|
xzzy posted:If you're comfortable with running one full time, try out a heating pad wherever kitty's favorite sleep spot is. It soothes arthritis a bit. Can confirm that our old girl LOVED her pet heating pad while she was still around. And while she didn't suffer too much from arthritis you could definitely see how she didn't like to jump near as much, as I like to think it soothed her a bit
|
#
?
Nov 23, 2022 18:36
|
|
|
|
| # ? Jun 5, 2024 13:14 |
|
|
We have four (4!) of those heated cat beds, ha ha. Our house has poor southern exposure so there's only one spot that sunbeams come in during the winter and she's there on a cat bed any time she's napping. I have extra stepstools and boxes positioned in key places already, I'll keep an eye out for other places where she's jumping more than climbing. She got the first shot of Solensia today, though they didn't suggest any more quick-acting anti-inflammatory meds, which was a little surprising, since I think this takes like a month to really kick in.
|
|
#
?
Nov 23, 2022 18:50
|
|
|
I posted a few days ago about bringing home cats for the first time. We adopted a bonded pair, they're super cute- one male one female named Miles and Molly, respectively. The shelter's names, not ours. They've been great but I have some further questions if yall dont mind now that it's been a few days. 1) They were very worried when they arrived, but at this point are basically fully socialized. Is that fast? It felt fast. They went from hiding and not eating to eating ravenously and wanting to be pet all day in the space of like 2 days. Their history is bad; they were brought to the shelter as stray kittens and had health issues, namely parasites and such. They were only in the shelter for a couple of weeks (they are about 6 months old) so we figured it would take quite some time for them to trust us. Luckily, that's not the case, but the way they display affection has been... unconventional so far. The pair is extremely tightly bonded and the smaller female is the leader of their "pack". Miles, the much bigger animal, is the submissive one and basically wants Molly to perform an action before he'll do it (so for example if we want to pet Miles we basically have to get Molly's approval). This leads to funny situations where if Molly goes to the bathroom, Miles will do a "sympathy potty" where he acts like he is going potty as well and (poorly and fakely) act like he is burying a non-existent turd. Anyways here's my question- they are outrageously fearless and want infinite pets, but mostly under one singular condition- it has to be on the counter in the basement. We are fortunate to have a very large house with 3 floors, so we're keeping them in the basement exclusively before they are fully intro'ed to our existing senior cat (question about that later). The basement counter is where they get fed, so the connection feels very transactional- they go into super loving mode, but it's where they get fed. They don't NEED food in any way to be friendly; they just want most of our interactions to be on that counter. It has occurred to me that perhaps, in addition to this place being their "food" area, we are much less scary on the counter since we "seem" smaller- the counter is fairly high and they are only a foot or two under our head in that position. Anyways I'm just wondering if this means our relationship is transactional, and will that change? Of course it is transactional in the literal sense that they are supported by us, but I want to feel like they want to hang out with us. And don't get me wrong, when they're on the food counter they are literally the most friendly and affectionate cats I've ever even seen. It just doesn't, yet, extend to everyday life in the basement, and they generally don't like being pet if it's not on the counter, though that is slowly changing; Molly will allow pets sometimes and is becoming a lot less concerned about, for example, our fast movements to the point where it's getting hard to keep her scared enough not to dart into the rest of the house when we are leaving the basement. Maybe this is how cats work, but we've had other cats that consistently displayed affection. it's only been like 3 days though since they came to us, so I'm probably overthinking it. They are also so young; maybe young cats just don't do cuddles in the same way? On the food counter they are literally fighting with each other to do head boops (they have this incredible need to constantly be booping their head on our head and get weird if we don't allow it). It's just so weird how they're a 100 out of 10 affection on the food table (including laying out and allowing pets for longer periods) but so far it's very black and white and most of the time they aren't really trying to be close. 2) We have an existing senior (13 year old) cat and we have been slowly introducing them. Our existing cat isn't upset at them or anything, but he's been eating less and acting mopey. Is this normal? What can we do about this? We feel really bad about it, but one of the reasons we got these cats was so that our senior guy would have friends. And he seems to be pretty deflated about the whole thing. How can we cheer our boy up? Is this a passing phase? Will it possibly improve when we officially integrate the cats together? How long should we wait before doing that? The kittens are very friendly towards him, whereas he's mostly aloof, but he will bat them if they get too extra. Not in a hissy way but in a "know your place" kind of way, is this ok/normal? 3) We have been toying with changing their names; is it too late at 6 months to do so? They don't seem to respond to their names, only the... like... intention behind our words (how we say stuff to them) but I just wanted to make sure it wouldn't backslide anything to call them something new. 4) We just bought a Roomba i7+ for the second floor. Do you guys recommend a Roobma for cleaning up tracked litter or is there a better way? Anyways this ended up being so long, sorry!
|
|
#
?
Nov 24, 2022 18:36
|
|
|
My strategy so far is to slowly increase the radius at which they're comfortable and I can now as of today get them to accept pets about 5-8 feet from the radius of the food counter, so progress I guess. Is this the best way to get them comfortable- starting at their food source/home base and slowly increasing the radius at which they can be interacted with? Right now I'm primarily wondering if they just see us as a food source, even though they are absurdly almost comically affectionate, it's always under the pretense of them being where the food gets dispensed (though again, it may at least partially be that the counter makes me less intimidating as I am no longer towering over them). And I'm pretty worried about my seemingly depressed senior cat who is not eating much and acting depressed... I just hope this is somewhat normal and he'll get better, because he is an orange tabby and as such enormously food motivated. Him not eating, as a result, is wild af and not good... With his depressive episode I'm wondering, should we speed up the integration in the hopes that he will get over it faster, or should we be EXTRA careful with integraton since, while he's not showing a ton of overt signs of aggression, he doesn't appear to be taking it well. I think it has something to do with the basement; he is no longer allowed down there, and I wonder if the loss of territory is making him upset too. That being said we are in a new house and have only lived here for a few weeks. That's why we were hoping he wouldn't be super territorial about the house. And, to his credit, he's not; just depressed. Taima fucked around with this message at 18:47 on Nov 24, 2022 |
|
#
?
Nov 24, 2022 18:42
|
|
|
1) It's only been a few days. The food place is safe, so they like being there. Over time, they'll adapt more and claim various parts of the house for themselves. Yes, your relationship is somewhat transactional - cats are very food motivated, and they will respond very positively to the person that feeds them. However, that's not all of it. They like being scritched and cuddled, and will bond with humans beyond food. Again, give them time. 2) Cats are very territorial and routine-bound. Your older cat's territory has been violated and his routine has been interrupted. He's naturally rather anxious at the moment as he sorts out the new reality. He'll adjust with time. 3) Cats don't speak English. You can call them whatever you want. Cats do eventually learn their names, in associating a certain vocalization with "human wants my attention," but nothing beyond that. 4) Cats get along just fine with Roombas. Some love them and ride on them, others are terrified of them and run away, others are indifferent and ignore them. Generally, you just need to chill and enjoy your cats. Just give them time to adjust (a few weeks to a few months) and most of your concerns will go away.
|
|
#
?
Nov 24, 2022 18:52
|
|
|
Deteriorata posted:3) Cats don't speak English. You can call them whatever you want. Cats do eventually learn their names, in associating a certain vocalization with "human wants my attention," but nothing beyond that. Do cats know each others names? Andy knows when we make the sound 'Andy' we want his attention and when we say "Andrew!" we're mad at him. I wonder if he recognized that when we make the sound 'Penny' we're talking to the other cat.
|
|
#
?
Nov 24, 2022 20:21
|
|
|
Cats sense attitude and emotion, they're not as good at it as dogs but they can definitely tell the difference when you're happy and upset. If you use one name while being angry/annoyed and move in a way that they perceive to be hostile then it's an easy association to make.
|
|
#
?
Nov 24, 2022 21:17
|
|
|
Cats respond in different ways when stressed or introduced to a new environment. Katya followed me around the house for a full week and was extremely needy, whereas Kimchi was a terrified little baby that took days to warm up to us. Their behaviour will even out once they get used to you and their new home, don't read too much into it. Also you can rename them at any time because they won't listen anyway, they're cats. Mine respond to me calling their names because they recognise my tone of voice, I'm pretty sure. e: got me thinking about how mine do react differently to me calling them, Katya is just like a barely acknowledged "what" unless there's something in it for her and Kimchi I can call over to me. That said, Katya is the only one that actually understands commands and tricks, Kimchi just seems to incompetently mimic her behaviour, lol. InvisibleMonkey fucked around with this message at 22:06 on Nov 24, 2022 |
|
#
?
Nov 24, 2022 22:03
|
|
|
Do we need to add something to the OP about "don't buy kittens to keep your elderly cat company"? Get kittens because you want to have kittens, and definitely get two, but old cats don't usually get along with tiny nonstop psychos with no manners. ETA: Not to say people with old cats shouldn't get kittens or that older cats can't coexist peacefully with kittens, but if people want a friend for their older cat then another adult (with the appropriate personality) would make much more sense. Organza Quiz fucked around with this message at 00:30 on Nov 25, 2022 |
|
#
?
Nov 25, 2022 00:25
|
|
|
Cats like to be high up, they feel comfortable when they can perch somewhere. That's why they like the counter. When I got my cat as a baby, she was incredibly, annoyingly clingy. She'd follow me around, climb on me when I sat somewhere and cry when I closed any door. I was surprised because I expected the cat to need space for a few days. But cats are individuals and some get clingy even towards relative strangers when they're insecure. That doesn't mean they'll always be like that. Don't worry about your cats love bombing you, since they're still young they'll probably chill out.
|
|
#
?
Nov 25, 2022 00:26
|
|
|
pidan posted:Cats like to be high up, they feel comfortable when they can perch somewhere. That's why they like the counter. Quill is around 1.5 years old and she still cryies at the door when I leave, protests at being locked out of the bathroom, and runs up to me when I get home. She also hates being on anyone's lap, once shes near you she just wants to play or rub against you.
|
|
#
?
Nov 25, 2022 08:10
|
|
|
This is Mischa who is 3 months old and hopefully will be a nice buddy for Marcie who is 2 years now. We live most of the time in an apartment but spend weekends in the mountains. Marcie is super playful and I think misses the stimulation of the outdoors when we're in the city, and hopefully is young enough to accept a kitten sidekick.   She is absolutely adorable and seems to be settling in just fine. Marcie knows something is up and I guess can smell the kitten but the sound insulation is p good and I don't think she really knows there's another cat in here. She is spending a lot of time on the balcony. Going to give it another day and introduce them either side of the glass balcony door I think.
|
|
#
?
Nov 26, 2022 14:15
|
|
|
Marcie is 5.5kg of muscle and teeth nowadays  c.f. 
knox_harrington fucked around with this message at 14:20 on Nov 26, 2022 |
|
#
?
Nov 26, 2022 14:18
|
|
|
I've found my cat licking up water from the kitchen faucet/sink. He seems to drink from his water bowl fine too. If I get a water fountain thing, would that maybe stop him from drinking at the kitchen faucet?
|
|
#
?
Nov 26, 2022 17:42
|
|
|
It might, and cats tend to like moving water so it's worth a try. On the other hand, cats are furry little contrarians so maybe he'll continue drinking from the sink anyway.
|
|
#
?
Nov 26, 2022 17:45
|
|
|
|
|
#
?
Nov 26, 2022 21:57
|
|
|
 I got this today and he actually plays in it. 
|
|
#
?
Nov 26, 2022 22:39
|
|
|
Anyone have any experience with autocleaning litter boxes? The price range vary quite a bit so I'm guessing there might be some big differences.
|
|
#
?
Nov 28, 2022 00:16
|
|
|
Pennywise the Frown posted:Anyone have any experience with autocleaning litter boxes? The price range vary quite a bit so I'm guessing there might be some big differences. Very recently talked about in the last couple pages. A scroll back or two should give some nice commentary.
|
|
#
?
Nov 28, 2022 00:41
|
|
Glory to Italia!
|
ILL Machina posted:Very recently talked about in the last couple pages. A scroll back or two should give some nice commentary. I shall do that soon! Thank you!
|
|
#
?
Nov 28, 2022 00:56
|
|
|
Taima posted:Questions Starts here from last page, if that helps.
|
|
#
?
Nov 28, 2022 01:01
|
|
|
There aren't really any specific recommendations besides the $700 one.
|
|
#
?
Nov 28, 2022 01:45
|
|
|
That's because everything else is garbage.
|
|
#
?
Nov 28, 2022 02:35
|
|
|
drat. 
|
|
#
?
Nov 28, 2022 03:39
|
|
|
I have a cat that refuses to use the Litter Robot but 4 others that will use it. For those it is a life saver, it's not without maintenance though. It gets pretty nasty on the inside if you don't dissemble and spray it out every once and a while. For the other cat I use a sifter style litter box and if I had less cats I'd definitely stick to that. My mom uses a PetSafe Simply Clean Automatic Litter Box without issue but she only has one small cat, a larger cat might have problems fitting.
|
|
#
?
Nov 28, 2022 03:40
|
|
|
Jesus loving christ, Niko keeps bringing toys into the litterbox to kick around and bury in his Giardia infested poo poo. Calling to rent a carpet cleaner tomorrow. I’m trying to go to bed and this absolute fucker has brought four toys into the litterbox in a row. I’ve gotten out of bed each time and grabbed the toy away to put in the wash tomorrow and I’M SO TIRED. Took this litterbox away since there’s another one in the living room and Sinjin was using this one more anyhow. 
|
|
#
?
Nov 28, 2022 08:34
|
|
|
Grim. Marcie/Mischa update: Marcie is very upset and hisses at us if we try to touch her when we smell of Mischa. With washed hands she is wary but accepting of strokes. Mischa is staying in the spare bedroom for now. I think this is going to be a long haul. Poor Marcie.
|
|
#
?
Nov 28, 2022 10:36
|
|
|
We have three litter robots mark 3 and they're great. (Six cats, two robots, then a friend gave us a robot because I gave him a computer before, and he was moving states). Third robot is used for parts or for replacement while cleaning the other ones. Remember to get the extended warranty because you'll need it!
|
|
#
?
Nov 28, 2022 21:57
|
|
|
Is there such a thing as durable Da Bird feathers, or something that's more reassembleable if the feathers themselves are mostly structurally intact? My cat loving loves them to the degree that he tries to steal them out of my Cat Stuff box so he can chew on them still in the plastic wrap. When we play with it he's only satisfied if he gets to chew it apart, and the little plastic part that the feathers are glued into usually only lasts a couple play sessions. I've been buying knockoff feather bundles off Amazon but they're still several dollars apiece.
Shear Modulus fucked around with this message at 06:02 on Nov 29, 2022 |
|
#
?
Nov 29, 2022 05:57
|
|
|
Ive seen a few videos of cats in a bath tub full of bean bag filling. I don't think this is safe. Inhalation/choking hazard etc... Am I wrong? CumBlast Radius Jr fucked around with this message at 13:17 on Nov 29, 2022 |
|
#
?
Nov 29, 2022 13:15
|
|
|
I adopted a second cat today. She was in the cage next to the one I had gone to look at. Her purr is super loud. I put her in a bathroom with litter box, food and stuff.
|
|
#
?
Nov 30, 2022 23:03
|
|
|
Is it just the picture or does she really look like she's wearing adorable little eyeliner?
|
|
#
?
Dec 1, 2022 01:22
|
|
|
She looks like she has eyeliner. How do I deal with 2 cats and 2 food bowls? Just let them work it out?
|
|
#
?
Dec 1, 2022 02:06
|
|
|
phosdex posted:She looks like she has eyeliner. How do I deal with 2 cats and 2 food bowls? Just let them work it out? We have three cats and three food bowls. Each has their own spot. Of course, raiding the other cats' bowls is great sport, so I often have to referee the game to keep them onside.
|
|
#
?
Dec 1, 2022 02:47
|
|
|
I was doin much the same for a while, but would also recommend investing in surefeed RFID feeders if you have the scratch for it or it if you have one that likes to graze. We have two and a timed bowl for my third in a place the kitten can't raid it.
|
|
#
?
Dec 1, 2022 03:02
|
|
|
Just place each bowl in the same place regularly and they will figure it out. Our three use their own bowls and got used to it quickly. They usually trade off after awhile and as long as they're not being aggressive about it I don't interfere.
|
|
#
?
Dec 1, 2022 03:20
|
|
|
It only gets hard if you end up with a bottomless pit cat, they'll clean up their bowl and then headbutt someone off their bowl and clean that one too. If no one is overweight don't sweat it, but realize it could happen.
|
|
#
?
Dec 1, 2022 03:39
|
|
|
Taima posted:transactional petting question I have a cat who does this, but it is just the state she is in at the moment. She is a feral who went from fleeing at the sight of me from across the yard, to hissing when I brought her food after I brought her in, to being sort of ok if I was in the same room, to purring like an idiot when she thinks I'm going to feed her, and doing this very awkward thing where she'll rear up to get pets on the head, but it's kind of stiff, like she feels like she has to, or something. Still will leave if I try to pet her anywhere else. (this cat is worth a whole post, maybe in the Butterscotch thread, pretty sure bringing them in from snowy outside counts as "rescue") I of course fed her when she wouldn't let me near her, and occasionally she'll want pets *after* eating, so I think it's just where she is now, and she'll likely be more comfortable eventually. It's just a data point, and maybe your cats will always be like that, but then again, maybe they won't. Taima posted:changing cat names Most of mine have several names, and I didn't keep any shelter names. All of them know at least one of their names, and several know two or three. It's just learning a new word, really. One picked up a name I'd use just once during a petting session, but it was during happy purring time, and he learned it means him pretty quickly. Another I just got, they'd named her something I didn't like, so I gave her a new name and she caught on within maybe a week. So, name them what you want. I like to give them a reasonably dignified name, then see how many stupid nicknames they'll respond to eventually. I haven't followed the thread in a while. I remember a poster who was always anxious about his cat Jackie. He still around? How is Jackie?
|
|
#
?
Dec 1, 2022 06:40
|
|
|
Any new cats are going to take some time to adjust, and it could be months before their weird little personalities start to really shine. I’ve had Niko for close to 6 weeks and he’s still kinda skittish. He’s 7-8 months old and just… either sleeping, running, or flopping all over and if I move too fast he might run to the next room. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ But he does come up to me for pets and cuddles. When he first came home I’d have to be sitting or laying on the floor or I was TOO BIG & SCARY. Sinjin was similar when I first got him (he was maybe 10-11 months) and chilled out significantly around 18 months. The new cats probably like the counter because you aren’t towering over them. Try spending some time on the floor (even just reading a book or playing videogames, w/e) and they’ll get more comfortable with you. People change dog’s names when they adopt them; the cats will not give a poo poo. Shelters have to put a name for paperwork, it’s in no way written in stone. If you call their names while offering food/treats they’ll pick up on it, and eventually you won’t need to offer treats for them to respond to their names.  Anyway I came here to say I got the Equigroomer and the cats tolerate it way better than anything else so far! Holy smokes does it make a mess tho. My cats store all their fur in their tails.
|
|
#
?
Dec 1, 2022 07:31
|
|
|
|
| # ? Jun 5, 2024 13:14 |
|
|
I let my cats meet and things have gone pretty well. My male cat Jasper kinda doesn't seem to know what to do, but the girl cat is trying real hard to be friends. It's funny all the toys and cat poo poo I bought that he totally ignored before, if she touches it now he's interested. I'm bad at names, the shelter named her Kit-kat and I'm not fond of it. She has this cute raccoon tail so I was trying to think of something along that.   I guess I also need to find a much bigger cat bed. phosdex fucked around with this message at 20:41 on Dec 1, 2022 |
|
#
?
Dec 1, 2022 20:37
|
|