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Dogfish posted:Cat laser update: She has figured out that I am somehow the source of the light, and intermittently stops chasing it to look at me reproachfully and give a disappointed meow, as if to say, "You could stop this if you chose to." Then she goes back to chasing it, resigned to her duty to catch the uncatchable. Sounds exactly like my cat. She even recognizes the pointer itself and has been known to swat it off the table trying to get it to work.
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Jul 11, 2016 00:50
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Dogfish posted:Cat laser update: She has figured out that I am somehow the source of the light, and intermittently stops chasing it to look at me reproachfully and give a disappointed meow, as if to say, "You could stop this if you chose to." Then she goes back to chasing it, resigned to her duty to catch the uncatchable. The Cat FAQ/Megathread: Cat Laser Update: "You could stop this if you chose to."
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Jul 11, 2016 00:56
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Tiny Deer posted:How do I prepare my kitten for us going away for a few days? It's probably fine but if it were me I'd be worried about a 14 week old kitten too and probably get someone to stay at my place to catsit properly until I got home. That's less about what's stressful to kitten and more me just being worried about kittens getting into trouble though. Also they're adorable, I'm pretty sure most of my friends would jump at the chance to temporarily have a kitten.
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Jul 11, 2016 01:57
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asiperi posted:I know this thread is always in favor of "more cats," so here goes. When we got our cats they were 9 months old. Still kitten-ish but grown up enough that their personalities were pretty much set. In the five or so years that we've had them about the only big change is that Abby stopped being a ghost cat and actually started seeking us out for cuddles/"talking" more and learned to beg for treats. Wheatley was a noisy lovebug from day one and has only grown more so. So you could ask around at your shelters for cats roughly 8 months to a year, see who's available. Find out if you can meet the kitties and spend some time interacting with them.
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Jul 11, 2016 02:08
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We went down to the SPCA yesterday and acquired a pair of furballs! The big guy on the right is Orion. He's 11 months old and is a big show-off that performs what appears to be some sort of new style of breakdancing which culminates in tricking people into scratching his head. The little lady on the right is Zora, and she's about a year and three months or so and is a sweetheart that purrs really loudly and loves having her ears rubbed. They were actually chilling out together on the cat tower looking out the window when we met them at the shelter. Once we started petting Orion, Zora ran right over and then they both started grooming each other and snuggling. It was pretty adorable. So we snagged the pair. Talking with the folks at the shelter, they had been in the same room together for most of the time they were there, but none of them particularly noticed any sort of bond. But I'm not sure they would... they had about 70 cats to take care of and were pretty busy. Zora had a green tag, which means "I have been at this shelter for almost too long". Orion didn't have one yet, but he'd been there for a few months. So, when we brought them home, Orion kind of looked paranoid for about 3 minutes, basically shrugged, and promptly starting running back and forth all over the house, stopping only to demand head rubs for a few seconds, then back to running back and forth and checking everything out. Cat apparently gives zero fucks about the new environment, and just loves all the extra space and the near-constant attention. I've never seen anything like it.... usually, my previous cats would go into skulk-mode for a good half day or so, at the least. This guy, though... just lovin' life. Happiest cat I have ever even seen, and just seems to absolutely enjoy everything. I have no idea how he managed to last at the shelter that long without somebody else snatching him up. Zora, however, beelined for a shelf in a corner behind a couch (it's a weird layout with built-in shelves around the room) as soon as we opened her carrier and has been hiding back there for about a day and a half now. Orion will periodically check her out, and she doesn't seem to mind? I can't really tell, because it was kind of hard to get a look at her back there while still giving her the space that she clearly needs. My wife has been a little concerned and tried to get a peek at her, at which point she darted across the room and is now wedged in behind the washer and dryer. Orion ALSO seemed concerned, and after a bit starting mewling and poking around all over behind her spot where she used to be behind the couch, possibly to try to find her? Who knows - cat brains. He eventually discovered her behind the washer and just kind of mewed at her for a bit and stared from a good distance, then let her be. My question is, can we be pretty sure that this is just a new environment type thing, and not something to do with the other cat (which she technically already lived with)? I'm not really expecting her to be as open to the new place as Orion is, because, well, cats. I know they take time and just kind of grow into things when they're ready. But I'm wondering if maybe we should do any sort of isolation with them? I'm not sure if that would be better or worse since, presumably, they may have already been used to having each other around. Most of what I'm finding on the 'net is for new cat meets cat-that-already-lived-there scenarios, and I'm just not finding anything on "how to introduce two cats that presumably already knew each other quite well to a new environment".
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Jul 11, 2016 02:33
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My S7 has a way better camera for capturing my manic cat. This is Butchie, she's 80% cat and 20% tornado. She goes from leaping around the house roaring from the top of furniture to purring in your lap in 5 seconds and back again. Also she's starting to play fetch, which is hilarious, I've never had a cat fetch a toy and bring it back again and again. It's awesome!  
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Jul 11, 2016 03:58
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nominal posted:*shelter cat stuff* She even ventured over to her food dish and the much bigger, spazzier cat just kind of walked over to the corner behind her, and just kind of watched over her while she ate. Now they're just kind of chilling on the floor together. Having two cats is going to be awesome.
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Jul 11, 2016 04:16
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nominal posted:So, naturally, about an hour after I posted that, she ventured out and starts trying to sit on people's laps and is demanding facerubs while I type this. Congratulations on your new overlords, they sound great. Depending on the size of your home, don't let them into all of it at once as that can be rather daunting for them. For large homes we usually recommend giving the cats 1 room initially, expanding to 3 or so quickly then slowly let them have free range of everything. Obviously it's not always entirely practical what with stairways and people moving around but you get the jist. Less new stuff is easier for them to acclimatise to.
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Jul 11, 2016 11:31
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our cat gave birth to five kitties, gf is concerned about a million things, like I am. will momma cat crush them, do we need to worry about smothered little babies D:? should we worry about overfeeding momma? I've done a lot of research but information conflicts. Should I worry if momma cat keeps leaving them? She seemed to do it when she was hungry.
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Jul 11, 2016 20:44
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Pladdicus posted:our cat gave birth to five kitties, gf is concerned about a million things, like I am. I know nothing about kittens, but keep the food close by and don't worry about overfeeding her. She's had a rough time and could probably use some comfort food.
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Jul 11, 2016 20:46
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Plus she's eating for six. She needs the extra nutrients to produce milk, so she'll be extra hungry while they're nursing.
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Jul 11, 2016 20:50
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Disclaimer: I have previously posted this in the Siamese thread but thought it would get better exposure here. I am considering adopting this seven years old Siamese neutered male from a shelter.   Interaction with him was OK, I think. He readily approached me and sniffed me carefully. I gave him a treat and he played with me/my hand. In the course of that we had his claws out just a tiny bit, but as far as I know that's totally normal play behavior, not aggressive. Background: I have never owned a cat before, but have though about it for several years now. I live alone in an apartment of approximately 50 m² (530 ft²). I work long hours and am sometimes gone for a night on the weekends. This is why I thought about adopting an older, independent cat. The people at the shelter recommended him to me as a cat who does not get along all too well with other cats and likely will not mind being alone at my place. I wish to give a cat a loving and caring home and would appreciate a cat who doesn't need to be cuddled and held all the time (for the reasons just mentioned; though cuddling doesn't hurt, of course). What do you think?
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Jul 11, 2016 21:59
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oh ffs. the answer will always be let the cat in.
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Jul 11, 2016 22:08
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Ridgewell posted:
Adopting cats is good. Get the cat. Not sure about the square footage but a good feng shui master can make just about anything work. Give him lots of things to climb on.
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Jul 11, 2016 22:15
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Acquire cat, receive love. The claw thing is normal, you would know if he was feeling uncomfortable, and that space is definitely doable for a single cat, especially if you give him some vertical space to open things up. I understand the anxiety about "Oh god will I be a good enough person for this cat", because I was there not that long ago. You'll be fine. That cat will have a caring owner and a good home once you adopt it, and with how low-maintenance as he sounds, he'll do great (at least as long as you make time for him when you are home). Get the cat. Share more pictures. Suffer from severe cat withdrawal when you are at work.
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Jul 11, 2016 22:28
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Ridgewell posted:Disclaimer: I have previously posted this in the Siamese thread but thought it would get better exposure here. I have about the same square footage in my apartment and two cats and they're perfectly fine. Make sure you have some good spots to perch on, a window or two to gaze out of, and some comfortable places to sleep and he'll be fine.
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Jul 11, 2016 22:30
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Ridgewell posted:What do you think? I think you should pet that cat.
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Jul 11, 2016 22:45
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Also re claws during play, don't play with cats with your bare skin, you don't want them to see your hands as toys
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Jul 11, 2016 23:32
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Ridgewell posted:Disclaimer: I have previously posted this in the Siamese thread but thought it would get better exposure here. Sounds pretty much perfect. I would get cat. I would also get a cat tree, if you can spare the space. Cats like to go upwards, and having vertical space available is good if you've short on horizontal space.
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Jul 12, 2016 01:31
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Ridgewell posted:
Get cat.
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Jul 12, 2016 01:49
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Kitten and Big Cat had their first official meeting. There was quite a lot of hissing at first but got toned down to only a bit of hissing by the end. They'll hopefully be used to each other in a week or two. The kitten hissed a lot more than the big cat. One time she even growled at him but he laid down on his back and showed her his belly which I'm told is meant to be a sign of friendliness and/or submission. So even they aren't to fond of each other at the moment I think they wont fight at least.
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Jul 12, 2016 02:01
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Dogen posted:Also re claws during play, don't play with cats with your bare skin, you don't want them to see your hands as toys Yes. if you're cool your hand and arm skin will become pure calluses so cat claws will barely make a scratch  Gorgar posted:Get cat.
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Jul 12, 2016 02:41
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As someone who finally adopted a cat I can say... Get the cat. packaging her bed came in  ok that's enough play time  that's better   fort stinkybutt was a hit   her usual spot  My couch and chair feel scratchy like sisal rope and so far it's been impossible to get her to stop clawing at them. I toss a toy to distract or pick her up and rub her paws on other things that are ok to scratch. She does use the cardboard things or legs of the tree most of the time. Going to try the sticky tape stuff next. The tree was a huge hit and this giant thing is on sale for $100 right now. My boss even got one after having a cat forever, it was up in the tree sleeping within 30 minutes of putting it together. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003BYQ1IM/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Laser pointers: murder mode activates whenever i pick up the pointer as she's figured out the jingle it's chain makes. I've bumped it off the desk on accident and she comes running into the room looking for the dot and squeaking.
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Jul 12, 2016 04:10
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I read like 50 pages back and couldn't find anything about cat fountains. My SO has been wanting to get one for three months now for our one cat. Do they actually provide any benefits for the cat or do they just turn electricity into noise?
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Jul 12, 2016 06:37
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thuly posted:I read like 50 pages back and couldn't find anything about cat fountains. Lots of cats don't like drinking stagnant/still water and providing a fountain can really help keep them hydrated properly. The only big thing to watch out for is that you don't want to put the fountain near their food bowl. If you do that they will eventually get food into the fountain and it will get all soggy and gross and clog things up and it will be awful and you will hate it.
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Jul 12, 2016 06:50
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thuly posted:I read like 50 pages back and couldn't find anything about cat fountains. I know that one of my cats is a big fan of drinking from the sink, so I thought he'd be a huge fan of the Drinkwell we bought for him. Turns out he kind of ignores it BUT in a surprise twist one of my other cats LOVES it and she drinks from it almost exclusively. Theres a chance that you'll buy the fountain and they won't use it, but at the very least you'll have a new decorative fountain?
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Jul 12, 2016 07:06
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thuly posted:I read like 50 pages back and couldn't find anything about cat fountains. you gotta make sure to clean out the pump and bowl every now and then because it gets gross and forms a film on the surfaces, filters get annoying, get a metal or porcelain one if you can. I stopped using mine and just add water to a largish metal bowl and make sure to change out the water every day or two.
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Jul 12, 2016 10:36
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thuly posted:I read like 50 pages back and couldn't find anything about cat fountains. Male catlady here. We have 9 cats and 4 of them drink almost exclusively from their stainless steel fountain. One literally never approached it until just yesterday, when a tassly ball fell into it and she fished it out. Now she's into the fountain as well. So I'd say give it a shot! Worst case is that it's a backup water supply for when he/she gets tired of drinking from their current bowl or starts thinking the current batch of water is too old or whatever. Cats are weird like that. :P
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Jul 13, 2016 04:51
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Ginny has very rarely slept on the bed with me since I got her, and those times were by my feet. Lately shes been sleeping behind my back on the bed and the other day she finally slept right up next to me... on her sharp side. I woke up from a nap to find four sets of paws and claws pushed against my right side gently digging in. We're getting there I guess. She still doesn't let me hold her for long periods of time but she'll sit still on my lap longer.
Blackchamber fucked around with this message at 13:16 on Jul 13, 2016 |
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Jul 13, 2016 13:09
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thuly posted:I read like 50 pages back and couldn't find anything about cat fountains. All our cats drink out of ours. Our one stupid cat who has crystals sometimes and is on Rx food for it LOVES the thing and I credit it with probably keeping her bladder healthier than it would be otherwise. re: cleaning, on our drinkwell platinum I clean the large particle trap (the removable front thing) and then the front of the pump grating every couple days and that goes a long way toward keeping it clean in between taking it apart and cleaning it every couple weeks
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Jul 13, 2016 17:40
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I've got to buy a fountain. So far they have a hardwater-encrusted gravity water dish that sits in the sun all day and is a place where tiny bugs sometimes go to die Javert style They drink from it but I wouldn't blame them if they didn't.
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Jul 13, 2016 17:54
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I want to say that giving cats a home is always the right answer, but I overdid it by adopting a third, and now they act up constantly because they realise they have strength in numbers. Picture of entitled brats:  I could really use some advice on a rather unpleasant issue - the ginger and white boy has very soft stools, some of which sticks to his butt and then falls off elsewhere in the home - literally Mr Poopy Butthole. Fortunately, my home is completely tiled, but I'd rather not be wiping up cat poop almost every day. The logical thing to do is to try a different food. So far, I've been feeding them Orijen Cat & Kitten, and occasionally Applaws Kitten (when Orijen isn't in stock), but maybe these high protein cereal free foods are too rich for him. What should I try instead? It's a weird problem in that I've tried specifically to give them the very best food, and now I'm uncertain in picking a 'less good but not outright terrible' food, especially since I'm aware that many well-known brands like Purina and Royal Canin are very poorly regarded on a nutritional basis. Any recommendations or advice would be greatly appreciated!
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Jul 13, 2016 20:00
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Smirk posted:I could really use some advice on a rather unpleasant issue - the ginger and white boy has very soft stools, some of which sticks to his butt and then falls off elsewhere in the home - literally Mr Poopy Butthole. Fortunately, my home is completely tiled, but I'd rather not be wiping up cat poop almost every day. The logical thing to do is to try a different food. So far, I've been feeding them Orijen Cat & Kitten, and occasionally Applaws Kitten (when Orijen isn't in stock), but maybe these high protein cereal free foods are too rich for him. What should I try instead? It's a weird problem in that I've tried specifically to give them the very best food, and now I'm uncertain in picking a 'less good but not outright terrible' food, especially since I'm aware that many well-known brands like Purina and Royal Canin are very poorly regarded on a nutritional basis. Any recommendations or advice would be greatly appreciated! I'm not a cat poop prognosticator[*] but I've heard sometimes stools get runny when cats are getting used to new brands/types of food. And for kittens apparently it happens a lot. I want to say it's called "Kitten Stomach" but I have no idea if that's a thing. Are these wet foods or dry foods? I don't imagine a high protein diet would be bad for any cat considering they're predators, so it'd be good to transition to a wet food if they're not on that already. One of my own cats refuses to transition so we have her on Purina Beyond Salmon and Brown Rice. I know it's probably bad for her but my tiny cat will go on a hunger strike to get it. [*](a scatomancer, a poop wizard, a stool sorceror, a dingleberry diviner, an anal augerer...)
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Jul 13, 2016 20:16
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MrSlam posted:[*](a scatomancer, a poop wizard, a stool sorceror, a dingleberry diviner, an anal augerer...) Excramentalist.
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Jul 13, 2016 21:01
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MrSlam posted:I'm not a cat poop prognosticator[*] but I've heard sometimes stools get runny when cats are getting used to new brands/types of food. And for kittens apparently it happens a lot. I want to say it's called "Kitten Stomach" but I have no idea if that's a thing. Are these wet foods or dry foods? I don't imagine a high protein diet would be bad for any cat considering they're predators, so it'd be good to transition to a wet food if they're not on that already. One of my own cats refuses to transition so we have her on Purina Beyond Salmon and Brown Rice. I know it's probably bad for her but my tiny cat will go on a hunger strike to get it. The Orijen is dry food. I was hoping it was a matter of adaptation, but they've been on it for almost six months, so it doesn't seem likely. I give them Applaws wet food every other night, but it's mostly a supplement and treat for them. A vet once told me that wet food should be occasional, to help prevent obesity and dental problems.
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Jul 13, 2016 21:41
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I would take that advice with a grain of salt. Any possible dental benefit from dry food is marginal, and if you compare the nutritional value of even the most expensive dry food versus the average can of wet food you will find it sorely lacking. Wet food helps a cat maintain a good fluid balance, contains more of the nutrition they need to stay healthy, and is a lot easier for them to eat in general. As far as obesity goes, ultimately you control how much food you are providing to your cat. If your cat begins gaining unhealthy weight, you either need to reevaluate the amount of food they are receiving or have a check up to make sure they are not having any health issues that can cause them to gain weight. Any decent wet food brand should be nutritional enough that your cat will not become obese without overeating. There's more to it obviously, but wet food is ultimately far closer to a natural diet for a cat than dry food.
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Jul 13, 2016 23:02
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we kinda do variety.. change it up some wet and dry and occasionally some fresh/raw. 
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Jul 14, 2016 00:07
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Question: Is it a bad idea to get a third cat? Background: We have two cats: Evalina and Myles. Eva is an eight year old spayed female Russian blue mix, who is calm, loves to cuddle, is needy, and isn't particularly interested in roughhousing. Myles is a five year old neutered male Siamese who is rambunctious, a troublemaker, and likes to roughhouse. Myles has gotten a lot better with time, but at the beginning he used to chase Eva a lot and they'd end up fighting (although I think he wanted to play and she was having none of it). He also used to mount her regularly, although that rarely, if ever, happens now. He does still play chase her sometimes. We (my husband and I, no kids) live in a three bedroom house. We also have rabbits indoors in a pen in the living room. Eva is fine with the rabbits. Myles like to creep on them, so we don't leave him alone with them. When we are not home, Myles is either kept in our bedroom and bathroom, and Eva is in the rest of the house. We went through the whole slow introduction process with Eva and Myles, so we understand those issues. Is it a terrible idea to get a third cat?
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Jul 14, 2016 01:07
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Only in the sense that you might interrupt their dynamic. 3 was always fine for us, but 4 caused some problems, and weirdly since our old man cat passed last week the girl cats are being nice to the young boy cat now.
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Jul 14, 2016 01:15
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justFaye posted:Question: Is it a bad idea to get a third cat? We've had three for years. They get along fine.
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Jul 14, 2016 01:25
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