For Cat Lovers Only II

[U2Girl1978]

Post pics and discuss your kitties here.






I hope this is ok, Mods.

 

[Canadiens1131]

I was about to start a new one
Cuetest kittah > http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2669687527071883440&q=kitten

 

[U2democrat]

I was about to start a new one
Cuetest kittah > http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2669687527071883440&q=kitten

awwwwwwwww i just want to reach through the screen and scratch its little head!!!!!!!!!

 

[U2Girl1978]

I was about to start a new one
Cuetest kittah > http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2669687527071883440&q=kitten

omg! *sqeeeee* That kitty is so freakin adorable.

 

[Liesje]

Alright, I need more advice/help/whatever. For those of you that don't know, my housemate got a cat, Eden, from a local shelter that is very disgusting and houses over 200 cats. When we got Eden, she had an eye infection which we've treated and cured. Also, since we got her, she's been peeing in random places in our house. We took her to our vet and she did have a UTI, so we treated that with antibiotic. When she continued to urinate outside of the litter box, we brought her back for a follow-up. The vet confirmed that she was fine and said her behavior is most likely due to the fact that she was never litter trained (she was feral, and then basically lived in a feral environment at the rescue shelter). He recommended we crate her for a week and see if it would help. We did that, after a week we let her out overnight and sure enough she peed in the bathroom. The vet then recommended that she go back to the shelter because they were not honest with us (they say all their cats are healthy and litter trained, which was a lie because Eden had TWO infections and is NOT litter trained). My housemate called the vet that runs the shelter and the vet said to bring Eden to her for a checkup. Of course we were right and another urinalysis confirms that she doesn't have the UTI anymore. However, this vet doesn't seem to think there is any behavioral problem with her shelter cats. She keeps saying Eden has "idiopathic feline lower UT disease" even though the urinalysis and ph tests are negative for UTI. Tonight I come home to find Eden back in her cage here and a bottle of "amitriptyline" on our kitchen table. My friend called it "kitty prozac" and said Eden has to take one a day as well as be in the crate for TWO MONTHS. Wtf? Is this vet right? Because I fail to understand how a cat that repeatedly tests negative for UTI still has a UT disease and I fail to see why the vet is assuming there has to be a medical explanation when clearly everything in the cat's past indicate a behavioral problem.

Beth?.....

 

[Sicy]

Um, you cannot keep a cat in a crate for 2 months. Especially a previously feral cat. This is animal cruelty and that vet is on crack. I have NEVER heard of locking a cat in a crate because of a UT condition. And giving her prozac??? Come on!! This cat will end up with twice the behavior problems if its caged up like that like some wild animal

It sounds like this cat needs to be an outside cat/barn cat/ etc or the entire house needs to be scrubbed with enzymes, and the litter needs to be changed to (Catlady posted a link in the last thread, I dont remember). But definately not kept in a crate, sorry.

 

[Sicy]

Ok this thread is supposed to be a happy fun post pics thread so here's more pics of my monsters.

Playing

I'll have to bust out some photoshopped pics later, I did a few funny ones recently.

 

[Liesje]

Um, you cannot keep a cat in a crate for 2 months. Especially a previously feral cat. This is animal cruelty and that vet is on crack. I have NEVER heard of locking a cat in a crate because of a UT condition. And giving her prozac??? Come on!! This cat will end up with twice the behavior problems if its caged up like that like some wild animal

It sounds like this cat needs to be an outside cat/barn cat/ etc or the entire house needs to be scrubbed with enzymes, and the litter needs to be changed to (Catlady posted a link in the last thread, I dont remember). But definately not kept in a crate, sorry.

My thoughts exactly. We did the crate thing already because it was only a week and it made sense (she proved she will go in the litter just fine without any discomfort), but two months? What is this vet thinking? How can she doubt this is a behavioral problem when SHE'S the one with a small shelter overrun with 200 cats doing what they want wherever they please. It's also obvious now that she had Eden crated at some point because the poor cat actually prefers the crate (she will stay in or go back in if the door is open).

We're still looking for a new home where she would be an outdoor/barn cat, but fed daily and no where near any streets.

 

[Sicy]

That is really really sad. Like, I would never take the advice of a 'vet' that runs that horrible shelter after everything you've told us about it.

We're still looking for a new home where she would be an outdoor/barn cat, but fed daily and no where near any streets.

That's good because that sounds like a home more suitable for her, poor thing.

 

[Liesje]

If Beth sees this thread and has anything to say, then I'm going to make sure Melissa calls this nutcase lady and tells her we have several "expert" opinions that say she's the one on crack and we're not giving any cat her proxac just because she has too many cats to train and properly document their medical conditions (Eden most likely had the UTI when we adopted her).

Anyway, I'll be back with some cat pics I just took b/c I'm bored...

 

[Liesje]

Sorry about the bad cat eye. These were taken with my housemates camera since mine is gone being professionally cleaned.

Fun in the ceiling

We have two girls and two boys, but the boys get along and share their cats beds the most

I now refer to Poshie as my Shadow because recently she's decided she likes me after all and although she will only be held at night when we're sleeping, she's never more than a few feet from me.

 

[Liesje]

Saki's long-lost twin, Beckham, making a weird face

Beckham checking the food bowl, which is empty, but he'll check it a gazillion times a day nontheless. He looks fat in this pic, but he's not fat, just a big boy, long and lean.

 

[Liesje]

My gay kitties

I think I posted this one before in the old thread, but I'll post it again because this is my angel

 

[Liesje]

And this is Eden, the one with the problems

 

[Sicy]

I love the licking and cuddling ones. It's a rare occasion that Zoey and Saki EVER do that!! I think I have ONE pic lol.. and its not a very good one.

 

[bonosloveslave]

It's unusual for a young cat to have a true bladder infection, if her urine is well-concentrated then that is an inhospitable environment for bacteria to grow in. Not entirely impossible, but rare.

Lord only knows why she ended up at the shelter in the first place, someone else may hvae been dealing with your same problem and that's why they gave her up. People are rarely honest about the reasons they surrender a cat because most people know that if they have littrbox issues, they will be euthanized and not put up for adoption. There really is no way the shelter would know - but ultimately cats that have had the opportunity to be outdoors and then attempt to be made house cats are more prone to problems. She could have intermittent discomfort, hard to know since you can't ask her (the frustrating story of my life!). Elavil is in the behavior medicine category, but it also has pain relieving properties for the bladder. I don't think it is an unreasonable thing to consider trying, though I do think being caged for 2 months is a bit excessive. It can help to confine them for the first 2 weeks they are on the medication, it could mean just being in one room like a bathroom, doesn't necessarily have to be a small cage.

Ultimately it may be easier on you all (and her) to see if you can find somewhere that she can spend more time outside, not near a busy road like you are. Sorry to be put in a sucky position

 

[Liesje]

I felt bad for her so I let her out of the cage. It's acutally pretty big. It's like the size of an extra-large sized dog crate/kennel. On the bottom there's a roomy section and then a cat bed and a litter box. Then there's a second level that has soft foam. We built it ourselves. The problem is, there's no room for her to play and run.

It's like this one, but bigger
http://www.futurepets.com/catcages/MW133.jpg

We have a "cat room" in the basement, so I moved her in there (and haha, I saw her use the litter box there immediately) because it's mostly cement and the only carpet there belongs to me anyway.

 

[Lemon Grrrrrl]

My little Scamp:

My lovely Chia Pet:

Kinda looks like a mug shot here:

Chia was adopted from the Humane Society. She too, has a peeing out of the litter box problem, which was from a UTI initially. Now (we've had her for about 5 years now) I'm convinced that when Scamp stresses her out she pees on the bathroom rug. So we spike their water with Rescue Remedy (natural herbal downer), Scamp doesn't attack Chia, and our bathroom rug is secure. Also I figured out that she needs a very tidy litter box, so I splurged and got an automated one. Now I'm just trying to figure out why she's digging a hole to China whenever she uses the litter box. Seems like she stays in there digging for a good 5-10 minutes after she's done her business.

I do hope all turns out well for Eden.

 

[Lemon Grrrrrl]

Our annual Christmas humiliation photos:

I love kitty posts!!! All of these photos are so wonderful! We need a cat smilie.

 

[katiebu21]

Here is Sasha sitting on top of the front door...she climbs door frames too!

This is Sasha climbing the curtains...

 

[Sicy]

^

 

[Russty Cat]

Sasha the wonder cat!

I all the kitties! We just have one right now. Her name is Missy or Miss Kitty. I would post a photo, except she hates me and hates my camera. The dogs will pose just fine, but she would rather maim me then sit still for a picture. She was a stray cat that came with our last house. She stuck around for a year without being fed. When we found out that she wasn't the neighbors we started feeding her. Eventually she stopped attacking my husband and the kids, but she still hates me. I want to adopt another cat. But we are moving soon so Mr. Cat said that we should wait till after we've moved. But they have a ton of adult cats at the shelter here and I'm dying to go rescue one. I miss having more sweet kitty faces around the house. And I just hate to think of some poor kitty being put down.

 

[fly so high!]

Here are some pics of our little kitties!

This is Cleo,she is 2. This cat was born in a storm drain, she had to come out and look for her own food when she was barely 4 weeks old,her mother perished.A friend took her in but he is terribly allergic to cats,so we adopted her.Cleo is a very feisty,strong cat!

And this is Ceasar, he is 3 months old! This guy is one cute kitty, he lets the kids pick him like a baby,he loves lots of cuddles.But....he is very naughty, he has litter issue!!!......he refuses to poo in the litter tray....HE THINKS MY BATHROOM TILES ARE A BETTER ALTERNATIVE! but.....nonetheless we are slowly but surely making progress!

 

[Catlady]

I felt bad for her so I let her out of the cage. It's acutally pretty big. It's like the size of an extra-large sized dog crate/kennel. On the bottom there's a roomy section and then a cat bed and a litter box. Then there's a second level that has soft foam. We built it ourselves. The problem is, there's no room for her to play and run.

It's like this one, but bigger
http://www.futurepets.com/catcages/MW133.jpg

We have a "cat room" in the basement, so I moved her in there (and haha, I saw her use the litter box there immediately) because it's mostly cement and the only carpet there belongs to me anyway.

I think re-training her by keeping her confined (two months may be excessive but I think I mentioned in the other thread one week is definitely not long enough--and letting her out as you have been for supervised playtime is a good compromise) using the Cat Attract litter, and possibly medication are what you should try before making a decision to re-home her.

The medication does not have to be a bad thing. A fellow volunteer with the organization I am with has had problems for years in her house due to one of her kitties who has always sprayed. She recently put him and several of her others (she has 8) on a low dose of Prozac...which has worked beautifully. The dose is low enough that nobody's personality has changed, they don't act "doped", etc.

I've encountered a lot of these type of situations...most of the time they are solvable, you just have to find the right combination of strategies...

 

[Catlady]

Here is a pic of my Quincy leaping onto Tucker when they were both kittens. The quality is real bad b/c this was scanned from a hard copy photo...this was back in the day before digital cameras were de rigueur.

I love how Tucker has ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA what is coming.

 

[U2Girl1978]

My thoughts exactly. We did the crate thing already because it was only a week and it made sense (she proved she will go in the litter just fine without any discomfort), but two months? What is this vet thinking? How can she doubt this is a behavioral problem when SHE'S the one with a small shelter overrun with 200 cats doing what they want wherever they please. It's also obvious now that she had Eden crated at some point because the poor cat actually prefers the crate (she will stay in or go back in if the door is open).

We're still looking for a new home where she would be an outdoor/barn cat, but fed daily and no where near any streets.

Good god! That vet is horrible. Is there any way to report these people? I'm not sure if you said anything about that in the last thread. I find this disgusting. How can anybody treat their animals like that?

 

[Liesje]

Good god! That vet is horrible. Is there any way to report these people? I'm not sure if you said anything about that in the last thread. I find this disgusting. How can anybody treat their animals like that?

I reported the shelter through silent observer.

We're keeping Eden out of the cage, in the cat room. She's taking the meds for now since I suppose we have nothing to lose by trying (although she's been REALLY groggy and walks really stiff). Maybe she will just have to stay in the cat rooms forever, since she doesn't pee on the floor and I've seen her use those litter boxes. At least two rooms are better than a cage.

 

[Sicy]

(although she's been REALLY groggy and walks really stiff).

This cant be normal, can you lower the dosage?

 

[Sicy]

I think I've posted these before but I thought I'd share again.

These are 'Katwallks'. The cats just LOVE them, Saki especially because he's a great climber. Zoey fell off of them before so she doesnt go on them that much

 

[Liesje]

This cant be normal, can you lower the dosage?

They're tiny pills, but I suppose we could break them in half.

Those catwalks look fun. Beckham loves that kind of stuff. He usually sleeps on top of the fridge, or on top of the heating pipes up in the ceiling. If I had a stud finder I could build something like that...