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Rotten Red Rod posted:Whatever you do, don't take away his safe spaces, as long as it's not a spot that he could get stuck in. There's no need to block off areas and force him to come out - that will just make him more stressed. If it's his own choice, and he knows he has those hiding spots he can go to at any time, he will be happier. He's discovered he can open the sliding closet door so has a whole new world of hiding spots  he's getting a little more curious already, although only if you don't look directly at him!
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Oct 11, 2020 23:15
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Corte posted:It's been nine days since I got my automatic feeder and doesn't feel like there's been any change in my cat's behaviour. He still tries to eat anything I take out or bring home. If I try to reward him with a treat for being quiet he just fixates and tries to get the rest from my pocket usually. Still follows me around meowing incessantly. I sympathise, some cats are just very food motivated and it can be challenging. One cat we had, Pedro, would meow for hours before feeding time - even years after we got a timed feeder for his morning food. Our current lady cat also likes to yell at us for food and enjoys biting our legs to let us know her displeasure at being fed on our schedule, not hers. Your kitty has probably been very food insecure, so it makes sense that he would be obsessed with it. Honestly we learned to just stick to the routine we decided on and adapt where we could and try not to reward or react to misbehaviour. There was an element of it being just part of his personality. If it's only been a few weeks though it might just take more time and patience, I wouldn't go changing routines too quickly otherwise he'll never even have a chance to learn. We did end up putting childlocks on certain kitchen doors so Pedro couldn't dig out his treats, and we bought a scat mat which has been awesome for keeping cats away from specific areas. We used it to stop them from scratching at our bedroom door at night, which also worked to keep him out and not yelling at us at 5am for food. You can also put them on counters, sofas etc. You can also get timed feeders that pop open for wet food, although IIRC the one I'm thinking of is mechanical, and our big greedy kitty was able to break into it lol. A puzzle feeder ball for treats also might be good, you can fill it and then chuck it away and hopefully he'll learn to get the treats out himself and leave you alone while he does it.
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Oct 13, 2020 05:29
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Robot Mil posted:Hello cat goons! So this little guy is very slowly settling in, eating more actual food definitely although only about one food pouch per day plus some treats and kibbles. He has used the litter tray for pee but not for poop and it's been like, 5 days. I'm worried about the no pooping, but I'm also worried about taking the little guy to the vet as he's extremely skittish and has been hiding under the bed this whole time. We do have a tube of some kind of kitty laxative we were given for another cat that we didn't use. If we can get close enough to put that on his paw for him to lick off I'm wondering if that would be worth a try before a vet visit? This is also why I wanted to possibly block off the under bed hiding spot (obviously leaving other safe spots for him to hide) as it's really hard to reach him if we need to. In good news we let our other kitty into his room for a supervised visit and she was really chill about him being there, mainly interested in his food lol. So hopefully they'll get on ok!
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Oct 16, 2020 16:51
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I think we just traumatised our new super timid kitty Doc by taking him to the vet  He's been hiding under the bed since we got him about 10 days ago, coming out to eat/drink/use the litter tray which was all fine. Unfortunately he hasn't really been pooping - even though he's been eating wet food like a champ, added pumpkin and even some laxative stuff, so off to the vet he had to go. We had to heft the bed on it's side and chase him around the bedroom for about 10 minutes until we brought out the big carrier we used to bring him home in, and he bolted in there to hide. He seemed so scared at the vet poor little guy, although he's not attack-scared, just shaky and wants to hide, he did accept some head scritches and pets while meowing adorably. At least this means he'll get a full once over by the vet and fingers crossed we won't have to take him again for a while.We've taken the opportunity to dismantle the bed in his room and we're adding other cozy hiding spots that are less problematic than under the bed. Hopefully he'll forgive us!!
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Oct 23, 2020 00:21
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I don't think I've ever had a cat enjoy the vet no, but mostly it's a 'gently caress you I don't want to go there' reaction rather than an 'aaaaaargh why are you even coming near me' terror. Our other kitty Holly is fine with being picked up so as long as we catch her unawares we can wrangle her into the carrier pretty easily. At this point Doc isn't used to us at all really, we've been chilling in the room with him but he's been as far away under the bed as possible while we're in there, no contact at all. Looks like he had a sore bladder from stress which had a knock on impact and stopped him from pooping so he was super blocked up. We have some anti anxiety meds and other stuff so hopefully that will help him settle a bit better and pooping on the reg!
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Oct 23, 2020 01:21
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So our kitty Doc has been back from the vet for a couple of days now, we dismantled the bed and took away the big duvet, he's got a bunch of carriers, pillows and blankets set up for hidey spots. He has seemed a bit more active and exploring the room more. He's still not eaten very much which isn't great, and I'm not sure if his new activity levels are good or bad to be honest! He's taken to meowing pitifully and scratching at/sticking his paws underneath his door today. It's hard to know what he wants really, whether this is play, stress, he wants us to go in because he's lonely, to get out to explore, to get out to hide somewhere different because the lack of an under--bed hiding spot has him spooked.... he has been less timid around us, much more vocal, and spent a little time out in the open when my husband was chilling in there, and even accepted some scritches through the door. I moan about my sassy lady cat but at least she's really clear about what she wants (it's mostly food).
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Oct 24, 2020 23:28
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Hah, he may well want it opened but we haven't done proper cat introductions yet with Miss Sass, so he's going to have to wait. I'm also worried that he'll squeeze himself into another hiding spot we can't get to, we can close our bedroom door but the rest of the apartment is open. I prefer him being a bit chatty and weird than cowering under the bed all day! I just wish he'd eat his food, although he loves the pill pockets for the meds that come in pill form, so that's something.
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Oct 25, 2020 01:34
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I have a bitey cat, she enjoys occasionally sinking her teeth into my legs as retribution for not feeding her when she decides she wants to be fed. Most of the time her 'attacks' are gentle, no claw batting with her paws or a light nip as play or warning, but sometimes she gets more pissed off and leaves small puncture wounds. We clean them immediately, antiseptic them and they've always been fine.
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Oct 27, 2020 05:59
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Oyster posted:My vet just prescribed my cat Miralax for life. That is amazing. Hopefully that's all she needs to keep it movin. Hello fellow cat with constipation haver! Our little dude is struggling with (we think) stress induced constipation, and the one medication he just refused to eat (in liquid form mixed in with food, or in soft chew form) was the gabapentin meant to relax his innards. Hopefully the vet will have some other ideas... We're reluctant to force the liquid into his mouth as he's only just starting to trust us and let us give him scritches and pets, I really don't want him being terrified of us again!
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Nov 6, 2020 02:18
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InvisibleMonkey posted:Any advice on getting a second cat later on? We just moved into our own, larger, place and we've always talked bout adopting another cat once we had the room for it. Our grumpy old lady often has window fights with the local outdoor cats, but she's actually really tolerant of our new 2 year old cat. He loves her and follows her around all the time, she sometimes has enough and bats him away and they chase each other around a bit. But they also have taken to sleeping right next to each other on the bed/sofa which is super cute! Honestly I think it depends on the general temperament of the cats and doing the proper introductions, kitten vs young cat might not matter too much. The introduction process is designed to get the cats used to sharing territory. I think because Holly is older (11) we'd have been worried about a kitten being a bit too much energy for her or not taking no for an answer. If Katya is still young that probably wouldn't be such an issue.
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Nov 27, 2020 19:46
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Anyone managed to get an extra greedy cat monster to stop constantly trying to steal other cats food? Our newest rescue Doc wolfs his food down in seconds, whereas our other cat Holly goes back and forth for a longer period. We do actually have a microchip feeder for her, but he just sticks his head in while she is eating and she walks away. Which is weird, because in most other situations she will bap him on the head or chase him around if he's invading her space/she's had enough. We currently feed him in another room and close the door - he cries pitifully the whole time but he is incorrigible if we let him anywhere near her while she eats - any ideas?? I swear we are feeding him a normal amount of food so he can't be actually hungry.
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Jan 18, 2021 02:23
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Deteriorata posted:Our cats do that all the time. Sometimes separating them is necessary, but usually just active policing and chasing off the greedy one until the others finish is sufficient. Our cats seem to learn that they get in trouble for stealing from the others and hold off until the others (or we) leave. Yeah if he's around when she's eating, we literally have to stand next to her food bowl and actively move him away/block him every single time she opens it to eat, he has not learned so far lol.
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Jan 18, 2021 02:42
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If the worst thing about caring for our cats is putting up with one of them crying for 15 minutes when we won't let him steal food its ok! Holly really likes us to be near her when she eats anyway (preferably scritching her butt) so I guess they'll just need some meal time babysitting! Does mean if we ever go away (ah travel, I remember you) we'll have to arrange more intensive cat sitting I guess.
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Jan 18, 2021 03:23
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Those of you with a litter robot and multiple cats, did you get rid of extra litter boxes and just have one litter robot? I know conventional wisdom is cats + 1 for litter boxes, but lol at buying 3. Having a litter robot plus regular litter boxes also seems to defeat the point.
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Jan 20, 2021 04:36
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WhatEvil posted:
Sorry about your misbehaving cat, I feel your pain. On a practical note we used slightly flexible rubber door stops to wedge under sliding doors to stop our cat opening them - he was hiding in the closet a lot when we were trying to get him more confident around us, they did the job well. Other things we've used are child locks and scat mats to stop cats being where they shouldn't/we don't want them. Would agree that active chasing of a scared kitty probably isn't going to do much about their naughtiness except add 'scared of you' to the problem.
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Apr 11, 2021 20:10
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One of my cats recently had some issues with pulling his fur out, and the vet thought it could be related to developing an allergy to chicken/poultry which apparently is common. He's been switched to hills z/d food sensitivities food and I'm giving him omega 3 supplements which seems to be helping a lot. Just wondering if anyone knows of any alternative brands that offer poultry free, good quality food that isn't quite so expensive as getting the prescription food from my vet? And is available in Canada? I'll pay what I have to for the little doofus but I have two cats on expensive prescription foods, one with kidney disease and a lot of meds, and if there's any way to reduce costs a little it'd be nice!
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Mar 28, 2024 16:35
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| # ¿ May 15, 2024 13:17 |
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floofyscorp posted:My boy Loki is very allergic to beef and lamb, and went through some very sad-looking times with no fur on his scrawny lil neck before we figured out what the problem was. Now we feed single-protein foods; James Wellbeloved turkey kibble and Cosma tuna tins. Poultry is obviously a very common cat food ingredient but single-protein fish food seems fairly readily available too. I don't know if those brands are available in Canada, but they're cheaper than the prescription stuff and he's doing very well on them. Ah yeah thanks I'm not sure about those brands but looking for single protein foods threw up a bunch of results!
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Mar 29, 2024 01:32
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