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Any tips on harnesses for cats? All I remember from years ago is that Y harnesses are better than H harnesses because H harnesses can damage the trachea if the cat has a major freakout. But now there seem to be tons of harnesses that aren't really the old Y or H designs at all. I ordered one of those padded jacket type things from Amazon and it turned out to be a dog harness not a cat harness, and the smaller leg holes bugged her because of the way cat skin looser than little dog skin.Infinitum posted:Anyone have any recommendations on water fountains? This was a few weeks ago, but the best cat fountain I ever had was a cheap 5 gallon glass aquarium with a cheap walmart hang on back aquarium filter. I mean, it started out as a tank for fry, but the cat sort of took it over and eventually I gave up and removed the fish and snails. Upsides: -Glass is easier to clean than plastic. -It's transparent, so you can easily see when it is dirty, unlike some plastic or stainless steel fountains. -Glass won't absorb odours like plastic can. -Glass lasts longer than plastic, a glass tank can last basically forever, though you might need to redo the silicon sealant every 20 years or so. -The activated carbon filters to keep the water tasting sweet are much cheaper for an aquarium filter than for the proprietary filters in the cat fountains. -Aquarium pumps are better than cat fountain pumps in my experience. I had a cat fountain but the pump failed after 2 years, and they didn't even sell replacement pumps you were just supposed to buy a whole new fountain. I've never had an aquarium filter pump fail in under 10 years, not even the cheapie ones from walmart, and if it did a new one is cheap and readily available. -Disassembling a cat fountain to clean out the inevitable slime coat from the innards is kinda a hassle. A small glass aquarium is dead easy to clean, assuming you are strong enough to pick it up -- the 5 gallon or smaller sizes should fit in most kitchen sinks, at least sideways. -A gallon of water is about 8 pounds, plus the weight of the glass, so no cat is tipping over even a 2 gallon aquarium. -You don't need to top it up as often as the tiny cat fountains, though eventually the filter will get noisy and remind you if you let it get down to about 60% capacity. But if you go away for the weekend or something bad happens and you're rushed to the hospital or something, at least your cats aren't going to run out of water for a good long while. Downsides: -It looked ghetto as gently caress. There are very pretty topless aquariums in the 2, 3, and 5 gallon sizes, but mine was just a bog standard 5 gallon with a black rim that had no top because the plastic lid had broken years before. -It is glass, so if you kick it or trip over it or throw rocks at it then it could crack or shatter, so you have to keep it somewhere that won't happen. Of course kicking a plastic fountain could also crack it, but a cracked plastic fountain won't leave behind shards of glass. The 5 gallon broke when I moved, so now I 'temporarily' use a 10 gallon. It's not as good. Even if it's just half full that's still almost 50 pounds, so lifting it to wash it is hassle. It doesn't fit in the kitchen sink. It's also taller than a 3 or 5 gallon aquarium, so she has to crane her neck a bit to use it. She still prefers it to a bowl though.
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Jun 9, 2020 02:50
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illcendiary posted:Wait, your cat just straight up drinks out of a 10 gallon aquarium? Seems excessive 😭 I know, right? It's silly. But if I give her a bowl and the aquarium she chooses the aquarium 100% of the time, even if it's a fresh clean bowl every day. Possibly just to spite the fish who could live in that aquarium if she wasn't using it. Pip is big on spite.
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Jun 9, 2020 04:31
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For digging in plants I've heard folks recommend a layer of crinkled foil over the soil. If you want you can do it somewhat artistically so it doesn't look ghetto as hell. Some cats hate the feel of foil on their feet and will avoid it. Of course some cats dgaf, because cats.
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Jun 22, 2020 20:18
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Along with restraining them to a smaller area, if affordable you could get a couple more cheap litter boxes and try a few different textures of litter at the same time. Occasionally the little bastards just decide they don't like the way litter X feels on their paws. And it's pretty common to decide they don't want to share a litter box with other cats, so extra boxes might help anyway.
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Jun 23, 2020 19:23
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necrobobsledder posted:My fur son needs to play four hours / day or he wrecks everything around him including my feet or his own dumb tail. Please send help in the form of automated cat toys, my arms are sore from waving around toys all drat day. I have three he’s too intimidated by due to size to use reliably or is too slow to make him really care. I've never had much luck with automated toys. It usually takes less than 10 hours over several days for a cat to figure out the toy and then scorn it forever. Often Pip won't even play with them, she'll just sit and watch them for a little while and then wander off. The most successful "automated" toy I ever had was a wall mounted cat dancer. https://www.amazon.com/CAT-DANCER-252-Cat-Toy/dp/B0784VLRZV It doesn't move by itself, but it will move a little bit in a breeze, and once the cat hits it continues to move for a while. In a high traffic hallway just humans walking by would set it moving enough to get the kitties interested.
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Jun 28, 2020 16:42
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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.
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Jul 2, 2020 16:33
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Kitfox88 posted:I’ve never owned cats that were generally more affectionate than ‘nuzzle your leg for a few pats’ so one that literally seems to cry if I close the bathroom door or sit downstairs while a store pizza cooks in the oven is new. Not sure if this applies, but in general I've found indoor only cats to be emotionally needier than indoor/outdoor cats. If cat that is allowed to go outside gets bored they'll go outside and chase some bugs or whatever, so they aren't as dependant on attention and entertainment from their housemates. Relationships with cats also have a huge element of "you get out of it what you put into it". If you mostly ignore them except for feeding them and cleaning the litter box, most cats are okay with that. The more time and attention you put into a relationship with a cat, the more they will want to spend time with you. They enjoy being social with people they trust, but they are also mostly okay without it if that isn't offered to them. Lots of folks lose interest in spending loads of time with a cat once it is past the cute kitten stage, so those cats become "aloof" as adults and don't chase after human affection.
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Jul 17, 2020 20:24
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Rotten Red Rod posted:Outdoor cats also tend to have way shorter lifespans, depending on where you live. We've lost enough cats to coyotes to be vigilant about them being indoor only. Oh yeah, obviously. I'm just saying cats behaving differently now from how you remember or imagine cats behaving back in the day could partly be because there are a lot more indoor only cats now. As their world gets smaller you become a bigger part of it.
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Jul 18, 2020 01:44
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Cowman posted:
In addition to what others have said, occasional clawing will be less unpleasant if you trim his nails regularly. As soon as Pip gets a good poke in I know it's time to trim those tips again. Obviously the younger you start the easier this will be because restaining a tiny kitten is easier than restraining an adult cat. Kittens are also used to their moms holding them down for aggressive grooming. Personally I've always used the slightly unorthodox position of putting the kitten upside down on my lap. Usually I do all the nails on just one paw and then release them and give them treats. It doesn't take long for them to realize enduring a couple minutes of indignity gets them treats. JUST THE TIP! If you are new at this aim for taking like 1/10th of an inch off the end. It's better to have to redo it on a weekly basis than to risk taking too much, cutting the quick and hurting the cat. If the cat learns the nail clippers hurt then you have a hell of time retraining them to tolerate it again.
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Jul 20, 2020 00:23
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Jayne Doe posted:I haven't had any problems! It might depend on how well your cat tends to bury their poop - maybe if they're not good at burying then things could be left in inconvenient places? In case it's at all helpful, this is the box that I've been using. You can add food grade diatomaceous earth to your arsenal. It's method of action is mechanical, not chemical. It's not a toxin of any kind. It's a grey dust made from the tiny skeletons of ancient sea diatoms. Perfectly safe to eat or lick, though you should probably avoid huffing it while it's airborne (like any dust). It cuts up and dehydrates insects with exoskeletons, like the flea larvae that are living in your carpet and upholstery right this moment, and also any adult fleas. Completely harmless to mammals (though it can be irritating if you inhale a cloud of it). You can puff a thin coating of it it all over any carpet and cat furniture to get at the larva before they become adult fleas. Eggs laid while you had fleas will spend weeks as larvae and pupae so it can seem like fleas appear out of nowhere a month after you thought you killed them all.  Diatomaceous earth is inexpensive and available at any garden center or online. Note: Don't get the "filter grade" stuff sometimes sold in swimming pool supplies. You want the "food grade" stuff sold in garden centers or some woowoo health stores. https://www.thesprucepets.com/diatomaceous-earth-for-flea-control-3385244 Facebook Aunt fucked around with this message at 05:37 on Jul 28, 2020 |
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Jul 28, 2020 05:35
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Gaj posted:Does anyone have recommendations or anything for trimming cat butt hair? I currently just use child saftey sicissors but my god her butt hair is just so thick it barely works. What I do is use a comb and scissors together. Work the comb in close to the skin, then use scissors to cut the hair on the outside of the comb. That way I can use sharp scissors without the risk of cutting the skin. I did once cut off the end of her whiskers when she turned to look at what I was doing, but never the skin.  oops
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Aug 4, 2020 08:33
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A fun thing if you want to check for fleas in your environment is to make a DIY flea trap. Fleas don't stay on your animal the whole time, they jump on and off, so you can catch them when they go looking for their next meal. You need a large shallow pan* like a pizza pan. Put it on the floor somewhere central, and then fill it with warm water** that has a drop of dish soap*** mixed in. Then you stick a candle in the middle. I usually use a tealight in a votive candle holder because I think the glass makes a nice mouse-sized warm spot, but any candle should work. While you are at home and awake light the candle and let it go for at least 4 hours. Works best at night in a dark room. Don't leave burning candles unattended you goon. (Some people use electric tea lights instead of real candles.) Fleas are attracted to heat and light so hungry fleas will hop hop hop on over to the candle, thinking it might be a delicious mammal. Then they land in the pan of soapy water and drown. Later you go and count how many fleas you caught. It's fun and also gross. The trap won't actually kill enough fleas to make a difference, it's a monitoring tool. Do your flea mitigation stuff and reset the trap in a few days or a week, see if fewer fleas are caught. Any time your pet is acting itchy but you don't see any fleas you can set up a flea trap to check the environment.     * Largest, shallowest pan you got. If the pan is higher than an inch it could block the flea sightline to the candle, though that can be offset with a taller candle. ** I like to fill it in place because if you move a shallow pan full of water you'll probably spill. Water doesn't need to be warm, but it doesn't hurt. *** Soap breaks the surface tension of the water. Without soap the fleas can escape instead of drowning. Or if you are very boring you can also just buy an electric flea trap made with a warm light bulb that lures them to a glue trap. This deprives you of all the fun of macgyvering your own though. And I worry my dumb pets would stick their nose on a glue trap. On the plus side it runs for months without you needing to do anything. 
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Aug 8, 2020 22:51
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Organza Quiz posted:Everyone please congratulate Peridot for finally achieving snuggle time with Pepper, something she's been working very hard on since 2016! Good job!
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Aug 10, 2020 23:17
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He comes out at night when the house is dark and quiet. Probably. Test by leaving out a bowl of yummy food on the other side of the room from his hidey hole when you go to bed.
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Aug 12, 2020 02:24
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Blackhawk posted:It would make more sense Yes . . . but cat. 
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Aug 12, 2020 08:49
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Blackhawk posted:Yeah we took him to the vet two days ago, likely just 'cat flu' of some kind, he has some swollen lymph nodes but no fever. He got a shot of anti-inflammatories and we're giving him antibiotics so fingers crossed he gets better. It would be really 2020 if your new cat has covid and you all die. Actually I don't think any cats have died of covid, so the cat should be fine. And that's why you don't take diagnostic advice from randos on the internet.
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Aug 12, 2020 22:01
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Puppy Galaxy posted:any recommendations for mouse traps that are both effective and safe around cats? I've dealt with a mouse infestation with snap traps before and they worked quite well, but I don't think having those around my cat is a great idea. This worked for me.  https://www.amazon.com/Catchmaster-Multi-Catch-Mouse-Trap-3/dp/B07VFKPK3T I didn't use the glue board because glue traps are awful, so when I caught a mouse I just had this live mouse to deal with. Took it a few miles away and set it free. Pretty sure it still died since it was out of familiar territory, but at least it died feeding something that eats mice. Anyway, it's a sturdy metal box. Even if the cat decides to investigate and poke at it they can't hurt themselves or mess with the trapping mechanism. Some traps seem sort of precarious like a cat could knock them over or trigger the mechanism just by poking at it. There are similar models that are all metal, no plastic window, and they might be stronger but I was worried I'd have no way to check for mice without opening the box and having a mouse jump at my face. I attached a few bells to mine so it would be louder if a mouse was inside the box, because I didn't want a mouse to starve to death and stink up the place. Turns out that was unnecessary tho, cats are really good at pointing out when a box has a live mouse in it.
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Aug 21, 2020 15:38
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Rotten Red Rod posted:... Isn't just having a cat the most effective mouse trap? LOL, no. Not every cat is a good mouser.
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Aug 21, 2020 17:22
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TMMadman posted:That's true but the mere presence of a cat is often enough to keep mice out of the area because the mice can smell certain proteins in cat saliva and that smell causes fear in the mice. True. My (good mouser) cat died and a within a month mice started coming around (townhouse, so they were probably coming through the walls from the neighbours). Then I got two sisters who were absolutely useless for hunting. Nevertheless, I did find one dead mouse. Not a mark on it. I assume it thought it was about to be eaten and it's tiny heart gave out. Not long after Pip did catch a mouse, and bring it to me. Again, not a mark on it but this time it was alive. She spit it out, looked at it as it got to its feet, then picked it up again. She looked more confused than anything. She seems to have only the vaguest instinct that she should catch things, but no idea about killing or eating them. I had to scoop it into a box and take it away. She never bothered to catch one again, just watch them from a distance like a Garfield cartoon. Once the new cats got to about 6 months old the mice stayed away. But if your mice have  they won't know to avoid your dumb non-hunting cats.
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Aug 21, 2020 21:49
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WombatCyborg posted:Hey y'all, could use some advice. Any change in diet can trigger diarrhea. Sometimes just changing to a different flavor of the same brand will do it for especially sensitive cats. Ideally you want to switch over gradually. Like for a few days his food is 2/3 the old stuff and 1/3 new stuff, then half and half, and so on. If he's already been on his new diet for a few days the best thing might be to just avoid any more changes for at least a week and see if it clears up on it's own. More changes could just keep the upset going. I'm assuming you mean just kinda mushy poops, not the ol' high pressure hot chocolate fountain. Mushy poops can be a wait and see when you have an obvious cause like changes in diet. If it's pure liquid spraying out then dehydration can be a problem and a calling the vet sooner rather than later is a good idea.
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Aug 25, 2020 04:19
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Wile E. Toyota posted:One of my cats has taken up excessive vocalizing and I'm not sure what else to try at this point. He's really smart, social, and active, so I guess he's bored? I've bought him all kinds of toys, put a bird feeder by the window, put videos for cats on the TV, rotated out boxes and bags with catnip and things in them, and he plays with my other cat. I've even gotten creative and constructed forts out of blankets so that he has somewhere "new" to go and hang out. But he's obsessed with sitting by the closet door (where I keep one of his electronic toys) and meowing all day. Even when that toy is out! Or meowing by the front door, or at the water bowl. I don't know what he needs! Cats do what works for them. Vocalization gets your attention. Loud excessive vocalization works better than quiet vocalization. Congrats, you've successfully trained him to scream continuously.  This happened with Pip too, and got loud enough and often right by the apartment door that I was worried the neighbours might complain. I had to negotiate her back to more reasonable volumes. First thing, I had to pay attention to her more reasonable requests for attention. Second I had to ignore her when she got too loud, so she learns quiet mews work better than yowling. If ignoring wasn't working, or she was doing it at 3am and I wasn't willing to let her yell herself out, I would spray a can of compressed air (like for cleaning computers). Not spray it at her, just spray it for the noise, which made her jump but wasn't loud or intrusive enough to bug the neighbours. The spray can isn't a punishment, it's just to interrupt her routine and sort of reset her. She would run away from the bad HISS, and then a minute later run back over to me for comfort, and since she wasn't yelling I'd give her attention. Before long she'd run away just seeing me reach for the can. Then immediately come back because she still wants attention. It took a few weeks to work it out, but now as long as I don't ignore her initial friendly overtures she doesn't yell. Sometimes that means I have to stop what I'm doing and give her 5-10 minutes attention. Sometimes she's complaining about her food/water/litter, but usually it's just that she's decided it's time for me to pay attention to her.
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Aug 26, 2020 02:18
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pidan posted:How do I bathe the cat without getting murdered? I can't exactly wrap her in a towel while I'm doing it. Trim the nails before bathing. If your cat is young it will be easier to get her to tolerate getting her nails done. If you have indoor cats they probably won't wear down their nails much on scratching posts, so they'll end up with half inch long scimitars they don't need that will only cause problems. Most cats, even kittens, aren't thrilled with getting their nails done, but if they get their favorite treat afterwards every time, eventually they will resentfully tolerate it knowing a treat is coming. Just trip the tips so you don't cut the quick and hurt the cat, or they'll never trust the clippers again. If you can get your cat to tolerate getting their nails trimmed it's nice to do so before vet visits. As for bathing, I've had the most luck floating them on their back in a full tub. It's a submissive position and with nothing to grab onto they often just kinda zone out. Or you can do it in the kitchen sink with a towel on the bottom, with luck they grab onto the towel with a deathgrip. Tepid water, not too hot, not ice cold. The first time you might try it with no soap at all. Rub in and rinse off imaginary soap, so if things go completely sideways you can just stop. In case things do go wrong you want to think about how you'll dress. You don't want the cat to claw the gently caress out of your favorite cute shirt. Or your skin, whatever, skin heals. If you have chainmail that could work great. Otherwise maybe a thick sweatshirt or hoody? It will get soaking wet, but it won't really matter if the kitty tries to climb you. I think the most important thing is that you are calm. Not just calm, you are loving serene. You are her safe space. You are just a momma cat grooming her kitten and there is nothing unusual or worrisome going on. Kitten doesn't like it? Too bad. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVHSOk_KU64 Some cats are great, some won't tolerate water at all. If your cat refuses getting wet you can use a damp cloth and pretend it's a tongue. It's not as thorough but most cats will put up with it.
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Aug 26, 2020 12:01
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Missionary Positron posted:Does anyone know why a cat might suddenly lose their ability to lift their tail? Since yesterday morning, our senior cat, who turned 14 just this month, has been seemingly unable to lift her tail even when she's happy and content. Otherwise, she seems normal: she's very social, purrs when she gets pets/skritches, her appetite seems normal along with her litterbox use, she cleans herself regularly, and her tail doesn't seem touch sensitive. She hasn't lost all use of her tail, I've seen the end of her tail moving as usual and she sometimes can lift her tail to be almost level with her back. But most of the time, the tail stays down. Like others have said, that could be worth a vet visit. Apart from health concerns, if she can't lift her tail at all then she can't lift her tail to poop. Which will lead to poop being embedded in the fur of her tail and butt area, possibly more poop than she can or should clean by herself.
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Aug 28, 2020 16:24
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pidan posted:My cat has taken to eating my long hairs and then pooping out a bunch of little poops stringed up on one of them. I had heard of this phenomenon but I didn't really believe it until I saw it myself. The worst necklace.
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Sep 19, 2020 17:49
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explosivo posted:Is there a way to net a balcony like this if you're renting and are super not allowed to drill anything into the ceilings? I've been looking into putting up a net both for the cats as well as to keep out leaves and poo poo from our first floor balcony but wasn't really sure if there was a way to do it that didn't involve drilling hooks into the ceiling to hang it all from. Those 3m command adhesive hooks, maybe? They usually remove with no damage at all. I'm not sure how well they'd hold up to weather outside though.
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Sep 29, 2020 22:01
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And if they do miss the litter box, try moving a poop into the box. They should naturally go bury the poop because a poop left out can attract predators, and they'll see that the litter is ideal for for burying poop. Sometimes boys will spray as a territory thing, but generally healthy cats do not want strangers smelling their leavings.
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Oct 6, 2020 11:50
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B33rChiller posted:Whoa boy, know what is my new least favourite thing in the world? Giving a cat eye drops. Our poor Petey got poked in the eye (suspect his younger brother, who looooooves to wrassle), and it got infected. Only noticed him being one eye squinty, then saw a red streak in his cornea, over the iris. Oooh no, emergency call out on a S undaay, and the vet prescribed 3 different drops, and an oral anitbiotic. One of the drops is every 4 hours. Having to pin and hold a 10.2lb adolescent tiger six times a day is starting to wear on us. Thankfully my wife is here, and we can split the duties. Once some friends went out of town for a weekend and asked me to care for their 11 cats, one of which was on twice daily medication. Cat was not thrilled to get pills from a stranger. What worked for me was to load the cat into the sleeve of my winter coat. The head pops out at the cuff, but there isn't enough room to get a paw out, then you just fold over the other end of the sleeve so he can't back out either. Boom, kitty straight-jacket. Low-skill swaddle. Do the things to his head, then slide him out and give him treats. They also make bags that do the same thing. Isolate the head so you can do head stuff without wrestling the whole time.
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Oct 10, 2020 00:36
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Phenotype posted:I looked over the OP but I didn't see any suggestions -- is there a good recommendation for a fancy expensive litter box? I'm primarily interested in something that will keep the gravel from getting kicked all over the place, but anything to auto-clean or keep the smell down would be nice too. I heard the auto-cleaning litterboxes were awful, but it's been years since I looked into it. If you're willing to go like $500 fancy I've heard nothing but good things about the Litter Robot. https://www.wired.com/review/litter-robot-3-connect/
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Oct 11, 2020 01:24
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Phenotype posted:Jeez, is there anything slightly cheaper than that? Was thinking like $300 max, really. I had no idea $500 was even in the ballpark here, considering the base model is a $10 plastic bin. Same. Everyone who has a litter robot is pretty happy with it, everyone without one is all what the gently caress how can a cat poo poo management device cost that much that's insane.
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Oct 11, 2020 04:06
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I. M. Gei posted:I’m gonna need a more specific endorsement than this. I went by Petco today and the only pet nail/claw clippers they had were made for dogs. I've tried a lot of clippers over the years. As long as the cat doesn't have super thick nails these cheepies are the easiest I've found to use.  https://www.walmart.ca/en/ip/wahl-cat-nail-scissors/6000034433007 Easy to use, easy to see what you are doing so you don't cut the quick. The thing is they aren't super strong, so they work best if you are cutting off just the tippy tips every couple weeks. They are small, so they might not work so well for folks with big meaty man hands, I dunno. There's also this style, similar mechanism but a little beefier, for thicker nails. I find them less handy for cats.  Then there is the old faithful guillotine style. These have been popular for a long time. The ones with the screws near the end there have replaceable blades so theoretically you don't need to replace the whole thing when it gets dull, but I've never actually seen anyone selling replacement blades, lol. These are okay for dogs with real thick nails, but I don't like them for cats, it is too hard to see what I'm doing.  The most important thing is to never ever ever cut the quick. That will teach the animal that nail clippers cause pain and make your job a hundred times harder in future. With a new pet it is enough to do a single paw, even a single nail, then let them go and give them a treat. Get them to associate clippers with treats.  When the blade starts to get dull you'll know because it will start crushing the tip of the nail instead of a clean cut. It will still break through, but there will start to be lots of little shards of nail and the cut tip is rough rather than clean. But even with the cheap ones from walmart that should take more than a year.
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Oct 11, 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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Gaj posted:My cat loves all food of pastry kind. I dont get it, she will chew on other things like paper yes, but by god does she love any baked goods. The other day I had to save half a baklava from her. I cannot leave french fries out because she will eat those. I thought cats dont have any taste beyond "meat". They also taste fat. Delicious fat. If you take down prey bigger than you can eat in one sitting you want to eat all the rich fatty bits first, not the lean muscle. This love of fat can transfer to oily french fries, buttery pastries, and earwax. Most cats I've known thought human earwax smelled intriguing and tasted fine.
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Oct 17, 2020 05:52
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Gaj posted:Ahh I see, its the fact that I am a fat sack of poo poo and my cat wants to emulate me. Good. Good. But seriously, my cat wanting to eat biscuits and such is just her wanting more easily attainable tasty calories? This isnt like pika or a metabolic problem? It doesn't sound like pika to me, no. Pet cats have been eating kibble with lots of grain in it for 50+ years just fine, they have no aversion to grain-based foods. If it smells like fat and/or protein it smells appetising to them. Sharing food is a social act. Taking someone else's food or eating first is an assertion of dominance. Being a little weird about food isn't necessarily about the food.
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Oct 17, 2020 06:16
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I. M. Gei posted:So I got this liquid cat medicine and it says to give my cat “0.05 mL once per day” and how do I even measure an amount that loving tiny? Do they loving make syringes that measure such small amounts? Call your vet/pharmacist and ask. Or go back to the pharmacy and ask for a syringe or dropper or something.
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Oct 19, 2020 07:08
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Protocol7 posted:What a day today has been. Caught the cat scooting. I hate that I could tell this, but his butthole looked different. I grabbed the cat and a paper towel, and my wife and I tried (partially successfully) to express his anal glands. He really doesn't like it though so he was screaming the whole time. Gave the dog horrible anxiety, and eventually I think our other cat came to investigate and help him out, because he (as in, the cat who was not swaddled in a blanket and getting his rear end in a top hat squished) started swatting at my wife and got her hand pretty good. Wow, that's good cat solidarity. Mine would usually hear one cat hollering bloody murder and come running to slap the cat.
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Oct 19, 2020 22:25
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vaginadeathgrip posted:Does anyone have experience with giving steroids to their cat for an extended period of time? I had to give my old boy thyroid pills for the last couple years of his life, but pills may be easier than liquid. Immediately after the pill I'd give him his favorite treats, so he'd come to tolerate the pills to get his treats faster. For mixing with food, could you mix the medicine with just a tablespoon of food? Then once she eats that give her the rest of her food.
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Oct 20, 2020 19:06
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vaginadeathgrip posted:I’ve been trying that but the smell puts her off. Maybe something with an even stronger smell? Does she go nuts for tuna juice? A teaspoon of tuna juice might work. Though a teaspoon of salty tuna juice every day might have it's own problems IDK.
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Oct 20, 2020 20:34
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Grand Fromage posted:She's already figured out how to remove it so that solves that. It may be fine. I had a cat get out of the house the day after her surgery and go bouncing around in foot deep snow with no harm done. Some cats just don't give a gently caress and it works for them somehow.
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Oct 22, 2020 23:22
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Bro Dad posted:Hey so I adopted an 8 month old manx cat a week ago and he was the smartest, most loving kitty I have ever met. A week later he wont even let me touch him without biting me, constantly hides and tries to pounce on me, and will run around the house for hours. Everything I've looked just says I need to burn off his energy with play, but he has literally unlimited energy so I can play with him for hours and he will still sprint around the house all night. Like I seriously can't even sleep because I'm clearly the worst pet owner despite trying to do everything right In addition to what others have said, he could just be testing boundaries and finding his place. It's not the same obviously, but my mom used to be a foster parent for special needs teenagers. The first week or two would be the honeymoon where they would behave very well. Then came hell week when they would behave very poorly -- not just to test boundaries, but to see that she wasn't going to reject them and send them away for not being perfect. And then they would settle down to whatever their normal behavior would be. And this was all good and fine and normal because all of those kids had trauma and going into foster care or changing homes is no one's idea of a good time. An 8 month old kitten probably has some baggage too. You are not his first or even second home. He has been through a few living situations that all ended with suddenly being carted off somewhere new filled with strangers. He'll get over it a lot faster than a sadbrained human, but it can still take a few weeks for him to completely settle in and recognise that he is in his forever home. So he may still calm down a bit in a few weeks when he feels completely safe.
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Oct 24, 2020 18:53
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| # ¿ Apr 26, 2024 09:03 |
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Eventually they'll get smart enough we can teach them to read and then get them their own laptops to browse the forums. Not post though. No one is going to do the R&D to develop a cat keyboard.
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Oct 29, 2020 23:57
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