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I have not attempted the burrito. My sisters told me they'd tried it with disastrous results (lots of blood), but it's possible they were just doing it wrong. He's also a biter, and that was one of my concerns about declawing -- removing one weapon would just make him more reliant on the other. I'm looking up videos on youtube right now of cat burritos. edit: he happened to be taking a nap on some towels and I was able to get one paw trimmed before he realized what was happening, then bundled him in a towel to get the other foot. I could tell where I hadn't done a good job last time, because some of his claws were still blunt from trimming but part of them were already lethal eye-poking talons. Everything Burrito fucked around with this message at 19:20 on Jul 22, 2012 |
# ? Jul 22, 2012 18:59 |
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# ? Jun 3, 2024 11:03 |
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Ed Mungo posted:I trim his claws best that I can, but he's really bad about trying to shred you so its really a 2-person job and hard to do by myself. I have to sneak up on him and do 2 or 3 toes while he's asleep, just get what I can before he realizes what's going on. He'd had a trim not that long ago, but he's obviously sharpened them up and needs another. I have considered claw caps, but putting them on would probably require a tactical team. My sister brought up having him declawed last night, and while generally none of us are in favor of it, he's drawn a lot of blood from all three of us and the argument could be made that he's dangerous and needs a more extreme solution. I'm going to ask his vet if there's maybe a mild sedative he could be given prior to nail trimming that would make that more painless (for me), and if that would work there would be no need to go down that road though. Declawing would leave him in a Hell of a lot of pain (potentially forever) and I'm guessing do absolutely nothing for his aggression long term. I worry slightly that your sister thinks that's a good idea at all, if he goes back to her. The clipping, and alternative playing/targets is a betetr idea, and barring that, I dare suggest something like a farm. Eggplant Wizard posted:Luna just yakked up a hairball, and there was a pink tinge to the liquid. Has anyone else ever seen this? I haven't had too much experience with hairballs but I've never seen blood in one before. It was only a very small amount of hair and the pink tinge was noticeable but very light... Scary. Little bit of red blood from the throat as a one-off is generally from retching on a big hairball in our house. I find it now and then, and once when my cat ate a mouthful of bin bag. My cat's hairballs are bigger than her poops usually, so I sympathise.
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# ? Jul 22, 2012 19:50 |
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So we currently have three cats, Piper, Happy and Izzy, and the three of them have settled into a fairly civil coexistance. So of course my father is going on vacation for a week and we'll be taking care of his three cats for about 8 days. Good god what am I doing.
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# ? Jul 22, 2012 20:23 |
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Bogwoppit posted:Declawing would leave him in a Hell of a lot of pain (potentially forever) and I'm guessing do absolutely nothing for his aggression long term. I worry slightly that your sister thinks that's a good idea at all, if he goes back to her. It shouldn't leave them in pain if both the procedure and after care are done right. Now, declawing because they're aggressive isn't a good idea, because they're still gonna be aggressive. "The AAFP [American Association of Feline Practitioners] recognizes that feline onychectomy is an ethically controversial procedure; however, there is no scientific evidence that declawing leads to behavioral abnormalities or chronic medical problems." http://catvets.com/professionals/guidelines/position/index.aspx?ID=291
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# ? Jul 22, 2012 21:23 |
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I think her mindset about declawing wasn't that it was going to fix the aggression, it would just prevent him from putting anyone's eye out when he went on the attack.
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# ? Jul 22, 2012 21:26 |
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I just noticed that one of my cats has a small bare spot on his chin. It's covered in black spots. I think it's feline acne. I've never seen either cat have it before and they're about 3 years old. Should I be worried or does it just happen sometimes? They get fed out of clean ceramic bowls twice a day so the only thing I can think of is that I need to change their water (also in a ceramic bowl) more often. I try to do it every day but I'm pretty sure I forget sometimes.
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# ? Jul 22, 2012 22:23 |
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Bogwoppit posted:Scary. Little bit of red blood from the throat as a one-off is generally from retching on a big hairball in our house. I find it now and then, and once when my cat ate a mouthful of bin bag. Well she's done it 7 times today now, just pink liquid with some foam. I'm phone posting from the e-vet (normal vet is only open til noon sundays unfortunately). The last time I was here was right before my Rupert died so I'm pretty much a mess.
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# ? Jul 22, 2012 22:26 |
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HelloSailorSign posted:It shouldn't leave them in pain if both the procedure and after care are done right. I meant when he comes home with healing feet, he's not gonna feel superb.
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# ? Jul 22, 2012 22:36 |
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HondaCivet posted:I just noticed that one of my cats has a small bare spot on his chin. It's covered in black spots. I think it's feline acne. I've never seen either cat have it before and they're about 3 years old. Should I be worried or does it just happen sometimes? They get fed out of clean ceramic bowls twice a day so the only thing I can think of is that I need to change their water (also in a ceramic bowl) more often. I try to do it every day but I'm pretty sure I forget sometimes. Although feline acne is normally associated with plastic bowls, it can also occur with ceramic bowls.
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# ? Jul 23, 2012 02:10 |
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So, brought home our new adoptee today (1 year old male) and tried to introduce him to our existing cat (4 year old male). Didn't go as well as planned. Put the new cat in the bathroom and let him get comfortable. He's sooo sweet and has displayed zero aggression to the existing cat. However, existing cat has been hissing and acting very aggressive through the door. We were hoping that a full day of feeding on opposite sides of the door was going to be enough, but it seems like it's not working, nor are feliway or any of the other tricks we've tried. I guess we're gonna have to set the new cat up to sleep in the bathroom tonight, and continue trying to introduce them tomorrow. The new cat is terrified of the existing one, and doesn't seem to want to leave the bathroom, but is very friendly and loving towards us. Any suggestions? I'm not sure a baby gate situation will work for us, but we tried cracking the bathroom door, and there was a lot of hissing and growling from the existing cat. I'm really surprised because he's lived with other cats before, and this new one is not causing any trouble at all. I feel lovely he's gonna have to spend the night in the bathroom, but it's the only room in our apartment with a door on it.
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# ? Jul 23, 2012 02:16 |
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Eggplant Wizard posted:Well she's done it 7 times today now, just pink liquid with some foam. I'm phone posting from the e-vet (normal vet is only open til noon sundays unfortunately). The last time I was here was right before my Rupert died so I'm pretty much a mess. E-vet felt Luna up and looked in her mouth and didn't find anything, and I am generally paranoid about leaving things around that cats would like to eat (e.g. string), so the vet thinks it was just a cycle of vomiting started by the enormous hairball that kept on going and making Luna sick. I'm hoping she's right. They gave her some fluids and an anti-nausea shot, and she does seem to be feeling a little better. She's looked out windows (she was just lying around before) and ate like one or two dry foods. She will be going to my local vet tomorrow sometime unless she's like 100% better. The e-vet said it's likely that she'll be kind of off food for another day or so, and to offer her meaty baby food if so. Anyway, apparently cats can do this thing where they'll have one vomiting event, and then just keep vomiting until you stop it with medicine or something. The bloodiness is presumably from an irritated esophagus, since it'd be clotty if it were an ulcer... I confirmed that this is a thing with my regular vet. I'd never heard of such a thing before though. Has anyone here?
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# ? Jul 23, 2012 03:07 |
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E-Money posted:So, brought home our new adoptee today (1 year old male) and tried to introduce him to our existing cat (4 year old male). Didn't go as well as planned. Put the new cat in the bathroom and let him get comfortable. He's sooo sweet and has displayed zero aggression to the existing cat. However, existing cat has been hissing and acting very aggressive through the door. We were hoping that a full day of feeding on opposite sides of the door was going to be enough, but it seems like it's not working, nor are feliway or any of the other tricks we've tried. Having it work in a day with adult cats would be pretty abnormal. Give it a few days to weeks, swapping them in and out of the bathroom or a spare room as necessary.
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# ? Jul 23, 2012 07:22 |
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edit: nothing
Alberto Basalm fucked around with this message at 17:49 on Jul 23, 2012 |
# ? Jul 23, 2012 08:43 |
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Alberto Basalm posted:Meet Fergus!!! He is my adorable ball of fat and fluff I think you meant to post that here. Eggplant Wizard posted:E-vet felt Luna up and looked in her mouth and didn't find anything, and I am generally paranoid about leaving things around that cats would like to eat (e.g. string), so the vet thinks it was just a cycle of vomiting started by the enormous hairball that kept on going and making Luna sick. I'm hoping she's right. They gave her some fluids and an anti-nausea shot, and she does seem to be feeling a little better. She's looked out windows (she was just lying around before) and ate like one or two dry foods. She will be going to my local vet tomorrow sometime unless she's like 100% better. The e-vet said it's likely that she'll be kind of off food for another day or so, and to offer her meaty baby food if so. Quoting myself for context. Luna is feeling lots better. She ate a whole bunch of breakfast
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# ? Jul 23, 2012 13:01 |
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HelloSailorSign posted:Although feline acne is normally associated with plastic bowls, it can also occur with ceramic bowls. Also it can be caused by an allergic reaction sometimes
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# ? Jul 23, 2012 14:11 |
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Enelrahc posted:Having it work in a day with adult cats would be pretty abnormal. Give it a few days to weeks, swapping them in and out of the bathroom or a spare room as necessary. Thanks for the perspective. I thought the existing cat would be cooler about it since he's lived with other cats before. I keep getting mixed advice about switching them. Right now, the new cat is ONLY comfortable in the bathroom. I'm afraid if i switch them that he'll freak out and be too scared. The existing cat is gonna get furious about being cooped up in the bathroom. I had a long talk with the woman who runs the adoption agency, and she sort of suggested trying to keep everything else stable and normal for the existing cat - don't move the food, don't force space restrictions, etc. My apartment is railroad style, and only has one door (the bathroom.) I picked up some pet gates to hopefully slowly expand the DMZ as necessary. I'm also a little worried since new cat is SO passive. I feel like he's never gonna want to leave the bathroom. I'm sure this is all normal and I just need to be more patient. I'm just a little surprised and nervous that they're not going to get along. Especially since the new cat is seriously the sweetest thing ever and I am not gonna give him up come hell or high water. E-Money fucked around with this message at 16:07 on Jul 23, 2012 |
# ? Jul 23, 2012 15:06 |
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Ed Mungo posted:I have not attempted the burrito. My sisters told me they'd tried it with disastrous results (lots of blood), but it's possible they were just doing it wrong. He's also a biter, and that was one of my concerns about declawing -- removing one weapon would just make him more reliant on the other. Pick up a couple of 2" binder clips and google 'clipnosis'. Try it out on your cat a few times without attempting any claw trims or anything else that might be stressful, just petting if he likes that. If he does deactivate, this may make your job a lot easier.
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# ? Jul 23, 2012 17:55 |
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Engineer Lenk posted:Pick up a couple of 2" binder clips and google 'clipnosis'. Try it out on your cat a few times without attempting any claw trims or anything else that might be stressful, just petting if he likes that. I feel really guilty doing this. It's better off to have a friend scruff the little guy while you clip the nails.
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# ? Jul 23, 2012 18:11 |
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mcmagic posted:I feel really guilty doing this. It's better off to have a friend scruff the little guy while you clip the nails. I think the binder clips have less potential to backfire than having a friend scruff, unless you have a friend who has little concern for their own safety. If the cat twists while you're scruffing them, your options are to hold on and scruff harder, or let go and get nailed. A binder clip will just keep on exerting the same pressure. The other upside is that the cat doesn't have two people boxing them in. It's not for every cat. But 30/31 cats responded well in the original study, so it is a tempting suggestion.
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# ? Jul 23, 2012 18:35 |
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Engineer Lenk posted:I think the binder clips have less potential to backfire than having a friend scruff, unless you have a friend who has little concern for their own safety. If the cat twists while you're scruffing them, your options are to hold on and scruff harder, or let go and get nailed. A binder clip will just keep on exerting the same pressure. The other upside is that the cat doesn't have two people boxing them in. My kitten doesn't like his nail cut and usually just ends up trying to eat the nails clippers so I had my friend scruff him the first few times and now he seems to tolerate it when he's sleepy.
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# ? Jul 23, 2012 18:54 |
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I saw the binder clip thing while I was Googling around the other day. Gonna swipe a couple of clips from the office and try it just out of curiosity. I'll update with results but it'll be a few days, I'm out of town at the moment.
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# ? Jul 23, 2012 21:03 |
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When I was in school the Radiology Department used what is termed "cat scruffer clamps" while taking x-rays of cats. http://www.campbellpet.com/products/Cat-Scruffer-Clamps/160.html Not saying you should buy them from this company, but they've got a nice picture. Pretty much the same idea as the clip. It worked decently well - and we were taking x-rays so we'd usually leave them on their own on the table while we took the shot (unless they were particularly feisty and then we'd have to gown up).
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# ? Jul 23, 2012 21:57 |
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Quick question on introducing two cats. I've owned my 14 year old male cat for his entire life and he has been an only cat all that time. I unexpectedly fell in love with a 2-3 year old female at the shelter and after much thinking it over, adopted her. We brought her home June 9th, so we've owned her for about a month and a half. We kept them isolated for one week and slowly introduced them with door barriers and short visits, eventually we were letting them wander around the apartment together. This initially went just fine, but in the last week the girl started to chase the male around. She would chase him under some furniture or into a corner and just stand and stare at him while he yowled and hissed. They never hit each other, she just antagonizes him. We would call her name and then she would come over for scratches and pets, leaving him frightened and hiding. We bought a house and are in the process of moving out of the apartment, and as our landlord is unaware that we had a second cat, she went to stay at the house. We had planned on moving in that week but our truck broke down so we couldn't move, and she has been by herself at the house (with us there during the day, we sleep at the apartment at night) since then. The cats haven't seen each other in two weeks. We are moving this weekend for sure. The girl has been isolated in one room at the house in hopes that she won't feel like the entire place is her territory. Now here's the question: When we move this weekend, should we let the cats explore the house together, or should we start from step one and isolate and do the slow introductions again?
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# ? Jul 23, 2012 23:41 |
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Koivunen posted:Now here's the question: When we move this weekend, should we let the cats explore the house together, or should we start from step one and isolate and do the slow introductions again? Slow introductions. It's bad enough for a cat to have to move into a new place, with all the new smells, news spaces, and moving of furniture that that entails. Add the social stress and it'll suck for both of them.
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# ? Jul 24, 2012 00:02 |
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E-Money posted:Thanks for the perspective. I thought the existing cat would be cooler about it since he's lived with other cats before. So, new cat (Flip) decided to sneak under his baby gate and explore the apartment. I figure that's totally fine - he can get back under it but our existing cat (Leo) is too big and stupid to get under the gap between it and the floor, and Flip knows it. I figure he can come and go as he pleases, and if he's nervous, he'll head back into his safe area. Leo is not a happy cat. He pretty much spent the last 12 hours following Flip around the apartment, hissing and growling at him. Flip would back away if he got too close, but otherwise didn't react at all to the hissing. I'm actually more concerned about Leo than I am about Flip. Are things moving to fast for him? Is this normal? He's so preoccupied with hunting Flip down that he doesn't seem interested in eating, which is a first. Is he angry or scared? Not sure if I need to just let this ride, or if I need to do something extra. I've tried to give Leo lots of extra love, but I'm not sure how expected this type of behavior is.
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# ? Jul 24, 2012 12:55 |
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E-Money posted:I'm actually more concerned about Leo than I am about Flip. Are things moving to fast for him? Is this normal? He's so preoccupied with hunting Flip down that he doesn't seem interested in eating, which is a first. Is he angry or scared? Not sure if I need to just let this ride, or if I need to do something extra. I've tried to give Leo lots of extra love, but I'm not sure how expected this type of behavior is. It's way too early to be worried. Even if they don't become best buddies, they will figure out their hierarchy. If Leo is not actually being physically violent with Flip, I'd let it ride. I have 5 cats. When we introduce one, we usually start the new one quarantined in our office with the intention of leaving him there for a week while the others get used to the scent. That lasts a day, when we decide to hell with it and spring the new one out. What follows is a couple of days of chasing, batting and hissing, followed by acceptance and/or resignation depending on the cat. It's been my experience that the more you interfere with their process, the worse it goes. Go about your business as you usually would and let them sort it out, interfering only if the fur starts flying.
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# ? Jul 24, 2012 13:53 |
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I've a newish kitten of about 12 weeks or so who is excelling in a really weird behavior that I can't pin down. Every now and then, after using the litter box, she'll come flying out into the hallway and, at the same spot every time, start dragging her butt for about a foot as if she's got worms. She doesn't have worms. She doesn't have anything weird on her butt. She doesn't act like she's in pain or bothered in any way, nor does she do this every single time. As soon as she's reached her self-designated stopping point for butt scooting, she'll stop and frolic off to do whatever with nary a care. I initially thought she had eaten a hair and it was stuck, but I've never found a hair hanging out or anything. I'm starting to wonder if she just likes wiping her butt on laminated floors. Edit: Actually, to clarify, I'm getting to be pretty goddam certain she just likes wiping her butt on laminated floors.
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# ? Jul 24, 2012 18:39 |
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tokomon posted:Edit: Actually, to clarify, I'm getting to be pretty goddam certain she just likes wiping her butt on laminated floors. Don't knock it till you try it.
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# ? Jul 24, 2012 19:15 |
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E-Money posted:Don't knock it till you try it. That's the plan for tonight.
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# ? Jul 24, 2012 20:06 |
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My cat wants to eat all the goddamn time! I was feeding him wet food (Iams) but switched to dry (Blue Buffalo) since he seems to prefer dry food. The serving size for blue buffalo is like 1/4-1/2 cup but this fatty cries all day for food. The thing is, I usually feel like "too bad" but he's kind of grumpy/mean if I don't feed him more! I left him alone over the weekend and left out a tupperware bowl full of food, and he ate it all! Then it seemed like he was in a food coma and he was so calm and nice. He's 11 months old, 10 lbs. My sister-in-law thinks I'm underfeeding him because he's a "growing boy". She's a fan of roamer feeding, but I'm trying to do the right thing and not over feed him. I know if I let him roam, he could eat a bowl a day.
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# ? Jul 24, 2012 20:49 |
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anaaki posted:My cat 10 lbs? He's fine. He will probably continue to grow a little bit and fill out in the coming months, but he's not going to be doing more of that crazy doubling in size every month thing that little kittens do. I feed my cats about 1/2 cup of dry food a day each, in two separate 1/4 cup meals. Are you feeding him all at once now? He might do better if he has two or three "meals" a day so he spreads it out instead of gorging himself first thing and then being hungry later As for him being nice after you were away for the weekend, he might have just missed you.
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# ? Jul 24, 2012 21:29 |
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At one point do you stop free feeding a kitten? My little guy is about 5 months old and about 6lbs. I feed him one half a can of Wellness Canned food in the morning and at night as well as leaving Royal Canin Dry Babycat food out for him to free feed all the time. He's also getting neutered in 2 weeks. Should I change anything about the way he eats once that happens?
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# ? Jul 24, 2012 21:43 |
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As long as he's still growing, I'd keep on doing what you're doing. Once he gets to around a year you can start looking to see if he gets pudgy and change the schedule accordingly.
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# ? Jul 24, 2012 22:06 |
So I'm prepping the major order to amazon of cat stuff and I want to check and make sure I'm not missing anything. I have a pair of rubbermade tubs I'm going to convert into litterboxes as detailed on this site (warning, mid-90's internet flashback!), which my friends have had very good luck with. I'm planning on getting a carrier, nature's miracle, teasers, and litter locally, along with food until I'm sure we've settled into a particular feeding regimen. Anyway here's my amazon cart at the moment, am I missing anything glaring? Drinkwell Platinum Pet Fountain Armarkat Cat Tree Model A6501, Beige FURminator Long Hair deShedding Tool for Small Cats Safari Self-Cleaning Slicker Brush for Cats Duranimals DuraScoop Cat Litter Scoop Pruven P LTM 1824 T 18 by 24-Inch Litter Trap Mat,Tan Midwest Quiet Time Pet Bed, Fleece, 22" x 13" Indipets Stainless Steel Pet Bowl with Anti Skid Rubber Base, 1-Quart KONG Cat Hugga Wubba Rattling Fur Mice Ultimate Touch Cat Claw Clipper Hagen Catit Style Scratcher with Catnip Catit Scratcher with Catnip, Wide
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# ? Jul 24, 2012 23:04 |
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The Bergan Turbo Scratcher is by far the best thing I've ever bought for my cats. It gets used for hours every day. I keep it in the closet at night otherwise they keep me up with it.
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# ? Jul 24, 2012 23:49 |
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E-Money posted:Leo is not a happy cat. He pretty much spent the last 12 hours following Flip around the apartment, hissing and growling at him. Flip would back away if he got too close, but otherwise didn't react at all to the hissing.
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# ? Jul 25, 2012 02:25 |
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Shifty Pony posted:So I'm prepping the major order to amazon of cat stuff and I want to check and make sure I'm not missing anything. I have a pair of rubbermade tubs I'm going to convert into litterboxes as detailed on this site (warning, mid-90's internet flashback!), which my friends have had very good luck with. For the scratchers, cats always like the cardboard scratchers, but you'll need to vacuum the shredded bits up. I recommend getting a couple of these scratch mats; I got 2 of some really similar ones earlier, and my cats like them a lot, and they're useful for moving around to give the cats ok alternatives nearby to go to instead of scratching furniture. As for toys, I'd recommend just getting maybe 2-3 different kinds then going from there; you don't have to go all out at the start. Everything else seems pretty normal. Also, not listed but I'd recommend against scented litters; they loving suck and make your cat smell awful.
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# ? Jul 25, 2012 11:45 |
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How does one trap a "feral" kitten? We have a whole bunch of strays on our small rural city block. Our next door neighbors, while well intentioned, don't really seem to grasp that you shouldn't feed feral/strays. Anyhow there's a white manx kitten whom we're assuming is litter mates of the tabby manx kitten that I posted about a few months ago. I told my friend about it, and they're really interested in taking him in. I can get within about 10 or so feet of the two white female manx but the second the kitten sees me it bolts. I'd set up a humane trap but I'm worried for a few reasons. We have raccoons, while we're in the city, it's a tiny city surrounded with mountains. I don't want to catch raccoons, I don't want to catch the adult ferals either. I'm scared if I catch these regular adults, I'll scare off the family of manx. I'm at a loss, I just want to get the kitten to a home where I know it'll do well and be taken care of. Eventually I want to catch the two adult female manx and foster them or give them to a shelter just because I'm pretty sure they're the only 2 females on our block and they're always pregnant. At the very least I'd like to catch them at a later date, fix them, then release them after they heal. Any ideas? The kitten is the same age as Sterling so about 3-4 months old, tops. Here's a pic our roommate took: I'm starting to get worried now though as I haven't seen the momma and the kitten in a while(2 days now), just the mom's sister (who is very pregnant might I add) and I think the raccoons got to 'em before I could.
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# ? Jul 25, 2012 12:10 |
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I have a bit of a small-ish thing. My cat (Jackie) has been prone in the past to very rarely, very occasionally wipe her butt on the linoleum floor after pooping, like the aforementioned poster discusseed with his kitten. Thankfully it's usually been rare because the cleanup isn't pleasant and the image of her doing it is a bit offputting. Anyway, she's been doing it more frequently than normal the past few days, and while she seems finale otherwise it does worry me a bit. I think *think* she has no worms - no white stuff in her poop or around her anus and I always thought that plus itchniness was the tell-tale sign. I'm a bit concerned about Jackie but since it's just the one thing I think she's ok. Anything else I should be watching for? She really is great otherwise, though. Her coat has been getting nicer and nicer this past year+ since she went to eating premium wet food as opposed to mediocre dry food, and it's just reach an absurd level of cuddly softness. Jackie's in the medium-length range and has an extremely soft undercoat, so overall she just feels very... plush, right now, for lack of better word. It's like having this big, soft cuddly teddy bear following me around. It's weird because she really feels so nice that it's borderline... fake, or something, even though it isn't. It just gives me an amusing impression of her as cat. I hope I'm making some sense, here.
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# ? Jul 25, 2012 13:05 |
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# ? Jun 3, 2024 11:03 |
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kaworu posted:
She may need her anal glands expressed. They can get clogged up. You can do it yourself according to my vet, but I'm more comfortable letting the vet handle it. Scraping their butts along the floor after going is a tell tale sign.
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# ? Jul 25, 2012 13:14 |