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Pellisworth posted:She actually only eats a bit at a time, she doesn't snarf down the whole bowl at once. In addition to not feeding her when she wakes you up, don't feed her too quickly after you normally wake up. She'll figure out you waking up == food. I always make sure to feed cats as long as possible after I wake up to try to disentangle that association.
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Aug 29, 2019 22:08
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All of this should go with the caveat that there are some cats that all the training in the world won't fix. I was taking care of a friend's cat for a while who was really food-focused, and even though I would feed him at 7 AM every morning on the dot, no matter what, around 4 AM, he would wake me up and try to get fed. He would get on top of me and meow, find a noisy, crinkly thing on the floor and jump on it, and knock everything off my end table to try and wake me. If I kicked him out of the room, he would meow and scratch at the door so loudly I'd have to go a step further and lock him in the bathroom instead just to be able to sleep. Not once did I feed him early, ever, but he always did this song and dance every morning.
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Aug 29, 2019 22:28
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ET's new favorite toy is a... doorstop. A grey rubber doorstop. I guess it kinda looks like a mouse? He'll happily bat it up and down the hallway sometimes in the middle of the night!
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Aug 30, 2019 12:02
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Thumposaurus posted:ET's new favorite toy is a... doorstop. You can buy cats toys all you want but 99% of the time their favorite toy is literally junk. I buy shoelaces in bulk for my Salem, since he loves string toys. The $8 or whatever for a dozen pairs on Amazon gives us a hell of a lot more value than $8 for any cat toy.
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Aug 30, 2019 16:28
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One of my cats goes fuckin' nuts for floss.
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Aug 30, 2019 18:08
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Rotten Red Rod posted:One of my cats goes fuckin' nuts for floss.  Mel loving loves chasing it around. The problem of course is that she also loves to try and eat it, which is a huge goddamn no-no, so I have to be really careful with it because sometimes she'll get clever and gnaw a bit of it off during play, then casually saunter back to where that bit dropped and try to gobble it up later.
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Aug 30, 2019 18:12
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I looked around for a while but I couldn't find a pet memorial or pet grief thread so I'm going to selfishly dump on everyone here that another one of our favorite furry species on the planet has fallen victim to kidney failure. Mintu was a 16 year old that we've had since she was a 2 month old kitten (one of these was taken two days before her passing). Her fur was as soft and luxurious as a rabbit, her demeanor and behavior matched a feline saint (she never, ever scratched, bit, or hissed at us or another animal... unless directly provoking her and repeatedly on purpose as a means of last-resort defense), and she had no behavior problems with litter, scratching furniture, etc. She was a weaponized, idealized lap cat. Even people that hates cats said about her "I think she's alright." Despite putting her through nearly a move every year of her life she managed to keep herself and our household together. I'm a complete sucker for defending anything gentle and kind in a world of hate and anger, and Mintu gave me a lot of motivation every day I came home or went to bed that if a cat can be unconditionally nice to other animals that we as people have hope still. Up to the minute that we had to let her go she remained cheerful when she had any energy and her fur was immaculate - she continued to groom, eat, and drink despite her failing health. I was barely able to read my final send-off for her because she was still acting like a healthy, happy cat, but I'm grateful she didn't experience the trauma of true end-of-life CKD like what happened to Mintu's husband a few years ago. In honor of Mintu, all I ask of anyone is to be kind and selfless with no reservation for someone, to reach out and listen to what they have to say even if you might think it's stupid, hateful, or ignorant. If Mintu was able to calm down my hateful, racist, aggravating mother in law, maybe we should all try to be more like Mintu.   
necrobobsledder fucked around with this message at 20:47 on Aug 30, 2019 |
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Aug 30, 2019 20:06
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I'm sorry. She is indeed beautiful and she sounds like she was a wonderful cat.
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Aug 30, 2019 20:25
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Rest well Mintu Thank you for sharing her with us.
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Aug 30, 2019 20:37
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Goodbye Mintu.
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Aug 31, 2019 12:35
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Sorry for your loss.
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Aug 31, 2019 13:17
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Can certain foods trigger pancreatitis in cats? My cat Shadow (not the stinky one I mentioned earlier) has chronic bouts of pancreatitis, which can be extremely scary as she’ll stop eating for days at a time. Her most recent bout happened a few days after I began feeding her medication using pill pockets. I’m wondering if the timing was just a coincidence or if I put her at risk for triggering another flare up if I give her pill pockets again. Also, RIP Mintu. I dread when the day comes for Shadow, but at the same time I feel blessed I’ve been able share much of my life with her. Ballz fucked around with this message at 15:44 on Aug 31, 2019 |
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Aug 31, 2019 15:40
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as mentioned months ago I wanted to get my cat Geno some outdoors time. I bought a soft harness and leash and he absolutely will not let me go anywhere near him with it - i'm not too surprised since he won't wear a collar either but i'm still disappointed. undeterred I got a stroller for him. since he doesn't like to be picked up I decided to just leave it out in places he liked to go so he'd get used to it. he actually got in it on his own about a week ago:  he mostly ignored it after that but more importantly he wasn't bothered by it existing. so today we had some nice weather and i decided to give taking him out a shot. i basically had to trick him into it, but i managed to get him in and sealed up without too much fuss. unfortunately he did cry a bit like he does when i put him in his carrier, but he seemed much more calm than he is when i take him somewhere in that. we just went for a very short spin around the apartment building and he never completely chilled out but he wasn't cowering and meowed a lot less than any other time he's been transported somewhere.  we stopped by a small creek that runs outside my window and i think he liked being a bit closer to that than he normally can get, but he might have just been too shocked to whine about it. once we got back inside he bolted under the couch like he does after a vet trip but came out much faster than he does with those. to show no hard feelings he decided to crash on my lap for a while. https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/585033688698322944/617387368093188097/20190831_115608.mp4
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Aug 31, 2019 18:30
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Brought our new adoptee home today to the kitten sanctuary we prepared. He’s very stressed and mad he left momma and his safe space (I would be too). He won’t come out of the carrier without trying to take a finger. I’ve just put a towel over it and dropped a couple snacks in that he ate. The carrier is sitting right in front of his dry food, water, and litter box. I wanted him to know where all that stuff is. So far, I’m just leaving him in there and checking for signs of movement, eating, or using the potty. Is there anything I’m missing on getting him acclimated? Anything else I should be doing? I know it can take days, weeks, or months for a kitten to adjust. So we’re prepared to keep him separated until he’s ready to be social.
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Aug 31, 2019 19:38
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My dad says cats are more tied to territory while dogs are more tied to people (obviously it's some of both but in general). Don't try to force interaction or coming out, just let the kitten adjust at their own pace. I started my cat out in a back room with a big closet with lots of hidey spaces, I mostly left her alone with the doors closed for the first couple days. It took a couple weeks for her to gradually explore and get comfortable with the four rooms she's allowed in.
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Aug 31, 2019 20:11
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Yep, just give it time. Do make sure there's some separation between where the litter pan is, and where the food and water are since cats don't like to have those too near each other.
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Aug 31, 2019 20:28
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My apologies if this isn't the right thread for this kind of thing but I've got a problem and I'm finding a lot of conflicting reports on what to do about it. We have 4 indoor cats. At some point in the last 2 months, 1 of the 4 cats picked up some fleas. We didn't know about the fleas until about a month and a half ago so we got the cats treated but by the time we got them started on a treatment, it had turned into a full on infestation. Now my fiancee & I can't even walk around our living room or into our closet without a mass of fleas jumping onto our legs (I assume because they don't like the cats now that they've been treated). They're almost due for another treatment, we're gonna check with the vet and see if it's okay to just get them a seresto collar or whatever they are called. We have a vacuum cleaner and I tried using that but I'm not entirely sure I'm accomplishing anything since I don't know where the fleas are or if/when I've got them all, plus they keep coming to me anyway. We set up an electric flea trap and it has been catching the adults seemingly fine, though fleas will still jump on us even with that trap nearby and we are thinking of getting another trap but we aren't sure if it will actually matter or if we're even making a dent in the infestation or not. I've tried looking into foggers but I'm finding different info online. Some resources say that foggers work fine and are good while others say they are bad and that they do not work. Some say that they're chemically designed to kill both the adults, the larvae, and the eggs, while others say that foggers only ever kill adults and that's it. I'm not really sure what to do. The situation is frustrating, especially since the fleas have turned to trying to feast on us instead, and I'm not even sure if a flea collar will help the cats or not.
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Aug 31, 2019 21:21
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I only ever had one flea infestation, and it was years ago. It was as frustrating as you describe. My best suggestion would be to talk with your vet about simultaneously getting the cats treated and de-fleaing the house. They should have suggestions that are more effective than online advice and may be able to provide better materials than you usually find in stores. It is frustrating since you have to get the whole population of fleas in the house at the same time as you get them off of the cats, and just getting the adults won't finish the population. If there's a reservoir of eggs on the cats, they'll just reinfest everything. So you have to hit everything at once. There are foggers that work, but it isn't pleasant to think about all of the pesticide residue that they leave on everything, so if you use foggers you have a burden of work beforehand, to prepare the house and seal away food and remove plants and other pets, and then to minimize your contact with the pesticide residue afterward - waiting the full amount of time before it's safe to re-enter the house, washing clothing and all of the bedding (including the cats' beds) and towels and dishes and counters, and so forth. You'd also have to gather up all of the cats' toys beforehand and discard them, or wash and stick them in the freezer for a couple of weeks. There are some non-pesticide approaches for the house like diatomaceous earth that some people say good things about. I haven't used it for fleas, but I have used it to good effect in my garden. DE is no less work, because you have to work the powder into your carpets and upholstery, leave it, and then vacuum frequently and thoroughly to get it all back out - but at least it is nontoxic to you and your pets. Again, I think your best bet is to get advice from your vet who knows your cats and you. Good luck!
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Aug 31, 2019 23:12
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FirstAidKite posted:My apologies if this isn't the right thread for this kind of thing but I've got a problem and I'm finding a lot of conflicting reports on what to do about it. I've dealt with this at a relative's house. Your easiest option is to call an exterminator and follow their advice. If there are enough fleas that they are constantly jumping on to you, it'll be worth it to let somebody else tell you exactly what you need to do while they take care of pesticides. I also do a bit of vector control at work (though it mostly focuses on mosquitos, roaches, and bedbugs) and trust me-- just hiring a pro can solve problems so much quicker. Follow your vet's advice re: collars, but I would be highly surprised if they suggested them as a good solution. There are safer options that work better, and your vet can discuss them with you. You'll also need to make sure to talk about parasites/deworming as sometimes fleas bring in tapeworms. Integrated pest management for fleas & ticks:
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Aug 31, 2019 23:34
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Flea infestations take a long time to get rid of, and you have to be pretty diligent about it. Here's what I did to get rid of mine a few years ago, took about two months before the house was completely flea free. 1. Make sure all the cats are treated, and that you keep up on applying the treatment. Sounds like you've already done this bit. 2. Take any and all linens in the house that the cats have come even remotely close to: bed linens are a big one, and wash them in hot water. As long as the infestation remains keep washing them every couple of days if you can manage it. Fleas love linens. If you have chairs or couches with non-leather upholstery, vacuum them regularly as well. 3. Vacuum all carpeting in the house. When I say all, I mean all. Move couches/desks/shelves/etc and make sure you hit 100% of the carpet. Fleas are very small and like dark places, so they absolutely will crawl under your furniture and lay eggs. There are flea-killing powders you can buy that you sprinkle on the carpeting prior to vacuuming that help, but be careful with this as all the ones I ever saw were toxic to cats, so you have to make sure the cat is out of the room and you really get all of it up out from the carpet. You should be vacuuming all carpeting at least once every 3-4 days, but the more often you can do it the better. 4. Get a flea barrier spray and apply it outside your living space on the edges of the windows and doors. Your cat probably originally picked up fleas in the first place by one of them jumping up to them while they were lounging next to an open window. 5. It will look and make you feel like a dork, but when you're around the house wear long socks and pants and tuck the bottoms of your pants into the socks. This will prevent the fleas from being able to bite your ankles/legs. When you're sleeping, do the same but also tuck your shirt into your pants and wear long sleeves if it's not too hot. I also sprayed myself with Off prior to sleeping. Regarding foggers, the problem with them is that often times the fog doesn't get deep enough into your carpeting or underneath furniture to get 100% of the fleas, so people who fog and then do nothing else wind up having the infestation surge back when the next round of eggs hatch. Since your infestation sounds really bad you could probably run a fogger just to give you a bit of breathing room, but make sure you then keep up with a month or two of vacuuming everything and washing linens regularly. You could also call a pest control guy and see if they have anything more heavy duty than a fogger I guess. Good luck, loving fleas suck.
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Aug 31, 2019 23:39
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1 Week Kitten Update: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXoHKnKu6kU&feature=youtu.be Peaches has decided to ignore the threads advice about seclusion and quarantine, and has moved her kittens to a bin full of boots, in the living room, facing the TV. This was the 2nd attempt she made to relocate her kittens, her owner decided to just roll with it since mother knows best. As you can see all the fur-worms are full of energy and are moving about just fine. Some changes will be made to their boot-bin so they cant crawl out and fall. Peaches is so comfortable with her owner and her kittens it must be noted she almost gave birth to said kittens on her owners lap.
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Sep 1, 2019 03:25
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Update on the kitten I adopted. He’s eaten dry and wet food, had lots of water, went to the bathroom a few times, and played a bit. He’s still very skittish if I move too close or reach out my pinky. He moves back and hisses. We had a lot of fun playing with his string toy that the foster gave us and the laser we had for our other house cat I’ll admit, the foster seemed a little rough and did some weird stuff. She would flick his nose if he hissed, I imagine that just reinforced the bad behavior and seems dumb as hell. Is this kinda poo poo permanent, or can he grow out of it as we socialize him more? He hisses when someone opens the door, if I move to close, or if I try to reach out my pinky for him to smell. Background info is he is a 16 week year old male, born and raised by a picked up stray that was brought indoors. When we visited the foster, I think momma cat, sister, and the male we adopted had been in the same medium bathroom since they moved them in to nurse and wean them. There were a few small black ants on the floor and some in the food, but they all looked healthy and taken care of. Anyway, I’m hoping he didn’t pick up some antisocial behavior from momma cat or the foster that is permanent. He’s only been here 12 hours, so I’m chalking it up to taking him from his family to a strange house with another separate cat for now.
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Sep 1, 2019 06:04
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Yah he's still a kitten in a weird new environment, give him love and patience and he should come good. That does sound like a lovely foster situation!
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Sep 1, 2019 06:25
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Andro posted:Update on the kitten I adopted. He’s eaten dry and wet food, had lots of water, went to the bathroom a few times, and played a bit. He’s still very skittish if I move too close or reach out my pinky. He moves back and hisses. We had a lot of fun playing with his string toy that the foster gave us and the laser we had for our other house cat Yeah, that foster is a POS that is just escalating/evoking the hissing, not punishing it like she thinks she is. The good news is cats are pretty good at forming discriminations, so if you are consistently not an rear end in a top hat the kitten will learn you're safe to interact with and relax around you.
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Sep 1, 2019 15:14
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Why don't my cats like each other anymore? Pictured: Griffin on the left, acting as cute and nice as possible; Freya on the right, in a spiky ball Freya's always been sort of defensive, and Griffin as the younger cat can be pretty pushy, but since we moved into a new house Freya has been increasingly distrustful of Griffin's presence. They used to share a much smaller space and had no problems living together, eating side by side, and wrestling/chasing each other. It wasn't really noticeable at first that their relationship had changed, because they were just not playing together anymore but otherwise shared the house normally. But for the past couple of months, Freya just starts hissing and growling whenever Griffin even looks at her. This is definitely partly on Griffin because he's had several instances where I've had to remove him to another room because he is just compelled to stalk/harass her beyond the point where it's clear Freya is uncomfortable, but most of their altercations happen because Freya is being playful on her own and Griffin interprets her behavior as "come chase/wrestle me" when it doesn't mean that anymore. Lately Griffin has resorted to the kind of behavior displayed in the above picture, just acting totally harmless and submissive around Freya in the hopes that she will play, while Freya just growls. He's been pretty good around her, but still has a habit of stalking her around bedtime when he gets playful because people are moving around the house. Trying to play with toys with both of them at the same time is not very successful because Freya will typically hang back if Griffin is playing with a toy and start growling if he gets too close. But today Freya was in the bathroom with me and the two of them were batting each others' paws under the door, no hissing at all... progress? I just don't know how to fix their relationship. Both of them are ridiculously agreeable, tolerant, adventurous and playful cats, but Freya is just stressed out by Griffin. I know about introducing new cats to each other, but is there some technique to make new associations between cats that know each other already??
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Sep 2, 2019 02:30
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Moving can mess with cats a lot, some of it is probably stress. But that said you can do a "reintroduction" where you do things like feed them on opposite sides of a door and rub their scents in each others bedding and stuff like that, same as you would when introducing new cats to each other. Something may have happened that made it hard for Freya to recognize Griffin as her buddy, if his scent changed for some reason or the scents in the new house have her confused. This website has a rundown of the how of it, though it's usually for more intense situations where one cat is attacking the other so you may not be to quite this point. If Griffin is learning to just act passive around her then they're working it out on their own terms and you may not need to intervene. Sometimes you just gotta let them figure themselves out.
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Sep 2, 2019 05:03
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You've had her checked for underlying health issues that might be making her grumpy, yes? If so and there's nothing physical going on, a low-effort and totally harmless thing you might try is to make a dilute vanilla solution and spray it on their bedding, your furniture and carpets, floors, around the pans, cat trees, windowsills, and basically anywhere they hang out. Don't spray it directly on the cats, but you can spray it lightly on your hands and then pet the cats. It's especially effective if you get the vanilla scent onto their tails and the fur around their bum areas (but keep it light and don't get it onto any exposed skin or eyes, of course). The scent will only persist for a few days at most, but that's probably enough. The idea is that since cats are so scent oriented, the vanilla lets you perform a complete reset on who smells like what and whose scent is where, so that they are once again on equal footing and have to re-establish their relationship in the house, which can also get them to reset their reactions to each other. I learned this from a vet's autobiography. I don't remember the name anymore, but if I come across it I'll post it. I have used this approach when moving house, and it does seem to work. In the book, the vet said he used Chanel No.5(!). I was worried about possible side effects from that much perfume, so I substituted vanilla. It only takes a teaspoon or two of extract for a pint of water, which goes quite a long way. Note, there are a lot of scented things like essential oils that are harmful to cats, so if you give this a try, I'd say stick with vanilla only - and of course don't try it if either cat has any respiratory issues. Good luck!
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Sep 2, 2019 17:12
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Smear everything in catnip.
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Sep 3, 2019 00:29
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Hey thread! My wife and I have had our first cat (Jinx) for a little over a year now, and recently decided to get a new cat (T’Challa) in the hopes they can help each other spend their energy, since we found out after adoption that Jinx transforms into a fiery ball of energy at night even if we spend the day playing with her. Anyway, the introduction process has been a mixed bag thus far. Jinx will regularly go to a door and peek under it to see if she can see T’Challa, and try to scare him with a big hiss. She’s managed to make him very afraid of the doors at the threshold doing this. We’ve pushed past the scent portion with swapping, so she no longer hisses at anything that just smells like him, and we’ve even had a successful play session with the two of them in the same room being occupied with different toys, but that ended when T’Challa decided to duck into a spot she likes, and darted over to brawl him. We’re trying to follow the introduction guides as closely as possible, but I’m not sure how to stop her from making a habit of scaring him when they’re not even in the same room. Sure doesn’t do wonders for helping build a relationship.
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Sep 3, 2019 01:31
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TofuDiva posted:You've had her checked for underlying health issues that might be making her grumpy, yes? No, but I wouldn't say she's grumpy except when Griffin has his attention on her. Her general mood and activity level is very high and she snaps back to normal behavior the instant Griffin is out of the room. (I know how nasty she gets when she IS sick, and she's nothing like that now!) They both do enjoy catnip, so I wouldn't mind pouring that all over the house, but it sort of amps Griffin up even more so I'm not sure it would make them more friendly per se. The "scent reset" thing is really intriguing and not anything I've heard before, I'll definitely try that since it doesn't seem like there's really any downside with the vanilla solution. The reintroduction strategy seems promising, and all it would take is just putting the door back up on the stairs so that one cat could have upstairs and the other could have downstairs... I just feel bad that one cat would be left all alone at bedtime when they both like to sleep in different spots in the bedroom  But I think separating them would be beneficial - sometimes I think they're working it out, but Griffin messes up and starts bothering her often enough that I'm afraid Freya just defaults to "go away now" rather than give him any more chances.Well, I don't see why I can't do both - cover up scents and then separate them for later reintroduction. If nothing else it will keep Griffin off Freya's back for long enough she might forget how mad she is at him 
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Sep 3, 2019 03:07
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Neela’s been acting strange the last day and a half or so. She’s eating less, hiding a lot more, and becoming more skiddish and less playful. She seems fine otherwise; no obvious signs of an illness. She’s drinking plenty. We had a guest yesterday who she’s been afraid of in the past (smelly, loud old guy whose a friend of mine), and the guy next door threw a loud bender, so maybe it’s stress from noise? Trying not to freak out. ProperGanderPusher fucked around with this message at 07:24 on Sep 3, 2019 |
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Sep 3, 2019 06:31
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Bert of the Forest posted:Hey thread! My wife and I have had our first cat (Jinx) for a little over a year now, and recently decided to get a new cat (T’Challa) in the hopes they can help each other spend their energy, since we found out after adoption that Jinx transforms into a fiery ball of energy at night even if we spend the day playing with her. Brawling is fine as long as there's no visible injuries that come from it. That's how cats work out their hierarchy disputes.
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Sep 3, 2019 14:15
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I had to keep my idiots separated with baby gates for almost 6 months before I was sure they wouldn't murder each other. Spats are ok as long as there's no damage, are very short and stop on their own. I didn't give them both full reign until the random attacks like below stopped, where Milly would go in just to gently caress with Butters. Kitty Gulag:  3 months in I would open doors while I was home and kept an eye on them with cameras. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5hBqSN7hgk They still brawl and chase each other around, but it only lasts a couple seconds and its from someone getting too close. Its been a bit over a year now and I still think cat pile will happen eventually. Butters seems to be winning lately too. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJ3rxzrMxzA
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Sep 3, 2019 16:56
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ProperGanderPusher posted:Neela’s been acting strange the last day and a half or so. She’s eating less, hiding a lot more, and becoming more skiddish and less playful. She seems fine otherwise; no obvious signs of an illness. She’s drinking plenty.
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Sep 3, 2019 17:24
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necrobobsledder posted:How's her weight and appetite? Mintu acted mostly lethargic and drank plenty of water up to the minute she passed because kidney disease results in an increase in water consumption, not lower. She started getting very, very weak though and hid it well because she simply didn't jump around as much. Otherwise, stress can lead to avoidant behavior. She’s mostly back to normal today. I think it was stress. Her appetite was diminished but not absent. Her weight is normal; it had only been going on for a day or two and she’s not that food motivated unless I give her her favorite brands of wet food (during which she turns into a gluttonous little oinker).
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Sep 3, 2019 18:15
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Lol we used the same gate to separate our numbskulls but only had one which they promptly figured out how to scale. By the end of the separation phase we had it wrapped in tinfoil to (unsuccessfully) stop them from climbing over it. I appreciate your ingenuity on display 
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Sep 3, 2019 19:59
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Sorry to come in here with another question but I'm insanely concerned about my little orange tabby. I noticed that she's been itching her neck a lot within the last two weeks and took her up to get checked and was told she doesn't have fleas so I have no idea what's going on. Yesterday I noticed she has now clawed off all her fur and is now raw and scabbing/bloody around the bottom of her neck from not leaving it alone, and right above her right eye she has a fresh bloody patch from scratching there. The only thing I can figure is she's having a nasty allergic reaction to our new home and wanted to ask the stupid question of what I can do to stop her from scratching so much so she can heal. She doesn't act like there's a problem, just happy purring and wanting to cuddle all the time- so it's kind of freaking me out.
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Sep 3, 2019 21:38
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ThisIsACoolGuy posted:Sorry to come in here with another question but I'm insanely concerned about my little orange tabby. I noticed that she's been itching her neck a lot within the last two weeks and took her up to get checked and was told she doesn't have fleas so I have no idea what's going on. Yesterday I noticed she has now clawed off all her fur and is now raw and scabbing/bloody around the bottom of her neck from not leaving it alone, and right above her right eye she has a fresh bloody patch from scratching there. One of my cats has had a similar problem(itchy face and neck, scratches it til it's bloody and bare, seems otherwise perfectly normal) on and off for years and the bad news is we still don't know what the gently caress it is. We thought he didn't like his collar so we took that off and eventually he healed up. It flared up again and we thought it was a food allergy so we tried him on a bunch of different hypoallergenic foods(most of which he wouldn't touch because he is mega picky) and eventually it died down again. Then it flared up again despite no change in his food and it was really bad, so we took him to the vet who shaved off all the fur around the wounds and gave us a regimen of steroids to stop it itching so he'd let it heal, and antibiotics and an antiseptic scrub to keep it clean in the meantime. They tested him for ringworm, and we gave him his flea and worm medication(although it didn't seem likely it was any of those as his sister is perfectly fine). He's mostly healed up and the fur is growing back now, but we still don't know exactly what the cause was. Best guess is just stress; we've been travelling a lot lately and leaving the cats to the care of a catsitter, and although he's a friendly boy he is very shy around strangers. If you can't stop her scratching you might need to see if your vet will give you something to soothe the itching, either a topical thing or steroids, and help you narrow down the cause. Good luck - it's very stressful to see your kitty scratching themselves bloody and not knowing what's wrong.
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Sep 3, 2019 21:56
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The cat lady in the house behind ours died and for the past few months we've been feeding her outdoor cats, which is great except my family seems to be in denial about how this affects our own indoor/outdoor cats' stress and safety. Our cats avoid our own backyard because seeing enemy cats on their back deck 24/7 freaks them out, and either way it's full of wasps trying to eat the food and stinging the strays sometimes (traps haven't helped). The last time one of ours was gone for more than a day, I warned everyone this was the new normal as long as they felt unsafe in their own territory and nothing was done about the strays; exactly two weeks of  later, the same cat goes missing for four days and returns dirty and with a four-day-old wasp sting under his eye. Despite this, my family insists he was "trapped somewhere" and that worried neighbors who thought they saw him over the past couple of nights were mistaken.I'm pretty tired of being not listened to on this and have moved the stray cat hiding places all to the far end of the deck, and also hosed up catching one of the stray cats once (but left the cage out so they get used to seeing it). Any advice would be appreciated. Most of the strays are black cats so I can appreciate my family's reluctance to turning them over to the shelter system, but something's gotta give.
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Sep 3, 2019 22:10
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| # ? May 15, 2024 16:12 |
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By not getting animal control and shelters involved you're just kicking the can down the road. I'm betting those cats aren't fixed, and are probably going to just make the problem worse and worse by making more and more strays.
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Sep 3, 2019 22:52
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