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waah posted:
A treat ball might be the way to go. I have this one: http://www.amazon.com/PetSafe-SlimCat-Food-Distributor-Ball/dp/B0018CG40O/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1371594726&sr=8-1&keywords=cat+ball+food It can be filled with about 2/3 cup of cat food, and you can adjust the "difficulty" of how hard it is to get the kibble out. This way, your cats have to paw around a ball and chase after it to get their food rather than just go face down in a bowl. You can search for "foraging toys" for more options, or go the cheap route and make your own treat dispenser. My cat Higgs acts like your PJ when faced with Da Bird. Lots of growling and trying to lead me off somewhere so he can hide his "kill". Does he like laser pointers? That might work as there is nothing to "catch", although I do end a session of laser-chase with a treat so they feel like they've accomplished something. As for getting into the bag in the cabinet... maybe get a baby-proof latch?
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Jun 18, 2013 23:36
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RabbitMage posted:Money is a big issue. I'm living with family, and if I were paying for all of Kit's expenses, it would take up a third of my income right now. I have financial aid coming, so finances will improve, but then I'll also have more bills to deal with. I'm a frequent lurker in BFC, but having next to no income really limits what I can do. My credit score is already Not Good and I've just taken out two student loans. Even if CareCredit would take me, I really don't want it. I've got over $800 of animal-related debt already and I can't take on more reasonably with what little income I have. They're your cats, so you get to decide what you think is the best option. If it were me, I would probably either convince the family to allow some inconvenience for a month until move-out (by begging and/or volunteering for all chores period), or keep him confined to one room where it's easier to deal with the problems on a small scale. The cat-specific problems are honestly pretty simple, individually. They seem overwhelming when they're all put together, but you can focus on one at a time and it will eventually get better. Your financial problems are much more significant. As an outsider, I don't really think you can afford to have any cats at all, but I know lots of people beat the odds and make it work just out of sheer stubbornness. It takes a hell of a lot of commitment, a lot of creativity, and a very serious set of priorities, so I can't say it's right for everyone. Maybe someone else will have some better insight for you. waah posted:I am looking for advice for a) finding ways to play with PJ without him murdering every toy in minutes, and for a way to continually play with him instead of needing to break until he lets go of the toy to try to continue to murder it. And b) finding a way to get Omega to actually show interest in jumping around to shed some of his weight. (They do play fight a bit, it has never gotten serious a few small growls and swipes, but almost instantly after they are grooming each other.). b) A lack of interest in toys can be because playing is uncomfortable, such as from arthritis or other health issues, so keep that in mind. Otherwise, switch to supervised scheduled feedings and put them on an actual diet. I feel like those automatic feeders are useless if you have more than one cat and any of them are fat, because you can't tell if someone's stealing another cat's food. The foraging toys mentioned by four lean hounds can be great for motivating fat cats, just make sure the right cat is getting the right amount of food. You should play with your cats, of course, but it's difficult to make a cat lose weight just by increasing their activity level, which is what it sounds like you're hoping for. Sorry if I misunderstood.
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Jun 19, 2013 01:19
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A wild kitten appears.. http://i.imgur.com/1ulXYjd.jpg This fellow showed up when I got home today and heard a meowing near our barn. He is in pretty good shape other than a roughed up nose and there were no signs of other kittens about the property. So I guess we have a cat for now. He or she is very friendly and free of tickets/flees and finally ate some food. We dont know if litter training is going to work but we keep throwing it in the box every now and then. Very playful and hilarious as kittens are. I am going to crate it at night for now since it will get into things and be an idiot, plus we aren't sure about litter box training just yet (it has done nothing so far). Anyone see a problem with crating kittens? The crate I have is for our dog who is pretty big and there is plenty of room for ninja kitten to climb up the sides and a small bed area along with the litterbox. It meows for a while when left alone but eventually gives up and sleeps/hangs out.
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Jun 19, 2013 03:01
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Alright cat folks, got a question for you. I've got an awesome cat named Monty, he's about 5 or so and is an indoor cat. My mom asked me if I take him on walks and I never even considered doing such a thing. She told me though that she used to put a harness on her cat in college and take it for walks. I can't say I've ever actually seen a cat going on a walk with a leash before, but apparently that's a thing that happens. Do any of you have any experience with that?
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Jun 19, 2013 03:08
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Do any of you guys have experience with cats and abdominal cancer? I took my seven year old cat, Monty, to the vet yesterday after he had been eating somewhat irregularly and had started missing the litter box, and the veterinarian who examined him felt a lump in his intestinal area that she said was fairly certain to be cancerous. At this point, they don't know what sort of tumor it is, but I should be able to get him an ultrasound fairly soon. If it is abdominal cancer of some type, what is the likely timeframe of how long he'll keep living an enjoyable life? Are there diets or other sorts of things you can do for a cat with cancer to make sure they'll be comfortable as long as possible? I wish I did, but I don't really have the finances to put him through a series of surgeries and/or chemotherapy, and I don't know if I'd want to put him through that if he'd only live another year or so, as seems to be a best case scenario at this point. He doesn't seem to be very sick at this point aside from a change in his eating patterns from wolfing all his food down in one sitting to eating a lot of smaller meal, and seeming a bit more tired than usual, but I am not sure when that will change. Here is a picture of him from a couple of weeks ago to put a handsome face to the story (his fourth leg has been gone for a long time):
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Jun 19, 2013 03:25
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Chili posted:Alright cat folks, got a question for you. I've got an awesome cat named Monty, he's about 5 or so and is an indoor cat. My mom asked me if I take him on walks and I never even considered doing such a thing. She told me though that she used to put a harness on her cat in college and take it for walks.
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Jun 19, 2013 03:36
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Last night I accidentally discovered a great toy for my cat - ordinary sock rolled up into a ball! Cordy goes bloody INSANE over it, bats at it, kicks it around, pounces, throws it up and catches it in mid-air. She got so worked up chasing the thing that she was panting like a dog in the end  Toy mice are okay but I think they are too small and even though kitty likes to play with them too, my socks turned out to be her favorite toys. Also, she managed to lose not one, but two jingly plastic balls - they are nowhere to be found. That's quite a feat; I have no idea how she pulled it off in my tiny studio apartment!edit: she's very well behaved. I let her sleep in my bed with me; last night she figured out that I'm extremely tired, so she just said "welp, human is sleeping, I won't bother him." Tired kitty is a good kitty, that's what PI taught me.  I've only had this kitty for a couple of days now and I'm totally in love with her. She goes nuts over a laser pointer, I'll post a video later on.
A SWEATY FATBEARD fucked around with this message at 05:09 on Jun 19, 2013 |
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Jun 19, 2013 04:46
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GAY 4 ORGANS
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Stinkyhead posted:Do any of you guys have experience with cats and abdominal cancer? I have a cat who developed a palpable mass in his abdomen that the vet was fairly sure was cancer - based on physical exam and bloodwork. Since I had no plans to put him through chemo or surgery (he was almost 14 years old with diabetes), we opted to just do watchful waiting and palliative care. He ended up living another year and a half, eventually losing about half his body weight. I think we ended up with more time after diagnosis than most cats get, though survival may be confounded by toxicity of treatment.
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Jun 19, 2013 05:16
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duckfarts posted:Some like it, some don't. Make sure you use a harness and are up to date on shots if you want to try. (specifically FELV) I've seen it quite a few times in my neighborhood. Cats can be trained to walk on a leash, but I would be extremely worried about dogs/diseases/fleas/ticks/random nasty stuff that can happen to a cat when adventuring outdoors, even when she's on a leash. If your cat doesn't actively demand to be let out of the house, I wouldn't worry myself about walking her.
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Jun 19, 2013 05:19
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Chili posted:Alright cat folks, got a question for you. I've got an awesome cat named Monty, he's about 5 or so and is an indoor cat. My mom asked me if I take him on walks and I never even considered doing such a thing. She told me though that she used to put a harness on her cat in college and take it for walks. Yep I do this, I'm your man. I started walking cats a while ago back with my old cat Pieter Willem, now I walk my Jean-Luc like a few times a week. At first you might have to acclimate them to the harness, like put it on around the house and give them a treat or wahtever, just so they dont freak the gently caress out. This was more of an issue with Pieter Willem, he as cagey at first. You gotta get a harness that fits well, they are cats so they will get out of things if you are not careful. Once they are cool with the harness it's really not that big of a deal, just walk em and give em a treat now and again. If a dog comes around while you are walking it's easy enough to pick the cat up if it looks like its gonna be an aggressive dog. It's actually not as bad as you would think, except for combat breeds most dogs are just inquisitive and if the cat doesn't get spooked, they'll just sniff its butt or whatever. Sometimes they just wont get along, I made this dude up the block get a shock collar when his pinscher wouldn't get off Pieter Willem's nuts. Plus you gotta remember to vaccinate them like you would an outside cat. If you have any questions I'd be happy to answer them. I tried to start a megathread for this once but no one came.
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Jun 19, 2013 05:36
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A SWEATY FATBEARD posted:Last night I accidentally discovered a great toy for my cat - ordinary sock rolled up into a ball! Cordy goes bloody INSANE over it, bats at it, kicks it around, pounces, throws it up and catches it in mid-air. She got so worked up chasing the thing that she was panting like a dog in the end One day I accidentally left one of my closets open when I went to work. Specifically the one with the socks rolled up into balls. And my work shirts rolled up in logs. I came home to an empty closet, and a very happy cat.  A SWEATY FATBEARD posted:I've seen it quite a few times in my neighborhood. Cats can be trained to walk on a leash, but I would be extremely worried about dogs/diseases/fleas/ticks/random nasty stuff that can happen to a cat when adventuring outdoors, even when she's on a leash. If your cat doesn't actively demand to be let out of the house, I wouldn't worry myself about walking her. My cat wants to go out CONSTANTLY (I picked her up off the streets when she was half starved at at around 8 months) so I think she misses it. I have been seriously considering trying to leash train her. I live in an apartment complex that hits the open air, and about once or twice a week I "walk" her on our floor level, grabbing her if she does anything dumb. She really likes it, and every time I go to the door she whines and whines. I have a vet appointment tomorrow (check up) and I'm going to ask the vet about it, but if any goons walk their cats I would love advice too!
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Jun 19, 2013 10:34
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My cats are leash trained, Betamax loves to be outside and complains when we don't take him out. Minidisc would probably prefer to be left inside but walks anyway.A SWEATY FATBEARD posted:Also, she managed to lose not one, but two jingly plastic balls - they are nowhere to be found. That's quite a feat; I have no idea how she pulled it off in my tiny studio apartment! It's amazing isn't it? There are three missing toys in my apartment and we have searched everywhere we can think of, it's absurd.
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Jun 19, 2013 10:44
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leftover posted:...and about once or twice a week I "walk" her on our floor level, grabbing her if she does anything dumb. That's what I'll probably end up doing. I'm worried though, my next-door neighbors have a huge barky GSD and its scent alone could spook my cat. There are several old armchairs and a motley selection of junk in the lobby, and I'm afraid that the cat would bolt underneath the armchair or an old dresser and would refuse to come out again. edit: Laser Cow posted:It's amazing isn't it? There are three missing toys in my apartment and we have searched everywhere we can think of, it's absurd. I just found both balls - she kicked them behind the fridge and I had to use a broomstick to fish them out. I still don't know how they ended up there, the space is really really cramped. It's as if the cat was deliberately trying to stash them away there. A SWEATY FATBEARD fucked around with this message at 18:21 on Jun 19, 2013 |
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Jun 19, 2013 10:49
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So I have two kittens now. My girlfriend found a litter of 3 probably 1 month olds in her parent's backyard a couple months back. We took care of the three of them, a couple of weeks ago one of them was adopted, and we are keeping the other two. Since cats are assholes and we should keep two, right? Taking care of them actually has not been as daunting as I feared. They have been in good health with good poos (for the most part), and only got sick one time after they went to the vet to get spay/neutered. Other than that 3-4 days of them being sick and not wanting to eat much, they have been as low maintenance (I say that very loosely. They are obviously still a good deal of work) and strong, healthy, happy kittens as I could imagine. Always eating well, drinking enough, pooping well, and even behaving well enough for a couple kittens. They've been de-wormed, de-whatever anything and everything and they are in great shape. Good stuff. To go back a couple of points, boy do I already see the benefits of having two kittens over one. They just have a fantastic time playing with each other non stop, and we love watching it. I am just so glad they have each other as an outlet for all the energy they have. These are our first cats (we've always been dog people) and I can see now that a cat really benefits from having another cat around. They need another cat bro to play the way they do. I can't imagine what they would have been like alone. They would just chew on and destroy everything I own, and themselves, and poo poo all over everything in the process? Christ I have no idea, it's scary to even contemplate. Not to mention they would have been sad and lonely missing their sister/brother  So glad we kept two. A little orange boy and a little black/grey/some orange girl. I think we are gonna call them Simon and Mona. I think Mona was the runt of the litter. She's so tiny and cute, but unbelievably animated and jumpy/twitchy in a cute way. She's also super floppy for a runty little girl. Simon is a cute orange guy who loves to eat, and stalk Mona around the room like a hitman, taking cover around corners, crouching, and waiting to pounce. They have such a fantastic dynamic! Why did we never get cats until now?! They are so loving cute we're gonna die. It was just a nice bit of chance that we found these cats, as we likely wouldn't have thought to get a cat, let alone two, had fate not dropped them in our lap. Very glad it did. Between my little beagle mutt boy Dexter and these two kittens, we've got a lot of love in this apartment. Oh yeah, picture! Here is the only photo I can share at the moment. Sorry, cell phone quality.  The white was adopted out to a good home. I feel bad she's without her litter mates, but she was the most individual and introverted so out of the three I think she'd do best on her own. Damo fucked around with this message at 11:58 on Jun 19, 2013 |
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Jun 19, 2013 11:54
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Damo posted:
I understand you had to adopt one out, but that is the cutest picture I have seen in a while, D'aww.
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Jun 19, 2013 13:55
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My cat just brought me a little plush mousie into my bed. She thinks I'm hungry.  edit: I got her a plush mouse on a rubber band, she loves it! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJf7uZti-Uk edit2: Amazingly, both toy balls ended up behind the fridge... again. I ended up moving the fridge away from the wall so that kitty can retrieve the balls next time they end up there. A SWEATY FATBEARD fucked around with this message at 18:12 on Jun 19, 2013 |
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Jun 19, 2013 14:17
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Stinkyhead posted:Do any of you guys have experience with cats and abdominal cancer? I took my seven year old cat, Monty, to the vet yesterday after he had been eating somewhat irregularly and had started missing the litter box, and the veterinarian who examined him felt a lump in his intestinal area that she said was fairly certain to be cancerous. At this point, they don't know what sort of tumor it is, but I should be able to get him an ultrasound fairly soon. If it is abdominal cancer of some type, what is the likely timeframe of how long he'll keep living an enjoyable life? Are there diets or other sorts of things you can do for a cat with cancer to make sure they'll be comfortable as long as possible? I wish I did, but I don't really have the finances to put him through a series of surgeries and/or chemotherapy, and I don't know if I'd want to put him through that if he'd only live another year or so, as seems to be a best case scenario at this point. He doesn't seem to be very sick at this point aside from a change in his eating patterns from wolfing all his food down in one sitting to eating a lot of smaller meal, and seeming a bit more tired than usual, but I am not sure when that will change. Here is a picture of him from a couple of weeks ago to put a handsome face to the story (his fourth leg has been gone for a long Not all abdominal masses are created equally. Some are the really icky cancers that progress quickly, need chemo and surgery to even have a chance, etc., and there are abdominal masses where they are benign (or at least haven't metastasized yet) where surgery alone is curative - or even not doing anything about them will let you still have your kitty for a year. Finding out what you're dealing with is step one. Step two is finding out treatment options. With GPs and specialists the protocols used are the tried and true methods - the best we got currently, or as best we can do in your specific situation. Those do cost money. Sometimes, if you happen to live near a veterinary school, they may have clinical trials going on that could help your kitty - but understanding that the treatment might not work, that your kitty might not get accepted to the clinical trial (if there are even any going on), and that though it may cost significantly less than if you did the "normal chemo surgery radiation" deal, there are still going to be some costs as well as travel time and vet visits that are likely more time consuming than normal GP or specialty practice. Step three is deciding what to do. Do you go the "leave it there" route and base on quality of life to tell you when the mass has gone bad? Do you go the speciality route to try and fix it with what we knows works best (though in some cancers, best is months)? Do you go the clinical trial route where the outcome is unknown (could be good, could be bad, could be same as "normal" treatment) but there's the potential to help many other pets down the line?
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Jun 20, 2013 04:02
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A SWEATY FATBEARD posted:My cat just brought me a little plush mousie into my bed. She thinks I'm hungry. Throw it for her. This is how I taught Decoy to play fetch. He now brings us his toy mice when he thinks it's bedtime (~10:30pm), drops them onto the wood floor with an audible DONK and stares at us meaningfully until we go to bed and throw his mice. He sits at the end of the bed and wiggles his rear end in anticipation, it is ridiculous how excited he gets.
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Jun 20, 2013 08:10
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Tamarillo posted:Throw it for her. This is how I taught Decoy to play fetch. Now that's an idea. I feel that the kitty is kinda bored and playing fetch could be entertaining for the both of us. Whenever I come into the apartment, Cordy lets out a pitiful mew and wants to be let out of the apartment and into the lobby. I actually let her explore it today for a minute or two, but I wouldn't be comfortable having her out there for extended periods of time due to my neighbor's dog. Rex isn't aggressive, but if they ever met face to face there would be a lot of drama. The lobby has a tile floor and it's an ideal place for playing fetch. Hmmmm.
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Jun 20, 2013 08:55
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So I have a small orphan kitten I'm fostering until I can adopt him out. He's about 5 1/2 weeks old, and I'm trying to get him to start eating from a bowl/plate. He actively recoils from the bowl and won't even try to sniff the food in it so I still have to feed him from the bottle. Is there like a time limit to when this becomes a problem? He has teeth, and could probably eat wet kitten food on his own without me having to mix it with KMR 2nd Step.
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Jun 20, 2013 11:11
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Minarchist posted:So I have a small orphan kitten I'm fostering until I can adopt him out. He's about 5 1/2 weeks old, and I'm trying to get him to start eating from a bowl/plate. He actively recoils from the bowl and won't even try to sniff the food in it so I still have to feed him from the bottle. Is there like a time limit to when this becomes a problem? He has teeth, and could probably eat wet kitten food on his own without me having to mix it with KMR 2nd Step. It's not just the teeth, their bowels have to develop too. By 6 weeks they usually develop an interest in wet food and biscuits (perversely the little sods generally eat their mothers adult food and she polishes off the kitten stuff but I digress). If he/she is small and underdeveloped it may take a little while longer. Have patience and so long as his/her weight is not dropping off just keep offering small portions. If he/she is losing weight or not looking well -> to the vet.
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Jun 20, 2013 17:21
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Minarchist posted:So I have a small orphan kitten I'm fostering until I can adopt him out. He's about 5 1/2 weeks old, and I'm trying to get him to start eating from a bowl/plate. He actively recoils from the bowl and won't even try to sniff the food in it so I still have to feed him from the bottle. Is there like a time limit to when this becomes a problem? He has teeth, and could probably eat wet kitten food on his own without me having to mix it with KMR 2nd Step. You can see if he'll take the wet food if you put it on your finger and let him lick it. What the dude said above me, too, though.
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Jun 20, 2013 17:49
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I'm almost at my wit's end. Fattles/Sybil has decided that she doesn't want to pee in the litterbox. She's pooping in it just fine, but has decided the carpet outside the bathroom is her new place. I've scrubbed the carpet with both natures miracle, and my bissel wet vac. Swept and mopped the bathroom, changed the litter (topped it off since it was low but still mostly new). My next step is scrubbing the bathroom again and the boxes with bleach and natures miracle and adding back in some cat attract along with 100% new litter. She's not having trouble urinating, with either pain or volume. There is plenty of volume all over my carpet. She's not tender, or showing other outward signs of pain.At this point I think she's off to the vet if she pees again this weekend after another death by scrubbing, unless anyone has any other suggestions. One suggestion has been to put one of the litter boxes where she is peeing and slowly moving it back into the bathroom. In payment I provide this photo evidence of the pee-brain and her "sister" being cattes:  
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Jun 21, 2013 12:56
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Me in Reverse posted:...Edit: Talked to the vet more when I stopped by. He gave us an antibiotic (iirc) to treat Giardia, in case she has it. Recheck with him in a few days, he said she should get better quick. A few days later and now we're treating her for Coccidia too, since the Giardia meds didn't help! gently caress.
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Jun 21, 2013 13:02
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In a month and a half I'm moving out of my parent's place to live with my boyfriend. I've visited my boyfriend's place before, but at that time I couldn't transfer to a college near him so I had to move back home for college. I'm happy I'm finally moving out but I love being around cats and I can't take my family cat with me. Asked my boyfriend if he was okay with adopting a cat, and.. he is! Great! We're moving to a bigger apartment in 3 months, I have enough money to pay for pet supplies, my parents love cats and if it's ever needed will help me with vet bills. Perfect! Oh, and later he informs me that his mom and sister have cat allergies and that he might have them too. I don't know how severe his mom's allergies are but apparently his sister was always fine around one or two cats, and it wasn't until she was forced to stay at a place with 12 cats that her symptoms became more severe. Now she can't be around cats at all. I've read up online and everything seems to suggest that susceptibility to allergies is hereditary. Is there a chance that he's going to be fine around cats? 6-7 years ago he did help out with medical research that used cats, so he's been around cats before without allergy symptoms. This is not a dealbreaker but I'd appreciate any suggestions on how to deal with this situation. I want to own a cat, I've been around them my entire life and I love having a pet around, but I obviously don't want to kill my boyfriend. If he is allergic, are there any steps I can take to alleviate symptoms? Are there certain cats or certain coat types that don't produce so much dander? Could he eventually become accustomed to cats? Or is it better if I don't get a cat at all?  Bonus family cat pics:  Casper, chilling on bed.  Syl, who is sadly no longer with us. Amazing little guy.
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Jun 21, 2013 18:21
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Stinkyhead posted:Do any of you guys have experience with cats and abdominal cancer? I took my seven year old cat, Monty, to the vet yesterday after he had been eating somewhat irregularly and had started missing the litter box, and the veterinarian who examined him felt a lump in his intestinal area that she said was fairly certain to be cancerous. At this point, they don't know what sort of tumor it is, but I should be able to get him an ultrasound fairly soon. If it is abdominal cancer of some type, what is the likely timeframe of how long he'll keep living an enjoyable life? Are there diets or other sorts of things you can do for a cat with cancer to make sure they'll be comfortable as long as possible? I wish I did, but I don't really have the finances to put him through a series of surgeries and/or chemotherapy, and I don't know if I'd want to put him through that if he'd only live another year or so, as seems to be a best case scenario at this point. He doesn't seem to be very sick at this point aside from a change in his eating patterns from wolfing all his food down in one sitting to eating a lot of smaller meal, and seeming a bit more tired than usual, but I am not sure when that will change. Here is a picture of him from a couple of weeks ago to put a handsome face to the story (his fourth leg has been gone for a long time):
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Jun 21, 2013 18:35
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Irkanfox: I'm allergic to cats and own two. At first my reactions were sent severe to the point of me considering taking her back, eyes swollen shut, the works. After about a month it subsided and now i can even sleep with Pete by my face without dying. I get occasional sniffles but it passes quickly. Make sure he takes claritin every day for the first few months, make sure he has a safe area the cat can't get to when he needs a break. Spend some money on a HEPA filter at least one for the bedroom. Good luck! It wasn't easy but I am happy I pushed through.
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Jun 21, 2013 18:49
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I was incredibly allergic to cats as a kid. All it took for me to start sneezing and drooling was to come in a 30-foot radius of a cat. Heavens forbid if I would lay my foot down into a room which was previously occupied by a cat. I also had other allergies such as dust - took lotsa antihistamines and Ventolin because my throat would swell up to the point of choking. Now my allergies are gone completely. I'm not taking any allergy meds. And there is a kitty right next to me while I'm typing this.
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Jun 21, 2013 19:12
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A SWEATY FATBEARD posted:I was incredibly allergic to cats as a kid. All it took for me to start sneezing and drooling was to come in a 30-foot radius of a cat. Heavens forbid if I would lay my foot down into a room which was previously occupied by a cat. I also had other allergies such as dust - took lotsa antihistamines.
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Jun 21, 2013 19:14
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I'm allergic to cats (and dogs, and basically everything) and have always lived with animals. Allergy management is much easier than a lot of people seem to think it is, provided you don't mind taking a pill every day. Start off with over the counter antihistamines; there are several on the market so try a different one if the first doesn't work. If the pills aren't enough, ask your doctor for a prescription for a nasal spray like Flonase. These tend to be very effective for most environmental allergies. You can also get over the counter or prescription eye drops, too. If medication still isn't enough, get a referral to an allergist for a scratch test (chances are good you're allergic to more than just cats if your symptoms are this persistent and severe). Allergy desensitization shots work incredibly well for most people and generally take a commitment of months to a year for typical cases. You can also manage allergens within the home by vacuuming and running a HEPA filter, keeping the cat out of the bedroom, and washing your sheets more frequently if you can't stand to lock kitty out. It's also the case that some people become less allergic to their particular pets; I'm far less symptomatic when I'm around my own cat (who actually sleeps in my bed with me) than I am around other cats. I wouldn't rely on this though because it's not the case for everyone.
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Jun 21, 2013 19:18
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It puts my mind at ease knowing that it's entirely possible to cope with allergies. Forgot to mention that my dad has been mildly allergic to cats as well and nowadays he frequently cuddles kitties My boyfriend's making plans to fly out to my parents' place to help me move and he'll definitely be exposed to our cat there. If he does show symptoms of allergies when he's at my place, I will go through all the options with him. Heard some incredibly helpful things here and I'm sure he's willing to work with me to find a solution we can both be happy with. Thanks guys!
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Jun 21, 2013 20:16
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See if there is a foster program! Try and foster a pet temporarily to see if he's okay, that's what I'm doing right now, as I have been a very bad allergy person. Since getting my kitty though, through this program, I have slowly gotten more and more confident in my allergy management and realized that I'm not as bad as I used to be, though I'm still careful and take Claritin everyday.
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Jun 21, 2013 22:31
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Well, I managed to get my kitten on solid food! He was turning his nose up at formula and the kitten pate in a dish, but I bought the kitten food that was chunks instead of a fine mash and he scarfed it up with no coaxing at all. It also helped his gut out a lot, he had the first solid poop I've seen from him in a while. He's also an adept escape artist, the pen I had him in was woefully inadequate so I borrowed a collapsible dog crate from work. He doesn't like being in it but it's better than him running freely around in my room where he can eat a power cord or pee on my laundry.
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Jun 22, 2013 00:00
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toplitzin posted:I'm almost at my wit's end. Maybe there is something there underneath the first layer of carpeting that is attracting her to pee there such as another animal's urine that has soaked beneath the carpet but an odor not strong enough for you to notice. Maybe she's just being a cat and your next step will the cat attract will work. The only things I can add as a suggestion is to try a spray that deters cats from urinating where you spray it, or buy a new litter box perhaps a different style than your currently have.
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Jun 22, 2013 01:42
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I have two cats, Lucy and Ethel. They've lived together their whole lives (5 years) and have moved several times during that period. I moved to a new apartment about three months ago, and since then Lucy has developed really bad eating habits. 1. When given wet food, she attempts to gulp as much as she can as fast as she can, growling the whole time. She'll grab the biggest chunks and run about 3 feet from the bowl before gulping it down, only to run back over and grab another mouthful as if she is not going to get enough. I've tried feeding her in a separate room from Ethel and it makes no difference. I've tried comforting her with petting and my voice but she still gulps and growls. 2. She attempts to steal Ethel's food constantly. When given dry food, she will gulp hers as fast as she can and then proceed to inch her way toward Ethel's bowl. If they're in separate rooms she will run to interrupt Ethel before she even finishes her own bowl. It's as if she thinks she's not getting as much food as Ethel, when in reality she gets more - it's just gone much faster because of her awful habits. I'm not a cat behavior specialist, but I need her to calm down and get her to pace herself. Any suggestions?
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Jun 22, 2013 05:22
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My cat is a bad aimer apparently. This is the second time this week I've found a blob of poo poo stuck to the brim of the litterbox, with a little bit on the floor. These incidents happen only during the night, and since my cat has only one eye and it's really loving dark in the bathroom - maybe she can't see where the poop is going? Should I leave the light on for her during the night? Oh, and she woke me up at 3 in the morning by coming to lie down next to me and then suddenly sneezing into my face. A SWEATY FATBEARD fucked around with this message at 06:50 on Jun 22, 2013 |
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Jun 22, 2013 06:26
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A SWEATY FATBEARD posted:My cat is a bad aimer apparently. This is the second time this week I've found a blob of poo poo stuck to the brim of the litterbox, with a little bit on the floor. These incidents happen only during the night, and since my cat has only one eye and it's really loving dark in the bathroom - maybe she can't see where the poop is going? Should I leave the light on for her during the night? Yep, it's a normal cat (both the poop aim and sneezing  ). We've had quite a lot come through with that litter tray problem, their feet are in the tray so it's cool right? The solution is the covered trays - cat arse can no longer hang over the edge. Some cats don't like going into them though and of course some cats think they're wonderful hidey holes.
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Jun 22, 2013 14:33
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l33t b4c0n posted:It's as if she thinks she's not getting as much food as Ethel, when in reality she gets more - it's just gone much faster because of her awful habits. I'm not a cat behavior specialist, but I need her to calm down and get her to pace herself. Any suggestions? Are they rescue cats? It's common for cats who have been living rough or born feral to behave like every meal is their last (it probably stems from have been starving). Some cats get over it in time, others will stay that way for their entire lives and you're right, it's a headache in multicat households. I've never known of anyone managing to change a cat like that (though like I said, some change by themselves). The two cats I have currently are similar: Buffy always eats first, she shoves Oliver off if there's only one bowl and eats fast then pushes him off his when there's two. They've been living together like this for 13 years now and show no signs of changing, Oli just seems to accept that his food is always Buffy spit flavoured The least problematic solution I found (which I stick to) is when I feed them I put down 2 portions of wet and there are always biscuits available. Buffy fills herself up and wanders off, Oli gets to rummage in what's left. Sometimes if I know Buffy is asleep I'll put the cooker hood on to mask the noise and give Oli a bowl of fresh all for himself. If you find something that works, please tell as I'd love to try it.
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Jun 22, 2013 14:43
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l33t b4c0n posted:I have two cats, Lucy and Ethel. They've lived together their whole lives (5 years) and have moved several times during that period. I moved to a new apartment about three months ago, and since then Lucy has developed really bad eating habits. Since we have scheduled feeding times and no free feed, I'll lock my wannabe fatass cat in a separate room until other cat is done. Some cats just desperately want to be hambeasts, regardless of upbringing.
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Jun 22, 2013 14:48
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HelloSailorSign posted:Since we have scheduled feeding times and no free feed, I'll lock my wannabe fatass cat in a separate room until other cat is done. Our hospital cat, Ming is like this. She begs for food constantly. She's always looking for a treat, or a little extra food at mealtimes. I'll feed her her afternoon meal, 1/4 cup Satiety Support, its got half the calories she needs for the entire day given her weight and activity level...and she acts like she's on a starvation diet. She's got a good amount of fat on her regardless and she eats every meal like she just got rescued from a labor camp. She's even torn open a few bags of food on us. The other people at work will feed her around 4pm if I haven't done it yet, but if Ming knows I didn't see it happen she'll start begging me for more. She has the best way of begging, she'll start doing little hops in the air while making stuttering "me me me me" chirping noises
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Jun 22, 2013 16:13
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