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Synthbuttrange
May 6, 2007

Organza Quiz posted:

Cats are pretty great apartment pets, yeah. Two cats (who are friends) will generally be happier than one cat, especially if left alone for long periods of time. They are quite social creatures and can get bored easily and when they get bored they get destructive. It's also really not much more effort to take care of two cats rather than one (although of course it's more expensive). That said, kittens and young cats have much more energy than older cats and it depends on individuals as well.

If you really didn't want to get a second cat I'd say get a cat who's older than 2 years or so and give them a nice cat tree and a few toys to play with while you're out (and if possible access to look out a window at birds and stuff AKA Cat TV). Getting an adult cat also means you have a better chance of being able to tell what sort of cat they'll be, so you can try aim for one who's friendly but not clingy and happy to play but not so energetic that you come home to everything knocked off every surface. But cats are pretty adaptable creatures in general and I think it's possible to give one a good home even if it's on its own a lot.

Thanks for the replies, been quizzing cat owner friends about the whole cat keeping business. Any good reading resources for a prospective first time cat owner? What is a cat? I just dont know.

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duckfarts
Jul 2, 2010

~ shameful ~





Soiled Meat

SynthOrange posted:

Thanks for the replies, been quizzing cat owner friends about the whole cat keeping business. Any good reading resources for a prospective first time cat owner? What is a cat? I just dont know.


otherwise, do you have specific questions?

Rodent Mortician
Mar 17, 2009

SQUEAK.
So, we had a huge rainstorm on Saturday and while I was at my dad's house out in bumblefuck, I heard a cat crying off in the bushes. I crawled in there and found a kitten.



She was terrified and ran around the house squalling until she calmed down, but then was super friendly and cuddly. She was starving and scarfed down enough food for both my cats, but then seemed happy to chill in my spare dog crate. I got her to the vet and she doesn't have a microchip and is not spayed and is FIV/FeLV negative.

However, I assumed she was a kitten, but the vet said she had her adult teeth and estimated she was probably closer to a year old. But she's so little, she only weighs 3 pounds! Is it possible he's wrong?

Rat Patrol
Feb 15, 2008

kill kill kill kill
kill me now
Her face doesn't have kitten proportions. I've heard some cats won't stop growing til a year and a half. And in my limited experience, wild cats tend to be smaller than tame ones, probably for nutrition reasons.

She's cute!

Damn Bananas
Jul 1, 2007

You humans bore me
Does anyone have experience with rehoming an elderly cat to a stranger?

Long story short, when my mom died I had to rehome her two cats who did not get along. One cat is now in a happy home 700 miles away, the other is in a temporary home. I just learned how temporary - kitty needs to be out by the end of the month. That's two weeks! I'm freaking out because I cannot take her - my dog is aggressive to small furry things and my husband is allergic to cats. We might be able to put her in our guest room for a week or so, but not permanently. When I was originally trying to rehome her, none of my friends or family could take her. I'm scared that I'm going to have to resort to strangers over the internet off Petfinder or Craigslist... how can I trust people I've never met with the kitty that's been my baby since I was, like, 12.

She is 14, declawed, and not good with other cats or dogs. Do people ever look for senior pets to be their one-and-only pet? Or is it going to have to be "tough love" and she might need to go to a home with other animals? We are in DFW if by some miracle anyone in this thread is looking for exactly that. She's a great cat; gorgeous, snuggly, non-destructive, uses the box like a champ.



I just don't know where to start. :ohdear:

Joust
Dec 7, 2007

No Ledges.
Edit: Nevermind, sorted itself out.

Joust fucked around with this message at 15:06 on Jan 16, 2014

Synthbuttrange
May 6, 2007

duckfarts posted:



otherwise, do you have specific questions?

Well what about the cats and company question I asked earlier? Are adult cats better about being alone or should I plan to go in for two of them so they spend their energy on each other and keep themselves entertained when I'm at work?

Organza Quiz
Nov 7, 2009


SynthOrange posted:

Well what about the cats and company question I asked earlier? Are adult cats better about being alone or should I plan to go in for two of them so they spend their energy on each other and keep themselves entertained when I'm at work?

It depends on the individual cat's personality. Some adult cats are happy to amuse themselves or sleep all day and only play with you when you're around in the morning/evening and some cats will pine and be unhappy without a person there for them. Ask the people taking care of the specific cats you're looking at and you should be able to find one whose needs suit you. That said, I'd get two if I were you because as long as they're bonded they'll keep each other company and it also means you get twice the companionship from them. I'd also adopt adults because then you can tell their personality better and adults get adopted less than kittens do. I'm not sure I'd want to get a kitten if I was going to be absent for large parts of the day because kittens get into trouble really quickly.

Synthbuttrange
May 6, 2007

Yeah, kittens are right out of the question. Cute, but cuteness will only carry you so far. Definitely an adult. The thought of senior cats had entered my mind, but might be a bit much if I've not had a cat before and I'd have to possibly deal with medical issues too?

duckfarts
Jul 2, 2010

~ shameful ~





Soiled Meat

SynthOrange posted:

Well what about the cats and company question I asked earlier? Are adult cats better about being alone or should I plan to go in for two of them so they spend their energy on each other and keep themselves entertained when I'm at work?
That's really hard to suss out at the shelter, though you can see if you can hang out with them or at least watch them a bunch at the shelter to see if they might be a chill cat rather than a hyperactive, needy one. If you get two, I'd try to look for ones that are already buddies at a shelter(^^^ dunno if you'd call this bonded since that's usually for getting kittens) so you know they'll actually be able to get along in the first place. Otherwise, no shame in just adopting one.

As for age, 3 years and up should get you out of the main rear end in a top hat phases.

Sing like a girl
Aug 8, 2011
I'm pretty sure my crisis is over, the 1.5 inch piece of plastic he ate was vomited up and the other piece of plastic he ate was tiny.

But I'm fed up of my cat's tendency to eat foreign objects. We did our best removing plastic items from the house, then he targetted a plastic toy attached to my phone.

I've read they do this when they are bored. He needs some sort of stimulation, does anyone have advice for toys? He'll chase things thrown for him like crazy but I'm often working. He needs watching all the time and fortunately I work at home, but he's clearly bored when not paid any attention.

Are there any good toys for cats that they'll voluntarily play with by themselves?

There can't be any plastic chewable parts and it can't be an electronic screen thing. I tried him with cat games for ipad, he loses interest after figuring out the object he is chasing is not real. He'll lift the ipad then look at me like I'm crazy. So it can't involve lights either, because he's smart (but not smart enough not not eat plastic objects.)

He's a very clingy cat and he needs your attention all the time. He sits there and meows at me and my husband if we pay each other any attention. We can't even watch a movie together, because he hates us sitting together watching the same screen. He'll get up and sit in front of the tv. I have to keep getting up and playing with the cat then sitting back down.

He ate the plastic lizard charm while we were watching tv together. Otherwise he just stares, stares and yells at us.

If anything this has got worse since he had emergency surgery in December.

Iron Crowned
May 6, 2003

by Hand Knit

What toys have you tried?

Ktb
Feb 24, 2006

Retro Access posted:

Are there any good toys for cats that they'll voluntarily play with by themselves?

Have you considered getting a second cat?

Sing like a girl
Aug 8, 2011
The only toys I've tried that I thought he might play with by himself are ipad games and a couple of electronic things that he broke in short order.

As for another cat, it would have to be a super tolerant cat. Cats do not like my cat, he has the mentality of a kitten and has never grown out of it. We did have an old female cat for a while, but she died last year. He would see her move then chase her and want to play. She put up with it without hurting him but it can't have been much fun for her being pounced on all the time.

It's not just that one cat. He used to be an outdoor cat, he'd try to be friends with other neighborhood cats and they hated him. He does not understand boundaries and when to leave other cats alone. Everything is a toy, or food.

But the other problem is that we might be moving out of the country this year. Plus the fact we need to save up money, his surgery cost us a fortune.

His favorite toys are generally, garbage thrown for him. He doesn't eat paper, and his favorite game is to catch rolled up tissue in his paws. It has to be a substantial object, he's not interested in light pointers.

floofyscorp
Feb 12, 2007

Dangly things are usually a good bet. My kittens are good at entertaining each other but they eventually get bored of chasing/wrestling and meow at us for attention. They go nuts for anything string-shaped(including hoodie strings, which gets annoying) but that's not something they can play with unsupervised.

Their cat tree used to have a dangly fluffy thing until they tore it off and eviscerated the fluffy ball, and we recently bought a spring-mounted mousey toy that wobbles around at cat-head height and seems pretty popular. It's not the sturdiest toy though as they remove it from its base quite regularly.

Small toys that they can pick up and toss around the place are good too, the Skinneeez mouse I got has been well-loved. I also got a little birdie toy that chirps when you poke it, but that gets annoying quite fast.

triskadekaphilia
Oct 29, 2004
So a couple months ago I posted that my kitten had a crazy upper respiratory infection that I didn't catch until she totally crashed. Took her to the vet, got her meds, gave them to her for the full time and now she is 100% back to being an adorable little hellion that gets into everything and knocks poo poo over and is basically the little teenage rear end in a top hat she is supposed to be.

Except, she doesn't purr anymore. Ever. Before the infection she was a little purr machine, but now, even though she clearly enjoys pets and cuddles and all the stuff she did before the most I get is what sounds kind of like a strained noise and only for a couple seconds. This is probably a stupid question, but could the resp infection have... broken her purr? :saddowns:

I'm not terribly worried (unless I should be) because she's kind of weird in general. She growls like a dog and loves to be rolled onto her back to wrestle with hands and big dog noses.

She's also obsessed with water, which for awhile I thought was because she had that crazy high fever and found it felt good, but honestly I think she is just strange. She's even jumped in the pool a couple times, which freaks me out and sends me running for a towel so she doesn't get sick AGAIN.

tl;dr: I broke my kitten, have some pics





diadem
Sep 20, 2003
eet bugz
Just posting for a little sanity check.

I know exercise is good for cats. I have a ball attached to a string that I can control by a stick.

I have my chat case the ball up and down my stairs until she is breathing heavy, then say "go get it girl" if she slows down, which motivates her to get off her rear end and chase it again. I then have her leap straight up (on a carpet) and catch the ball at progressively larger heights, let her rest for a second, then have her chase the ball a couple more times. Sometimes she's breathing through her mouth panting/breathing heavily afterwards for a minute or two after the workout.

Is this actually beneficial for my cat? Would pushing a cat like I would a human at a gym harm the cat by forcing it to overexert itself?

GabrielAisling
Dec 21, 2011

The finest of all dances.
Your cat is a master of the "best friends" snapchat pose.

I've known a lot of cats with weird/broken noisemakers. If she's otherwise healthy, she should be fine. It might come back, it might not. I am not a vet.

Tomato Soup
Jan 16, 2006

My old cat was a foreign object eater but she mainly would eat string and the like, but she did eat a straw once when she was like two. It is really hard to completely avoid, keep the things that your cat prefers to eat out of its reach when possible but they'll find some stuff to eat anyway :cripes: I caught her trying to eat drawstrings from clothes and shoelaces. If we saw her, we'd yank it out of her mouth and she would get pissy but be otherwise fine.

Some things that helped (and she enjoyed playing with them alone) was providing some other things for her to chew on. She really liked tape and other sticky stuff so when we flew, we'd save the baggage tags for her and they would last her a little while and keep her happy. My current cats go nuts for tissue paper, they love hiding under it and will play with it alone.

It kind of sounds like your cat would enjoy a dog buddy better than a cat since they tend to have more energy and is probably more willing to put up with being constantly pounced on all the time.

Tomato Soup fucked around with this message at 22:17 on Jan 16, 2014

DesperateDan
Dec 10, 2005

Where's my cow?

Is that my cow?

No it isn't, but it still tramples my bloody lavender.

SHISHKABOB posted:

Hi I have a problem with a cat in my apartment complex. He's (or she, who knows) been around the place for several months now and I imagine he moved in with somebody new for the previous fall semester. But recently I have seen him with a limp in his front leg, he doesn't seem to want to use it to walk. He's got a collar with a tag on it, but the tag doesn't have a number on it that seems to match any of the apartments around here. I have never seen him hanging out with other people, or even ever running in any doors.

I have a really strong urge to let him into my apartment and give him food and stuff but I am pretty sure the better course of action would be to call the local animal shelter or something? I'm worried about the poor guy because he's always been very friendly with me.

So my question is basically what should I do if I've seen a cat that appears to be owned by someone but also probably the victim of neglect?


If the tag doesn't give any decent information, then have you got a way to get the cat to a shelter that can scan for a chip and look at the leg?

Have you checked online missing pet boards, and checked around with the shelters for missing reports?

If you start feeding him/her, they will start seeing you as a source of food, and keep coming back to you. If the cat is truly abandoned, and you want to take them in then this could be a good thing, but might start presenting problems if he/she is actively cared for.

pie.rat
Jul 1, 2007

C45H74O10
I just received an amazing one-year job offer in glorious Nippon (:japan:). The only problem is that I have two cats, both neutered males, who really, really complicate the actual process of physically going to Japan. I already looked into the entry requirements for them, and it won't be an issue to get the necessary health certification that will limit the quarantine period to a few hours. I have no intention of permanently re-homing them (and I'm not 100% sold on the job itself, which may make all of this a moot point), but I'm having a really hard time weighing the pros and cons of taking them with me or leaving them with family if I do decide to take the job.

One of the major complications is that there are no direct flights from where I am now to the city I'll be working in, even if I literally drive 3,000 km to the other side of the country (which I did consider). If I want to limit my time in planes, the "best" option would be to fly to Tokyo, and then to take a 14-hour train ride to the northern island where I'd be working. Cats in carriers are apparently allowed on the train, and to the best of my understanding they would be with me, rather than stowed with baggage. The reason I'm concerned with limiting my time in planes is that one of my cats has a major freakout every time he goes in the car, to the point that I'm concerned that he might literally have a heart attack or something during travel, especially because he's a bit of a tubbo and is almost certainly too big to travel as carry-on on a plane. For that reason, I think I might be better off leaving him with family.

My other cat is prone to crystals. His pee issues are exacerbated by stress, and although he travels very well by car, I'm not sure if a big trip would be great for him either. However, he is also a big baby who is scared of everything and who doesn't like being away from me, and when I left him with my parents for a month the last time I needed to travel for work, he scratched off all of the hair on his head and had a serious crystal blockage. He also gets monthly shots of cartrophen for his pee problems, which I currently give him at home. Because of these issues, I'm hesitant to leave him with family. The cats are good buddies and ideally I'd prefer to keep them together rather than leaving one at home and bringing one to Japan.

Has anyone moved internationally with cats, especially cats that aren't bananas about travel? How did they handle the flight, especially if there were stopovers? Is it insane to try to follow up a 12-hour flight with a 14-hour train ride instead of a 12-hour flight + a 2-hour flight?

Tamarillo
Aug 6, 2009
I haven't flown with cats but I know that cats can be sedated...though apparently that doesn't remove the anxiety, just limits the physical activity of the cat.

Edit: I can't read, you know about the quarantine part. Although I assume you're from one of the designated rabies-free countries, because I'm not sure that you can access the only-12-hour quarantine period if you're trying to bring in cats from a country that has rabies present.

Tamarillo fucked around with this message at 06:38 on Jan 17, 2014

SyHopeful
Jun 24, 2007
May an IDF soldier mistakenly gun down my own parents and face no repercussions i'd totally be cool with it cuz accidents are unavoidable in a low-intensity conflict, man
Age: 8-9mo
Sex: Male
How long have you had your cat? Appx. 3 weeks
Is your cat spayed or neutered? Yes
What food do you use? Nutro Natural Choice Indoors
When was your last vet visit? Week and a half ago
Is your cat indoors, outdoors, both? Indoors
How many pets in your household? Two, cat and black lab mix
How many litter boxes do you have? One

I certify that I have read the OP!

Hello PI!

After a long period of catlessness, we finally adopted a teenager from the local Cat Adoption Team. He's a big, handsome polydactyl medium-hair rear end in a top hat cat.



Everything up until today has been just fine. Long story short (I had a huge paragraph of backstory typed up), this morning he dropped a deuce in the kitchen and followed it up this evening by peeing in the same spot. I'm trying to figure why. Here are the observations/theories I've made:

- After cleaning his catbox yesterday I put the smaller bag of nastiness into our kitchen garbage, which was only feet away from where he's gone today. Possible that the odor caused him to make a "pee/poop here" association? It's also possible that I didn't clean the poop up well enough, which provoked him peeing there later. After the 2nd incident I went hog wild with Nature's Choice.

- The spot is also in front of the basement door, and we don't let him down there because it's a mess. Possible he is protesting this? He often tries to slip down behind us and sometimes claws at the door.

- Catbox protestation? I don't clean his litter daily but I do check it daily and clean it when it seems necessary. Perhaps I wasn't cleaning it frequently enough?

- One odd thing he's done since we brought him home is that sometimes after eating or drinking, he paws at the surface around the area exactly like he's trying to bury a turd. It concerned me at first, but he never relieved himself in those areas so I'm not seeing a strong correlation.

- There has been no change in behavior or appetite that might suggest a physiological issue. He's on my lap right now trying to knock poo poo off my desk.

- It's possible that the dog/territorialism is a factor, but if so there aren't any outward signs. Dog leaves cat alone, cat has entire upstairs of house to retreat to, and cat expresses dislike but not fear of dog.

So I went hog wild with the cleaning: the whole kitchen floor got mopped with Nature's Miracle, my shoes got wiped down with it, the walls got wiped down, all trash was taken out, his litter box was completely dumped, cleaned, and refilled with fresh litter. He's also no longer allowed in the kitchen, which was a rule we were going to impose anyway because jesus christ he loves stealthing his rear end underfoot.

What say you, PI?

lorabel
Apr 4, 2013

SyHopeful posted:

Age: 8-9mo
Sex: Male
How long have you had your cat? Appx. 3 weeks
Is your cat spayed or neutered? Yes
What food do you use? Nutro Natural Choice Indoors
When was your last vet visit? Week and a half ago
Is your cat indoors, outdoors, both? Indoors
How many pets in your household? Two, cat and black lab mix
How many litter boxes do you have? One

I certify that I have read the OP!

Hello PI!

After a long period of catlessness, we finally adopted a teenager from the local Cat Adoption Team. He's a big, handsome polydactyl medium-hair rear end in a top hat cat.



Everything up until today has been just fine. Long story short (I had a huge paragraph of backstory typed up), this morning he dropped a deuce in the kitchen and followed it up this evening by peeing in the same spot. I'm trying to figure why. Here are the observations/theories I've made:

- After cleaning his catbox yesterday I put the smaller bag of nastiness into our kitchen garbage, which was only feet away from where he's gone today. Possible that the odor caused him to make a "pee/poop here" association? It's also possible that I didn't clean the poop up well enough, which provoked him peeing there later. After the 2nd incident I went hog wild with Nature's Choice.

- The spot is also in front of the basement door, and we don't let him down there because it's a mess. Possible he is protesting this? He often tries to slip down behind us and sometimes claws at the door.

- Catbox protestation? I don't clean his litter daily but I do check it daily and clean it when it seems necessary. Perhaps I wasn't cleaning it frequently enough?

- One odd thing he's done since we brought him home is that sometimes after eating or drinking, he paws at the surface around the area exactly like he's trying to bury a turd. It concerned me at first, but he never relieved himself in those areas so I'm not seeing a strong correlation.

- There has been no change in behavior or appetite that might suggest a physiological issue. He's on my lap right now trying to knock poo poo off my desk.

- It's possible that the dog/territorialism is a factor, but if so there aren't any outward signs. Dog leaves cat alone, cat has entire upstairs of house to retreat to, and cat expresses dislike but not fear of dog.

So I went hog wild with the cleaning: the whole kitchen floor got mopped with Nature's Miracle, my shoes got wiped down with it, the walls got wiped down, all trash was taken out, his litter box was completely dumped, cleaned, and refilled with fresh litter. He's also no longer allowed in the kitchen, which was a rule we were going to impose anyway because jesus christ he loves stealthing his rear end underfoot.

What say you, PI?

What kind of litter box do you have? What kind of litter? Where is the box?

Try a non perfumed , clumping, very fine litter. Get a second box and put it where he is going and slowly after some time begin moving it to where you want it to be. Uncovered is probably best unless your pooch loves to eat cat crap.

SyHopeful
Jun 24, 2007
May an IDF soldier mistakenly gun down my own parents and face no repercussions i'd totally be cool with it cuz accidents are unavoidable in a low-intensity conflict, man

lorabel posted:

What kind of litter box do you have? What kind of litter? Where is the box?

Try a non perfumed , clumping, very fine litter. Get a second box and put it where he is going and slowly after some time begin moving it to where you want it to be. Uncovered is probably best unless your pooch loves to eat cat crap.

I don't remember the brand offhand, but it's a very large, round box with a detachable dome that I've left off. Litter is World's Best. Pooch is well-enough trained and I don't think he's ever enjoyed the delicacy yet.

If cat pees/poops in the same spot again, I'll definitely try the 2nd catbox!

aghastly
Nov 1, 2010

i'm an instant star
just add water and stir

baxxy posted:

Sorry if I missed something earlier, but has your vet mentioned IBD? I switched my cat to the duck and green pea formula (Natural Balance) and he's on various meds for IBD, and that's helped him considerably. It turns out he was probably allergic to chicken - I learned that overly waxy ears can be a sign of food allergy in cats; weird, right? - and between the diet change and the meds, things have improved SO much.

The vet didn't rule out IBD, but he was hesitant to diagnose it when I brought Toast in for the colitis because it was the first time it happened and there were other factors at work in that case (I had just gotten home from being out of town for four days, and I left him with a cat sitter. The vet thinks it might have been partially stress-induced).

The vet knows now that it seems to be a chronic issue, but it's not the horrible bloody mucus mess that was that one incident. Just the loose kind that can and does clear a room with its stink. I'm guessing that's why he wants to try one more food before I bring him in; maybe I just haven't found the right one yet. He eats, drinks and acts perfectly fine otherwise.

I just wish my cat would poop normally. :(

On the plus side, he does like his new Armakat!

lorabel
Apr 4, 2013

SyHopeful posted:

I don't remember the brand offhand, but it's a very large, round box with a detachable dome that I've left off. Litter is World's Best. Pooch is well-enough trained and I don't think he's ever enjoyed the delicacy yet.

If cat pees/poops in the same spot again, I'll definitely try the 2nd catbox!

I just saw that you have two cats. Maybe the first cat is preventing the new cat from using his/her box. You should definitely have at least two boxes so new cat has his own to go to.

SyHopeful
Jun 24, 2007
May an IDF soldier mistakenly gun down my own parents and face no repercussions i'd totally be cool with it cuz accidents are unavoidable in a low-intensity conflict, man

lorabel posted:

I just saw that you have two cats. Maybe the first cat is preventing the new cat from using his/her box. You should definitely have at least two boxes so new cat has his own to go to.

I worded it confusingly, sorry. We have one cat and one dog.

Organza Quiz
Nov 7, 2009


SyHopeful posted:

- One odd thing he's done since we brought him home is that sometimes after eating or drinking, he paws at the surface around the area exactly like he's trying to bury a turd. It concerned me at first, but he never relieved himself in those areas so I'm not seeing a strong correlation.

I can't help with the rest, but I can say at least this has nothing to do with crapping. Cats in the wild bury their food so other predators aren't drawn in by it and some house cats still have the instinct for it. My cat used to do it when we first got her and grew out of it after a few months but it doesn't really matter if yours doesn't. Some cats even go to the effort of dragging pieces of cloth or whatever to cover the bowl.

Brekelefuw
Dec 16, 2003
I Like Trumpets
Anyone have any recommendations for a metal or glass cat fountain?
My cat doesnt drink from still water, and I recently got a plastic fountain and within a week of owning it she got a bit of feline acne on her chin. Apparently plastic breeds bacteria better than metal or plastic water dishes.

Also, any tips on treating the acne?
She is 1.5 years old and in great health otherwise.

Dogen
May 5, 2002

Bury my body down by the highwayside, so that my old evil spirit can get a Greyhound bus and ride
Really just getting rid of the cause and if it gets super gross (open sores) a warm compress and a vet visit, they can give you some meds for it if it becomes severe.

four lean hounds
Feb 16, 2012

Brekelefuw posted:

Anyone have any recommendations for a metal or glass cat fountain?
My cat doesnt drink from still water, and I recently got a plastic fountain and within a week of owning it she got a bit of feline acne on her chin. Apparently plastic breeds bacteria better than metal or plastic water dishes.

Also, any tips on treating the acne?
She is 1.5 years old and in great health otherwise.

I just purchased a "Pioneer Pet" brand stainless steel pet fountain, and I am really enjoying it. The cats took to it relatively quickly, my bolder cat playing with it within a day, and within a week even my shy cat was drinking from it. It has a little separation between the burbling fountain water flow and the still water in the bowl if your cat decides it likes one or the other. The noise of the motor is noticeable in a quiet room, but not too bad. It seems like they're drinking more water, but I can't be sure.

JustJeff88
Jan 15, 2008

I AM
CONSISTENTLY
ANNOYING
...
JUST TERRIBLE


THIS BADGE OF SHAME IS WORTH 0.45 DOUBLE DRAGON ADVANCES

:dogout:
of SA-Mart forever

Brekelefuw posted:

Anyone have any recommendations for a metal or glass cat fountain?
My cat doesnt drink from still water, and I recently got a plastic fountain and within a week of owning it she got a bit of feline acne on her chin. Apparently plastic breeds bacteria better than metal or plastic water dishes.

Also, any tips on treating the acne?
She is 1.5 years old and in great health otherwise.

I bought one a few months ago and I didn't really consider that it was plastic. I haven't seen any issues yet and it works a treat, but I'm going to keep my eye open for catacne. My two really do love it, though, and they're very well hydrated.

I was originally going to get the Drinkwell Platinum, but I thought that the sound of the water trickling down would drive me batty, and the one I settled on has a sort of gentle ramp that lets it flow down very quietly.

JustJeff88 fucked around with this message at 17:36 on Jan 17, 2014

baxxy
Feb 18, 2005

You tried your best and you failed miserably. The lesson is 'never try'. -homer simpson

aghastly posted:

The vet didn't rule out IBD, but he was hesitant to diagnose it when I brought Toast in for the colitis because it was the first time it happened and there were other factors at work in that case (I had just gotten home from being out of town for four days, and I left him with a cat sitter. The vet thinks it might have been partially stress-induced).

The vet knows now that it seems to be a chronic issue, but it's not the horrible bloody mucus mess that was that one incident. Just the loose kind that can and does clear a room with its stink. I'm guessing that's why he wants to try one more food before I bring him in; maybe I just haven't found the right one yet. He eats, drinks and acts perfectly fine otherwise.

I just wish my cat would poop normally. :(

On the plus side, he does like his new Armakat!



Keep track of his weight for sure... my cat was acting totally normal other than the bad poos, too - running around, being a brat, playing, eating. He's a fluffy cat and the vet had previously told me he should lose a bit of weight, so I erroneously thought he had lost what he needed and that's why he was skinnier. Turns out he'd lost way more than he should have because he was sick. I picked up a baby scale from a secondhand shop and I weigh him regularly now.

Bakified
Dec 30, 2004

aghastly posted:

The vet didn't rule out IBD, but he was hesitant to diagnose it when I brought Toast in for the colitis because it was the first time it happened and there were other factors at work in that case (I had just gotten home from being out of town for four days, and I left him with a cat sitter. The vet thinks it might have been partially stress-induced).

The vet knows now that it seems to be a chronic issue, but it's not the horrible bloody mucus mess that was that one incident. Just the loose kind that can and does clear a room with its stink. I'm guessing that's why he wants to try one more food before I bring him in; maybe I just haven't found the right one yet. He eats, drinks and acts perfectly fine otherwise.

I just wish my cat would poop normally. :(

On the plus side, he does like his new Armakat!


Google giardia and see if that matches your cat's symptoms. It can be a real bitch to diagnose as the parasites are often not present in a stool sample and it is just blind luck if you find a smoking gun in the one you take. It also seems to slip past vets and shelters a lot. I had to deal with this when I adopted a kitten and he passed it on to my older cat. If it is giardia make sure you give the cat medication for 10 days. My vet initially proscribed for five, and things got better but once the medication stopped it made a comeback. In the end it took ten days of medicine and steam cleaning my whole house to make sure all the little fuckers were dead.

Dreadwroth
Dec 12, 2009

by R. Guyovich
Sorry for the wall of images.
I miss my cat, he was an rear end in a top hat who murdered the crap out of the lizards but he was my rear end in a top hat. Enjoy these pictures I took way back many years ago when he was still alive. RIP Pudder, you are missed.




This is where I found him when he was a kitten, just weaned from his mum and looking for a new friend the furry jerk. :(

Awwww what a handsome guy.



I promise he was sleeping in that image and I was just about to poke his belly.

man I miss my cat, he was awesome.
He had this thing where he would have never attacked my hand so I was able to give hime many belly rubs without fear. I was his daddy.

Dreadwroth fucked around with this message at 04:08 on Jan 18, 2014

four lean hounds
Feb 16, 2012
What a sweet looking cat, Dreadwroth. He looks like he was a professional lounger. I'm glad you have such good memories of him. :3:

Eat My Fuc
May 29, 2007

Today I adopted a tiny black kitten. Her name is Cousin and she was found in a dumpster with trash frozen to her and a lot of her fur had to be shaved to remove the ice. The shelter we adopted her from thought she wouldn't make it but she's alive and enjoying her new house I think.

She's very docile for a kitten, but I think it's from having been unfrozen only two days ago.

I can't believe someone would throw a baby in the trash, it just isn't right. There were much prettier, social kittens at the shelter but when I heard her story I wanted to give her a permanent, warm home. Stoked to be a pet owner again after quite a long time!

Kerfuffle
Aug 16, 2007

The sky calls to us~

Eat My Fuc posted:

Today I adopted a tiny black kitten. Her name is Cousin and she was found in a dumpster with trash frozen to her and a lot of her fur had to be shaved to remove the ice. The shelter we adopted her from thought she wouldn't make it but she's alive and enjoying her new house I think.

She's very docile for a kitten, but I think it's from having been unfrozen only two days ago.

I can't believe someone would throw a baby in the trash, it just isn't right. There were much prettier, social kittens at the shelter but when I heard her story I wanted to give her a permanent, warm home. Stoked to be a pet owner again after quite a long time!

New black kitten ee. :3: Make sure you take her to your own vet asap just to doublecheck for any problems, especially stuff like worms.

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Night Danger Moose
Jan 5, 2004

YO SOY FIESTA

How the hell do I get my 2-year-old cat to stop chewing on things? She's gone through 2 headphone cords, a mouse cord, my tablet cord, a speaker cord, and almost my keyboard cord. I've tried two types of cat-be-gone spray on them, including bitter apple, to no avail. This is getting expensive.

Night Danger Moose fucked around with this message at 04:36 on Jan 19, 2014

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