|
What I've come to terms with: there is no perfect food for cats. There's no perfect food for humans either. There's no food that will guarantee a long, healthy life free of disease. People get semi-religious about chasing these ideals because it's seductive to believe that if we lead our lives according to strict ritual we can stop bad things from happening. Is wet food better for cats, overall? Yeah, that seems to be the weight of evidence. Is dry food going too much bactively hurt your cat? Maybe, depending. I spend way more money than I have to on cat food. I buy stuff in fancy cans with twee names. I buy this stuff based on some research and what I feel good about personally, but there isn't really strong evidence my cat would be worse off if I fed her wet Fancy Feast instead. I just think it smells gross and makes her smell gross. She'd probably still be just fine. She'd probably be fine on dry Purina too, although I'd worry more about her hydration. If you're really worried about your cat's nutrition probably the best thing to do is add variety. That's how humans, as the garbage disposals we are, deal with our food having varying amounts of types of nutrients. If you feed a variety of foods you can be pretty dang sure your cat is well nourished. And if you don't feed a variety of foods, that's fine too, all cat food legally has to provide all the nutrition a cat needs. Basically I think all a cat really needs is basic medical care, cat food, water, and attention. Fiddling with any of those variables might produce better results, but as long as you have those four things you can feel comfortable that you are doing right by your (average) cat. As in almost all things, the perfect is the enemy of the good here. If your cat is happy on dry food and it doesn't make sense to switch off...that shouldn't be a source of shame or anxiety. I mean, I've seen my cat eat a June bug and try to eat a bee. These aren't discerning beasts of refined palates. Just get food in their little trash maws however.
|
#
?
Sep 30, 2016 18:04
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 15, 2024 16:07 |
|
|
Can anyone tell me about their experience with whiskas temptations?I have been giving them to my fuzzy buddies for a few months. Recently saw some reviews saying they cause renal failure. Now I'm getting paranoid..... They don't seem to be sick and are acting perfectly normal. Cutting it out of their diet just in case.
|
|
#
?
Sep 30, 2016 21:33
|
|
|
we gave them to my cats I had growing up for years and they were fine. you can get basically the same thing from other brands (I use orijen stuff now) but I don't think you need to worry about your cats
|
|
#
?
Sep 30, 2016 21:36
|
|
|
Thank you! Going to look into those treats instead. Bonus Marge showing teef 
|
|
#
?
Sep 30, 2016 21:41
|
|
|
Is HomeAgain the only microchipping company out there? I just rescuedopted a little miss from a bad friend who wasn't taking very good care of her, and I want to change her microchip info over to me, but I'll have to call the company and see if I can do it without involving the friend (I strongly doubt she ever registered the cat). I also need to update info for the other three cats we have; at least one is also through HomeAgain, one is totally unknown, and I think the third was through something like PetID or SecondChance or idek what anymore; they sent me something in the mail years and years ago to update his info, but I lost the paper. Also, do vets usually charge for scanning microchips? If I can just scan them and write down the deets and do it from there that'd be great; the only other place I can do it is across town and I don't want to drag the cats there and back just for one thing.
|
|
#
?
Oct 1, 2016 00:35
|
|
|
cat_herder posted:Is HomeAgain the only microchipping company out there? I just rescuedopted a little miss from a bad friend who wasn't taking very good care of her, and I want to change her microchip info over to me, but I'll have to call the company and see if I can do it without involving the friend (I strongly doubt she ever registered the cat). I also need to update info for the other three cats we have; at least one is also through HomeAgain, one is totally unknown, and I think the third was through something like PetID or SecondChance or idek what anymore; they sent me something in the mail years and years ago to update his info, but I lost the paper. Check and see if there's a microchip clinic / event going on near you? They might be able to help. Also, try asking your local shelter? Also on cat food (veggies, quality, etc): I think that some cats can do well on dry food, for sure. But like Tiny Deer said, every cat is different - what they need, what they like, what their bodies can handle. The weight of evidence *does* support a more protein-rich, meat-based diet. However, there are a million other factors to keep in mind, like the frequency and severity of recalls from a particular brand, ingredient sourcing, etc. Cats ARE more flexible then people think, but like people who eat nothing but garbage food for their entire life you won't necessarily see the effects of a worse diet until further down the line, and the truth is that many grocery store, popular dry foods are filled with corn and other carbs that current studies show cats just don't need. High quality dry with more meat than veg can work great though! Add a little water to boost the moisture, and lots of cats do quite nicely. I find it's worse for their teeth, though. On 'mixing it up' for your cat I'm really split, as some evidence suggests that feral cats tend to be birders OR mousers by-and-large, and most cats are not super fond of change. I personally only like to switch flavors within a brand, and a subtype of that brand; i.e. Weruva has "Cats in the Kitchen" or "BFF" that have different mixtures. Keeping a similar diet can also be important in keeping your cat's weight in check, as most people aren't going to do the math between getting excited about this or that new thing and subsequently their cat might get 200 calories one day, 150 the next, then 250...since obesity is a HUGE issue with all pets right now, I recommend everyone keep this in mind.
|
|
#
?
Oct 1, 2016 00:59
|
|
|
I tried like three different brands of wet food and a couple types of dry on Hope when I first got her and she kept running back to plain old weight control dry Iams I mean I ain't gonna complain, saves me a truck o money, but still fuckin' cats, man
|
|
#
?
Oct 1, 2016 01:12
|
|
|
porkswordonboard, thank you, I hadn't thought of that. I even volunteer with a TNR place that I could just ask  they're the ones across town with the microchip wand.Related, I feed the cats here almost exclusively dry food because I'm poor and also they don't eat all the wet I give them  Even the one missing a lot of her teeth will still only nibble a bit at wet food and then go back to chomping down kibble. They love it when I pour juice from canned chicken into the food, though. Right now they're all eating Evo because my boss got a huge windfall of it and has been giving it to me, but whenever that dries up, they're moving back onto Nature's Domain from Costco. They used to eat Taste of the Wild, but poo poo is expensive and we're poor as hell.The resident cats at the TNR facility eat whatever is donated, and graze on empty bowls or spilled kibble from the feral cats. As a result, they constantly have the shits. We mix powdered metronidazole into their wet food these days and it helps quite a bit.
|
|
#
?
Oct 1, 2016 10:52
|
|
|
Ask me about cremating my cats because the All Dogs go to Heaven series was extremely traumatizing for a young cat lover.
|
|
#
?
Oct 1, 2016 16:18
|
|
|
Update: When I came back with new litterboxes, he'd used the one in my bedroom with no problems. I put a low-rise one in the general bathroom area, moving it in and out of the shower, and he's using it happily. So it's looking like a case of "I just feel like using the bathroom area now" (To address other questions: Nature's Miracle has and will always be my friend, the urine he left in the shower looked just fine, and he drinks on a regular basis from his cat fountain)
|
|
#
?
Oct 1, 2016 20:48
|
|
|
Organza Quiz posted:That is a good kitty! I guess I can kind of see how she could be mistaken for a very small kind of gaunt adult but she does look pretty kitteny to me (but I don't know if I would have thought that if I saw those pics before you found out she was a kitten). The fact that she's ignoring all toys even though she's a kitten says to me that she's still a bit scared and uncomfortable rather than that sh'es not into toys. I'd keep trying and also just keep giving her cuddles when you can and see if she perks up. Other easy things to try include knotted up straw and ball of aluminium foil. You were right.  Now that she is feeling better and is adjusted to her new home, she is playing with her toys. She runs all over the place too.And since I never filled this out: Age: Five months Sex: Female How long have you had your cat?: A week Is your cat spayed or neutered?: Yes What food do you use?: Hill's Science Diet Adult Optimal Care which I got from the shelter. When that runs out, I plan on switching to a mix of Nature's Variety Instinct Grain Free Chicken Meal and Blue Buffalo Chicken Entree Wet Food if she likes it. When was your last vet visit?: 9/26 Is your cat indoors, outdoors, both?: Indoors How many pets in your household?: Just her How many litter boxes do you have?: One Another question. Why does my cat try to bite me when I am petting her? I don't think it is aggressive since she starts meowing and pushing her head against my hand when I stop. But when I start up again, she tries to navigate my fingers under her chin and then tries biting again. Is this just a kitten thing?
|
|
#
?
Oct 2, 2016 00:33
|
|
|
Lol absolutely. It's up to older cats/humans to teach her biting is not acceptable.
|
|
#
?
Oct 2, 2016 00:35
|
|
|
Thanks! That's what I figured.
|
|
#
?
Oct 2, 2016 00:59
|
|
|
We moved to Kentucky right around when Frontline started getting sold at Wal-Mart and everywhere else and I noticed it was no longer effective. We had great luck switching to Revolution/Advantage and have been using that with no issues. Years later my dad in his never-ending quest to pinch pennies forgot about this and bought a pack of PetArmor (Generic Frontline) and we started seeing fleas. What I want to know is how soon is it safe to re-dose the cats with the Advantage after applying the PetArmor? They are both topical treatments but have different active ingredients. The box says a month, the (country) vet says 2 weeks. My folks want to wait a week. The cats are all quite healthy otherwise.
|
|
#
?
Oct 2, 2016 21:23
|
|
|
Please lend me the strength to not overfeed my cat who is really good at begging for more kibble with the perfectly manipulative blend of sotto voce mewls and pushy yet tender kneading.
|
|
#
?
Oct 3, 2016 05:07
|
|
|
I didn't see anything listed in the OP so I will ask separately, has anyone had any experience with getting rid of a dander allergy for cats or having so-called "hypo allergenic" cats? I am perfectly fine around cats as I have had them forever, but my fiancee is definitely in the "sniffling after ten minutes" category. She adores cats more than anything in the world, possibly including me, and we have been trying to figure out if there is any way for us to get one without her taking antihistamines for the rest of the cat's natural life. Is there any good way of doing things, or is it just trial and error?
|
|
#
?
Oct 3, 2016 05:41
|
|
|
Recently I found a group of kittens and momma cat outside, then I proceeded to capture them all. Turns out the mother was pregnant again so now I have four nearly four month old cats and five two week old kittens. My question is this, the moms older babies still like to nurse from her off and on and I'm afraid that might be detrimental to her newer babies. Should I shut that behavior down like the hand of god or just let them carry on?
|
|
#
?
Oct 3, 2016 05:49
|
|
|
If they're shoving the new babies aside, yeah. 4 months is fine. Have you got any help? Sounds like a handful.
|
|
#
?
Oct 3, 2016 05:57
|
|
|
DreamShipWrecked posted:I didn't see anything listed in the OP so I will ask separately, has anyone had any experience with getting rid of a dander allergy for cats or having so-called "hypo allergenic" cats? I am perfectly fine around cats as I have had them forever, but my fiancee is definitely in the "sniffling after ten minutes" category. She adores cats more than anything in the world, possibly including me, and we have been trying to figure out if there is any way for us to get one without her taking antihistamines for the rest of the cat's natural life. Is there any good way of doing things, or is it just trial and error? It will take a long time, years maybe if her allergies are bad, but exposure therapy worked well for me in the end.
|
|
#
?
Oct 3, 2016 13:08
|
|
|
I am now the proud owner of a cat! He's a little 3 month old kitten, he's very chill and already follows us around the house after only one day with us  .I took him home yesterday, going to the vet today, hope everything's okay with him. He had some fleas but I think that's taken care of, but what I noticed most about him is he purrs very loudly and he has some wheezing when breathing, might have a flu or something. The vet will hopefully tell me what's up (if anything). I'll post a picture later. I already love the cat, woke up in the morning to find him on the other side of my bedroom door, standing on a bookshelf, staring like this  right at me. It's a good way to start the day.
orange sky fucked around with this message at 16:14 on Oct 3, 2016 |
|
#
?
Oct 3, 2016 15:42
|
|
|
We're considering a third cat. Our first is Mouse who was around 8 months old when we adopted her. About six months later, we were concerned that was lonely (meowing loudly to nobody in particular) and needed a buddy to play with (especially for some of our longer camping weekends and trips). We adopted Noelle with the understanding that she was of a similar age. We screwed up the introduction and didn't cotton onto the reality that with her gimpy back legs, wonky eye (one pupil is smaller than the other), and torn ear indicated she was really much older (the vet has estimated between 9-12 years old). Immediately Mouse established herself as the alpha and Noelle as a gamma. They best interactions they have are tolerating each other sitting on the same sofa or chair. The worst is Mouse being a jerk and intimidating Noelle over their food and provoking her. Being cleaning/cuddllebuddies is right out. My wife has become infatuated with a cat that may or may not be at our local shelter when it opens tomorrow. This cat would be 5 years old. Mouse is now around 3. Noelle somewhere between 9-12. Is there a predictor as to adding a third cat into this mix? Does this hold up or is it just wishful thinking?
|
|
#
?
Oct 3, 2016 16:09
|
|
|
orange sky posted:He had some fleas but I think that's taken care of, but what I noticed most about him is he purrs very loudly and he has some wheezing when breathing, might have a flu or something. If he came from a shelter, having a bit of a cough is pretty normal, I think. My cat Pizza had some bad sniffles/runny nose/weepy eye when he came home from the shelter, the vet at the shelter gave us some meds to take home. orange sky posted:I already love the cat, woke up in the morning to find him on the other side of my bedroom door, standing on a bookshelf, staring like this Pizza does this, but from over our heads, sitting on the headboard: 
|
|
#
?
Oct 3, 2016 16:55
|
|
|
Willie Tomg posted:Please lend me the strength to not overfeed my cat who is really good at begging for more kibble with the perfectly manipulative blend of sotto voce mewls and pushy yet tender kneading. It's pretty easy when you learn the command for "no more food," which is "gently caress you, cat"
|
|
#
?
Oct 3, 2016 17:17
|
|
|
Tuna's sick  He was puking all over the place last night, and I was able to get him into the vet this morning. He doesn't have any intestinal blockages or anything, so they gave him fluids and a suppressant for the symptoms, and he's been very subdued laying under the bed all day and I am worried Also the vet confirmed what a small fear of mine: besides being a cat Tuna is a Fat and I'm going to need to get him on a diet to lose like two pounds.
|
|
#
?
Oct 3, 2016 23:06
|
|
|
yay all new cat people! 2 pounds? thats not THAT bad.
|
|
#
?
Oct 3, 2016 23:08
|
|
|
In the next few months I may have to transport 4 cats on a ~16 hour drive. What's the best way to do this? Is it better just to fly the cats instead of trying to drive at that point? Also, pet hotels. Will they traumatize my cats if I have them at one for a period of possibly a few weeks? What's everyone's experience with them?
|
|
#
?
Oct 4, 2016 00:04
|
|
|
Jet tends to get some sort of overgrown nails, but only with his polydactyl claws. They always end up becoming fairly thick regardless of how much I trim them, though they've gone back to normal before (I never know why). I don't think simply shortening it is going to do much good. Is there a way to file it down, or reduce the "shell" around the claw? Or does it just go away with time? Edit: Looked up some videos and wow, I was not clipping his claws properly at all. I did a thorough re-clipping and the poor guy had a lot of layers built up But all the claws are clean and trim, and no blood! He hates my guts now, but that's his problem, not mine.
Pollyanna fucked around with this message at 01:56 on Oct 4, 2016 |
|
#
?
Oct 4, 2016 01:11
|
|
|
DreamShipWrecked posted:I didn't see anything listed in the OP so I will ask separately, has anyone had any experience with getting rid of a dander allergy for cats or having so-called "hypo allergenic" cats? I agree with DarkHorse about the shots, they may help. Besides just years of exposure and pills, wiping the cat down with Allerpet or a damp washcloth a few times a week cuts down on the dander. And if you are brave you can bathe your cat a few times a year, they eventually get used to it. I have found that my degree of snotty misery is also cat dependent. Some cats are fine, some give me rashes. If she can stick her face right up to a few cats and pick the best one for her allergies she shouldn't need a hairless cat.
|
|
#
?
Oct 4, 2016 02:22
|
|
|
oh no OH GOD NOOOOO Claudius learned that there's an entire bag of catnip!!! there's an entire bag of the stuff that made her favorite toy mouse smell so good!!! currently googling synonyms for "gently caress you, cat"
|
|
#
?
Oct 4, 2016 06:45
|
|
|
Yeah, as someone who has a polydactyl kitty, I can definitely say claw-clipping is both more important (ingrown claws happen so easily) and more important. My cat has freaking 8 toes on each of her front paws and 5 on each of her back paws, so yeah. They get incredibly thick sometimes too, like you said - they don't shed claw-casings the same way as normal claws do which your cat uses more. Jackie is always digging her paws into things and kneading and such to shed casings.
|
|
#
?
Oct 4, 2016 13:14
|
|
|
Do they come out like basically macaroni? My cat has one weird claw like that. The rest are normal just this one weird tube claw.
|
|
#
?
Oct 4, 2016 13:18
|
|
|
Rotten Red Rod posted:In the next few months I may have to transport 4 cats on a ~16 hour drive. What's the best way to do this? Is it better just to fly the cats instead of trying to drive at that point? This really depends on your cats. Mine is ok on a train or a bus but hell in a car. I have flown with her 3 times and 2 were good experiences. The last was probable bad because she was bordered at the vet for the day.
|
|
#
?
Oct 4, 2016 13:35
|
|
|
Synthbuttrange posted:Do they come out like basically macaroni? My cat has one weird claw like that. The rest are normal just this one weird tube claw. That usually means your cat is doing a bad job of maintaining that claw, like through biting it or sharpening it. You really need to keep an eye on circular claws because they can go all the way around and start pressing into their paws, and they're a total pain to clip at that point.
|
|
#
?
Oct 4, 2016 14:20
|
|
|
It came in my mail randomly, now it's on my fridge  
|
|
#
?
Oct 4, 2016 16:37
|
|
|
duckfarts posted:That usually means your cat is doing a bad job of maintaining that claw, like through biting it or sharpening it. You really need to keep an eye on circular claws because they can go all the way around and start pressing into their paws, and they're a total pain to clip at that point. It's hard to tell how far back I should clip the claw sometimes, since certain clipped lengths are often close enough to the pad to be worrying but also close enough to the quick to not have much room to spare.
|
|
#
?
Oct 4, 2016 18:11
|
|
|
duckfarts posted:That usually means your cat is doing a bad job of maintaining that claw, like through biting it or sharpening it. You really need to keep an eye on circular claws because they can go all the way around and start pressing into their paws, and they're a total pain to clip at that point. Well, what happened with this one claw that Jackie had (and sorry about the garbled nature of my last post >_<) was that it became incredibly *thick*.... I dunno if I would describe it as being like "macaroni", but it was very and very thick and very much curled around all the way to the point that it had started to dig into the bad. On *two* occasions this claw got so bad (and I was so afraid of clipping it and winding up with a bloody mess) that I took her to the vet (she would have needed an annual anyway on both occasions) and I had them take care of it. The first time it was a little bad, and there was a little wound there in one of her many paw pads (still a little scar!). The second time they clipped it when it got big, it basically "fixed" the claw and it sheds casings like the other ones, and I keep a tighter reign on her paws now. Also, when she is relaxed and sleepy and on my bed she does not care and will let me handle her claws and do all the clipping I want with no protest. I actually try to keep her claws small and sharp. When they're small and sharp they are way easy to take care of. It's when they get big and dull that you start having problems, as far as polydactyl cats go. Only front claws are the problem, though - back claws are usually kinda dull but as long as you don't neglect them TOTALLY they are fine.. For polydactyl cats, it is always the "thumb" that's the problem.
|
|
#
?
Oct 4, 2016 19:13
|
|
|
duckfarts posted:That usually means your cat is doing a bad job of maintaining that claw, like through biting it or sharpening it. You really need to keep an eye on circular claws because they can go all the way around and start pressing into their paws, and they're a total pain to clip at that point. Yeah I keep a good eye on their claw length because they will paw me in the face to feed them in the mornings. Regular clipping, and every couple of weeks if the macaroni is really thick I'll get a metal file out to shape it back down.
|
|
#
?
Oct 5, 2016 02:13
|
|
|
So it turns out that my cat is full of parasites. The vet told me. I'm guessing it's not normal to feel movements that seriously feel like worms on your cat's stomach and in that case, I'm worried this might have stumped his growth, he's 8 weeks old but might have had these worms for a long time... Doing nedication now, they should start coming out.
|
|
#
?
Oct 5, 2016 02:39
|
|
|
Synthbuttrange posted:Yeah I keep a good eye on their claw length because they will paw me in the face to feed them in the mornings. Regular clipping, and every couple of weeks if the macaroni is really thick I'll get a metal file out to shape it back down. I'm really jealous of people with cats that are TOTALLY COOL with that battery operated file peticure thing As Seen On TV because that kinda stuff seems very helpful for the circleclaw
|
|
#
?
Oct 5, 2016 02:49
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 15, 2024 16:07 |
|
|
Oh yeah my cats absolutely hate that thing like you wont believe.
|
|
#
?
Oct 5, 2016 02:59
|
|