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Dr. Gitmo Moneyson posted:We just found another kitten in our garage. A teeny tiny little black thing that I forgot to take a pic of because I’m a stupid idiot but its cute as hell and its eyes are open and it’s a little mover and I saw a dog rescue video where they checked for puppies by playing an audio clip of puppy-whining. It made the momma dog immediately run to her litter. Maybe that works for cats?
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Oct 15, 2018 22:19
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Dr. Gitmo Moneyson posted:(P.S. I will try to remember to take a photo of it later today if I can still find it/the mother doesn’t hide it) Photo  Pixelante posted:I saw a dog rescue video where they checked for puppies by playing an audio clip of puppy-whining. It made the momma dog immediately run to her litter. Maybe that works for cats? This kitten has been mewing up a storm. The way it wanders around the garage it almost looks like it’s looking for its mom, although the temperature outside is in the 50’s right now so it may just be looking for a place to warm up. I don’t think its mom is having any trouble hearing it, though, wherever she is.
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Oct 15, 2018 22:26
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Dr Christmas posted:I'm going to call a place that does at-home euthanasia when I get off work today and try to schedule a time in a week so my sister and I can both say goodbye. I can't stand the thought of their last moments involving being loaded into a crate that they hate and crying on the way to the vet. But I wonder if I'm doing the cats a disservice by waiting, and if they can wait, do they need to be put down? And all this time my dad's health is affected. I had a job interview a couple weeks ago that it looks like I didn't get, and I can't help but think that if I had gotten it, I'd move out and spend time doing more tests and praying they don't soil the new place. I might have done more about my search for "real" job if I wasn't fretting about the cats. I'm such a loser it's caused physical harm to my dad and animals that I love. I don't mean to trivialize your father's health concerns but a human has a lot more agency for mitigating health issues on their own while a cat can only cat. Someone needs to be their advocate and you shouldn't feel bad about fulfilling that role. Regarding the euthanasia I recently had to put down two cats and the worst part is trying to figure out if it's time. However as a vet pointed out it's better to do it too early than too late in the interest of minimizing suffering. Dr. Gitmo Moneyson posted:What do I do if it’s been abandoned? Assuming the mom never shows up and you can't keep it weren't there two or three no-kill shelters in your area? Can they take it?
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Oct 15, 2018 23:05
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Fabulousity posted:Assuming the mom never shows up and you can't keep it weren't there two or three no-kill shelters in your area? Can they take it? That might be an option. I need to check and see if they can take one that young. However we also want to avoid separating it from its mom and siblings if it hasn’t been abandoned. Are there any signs to look for to tell if a kitten has been abandoned by its mom?
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Oct 15, 2018 23:33
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The signs are pointing towards that. It's a single cat out on its own so it does seem like it got seperated from its siblings and no sign of the mom.
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Oct 15, 2018 23:42
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Dr. Gitmo Moneyson posted:That might be an option. I need to check and see if they can take one that young. However we also want to avoid separating it from its mom and siblings if it hasn’t been abandoned. Are there any signs to look for to tell if a kitten has been abandoned by its mom? Some Googling didn't provide a definitive answer but there seems to be a consensus that the mother may leave her kittens unattended for hours to hunt for food. The general advice is to allow up to 12 hours for the mother to return if there are no immediate dangers to the kitten(s) present. It sounds like this isn't possible with the kitten in the garage, the mother stuck outside it if she's still around, and no sign of a nest where the rest of the litter may be. You could dust with flour around the garage entrances so you can tell if any adult cats came by to check things out, but it doesn't tell you if it's mom or not. The pages also said if the kitten isn't eating solid food yet a lot of shelters won't take it simply because they don't have resources to manage manual bottle feeding.
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Oct 16, 2018 00:22
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Fabulousity posted:Some Googling didn't provide a definitive answer but there seems to be a consensus that the mother may leave her kittens unattended for hours to hunt for food. The general advice is to allow up to 12 hours for the mother to return if there are no immediate dangers to the kitten(s) present. It sounds like this isn't possible with the kitten in the garage, the mother stuck outside it if she's still around, and no sign of a nest where the rest of the litter may be. You could dust with flour around the garage entrances so you can tell if any adult cats came by to check things out, but it doesn't tell you if it's mom or not. The mother isn’t stuck outside. Our garage is always open for these cats to come and go as they please; we actually feed them all in there. It’s a relatively safe place for them. I can’t say for certain whether all of the cats came to get food in there when we fed them tonight (I’m not even 100% sure how many of them there are), but I saw a bunch of them in there and the kitten was walking among them, so if the mother was there she definitely saw it. One other thing I forgot to mention earlier. Today is the first day since the start of Fall that the temperature has been in the 50’s at my house, and it’s been raining all day. Normally when it’s cold and/or raining outside the cats like to hole up in the garage, which is part of the reason why we keep it open for them. Fabulousity posted:The pages also said if the kitten isn't eating solid food yet a lot of shelters won't take it simply because they don't have resources to manage manual bottle feeding. Well that sucks. Hopefully one of the shelters in my area can take it if it comes to that, but I’ll call around and find out for sure tomorrow. What am I gonna need to do if I end up having to bottle feed it myself?
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Oct 16, 2018 01:26
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So my vet said my cat is on the hefty chonk side and needs to cut it with the dry food. For the past five years I've had him I've left out dry food for him and didn't think it was a big deal since he doesn't eat a lot at a time. I switched him to Wellness Core grain-free high-protein food and he loves it, but it's been around two weeks and he hates the schedule. At night he's fine, we feed him at 7 to 7:30 and he doesn't beg even though he hasn't eaten since 8 AM. But at 6:30 AM he starts meowing, scratching at doors, and if he sees one of us he'll go nuts with the various stages of cat begging (pawing at us, trying the cute act, etc.) until he gets fed. It's very disruptive in the morning. We thought it was because we were giving him wet food at night and he wasn't eating enough, but even with the dry food it's no different. The vet told us to give him 1/3rd of a cup of dry food and take it away after a half hour, but is there a huge danger if we give him maybe a little more and let it sit there overnight? He'll probably finish it around 3 AM is my guess based on his appetite with the older food, and maybe he won't be such a typical cat in the morning when we're trying to sleep and/or get ready for work? I can't believe how well he adjusted to new food and the night schedule, but not the morning routine. What can we do?
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Oct 16, 2018 01:50
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You can follow your vets recommendation. The cat was content when he could gorge and overeat and there'll be some pain and noise to go with the adjustment. Automatic feeders help to dissociate you from the feeding. Evenly spaced feedings regimens help and the auto feeders can help with the late night feeding. Don't respond to the begging with food if you can help it. You can, of course, keep overfeeding him, but he'll get used to the new schedule in a few weeks and live longer for it. In my experience, your vet is being lenient with the 1/3 cup of dry. Mine encourages 1/8th or less. I'm at the point whew I only sprinkle it on one cat's wet to get her enthusiastic and the other gets that 1/8th in one of his three 8h feedings. ILL Machina fucked around with this message at 02:12 on Oct 16, 2018 |
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Oct 16, 2018 02:09
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Glory to Italia!
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ILL Machina posted:You can follow your vets recommendation. The cat was content when he could gorge and overeat and there'll be some pain and noise to go with the adjustment. An automatic feeder! Great idea. I forgot those existed.
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Oct 16, 2018 02:11
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Dr Christmas posted:Everything feels so wrong. The whole world is wrong, you'll be fine, keep pushing and don't give up. That being said, euthanasia isn't giving up, if anything, it's making it so you can better direct your own life and what limited funds you have on needy, new, more healthy kittens. As personal as your connection is with those cats, think of the next one and how much more love you could give if your furry ones weren't stressing you out and bankrupting you. If they were younglings it'd be different, but they've lived long cat lives. At some point you have to fold their experience into a larger perspective that includes you not killing yourself financially or non metaphorically. I get emotional about these things, but it sounds like you need a friendly voice to tell you to move on to care so deeply about the next cats and to absolve you of some feelings of neglect and guilt. Even if your family didn't have health reasons to make hard choices, it sounds like those fair creatures are on their last legs. It's time, friend. You've done your best. Take care of yourself and look to the future. ILL Machina fucked around with this message at 02:26 on Oct 16, 2018 |
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Oct 16, 2018 02:18
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Dr. Gitmo Moneyson posted:The mother isn’t stuck outside. Our garage is always open for these cats to come and go as they please; we actually feed them all in there. It’s a relatively safe place for them. http://www.kittenlady.org/bottlefeeding/ The Kitten Lady is a really good resource. One big, important issue here: a young kitten can't regulate its own body temperature well. It's important to keep her warm (but not too warm)! If she's out wandering a garage that's only 50 F, and there's no mom keeping her warm, that's dangerous for her.
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Oct 16, 2018 03:33
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How can I teach my dumbasses that the cardboard scratcher I bought them is for scratching and not just for sitting on? Biting would also be fine, one of them already loves biting cardboard usually. It came with catnip which I did sprinkle on it and I think that's part of why one of them likes sitting on it so much, but even all her rolling around on it while high didn't teach her that it was fun to scratch.
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Oct 18, 2018 11:20
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Organza Quiz posted:How can I teach my dumbasses that the cardboard scratcher I bought them is for scratching and not just for sitting on? Biting would also be fine, one of them already loves biting cardboard usually. It came with catnip which I did sprinkle on it and I think that's part of why one of them likes sitting on it so much, but even all her rolling around on it while high didn't teach her that it was fun to scratch. I've had some luck picking up their front paws and making them scratch it like a puppet.
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Oct 18, 2018 16:23
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This is Nora, the sweetie from awhile back. Figured I should get a pic in here for you guys:
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Oct 18, 2018 21:18
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 Here is my cat Artichoke having a little sleepy
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Oct 19, 2018 12:47
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Okay it turns out the answer to how to get cat to scratch cardboard scratcher for Peridot at least was ignore her when she wants attention until she tries to get attention by being an arsehole and clawing nearby noisy things that she thinks she's not meant to claw.
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Oct 19, 2018 15:40
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Organza Quiz posted:Okay it turns out the answer to how to get cat to scratch cardboard scratcher for Peridot at least was ignore her when she wants attention until she tries to get attention by being an arsehole and clawing nearby noisy things that she thinks she's not meant to claw. Lol, we have hotel-style air conditioners in our apartment that are close to the floor and my one cat will always stretch on these things while clawing at the plastic vents on it. It makes so much noise but I always say it's like she's playing the washboard 
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Oct 19, 2018 15:57
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Good cats. Mine are mostly relaxing. One of them likes to jump onto my shoulder. And he is using his claws to do that which is kinda painful. Not sure how to stop this.  Got them a few more toys.  Found the sock thief!  Back to sleep.  
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Oct 19, 2018 15:57
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Kitty pictures!
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Oct 19, 2018 16:48
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 She's got resting bitch face but this is Bean
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Oct 19, 2018 16:55
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Play? PLAY?!  Lounge 
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Oct 19, 2018 17:04
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Any advice for getting my cat to stop freaking the hell out every time I try to put her in her harness? I'm getting sick of having to close every possible escape avenue and backing her into a corner to force it on through scratching and hissing. Some background, I've had her for about two years now. She was a stray when the shelter picked her up, but she was sweet with the handlers so instead of releasing her after being fixed they kept her for adoption (hence the clipped ear). She's warmed up to me a lot and loves pets and treats and play, but she absolutely refuses to be handled beyond simple petting. She throws a fit if I pick her up. Throws a fit if I even touch her belly in any fashion. I've entirely given up on brushing her teeth, because all the treats and petting and patience in the world has done nothing to stop her from hissing and biting the poo poo out of me if I try to manipulate her mouth to brush. Thing is I live in a fairly small place and I can tell she's starting to get pretty bored, so I want to get her on a harness so I can take her outside into the yard for small bursts so she has some outdoor time. Every time I try to get her into the harness though it's loving agony. She's not afraid of the harness itself: I've conditioned her to like it via treats and she'll walk up to it and sniff it and even rub against it. The second I try to put it on her though, she slinks away to the nearest hiding spot, which again plays back into the "refuses to be handled in any fashion" problem I guess. Cat tax for my rant:    
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Oct 19, 2018 17:52
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She might just be a no walkies cat. Get more trees and climbable things. Hide half of her toys for a while and cycle them out so she'll think they're new again, move them around a lot, etc. Play with her more. Put bird feeders in windows she can see out of.
Boogalo fucked around with this message at 18:04 on Oct 19, 2018 |
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Oct 19, 2018 17:59
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Well at a minimum I still need to stick her in the harness once a year when I take her to my parents' place for Christmas, since TSA insists on making me take her out of the carrier so they X-Ray it.  The cycling toys thing sort of works and sort of doesn't, but she's mesmerized by string so as long as I swap out the color/texture of said string occasionally she chases it a lot. It seems like a lot of toys are predicated on being catnip infused, but as far as I can tell she's not affected by the stuff at all. She seems to like silvervine but it's still not that strong a reaction. Also she has a bird feeder outside my bedroom window. She likes to sit in the windowsill and chirp at them.
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Oct 19, 2018 18:15
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Fabulousity posted:I don't mean to trivialize your father's health concerns but a human has a lot more agency for mitigating health issues on their own while a cat can only cat. Someone needs to be their advocate and you shouldn't feel bad about fulfilling that role. Regarding the euthanasia I recently had to put down two cats and the worst part is trying to figure out if it's time. However as a vet pointed out it's better to do it too early than too late in the interest of minimizing suffering. I guess I undersold my Dad's health issue. He's developed asthma at home, and the medication can cause hypertension. I made the call on Tuesday, and I scheduled an at-home euthanasia for both of them on Monday at 5. I got the day off, so after I get off work it's 72 hours to spoil them. Nothing feels right. I was reading this on Monday when Bobo jumped into my lap and I lost it.
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Oct 19, 2018 19:49
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 My cuties sleeping all cute-like.
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Oct 19, 2018 22:19
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I recently made some alien antennae for a game of Watch the Skies. Of course, the cats considered them excellent toys. Ethics wasn't much help.
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Oct 19, 2018 23:00
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The SO and I are watching a friend's dog this weekend while they are out of town. So far: dog walked, pulled himself completely out of his collar, ran over to three dogs and the other dogs attacked him. Managed to pull him away and get him to a pet hospital. He's in surgery now and the SO and I are attempting to eat. Lots of fun looks from other patrons due to being covered in dirt and blood. .....and this is why we have cats.
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Oct 20, 2018 04:26
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Sydin posted:Well at a minimum I still need to stick her in the harness once a year when I take her to my parents' place for Christmas, since TSA insists on making me take her out of the carrier so they X-Ray it. Is it the strappy kind of harness or a coat kind of harness? If it's the former, try one of the latter, it's much more pleasant for them to wear.
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Oct 20, 2018 05:51
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Dr Christmas posted:I guess I undersold my Dad's health issue. He's developed asthma at home, and the medication can cause hypertension. You are doing the best thing you can. You have provided those cats with warm and loving environs in their twilight years. Most of us miserable human poo poo-fucks should be so lucky to be so cared for at the end.
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Oct 20, 2018 07:50
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Dr Christmas posted:Nothing feels right. I think you've made the right call here. It's a terrible decision to have to make, but like you said love and spoil them all weekend
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Oct 20, 2018 17:08
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Anyone else got any drooly cats? When you pet Bean she gets super excited and her face leaks. It's adorable and derpy. I assume it's just a cat thing but it's weird Domino doesn't
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Oct 20, 2018 18:44
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Len posted:Anyone else got any drooly cats? When you pet Bean she gets super excited and her face leaks. It's adorable and derpy. My cat is like a broken faucet once you start the petting. I have to keep a towel handy. Some cats just don't have the brain capacity to close their mouths and purr at the same time.
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Oct 20, 2018 22:08
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have definitely had drooly kitties; seems to be more common if they're missing some teef (or need to have some teeth extracted).
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Oct 20, 2018 22:23
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Organza Quiz posted:Is it the strappy kind of harness or a coat kind of harness? If it's the former, try one of the latter, it's much more pleasant for them to wear. Not sure what you mean by a coat kind. This is the one I got her.
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Oct 20, 2018 22:49
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Dr Christmas posted:I guess I undersold my Dad's health issue. He's developed asthma at home, and the medication can cause hypertension. If you can, bury your grief until you have to say goodbye -- they're not gone yet. Of course you're aware of the situation, but there'll be lots of time to miss them. Try to enjoy your last days without tears obstructing your vision. Take pictures if you can stand it. It's impossible, I'm sure. I break it into tears occasionally just thinking that I love mine too much and she's middle aged and not going anywhere for a while, but I still know it'll end at some point.
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Oct 20, 2018 23:11
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Tendales posted:My cat is like a broken faucet once you start the petting. I have to keep a towel handy. Some cats just don't have the brain capacity to close their mouths and purr at the same time. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4c5UvCw_E0 Yup
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Oct 20, 2018 23:13
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My boy cat drools like crazy. Not the first cat I've encountered that did it. Rex's spit smells HORRIBLE too, like a person after a workout. Usually that's a sign of tooth decay or something, but he's apparently fine. Imagine being able to tolerate the wetness but unable to tolerate the stench.
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Oct 20, 2018 23:35
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I have two cats that are littermates. The male cat has a habit of chewing the female's whiskers when they are grooming. She doesn't seem to mind (and has no problem asserting agency or bodily autonomy) so I assume it's OK but I've never seen this before. edit: pic because I love these guys 
Salvor_Hardin fucked around with this message at 03:26 on Oct 21, 2018 |
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Oct 21, 2018 03:22
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