The Cat FAQ/Megathread: buying a second, clean broom just to use on him

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Pet Island > The Cat FAQ/Megathread: buying a second, clean broom just to use on him

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Rev. Bleech_: Oct 19, 2004; ~OKAY, WE'LL DRINK TO OUR LEGS!~

Awesome OP...my grandparents recently had a stray kitten around 6-7 weeks old show up that they don't want, so me and the wife are taking it in tomorrow. The wife wanted it declawed until me, my parents, and my sister (the three of whom have six of the drat things currently strolling around their house) told her she was to cats what Dr. Mengele was to Jews, so the SoftPaws link will be awesomely useful

I do feel guilty for buying a bag of Purina Kitten Chow before reading the OP now, though.

Anyway, I did have one question that I hadn't seen addressed. My biggest concern for little Meow Tse Tung is vet bills; I hate even paying for people doctors, so this is kind of a concern. The wife did, however, find out that you can get what amounts to health insurance for your pet for around $10/month. I like the idea but find it to sound a little scammmish at the same time. Is this a good thing to get, and if so are there any recommendations? Or is it even more of a hassle than human insurance? Or is it just another way to seperate fools and money?

# ¿ Sep 20, 2009 04:39

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# ¿ May 3, 2024 03:28

Rev. Bleech_: Oct 19, 2004; ~OKAY, WE'LL DRINK TO OUR LEGS!~

Crooked Booty posted:

For pet insurance, be sure you're reading the fine print. I have never heard of insurance for $10/month that will cover wellness visits (spay, vaccines, deworming, etc), which is what you're going to be spending the most on for the next few months. Most plans jack up the price significantly for wellness coverage, while the base coverage of $10/month (or whatever) will only cover illnesses, and only so many dollars per diagnosis (typically not enough).

Look into it and decide for yourself, but the more I've read about pet insurance, the more I think it's a big scam, like any insurance. They're making tons of money after all.

Even if your kitten is perfectly healthy, you should plan on spending $500+ in the next few months on shots and a spay. Personally I would just take the money you would be spending on pet insurance and set it aside for pet emergencies every month.

Sounds about like I figured, thanks. Also, thanks to the advice here, little Chairman Meow has gone from hiding under the coffee table to running wild and napping in our laps in less than 24 hours

# ¿ Sep 22, 2009 05:19

Rev. Bleech_: Oct 19, 2004; ~OKAY, WE'LL DRINK TO OUR LEGS!~

Please don't yell at me for this question, as I'm asking mainly to satiate my own curiosity:
A friend recently told me his cats were declawed; after I told him he was an inhumane monster for doing so, he told me that it was done at a cat clinic that advertises "humane declawing", in that they don't cut off the digits. Rather, they put Mr. Kitty to sleep and surgically sever the ligament that is used to extend the claws in the first place. What is the consensus on this procedure's cruelty factor? Does this tend to affect anything other than the claws?

# ¿ Sep 28, 2009 05:15

Rev. Bleech_: Oct 19, 2004; ~OKAY, WE'LL DRINK TO OUR LEGS!~

I just run the shopvac around the litterbox every so often.

Speaking of litterboxes, Fidel Catstro took such a horrid poo poo day before yesterday that I had to rub Vaporub under my nose and put on a painter's respirator just to go in and scoop it.

# ¿ Oct 15, 2009 18:13

Rev. Bleech_: Oct 19, 2004; ~OKAY, WE'LL DRINK TO OUR LEGS!~

HondaCivet posted:

Yeah, it's fine if they aren't obsessed with food like my cats seem to be. I just took mine off of free feeding because the vet said they were starting to get fat. I think they'd be basketballs by now if I wouldn't have done that.

Edit: FTR they are healthy weights right now, I never let them lard up in the first place.

I'm free-feeding mine dry food during the day with wet food at night, and everytime I come home for lunch or go anywhere near the kitchen at night, the youngest starts crying his little eyes out to be fed despite the fact that there's a bottomless bowl of dry food in there.

When I do open the wet food in the evening, he tries to shove the can (as well as the hand holding it) out of the way the second a drop of food touches the bowl, going absolutely bonkers. I had to get a second bowl and move it across the room to feed the other cat, since he would not leave her alone. Is this something I should be worried about, or should I just accept that he's just a gluttonous, whiny little hog?

Obligatory pics; in both war and peace

# ¿ Oct 30, 2009 04:36

Rev. Bleech_: Oct 19, 2004; ~OKAY, WE'LL DRINK TO OUR LEGS!~

Xerin posted:

While off the topic of free feeding, what's up with cats and laptops? My kitten will do ANYTHING to get on the laptop's keyboard and lay down on it. I can do a lot of things to get him off, but he loves that keyboard. I also see a lot of pictures with cats on laptops, so I can only imagine it's a common cat thing.

In their case I'm pretty sure it's the heat; they either sit there or on this fleece blanket we have.

Or on the UPS in my office :mad:

Much blasting with the canned air usually ensues

# ¿ Oct 30, 2009 19:40

Rev. Bleech_: Oct 19, 2004; ~OKAY, WE'LL DRINK TO OUR LEGS!~

It's November, so I'm pleading for advice on one thing here: how the hell do you keep two very curious/psychotic kittens from attacking a christmas tree?

Xerin posted:

Litter is about $8 for a big bag of it at Wal-Mart. It will last you a long, long time and is really a non-factor as long as you scoop regularly. It'll last you a few months with regular scooping.

If you have a Sam's Club membership, 40lbs of Fresh Step is $14, or their generic is $10. The generic does not control odor well though; one of my cats had an intestinal parasite, and dropped a load so godawful I had to use Vick's vaporub under my nose and a painter's respirator to keep from puking when I went and emptied it.

# ¿ Nov 3, 2009 04:30

Rev. Bleech_: Oct 19, 2004; ~OKAY, WE'LL DRINK TO OUR LEGS!~

oh my god why is this stupid animal attempting to suckle my nipple every time I lay down with my shirt off

# ¿ Nov 6, 2009 03:32

Rev. Bleech_: Oct 19, 2004; ~OKAY, WE'LL DRINK TO OUR LEGS!~

nonanone posted:

Have you considered an older cat (over 8 mo or so)? Your situation doesn't sound ideal for a single kitten, and if the kitten is going to be alone for 5-8 hours, the kitten is going to be bored and cause hell (or get him/herself into lots of trouble)

...and also stalk and attack you every single time you walk anywhere. My wife was adamant about not getting a second cat, until I told her it would mean no more scratches covering her legs from knee to toe.

# ¿ Nov 16, 2009 05:44

Rev. Bleech_: Oct 19, 2004; ~OKAY, WE'LL DRINK TO OUR LEGS!~

Dr. Needleman posted:

I'm looking for name suggestions, humor appreciated, if anyone has any.

Robert Meowgabe or Kitti Amin

# ¿ Nov 19, 2009 02:38

Rev. Bleech_: Oct 19, 2004; ~OKAY, WE'LL DRINK TO OUR LEGS!~

So is there *any* spray that will keep these two assholes out of the tree? No-Stay spray from PetSmart has no effect whatsoever, nor has the two dozen or so times they've gotten a blast of water to the phiz for climbing around inside it. They basically wait till I'm not looking and jump right in.

Oh, and thanks to whoever recommended Da Bird earlier in the thread; my two kittens are going absolutely apeshit over it. They've liked other toys, but not like this; leaping almost 5 feet in the air to grab it, hissing at one another if one catches it and won't let the other have it, etc

# ¿ Dec 3, 2009 03:58

Rev. Bleech_: Oct 19, 2004; ~OKAY, WE'LL DRINK TO OUR LEGS!~

Fire In The Disco posted:

That's the exact reaction my cats have to Da Bird as well.

As for the tree, the only surefire combo I've ever heard of is wiring the tree to the ceiling and using plastic and fabric ornaments only.

The tree falling over doesn't worry me so much, I just want them to stay the hell out of it because I really don't want to have to rehang every ornament every day for the next 3 weeks

# ¿ Dec 4, 2009 06:59

Rev. Bleech_: Oct 19, 2004; ~OKAY, WE'LL DRINK TO OUR LEGS!~

spatula posted:

So my kitten Dwight is getting neutered right now. I pick him up in just a couple hours.

The post-op instructions say "No running, jumping, playing or strenuous activity for 7 � 10 days." How the gently caress am I supposed to manage that? Kittens are insane. Will he just be sore for a while and relax on his own? I'm afraid he's going to rip his stitches open as soon as I take him home and the painkillers wear off. I'll ask when I pick him up, but any insight from you guys would be great

We just got our female spayed two weeks ago and I wondered the same thing; however, despite running around like a spastic moron and fighting with her adopted brother for two weeks, she's healed up nicely despite spaying being a much more invasive procedure. You shouldn't have much to worry about unless he licks the stitches where his phantom balls way, way too much.

Crooked Booty posted:

He'll probably be a crazy kitten by tomorrow, and it will be fine. Neuters are so minor that he most likely won't have stitches, so there's nothing to rip out. Cats are pretty smart and generally won't do stuff if it hurts.

Neuters are apparently minor enough that a friend of mine, when he was about to graduate vet school, would actually do it as a party trick.

Rev. Bleech_ fucked around with this message at 06:31 on Dec 18, 2009

# ¿ Dec 18, 2009 06:29

Rev. Bleech_: Oct 19, 2004; ~OKAY, WE'LL DRINK TO OUR LEGS!~

Chin Strap posted:

Managed to leave my drawer where I keep this open a bit, I come home and find that my cat had completely ripped it bare. She loves her feathers I guess.

If mine hear my office closet door open, they bolt in like their tails were on fire and their asses were catching. They know I hide Da Bird in there and they want to kill it so bad.

# ¿ Feb 12, 2010 19:23

Rev. Bleech_: Oct 19, 2004; ~OKAY, WE'LL DRINK TO OUR LEGS!~

Abbeh posted:

On a completely unrelated note, anyone have a good recipe for kitten pie?

Microwave on high for approx. 7 minutes.

I intend to have some myself later; I kind of have to since the fat little poo poo ate my bread :argh:

# ¿ Mar 19, 2010 00:39

Rev. Bleech_: Oct 19, 2004; ~OKAY, WE'LL DRINK TO OUR LEGS!~

Any recommendations for keeping them from scratching at carpet? Every morning I am woken up by scratching at the carpet under my bedroom door, and the damage is really starting to show.

# ¿ Mar 24, 2010 13:40

Rev. Bleech_: Oct 19, 2004; ~OKAY, WE'LL DRINK TO OUR LEGS!~

RheaConfused posted:

Get a different style scratching post. Lots of cats love the super cheap 'whisker city' corrugated cardboard scratchers. They may also prefer the rope kind.

I really should upload the clip of my cats when I got a new one and sprinkled :catdrugs:

on it; the battle over who got to scratch first was the kind of savage brutality that can only be accurately depicted by a Ralph Steadman drawing

# ¿ Mar 28, 2010 04:35

Rev. Bleech_: Oct 19, 2004; ~OKAY, WE'LL DRINK TO OUR LEGS!~

Somebody please help.

This fat little ball of orange fur got this bad habit; instead of squatting to piss, he would just kind of stand there and spray it against the wall, leading to an irritating cat-piss-cleanup at least twice a week.

A few days ago, I used an old sterilite lid, some shears, and a sander to make a sort of makeshift plastic "pee shield" which stood about 5 inches higher than the back of the litter box.

I go in there today to find that the little fucker arced his piss right over it somehow.

What the *hell* can I do about this?

# ¿ May 7, 2010 00:21

Rev. Bleech_: Oct 19, 2004; ~OKAY, WE'LL DRINK TO OUR LEGS!~

RheaConfused posted:

Is he fixed? Are you cleaning the area with an enzymatic cleaner?

You could try a covered litter box, like a booda dome: http://www.amazon.com/Booda-Dome-Cleanstep-Cat-Titanium/dp/B0002DH8L4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1273188369&sr=8-1

Yes to the first (it would be irresponsible to let something this stupid breed), no to the second; I guess that's the next step.

For the third, it's too confined a space for the Booda Dome; I do have an enclosed litterbox I can use there, but it's pointless since the piss just drizzles out of the "hinge" seperating the two halves

EDIT:

HondaCivet posted:

My cats' litter box is a big-rear end Rubbermaid tub with a hole cut in the side. The walls are over a foot high. Nothing escapes.

Have you watched him pee lately? How is he getting it so high? Is he standing funny or anything, or acting like he's uncomfortable?

When his rear end is facing the wall, he just kind of squats down with all four legs and makes the pee shoot straight out; when his rear end is facing anywhere *other* than the wall, he sits properly and pisses into the litter.

And while I like your idea, I have a feeling cleanup will be a nightmare with urine cement all over everything.

Rev. Bleech_ fucked around with this message at 00:58 on May 7, 2010

# ¿ May 7, 2010 00:56

Rev. Bleech_: Oct 19, 2004; ~OKAY, WE'LL DRINK TO OUR LEGS!~

An update: yesterday I cleaned everything up thoroughly with Nature's Miracle. I did what someone suggested and bought a sterilite container and cut a notch in the side, so that I could finally stop wasting half an hour each day cleaning up cat piss.

I wake up this morning and the fat little gently caress is peeing out the entry notch, spraying piss all over the open floor.

I'm at the end of my rope here, I really am. Suggestions?

# ¿ May 8, 2010 12:01

Rev. Bleech_: Oct 19, 2004; ~OKAY, WE'LL DRINK TO OUR LEGS!~

Engineer Lenk posted:

Top entry box (That's how mine is set up, a hole in the top, not in the side).

After swearing to myself not to spend another dime on litterboxes, it looks like I'll have to try this one; I just have to hope the fat little poo poo doesn't get stuck in the hole. Thanks!

# ¿ May 9, 2010 02:11

Rev. Bleech_: Oct 19, 2004; ~OKAY, WE'LL DRINK TO OUR LEGS!~

Fire In The Disco posted:

I use Sterilite bins for litter boxes, but they're open, not top/side entry. Cats generally have no problem jumping, so maybe consider a whole bin? I personally think covered boxes are too stinky for me, so I can't fathom how stinky they are for the cat. But that's my personal preference.

I may very well try this if I see one of the dimensions I like (in retrospect, the old sterilite was a tad small); if I want to cover it, jigsawing a hole in the lid should be a trivial matter

# ¿ May 9, 2010 04:42

Rev. Bleech_: Oct 19, 2004; ~OKAY, WE'LL DRINK TO OUR LEGS!~

A public apology to Fidel Catstro: remember yesterday when I said he was pissing all over the floor since changing to a sterilite tub? Well last night, I cleaned everything up, Nature's-Miracle'd the poo poo out of everything, and put the old covered litterbox back in as a stopgap until I could buy a top-entry box.

I walk into my bathroom this morning and see a puddle on the floor; I get pissed off...then notice that the puddle is nowhere near the box, and is instead emanating from the bottom of my toilet, where apparently the wax seal has decided to stop working properly. So while he has pissed on the wall/floor, the vast majority of it was from a water leak.

tl,dr: I am an idiot :sweatdrop:

# ¿ May 10, 2010 02:04

Rev. Bleech_: Oct 19, 2004; ~OKAY, WE'LL DRINK TO OUR LEGS!~

HondaCivet posted:

But now your toilet's going to have to go to the vet instead.

I was actually considering taking him just from the sheer volume of liquid. Even *I* don't piss that much in a day.

At least now I know why the whole mess was odor-free

# ¿ May 10, 2010 05:03

Rev. Bleech_: Oct 19, 2004; ~OKAY, WE'LL DRINK TO OUR LEGS!~

Eggplant Wizard posted:

Has anyone tried this Emery Cat thing? It looks intriguing because I'm lazy and it's not much more expensive than a normal cardboard scratcher.

I have one, and it hasn't had much of an effect on their claws. Still though, they scratch it and it was cheap, so no regrets.

# ¿ May 20, 2010 23:29

Rev. Bleech_: Oct 19, 2004; ~OKAY, WE'LL DRINK TO OUR LEGS!~

HondaCivet posted:

The best litter box is a huge Rubbermaid bin with a hole cut into the ~~side~~ top.

# ¿ Jun 21, 2010 17:58

Rev. Bleech_: Oct 19, 2004; ~OKAY, WE'LL DRINK TO OUR LEGS!~

whoever recommended the Furminator earlier, I thank you for the mountain of cat fur which is currently being used as replacement insulation in my attic

# ¿ Jun 28, 2010 03:51

Rev. Bleech_: Oct 19, 2004; ~OKAY, WE'LL DRINK TO OUR LEGS!~

Tsietisin posted:

Take a look for yourself, see if there are any suggestions for names you can think of.

Meowmud Ahmadenicat and Meowmar Kattafi.

Yeah there's a reason my parents never let me name the pets.

EDIT: For no reason, here's a picture of Chairman Meow spooning Fidel Catstro

Rev. Bleech_ fucked around with this message at 02:21 on Jul 23, 2010

# ¿ Jul 23, 2010 02:17

Rev. Bleech_: Oct 19, 2004; ~OKAY, WE'LL DRINK TO OUR LEGS!~

Laserface posted:

Hey guys, Meet Lemmy and Burton (from left to right), my new kittens! Burman/persian cross.

...

Second - Getting them desexed. what age is appropriate to get them snipped?

Naming one Lemmy and then snipping him? Is that some sort of cruel joke?

# ¿ Aug 1, 2010 07:28

Rev. Bleech_: Oct 19, 2004; ~OKAY, WE'LL DRINK TO OUR LEGS!~

gowb posted:

It's purina cat deli, and yeah its pretty dang bad, but I'm just using the container it came in because its way easier than using a bag. I'm not sure what it's filled with, probably Meow Mix dry.

Taste of the Wild is pretty good, relatively easy to find, and relatively cheap (a $25 bag lasts both of our cats longer than a month and one of them is a big fatty)

# ¿ Aug 20, 2010 01:00

Rev. Bleech_: Oct 19, 2004; ~OKAY, WE'LL DRINK TO OUR LEGS!~

Does anyone have any idea why one of my cats might be doing the following:

1. Taking a mouthful of dry food from the feeder on the easy-to-clean kitchen floor
2. Walking to a random spot on the carpet elsewhere
3. Spitting the food out onto the carpet and then eating it there

I cannot figure this out. He doesn't do it everytime he eats, but a few times a week I'll catch him doing it at some point

# ¿ Nov 12, 2010 02:52

Rev. Bleech_: Oct 19, 2004; ~OKAY, WE'LL DRINK TO OUR LEGS!~

HondaCivet posted:

Is he an only cat? Sometimes one of my cats will run off with food/treats because he randomly feels threatened by his brother who is the least-pushy cat in the world. But yeah, cats are weird.

No, he has a oval office of a sister; she is skinny, while he is fat. She often has to clobber him to get at the food.

I figured he was just being weird, I just wish I could think of a way to stop it so I don't have tons of crushed kibble underfoot all over the carpet. Also, I think he's offended that I mentioned it here, since he yarked undigested wet food onto the carpet not long after I did.

# ¿ Nov 12, 2010 05:05

Rev. Bleech_: Oct 19, 2004; ~OKAY, WE'LL DRINK TO OUR LEGS!~

McLibrarian posted:

I'm sorry the vet is being suck a dick

wanna meet that vet :q:

# ¿ Nov 29, 2010 05:28

Rev. Bleech_: Oct 19, 2004; ~OKAY, WE'LL DRINK TO OUR LEGS!~

Last year at the vet, Chairman Meow was 3.5 pounds, Fidel Catstro was 3.

Now, Chairman Meow is 7, Fidel is 16. Woah.

# ¿ Dec 15, 2010 03:08

Rev. Bleech_: Oct 19, 2004; ~OKAY, WE'LL DRINK TO OUR LEGS!~

ChairmanMeow posted:

Get a cat named Fulgencio Batista to keep Your chubby cat busy.

You mean Fulgencio Catista :v:

The vet says he doesn't actually show signs of being overweight, he's just dense (in more ways than one) and pretty large for his age. Overweight or no, I'm still gonna squeal "fat buddy!" and grab his flaps every chance I get.

# ¿ Dec 15, 2010 04:38

Rev. Bleech_: Oct 19, 2004; ~OKAY, WE'LL DRINK TO OUR LEGS!~

Welp, Chairman Meow scared the poo poo out of me earlier today.

The wife yelled to me that she (the kitty, not my wife) was taking a poo poo in her old cat bed....distressing (and horrifically rank), but since strange new people were installing new windows on the house and making a terrible racket, I just attributed it to nervousness and it didn't disturb me all that much.

But when I took the old pet cat out to the trash can and dropped it in, I noticed the poo was very soft and had two globs of bright red blood in it. I came back in and frantically called my vet's office, who said to just keep an eye on her...if she acted normally and it didn't happen again anytime soon, it just meant her butthole was irritated. I re-inspected the poo afterwards and sure enough, turd #1 was dark brown and very hard, turd #2 was the ooey gooey bloody one. She's been her normal self all day, so I'm chalking it up to constipation for now.

Anyway, that's the story of how a cat turd sent me into a hysterical panic, before sending me out to get some catgrass.

# ¿ Jan 1, 2011 07:09

Rev. Bleech_: Oct 19, 2004; ~OKAY, WE'LL DRINK TO OUR LEGS!~

2508084 posted:

Is this some kind of really bad typo or am I reading the sentence wrong?

bah, typo, old cat bed. Though sometimes I would like to toss her in there.

# ¿ Jan 2, 2011 05:33

Rev. Bleech_: Oct 19, 2004; ~OKAY, WE'LL DRINK TO OUR LEGS!~

1. Why do cats sometimes just let their mouths hang open
2. How do I make them do it because that poo poo is capital-H Hilarious

# ¿ Feb 27, 2011 03:49

Rev. Bleech_: Oct 19, 2004; ~OKAY, WE'LL DRINK TO OUR LEGS!~

Eggplant Wizard posted:

Do you mean the Flehman reaction? Looks a bit like this?

(Not my cat; random internet cat)

YES. I wish there was a way to provoke this, because when my fat orange buddy does this, it is easily the most hilarious thing in existence.

# ¿ Feb 27, 2011 16:31

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# ¿ May 3, 2024 03:28

Rev. Bleech_: Oct 19, 2004; ~OKAY, WE'LL DRINK TO OUR LEGS!~

HandsomeBen posted:

I was planning on getting a FURminator but that one you talked about is waaay cheaper.

I have a generic furminator clone from Wal-Mart that works just as well as the real thing but only cost $12

# ¿ Mar 30, 2011 03:43

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Pet Island > The Cat FAQ/Megathread: buying a second, clean broom just to use on him

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