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So my cat has been barfing before feeding time about once a week. It's brownish foul smelling gunk. Any idea if this is the food I'm feeding him? Is he eating too fast? He's been going to the bathroom fine so I don't think it's a blockage or anything serious. I feed him Wellness canned food every morning at about 8AM and Blue Buffalo dry food at about 7-8PM
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Nov 11, 2013 20:09
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Any tips for getting a kitten used to a collar? The actual collar doesn't seem to be a problem, but the little bell on it makes her go apeshit. Should I just put it on her, give her some space and let her freak out till she realizes the bell is her, and not some invisible toy that is stalking her?
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Nov 11, 2013 20:23
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Caerulius posted:Any tips for getting a kitten used to a collar? The actual collar doesn't seem to be a problem, but the little bell on it makes her go apeshit. Should I just put it on her, give her some space and let her freak out till she realizes the bell is her, and not some invisible toy that is stalking her?
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Nov 11, 2013 20:31
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Josh Lyman posted:Collar bells will damage your cat's hearing. Seriously. You got a source, literature, journal article, something for that? 'Cause that's a pretty strong assertion to be making without actually linking to evidence.
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Nov 11, 2013 21:06
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I appreciate everyone's advice on the allergy issue with the cats. My girlfriend toughed it out and we've kept the cats out of the bedroom and she says that her allergies aren't as bad anymore so we're keeping them! Here's the kitten, Robby, sleeping in a bed we gave them on Friday:  And here's Ricky posing/napping on a couch:  The paperwork for Ricky says he's 10 lbs, but my cat that passed away in May was 10 lbs and I swear Ricky is a lot heavier than that, but he doesn't look fat, he's all muscle. He's a big guy. He'll jump about 2/3 the way up a door when he chases the laser light around. He's also going to the vet tomorrow for his first appointment (yay for the vet because they don't charge for the first appointment for a newly adopted cat!) so I'll find out what he really weighs then. They're getting along great, Ricky's been grooming Robby recently which I think is a great sign. Here's a somewhat washed out picture of both of them in the new bed:  I don't know if you can see it in the picture of Ricky, but he has a spot on his nose that's a little darker than the rest of it. I'm asking the shelter about it (and the vet since he's seeing her tomorrow) but it doesn't bother him and I'm thinking it's just the natural coloring? He did get scratched badly when he first got to the shelter so maybe it's from that? I don't know if getting in a bad fight with another cat could cause that sort of thing.
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Nov 11, 2013 23:06
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Ev posted:
Its essentially a kitty freckle. He's fine. 
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Nov 12, 2013 02:00
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I'm noticing Ozma's lil toes are looking mighty cracked and dry. Anything I can do for her? Is this indicative of any other problems I should worry about? The skin under her fur seems fine.
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Nov 12, 2013 04:33
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Hey folks. So I just accepted a job that's going to require me to move from Indiana to Washington state. In the middle of December. With 3 cats. I'm going to die, aren't I? Seriously though, do you all have any tips for traveling long distances in a car with cats? I've never taken them for car rides for more than 20 minutes, and on those trips they meow incessantly (but thankfully didn't get motion sick or anything). I'll be going in a Honda Accord, so I don't have a lot of room in the back seat for a massive crate, so any tips you all could lend for traveling by car for multiple days with cats would be greatly appreciated. My wife is a vet so we can get drugs/sedatives if need be, but I'd prefer to not have to do that. Thanks!
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Nov 12, 2013 15:58
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ManifunkDestiny posted:Hey folks. So I just accepted a job that's going to require me to move from Indiana to Washington state. In the middle of December. With 3 cats. I'd like to hear about this as well. I moved from Indiana to the northwest us last year, before I had my cats, but there's a decent chance that I will move back east or possibly overseas next May/June. If I go overseas then I will have to find a new home for mine, but I will keep them if I move within North America... I am, however, utterly dreading the move for oh so many reasons, the felines being at or near the top of the list.
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Nov 12, 2013 16:57
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I read the rules and searched the thread topics, and this seems like the best fit. I need some tips about how to find a stray cat a good home. I know enough to not just throw the cat pics on craigslist, but after posting the cat to our Facebook pages, is there anything else we can do? I hesitate to contact a shelter because I know they're already overrun with requests, and since the cat is in a safe environment, I understand that this particular cat probably wouldn't be a priority for them. So far, my next course of action is to take the cat to the vet for checkup/shots and ask them if I can post a notice on the vet's wall. Pictures! Because this kitten/cat (catten) is seriously the cutest, most affectionate thing ever. It really, really doesn't like to be held, but it loves to be pet.    I'd like to think that the wife and I don't fulfill the crazy lesbian stereotypes, but holy poo poo. My wife and strays. I figure Pet Island can appreciate a ridiculous cat/dog story so here goes: The wife and I were on a trip to Philly for our 3 year wedding anniversary, and parked at a gas station for a game. We get back to the car and this cat is right there. The owners of the small gas station were closing, saw us, and came out to give some background. Apparently the gas station employees had been feeding this group of stray kittens for awhile. No one had ever seen the mom, and all of the cat's brothers and sisters had already been taken by customers. This cat was the last one. Once my wife heard that, I knew it was over and I shouldn't put up a fight. Luckily for the cat and my wife, we were only two hours away from our home in Baltimore. In conclusion, we get in the car around 1a.m. and drive the two hours back to Baltimore to drop cat off with our bewildered dog sitter, and drive 2 hours back to our hotel in Philly. Our dog sitter is pretty amazing and has a few cats of her own. We called and told her the cat would be in the basement with all of the kitty supplies, so she really wouldn't have to do anything. By the time we came back two days later, the cat had been named 'Pickles.' I would love to keep the cat, but we're both allergic, and as much as I want our two 60 lbs. dogs to be the best dogs and magically welcome the cat into our home, I doubt that's a realistic possibility. One dog has lived with a cat before, but the other is a shelter rescue that is perpetually nervous. Sorry for the wall of text, but if anyone wants more pics, lord knows I have them. =)
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Nov 12, 2013 17:19
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ManifunkDestiny posted:Hey folks. So I just accepted a job that's going to require me to move from Indiana to Washington state. In the middle of December. With 3 cats. One of my cats has the loudest most god awful crying baby meow, and she will literally meow for hours if she's not happy (wants food (she's a fatty), in the car, etc). I've never done drugs for long road trips with her, but when I've had to do a couple 900 mile drives with her, I make sure she's in her carrier in a secure spot in the car and cover with a blanket as best I can without reducing too much airflow. The extra dark quiets her down a lot faster. Then once she's quiet she is good for the rest of that day's drive. She also refuses to eat or drink or litterbox (which is hard to set up in a car anyways), so I try to break the drive up and stay at a pet friendly hotel and set her up as soon as we get in for the night. When it's just me and the dog, we will drive the 14 hours straight through no problem because the dog is fine with rest stop breaks, but I don't like the cat going that long without water and litterbox.
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Nov 12, 2013 17:41
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So, I just got my new cat, Tonks spayed yesterday (she seems to be recovering well), and I'm taking her companion cat, Lupin, home today. He's currently intact, but I'm getting him neutered Thursday. Is there anything special I should do to make sure he doesn't try to mount her or anything? I know they're already friendly with each other (they came from the same shelter and interacted well there), so I don't think they'll fight, but I've never had an intact cat before for any length of time.
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Nov 12, 2013 19:14
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Drug your cats. Not even joking. I moved my cat from Florida to Ohio (13 hours) and he didn't make a peep, despite being typically very stressed in the carrier. It was better for both his stress and my sanity. gently caress, I had to drive 8+ hours and he just got to sit in his carrier all drugged out, I would have traded places in a heartbeat. That's the way to travel.
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Nov 12, 2013 20:40
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Bishop posted:I'm fighting total war against fleas with my cat. I've done all the normal stuff. Vacuum constantly, wash everything, applied frontline plus, then I went to capstar, then I went to confortis. I've also sprayed the most common areas my cat lays around as well as inside and under the couches and I'm wondering how soon I can safely apply another dose of frontline plus. My vet said 3 weeks is safe (It's been about 2 weeks at this point), but I'm about to have a big family gathering and I need to not have 20+ people calling me to complain that they brought fleas home with them. How dangerous is it to apply frontline+ within the 2-3 week period? Also vets tell me the arsenal of drugs I've thrown at my cat won't cause problems but I still feel a little weary. Sometimes fleas in a particular area can build up a resistance to a certain treatment (my vet said this). I had that problem with Frontline. Can you try Advocate/Advantage Multi/somthing else? It worked for me when I had uber-fleas that laughed in the face of Frontline. Ratzap - I shall get Dani done as soon as possible. I have another potential home volunteer! A friend of my nice neighbours. VoodooSchmoodoo fucked around with this message at 22:11 on Nov 12, 2013 |
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Nov 12, 2013 22:07
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Daily Forecast posted:So my cat, Jasper, has a bit of a problem.
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Nov 13, 2013 00:08
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We have a couple Armarkat trees for our cats. They've used the scratching posts a lot and the sisal twine is worn down. Their paws just kinda slide over certain areas. Can I just go to the hardware store and pick up sisal twine? The internet tells me the stuff on cat furniture is done with pre-dried twine on high torque machines and it simply Can't Be Done at home. But our stuff needs fresh twine or a trim or something.
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Nov 13, 2013 01:14
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When I built a cat tree I used the normal sisal rope from the hardware store, and my cats like it just fine. It is a pain to wind though; You have to keep it nice and tight while winding round and round and round...
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Nov 13, 2013 01:45
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JawnV6 posted:We have a couple Armarkat trees for our cats. They've used the scratching posts a lot and the sisal twine is worn down. Their paws just kinda slide over certain areas. I have seen on Amazon that you can buy replacement parts for an Amarkat tree. Just order whatever post pieces you need to replace. They also make what are essentially toupees for sisal towers. They are sisal pieces that you can wrap around worn out sisal to give it some new life.
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Nov 13, 2013 02:19
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ManifunkDestiny posted:Hey folks. So I just accepted a job that's going to require me to move from Indiana to Washington state. In the middle of December. With 3 cats. We did a similar drive last December, from Wisconsin to Washington. With 3 cats. In a UHaul. You probably won't die. I don't recommend the drive, though, especially in winter. It's bitterly cold, and there's no respite from the weather until western Washington. If I had to do it again, I'd just fly with the cats as carry-on. I thought flying would be too stressful for them, but the elevation changes are still significant with the drive, and it takes three days. Driving for 3 days was way more stressful than flying would've been. If you have to drive, pack intelligently and bring emergency supplies. Don't try to tackle any of the major mountain passes late in the day. We planned our overnight stays so that we'd be hitting the major mountain passes early in the day. We stayed in La Quinta Inns throughout the whole trip, since they were pet-friendly. Some highlights from our trip:
Just fly. I highly recommend the drive in the spring/summer, without cats, because it's beautiful when you can enjoy it.
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Nov 13, 2013 05:05
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LoreOfSerpents posted:Just fly. I highly recommend the drive in the spring/summer, without cats, because it's beautiful when you can enjoy it. If you are moving your personal possessions and furniture, that doesn't really work. You can't load a two-bedroom apartment's worth of furnishings onto a plane. LoreOfSerpents posted:[*]Our UHaul was stolen the night we got to our new apartment, along with most of our possessions, so the drive was pretty pointless anyway.[/list] You say this way too nonchalantly. You poor fellow, you have my sympathies. When I drove east to west cross country in August of 2011, I kept that Penske truck locked up tight at every possible second and could barely sleep at night because I was afraid of this exact thing.
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Nov 13, 2013 16:26
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JustJeff88 posted:If you are moving your personal possessions and furniture, that doesn't really work. You can't load a two-bedroom apartment's worth of furnishings onto a plane. I used the POD to get around this. Load everything into a giant locked box. Company drives it away to the new place. Fly up with cats, meet driver with stuff at new place.
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Nov 13, 2013 18:12
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After losing our lovely cat Hera to a combination of hyperthyroidism, liver failure, wonky kidney and generally just being old, we decided to go with a relatively worry free 15 week old kitten... ...which has just now been diagnosed with epilepsy  Apparently it's pretty rare for cats to have epilepsy, even more so for kittens. So far the bloodwork came back as normal, pretty much ruling out most common secondary epilepsy causes. The vet is now checking with experts whether or not an MRI would lead to a treatment plan other then controlling the seizures via medication. If not, we're most likely going to skip the MRI due to the very high costs involved. I hope this is the right thread for this, but I was wondering if perhaps anyone here has experience with epileptic cats? I've really read up on the medical side of it, but haven't found many personal accounts by the owners...
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Nov 13, 2013 20:13
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17thEngineer posted:I hope this is the right thread for this, but I was wondering if perhaps anyone here has experience with epileptic cats? I've really read up on the medical side of it, but haven't found many personal accounts by the owners... I've been involved with cat rescue work for 13 years, my mother for 18 and we can remember 1 cat with epilepsy in that whole time (200+ cats a year kinda throughput so not a tiny sample but not huge either). He was a stray with a lot of other problems and sadly didn't last long. I hope you have a good vet and if necessary get another professional opinion as he's unlikely to have seen many of these. Good luck to you and your kitten.
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Nov 13, 2013 21:33
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Tamarillo posted:Daily Forecast - my fussy little punk will only, ONLY, eat Petcurean Go! Chicken, Turkey and Duck (grain free). He hates fish, lamb and beef in all their forms. Go! etc are generally pretty good about providing free samples - it's worth a try. I'd been through Orijen, Acana, Ziwipeak dry and Royal Canin before the little swine would eat something that wasn't Hills. Hey, sorry, was away for a few days. Picky eating isn't really the problem; he generally does eat everything that's put in front of him. I'm trying to find a food that doesn't upset any allergies he might have. The food I found that seems to help is a duck kibble, but it has pork liver, which is an ingredient I've never seen in a cat food and I'm not too sure about. Can any problems arise from that?
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Nov 13, 2013 21:53
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My two year female cat has been licking the fur of her legs and now she has a hairball. I think it is stuck she has been gagging and spitting up for a couple of days. If it doesn't come out by the end of the week I am taking her to the vet. I gave her some olive oil and butter. Is there anything else I could do to help her along?
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Nov 13, 2013 22:23
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17thEngineer posted:After losing our lovely cat Hera to a combination of hyperthyroidism, liver failure, wonky kidney and generally just being old, we decided to go with a relatively worry free 15 week old kitten... One of our two cats had a seizure triggered by a feather wand toy (which was terrifying) but there haven't been any reoccurrences since we put that toy away forever. Her blood work also came up clean, so our vet said to just keep an eye on things and to not play with those sorts of toys with her. Was your kitten's seizure seemingly random or could it have been triggered by a toy or laser pointer?
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Nov 13, 2013 22:37
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Nascardad posted:My two year female cat has been licking the fur of her legs and now she has a hairball. I think it is stuck she has been gagging and spitting up for a couple of days. If it doesn't come out by the end of the week I am taking her to the vet. I gave her some olive oil and butter. Is there anything else I could do to help her along?
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Nov 13, 2013 22:56
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Daily Forecast posted:Hey, sorry, was away for a few days. I've been feeding my cat the Natural Balance duck & green pea formula - both dry and canned - since he was diagnosed with IBD. His ears cleared up (apparently overly waxy ears can be a sign of food allergies in animals) & he hasn't barfed since the switch. It's a limited ingredient diet so it may work out well for you. Plus it's pretty much at every pet store I've ever been to.
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Nov 13, 2013 22:57
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We have a strange seizure cat as well. We haven't pinpointed the cause due to its infrequency. The cat seemed to suffer an episode once every few months. I theorized at the time that it might be a hydration issue since the cat was so insistent on drinking out of our cups. We purchased a cat fountain and her cup aggression subsided. As far as I know the seizures have improved. She is living with my GF's parents now and they haven't mentioned anything.
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Nov 13, 2013 23:22
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Is Simple Green safe to use in a house with cats if diluted properly and wiped dry? I don't want any nasty surprises just because the Simple Green FAQ says it's pet safe.
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Nov 13, 2013 23:22
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I couldn't find any thing in the op about this. My 16 year old female cat went to the vet on monday for some shots and got her ears cleaned. Before the visit she was fine, but now she loses her balance, and the nicitating membrane on her left eye is stuck it seems. I thought she was getting better, and the membrane went down yesterday. Today though it's back and her balance has gotten worse again. She's eating still, but I just want to hear what pet island thinks.
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Nov 14, 2013 02:04
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December Octopodes posted:I couldn't find any thing in the op about this. My 16 year old female cat went to the vet Take her back to the vet. I'm sure you'd rather be safe then sorry.
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Nov 14, 2013 02:20
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Nascardad posted:My two year female cat has been licking the fur of her legs and now she has a hairball. I think it is stuck she has been gagging and spitting up for a couple of days. If it doesn't come out by the end of the week I am taking her to the vet. I gave her some olive oil and butter. Is there anything else I could do to help her along? Is she eating ok?
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Nov 14, 2013 02:21
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Braki posted:Is she eating ok? She has been eating a lot and also drinking. She is also playful.
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Nov 14, 2013 04:02
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I rubbed some coconut oil on Ozma's chapped paws at the Internet's suggestion and distracted her with a toy for ten or fifteen minutes to keep her from tracking it around/ licking it off right away. Now I realize she is going to lick her paws when my back is turned. Will that make it worse? I was thinking about getting her mushers secret. Will it do any good between the time I put it on her and the time she licks it all off?
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Nov 14, 2013 05:19
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So while driving down our street, twenty yards from our house I see a freshly-struck cat lying in the middle of the road. I pulled over to make sure it was dead (absolutely, poor thing) and noticed that another cat was licking the dead cat's rear end (what?) and refusing to leave its side even as traffic moved around him and his deceased buddy. I called my roommate to ask her to bring down a garbage bag so we could move the dead cat off the road and hopefully keep its living friend from meeting the same flat fate. Except we're idiots.  Roommate and I spent the evening assuring each other that we're taking him to the shelter in the morning.
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Nov 14, 2013 05:29
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Right. Da Bird Photospam sort of, because there is no more Random Nonsense thread and I continue to be amazed at how effective Da Bird is. One of my husband's friends actually made a video of Decoy playing with it, because he jumps about 4ft over and over and over and over until he is dead on the ground. What this doesn't actually show is that he had set his back legs and was hauling on it with all his might. The string was completely taut and literally a second after I took the shot, he pulled so hard the metal plug popped out of the plastic base and he ran off with the feathers. Once they start panting I put it away, and Hugo guards the cupboard where it's stored...    ...and then they spend up to half an hour conked out like this  (Decoy lies with his legs straight out, it's really weird) This toy is amazing. Except the lure is almost destroyed after a week of intensive play.
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Nov 14, 2013 06:36
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Official Bizness posted:So while driving down our street, twenty yards from our house I see a freshly-struck cat lying in the middle of the road. I pulled over to make sure it was dead (absolutely, poor thing) and noticed that another cat was licking the dead cat's rear end (what?) and refusing to leave its side even as traffic moved around him and his deceased buddy. I called my roommate to ask her to bring down a garbage bag so we could move the dead cat off the road and hopefully keep its living friend from meeting the same flat fate. Well that's really, really depressing and I'm sad as all get out now  I really hope that poor fellow finds a home with some nice humans that take care of him/her. I'll post a progress report on my cat. Back in June of this year my best good friend Elvis passed away. I was utterly distraught as he was awesomecat9000. A week later I felt my home was too empty. Part of me felt I was betraying him by just going out immediately to bring some stranger-cat home. I felt in some small way I was just trying to fill a whole but reassured myself I was rescuing a cat from a shelter who needed a home. I took home a ginormous marmalade cat and named him Carl Sagan. Five months later and he's carrying on the tradition of being an awesome chill-cat who hangs out and plays video games with me and drinks beer (not really, but he gets to enjoy actions of me drinking beer and playing video games).   He's literally the most trusting cat ever. He's like this all the time:   For size reference. He may not be the largest domestic cat that's ever lived but he's still a giant: 
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Nov 14, 2013 06:36
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fine-tune posted:Was your kitten's seizure seemingly random or could it have been triggered by a toy or laser pointer? Both seizures were while he was resting, not long after eating. One of the options we're exploring is a shunt in or around the liver. However, his ammonia values, although slightly elevated, weren't extremely high. Also, epilepsy is pretty uncommon for this condition. But then again, we're almost in uncharted waters here so I guess pretty much everything is possible...
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Nov 14, 2013 07:41
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So yeah, even after switching his kibble and wet food and everything, my Jasper was still scratching and biting. I then had the thought to look at the ingredients in the litter I use - World's Best - and it's pretty much all corn. I switched to a pine-based litter, and his problems went away in a snap. I haven't seen him itching or biting at all, and only grooming an amount that would seem normal for a long-haired cat. That was probably it, then, and he can probably have any food as long as it's grain free, so I'm going back to Wellness Core for his kibble. If it were that, this would have cropped up a lot sooner because we've been giving that to him since day one. Pretty sure that duck kibble ("Lotus", is the brand) made him constipated because he hasn't pooped today like he normally does. I'll be getting him some laxative for now and getting him to a vet asap. I'm sure this is an easy fix, so I'm mostly relieved that he's feeling better minus the constipated part. I know he used his litterbox before I went to work, just usually by the time I get home (now) he's used it again. edit: He just used his litterbox. Pretty relieved. Cats are probably the only animal on the planet that can poop and make you happy about it. Daily Forecast fucked around with this message at 08:59 on Nov 14, 2013 |
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Nov 14, 2013 08:56
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