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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HondaCivet: Oct 16, 2005; And then it falls
And then I fall
And then I know

Buckeye posted:

My wife and I have a very cute cat (Bella) who I think is half Himalayan / half domestic short hair. She is about 4 years old now. For the longest time we have been considering getting her a buddy so she doesn't have to spend so much time alone. The thing that worries us is that she is pretty skittish and very untrusting of strangers which makes us wonder how she would adapt to a new kitty or adult cat. We'd love to get her a friend but don't want to mess up a good thing and have her freak out and start peeing everywhere or something. Any advice on whether adding another cat would be a good or bad idea in this situation?

Also...any truth to the idea that male cats are friendlier than female cats? Bella is friendly with us but she is definitely not a lap cat. She prefers to be near us but not right next to us most of the time.

Any truth to male cats being much more likely to urinate / spray in the house?

How much cats enjoy the company of people and that of cats is usually not very related. Some cats hate other cats but love people, some love both, some hate both, etc. If she seems bored and lonely then another cat would be something good to try. You just have to make sure that you introduce them properly . . . I think this is in the OP, otherwise there are lots of pages online about the subject.

Neutered males do tend to be a bit less territorial than females but there are plenty of friendly happy-go-lucky females out there too. If you go to a good shelter, they should be able to help you find a good match, male or female.

That sort of thing tends to only be a problem with intact males, not neutered ones. I wouldn't worry about it.

P.S. You can't go saying how cute your cat is without proof. :colbert:

# ¿ Oct 14, 2009 21:35

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# ¿ May 21, 2024 00:15

HondaCivet: Oct 16, 2005; And then it falls
And then I fall
And then I know

Buckeye posted:

Thanks for the thoughts so far. Here is Bella.

The only time she has been around another cat is a few months ago. We had a stray that was wondering our neighborhood and we had started to feed it at night on our front porch. Bella would sit at the screen door and watch. She would make some funny noises on occasion but no hissing or anything really aggressive. We were pretty surprised she was so calm. Then one night she snuck out as I was going out the door to feed the stray. She immediately chased the cat out of the yard in a very aggressive manner...hissing, fully puffed up, etc. The stray never came back after that.

Wow, you weren't kidding about the cuteness . . . Pretty much any cat is going to be pissed about a stray outside so I wouldn't worry about that too much. Get a calm, friendly adult friend, introduce them properly and see how it goes.

# ¿ Oct 14, 2009 22:38

HondaCivet: Oct 16, 2005; And then it falls
And then I fall
And then I know

Znorps! posted:

So things have been going pretty good for the past few weeks with Gary and Leela. Only trouble is Gary is constantly making GBS threads himself. He's good about going in the litter box, but it always seems like he's got it on his rear end. Theres times when he's sits down and leaves a mark where ever he sits. I've woken up to the scratching post thing they sleep on to find it covered in poo poo. We need to mop the kitchen floor every morning and when we get home from work. It seems like we're constantly having to wipe or bathe him. Is this normal? Leela doesn't seem to be having any problems and is getting the same food as he is. We're using Blue Buffalo Longevity Kitten food (http://www.bluebuff.com/products/cats/longevity-kitten.shtml) and feed them about a 1/4 twice a day. Please help as we've taken him to the vet like 2-3 times and haven't gotten info other than "Looks like he's got diarrhea."

That sucks . . . I had this problem with one of my cats. Curing his chronic diarrhea seemed to do the trick. Does the little guy have diarrhea all the time? If so you should see about fixing that and that may take care of the problem. If the vets can't find a medical reason for him having the runs then I'd try changing their food.

# ¿ Oct 17, 2009 04:06

HondaCivet: Oct 16, 2005; And then it falls
And then I fall
And then I know

Two basic questions:

1) Around when do cats stop growing? My kitties are 6-7 months old and they still don't really look like adult cats to me, but some sites I've read say they often stop growing around this time.

2) I feed my cats 3 meals a day. However, even as early as 10 minutes later, they'll often be begging for food again . . . would feeding two bigger meals help with this perhaps? Or is being a whiny wannabe fatty normal?

# ¿ Oct 28, 2009 04:33

HondaCivet: Oct 16, 2005; And then it falls
And then I fall
And then I know

Eej posted:

Kinda related to HondaCivet's question, my kittens are almost 7 months old but I've been free-feeding them for the past two months because I was told that kittens should be free-fed since they're growing and stupidly active. Is there a point where I should consider putting them on a more fixed feeding schedule or is free-feeding alright if they don't really seem to be turning into round formless furry blobs?

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.

# ¿ Oct 29, 2009 08:39

HondaCivet: Oct 16, 2005; And then it falls
And then I fall
And then I know

Rev. Bleech_ posted:

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

My cats act around food pretty much how you described your dude acting around wet food . . . Firstly, separate bowls are almost always a good thing, especially if at least one of the cats is a big jerk. As for that rear end in a top hat behavior, I have been trying to see if I could train my cats to be less frantic when I feed them. I'll fill up their bowls and if they start meowing or jumping on things, I set the bowls on the counter and wait for them to calm down again. It seems to be helping a bit although I'm sure it'll take a long time to really get it down, if that ever happens. Maybe try refusing to set his food down for him until he calms down a bit?

# ¿ Oct 30, 2009 23:31

HondaCivet: Oct 16, 2005; And then it falls
And then I fall
And then I know

Engineer Lenk posted:

NILIF for cats?

I guess it is . . . Do cats usually not respond to that sort of thing? I thought I'd give it a try at least.

# ¿ Nov 2, 2009 05:36

HondaCivet: Oct 16, 2005; And then it falls
And then I fall
And then I know

Yeah, it'll definitely take her awhile to settle down. Did they give you any of her old stuff, like old beds or toys? If not, try to get them. It can help for them to have something old to sleep in/play with, something that has an old smell on it that's familiar to them. Other than that, it sounds like she is doing OK.

# ¿ Nov 5, 2009 07:40

HondaCivet: Oct 16, 2005; And then it falls
And then I fall
And then I know

Rev. Bleech_ posted:

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

Shirt off? Kinda asking for it, aren't you? :pervert:

# ¿ Nov 6, 2009 05:16

HondaCivet: Oct 16, 2005; And then it falls
And then I fall
And then I know

madlilnerd posted:

The RSPCA approved my family's application, so tomorrow at 10:30 a new kitty moves in

There's just one problem- we can't decide what to name her. We already have one black cat called Coco and the new kitten is just going to end up being called New Cat forever by the looks of things. My mum wants to call her Liquorice but I think that's a stupid name (although it is better than my anime freak brother's suggestion of Yoruichi).

I need name suggestions. She's very cute and so small in my fat goony arms.

Guessing your brother wants to name the cat after this character. (No I don't watch the show, that's just what came up on Google) This is why you should disown your brother.

She looks like a Bebe to me for some reason.

# ¿ Nov 7, 2009 01:15

HondaCivet: Oct 16, 2005; And then it falls
And then I fall
And then I know

rear end Crackers! posted:

Ok so I'm having an issue with a friend of mine. She adopted a kitten (named Kitty) from a shelter a few months ago (and apparently this shelter was awful because Kitty was full of worms when taken home) and is now moving into a different apartment that doesn't allow cats. She's only going to be staying there for about 6 months until school is out and will then find a more permanent place that allows cats. In the meantime she's looking for a babysitter. Kitty is vaccinated, but isn't spayed. My friend has apparently found someone to watch Kitty, but the lady will only take her if she ISN'T spayed because she wants kittens. I kind of went a little nuts on my friend telling her that it's a terrible idea and not to do it, but she seems pretty nonchalant about the whole situation. Any advice on how to 1)convince her to spay Kitty in the first place and 2)convince her that letting Kitty have a litter this early is terrible? I would be more than happy to watch her myself, but my boyfriend has a zero-tolerance allergy to cats.

dear god who would let someone else pump kittens out of their cat :psyduck:

# ¿ Nov 8, 2009 23:11

HondaCivet: Oct 16, 2005; And then it falls
And then I fall
And then I know

madlilnerd posted:

That is seriously creepy, but mainly because I'm mad enough to personify my cats into sisters. The idea of a sister going to stay at an "auntie's" house and being coaxed into getting knocked up is somewhat disgusting.

I was bemoaning the fact it was difficult to adopt from the RSPCA over here- at our local shelter you have to first send in an application, then if they approve you you have to get an appointment to see their cats and then they come and check out your house to make sure the cat will be safe and secure and then you pay the adoption fee and take it home. Now I'm glad it takes that long because it means inadequate people are less likely to get a pet from there. When I was in Hawaii it seemed like as long as you walked into the shelter with $60 you could leave with a kitten. I don't know if that's how it is in the rest of the USA- clarify?

Surely the friend could tell the crazy old lady to go to the shelter because there's handfuls of kittens there ripe for the taking?

BTW, our kitten finally ended up with a name. Zero.

Yeah it's like some weird Handmaid's Tale poo poo.

Anyway, around here at least (South central Wisconsin), the ease of procuring an animal depends on the shelter. The Humane Society here is the easiest. As long as you fill out the application, have some sort of proof of residence and hand over the money, you're pretty much good. The smaller shelters/rescue groups make you give references (not sure if they really call them but I think they do) on top of everything else the HS asks for. Also, some of them won't let you take animals if they don't like something on your app, like if you say that you're going to get the cat declawed. I think the smaller groups do home checks if you are getting a dog but I'd have no experience with that.

no you cant get kittens at the shelter you are missing out on the MIRACLE OF BIRTH (it is a miracle in spite of the fact that it happens millions of times a day around the world) ps dont worry she already has homes for all of them she swears

# ¿ Nov 9, 2009 00:11

HondaCivet: Oct 16, 2005; And then it falls
And then I fall
And then I know

sicarim posted:

We got Lolita the kitten about a month ago, when she was around four months old, from the human society. She is loving beautiful, what a Russian Blue would look like if russian blues had medium hair.

Me and my roommates (basically me and my roommate versus one other roommate and his girlfriend) about how to feed the cat.

I don't want a little fatty, so i'll portion her food out. In a day, she'll get a full bowl of food, but that's it. Its a good sized bowl from Ikea, but the roommate in question dumps food into her bowl whenever it gets close to being empty. They insist kittens need a constant supply of food.

I'm not gonna let my kitty starve, so she is well fed. But I don't want to overfeed her. Am I doing the right thing?

Only little kittens really need food to be constantly available because their tummies are too small for them to deal with anything but several small meals a day. She's around the age where she shouldn't need to be free fed anymore. Some people on the forums say up to a year is OK but it depends on the cat. My two cats had to be switched to meals at around 5 months because they are pigs and were getting tubby.

# ¿ Nov 9, 2009 11:05

HondaCivet: Oct 16, 2005; And then it falls
And then I fall
And then I know

sbyers77 posted:

Yeah, he looks like that a lot. drat his smug condescending eyes.

I guess I should add he acts completely normal and eats/pees/poops like a champ. Just wondering if this is some sort of respiratory infection or something. He sneezing every once in a while, but not often.

So it takes a month to come back? If so then it's probably just accumulated dirt/snot from your cat not being super awesome at washing.

# ¿ Nov 11, 2009 07:09

HondaCivet: Oct 16, 2005; And then it falls
And then I fall
And then I know

Helvetica Neue posted:

Ok. I posted here a couple of weeks ago about my 7 month old kitten. I got him from a coworker who, at the time, said all her kittens had been vaccinated, then a month ago told me she never said that. Whatever.

Last night I was laying in bed, trying to fall asleep, when we heard this... scratching on the outside wall. We had heard it about 3 nights ago, but it didn't last long and when we went to investigate there was nothing there. But this time, when my boyfriend went upstairs to check it out, he found six loving raccoons on our porch eating the cat's food. SIX. The porch is on the second floor, I had no idea that raccoons could scale walls. He took a broom and stuck it out the door and banged it around to scare them. They all hopped up on the railing around the porch and he proceeded to knock them off with the broom (it was pretty epic).

Anyway. Raccoons can carry rabies. My cat hasn't had a rabies shot. He was absolutely terrified to go outside and I know that he did not come in contact with the raccoons, but they WERE in his food. Is there any chance that their rabies infected spit could transfer to my cat through his food?

Also I'm taking him to get vaccinated ASAP.

I looked around on Google . . . While rabies can be transmitted through saliva, it has to be pretty fresh and it needs to get into the body pretty fast (hence why almost all rabies cases come from bites). It would probably not survive very long sitting on food that's out in the wind and sun. So unless the cat ate immediately after the raccoons got into it, I wouldn't worry that much.

More importantly, why is your cat's food outside? Raccoons (and possums, and probably every mean or stinky animal you don't want in your poo poo) loving love cat food and are great climbers so don't leave it out there anymore or they'll keep coming back.

Yes, get the poor guy all his shots as soon as you can, why make him wait any longer?

# ¿ Nov 13, 2009 23:31

HondaCivet: Oct 16, 2005; And then it falls
And then I fall
And then I know

Helvetica Neue posted:

Well, I made a huge play area for him and my other cat out on the back porch. It's high up and about eye level with the trees, so they can bird watch on the porch railing. They have a cat tree and other various furniture items they can climb on, they love being out there. Their litter box is also out there and.. it just made sense to put their food and water outside too. It never occurred to me that raccoons could scale walls.

Thank you for the rabies information, that helps ease my panic a little. I've already made him a vet appointment for next week.

I'd have to see a picture of the whole area to judge how they probably got up there but raccoons are very good climbers. They've got the whole night to get that food and they'll find a way, even if it means jumping down from your roof. Leaving food outside is always a bad idea unless you want to meet your wild neighbors up close.

# ¿ Nov 14, 2009 00:26

HondaCivet: Oct 16, 2005; And then it falls
And then I fall
And then I know

Dr. Needleman posted:

Took a weekly trip to the cat shelter with my kids this past weekend and.. got roped into a kitten. It all happened so fast, like my children and the shelter workers had it out for my wallet. We don�t have a name yet, although my 9 year old has dubbed her �Smash-face� for the time being. She doesn�t do any tricks.

They said she was a "Bombay" and her papers have her named as "Morticia" (good lord).

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

So cute.

Her black fur and orange eyes remind me of Halloween so I keep thinking of witchy names like Tabitha or Sabrina.

Comedy names: Snowball, Lucky

# ¿ Nov 18, 2009 07:29

HondaCivet: Oct 16, 2005; And then it falls
And then I fall
And then I know

Well, Thanksgiving is coming up which means visiting family. This also means abandoning my poor kitties.

We are just going overnight and will probably just be gone from Thursday morning to early Friday afternoon. For that short amount of time, I don't really want to get a sitter or board them or anything like that. If my cats were free-fed this wouldn't be a problem but they are little piggies and need meals or they will become basketballs. I am sort of afraid to just try to free-feed them for one day since I figure that they will just gobble it all up in 5 minutes and then starve until we get back, but I don't really want to spend the money on an automatic feeder. What should I do for them while we're gone?

# ¿ Nov 24, 2009 23:30

HondaCivet: Oct 16, 2005; And then it falls
And then I fall
And then I know

Meow Cadet posted:

Splurge on an automatic cat feeder, and call it an early Christmas present to yourself. Or just free feed them for the day, but in many small bowls hidden around the house?

I was sort of thinking of something akin to the latter . . . would it work to maybe put the food in a container that makes it hard to get the food out, like taping a cover most of the way over the bowl so they can only get their paws in, or putting it in a ball or something they have to roll around?

# ¿ Nov 24, 2009 23:54

HondaCivet: Oct 16, 2005; And then it falls
And then I fall
And then I know

Weird question but: Where do your guys' cats usually lose/keep their toys? My cats always seem to lose their toys instantly and they hardly ever end up in the obvious spots (under the couch, under the fridge, etc.). Do cats often stash their favorite toys in awkward spots on purpose? If so, I haven't found their stash yet.

# ¿ Dec 4, 2009 04:13

HondaCivet: Oct 16, 2005; And then it falls
And then I fall
And then I know

Night Canoodler posted:

We brought home a 10 week old female Friday and while she has acclimated to her new surroundings quite well, she is a little goofball and I have a few questions even after googling and reading the thread.

I worry about how little she has been eating. We have left kibble out the whole time and she has eaten probably, at most, a tablespoonful. I gave her a teaspoon of wet food and she ate it all at once and I put more out and she didn't touch it. About 6 hours later I put out another spoonful and she took one bite and refused the rest. In my reading I saw a lot of talk about this and how it's pretty common but i'm a worrier and I just want to know when should I truly be concerned?

My second question is also about her eating. I reheated some spaghetti for a late night snack and she went crazy with meowing and after finding her way onto the table went straight for it. I wasn't sure what to do and while I don't want to encourage her to eat from the table I let her go for it since I'm still worried about how little she was eating. She ate more noodles than she did of the wet food and then proceeded to lick the sauce off the noodles for a while. It wasn't until after that I remembered reading about garlic and onions being poisonous and there was definitely some in the sauce. Would eating the little bit of sauce be serious enough to her to warrant a vet call?

The last question is what can I do about her crying when she's left alone. If we even walk out of the room without her seeing she starts to cry and today when I went to get the mail it sounded like there was a cat dying in my apartment. Tuesday will be the first day she is going to be alone and it will be about 6 hours. Is there any tips or tricks so our neighbors won't hate us?

That's a lot of words so thanks in advance to any replies.

Did you change her food from whatever she had at the shelter when you brought her home? If so, just put her back on that for a little while, even if it's something crappy, just until she gets comfortable. You can transition her away from it after that.

There probably wasn't enough garlic and onion in whatever little amount she ate to bother her but if she acts sick in any way, take her to the vet just in case.

You might have to tough it out at first, she's still getting used to her new home. Sometimes people turn a radio or TV on for the cats so things aren't too quiet. I don't know if it really helps but you could try it. Also make sure she has plenty of fun things to do (toys, tree, etc) and comfy places to sleep so she can distract herself while you're gone.

# ¿ Dec 6, 2009 20:26

HondaCivet: Oct 16, 2005; And then it falls
And then I fall
And then I know

whereismyshoe posted:

Can anyone who has one of those cat tree things tell me how much room is in between the levels? i'm making one for a friend and don't own a cat, so i don't exactly know how much "wiggle" room they need in there.

It sort of depends on the style. Are the levels right on top of each other or are they more staggered? If they are on top of each other, you'd probably want at least 1.5 feet to give them room to walk underneath. If they are staggered, you can go smaller of course.

# ¿ Dec 7, 2009 21:26

HondaCivet: Oct 16, 2005; And then it falls
And then I fall
And then I know

chippy posted:

I've got a 3 month and 1 week old kitty and I'd like to know if anyone has any tips for introducing him to the great outdoors? I didn't really see much of this in the OP. He's tagged and vaccinated, I've let him have a few supervised visits to the garden. The house has a catflap and I'm just wondering what the appropriate age is to let him have access to it (it's covered currently).

Is your backyard enclosed or something? You really shouldn't let him out to run around on his own through the neighborhood. The reasons for that are covered in the OP under "Lifestyle."

Other than that, a leash and harness is a good bet for supervised jaunts outdoors. If you want to do that, start working with him now, it's a bit easier when they are young and it takes some time for them to grow accustomed to the harness.

# ¿ Dec 9, 2009 03:30

HondaCivet: Oct 16, 2005; And then it falls
And then I fall
And then I know

Eggplant Wizard posted:

In general in PI we advocate keeping cats indoors if it's at all an option, and since this is a new cat, it's definitely an option. Being indoors keeps them safe from getting into fights, illnesses, getting lost, getting "adopted" by a well meaning neighbor, parasites, wild animals, dogs, psychopathic humans, and especially cars. Plus, you're keeping HIM away from birds and small animals-- do you want them on your pillow in the morning?

A cat can be perfectly happy indoors, especially if it has vertical space (check out Armarkat.com for cat trees), some good windows to look out of, and/or a buddy to play with. There's just no reason to let a kitten outside when there's so much danger out there, and yours hasn't been used to being let out, so you're not even depriving him of anything.

My cats were born feral and spent the first two months of their lives outside. After months of comfy indoor living, they are now scared shitless of the outdoors and will barely do any exploring when we take them out on harnesses. Once cats establish a territory where they can feel comfortable, they don't have much interest in leaving it.

chippy posted:

Well, I will be letting him out. I'm in the UK, if this makes any difference to you. I live in a very quiet residential area with very few cars, he's fully vaccinated and treated for parasites, and of course bigger predators aren't really such a worry in this country. I know it's not so much the done thing in the US. I don't really want to get into an argument about that though. Does anyone who does believe in letting their cats out have any advice?

If you're going to do it anyway, you should probably wait until he's older and less cute and small so that sickos will be slightly less inclined to steal him. I'm pretty sure the UK still has crazies, right?

HondaCivet fucked around with this message at 03:53 on Dec 9, 2009

# ¿ Dec 9, 2009 03:49

HondaCivet: Oct 16, 2005; And then it falls
And then I fall
And then I know

chippy posted:

Yeah, we do have crazies, although I don't know anyone who's had a cat stolen by one, luck of the draw I guess. I wasn't intending on letting him out unsupervised just yet, just visits to the garden (which he can't get out of currently) until he's a bit bigger. I've read the debate before, and I think it's a bit of an overall cultural difference, I do know a lot of cats and I can honestly say the only ones that are kept indoors all the time are those whose owners live in flats.

No, it's not a cultural thing really, plenty of people let their cats outside in the states. Which is funny because plenty of people in America are OK with shooting "stray" cats.

What are your reasons for wanting to let him out? Have you really thought it out?

# ¿ Dec 9, 2009 04:14

HondaCivet: Oct 16, 2005; And then it falls
And then I fall
And then I know

oishii posted:

I have a question about FIV+ kitties!

I currently have 2 cats who have never been vaccinated for FIV and were tested negative (at their last checkup). They never go outside. Recently I've been taking care of an abandoned kitty that decided that my doorstep was a good place to sleep. I've been feeding her for about 2 weeks now and have been trying to find her a home. Two days ago I took her in and have kept her locked up in the bathroom so she stays seperated from my other two cats.

Today I took her to the vet and found out she is FIV+. I know not many people will be willing to take a FIV+ kitty in, so I might have her for a while longer. What are my options in this case? I know I can get my other two cats vaccinated; what does that mean for them? I'm taking my other two cats to the vet over the weekend but I'd just like to know if anybody had any insight

I don't really want to keep the third kitty, but she is super sweet and I don't really mind taking care of her in the interim (yeah I know, I'm a sucker). I'm at a loss at what I should do now

Good for you for taking her in!

Here's the thing about the FIV vaccine: it will make your cats turn up positive for FIV in subsequent testings even though they don't really have it. Not too much of a problem as long as they are with you but if they escaped or had to be given up, it might be a problem. And it doesn't protect against every strain anyway. If you aren't keeping the FIV cat, it's probably not worth it.

FIV is fairly difficult to transfer and usually requires fairly deep bites from the FIV cat to the other. If the cats seem to get along well then it might be OK to let them hang out. Otherwise just keep them separated unless you're supervising so you don't have to worry about it.

# ¿ Dec 9, 2009 23:32

HondaCivet: Oct 16, 2005; And then it falls
And then I fall
And then I know

chippy posted:

Thanks for the advice. Yeah, it is grotty at the moment, he's just been out with me on the odd occasion we've had a bit of sun and he's had a grand old time. I wouldn't let him out on his own yet, he's too little.

As for the indoor/outdoor debate, there's definitely a cultural difference. A few exceptions on either side doesn't change that. You'll only got to a do a bit of googling to see the split; you can pretty much guess what stance any article you look up is likely to be taking just be checking whether it's a on a .com or .co.uk domain.

I think I see it in a similar way that I do letting your kids out to play bikes with their friends and whatnot. When I have some, and they're old enough, they'll be able to go out and play with the friends because it's an essential part of being a kid. Of course I'll worry that something bad might happen to them, and to Jarvis, but that's not enough to stop me from letting him explore outside when he so obviously wants to, and when 95+% of the outdoor cars I've known have died of natural causes and old age without anything horrific happening to them.

Nice idea about the making a noise thing by the way, my parents used to do this with my childhood cats and a bell, and I had forgotten. I'll probably ring it when I give him kitten milk, which he goes mad for, as he has constant access to dry food.

Just to ease some of the trans-atlantic tension here's a picture of the little bastard when he was a bit smaller.

Maybe there's a cultural difference . . . Less traffic? Fewer guns? Americans suffer a larger deluge of horror stories in the news? I know I wouldn't let my cat out in my part of the US because there are so many drat hicks who think that anything moving makes for good target practice, either with their bumper, a gun, a compound bow . . .

# ¿ Dec 10, 2009 08:54

HondaCivet: Oct 16, 2005; And then it falls
And then I fall
And then I know

Triple Helix posted:

We talked to our neighbors closest to us, and they don't have any cats. We live in a pretty large development but she also didn't have any collar on and she wasn't chipped, so I'm thinking that she isn't someones pet. She is also pretty underfed, so if she does 'belong' to someone, I don't think they were doing a very good job of taking care of her.

Well, if she got out a long time ago she might've lost some weight from being a stray . . .

Anyway, it would be good for you to put in a little more effort at finding an owner. Contact the shelters or cops or whoever handles it around there, look at Craigslist, keep an eye out for posters, etc. Can you imagine the joy of a family finding their lost cat, especially around the holidays? :3:

Anyway, keep us updated.

# ¿ Dec 15, 2009 04:26

HondaCivet: Oct 16, 2005; And then it falls
And then I fall
And then I know

Eggplant Wizard posted:

Update!

We took Samantha to the vet yesterday because my roommate was worried. They listened to her lungs and took x-rays, and apparently everything turned up normal.* We're going to keep an eye on it. She coughed some more this morning Sort of phlegmy sounding but still low to the ground.

* Except she has a "big heart" which is weird because she's kinda a grinch some times...

edit: bonus cat in carrier pic. She was hiding under the blanket.

Ah, so my cat isn't the only one that thinks he can escape vet torture by hiding under the carrier substrate.

Sounds good so far, good luck to Samantha and all of you.

# ¿ Dec 15, 2009 16:15

HondaCivet: Oct 16, 2005; And then it falls
And then I fall
And then I know

demozthenes posted:

I'm meeting with THIS KITTY on Saturday; hopefully she jives well with my allergies because god drat is that one cute cat. The rescue claims that their cat-allergic employee does very well with her and that she'd do well as an apartment cat, too.

So pumped!

im sorry that cat looks defective its eyes dont open :ohdear:

No really, she looks awesome, good luck!

# ¿ Dec 15, 2009 22:01

HondaCivet: Oct 16, 2005; And then it falls
And then I fall
And then I know

Seconding that kitten food isn't necessary as long as you have a good quality high-protein food at hand.

I've heard that adult neutered male cats love to mother kittens, sounds like they weren't lying. :3:

# ¿ Dec 16, 2009 06:18

HondaCivet: Oct 16, 2005; And then it falls
And then I fall
And then I know

Chin Strap posted:

I'm 24, and have not had a pet since a kid. I'm about to start a job and so I think I'll be able to afford pets, and I'd really love a cat (or two?). Some questions:

1) I plan to adopt some shelter or rescue cats, and I know two (especially if they are already bonded) are better than one. As a basically first time pet owner, would I find myself overwhelmed by adopting two?

2) What should I plan on budgeting every month money wise? Is two cats less than twice that of one?

3) Similar to 2, what sort of emergency fund should I keep on hand? I want make sure I'd be covered for any reasonable sort of vet expenses.

Thanks for the help!

1) Yes, thanks for wanting two cats! Once you witness your first cat pile, you'll know you made the right choice.

I would think you wouldn't find two to be too much. Let's face it, most cats are pretty "ambient" most of the time and not generally terribly demanding of attention. If you want to make sure you can provide them with the attention they need, you might want at least one of the cats to be a little more low-key and independent. You'd probably want to get adult cats too, kittens can be a bit overwhelming for anyone, let alone a first-time cat owner. But really, two cats can be easier since the cats can hang out together instead of always having to bother you for attention.

But other than that, it's two food dishes instead of one, maybe one more litter box if they don't want to share. Not really much more as far as care goes. And twice the vet checkups of course.

2) It sort of depends on what you feed them, use for litter, etc. I feed a very good quality wet/dry food pair and that costs about $50 a month for both of my cats. Litter sort of depends. We probably get a 25-lb bag of litter once a month or so, and they are like $25 if I remember correctly. You'll also have some one-time costs when they come home for things like cat beds/trees, toys, litter boxes, bowls, etc. But really, to a non-student with a good steady job, most of these costs probably aren't going to any real burden.

I'd say that two cats is probably a bit less than one since they'll hopefully be sharing things like the litter box, toys, etc.

3) I'd say at least $1000 per cat, even more if you find yourself low on cash or credit quite frequently. I've never had a medical emergency with my cats though so someone else may want to provide some input here.

# ¿ Dec 18, 2009 21:59

HondaCivet: Oct 16, 2005; And then it falls
And then I fall
And then I know

GILF Hunter posted:

Holy poo poo, I got my cat back.

The police were in my apartment complex responding to a burglary call, and happened to find him in a bush near the building they were investigating. He was hungry and smelled absolutely terrible, but I'm happy to have him back.

He has a bit of a limp on his right front paw though. He seems to be jumping with relative ease and is still eating though. His leg seems okay, so I'm think maybe something is up with his pad? He won't let me touch him at the moment (he's hiding in the bowels of my closet) so I figure I'll just let him be for the moment.

Also, his brother keeps hissing at him. Maybe because of all the new smells that came back home?

If he's limping around, I'd definitely get him a vet appointment if you haven't already. The vet might find other problems too.

Yeah, it's probably just because your cat smells so different now. I'm sure they're both stressed from the whole incident as well. It should clear up.

demozthenes posted:

(This cat is awesome by the way, she's a 1y/o Russian Blue cross from the Standish Humane Society in Duxbury, MA, and she weighs about 5lbs. Lots of purring so far. She needs a name, though, she's already patrolling the mouse holes in the apartment!)

Viking names are always pretty :black101:

. Freya? Skadi? Idunn?

# ¿ Dec 19, 2009 23:44

HondaCivet: Oct 16, 2005; And then it falls
And then I fall
And then I know

GILF Hunter posted:

Went to the vet today with my injured cat. Basically, he has some sort of burn or abrasion on the bottom of his foot. It's weird how it's only on one foot. They weren't sure just exactly what it was since cats don't talk.

They said the biggest pad and maybe some of the digits might fall off (like a fingernail) in the next few days, and would heal in a few weeks time. They cleaned up the would real good, gave him some sort of antibiotic injection that lasts two weeks (as opposed to force-feeding him pills), and I have a few days worth of painkillers as well. They said his temperature was "on the high side of normal", but his lymph nodes were okay, so he probably didn't have a fever or anything, especially since he's been eating just fine. Other than that, he's in tip-top shape, aside from being a little stressed out.

I'm so glad he's okay. I love my kitty.

That said, I wandered into Petsmart today, since it's attached to the Banfield, and they had a bunch of different local pet adoption organizations there. There was a grey cat there who looked *identical* to my Wheezy. The striping as exactly the same, even down to the markings on his face and the color of his eyes and nose. Seriously, like a long lost sibling or something If it wasn't for that fact that I already have two cats and a dog, and I'm a student, I probably would have scooped him up right there. Poor little guy didn't even have a nametag on his cage or anything, so no one was even looking at him. I would give him a home in an instant. Sigh.

So he's going to lose toes or the skin is just going to come off and regrow? :ohdear:

Thank goodness you took him to the vet, sounds like a pretty bad injury. Maybe he approached some sort of warm machine when he was outside and got too close or stepped on the wrong part.

never look at the shelter kitties unless you are looking for a new cat its too sad

# ¿ Dec 21, 2009 04:25

HondaCivet: Oct 16, 2005; And then it falls
And then I fall
And then I know

Yisan posted:

Kitty question for all of you.

Got ourselves 2 kitties about 3 months ago. Very very good kitties. Probably the best behaving kitties that I have ever had. (I strongly believe that it's because we got 2 and I endorse getting 2 kitties if you are going to get any)

They are a little over 6 months now, and the question has to do with the litter box. They use it, and use it frequently, but they don't bury their business and when they make the attempt to bury, they scratch at the side walls of the box for about 20 seconds before they eventually give up and move on to other kitty things. I was reading up on this and the only thing I found is that it could be the litter. (we use swheat scoop btw) The box is plenty big enough with no top for kitty pleasure.

any thoughts goons/goonettes?

edit: what do you all use for litter?

while you think, here's some visual aid.

I have a cat that does this. I tried the previously mentioned sticking-his-paws-in-the-litter thing and it didn't work (not that you shouldn't try it). I've also tried demonstrating in front of him. He's just too dumb I guess.

His brother buries it for him at least. They are also really young like your cats so I am wondering if he might grow out of it eventually.

I've heard mostly bad things about the crystal-type litter although I can't remember what they are off the top of my head. If you want something flushable like Swheat Scoop you can try World's Best, which is corn instead of wheat-based. Some people love it.

# ¿ Dec 23, 2009 10:44

HondaCivet: Oct 16, 2005; And then it falls
And then I fall
And then I know

QUEEN CAUCUS posted:

I have a 4 year old neutered male, a big 12 lb orange boy named Jeep. He's been here for about 3+ years now.

My mother though, has alway wanted a kitten, having always had older cats. So we adopted Roxanne, an 8-week old female.

I went through the motions of introducing them through scent and sound, through the door and all that several days ago. I expected some growling and hissing and good old kitty aggression. But instead, Jeep is actually afraid of Roxanne. He's pissed, but he actually runs away from her like a big old weenie. Today they met face to face a few feet apart. Roxanne was understandably terrified of the orange giant, but Jeep wants nothing more than to run away. So I have two kitties yowling and hissing at one another before running in opposite directions.

I've read conflicting stories. When two new cats are faced when one another, do I keep them in the same room for long periods to try and get used to one another and only seperate them if it comes to blows...or do I not press the issue too much and let them flee if they're scared of one another?

I'd really like them to get used to one another. Ideally, maybe even be pals.

How long has this been going on? Unless it's been months and months, I'd just give it more time. I know it takes awhile for the cats to establish a social understanding between themselves, so as long as they aren't murdering each other, they are probably still just working things out.

# ¿ Dec 27, 2009 08:16

HondaCivet: Oct 16, 2005; And then it falls
And then I fall
And then I know

Syjefroi posted:

I'm close to losing my poo poo over this kitten. Here's my situation:

My mom moved into a new apartment complex and these two kittens were playing around the area and she saw them all the time and started to feed them. They were obviously homeless and started to follow her into her place. Eventually she took them in. We also figured out that they are brother and sister because they stick together and were the same age/size when she found them, so they must be from the same litter. My mom has got them check ups with a local vet, and has been training them and feeding them well and properly. They are probably around 6 months old now if I had to guess. Not spayed/neutered yet, but in a week or so they will be. There is another cat in the house that we've had in the family for about 15 years. He's slow, skinny, and has been depressed and anorexic for many years now, but that's a whole other thing.

The problem with these cats is that the male meows like a banshee at night. They play fight and run around and stuff but are generally well-behaved, chill, and nice to have around. But at night, the male goes ballistic with his meowing, it's impossible to sleep. We don't know what he is meowing about. He has food, the liter box (two of them) are cleaned before we go to bed, he has some toys laying around, the doors are open so he can run around the house freely. We also leave a light on and the tv on. Literally nothing changes between night and day except for humans being asleep. His meowing is only at night time and it's impossible to sleep more than 10 minutes in a row without him screaming.

His sister doesn't make a sound. What the hell do we do about this. I don't know if it's also worth mentioning that the male kitten idolizes our older cat, in that he goes where he goes (though he spends 95% of his day sleeping on top of the tv), eats what he eats, etc.

Sometimes cats just howl at night when they're playing but it may be because he's unneutered and going crazy from hormones. Get that done ASAP and see if that helps.

# ¿ Dec 27, 2009 08:40

HondaCivet: Oct 16, 2005; And then it falls
And then I fall
And then I know

spatula posted:

Is there an easy way to find out if one of my cats has worms? I found something on my bed that I could have sworn was a dried tapeworm, but I've been staring at my cats' assholes for days now and haven't seen anything! There were definitely some fleas going on before then but I had them treated pretty quickly and started damage control ASAP (vacuuming, etc).

I've been through the tapeworm thing before and I usually had no problem finding another worm to confirm my suspicions. Will tapeworms just... go away? Is it possible that only one tapeworm crawled out a cat's butt and that was it?

I'd just head to the vet. Since your cats had fleas pretty recently, it's entirely possible they caught tapeworm from them. Worms aren't usually that expensive to treat so there isn't much point in waiting around.

Speaking of which, I just found out that my kitties have had roundworms for months without me knowing it.

I hope you guys are all bringing poo to your cats' exams so that they don't have to suffer for months for no reason.

# ¿ Jan 16, 2010 11:24

HondaCivet: Oct 16, 2005; And then it falls
And then I fall
And then I know

A Spider Covets posted:

Thanks for the quick reply!

I'm brand new to breeders and catteries, so I hadn't noticed either of those two things... I agree with you that it's a bit odd now that I think about it. I'll keep them in mind, but will continue looking for other catteries as well in the meantime. Another cattery I was looking at is:

http://www.arcticblueragdolls.com/index.html

In response to the second part, I know that shelter cats can be wonderful pets - the cat I have right now has been with me since I was 9, and she's from a shelter. However, I recently adopted a second cat from a shelter and she turned out to have very severe aggression issues... so much that I've got a collection of new scars and am having to give her away to a family friend who takes care of feral cats. The whole event really stung me, since I was super attached to the cat despite her problems, and I just want to make sure this time that it doesn't happen again. I'm sure that I'll get shelter cats again later in my life though, after my older cat passes on.

What shelter did you go through? If all you really want is a cat that's good with people and other cats, perhaps all you need is to talk to a rescue that fosters their animals and gets to know each individual better.

# ¿ Jan 20, 2010 01:23

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# ¿ May 21, 2024 00:15

HondaCivet: Oct 16, 2005; And then it falls
And then I fall
And then I know

CagedLiberty posted:

I've noticed my kitties seem to be going off their (Purely brand) wet food. They're around six months old and in good health, and eat their dry food fine, but sometimes leave half of their wet food. They did eat this food well but seem to have gone off it a bit - should I try them on something else or is this a weird cat phase?

Have you changed anything else about their feeding lately? If not then maybe the manufacturer changed the formula a bit. Or, yes, maybe they're just tired of it.

# ¿ Jan 23, 2010 19:32

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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