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durrneez posted:do you or someone in your household have long hair? one of my cats gets a dangleberry every once in a while from ingesting one of my hairs. the turd makes it out of his rear end and the stink nugget dangles from his rear end by my hair until he, someone, or gravity frees it from his rear end. it's kind of funny to see a turd pendulum swaying violently from his rear end in a top hat while i chase him down the stairs so i can snatch the poo poo morsel. No, and this was a deliberate pile of turds. They didn’t dangle from a cat’s rear end and just happen to fall there, they were all PUT there.
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Jun 4, 2021 04:22
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First and foremost it's gonna be a question of "how many litterboxes do you have, how often are they scooped, is there any inter-cat strife going on" because cats are almost hardcoded to eliminate on a surface they can dig and they not doing so means they find some major fault with the litterbox, real or not. One of my cats was deeply unhappy with the litterbox and dug up a potted plant to take a poo poo. Message received, little guy.
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Jun 4, 2021 14:25
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durrneez posted:do you or someone in your household have long hair? one of my cats gets a dangleberry every once in a while from ingesting one of my hairs. the turd makes it out of his rear end and the stink nugget dangles from his rear end by my hair until he, someone, or gravity frees it from his rear end. it's kind of funny to see a turd pendulum swaying violently from his rear end in a top hat while i chase him down the stairs so i can snatch the poo poo morsel. Oh good I'm glad this isn't just us. My wife's hair is longer than normal due to the pandemic, and very occasionally this happens to our Gaia. She gets so confused, poor thing. I normally notice when she does the digging motion on the hard floor, like "maybe if I do the pooping ritual, this strange situation will sort itself out somehow".
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Jun 4, 2021 17:27
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Who wants to tell me about Soft Claws and similar claw caps? After a long wait I’ve got two cats coming tomorrow and am thinking it would be fun to see if they’ll tolerate those temporary claw covers to keep them from tearing up the furniture and murdering the dog (who weighs 6lbs). Could be a lost cause, and if so I won’t force it on them if they hate it. They’re both pretty chill and might not mind, so I wouldn’t mind hearing about brands and best practices from anyone who has tried this.
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Jun 5, 2021 23:01
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Fuzzbutt HATES them but it's hilarious to see him try and shake them off after every step Bean came to us with no front claws ):
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Jun 5, 2021 23:05
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My previous two cats were declawed before I got my hands on them too. Sucked, but didn’t stop one from escaping and killing birds occasionally.  If they hate them that much I won’t push it. That behavior is easier to achieve with a piece of packing tape left on the floor. I always feel bad for laughing, but it will never stop being funny to see them levitate in surprise, shake the tape off, and then glare balefully at me as if I did it on purpose and they’re planning how to kill me.
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Jun 5, 2021 23:12
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I feel bad for the shelter cats I work with. Sometimes I have to work with them wearing latex gloves instead of bare-handed (ringworm being the most recent cause) and they're terrified of me when I do. Nothing else changes, just the gloves, but they think I'm a medicator/vet instead of me despite having every other signal, and as soon as they see my hands they all scatter and wedge themselves in whatever spot lets me not reach them the most. (Except Josh, who's chill about it. Thanks Josh.) I wish I could figure out how to help them without just scaring them further. I only get a couple hours a week on a good week to work with them which is the main limiting factor here.
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Jun 5, 2021 23:21
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Hyperlynx posted:Argh James got into my pantry and went right for my salami. Again. Because I didn't close the pantry and engage the child safety lock. That I installed to stop James getting into the pantry and eating my salami, so that I could start buying salami again. Forgot what thread/forum I was in for a bit. That was a wild ride.
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Jun 5, 2021 23:38
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SkyeAuroline posted:I feel bad for the shelter cats I work with. Sometimes I have to work with them wearing latex gloves instead of bare-handed (ringworm being the most recent cause) and they're terrified of me when I do. Nothing else changes, just the gloves, but they think I'm a medicator/vet instead of me despite having every other signal, and as soon as they see my hands they all scatter and wedge themselves in whatever spot lets me not reach them the most. (Except Josh, who's chill about it. Thanks Josh.)
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Jun 5, 2021 23:49
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kw0134 posted:I wonder, have you tried using different colored gloves, or something that's clear so that the cats don't associate as strongly? Adverse associations are pretty much impossible to shake with cats, at least not in any realistic time frame you have, and maybe there's some way to differentiate enough between what the vets use versus your own PPE could weaken the reaction? Like if the vets use standard latex tan, get some purple or black gloves? Or possibly the clear plastic gloves that food prep workers use? Though that last one may not be sufficient protection against pathogens. It's latex blue, but I'll see what I can find that's reasonable for the use case. Hopefully it's color and not just the mere existence of gloves. Face masks haven't really been helping things much either. One nice thing: Corky tucked himself into bed before I got there. Sour old man can be cute sometimes. 
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Jun 5, 2021 23:51
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So I had to take Bean to the vet today ($60 to be told she's got chafing) I came home and let her out on the bed to be with my other half and get pets. I sat the carrier on top of our hamper and didn't think a thing about it rear end in a top hat decided he needed in the carrier and I sadly don't have video but I have a picture of the aftermath  I moved the carrier and bent over to save him only for his walnut brain to panic and he flipped out assuming I was going to put him in the carrier. Claws and wailing and teeth God damned rear end in a top hat cat
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Jun 6, 2021 00:04
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kw0134 posted:I wonder, have you tried using different colored gloves, or something that's clear so that the cats don't associate as strongly? Adverse associations are pretty much impossible to shake with cats, at least not in any realistic time frame you have, and maybe there's some way to differentiate enough between what the vets use versus your own PPE could weaken the reaction? Like if the vets use standard latex tan, get some purple or black gloves? Or possibly the clear plastic gloves that food prep workers use? Though that last one may not be sufficient protection against pathogens. It could also be the smell. Latex has a scent we can smell from a short distance, I'm sure cats can smell it from across the room. Maybe plastic or nitrile would get a different reaction.
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Jun 6, 2021 00:15
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That was my thought too, it could be the smell of the gloves. Re Soft Paws: my last roommate and I used them on her cat for a bit but tbh we found trimming his nails just as effective, and you have to trim their nails to get the soft paws on anyway. He also had some issues with one claw not shedding properly, and it was much easier to tend to without the soft paws on that nail. My advice is make sure you get the right size; they do come in multiple sizes and if they’re too small it can make shedding the claws more difficult and uncomfortable for the cat. Admittedly the soft paw colors are fun and make it more visually obvious when your cats’ nails need trimming, but her cat was super chill about having his nails trimmed but was a HUGE baby about getting the soft paws glued on.
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Jun 6, 2021 00:30
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What's the advantage of soft paws over just trimming their claws? Do they last longer before needing to be replaced?Facebook Aunt posted:Forgot what thread/forum I was in for a bit. That was a wild ride. One of the fun perks of my cats having human names 
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Jun 6, 2021 02:36
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Hyperlynx posted:What's the advantage of soft paws over just trimming their claws? Do they last longer before needing to be replaced? A little bit longer and the entire time it prevents them from causing any damage, where a regular trim slowly becomes less and less effective. Also kitty pawdicure/nail polish 
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Jun 6, 2021 05:00
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Weird question, but is there any way to teach a cat how litter works? For context: we adopted a new cat (1yo male) a few months ago and he's lovable and rambunctious but he has trouble covering up his poop. He uses the litterboxes* just fine, but once he's done he'll just stand there plaintively scratching at the hard plastic sides. He eventually gives up and hops out, leaving his turds wafting in the breeze until either a passing human smells it and intervenes or our other cat uses the box and covers them up while she's there. He's pissed on the floor once or twice too, and each time he's tried to bury it by pawing at the laminate flooring. * we have 3: one top-entry modkat and two high-sided nature's miracles; they're all emptied daily and he has the same problem in all of them
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Jun 7, 2021 21:01
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The old thread title was poop on their poop to assert dominance so maybe give that a try? (I don't actually know the answer)
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Jun 7, 2021 21:11
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Left food out and articles of clothing with my scent on it, posted to the local lost and founds. No cat yet, no sign, no anything. I did catch 2 cats that weren't mine. I haven't found a body either. I live downtown in a small town. It's been 6 days so far. I haven't given up yet.
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Jun 7, 2021 21:37
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My cat is in rough shape. He’d been losing some weight so I brought him to the vet, they found he had an infection, pancreatitis and possible hyperthyroidism. Started him on antibiotics on Thursday, but starting Saturday night he stopped eating and became super lethargic, just hiding in a corner all day, not greeting me when I came home to harass me for food. Brought him back today, they gave him an appetite stimulant, hyperthyroid meds, injected some fluids and antibiotics, and gave me some “recovery” food that smells like poo poo. I barely managed to give him the appetite pill - turns out he’s got a lot of fight left in him for a 6 lb 13 year old cat who hasn’t eaten in days - and he ate a little bit of the food. 6 hours later he puked up the largest volume of vomit I’ve ever seen come out of a cat, seemingly all fluid and the food. I’m hoping it’s a side effect of something; he did seem to come back to life somewhat after, walked around and meowed at me and ate a little of his regular food & drank a ton of water, but he is still moving slow, hiding in corners and generally looking miserable. He’ll be going back on Wednesday if he doesn’t improve but in the meantime if anyone else has dealt with a similar situation I’d appreciate any tips or things to look out for.
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Jun 8, 2021 04:45
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I always sort of figured that cats have to teach other cats how to do that sort of thing, does that make sense? I think it does take a certain amount of time to maybe learn either by example or experience. It sounds at least like your cat is making some sort of effort to try to do something, which is better than him just abandoning it without trying. Maybe experiment with some different types of litter? We have 4 cats and 5 litter boxes in our house, one of which is actually in the closet of my bedroom, which is something I've been reconsidering. I put it in there initially because it was the same small travel-size litter-box that my cat Jackie had been using both in my car and in the motel rooms I'd been living in for the couple months prior to my moving here, and it seemed to make sense for continuity and because she barely left that room that first week and was the only one using it, initially. But at this point it's frankly getting a bit troublesome, given that there's a sort of... alternating dominance game of sorts when it comes to which cats use which litter boxes. This is not fun on the days when 3 of the 4 cats decide they all want to use the one in my room! Though frankly, it's only really an issue when the young 1.5 year old semi-feral cat (named Mini-Scratcher) decides to use it, because he's similarly not so fastidious when it comes to covering up after himself. I feel like he's bound to pick it up or get better at it, though, especially because Jackie tends to get actively angry at him for stuff like that sometimes. I'm not sure that works though, since she'll snap and growl at him for doing just about anything these days it seems Is there anything one can do to try and like, remedy that, incidentally? I was thinking about trying a Feliway plugin, maybe... But then things are quite peaceful on the whole around here already, especially given the potential for conflict when you've got 4 cats all living together in the same space. Things have actually been quite balanced ever since Jackie and I arrived, though... She actually stood up to the previous sole dominant cat of the house, and they've established a sort of co-equal dominance of the house - Jackie's domain is the basement where my bedroom is, while Murfy (the massive 20-pound Savannah Cat who legit fought a mountain lion last fall and lived) has the ground floor where his human's bedroom is. They will each venture into the others domains (and furtively use various litterboxes for instance) but not for very long.
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Jun 8, 2021 04:48
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Puppy Galaxy posted:My cat is in rough shape. He’d been losing some weight so I brought him to the vet, they found he had an infection, pancreatitis and possible hyperthyroidism. Started him on antibiotics on Thursday, but starting Saturday night he stopped eating and became super lethargic, just hiding in a corner all day, not greeting me when I came home to harass me for food. Brought him back today, they gave him an appetite stimulant, hyperthyroid meds, injected some fluids and antibiotics, and gave me some “recovery” food that smells like poo poo. I barely managed to give him the appetite pill - turns out he’s got a lot of fight left in him for a 6 lb 13 year old cat who hasn’t eaten in days - and he ate a little bit of the food. 6 hours later he puked up the largest volume of vomit I’ve ever seen come out of a cat, seemingly all fluid and the food. I’m hoping it’s a side effect of something; he did seem to come back to life somewhat after, walked around and meowed at me and ate a little of his regular food & drank a ton of water, but he is still moving slow, hiding in corners and generally looking miserable. He’ll be going back on Wednesday if he doesn’t improve but in the meantime if anyone else has dealt with a similar situation I’d appreciate any tips or things to look out for. That sounds super rough and I'm beaming healing rays in your direction even though I don't have any useful advice .Cat question from me: we're moving house soon, to my dad's for two weeks and then to a big weird house in the countryside. Our cat The Snippet has only ever known this one street in London so we're a little bit worried about him adapting, though he does seem to be ok so far with all the boxes and furniture moving, mostly curious. ANYWAY he likes to sleep on this one spot on the landing next to the nice warm wifi extender, so as I was tearing the carpet up anyway I saved him a square so he has a familiar spot in the new place(s). Just checking, is this super dumb of me and should we be trying to get him used to the new smells rather than letting him stay attached to the old ones?
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Jun 8, 2021 08:44
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A small patch of old smells is a great idea and will provide a nice transition. When we moved we had cat beds and such to provide that but a memory smell of a safe spot will be a nice bit of continuity  Also don't be surprised if they disappear in the new house and turn into a ghost cat for a bit. We thought Gus had somehow got out the door but he was just hiding in this new and scary place that didn't smell like him. Thankfully we had made sure to close off a bunch of the rooms and basement so we had a limited area to search. Once we found his hiding spot we put some food and water near it and just checked on him periodically.
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Jun 8, 2021 11:13
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I don’t think the cat ate much overnight, but this morning he was doing his usual morning routine (harassing me for food) at about 70% intensity which was much better than seeing him lying in a corner. Scarfed down the food from the vet (with his hyperthyroid pill) and settled on top of his cat tree, also good to see. Just keeping my fingers crossed that he keeps his food down.
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Jun 8, 2021 13:37
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Puppy Galaxy posted:I don’t think the cat ate much overnight, but this morning he was doing his usual morning routine (harassing me for food) at about 70% intensity which was much better than seeing him lying in a corner. Scarfed down the food from the vet (with his hyperthyroid pill) and settled on top of his cat tree, also good to see. Just keeping my fingers crossed that he keeps his food down. Depending on the antibiotic and the strength they gave him it may have made him feel like poo poo; ours felt awful and behaved similarly until it started working its way out of her system. I hope the everything clears up soon! Eating is a great sign.
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Jun 8, 2021 15:30
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DarkHorse posted:There's lots of love for the Litter Robot in here but I don't know if that's what you're asking. It's more for reducing the load of constant litter box cleaning and doesn't really work with most pellets. Most other litter box methods besides scoopin' poop haven't been worth the effort in my experience, it mostly just seemed like scooping with extra steps. I'm having a similar issue. One of my cats uses a litterbox as usual but the other one pees in the toilet but poops on the floor. I switched to the Litter Robot and like it but it didn't change the situation. I use Worlds Best unscented but I am noticing that in the enclosed space of the Litter Robot the litter scent gets pretty intense. I think I might try a different litter and re-introduce the uncovered normal litter box for a few days to get them acclimated. What was the best clumping litter for Litter Robot that people recommended? Also if anyone has any input on how to get a cat to start using the box (at least to poop) that would be swell. His poop spot is the basement entryway that leads into the laundry room with the box so I can't just block it off. I covered it in cardboard but he still poops on it.
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Jun 8, 2021 16:41
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We have a strange cat that would only use the crystal litter. Fortunately, the litter robot handles crystal litter pretty well. In fact, the cycling helps keep the crystal litter evenly distributed. The other cats don't mind so we're just using crystal litter now. It needs a manual emptying every couple weeks, but that's about it. It absorbs smells a lot better than standard litters, but I know lots of cats don't like crystal litter. edit: oops, I didn't see you only wanted clumping, well anyways, just letting ppl know that crystal litter works with the litter robot lol.
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Jun 8, 2021 17:24
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MeruFM posted:We have a strange cat that would only use the crystal litter. Fortunately, the litter robot handles crystal litter pretty well. In fact, the cycling helps keep the crystal litter evenly distributed. The other cats don't mind so we're just using crystal litter now. It needs a manual emptying every couple weeks, but that's about it. Aleta ate it. She picked out the dark blue crystals and ate them. I had to literally pull her away; she dug her claws into the litter mat and stretched out her neck like a loving giraffe. It was expensive as poo poo and I had to throw it away so my idiot baby wouldn't die from urinal cake poisoning or something.
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Jun 8, 2021 18:11
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Puppy Galaxy posted:I don’t think the cat ate much overnight, but this morning he was doing his usual morning routine (harassing me for food) at about 70% intensity which was much better than seeing him lying in a corner. Scarfed down the food from the vet (with his hyperthyroid pill) and settled on top of his cat tree, also good to see. Just keeping my fingers crossed that he keeps his food down. Spoke to soon, an hour later he was back to his hiding places, moving super slowly, and he just puked up another huge volume of liquid. It was almost the exact same amount of time between eating a puking as last night (about 6 hours). hopefully he is digesting some of it Just eating anything is an improvement but if he vomits again tonight he's going back to the vet tomorrow. poor guy has to be tortured with his carrier/car/vet procedures on top of everything else
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Jun 8, 2021 19:06
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Our first cat liked crystals until she didn't, then we used clumping fine-grit clay for years (I think the crystals were too harsh on her delicate princess paws) and we recently switched to world's best in an effort to be less environmentally destructive. It took a while but they're using it, however they're also eating it. Mostly when we put fresh litter in and I know it's not harmful in theory but ?? It also doesn't mask smells at all compared to the old litter, we keep enclosed litterboxes in the living room and the kitchen but when a fresh turd has been dropped you'll know. Since it's so light in color it also tracks like mad, at least visibly. Any other suggestions for when we finish this bag? Katya is pretty choosy about a fine grit, we can't really change the locations, and I would at least like to try something more environmentally friendly but we would also like to live, y'know, free of poo poo-smells.
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Jun 8, 2021 20:20
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Puppy Galaxy posted:Spoke to soon, an hour later he was back to his hiding places, moving super slowly, and he just puked up another huge volume of liquid. It was almost the exact same amount of time between eating a puking as last night (about 6 hours). hopefully he is digesting some of it My cat had, and still occasionally has, the same symptoms. Depo-medrol shots solve his symptoms. Current hypothesis is that it’s inflammatory bowl disease (basically Crohn’s disease) but true diagnosis requires a biopsy of some part of the digestive tract. Corticosteroid shots are much cheaper and safer. This was after vitamin b, various appetite helpers, antibiotics, anti-nausea medicine and probably other things.
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Jun 8, 2021 21:58
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Fleta Mcgurn posted:Aleta ate it. She picked out the dark blue crystals and ate them. I had to literally pull her away; she dug her claws into the litter mat and stretched out her neck like a loving giraffe. Just wanted to let you know I fuckin lold at this Cat working as intended
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Jun 8, 2021 22:45
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Fleta Mcgurn posted:Aleta ate it. She picked out the dark blue crystals and ate them. I had to literally pull her away; she dug her claws into the litter mat and stretched out her neck like a loving giraffe. My tiny dog did this with the ant poison I put around the foundation last month, including the hilarious (in retrospect) giraffe neck thing. Between that and his vocalizations so often sounding like honks we’ve taken to calling him Goose. I got two beautiful black cats from a rescue on Sunday. This morning I noticed that one had a weepy eye and wasn’t opening it all the way, so that’s fun. Not sure what the issue could be beyond the obvious “eye infection,” but allegedly he just got over a respiratory thing last week after a round of antibiotics.
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Jun 8, 2021 23:33
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Reality posted:My cat had, and still occasionally has, the same symptoms. Depo-medrol shots solve his symptoms. Current hypothesis is that it’s inflammatory bowl disease (basically Crohn’s disease) but true diagnosis requires a biopsy of some part of the digestive tract. Corticosteroid shots are much cheaper and safer. This was after vitamin b, various appetite helpers, antibiotics, anti-nausea medicine and probably other things. Thanks, I will keep this in mind.
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Jun 9, 2021 03:08
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Worried about our cat Timtam. Haven't seen him at all today since we let him outside in the morning. It's night now and it's not unusual for him to sometimes stay out until late, it's more unusual (but not unheard of) that he didn't come inside to eat during the day. What has me spooked is the cat he likes to play with from behind our house was hanging out in our yard this afternoon waiting and even came inside our house to search around for him earlier, which he's never done before. He's microchipped so we'd probably know by now if he'd been taken to a vet, but he's a very sneaky cat and would never come out of hiding while outside even if we call him or shake a treat bag. I've done a bit of a search around the yard and his usual places but no dice, it will be impossible to find him if he's not looking to be found. Freaking out because it's been nearly a year since our last cat was hit by a car. TT seemed to be a very lazy/settled down cat and doesn't seem to go very far from the house at all so I'm not sure how much trouble he could have gotten into.
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Jun 9, 2021 09:24
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I’m sure he will be back but you should probably stop letting your cats go outside maybe. Put something that smells like you outside near the door as well.
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Jun 9, 2021 09:43
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Blackhawk posted:Worried about our cat Timtam. Haven't seen him at all today since we let him outside in the morning. It's night now and it's not unusual for him to sometimes stay out until late, it's more unusual (but not unheard of) that he didn't come inside to eat during the day. What has me spooked is the cat he likes to play with from behind our house was hanging out in our yard this afternoon waiting and even came inside our house to search around for him earlier, which he's never done before. He's microchipped so we'd probably know by now if he'd been taken to a vet, but he's a very sneaky cat and would never come out of hiding while outside even if we call him or shake a treat bag. I've done a bit of a search around the yard and his usual places but no dice, it will be impossible to find him if he's not looking to be found. We've had cats get locked in neighbors' garages overnight numerous times. It's distressing, but they come bolting home as soon as the door opens in the morning. Let's hope it's something like that.
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Jun 9, 2021 15:15
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I'm considering giving my long haired cat a haircut (by professionals, of course). I'm not worried about him being hot in summer (I know cats regulate their heat well so it's unnecessary for that), it's because he keeps getting fleas, he keeps getting poop stuck in his fur, and he sheds like crazy. I know there's mixed opinions on haircuts for cats, so I wanted to check in here for advice before I go ahead with it. Good idea? Terrible idea?
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Jun 9, 2021 19:08
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Timtam came home when I shook his treat bag at the front door around 12:30am, so I guess he was just being unusually adventurous and not trapped somewhere.
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Jun 9, 2021 20:58
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Cat’s staying at the vet for 24-48 hours. Poor guy is the absolute lowest I’ve ever seen him. No reaction to being picked up, as soon as you put him down he slowly finds a wall to lean up against, head down. Just heartbreaking seeing how weak he is and how much pain he’s in. The good news is that it sounds like the most pressing stuff can be handled with an enema and some fluids. Wish they’d have caught this on Monday instead of sending me home with thyroid meds and appetite stimulants, but whatever, he will hopefully be ok.
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Jun 9, 2021 21:26
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Best of luck to you and your cat! That sounds awful to watch, I hope he makes a fast recovery and gets his strength back. At least the vet can keep eye on him for a bit and make sure he keeps his food down.
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Jun 9, 2021 22:43
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