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We recently adopted* a fixed, ear-tipped friendly stray that spent most of the first week in our garage while waiting on the bloodwork, shots and fecal tests, then from there in a small bathroom for quarantining for a few more days. We had to introduce him to the other two cats earlier than planned as he kept trying to rip out the carpet by the bathroom door. His claws were pretty weak at the time and we didn't want to have him stress out in the room any longer than necessary. Luckily the supervised introductions went OK and there weren't any major negative interactions between them. We originally adopted our first cat as the wife always wanted a cat but couldn't have one, and we adopted a second cat to keep the first cat company when we went back to the office. We both ended up working from home and those two cats barely tolerate each other. The cat we originally got for the wife greets me at the front door and follows me from room to room, although the second cat loves her and is usually ambivalent to my presence. We certainly were not looking for another cat. Originally a friend of a friend was planning to take the new cat, but they wanted him to be indoor-outdoor and we felt he would be safer indoors only. Selfishly we had also spent a lot getting him checked out, tested, vaccinated, and chipped by that point, and he was getting attached to us. There was some yowling at the front door at night early on, but it's diminished and he seems to have adjusted better lately. He spent the first few days under a bed except during meal times, but now a month later all three of them are hanging out on the couches maybe 5 feet away from each other. Just took them a while for them to get comfortable. The original cat still spends a good bit of time under our bed despite otherwise being fine hanging out in cat trees or shelves or whatever, so I wouldn't be surprised if even a confident cat occasionally wants to hide for whatever reason, especially if they're feral or semi-feral. I'm happy the cats are mostly getting along, but this solidified two things: No more cats, and we need to get a litter robot soon.
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Jun 4, 2022 04:08
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pidan posted:It seems my cat has an irresistible attraction to string like objects. We bought a thing of cat grass (cyperus) and she immediately goes for it when she gets access to the room it's in, and doesn't stop nibbling on it until we stop her, even though it seems to almost make her puke. She's also always trying to eat various strings and cords she finds. Once we had to pull multiple feet of knitting yarn out of her little mouth, we've been very careful with leaving yarn unattended since. Could be pica ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pica_(disorder) ), which is kind of common in cats, or it could be she’s got a digestive problem, which is usually the only reason cats eat grass (and the need to yak for whatever reason. If it’s pica, it could be hard wired in her brain, or just something she’s not happy about. Boudicca (my cat) will chew on the fringes of my oriental rugs if I don’t clean her poop box often enough. If your cat has eaten something wrong, that might explain her need to eat grass too.
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Jun 4, 2022 04:13
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Sometimes cats just like grass too. One of ours will chow down on crab grass whenever I take her out on her leash. Will sample other plants but usually spits them out because it's not that (apparently) tasty crab grass. Doesn't barf it, doesn't eat more than a few blades. She just enjoys the snack.
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Jun 4, 2022 04:54
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xzzy posted:Sometimes cats just like grass too. One of ours will chow down on crab grass whenever I take her out on her leash. Will sample other plants but usually spits them out because it's not that (apparently) tasty crab grass. Yep, have seen that too. Chomp, chomp chomp…oh wait, swivel head ick rejection.
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Jun 4, 2022 05:32
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After a few days of having the grass, the cat has chilled out. She'll munch on it just a bit, and then stop after a reasonable amount. That's how I wanted her to use it, I think she just needed time to figure it out. She does generally love to bite my plants, not even one houseplant has escaped her little bite marks. Other than the pothos, which is a good thing since they're toxic, but apparently also very unpleasant to eat. I do put them in places the cat can't really reach, but you know how cats are.
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Jun 4, 2022 05:39
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Crocobile posted:Maybe giving her a box or cave bed or somewhere else she cat hide in to feel secure? Jackson Galaxy’s show would also recommend high places (like a cat tree or shelves). Yeah I have like... all of that stuff, the cat is just too afraid of me to use any of it when I'm around. Last night when I went to bedroom she immediately left the litter box for the cat tree, and this morning when I woke up she hid in the kitchen corner long enough to get her meal and then went back to the litter box. I just don't want this to turn into a weird routine for her.
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Jun 4, 2022 06:58
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Obfuscation posted:Yeah I have like... all of that stuff, the cat is just too afraid of me to use any of it when I'm around. Last night when I went to bedroom she immediately left the litter box for the cat tree, and this morning when I woke up she hid in the kitchen corner long enough to get her meal and then went back to the litter box. I just don't want this to turn into a weird routine for her. Don't worry, it won't. Sounds like she's starting to adjust a bit, exploring at night is a good sign. She'll get there.
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Jun 4, 2022 13:23
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I think one of my ragdoll cats might actually be stupid. It took her 6 months to discover jumping and she gets her claws stuck in EVERYTHING. She's 1 1/2 years old and no better. I recently got another ragdoll, her full blooded sister. She's 16 weeks old. Jumps really well, doesn't get her claws stuck. The other problem is the older one I don't think really grooms herself, she has a bunch of mats. I talked to other ragdoll owners and they don't have this issue or is really minor. The kitten is better about this! I don't think there's a health issue, she plays with other kitties, uses the litter box just fine, doesn't seem to be in pain. What's the best way of removing mats? Cutting them out? I know I should of paid better attention so I could brush her before it got bad, but I never had a cat that I had to do this with.  Heidi, the older one  Good Golly Miss Molly, the kitten. Yes I'm treating the eye with meds! Lady Jaybird fucked around with this message at 19:01 on Jun 4, 2022 |
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Jun 4, 2022 18:56
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Cat Food: we have a 15 year old cat who's on steroids and needs some royal canin digest sensitive food (thin slices in gravy) and petflow ran out of it earlier this year for a couple of months, and has also run out since about a month ago. I got a few packs of 12 3-oz cans from amazon for 22 dollars a pack, a week or two ago. Now it's 38 per pack of 12 (or 42 for a pack of 24, which I got 2 of) but gently caress. What's up with this? Anyone else having trouble getting specific cat food these days?
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Jun 4, 2022 19:57
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With long hair cats like ragdolls, you need to brush them at least once or twice a week. If you have one of those simple brushing gloves or massage brushes you can use it every day. Otherwise they will get mats. Once the mats get bad, you have to cut them off. You'll need to be very careful because you don't want to cut the skin, if you're not sure what you're doing better bring the cat to a groomer (or vet).
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Jun 4, 2022 20:00
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redreader posted:Cat Food: we have a 15 year old cat who's on steroids and needs some royal canin digest sensitive food (thin slices in gravy) and petflow ran out of it earlier this year for a couple of months, and has also run out since about a month ago. I got a few packs of 12 3-oz cans from amazon for 22 dollars a pack, a week or two ago. Now it's 38 per pack of 12 (or 42 for a pack of 24, which I got 2 of) but gently caress. What's up with this? Anyone else having trouble getting specific cat food these days? Royal canin has had issues with supply, there have been signs up at my pet store for months now. Is that different from the normal thin slices in gravy? I have some stock of it and can send it to you if it's legal to send that across the border (I'm assuming you're in the states, I'm Canadian). I would expect it wouldn't be much cheaper than the Amazon price I guess.
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Jun 4, 2022 20:26
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Sir Chunksworth III He just wants to be friends with our current cats and they are having none of it
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Jun 4, 2022 21:53
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redreader posted:Cat Food: we have a 15 year old cat who's on steroids and needs some royal canin digest sensitive food (thin slices in gravy) and petflow ran out of it earlier this year for a couple of months, and has also run out since about a month ago. I got a few packs of 12 3-oz cans from amazon for 22 dollars a pack, a week or two ago. Now it's 38 per pack of 12 (or 42 for a pack of 24, which I got 2 of) but gently caress. What's up with this? Anyone else having trouble getting specific cat food these days? My cat ate Royal Canine Urinary SO for 10 years and about a year ago my vet informed me that they had issues with the supply chain. We switched to an equivalent from Hills (Science Diet).
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Jun 5, 2022 00:29
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redreader posted:Cat Food: we have a 15 year old cat who's on steroids and needs some royal canin digest sensitive food (thin slices in gravy) and petflow ran out of it earlier this year for a couple of months, and has also run out since about a month ago. I got a few packs of 12 3-oz cans from amazon for 22 dollars a pack, a week or two ago. Now it's 38 per pack of 12 (or 42 for a pack of 24, which I got 2 of) but gently caress. What's up with this? Anyone else having trouble getting specific cat food these days? I asked about our supply chain for food at the shelter recently and no, it's not just you. We luckily stick to really common brands for the bulk of our cats (Hills Science Diet dry, Friskies pate, and a third brand I can't think of for kittens), but the more niche stuff like diabetic-safe food is not as easy, and all of them have jumped significantly. Completely unrelated: Jasper, Emmett, and Victoria all turned 11 today, along with late celebration for Dobbie turning ~3 mid last week. Brought out the nice canned food for them to celebrate. Dobbie totally ignored hers, and Jasper ate half before burying it for later (and rendering it inedible in the process). I love these cats.
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Jun 5, 2022 01:02
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VelociBacon posted:Royal canin has had issues with supply, there have been signs up at my pet store for months now. Thanks for the generous offer, I appreciate it. I'll be fine though, there are other options but it's just a pain. Thankfully, recently she started being able to eat other foods so I just need to experiment with other stuff.
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Jun 5, 2022 01:34
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dervinosdoom posted:I think one of my ragdoll cats might actually be stupid. It took her 6 months to discover jumping and she gets her claws stuck in EVERYTHING. She's 1 1/2 years old and no better. I recently got another ragdoll, her full blooded sister. She's 16 weeks old. Jumps really well, doesn't get her claws stuck. Lots of cats have spinal problems, especially in the lower lumbar, just above the hips. Jumping kinda hurts for them. If you want to reduce the claw issues, you can try clipping their nails or installing nail caps (random google-found link): https://www.chewy.com/purrdy-paws-s...AyABEgKkYPD_BwE
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Jun 5, 2022 03:45
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Chunksworth has no problem using the litter robot. The problem is he isn't content to just watch it take his poop, no he has to fuckin jump into the thing while it takes his poop.
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Jun 6, 2022 02:41
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Quill also sprints to the litter robot when she hears it start to rotate and will try to jump in.
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Jun 6, 2022 03:15
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Len posted:He just wants to be friends with our current cats and they are having none of it This reminds me of something. My mother in law lives with us and has a gray tabby named Lillie, who she found over a decade ago as an abandoned feral kitten in the warehouse. I mean so little that she had to massage kitten Lillie's butthole to make her poop. Lillie is extremely surly 80% of the time and will swat at you as soon as let you pet her. She does not get on well with other cats at all. However, that said, young Bootsy, less than half Lillie's age, is very friendly and playful with the other cats. Bootsy is the only one of our cats that Lillie will let within six feet of her without some conflict. He rolls over around her like he wants to play and will sit within a foot of her. A couple of weeks ago I caught them sniffing face without any conflict 
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Jun 6, 2022 15:49
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So, this is weird enough that it has me kind of really worried. For the last couple days, I’ve noticed Jackie doing something kind of weird and unusual. She seems to be swallowing audibly and licking her lips (for lack of a better term) every 10-20 seconds or so. If I were to relate it to a human-like symptom, it seems like the kind of swallowing someone does when they’re nauseous or sick, and perhaps trying to suppress an urge to vomit. That said, it only seems to happen when she’s awake, receiving attention from me, and purring - or awake and grooming herself. I do not see or hear her doing this strange swallowing/licking-lips thing when she’s curled up and trying to sleep or sleeping. Hopefully this is nothing big and it just… goes away soon on its own, because I find it disconcerting and if it doesn’t stop soon I’ll probably call the vet. One thing this could be related to, is the fact that she’s been eating blades of grass and promptly puking them up on the rug. This is hardly new or especially worrisome behavior, but it does seem like she was doing more than her normal amount of grass eating and puking 
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Jun 6, 2022 16:30
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Lip smacking/licking is a sign of nausea, so you should keep watch, yes.
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Jun 6, 2022 16:33
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Otteration posted:Lots of cats have spinal problems, especially in the lower lumbar, just above the hips. Jumping kinda hurts for them. That's concerning, she's only a year and a half and she's been like this since she was a kitten. She doesn't seem to be in pain and I can pet her without her showing any sign of anything other than enjoyment
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Jun 6, 2022 18:11
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dervinosdoom posted:That's concerning, she's only a year and a half and she's been like this since she was a kitten. She doesn't seem to be in pain and I can pet her without her showing any sign of anything other than enjoyment Has she been to the vet recently? Her behavior certainly seems odd enough to ask the vet for a closer assessment.
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Jun 7, 2022 00:37
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dervinosdoom posted:That's concerning, she's only a year and a half and she's been like this since she was a kitten. She doesn't seem to be in pain and I can pet her without her showing any sign of anything other than enjoyment Who owned her before you? Maybe try massaging her in that area. My cat doesn’t like that massage, and complains when I try to do it, but normally doesn’t complain about any pain either. She doesn't jump too high either. She used to jump up and down from my 5ft privacy fence, until I banned her from outside. I did see her previous owners kids picking her up badly though. Sounds like your cat is young though, so it could just be cats being cats.
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Jun 7, 2022 04:32
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kaworu posted:So, this is weird enough that it has me kind of really worried. Eating grass is pretty much always about digestive issues. Have you ever caught her eating wrong stuff (pica)?
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Jun 7, 2022 04:37
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This is our food can, we've been using it for actual years.  rear end in a top hat and bean ignore it entirely. We can leave it open and they won't do anything Chunksworth though, despite having a full god damned food dish 
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Jun 7, 2022 11:49
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I've had two good lil' orange boys (brothers) for just over a year now. They themselves are about 15 months old. Recently, one (both?) of them is peeing just outside the litter box. Not all the time, but once every couple of days. I scoop daily, sometimes more than once, but I'm worried he's decided that as soon as the litter box has some pee or poop in it he can go outside the box, even if the other box is clear. I'm not really worried about a UTI, he's got no other signs and the amount of pee is definitely form a full, normal release. Don't think it's the litter either, since I wanted to be a little eco-friendly with their litter so they were started on World's Best litter, which is ground up corncobs. It's pretty much the only litter they've known and has been fine. When this first started I realized it had been a little while since I did a full litter box clean so I emptied and scrubbed them down, cleaned the mats, and all seemed well for about a week, but then it started again this morning. Any advice on how to break this habit? They have access to two boxes, scooped daily, is one of them just being very picky?
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Jun 7, 2022 14:50
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Holy crap, my cats actually managed to completely break their cat tree The culprit:  Anyone got any recommendations for something a little tougher than the particle board ones you get online, I guess? They're about 12-13 lbs each, so they're not gigantic or anything. Just.. apparently a little too much for a cat tree with a long arm. It lasted about 6 months or so?
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Jun 7, 2022 15:36
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Sometimes they fail like that. I've even had scratch posts do that over the years. I haven't really found a better brand that isn't some like $1200 solid wood hand-made bespoke piece though.
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Jun 7, 2022 15:40
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ADudeWhoAbides posted:I've had two good lil' orange boys (brothers) for just over a year now. They themselves are about 15 months old. Recently, one (both?) of them is peeing just outside the litter box. Not all the time, but once every couple of days. I scoop daily, sometimes more than once, but I'm worried he's decided that as soon as the litter box has some pee or poop in it he can go outside the box, even if the other box is clear. Elvis_Maximus posted:Holy crap, my cats actually managed to completely break their cat tree
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Jun 7, 2022 15:56
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Growing up we had a male cat that picked a random corner of the carpet to pee on. No health issues, was the only cat around. He decided one day that this was his piss spot and that was the end of it. Took my mom months to break the habit, she cleaned the carpet with whatever pet stain remover was available in the early 90's and kept garbage bags over that area as a deterrent. Eventually he stopped peeing there and it was never an issue again for as long as he was alive (another 10 years). I'm not sure if it met the criteria for spraying, but it is a thing that male cats are more likely to do so that's what the vet assumed it was.
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Jun 7, 2022 16:04
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Elvis_Maximus posted:Holy crap, my cats actually managed to completely break their cat tree I would honestly just patch this up by opening up the upholstery enough to get a bit of plywood on that base and use one of those threading screws to make a new connection. Put it back together and maybe roughly hand-sew (or hot glue, whatever) the upholstery closed again. But this is also why I swear by wall-mounted furniture apart from some small scratching poles.
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Jun 7, 2022 17:06
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Koto enjoys taking naps on dad, if not necessarily with dad. Dusty meanwhile enjoys getting in Morph Ball position and snoozing that way.  But sometimes, they just like hanging out together while dad plays video games. 
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Jun 7, 2022 18:58
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Its weird but my cat (confined to crate for 6 weeks due to surgery for a broken paw) seems to be adapting to to crate life quite well? Today he strolled out while we were cleaning his box but then strolled right back in again. Or maybe he's just institutionalised now.
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Jun 9, 2022 15:12
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It just means it's considered a safe spot now. We have a large double cat crate that we use for vet visits, and one of ours will happily spend the day sleeping in it.
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Jun 9, 2022 15:21
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Cats hide when not well, and you've done a good job of making it a nice place for him to hide. A broken paw is an injury that wouldn't be possible to ignore in the wild so in hindsight it would be obvious that a cozy place to lay low would be extremely appealing on an instinctual level, so he'd naturally gravitate to a crate.
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Jun 9, 2022 15:34
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My partner fosters cats and the most recent foster, Johnny, was put to sleep today. He was only a year old and was adopted a few weeks ago. He was lethargic and had no appetite the other day. Turns out he was Felv positive with advanced leukemia and the vet recommended euthanasia. My partner and I are devastated. We fostered Johnny for 3 weeks. He had no symptoms whatsoever in our time with him. The thing is he tested negative for Felv at the shelter. Do Felv tests have a higher chance for false negatives? We have a resident cat who was in contact with Johnny. Was able to get snap test today and our cat tested negative. Vet wants to redo the test in a month. We really hope our resident cat hasn’t caught it from the foster. I read that FeLV has a long incubation time, so we’re not in the clear yet. Johnny was the sweetest cat, and it’s just so awful what happened. He was so young and had just found his forever home.
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Jun 12, 2022 02:21
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Palmtree Panic posted:My partner fosters cats and the most recent foster, Johnny, was put to sleep today. He was only a year old and was adopted a few weeks ago. He was lethargic and had no appetite the other day. Turns out he was Felv positive with advanced leukemia and the vet recommended euthanasia. I'm so sorry. That's a horrible thing.
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Jun 12, 2022 09:00
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Hi everyone! This is my first time posting in PI so I hope I have the right place. I read the OP and it didn't answer some of the questions I have. Anyway, here is Pennywise. He's 10 months old now and I got him at 3 months. I didn't even name him, the shelter did! What a coincidence! They got a bunch of cats in October and named them after horror characters, they had Michael Meyers, Ghost Face, Jason, etc. They randomly asked me if I wanted to see him and of course I did, so I walked into his cage (like 6' tall) and he was on the top of a cat tower and immediately reached out to hug me. I was sold. I've owned cats before but my ex-gf/wife always took care of them and they didn't really hang around me too much. So Pennywise is the first cat I'm taking care of myself. And he's a handful. He's curious and likes to jump on things that he's not supposed to and sometimes breaks things like glasses (my grandpa's old pipe from my fireplace mantle ) and some other stuff. He is SUPER lovely though. He's always meowing and needs his pets a lot. He LOVES to cuddle. If I fall asleep on the couch he'll (well, now) sleep on my chest or wedge himself inbetween my legs and the back of the couch. I tried letting him sleep with me in my bedroom when I first got him and that was a mistake. I haven't let him in since and I feel bad every time because when I turn out the living room lights he knows what's going to happen and when I start walking to my bedroom he'll start clawing at my legs (breaking skin if I'm not wearing pants). He really doesn't like being left alone. Ok that was an unnecessarily long backstory. Here's Penny! My favorite pic when I first got him.  This is maybe last week.  His favorite spot. Either that or he'll just lean up against me on the outside of my arm and hug it.  Also he grooms me numerous times a day. I figured he's being nice because I don't do a good job of it myself so it's best to just let him finish.  He's getting a bit tubby and always wants food so I'm not sure what to do about that. I have a terrible sleep schedule and sleep about 12 hours a day (due to medical problems) but I'm almost always at home, so I feed him once when I wake up at like 2pm and another time at maybe 8-9pm when he just sits by his bowl every time I walk by. I thought I was following the instructions on the package but maybe I'm using a heavy hand. I use Blue Buffalo Kitten. Is Adult less calories? Is it time to switch? My main question is that I think he's getting really bored. He's slowed down a LOT in the past few months. A whole lot compared to when he was a kitten and always getting into and breaking things. He seems to play with his toys for a bit and then just stops using them after a while. Is this common? I've gotten new toys before and he'll, again, play with them and then stop after a while when he gets bored. Should I just use a constant cycle of new toys so that he doesn't get bored? I don't play with him personally too much but I really should. He didn't like the laser pointer much, so are there any other recommended toys that I could personally use with him? Also... he plays fetch. Literally. He runs and brings a toy up onto my couch and drops it in front of me. I throw it and he bolts after it and brings it back to me. It's so  .Sorry for the really long post. Thanks everyone. Pennywise the Frown fucked around with this message at 23:04 on Jun 12, 2022 |
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Jun 12, 2022 23:00
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Well since he likes playing fetch definitely do that more. He probably is board and you just need to find the right activity to stimulate him. https://youtu.be/SMPjoNg3nv8 This is a pretty decent watch imo One of my cats will play fetch for hours if we let her lol Tamu style Cat Spring Toys (60... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07XD9CMZ8?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share I’d recommend trying these out as a fetch toy. Ours loves them because they are easy to pick up and they give a good bounce.
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Jun 12, 2022 23:50
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