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pidan posted:Cats do behave really oddly on catnip but that state usually only lasts 10 minutes or so. Maybe she was spooked by something and sought out humans for comfort, that would explain being affectionate and having her fur stand on end. Rawrbomb posted:Was she also being vocal in her affection? Makes me think of a cat going into heat. Good friends cat had an incomplete spay, and she was continuing to go into heats, which changed her 180 degrees from I hate you and everything to I want to be your best friend why did you stop petting me. Which was super confusing for us, since she was actually spayed before he had adopted her. She's better now after they went back in and got out what was missed. Thanks for the answers! She is spayed, but it turns out the reason is much weirder than expected... There are two bloody cats!! They've identical markings and colouring, but one is (very slightly) bigger and a fair bit fluffier. This doppleganger cat (who we've called "Chunky") only ever really came in at night time, and only a handful of times, so in the half light it wasn't as obvious that it wasn't Monkey. In hindsight it makes a lot of sense, though - their meows are different, and Chunky is also more gregarious and goofy than Monkey, who is a rather more demure girl. I figured this out last night when I watched Monkey hiss at, uh, "Monkey". It was honestly surreal and a bit Twin Peaks-y. A strange cat has been masquerading as "our" cat! Stealing scritches and dreamies! On Saturday night I was, uh, chemically influenced, and at several points had let Monkey out the bathroom window upstairs, only to go back downstairs to find Monkey again, which was confusing and disorientating. I thought she was just really quick! We honestly don't know how we feel about this stranger in our midst, but I'm not sure how we'd keep him/her out while still letting Monkey in. Presumably Monkey will do her part to keep him/her away most of the time, though - she really, really hates other cats. We think maybe Chunky is one of her litter mates from down the other end of the road (so one of the eight other cats that she moved down here to get away from). I don't know if s/he's been adopted by next door or someone nearby, or if s/he is just pushing his/her luck and pressing into Monkey's territory. It's like bloody Grand Central Station for cats, this house. I was not expecting to be living in a managerie when I moved here... Barry Foster fucked around with this message at 13:45 on Jul 19, 2023 |
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Jul 19, 2023 13:43
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Weird Pumpkin posted:I don't really have any info for you, but I just wanted to say what an adorable little goofus he is oh man I have so many pictures I would love to share but I dont know how many I can post before someone decides its excessive and yells at me haha    hes an amazing cat and so full of character
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Jul 19, 2023 14:44
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Hi posted:oh man I have so many pictures I would love to share but I dont know how many I can post before someone decides its excessive and yells at me haha 
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Jul 19, 2023 16:13
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Oh man, speaking of leash training does anyone have any advice on getting started? I've mostly been trying to do some of the basic clicker training I started with with previous pets, but mine seem... Only grudgingly willing to eat any of the variety of treats I've gotten to offer them and certainly aren't excited about it. (The only food they do get excited about is their wet food and that's only one of them really) They are about three months old now and have been doing surprisingly well considering they've had to live in four different places over the last month including one with dogs (who they quickly learned are fun to torment) and are somehow incredibly tolerant of being manhandled by children (though I do my best to prevent it from happening). I think it was definitely the right choice to get two siblings (and one of the other siblings might be visiting somewhat regularly, not sure if that is a good or bad thing).But now that they and me are finally settled into the new house I want to make sure I'm working on correct next steps. I have finally gotten them to stop biting me at night (although one of them still prefers to sleep on my shoulder it at all possible) and am working on getting them to scratch their assigned scratching objects instead of literally everything, and starting the leash training seems like an obvious next step since they really REALLY want to be outside, but the extent of what they do the three times they escaped while folks were moving stuff in or visiting is just meandering around the yard sniffing stuff until I walk by and pick them up.
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Jul 19, 2023 16:52
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What do you mean by leash training? Just getting them to accept it? Or training them to actually follow instructions while on a leash? Because the latter, I got no loving clue. There's youtubes out there of how people have done it but it takes more patience than I've ever been able to muster. But the former? It's pretty easy.. buy a harness that fits them and strap 'em in. The younger the cat the better time you're going to have and 3 months is probably a sweet spot. Once they're 9+ months they get into that mode where wearing a harness breaks their brain and your job gets a lot harder. Once you get them leashed and outside the real work starts which as I hinted above I'm horrible at. After about four years and endless repetition I kind of got my cat to listen to me.. but she's a cat. She'll just ignore me whenever it's convenient. The best control I've been able to manage is teaching her that tension on the leash means stop. If she's heading into a bush I can take out the slack and hold it tight and she'll be all "okay that's off limits, off to the next adventure."
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Jul 19, 2023 17:19
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Command following would be ideal eventually but at this point I would be pretty happy with not immediately slipping out of the harness or trying to run off immediately if they do. I have been led to believe that staying in the harness is generally, for cats, a matter of them not trying very hard to get out of it, so I just want to avoid them ever normalizing that as an option I guess? Maybe I could just slap a leash and harness on them right now and it would be fine, I dunno, but the impression I've get is that with cats in particular not teaching them the wrong thing is more important than teaching them the right thing so I'm trying to be cautious moving forward. Current plan is to spend a few days this week letting them wear the harness around the house while being observed and occasionally giving treats/playing with them to ensure they don't try to escape it, and then if that goes well doing some walks around the porch and then going from there.
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Jul 19, 2023 18:15
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Barry Foster posted:We honestly don't know how we feel about this stranger in our midst, but I'm not sure how we'd keep him/her out while still letting Monkey in. Presumably Monkey will do her part to keep him/her away most of the time, though - she really, really hates other cats. We think maybe Chunky is one of her litter mates from down the other end of the road (so one of the eight other cats that she moved down here to get away from). I don't know if s/he's been adopted by next door or someone nearby, or if s/he is just pushing his/her luck and pressing into Monkey's territory.
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Jul 19, 2023 18:30
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In my experience they won't really try to wiggle out of it, unless it's an older cat that has grown less adaptable. Kittens tend to not give a gently caress about anything. The strap based ones (I use the petsafe brand) tighten around the collarbone when they tug against it, which limits their ability to get out of it because pressure around the neck causes them to pause. The only real risk is if they try to go in reverse, fortunately cats don't back up too often but I've had a couple moments where it did happen and if I hadn't reacted she maybe could have gotten out of the harness.
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Jul 19, 2023 18:38
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Coincidentally I just put a harness on one of our foster kittens because he had a wound he kept reopening by scratching and the harness covered it up. He couldn't walk right for maybe an hour, and then he stopped caring at all like he had worn it forever. On the flipside, one of our older cats likes sneaking outside, so I tried to put a harness on her so she can enjoy it safely, and she will NOT let that thing get on her, to the point of hissing and scratching. So... Cats be cats.
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Jul 19, 2023 19:53
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Hi posted:oh man I have so many pictures I would love to share but I dont know how many I can post before someone decides its excessive and yells at me haha I bet folks in the YOSPOS cat thread would love to see him. 
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Jul 19, 2023 22:09
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His ears  Post all the pics, in YOSPOS or in the orange cat thread here in PI! Re. litter chat, our non-clumping walnut experiment seems to be… a rousing success? I’m honestly surprised. It has all the things we liked about pine pellets, plus it’s actually been much less messy. The only downside, and it’s minor, is that I don’t really like the smell of it - but it’s the walnut I’m smelling, so it’s still good on odour control.
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Jul 20, 2023 03:37
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eating only apples posted:Not to say that Ferdie is particularly smart, but he's over all his puzzle toys. I love the Nina Ottosson range and the turnover toy is arriving tomorrow, but can anyone recommend other puzzle toys available in the UK? Kid loves them, and bonus, we've convinced him that his particularly expensive dry food (Catit Nuna) is actually treats. He doesn't care for treat-dispensing balls. Doesn't get it, won't bother trying. But a few moving parts on a flat tray and he'll be engaged for ages. we’re also in the U.K. and have a few puzzle toys including that one. It’s the most complicated one I’ve found so you might struggle for something that keeps him puzzled for so long. have to say I was disappointed with mine as the wheel is ridiculously stiff (like, the bigger of our two cats can move it, but it’s off-puttingly hard) and two of the raindrops are loose so they fall below the level of the board and get stuck. sounds like I got a duff one? https://www.amazon.co.uk/ALL-PAWS-Interactive-Puzzle-Feeder/dp/B08169DXJT/ https://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/cats/cat_toys/miscellaneous/1672674 these are a lot easier and ours figured them out immediately, but they still like em Shogi fucked around with this message at 08:27 on Jul 22, 2023 |
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Jul 22, 2023 08:24
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What are the current food brand/specific option recommendations?
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Jul 23, 2023 16:04
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GlyphGryph posted:What are the current food brand/specific option recommendations? My research (looking at independent reviews that themselves sent samples of food for 3rd party analysis) showed that Tiki Cat was really good, I switched from Royal Canin to Tiki Cat and have been very pleased with it. The only stuff Quill won't eat is anything with Ahi Tuna which is a bummer.
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Jul 23, 2023 17:15
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GlyphGryph posted:What are the current food brand/specific option recommendations? Frankly my opinion will always be veterinary brands because they research their foods. Other brands rely on marketing to sell - remember, the pet food industry is a multi billion dollar industry. So foods like Science Diet, Purina Pro Plan, and Royal Canin are at the top of my list. A GREAT example of the impact marketing makes on food is the grain free craze - currently we still don't know why, but grain free diets have led to an increase of DCM (enlarged hearts) in dogs. People listened to marketing and bought brands based on that and a lot of dogs have died. Research is good. That is what happens if research isn't done on foods.
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Jul 24, 2023 00:10
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parara posted:Hello thread! About a month ago everyone was very kind to me about my old man Pontus passing away. I'm very happy to report there's a new scrunkle in the household, who is the opposite of my neurotic old dude in every way, so I am learning New Things About Cats! We're about two months in, and I wanted to show the thread the kind of Unit he has turned into!  It's been really fun and interesting with him! And the findings from two months ago still stand: he's just about the polar opposite of Pontus (aka no neurotic behaviour, actually sociable, etc) and I learn something new about cats every day. Public enemy number one seem to be the shower, and stray bugs on the ceiling, but we duo those because I get to hold him up like an airplane so he can swat at them.
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Jul 24, 2023 12:45
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My cats hate the wet noisy room too. One of them is a little more bonded to me than my wife, and whenever I take a shower he sits and cries at the door till I get out. Then he seems very pleased that he protected me from the shower and at the first opportunity when I get dressed and lie down jumps up to snuggle and purr super hard while rubbing all over my face
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Jul 24, 2023 13:00
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One of my cats sits and stares at me in the shower because she loves drinking water off the metal door track and is waiting for her fix.
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Jul 24, 2023 13:42
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I can't close my bathroom door when I shower anymore because Quill wants to kick it wide open and watch the water drops run down the glass shower doors. She then lays down on the bath mat and waits for me to step over her. When I put my foot down beside her and I'm drying off she'll try to grab my ankles and gently nip at my archilles. It's something. After this she wants to go in the shower and play with the puddles. I let her if I have the time to make sure she doesn't go in her litter right after. Pic of her enjoying a shower on vacation in some townhome: 
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Jul 24, 2023 13:51
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We have our bathroom door open most of the time since that's where our second litter box is. Half the time if I take bath it triggers something in Katya to use the litter box which then turns in to him watching me take a bath and knocking my shampoo/body wash bottles in to tub since he knows I'll put them back on the ledge to knock over again. When it's actual shower time though he and his sister will perch outside the door to watch and wait.
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Jul 24, 2023 17:57
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My cats seem to be in a competition over which one gets to bite my lips/chin and I am not a fan.
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Jul 24, 2023 21:49
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Yeah don't tolerate vying for favoritism, allow equal bites
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Jul 25, 2023 00:40
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Tomorrow Sinjin has to be anesthetized for a teeth cleaning and they want me to give him gabapentin and 1) I’ve never pilled a cat 2) Sinjin is suspicious and won’t eat treats with medicine in them 3) I practiced restraining him and opening his mouth last night and he was not a fan. 
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Jul 26, 2023 20:12
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If you got someone around to help you, wrapping the cat in a towel can help. They hold the purrito while you try to get the pill into the back of their mouth. Good luck! Vets act like it's the easiest thing in the world but it ain't. If you can get a pill popper from them it may make it a little easier. Try to do it somewhere where when the cat spits the pill out on the floor you can find it and try again.
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Jul 26, 2023 20:38
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xzzy posted:Good luck! Vets act like it's the easiest thing in the world but it ain't. If you can get a pill popper from them it may make it a little easier. Try to do it somewhere where when the cat spits the pill out on the floor you can find it and try again. I would attempt to get her in my lap, with her oriented across my lap facing left. I would take my right arm and wrap it around her from the front, with my hand under her chin. Allowing me to control her somewhat, making it hard to get away/out of my control. From there I could either use my right hand to wedge her mouth open, or my free left to get it open, then pop the pill in. If you run your finger under their lip line into the gums on the teeth, that will normally prompt them to open their mouth. I feel pretty lucky most of the cats won't bite down on my fingers in there. After the pill is in, i would try to hold her mouth shut and massage the throat to help make her swallow. Really though, just rubbing the throat/chin was enough, she never spat it out that I can remember...
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Jul 26, 2023 20:51
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Our vet gives us the powder in soft capsules, which we break open and mix into their wet food. No need to get anywhere near clawing distance, which is great since the little one is required by the vet to be drugged before visits and physically impossible (without blood loss risks) to restrain otherwise.
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Jul 26, 2023 21:25
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I'm at my wits end trying to get our cat to stop screaming and yowling from midnight to 5am.
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Jul 26, 2023 21:56
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Grey Cat posted:I'm at my wits end trying to get our cat to stop screaming and yowling from midnight to 5am. Earplugs. Don't respond or you'll just reinforce the behavior.
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Jul 26, 2023 21:58
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Crocobile posted:Tomorrow Sinjin has to be anesthetized for a teeth cleaning and they want me to give him gabapentin and I was terrible at pilling cats too, but I've been taking care of a FIP cat and have to pill him twice a day so I've gotten used to it. First, get one of those pill shooters to insert the pill - it lets you easily get the pill really deep in their throat so they can't spit it back up. On a table, face the cat away from you with your stomach bracing their back. Hold their head with one hand, leaning their neck back so they're almost looking up at you, and then use the pill shooter to gently nudge open their mouth - I do it on the front teeth, avoiding the canines. Once you have it open, get the pill shooter as far down their throat as you can and press the lever. Then, clamp their mouth shut. You can also do the throat rubbing thing, but the main thing is to just keep their mouth closed until you see their throat move and they lick their lips. If they spit it out, you probably didn't get it far enough in. Then give them some of their favorite treat as a reward and to wash it down (gabapentin tastes BAD). Some cats will be way harder than others. If they just won't open their mouth, use your fingers to gently pry it open from both sides. Avoid the canines, of course. And if all else fails, purrito them and get help. Rotten Red Rod fucked around with this message at 22:33 on Jul 26, 2023 |
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Jul 26, 2023 22:30
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Deteriorata posted:Earplugs. Don't respond or you'll just reinforce the behavior. Yeah I've thought of this, problem is I need white noise for my tinnitus so I'm usually wearing earbuds since my SO can't stand the white noise. But I can't seem to get a wireless pair that actually block out the screeching.
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Jul 26, 2023 22:55
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Rawrbomb posted:They get a lot of practice at it, to be fair. And as someone who has had to do it a fair number of times, it isn't the hassle it used to be. Our little calico has had a number of issues during her life that has required pills multiple times. Normally, food is her favorite thing, but not when it has a pill. She eventually got fishy of the american cheese I would wrap the pill around so I had to start popping it in her mouth directly. MrsYenko insists that giving the cats pills be done in an exact manner requiring a seance, chicken pill wraps, thirty minutes of calm music, and a post-pill foot massage. Takes for loving ever. I do a variation of the above and get all four done in less time than it takes to catch the little bastards. It helps if you tilt their head up and then gently hold it there while you hold their mouth closed. One of ours is a master of tonguing the thing and spitting it out later, so you have to give him a choice between swallowing and breathing.
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Jul 27, 2023 00:00
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So my poor dipshit developed an abcess on his jaw (not really sure what wound caused it, but he'd had some pretty gnarly acne in roughly that spot earlier in the month, so  ?). Now he's been to the vet and had an antibiotic shot and has to wear an inflatable neck pillow (which he HATES) and I feel like an awful person for having this happen to him.
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Jul 27, 2023 01:33
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MrYenko posted:One of ours is a master of tonguing the thing and spitting it out later, so you have to give him a choice between swallowing and breathing. This is the thing that gets me. All of the videos online show these loving docile cats just sitting motionless and letting people hold their jaws open for perfect placement, then swallowing right away. My older cat resists having his jaw opened and will do anything he can to push away/bite down on a pill shooter (and my fingers), so that's a no go. I basically have to drop it straight down the hatch as far back as I can and then close his mouth immediately so he doesn't push it right back to the side or out. The other cat doesn't resist as much but avoids swallowing afterwards as long as he can and will bolt away at the first opportunity and try to hack up the pill. They also both semi-consciously move their tongues out so it's harder to get the pill at the back of the throat in the first place. One thing I saw suggested was that cats can choke on pills if they stick to their throats and start dissolving there. That hasn't really happened to me but the vet in this video recommended using a small syringe filled with water to help it down. I have not found this to be necessary and also by the time I drop the pill they're already wriggling away and getting the water in would be another challenge. Plus I worry about them choking on the water.
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Jul 27, 2023 01:56
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I have a question about a second cat! Stoffer is about five months old now, and his parents accidentally had another litter soon after his (he was the only one in his litter). I've thought about getting a second cat in the future as a buddy for him, is it better to do so now? His sibling litter will be ready to leave around September, which would make Stoffer about seven months old. I guess I'm asking because I'm still enjoying my time so much bonding with him and it's just the two of us, and I feel like it may be too soon? I do eventually want to get a second cat, but if it's better for the domestic harmony to do it as soon as possible now that Stoffer is still young, I might cave sooner. Also, I'm only used to having one cat so is there anything I should know (apart from the gradual introduction, of course)? The idea of having another cat almost feels like betrayal towards my current fluffball, as stupid as that sounds. parara fucked around with this message at 13:53 on Jul 27, 2023 |
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Jul 27, 2023 13:51
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parara posted:I have a question about a second cat! Stoffer is about five months old now, and his parents accidentally had another litter soon after his (he was the only one in his litter). I've thought about getting a second cat in the future as a buddy for him, is it better to do so now? His sibling litter will be ready to leave around September, which would make Stoffer about seven months old. You cannot be around 100% of the time for your little bud, so get them a friend to bond with now (soon!). There is a really good chance they'll bond well, and as kittens probably get along better. I don't think there is a huge difference from 1 to 2 cats, aside from more litter boxes, food, and toys. You do want N + 1 boxes if possible, where N is cats.
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Jul 27, 2023 14:19
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Rawrbomb posted:You cannot be around 100% of the time for your little bud, so get them a friend to bond with now (soon!). There is a really good chance they'll bond well, and as kittens probably get along better. I don't think there is a huge difference from 1 to 2 cats, aside from more litter boxes, food, and toys. You do want N + 1 boxes if possible, where N is cats. Any tips on gender? The litter has both, Stoffer is a little lad but he's very sociable and friendly and used to other cats since he grew up in that same household.
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Jul 27, 2023 14:34
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MrYenko posted:One of ours is a master of tonguing the thing and spitting it out later, so you have to give him a choice between swallowing and breathing. So is Rexie. We had to do sweeps like in a hospital to make sure it was swallowed. I think sometimes I had to lightly coat the pill in vaseline so it was too slilppery to stick to her tongue. Over time that stopped, though, thank goodness. A compounding pharmacy made Tigh's heart meds taste like chicken, which mostly eliminated the problem of administration.
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Jul 27, 2023 14:34
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parara posted:Any tips on gender? The litter has both, Stoffer is a little lad but he's very sociable and friendly and used to other cats since he grew up in that same household. Gender shouldn't matter as long as they're both fixed. And yeah, get a buddy sooner rather than later, when they're all still kittens (although make sure the new friend is ready, usually around 6-8 weeks old is when they lose their wobbliness and are ready to play).
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Jul 27, 2023 15:01
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Dienes posted:So is Rexie. We had to do sweeps like in a hospital to make sure it was swallowed. I think sometimes I had to lightly coat the pill in vaseline so it was too slilppery to stick to her tongue. Over time that stopped, though, thank goodness. Jet gets one of his meds in turkey oil form, which he doesn’t like but will at least not gag on and spit up.
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Jul 27, 2023 16:15
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Well, thanks for everyone’s advice on pilling but Sinjin was absolutely not having it and I could barely get his mouth open at all. For better or for worse another cat butler friend lent me some extra liquid gabapentin with a syringe applicator and I managed to get that in his mouth. Funny thing: after trying and failing to pill him (even tried to grease the pill with butter  ) I split the pill open and mixed it in a Churu. He licked at it a little but gabapentin is bitter and he became distrustful (wouldn’t even eat untainted Churu). After I got the liquid version in his mouth I let Niko in and he bum rushed to the gabapentin-laced Churu and was, uh, undeterred by the bitter taste (no I did not let him eat all of it). Anyway the cleaning went well, anesthesia went smoothly, and the vet tech gushed that Sinjin’s the softest cat and there were about 15 people cuddling him and one of them was carrying him around like a baby.  idk if they’re just flattering me but the vet always gushes over his fur (it’s slightly crimped and smokey). Also I talked to the vet about providing me with liquid gabapentin in the future and they said that was cool.
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Jul 28, 2023 08:05
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