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lorabel posted:I found a pair of kittens at a shelter that I'm planning on adopting. One brother is a little wary of people but the other is completely sociable. We're thinking that it won't take too long for the shy one to warm up to us. They're around 13 weeks old and will be getting their second vaccination shot next week. Agreeing with Baxxy - there's a big difference between a cold and a URI. My ghetto kitten came from the shelter with "a cold, don't you worry it'll clear right up", which was actually feline herpes - a charming viral URI common in shelters which he will have for life. In practice, it just means your cat will get the flu periodically. Decoy's eyes ooze boogers when it flares up so he goes on a short course of antibiotics to clear it up. The only two annoyances are 1) my vets won't vaccinate when there's even a faint suspicion that it might be flaring up, so it disrupted his annual vaccinations, and 2) my purebred did NOT come with herpes, but I've had to resign myself to the fact that he'll probably eventually catch it off Decoy despite regular vaccinations. Edit: For all life stages dry food talk, Petcurean make Go! dry food for all life stages. It rocks. Buy it.
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Oct 31, 2013 06:41
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baxxy posted:There's upper respiratory infections, and there's colds. My cat gets the occasional cold this time of year, and there's a couple days of sniffling and sneezing, then he's fine. I've had him for almost 12 years now and this has always been the case. There's no heinous amounts of green goo or coughing or anything like that. Someone who's had experience with an actual URI might be better to tell you the signs of that, but I'd say cat colds are common and do go away </not a vet>. I know when my boyfriend adopted his cat recently, he got a free initial visit with a particular vet referred by the shelter. If this shelter does that, it would probably be worth taking them up on it right away and asking about the colds. Tamarillo posted:Agreeing with Baxxy - there's a big difference between a cold and a URI. My ghetto kitten came from the shelter with "a cold, don't you worry it'll clear right up", which was actually feline herpes - a charming viral URI common in shelters which he will have for life. In practice, it just means your cat will get the flu periodically. Decoy's eyes ooze boogers when it flares up so he goes on a short course of antibiotics to clear it up. I'll describe symptoms real fast then. Every now and then the black brother would give a hacking cough and then be okay, he coughed maybe 4 times in 40 minutes. He sniffled a bunch and when he sneezed, nothing really came out. Around his nose there's dry, clear stuff. There was nothing gooing out of his eyes. He was eating with good appetite and came over to cuddle and play and purr. His brother wasn't sneezing or coughing at all, but he had a bit of dried clear stuff on his nose as well but I'm guessing that he's further along with his cold and getting over it. Their sisters were clear eyed and their noses were clear as well, so they had recently gotten over it too (she said that they'd all gotten it). I have had a cat before with URI and he sneeze long strings of green snot every time, so that's why I was figuring that they may be telling the truth with just the normal cold. But I wondered if maybe my cat was just a more severe URI and they could still have it. Either way they said they wouldn't be moving to us until they were over it and they had gone to the vet for their last vaccination so I figure that if the vet sees anything there, she/he'd tell them. So if it is just a regular little cold (which is really what it sounds like, right?) then you guys would still adopt?
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Oct 31, 2013 08:48
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I totally would still adopt. Even though Decoy's a filthy herpes-riddled shitbag, he's awesome - and would in fact be the best cat ever if he got over his habit of shredding my clothes. Most shelter kittens come out with some kind of bug/sniffle/worm anyway. It's pretty rare to find a kitten in perfect health. Edit: Wow, a SINGLE NZ store has finally imported Da Bird. Sure it's over twice the price of the US version, but my cats will FINALLY know the wonder of Da Bird. Tamarillo fucked around with this message at 10:18 on Oct 31, 2013 |
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Oct 31, 2013 10:02
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We had to cut down on the wet food for cost reasons so we got a water fountain and my cats definitely drink more from it. It's a pretty crappy one so I'm hoping we can upgrade one day.
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Oct 31, 2013 12:16
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Need some advice. I have two cats, male and female, both indoors only. I never ever let them outside. But somehow, they seem to have gotten some fleas. I haven't seen any, so I don't think it's a huge infestation, but they are scratching the heck out of their necks and I spotted some flea dirt on the blanket they like sleeping on. I've never had an animal with fleas before, so I went out late last night to find some flea medicine. All I could find was Petarmor for Cats. I bought it, and went home, and read some horror stories about how it'll kill my cats. Did I waster my twenty bucks? Is this stuff really that vile, or is that just the homeopathy anti-chemical crazies coming out of the woodwork?
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Oct 31, 2013 16:56
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pizza cat posted:Need some advice. I have two cats, male and female, both indoors only. I never ever let them outside. But somehow, they seem to have gotten some fleas. I haven't seen any, so I don't think it's a huge infestation, but they are scratching the heck out of their necks and I spotted some flea dirt on the blanket they like sleeping on. I've never had an animal with fleas before, so I went out late last night to find some flea medicine. All I could find was Petarmor for Cats. I bought it, and went home, and read some horror stories about how it'll kill my cats. Did I waster my twenty bucks? Is this stuff really that vile, or is that just the homeopathy anti-chemical crazies coming out of the woodwork? I use Revolution on our cats, which is a similar product (although the insecticide is different, I think). It works great. It's an insecticide that is harmless to mammals but makes the animal's blood toxic to fleas and anything else that feeds on it. They get mad when we squirt it on their backs, but they get over it. Some animals may have a sensitivity to it (or an inert ingredient in it), so the first time you dose them be sure to watch them to make sure they don't have a reaction. If Petarmor doesn't work well enough, there are others available. Millions of dogs and cats get treated with the stuff regularly, so relax. The odds of anything going wrong are very low.
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Oct 31, 2013 18:00
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Ev posted:They're not great. She says she can't breathe and her eyes burn like crazy. We tried rubbing a clean towel on them last night and put that on her face and they just got worse. Giving both of them a bath didn't seem to do anything to help it, though they certainly smelled cleaner. I'm going to second the advice regarding trying out allergy medication before giving up on the cats. I have extremely bad allergies (to almost everything living it seems - cats, dogs, trees, weeds, grasses, molds, dust...) and if I just tried to avoid everything I'm allergic to I'd live in a sad sterile bubble. I take and recommend Zyrtec, which may take a week or two before she gets results - it's not like Benadryl that starts noticeably working immediately. Other people have had good results with Claritin and Allegra, which are also OTC. (The generic versions are all fine if cost is an issue.) So if the Zyrtec doesn't work out after a few weeks try switching meds. If she has severe nasal congestion issues, she can ask her doctor about Flonase - it's a prescription nasal inhaler that's very effective for most people. There are also allergy eyedrops, both OTC and prescription available. If her allergies are quite severe she might also consider allergy desensitization shots (not just for your cats, but so she doesn't have to avoid visiting friends with cats, too). A typical regimen is 6 months to a year and is very effective for something like 90% of people who get them. She may also find that over time she becomes less allergic to your cats if she's exposed to them enough; my cat doesn't bother my allergies at all (and I don't follow my own advice - she sleeps in my bed all the time) but other cats do irritate my eyes if I haven't taken my eyedrops. Other things you can do include vacuuming regularly with a HEPA vacuum if you can afford one, and running a HEPA air filter (make sure it says HEPA and not "HEPA-Type"). You can get a decent small model on Amazon for ~$30. Keep the cats out of the bedroom and make sure to wash their bedding regularly. Those "anti-allergy" pet wipes don't really do anything, unfortunately. Both you and your gf should wash your hands and face after handling the cats as well.
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Oct 31, 2013 21:07
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Deteriorata posted:I use Revolution on our cats, which is a similar product (although the insecticide is different, I think). It works great. It's an insecticide that is harmless to mammals but makes the animal's blood toxic to fleas and anything else that feeds on it. They get mad when we squirt it on their backs, but they get over it. Revolution is great, it takes care of ear mites, heartworm, and some worms. It's what I use on my cat. However, I believe it's prescription only. Definitely worth the effort to get, though.
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Oct 31, 2013 21:44
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I'm moving on monday and want to make the transition as smooth as possible for my cats. I think they'll be okay, but I'll probably be wrong. Are there any tips y'all can offer so they don't lose whatever's left of their tiny minds?
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Nov 1, 2013 00:18
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muike posted:I'm moving on monday and want to make the transition as smooth as possible for my cats. I think they'll be okay, but I'll probably be wrong. Are there any tips y'all can offer so they don't lose whatever's left of their tiny minds? 1. Feliway plug-ins can help the new place smell like "home." 2. Keep them in one room at first to let them acclimate to less space and reduce the chance of them bolting out the door while you're moving boxes. 3. Make sure they have a blanket/towel that smells "familiar" to them so they have a comfort item. That's all the tips I can think of.
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Nov 1, 2013 00:23
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Get the cat carriers out now if you haven't already.
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Nov 1, 2013 00:27
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Would cardboard or newspaper be a good thing to put on the bottom of the inside of the carrier? Haha, I just put them down and one of them (the one I was more worried about) is already settling in to it. I suppose that'll help a little bit.
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Nov 1, 2013 00:31
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muike posted:Would cardboard or newspaper be a good thing to put on the bottom of the inside of the carrier? My cat's carrier has an old piece of fabric in there that makes it softer/snugglier. Every time I've moved, I have to make sure either the blanket gets on the bed ASAP, or I have my old sleeping bag out, because he'll spend the first couple of days mostly under my blanket or in that sleeping bag.
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Nov 1, 2013 00:37
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Edit: Wrong thread.
c0ldfuse fucked around with this message at 01:55 on Nov 1, 2013 |
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Nov 1, 2013 01:46
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So my kitten puked a few hours ago, seemed to be due to over-eating, nothing new there. The strange thing was a few hours later, he puked up some pink goop, he also had a tiny bit of semi-runny poop, that was about 5 hours ago, he hasn't puked since, he's been drinking water, generally active, following me around, responding to my pets and calls, wagging his tail. Doesn't seem to wanna eat food dry food though(understandable) Now I'm obviously taking him to the vet tomorrow, but what the hell happened? I get puking cause he ate to much, but not the pink goop. He's been fine otherwise. He's a 7 month old, neutered, vaccines up to date, he goes outside about an hour a day and supervised by me.
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Nov 1, 2013 06:10
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My cat has been acting strangely since my brother left for college. She's been pooping and peeing near the front door, and today she freaked out near her food bowl and attacked me for no apparent reason. She's about 13-14 years old, so I'm a little worried about her health. I'm taking her to the vet in about a week, but in the meantime is there something I should do?
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Nov 1, 2013 15:30
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Question regarding the new cat introduction process: I got a cat from a rescue about a month ago. Was actually going to get one of her adult kittens from the same rescue. Since it's her kitten, would I still need to go through the whole new cat introduction process or should I be okay? Hopefully this question isn't too stupid. Thanks!
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Nov 1, 2013 17:33
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It'll probably be easier but there will still probably be some 'some cat who is not me in my territory' going on. If they have a history together already and were friends it'll go quick I would think. Also some amount of cat quarantine is good for medical reasons.
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Nov 1, 2013 19:40
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I ordered litter in bulk on Amazon and just unboxed 200lbs of litter. And then I noticed it's non-clumping. poo poo. How do I handle a litterbox with non-clumping litter?
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Nov 2, 2013 01:48
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Thanks for recommending da bird. Though it seems like you could make one relatively easily with an old fishing pole, some spinners and feathers.
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Nov 2, 2013 03:26
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Me in Reverse posted:I ordered litter in bulk on Amazon and just unboxed 200lbs of litter. And then I noticed it's non-clumping. poo poo. I would put in a smallish amount, and just change the whole kit-n-kaboodle out each time instead of scooping if it's a real pain in the rear end.
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Nov 2, 2013 04:07
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Torpor posted:Thanks for recommending da bird. Though it seems like you could make one relatively easily with an old fishing pole, some spinners and feathers. I like to imagine they have sophisticated R&D labs where they rigorously test feline response to each lure, but yeah.
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Nov 2, 2013 13:40
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I noticed this afternoon that my kitten was squinting his left eye a lot, rubbing at it, and there is some discharge coming from it. I'm planning to take him to the vet on Monday if it's not better by then, and I got some eye wash at Petco today and have irrigated his eye twice so far (though with only a little bit of liquid, since he's a squirmy dude and flinches away). After the first time, I realized that nobody likes cold eye drops so I sat the bottle in some warm water before the second time, to bring it closer to body temperature. Besides this, is there anything more I can do for him? Is the eye wash even a good idea or could that make things worse? The eye doesn't look red or puffy, but he's constantly got it squinted or closed. He's otherwise normal, playing and eating normally, except he doesn't like me rubbing his cheek on that side of his face. Back on topic, I got him (and his buddy) da bird, and he literally plants himself outside the closet I keep it in for hours, waiting for it to come out and play. Best cat toy ever.
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Nov 3, 2013 00:25
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Has anyone else who uses the Blue walnut shell-based litter noticed a change in it recently? I got new bags last week and the litter seems lighter in color (not a big deal) but more importantly, slightly finer-grained and more dusty. I switched from World's Best because I was sick of my cat tracking little yellow paw prints all over my apartment; up until now the walnut stuff has been really good, dust- and tracking-wise. Hopefully this was just a fluke in manufacturing or something.
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Nov 3, 2013 07:46
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Sat with a hangover this morning, let the cat in, he mews for food in the traditional manner, but then only eats a few bites then leaves it. A bit weird, but I ignore it. Sat down with a coffee with him, and he gets antsy, hops onto the floor, and pukes his little kitty guts out. A mouse is in there. I think. Something that had grey/brown fur anyway. Hopefully it was just indigestion or a bad mouse or whatever, but he did pee a tiny (like a drop) amount when he puked- is this anything to worry about? Since then he has drunk water happily, and wanted more food.
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Nov 3, 2013 10:06
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I have a little black male cat, neutered. He is 3 years old and half wild. He has always brought in various victims to the house - dead birds and mice etc, which is kinda cute in a yuck way. Recently he has started bringing in live animals though and releasing them. We now have two mice camped out in the kitchen and I'm a bit freaked in case he brings home a live rat (he has brought back some dead ones before that were nearly the size of him). My boyfriend is laying down the law and says if he brings home a rat he has to go - we had a rat problem a few years back that cost a fortune in exterminators (and ironically is one of the reasons we got cats). I should say that we live a rural area and he is an outdoors cat that likes to sleep inside so already I'm torn with having a pet versus a work animal that should stay outside. Has anyone else had this problem where a cat will bring home live prey? I guess its because he wants to play with them like toys, or maybe teach us to hunt. I don't want to get rid of him OR make him stay outside since hes a very cuddly little guy and keeps our other, older female cat company. She is indoors only.
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Nov 3, 2013 13:59
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Your boyfriend should appreciate those presents more. Kinda ungrateful of the height of kitty generosity. (Keep your cat inside)
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Nov 3, 2013 15:40
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Is it okay to use the furminator on my cats in the winter? It does get a bit chilly in the apartment but they have free access to all blankets and sunbeams.
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Nov 3, 2013 15:49
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I have two cats. I have two problems. The worrisome one is our Older cat, Marshmallow. We adopted her about a year ago from a farm where she had been dropped off after being an indoor cat her whole life. She didn't do well with the other cats and basically refused to leave a carrier. We visited, she came running across the barn lot and adored my wife, and stared through the windows at her through the entire Thanksgiving. She's around 10 years old, spayed. She's healthier since we adopted her, eating regularly, finally taking some baths, and generally just a sleepy lap ornament. A month ago, she started having a vomit problem. Always undigested food. We had just bought a new bag of the same food (Hills C/D for bladder health, I'lll touch back on that with the other cat). It continued over a couple days, so we took her to the vet. Vet ran a full blood test, so we were able to rule out most internal problems. Vet basically said, "y'all got a barfy cat" and said to keep an eye on her for it getting worse in any way. It stopped entirely the next day. Welp, she's barfing again, and now it's like... a clear foamy stuff with a bit of pink to it. Sometimes it's food. Just like before though, she acts completely normal otherwise. No listlessness, she's bright eyed and cuddly. I've given her tummy and organs some prodding/squeezing, and I don't get any negative reactions. The vomiting seems to come in spurts, like, one day she'll be fine, but once she get's going, the irritated esophagus just makes it worse or something. Other cat: Toonces is a fat fucker. We got her as a kitten, she's spayed and about 3 years old now. A few months ago, we had a scare where she was urinating blood. Vet found out it was a bladder stone, we had surgery to have it removed. On vet recommendation, we've had her on the aforementioned Hill's urinary health since then. Thing is, that food is fattening - the vet warned us of this. Toonces has gained some bulk, though she isn't like those huge obese cats, I'm concerned about her tubbiness. Thing is, we give her like a half a cup a day - even the vet assistants were surprised she was as heavy as she was with this little food. I personally think that the bladder stones came up from a rapid food switch. We had visited my parents for christmas, and she ended up eating a different food than usual for a week, then switching back. I think this compounded with the stress could have caused it. So, I'm no vet, but I feel the prescription diet is unnecessary. We've been thinking that maybe it's time we slowly weened both cats on to a different food. I think Marshmallow needs a senior food that won't upset her stomach as much. Toonces needs a different food that isn't going to fatten her up so much. Thoughts?
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Nov 3, 2013 16:19
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I think royal canin has a urinary food that is also for weight management for fatties. Maybe see if the vet'll give you another prescription so you can try that? Does your older cat need urinary food too? If not, get her her own food. If so, try switching brands maybe. I'm really hesitant to suggest you go against your vet.
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Nov 3, 2013 16:27
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yeah, I know it's not in my best interest to go against the professional... I'll look into the royal canin maybe. Or maybe I'm just being cat weight paranoid. And I should have clarified, the older cat doesn't need the Urinary food, we switched her too for feeding simplicity.
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Nov 3, 2013 17:04
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I've got separate foods for my cats, its really not too bad. Do look into the low calorie urinary food though, I'm positive I saw some when I picked up Pizza's Rx
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Nov 3, 2013 17:14
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Fanged Lawn Wormy posted:"y'all got a barfy cat" I am not a vet or anything, but I have noticed that sometimes, cats get really barfy as they get older. And sometimes, they just are barfy all the time. Especially undigested food barfy, that sounds like they eat too drat fast or something.
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Nov 3, 2013 18:16
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Some cats are just gat dang idiots that eat too much and barf it up.
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Nov 3, 2013 18:19
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muike posted:Some cats are just gat dang idiots that eat too much and barf it up. Yeah one of our four goes through a phase where she will do this once a day several days in a row. It's really gross because another one thinks its a great treat just for him and he rushes to try and eat it before I can clean it up 
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Nov 3, 2013 19:10
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My dad is insisting that my kitten's eye is fine, but I strongly disagree and took some pictures so you can weigh in. It's really hard to keep him still long enough to get his face, but hopefully you can see what's going on here.    This warrants a vet visit tomorrow, right?? Bonus video of him playing with my other cat, wonky eye be damned: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0BB2Q5y-jM
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Nov 3, 2013 19:25
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Me in Reverse posted:I ordered litter in bulk on Amazon and just unboxed 200lbs of litter. And then I noticed it's non-clumping. poo poo. I prefer the non-clumping litter. I still scoop it regularly, but I just empty out the entire box then replace it with all new litter about once every week or two.
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Nov 3, 2013 19:33
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I saw that Kong makes a treat dispenser toy that you can smear some treat paste on — has anyone tried using it with wet food? Toast isn't too thrilled about his wet food, though he does eat it if I take it away unfinished and offer it again at next mealtime. But he does flips for his treat ball, even when it's the same kibble I've been offering alongside the wet food. Aside from less enthusiasm, he still eats and poops as normal, though. I might just need to change his food, or change where the food bowl is, or fix some other Cat Dilemma he has. He's going to the vet in a few days to be neutered too, I can bring it up then.
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Nov 3, 2013 19:42
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Rabbit Hill posted:My dad is insisting that my kitten's eye is fine, but I strongly disagree and took some pictures so you can weigh in. It's really hard to keep him still long enough to get his face, but hopefully you can see what's going on here. I'd take him in, don't mess around with eye issues. Both the third eyelid hanging out and the squinting indicate something might be amiss. Does he rub it at all? Is he sneezing?
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Nov 3, 2013 19:46
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I feel like this is probably a FAQ, but does anyone have tips or resources for flying with cats? I'm moving from the east to the west coast US in a couple of months and getting my two cats out there feels like the most overwhelming part of the process. Has anyone used one of those pet moving services like AirAnimal? Worth the price at all? I figure I can't do the cargo option because it will be too cold when I leave, so I'd have to take my cats as cabin pets. Airlines all seem to say things like "animal must be able to stand up naturally in the carrier", which my 16lb cat certainly cannot do in the under-seat space of 8-11". Is it possible/safe/advisable to transport a larger cat as a cabin pet? How in the hell do you take them out of their carriers and carry them through the metal detectors without an escapee situation?
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Nov 3, 2013 20:06
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