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Sydin posted:I have to wait until Mel is sleeping and then quickly scoop her up - usually swaddled in her blanket so she can't jump out - bring her into the shower and close the door, and then have my roommate follow behind me and throw the carrier over the shower door in. Then it's a five to ten minute fight to force her into the carrier, because she will constantly hook her claws into the edges and try to force her way back out. Multiple scratches every time. I have tried everything over the years to make this situation better: different carriers, treats in the carrier every day for her to find, eating in the carrier, toys in the carrier, nothing works. She has a sixth sense for when I actually plan to close her up in there and she fights me to the bitter end over it. Shove the whole blanket bundle into the carrier while she's still swaddled and let her work herself out. She'll manage it.
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Jul 21, 2021 21:50
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Hi, everyone. I have a cat that I love to pieces but who will occasionally get extremely constipated, to the point where he requires vet intervention. Thankfully we’ve so far avoided surgery but it’s been close. We’ve found that feeding him exclusively [url= https://www.royalcanin.com/us/cats/products/vet-products/feline-gastrointestinal-fiber-response-dry-cat-food]Royal Canin Gastrointestinal Fiber Response[/url] pretty much solves the issue. If he only eats that, he’s gone years without issues, and only relapses when occasionally we gently caress up and we buy him the wrong food. Thing is, this food is drat expensive, so I was hoping people could offer some cheaper suggestions on how to keep the cat on a fibre rich diet that we might try. The idea is of course to transition him gradually to anything new and monitor his poop along the way to make sure everything is ok. Cat is 6 years old rescue, otherwise no health problems others a bum leg from what we assume is an old injury. He had labs done recently since he’s a blood donor and everything came back fine. Thanks for any suggestions!
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Jul 22, 2021 03:20
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Ur Getting Fatter posted:Hi, everyone. Bean gets constipation issues although not that bad. Theyve gotten better since getting a fountain, we have the Catit Flower Fountain. We can't have one with a reservoir that can be accessed because the poo poo gremlin drowns toys and washes his paws in it making the water real gross. Our vet told us to give her mineral oil when she gets backed up and starts horking on the carpet and she hates it but it usually gets things moving again pretty quick
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Jul 22, 2021 03:28
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Len posted:Bean gets constipation issues although not that bad. Theyve gotten better since getting a fountain, we have the Catit Flower Fountain. We can't have one with a reservoir that can be accessed because the poo poo gremlin drowns toys and washes his paws in it making the water real gross. With a longhaired cat prone to hairballs I've used soft chews that also contain mineral oil as the active ingredient. This brand currently, but there are many similar ones: https://www.petsmart.ca/cat/dental-care-and-wellness/hairball-remedy/nutri-vet-hairball-soft-chews-for-cats-5303570.html It contains stink to make them more palatable to fussy cats than just oil. With one a day it is only 90mg of mineral oil, which wasn't enough to mess up her poops but if she accidently got 2 in a day it would make them soft. I haven't tried it, but since mineral oil is a laxative I imagine it would also help keep things moving for mildly constipated cats. A little more expensive than pure mineral oil, but much easier to dose. It's not her favorite brand of treat, but she'll eat it reliably.
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Jul 22, 2021 03:39
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Friend just got a cat, I thought this was funny:
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Jul 22, 2021 03:41
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So I got the Litter Robot as recommended but it's been a disaster. It works fine but my cats refuse to use it. I can sometimes gently coax them to by running my hand through the litter inside but it never takes. If there is any other litter box option they will use it 10 out of 10 times. Tonight was the last straw. My lady cat hopped up on my desk chair, twitched tail for 15 seconds, then pissed all over it. I think I need to take the L and see if I can find someone local who wants it at half price or something.  Sweetest girl in the world but set in her ways I guess.
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Jul 22, 2021 06:04
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Ur Getting Fatter posted:Hi, everyone. Where are you getting it from now? Chewy has it for $55 for 9lb which aint too bad for a prescription diet. If he's doing well on that food I'd strongly suggest trying to stick with it since finding food fuzzy or special needs cats do well on can be a huge crapshoot. Yeah its more expensive than the $20 for 10lbs supermarket stuff but that's just kinda what we sign up for with these fuzzballs sometimes. Milly is on selective protein royal canin and that stuff's 70 per bag (vet charged 90) (the wet version is unspeakably expensive so I give her 1/4 can a day as a treat). She's only 9lbs and Butters is 6, they both eat it and a bag lasts me 6-7 weeks so its not a horrible value when you figure how long the bag lasts. Setup auto ship with chewy and you can save a little more too. It's expensive, but I wouldn't dare switch unless I absolutely had to since it was a year of death farts, runny poops, and missed litterbox accidents before we figured her out.
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Jul 22, 2021 07:32
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Salvor_Hardin posted:So I got the Litter Robot as recommended but it's been a disaster. It works fine but my cats refuse to use it. I can sometimes gently coax them to by running my hand through the litter inside but it never takes. If there is any other litter box option they will use it 10 out of 10 times. They have a 90 day return policy so try that first
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Jul 22, 2021 10:31
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So, my delightful cats have been discovered by the neighborhood kids and some of them are VERY ENTHUSIASTIC to befriend the cats. As my catio is now basically an amateur zoo for kids passing by, and my cats the attractive nuisances, I’m a bit concerned about safety. Most of the kids over five will behave and take it easy, understanding that the cats are shy with new people and pretty much do their own thing. We have cat grass by the netting some will munch on (or in Pikachu’s case, gorge), and I’m growing some catnip shortly. However a wee kiddo of maybe four at the oldest wanted to desperately feed them a flower which I explained, no, cats don’t like the taste and it can make them sick. Her dad was kiiiiind of watching at a distance but man barely got up to see what his four year old was doing (which is a whole other thing but w/e). The kiddo, let’s call her…Elmyra, was having a hard time understanding that cats don’t like to be screamed at, even if it’s because she’s excited to see the cats, and that climbing the fence is SUPER DANGEROUS WHERE IS THE DAD OMG. Again, most of the older kids will behave and speak in lower tones and the cats are fine, even curious about these mini humans. But I’m still worried about any safety issues, whether kid or cat related, so if anyone has any ideas for things I’m clearly missing or overlooking please let me know. - The two catios we have are both enclosed entirely with netting, and the larger of the two has a door and latch that the cats cannot manage to use. - we don’t allow anyone, cat or human, to climb the netting though honestly it’s just one idiot cat that wants to introduce himself to the neighbors. - the cats are out if one of us is out, never to be left alone unless if I’m within eyeshot (like emptying the dishwasher, I have full view of the larger catio). The cats go in when we go in. - the doors leading from the apartment out to the catios are never to be closed so the cats can go in and out as they please - the cats DO NOT ever go beyond the catio. I don’t mind pets through the netting, but none of my cats are leash trained or tolerant. - I also don’t feel comfortable allowing kids access onto the deck unless they’re like kids of our friends, as that’s an entirely different story. - the cats don’t come out on command or demand, they do as they please (unless if it’s climbing or eating the net FFS DUDE) - Not that it won’t happen, but I don’t feel safe the kids giving cats treats unless if it’s something I’m providing, and even then I give treats inside. Again, is there anything I’m overlooking? I’m worried about some kid beefing it on the porch railing because they climbed it and some inattentive parent blaming us. These cats love the big outdoor spaces we have for them, and I do like the cats being exposed to kids in a safer environment. I can share some pics as well (I’m also kinda real drat proud of my partner for building it entirely himself)
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Jul 22, 2021 11:10
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teen witch posted:So, my delightful cats have been discovered by the neighborhood kids and some of them are VERY ENTHUSIASTIC to befriend the cats. 1. PLEASE SHARE PICS 2. Can you put picture signs up? Like a picture of a kid yelling at a scared cat or a picture of a kid climbing with a red X superimposed over it? You can buy clear file folders/sleeves and tape them shut to waterproof them.
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Jul 22, 2021 11:28
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Some of this is gonna require speaking with your neighbors to help lay ground rules. Kids are kids, they need supervision for a reason and if it's their behavior that you're most concerned about you need to talk to the parents.
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Jul 22, 2021 13:58
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Salvor_Hardin posted:So I got the Litter Robot as recommended but it's been a disaster. It works fine but my cats refuse to use it. I can sometimes gently coax them to by running my hand through the litter inside but it never takes. If there is any other litter box option they will use it 10 out of 10 times. In addition to the return policy, what worked for us was letting the old litter boxes get kind of gross so the litter robot was the more attractive option. We also did stuff like feed them near it while it ran to help acclimatize them to it
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Jul 22, 2021 15:10
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I was lucky and my two kittens took to the LR immediately. The third cat I got as an adult took a LOT of coaxing, and it required me to move the LR to a position he was happy with, and leaving his usual litterbox next to it. And yeah, making it as grody as possible without making the home unlivable was key. But if she's peeing on your desk then it's time to make use of the return policy.
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Jul 22, 2021 15:16
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DarkHorse posted:In addition to the return policy, what worked for us was letting the old litter boxes get kind of gross so the litter robot was the more attractive option. We also did stuff like feed them near it while it ran to help acclimatize them to it I had to remove the old boxes entirely before bean would use the robot
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Jul 22, 2021 15:16
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In conclusion cats are a land of contrasts
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Jul 22, 2021 15:18
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The poo poo gremlin was standing on the litter robot the other day. I just look over and there was a cat where cats don't go
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Jul 22, 2021 15:20
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If it seems like it's the shape of the litter robot that's an issue or maybe they don't like pooping in a cave, there's other manufacturers to choose from. The oldest designs are basically traditional litter boxes with a motorized comb that would sift the poo and piss bricks into a little bin. Maybe skittish kitties would have an easier time with that.
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Jul 22, 2021 15:22
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Len posted:The poo poo gremlin was standing on the litter robot the other day. I just look over and there was a cat where cats don't go That's your mistake captain, there is no place cats won't go Just so they can say "gently caress you" Edit: moving to new post DarkHorse fucked around with this message at 15:38 on Jul 22, 2021 |
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Jul 22, 2021 15:23
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DarkHorse posted:That's your mistake captain, there is no place cats won't go I have an album on my phone called Cats Don't Go There and it's just him sitting places he shouldn't. In the dryer is my favorite
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Jul 22, 2021 15:30
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Len posted:I have an album on my phone called Cats Don't Go There and it's just him sitting places he shouldn't. In the dryer is my favorite  what the gently caress, cat.
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Jul 22, 2021 15:32
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xzzy posted:If it seems like it's the shape of the litter robot that's an issue or maybe they don't like pooping in a cave, there's other manufacturers to choose from. The oldest designs are basically traditional litter boxes with a motorized comb that would sift the poo and piss bricks into a little bin. Maybe skittish kitties would have an easier time with that. I had the Pet Safe Scoop Free Ultra and don't recommend it. The one I had used crystals so the piss just kinda soaked in and you would still have to replace all the litter every 2 weeks or so, which was a messy pain in the rear end process. You take the top out of the base, there's inevitably some stuff stuck to the comb mechanism which gets on the floor, etc - and meant that while there was no poop odor there was still pee odor. I ended up switching back to a manual litter box as it was less work. There may be better ones out there that use the same basic mechanism, though.
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Jul 22, 2021 15:37
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So a funny thing happened over the weekend, we had a family reunion out of town and my parents accidentally picked up a hitchhiker somewhere     Their best guesses is that either the mother was moving her kittens around and picked the truck and this one was the first, or that someone who had kittens tossed them into the truck because it seems way too small to have done it by itself. Shelter estimated the kitten was about five weeks and gave them stuff to make mushy food since he's not even fully weaning age. My dad is letting it sleep on him overnight because "it's scared of the dark" and it follows my mom around when it's not being held.  They are not cat people and made me keep the stray kittens we adopted as children in a separate building, so this is extremely cute from them. My sister will probably be taking it long-term. She is also not a cat person (more specifically her husband is allergic) but her boys adopted a stray they named KitKat that sadly died from health problems while being spayed, and they've already named it Chevy (the truck it was in, and it's the same color)
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Jul 22, 2021 15:39
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teen witch posted:children I can only speak from my own experience which thankfully involves active parents that we know but yeah, young kids can be hard to get through to when it comes down to Rules. My partner's niece is very hyper and very excited about our cats and we do need to repeat the rules (mostly about how screaming and chasing the cats will not make them want to play with you and it's mean) several times during each visit, but luckily her dad always comes with and he has no qualms about telling her that it'll be time to leave the next time she bothers a cat that doesn't want to be bothered. I try to explain why calmly and friendly but get firm with her when she inevitably gets so excited she forgets, but I'm an adult in her family so ymmv. I do let both her and her brother give them treats with careful instructions so they can get used to each other, but it's understandable if you don't want to bother introducing random neighbourhood kids. Definitely speak to the parents if they're there, they're ultimately responsible for their kid not acting like a dick. Passers-by do often admire the cats when they're in the street-level windowsill but the only time we had to intervene was when this kid started tapping on the window with like, a pebble or something? My partner got up to gesture "wtf" to the mother and she was just like "oh come along, 'name', that man is going to get angry", absolutely baffled me. How the gently caress are you gonna let your kid molest a window with a cat behind it until the person actually living there gets in your face about it and then blame them?
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Jul 22, 2021 18:14
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Ugh, I’m in the process of banning someone from my house for terrorizing my cat (trying to recover my spare key atm, gently caress). He’s still got a lot of kitten energy and I tried to lay out that he can be overly vocal and bitey (he’ll nip my legs sometimes when begging to play), here are some preventative measures and here are ways to let out his energy. Guest rolled her eyes, dismissed and ignored me and when I came home from work he was cowering from her as she bragged about how “yelling at him was way more effective” and that she’d, “had to give him a stern talking to.” Wtf? Crocobile fucked around with this message at 19:54 on Jul 22, 2021 |
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Jul 22, 2021 19:48
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Crocobile posted:Ugh, I’m in the process of banning someone from my house for terrorizing my cat (have to recover my spare key…). He’s still got a lot of kitten energy and I tried to lay out that he can be overly vocal and bitey (he’ll nip my legs sometimes when begging to play), here are some preventative measures and here are ways to let out his energy. Why are you banning them? Why aren’t you rocketing them to the surface of the sun?
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Jul 22, 2021 19:53
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xzzy posted:
Pretty much every one of my fosters does this.
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Jul 22, 2021 22:24
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i couldn't find a good birthday card for my other half but i found one to mom and it was covered in cats and was a little story about cats one took signing the card better than the other edit: fedex just dropped off the replacement surefeed, pretty solid customer service Len fucked around with this message at 23:38 on Jul 22, 2021 |
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Jul 22, 2021 22:44
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Conflict came to a bit of a head today at The Cat Ranch, which I guess is bound to happen when you've got 4 full-grown cats living under one roof, I suppose. The fight was between the two dominant personalities amongst the cats, of course - my own cat (13-year-old female) Jackie, and my roommate's 7-year-old male Murfy, who is half Savannah Cat and extremely fearsome when he wants to be, as well as a bit of an rear end in a top hat at times. Jackie's the only one who stands up to him, which has actually brought balance and a comparative level of peace to the house - mostly. But sometimes, conflict just happens between cats and there's nothing you can do. I didn't see this particular incident (though I heard it) and Jackie's been glued to my side in my room since it happened. I initially thought no real damage was done and couldn't find any punctures or blood, just some loose fur. But I was petting her just now on the couch for a while, and did notice some spots where some dried blood had scabbed over. She didn't seem bothered or in pain at all when I was investigating it and touching it - didn't stop purring or get up, she barely noticed. So I don't think it's especially deep or causing her much pain, hopefully just light scratches - rather than deep punctures. Even so, is this something I should take her in for? I certainly don't want anything to get infected.
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Jul 22, 2021 23:56
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Any way to get a cat to swallow a pill without him hating me?  Or I guess do I have to learn to do it as fast and as cleanly as I can.
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Jul 23, 2021 04:06
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Only way I know is to become a veterinarian because they make it look so loving easy. For us it's a two person job. Wrap the cat in a blanket, load the pill into the popper, carefully poke it into the side of her mouth until she opens, then plunge the pill in. Then hold her mouth shut until we feel a swallow. Cat hates it, we hate it, it's a miserable part of cat ownership.
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Jul 23, 2021 04:33
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SoggyBobcat posted:Any way to get a cat to swallow a pill without him hating me? It depends on the cat, but I've never had much trouble. I put the cat in sort of a football hold, so my arm is pinning kitty to the side of my body with my hand near the head. The hand on that arm holds the jaw open. Then quick as you can toss the pill in the mouth aiming for the back of the throat. If you hit it just right the cat will reflexively swallow the pill without ever tasting it or knowing what it was. Then fast like lightning you get out their favorite treat, let them sniff it, and put them down and give them the treat. Obviously you had the pill and treat prepared before you grabbed the cat to make everything go as fast as possible. In my (limited) experience cats quickly become resigned to the weird football hug that is always followed by treats. You need to do this in on a clean smooth surface (not a shag rug) because some cats are loving Houdini when it comes to pocketing a pill in their cheek and then spitting it out. I once had a cat casually spit out the pill FOUR MINUTES after I thought he'd swallowed it. Variation: If you have a reliable person that can hold the cat immobile for you letting you fully use both hands that's helpful. Mostly I've found a second person just slows things down and freaks out the cat more though. Variation 2: I once had to give pills to a friends cat while they were out of town for the weekend. The cat didn't know me and wasn't keen on getting a hug/restraint from a stranger. I figured out that if I put the cat down the sleeve of my jacket his head would pop out the cuff and then I could fold over the butt end of the sleeve as a kitty straightjacket. That made it easier to restrain a cat that didn't already trust me. Then as quick as possible pill, release, treat. He didn't start avoiding me in the 3 or 4 days I was feeding and medicating him, so Op success. Pill pockets have been useless with cats for me. They either ignore the whole thing or carefully extract the pill and eat the pocket. Crushing the pill and mixing it with food just led to them avoiding food. Crushing the pill and mixing it in a little tuna juice got all the juice consumed, but crumbs of pill left behind. Putting the pill in their mouth and then rubbing the throat and holding the mouth closed until the swallow led to a lot of drool, a very angry cat, and often a damp half-dissolved pill spit on the carpet.
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Jul 23, 2021 04:34
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SoggyBobcat posted:Any way to get a cat to swallow a pill without him hating me? A piller slathered in that gogurt for cats works really well for me. Piller Cat gogurt (this is the brand that I use but any brand is probably cat crack) While the cat is licking the treat off the piller, i quickly shove the piller to the back of the cat's throat and dispense the pill. the cat thinks it's eating the treat still so it's only briefly weird for the cat and it swallows the pill. then i let the very good kitty lick the piller clean. No restraining involved.
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Jul 23, 2021 05:08
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SoggyBobcat posted:Any way to get a cat to swallow a pill without him hating me? Crush it up and dissolve it in water, put it in an eyedropper, squirt in mouth. That's the only fail proof method I've found.
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Jul 23, 2021 06:01
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Rotten Red Rod posted:Crush it up and dissolve it in water, put it in an eyedropper, squirt in mouth. That's the only fail proof method I've found. Or just see if you can get liquid instead of pills in the first place.
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Jul 23, 2021 07:40
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I just grab the cat, maybe pin her between my legs if necessary, hold her mouth open by gently pressing on her jaw joints and drop the pill in deep. Then let go, repeat if the pill falls out. But I've always had pretty chill cats
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Jul 23, 2021 07:55
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Every pill we've had for our little ones (since the start of the pandemic approx) has been delicious. We didn't realise this was a thing when we laid out a bunch of pills for Peanut, wondered how we would get them into her, and then she just gobbled them up. Seems like a no-brainer to make cat pills tasty to cats. Obviously this ignores the subset of cats who will turn their nose up at them anyway, because cats.
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Jul 23, 2021 08:26
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I use something that's irresistible to that particular cat, in Katya's case it's cheese. I just sort of smoosh the pill into the cheese until a cheese pill-pocket has been formed, that cat loving loves cheese.
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Jul 23, 2021 11:17
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InvisibleMonkey posted:I use something that's irresistible to that particular cat, in Katya's case it's cheese. I just sort of smoosh the pill into the cheese until a cheese pill-pocket has been formed, that cat loving loves cheese. We did this with cream cheese with our hyperthyroidism cat for many years and tablet time was her absolute favourite time of the day. Anyway, since I have spent so much time recently looking at youtube videos about how to get cats in carriers, here are my favourites: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sn9R9AXVF34 The only realistic video on what actually happens when you try to burrito even a moderately-cooperative a cat. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xv05t8WQpiY Excellent kitten and pillowcase method VERY good (would not work on my dumb idiot cat though since she will spook if I reach over her to get the pillowcase, but might be good for my less dumb idiot cat). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdcofDj-pPA Way longer than it needs to be but interesting technique not using any outside aids, haven't actually tried this one because I'm not brave enough to grab Peridot like that but it feels like it must work if they do it to everyone's cats.
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Jul 23, 2021 12:39
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Organza Quiz posted:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xv05t8WQpiY I hope Leo got lots of treats for helping out with this video
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Jul 23, 2021 15:52
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SoggyBobcat posted:Any way to get a cat to swallow a pill without him hating me? https://www.chewy.com/greenies-pill...pcaAk7sEALw_wcB Buy buy buy
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Jul 23, 2021 19:17
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