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Hardwood Floor posted:Suggestions for dealing with a cat being bratty? In the middle of the night, one of our cats really likes shoving its paws under the bedroom door repeatedly, usually pushing whatever small toy they can find into the room until it's out of their grasp (this includes bottle caps, scraps of paper, actual toys, and on one occasion a Nintendo DS). I've tried putting a towel down in front of the door but the cats either reach in and pull it out or just move it with their teeth if I put it on the outside of the door. This honestly feels silly to complain about but they've been waking up our roommate (who works nights) so I'd like to try and get them to stop doing that. Vacuum trick. Have the vacuum set up next to the door. Whenever they start being little assholes and shoving poo poo under the door turn it on and it should scare the hell out of them and make them not to keen to go near the door. Repeat as needed. You can also try wearing them out more with a laser pointer or something before you go to sleep so they're more likely to sleep through the night. This option is less funny though.
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May 2, 2014 13:30
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IdeoPhanthus posted:You can buy a door sweep at places like Lowes, Home Depot, and Wal Mart. That should at least prevent them from pushing stuff under the door. That doesn't mean they won't still try to bug you, but it should at least close the gap enough (unless you have a huge gap). The other option is to try playing with them before bed so that they're tired enough to relax/sleep themselves instead of being wide awake trying to play (with or without you) through the door. Thanks! I'll probably try a mixture of both just to make sure. Kerfuffle: Both the cats have a horrid short term memory and things like spray bottles and temporary scares only startle them for .5 seconds before they do it again. Like the time we put up aluminum foil on the table so they wouldn't jump but they tried once every five minutes just to be startled over and over. Then one of the cats grabbed it (with her teeth  ) and pulled it off the table. Cats are weird.
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May 2, 2014 14:59
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EXTREME INSERTION posted:She's a very nice cat, she just made a face as a kitten and it got stuck like that. If you slap her on the back again, maybe it'll go back to normal? 
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May 2, 2014 15:03
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bowmore posted:My cat sighs when he has been purring and is just about to fall asleep, it is cute as gently caress. My old boy Oliver does exactly the same, he then generally goes on to snore which is less cute 6 inches from my head 
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May 2, 2014 15:45
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The kitten I found has been coughing now and again, Googling shows he might have a respiratory infection. Is there anything I can get him that would help? No vets in my area to get antibiotics 
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May 2, 2014 15:56
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No vets in your area? You need to take your cat to a vet if it's coughing, full stop.
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May 2, 2014 16:14
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MariusLecter posted:Found this little bastard in my backyard. DO NOT USE A FLEA COLLAR. Just thought that should be noted. Grab some anti-flea meds from a vet instead. If you're intending to keep the kitten, a quick vet checkup is a very good idea anyway. EDIT: Also, I know a little about rural area vets. Enough to know that if there's farms, there's also vets doing house calls, and most farm vets also take care of farm dogs and cats. Might want to ask the nearest dude with cows. endlessmonotony fucked around with this message at 17:13 on May 2, 2014 |
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May 2, 2014 16:49
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MariusLecter posted:The kitten I found has been coughing now and again, Googling shows he might have a respiratory infection. Is there anything I can get him that would help? No vets in my area to get antibiotics Unfortunately he needs a vet visit. Nothing over the counter would be effective.
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May 3, 2014 03:03
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I have a 4 year old male American longhair who for some reason over the last few months has seemed progressively more bored and agitated. Indoor only. He is my girlfriend's cat and we've moved in together, which despite seeming to have someone around more--he just feels more riled up lately. I know both her and I have been more stressed as she is in grad school and my work load has increased over roughly the same period of time. We play with him regularly and he gets boatloads of attention when we're home (weekdays before 7:30am, after 6pm with her home for an hour during lunch, weekends we're both around all day except for maybe a few hour in the evening), but there has been a perceived shift in personality since these life changes. For a quick background on the cat--he was abandoned around age 2 for a limited amount of time before he was picked up by the humane society where my girlfriend got him. He hasn't been super social with other animals when he stays at her parents house (two dogs, two cats, general animal chaos), likes people. I brought up the idea of a getting a second cat as an option, but would like to hear some opinions from people here if they have introduced a second cat after experiencing similar mood shifts in their cats. What sex, age, etc would be most compatable? Is this the best solution? EDIT: Enjoying life: 
c0ldfuse fucked around with this message at 05:16 on May 3, 2014 |
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May 3, 2014 04:45
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HelloSailorSign posted:Unfortunately he needs a vet visit. Nothing over the counter would be effective. Called in to a couple out of town places, gonna get him to a vet next week on Wednesday or Thursday. Just gonna give him water and food till they do a full check up for fleas, ticks, mites, worms etc, vaccinations, preventative meds, etc... Good news is he hasn't coughed at all today. The only thing left undone so far is naming him 
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May 3, 2014 06:17
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MariusLecter posted:The only thing left undone so far is naming him Bruno.
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May 3, 2014 15:35
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Woodstock
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May 3, 2014 15:37
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I'm having difficulty finding a toy that keeps our cat's interest that isn't a laser pointer. We've got jingly balls and fluffy balls, and tassels on sticks with rattlers on them, a scratching post, and I even went out and got those ridiculous Catty Stacks - nothing's getting her attention. In fact she just seems annoyed when we try rolling the balls at her or around her, and the tassel stick just makes her move away from us. There's only two things this cat finds fun, it seems, and one is biting us (she's getting better about NOT doing this) and the other is chasing a laser pointer. But what I've read about laser pointers is that they're not great for the cat's mental health. The cat never effectively catches anything and so can get wound up tighter and tighter, exhausted but not spent. I've tried using the laser pointer to lead her to physical toys like the tassel or the scratching post, but when I put the light away and start trying to get her to chase the tassel or a ball, she just goes back to being bored. She circles our legs and stands up on her hind quarters and mews at us. With food and water readily available, I can only think that she's begging us to play with her. We show her affection, at least until it looks like she's trying to bite us again in which case we withdraw. Any suggestions? I don't want my cat to spiral into a deep cat depression because it thinks life is pointless if it can't catch the red dot.
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May 3, 2014 19:01
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Dr VideoGames 0.299 posted:Any suggestions? I don't want my cat to spiral into a deep cat depression because it thinks life is pointless if it can't catch the red dot.
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May 3, 2014 21:23
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Dr VideoGames 0.299 posted:Any suggestions? I don't want my cat to spiral into a deep cat depression because it thinks life is pointless if it can't catch the red dot. Buy a Da Bird and allow your cat to have a ball... http://www.amazon.com/GoCat-Apart-F...eywords=da+bird Here is our Clancy playing with it for the first time a year ago... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vRzduHZXODY The toy simulates the way a bird flies around with the fluttering of wings, and cats love it to death. I can't recommend this toy enough, especially at this price.
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May 3, 2014 21:33
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I had that problem for a while, too — I couldn't even engage my cat with Da Bird. Then I discovered he has a major thing for cardboard. Seriously, if you just tear a strip off of a box and give it to him, he goes nuts. It's the damndest thing. There are a lot of unconventional things that cats love to play with, like crumpled paper or those little cotton puffs you can get at craft stores. Just keep trying different things until you find something that works, and keep an eye on your cat to make sure she doesn't hurt herself with them.
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May 3, 2014 21:37
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Yeah, it's amazing what some cats love to play with. Clancy LOVES these things and steals them from my wife all the time... As far as balls, these are his favorite kind. He loves to play fetch with them as well... 
Downhome fucked around with this message at 21:43 on May 3, 2014 |
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May 3, 2014 21:41
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Angrymog posted:How about leading her to a treat? Yeah, tried that. Even hid then in the Catty Stacks, hoping to establish a pattern for her to go hunting in the boxes for treats. I think she doesn't like the ones I got her, though. They're the Kong moist duck treats. She liked the first two pieces, but now she just ignores them. I guess I'll just keep throwing different toys at her, as the budget allows. Thanks for the recommendations.
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May 3, 2014 22:12
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Dr VideoGames 0.299 posted:Yeah, tried that. Even hid then in the Catty Stacks, hoping to establish a pattern for her to go hunting in the boxes for treats. I think she doesn't like the ones I got her, though. They're the Kong moist duck treats. She liked the first two pieces, but now she just ignores them. Go buy a thing of the freeze dried chicken. It's about the only treat that Clancy goes crazy over.
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May 3, 2014 22:54
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We've given up buying toys for our kitten. I mean she loves the little mice or jingley feather things but she plays WAY more with plastic bags, balled up tinfoil, and those little plastic easter eggs. There's no point spending money on her! Anything that was ___ on the end of a string was awful. She can bite through the string in about .3 seconds and just chews the string apart and leaves it on the floor everywhere. (This exact same thing happened to our Wii sensor bar cord. )
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May 4, 2014 01:17
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Plastic bags and tin foil? What the hell, I've already got those. I'll give them a shot.
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May 4, 2014 02:10
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Maya loves these stupid things. One of the only toys she'll play with alone. She talks to them too, it's really cute 
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May 4, 2014 02:15
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So there's a cat rescue/shelter I came to know through work and they have like a hundred cats and they told me people just adopt the cats around 2-3 months old. I've been playing with the idea of adopting a cat so I thought maybe I would adopt a year old cat (would never adopt a kitten anyway), or two cats that are already hanging out together (actually sounds like the best idea since a single cat would get lonely going by the OP). I've read the OP and some other thread on this forum, anything else I should keep in mind? Also, since getting fancy cat food in south america is hard, which one of these is the best? IAMS, Purina, Royal, Whiskas, Vital Can, Cat Chow. I have a friend with a cat so it's useful information anyway. Pochoclo fucked around with this message at 02:50 on May 4, 2014 |
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May 4, 2014 02:41
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Dr VideoGames 0.299 posted:But what I've read about laser pointers is that they're not great for the cat's mental health. The cat never effectively catches anything and so can get wound up tighter and tighter, exhausted but not spent. I've tried using the laser pointer to lead her to physical toys like the tassel or the scratching post, but when I put the light away and start trying to get her to chase the tassel or a ball, she just goes back to being bored. I'm pretty sure this depends on the cat. Some cats get freaked out by there not being anything to catch, some cats just want to run around a lot and couldn't care less whether they ever get the dot. So if yours enjoys chasing it and seems tired at the end and doesn't cry or keep looking for where it went or seem otherwise anxious, I wouldn't worry about it.
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May 4, 2014 02:57
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Da Bird is honestly THE best cat toy for most cats (some cats are weird and have weirdo personalities). They're also pretty cheap, esp. on Amazon (check the third parties on Amazon too). Just wave it around in the air and slowly descend it 10 feet away from the cat and slowly move it around. Your cat should have her head on a swivel as it "flies" in the air and pounce as soon as she thinks she can catch it. I made a ghetto "Da Bird" before I knew about it, just hooked up a dowel rod with some string and a hair band, but spending the eight bucks and change is probably worth it since it's so easy to play with. Honestly, my biggest problem with the toy is that I really have to put effort into putting it away because if I just leave it on a shelf, my cats will eventually track it down and knock it to the ground and drag it to their secret dungon.
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May 4, 2014 03:57
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double post?!
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May 4, 2014 04:06
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Apart from my da bird knockoff, my cats' favourite toys are a wadded up ball of foil with a bell inside, and a small short plastic tube (1"x1") that they just have the most ridiculous time batting around. I've also got the Undercover Mouse thing that they're entertained by, but they just sit on it. Rotate the toys so they dont get bored.
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May 4, 2014 04:09
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Today, my cat began exhibiting some fairly strange behaviors and I'm wondering if I should be concerned. This morning, I noticed that he was grooming himself a lot more than he usually does. Sometimes he would lick himself, get up and walk around for a minute, and lick himself some more in the same spots. He would repeat this several times. The grooming is usually localized to his back and his back legs, I checked both spots for any sign of injury and found nothing. He poops and pees normally, I watched him like a hawk to make sure it wasn't crystals causing him pain. What concerns me most are his sudden mood swings. Today, he seemed perfectly fine, then came up to headbutt me and then just lunged and tried biting me. He did not look like himself AT ALL while this was happening -- his eyes were really wide, as though he was terrified of something. It was like he was a completely different cat, nothing like the chill cat buddy that he has been for as long as I can remember. The skin along his back seemed to be twitching too, as though he was having a seizure. I tried to distract him with his toys because his behavior was really freaking me out and he had me cornered on the sofa (it's me, I'm the person who gets cornered by a cat). He also made these high-pitched meowing noises that are very unusual for him. This repeated several times throughout the day, sometimes it wasn't biting but pawing at me with his claws out and always accompanied by this wide-eyed look. I also noticed that he has this strange loose skin by his neck/shoulder area, this could just be attributed to him slimming down and not being a fatty anymore, but I only began to see it today.. so it could be related I guess? This would last for 10-30 minutes and then he'd go right back to lounging on the cat tree with his buddy or rolling over for belly rubs. I've never seen a cat get such sudden mood swings, my family is full of cat people and they haven't experienced any such thing either. Mood swings and twitching, though, makes me think of brain problems My current plan is to wait a few days and take him to the vet if the behavior persists. Anyone have experience with this sort of thing?
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May 4, 2014 06:25
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My cat did that when I sat in cat pee at a friend's house, did you get into anything weird smelling today? Feliway helped mine.
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May 4, 2014 06:31
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Pochoclo posted:Also, since getting fancy cat food in south america is hard, which one of these is the best? IAMS, Purina, Royal, Whiskas, Vital Can, Cat Chow. I have a friend with a cat so it's useful information anyway. As far as dry food goes, Purina Excellent seems decent (that's what my cats get for kibble, then raw meats to complement) and I know you can get it in stores down here. For wet canned food you'll want to study and try some local brands. I think they're better than the imported crap we get. No recommendation there, though.
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May 4, 2014 07:20
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Background: I live in a house with two older cats, 6 (Ichabod) and 7 (Benny) years old. They have lived together for about 5 years, there were some cat squabbling when they were first introduced to each other in a much smaller apartment than where we currently live but that worked itself out and by all accounts were fine around each other. Last fall we found a stray (Wesley) and decided to bring him in. The vet estimated his age around 1-1.5 years old, so at this point he should be around 2 years old. For the first 3-4 months he seemed fine, there was again some squabbling but we live in a much bigger house now (at least 2.5 times the size of the old apartment) and figured it was enough room to allow three cats to coexist. Wesley is very energetic, and wants to play all the time and for 30-400 minute chunks. We had to play with him daily to be able to touch him without nips and swipes and now he's able to sleep in bed with us and generally can be fairly chill if not an rear end in a top hat but he is a cat. Then, about 4 months ago, he started getting very aggressive towards Benny, chasing him under beds and resulting in some bleeding. We immediately separated them and they've been like that ever since. Wesley and Ichabod seem fine together, there is some hiss and tumbling at points but nothing that doesn't end in a moment and seem to be forgotten. But every time Wesley and Benny see each other, there's chaos. There have been a few incidents since they were separated, mostly when one sneaks past us on the basement stairs and oh god, the sounds that Benny makes would lead you to believe he is being skinned alive. He runs, Wesley follows, scratching and screaming and bleeding result and I feel like an rear end in a top hat for bringing such a mess into the house in the first place. Things I have done to try and solve these problems include lots of playing with Wesley to tire him out, feeding the cats with a door between them to try and get them used to the scents without any physical contact, buying a bunch of Feliway diffusers, and rotating which cat is upstairs and which is downstairs so they mix their scents around the house without actually being around each other. Nothing at this point seems to work. Benny is not my cat, he belongs to my roommate, so I can't really do anything directly to him. I'm not sure how I would even get these two cats to interact with each other, their reactions to each other are instantaneous. I've talked to a vet about this stuff, their suggestion was the Feliway diffusers which haven't produced any results. My next option is to ask about any medication that might help, although I am a little weary about that option as it seems like the last resort. Miscellaneous things to point out. All cats are neutered males. I will probably be moving out in a year or so and would be bringing Wesley with me, so if medication needs to be used it would only be until he is in a single cat household. He has toys, towers to play and scratch, there are 5 litter boxes in the house and they're all fed twice a day. I don't want to rehome him, but if there isn't an option that works it might come to that. Does anyone have any advice or any experience with dealing with a similar situation?
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May 4, 2014 17:52
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Stupid question: Two cats, one litterbox. Why does one cat leave reasonably cohesive boulder/lumps of pee in the litter and the other leaves meandering lake-beds? I only ask because the meandering lake-beds always break into chunks, thankfully worlds best doesn't smell when the clump breaks. Is it a side effect of the litter manufacture? Bladder pressure? Amount of urine? crappy mspaint: 
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May 5, 2014 18:05
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Dr VideoGames 0.299 posted:Plastic bags and tin foil? What the hell, I've already got those. I'll give them a shot. My cat enjoys licking plastic bags. Not sure what he's getting out of it v  v
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May 5, 2014 19:16
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toplitzin posted:Stupid question: Your cat is experimenting to find the litter:pee ratio that creates the best cement for sinking your corpse in the nearest body of water.
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May 5, 2014 19:59
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potee posted:Your cat is experimenting to find the litter:pee ratio that creates the best cement for sinking your corpse in the nearest body of water. I'm in KS, bodies of water are a strange and foreign thing.
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May 5, 2014 20:46
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Do vets check for worms on a normal checkup? I took Ellie to the vet for her post-shelter visit and he didn't notice anything. I was petting her the other day and noticed this weird whiteish thing sticking out of her butt. I wasn't sure if it was worms or a small piece of string. Should I take her to get checked for worms? I have also noticed little dried white things around her butt as well but I'm not sure if thats litter or not.
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May 5, 2014 22:36
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flare posted:Do vets check for worms on a normal checkup? Does your vet do a regular fecal exam? It does sound like worms; I'd bring her in.
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May 5, 2014 22:41
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Dienes posted:Does your vet do a regular fecal exam? No it was pretty in out. I'll go ahead and schedule it.
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May 5, 2014 22:46
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Any recommendations for anti-tartar treats that cats will actually chew instead of just horking down whole?
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May 5, 2014 23:27
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What's a good brand of wet food?
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May 5, 2014 23:31
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