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TollTheHounds
Mar 23, 2006

He died for your sins...
I posted earlier in the thread about how many cats is too many - we have 4 and were considering a 5th from the shelter ( I swear we aren't hoarders and our place is kept clean, tidy and smell free, it just takes longer to change litters since we have so many ) but I managed to talk my wife down from the ledge at the time.

For the past few months though, we've had an outside cat constantly follow us around on our neighborhood walks. I don't mean the usual "walk up, meow, get some pets then stop following after a few feet", this cat would follow us for 45+ minute several kilometre long walks in/out of neighborhoods, across streets/intersections, through the bushes, all with no pretext whatsoever ( at least the first time ). I was adamant we not get another cat because seriously, 4 is already too many ( just from a numbers standpoint, it's embarassing if anyone ever asks how many we have ), 5 is just insane. But, this cat is starting to grow on even me who is trying to stoically put my foot down.

We let her inside our house & captured her ( rather easily, went straight into a carrier ) and brought her to the vet who found a tattoo ( no chip ) and said that since it has a record at another local clinic, that we should probably just put it back where we found it and they would call the owners and yell at them for letting their cat outside at all hours near a busy street, with no collar or any indication it has a home. They never got a response and we still kept seeing this cat devotedly following us around outside. We captured her again a few months later, brought her to the local animal shelter ( who adopted her out, 7 years prior it turns out ) and they've had her now for a few days because the owner ( or the # they have for the owner, 7 years ago ) is not answering their calls.

So now we are in an emotional pickle. The shelter says it's likely the cat was abandoned in the area ( rear end in a top hat renter moving out, maybe owner died, whatever ) and that it is absolutely NOT normal for a cat to follow people around like this one does. She is in good shape so clearly someone is feeding her but it is likely not the actual owner. She's 7 years old and is injured, likely by the raccoons in the area and the shelter while not trying to guilt us, has said that she probably won't be adopted any time soon if at all, even just due to her age. Everyone wants kittens -> 2 years, not many people want a 7 year old cat.

On the one hand, she's got a better life in the shelter than she ever did on the street but on the other we both now feel some sort of affinity for this cat who followed us around everywhere and whom we put in cat jail.

I'm not sure what I'm asking here, at this point it seems like if they shelter doesn't hear back from the owner or is contacted by someone who was taking care of it ( even tangentially ) then she will go up for adoption and since we brought her in and have a clear track record with them for our current cats, they'd give her to us free of charge since she's likely a "lifer". So it's increasingly likely we'll be adopting her and turning our own house into what is essentially a shelter.

I'm trying to be strong here and come up with all sorts of reasons why it's a terrible idea but this cat has a little mustache and it's just so drat cute. :3

Is there anyone else who has so many drat rear end in a top hat cats? It would help me justify it if I knew we weren't alone. :unsmith:

TollTheHounds fucked around with this message at 21:25 on May 26, 2015

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Gorgar
Dec 2, 2012

She likes you, you like her, she wants to be your cat. I think what you're asking is: should you let the opinions of random strangers about the socially correct number of pets get in your way? For what it's worth, I have three, and absolutely won't get very many more until I have a bigger place, unless I do. If I was in that situation, there wouldn't be much question: I'd have a fourth, or a fifth, cat.

I had a cat do something similar: he announced his presence and intent outside the house with loud miaowing, I started feeding him, took him in before winter, and he lived to be about 17. Best drat cat there ever was. At the time, I had no intention of having more than two cats.

Go get your cat.

BaronVonVaderham
Jul 31, 2011

All hail the queen!

TollTheHounds posted:

I posted earlier in the thread about how many cats is too many - we have 4 and were considering a 5th from the shelter ( I swear we aren't hoarders and our place is kept clean, tidy and smell free, it just takes longer to change litters since we have so many ) but I managed to talk my wife down from the ledge at the time.

You're not the only one. I had two, girlfriend had two, and then we decided to move in together, so now we have four and she wants a Sphinx kitten because she's loving weird. Moving to Florida next month has put that on hold, fortunately (Sphinxes are ridiculously expensive).

Dogen
May 5, 2002

Bury my body down by the highwayside, so that my old evil spirit can get a Greyhound bus and ride
Don't get a stupid expensive bred cat

redreader
Nov 2, 2009

I am the coolest person ever with my pirate chalice. Seriously.

Dinosaur Gum

Twerk from Home posted:

Yup, and recommended that we feed fish-based wet food less often. Now to pore over ingredient lists to make sure everything is low in phosphorous and other minerals that aggravate urinary tract issues.

Edit: Man the vet options are slim during a holiday weekend. The final damage: $320 for diagnosis, antibiotics, pain meds, and a recommendation to switch from Solid Gold Indigo Moon to Iams.:negative:

We got a quote for 780 last night for x-ray, urinalysis, visit, blood tests, etc (cat pissing outside the litterbox). I said yes to everything and they didn't do the x-rays due to lovely personell, so it cost 350 for 'your cat is ok'. We ordered more litterboxes and are cleaning them more regularly now.

TollTheHounds
Mar 23, 2006

He died for your sins...
Thanks for the replies! I realize this is a bit like an alcoholic asking other alcoholics if having "just one more" will MAKE them an alcoholic, but by asking feel like I've done my due diligence to make it "OK".

I think it was a foregone conclusion and I shouldn't let outside opinion about the # of cats colour our decision, having more than 2 always seems to garner a "WHAT" from most people anyway, let alone 4, so what is another one. Space isn't an issue because our house is large enough you often don't realize there are 4 here as it is and provides them each plenty of time to avoid each other if they want. The only real concern is the old man cat stopped eating when we first got the kittens 2 years ago, but he's on steroids now ( for IBD ) and is constantly ravenous so hopefully that won't be a problem this time. The other potential issue is whether or not "Mustache" will be OK in a house with 4 other cats. We set her up in the spare bedroom twice ( each time captured ) overnight and she seemed perfectly happy and the other cats didn't give a poo poo or even seem to notice there WAS another cat in there. I expected them to be all over but other than one putting it's paw through the door to try and play, the other cats ignored the room entirely - not sure if that's good or bad, maybe they are all just really dumb.

I look forward to my posts in this thread entering into goons.txt .

Gorgar
Dec 2, 2012

Going to need to see pictures of the mustache cat.

BaronVonVaderham
Jul 31, 2011

All hail the queen!
Not the mustache cat you're talking about, but it's the best mustache cat I know:



My friend's cat Midori.

(she has a facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/mustachioedmidori?fref=ts)

BaronVonVaderham fucked around with this message at 00:23 on May 27, 2015

Cythereal
Nov 8, 2009

I love the potoo,
and the potoo loves you.

Dogen posted:

Don't get a stupid expensive bred cat

Agreed. Get one from a shelter. My family's never had any trouble finding an adorable, friendly moggie.

Deviant
Sep 26, 2003

i've forgotten all of your names.


Deteriorata posted:

My wild-rear end guess is the cat is stressed and trying to send you a message. It knows you will notice poop on the couch. Its turf is being invaded and it's afraid of fighting, so it's trying to get your attention and defend it.

Getting a second litter box, one for each, may help. Once the two cats learn to cohabit the same space the problem will probably go away.

I have two boxes for two cats already and these two have known each other for quite a while. I've also lived here about a year and the cat was just recently checked at the vet for an unrelated self inflicted injury

As such, I'm at a loss.

ded
Oct 27, 2005

Kooler than Jesus
What is a good brand/type of hairball remedy? The ones I have tried my cat absolutely hates and will only eat if I rub it on her leg. It's to the point were I have to restrain her as soon as she sees or smells the bottle. Is there another way to get this to my cat without pissing her off so much? If I try mixing it with her food she eats around it and will not eat it.

The one I have right now is tomlyn hairball remedy - tuna flavor

Others I don't remember the brand but it was the standard flavor or whatever I forget what it is. Other cats I've had in the past always loved to eat the stuff.

Novs
Jan 24, 2009
Hi cat thread,

I'm adopting a rescue today, and her foster mom reports that she's had soft stools lately - diarrhea first, now soft, so there's already been improvement. It's very likely due to stress; she's been in foster care with some other cats that she doesn't get along with, so she's been separated for the most part. She had a super rough start on the streets of Kuwait (seriously) and is a bit anxious in new situations.

Foster mom has been feeding her w/d at the vet's recommendation, and let me know that I should find her a high fiber cat food moving forward, but she's sending me home with some cans of the w/d.

I bought a bag of indigo moon to transition, but I'm wondering what you all would recommend for a wet food beneficial for her - my understanding from the thread and research is that wet > dry especially for GI problems.

frenchnewwave
Jun 7, 2012

Would you like a Cuppa?
Hi cat parents! I have three cats (all shelter cats) who hate each other. It's tons 'o fun!

Anyway, I can deal with the fighting and growling and literal hissy fits. But I need advice on how to make my house not smell with three cats. Can you guys post your litter/hygiene routines in as much detail as you care to share? My house always smells like cat pee (IMO) so I need to up our litter game.

Here's some info in case you're interested:

- Ages: these are all estimates because they are rescue cats but I'd say 6, 7, 10
- Sex: F, M, M
- How long have you had your cat? Ranging from 6-8 years
- Is your cat spayed or neutered? Yes to all
- What food do you use? Purina One or Purina Cat Chow
- When was your last vet visit? 2 years
- Is your cat indoors, outdoors, both? Indoors only
- How many pets in your household? 3 cats
- How many litter boxes do you have? 2 large

We keep the litter boxes in the basement and have been using clumping litter. We scoop daily, change the litter out every 2 weeks. One cat pees outside the box on the basement floor, which is not easy to clean (it's not a tile floor, it's kind of one step up from a dirt floor). Just using typical large plastic bins, no cover. Use about 3 inches of litter in each box.

molly3 by Jessica, on Flickr
Alfie by Jessica, on Flickr
Trouble and I maintain a safe distance in the bedroom. by Jessica, on Flickr

Organza Quiz
Nov 7, 2009


For those curious, I got my cat vaccinated today and asked my vet about the whole sarcoma/jab in the leg thing, and he said it's an American practice. Basically it's the rabies vaccine which causes the real problem and since I'm in Australia that's obviously not an issue. Massaging the skin a bit to move the stuff around also helps, and he makes sure to inject it in a spot where if it does form a sarcoma they can just remove the skin instead of amputating a whole limb. So it sounds like it's only worth worrying about if you're in the US or somewhere else that requires rabies vaccines.

supermikhail
Nov 17, 2012


"It's video games, Scully."
Video games?"
"He enlists the help of strangers to make his perfect video game. When he gets bored of an idea, he murders them and moves on to the next, learning nothing in the process."
"Hmm... interesting."
Well, I've just read on Wikipedia that in the region (equivalent to a US county in size, maybe?) where I live there haven't been registered cases of rabies for several decades. I've also read about the symptoms of rabies. :gonk:

gonadic io
Feb 16, 2011

>>=
Hi cat thread, in August I'll be adopting a 2-year old ex-breeding girl (soon to be) called Ripley and a 4 month old kitten (not Ripley's) called Newt.

Because of my allergies these Russian Blues are the first cats I've ever actually been able to play with without taking antihistamines, I've honestly never really petted one before visiting this breeder! Ripley has a wicked emergency caesarean scar and Newt was rejected by her originally intended owner because she doesn't confirm to the Breeding Standard (has a white patch on her neck). I did ask around all the local shelters but they didn't have any (or Rexes or Siberians are supposed to be good) and I couldn't really go put a different cat in my face each day to test my reaction and spend the next few hours sneezing and itching.

As I have to wait for Ripley's kittens to be old enough to leave her (and be sold at a premium of course), and the breeder doesn't want to separate Ripley and Newt for a few months, all I have is this picture I took of Newt's brother:


edit: Both indoors, both spayed, the food that the breeder (who shows her cats successfully) recommends, and probably just the one litter box as they're currently sharing but I'll get a second if there's problems.

gonadic io fucked around with this message at 13:12 on May 29, 2015

The blue bunny
May 29, 2013

frenchnewwave posted:

Hi cat parents! I have three cats (all shelter cats) who hate each other. It's tons 'o fun!

Anyway, I can deal with the fighting and growling and literal hissy fits. But I need advice on how to make my house not smell with three cats. Can you guys post your litter/hygiene routines in as much detail as you care to share? My house always smells like cat pee (IMO) so I need to up our litter game.

Here's some info in case you're interested:

- Ages: these are all estimates because they are rescue cats but I'd say 6, 7, 10
- Sex: F, M, M
- How long have you had your cat? Ranging from 6-8 years
- Is your cat spayed or neutered? Yes to all
- What food do you use? Purina One or Purina Cat Chow
- When was your last vet visit? 2 years
- Is your cat indoors, outdoors, both? Indoors only
- How many pets in your household? 3 cats
- How many litter boxes do you have? 2 large

We keep the litter boxes in the basement and have been using clumping litter. We scoop daily, change the litter out every 2 weeks. One cat pees outside the box on the basement floor, which is not easy to clean (it's not a tile floor, it's kind of one step up from a dirt floor). Just using typical large plastic bins, no cover. Use about 3 inches of litter in each box.

molly3 by Jessica, on Flickr
Alfie by Jessica, on Flickr
Trouble and I maintain a safe distance in the bedroom. by Jessica, on Flickr

I would invest in a black light. Every couple of weeks turn off all the lights and check for urine glows. Chalk the outside of the spots ( as urine glows under a black light). Google Shannon Lush, i have heard her talk on the radio (abc radio aus) about using plaster paris to draw the urine out of wood or similar surfaces. Also look at investing in cheap temporary vinyl flooring. Its cheap and will protect the surface below and can be thrown out when smelly. I rent and my unit is all carpet except for the bathroom. I have put vinyl flooring under the litter boxes area just outside the bathroom. It cost me $15 for 3m*1m

Urine is best cleaned with an enzymatic cleaner. The enzymatic cleaner are designed to break down the protein in the urine. i found a stain remover in the laundry section and cost $3. It worked well at removing the neighbor cats spray marks from my front door when cat was a kitten. My cat uses to loved sitting on my bed with her after pee bottom. Now i just wash with an enzymatic washing liquid.

The blue bunny
May 29, 2013

gonadic io posted:

one litter box as they're currently sharing but I'll get a second if there's problems.

I would have extra boxes out during the new home transition process. It is easier to clean an litter box than a location a cat has decided will be a litter box. Once they are settled in i would then cut back the boxes by slowly migrating boxes back to other boxes. It is easier to remove a litter box than it is to cleaning cat urine of furniture or a surface. If your unsure of who is using a box set up a cheap webcam

Both human and cats are happier if they pee and pooing in the box.


(i only wanted to clean one litter box. i had a spare box so i could clean one and have one available to her. When she was a kitten i watched her pee in one box and then walk to the spare box( with stuff in it) and try to poo. I have had two boxes ever since.

demota
Aug 12, 2003

I could read between the lines. They wanted to see the alien.
Does anyone have experience with pet insurance? I'm picking up my new kitten in a couple weeks, and I'm wondering about what are good companies to go with (or if it's just a bad idea).

Rat Patrol
Feb 15, 2008

kill kill kill kill
kill me now

demota posted:

Does anyone have experience with pet insurance? I'm picking up my new kitten in a couple weeks, and I'm wondering about what are good companies to go with (or if it's just a bad idea).

I use PetPlan and am very pleased with it. It's definitely worth it for a kitten, in my opinion. Petplan covers ongoing issues (but does NOT cover pre-existing issues), so if your cat has health issues as it gets older it'll be covered. It's a huge relief to know that I won't have to pay more than $100 for vet care, even in an emergency, and they also give you money if your pet gets lost to offer as a reward or fund newspaper ads, etc. It's payed for itself in the past two years with my cat Pizza's bladder issues.

frenchnewwave
Jun 7, 2012

Would you like a Cuppa?

The blue bunny posted:

I would invest in a black light. Every couple of weeks turn off all the lights and check for urine glows. Chalk the outside of the spots ( as urine glows under a black light). Google Shannon Lush, i have heard her talk on the radio (abc radio aus) about using plaster paris to draw the urine out of wood or similar surfaces. Also look at investing in cheap temporary vinyl flooring. Its cheap and will protect the surface below and can be thrown out when smelly. I rent and my unit is all carpet except for the bathroom. I have put vinyl flooring under the litter boxes area just outside the bathroom. It cost me $15 for 3m*1m

Urine is best cleaned with an enzymatic cleaner. The enzymatic cleaner are designed to break down the protein in the urine. i found a stain remover in the laundry section and cost $3. It worked well at removing the neighbor cats spray marks from my front door when cat was a kitten. My cat uses to loved sitting on my bed with her after pee bottom. Now i just wash with an enzymatic washing liquid.

Really helpful thank you! I hadn't thought of the vinyl tiles but that might be beneficial.

Pucklynn
Sep 8, 2010

chop chop chop
I've purchased a couple black lights to try and help me find cat pee spots, but even when I shine it on places that I KNOW my cats have peed on, nothing comes up. Is there a special type of black light you need for this?

Charles Martel
Mar 7, 2007

"The Hero of the Age..."

The hero of all ages

gonadic io posted:

Hi cat thread, in August I'll be adopting a 2-year old ex-breeding girl (soon to be) called Ripley and a 4 month old kitten (not Ripley's) called Newt.

Because of my allergies these Russian Blues are the first cats I've ever actually been able to play with without taking antihistamines, I've honestly never really petted one before visiting this breeder! Ripley has a wicked emergency caesarean scar and Newt was rejected by her originally intended owner because she doesn't confirm to the Breeding Standard (has a white patch on her neck). I did ask around all the local shelters but they didn't have any (or Rexes or Siberians are supposed to be good) and I couldn't really go put a different cat in my face each day to test my reaction and spend the next few hours sneezing and itching.

As I have to wait for Ripley's kittens to be old enough to leave her (and be sold at a premium of course), and the breeder doesn't want to separate Ripley and Newt for a few months, all I have is this picture I took of Newt's brother:


edit: Both indoors, both spayed, the food that the breeder (who shows her cats successfully) recommends, and probably just the one litter box as they're currently sharing but I'll get a second if there's problems.

Those cats are gorgeous! Are they expensive and/or rare in the U.S.? Would love to have a Russian Blue one day.

gonadic io
Feb 16, 2011

>>=

The blue bunny posted:

I would have extra boxes out during the new home transition process.

Good point, plus it's always handy to have a spare around.

Charles Martel posted:

Those cats are gorgeous! Are they expensive and/or rare in the U.S.? Would love to have a Russian Blue one day.

I have no idea I'm afraid. I'm in the UK and the two cats plus all the required stuff (insurance, cat tree, fountain, food, etc) I have to buy will probably end up costing about £1k up front.

LeafyGreens
May 9, 2009

the elegant cephalopod

My kitty is about a year old now and has recently developed the lovely habit of finding an exposed part of my skin while I'm asleep and digging her claws in to wake me up. I've just been removing her from the bed since its impossible to ignore it but I'm worried its still giving her reinforcement. Locking her out of the bedroom is a no go either, since the cats pull up the carpet if we do.

Is this something she might grow out of?

TollTheHounds
Mar 23, 2006

He died for your sins...

demota posted:

Does anyone have experience with pet insurance? I'm picking up my new kitten in a couple weeks, and I'm wondering about what are good companies to go with (or if it's just a bad idea).

We use Trupanion because...reasons I guess, available in Canada and it's dead easy. You just move a slider left to right to reduce your monthly payment/increase deductible or increase your monthly payment/decrease deductible. I'm not sure how it compares price-wise, I wanted a $200 deductible so pay $27/mo for the male and $24/mo for the female. We've probably saved >$10,000 because of this with the female due to her eye issues/surgeries that we could never have afforded otherwise.

Octolady posted:

My kitty is about a year old now and has recently developed the lovely habit of finding an exposed part of my skin while I'm asleep and digging her claws in to wake me up. I've just been removing her from the bed since its impossible to ignore it but I'm worried its still giving her reinforcement. Locking her out of the bedroom is a no go either, since the cats pull up the carpet if we do.

Is this something she might grow out of?

Probably not no, if you can't help reacting. I think the only thing you can really do is not let it in your bedroom at night. Or you can just ignore it until it gives up. 3 of our cats will do this in varying fashions ( one attacks feet because he wants to play, one stands on chest because she wants pets, and the other literally licks the walls loudly until the tap gets turned on for water ) but only to my wife - they never bother with me any more because I don't react. They used to try ( the kittens when younger in particular ) and even if I would wake up I would just keep my eyes closed and wait for them to give up then go back to sleep. My wife however ALWAYS wakes up and will pay attention to them and so of course now it is a frequent event for her to just wake up super early whenever they decide she needs to get up.

If you react, they learn that doing X results in Y so just keep doing X until you get Y. I think by reacting in any way, you are "reinforcing" the behaviour. If you don't give them what they want, at least they've increased their odds by waking you up. :catstare: Because cats are assholes.

TollTheHounds fucked around with this message at 18:43 on May 30, 2015

TollTheHounds
Mar 23, 2006

He died for your sins...

Gorgar posted:

Going to need to see pictures of the mustache cat.

Mustache has landed. It's not quite as epic a mustache as the other guy posted but prominent enough for the name to stick.

TollTheHounds fucked around with this message at 19:23 on May 31, 2015

Arriviste
Sep 10, 2010

Gather. Grok. Create.




Now pick up what you can
and run.

TollTheHounds posted:

Mustache has landed. It's not quite as epic a mustache as the other guy posted but prominent enough for the name to stick.



Ahhhhmahgawd. What a Sir. Beautiful pattern on that meerkat.

Rat Patrol
Feb 15, 2008

kill kill kill kill
kill me now
Nice cookies and cream cat

HelloSailorSign
Jan 27, 2011

Organza Quiz posted:

For those curious, I got my cat vaccinated today and asked my vet about the whole sarcoma/jab in the leg thing, and he said it's an American practice. Basically it's the rabies vaccine which causes the real problem and since I'm in Australia that's obviously not an issue. Massaging the skin a bit to move the stuff around also helps, and he makes sure to inject it in a spot where if it does form a sarcoma they can just remove the skin instead of amputating a whole limb. So it sounds like it's only worth worrying about if you're in the US or somewhere else that requires rabies vaccines.

Eh, not really.

What has been implicated in Feline Injection Sarcomas is adjuvants - Rabies vaccine, FeLV vaccines, FVRCP vaccines... all can have adjuvants (depending on type/brand), and therefore all can potentially lead to injection site sarcomas. Last I had really read into it I saw associations with some medication injections as well, but I don't know if those suspicions are any stronger currently.

There is no place you can place an injection site sarcoma where you just "remove the skin." Injection site sarcomas are invasive fuckers; that is the problem. Placing it distally on a leg means you can get all the tendrils it puts out. It isn't the part you can feel that's the problem, it's the part you can't feel in surgery that's the problem.

Tamarillo
Aug 6, 2009

Octolady posted:

My kitty is about a year old now and has recently developed the lovely habit of finding an exposed part of my skin while I'm asleep and digging her claws in to wake me up. I've just been removing her from the bed since its impossible to ignore it but I'm worried its still giving her reinforcement. Locking her out of the bedroom is a no go either, since the cats pull up the carpet if we do.

Is this something she might grow out of?

As a kitten my rear end in a top hat cat used to bite my face to wake me up, I retaliated by putting the pillow on my head and ignoring him and he stopped doing it after like...2 weeks. Maybe wear long sleeved tops to bed if you can to limit exposed skin and try ignoring her (in as much as it is possible to ignore a tiny rear end in a top hat trying to shove 10 hypodermic needles into your flesh at once)

Gorgar
Dec 2, 2012

TollTheHounds posted:

Mustache has landed. It's not quite as epic a mustache as the other guy posted but prominent enough for the name to stick.



So you took her in? Cool. Striking, pretty, odd-looking and really wants to be your cat. Also poses in front of mirrors. Congratulations on getting a good weird cat.

piscesbobbie
Apr 5, 2012

Friend to all creatures great and small

Huntersoninski posted:

Nice cookies and cream cat

Perfect description! Cookies and Cream! Gorgeous and unique cat!

red state bait
Dec 9, 2006

Posts: 26,721
Rank: Ultra Patriot
hey cat nerds, is there a good cat traveling reference around here? gotta fly my cat from west to east coast and need some tips and tricks tia

MrKatharsis
Nov 29, 2003

feel the bern
Every twenty pages or so someone mentions flying and gets a lot of good advice. I did it once and it was way easier than expected.

Ema Nymton
Apr 26, 2008

the place where I come from
is a small town
Buglord

red state bait posted:

hey cat nerds, is there a good cat traveling reference around here? gotta fly my cat from west to east coast and need some tips and tricks tia

I've been thinking about this lately. My favorite cat gets to ride in the cabin with me. My least favorite cat goes with the baggage because screw him.

red state bait
Dec 9, 2006

Posts: 26,721
Rank: Ultra Patriot
Well, I've got just the one cat, so he's my favorite and least favorite simultaneously.

Ideally, I want to take him on the cabin with me, just wondering what's the best pet friendly airlines for that.

He's about 9lbs+ if that matters

JohnnyCanuck
May 28, 2004

Strong And/Or Free
How long should you leave uneaten wet food out before you toss it and serve up fresh stuff?

Hydrolith
Oct 30, 2009
I've just got two cats. They're two-and-a-bit years old, brothers, who have been in foster care. They arrived yesterday morning, around 30 hours ago, and so far they haven't eaten though they have used the litter box.

I think part of the problem is that my apartment is quite small, with only three rooms - the main room, the bathroom/laundry, and my bedroom. When they arrived, we set down the carrier in my room, opened the door, and let them be. I left the door open for them to go out and get food. I'd put out dry food and human-grade mince as a special treat for their first nights. The foster carers had been feeding them dry food and "pet mince"; I wanted to feed them the same food, but I wasn't able to find pet mince so I used human-grade mince instead.

I woke up at 3am last night and noticed the food was untouched. I moved it to my room.

This morning, the food still hasn't been touched. I've chucked out the old mince, warmed up some more in the microwave and put it in my room for them.

I knew they were fairly skittish cats, and I was expecting them to disappear and hide, but I was also expecting them to eat. I had bought a Feliway diffuser, which I'd put in the main room, and I've now moved it to my room. After a quick google I'm coming up with http://www.catchat.org/bonding.html , which says to keep them in a small room and as much as possible just chill with them, being present and talking, and not trying to touch them or fish them out. Fortunately I work from home, so that's quite doable. I'm doing my best not to make eye contact with them, because I know cats don't like that. I was actually quite surprised at that advice to hang out with them; I thought cats prefered to not be pestered at all?

Basically I'm worried about them, and wondering what else I can do to get them to relax and eat some food. I know cats not eating gets dangerous quickly. I'm quite sure it's due to stress, rather than illness. I'm prepared to shell out for a vet to some see them (I don't have a car), but I'm not sure that's going to do any good considering that they're perfectly healthy and were eating at their foster carer's place before they moved to mine.

Anyway, strange as it sounds, my bedroom is the one room in my apartment that I can actually do without, so I'm considering leaving it to them and sleeping on the couch instead. Is that actually going to help? Is it better to give them space by leaving my room for them, or is it better to be present in the room with them? I know giving up my room sounds pretty crazy, but it's their health I'm concerned about; I'm worried about them developing liver problems from not eating...

- Ages: 2 and a bit
- Sex: M, M
- How long have you had your cat? ~30 hours
- Is your cat spayed or neutered? Yes
- What food do you use? Beef mince, Taste of the Wild dry food
- When was your last vet visit? Unknown (with foster carers)
- Is your cat indoors, outdoors, both? Indoors only
- How many pets in your household? 2 cats
- How many litter boxes do you have? 1

Hydrolith fucked around with this message at 07:13 on Jun 1, 2015

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The blue bunny
May 29, 2013

JohnnyCanuck posted:

How long should you leave uneaten wet food out before you toss it and serve up fresh stuff?

I put the bowls down and leave them until the next feeding time. She will graze or is holding out in hope for something she likes better. None of it is sea food.

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