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Milly and Oliver are very nice and soft-looking, pics actually do tell a lot. Jackie is oddly more soft in this.. incredibly sleek, silky sense. The fur behind/under her ear is just ridiculously soft and silky, to make one example. But you guys have inspired me, and uh... I'm just going to post a bunch of pics of Jackie's awesome Classic Tabby (the rarest tabby pattern incidentally) coat, as well as pictures of her absurdly soft tummy. And yes, I get to bury my face in the tummy. Jackie used to let me do ANYTHING, but ever since I got a second cat (Sardine) she now has put up limits and starts growling and scractching after a few seconds. Makes me sad and almost makes me want to give up Sardine, in a way, just to appease THE JACK. Anyway, here we go:    So uh, I think you get a nice of how Jackie is both soft sleek and silky as well soft and floofy on the underside, which is a nice combination. I think that last pic of her on the steps is pretty great, it captures her pretty well in a moment where relaxation has been interrupted with the annoyance of being photographed. That last one is pretty silly and it actually does show her one spot where you can see her skin (on the flab). She has actually been consistently losing more and more weight since we moved from a one-room apartment to a two-floor two-bedroom apartment where there is even a private backyard and Jackie is now going up and down stairs and running around outside more and seems to be eating *less*, and she actually has been shedding weight slowly but surely, I think. But again that coat is thick as HELL. I can brush it for an hour getting ball after ball of excess fur and it's no less thick. It's also *completely* waterproof, even on the back legs especially the fur gets *incredibly tiny and dense to the point where it feels all crazy and weird. But yeah, Jackie comes in from the rain and all the water has rolled right off her back and she's almost totally dry except for the fur underneath, depending on how much thick grass she walked through - but still, the outer shell is like a permanent raincoat. I kinda wanna get into the Jackie/Sardine drama, but that's a whole 'nother post I think. Jackie's got REALLY nice fur and that ought be noted 
kaworu fucked around with this message at 16:27 on Oct 12, 2016 |
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Oct 12, 2016 16:22
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| # ? May 27, 2024 18:22 |
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Aika is scheduled to come home today! All we have to do is drive for one and a half hours to get there and one and a half hours to get back! She also gets to stay in my bedroom which means I get to sleep on the couch! my radioactive cat
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Oct 12, 2016 16:35
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Lareine posted:Aika is scheduled to come home today! All we have to do is drive for one and a half hours to get there and one and a half hours to get back! She also gets to stay in my bedroom which means I get to sleep on the couch! https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B004SBPRPK?psc=1 Geiger counter, you know you want to  Tell your friends how "hot" your cat is and show them the video to prove it.
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Oct 12, 2016 17:50
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So my buddy Hobbes was recently diagnosed with kidney dysfunction  they haven't pinpointed exactly what it is just yet (or haven't told me) and he's going back to the vet in about 2 1/2 months for another kidney check, to see how he's progressing. I *think* it's ischemic kidney disease, as he's basically anorexic and was puking a lot before he got on Pepsid.Right now my biggest struggle is getting him to loving eat. He's quite thin; at least a pound underweight, maybe two. He has to have prescription (I chose wet) food now, which he'll eat but isn't excited about. I've been dabbing his nose with a high-calorie gel supplement (to lick off), putting his 'regular' food underneath the prescription so he can eat that if he finishes it, and occasionally give him treats because he always goes for treats. I even got a lower dish so his whiskers won't touch, and have an elaborate way to feed him so his piggy brother doesn't eat all his dins. I also heat up his leftover breakfast when I get home from work to try and get him to finish it. His water is changed (minimum) 2x a day. He also gets lots of love and praise and pets because he's loving adorable, but if he gets any thinner I think it would be another vet visit. I feel like I know a fair amount about cats and their needs, and so far so good, but I want to cover all my bases. Does anyone think I'm missing anything? Cat Tax, Hobbes himself from a while ago: 
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Oct 12, 2016 21:12
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This is my *relatively* new cat (my wife and I got her about three months ago). She came from the shelter with the name Bluejay, but we thought that stunk (and she was a young enough catte anyway) and renamed her BB. Compared to our other cat, Cocoa (who is 10 to BB's 1.75 years), BB is much more... Independent. She'll seek out attention at her own pace, which is really up to whatever whim she decides to fancy (is definitely catte). Her most charming behavior is her love of shoulder rides! She looks up at you, mewps (she does have a really cute meow), and then jumps on your shoulder. All you have to do is support her back legs and she's generally OK. Her least charming behavior is her desire to play with Cocoa and Cocoa's lack of desire to play with BB. It's fine (and we do let them sort it out), but it is irritating at midnight when we're trying to go to bed. She did have a bit of a wild ride from intake at the shelter to the cyclops that we adopted, but she's settling in and becoming much more comfortable around us.
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Oct 12, 2016 22:49
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Werong Bustope posted:If you want you could try pate style food, or something pricier like Thrive thats not the processed meat chunks. Some cats don't like the chunky bits but are cool with meat paste. Pate was the big winner! Cats are fuckin weird!
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Oct 13, 2016 00:06
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My kitten (6 months old) is very playful and part of that play is the classic cat move of "hiding" behind a corner then running out and half-pouncing at me. Sometimes when he does this, I jump involuntarily, and it scares the cat back and he runs away. I tried jumping at him on purpose a couple of times, and he seems to like it, he usually runs away, then turns around and runs back to "chase" me, then turns and runs away again when he gets close. Is this okay to do to my cat? Is it a healthy form of play to sometimes let him spook me, and to sometimes spook him first instead? I don't want to make him afraid of me as he grows up, or to encourage him pouncing all the way onto people (which he doesn't do in this way currently). And I definitely don't want to terrorize my cat, but it seems like he likes it and it gets him active and excited. Kind of hard to tell, any advice appreciated.
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Oct 13, 2016 01:11
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cementsocks posted:My kitten (6 months old) is very playful and part of that play is the classic cat move of "hiding" behind a corner then running out and half-pouncing at me. Sometimes when he does this, I jump involuntarily, and it scares the cat back and he runs away. I tried jumping at him on purpose a couple of times, and he seems to like it, he usually runs away, then turns around and runs back to "chase" me, then turns and runs away again when he gets close. This is 100% normal cat playing and is just fine. If he takes the pouncing too far you can hiss at him/refuse to play more/bop him gently on the nose if it really goes too far. He's a kitten so he will probably need guidance on how to play without being a dick, it's just up to you where that line is.
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Oct 13, 2016 04:42
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Organza Quiz posted:This is 100% normal cat playing and is just fine. If he takes the pouncing too far you can hiss at him/refuse to play more/bop him gently on the nose if it really goes too far. He's a kitten so he will probably need guidance on how to play without being a dick, it's just up to you where that line is. That's a relief to hear! Yeah, he usually doesn't take things too far unless he's in a mood, I just wanted to make sure I'm not traumatizing him by lurching around and spooking him
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Oct 13, 2016 05:21
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This is Shackleton: Seven-ish years old, lived with us quite happily for six. He's decided that now is the time to demonstrate his displeasure with sudden changes at home. We thought he was just pissing on the bed in protest but went to see the vet since it's the first time he's done anything like this in the last six and a half years. Vet thought it was just stress-related but gave us cystitis meds to be sure; this morning he's still at it, straining to pee and with some blood in his urine. He's also being more subdued and not his usual mental/spacky self. I'm not necessarily after any medical advice, just... I'm stressing. It's the first time he's been ill in any way that we've noticed..
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Oct 13, 2016 08:20
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Could be crystals, hoping for the best for you and your buddy.
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Oct 13, 2016 08:44
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Yeah, straining and blood points to crystals for me too. I'd call the vet and give an update, they may want to give him an x-ray to see if crystals are present (and if so, are they small enough to be passed or do they need to be surgically removed). If it is crystals they'd probably also need a urine sample so they can ID which type and recommend a special diet for them based on that ID.
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Oct 13, 2016 12:23
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 Is this really necessary, Tuna? The dry food bag is in one of the cabinets above the sink. If I don't feed him when he wants it (4 AM god dammit Tuna that is too early), then he somehow reaches down into the cabinet and starts ripping apart the bag to get at the goodies contained within. I haven't managed to catch him in the act to see how he's doing it--I know he doesn't climb into the actual cabinet, but I know for a fact that he's doing it.
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Oct 13, 2016 17:19
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Just put it in an airtight container and your problem goes away. At least you can leave bread out.
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Oct 13, 2016 17:51
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 My cat Shuffle is the mellowest cat I've ever met, and sweet as hell. I adopted him at ten months old from a guy who'd let him outside, so naturally Shuffle was curious about his new neighborhood even though I wanted to keep him inside. He's been an indoor cat for three years now, though one time soon after I adopted him he managed to escape. My friend had a humane trap, so I put that out. In the middle of the night, I was woken up to loud yowling, and ran outside to find another cat in the trap. There's a pair of friendly outdoor cats, obviously abandoned pets, who've taken up residence in my neighborhood. One seems like he's about eight years old, the other about the same age as Shuffle. They stick around because my friend drops off food for them and my neighbor does as well. The older cat had gotten stuck in the trap, and Shuffle and the younger cat were freaking out and putting their paws in the cage as if they were trying to free their friend. Less than 24 hours later we'd managed to grab Shuffle and bring him inside. The young girl next door named the older cat Tinkerbell and the younger cat Tigerlily, and then found out they were both boys. Now it's Tinker and Tiger. Tiger keeps coming to visit, stopping by the front door. Shuffle and Tiger paw at the door, meow/chirp at each other, and roll over. It's cute, and I'm tempted to let Tiger inside but I don't know if it's a good idea. I don't have a good way to introduce them, and I think I'd want to let Tiger in and out to let him visit his friend Tinker (and the neighborhood kids who he likes playing with) but I'd be worried about Shuffle getting wanderlust and going outside. I know of people who have indoor and indoor/outdoor cats, but their indoor cats are too afraid to go outside. But Shuffle was indoor/outdoor as a kitten, so it's kind of ingrained in him that outside isn't a scary place. He doesn't make a beeline for the door when it's opened anymore, but I still check to make sure he's not within pouncing distance of the door when I come in or out. What should I do? Tiger has been taken for his shots by my vet tech friend three years ago, but I'm nervous he might bring in diseases or something. So step one might be to take Tiger to my vet for some bloodwork. I mean, take a look at this cuteness: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MS46b054Uag
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Oct 13, 2016 23:20
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Let The Cat In.
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Oct 13, 2016 23:44
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This is probably the stupidest question in the history of ever, but here goes. I'm looking at making knitted cat toys for a friend of mine for Christmas. I'm thinking the firmer batting (not the loose fluffy stuff) and a jingle bell or two and some catnip spray to put on. Are there brands or materials I should avoid? (Probably not, but two minutes on a forum looking silly vs. a sick kitty.)
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Oct 14, 2016 02:50
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Avoid, uh, lillies? And things in the garlic family. Probably not an issue. Consider stuffing with actual catnip instead of catnip spray (wtf is catnip spray?). I also wonder how well knitted toys would hold up for cats. Five of their six ends are pointy and tend to get stuck on things. Do you felt at all? That might hold up better.
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Oct 14, 2016 03:00
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A friend of mine has it. It's catnip oil in a little spritzer bottle.
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Oct 14, 2016 03:19
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I bought a bottle and it doesnt do anything for my cats.
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Oct 14, 2016 03:27
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toe knee hand posted:Avoid, uh, lillies? And things in the garlic family. Probably not an issue. I crocheted a catnip pillow for my cat about two years ago now. Put catnip in a stocking, tied it off then crocheted two layers around it with acrylic wool. I was worried she'd tear it to pieces but actually over the years it's just gotten more and more felted as she sticks her claws in and out of it. She isn't really interested in toys in general but she played with that thing every single day for months and even now she still sometimes goes for it.
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Oct 14, 2016 04:01
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Just an aside, but for anyone who might not know you can 'reactivate' catnip toys by crushing them with your hand. Also, consider cycling the toys you have by taking some away for a while. Every now and then I dig around under my couch and find a few toys, and when I toss them on the floor my boys are definitely way more interested in them then the other crap littering my floor. Also, about the knitted cat toys: the only downside is that if your cat is dumb enough to try and eat the toy or swallow part of its yarn, it can be potentially dangerous. But that's pretty unlikely.
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Oct 14, 2016 04:14
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I didn't even THINK of using something like that. Oh wow. That's an awesome idea. I can put a little bag of catnip in the middle and just knit a tight gauge. (The stocking holding the catnip to prevent spills, I mean.)
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Oct 14, 2016 04:26
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I suggest you make it quite a narrow cushion so they can get their jaws around it to bite it and carry it around. After the success of the cushion I tried making a catnip mouse since I thought that'd be cuter to watch her play with, but I accidentally made it too wide around and she couldn't close her jaws around it to pick it up, so she was never super interested in it. Then again Pepper is also an incredibly picky animal so maybe it won't be a problem.
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Oct 14, 2016 04:49
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Even after just two days of making the effort not to intervene with these two when tackles happen I'm noticing a difference. I'm wondering if they were getting stressed from not being allowed to work this stuff out on their own. Cinder now tackles Mola, holds her down, and forcibly bathes her head instead of smacking her or biting down on her ears or neck. Cats.
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Oct 14, 2016 04:55
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yeah I squash old toys, and at the end microwave them a little bit to get that last bit out. Cats go nuts for it.
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Oct 14, 2016 04:55
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Organza Quiz posted:I suggest you make it quite a narrow cushion so they can get their jaws around it to bite it and carry it around. After the success of the cushion I tried making a catnip mouse since I thought that'd be cuter to watch her play with, but I accidentally made it too wide around and she couldn't close her jaws around it to pick it up, so she was never super interested in it. http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEspring03/PATTdimsum.html - Is the patterns I plan on using. I was thinking two or three dim sum and a pair of egg rolls. She says her cat is a big one, but either way, four or five toys should be enough to rotate them and keep them fresh. Edit: Or I could not make them at all, given that her cat will eat yarn if she gets ahold of it. Whoops. GoingPostal fucked around with this message at 05:13 on Oct 14, 2016 |
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Oct 14, 2016 05:11
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GoingPostal posted:http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEspring03/PATTdimsum.html - Is the patterns I plan on using. I was thinking two or three dim sum and a pair of egg rolls. Hm yeah that could be a problem. Having said that my one doesn't have enough yarn sticking out for a cat to eat and these days it's been felted so closely that most of it is hardly yarn anymore. You could knit that pattern and then wet felt it maybe?
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Oct 14, 2016 06:38
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porkswordonboard posted:Story of Hobbes the cute cat Sounds like you're doing everything possible to help your buddy out! Octavian had a kidney issue a few years ago and wouldn't eat anything, so the vet gave us this food that apparently is designed to be hella appealing to cats. Octo scarfed that poo poo down and after a few weeks of meds, prescription food and patience he got back to normal. Last year our late cat Sam wasn't eating so we took a little unsalted butter and mixed it in with his food and he seemed interested!
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Oct 14, 2016 07:21
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Organza Quiz posted:Hm yeah that could be a problem. Having said that my one doesn't have enough yarn sticking out for a cat to eat and these days it's been felted so closely that most of it is hardly yarn anymore. You could knit that pattern and then wet felt it maybe? Edit: Second guessing myself, probably won't make the toys. GoingPostal fucked around with this message at 10:44 on Oct 14, 2016 |
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Oct 14, 2016 09:46
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DeusExMchna posted:Sounds like you're doing everything possible to help your buddy out! Octavian had a kidney issue a few years ago and wouldn't eat anything, so the vet gave us this food that apparently is designed to be hella appealing to cats. Octo scarfed that poo poo down and after a few weeks of meds, prescription food and patience he got back to normal. Last year our late cat Sam wasn't eating so we took a little unsalted butter and mixed it in with his food and he seemed interested! Thanks Deus! You've helped ease my mind. I might actually try the butter thing, I'm pretty sure he licks the butter dish when we're not around. That or goat milk.
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Oct 14, 2016 21:20
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BJPaskoff posted:
Let the first one in, then set the trap so you get the second one.
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Oct 14, 2016 22:15
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let in all the cats 
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Oct 14, 2016 22:28
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Everyone with issues getting new cats to get along needs to invest in a Feliway diffuser. We had to take in a fourth who's basically a kitten (her previous human wanted to declaw her and then said we should just take her after we tried to talk her out of it) and our others are 9, 12, and 14. You can see the problem here. Molly, the new cat, has way too much energy for the others most of the time but with the diffuser they're all chill with each other to the point where our oldest ladies will try to bathe Molly's head and they curl up near each other. The only half-serious arguements are over who gets the top spot on the cat tree. Molly's previous home had her shut in a closet so she's a bit nervous of being in the bedroom or bathroom with the door shut. She was also clingy at first, needing to be on a person or petted all the time, but that's relaxed over the last couple of weeks. Now she's fine just jumping onto the shower chair when we're in the bathroom or resting near us instead of on us. And we got the large mats near her butt trimmed off, which is awesome. I think four officially makes my wife and I Crazy Cat People but we're okay with this.
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Oct 15, 2016 09:14
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The cone is off! Let the grooming commence! 
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Oct 15, 2016 16:40
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Lotta work to do there 
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Oct 15, 2016 17:01
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I think I am getting ready to make a terrible decision and get a cat. The one caveat I kind of have is I want to be able to take it for a walk. I know this almost certainly means no matter what cat I end up getting it will definitely murder me in my sleep for trying to leash it. That being said what is the goon hive mind consensus on cat types that will tolerate and enjoy being leashed?
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Oct 15, 2016 19:44
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Lord Zedd-Repulsa posted:Everyone with issues getting new cats to get along needs to invest in a Feliway diffuser. We had to take in a fourth who's basically a kitten (her previous human wanted to declaw her and then said we should just take her after we tried to talk her out of it) and our others are 9, 12, and 14. You can see the problem here. Molly, the new cat, has way too much energy for the others most of the time but with the diffuser they're all chill with each other to the point where our oldest ladies will try to bathe Molly's head and they curl up near each other. The only half-serious arguements are over who gets the top spot on the cat tree. I am really going to ACTUALLY try Feliway instead of saying I will. If it can just melt Jackie's Icy heart a teeny bit, then there could be so much happiness in the house. The way it is now, it's like there's always a potential face off waiting to occur. They can co-exist just fine mostly, and I did this experiment with treats where I got them within a few inches of one another, eating treats, totally fine with the proximity. And then they wandered off with no animosity. It's funny, it's almost like a horror movie. Every single time I am petting Sardine, it starts off fine - I approach her, which you have to do without looking at her and in an indirect manner - she's the sort of cat who flips out and runs away if you walk right towards her at a normal pace. But once you're petting her and close she's generally fine relaxes if she trusts you - slow blinks work well with her. But every time like10 seconds in as she is starting to purr she tenses up and gets nervous and squirms a bit. And I look behind me, and there is always Jackie sitting on her haunches not a foot away, nonchalantly licking a paw or just staring right at Sardine while my back is turned, in what strikes me as a fairly menacing sort of behavior. I don't know. Part of me still thinks maybe I should get rid of Sardine, because Jackie truly may never really accept another cat. I mean, she's just ridiculously possessive of me.. The fact that Sardine hasn't gone onto the second floor where my bedroom is since the first week I moved in speaks volumes to that. And it's still just me and the two cats in the apartment for the rest of the month at least - a roommate would probably help, really. Just a human to pay attention to Sardine so I don't have to and Jackie won't need to feel like I'm cheating on her or something.. This isn't new behavior from Jackie, either - I had a boyfriend for 2 years and he had an older male cat (Felix, RIP )and we pretty much always hung out/slept at his place (he was a Harvard-educated psychiatrist and I was a high-school dropout and recovering drug addict with PTSD and an anxiety disorder so it was an interesting match). But anyway, his cat always the slept on the bed and was especially fond of me (I am a bit of a cat whisperer) and we got along great. Point being, when I'd get home I'd have another cats fur on my clothes and have his pheromones on me, and Jackie could ALWAYS tell and she'd always give me the silent treatment for an hour and be all huffy like I'd betrayed her. So I really should'a seen this coming and just said no in the first place!  But I didn't. And now I have this skittish adorable little Sardine whom I thought was ~10 but is only ~4 and I'll probably still have her when I'm freakin 40 or something.... I mean, I've accepted that I'm permanently stuck with Jackie because at this point we're co-dependent, but I think I might keep my eye open for another home for Sardine with a friendlier cat. Sardine desperately needs a friendly cat to play with and groom/be groomed by and to cuddle with. And Jackerie is NOT that cat; Jackie will groom me and cuddle with [/i]me[/i], but not another cat, apparently.  but I'll sincerely try Feliway
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Oct 15, 2016 19:46
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Lord Zedd-Repulsa posted:Everyone with issues getting new cats to get along needs to invest in a Feliway diffuser. We had to take in a fourth who's basically a kitten (her previous human wanted to declaw her and then said we should just take her after we tried to talk her out of it) and our others are 9, 12, and 14. You can see the problem here. Please get tested for the toxoplasmosis. PM me if you need help covering this cost.
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Oct 15, 2016 19:57
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| # ? May 27, 2024 18:22 |
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Do we have toxoplamosis because we have cats or do we get cats because we have toxoplasmosis.
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Oct 15, 2016 21:11
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