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Mister Adequate posted:kaworu I'm real glad to hear Jackie is doing well! Don't feel too bad about giving it a few days before taking her in, sounds like you gave it an entirely sensible amount of time; not wasting the vet's time or stressing the cat unnecessarily, but getting her in before it gets too serious to easily treat. Good job! Thank you!!  That actually really does make me feel better, I just mean... It's very difficult to know exactly what to do, as we all know! It ain't like there's some sort of straight-forward guide that tells you what to do. But look and watching for changes in your cats physical body language are *really* important!For example, it is always the same when I feed Jackie in the evenings; I get back home usually and feed her often while fixing something for myself and staying in the kitchen a bit. I don't know if any of you others have this issue, but Jackie will ALWAYS follow me in my apartment, nearly 100% of the time. So if I want her to like, eat as much as she wants to while the\ wet food is still fresh out the can, I gotta stay a foot away from her in the kitchen, because if I leave she follows and stops eating, and may not really end up finishing it (but will still demand fresh new food). She is weird like that. After I feed her she always follows me to the couch or to the bed depending if I'm going to use my PS4 or my PC for the evening mostly. After feeding her, she is always very cuddly and no matter where I am she'll curl up against me and generally be very contented and sleepy for at least an hour or so after she eats before she gets a little rambunctious maybe - but that's Jackie. Always an extremely silent and deliberate cat, especially with her body language. And that definitely changed in the last week when the infection got bad - her body language, that is. She was doing the ear flapping/violently shaking her head basically, which I hadn't see her do ever maybe. And there were occasions of her looking at me *imploringly* for no reason at all even after just being fed. Always gotta pay attention to that..
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Nov 7, 2017 20:04
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I switched the cat to wet food and added another igloo-style box with different cat litter. So far no one has pooped on my rug. We shall see.
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Nov 7, 2017 21:59
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kaworu posted:But look and watching for changes in your cats physical body language are *really* important! You are one of the many good cat guardians in this thread. I always like hearing about Jackie.
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Nov 8, 2017 01:50
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Gorgar posted:You are one of the many good cat guardians in this thread. I always like hearing about Jackie. Thank you  It honestly makes me feel nice to hear things. I still remember like nearly 8 years ago when I first got Jackie, I honestly felt I had no business taking care of any living thing including myself. Of course, I didn't really understand that the deal was reciprocal, and that while I do take care of Jackie and am a guardian of sorts, she also takes care of *me* and is my guardian in a very real sense. I'm probably more "her human" than she is "my cat", too - I mean, she tells me when to feed her and when to make room under the cover in bed for her and she reminds me to change the litter at least every other day and... yeah, she makes most of the decisions when one really gets right down to it  I also wanted to say that you are still in my thoughts khy and i really, REALLY hope you are finding some way to feel better. I feel like I'm going to be where you are if... when... if something happens to Jackie. I can't even accept that she is BOUND to die at some point because right now I cannot imagine my day to day life without Jackie. It would be... so unimaginably lonely. I guess I should finally really make some actually effort to find a boyfriend  Not that there aren't many awesome things to look forward to in relationships! I'm just apparently one of the unfortunate few gay guys without a massively oversize sex drive, and a large chunk of the gay scene, uh, kinda frightens me. Not that there aren't nice guys out there. Or girls. I could maybe date some girls but probably not most cis girls; i find androgyny and queer girls plenty attractive sometimes.This all reminds me of a NY Times op-ed or something (I think) written by a lesbian who (very very unfortunately) feels that cats are a dealbreaker. She told this to a fellow lesbian friend, who immediately looked at her and said "You're going to die alone." It's actually a very funny article and there is quite a HUGE ubiquity of cats amongst women and especially queer folk of both genders. A single gay guy/woman with a cat is like, basically one of those undeniably true cliches. I'm not saying it's always true of course, just... really really really often it is. edit: What is this about me being "reverse hell-banned"?  Is he implying that I continually post and ignore everyone and act as if I'm the only one in the thread? Do I do that?
kaworu fucked around with this message at 19:57 on Nov 9, 2017 |
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Nov 8, 2017 03:52
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My housemate has a Crown of Thorns plant, and this morning I found that my cat Dooders had eaten part of a leaf, and vomited 3 times this morning before I got up. The nausea seems to have subsided and he had some bites of his normal food now. I just looked up and read a couple sites that consider these plants toxic, but I can't find much more information on the severity. If he horked it all up, will he be ok, or does he need dialysis or something now 
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Nov 9, 2017 17:15
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peepsalot posted:My housemate has a Crown of Thorns plant, and this morning I found that my cat Dooders had eaten part of a leaf, and vomited 3 times this morning before I got up. The nausea seems to have subsided and he had some bites of his normal food now. I just looked up and read a couple sites that consider these plants toxic, but I can't find much more information on the severity. If he horked it all up, will he be ok, or does he need dialysis or something now
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Nov 9, 2017 21:13
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So my cat had surgery to correct a hernia Wednesday and today I noticed that one side of his belly is very swollen while the other seems normal. The incision roughy divides the two half’s. He’s going back to the vet today to see if somehow he opened the internal stitching but he doesn’t seem to be in any distress about it and other than the swelling there isn’t any sign anything is wrong. But I’m wondering if this is just swelling (I hope?). Today was the frist day he really let me inspect him so this might be all in my head. Has anybody else seen this with their cat after similar surgey?
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Nov 10, 2017 15:50
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So my cat has a bladder stone. After a couple xrays and a month on an expensive prescription diet the stone is breaking up and is about a third of its original size. The vet wants to take her in for another xray in 4-6 weeks and said she should be on this diet indefinitely. My questions are 1) do we need to bother with this second follow-up scan? We know the food is working, and 2) do we need to feed her this food (Royal Canin Feline Urinary SO) indefinitely? It's expensive and (apparently) delicious - so much so that our other 2 cats want in on it too. Is there a cheaper alternative for cats prone to developing these kinds of stones?
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Nov 10, 2017 22:26
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Your not going to hear people in this thread contradict your vet. You are welcome to get a second professional opinion, but my experience had been about the same as they're saying. Two measures aren't enough to determine a trend and specialty low mineral food is relatively pricey, though cheaper than follow up procedures. As with a lot of pet ownership, it comes down to how much you're willing to sacrifice to thwart their bodies's insatiable desire to stop working. Male cats are typically harder than females because of this universal problem. ILL Machina fucked around with this message at 00:32 on Nov 11, 2017 |
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Nov 10, 2017 23:15
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Glory to Italia!
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I have to toast a noble creature the world lost yesterday. His name was Snarf Maurice Zilla. King, as was. Larger than life in many ways, never was there a more gentle creature. He touched many lives, and had a relatively peaceful reign. I can hear his mighty roar in my dreams. Besides conquering his enemies, nothing satisfied him more than posing majestically, chest rubs, all the food in the cupboard, or sleeping -- and thus he passed. A biopsied mouth lesion turned out to be cancerous. Initial surgical investigation showed the metastasis was triple the expected size and wouldn't have left him a good post-op life. The corruption was discovered before he ever appeared to be in pain. His sister might've known something was wrong; she was standing on his crate when he left. He wasn't a young warrior anymore - who is these days? - but it was pretty unexpected and, all of a sudden, he's not around. He is survived by his sister Bibl, and my friends - his adopted father Sahand, and the owner of his home Sean. Squeeze your fuzzy and/or fluffy ones. https://photos.app.goo.gl/ZpIzVwRndXXB5Enc2 ILL Machina fucked around with this message at 01:01 on Nov 11, 2017 |
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Nov 11, 2017 00:54
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Clanpot Shake posted:So my cat has a bladder stone. After a couple xrays and a month on an expensive prescription diet the stone is breaking up and is about a third of its original size. The vet wants to take her in for another xray in 4-6 weeks and said she should be on this diet indefinitely. My questions are 1) do we need to bother with this second follow-up scan? We know the food is working, and 2) do we need to feed her this food (Royal Canin Feline Urinary SO) indefinitely? It's expensive and (apparently) delicious - so much so that our other 2 cats want in on it too. Is there a cheaper alternative for cats prone to developing these kinds of stones? Go with the followup. As for personal stories after my cat got bladder crystals and I treated my cat with prescription food, then decided it was a bit much and could save by switching to regular supermarket pet food marked as 'Kidney and bladder aid'. Two months later he was back at the vet bleeding again. Dont do it, listen to the vet. Just shop around and see if you can get it at cheaper prices, or switch to other prescription diets if needed (Hills Science Diet and Royal Canin are the only two I know of though and use interchangably), but stick to the plan. ILL Machina posted:I have to toast a noble creature the world lost yesterday. His name was Snarf Maurice Zilla. Snarf was a huge fluffball, sorry he's gone.
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Nov 11, 2017 01:07
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ILL Machina posted:I have to toast a noble creature the world lost yesterday. His name was Snarf Maurice Zilla. King, as was. Larger than life in many ways, never was there a more gentle creature. He touched many lives, and had a relatively peaceful reign. I can hear his mighty roar in my dreams. Besides conquering his enemies, nothing satisfied him more than posing majestically, chest rubs, all the food in the cupboard, or sleeping -- and thus he passed. Snarf looked like he was a majestic beast. I am very sorry for your loss.  Our fuzzy friends are always taken too soon.
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Nov 11, 2017 02:01
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ILL Machina posted:I have to toast a noble creature the world lost yesterday. His name was Snarf Maurice Zilla. King, as was. Larger than life in many ways, never was there a more gentle creature. He touched many lives, and had a relatively peaceful reign. I can hear his mighty roar in my dreams. Besides conquering his enemies, nothing satisfied him more than posing majestically, chest rubs, all the food in the cupboard, or sleeping -- and thus he passed. I'm sorry. It sounds like the honorable Zilla lived a happy life with you.
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Nov 11, 2017 02:47
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Crooked Booty posted:It’s an irritant and causes vomiting. If he’s eating now, he’s fine. I’d get rid of the plant.
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Nov 11, 2017 03:39
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I recently moved in with my girlfriend who already has a cat name Yzma, who definitely lives up to her namesake.  The problem involves getting Yzma to like my cat (Pepper) when she seems to generally hate everything. We have been keeping them separated from each other and switching rooms every few days so they get used to the scent of each other. However, even after doing this for over two weeks Yzma is still very aggressive toward Pepper. Yzma has accidentally gotten into the same room as Pepper and has aggressively chased her down every time. We've started putting up a baby gate between them so they get a chance to see each other, however now Pepper is so scared of Yzma she never goes near the gate when it's up. We were thinking of trying to get a calming agent for Yzma (Lavender oil or something similar), putting up the gate, sort of "forcing" them near each other while it's up, and giving both of them lots of positive attention in the form of treats and toys while they're able to see each other. From what I've been reading on the internet this is generally an appropriate strategy but I'm worried due to the sheer level of aggression Yzma has shown toward Pepper. The one positive thing is Yzma is incredibly food motivated so perhaps this will work. If anyone could give me any different/better advice for handling the situation it'd be greatly appreciated.
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Nov 11, 2017 20:49
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Do you have cat trees or otherwise something for them to climb on? Giving cats vertical space can often help a lot.
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Nov 11, 2017 23:42
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Neitherman posted:I recently moved in with my girlfriend who already has a cat name Yzma, who definitely lives up to her namesake. Cats gonna cat. There's a sort of initiation ritual for cats where they need to prove to each other just how tough they are. They pretty much have to fight it out for a while until they both realize the other isn't going anywhere. Unless there's actual blood, I generally let them fight it out. They get over it in a couple days. I have one pair that loves to rassle, though, and they will go at it just for fun routinely. They'll deliberately lay in wait for the other and pounce, then chase each other around, then tear into each other howling and shrieking. Later, they'll touch noses and groom each other, so there's nothing hostile between them.
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Nov 11, 2017 23:43
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I live in a perpetual game of cat-dodgeball. I can't even leave an unguarded cup of coffee on my desk. They really seem to enjoy themselves, though.
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Nov 11, 2017 23:55
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Cythereal posted:Do you have cat trees or otherwise something for them to climb on? Giving cats vertical space can often help a lot. There are two of us in a one bedroom apartment and each cat has their own litter box so unfortunately that doesn't leave a lot of room for a cat tree. Yzma likes to jump up on the bar and counters and any other high places while Pepper has never been interested in going up high. I think part of the reason is because I originally got her when she was 5 weeks old and had to formula feed her and the only animal role model she had was my old crotchety dog. She's one of those "dog in a cat suit" kind of cats where she just wants to be up in your poo poo snuggling and rubbing all over you constantly.
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Nov 12, 2017 00:22
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The tree or cat shelf is a good call. Keeping them separate for a few weeks is usually the first advice. Sharing cloth that has their scents on it. Swap rooms. Work up to forcing them to eat close to each other and playing. Not sure if you get anything out of putting them in crates next to each other other than trauma. Feliway is the stuff you want.
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Nov 12, 2017 01:22
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Synthbuttrange posted:Go with the followup. Thanks for the advice. This cat has had no end of medical problems but her personality makes it hard not to open the wallet. Somehow the food's cheaper buying from the vet than online so I guess I'll become a familiar face around there.
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Nov 12, 2017 05:07
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I go with chewy, fwiw. They have a discount if you set up a regular purchase schedule.
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Nov 12, 2017 06:55
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if you find something out of the ordinary about your cat's routine, please get it looked at asap. We figured Abi was just a big drinker, since she would sit at the fountain for five minutes straight if you let her, and when I scoop boxes I got massive chunks of sticky pee-clumps. Poverty, and depression, led to complacency until about a week ago when she started yelling directly at us about something and had a chunk of bloody mucus and some clear fluid coming out of her. Got her to the vet, she apparently has a UTI and got a shot of Convenia for it, and also surprise! diabetes. So she's had two of her insulin shots already, but I'm kicking my own rear end for not saying something sooner. so yeah if you recognize something as possibly being a symptom, find some way, any way, to get your fluffbeast to the vet.p.s. I found Novolin-N for $26 at Walmart, but I bet it's even cheaper at Costco. this is in New Mexico though, so ymmv based on cost of living.
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Nov 13, 2017 06:59
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The ever present discussion of cat introductions... Yesterday I got myself another cat. A kitten this time (my current cat was almost 2 when I got her) because I'm hoping it will be easier to train when younger. Plus I really would like it if Ginny had someone to keep her company when I'm at work and I think since she's a bit of a scaredy cat having the new cat start off smaller than her will give her some confidence. Anyways I just let the kitten roam my room (I sealed off the rest of the house) while Ginny watched. There was a bit of grumbling and some hissing and she charged at the kitten once but I have been keeping myself between them. Kitten just zoomed about the place and doesn't seem to be bothered by Ginny's inhospitable attitude. I took a nap on the bed with the kitten and when I woke up Ginny was also napping on the bed. There's still hissing but Ginny was like this when she met my friends cats and she got over it in time. Obviously I'm still separating them in different rooms when I can't monitor them actively. Anyways, the lady who fostered the kitten named her Jill and I'm not digging the name so if anyone has any suggestions for a little cream/red kitten I'd be happy to entertain them.
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Nov 13, 2017 09:14
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Peaches
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Nov 13, 2017 12:57
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Corncob
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Nov 13, 2017 13:15
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If old cat is willingly sleeping on a bed with new cat with only a bit of hissing that’s a super awesome sign. Don’t worry too much about hissing and light bapping, that’s how cats teach each other manners.
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Nov 13, 2017 13:15
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SSJ_naruto_2003 posted:Peaches I like this one. Organza Quiz posted:If old cat is willingly sleeping on a bed with new cat with only a bit of hissing that’s a super awesome sign. Don’t worry too much about hissing and light bapping, that’s how cats teach each other manners. Agreed. Especially since it's a kitten with an older cat, don't be alarmed if there's some fussing. Kittens are assholes and bapping is how older cats teach kittens what's acceptable and what's not.
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Nov 13, 2017 14:48
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I'm freaking out a bit. Last year my cat got out and never came back. He would always come back at dinner time but this time not so. Yesterday evening I saw a cat that looked like him in the back yard. I tried to offer food and slowly approach him but he ran off. When he first went missing we did everything putting up posters, traps, leaving food outside, leaving a "tuna trail" back to the house, hired a pet tracker and everything. I left some more food outside and hope he will come back. We had pretty much given up hope of ever seeing him again and adopted a new pair of cats a few months ago.
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Nov 13, 2017 15:26
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Blackchamber posted:Anyways, the lady who fostered the kitten named her Jill and I'm not digging the name so if anyone has any suggestions for a little cream/red kitten I'd be happy to entertain them. Sounds vaguely fox like, how's Kitsune grab you? (Japanese for fox)
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Nov 13, 2017 21:25
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An update on my cat. Yeah he tore a new hole in his guts. And the lab tests came back and he’s got mammary cancer. We caught it early and when they fix the hernia they will remove the offending tissue. The specialist who’s doing the repair warned me that the type of cancer he has is very aggressive but all we can do is remove the tissue and hope they got it all in time and I’m not burying him at the old family farm 6-12 months from now.
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Nov 14, 2017 00:17
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gently caress dude that's rough... I hope the excision works.
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Nov 14, 2017 00:43
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So far no more bed poops. 
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Nov 14, 2017 02:55
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Ozma has started pawing at our grody old upstairs carpeting in random places, as if she's trying to bury. The folks who owned this place before us picked the shittiest looking carpet, and they had two small kids and two huge dogs, so I would not be surprised if there were residual stains my cats can pick up on that I can't (we plan on having it removed and replaced with new wood flooring in the next year). But the burying behavior just started in the last couple weeks and it's freaking me out a bit. She usually only buries like this when there's something to bury. There's no poop, I'm worried someone's peed on the carpet, but I'm not sure. Both cats eating and drinking fine, no obvious change in behavior outside being generally more cuddly, which is typical as the weather cools down. Still playing, accepting pets, chattering, no evident abdominal pain, they let me pet and pick them up like normal. Vet checkup last month was all positive. I honestly don't smell cat pee. I'm normally really sensitive to the smell of cat pee and having a cat pee scented house that I'm desensitized to is my greatest fear but I don't think that's happening. I feel like cat pee is so obvious, I shouldn't have to kneel down on the carpet to detect it, right? I used some natures miracle on the spot anyway just in case So I guess my question is, is Ozma just being a fuckin cat? Or is there a medical condition cats can have to make their pee harder to smell that I should be worried about?
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Nov 14, 2017 16:21
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Maybe she just likes the sensation of scratching the ground in that way?
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Nov 14, 2017 16:31
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Now that I have a cat that is peeing god drat everywhere for presumably entertainment I’ve purchased a cheap UV flashlight off Amazon which makes pee very evident. Never use it in your own bathroom, dear god.
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Nov 14, 2017 16:55
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Seat Safety Switch posted:Now that I have a cat that is peeing god drat everywhere for presumably entertainment I’ve purchased a cheap UV flashlight off Amazon which makes pee very evident. poo poo that's a great idea, sometimes we have to hunt out rogue pee for ages, we can smell it but not locate it. ILL Machina posted:I have to toast a noble creature the world lost yesterday. His name was Snarf Maurice Zilla. King, as was. Larger than life in many ways, never was there a more gentle creature. He touched many lives, and had a relatively peaceful reign. I can hear his mighty roar in my dreams. Besides conquering his enemies, nothing satisfied him more than posing majestically, chest rubs, all the food in the cupboard, or sleeping -- and thus he passed. A beast of surpassing majesty, even by the standards of his species. He now lazes by the rainbow bridge and all gaze in awe upon his floof. I am sorry he was taken so suddenly, but take comfort knowing he avoided suffering. Ms Adequate fucked around with this message at 21:24 on Nov 14, 2017 |
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Nov 14, 2017 21:19
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Deteriorata posted:Cats gonna cat. There's a sort of initiation ritual for cats where they need to prove to each other just how tough they are. They pretty much have to fight it out for a while until they both realize the other isn't going anywhere. Mine are in this boat, and routinely have conversations about the boat. They'll race around the front of the house and yell at each other and then settle in.
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Nov 15, 2017 03:00
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Peaches, corncob, and kitsune. I do like Kitsune, but mostly because it's a name that appears in Shadowrun. I've been thinking of Haru and Yuki after characters from The Cat Returns. Mostly been calling her Creampuff when she climbs counters and such and I need something to yell in frustration. Today they've been chasing each other back and forth through the apartment while I unpacked moving boxes. Equal participation. Only the cat tree remains contested as each prefer the 2nd to the top perch.  Edit: seemed odd to me, but what do I know, I set out a litter box for the new itteh bitteh kitteh and I figured that would be one thing they'd be territorial about but they've both been making use of both boxes. Ginny has even gone over after the kitten has used the box to check and sometimes reburying her stuff. Are they now poop sisters? Blackchamber fucked around with this message at 06:06 on Nov 15, 2017 |
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Nov 15, 2017 05:27
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I have been checking for Sardine (the cat I had for like 16 months that was basically abandoned by tenants at my previous apartment - I spent a long time socializing her and getting her friendly to humans as she acted liked and abused/mistreated cat. But I had to give her up last month for various reasons - it was her or Jackie and I'm irrevocably bonded for like to Jackie, so yeah... But anyway, Sardine FINALLY showed up online at the Maine Animal Refuge League, where I gave Sardine to a couple months ago. I didn't know she didn't show up sooner, but she may have had flea issues as well as socialization issues and I wouldn't be surprised if she was fostered somewhere for a few months - I don't know. Regardless, she has finally shown up in their 'adopt a cat' page, so tha't cool... I don't really agree with the stock "classification' they have put her in, because it's not really cool to label and describe cats in like... pre-written paragraphs and labels  But oh well, what can one do Here is Sardine's profile: https://ws.petango.com/webservices/....css&PopUp=true I mean... I gave them like 6 paragraphs describing her personality and habits so it annoys me that they just use the same silly words they use to describe like half a dozen cats on the site! Oh well, it's only accurate for the first 4-6 months you live with her, too. Then she starts talking to you and following you around and wanting to play and jumping up on her hind legs and just being awesome and cute in general. They also do not mention that she really needs another cat (preferably friendly and social) to play with and follow around and groom. Frankly I am saying all this because I would still LOVE it if Sardine went to a goon instead of some random... It was absolutely wrenching and awful when I had to give her up, and in just a year she became this really fantastic cat who was just awesome and unobtrusive and friendly... and based on what I heard she barely interacted with people at all before. She's also like... She probably should have been a show cat, if she hadn't grown up so skittish and excitable. She's big, gorgeous, athletic, strong. She can jump higher than any cat I know and stand on her hind paws as long as wants to. That is... very different from Jackie who is decidedly quite unathletic, not to mention malformed in multiple ways  Anyway, Sardine's just this big gorgeous strong tabby - they don't make it too obvious in that profile.
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Nov 15, 2017 18:13
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