|
She could just be playing or have a huge beef with the ceiling fan. My cat will occasionally be in play mode and crouch and look up at the roof with a batshit look on her face. A few seconds later she's grooming. Organza Quiz posted:I'm also in Australia and I get my Feliway from here. Costs 2/3 of what it does at the vet and for some reason it seems to last longer too.
|
#
?
Sep 1, 2013 07:35
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 16, 2024 10:23 |
|
|
two_beer_bishes posted:I'm a new cat owner, recently my wife and I took in my mother in law's cat, but my wife has had cats her entire life. Sometimes, cats like to scamper about.
|
|
#
?
Sep 1, 2013 10:36
|
|
|
HEGEL CURES THESES posted:Sometimes, cats like to scamper about. Yep, even old cats. My 2 are both over 13 years old but they both love their cat drugs and race round the housegarden like mad things a couple of times a day. Get one of those fishing line toys and next time she goes nuts, play with her.
|
|
#
?
Sep 1, 2013 12:03
|
|
|
Even just a shoelace taken out of a boot works on mine. Drag that poo poo around corners and dangle it in front of her face and she'll try to murder it. If you want to get fancy, pull a few feathers out of a feather duster and hot glue them onto the end of it. God I'm cheap.
|
|
#
?
Sep 1, 2013 12:17
|
|
|
Fruity Gordo posted:Even just a shoelace taken out of a boot works on mine. Drag that poo poo around corners and dangle it in front of her face and she'll try to murder it. If you want to get fancy, pull a few feathers out of a feather duster and hot glue them onto the end of it.
|
|
#
?
Sep 1, 2013 12:52
|
|
|
duckfarts posted:No, these are great toys. My latest great toy: a cardboard box I took a folding knife to to cut some small windows in. It is now a favorite hangout or play area if I drop a sparkle pompom ball on it. I have two girls of about 3-4 months that were feral adoptees, and they go bananas for table tennis balls. If there is anything more entertaining than watching two kittens chase a ping-pong ball, I haven't seen it. Mind you, they are also very good at losing them. Normally I eventually can hunt them up, but one of them has been missing for days and I am out of ideas on where to look.
|
|
#
?
Sep 1, 2013 16:32
|
|
|
We have two cats. Cat A is an older male who needs special (and rather expensive) food. Cat B has decided she rather likes Cat A's food. Without shutting Cat A in a room for a while at breakfast and dinner (which could be perceived as a punishment), how can we prevent Cat B from eating Cat A's food?
|
|
#
?
Sep 1, 2013 16:37
|
|
|
If your cats are cuddlers, you could try feeding the greedy one first and holding and smooching the medifood one, then switch them when greedy is finished. But that could be kind of unwieldy, or not possible if they expect to be fed together or don't want to be cuddled at FOOD TIME. You could also put their bowls on opposite sides of the room when they're being fed, and loudly say 'ah!' or 'no!' when greedy tries to sneak over to rob food, and keep doing this for a while and see if it sticks. My old next door neighbour had two cats and fed them next to each other, and whenever I house-sat and fed the cats the greedy one would always finish her bowl and steal from her pathetic Tom friend, so I took to feeding greedy on the kitchen table and pathetic Tom on the ground.
|
|
#
?
Sep 1, 2013 16:47
|
|
|
hooah posted:We have two cats. Cat A is an older male who needs special (and rather expensive) food. Cat B has decided she rather likes Cat A's food. Without shutting Cat A in a room for a while at breakfast and dinner (which could be perceived as a punishment), how can we prevent Cat B from eating Cat A's food? We have a similar situation. I've set up a feeding station next to my desk where I can see who's eating it, and move the food out of reach when our old cat is away. She's learned that that's where her food is and will come and bug me when she's hungry.
|
|
#
?
Sep 1, 2013 16:57
|
|
|
hooah posted:We have two cats. Cat A is an older male who needs special (and rather expensive) food. Cat B has decided she rather likes Cat A's food. Without shutting Cat A in a room for a while at breakfast and dinner (which could be perceived as a punishment), how can we prevent Cat B from eating Cat A's food? If Cat B has a less-fragile psyche, shut Cat B in a room to feed while Cat A is eating?
|
|
#
?
Sep 1, 2013 22:05
|
|
|
Engineer Lenk posted:If Cat B has a less-fragile psyche, shut Cat B in a room to feed while Cat A is eating? Part of the problem is that both are grazers, so it seems unlikely that separating them during feeding doesn't really work, since when we feed them is not the only time they're eating.
|
|
#
?
Sep 1, 2013 22:15
|
|
|
hooah posted:Part of the problem is that both are grazers, so it seems unlikely that separating them during feeding doesn't really work, since when we feed them is not the only time they're eating. You can change this, though. Put down one meal's worth of food and leave it for 20 minutes or so. Anything uneaten by the end of that gets taken away. Next mealtime, they get one meal's worth of food and 20 minutes to eat it before the rest gets taken up. It usually doesn't take more than a few days for them to get the idea and eat their food during the mealtime allotted.
|
|
#
?
Sep 1, 2013 22:47
|
|
|
Serella posted:You can change this, though. Put down one meal's worth of food and leave it for 20 minutes or so. Anything uneaten by the end of that gets taken away. Next mealtime, they get one meal's worth of food and 20 minutes to eat it before the rest gets taken up. It usually doesn't take more than a few days for them to get the idea and eat their food during the mealtime allotted. Yeah, that's the routine I use. When the cat leaves, the food goes up out of reach. She'll scratch at my chair and meow when she wants it back. The other cats are constantly trying to sneak in and steal it. Sometimes they'll work a tag-team - if Faline (the special diet cat) doesn't like the particular flavor that day, she'll beg to get the dish down, then trot off so another cat can jump in and finish it off. Then she'll come back and beg for fresh food from a new can. Stupid she ain't. Sometimes when she's hungry she'll just sit and stare up at me without making a sound. It's rather unnerving.
|
|
#
?
Sep 1, 2013 23:02
|
|
|
So a couple weeks ago a little grey kitten (about 3-4 months old, we think) showed up at my parents' door. We've been taking care of it and looking for a home, but it's exhibiting some odd behavior. It doesn't seem to have much, if any, peripheral vision and it has some balance issues on its left side. Also, every now and then she'll start scratching at the side of her head and yowling like she's in pain. My folks think she might have a brain tumor. My grandmother is interested in taking her, but she's had one cat die of a brain tumor and we don't want to put her through that again if that's the case, and none of us can afford the tests to prove it one way or another. Is there anything else not life-threatening she could have, or do we need to have her put down?
|
|
#
?
Sep 2, 2013 00:49
|
|
|
Malmesbury Monster posted:So a couple weeks ago a little grey kitten (about 3-4 months old, we think) showed up at my parents' door. We've been taking care of it and looking for a home, but it's exhibiting some odd behavior. It doesn't seem to have much, if any, peripheral vision and it has some balance issues on its left side. Also, every now and then she'll start scratching at the side of her head and yowling like she's in pain. My folks think she might have a brain tumor. My grandmother is interested in taking her, but she's had one cat die of a brain tumor and we don't want to put her through that again if that's the case, and none of us can afford the tests to prove it one way or another. Is there anything else not life-threatening she could have, or do we need to have her put down? Could be an ear infection. I've got a cat recovering from that at the moment. If it's in the middle ear it can put pressure on the vestibular nerve, which then messes up their sense of balance. Get it to vet.
|
|
#
?
Sep 2, 2013 00:51
|
|
|
Deteriorata posted:Could be an ear infection. I've got a cat recovering from that at the moment. If it's in the middle ear it can put pressure on the vestibular nerve, which then messes up their sense of balance. Get it to vet. This. Definitely this. Ear infections can get quite nasty for them and be very painful. That would be my first guess as to the problem, though IANAV. Get her to a vet and hopefully some antibiotics and ear drops will take care of it.
|
|
#
?
Sep 2, 2013 02:50
|
|
|
duckfarts posted:No, these are great toys. My latest great toy: a cardboard box I took a folding knife to to cut some small windows in. It is now a favorite hangout or play area if I drop a sparkle pompom ball on it. 
|
|
#
?
Sep 2, 2013 02:57
|
|
|
Since we're talking cheap cat toys: get a straw and knot it a couple of times. If you want to get really fancy then tie it onto a string. My kitten who gets bored with all toys within a couple of days still goes nuts for it months down the track.
|
|
#
?
Sep 2, 2013 03:03
|
|
|
My sister's cat is having the time of her life when I dangle one of my father's old ties in front of her. Or when I take a piece of string and tie a crumpled up newspaper page to it. She's been chasing toys like the latter since I first saw her as a 7 weeks old kitten. Up and down and all over. It's the only way to get her out from under my bed, away from my parent's expensive sofa and oak table, and out of the bathroom when you want to use it, but can't since there's a cat in the sink drinking water, hissing at you when you get near.
|
|
#
?
Sep 2, 2013 09:07
|
|
|
My cat has been pissing indoors, not regularly and not in the same spot. Have been to the vet and ruled out urinary infections. Have tried Feliway. He is a neutered male, 5 years old. Nothing much has changed in the household in the past year. Have been cleaning properly using an enzyme cleaner (it's called Piss Off). I am almost certain it is because neighbourhood cats wander around outside and mark the outside of my house and he sees them. He is an inside cat and gets let out to the backyard on an almost daily basis on a leash and harness. Sometimes he sprays the outside of the house, and we have caught him spraying just after he has seen an outdoor cat roaming around. What are good deterrants to stop other cats from coming into the backyard? I saw the OP had something about moth balls? Are there any other enzyme/hormone sprays that work well, or electronic deterrants of some sort?
|
|
#
?
Sep 2, 2013 09:23
|
|
|
duckfarts posted:No, these are great toys. My latest great toy: a cardboard box I took a folding knife to to cut some small windows in. It is now a favorite hangout or play area if I drop a sparkle pompom ball on it. Everything bigger than a cubic foot that arrives here turns into "Buffy's Castle" for a while. At the very latest 2 or 3 months, she plays in there, hides from Oliver when he's in a thumping mood and butchers some of her kills in there... I check it every few days and if there are blood patches or body parts she gets a fresh box  These are from a few years back but I was killing myself laughing at the time. I got a new part and just dumped the box on my kitchen table while I unpacked it and started fiddling with it. I looked up and Buffy was in it with a wild look in her eyes shredding bits if paper. As soon as she got bored and left, Oliver squeezed into it (he's a big lad).  
|
|
#
?
Sep 3, 2013 00:25
|
|
|
Vidaeus posted:My cat has been pissing indoors, not regularly and not in the same spot. Have been to the vet and ruled out urinary infections. Have tried Feliway. He is a neutered male, 5 years old. Nothing much has changed in the household in the past year. Have been cleaning properly using an enzyme cleaner (it's called Piss Off). We've been having a similar problem, so I'd also be interested in an answer! I can tell you the bullshit "solution" I came up with was to spray our side of the door and all around the outside of the door with one of those "go away cat" sprays from PetSmart. However, I'm not an expert in such matters, and so it's not a perfect solution. 
|
|
#
?
Sep 3, 2013 04:07
|
|
|
So, I've been using Fresh step unscented litters for awhile now. It seems to have helped Rudy's occasional asthma issue (he used to have to go to the vet about once a year to be put on steroids for a breathing issue). However, it seems that most stores rarely have them in stock around me. Has anyone heard of stores carrying these less/them being discontinued?
|
|
#
?
Sep 3, 2013 17:34
|
|
|
Here is a stupid one: Are laser pointers good cat toys? Mine goes crazy for it, always giving his A-effort and panting afterwards but I feel like he gets frustrated and nervous when I eventually turn it off. Poor thing stands guard in vain where he last saw it. Am I teaching him being a lovely cat who can't catch a thing? 
|
|
#
?
Sep 3, 2013 18:19
|
|
|
fspades posted:Here is a stupid one: Are laser pointers good cat toys? Mine goes crazy for it, always giving his A-effort and panting afterwards but I feel like he gets frustrated and nervous when I eventually turn it off. Poor thing stands guard in vain where he last saw it. Am I teaching him being a lovely cat who can't catch a thing? I've heard if you have a cat who gets distressed by the point suddenly appearing/disappearing you should make an effort to have it "escape" under a piece of furniture or into a crack he can't reach. Some cats get hosed up by the fact the prey just vanishes and it interrupts their natural understanding of the "hunting" process, so making it appear/disappear more naturally helps relieve any kitty 
|
|
#
?
Sep 3, 2013 19:51
|
|
|
fspades posted:Here is a stupid one: Are laser pointers good cat toys? Mine goes crazy for it, always giving his A-effort and panting afterwards but I feel like he gets frustrated and nervous when I eventually turn it off. Poor thing stands guard in vain where he last saw it. Am I teaching him being a lovely cat who can't catch a thing? Mind, these are my feelings about middle-aged and elderly cats. I've never had an indoor kitten or young cat, so I've never had to tire one out after work. I've had the same cat since I was 7 and she was indoor/outdoor and still murdering and regifting frogs, mice and birds until I was 19 (when I made her an inside creep), and I'm 25 now. If you've got a young, playful jerk, then tiring them out with a laser is probably the best plan of attack in between actual play sessions since, you know, you just got home from work and gently caress off you tiny troll. So long as the laser isn't the whole of play for a young cat and is supplemented with them getting to destroy something, I reckon it's cool. Especially if they get off on it, because, really, the entire point of having a cat pal is for both of you to have a nice time, and if your cat is bored and doesn't play enough that's not fun or nice for either of you. So, yeah, I guess do laser poo poo as long as they dig it but space it out with dragging around stringed toys they can murder and also give them raspberries on their heads and bellies during play because that wigs them out too.
|
|
#
?
Sep 3, 2013 19:55
|
|
|
fspades posted:Here is a stupid one: Are laser pointers good cat toys? Mine goes crazy for it, always giving his A-effort and panting afterwards but I feel like he gets frustrated and nervous when I eventually turn it off. Poor thing stands guard in vain where he last saw it. Am I teaching him being a lovely cat who can't catch a thing? I tried a pointer with my two but they just ignored it /shrug
|
|
#
?
Sep 3, 2013 20:45
|
|
|
My cat loves it. She'd jump into walls to get it. I haven't noticed her freaking out when it disappears. She knows I'm the one who makes it, because when I even TOUCH the laser pointer she perks up and starters waiting for the red light to pop out somewhere. I do have to mimic prey behavior to really get her going, like having it just slightly hiding behind a corner or table leg or something. It has the benefit of "she doesn't grab it and drag it around at night, meowing like a victorious conqueror" like she does with her other (more tangible) cat lures that I get her to chase.
|
|
#
?
Sep 3, 2013 21:44
|
|
|
If you've got a cat who gets freaked out by the pointer disappearing you could also try finishing the play session by giving them a treat or letting them play with something they can catch. Then they still get the "Yay, I caught something!" satisfaction after all their hard work and you still don't have to get off the couch for most of the afternoon.
|
|
#
?
Sep 4, 2013 02:46
|
|
|
I've got a (probably rather dumb) question, but, how long can I leave wet cat food out? I'm transitioning my kitties from kibble to wet food, and while they have some kibble still in their dish, one of them is a little hesitant on the wet food at the moment.
|
|
#
?
Sep 4, 2013 15:14
|
|
|
I wouldn't leave it out for longer than 12 hours, but you're absolutely fine for at least four. Cats have a relatively short digestive tract and are evolutionarily accustomed to eating ripe meat when they have to, so any bacteria that accumulates within that time frame isn't going to effect them. Even humans can eat cooked chicken that's been left out at room temperature for 24 hours (I am proof of this because I am a disgusting person who hates wasting good food.)
Fruity Gordo fucked around with this message at 15:24 on Sep 4, 2013 |
|
#
?
Sep 4, 2013 15:22
|
|
|
Edit: having trouble with breaking tables on the phone
feverish and oversexed fucked around with this message at 15:43 on Sep 4, 2013 |
|
#
?
Sep 4, 2013 15:39
|
|
|
I play with my two kittens (about 4 months) with a laser pointer, and what I do is first get the treat bag from the shelf and sit down in the living room. I put a treat right next to me and lead them on a good romp for a while, but eventually the red dot always ends up right on the treat. I turn it off when they pounce, but they get a yummy treat at the end and I stroke them to let them know that I am proud of them. I *hope* that this gives them the idea of a successful hunt and some positive reinforcement. I picked up a few catnip mice yesterday as well and they loved those... the little hyper one played with his until he was so tired that he was practically catatonic (pun very much intended). I had to lift him up onto the sofa and he zonked out for a good 3-4 hours. Now, here's my question... I have a dining room set (small table and 4 chairs) that I picked up from a neighbour who moved. I actually never eat there (I almost always eat at my desk) and have no problem with my furballs being on the chairs or even the table. However, they scratch the hell out of the chairs, one of which is starting to show it. I bought them a scratching post but the use of both regular 'nip and the spray hasn't really helped. It has the feathers on cords, which they love to play with, but they don't sharpen their claws on it. I moved the chairs into my office for now (they hide in them under the table too much anyway, and they need to learn to be brave), but they seem to now like horizontally scratching the carpet. The chairs are covered with a tough, course fabric and the carpet is a very tight, hard pile while the post is a softer, fluffy carpet, so I think that it's a matter of material. I even tried demonstrating how to scratch on it, which made me feel like a right idiot. So, do you think that one of those horizontal, course scratchers would work better? They don't really do much damage with their tiny claws, but they are growing fast...
|
|
#
?
Sep 4, 2013 16:07
|
|
|
JustJeff88 posted:I play with my two kittens (about 4 months) with a laser pointer, and what I do is first get the treat bag from the shelf and sit down in the living room. I put a treat right next to me and lead them on a good romp for a while, but eventually the red dot always ends up right on the treat. I turn it off when they pounce, but they get a yummy treat at the end and I stroke them to let them know that I am proud of them. I *hope* that this gives them the idea of a successful hunt and some positive reinforcement. I picked up a few catnip mice yesterday as well and they loved those... the little hyper one played with his until he was so tired that he was practically catatonic (pun very much intended). I had to lift him up onto the sofa and he zonked out for a good 3-4 hours. My cat loves chairs, and we have these beautiful leather lounges she would have ruined given the chance if we didn't scream at her every time we caught her scratching them. She hasn't touched them for years, and has recently taken to a cane chair. I figure, let the bitch, she's old and the chair cost $20. When she's gone I can look at the damage and smile. Also, your laser strategy is awesome.  Edit: Ohhh, hang on, I'm daft. I assumed they were scratching the chair legs, not the seats. Heh. In that case, if you don't mind spending the money, the horizontal thing is probably the way to go because they're clearly used to doing it that way. Just make sure the fabric is similar to carpet/chair seats, because clearly they dig it. Also give then treats when they choose to use it instead of the carpet because cats are dumb and usurious. Fruity Gordo fucked around with this message at 16:31 on Sep 4, 2013 |
|
#
?
Sep 4, 2013 16:23
|
|
|
Fruity Gordo posted:Also, your laser strategy is awesome. Yay, thank you!  Those horizontal scratchers, though, are very inexpensive. I can't imagine saving much by going your route and it seems a fair bother, so I'll try one of those. The more I think about it, I'm convinced that it's the material - the little buggers just want something firm to work their claws on. My mum suggested having them declawed, and I nearly went off on one. She's the type that is an authority on everything because she heard from someone who knew someone who blah blah blah... Edit: I made this post before you made yours, but I'll stand by it.
|
|
#
?
Sep 4, 2013 16:30
|
|
|
I'm cheap as hell, so the second someone suggests buying something I knee jerk and go 'NO I CAN MAKE IT MAHSEL FULL COMMUNISM!!!!  'Your mum is not allowed to have cats because Jesus Christ, lady.
|
|
#
?
Sep 4, 2013 16:34
|
|
|
I read the whole FAQ and while there's a lot of stuff there about litter boxes and spraying, I couldn't see anything about relocating/removing a litterbox. My wife and I have 2 male cats, both around a year old (We've had them for about 4 months, we adopted them from a couple who were moving overseas) and we've had them chipped, neutered, vaccinated, the whole 9 yards. We've started letting them roam outside the house for a few hours every day, so far so good nobody is getting run over or coming home torn up from fighting other cats. We live in a 3 story townhouse, and when we first got them because they were coming from living in a single story apartment they seemed freaked out by stairs and had seemingly had trouble working out that they were able to go up and down them, so we put 2 litter trays on the bottom floor and one on the landing of the second floor to make sure they would always be able to find one. Now that they're happy wandering up and down the house, we want to get rid of the upstairs tray or at the very least move the upstairs tray downstairs with the other two. My first attempt at this has just failed miserably, I woke up this morning to find one of them had just figured "Well the blue plastic thing is gone but I'm pretty sure this is a bathroom" and poo poo on the landing. I cleaned that up and went hardcore scrubbing over the whole landing, disinfectant, odour neutralising stuff, and a mix of water and washing powder that the vet suggested we clean things with from before they were ready to be neutered and they went through a brief spraying patch. I then got home this evening to find they'd just poo poo all over the landing again while I was out, because apparently it's still a toilet. I've cleaned it up again and put the tray back where it was and they've gone right back to using it. How the hell do I get them to stop crapping on my landing? Is it too late and I will forever have to live with a cat poo poo scented landing? We're hoping to eventually transition them into being outdoor cats where they learn to do their thing when they're outside, but I think if I can't even get them to just use the trays by the door (which they will happily do if the upstairs tray needs to be emptied, but leaving a full tray of cat crap on my landing to deter them isn't really a viable solution) instead of coming all the way back into the house and up the stairs that this is going to be a hell of a hurdle.
|
|
#
?
Sep 4, 2013 22:26
|
|
|
Grab Meatcastle posted:I read the whole FAQ and while there's a lot of stuff there about litter boxes and spraying, I couldn't see anything about relocating/removing a litterbox. You're right that they still think it's a place for making GBS threads. Try moving the litter box back to where they think it should be, and then slowly moving it to where you want it a little bit each day. That way they'll hopefully get used to the change as their mental map of appropriate making GBS threads places adjusts.
|
|
#
?
Sep 5, 2013 03:22
|
|
|
Anyone ever see a cat mustache appear one day? It's supposed to be white and now it looks like he's getting a brown mustache - some days more pronounced than others. It's never red, only ever brownish gray, and I've never actually seen it come out of his nose or be anywhere in his nose, so I don't think it's blood. Could it be food? He's fed only wet mash type food, and that's the only other thing I can think of. Here's a picture of it.  Anyone seen this in their cats? He's going in for a checkup soon but just wanted to see if anyone's seen it before.
|
|
#
?
Sep 5, 2013 05:56
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 16, 2024 10:23 |
|
|
Cat acne maybe? Try washing his water and food bowls, and/or switching to porcelain or metal if you're using plastic.
|
|
#
?
Sep 5, 2013 07:21
|
|