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Aelia posted:Yeah, when I looked up emerycat it was just a cardboard scratcher, but it seemed rather expensive for just cardboard. I think she may have meant an emery-board like thing? You know, a nail file. I'm sure I've seen those in a few PI pictures. All those cat scratchers and nail files for cats seem like snake oil to me. Cats scratch to *sharpen* their claws, and clipping them is infinitely faster than filing them down. I can't imagine anything is gonna be more convenient than just taking 30 seconds a week to clip them claws.
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Dec 2, 2011 20:46
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El Gar posted:All those cat scratchers and nail files for cats seem like snake oil to me. Cats scratch to *sharpen* their claws, and clipping them is infinitely faster than filing them down. I can't imagine anything is gonna be more convenient than just taking 30 seconds a week to clip them claws.
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Dec 2, 2011 20:54
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Emery Cat has some sandpaper type stuff on it that's supposed to help file them. I've never used one as I'm cheap and just use nail clippers instead, but my friend who has one likes it and says it makes the nail trims less frequent.
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Dec 2, 2011 21:17
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Aelia posted:I'll definitely be keeping them trimmed, it's a lot less painful that way. But the kitties need to scratch, and scratching does sharpen their claws again, so if I can find them something they like to scratch which also dulls their nails a bit, it's a win-win. for cat that doesn't like nail trims, you can do the 'kitty in a towel' burrito trick. It's important to give treats afterwards. After 6 months I built up with the ability to trim without the towel, on most occasions. Cats scratch to remove the outer layer of the claw that's shed like skin. In the process, they do get pointy again, but it's not about sharpening so much as grooming.
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Dec 2, 2011 21:42
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My poor kitty got "fixed" today. We also got her microchipped. They didn't put a collar on her at the vets, because of course she was being a little angel while she was there, but the moment she got home she hurtled onto the bed and started licking herself. On with the plastic collar. I wish I could have somehow captured the look of disgust she gave me. Seems to be cheering up a bit now, after lots of tickles and a tiny little bit of cooked chicken liver as a treat  Just posting to say thanks to this thread in general for making me much less paranoid about my kitty :3
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Dec 2, 2011 23:30
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Well, my cats continue to be little money pits. I noticed yesterday Aneta was half-squinting out of one eye. Today she is producing thick yellow goo from the corner and it looks like the nictating membrane of that eye is a bit more pink and swollen than the other. I emailed a low-cost clinic and they said they wouldn't have any open appointments for over a week. Should I go to the open Wellness Clinic at the SPCA (cost me $200 last time) tomorrow or can it wait? She's eating and drinking normally and playful as ever.
ATP5G1 fucked around with this message at 02:27 on Dec 3, 2011 |
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Dec 3, 2011 02:21
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Eye stuff can be painful and can also go south pretty fast. I'd take her in sooner rather than later. Sorry about your adorable black hole of money!
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Dec 3, 2011 02:47
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El Gar posted:All those cat scratchers and nail files for cats seem like snake oil to me. Cats scratch to *sharpen* their claws, and clipping them is infinitely faster than filing them down. I can't imagine anything is gonna be more convenient than just taking 30 seconds a week to clip them claws. CuriousSymptoms posted:On with the plastic collar. I hosed this up twice, resulting in expensive vet stays. 
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Dec 3, 2011 08:07
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Speaking of cones, make sure that your cone is actually big enough for the cat. Cats are flexible and sometimes they can reach their incision site even with the cone on. I had to get a bigger cone for Aidan, but then it was too big around his neck and he could get it off really easily, so I ended up with an elaborate double-cone system with a complicated tie to try to keep him from taking it off: Eventually, I tied it twice around his neck, making sure to loop it through previous neck strands as I was going, then tying it down over his chest, under his armpits, and up around his back. Even then, he could get it off if he really wanted to.
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Dec 3, 2011 09:36
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Braki posted:Speaking of cones, make sure that your cone is actually big enough for the cat. Cats are flexible and sometimes they can reach their incision site even with the cone on. I had to get a bigger cone for Aidan, but then it was too big around his neck and he could get it off really easily, so I ended up with an elaborate double-cone system with a complicated tie to try to keep him from taking it off: I'd "escalate" to that rather than starting off like that, because you want your cat to be able to eat and drink too.
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Dec 3, 2011 09:49
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duckfarts posted:Jesus, they really are furry snakes. Haha yeah, it was a pain to remove. He basically kept it on all the time. We'd take it off for him to eat, and for 10 minutes every once in a while for supervised grooming time. Once he had groomed himself and wanted to lick his incision, we'd put it back on. I believe he was able to drink even with that thing on, because it could fit easily over his water bowl and we left it pretty full for him, so he could reach it well. He also wasn't allowed to jump. He was also getting dosed with tramadol 3x/day too, which was keeping him dopey enough that he only had it full time for a day or two, then eventually we'd only have to put that on if we were out or sleeping (we had to lock him in the spare room at night so he couldn't jump on anything). When we were there, at first it was both cones just tied simply around his neck, then eventually he was good enough that we only had to put the small cone on him without tying it at all and he'd keep it on. He had at least 1 cone for probably 23 hours a day for two weeks though.
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Dec 3, 2011 10:02
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So, that was terrifying. We live in a huge apartment complex with one of those crazy shrill fire alarms. I know it sounds bad, but after years of living just off 6th street in downtown Austin (people would park in our garage and use the fire alarm to force the garage doors open to get their cars out), we were really considering just putting our pillows over our heads and ignoring it. My husband got out of bed and looked in the hall. ACTUAL SMOKE. A LOT OF IT. Plus, we live just beyond a set of fire doors, and the other side of them was completely smoky. Cue the shittiest five minutes of my life where I think we are going to die but we do not want to leave any of our 3 cats. We ALMOST did, but once we pulled the mattress off our bed to prevent them from hiding under the bed it was fairly easy. Sadly, we have a tortie that is super loving jumpy and is awful to get in a carrier on a normal, non death is coming for you piercing noise louder than you can think right in your ear day. So I got bit. With two shallow punctures. The no nonsense PI poster in me knows I should go to the doctor tomorrow. But ugh, I really don't wanna. Some dickbag set off a fire alarm and sprayed a fire extinguisher all over the hall on our floor. That was a nice 5 story stair climb at 4am with our cats.  edit: clarity! RheaConfused fucked around with this message at 11:40 on Dec 3, 2011 |
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Dec 3, 2011 11:15
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RheaConfused posted:Some dickbag set off a fire alarm and sprayed it all over the hall on our floor. That was a nice 5 story stair climb at 4am with our cats.  Vvvv: Well, if you saw smoke, there was probably an actual fire. duckfarts fucked around with this message at 12:04 on Dec 3, 2011 |
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Dec 3, 2011 11:33
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duckfarts posted:Sprayed it? Ugh, 4am fire alarm brain! They sprayed a fire extinguisher all over. I didn't even know that would set off the alarm, my husband claims it was the gases or something. 
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Dec 3, 2011 11:40
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Well my cat can't get the plastic collar off, and she can't reach the wound site to lick at it, which are both positive things. I think the painkiller might be wearing off slightly - she seems a little quieter than last night. I'm keeping her in the spare room and checking up on her regularly. She's eaten a couple of times since her op, and she's fairly perky and happy to be stroked gently, but she doesn't seem to have used her little tray for anything other than pee - should I be getting anxious again or is she just a bit under the weather?
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Dec 3, 2011 14:43
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CuriousSymptoms posted:Well my cat can't get the plastic collar off, and she can't reach the wound site to lick at it, which are both positive things. I think the painkiller might be wearing off slightly - she seems a little quieter than last night. I'm keeping her in the spare room and checking up on her regularly. She's eaten a couple of times since her op, and she's fairly perky and happy to be stroked gently, but she doesn't seem to have used her little tray for anything other than pee - should I be getting anxious again or is she just a bit under the weather?
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Dec 3, 2011 15:10
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duckfarts posted:Tray? Do you mean litterbox? And do you mean "...she hasn't dropped a deuce?" Yes, sorry, that should have read "litter tray" (because I'm in London and we say things differentlike here). She hasn't pooped. Should she be pooping? I am bad at not being anxious about my cat.
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Dec 3, 2011 15:13
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Took kitty in. No corneal scratches or ulcers, so probably some kind of infection. Another $77, including what appears to effectively be a $22 tube of Neosporin.  Next time they give me medication I'm going to see what it is before paying for it.I love my fluffy money pits but man, I did not expect them to cost this much. No other cats I've taken care of have had this many problems in such a short period of time.
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Dec 3, 2011 15:37
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CuriousSymptoms posted:Yes, sorry, that should have read "litter tray" (because I'm in London and we say things differentlike here). She hasn't pooped. Should she be pooping? I am bad at not being anxious about my cat.
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Dec 3, 2011 16:09
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duckfarts posted:If it's been like a day, dry warm unspiced canned pumpkin. Other goons can tell you what the "haven't poo poo in" danger timer should be. Unfortunately, as I said, I live in the UK, and canned pumpkin is simply not available here. Any alternatives? Very grateful for any advice. Edit: She has an appointment with vet for a check-up on Monday, just for further info.
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Dec 3, 2011 16:15
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CuriousSymptoms posted:Unfortunately, as I said, I live in the UK, and canned pumpkin is simply not available here. Any alternatives? Very grateful for any advice. Our vet also recommended the canned pumpkin or other unspiced winter squash. She also recommended MiraLax in case the cat wasn't a fan of eating pumpkin. Mix up 1/8 teaspoon of the powder with a cup of water and give throughout the day for the initial dosage. It should get you through until kitty's appointment in which case you can discuss the issue with your vet more. Good luck!
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Dec 3, 2011 17:40
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Regarding cone chat, none of my cats have ever been given one. The cat who had surgery to remove a tumor was shaved and looked like Frankenkitty for a while but no cone. Same for the last girl kitty when she was spayed. Both surgeries were done in Holland, I wonder if that is why.
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Dec 3, 2011 18:12
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Lest anyone have taken my grumbling about not wanting to go to the doctor seriously, I am on my way from minor emergency with an prescription for antibiotics. It has only been 9 hours, but the small puncture on my thumb was already infected according to the doc. Little vermin mongers  Let this be a lesson to anyone thinking a small bite is no big deal. Any cat bite requires antibiotics. I will update about my experience with animal control later. RheaConfused fucked around with this message at 20:13 on Dec 3, 2011 |
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Dec 3, 2011 19:54
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RheaConfused posted:Lest anyone have taken my grumbling about not wanting to go to the doctor seriously, I am on my way from minor emergency with an prescription for antibiotics. Neosporin wouldn't do it?
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Dec 3, 2011 20:08
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the yeti posted:Neosporin wouldn't do it? No, it is a puncture wound, so it is like I was injected with filthy cat spit. Literally. It's on my thumb right by a joint too, so I really didn't want to risk it. Cat bites are how they slowly kill their prey  .Edit: So anyhow, when you go to the doctor for an animal bite, they are legally obligated to report it to the city. So now we are waiting on a City of Austin Animal Protection Officer to come by and examine Bee. Since she is up to date on her shots and we can provide proof, she will be able to serve her 10 day quarantine at home. If we did not have this info, or if she was not up to date she would not be able to serve it at home. In Houston, I know that the city required the quarantine (if not at home) be served at a vet and you had to pay for it. I'll ask the officer if it's the same here. Either way, if your pet is not up to date and it bites someone or you and they or you seek medical attention (you should) they have to serve a quarantine under veterinary care. It's a very good reason, besides all the others, to keep your cat's vaccines up to date. She has to be seen on the first and last day of the quarantine by a vet, that's why they are sending out an officer to "eyeball" her today, since our normal vet is closed. and Edit #2: Animal Protection officer just came by. He was very nice. He only had to look at her, not touch her or anything. On the way up we chatted about her being so freaked out. Me: "Well, she's a tortie." Him: "Oh yeah, that's all you have to say." 
RheaConfused fucked around with this message at 21:53 on Dec 3, 2011 |
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Dec 3, 2011 20:17
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Moxie has pooped! All is well with the world. She's very quiet and cuddling up at the moment, bless her.
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Dec 3, 2011 22:35
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Well, 48 hours after my Feliway diffusers ran empty, the big cat bit the little cat in the neck and gave her a full-claws-out swipe on the underbelly when she walked by him. I figured they'd be accepting of each other since they got along so well for the past month with the pheromones circulating. Enjoy your private weekend in the spare room, big kitty. Hopefully some solo feeding and play time will calm him down a bit.
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Dec 4, 2011 00:44
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How long is it ok for cats to go without a litter box? Our cats stay in the garage at night where their litter boxes are, but come inside where there is no litter box during the day. Usually they spend a lot of the day outside but now that it's winter and cold out, they rarely ever want to go outside, so they sometimes end up spending 12-14 hours indoors without using the litter box. They seem fine with it, but is this long enough that we should make them spend time outside/in the garage at some point throughout the day?
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Dec 4, 2011 04:11
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As my two month old kitten gets older will it sleep more, less, roughly the same?
Diogines fucked around with this message at 05:04 on Dec 4, 2011 |
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Dec 4, 2011 04:57
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anusaurus_rex posted:They seem fine with it, but is this long enough that we should make them spend time outside/in the garage at some point throughout the day? Why can't you have a box in the house? Let's end all myths before you answer - it doesn't smell if you clean it regularly (at least ever 2 days), you can get boxes designed so dogs can't 'snack', women can be around the box but shouldn't clean it when pregnant ... um can't think of anything else that might bug you. Please don't put your cats outside in the cold. Surely if you have time to put the cats out to go to the bathroom you have time to do a quick scooping of the box inside once a day.
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Dec 4, 2011 05:02
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pandaid posted:Why can't you have a box in the house? Let's end all myths before you answer - it doesn't smell if you clean it regularly (at least ever 2 days), you can get boxes designed so dogs can't 'snack', women can be around the box but shouldn't clean it when pregnant ... um can't think of anything else that might bug you. As for keeping them in the garage, I think it's fine so long as you can provide a good enough environment, and a way to keep them comfortably warm(as you've noticed it's already cold enough to be causing issues and worse, aversion). e: whoops, meant to respond to anusaurus_rex
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Dec 4, 2011 05:07
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anusaurus_rex posted:How long is it ok for cats to go without a litter box? Our cats stay in the garage at night where their litter boxes are, but come inside where there is no litter box during the day. Usually they spend a lot of the day outside but now that it's winter and cold out, they rarely ever want to go outside, so they sometimes end up spending 12-14 hours indoors without using the litter box. They seem fine with it, but is this long enough that we should make them spend time outside/in the garage at some point throughout the day? Think of it this way: if you don't provide them with a box for inside the house and they really have to go, they will find a place to do it. And they will keep doing it there, because that will be their designated pee spot.
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Dec 4, 2011 05:25
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I read through the FAQ but didn't really see anything pertaining to this. I adopted a cat from the shelter today and she seems to have settled in ok... a couple hours of sniffing everything in the house, then chilling on my bed and a little bit of chasing a ball around. She's had a little food amd water, and she's pawed at the sand in her litter box, so she definitely knows where it is. She just hasn't used it yet and I'm a little worried. She's only been home for about 9 hours, so I'm sure I'm stressing over nothing, but does anyone have any thoughts on the matter? She's 2 and a surrender from a house, so this isn't a situation where she needs to learn how to use it.
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Dec 4, 2011 06:38
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tallkidwithglasses posted:I read through the FAQ but didn't really see anything pertaining to this. I adopted a cat from the shelter today and she seems to have settled in ok... a couple hours of sniffing everything in the house, then chilling on my bed and a little bit of chasing a ball around. She's had a little food amd water, and she's pawed at the sand in her litter box, so she definitely knows where it is. She just hasn't used it yet and I'm a little worried. She's only been home for about 9 hours, so I'm sure I'm stressing over nothing, but does anyone have any thoughts on the matter? She's 2 and a surrender from a house, so this isn't a situation where she needs to learn how to use it. Really, try not to worry, you're doing fine. She's actually way ahead of the curve, lots of cats spend their first 9 or so hours under a bed, behind a dresser, in a closet, etc and it takes a while for them to come out at all, let alone eat and drink and paw around in their litter box. The fact that she's done those things, as well as chill on your bed and play, means that she's already very comfortable and adjusting very quickly and very well to her new surroundings. Just chill out, be affectionate and gentle and give her plenty of space to do everything on her own time. Nature will take its course.
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Dec 4, 2011 08:19
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Quick question here for anyone who has toilet-trained their cats. We've had our two lovely girls for about a year and a half now, which would make them a year and three-quarters, ish. We've been thinking about trying to toilet train them, and I was wondering if it would be an issue that we only have one toilet? We have three litter boxes (number of cats +1), and there is definitely preferences over which cat uses which box, and one box only ever gets peed in. Personal anecdotes muchly appreciated! Thanks in advance! SubbyMinx and Tsietisin.
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Dec 4, 2011 18:49
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My mom is getting a cat today that is 4 years old and is declawed. I was worried about the cat being declawed and wondering if there are any extra steps I should take into account because of this. I read through the OP and only saw why it was bad and just wanted to know about managing it.
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Dec 4, 2011 19:10
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CowGuy posted:My mom is getting a cat today that is 4 years old and is declawed. I was worried about the cat being declawed and wondering if there are any extra steps I should take into account because of this. I read through the OP and only saw why it was bad and just wanted to know about managing it. If it doesn't act or move any differently than a normal cat, it's fine. Once the procedure is done there's really no managing after that. Either it affected the cat or it didn't.
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Dec 4, 2011 19:19
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Diogines posted:As my two month old kitten gets older will it sleep more, less, roughly the same? The average is somewhere around 16 hours a day but that's not a set in stone number nor does that mean they're completely unconscious. Cats are expert snoozers and spend a lot of time lounging around with their eyes closed being useless  If you're worried about when your kitten is sleeping then I've got some bad news, kittens are dicks. If you're worried about that sort of behavior lasting forever I can't guarantee that it won't but most cats end up developing a routine that will mimic yours. Mine sleep most of the night with occasional trips to the food and litter box and only the occasional "no, I'm sleeping here" disagreement. Cats have this massive reputation for being independent free spirits but they're really creatures of habit.
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Dec 4, 2011 19:23
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kaworu posted:Really, try not to worry, you're doing fine. She's actually way ahead of the curve, lots of cats spend their first 9 or so hours under a bed, behind a dresser, in a closet, etc and it takes a while for them to come out at all, let alone eat and drink and paw around in their litter box. The fact that she's done those things, as well as chill on your bed and play, means that she's already very comfortable and adjusting very quickly and very well to her new surroundings. Just chill out, be affectionate and gentle and give her plenty of space to do everything on her own time. Nature will take its course. Yeah, the problem was clearly on my end. Not twenty minutes after making that post I heard some scratching and pawing, and sure enough she was using it just fine. It's funny, the shelter suggested she'd do best on her own because she was coming from a house with multiple cats that picked on her, but I wasn't expecting her to become queen of the castle quite so fast. Oh well!
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Dec 4, 2011 20:54
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Uh oh! One of my kitties started drooling a few days ago. It's not like a constant stream of liquid, but a little bit in the way a baby will do. They're inside kitties only, so I can't imagine what it might be.
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Dec 4, 2011 21:16
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