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Puppy Galaxy posted:It may be a few days before she uses the litter box. Don't freak out. And cats have an instinct to scratch some dirt before relieving themselves, so they go looking for some.
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Nov 12, 2015 22:33
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Ziggy is our 2 year old tortie, recently (about a week ago) spayed. The other tiny furball is a recent addition to our home. After 3 days of introduction they get along amazingly well. Ziggy has basically adopted the kitten. They cry when they aren't with each other, and sleep together every day. Now, the tiny kitten has decided to suckle Ziggy. I realised this when checking the spay scar that Ziggy has one supremely red nipple and drool all over her stomach and I laughed. Is this okay? Ziggy doesn't seem to care and the amount of purring coming from the pile of cat is amazing. 
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Nov 12, 2015 23:00
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She ate a little and explored a little while I was working from home today. Now that I am more active in the living room and the GF is home, she's gone back to firmly planted in her corner. She's looking a bit more comfortable in that corner than she was yesterday. Time to be patient and minimize the amount of attention paid to her for a little bit so she can adjust. Puppy Galaxy posted:It may be a few days before she uses the litter box. Don't freak out. Well it's good that it's normal for the situation. I won't freak about it then.
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Nov 12, 2015 23:28
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My cat is now the Borg.
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Nov 13, 2015 00:10
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wilderthanmild posted:She ate a little and explored a little while I was working from home today. Now that I am more active in the living room and the GF is home, she's gone back to firmly planted in her corner. She's looking a bit more comfortable in that corner than she was yesterday. Giving her more hiding spaces can help her feel safer. A few boxes and blanket covered chairs they could hide under around did wonders for getting my cats happy in their first few days home.
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Nov 13, 2015 01:49
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SynthOrange posted:Giving her more hiding spaces can help her feel safer. A few boxes and blanket covered chairs they could hide under around did wonders for getting my cats happy in their first few days home. That was her first stepping stone! we left a little box in the middle of the room and she moved to that for maybe an hour or so before starting to explore. She still wont let us get close but is wandering freely about the room now.
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Nov 13, 2015 01:54
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Stray kitten update: She has a bit of a belly now, and she's starting to do kitten stuff: Still pumping her full of medicine to get rid of all of her parasites, but I think she's going to fit in here pretty well. She doesn't hiss at me anymore unless I really surprise her, and even then she's never struck at anyone. Not even when she was super scared at the vet. She's turning out to be a really sweet cat despite her rough early life. Thanks for the reassurance when I needed it, folks. I was pretty worried for a while.
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Nov 13, 2015 18:47
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I ran my cat Tom through microsofts human emotion detector tool and he managed to trick it. tool: http://www.projectoxford.ai/demo/Emotion#detection
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Nov 13, 2015 21:48
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We have a short haired kitty who is either lazy or too big to quite reach his haunches. One of his rear quarters is matting up. What to do? One thing I've though is to get his comb under the knot, to protect his skin, and cutting them off.
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Nov 14, 2015 01:16
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Craptacular! posted:We have a short haired kitty who is either lazy or too big to quite reach his haunches. One of his rear quarters is matting up. What to do? People say don't cut them off but I haven't found anything else that works. My fluffy cat gets matts there if I slack off on brushing at all, and he doesn't like being brushed/pet/touched below, like, waist level if cats had waists, so it's a challenge. One thing to note is that I've found I don't need to cut off everything - if I get most of the matted fur, he's able to clear up the rest of it himself.
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Nov 14, 2015 01:24
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This thread didn't have enough cats, so I thought I'd adopt another one. Thread, meet Lily. She's 12 weeks old and weighs less than 3 pounds. Someone found her wandering all by herself somewhere and brought her to a shelter. The shelter vet said she's perfectly healthy, so she's probably just going to be very small. She's completely fearless, though.  So far my other cat is taking it surprisingly well. He's more curious than hostile.
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Nov 14, 2015 01:54
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New kitty has now become very comfortable and even lets us pet/hold her now! It was weird because she suddenly went from hissing if we walked too close to her hiding spot to being super social within a minute. Only problem is now shes meowing and attention seeking a lot. Typing this post was hard because she keeps sitting on the keyboard. Trying to not give her too much on demand attention because I don't want to reinforce some kind of meowing = instant attention behavior. Bonus cat picture. 
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Nov 14, 2015 14:38
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One of my cats hasn't been eating much for a while now, and is starting to get very thin. After a couple visits to the vet (getting an ultrasound on the last visit), we've narrowed it down to intestinal lymphoma or inflammatory bowel disease, but we can't know for sure without a fairly expensive biopsy. She is 5-6 years old or possibly a bit older (I'm a bit unsure, since I got her when she was already an adult). Without getting the biopsy, does anyone have advice for how to proceed? I'm thinking about getting her started on the cat equivalent of prednisone, and I will ask the vet more about the chemotherapy drugs. Has anyone here had experience with intestinal lymphoma in cats? If I may ask, what did you do and what was the result? Also, any advice for how to get her to eat more? She follows me to the kitchen and looks like she's hungry, but then barely touches the food. The vet gave her something to encourage her appetite, but she still isn't eating much. 
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Nov 15, 2015 03:05
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I came home an hour ago and can't find my cat. He's indoors and I live in an apartment with two roommates. Every time I shake his treat bag he comes running from wherever he is, but not tonight. Bedroom doors are open. Hiding spots checked. All very strange. Hope he's not dead!!!!
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Nov 15, 2015 07:33
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Puppy Galaxy posted:I came home an hour ago and can't find my cat. He's indoors and I live in an apartment with two roommates. Every time I shake his treat bag he comes running from wherever he is, but not tonight. Bedroom doors are open. Hiding spots checked. All very strange. Hope he's not dead!!!! The last time this happened around here, he turned out to be sleeping in a paper bag. Diagnosis: cat.
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Nov 15, 2015 07:37
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Antivehicular posted:The last time this happened around here, he turned out to be sleeping in a paper bag. Diagnosis: cat. This is what I'm hoping. It is the first time in the year and a half I've had him that he doesn't come running for treats so I'm slightly concerned, but at the moment I think the most likely outcome is that I'll see him when I wake up with no explanation.
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Nov 15, 2015 07:41
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Maybe your roommates accidentally let him out/he snuck out?
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Nov 15, 2015 08:33
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DorianGravy posted:One of my cats hasn't been eating much for a while now, and is starting to get very thin. After a couple visits to the vet (getting an ultrasound on the last visit), we've narrowed it down to intestinal lymphoma or inflammatory bowel disease, but we can't know for sure without a fairly expensive biopsy. She is 5-6 years old or possibly a bit older (I'm a bit unsure, since I got her when she was already an adult). Without getting the biopsy, does anyone have advice for how to proceed? I'm thinking about getting her started on the cat equivalent of prednisone, and I will ask the vet more about the chemotherapy drugs. Has anyone here had experience with intestinal lymphoma in cats? If I may ask, what did you do and what was the result? This happened to my cat some years ago. In her case it was because of scale causing infections in her gum, so eating caused her pain. After getting her teeth cleaned with ultrasound and punching the infections with some heavy medication, she finally recovered. But it was close sometimes, because the infection came back several times and even wandered into her throat at some point. Because of this, she has an aversion to biting to this day. She is the anti-biter. If she doesn't like something, she never bites. She claws. So anyway, has your vet checked her teeth? Mine got a shock when she saw how much scale was overgrowing my stray's little teeth.
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Nov 15, 2015 10:28
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Update: found the stupid fucker, stupid roommate's friends left upstairs and downstairs doors open last night and the cat spent the night outside like a dumb gently caress. I was on my roof having a cigarette and saw him just sitting in the back yard. I yelled his name and he looked at me. Came outside and he was hidden under the house. Coaxed him out with a treat bag. Now he's probably going to eat a bunch and throw up.
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Nov 15, 2015 17:45
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He also managed to get a huge hard clump of dirt completely embedded in his fur. In less than 12 hours. It was if it had been there for months. As I aggressively brushed it out he meowed angrily and I said without a hint of irony "that's what you get for sneaking out!" I am as dumb as the cat.
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Nov 15, 2015 18:03
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DorianGravy posted:One of my cats hasn't been eating much for a while now, and is starting to get very thin. After a couple visits to the vet (getting an ultrasound on the last visit), we've narrowed it down to intestinal lymphoma or inflammatory bowel disease, but we can't know for sure without a fairly expensive biopsy. She is 5-6 years old or possibly a bit older (I'm a bit unsure, since I got her when she was already an adult). Without getting the biopsy, does anyone have advice for how to proceed? I'm thinking about getting her started on the cat equivalent of prednisone, and I will ask the vet more about the chemotherapy drugs. Has anyone here had experience with intestinal lymphoma in cats? If I may ask, what did you do and what was the result? I'm going through this right now. I tried all kinds of different foods, but my cat refused to eat a thing. Since it wasn't lymphoma, she had to have a feeding tube put in. Now I have to use a large syringe to feed her several times a day. She's on Prednisolone, Metronidazole, and Baytril to treat the fatty liver disease and irritable bowel disease. Good luck to you and your kitty!
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Nov 15, 2015 23:34
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Mine seems to have come through her fatty liver incident no worse for wear. We still have mirtazipine to stimulate her appetite, but she almost doesn't need it anymore since she's eating pretty well on her own. Her jaundice is gone, her energy levels are back to normal, and her spine doesn't feel quite as bony so she must be gaining weight back little by little. All that's left is a patch on her neck where the fur's growing back slowly. In the meantime, it's nice and fuzzy.
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Nov 16, 2015 03:14
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Mister Kingdom posted:I'm going through this right now. I tried all kinds of different foods, but my cat refused to eat a thing. Since it wasn't lymphoma, she had to have a feeding tube put in. Now I have to use a large syringe to feed her several times a day. She's on Prednisolone, Metronidazole, and Baytril to treat the fatty liver disease and irritable bowel disease. Does your cat mind having the feeding tube? Can you administer the drugs through it as well? I may be putting Annie on prednisilone soon, but she just hates it when I try to give her medicine. A lot of the time I'm not successful at giving her anything. Do you, or anyone else, have advice for how to administer medicine (both in liquid or pill form)?
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Nov 16, 2015 04:00
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Domestic Long-haired cats and litter. - Age: 7 - Sex: Male - How long have you had your cat? 10 months - Is your cat spayed or neutered? yes - When was your last vet visit? 9 months ago (February 2015) - Age: 4 - Sex: Female - How long have you had your cat? 10 months - Is your cat spayed or neutered? yes - When was your last vet visit? 2 months ago (September 2015) - What food do you use? Merrick's Purrfect Bistro, Salmon - Is your cat indoors, outdoors, both? Indoors for past 3 months - How many pets in your household? 2 - How many litter boxes do you have? 2 I adopted my cats in January 2015. They are both long-haired. And though I've owned cats my entire life, they were all short haired. I had been using 'Litter Purrfect' from Costco, which is a clumping clay litter. Within 2 weeks of having the cats, the older male ended up getting diarrhea. I brought him to the vet right away, and she said it was because of the litter, and that it was getting caught in their fur (she even pulled some out while he was there) and they clean themselves and ingest it, which can cause problems apparently. I was totally unfamiliar with this. I bought on her recommendation, Yesterdays News, which is paper pellets, I've been using that ever since. A couple months ago my female cat got into the habit of barely getting in the box, not digging a hole, and pooping with her butt over the edge of the box so most of it falls on the floor beside the box. I took her to the vet, and they said there isn't anything medically wrong. Then last week I brought a tender plant in a big pot inside for the winter, she pretty much immediately started digging in it, and has managed to pee in it twice (much to my disappointment.) I'm starting to feel like she doesn't like the pellets, but I'm scared to try something else because of the ingesting it problem... should I try silica? or pine? the idea of shavings doesn't thrill me because it would get stuck in their fur and tracked everywhere, but if she likes it more it might be a manageable trade off. Thanks for your time, I checked the OP, and didn't see anything about long haired cats and litter, hopefully I didn't miss it. 
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Nov 16, 2015 06:08
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Might be time to get intimate with your cats eye of Sauron and give them a hygene trim. I had to practically shave Isaacs arse and base of tail while we tried to nut out his squirty bum (grain intolerance) so he didn't wind up with a poop frosted arse. And postage stamps all over the house floors.
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Nov 16, 2015 08:47
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Cynops posted:Domestic Long-haired cats and litter. Have you tried using the litter made from corn?
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Nov 16, 2015 09:11
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^^ Yeah, try World's Best, it's made from corn so unless they have a corn allergy there's no issues. It doesn't stick to fur or paws, unlike gross clay litter. You can get it on Amazon, Target, PetCo, and I think Petsmart has it but not the lavender scented variety, which is the best in my opinion because it smells really good. I have a long haired fluff ball and I've never had any issues using it, I don't need to cut or clean his fur or paws or anything. In terms of switching litters the advice is to do it gradually: http://www.catbehaviorassociates.com/how-to-change-brands-of-litter/ e: World's Best has a new pine litter but I haven't tried it, so I can't say anything about it, but their corn stuff is great. Thin Privilege fucked around with this message at 21:10 on Nov 16, 2015 |
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Nov 16, 2015 21:04
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I couldn't see this in the OP, but our new kittens are loving terrified of us  We got two on Thursday last week (12th), had a whole bunch of drama on the first night back (they're obviously frightened of us and ended up climbing into a gap behind the toilet we couldn't see to escape. Sadly we're in a block of interconnected flats so I lost my mind being scared and broke some of the skirting off so they could exit. When cat A came out my partner caught him, and we used his meows to lure out cat B and catch him. Like, this was a 4-5 hour process with a failed attempt so it probably worsened the situation) but then spent most of Friday with them asleep on the bed next to us. When they're tired we can generally convince them to be picked up and fall asleep on us, but literally if they ever see us they run and hide under something in the house. We've set the hall up as their food place, put the carrier we brought them home in in my study and put the litter-tray in one of our bathrooms, but we're in a six room flat so we can't really avoid running into them if we are in. I'm just wondering if there's a way to train them out of hating us. The tiny one even hisses at me when I go to stroke him which breaks my loving heart. And forget about getting them a treat. Held one up to one of their noses and he literally pushed it away with his tongue. So gotta give him style-points for sass at least :/ They're 12 weeks old Ragdolls who are from a seriously reputable breeder who was in a house with cats who couldn't get enough of my partner and I when we came in. We've tried - sitting still and waiting for them to come to us (they sniff then retreat) - Playing with them with toys (they're cool with the toys, gently caress you if you try to stroke 'em!) - Just plain lifting up the chair they're hiding under and giving them hugs and trying to show we aren't scary (they're ok with this for a bit, the big one even purrs, but if they aren't sleepy they're not staying for long). Any help or advice totally welcome from any kitten whisperers.
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Nov 16, 2015 21:22
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Ferremit posted:Might be time to get intimate with your cats eye of Sauron and give them a hygene trim. I had to practically shave Isaacs arse and base of tail while we tried to nut out his squirty bum (grain intolerance) so he didn't wind up with a poop frosted arse. And postage stamps all over the house floors. Yeah, I'm so glad my cat has become a seasoned pro at hair-balls these last few years. I swear the first few years I had her, whenever a hairball was brewing, I'd get all of that plus vomiting. Now, thankfully I'll come home and find a hairball in the middle of the floor as opposed to a poopy rear end, that I would have to clean twice a day 
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Nov 16, 2015 21:25
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Evfedu posted:I couldn't see this in the OP, but our new kittens are loving terrified of us Basically, you gotta let them come to you. They will when they're ready. It's not uncommon for it to take a few weeks or even a month. Don't evict them from their hiding spaces unless you have to.
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Nov 16, 2015 21:26
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Like, just pretend they don't live here?
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Nov 16, 2015 21:32
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Evfedu posted:We've tried Ok, so - sitting still and waiting for them to come to us (they sniff then retreat) How long are you waiting? When I got my cat Pizza my husband sat very quietly, in the bathroom with him, sitting on the floor and ignoring the cat, just reading on his laptop. It took about an hour or so before Pete came out ready to actually interact with him and receive pets. It can take a lot of time and repeat tries. Staring at a cat is a challenge, it'll make them uncomfortable. Ignoring them lets them know you are comfortable around them and not going to chase them. - Playing with them with toys (they're cool with the toys, gently caress you if you try to stroke 'em!) My cats love to be pet by us but not when they're playing, they may just be too wound up. Are you trying to lure them to you with toys and then surprise pet them? Or wait until they're tuckered out? I'd wait til they're tuckered. - Just plain lifting up the chair they're hiding under and giving them hugs and trying to show we aren't scary Forcing them out of hiding is the opposite of showing them you aren't scary. Unfortunately, it's just going to take time. Possibly a lot of time. You're going to have to try and force yourself to ignore them. Just be in the room with them, don't stare at them, don't chase them, don't catch them. Just chill with them. Play when they want to, pet when they want to, don't chase when they are frightened away from you. It took probably a month after we moved before my cat skittish cat Pizza felt safe wandering around our current apartment, he spent most of his time hiding under our bed. Even though he knew us and trusted us and would be friendly if it was meal time, in general he was really easily spooked by us and would run away in a hurry if we stood up near him, or walked by him in the hall. One thing we found worked, though it did take about a month, was, when we wanted to move around him, to look at him, say "Hi, Pete," and then immediately look away and give him a nice wide berth as we walked around him. We didn't walk toward him, we didn't continue to look at him. If he ran, we didn't go after him cooing and trying to assure him, because all that would do was confirm in his mind that we actually were after him, and that he was right to run away! We just went about our business. Acknowledging him showed him we saw him, but going about our business told him we weren't trying to catch him or bother him, and that he could be comfortable. Now when we pass him in the hallway and say "Hi, Pete," he meows hello back  He's even starting to come out of hiding when we have guests over, because he knows that once he's had enough, we aren't going to force him out of hiding. The bedroom is his home base. This is your cats' home too. Of course you got them to be your companions and to enrich your life, but you have to give them some space and let them feel like it's their home and they have some say too.Also maybe invest in some feliway. edit: it was hard not being able to cuddle my cats whenever I wanted right after I first got them, but making sure their comfort came first has helped build a good relationship with them. Now I can fuss with their paws, tug their ears, twirl their whiskers, and they don't mind, because again, they know if they have had enough of my shenanigans and leave me, I'll let them be. edit 2: they loved you back at their first home because it was the safe, familiar home they knew and so they weren't worried. Soon your home will be that home, but you have to make it safe and familiar for them. Rat Patrol fucked around with this message at 21:42 on Nov 16, 2015 |
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Nov 16, 2015 21:33
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Evfedu posted:Like, just pretend they don't live here? I mean, keep feeding them and stuff. And if they respond to toys, keep playing with them when they're around. And give them some treats sometimes when they come near you. But for the most part, yeah, just let them do whatever they want.
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Nov 16, 2015 21:35
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My cat is great but man at any given time she is either sleeping or meowing. Are there any tips to get her to be a little less vocal?
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Nov 16, 2015 21:40
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Puppy Galaxy posted:Basically, you gotta let them come to you. They will when they're ready. It's not uncommon for it to take a few weeks or even a month. Be prepared they'll be really obnoxious about this. When they come, they will do poo poo like sit on your hands if you want to work, or mewl really loudly until you lift them up so they can sleep in your lap. (OK, the last thing is maybe just my own, very lazy cat.)
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Nov 16, 2015 21:41
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Quandary posted:My cat is great but man at any given time she is either sleeping or meowing. Are there any tips to get her to be a little less vocal? Looks like a standard cat to me.
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Nov 16, 2015 21:46
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Coolio, thanks for the advice, guess we dial it back until they're feeling more safe.
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Nov 16, 2015 22:14
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So against my urging (there's already 4 cats and I was worried about something being passed to the cats (especially since her's aren't vaccinated), my landlady brought a stray into the house about a month ago. I asked her if she had taken it to the vet first and she claimed she had, but 3 days later, I found out that she had lied about it (she took it to a local rescue for a FIV/FeLV check, but not an actual vet). She at least listened and quarantined it in an unused bathroom most of the time, but she did break quarantine on several occasions because she has the mentality of a child (I could digress here, but suffice to say she has absolutely no understanding of the consequences of her actions). She then took it to the vet and surprise, surprise, it had fleas and worms. The cat is gone now (we tracked down it's actual owner), but today I discovered that one of my cats definitely has worms (found a tapeworm segment near his rectum and then found tapeworm eggs around one of his favorite sleeping places.). Both of mine and I assume hers will be going to the vet tomorrow. She thinks her vet will do the treatment for free so that's good, but I already made it clear to her when she wanted to bring in the stray that I would hold her financially responsible if my animals caught anything. Can any vets/vet techs chime in on what the exam should consist of? I want to make sure it's being done properly and thoroughly given that she expects free exams/treatment. After having them checked for fleas and de-wormed, what do I need to do to ensure neither will come back? How do I handle litter box, I've seen some things on the internet say that it needs to be wholly emptied and cleaned every day of treatment, is this true? How do I properly clean carpets, sofas, mattresses, bedding, and the like? Do these things require professional steam cleaning? Do I need to wash all of my clothes (I typically wash in cold water and then put away, but my cats definitely love sleeping on dad's clothes and jackets)? There's a good chance any potential contamination could have spread through my closet and drawers. What surfaces need to be cleaned? How does this differ between worms and fleas? Sorry for wanting all this detail, but I want to know what I'm up against and if it's going to be 30 hours of work, I'm going to insist on a professional service. Especially on her side of the house as she is terrible at cleaning and generally lazy as poo poo. Also, how likely is it that I may have contracted tape worms? I co-sleep with one of the cats pretty often and both of them frequently sleep on my bed.
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Nov 17, 2015 01:27
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spregalia posted:So against my urging (there's already 4 cats and I was worried about something being passed to the cats (especially since her's aren't vaccinated), my landlady brought a stray into the house about a month ago. I asked her if she had taken it to the vet first and she claimed she had, but 3 days later, I found out that she had lied about it (she took it to a local rescue for a FIV/FeLV check, but not an actual vet). She at least listened and quarantined it in an unused bathroom most of the time, but she did break quarantine on several occasions because she has the mentality of a child (I could digress here, but suffice to say she has absolutely no understanding of the consequences of her actions). She then took it to the vet and surprise, surprise, it had fleas and worms. The cat is gone now (we tracked down it's actual owner), but today I discovered that one of my cats definitely has worms (found a tapeworm segment near his rectum and then found tapeworm eggs around one of his favorite sleeping places.). Treat your cats with Revolution monthly and they will be immune to all invertebrate parasites.
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Nov 17, 2015 01:44
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Evfedu posted:Coolio, thanks for the advice, guess we dial it back until they're feeling more safe. What everyone else has said, but also: Feliway.
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Nov 17, 2015 01:50
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