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I have a cat question that is VAGUELY covered by the OP but it's sort of a special situation and I don't know if anyone can help, but it's totally worth me asking. We've just got a cat from someone else. This other person has had the cat for roughly five years, so we think it's that age. The cat is female and when we first got her - around 3 months ago - she was understandably pretty frightened. She has calmed down now. We kept her downstairs in her own room, then slowly let her get more and more of the house. Our house is four stories, so it's pretty gigantic and means she has a lot of space to run around and do whatever. She's also an indoor cat, as the original owner kept her in a flat. There were issues with her weeing in random places - especially on the doormat at the front door - but we followed the advice in the thread and for the most part this has stopped. However you essentially cannot stroke her. She'll go for you. Unlike in the OP though she doesn't have her claws out. It's almost like she assumes that any sort of stroking is playing and she wants to play too. This is frustrating as when the cat is rubbing around your legs in a hello way you do want to reach down and stroke, but of course she'll go for you. I'm not saying here she ALWAYS attacks you when you stroke her. There are times she won't. She can be sat on your knee and you can poke and prod for a short while, but then she'll attack again. Is there any way to get her used to human contact? I partly think this is due to the stress of the move but the previous owner did say she was random and a bit aggressive before. While I know cats can be like this it's really making me hate her. The cat coming in your room and sitting on your bed is all well and good but if you know that a few movements will get her angry it's actually becoming a bit scary, I'm worried she'll go for my face. She was a bit ill when we got her and we've taken her to the vets, she's all sorted on that front.
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May 20, 2014 18:23
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Look for signs that she's getting overstimulated (tail wagging) and withdraw before she gets the chance to attack. Unfortunately, the 'rubbing all over your legs' already brings her pretty close to threshold, so you shouldn't try to pet her when she's mugging you. Instead work on increasing her attack countdown when she's on your lap being calm - just try and stop before she attacks.
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May 20, 2014 19:01
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My fiance and I found two kittens in our backyard three weeks ago. Going by weight and what teeth they had, they were about six weeks, making them just shy of nine weeks now. They appeared happy and healthy, although covered in fleas. We are keeping them indoors permanently and we have one other cat who is 10 and indoor-only. Bran on the left, Arya on the right After taking them to the vet for shots/check-up/FeLV/FIV tests and giving them a Dawn bath since they were too young for flea meds, they seemed to be doing great. Their fleas didn't go away after the bath, but it seemed to help. I took them back to the vet on Friday because Arya had developed a crusty bald spot above her left eye and Bran had a much smaller crusty spot on the edge of his ear. The doctor diagnosed it as ringworm and they were also old enough to get their flea medicine. He put both kittens on 1.6mL of griseofulvin a day and told me to watch for side effects, but they both seem to be doing just fine in that department. Since Friday, more spots have developed on Arya, but not Bran: one on three of her paws, one on her chin, and one on her belly. Should the ringworm be getting worse before it gets better? I can take pictures if necessary, but they are generally flying, blurry balls of fur from the moment they wake up to the moment they fall back asleep. Right now we have the two kittens corralled in our bathroom area in the master bedroom. Our older cat hasn't had contact with them. He's pretty cranky and we planned on waiting until the fleas were gone to introduce them, but since they were diagnosed with ringworm, we're going to keep them apart until that's gone, too. If we keep them confined and then clean the hell out of the bathroom once their ringworm is gone, what are the odds that our older cat is going to get it, too? And lastly, right now they have several toys and a cheap scratching post in their area. Should we be replacing all of that now or wait until their ringworm has cleared up? Thanks!
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May 21, 2014 00:09
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Engineer Lenk posted:Look for signs that she's getting overstimulated (tail wagging) and withdraw before she gets the chance to attack. Unfortunately, the 'rubbing all over your legs' already brings her pretty close to threshold, so you shouldn't try to pet her when she's mugging you. Instead work on increasing her attack countdown when she's on your lap being calm - just try and stop before she attacks. The problem is that she is wagging her tail almost always. I realise that's an "attack" thing for most cats, but honestly her tail is always, always going.
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May 21, 2014 00:14
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Taear posted:The problem is that she is wagging her tail almost always. I realise that's an "attack" thing for most cats, but honestly her tail is always, always going. And she's almost always ready to attack. Maybe coincidence, maybe she's just really high-strung and her body language is telling you not to touch. Play with her more, wear her out. See if her body language softens when she's tired.
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May 21, 2014 00:34
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DaisyDanger posted:Right now we have the two kittens corralled in our bathroom area in the master bedroom. Our older cat hasn't had contact with them. He's pretty cranky and we planned on waiting until the fleas were gone to introduce them, but since they were diagnosed with ringworm, we're going to keep them apart until that's gone, too. If we keep them confined and then clean the hell out of the bathroom once their ringworm is gone, what are the odds that our older cat is going to get it, too? When Pizza had ringworm we kept him quarantined and Ozma did not catch it. I however, did catch it  So basically wash everything at all times and like, throw on an oversized t-shirt when you play with them so you can pull it off and wash it (not just your hands and face) when you're done playing with them, because ringworm blows so bad even if it is fairly easy to get rid of. I'd let them have the toys but wash them regularly. If it was me I'd wait til they were all better to throw them away, just so they have stuff to do now.
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May 21, 2014 00:39
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Engineer Lenk posted:And she's almost always ready to attack. Maybe coincidence, maybe she's just really high-strung and her body language is telling you not to touch. We've tried it and it really doesn't. She'll be a little more half arsed about it, but still do it.
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May 21, 2014 03:00
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EXTREME INSERTION posted:My cat is going in for dental surgery tomorrow. He is having a tooth removed. No food or water after midnight. His surgery is at 2pm but I drop him off at 6am tomorrow. I'm trying to make sure there are no cups with water in them around, stray treats or kibbles, dripping faucets, etc...if he has a sip of water is he going to die tomorrow afternoon? There's a good amount of time between his drop off and his surgery Anesthesia can lead to vomiting or passive regurgitation, so having the least amount of stuff in the stomach as possible helps reduce the problems that can come from vomiting/regurgitating while medically impaired. Water transits pretty quick most of the time so a small amount is fine. Don't let them gorge, of course, but pulling up the normal major sources should be fine.
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May 21, 2014 05:26
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My older cat (who's only 3) is acting very strangely. He's bolting around manically and occasionally stopping to furiously groom a spot on his forepaw. He seems fine otherwise--he just pooped and it seems fine and he doesn't mind if I pet him, even on the spot he's grooming--but something is clearly off. My younger cat, normally his BFF, is clearly concerned; he's hanging out close by but also growling and he hissed once. Obviously he's going to the vet ASAP, but does anyone have any idea what's going on?
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May 21, 2014 06:36
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I have a cat question: is one of my cats stressed out? He seems really jumpy when awake -- even when sitting in my lap and purring he is really alert to noises and thumps and stuff, and doesn't really seem like he is relaxing. Also if he is not sleeping but resting in one spot he will swish his tail around even if there doesn't look like something is annoying him or even if he is otherwise being really friendly by crawling on me while purring. He also runs and jumps around meowing. Not every day but multiple times per week he will just meow a bunch while running around my apartment, jumping up on tables and chairs. He doesn't hide under stuff (like, ever, he's always out in the open) or poo poo/piss in inappropriate places, which the internet tells me is typical behavior for stressed cats. He's at most two years old and this is what I would call normal behavior for him; he's been acting like this since I he stopped being a kitten. Basically I am concerned if one of my cats is unhappy or stressed out, I guess. If he's just in the normal range of jumpy nervousness for cats that would be cool but if not I would like to know so I can take some steps to improve his life or something. For context I live alone in a small apartment and have two neutered male cats who are from the same litter so they get along/are best friends. The cats have lived here since December 2012.
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May 21, 2014 08:46
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pork minstral posted:My older cat (who's only 3) is acting very strangely. He's bolting around manically and occasionally stopping to furiously groom a spot on his forepaw. He seems fine otherwise--he just pooped and it seems fine and he doesn't mind if I pet him, even on the spot he's grooming--but something is clearly off. My younger cat, normally his BFF, is clearly concerned; he's hanging out close by but also growling and he hissed once. Obviously he's going to the vet ASAP, but does anyone have any idea what's going on? Are there any stray cats around your house? Is he running to windows or just random areas in the house? My cat goes nuts when there's another one stalking about outside. He'll run from room to room checking the windows and following the outside cat's progress around the yard. I figure it's turf defense of some sort. Your other cat may be hissing because he's getting the vibe that the older one is ready to fight. DisMafugga fucked around with this message at 13:36 on May 21, 2014 |
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May 21, 2014 13:30
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This is Baxter. Recently, I noticed he is missing a little chunk of fur from his back, and has a red scab-like thing in the middle of it.  We have another cat, Raja, and he and Baxter like to wrestle. Does Baxter's injury look like Raja just was a little too forceful one time and ripped some fur out, or could this be something more serious?
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May 21, 2014 14:14
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DisMafugga posted:Are there any stray cats around your house? Is he running to windows or just random areas in the house? My cat goes nuts when there's another one stalking about outside. He'll run from room to room checking the windows and following the outside cat's progress around the yard. I figure it's turf defense of some sort. Your other cat may be hissing because he's getting the vibe that the older one is ready to fight.
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May 21, 2014 15:20
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DaisyDanger posted:After taking them to the vet for shots/check-up/FeLV/FIV tests and giving them a Dawn bath since they were too young for flea meds, they seemed to be doing great. Their fleas didn't go away after the bath, but it seemed to help. I took them back to the vet on Friday because Arya had developed a crusty bald spot above her left eye and Bran had a much smaller crusty spot on the edge of his ear. The doctor diagnosed it as ringworm and they were also old enough to get their flea medicine. He put both kittens on 1.6mL of griseofulvin a day and told me to watch for side effects, but they both seem to be doing just fine in that department. Since Friday, more spots have developed on Arya, but not Bran: one on three of her paws, one on her chin, and one on her belly. Should the ringworm be getting worse before it gets better? I can take pictures if necessary, but they are generally flying, blurry balls of fur from the moment they wake up to the moment they fall back asleep. My ex-husband and I once adopted a kitten who turned out to have ringworm. It took a couple of treatments to get rid of it completely, but I don't know what the treatment was (this was more than 10 years ago). I'd take them back to the vet, or at least Arya. Also reiterating what the other poster said - you can catch it, too, and it's ugly and itchy and takes forever to clear up. Meanwhile, you look like a weirdo leper. It's not fun; wash everything after petting them!
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May 21, 2014 19:06
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I almost find it anomalous now that it's been three years now since I adopted my cat Jackie, and I still have had no real problems. Well, she had to get an ingrown claw removed once, but since she's polydactyl and has seven front claws instead of five, well, that's pair for the course sometimes. I keep up with it better and don't let it happen anymore, but the thing is, it seems silly to clip her claws for any reason because despite them being razor sharp she has still yet to leave so much as a mark on my skin that wasn't a little white line that went away in 2 minutes. Those are the marks she leaves when she "scratches" me when we're playing. One thing that does worry me slightly is her seeming total lack of interest in the outside world, or in going outside. She used to be indoor/outdoor when she lived with my parents, because they have a house set back from the major roads that saw no traffic at all, and had lots of wooded areas for adventurous kitties to play or hunt. Jackie was never very adventurous or much of a hunter, though. Not the kind of cat who kills a rat and brings you the carcass. But still, when she moved in with me, on the third floor of an apartment building in a place that saw tons of traffic, I though it might not work or she would pine for the outdoors. But three years on, and the exact opposite has happened. She's barely gone outside at all, and I've given her the opportunity and even bought a harness and long leash but she just does not seem into it. She appears totally happy living inside and doing little beyond sleeping, eating, playing, following me around everywhere, etc. I worry she's not getting enough exercise, but she seems alright. Mostly she's a velcro cat and just sticks to me all the time when I'm home. It's really gotten to absurd levels. I think everything is fine though - everyone who comes over to visit loves her, because she's super-affectionate and like a big teddy bear, and cool with her humungous paws. She also has extremely soft and silky fur because I both feed her expensive food and brush her diligently - she's not a longhair but sort of a medium hair. She has a very thick and soft undercoat that gives her the extra-lustrous quality when her fur is in good shape.
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May 21, 2014 19:32
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Thanks for the advice! I've got some old pajamas I've been wearing around them and keep in that room when I'm all done playing. I've had athlete's foot before so I know how bad it sucks. I'm the kind of person whose mind always goes right to the worst case scenario. I've had it in the back of my mind that maybe Arya does have FIV or FeLV and her test was a false negative and that's why her ringworm got so bad so quickly. I'm going to give their vet a call. He did say it could take a week or more for any results to show. I feel like I've called their office every other day since we found them and he's even laughed about how much I've been in there. Maybe I'll wait to see how she looks in the morning. I'll be keeping the toys they have now until they're both all cleared up, but I was just worried that by keeping old toys with ringworm spores on them, we'd be preventing them from healing faster. Edit: Ok, I called the vet. He was with a client, but the tech who answered the phone said it's not uncommon for it to get worse once the medication starts and that it should start getting better soon. They're going to call me back when the vet is freed up.  Edit 2: Confirmed by vet that it's not uncommon. They're going to see if the ringworm shampoo they have it age-appropriate for the kittens and let me know, so we might be able to do that, too. DaisyDanger fucked around with this message at 20:17 on May 21, 2014 |
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May 21, 2014 20:04
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Taear posted:We've tried it and it really doesn't. She'll be a little more half arsed about it, but still do it. Try Feliway, it may take her down a peg? I hope so
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May 22, 2014 00:31
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DaisyDanger posted:
You don't need to worry so much. You likely won't catch it. My kitten had it right near her eye and it took 6+ weeks to clear up so we didn't separate her from the other kitten or the two 11 yr old cats and no one else caught it. Just wash your hands a bit more than usual. No need to quarantine. No need for special clothes. Breathe easy, it's not that big of a deal :-)
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May 22, 2014 05:08
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Joburg posted:You don't need to worry so much. You likely won't catch it. My kitten had it right near her eye and it took 6+ weeks to clear up so we didn't separate her from the other kitten or the two 11 yr old cats and no one else caught it. Just wash your hands a bit more than usual. No need to quarantine. No need for special clothes. Breathe easy, it's not that big of a deal :-) Actually, many times cats can have ringworm but be asymptomatic. Quarantine. Wear gloves. Your older cats are less likely to get it than a kitten, but don't risk it.
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May 22, 2014 06:11
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I would much rather be safe that sorry with my older cat. I posted about him much earlier in this thread, not sure if anyone remembers. He's a member of the fluoxetine club and isn't able to be examined at the vet unless he's knocked out. Regular check-ups for him generally cost me $200+. Plus I have a 4 year old daughter and it's only mildly difficult to keep her away from the kittens, but old man cat would be another story if he got it, too.
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May 22, 2014 07:07
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Just wanted to chime in re: ringworm... I work with children, and they catch ringworm basically all the time, from their cat or dog or just from playing in the dirt. It's really not a huge deal, but just do what makes you comfortable if you're a weirdo germaphobe. A little lamisil will knock it out in a couple of days if you or your kids catch it.
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May 22, 2014 14:29
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Actually, that's a good point about regular check-ups. That really isn't something I do with my cat, mostly because she is indoors and never seems the slightest bit sick. I mean, she doesn't even throw up except for once in a blue moon. But I probably should get check-ups, it just seems silly. The last time she was at the vet was 2 years ago and they only had absolutely glowing things to say about her health. Part of the issue is that my father doesn't really "believe" in yearly vet check-ups for animals when nothing is wrong, but he also does not have a great cat mortality rate, really. Before when Jackie was younger I felt better about it, but now that she just turned 7 this year, she just ain't quite a young thing anymore. I should take her in soon. She's also very easy to examine - according to the vet I take her to, she's one of the easiest cats they've seen  Jackie is literally the opposite of fierce.
kaworu fucked around with this message at 18:10 on May 22, 2014 |
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May 22, 2014 18:05
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CompactFanny posted:Just wanted to chime in re: ringworm... I work with children, and they catch ringworm basically all the time, from their cat or dog or just from playing in the dirt. It's really not a huge deal, but just do what makes you comfortable if you're a weirdo germaphobe. A little lamisil will knock it out in a couple of days if you or your kids catch it. This is pretty much my stance on it. I don't let her play with them as much as she did before they got ringworm, but she still gets some playtime. I figured I could either try to keep her away from them for a month, which isn't very fair to her or the kittens, or just tell her that she will get a really itchy sore like Arya if she gives them kisses, doesn't wash her hands, touches her face before washing up, etc.
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May 22, 2014 18:52
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While I've read the pet nutrition thread, I need some advice about the best food to pick as apparently my dry food of preference is being phased out. For some time I've been giving both of my cats this since it's a high quality grain-free food that's good for all life stages. I have a male tuxedo, about 9 months old (so still a kitten) and a female tabby who's just over a year, so a very young adult. I tried Wellness CORE turkey and duck, and may tabby couldn't keep it down - she literally threw up after every meal. However, I gave both of these furry buggers Wellness CORE kitten when they were younger and they had no problems with that. I'm thinking of getting a small bag of the CORE chicken (which is for adults only) to make sure that they can stomach it, but that's an adult-only food and my littlest isn't fully grown. I'm going to have to go all dry for the time being as I just lost my job, but I think that I will be okay as I have a fountain and my cats seem to drink a fair amount of water. If anyone has any suggestions, especially cost-efficient ones, I'd appreciate it.
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May 22, 2014 18:53
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JustJeff88 posted:While I've read the pet nutrition thread, I need some advice about the best food to pick as apparently my dry food of preference is being phased out. I buy the cheapest food my cats will tolerate and eat. The nutritional needs of cats have been well-understood for decades and the current grain-free craze has no scientific basis whatever. It seems to be paleo-diet nonsense applied to animals, egged on by advertisers. Any food labeled as "nutritionally complete" will do just fine. Our cats eat Friskies and Nine Lives and love it.
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May 22, 2014 20:43
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Deteriorata posted:I buy the cheapest food my cats will tolerate and eat. The nutritional needs of cats have been well-understood for decades and the current grain-free craze has no scientific basis whatever. It seems to be paleo-diet nonsense applied to animals, egged on by advertisers. There's a lot of paleo or gluten free or whatever other idiot diet strategies out there, but it's awful dumb to just wave off them off as a whole - unless you happen to think that the average American's diet is just fine and we're all huge diabetic fatasses because of politics or something. The same principles are informing how we make pet food. Given, wild cats probably didn't eat a lot of tuna or beef or some of the other proteins going into what I feed mine, but even those have to be a lot closer to what their bodies are used to digesting than a truckload of wheat. Feral cats only eat grass when they want to barf iirc?
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May 22, 2014 21:02
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Deteriorata posted:The nutritional needs of cats have been well-understood for decades This isn't really true. See: taurine deficiency causing dilated cardiomyopathy and retinal degeneration. Also: the incredible increase in the prevalence in feline hyperthyroidism over the recent decades and how that may have dietary risk factors. Even throughout vet school (so the past 4 years) there's been a shift in how much carbohydrates vs. protein you should really aim for in cat food.
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May 22, 2014 21:32
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Forgive me for being an arse, but could we ignore the obvious jackass troll? I really would like to hear some genuinely advice on specific food solutions rather than pointless lashing out at some nitwit who is just trying to justify the fact that he refuses to spend more than $1/pound on food for animals that he supposedly loves.
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May 22, 2014 21:37
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JustJeff88 posted:Forgive me for being an arse, but could we ignore the obvious jackass troll? I really would like to hear some genuinely advice on specific food solutions rather than pointless lashing out at some nitwit who is just trying to justify the fact that he refuses to spend more than $1/pound on food for animals that he supposedly loves. Show me some peer-reviewed double-blind studies that show grain-free catfood is in any way better for your cat. I base my decisions on reality, not hand waving about things I think ought to be true but have no factual evidence to suggest they actually are. Meanwhile, my cats are healthy and happy. More money does not equal more love, despite what all the TV ads tell you. You're free to waste your money on whatever you like, however. You asked for advice, I gave some.
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May 22, 2014 21:46
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Deteriorata posted:I base my decisions on reality, not hand waving about things I think ought to be true but have no factual evidence to suggest they actually are. There's plenty of things that can go wrong with a given creature's body that won't be visible for a long time... you can survive on all kinds of stuff that will keep you looking and feeling fine until you drop dead at 50 from a cholesterol-fueled heart attack, can't imagine cats are hugely different. I don't have a bunch of peer reviewed poo poo because way too much work for ash internet argument, and the stuff I buy isn't that expensive anyway? Both of mine love Core, and it's not that much more money.
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May 22, 2014 22:23
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How do you guys respond to a cat attack/bite? I was just getting into the shower and my cat came up out of nowhere, jumped on me, and bit the everloving poo poo out of my hand/arm multiple times, to the point where I may need to go to urgent care for antibiotics. I wasn't sure what to do - yell at him? Leave the room? His tail was enormous when and after he did it, so I think he must have gotten spooked by something, but I want to make sure that I discourage the behavior and don't inadvertently let him know that it's OK. For the time being I'm just ignoring him completely although he seems to have calmed down.
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May 23, 2014 02:55
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If you have posted about it on the internet then I think you've probably left it to late to discourage it right?
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May 23, 2014 03:08
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Well presumably yeah, but it struck me that I had no idea what to do, so I was just wondering what the right response would've been. I've never owned a pet before. v v
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May 23, 2014 05:15
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Those moments always scared the gently caress out of me when they happened. I grew up in two houses and both had 2 or 3 cats at any given time, so there were always a lot of cats. But when one would randomly go intro crazy mode like that on me for some reason it would just remind me that despite the fact that this creature is soft and cuddly and purrs for me sometimes, it can also turn on me and change into a rather powerful ball or fury full teeth and claws sometimes. Not all were like that but some were, and I didn't really understand that stuff like over-stimulation even existed. Made it hard for me to fully trust cats. I think that's why I love my current cat so much, because she's the only one I've ever trusted totally to never, ever scratch or harm me. Also, ignoring him and not giving him any positive attention maybe for a while might be the best you can do. It's not like you're gonna "punish" a cat unless you're some evil sadist. In which case 
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May 23, 2014 05:43
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I'm usually all for positive reinforcement and giving easily overstimulated cats plenty of space but if I encountered an unprovoked cat ambush like that my first response would be scruff it and throw across the room.
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May 23, 2014 06:55
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Am I the only one who would just hand cook my cat's meals, and count the macro / micro nutrients? Jesus it's like you people hate your animals.
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May 23, 2014 07:15
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Turtlicious posted:Am I the only one who would just hand cook my cat's meals, and count the macro / micro nutrients? Jesus it's like you people hate your animals. I actually would make my own cat food if it was significantly cheaper than buying it. But as far as I can tell, it's not.
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May 23, 2014 13:59
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Klungar posted:This is Baxter. Anyone able to provide any guidance on this?
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May 23, 2014 14:44
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Klungar posted:Anyone able to provide any guidance on this? I wouldn't worry about it unless it's getting worse (or just isn't getting better).
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May 23, 2014 15:17
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Engineer Lenk posted:I'm usually all for positive reinforcement and giving easily overstimulated cats plenty of space but if I encountered an unprovoked cat ambush like that my first response would be scruff it and throw across the room. My mom did this with her current cat and the cat got the hint. Now she won't attack her under any circumstance.
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May 23, 2014 15:21
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