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DressCodeBlue posted:Butts continues to be weird about food: Has anyone ever known a cat to refuse to eat while home alone? He definitely eats when I'm asleep but doesn't touch his food while I'm at work. Then he chows down after yelling at me for being away. It's harder to fantasize that he's eating you when you're not home.
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Feb 6, 2014 00:33
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Dienes posted:Mine do this at night. One on my shoulder, one on my stomach or side. Its sweet and cute and warm and lovely....right up until you want to move at some point during the night. I haven't been able to roll over in bed for years. Yeah, our cats refuse to sleep with us. They've been hurtled into space too many times by random movements in our sleep and run in fear as soon as we peel the covers back. They'll sleep on top of the bed during the day, though, and one particularly loves snuggling with my wife if she reads or grades papers on the bed (but not in the bed).
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Feb 6, 2014 19:31
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Drythe posted:An abandoned cat is living next to me and I was able to get it to trust me enough to allow me to pet it yesterday. The poor thing felt like it was all bone. I don't want to leave it outside in the cold and snow, would trapping it in a carrier and taking it in be a good idea? I'm not opposed to adopting it, at the very least getting it to a shelter. Is this a trick question? I feel like I'm missing something here.
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Feb 6, 2014 23:51
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mick foley forever posted:Hello, I have had a problem with my six-month-old puppy, Robocop. For a while, I decided it would be very funny if I trained him to pee and poop in the house. However, I got home from work today and discovered to my disgust that he peed and pooped on my living room carpet... again. I've just about had it with him. I've heard there is a little taser-like device that delivers a noticeable yet harmless shock to a misbehaving dog. Should I shock him every time he pees and poops in the house? Thanks for your help. Trade your dog in for a cat.
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Feb 7, 2014 05:20
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Spaying will certainly help a whole lot. The hissing and bullying is about establishing social dominance and territoriality. They will almost invariably work out a compromise eventually. Sometimes they become buds, sometimes they just learn to avoid each other. Give it some time, and unless the confrontations get actually violent, let them hiss it out.
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Feb 11, 2014 18:41
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baxxy posted:I've asked about other IBD cats in this thread before... I'm going crazy trying to find the right balance of meds for my cat. I've been reading that raw diets have been extremely useful for a lot of people with IBD cats; however, I have neither the training nor the time to make him food myself. It seems there are a few options for commercially prepared raw diets now - a store near me carries Rad Cat, Natural Pet Pantry, Nature's Variety, and Primal. Has anyone tried these? Thoughts? My vet is at the point of suggesting an endoscopy and even brought up "fecal transplant," which sounds way more awful than just a diet change, if possible. A fecal transplant sounds gross, but can work wonders. Some cases of IBD are due to the wrong type or lack of gut bacteria. The FT establishes a new colony of microbes and digestion problems disappear in many cases. Mother cats eat their kittens' poop regularly, so it's not as gross to your cat as it is to you.
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Feb 13, 2014 07:21
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duckfarts posted:I thiiiiiiiink so, though it's hard to tell sometimes. Our cats eat varying amounts of food from day to day, but I haven't noticed any particular pattern.
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Feb 24, 2014 17:10
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Dirty Job posted:Any tips on training a cat not to claw at the rug? I've heard a water bottle works, and we're trying to avoid a big scratching post. Cats need to scratch something. Give him an alternative and you can teach him to use it instead of the rug.
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Feb 27, 2014 17:17
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Pendergast posted:Has anyone removed a stitch from a cat? Mine has one from were the doctor removed an abscess under her chin. Having watched stitches being removed (from me), they seemed to just snip the thread and pull it out with a forceps. Shouldn't be too hard, unless your cat freaks. I'd probably apply a bit of antibiotic ointment to it afterwards.
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Mar 2, 2014 19:49
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Glad you survived and are getting better.  I've had heart problems, myself. Not fun. Anyway, the only cure that I have found for that is ignoring them. Interacting with him in any way is taken as encouragement for more, so just pretend the little monster isn't there. He'll eventually get bored and go harass your partner or something. On the other hand, it's nice he missed you. He may settle down after a while. Ed: If he gets too frisky, a bop on the nose with a finger usually works to settle a cat down. It's what mother cats do to discipline their kittens, so they understand it instinctively, in most cases.
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Mar 6, 2014 03:20
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Sounds like he's trying to establish social dominance. Bop him on the nose when he gets too aggressive, as that puts you in the dominant role.
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Mar 8, 2014 22:39
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Totally Normal posted:Does anybody have any stories of introducing new cats to a one cat household where the new/old cat wasn't a horrible hell-beast and was good to go after maybe 2-3 weeks of appropriate separation/socialization? Seems like I only read stories of mayhem and disappointment which is a bummer because I want to get another cat. I've never had any problems with new/old cats not getting along, and I've probably had 8 or 10 come and go through the years. We currently have three and there's no problems at all. They're not best buds and hang together all day, but they don't fight at all and rarely even hiss.
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Mar 11, 2014 03:52
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Sounds like Cleo has you pretty well trained. 
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Mar 13, 2014 04:18
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Stairs posted:Cats really don't need to go outside to be stimulated. Some cats do like being on a leash but even doing that isn't terribly important. Get some interactive toys like Da Bird or some balls you can roll and between that and having a buddy cat they will be just fine indoors. I have had indoor only cats all of my life and they are all well adjusted and happy and not a single one got hit by a car! The one cat we've had that was originally born outside you couldn't get to leave the house if you tried. They actually love it indoors, and the local songbirds and motorists love it too. We have one cat (captured semi-feral) that absolutely insists on eating on our back porch. She will not touch food in the house, but has to be on the porch to eat. After eating, she hides in the garage until she scratches at the other door to be let back in. Always out the back door, always in the front door. She also likes me to pet her and scratch her back as she eats. In other words, cats are psychos and you will never understand what's going on in their deranged minds.
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Mar 13, 2014 18:15
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Stairs posted:Oh, I wasn't referring to you, but to the person who said "cats are psychos so you better just let them do whatever." which is a common excuse people have to wash their hands of cat responsibility. My previous post to that was directed to you: that cats don't really need to go outside to be happy if they have a cat buddy and toys. I can tell you are actually concerned about not letting your cats get pancaked. Your admonition about never letting cats outside is rather over-the-top and silly. Whether cats should be able to roam unsupervised is entirely context dependent. We live in a suburb with little traffic and few predators. Our cats go outside whenever they want (as do all the neighbor cats) and there have been no incidents at all that I'm aware of in the 20 years we've been living here. Dogs are required to be leashed outside by law. They tend to revert to their wolf instincts and start roaming in very dangerous packs when left to themselves. Leash laws are to protect humans, not the dogs.
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Mar 14, 2014 17:28
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Shbobdb posted:So, my cat likes my fiancee more than me (to be fair, that is just good taste) but I miss my girl. What can I do to make her love me again? Feed her. Seriously. Beyond that, cats often fixate on a single person for primary affection. This can drift with time and they can open up to more people, or shift their affections to another, so you're not necessarily forever unrequited. It's the classic bit about cats picking their people. You can't make her cuddle with you, but you can force her to at least acknowledge you by being the one who feeds her.
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Mar 15, 2014 06:53
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aghastly posted:Out of curiosity, do some cats just prefer playing by themselves? I've tried every Da Bird type toy there is on Toast, and he's interested, but he doesn't do backflips trying to hunt the things. I can't really wear him out with them. The problem is that your cat is a cat. I'm afraid there's no cure. 
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Mar 21, 2014 18:59
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In my own experience, cats in pain don't howl, they hide. They may snarl or bite if touched in a sensitive spot. If an active cat is suddenly very quiet and doesn't want to move around, something is probably wrong. Other than that, it's extremely difficult to know. Cats by nature do not show discomfort much, you have to guess.
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Mar 21, 2014 23:08
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Facepalm Ranger posted:Okay will do. Will try the yelp thing best as I can. That's also why I suggested the bop on the nose. It's not supposed to hurt, it sends the message, "Mom says to stop it!" Doesn't always work, as it depends on why the cat is acting out.
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Mar 23, 2014 16:31
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flare posted:Hey everyone, I've finally adopted the sweet cat I found at the local humane society and brought her home. She's comitted to hiding under the covers in our bedroom now. She's super calm and can be pet but she's really apprehensive about being out and about. She's been home a few hours now and I'm just worried she might not find the food / litter in the other room. (It's a 1 bed room apartment, only a few rooms). Should I move her food / litter to my bed room? I'm not sure how easy it is to move the box once she's more confident. If you're concerned about it, lock her in the litter room for a couple days. That can then become her "base" for exploring the rest of the apartment. Don't worry about her finding the food. She will. She'll find a lot of things.
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Mar 30, 2014 00:40
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MeramJert posted:I had a neighbor that stole one of my outdoor cats about 7 years ago. He knocked on my door and asked if he could take my cat since his kids had grown attached to her. I said no, please don't take my cat. A few weeks later they took her inside and didn't let her go outside anymore. No, the amount of mercury in a single bulb is miniscule and harmless. The vapor from it slowly evaporating would be the only real issue, and there's not enough for it to build up any appreciable concentration. If she drank the liquid mercury, it'll just pass on through.
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Apr 3, 2014 02:44
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We also had another cat when I was in 3rd grade that drank some antifreeze and died of renal failure.
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flare posted:Another update on Ellie. She's doing great. Seems way more relaxed and is playing more consistently. She has a ton of energy for being 3 but at least now I can expel it better. I guess that depends on the cat. Two of our cats are fine with free feeding and will nibble a little at a time all day long. The third will eat everything in sight and then puke, so we have to control her portions and availability. A compromise might be to have dry food available all day long, and canned food only at specific times. Do what works for you and your cat.
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Apr 6, 2014 03:07
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That sort of thing is really hard to pin down as to just why they're doing it and what the solution is. All I can suggest is putting down a small rug over the carpet for the moment and let him scratch that instead as a short-term help. Reward him like crazy for using the scratching posts/pads. In my own experience, my cats do stuff like that when they want my attention. They know it gets a reaction from me, even if it means dodging a shoe. If that's his purpose, then the question is why does he want your attention. If he's hungry, maybe leaving a dish of dry food out for him to nibble on will be enough. If he is just bored and wants to play, then the only solution I've found is completely ignoring him. If he gets no reaction, he will stop the behavior eventually (he'll get more obnoxious at first, though). It may also be because he's anxious (perhaps he can smell another cat prowling nearby at night), or some other bizarre cat phobia. Ultimately you may just have to lock him in the litter box room each night. Cats are weird, and figuring out why they do what they do is quite frustrating when you don't want them to do it. Good luck.
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Apr 7, 2014 16:18
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Dominionix posted:Hello guys, I'm looking for some help / suggestions. Apologies for the rather lengthy post, it's probably easier if I just give a full background to the situation so people don't need to ask a load of questions about things I've already tried etc: It seems the only way you're going to stop the cat getting is to block up the cat door. My cats have gotten very good at letting me know when they want to go out (rubbing up against me, pawing my chair, meowing, etc.), so maybe they can learn to let you know. Letting them in and out manually is a hassle, but keeps foreign cats out. That plus a litter box for night-time emergencies may work. A sturdier cat door is an iffy proposition, because it's a lot of money for something that may not work. If you want to go more techno, a SSSCat-type thing that makes noise and an air blast near the door which the chips in your cats will deactivate so they don't get blasted might work, but I suspect you'd have to build it yourself. I have no ideas, otherwise. You have a tough problem to solve. I hope something works out for you and your cats.
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Apr 8, 2014 17:07
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Dominionix posted:Regarding staying in, my two generally do now (exception obviously for when the black one goes away for extended periods) stay indoors. Please don't feel I have a problem about them being in the house, I actually prefer it. The litter box issue was not resolved by getting an extra box. Prior to the cat flap I actually had three litter boxes (following the one per cat + one extra rule), it didn't help, the grey cat would just use each box and then the black one would hold his wee in until we got home (presumably until he felt safe) and go on the bed. In fact despite disinfecting the boxes each time we emptied them I suspect the black one was still able to smell his brother in them, so even if his brother had not yet used one in that cycle of emptying them he would still avoid them. Build two plywood boxes, one for each cat's litterbox. Relocate the chip-reading doors as entrances to each box. Put litter box for each cat in its own box, other cat can't get in. 
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Apr 8, 2014 19:25
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Yeah, we've got a cat with allergies that make her skin itch, so she'll overgroom to the point of bleeding if she eats the wrong food. We have to give her tetracycline (an immunosupressant) to keep it in check, in addition to watching her diet.
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Apr 9, 2014 18:26
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Maybe call animal control or the humane society?
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Apr 14, 2014 23:55
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EXTREME INSERTION posted:Name the kitten Cordelia It generally seems like a good idea for aversion training. It distresses the cat without doing any actual harm, so they learn to avoid getting squirted.
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Apr 15, 2014 22:00
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I assume you're talking about Revolution, which we use on our cats. The whole point of it is that it's deadly to invertebrates (mites, ticks, insects, etc.) but largely harmless to mammals. It can cause problems in large doses, but you're not giving large doses. Thus, toxicity isn't a major concern. The bigger problem is that it can't survive the digestive system, which is why you squirt it on their backs to be absorbed through the skin. A cat licking it off will prevent it from being absorbed, so it loses its effectiveness. I would recommend keeping them apart for a few hours after dosage to prevent one licking it off the other.
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Apr 16, 2014 18:03
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I'd start with toys. Lots of them. Da Bird, track balls, catnip mice, anything. Spetz seems to have a lot of energy he needs to burn off, so give him an outlet. Reward him with treats when he plays with them, continue to spray him when he attacks Lini. He'll eventually learn. Time is also on your side. You didn't say how old Spetz is, but he sounds fairly young. They calm down as they age. Lini may also toughen up or learn to avoid confrontations. Our cats each seem to have a "home base" in the house where they feel safe and the others know to leave them alone there. It may just take some time for Lini and Spetz to negotiate their own domains. I've never had cats that truly could not get along. I guess there are exceptions, but our cats have always worked out their differences eventually.
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Apr 29, 2014 01:22
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Christobevii3 posted:My gf and I just got a cat recently (maine coon?). He hid a little the first few hours but has been really well adjusted to us. He sleeps on the bed, follows us around, and is really pleasant. Could be psychological, could be physical. Food allergies will make a cat's skin itch. We have one who will over-groom to the point of bleeding if we let her eat the wrong stuff. Your vet can help you sort it out.
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Apr 30, 2014 19:06
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Dragyn posted:Sorry to bring the thread down, but I just wanted to update. Appreciate your animal family, you never know when they'll suddenly be gone. I didn't respond because I had nothing of any value to add. I'm sorry for your loss. 
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May 1, 2014 19:04
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Sidulus posted:I've been asking this question on and off of other people and I would like to get your take on it. Wow. You really do go for expensive cat food.
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May 6, 2014 03:52
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MariusLecter posted:Oh you. Biggest reason is that they don't really work very well. Flea treatments that you apply to the animal's skin and makes their blood toxic to fleas and ticks are far more effective. We use Revolution with our cats. One application each month, and they're completely free of parasites.
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May 8, 2014 00:06
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DisMafugga posted:I have a coworker that raved about Diatomaceous Earth. Linked below, but it's basically a dried microscopic algae that is like shards of glass for fleas/larvae. I've never used it personally, but it was spoken of very highly. I like the idea that you can use it outside the house around the yard as well. If nothing else it may be something you can use to supplement your other efforts. DE is a bad choice for open areas. It's just really fine sand and leaves white residue everywhere that's difficult to get rid of. I had to ban my daughter from using it due to the mess it was making. It would be fine for crawl spaces or other places out of sight. When it gets wet it turns to mud, though, so keep it away from anything that might leave tracks. What I found effective on our carpeting when we had an infestation once was flea powder. It's supposed to be used on the pets themselves, but I found that sprinkling it over the carpeting then vacuuming up the excess after a few hours really helpful.
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May 11, 2014 16:44
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Dumbo. Arecibo or Jodrell. (Radar) O'Reilly. Wingnut. Spock.
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May 12, 2014 20:04
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The rubbing is probably not a request for affection, she's marking the territory with her scent. At this point there's probably not a lot you can do to socialize her. Get her some toys to play with and a scratching post. Largely just let her be. Some cats are just loners. She's never going to be a cuddly lap cat.
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May 14, 2014 04:38
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Pinball posted:Do you think she could adjust to having a second cat? If she won't be a friendly lapcat, I'd like to get one that will. Or should I give her a few weeks to settle in first? She'd probably cope. She may bond with cats better than humsns, who knows? I have never had cats that could not get along eventually. They stake out their own home territories and know when to leave each other alone. We just got a new cat yesterday, and our two old ones are curious but not hostile. Lots of hissing and growling as they gradually feel each other out, but they seem to be adapting.
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May 14, 2014 18:50
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Downhome posted:I need some major advice. Cats know where home and food is. They rarely run away if you're treating them well. Ours go in and out regularly and don't stray far. They bask in the sunshine on the driveway and roll around in the dirt, mainly. Is there a particular reason that going outside would be dangerous? Do you live on a busy road with lots of traffic, or are there known predators like coyotes around? If not, don't worry about it. Cats spent millions of years living outdoors. They can handle it.
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May 17, 2014 04:32
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I guess the only real solution is to make sure the cat is closed up somewhere or restrained whenever you open the door. That's the only way to be sure it won't get out.
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May 17, 2014 04:47
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