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Ur Getting Fatter posted:I figure you've already dealt with this, but whatever you chose I hope it worked out for the best. Good luck, dude. Yeah, I just got back from the vet; Tom is with his brother now. I made the appointment this morning thinking if he survived until the appointment it was best to take that option rather than risk having to leave him alone while I go to dialysis tomorrow. On top of that I'm pretty useless after treatments, so if a trip to the vet was necessary I'd be in no condition to do it. In any event, the trip went smoothly, he was too weak to object, and it was over quickly. It probably helped that I carried him in his favorite blanket.
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Mar 7, 2016 22:32
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Suzuran posted:Yeah, I just got back from the vet; Tom is with his brother now. I made the appointment this morning thinking if he survived until the appointment it was best to take that option rather than risk having to leave him alone while I go to dialysis tomorrow. On top of that I'm pretty useless after treatments, so if a trip to the vet was necessary I'd be in no condition to do it. R.I.P. Tom and Bob. Were they named after Tomcat and Bobcat?
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Mar 7, 2016 22:44
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Reik posted:R.I.P. Tom and Bob. Were they named after Tomcat and Bobcat? Yes. All my cats were named something involving the word cat. Tom Cat and Bob Cat were the first that were "my" cats and not my parents'. For awhile I also had a black cat that was identical to my sister's cat, so mine was the Dupli Cat (or Dupe for short, or Dupe Of Earl for long). Dupe ended up moving out with my ex-roommate because Dupe was pretty attached to him and very emotionally needy, so it would have been mean (and difficult) to split them. When I got the kitten I have presently (well, she's a cat now) she immediately acclimated to the older two and started bossing them around like she owned the place, so she got the name Aeris The Cat, which sounds vaguely like "Aristocrat".
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Mar 8, 2016 07:41
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I have two cats. But I think... I think I want a third? For the past few months I've had this weird compulsion saying "get a third it'll be way more fun." Am I crazy? Did the cat worms infect me?
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Mar 8, 2016 18:55
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Suzuran posted:Yeah, I just got back from the vet; Tom is with his brother now. I made the appointment this morning thinking if he survived until the appointment it was best to take that option rather than risk having to leave him alone while I go to dialysis tomorrow. On top of that I'm pretty useless after treatments, so if a trip to the vet was necessary I'd be in no condition to do it. I'm so sorry. Rest in peace, Tom and Bob 
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Mar 8, 2016 19:06
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Already have an appt scheduled, but any insight as to why a cat would hide all day, cuddle at night, and do their business (1 and 2) on the couch at night while unsupervised? She's eating and drinking, and takes treats when offered. I'm Nature's Miracle-ing and Rug Doctoring the couch today as well.
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Mar 8, 2016 19:51
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Deviant posted:Already have an appt scheduled, but any insight as to why a cat would hide all day, cuddle at night, and do their business (1 and 2) on the couch at night while unsupervised? She's eating and drinking, and takes treats when offered. Perhaps there are cats that patrol the neighborhood during the day, spraying to mark territory. Your cat can smell it and thinks it's intruding and about to be attacked. Keep her locked in the room with the litter box when unsupervised. Or move the litter box to someplace else if she has somehow associated its current location with something bad.
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Mar 8, 2016 19:57
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Deteriorata posted:Perhaps there are cats that patrol the neighborhood during the day, spraying to mark territory. Your cat can smell it and thinks it's intruding and about to be attacked. Maybe, this mostly happens at night while I'm asleep, but the point stands. "Don't let the cat in the living room at night" was the simple solution. She's always been a night owl though, I wonder if I should be concerned about the 'hide most of day, active at night' behavior? I mean, they're nocturnal animals so it's not THAT weird.
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Mar 8, 2016 20:01
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Deviant posted:Maybe, this mostly happens at night while I'm asleep, but the point stands. "Don't let the cat in the living room at night" was the simple solution. Only cat in the household?
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Mar 8, 2016 20:54
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Reik posted:Only cat in the household? One other cat, who she's very used to. Also she's out and about right now, so that's good.
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Mar 8, 2016 21:13
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Mango Polo posted:I have two cats. But I think... I think I want a third? For the past few months I've had this weird compulsion saying "get a third it'll be way more fun." That's the cat trap. Having one cat is a lot like owning five cats. It's like the Engineer's Guide to Cats says, "If you have one cat, you're just a guy who has a cat. If you have two cats, well, the two cats are friends so they can keep each other company. When you have three cats, you start to get to be that guy who has all those cats." In theory having three cats should cover all your bases so none of your cats will be lonely/bored.
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Mar 8, 2016 21:19
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Deviant posted:One other cat, who she's very used to. Also she's out and about right now, so that's good. Out and about like around the house or do you let her outside? Reik fucked around with this message at 02:48 on Mar 9, 2016 |
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Mar 9, 2016 02:43
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Reik posted:Out and about like around the house or do you let her outside? Around the house. i.e., not hiding.
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Mar 9, 2016 03:06
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Hey guys, so I need some cat nutrition help/suggestions. I have a 9-year-old female catte, Jackie, who is unfortunately overweight to the tune of 14.9 pounds last she was weighed. For the last few years she had hovered between 14 and 15 pounds. I know this sounds like she's grossly overweight, but she's a Medium-haired Classic Tabby (with the swirly blotches) who was born in Central Maine as part of an unintended litter, and being a Central Maine mutt with medium-length hair she naturally has some Maine Coon traits - like her huge rectangular body, her big furry snowshoe-like polydactyl paws, a subtle ruff around her neck, and a waterproof undercoat plus hilariously long belly/butt hair. So I just mean, naturally she's big. Not that she isn't overweight. When I adopted her at age 4, after she had been living with my parents most of her life, she weighed ~19 pounds - no poo poo. She couldn't even lick/clean her butt without toppling over pathetically in the attempt, so I had to do it. Pretty soon she was down to 17, then 16, but she's been stuck at 15 for, well, probably too long. Sure, she can groom herself entirely and properly (and does, with great pleasure, often). But I'd like her to be healthier and live longer, and I just don't think I am... Doing all I can as a pet owner to make sure she has the best possible diet to actually lose weight. Recently, Jackie developed a UTI, and clearly was in pain while it was going on - her pee looked reddish, she wasn't using her litter box which she always uses, etc. Prior to her UTI I had gone away on a trip for 2-3 days; usually my mother comes into my apartment and feeds Jackie when I'm away but this time my mother was also gone, and even though I usually only feed Jackie wet food, this time I had bought a small package of dry food (the kind she used to eat) and left a big bowl of that for her in addition to several bowls of water, and figured she'd be fine more or less, and she was. She really loved the Dry food, of course, so I gave her some periodically. But apparently this really wasn't a good idea, as the vet think it was exactly what caused her UTI (and I had been told only to give her wet food, but circumstances, and she was so happy to get and so disappointed when I'd take it away...). So that made me feel bad. Anyway, I am finally getting to the point, OK? What the vet had recommended, and what I have actually been feeding Jackie, is Fancy Feast. Now, despite the vet saying it's fine (the pate stuff anyway, which is all I'll buy) I can't help but think it's like Kitty-Junk-Food with all the grease or whatever the stuff is that my cat licks off before eating any of the actual meat. I started using it because it's what my mother feeds her cats and I'd wind up asking her for cat food sometimes when I ran out, since she only lives a mile or so away. But to be honest, I'd really like to go back to feeding her something, well, healthier. At one point I did. She definitely won't eat Wellness, not at all. Though she did eat Wellness Core. But the issue with Wellness Core is that it comes in enormous full-sized cans, so the portion is too big. I apparently can't put it in the fridge with a cover on it, because every time I'd try to feed Jackie leftover cat food cold from the fridge, she has 100% turned her nose up and left it to get hard and crusty and would whine at me, so yeah. Plus, it's very expensive, though that shouldn't be a huge concern. There was a brand that *seemed* healthy which Jackie would ACTUALLY eat for a while was this stuff called BFF with very cutesy packaging that was owned by Weruva, I think.. I wound up stopping buying it when the shop had to close that sold it, but I'm sure I could try and get Jackie back on it. One thing was, all the formulas for BFF were very Tuna-based, like all the flavors were at least 85% tuna or something like that. So I was never sure just that was a good diet, though it seemed fine for a while. Anyway, I really dunno what direction to go in. TL;DR: I want my overweight cat to actually lose weight; the vet says Fancy Feast is fine but I know there must be a better diet out there, for god's sake. What should I feed her, how do I get her off the deliciously greasy Fancy Feast?
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Mar 9, 2016 04:35
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There's nothing wrong with Fancy Feast. If you want your cat to lose weight, feed it fewer calories. ETA: Meaning, the brand of cat food has little to do with anything. If you're serious about your cat losing weight, you'll have to get serious about portion control and keeping track of just how much it eats. There is no magic bullet that will let your cat eat all it wants. Generally, high-carb diets can help cats lose weight, as they tend to have lower energy densities and they thus have to eat more to get the same caloric content. Your vet may have some suggestions for formulations to try. Deteriorata fucked around with this message at 04:46 on Mar 9, 2016 |
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Mar 9, 2016 04:40
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Anyone have any cat-bathing advice? My cat had the runs earlier and got liquid poo poo all over herself and then ran around getting it all over my apartment. I managed to get her in the tub and scrubbed her bottom half decently well, but it's stressful for her obviously, and it's really hard to keep her in a position where she doesn't get away and i can still scrub her effectively. She's only half clean and still smells bad, as i had to go get more cleaning supplies, and in the meantime, she tracked her wet, half-clean cat rear end all over the bathroom again. At least she's partially clean now, which may make the next round of bathtub time a little shorter. Am i gonna have to just keep cat-wrassling until the job is done, or is there some kind of magic cat-whisperer trick i can use to get her to stay still for longer than a minute?
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Mar 9, 2016 04:49
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Hey cat thread. I'm planning to go on holiday in about two months, for 10 days. I'd like to get someone to come take care of my cats while I'm away. It's an easy job: dry food, water, scoop poos into toilet, done. They're scared of strangers and can happily keep themselves amused, so they probably wouldn't interact with their caretaker. I was thinking of putting up ads in my apartment. I figured people would be happy to do it because it's convenient. Then I started thinking that I'm contemplating relying on a total stranger to ensure my furry buddies don't die while I'm away and got cold feet about the idea. Am I being silly, or is it actually a dumb idea? How can I suss out how trustworthy prospective caretakers are? Is anyone going to even consider it for $100AUD? Hyperlynx fucked around with this message at 04:58 on Mar 9, 2016 |
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Mar 9, 2016 04:56
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Hyperlynx posted:Hey cat thread. If you're willing to spend some money (and you don't have any friends that would do it) just hire a pro pet sitter, that way you probably won't get robbed.
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Mar 9, 2016 05:18
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Deteriorata posted:There's nothing wrong with Fancy Feast. If you want your cat to lose weight, feed it fewer calories. Thank you for the advice, but there's no need for the condescension, please. I'm quite aware that there is no magic bullet which will allow my cat to eat all it wants and lose weight. I *am* getting serious about portion control, though not keeping track of it very well is probably part of the problem (in part because I have the same issue with myself, being one of those permanently skinny kids) so that's certainly good advice. My whole argument was predicated on the (I thought perfectly reasonable) assumption that Fancy Feast would not provide an optimally healthy diet; obviously the reason I want her to lose weight is because I want her to live longer and healthier as she does so. So, ideally I'd like to give her food that will best accomplish this (within reason) and I'm legitimately curious as to what brands of cat food (and/or what methods in general) would be best, so obviously I do appreciate your opinion there. Hell, Maybe Fancy Feast is fine. You just read/hear a lot of differing things. kaworu fucked around with this message at 05:22 on Mar 9, 2016 |
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Mar 9, 2016 05:19
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kaworu posted:Thank you for the advice, but there's no need for the condescension, please. I'm quite aware that there is no magic bullet which will allow my cat to eat all it wants and lose weight. I *am* getting serious about portion control, though not keeping track of it very well is probably part of the problem (in part because I have the same issue with myself, being one of those permanently skinny kids) so that's certainly good advice. The real answer is no, there isn't anything better than Fancy Feast unless your cat has very specific dietary needs. All cats foods labeled as nutritionally complete at any price have all the nutrition your cat needs. If by "better" you mean "more expensive," then yes there are a lot of alternatives, but there is no evidence they actually do anything positive for your cat for that money. Some people here have very strong emotional attachments to particular expensive brands, but I'll let them argue their points.
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Mar 9, 2016 05:29
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kaworu posted:So, ideally I'd like to give her food that will best accomplish this (within reason) and I'm legitimately curious as to what brands of cat food (and/or what methods in general) would be best, What's best is what she'll eat that's not dry (since that's a problem). Do you have a microwave? If you want to switch her to Wellness Core, but can only get the huge cans, why not zap her portions from the fridge for a few seconds? (I didn't see that mentioned in your earlier post.) We buy the big cans of food to save money, dump a can into Tupperware, scoop out what we need, and zap it. The microwaved portions are licked up so thoroughly I can't even tell there was food on the saucer. Our cat gets ~70g twice a day (you'll need to do some math for your cat's weight) . The $10 food scale I bought really helped get the portions right.
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Mar 9, 2016 05:37
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The other thing is exercise. Is there enough stimulation and playtime to get your cat the exercise it needs? I've got one fat cat that eats less than half the amount my regular sized cat eats, but then he just finds a spot to sleep in all day and comes out only for a little bit of playtime. Even his playtime is lazy, he'll lie on his side and bat at the toys as I wriggle them. 
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Mar 9, 2016 05:48
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kaworu posted:Thank you for the advice, but there's no need for the condescension, please. I'm quite aware that there is no magic bullet which will allow my cat to eat all it wants and lose weight. I *am* getting serious about portion control, though not keeping track of it very well is probably part of the problem (in part because I have the same issue with myself, being one of those permanently skinny kids) so that's certainly good advice. there's the pet nutrition thread if you really want, but portion control and exercise are pretty much the bottom line if you're trying to get your cat to lose weight Rah! posted:Anyone have any cat-bathing advice? duckfarts fucked around with this message at 07:10 on Mar 9, 2016 |
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Mar 9, 2016 07:05
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Rah! posted:Anyone have any cat-bathing advice? After you get most of it off you could fill up the tub and just soak in the tub with her a bit. You'll be soaking in cat poop water but as a cat owner I'm sure you know this is part of the job.
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Mar 9, 2016 16:43
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kaworu posted:Hey guys, so I need some cat nutrition help/suggestions. I always recommend switching to a higher quality ingredient brand. Weruva like you were feeding her has lots of good lines of product, as well as Tiki Cat. Tiki Cat does tend to be more expensive than the Weruva BFF and Cats in the Kitchen lines. Solid Gold and Merrick are also good choices. Wellness has more carbs and veggies than I'd like, but their protein quality is up there with the other brands I listed. My cats eat food that is mostly Tuna, and while Tuna isn't a natural protein source for cats the companies fortify the food to make sure they get the amino acids they need like Taurine. Besides that, just try and keep track of how many calories she gets. We've had some success with microwaving the food that we had to cover and store in the fridge back to room temperature and adding some water to it to try and get it back to the original consistency if it dried out. I use a kitchen scale because I'm terrible at eyeballing.
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Mar 9, 2016 16:53
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Good advice above, just wanted to add that sometimes a new flavor or texture must be snubbed a few times until the novelty wears off and it becomes edible food. It pains me to waste money but cat is gonna cat, so don't give up on a new food source if they don't immediately love it. Even licking the juices up is a step in the right direction.
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Mar 9, 2016 20:30
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CompactFanny posted:Good advice above, just wanted to add that sometimes a new flavor or texture must be snubbed a few times until the novelty wears off and it becomes edible food. It pains me to waste money but cat is gonna cat, so don't give up on a new food source if they don't immediately love it. Even licking the juices up is a step in the right direction. I got a Jack Sprat situation. One cat is small (and possibly underweight) and only eats Purina Beyond Salmon and Brown Rice dry food. The other cat is slowly gaining weight and eats mostly wet food, but demands snacks every now and then (especially on weekends). I keep trying to introduce wet food to the tiny cat, and she does sniff it, but she never once eats it. Not even when it's mixed in or just sprinkled on top. Doesn't even deign to give it a lick. She does eat freshly cooked chicken and occasionally raw beef or poultry. She only eats a few bites of it and immediately goes back to dry food. And of course I'm an idiot and allow her to free feed since I want her to balloon up. I think I can help her out by stopping the free-feeding (especially since the heavier cat picks at it when he doesn't get snackies), but I don't want to starve her by refusing to give her wet food. I want her to understand that this is food and she can eat it but not by having her go on a hunger strike. I feel like if I dip her paw in gravy somehow so she has to lick it off she'll realize it's not poisonous.
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Mar 9, 2016 23:08
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MrSlam posted:I got a Jack Sprat situation. One cat is small (and possibly underweight) and only eats Purina Beyond Salmon and Brown Rice dry food. The other cat is slowly gaining weight and eats mostly wet food, but demands snacks every now and then (especially on weekends). How wide of a variety in flavors have you tried? My stupid cats only eat seafood wet food. They throw up beef and try and bury any poultry.
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Mar 9, 2016 23:30
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Puppy Galaxy posted:If you're willing to spend some money (and you don't have any friends that would do it) just hire a pro pet sitter, that way you probably won't get robbed. Pros start at twice as much. I'll probably just bite the bullet though. That said, I've just had another idea and I want to see if it's actually a dumb one: I could get an automatic feeder, an automatic waterer, and put out a ton of kitty litter. That would work for ten days, wouldn't it?
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Mar 10, 2016 02:59
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Hyperlynx posted:Pros start at twice as much. I'll probably just bite the bullet though. If any of your neighbors has kids, hire them. If they're pre-teen, their parents will usually supervise so it should work out.
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Mar 10, 2016 03:06
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Hyperlynx posted:That said, I've just had another idea and I want to see if it's actually a dumb one: I could get an automatic feeder, an automatic waterer, and put out a ton of kitty litter. That would work for ten days, wouldn't it? Noooo. Nooooooooo. Way too much chance for something to malfunction (or your cats to break it). I've left my cat alone for 2-3 days before but I wouldn't risk more than that.
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Mar 10, 2016 03:20
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Hyperlynx posted:That said, I've just had another idea and I want to see if it's actually a dumb one: I could get an automatic feeder, an automatic waterer, and put out a ton of kitty litter. That would work for ten days, wouldn't it?
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Mar 10, 2016 04:30
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Get a kiddie pool, fill with cat litter.
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Mar 10, 2016 06:05
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Actually, high protein diets in cats promotes better loss of fat, and less loss of lean tissue compared to diets that are lower in protein. Cats fed high protein to lose weight can also eat more calories (and thus require less calorie restriction) while maintaining weight loss and sustaining the goal weight, than those fed lower protein. As a general rule I like doing higher protein for cats. Fancy Feast is likely higher protein (since it's a wet food) than most commercial cat dry foods. I mean, as a food it's fine.
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Mar 10, 2016 06:18
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duckfarts posted:there's the pet nutrition thread if you really want, but portion control and exercise are pretty much the bottom line if you're trying to get your cat to lose weight I tried grabbing the scruff, and it kinda worked, but not amazingly well. I ended making a cat harness out of a shoelace (sort of a giant slip knot that wrapped around her front legs/shoulders and body), and washed her in the kitchen sink this time, which is at a much easier height/position for me to work with, and also has a removable spray head. By holding the harness firmly and also squeezing the scruff of her neck i was able to keep her very still and clean her pretty well. Unfortunately she has some tough dried up rear end-dreadlock-dingleberries that still need to be taken care of (i was able to remove a couple of them at least, but my scissors are garbage and barely work ). She's going to the vet tomorrow morning, so that should be the end of it. Reik posted:After you get most of it off you could fill up the tub and just soak in the tub with her a bit. You'll be soaking in cat poop water but as a cat owner I'm sure you know this is part of the job. i had enough cat poo poo time already (it was quite a cat-rear endtrophe  ), but i bet soaking in cat poop water is hyped up somewhere as a skin treatment or cure for cancer or something.
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Mar 10, 2016 06:30
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Deteriorata posted:If any of your neighbors has kids, hire them. If they're pre-teen, their parents will usually supervise so it should work out. duckfarts posted:If you have an IP camera you can check on watching the food area and a friend who can come over when you need them to, maybe. That said, I'd be more worried about the litter box going off and other parts of your home getting pissed on as a result. It's best to have someone pop in every other day or so to check on them. That's really not a bad idea. Basically, I'm thinking that if it's going to cost me several hundred bucks to get the cats looked after for this one trip, I might as well spend that kind of money on automatic cat devices I can use for the next trips too. If I do end up trying to automate things, I'm going to do a trial run first. I've got enough time. I can also test out the stankitude of two litter boxes very full of litter over ten days. SynthOrange posted:Get a kiddie pool, fill with cat litter. Hyperlynx fucked around with this message at 11:23 on Mar 10, 2016 |
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Mar 10, 2016 11:16
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Wash your cat more regularly- they get used to it and just sit there meowing pathetically and accept their doom. Definately hand held shower head, ive got one that fits over my taps to turn any basin into a kitty bath. Also I found that despite everyones advice about small tubs make them feel more comfortable, both of mine freak when washed in the laundry tub and its an whole lot of not fun for everyone involved. In the MASSIVE bath (6' bath tub) with 3" of water in it, they're fine. Isaac even wanders around and gets distracted between shampooing and rinsing. And yes, cats need baths. Both of mine slowly go brown on their white fur... and considering they use the same mop to wash themselves as they do for rimming themselves, its not a huge surprise they get filthy!
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Mar 10, 2016 13:12
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Ferremit posted:And yes, cats need baths. eeeehhhhhhhhhhhh this varies based on the cat and their own cleaning habits, and on average, most cats don't need regular baths and only need them in specific circumstances like they pooped all over themselves or something. Some cats don't groom themselves much and let their coats get gross and really oily, and they may need baths more often
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Mar 10, 2016 13:35
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Reik posted:How wide of a variety in flavors have you tried? My stupid cats only eat seafood wet food. They throw up beef and try and bury any poultry. We've given her salmon, chicken, and beef. She sniffs the heavy cat's wet food a lot so she's at least aware of the wide variety he has. I was this close to putting seafood pate in a syringe and force-feeding her. Actually her being so picky with food is why her name's Princess.
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Mar 10, 2016 16:29
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MrSlam posted:We've given her salmon, chicken, and beef. She sniffs the heavy cat's wet food a lot so she's at least aware of the wide variety he has. I was this close to putting seafood pate in a syringe and force-feeding her. When my cats get picky, the food goes back into the fridge until they're hungry again. They don't get anything new until they finish up the can that's open. I'm not terribly sympathetic to their pickiness. They eat it all eventually.
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Mar 10, 2016 16:43
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