|
Camembert posted:Hey guys, I'm seriously considering adopting a kitten as a companion to my current adult cat. My current cat is about two and a half, and fairly active, and for a number of reasons I think a new kitty bud for her would be of great benefit. Kitties can use clumping litter at 2-3 months of age so you should be good. Just go to clumping right away, they shouldn't be eating their litter unless you mixed up your litter and kibble bags.  They accidentally ingest it through grooming.Not too sure on the vaccines. If you get the kitty through a good shelter or rescue, a lot of that stuff will be taken care of for you before you adopt. Different places cover different amounts of stuff though.
|
#
?
Aug 25, 2009 19:55
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 18, 2024 21:07 |
|
|
Helanna posted:First, consider getting two HondaCivet posted:Confining them to one room for a bit is a good idea, it gives them a safe place to stay while they get over the move. They'll let you know when they are ready to come out and explore. My apartment is pretty small so I just let them have their run of the place when I let them out. They should be OK in a house as long as they explore on their own and can learn their own way around. Awesome, thanks for the input! I know it's best to get two, but we're hoping to bond the kitten as a companion for our rabbit, who's been lonely. Myself and the bf both feel suddenly having two cats will be a lot for the rabbit to handle all at once - plus, it might create a "three's a crowd" situation where the cats bond and the bunny is still fairly lonely (or the cats might even get mischievous and gang up on the bunny, which is the last thing we want). This, combined with the fact that my boyfriend has never lived with a cat before and is optimistically cautious about the whole affair means we're only getting one. Our apt is a small one-bedroom, so we're thinking it should be ok to let the kitty wander...we might keep it in our bedroom for the first few days, just to be sure.
|
|
#
?
Aug 25, 2009 19:57
|
|
They keep each other entertained while you and your boyfriend are both out working. Kitty on their own will get bored, and possibly destructive.
|
StrangersInTheNight posted:Awesome, thanks for the input! I know it's best to get two, but we're hoping to bond the kitten as a companion for our rabbit, who's been lonely. Myself and the bf both feel suddenly having two cats will be a lot for the rabbit to handle all at once - plus, it might create a "three's a crowd" situation where the cats bond and the bunny is still fairly lonely (or the cats might even get mischievous and gang up on the bunny, which is the last thing we want). This, combined with the fact that my boyfriend has never lived with a cat before and is optimistically cautious about the whole affair means we're only getting one. I'm not a rabbit person but if you want the rabbit to have a friend, wouldn't another rabbit be better?
|
|
#
?
Aug 25, 2009 20:00
|
|
|
StrangersInTheNight posted:Oh man oh man! If things work out, we'll be heading to the shelter tonight to pick out a kitty! The local shelters are so oversaturated, I'm happy to give a pet a good home. the only thing I've had to worry about is house plants and cups with drinks in them, other than that you should be fine of course your mileage may vary. (and obviously things like tacks and small bits of string) I would try to go ahead and have the house like it will be normally for them. when you bring them home let them out of the carrier in the room their litterbox is set up in (IMO) The closer the cat is to a year the less of a pain in the rear end it will be. Congrats! Can't wait to see the pics!
|
|
#
?
Aug 25, 2009 20:29
|
|
|
Camembert posted:Clumping cat litter: I've heard that kittens aren't supposed to be on clumping cat litter because if they ingest it it can cause problems and such. At what age is it alright to be placed on clumping litter? Regardless of age, am I supposed to start on non-clumping and then switch to clumping if I see the cat doesn't seem to show interest in eating it? Regarding clumping litter, yes kittens can eat it and it would cause problems. However all of my cats (5) had clumping litter as kittens and all of my foster kittens (10 so far) have used clumping litter from 8 weeks and up, with no problems. It really really depends on the kitten; use it, watch them, make sure they show no interest in eating it. If they dont seem to think it's food you should be fine. Not a single cat I've ever owned has ever tried to eat it. One of my foster kittens didnt like it though, and pissed on the bed until I put out a box of pine litter for her instead! For vaccines, they get one to start with around 9 weeks (with the rescue I work with anyway) amd then a second one 2-3 weeks later. After that point, they need an annual booster for the rest of their lives. Frequency of worming treatment very much depends on the product; you should be taking the kitten to the vet as soon as you get it for a checkup and deworming anyway. Bear in mind that dewormers bought in pet stores wont work; you need the real stuff. Personally I use Milbemax but I don't know for sure what's used elsewhere; even here some vets use other products like Drontal. StrangersInTheNight posted:the cats might even get mischievous and gang up on the bunny, which is the last thing we want. Bear in mind that an energetic kitten - particularly one without a playmate - is going to bite and scratch and pester your bunny ceaselessly. Bunny may not appreciate that, and I'd be worried about the kitten getting kicked. Helanna fucked around with this message at 21:59 on Aug 25, 2009 |
|
#
?
Aug 25, 2009 21:55
|
|
|
Thanks HondaCivet and Helanna! I am happy to hear that clumping litter shouldn't be a problem--I can't stand the other stuff! Also, yes, I think the shelter does do some of the initial vaccines/dewormers, but I just wanted a heads up for what to expect. They require that you take your new animal to a vet within 48h so I suppose I will get whatever extra stuff they need then. Thanks so much for the info!
|
|
#
?
Aug 25, 2009 22:23
|
|
|
Camembert posted:Thanks HondaCivet and Helanna! I am happy to hear that clumping litter shouldn't be a problem--I can't stand the other stuff! Also, yes, I think the shelter does do some of the initial vaccines/dewormers, but I just wanted a heads up for what to expect. They require that you take your new animal to a vet within 48h so I suppose I will get whatever extra stuff they need then. Thanks so much for the info! If you want (lots) more litter box info go here. She's a little militant but she has lots of great advice and explains why non-clumping litter is a bad idea in general.
|
|
#
?
Aug 25, 2009 22:28
|
|
|
OK, I have a weird dual-part question . . . my boyfriend took some sort of coniferous log and made a scratcher out of it. One of the cats took to it right away but the other cat is TERRIFIED of it. He is literally hiding under the bed and has been for hours. It's strange because the one that's terrified is the bolder, alpha cat of the two. I tried carrying him into the room but he always retreats under the bed. Should I just give him more time to get used to it? Is there anything else I can do? Also, is pine dangerous to cats? I found maybe a couple of pages saying so but I can't find much on it. I also know someone else that makes scratchers out of the same wood and he's had no problems with his cats getting sick from them either. I just wanted to know if you guys have heard anything though. Update: Never mind, he got over it after several hours. Not sure why he was so terrified in the first place . . . cats are weird? HondaCivet fucked around with this message at 14:09 on Aug 26, 2009 |
|
#
?
Aug 26, 2009 02:00
|
|
|
Sharing the new kitten excitement... There is a kitten (Harry, the Black Prince) currently being housed in the local Petsmart (I clean the cages once a week)who isn't doing well in the confined living quarters with multiple other kittens. I expressed concern for his welfare to the lady in charge and now I am taking him home on Friday. I currently have two adult cats (3 years) who are litter mates. I am expecting a prolonged introduction stage since my two have never been around other animals of any kind and Harry has issues. I am hoping that most of Harry's issues are confinement and close quarters (4, 3-4 month old kittens in two connected cages with one litter box). My plan is to put Harry in the bathroom with all needed supplies, and bring in several new cardboard boxes and fresh catnip for the rest of the house. My cats LOVE boxes (don't they all, though) and I hoping they'll be distracted for a little while. Long enough to get through the *Intruder!!* stage, anyway. After some time passes, how much time would depend on how stage 1 went, I would switch the cats. Adults in the bathroom, Harry out exploring. Then continue switching places until hopefully all the cats display more curiosity than hostility. At that point, I begin face-to-face introduction, and probably return to stage 1 to begin anew. Do you see any flaws in my plan? Places for improvement? Here is Harry's petfinder ad (he's probably doubled in size): http://www.petfinder.com/petnote/displaypet.cgi?petid=14003235
|
|
#
?
Aug 26, 2009 04:06
|
|
|
HondaCivet posted:I'm not a rabbit person but if you want the rabbit to have a friend, wouldn't another rabbit be better? This has come about for two reasons. One is that I've wanted a cat for a while, and the added benefit is that the cat can be a companion for the rabbit. Before people in this thread start saying anything: http://www.rabbit.org/journal/2-11/cats-and-rabbits.html Also, our vet has vetted for the fact that they can be great companion animals, with patience and care. I meet way too many people who think rabbits & cats cannot get along because cats are predators and rabbits prey - a guy at the shelter berated me about it last night because he didn't know any better. But they can actually work well together. It's just like any two animals, you have to be careful and sensitive to their emotions during the bonding process. HondaCivet posted:Bear in mind that an energetic kitten - particularly one without a playmate - is going to bite and scratch and pester your bunny ceaselessly. Bunny may not appreciate that, and I'd be worried about the kitten getting kicked. Oh, of course - we'll be supervising any contact between them for a long while, to make sure nothing happens. My worry is simply that instead of cat & rabbit bonding, the two cats will bond the the rabbit will be left out or picked on.
|
|
#
?
Aug 26, 2009 18:35
|
|
|
HondaCivet posted:If you want (lots) more litter box info go here. She's a little militant but she has lots of great advice and explains why non-clumping litter is a bad idea in general. Thanks very much for the link, it was very informative, as was the rest of the site.
|
|
#
?
Aug 27, 2009 00:24
|
|
|
I just want to thank you guys for such an informative OP. We just adopted a kitten from my girlfriend's boss, Phoebe, and she had some trouble sleeping through her first night in our apartment and subsequently kept us up all night. But, tiring her out during the day ended up being just the trick, and she's doing much, much better and seems really comfortable and well-adjusted now. I'll be checking back here for more advice and stuff if I need it. The ping-pong ball loving critter in question: http://tinypic.com/r/ekgvp4/3
|
|
#
?
Aug 27, 2009 02:46
|
|
|
My mom just adopted a retired five-year old Burmese show cat and he's been an absolute doll but we have to clean his eyes (tear ducts) often. We've had Burmese before and their eyes only required a little cleaning once a day but Jimmy is more squishy-faced than the others we've had before and we often clean his eyes 2-3 times a day. So, I was wondering about the eye cleaners for the brachycephalic breeds (Persians and such) that I see in the pet stores. Would using one of those instead of a little warm water on a tissue or washcloth make a difference? Here's a picture of him   Click here for the full 448x604 image.
|
|
#
?
Aug 27, 2009 04:31
|
|
|
Can we talk about cat litter for a minute? I just adopted a baby kitten last week, and I've already gone through an entire 15 lb container of Tidy Cats in under a week. Is that normal? Also, she's been tracking her poop through the house after she uses her litter box. She goes to kick her poop, and then the poop sticks to the fur on her hindlegs. I discovered she had this problem a few days ago, at 2AM in the morning. After using her litter box, she jumped onto my bed and covered me, my bed, the walls, the floors, the carpets, etc with poop. My friend dubs this the Hurricane Chicken incident. I don't know if it's the cat litter that's bad? I recently started using litterbox liners in order to make cleaning the litter box easier. Would that somehow render the litter less effective???? She didn't have the poo problem when I first got her. I also recently changed up her diet. I had her on Iam's dry kitten food when I first got her, but she didn't really touch the stuff, so I went out and bought Wellness's wet kitten food, which she loved. She would also sporadically graze on the Iams's between meals. I think I had her on Iam's for 3 days before I decided to throw it out in favor of Wellness's dry kitten food. Admittedly, I didn't really transition her between the two different brands of cat food because she didn't seem to eat that much of the Iam's, and I heard that kittens can accept new foods more easily. So what can I do about the poo problem? Is it the litter, the litterbox liners, her diet? Also, I live in an apartment and we keep her litterbox in the living room, so I need a good litter with strong odor control. I went out and bought a bag of The World's Best Litter or something like that, but I was kind of shocked that it cost $12 for a 7 pound bag. I haven't tried it yet, so I don't really know if it's that great. Also: is clumping litter better than non-clumping? And how much litter should I be using a week??? This is Chicken the kitten, btw:  
|
|
#
?
Aug 28, 2009 03:18
|
|
|
4R7 THi3F posted:Can we talk about cat litter for a minute? She's adorable! Her poop issues could very well be from the consistency of her poop rather than the litter. When a cat's diet is changed quickly, they often have a period of icky poops as their digestive system adapts to the new food. I wouldn't recommend switching back or anything (especially since Wellness is a better food than Iams), but if you want to just wait it out another week or so, her poops will probably become better formed and then she'll be less likely to get mucked up in them. Or, if you want to help her body along, try adding some plain yogurt (to help calm her digestive system) and/or some plain canned pumpkin (NOT pumpkin pie filling; pumpkin helps to bind the poops together) to her Wellness wet. As for litters, I found World's Best to be useless personally. In the one litter box that has regular litter (we have one regular box and one Cat Genie) we use Tidy Cats Premium Power Blend. It's got awesome odor control.
|
|
#
?
Aug 28, 2009 14:00
|
|
|
4R7 THi3F posted:Can we talk about cat litter for a minute? Zomg the cute.  I have two kittens so I have double the horrible stinky kitten poos to deal with. How did you go through the litter so fast? Were you throwing it out a lot or did it all come out via scooping out the clumps? Also, tell us about the litter box itself. Is it very big? How deep do you keep the litter? My kittens have tracked out their vile poo poo a couple of times and I have found that keeping the litter deeper (3-4 inches) helps prevent this. They can bury it deeper and if they step on it, it'll sink rather than stick to their feet. Also, is she doing a good job burying stuff? If you want to know more about litter box stuff then you should try that link I gave to Camembert a few posts up. As for litters, if you bought World's Best because you like natural stuff, I would recommend Swheat Scoop, which is what I use. I think it is fairly good for odor control. We have the litter box in a fairly small room and there's only a mild odor, and it's really only of the litter itself, not waste. We scoop 2-3 times a day though so I don't know how nice it would smell if you are lazy and leave it too long. It's also flushable which I find to be very convenient (just make sure you let the clumps soak for 20 minutes first so you don't kill your plumbing). The main thing I don't like about it is that it tracks really badly but if you put some carpet or a litter-catcher type of pad out next to the litter box, it helps a lot.
|
|
#
?
Aug 28, 2009 14:50
|
|
|
Is it normal for cats to start acting really weird whenever it starts raining outside? My 8 month old (100% indoor) kitten starts jumping around a howling like crazy whenever it rains.
|
|
#
?
Aug 29, 2009 01:22
|
|
|
Augmented Dickey posted:Is it normal for cats to start acting really weird whenever it starts raining outside? My 8 month old (100% indoor) kitten starts jumping around a howling like crazy whenever it rains. Mine just got really scared and started to run away from me,looking for places to hide. I guess it was the first time he had seen rain. Uh, and a question. Five days ago I adopted two kittens from an animal shelter, a 3 month old orange tabby and a 2 month old black kitten, Bastet and Salem. But they both look really thin, you can see their ribs and the hip bones(?). Is there anything extra I can add to their diet or some special brand of food? I feed them with Whiskas dry and wet food, and that milk for cats they sell. Salem loves to drink the milk, but Bastet doesn't. By the way, these are my first kittens. I already had dogs and other animals, and I'm kind of lost here.  Click here for the full 1324x1300 image. -This is Bastet on his first day, he got a bath next day.
|
|
#
?
Aug 29, 2009 18:11
|
|
|
desperado_cain posted:Mine just got really scared and started to run away from me,looking for places to hide. I guess it was the first time he had seen rain. The shelter gave you the cats in that state?? What the hell sort of shelter is that? Anyway, Whiskas is a pretty crappy food. If you can, you should get them something of a better quality. Healthy food will help them recuperate faster. Check out the Pet Nutrition Megathread and see what you can get in your area. Not sure about anything to "fatten them up" faster . . . as long as you give them as much healthy food as they want, they should set themselves right soon. Milk for cats? Do you mean kitten milk replacement? I haven't used that stuff before since I haven't had kittens that young. Just don't give them cow milk, it's not good for them.
|
|
#
?
Aug 29, 2009 19:04
|
|
|
HondaCivet posted:The shelter gave you the cats in that state?? What the hell sort of shelter is that? It's a Mexican animal shelter, that might give you an idea of why they were in that state. Really sad, they can't keep the poor animals in good shape, but people rarely care here for the animals. And thanks! Will look around, and see if what I can find, yes is the kitten replacement milk.
|
|
#
?
Aug 29, 2009 19:31
|
|
|
Desperado Bones posted:It's a Mexican animal shelter, that might give you an idea of why they were in that state. Really sad, they can't keep the poor animals in good shape, but people rarely care here for the animals. Aah, I see. At least they ended up with you. Dear god a Mexican animal shelter must be a depressing place.  Anyway, I have my own question. A weird thing happened today. Me, my boyfriend, and our two four-month old kittens were all chillin' on the couch. Both were either sleeping or in a tremendously sleepy state. Then, out of nowhere, one of them essentially tipped his head over the side of the couch, coughed up a little bit of vomit onto the floor, and went back to sleep. It was not a large amount of vomit, just a few very small chunks, almost like a spray. At no point during the morning did he act like he was feeling sick. Is this . . . something to be concerned about, or is this sort of normal?
|
|
#
?
Aug 30, 2009 03:36
|
|
|
So I know that giving canned pumpkin to a kitty with poopie problems is supposed to help...but how much should you give him? And how many times, or for how long? We have some feline diarrhea and I've never given pumpkin to a kitty before. I know about it from lurking PI. Nibler belongs to my sister and her bf, they just got him but we aren't sure how old he is. I would guesstimate that he is between 3-5 months or so.
|
|
#
?
Aug 30, 2009 11:51
|
|
|
HondaCivet posted:Aah, I see. At least they ended up with you. Dear god a Mexican animal shelter must be a depressing place. It is, the place smelt awful and the conditions the animals were would make you cringe. Anyways, thanks! I already checked the post and there's some brands I can buy here, I know it will be incredibly expensive but it's for their good.
|
|
#
?
Aug 30, 2009 18:10
|
|
|
4R7 THi3F posted:Also, she's been tracking her poop through the house after she uses her litter box. She goes to kick her poop, and then the poop sticks to the fur on her hindlegs. I discovered she had this problem a few days ago, at 2AM in the morning. After using her litter box, she jumped onto my bed and covered me, my bed, the walls, the floors, the carpets, etc with poop. My friend dubs this the Hurricane Chicken incident. I have a 3 month old maine coon that did some of this. We got a much larger litter box and filled it much deeper. My other cat, a 4 year old (female) tabby apparently got tired of it and has been giving remedial hygiene lessons. Its pretty funny to watch. No photos of the two available now. Its kind of scary how large this little guy is going to be. When we adopted him he was 3 pounds - at 8 weeks old.
|
|
#
?
Aug 30, 2009 18:25
|
|
|
HondaCivet posted:Anyway, I have my own question. A weird thing happened today. Me, my boyfriend, and our two four-month old kittens were all chillin' on the couch. Both were either sleeping or in a tremendously sleepy state. Then, out of nowhere, one of them essentially tipped his head over the side of the couch, coughed up a little bit of vomit onto the floor, and went back to sleep. It was not a large amount of vomit, just a few very small chunks, almost like a spray. At no point during the morning did he act like he was feeling sick. Is this . . . something to be concerned about, or is this sort of normal? I have kind of the same question, my cat has been puking a few times over the last couple weeks and I wondered if there could be a problem, or he's just eating too fast or something. I heard here once that some cats are just 'pukey', so is this vet-worthy? He seems perfectly normal apart from that.
|
|
#
?
Aug 31, 2009 14:15
|
|
|
evelynevvie posted:So I know that giving canned pumpkin to a kitty with poopie problems is supposed to help...but how much should you give him? And how many times, or for how long? We have some feline diarrhea and I've never given pumpkin to a kitty before. I know about it from lurking PI. Just by way of caution, since I have just been dealing with this with my old man, if there is any vomiting, or if the cat's appetite suffers, you should go to the vet and not just try to persist with pumpkin. It may be nothing serious but my kitty turned out to have pancreatitis which obviously would not have gotten better on its own.
|
|
#
?
Aug 31, 2009 14:40
|
|
|
Redshirt 3 posted:I have kind of the same question, my cat has been puking a few times over the last couple weeks and I wondered if there could be a problem, or he's just eating too fast or something. I heard here once that some cats are just 'pukey', so is this vet-worthy? He seems perfectly normal apart from that. Some cats are pukier than others, but not usually out of the blue. My pukiest cat was always pukey. Puke. Did the puking start recently? Have you changed food or living situation? If it is a new development it might be worth having him checked out at the vet.
|
|
#
?
Aug 31, 2009 20:40
|
|
|
Hmm well he's done it before on the odd rare occasion, but he has done it several times in the last few weeks which is more than normal. We haven't changed anything around the house. Can cats voluntarily control puking? cos one of the times was when the little bastard threw a shitfit about my fiancee not cleaning the litter box soon enough, and pissed on his jacket, shat in the bed, and puked on the floor. Which was nice. 
|
|
#
?
Aug 31, 2009 22:50
|
|
|
Redshirt 3 posted:Hmm well he's done it before on the odd rare occasion, but he has done it several times in the last few weeks which is more than normal. We haven't changed anything around the house. Can cats voluntarily control puking? cos one of the times was when the little bastard threw a shitfit about my fiancee not cleaning the litter box soon enough, and pissed on his jacket, shat in the bed, and puked on the floor. Which was nice. That definitely sounds like you should see a vet.
|
|
#
?
Sep 1, 2009 00:14
|
|
|
Time for more questions and an update on the stray cat I found wandering around a couple of pages back. He seems like he's an adolescent now that I've had a couple of weeks to get him comfortable, just from how playful he is in conjunction with his size, and he also looks desexed (I'm not an expert, so I'll be having that checked once I can get him in a carrier without completely pissing him off, which should be sometime in the next two weeks.) However, he doesn't seem to have been taught not to use his claws while kneading (fortunately, when he actually dislikes something, he keeps them away and just bats unless you really won't stop. This is good, or I'd have no skin.) so does anyone have advice on that front? Similarly, I'm trying to get him and my very old, blind fox terrier accustomed to each other by holding the cat securely in my arms and stroking him while the dog sits on the other side of a screen door. It's working, but very slowly - does anyone have tips for speeding it up? Thirdly, what's the goon verdict on the Coles 'Complete Cuisine' brand catfood? It seems to have actual fish (one kind has both real fish chunks and ground tuna, but it doesn't say they're 'byproducts' or anything like that, and the other I'm using is pure fish/prawn bits in gelatin and seems a little lighter - more gelatin, but still about 85% fishbits) and only about .7% salt, so it does seem like, for a pretty cheap catfood, it's fairly decent. I tried Kit-E-Kat (a horrendous grey sludge. Not doing that again, poo poo was terrifying.) and Whiskas (some mince flavour. Again, grey sludge, but at least it wasn't a homogenous grey paste) briefly but neither seems as healthsome as the CCC. At the moment he isn't getting dry food since he spends a lot of his time hunting in the garden, but I'm planning to switch him over soon. He is, however, eating a lot of grass - daily, at minimum. Is this just because half his diet is lizards, insects and other things with indegistible bits, or something to worry about?
|
|
#
?
Sep 1, 2009 10:06
|
|
|
Meow Cadet posted:That definitely sounds like you should see a vet. After I posted that I actually thought someone would say that, so i just want to qualify what I said. Thing is, he's done the whole 'poo poo on the bed and pee everywhere' thing a couple of times in the past, and it's always been a litterbox revenge thing. You know, the really obvious staring at you while doing it to make a point kind of cat rear end in a top hat thing. It was just the puking that worried me. He seems perfectly normal otherwise, bouncing around vigorously, so I'm inclined to dismiss it, but if people here think its still worthy of a vet check up I will definitely take him in.
|
|
#
?
Sep 1, 2009 22:08
|
|
|
My kitten is not afraid of tin foil apparently. When I got him he was peeing beside my TV for some reason and I was told (not by my vet or anyone of importance) that I should cover the floor with tinfoil where he keeps trying to go (after I cleaned it of course). I figured I might as well, because I had tinfoil and it was worth a shot. I woke up in the middle of the night to him attacking it and licking it. He didn't swallow any because there were no chunks missing from it but I did have to block the area off by wedging a large flat piece of cardboard between my desk and the TV unit. He never once tried to get though or knock it out of the way thankfully. But it looked really tacky for a long time. The litter box WAS next to the TV when I first brought him home. I moved it to the bathroom and far far away from his food as soon as the cardboard was set up. I removed all the cardboard and tinfoil and re-cleaned the area when he was out getting neutered on Friday. He came home and sniffed around a bit. No pee though! He is totally used to going in the bathroom now. It has been a few days and a success. A weird success that probably could have been reached easier, but meh. I did use a spray that I found at Walmart (couldn't see any Nature's Miracle so I settled for it since I was in a rush) called "Enviro Fresh - Get The Odor Out" which did not seem to stop him. It wasn't just one spot either, it was on both sides of the TV and a few times in the back and on the N64. So I knew it wasn't him smelling his previous pee. So there you go. Tinfoil is not 100% cat proof after all. That or my cat is just some kind of freak. (He is probably just a freak.)
|
|
#
?
Sep 2, 2009 06:36
|
|
|
Oh, my cats love playing with tin foil; your cat is not alone. Mine go out of their way to play with it, and I make balls of it to throw around for them. As for the box, you probably moved it too quickly-- it's generally recommended that you move a litter box only a foot or so a day at the most when you're transitioning it to a new area so the cat doesn't do exactly what your cat did.
|
|
#
?
Sep 2, 2009 13:38
|
|
|
Fire In The Disco posted:As for the box, you probably moved it too quickly-- it's generally recommended that you move a litter box only a foot or so a day at the most when you're transitioning it to a new area so the cat doesn't do exactly what your cat did. Yeah, after all the reading I did on new kittens I messed up with the litter pretty bad. I switched it as soon as I ran out of what the foster lady sent me home with despite reading that you shouldn't... but he WAS peeing on the floor before that so I think it was a mix of my own stupidity and his weird attraction to the TV. Whenever I turn it on he runs over and stands up to stare right into the screen. So cute! Hmm.. maybe the previous tenant's cat peed there and he was smelling that!
|
|
#
?
Sep 2, 2009 15:26
|
|
|
We put a deposit down on a cute little 12 old kitten (the same age as Artemis - greek goddess name for a male cat  ) so ours would have some company during the day while we're at work and so he hopefully doesn't grow up into an unsocialized crazy cat.We're planning on going to visit the new kitten again this weekend and bring him home since we'll have a long weekend for some introductions and monitoring just in case. Now, the new kitten is currently on treatment for ear mites but I read that it's still contagious during that time but normal Advantage flea treatment is enough to prevent it from spreading. Is this true? We don't currently have Artemis on anything but we got a book which came a get one free coupon and two buy one get one free coupons for Advantage. They offered to keep the new kitten until the mites cleared up but this is a convenient three day weekend. Here's what they look like!  
|
|
#
?
Sep 2, 2009 21:51
|
|
|
I adopted an abandoned cat from up the street yesterday, his old owners moved, and since the boyfriend was allergic, they left the cat behind. He'd been 'on the street' (sleeping and being fed in the apartment atrium) for at least a week before I found out about it and brought him in. I was acquainted with the old owners, and met the cat a few times at parties, so it wasn't a total and complete shock for him to be carried to his new house. I'm guestimating that he's about 2 years old, but I won't know for sure until I bring him to the vet on Tuesday. I'm getting a paycheck tomorrow, and I'm definitely hitting Petsmart/Target/Giant or wherever to get him some good food, a litter box, some toys, and maybe a smallish cat tree. I share a duplex, and Lucifer is going to have free reign, once I'm confident he's not going to leave my roomate a present in his bed. Aside from good cat food (I read the pet food thread), a litter box/litter, some catnip, and some toys, is there anything you can suggest for a young-adult cat that is very, very human-friendly but recently abandoned? He does have (a few) fleas, I'm not really sure if I should just go with the flea-dip or if the collars or pills are the way to go there. Basically, I've lived with cats, off and on, for about 8 years, but this is the first cat I'm actually responsible for, and I want to make sure that he's happy. I'll have pictures of Lucifer in a day or three for everyone, right now I'm having trouble keeping him far enough away from me to actually get a picture taken. Edit: this cat is domesticated enough that it actually held it's pee/poop for almost an entire day until we got a proper litter box set up. I tried to accomodate him with shredded newspaper, but he knew it was not OK to go willy-nilly in the house, and within minutes of pouring the kitty litter, I had to scoop it. I'm pretty sure this is an amazingly fantastic first-cat for me. No worries about litter box training or anything like that, and as soon as I get the fleas taken care of, he'll be as happy as a pig in poop. Corsair Pool Boy fucked around with this message at 06:54 on Sep 4, 2009 |
|
#
?
Sep 4, 2009 06:48
|
|
|
Feral_Shofixti posted:Aside from good cat food (I read the pet food thread), a litter box/litter, some catnip, and some toys, is there anything you can suggest for a young-adult cat that is very, very human-friendly but recently abandoned? He does have (a few) fleas, I'm not really sure if I should just go with the flea-dip or if the collars or pills are the way to go there. Don't use a flea collar. Take him for a vet checkup just to make sure everything is okay, and the vet will be able to give you decent flea and worming medications. The stuff you buy in a pet store is awful; at best it won't work, at worst it will harm/kill your cat. Good that you adopted an abandoned cat though We need pics!!
|
|
#
?
Sep 4, 2009 10:47
|
|
|
Helanna posted:Don't use a flea collar. Take him for a vet checkup just to make sure everything is okay, and the vet will be able to give you decent flea and worming medications. The stuff you buy in a pet store is awful; at best it won't work, at worst it will harm/kill your cat. Seconding this. My sister and her boyfriend (who I live with) just adopted a stray off the street. We made the mistake of getting a flea collar. He's prolly 2-3 months old. It made him sick...very runny diarrhea, and he was very lethargic. If we had left it on, I think it might have eventually killed him. As a side note, a vet told us that you can bathe a cat in dawn dish soap and it kills fleas, and that worked great. It took a week to get him a vet appointment, which is today, and we had to do something about the fleas because he was just covered with them, and there's already another cat in the house. We expect the vet to give him some Advantage or something along those lines today. So unless another PI person can recommend why the Dawn is a bad idea, you could try that if it can't wait.
|
|
#
?
Sep 4, 2009 19:35
|
|
|
That solution works too as a temporary measure, but as Feral_Shofixti has a paycheck incoming tomorrow, might as well head straight to a vet and get a real product like Advantage, while also taking care of any other potential health issues.
|
|
#
?
Sep 4, 2009 22:29
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 18, 2024 21:07 |
|
|
Yeah just throwing it out there. It worked really well for little Nibbler. Also he came back from the vet with shots, age guestimated at about 4 months, dewormed and otherwise given a perfect bill of health! Neuter to come in about a month. I hope to post some pics of him and his new big brother Salem later maybe. Currently Nibbler is sleeping on my chest. I'm tempted to make a thread but I dunno.
|
|
#
?
Sep 4, 2009 23:07
|
|