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I was outside and heard meows in the distance and found a kitten by the creek. I was able to lure it close to me with some food, then just pick it up and carry it inside to the bathroom. What should I do with it? There were no other adult cats or kittens nearby. It's not hissing/aggressive, but it is meowing constantly. I put some water in a dish and put some paper towels down since I don't have cat litter. How old does it look like?
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Jun 10, 2021 07:03
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pairofdimes posted:I was outside and heard meows in the distance and found a kitten by the creek. I was able to lure it close to me with some food, then just pick it up and carry it inside to the bathroom. What should I do with it? There were no other adult cats or kittens nearby. It's not hissing/aggressive, but it is meowing constantly. I put some water in a dish and put some paper towels down since I don't have cat litter. How old does it look like? Maybe 6-8 weeks? Some people do give away kittens at that age, I don't think it is recommended these days. Possibly not fully weaned, but the teeth are in and he can survive on kitten food. If he had a home he shouldn't be outside at that age, certainly not alone. If he was feral he wouldn't have been so easily caught. It could be he was given to someone who didn't adequately kitten proof their home and he popped out a window looking for his family, then got lost. Or he might have been dumped, people do that sometimes. If you want to keep him you should take him to a vet to get scanned for a chip, and get his vaccinations and dewormer and whatnot. If you don't want to keep him call around to the local shelters, humane society, animal control, or whatever you have locally to see who can take him. Be aware that some of the nicer shelters require a drop off fee to pay for his care until he can be adopted. It should have no trouble getting adopted, cute kittens are flying off the shelves these days.
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Jun 10, 2021 07:19
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Regardless of what you want to do, maybe print up a couple dozen flyers with that picture on it and post them around the neighborhood with "hey found this kitten, if it's anybody's ring me" since it is very possible it escaped a home, since it doesn't sound feral. If you decide to give it to a shelter and then later get called by the owner, you can direct them to the shelter. If you want to keep it then definitely vet ASAP, you also want to buy some essentials like kitten food, litter box + litter, a bed, and some toys.
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Jun 10, 2021 07:45
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Thanks for the advice both of you. I'll ask around first to see if anyone lost a kitten, if not, I'll probably reach out to a cat rescue and see if they can take him in. I'm in the Bay Area so I'm sure there are some. In the meantime I'll get some food and litter so he's comfortable in his bathroom jail.
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Jun 10, 2021 07:58
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Loucks posted: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. On the same subject, how do I get my cats used to having their claws trimmed? I bought some Soft Paws awhile ago but I never put them on because the cats hate me trimming their nails. I think maybe they don’t like how it feels; sometimes they let me hold their paws and stroke them while they’re sitting with me, but whenever they see the trimming scissors they try to pull away and run.
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Jun 10, 2021 23:06
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I. M. Gei posted:On the same subject, how do I get my cats used to having their claws trimmed? You gotta ninja like 2 or 3 at a time.
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Jun 11, 2021 01:45
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I. M. Gei posted:On the same subject, how do I get my cats used to having their claws trimmed? You're going to have to build them up to it most likely. You're in a good starting point if they let you handle their paws. Pantomime clipping nails (extending claws, fiddling with the nails with your fingers, etc) and give them treats immediately afterwards. Keep escalating behavior until they're cool with that, then start bringing the clippers into view. If they start to flee back off and try to keep them in place, then treat. The threshold for getting treat rewards will escalate from:
This will obviously take forever but it's the most reliable and robust way to do it. There will be a temptation to keep pushing but resist it, because if they get freaked by a step you will probably have to go at least two steps back and build up trust again. The key is how well you can read your cat and how treat-motivated they are. I've trained one cat to do tricks because he's super food motivated, but he's also a spaz that freaks out if he's on a lap and you move at all or breathe wrong. There's no training that instinct away but thankfully he also doesn't destroy much so we just let him do his thing. Our other cats are variably tolerant to happy to get their nails trimmed
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Jun 11, 2021 03:51
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I. M. Gei posted:On the same subject, how do I get my cats used to having their claws trimmed? i do it while they’re sleeping. i can get 3-8 nails trimmed before they let me politely know that i need to go away
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Jun 11, 2021 06:06
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My 10 week old kitten has started to make a horrible teeth grinding noise when he eats wet food. Is this a typical thing kittens do with their baby teeth?
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Jun 11, 2021 06:24
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DEEP STATE PLOT posted:last year we found a cat and a litter of kitten, the mom likely being an abused drop-off given her temperament. my mom kept the momma cat and two of the kittens while i kept one kitten, and they are all doing great. update: we jut dropped momma off to get spayed. we're re-releasing her out in the yard near the shed, she seemed to be doing well enough in the wild and she can get easy rat meals over there. she is definitely not available to be tamed, or if she is it'd take _years_. tnr is a better option for her. kittens:  the white one is a male, he's both more defensive (hisses a lot when you approach) but also more curious and climbs all over me once i've been in there a while. the tortie is a lot more skittish, really she is a lot like my tortie from the litter we found last year was before she became the most affectionate cat ever. we're gonna make sure they get adopted out as a pair. DEEP STATE PLOT fucked around with this message at 22:44 on Jun 11, 2021 |
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Jun 11, 2021 22:41
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Stuck actually working from home today, posting for tort supremacy and / or being bullied by tortitude    
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Jun 11, 2021 23:54
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Goddamnit. I adopted two cats, and the one whose respiratory infection was allegedly all cleared up developed a weepy, inflamed, light-sensitive eye the day after I got him. I have a vet appointment for him this coming week, but it’s still annoying. Still, they’re extremely affectionate and it’s nice to fall asleep with a couple of purring space heaters curled up on me. 
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Jun 12, 2021 00:03
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My cat "hey wake up the sun's up" *claws to face* Also my cat "cool you're awake now imma wander off" *leaves immediately*
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Jun 12, 2021 12:35
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This is such a stupid question, but I got into a small argument with a relative. Is it harmful to indoors cats if you don’t allow them to sleep in the same room as you? I shut my two cats out of the bedroom at night because I’m a light sleeper and they wake me up if they move around on the bed. In the morning when I open the bedroom door they’re usually sleeping in the living room or waiting to greet me if they’ve heard me getting up. I’m 99% sure that what I’m doing is okay for my cats, but my relative said that indoor cats can become anxious and unhealthy if they aren’t allowed to be close while they’re sleeping/vulnerable. She’s had a lot of cats, and I’ve only had these two so I don’t have as much experience.
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Jun 12, 2021 19:03
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It’s fine. Cats adapt. It’s definitely not harmful.
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Jun 12, 2021 19:30
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Yeah your relative is dumb. Maybe they had a particularly anxious cat with separation anxiety? Most will get used to it immediately.
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Jun 12, 2021 20:21
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Yeah, Sweetheart often doesn't want to come in our bedroom, open door or not. Unless it's storming, then she'll absolutely huddle between me and my partner for comfort.
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Jun 12, 2021 20:28
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Harold cries for me if I go downstairs but once he realizes I’m actually out of the house for errands or whatever and not just ignoring him he goes and lays down somewhere to nap, according to my mom, so 
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Jun 12, 2021 20:32
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Rotten Red Rod posted: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? My floofer Betty gets a haircut every May. It's the best thing ever and keeps me sane. She hates being brushed and has such long sheddy hair that she starts matting up in April. Plus, slightly less vacuuming for awhile! Bonus. (Downside is Betty turns into the Incredible Hulk at the vet, so she has to be sedated for this to happen.) Oh AND the first layer of hair that grows back first is the softest poo poo ever! Before:  After:  hehe
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Jun 12, 2021 20:58
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Yeah, we get Sweetheart a haircut twice a year for that same reason. She gets aggressively bitey when you try to brush her, so it's a necessity to keep her from getting matted. Strangely, her groomer says she's the best behaved cat they work on, so... 
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Jun 12, 2021 21:00
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If rear end in a top hat gets locked out of the room or left alone too long he gets destructive I love the little poo poo but he needs to actually be the strong independent cat he fronts as
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Jun 12, 2021 21:04
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When my two were kittens we shut them downstairs at night because otherwise we'd never get any sleep. They didn't cry at the door or anything, they didn't seem to give a poo poo. Now that they're bigger and slightly more chill they can come and go as they please. Loki likes to come in when we're going to bed, get some fuss and attention, and then disappears off into the rest of the flat for the night. Cinnamon also comes for fuss and pats when we're settling down, then usually sleeps on the rug next to my side of the bed all night  Sometimes she'll go do a midnight hunt and leave a mousey toy next to me, which is the cutest poo poo ever and I don't even mind that she wakes me up in the middle of the night yelling about being such a great hunter.When my husband is away, the cats sleep on the bed next to me which is extremely good.
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Jun 12, 2021 21:14
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Katya will just go to bed at our regular weekday bedtime, whether we're ready to go or not. She usually sleeps at my feet so if I go to bed late I'm always negotiating for leg-room, but idc, it's cosy. Kimchi will often come and go during the night but once we're awake she loves to snuggle up to us, she goes full face-hugger too. I remember my partner agreeing to the first cat with a "fine, but the bedroom is off-limits!" but it took about two days before he buckled so he could cuddle with her in bed. I've definitely cat-sat for annoyingly active and downright disrespectful cats overnight once so I get it doesn't work for everyone,
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Jun 12, 2021 21:46
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My cats are typically welcome in bed if I were napping during the day, but at night if they become shitheads they get tossed out. They will sulk a bit but they've learned to deal with it. Bonus: their shithead level is taken down a notch since they've finally learned that they lose the ability to snuggle with me if they are shitheads.
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Jun 12, 2021 21:54
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our dumbasses can't both share the bed if me and my partner are in it they will only coexist if it's just one of us in the bed so at bedtime we get bean on her side and rear end in a top hat in his underbed catbed
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Jun 12, 2021 22:25
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I put a cat flap on my bedroom door so my cat just goes back and forth as she pleases.
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Jun 12, 2021 23:46
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Khizan posted:I put a cat flap on my bedroom door so my cat just goes back and forth as she pleases. That's a future goal when we own a place
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Jun 13, 2021 00:30
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Khizan posted:I put a cat flap on my bedroom door so my cat just goes back and forth as she pleases. We did the same in our kid’s room and the door to the basement so our fatty catty can go in and out when he wants but the dog can’t get to delicious cat poop snacks. Our flaps lock, so if kid needs to go back to sleep after cat wakes up, or do online school without a huge cat jumping on them, its easy. If we ever sell this place we probably will need to install new doors, but having inside cat flaps has been great for us.
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Jun 13, 2021 00:35
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Len posted:That's a future goal when we own a place You can do it in a rental by getting your own door to cut and take it with you when you leave
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Jun 13, 2021 01:21
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MIDWIFE CRISIS posted:This is such a stupid question, but I got into a small argument with a relative. Some people work outside the home and the cat sleeps all day with no humans in the house at all.  Most cats do not require a nearby human to sleep. It is certainly possible that there are cats who get separation anxiety when locked out of a room, but it isn't every cat. Heck, the normal and recommended way to acclimatize new adult cats can involve keeping them separate for weeks, which means at least one of those cats doesn't have access to the bedroom. The cats at the shelter don't even have a bedroom to be locked out of.If your cats are sleeping on the couch they are fine. If they were anxious they would sleep in a hidey hole instead.
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Jun 13, 2021 01:51
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So, I recently adopted a couple of cats:  Meet Toffee (orange, "Dippin" from the shelter) and Oreo (grey, "Tony/Catsby" from the shelter). I admit that I completely hosed up the introduction (all the sites that talked about "introducing" cats were about introducing a new one to one already in the home, and I adopted both of these on the same day, so they saw each other in the first five minutes), but as you can see from the pictures, they're at least capable of detente. I have...honestly been ridiculously anxious since I adopted them on May 30th, and I was hoping the thread could settle at least a few of my issues. 1) They can largely live with each other--they can sleep overnight in the same room, they can both be close to me (although one in lap and one near feet only), and can even eat in the same area. It's what happens after eating that is the most concerning--after Oreo eats, he goes to the litter box, and Toffee will immediately go hunt him down and smack at him, even getting tufts of Oreo's fur under his paw. Oreo takes it in stride and goes back to catloafing, but it's obviously not supposed to happen. Separating them for feeding helps a little, but Oreo also needs to use the litter box at other times and Toffee will get extremely territorial about that. I have three litter boxes (two separated in their sleep area, one outside in the main room) and Toffee goes for him at every one. Do I need to add even more litter boxes to reduce this territoriality? 2) Oreo is pretty laid back in general. Toffee, however, is kind of concerning to me. Like I said, he harasses Oreo sometimes, mostly over the litter boxes, and sometimes out of nowhere, including chasing Oreo onto the kitchen counter. The point of having two cats is that they calm each other down, but that doesn't seem to be happening here. Oreo seems more tired, withdrawn and "hidey" unless Toffee is in their sleeping room and Oreo is not, in which case he seems more interested in using the scratching post and generally playing. Toffee, meanwhile, seems fully capable of relaxing on the tower in the sleeping room when he's alone, but he seems to be on constant patrol, needing to defend his "territory" when with Oreo. It's pretty much always Toffee initiating the fights--cornering Oreo in the bathroom (when I had a litter box there), biting Oreo's tail when Oreo was on my lap, swatting at him when he was on my lap and Oreo tried to jump up.... He's also a lot more high-energy than Oreo, and I'm...not. (My parents had dogs, and they and my brother loved them and were super affectionate with them--I never was). I've deployed one of those Feliway multi-cat plug ins in their sleeping room, but assuming the traditional "separated introduction" is off the table due to lack of manpower (I put them in separate rooms, go to feed/clean the litter boxes in one, he follows me out and sees the other...), how long should it expected to take for Toffee to calm down? Is there a point at which, if he doesn't calm down and continues to harass Oreo, I should consider rehoming him to a family that will not set off his territoriality needs and can keep up with his energy demands? 2a) How much do cats key off their owner's emotions? Since I'm new to this, I'm obviously super worried about...basically everything. Are Toffee and Oreo acting the way they are because I'm giving off a ton of nervous energy? For example, is the reason Toffee attacks Oreo at the litter box because he "senses" my nerves and thinks Oreo is the cause? If I left the house and an experienced cat-sitter came in for a week, would these problems, if not disappear, at least be mitigated? EDIT: I had a chance to meet both of them in the shelter before I adopted them. While in the shelter, both Toffee and Oreo appeared to be roughly the same in terms of energy and interest in me, although I admit that they would not allow me to visit them both at once, and they were under different conditions (Toffee had a "sunroom" that I entered, Oreo came out of a kennel and was given to me in a more controlled setting). Davin Valkri fucked around with this message at 03:38 on Jun 13, 2021 |
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Jun 13, 2021 03:31
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Davin Valkri posted:So, I recently adopted a couple of cats: Sounds like your cats are behaving like completely normal cats. Oreo is not harassing Toffee, he's playing with him, or at least inviting him to play. Toffee doesn't want to, so he doesn't respond in kind. They'll figure each other out in due time. Stop fretting and enjoy your cats.
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Jun 13, 2021 03:43
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Milly loses her tiny little mind if my bedroom door is closed. Fortunately she only wants 5 minutes or so of cuddles when I got to bed and afterwards curls up aht the foot to sleep. They even both know not to bother me until the alarm has gone off but after that it's game-on. Deteriorata posted:Sounds like your cats are behaving like completely normal cats. I agree, this sounds downright peaceful. As long as they're not brawling its fine. Boogalo fucked around with this message at 04:01 on Jun 13, 2021 |
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Jun 13, 2021 03:56
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Boogalo posted:You can do it in a rental by getting your own door to cut and take it with you when you leave Yeah but then I would have had to store a spare door somewhere
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Jun 13, 2021 04:22
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I want to add that as long as there aren't a lot of agonistic noises (hissing, growls, yowling) then it's all fine. If there's a lot of hissing going on, then they might need some separation time, but that doesn't sound like it. Honestly my bigger concern may be that if Oreo isn't playing with Toffee, then Toffee might decide that he needs to entertain himself in ways you may not appreciate; knocking stuff over, clawing things, demanding attention from you all the time. Make sure there's plenty of stuff for a cat with a ton of energy to engage in. He may just be bored!
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Jun 13, 2021 04:25
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Had to put my cat Bear down today. It wasn’t completely out of nowhere - he had been losing weight, sometimes had a day or two of not eating and hiding - but it was a very steep decline over the course of a week culminating in hospitalization for 3 days. The vet thinks it was pancreatic cancer. He was 13 and I really thought he had a good few years left. Really gonna miss him. 
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Jun 13, 2021 05:08
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kw0134 posted:I want to add that as long as there aren't a lot of agonistic noises (hissing, growls, yowling) then it's all fine. If there's a lot of hissing going on, then they might need some separation time, but that doesn't sound like it. Honestly my bigger concern may be that if Oreo isn't playing with Toffee, then Toffee might decide that he needs to entertain himself in ways you may not appreciate; knocking stuff over, clawing things, demanding attention from you all the time. Make sure there's plenty of stuff for a cat with a ton of energy to engage in. He may just be bored! What sort of toys would you recommend? Toffee definitely seems to want my attention a lot, but the only toys he reliably plays with are a couple of fur-covered mice, one electric and one just a ball of fluff, and occasionally a dangling piece of paracord. I can barely get him to play with wand toys!
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Jun 13, 2021 05:08
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It's also only been two weeks! Give them some time to settle.
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Jun 13, 2021 05:13
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Len posted:Yeah but then I would have had to store a spare door somewhere Through craigslist or your local paper you can probably find a cheaper room to rent, even more so if it doesn't come with a door of its own. It would be easy to hang your original door there for the duration of your lease and simply move it back on your way out.  Boogalo posted:I agree, this sounds downright peaceful. As long as they're not brawling its fine. Yuup, my 2 will mostly ignore each other, until the fatty tuxedo decides the torty has offended her in some way and will start swinging at her and chasing her around the apartment. The torty, being a torty, will scream bloody murder at all of this and tearass all over the place being chased by the tux, for about 10 seconds at which point they'll go back to ignoring each other again
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Jun 13, 2021 05:16
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Puppy Galaxy posted:Had to put my cat Bear down today. It wasn’t completely out of nowhere - he had been losing weight, sometimes had a day or two of not eating and hiding - but it was a very steep decline over the course of a week culminating in hospitalization for 3 days. The vet thinks it was pancreatic cancer. He was 13 and I really thought he had a good few years left. Really gonna miss him. I'm sorry. He looks like he was a very good cat.
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Jun 13, 2021 05:19
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