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Posting Principle
Dec 10, 2011

by Ralp
My had been having issues with car rides. About once a month she goes on a car ride in a carrier. Recently shes been pooping shortly after the ride begins. We've tried holding food for the day leading up to the trip, but she still squeezes a bit out. She has never had problems with going outside her litter box, other than this.

Are sedatives an overkill for a one hour trip?

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lamb
Mar 9, 2004

A single act of carelessness leads to the eternal loss of beauty

- Age: About 1
- Sex: F
- How long have you had your cat? 2 weeks
- Is your cat spayed or neutered? Yes

My new kitty keeps trying to escape. Apparently she came from an apartment complex where the people let the strays in and out. She's gotten out once, but we were able to lure her back. I'm worried because my house backs to woods and there are a lot of feral cats back there. We've been spraying her with a water bottle when she goes near the door, and I ordered ssscat, but am I doomed to have a kitty that constantly wants to elope? :ohdear:

DoggesAndCattes
Aug 2, 2007

Absolute Evil posted:

*paraphase*name this 3 week old kitten*/paraphrase*






Clarabel or Dorothy!

lamb posted:

- Age: About 1
- Sex: F
- How long have you had your cat? 2 weeks
- Is your cat spayed or neutered? Yes

My new kitty keeps trying to escape. Apparently she came from an apartment complex where the people let the strays in and out. She's gotten out once, but we were able to lure her back. I'm worried because my house backs to woods and there are a lot of feral cats back there. We've been spraying her with a water bottle when she goes near the door, and I ordered ssscat, but am I doomed to have a kitty that constantly wants to elope? :ohdear:

I'm always scared of this. Try enticing your kitty with lots of cool cat things like toys, cardboard scratch pads, a cat tree or some vertical space like shelves, places to sleep, plenty of food, etc. Basically, spoil your cat so badly that she'll never want to leave. Get her friend/playmate. At the least, just always be attentive when opening outside doors.

four lean hounds
Feb 16, 2012

lamb posted:

- Age: About 1
- Sex: F
- How long have you had your cat? 2 weeks
- Is your cat spayed or neutered? Yes

My new kitty keeps trying to escape. Apparently she came from an apartment complex where the people let the strays in and out. She's gotten out once, but we were able to lure her back. I'm worried because my house backs to woods and there are a lot of feral cats back there. We've been spraying her with a water bottle when she goes near the door, and I ordered ssscat, but am I doomed to have a kitty that constantly wants to elope? :ohdear:

We taught our cats to fear the front door. Exit the door they try to escape from, count to three, then BANGBANGBANG on it really hard. The cat will associate a big, scary noise with the door and run away from it when it opens. This is how our cats reacted, your mileage may vary. Even our very gregarious cat still heads halfway up the stairs to watch the door from a distance now.

You can also put unattractive surfaces in front of your door like upside down mats (that have the points on them to grip carpet), sticky tape, or a Ssscat motion-sensor spray can. Or if you are into cat training, train them that when you touch the door, they go to a specific spot like a chair or towel that is away from the door. Keep a tupperware of treats near the door and throw them one on the way out.

mune
Sep 23, 2006
I have an additional question for those in the know: I'm getting two kittens, one from a ragdoll breeder and one from a shelter. The breeder's kitten won't be ready for almost another three weeks (leaving me three weeks to spend with it before I go off for a two-week training exercise and leaving it to bond with my girlfriend alone). I'm planning on getting a kitten from a shelter as well, one who plays well with others, possibly this week. Is a couple weeks a good amount of time of 'buffer' to let the original kitten get used to us before his buddy joins? This is what the vet recommended to me, but I thought I might as well ask around here as well.

Also, I live in a studio apartment (as I mentioned before) but I'm planning on getting a cat tree. Is this a bit too much? It doesn't seem like it takes up that much space width/lengthwise and I've already got an area in mind where it fits, but is this overkill for two cats, one of whom is gonna be very, very big?

Thirdly, I saw some stuff at Petco which had Feliway in it, but it was a diffuser and from what I've read, people mostly seem to prefer it as a spray. What would you recommend?

feverish and oversexed
Mar 9, 2007

I LOVE the galley!
Charlie has changed from loving the balcony to completely refusing to go into the living room at all. Before I left the house she was running pell mell onto the balcony, through the house to the bedroom, and back again. I don't want her on the balcony when I'm not watching her, so I shut it before leaving.

She usually meets me at the door and I have to quickly grab her when she darts out, but when I came home today there was no cat. I quickly checked around but I didn't see her anywhere and immediately started calling her. She came out the bedroom (I assume she was under the bed) and looked at me.

when I take her out of the bedroom and into the living room she puts up with it, but when I reach the balcony she starts wanting down immediately. Then she goes back to the bedroom, peeks around the corner staring very intensely, and then disappears into the bedroom.

I think she may have run full tilt into the window when I left :doh:

edit:
and she's over whatever happened, demanding attention, though avoiding the window :)

feverish and oversexed fucked around with this message at 11:08 on Jun 4, 2013

Cabbages and VHS
Aug 25, 2004

Listen, I've been around a bit, you know, and I thought I'd seen some creepy things go on in the movie business, but I really have to say this is the most disgusting thing that's ever happened to me.
I just moved to a new apartment yesterday with 2 cats. I've been through this many times, and both cats have moved in the past as well.

For the first 5 days that I'm going to be living here, guys are working on the outside of the building, right outside my apartment (after that, they'll be further down and it will be more muted). It's making a lot of catastrophic noise (hammering, jackhammer, maybe a ramset here or there -- you can feel it through the floor).

I don't have any other choice, but I'm worried that my cats are going to be permanently traumatized by this -- they were already hiding under the bed before the noise started up today.

Any practical advice or consolation?

toplitzin
Jun 13, 2003


spengler posted:

I just moved to a new apartment yesterday with 2 cats. I've been through this many times, and both cats have moved in the past as well.

For the first 5 days that I'm going to be living here, guys are working on the outside of the building, right outside my apartment (after that, they'll be further down and it will be more muted). It's making a lot of catastrophic noise (hammering, jackhammer, maybe a ramset here or there -- you can feel it through the floor).

I don't have any other choice, but I'm worried that my cats are going to be permanently traumatized by this -- they were already hiding under the bed before the noise started up today.

Any practical advice or consolation?

Feliway in every room?

His Divine Shadow
Aug 7, 2000

I'm not a fascist. I'm a priest. Fascists dress up in black and tell people what to do.
IS this anything I should be concerned about? Our cat has these bumps on her "lips", one on each side:


Never noticed them before. Googling gave me the impression they might be birth marks or something, but they're more like bumps than just discolorations.

Cabbages and VHS
Aug 25, 2004

Listen, I've been around a bit, you know, and I thought I'd seen some creepy things go on in the movie business, but I really have to say this is the most disgusting thing that's ever happened to me.

toplitzin posted:

Feliway in every room?

good call, I'll order some.

Cpt.Wacky
Apr 17, 2005

mune posted:

Also, I live in a studio apartment (as I mentioned before) but I'm planning on getting a cat tree. Is this a bit too much? It doesn't seem like it takes up that much space width/lengthwise and I've already got an area in mind where it fits, but is this overkill for two cats, one of whom is gonna be very, very big?

Thirdly, I saw some stuff at Petco which had Feliway in it, but it was a diffuser and from what I've read, people mostly seem to prefer it as a spray. What would you recommend?

Those uppermost platforms may be difficult for your fat cat to get on. I have a similar tree but it's not as wide. Even though it's a little unsteady my younger cat is happy to perch up on top. My older cat (not a fatty) doesn't go more than halfway up. What they really love is getting up into the windows to look outside. I've used two of these windows perches and the cats loved them but the adhesive on the velcro doesn't tolerate being removed and reapplied somewhere else. The price is right if you don't plan to move them. I'm planning to custom build some more durable perches soon.

I got some Feliway in a diffuser when introducing my second cat and it didn't make any difference at all. I think with kittens you aren't going to have as much trouble introducing them.

Wheresmy5bucks
Feb 10, 2007

So, where is it?
I'm considering a cat(s) for my apartment, I went over the local Humane society website and OP already.

- Would be a relatively tiny apartment be appropriate for a cat? I know Cats tend to just be fine indoors, but is there a limit of claustrophobia for them? I live in a 'Studio' which is code word for two boxes, a hallway, and a bathroom. The complex does allow cats.

- How much should you budget for general cat care? There's food concerns which are easier to estimate, but how much should you squirrel away for vet concerns and other issues? Considerations if the cat is older? One of the ones at the humane society is a 7 year old, which is getting near 'elderly' for cats.

Esmerelda
Dec 1, 2009

Wheresmy5bucks posted:

I'm considering a cat(s) for my apartment, I went over the local Humane society website and OP already.

- Would be a relatively tiny apartment be appropriate for a cat? I know Cats tend to just be fine indoors, but is there a limit of claustrophobia for them? I live in a 'Studio' which is code word for two boxes, a hallway, and a bathroom. The complex does allow cats.

- How much should you budget for general cat care? There's food concerns which are easier to estimate, but how much should you squirrel away for vet concerns and other issues? Considerations if the cat is older? One of the ones at the humane society is a 7 year old, which is getting near 'elderly' for cats.
Cats like vertical space and windows. Preferably both at the same time. I had two cats in a 450 square foot studio and they were fine. Cats are pretty lazy, especially older ones.

If your credit is okay, you can look into Care Credit for those super expensive emergencies. Otherwise, expense depends upon your location. I spend $100 per cat per year for vaccinations. An emergency can run you a couple thousand (which is where care credit comes in OR pet insurance.) Litter is around $20 a month. Food is around $75 every couple of months I think, I don't really pay that close of attention to it.

Cats don't all age the same. Some are "old" at 10, others still aren't "old" at 15. There's really no way of telling between the two when they're young. The chance of you having to incur more medical expenses earlier is great with a 7 year old cat than with a 2 year old cat but there is no guarantee of longevity or health based on age.

KIT HAGS
Jun 5, 2007
Stay sweet
After the long drive, I'll have to stay at my mom's place until I get an apartment (one month). What's the best way to introduce my 2 year old female spayed cat to her two (male, neutured)dogs? It's a doxie and and a toy poodle. The doxie is older and just lays around waiting for food to fall on the floor and the poodle is not as big of an rear end in a top hat as poodles tend to be, in fact they were both used as "therapy" dogs to calm down kids with behavioral problems. I can keep the cat sequestered in the living/dining room area (sliding partition) or on the other side of the house via baby gate that we already use to keep the dogs out of the other side of the house.

Rat Patrol
Feb 15, 2008

kill kill kill kill
kill me now

Esmerelda posted:

Cats like vertical space and windows. Preferably both at the same time. I had two cats in a 450 square foot studio and they were fine. Cats are pretty lazy, especially older ones.

If your credit is okay, you can look into Care Credit for those super expensive emergencies. Otherwise, expense depends upon your location. I spend $100 per cat per year for vaccinations. An emergency can run you a couple thousand (which is where care credit comes in OR pet insurance.) Litter is around $20 a month. Food is around $75 every couple of months I think, I don't really pay that close of attention to it.

Cats don't all age the same. Some are "old" at 10, others still aren't "old" at 15. There's really no way of telling between the two when they're young. The chance of you having to incur more medical expenses earlier is great with a 7 year old cat than with a 2 year old cat but there is no guarantee of longevity or health based on age.

This is all good, but if you can afford it, consider care credit AND insurance. Ozma is less than two and has already cost us over $3k (as a counter example, pizza is just a hair younger and hasn't cost us a dime past adoption) and having both the cc and insurance has saved me a lot of heartache: the cc covers the expense now, the insurance refunds the bulk.

Slickdrac
Oct 5, 2007

Not allowed to have nice things
I'm done with cats. We're going to lose Loki now shortly in the future because he has FIP. So that's 2 incredibly young cats in 4 months, and we've only had him for 3. Looks like he wasn't just a "tubby" cat.

And now I get to pay the vet for the next 10 more months. Which is longer than his whole life.

ben liftington
Jul 7, 2004

What's the best way to clean dried poop off a squirmy kitten's butt? I'm fostering 2 kittens right now. I'm not sure what they were eating before they found their way to the cat rescue I volunteer for, but since they've arrived at my home, they've had a little bit of diarrhea. It's improving but the boy kitty needs to be cleaned up and I think they're way too young for an actual bath. I've been trying to clean him off with a warm washcloth but he really doesn't like it.


Romo (boy kitty)


Renel (girl kitty)

four lean hounds
Feb 16, 2012
They make pet-safe wet wipes, or the wet washcloth route is fine. The kitten will never like it, so just scruff 'em, wipe 'em, then immediately distract with a toy afterwards. Thirty seconds later they'll never remember the indignity you put them through.

Ouhei
Oct 23, 2008

:minnie: Cat Army :minnie:
So I need some food advice. Our youngest (he's about 3 now) has now had 2 urinary blocks in the last month. about a month ago he got a UTI, took him to the vet and they gave him some medicine, he recovered and was fine but after a week or so he was having issues again. We took him in and he was blocked, so they did the catheter thing and were able to clear it, sent us home with 3 different medicines and advised us to switch to a wet food diet. He recovered well and has been good for the last 2 weeks or so but this morning he was acting like he was before so we took him in right away. He's blocked again, and they advised that since it seems to be a consistent issue now that we switch to what they called a CD diet which is supposed to prevent them from being able to produce the crystals in the first place.

We've been feeding them Nature's Valley Instinct (dry we do the rabbit, wet we vary between salmon, pork, turkey and beef) at a ratio of about 75(wet)/25(dry) since his first blockage (before that it was pretty much all dry), but are definitely switching him to the CD stuff after this. This seems to be the most common one: http://www.hillspet.com/products/pd-feline-cd-multicare-feline-bladder-health-dry.html

It seems to have favorable reviews and the like, but is there another brand that you guys might suggest? I just want to make sure I'm getting the best stuff I can. I've spent nearly $2k in the last month and a half on this little guy and I'd really like the bill to not grow any more.

Here's a picture of him, because he's adorable:

Niemat
Mar 21, 2011

I gave that pitch vibrato. Pitches love vibrato.

I have another cat eliminating inappropriately problem. :( We've been living in our current apartment (3 floor duplex where the cats have access to two floors) for about two months now, and a couple of weeks ago we noticed our recycling bin in our kitchen smelled funny. I thought it was that we weren't doing the best job rinsing, and I tried to make sure everything was even cleaner. However, the smell didn't go away. One week we had a partially full bin, and that's when I noticed a smelly yellow liquid and figured out the cat(s?) had been peeing in the bin. I pulled both bins (we switched them out from week to week), cleaned them thoroughly with bleach and then Nature's Miracle before leaving them outside. For a little while, this seemed to work. I was gone for a week about two weeks ago, and I came back to the kitchen smelling funny again. I checked the corner where the recycling bins had been and discovered either one or both of the cats had been peeing there. Ever since then, one or both have been peeing and defecating back there at least twice in a 24 hour period (whenever we wake up, there's cat pee/poo poo and about midday we'll notice cat pee). Once we discover the mess, we bleach wipe it down, soak it in Nature's Miracle, wipe that up, and then just leave some Nature's Miracle on the area. If it makes a difference, the area is hardwood floor in front of our backdoor. I'm not sure which cat it is, or if it's both, but I feel like it can't be a crystal problem if it's the same area constantly, can it? I tried to put a litterbox where they're eliminating, and they just peed around it. They have a feliway diffuser upstairs by their two large boxes, and we use cat attract supplement. I REALLY need them to stop (because, again, this is all happening in my kitchen :( ), but I'm really clueless as to how anymore, and I'm getting desperate. Anyone have any suggestions or ideas...? :ohdear:

edit: We have two male littermates that just turned 3 last month. Both are neutered.

Niemat fucked around with this message at 16:18 on Jun 5, 2013

Dogen
May 5, 2002

Bury my body down by the highwayside, so that my old evil spirit can get a Greyhound bus and ride

Ouhei posted:

We've been feeding them Nature's Valley Instinct (dry we do the rabbit, wet we vary between salmon, pork, turkey and beef) at a ratio of about 75(wet)/25(dry) since his first blockage (before that it was pretty much all dry), but are definitely switching him to the CD stuff after this. This seems to be the most common one: http://www.hillspet.com/products/pd-feline-cd-multicare-feline-bladder-health-dry.html

It seems to have favorable reviews and the like, but is there another brand that you guys might suggest? I just want to make sure I'm getting the best stuff I can. I've spent nearly $2k in the last month and a half on this little guy and I'd really like the bill to not grow any more.

We feed Hill's CD to our girl cat who's had struvite crystals a couple times. She had one reoccurence of it in the last 4 years even while on the food, but it was pretty minor (cleared up with a course of medication, I forget what). Overall I recommend it. Also I think it helps that we have a pet fountain and she loving loves that thing. She slurps water straight from the spout and it's super loud.

Ouhei
Oct 23, 2008

:minnie: Cat Army :minnie:

Dogen posted:

We feed Hill's CD to our girl cat who's had struvite crystals a couple times. She had one reoccurence of it in the last 4 years even while on the food, but it was pretty minor (cleared up with a course of medication, I forget what). Overall I recommend it. Also I think it helps that we have a pet fountain and she loving loves that thing. She slurps water straight from the spout and it's super loud.

We just got a fountain as well, he's taken to it fairly easily as far as I can tell.

Serella
Apr 24, 2008

Is that what you're posting?

Ouhei posted:

So I need some food advice.

Yeah, your options are pretty much Hills or Science Diet and they're basically the same.

Mandals
Aug 31, 2004

Isn't it pretty to think so.
That food looks pretty crap. Are the benefits of the CD food outweighed by the fact that it lists Brewers Rice and Corn Gluten Meal as the first two ingredients?

hhgtrillian
Jan 23, 2004

DOGS IN SPACE

Serella posted:

Yeah, your options are pretty much Hills or Science Diet and they're basically the same.

Actually, I am also a fan of Royal Canin prescription SO, but the Science Diet c/d is fine too. I used both on my cat that had issues, mainly because he is picky and would stop eating stuff. He is on a different Royal Canin now (actually like the 3rd different one) because he eventually refused both the c/d and the SO and the others. It has the "SO Index", and he is doing well on it and hasn't stopped eating it yet so I'm good with that. But I'd go with whatever your vet says. And with your guy probably stick with a purely urinary type diet as long as he will eat it. I think Iam's also makes a urinary diet as well, but when I sent a message to them about feeding it to my other cats as well they said it wasn't a maintenance diet where the c/d and the SO were, according to what I was told. So, not sure on that one, or if I was told wrong by the Iam's person, plus that was some time ago. I also think there is a Purina urinary diet of some sort too. But I don't have any personal experience with that one other than knowing one exists.

potee
Jul 23, 2007

Or, you know.

Not fine.
I see you're trying to work from home, time for belly rubs. Also I'm stuck between the pieces of the sectional; please resolve these problems immediately. :catbert:

Microplastics
Jul 6, 2007

:discourse:
It's what's for dinner.

Oh come on

Dogen
May 5, 2002

Bury my body down by the highwayside, so that my old evil spirit can get a Greyhound bus and ride

Mandals posted:

That food looks pretty crap. Are the benefits of the CD food outweighed by the fact that it lists Brewers Rice and Corn Gluten Meal as the first two ingredients?

I would rather my cat eat kind of lovely food that keeps her from getting urinary crystals than good food (in the past she ate wellness core and innova evo). So yeah, I guess. Whatever is in it changes the pH in their bladder to prevent the formation of crystals, as I understand it.

Nione
Jun 3, 2006

Welcome to Trophy Island
Rub my tummy

Mandals posted:

That food looks pretty crap. Are the benefits of the CD food outweighed by the fact that it lists Brewers Rice and Corn Gluten Meal as the first two ingredients?

Yeah, prescription foods that prevent urinary problems work really well despite their lovely ingredient list.

We are feeding Iggy the Royal Canin SO and it seems to be alright. It at least has chicken meal as the first ingredient.

And, since he's been on it and off all his medications, he seems to be doing really well. No more peeing problems!

At this point, I kind of miss going to the vet's office 2-3 times a week.

Nione fucked around with this message at 21:44 on Jun 5, 2013

Mandals
Aug 31, 2004

Isn't it pretty to think so.

Dogen posted:

I would rather my cat eat kind of lovely food that keeps her from getting urinary crystals than good food (in the past she ate wellness core and innova evo). So yeah, I guess. Whatever is in it changes the pH in their bladder to prevent the formation of crystals, as I understand it.


Didn't mean to come off as accusatory. I was genuinely curious if there was any overriding benefit since I know brands like Purina, IAMS and SD have a bad rap.

Dogen
May 5, 2002

Bury my body down by the highwayside, so that my old evil spirit can get a Greyhound bus and ride

Mandals posted:

Didn't mean to come off as accusatory. I was genuinely curious if there was any overriding benefit since I know brands like Purina, IAMS and SD have a bad rap.

Their regular food is indeed not great but there are special prescription foods for conditions like this, and Hill's and the like run that market. I have to show a prescription card at petsmart every time I buy the stuff.

Serella
Apr 24, 2008

Is that what you're posting?

hhgtrillian posted:

Actually, I am also a fan of Royal Canin prescription SO, but the Science Diet c/d is fine too. I used both on my cat that had issues, mainly because he is picky and would stop eating stuff. He is on a different Royal Canin now (actually like the 3rd different one) because he eventually refused both the c/d and the SO and the others. It has the "SO Index", and he is doing well on it and hasn't stopped eating it yet so I'm good with that. But I'd go with whatever your vet says. And with your guy probably stick with a purely urinary type diet as long as he will eat it. I think Iam's also makes a urinary diet as well, but when I sent a message to them about feeding it to my other cats as well they said it wasn't a maintenance diet where the c/d and the SO were, according to what I was told. So, not sure on that one, or if I was told wrong by the Iam's person, plus that was some time ago. I also think there is a Purina urinary diet of some sort too. But I don't have any personal experience with that one other than knowing one exists.

:doh: I actually used to feed my cat the Royal Canin urinary formula, I don't know how I forgot about it!


Mandals posted:

That food looks pretty crap. Are the benefits of the CD food outweighed by the fact that it lists Brewers Rice and Corn Gluten Meal as the first two ingredients?

Absolutely. It can make the difference between repeated urinary issues and none whatsoever for some cats, as it did for mine. The way it was explained to me, some of the benefits are that the formula is designed to make your cat thirstier so they drink more, which helps keep everything moving and cleared out, plus it's lower protein, and apparently higher protein levels can possibly contribute to the formation of crystals. So yeah, the food isn't great, but for some cats it's extremely essential, despite the crappy ingredient list.

Just my limited understanding, IANAV. I was actually able to transition my cat off of urinary food after 2 years of no issues, at my vet's recommendation, and I slowly transitioned him back up to a higher-level (but still not too high) protein food. Still, I'm vigilant about keeping tabs on his litterbox habits, as a cat can basically go from seemingly fine to dangerously blocked in need of emergency vet care literally overnight, and it's typically worse/more common with male cats. Just one of those cat things. v:shobon:V

Shnooks
Mar 24, 2007

I'M BEING BORN D:
Where I work we carry Hills, Royal Canin, and Purina prescription diets and they all work great. We all know the ingredients may not be the top of the line, but they really do work if you're compliant and feed as directed.

Minarchist
Mar 5, 2009

by WE B Bourgeois

Shnooks posted:

Where I work we carry Hills, Royal Canin, and Purina prescription diets and they all work great. We all know the ingredients may not be the top of the line, but they really do work if you're compliant and feed as directed.

Define "top of the line"

Doesn't excessive protein cause problems in some animals, like pancreatitis?

NinjaPete
Nov 14, 2004

Hail to the speaker,
Hail to the knower,
Joy to him who has understood,
Delight to those who have listened.

- Hávamál
So, my cat just had a bit of dental work done, she had a cavity. I need some tips on keeping her teeth clean, we have a little brush and toothpaste but I am not sure how effective I am brushing as she pretty much clamps her mouth shut and squirms out of the bear hug my wife gives her. The OP gives some help in brushing, I am just looking for any other tips or tricks.

Here she is, trying to figure out how to bite me in-spite of the camera between us.

NinjaPete fucked around with this message at 03:27 on Jun 6, 2013

Kerfuffle
Aug 16, 2007

The sky calls to us~
If you really want brushing her teeth to be a regular thing you'll have to look into conditioning so it's not a terrible experience. Is your cat food motivated? That makes it much easier.

Ouhei
Oct 23, 2008

:minnie: Cat Army :minnie:
I appreciate the information. I will talk to the vet when we pick him up tomorrow. I think they usually buy the Hills stuff, I saw some bags on their shelves that looked similar.

I just want to do all I can to make sure my little guy stays healthy :(

Absolute Evil
Aug 25, 2008

Don't mess with Mister Creazil!

Absolute Evil posted:

A co-worker got adopted by a pregnant stray. There are 3 kittens and she cannot keep them. I'm working on becoming a crazy cat lady, so I'm adopting one. I need help on a name. My other two cats are Jinx (5 year old black male) and Elmer (4 year old orange tiger). I love the old fashioned human names for cats. Oh and this kitten is a female. Sorry for the crappy pictures, they came off of her phone. The pictures are also 3 weeks old. It'll still be a week or two before I'll be bringing her home.



Quoting myself because I'm in a dilemma. The person who originally called dibs on the lone male of the group, backed out. I'd kind of prefer a male, since my other 2 are, and I love (mostly) black kitties. But the girl is gorgeous too. Grrr. This face tho....

Shnooks
Mar 24, 2007

I'M BEING BORN D:

Minarchist posted:

Define "top of the line"

Doesn't excessive protein cause problems in some animals, like pancreatitis?

I mean premium pet foods like Blue Buffalo, Wellness, Solid Gold, etc. Though some people definitely consider Royal Canin a "premium" pet food.

And I believe pancreatitis is more commonly caused by excessive amounts of fat.

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Tamarillo
Aug 6, 2009

mune posted:

I have an additional question for those in the know: I'm getting two kittens, one from a ragdoll breeder and one from a shelter. The breeder's kitten won't be ready for almost another three weeks (leaving me three weeks to spend with it before I go off for a two-week training exercise and leaving it to bond with my girlfriend alone). I'm planning on getting a kitten from a shelter as well, one who plays well with others, possibly this week. Is a couple weeks a good amount of time of 'buffer' to let the original kitten get used to us before his buddy joins? This is what the vet recommended to me, but I thought I might as well ask around here as well.

Also, I live in a studio apartment (as I mentioned before) but I'm planning on getting a cat tree. Is this a bit too much? It doesn't seem like it takes up that much space width/lengthwise and I've already got an area in mind where it fits, but is this overkill for two cats, one of whom is gonna be very, very big?

Thirdly, I saw some stuff at Petco which had Feliway in it, but it was a diffuser and from what I've read, people mostly seem to prefer it as a spray. What would you recommend?

Warning: :words:
Hello, this is late so hope you're still reading the thread but I did the exact same thing as you, and my thread about my Ragdoll-meets-Moggy experiences is back in archives somewhere (called Introducing Hugo). I have a purebred Ragdoll, Hugo, and a black shelter mog called Decoy. I picked up Decoy from a shelter one month before Hugo arrived, and they are almost exactly a month apart in age - they are 15 & 16 months old now.

It was helpful having Decoy first because he was a little skittish and probably benefited from the one on one attention to get him used to living with people. The one-on-one time did mean that Decoy was a dick when Hugo arrived, chasing him around a lot and wrestling with him until he did little kitten shrieks. It looked very alarming and I did a lot of nervous-first-time-kitten-owner hand-wringing, but it was just their weird kitten playing rough poo poo - Decoy is naturally more aggressive than Hugo and Hugo is an uncoordinated retard, and it turns out he's a screamer anyway and shrieks at anything. They both still play hard and as I type this Decoy is trying to bite Hugo's throat while Hugo is enthusiastically bunny-kicking him in the face. All of that said, right from day one once they finished beating the poo poo out of each other they would curl up in kitten piles - this is them on about day 4:


This was all without Feliway as it isn't very widely supplied here, but Feliway would no doubt help the adjustment period.

In terms of cat trees, I have a six foot cat tree which I bought to stop my idiots scratching up my furniture. There is only one hidey hole box which Hugo adores, but it's big enough to fit him and those boxes look a little small. There is no such thing as overkill for two cats, and both my cats lounge/play on/scratch/survey the kingdom from every level of my tree.

Lastly, this is only my experience but don't necessarily expect that your ragdoll will grow into a monster cat. Hugo is only 4.85kg (10.65lb) at 15 months old and the vets are saying he's at a very healthy weight. His male littermate is already upwards of 6kg/6.5kg (13.3-14.3lb) but he is a blorty fat thing that gorges on Hills biscuits all day and doesn't move very much. Hugo won't be fully grown until he's at least 2, but I don't expect he'll ever be more than about 6kg fully grown. Most of his size now is made up of fluff. This is him more recently:


E: Also, unrelated - oh my god, why is Frontline so poo poo? Both cats got fleas, I put Frontline on them a week ago and they have continued to have fleas the entire time AND this isn't the first time Frontline has let the team down. I've just ordered a bunch of Advocate because I've had good experiences with the Advantage line of products but god drat, Frontline is sold everywhere and it's so bloody expensive and I wasted $80 on crap that doesn't work.

Tamarillo fucked around with this message at 12:19 on Jun 6, 2013

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