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So our two young cats (1 year) love to climb everything and keep to the highest points of room (tree dwelling is in their blood it seems) and for the office we bought and installed some of those giant cat shelves. Problem: they fall off the drat things. They love to wrestle and chase their tails and a couple times now one of them has fallen off. Not a hard jump either but a backwards fall that sounded painfully hard on their back/sides. They don't seem to be injured in any way but it makes me nervous. Anyone else experience this? Are our cats too goofy to be trusted with heights and we need to put up rails or something? They don't get access to the office when I'm not home because I don't want them injured when I'm not there to help but I still would prefer they not get injured at all. Beo posted: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. FWIW we have wood shades and the cats only care about the cords.
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Jun 19, 2019 01:18
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| # ? May 16, 2024 22:47 |
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One of my idiots used to be super clumsy when she was younger, she'd fall off tables and windowsills at the slightest provocation (to be charitable she has a kinda hosed up ear so possibly had/has balance issues). Anyway she never seemed too bothered by it and grew out of it eventually, so yours will probably figure it out too.
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Jun 19, 2019 10:59
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A few weeks ago my sibling brought home a cat that couldn’t stay at its previous home due to conflict with another cat. He’s got his shots, is fixed, chipped, etc. He has finally acclimated to the house and happily sits on the windows and watches birds while flicking his tail. He’s also loving to chew on any stiffish plastic he can find, like the wrapping that bottled water is in. He’s not trying to eat it, he just seems to enjoy gnawing on it. Will it hurt him?  
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Jun 19, 2019 17:15
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If he swallows it, maybe. I'd keep a close eye on him just to make sure he's not eating it, a lot of cats just like to chew on things. I actually think one of my cats has pica because he gnaws on every cardboard box he can find.
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Jun 19, 2019 19:39
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Yeah Mel really loves chewing particularly hard on the plastic that's used in like strawberry and raspberry containers. I always figured it was some kind of weird teeth cleaning thing, like how she doesn't actually use her grooming arch to groom herself and instead just loves to bite at it.
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Jun 19, 2019 19:42
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I figured it was either a teeth cleaning thing or just that he enjoyed the sensation, but yeah, I'll keep an eye on him. Like I said he doesn't actually seem to want to eat them, he's not biting hard enough to rip it into pieces or anything, just sort of chewing. Cats 
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Jun 19, 2019 20:06
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Two of my three like that exact same type because of the noise it makes. We let them have it for a bit while it catches their interest and their the plastic out once they've moved on to something else.
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Jun 19, 2019 21:37
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Both my young cats love to chew on plastic (and one of them chews through so much cardboard he builds up piles like a mouse) but the vet said it was fine as long as they aren't eating it. It probably does help their teeth considering one of them had gum inflammation as a kitten and we could barely ever brush his teeth (he completely loses his poo poo every time regardless of tasty pastes) but the last checkup the vet said his teeth were doing a lot better
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Jun 19, 2019 21:43
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Not sure if this should go here or the pet nutrition thread? Maeby (9, F) has been with me almost 2 weeks now. She came from the shelter with a Fancy Feast seafood pate habit, and is overweight (14.25 lbs on Monday). After her initial exam at our vet, she came home with a supply of Hills Prescription W/D Multi-Benefit chicken. Predictably, she won’t touch it, even mixed in with FF. (She won’t even try to pick out the FF) Thoughts from the hive mind? I’m tempted to just keep her on limited servings of FF for the first month, and see how the weight does. Hills doesn’t seem to offer seafood flavor as an option. Obligatory Maeby pic: 
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Jun 20, 2019 20:35
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beefnoodle posted:Not sure if this should go here or the pet nutrition thread? Every cat I've had prescribed Hills of any variety has hated it and refused to eat it. If overweight is the only issue it's for, see what you can do with portion control with other foods.
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Jun 20, 2019 20:52
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Salem made it outside because our piece of poo poo storm door didn't latch correctly. He didn't get far, thankfully, but ever since, all he does is sit at the door and yell. My god cat please stop yelling.
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Jun 20, 2019 21:07
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beefnoodle posted:Not sure if this should go here or the pet nutrition thread? Welcome to the world of tortitude! She's beautiful. If she doesn't have other health issues that require the prescription diet, maybe give Blue Buffalo Weight Control dry food a try? My previously-tubbo stealth cat liked it a lot, and she slimmed down significantly (and safely).
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Jun 20, 2019 21:14
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Protocol7 posted:Salem made it outside because our piece of poo poo storm door didn't latch correctly. Sounds like Sweetheart. Not interested in harness training, not interested in her cat stroller, not interested in her playpen on the back patio, just OUTSIDE, NOW, GIMME OUTSIDE.
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Jun 20, 2019 21:17
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Peach didn't want to get harness trained until she realized she could go outside. Now she becomes the nicest cat in the world if she thinks you're going for the harness. It's very noticeable because she's a tortie and has that tortitude usually. Peach got huge after eating all of Basil's kitten food. She's on two cans of fussie cat a day with the occasional treat and is much much slimmer. Portion control might just be the answer. Now if we could find a way to get her to stop acting like we're starving her....
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Jun 20, 2019 21:26
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Lucky is goofy, I love him. I spritzed him with water once for screaming at the door. Now that it's hot, he goes to the door and yells until I mist him all over with the bottle. As soon as he sees me grab it, he starts purring. Please enjoy my stuck goofball    (he did get himself unstuck as well)
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Jun 20, 2019 23:03
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A wise catface.
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Jun 20, 2019 23:07
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Your cats continue to surprise in new and unforeseen ways. Good cats! How’s Toaster?
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Jun 20, 2019 23:09
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He's now 5/8ths one Lucky in size!!! He's taking well to his walks and just got his last round of kitten vaccinations Tuesday. Some pics:   
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Jun 20, 2019 23:52
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I'm very likely getting my very first cat next week. Have been thinking about it heavily since the beginning of this year after some Life Events both good and bad, but deciding I needed to think about it for a few months before I pulled the trigger since it's such a commitment and to make sure I still wanted to, and for the right reasons. I went to a shelter last weekend just to look at what they had, talked to the staff as much as I could, etc. I've done my research and feel pretty prepared for what to expect the first few weeks all except for one topic: litterboxes... And I'm really not sure where to start. I have the money to blow so I'm not sure if I should go automatic or this weird Breeze Tidy Cat pebble thing the girl at Petsmart was raving about today when I was buying supplies & toys. I have the money to spend on an auto-litterbox but I don't know if that's bad/not ideal for the cat, which is ofc what I care about first and foremost, and odor next (I can deal with odor for a few minutes when they use it but I want to avoid things that stink up the whole place all day if not cleaned every few hours). So an auto-box would be convenient for me, but I'm also not lazy if autos are generally not very good. In the end it could just comes down to what the cat ends up liking? I was told they sometimes really don't like new ones after they're adopted from a shelter after they got used to the one they had. I've noticed when I talk to friends about cats and first-time ownership no one ever even seems to bring up litterboxes so it might not even be a big deal compared to everything else. So I could just be overthinking it. Is there anywhere in this thread that has a pretty good info dump on it? The first few pages didn't discuss this specifically. I just want my cat to poo poo in peace and security, like all god's creatures deserve. Some background: I live alone in a 2-bedroom apartment and I'm at work about 9 hours during the day so I'm thinking the absolute youngest I should go with one cat is 2-3 years old so they don't go crazy. I'll be adopting from a shelter. Never had a cat before so I don't want to get 2 right out of the gate but that could be a possibility later if things work out well. beep by grandpa fucked around with this message at 01:10 on Jun 21, 2019 |
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Jun 21, 2019 01:08
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Strongly consider getting two bonded cats from a shelter; they will amuse themselves while you're at work. One cat may get bored being home alone all day - solitary confinement is not fun. I have two cats and it's pretty much the same amount of chores as one cat. The shelter will thank you because they don't like to split bonded pairs. Mine weren't even bonded when I got them, but they bonded quickly after taking over my apartment.
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Jun 21, 2019 01:36
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Yeah get two, you won't regret it. You might regret trying to pick up a second cat later on and having to spend months carefully introducing them with no guarantee they will ever actually like each other. For litterboxes, get one that's similar to what they had at the shelter to start with. If you have issues with that then get one that fixes those issues. Automatic litterboxes aren't bad for cats or anything but some cats just don't like them.
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Jun 21, 2019 01:49
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Alternately, ask if the rescue/shelter has one that's not great with other cats so the animal gets its own space and you don't have to worry about if the cat is lonely or needs a playmate.
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Jun 21, 2019 01:55
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/\/\/\ This is a good idea. One thing to look for in a litter box is to make sure it is big enough and deep enough for the cat. E.g. I'd love to try the Breeze system, but while they might be fine for a petite Siamese, they are definitely not designed for big ol' Maine Coons. TofuDiva fucked around with this message at 02:04 on Jun 21, 2019 |
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Jun 21, 2019 02:02
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beep by grandpa posted:I'm very likely getting my very first cat next week. Have been thinking about it heavily since the beginning of this year after some Life Events both good and bad, but deciding I needed to think about it for a few months before I pulled the trigger since it's such a commitment and to make sure I still wanted to, and for the right reasons. I went to a shelter last weekend just to look at what they had, talked to the staff as much as I could, etc. I've done my research and feel pretty prepared for what to expect the first few weeks all except for one topic: litterboxes... And I'm really not sure where to start. I have the money to blow so I'm not sure if I should go automatic or this weird Breeze Tidy Cat pebble thing the girl at Petsmart was raving about today when I was buying supplies & toys. FuzzySlippers posted:There are basically 3 types of auto cleaning litter boxes and we've owned them all. That Tidy Cats Breeze thing looks like a disaster to me because some cats like to pee standing up, spraying backwards, even if they aren't males marking their territory, and some cats will smear diarrhea on the box walls if they aren't feeling well. I hate litterboxes that have multiple parts or seams because they're hard to clean. Anything with rounded corners is annoying to scoop. Don't bother with litter liner bags because it's just another thing for the cat to destroy. The smell is controlled by the type of litter you use, but that doesn't matter if it's a litter your cat won't tolerate (or if your cat doesn't bury its poo poo, which some don't). Just try litters that don't offend you. Your cat is going to track the litter all over your apartment, which will be easier if it's a lightweight litter, so if you choose a lighter litter, be prepared to vacuum more. Evaluate how awful it will be for you to step on any litter you select. Wood pellets sound like a great idea until you step on one in the middle of the night. Scented litters annoy the hell out of me but some people love them. Some litters produce more dust (and if you get a black cat, you'll laugh at those "99% dust free" marketing lies). Some litters are a little controversial (e.g., how safe is clay dust, how safe is corn). There's a lot of personal preference/risk tolerance that goes into it. You're supposed to fully clean a litter box at least monthly, as in dump out the litter and wash the box itself. Some people say you should do this weekly but ahahaha no. This is something people don't talk about, especially around apartment dwellers. Where are you going to take that thing to wash it? You're going to take it to your bathtub, that's where. I disagree with people who say you should get 2. If you fall in love with a bonded pair, or you get a cat and it seems miserable on its own, then sure, knock yourself out. But as a default choice, don't have people be outnumbered by animals in your home. You'll need extra litter boxes, extra dishes, extra everything. It also makes things potentially harder if your situation changes later on. Like if you end up marrying someone who's allergic to cats, it's a lot easier to rehome one cat than two bonded cats. Basically this: Lord Zedd-Repulsa posted:Alternately, ask if the rescue/shelter has one that's not great with other cats so the animal gets its own space and you don't have to worry about if the cat is lonely or needs a playmate.
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Jun 21, 2019 02:07
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Bonded cats are great.      But yeah, mine are almost 1 year old now. And they recently went to the vet. Everything checked out. They are healthy, and around 4KG each. I think i'm going to get a cat litter robot. Sefal fucked around with this message at 10:18 on Jun 21, 2019 |
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Jun 21, 2019 10:15
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Lord Zedd-Repulsa posted:Alternately, ask if the rescue/shelter has one that's not great with other cats so the animal gets its own space and you don't have to worry about if the cat is lonely or needs a playmate. That's why we got Sweetheart. She's an older cat (roughly five years old when we adopted her) who did horribly at adoption events because she doesn't like loud noise or lots of people or other cats. She seems to do pretty okay when both my partner and I are at work, but also is very happy to greet us when we get home.  Apparently the foster that Sweetheart was staying with had put rehoming instructions for Sweetheart in her will, because they thought no one was ever going to want to adopt her. 
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Jun 21, 2019 13:40
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One of my cats has a totally different personality when she is in the garden compared to indoors. Indoors? She mostly squeaks at me, maybe permits a head rub, then tries to lead me to the room with the food dishes in the hope of wet food. Outside? She excitedly trills and bounds toward me with her tail up before bunting mercilessly, then rolls onto her back/side and energetically demands petting. She gets outright excited to see me and is then super affectionate. It is a huge contrast to indoors where she tends to leave after I pet her once or twice.
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Jun 21, 2019 14:43
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beep by grandpa posted:I'm very likely getting my very first cat next week. Have been thinking about it heavily since the beginning of this year after some Life Events both good and bad, but deciding I needed to think about it for a few months before I pulled the trigger since it's such a commitment and to make sure I still wanted to, and for the right reasons. I went to a shelter last weekend just to look at what they had, talked to the staff as much as I could, etc. I've done my research and feel pretty prepared for what to expect the first few weeks all except for one topic: litterboxes... And I'm really not sure where to start. I have the money to blow so I'm not sure if I should go automatic or this weird Breeze Tidy Cat pebble thing the girl at Petsmart was raving about today when I was buying supplies & toys. We adopted our first cat about six months ago and put in a lot of planning and thought into it before we did, so maybe my experiences can help! We don’t have the space for two cats and both work full-time so both kittens and older cats needing special care were out, so we spent a lot of time looking for the perfect fit. In the end none of the local shelters seemed to have one that could do well on its own or needed extra or special care, so we opted for one of the many organizations that bring cats in from countries where there’s a massive surplus of adoptable animals. Katya was estimated at one year old when she was found in a Romanian landfill and is fine on her own, but doesn’t hate other cats (we’re planning on introducing a second cat when we buy a house). This might not be applicable if you’re from the states but keep in mind that a good fit personality and lifestyle-wise can take a while to find! Living in a small space the litter-box situation was one of the main issues I had to convince my bf we could solve before we decided. Initially we got a covered box and put it in the living-room, and used silicate litter that was recommended to us by friends because of smell-elimination and ease of use. They weren’t wrong! You hardly noticed the box and guests would comment on the lack of smell. All good, until a couple of months in Katya decided to pee outside of the box because of reasons. We just got a second box, filled it with clay litter and placed it in the bedroom, it’s now her preferred box to use and she doesn’t go outside it any more. We’re still experimenting with litter-types but the point is that whatever works best for you, may not work for the cat. I looked at litter-robots before but knowing what I know now I would never buy an expensive and super-specific device until after I got to know the cat and their preferences. Cats are gonna cat and if you need to cycle through a few options before they settle on what they like, it’s better to start simple imho.
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Jun 21, 2019 21:31
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Catte is now comfortable enough we have to shoo him off tables and the kitchen countertop and he zoomies around the house in fights to the death with a qtip on the floor. The only real problem right now is him clawing furniture. We got some scratching post things you hang off doorknobs for him to rip at but he can't seem to make the connection that they're there for him to scratch the poo poo outta instead of a year old couch or our beds. Any tips on how to help him link the dots so he realizes they're there for him to use?
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Jun 22, 2019 19:29
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Apex ice cube hunter. 
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Jun 22, 2019 19:45
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Kitfox88 posted:Catte is now comfortable enough we have to shoo him off tables and the kitchen countertop and he zoomies around the house in fights to the death with a qtip on the floor. I've never had a cat that would use a hanging scratch post, or any of the small lightweight semi-disposable cardboard ones at all, come to think of it. In the great outdoors, cats prefer trees, and the best scratching posts IMHO are the ones that mimic a tree: really sturdy and won't move when the cat tries to use it, tall enough for a fully stretched cat, wide enough that they can get both front paws going. Carpet- or rope-covered cat trees fit the bill, but you can DIY a good scratching place by covering a wood plank with carpet and lean it somewhere secure. My neighbor made me one like that, about 4 feet long and 12 inches wide, and it is actually attractive (and you can replace the carpet as needed). One other thing that can help is to put the post(s) where it will be the first thing that the cat encounters when it awakes from wherever it naps. You can also rub catnip into it at first, so that the cat gets the idea more quickly.
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Jun 22, 2019 20:12
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Sefal posted:Bonded cats are great. right?  Anyway, we went ahead and hosed up our perfect household pet balance by getting a dog this morning. She's a couple years old, about 30 pounds; she was adopted from a stray rescue that operates out of a Vet Clinic, and they gave her exposure to the cats that run around. She was pretty uninterested, which we observed. As of now, we've designated a specific room exclusively hers for the time being (one the cats rarely used), and we're gating off the basement for their exclusive use. The cats are curious - closed doors and cats, nothing you wouldn't expect - but have so far showed no signs of fear or, for that matter, any significant emotion. They're acting fairly similar to normal. We're following guides online and exchanging scents, but all involved seem pretty nonplussed at this point. We're going to serve dinner on either side of the door tonight. If they all eat well, is there still significant virtue in waiting? You see plenty of resources that talk about a month-long process, and if that's what it takes, that's what it takes, but does anyone have experience with things going smoothly and accelerating the time table? The next step is letting the cats into the room with the dog in her cage, I think. Crosspostin this in the dog thread for obvious reasons.
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Jun 22, 2019 21:34
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TofuDiva posted:I've never had a cat that would use a hanging scratch post, or any of the small lightweight semi-disposable cardboard ones at all, come to think of it. In the great outdoors, cats prefer trees, and the best scratching posts IMHO are the ones that mimic a tree: really sturdy and won't move when the cat tries to use it, tall enough for a fully stretched cat, wide enough that they can get both front paws going. Yeah, these are the disposable ones, they came with some catnip but he seemed more interested in licking it than scratching it with the stuff in it.  The carpet idea's pretty solid, I'll see if we have anything left over from the half done renovations we've got going on.edit: My sibling's got a more permanent bigass sort of post coming this week sometime that's a bit more stable and not just cardboard with the added bonus of it being floor level, so hopefully he likes that. I'd try the 'paws on it' thing but Harold's a wriggly little bastard who isn't afraid to use all his claws because he assumes being picked up means crating and vet visit, after his rough times first being not a feral street cat. 
Kitfox88 fucked around with this message at 00:58 on Jun 23, 2019 |
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Jun 22, 2019 22:02
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The advice I've heard about getting cats to use scratching posts is to physically put their paws on them and drag them down, to kind of kickstart awareness of "hey, I can scratch on this!" I've never tried it, but it seems like it may be worth a shot.
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Jun 22, 2019 22:30
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a few of my cats do use the cardboard disposable scratching posts, we simply toss them in an old Costco box and let them destroy as willed. only one of my cats has ever used the scratching pad that you hang on the back of the door, I'm not sure exactly why she's the only one that ever did, but Sake had very malformed front feet where her previous owner had her declawed and they removed about half of her knuckles, so perhaps she could not use anything harder.
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Jun 23, 2019 03:08
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I built a cat-tree and covered part of it in sisal rope, but we also have one of these: It's technically disposable but she uses it all the time and in six months she has barely made a dent in it and we can still flip it over for another round, it's super sturdy.
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Jun 23, 2019 10:40
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Terry seems to be enthusiastically eating again! Maybe the pain pills and appetite stimulant did it but either way I'm quite happy about it.
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Jun 23, 2019 19:30
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Has anyone experienced a cats red blood cell count number plummeting? Sleek had been acting strange for a few days so we isolated him from the other cats and noticed he hadn't been using the litterbox. He also has been panting when he is stressed out. Took him to the emeregency vet this am and that's what their test says and that he will need an infusion to have any chance of survival to the tune of $3000. We're currently seeking a 2nd opinion and have him resting comfortably while we check into getting approved for care credit. I just want our little guy to be ok:( 
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Jun 23, 2019 19:48
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Thumposaurus posted:Has anyone experienced a cats red blood cell count number plummeting? Any news on your little guy? I didn't have any insights into the whys or whats of the red blood cell count, but I sure hope things are going ok for him! He looks so sweet
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Jun 24, 2019 20:44
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We just picked him up from the emergency vet. They gave him a transfusion and ran some blood tests and did an ultrasound of his tummy to see if there was any internal bleeding or blockages. We think he may have eaten an unkown quantity of that crystal cat litter. He's going back for some more tests on Wednesday.
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Jun 24, 2019 23:27
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