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Countblanc posted:Does anyone have any recommendations for alternatives to cat nail clippers? I live by myself and my cat is not at all cooperative - I've historically taken him to the vet to get it done but the last few times have had mixed results. I just got back from a vet trip where they said he was simply too scared and uncooperative, even after having been given gabapentin a few hours prior (at the vet's request) and this isn't the only time this has happened. It's extremely stressful for me because he's also not the most well-behaved cat normally and having sharp nails leads to a lot of scratching and bleeding on my end. I'm sort of at my wits end, wrangling him for these vet trips is extremely taxing and having them fail half the time anyway just makes the whole thing feel futile. What are you doing that he scratches you all the time?
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May 15, 2024 00:25
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Kitten update. She was ~4 weeks old and 0.9lbs when I got her. She's now ~11 weeks old and was 2.5lbs at her last vet appointment a few weeks ago. She ended up with the name Luna, because I was thinking of kitten names around the time of the eclipse.   Her favorite activities are sitting on my shoulder to watch whatever I'm doing, attacking my feet, and tormenting my other cat, Jade. She's been really good for Jade, honestly. She's far more active and engaged now that she Luna to play with.
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May 15, 2024 01:50
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Joburg posted:Anti Icky Poo The one with the clipart looking label? Should I get unscented like one of the reviews I read said?
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May 15, 2024 03:33
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Has anyone found an automatic litter box that's as robust and reliable as the litter robot but takes up less space? I'm tired of having my litterbox dominating my bathroom, but not tired enough to go back to scooping. I have some foster kitten pictures for your time.  
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May 18, 2024 17:22
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the automatic litter boxes made by petsafe have been around for a while. they don't look that bulky and haven't heard anything real bad about them aside from not being able to use clumping litter
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May 18, 2024 17:54
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One of our cats (9 years old) has been vomiting about once a week, but otherwise she has been acting fine. I brought her in for bloodwork and they said she has hyperthyroidism, though I did not see the results to know how high the levels were. Based on some online reading, she does not seem to have many symptoms of hyperthyroidism, her only symptom is the occasional throw up (it is always kibble, not liquidy or anything), which is pretty much the free square for every possible disease. She has not lost weight and has good body condition, she does not eat or drink excessively or show any of the other common symptoms listed. The vet recommended radiation to hopefully resolve the issue. I guess I just wonder whether the hyperthyroidism is an incidental finding to the vomiting due to the lack of other symptoms. Spending money on the animals is not a problem, but it would feel better if the symptoms matched the diagnosis and I had 100% confidence that it would resolve the issue as best as we can, instead of paying for radiation therapy and then potentially finding out the issue is something else. Maybe I am a bit paranoid, since about 10 years ago I am 99% sure a vet was taking us for a ride on a previous cat and gave a diagnosis of diabetes and liver disease where I am not sure if they actually did any testing at all. Finally after getting suspicious of them trying to ram through as many procedures as possible, I brought him to a vet who my family has trusted and been using since before I was born and she diagnosed him with kidney failure and that he was not diabetic at all. Pain of Mind fucked around with this message at 15:28 on May 20, 2024 |
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May 18, 2024 19:35
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You are receiving this broadcast as a dream...We are transmitting from the year one nine... nine nine ...You are receiving this broadcast in order t
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Pain of Mind posted:One of our cats (9 years old) has been vomiting about once a week, but otherwise she has been acting fine. I brought her in for bloodwork and they said she has hyperthyroidism, though I did not see the results to know how high the levels were. Based on some online reading, she does not seem to have many symptoms of hyperthyroidism, her only symptom is the occasional throw up (it is always kibble, not liquidy or anything), which is pretty much the free square for every possible disease. She has not lost weight and has good body condition, she does not eat or drink excessively or show any of the other common symptoms listed. The vet recommended radiation to hopefully resolve the issue. I guess I just wonder whether the hyperthyroidism is an incidental finding to the vomiting due to the lack of other symptoms. Spending money on the animals is not a problem, but it would feel better if the symptoms matched the diagnosis and I had 100% confidence that it would resolve the issue has best as we can, instead of paying for radiation therapy and then potentially finding out the issue is something else. If you don't trust the vet's diagnosis, get a second opinion as you did before. A bunch of yahoos on the internet aren't qualified to tell you anything.
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May 18, 2024 19:39
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Deteriorata posted:If you don't trust the vet's diagnosis, get a second opinion as you did before. A bunch of yahoos on the internet aren't qualified to tell you anything. My friend got a cat and it got diagnosed with some condition and they were gonna have to pay to fly to another city (vet care here is very limited) so it could get all it's teeth pulled. I told them to get a second opinion and they ended up with a completely different, less severe, diagnosis. Get the second opinion.
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May 18, 2024 20:34
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Friends, I could use some advice on feeding a five week old kitten. A mama cat had her litter in our window well back in early April and about two weeks ago she moved all but one of the kittens. He took pretty quickly to milk replacer and we've been weaning him into wet food all of this week. So far so good, but he's been exploring more of the house and found our dog's kibble tonight. Since he seemed interested, I put out a bowl of kitten kibble for him, mixed with a little water and he ate it right up! Usually meal time is a process and a big mess but tonight he ate, played and crashed. I want this little dude to keep growing. Should I keep up with wet food three times a day on top of the kibble? I'm used to my dog just doing his thing and eating at supper time.
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May 19, 2024 02:31
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It's basically impossible to overfeed a kitten because they're dumping so much energy into growth so if they'll take it and not barf it up do whatever makes you and the cat content. I personally would probably just do three meals a day though, but I've never liked leaving food out for cats to graze.
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May 19, 2024 02:41
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Wii Spawn Camper posted:The one with the clipart looking label? Yes, that’s the one. I always get the unscented version.
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May 19, 2024 02:44
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Rabbit Hill posted:So....butt bongos. My cat loves it when I spank his butt. But I find myself wondering: where is the optimal spanking location? Is there any research on this? Ferdie hates his butt being tapped. He's all good for almost violent face rubs and body strokes but the moment he gets tapped above his tail he reacts like he's been hit. I don't do it because he makes it very clear that he hates it and it's the end of any petting time. I hear that cats enjoy that so maybe mine is weird.
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May 19, 2024 02:46
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Ferdie got back from the cattery today (had to go away for my dad's funeral) and the nice cattery lady was extremely concerned that he hadn't eaten any wet food while being there. He had however devoured all his treats and the dry kibble we provided. I didn't have the heart to say he usually only eats wet food and we give kibble in small amounts as a treat. Boy probably thought he'd won the lottery. Endless treats! The amount of tins missing from his box shows that they really tried to get him to eat his wet food. She even said they'd tried giving him chicken and tuna from their hands. Jfc cat He devoured a whole tin of his usual wet food the moment he got home, so he's happy.
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May 19, 2024 02:51
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xzzy posted:It's basically impossible to overfeed a kitten because they're dumping so much energy into growth so if they'll take it and not barf it up do whatever makes you and the cat content. Agreed, except that I actually like free feeding kittens dry food in addition to their wet food. I feel like it prevents them from feeling food scarcity and overeating as an adult. We usually feed foster mother cats wet food 2x a day (not measuring, just fill up the bowl and let her eat as much as she wants) in addition to free feeding dry food, and the kittens just get used to that schedule when they start eating it too.
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May 19, 2024 03:45
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I just free feed my kitten on dry kitten food. She was getting wet food for a bit, but I noticed her ignoring it in favor of the dry food so I quit bothering with it. I think she likes the crunchiness of the dry stuff, she's a very bitey little thing. I've got two fountains so she gets plenty of water, and she's gaining weight properly and full of energy so it doesn't really concern me.
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May 19, 2024 04:02
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Pain of Mind posted:One of our cats (9 years old) has been vomiting about once a week, but otherwise she has been acting fine. I brought her in for bloodwork and they said she has hyperthyroidism, though I did not see the results to know how high the levels were. Based on some online reading, she does not seem to have many symptoms of hyperthyroidism, her only symptom is the occasional throw up (it is always kibble, not liquidy or anything), which is pretty much the free square for every possible disease. She has not lost weight and has good body condition, she does not eat or drink excessively or show any of the other common symptoms listed. The vet recommended radiation to hopefully resolve the issue. I guess I just wonder whether the hyperthyroidism is an incidental finding to the vomiting due to the lack of other symptoms. Spending money on the animals is not a problem, but it would feel better if the symptoms matched the diagnosis and I had 100% confidence that it would resolve the issue has best as we can, instead of paying for radiation therapy and then potentially finding out the issue is something else. Maybe it's just regurgitation and the cat is eating too much too fast? One of mine does the same - but we tried a bunch of stuff and basically what stopped it was just feeding her small meals constantly. I also picked up a microchip pet feeder so her bowl isn't raided by her sister. That improved things a lot once she became confident that she'll have food left over if she doesn't finish everything.
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May 19, 2024 09:58
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The ol’ scarf and barf
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May 19, 2024 14:13
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Yeah, if it’s only food and not fully digested / still whole kibble, that can just simply be over eating and binge eating. Mine does that every so often, there’s also usually clumps of hair and cardboard included but usually always looks like he just finished eating too much too fast.
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May 19, 2024 18:31
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my cat doesn't eat a lot, he's about a year old now. seems fine, can't feel ribs, drinks water... kinda small but he was a runt with a fever coat found outside and brought to a shelter. i leave the food out to make sure he can eat when he wants.
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May 19, 2024 23:07
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Vomit is such a constant with cats. I'm dealing with 3 right now: Batman, our long haired cat, got a hairball stuck in his intestines a few years ago. He was hiding in the closest and not cleaning himself for half a week, and when we took him to the vet for an xray they said that they saw a mass in there and that he may just pass it. We gave him some kitty exlax, and he pooped it out that day and he was back to his normal self immediately. We now free feed with hairball control food and he regularly pukes up hairballs, which is way better than the alternative. Rose, one of our fosters, is missing a bunch of teeth as they were rotting and needed to be removed. She's totally fine, but she can't really chew dry food and just swallows it whole, and insists on eating some even though we feed her wet food 2x/day. So she regularly pukes up a bunch of whole, undigested food. It doesn't hurt her any, but she's still pretty skinny (but not dangerously so). And then Quinn, our plastic-eating rear end in a top hat, must have gotten a big piece early this morning. She was puking bile and spit over and over and not looking very good. I almost took her to the vet ER, but she recovered within about an hour and went back to her normal self. So I'm feeding her some kitty exlax for the next week or so to make sure she gets it out - I've found plastic and tape in her poop before, so she will probably pass it, and seems to have an iron gut. We try to keep plastic away from her, but she always finds some, but I'm really worried she'll eat something too big or sharp one day and that's how she'll die. So I'm watching her like a hawk right now for any more signs of discomfort.
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May 20, 2024 00:38
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Lanky Coconut Tree posted:Maybe it's just regurgitation and the cat is eating too much too fast? I was wondering this as well. She has no teeth from feline stomatitis, so she swallows kibble whole which might exacerbate the issue. She has never been food motivated or overweight so typically we have just left food out 24 hours a day. Now that I think about it, I wonder if it tracks from us switching automated feeders. Our newer feeder gives smaller portions because it has a much smaller bowl than our old one, and we have another cat who tends to eat a bit more than the one that is throwing up. Maybe whenever she throws up it is because the other cat ate all of the food overnight and she gets hungry and overeats when I top it off in the morning. I still need to head to the vet today to pick up her prescribed hyperthyroid medicine since this is all presumably non-vet theory, but it could be worth ensuring that there is food out in a large container for a while and seeing if anything changes.
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May 20, 2024 19:22
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That could be it right there - our foster cat who is missing a bunch of teeth swallows kibble whole, and then throws up a lot of it daily, but is fine otherwise. Have you tried primarily feeding her wet food?
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May 20, 2024 19:37
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With the weather getting good my cats will probably be spending more time outdoors, they love to lounge in the yard with me while I garden and chop wood and poo poo, but I'm increasingly concerned about ticks and stuff. I have had someone recommend "revolution plus" to me as a good way to handle all likely outdoors threats for the summer months, but I'm interested in the threads opinion. Is that my best choice here?
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May 21, 2024 22:39
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In addition to some preventative medicine, get a flea comb (doesn't work on some fur types, might need more spacing between the tongs) and brush them out whenever they come inside. This assumes ticks in your area are big enough to comb out.
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May 21, 2024 22:50
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GlyphGryph posted:With the weather getting good my cats will probably be spending more time outdoors, they love to lounge in the yard with me while I garden and chop wood and poo poo, but I'm increasingly concerned about ticks and stuff. I have had someone recommend "revolution plus" to me as a good way to handle all likely outdoors threats for the summer months, but I'm interested in the threads opinion. Is that my best choice here? Can't say if it's the "best" choice, but it's what we use and it works well.
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May 21, 2024 23:00
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Oh, it's prescription only. I guess I need to talk to the vet again.
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May 22, 2024 00:05
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You should always talk to your vet about those sorts of treatments because different ones are effective in different areas due to local resistances. They should know best.
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May 22, 2024 01:13
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The original suggestion was actually from the vet (or, well, the person who works the phone there) but I guess because it was one of several topics they never got around to mentioning the prescription requirement. I asked here because I do not actually trust my current vet particularly strongly, so this was more of "Does this seem like a reasonable recommendation" thing.
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May 22, 2024 03:26
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If I'm not mistaken Revolution Plus does handle ticks as well as other parasites. But keep an eye out for itching or allergic reactions. One batch made my girls scratch a chunk of fur (and bleed) from their shoulder blades, so I stopped applying it. For a household with multiple pets, especially if each pet has their own approach to food, I strongly recommend getting the surefeed microchip pet feeder. Much easier for you to keep track of how much each cat has eaten.
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May 22, 2024 13:14
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GlyphGryph posted:Oh, it's prescription only. I guess I need to talk to the vet again. Amazon makes a generic version of Frontline Plus that is OTC. Now it would be better of course to go to your vet but there are options that work if you are on a budget etc Edit: The problem is resistance, Frontline Plus may not be effective in your area because the population of ticks or fleas might be completely resistant in which case you'd be taking a risk. But it has worked in my case with street cats. hypoallergenic cat breed fucked around with this message at 02:00 on May 23, 2024 |
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May 23, 2024 01:56
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So my lil guy hasn't been eating all his food recently, he gets very excited at food time then eats a few mouthfuls and runs off to do something else. This only happens with his dry food he eats all his wet food basically instantly. I've been giving him 25 grams of dry food twice a day then a kitten sized pouch of wet food in the evening. This is based on the info on the side of the packets. Is this something to be worried about? Is there something I should be doing like feeding him at different times or perhaps try a different flavor of dry food or something?
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May 23, 2024 14:22
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Kullik posted:So my lil guy hasn't been eating all his food recently, he gets very excited at food time then eats a few mouthfuls and runs off to do something else. Does he come back to eat the dry food later? Or does he just not touch it until he gets more/gets wet food? Also did you change food brands/flavors lately?
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May 23, 2024 14:45
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Weird Pumpkin posted:Does he come back to eat the dry food later? Or does he just not touch it until he gets more/gets wet food? He comes back and eats a lil every so often but never the whole amount. And I have not changed the food we buy him
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May 23, 2024 14:52
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Is he losing weight? Amounts on packets aren't necessarily accurate. He might just be eating the amount of food that he actually needs to eat.
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May 23, 2024 15:06
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Organza Quiz posted:Is he losing weight? Amounts on packets aren't necessarily accurate. He might just be eating the amount of food that he actually needs to eat. Not sure, he's only been doing it a for maybe a week or so and i dont have an easy way to weigh him now that hes not a tiny baby anymore and wont just fit on the kitchen scales easily hehe
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May 23, 2024 15:08
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I don't think you have a problem. Cats have a tendency to act like cats.
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May 23, 2024 15:14
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Do you have a human scale? Weigh yourself while holding him, then weigh yourself without him, and subtract.
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May 23, 2024 15:14
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My cats will hold out for better food if the wet food I give them isn't quite up to their standards. But usually they'll come back and have more.
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May 23, 2024 16:32
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Sounds pretty normal. You should get worried if he wasn't eating all his wet food, isn't eating as much overall, or has any sort of sudden personality change/drop in energy. Him running off in the middle of eating dry food seems like he knows it'll be there when he gets back and something else caught his attention because cat.
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May 23, 2024 17:33
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hypoallergenic cat breed posted:Amazon makes a generic version of Frontline Plus that is OTC. Now it would be better of course to go to your vet but there are options that work if you are on a budget etc Frontline Plus is different: fipronil and (S)-methoprene. R  ution Plus has selamectin and sarolaner. I'm no expert but it seems Revolution Plus is more effective at killing ear mites, maybe other stuff too.
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May 23, 2024 19:11
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