|
Washing your hands after handling cats is definitely a must. Unless you like accidentally touching your face afterwards and dealing with horrible upper respiratory allergies and itchy eyes.
|
#
?
Sep 25, 2019 00:46
|
|
|
|
| # ? Jun 5, 2024 04:43 |
|
|
Pollyanna posted:Roll up to a shelter like excuse me, can I try on your cats? This is exactly what I did. The bonus was the cat that actually let me stick my face in her tummy fluff was the one that didn't affect me much. I still take zyrtec every day. A year's supply of generic is $25 so no biggie.
|
|
#
?
Sep 25, 2019 00:54
|
|
|
Resonance22 posted:I'm fairly allergic to cats: I start sniffling and my eyes get irritated. Once I went to an exceptionally dirty house with cat hair covering everything (gross!), and I started to have trouble breathing. My SO is allergic in the same way, he was a little sniffly the first two weeks but then he adapted. It probably helps that Katya doesn’t cover everything in hair, I just pick up the occasional fur thumbleweed.
|
|
#
?
Sep 25, 2019 09:53
|
|
|
Can anyone recommend a 6+ foot cat tree other than Molly and Friends? Theirs are sold out drat near everywhere and I'd rather not wait 6-8 weeks to get one.
|
|
#
?
Sep 25, 2019 15:59
|
|
|
If you're in the US, check chewy and amazon for amarkat or frisco or catit or really any brand. https://www.chewy.com/frisco-72-in-cat-tree-cream/dp/129326 That one's huge and only $60. IT might not last 15 years but 5 would be pretty good value.
|
|
#
?
Sep 25, 2019 16:25
|
|
|
queserasera posted:Can anyone recommend a 6+ foot cat tree other than Molly and Friends? Theirs are sold out drat near everywhere and I'd rather not wait 6-8 weeks to get one. I usually get an Armakat tower, although I recently bought a knock off one instead because I wasn't real happy about the carpeting of the last Armakat one I bought in 2016 and was replacing. I prefer the thicker rope on the bigger supports of the Armakat tower, but other than that it's pretty much the same thing. I will say that some of the dimensions are different, but I only notice that because I was replacing an identical tower from Armakat Go Pet Club 72" Tall Beige Cat Tree Furniture https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005R4I7WM/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_6E4IDbN8DMCME
|
|
#
?
Sep 25, 2019 16:34
|
|
|
Just keep in mind the cheaper ones will fall apart pretty quick. My cats love RUNNING up the tree to the top, which eventually caused the top platform to fall off, as it's literally just a cardboard post attached to particle board. I ended up making my own replacement top platform out of several planks of wood and carpet offcuts.
|
|
#
?
Sep 25, 2019 16:40
|
|
|
TMMadman posted:lmao Tiger (Single Cat) Tigger Miss Meow Meowface Callie (Single Cat) Baby Girl Big Girl Floof (Maine Coon tail <3) Fluffbutt Whitey Milo (Has a littler mate) Big Boy Milbo Mills Bill Buddy Brother Shutup Otis (Has a littler mate) Oates Oatey Boats Little Boy Bubba Brother Where are you? Anytime I've had a single Cat, they pick up and learn my English extremely well. "Ham" "Snack" "Bedtime" "your toy" "meowface" all get frequency analyzed for things they see as important enough to learn the sound. Tiger would talk back to me when we were walking to the refrigerator. I remember the day we found out she had lymphoma(Or some variation), she mewled from another room and I came running because I knew all the sounds that cat made and this was a new one. New meows when your cat is 18 is not ideal. But then also, if I wake up and start hitting my bed and I yell out "OTIS" or "MILO" a few times the correct cat will come. Who knows
|
|
#
?
Sep 25, 2019 17:04
|
|
|
That reminds me, we can always tell when Katya has spotted the neighbourhood cat in the yard (a big buff tortie) because she raises the alarm. And I mean the ALARM, big whooping yowls that sound more like a howling dog than a cat. The first time she did that she scared the poo poo out of us.
|
|
#
?
Sep 25, 2019 17:29
|
|
|
InvisibleMonkey posted:That reminds me, we can always tell when Katya has spotted the neighbourhood cat in the yard (a big buff tortie) because she raises the alarm. And I mean the ALARM, big whooping yowls that sound more like a howling dog than a cat. The first time she did that she scared the poo poo out of us. EOOOUR EEEEEOOUUUURRRRRRR REEEEEEEOOOOOOUO REOR REEEEEEOUOR Jet for his part has a tendency to make a sound that resembles “HEWWOOOOOOOO???” whenever a cat comes by. I die a little inside every time.
|
|
#
?
Sep 25, 2019 18:05
|
|
|
The only animals Mel vocally responds to are birds, which she likes to chirp at in what I like to think is a "how do you do fellow birds?" level attempt to get them to come closer so she can maul them. Otherwise if she sees other cats or squirrels or whatever she just stares intently at them and runs around the house from window to window to keep them in sight, but never makes a peep.
|
|
#
?
Sep 25, 2019 18:12
|
|
|
Hey, first time posting here with a quick (but serious) question. Simply put, my parents are considering euthanizing our family cat. She's 20 years, and these last few days she's taken a turn for the worse. She's barely eating but drinking a lot, sleeping for pretty much the entire day, and just today has lost the ability to use one of her hind legs and has begun urinating on herself. According to them one of her claws fell off too. Is this the right move? Honestly I've made my peace with the fact this might happen years ago, and having cats of my own at my own place doesn't hurt. I'm okay with it but would like the opinion of anyone whose gone through something similar.
|
|
#
?
Sep 26, 2019 23:08
|
|
|
A vet trip first is probably a good idea, but frankly, euthanasia for a 20-year-old cat who's not eating and is losing function is a very plausible and probably appropriate outcome. I'm sorry to say it -- it's never an easy thing to do -- but it may very well be time.
|
|
#
?
Sep 26, 2019 23:13
|
|
|
Thanks for the quick answer. I was just erring on the side of caution. She's not really my cat anymore since I only really see her once a year on holidays anyway, so they're free to do with her as they want, I was just making sure that it was a good decision.
|
|
#
?
Sep 26, 2019 23:21
|
|
|
20 years is a good run. Its tough to decide but the big thing is weighing their potential quality of life going forward vs your want to spend more time with them.
|
|
#
?
Sep 26, 2019 23:25
|
|
|
It is unquestionably, without a doubt, the right decision. 20 years is an incredibly long life for a cat and even when they get that old they don't live much past it. Remember a cat is considered a "senior" after like 8 years old because the average life span is like 12-13 for outdoor cats and like 16-18 for indoor cats.
|
|
#
?
Sep 26, 2019 23:46
|
|
|
She's declined in function enough that she's not even able to use the litterbox, it's definitely the right move. I had to do the same when at 17 years old my cat Suzie lost function in her back legs (spinal arthritis finally just compressed the spinal cord and left her unable to walk). We gave her her last 2 days worth of pets, sleeping in the sun (we'd pick her up and move her to sunny spots since she couldn't do it herself) and all the tuna she could want and then said our goodbyes.
|
|
#
?
Sep 28, 2019 13:42
|
|
|
This is a cat who is judging me for not giving him more popcorn
|
|
#
?
Sep 29, 2019 05:55
|
|
|
Give him more popcorn then.
|
|
#
?
Sep 29, 2019 10:22
|
|
|
Three photos three moods  
|
|
#
?
Sep 29, 2019 12:39
|
|
|
I'm sure it's because we haven't been home a lot for the past couple weeks, but both my girlfriend's cat and mine are acting weird. Her's was always needy buy now he flips poo poo if he isn't touching one of us or being fed. Mine went the opposite direction and barely gives me the time of day. Mine is also eating less of the wet food, but as far as I can tell is still grazing on the dry plenty. Not sure if it's because he's stressed, he's getting fed the wet too often, he's just in a dry food mood, or he isn't crazy about this wet food.
|
|
#
?
Sep 29, 2019 21:10
|
|
|
We're also dealing with the new cat situation. Our first cat, Gus, is about 6 years old and is a total sweetheart and very dumb. He is non-reactive to the dogs, falling over on his side for pets when they try to investigate him. He is pleasant and receptive to visitors petting him, and even rubs on the vet when we take him. The next cat we've named Greta, and she is an amazing sweetheart. She was a stray that some friends found, and after nobody claimed her for a month we adopted her. She loves people, always wants to be around us and purrs like crazy, will climb on your chest to nap and will snuggle to sleep. She's iffy about the dogs, but was learning to tolerate them. But together, they are absolute hell. Greta grumbled when Gus first appeared, so we were tentatively hopeful, but then he just went apeshit and there was a knockdown, drag-out fight with fur flying (I just thought that was an expression.) We had done lots of prep for a week, letting them smell scents, trade info with a door between them, using a Feliway outlet freshener, get acclimated while getting wet food as a reward... and it went bad instantly. So over the next month or two we really slowed it down. She had her own bathroom and safe space, and we again slowly ratcheted up their interactions. Gus seemed mostly fine, lying down and grooming and even snoozing on his side, and Greta eventually would stop grumbling and tolerate his presence. We put up a metal grate divider and let them interact while we were away at work, and that seemed to be working... and then any time Gus saw an opportunity, he would try to ambush her. It's been several months now, and they're both in the main part of the house, but we still have to lock one or the other away so that Greta can get some chance to relax and sleep and eat and drink without being constantly on edge. I feel awful for her, because she spends 99% of her time hiding under the bed or under the bedroom vanity. If I see Gus starting to stalk up to her hiding place and getting ready to ambush her I spray him with water and get him to gently caress off, but I can't be there always. I might be imagining it, but I think the frequency of his attacks might be declining. It used to be I would hear a ruckus several times a day, and now it's been about one per day or so. The sad thing is that when she knows he's gone, she goes back to being her sweet cuddly self, loving on people and even napping on us. She's gotten reactive around the dogs again though, so if anything makes her nervous she goes back to her hiding place. It's just so weird that our cat who is literally the chillest cat I have ever met turns into this weird rear end in a top hat that has to silently ambush her for no reason, then act like nothing's going on. He continues to push boundaries, getting close to her and grooming, lounging, even sleeping, and then randomly decides to go ambush predator. Any suggestions?
|
|
#
?
Sep 29, 2019 23:52
|
|
|
If you're not sure about attack frequency declining, journal it so you'll have some hard records to refer to. You're pretty much int he same boat I am. Milly wanted to murder new cat and I had to keep them separated for a solid 6 months before I could leave the house knowing they wouldn't kill each other. I uniquely could wall off a whole bedroom, bathroom, and master bedroom due to my house layout and their interaction point was in the hallway through a wall of baby gates with their food and water on each side. Eventually I would open doors while at home but still had a camera up to watch interactions until Milly stopped crossing the whole house just to bap Butters while she was sleeping. If they scrapped while I was home, Milly was put in timeout for 15 minutes and I could tell she knew she wasn't supposed to do a thing as the only time she would run form me picking her up was after she was messing with Butters. If one cat is cowering all the time you might need to start over with complete separation for a week or two, then extremely slow introductions swap bedding between them, etc. I would stop with the water bottle as that's just reinforcing a negative association with you. You can check my other posts in here for my gate setup and youtube channel of progress videos. They're just raw webcam recordings of various scraps and brawls and interactions.
|
|
#
?
Sep 30, 2019 15:53
|
|
|
We need to keep reminding people that the advice about "get two cats so they won't be bored" just applies to kittens. Some adult cats will never get along with a new cat and they relate to them completely differently than humans and other animals.
|
|
#
?
Sep 30, 2019 16:29
|
|
|
this morning I was singing to my cat, to the tune of "Lollipop" lovely cat, lovely cat, hey lovely lovely lovely lovely cat!
|
|
#
?
Sep 30, 2019 16:36
|
|
|
Rotten Red Rod posted:We need to keep reminding people that the advice about "get two cats so they won't be bored" just applies to kittens. Some adult cats will never get along with a new cat and they relate to them completely differently than humans and other animals. And one of the reasons it's urged to do so when people adopt a kitten is because it's the only time you can confidently add more; you can't be sure you'll be able to if you want to leave the decision to later.
|
|
#
?
Sep 30, 2019 16:39
|
|
|
Rotten Red Rod posted:We need to keep reminding people that the advice about "get two cats so they won't be bored" just applies to kittens. Some adult cats will never get along with a new cat and they relate to them completely differently than humans and other animals. Eh, cats getting along seems to be the norm more than the exception as they're extremely adaptable but we also need the caveat that sometimes they just will not get along ever, or it may take a LONG time and patience for tolerant coexistance to be reached. Hell when I was acclimating my idiots there plenty of folks who said "just let em fight it out" which I'm pretty sure would have just ended in disaster and missing fur. All situations are different. We just mostly hear about the ones going badly in here because this is the help my cats are trying to kill each other thread.
|
|
#
?
Sep 30, 2019 17:09
|
|
|
MikeJF posted:And one of the reasons it's urged to do so when people adopt a kitten is because it's the only time you can confidently add more; you can't be sure you'll be able to if you want to leave the decision to later. That and kittens have More Energy Than You, which is no small consideration when you consider just how rambunctious kittens are and how destructive they can be.
|
|
#
?
Sep 30, 2019 17:11
|
|
|
Pellisworth posted:this morning I was singing to my cat, to the tune of "Lollipop" My cats enjoy many Patti Smith covers, including "Because My Lap (Belongs to Kitties)," "Kitties Have the Furballs," and "Rock 'n Roll Tigger." Also, Stevie Nicks makes an appearance with "Edge of Luna's Butt."
|
|
#
?
Sep 30, 2019 17:27
|
|
|
Something clicked and Joxer stopped meowing at the door! Maybe he just hates the new harness, but he's stopped whining for the past couple days. I hope he's not bored indoors, but it's so, so nice not having to tune out the constant mewling. I've been giving him lots of attention when I can to encourage his newfound subduedness. Thanks to everyone for your help when I asked!
|
|
#
?
Sep 30, 2019 18:18
|
|
|
CancerStick posted:Can anybody that speaks cat language translate this? Headphones will probably be easiest. Update. A few days later, the 12th, we decided to let him out of the bathroom and see how it went. There was some stalking, a few moments of hissing, but within 24 hours they were.... best friends? I couldn't have asked for a better transition to be honest. She was getting a little chunky so we slightly reduced her intake, but also she is getting more exercise then we ever gave her. They just follow each other around, chase each other, roll around and fight each other (have never heard anything that resembled pain. She mainly just uses her size and lays on him while he kicks her), and she tries to groom him which annoys him. So happy. Also, had gotten a cat tree the day we brought little man home to finally to give big girl a place to hide if she needed. They both love it. Thanks for reassurance and tips when I asked. https://photos.app.goo.gl/MYYnYoRtjpAoHbXv9
|
|
#
?
Sep 30, 2019 18:25
|
|
|
Some of you might remember I was talking about getting a kitten and introducing it with our existing 4 year old. Things are progressing slowly but well, after initial periods of hissing, now the older cat is largely just watching for the kitten, and keeping distance, but isn't actively upset, and is still purring etc when she can see the kitten. Kitten question though, she keeps over using her claws when jumping up onto me when I'm in my chair. I don't want to tell her off, because I don't want to discourage her from becoming a lap cat, but I'm getting quite a few marks on my legs, any suggestions, or just wear thicker trousers about the house?
|
|
#
?
Sep 30, 2019 18:59
|
|
|
mehall posted:
It is going to sound counterintuitive, but when she uses her claws a bit too much (either climbing on you or playing) you need to make an exaggerated cry of pain and then putting her down off you or stop playing with her for a while. If you notice that she is coming by you and seemingly wants to jump up on your lap then maybe pick her up and move her there instead. I've got a cat that loves to sit on my leg and she would absolutely dig her claws into my knee while kneading. So I kept yelping and moving her and she finally got it into her head not to dig the claws into me. She still kneads on that knee and she still has claws but she just doesn't dig it into my knee anymore and instead it's more like the claws just touch my leg. I still have to move her sometimes if she gets going too much or if I haven't clipped her nails in a while.
|
|
#
?
Sep 30, 2019 19:25
|
|
|
Yeah cats generally don't respond well to negative reinforcement but they do get "dig claws into human, human yells and walks away/ignores me, I should stop digging claws into human" pretty well because it's similar to how kittens set their boundaries with litter mates. Make sure to do it while they're still a kitten because once they get older it becomes a lot harder to get them to back off aggressive behavior.
|
|
#
?
Sep 30, 2019 21:41
|
|
|
Ty keeps on chewing through my shoe laces. He isn't eating them at all, just biting them into pieces and then leaving them. Aside from hiding my shoes, is there anything I can do to the laces to make them less chewable by my dork?
|
|
#
?
Oct 1, 2019 21:11
|
|
|
Cat Wings posted:Ty keeps on chewing through my shoe laces. He isn't eating them at all, just biting them into pieces and then leaving them. Aside from hiding my shoes, is there anything I can do to the laces to make them less chewable by my dork? Bitter apple spray? That's what I used to teach one of my idiots not to taste test computer cords or charging cables.
|
|
#
?
Oct 1, 2019 21:17
|
|
|
I have two cats, Butler and Titan. I had to take Titan to the vet yesterday because he was constipated. He got treatment but had to stay overnight. When I brought him back home today Butler was acting like Titan is an intruder or something. He doesn't want to go near him and hisses and growls if he gets close. Titan isn't reacting to it and just stares at Butler or looks away. Could it be a scent thing and Butler doesn't recognize him because being at the vet and receiving medication has changed Titan's scent?
|
|
#
?
Oct 2, 2019 02:21
|
|
|
Titan smells like the bad place (vet) now, so Butler is mad. As Titan smells more like home and himself, Butler will calm down. Don't worry too much about it. Cats generally recognize each other via scent, and staying at the vet will have changed Titan's smell a lot.
|
|
#
?
Oct 2, 2019 03:58
|
|
|
Yeah, I did some googling and it looks like non-recognition aggression. So I'm going to keep them separated for now and try to slowly reintroduce them.
|
|
#
?
Oct 2, 2019 04:26
|
|
|
|
| # ? Jun 5, 2024 04:43 |
|
|
My cat is totally quiet when strange humans are around (but friendly), when it's just me she makes a whole assortment of weird cat noises. I described them to my dad as "imagine R2-D2" and he laughed. What I'm saying is my dumb idiot fluffy trash baby constantly produces trill meow chirp beep boop *indignant meow* upward trill, downward trill, trills when jumping up/down onto things, runs across the room making weird noises, responds to her name with a quick meow I dunno cats are weird edit: I will try to take some video but she is extremely suspicious of my phone so 
Pellisworth fucked around with this message at 04:37 on Oct 2, 2019 |
|
#
?
Oct 2, 2019 04:35
|
|