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Puppy Galaxy posted:My cat's mats are out of control. I've been trying to stay on top of them and have had some success, but he recently got two huge ones in his neck area that I cannot brush out. And I think I was too aggressive trying to pull one apart and ripped out a big chunk and now some of his skin is showing. Might be irritated, it's tough to tell. Gonna try and bring him to the vet tomorrow, hopefully they can give me some guidance on how to deal with mats in the future and maybe shave out the super tight ones. When my cat mats I cut them off with scissors. Some people say "don't do that, it's easy to cut the skin", though in my case it's always been easy to tell where the skin is. They also make tools specifically for cutting apart mats, so you could try that. I don't have any experience with them myself.
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Feb 15, 2016 00:14
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Hyperlynx posted:When my cat mats I cut them off with scissors. Some people say "don't do that, it's easy to cut the skin", though in my case it's always been easy to tell where the skin is. Yeah I've done some scissor stuff and I've used that tool. His worst mats are so dense and close to the skin that neither will work, and that tool resulted in a bald spot. In the past it's been good for new mats but in the last week he's somehow gotten super dense mats on his neck. He's not old (4 or 5) and not overweight, and he grooms himself a lot. Not sure why he has crazy new mats. Maybe it's the dry winter air or something.
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Feb 15, 2016 00:21
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How often do you brush him?
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Feb 15, 2016 00:25
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SynthOrange posted:How often do you brush him? Not enough. Couple times a week. Gonna have to be daily going forward.
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Feb 15, 2016 00:29
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I just want to say having two tiny poo poo machines after having one 19-year old cat at my parents place made the purchase of an automatic kitty litter thing so much easier. I don't care about the cost because I forgot how goddamn much kittens poop (ie, all the goddamn time). We're also keeping the kittens indoors-only, but wouldn't mind taking them for walks on a leash/harness every now and then - however, since they've both had cat flu, is that cool for them?
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Feb 15, 2016 04:16
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Cool for them, less cool for other cats as they'll be shedding the cat flu virus for the rest of their lives.
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Feb 15, 2016 04:28
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So I'm not one to seek medical advice on forums but after 3 vet visits and numerous tests, I'm curious if anyone has had the same issue. My cat Tiberius is 4 years old will be 5 come June, he is indoors/outdoor cat, around December or so I noticed he would sometimes hiss while yawning or eating dry food, I took him to the vet and they spotted an abscess in his mouth, they popped it but the problem persisted, something in his mouth still bothers him, I've been given 3 clyndamicin antibiotics to give him which I've had over the 2 months, persists, they ran the feline leukemia tests to perhaps find out if he had the condition since it tends to attack the mouth very aggressively, it came back negative, they ran other blood tests, see if maybe he had an infection, nothing, all blood tests came normal, he's a perfectly healthy cat. At one point they sedated him and took a look in his mouth, they even let me in the room to watch, nothing, the doc felt one of his back teeth looked a bit loose, he touched it and it bled a bit but he thought nothing off it, but no swelling or anything, no abscess, nothing, he also sleeps like a log so he's obviously not in any constant pain. His personality has not changed, he still eats plenty of food, he's an active animal, he's still playful and loving with me, he has no drool coming out of his mouth, he's not lethargic, no blood anywhere so I can't figure out what it could be, at this point I might just seek another opinion with a different vet but I have a follow up in a few days, either way when I'm take him I'm not leaving till we figure what's going on. So I ask here if anyone has had the same issue, is it a loose tooth? Cracked tooth? What could cause him to feel pain when he bites on something that's to hard or when he has to open his mouth wide.
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Feb 15, 2016 10:28
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Took my cat to the vet today and they wanted to give him a teeth cleaning. He's not even 4 and putting him under makes me super nervous... Should I do it?
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Feb 15, 2016 18:09
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mcmagic posted:Took my cat to the vet today and they wanted to give him a teeth cleaning. He's not even 4 and putting him under makes me super nervous... Should I do it? Yeah I wonder about that stuff too. It's incredibly expensive. I don't doubt that cats can get gum disease and it can lead to serious health issues but I kinda wonder if it's worth it both price and anesthesia risk wise.
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Feb 15, 2016 21:10
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 Fred the Cat 2003-2016 She was a damned good kitty. I did the best I could for her, but it was not to be. gently caress you, fatty liver disease.
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Feb 16, 2016 00:22
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SynthOrange posted:Cool for them, less cool for other cats as they'll be shedding the cat flu virus for the rest of their lives. poo poo, I thought it was only via direct contact that other cats could get cat flu? Looks like we'll be figuring out a way to enclose our balcony and catproof it instead.
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Feb 16, 2016 00:34
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So my current, 10 y/o, female wonderful kitty, Apricot, did not do so well with her last attempt at a kitty roommate. Introduced them slowly, seemed like they were doing okay (though Apricot hated the other cat), until they started fighting enough to draw blood, so I returned the other cat to the shelter.  I didn't really pick the best partner; the other cat was female also, a good bit younger, much more active, and absolutely terrified of everything - she wouldn't even leave her blanket with the door closed for about two weeks. Apricot nevertheless grew up with other cats around, and apparently never fought with them and played instead, and I'd like her to have company since I occasionally work very long days. The shelter let me know that another cat came in that might be a great match - 10 y/o male, slightly bigger than her, very quiet and relaxed, skittish but not afraid (he comes out to greet people unless they act like morons), and most importantly seems to prefer being with other cats than being alone. Should I give it another shot, seeing as this cat is a much better match for her? Or did the crappiness of the first attempt mean that she would be better off as an only cat now?
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Feb 16, 2016 01:12
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I'd say it's worth a shot, if you're prepared to keep 2 cats. The match sounds better, the shelter seems willing to work with you, and there aren't too many people who'd adopt a skittish 10 year old cat, so if it does work, you'd be doing the old dude a solid.
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Feb 16, 2016 01:21
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Huntersoninski posted:I'd say it's worth a shot, if you're prepared to keep 2 cats. The match sounds better, the shelter seems willing to work with you, and there aren't too many people who'd adopt a skittish 10 year old cat, so if it does work, you'd be doing the old dude a solid. Yeah, I would say it's worth a shot as well for this reason especially, because it is so hard for a 10 year old cat to be adopted. And you did want to get another cat, and you shouldn't be scared away after one attempt. One thing I will say, too, is that I've found is that an older established female cat will often have trouble dealing with other female cats, though this I may be stereotyping a bit or basing a bit too much on personal experience. It just seems to me that male cats are a bit more adaptable in these situations, and if I hear "older male cat who is relaxed and likes to be around cats" it sounds worth checking out to me given your situation, even if he is a bit skittish.
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Feb 16, 2016 04:40
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Mister Kingdom posted:
She looks like a big fat stupid sweetheart. Sorry for your loss. 13 years is still a solid run for a cat.
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Feb 16, 2016 06:29
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Puppy Galaxy posted:Yeah I wonder about that stuff too. It's incredibly expensive. I don't doubt that cats can get gum disease and it can lead to serious health issues but I kinda wonder if it's worth it both price and anesthesia risk wise. I have seen a lot of nasty cat mouths and I would say yes. The tough thing about cats is that they can get these resorptive lesions where basically their teeth kind of resorb into the bone of their jaw. It is incredibly painful and will elicit a reaction even under general anesthesia. I think animals often ignore dental pain until it gets very severe and that results in people being fairly cavalier sometimes about managing their teeth, which I get, but regular dentals is definitely worth it especially if you're not doing any preventative dental care at home.
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Feb 16, 2016 06:30
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Mister Kingdom posted:
Quality is apparent in this cat.
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Feb 16, 2016 08:20
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I would definitely have petted and played with Fred the Cat.
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Feb 16, 2016 09:16
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Yeah, Fred the Cat looks like a total sweetheart  Sorry to see her goStuff like this is really starting to freak me out because my big ol' fat sweetheart is turning 10 this year and while she's only had a couple UTIs as far as health problem, cats don't exactly have the best kidney health as they age (to say the least) so I'm worried but optimistic since she still seems as healthy as when she was 4. I just get so terrified when I read about cats dying because I know when I lose Jackie I'll be losing the only cat that ever truly belonged to me and who I really loved and cared about and single-handedly took care of for years, and when that day comes it's... just going to be tough.
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Feb 16, 2016 17:37
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Puppy Galaxy posted:She looks like a big fat stupid sweetheart. It's funny because in that picture, she was at her best weight before the disease kicked in. When I got divorced and moved out with her, she weighed over 15 pounds. Over the next eight years, I had gotten her down to 10.6 pounds at her last checkup (August of last year). She ended up at six pounds yesterday. She had a big hunk of loose skin that would waddle back and forth as she walked. She never did her business where she wasn't supposed to, even when I occasionally neglected to clean her litter box as I should have. The only place she would sharpen her claws was on the corner of the foundation of my bed. On most days. she would be waiting in the window for me to come home. When she saw me, she duck her head and do a double take to make sure it was me. I would open the door and she'd be right there meowing her head off. After I fed her, she'd come into the living room, rub against my leg, and sit down at my feet for most of the evening. I keep looking around corners expecting her to be there. This sucks.
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Feb 16, 2016 18:34
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Alteisen posted:So I ask here if anyone has had the same issue, is it a loose tooth? Cracked tooth? What could cause him to feel pain when he bites on something that's to hard or when he has to open his mouth wide. Have they done any dental x-rays? Mister Kingdom posted:
I'm so sorry for your loss. I love her facial markings, distinctly orange on the right and grey on the left. Thank you for taking care of her.
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Feb 16, 2016 21:37
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Been wanting to find a cat for a long while, finally moving into an apartment building that allows them, and so I started looking more seriously: man this is tough. I feel bad reading the stories about where these cats are coming from, or how long they've been waiting to be adopted, lots of sob stories that make me want to adopt all of them. Of course I can't, and I don't want to pick a cat based on pity. Its kind of discouraging and it almost makes me want to stop looking. edit: also god drat, the names they give these cats. Theres like a million Cleos or Cleopatras or Miss Cleos out there. Blackchamber fucked around with this message at 11:57 on Feb 17, 2016 |
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Feb 17, 2016 11:55
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Blackchamber posted:Been wanting to find a cat for a long while, finally moving into an apartment building that allows them, and so I started looking more seriously: man this is tough. I feel bad reading the stories about where these cats are coming from, or how long they've been waiting to be adopted, lots of sob stories that make me want to adopt all of them. Of course I can't, and I don't want to pick a cat based on pity. Its kind of discouraging and it almost makes me want to stop looking. The best idea is just to meet the cats in person! Most humane societies will let you walk in and hang out with adoptable cats, and you won't really know if you and a cat are a good fit together until you've spent a little time together. You may also want to talk to a shelter employee about your needs/desires re: cats and help them guide you towards cats with appropriate personalities.
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Feb 17, 2016 12:05
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Antivehicular posted:The best idea is just to meet the cats in person! Most humane societies will let you walk in and hang out with adoptable cats, and you won't really know if you and a cat are a good fit together until you've spent a little time together. You may also want to talk to a shelter employee about your needs/desires re: cats and help them guide you towards cats with appropriate personalities. Speaking of the Humane Society, what's the procedure in getting a pet there? I've heard stories of them being overly particular in who they let adopt.
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Feb 17, 2016 13:26
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Mister Kingdom posted:Speaking of the Humane Society, what's the procedure in getting a pet there? I've heard stories of them being overly particular in who they let adopt. It varies by individual shelter, but by and large the questionnaires are designed to weed out people who can't cope with basic needs of a cat. The only question I remember off the top of my head was "how will you deal with a cat scratching furniture?", where they were basically just looking for confirmation that you won't declaw. (I think our answer was "we don't care, our couch is old and crappy anyway," and they let us adopt.) We didn't have any problems, but I imagine it depends a lot on location and situation -- I've heard college-town shelters can be very picky because they're concerned about students who may not be committed to animal care and/or may be more likely to abandon a pet when they move.
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Feb 17, 2016 13:51
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The Humane Society gave my on-campus roommates 2 kittens to bring back to our dorm apartment with zero resistance, I think they just lied on the paperwork 
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Feb 17, 2016 13:53
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Blackchamber posted:edit: also god drat, the names they give these cats. Theres like a million Cleos or Cleopatras or Miss Cleos out there. I like it when the shelters name the cats and give them something ridiculous. We've nicknamed the neighbor's friendly outdoor cat Professor Snugglesworth. The plus side is you can call a cat whatever and they'll probably respond to it if you have food. My cat was Mew with her old owners and is Rita now, and it took maybe a week of saying her name when I was feeding her/dropped food on the floor for her to respond to it all the time.
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Feb 17, 2016 14:49
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I'm waiting for my vet to reopen for the day, but until then I have a question/issue: Jacob, my male cat, was sedated this morning for some dental cleaning. Brought him back home, he was pretty wobbly of course but totally fine. He was cuddled up on my lap and when i lifted him I noticed I had a huge wet spot. Turns out he's leaking/peeing a clear, odourless liquid everywhere he goes. I'm keeping him in the bathroom for now and wondering wtf. He did have access to water the night before the sedation, but the vet told me that as long as he didn't have food early morning it was fine.
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Feb 17, 2016 15:16
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I have only adopted through SPCA, not Humane Society, but most of the questionnaire I was given was covering stuff like "do you know how to cat" and lifestyle questions that were designed to make sure you got matched up with an animal that would fit in your home personality-wise. They don't want to give you a high-energy demanding cat if you're out of the house 12 hours a day, because that just sucks for everyone and increases the likelihood the cat will be returned. As for the cat names, yeah just change them the cats don't care and will quickly adopt the new names. With kittens in particular they're usually just given whatever random names, sometimes they have a theme in the litter. My cats Odin and Freya were originally Charlotte and Templeton at the SPCA (Wilbur had already been adopted) which admittedly were pretty cool but not really what I wanted. Our cat Persephone was originally called Pudge, which doesn't fit her at all now but at the time she was the most roly-poly of the litter of 4; her siblings were Pepe, Polly, and Pam. I've also fostered a litter named after Seinfeld characters: Cosmo, Kramer, George, Susan, Stella. There's a cat on the foster list right now who I swear to god is named Gary Busey. Best cat.
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Feb 17, 2016 15:18
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Mango Polo posted:I'm waiting for my vet to reopen for the day, but until then I have a question/issue: Where is the liquid leaking from? My guess is they probably gave him sub-q fluids to keep him hydrated during the procedure so they didn't have to give him an IV. When they do that they basically just inject a bunch of saline under their loose skin for their body to absorb over time, it gives that cat a sort of camel hump. Although most of it gets absorbed sometimes the excess just kinda dribbles back out again. I'd give the vet a quick call and ask them about it, personally.
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Feb 17, 2016 15:22
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Mister Kingdom posted:Speaking of the Humane Society, what's the procedure in getting a pet there? I've heard stories of them being overly particular in who they let adopt. I'm sure some places are more strict than others. At both the SPCA and Humane Society near me they ask about other pets, if you had another cat, what happened to your last cat (i.e. "did you neglect and/or murder it") and whether or not you would declaw a cat (the correct answer is "no.") I think they also asked if we planned to keep them indoors or not; I'm not sure what bearing that has on whether or not they let you adopt. They also needed a copy of our lease to make sure pets were allowed.
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Feb 17, 2016 15:30
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Marchegiana posted:Where is the liquid leaking from? My guess is they probably gave him sub-q fluids to keep him hydrated during the procedure so they didn't have to give him an IV. When they do that they basically just inject a bunch of saline under their loose skin for their body to absorb over time, it gives that cat a sort of camel hump. Although most of it gets absorbed sometimes the excess just kinda dribbles back out again. I'd give the vet a quick call and ask them about it, personally. I'd say bladder, it's a bit under his butthole and leaking down between the legs. Turns out my primary vet is closed for the afternoon, but another one nearby opens in an hour so I'll bring him there. e. Back from the second vet. Jacob's bladder is pretty full which is a big problem. Since he hasn't tried to actually pee and is just constantly leaking, the vet proposed that I keep an eye on him till just before they close and if he still doesn't pee to bring him back for intervention. gently caress. Mango Polo fucked around with this message at 17:06 on Feb 17, 2016 |
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Feb 17, 2016 15:37
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Mister Kingdom posted:Speaking of the Humane Society, what's the procedure in getting a pet there? I've heard stories of them being overly particular in who they let adopt. At my local SPCA, I've seen instances where someone looking to adopt will say "could you hold this cat until I get paid on Friday?" which turns into a pretty intense grilling by the adoption counselor re: ability to pay pet expenses. Aside from something like that, it'll probably be a pretty smooth and painless process as long as you show some sort of basic competence for caring for animals (but mileage may vary etc)
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Feb 17, 2016 15:47
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The shelter we adopt from asks things like how many hours are you home a week, what would you do if they urinate outside the litter box, what would you do if they scratch furniture, that kind of stuff. I think for dogs it's a little more stringent because you need to either have a yard or be able to take them outside often enough for them to pee and play.
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Feb 17, 2016 17:28
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Mango Polo posted:I'd say bladder, it's a bit under his butthole and leaking down between the legs. It could just be a temporary side affect from the anesthesia. Has he been put under before? Worst case they just give the guy a catheter until it wears off.
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Feb 17, 2016 17:30
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So once I'm adding pumpkin to my cat's food is that just my life now or is it a thing I do for a week or two and then see if she's ok without?
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Feb 17, 2016 18:52
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Reik posted:It could just be a temporary side affect from the anesthesia. Has he been put under before? Worst case they just give the guy a catheter until it wears off. That's his second time, first one had gone extremely well. But yeah, guess it ended up being this. For some reason he'd been holding it in really bad, but on the way to the vet for a third time he ended up letting it loose in his carrier. Puppy pads are awesome. So Jacob's fine! Probably. I'm keeping him separate from the other cat so I can monitor his litter box usage overnight.
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Feb 17, 2016 19:07
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Does anyone have any experience with Costco/Kirkland-brand versions of cat food? We've been feeding our two neutered male indoor only cats Blue Buffalo dry food since we got them, but now that we have a membership to Costco we were curious how their stuff measured up. I looked in the Pet Nutrition thread and didn't see Costco/Kirkland listed in there, so figured I'd just ask here.
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Feb 17, 2016 22:34
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Blackchamber posted:man this is tough. I feel bad reading the stories about where these cats are coming from, or how long they've been waiting to be adopted, lots of sob stories that make me want to adopt all of them. Of course I can't,
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Feb 18, 2016 00:27
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El Gar posted:So once I'm adding pumpkin to my cat's food is that just my life now or is it a thing I do for a week or two and then see if she's ok without? My cat always needed it but you can check periodically, especially if you switch food.
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Feb 18, 2016 04:59
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