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Bobstar posted:Ouch, those are pricey in Europe! Cat training tape works well: https://www.amazon.com/double-sided-sticky-tape-cats/s?k=double+sided+sticky+tape+for+cats It'll make your counters tougher for you to use but they hate it and don't take long to associate the tape with the surface itself bad. It's fairly impossible to punish cats as a means of training - they'll only associate punishment with you rather than what you want them to avoid doing - but rewarding good behavior works but takes a long time. Try to put things they like on the floor near the counters, preferable while using the tape on the counters.
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Aug 25, 2020 23:47
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So my 7-year-old, healthy cat peed himself in his carrier for the first time on the way to the vet and got soaked...  He's never been scared to that point before, I feel bad. Thankfully he did it while I was taking him out of the car so they got him out of there quickly (and it's an ancient, sturdy plastic carrier so it didn't soak through). He was fine with the vet and doesn't seem too traumatized anymore. They (and later I) wiped him down with wet cloths and stuff to try to clean him up. He's dry now and has spent some time licking himself, but he's still kinda stinky.Any suggestions on how to make him not smell like urine? He's pretty chill as far as cats go so I probably could give him a bath (have done so once or twice before and he hated it but didn't kill me), but I don't have pet or baby shampoo here. Stroop There It Is fucked around with this message at 00:47 on Aug 26, 2020 |
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Aug 26, 2020 00:42
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Man, I have never seen a cat chase his tail like this little dude. Worried I'm not giving him enough toys or something but he seems to be enjoying it a lot.
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Aug 26, 2020 01:09
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Wile E. Toyota posted:One of my cats has taken up excessive vocalizing and I'm not sure what else to try at this point. He's really smart, social, and active, so I guess he's bored? I've bought him all kinds of toys, put a bird feeder by the window, put videos for cats on the TV, rotated out boxes and bags with catnip and things in them, and he plays with my other cat. I've even gotten creative and constructed forts out of blankets so that he has somewhere "new" to go and hang out. But he's obsessed with sitting by the closet door (where I keep one of his electronic toys) and meowing all day. Even when that toy is out! Or meowing by the front door, or at the water bowl. I don't know what he needs! There's no real guide for cat vocalizations because they only do it for us - they don't meow to each other as communication after kittenhood. Each cat has their own "language" of meows they use to communicate with humans. Yours has just learned to do it a lot, apparently. You might try not responding to his every beck and call? The only way to train him to stop is to not reinforce the behavior. No promises that'll work, though, because cat. WombatCyborg posted:Man, I have never seen a cat chase his tail like this little dude. Worried I'm not giving him enough toys or something but he seems to be enjoying it a lot. Nah some cats just start doing that. It's not harmful or indicative of you doing anything wrong. He might do it his whole life! Just enjoy the show. Stroop There It Is posted:Any suggestions on how to make him not smell like urine? He's pretty chill as far as cats go so I probably could give him a bath (have done so once or twice before and he hated it but didn't kill me), but I don't have pet or baby shampoo here. You can give him a bath if you want, but he will eventually clean himself off. Rotten Red Rod fucked around with this message at 01:33 on Aug 26, 2020 |
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Aug 26, 2020 01:29
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Rotten Red Rod posted:Nah some cats just start doing that. It's not harmful or indicative of you doing anything wrong. He might do it his whole life! Just enjoy the show. Some cats are actually two cats sewn together in the middle
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Aug 26, 2020 01:53
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Wile E. Toyota posted:One of my cats has taken up excessive vocalizing and I'm not sure what else to try at this point. He's really smart, social, and active, so I guess he's bored? I've bought him all kinds of toys, put a bird feeder by the window, put videos for cats on the TV, rotated out boxes and bags with catnip and things in them, and he plays with my other cat. I've even gotten creative and constructed forts out of blankets so that he has somewhere "new" to go and hang out. But he's obsessed with sitting by the closet door (where I keep one of his electronic toys) and meowing all day. Even when that toy is out! Or meowing by the front door, or at the water bowl. I don't know what he needs! Cats do what works for them. Vocalization gets your attention. Loud excessive vocalization works better than quiet vocalization. Congrats, you've successfully trained him to scream continuously.  This happened with Pip too, and got loud enough and often right by the apartment door that I was worried the neighbours might complain. I had to negotiate her back to more reasonable volumes. First thing, I had to pay attention to her more reasonable requests for attention. Second I had to ignore her when she got too loud, so she learns quiet mews work better than yowling. If ignoring wasn't working, or she was doing it at 3am and I wasn't willing to let her yell herself out, I would spray a can of compressed air (like for cleaning computers). Not spray it at her, just spray it for the noise, which made her jump but wasn't loud or intrusive enough to bug the neighbours. The spray can isn't a punishment, it's just to interrupt her routine and sort of reset her. She would run away from the bad HISS, and then a minute later run back over to me for comfort, and since she wasn't yelling I'd give her attention. Before long she'd run away just seeing me reach for the can. Then immediately come back because she still wants attention. It took a few weeks to work it out, but now as long as I don't ignore her initial friendly overtures she doesn't yell. Sometimes that means I have to stop what I'm doing and give her 5-10 minutes attention. Sometimes she's complaining about her food/water/litter, but usually it's just that she's decided it's time for me to pay attention to her.
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Aug 26, 2020 02:18
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I think maybe Harold was abandoned before the folks we got him from found him on the streets because he’s generally a really quiet cat, UNTIL I leave my room for any length of time in a manner he can’t supervise. Taking a bath, going downstairs to cook, he has to follow and make sure I’m still there every few minutes while meowing at me, and apparently when I leave the house to go shopping once or twice a week for a short time he just sits at the top of the staircase and cries even if other people are in the house. Makes me feel bad.
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Aug 26, 2020 05:34
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WombatCyborg posted:Man, I have never seen a cat chase his tail like this little dude. Worried I'm not giving him enough toys or something but he seems to be enjoying it a lot. Aleta was obsessed with her tail. If she wasn't attacking it, she was chewing on it. When she was a baby, I would cradle her in my arms and she would put her tail between her paws and nom on that fucker until one of us got tired of it. Stroop There It Is posted:So my 7-year-old, healthy cat peed himself in his carrier for the first time on the way to the vet and got soaked... If you think he might be amenable to this, here's how I clean Aleta: moisten an old towel and give the cat one or two full-body wipes, one clean and gentle stroke, as much as you can cover at once. Then moisten it again in a weakish solution of warm water and Dr. Bronner's soap, and repeat the wipe (use unscented, the extra-gentle baby version, Green Tea, or Rose- any of the other smells might be irritating. I've used Green Tea with no issues). Finally, use a clean towel to wipe him down a final time and give him an all-over pat and sniff check to make sure he's not terribly stank or that you haven't missed a lot of soap somewhere. It should be noted that Aleta is a perverse motherfucker sometimes and really enjoys this process. I have never tried to bathe my other cats but I'm sure they would have liked it a bit less as they didn't enjoy being handled.
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Aug 26, 2020 07:02
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Rotten Red Rod posted:There's no real guide for cat vocalizations because they only do it for us - they don't meow to each other as communication after kittenhood. Each cat has their own "language" of meows they use to communicate with humans. Yours has just learned to do it a lot, apparently. This is absolutely not true - it might be the case that feral cats don't meow but some cats definitely meow for communication at other cats. One of mine talks to the other all time, even when I'm not in the room.
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Aug 26, 2020 07:04
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It is okay to bathe your piss-soaked cat, just use some dawn dishsoap or cat-shampoo and suffer it up for 10 minutes. Make sure to rinse him VERY well because he'll spend a few hours licking himself completely dry even after you towel him off. You shouldn't bathe them often since they can get dry skin, but it won't hurt him at all and he probably doesn't want to reek of piss either. I promise that they get over the trauma in a few hours at most.
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Aug 26, 2020 08:55
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How do I bathe the cat without getting murdered? I can't exactly wrap her in a towel while I'm doing it. On a related note, my female cat is going to be spayed a few weeks from now (covid permitting), and apparently the protective collar needs to stay on for ten days! Won't the cat become absolutely filthy in the meantime if she can't lick herself? I've also read some internet guide that stated things like not using normal cat litter for two weeks and not letting the cat climb on stuff, all in the name of protecting her surgical scar. Is this necessary in your experience?
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Aug 26, 2020 09:25
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Lychee did a swan dive into the toilet while I was taking a 3am leak before. I rinsed her off with water and tiny bit of dish soap for her feet (she didnt get soaked) and she was fine, shes not a stinky cat. So I think it kinda depends on how piss soaked we're talking here. But they do do a good job of keeping themselves clean somehow.
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Aug 26, 2020 10:56
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pidan posted:How do I bathe the cat without getting murdered? I can't exactly wrap her in a towel while I'm doing it. Trim the nails before bathing. If your cat is young it will be easier to get her to tolerate getting her nails done. If you have indoor cats they probably won't wear down their nails much on scratching posts, so they'll end up with half inch long scimitars they don't need that will only cause problems. Most cats, even kittens, aren't thrilled with getting their nails done, but if they get their favorite treat afterwards every time, eventually they will resentfully tolerate it knowing a treat is coming. Just trip the tips so you don't cut the quick and hurt the cat, or they'll never trust the clippers again. If you can get your cat to tolerate getting their nails trimmed it's nice to do so before vet visits. As for bathing, I've had the most luck floating them on their back in a full tub. It's a submissive position and with nothing to grab onto they often just kinda zone out. Or you can do it in the kitchen sink with a towel on the bottom, with luck they grab onto the towel with a deathgrip. Tepid water, not too hot, not ice cold. The first time you might try it with no soap at all. Rub in and rinse off imaginary soap, so if things go completely sideways you can just stop. In case things do go wrong you want to think about how you'll dress. You don't want the cat to claw the gently caress out of your favorite cute shirt. Or your skin, whatever, skin heals. If you have chainmail that could work great. Otherwise maybe a thick sweatshirt or hoody? It will get soaking wet, but it won't really matter if the kitty tries to climb you. I think the most important thing is that you are calm. Not just calm, you are loving serene. You are her safe space. You are just a momma cat grooming her kitten and there is nothing unusual or worrisome going on. Kitten doesn't like it? Too bad. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVHSOk_KU64 Some cats are great, some won't tolerate water at all. If your cat refuses getting wet you can use a damp cloth and pretend it's a tongue. It's not as thorough but most cats will put up with it.
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Aug 26, 2020 12:01
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Organza Quiz posted:This is absolutely not true - it might be the case that feral cats don't meow but some cats definitely meow for communication at other cats. One of mine talks to the other all time, even when I'm not in the room. Your cat is the exception then, I've had several very vocal cats and they never meow when trying to get another cats' attention. All three of our current cats meow a lot to us but never to each other. Rotten Red Rod fucked around with this message at 17:32 on Aug 26, 2020 |
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Aug 26, 2020 17:30
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Noam Chomsky posted:Cat training tape works well: https://www.amazon.com/double-sided-sticky-tape-cats/s?k=double+sided+sticky+tape+for+cats Thanks, that's a more sensible price here, ordered. And a "litter locker" which is cool.
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Aug 26, 2020 18:58
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Rotten Red Rod posted:Your cat is the exception then, I've had several very vocal cats and they never meow when trying to get another cats' attention. All three of our current cats meow a lot to us but never to each other. But cats are weird, yo.
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Aug 26, 2020 19:47
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Thanks to everyone for the cat-bathing tips! I've had to bathe him once before (little fucker trapped himself between the walls of my parents' 200 year old house and got absolutely covered in dust) and that went alright, so we'll see how he takes it this time... Poor pissbaby.
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Aug 26, 2020 20:28
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OK thanks guys. I was worried that he was meowing so much because something is wrong but it sounds like the more you attend to meows, the more they do it, so I'll try ignoring it and playing with him when he's being polite about it lol.
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Aug 26, 2020 20:39
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Yeah. A sudden change in behavior usually is the indicator that something is wrong. Suddenly being lethargic, avoiding you and not wanting attention anymore, etc. A cat meowing when he wants to play means... A normal cat, pretty much.
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Aug 26, 2020 20:47
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Heads up on cats and essential oils: Many of them are poisonous to pets and especially cats. For bathing you really should use a pet-specific shampoo. Dawn is good as a one-time flea dip/treatment but its too harsh for regular bathing. If you use Dr. Bronner's it should be one of the completely unscented/baby varieties.
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Aug 26, 2020 20:52
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Boogalo posted:Heads up on cats and essential oils: Many of them are poisonous to pets and especially cats. For bathing you really should use a pet-specific shampoo. Dawn is good as a one-time flea dip/treatment but its too harsh for regular bathing. If you use Dr. Bronner's it should be one of the completely unscented/baby varieties. Pro tip: essential oils are poisonous to people too, most adults are just large enough their livers can handle what is commonly used. Get it on your hands though and you're looking at chemical burns and potentially hormone imbalances. Doubly so with small humans like children.
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Aug 26, 2020 23:23
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It's starting to calm down, but initially Butters was dashing to get out late at night. Don't think he really wanted to leave since a shake of the treat bag always brings him back right away when he does get through. Any advice on curbing that impulse in formerly outdoor cats?
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Aug 27, 2020 00:06
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Someone talk me out of setting my ipad to twitch stream the litter robot. I know Bean is using a litterbox but we haven't seen her and have no idea if she's using the robot or her old box. Fuzzbutt however is using the robot. I turned it on today tonlet it cycle and he was very concerned about what it was doing with his poop
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Aug 27, 2020 00:22
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Rotten Red Rod posted:Your cat is the exception then, I've had several very vocal cats and they never meow when trying to get another cats' attention. All three of our current cats meow a lot to us but never to each other. My younger cat Toaster absolutely meows at Lucky for attention and grooming. Lucky doesn't really meow at Toaster though, just me.
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Aug 27, 2020 00:56
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FelicityGS posted:My younger cat Toaster absolutely meows at Lucky for attention and grooming. Lucky doesn't really meow at Toaster though, just me. Maybe it's just cats with annoying younger sibling energy. I can tell when Pepper enters a room I'm not in because Peridot will start up her HI PEPPER HELLO IT'S PEPPER HI I LOVE YOU commentary every time.
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Aug 27, 2020 02:08
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Is it possible my cat is in love with her feather on a stick? She carries this thing in her mouth walking around the house, dragging the stick behind her all while sadly meowing muffled from the feather in her mouth. Sometimes she drags it to us so I figure this would be a bird if she was an outdoor cat but she legit drags this thing around to keep it near her and we hear her sadly meowing from across the apartment and we know she's dragging that feather around again. I just can't tell if she thinks it's prey she killed or if it's her best friend 🤔
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Aug 27, 2020 06:28
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I'd assume she wants to play with it personally, and needs a human to come help.
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Aug 27, 2020 06:40
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Yeah, or she's telling everyone to come admire her for killing a prey.
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Aug 27, 2020 06:43
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That occurred to me too, I usually oblige if she brings it to us, but it really feels like sometimes she's just bringing it in so she can be near it. Like dropping it behind the couch and falling asleep on it or grooming it. I fully realize cats are gonna cat and know this isn't inherently weird behavior I'm just trying to psychoanalyze my cat.
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Aug 27, 2020 06:44
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explosivo posted:Is it possible my cat is in love with her feather on a stick? She carries this thing in her mouth walking around the house, dragging the stick behind her all while sadly meowing muffled from the feather in her mouth. Sometimes she drags it to us so I figure this would be a bird if she was an outdoor cat but she legit drags this thing around to keep it near her and we hear her sadly meowing from across the apartment and we know she's dragging that feather around again. I just can't tell if she thinks it's prey she killed or if it's her best friend 🤔 Aleta does this with what we call her "emotional support sleep mask." She carries it in her mouth, meows loudly at me, then drops it by me and runs away. I'm supposed to come after her and tell her that she's pretty and give her pats when this happens. However, the emotional support sleep mask can also be used to terrorize Luna! Simply place it in one of Luna's five preferred areas, and watch the sadness. Ever seen a cat cry because a sleep mask was on top of her rug?
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Aug 27, 2020 08:18
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kw0134 posted:All statements about cat behavior should be prefaced with "in many cases" because there's always going to be a large enough subset to act as a counterexample. FWIW my experience is the same, my cats are largely silent to each other (if I hear them "talk" to the other then trouble is brewing) and meow exclusively to me. When visiting multicat homes they meow at their humans but not to each other. Katya didn't meow when we got her, just opened her little mouth to breathe at us. Then she discovered the joys of screaming at us for a variety of reasons and she hasn't stopped since.
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Aug 27, 2020 11:43
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My cat doesn't meow that often, and when she does, half the time it's just a sad crackling sound like she's a pack a day smoker. But she likes to communicate by snorting, going pfft or ringing like an old phone. It's adorable and, happily, not very loud.
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Aug 27, 2020 11:49
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she still doesn't actually meow though, she just squeaks very dramatically https://twitter.com/invisiblemonkey/status/1234898528801034240?s=20
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Aug 27, 2020 14:35
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InvisibleMonkey posted:she still doesn't actually meow though, she just squeaks very dramatically What a beautiful cat 🐈
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Aug 27, 2020 14:52
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Got Tiger a new cat tree: Very happy with it. Last tree she had, was taller, but designed for kittens (the danger of ordering online). The top is a proper cat bed for two, she already spread out every which way. First time she actually used a proper cat bed!
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Aug 27, 2020 23:59
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So our kittens (Seamus and Renny - foster names but I like them and we so far haven’t thought of better names) have been with us for three days now and they are adjusting nicely  We set them up a nice room with a huge cat tree, litter box, toys, and cardboard boxes:   We’ve since added more boxes, and will probably be shuffling some stuff around. In the next few days we’ll start letting them explore other parts of the house (which I’m a bit nervous about because there’s a lot of house for them to get lost and find trouble in). Anyhow, here they are being unbelievably cute doing random things:       I am so overjoyed to have them.  They were a bit apprehensive at first, quietly sniffing around, but by the next day they’d approach us when we’d come into the room and purr when we pet them. They are very sweet and will be amazing cats once they grow out of being giant assholes.Speaking of assholishness, Seamus has come to believe that my ponytail is a great hairy beast that needs vanquishing, so he’s taken to trying to climb up me to get at my hair. It’s hilarious but I don’t want to do anything that remotely encourages that behavior further. Also, kittens hit nine weeks so we weighed them today. Renny just broke two pounds, so I’m guessing she will be on the smaller side of average (or just average - my old cat was a small and scrawny kitten but grew up to be a nice size), and Seamus is three pounds one ounce. He’s going to be a monster, isn’t he? Lastly, some excellent news is that these kitties have not been setting off my husband’s allergies much at all. Not sure if it’s because they’re kittens and somehow not yet producing high levels of the allergen, or if we got extremely lucky and these particular cats just don’t bother him (some cats definitely trigger his allergies way harder than others).
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Aug 28, 2020 02:32
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Your kittens are super cute :3 Kittens don't produce the dander that adult cats do, so yeah, it's common for kittens not to set off allergies. Unfortunately that means they may set them off once they're adults
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Aug 28, 2020 02:52
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Does anyone know why a cat might suddenly lose their ability to lift their tail? Since yesterday morning, our senior cat, who turned 14 just this month, has been seemingly unable to lift her tail even when she's happy and content. Otherwise, she seems normal: she's very social, purrs when she gets pets/skritches, her appetite seems normal along with her litterbox use, she cleans herself regularly, and her tail doesn't seem touch sensitive. She hasn't lost all use of her tail, I've seen the end of her tail moving as usual and she sometimes can lift her tail to be almost level with her back. But most of the time, the tail stays down. The fact that she's otherwise normal makes me optimistic, but on the other hand she's getting up there in years.
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Aug 28, 2020 06:46
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I'd just chalk it up to age, but that's ultimately something a vet would have to answer.
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Aug 28, 2020 12:28
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Any recommendations for Chonky vs. Casual-grazer? Chonky was deemed overweight (but not obese) in her last vet visit. If we leave kibble out without controlling it, Chonky will graze but eating to her current (over) weight. When I've tried to put a dish with food up high where neither can get to it and only give it to the Casual-grazer when she asks, Chonky invariably hears the request, me moving to get the food and gets excited like it's a game and muscles Casual-grazer out of the way. I'm sorry to say that cat-shaming her with "Go away fatty!" doesn't work. I've read reviews for the micro-chip feeders and don't get good vibes from them. The leading recommendation (https://www.amazon.com/SureFlap-MPF001-Surefeed-Microchip-Feeder/dp/B00O0UIPTY?ref_=ast_sto_dp) sounds like it's easy to game the system and Chonky would definitely see it as a game. I saw a video of a couple that had to modify theirs with a custom enclosure to keep their chonky from bucking the system. It seemed like an excessive amount of work but I guess if there are some detailed modding instructions I could follow them. Are there other alternatives or suggestions in general?
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Aug 28, 2020 15:11
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