, so I held her for a while until she wanted down. But she was still shaking, so I'm guessing that she hurts enough to shake. It might be selfish, but I don't want to put this cat down. I don't want to have to make that decision and for the most part, she's still a pretty active cat who hasn't lost her mind. She's able to get around, eat, use the bathroom, and do a lot of things a normal, young, four-legged cat can do. It doesn't seem right to put her down when she's still so full of life. So, in the meantime, what can I do to ease her pain?
|
|
#
?
Feb 9, 2011 19:02
|
|
|
ANIME AKBAR posted:unusual skin condition around her face. But yeah, you need a vet because there are a million things that cause weird skin lesions. Most of them aren't too serious, but they can get a lot worse, and then treatment can be more expensive. P.S. Your roommate sounds like a retard. You should briefly kidnap the kitten and get her spayed at a low-cost clinic. From how you're describing the roommate, she might not even notice the incision!  silversiren posted:So, in the meantime, what can I do to ease her pain? Crooked Booty fucked around with this message at 19:06 on Feb 9, 2011 |
|
#
?
Feb 9, 2011 19:03
|
|
|
silversiren posted:What is a safe (if any) pain reliever to give to a cat? I have a cat that is almost 20 years old now. When she was about 2 or 3, she had an accident and had to lose one of her back legs. She did well without it and still does, but hopping around on one leg and being so old has caused her to develop arthritis. You can tell she hurts and she aches but I'm not sure what to do about it.
|
|
#
?
Feb 10, 2011 00:05
|
|
|
silversiren posted:What is a safe (if any) pain reliever to give to a cat? I have a cat that is almost 20 years old now. When she was about 2 or 3, she had an accident and had to lose one of her back legs. She did well without it and still does, but hopping around on one leg and being so old has caused her to develop arthritis. You can tell she hurts and she aches but I'm not sure what to do about it. As others have said, it is definitely time to take her to the vet. Please don't give her any kind of over the counter pain meds, cats have extremely sensitive livers and can get liver damage and die very easily.
|
|
#
?
Feb 10, 2011 01:57
|
|
|
Enelrahc posted:I know this is a really hard concept for a lot of people to understand, but maybe it's time to take your cat to a vet? Stuff like this is how PI gets its rep. I literally cannot fathom asking the internet what to do about my pain-filled cat before taking him to the vet.
|
|
#
?
Feb 10, 2011 04:19
|
|
|
Crooked Booty posted:I'm having a hard time picturing it, but the peeling without oozing or bleeding sounds like it could be ringworm or some other skin infection. I'd just tell your roommate that it may be ringworm, which is contagious to the other cats as well as to you and your roommate. Google image search "ringworm face" and tell your roommate you don't want to look like that for weeks. (Ringworm isn't super contagious to people with normal immune systems, but it might scare her into being responsible!) quote:P.S. Your roommate sounds like a retard. You should briefly kidnap the kitten and get her spayed at a low-cost clinic. From how you're describing the roommate, she might not even notice the incision! On another note, the two kittens seem to be having their first heat... if that doesn't convince my roommate to get them fixed, then nothing will. Nothing like being woken up in the middle of the night by three horny, howling cats.
|
|
#
?
Feb 10, 2011 06:11
|
|
|
Serella posted:Stuff like this is how PI gets its rep. I literally cannot fathom asking the internet what to do about my pain-filled cat before taking him to the vet. I only asked about the alternatives because at this current point in time, we don't have the finances to take the cat to the vet. Thanks anyway, though.
|
|
#
?
Feb 10, 2011 19:26
|
|
|
So I posted this in the general questions thread, but I guess this one is more appropriate. So a bit of a repost, but the more replies, the better, since we're checking out cats this weekend. --- So I'm trying to decide on a companion for my 1 1/2 year old cat, Sophia. She was a stray, last of the litter and the only survivor, so, we couldn't take two. She's spunky, playful, relatively mischievous, and she does play bite, though, when she gets agitated, she will bite then too, and she does pounce at legs. She isn't destructive, at least, towards anything that isn't a cardboard box. She hasn't seen another cat for over a year. But, I think it'd be great to have her attention directed towards something (someone) else. She appears lonely too, sometimes. I've read up, done a bit of research, and most people say I should be trying to get a male, but the disparity of opinion is on what age he should be. Some say a kitten of only 3-4 months would be great (I have my eye on one that's 7 and the same silver tabby that Sophia is). Some tell me to get one older than Sophia, but not by much. The last thing I want to do is to stress her out, and I think bringing in something noticeably older would do just that. Help me goons. You're my only hope.
|
|
#
?
Feb 10, 2011 19:33
|
|
|
Who Dat posted:So I posted this in the general questions thread, but I guess this one is more appropriate. So a bit of a repost, but the more replies, the better, since we're checking out cats this weekend. She's going to be stressed out regardless. But I've heard that adult cats have an easier time accepting a kitten into a household than another adult cat.
|
|
#
?
Feb 10, 2011 22:19
|
|
|
silversiren posted:I only asked about the alternatives because at this current point in time, we don't have the finances to take the cat to the vet. If your cat is suffering, and needs medication to stop her from suffering, and you absolutely cannot afford it, then the best thing you can do is to have her put down.
|
|
#
?
Feb 10, 2011 23:42
|
|
|
My cat (kitten? he's 9 months old) keeps eating stuff! Shoe laces, the cord to my phone cover, half a ribbon - he's trying to eat the couch, too, but that isn't working for him so well. Is it possible that he's getting some latent teeth in? Or is this just him being an rear end in a top hat? He is fine and still pooping for the record. I have since hidden all of the things he loves to eat (except the couch, I am not sure why he thinks he can eat this).
|
|
#
?
Feb 10, 2011 23:43
|
|
|
He's being an rear end. All three of my cats (four if you include Fry) have been tearing my wallpaper off the walls and eating it. It doesn't even taste good.
|
|
#
?
Feb 10, 2011 23:53
|
|
|
silversiren posted:I only asked about the alternatives because at this current point in time, we don't have the finances to take the cat to the vet. At 20 years, your cat has lived a long, good life. Like other posters have said, take her to the vet. The humane thing to do at this point, if you can't afford anything, is to give her rest. There is no pussyfooting. It's not easy, god knows I've had to put down my share of animals I loved, but it's a quality of life thing now. Reminds me of a cat my parents had that I lived with for almost 18 of her 20 years. She died 3 weeks ago to old age aka renal failure. It's the first cat we've ever had that died in her bed sleeping. I wish they had brought her to the vet a year ago. Her quality of life sucked, but they couldn't let go. So she spent an entire year arthritis-ridden, hobbling to get to her food bowl, water bowl, and then back down to her bed to sleep the rest of the day. Although, I do understand why they didn't take her to the vet to be put to sleep. They took multiple cats before her and it's just loving hard. It's why they refuse to watch Marley and Me, and why I'll never watch it again. 
Who Dat fucked around with this message at 00:09 on Feb 11, 2011 |
|
#
?
Feb 11, 2011 00:04
|
|
|
Abbeh posted:He's being an rear end. All three of my cats (four if you include Fry) have been tearing my wallpaper off the walls and eating it. It doesn't even taste good. Have you tried it?
|
|
#
?
Feb 11, 2011 04:40
|
|
|
Disco Nixon posted:I have a question about my cat that I got from a shelter. When I got this cat it had a really bad tapeworm problem but I dewormed it and there hasn't been any signs of them coming back. I took my cat to the vet like you guys suggested and she said there was most likely psychological problems causing my cat to over clean herself which was making her bald. She also told me to get some sour apple spray. Just thought I should follow up on my previous post.
|
|
#
?
Feb 11, 2011 05:19
|
|
|
silversiren posted:I only asked about the alternatives because at this current point in time, we don't have the finances to take the cat to the vet. If you don't have the money to take your cat to the vet, you shouldn't have a cat. I'm poor as well but I save money every month into an account just in case Grumples needs vet care. 'I'm poor' isn't a good enough excuse to let your cat suffer. Isn't there a free vets in your country? We have the PDSA in England but I don't know what other countries have.
|
|
#
?
Feb 11, 2011 10:10
|
|
|
ChairmanMeow posted:Have you tried it? Had to make sure it wasn't poisonous...
|
|
#
?
Feb 11, 2011 15:25
|
|
|
|
| # ? Jun 8, 2024 03:59 |
|
|
Abbeh posted:He's being an rear end. All three of my cats (four if you include Fry) have been tearing my wallpaper off the walls and eating it. It doesn't even taste good. Darn. Alright, I'll just keep the spray bottle handy and work on training him.
|
|
#
?
Feb 11, 2011 18:28
|
|