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My cat hates me.  Well, she doesn't hate me, but she certainly doesn't care about my side of the world. I know this is how cats are and I'm fine with it were it not for the fact she loves the hell out of my boyfriend. She'll curl up with him and watch tv, snuggle with him under the covers in bed, follow him around the house, purr like crazy if he's within 10 feet of her. Me on the other hand, the only time she graces my lap with her presence is if she needs to step over me to get to him on the couch or his side of the bed. She'll 'tolerate' me holding her or trying to cuddle. Meaning she'll sit there all stiff just waiting to jump down. I feed her, I buy her toys, I play with her, I predominately am the one that changes her litter box, I try to snuggle with her but no, I might as well be invisible. Hell, I'm even the one who rescued her from a horrible situation and brought her home. She wont even purr for me.  I've tried ignoring her a little bit to see if she'd come back to me wondering where my attention went but that didn't work. My boyfriend and I changed tasks where he spent a while being the only one to feed her, change her box, basically taking on my roles to see if that had a psychological impact but that didn't either. I don't think I'd be having as much of a problem with it were it not for the fact I'm always the one animals attach themselves too. The dog and cat I grew up with always slept in my bed and smothered me with affection. I'm used to cats being independent but I've never been so blatantly ignored while someone else gets all the kitty lovins. Is there anyway to changer her attitude toward me? Edit: The only thing I can think that might color her view is the dog is my buddy. She likes and gets along with the dog but she's definitely 'my dog'. However the dog isn't always on me or by me for her to be put off by having her space invaded if she lays with me. When we first got her I made sure to give them both equal attention so neither of them felt slighted. KilGrey fucked around with this message at Aug 2, 2008 around 00:03 |
| # ¿ Aug 2, 2008 00:01 |
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| # ¿ May 18, 2013 09:01 |
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Kela posted:Something like that happened to me with an ex once. It didn't matter who fed, petted, etc the cat, the cat simply liked the person who had a lap available the longest in the house. I worked at an office and the ex worked from home...so she could lay in his lap all day long. When we got a new cat, the situation quickly mirrored that of the old cat. The new cat became attached to the work-at-home guy after awhile and he was the favorite all the time. Hm, there might be something to that. I worked at a trucking company in the HR department and I was coming in from a break in the yard were are trucks park/get services and she can tumbling out of the bushes covered in grease. Unfortunately truckers have a tendency to not fully understand what it will be like to keep an animal on their trucks and will just pitch them out at the next stop they have. My boyfriend is unemployed so he was home all the time with her. I would come home on lunch breaks and she'd snuggle and nap with me on the couch when she was still a baby. She's a little over a year now and her desire to cuddle with me stopped around 6 or 7 months I think. So I was gone for most of the day and he was home. I was laid off back in November and have been on unemployment with plans to go back to school so I've been home a since then. So she'd have only been home alone during the day with him for 4 months of her kittenhood. Maybe that was enough to imprint her onto him. But I'd like to think she'd give me more than a passing glance now.
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| # ¿ Aug 2, 2008 01:09 |
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Women's Rights? posted:I would but...well, and this is embarassing to admit, but when I was transferring him from the trap to the carrier, I had the car door open behind me and he ran out. hehe, I tell you this because I love you and can get away with it, but you are a ding bat for that one.  How do I train my dog to not tear up my kitties toys? She's always had a penchant for tearing up napkins and tissues if she can get to them and we soon learned to not give her plush type toys or we'd see the insides of them within seconds. Unfortunately cat toys are usually some how small and furry, namely the little toy mice that my cat loves to bat around. Even the small tennis ball like deals/bells in a mesh plastic ball my dog will chew up. When I see her with a cat toy we tell her no and give her one of her own toys instead or praise her when she walks over a cat toy and picks up one of her own but she just looks at us like we are retarded. Luckily those small mice aren't expensive but it'd be nice to not have to put them up when we leave so the kitty can play while we are gone. It's weird, our dog has NEVER torn up a sock, mitten, shoe, slipper or anything of ours made out of material that can be torn up left on the ground, just cat toys and plush things we earlier made the mistake of giving to her so I assume she knows the difference between OUR stuff and her stuff in some magical doggy way. Now how do we differentiate kitty toys from dog toys?
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| # ¿ Aug 7, 2008 08:13 |
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Eh, I leave my dogs crate door open when we are away. I'm also confidant that she wont get into things while I'm away and I've dog proofed the house to the best of my ability. Personally I would make sure the crate is always there for her to retreat to as it's awesome she's comfortable with it. Don't 'ween' her off of it in the way you take it away as it's good to always have it out for her so if you do ever need to lock her in it it's not a bad experience.
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| # ¿ Aug 7, 2008 14:25 |
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Women's Rights? posted:P.S. KilGrey you are not allowed to look at my kitten pictures. You are so mean. Are you going to keep the kitty that I'm not supposed to look at that I'm sure is cute as a button?
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| # ¿ Aug 8, 2008 01:40 |
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Prune Juice posted:Our 2.5 month old new kitten does not clean its butt. I see here grooming herself in other places but not where it counts the most (for me). There is usually what looks like litter stuck to her butt and any attempts from me to clean her, sigh, have resulted in my getting about a million scratches. Will she eventually learn to do this herself or is it too late? Make sure it's litter. I thought that for a bit about my kitten when we first got her until I took her to the vet and found out it was a tape worm. One of the signs is small white, rice like things hanging around the anus. Really gross, but really easy to treat. Masey posted:Also, we want to get rid of these fleas ASAP what is the best way to treat our small 2br/2bath apartment with carpeted floors excluding the kitchen/bathrooms? The best method I've seen for getting rid of fleas I found on the aspca website. I can't for the life of me find the article right now but it went something like this. Put Frontline or advantage on your animal the same day you bug bomb your home. To do one but not the other isn't going to stop the fleas. They said something like, the fleas on your animals only make up 15% of the fleas in your home. The rest are in your carpet and bedding in various stages of development. Get spray as well as the bombs you set off. Before you leave vacuum every nook and cranny, under couches, under beds, in the corner, alone baseboards as best you can (they like to hide in dark places) to pick up everything you can. Part of a flea life cycle is in a cocoon. While in this cocoon it's liquid tight. The spray will not be able to penetrate in and kill the fleas. However, the vibrations from the vacuum will sometimes draw them out. The spray you get should also have IRA(?) in it. It's like a birth control for fleas. So while you might not be able to kill them, once they are born they will not be able to reproduce. Once you have vacuumed, cleaned and sprayed everywhere, Frontline/Advantage your pets, set off your bombs and leave. You shouldn't have to be away over night for this. Pop the kitties into a carrier and go to a friends house or go for a nice drive to the country. In a few weeks, you'll want to do this process again. Remember the fleas in the cocoons? Well they've been born now and while they can't reproduce they are still there biting your animals. So vaccuum, spray, Advantage/Frontline, bomb one last time. After this up keep should be simple. You've gotten rid of the bugs in the house that keep jumping on your pets so you should only have to do your regular Frontline/Advantage treatments. Make sure to monitor the other animals they play with and be sure those animals have been flea treated and don't let other animals in your home that haven't been treated as well. That would only start the cycle over again. If you live in a house, make sure to get flea control products for your yard and do that with your house. The initial war against fleas is time consuming but up keep after that should be easy. I had to do the process three times myself and end up doing it about twice a year. I live in an apartment so while I can keep my place decently I can't control what my neighbors around me do with their homes so over time the fleas migrate back over.
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| # ¿ Aug 11, 2008 03:59 |
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trufflepig posted:A friend just moved into a new apartment and the previous owner must have had a dog, because there is a really heavy pee smell right next to the door. You can't smell it anywhere else in the apartment other than the vestibule, but it's super-rank right in that area. She wants to get rid of the pee smell but it must have soaked into the carpet or whatever is under it. Really, the pad and carpet needs to be replaced and she shouldn't have to do this herself. If it's urine damage, the only thing to really get rid of it is pad and carpet replacement. When I moved into my new place and put down on my application I had a dog my landlord told me if my dog went on the carpet he, by law, had to replace the carpet and I'd be charged to me. Whether he was just trying to scare me or not I don't know. I haven't looked at the laws since my dog is well trained and I take her out like clock work. It's really lovely of her landlord to refuse to help her and I'd have her take a look at the land lord tenant laws in her area. Even if there is nothing specifically about urine damage there should be things about a land lord providing a clean living environment. In the mean time, a carpet cleaner can help. You can rent them at certain groceries stores. There are also products like Natures Miracle that has enzymes in it that break down the urine. She might have to use both a few times to make the smell lessen. After that, if she gets a pet, it don't think it will harm them (someone correct me if I'm wrong) however it could make them think "hmm...guess it's okay to pee here." At least that would be my worry. This was not her fault and she should not have to absorb the cost even for a carpet cleaner and products.
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| # ¿ Aug 11, 2008 05:08 |
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dakana posted:The question I have is one of civil rights. How much information did she have to give? Is there any time where you can just say "gently caress off" to unsubstantiated claims and withhold private information like your vet information, stables, home address, phone number, etc? That just seems like a gateway for harassment. I really don't have a problem with what the HS did. Your friend is taking care of her horse, it's no issue to show the paper work. They are there to protect animals and they investigated, found nothing wrong and probably went about their day/told those complaining to shut it. Why didn't your friend just tell the people who initially asked her that the horse is under the care of a vet and they gave the OK to her to be ridden? Not that it's any of their business but most animal cruelty is stopped by people speaking out and reporting it. Luckily your friend is one of the good ones where there was nothing to worry about, too bad it's not the case every time. Your friend shouldn't have taken it so personally especially since she knows she has a rescued horse that appears a little underweight. No one else has ESP and knows she adopted the horse and has improved it's condition and did not make it under weight herself through neglect. Then she could ride around with her nose in the air the rest of the day knowing the HS is telling anyone who approaches them to gently caress off for her. Even if the HS has no legal bearing in your area I believe they can call the police to act on their behalf as they are trained in animal issues as well. So if she refused the HS person they could have called in a cop to assess the situation. KilGrey fucked around with this message at Aug 12, 2008 around 16:42 |
| # ¿ Aug 12, 2008 16:39 |
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porkchoppie posted:it makes me want to move to NYC to become an ASPCA officer. There is part of me that would love to do that, but there is a larger part of me that knows I'd punch the first mother fucker I came to on a case of neglect/abuse. I have a short fuse when it comes to animal abuse, I know most do however I don't think I could maintain a professional outer appearance. And I'd find it hard to walk away from things I know are wrong but are 'legally' okay.
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| # ¿ Aug 13, 2008 09:36 |
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Yeah, she'll sleep a lot for the first two days from anesthesia. After the first day keep a close close eye on her so she doesn't go for her incision. We put my cat in the bathroom when we went to bed at night so she wouldn't wobble around and woke up every few hours to check on her. About 1am we walked in to pools of blood everywhere and little bloody kitty paw prints leading behind the toilet where she was hiding. She licked her incision open. (the invisible glue kind.) She also thought it would be a jolly good idea to hide belly down in her cat box so she had cat little all stuck into her wound and belly. We took her to the e-vet and she got fluids, a blood transfusion and a shitload of antibiotics for the infection she'd likely to get from the litter box. 1 spay = $150 1 e-vet visit and open incision? = $980 How that could have been avoided? e-collar = $8 MAKE YOUR CHOICE!  Not all cats are as smart as my cat but get one if there is a time you can't be there with her for the first few days. She'll hate you, but it's better to be safe. And she'll look all retarded cute.   Click here for the full 2040x1704 image. She'll also get all sleepy and mopey when you give her the pain killers. The vet told me to not give my cat any as she seemed fine and became more prone to jumping up on things and running around like a tard because she couldn't feel anything so she didn't know 'ow this is hurting me'. So just be aware of what she's up to if you do give her them.
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| # ¿ Aug 17, 2008 00:23 |
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Prune Juice posted:I just fed my 3 month old kitten a few pieces of Whiskas Temptations Dentabites and now I am freaking out because the back of the package, which I stupidly didn't read before giving her any treats, says it's for adult cats only. Is my cat going to be ok?? It has chlorophyll, how bad is that for kittens? From what I understand it's not bad for kittens. She'll be fine. Growing up my mom never bought our cats kitten food when they were kittens, always adult food and treats. It's obviously better to give your cat stuff formulated for their age, but it's not going to harm her that you gave her a treat designed for an adult once.
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| # ¿ Aug 17, 2008 00:53 |
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Prune Juice posted:Thank you so much for the reply. She gets fed top of the line kitten food but she is such a picky kitten that I have had to experiment with a multitude of cat foods and treats to finally find something that she likes. I discovered just yesterday that she LOVES the chicken whiskas treats I got her and I was so happy I went out today and bought a whole bunch of whiskas treats. She's so annoyed with me now because I keep following her to make sure she doesn't pass out or something. haha, quit stalking your kitty. She wont keel over, trust me. The store will probably let you return the unopened packages as well. I'm not sure how well they keep if you wanted to save them until she's an adult. I've had some dry out to much and become hard. They can be expensive, so go get her some kitten ones or some toys so she'll forgive you stalking her.
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| # ¿ Aug 17, 2008 01:04 |
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Whilst farting I posted:I think my dog (two year old dapple dachshund) is scared of one of those stupid plush singing toys - it was accidentally set off too close to her when she wasn't expecting it. Now she runs away whenever it's near her and she looks at it fearfully. She used to be interested in it whenever it sang, and my mom loved that the dog seems amused. How can I get my dog to not be afraid of it without freaking her out more? Bribery and reassurance.
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| # ¿ Aug 19, 2008 04:06 |
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porkchoppie posted:Ok, this seems like a really stupid thing to post about but I'm doing it anyway. Your boyfriend wants to do this for his own amusement, not for the cats. The cat isn't sitting in doors lamenting the lack of mice to kill. I'm sure you give it plenty of toys and entertainment, if your boyfriend wants to find away to 'play hunt' with the cat there are other toys and things you can do that don't require killing another animal/taking the chance of infesting your house. Don't let him try to use the "mice are the cats natural prey so she neeeeds it" excuse. Would your cat have fun? Maybe, but it's not necessary to your cats survival/happiness like a snake that needs feeder mice to live off of for food. Something I always ask myself is "Am I really doing this for me, or am I doing this for my animal because they need it." If it's the former, I try to re-think my option because it's not putting your pets best interest in mind and can be selfish. And honestly it's rather hosed up to me your boyfriend wants to be entertained by watching your cat kill something. What happens when the cat leaves it half dead because it's bored of playing it to death? Are you going to step up and finish the mouse off? I had a cat that was a lazy half assed hunter and would get bored when they stopped trying to run away so he left them twitching in pain half dead on the porch.
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| # ¿ Aug 20, 2008 07:58 |
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I think the reason the vet wont give you a cost is due to the fact your animal might have cavities or be difficult to handle. They have no way of knowing that until they see him. I try to have my vet clean my pets teeth twice a year. While tooth paste is good, it doesn't always handle the plaque and build up that happens that can easily turn into cavities nor will you always be able to notice gum disease. I learned the hard way one morning when my dog got up and the side of her face had swollen up to the size of a soft ball. She had three bad teeth that had abscessed. Animals are good at hiding pain and since you can't see in their mouths well nor always get the tooth brush where it needs to go you don't always find out until it gets bad. After that I started doing regular check ups for them. It can cost anywhere between $70 and $300 at my vet depending on what needs to be done, what problems may or may not be present and if my pet needs to be anesthetized for it. I know it can be spendy but if you've never had his teeth checked out by the vet or haven't had it done recently you should do it. It's important for their over all health. After that if you do regular cleanings yourself, feed him good food, you should only have to pay the minimum for cleanings as there is less likelihood for problems. Any vet can do a cleaning but there are specialized veterinary dentist. You can find one in your state here: http://www.avdc-dms.org/dms/diplomates.cfm
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| # ¿ Aug 20, 2008 19:51 |
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zex posted:I haven't had a pet in forever and I'm going to adopt a cat soon. I was wondering if anyone has had experience with this fancy litter box http://www.scoopfree.com/ ? I've heard from one person I know that it works great but I thought I would ask around before I drop 140 bones on something like that. Or if anyone has other suggestions for fancy litter boxes that would be great, or any cat tips in general since I haven't had one since I was 12. I've never had a desire for one of those fancy ones. I use this for my kitty: http://www.petco.com/product/11197/...tter-Boxes.aspx It has stairs they go up and kind of around to the litter area on the side. I like it because it's deep (my cats a digger) and covered so she doesn't kick any litter out. The stairs have little nubby things on them so when she comes out it, it gets rid of the litter that stuck to her paws. I've never had to deal with a mess with it or stray litter pebbles. It's also nice because the litter is tucked away around the corner and covered so my dog can't get into it for..um..a snack. It's a good size, my boyfriend calls it the Poo Palace. Then I use the Arm and Hammer cat litter: http://www.armhammerpets.com/ (The Super Scoop kind) I've never once had a problem with odor and it clumps nicely for when we clean it. I've heard some people don't like it, but I've never had a problem with it. I tried to change brands once and OH GOD MY CAT HATED ME! Something else Petco has that I've seen people get is the Litter Locker http://www.petco.com/product/10496/...cker-Plus.aspx. You scoop the dirty litter into it and turn the handle and it locks it away until disposal so you don't have any smell. You can go into a Petco store and get the litter box, lock-a-way, and the litter, doesn't have to be ordered on the website. Although I've found some grocery stores carry the litter for cheaper than Petco. You can get all of this for far less than $140, especially considering the $140 is just for the box. Litter box: $23 Litter: $10 Lock away: $22
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| # ¿ Aug 21, 2008 20:35 |
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Masey posted:Our kitten Luigi refuses to take his medicine, we've tried the good old catch him by surprise and stick it down his throat (it's liquid), we've tried mixing it in with his wet food as well as his kitty ice cream. Helanna has a good method. I do the same thing...only differently. I put my cat on the counter, this way she's already a little uncomfortable because she knows not to be up there, and since it's slick if she tries to get away her feet slide. I put an arm around her so her butt is in the bend of my elbow and my hand us under her neck tilting her head up. I use that hand also to try to pry her kitty jaws of death open. The I put the syringe in from the corner of her mouth back and stick it in as far back as I can. I found it's best to squirt it in in one shot if I can. Getting it as far back as I can helps because when the liquid hits the back of her throat and she's surprised the involuntary reaction is to swallow. I also rub her throat as I squirt it to help aid the swallowing. Entering from the side of her mouth helps so that she can't pull away, or if she does it's to the other side where my hand is instead of back, I also have more control on her head this way. If you can't do it all in one shot, do as much as you can per squirt. Sometimes it helps to life up a little on the front so her front paws aren't on the counter. Even still, every once in awhile she manages to spit it back at me. Something else I do that my boyfriend thinks I'm stupid for. I taste the medicine. There are some medications that my old cats have been prescribed that were so loving foul and wretched I could not give it to him as I understood why he kept spitting it back at me or puking it up. There was one antibiotic that literally tasted like battery acid and burned my tongue. I can only imagine what a mouthful of it going all the way down would have done. I went back to the vet and he gave me a different kind and I had less trouble getting the cat to take it. If *I* wouldn't take the medication myself, I can't expect my cat to. I can rationalize why I'd have to take it as it's to make me better, but my cat can't. So check it to make sure it's not too horrible. Also, good kitties that take their meds get nummies. When my old cat got to old, lost his teeth and refused to eat the vet said to go and get Gerber babyfood to feed him. We got the small jars for two year olds. He loved that poo poo more than tuna. Every time I give my cat her meds, I'll feed her a little bit of it off the spoon immediately after her meds are swallowed, not just for the treat aspect but to help get the nasty taste out of her mouth with something good. Not only does it tasted like kitty heaven but she feels special I'd sit there and spoon feed her. Eventually giving her the meds weren't such a struggle because she knew what was coming and would stay sitting there after administering the dose and wait for her nummy. This is another thing my boyfriend thought was stupid and refused to do, it was funny to watch him give her the meds and then her sitting there staring at him afterwards expectantly. When he'd try to walk away without doing it she'd hiss and bat at his arm. Jerk.
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| # ¿ Aug 22, 2008 15:44 |
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You can give pets Benadryl however I wouldn't ever recommend giving them anything unless your vet says it's okay, nor would I use the medication for one pet on another. Personally I feel it's better safe than sorry. Even though you can't see your vet, why don't you give them a call and ask them?
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| # ¿ Aug 22, 2008 21:30 |
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Plate posted:I have a query about plants that are toxic to cats. I've found several lengthy lists online that include various varieties of Philodendron. I have a 'Red Emerald Philodendron' and recently got an 8 week old kitten. I've seen the plant 'Red Emerald' in these toxic plant lists, but never with Philodendron after it. Does anyone have any clue if ALL Philodendron are bad for kitties, or just specific types? I did read someone suggesting to spray a Christmas tree with certain things to dissuade cats from chewing them, would this be viable if it's toxic? Philodendron is toxic to kitties so you should probably re-home your plant. Here is a list from the ASPCA on the 17 most common toxic plants. While it doesn't appear on the 17 most common it's on many expanded lists.
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| # ¿ Aug 25, 2008 21:42 |
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When I took my cat to be spayed a few weeks ago they told me she had a tape worm. I waited until the spaying ordeal was over to give her the tape worm pill as she wasn't eating and wanted to wait until she felt a bit better. I've given to her and was wondering, if my cat had a tape worm, what are the chances of my dog having one as well? I understand the tape work process, a flea ingests a tape worm egg and my cat at said flea. I asked the vet tech last night when I got my cats stitches out and didn't really get a clear answer. I've been trying to pay attention when my dog pooped but I haven't noticed anything.
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| # ¿ Aug 26, 2008 17:28 |
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Prune Juice posted:My little 3 month old kitten refuses to eat any of the wet food I have given her (wellness, max cat, and some other top notch wet food). She does eat dry food, royal canin for kittens her age, throughout the day and sometimes, if I'm lucky, she'll chew on a Wellness treat but other than that she's Miss Picky. Does anyone have any suggestions about some type of wet food she might like or should I just give up that idea and let her eat dry food? I thought I saw a mention about human baby food for kittens, what exactly should I be looking for? Is there any particular reason you want her to eat wet food? At 3 months old dry food is fine if she likes it. My vet has always told me a well-balanced dry food for your cats age range is sufficient nutrition. Make sure whatever dry food you feed her isn't high in carbohydrates or corn and little grain. From the Dog and Cat Food Thread These are Premium dry and wet foods to by: jbone posted:Ultra Premium Try different wet foods of that list if you want her to eat wet food, as well as the dry. I've given my cats baby food before as a treat after her medication after a surgery and for my older cat when he really old and couldn't/wouldn't eat. I bought the small jars for 2 months olds. I don't know how good this is for long term though, it's always just been as a rare nummy treat or when my cat wasn't able to do anything else. Ditch posted:I have a trio of 6 month old cats, and I make sure they always have dry food (age specific). I'm wondering if wet food is really necessary. They don't seem hungry and they're very healthy (especially the male) even after cutting wet food back from 1 can a day to a couple cans a week. It's not, as long as they have some form of food for their age they like to eat they don't have to have wet food. It's good to have the best of both worlds as there are aspects to wet food that dry foods don't have however if you have a good quality dry food that is formulated for your cats age it shouldn't really be an issue. I usually leave wet food as a treat. Others millage may vary though and see the above list for good foods.
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| # ¿ Aug 27, 2008 18:14 |
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GoreJess posted:Your dog is probably okay, as long as he hasn't been eating cat poop. If he had a tape worm, there would be what looks like little pieces of rice around his butt & on his bed. Giving him a dewormer won't hurt him though & it's cheap peace of mind. Thanks! And no, when we first got the cat we were waiting for her to try that the first time so we could squirt her with a bottle. We heard a 'YIPE!' and she can tearing out of the bathroom with cat litter all over and IN her nose looking miserable. Never has gone for it again. We got one of those covered cat boxes with the stairs going in and the litter around the corner just to be save anyway. Yeah, I saw the 'rice' on my cat and assumed it was just cat litter as she's got a fluffy rear. I would even hold her down and pull it out thinking "silly kitty".  I shall never make that mistake again.
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| # ¿ Aug 27, 2008 18:16 |
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Prune Juice posted:I read on here that some people give their kittens wet food once or twice a day and free feed dry food so erm I thought that that's how it's supposed to be done. My vet said nothing about her diet and basically sent me home with a small sample of Science Diet for kittens. Everything I feed her is from the nutrition thread-basically foods with no grains, no fake meats, etc. I went today and got some Merrick and Chicken Soup and another brand recommended on here from some pet store way out (btw thanks to those who made the recommendations above). So, basically, I thought they were supposed to eat both kinds but...no? Nah, you don't have too. The reason people have said that is for nutritional reasons as there are somethings that wet food will have that dry food wont in lesser brands. But if she is on a high quality dry food that is nutritionally balanced it shouldn't be an issue. If you still want to give her wet food, then certainly go for one of the ultrapremium brands but it doesn't have to be done that way, especially if she really doesn't like it. Which is a bit odd as most cats loove wet food, but kitties can be picky. My cat is dry only unless it's a special treat. God knows I pay enough for it the little bugger is going to EAT it. 
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| # ¿ Aug 28, 2008 00:11 |
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Prune Juice posted:Thanks for the reply Porkchoppie. Her ears look clean, the doctor actually had to dig in and try again to get a bit of wax out of it for a sample. She specifically said infection and not ear mites. Her coat is full but it's dull and not as soft as it could/should be. Earaches will make then paw at their ear, so certainly go with whatever they prescribe for this. Did your vet say anything about mange, round worm or anything with the coat? Certainly get some fish oil and break it open in her food, that will help her coat regardless.
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| # ¿ Aug 28, 2008 00:13 |
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Meow Cadet posted:My town just opened its first off leash dog park after 8 years of fund raising. No one around here seems to have ever been to a dog park before, and there is much confusion about etiquette. The dog park has a website with a few basic rules http://www.fidoinc.org/, but a local internet forum is all abuzz with questions. Does anyone have a favorite site about how to behave at a dog park, and how to socialize your non-socialized dog? I'd love to be able to direct people to a concise and comprehensive guideline, the ones I've googled seemed kinda lacking. Your link isn't working. I don't take my dog to the dog park so I'm unsure on one particular website, but looking at these, they seem to have some pretty good tips on dog AND human etiquette: http://www.alamedasmalldogs.org/etiquette.htm http://www.whole-dog-journal.com/sa...n_the_park.html http://www.animalbehaviorassociates...k_etiquette.htm Lioness posted:If your cat bites someone at the vet's office or your house, you may (depending on the laws in your area) have to either do a very, very long and expensive quarantine period or euthanize the cat if it isn't vaccinated. So it's in everyone's best interest to vaccinate every pet for rabies. I also feel you should vaccinate for Feline Leukemia. My vet doesn't do it if you tell them your cat is indoors but I had mine done anyway just in case she manages to make a great escape or if for some reason I have to bring another cat into my home. Better safe than sorry. The vaccinations aren't that expensive for peace of mind.
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| # ¿ Aug 28, 2008 03:03 |
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japanese girl posted:As of late, when my cat wants to wake me up in the morning she jumps up on my computer desk and pushes the speakers off on to the floor. This isn't a harmful habit or anything since she usually does it around the time I get up anyway, but I'm just getting tired of picking the speakers back up off the floor every morning. My cat shows her displeasure at us by getting up on the bathroom counter and knocking everything off. It's kinda funny when we are at home and start to hear everything hitting the floor. I'm sure she has a lot of fun doing it. We got a pretty basket to put everything in so she couldn't just bat things down willy nilly but she figured out how to knock the whole basket down. Cats are evil. In addition to blocking her path do you have something heavy you can set on top of it so she can't move it. Encryptic posted:Do you know if I can get something like this from the local Petco/Petsmart? I'd hate to have to wait for it to come in the mail if I order it online, though I'll do that if that's the best option. You can get brushes at Petco. I'm not sure if they'll have the specific one but they'll have dematting combs.
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| # ¿ Aug 28, 2008 19:15 |
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Women's Rights? posted:One of my cats has started drooling quite a bit out of nowhere. Oddly enough, mine has started doing the same. She's never been a drooler and it scares me as one of my old cats drooled like a basset hound complete with head shaking/drool spraying.
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| # ¿ Sep 1, 2008 06:55 |
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Mugabe Glasses posted:I have some flea treatment left over from when I had a puppy (it died while I was on vacation- my host family thinks it got bit by a poisonous snake What kind of flea treatment? Advantage and Frontline work best, I'd stay way from other brands (Hartz for sure). A cat needs a very different dose than a dog does so don't just go by what you gave your puppy. If it doesn't say it's okay to use on cats along with dosing instructions on the box I wouldn't use it, or at least call your vet and check.
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| # ¿ Sep 4, 2008 12:26 |
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Mugabe Glasses posted:Yeah, it's Hartz. Dammit, that sucks. Lots. http://www.hartzvictims.org/
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| # ¿ Sep 4, 2008 12:59 |
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Dr. Arbitrary posted:I work with a guy who likes to kill the mice in a pretty cruel manner when he finds them and I feel terrible for the rest of the day. Please report him to management or something. It might just be a field mouse but that is no excuse. People who enjoy doing cruel things to animals are pretty hosed up in the head. I wouldn't want to work with him even if the mice problem disappeared.
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| # ¿ Sep 7, 2008 04:39 |
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pie.rat posted:Ok, that's what I figured. I haven't heard any hissing or snarling so I think all is well. I've been dealing with this too as I just rescued a stray kitten. I know what to tell other people but it's hard when it's happening to you sometime with your beloved bets as you can turn into a nervous nelly. Cats playing and cats fighting can look the same. Even a few hisses doesn't mean it's mean fighting. I try to pay attention to the ears and make sure they aren't flat against the head, no prolonged deep growling and the 'fight' changes sides. I think that's one of the biggest indicators. Cat A will chase Cat B, they'll tumble around on the floor in a ball of fur and then it will turn around and Cat B will chase Cat A *repeat until you have tired kitties* A fight will be more one sided. I do try to pay attention as during the 'tumble around in a ball of fur' part my older cat always ends up on top due to being bigger and I want to make sure the kitten is still interested in it and not feeling over played. Sometimes he looks a little played out and I just cuddle him a moment and set him down and he goes right back into it. If something does to bad the best way to break up a cat fight is to make a loud noise, like dropping a book on the floor. They'll usually shoot in opposite directions. Silly Hippie posted:friend: they're usually always dirty panties after she takes a shower Please beat them senseless. Or at the very least shove three pairs of underwear down their throats and ask them how they loving feel then deny them a trip to the doctor. If the dogs system is blocked by her dirty panties it can die, and pretty painfully too. God people piss me off.
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| # ¿ Sep 8, 2008 07:47 |
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Silly Hippie posted:I would love to, honestly, for this and so many other things. I'm copying all the replies I've gotten and sending them to that friend so that hopefully she can convince her parents to take the poor puppy to a vet. God, I can just imagine the look on a vet's face when they hear "Well, we thought she was fine! We feed her a good steady diet of grocery store kibble and cotton panties!" Jesus. They managed to scrape together the money for a Wii and some other video game system this year... apparently that takes up the dog budget. And the feeding their kids budget, btw, so I'm not really shocked at this latest turn of events. Where do they live? Lets see if we can maybe find some free to low cost animal aid places.
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| # ¿ Sep 8, 2008 20:47 |
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Silly Hippie posted:Arlington, Texas. Try the Arlington Humane Society: 817-468-0444 It looks like they'll work with people if they call ahead and ask. If they can't help they should refer them to somewhere that can help. ...maybe call for them since they seem like lazy assholes that wont do any extra work.
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| # ¿ Sep 8, 2008 21:54 |
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I'm going to re-ask here. My cat and kitten have been playing fine however my cat has started holding him down by the back of his neck by crawling on top of him until he meows, then usually she lets him go. He then usually flips onto his back and stares at her, bats at her a little or totters off not really looking like he cared. He'll still approach her, chase her, lay with her etc. My boyfriend reported seeing her do this last night but she wouldn't let go. Is this aggressive mean or just being to playful?
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| # ¿ Sep 9, 2008 05:16 |
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Liar posted:Any tips for keeping a cat off from my desk? She's constantly jumping up and attacking my LCD screen, or knocking stuff off. I tried a water bottle... She likes it. Someone also told me to put tinfoil on my desk, but she seems to like that too. Get some double sided tape and put it around the edge of the desk and on the areas she tries to sit on the desk if it's not in your way. I've also seen at Office Max they have those little circles that are used to repair holes in notebook paper that come double sided, those can be used as well. They are a bit less obtrusive and can be used in smaller places with less effort than trying to cut up tape. Either way, your cat will jump up once and hate it. Sometimes it helps to move the tape strips back a few inches or so to surprise the kitty. My cat got used to it being on the edge and started jumping over the strips so I moved the strips back. Eventually she decided not to chance it. If you have space you could always start with two sections of tape. It can be annoying but after a week or so your cat should stop and you can remove the tape. Double sided tape also works well on the edges of couches if they try to scratch. KilGrey fucked around with this message at Sep 23, 2008 around 07:52 |
| # ¿ Sep 23, 2008 07:49 |
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Helanna posted:I just have a feeling that putting Mango Body Butter up my cat's rear end isn't a great idea I know this is serious but I'm sorry, this sentence has me giggling.  I would just use Vaseline or even regular, non-fancy water based KY jelly. Are the pills okay to be crushed? I always ask my vet and if so I use a garlic press and mix it in with Gerber Baby food as a treat. They have pill crushers in the pharmacy too. To make sure they get it all I spoon feed it to them. My cats think the baby food is better than anything in the world. I get the kind for two month olds. They only get it if they have to take medicine and have become so accustomed to it they are actually easier to give meds to as they sit there obediently afterward because they know it's coming. Even if you could just cut the pill in half or smaller and put it in a big dab of baby food on the spoon they'll swallow it without chewing. Check with your vet first though because not all pills are okay to be cut up or smashed.
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| # ¿ Sep 23, 2008 09:13 |
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Noctone posted:10 week old Shiba Inu puppy HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA *deep breath* HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA Seriously though Mo gave some good advice, you unfortunately have one of the most difficult dogs there is and he'll need constant and strict training. I'll pop over to your other thread though and not take up space here. Plucky posted:is kitty poo supposed to smell rank? I'm bringin my cat (female, 4 yrs old) to a vet on thursday, I would just like to know in the meantime. Wet food makes cat poop smell worse I've learned. Make sure he's on a high quality food, that will help a bunch as Razorbunny said. Jenkin posted:After I brushed her for a few minutes I realized that the cloth had a decent amount of blood on it How bade were the tangles? Sometimes when a mat gets bad it tangles all the way down to the skin and can pull and irritate the skin. Sometimes it's better to cut out the mats or to cut through them if you can then try to brush a little more. Be really careful though as pulling on the tangles/matts can hurt do to being so close to the skin. Also be careful if you try to cut them out that you aren't nipping her skin in the process due to the pulling. Poor kitty. I'm glad you are standing up and taking care of them. What has animal control said about the situation?
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| # ¿ Sep 24, 2008 05:45 |
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Olothreutes posted:My fiancee and I are looking to go out of town for 6-7 days around christmas time, but can't find anyone we both trust to take care of our two cats. Like ChairmanMeow said, is there anyone who can stop in and check on them and change the litter if need be? Even if they couldn't make it Christmas Eve and Day it's still better than leaving them alone. Helanna also mentioned boarding. There are lots of boarding places that are cat only. They'll be nervous the first day or so but will calm down. They can be kept in the same cage. Most boarding places also have 'play time' where they are taken out and can romp around either just with each other or with other cats if they are socialized. My mom used to take her cat to one by our house and the cat actually loved it. She was scared as hell the first time but when she came to pick miss kitty up she found her in the romper room playing with 5 other cats and there were three attendants in there all entertaining different groups of cats. She had a grand old time. I'd check out a few of them and tour them to make sure they are nice.
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| # ¿ Sep 27, 2008 15:59 |
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Helanna posted:And when I said cattery, I meant a nice place like we used to leave our animals when we went on vacation when I was a kid. That looks loving awesome. So they are boarders that just have one big area for cats? Helanna posted:Not like this, where I imagine they would be bored/frustrated Those don't look bad at all. It really depends what else they do with the cats. The place my moms cat was at looked like that. The rooms were a little larger and had danglies and toys in them. Not a whole lot of room, but they could get some playing in. They were take out multiple times a day though to play for hours at a time. They had one large romper room with every toy/contraption imaginable in it, and attendants whose job it was just to play with them and then two smaller rooms for cats who weren't socialized and got one on one play. They also had outside areas that were netted off so they could go sun themselves and play. Not bad for kitty boarding. My moms cat never was bothered by going there after that first time. I'm sure not all were awesome like that, that's why it's important to check around. The Cattery you posted is cool, but unfortunately not all cats get along with other cats and need separate quarters. Even if it's just for stress and anxiety of having to be there.
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| # ¿ Sep 27, 2008 17:23 |
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| # ¿ May 18, 2013 09:01 |
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pixel8ed posted:We're right in the path of tropical storm Kyle, which is supposed to hit later today and Sadie, my five month old dog, has been snaky all morning and an absolute terror to deal with. I read that dogs and cats might get a little irritated before a storm because the electricity in the air causes their hair to stand up. One solution was to rub a dryer sheet on them, but that doesn't really seem safe to me because of the chemicals in a dryer sheet. Any other way to make her feel comfortable and calm down some before she destroys everything we own? I tried a two hour walk earlier before the wind really picked up hoping it would tire her out enough that she would calm down somewhat, but no go. My dog ate a whole package of them once. She has this thing with paper. If we drop a napkin at dinner she's all over it. I've even caught her digging in the bathroom trash can for used tissues. (ew) I had some grocery bags on the floor of the kitchen as I was unpacking them and she snitched a box of dryer sheets out and by the time I was done putting the stuff away she was pretty much done with it. She'll also nab them when the clothes come out of the dryer if it stuck to something. So *I* would use one on my dog as she made a meal out of a whole box. But my dog is not your dog. I did some googling and I also found sources that say to use the dryer sheet method. I couldn't find anywhere that said they were harmful or not harmful specifically. *I* don't think it would be particularly harmful to her but you might want to weigh how terrified she is of the oncoming storm versus what you fear might be the risk. Dogs do get nervous, anxious or scared when storms are coming due to the electrical energy as well as the sudden drop in air pressure so you are certainly right on that. You can find an emergency vet and give them a call to ask for advice as well on if it's okay or not. They might have some other ideas too. Does she have a crate? I'd pull it out and put some soft blankies in it along with a shirt you've warn so she can smell you. Don't lock her in it but encourage her to get in it and leave the door open. Sometimes that can help them feel more secure. If she wants to hide under a bed or somewhere let her hide. Be as reassuring as you can. Maybe turn the TV or radio on for her.
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| # ¿ Sep 28, 2008 16:49 |
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