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You may also ask about a probiotic. Two weeks of that did wonders for our cat's stools after she had a round of diarrhea & antibiotics.
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Aug 8, 2014 04:43
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bubblelubble posted:My cat finally did that "slow blink" thing that is apparently the cat-to-owner equivalent of "I love you" at me, but the romance of the moment was slightly ruined by the fact that I was in the middle of cleaning up my own nosebleed. Excellent. "I see you are bleeding, human, but as you feed me I shall not attack you in your weakened state." ilysespieces posted:Similar question, we have a couple of bedbugs and while we're super lucky on the having bedbugs scale, they still want to do 3 treatments so we're stuck taking Tali out of the apartment for 4 hours thrice in the month of September, the first time being this Tuesday. 4 hours is probably OK to go without access to the box, but you know your cat best. You might also consider getting a larger crate so you can have enough room for a little litter box and other supplies. LogisticEarth posted:EDIT: Also, aside from his general improvement, thankfully his bowls are getting used to liquefied food. A cat with diarrhea is a special kind of experience, ha. Poor guy. At least there's that! Our cat would get scared of her diarrhea and run from it, which was not an ideal reaction.
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Aug 31, 2014 18:55
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Palisader posted:My cat has started acting really strange. Our cat (normally not very affectionate) gets cuddly when she's not feeling well. Allergies are really bad for all us this week so she's been extra snuggly. (Fentanyl will also make her REALLY cuddly. Maybe your cat has a secret opiod habit?) Or it could just be that she sense your possible stress at the change and likes you enough to try to comfort you/convince you to stay. I did once have a cat that cared about me. 
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Sep 11, 2014 03:18
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Lareine posted:Kitten has learned that shredding paper is fun. Help? Get a file cabinet for your important papers, and a good vacuum for the shreds (I like my Shark Lift-Away Pro).
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Sep 22, 2014 23:58
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When we were feeding dry, we used a puzzle ball for a while. The cat just nosed it into a corner and spun it around until all the kibble had fallen out, then wolfed it down. If we were in the room she'd give us dirty looks for making her work extra.  Usually they work pretty well, though.
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Oct 1, 2014 22:54
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Admiral_eX_laX posted:My girlfriend and I are thinking about getting a cat, but we both work 8-5 jobs - a single kitten wouldn't work for us, would it? From what I've read, it seems that it would need a lot of attention during the day. Getting 2 cats is not possible for us. Maybe you could compromise and look for a cat around a year old? Still very kittenish, but the personality should start to settle so it's easier to tell if he/she will be OK on their own. At this age their habits can still be mold-able, too. Some kittens are fine being by themselves for long periods of time (they sleep a lot), some get a little neurotic without interaction with another living thing. We rescued a 16 week old cat when we were in college. You know how some people are all like, "I love infants but I'm so glad I started having kids when I had the energy for it in my 20's; I can't imagine doing that now"? I have the same feeling about kittens. I love them to pieces but I don't have the energy for a kitten anymore.
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Oct 11, 2014 03:39
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A neighborhood cat (looks healthy, may or may not be a stray at this point) likes me. We'll chat on sunny days when I work in the garden. He shows his affection by trying to get inside, and also eating small mammals on our back porch and leaving half of them for us. Murder presents! I do wish he'd leave the birds alone, but I don't mind knowing he's around catching mice before they get inside. (Also our cat HATES him. We know he's nearby when our cat zooms from window to window.) Drum posted:This is Rocket: I love that look she's giving you as she eats! Crazy human paparazzi.
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Oct 14, 2014 02:47
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TheAngryDrunk posted:How low can you set your thermostat in the winter when only your cats will be home? 60°F maybe. Yes, cats have fur coats and survive outdoors in much lower temperatures, but presumably you want to be nice to your cats. You shouldn't go below 60°F for your pipes' sake, anyway.
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Oct 30, 2014 12:57
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100YrsofAttitude posted:Her eye seems fine again. But this see-sawing back and forth drives me mad. I'd take her but I'm having a hell of time getting her in her traveling case. How does one go about doing that? Put the carrier on a chair, so she's got nowhere else to go but in the carrier. Going butt-first will help, too. What always works for me is to pick up the cat while she's in a deep sleep. Then she's too groggy to worry about the carrier I'm placing her in until it's too late.
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Nov 21, 2014 18:24
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Danith posted:Anyone have a good vacuum cleaner or brand they recommend that can suck up cat litter? My vacuum likes to just hold on to the litter and when it goes over a bump it dumps it from where it is hiding :| Shark rotator lift-away pro. It's expensive, but it does the best I've seen on cat litter that isn't a shop vac. A Dyson of some sort may also work, but the Shark was half the cost.
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Nov 29, 2014 21:44
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RatHat posted:Anyone have experience with a cat being terrified of balloons? I put up some (non-helium) balloons on a string for my nephew's birthday a few years ago and the cat bolted when he saw them. It took about half a day for him to come out of the basement and when he did he was peeking around every corner for a few days. I thought it might've been because the balloons were on a string and moving around a bit from a fan, but I got 2 helium balloons today and he reacted the same way. He's never had any balloons pop around him so it's not that. Yeah, I guess they think the balloons are hawks coming to scoop them up or something. I also once knew a cat that was scared of ceiling fans when they were on.
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Dec 18, 2014 02:27
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We had our cat spayed about a month after we got her, which unfortunately was long enough for her to start getting heats. She was in heat when she got spayed, a good thing: the doctor opened her up a little more to get all the tissue and found some vascular abnormalities. (Turns out she's a chimera!) The vet gave her dissolving stitches, and no e-cone. We were told to keep her in a small room where she couldn't jump around a lot for a few days. The cat was on Fentanyl following the surgery so she didn't want to do much but lay around anyway. She didn't go after her stitches much so it seemed to work out.
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Jan 12, 2015 04:32
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Arriviste posted:'No butt stuff' zone in the carrier. My cat had her temperature taken at the vet's once, and only once, while conscious. She clamps her tail down hard, poor baby. The vet and techs just let her be and don't even try, now.
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Jan 26, 2015 03:33
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Gwyrgyn Blood posted:I'm sure this has probably been covered a billion times, but I need to replace the carpet in my house because it has been ruined over the years by our cats. What's the absolutely most Cat-Resistant flooring material I can go for? Vinyl sheet or something similar? Or is Laminate/Pergo any good? Vinyl sheet certainly works but there are nicer options out there. If impervious is your goal, you'll want ceramic tile with tight, well-sealed grout lines. Periodically re-seal it (as easy as wiping on some stuff, then wiping it off a bit later). I've also seen some very nice acid-stained and sealed concrete. You've got to be careful with sealing the concrete well, otherwise liquids like wine (and I bet cat pee) will permanently stain it. Ceramic looks weird in places other than kitchens/bathrooms, though I have seen a house done in it. The stained concrete will certainly look better, but can require more upkeep. Laminate is easy to clean, but if you let liquid sit on it it'll seep in and can cause the layers to swell.
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Feb 7, 2015 23:41
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Zaftig posted:Cat has now taken a liking to knocking over the kitchen trash can. It's a tall one and freestanding. I'm looking into under-the-cabinet roll-out trash cans, but until that happens, is there a way to discourage her from knocking this one over? Fill it full of empty pop cans/balance a bunch on top. The resulting noise upon knocking it over should startle her enough she might not do it again.
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Feb 20, 2015 04:18
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nemesis_hub posted:My problem is, I don't know if I should get an autopsy done or not. I'd really like to know what happened, but the idea makes me uncomfortable too, especially because the results might be inconclusive. I'm so overcome by grief right now that I don't know what I should do, and I'd like to get opinions/experiences from others about whether an autopsy is a good idea. I'm so, so sorry. I've lost a cat to kidney disease. A lot of things can go wrong in a short period of time, especially with a chronic disease like that. Cats are such experts at hiding when they feel unwell, too, that we often don't know anything is wrong until it's too late. I don't think what happened was anything you could have predicted or prevented. I don't think an autopsy will change that, especially as it can't always give a good answer. This may be a situation where it's better to live with a little bit of ambiguity.
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Feb 20, 2015 21:16
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supermikhail posted:I have to think about all that, but before I forget while playing with my cat, are treats for clean teeth any good? Our cat loves the feline Greenies and the Science Diet t/d food my vet gives out in baggies to use as treats. Unfortunately the cat has genetically awful teeth and they don't do much for her.
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Feb 24, 2015 16:54
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eternalbuffalo posted:Hey guys. All the dogs I've dealt with that were socialized to cats took new cat introductions well, usually better than the cats! Derpy lab mix will figure out the right level of play for the new cat after a few swats, probably. The indoor/outdoor cat will have hierarchy issues to work out (they all will, but especially that one). There will probably be some fighting, but that's how they do it. Just monitor their interactions to make sure they aren't drawing blood. Your idea of a slow, separate introduction is good. Is there a bathroom to keep Neechy in for a while, until he's more adjusted to the new place? Then you can let him out when the others are in different parts of the house (outdoors/shut in a bedroom) for a bit to explore. When everybody is more comfortable Neechy can start coming out of the bathroom on supervised visits, and then be out entirely. The idea is to give Neechy a safe spot that's his to retreat to when he needs it, and to give the other animals a chance to get used to a new scent.
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Feb 28, 2015 18:28
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PRESIDENT GOKU posted:MY CAT WAS NOT PEEING so we took him to the vet. I think he was fighting a UTI for maybe a week, but I don't know. I hope he hasn't been irrevocably damaged. Googling tells me it's OK at room temperature (store below 86°F).
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Mar 1, 2015 20:19
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I've had cats that never got their teeth cleaned and were fine, maybe losing a tooth when they got older. Current kitty gets her teeth cleaned every year (~$260) because when we skip it she gets infected teeth and has to have them pulled. Just like some humans have "soft" enamel prone to cavities, some cats get genetically bad teeth. I feel bad putting her under that much, but those infections are painful. She hates the vet so, so much now. 
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Mar 11, 2015 16:36
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Macaroni Surprise posted:I got a pair of 6 month old kittens and am looking for cat furniture for them. Can anyone recommend a good vendor? Check out http://www.armarkat.com/. Good quality, lots of variety, and cheaper than the equivalent per store furniture usually. (Still a bit pricey, but this stuff will LAST.)
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Apr 12, 2015 02:58
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Rorobb posted:Anyone have any tips about a cat that's shy around strangers? Time plus quiet, calm, and frequent, guests. It took our cat about a year to get used to the idea that not all strangers are bad. She doesn't want to interact with them, even if they open her can of food at feeding time, but she'll observe from the room we're hanging out in. (Or a safe spot in the hallway where she can retreat. She'll run away if a stranger gets too close, too.) She used to hide in a closet and bury herself under clothes, so this is a big improvement. Our cat came from an abusive home. She's still scared of black patent purses. Your cat may have had a rough life before you, so just let him be. Pro: Your guests will feel super special if he decides to join you.
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Apr 30, 2015 21:46
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Was there a thread consensus on Frontline/Revolution/etc? We left our (screened) windows open for about a month thanks to the nice weather, and now I've found some flea dirt on the cat. I'm sure whatever I end up with will be whatever it is the vet carries, but thought I'd ask.toplitzin posted:I'm attempting to switch my cats from a Rubbermaid tub to a booda dome. Make sure the new box is in the exact place of the old box, if possible. I'd also leave the lid off the dome for a bit at first to ease into the new box.
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Jun 14, 2015 13:55
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Just a small vent because I"m worried about my kitty. She's seen the vet and will go back to the vet again. So flea-cat saw the vet on Monday. The cat was given Drontal and Capstar, and sent home with Advantage Multi to apply the next day. Fleas die off, cat is much happier, and doesn't even mind the Advantage Multi application on Tuesday. Thursday night she only ate half her dinner. Friday she wouldn't eat breakfast or dinner, even when I warmed up her wet food. I went out and bought the cheapest cat food I could find, and she did eat some of that. She acted hungry, but just wouldn't eat. Saturday morning we saw the vet again, who thinks the cat just got a overwhelmed by three meds at the same time. She didn't have a fever or jaundice and has close to normal energy levels. We got anti-nausea pills and an appetite stimulant. The vet thinks she'll be fine by Monday, and will call to see if we need to bring her in for further work-up. I think we'll have to. She won't eat unless she's had the appetite stimulant, too. She ate about half a can of food on Saturday after getting both. Today she only got the anti-nausea pills, as the stimulants are every other day. She's had a few spoons of wet food, but is just not interested. Her energy levels are a little depressed today, but she hasn't been loafing like when she had pancreatitis, at least. Poor kitty. She's ten, and I'm worried she's got kidney disease and has been hiding it until now. Picture of cat for your troubles: 
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Jun 28, 2015 18:01
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Tamarillo posted:Yep, he pays more attention to her because he's around more, so she hangs with him more. One of my cats largely ignores my husband because I'm the one that showers him with affection. I get rushed and shoulder changed in the shin and screamed at to be picked up when I get home, husband gets a tail-twitch in greeting. Whoever gets home first needs to pet the cat for a few minutes, gets lots of purrs and kneading, lots of yelling if you stop to take off your shoes first, etc. Whoever comes home second doesn't get acknowledged at all. I guess she's happy that people still exist and is over it after the first one comes back. Cats!
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Aug 4, 2015 17:32
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neongrey posted:One of my cats has a bad habit of pigging out on food for a bit and then horking it back up within minutes. She regular-eats enough that I'm not terribly concerned about this as a health issue but I'm kind of tired of needing to clean up after her. We had to feed dry in a puzzle ball for a while. Of course, our cat figured out the fastest way to get the food out-- trap it in a corner and turn it around until all food fell out-- then would pig out on it and hork it up. Eventually we fed her twice a day in smaller portions that she could eat as quickly as she wanted and not throw up.
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Aug 14, 2015 02:49
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Awh Stewie My husband has a mild cat allergy and taking a Zyrtec every day is good enough unless it's shedding season. Adding Benadryl eye drops helps then. (He also has dust mite & pollen allergies and so is on antihistamines year-round anyway.)
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Aug 24, 2015 01:48
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Protocol7 posted:I posted earlier about my kitten acting a little funny with some diarrhea and stuff. I'm so sorry. When things don't seem that bad but turn out to be fatal it's never easy. Rah! posted:My apartment is just under 700 square feet. How many cats can I fit before it turns into a cat gulag? I've been in an apartment that was around 700sqft with three cats in it. Two will be fine. Listen to what neongrey says-- one older cat, or two kittens.
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Aug 29, 2015 20:01
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khy posted:Due to a bladder stone I'm trying to get her over to wet food. I don't think I can just dump a can of wet food into a bowl once a day; how do I transition her over from 'eat whenever you want' to 'eat at this specific time'? When we switched to wet we did it gradually to acclimate her system. (Cat farts are awful.) We'd put out some wet and some dry at the same time and over 2 weeks weaned her off the dry. She still searched for the free-fed dry food for a while but she didn't whine at us for it. Just pick a time and go for it. If you decide to feed in the morning know you will have an alarm clock for the rest of her life.
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Sep 4, 2015 15:50
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If it makes you feel any better, TollTheHounds, most of the time our cat doesn't start purring until walking away from us petting her. She'll look happy but no purring, and only when she gets up to leave will she start. She'll then settle a few feet away, happy to purr and knead, while looking at us. If you try to pet her some more, she'll get up and move a little further down.
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Sep 7, 2015 14:46
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criscodisco posted:I'm dealing with, for the first time, an ear infection. Bad enough that the eardrum has ruptured. Kitty gave me no indication anything was wrong, until I came home from work to find her in a little ball under the bed. When I picked her up, he body went limp, and I noticed pendular nystagmus (her eyes rapidly moving from left to right uncontrollably), and her head was following the nystagmus like Katherine Hepburn. Such a pretty kitty! I bet after 72hrs the antibiotics will make a noticeable dent in the infection. If she's eating, even if it's half-heartedly, that's a good sign. I'd keep her in a quiet, low-stress place as she heals up. I'm remembering the last time the kids I babysit had an ear infection and they just wanted to lay around sleeping for a while, too.
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Sep 11, 2015 15:15
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Tendai posted:Okay this is a weird question but the internet is not helping -- can fleas live at altitudes of 8500' or so? The internet seems to say no, buuuuut Kiska suddenly just started licking herself in a strange way, like she runs around and then stops like something's bothering her and licks. She doesn't have any injury that I could see, and I'm not sure if that's how cats say "hey I have fleas." I'm trying to figure out if this is just "cat being weird" or if I'm in "vet tomorrow" territory. Puppy Galaxy posted:Have you tried checking her for fleas? It sounds like it could be fleas! Or maybe her skin is irritated by something. If you don't have a flea comb, you can use a regular comb to help push aside the hair while you look for them. Fleas are pretty good at hiding, though, so it may take a few minutes to find them if you don't have a flea comb. The base of the tail and the back of the neck/shoulder blade area are good spots to check. You may also run into some "flea dirt" which is a fancy way of saying processed blood that's now flea poop. It'll turn back into a rusty spot and disolve in water. You should visit your vet if your cat has fleas, so she can get on heartworm medicine and flea preventative.
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Oct 11, 2015 19:11
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Tendai posted:I just did that as best I could without a specific flea comb and didn't find anything. And she has also stopped licking and acting frantic. I don't know if she had a really bad itch or ???. I'm going to keep watching her and if she starts it again I'll call ASAP tomorrow and get an appointment, does that sound okay or should I be more "APPOINTMENT NOW" If it were my cat, I'd buy a flea comb (they're pretty cheap) to do a more thorough check. If fleas are found get an appointment. If she does keep acting irritated by something even without evidence fleas I'd ask the vet for an appointment-- the cat could have developed an allergy to something. If it's not happening regularly and there doesn't seem to be a pattern, I'd just chalk it up to "cat is a cat." Sometimes they get an itch!
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Oct 11, 2015 23:00
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I always worry that I'm over or underreacting.
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kaworu posted:It is really and truly a godawful procedure and I feel like this absolutely horrifically evil monster throughout the entire ordeal. And she really fights - it is *not* easy and it does *not* make me feel good.. It wasn't as bad today though, I got them in pretty quickly and it wasn't such an ordeal. So that's good.. Our cat is the same way. Even so, if she has to have pills for several days in a row she'll actually go to the designated Pilling Spot and wait. She really wants the treat she gets after, even though the struggle to get the pill down is usually as terrible as you describe. Just remember that you're being as kind to her as you can in the circumstances.
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Feb 20, 2016 23:42
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kaworu posted:So, ideally I'd like to give her food that will best accomplish this (within reason) and I'm legitimately curious as to what brands of cat food (and/or what methods in general) would be best, What's best is what she'll eat that's not dry (since that's a problem). Do you have a microwave? If you want to switch her to Wellness Core, but can only get the huge cans, why not zap her portions from the fridge for a few seconds? (I didn't see that mentioned in your earlier post.) We buy the big cans of food to save money, dump a can into Tupperware, scoop out what we need, and zap it. The microwaved portions are licked up so thoroughly I can't even tell there was food on the saucer. Our cat gets ~70g twice a day (you'll need to do some math for your cat's weight) . The $10 food scale I bought really helped get the portions right.
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Mar 9, 2016 05:37
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Rotten Red Rod posted:Quick question. I have a pair of shoes that got soaked in cat piss - like, inside, padding and inner sole. I've sprayed and scrubbed with Nature's Miracle and Dr. Scholl's multiple times, but the smell won't go away. They're leather shoes so I can't put them through the wash. Any special techniques for cleaning this, or am I just buying a new pair of shoes? They're my favorite work shoes and still in pretty good shape so I'd rather not. You will be buying a new pair of shoes. Anything that gets cat piss out is going to ruin the leather. Hydrogen peroxide sometimes works for me when Nature's Miracle fails, but you'd destroy the shoes.
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Mar 29, 2016 00:16
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themongol posted:Any tips on cat hair removal from furniture? How about one of these? I've had similar products marketed as lint rollers. After about 50ish washes (if you're lucky) the glue isn't really sticky anymore. A rolling brush attachment on my Shark vacuum works really well for getting rid of cat hair. So does tossing the slipcover in the washer. (All of my furniture has slipcovers or blankets on; there's just no way to stop the hair.)
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May 5, 2016 00:44
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SMDFTB posted:So Newly moved in with my girlfriend who brought along her two cats with her, both about ten years old. I have given up on litter mats-- it always seems to travel about 8 feet from the box no matter what's on the floor for me. Instead, I suggest investing in a really nice vacuum. I have a Shark Rotator Lift-Away Pro and it is absolutely great at picking up litter (and embedded cat hair).
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Jun 6, 2016 00:19
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Nazareth posted:I've heard quite a bit of debate on the internet concerning "raw-feeding" vs the conventional method of feeding store-bought cat food to your pet. I'm interested in adopting a black cat once I move out of my parent's house, and I've done research on things such as litterbox placement, cameras to take pictures of my cat doing stupid things and adding unfunny captions on it for the internet to devour, body language to ensure my cat is happy, but this new information leaves me a bit uncertain. Raw-fed pet owners claim spectacular health benefits, but the internet claims I can cure cancer by means of crystals so I'm unsure. Anyone know anything about this raw-feeding practice? Only that it's not necessary and can make both your cat and the rest of the household sick. Somebody may come along and argue about it, but really, just stick with normal food. Wet food is better for cats, generally, than dry food. There's a Pet Nutrition Thread for more advice, too.
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Jul 17, 2016 23:37
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kaworu posted:Heh, but, yeah that story was kind of OTT gross, I had no idea such things could even HAPPEN to cat nipples A nurse friend of mine says she's seen the same thing with old men. So there's lots of fun to look forward to in aging! We just had an earthquake here (5.3 preliminary) and our cat gave the wall a death stare while it was happening. I think she is DONE with these earthquakes interrupting her naps.
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Nov 7, 2016 03:06
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I guess cats can always find new ways to be disgusting that'll surprise the hell out of you, though...