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Alpha Kenny Juan posted:That's a sassy cat. 2 days. To be fair, she was not vomiting at all when I took her to the vet on Friday. The vomiting just started late last night. I only took her to the vet Friday because she wasn't eating. Thanks for your concern though 
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Apr 1, 2013 19:46
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iratelyblank posted:Wild cat with kittens That room sounds fine. I would not give her free reign of the house just yet. She should litter train herself. Cats are surprisingly good at figuring out what those boxes are for. She may adapt fine to to being an indoor cat or she may have some difficulties at first. Do you have the money for this? Cats can be expensive. If you're planning on having these kittens and the cat, the vet bills may add up quick. You definitely should get them checked out by the vet.
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Apr 1, 2013 20:17
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Huntersoninski posted:That room sounds fine. I would not give her free reign of the house just yet. She should litter train herself. Cats are surprisingly good at figuring out what those boxes are for. She may adapt fine to to being an indoor cat or she may have some difficulties at first. Do you have the money for this? Cats can be expensive. If you're planning on having these kittens and the cat, the vet bills may add up quick. You definitely should get them checked out by the vet. I was planning on keeping the door to my office closed when I'm not home and my bedroom door closed always, which would leave them with the living room, kitchen and a stair case. When should I take the kittens to go see the vet? I don't think money will be a problem.
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Apr 1, 2013 20:27
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IratelyBlank posted:I was planning on keeping the door to my office closed when I'm not home and my bedroom door closed always, which would leave them with the living room, kitchen and a stair case. When should I take the kittens to go see the vet? I don't think money will be a problem. I've heard anywhere from 3 to 6 weeks so that the vet can take care of multiple things, shots, fixing, etc. It more depends on development and weight than anything. For sure find a vet in your area and maybe give them a call to see what they can do for you and maybe some advice. You know what you can do in the meantime? Pictures.  e: IratelyBlank posted:I think she is comfortable enough with me ... was still rubbing on me and letting me rub her afterwards (I have no idea about cat behavior and if this is meaningful). That's a metric ton of trust.  The simple fact that she brought her kittens to you takes a lot of trust. You are the FoodBringer and an all around good(see: useful) person in her eyes. Alpha Kenny Juan fucked around with this message at 20:44 on Apr 1, 2013 |
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Apr 1, 2013 20:35
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IratelyBlank posted:Should I consider bringing the boy in also? He genuinely seems very happy outdoors and most of the time will just lounge around in my back or front yards, but I don't know where he goes at night. I live by myself in a 1000sq ft apartment, I think it is big enough for them but I'm not sure. Any help is appreciated. Sorry if you already know this, but I think a rather common occurrence with cats like this is to trap them, snip their respective bits, and return them to their outdoor lives (Trap-Neuter-Release or TNR). The cat will often get it's ear tip snipped off so that anyone approaching the cat later will know that it has already been neutered. If you can't take him in or he doesn't want to be an indoor cat, this is a good solution. You can also do this and trap him only to get his shots so he won't contact rabies or FIV. Then he can romp around outdoors without making more kittens. You can certainly try to see if they'll live together indoors, and good on you for being willing to take them in!
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Apr 1, 2013 21:09
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Here are some pictures then:  These two are the mother looking exhausted from in her box with her kittens, you can see the two kittens in the first picture  The two surviving kittens after I cleaned out the dirty towels  The mother again stretching her legs in my kitchen. She is hard to photograph with my phone because she moves so much
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Apr 1, 2013 21:15
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Alpha Kenny Juan posted:That's a sassy cat. What is this te$t thing you keep doing, are you aware that it is really annoying?
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Apr 1, 2013 21:22
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Y Kant Ozma Post posted:What is this te$t thing you keep doing, are you aware that it is really annoying? I was implying that the vet may have been testing for the sake of money whereas a test for dehydration is as simple as holding onto the scruff. It was explained that the dehydration may have been an issue after the fact so it wasn't the case. As for the annoyance factor, noted and it wont happen again. Alpha Kenny Juan fucked around with this message at 22:10 on Apr 1, 2013 |
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Apr 1, 2013 22:00
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Alpha Kenny Juan posted:I was implying that the vet may have been testing for the sake of money whereas a test for dehydration is as simple as holding onto the scruff. It was explained that the dehydration may have been an issue after the fact so it wasn't the case. *vet holds cat's scruff* "Yeah bro, your cat is dehydrated, I totally diagnosed it just now."
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Apr 1, 2013 22:20
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El Gar posted:*vet holds cat's scruff* When you pull the scruff of the cat's neck of a healthy cat, the scruff is supposed to fall back into place relatively quickly when let go. A dehydrated cat's scruff falls back into place slowly. Like you quoted, it's a test that can assist in a diagnosis. So, yeah, if your cat is in bad shape you can do what you just described and see a symptom of dehydration. e: Spelling. Alpha Kenny Juan fucked around with this message at 22:40 on Apr 1, 2013 |
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Apr 1, 2013 22:38
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Alpha Kenny Juan posted:When you pull the scruff of the cat's neck of a healthy cat, the scruff is supposed to fall back into place relatively quickly when let go. A dehydrated cat's scruff falls back into place slowly. Like you quoted, it's a test that can assist in a diagnosis. A skin turgor test may imply that the cat is dehydrated (or was fat and has rapidly lost weight, or just has a buttload of loose skin, or recently got subq fluids in the place that you're doing the test) but it says absolutely nothing about the nature or the cause of that dehydration so unless you are completely ending your diagnosis at "dehydrated cat" (which can be a sign of oh like, everything except fluid overload) you're probably going to have to do more tests to have a chance at actually diagnosing what is wrong with the cat.
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Apr 2, 2013 00:16
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To be fair, Hugo's swollen rear end was diagnosed with minimum tests also, they said they wouldn't move to stool sampling or bloodwork unless Hugo didn't respond to their initial treatment. He got manhandled in the guts and scruff, something popped up his butthole and in that same 15min consult they said they strongly suspected there was a swelling blocking things up. I think I paid $170 all up for that, which included an overnight stay at the vet, and anti-inflammatory (I think) and laxatives. Given he was still eating and drinking and peeing, they thought it was okay to treat the most likely cause first. I see it as similar to a doctor saying "Hmm, yes you are dehydrated. Look, go home, drink more water, and give me a call back if you're not feeling better in 48 hours and we'll run some tests". I'll never forget picking him up the next morning either, the senior nurse came out with his cage going "HE'S GONNA BLOW!" - Hugo wasn't happy staying overnight and even though the swelling had gone down he was forcibly holding in his poop, they knew this because they could apparently SEE it trying to come out and he was staunchly holding it in (against the force of laxatives no less!). Sure enough, the second I got him out of the vets and down the road to our house I opened the cage to find the longest turd I have ever seen in my life, and Hugo jammed up against the side of the cage staring at it like it was some kind of deadly snake. E: \/\/ Makes sense! And yeah it was not an ideal comparison given humans are quite happy to let their discomfort be known and cats are dicks who would try to act natural through a severed limb if they thought they could get away with it. Tamarillo fucked around with this message at 00:38 on Apr 2, 2013 |
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Apr 2, 2013 00:29
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Tamarillo posted:To be fair, Hugo's swollen rear end was diagnosed with minimum tests also, they said they wouldn't move to stool sampling or bloodwork unless Hugo didn't respond to their initial treatment. He got manhandled in the guts and scruff, something popped up his butthole and in that same 15min consult they said they strongly suspected there was a swelling blocking things up. I think I paid $170 all up for that, which included an overnight stay at the vet, and anti-inflammatory (I think) and laxatives. Given he was still eating and drinking and peeing, they thought it was okay to treat the most likely cause first. I see it as similar to a doctor saying "Hmm, yes you are dehydrated. Look, go home, drink more water, and give me a call back if you're not feeling better in 48 hours and we'll run some tests". That's entirely fair - an otherwise healthy-acting animal doesn't really need a full workup especially by an emergency clinic, but I feel like it's really misleading to talk about skin turgor as some kind of crystal ball and imply that if a vet does more than a physical exam it's just for the money. Also I do want to point out a difference between human med and vet med here - cats especially don't really like to show that they're sick and the changes can be pretty subtle, so I don't think it's entirely unreasonable to approach a random dehydrated cat and a random dehydrated human a bit differently. Topoisomerase fucked around with this message at 00:36 on Apr 2, 2013 |
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Apr 2, 2013 00:33
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IratelyBlank posted:I was planning on keeping the door to my office closed when I'm not home and my bedroom door closed always, which would leave them with the living room, kitchen and a stair case. When should I take the kittens to go see the vet? I don't think money will be a problem. If the kittens are nursing and growing without problem, they don't need to see the vet until 6-8 weeks old, for their first shots. Tamarillo posted:To be fair, Hugo's swollen rear end was diagnosed with minimum tests also, they said they wouldn't move to stool sampling or bloodwork unless Hugo didn't respond to their initial treatment. He got manhandled in the guts and scruff, something popped up his butthole and in that same 15min consult they said they strongly suspected there was a swelling blocking things up. To be fair, a swollen rectum from diet change causing constipation is not something I've ever heard of or would have any reason to suspect without having ruled out a lot of other quite common things. Even if I found a swollen rectum on rectal exam (let me tell you how much fun it is doing a rectal exam on an awake cat), I would probably think of some type of cancer or abscess before I assumed it was just irritated and swollen. On the other hand, it is quite common to see a cat who is not eating, and who can't tell you and won't show you why (has few or no other signs and a relatively normal physical exam). The only way to get more information is through testing, which generally is not free. Waiting a couple more days is not always an option, unless you want the cat to get a lot sicker. To say that a vet who does those tests is only doing it for the profit is awfully presumptuous. Dr. Chaco fucked around with this message at 00:50 on Apr 2, 2013 |
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Apr 2, 2013 00:44
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Topoisomerase posted:That's entirely fair - an otherwise healthy-acting animal doesn't really need a full workup especially by an emergency clinic, but I feel like it's really misleading to talk about skin turgor as some kind of crystal ball and imply that if a vet does more than a physical exam it's just for the money. That's fair enough. If my post implied that the method described was a crystal ball that wasn't my intent. It is presumptuous of me to out and out assume that tests equate to money.
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Apr 2, 2013 00:57
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Dr. Chaco posted:To be fair, a swollen rectum from diet change causing constipation is not something I've ever heard of or would have any reason to suspect without having ruled out a lot of other quite common things. Wasn't our first visit to the vet on the gut issues front - up until that point Hugo had had near constant diarrhea as a result of diet issues. The vet said the constant burning liquid shits had irritated the entire area, hence the swelling. Just what I was told  And I didn't mean to imply that a vet that tests up front is in it for the money, so sorry if that's what you thought I was saying. I would pay a ridiculous sum to keep my mogs happy and healthy, the only reason Hugo didn't get more formal testing is that the vet honestly didn't think he needed it. And to entirely change the topic, have some cat-spam of two mogs frolicking on our drought-ridden-and-badly-in-need-of-a-mowing lawn:        Tamarillo fucked around with this message at 02:20 on Apr 2, 2013 |
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Apr 2, 2013 01:04
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My 2 year old cat recently got attacked (No visible scratches or blood) by the neighbors cat and right afterward my cat started dry heaving. Any reason for that and should I be concerned?
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Apr 2, 2013 02:40
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Busy Bee posted:My 2 year old cat recently got attacked (No visible scratches or blood) by the neighbors cat and right afterward my cat started dry heaving. Any reason for that and should I be concerned? Not really if he hasn't done anymore, at least your cat doesn't poo poo on the floor after getting his rear end kicked. Basically a stress reaction.
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Apr 2, 2013 09:56
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IratelyBlank posted:Here are some pictures then: PLEASE make a thread <3
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Apr 2, 2013 10:36
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I managed to drop a bunch of garlic-flavored cream cheese on the floor, and to my surprise my cat started devouring it before I could even wipe it off the floor. I didn't let him eat much, since I wasn't sure how safe it was for cats to eat garlic. But I figure, if he likes it and it's not bad for him, he certainly could use some spice in his diet. So, Internet, I have a question: Is garlic-flavored cream cheese dangerous to cats? In addition to cheese and garlic, it contains salt, gelatin, parsley, white pepper, stabilizers and preservatives.
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Apr 2, 2013 21:34
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Garlic itself is toxic to cats, but the very small amount in garlic-flavored cream cheese is unlikely to hurt him. Some cats get diarrhea from dairy products though, so I would limit the cream cheese anyway.
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Apr 2, 2013 21:40
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Hat started licking photos today. What the hell, cat?
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Apr 2, 2013 21:42
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marshmallard posted:Hat started licking photos today. What the hell, cat? Cats are just really weird, ok? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9WZOoKlAnA
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Apr 2, 2013 21:46
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Dr. Chaco posted:Garlic itself is toxic to cats, but the very small amount in garlic-flavored cream cheese is unlikely to hurt him. Some cats get diarrhea from dairy products though, so I would limit the cream cheese anyway. Thanks. I don't think I'm gonna risk it. Besides, I don't think I want to find out what a cat's breath smells like if you add garlic to it.
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Apr 2, 2013 21:47
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Taking kitty to the vet as soon as I can get an appt. In the meantime... We have Goldie, a rescue queen from a bengal mill, and have had her for a few months. She got spayed right, got an infection, and ended up recovering in my room. So she is super attached to me, always wanting attention and pets (but not to be held) and sleeps in my room with my other cat, Raziel. In the past few days though, she has taken to pissing on my bed in the morning, after everyone is up, before I go to work. She at least attempts to cover the piss with a blanket, which is when I catch her. Yes, I wash the sheets and blankets and everything but the boxspring after. There is a litterbox in the room she is pretty protective of. She doesn't use the other boxes in the house that I've ever seen. During the day when the cats are locked in certain rooms of the house (we have snake cages around and only a few have proven to resist the temptation of knocking the loving lights off them, so safety reasons) she is by herself as she likes to be alpha cat. Our usual vet is on vacation right now, so my only choice other than the 24 hour place is Banfield.
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Apr 3, 2013 13:18
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I've never had a problem with banfield. I take my cats there because they are the only vet open when I'm not at work.
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Apr 3, 2013 15:01
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Huntersoninski posted:I've never had a problem with banfield. I take my cats there because they are the only vet open when I'm not at work. Banfield really likes to oversell things. Wellness care packages, lots of useless vaccines, and sometimes way too many tests too soon. Quality varies by clinic as there really isn't a good baseline for the vet they'll hire, and sometimes a clinic will only care about money as opposed to pet care, but again, you won't know until you've been there.
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Apr 3, 2013 15:58
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They do tend to push for you to leave your pet to have whatever procedure/checkup done so they can charge you for "boarding" but its as easy as saying, no I'll wait. But on the topic, I had to take Ozma in because of a limp. They took some xrays and found no bone problems, but some "extra space" in her wrist that suggested a strain or sprain. They said a splint or wrap probably wasn't necessary and gave me some pain meds for her. She immediately improved! ...now the meds are out and she's babying that leg again. Follow up on Friday. What do I do til then? What should I ask for when I go? Is there something else it could be?
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Apr 3, 2013 16:09
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Will they let you bump up the appointment since she's limping again?
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Apr 3, 2013 16:20
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Mymla posted:I managed to drop a bunch of garlic-flavored cream cheese on the floor, and to my surprise my cat started devouring it before I could even wipe it off the floor. I didn't let him eat much, since I wasn't sure how safe it was for cats to eat garlic. But I figure, if he likes it and it's not bad for him, he certainly could use some spice in his diet. Sampson used to always steal the garlic dipping sauce you get from some pizza places for dipping crusts in (basically a runnier garlic mayo type deal) and was fine; there's not that much garlic in them so a drop once in a while isn't going to hurt him but yeah, garlic is toxic to cats so it's best to not intentionally give it to him. My cat now stays the hell away from the pizza dips after I accidentally dripped some extra-hot peri-peri sauce into the garlic one. He actually likes spicy things, but that was wayyy too hot for him.
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Apr 3, 2013 17:13
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I cut one of Hat's claws too short because he was wriggling  now it's bleeding everywhere. Is there anything I can do for him?
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Apr 3, 2013 18:30
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marshmallard posted:I cut one of Hat's claws too short because he was wriggling You cut the quick, if you cut too much or deep the claw may not grow back perfectly in future. Otherwise it's just painful for him until it clots. If he uses a litter tray keep an eye out that it doesn't get dirty/infected but apart from that, give him some tuna, say sorry and promise not to do it again 
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Apr 3, 2013 18:38
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Ratzap posted:You cut the quick, if you cut too much or deep the claw may not grow back perfectly in future. Otherwise it's just painful for him until it clots. If he uses a litter tray keep an eye out that it doesn't get dirty/infected but apart from that, give him some tuna, say sorry and promise not to do it again Aww it hurt him? I'm a bad cat parent. It's so hard now there's only me, there's no one to hold them still.
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Apr 3, 2013 19:24
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marshmallard posted:I cut one of Hat's claws too short because he was wriggling If it's still bleeding, put some flour on it to stop it. Usually cat quicks clot up pretty fast, though.
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Apr 3, 2013 19:37
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This is a little e/n, but I think we all know someone like this. My mother is visiting me and says she doesn't like my new cat because his poop smells, he doesn't love to be petted like my other cat, and his head is too small. She said he's "a useless animal" and that I should "take him back." I told her he was trapped off the streets by a co-worker, so she said I should take him to a shelter. I told her they're full. It's my home so I don't have to care, but she still pisses me off since it's impossible to show her why her attitude is not OK. I understand that she's not a cat (or dog) person and that she's a baby boomer who grew up in a different world concerning pet ownership, but drat! To her and the rest of Middle America, animals exist for our pleasure and can be fired from their being-a-pet job if they fail to please.  These two are good little assholes.
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Apr 3, 2013 19:59
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marshmallard posted:Aww it hurt him? Eh, everyone has done it before. You feel bad, but accidents happen. I once accidentally clipped off a tiny piece of my ferret's paw pad when he squirmed. I felt awful, but I was being as careful as I could. It would be easier if you could convey to them that you're trying to help.
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Apr 3, 2013 20:32
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How do I put my cat on a diet and keep my sanity? We actually have two cats that need to go on diet. One is a year old and the other is around 10 years old. We feed them dry food and they have access to food pretty much all day and night. I want to start limiting food to twice daily and giving them their own bowls. The only problem is Buffy, the ten year old, will drive you bat-crap insane if she does not have access to food. I let them both sleep with me at night and my room is where the food is kept. If she does not get you up with her non stop meowing, she will move on to more destructive things. She will jump up on my computer desk or dresser or table and knock small items off with her paws. Anything that she can find really. She also loves to knock over glasses full of water if there is one. She also likes to rip apart paper. She has even ripped out chunks from posters I have hanging on walls. Books and loose paper are not safe. Neither is the cardboard life size cut out of Chipper. After she has been fed she usually stops. Is there anyway to get her not to do this or stop it? I have tried locking her out of my room when she does and it doesn't help much. Emma, the one year old will claw and scratch at the door until I do open it. Also what is a good dry food for them? Do the weight lose ones really work or is it a rip off?
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Apr 3, 2013 20:50
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Unfortunately, fat cats that desperately want to stay fat (which are most of them) are very hard to deal with. They will get destructive in their drive to convince you to feed them. For staying off of counters/tables, some cats do not like the feel of tape adhesive on their paws. Some people have had success lining the top area they don't want their cat to jump with either double sided tape or using regular tape with sticky side up. Unfortunately, some cats are not bothered by that and some (including one of my cats) actually likes tape and wants to huff/chew the adhesive when she finds it. There's also something called a Scat Mat which I have never used. Trying to be diligent about keeping things off of counters or tables is an idea - but may not work especially if space is a problem or there simply isn't a good place to put things. Some like using spray bottles or other things that you need to trigger to get them to stop. For things like pounding on a door of a room you're in, that could work (place vacuum outside door have on button on, have cord next to you and when pounding commences, plug in vacuum). However, if it's to try and stop counter surfing, it can backfire and make the behavior worse if the cat decides it's now being rebellious - won't jump up when you're around, will when you're gone. For many cases, weight loss food really isn't worth it. When you get to animals that are extreme in the amount of food reduction they need to get weight loss, then the prescription weight loss diets start to get more useful. The issue is if you restrict a particular food too much you run the risk of nutrient deficiencies. Prescription weight loss diets are made to have a much higher concentration of those extra special nutrients to avoid deficiency. Besides just decreasing the amount they're eating, there are two main camps in cat weight loss - the high protein camp and the high fiber camp. I've grown fond of using a higher protein diet (protein leading to a feeling of satiety, and if wet, a feeling of "fullness") instead of the high fiber (mainly just the feeling of being full). I like wet food for the extra volume to it, and in general I like wet food for cats. I like Natura products (EVO, etc.) and Wellness. For the most part, there are a lot of diets out there that could match what you're looking for, and it'll all depend on your cats if they decide to eat them. Being so food motivated they'll probably eat anything. With cat weight loss, you don't want to go over 1-2% body weight lost a week. Fat cats can get sick if they lose too much weight too fast, so be careful during their weight loss.
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Apr 3, 2013 22:02
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This is probably a dumb question but is it obvious when a cat pees in their litter box? I found cat pee on my couch from the mother I brought in on Monday and I decided to put her litter box (its an actual box with a hole cut in the side) facing the entrance of her little area under my stairs so she can't get out, only into the litter box. The litter box has like a foot of clearance between the top of it and the top of the little doorway and I didn't want to completely close her in there so I just some tin foil across the top and hope she wouldnt want to jump on it to get out, but there is definitely enough room for her to get out if she really wanted to (she didn't). I can tell she has definitely been in the box because I went to change her towels and there were particles of cat litter on the floor right outside the box, but when I looked inside there was no poo and I didn't see any obvious wet spots or clumping or anything. I felt all over her towels and on the whole floor inside her area and nothing was wet so I am fairly sure she didn't pee in her bedding. I brought her in on Monday so I can be sure that she has peed at least one time (on my couch) since then. I haven't found any poo anywhere but she may have hidden it somewhere that I haven't found yet. If not, she hasn't had a poo since at least Monday, is this something to be concerned about?
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Apr 4, 2013 00:23
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Fluffy Bunnies posted:Will they let you bump up the appointment since she's limping again? Unfortunately, them being open later hours means those later Hours fill up quick because other people have the same issue I do with regard to work taking up all your days. They don't have any room to take her in. If something opens up last minute it would be during the afternoon when I would be at one of my jobs.
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Apr 4, 2013 00:27
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