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Yak Shaves Dot Com posted:My AC is currently dead. It's going to be probably a week until it's repaired. I'm putting ice in my cat's water fountain and leaving out a frozen milk jug she can hang out near if she's too hot. She seems to be okay, if lower energy than usual. Do I need to worry about her dry food spoiling? Is there anything else I can be doing? Is it 40C or higher in your place? Cats should be pretty fine with some heat, especially if there's cool dark places to hide. Just check for dehydration; pinch and lift the loose skin on her scruff and see how fast it snaps back into place. Dry food should be fine in the heat. Do you have it in an airtight container so it's not exposed to bacteria?
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Jul 11, 2023 17:51
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For nervous cats, you also may look into a cats-only clinic or if a vet office has a cat specialist, or a cats-only appointment block. Finding a cat-specific practice really made a difference for our cat, who used to have warnings like "falconry gloves and multiple handlers required". Our vet spends a lot of time just in the room talking quietly with me before even approaching the cat. In the early years, she did most of the exam under the towel we'd brought with us. Now that the cat's used to the vet and has some techs that are absolutely in love with her it's almost like a normal vet visit should be! It just took years to get there.
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Jul 11, 2023 17:57
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Yak Shaves Dot Com posted:My AC is currently dead. It's going to be probably a week until it's repaired. I'm putting ice in my cat's water fountain and leaving out a frozen water jug she can hang out near if she's too hot. She seems to be okay, if lower energy than usual. Do I need to worry about her dry food spoiling? Is there anything else I can be doing? Cats are desert animals and are actually cold at temperatures comfortable to us so just keep water the water filled as she'll go through more than usual probably. Food will be fine.
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Jul 11, 2023 22:03
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What if the cat is long-haired?
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Jul 11, 2023 23:33
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Cats don't lose heat through their fur so length doesn't really matter. If they sit out in a sunbeam they'll overheat but they're smart enough to not do that. Keep them hydrated and expect them to stretch out on the floor or stick to shady areas, they'll do okay as long as you do okay.
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Jul 11, 2023 23:35
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Edit : I should worry less
Yak Shaves Dot Com fucked around with this message at 06:09 on Jul 12, 2023 |
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Jul 12, 2023 01:16
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Does anyone have some good resources for how to do clicker training? I've been trying to read up a bit, but I don't know things like how many repetitions I should do of a given step of the process before progressing to the next one. How do I tell that, eg, I've "charged" the clicker and can now go on to using it to teach what I want to teach? I'm sure there are other details I don't know too. if there's a good manual or reference or something for clicker training (preferably for cats) that would be super helpful.
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Jul 12, 2023 12:32
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Hyperlynx posted:Does anyone have some good resources for how to do clicker training? I've been trying to read up a bit, but I don't know things like how many repetitions I should do of a given step of the process before progressing to the next one. How do I tell that, eg, I've "charged" the clicker and can now go on to using it to teach what I want to teach? Anything by Karen Pryor is gold.
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Jul 12, 2023 12:39
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Hyperlynx posted:Does anyone have some good resources for how to do clicker training? I've been trying to read up a bit, but I don't know things like how many repetitions I should do of a given step of the process before progressing to the next one. How do I tell that, eg, I've "charged" the clicker and can now go on to using it to teach what I want to teach? https://m.youtube.com/@CatSchool https://www.catschool.co/ She has a membership on her site but it’s way too expensive imho. I guess if you got super hardcore about it, had been doing it for a while, and hit a roadblock it would be worth it. But there’s plenty of free stuff on YouTube to keep you busy.
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Jul 12, 2023 19:55
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Crocobile posted:lol the last time maintenance came over Niko kept following one of the guys around, jumping up on nearby tables and chairs, just to meow in this guys face. One of the people who delivered a couch to my place loved Quill, turns out back where he's from in Senegal he had 6 black cats. He ended up chilling a bit after the delivery and playing with her.
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Jul 12, 2023 21:49
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Dienes posted:Anything by Karen Pryor is gold. Crocobile posted:I’ve used Cat School’s videos for clicker training. Haven’t done it in a while (not since I got a 2nd cat at least) but I did manage to teach my cat sit, down and was working on roll-over. Thanks folks, these are great! And I can immediately see resources there answering some of the other questions I had. Excellent!
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Jul 13, 2023 00:44
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We are thinking of adopting a second cat, a 2 year old girl. She has previously had a mild case of cat flu, but it cleared up fully within a week or so and she has since been vaccinated. Our current cat, a 2 year old girl as well, has also been fully vaccinated. Both will be indoor cats. Does anyone think the cat flu is cause for concern? I know it can reoccur and I'm worried about bringing it into the house with our existing cat. But also really want to give this second cat a home.
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Jul 13, 2023 13:00
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If it's been a few weeks you're probably fine, but just keep them separated for the first week or two if you're worried.
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Jul 13, 2023 15:37
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Rotten Red Rod posted:If it's been a few weeks you're probably fine, but just keep them separated for the first week or two if you're worried. I know that the cat flu has cleared up totally because she's been neutered since and the vet records confirm it. I'm more worried about her being a carrier and eventually making our existing cat sick. We've been burned before with a bad adoption experience so I want to be 100% sure that we're not doing the wrong thing.
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Jul 13, 2023 15:48
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Rotten Red Rod posted:If it's been a few weeks you're probably fine, but just keep them separated for the first week or two if you're worried. I know that the cat flu has cleared up totally because she's been neutered since and the vet records confirm it. I'm more worried about her being a carrier and eventually making our existing cat sick. We've been burned before with a bad adoption experience so I want to be 100% sure that we're not doing the wrong thing.
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Jul 13, 2023 15:48
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I have four cats and never thought to look in PI for a cat thread! I will post pictures of my little psychopath babies later. My partner and I are shopping around on Chewy for decent -- not even the best -- wet food. We have two male seniors, a middle age ragdall female, and a silver tabby at almost two years of age who is definitely still a kitten. What brands should I go toward or stay away from? Can we get good food without spending literally $4 per can?
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Jul 17, 2023 16:30
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It depends on what your cats like - do they care for fish (mine don't), shredded meat or pates, etc? I consult catfooddb occasionally, besides just reading the ingredients list. I started with Instinct Grain-Free* but my hungrier cat got bored/tired of it and I had to switch to American Journey, which is Chewy's new-ish in-house brand. The 12.5 oz chicken/turkey pate cans are currently $0.31/oz, which is as cheap as it gets for mostly filler-free food. I am a little skeptical partly because the last batch I got had noticeably off texture in the turkey flavour cans and the aforementioned hungry cat wouldn't even touch them. Chewy did refund those cans, but I wonder if they're trying to undercut other brands and then slowly cheap out on ingredients/quality control once it's more established. Anyway, other options - Fancy Feast Naturals (has a bit of fish, but doesn't have fillers unlike most other fancy feast stuff) is currently slightly cheaper on Amazon but also available on Chewy. Tiki Cat is more known for shredded meat/fish food but they do have some pates (see the After Dark line) that are harder to find and more expensive. There are seemingly infinitely many more options for yet more expensive quality grain- and root vegetable-free pates. I've tried some Rawz pates, for example, and my cats usually but not always like them. They specifically do not sell through Chewy/Petsmart/Amazon as a matter of principle, though. * It is grain-free but has peas, carrots, pumpkin and other useless-for-cats filler. Precambrian Video Games fucked around with this message at 17:24 on Jul 17, 2023 |
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Jul 17, 2023 17:22
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Potato Salad posted:I have four cats and never thought to look in PI for a cat thread! I will post pictures of my little psychopath babies later. Just making sure, you aren't feeding your two year old cat kitten food right? They are definitely not in the kitten stage of life and they'll get overweight etc with the kitten foods which are higher calorie I think. Brand wise I'm extremely happy with tiki cat.
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Jul 17, 2023 19:20
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I have cat trees, beds, plenty of cushioned spots and windowsills and other options, but every time I come home they are here, smothering my plants: Any advice on how I can give them what they want from this without them murdering my plants in the process? What is the appeal?
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Jul 17, 2023 19:24
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Cats just seem to enjoy dirt. The best theory I've heard is it's an instinct to pick up bacteria, which they then groom out of their fur, and it ends up populating their gut. That's for taking dirt baths though, I'm not sure how to interpret actually sleeping in the stuff. Maybe it feels cool. Maybe it's just the right amount of cozy. Maybe they're just being cats. Only alternative I could suggest is one of those scratcher bowls, maybe it's the shape of the pot they like. eg: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0753DQT5F/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
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Jul 17, 2023 19:37
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I'll try giving them pots with just dirt in them then and see how they like that. If it's the dirt or cool that might work. Ive gotta admit it's adorable, I just don't want them killing all my already suffering plants
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Jul 17, 2023 19:51
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We got our cats cooling pads that like.. I honestly don't know how they work but I assume it's something with the material where they stay cooler easily? They seem to really like them though, so if it's a "likes to lie in a cool bed" kinda thing then that's an option. I don't believe they were too much money either!
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Jul 17, 2023 19:58
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Weird Pumpkin posted:We got our cats cooling pads that like.. I honestly don't know how they work but I assume it's something with the material where they stay cooler easily? Its through direct touch with the object. Its totally like us laying on the cold tile floor.
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Jul 17, 2023 20:12
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I've gotten my cat several toys which she plays with, but if I make the mistake of leaving out napkins or similar paper material I'll wake up to torn scraps of it in her play area. How is she so amused by ripping up paper and leaving a mess everywhere? 
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Jul 18, 2023 12:40
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One of my most vivid memories of when we got sage and he was still a kitten was waking up in the middle of the night to a ruckus, turning on the light in the bathroom and finding out he had shredded like 3 entire rolls of toilet paper lol
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Jul 18, 2023 14:45
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Teriyaki Koinku posted:How is she so amused by ripping up paper and leaving a mess everywhere? You aren’t?
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Jul 18, 2023 15:15
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The first day we left Ferdie alone for ~6 hours he got into a box of tissues, I arrived home to shredded paper everywhere and a very happy kitten.
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Jul 18, 2023 15:18
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When I was growing up we left an unopened bag of marshmellows on the counter, we came home that evening to find them strewn all over the house and under my sister's bed we found the bag completely shredded with only a couple left. Cat had never done anything like that before and never did it again, for that one day he decided he was bored and went full murder.
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Jul 18, 2023 15:19
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Weird Pumpkin posted:One of my most vivid memories of when we got sage and he was still a kitten was waking up in the middle of the night to a ruckus, turning on the light in the bathroom and finding out he had shredded like 3 entire rolls of toilet paper lol Nacho did this and I found torn bits of paper throughout the house weeks later
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Jul 18, 2023 17:02
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Can someone who knows cat behavior tell me why one of my cats likes to put hair ties(his favorite toy) in his food bowl when I'm gone? Is it just his way of getting my attention that he wants more food?
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Jul 18, 2023 19:48
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Boogalo posted:Cats are desert animals and are actually cold at temperatures comfortable to us so just keep water the water filled as she'll go through more than usual probably. Food will be fine. I was always curious about this. Sometimes when it feels dreadfully hot in here my cats will still lay right in front of the glass door in the sunlight, which is like a little mini oven. I usually leave my house on 77f when I'm gone all day and was wondering if that might be a bit uncomfy for them, but they've never seem to mind it at all.
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Jul 18, 2023 19:51
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Drunk Driver Dad posted:Can someone who knows cat behavior tell me why one of my cats likes to put hair ties(his favorite toy) in his food bowl when I'm gone? Is it just his way of getting my attention that he wants more food? Short answer: is cat being cat. Long answer: it's impossible to say for sure, but it seems likely that he's doing it because he hunts the toy, and hunting means food, so a hunted toy goes in the food area. One of my cats leaves us her toys in the bedroom (or in our shoes!) all the time, probably because she's instinctually trying to feed us. Drunk Driver Dad posted:I was always curious about this. Sometimes when it feels dreadfully hot in here my cats will still lay right in front of the glass door in the sunlight, which is like a little mini oven. I usually leave my house on 77f when I'm gone all day and was wondering if that might be a bit uncomfy for them, but they've never seem to mind it at all. I think it has something to do with them having a higher body temperature than us, so they prefer it a bit warmer.
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Jul 18, 2023 19:55
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My favorite bit of cat behavior is when my cats don't finish their food and try to "bury" it after they're done. Like they just sit there pawing imaginary dirt from the hardwood floor onto their bowls.
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Jul 18, 2023 20:11
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Vargatron posted:My favorite bit of cat behavior is when my cats don't finish their food and try to "bury" it after they're done. Like they just sit there pawing imaginary dirt from the hardwood floor onto their bowls. My cat always paws at the table after, I assumed she just had food on her paw for some reason. I was also thinking of switching to pine litter, there was a video where a girl claimed it was easier and better. The pissed on stuff just dissolves into dust and you scoop the turds normally. You pretty much have to use a sifter style box though.
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Jul 18, 2023 20:17
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I've found every type of litter except unscented clumping clay litter to be absolutely horrible, but YMMV.
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Jul 18, 2023 20:20
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Pine pellets absolutely smell better (all you smell is pine) but if the cat has been using clay litter their whole life they may be reluctant to use it. The other advantage to pine is wayyyy less dust covering every surface near the litter box. It's definitely not easier than clay though. First you gotta scoop the poo out, then shovel all the pellets to one side of the box, scoop it one by one and sift the sawdust into a garbage can until you've filtered the entire litter box.
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Jul 18, 2023 21:28
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Tofu litter is expensive and you have to wait for pee to dry before scooping, but: Doesn't get stuck in my scooper Doesn't get stuck to paws as much if they walk over it, and tracks less Doesn't have any dust So if dust is a big issue, grab a bag from Chewy to try.
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Jul 18, 2023 21:53
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I use clay clumping litter with the litter robot and never scoop, it’s great The one downside is that I can’t use automatic mode because they’ll jump in and try to rescue the poop from the hole
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Jul 18, 2023 22:07
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Hey hi hello, cant remember if Ive posted in this thread or not, either way its been a very long time. Anyway, ive had cats my whole life, and theyve always been rescues or shelter cats or rehabilitated ferals because I felt like those were the ones that needed a home the most. That said Ive always had a bucket list cat, a pure bred maine coon, I finally caved on my reservations of going to a breeder and got myself a kitten and hes wonderful and amazing but before this turns into a five page post of my gushing over this cat let me get to my question. Does anyone have any experience with maine coons? for me part of the draw aside from the personality is the gigantic sizes they can grow to. unfortunately its 2023 and there are no simple answers on the internet anymore, I spend a lot of time researching what to feed him and how big he should be at a particular age trying to ensure he grows up to be the biggest ball of fur possible and every single site and post I find contradicts the previous one. He is a male, and I had him neutered immediately when I got him as I have no plans to breed cats, I spend more on special high protein high fat cat food for him than I do for myself, and with it being summer my daughter is home from school all day to feed him pretty much any time he shows any interest in eating (cant just leave food out, at least not wet or the other adult cats that definitely do not need to be eating high protein high fat food will eat it), he is leash trained and is taken outside to play, get excersize and acclimate with the outside world daily weather permitting.... so I feel like Im doing all I can to insure he grows as big as he can and it will just come down to genetics and luck at this point but Im curious if anyone has any tips or a general guideline for weight or size by age, if not at least enjoy some kitten pics. his name is Mars, short for Marmalade (my daughter named him) and he turns 5 months next week. 
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Jul 19, 2023 13:04
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I don't really have any info for you, but I just wanted to say what an adorable little goofus he is
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Jul 19, 2023 13:12
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