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Dang what a cutie. I have no advice, sorry.
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Jun 10, 2018 04:28
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Yeah wow so cute. Agree with bonded pairs or at least two, an elder and a kitten can work. Kittens are cute but sharp and poopy which their cat friend will help them with. If you can help it, keep them inside and off your lawn/ground. Predators are one thing, but ground based parasites and diseases are the real problem. Outside cats will simply not live as long as if they were indoors and it's best not to apply your own fomo. Outdoor cats are also real bad for local ecosystems. Get them fixed. Invest in gallons of enzymatic cleaner to deter repeat accidents. Try to train them to expect to be manipulated a lot, particularity their feet so you can push their claws out and clip them. As cute as kitten behavior is, don't reward anything you don't want your adult cat to do like climbing your legs or pawing your face while you're sleeping. Automatic feeders are a good way to keep them from begging around food hour, but you may want the food association for training. You can train a cat to use toilets if you're patient and both you and your cat are clever. ILL Machina fucked around with this message at 05:51 on Jun 10, 2018 |
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Jun 10, 2018 05:48
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Glory to Italia!
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Boogalo posted:It looks like conscience eventually prevailed and he took her in today. She had a massive inoperable tumor and is no longer in pain. RIP bosscat, she was a pro cat who would walk up and rub her face all over your leg but when you reached down to pet she'd bite ya. She let me pet her belly though I'm glad kindness prevailed, and she was able to leave peacefully. A friendly, chompy girl! Blackchamber posted:Don't underestimate a cats memory versus yours. My cats were begging for their wet food dinner and I looked at the time and I was like 'oh did I forget? Time must have gotten away from me.' I washed out their dishes and gave each of them their normal half a can of cat-slop. I go to throw away the empty can and there on top of the trash is the can they got for dinner an hour or so earlier. My stepdad usually feeds the cats in the evening, but if he is out I typically do it; nonetheless the second he comes in they are at him for their dinner, so convincingly that they commonly scored second dinners until we got into the habit of leaving a note or checking first. What we're saying is, cats have absolutely perfect recollection when it comes to food, they are just completely willing to go all-in on lying to get second dinner. Lastly I fully endorse heading to your local shelters and asking about the kind of cat you are into! With a currently cat-free home you will find a lot of otherwise very excellent cats who prefer to be single pets, but might be very snuggly. Or a bonded pair of some description. Or just some snugglebug who happens to get overlooked! Kittens are wonderful, but so are adults 
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Jun 10, 2018 06:49
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X13Fen posted:Any tips to stop a cat jumping at clothes in a built-in wardrobe? Looks like you should start a photo album called "Cats Don't Go There" I have so many pictures of Shithead being in places he shouldn't or on things he shouldn't. My personal favorite is:  Because cats most certainly do not go in the dryer. Bonus: he got stuck trying to explore. This was not the first time it happened. 
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Jun 10, 2018 07:15
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Re: getting new cats. I'm a big proponent of getting them from a reputable shelter. It may seem expensive upfront (our SPCA wants about $150 per cat normally, they often have sales for older cats at half price or two-for-one though) but when you look at the breakdown of what comes included with that adoption it's a freaking bargain. Our SPCA will only adopt out animals that are already spayed or neutered, have all their vaccines, and they come microchipped. Most places getting all that done yourself would cost easily $300 or more. Sometimes you can find cats that are some sort of fancy breed too. I've fostered both Siamese and Persians for the local SPCA that later were adopted.They may not have all the papers and such but if you're not breeding them that doesn't matter anyway. My cat Odin came from the SPCA and I'm certain he's at least Maine Coon mix. He has a lot of the personality traits of the breed and is a big fluffy 20-pound monster of a cat (that's not all fat either, when he was deathly ill he dropped down to about 16 pounds and looked like a walking skeleton). If you have a request for a particular cat a lot of places will have a contact list where you can request they call you when an animal that matches what you're looking for becomes available.
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Jun 10, 2018 14:57
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It's just about time to buy more food. What should I be looking for to help Jellybean slim down? We've started trying to get more playtime with her but I want to make sure she's eating something decent to go with more play. If only Shithead would let her play with toys in peace. He's a young punk who likes to roughhouse and she's an old prissy layabout so when he rolls in she stops and goes to the other side of the room to lay down.
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Jun 10, 2018 15:10
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Any Canadian peeps have recommendations for bland food for a cat with a sensitive stomach? We're currently in the UK and have our cat Slinky on gastro intestinal food (royal canin) which seems to keep gut infections at bay. However we're moving to Canada in a couple of weeks, can't bring food with us, and that food doesn't seem to be available except from a vet. I'm sure she'll be OK for a few days, but we're hoping to order something for when we arrive to tide us over until we can get her registered/seen etc. Any suggestions would be most welcome, preferably something we can order online to be there when we arrive.
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Jun 10, 2018 21:03
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I'm thinking of getting pet insurance for my guy Bob. He's about 2 and a half and I've had him for about a year and a half of that. He's an indoor cat and hasn't really had any big problems yet besides a random scratch on his leg that he somehow inflicted on himself that cleared up after the vet cleaned it. Does anyone have any particular recommendations for good companies or horror stories of ones to avoid in particular? Also here's some pics.     
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Jun 10, 2018 23:33
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I can't make any specific recommendations, but get a clean bill of health for your Bob as soon as possible from your vet, and then go for the insurance. This way, you can be certain that whatever comes up later won't or at least can't as easily be classified as pre-existing.
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Jun 11, 2018 00:57
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Robot Mil, looks like you should be able to get Hills Science Diet from amazon.ca to at least tide you over until you can see a vet. There's several other brands to choose from though I can't speak to how great they are. Do you know anyone in the area you're moving to? Maybe they could stop into a vet and pick up some of your preferred food to have ready for your arrival.
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Jun 11, 2018 01:02
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Chewy.com is where I get mine from. If you set up a scheduled delivery it's real cheap and you can always edit the planned delivery and ship it immediately. I have FIGO because my vet promoted it and it seemed decent after I researched. Nationwide is the other big one, but it's more expensive. Most plans don't include routine stuff and if you get one if those plans it's usually at least 50% more expensive. Get a plan early because they get more expensive as the cat address. One of the best ideas I saw was a cheap plan that covered only 12 conditions, but that accounts for like 90% of visits and both of mine already had one of the twelve and I would've made it worth it. But you'd need another plan for expensive surgery or treatments, which is what most people get it for. If I got a new kitten I'd get that pared down, specific plan real quick.
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Jun 11, 2018 01:51
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They're probably evil or somehow or other maligned by the PI goonhivemind, but we've got Banfield for our three cats, and they have been pretty drat good. Free* vet visits, free dental, free xrays, low-cost meds... they've been great for the past 8 or so years. Cost per month went up this year when I did the first cat's renewal, but I've been expecting that since the cost has been flat basically since we got the plans. *Free as in Totally Not Free, since you're basically paying for the policy over a year, which covers the cost of the dental. Shear Modulus posted:[ Bob pics ]  Love me some Bob!
poolside toaster fucked around with this message at 02:08 on Jun 11, 2018 |
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Jun 11, 2018 02:05
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Shear Modulus posted:I'm thinking of getting pet insurance for my guy Bob. He's about 2 and a half and I've had him for about a year and a half of that. He's an indoor cat and hasn't really had any big problems yet besides a random scratch on his leg that he somehow inflicted on himself that cleared up after the vet cleaned it. I use petplan. They've honored all my claims and their customer service is great, though they do take their time processing and sometimes are pretty vague about what they need. You may need to track your claim's progress on the website to make sure there are no snags. Anytime they've had an issue, a call cleared it up, and this year they saved me over $2k on my cat Pizza.
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Jun 11, 2018 02:48
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Canadian Bakin posted:Robot Mil, looks like you should be able to get Hills Science Diet from amazon.ca to at least tide you over until you can see a vet. There's several other brands to choose from though I can't speak to how great they are. Ah good shout, I'm sure that stuff will be ok for her. ILL Machina posted:Chewy.com is where I get mine from. If you set up a scheduled delivery it's real cheap and you can always edit the planned delivery and ship it immediately. They only ship within the US unfortunately :/ I was also wondering about insurance for our two - they are 11 and 14 so older kitties, and Slinky has some pre-existing conditions - she had a tumour removed from her leg last year and has had gastro/gut issues previously although they seem to have been settled for a few months now. We have them insured under PetPlan in the UK who provide good cover, I'm not even sure we'll be able to get insurance for them in Canada that would cover anything we would be likely to need it for. I'm pretty sure if cancer came back it would not be covered - the vet had said that they removed it all but the only way to be sure it wouldn't come back would be to amputate, which we decided against. This is the little lady in question  And this is Floofer, AKA P Kitty AKA Noisebox. His only medical problem is an inability to go without food for more than 5 minutes without yelling at us, also he doesn't know how to sit down properly 
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Jun 11, 2018 08:28
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What do goons recommend to get for the kitten who bites/chews everything? At least she uses the cat tree scratching posts, but this oral fixation needs a safety valve. I'd rather encourage her to play with something rather than attempt to spray every cable/surface in my flat with repellent!
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Jun 11, 2018 08:40
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My gray kitten originally was being bullied a bit by my other kitten. Introduction sessions often ended in lots of hissing and loud fights. After a couple days of feeding them at the same time, treats, and play sessions, I think they finally get along now.
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Jun 11, 2018 14:45
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Cat insurance: I have Embrace, but I haven't had to file a claim thus far. If you are price shopping, right now I pay like $54 for two cats which is a 70% reimbursement up to $10k per evil rear end in a top hat.
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Jun 11, 2018 15:17
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Blackchamber posted:Cat insurance: I have Embrace, but I haven't had to file a claim thus far. If you are price shopping, right now I pay like $54 for two cats which is a 70% reimbursement up to $10k per evil rear end in a top hat. Oh yeah I forgot details like that. My petplan policies are about $270/year each (less than $50 taken quarterly for both). Deductible is $300 and they cover 90% after that. No annual coverage limit. You get to determine your own deductible and coverage each renewal. My cats are both six and they've each had their own medical emergencies, when they were younger their plans were much cheaper so we were able to have lower deductibles and higher % coverage, so a 2-year-old with a clean bill should be cheaper. I was considering cancelling their coverage since they hadn't had an accident or illness that went over their deductibles in a long time, but I'm glad I kept it, since it saved us enough to more than cover their last few years of premiums this year. Rat Patrol fucked around with this message at 16:26 on Jun 11, 2018 |
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Jun 11, 2018 15:58
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I was also just about to ask about insurances since now I have two 5 year-old idiots who at the momewnt want to murder each other. FIGO looks like its winning. I also just plain like them immediately for not requiring an email address before showing you a quote. Each cat is $23/mo with 14k annual limit 90% coverage and $200 deductible. Doing the math on checkup fees but it looks like its worth it if you go in twice a year.
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Jun 11, 2018 16:24
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They cover checkups? That's pretty cool, back when I was shopping around (five years ago) only one very expensive insurance company offered to cover checkups, only accidents and illnesses.
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Jun 11, 2018 16:25
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IronDoge posted:My gray kitten originally was being bullied a bit by my other kitten. Introduction sessions often ended in lots of hissing and loud fights. After a couple days of feeding them at the same time, treats, and play sessions, I think they finally get along now. FRIENDS. And the kitties are adorable.
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Jun 11, 2018 17:09
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Wirecutter has an article trying to compare and break down pet insurance plans: https://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-pet-insurance/ Even if you don't agree on their top choices, it's interesting to see what they focused on.
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Jun 11, 2018 17:29
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Around 4 years ago I adopted two cats with my now ex- fiancee. We broke up around a year and a half ago, and we each took one, which is probably OK with the cats because they hated each other. Up until recently, I was able to spend a lot of time at home to play with my cat (I'm a grad student so most of work involves sitting at a PC and writing), but I'm increasingly having to spend more time away from home and I think my cat is really bored and I feel bad for her. I know that the answer should be "get another cat", but as far as I can tell my cat HATES other cats. I grew up in a house with several cats so I know there's an adjustment period, but I've had to cat-sit for friends before and even after two weeks, if another cat goes anywhere near my cat, she will viciously attack them. She was like that with the other cat that used to live here, and it was a nightmare, but I refused to give either of them up. I'm actually moderately terrified of leaving her alone with another cat for fear of serious injury. I'm not really sure what to do here. I have a bunch of those hexbug mouse-looking toys that activate when touched, and I leave those youtube bird videos for cats on when I leave, but I dunno, I feel like that's not a real substitute for actual physical play.
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Jun 12, 2018 00:51
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Yeah, sometimes a cat is an only cat. Any access to windows? Put a bird feeder outside and a cat tree by the window for her to watch.
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Jun 12, 2018 00:58
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Get her a harness and take her for outside adventures, that's what I did to keep my bored cat happy before I could get her a friend to play with. Just like 15-20 minutes of letting her sniff stuff around your place.
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Jun 12, 2018 01:25
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ewe2 posted:What do goons recommend to get for the kitten who bites/chews everything? At least she uses the cat tree scratching posts, but this oral fixation needs a safety valve. I'd rather encourage her to play with something rather than attempt to spray every cable/surface in my flat with repellent! Another kitten.
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Jun 12, 2018 01:59
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Thanks all for the thoughts about insurance. The article incogneato was helpful especially for their info about premium increases which was something I had been trying to find info on. The three they talked about were the ones I ended up focusing more on after shopping around for a few hours as well. I think I am going to go with Trupanion or Healthy Paws because their quoted rates are both pretty cheap: $23.28/mo with $500 deductible for Healthy Paws and $21.72 for a $1000 one for Trupanion. I am kind of unsure on the per-year vs per-condition deductible. My cat was a stray and, I assume, mixed-breed so I guess he's probably not going to be susceptible to chronic conditions that the per-condition thing might be better for. I read through the sample policies both companies put online and it looks like the only major thing that one company covers and the other doesn't is that Trupanion covers dental health care due to certain illnesses and injury but Healthy Paws says only dental healthcare due to an accident. My family had cats growing up and none of them ever had dental problems so I dunno if this is something I should consider all that much... I think I am probably going to buy the Healthy Paws plan though.
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Jun 12, 2018 02:07
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What's the soonest you guys have done a face to face introduction for a new cat? We adopted an ~ 14 month old male on Sunday and have been keeping him separated from our current 8 year old female. They are both incredibly curious about each other already and have caught glimpses of one another when we go in the bathroom to check on and spend time with him. We already took him to the vet and all was well there. We were originally planning to wait until Friday with some site swaps in between but they are already sniffing at each other under the door and chirping without any signs of agitation from either of them. If the whole point of this is to let them meet and learn about each other at their own pace, is it crazy to let them try to meet face to face after only 2 days?
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Jun 12, 2018 11:22
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I let my cats have same-room meet on the second day. Didnt let them get too close but by the third day they were comfortable in the same room as each other, just not with each other yet. YMMV depending on the cats!
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Jun 12, 2018 11:33
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Its been a month of meeting every day and sometimes twice a day and My current cat still pounces and attacks new cat. I can sit on the floor and pet them both on either side of my but will have to hold old cat back from a pounce every few minutes. She chitters at new cat like a toy suddenly moving or a bird outside the window too. Milly ya gotta stop being a jerk. Butters seems to not give a crap and gets over it quick. I'm still hesitant to just let them duke it out. I've tried a baby gate but Milly just hops over it. Maybe I need 2 more to fully block the door. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfXTflBC3zs
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Jun 12, 2018 14:33
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Boogalo posted:Its been a month of meeting every day and sometimes twice a day and My current cat still pounces and attacks new cat. I can sit on the floor and pet them both on either side of my but will have to hold old cat back from a pounce every few minutes. She chitters at new cat like a toy suddenly moving or a bird outside the window too. You have some pro-tier cat fishing skills there. I would have taken like twenty tries to get the mouse on a string over the cat gate like that.
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Jun 12, 2018 15:25
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Boogalo posted:Its been a month of meeting every day and sometimes twice a day and My current cat still pounces and attacks new cat. I can sit on the floor and pet them both on either side of my but will have to hold old cat back from a pounce every few minutes. She chitters at new cat like a toy suddenly moving or a bird outside the window too. You should let them sort it out TBH. Unless one is actively bullying the other, or drawing blood or something, it's fine for them to sort things out with a bit of wrestling. It might even be play-wrestling!
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Jun 12, 2018 15:56
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There's no hard and fast rule- I've always done introductions pretty quickly. My one cat Connie was so deeply morally offended that we brought home a kitten that no amount of soft introduction would have helped. Later after Connie passed we got another kitten, and she and Dexter (the kitten who had so offended Connie) were grooming each other right off the bat. As long as both cats have a place they feel safe, they're eating without incident and they're not for-real fighting, I've always let them share space after a day or two. That said, my parents are adopting one of my foster kittens, and we are going to do the introduction to their resident cat, Bianca, very, very slowly. Bianca is a barely tame kitty who was possibly abused in the past. She is terrified of new people and skittish even around my parents. I'm hoping a kitten will be fairly non-threatening to her, but we'll be taking things very slowly and making sure Bianca has her space.
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Jun 12, 2018 17:22
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Organza Quiz posted:You should let them sort it out TBH. Unless one is actively bullying the other, or drawing blood or something, it's fine for them to sort things out with a bit of wrestling. It might even be play-wrestling! Left alone, it always ends with butters holding defensive position in her house while milly looms outside. So far, there's been no injuries but I'm keeping pretty close watch. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ToYwbsYq5hg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ot4OTxPGJyo Since that 2nd one (about 2 weeks ago) they've been pretty tightly supervised. Thinking I want to start up some pet insurance before letting them go at it. Also in 2 weeks i'll be out of town for a week and don't think they're ready to be left alone with each other for that long. Milly has about 4lbs size advantage on butters, but her claws are trimmed, butters are not yet, she's way too squirmy and panicky if you try to hold her or even go for burrito-ing. At least she's good about using the scratching post and pads.
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Jun 12, 2018 18:03
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dang Milly
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Jun 12, 2018 20:57
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You might consider a cat tree with two platforms. Gives milly high ground if she wants it and butters another defensive position. My two will chase each other but I haven't had any grooming or kitten piles, but they get the most proximity when they share the tree. I think that's just a scratching post in the video anyway.
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Jun 12, 2018 21:01
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This might not be right, but if butters doesn't have such a secure position it could turn into more chasing and wrestling which might be better than the hole-fighting, but I wouldn't try it till you had a tree. Butters looks like he somehow baited Milly into chasing him (he runs before milly jumps)...wish I could speak cat
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Jun 12, 2018 21:04
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dang yeah, Milly needs to Chilly
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Jun 12, 2018 21:04
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I have thought about removing the house now that Butters doesn't cower when I enter the room, will probably do that tonight. The post you see is just a really tall scratcher. One good take-away is Milly seems to stop when I intervene or hold her back and doesn't tear the poo poo out of me. She's the chillest drat cat ever at all other times. She's motivated only by petting, and treats don't work so they're out. Edit: Had a decent session today. They were face to face a couple seconds accidentally with little mayhem before Butters ran away. I also kinda spooked buttersinto Milly accidentally but no harm was done there either. The rest of the time was just keeping milly distracted or held down/blocked before she pounced. Progress I think. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4A6ISOgouk I turned the house around so butters could still sit on it, but she seems frustrated about not getting in so I'll take it out entirely. Boogalo fucked around with this message at 03:34 on Jun 13, 2018 |
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Jun 12, 2018 21:57
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Hey thread, how do I teach my generally quite intelligent cat that it's not actually random whether I let her on the bed in the morning or not, it's that if she has wet paws from being a shameful shower-drinker she isn't allowed but if she has dry paws then it's fine? She's usually pretty quick to understand cause and effect but this is a bit too esoteric for her and she gets really upset when I kick her off the bed in the mornings because it's always been fine before.
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Jun 13, 2018 05:31
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