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CommissarMega
Nov 18, 2008

THUNDERDOME LOSER

DeathSandwich posted:

Are you giving them grocery store milk? You really shouldn't, kittens are lactose intolerant and cows milk isn't really good for them. Go to a dedicated pet store / vet and get kitten formula instead, it'll be better for them in the long term.

If their eyes are just opening last weekend, they are probably approaching week 3. At week 4 it's probably safe to start them in on soft cat food and start them in on the process of weaning them. You'll be giving them less formula and more solid food over time until you remove the formula completely at 8 weeks.

Yeah, I've got them two kinds of powdered goat's milk from the vet, though one seems a little too rich for them. And thanks for the recce on soft food- I'll need kitten-specific stuff for that too, or will adult soft food do?

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Khizan
Jul 30, 2013


Reynold posted:

I want to get my two cats one of those little water fountains. They keep knocking their water dish over lately, and I hear the flowing water encourages them to drink. Good idea or bad idea? If idea good, is there a simple, easy to clean model out there?

My cat drinks so much more water now that she has a fountain. Dunno about brands, I just grabbed a cheap $20 plastic job from Walmart because I didn't know if she'd like it. I'll probably get a better one when this one needs replaced. Cleaning is super easy on this one, at least. I just take it apart and scrub it with dish soap and a bottle brush once a week, takes maybe 5 minutes.

The most important thing to remember is that you can't keep their water near their food if you're using a fountain. Otherwise they will get food into the fountain and it will get soggy and gross and clog up the pump and the filter and it's awful and ugh.

Len
Jan 21, 2008

Pouches, bandages, shoulderpad, cyber-eye...

Bitchin'!


How do fountains work of your shitheaded little demon spawn likes playing in the water? Little rear end in a top hat dumped a gallon of water on the floor the other night.

I BROUGHT YOU IN FROM THE COLD I CAN PUT YOU BACK OUT THERE drat IT!

I kid. I would be the saddest if Dr. Domino Fuzzbutt left

Although he needs to stop sticking his grubby mitts in my food. You don't even like spaghetti go away.,

Synthbuttrange
May 6, 2007

Synthbuttrange posted:



This is from the first day we had the fountain set up. Pudding kept sticking his paw in it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9UXW-e4CyM

It takes time but they get bored of it as a plaything but will still drink.

Alteisen
Jun 4, 2007

by FactsAreUseless

Synthbuttrange posted:

It takes time but they get bored of it as a plaything but will still drink.

No they won't.

Mine still lives in the shower 3 years later.

don longjohns
Mar 2, 2012

Yeah my boy cat plays with it most mornings and it drives me so insane I have to put him in another room while I get ready. Though they do like to drink out of it.

My advice is to buy a cheap litter tray and put the fountain inside it. That way if they knock it over the water spills into the tray. I have considered adding some river rocks to the tray, too, to discourage little boy cat from DJing on the tray in the morning.

Synthbuttrange
May 6, 2007

Put it in the bathroom?

hooah
Feb 6, 2006
WTF?
One of our cats really likes to scratch his ears. He'll rub his head really hard on the corner of a cabinet until his back leg does the sympathetic scratching. He'll also scratch his ear himself. I looked up the symptoms of ear mites and beside the scratching/rubbing and maybe some head shaking he doesn't have any other symptoms. Should we take him in anyway, or is that just something he does?

Salvor_Hardin
Sep 13, 2005

I want to go protest.
Nap Ghost
Any advice on breaking cats in to being allowed in the bedroom at night? I have two 9mo olds I recently adopted and they are very friendly and energetic. This is normally great and I love them but at night I need them to find some chill and go to bed.

It's usually OK for the first hour or three once they finish pacing and find a nice spot but my wife and I will consistently get woken up multiple times each night by them nibbling on toes and other exposed body parts. For some reason being on the bed makes Kibbutz (the male) more bitey. If we lock the door with them out they will scratch and yowl at 5am until we let them in.

Bonus content: I taught Kibbutz how to play fetch which I didn't know cats would do: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YzWhkbHUg4A

Hyperlynx
Sep 13, 2015

Aargh. Apparently one of the cats has been getting into the garbage. So I guess I need child safety locks on my kitchen cabinet door to stop them getting to the bin. :(

... And I don't even know which one it was, so I can be mad at them.

e: and now James just tried to pull my internet cable out. WTF CATS LEAVE MY STUFF ALONE! :(

Hyperlynx fucked around with this message at 13:47 on May 30, 2017

Deteriorata
Feb 6, 2005

Salvor_Hardin posted:

Any advice on breaking cats in to being allowed in the bedroom at night? I have two 9mo olds I recently adopted and they are very friendly and energetic. This is normally great and I love them but at night I need them to find some chill and go to bed.

It's usually OK for the first hour or three once they finish pacing and find a nice spot but my wife and I will consistently get woken up multiple times each night by them nibbling on toes and other exposed body parts. For some reason being on the bed makes Kibbutz (the male) more bitey. If we lock the door with them out they will scratch and yowl at 5am until we let them in.

Bonus content: I taught Kibbutz how to play fetch which I didn't know cats would do: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YzWhkbHUg4A

The key is to convince the cats that the humans are unresponsive when in bed, so it's pointless to bother them. You do that by not responding to them for a long time. If they're going to bite or attack, get securely under the covers and let them do their worst. Ignore them for enough time and they'll figure it out.

Our cats sense to the minute when the alarm is going to go off and are on the bed waiting for it. They occasionally sleep on the bed with us, but do not expect any attention until morning.

m.hache
Dec 1, 2004


Fun Shoe
The cats keep leaving smeared poo poo on my legs when they jump up. We switched their food about 2 weeks ago. How long until things even out or could the food be the problem.

This morning the short hair cat left a chocolate star on my leg so it's like they aren't done making GBS threads and they just walk around.

Iron Crowned
May 6, 2003

by Hand Knit

m.hache posted:

The cats keep leaving smeared poo poo on my legs when they jump up. We switched their food about 2 weeks ago. How long until things even out or could the food be the problem.

This morning the short hair cat left a chocolate star on my leg so it's like they aren't done making GBS threads and they just walk around.

Could be related to shedding season, is there a bit of puking too? When my cat was younger she'd get horrendous dingle berries due to hairballs. She'd horf up a big one in the middle of the floor and be fine a few days later.

Libluini
May 18, 2012

I gravitated towards the Greens, eventually even joining the party itself.

The Linke is a party I grudgingly accept exists, but I've learned enough about DDR-history I can't bring myself to trust a party that was once the SED, a party leading the corrupt state apparatus ...
Grimey Drawer

Boogalo posted:

If you want to get in some cat cuddling look up your local shelter or SPCA. Here you can walk right in and just pet everything for a while and chat with the volunteers. I can't make the time commitment and regular schedule of an official volunteer so I just go in randomly and they're fine with it. More people playing with the shelter cats is good for their socialization.

Man, I wish I could do this, my local shelter recently built an entire house just for cats, complete with fancy glas windows and doors. (The cat rooms are mostly cat-only, no humans allowed resting zones. Though the volunteers will let cats out to play/feed, of course. And some cats just roam around the entire house as they drat well please: There is some sort of air lock to prevent the cats from running out of the cat house, so they're in no danger. All very impressive and modern.)

The bad thing is, our local animal shelter is at the very edge of town. You'll either need a car (I don't have one), or you'll have to first follow the light rail / subway line to our airport nearly to the end, get into a bus to the absolute rear end-end of the city and then walk for about half an hour.

The last time I went to the shelter by myself, it took nearly 3 hours just to get there and then back home. Now that I'm working during the week, my chances to visit the cats are down to almost zero. :(

The Lord of Hats
Aug 22, 2010

Hello, yes! Is being very good day for posting, no?
I'd thought that living in a third-floor apartment would rather limit my random cat encounters, but this morning Tuna was meowing at the door (normally an evening activity). I ignore it for a while, but I eventually hear meowing from outside. A new neighbor just moved in the other day, so I figure the cat must be in there, and I'll ask him if our cats can meet sometime. I open the door and no, the cat is right out in the hallway. He comes in, wanders around, hisses at Tuna a bunch (Tuna is nothing but friendly but strange cat significantly less so), and eventually lead him out of the apartment. I hear meowing outside again, this time I think "Oh, the cat is meowing to get back into his proper apartment". Nope, my door again, and he's still around being unfriendly to Tuna.

He's definitely accustomed to people, so he's not a pure stray, but I'm not entirely sure what to do at this point.

EDIT: Got him out of the apartment again, and Tuna is clearly much happier now that he isn't being chased down and violently harassed. I'm definitely open to getting another cat, but it will not be *that* cat.

The Lord of Hats fucked around with this message at 16:56 on May 31, 2017

m.hache
Dec 1, 2004


Fun Shoe

Iron Crowned posted:

Could be related to shedding season, is there a bit of puking too? When my cat was younger she'd get horrendous dingle berries due to hairballs. She'd horf up a big one in the middle of the floor and be fine a few days later.

I have not noticed any puke. The long hair cat get's dingle berries and we comb them out as we see them.

Today was literally the short hair just sitting down on my leg and leaving a small dab of soft serve on my bare leg.

GRINDCORE MEGGIDO
Feb 28, 1985


Does anyone else's cat do this?

Sometimes, I'll want to hug my cat - and she'll be fine for a few minutes, until she wants to bail and I'll put her down.

Other times, if she really want's to be held, she'll walk infront of me and arch her back, almost as if she's forming a handle shape for easier picking up. Then she's good for 20 minutes or so.

Handle cats a thing, yes or no?

Libluini
May 18, 2012

I gravitated towards the Greens, eventually even joining the party itself.

The Linke is a party I grudgingly accept exists, but I've learned enough about DDR-history I can't bring myself to trust a party that was once the SED, a party leading the corrupt state apparatus ...
Grimey Drawer

GRINDCORE MEGGIDO posted:

Does anyone else's cat do this?

Sometimes, I'll want to hug my cat - and she'll be fine for a few minutes, until she wants to bail and I'll put her down.

Other times, if she really want's to be held, she'll walk infront of me and arch her back, almost as if she's forming a handle shape for easier picking up. Then she's good for 20 minutes or so.

Handle cats a thing, yes or no?

Probably, but you should feel lucky she is just arching her back to signal you. My little Miss Prissy Pants yowls really loudly if she wants to be carried around for a bit. Until now, my neighbours have taken her little hissy fits in stride, but I don't know why, exactly. She really is loving loud

GRINDCORE MEGGIDO
Feb 28, 1985


Libluini posted:

Probably, but you should feel lucky she is just arching her back to signal you. My little Miss Prissy Pants yowls really loudly if she wants to be carried around for a bit. Until now, my neighbours have taken her little hissy fits in stride, but I don't know why, exactly. She really is loving loud

Is she a Siamese, or just thinks she is?

Libluini
May 18, 2012

I gravitated towards the Greens, eventually even joining the party itself.

The Linke is a party I grudgingly accept exists, but I've learned enough about DDR-history I can't bring myself to trust a party that was once the SED, a party leading the corrupt state apparatus ...
Grimey Drawer

GRINDCORE MEGGIDO posted:

Is she a Siamese, or just thinks she is?

European short hair.

I think her little fire siren act is because of multiple reasons: Her hearing isn't that good anymore, her eye sight suffered badly after multiple infections and years ago when I just got her, I often panicked when I heared her yowling and rushed to her. Apparently she noticed this, because she started to get really loving needy over the years. Now between being completely spoiled, bad hearing and confusion due to her bad eyesight*, she sometimes is the loudest cat in the world.

*Sometimes she just meows loudly because she can't see me, but knows I'm close by. And she will continue to howl like mad until I either come out into her line of sight, or do something like knocking on doors or talking loudly to calm her down.

All of this doesn't stop her from prowling the garden next to my apartment like a dog, complete with growling at strange cats. My little weirdo. :3:

GRINDCORE MEGGIDO
Feb 28, 1985


I like talky cats. She sounds like a good cat.

Mine is extremely xenophobic against other cats. And dogs. It's out of character as she's super chill most of the time, with the occasional flea like bouncing about.
Most of the time I thinks she's pretty small.. and then she'll stretch out on table, or see another cat outside the window and puff up, and she looks huge.
Non Euclidian cat.

Thin Privilege
Jul 8, 2009
IM A STUPID MORON WITH AN UGLY FACE AND A BIG BUTT AND MY BUTT SMELLS AND I LIKE TO KISS MY OWN BUTT
Gravy Boat 2k

GRINDCORE MEGGIDO posted:

Does anyone else's cat do this?

Sometimes, I'll want to hug my cat - and she'll be fine for a few minutes, until she wants to bail and I'll put her down.

Other times, if she really want's to be held, she'll walk infront of me and arch her back, almost as if she's forming a handle shape for easier picking up. Then she's good for 20 minutes or so.

Handle cats a thing, yes or no?

Some of my cats like to be held and walked around like a baby. One liked to ride on me like a horse--I would crawl around and he would sit on my back like an rear end in a top hat cat.

Cats are weird.

Currently, I haven't been able to get up off the couch for over 2 hours because the cats are sleeping on me.

The Lord of Hats
Aug 22, 2010

Hello, yes! Is being very good day for posting, no?
Just got back from an interview, hallway cat is still in the hallway, and was also super loving with me, so it's for sure a pet. I sure hope this cat already has an owner in the building.

small ghost
Jan 30, 2013

Hallway cat might just have snuck out accidentally when new neighbour was going to work or something; that happened with my cat once, but my downstairs neighbour is a little old lady who was very happy to let him into her flat for the day when she found him in the hallway :3:. If he's still there, might be worth knocking on doors to see if he's someone's pet.

kreyla
Dec 31, 2008
What do you guys think about dental care for cats? I have a 2 year old awesome cat who gets dry Solid Gold Indigo Moon always and Greenies for treats. She gets checked at the vet every year. Should I be brushing her teeth every day/week/month? I've heard about giving her bones to chew also. Right now her teeth and gums look great, but I want to be sure I'm doing the best for her fangs.

At some unspecified time in the past, she broke a front fang so it ends in a square instead of a point, but 90% of it is still there and vet doesn't think it's a problem at all.

Also she is indoor only, up to date on shots, microchipped, uses Swheat litter, and is a Very Good Cat. I brush her every few days and trim her claws as needed.

kreyla fucked around with this message at 00:25 on Jun 1, 2017

nunsexmonkrock
Apr 13, 2008
There is something wrong with my sisters cat, is there something she can give it for pain until friday (I know nsaids and acetomenophin are no no's) - she can't afford it until she gets paid (care credit denied her). Just something to reduce the pain for a little bit. Wish I could help her but I don't have much money left myself.

Ms Adequate
Oct 30, 2011

Baby even when I'm dead and gone
You will always be my only one, my only one
When the night is calling
No matter who I become
You will always be my only one, my only one, my only one
When the night is calling



I wouldn't want to make such a recommendation myself, being just a moron on the Internet, but even if she can't afford a visit your sister might be able to give the vet a call and just ask if they have any recommendations for the cat to get through the next couple of days.

e; She could just move everything the cat needs into one room and shut the door, the cat will probably just fall asleep, and won't be bothered by other people or pets, and is less likely to run around and make things worse. Not an actual pain solution but might help a little with any stress the cat is in.

Ms Adequate fucked around with this message at 05:19 on Jun 1, 2017

nunsexmonkrock
Apr 13, 2008

Mister Adequate posted:

I wouldn't want to make such a recommendation myself, being just a moron on the Internet, but even if she can't afford a visit your sister might be able to give the vet a call and just ask if they have any recommendations for the cat to get through the next couple of days.

e; She could just move everything the cat needs into one room and shut the door, the cat will probably just fall asleep, and won't be bothered by other people or pets, and is less likely to run around and make things worse. Not an actual pain solution but might help a little with any stress the cat is in.

She doesn't have a regular vet (I would have recommended the Cat Vet on South St but since they got bought out - I will not b/c it's all corporate now.), just a cat she found on the street that she decided to take in. She keeps it seperated from the dogs in the house, but she showed me pictures not doing well. She can't do anything until friday until she gets paid but anything to make it more comftobal is great., our gmom gave her beds and beds with toys to help keep her comfy until than, but if we can do anything until friday, with real opinions on what to do it would be great, (not my cat, my sisters, just looking for regular advice, not medical advice.)

Alteisen
Jun 4, 2007

by FactsAreUseless

nunsexmonkrock posted:

She doesn't have a regular vet (I would have recommended the Cat Vet on South St but since they got bought out - I will not b/c it's all corporate now.), just a cat she found on the street that she decided to take in. She keeps it seperated from the dogs in the house, but she showed me pictures not doing well. She can't do anything until friday until she gets paid but anything to make it more comftobal is great., our gmom gave her beds and beds with toys to help keep her comfy until than, but if we can do anything until friday, with real opinions on what to do it would be great, (not my cat, my sisters, just looking for regular advice, not medical advice.)

Well what exactly is wrong with it? By not doing well what do you mean? Is it limping? Having trouble eating? Is he just in pain which could indicate something internal?

Its hard to suggest anything without more information.

nunsexmonkrock
Apr 13, 2008
"I tried putting a cone on him and he did not like it so he freaked out and pressed his face on the wall and light colored blood came out so shayne squeezed his face and a lot came out but it made his face a lot less swollen"

That is pretty much all I know until they can get to the vet tomorrow. - not my cat just asking advice for her.

Alteisen
Jun 4, 2007

by FactsAreUseless
Sounds like an abscess to me.

GRINDCORE MEGGIDO
Feb 28, 1985


I wonder how long the cats face has been like that for. I thought abscesses took a while to grow. :smith:

GRINDCORE MEGGIDO fucked around with this message at 22:09 on Jun 1, 2017

mistaya
Oct 18, 2006

Cat of Wealth and Taste

Yeah if there's blood and pus involved it's infected and kitty really needs to see the doctor. :(

Draining it (and hopefully cleaning it!) probably did make him feel a little better, at least.

nunsexmonkrock
Apr 13, 2008
Yeah I have never lived with my sisters because they are technically my half sisters, same mother but they have a different father than I do - and I don't really like my step-father so I don't go over there much unless I want to scream at someone for doing something stupid. - but my youngest sister is trying her best to take care of the kitty.

Alteisen
Jun 4, 2007

by FactsAreUseless

GRINDCORE MEGGIDO posted:

I wonder how long the cats face has been like that for. I thought abscesses took a while to grow. :smith:

They can also go under the skin if left untreated or popped poorly, I had a cat develop an abscess that we where treating when he suddenly got into a huge fight with another cat and the thing popped and then it turned into a horrific mouth infection.

DeathSandwich
Apr 24, 2008

I fucking hate puzzles.
You know, it's kind of funny the little things that will imprint on cats when you've raised them from kittens.

I've got two males (a shorthaired grey tabby and a longhaired grey/brown Tabby) and a female (super longhaired calico) all siblings that I've raised from 8 weeks on and are all about 16 months old. The female has kind of an OCD clean streak - On a couple of occasions the boys were wrestling and knocked over their food bowl in the middle of the night and when I woke up in the morning, she was sweeping up the scattered kibble with her paws into a big pile next to the bowl and started meowing at me until I put it back in.

Both the boys demand drinks from the sink, but the shorthaired one will actually dry his paws on the hand towel afterward.

The longhaired tabby though? He's equal parts stupid and persistent. Once he decides he's going to do something (like jump up on the cabinet so he can try and eat onion pieces off your cutting board, or crawl into a cupboard and kick everything inside of it out on the floor) he's going to keep trying no matter who or what gets in his way. We joke that his facial expression is kind of locked in on "bewildered sadness" too, he always looks like he's going to start crying or something.

Flash Gordon Ramsay
Sep 28, 2004

Grimey Drawer
We have a ~1 year old male tabby (fixed) and are looking to adopt a kitten. Which leaves me with a couple of questions:

•Should we be looking for a male or a female companion?
•Should we have separate litter boxes? (I now see the note about this in the OP, but any advice is good)
•Any caveats or things I should know about introducing a new kitty to the existing one?

Alteisen
Jun 4, 2007

by FactsAreUseless

nunsexmonkrock posted:

Yeah I have never lived with my sisters because they are technically my half sisters, same mother but they have a different father than I do - and I don't really like my step-father so I don't go over there much unless I want to scream at someone for doing something stupid. - but my youngest sister is trying her best to take care of the kitty.

Hows the cat

Ms Adequate
Oct 30, 2011

Baby even when I'm dead and gone
You will always be my only one, my only one
When the night is calling
No matter who I become
You will always be my only one, my only one, my only one
When the night is calling



My mom's cat Sugi just managed to place his paw DIRECTLY in the middle of my mug of Dr Pepper. Had to put him in the tub to wash him, he was grumpy.

There's no question cats are just morons.

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mistaya
Oct 18, 2006

Cat of Wealth and Taste

I think one of my favorite things about cats is how whenever they do something ungraceful like fall off a couch or miss a jump they lick themselves and pout for a moment with what is very clearly a "NO ONE SAW THAT."

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