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Synthbuttrange posted:Is your cat long furred? Might need a butt trim if it's catching poops which fall off as she walks away. No. One of them has fur a little longer than the other, but I've checked all of them and it doesn't look like there's any hair too close. I suppose I could try that anyway (if they let me). Thank you!
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Nov 17, 2016 17:58
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Dogfish posted:I got pregnant and now my cat won't poop in her litterbox. She poops directly in front of it. She pees in the litterbox no problem, but no matter what we do she poops RIGHT next to it. We've tried making sure the litter is absolutely fresh at all times, we've tried different locations for the litterbox in case she didn't feel safe pooping where it was (when we did that she pooped right in front of it AND in front of her water fountain, and peed in her food dish). There are infrequent wandering stranger cats in the back yard that make her nervous, and she occasionally pees on furniture when she sees them through the window, but this pooping is new and it started pretty much as soon as I had a positive test. Nothing else has changed. WTF?? One thing you might want to try is just a bigger box.
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Nov 17, 2016 21:42
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^^ Cat Attract litter additive might help you out, too, and it's pretty cheap. Kitty's just trying to give you toxoplasmosis so she can have you all to herself
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Nov 18, 2016 00:35
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Spent an hour with my arm jammed in a 3 inch gap under somebody's porch with a broom trying to get one of my cats today, now she's giving me the stinkeye Out of the house for five loving days. God damnit, Syrup. 
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Nov 18, 2016 06:28
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Mirthless posted:Spent an hour with my arm jammed in a 3 inch gap under somebody's porch with a broom trying to get one of my cats today, now she's giving me the stinkeye "That was my hidey-hole!"
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Nov 18, 2016 15:04
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Hey goons... I'm having a sort of weird realization about Jackie and how she's getting older and just... well, she's finally losing weight, but I'm almost worried it's a bit too rapid? Or maybe I am wrong. She goes out more now and runs so much more and has such a better diet so I think she's healthier. But it's like, I look at Sardine and she is this big gorgeous lithe full-bodied cat in the prime of her life, and she's even like way TALLER than Jackie, and it just... makes me feel kinda weird/sad  It really is a good thing Sardine only growls 'playfully' at Jackie because I am like 90% certain that a cat with Sardine's size and agility would be ability to easily straight up *murder* Jackie. But they do get along most of the time now, thanks to Sardine being a sweetheart to everyone as I said.The real issue I am worried about is her back leg - one or both. I thought it was hurt at one point because she would growl/hiss and actually bat at my head with claws if I touched, like... the equivalent of her calf/shins or her thighs at all. And she never EVER EVER does that or reacts badly to petting, you could pet this cat for five hours straight and she wouldn't turn on you. But touch the outer part of those legs and she will immediately attack you then be in an awful mood and flop her tail about loudly and glare and hide her legs in her sitting position. This happened once before and it freaked me out, but I decided to really test it to see if this was just Jackie being a weird cat or if something was actually broken or sprained back there. She was already pissed at me at this point, so we were past that point and she didn't seem to react much at all when I sort of tested the integrity of her back legs and just tried to see if anything looked odd, and it did seem fine. And she then ran away from me at top speed so that seemed ok... Ah well.. Quick question: Is it normal for a cat to have, like... little spiky/pokey things on their back legs on like their shins? Because it was really touching those that flipped Jackie out. I tested Sardine and she seemed to kinda have them too so I figure it's normal...? 
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Nov 18, 2016 17:49
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...Maybe? I don't really know what you're referring to. Could it be bone spurs, maybe? You should probably take your cat to the vet and maybe get some x-rays done. Mirthless fucked around with this message at 07:27 on Nov 19, 2016 |
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Nov 19, 2016 07:24
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kaworu posted:The real issue I am worried about is her back leg - one or both. I thought it was hurt at one point because she would growl/hiss and actually bat at my head with claws if I touched, like... the equivalent of her calf/shins or her thighs at all. And she never EVER EVER does that or reacts badly to petting, you could pet this cat for five hours straight and she wouldn't turn on you. But touch the outer part of those legs and she will immediately attack you then be in an awful mood and flop her tail about loudly and glare and hide her legs in her sitting position. Too ease your mind a little, I have an absolutely adorable older cat who will warn, whine, and bite (in that order) if I touch her 1) lower back 2) back legs 3) wrong part of stomach 4) stomach at wrong time. She will also ask to be picked up, roll around in my lap for hours and run up and down the stairs like crazy. I'm sure she has some joint wear but her OCD about cuddle locations is psychological. Take a trip to the vet (explain your worries beforehand, ask them to plan for correct tests).
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Nov 19, 2016 11:15
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I'm a bad cat steward I keep forgetting to clean the litter box, so poor Wolfgang pissed in his cardboard box. This is like the second or third time he's gone somewhere he wasn't supposed to and it turned out the litter box was filthy. I'm going to have to get into a routine and clean it regularly every day.
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Nov 20, 2016 03:15
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I'm feeling extremely frustrated right now. The 12 week old kitten I adopted three weeks ago has become comfortable at her new place and is wreaking havoc. I tried to tire her out by playing with her about 2 hours each day after work, but it doesn't work. I had to lock her out of my room because she wouldn't stop going after the wires(and everything else). I asked several places online and all I got was "that's what kittens do, they're like babies". She's been crying for the last 10 minutes and digging out the carpet trying to get into my room. I feel really bad right now because I'm afraid that keeping her in the living room at night may affect her negatively and I have no idea what to do. If this is something I simply have to accept like other have said, then I'm seriously considering giving her up because it's really draining me mentally and financially and I don't think I can keep going like this without a way to control the situation.
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Nov 20, 2016 07:49
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Thats what kittens are. They have excessive amounts of energy and dont know any of the rules. 2 hours of play might sound a lot to you but to a kitten it's nothing. You could give her up. Or... get another kitten.  (or a teen cat to show her the ropes)Hyperlynx posted:I'm a bad cat steward Get two boxes if you cant work it into your routine. I have the boxes in my bathroom so I'll just go 'oh might as well clean out the trays before I shower' Synthbuttrange fucked around with this message at 08:59 on Nov 20, 2016 |
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Nov 20, 2016 08:56
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Revalis Enai posted:I'm feeling extremely frustrated right now. The 12 week old kitten I adopted three weeks ago has become comfortable at her new place and is wreaking havoc. I tried to tire her out by playing with her about 2 hours each day after work, but it doesn't work. I had to lock her out of my room because she wouldn't stop going after the wires(and everything else). I asked several places online and all I got was "that's what kittens do, they're like babies". She's been crying for the last 10 minutes and digging out the carpet trying to get into my room. I feel really bad right now because I'm afraid that keeping her in the living room at night may affect her negatively and I have no idea what to do. If this is something I simply have to accept like other have said, then I'm seriously considering giving her up because it's really draining me mentally and financially and I don't think I can keep going like this without a way to control the situation. This is why people say to get two kittens: it sounds twice as bad but they'll keep each other company and play with each other all the time, so it actually winds up easier. She'll chill as she gets older if you can tough it out, but as a kitten she has effectively infinite amounts of energy.
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Nov 20, 2016 11:42
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Revalis Enai posted:I'm feeling extremely frustrated right now. The 12 week old kitten I adopted three weeks ago has become comfortable at her new place and is wreaking havoc. I tried to tire her out by playing with her about 2 hours each day after work, but it doesn't work. I had to lock her out of my room because she wouldn't stop going after the wires(and everything else). I asked several places online and all I got was "that's what kittens do, they're like babies". She's been crying for the last 10 minutes and digging out the carpet trying to get into my room. I feel really bad right now because I'm afraid that keeping her in the living room at night may affect her negatively and I have no idea what to do. If this is something I simply have to accept like other have said, then I'm seriously considering giving her up because it's really draining me mentally and financially and I don't think I can keep going like this without a way to control the situation. It is a toddler and many of the things which applies to humans apply to furry mammals as well: it needs your love, constant attention and it will ruin things in a amazing ways. We're talking a couple of months and your cat will be a young adult. My local shelter doesn't even adopt out kittens to people who work out of the house full time (that's a bit harsh but you get the point). It's sad you're considering giving her up for just being a kitten. I would try to let my shoulders down and appreciate the crazy. Make dangerous stuff inaccessible (like wires she can actually hurt herself with).
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Nov 20, 2016 11:58
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Cat just vomited But then she started playing and eating food?
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Nov 20, 2016 13:11
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Revalis Enai posted:I'm feeling extremely frustrated right now. The 12 week old kitten I adopted three weeks ago has become comfortable at her new place and is wreaking havoc. I tried to tire her out by playing with her about 2 hours each day after work, but it doesn't work. I had to lock her out of my room because she wouldn't stop going after the wires(and everything else). I asked several places online and all I got was "that's what kittens do, they're like babies". She's been crying for the last 10 minutes and digging out the carpet trying to get into my room. I feel really bad right now because I'm afraid that keeping her in the living room at night may affect her negatively and I have no idea what to do. If this is something I simply have to accept like other have said, then I'm seriously considering giving her up because it's really draining me mentally and financially and I don't think I can keep going like this without a way to control the situation. Keeping her out of your room at night won't affect her badly as long as you give her plenty of attention and play time during the day. Keeping her away from wires/other expensive stuff she can chew is an excellent idea!
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Nov 20, 2016 13:12
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MrSlam posted:Cat just vomited Yep, sounds like a cat. Seriously, random puking is quite normal as long as it doesn't happen very frequently(or contains blood etc).
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Nov 20, 2016 13:15
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Only one of my cats vomit. It's usually because he's a goddamn idiot eating way too fast or he has a hairball.
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Nov 20, 2016 13:23
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Mister Adequate posted:This is why people say to get two kittens: it sounds twice as bad but they'll keep each other company and play with each other all the time, so it actually winds up easier. This. Kittens are adorable, but only get a lone kitten if you're willing and able to spend hours and hours with it every day. If you can't, get two kittens or get an adult.
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Nov 20, 2016 13:30
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Cythereal posted:This. Kittens are adorable, but only get a lone kitten if you're willing and able to spend hours and hours with it every day. If you can't, get two kittens or get an adult. I was under the assumption that she was 7 months old, which I thought it was close enough to an year that I can probably handle it. Her age wasn't listed on the adoption website or her profile, but the shelter did write that she was 3 months old when I went to be interviewed. I honestly made a rush decision without really thinking about it because I was told someone else wanted the kitten. I don't want to give her up, but I can only spend 2-3 hours a day to play with her, and I can't afford a second kitten. If my work/life schedule is deemed unfit to have a kitten her age, I think it may be better to give her up before she becomes too attached. I honestly don't know at this point.
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Nov 20, 2016 15:27
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Blood has shown up in Jet's stool a couple times over the past few weeks (bright red, not digested). He hasn't had any significant change in behavior, but it's alarming. I've read various things about how cats sometimes get blood in their poop cause they ate something stupid or whatever, and I don't know how serious this is. Is this something I should be worried about? It's happened before, but quickly went away.
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Nov 20, 2016 16:13
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MrSlam posted:Cat just vomited cat.exe is functioning within normal parameters Revalis Enai posted:I was under the assumption that she was 7 months old, which I thought it was close enough to an year that I can probably handle it. Her age wasn't listed on the adoption website or her profile, but the shelter did write that she was 3 months old when I went to be interviewed. I honestly made a rush decision without really thinking about it because I was told someone else wanted the kitten. If you genuinely think you can't do it, or that you're harming her with the current situation (you're probably not but I understand the feeling), then it wouldn't be wrong to give her up. That said, she's probably fine as long as you've got plenty of toys for her, and I would note that aside from eating twice as much food, a second kitten is basically already paid for with everything your current one has, toys, litter box, water bowl, etc. etc.. I hope that you can work something out but it's clear you want to do what's best for the little thing, so don't feel too bad if you have to give her up, and a playful kitten doesn't tend to have a hard time getting adopted.  Pollyanna posted:Blood has shown up in Jet's stool a couple times over the past few weeks (bright red, not digested). He hasn't had any significant change in behavior, but it's alarming. I've read various things about how cats sometimes get blood in their poop cause they ate something stupid or whatever, and I don't know how serious this is. Is this something I should be worried about? It's happened before, but quickly went away. Worry would be a strong word. If feasible, I would say call your vet and explain, they'll probably want a stool sample so they can take a look at what's going on. If he's otherwise acting fine and it's not a constant feature of his poops, it's pretty unlikely to be anything serious, and though obviously I'm just a random goon on the Internet, I would be surprised if it's anything more than catte being idiot.
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Nov 20, 2016 17:59
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It's happened before, but only for 1 or 2 poops, and never lasts. If it gets worse or stocks around I'll call the vet, but for now I'll just keep an eye on it. I've got a pet-sitting related question. How do you handle key exchange/dropoffs? It seems dangerous to me to hand a key to your house/apartment to someone, that'd open them up to keeping it copying your key and suddenly someone both knows the address of and has access to your place. Isn't that a security concern? How does that work? Reason I ask is cause the pet-sitter I came into contact with is oddly insistent on keeping the keys "for future visits", and that's a red flag for me. If it helps, this is their Yelp page: Dog Walking Do. https://www.yelp.com/biz/dog-walking-do-boston-3?utm_source=ashare&utm_medium=share_inline_section&ref=yelp-android Pollyanna fucked around with this message at 18:26 on Nov 20, 2016 |
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Nov 20, 2016 18:20
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I mean, it is kind of dangerous, but as someone who's done numerous pet-sitting jobs, the only solution to that is "hire someone you know, or who was referred to you by someone you know." I won't presume to judge the person you're dealing with, but hanging onto the keys is a little odd to me. Then again, what do I know? I don't have a Yelp page.
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Nov 20, 2016 18:31
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Mister Adequate posted:cat.exe is functioning within normal parameters Thanks for this, I really needed it. I spend as much time as I can with her and she sleeps on my bed every night, so I'm not trying to isolate her. But the fact remains that I can't devote every single minute to her as I need to shower, eat, and hopefully have some time to relax. If the time I'm spending with her is still insufficient for her needs then I would rather not deny her that for the time she's still a kitten and hope that there's someone who can provide that to her. I just want to be sure that I'm not denying her opportunities to be herself with my work/life schedule.
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Nov 20, 2016 19:42
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 Happy 4th birthday, boys. I solemnly swear to clean your litterbox every night immediately after I've fed you.
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Nov 21, 2016 09:05
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Revalis Enai posted:Thanks for this, I really needed it. I spend as much time as I can with her and she sleeps on my bed every night, so I'm not trying to isolate her. But the fact remains that I can't devote every single minute to her as I need to shower, eat, and hopefully have some time to relax. If the time I'm spending with her is still insufficient for her needs then I would rather not deny her that for the time she's still a kitten and hope that there's someone who can provide that to her. Playing with her for 2-3 hours a day is perfectly sufficient for her needs and it sounds like you're being a great kitten owner. You were complaining about her getting into your stuff and crying at you at night, so the thread pointed out that that's what kittens do and that getting another kitten would cause her to be less likely to do those things. The fact that she's causing trouble doesn't mean that you're neglecting her, she'd grow up just fine with the attention you're giving her. The question is whether you can work out a way to live with her in your house so she doesn't disrupt your life too much. If it were me, I'd kitten-proof as much of the house as possible (eg put away cables), close her out of rooms that can't be kitten-proofed and generally leave her a whole lot of toys to play with on her own when you can't be with her. Toys can include crumpled up pieces of paper and/or aluminium foil, knotted up drinking straws, pingpong balls etc.
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Nov 21, 2016 11:05
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big fat goon crushed a cat to death  (USER WAS PUT ON PROBATION FOR THIS POST)
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Nov 21, 2016 18:43
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Rangpur posted:I mean, it is kind of dangerous, but as someone who's done numerous pet-sitting jobs, the only solution to that is "hire someone you know, or who was referred to you by someone you know." I won't presume to judge the person you're dealing with, but hanging onto the keys is a little odd to me. Then again, what do I know? I don't have a Yelp page. Nghhhh. This just makes me kinda nervous. I have no way of knowing what would happen outside of some Help reviews that for all I know might be lies. This is a toughie...
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Nov 21, 2016 21:05
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Pollyanna posted:Nghhhh. This just makes me kinda nervous. I have no way of knowing what would happen outside of some Help reviews that for all I know might be lies. This is a toughie... Get your locks changed after if you can't have a friend do it, perhaps?
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Nov 21, 2016 23:36
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If you have the means to change your locks, I highly recommend these things. Combination deadbolts with programmable codes. https://www.amazon.com/Schlage-BE365VCAM619-Camelot-Keypad-Deadbolt/dp/B000NJJ1MQ If you need to let someone in temporarily you can set a code for them and wipe it when they're done. I also took the key locks out of the knobs so its impossible to lock myself out of the house.
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Nov 21, 2016 23:54
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I'd have to get my landlord to change the locks. Ugh, this is tough - I really don't feel safe with anyone other than friends taking care of my cat or having access to my apartment. I'm already asking a friend to petsit over Thanksgiving, I don't think I could shanghai them for Christmas too.
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Nov 22, 2016 04:54
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First rule of Milly: always be comfy.    Yes I did wake you up just to take a picture.
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Nov 22, 2016 14:40
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Many professional pet sitting services have NAPPS accreditation (national association of professional pet sitters). You should also be able to easily check out their BBB rating. I let my sitter keep a key in case I would ever need her on very short notice. I was wary at first about getting a random sitter but the lady who watched my cats was WAY better than any of my friends that have done it. She actually spent time playing with them and scooping their box and stuff.
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Nov 22, 2016 19:13
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Boogalo posted:
 Here's Marvin looking a bit annoyed. He was in the "no, I'm totally not tired"-phase kitten get sometimes. He still wanted to play with a toy off camera and promptly, after snapping the pic, dozed off on my lap. 
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Nov 22, 2016 20:54
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My pet sitter keeps a copy of the keys to my apartment and it's fine. She is a professional with a legit business and a pet CPR certification. Unrelated topic: I just started volunteering as a cat buddy at a local shelter and it's an earthly paradise. The people are super nice and the cats are often very hungry for attention. Anyone with some free time should consider doing this.
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Nov 22, 2016 21:05
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Minister of Chance posted:She looks so annoyed. It's perfect. Something about SIamese, they can really give the best death stares.... 
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Nov 22, 2016 21:07
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BaronVonVaderham posted:Something about SIamese, they can really give the best death stares.... It looks far more impressive with those light blue eyes. 
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Nov 22, 2016 21:26
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Mola has finally gotten a bit more comfortable in the house, even to the point of sleeping in the bed these days. This is great, because I was starting to get a bit concerned about her. The major problem is that now she has chosen 3:00 am as the most appropriate time to demonstrate her affection; I've been woken up every night this week by a loudly purring cat who has decided to wash my hair for me and give me affectionate headbutts. This is good in the sense that Mola is finally happy and comfortable, but bad in the sense of me having a job to get up to in the morning and needing sleep in order to function. So far the solution has been to pet her until she settles down and goes back to sleep, because if she's ignored she'll just sit next to me in bed and loudly bathe herself until my alarm goes off in the morning. Locking her out of the bedroom is a valid option, but we had to segregate her when we first got her while introducing her to Cinder (our other cat), and every night she'd yell at us for about 10 minutes...at 3:00 in the morning. (Maybe it's something about that time.) So that's problem one, is I'm not sure that she'd be quiet if we locked her out, even if we waited out the first few days. Problem two is that I'm pretty sure Cinder has a legit separation anxiety thing going on, because if nobody is accessible (if we're both in the kitchen, or are leaving the house, she will scream until she gets attention. She's also a little more territorial and I'm pretty sure keeping her in the bedroom nights while giving Mola free roam of the house would absolutely drive her bonkers. I know this is a lot of self-imposed restrictions on what I can do to solve the problem, but the real question, I guess, is at this point do I just suck it up and pet the cat or is there a way to correct the behavior without resorting to nighttime isolation?
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Nov 23, 2016 15:25
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You've been teaching her to do that. You'll have to un-teach her. The only way she'll learn to leave the humans alone at night is for the humans not to respond to her at night. If she wants attention, she has to wait until morning. So you can lock her out of the bedroom at night, which will cause her to howl and carry on for a week or so until she realizes she's not getting any response, or you can just ignore her in bed and steel yourself to remain absolutely still when she pesters you. It's all reward-based behavior modification.
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Nov 23, 2016 15:30
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I think I'll try possible solution 2 then. This cat has proven herself to be neurotic enough to carry on for a lot longer than a week already, so I think the be completely unresponsive thing might work better. That said, it's really hard to stay still when getting a bath from kitty :P It tickles!
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Nov 24, 2016 00:00
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