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His Divine Shadow posted:How is ground beef as a cat food? I mean does it satisfy a cats nutritional needs? I'm not sure, seems like it would be low in fiber without some veggies. I do know there are people that cook for their cats. You might want to post in the pet nutrition thread.
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Dec 3, 2018 16:01
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As I recall there are concerns with nutrients with homemade cat food, especially with amino acids like taurine. I'd check with a vet or someone to see what you'd have to add. But parboiling some ground beef and maybe adding some taurine should be decent, if only for a little while. Maybe add in some ground bone-in chicken too, since bones have a lot of minerals. Of course I'm just some guy on SA, definitely check with a veterinarian on how to properly make your own cat food. I can't imagine it's super complex, you should just be extra careful with nutrients - especially with an older cat.
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Dec 3, 2018 17:50
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So I'm going to be out of town for 2 nights starting tomorrow, and I just realized that I forgot to order a new bag of dry cat food for my little dudes. I've been feeding them a combo of wet and dry mixed together when I'm home, but I had meant to put just the dry food in the automatic-opening timed bowls while I'm out. Do you think wet food would... spoil, if I put it in the timer bowl? Should I buy some random crap dry food from the grocery store to hold them over til Thursday?
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Dec 4, 2018 01:42
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I wouldn't put wet out for that long. Pet store should have small samples of good stuff, maybe even the brand you use so you don't have to get a giant bag. Dry to hold them over should be fine. Since they're kittens, if you know anyone who could stop and check on them the first night it might not be a bad idea.
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Dec 4, 2018 02:46
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Hmmm... OK. I'll need a long term solution at some point, since I'm out of the house 2 nights most weeks (usually Tues and Wed nights, getting home Thurs afternoon). My brother is going to stop by Wednesday and give them some food and check in, but going forward I guess I'll stick with the wet/dry blend when I'm home and dry only when I'm away.
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Dec 4, 2018 03:11
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So, three weeks ago I got another kitten (as a friend to current kitten). He is the sweetest boy, very pretty and very well-behaved according to the vet. Our older kitten loves him and they get along so fantastically and they have been playing like crazy from the moment they met. And then Friday he started to poop everywhere. It was loose so I figured diarrhea. Brought him into the vet Saturday and got some antibiotics and a dewormer (just in case, as giardia test was negative and they had to send out for the fecal test). Sunday he was fine and started using the litter box again, although was still very boney and skinny and I was so worried. Then Monday night he starts to yelp and hiss at everyone who gets close. He stops eating. He becomes very lethargic. I brought him back to the vet this morning. Turns out he has FIP... no cure. Just fluid filling up his abdomen. His life expectancy is a few days and we made the choice to put him to sleep tomorrow morning. He is 11 weeks old. Just... gently caress. How can a sweet baby go from doing so well to death's door so fast? We are shattered. This is not fair. Please hug your kitties extra hard for me. 
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Dec 5, 2018 03:52
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I'm so sorry.
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Dec 5, 2018 04:02
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I'm sorry to hear about that. It wasn't long but I'm sure you gave the little guy the best lifetime.
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Dec 5, 2018 04:13
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I'm so sorry. I'll make sure to hug mine extra for you
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Dec 5, 2018 09:36
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I'm so sorry
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Dec 5, 2018 10:07
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You're right, it's not fair. I'm sorry for the little guy, and for your loss. I'll be sure to snuggle mine a little extra.
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Dec 5, 2018 10:23
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Aw I'm sorry too. That sucks. 
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Dec 5, 2018 10:25
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One of my cats somehow (let’s assume a fight) lost a claw. He’s bled a bit around the house, and is obviously in pain. I’ve cleaned the paw/toe/wound whatever you’d call it, and put a cone on him. Is this “common”? Should I get him to a vet, or just wait and keep an eye out for it getting infected?
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Dec 5, 2018 19:17
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sensy v2.0 posted:One of my cats somehow (let’s assume a fight) lost a claw. He’s bled a bit around the house, and is obviously in pain. I’ve cleaned the paw/toe/wound whatever you’d call it, and put a cone on him. Is this “common”? Should I get him to a vet, or just wait and keep an eye out for it getting infected? your cat just lost a fingat, take him to the goddamn doctor.
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Dec 5, 2018 19:32
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Any advice for dealing with cat jealousy? My younger cat Donna was never much of a cuddler in the past but recently she's decided I'm the comfiest seat in the house and my older cat Mittens isn't happy about losing exclusive access to my lap. He hasn't tried to start anything yet (Donna would beat his candy rear end and he knows it) but he's started lightly growling at her when she gets near. Donna doesn't seem to care and they're fine with each other when I'm not at stake. All I can think to do at the moment is try to give them equal love and pester Mittens until he forgets what he's doing when he starts being a little poo poo.
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Dec 5, 2018 21:32
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We got the Christmas tree out and it was a hand me down from a co-worker. The box had these two little tassley things that immediately became cat toys. She asked me to put them somewhere he wouldn't get them so I stupidly put them both in a box. 10 minutes later he proudly is showing us this toy he hunted. I took the one form him and the other out of the box and put them very high up in the tree. He climbed in the box, pushed the box off the shelf it was on and started digging in the box to find the other tassle. I fully expect to come home to a knocked over tree.
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Dec 5, 2018 21:37
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My mom's ancient cat Sugi is coming to the close of his time, we were talking yesterday about having to let him go soon. He was sick lately, and though better, he had no appetite, then today he was hovering up all the food he could get. Hopefully he'll be able to carry on happily enough for awhile still, but there's only so long an old old boy can keep going. Just hug your furry babies, even when you have them for 18 years plus, it's not long enough. And then things happen like they did to pluckyginger, which is just utterly awful. Just always give them the best you can, so that whether they're with you for decades or just days, it's as free of want and worry as could be desired. E; sensy if it's enough that he's bleeding, take the cat to the doctor. Remember that a cat's paws and toes and claws don't map directly to ours; he may have lost what would for us be down to like the second knuckle. A professional needs to look at it to see how bad it is, clean it fully, and do whatever else is needed. Ms Adequate fucked around with this message at 07:43 on Dec 6, 2018 |
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Dec 6, 2018 07:37
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ThingOne posted:Any advice for dealing with cat jealousy? My younger cat Donna was never much of a cuddler in the past but recently she's decided I'm the comfiest seat in the house and my older cat Mittens isn't happy about losing exclusive access to my lap. He hasn't tried to start anything yet (Donna would beat his candy rear end and he knows it) but he's started lightly growling at her when she gets near. Donna doesn't seem to care and they're fine with each other when I'm not at stake. All I can think to do at the moment is try to give them equal love and pester Mittens until he forgets what he's doing when he starts being a little poo poo. Well... Sort of. First you really have to figure out WHO is calling the shots between the two cats, and in this case it definitely seem like Donna. Mittens, having previously had exclusive access to your lap and exclusive access to YOU, would naturally feel threatened when a younger and more dominant cat decides that they want EVERYTHING the older cat gets in terms of affection. This same thing happened years ago with my cat Jackie when we all lived at my parent's home like... 10 years ago now. They got these younger cats who were WAY more headstrong and dominant than Jackie, and it made Jackie just run and hide constantly because they would actually attack and frighten her off for soliciting attention from humans, which I certainly thought was unfair... My solution to this was to basically shut the door of the TV room in the evening when I'd watch Deadwoood or The Wire or LOST or whatever show I was watching 10 years ago - and those hours would be EXCLUSIVELY devoted to cuddling with Jackie while I put the other cats away for the night (these were very very noisy rambunctious kittens so they would get sequestered to a basement attached to a warm heated room via cat door cut through a wall so humans could sleep at night). Anyway, it worked really really well, to be honest. I think especially older cats are very sentimental about their Human, even when they don't show it. Jackie acts like she could care less about my half the time but she turns into a wreck when I go away for more than the span of a normal workday.
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Dec 6, 2018 14:53
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Jet gets real sad if no one is around for more than a day, but he’s fine if I have a catsitter. Cats 
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Dec 6, 2018 15:37
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Took my cat to the vet today, it was actually some sort of cut on the paw itself that had gotten inflamed and swollen up over his claw. Just gonna have to keep it clean now, so he’s been doomed to have a cone for a week and be indoors for like 3. Glad we took him to the vet in any case, thanks.
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Dec 6, 2018 16:35
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Artemis, my kitten who loves leaping atop doors and exploring High Places, has now developed to the point where she can get atop my fridge. Unfortunately I have a fitted kitchen and have now discovered that my 8' high fridge/freezer combo has gaps around the top for ventilation purposes. Two days in a row now she has managed to get stuck inside the cabinets with no way out and earlier today I found myself having to unscrew a vent so that she could be released, after she was stuck in there for at least three hours. Her sister was hanging around nearby and seeming unhappy then I eventually heard her meowing piteously and scrabbling at the kickboard before seeing her nose pressing against the grill. Right now I have cardboard over the holes she is apparently either falling into or leaping down but will need to look into a better solution long term.
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Dec 7, 2018 00:08
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Patrat posted:Artemis, my kitten who loves leaping atop doors and exploring High Places, has now developed to the point where she can get atop my fridge. Get some wire mesh or hardware cloth and tack/glue/caulk/staple it up there, whichever solution works for you.
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Dec 7, 2018 02:19
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sensy v2.0 posted:Took my cat to the vet today, it was actually some sort of cut on the paw itself that had gotten inflamed and swollen up over his claw. Just gonna have to keep it clean now, so he’s been doomed to have a cone for a week and be indoors for like 3. Glad we took him to the vet in any case, thanks. Glad to hear it, the wee bugger will be annoyed by the cone but they're going to be fine! Taking them to the vet was the right call 
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Dec 7, 2018 07:53
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I need a crash course in getting a cat in a carrier, as I am cat dumb/don't have a lot of experience with them. Our cat is generally pretty chill but she is not a big fan of being picked up. She and my husband are buddies so she is more receptive to being picked up by him, but not by me. She has to have two teeth pulled next week, and I am the only one who will be available at the time to take her to the vet. I have watched videos on how to put cats in carriers and several recommended using a towel to wrap them up momentarily, but I tried it today when we took her for bloodwork and it was a complete failure. She scoots away the second the towel touches her, before I even have a chance to do anything. So I need a way that I can get her in there the first time, so that she doesn't escape and run away and I have to drag her out of somewhere and it sucks for everyone.
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Dec 7, 2018 08:55
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Clip the cat's claws way beforehand. That'll limit the damage it can do if you try stuff it in a carrier. Otherwise you can also try throwing a treat into the carrier and shoving her in and closing the door if she takes the bait.
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Dec 7, 2018 09:04
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I found it easier to get a grumpy cat into a carrier when I did it a lot faster. If you kinda scoop them up straight into the carrier sometimes they don't have time to grok what's going on. If they have time to start fighting they aren't going to stop. You could also try a thunder shirt. It might be hard to get on, but once it is on they don't care about anything. It's pretty weird. Like it just makes them instantly super high and they only stumble around and don't care about anything.
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Dec 7, 2018 11:47
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Leave the carrier out somewhere frequented by cat, give her treats in it, play with her around it and in it, then when you need her to go in you just throw a treat in there and done. I gotta do this with one of mine because she's mostly unhandleable.
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Dec 7, 2018 12:37
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Ours is bigger than the cats can spread out and stop it from happening if they fight it. Domino is dumb and will typically walk in on his own but if you even pick it up bean hisses and hides so she's a fighter.
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Dec 7, 2018 12:40
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Training them to not hate the crate helps, but usually takes a little more time than you have. I did it with play, treats, and feeding my cat all his meals inside the crate for a while.
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Dec 7, 2018 12:42
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kaworu posted:Well... Sort of. First you really have to figure out WHO is calling the shots between the two cats, and in this case it definitely seem like Donna. Mittens, having previously had exclusive access to your lap and exclusive access to YOU, would naturally feel threatened when a younger and more dominant cat decides that they want EVERYTHING the older cat gets in terms of affection. I woke up this morning with a purring cat-amoeba on my back so it seems to be working. Mittens has always been a bit clingy though he's gotten better about it as he's gotten older. I've always attributed it to the fact that we found him wandering around all alone as a kitten. He was old enough to eat solid food but I think he was still to young to have been separated from his mother and siblings and it left a mark on him. Donna, on the other hand, was given to me by a friend with a lot of experience raising kittens and adjusted to it a lot better.
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Dec 7, 2018 15:31
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Organza Quiz posted:Leave the carrier out somewhere frequented by cat, give her treats in it, play with her around it and in it, then when you need her to go in you just throw a treat in there and done.  Mel is going coming with me to my parent's place for Christmas, so a few days I ago I put out the carrier so I could begin the weeks long process of getting her to trust it again. She's still suspcisous and will only enter it to get treats if I'm far enough away that she knows I can't zip it up on her, but we'll get there. Every year she finally chills out just in time for me to stuff her in it and make her hate it again for another year.
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Dec 7, 2018 16:29
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Sydin posted:
How does Mel handle being at an unfamiliar house for the trip? My boyfriend has it in his head that we'll just take Kits with us to his parents but a) it's a 7 hour drive; and b) I don't want her to get all freaked out being thrown in an unfamiliar house for a week [and secret c) I'm pretty sure someone will let her out of the house and I'll never see her again]. Anyone: do you travel with a cat and have it be non-traumatic for everyone involved?
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Dec 7, 2018 16:47
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I pick up my cats randomly and carry them around the house, then put them down so they don't associate being held with the carrier. I've also found that if the carrier is int he middle of a big room, Milly will fight going in and try to get away. If i stage the carrier in a bathroom or other small space, she begrudgingly goes in because there's nowhere to run.
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Dec 7, 2018 16:48
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We took rear end in a top hat with us to her mom's for Christmas the first year we had him since he originally lived with her. For starters he peed in the carrier we took him in on the way there. And he spent the four hours there hiding under a recliner hissing as anything that got close. We don't take him places anymore.
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Dec 7, 2018 16:51
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Organza Quiz posted:Leave the carrier out somewhere frequented by cat, give her treats in it, play with her around it and in it, then when you need her to go in you just throw a treat in there and done. Yeah, that helped us a lot with Sweetheart, too. The carrier is near her actual cat bed (as well as her favorite cardboard box that she actually uses as a bed  ) and I've absolutely found her sleeping in there before when I've woken up before.Required cat-in-box tax: 
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Dec 7, 2018 16:55
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FlyTB20C posted:How does Mel handle being at an unfamiliar house for the trip? My boyfriend has it in his head that we'll just take Kits with us to his parents but a) it's a 7 hour drive; and b) I don't want her to get all freaked out being thrown in an unfamiliar house for a week [and secret c) I'm pretty sure someone will let her out of the house and I'll never see her again]. The first year she was very scared: spent almost a full week hiding in the room I slept in at my parent's place and only venturing out from under the covers to eat/use the litter box in short bursts at night when my family was asleep and not making noise. She finally got brave enough to venture out of the room after that, and by the time I left she was wandering around as normal. The next year she was scared for maybe only a day, but seemed to remember both the house and my family and so she quickly went back to being her usual self. Hoping for similar long term memory gains this year. As for traveling, you're somewhat lucky in that you're driving. You can put her carrier in the trunk with a small litter box and a bit of food, and once she's in unzip it so she can use them as needed. She still probably isn't going to be thrilled, but that's just cats catting. They hate any kind of change to their environment so travel is always a pain unless you do it very regularly. One thing I've definitely noticed helps me when flying with my cat is bringing a towel to throw over her carrier once I'm seated, which removes the stress of unfamiliar visual stimuli and seems to calm her somewhat.
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Dec 7, 2018 17:14
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If you have a rare excellent kitty who likes belly rubs, please give them extra belly rubs tonight in memory of Button. I knew his time was short because he was not responding to any of the treatments for his end-stage renal failure, even though we had initially stabilized him with IV fluids therapy after his diagnosis the week of Thanksgiving. But I at least thought he'd be coming home with us from the vet tonight. Even though his numbers were really bad, he had enough good days to give us hope that we could give him a few happy months before saying goodbye. Reading the success stories of others who had pulled their cats back from the brink at sites like Tanya's CRF initially helped keep my spirits up, but as one thing after another failed to keep him going it just made me feel even worse. He was clingy and cuddly up until his last day, but his most recent decline was just... different. We went to the vet for advice tonight and ultimately came home without him. There was nothing left for the vet to offer that would do anything more than extend his suffering another day. Got home about an hour ago and went around picking up food bowls, water dishes, blankets, etc that were just how he left them. My wife and I are total wrecks right now. We found him in 2009, crying for attention outside my wife's (then girlfriend's) apartment. He had clearly been abandoned recently, as he was neutered and disease free, but an "Is this your cat?" collar received no response. He had been with us through two states, grad school, our entire marriage, and was a quirky but incredibly affectionate and gentle cat. He was 13 (we think) so we knew he wouldn't be around forever, but he had been so healthy and hardy we weren't expecting it so soon or to progress so quickly. This sucks. I didn't quite mean to dump an E/N full of  when I started typing this, but it's late and raw and I wanted to memorialize him somewhere
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Dec 8, 2018 06:20
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A good catte. Sorry for your loss.
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Dec 8, 2018 06:39
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Discussion Quorum posted:I didn't quite mean to dump an E/N full of That's partly what this thread is for, don't feel bad about that! I'm so sorry about Button, especially that he just went downhill so rapidly. Sadly, as cats are small, and they hide their illnesses, by the time we spot them it can be too late to avert a rapid decline. You and your wife should take the time you need to mourn and if you can, take comfort knowing you took an abandoned kitty and instead of a rough time on the streets, you gave him a life of love and plenty.
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Dec 8, 2018 06:40
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Thanks. I think last night was so rough because even when the eventual outcome seemed likely, we had hoped to bring him home and spend Saturday with him. Ultimately that began to feel more and more like a selfish decision so we elected to go ahead and do it. Then the procedure itself did not go well. We were not able to be with him for the final injection, and while the vet was very kind, the experience still put extra stress and trauma on both the cat and us. We are going to box up his stuff today and donate most of it to a local no-kill shelter, although we will keep some bare essentials so that we can foster when we are ready 
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Dec 8, 2018 15:48
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