Register a SA Forums Account here!
JOINING THE SA FORUMS WILL REMOVE THIS BIG AD, THE ANNOYING UNDERLINED ADS, AND STUPID INTERSTITIAL ADS!!!

You can: log in, read the tech support FAQ, or request your lost password. This dumb message (and those ads) will appear on every screen until you register! Get rid of this crap by registering your own SA Forums Account and joining roughly 150,000 Goons, for the one-time price of $9.95! We charge money because it costs us money per month for bills, and since we don't believe in showing ads to our users, we try to make the money back through forum registrations.
 
  • Post
  • Reply
Synthbuttrange
May 6, 2007

I've bought loads of toys for my cats but worked out eventually which ones set them off. Grounded worm lure on a string. Felt balls. Shiny mylar teaser. Stick under a blanket.

Okay that last one is more a recommendation that you use a stick, because using your hand under a blanket is just asking for an emergency room visit.

Adbot
ADBOT LOVES YOU

Vestral
Dec 30, 2008
Thanks. She's had these toys for weeks, and isn't interested. She whines at me for attention then snubs all the toys in favour of chewing on the wand or playing tug of war with the string on the wand (she pulled the toy off the end quickly and is not interested in that part). I just worry about her on her own, since she has no interest in the toys on their own. Since she's highly food motivated, I might look into a food puzzle. I can invent better games than 'chew my toes while I'm sleeping' or 'swat at my pony tail' when I'm here, but when i'm at work, I would really like not to fear for the phone line.

Marchegiana
Jan 31, 2006

. . . Bitch.
Seems like it's really just a matter of finding what one toy is your cat's gotta havit. Each of our three cats has a different toy that's their favorite. Freya's favorite is the laser pointer, but she also likes paper balls. Persephone loves the cat dancer the most, but will also play with a feather wand and the laser pointer. Odil will play with the feather wand as well, but his favorite is a belt for some reason. :shrug: Like, he likes string too but you drag a belt on the floor and he just goes loving nuts. None of our cats like mice or catnip toys or those little plastic balls with the jingles inside, but of course we had to buy them and try them to find out. We usually donate the toys our cats are meh about to the SPCA.

Drythe
Aug 26, 2012


 

Deteriorata posted:

TBH, this is the only place I've ever heard anything positive about pet insurance at all. In most cases you'll be better off setting up a savings account and depositing the equivalent of an insurance payment into it every month. Paying your vet bills out of that will generally leave you money ahead.

Adding to this, it makes no sense. My cat needs a $1200 Surgery, my premium is 280 a year. It would of taken 4 years to save that up, and then I would be hosed if the cat needed another one the next year.

Vestral
Dec 30, 2008
Could be some people get pet insurance, then go to get a spay/neuter and find out that isn't covered meaning they now have to pay out of pocket for a vet visit AND insurance and feel it's not value for money? Aside from that, I fail to see how pet insurance would be a bad thing, assuming you do your research in what you are actually covered for. The savings approach would work for the small stuff, but the big expensive operation would be worth having insurance for.

Vestral
Dec 30, 2008

Marchegiana posted:

Seems like it's really just a matter of finding what one toy is your cat's gotta havit. Each of our three cats has a different toy that's their favorite. Freya's favorite is the laser pointer, but she also likes paper balls. Persephone loves the cat dancer the most, but will also play with a feather wand and the laser pointer. Odil will play with the feather wand as well, but his favorite is a belt for some reason. :shrug: Like, he likes string too but you drag a belt on the floor and he just goes loving nuts. None of our cats like mice or catnip toys or those little plastic balls with the jingles inside, but of course we had to buy them and try them to find out. We usually donate the toys our cats are meh about to the SPCA.

I'v discovered mycat likes to eat biscuits instead of being active so far. I'm new to having a cat so I'm probably worrying too much. Will carry on trying things until she is taken with something. Her positive is she scratches her ramp not my furniture, so glad the first purchase worked for that problem! GUess I was just hoping she'd be as pliable with entertainment. Oh well. String on a stick it is for now.

MikeCrotch
Nov 5, 2011

I AM UNJUSTIFIABLY PROUD OF MY SPAGHETTI BOLOGNESE RECIPE

YES, IT IS AN INCREDIBLY SIMPLE DISH

NO, IT IS NOT NORMAL TO USE A PEPPERAMI INSTEAD OF MINCED MEAT

YES, THERE IS TOO MUCH SALT IN MY RECIPE

NO, I WON'T STOP SHARING IT

more like BOLLOCKnese
Hello Cat Thread! I am looking for some advice on getting my old cat and new cat to like each other.

My old cat is Molly, 8 years old, tiny and a bit of a Napoleon complex. I have had her since she was a kitten. She will try and dominate anything, regardless of size, by acting like a bit of a psycho, until the person/dog/cat she is trying to scare realises how much bigger they are than Molly and stops putting up with her bullshit. At this point she calms the gently caress down and is a pretty chill, if hyperactive cat. She's calming down in her old(ish) age so we thought getting her a companion would be good for when we are out of the house.

So we have adopted a 5 year old called Harri, who is the sweetest, gentlest ol' cat you ever did meet. Unfortunately their personalities are not meshing well at all. We have been doing supervised meets for a couple of weeks and they are doing the normal hissing, yowling etc. Usually Harri tries to find the highest place to scowl at Molly from, since Molly is dumb as bricks and not a very good climber. Sometimes violence breaks out and we have to split them up, and its always Molly attacking Harri, usually when Harri tries to venture to ground level. This has been going on for a couple of weeks now.

So we're in a situation now where Harri is kinda scared to come down from wherever her perch is, and she will only really come down of her own accord if the door to the room she is in is shut. We can coax her down but she is very nervous and always looking to doors and perches to hide in, even if Molly is not around. Having said that, if the door is closed she will come down and play, cuddle and get scratches, so she seems ok, just she will not leave whatever room she has holed up in if the door is left open.

Anyone got any ideas, or is this just a case of keep plugging for a few more weeks? Any help would be appreciated!

pandaid
Feb 9, 2004

RAWR

Drythe posted:

Adding to this, it makes no sense. My cat needs a $1200 Surgery, my premium is 280 a year. It would of taken 4 years to save that up, and then I would be hosed if the cat needed another one the next year.

I see pet insurance as catostrophic insurance. I went through a horrible, sudden end of life illness with my senior cat that cost me $3800 to give her a fighting chance (we lost, but we gave it a good go, it could have gone either way). In the moment, seeing those bills tick higher and higher made things way so more bad. I started saying no to things they wanted to do ($500 cardiologist consult, biopsies to test for cancer, etc.) so I could use the money for just the treatment. Those 4 days were the most stressful and expensive of my life, but I did what I thought was best until it didn't make sense anymore (it became obvious after a short rally her organs were shutting down). I can tell you that having to pay those bills for the next year, thanks Care Credit for no interest, knowing that it didn't even save her was not great feeling. I have both my cats on Embrace pet insurance now, $1000 deductible, 90% pay up to $15,000, and each year without a claim the deductible goes down $50. They're pretty good about declaring pre-existing conditions at the start of the policy. You have to ask to do it, but they're very into providing that information to you, and I successfully worked with them to change what they declared as a condition using a clarifying letter from my vet. It's best if you can put them on it when you adopt them, but there's still a 14 day waiting period + vet visit needed before it kicks in.

If you can afford a few hundred a year, it's not a bad investment. Yeah, you could put that aside in a care fund, but this also covers some really expensive stuff that could happen and covers when everything goes wrong at once.

Bina
Dec 28, 2011

Love Deluxe
I spend all morning sleeping in, my throat is a mess, ad I have to call out of work. The whole time I am trying to move around, my cats are being assholes to me "feed us" they whine.

I grudgingly go into the kitchen, make them food, and then go about my business to aid my throat (tea, and hot brothy soup). Low and behold, when I come out of the kitchen, there they ere, snuggling like two peas on the end of the couch. Both of them barely touched their food.

idgi

DigitalRaven
Oct 9, 2012




Bina posted:

I spend all morning sleeping in, my throat is a mess, ad I have to call out of work. The whole time I am trying to move around, my cats are being assholes to me "feed us" they whine.

I grudgingly go into the kitchen, make them food, and then go about my business to aid my throat (tea, and hot brothy soup). Low and behold, when I come out of the kitchen, there they ere, snuggling like two peas on the end of the couch. Both of them barely touched their food.

idgi

They're cats. What's to get?

Fortis
Oct 21, 2009

feelin' fine
I need some opinions.

So, it was only a few posts up, but to summarize, my cat has recurring pee problems. This is the second time I've taken her to the vet over it, particularly because she pissed on the couch (which is new... for this couch). They didn't find anything immediately and sent her home with buprenorphine. The lab results came back clean, no sign of infection.

For the next couple of days she made a lot of attempts at peeing in the boxes (she has two on opposite ends of the apartment), but also on the couch. Most of the time on the couch it was an insignificant amount; generally this would be the case wherever she would go until midday, when she'd pee normally again.

I hit the couch with nature's miracle whenever she peed on it. I took off the slipcovers, inspected the cushions, SOAKED the areas with nature's miracle, washed the covers, put them back, and things seemed OK... until the next morning. Now pretty much whenever we're not sitting on the couch and are around she makes an attempt at peeing there. She might be doing it when we're out, but I can never find evidence of this when I come home, so I'm not sure.

I have removed the cushions. They are in quarantine after being basically soaked in Dumb Cat spray. She got up on the cushion-less couch this morning and peed there. She's drawn to it. I switched to Cat Attract and she still insists on peeing on the couch. I cleaned up the area with Dumb Cat. SHE WENT BACK. I shooed her away (she went and used the litter box) and put aluminum foil/plastic wrap (cause I ran out of aluminum foil) on the entire surface of the couch frame.

Throughout all of this, she has gone normal amounts in the litterboxes. Am I just not doing a good enough job removing the pee smell? This sounds behavioral, right?

Tendai
Mar 16, 2007

"When the eagles are silent, the parrots begin to jabber."

Grimey Drawer

Vestral posted:

My cat is broken. I bought her toys, but she doesn't want to play with them. I tried a feather wand with her, she looked at me with disdain, then grabbed the string in her mouth and walked off with it. She likes string, and the wand handles. SHE LIKES CHEWING STICKS. I think my cat is a dog. Please help.

The question here is, if my cat isn't a fan of most toys, what could be a way to pass her boredom?
Oh hey, maybe our cats are related. Kiska is disinterested in almost every actual cat toy except for that drat yellow catnip banana, she chews on our firewood, and plays fetch with plastic bottle caps.

Bina posted:

I spend all morning sleeping in, my throat is a mess, ad I have to call out of work. The whole time I am trying to move around, my cats are being assholes to me "feed us" they whine.

I grudgingly go into the kitchen, make them food, and then go about my business to aid my throat (tea, and hot brothy soup). Low and behold, when I come out of the kitchen, there they ere, snuggling like two peas on the end of the couch. Both of them barely touched their food.

idgi
Also Kiska. She gets SO EXCITED in the morning when I get up and feed her, but then she remembers "Oh, hey, I'm not really motivated much by food" as soon as I put the bowl down. My theory is that she's just excited people are up and paying attention to her :3:

bollig
Apr 7, 2006

Never Forget.
Please keep me from murdering my cat.

So I have a female spayed cat she's probably about 5-6 years old. About 3 years ago I moved abroad from the States. In the States, we would only feed the cat wet food on Sundays, and she had dry food any time she wanted. She's not a fat cat thank god. Anyway, there was a month and a half overlap between when my idiot wife left with the cat and when I showed up. And in that time she started feeding the cat daily (in the morning, would you believe it). Which was awful, because she would basically scream at us until she was fed. Or any (hungover) guests that got up early to pee.

In the worst weekend ever, I weaned her off of that, so we feed her at 6:00PM sharp whenever we're home.

So here's the situation we're in now. I work from home 2-3 times a week, and starting at about 3:30 she starts bitching for food. It's not attention because if I even move a muscle she sprints over to the food bowl and looks at me like I'm a dick for not feeding her. It's not really a howl, but seriously it's annoying. My wife didn't believe how annoying it was until she worked from home one day, and that pissed her off.

So what do I do here. One thing I thought of was like creating a signal for when she is, 100% going to eat. I remember my dad would do this to our cats when we were younger, clinking their bowls together, so they would know that it was time to eat. Even though we have a pretty specific time that we feed her, she may need a better 'signal' that she's eating.

It could very easily be because she's bored but she doesn't give a gently caress about any of the toys we have. She likes like feathery like stick things and string, but I"m not going to play with her all drat day. I'll play with her for five minutes and she goes back to bitching. For what it's worth, she still has all the dry food she wants. It's right there, and I've tried pouring her more and that doesn't work.

The only thing that's occuring to me now is to go back to feeding her on Sundays because this is unbearable.

Anyway, I'd love ya'lls input.

Deteriorata
Feb 6, 2005

Delay feeding them until 9:00 PM. That way they don't start bugging you until about 7:00.

That's the schedule at our house. I'm incredibly popular in the evenings.

bollig
Apr 7, 2006

Never Forget.

bollig posted:

Please keep me from murdering my cat.

So I have a female spayed cat she's probably about 5-6 years old. About 3 years ago I moved abroad from the States. In the States, we would only feed the cat wet food on Sundays, and she had dry food any time she wanted. She's not a fat cat thank god. Anyway, there was a month and a half overlap between when my idiot wife left with the cat and when I showed up. And in that time she started feeding the cat daily (in the morning, would you believe it). Which was awful, because she would basically scream at us until she was fed. Or any (hungover) guests that got up early to pee.

In the worst weekend ever, I weaned her off of that, so we feed her at 6:00PM sharp whenever we're home.

So here's the situation we're in now. I work from home 2-3 times a week, and starting at about 3:30 she starts bitching for food. It's not attention because if I even move a muscle she sprints over to the food bowl and looks at me like I'm a dick for not feeding her. It's not really a howl, but seriously it's annoying. My wife didn't believe how annoying it was until she worked from home one day, and that pissed her off.

So what do I do here. One thing I thought of was like creating a signal for when she is, 100% going to eat. I remember my dad would do this to our cats when we were younger, clinking their bowls together, so they would know that it was time to eat. Even though we have a pretty specific time that we feed her, she may need a better 'signal' that she's eating.

It could very easily be because she's bored but she doesn't give a gently caress about any of the toys we have. She likes like feathery like stick things and string, but I"m not going to play with her all drat day. I'll play with her for five minutes and she goes back to bitching. For what it's worth, she still has all the dry food she wants. It's right there, and I've tried pouring her more and that doesn't work.

The only thing that's occuring to me now is to go back to feeding her on Sundays because this is unbearable.

Anyway, I'd love ya'lls input.

Actually, I just thought of something. We have a cat feeder that you can set a time for. I wonder if just getting that to feed her would be the way to go. If I remove myself from the equation, for example. So just put the food in in the morning sometime, when she's sacked out like an idiot on the bed, and then let the machine do the work.

Barring a better suggestion from you guys, I might go that route.

Finger Wagon
Nov 25, 2009

Three heaping helpings of finger for you, sir.

Tendai posted:

Also Kiska. She gets SO EXCITED in the morning when I get up and feed her, but then she remembers "Oh, hey, I'm not really motivated much by food" as soon as I put the bowl down. My theory is that she's just excited people are up and paying attention to her :3:

Man, do I feel this- except Princess doesn't even maintain the pretense of being food motivated. She's neurotic and gets funny when she can see the bottom of her bowl, but she'll wake me up at six to fill her bowl and then wake me up at seven purely because she loves me and why am I not physically demonstrating my reciprocation of that love right now?? Does every morning have to involve her yelling at me or lying down beside my head and gently placing her paws on my face??? God, I am just so lazy and neglectful. (Though sometimes she waits patiently for me to show any signs of wakefulness and when I do, guess what! Not getting back to sleep, the "you're awake! you're awake!" siren has been activated.)

Unrelated (or maybe related?) question: my cat has been even needier since my roommate moved her cat over to her boyfriend's place, and I think it's because she's bored. I've been trying to play with her more, but she's a very high-energy cat, by which I mean her desire to murder a string seems unending. I've been realizing more and more that I really need to get her some more toys, and I was wondering if anyone had recommendations for good (but inexpensive) toys that encourage satisfying independent play? Should I just get her a handful of mice and trust her imagination? I really don't have the funds for or the time to tend to the introduction of a second cat, but I feel a little bad that's she's on her own, even if she's definitely more of a "person" cat than an "other cats" cat. What can I do to make life more stimulating for her?

Also, I've been doing Let's Plays and ever since I set up my backdrop, she's gotten into the habit of calling for me whenever I'm out of sight- I'll peek around it at her and she'll either quiet down or get excited and run over. Is she actually under the impression that I'm not in the room just because she can't see me, or is this just a weirdo cat thing?

@MikeCrotch: in my experience, your best bet might just be to keep plugging, but I'm no expert. I know there's some sort of vague psychology to establishing areas of dominance for animals in a home, but I've gotten the impression that trying to utilize that is tricky and as likely to backfire as it is to work. (Plus, a naturally dominant cat and a timid cat are probably always going to fall into the same sort of dynamic as long as there's any sense of conflict between them.) Hang in there, I guess?

Edit: @Bollig: my parents have a cat that is so food-motivated it almost surpasses the comical into the genuinely concerning, and they solved this exact problem with a timed feeder. I'd give it a try, for sure.

Finger Wagon fucked around with this message at 16:56 on Oct 27, 2015

duckfarts
Jul 2, 2010

~ shameful ~





Soiled Meat

bollig posted:

Actually, I just thought of something. We have a cat feeder that you can set a time for. I wonder if just getting that to feed her would be the way to go. If I remove myself from the equation, for example. So just put the food in in the morning sometime, when she's sacked out like an idiot on the bed, and then let the machine do the work.

Barring a better suggestion from you guys, I might go that route.

Pretty much this; use a cat feeder, set it for like an hour before you get up so they're fed and not begging you around the time you do get up. That said, make sure it's a feeder they can't break into.

MikeCrotch
Nov 5, 2011

I AM UNJUSTIFIABLY PROUD OF MY SPAGHETTI BOLOGNESE RECIPE

YES, IT IS AN INCREDIBLY SIMPLE DISH

NO, IT IS NOT NORMAL TO USE A PEPPERAMI INSTEAD OF MINCED MEAT

YES, THERE IS TOO MUCH SALT IN MY RECIPE

NO, I WON'T STOP SHARING IT

more like BOLLOCKnese

Finger Wagon posted:

@MikeCrotch: in my experience, your best bet might just be to keep plugging, but I'm no expert. I know there's some sort of vague psychology to establishing areas of dominance for animals in a home, but I've gotten the impression that trying to utilize that is tricky and as likely to backfire as it is to work. (Plus, a naturally dominant cat and a timid cat are probably always going to fall into the same sort of dynamic as long as there's any sense of conflict between them.) Hang in there, I guess?

Thanks, sods law that the day after I post this the new cat decides she's suddenly brave and inquisitive and wants to explore the house. Molly still wants to kick the poo poo out of her though, so that needs some work.

She also managed to get the runs after licking out a pot of cottage cheese I left out :downs:

Apprentice Dick
Dec 1, 2009
I need some advice on older cats. My parents have a 12 year old cat that has always been timid around the other two (15 and 10). I have the option to move to a pet friendly apartment closer to work, among other benefits, and would like to take the timid cat to live with me. My main question is that she would have to be declawed per the lease. Would declawing a 12 year old cat be problematic? I wouldn't want to do something that will cause her problems.

Deteriorata
Feb 6, 2005

Apprentice Dick posted:

I need some advice on older cats. My parents have a 12 year old cat that has always been timid around the other two (15 and 10). I have the option to move to a pet friendly apartment closer to work, among other benefits, and would like to take the timid cat to live with me. My main question is that she would have to be declawed per the lease. Would declawing a 12 year old cat be problematic? I wouldn't want to do something that will cause her problems.

Declawing is a horrifically terrible thing to do to a cat of any age. If you love your pet, leave it with your parents.

Puppy Galaxy
Aug 1, 2004

Apprentice Dick posted:

I need some advice on older cats. My parents have a 12 year old cat that has always been timid around the other two (15 and 10). I have the option to move to a pet friendly apartment closer to work, among other benefits, and would like to take the timid cat to live with me. My main question is that she would have to be declawed per the lease. Would declawing a 12 year old cat be problematic? I wouldn't want to do something that will cause her problems.

Definitely don't do it. It's a bad idea in almost every case (I say almost because there are the rare medical reasons for it) but it would be especially traumatic for a 12 year old cat.

I would question how enforceable that clause in the lease is, myself. I kind of doubt the landlord checks every cat for front claws, but who knows.

Finger Wagon
Nov 25, 2009

Three heaping helpings of finger for you, sir.

Puppy Galaxy posted:

Definitely don't do it. It's a bad idea in almost every case (I say almost because there are the rare medical reasons for it) but it would be especially traumatic for a 12 year old cat.

I would question how enforceable that clause in the lease is, myself. I kind of doubt the landlord checks every cat for front claws, but who knows.

Seconding the second part of this- could you try speaking to your landlord about potentially using softpaws or whatever those claw covers are called? If it's scratching up the furniture and carpet they're worried about, those should work just as well. Are you sure it's totally non-negotiable?

Drythe
Aug 26, 2012


 
They never even checked mine when I had a landlord do that poo poo.

The blue bunny
May 29, 2013

Finger Wagon posted:

I was wondering if anyone had recommendations for good (but inexpensive) toys that encourage satisfying independent play? Should I just get her a handful of mice and trust her imagination? I

These are cheap
http://www.amazon.com/Cat-Dancer-803-Whisker-Interactive/dp/B00479O9AC

Marchegiana
Jan 31, 2006

. . . Bitch.
So a quick update on Odin in case anyone's curious. He had his feeding tube pulled yesterday because he had somehow managed to pop the stitches holding the tube in place and was getting a lot of drainage. Nothing infected (they had him on antibiotics) but he was obviously uncomfortable so it came out. Earlier than the vet had hoped, but he's eating like a champ so it's OK in the end. His bilirubin came back as 1.2 mg/dL which is higher than the 0.4 that would be normal but tons better than the 13 he was at while at his worst. He's been a little snotty since yesterday but it's all clear fluid so I'm thinking he's having a herpes flareup, which all in all wouldn't be too surprising since he has been stressed lately. Luckily he loves his lysine so that's no problem to give to him.

Really the only (non) issue I have now is the mirtazapine he's on as an appetite stimulant has made him SUPER affectionate. Like, sleeping on my pillow and swatting at my face to make me pet him at 4am affectionate. Oh, and since he's snotty he also sometimes sneezes on my face while he's there on my pillow. Super gross.

Tendai
Mar 16, 2007

"When the eagles are silent, the parrots begin to jabber."

Grimey Drawer
Today is Kiska Pisscat's second vet appointment for her weird licking/twitching issue. :ohdear:

Cat, have normal problems for once.

Chili
Jan 23, 2004

college kids ain't shit


Fun Shoe
Hey all, so my fiancee and I are fostering a morbidly obese cat named Butterscotch, I've been posting a lot about him in the cute thread but I need some advice, so I thought I'd waltz on in here.

First, the obligatory pictures/videos:


Lookin' dapper as poo poo after his first bath.


O' dat gerth


Figurin' out how to cuddle

"playing" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhDLdwN8f2c

Anyway, the big problem with him now is that it's just a real bitch keeping him clean. His coat gets grody really quickly and because he came to us with a URI, he's had a lot of runny stool which has meant we've had to clean his butthole a couple of times a day. As you can imagine, that is not his favorite part of the day.

So only a few days after his first bath his cost is nearly back to square one. He's so large that it seems really challenging for him to access his coast with his tongue.

Any idea on how we can help keep him clean apart from frequent baths? Though it's not terribly hard for us to give him baths, as his size kinda inhibits any aggressive protest, he definitely doesn't like them and I don't want to stress him out. I brush him with a groomer's brush a couple of times a day to remove excess fur and hopefully de-tangle, but his coat continues to just have this sorta... film on top of it and I have to imagine it isn't comfortable for him.

Marchegiana
Jan 31, 2006

. . . Bitch.
They make special cleaning wipes just for cats, we used to use those a lot on our cat Suzie because with her arthritis she just couldn't bend to groom all her spots that needed grooming. It's not as good as a bath (nothing is) but it can at least prolong the time between baths.

Chili
Jan 23, 2004

college kids ain't shit


Fun Shoe

Marchegiana posted:

They make special cleaning wipes just for cats, we used to use those a lot on our cat Suzie because with her arthritis she just couldn't bend to groom all her spots that needed grooming. It's not as good as a bath (nothing is) but it can at least prolong the time between baths.

Really good suggestion. There's a whole bunch of brands, if anyone has had good experience with one of them, feel free to holler, or I'll just go with something highly rated on amazon.

Tendai
Mar 16, 2007

"When the eagles are silent, the parrots begin to jabber."

Grimey Drawer
Vet appointment result: Is broken-rear end cat, but will be okay :3:

Based on the symptoms (she had a "moment" at the vet's which was incredibly convenient for once in her idiot fuzzy life), blood work, timing and such the vet is pretty certain that it's a neurogenic thing that is probably hyperesthesia, which I'd read about before.

The good news is, that's not something that's fatal or even particularly harmful if it stays at the level it's at. I have to watch to make sure she doesn't start yanking her fur out and if that happens it sounds like the treatment is generally some kind of mood medication like an SSRI but in cat-sized dosages. Apparently they're not sure if this is a brain/chemical thing like epilepsy or a mental issue like OCD. One research thing I read tonight suggests it's sometimes like, cats taking out their frustration at territorial disputes on themselves :stare: So, who knows.

Kiska is otherwise healthy and dumb and forgave me for putting her in the carrier :3: And also 12.8 pounds and lookin' svelte.

Synthbuttrange
May 6, 2007

I just find the least offensive smelling baby wipes I can find and use those to wipe up my cat's tear stains. Should work fine for your filthy beast too Chili!

Hyperlynx
Sep 13, 2015

I feed my two cats half a tin of wet food each in the evening. Lately, my white floof monster Wolfgang has only been picking at his food (though he eats all his breakfast, with gusto). He licks the sauce off his dinner, nibbles it a bit, and then walks off. And then when his brother James finishes his dinner, he falls upon Wolfgang's and devours it, unless I stop him.

Any ideas for getting him to stop doing that, or getting Wolfy to finish his dinner? The vet said they were overweight, so I'm trying to be more careful about how much they're eating. It's not going to do much good for Wolfy to slim down while James balloons up...

e: also, I've just noticed that Wolfgang's right fang looks like it's got a bit missing off the end. It's shorter than the left, and blunt. No idea when that happened; they're adopted, about two years old.

Hyperlynx fucked around with this message at 09:42 on Oct 29, 2015

Tendai
Mar 16, 2007

"When the eagles are silent, the parrots begin to jabber."

Grimey Drawer

Hyperlynx posted:

I feed my two cats half a tin of wet food each in the evening. Lately, my white floof monster Wolfgang has only been picking at his food (though he eats all his breakfast, with gusto). He licks the sauce off his dinner, nibbles it a bit, and then walks off. And then when his brother James finishes his dinner, he falls upon Wolfgang's and devours it, unless I stop him.

Any ideas for getting him to stop doing that, or getting Wolfy to finish his dinner? The vet said they were overweight, so I'm trying to be more careful about how much they're eating. It's not going to do much good for Wolfy to slim down while James balloons up...

e: also, I've just noticed that Wolfgang's right fang looks like it's got a bit missing off the end. It's shorter than the left, and blunt. No idea when that happened; they're adopted, about two years old.
Can you feed them in separate rooms with a door between them to give Wolfgang more time, maybe? Either that or buy one of those fancy electronic feeders that only opens for a certain cat, but it seems like the former would be the easiest try and then if that doesn't work, try the other.

Kiska's also got a bit missing off one of her fangs, it's pretty obvious when she yawns :3:

GenderSelectScreen
Mar 7, 2010

I DON'T KNOW EITHER DON'T ASK ME
College Slice
I was keeping a box full of dirt to let porchcat do his business in when he sleeps in the garage at night due to the cold/rain but we decided to get a real litterbox and cat litter after a few days (and a soggy box). Will he understand to use it? We placed it in the same spot as the box was so I hope he gets the point, I just don't want him to hold his bladder all night. :ohdear:

Mr. Sunabouzu
Nov 13, 2009

The face of true terror.
So I've got a cat question. Recently I took my old cat from my parents since they got a kitten and it was bullying her 24/7 for about 2 years. She basically just hid under my brothers bed all day every day and I decided to give her a new home since that's not healthy at all and no one else seemed to care. She seems a lot happier now but for whatever reason she just refuses to eat dry food or I at least haven't noticed her eating it. I've been giving her half a can of wet food in the morning and the other half at night but honestly i'm completely guessing how I should portion out her food so I figured I should ask about this. She's using the litterbox regularly and is pretty chill I just don't want her to get overweight.

Organza Quiz
Nov 7, 2009


Hitlers Gay Secret posted:

I was keeping a box full of dirt to let porchcat do his business in when he sleeps in the garage at night due to the cold/rain but we decided to get a real litterbox and cat litter after a few days (and a soggy box). Will he understand to use it? We placed it in the same spot as the box was so I hope he gets the point, I just don't want him to hold his bladder all night. :ohdear:

He should get the idea, but he still may very well still not want to use it so don't be surprised if he doesn't. I've never had a cat who didn't prefer crapping in dirt if it was at all possible to manage it, even if it meant holding it in all night.

GenderSelectScreen
Mar 7, 2010

I DON'T KNOW EITHER DON'T ASK ME
College Slice
If that ends up being the case I'll just have to fill the box up with dirt I guess.

Marchegiana
Jan 31, 2006

. . . Bitch.
You could also try gradually mixing regular litter into the dirt and over time increasing the litter:dirt ratio until it's all litter.

GenderSelectScreen
Mar 7, 2010

I DON'T KNOW EITHER DON'T ASK ME
College Slice
He used it fine and dandy. No worries here.

Adbot
ADBOT LOVES YOU

Irritated Goat
Mar 12, 2005

This post is pathetic.

Protocol7 posted:

I'm curious about something.

We have two litterboxes for our two boys - one litterbox is clay, non-clumping litter. The other is clumping litter, unscented. Good stuff, both of it, but there was a dark spot in the clay one. It smelled like piss, but the whole box kind of did before I replaced the litter. It's only in the clay one, and this actually wasn't the first dark spot I've seen in this box, only the second, but both cats have been to the vet since the first dark spot and both are fine and healthy. That said, neither visits were in-depth, and I never mentioned urinary problems to the vet since I wasn't suspecting them.

So to summarize so far - two dark spots in about a 4 week span in one litterbox, never the other. Younger cat went to the vet 3 weeks ago and older one 2 weeks ago. Both left with a clean bill of health (vet's words.)

I'm keeping an eye on them to make sure they both piss today, but should I even be worried?

They aren't eating bottom barrel foods, and usually get wet food in the morning and dry food at night, and I change the water frequently, whether it's gross or empty.

e: I should mention it wasn't tinted red at all, and it's entirely possible I'm freaking out over no reason - but after losing a kitty to FIP two months ago and another kitten between now and then, I get a little overprotective.

We switched to non-clay litter for our boxes. I noticed a dark spot constantly in Kaylee's box and rarely in Jayne's. I think it's just the way the non-clay stuff handles more pee than it should. Both cats are fine and dandy. I honestly think it's just a weirdness with the litter since it never happened when we used clay.

and tomorrow is Kaylee's last day with us :( she went at it with Jayne up and down the hall and we think she'd be happier in a home where she won't have to defend herself all the time or be segregated :( It wasn't an easy decision but I know she'll be in a better home soon where she can get all the love she needs :(

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • Post
  • Reply