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Lord Zedd-Repulsa posted:If the place you adopt them from says that they're friendly to humans, they should not ignore you once they're settled in. Worst case you can encourage socialization with you by not free feeding them for a while. Cats get real friendly once they figure out what the sound of an opening can means  dervinosdoom posted:
Burying yourself under only 2 cats? Get on my level scrub 
Takes No Damage fucked around with this message at 08:11 on Feb 20, 2023 |
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Feb 20, 2023 06:37
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HellOnEarth posted:Pazuzu was doing something similar where I'd just randomly find a single poop out on the floor but it turns out she was just getting dingleberries from eating my hair and the last poop would just go flying off her when she ran out of the box at top speed. this has been happening here now that's winter-coat season. real glad I witnessed it and could prevent a whole "help, I'm being chased by my own poop!" scene the last few times, but I've also found tiny turdlets in front of the boxes before. we make an effort to yank bigger bits of fur out their mouths when they're grooming themselves and each other but Katya is just too floofy to avoid it.
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Feb 20, 2023 17:17
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So this is Quinn, she is eight months old and out of her mind. We just got her three weeks ago.  And this is Malarkey. She is about uhhh, three and a half? She's pretty chill.  They get along just fine; we spent a week and a bit slowly getting them used to the idea of each other through a door et cetera. Now they are pretty good roommates, if not yet cuddle buddies. They share food and water and litter boxes without issue; we feed 'em both the same Nulo all life stages food. The concern I have is that Quinn eats Malarkey's treats. She goes hog wild for temptations, which is not a big surprise, but are regular temptations bad for an eight month old kitten? I'm talking like five a day type thing, not a lot. We tried giving her kitten treats but that only lasted until she got a whiff of the good poo poo. I can't source kitten temptations which are apparently a thing.
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Feb 21, 2023 02:02
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boneration posted:The concern I have is that Quinn eats Malarkey's treats. She goes hog wild for temptations, which is not a big surprise, but are regular temptations bad for an eight month old kitten? I'm talking like five a day type thing, not a lot. We tried giving her kitten treats but that only lasted until she got a whiff of the good poo poo. I can't source kitten temptations which are apparently a thing. Don't worry about it. If you're giving them enough treats that the nutritional content matters, you're giving them too many.
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Feb 21, 2023 02:06
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Kitten food is just more calorie dense because they're growing. It's fine if they eat adult food too, and vice versa.
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Feb 21, 2023 03:19
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Takes No Damage posted:Worst case you can encourage socialization with you by not free feeding them for a while. Cats get real friendly once they figure out what the sound of an opening can means I bought a small bag of treats that come in a ziplock pouch like many human foods and now my dumbass cat comes sprinting into the kitchen whenever she hears plastic and is clearly outraged when she realizes it's just a bag of broccoli slaw or whatever. I've only given you like ten treats from the bag!! They can't be that much tastier than all the other treats!!
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Feb 21, 2023 07:24
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I got that with cans now, which I'm sure is super common. Every time and it's like Lychee it's just beans you can't eat beans you wouldn't even like them
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Feb 21, 2023 09:42
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Made the mistake(?) of giving Sage little deli meat treats since he absolutely loves it Now literally any time he hears one of those deli meat/thin plastic bags he comes over and starts begging
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Feb 21, 2023 13:32
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Weird Pumpkin posted:They'll probably cuddle together when it's cold, but honestly it's really cat dependent. As long as the place you're adopting from says they like humans you should be fine I'll be trying to do that, yeah. Just never had 2 cats before, only had 1, which means I always had a friend who would be cuddly with me but also made me feel bad because when I wasn't home or was busy they were bored. So I still wanna have friends who will be cuddly and pay attention and follow me around because that's what I'm used to but I also don't want to give them more to do so they won't be bored and all. khy fucked around with this message at 19:28 on Feb 21, 2023 |
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Feb 21, 2023 17:52
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I once gave katya a lil shrimp when I made ramen for lunch with some frozen seafood and now it's this every time: https://twitter.com/invisiblemonkey/status/1422866373689192452?s=20 Kimchi always joins in on the begging but doesn't actually like seafood, she doesn't seem to ever catch on so it's an endless cycle of disappointment for her, I fear.
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Feb 21, 2023 18:20
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InvisibleMonkey posted:I once gave katya a lil shrimp when I made ramen for lunch with some frozen seafood and now it's this every time: That's super cute, same thing happens with deli meat where the younger little guy likes it, and the older one will join in the begging but won't actually eat the meat if offered
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Feb 21, 2023 23:46
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khy posted:I'll be trying to do that, yeah. Just never had 2 cats before, only had 1, which means I always had a friend who would be cuddly with me but also made me feel bad because when I wasn't home or was busy they were bored. So I still wanna have friends who will be cuddly and pay attention and follow me around because that's what I'm used to but I also don't want to give them more to do so they won't be bored and all. I can tell you that my two are a bonded pair, and the one just can't get enough tummy cuddles. The other is more selective about when he's in the mood, but also loves tummy cuddles. I'm actually working on getting both of them to accept cuddles on the couch at the same time, since they seem to view me as a bit of a scarce resource. Honestly it's probably going to vary from cat to cat, how much a given individual likes human contact.
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Feb 22, 2023 03:00
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Follow up to Honey not eating all the food I put down for her (one 3oz wet good can). I'm suspecting dental issues because she grinds her teeth when eating. But a vet visit didn't yield anything but "yeah she has a little plaque". That said, anyone ever seen a cat that grinds their teeth even if they don't have obvious dental issues?
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Feb 22, 2023 03:32
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BrainDance posted:I got that with cans now, which I'm sure is super common. Every time and it's like Lychee it's just beans you can't eat beans you wouldn't even like them https://twitter.com/Nowacking/status/1219109755580559362
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Feb 22, 2023 03:56
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Fluue posted:That said, anyone ever seen a cat that grinds their teeth even if they don't have obvious dental issues? One of ours will grind her teeth after chewing on a cloth toy (which I kind of get, chewing on fabric is a nails on chalkboard reaction for me). Brought it up with the vet and he shrugged it off. He says her teeth are in amazing condition overall. So I avoid letting her play with materials that trigger it just to avoid future problems.
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Feb 22, 2023 05:22
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I'm teaching a class, and this cat just shows up in the school, just walks into my classroom. So I ask the students, what's up with the cat? They tell me shes just here while we have classes and she belongs to one of the teachers, and her name is "Offer" (cuz, corny school stuff.) So I'm like ok cool a teacher just bringing her cat to school cat seems friendly no problem    So then after a few days of this cat just hanging around our office and some of the classrooms I'm talking with another teacher about her and I find out, no, she doesn't belong to a teacher. When we had our COVID lockdown a few months ago 2 teachers and some students were trapped in the school. And this cat just showed up. She's just a stray cat and we've now semi-adopted her. But, well that's not really ok, I just got Shaokao and no one has taken this cat to a vet or anything. Shaokao has had one round of her vaccinations so far, is there any big risk here? My plan is now to go take the school cat to get vaccinations when she's around and probably get her fixed but now I'm a little worried I'm gonna track something back to my home.
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Feb 22, 2023 05:55
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Not the best picture, but does anybody know what might cause this kind of irritation in the corner of the mouth? It's only on one side, just noticed it last night. Thanks.
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Feb 22, 2023 21:42
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Given a cat's propensity to literally stick their faces anywhere and everywhere, it could be anything. Could be something he gnawed on a little too vigorously. He might have tried to squeeze his head into a space a wee too small and got caught. He could have scent marked with his cheeks and scratched that corner on a rough surface. I'm pretty sure one of my cats got a lesion like that gnawing on a claw on his hindleg, got startled, caught his nail on the corner of his mouth for a second cutting himself in the process. Cats.
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Feb 23, 2023 14:17
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A light injury from gnawing or rubbing on something would also be my first suspicion. If it doesn't go away in a few days it could also be an infection, allergy or other skin issue. You could change the cat's food and see if it goes away, or directly ask a vet.
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Feb 23, 2023 14:51
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also check if you have any poisonous plants with a bite taken out of them, if it goes away and doesn't come back I wouldn't worry about it. cats get into stuff.
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Feb 23, 2023 17:43
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Weird Pumpkin posted:That's super cute, same thing happens with deli meat where the younger little guy likes it, and the older one will join in the begging but won't actually eat the meat if offered it would be cuter if she didn't look at me like "MOTHER, you betray Kimmy?? You try to feed her sea roaches??" but at this point I have accepted the limits of her, uhhh, cognitive faculties. She's still the sweetest little cuddle bug regardless of treats  BrainDance posted:My plan is now to go take the school cat to get vaccinations when she's around and probably get her fixed but now I'm a little worried I'm gonna track something back to my home. I think the only thing you could track home is worm-eggs or fleas and you should be treating Shaokao for that anyway (and the school kitty, eventually), wash your hands and you should be fine for the stuff that requires vaccines. Not a vet tho!
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Feb 23, 2023 17:48
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ugh my younger cat has a super annoying high-pitched meow she loves to use. Driving me nuts this week.
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Feb 23, 2023 20:35
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Thanks, I think y'all are right that it's just a little nick because it looks less raw today. My mom said it could be fungal infection but I don't know how common that is for indoor cats.kw0134 posted:I'm pretty sure one of my cats got a lesion like that gnawing on a claw on his hindleg, got startled, caught his nail on the corner of his mouth for a second cutting himself in the process. Cats. This is absolutely something he would do. He chomps his nails down to nubs on the reg.
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Feb 24, 2023 00:22
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A month ago we brought home two feral-born bonded cats, sisters. They were likely caught outside that key imprint period, about 4 months old, and are now about 8 months old (estimated). The staff at the shelter worked hard to socialize them and I think they’re adjusting well - in the past week they’ve started to attempt to groom us, are comfortable weaving between my feet when they want to play, will gladly roll onto their backs to ask for stomach rubs, etc. Not fans of being picked up but they tolerate it. We’re seeing progress every day. The shelter was literally underneath a vet so they were being looked at monthly, but I’m a giant worrywart so I’m hoping to also take them to a vet ourselves soon to get any advice we need around their health (they’re quite different weights, idk if it’s just that one adjusted better to shelter conditions or if we need to watch this). I will mention these cats are not food motivated. They spent their first 24h with us refusing to leave the carrier and we could only get them to eat by licking food off our hands. Offer them something they like, but in a scary place? Forget it. So, some questions on our minds. 1) Managing fear They have improved a lot from a month ago, especially with being around us and the sounds of the house, but their biggest remaining challenge seems to be lighting. They won’t come downstairs until after sundown. Then their fear melts away, and they’ll chill on the couch with us and chase each other around the living room and up and dow the stairs, but during the day they just want to hide. One of them is higher energy than the other and she’s definitely bored during the day, she’ll beg for my attention if I’m nearby, but she won’t come more than 10ft from the cat room. Does anyone have suggestions on how we can work with them on this, or is it just a case of patience? 2) Eating The heavier one (who is the lower energy cat also) only likes to lick her food. Unless it’s her favourite BEEF, she just laps at it and gives up after a while. I was initially worried it could be a dental issue but since she’ll chew wet food with beef in it and also eat dry food, that seems unlikely? Could it be whisker stress? Just a weird preference? 3) Litter tracking tips We’re using pine pellets for litter and they work great for keeping smell under control. We scoop every time they use the litter box and swap it out weekly. The issue is just that it gets tracked everywhere, I’m doing a deep vacuuming weekly but it’s still getting all over the carpet and from there onto their fur constantly. Do either silicone or carpet mats actually work to keep it from escaping, if anyone has experience with this litter material? 4) Scratchers We have a cat tree with sisal rope posts that they love. They don’t understand the cardboard scratcher (it’s one of those big floor scratchers, shaped like sunglasses) and haven’t used it once. Or the house with sisal siding that isn’t rope-shaped. Other things they love to scratch: the expensive wool cat cave and the carpet, particularly on the stairs. This last one is not great, although the previous owners had a dog so there was already a bunch of carpet wear and tear when we moved in so it’s not the end of the world either, it might just move up our timeline for replacement. Anyway, what I’m seeing on the carpet is they like to fully stretch out on their side and then scratch. I haven’t found a cardboard scratcher long enough to let them lay on it to do this. Any ideas for other things we could try? I guess I could bring our jute welcome mat inside and see how they react, the neighbourhood outdoor cats seem to love it.
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Feb 24, 2023 00:45
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Wile E. Toyota posted:Not the best picture, but does anybody know what might cause this kind of irritation in the corner of the mouth? It's only on one side, just noticed it last night. Thanks.
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Feb 24, 2023 01:11
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melon cat posted:It could be cat acne, which is caused by plastic drinking and food bowls. Plastic has tiny pores which harbour bacteria which can cause cat acne. Switch to stainless steel feeding bowls if you haven't already. If you already have stainless steel bowls then it likely isn't cat acne. Yeah, I had to learn about that the hard way when both my cats kept getting big blackheads on their chin. They still get it if I go to long without washing the steel bowls. This looks different from what I can tell. It's a little swollen and it bled a little.
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Feb 24, 2023 02:51
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We got Shaokao neutered yesterday but, you know, takes some time before hormones drop and he (hopefully) stops pissing on stuff. What are some other things we should maybe try to hopefully reduce his peeing? He has his own litterbox, we keep it clean, hes got his own room still (because otherwise he's gonna be out here peeing on everything) but there's probably stuff I'm not thinking about. He's doing the normal "spray some piss on stuff like marking territory" type of thing not the "I don't want to use my litterbox I'll piss here instead" type. Because for some reason he has decided the the most important thing for him to piss on after we took him to get fixed is us. We're sitting there in the room with him watching a movie, he hops up, sprays me. Wife laying down watching TV, bam gets sprayed in the face. I can only take so many showers a day. Before it was just couches and bags and stuff which sucked but was maybe better that way.
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Feb 26, 2023 03:27
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A feline leukemia and FIV question. We're thinking of taking in a 6-year old cat to accompany our existing 2 older cats. We asked the adoption agency if the potential adoptee has been tested for feline leukemia or FIV. She said no, the cat hasn't been tested for it and "the tests aren't usually reliable and are a cash grab. If he had either virus he would have been very sick by now and both viruses have low transmission rates." So basically she told us not to worry about the 3rd cat having FIV or the feline leukemia virus and was overall pretty dismissive of our concerns about housing a potentially FeLV+ cat with FeLV- cats. This sounds... not correct. I am insisting on getting the cat tested before we adopt (I am offering to reimburse the agency with the examination and transportation costs regardless of our adoption decision). As much as we'd like to adopt the 3rd cat it does have an unknown history as a stray since it was dumped off onto the streets by owner. But we also don't want to risk getting our existing cats sick with a virus like FIV or leukemia. Am I right to be doubting the adoption agency's comments about the risk involved to our existing cats? melon cat fucked around with this message at 04:18 on Feb 26, 2023 |
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Feb 26, 2023 04:06
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melon cat posted:
FIV is something I would worry about a lot less as it's much harder to spread, outside of very deep biting. As an owner of a FIV+ cat the main things to watch out for would be taking a longer time for healthy introductions with other cats, and possibly considering pet insurance for the longer term. FIV+ cats can share food, water, bedding, etc, with negative cats with no risk and live a fairly normal lifespan, albeit a bit shorter like to 10-12 years indoors. We tend to err on the side of caution with ours for any medical concerns and our vet will prescribe antibiotics even for minor colds, but otherwise she is a normal cat. The shelter did not know she had FIV as we were nearly out the door with her when the test finished. They offered to let us cancel the adoption and I'm glad I didn't as she has been cool as hell since day one. I would strongly recommend testing, especially for FeLV as it can kill rapidly and spread easily to other cats.
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Feb 26, 2023 04:57
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I am thinking of going to some shelters next week. I am thinking of adopting a bonded pair. The only thing is that I only have 1 carrier and it's not huge. It's big enough for 1 cat or 2 kittens. Should I buy a bigger carrier or should I just buy a 2nd carrier? Would the cats be happier cuddling together in one carrier or is it better to separate them?
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Feb 27, 2023 19:39
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We had two carriers available when we picked up our bonded pair and wound up putting them together in one, even though it was a bit cramped. Ours were very skittish so being together helped them. Either way I’d expect the shelter should be able to make a recommendation based on the exact cats you choose.
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Feb 27, 2023 19:44
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When I've seen people transport more than one cat, they usually have them in separate carriers. They can handle being apart for an hour while you transport them. And it's safer for them too, at least they can't tumble into each other if the carrier gets jostled.
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Feb 27, 2023 19:44
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We got a giant carrier for our two cats. I don't know that they care all that much being with their friend but I do feel like there's less crying in the car trip to the vet so maybe having a little shared misery makes the trip easier.
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Feb 27, 2023 19:44
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I believe having two carriers is generally preferred, there may be reasons you don't want to put two adults together (like say if one of them is sick and you don't want to spread infection), and it's easier to handle and store.
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Feb 27, 2023 19:48
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The charity we foster for puts bonded pairs in separate carriers. It's generally good practice and safer for the cats.
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Feb 27, 2023 20:44
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Do your cats understand their name? Jasper figured out I was talking about him it feels like within a month. And he def knows that I'm talking about him and not the other. But Rocket after 3 months now hasn't a clue.
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Feb 27, 2023 22:11
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phosdex posted:Do your cats understand their name? Jasper figured out I was talking about him it feels like within a month. And he def knows that I'm talking about him and not the other. But Rocket after 3 months now hasn't a clue. with cats, the perpetual issue is whether they don't know, or if they just don't care.
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Feb 28, 2023 01:00
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Mine care, they react to various sounds and calls I make. Not to their names, however.
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Feb 28, 2023 05:30
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I think my cat knows her name, which is impressive because like most cat owners I usually call her something else.
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Feb 28, 2023 07:20
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phosdex posted:Do your cats understand their name? Jasper figured out I was talking about him it feels like within a month. And he def knows that I'm talking about him and not the other. But Rocket after 3 months now hasn't a clue. Lina does, she'll flop her tail around when I say it, but not other random words, and if she's awake will come when I call her. She also knows treat, catfood (has to be one word like that), please, and down (as in, get down off of that thing you shouldn't be standing on) Lucky does not, but I call him Trashcat most of the time anyway, which he also doesn't react to.
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Feb 28, 2023 20:32
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