|
ExtraQuiet posted:Having a bit of an issue over here, hoping to find some clarity. Possibly feline IBD? It could also unfortunately just be failure to thrive, which there sadly isn't much that can be done about it.
|
#
?
Jul 1, 2020 20:49
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 26, 2024 19:34 |
|
|
So because cats gonna cat, rear end in a top hat has decided his new favorite game is "flip the food bowl" Anyone know of some good solutions to this problem?
|
|
#
?
Jul 1, 2020 21:26
|
|
|
Len posted:So because cats gonna cat, rear end in a top hat has decided his new favorite game is "flip the food bowl" What does the food bowl look like?
|
|
#
?
Jul 1, 2020 21:31
|
|
|
Len posted:So because cats gonna cat, rear end in a top hat has decided his new favorite game is "flip the food bowl" Assuming you have the room replace the food bowl with a large, heavy plate they can't easily get enough leverage on to flip. Plates are generally better for cats to eat off of than bowls regardless because it reduces whisker fatigue.
|
|
#
?
Jul 1, 2020 21:35
|
|
|
Specifically the right one. He fuckin HATES that bowl now suddenly despite us having it for him his entire life.
|
|
#
?
Jul 1, 2020 21:44
|
|
|
My cats also eat from plates and haven't had any issues.
|
|
#
?
Jul 1, 2020 21:54
|
|
|
ExtraQuiet posted:Having a bit of an issue over here, hoping to find some clarity. A good vet can tell the difference between thickened/normal intestinal walls, hard stool, diarrhea, and gas just by doing a physical exam. So your friend might want to specifically ask the vet what they've ruled out, what they know and don't know. Exactly what tests did they perform? She might also want to ask if X-rays or any other imaging would be useful, if they haven't already been done. Or she might want to get a second opinion from a different vet. Veterinary schools and cat-only clinics tend to be great for "mystery" ailments. There are tons of diseases that kittens can have, not all of which show up on blood tests. If it's as bad as it sounds from your post, honestly the best option might be to hospitalize him, because this is such a critical stage of his growth.
|
|
#
?
Jul 1, 2020 23:27
|
|
|
Would you all recommend pet insurance for cats? My cat is FIV+, and I know a lot of insurances won't cover things like illnesses if it can be pinned on the cat being FIV. So I'm not sure if its worth it?
|
|
#
?
Jul 1, 2020 23:38
|
|
|
LoreOfSerpents posted:Cats in the 6-8 week range have different nutritional needs and may not have been fully weaned. Chicken baby food is not really a suitable diet for him to thrive, and if his intestines are swollen, he's likely missing out on a bunch of necessary vitamins that he would otherwise get during the digestion process. Hopefully your friend is consulting with a vet before feeding anything that's not labeled for kittens. Also this. Heroic Yoshimitsu posted:Would you all recommend pet insurance for cats? My cat is FIV+, and I know a lot of insurances won't cover things like illnesses if it can be pinned on the cat being FIV. So I'm not sure if its worth it? More than anything, anything that FIV causes is now a pre-existing condition, so unfortunately that would kind of make it not fiscally make sense to get insurance for that specific pet.
|
|
#
?
Jul 2, 2020 00:30
|
|
|
Our guy looks like Chocolate Thunder’s kitty a bit! Kitty and our dog are best friends now. When they aren’t playing chase the dog allows kitty to chew on her neck and/or face. Kitty also enjoys biting the best wand toy in the house which is attached to the dog in the form of a tail.
|
|
#
?
Jul 2, 2020 00:51
|
|
|
HungryMedusa posted:Our guy looks like Chocolate Thunder’s kitty a bit! Kitty and our dog are best friends now. When they aren’t playing chase the dog allows kitty to chew on her neck and/or face. Kitty also enjoys biting the best wand toy in the house which is attached to the dog in the form of a tail. That's one good looking kitten!
|
|
#
?
Jul 2, 2020 01:08
|
|
|
Hey folks, so I have a big (13-15 pounds) orange norwegian forest cat with very long hair. He's about 5 years old now(ugh, how has time flown that much????). We've had troubles with fleas that got pretty serious before, but we haven't seen fleas on him(or his 2 cat brothers) in quite a while. When the flea problem was really bad, he would get these sores on his back, especially near the base of the tail but at one point they were all over his face too, as far as we can tell from the fleas. They are almost completely gone, but he has a constant hot spot of them near the base of his tail. We can't figure out why, but I think it's just him worrying it constantly so it can't heal. Anyone have advice on how to deal with it? He's happy and healthy otherwise. Not an anxious cat at all so I don't think it's that. He mostly chills out and sometimes plays with his brothers and eats and stuff, he doesn't sit around abnormally licking or anything but I do see him spend extra time on that spot.
|
|
#
?
Jul 2, 2020 02:42
|
|
|
Thanks for the advice on the plastic butterfly ingestion. We have found pieces in the poop this morning, bang on 24h after eating it, and she's still eating and drinking like a hungry little kitten, so the vet says it should be fine. We're taking them in tomorrow anyway for their first checkup. Foolish creatures! Buff Hardback posted:More than anything, anything that FIV causes is now a pre-existing condition, so unfortunately that would kind of make it not fiscally make sense to get insurance for that specific pet. Following from the above, the reason their first checkup is tomorrow is that it's now 30 days after we took out the insurance, which means anything they find will now be covered (except Peanut's heart murmur, which the shelter vet found, so now she's not covered for any heart conditions ever...) We got stung with Jimmy when we took him in during the 30 day window (after seeing symptoms of kidney disease, so we wouldn't have done it differently) and then had to pay for all his kidney treatment for his whole life. If it's like here though, they would still be covered for things like getting hit by a car, so it depends on the cost vs probability calculation for you. We find the insurance worth it, given that it covers accidents and (almost) all illness, but if there's a large exclusion that's also the most likely problem, the equation changes. Len posted:Specifically the right one. He fuckin HATES that bowl now suddenly despite us having it for him his entire life. I mentioned how pleased I was with some rubbery mats from Ikea before. Maple is not so pleased with them, in fact she's convinced that the secret good food is hidden under them, so tries to mine under them whenever possible. The other day this resulted in an overturned waterbowl and some very wet books. Not sure what to suggest other than try a different bowl.
|
|
#
?
Jul 2, 2020 08:28
|
|
|
empty whippet box posted:Hey folks, so I have a big (13-15 pounds) orange norwegian forest cat with very long hair. He's about 5 years old now(ugh, how has time flown that much????). We've had troubles with fleas that got pretty serious before, but we haven't seen fleas on him(or his 2 cat brothers) in quite a while. When the flea problem was really bad, he would get these sores on his back, especially near the base of the tail but at one point they were all over his face too, as far as we can tell from the fleas. They are almost completely gone, but he has a constant hot spot of them near the base of his tail. We can't figure out why, but I think it's just him worrying it constantly so it can't heal. Anyone have advice on how to deal with it? He's happy and healthy otherwise. Not an anxious cat at all so I don't think it's that. He mostly chills out and sometimes plays with his brothers and eats and stuff, he doesn't sit around abnormally licking or anything but I do see him spend extra time on that spot. a) Bring him to a vet and get a flea prevention topical prescribed. They'll apply the first dose and explain to you how to do it going forward. This is pretty much the only way to really ensure fleas stay off your cat and out of your house. It's unfortunately kind of expensive like everything else in our current hell world, but it's your best bet. b) Talk to your vet about the spot the cat won't stop licking for their advice. If they can't help you (and they should be able to) look up spray bottle formulas that cats dislike and spray it on the area. It's a last resort and your cat won't love you for it, but it should stop them from licking the wound too much.
|
|
#
?
Jul 2, 2020 10:15
|
|
|
I took the day off for a dentist appointment but I'm awake right now because I apparently have an alarm clock with claws. Cat gonna cat
|
|
#
?
Jul 2, 2020 11:22
|
|
|
Yeah that’s all true. I really want to get her to a vet soon, for vaccinations and a checkup, but I also know that if I DO want to get insurance is should do that before taking her to the vet. So now I’m sitting here not knowing what to do... I think since she has FIV it might not be worth it, but I could be off.
|
|
#
?
Jul 2, 2020 13:59
|
|
|
Heroic Yoshimitsu posted:Yeah that’s all true. I really want to get her to a vet soon, for vaccinations and a checkup, but I also know that if I DO want to get insurance is should do that before taking her to the vet. So now I’m sitting here not knowing what to do... I think since she has FIV it might not be worth it, but I could be off. An option is to figure out what you'd pay for insurance and set up a bank account and just deposit that amount every month. It may not be enough to cover a catastrophic injury, but it's something. The way insurance works is that most people pay in more than they take out over the life of the policy, so if you have the self discipline to not dip into the cat account for other things it should work out.
|
|
#
?
Jul 2, 2020 16:33
|
|
|
The rates I saw with Nationwide for cats that got as old as my cats that passed were so high that it was cheaper for me to budget around $7k for each cat's end of life care like procedures and expensive tests and to put away at least $2400 / year per cat, inflation-adjusted. Check around for procedure and test costs with vets as well. I found out that the cost of a CAT scan here is about the highest in the country starting around $1.8k because there's only two vets that do it here in VA and they're gouging the rich pet owners here on top of the machine being maybe $120k. Insurance makes sense for younger animals perhaps where you pay in maybe $10 / mo and a catastrophic illness could cost you a ton of money in one shot. So if you're not able to take the possible risk of a couple thousand at once for a few years, I'd consider pet insurance.
|
|
#
?
Jul 2, 2020 19:14
|
|
|
Yeah, we adopted our cat at an estimated 1 y/o and she came fully screened (with a passport even) so it just made sense to insure her immediately. I think it costs like €7 a month and pretty much everything is covered, it definitely depends on your rates and local vet-costs.
|
|
#
?
Jul 2, 2020 19:44
|
|
|
Sydin posted:a) Bring him to a vet and get a flea prevention topical prescribed. They'll apply the first dose and explain to you how to do it going forward. This is pretty much the only way to really ensure fleas stay off your cat and out of your house. It's unfortunately kind of expensive like everything else in our current hell world, but it's your best bet. I definitely know the solution is "vet" but I've been really trying to avoid leaving the house for any reason right now so I'm still trying to avoid that option...but it might be necessary. I don't want to be an rear end in a top hat to my cat in any particular way and he's happy and otherwise healthy so it's hard to find the urgency, you know? But if I can't solve this in the next couple weeks it's gonna have to happen. Thanks for the advice!
|
|
#
?
Jul 2, 2020 23:05
|
|
|
empty whippet box posted:I definitely know the solution is "vet" but I've been really trying to avoid leaving the house for any reason right now so I'm still trying to avoid that option...but it might be necessary. I don't want to be an rear end in a top hat to my cat in any particular way and he's happy and otherwise healthy so it's hard to find the urgency, you know? But if I can't solve this in the next couple weeks it's gonna have to happen. Thanks for the advice! There's pretty much no reason to not put flea drops on a cat (you don't even necessarily need a prescription strength one, Frontline Plus [the green one] gets the job done), and as far as the licking goes, Grannick's bitter apple spray is explicitly designed for hotspot avoidance stuff.
|
|
#
?
Jul 3, 2020 00:17
|
|
|
Len posted:Specifically the right one. He fuckin HATES that bowl now suddenly despite us having it for him his entire life. They make weighted bowls for pets that like to flip, potentially look into dog bowls if you can't find one specifically for cats. --- ExtraQuiet posted:I really want to help lil buddy out and put her mind at ease but I've honestly never encountered anything like this before. Lethargy and not eating are huge red flags in kittens that young, something is wrong. I would strongly suggest taking them to a different vet if the first one wasn't able to help/diagnose. Everything LoreofSerpents said was good advice but I want to add some urgency because things can go very badly very quickly. Look into KMR (kitten milk replacement) if you can't get them to eat, as they may have not been weaned. You can get it at any pet store. They likely need to be dewormed as well. Try to use wet food for kittens, not human baby food, if you can. Wipe some on their cheek/nose so they have to lick at it and they'll get the idea.
|
|
#
?
Jul 3, 2020 11:06
|
|
|
Walked into the kitchen for a 1AM drink of water and discovered this malarky: Couldn't help but laugh, but also knock it off you dweeb, I'm tired of picking up all my magnets every morning  (I hope everything turns out okay with the kitten, ExtraQuiet)
|
|
#
?
Jul 4, 2020 07:01
|
|
|
I'm pretty sure my kitten thinks earlobes are nipples 
|
|
#
?
Jul 4, 2020 21:45
|
|
|
Any good ways to discourage a kitten from pouncing on/chasing limbs under a blanket when I'm in bed? I don't mind her chasing feet, but she's started chasing my hands under the blanket and I'm worried she's going to miss and claw me in the face. I can't just lock her out of my room, it's the only place her litterbox can fit.
|
|
#
?
Jul 6, 2020 02:51
|
|
|
Redirect the chase instincts to toys. Wife and I have had a small stash of cat toys on our nightstands.
|
|
#
?
Jul 6, 2020 03:33
|
|
|
My cat's eye was doing pretty good, he was fully opening it. Then a fire happened nearby and the city is covered in smoke, and coming home from work his eye is extremely swollen and leaking so much clear fluid  I'm hoping its the smoke and not his eye getting more hosed up.
|
|
#
?
Jul 6, 2020 07:10
|
|
|
5MinuteButtermilk posted:Any good ways to discourage a kitten from pouncing on/chasing limbs under a blanket when I'm in bed? I don't mind her chasing feet, but she's started chasing my hands under the blanket and I'm worried she's going to miss and claw me in the face. I can't just lock her out of my room, it's the only place her litterbox can fit. Whenever my poo poo head is going after the moving thing I do 1 of 2 things. 1 If I can I take my arm out from the covers and rub kitty, generally this redirects attention towards my hands and calms said poo poo head. 2. If they are attacking my feet I just kick them off the bed.
|
|
#
?
Jul 6, 2020 08:41
|
|
|
Is it feasible to find a cat haver friend whose cat will visit our cat every now and then? We can't keep two cats right now, but we feel a bit bad about her never meeting any other cats at all. She doesn't like going out on a leash, so her life is pretty restricted. It's hard to tell if she misses anything.
|
|
#
?
Jul 6, 2020 10:41
|
|
|
pidan posted:Is it feasible to find a cat haver friend whose cat will visit our cat every now and then? We can't keep two cats right now, but we feel a bit bad about her never meeting any other cats at all. Your cat will almost certainly not enjoy this at all. The vast vast majority of cats don't like meeting other cats and trying to introduce them so that they eventually get along is usually an endeavour lasting weeks to months. She doesn't need to meet other cats or go outside to live a happy and fulfilled life. If you want to give her more mental stimulation try a bird feeder outside a window?
|
|
#
?
Jul 6, 2020 12:08
|
|
|
Yeah continually reintroducing a cat to a new cat isn't going to help them, it'll just make them get anxious every time and you'll never reach that point where they're comfortable with that new cat.
|
|
#
?
Jul 6, 2020 16:38
|
|
|
There are plenty of single cats that live perfectly happy lives - having two cats is just easy mode as far as entertaining them. With a single cat you'll just have to make more of an effort to set aside playtime with them and give them attention. What makes you think your cat's life is restricted or she misses anything? Does she not seem as playful and cuddly as normal? Does she seem nervous and skiddish? Is she not cleaning herself or going outside the litterbox? Generally if your cat is regularly playful, seeks attention from you, is cleaning itself, and sleeps out in the open (as in not hidden), it's probably content.
|
|
#
?
Jul 6, 2020 17:14
|
|
|
I'd like a little advice on how best to procede with a kitten, if the thread would be so kind. We (me, my wife, and 3.5yo daughter) have a grumpy 12 or 13 yo female, which we adopted shortly after she was rescued from under a trailer. Our other cat passed away about 1.5 or 2 years ago. Just before covid hit the area, we decided to get another kitten, thinking it would be great for our daughter to grow up with a kitty, and not just have a semi feral lazy hisspot cat in her life. We crossed our fingers that a kitten might get the old cat moving around a bit more. We followed nearly all the advice (ignoring the "buy these odor erasing sprays and strips" stuff) we could find on introducing cats, specific kitten and older cat videos, etc. They are at the level of tolerance, but the old cat just seems to hate all other cats, and has seemed to for her whole life. She isn't fond of most people either. So now we're getting another kitten from the same mother and father. We have a hold on a month old male kitten. Two brothers, about 4 months age difference Introducing a little brother from a subsequent litter: good/bad/terrible idea? Any special advice for this? Hope it's cool to post pics This is Peter Parker. We call him Petey. His brother will be Charlie Parker    They're going to be big boys. I just weighed Petey, and he's at 7.2lbs and 5 months old. Looks about the size of a smallish full grown cat.
|
|
#
?
Jul 6, 2020 17:21
|
|
|
B33rChiller posted:We crossed our fingers that a kitten might get the old cat moving around a bit more. Haha should have asked us, I could have told you from personal experience that wasn't going to happen. B33rChiller posted:Introducing a little brother from a subsequent litter: good/bad/terrible idea? Any special advice for this? Shouldn't really make a difference. All that will matter to both kittens is that they have a playmate that has as much energy as them and they'll likely be bonded for life.
|
|
#
?
Jul 6, 2020 17:32
|
|
|
Rotten Red Rod posted:Haha should have asked us, I could have told you from personal experience that wasn't going to happen. On that first part, that wasn't our main motivation. It was hopeful thinking of a bonus if it happened. The second part is nice to hear. Hopefully the age difference isn't too great, and Petey is still rambunctious when Charlie's ready to party with him.
|
|
#
?
Jul 6, 2020 17:42
|
|
|
B33rChiller posted:The second part is nice to hear. Hopefully the age difference isn't too great, and Petey is still rambunctious when Charlie's ready to party with him. Nah, we actually just had the same experience - we got a new kitten (after one of a bonded pair died, RIP Robin ) who got along great with our older kitten. Kittens don't really care who they play with, as long as it's someone willing to play. A month old kitten and a five month old kitten should get along famously. The five month old kitten will probably just win the play fights most of the time (not that it appears to matter, kittens love losing play fights about as much as they love winning them).
|
|
#
?
Jul 6, 2020 17:57
|
|
|
pidan posted:She also turns on the electric stove with her little feet, guess I shouldn't have got a touch screen. I have a gas stove and my maniacal cat managed to turn one of the dials on while jumping down from it. Luckily I was nearby and noticed the hissing a few seconds later. If it's any consolation, after a good eight months or so he greatly reduced the frequency of jumping on the kitchen counters and walking over the stovetop. Rotten Red Rod posted:
Eh, my older cat is nearly 15 and when we got a second approximately 2-year-old (with the maturity of a kitten; guess which one is the maniac described above) they almost immediately started playing together. Mostly the older one flops on his back and tries to kick the youngster in the face, then whines when maniac gets bored. Then again, the elder was already pretty playful to begin with - at least for the 3-4 hours a day that he's fully awake.
|
|
#
?
Jul 6, 2020 17:59
|
|
|
eXXon posted:
I've had it go both ways, but usually an older cat is not receptive to newcomers. Generally they will at least tolerate a kitten, but meeting an adult cat will often result in outright hostility. Cats meeting other cats is really complicated and heavily dependent on the unique personality of each cat involved. For example, our current older cat loves kittens and essentially adopts them, making a friend for life, but he HATES adult cats he doesn't know and never, ever warms up to them. Well, except for kitten + kitten meetings, those generally turn out just fine. Rotten Red Rod fucked around with this message at 18:09 on Jul 6, 2020 |
|
#
?
Jul 6, 2020 18:07
|
|
|
Buff Hardback posted:Yeah continually reintroducing a cat to a new cat isn't going to help them, it'll just make them get anxious every time and you'll never reach that point where they're comfortable with that new cat. Yeah that's what I was thinking. After all, it's pretty common for dog owners to have their dogs meet up, but I've never heard of that for cats. As far as I know, free living cats have meetings with other cats sometimes, but that's different and also often involves fighting, which we certainly don't want. Molly is a pretty happy cat, she mostly sleeps in the open and hasn't had any problems with eating or the toilet. When it comes to playing she can be a bit lazy, I'll swing a toy and she'll just look at it, purring. But she's quite keen on her own game of stealing pencils from my desk and shoving them under the carpet  I just figure she might be even happier if she had another cat to play with. That's what all the cat advice I've read says. Maybe we'll be able to get her a kitten friend a few years from now.
|
|
#
?
Jul 6, 2020 18:46
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 26, 2024 19:34 |
|
|
pidan posted:Yeah that's what I was thinking. After all, it's pretty common for dog owners to have their dogs meet up, but I've never heard of that for cats. As far as I know, free living cats have meetings with other cats sometimes, but that's different and also often involves fighting, which we certainly don't want. It's not so much that she's happier if she has another cat to play with, it's that kittens have bundles and bundles of energy, and keeping up with a kitten is nearly impossible, so it's best to give them a kitten friend to keep up with them too.
|
|
#
?
Jul 6, 2020 18:49
|
|