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Hello, Cat Thread! I have made two new little friends. Meet Satellite (left) and Astrocyte (right). They're Persian/ragdoll mix females I'm adopting off a kindly woman who was told her cats were spayed and neutered when they actually were not. Surprise kittens! Here they are with their brother and sister (they are on the ends).  They're coming up on ten weeks old. I would have adopted just one, but I thought it would be better for them, psychologically, to be adopted together. My question: what can I do to facilitate happy times with my current two cats (Oligodendrocyte, 2 year-old female, and Scri, a 12 year-old male)? I've heard kittens are easier to introduce to older cats, so that's good. Should I do anything to prepare besides buy their favorite food, a few new litter boxes, treats, and toys? I'm picking them up on the 11th and I want everything to be perfect. Besides questions, I just wanted you guys to see my new kittens. Look at their little faces!
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May 4, 2015 05:09
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| # ? May 14, 2024 09:29 |
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Grats on the new furbutts! They do have darling faces.
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May 4, 2015 06:30
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JollityFarm posted:Oligodendrocyte wanna see someone calling this from the back porch
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May 4, 2015 06:54
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Shithouse Dave posted:wanna see someone calling this from the back porch "WHERE MAH ROCKS AT?!"
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May 4, 2015 09:29
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Ratzap posted:What you could try is to make it a game for them. Who can be the quietest and get the kittens to come to them. Are they old enough to explain that what they're doing scares the kittens? These kids are teenagers. Worst was when Tiger was trying to use the litterbox, and they came running down the stairs with a noisy toy and screaming 'CAT!'. That obviously didn't go well, and I had to tell them to go away, so Tiger could use the litterbox. The problem is that they're only familiar with farm cats, so they tend to only think of the entertainment value, and their parents never taught them otherwise. The cats on the farm just go away when the kids show up, Tiger sadly doesn't have that luxury. After that, my boyfriend was worried that Tiger might not be that social, but I told him, if people would come at me while screaming, I'd probably hide under the bed as well :P
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May 4, 2015 15:10
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Roughly 2.5 weeks ago I took Jade to the vet for her Feline Hyperthyroid treatment where they turned her into a radioactive cat. Subsequent attempts at getting her to bite me have yet to transfer any form of feline-based superpower. BUT! When she was in the hospital they took an ultrasound and said she was backed up and constipated. 2.5 weeks later and I'm no longer sure if this is the case. She has been pooping (I have to scoop and store for another week while we wait for the I-131 to further decay) but I don't know if she's been pooping ENOUGH. My question to you all is this : Is there a feline laxative that is mild enough that it would be safe to use should it turn out that she's no longer constipated? Or do I have to make another expensive vet visit to find out if she's still backed up?
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May 4, 2015 15:40
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Canned pumpkin (not pie filling, straight pumpkin) has plenty of moisture and plenty of fiber. Give her a tablespoon with her next meal or so and that should help get things moving, without being a laxative or causing dehydration.
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May 4, 2015 15:56
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JollityFarm posted:Should I do anything to prepare besides buy their favorite food, a few new litter boxes, treats, and toys? I'm picking them up on the 11th and I want everything to be perfect. Don't be concerned if you see some hissing and swatting. Getting swiped in the face is the main way kittens learn what is and is not acceptable from adult cats.
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May 4, 2015 15:58
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Shithouse Dave posted:wanna see someone calling this from the back porch I call her Oli for short! The new fluffcats' names will be truncated to Tillie and Astro in everyday speech. Cythereal posted:Don't be concerned if you see some hissing and swatting. Getting swiped in the face is the main way kittens learn what is and is not acceptable from adult cats. Thanks! Will keep an eye out for that and then ignore it.
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May 4, 2015 16:55
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Huntersoninski posted:Canned pumpkin (not pie filling, straight pumpkin) has plenty of moisture and plenty of fiber. Give her a tablespoon with her next meal or so and that should help get things moving, without being a laxative or causing dehydration. Okay, I can look into this. What if she won't eat it though?
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May 4, 2015 19:42
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Vampess posted:These kids are teenagers. Worst was when Tiger was trying to use the litterbox, and they came running down the stairs with a noisy toy and screaming 'CAT!'. That obviously didn't go well, and I had to tell them to go away, so Tiger could use the litterbox. The problem is that they're only familiar with farm cats, so they tend to only think of the entertainment value, and their parents never taught them otherwise. The cats on the farm just go away when the kids show up, Tiger sadly doesn't have that luxury. They are teenagers. When you said you didn't want to scold them for inappropriately interacting with a cat, I was picturing 5 year olds. Tell them to cut that poo poo out already.
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May 4, 2015 19:54
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Has anyone here used Effipro on their cat for fleas?
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May 4, 2015 20:51
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khy posted:Okay, I can look into this. What if she won't eat it though? Unfortunately that's all the constipation/diarrhea home remedies I know. From there I'd call your vet and see what they suggest.
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May 4, 2015 21:00
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I've never got a response in this thread though I have posted about it like 3 times. My kitten is scared of my older cat, who sometimes goes after her. After getting a feliway diffuser, it happens maybe once a week or so. This morning I was able to separate them, and gave them more food which might have helped. q: do you think it's going to get better as they get more used to each other? Most of the time they ignore each other. The fights are infrequent, and I think it's a case of the older one wanting to play, the younger one being scared shitless and growling then the older one going 'ok, gently caress it let's fight'. I just want them to be friends. Any other solutions? We're trying to do more playtime. edit: got feliway diffuser. put jingly collar on older cat so he can be heard around the house more playtimes more food, so it's not a food scarcity issue
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May 4, 2015 21:51
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redreader posted:I've never got a response in this thread though I have posted about it like 3 times. My kitten is scared of my older cat, who sometimes goes after her. After getting a feliway diffuser, it happens maybe once a week or so. This morning I was able to separate them, and gave them more food which might have helped. That mostly sounds like cats being cats. They may never be buddies, but they will learn to tolerate each other. As long as their fighting doesn't involve claws out, real bites, and blood, it's social interaction. Generally, just let them fight it out. They'll settle down into roles eventually.
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May 4, 2015 23:21
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I general do not give them food in response to bad behavior. Cats aren't dumb and that's why plenty of people have cats that yowl at 3am, they feed the behavior.
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May 4, 2015 23:38
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Deteriorata posted:That mostly sounds like cats being cats. They may never be buddies, but they will learn to tolerate each other. As long as their fighting doesn't involve claws out, real bites, and blood, it's social interaction. As I posted last time, our kitten has like 15 little scabs and the last fight I separated them from, she'd poo'd in fear and had 2 tufts of hair missing and some non-bloody scratch marks on her tummy. They're not biting though. We're clipping the front claws of our adult cat but not the kitten's so she can fight back. Our adult cat has a few scabs on him too. They get along enough for us to not be afraid of leaving them alone but that last fight that prompted us to put a collar on him and get feliway, was the worst. Is that ok/normal? I suspect they only fight when we're around but I honestly don't know. She never seems to be all super-fearful. She's the boss and he's the scared cat so he's probably pissed someone came into is territory and is not deferring at all. About food: since they fight when they have empty bowls, I'll just make sure they have a bit more food in general. I'll remember not to give it as a reward for fighting.
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May 4, 2015 23:45
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xie posted:I general do not give them food in response to bad behavior. Cats aren't dumb and that's why plenty of people have cats that yowl at 3am, they feed the behavior. My cat has learned that she can get food from me only by being nice.
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May 5, 2015 00:15
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redreader posted:As I posted last time, our kitten has like 15 little scabs and the last fight I separated them from, she'd poo'd in fear and had 2 tufts of hair missing and some non-bloody scratch marks on her tummy. They're not biting though. We're clipping the front claws of our adult cat but not the kitten's so she can fight back. Our adult cat has a few scabs on him too. They get along enough for us to not be afraid of leaving them alone but that last fight that prompted us to put a collar on him and get feliway, was the worst. Is that ok/normal? I suspect they only fight when we're around but I honestly don't know. She never seems to be all super-fearful. She's the boss and he's the scared cat so he's probably pissed someone came into is territory and is not deferring at all. There is no simple "do this one thing and everything will be fine" solution. Kitten doesn't know wtf because he's never interacted with any cats other than his mother before. Older cat is defending his turf, or maybe wants to play, but is using signaling the kitten doesn't understand so they go at it by default. They'll have to sort it out themselves eventually. If you're afraid the kitten can't handle it, keep them separated until he can defend himself adequately. There's not really much else you can do. Cats have their own social system and you can't really change that. If they're fighting over food, make sure there's a bowl for each and plenty to eat so they don't have to compete for the scraps.
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May 5, 2015 00:18
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I'm at a loss right now because I need a good litter for the box in my room, which means doesn't smell like death, can be used w/ cat attract additive and MOST IMPORTANTLY tracks as little as possible. An added bonus would be odor control but I will settle for the aforementioned characteristics. Does anyone know any magical litter that fits these requirements?
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May 5, 2015 00:43
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an skeleton posted:I'm at a loss right now because I need a good litter for the box in my room, which means doesn't smell like death, can be used w/ cat attract additive and MOST IMPORTANTLY tracks as little as possible. An added bonus would be odor control but I will settle for the aforementioned characteristics. Does anyone know any magical litter that fits these requirements? I like the Arms & Hammer brand. I recommend that one. However, keep in mind that the best way to ensure any litter does not stink, is to clean it multiple times a day.
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May 5, 2015 01:09
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I like Blue Buffalo's pine scented walnut based litter for clumping, lasting, and smelling pretty good for what it is. I can't say I've ever had a litter that didn't track a bunch, but I can say this one doesn't track more than usual.
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May 5, 2015 01:11
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I'm going to move in with my girlfriend, who has a cat and a dog. My cat has never lived around other cats and is not friendly towards them, but has been boarded around others before. I've done a little homework on the integration process, and I'm moving to a larger place which will make it easier. I'm not looking for any guarantees of harmony, but for those of you that have experience with integrating two older cats: My assumption is that they will settle down after some initial hissing and swatting, it just may take time and effort on everyone's part. Edit: I've looked at this thread off and on for a while, but see that someone posted something similar that indicates this, so I'm hopeful. I've not done this before. Planet X fucked around with this message at 04:14 on May 5, 2015 |
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May 5, 2015 04:10
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an skeleton posted:I'm at a loss right now because I need a good litter for the box in my room, which means doesn't smell like death, can be used w/ cat attract additive and MOST IMPORTANTLY tracks as little as possible. An added bonus would be odor control but I will settle for the aforementioned characteristics. Does anyone know any magical litter that fits these requirements? I use "Worlds Best Cat Litter". It is way lighter than some of the other stuff, super easy to scoop, and really helps with smell, it does track like normal but is easier to vacuum.
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May 5, 2015 05:24
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its no big deal posted:I use "Worlds Best Cat Litter". It is way lighter than some of the other stuff, super easy to scoop, and really helps with smell, it does track like normal but is easier to vacuum. Same here. I put a litter mat in front of the (lidded, front entry) box, too. The eight pound bag lasts Luther for at least a month. I scoop it multiple times per day so the urine clumps don't get broken by any vigorous digging and taint the dry litter by getting mixed in.
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May 5, 2015 05:37
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its no big deal posted:I use "Worlds Best Cat Litter". It is way lighter than some of the other stuff, super easy to scoop, and really helps with smell, it does track like normal but is easier to vacuum. I used to use world's best before I switched to the walnut. It's a good litter, I find both wb and walnut do about the same job as far as being long lasting, covering odor, and scooping well. Con for walnut: it's very dark colored, unlike wb, so it may show up more despite not really tracking more. Con for wb: it's like $10 more for the same sized bag. Also world's best is amazing at absorbing moisture... to a fault. If you live in a humid place it will pull the water out of the air and become useless. That's why I had to switch litters: spring and summer in my area are super humid.
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May 5, 2015 13:19
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Gosh Dangit I am so bad at phones
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May 5, 2015 13:20
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At this point I may just switch to crystals because apparently it doesn't track and I'm getting litter in my bed. Has anyone tried crystal stuff? Is it awful?
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May 5, 2015 16:27
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↑ I tried Fresh Step crystals once. It was OK, and the cat used it, but I felt it was too expensive for how long it lasted. I've just gotten used to litter bits appearing in my bed.  It seems my cats don't like their food. Or do they? Usually I mix together two kibbles, one healthy-ish brand and cheaper Purina weight loss. This has worked before. Yet lately when I go to fill their bowls they're acting like they're starving when there's food in the bowl. At first I just thought they were being assholes, but it looks as though they are picking out the Purina kibbles and leaving the the Nurture Holistic food behind. I didn't know they could do that. Is that possible, and what does this mean? 
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May 5, 2015 16:35
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I don't know where else to post this so I'll post it here.. maybe it will help someone. Last month my cat Cas coughed up blood one morning. He had a slight cough prior to this but it didn't seem like much (kinda like he was hacking up a hairball). We immediately took him to the vet in which they took blood and x-rays and diagnosed it as possible pnemonia. A week or so later on anti-biotics his cough was gone so we got another x-ray which sowed the possible pnemonia as clearing up. In this time something happened to his front right paw and he could barely use it. He had also stopped eating, became lethargic, was hiding, wouldn't poop, and had a lot of weight loss. The vet was bewildered and put him on more anti-biotics and appetite stimulant pills (which did nothing). He didn't seem to be improving and by this time we had begun force feeding him.. then we found a lump on his neck. The lump on his neck and his leg were aspirated and the results were not good. We met with an oncologist yesterday who did an ultra-sound which they found an extremely rare case of kidney cancer affecting both of his kidneys. More lumps started appearing very quickly (within a few hours) and we are forced to put him down as there is no good cures or treatments for what he has. My fiance and I are going to spend as much time with him as we can before we take him in on Wednesday or Thursday and try to make his last few days pleasant as possible. We should of just had him put down yesterday but we just wanted to take him home.. god loving drat this sucks. He is only about 5-6 years old and the sweetest and smartest cat I've ever met. This has just been a hell of a stressful month all to end up like this..
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May 5, 2015 17:15
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That really sucks, I'm sorry.
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May 5, 2015 17:33
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Polish posted:I don't know where else to post this so I'll post it here.. maybe it will help someone. Awww man... This really sucks. I'm very sorry for you, your fiance and your cat. I hope you get to spend some quality time with him and recommend you take a lot of pictures to remember him by. 
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May 5, 2015 21:57
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My rescue cat just peed in an empty cardboard box. It's the first time I've had a cat pee anywhere except while standing in the litter box (now getting it in the box, that's a different issue that required change of box). The pee didn't really have any smell to it though. So now google has me worried about medical conditions. In the last week he's changed which litter box he prefers to use. He's been using one box exclusively, one that he almost never used before . I had to change the litter out early because of his change of behavior. I have 3 boxes, 2 cats, but only one box on the house level that he peed in the box. I also noticed him cleaning his yahoo twice in the last week, where before I've only seen him do that occasionally before. None of this is a big red flag, but at what point do we go to the vet to rule out infection? Another pee episode? He grew up for his first 2 years in a 200 animal hoard house, so maybe an empty box is confusing as a good place to pee. It had been out for weeks, and in its current spot for a few days before he peed in it. He's been with me for a year with no in appropriate pee episodes.
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May 6, 2015 03:03
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an skeleton posted:At this point I may just switch to crystals because apparently it doesn't track and I'm getting litter in my bed. Has anyone tried crystal stuff? Is it awful? I use the crystal stuff since it kills the smell almost immediately. It shouldn't track into beds and things but it does get kicked out onto the ground and it really sucks to step on, so you end up needing to sweep it up every day or two or else step very, very carefully around the room the litterbox is in.
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May 6, 2015 03:10
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Crystals are the loving worst things to step on and expensive and by the end of their lifespan they smell like hell urine crystals. I changed over to paper pellets and have been pretty drat happy about litter since.
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May 6, 2015 03:13
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SynthOrange posted:Crystals are the loving worst things to step on and expensive and by the end of their lifespan they smell like hell urine crystals. I changed over to paper pellets and have been pretty drat happy about litter since. Do paper pellets manage the smell as well as crystals do? My cat's litter box is in the bathroom which is very close to bedrooms so I really need something that will kill the smell entirely. I figured crystals were the only thing that could do that since they take all the moisture out almost immediately but if there's something else that can manage it I'll totally switch to that.
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May 6, 2015 03:40
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I used to use paper pellets and sprinkle and toss through some bicarb soda to neutralise the smell, no idea if it actually worked, but given the only place for the trays was in a sunny spot in the laundry, the house never really smelled of evaporated cat piss.
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May 6, 2015 03:47
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That arm and hammer cat litter is no joke. I had friends over and they couldn't smell anything and I live in a small apartment. When I'm cleaning her box it smells like dryer sheets or something. Probably not gonna help with tracking though it seems like normal litter in that regard.
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May 6, 2015 04:46
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Organza Quiz posted:Do paper pellets manage the smell as well as crystals do? My cat's litter box is in the bathroom which is very close to bedrooms so I really need something that will kill the smell entirely. I figured crystals were the only thing that could do that since they take all the moisture out almost immediately but if there's something else that can manage it I'll totally switch to that. For me paper pellets managed stink much better than crystals. You have to scoop wet litter and poop out daily but that means it doesnt absorb the urine which causes the reek in old crystals. They're also pretty cheap so I give an extra deep layer of litter for my cats to use and I suspect that encourages them to bury their business deeper, further reducing the smell.
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May 6, 2015 04:48
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blackflare posted:That arm and hammer cat litter is no joke. I had friends over and they couldn't smell anything and I live in a small apartment. When I'm cleaning her box it smells like dryer sheets or something. Probably not gonna help with tracking though it seems like normal litter in that regard. This is what I use now. Works pretty well. Unfortunately we have a 3 bedroom, 1 bathroom house with a very open living room connected to the kitchen so there's no where I can really put her litter box besides my room, because I feel like I'm intruding on my roommates space.
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May 6, 2015 05:12
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