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First time cat owner here. I adopted a seven year old male dsh from a woman off Craigslist who was moving and couldn't take him. He had been living with her in the same house since he was six months old. She described his as being "very shy" and didn't mention any health problems. I've had him for five days and he has been in hiding ever since I brought him home. If I try to hold him or pet him he trys to run and hide. He will sometimes hiss but never bites. When he walks through the house he's crouched low to the ground and moves slow with his tail tucked between his legs like he's scared. He also has greasy fur on his back with dandruff, which I think may be because he isn't cleaning himself. He does come out at night and when I'm at work to use the litter box and is eating small amounts of food. Is this normal behavior for a cat that's in a new environment or should I be concerned?
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# ? Aug 21, 2013 03:32 |
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# ? Jun 1, 2024 05:19 |
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You probably shouldn't be trying to hold or pet him at this point. Gotta wait until he starts relaxing and comes to you. I wouldn't worry just yet One good way to interact with a shy cat is a feather toy on a string or laser pointer type toy where you can engage them without being too close to make em feel threatened. Also some cats like treats or catnip. Dogen fucked around with this message at 04:31 on Aug 21, 2013 |
# ? Aug 21, 2013 04:28 |
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Itchy posted:First time cat owner here. I adopted a seven year old male dsh from a woman off Craigslist who was moving and couldn't take him. He had been living with her in the same house since he was six months old. She described his as being "very shy" and didn't mention any health problems. I've had him for five days and he has been in hiding ever since I brought him home. If I try to hold him or pet him he trys to run and hide. He will sometimes hiss but never bites. When he walks through the house he's crouched low to the ground and moves slow with his tail tucked between his legs like he's scared. He also has greasy fur on his back with dandruff, which I think may be because he isn't cleaning himself. He does come out at night and when I'm at work to use the litter box and is eating small amounts of food. Is this normal behavior for a cat that's in a new environment or should I be concerned? Do you have his vet records? if you don't might be a good time to take him in for a general check up + any shots, He otherwise sounds normal for a very shy cat in a new strange place.
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# ? Aug 21, 2013 11:03 |
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Itchy posted:First time cat owner here. I adopted a seven year old male dsh from a woman off Craigslist who was moving and couldn't take him. He had been living with her in the same house since he was six months old. She described his as being "very shy" and didn't mention any health problems. I've had him for five days and he has been in hiding ever since I brought him home. If I try to hold him or pet him he trys to run and hide. He will sometimes hiss but never bites. When he walks through the house he's crouched low to the ground and moves slow with his tail tucked between his legs like he's scared. He also has greasy fur on his back with dandruff, which I think may be because he isn't cleaning himself. He does come out at night and when I'm at work to use the litter box and is eating small amounts of food. Is this normal behavior for a cat that's in a new environment or should I be concerned? Poor boy. That just sounds like typical Kitty depression/stress from a new environment and people. After that long, it's not a big surprise at all. It's going to take a while for him to start trusting you and the new environment. You can try one of those calming sprays, which are hit and miss. But generally, just a lot of patience and cat treats. If possible, try to interact with him in the hiding spot if you can reach him, just pat his head. Some cats take longer than others. At the shelter we have cats that come in the same day, go to the front of the cage and love on people immediately. Then we have other cats who hide under their blanket/litter box and hiss at people for days/weeks. Good luck and he'll hopefully come around soon, spoil him lots.
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# ? Aug 21, 2013 18:37 |
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In a few weeks I'll be taking a one-way flight from Chicago to Los Angeles with my adult cat. All that the Southwest Airlines site says I'll need is an airline-approved carrier and a $75 "pet fee" paid at the ticket counter prior to my flight. Other various travel blogs/sites allude to needing some sort of "health inspection" or "veterinarian approval" papers, but I'm not sure if this applies for current domestic travel. My cat is up-to-date with her shots and I have some vet papers from last year confirming this. tl;dr Can anyone confirm that I won't need to bring any paperwork or forms to the airport for flying with a cat? This may be a silly/redundant question, but I want to be 100% certain and wasn't able to find anything on the forums which directly addressed this.
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# ? Aug 21, 2013 20:01 |
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katzinator posted:In a few weeks I'll be taking a one-way flight from Chicago to Los Angeles with my adult cat. All that the Southwest Airlines site says I'll need is an airline-approved carrier and a $75 "pet fee" paid at the ticket counter prior to my flight. Other various travel blogs/sites allude to needing some sort of "health inspection" or "veterinarian approval" papers, but I'm not sure if this applies for current domestic travel. My cat is up-to-date with her shots and I have some vet papers from last year confirming this. It depends on the airline, but the vast majority of airlines that allow pets to travel with you, even if it is all within the US, require specific documentation on vaccinations and any licenses/microchips the vet has. This form needs to be signed by the vet and completed within 10 days of the flight, I believe; you can't just bring the receipt from the vet visits in which they were vaccinated. I was not allowed to board without showing that form for each cat. If you tell the vet you need the vaccination/health verification form for flying they should know what that is. I had to do all this for a one-way flight from Florida to Michigan. Huge pain in the rear end.
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# ? Aug 21, 2013 21:46 |
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I got a call from my fiancee today while I was at work about our 9-year-old cat. Apparently he was crying, walking around funny, and trying to go in the litter but failing. She took him to the vet, and they told her his urethra was completely blocked, and they needed to keep him and treat it or he would die. They gave her a quote for $1700. This is just to unblock him, no surgery. Friends are telling me it should be much less and that we got ripped off. The vet is also trying to get us to switch to this Hills prescription diet, saying it will prevent it from happening again. The quote itemized: 1 Physical - $69 1 Anesthesia - Induction (Isoflur) - $149.70 1 Catheter - Urinary Tract - $41.50 1 I.V. Set Up - $97.00 3 Hospitalization - $343.00 2 I.V. Daily Maintenance - $118.20 1 Elizabethan Collar - $8.50 3 Catheterization - Flush Urethra - $196.20 1 Sodium Chloride 0.9% - 24.26 1 I.V. Secondary Set - $16.50 1 Complete Blood Count $49.50 1 Comprehensive Serum Chemistry/Electrolytes - $127.00 1 Radiology - $124.60 1 Urinalysis with Sediment Stain - $64.30 8 Convenia 80mg/ml - $58.40 10 Prazosin 1mg - $25.40 Taxed Total $1709.98 We JUST switched our cats to Natural Balance Limited Ingredients dry food, but I'm guessing we have to switch them again to something else. Note, he's already been treated and is at the vet's doing well. Supposed to pick him up tomorrow.
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# ? Aug 21, 2013 23:57 |
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Dienes posted:It depends on the airline, but the vast majority of airlines that allow pets to travel with you, even if it is all within the US, require specific documentation on vaccinations and any licenses/microchips the vet has. This form needs to be signed by the vet and completed within 10 days of the flight, I believe; you can't just bring the receipt from the vet visits in which they were vaccinated. I was not allowed to board without showing that form for each cat. If you tell the vet you need the vaccination/health verification form for flying they should know what that is. I had to do all this for a one-way flight from Florida to Michigan. Huge pain in the rear end. Which particular airline was this? I called Southwest (the one I'm taking) customer service earlier today and the lady basically parroted back what was on the web site. No forms required.
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# ? Aug 22, 2013 00:21 |
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JustAwful posted:I got a call from my fiancee today while I was at work about our 9-year-old cat. Apparently he was crying, walking around funny, and trying to go in the litter but failing. She took him to the vet, and they told her his urethra was completely blocked, and they needed to keep him and treat it or he would die. They gave her a quote for $1700. This is just to unblock him, no surgery. Friends are telling me it should be much less and that we got ripped off. The vet is also trying to get us to switch to this Hills prescription diet, saying it will prevent it from happening again. So scary . As you probably know now, urinary blockages are a medical emergency in cats. What the vet quoted seems about right, save for one or two things that probably just differ per practice. Right now thought, if your cat is blocked, you don't really have the time to decide if you should go check out another vet right now. He needs to be unblocked immediately. That being said, depending on the type of stones and crystals he's developing, feeding him a prescription diet is important if you'd like to prevent this from happening again the future. The Rx food affects a few different factors that helps reduce the production of stones, the ones I can think of off the top of my head are that it increases water intake by making them thirstier and it effects the pH of the urine (probably from increased water intake). There's plenty of other effects it has but I can't recall them off the top of my head. katzinator posted:In a few weeks I'll be taking a one-way flight from Chicago to Los Angeles with my adult cat. All that the Southwest Airlines site says I'll need is an airline-approved carrier and a $75 "pet fee" paid at the ticket counter prior to my flight. Other various travel blogs/sites allude to needing some sort of "health inspection" or "veterinarian approval" papers, but I'm not sure if this applies for current domestic travel. My cat is up-to-date with her shots and I have some vet papers from last year confirming this. We write up a lot of domestic health certificates where I work, and honestly the only way to know for sure is to call the airline. It's pretty airline specific and one person's experience can vary from the other. That being said, we recommend everyone get their pets examined within 10 days of departure and leave with a domestic health certificate and a vaccination certificate even if it isn't required. First and foremost, we can examine your animal and deem it healthy enough to travel. Secondly, nobody wants to get stopped at any point during their travel because their pets have the wrong papers. You can also always call your veterinarian and see if they can email you a vaccination certificate just in case you need it. We're always willing to do that - the only reason we don't hand out domestic health certificates is because it specifically says we've examined the animal within a certain time frame and we saw it was healthy. Shnooks fucked around with this message at 01:48 on Aug 22, 2013 |
# ? Aug 22, 2013 01:44 |
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JustAwful posted:I got a call from my fiancee today while I was at work about our 9-year-old cat. Apparently he was crying, walking around funny, and trying to go in the litter but failing. She took him to the vet, and they told her his urethra was completely blocked, and they needed to keep him and treat it or he would die. They gave her a quote for $1700. This is just to unblock him, no surgery. Friends are telling me it should be much less and that we got ripped off. The vet is also trying to get us to switch to this Hills prescription diet, saying it will prevent it from happening again. It depends on the level of blockage. Sounds like your cat's was pretty bad. When my cat had crystals, it ended up running me about $150, but it was a pretty mild case comparatively. He didn't need to be anesthetized and he wasn't completely blocked, so it was just a quick flush and some antibiotics for him. Your poor dude went through some serious poo poo with his blockage, it's a good thing he was knocked out. The only thing on your bill I'd even ask for clarification on would be the Hospitalization fee, and only because it's a large chunk and not very specific about what it is. The rest of the charges seem pretty upfront about what they are, being materials and procedures used to anesthetize your cat, clear him out, and keep him clear and pain-free. Expensive, but all perfectly reasonable. As far as the Rx diet goes, it's 100% legit and your cat needs to be on it asap. Whether or not you should feed your other cats the Rx food depends on if you can keep your cat away from their food and only eating his Rx food. Since your cat's blockage seemed pretty bad, he may have to be on Rx food for the rest of his life. The price is actually comparable to premium foods, though. The only issue is that the foods are lower quality (in terms of ingredients) than premium foods are, so you can probably expect your cat to shed more and need to eat more because it's not as calorically dense. He'll also drink more and pee more, and this is a good thing. Cats naturally drink very little since they are bred down from desert breeds of felines, and the increase in thirst will keep him flowing regularly and help prevent crystals from forming. Some of the vets/scientists in here can explain the mechanisms of how and why the food works better, but all that you really need to know is that it works. It's very specifically formulated to do so, and no non-prescription food is guaranteed to work like the Rx stuff does. You can choose the brand, I know Hill's Science Diet and Royal Canin both make it. Personally I hate the SD brand, so I fed my cat RC. Hope your kitty is doing better soon!
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# ? Aug 22, 2013 02:07 |
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On scabby cats: Our old man cat has some kind of seasonal allergy that shows up once every year or two in the fall and after treating the hell out of the house for fleas and being sure that his constant skin problems weren't flea or diet related, our vet gave him a steroid shot and an antibiotic shot that clears it right up. It's effective almost immediately and makes him feel a lot better. You might have luck with a small dose of benadryl as well.
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# ? Aug 22, 2013 02:50 |
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katzinator posted:Which particular airline was this? I called Southwest (the one I'm taking) customer service earlier today and the lady basically parroted back what was on the web site. No forms required. AirTran, so hopefully you're all set.
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# ? Aug 22, 2013 03:14 |
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JustAwful posted:I got a call from my fiancee today while I was at work about our 9-year-old cat. Apparently he was crying, walking around funny, and trying to go in the litter but failing. She took him to the vet, and they told her his urethra was completely blocked, and they needed to keep him and treat it or he would die. They gave her a quote for $1700. This is just to unblock him, no surgery. Friends are telling me it should be much less and that we got ripped off. The vet is also trying to get us to switch to this Hills prescription diet, saying it will prevent it from happening again. My cat also had crystals but it was not in the main system, so he was not blocked. He got only antibiotics & special vet food for 2-3 weeks to eliminate everything, but in your case it's really an emergency and sadly it's always expensive ...
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# ? Aug 22, 2013 06:12 |
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So my cat fell from a 1st story apartment window and after an hour of convincing him to get outside of the car he hid under he's back at home. He seems fine right now and walks and runs normally but how can I tell if he's hurt somewhere? A friend also said he might have trouble with peeing for a few days. Is there any truth to that? I do not let him to sit on window stools anymore but I feel a bit sad about it. He really enjoyed watching outside and meowing to feral cats down below and what not. Is there safe alternative for his window pleasure?
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# ? Aug 22, 2013 11:41 |
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fspades posted:So my cat fell from a 1st story apartment window and after an hour of convincing him to get outside of the car he hid under he's back at home. He seems fine right now and walks and runs normally but how can I tell if he's hurt somewhere? A friend also said he might have trouble with peeing for a few days. Is there any truth to that? Did he fell or did he jumped ? Because sometimes cats use to jump/walk a little bit on wall to fall on the ground. So maybe nothing bad for him.
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# ? Aug 22, 2013 11:51 |
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Luminaz posted:Did he fell or did he jumped ? I'm not sure. I heard something sliding on the window (as if he was trying to grasp it and failing) and then immediately a thump sound from outside. The bastard was just walking away when I looked down.
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# ? Aug 22, 2013 12:04 |
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fspades posted:I'm not sure. I heard something sliding on the window (as if he was trying to grasp it and failing) and then immediately a thump sound from outside. The bastard was just walking away when I looked down. 1st floor ? So 2-3meters ? If yes maybe nothing else than a fail for him. But you will need to keep an eye on him. I used to have the same problem with my ragdoll, Now I've put a big plant near the window so he cannot fall, and I'm still able to keep the window open.
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# ? Aug 22, 2013 12:15 |
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fspades posted:I'm not sure. I heard something sliding on the window (as if he was trying to grasp it and failing) and then immediately a thump sound from outside. The bastard was just walking away when I looked down. I stopped doing this after I figured it wasn't good for his legs. But he'd have kept doing it if I'd let him.
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# ? Aug 22, 2013 17:22 |
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Sadly, it seems that I have a bit of a poo problem - I hope that you can help. Tomorrow will mark the 2 week anniversary of my feral kittens, Valentina (DLH) and Prima (DSH), joining my household. I'd say that they are about 12 weeks and they have similarities in their coats, but I don't think that they are siblings - I think that they have the same father but different mums. Nevertheless, they bonded in the wild and get on well, and they seem to be both warming up to me. Going to take some more time, though, as they panic when I stand fully upright. However, for 4 days in a row now I have found poo in a random place in my apartment (twice in the same spot). When I first caught these two, they were in a huge cage with a tiny litterbox and I used a supply of Arm & Hammer that my neighbour gave me with no problems, but shortly after I let them roam free I switched to a much larger box and Swheat Scoop (multicat, unscented). I have seen Valentina use the new box/litter many times and she buries her waste very well, so I think it is Prima even though I have seen her use the box with my own eyes. It's important to note that I have seen poo on the carpet, but no stray urine, so I think that Prima is peeing in the box but not pooping. The first two days I cleaned up with a stiff brush and some 15:1 water:bleach solution, but the last two days I have been using Nature's Miracle "Just for Cats" to try and eliminate any trace of it. Let me say very firmly that more than one box is not an option - it is a *very* big box that I clean several times per day. I have practically stuck my nose in it after one of my kittens poops there and sniffed deeply and cannot smell a thing. Yes, I know that cats have a more sensitive nose than people, but I can only do so much. So, what do you recommend to break this habit? I tried sprinkling a bit of nip on the box, but no luck. I am going to need more litter soon and I was thinking of going to the "Lightly Scented" Swheat Scoop (being flushable is very important for me) as I thought that it might be more attractive and/or cover smells that might be unpleasant to cat noses.
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# ? Aug 22, 2013 19:15 |
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fspades posted:I'm not sure. I heard something sliding on the window (as if he was trying to grasp it and failing) and then immediately a thump sound from outside. The bastard was just walking away when I looked down. As another goon said he was probably leaning off the ledge and using his paws to brace himself for a leap down, He should be ok but you know don't let him keep doing it because it can really stress out his legs.
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# ? Aug 22, 2013 21:03 |
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Finally got my cat home from the urinary blockage fiasco. He is doing very well. We bought a case of Hills prescription c/d as suggested. It's a lot less healthy (byproducts) than the limited ingredient food we have but vet knows best I guess... I have to keep him in the bathroom for the night because he's peeing on EVERYTHING, and peeing a lot too. Vet said its just because he's still irritated and it will go down in a day or so.
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# ? Aug 22, 2013 22:26 |
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JustAwful posted:Finally got my cat home from the urinary blockage fiasco. He is doing very well. We bought a case of Hills prescription c/d as suggested. It's a lot less healthy (byproducts) than the limited ingredient food we have but vet knows best I guess... So finally what happened to him ? Did he gets the entire treatment ?
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# ? Aug 22, 2013 22:52 |
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Luminaz posted:So finally what happened to him ? Did he gets the entire treatment ? He spent two day at the vet with a catheter in him.
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# ? Aug 22, 2013 23:53 |
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JustAwful posted:Finally got my cat home from the urinary blockage fiasco. He is doing very well. We bought a case of Hills prescription c/d as suggested. It's a lot less healthy (byproducts) than the limited ingredient food we have but vet knows best I guess... Yep, sounds like you're on the right track. He's still going to have discomfort peeing, which is why he'll try to pee on soft stuff because cats are very about that. The food sucks, but it's very specifically formulated and it just plain works, so at least it'll put an end to your cat's pain and peeing on your things.
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# ? Aug 23, 2013 02:22 |
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Hey guys. Sorry if this has been asked before; I don't frequent PI really. A friend of mine has been interested in a 15 week old kitten who, despite having a great temperament and just being really cool otherwise, has one pupil dilated and one normal constantly. Does anyone have any experience with this? My friend is really attached to the cat already and I wanna make sure it's not gonna be a major problem.
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# ? Aug 23, 2013 03:15 |
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JustAwful posted:Finally got my cat home from the urinary blockage fiasco. He is doing very well. We bought a case of Hills prescription c/d as suggested. It's a lot less healthy (byproducts) than the limited ingredient food we have but vet knows best I guess... A little late but my youngest cat had bladder stones that had to be surgically removed a couple years ago. Total cost was just under $1000 (original quote was between $1200-$1500). Our oldest cat does spray things on the floor (mostly clothes) but the youngest was a 100% of the time no excuses litter box user... until the stones. Then he'd be sleeping and pee everywhere in his sleep. It did take a few days after surgery for him to get back to his litterbox ways, because of the swelling and discomfort. But since then, he's never had another issue. He is also now on prescription food for life (though the Royal Canin Urinary SO). Kinda pricey, but in the grand scheme of things both cats are fed for under $20/month which seems pretty cheap. I also bought a Drinkwell fountain to encourage him to drink more water (since lack of water intake is a main cause of bladder issues). Best investment ever - both cats drink a lot more and seem a lot more healthy.
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# ? Aug 23, 2013 04:47 |
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Panda Bear posted:Hey guys. Sorry if this has been asked before; I don't frequent PI really. A friend of mine has been interested in a 15 week old kitten who, despite having a great temperament and just being really cool otherwise, has one pupil dilated and one normal constantly. Does anyone have any experience with this? My friend is really attached to the cat already and I wanna make sure it's not gonna be a major problem. Like for every pet you want to adopt, you need to go to the vet to do a check-up before buying/taking it. But this kind of problem can be linked to eye nerve.
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# ? Aug 23, 2013 08:13 |
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Someone explain these cat behaviors to me: 1) If I get up and move, Charlie constantly walks RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME, forcing me to a) step on her, b) stumble, c) walk into her, or d) cautiously step over her (I've been doing d a lot better lately) 2) Whenever I eat ANYTHING Charlie meows like she's dying. If I offer her a bit, she immediately grabs my hand, sniffs it, maybe licks it, then ignores it. This is from cheese, to meats, to veg, and everything in between. IT NEVER CHANGES, she only eats her cat food, but always demands mine and then ignores it. 3) If I'm on the couch not doing anything she ignores me, if I'm at the computer chair she ignores me... the moment I lie in bed it's either ~PET ME NOW~ or ~PLAY NOW~ (this is both after playing/not playing with her before bed). The "pet me now" is cute, but her version of it is to LIE ON MY FACE and purr, and the playing version is usually biting me. 4) It's humid here, so I keep the balcony closed. If I got out on the balcony without Charlie, she stays right by the door staring at me. If I let her out with me, she's staring at the door waiting to go back in.
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# ? Aug 23, 2013 15:52 |
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leftover posted:Someone explain these cat behaviors to me: Diagnosis: Your cat is behaving like a cat.
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# ? Aug 23, 2013 16:06 |
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leftover posted:Someone explain these cat behaviors to me: Please refer to thread title.
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# ? Aug 23, 2013 16:09 |
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leftover posted:Someone explain these cat behaviors to me: Another proof that the thread name is accurate.
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# ? Aug 23, 2013 16:10 |
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I grew up with dogs, so I suppose I keep expecting Charlie to have logical responses to things. Only have had Charlie for like a year now, so I guess I should just accept it. Thanks for the replies, it gave me a laugh. She is an adorable little rear end in a top hat though. My favorite is since it's so humid here, and she's long haired, the moment I get home she rubs all over my legs... and then I have cat hair stockings pretty much.
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# ? Aug 23, 2013 16:12 |
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Any solutions to a cat who gets poo poo stuck to his rear end and then wipes it all over the floor while we are asleep?
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# ? Aug 23, 2013 16:31 |
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revtoiletduck posted:Any solutions to a cat who gets poo poo stuck to his rear end and then wipes it all over the floor while we are asleep? Get a "sanitary cut" to cut down on dingleberries.
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# ? Aug 23, 2013 16:35 |
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duckfarts posted:Get a "sanitary cut" to cut down on dingleberries. I should probably specify that it's not really getting stuck to his fur. I saw him do it once, and it's more like he can't quite pinch off the loaf and gets freaked out, scrambles out of the box (leaving turds to fall where they may) and then starts scraping along the floor. I had to actually peel the poo poo off his rear end once, and it seemed like there was some hair in it. Would hairball food/treats help with this sort of thing?
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# ? Aug 23, 2013 18:49 |
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So my sister's catte is finally moving out from our home and into my sister's apartment. It's her first night here, so I had to come and sleep over to let her chill down. Scary new place and all. And a lot smaller than our house. First two hours was spent under the sofa, before we got her out so she could take her meds (she's on penicilin after a nasty fight with the neighbour cat the other day), then my sister left for a party she had to attend to to get to know her new classmates and teachers, so I agreed to entertain the little monster. After my sister left, the cat has been acting very weird. Laying on my lap and letting me pet and scratch her, before farting in my face and on my feet, walking around a bit, using her scratch post etc. You think this all sounds normal, right? Well, this is the first time ever I've seen her use the scratch post, and also the first time ever I've been allowed to touch her without her attacking me with claws and teeth. It's weird. I like it, but I can't stop the feeling that she's plotting something sinister. Please advice, tia.
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# ? Aug 23, 2013 21:45 |
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leftover posted:Someone explain these cat behaviors to me: 1) Charlie loves you and wants to be near you, 2) Catte 3) Catte 4) Catte
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# ? Aug 23, 2013 22:16 |
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Soooo it's day two of my cat being home from the vet after his blockage, and he is still VERY incontinent. He's sleeping on a towel in the bathroom pissing all over himself a few times a day. He is literally soaked in urine. He's tried to use the litter box, but he just sits there and maybe dribbles a drop or two, but the majority of his peeing is when he's just sitting on the towel or counter. The vet won't really give me a straight answer on whether this is normal or not, she just keeps saying "as long as he is peeing it's a good thing". She mentioned earlier that they had a really hard time getting the catheter in him when he was being treated, so I'm hoping he's just still irritated and it will go away in a couple days. He's never ever peed anywhere but the litter box before this, so it's kind of sad to see him lying in the bathroom soaked in urine.
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# ? Aug 23, 2013 22:36 |
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I have a 2 year old calico that's been having some vomiting/diaharea (jesus how do you spell that)/weight loss issues. I've had her in the vet for blood work, vitamin levels, fecal analysis and just recently a sonogram/ultrasound. The internist said that, in addition to high white blood cell levels and b12 levels being on the lower end of normal (way lower end), he saw on the sonogram that the small intestine was completely inflamed. He thinks it might be inflamed bowel syndrome, but he says he just isn't sure (actually he said he's 90% sure), and he wants to do a scope into her stomach and get a sample to check for cancers as well. The problem is this is yet another $1350 after I've already spent almost $2k trying to get her diagnosed. Am I wrong for wanting to just proceed with treatment for for inflamed bowels and vitamin deficiency? I had gotten into this whole mess assuming it was obstruction of a foreign object/infection or parasites, and it seems odd for a cat so young to already be looking at a potential cancer diagnosis. Plus if I drop $1300 just to find out it was inflamed bowels, I'm gonna be pissed, and if it's lymphoma, there's no way I can afford the chemo treatments. She's still eating fine and is active, and doesn't seem to be in pain or anything, so that's making it even harder to figure out how to handle this. Has anyone had similar experiences that might be able to weigh in?
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# ? Aug 24, 2013 00:06 |
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# ? Jun 1, 2024 05:19 |
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Lymphoma is a cancer that hits the young and the old - so being young does not make one immune to cancer. Also, diarrhea. Took me a year back in school to get it right. Telling the difference between IBD (inflamed bowels) and cancer (lymphoma, if it's diffuse) requires biopsy, unfortunately. However, you are not in the wrong for wanting to treat as if it is IBD. You just have to keep in mind that if treatment isn't successful, then the question becomes if it's a bad IBD or it actually is lymphoma. So it boils down to your comfort level. For some people, all they need to know is that there is a mass. For others, they need to know if it is cancer or not. And for the last, they need to know exactly what kind of cancer before making a decision.
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# ? Aug 24, 2013 01:16 |