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In my experience, FWIW, it is worth it to have the vet do a good tooth cleaning, and then it is easier to manage the cat's diet to help the tartar not form again. I've never had much luck getting a cat to accept tooth brushing, either with a brush or with the toothpaste on a finger, but that may just be my cats and me. I'd love to hear from people who have made a long-term success of the process.
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Jun 15, 2019 14:33
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I’d love to hear some good tips on getting cats to accept tooth brushing. Also I should have realized this but Maine coons take almost human sized shits 😭
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Jun 15, 2019 15:58
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Snowy posted:I’d love to hear some good tips on getting cats to accept tooth brushing. The only thing that has worked for me is meat flavored paste, and lots of treats - the treats kind of defeat the purpose so I gave up. My kitty is also part main coon his head is the size of mine lol Edit: 
nunsexmonkrock fucked around with this message at 16:08 on Jun 15, 2019 |
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Jun 15, 2019 16:02
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Sefal posted:(I put nets on my balcony so they cant fall off.) How much of a pain was this process? I've considered doing this on our balcony so our cats could go "outside" but wasn't too sure if putting up netting like this was a colossal PITA or not.
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Jun 15, 2019 16:13
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nunsexmonkrock posted:The only thing that has worked for me is meat flavored paste, and lots of treats - the treats kind of defeat the purpose so I gave up. Beautiful cat! My floof on the last page is also part Maine Coon. He isn't as big as some, but he is LONG. And very very strong. Fortunately, he's also fairly mellow, although I do have to wrap him to cut his claws.
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Jun 15, 2019 16:57
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^^^Yours is definitely more of a main coon than mine! - Adorable!!!!!TofuDiva posted:Beautiful cat! My floof on the last page is also part Maine Coon. He isn't as big as some, but he is LONG. And very very strong. Fortunately, he's also fairly mellow, although I do have to wrap him to cut his claws. I don't bother cutting his claws - I trained him to only scratch the cat tree but yes main coons are known to be the gentile giants. Mine loves to sleep underneath my feet or inbetween my legs for some reason. (I have to go look at the picture of your kitty now :-) nunsexmonkrock fucked around with this message at 17:22 on Jun 15, 2019 |
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Jun 15, 2019 17:16
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So we were supposed to have Ty's first vet appointment today. Unfortunately, as soon as I tried to get him into the carrier, he ran and hid under the bed where no amount of coaxing would get him out. How are you supposed to get a big cat into a carrier when you live on your own? Preferably without you know, terrifying him.
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Jun 15, 2019 18:21
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My cats run at the first sight of carrier, so I put it in the bathroom and then scoop them up, take to bathroom, then close the door so in case they get away, they can't hide anywhere. Once in the bathroom they generally see there's no escape and just go into the carrier with out too much more fuss other than some crying. I do pick them up and walk around the house caryring them all the time just so they don't always associate being picked up with going into the carrier.
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Jun 15, 2019 19:32
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Just moved into a new place with my cat of 7 years. First thing he did was jump up onto a window sill to give the stink eye to some squirrels. I'm fine with that, but he clawed up the paint on the sill because he didn't quite compute the jump correctly. Anyone have a suggestion for non-hideous mats I can put on the sills to protect them from his claws? Amazon is just showing me a lot of window perches, but that's not really what I'm looking for. I want something to put on the sill to protect it, and which is removable later.
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Jun 15, 2019 19:33
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Terry is abruptly refusing to eat his Science Diet dry food. Nothing in his environment has changed and he's still friendly as ever and is drinking water and using the litter box properly. When I give him some wet food he goes nuts for it so I can tell he's getting hungry, but what's wrong with the old food? Just cat being cat?
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Jun 15, 2019 23:08
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Cat Wings posted:So we were supposed to have Ty's first vet appointment today. Unfortunately, as soon as I tried to get him into the carrier, he ran and hid under the bed where no amount of coaxing would get him out. How are you supposed to get a big cat into a carrier when you live on your own? Preferably without you know, terrifying him. You can't but they'll get used to it. Put the carrier out a few days ahead of time so it's not a signal that Bad Things will happen immediately. The cat will forget what it's there for; ours even lounges in it sometimes. If possible grab the cat while they're sleeping to bring to the carrier. If not, hopefully they aren't very suspicious since there are not any new changes to the house as the carrier is already out. Vet day, make sure the carrier is on a chair in the middle of an empty space. You want to give the cat no other option but to go into it. Contain their limbs and shove them through. They'll struggle still, but less so than if they see they have another surface to jump to. Some people will put the cat butt-first with the carrier vertical to avoid it starfishing against the door. We had to get a hard plastic Pet Taxi with a removable top, as once our cat is inside she does not leave by her own hand. The vet tech has to scoop her up, towels and all. So if you feel your cat might be an angry terrified turtle, make sure you have a carrier with a removable top or full length zippers etc.
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Jun 16, 2019 00:50
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Vivian Darkbloom posted:Terry is abruptly refusing to eat his Science Diet dry food. Nothing in his environment has changed and he's still friendly as ever and is drinking water and using the litter box properly. When I give him some wet food he goes nuts for it so I can tell he's getting hungry, but what's wrong with the old food? Just cat being cat? Might be nauseated or in pain. Our cat will eat only high-value treats when her pancreatitis flare ups are at their worst. She's still hungry, but can't be bothered to really make an effort for anything that isn't worth it. Thank goodness one of her favorite treats is just Science Diet T/D (the dental food) so she's getting some nutrients. Also our cat had a bad tooth once and wouldn't eat dry food before we figured it out. She hid it very well. I'd give the vet a call. It could just be that Terry is a Cat, but better safe than sorry.
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Jun 16, 2019 00:55
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We have two of these, they are good and have lasted 7 years with maybe a dozen 2hr trips per year: Sherpa Deluxe Pet Carriers https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000FLETX8/
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Jun 16, 2019 01:02
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Agree with getting the carrier out a couple of days early - that helps a lot. One thing that I've found that helps is to set the carrier on end a little while before it's time to load up, with the door flipped open. Then you can lower the cat into the carrier from above, and the back half or more is inside before the cat realizes what's going on. From there, the front half doesn't have much of a choice but to follow, and you can get the door closed quickly.
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Jun 16, 2019 01:02
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effika posted:Might be nauseated or in pain. Our cat will eat only high-value treats when her pancreatitis flare ups are at their worst. She's still hungry, but can't be bothered to really make an effort for anything that isn't worth it. Thank goodness one of her favorite treats is just Science Diet T/D (the dental food) so she's getting some nutrients. Thanks, guess I'll take him in Monday because most clinics are closed right now.
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Jun 16, 2019 01:03
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Cat Wings posted:So we were supposed to have Ty's first vet appointment today. Unfortunately, as soon as I tried to get him into the carrier, he ran and hid under the bed where no amount of coaxing would get him out. How are you supposed to get a big cat into a carrier when you live on your own? Preferably without you know, terrifying him. I feed the wet food dinner in the carriers with the door shut, so both the cats associate them with nice places. They nap in them during the day sometimes as well. When I need to go to the vet, I toss a treat inside, let them run in after, and shut the door. The crying starts when I carry it outside.
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Jun 16, 2019 01:39
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Cat Wings posted:So we were supposed to have Ty's first vet appointment today. Unfortunately, as soon as I tried to get him into the carrier, he ran and hid under the bed where no amount of coaxing would get him out. How are you supposed to get a big cat into a carrier when you live on your own? Preferably without you know, terrifying him. stand the carrier on its end. tail goes in first
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Jun 16, 2019 01:41
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FelicityGS posted:I feed the wet food dinner in the carriers with the door shut, so both the cats associate them with nice places. They nap in them during the day sometimes as well. Yeah basically this. One of my cats is basically unhandleable so I leave the carrier out and regularly make her run after treats in there so she doesn't think anything of doing that when I actually want to take her somewhere.
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Jun 16, 2019 02:47
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When all else fails your vet will be willing to prescribe something to make your cat more malleable. My Leela loving hates the vet and will catch on to any attempts to trick her into going into the carrier. The vet gives us a pill we break up into some wet food that doesn't knock her out but makes her sluggish and easier to pick up and put in a carrier without getting bitten or making a fuss. It sucks that it comes to this but especially on vet trips I know the doctor appreciates it too.
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Jun 16, 2019 03:32
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I just have my carriers out all the time. The cats use them as hidey holes from time to time.
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Jun 16, 2019 04:41
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Throw some treats in the carrier from time to time to get them in there on their own from time to time
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Jun 16, 2019 05:57
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Dammit, why is it so hard to get a vet appointment on the weekend? I don't think Terry's at the point where I need to take him to the 24 hour hospital -- he's still eating some of his wet food -- but I'd like to have him seen today. Oh well, just venting.
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Jun 16, 2019 20:47
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explosivo posted:How much of a pain was this process? I've considered doing this on our balcony so our cats could go "outside" but wasn't too sure if putting up netting like this was a colossal PITA or not. A few hours, I drilled a few holes to keep em tight. it wasn't fun, but it wasn't a gigantic pain in the rear end. fairly easy once you get going. just start from one side.
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Jun 17, 2019 13:27
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Starting to hear reports of recent Friskies canned food being contaminated with salmonella... the cans I have are supposedly affected. So, what’s another canned pate that you can buy in bulk? I was getting the friskies from Costco but I’m not loving around with salmonella.
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Jun 17, 2019 14:52
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I have two great Siamese little buddies. I like to take them for supervised walks around the backyard in a harness and leash, and this has worked pretty good for a long time now. Lately though, the older of the two will go out, be fine for about five minutes, and then will violently thrash until he can wriggle out of his harness. I live on a fairly busy street and so this is obviously not something that I want to happen. I built an enclosure around the back of the house where he can go out via the kitchen window and roam around, albeit a smaller area than the backyard and with not as much grass. When the other one goes out, he just sits there and meows the whole time, real long sad types. I feel bad but also I can't risk him getting out of the harness and then getting away from me - he is a fast, wriggly bastard and I will not catch him until he decides he wants to go in. Anybody have any recommendations? I have tried both a simple harness and a more secure, velcro-based one that wraps around the midsection and chest, neither seems to make a difference. The alternative is I guess just not letting either cat out, but that seems a little unfair because it's nice to go out with them and hang out in the yard for a bit.
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Jun 17, 2019 17:49
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Set up the wheel in the living room originally, but had to move it to the bedroom since they only like to hang out in rooms I'm in. Creampuff walked on it a bit umprompted last night but wouldn't do it again even with treats (she wants the treats but can't connect that certain actions equals treats). Ginny walked on it for treats because shes easily bribed. Slow going overall though. Ginny keeping a close eye on Creampuff who was being a jerk all day to her while she sits on the wheel  Got an update on the kitten my mom took in that was having a tough time walking around. My mom still hasnt taken it to the vet, as I asked her again to do. That said, in the past week the kitten has been running around, playing with cat toys, and using the litterbox. She still walks around funny/clumsy. On a related note, the momma cat has already abandoned the other 2 remaining kittens and my mom suspects shes pregnant again (really needs TNR but shes avoided all the traps laid out for her). One of her previous litters had a kitten that got attacked and killed by a possum apparently (my mom has been vigilant about looking for and scaring it off whenever she can) but one of the other abandoned kittens from that litter, now slightly older, has taken charge of the newly abandoned kittens and they come as a group to be fed by my mom on the porch.
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Jun 17, 2019 18:32
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One of our cats keeps getting acne on his chin so we're looking into ways to mitigate this. I've already started swapping the food bowl weekly, which will probably move to twice a week now. They are currently hand thrown pottery so maybe that's an issue? But what I'm really hoping is that the thread has a recommendation for water fountains that can be run through the dishwasher but won't break the bank if I need to purchase a couple of them. We do wash the current fountain regularly but it's a pain the rear end involving a long soak with a deliming solution due to hard water, and it can't go in the dishwasher.
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Jun 18, 2019 00:35
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Canadian Bakin posted:One of our cats keeps getting acne on his chin so we're looking into ways to mitigate this. I've already started swapping the food bowl weekly, which will probably move to twice a week now. They are currently hand thrown pottery so maybe that's an issue? You need to wash the food bowls every day, every two days max. That is the most likely vector for chin acne. Can't help with the fountains recommendation, as I don't have a dish washer so never have considered that.
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Jun 18, 2019 00:52
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Tiny Tubesteak Tom posted:I have two great Siamese little buddies. I like to take them for supervised walks around the backyard in a harness and leash, and this has worked pretty good for a long time now. Lately though, the older of the two will go out, be fine for about five minutes, and then will violently thrash until he can wriggle out of his harness. I live on a fairly busy street and so this is obviously not something that I want to happen. I built an enclosure around the back of the house where he can go out via the kitchen window and roam around, albeit a smaller area than the backyard and with not as much grass. Sorry to double post but try to find this style of harness--I can cinch it down pretty tightly and no matter how much my wiggle butt cats wiggle it doesn't come off. You don't need that brand, just that kind of style. Another style are the sweater like vest tubes--I like those a lot though I haven't found one here to try personally. As far as the one who cries, do you reward exploration and walking around with treats? At least at first? For my younger cat who's still getting used to walks, treats are part of how I help him associate it with a fun thing to do. It's possible the second cat might also just not be suited to walks. Some cats aren't. ETA: fixed the link sorry!! felgs fucked around with this message at 01:06 on Jun 18, 2019 |
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Jun 18, 2019 01:02
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FelicityGS posted:You need to wash the food bowls every day, every two days max. That is the most likely vector for chin acne. Yay more dishes.  I'll switch them to something smoother than pottery too. At least he's cute?
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Jun 18, 2019 01:03
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Canadian Bakin posted:Yay more dishes. Stainless steel gets recommended a lot for a reason--it's easy to clean. And yes!! They are wonderful cute fur butts even if they cause more work. 
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Jun 18, 2019 01:05
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Yeah, I'll see what I can find to swap them over to, but it'll be plates in the meantime and both of the little butts have a vet appointment this month so maybe we can get some help there too. Thanks for the advice! And before I forget, here's the cat tax: 
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Jun 18, 2019 01:24
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Canadian Bakin posted:Yay more dishes. Yup. One of my cats developed chin acne (aka feline acne), and switching out the food and water dishes fixed it in a very short time. The key seems to be choosing completely smooth/non-porous materials, like stainless steel or glass. Apparently there are bacteria that thrive on plastic or any slightly rough surface. Not intending to freak you out, but it is often a type of staph bacteria, so it's good that you want to fix it quickly. I bought a bunch of glass saucers and bowls at the dollar store, and I either hand wash them in hot water or put them in the dishwasher every day or two. If it's really bad, you might consider checking with your vet about whether some antibiotics would help to jump start the healing . eta: He's adorable! TofuDiva fucked around with this message at 01:34 on Jun 18, 2019 |
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Jun 18, 2019 01:29
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Canadian Bakin posted:Yeah, I'll see what I can find to swap them over to, but it'll be plates in the meantime and both of the little butts have a vet appointment this month so maybe we can get some help there too. He's a handsome boy~~
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Jun 18, 2019 04:34
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I have two of these. metal parts go in the dishwasher while clean goes into service. Motors are easy to clean as well. https://www.amazon.com/Pioneer-Pet-Stainless-Fountain-Raindrop I free feed the cats so they have a hopper style feeder but the bottom pan is stainless and gets washed frequently as well. Along with the switch to stainless everything, using bottled of filtered water helped cut down on milly's acne.
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Jun 18, 2019 05:12
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Thanks so much, folks! Glass plates will be purchased ASAP and I've got two fountains on order from Amazon. Wheatley and Abby thank you for helping to improve their quality of life by getting their butlers to spend money on them, yet again! 
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Jun 18, 2019 05:57
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C'mon Jasper, can you go a single week without something coming up? Mystery swollen lymph node resolved itself with help from our vet, and he's gotten his first set of vaccines with only minimal crying. But today he's had some diarrhea, and it seems to be worsening. I'm gonna call the vet first thing tomorrow, but I'm hoping they can just advise me over the phone. He's honestly gone to the vet once a week since we brought him in off the street. Obligatory cat tax: I can never just pick one picture, and I don't want to spam up the thread!
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Jun 18, 2019 06:28
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Terry spent the day at the vet, where they did some bloodwork and a pancreatitis test and gave him subcutaneous fluids because he was a little dehydrated. They gave me a topical appetite stimulant (actually an antidepressant!) and some pain pills. Terry really really does not want to swallow the pills -- I can with great effort get a pill in his mouth but failed to get him to swallow one. Fortunately I can open the capsules and dump the medication into his wet food, which he's still going for somewhat. Really hoping the meds do their thing and he feels better! Cat tax follows. 
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Jun 18, 2019 06:33
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Chimp_On_Stilts posted:Just moved into a new place with my cat of 7 years. Maybe try cutting a strip of thin carpet with non-skid/grippy backing to fit the sill? I am thinking of the kind that is used for bath mats. I cut up one of these. It stays put pretty well, and it is washable.
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Jun 18, 2019 15:15
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Has anyone had any experience with bamboo roller shades and cats, I'm looking at some cordless ones but I'm worried the textured bamboo will attract my big dumb baby to them. She's never really played with strings she just likes to shove her big head through the Venetian blinds and jump in through the sides.
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Jun 18, 2019 19:02
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