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explosivo posted:We have two. But we do have another cat. I guess they do say one for each cat plus another, don't they? I was trying to avoid having three litterboxes in our apartment. we're doing pretty fine with one box for two cats, but we're cleaning them twice a day.
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Jan 15, 2018 20:02
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Boxes = Cats + 1 is just a guideline. I've had really variable experiences with this, from three cats tolerating one box to one cat not happy with two of her own.explosivo posted:I think maybe she's on edge when I'm doing it expecting to hear this weird sound again Put on some music. I've found that helps mask potentially threatening sounds.
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Jan 15, 2018 20:29
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We've had one box for 2 cats for as long as I can remember through multiple pairs of cats and it's never been an issue. These 2 were being photogenic as poo poo last night 
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Jan 15, 2018 20:42
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BabyFur Denny posted:we're doing pretty fine with one box for two cats, but we're cleaning them twice a day. I might just need to be better at cleaning it daily. I sometimes let it go a day or two, maybe cleaning it more often will help her know I'm just trying to clean up her poop. 
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Jan 15, 2018 20:59
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Gorgar posted:Boxes = Cats + 1 is just a guideline. I've had really variable experiences with this, from three cats tolerating one box to one cat not happy with two of her own.  We have 5, and have 3 boxes. The key is just getting a really good, low-dust, clumping litter, and scooping it every other day. One cat is even a notorious floor-shitter, and we rarely have any incidents with this setup. The big thing is just keeping them clean.
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Jan 15, 2018 21:57
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BaronVonVaderham posted:
I'm not a big fan of the packaging, but I've had some good experience with Aldi's brand of litter.
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Jan 15, 2018 22:00
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I have to rave about Arm & Hammer Slide here. Seriously, the minor premium is worth the saved headaches a thousand times over. It absolutely lives up to every claim it makes on the box. If you have cat, or cats, GET IT NOW!
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Jan 15, 2018 22:12
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We use Arm & Hammer and it's loving fantastic. The clumps don't crumble like some other brands, so you can go much longer without developing that ammonia smell in the box.
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Jan 16, 2018 00:43
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Using world's best here. Corn based and flushable, though i use a litter genie. Not super dusty but not dust-free
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Jan 16, 2018 01:40
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Spagghentleman posted:...and the older one we were told has an ear infection, so we were given ear drops to give him twice a day. Quoting my last post with relevant info only. The younger cat is fine - I guess he was just sore from the needle - but the old one is just as wobbly as the day he got back from the vet if not worse - and at this point I'm almost certain he has gone deaf. When he meows it sounds very different from his normal meow, which makes me think he can't hear himself - and he does not respond to any noise at all. I literally yelled at him while he was asleep and he didn't flinch, usually he's up if he hears his name at all. He also has stopped eating anything dry altogether, which is also not normal. He will eat only wet, and only if he doesn't have to chew it. I think he might have pressure or an uncomfortable feeling in his jaw which keeps him from chewing anything. He will try one or two chews and then spit it out. The drops the vet gave us are called Surolan and there are tons of horror stories about it making pets deaf on the internet. At this point I have to call the vet tomorrow and figure out what the hell to do. I have told my wife to stop giving him the drops because it seems to be causing more harm than anything. We've only been giving him the drops since Saturday, so hopefully nothing permanent has happened. Spagghentleman fucked around with this message at 01:53 on Jan 16, 2018 |
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Jan 16, 2018 01:51
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We've been using the new style crystal litter for a little bit with a littermaid automatic box. The crystals absorb the pee and the turds get automatically scooped into the box. I made a little frame that fits inside the box that a plastic bag can go into so every few days pull out the bag of poops put a new one in. Every 2 weeks or so do a full litter change. With one cat it's supposed to last for 1 month but with our 2 2 weeks is about as much as we can get out of it. Before that we tried all the more natural clumping litters but the auto scooper would mash them up or they couldn't clump hard enough.
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Jan 16, 2018 01:53
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I was wondering how many of you have had experiences with cats with blocked urinary tracts, specifically male cats. I just got my cat back from the vet after a 2nd blockage this month  he had one right before Christmas and literally the day he goes back for his 2nd follow up, he plugs up again. They didn't start him on the urinary diet the first time he came home, this time they did. He's been eating it, so that's good. Some questions:1. I have 2 cats. They way I fed them both was an auto feeder. With the other still on her own food, am I screwed to a life of feeding them separately? Is there high risk to blocking again if he snags a few bites of my other cat's dry food? 2. My cat is highly stressed, which the vet seems to think contributed to his blocking. I'm getting feliway in the mail tomorrow, but I honestly don't know how to to de-stress him. I leave the window available for him to peer out, he's got a tree, and he's been fine in this place for a year now. 3. He hides under the bed now, but I'll pull him out to medicate him, pet him, then he realizes how much he loves pets, then the slightest agitation (sound, movement, etc) freaks him out and he's back under the bed. I'm just trying to figure out the best way going forward. I'll give him wet food for the next month at least, per the vet's orders, but it's gonna be tough since I'm not always home.
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Jan 16, 2018 06:36
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1. As long as the bulk of his food is urinary maintenence, he should be okay. If he's on urinary dissolution, feed that 100% til the course runs out. Yeah I have two cats, one had blockages so I had to give up the auto-feeder and just do manual feeding. 2. Why is your cat stressed? Having lots of hidey-holes helps cats feel more comfortable. Synthbuttrange fucked around with this message at 06:47 on Jan 16, 2018 |
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Jan 16, 2018 06:45
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Synthbuttrange posted:1. As long as the bulk of his food is urinary maintenence, he should be okay. If he's on urinary dissolution, feed that 100% til the course runs out. Yeah I have two cats, one had blockages so I had to give up the auto-feeder and just do manual feeding. 1. My vet gave me 24 cans of the royal canin urinary stuff, so I'll try to give it to him for awhile. At least for a month like the vet reccomends. 2. He just has a personality that's... on edge. He doesn't get along well with humans that aren't me, for whatever reason. I socialized him a lot as a kitten, but no luck now. He has spots under my bed that I let him sulk to. It wasn't a big deal until this all started happening too.
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Jan 16, 2018 07:38
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So I got one of those catnip bananas... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4zXxkv94Tw Guess which cat missed out on the catnip gene.
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Jan 16, 2018 10:42
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seiferguy posted:I was wondering how many of you have had experiences with cats with blocked urinary tracts, specifically male cats. I just got my cat back from the vet after a 2nd blockage this month Does he have urinary crystals? There’s a specific RC food for that and it saved one of my cats who was blocked and hence couldn’t pee. Petsmart carries all prescription food so just get a prescription note from your doctor and give it to Banfield (the store has to have a Banfield in it); it’s waaaaaay easier to get special prescription food versus getting it from the vet. Also, you have to keep your catte on this food for their life otherwise the crystals will come back. The prescription food is called S/O, and it has 2 types of dry food and also canned food, which they love. It IS more expensive than like IAMS etc but it’s super important so your cat doesn’t have blockages again. related, when my cat got blocked. I IMMEDIATELY knew what was wrong with the cat—crystals. This is due to this threads OP; I took him to the ER immediately. Thank you guys so much. *much love* As proof that the prescription food works, my cat has no more crystals. I also have a cat who had low state kidney failure but I got him the prescription kidney food and he’s completely healthy, not there no sign of any kidney failure anymore (based on blood work from my vet of course) Thin Privilege fucked around with this message at 12:08 on Jan 16, 2018 |
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Jan 16, 2018 11:57
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This is totally a different issue. One of my cats has eye herpes which flares up with stress, and having my new cat is stressing her out so I have to go to her eye specialist doctor again to get meds to fix her eye. Cat eye specialist doctor. I was shocked that that existed. But she’s gonna be fine soon. Her she is, sleep in a cat circle  
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Jan 16, 2018 12:16
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Organza Quiz posted:So I got one of those catnip bananas... Man, Pepper just can't catch a break. Just let her get high, Peridot!
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Jan 16, 2018 12:17
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Hello cat thread. I'm a perpetual dog person who stumbled into owning a kitten. He's currently about 6 months old, and I stumbled into owning a second kitten. She's about four months. Both are randos, not strays but not from a shelter either-- they were born in idiot non-fixing people's homes and yes, they are about to get fixed. I have a 17yo miniature poodle who has been going to this vet and well, my poodle made it to 17, so I trust them. I'm just wondering about introductions. The goal was to get the new girl into my bedroom so she could hang unopposed, but my other cat did some kind of crazy leap and got in with her, so they met early. This morning, she is exploring and he is pacing behind her and meowing. She does her best growl if he gets too close, but there is no scratching, biting, or hissing. Should I be concerned? Also, I ordered a Booda Dome and an Armakat cat tree. The plan is to stick the tree right next to his cheapo cat bed by my desk, and to have the Booda Dome replace the current litter box. This litter box will be moved to somewhere else that's convenient, looks like either my bedroom or my bathroom. Does any of this send out red flags? I wanna do the best for these kitties but as I said, I know nothing about good cat care.
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Jan 16, 2018 17:36
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Get them snipped ASAP. Expect them to be mental until they are 1-2 years, they will start to chill out after that. New cat peeps tend to over-analyse cat behaviour and worry but cats are just weird and each one is different. In other news, I'm picking up these cute little weirdos on Saturday, any other Devon Rex goons?  Rollo  Penny, his half sister She's an F-something variant without the crinkly fur.
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Jan 16, 2018 18:11
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Edgar: kittens are insane, don't worry about it or them fighting unless they start drawing blood. They are going to tussle and pounce on each other, that's just what cats do. Only be concerned if there's blood.
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Jan 16, 2018 18:25
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Thin Privilege posted:Does he have urinary crystals? There’s a specific RC food for that and it saved one of my cats who was blocked and hence couldn’t pee. Yeah, he had a lot of crystals. The first time I took him in, they thought it was bacterial since there was bacteria and blood in his urine, and didn't have me start him on the diet. I'm a little annoyed about that since I feel like I could have avoided a trip if we started that earlier. I'm fine keeping him on the diet, I'm just concerned about what to do with my other cat. I usually left her food out for her, but I don't want him stealing her food, since he's already been looking for it.
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Jan 16, 2018 18:52
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You may need to try to teach them not to graze. Ozma and Pizza used to need to eat separately for the same reason, he was on Urinary SO and she wasn't (now they both are on the Rx but she's a bully and will eat his share if we don't continue to feed them separately). Oz used to be a grazer and it took her about a week to learn that when we shut her in a room with her food, she had to finish it all at once or wait til the next meal. We gave her 30 minutes. It's an extra hassle but eventually becomes routine, maybe something like that will work?
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Jan 16, 2018 19:19
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Huntersoninski posted:You may need to try to teach them not to graze. Ozma and Pizza used to need to eat separately for the same reason, he was on Urinary SO and she wasn't (now they both are on the Rx but she's a bully and will eat his share if we don't continue to feed them separately). Oz used to be a grazer and it took her about a week to learn that when we shut her in a room with her food, she had to finish it all at once or wait til the next meal. We gave her 30 minutes. It's an extra hassle but eventually becomes routine, maybe something like that will work? I thought their grazing habit would go away when I got them an auto feeder, but no luck yet. I think they'll learn to eat all their food in one setting if I do this trick though. The issue is that Molly (the not sick one) gets hungry really quickly and starts acting out for food if it's not available.
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Jan 16, 2018 19:22
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I got some bad news on our 13-year-old cat: primary renal carcinoma (rare, very aggressive tumor that has completely occupied his right kidney, probably originating there but, based on the tumor type, probably also spreading) and possibly only 25% kidney function overall due to kidney disease in his left. The vet, at the best animal hospital in our entire region, seemed to suggest that surgery, even if it did slow/remove the cancer, would only give him a couple of months before the kidney disease caught up to him. Right now his kidney enzymes are only "mildly elevated." Best case scenario, the cancer is completely contained in the right kidney and removed, then we have to deal with the recovery and management of advanced kidney disease. Reading this over, I know it seems like, on paper, it would clearly be a bad idea to try and put him through surgery, but aside from losing weight and the mass itself, he seems to have no other symptoms. He's still extremely affectionate and active, jumping on counters, talking and yelling at us, racing around. It's very hard to square that with the fact that he only has "weeks to months" to live. I guess I am wondering if anyone here has managed advanced kidney disease and how the quality of life was for the cat. Reading around, you hear of people having extra years with cats with kidney disease with fluid injections. But I bet they had more than half of one kidney. More than anything I want to make sure he has the least amount of pain. He is a very good cat.
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Jan 16, 2018 20:27
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I had a cat with renal failure. The vet gave me a guilt trip for wanting to keep him alive when I first brought him in, but he started improving, then went downhill, improved again, and lived almost three more years before dying in his sleep of a heart attack at about 17. I knew him pretty well, and in my opinion he was still a happy cat that had not given up. He was blind at this point, but still enjoyed food, warmth, pets. He tolerated fluids pretty well. I have no regrets about keeping him alive. Just lost one to cancer who, towards the end, seemed miserable, stopped grooming, and lost interest in things. The vet was hopeful while we managed it, but she agreed it was time. Not your situation exactly, but maybe it's helpful.
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Jan 16, 2018 21:19
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I lost a cat, my boopcat, to advanced kidney disease this summer. She'd begun losing muscle mass; it was wasting caused by the disease, which I didn't know at the time. I took her through one crisis, but the second was her last. I fed her with a syringe through the first crisis, and it was such a hateful experience for us both. Our fight extended her life by a few months, mostly happy until the last couple weeks, where her treatments kept mounting. I wish her vet had given me a straightforward prognosis before everything that followed. Daily IV fluids that included pepcid, erythropoeitin injections three times a week because she was no longer producing the hormone necessary to replace her red blood cells and her anemia was dire, twice daily clavamox for an opportunistic bladder infection, twice daily methimazole for her hyperthyroidism too, daily remeron to stimulate her appetite but made her confused and clumsy.... On her last day, she started having respiratory distress -- panting was the most obvious sign. That was when I knew there was literally nothing else I could do. I regret not ending her suffering sooner.
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Jan 16, 2018 21:42
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Thanks for the replies. I had been waiting for a call back from the vet and she walked me through everything again. It just sounds like a lot of pain for the little guy and then a couple more months of the half a kidney making him sicker and sicker. And the prognosis for renal carcinoma at this point... It's most likely in his lymph nodes and on its way to his lungs. Right after that I heard back from oncology, and they said she had been working in their dept until just recently and their opinion on treatment would almost certainly be the same. So we're making him comfortable and doing all of his favorite things which is just one thing which is absolutely everyone sits in the living room and he switches laps for hours and looks smug and murmurs to us while we tell him he is a good cat which is 100% true.
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Jan 18, 2018 05:41
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seiferguy posted:Yeah, he had a lot of crystals. The first time I took him in, they thought it was bacterial since there was bacteria and blood in his urine, and didn't have me start him on the diet. I'm a little annoyed about that since I feel like I could have avoided a trip if we started that earlier. Start a feeding schedule if you don’t already have one. If one cat needs prescription food you can’t have them eat others’ food. What I do is I separate them in different rooms when I feed them. Don’t leave the food out because the regular food will cause the crystals to come back. E: sorry I missed your post about the other cat acting out. They’ll stop eventually or if they don’t you’ll have to just ignore it/say no/etc. They have to be fed separately cause your cats health is more important than their cat-ness needs (as much as we love them). Thin Privilege fucked around with this message at 07:13 on Jan 18, 2018 |
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Jan 18, 2018 07:10
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If you have the budget for it, the microchip activated cat feeders will keep the right cat to the right food. It is a pricey solution though. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2xEmMmYfBs
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Jan 18, 2018 07:20
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I've had more than one vet say that though there are many things to look for, in general if a cat wants to eat and drink, wants to use the litter pan, and wants to be near you/other catfriends, then it's probably not time. Of course that's not ironclad, but it's a pretty decent way to gauge things in the absence of the cat's ability to talk to you. If the kitty has given up on the usual things in their day to day life, forcing the issue is probably going to do more harm than good.
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Jan 18, 2018 07:28
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Thin Privilege posted:Start a feeding schedule if you don’t already have one. If one cat needs prescription food you can’t have them eat others’ food. What I do is I separate them in different rooms when I feed them. Don’t leave the food out because the regular food will cause the crystals to come back. So far so good on the feeding schedule. I'm just worried because I'll be gone for a week on vacation in 2 weeks. I'll have someone come over but they'll probably only be over once a day. My hope is that I can use the urinary dry food, bite the bullet and let my healthy cat eat it as well. I want to do this in a way that doesn't bankrupt me paying for a sitter. Synthbuttrange posted:If you have the budget for it, the microchip activated cat feeders will keep the right cat to the right food. It is a pricey solution though. That's amazing. The only issue is one of my cat is chipped and the other isn't
seiferguy fucked around with this message at 07:36 on Jan 18, 2018 |
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Jan 18, 2018 07:31
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seiferguy posted:So far so good on the feeding schedule. I'm just worried because I'll be gone for a week on vacation in 2 weeks. I'll have someone come over but they'll probably only be over once a day. My hope is that I can use the urinary dry food, bite the bullet and let my healthy cat eat it as well. I want to do this in a way that doesn't bankrupt me paying for a sitter. You’re going to come home to horrible smelling cat diarrhea. Changing a cats food immediately fucks up their digestive system and I’ll tell you now, the smell is like napalm or something similarly horrible. And of course, since they’re having horrible shits as any human has had, it hurts them physically a whole lot. Any way you can leave them in separate rooms and have them have their food laid out (temporarily free-fed) in the separate rooms? They won’t forget each other or get mad at each other when you come back if that’s something you’re worried about. Thin Privilege fucked around with this message at 09:46 on Jan 19, 2018 |
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Jan 19, 2018 09:44
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seiferguy posted:That's amazing. The only issue is one of my cat is chipped and the other isn't Well get them chipped, its a good idea anyway. If you cant, the things also work on rfid collars, like electronic cat flaps.
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Jan 19, 2018 10:19
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Crystals & diet talk? Ok. My previous vet put our cat on the expensive special food (S/D) and took care of the immediate blockage by flushing the urinary tract and giving him anti-inflammatory meds. But he kept having recurring problems about once a year anyway. We were referred to a cat surgery specialist for a pebis amputation, a horribly expensive procedure that our insurance didn't cover. The specialist told us to stop feeding him S/D dry food and instead try the most watery wet food from the supermarket. The large amount of water helps flush out the salts before they form crystals, he said. So we started feeding him the cheap wet stuff exclusively, and seven years later we have a happy healthy 12 year old and we've saved hundreds per year in food costs. So be careful about the S/D dry food, it's not a good solution on its own, that's my experience.
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Jan 19, 2018 11:38
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Yeah, it varies by cat because they're idiots that dont drink enough water on their own! My cat came down with crystals despite me feeding him wet food with extra added water. Sometimes thats just stuff that happens and cats are individuals and you'll have to make the best call you can for them.
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Jan 19, 2018 12:23
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My cat had some issues with crystals and putting her on a dry low-struvite diet plus a water fountain that she loves has cleared her all up. I mentioned earlier in the thread that her idiot brother also loved the fountain and regularly used to empty the damned thing all over my carpet. I never could get him to stop, but then we moved house and he's left it alone. Cats.
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Jan 19, 2018 12:36
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It’s currently pretty hot where I live, would my fairly hairy cat appreciate having his fur trimmed or is this a stupid idea? He doesn’t really go outside and it wouldn’t be more than a trim. He seems to have a preference for eating out of my hand or sometimes waiting for me to hold his plate for him or watch hime eat, is this a habit I should discourage if I don’t really mind?
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Jan 21, 2018 07:15
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1. Depends on the temperature inside the home. If its pretty extreme and the cat is visibly suffering, cooling pads and trims will help. Usually though the main reason to trim a furry cat is for hygiene. 2. Might be a bad idea if it teaches the cat to be reliant on you and develop feeding issues if you're away. If it doesnt have problems just eating out of a bowl though, just keep doing what you're doing I guess?
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Jan 21, 2018 07:20
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Synthbuttrange posted:1. Depends on the temperature inside the home. If its pretty extreme and the cat is visibly suffering, cooling pads and trims will help. Usually though the main reason to trim a furry cat is for hygiene. Thanks. He has gotten a little matted fur a couple of times in the past, so if a trim wouldn’t actively harm him I’ll probably go through with it. I have some “oral care gel” that’s supposed to help clean his teeth, is it bullshit? If not, how often would I apply some?
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Jan 21, 2018 07:33
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