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Jackie sounds like a great cat. There's going to have to be a picture.
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Apr 3, 2015 05:05
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Gorgar posted:Jackie sounds like a great cat. There's going to have to be a picture. She honestly is.. I got quite lucky with her. I've posted her story in years past here (not that it's terribly fascinating) when I posted more in this sub-forum... She used to be my parents' cat, but she basically wound up living with kittens who were very mean to her, and she just had to gentle a temperament to feign for herself with younger male cats who were male playful/aggressive, even neutered ones. It had really changed her personality for the worse; I had known her when she was younger and bonded with her then, and offered to take her in, and it wound up working just really well for both of us. Her personality just changed overnight - she went from hissing and growling at humans and always hiding under furniture when people approached to being utterly happy, friendly, and relaxed. She not only doesn't scratch or bite, but she still has yet to hiss or so much as even growl *once* in the 4+ years since I adopted her. She does plenty of purring and chirping and mrowing though, naturally  Anyway I have some nice pics of her. I love that I have (any) reason to post these!  Jackie in one of her natural states, sleeping cutely. Note that she is a classic tabby with fur that's maybe a bit shorter than medium but with a lustrous coat and surprisingly thick undercoat.  Jack is an extremely polydactyl cat, and still a bit sensitive about having her paws handled - I'm the only one she's ever really let do it, and I still get looks like this sometimes for doing it! But still, it's pretty cute, and she has a rather adorably face. But as you can see her paws have many digits; this pic doesn't even show them all off properly, although, the part of the paw you can see on the right? Those are all extra digits - if the picture frame were extended a bit more you'd see the whole paw and be like "whoa", as is you can just see a very small part of the "normal" part of the paw, while you can see all the three digits on her "thumb" very clearly. She actually has 7 toes and claws on each of her front paws (it's like she has a giant thumb with three digits on it), and 5 toes/claws on each of her back paws rather than the normal four. Oh, and speaking of her face...  And now you know why one of my nicknames for Jackie is "KittyFace". Because she just has *such* a kittyface! And again, I think the fact that I was able to take this pic *at all* with my iphone (I just asked her to please sit still for a moment for me  ) speaks to what an unbelievably obedient and mellow cat she is - if she looks a bit bewildered in the last two pics its more because she's not sure what to make of me taking pictures. And I know, her eyes are a bit gunky - it's an ongoing battle and I try to get them clean every day, bur it's a never-ending battle and even ultra-tolerant cats don't much like having their eye area touched at all. But again, Jackie lets me get away with it every time! This last little pic was too adorable for me not too include. I've just been sleeping in a sleeping bag on my futon lately since I moved into my new place, and I came home one evening to find Jackie situated in my sleeping bag *just* like this. Which was way too goddamn adorable. What was funny is that she was *exactly* in my spot and you can't see it but she's also right in front of the laptop, too. So uh, yeah. There's probably way more pics and captions of my cat than anyone wanted! For the record she's about 8.5 years old right now, and while she's definitely on the overweight side (she weighs 12 pounds) she's also a legitimately large-framed cat, and has lost a TON of weight - when I took her in 4 years ago she weighed 18 pounds and was so fat she couldn't lick her own butt without literally falling over. Now she is *more* than capable of grooming herself properly, and does so diligently
kaworu fucked around with this message at 14:55 on Apr 3, 2015 |
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Apr 3, 2015 14:48
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kaworu posted:This last little pic was too adorable for me not too include. I've just been sleeping in a sleeping bag on my futon lately since I moved into my new place, and I came home one evening to find Jackie situated in my sleeping bag *just* like this. Which was way too goddamn adorable. What was funny is that she was *exactly* in my spot and you can't see it but she's also right in front of the laptop, too. That's a pretty KittyFace. I'm glad you were able to give her a more peaceful home. I have a gentle easily frightened cat that hides when people are over, and used to be terrified of me. I adopted her along with her brother, who was very friendly at the shelter. He's not very nice to her: always wants to push her around when it's time for petting, often evicts her from her sleeping spot just to be a dick. She tries to be nice to her brother, washing his head when he comes by, but he's just a jerk. She's learned that I'll forcibly remove him if he tries to interfere with petting her, which she seems to appreciate. She's doing much better after a couple of years, blinks at me a lot instead of hiding (I barely even glimpsed her for the first month or so), has learned not to be in terror of my friends, and while she hardly ever will be on the bed when I'm in it, it's her petting area when I'm not, and she likes to sleep in my spot. Currently she's learning that it's ok to get picked up: she gets held for a moment, purrs, and set back down before she panics. Here she is being cute and bright-eyed and not fearful:  I tend to call all of mine "kitten face" as a generic term. None of them are kittens, of course.
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Apr 3, 2015 16:50
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Gorgar posted:<skittish cat> We have a cat who's pretty skittish and always hides under the bed when people are around. He's about 6 now and he's mellowing out a bit but still very shy. The breakthrough I had with him was when I was sitting on the floor one day and he came and walked around me and allowed himself to be petted a little while he walked a circle around me. Recenly I found out that he loves to say hi when I get home, but only if I do it in a specific way: I get into bed, under the duvet and I call him. He'll come and say hi, purr, walk on me and boop noses. After I've patted and stroked him a bit he's even ok with like, 5 second cuddles. He likes to walk around and walk on me, walk off, walk on me again etc. We also cleared the top of some bookshelves and put blankets on them, so he can hang out up high now without feeling afraid. We put cat shelves all around the top of the living room too so he can walk around the whole room without touching the floor.
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Apr 3, 2015 18:56
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It's interesting, one of the articles I was reading about how cats socialize with humans said that in many ways it all comes down to how much contact they have with humans over the first four months of their life, and as well the extent to which they are around humans and regularly handled by humans from a very young age onwards, and that *all* that contact is positive. Cats do not forgive and do not forget, as we all know, and if a kitten has a very negative experience with a human mistreating it in some way, that kitten may very well *never* fully trust humans. I know it's probably common knowledge, but still - it all has to do with that early socialization and their early experiences with humans. I had a cat when I was growing up at my mom's house who we adopted, and she was initially feral or something - I think she had been mistreated badly at some point, because she totally trusted women but was terrified of any man. She would be fine with my mom but *never* trusted me, or the dog, or anyone else - she's still alive actually and still the same way as far as I know. Ultra-skittish cat, ultra-tense - I don't think I would ever see her in a totally relaxed state, even when she was purring and being petted she was on a hair trigger. I eventually learned that even when she seemed to be friendly towards me it was very unwise to have any uncovered skin near her. Which is again one of the reasons why I appreciate Jackie - I can take her front paw in my hand and rake it across my face and it wouldn't even leave a mark because she would just let me do it and keep her claws steadfastly in the whole time. Which is absurd because most cats I know would scratch you just for trying to manipulate their paw! What a silly cat.
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Apr 3, 2015 21:18
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Had a cat wander into our yard: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohCUb7s12yw He's in really good shape and friendly so I'm pretty sure someone looks after him, but he's not neutered so I don't know for sure. Set some food and water out for him but as you can see from the video he's a ruthless hunter killer. I want to steal him. But I won't. 
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Apr 3, 2015 21:51
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I think that's definitely someone's cat - he seems way too friendly to have ever been wild, raising his tail like that when you were petting him, and is clearly rather well-fed. I'm sure he's just adopting some extra humans with his charms to pad out those meals, and just in case, y'know His owners should neuter him, though - shame you can't just tie a note to him, "Neuter me so I don't knock up the whole neighborhood!"
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Apr 3, 2015 23:17
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Today I've noticed that my kitten has a transparent film on her eyes, about 75mm in diameter in the middle of each eye. It doesn't seem like she is uncomfortable but I haven't noticed it before. I've tried to search on the Internet but it's no help, everyone talks about blue or white film but nothing about transparent. It looks like a contact. Should I take her to the vet or is it a thing that will pass by itself? I'll look how it is tomorrow but I would be interested to know if anyone else had experience with this.
Cat Planet fucked around with this message at 01:36 on Apr 4, 2015 |
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Apr 4, 2015 01:25
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Therion posted:Today I've noticed that my kitten has a transparent film on her eyes, about 75mm in diameter in the middle of each eye. It doesn't seem like she is uncomfortable but I haven't noticed it before. I've tried to search on the Internet but it's no help, everyone talks about blue or white film but nothing about transparent. It looks like a contact. Should I take her to the vet or is it a thing that will pass by itself? I'll look how it is tomorrow but I would be interested to know if anyone else had experience with this. I don't gently caress around with eye issues, personally.
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Apr 4, 2015 02:25
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Dienes posted:I don't gently caress around with eye issues, personally. It seems to have disappeared, weird. I'll still ask the vet about it.
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Apr 4, 2015 03:26
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Fuzz Bucket here will run after toys when I throw them. She will also follow me room to room. How can I turn these natural traits into my cat playing fetch? She is not particularly smart, or food-oriented, but she'll go for treats if I make her sufficiently aware they are RIGHT THERE, JESUS, CAT. Picture for reference 
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Apr 4, 2015 03:33
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Wanna pet that Fuzz Bucket and touch them toes. Such an intense  stalk face going on there. I've had a couple of retriever cats and have known a few others. Every one of them invented the game, as far as each was concerned. I have no clue how to bridge the gap between "chase the toy" and "follow the person." On a related note, I've realized that I can tell when Luther is initiating a game of fetch without even looking. When I'm doing hair and makeup in the morning, I'll hear a double-time, heavy-footed trot coming my way: it's Luther carrying a toy and preparing to fling it at my feet. That's the only time he has that stride. Busycat has serious business to attend to and would appreciate it if you would pay attention to the job, prole. 
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Apr 4, 2015 04:27
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Tali kind of picked up playing fetch on her own, she would chase her pizza table and sometimes she brings it back after she's done batting it around. Most of the time she plays with it on her own, though.
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Apr 4, 2015 05:29
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My cat only understands 1/2 of the fetch game. I'll throw the thing, he'll chase it, then sit on it. I have to walk over there and throw it again.
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Apr 4, 2015 05:34
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I should make a video of all the tricks I taught my cat my girlfriend made one of him being a punk when we were telling him to lay down "lay down" "meow" "lay down!" "meeeeoooooow" "do it!!" *lays down*
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Apr 4, 2015 05:52
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My cat just kind of figured out fetch on her own. Sometimes she drops the ball too far away from my hand and meows, and I just ignore her until she rolls it close enough that I can throw it. Our bedtime ritual is me getting in bed and throwing the ball until one of us gets tired.
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Apr 4, 2015 06:12
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When I'm distracted by the computer, sometimes mine will bring me a foam ball for me to throw, but he doesn't fetch, he bats at and chases them, then waits for me to throw another. If I throw an easy one right to him, he'll catch it with his paws. Harder ones he'll bat away and chase down, especially if it goes down the stairs. When he's really into it, he'll jump for them. There are about a hundred of them scattered all over the house, which was my solution to him not fetching them. I should probably get video of this, as it's pretty entertaining. Slowly the shy girl cat seems to be learning that paw-balls are fun and not a threat to her, so he's helping with the shy project kitty too.
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Apr 4, 2015 07:51
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I've tried to look up how to teach cats to play fetch before with no success, it really seems like either they want to do it or they don't. When Pepper was younger she used to carry her toys around, just not back to me to throw again. Sometimes I could get her to "fetch" by positioning myself in front of her current designated stash and taking the toy from her and throwing it again every time she tried to put it back in her stash but that was more amusing myself by frustrating my cat than it was amusing her.
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Apr 4, 2015 16:48
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Sometimes when I'm playing fetch mine decides to try and jump and catch the ball with her paws. She has terrible depth perception, though, and it always ends with the ball smacking her directly in the face.
Zaftig fucked around with this message at 23:15 on Apr 4, 2015 |
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Apr 4, 2015 22:06
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My one cat has been coughing for a little over a week now and again. The past couple days he has been much less energetic and a lot quieter. The cough seems to come after he meows a bunch. Just now he coughed up some blood. Going to take him to the vet today but could this be something life threatening?
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Apr 7, 2015 11:37
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Coughing up blood is never a good sign. Your vet will tell you.
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Apr 7, 2015 11:41
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Hello PI! I was wondering if there was anyway to lower our vet bills or if pet insurance is actually worth it when a cat already has a pre-existing condition. We just had to pay about $6,000 we can't afford from an emergency vet stringing us along while I was away for my mothers funeral. Anyway Porch Kitty had a Perineal Uresthostomy and is already standing up and trying to fight our other cat. It was so nice to come back and have our kitty back. I have a link to pictures and stuff (hope it works): http://imgur.com/a/jBZ11 I have to go see a psycholigist tomorrow, I'm going crazy with all of this.
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Apr 7, 2015 20:40
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With pet insurance, pre-existing issues aren't covered, so if it's going to be a recurring thing, be prepared to pay for that. But, it is pretty great in unexpected emergencies and also good if a cat is diagnosed with a recurring issue after signing up for coverage. As for whether coverage is worth it/possible for your pet, it depends on kitty's age/health. Our pet insurance has paid for itself every year we've had it but we got it when both the cats were under 2 years old, so ymmv. Glad your cat is okay! It doesn't really lower the bills, but care credit is not bad for helping break the payments up at least, something else to consider if you haven't already.
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Apr 7, 2015 20:55
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Polish posted:My one cat has been coughing for a little over a week now and again. The past couple days he has been much less energetic and a lot quieter. The cough seems to come after he meows a bunch. Just now he coughed up some blood. Going to take him to the vet today but could this be something life threatening? Have you considered possibly taking your cat to a vet basically the instant it coughed up blood the first time? I can imagine a lot of people in this thread as caregivers: "I feed my dad via an iv because he complains of intense stomach pain. He howls in pain, making GBS threads blood daily. What should I do guys? I haven't called a doctor yet. Is this symptom serious?" edit: VVVV: in that case, I apologise for being sarcastic redreader fucked around with this message at 21:50 on Apr 7, 2015 |
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Apr 7, 2015 21:43
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redreader posted:Have you considered possibly taking your cat to a vet basically the instant it coughed up blood the first time? From my read that is exactly what he did? Kitty has had a cough for a few days but the blood was "just now".
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Apr 7, 2015 21:47
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nunsexmonkrock posted:Hello PI! Hey, it's Uptown Animal Hospital. I go there too. So far, I really like them.
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Apr 7, 2015 22:01
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Gorgar posted:Hey, it's Uptown Animal Hospital. I go there too. So far, I really like them. Yeah Uptown is great, they were just closed when Porchy got sick. When I was getting the liquid drops so I don't have to give 8 pills a day the one lady said, "Oh is this about Porch Kitty? We have been getting so many calls about him!". They aren't cheap but they are very friendly. The Emergency vet though. The receptionists are dicks, they will milk you for as much money as they can get before they let you know what really needs to be done and they will say "Whatever!" to you when you don't remember the surgeons name right after a funeral. nunsexmonkrock fucked around with this message at 00:10 on Apr 8, 2015 |
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Apr 8, 2015 00:01
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redreader posted:Have you considered possibly taking your cat to a vet basically the instant it coughed up blood the first time? Just like was said I did take him first time he coughed up blood. Vet did an x-ray and blood test. X-ray showed some white areas in the bottoms of his lungs and she wasn't 100% sure what it was so she is sending the x-rays off to be looked at closer. She is thinking pneumonia or asthma and other than that he looks and seems super healthy. He hasn't really been coughing all day so maybe it was something that he coughed up? I dunno.. hoping they find an answer in the next couple days.
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Apr 8, 2015 00:57
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So. What about this mouth full of ALL FOUR retained baby canines? Should I wait to see if they fall out or book a vet appointment? Really do not want to have a 4.5 month old kitten put under anesthesia if I can at all help it.
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Apr 8, 2015 02:45
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Retro Access posted:So. What about this mouth full of ALL FOUR retained baby canines? Should I wait to see if they fall out or book a vet appointment? Really do not want to have a 4.5 month old kitten put under anesthesia if I can at all help it. Tigh had some serious double-fangs going on for a while as a kitten. We called the vet, who said to give them 2 weeks to work their way out and if they either didn't come out, looked inflamed, or if he had any behavioral changes bring him in. 13 days later they both fell out and he was fine. I'd probably call in the morning to check but he's probably fine.
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Apr 8, 2015 03:20
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Now my cat can't keep food down. The vet prescribed Terbutaline 2.5mg and Clavamox and we gave them to him right before we fed him dinner. He was fine for a few hours, then vomited his entire stomach contents up. We then fed him a small amount of Fancy Feast Broth (we had a free sample laying around) which he gobbled up then puked up about 30 minutes later. Small amounts of blood in that vomit and maybe some coagulated blood. I just don't know what I can do for him, I feel so bad. Calling the vet first thing in the morning to see what they say.. hope this blood work comes in fast.
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Apr 8, 2015 04:26
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Retro Access posted:So. What about this mouth full of ALL FOUR retained baby canines? Should I wait to see if they fall out or book a vet appointment? Really do not want to have a 4.5 month old kitten put under anesthesia if I can at all help it. This happened with Sheldon and then one day BOOP they were gone. I called the vet to ask them about it and they basically said to wait and see what happened and if they didn't come out soon or started to look angry then to make an appointment. To comment on something unrelated to this post but from a page or so back re: kittens and being socialized: my monsters were in a foster home with a foster mom cat and some great humans looking after them and I think it made all the difference. Don't get me wrong, they are still assholes.. but they are assholes who like visitors for the most part, are curious, playful and engaged. If I ever had a situation with time/money/energy to foster I would. I often tell my cats they shouldn't be such dicks because for the most part they have NEVER been without shelter and love and companionship like so many kittens are (I mean, other than they they lived in that wall.. but they were so little when they were found). Everyone says that animals from the shelter know they were saved and appreciate it but my jerkfaces never knew they were poor so they sure act all entitled now. Pfft.. cats. I don't know why we bother.
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Apr 8, 2015 05:45
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My cat gave me a heart attack tonight. Our nightly ritual is playing fetch with a little plastic jingly ball, and tonight she took it on her own and seemed to be running around extra crazily before she came back to the bed...with her toe completely stuck in one of the open sections of the ball. Tried to gently pull the toe out for a few minutes, and then spent the next 20 minutes alternating between calming her down and trying to cut the plastic away with nail clippers. She kept yowling and trying to run and it was heartbreaking.  She didn't scratch or bite at all, though, which would have made total sense. When I finally got the thing off, she got three treats and I refreshed the catnip in her beloved Drug Sock. Already seems like she's forgotten about the whole thing.
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Apr 8, 2015 07:03
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Poor kitty! I have these bass speaker cabinets that are carpeted on three sides (yay, sharpen claws on) with a metal grill on the front. My fearful little grey cat, who panics when cornered and was still pretty afraid of me, got her claw stuck in the grill and wouldn't let me help, because *terror*. I think she hosed up a claw getting away, but she seems ok now, and I've worked a lot on handling her since.
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Apr 8, 2015 07:16
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I'm only up right now because of work but I have a message of hope for all you cat owners whose pets refuse to use beds purchased for them. I heard a squeal just now and turned around to see my little guy getting super cozy in his bed behind me. I've never seen that and I bet that conniving fucker only uses it when we are asleep and no one can see him accept our gift.
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Apr 8, 2015 09:23
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Lipumira posted:This happened with Sheldon and then one day BOOP they were gone. I called the vet to ask them about it and they basically said to wait and see what happened and if they didn't come out soon or started to look angry then to make an appointment. I am considering fostering kittens because unlike what a lot of people say I don't find them a hassle at all (I don't care about my furniture bar one leather recliner), and my adult cat loves them. My kitten won't be a kitten forever and might not play like a kitten forever (unlike my adult cat who still does.) On the subject of cat beds:  Just get a heated bed.
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Apr 8, 2015 12:03
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Retro Access posted:
Duckfarts got me one for PISSmas and my cats looooove it, especially the geriatric one. I imagine your kitten does, too, for obvious reasons.
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Apr 8, 2015 13:19
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Sigma is a terrible boyfriend. He just lets Xerxes groom him without returning the favor.
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Apr 8, 2015 19:05
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Zaftig posted:My cat gave me a heart attack tonight. Our nightly ritual is playing fetch with a little plastic jingly ball, and tonight she took it on her own and seemed to be running around extra crazily before she came back to the bed...with her toe completely stuck in one of the open sections of the ball. Tried to gently pull the toe out for a few minutes, and then spent the next 20 minutes alternating between calming her down and trying to cut the plastic away with nail clippers. She kept yowling and trying to run and it was heartbreaking. Tali managed to wedge herself in the radiator, thankfully when it was off. There are two spots where they're supposed to have little doors so that these holes are covered, but for some reason ours doesn't. We couldn't find her and heard her meowing over by the window, only to see no kitty. Looked down, saw her little grey body stuck in the radiator. I almost cried, but she didn't care too much. We bribed her with a treat to back herself back out the door and then moved my desk so it blocked the hole for as long as it took for her to grow enough that she can't fit in the hole. She just started looking at the hole again so I blocked it with a box until we can get the Super to come by and fix it. I'm glad your kitty is ok and forgot about it, they're resilient.
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Apr 8, 2015 20:05
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My parents have a cat who is a little under one years old. My parents let the cat go outside during the day, and twice the cat has gotten stuck places. She does not seem to understand that she has to climb down trees backward. The first time, she got stuck 35 feet up in a tree and stayed there for nearly 36 hours before she jumped/fell down. The poor kitty bloodied her nose and lost over a pound while she was stuck up there. The second time, she got on the roof of the house and couldn't figure out how to climb down the tree to get down. That time, my dad was able to grab her by the scruff and pull her down from the roof. Is there anyway to teach a cat how to climb properly? My parents refuse to keep the cat inside all day, so it is only a matter of time before she is stuck up another tree, or hurts herself trying to get down.
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Apr 8, 2015 20:52
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