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Pig Head posted:I know you already bought one but I just bought a Rubbermaid roughneck tote with a snap on lid and cut a hole on the side for kitty access. Cost me $5 on clearance and it's a godsend. Plenty of room for the cats and easy to clean/refill. If yours doesn't work, get a tote! I might have to try this also. My cat perches on the edge of the litterbox like a bird on a telephone wire, but when she turns around to bury her treasures she flings litter everywhere. I switched this week to a box with high walls and that didn't help at all. I also have one of those rubber mats to catch litter but that doesnt seem to help much either.
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Mar 15, 2016 19:35
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Blackchamber posted:I might have to try this also. My cat perches on the edge of the litterbox like a bird on a telephone wire, but when she turns around to bury her treasures she flings litter everywhere. I switched this week to a box with high walls and that didn't help at all. I also have one of those rubber mats to catch litter but that doesnt seem to help much either. I have defeatist attitude with litter. I've tried everything but placing the litter box on a cooling rack and hoping the litter falls underneath it as opposed to getting tracked all over the room. In the end I invested in a $40 dust-buster and pick it up every few days. The real problem is the litter boxes are in my closet and my air-filter can only do so much.
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Mar 16, 2016 00:05
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My sister, who is a genius, pointed out that if I want cats looked after at my place I only really need someone coming in every few days, rather than every day. So rather than 10 days of kitty maintenance I only need someone to do 3, which is not nearly such a big ask. Sure enough, a guy I know is now happy to do it.
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Mar 16, 2016 02:46
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Lucky you. My cats are idiots that will gorge themselves if left with a pile of food. re:Litterboxes Officeworks had cheap plastic tubs. A little effort, some spare carpet tiles, a $6 top entry litterbox.  I eventually went back because Pudding would jump on top while Cookie was still doing his business inside and swat at him. That was... messy.
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Mar 16, 2016 03:28
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MrSlam posted:I have defeatist attitude with litter. I've tried everything but placing the litter box on a cooling rack and hoping the litter falls underneath it as opposed to getting tracked all over the room. WOOD PELLETS, SON so i got this life-changing* litter box *in terms of taking care of my dumb cats  link if you care
This is basically awesome because:
Last, you can just DIY the box if you want by drilling a bunch of small holes or slots in the bottom of a tray, or even just putting a bin under one of those double-sift tray sets you can get(depending on the hole size of the sift tray):  THAT SAID, some cats only like clay litters because of the small grain size, and it won't prevent litter from getting kicked out of the box.
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Mar 16, 2016 04:00
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Dixie Cretin Seaman posted:So I just got back from the vet and they told me Kit Kat needs four teeth pulled, and their cost estimate is nearly $1000. We just adopted her 3 months ago-- she's 5 years old and otherwise healthy. We haven't been to this vet before but the shelter recommended them and they seem like a nice place. I will pay for whatever she needs to be healthy, but this is my first time taking any cat to any vet, so I want to run a sanity check by you guys: This looks like they're doing their due diligence. It's a stray, so they're doing blood work beforehand to make sure she's healthy. They're putting in an IV catheter for fluids and IV meds. IMO dental x-rays should be standard of care for dentals, especially in cats, so it's excellent they're doing those. They're doing a local block to help with pain management so it won't hurt as much after the extractions. They're also sending home pain meds. Honestly dental care is often overlooked and it should probably be a bigger focus in our pets' health. Cats in particular need regular dentals - an estimated 40% of cats have resorptive tooth lesions, where for some reason their teeth resorb into the bone. This is extremely painful (so painful that they'll twitch from stimulation under general anesthesia) but they hide it and many times you cannot tell without taking dental x-rays. It also sounds like your cat has a fair amount of periodontal disease too so it's good to get that taken care of. Both my cats went in for dentals today and I actually brush their teeth so their dental disease is mild, but x-rays showed resorptive lesions on 3 teeth for each of them and they had to get them removed. Trust me on this - vets on the whole generally do not enjoy extractions. They hope for a clean mouth without extractions because they are a pain in the rear end. If they take them out it's because it really needed to go.
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Mar 16, 2016 04:20
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Flying Leatherman posted:So, um. An update! We got a baby gate and both cats seem to enjoy sitting on opposite sides of the gate, lying down, exposing bellies, etc. If we open up the gate, though, our original cat gets pretty assertive (still hissing/swatting, but doesn't seem to growl much anymore). Is this just a matter of time now or should I start asking myself whether my original cat just doesn't want other critters in the house?
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Mar 16, 2016 09:18
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? Feliway's probably arriving tomorrow anyway, so things might be okay after all.
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Flying Leatherman posted:An update! i'd say it's a matter of time; your original cat will probably go through stages of increasing tolerance, no guarantees on catpiles though.
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Mar 16, 2016 09:21
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Flying Leatherman posted:An update! Those sound like expressions of dominance, not fear. Hissing and swatting is how cats interact. At this point it's just time for everyone to figure out their roles and social position. You're good to go. If your original cat didn't want critters in the house, there would be claws-out fights with blood and lots of unpleasantness.
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Mar 16, 2016 14:21
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duckfarts posted:i'd say it's a matter of time; your original cat will probably go through stages of increasing tolerance, no guarantees on catpiles though. Deteriorata posted:Those sound like expressions of dominance, not fear. Hissing and swatting is how cats interact. Great. Guess I'll take the gate down after work today and just let cats be cats. Thanks!
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Mar 16, 2016 14:55
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Anyone here have any experience with herpes cats? Just found out our guy Carl has it and he's been battling URIs for most of this year. The antibiotics pretty much take care of the infection, I'm just wondering what all I need to be doing from now on. After talking with the vet my first two priorities are keeping all of our cats up to date on their RCP vaccine and getting L-Lysine treats for Carl to start taking. Is there anything else people have had success with managing feline herpes?
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Mar 16, 2016 18:38
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Braki posted:This looks like they're doing their due diligence. It's a stray, so they're doing blood work beforehand to make sure she's healthy. They're putting in an IV catheter for fluids and IV meds. IMO dental x-rays should be standard of care for dentals, especially in cats, so it's excellent they're doing those. They're doing a local block to help with pain management so it won't hurt as much after the extractions. They're also sending home pain meds. Yeah, I called a 2nd vet and they confirmed that four extractions would run ~$1000. I'm still taking her there next week for a quick exam to see if they agree she needs the teeth pulled, but if they need to go, they need to go. At the same time, $1000 is not pocket change for a cat that a vet supposedly deemed healthy < 4 months ago (at the shelter). I guess what I'm wondering is: if this isn't a one-time thing from her time as a stray, how frequently might future dental issues arise in a cat that is prone to them? What kind of budget is reasonable for future expenses? I didn't get a specific quote, but my impression is that even the regular dental cleanings that cats get can run something like $400-$500 since they still need to use general anesthesia? Also, is it realistic that a middle-aged cat that's never had anyone touch their mouth would get used to brushing? She's generally not too aggressive with me, but I can't say I'm enthusiastic about a process that involves regularly manhandling my cat while my hands are right near her teeth. Is dental catfood a reasonably effective substitute?
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Mar 16, 2016 22:02
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Hello goons, my cat has recently become aggressive toward me and I'm not sure why. I'll provide as much background as I can to see if anyone has any thoughts. I only have the one cat and I live alone in a largeish (for brooklyn) 1br apartment. About 1-2 months ago, I knocked over a fan in my living room and when I tried to right it my cat attacked my hand, hissing growling and with claws. I ushered her into the bedroom and isolated her there for awhile and let her out after maybe an hour or so and everything was fine. I figured this was just an isolated thing where she got scared because of the noise and not a big deal. Prior to this, her only aggression had been during play and was obvious, rare, and not an issue. I went out of town for about 5 days a couple weeks ago. I had a cat sitter who came every day to visit and make sure my cat was intact and had food/water. Everything went fine except the cat didn't like the sitter at all, so I'm imagining it was a stressful period. I returned and everything was fine with the cat for about a week. She was much more vocal after my return than she had previously been but seemed otherwise like her normal self. On Monday evening, I was washing dishes and the cat jumped up on the counter and knocked off a baking pan and scared herself. She seemed to calm down fairly quickly and was fine. When I finished in the kitchen, I walked back to the living room and she started hissing and growling (it seemed focused at my feet which were bare) and then attacked with her claws out. I again ushered her into the bedroom and left her there for a shorter period, 20-30 minutes because she started crying. When I let her out, I went to the bathroom to take a shower. Upon trying to exit the bathroom, she again started hissing at my feet and trying to attack. Every time I tried to open the door she'd attack the crack of the door hissing and growling. I figured I'd just wait it out and let her cool off, ended up waiting in the bathroom for an hour before distracting her with a towel that she attacked while I went to my bedroom and locked her out. She sat at my bedroom door and growled for awhile before I fell asleep. Things seemed fine in the morning but it was only a short period of time before I left for work. On Tuesday evening, I returned home and everything was fine, she greeted me at the door purring, sat with me like she always does and seemed back to normal. I went to the bathroom for something and she started hissing at me, seeming to focus on my feet again. I slowly made my way to the living room where I tried to pick up a blanket and she attacked my hand just as viciously as before. I pretty much ran away to my bedroom again and locked her out for the night. Next morning, she seemed ok and was rubbing against my legs/feet but on my way out of the apartment started hissing at my feet again. I moved slowly and just left as quickly as I could. I scheduled an appointment with a vet and returned home tonight and she was friendly as always, purring and rubbing against my legs/feet. Got her into the cage and took her to the vet where they said it sounded purely behavioral and referred me to a behaviorist. Said behaviorist is going to cost $400 an hour and I don't even know when I'll be able to see them. The vet recommended in the interim to essentially cage the cat, so I've sacrificed my bedroom to her and will be camping on the couch for now. So, does anyone have any ideas on what to do or how this even happened? I've had her for 4 years since she was a kitten and she's been the friendliest little cat, always purring and sitting next to me and sleeping with me. It feels like I'm living with a terrorist because her aggression seems to come almost out of nowhere (it seems like entering the bathroom might incite things, presumably because that's where we had our 1 hour stand off?). I don't know how to de-escalate once she starts attacking. I can't just stand there while she stalks my feet and she seems to transform with very little warning. This whole situation is awful and I really just don't know what to do, I've never seen or heard of a cat attacking like this. Thanks for any help.
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Mar 17, 2016 02:02
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I'm at my wits end. My partner and I moved house 2 weeks ago. We moved our 2 cats and put them in a room while we setup the house and let them out of that and kept them in the lounge for a couple of days with the Feliway going in the room. Still plenty of meowing and complaining, gave them plenty of treats and catnip and still quite a lot of distress. So we decided to let them out of the lounge and roam around the house. It's quite a small place but they seemed a bit happier. Then last weekend on the 12th they managed to escape out of a window not sure how it happened but it did. We decided to search the street then move further and further out. We then went to the old house and we managed to find them hiding under the old house. I should mention that the old house is about 200 metres away from the new place... We waited a couple of days to see if they would come back to the new place but no avail. Going back we attempted to catch them using food as bait and they were so skittish that any attempt to get them resulted in them running away. The last few days we have been going back and feeding them since they still need food. Tried using a humane trap but they won't go into the cage and another neighbourhood cat wondered in and set off the trap which then scared our cats away underneath the house. Sort of wondering any other options I am not thinking of here cos these little bastards are making me pull my hair out.
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Mar 17, 2016 02:13
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Regarding catching a cat, I've found the trick is not to be aggressive or interested in the cat at all. Next time you bring food when you know the cats will be hungry, bring the food, and hang out by it. Mess around on your phone, read a book, act totally disinterested. The cats will come because they're hungry and they are expecting this food and they know and hopefully like you. Don't make any aggressive to grab them, just chill with them while they eat. Don't even look at them when they come, at first. Maybe don't even make a motion towards them or look at them at all the first time. Very soon they will become interested in eating and accept your presence nearby, This is when you just casually and quickly scoop them up. When domestic cats are absorbed in their foodbowl, they are not nearly as aware of their surroundings. That's my advice. In general, do not be aggressive at all, try and ignore them as much as possible when you try and catch them. This is crazy, and I wouldn't know what to do, either. Makes me scared that my awesome and chill cat could suddenly turn on me. It's sort of scary when we realize we have these animals living with us who are master hunters. Miniature tigers equipped with claws, sharp teeth, and lots of kinetic strength that we allow into our beds. I somehow doubt your cat has truly malicious intent, but more likely she is perhaps bored and this is a big game to her. I'm sure she was REALLY bored when you left and there was a cat-sitter. I think she's acting like this because she wants your attention, and this is essentially working. The stand-off in the bathroom for an hour was probably great fun for her because she got to play with you and had your full attention for an hour. This is all just a guess, of course, and I'm not a vet or a behaviorist. I don't know how much play-time your cat gets (and I know it's tough when you work and your busy and you don't always feel you have time to play boring games with the cat for half an hour ever night) but it does make a big different, even just 15 minutes. There's always getting another cat too, if possible. But I really think your cat is bored and probably acting out as a result, and continuing to act out because it's been getting her more and more attention from you. kaworu fucked around with this message at 02:41 on Mar 17, 2016 |
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Mar 17, 2016 02:38
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dantae posted:she started hissing and growling (it seemed focused at my feet which were bare) and then attacked with her claws out ... she again started hissing at my feet and trying to attack ... she started hissing at me, seeming to focus on my feet again ... on my way out of the apartment started hissing at my feet again If it's only directed at your bare feet, is there anything about your feet that's changed recently? New footwear smell? A case of athlete's foot? Cancerous tumor?
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Mar 17, 2016 02:45
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kaworu posted:This is crazy, and I wouldn't know what to do, either. Makes me scared that my awesome and chill cat could suddenly turn on me. It's sort of scary when we realize we have these animals living with us who are master hunters. Miniature tigers equipped with claws, sharp teeth, and lots of kinetic strength that we allow into our beds. Yes, it's very forcibly reminded me that she's actually a somewhat wild animal and not my little friend like she's been up until now. She actually didn't get attention during the bathroom standoff except when I tried to leave, most of the time I just sat there waiting futilely for her to calm down. I don't know about it being boredom, it doesn't seem like it's a game to her due to the amount of violence she exhibits but I could just not know what I'm talking about. It does definitely attain her attention though. Dixie Cretin Seaman posted:If it's only directed at your bare feet, is there anything about your feet that's changed recently? New footwear smell? A case of athlete's foot? Cancerous tumor? Not as far as I know, I was out of state camping however so I'm sure different mud or whatever plus air travel, but would it take her a week to find that offensive enough to start acting upon it? And inconsistently acting upon it? My thought with the feet thing is that it might be what she believes is threatening her since that's pretty much what she sees from her level. I really don't know though, hence my desperate post.
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Mar 17, 2016 02:57
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dantae posted:Hello goons, my cat has recently become aggressive toward me and I'm not sure why. I'll provide as much background as I can to see if anyone has any thoughts. I only have the one cat and I live alone in a largeish (for brooklyn) 1br apartment. You really shouldn't have knocked over that fan. Your cat is going to murder you soon. Goondolences.
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Mar 17, 2016 03:10
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dantae posted:So, does anyone have any ideas on what to do or how this even happened? I've had her for 4 years since she was a kitten and she's been the friendliest little cat, always purring and sitting next to me and sleeping with me. It feels like I'm living with a terrorist because her aggression seems to come almost out of nowhere (it seems like entering the bathroom might incite things, presumably because that's where we had our 1 hour stand off?). I don't know how to de-escalate once she starts attacking. I can't just stand there while she stalks my feet and she seems to transform with very little warning. This whole situation is awful and I really just don't know what to do, I've never seen or heard of a cat attacking like this. Thanks for any help. That does sound really awful, I've heard of cats turning on cats who they live with when one's been away and smells different but I've never heard of a cat turning on their human like that before. I'm thinking maybe you should try the things that are normally recommended for introducing multiple cats? Feed her delicious food while she's in your presence, I guess the equivalent of scent mingling would be like rubbing your feet on a blanket and then rubbing it on her (I can't believe I'm typing this) etc etc. It is really weird though, especially the fact that it seems to switch on and off. Maybe she has some kind of actual mood disorder like people can get. Anyway, basically: classical conditioning. Get her to associate only lovely nice things with you. Organza Quiz fucked around with this message at 03:32 on Mar 17, 2016 |
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Mar 17, 2016 03:28
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Dixie Cretin Seaman posted:Yeah, I called a 2nd vet and they confirmed that four extractions would run ~$1000. I'm still taking her there next week for a quick exam to see if they agree she needs the teeth pulled, but if they need to go, they need to go. At the same time, $1000 is not pocket change for a cat that a vet supposedly deemed healthy < 4 months ago (at the shelter). To be honest, they can give a good guess while awake, but they're going to have a much better idea once she's under general anesthesia and they can clean the tartar off and probe for pockets, etc. If a tooth turns out better than they thought and they don't need to extract it, then they won't. Again, dental disease is often overlooked and underrated. I'm sure they did mean healthy, but dental disease is 1) extremely common, and 2) often considered minor in the grand scheme of a pet's health. Especially at a shelter where a lot of animals may have more pressing medical problems and the vast majority will have at least moderate periodontal disease. In an ideal situation where money isn't an issue, it would be good to get a dental once a year. I mean, with people, you're supposed to brush your teeth twice a day (and ideally floss every day) and people are supposed to get dentals at least once a year, so to really keep up with oral hygiene pets should too. But people don't live in that world; the vast majority of people can't just spend all that money every year. Preventative care at home can help slow down the progression of dental disease and hopefully delay the time until they really need a dental care. I do think it's possible to train cats to have their teeth brushed - with mine, I always did it before I fed them so that they made a positive association with it and can tolerate it since it means they're going to be fed soon. And it makes a big difference. I can't do anything to prevent resorptive lesions from happening, but my cats are 11 years and 7 years old and neither of them have ever needed a tooth extracted due to periodontal disease, which is pretty impressive. You do have to brush every day though - it only takes 48 to 72 hours for tartar to harden to the point where brushing won't remove it anymore, so you have decide whether this is something you can commit to. If you're only going to remember to do it once a week, then you might as well not do it at all. There are alternatives too - Hill's t/d is I believe the only pet food that's proven to have a significant effect on tartar build-up. Cats are difficult too because they usually don't chew their kibble, they just swallow, and if they don't bite it then it won't work. There are also some oral gels, rinses, etc. that can help too. The best thing is brushing though, by far. And yes, unfortunately to do a proper dental, general anesthesia is always needed. There are places that offer "anesthetic-free dentals" - I wouldn't use them. Unless they're under general anesthesia, you can never properly evaluate and probe the teeth. You can't do dental x-rays because the plates are expensive and you can't risk them moving and accidentally biting down. And they can't polish the teeth after they remove the tartar so it ends up just building back up faster.
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Mar 17, 2016 04:25
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dantae posted:Thanks for any help. I remember an episode of My Cat From Hell (good show, you should watch it) where Jackson mentions that sometimes one cat will get freaked out over something another cat did and suddenly they're not best friends anymore. In the episode at least it was fixable but I can't remember what the solution was. Cat 1: *knocks something over that makes a scary noise* Cat 2: What was that? What did you do?! ARE WE GONNA DIE?! Cat 1: Wait, what? What's going on? Cat 2: WHO ARE YOU? THAT'S MY PURSE! I DON'T KNOW YOU! Sometimes I think they'll even associate a scary noise that has nothing to do with anything, with the other cat. Like they'll think a really loud jet passing overhead is something the other cat did somehow. I haven't heard it happening to a human before, but it's possible. I think for now it'd be best to wear socks, play with her more, and don't get angry with her when she gets angry. Maybe get on the ground to play with her? Or use your feet to play with her? Like, hold a shoelace with your toes and try to dodge her attacks? It sounds stupid as hell but she needs to disassosciate your feet with loud noises that are going to steal her food and kill her. I think one of my cats was afraid of my shoes since I stepped on her tail once or twice, but she got over it. This might sound crazy, but try putting a litterbox in the bathroom (half the solutions on My Cat From Hell involve moving litterboxes around), or at least have her go in the bathroom with you if she lets you carry her. She might not realize you're the same person that walked into the bathroom in the first place. The moment cats get scared and confused they go right down the ladder to feral-mode so don't be offended, your cat's just having a brain hiccup. I know my cat's hissed at me when he's really on edge. He escaped and ran around in the backyard once. His tail was all fluffed up and he didn't know if he wanted to run, hide, play, escape, crawl into a little ball and cry, or what. A lot of new experiences all at once and the moment I reached out to him to try to calm him down he hissed and was ready to kill. When he got less insane I was able to pick him up and bring him inside though. MrSlam fucked around with this message at 16:33 on Mar 17, 2016 |
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Mar 17, 2016 16:12
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First thing I'd try is putting in a Feliway diffuser and see if that helps them chill out. I'd also try and ramp up play time, especially if this was the first time you've been away from the them. Do you know if the cat sitter tried to force interaction with them? If they kept going up to them and trying to pet them like a dog they may have gotten whapped a bit and the kitten might have developed a small habit of going after hands and feet. Not that the sitter did anything malicious, it's very common for people to try and interact with cats the way they interact with dogs. Summary 1. Feliway 2. Play More 3. When not playing, let them come to you.
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Mar 17, 2016 16:55
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Argh. Wolfgang came and jumped up on the couch with me, after a bit of encouragement, and had a lovely cuddle for about half an hour. Then he reached out and raked my hand open. Kitty whyyyyy?
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Mar 20, 2016 02:39
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Hyperlynx posted:Argh. Wolfgang came and jumped up on the couch with me, after a bit of encouragement, and had a lovely cuddle for about half an hour. Then he reached out and raked my hand open. Kitty whyyyyy? You can try plain behavioral training. We have one cat that gets bitey, and when she does I don't react. I stop moving my hand so she doesn't get the thrill of the struggle, and when she finally lets go I ignore her completely for a while. Then I'll try scratching her again. If she attacks, it's more time out. She's gradually learning that my hand is not a toy to attack, and if she wants scritches she'd better leave it alone. Even cats will learn not to bite the hand that feeds them. Another discipline technique is a light bop on the bridge of the nose. Every cat knows it means "Mom says STOP!", as it's what mother cats do to unruly kittens. The point is not to inflict pain, but to startle. It's a gesture of social superiority that can sometimes work wonders. Don't overuse it, though - if you do it too much, they'll become afraid of you.
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Mar 20, 2016 02:59
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We have a fat cat and a skinny cat, and the fat cat is pretty dominant. I had an old laptop bag that I just put on the floor for them to play with. The skinny cat was there first, but when the fat cat came over later, she actually bit the other cat in the neck to drive her off. I don't think it was that hard a bite, but she's never done it before, and we've had them for 1 1/2 year. Can we do anything about this dominant behavior, or should we just stay out of it?
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Mar 20, 2016 13:19
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Unless the fighting is really bad and drawing blood, let them sort it out. One cat may be dominant overall, but the other might have one room, perch, or toy that is THEIRS. And they will sometimes squabble to change the terms. My cats also will bite each other's necks to scare them off from a perch or toy and steal their turn. You can take the toy away, but nothing else you do to interfere will prevent it. As long as nobody gets really hurt, they're fine. E: an example, my cats do the same thing over their favorite basket: 
Rat Patrol fucked around with this message at 14:37 on Mar 20, 2016 |
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Mar 20, 2016 14:11
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Even cats that are friends do a bit of biting and hissing. Snuggle sessions regularly turn into fight sessions. A few days ago, one decided that the other cats face smelled real interesting and spent a minute sniffing her eyes from a few millimeters away. Eventually, she decided that she had enough of that and took a swat at her. Some hisses were exchanged but they are still friends. This is how they establish boundaries and solve disputes.
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Mar 20, 2016 23:02
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Got a new guy, Shayne, who is 7. His old owner passed away recently and just happened to be at the humane society as we were looking at dogs. I got him because hes incredibly sweet, and i'm hoping he'll make a decent companion for Stella, our current 6 year old. Now, we only brought him home yesterday afternoon, but i'm getting worried about the guy - he basically doesn't move, doesn't do anything, looks completely mortified about everything, and occasionally meows. He had a sister in his old living situation, but i'm guessing that plus being at the humane society plus losing your sister and owner is probably crazy stressful for the guy. Anything special I should be doing for him? I'm generally just making sure he has places to hide right now so he feels "safe". I have pulled him out a couple of times to show him food/litterbox so he knows where things are, but he just goes back into hiding.
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Mar 21, 2016 03:59
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Yeah multicat life is confusing, just put up with their instanity. One minute it's  The next it's  quote:Anything special I should be doing for him? I'm generally just making sure he has places to hide right now so he feels "safe". I have pulled him out a couple of times to show him food/litterbox so he knows where things are, but he just goes back into hiding. Where's he hiding? Just make sure his stuff is nearby. Dont do the pulling out anymore, but just come around and read a book or something a few times a day so that you're around but not hassling him. Give him a few days to come out of his shell. Synthbuttrange fucked around with this message at 04:46 on Mar 21, 2016 |
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Mar 21, 2016 04:43
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Why'd they separate him from his sister? Poor guy.
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Mar 21, 2016 05:12
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Yeah in my experience it is pretty bad to pull a cat out of their hiding space. Just make a good effort to make him feel at home and maybe spend some time making yourself more interesting. Eventually he'll wander out for short periods. Poor little dude.
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Mar 21, 2016 13:45
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Rotten Red Rod posted:So I've read the advice in the FAQ about male cats marking, but nothing has helped and we're kind of at our wits end with one of our cats. He's spraying CONSTANTLY, all over the place, and I just can't pin down what it is we need to do to stop him. This morning I cleaned up the worst I'd ever seen - he sprayed the entertainment center (one of his favorite spots) so badly it looked like someone had dumped a glass of water out on it. Update on our cat - he continued spraying constantly and we finally took him to the vet. They tested his urine to see if he really needed to still be on the urinary food - they said that increases his urine production by a lot and may contribute to his spraying, if only the quantity of it. They found no crystals, so he's back on normal food, which is good for my budget, and should end his anxiety about not always having food (and he's stopped waking me up in the middle of the night because he's hungry). They also prescribed Alprazolam (Xanax) for 2 weeks. He's confined to the bedroom away from the other cats and his pee spots while on the Xanax, and we're cleaning the house head-to-toe in the meantime. The hope is that he'll lose his habit of marking while his anxiety is reduced on the Xanax and not need to continue taking it after that period. So far he's doing really well - he's his normal friendly, happy self, very affectionate and playful, and hasn't sprayed once. Has anyone else gone through this, and has the medication done the trick? Did your cat revert back to old habits after going off of it, or did just taking it for a period appear the do the trick?
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Mar 21, 2016 18:20
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Thanks guys - I just want to make sure i'm doing enough for him.
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Mar 22, 2016 00:19
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quote:Some supermarket cat food brands may cause 'severe illness', study finds http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-03-21/some-supermarket-cat-food-brands-may-cause-severe-illness-study/7263634 BLARGH no names being named til they complete a wider study. 
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Mar 22, 2016 06:17
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SynthOrange posted:http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-03-21/some-supermarket-cat-food-brands-may-cause-severe-illness-study/7263634 Yeah, it seems that it was done kind of sloppily as part of a Master's thesis. The Profs seem to realize they need a bit more statistical rigor before they go big with it. Nutritional guidelines for pet foods have been laid out pretty thoroughly after lots and lots of research, so violating them is not a minor issue. As consumers, there's not much we can do if the actual contents of the cans don't match the labels.
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Mar 22, 2016 15:37
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We have two cats. Last month we went away for a week trip and came back to a bizzare sight: Of the two automatic feeders, one bowl was empty as expected and the other was overflowing with uneaten kibble. I didn't give it too much though since a few weeks before we'd changed their food to address a digestion issue and thought that maybe they weren't quite as happy with it as what they'd been eating before. After removing the feeders and going back to manually feeding them with the bowls in the same location as the feeders they've been fine for the past two weeks except this morning (*). First there was some residual kibble left in the "bad" location. Odd since they almost always clean up by the next day. After washing the bowls and refilling with kibble, both actively ignored the bowl in the "bad" location. I moved it over to the "good" location which sort of weired them out since they don't like to eat next to each other. My wife asked why both bowls were in the same location and after I explained, she moved one back to the "bad" location. Hours later it remains largely untouched. In trying to come up with an explanation for this, the working theory I have is that a week before the trip and just this past weekend, my mother-in-law came up with her rear end in a top hat dog. Is it possible that each time the fucker pissed (he's peed and poo poo in our house before) on or near that "bad" mat location and that would keep them away? I've kneeled down and inspected for dried pee but don't see or smell anything. It's time for a regular mat and floor scrub today anyway.
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Mar 22, 2016 16:28
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Cheesus posted:We have two cats. Last month we went away for a week trip and came back to a bizzare sight: Of the two automatic feeders, one bowl was empty as expected and the other was overflowing with uneaten kibble. I didn't give it too much though since a few weeks before we'd changed their food to address a digestion issue and thought that maybe they weren't quite as happy with it as what they'd been eating before. Is the "bad" location close to a water source or litter box? Because food to a cat is usually in the form of a dead body they like to eat not by one of their trusted water sources to not contaminate it. Also, they do not like to eat where they poop, as one would expect.
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Mar 22, 2016 17:53
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The "good" bowl is to the left of their water dish. The "bad" is on the right side. The only visual difference are the mats the bowls rest on which have been used for a year.
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Mar 23, 2016 00:46
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Deteriorata posted:As consumers, there's not much we can do if the actual contents of the cans don't match the labels. Not at all, at least not in Australia. Consumers can complain about stuff like this to Consumer Affairs, who come down on companies like a ton of bricks.
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Mar 23, 2016 00:57
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Hyperlynx posted:Not at all, at least not in Australia. Consumers can complain about stuff like this to Consumer Affairs, who come down on companies like a ton of bricks. Well, sure. Once we know there's a problem we can raise holy hell. My point was that we can't analyze every can individually and find the problem ourselves. We have to trust that the label accurately reflects the contents, like the law says it's supposed to. It shouldn't take investigative studies like this to find out. It's why truth in advertising and labeling laws and regulatory agencies like the Food and Drug Administration exist, to keep up with this stuff.
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Mar 23, 2016 01:13
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