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we got a new cat from the shelter yesterday!  My wife named her Marie Purrie. She's a very sweet girl, likes pets(duh), giving licks(i didn't know this was a thing). We've got her in the bathroom separated from sancho. Put her blanket and carrier out for Sancho to smell which he seemed fine with just smelled it cautiously and then lost interest after a while. We put food out for both of them at Sancho's feeding time. Sancho ate by the door cause he doesn't give af don't mess with his wet food time, while she doesn't seem to eat wet food at all, but she was by the door anyway. We opened the door a crack a bit after that and there was some hissing from Sancho which caused her to hiss back. I ordered a tall gate, and will be doing the blanket slow reveal method over the next few days. I've let Marie out into the apartment twice while Sancho is in another room with the door shut. She explores a bit and the heads back to the bathroom. I want to be able to have them be out together because I feel bad about her being cramped up in the bathroom, but I also don't want the intro to go wrong and things to be terrible.
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Jan 7, 2019 14:23
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KidDynamite posted:I ordered a tall gate, and will be doing the blanket slow reveal method over the next few days. What's this?
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Jan 7, 2019 14:27
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Infinitum posted:What's this? Put up a baby gate at feeding time and then a blanket over it or hanging from the doorway and leave an inch of space so they can see each other. Then start incrementing the amount of space until the blanket is gone. Got the idea from Jackson Galaxy. Not sure if it works I'm a cat first timer and at my wife's house they just let them claim domains since they have a basement and 2 floors.
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Jan 7, 2019 14:41
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My cat is having his third urinary blockage in ~12 months. We aren't sure if we can afford to take him to the vet this time and we will have absolutely no money to do so six months from now. Is there anything we can do for him to help beyond trying to reduce his stress? He refuses to eat any medicated food (wet or dry) that we have tried, and we already got him some special calming litter.
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Jan 7, 2019 14:51
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KidDynamite posted:Put up a baby gate at feeding time and then a blanket over it or hanging from the doorway and leave an inch of space so they can see each other. Then start incrementing the amount of space until the blanket is gone. Got the idea from Jackson Galaxy. Not sure if it works I'm a cat first timer and at my wife's house they just let them claim domains since they have a basement and 2 floors. I've done it twice before and both times resulted in cats who could co-exist successfully, of course it's impossible to know whether it made it a faster or smoother process than if we hadn't done it 
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Jan 7, 2019 14:54
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Organza Quiz posted:I've done it twice before and both times resulted in cats who could co-exist successfully, of course it's impossible to know whether it made it a faster or smoother process than if we hadn't done it It's good to hear that it works. I just wish we had a better/bigger room to stick her in. It's tough since our second bedroom is where Sancho's litter box is and he sleeps with us so our bedroom is out. If only the living room has a door then she'd be able to stay in there. Hopefully by the time the gate gets here it along with a drape will be enough so that she can stay in there comfortably. KidDynamite fucked around with this message at 15:31 on Jan 7, 2019 |
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Jan 7, 2019 15:29
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KidDynamite posted:It's good to hear that it works. I just wish we had a better/bigger room to stick her in. It's tough since our second bedroom is where Sancho's litter box is and he sleeps with us so our bedroom is out. If only the living room has a door then she'd be able to stay in there. Hopefully by the time the gate gets here it along with a drape will be enough so that she can stay in there comfortably. Oh I wouldn't use a baby gate with a blanket to try to actually permanently separate cats, we would just use it at dinner time to have the door open. Cats will get over that in no time. Honestly if you don't have a good room to keep her in for a long period and they don't seem too bothered about each other (a little bit of hissing is perfectly in line with not too bothered) it might be better to let them mingle sooner rather than later, and just separate them completely again if it seems to be going super badly (e.g. if one of them constantly attacks/chases the other).
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Jan 7, 2019 15:47
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Organza Quiz posted:Oh I wouldn't use a baby gate with a blanket to try to actually permanently separate cats, we would just use it at dinner time to have the door open. Cats will get over that in no time. Honestly if you don't have a good room to keep her in for a long period and they don't seem too bothered about each other (a little bit of hissing is perfectly in line with not too bothered) it might be better to let them mingle sooner rather than later, and just separate them completely again if it seems to be going super badly (e.g. if one of them constantly attacks/chases the other). True I’m pretty sure that’s the plan for tonight when my wife gets home. Feed, get sancho away from the door and play with him and then wife plays with her by the bathroom door with it open. Also since she’s really hand friendly the shelter assumed she had an owner(they got her from another shelter with not much info), but from the way she reacted to the tv(growled at it) and got scared of the fridge turning on I’m not so sure.
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Jan 7, 2019 16:41
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One of my cats likes to rub her head against me and then lie down on my chest, under my chin. She then closes her eyes and goes to sleep for 5-10 minutes. then spazzes out, wakes up and leaves. This has happened consistently cat being cat?
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Jan 7, 2019 16:42
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Sefal posted:One of my cats likes to rub her head against me and then lie down on my chest, under my chin. She then closes her eyes and goes to sleep for 5-10 minutes. then spazzes out, wakes up and leaves. Is cat
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Jan 7, 2019 16:45
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So Sweetheart seems to be fairly resistant to brushing. We're doing the best we can to keep her fur fairly well behaved on her sides and back, but she adamantly Will Not let us touch or brush her belly (or anywhere past like right under her chin, really), and it's getting kinda unruly. She behaved really well the one time we took her to a groomer (to remove some mats in her fur she had when we got her from the rescue), though. She also hasn't really had many issues with hairballs - she doesn't mind the preventative paste we got from the rescue. Is this something we should really be overly concerned about, or just let her roll with it as long as it doesn't appear to be causing any issues? Cat tax: one (1) judgemental floofball 
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Jan 7, 2019 17:04
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KidDynamite posted:True I’m pretty sure that’s the plan for tonight when my wife gets home. Feed, get sancho away from the door and play with him and then wife plays with her by the bathroom door with it open. Also since she’s really hand friendly the shelter assumed she had an owner(they got her from another shelter with not much info), but from the way she reacted to the tv(growled at it) and got scared of the fridge turning on I’m not so sure. On the other hand if this doesn’t work out there’s no harm in keeping Marie in the bathroom for a longer period of time. Cats are fine in small spaces for a week or so provided they’re getting exercise and attention. It’s better to make sure the integration goes well than to rush things prematurely.
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Jan 7, 2019 17:06
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in_cahoots posted:On the other hand if this doesn’t work out there’s no harm in keeping Marie in the bathroom for a longer period of time. Cats are fine in small spaces for a week or so provided they’re getting exercise and attention. It’s better to make sure the integration goes well than to rush things prematurely. This. As long as she has some enrichment, she's probably more comfortable in a small space than having the run of the house. Don't feel bad- you're just giving her a safe space all her own and that's a good thing!
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Jan 7, 2019 17:59
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Especially in a shelter your cat might've been in a fairly small enclosure so the bathroom by itself may be a huge upgrade. The conventional wisdom is that new cats want to get used to a smaller space and have the larger one slowly revealed. We did the whole Jackson Galaxy feed near doors / play near doors / feed next to gate / slow reveal / etc method and I chronicled where that has got us a few posts back (grumpy old cat tolerates but wants them the gently caress out of her space). Maybe it would've been worse had we not.
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Jan 7, 2019 20:42
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Wroughtirony posted:This. As long as she has some enrichment, she's probably more comfortable in a small space than having the run of the house. Don't feel bad- you're just giving her a safe space all her own and that's a good thing! I didn't do this when I introduced two new cats to an empty house, and one of them took years to adjust. The other one took a couple months. It would have been a hell of a lot better if I'd kept them in a small space where they couldn't hide and let them get used to me, but the shelter person who delivered them just let them out and they promptly hid. When I added a third, I kept him in the bathroom for a few days, and it went beautifully. He fussed noisily a lot while he was in there, but I visited him all I could, and now everyone's happy. Small introductory space good.
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Jan 7, 2019 20:52
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The Kingfish posted:My cat is having his third urinary blockage in ~12 months. We aren't sure if we can afford to take him to the vet this time and we will have absolutely no money to do so six months from now. Is there anything we can do for him to help beyond trying to reduce his stress? He refuses to eat any medicated food (wet or dry) that we have tried, and we already got him some special calming litter. Unfortunately only medicated food or having him get enough water will help. Whats his regular diet, and I assume you've already tried gradually mixing in the mediated stuff in?
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Jan 7, 2019 21:07
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Wrong thread
zakharov fucked around with this message at 21:15 on Jan 7, 2019 |
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Jan 7, 2019 21:12
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Tater Love 
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Introduction went kind of ok. Doors to the bedrooms were shut so she was coming out of the bathroom and Sancho was coming from the living room on the opposite side. She completely ignored Sancho at first while as soon as he noticed her he went watched intently from under the table. I was in charge of playing with him and he was not having any pets and even stopped paying attention to treats. He left to the living room and I followed. We played with a chaser toy in there for a while. When he came back in she came up to him he hissed, she flopped on her belly, he hissed, she scooted closer he hissed backed up and did a low growl. So we ended there with pets and treats after they were separated calmly. I don't know if letting her approach was the right thing to do. Or if we should have just ended things when he left the kitchen the first time. She went back in the bathroom and Sancho slept with us. Which was good as I was having some regrets about bringing Marie home since I don't want to change Sancho's life or how he acts with us. He's my first cat and I really just want to love and protect my grey boi. Marie is currently out and wandering about since I get up early and Sancho and my wife sleep in.
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Jan 8, 2019 12:19
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Kyrosiris posted:So Sweetheart seems to be fairly resistant to brushing. We're doing the best we can to keep her fur fairly well behaved on her sides and back, but she adamantly Will Not let us touch or brush her belly (or anywhere past like right under her chin, really), and it's getting kinda unruly. She behaved really well the one time we took her to a groomer (to remove some mats in her fur she had when we got her from the rescue), though. She also hasn't really had many issues with hairballs - she doesn't mind the preventative paste we got from the rescue. My floofball absolutely hates having her rear end brushed which is a problem because she develops mats quickly and hates to have those cut out even more than the brushing. Last time she got really matted I had to take her to the vet and have them cut them out but that was traumatic too so we're planning on clipping most of her fluffy pants off which should at least stop the problem short term (even if she really hates us for a few days that's better than trying to brush her every day). I just hope this isn't a sign of anything worse than laziness because the vet was concerned about mats in such a young kitty - watching her she can definitely reach okay to clean herself but just doesn't seem to bother most of the time (she'll clean her actual bum and the area around it but isn't good with going further down her legs)
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Jan 8, 2019 23:08
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I think I just established that my Salem doesn't like cops or cop types. I had a guy knock on my door, identify himself as a criminal investigator and wanted to know if I knew anything about an old neighbor. We just moved in a few months ago so we haven't really had a chance to get to know the neighbors too well, so I couldn't help him out. However, Salem hissed at him as soon as he pulled out his badge, and it was entertaining.
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Jan 9, 2019 21:20
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Protocol7 posted:However, Salem hissed at him as soon as he pulled out his badge, and it was entertaining. He's your states 'nip kingpin, on the run and working through dead drops. Expect a painful, rude lesson soon on the dangers of allowing the filth to see inside his hideout...
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Jan 10, 2019 08:16
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Even cats know not to trust a man with a badge
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Jan 10, 2019 08:53
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That’s a good boy right there. Mine only had a little poop in the litter box this morning so I’m paranoid that I’ll step on the rest at some point.
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Jan 10, 2019 15:04
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Loki's going to the vet tomorrow to have a tooth out  The vet spotted a sore spot in his mouth at his annual checkup in December and said 'yep, that'll have to come out' - I'd heard of resorptive lesions before but am a bit bewildered that there's no known cause and the only solution is to pull the tooth! I just hope he doesn't develop more...
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Jan 10, 2019 15:20
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 After this picture was taken he relocated to a tall shelf by the hallway leading to the bathroom and bedroom. You had to pay tribute with pets or get slapped in the head. And even the pets turned into gnawing and claws.
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Jan 10, 2019 15:59
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It's crazy how persistent one of my kitties (teen kittens? whatever you call a 7 month old cat) with my old cat. The other one gets it when she hisses at him and just gives her space. Not Boo though. He'll walk up to her over and over for hours and get hissed at, walk away, and then come back a few minutes later. It's like he's doing experiments with tiny variations to see if he gets a different result. How about if I walk up staying low, sideways, from above, when she's busy, maintaining eye contact, surprising her, etc. He never reciprocates the aggression but won't give up either. They are so cute though how can she not get won over eventually. 
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Jan 10, 2019 21:26
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Update Sancho and Marie have been out together since Tuesday Night. Which is not that long of a wait time and they have a strange dynamic. Sancho has hissed at her a few times since then but that seems to be happening way less not like it was often, though. Sancho has bopped her exactly once but it was while he and my wife where playing this chase game they do, so nothing to worry about. She's a character though. Sleeps all day and then does who knows what in the kitchen while the rest of us sleep. Sancho is acting the same as ever and maybe even more affectionate than before. It's cool. New cats are cool and I like learning more about her personality daily.
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Jan 10, 2019 21:59
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floofyscorp posted:Loki's going to the vet tomorrow to have a tooth out Last time I went through this the two identified teeth turned into for under sedation. Yank those fuckers out, they don't need em. No canines lost though, mostly smaller teeth. Mouth chemistry and genetics have a lot to do with it. The old mantra of "learn to brush their teeth" apparently just didn't produce meaningful results.
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Jan 11, 2019 03:02
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Glory to Italia!
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We recently brought a kitten home to (hopefully) keep our seven year old cat company. We kept them separate for 3 days, during which the resident cat (Olive) mostly seemed to calm down. She was chillin and at ease on her fave perch most of the time. She’d only ever get worked up when the kitten would stick his paw under the door and yowl lol. We attempted the “feeding on opposite side of the door” thing but because we free feed this was pretty hard. Instead we just slowly moved Olives bowl towards the kitten door. We did some “site swapping” and blanket switching, etc. Anyhow, we decided to introduce them since she seemed to be doing ok and was fairly relaxed. We’ve done supervised introductions and Olive is again, pretty good, she just hisses and growls at him with the occasional light bat if he gets too close. She seems really interested and curious but whenever he turns around to look at her she hisses. It's been less than a week so I know that’s not that big of a deal, but my question is basically, which behaviors, if any, should we be encouraging? Or should we just let them duke it out? The kitten is very outgoing and Olive is a bit shyer- should we be intentionally spending more time with her or putting the kitten away for a certain amount of time to make sure she gets attention? Thanks everyone in advance for the help.
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Jan 11, 2019 05:35
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illcendiary posted:We recently brought a kitten home to (hopefully) keep our seven year old cat company. We kept them separate for 3 days, during which the resident cat (Olive) mostly seemed to calm down. She was chillin and at ease on her fave perch most of the time. She’d only ever get worked up when the kitten would stick his paw under the door and yowl lol. We attempted the “feeding on opposite side of the door” thing but because we free feed this was pretty hard. Instead we just slowly moved Olives bowl towards the kitten door. We did some “site swapping” and blanket switching, etc. Let them handle it, this all sounds perfectly normal. They'll work out their boundaries eventually, and your kitten is going to be an rear end in a top hat because he's a kitten. Swatting at kittens is how adult cats teach kittens when they're going too far. Only be concerned if there's blood, and make sure Oliver has places he can retreat to that the kitten can't reach like the tops of cabinets.
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Jan 11, 2019 05:54
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I had to bring my poor Jackie to the vet last week, I realized I had not even mentioned it here! She had started doing this weird thing with her right ear - like it would be in a "back" position while the left ear was normal and then Jackie would shake her head somewhat violently - she has always done this on occasion but not this much. So it turned out she had a *yeast infection* in her ears which I guess is not entirely uncommon. I've been putting this cream in her ears and it seems to have stopped her symptoms and her ears seem back to normal, so yay! I am a little unnerved because it's a new health problem, but it also made me realize how lucky Jackie is to be 13 now, and to only had had a UTI and now this in terms of health issues - I don't really count slightly ingrown claws. I mean, she is a very healthy cat, all in all! *knocks on wood* I've been a lot more aware of just how precious Jackie is to me, and what an exceptional cat she is. You guys may not be aware, but I moved in with some friends this past summer - prior to that I had been living alone (well, with Jackie) for some 8 or 9 years - I'd gotten Jackie after a couple years or so of living alone, so it's the first time we've lived with other people. It's made me aware of a few things, really. For one, it's confirmed my belief that Jackie is an exceptionally awesome cat everyone loves. I feel like I'd been hoarding her all this time! We joke that she's like a living stuffed animal, because she never, ever claws or bites anyone and basically enjoys any and all affection, at least to a reasonable degree. And I actually know that she's really devoted to me as well, to the extent that she is apparently *utterly* miserable if I'm ever not there, to the extent that she moans and cries at the door. This actually kinda breaks my heart a bit, but it makes me SO glad I did not end up giving her up earlier this year, when my housing/living situation was briefly somewhat uncertain, and it seemed I would not get to stay in a place that allowed cats. I really was hours away from handing her off to the people who had owned her mom and still had one of her litter-mates... I mean, she might have been fine going home and I had convinced myself Jackie didn't much care as long as she got fed, but I don't think I give her enough credit, in a way. I think she feels that she looks after me as much as I feel that I look after her, ultimately. I feel a twinge every time I read about someone losing their longtime older cat, though, and I just can't get it out of my head that losing Jackie is going to hurt about a thousand times more than any other pet I lost. I mean, I literally *cannot* fall asleep at home generally unless she's at least visibly in the same room - otherwise I can't really relax. I should really like... try and be a little LESS emotionally dependent on my cat, haha. But it does make sense to me. I got Jackie at a time when I was at a rock-bottom point in my life (which had imploded/collapsed recently) and confronting/dealing with both my substance abuse problems, as well as the underlying PTSD driving it. And at the heart of my problems was an utter inability to trust/love others, on *any* level. When in that position, it's really often good to have a pet (and it is recommended by many therapists) specifically because those relationships are, well, easier and simpler, for the most part. It's a good way to learn how to give and receive love again. And naturally, the people who DO recover wind up extremely bonded to their animal afterwards. This is certainly the case for me, anyway... So things are going really very good for Jackie and I. She's been sleeping on my lap while I've been writing this and just woke up though, so I probably have to feed her... She has gone on a VERY strict diet recently, she *will* get back to a healthier weight... the bad news at the vet was that she gained over a pound this last year!
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Jan 11, 2019 06:42
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ILL Machina posted:Last time I went through this the two identified teeth turned into for under sedation. Yank those fuckers out, they don't need em. No canines lost though, mostly smaller teeth. Mouth chemistry and genetics have a lot to do with it. The old mantra of "learn to brush their teeth" apparently just didn't produce meaningful results. Well, they forgot to send us pre-op instructions and I foolishly fed him like normal this morning - I even thought 'it's odd they didn't say not to feed him, maybe cat sedation works differently to human sedation?' as I was doling out his food - so after my husband arrived at the vet they said 'Oh, you fed him? Whoops, we'll have to reschedule to next week and don't feed him next time'. Such unnecessary stress for both Loki(who hates going in the car and being put into his carrier) and himself who had to take time out of work to get to the vet...
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Jan 11, 2019 12:00
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Having two cats with bell collars is like waking up to christmas every morning.
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Jan 11, 2019 14:33
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Tater has decided he will only eat when we're home, preferably after chasing his fishing rod toy for at least 20 minutes. We feed him in the morning and evening and for the past week I've come home to an untouched food dish. After the aforementioned playtime he'll finally deign to eat a few nibbles. He'll usually finish most of his daily portion by the following morning but some still remains and has to be discarded (wet food). I've never had a pet that had to be convinced to eat. What a brat. He's lucky he's cute.
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Jan 11, 2019 15:11
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oh my god yessssss
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Jan 11, 2019 16:48
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KidDynamite posted:Having two cats with bell collars is like waking up to christmas every morning. I like to think of them as early warning signs. Each cats bell sounds different and you can tell if rear end in a top hat is in hunt mode by the frequency his makes noise.
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Jan 11, 2019 18:06
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KidDynamite posted:oh my god yessssss Adorable! Are they friendly now? Len posted:I like to think of them as early warning signs. Each cats bell sounds different and you can tell if rear end in a top hat is in hunt mode by the frequency his makes noise. I should get bells on my cats. One of them has a bad habit of making his presence known... by chewing on your hair.
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Jan 11, 2019 18:08
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Protocol7 posted:Adorable! Are they friendly now? They are getting there. Seem to be feeling each other out by using the others litter box, eating out of the others food dish, drinking out of the others water bowl. It’s pretty cool to see them grow comfortable. They both get hardcore sniffs on when I come in from taking out the trash as the alleyway has heavy outdoor cat traffic.
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Jan 11, 2019 18:21
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Sweetheart adamantly refuses to wear a collar, but she's also pretty talkative, so it's not as much of an issue with regards to "oh god, sudden catte". She also has zero interest in wearing a harness for going outside, which is annoying because she also loves to stare at the outside or try to slip past when I come in the front door after work. "We would go outside if you would just put on the harness!" doesn't seem to register for her. 
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Jan 11, 2019 18:21
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Cythereal posted:Only be concerned if there's blood, and make sure Oliver has places he can retreat to that the kitten can't reach like the tops of cabinets. I wish I could do that for my old girl but they can jump higher than she can. I've been thinking of putting one of those microchip pet doors on one of the interior rooms so she has some place to go they can't follow.
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Jan 11, 2019 20:55
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