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Lord Zedd-Repulsa posted:I generally just get mine a can of the fanciest wet food I can afford since their daily wet snack is certainly not fancy. 
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Jun 5, 2023 04:18
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redleader posted:does anyone have any recommendations for a carpet spot cleaner? preferably available in au/nz. i have a bissel stain eraser pet and: it loving sucks. annoying to use, and it's battery powered so has really poor suction I have a Hoover CleanSlate. Dunno if you can find it there but it works reasonably well. Probably most corded models will do better.
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Jun 5, 2023 06:25
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Weird Pumpkin posted:Maybe try getting him an auto feeder and then really stick to it? So I considered this but his sister has wildly different feeding needs (she is normal) so how exactly do you go about having an auto feeder for 2 cats that doesn't just result in my insane cat eating all the food of my normal cat... definitely open to the idea though. As for a puzzle box I do like that idea. We do have this little spherical jobber that will dispense food if you mess with it the right way. That actually does work but even he can get dissuaded because it's pretty hard? I guess what I'm saying is that I'm super open to recommendations in this area.
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Jun 5, 2023 10:07
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You could get one of those microchip recognising feeders for the normal cat and an auto feeder for the food crazy one, but I'll admit I'm not sure how well that would work.
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Jun 5, 2023 10:49
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Taima posted:So I considered this but his sister has wildly different feeding needs (she is normal) so how exactly do you go about having an auto feeder for 2 cats that doesn't just result in my insane cat eating all the food of my normal cat... definitely open to the idea though. Not sure tbh, that does sound sort of tricky! We have two chip feeders for our boys, since one of them needs to lose some weight and isn't very good at grazing. But that's just food that sits out, I don't think there's any automatic feeders that will do two entirely different sets of food sadly?
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Jun 5, 2023 17:53
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Taima posted:So I considered this but his sister has wildly different feeding needs (she is normal) so how exactly do you go about having an auto feeder for 2 cats that doesn't just result in my insane cat eating all the food of my normal cat... definitely open to the idea though. Weird Pumpkin posted:Not sure tbh, that does sound sort of tricky! Auto feeders are dicey anyway, they're apparently wildly erratic in how much they dole out each time and tend to err high, which is not what you want for diet control. If you want proper weight control while feeding them separately and enabling their different eating styles, it sounds like you're going to have to get two cheap, reliable auto-feeders of the style where they're just a rotating circle of bowls that you measure and fill yourself (I use this one and only fill it when Twig's shut in another room, and I can confirm that she does not see me as the source of food in the house at all), then put one of them inside a private feeding box for the grazing cat. I've seen people rig these up by installing microchip-unlocking cat flaps in the side of a plastic bin, like so:  Probably want to put the door at the narrower end so the cat has more room, rather than the wide side, but you get the gist. Depending on how big of an rear end in a top hat your other cat is about food, you may need to install some kind of barrier on either side of the door so that they can't force their way through in front of the grazing cat once the flap is open. There are companies who sell a prefab version that is literally just that, but as you might expect it's more expensive than the DIY take. Edit: also I like the idea of a kibble puzzle for the food demon, but you still need to set up the separation chamber or he will just eat his sibling's easier-to-access food first, then work on the puzzle. Cats with food anxiety are loving incorrigible, lol Unsinkabear fucked around with this message at 18:25 on Jun 5, 2023 |
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Jun 5, 2023 18:17
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Unsinkabear posted:Auto feeders are dicey anyway, they're apparently wildly erratic in how much they dole out each time and tend to err high, which is not what you want for diet control. Honestly the one that needs to lose weight is a bit of a gobbler, but doesn't make himself sick or anything. He might sometimes sneak a bite of the other guy's food, but only when it's first put out. We actually don't use auto feeders or timed things or whatever, they've both got bowls that they can only get into with their own chip, so there's not too much food stealing going on to begin with. He just doesn't lose weight despite being on weight loss food and only getting ~2/3rds a cup per day I dunno why! He's 16 pounds so he's a little overweight but it's nothing super criticalI mostly feel bad because if he'd lose the weight we could give him the full cup for his appropriate goal weight and he'd have something to munch on through the rest of the day.
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Jun 5, 2023 18:27
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If you want him to lose weight, you need to figure out how many calories he's being given currently and decrease that over weeks or months depending on how much weight loss is needed.
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Jun 5, 2023 23:45
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Lord Zedd-Repulsa posted:If you want him to lose weight, you need to figure out how many calories he's being given currently and decrease that over weeks or months depending on how much weight loss is needed. yeah you're right. it's only a few pounds in his case, but I think we might just need to start weighing his food out rather than using 1/3 cup scoops
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Jun 6, 2023 17:50
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What's the right balance between engaging with a new cat and letting them have their space and time? We just brought home a 1 year old cutie who was super duper schnoogly in the shelter, and she's been hanging inside the litter box. It's only been an hour or two, and we're spending a little time in her line of sight sitting on the floor and looking with slow blinks. Occasionally I'll reach in with a fist to let her sniff. I'm pretty sure it's going to be at least a day or so but I want to make sure I get the right combo of her getting to know us with her feeling safe. She has the full upstairs with food and water and her litter box, and we'll be working from upstairs tomorrow.
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Jun 7, 2023 00:24
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MJP posted:What's the right balance between engaging with a new cat and letting them have their space and time? We just brought home a 1 year old cutie who was super duper schnoogly in the shelter, and she's been hanging inside the litter box. It's only been an hour or two, and we're spending a little time in her line of sight sitting on the floor and looking with slow blinks. Occasionally I'll reach in with a fist to let her sniff. If she just came home, it might take her awhile to feel safe. One thing that helped our boy when we brought him home last year (and he got really, really mad at me pulling him away from trying to find our other cats, to the point where he'd hiss at me just walking by him) was just taking a book in there and quietly lying down with him. Now he and I our best buds, but I let him get used to me on his own time and it seemed to have helped him a lot. But it might take a day or two until she's comfortable enough with her brand new home with new smells and sights and everything
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Jun 7, 2023 00:31
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MJP posted:What's the right balance between engaging with a new cat and letting them have their space and time? We just brought home a 1 year old cutie who was super duper schnoogly in the shelter, and she's been hanging inside the litter box. It's only been an hour or two, and we're spending a little time in her line of sight sitting on the floor and looking with slow blinks. Occasionally I'll reach in with a fist to let her sniff. I'd say don't really engage at all with a hiding cat. Just exist in the same room and let her come out and engage with you when she's ready.
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Jun 7, 2023 01:16
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This will be fun because her litter box is in the unused shower stall in the bathroom, lol My wife and I both work upstairs so we can spend downtime with her and just let our voices do the rest. Obligatory cutie photo https://imgur.com/a/Blso8th
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Jun 7, 2023 01:50
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Heya folks. We've noticed some matting on big boy Bagheera's fur recently, on the lower hind legs and tail. He usually wakes up with the mats present and eventually gets around to dealing with them himself. This cycle repeats daily. Now he is on the older side at 12 yo and drools a bit due to missing teeth that got removed before we adopted from the shelter due to FORLs, but should we see a vet about this? Cat Tax: 
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Jun 7, 2023 11:38
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Terratina posted:Heya folks. We've noticed some matting on big boy Bagheera's fur recently, on the lower hind legs and tail. Yeah, I'd ask for an appointment. Do some senior cat bloodwork (make sure they check thyroid too), discuss arthritis, etc. He's getting older and it may just be that it's harder to groom back there now without pain and needs that addressed, or it may be that he's got something else going on that's encouraging the mats to develop. Catching both now will help him stay healthy longer!
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Jun 7, 2023 14:25
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one of my cats caught me slippin and managed to open the front door because I didn't lock it and he and one of his brothers hung out outside on the sidewalk for a few minutes before I noticed and now he's obsessing over the front door. proud of my boy for being on his game but I done hosed up
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Jun 9, 2023 16:48
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I also have an older cat (12). He's a wonderful little friend, very chatty, curious and cuddly. I've very rarely met as gentle a creature of any sort, be they cat, dog, or even human. I also worry he's way understimulated, but I'm not sure how to play with him. He likes string toys in short spurts, and will play with the ball- on-a-rail thing I've got him, but he flat ignores all other toys, including laser pointers and treat-puzzles! I know an older cat won't be like a kitten, and I suspect he has some mild mobility things due to an illness from his youth, but I don't want him to be bored or of his skull. He was pretty overweight before, but I think it was advice from these very forums that helped me get this boy to a healthy size, so I'm hoping y'all may have advice on this, too.
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Jun 10, 2023 02:50
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DicktheCat posted:I also have an older cat (12). Does he seem anxious at all, doing things like pacing, vocalizing in distress for no reason, spraying, etc.? THOSE are the signs of a bored cat. What you probably have is a perfectly content cat who very much enjoys his calm, sedentary lifestyle.
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Jun 10, 2023 03:01
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DicktheCat posted:I also have an older cat (12). My older cat (around 11 or 12 as well) likes to amuse herself by taking my socks from my shoes when I come home and take them off, and throwing them in the air like she is some sort of circus juggler. What I am saying is give the cat some socks to mess with.
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Jun 10, 2023 17:06
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I've had it suggested somewhere that play with adult cats is more about social engagement than actual play or learning to hunt. Which makes sense, they're out of kitten school and don't need to practice. I don't know if I totally buy that but I do seem to get better results out of toys that require me to interact with my cat compared to everything else we've bought. Even just sitting on the floor with her hanging out with a toy seems to make her happy.
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Jun 10, 2023 17:23
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I've had some pretty dang old cats get surprisingly hyped for the "move your hand under a blanket like there's an animal under there" game
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Jun 10, 2023 17:27
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my 13-yo kitty loves pouncing on canvas shopping bags and kicking the poo poo out of them, especially if I chuck a toy into the bag first
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Jun 10, 2023 21:08
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Martman posted:I've had some pretty dang old cats get surprisingly hyped for the "move your hand under a blanket like there's an animal under there" game Our kitten-ish adult cat loved this game, but now that he has a friend to wrestle he seems to have lost interest in it The year older cat Pavarotti loves two things: foil balls like these https://www.amazon.com/Chiwava-Crinkle-Crackle-Lightweight-Assorted/dp/B0788LZVCB Literally any piece of trash he can find He'll play with a dangler for a bit, but he's not even interested in laser pointers. Sage, the younger one, goes absolutely INSANE for the laser pointer, but we gotta do it in moderation cause he works himself up so much and I feel bad that he can never catch it. We try to give him a toy to catch at the end but he just ignores it and keeps searching for the red dot
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Jun 10, 2023 21:52
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My cat likes - cat drugs - playing patty-cakes and things like that - things poking out below other things - wrassling (wrap your arm in a towel) She doesn't much care for the traditional feather-on-a-stick toys.
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Jun 10, 2023 21:53
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So we adopted a cat nearly two years ago from a local rescue (here in the UK), and it's been a rollercoaster of a time. Not really looking for advice or anything, just wanted to share and who knows maybe someone's in the same situation and it helps them figure something out. He was 11 or so when we adopted him, his previous owners were apparently good but he was housed with his brother who bullied him, and in trying to make sure he was fed enough they both ended up overweight before they ended up in the shelter and then were adopted separately. Took a couple weeks and one of us finally just reaching into his hidey hole and giving him a pet before he suddenly came out and all he wanted was affection. From then on he's always been affectionate and wanting to be pet/touched/etc. He still had some trouble sleeping and he'd have nightmares he'd wake up yelling from, but it seemed par for the course for a rescue. A few months after we adopted him, he started peeing outside the litter trays (but also peeing and pooping in the litter too, always); didn't seem to be marking, we couldn't figure out any pattern to it, we put 7-8 litter trays (different shape, litter, etc) throughout the house to try and figure it out and he'd still consistently pee outside the trays as well as in the trays, usually overnight. Vet looked at his limited history and thought it was odd that the rescue/previous owner thought he had chronic kidney disease, but none of the tests the previous vet or this vet had run could find anything like that...so they figured there must have been a mistake and basically started trying to figure out what it was, one test at a time. No luck for a few weeks, before suddenly he was hit with something completely unrelated, going dizzy and vomiting randomly, he'd always vomit after urinating, could barely walk, super lethargic, etc. Vet ruled out any kidney issues or ear issues, we were about to spring for an expensive MRI to see if it was something really bad, then literally the night before the trip to the specialist he suddenly started improving; specialist said to not come in and to wait it out first in case it isn't necessary. Within a week, he was back to normal, and the vet basically said it was idiopathic and unless things change there isn't really a cause that he could see. Over the next couple months he recovered completely, and in fact at the same time suddenly started trusting us more (letting us pick him up, clip his nails, etc without any worry). Things were calm for a few more weeks, then early 2022 the peeing outside the litter issue started up again, we went back to the vet and after another set of tests he basically concluded there wasn't really anything he could see anywhere and that the only thing they could come up with even after external advice was that it might be anxiety. So he got prescribed anti-anxiety meds. It took us weeks to get him to take the meds regularly because he won't let us give him pills, he'd refuse the flavoured liquid version, then we figured out that the human pharmacy flavoured version (which is peppermint) he does tolerate. After 3-4 weeks on the medication, he stopped peeing outside the litter entirely, started being more active and willing to play, and even stopped having nightmares altogether. ..Then a month or so ago, he started peeing outside the litter trays again, and weirdly started leaking urine in his sleep. Vet started looking but it seemed different than before and not tied to any anxiety, but again every test was coming back fine. Eventually he found he had high protein in his urine, even though his kidney levels seemed fine, so we started just treating that. Then a couple weekends ago, we decided to try washing him a bit because at this point leaking urine in his sleep meant he'd become pretty smelly and crusty; that absolutely terrified him but we got through it. Never scratched or bit, and still didn't even freaking out over the bath. We dried him off and he spent an hour "cleaning" himself, then suddenly he gets into the litter tray and...fails to pee. Just a couple drops and nothing else. Then paces around and tries another litter tray, same. Then drips a bit onto the carpet, and starts pacing. We gave him an hour to calm down, then called the emergency vet and took him in. They put a catheter in and kept him for the weekend, but found no stones, no crystals, no apparent blockage or spasm, urine was flowing fine (but high in protein as before). They also told us they were expecting to see kidney levels down/potassium up because he's been blocked, but then had to admit it was odd because his kidney levels were fine and his potassium was very low in fact. Once the weekend was over, we picked him back up and took him to our normal vet, who looked at everything and basically said the emergency vet over-reacted and he didn't think there was a blockage at all, which is unfortunate but I get playing it safe. However the very low potassium caught his eye, and for the first time in a long time they also decided to take his blood pressure, which turned out was very high. On previous occasions, they also saw high blood pressure, but assumed it was the stress of going to the vet/being sick. He told us he had a hunch but that first we'd let him recover from the catheterisation and everything, then we'll investigate this potential problem; he did give us potassium supplements to bring the levels back up. It's been a week and a bit and he started recovering well, still struggling to pee properly but more like 50% the normal volume instead of 10%. Always peeing in the litter trays again too. He seemed to be getting better, then a couple nights ago he started peeing outside the litter trays again, and last night he peed a ton outside the litter trays. Took him to the vet in the morning, vet says his bladder is empty, runs a few tests and concludes it's probably a UTI off the back of the catheterisation, so just gave us some meds to deal with that. Since we're there and the cat's calm though, he took his blood pressure and yet again it's high, and his potassium is still low. And the vet explains that one of the meds he's on already lowers blood pressure as a side effect, so it's very unusual. He explained what his hunch was, and what we need to look at now: Conn's Syndrome. Basically a problem with the adrenal gland that causes a bunch of apparently unrelated symptoms: high blood pressure, low potassium, urinary issues, anxiety due to the high blood pressure. Sometimes it's a problem with the gland, other times it's a tumor, who knows. Turns out this is pretty under-diagnosed and that chances are a good chunk of cats that have "chronic kidney disease" or diabetes, might really have (or also have) this particular issue. The vet himself wouldn't have even thought about this if he didn't already have another local cat that has this (which was previously diagnosed by a specialist), and even then he didn't clock it until he noticed the low potassium after what should have been a urinary blockage event (which should have pushed it high). But it would explain everything but the vestibular/dizzyness/vomiting issues, and for once we're getting test results that seem to match the expectations. We're going to be taking him to a specialist to see if we can get a confirmation and see what the underlying cause is, and if there are any solutions like surgery, but it's at least good to know that really a bunch of the issues we had to deal with might have really been only one particularly difficult one. Until then, we've got blood pressure meds for him and we're hoping it's enough to manage the symptoms. Pictures of the victim:   e: also for a proper rant: we got pet insurance near to when we adopted him and paid nearly £50 per month for it, and it ended up paying for absolutely none of this. The rescue vet putting down "chronic kidney disease" basically meant almost everything got treated as a pre-existing condition. The vestibular issue wasn't a pre-existing condition, but they refused to cover it because we didn't go for more conservative tests/treatments first and thought it was unnecessary. We ended up cancelling it well before this recent issue, but it wouldn't have covered any of it anyway. Total scam for old rescue cats, honestly. Red Mike fucked around with this message at 15:15 on Jun 12, 2023 |
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Jun 12, 2023 15:04
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how tall is too tall for a cat tree? i'm lonely bachelor man and think my life would be better if i adopted a couple of cats. my landlord just gave me the okay. i still have to go through the process of rescuing but right now i'm having fun thinking about this. I have a vaulted/lofted living room space with a giant window and my office overlooks it all. is this a terrible idea to make an extra tall cat tree that is (safe and safely secured to the wall) by the window? Not all the way up but up to the second set of windows where i can still help them if they try and hide. Living room loft:  Looking down from the office:  I was imagining in front the window with the red bag outside of it to keep them away from the TV and give the best vantage. I'm considering what a bridge to the office could look like, but that may be dangerous. thoughts? eta: i've grown up with cats/dogs my entire life. i'm taking the time to adopt right and have been visiting a pair of adult rescues lately. i'm doing my due dilligence and taking the process slow.
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Jun 12, 2023 18:31
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Do whatever you want. Your cats will love it. Cover it with carpet so their claws can bite and it'll be fine. You can run a walkway along the wall and add interesting waystations. There are lots of YT videos of stuff people have built. The only real limit is what the landlord will tolerate.
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Jun 12, 2023 18:37
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Deteriorata posted:Do whatever you want. Your cats will love it. thanks! my initial instinct is "cats will love the poo poo out of it" but wanted the vote of confidence. thank you! 100% on the carpet/rope to make it cat claw friendly.
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Jun 12, 2023 18:43
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The higher you let your cats go the closer they will be to cat nirvana and the happier they will be. Do it.
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Jun 12, 2023 18:52
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Only safety concerns with cats is when they're kittens, they don't have full control of all their cat agility yet and are really bad about falling off stuff. But adult cats don't want to get hurt any more than you want them to get hurt so go hog wild. I guess one thing to think about may be routes back to solid ground, housecats are prone to climbing as high as they can without realizing they need to plot a way down. If there's a ramp or something that's easy enough but think twice about a 20 foot sisal pole or whatever.
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Jun 12, 2023 18:54
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The simplest method is a pole with a series of offset platforms they can easily use as steps going up or down.
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Jun 12, 2023 18:56
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Prefer cat steps/walkways in sisal to carpet. You do not want to teach your cat that it's great to claw carpet when you have carpets already.
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Jun 12, 2023 18:59
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xzzy posted:Only safety concerns with cats is when they're kittens, they don't have full control of all their cat agility yet and are really bad about falling off stuff. But adult cats don't want to get hurt any more than you want them to get hurt so go hog wild. Rotten Red Rod posted:The simplest method is a pole with a series of offset platforms they can easily use as steps going up or down. these boys i've been visiting are 3 year old brothers, so no extreme kitten energy. but i am definitely thinking about the dismount! going up is easy but them getting down is the challenge. i'm going to make sure they have a ramped/stepped/easy situation for getting back down.
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Jun 12, 2023 19:02
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19 o'clock posted:
My boy used to fall asleep on top of his cat tree and get so floppy he slid right off. He hasn't done it in a while and this was a 5' tree, and after the first time we put cushions below for if it happened again. It sound absolutely brilliant to have a climbing area and looks unlikely that they'll fall asleep there.
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Jun 12, 2023 22:19
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Clumsiness of the cats may warrant some design changes.
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Jun 13, 2023 01:43
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Hi, thread. I'm going to be splitting time between my house and an apartment for work for the next few months. It's about an hour and 15 mintue drive between the two places. I'm going to bring him up to the apartment as soon as possible, but I'll probably go to my house most weekends. My cat is 8 years old. What would probably be better for him? Moving him back and forth every weekend or leaving him in the apartment for the weekend? I understand every cat is different but just wondering what would probably be the least traumatic for him. More frequent crate and captures versus alone time.
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Jun 15, 2023 00:57
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100% the time alone vs constantly moving them. Now whether it's SAFE to regularly leave your cat alone in an apartment like that is another matter. I'd consider asking a friend to check up on him daily or using a service like Meowtel or Rover if you can afford it that often.
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Jun 15, 2023 01:03
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Yeah, I'd absolutely leave him at home with a big pile of dry food and a clean litter box. Cats don't like changes, and constantly moving back and forth could stress him out. He may adapt, but it's also a huge hassle to capture him constantly and not worth it. Like RRR said, get someone to drop in on him now and then if you're worried about him.
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Jun 15, 2023 01:10
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Yeah, if the apartment is a safe environment and his needs are being met (definitely advise a pet sitter, maybe autofeeders for food, but try to get human eyes on him), he's better off staying put. Being alone is much less stressful to most cats than frequent travel.
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Jun 15, 2023 01:11
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It kind of depends on the cat. But for 99% of cats the previous goons are right, the cat will want to stay in the same place and will not want to ride in the car. If it's safe to leave the cat alone, leave them in the apartment. Ideally have someone check on the cat daily, and if that's not possible, at least get a webcam or something.
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Jun 15, 2023 06:31
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