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Is there anything wrong with putting a litterbox in a spare bathtub? I have an extra bathroom which doesn't ever get the shower used (because my second bedroom is an office) and it just seems to be a perfect spot for one. Is this just setting myself up for misery down the road? Should I just stick the box in my office instead?
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Aug 2, 2012 03:35
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I don't see why not. As long as the cat is aware the box is there I don't see an issue with it.
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Aug 2, 2012 03:48
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Just be careful how much stray tracked-out litter you let go down the drain, particularly if you use clumpy stuff. That stuff can clog a drain like whoa. Either be vigilant about sweeping up the random bits, or put a bit of duct tape over the drain, or something.
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Aug 2, 2012 09:39
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Apologies if this has already been discussed, but my vet has been pushing dental cleaning for awhile now (as in, under anesthesia) and I'm sort of agonizing over whether my cat really needs it or if it's just another profitmaker for the vets. I absolutely want to do the right thing but I have heard horror stories about otherwise healthy cats dying under anesthesia. I want my little dooftard to live forever--she's about 6 now and in excellent health--and I know that dental health prolongs lifespan but I also don't want to take any unnecessary risks. Thoughts, goons? (USER WAS PUT ON PROBATION FOR THIS POST)
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Aug 2, 2012 12:41
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Picayune posted:Just be careful how much stray tracked-out litter you let go down the drain, particularly if you use clumpy stuff. That stuff can clog a drain like whoa. I was just going to close the drain off and vacuum it out. I'm just going to be going all out and using cat attract from the start because she's going to be a bit stressed going from a sanctuary with 80 cats to a single home.
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Aug 2, 2012 14:56
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Caligula Caesar posted:Apologies if this has already been discussed, but my vet has been pushing dental cleaning for awhile now (as in, under anesthesia) and I'm sort of agonizing over whether my cat really needs it or if it's just another profitmaker for the vets. I absolutely want to do the right thing but I have heard horror stories about otherwise healthy cats dying under anesthesia. I want my little dooftard to live forever--she's about 6 now and in excellent health--and I know that dental health prolongs lifespan but I also don't want to take any unnecessary risks. Six isn't really old, so unless she's got other health conditions, it's a relatively small risk. Dental cleaning is very important and not just a racket, but it is fairly expensive due to the need to put them under for anesthesia. If you're still concerned, have the vet do pre-op bloodwork to make sure your cat doesn't have any underlying issues before going under, which is usually only required for older animals.
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Aug 2, 2012 15:02
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Dabbo posted:Is it possible for cats to have separation anxiety? Yes. uptown posted:Clove will let him bite a little, then swat if it gets too much. Shanti likes to chase him, and Clover NEVER rolls into a submissive position or anything. If it gets too much, he swats and goes for higher ground. He's never made a noise like he's been in pain, just annoyed. Is that okay? Am I a terrible catmom for letting Shanti play with Clove? I wouldn't want to leave them alone unsupervised. The puppy could hurt Clover by biting harder than usual even if he didn't mean to. Clover might not be prepared. I would be careful.
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Aug 2, 2012 15:47
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Caligula Caesar posted:Apologies if this has already been discussed, but my vet has been pushing dental cleaning for awhile now (as in, under anesthesia) and I'm sort of agonizing over whether my cat really needs it or if it's just another profitmaker for the vets. I absolutely want to do the right thing but I have heard horror stories about otherwise healthy cats dying under anesthesia. I want my little dooftard to live forever--she's about 6 now and in excellent health--and I know that dental health prolongs lifespan but I also don't want to take any unnecessary risks. "Just another profitmaker?" If you really distrust your vet that much, maybe you should find a different one that explains things better to you. That's really disrespectful.
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Aug 2, 2012 17:22
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I'm considering adopting a pet a few months down the road, once I've secured employment and know that I'm not going to be moving anytime soon, so I've been looking around on PetFinder for ideas. Thing is, I'd prefer an "older" pet - around 3-5 years old. I put older in quotes since for PetFinder, the only way to search by age is "baby", "young", "adult", and "senior", and that's incredibly vague - so sometimes 4 years old is a senior, 2 years old is young, etc. Is there a better way to search for that or should I just do it by hand? I worry about my pet soiling carpets and causing damage and such, what are some ways to avoid this for cats? PetFinder posted:Eclipse has been adopted out a couple of times but, because of litterbox issues, has been returned. We tried every kind of litter imaginable with no luck until one day we left out a litterbox with nothing in it - guess what, he used it - Eclipse just doesn't like litter of any kind - silly boy.  Isn't that basically like making GBS threads in a bucket?
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Aug 2, 2012 21:05
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Pollyanna posted:I'm considering adopting a pet a few months down the road, once I've secured employment and know that I'm not going to be moving anytime soon, so I've been looking around on PetFinder for ideas. Thing is, I'd prefer an "older" pet - around 3-5 years old. I put older in quotes since for PetFinder, the only way to search by age is "baby", "young", "adult", and "senior", and that's incredibly vague - so sometimes 4 years old is a senior, 2 years old is young, etc. Is there a better way to search for that or should I just do it by hand? I have a 5 month old and he really doesn't do much damage at all. The things that are his favorite targets are iPhone headphones, toilet paper, greeting cards and my feet so i try to keep that stuff out of his reach. I leave him lots of toys around and give him a few good spots to look out the window when I'm not home and so far my furniture has been safe. He's never went outside the litterbox since I've had him.
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Aug 2, 2012 21:10
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There isn't really a way to avoid soiling damage except to try and make the litterbox as attractive a place to poo poo as possible (regular scooping etc). Only one of my kittens has crapped outside the box and that was when something was wrong - once because he was passing a bunch of gross dead roundworms, and once because he chewed and swallowed the teat off a baby bottle when I was at work and had to pass it out the other end. Both kittens have vomited on the floor as well but I have hardwood floors so it was easy to clean up. Just invest in some decent carpet cleaner and if you hear your cat retching, try to relocate them to the bath or outside.
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Aug 2, 2012 21:23
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As long as the litter box is not completely gross, cats will have no problem using it. My former cat had kittens and once they were beyond complete infant stage and moving around and such they naturally went for the litter box I made for them. As for for vomit, eh, you can't really avoid it, inevitably, your pet will vomit, but it's usually not a big deal. If anything it's just gross, but it shouldn't leave noticeable stains as long as you clean it up.
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Aug 2, 2012 21:46
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Cats really are loving assholes. Mine just gave me the shittiest day. She caught a bird in my garden, but didn't manage to kill it. I took it from her, but it was obviously hurt - bleeding and gasping for breath. I tried to kill it mercifully, breaking it's neck so it wouldn't suffer, but I didn't know how - so I did it wrong, and its head came off, bleeding all over me. Today really sucked.
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Aug 2, 2012 22:22
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Cardiovorax posted:Cats really are loving assholes. Mine just gave me the shittiest day. She caught a bird in my garden, but didn't manage to kill it. I took it from her, but it was obviously hurt - bleeding and gasping for breath. I tried to kill it mercifully, breaking it's neck so it wouldn't suffer, but I didn't know how - so I did it wrong, and its head came off, bleeding all over me. Next time, hold its beak shut and cover its nostrils. It takes longer, but I think that would be a lot less traumatic than what you went through. Sorry to hear that it happened - you know even if you messed up breaking the bird's neck, you did the right thing and brought it mercy. Eggplant Wizard posted:I wouldn't want to leave them alone unsupervised. The puppy could hurt Clover by biting harder than usual even if he didn't mean to. Clover might not be prepared. I would be careful. I don't leave them alone at all, nothing to worry about there. Any ideas on how I can get him to stop? I'm thinking I don't want him to keep thinking Clove is a toy, especially since Shanti is a giant breed. uptown fucked around with this message at 22:40 on Aug 2, 2012 |
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Aug 2, 2012 22:38
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uptown posted:I don't leave them alone at all, nothing to worry about there. Any ideas on how I can get him to stop? I'm thinking I don't want him to keep thinking Clove is a toy, especially since Shanti is a giant breed. That sounds like a good plan. I think you should ask in the dog training thread or FAQ though because I have no idea.
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Aug 2, 2012 22:53
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uptown posted:Next time, hold its beak shut and cover its nostrils. It takes longer, but I think that would be a lot less traumatic than what you went through. Sorry to hear that it happened - you know even if you messed up breaking the bird's neck, you did the right thing and brought it mercy.  Some mercy that was. I don't think I'll forget that feeling of warmth dribbling all over my fingers any time soon...
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Aug 3, 2012 00:30
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So I have decided to change my kittens food. We were feeding her kitten chow but I got her Wellness Core wet and dry. I gave her 1/2 a can tonight and some dry for her to free feed on. Does this sound good? Too much? Not enough? 1/2 a can twice a day and dry whenever. She is about 6-8 weeks old and average weight. Obligatory cat pictures!   MMMMM Loving some lays 
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Aug 3, 2012 02:00
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SuzieMcAwesome posted:So I have decided to change my kittens food. We were feeding her kitten chow but I got her Wellness Core wet and dry. I gave her 1/2 a can tonight and some dry for her to free feed on. Does this sound good? Too much? Not enough? 1/2 a can twice a day and dry whenever. She is about 6-8 weeks old and average weight.
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Aug 3, 2012 02:06
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Topoisomerase posted:"Just another profitmaker?" If you really distrust your vet that much, maybe you should find a different one that explains things better to you. That's really disrespectful. You've never had your own dentist or doctor recommend an expensive but unnecessary procedure? Go gently caress yourself. Money is not a problem but I care about the welfare of my cat which is why I came here seeking second opinions.
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Aug 3, 2012 02:46
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Depressing post time. I feel the need to post this because, hey, I'm feeling lovely and I want to In the past week, I have learned that I, emotionally, can't handle indoor-outdoor cats. The risk of losing them is too high. A week ago, one of our cats, Harmony, straight up went missing. She'd come home every morning, but she just disappeared. All we could think of was that a gator got her. We live in Florida, with a swampy bit of protected land behind our house. Lots of rain lately to boot. It sucked, she was well integrated in the family and a great cat overall. Oddly, none of the cats really missed her, which was pretty sad. I kept one of the toys she used to play with. The soul crushing part for me came two days ago. Another one of our cats didn't come home that morning. He's the oldest male cat of three, at 5 years old. We think either gators or water moccasins got him, but we're not sure. None of us dare go down into the swamp to look for remains. He pretty much was the head of the house hold for our cats. He was like a father/big brother. He cared for all of them, cleaned them, interrupted fights/chases, and just generally kept the peace. In particular, our youngest male cat, Frankie, really loved him. Frankie was left on our doorstep at maybe 4-5 months old and we took him in. He was a bit rambunctious but calmed down, especially given love from us and the older male cat, Socks. This abandoned little kitty had found what was essentially a father figure for him. Socks is gone. Frankie started sitting and sleeping at the front door. He will sit on the front porch, watching and waiting. He never did this before. Every time I look at Frankie, I want to cry, because he doesn't know, and he probably won't ever know. All he knows is that Socks is gone, and he hasn't come home. 
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Aug 3, 2012 05:35
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Caligula Caesar posted:You've never had your own dentist or doctor recommend an expensive but unnecessary procedure? Go gently caress yourself. Money is not a problem but I care about the welfare of my cat which is why I came here seeking second opinions. And I mentioned that perhaps you should seek a second opinion from an actual veterinarian, not an internet forum. If I thought such a thing was occurring with my doctor or dentist I would look for a different doctor or dentist. Nobody here has examined your cat and nobody here knows the state of your cat's mouth. So I don't know why you would think that anyone here would know whether your cat absolutely NEEDS dental work or not. Topoisomerase fucked around with this message at 06:35 on Aug 3, 2012 |
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Aug 3, 2012 06:24
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lol i care about my pet's welfare so i shall address my medical questions to the internet rather than to a doctor who trained for 8+ years in issues relating to pet health (USER WAS PUT ON PROBATION FOR THIS POST)
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Aug 3, 2012 06:32
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Topoisomerase posted:lol i care about my pet's welfare so i shall address my medical questions to the internet rather than to a doctor who trained for 8+ years in issues relating to pet health To be fair, when discussing the diet of my cat my vet said "I guess you can bother with that expensive stuff but actually feeding your cat Friskies is just as good" and I definitely felt that a second opinion was warranted on that, but I would trust his opinion on dental health more than nutrition as I gather it's more of a prominent part of the whole vet training deal. Other vet within easy travel distance actually has a sign on their wall saying Science Diet is the best diet and that they recommend all animals are fed Science Diet and every time I've been there (even for vaccinations) they've suggested I buy some
Tamarillo fucked around with this message at 07:47 on Aug 3, 2012 |
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Aug 3, 2012 07:44
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Sammys learned to dance on her hind legs for a treat this is the best bday ever omfg
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Aug 3, 2012 08:25
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Tsurupettan posted:In the past week, I have learned that I, emotionally, can't handle indoor-outdoor cats. The risk of losing them is too high. I totally know what you mean by this, and I feel the same way and even have the same problem to some degree. My dad, step-mom, and little sister all love cats, and typically have at least 3 at any given time. They insist on allowing their cats to be indoor/outdoor, and in the past five years they have lost 4 cats. Which is loving outrageous to me, and I find it deeply upsetting that they continue to allow their cats to go outside regardless of how demonstrably dangerous it is. They theoretically live in a good place to allow cats outside - extremely quiet street where only they live, right near a park and some woods, etc. But a busy road is still only maybe a quarter-mile away, and well within their cats range and territory.  And one of those cats was like the one you described, Socks. He was the eldest male cat (a really, really wonderful cat in many ways) who took care of the younger two female cats, and basically was calming influence that allowed all three of them to get along happily and harmoniously. Both of the female cats also wound up being exceptionally great cats, and I think a lot of it is because of Squeak's influence. After Squeak died, all hell broke lose and the two female cats fought constantly. Literally a month or two later, one of the other female cats died by car, as well. Absolutely heartbreaking. Then they got two new male kittens, and beyond all logic they allowed them to be indoor/outdoor, like the remaining female. Anyway, I couldn't deal with it either and was happy that I didn't live there anymore, and wasn't going to get emotionally attached to their new kittens. There was one positive to come of this: the remaining female cat who Squeak raised had been despondent and miserable ever since Squeak died, and the arrival of the kittens made things worse, and she started acting violent to everyone, even hissing and growling at humans and not allowing herself to be loved on at all. I am, of course, talking about my Jackie-cat, who I adopted at this point in this story. She's been an indoor-only cat ever since, and has been way, way happier ever since moving in with me. She's still not the same as she was when Squeak was around, but she's been doing great for like a year and a half with me. And I'm so incredibly relieved that I adopted/saved her, because she was the last remaining cat at my dad's that I cared deeply about and loved. So... yeah. That's my story, dunno if it's at all helpful... All I can say is that it's a rough, cruel world out there, and you should do what you can to try and convince your mom that it's not safe for the kitties, even though she has a lot of them. For you personally... I don't know if you're moving out any time soon, but when you do, consider trying to take whatever cats you're especially bonded to with you, if at all possible. I know there's something vaguely callous about it, but... Well, I'm just incredibly glad that I have Jackie safe and sound with me, only going out with a harness and leash 
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Aug 3, 2012 11:59
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My parents refuse to make their cats indoor-only as well, but we were able to convince them to bring the cats in at night. They have 3 that come inside and 2 barn cats, and the 3 house cats are so used to their curfew now that they all come to the door at dusk to be let inside. Feeding them on a schedule helped a lot with that. This has probably been the longest-lived bunch of cats they've ever had. One is over 10 and one is 8 or so, both came to them as kittens. From your post it sounded like the cats were staying out all night, so maybe you can take a similar tack and try to at least get your folks to put the cats up at night.
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Aug 3, 2012 15:34
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Hey, everybody! Just want to tell y'all about the Smelly Cat treats I give my kitties- I was a little worried, because Tucker wouldn't eat them at first, but if you give the treat with a few greenies, or any favorite, they will eat them! Smelly Cat treats by Pet Naturals- Helps keep the feces odor down! (Beano for cats) My other cat Josie loves these things, and prefers them to greenies, but you are only supposed to give them a max of two per day. I have seen a remarkable difference so far!
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Aug 3, 2012 23:12
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Smelly Cat, Smelly Cat What are they feeding you? Smelly Cat, Smelly Cat It's not your fault~! (forgive me)
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Aug 4, 2012 01:32
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There's a family of cats, one adult and three kittens, living next door in the yard of a foreclosed house. While it's a pretty sweet place to hang out as a cat, and I can't say I haven't loved feeding them extra sausages/shrimp from off the BBQ, I'm worried they're going to bite the dust living outside for too long. Would it be responsible to try to trap everybody and take them to my local shelter (Denver Dumb Friends League)? Also, I've never seen what looks to be a four month old kitten tear into a shrimp like these little dudes. And everything goes, tail and all!
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Aug 4, 2012 17:50
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Radbot posted:There's a family of cats, one adult and three kittens, living next door in the yard of a foreclosed house. While it's a pretty sweet place to hang out as a cat, and I can't say I haven't loved feeding them extra sausages/shrimp from off the BBQ, I'm worried they're going to bite the dust living outside for too long. Would it be responsible to try to trap everybody and take them to my local shelter (Denver Dumb Friends League)?
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Aug 4, 2012 18:17
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Radbot posted:There's a family of cats, one adult and three kittens, living next door in the yard of a foreclosed house. While it's a pretty sweet place to hang out as a cat, and I can't say I haven't loved feeding them extra sausages/shrimp from off the BBQ, I'm worried they're going to bite the dust living outside for too long. Would it be responsible to try to trap everybody and take them to my local shelter (Denver Dumb Friends League)? I love eating shrimp. I probably cook big bags of shrimp two or three times a month. I save a few shrimp just for them. They won't even let me pet them when I give them one, and then they'll act like they are the boss once they've devoured their meal.
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Aug 4, 2012 18:44
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I found a baby cockroach in the cats' waterbowl this morning. I just moved into an apartment, and I think the guys who installed the internet yesterday might have rustled some roaches out of the walls OR I tracked some in from moving boxes of old stuff that had been sitting in the attic for 8+ years. Either way, the girlfriend and I are preparing for the roach apocalypse. I want to know if there are any good cat-friendly roach prevention or killing traps, methods, tips, and et al. Also, I was speculating that the cockroach climbed into the cats' waterbowl because it wanted to be eaten. Sort of like that parasite that infects insects so it can be eaten by predators so the parasite and can continue to grow or whatever. I don't know, but I'm freaking out about that. I cleaned out their water, but I'm worried about cats eating cockroaches. I'm especially worried that when I call an exterminator, the surviving cockroaches will poison our cats. I'm going to call the vet in a bit, and I'm taking them to the vet this Friday. If they are acting funky then I'm going to take them sooner.
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Aug 4, 2012 18:50
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Radbot posted:There's a family of cats, one adult and three kittens, living next door in the yard of a foreclosed house. While it's a pretty sweet place to hang out as a cat, and I can't say I haven't loved feeding them extra sausages/shrimp from off the BBQ, I'm worried they're going to bite the dust living outside for too long. Would it be responsible to try to trap everybody and take them to my local shelter (Denver Dumb Friends League)? Even if the shelter doesn't have space for them (very very likely), you should at least try to get them all fixed so they don't multiply exponentially. The shelter should have some resources to direct you to hopefully, but you should also google TNR for your area (trap, neuter, release) and low-cost spay/neuter.
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Aug 4, 2012 18:54
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So I have my kitty now (5-6 year old long hair) and she's doing the whole hiding under the bed thing. That's cool, I'm just leaving her be. She did come out last night to explore a bit and eat a few kibbles from where I had the dish in the living room, but didn't use the litter boxes. I moved food and water right outside of the bed for now, but should I put it under the bed? I certainly don't want to spook her but I also want to make sure she isn't too scared to eat/drink. Also, should I move one of the litter boxes into the bedroom too in case she doesn't want to come out into the living room while I'm here, or is that one of the things where once you have put a litterbox in one spot it isn't a smart idea to move it unless you want it there for life?
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Aug 4, 2012 19:51
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Have a litter box for each large room. One for where she is, and one for the designated spot when she decides to be more comfortable. Leave her food and water close to the bed, but in a more accessible area, as this will encourage her to roam, but not leave her anxious.
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Aug 4, 2012 20:19
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Well, good news is that she wandered out to use the litterbox and didn't seem really skittish (didn't bolt right under the bed again). She also took a few bits of the wet food near the bed and went back under. She'll come out when she's ready. Until she found the bed to hide under, she tried to "hide" behind my TV stand, but was under the impression that if she couldn't see me I couldn't see her. That led to this:  (crappy quality, from across the room zoomed in) The bad news is there is a squirrel on the porch right outside of the sliding glass door that really, really needs to be chittered at.
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Aug 4, 2012 20:56
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^^^^^ Congratulations on your new kitty! It sounds like you have the right attitude about letting her get settled and comfortable. You're right, she'll come out when she's ready. Have you named her yet?
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Aug 4, 2012 22:50
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Shifty Pony posted:Well, good news is that she wandered out to use the litterbox and didn't seem really skittish (didn't bolt right under the bed again). She also took a few bits of the wet food near the bed and went back under. She'll come out when she's ready. Ooo! Is she a Tortie? Have you tried to play with her at all? Wands work great! Definitely name her something that fits her personality! Josie (my tortie) 
Bina fucked around with this message at 00:39 on Aug 5, 2012 |
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Aug 5, 2012 00:14
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leftover posted:Now for my actual problem: She is way too aggressive when playing. I've looked at the thread and we've tried everything. Yelping and walking away, distracting her attention to an appropriate toy, and that works... for about 5 minutes, and then she latches on to our feet/hands again. Just to let others know, what we're doing now is clipping her nails. I grabbed some at her last vet visit and she actually tolerates it fairly well. We get her into a purring mood and we can get usually a full paw done, or almost. She still hasn't quite learned how to play correctly, but at least the claws aren't such a factor anymore.  Also getting better at keeping her up all the time so she doesn't wake me up at four to lick my hair incessantly.
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Aug 5, 2012 02:22
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She came named Bebe, pronounced like BB. However I have taken to saying it Bébé because she has a very glamorous look to her. She is black with some white areas, that photo isn't really good and black kitties are hard to photograph anyway. Here is a much better photo of her when I was meeting her for the first time.  She has come out a bit to explore but only when I'm being very still and working at the computer or something. She's found the litterbox without a problem, has eaten a bit, and evidently approves of the cardboard scratcher by the window. She apparently was known at the sanctuary as being very fond of petting and brushing so I'm sure she'll eventually give into temptation for and come up to me. She also was known for not being at all a fan of changes or commotion so this is doubtlessly hard. Or maybe she's just still pissed off about her vet visit earlier in the week.
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Aug 5, 2012 05:00
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