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Do any of you use puzzle feeders for your cat? Do you have one that you like? A petsitting client of mine has one that's awesome but I can't find it online anywhere.
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Oct 16, 2015 14:47
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Does anyone here have experience with kidney failure in cats and/or with feeding multiple cats different kind of food? I have 3 little dudes and one of them was diagnosed with kidney disease and has to go on special renal support food. The problem I'm having is that they only want to eat a little bit at a time, so I have to just leave their food sitting out, which results in them wanting to eat the other/wrong kind of food. Any tips here? Isolating the one cat at feeding time isn't helping much because she just wants to take a few bites and save the rest And along those same lines, can healthy cats eating the renal support food be harmful to them? This question is better for my vet I know, but I figured I'd see if anyone here had any experience with this
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Oct 16, 2015 15:03
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When Pizza went on his RX food, Ozma was a grazer. It took her about two weeks of being closed in a room with a portion of food for her to realize she only had a limited amount of time to finish it, and now she scarfs it down. She was young though, and we'd recently moved, so I think it was easier to get her to change her habits for the new environment than it would be for an older cat. Might be worth a try?
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Oct 16, 2015 15:33
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SlipkPIe posted:Does anyone here have experience with kidney failure in cats and/or with feeding multiple cats different kind of food? Cats are territorial, so you can use that to your advantage. We've handled this sort of situation by giving them each their own bowl, in their own spot. When it's feeding time they go exactly to their own spot and anxiously await the food to arrive. They will defend their spot, and chase the others away if they get curious. You do have to look sharp and grab up any leftovers as sneaking somebody else's food once they're gone becomes a fun game. However, I usually just set it up somewhere high nearby, as they would inevitably come back and want to finish it off in a few minutes. If they habitually eat less than is out, I cut back on serving sizes to where they'll clean the plate, then get them a bit more when they're ready for it. It's not a perfect solution, but I am able to generally keep them on separate diets with their canned food. We let them free feed on some dry food they all can eat, and feed them the canned at a set time each evening, within easy sight of my computer so I can keep track of them. If I see them approaching some leftovers from another cat and can't react right away, usually calling their name sternly is enough to remind them that they're not supposed to touch it and they back away for a bit - which gives me enough time to get the plate moved to safety.
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Oct 16, 2015 15:51
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Shnooks posted:Do any of you use puzzle feeders for your cat? Do you have one that you like? A petsitting client of mine has one that's awesome but I can't find it online anywhere.  Kiska is both not food motivated and pretty dumb, it was not a success. I'm not even sure if she got the idea that there was food in it, despite me showing her.
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Oct 16, 2015 16:18
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SlipkPIe posted:Does anyone here have experience with kidney failure in cats and/or with feeding multiple cats different kind of food? Is sick kitty skinnier? I have a friend who has a fat cat and a cat that prefers pets to food, so she puts her food in a "Maya box" with a hole that's too small for fatty. Once fatty realizes she'll have to try to work for Maya's food, she gives up pretty easily. Other than that, separate rooms are all I can think of. The k/d food isn't really good for healthy cats. It's not the best food anyway, as it tends to be lower in protein (to lower phosphorus). It's also formulated to be extra smelly and tasty so the renal cat will eat it, so many cats really like it. (Not to mention it's super expensive to be feeding all your cats!) It's not the end of the world, but long term, your healthy cats shouldn't be eating too much of it.
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Oct 16, 2015 20:15
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So, I discovered this on one of my two cat's necks today, and while I have an appt to get it looked at, I wanted to get a quick internet opinion. They don't really fight, so I don't think this is an injury. I switched food back on Sept 18 to "Hill's Science Diet Adult Optimal Care Original Dry Cat Food" and I'm just noticing this so I'm not sure it's that either. Didn't see any fleas. I'm not sure what to make of this. It's still a moist wound, little bit of a dark red/pussy yellow in the center, and the skin around it is pink and inflamed.  Attitude wise he's still the same shithead as always, doesn't seem to mind me looking at it, etc. Deviant fucked around with this message at 01:33 on Oct 17, 2015 |
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Oct 17, 2015 01:22
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A month ago, I lost my cat of fourteen years. It was sudden, from an unexpected source, and I was devastated. Nevertheless, as it was then, it remains so now: I live in a rural nowhere. Rural life comes with a sort of practicality and harsh logic to it that I fear it might offend some folks when it comes to animals, even pets. I'd moved into a mobile, I needed a mouser, had an opportunity to get a random cat, and as it turned out she happened to mouse awesome. 5 was a rescue cat, about a year old when I got her. She was missing about the last third of her tail. (Which has forever oddly colored my opinion of other cats with their weird and extra-long tails.) From that cat sort of perspective, I'm reasonably certain we had something of a partnership. I provided warmth, safety, and was a reliable source of food. She murdered tiny intrusive nuisances, asserted a powerful territorial dominance, and was generally comforting. 5 died in my arms, with this confused sort of 'what the gently caress just happened?' sort of expression in her eyes. Maybe I was too late, but I couldn't predict the future. Maybe she wasn't good enough, but after all this time she'd kind of established herself as being very capable. For more than a decade she'd outwitted dogs, foxes, coyotes, raccoons, skunks, porcupines, owls, eagles, crows, literally everything Midwestern Canada had to throw at her, and also used her position as a domesticated animal to draw humans to her defense to reinforce and assert her position as queen of the region. She could open doors and cupboards, much to my chagrin. She was so goddamn smart. It's probably ironic that everything I've read suggests that cats operate best with routines, and now in her absence, it's my routine that's hosed up, and I am keenly aware of her absence when she isn't where I'd normally expect her to be. I miss her so much. But today, 28 days after I lost 5, I have accepted a new cat from another tragedy. Reeeee (the number of 'e's may vary, I've decided.), who is only about two months old, which is a little more youthful than I'd have otherwise gone for, but I have a hard time saying no to those in need. As you might expect where kittens are involved, in the handful of hours I've had her now, she's endeared herself to me. I know that some might find the indoor/outdoor lifestyle objectionable, but I have no regrets about how Reee's predecessor conducted herself, and I am intent on allowing Reeee to experience the same freedoms and opportunities. Winter is imminent and literally deadly, so Reeeeee won't be going outside until next spring at the soonest. (Which I am viewing as an opportunity to establish acceptable indoor behaviour and routine.) However, I'm interested in any insights from other indoor/outdoor cat people which might help me to enable Ree to explore and enjoy the land she has available to her when the time comes, and what you feel is an ideal age at which to offer these opportunities. I don't know if 5 was exceptional from the get-go, or if it was by virtue of her experiences and lifestyle that made her who she was. As in all things, fortune plays a role certainly. However, are there things that I can do to encourage better discretion and (I guess for lack of a better term) situational awareness?  Reeeeeeee. Safe and sound! Edit: Also, one day and that saran wrap thing works amazingly. bahamut fucked around with this message at 09:53 on Oct 17, 2015 |
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Oct 17, 2015 09:47
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Shnooks posted:Do any of you use puzzle feeders for your cat? Do you have one that you like? A petsitting client of mine has one that's awesome but I can't find it online anywhere. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4q6FnCEX9Tc A box with holes in it. 
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Oct 17, 2015 09:51
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Deviant posted:So, I discovered this on one of my two cat's necks today, and while I have an appt to get it looked at, I wanted to get a quick internet opinion. I had something similar happen to my cat a little less than a year ago. We never figured out what it was, but my best guess it that he got caught on something and his fur got ripped out. The vet gave us some antibiotic gel to keep it from getting infected and the fur grew back a few weeks later. Disclaimer: I am not a vet
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Oct 17, 2015 12:51
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Tendai posted:Yep, that's a nipple. It freaks me out a little when I see Kiska's, like "CAT PUT A SHIRT ON." Saw my cat doing a careful job of licking the area and got a better look. It's not a nipple. He seems to be licking the fur off around the area, looks like a wound or place where some fur got torn out. Guess I'll be taking him to the vet next week. drat it cat
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Oct 17, 2015 21:11
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Danith posted:Saw my cat doing a careful job of licking the area and got a better look. It's not a nipple. He seems to be licking the fur off around the area, looks like a wound or place where some fur got torn out. Guess I'll be taking him to the vet next week. drat it cat 
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Oct 17, 2015 21:31
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I'm thinking when he decided to attack the dog the dog probably stepped on his fat stomach
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Oct 17, 2015 22:26
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Oraculum Animi posted:Is there a place in central Virginia that does check ups for strays/freebie cats? There's Harmony Rescue in Altavista. Also worth calling a local humane society or rescue, they probably have resources.
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Oct 18, 2015 04:24
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Well I'm sorry to say my cat issues are continuing. On Wednesday we had to take our Maine Coon mix Odin into the vet because he got into my pothos plant. It was my fault really; normally it hangs from my ceiling way out of the cats reach, but I had trimmed back the hanging vines last week. I must have missed a vine that fell behind a shelf we have nearby, and Odin found it. The stinker had probably been noshing on it for a couple days before he started acting sick and I called the vet. Luckily he went over to eat the hidden vine as I was on hold at the vet's office so we had an immediate diagnosis instead of his illness being a mystery. However, despite all our best efforts (and tons of GI support) Odin stopped eating. We brought him to the emergency vet on Saturday morning because I thought he looked jaundiced and sure enough, he's in the initial stages of fatty liver. So we get even more meds, including 3x daily zofran and an antidepressant they hope will work as an appetite stimulator. They also sent us home with a bunch of the Purina CN canned food. Odin has consistently turned down everything we offer him, so I started force-feeding him by syringe last night. So, does anyone have experience with this? He's going back to our regular vet Monday morning, and I'm expecting we might have to put in a feeding tube. I was hoping that the syringe feeding would go better but Odin HATES it. It takes 2 of us to do it, my husband burritos him and basically pins him down on the bed while I then try to scruff him with one hand and syringe him with the other, and he still twists and fights so much I get half the food going down his chin. He's supposed to get almost 2 big cans of this food a day and I just can't get it all in there fast enough. All this manhandling for pills and food is also stressing him out, does anyone think that feliway would help with that? I know that it's usually used for marking and getting multiple cats to play nice, so I'm not sure if it would do any good here. I'm just desperate to try anything that will reduce his stress and get him to eat again. Oh yeah, vitals: Odin is a 9 year old indoor-only neutered male weighing 14.85 pounds at his visit on Wednesday. His normal weight is just shy of 16 pounds. (Yes, he's a big boy). Here's a picture of his healthier, fatter self: 
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Oct 18, 2015 19:25
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I adopted a second cat 2 days ago. They are isolated now but the two did meet briefly and there was some hissing and chasing. Have I doomed these cats to hate each other forever? I'm very worried.
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Oct 19, 2015 01:16
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ForcedKen posted:I adopted a second cat 2 days ago. They are isolated now but the two did meet briefly and there was some hissing and chasing. Have I doomed these cats to hate each other forever? I'm very worried. This is completely normal cat behavior. Chill. It's how they get to know each other, stake out their mutual territories, and show off how tough they are.
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Oct 19, 2015 01:29
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Deteriorata posted:This is completely normal cat behavior. Chill. It's how they get to know each other, stake out their mutual territories, and show off how tough they are. Ok, thanks. I was concerned because of what I read on the ASPCA site- https://www.aspca.org/pet-care/virtual-pet-behaviorist/cat-behavior/introducing-your-cat-new-cat "The first impression a new cat makes when she meets your resident cat is critical. If two cats display aggression during their first meeting, this may set the mood for their future relationship." This is my first time having more than 1 cat and I'm just trying to get it right.
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Oct 19, 2015 02:04
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ForcedKen posted:Ok, thanks. I was concerned because of what I read on the ASPCA site- https://www.aspca.org/pet-care/virtual-pet-behaviorist/cat-behavior/introducing-your-cat-new-cat As long as you're introducing them gradually and not just locking them in a room together, they'll be fine. To the old cat, the new cat is an intruder who must be scared off. To the new cat, the old cat is a rival who must be intimidated to keep him at bay and create space for himself. Once they get used to each others' smells and the initial "intruder alert" instinct wanes, they will start to get to know each other. That inevitably involves testing limits and will result in hisses and swats. As they figure each other out it will diminish.
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Oct 19, 2015 02:34
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Hi I just wanted to post some cat and babycat pictures. My girlfriend decided to start fostering cats and generally making our bathroom awkward to use by storing living things in it and anyway we adopted the first cat we fostered because just look at him: His name is Smokey and he's five years old and lays on a lot of stuff like beds,   pillows,   and also tables.  He also is beginning to accept boxes as reasonable places as well:  He's about five years old and we don't know his pre-shelter story but he had to have several teeth pulled out but is the most gentle cat I've ever had the pleasure of meeting. He likes to spend the night sleeping on your chest, or if you protest enough at your feet (but won't purr as much!). Also even when my idiot friends who are less good at cats pick him up weird he just kind of resigns himself to it and is just a very mellow guy. After him we rented the bathroom out to these two idiots:  They're named Sunny and Cher. It used to be Sonny and Cher but then someone actually looked and they're sisters so whoops. Also I think it's just a rule that the shelter has to come up with awkward names and also I know its a rule they don't want you to change it while you foster them even if they do climb all over your shelves:  Or play-fight like all the time:  Well not all the time sometimes (a lot of the time) they slept and were really cute. They just never did it at night so a couple times you'd wake up to crashing noises and anyway kittens wow:  Some poor soul ended up adopting those two hellions so our house is pretty quiet again but we're always always looking for more cats to complete our feline zoo.
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Oct 19, 2015 11:41
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Cat pee on towel; Do I have to wash it separately or can I just throw it in together with some other dirty linens without risking that they all get a faint whiff of urine? ty in advance~~
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Oct 19, 2015 12:44
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motherfish posted:Cat pee on towel; Do I have to wash it separately or can I just throw it in together with some other dirty linens without risking that they all get a faint whiff of urine? ty in advance~~ You can, but you have to pre-treat it with an enzymatic first. IE: Natures Miracle. Or else everything will get pissed.
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Oct 19, 2015 13:05
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What's a good food to give a 15+ year old cat? My neighbor's cat has decided I'm a better owner and I want to make sure he's getting proper nutrients.
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Oct 19, 2015 16:26
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God drat it, Kiska's doing that frantic licking again. So the vet ruled out fleas, now I have no idea. The way she acts sounds almost like the description of hyperesthesia syndrome that Cornell University gives: quote:Instead of scratching, some cats will obsessively lick or bite at their flank, back or tail. Many of these cats will follow up the scratching or grooming behavior with a frantic run around the house.
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Oct 19, 2015 17:01
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Tendai posted:God drat it, Kiska's doing that frantic licking again. We had a cat with those symptoms due to food allergies. She would lick her belly raw and twitch all over due to itchy skin when she ate the wrong stuff. Took a long time to sort it out.
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Oct 19, 2015 17:19
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Can food allergies develop spontaneously like that? She's been on the same wet/prescription dry food for uhhh since whenever she had piss issues. About a year or more.
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Oct 19, 2015 17:35
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Tendai posted:Can food allergies develop spontaneously like that? She's been on the same wet/prescription dry food for uhhh since whenever she had piss issues. About a year or more. Beats me. Ask your vet about it. The skin test cost about $130 IIRC. Lamb and catfish are her two biggest, along with pork, wheat, and a couple others. Buying food for her is a huge pain in the rear end now, but she's a lot better.
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Oct 19, 2015 17:49
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I have a 13lb long hair male. He has recently been to the vet and deemed in good health. However, for the last couple months he's had raised bumps appear on his back. These bumps range in size up to about the surface area of a pushpin. The vet thinks it might be some type of allergy and to wait and see if it clears up with Winter coming on. I've had this cat for four years and lived in the same location during that time. He was a stray that lived around my house before he was adopted. He has never had these bumps before. He eats, cleans and uses the litter box just fine and the bumps don't seem to cause him much pain. Unfortunately, the bumps seem persistent. Is there anything I can do besides wait for the weather to turn?
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Oct 19, 2015 18:12
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Deteriorata posted:Beats me. Ask your vet about it. The skin test cost about $130 IIRC. Lamb and catfish are her two biggest, along with pork, wheat, and a couple others. She's already a pain to buy food for since it has to be prescription food for cats that don't know how to pee right  Hopefully this is something small.
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Oct 19, 2015 19:11
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Does anyone have any experience with Jackson Galaxy Spirit Essences? I'm expecting a lot of company one weekend in November and I'd like to try the Scaredy Cat essence on my cat that hides and gets stressed out whenever friends come over. I was thinking about putting up Feliway diffusers but this is a much cheaper option, if it works. It looks like snake oil to me.
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Oct 19, 2015 19:34
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Admiral_eX_laX posted:Does anyone have any experience with Jackson Galaxy Spirit Essences? I'm expecting a lot of company one weekend in November and I'd like to try the Scaredy Cat essence on my cat that hides and gets stressed out whenever friends come over. "Holistic veterinarian" has bullshit stamped all over it. The primary effect seems to be a placebo effect, convincing you that since you spent all that money on that crap, your cat must be behaving better when it actually isn't. Feliway or just lock the cat in a distant bedroom with food and litter box and leave it alone. Edit:  quote:Ingredients They sell you a dilute alcohol solution and let you pretend it's doing something. Deteriorata fucked around with this message at 19:42 on Oct 19, 2015 |
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Oct 19, 2015 19:39
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Deteriorata posted:"Holistic" has bullshit stamped all over it.
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Oct 19, 2015 19:40
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Thank god its holistic magic woo nonsense. Some of those are made with plants that would make your cat sick if there was more than a part-per-billion or what have you.
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Oct 19, 2015 21:01
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Tendai posted:God drat it, Kiska's doing that frantic licking again. Aw hey, my parent's dumb cat Willow totally has that. And here I thought she was just  . She doesn't seem any worse for wear outside of being incredibly dumb.
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Oct 19, 2015 21:38
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Deteriorata posted:"Holistic veterinarian" has bullshit stamped all over it. That's what I thought. Thanks! Would I be saving much if I bought feliway online?
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Oct 19, 2015 23:51
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So is Feliway not snake oil? Anyway, cat pictures! Sorry about the quality, I don't have a proper camera. Cat #1, Butters-  Cat #2, Raisin-  Bonus Butters as a baby- 
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Oct 20, 2015 04:28
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I'm glad to see Butters did not outgrow his stankface.
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Oct 20, 2015 06:11
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ForcedKen posted:So is Feliway not snake oil? Feliway works on my timid girl cat. I've stopped using it a few times, and she becomes more fearful, then gets braver again when I resume.
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Oct 20, 2015 07:11
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ForcedKen posted:So is Feliway not snake oil? Feliway is basically synthetic face stank, not Reiki energy made from energetic blueprints.
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Oct 20, 2015 07:18
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Stanley Goodspeed posted:Hi I just wanted to post some cat and babycat pictures. My girlfriend decided to start fostering cats and generally making our bathroom awkward to use by storing living things in it and anyway we adopted the first cat we fostered because just look at him: I foster too! It is so rewarding! I have the time, space and love to spare and my rescue provides all the supplies so I don't have to spend the big bucks. I love fostering kittens because you get to hand them back once they are fixed (about the time they can get over a 4 foot high blockade). 
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Oct 20, 2015 07:50
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