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Da Bird arrived this morning. Took it out of its wrapper, dangled it above Hugo's head and... Hugo is loving terrified of it  Decoy thinks its a real bird though, so while Hugo was backing away and making sad faces, Decoy raced up, snatched it out of the air and gunned it, ripping the stick out of my hands. He ended up under a chair, making gutteral protests when I took it off him. Stupid cats. Too scared or too bloodthirsty to play properly.
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Nov 3, 2013 20:08
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Dienes posted: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? He was rubbing it quite a bit yesterday but I haven't seen him doing it today or heard any sneezes. The discharge coming from it is clear and runny, like slightly congealed tears.
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Nov 3, 2013 20:09
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So I'm fostering a super cute cat right now. I've had him since Friday, and he's barely eaten anything. He's kicked litter around in his box but hasn't gone to the bathroom either. I have stinky wet food out, as well as three different types of dry. I got him to eat a few bites of food today, but still almost nothing... Other than that he's fine, acting social, exploring the house a little bit, has met one of my cats (by accident, but they did well together) and cuddling with me whenever I go to check up on him. I'm at a loss here, what can I do to make my foster cat eat? Any ideas? He acts interested in food if I'm opening a can or pouring out some kibble, but then he just... doesn't eat it.
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Nov 3, 2013 20:28
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uptown posted:So I'm fostering a super cute cat right now. I've had him since Friday, and he's barely eaten anything. He's kicked litter around in his box but hasn't gone to the bathroom either. I have stinky wet food out, as well as three different types of dry. I got him to eat a few bites of food today, but still almost nothing... Other than that he's fine, acting social, exploring the house a little bit, has met one of my cats (by accident, but they did well together) and cuddling with me whenever I go to check up on him. I'm at a loss here, what can I do to make my foster cat eat? Any ideas? He acts interested in food if I'm opening a can or pouring out some kibble, but then he just... doesn't eat it. Maybe try putting some wet food in a bowl, pour hot water on it and mash it up into a stinky warm cat-mash? My foster kittens went nuts for this. Could be he's got a bug from the shelter and can't smell so well right now.
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Nov 3, 2013 20:41
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Aradekasta posted: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. I've never seen an animal in the under the seat storage, but I've seen them in their own seats. Maybe it varies by airline? I'm also pretty sure the cargo area for animals is at least semi-temperature controlled, and I would be much more comfortable flying my pets in the winter than the summer. I don't know if it's feasible or what the general consensus is on these things, but a couple friends have one of these for their cat because he is (literally) brain damaged and gets upset during storms. He turns into a slack, semi-paralyzed pile of happy, purring cat when they put it on.
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Nov 3, 2013 21:48
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uptown posted:So I'm fostering a super cute cat right now. I've had him since Friday, and he's barely eaten anything. He's kicked litter around in his box but hasn't gone to the bathroom either. I have stinky wet food out, as well as three different types of dry. I got him to eat a few bites of food today, but still almost nothing... Other than that he's fine, acting social, exploring the house a little bit, has met one of my cats (by accident, but they did well together) and cuddling with me whenever I go to check up on him. I'm at a loss here, what can I do to make my foster cat eat? Any ideas? He acts interested in food if I'm opening a can or pouring out some kibble, but then he just... doesn't eat it. Pour some tuna water over it, mash it up, then heat it in the microwave for a few seconds. Basically, get it nice and stank because that's how cats love their food.
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Nov 3, 2013 22:19
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Aradekasta posted: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. I've seen people bring their cats on planes and they placed them on their lap (in the carrier). My cat pisses herself when we bring put her in a car for 5 minutes; I can't imagine her being in a loud cold area in the bottom of the plane. It looks like you did your research but I'd seriously consider fitting both of them in one carrier (unless you are traveling with another person and can make it two?). The people I sat next to on planes who had their dogs/cats definitely did not have ones that were able to stand while in the carrier. Obviously people can't bring their St. Bernards on with them but luckily you are not in that position. The only downside is it will count as your carry on, so you'll have to leave the laptop or something behind. Bring a DS or something you can fit in your pocket.  Does anyone have any experience with making food for their cats? I was reading about the owner of not one, but the two oldest cats ever (both lived to over 30) and he said it was because he cooked them their own food. I am reading so many guides online but they are confusing messes. Some say to grind eggshells into the food?  I can't tell if raw food is the way to go? Semi-raw? Fully cooked? Some say we need to buy taurine and mix it in; some say we need liver and organs and stuff like that? Open to suggestions here. Keep in mind we aren't doing this to be cheapskates, we're doing this so they live long and healthy lives.
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Nov 3, 2013 22:23
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Aradekasta posted: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. Miyamotos RGB NES posted:I've seen people bring their cats on planes and they placed them on their lap (in the carrier). My cat pisses herself when we bring put her in a car for 5 minutes; I can't imagine her being in a loud cold area in the bottom of the plane. It looks like you did your research but I'd seriously consider fitting both of them in one carrier (unless you are traveling with another person and can make it two?). The people I sat next to on planes who had their dogs/cats definitely did not have ones that were able to stand while in the carrier. Obviously people can't bring their St. Bernards on with them but luckily you are not in that position. Most airlines also have a 1 pet per person limit. My mom came down and helped me pack, then took one of my cats as her carry on and I had the other. Some airlines require special documentation from the vet on both vaccinations as well as current health; this typically needs to be done within 10 days of your flight, so double-check now and schedule an appointment if your airline requires it. I put a harness on them before putting them in carrier, and then held onto that to take them through the scanner. Going in early in the morning when there are less people and noise helps, too.
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Nov 3, 2013 23:20
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Ugh, man. I thought problems with my cats were over, but they're just getting worse. I got them both from the shelter at the same time, and for the first month, Peeky the black cat was hiding in cupboards generally being scared of everyone and everything. Our grey cat, Whiskey, was a fearless little guy and very awesome indeed. We've had them for three months now, and one month after we got them we moved to a different apartment. Peeky and Whiskey never were the best of friends, and me and my boyfriend completely hosed up at separating the cats and slowly introducing them. Our apartment was simply too small for that. Right before we moved, though, they began to act more friendly to each other. Sleeping next to each other, occasional playing instead of fighting, and things were looking good. But now, Whiskey seems stressed, more nervous, and has taken up the habit of peeing on the carpet. I have tried just about everything, it feels like, but it's not stopping. I tried Feliway sprays and diffusers, I tried Cat Attract, I bought an extra litter box (we have 3 now) but he's not using it, I got a blacklight to find all the pee-spots and scrub them clean with Nature's Miracle. None of it's working and I feel like I'm at the end of my rope. I understand he's likely stressed out (overall they fight less now, but when they fight it's bad), but I feel like there's little I can do. Now my boyfriend discovered Whiskey peed on the carpet again, and he's giving me an ultimatum: if he doesn't stop within a month, he's going back to the shelter. Whiskey drinks enough water and he does use the litter box most of the time. When he pees he doesn't seem to strain or experience pain. He does seem noticably more nervous though, and for whatever reason seems to have taken to hiding behind our tv-stand when we come in the room. This peeing is stressing me out and I've tried so much to fix it, I really don't want to give him back to the shelter either, most no-kill shelters in the Las Vegas area are full and I doubt he'll stand much of a chance in a kill shelter with his pee-problems. And, gently caress, I love the little guy, I want to see him happy here with us, but I'm starting to wonder if that's ever going to happen.
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Nov 3, 2013 23:33
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Irkenfox posted:Ugh, man. I thought problems with my cats were over, but they're just getting worse. I got them both from the shelter at the same time, and for the first month, Peeky the black cat was hiding in cupboards generally being scared of everyone and everything. Our grey cat, Whiskey, was a fearless little guy and very awesome indeed. Take him to the vet and get a urinalysis done. Stress can trigger UTI a lot of times, which can cause inappropriate urination, so it's something that might be helped with some antibiotics.
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Nov 4, 2013 01:15
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Irkenfox posted:Ugh, man. I thought problems with my cats were over, but they're just getting worse. I got them both from the shelter at the same time, and for the first month, Peeky the black cat was hiding in cupboards generally being scared of everyone and everything. Our grey cat, Whiskey, was a fearless little guy and very awesome indeed. It wouldn't hurt to bring him to the vet to rule out a medical cause. Based on what you've said, it could definitely be behavioural. Cats in stressful situations can get a condition called feline lower urinary tract disease (FLUTD), also called interstitial cystitis, that basically causes inflammation in their bladder that can make it painful to urinate. Being cats, they sometimes associate this with their litter box, so they start peeing in other areas. Typically you will also see them straining to urinate, and in boy cats FLUTD can cause urethral obstruction (which is why we say male cats who are straining to pee constitute a medical emergency). Assuming this is not causing an obstruction (which I'm assuming because you say you've seen him pee), this will resolve on its own, although it could be worth it to bring him to the vet anyway for pain medication if that was the case. How long has this been going on? If you don't see any signs of painful urination (going in and out of the litter box, licking excessively at the penis, blood in the urine, straining to pee), FLUTD is a bit more unlikely. UTIs are quite rare in cats, especially healthy ones - less than 2% of cats presenting for FLUTD actually have a UTI. A UTI in a cat usually indicates that something else is going on (renal disease, diabetes mellitus), which is unlikely (but not impossible) in cats as young as yours. Where are the litter boxes? Sometimes people buy multiple boxes but put them in the same place - to cats, this is effectively just one large litter box, no matter how many you have. If the other cat is antagonizing him and all the litter boxes are in one place, the other cat may be blocking access to it, forcing him to pee somewhere else. Can you describe their fights? What do you mean by "bad"? Do you ever see him use the litter box? How long does he dig around in it? Which areas of the house is he peeing in? Is he peeing on certain objects?
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Nov 4, 2013 04:28
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Braki posted:Where are the litter boxes? Sometimes people buy multiple boxes but put them in the same place - to cats, this is effectively just one large litter box, no matter how many you have. If the other cat is antagonizing him and all the litter boxes are in one place, the other cat may be blocking access to it, forcing him to pee somewhere else. Can you describe their fights? What do you mean by "bad"? Do you ever see him use the litter box? How long does he dig around in it? Which areas of the house is he peeing in? Is he peeing on certain objects? Two of the litter boxes are in our second bathroom, that's something we thought might be the problem so we got another litter box that I filled up with Cat Attract and put inside the closet in another room. He hasn't used it once (it is a hooded litter box unlike the other two we have, I just removed the hood to see if he'll use it now). He does use the litter box more often than he pees on the carpet, though, and he always pees on the carpet in the corners of the hallway, never anywhere else. When he does use the litter box, he sometimes spends a little while digging around, I've noticed this happening more since we put litter box liners in the boxes, but he started peeing way before that. Two of the litter boxes are filled with Cat Attract, which he likes, and one has World's Best, which he also likes. I'm also no expert in cats fighting, but their fights used to be way milder - some noise but nobody got injured, recently we've noticed that both cats seem to have a few scabs that we think might be caused by scratches or bites, which makes me worry that the fighting is only escalating. They are definitely way noisier now, and it is always Whiskey who suffers because Peeky is more muscle than cat it seems. I'll try to get an appointment with the vet within a week or two. If this is caused by behavioral issues, would isolating and slowly re-introducing them help?
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Nov 4, 2013 07:07
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My cat sucks at using the litter box. When I first got her, she was a feral kitten that some crazy dude gave me. She figured out right away that the box with cat litter in it was for bathroom stuff, but she had some technical difficulties. She would dig a massive hole, kicking litter everywhere, then stand in the box but hang her butt over the side of the box and pee/poop on the floor. She would then scoop the litter out of the box, on to the floor to cover it up. There would be like a foot radius of cat litter piles all around her box, and literally no poop or pee inside it. My solution to this was to get one of those covered igloo dome style litter boxes. That way, she'd have to walk up a little ramp and actually get into the box to use it, and there would be no chance of spillage. It works great except that now she sucks at burying it. She'll get in the box, dig her hole, poop, but then she'll just scratch at the wall of the litter box and hop out like "Yep, okay got that covered pretty good!". It smells sooo bad. I have tried every type of litter that claims to eliminate odors,but I think they only work if your cat is actually covering their poop with the litter instead of just leaving it out in the open. She also likes to pee in the same exact spot every single time which quickly makes the litter mushy and clay-like and difficult to scrape out of the box. Since the litter isn't absorbing the cat pee, it just sits in a puddle and smells awful. I clean her litter box daily, and wash it out weekly, but my bedroom ALWAYS smells gross. Keeping the litter box in another room is out of the question, since I live with roommates and don't want to inflict bad cat smells on them. I feel like her litter box issues are due to her living outdoors for the first few months of her life. I'm not really sure what to do about it at this point. She's a super awesome cat, and I love her to death but oh my god she stinks up my room. 
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Nov 4, 2013 07:08
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Irkenfox posted:Two of the litter boxes are in our second bathroom, that's something we thought might be the problem so we got another litter box that I filled up with Cat Attract and put inside the closet in another room. He hasn't used it once (it is a hooded litter box unlike the other two we have, I just removed the hood to see if he'll use it now). He does use the litter box more often than he pees on the carpet, though, and he always pees on the carpet in the corners of the hallway, never anywhere else. When he does use the litter box, he sometimes spends a little while digging around, I've noticed this happening more since we put litter box liners in the boxes, but he started peeing way before that. Two of the litter boxes are filled with Cat Attract, which he likes, and one has World's Best, which he also likes. How often do you clean the boxes? How often do you completely clean them out? What do you clean them with (sometimes cats can smell the citrus in dishwasher detergent, or bleach residue, and it can turn them off)? How close are the hallway pee spots compared to your second bathroom where the litter boxes are? Definitely worth getting that vet visit in - although the anxiety could be the cause of her pee problems, there are a lot of anxious cats who have no problems peeing in their boxes. When he pees in the hallway, how much pee is there? Just a little, or does it seem like he's voiding his bladder on the carpet? Does any of it get on the walls? I asked you about how long he spends digging because it can be an indicator of how much cats like the box. Generally, cats who are happy with their box will spent at least 4 seconds digging around. If they don't dig around very much, it can mean that they don't like their box and they don't want to spend much time in it. Reintroducing them might work, but at this point it would have to be very slow and I'm not sure how much of an improvement you could get. Definitely a good idea to remove the hood from that other box. How big is that one? Try to liken litter boxes to airplane bathrooms - they tend to be really small and cramped, and not really your favourite place to do your business. You can make improvements to them by removing the hood, and making them bigger (rubbermaid tubs instead of pet store litter boxes). Since he always goes in the same spots, you could try making those areas less attractive - put upside-down carpet runners on those areas, or move his food/water near that area (cats don't like to poop where they eat). If you rule out medical causes and all of this stuff doesn't work either, you could try giving him anti-anxiety meds and see if that helps.
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Nov 4, 2013 07:49
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candywife posted:I clean her litter box daily, and wash it out weekly, but my bedroom ALWAYS smells gross. Keeping the litter box in another room is out of the question, since I live with roommates and don't want to inflict bad cat smells on them. Are you using clumping litter? It doesn't sound like you are? When my cats were little I used the normal non-clumping clay stuff, and used to have the same issues - scooped every day, cleaned every week, cat piss repository stank of cat piss. I changed to clumping litter and it made a huge difference. I only have one litterbox and when my cats double down on the same spot, it makes a huge piss ball but is still scoopable and doesn't smell rank - and I just use plain clumping stuff with a bit of charcoal because all the ~lovely smell~ stuff just smells weird to me. Unless your cat pisses out her body volume in water, clumping litter should hold up fine if you're scooping every day? Disregard if I have no reading comprehension and you're using clumping litter.
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Nov 4, 2013 07:56
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My roommate's girlfriend brought home a cat today. It was left outside her work in a caedboard box. It looks like she is only a year or so old and is a very nice and friendly cat. I think that there is a little wear mark on her fur from a collar. We also found a tick on her(whats the best way to remove it?) which I think is why she got left alone. The problem is that we have another cat who my landlord doesn't vaccinate because he stays indoor. We have new cat downstairs in a large dog crate with some food, water, and a makeshift litter box (which she eats, drinks, and uses). How dangerous is it to have new cat here with my old cat(I assume rather bad) while we find her a new home? Im not worried about our english setter because she is vaccinated and is kept upstairs.
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Nov 4, 2013 08:42
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Until you take her to a vet, don't. Like, at all. She might have FeLV. Don't even let the old cat sniff around the crate, because that can be transmitted through just respiratory droplets.
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Nov 4, 2013 08:51
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Interesting little cat behaviour study. http://www.cats.org.uk/news/behaviour-survey The video is cute too.
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Nov 4, 2013 11:33
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Tamarillo posted:Are you using clumping litter? It doesn't sound like you are? I've tried non-clumping, which didn't work well at all but typically I use clumping litter. The problem is that she pees in the exact same spot every single time and that she won't bury her poop at all so by the time I get home from work, my room smells overwhelmingly like dirty litter box even though I clean it daily. I guess I should rephrase my question. How can my cat learn to bury stuff in the litterbox? or Is there some kind of super potent cat litter that will eliminate bad smells? I just bought tidy cats breathe easy, which is supposed to be antibacterial, but I haven't used it yet.
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Nov 4, 2013 17:57
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candywife posted:I've tried non-clumping, which didn't work well at all but typically I use clumping litter. The problem is that she pees in the exact same spot every single time and that she won't bury her poop at all so by the time I get home from work, my room smells overwhelmingly like dirty litter box even though I clean it daily. If you're willing to drop some cash, a litter robot would be a decent solution.
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Nov 4, 2013 19:36
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Braki posted:How often do you clean the boxes? How often do you completely clean them out? What do you clean them with (sometimes cats can smell the citrus in dishwasher detergent, or bleach residue, and it can turn them off)? How close are the hallway pee spots compared to your second bathroom where the litter boxes are? Definitely worth getting that vet visit in - although the anxiety could be the cause of her pee problems, there are a lot of anxious cats who have no problems peeing in their boxes. When he pees in the hallway, how much pee is there? Just a little, or does it seem like he's voiding his bladder on the carpet? Does any of it get on the walls? I scoop the boxes a few times a day. I clean the boxes out every 2 weeks, I just use hot water to clean them. I removed the hood off our third litter box last night and it appears that both cats are using it now  , it is a huge box compared to our other two boxes. I've got a few spare water bowls lying around, I'll start putting those in the corners that he's peeing in. When he pees in the corners, it is always a little bit and always on the floor, I've never seen him spray on the walls. I definitely agree that it's worth going to the vet for and I'll try to get an appointment within the next two weeks, in the meantime I've moved some food and water bowls so that the other cat can't block him off, and I guess that them using our third litter box is a good sign. If he seems anxious again I'll try separating them, right now Whiskey's chilling on top of a box with a toy full of catnip and he seems pretty relaxed, they haven't fought today so I hope it's slowly getting better between the two.
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Nov 4, 2013 19:38
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My cat started drooling a lot today, as in leaving wet spots wherever she sits. She's otherwise acting completely normal and is eating and drinking normally. How long should I wait to see if this goes away before I take her in? I've checked the whole apartment and I can't find anything she could have gotten into.
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Nov 4, 2013 19:46
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Hummingbirds posted:My cat started drooling a lot today, as in leaving wet spots wherever she sits. She's otherwise acting completely normal and is eating and drinking normally. How long should I wait to see if this goes away before I take her in? I'd take her in pretty much ASAP. From past experience it could be a problem with a tooth, but I've seen it be a symptom of other issues as well. If she's otherwise more secluded than usual, or if her eyes are dilated more than normal, that could be a sign as well. Hopefully she's okay and it's just something minor. Cats have a remarkable ability to get into anything. Narrowly dodged a bullet last night as one of our 8-month old cats tried eating my fiancee's earring.
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Nov 4, 2013 20:43
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Beowulf posted:I'd take her in pretty much ASAP. From past experience it could be a problem with a tooth, but I've seen it be a symptom of other issues as well. If she's otherwise more secluded than usual, or if her eyes are dilated more than normal, that could be a sign as well. Hopefully she's okay and it's just something minor. Thanks, my home vet across the state advised me to take her in ASAP as well because she may have eaten a foreign object. We're leaving in a few minutes.
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Nov 4, 2013 21:02
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Quabzor posted:My roommate's girlfriend brought home a cat today. It was left outside her work in a caedboard box. It looks like she is only a year or so old and is a very nice and friendly cat. I think that there is a little wear mark on her fur from a collar. We also found a tick on her(whats the best way to remove it?) which I think is why she got left alone. Don't allow the cats any contact at all (even through a box) until the new cat is checked over by a vet for diseases. Don't allow them to use the same dishes or litter trays either. This goes even for vaccinated cats but is extra important if current cat is unvaccinated. It would also be best to have the tick removed by the vet while you are there. Vets have tick removal tools which are the best way of getting rid of ticks without risking infection. There are a whole bunch of methods you'll hear from people and described on the internet, some of these work (as in the tick is removed) but can cause further problems because stressed ticks may regurgitate back into the wound increasing risk of disease. Also if any part of the tick is left behind it can cause serious infections. Until the tick is removed be careful not to knock it or apply any pressure to its body.
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Nov 4, 2013 21:41
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Irkenfox posted:I scoop the boxes a few times a day. I clean the boxes out every 2 weeks, I just use hot water to clean them. I removed the hood off our third litter box last night and it appears that both cats are using it now Hopefully that'll help! Maybe with multiple spots for eliminating waste and getting food it'll help him. Keep us updated on them.
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Nov 4, 2013 23:04
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Tamarillo posted:Maybe try putting some wet food in a bowl, pour hot water on it and mash it up into a stinky warm cat-mash? My foster kittens went nuts for this. Could be he's got a bug from the shelter and can't smell so well right now. Serella posted:Pour some tuna water over it, mash it up, then heat it in the microwave for a few seconds. Basically, get it nice and stank because that's how cats love their food. I always hate when people post questions and then never update with what actually worked. For me, it was just time. He ate some food yesterday during the day, then after I had come home from being out, I notice he had pooped in the box. He won't eat wet food as far as I can tell, but he does like the one type of dry. He's not from a shelter though; I guess this is more of a "cat sitting" kinda thing but I've been calling him my foster - My rescue was asked to help take care of a cat whiles his owner is in the hospital for radiation, so I have him for the next month. Now that he's eating and bathrooming, I need to figure out a place to hide his food from my fatty cat so that he can explore the house and make friends. Some puffy-tail experiences so far, but no growling or aggression. He REALLY wants out of the cat room, and my cats are cool with him, so I figure it'll all work out. If it were my own cat, I would try to switch him to scheduled feedings, but I don't want to engage in any behavior modification for a cat who isn't mine and whose owner may not want to/have the ability to do scheduled feedings. Thanks for the advice guys, I would have done the tuna-water if I had to, but luckily it didn't come to that.
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Nov 5, 2013 01:38
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Took my squinty-eyed kitten to the vet today and, surprise, he has conjunctivitis. His medicine is an antibiotic ointment that goes right in his eye and, holy poo poo, am I glad I have my dad around so I can hold the little guy while he administers the ointment, because just the thought of touching his eye gives me the jibblies. He got one dose tonight and he barely squirmed in my arms at all and then purred loudly when he snacked on his reward treat. Such a good-natured little animal he is.  I'm crossing my fingers that my big grumpy dude doesn't ever get any kind of eye or ear infection, because if so, blood will be shed and limbs may be lost.
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Nov 5, 2013 02:16
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My cat was apparently drooling because she was nauseated. Why? She was constipated as all hell. Today my cat got a $500 enema! Now she is covered in shitwater and refuses to bathe herself because she hasn't fully recovered from the ketamine yet. What a day. At least she's ok.
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Nov 5, 2013 02:17
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Excessive vocalization problem here. I have two male cats almost a year and a half old (I believe they are brothers), and one of them will not stop meowing. They are both indoor cats. He's driving me nuts and I can't figure out what it is that he wants. I've ruled out health issues as the vet said he was perfectly healthy. I don't think it's food; they graze on grain free dry food throughout the day and split a small can of wet food in the morning. As for water, they have a fancy fountain. I try to play with him frequently and I'm working on enriching their environment (my cat tree should arrive in the mail tomorrow). They share a litter box with clumping litter that I scoop daily. He normally engages in the excessive meowing at night. Sometimes he'll stand outside my bedroom door and meow nonstop, sometimes he'll run in the kitchen and meow at me from the sink or on top of the refrigerator. Sometimes he will sit in the open windowsill and meow outside. Has anyone dealt with excessive vocalization problems before? Any ideas what this cat wants? To be let outside maybe? I live in a 3rd floor apartment so that's not realistic.
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Nov 5, 2013 02:35
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Thanks for the advice. I stuck her out in the garage last night in the cage and a blanket to lay on. Hopefully I can get her checked out tomorrow.
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Nov 5, 2013 03:35
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So my cat, Jasper, has a bit of a problem. My fiancee and I moved into an apartment, and we're both cat people and we couldn't take our cats with us. We live in Washington and hers are currently with her parents in Texas, and my cats have been outdoor cats their entire lives. I don't personally like cats going outdoors, and since I would be very uncomfortable with letting them out in the apartment complex, they'd have to be indoor, and shutting a cat indoors that's been going outside for 13 years seems cruel. I digress. So anyway, we 'shopped around' at various shelters and pet stores for adoptable cats and eventually found a four year old boy at Petco that we absolutely fell in love with. Here's a picture, because of course:  Anyway, he was a complete little poo poo for the first month or so, but we're both patient, so we kind of waited him out, and after a few weeks he seriously mellowed and has become a total love. He can't get enough of us. It's been great, but now I'm getting pretty worried. A couple weeks ago, he started to groom and bite himself very frequently, and we've had him for long enough to know it's abnormal. He's been clawing himself bloody. He looks fairly normal, but you can feel quite a few scabs when you pet him. The Petco we adopted him at said that they had treated him with Advantage, and we also were told that the apartment had been flea bombed before we moved in, so a flea infestation didn't seem likely, so my best guess was a food allergy. We gave him a bath (which was an adventure, but not as bad as I'd guessed it would be) and switched his food. We were feeding him the Trader Joe's brand fish cat food, and we took away his kibble and started feeding him an organic, grain-free beef based one. The bath seemed to help a lot, and immediately he started biting and grooming way less, to levels that seemed normal for a long-haired cat. I thought that was the end of it until the past couple days where he's been biting and clawing himself again, and a google search tells me that fleas can not really be present on your cat but still be in the carpets, and that some cats can have a much worse reaction to them than other cats. I'm starting to think that we're not equipped to handle this by ourselves, so should I just take him to a vet to get a better answer? Can you get flea medication over the counter, or do you have to get it from a vet? How could fleas have gotten in our apartment? An alternative that I read is that excessive biting and clawing could just be a sign of boredom. We both work and are leaving the poor guy alone in the apartment most of the day, which I thought a cat would be okay with. Would another cat help? Whenever he's scratching, he'll immediately stop and go for a toy that I dangle in front of his face. Daily Forecast fucked around with this message at 09:54 on Nov 5, 2013 |
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Nov 5, 2013 09:34
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Stephen Smith posted:Excessive vocalization problem here. I have two male cats almost a year and a half old (I believe they are brothers), and one of them will not stop meowing. They are both indoor cats. He's driving me nuts and I can't figure out what it is that he wants. I've ruled out health issues as the vet said he was perfectly healthy. I don't think it's food; they graze on grain free dry food throughout the day and split a small can of wet food in the morning. As for water, they have a fancy fountain. I try to play with him frequently and I'm working on enriching their environment (my cat tree should arrive in the mail tomorrow). They share a litter box with clumping litter that I scoop daily. Some cats are just really talkative. My Wesley Cat is a constant yowler. He knows that if he runs into the living room and screams at me long enough, I'll go out there just for him to flop down and want pets. I've learned that he just wants my attention and if I ignore it, he'll eventually just come to where ever I am and just chill. Has he always been a little vocal? Or is this a new thing?
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Nov 5, 2013 15:16
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I want to make a cat bowl stand for my cats. I have been told that having elevated bowls is somehow better for digestion because they don't have to crane their necks down or something. My cats barf all the goddamn time so if it helps them with eating in any way I would like to try this. I'm skeptical it will make any difference but at the very least it will look better than having the bowls lying on the floor. Just wondering what would be an ideal height for their bowls to sit. I plan to use some shallow flat bottom stainless bowls that will have the top edge pretty much flush with the stand.
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Nov 6, 2013 00:01
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I adopted two cats last saturday, Remi and Tinker. They are very cute.  They're from the same shelter and I got them at the same time, so I was hoping they would become cat bros faster. I kept them isolated for a couple of days ,switched their rooms, and am now giving them supervised playtime. Tinker hardly acknowledges Remi; Remi is a bit scared of Tinker. He'll run if Tinker walks towards him too fast, and he sometimes does a light hiss and growl/ It's pretty tame as far as play-fighting is concerned, and I don't think they'll have any real fighting or anything, but is there a way to get Remi not so scared of Tinker besides just giving them time? Are there any bad habits I want to break now? Also, they've both had the sniffles since they came from the shelter. Sneezing and sniffing - just like when a little kid gets it. Is this anything to be concerned of? And while I'm thinking about it - Remi eats way slower than Tinker, who wants to be a fat cat really bad (but I'm doing scheduled feedings so nyah). Is there any way to get Tinker to respect Remi's food bowl once he's done eating, or do I just have to feed them separately forever? It's not a big deal if I do - it's what I've done so far - it'd just be a little easier if I could feed them both when I wake up.
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Nov 6, 2013 03:49
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Stealing food from other cats' bowls seems to be a major game with cats. Ours will ignore food in their own bowl and go snitch some from another just to be assholes. The only way I can ensure our 19-year-old gets her special diet is to feed her next to my desk and put the dish up out of reach when she's done. She'll come by and scratch my chair or just sit and stare at me when she wants it back.
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Nov 6, 2013 03:52
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My mother has a cat that has more or less adopted the house. The problem is: my mother doesn't want the cat inside the house. She's been feeding this tiny and extremely sweet tortie for months and now that it's getting cold the tortie is having a tough time. The tortie spent the last two days at least, trapped in my neighbor's shed. She didn't come to the door for meals and when we finally asked him to check and ultimately chase her out, she ran to the back door of my mother's house and buried her face in the food put out for her. So I'd like to know if there are any good commercial outdoor shelters. I've seen plans to build feral shelters out of plastic tubs and straw. However, my mother has requested a commercial heated unit for the tortie to live in. For reference, I am in Ohio just under the snowbelt. We typically don't get more than a few inches of snow at a time, but temperatures can drop to below 0 degrees Fahrenheit during the winter months. My mother has no porch but she does have a concrete patio space. The tortie is used to being fed on the back step and will come to the door and wait for meals. She's currently being fed a low-grade dry food and low to mid-grade wet food. I can't take the tortie because of my living situation and because my existing cat is FIV+
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Nov 6, 2013 04:50
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 I think my cat was stolen. He's about 2 years old, and when I originally got him about a year and a half ago, I was leaning towards to keeping him indoor because of this thread (even though every cat I'd ever had growing up was indoor/outdoor). However, he was outdoor-only before I got him, and after months of pining away and meowing at all hours, day and night, I finally gave in and he became indoor/outdoor. He had really good survival instincts due to previously being outdoor only, and he was the friendliest cat in the universe. I'd literally never heard him hiss, and he greeted two brand new cats coming into the house as new playmates, no hostility even initially (one was a poor lost kitten- we eventually found the owner, and the other is my roommate's cat, who didn't take kindly to this "other cat" nonsense). Everyone in the neighborhood knew him (as I found out when I started going door to door looking for him) and said he'd sit in their laps and want to be petted. One day, he came home with some flea medicine on the back of his neck I didn't put on him, and a few days later he went missing. It's been almost a month now, and despite the posters, Facebook notices, going door to door, and listing him with the local shelter, there's been no sign of him. I think one of those drat college kids in the apartments they just built next to the neighborhood took him and apparently doesn't give a gently caress that I want my cat back. At this point I've heard that it's pretty much a crapshoot- he could turn up in a few weeks, months, or even years, but the chances of finding him are slim. He's truly the best cat I've ever had, and I'm very sad to see him go... I just hope he's whining non-stop at the imaginary college kids in my head. I'm starting to look into adopting two of the shelter cats I keep seeing every time I go there looking for him... I wanted to get another cat as a playmate for him anyway, and it breaks my heart to know that over half of the cats there are going to be euthanized within the next few weeks if no one takes them.
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Nov 6, 2013 18:16
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I'm really sorry to hear that, dude. As far as my cats go, we're finally just about settled in after moving. One of the cats, the oldest, doesn't really seem to notice a difference or give much of a poo poo about the new digs. One of the younger two took a little longer. The other cat is still afraid to come out of the basement, preferring to hide in the corner of it under a pallet. He's getting better and isn't shaking anymore when I go down to see him. He's also coming out of the pallet much more quickly without needing me to sit there for like 15 minutes. He hasn't tried coming up the basement stairs yet, I think. He just hates all the new noises. Should I just try letting him come up on his own or try and get him to come up?
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Nov 6, 2013 19:42
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Zandorv posted:
Uh, you poor guy. I'm going through the same thing, sort of, but in a way it hurts me even more. All 3 of my cats were rescued from the feral colony near my apartment building - Valentina and Prima were about 3 months when I took them in the first week of August and took a good month to seem comfortable. Alexandra I brought in on 29 September (I actually caught her by hand) and she took to being a housecat within about 3 days - she's just about 12 weeks now. On Monday night I came home as per usual and Valentina got out. I'd never seen her try before in all the time she's lived with me, and at first I was just a little annoyed. Thing is, she bolted and she won't come back. I see her outside my apartment and if I get anywhere close she flees. This is an animal that fell asleep on my stomach on Sunday and now treats me like I'm going to eat her alive. I've been fighting back tears for days and I miss her, but I also feel like a bad cat daddy even though I spoiled her rotten for three months. I almost feel now like I held her prisoner for 3 months even though she never showed any inclination to escape, and I can't remember the last time I was this sad. Semi-logic says that she still had a lot of feral instincts and that once she got outside she reverted, but I still feel horrible and I miss her terribly even though she was a whiny little poo poo. If she's happier living a wild life outside then I guess that I should let her go. She's spayed and vaccinated so she won't be having any kittens, but she's also chipped. There's no real point to this post, I am just very very sad and both empathize and sympathize with the previous poster.
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Nov 6, 2013 21:53
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