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What are some good treats for mice? I've been giving them small washed pieces of whatever produce I have on hand (just apple and banana so far) but I also gave them a bit of the end piece from my loaf of wheat bread. I haven't specifically read anything about bread, but they just love it so goddamn much I can't stop  The ASPCA website warns against cabbage, corn, peanuts, uncooked beans, onions, and then common sense things like candy. Anything else I should be aware of, good or bad? Edit: They've been eating the boring block food, do they need seeds too?
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Dec 8, 2007 07:02
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My kitty is pretty pudgy, and has been for a while. We're slowly switching her to better foods, but as anyone who's ever dieted knows, you have to exercise as well. BUT. Kitty refuses to play. I bought a laser pointer, absolutely positive it would work, but all she would do was watch it for a little bit, then come over to me to rub up on my legs in a "cuddle time now?" manner. She kind of likes the dangly-thing on a stick toy, tears apart feather toys, and ignores jingle balls. Does anyone have any suggestions for getting my chubby kitty back into shape? She's an 8 year old tortie-calico pound mutt, if it matters. 
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Jan 13, 2008 04:26
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Kantaris posted:in the window (while I am asleep, thus rattling the blinds, and waking me up, every single night) The ZOOMZOOMZOOM!!! usually goes away (or at least goes down) with age and I think with neuterings too. If he's opening cabinets you should look into some child-proof cabinet locks for any that contain cleaning products.
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Jan 28, 2008 23:12
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Mr. Mnemonik posted:he got his old one stuck around his mouth -- this obviously distressed him and us a great deal. This is a hurdle in getting pretty much any cat to wear a collar. There should be a tightness that prevents him from getting his lower jaw to it, and also from choking him, you just have to find it. He will do the "GET IT OFF OF MEEE" dance no matter what but they usually get used to it after a few days. I've never had an outdoorsy cat though, so I don't know how you'd supervise him during those first few days. If it's the dangly thing that bothers him they have collars that you can get your phone number printed onto, also. Microchipping is good too, but people don't always know those exist and sometimes never bother scanning for them. :/
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Feb 8, 2008 20:15
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My school is retiring its current mascot, a purebred rough collie. The student body is starting to request that we adopt or rescue the next one, and I've thrown my two cents into one of the facebook groups (I think we should start a new tradition of instead of Collies, we always adopt from shelters to raise awareness since so many people see our mascot. Mutts aren't healthier than purebreds who come from long lines of champions with OFA and CERF tests, but adopting would send out a great message). Anyway, someone replied to me:quote:That's not necessarily true. To get the perfect breed standards for pure bred dogs, they have gone through generations and generations of inbreeding, so they are more prone to health problems/shorter lives/etc. For mixes, most of them are more than just one breed, which will combine genetics of the various breeds and cut down on the effects of inbreeding. So, yes, mutts often live much longer than purebred dogs. My first instinct was to call her an idiot, because of the puggle for example: comes from a dog bred for running, and a dog bred for squashed nose which is just asking for problems. But then I realized that I really don't know much about dog breeding. Is she right that inbreeding occurs? If so, how far back in the lines do they go before they decide it's okay to inbreed?
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Feb 16, 2008 22:47
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I'm really worried about my mouse. Background: She's just the white feeder variety, and about 4-5 months old. We take her and her sister on frequent road trips from college to home about once a month, so they're used to the car now. Anyway, on Friday night we drove home again and when we got home she started only walking in counterclockwise circles. When she's running in her wheel, she'll try to make a turn that just isn't there and looks around like she's wondering how she got out of the wheel. She kind of circles around on the little platform in her cage too. She's eating, drinking, and eliminating normally (aside from darker stools which I might be able to blame on giving her a washed blueberry and some bread crumbs but correct me if I'm wrong?). Her legs appear to work, she just goes in circles! Her sister is fine. I'm hoping it's just a quirk but fearing the worse since it's new. They're not the hardiest of animals and... gah!  I just don't know what to think, I don't know of any exotic vets in the area but if anyone thinks it sounds serious I'm willing to call around to find one. Edit: I took my dog in for a teeth cleaning today so I went ahead and asked the vet if he knew anything about the above problem. He gave me a bit of amoxicillin to give one drop 3 times a day for a week to clear up a possible ear infection but he wasn't sure... Crossing my fingers! Damn Bananas fucked around with this message at 07:06 on Mar 12, 2008 |
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Mar 10, 2008 06:45
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Women's Rights? posted:I have to give my kitty Rin eye drops, as she has a little infection. I'm trying to do it in a way that stresses her out as little as possible, but I'm obviously doing something wrong as she hates me now and is hiding all the time. My current routine is: I don't think so, kitties aren't going to like their eyes "touched" no matter how you spin it. You could try some extra smelly yummy treats afterward so she'll associate it with at least one good thing, but other than that I don't think there's much you can do. Poor tortured kitty, hehe.
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Mar 30, 2008 05:51
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I've had 7 cats in my life and there's only one thing I've learned. Cats are assholes. Hope this answers all your questions  I have a question about rocks or minerals you can put in fish tanks, particularly a 2 gallon beta tank, no filter. What won't disintegrate or poison my fish? I have a bunch of pyrite granules which I think would make kickass gravel, but, I don't want to kill poor fishy. Wikipedia tells me it's insoluble in water, yet says when mined it's exposed to oxygen and water which forms sulfuric acid so I'm confused. I didn't do so hot in chemistry. Fishy doesn't actually exist yet, but I'm just planning ahead. If a site exists with a big mega-list of safe but interesting rocks that'd be wonderful. Edit: Well, googling tells me pyrite isn't safe. Still curious of what is though. Damn Bananas fucked around with this message at 03:39 on Apr 3, 2008 |
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Apr 3, 2008 03:24
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Betty Coltrane posted:I skimmed the nutrition megathread but didn't see this addressed - apologies if it has been. I have a stupid question. I was talking to someone today who said that the reason we can't have hamsters in the dorms is because they escape and breed with mice. To be polite, I said "Are you sure?" and someone else said "Yeah, she's an animal science major so I'd go with her on this one." I still call bullshit, but really don't know what makes closely related animals able to breed or not (mules etc).  EFB like 10 times.
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Apr 17, 2008 03:55
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Carebear posted:One of our cats, George, has been missing for three weeks. He finally showed up today (cue me jumping up and down with excitement when I got the phone call)... I'm currently not home (in college) but should I tell the people at home to take him to the vet? We have other cats and I'm worried he could have picked something up.
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Apr 19, 2008 20:47
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Women's Rights? posted:Okay so I was completely not paying attention while I was painting today and walked off to go make myself some dinner. When I came back to put away the paints and toss the rinse water, I found my kitty Professor headfirst in the cup drinking the brush rinse water. I estimate he drank about a quarter of the water that was in the cup before I caught him and shooed him off. I have no idea about the paint, but this page lists some poison hotlines. I guess you just read them the label on the paint and they tell you? It looks like it'll cost a minimum of $20 though. If the cat isn't showing signs I guess that's good, but you know what they say about cats hiding their sicknesses, so I'd keep an eye on him and call the vet in the morning regardless. ... After more googling, this number is apparently 24/7 and free: 1.785.532.5679 but it warns you "Be patient. The person answering the phone may have to take a few minutes to consult the vet on duty."
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Apr 27, 2008 04:02
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Dubious Merit posted:Periodically cats, especially indoor or effectively-indoor older cats, just start galloping around at full speed. They stop for a few seconds - panting, ears sideways, crazy-eyed and tail-lashing - then go back to running full-tilt back and forth. I've heard it called "the zoomies" and "the crazies." I would pay so much to find out what exactly is going through a cat's mind right then.
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May 3, 2008 20:04
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Is there a non-crappy method of purchasing a betta fish? Wal-Mart treats them like crap, and Petsmart/Petco aren't much better. Breeders seem to be rare, and I don't want to ship. And I doubt there are many rescues or shelters that take in fish, haha. Do specifically aquarium stores sell them? Do they suck too?
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May 21, 2008 23:57
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So he's shell-less right now? I didn't think hermit crabs ever voluntarily left their shells other than for the few moments it takes to switch. The only hermit crab I've ever owned died when almost all of his legs fell off, so eh, unfortunately my experience doesn't bode well for your little guy. Hopefully I'm wrong (which is possible sometimes, I suppose  ). I guess just leave him by himself, don't touch him, and hope he recovers. Or if there's an exotic vet in your area you could call/take him in?
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Jun 3, 2008 06:06
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I bought some fake flowers from Hobby Lobby to put in my (future) betta tank. Is there a way to tell if they're somehow going to kill the fish via dyes leaking into the water or something? The only method I can think of is leave them in the fishless water for a few days and see if the water changes color. But that doesn't seem very reliable. For reference the flowers will be sticking out of a terra cotta pot on its side with darker gravel looking like it spilt out. I figured a tipped over flower pot could be a cute hide for the fish. And where'd the crying bigtex flag smilie go? The flowers are bluebonnets. 
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Jun 6, 2008 18:05
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I've never had a flea problem thank god, but one of the very few things I've picked up from PI flea threads is to never use Hartz products. It has killed many pets and made others seriously (and expensively) ill. Seconding go to the vet to get an opinion/prescription/recommendation/whatever. Edit: And if I remember right, the dosages for dogs, even from good brands, are all deadly to cats.
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Jun 24, 2008 18:20
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Asnorban posted:We just got a new kitten (3 months old) as a companion to our other (1 year old) cat. They have been wrestling a bit today, and it looks like it is getting really rough, with fur flying everywhere. Neither cat has growled at the other (though the older one has if I sit down with both of them near each other.) At what point should I be worried that they are fighting and not playing? I haven't seen any blood or heard hissing, but it seems to be getting pretty rough, and I really don't want the older cat to hurt the kitten. Sometimes it's hard to tell, but unless there's a lot of hissing/growling/puffy tails they're probably playing. If there is blood, or one is obviously trying to escape but the other will not leave it alone, then I'd intervene. Remember though that 1 year is still kittenish, so they both prolly have tons of play-energy still. Maybe google for more cat body language?
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Jun 27, 2008 21:54
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Happy Bear Suit posted:Has anyone ever used the Furminator? I'm tempted to get one. I freaking love my furminator! It's expensive, but if you have the Pet Perks card from Petsmart a coupon comes in the mail every now and then. Or at least that's how I got mine. Works really well, and I tried the knockoffs which sucked. Came with free shampoo too, but I've yet to use that.
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Jul 16, 2008 20:51
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Silly Hippie posted:This is going to sound terribly stupid, but... From what I've read, bettas can be (humanely) kept in a bare minimum of 1 gallon. 2-2.5 is comfortable, and 5 or more is ideal. I have a little rectangular aquarium not being used for anything, thinking "this can't possibly be more than a gallon" but tried filling it with water measured from an empty milkjug anyway. Lo and behold, it was about 2, or 2.5 if filled to the very brim. So, yours being a bowl, if you have a spare jug it wouldn't be too hard to see about how much it holds, without weird measurements and geometry calculations. Additionally, bettas don't really need filtration (the current can tear their fins) if the water is changed every 5-7 days, and tend to do well in room temperature and warmer. They can be pretty hardy fish, judging by the popularity among dorm dwellers who generally manage not to kill them.
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Jul 22, 2008 23:51
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I found a 20g aquarium with screened covering that locks(!) on ebay for $10. The seller bought it new and only used it for 6 months. Great news for my mice that I like to spoil The only problem was that he kept his red eared slider in it. I know they can have salmonella and decided against it. The auction ended (with no bids ), but just to satisfy my own curiosity were my fears rational? Are mice affected by salmonella, and if I were to buy it is there a guaranteed method of getting rid of it? If there is I might just have to send the guy a message and ask if he still has it...
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Jul 27, 2008 17:03
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^^^ -=kwantam do you have a cousin here or something? My dog has what looks like a little wart on the top of her front paw. She's had it for a while, as we brought it up at her last annual checkup but the vet didn't seem worried so we just ignored it. This past February we took her in for a teeth cleaning, and they noticed a "warty tumor" in her ear, and removed that. I "found" the foot wart the other day again (it's kinda hidden under hair) and wondered: are these two warty things related? Should I be worried? She has her next annual in 2 weeks, so I can ask then, but just for my own curiosity does PI know? Should mention she doesn't seem bothered by it if we touch it. She does lick her feet sometimes, but she also licks the floor and wall so 
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Aug 1, 2008 05:42
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One of my mice died today (  ) and now the other is all by her lonesome. I know they are social animals but I don't know about getting her a new friend. She is probably about a year old (got her from Petco in October last year) and I just don't know about getting her a younger friend. Would they fight since they weren't raised together? If they fought, there'd be nothing I could do but separate them, and I really don't want to raise two mice in two different cages. I'd assume the store wouldn't take a mouse back...Gah. Tell me what to do.
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Aug 24, 2008 02:59
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Hahahahaha. They shed like this: *sweeps kitchen* ... OH MY GOD MOM COME IN HERE LOOK WHAT HAPPENED TO COCOA *comes in and glances at MOUND of hair* There's nothing I could do... she... she was like this when I got here. Oh god I'm so sorry. *trying not to giggle*  It's pretty bad. Mine sheds in tufts. You will have tumbleweeds. In winter. Get a good brush (I recommend the Furminator, expensive but worth it) and keep up with your brushing schedule or you will be miserable (and fuzzy).
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Aug 26, 2008 16:55
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So I have learned a very important lesson: My roommate cannot be trusted with the most basic of tasks: feeding my single fish over a weekend. I asked her to drop in 5 pellets each day (I usually do 3 twice per day, but I figured it'd be okay to switch it a little for simplicity's sake), but came home to a very brown tank with about 30 pellets still stuck to the tank lid (it's a needlework canvas, so lots of holes to just let the food fall through... obviously WAY too much this time) Info: 1 female betta in an unfiltered 2.5 gallon. I did a near 100% water change and rinsed the gravel/decor. (Note: Yuck!) Is there anything else I should do to make sure she doesn't get sick or go belly up? Skip feedings for a day or two? Just continue as normal?
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Sep 9, 2008 03:32
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My friend (and I, and his dog and mouse) are going out of town this weekend and he's setting off a bug bomb ...fogger ...thingy. If he sets it off Friday afternoon and we come back Sunday evening will it be harmful to bring his pets back into the house? I'm worried about the mouse because she's so small...
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Oct 3, 2008 17:47
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My betta fish keeps kind of sinking, leading me to believe she might have Swim Bladder Disorder so I'm not feeding her today and am going to run to the store for frozen peas and will give her a little tomorrow. Should I lower the water level so she doesn't have to keep struggling to the surface for air?
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Nov 4, 2008 17:56
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Was the Skye Terrier named Clover in the Eukanuba dog show last night the Clover from PI? I was on the phone and I did a double take and was like "Er, off topic, but I think I e-know the dog they're showing on this dog show!" lol
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Feb 2, 2009 04:04
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A friend of mine wants a pit bull, and seems to kinda know what to look for (dogs involved in weight pull, I think he said the word "championed" a couple times...) but is looking at this site http://www.bluelinebloodline.com/ I've never had a pibble, but those dogs look retarded to me. And whoever wrote the text on the site is also retarded, I can't understand half of what they're trying to say. Plus their puppy page is 100% about payment and nothing about the prospective buyers. Please tell me a good place for him to look at well bred pit bulls. And pictures of what the dog should really look like would also be appreciated. I told him that the ridiculously stocky look is all wrong, and he said that's what pit bulls are supposed to look like. And also that Staffies are the exact same thing as APBT but are the show version of them. Or something.
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Mar 6, 2009 22:57
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Superconductor posted:Meow Cadet: I've heard that cats hide their food sometimes, but usually by placing something over the bowl - maybe that's her method though. The new environment might have caused her to be a little paranoid about it. Or I guess it could be fun watching it roll around too, who knows? Cats amuse themselves in stupid ways :B
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Mar 8, 2009 16:56
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BellyBionic posted:I recently started a new job where quite a few of my coworkers have fish in their cubicles. I think watching a fish swimming around might help calm me so I don't lose my temper with the morons I talk to on the phone all day, and I've been wanting to get fish for a while now but haven't been able to figure out where I could put an aquarium in our apartment that would be safe from the cats. So, I want a fishy on my desk at work. Bettas like warm, low light, low current tanks. A light is not necessary, and may annoy the fish, and filters aren't really necessary if you keep up with your water changes (which you should do filter or not!). Some people say filters with too strong a current can damage their fins. A heater is quite necessary, and I'd splurge on an adjustable instead of those little pad heaters - they are notorious for really fluctuating the water temperature. As for tank size, the rule of thumb I've been told is 1 gallon per inch of fish. A betta's, what, 2 inches I guess? Bigger is of course always better but that depends on how much you want to spend and how much space you have. They sell 2.5 gallon tanks at Petsmart for about $13 and that's what I use. Easy to carry when full of water so no weird siphoning or repeated bailing out water with a cup or anything. For my 2.5 they recommend water changes every 5 days, but every 7 days seems to work for me. It's easier to just say "change it every Sunday" personally, but I'm not sure what the change-rates are for other size tanks. Whatever you choose, keep in mind bettas need horizontal space more than vertical, so no drat vases! Those 2.5s come with a glass lid, but it's impossible to have a heater or anything with that, so I bought some needle-point canvas from a craft store for like 20 cents and cut it to fit, with little cut-outs where the heater cord comes out. It also kinda helps with feeding, just drop the pellets in through the holes! And yes you do need a lid of some sort, bettas are jumpers. Good luck with your fishy! Post pictures in the aquarium thread when you've got it all set up.
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Mar 8, 2009 22:57
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King Skinny Pimp posted:Quick question: Would you need to get a crate if you're rescuing an older (as in 8+ years) dog who's already house trained? I have a question: I'm adopting a mouse from someone who found her abandoned outside covered in paint. She washed and trimmed the paint out, and says she's healing up nicely, is there anything else I should keep an eye out for? (Animal abusers <  >) She's apparently very sweet despite it. (This is the picture included with her Facebook Marketplace "free to good home" ad: no I won't feed her crackers)
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Mar 25, 2009 01:44
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Can anyone recommend an auto-feeder for betta fish pellets? It's an unfiltered 2.5 gallon, I just want it to drop like 5 pellets in a day. I'm going on a camping trip for about 12-13 days in the summer and most of my friends will be out of town working or going home, else I'd seek help from them.
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Apr 7, 2009 22:54
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Can anyone explain why my mouse craps and pees in the same place I put her food? There's a little compartment that a tube leads to, I just put the food in there because it's easier to monitor when she's running low. But every day I have to remove the compartment to dump out all the waste and soiled food, and give it a good scrub down. Is she just being efficient by crapping while she eats? Marking it? Just dumb?
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Apr 27, 2009 03:02
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Ceridwen posted:She does pee through the hole rather than getting inside though, which makes the clumps a little annoying to pick up. Hehe, if I were in your shoes I'd pounce on the opportunity to literally toilet train. No more litter! I'm jealous of the nonlazy people who teach their cats to do that. Is the hole in the lid really necessary? Couldn't you just leave the lid off?
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Apr 28, 2009 01:25
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I'm leaving on a camping trip for nearly 2 weeks, in 2 weeks, and have ordered an auto fish feeder, but am wondering what to do with my mouse. Do you think it's okay to leave a mouse unattended with tooooooooons of food for 2 weeks? I'm kinda worried about the cage getting really nasty, especially since she tends to eliminate where she eats. I'm trying to find a friend who is actually staying in this college town for the summer, and tolerates rodents, but am coming up kinda empty. I'm considering messaging the girl who I adopted her from in the first place, but would feel kind of out of line asking favors because we didn't know each other before the mouse, and really have no contact other than being facebook friends now.
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May 5, 2009 16:10
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Can anyone suggest an article explaining why shock collars are bad? One of my acquaintances on Facebook has a "haha aren't I wacky and funny!" status update of "shock collars hurt" and I know that he recently got a puppy. I want to comment on it saying "are you using one on your puppy, if so please don't they are dangerous! [link]" I don't know him well enough to get preachy about it in my own text in the comment, but I figured I could link something saying it all! Google pretty much just wants me to buy one, can't find any good articles though. Damn Bananas fucked around with this message at 22:40 on Jun 23, 2009 |
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Jun 23, 2009 21:40
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That's all well and good but I was hoping for a link to some sort of article? But yeah, college student with uncertain living conditions for the next 3+ years bought a puppy.. I doubt he's using any training techniques properly, as one of his good friends uses a prong collar as his dog's 24/7 everyday collar. :/ My money's on "he shouldn't have the shock collar in his possession period"
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Jun 24, 2009 04:14
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Crooked Booty posted:I googled shock collar dangers and found tons of websites explaining the same stuff that everyone else is saying. Oddly, googling "shock collar dangers" gives slightly better results than "shock collar dangerous" so I'll be on my way now. Thanks for your "help."
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Jun 24, 2009 18:51
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tse1618 posted:Let me Google that for you No, considering I was asking for recommendations. I really don't think it was an unfair request. Since google gives you everything from geocities furmommy sites to PETA to news stories about people using them on their children, I was hoping someone knew a reputable organization of vets or behaviorists that had recently published an article. I asked a small question in the small question megathread, my bad. Cute site though.
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Jun 24, 2009 21:13
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KilGrey posted:Cats always do better in pairs. We ended up having to separate them on opposite ends of the house, after all of the vet's checkups and suggestions didn't work.Not to say that getting 2 cats is bad! Just know that sometimes it doesn't work out... As soon as I'm in a new pets-allowed apartment my pushover girl is coming with me. (Actually I've been meaning to talk to my roommates, explaining the circumstances back home, and see if they'd mind me bringing her in anyway...) Being shut off in a couple connected bedrooms/bathrooms is no way to live
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Jun 28, 2009 16:07
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