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It's been nine days since I got my automatic feeder and doesn't feel like there's been any change in my cat's behaviour. He still tries to eat anything I take out or bring home. If I try to reward him with a treat for being quiet he just fixates and tries to get the rest from my pocket usually. Still follows me around meowing incessantly. When should I just accept this is how he is and start giving him wet food again? I just got a clicker so I can try clicker training. Only other option is trying a different dry food or free feeding. I also got double-sided tape for kitchen counters in the hopes it deters him. My brother's partner recommended using a spray bottle but I've read it's not a great idea and will only change their behaviour when you're around with the bottle.
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Oct 13, 2020 04:34
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Corte posted:It's been nine days since I got my automatic feeder and doesn't feel like there's been any change in my cat's behaviour. He still tries to eat anything I take out or bring home. If I try to reward him with a treat for being quiet he just fixates and tries to get the rest from my pocket usually. Still follows me around meowing incessantly. When Pip wouldn't give up endless vocalization I found an air bottle helped. Just the regular cheap canned air for cleaning dust from computers. The HISS startles her and she runs away. Then she comes back but is not yet yelling I pet her and give her some attention. Eventually just reaching for the bottle got her to smarten up. I kept one right by my bed so if she woke me up yowling in the middle of the night I could reach over and HISS without even opening my eyes. It probably doesn't need to be said, but the key here is the sound. I don't actually spray toward the cat. Canned air may contain bitterant to discourage huffing so I don't want to actually get it on her fur or in her eyes. I've heard of people using a shaken can of pennies the same way. Just an offensive noise distract and reset cat.exe. But I live in a small apartment with thin walls, so a loud can of pennies might carry to the neighbours, while a hiss of air isn't the sort of noise that carries.
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Oct 13, 2020 04:52
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Corte posted:It's been nine days since I got my automatic feeder and doesn't feel like there's been any change in my cat's behaviour. He still tries to eat anything I take out or bring home. If I try to reward him with a treat for being quiet he just fixates and tries to get the rest from my pocket usually. Still follows me around meowing incessantly. I sympathise, some cats are just very food motivated and it can be challenging. One cat we had, Pedro, would meow for hours before feeding time - even years after we got a timed feeder for his morning food. Our current lady cat also likes to yell at us for food and enjoys biting our legs to let us know her displeasure at being fed on our schedule, not hers. Your kitty has probably been very food insecure, so it makes sense that he would be obsessed with it. Honestly we learned to just stick to the routine we decided on and adapt where we could and try not to reward or react to misbehaviour. There was an element of it being just part of his personality. If it's only been a few weeks though it might just take more time and patience, I wouldn't go changing routines too quickly otherwise he'll never even have a chance to learn. We did end up putting childlocks on certain kitchen doors so Pedro couldn't dig out his treats, and we bought a scat mat which has been awesome for keeping cats away from specific areas. We used it to stop them from scratching at our bedroom door at night, which also worked to keep him out and not yelling at us at 5am for food. You can also put them on counters, sofas etc. You can also get timed feeders that pop open for wet food, although IIRC the one I'm thinking of is mechanical, and our big greedy kitty was able to break into it lol. A puzzle feeder ball for treats also might be good, you can fill it and then chuck it away and hopefully he'll learn to get the treats out himself and leave you alone while he does it.
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Oct 13, 2020 05:29
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it's also probably going to take longer than 9 days, cats are creatures of habit. try the clicker training in the mean time, my food-obsessed cat learns tricks super fast because treats. even with all my tricks & training, Katya still yells for food as if she's never been fed before when I step into the kitchen around her feeding-time, she just knows to sit down and shut up before she gets it. it MIGHT get better than this, but we chose to adopt a rescue and she's perfect in every other way, so I'm cool with it if it doesn't. v  v
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Oct 13, 2020 08:00
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Has he been to the vet recently? I know when ours did this he ended up having hyperthyroidism.
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Oct 13, 2020 08:02
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explosivo posted:Does anyone else have one cat who likes to ruin the other cat's fun when they're having it? I try to play with our more... problematic cat to expend her energy towards play time and she'll go nuts for the feather on a stick or the shoestring (you know, the one you find randomly all around your house), but as soon as Finn hears her playing he activates from wherever he is in the house and stalks over to spy on her. Once she notices she just stops engaging, and then Finn eventually runs in and starts playing with the thing instead while she walks away. I try to keep her engaged even when he's around but she stops as soon as he hears him coming. If we talk to Luna or make any overtures towards her, Aleta will come running to stand in front of us and loudly demand pats. Then she usually decks Luna upside the head. Depending on which ghost is in control of her body that day, Luna either sits and takes it, hides, or makes tiny screaming noises in the back of her throat while vigorously licking her leg. Luna is slightly broken, and Boo is a dick.
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Oct 13, 2020 08:32
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Question about cats. So our male cat has taken to screaming/meowing very loudly at certain times of the day, followed by running around very quickly. Usually he does this at night, and in the early morning, and after meal times. At first I thought it was because when I was home during the summer with him and my son I was probably overfeeding him, and now that I'm back at work, my wife and I are trying to be restrained in how much we feed him. My wife looked up why cats scream and said it could be because of his age/he could have cat dementia? We just took them to the vet a few months ago. Can cats scream because they want more food? He's a pretty good weight, probably a little overweight, so I don't want to give him more food...
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Oct 13, 2020 18:14
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Crazy Joe Wilson posted:Question about cats. So our male cat has taken to screaming/meowing very loudly at certain times of the day, followed by running around very quickly. Usually he does this at night, and in the early morning, and after meal times. I think it's mostly just a cat thing without a specific cause. Our cats of all ages will randomly go crazy-eyed, savagely attack a bit of fluff, and then tear around the house. Others will howl in the middle of the night for no apparent reason. Unless you have more specific medical symptoms, my diagnosis would be "is cat, can't fix."
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Oct 13, 2020 18:19
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Crazy Joe Wilson posted:My wife looked up why cats scream and said it could be because of his age/he could have cat dementia? Maybe. My most recent old cat had dementia. Her symptoms were mainly confusion and fear. She began yowling at night and starting at the ceiling and it progressively got more and more often til it was basically half the night. She would calm down for a while if I got up and held her. (Nightlights helped a bit too.) Then one windy day instead of staying on the porch as usual she went AWOL for 2 days, turns out she was 1/4 mile down the road at a neighbor’s, so that was the end of her outdoor time. We made the decision to euthanize her not long after that. It was hard to watch her get worse so I’m glad we made the decision while she still knew who we were. And we are lucky enough to have a vet that makes house calls so she didn’t have to go to the vet’s office. I hope your kitty doesn’t have dementia. 
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Oct 13, 2020 18:57
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I have a small tom whose defining traits are random zoomies, annoying the other cats until they swat at him, and yodeling in the peculiar idiom of his people at any and all hours of the day. I can only chalk this up to him being a cat.
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Oct 13, 2020 19:13
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I've always just talked back to talky cats. Discuss the events of your day and treat the meows back as responses. I often tell my girl cat I don't understand her and that she needs to speak clearly or use a different language, but she never listens she just wants to go on complaining about her own day!
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Oct 13, 2020 20:40
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TMMadman posted:I've always just talked back to talky cats. Discuss the events of your day and treat the meows back as responses. I often tell my girl cat I don't understand her and that she needs to speak clearly or use a different language, but she never listens she just wants to go on complaining about her own day! it literally never gets old telling my cat to use her big girl words to communicate clearly
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Oct 13, 2020 21:06
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Cats are smart enough to understand that us big hairless apes primarily communicate through mouth noises, so they try to replicate that. I remember seeing a tumblr post years ago about how the owner constantly talked back and forth with their cat; later on, they transitioned and went through vocal training to deepen their voice, and apparently their cat started to meow at a lower pitch to match the changes in their owner’s voice. Anecdotal, sure, but adorable nonetheless.
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Oct 13, 2020 22:17
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My kitties managed to flip their Catit flower fountain. I now have the dehumidifier running in the living room. Luckily we're working from home, and I heard the whining of the pump running dry. My poor wooden floor  I don't think they even wanted to flip the fountain, they just love to "dig" under the rubbery mats we put under everything. Might replace it with a heavy flower pot dish thingy.
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Oct 14, 2020 13:12
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Talkative cats are the best https://i.imgur.com/EajfUEv.mp4 As are all cats
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Oct 14, 2020 13:31
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Luneshot posted:Cats are smart enough to understand that us big hairless apes primarily communicate through mouth noises, so they try to replicate that. Boogalo posted:Talkative cats are the best mine's a talker too and it's pretty funny how the pitch of her voice has gone up through the years, since I mostly communicate using whistles and sounds instead of words (with her, not with people) I'm pretty sure she's started using a double meow to ask for food at feeding time because I've always called her with a double whistle just on these occasions also the backpack has arrived! it's pretty cool and sturdy and I've already gone for some trial walks around the house, she's very cool with it as I sort of expected. still, she keeps surprising me by how well she deals with all these new activities 
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Oct 14, 2020 14:17
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I will have to try to talk to our cat then when he starts talking then, thanks folks.
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Oct 14, 2020 14:21
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We've got a talker who will tell you her whole life story if you look at her and it's adorable and we love it. The co-worker who gave her to us hated it and wanted to put Bean down because of it. rear end in a top hat has picked up on it and he's started being more vocal but usually he only meows when he's lost us in the three room apartment where he doesn't allow closed doors.
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Oct 14, 2020 14:31
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Do you guys have an air filter/purifier system in your home to help with floating pet hairs and such? What is a good brand? From my research, it looks like uv lights are a gimmick and I just need one that'll take hepa filters. Any recommendations?
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Oct 14, 2020 15:57
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A furnace style filter mounted to a cheap box fan can help a ton and is pretty cheap to set up. Buy a litter robot instead with the $500 you just saved. https://www.digitaltrends.com/home/how-to-make-a-box-fan-air-purifier/
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Oct 14, 2020 16:04
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Unfortunately, I think my cats would tear that DIY filter to shreds as it contains cardboard. Could this be one of those deals where I run it for a few hours and put it away? This is what I was considering. https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07HMMM8LH I just happened to glance through a beam of light, and noticed there was a ton of dust floating around the home. Makes sense since I've been doing some drywall work.
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Oct 14, 2020 16:48
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Finally got my girls! Lynx and Blue picked them up from the foster parents on Friday and it took a good day or so before they came out from under the couch to explore. Lynx (the one showing her belly) has really relaxed but blue is still kinda scared but we are taking it slow. Have to take them to the vet on Friday so I’m sure that’s gonna be fun.  They are nuts but we love them. So glad we got a bonded pair. They really have helped each other a lot so far.
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Oct 14, 2020 17:04
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Hello thread! Was hoping I could get some advice. I’ve recently lost a couple cats to a relationship ending (had them for almost 10 years  ) and have been toying with the idea of getting a couple new ones. I found a pair of siblings at a rescue in another state that ships animals they save from kill shelters to other states. They are 4 months old and I was approved to take them, and have already grown attached, but I realized today that my apartment might just not be suitable for kittens. The issue is that I live in a 2 story townhome, and there is a railing / ledge that’s just a couple feet high on the second floor between the living room and the stairs, and at its highest, there’s a 12 foot drop. When I first moved here, I was a little worried about my adult cats but they were totally fine with it. Here are some pictures to better show what I mean (apologies for the messy bachelor pad vibes, new couch is coming soon I swear...):  12 foot drop:  The only way to keep them from this would be to keep them in one of my tiny bedrooms until they’re old enough that I would trust they wouldn’t accidentally fall to their deaths - but I’m not sure if I’m being overly paranoid. Any thoughts? PS: thanks for all the amazing cat pictures here. The cat showing its belly above this post looks exactly like one of my cats I just lost
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Oct 14, 2020 17:54
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Rorobb posted:The only way to keep them from this would be to keep them in one of my tiny bedrooms until they’re old enough that I would trust they wouldn’t accidentally fall to their deaths - but I’m not sure if I’m being overly paranoid. Any thoughts? My best friend grew up in a house with an entry stairwell very much like that with a similar drop and their cat never had an issue with it, even as a kitten. He’d even perch on the railing and stare down at anyone entering the house. If you want to keep the kitties off it altogether, maybe try sticky paws or double sided tape so that being on top of the railing becomes an unpleasant experience.
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Oct 14, 2020 18:13
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While it's ok to be worried about a kitten falling, it's important to remember that the righting reflex that allows them to land on their feet is perfected by the time they are a couple months old. So even if a new kitten did get up there and then fell off the ledge they would almost certainly have no problems landing on their feet and walking away with no issues. I personally would never really worry about a cat falling from any distance under 20 feet and always flat out laugh if one mine falls off any one of the various 5-6 foot high areas in my place.
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Oct 14, 2020 18:29
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That’s good to know, thanks! I think I’m more comfortable with it now - I also talked to the shelter about it and they didn’t have any concerns. If I do get them I’ll be share to send some pics here!
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Oct 14, 2020 19:59
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rear end in a top hat regularly fell 10 feet from second to first floor when we still lived at my dads place. He's fine I think? He's not very bright but that's probably unrelated
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Oct 14, 2020 20:18
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My dumbdumb ripped out my window screen and leapt out a few days after I brought her home. She was totally fine and her stitches from being aborted and spayed were intact when I got her back. This could all be dumb luck, though. Here is said dumbdumb: 
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Oct 14, 2020 21:48
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TMMadman posted:While it's ok to be worried about a kitten falling, it's important to remember that the righting reflex that allows them to land on their feet is perfected by the time they are a couple months old. So even if a new kitten did get up there and then fell off the ledge they would almost certainly have no problems landing on their feet and walking away with no issues. The reflex does require some time to complete - short, awkward falls might still cause soft tissue injury because the reflex response didn't have enough time to twist them around fully.
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Oct 14, 2020 22:40
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Dienes posted:The reflex does require some time to complete - short, awkward falls might still cause soft tissue injury because the reflex response didn't have enough time to twist them around fully. Yeah, but a cat should have plenty of time to right itself during a 12 foot fall. I think they need about 3 feet in order to do it. edit - it's also true that cats that fall from greater heights of 7 stories or more often have less severe injuries from cats that fall from 2-6 story heights because it takes ~5 stories for the cat to reach terminal velocity at which point it tends to relax even more. TMMadman fucked around with this message at 22:57 on Oct 14, 2020 |
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Oct 14, 2020 22:54
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I came in here to ask if anyone has any tips for getting cat used to a harness so this is good timing. My idiots are 1 and 2 and I’ve been trying to get them both to accept the harness lately but the older one just tips over drunk and the younger one goes into spaz mode and then tips over. We play and have treats during the session but really no progress being made. Loud cat chat: older one meows and barks all the god drat time so I do the same as others have mentioned and tell her about my day, tell her what I’m up to etc. works pretty well. The young one hardly ever meows unless she’s screaming at a fly or moth out of her reach but she is a masterful triller. Trilling at me. Trilling at her toys. Scream trilling when I throw a toy. It rules.
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Oct 14, 2020 23:07
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Oh goddamnit I just found out I have to take my uncooperative (to put it nicely) cat to the vet this weekend for her yearly checkup. It feels like we just did this. I've got the gabapentin at the ready, although it didn't help much last time..
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Oct 14, 2020 23:41
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My two are taking to the double-decker backpack nicely. They don't actually know it's a backpack, though. I've kept it on its side, in "box mode". I wonder if there's any point in trying to get them used to being in it, on my back. It's only for taking them to the vet or to evacuate. I don't go on outdoor adventures I want to bring them along on.
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Oct 15, 2020 00:06
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SixPabst posted:I came in here to ask if anyone has any tips for getting cat used to a harness so this is good timing. My idiots are 1 and 2 and I’ve been trying to get them both to accept the harness lately but the older one just tips over drunk and the younger one goes into spaz mode and then tips over. We play and have treats during the session but really no progress being made. I don't have any secret tips to share because I've simply been trying things that make sense to me. it does help that my 7yo is similar to a dog for certain aspects, she's well behaved compared to most cats and kinda listens/understands my calls and reprimands. she lets me touch/handle her without issues and she reacts instantly to me telling her a peremptory NO complete with finger wagging if she misbehaves. this will probably be a lot harder with two 1-2yo zoomy cats but I guess that if you are patient they'll get used to it faster than an older cat would for the first contact with the harness I followed what I'd read online while researching, so by leaving it next to her and letting her sniff it out. the first hurdle is putting it on, since I guess that all cats will react in two ways if you put things on them that they can't easily remove : they will either freak out and contort themselves to escape it or they will shut down as if they're being held (bonus mixed reaction : walk awkwardly backwards) this is obviously facilitated if you reward every good behavior, I use low-calories treats (2kcal each treat) and lots of pats and kisses and good girls the first times I didn't even try to get her to walk around in it, I just rewarded her for being chill while wearing it and getting her used to being occasionally pulled upright with the back handle of the harness. in her initial confusion she just accepted the harness and sat down while purring so I took my chances and started rewarding that as good behavior. when she started getting more comfortable (the 2nd time!) I started this routine : 1) bring out the harness, let her sniff it well (reward) 2) fit her legs in the holes of the harness without closing it yet (reward) 3) close the harness and adjust the fit (reward) 4) if she starts moving around on her own that's rewarded 5) then I start throwing a treat at a reasonable distance and let her eat it + reward her if she reaches it without issues, and repeat this for as long as she puts up with it. I've faced 2 initial problems with this step : - the first problem is that in the beginning whenever she started running or jumping she would occasionally manage to slip one leg through the leg-hole, I think inadvertently. this also depends on the type of harness that you're using : the first one I used was a small dog type of harness, more solid but also less wrapping. then I switched to the one that came with the backpack which is like stretchy fabric with a tighter but softer fit. - the second problem is that initially she was just confused by the situation and she didn't believe she could walk around, even with the lure of treats. so I very gently pulled her up by the back handle and held her like this to show her that she could walk in it. she learned pretty quickly that she could walk without me holding her upright but in the beginning I had to assist her, I doubt that she would have figured it out on her own. 6) when she's spent I let her chill for a bit (reward) and I remove the harness (reward) I try to keep every session between 15 and 30 minutes, any longer and I think it'd start being stressful for any cat. hope this helps and good luck! bonus tip : if your harness has velcro strips on it be aware that just like my cat, yours might freak out the first time that they hear the sound of the velcro being ripped open. I now open it very slowly and carefully. necroid fucked around with this message at 10:25 on Oct 15, 2020 |
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Oct 15, 2020 10:12
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Bioshuffle posted:Do you guys have an air filter/purifier system in your home to help with floating pet hairs and such? What is a good brand? I'm just a lurker for the adorable cat pics, but for what it's worth I've been nothing but happy with my Arovec AV-P152B. I picked it up at the start of the year due to the Victorian bushfires coating half the state in smoke, and have been nothing but happy with it. It's a little pricey, but my sinuses have been way better this year with less dust around in general.
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Oct 15, 2020 13:55
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On the topic of 'meowing back' my Sam will sit at the office door and MEOW at the top of his lungs (as I'm usually wearing headphones at the computer.) If I look at him and say something back that's his cue that he gets attention and he'll dash over and flop for pets. If I'm busy and don't respond he'll just wander off after a few more attempts. It's like he's asking permission to come in, it's hilarious. Especially because he's so loud that the MEOOOW always goes through my microphone to whoever I'm on a call with. So, cat report- Sam went through his dental surgery which ended up being a more reasonable 600$ than we expected, but the vet was very concerned the inflammation in his mouth was cancerous and wanted a biopsy done. I spent a few days panicking and considering that I might lose him a lot sooner than I thought... but I got the call back yesterday that they didn't detect any cancer in the biopsy so I'm really, really happy about that. It's still a big problem and is causing him to lose teeth and have some pain but NOT 'skull-eating 4 months to live' cancer is such a relief I can't even say. 
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Oct 15, 2020 16:45
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So I went to the vet about my cat's mystery inflammation. The vet couldn't really help either, it's apparently an inflammation around her butt / genitals, not inside them. So the cat is now on antibiotics. I also payed a solid 100€ for lab testing on her gingivitis. At least we'll know if it's the untreatable kind (it probably is).
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Oct 15, 2020 16:55
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mistaya posted:On the topic of 'meowing back' my Sam will sit at the office door and MEOW at the top of his lungs (as I'm usually wearing headphones at the computer.) If I look at him and say something back that's his cue that he gets attention and he'll dash over and flop for pets. If I'm busy and don't respond he'll just wander off after a few more attempts. It's like he's asking permission to come in, it's hilarious. Especially because he's so loud that the MEOOOW always goes through my microphone to whoever I'm on a call with. My big old cat, Smoke, that I had to put down a while ago always amused my friends when I was playing Call of Duty online. At some point, he would usually come over and flop down by my feet and meow loudly which would he heard but then they would hear me "beating" Smoke while in the lobby waiting for a new game. You see, Smoke liked to get his butt/side patted HARD, like really hard, and it could be heard through the mic as I womp on his rear end only for him to immediately start crying for more when I'd stop and everyone would have a good laugh.
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Oct 15, 2020 17:04
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What's my best option for an outdoor cathouse for a stray that I can't actually adopt? I have a local cat that is always around our patio after the neighbors fixed up their garage (so no easy sleeping grounds for an old cat), and I'm beginning to think that he's just an old affectionate stray and not an indoor/outdoor cat that has a warm/dry home to go to. I would adopt him, but there's a long list of reasons why I absolutely should not/cannot, including the fact that he appears to be sick. Our vet won't do appointments for strays due to how many there are, and I live in bumfucknowheresville so the best chance I'd have is to drive him an hour+ away, with our history being very little contact with me outside of occasional pets. I have my own cats to worry about as well, so if I accidentally get them sick I'll feel awful. I used to just wash my hands really well if I pet him, but now that he's been coughing/sneezing all the time I've had to just completely stop touching him or else I'm paranoid I'll get one of my indoor cats sick. It's kinda depressing going outside and seeing a cat that definitely wants your affection, and knowing that this sick old cat can't come near you in case your indoor cats get sick.  What I'd like to do is get a wooden, snow-proof/snow-resistant cat shelter that I could order online and let him have a little hut outside, just in case the other garage was actually his winter home. It's getting cold pretty quick and he's shown up a lot more on the patio in odd spots trying to stay warm and dry. I don't think he'll have competition since most of the other cats I see on a day-to-day basis either have collars or haven't been around as much, and they're all also generally nice to each other. I'm not really worried about it costing much, I just have no idea how to properly put together something like this outside of, like... building a cat shed. Which would result in me having definitely more than one outdoor cat bed created. So how do I give an old stray cat a home when I can't see a good way to adopt him and make him an inside cat?
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Oct 16, 2020 03:03
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thecluckmeme posted:What's my best option for an outdoor cathouse for a stray that I can't actually adopt? I have a local cat that is always around our patio after the neighbors fixed up their garage (so no easy sleeping grounds for an old cat), and I'm beginning to think that he's just an old affectionate stray and not an indoor/outdoor cat that has a warm/dry home to go to. I don't see anything on Amazon that looks like it will work better or be cheaper than the Alley Cat Advocate rubbermaid & styrofoam diy cat shelter. It's mostly easy assembly- cutting the entry is going to be the hardest part.
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Oct 16, 2020 04:03
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