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I tried looking around a bit but couldnt find anything. I've just moved house, and bring with me two cats. How long do I have to keep them inside before they can roam their new territory? They're reasonably old cats (around 2 years) and keep giving me those drat eyes while they're scratching at the french doors.
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Mar 22, 2009 09:14
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| # ? Jun 3, 2024 18:43 |
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jermsz posted:How long do I have to keep them inside before they can roam their new territory? Personally - and a lot of PI are going to tell you this - I would say forever. Indoor cat = safer. However if you're living in the UK I appreciate its more acceptable to let your cat out roaming, partially due to lack of predators (if you ignore disease, people, cars etc.). My family used to keep their cat indoors for at least a couple of weeks before letting him out again. Despite being brought up in the UK, where people say it's "cruel" to keep a cat indoors, I have 5 cats indoor-only who are perfectly happy and spoiled rotten. One of them was allowed outside as a youngster, but is indoor-only now (mostly since I realised how it would break my heart if they were hurt/killed/didn't come home just because I didn't want the hassle of trying to keep him in). So it is possible to change them to indoor cats - he whined and scratched a bit in the early stages, but he adjusted after a few weeks; he's actually pretty nervous of the great outdoors these days. jermsz posted:They're reasonably old cats (around 2 years)  ... that's not old? Actually, 2 years old is about the equivalent of 24 years in human years, apparently.
Helanna fucked around with this message at 13:53 on Mar 22, 2009 |
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Mar 22, 2009 13:50
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Well, after 6 unproblematic years of eating prescription diet for struvite crystals, my eldest cat's urinary problems have returned with a vengeance. In fact, she needs a cystotomy. I've only been with my current vet for a short while, so I don't have some huge background of trust with him... and I'm a bit nervous about the surgery. He let me know that Emaline would need to come back later to get her stitches out. I'm just curious as to whether or not this is normal- every surgery my pets have had has always been with the disintegrating stitches. Are there simply certain kinds of surgeries that require the traditional sutures? I feel so bad for my poor kitty. I'm ready to win the battle over her bladder, dammit.
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Mar 22, 2009 20:00
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So what does bluenose and rednose mean in terms of badassery? Is it the look? Does it make 'em more vicious? Are blues better than reds? (Yes I know its shnozzle colour means nothing but what are those byb/buyers actually thinking with this? Im curious....) http://www.megapitbulls.com/  "Our pitbulls have excellent conformation, are big boned, with wide chests, low structured bodies and massive blocky heads. We took our time selecting our dogs from best lines and dogs available today. Mega Pitbulls is going to dominate in producing the best short, wide and bid blocky head pit bulls. pitbull puppy for sale, blue pitbull puppy"
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Mar 22, 2009 20:19
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Malalol posted:So what does bluenose and rednose mean in terms of badassery? Is it the look? Does it make 'em more vicious? Are blues better than reds?  "Bluenose" and "rednose" mean absolutely nothing. They're just colors, and gimmicky poo poo breeders exploit them as a "rarity" (they're not.  ) In fact, blue in APBTs originated as an amstaff color, and was added in by crossing mastiffs into Amstaffs, and then those Amstaffs with APBTs, to make HURF RARE BLUE APBTS. Old school APBTs were never blue, most were varying shades of brindle, white, black and fawn, and SOMETIMES red. Red doesn't have the same negative connotation with poo poo breeding that blue does, as it's associated with some good dogs and good lines, but it's still nothing special and is a total gimmick when used as a selling point. Real APBTs are never low, wide, big headed, big chested, bracheycephalic, over 55 pounds, typey and bully, and if you really want to get picky, they're never blue either. Post on what DOES make a real APBT located about halfway down this page: http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=2701637&userid=0&perpage=40&pagenumber=68 vvvv I like this better.
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Mar 22, 2009 20:27
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If you side with the Crips, you want a bluenose. If you side with the Bloods, you want a red nose. The last thing you want is to walk your bluenose pit in rednose territory. Yo. I'm shopping for area rugs, and budget is a big concern. I'm liking some of the jute and sisal rugs I am seeing, but worry that the cats will destroy them. Anyone have experience with them? Also, some of them have backing that reminds me of bathroom mats, you know, the stuff that makes cats want to piss on it. Does anyone know the exact plastic/rubber ingredient that I should avoid?
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Mar 22, 2009 20:28
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Meow Cadet posted:I'm shopping for area rugs, and budget is a big concern. I'm liking some of the jute and sisal rugs I am seeing, but worry that the cats will destroy them. Anyone have experience with them? Also, some of them have backing that reminds me of bathroom mats, you know, the stuff that makes cats want to piss on it. Does anyone know the exact plastic/rubber ingredient that I should avoid? Not sure on the exact ingredient to avoid but my experience with jute or sisal rugs is that the cats will scratch on them a ton...but not make much of a dent. My mom had some kind of grass rug and was always bothered by the cats messing with it...and it never did get torn up, even after 3+ years of exposure to cats. We've got a very tempting mat from Ikea by our back door right now at my house and Eowyn uses it constantly for scratching and it shows no wear. It's a risk I suppose, but those things are pretty tough.
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Mar 22, 2009 20:57
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Ceridwen posted:Not sure on the exact ingredient to avoid but my experience with jute or sisal rugs is that the cats will scratch on them a ton...but not make much of a dent.
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Mar 22, 2009 21:22
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Rescuing an older golden retriever to live in a reasonably sized two bedroom apartment with time and space to take the dog out regularly and enough money for vet bills: horrible idea or workable?
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Mar 22, 2009 22:30
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How can two little girls (probably 5 and 3) have never had a chance to pet a cat before? We just got new neighbors, and their two older girls were out playing. Charlie was fascinated by them, so I took him outside to meet them, and they had NEVER seen a cat up-close before. They told me they had a dog when they were really little, but no pets in a long time, which made me kind of sad. They asked a lot of really odd questions that indicated to me that they knew absolutely nothing about cats, not even the "obvious" stuff like "Does he like to swim?" or "Why does he want to chase the squirrels?" They got in some good petting time, and the oldest asked to hold him, which he tolerated because he is the most laid-back cat on the face of the Earth. My mind was really blown by their ignorance, though. They honestly seemed to have no idea what a cat was beyond recognizing that Charlie was a cat. My family had animals my whole childhood, I can't imagine growing up without them. The most  part was when the one little girl goes "I want a pet for me someday," and I asked "What kind?"Her answer: "I want a cat like Charlie!"
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Mar 22, 2009 22:55
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Meow Cadet posted:Awesome, thanks. Do you or your mom have pukey cats? I hear it might be a little hard to clean. Eowyn has puked on the rug by the door, but it's small so we take it outside and hose it down, then let it dry. It has a pretty tight weave too though, so it doesn't get too bad. The other rugs I've never had them puke on, my mother's cats were not pukers. I can see how they could be difficult to clean though.
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Mar 22, 2009 23:32
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Welp, my hamster's dying. I might as well ask what of. I found him laying on his side in not-his-usual-resting-spot in the cage. He can barely walk, and when he does he compulsively turns to the right. I've tried giving him food and water, but he won't take it, so I'm just trying to keep him warm right now. He's probably a couple years old now.
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Mar 23, 2009 00:51
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King Skinny Pimp posted:Rescuing an older golden retriever to live in a reasonably sized two bedroom apartment with time and space to take the dog out regularly and enough money for vet bills: horrible idea or workable? Sounds wonderful! No one ever adopts older/elderly dogs.  I always find them so charming and sweet. There is something extra special about older dogs, especially with ones with some gray/white on the muzzle.. RazorBunny that is really cute, although sad they'd never got to pet a cat before. Charlie sounds really sweet cat to tolerate being held by a stranger, and a kid at that...you should try to get him into a pet therapy program!
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Mar 23, 2009 01:02
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Oh Hell No posted:Welp, my hamster's dying. I might as well ask what of. You might want to take him to a vet. When I had gerbils, one of mine started doing something similar and the vet thought it might be an ear infection. We gave him a round of antibiotics and that seemed to help.
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Mar 23, 2009 01:11
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Stickbug posted:Sounds wonderful! No one ever adopts older/elderly dogs. I know, that's why I wanted to rescue one. Plus, then I can get a golden for $100 instead of $1000 and I don't have to bother with house training or the destruction that can come along with puppies! I just wanted to be sure that nobody here thought it would be not so great to have a dog that size in an apartment. I guess it's not as big of a deal with an older dog, though, they tend to just want to hang out and wag their tails when you pet them.
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Mar 23, 2009 01:28
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King Skinny Pimp posted:I just wanted to be sure that nobody here thought it would be not so great to have a dog that size in an apartment. I guess it's not as big of a deal with an older dog, though, they tend to just want to hang out and wag their tails when you pet them. Yeah if you wanted a border collie or some other insanely high energy dog and a really young one it would be an issue, but as long as you take the older golden out for a decent sized walk every day I'm think they'd be perfectly happy in a 2 bedroom apartment. You can always ask whatever rescue you're looking into, they'll be able to tell you if the individual dog's activity level will be suitable for an apartment or not. You better post lots of pictures when you find the right dog. 
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Mar 23, 2009 01:42
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RazorBunny posted:How can two little girls (probably 5 and 3) have never had a chance to pet a cat before? At that age, it doesn't really seem that odd to me. My parents did not want to get pets until my brother and I were old enough to take on some of the responsibility. Plus, my mom is really allergic to cats, so I was never around one until I was old enough to be at friends' houses by myself. I'm sure I wouldn't have been up close and personal with a cat when I was three. Although, I'm sure I knew that cats don't (generally) like swimming, but maybe those kids just don't ever watch tv or movies. Or read books.
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Mar 23, 2009 02:26
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I guess I've just never met a little girl who wasn't at least passingly familiar with cats.
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Mar 23, 2009 03:12
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My parents had two kittens who grew up a little and THEN had kids. So I've always been around cats. I guess it just depends on the people. I personally want to have animals around my children when they have them. Maybe have pets before and then wait till they are a relatively calmer age before bringing babies into the picture.
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Mar 23, 2009 03:19
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Stickbug posted:You better post lots of pictures when you find the right dog. Oh you better believe I will. Y'all will get sick of me posting pictures of my old dog being lazy, I bet. It'll be a while before I'm in a place to get one, but I really hope I can get a golden. They're such sweethearts and the ones we had when I was little were always so happy and playful, even when they got old. All the rescues I've looked at require an inspection of your living space before they'll let you adopt, so it'll definitely get cleared up then. Figured I'd ask here to see if it was even worth trying.
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Mar 23, 2009 05:03
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Quick, probably silly question. My cat likes to drink whatever I have in my glass. Usually it's sweet tea with Splenda. Is this okay? Can cats have artificial sweetener? It's also not like she just gets a little bit, she'll drink for a good 30 seconds. I haven't stopped her yet because it's sort of cute, but is this something I should worry about?
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Mar 23, 2009 06:06
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So I got a new cat a couple months after the old one died from FIP. I showed her the litterbox, but when she needed to go, she kinda shivered and started pooping in a line towards the litterbox. What would have caused this? I just got her today and if this is a recurring issue, how would I be able to fix it? Thanks in advance.
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Mar 23, 2009 07:06
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aunt moneybags posted:Quick, probably silly question. A quick google search (once the crazy fake sugar = cancer stuff is filtered out) says that artificial sweeteners haven't been known to cause any long term problems in cats, but it can lead to upset tummies. So basically as long as your kitty isn't throwing up, she should be fine. ...you are done with the drink by the time the cat gets to it right?
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Mar 23, 2009 13:18
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Oh Hell No posted:Welp, my hamster's dying. I might as well ask what of. I had a hamster growing up that started to run around in circles really fast. He had an ear infection. The vet gave me a bottle of antibiotics that I gave orally and the problem went away. He lived a while after that. Definitely worth a trip to the vet.
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Mar 23, 2009 17:04
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Melicious posted:Well, after 6 unproblematic years of eating prescription diet for struvite crystals, my eldest cat's urinary problems have returned with a vengeance. In fact, she needs a cystotomy. No responses to this? Somebody's got to know something. I have to schedule the surgery, but I want to make sure my vet isn't stuck in old routines with outdated practices or something.
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Mar 23, 2009 18:06
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Melicious posted:No responses to this? Somebody's got to know something. I have to schedule the surgery, but I want to make sure my vet isn't stuck in old routines with outdated practices or something. I can't really speak for other clinics and what they do, but the clinic I work for still uses stitches that need to be removed. I personally kind of like this, because when people bring them in it gives us a chance to take a look at it to make sure it's healing properly and doesn't require any additional treatment. Usually if the area is questionable when we remove the stitches, we will run it by one of our vets for a closer inspection.
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Mar 23, 2009 18:29
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Melicious posted:No responses to this? Somebody's got to know something. I have to schedule the surgery, but I want to make sure my vet isn't stuck in old routines with outdated practices or something. The last two vets I've used (both wonderful) have used stitches that need to be removed. My bengal had an operation to remove a lump on her hip a few weeks ago, and when she had the stitches removed 10 days later the vet decided the wound was still looking a bit too red, so re-bandaged it up to prevent her from fussing at it for a few more days after stitches came out. If it helps I had surgery recently too, and the doctors used stitches I have to get removed after 2 weeks  A lot of vets/doctors only use disolving stitches internally.
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Mar 23, 2009 19:38
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Helanna and hhgtrillian posted:stitches Good to know, thanks you guys. How about e-collars? I haven't seen one used on a cat since I was a kid, but the vet says Emaline's gonna need one. Is it possible to just put a sweater or something on her instead? I know the collar is going to freak her out...
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Mar 23, 2009 20:07
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You can always ask your vet, but personally I'd be worried about the sweater either a) sticking to the incision or b) restricting airflow to the wound and causing it to heal slower. Plus if your kitty is anything like mine, the mere act of putting a sweater on them (cute though it may be!) makes them hunch over and walk funny which can't be good for stitches. e-collars aren't too big a deal. I put one on Professor when he was fixed, and while he was pretty irritated about it he got used to it fairly quickly. He only had to wear it for a day though, so I can't speak for how Emaline would react if she has to wear it for awhile.
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Mar 23, 2009 20:11
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Women's Rights? posted:You can always ask your vet, but personally I'd be worried about the sweater either a) sticking to the incision or b) restricting airflow to the wound and causing it to heal slower. Plus if your kitty is anything like mine, the mere act of putting a sweater on them (cute though it may be!) makes them hunch over and walk funny which can't be good for stitches. Fair enough, makes sense. Well, we'll see how this goes. I am feeling particularly unsettled about the entire situation.
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Mar 23, 2009 22:24
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Melicious posted:How about e-collars? I haven't seen one used on a cat since I was a kid, but the vet says Emaline's gonna need one. Is it possible to just put a sweater or something on her instead? I know the collar is going to freak her out... For my bengal's recent op, my vet gave me an ecollar for us only if she started fussing and trying to remove the bandaging covering the incision. In 2 weeks she didn't once try to remove the bandaging, she just cleaned around it. Ecollar is still sitting unused in the cupboard  It's not a big deal if you do have to use one though, they get used to it from what I understand. However out of my 5 cats, all have been spayed/neutered, and 2 have had other major operations and none of them have ever needed a collar. There are some cats that will attack their own stitches tho, and you don't want that.
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Mar 23, 2009 23:07
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Melicious posted:Good to know, thanks you guys. They hate the e-collars but better safe than sorry. When my little girl was spayed her incision came open and she bled really bad everywhere resulting in a $1000 emergency vet trip at 2am in addition to the cost of surgery. Wish I had sprung for the $6 e-collar instead. My mom got a byb King Charles Cavalier a year ago named Molly. She's and adorable little dog despite where she came from and now my mom wants another dog so Molly has a friend to play with, preferably another KCC if possible. I've tried to explain to her what a byb is and why they are bad but my mom refuses to believe this lady was a byb because 'she had a really nice house and only breeds once a year' I've managed to convince her to not go back there and to try to adopt from a breed specific rescue instead. So she found a King Charles Cavalier that's 1 year old on some random website that needs to be re-homed for whatever reason from the family that adopted him. They want $900 for him. Is it acceptable to ask as much or more than a breeder if you are re-homing a dog? They don't say on the ad where they got her, if she has papers as far as actually being a full King Charles Cavalier Spaniel (not that I care if it's a mutt, but not at that price) or any health testing etc. They 'say' she came from a reputable breeder but that's what my mom would say about hers too. I told my mom to save the money and find an actual reputable breeder herself but now she's annoyed at me because I'm the one that convinced her to adopt a dog that needs a home instead of going to a breeder.  Basically my mom is an idiot and still isn't understanding that it's not 'breeders' I had an issue with, just her original one and now I feel like she's going to make another stupid choice. I just really wanted her to go out and adopt a damned dog, not find a mystery dog on the internet for $900. I didn't think this was that hard. Edit: Found the posting: http://portlandor.kijiji.com/c-Pets-Dogs-puppies-Female-Ruby-Cavalier-King-Charles-Spaniel-11-months-W0QQAdIdZ110370208 KilGrey fucked around with this message at 02:25 on Mar 24, 2009 |
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Mar 24, 2009 02:21
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KilGrey posted:So she found a King Charles Cavalier that's 1 year old on some random website that needs to be re-homed for whatever reason from the family that adopted him. They want $900 for him. Is it acceptable to ask as much or more than a breeder if you are re-homing a dog? I don't know, maybe it's just how I thought about it, but re-homing a dog means you aren't selling it. Asking $900.00 dollars for a dog is selling it. That ad would be flagged on craigslist. She wouldn't be adopting a dog, she'd just be buying one. Re-homing (to me) means coming to a decision that the dog is not doing well in the environment, and nothing will change that, so the owners try and find the best possible situation for the dog in question, with a small fee to avoid people who pick up free dogs to cause them harm.
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Mar 24, 2009 03:00
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Moving Walkway posted:I don't know, maybe it's just how I thought about it, but re-homing a dog means you aren't selling it. Asking $900.00 dollars for a dog is selling it. That ad would be flagged on craigslist. She wouldn't be adopting a dog, she'd just be buying one. Yeah I know, but they call this a 're-homing fee'. I wanted my mom to find a breed specific rescue if she still had a bug up her rear end about getting another KCC and adopt. She doesn't grasp the difference in buy, adopting, byb, reputable and not reputable breeding. To her it's just "cute doggy ". So when I finally convinced her to adopt she thought this was an appropriate solution and is annoyed I told her if she's going to spend that kind of cash find a reputable breeder and now she thinks I'm talking out of my rear end even more.
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Mar 24, 2009 07:47
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My Siamese kitten is at the vet for a couple days to get neutered (they requested this so that they can monitor his situation and make sure that he's healed considerably by the time he gets to come home, never had this with a previous pet but it makes sense) but we got a call today informing us that he's got a slight kidney abnormality they need to address before they go ahead with it. I guess my question is, how common is this? Is this something I should be worried about? My mother's been really worked up about the whole situation, years ago she had a kitten that died from kidney failure shortly after the procedure. cheese sandwich fucked around with this message at 19:41 on Mar 24, 2009 |
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Mar 24, 2009 19:28
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Compilerror posted:My Siamese kitten is at the vet for a couple days to get neutered (they requested this so that they can monitor his situation and make sure that he's healed considerably by the time he gets to come home, never had this with a previous pet but it makes sense) but we got a call today informing us that he's got a slight kidney abnormality they need to address before they go ahead with it. They are keeping him a few days for a neuter? That's really weird. It's a really simple and common procedure. How much are they charging you for the neuter? What sort of kidney abnormality are they talking about? That seems kind of vague.
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Mar 24, 2009 20:17
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All I was told was that they were running tests and blood work on him prior to the procedure and the numbers came out high enough to take priority over the neuter. They're charging roughly $80 (Canadian) for it, which includes pain meds. They're even trimming his claws for me edit: Verdict is kindey disease. At least the little guy got to keep his little men 
cheese sandwich fucked around with this message at 00:23 on Mar 25, 2009 |
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Mar 24, 2009 20:21
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KilGrey posted:Basically my mom is an idiot and still isn't understanding that it's not 'breeders' I had an issue with, just her original one and now I feel like she's going to make another stupid choice. I just really wanted her to go out and adopt a damned dog, not find a mystery dog on the internet for $900. I didn't think this was that hard. For comparison, the two Cavs my family adopted from Lucky Star Rescue cost about a $500 donation each. (Might have been $600 since they were puppies.) (It's Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, by the way. )
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Mar 24, 2009 21:49
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She could get a pet puppy from a responsible show breeder for less than $900. That's absurd.
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Mar 24, 2009 21:53
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| # ? Jun 3, 2024 18:43 |
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Quick question: Would you need to get a crate if you're rescuing an older (as in 8+ years) dog who's already house trained?
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Mar 25, 2009 00:53
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