For Cat Lovers Only X - Post Pics, Ask Questions, Comments, Etc.

[sue4u2]

Jeezus - did anyone else have computer problems after visiting that celebrity cat site?
For the last hour I couldn't type, all the keys opened different tabs or windows and I had to click on each individual tab to even get to the threads. But still I couldn't type.
Couldn't even do a system restore.
I ran a virus scan and nothing showed up.
I shut down and rebooted and the proper fuctions came back. Damn that was weird.

 

[kafrun]

^ YES! wtf

By the way, has anyone else had trouble with their cat chewing everything and ANYTHING? Especially dangly things like drawstrings, blind chords, headphones, iPod charger chords.. What can I do to discourage this?

 

[Sicy]

Ok I'm glad I didnt go to that site

A couple of tips for chewing cats.

Bitter apple spray - this is one of the best deterrents that is made for dogs/cats. Most dogs/cats will not chew on something sprayed with it.

Cover what the cat is chewing on (phone or computer cords). You can buy cord protecters (like a long tube).Move the object. Another great way to stop the chewing is to remove the object altogether for a time. Return it when the cat appears more settled. If the cat takes to chewing something else as a substitute, use a different deterrent such as the repellent odor.

Distract your cat. Place cat-friendly plants in pots or in the garden to distract your cat to something more pleasurable. Plants to choose include lemongrass, catnip, catmint etc. Hopefully, the cat will take to chewing on these instead of the object if it takes a liking to the plant. Make sure to introduce the cat to the plant!

Find an alternative chewing buddy. Substitute the object with something else, such as an old bath towel or mat, a scratching board, toys, yarn etc. Something it can either sink its teeth and claws into that will amuse it endlessly.

 

[bonocomet]

Hmm I had no trouble with that website. Weird!

Maurice is a plant eater And also any other weird stuff eater. And he doesn't just chew he swallows. He has to sleep in our garage at night (where we've made him a nice large bed and breakfast area off the ground) because we can't trust him in the house unsupervised. If it's a plant he'll eat it (except outside he only eats grass). When we first got him I had heavy packing tape covering a tear in something, it was alot of tape (I'm talking a ball the size of your fist when all scrunched up). He managed to tear all of it off and eat it all. It came out eventually but it was not a pretty sight. He doesn't seem to be as bad about it as he gets older now but we try to keep anything that's not nailed down to the ground away from him. LOL.
Oh yeah, and add paper to the list... he cannot be trusted with paper or down it goes.

 

[MsPurrl]

Another no-no at our house: icicles/tinsel on Christmas trees - those long silver strands. You haven't lived until you've had to pull out one of those that's half-way out of your cat's butt.

 

[kafrun]

I've tried distracting him with toys and a scratching post. I think part of it might be boredom. He was a stray - obviously an outdoor kitty - all his life, so I often see him stalk and pounce on things before he starts chewing them. I was thinking of getting him a cat tree that he can sit by the window. He looooves to watch birds fly by.

Otherwise I'm just trying to put stuff away or out of reach. He's such a little butthead

 

[Sicy]

Oh ya definitely get him a cat tree They LOVE them. Mine are on theirs all the time.

I have like 5 of them in my tiny apt.

I also have 2 window perches for them too.

Look at the freakin cat hair on the drapes

 

[VintagePunk]

Oh ya definitely get him a cat tree They LOVE them. Mine are on theirs all the time.

I have like 5 of them in my tiny apt.

Sicy, is that just carpeting covering that one?

:getsouthammerandnails:

Also, thanks for the advice re: preventing biting. That's one of the reasons I still have the kittens confined to one room, I'm terrified of them biting power cords, and there are tons of them around here that are impossible to hide.


Eta - I like your litter box. Is it good at preventing the litter from being tracked all over the carpet?

 

[Sicy]

Well you could make your own cat tree if you want. It's too much work for me

But you can search online for tutorials or directions on how to make one

Where is my litterbox

 

[VintagePunk]

Well you could make your own cat tree if you want. It's too much work for me

But you can search online for tutorials or directions on how to make one

Where is my litterbox

I never thought of looking online! I've seen ones similar in stores, and they're over $100. I'm sure I could make one for a fraction of that.

The litter box is in the picture with your patio doors. That is a litter box, right?

 

[Sicy]

I got the little pink one and the little tan one on ebay, $30 and $40

The green thing? That's not my litterbox That's a turbo ball cat scratcher thing.

Here's my litterbox

 

[VintagePunk]

I have no idea what a turbo ball scratcher thing is. The pet stores around here *really* suck. Very small selection of cat toys. I even went looking at WalMart here a few weeks ago, but they had nothing. There's a PetSmart about 45 minutes away. I need to go there and check it out, I'm sure they must have a better selection.

Yeah, I think I will attempt to build a cat tree similar to the one of yours I copied and pasted, it can't be that hard. I want one that's fairly high, because they all love to climb.

 

[Cin]

Look at the freakin cat hair on the drapes

we have the same problem at our house but I never really notice it until we have visitors. . . .

 

[sue4u2]

Oh how I wish I had a cat tree now. These kittens love to catch me off guard and run up my legs. Even with jeans on it feels like needles - then when I pull them off on reflex, they scratch the hell out of me.
I managed to get Rose's claws clipped last night, but Maxie and Jack won't let me and it's too risky with them moving around so much besides my arms just end up looking like I've been cutting myself. I'll have to get help with the other 2.

 

[kellyahern]

My sister just commented that she also has the "cat hair on the drapes" problem

Me, I have cat hair on the bed . She's not shedding as much as she was a few weeks ago though, thank goodness.

Sorry about the problems with the celebrity cat quiz It was from Catster, so I though it was okay.

 

[kafrun]

Oh ya definitely get him a cat tree They LOVE them. Mine are on theirs all the time.

Right now he loves to hide in a couple boxes my mom sent for care packages. He wore one out so much that it collapsed around him This one is still cozy enough, I guess:

 

[Sicy]

Hooray for photoshop!

 

[MsPurrl]

Hooray for photoshop!

Look at the snowshoe paws on that kitteh--how cute!

 

[sue4u2]

Managed to get all kittens claws clipped today. Whoo Hoo!
No more blood being spilled for these little stinkers.

Jack went with his soon to be new mom for the afternoon.
I'm having a bit of separation anxiety..
Jack, now Snowball, is really my favorite. I already miss him

My neighbor fell out laughing yesterday, when I used a hand truck to bring in a 30lb container of cat litter. But it was on sale for only a couple of $'s more than the smaller size I usually buy. I had to get it.

 

[VintagePunk]

Managed to get all kittens claws clipped today. Whoo Hoo!
No more blood being spilled for these little stinkers.

Jack went with his soon to be new mom for the afternoon.
I'm having a bit of separation anxiety..
Jack, now Snowball, is really my favorite. I already miss him

My neighbor fell out laughing yesterday, when I used a hand truck to bring in a 30lb container of cat litter. But it was on sale for only a couple of $'s more than the smaller size I usually buy. I had to get it.

I have to start looking for homes for the ones we're not keeping in the next week or so. I think my daughter's dad may be taking one (skinny tux...they already have a cat), but I have no idea about the two tabby boys. I really, really want to find a home that will take both of them.

We clip their nails once a week, we could barely handle them if we didn't! It's much easier with two people, but almost all of them will calmly let us do it, as long as we don't try when they're in a hyper mood. Gotta get them during the (rare) times when they're calm and relaxed.

 

[Sicy]

I just wanted to say to both of you that its SO GOOD that you are clipping their nails now when they are young. That way they will be used to it when they're older. Zoey is a humongous pain in the butt to clip her nails. She acts like I'm killing her. I didn't get her until she was 9 months. Saki could care less and lets me clip his nails all the time. And him I started when he was just 12 weeks so I think it really makes a difference when you start young!

 

[MsPurrl]

Same here--Fergus usually just lies there like he's thinking, "Whatever . . . ." Callie, on the other hand (whom we got from the Humane Society when she was "about two" three years ago), howls and hisses like a banshee. We usually end up taking her to PetSmart. We did, however, get her front ones over the weekend by my holding/scruffing her, and MrPurrl doing the clipping. So there is hope!

 

[sue4u2]

I ask Brianne, Jacks new mommie, to drop off Jack before school because I didn't want him staying there all day by himself. She did and when I left he was sprinting up and down the hallway. She said he did good last night, didn't cry hardly at all.
Poor Bela was full of milk this morning since Rose spent the night with her new mommie also.
But I'm sure they took care of that today.

 

[VintagePunk]

I just wanted to say to both of you that its SO GOOD that you are clipping their nails now when they are young. That way they will be used to it when they're older. Zoey is a humongous pain in the butt to clip her nails. She acts like I'm killing her. I didn't get her until she was 9 months. Saki could care less and lets me clip his nails all the time. And him I started when he was just 12 weeks so I think it really makes a difference when you start young!

It's a matter of self-preservation. If I didn't clip them, my arms and legs would be bloody stumps.

I still haven't attempted to do Kitty yet. I don't think she'll sit calmly and let us do it, I'm sure we'll have to scruff her.

Question - when you clip the nails of adult cats, does that lessen the damage they do from scratching furniture? We got her a relatively small scratching post when we first got her. Despite our valiant efforts, she refused to use it, and preferred using a corner of the sofa instead. The sofa needs to be replaced soon so it's not *that* big of a deal, but I'm more concerned with what will happen when I get new furniture. On a positive note, we ended up putting the scratching post in the room with the kittens. At first they just played with it, climbing on it and such, but for the past several weeks, they've been using it to scratch. since they started to use it, Kitty has too, and now she rarely scratches the sofa these days.

I'm pleased to report that I found a less expensive but still very reputable vet to spay Kitty! It's going to be just over $200, as opposed to close to $400 for the other ones I called. In addition, they offer multi-pet discounts! I was so excited when I heard that, I nearly squealed. So, I'm taking the four of them in in a week for exams and vaccinations, and instead of paying for 4 exams, I'll only have to pay for like 1 and a half exams, plus the vaccines. The only negative is that they're really busy now (it's heartworm season for dogs), and as I said, I can't get them in till next week for the exams, and Kitty can't be spayed till 10 days after that. So, that's like 17 more days of howling all night. Give me strength.

 

[Sicy]

Monkey see monkey do

I have a couch that is kind of like a suede, and the cats could care less about it. I think it depends on the material. But yeah, if their nails are kept short they wont be razor sharp and that's what makes the most damage I think.

Good news about the spaying

 

[corianderstem]

Help me, cat lovers, you're my only hope!

When your kitty gets a little cold (sniffles, sneezes, a little extra gunk around the eyes), at what point do you take them to the vet?

Do you go right away, or wait a day or two to see if it clears up on its own?

She's been sniffly/sneezy since last night. A little less rambunctious, but still alert. Is eating/drinking as normal so far.

 

[sue4u2]

Can you tell if she feels warmer that usual? If she is listless for more than a two or three of days and doesn't eat, then I would take her to the vet. Fever is really devasting to a kitten or young cat and they can go downhill quickly, much like a baby.
Also keep in mind if you've used a different cat litter, that can cause alergic reaction's sometimes.
When I changed litter because the store didn't have what I had been buying, Maxie (one of the kittens) began sneezing and had watery eyes seemed listless. She didn't have any fever so chalked it up to the change in litter. It didn't last more than about a day and 1/2. I chucked the litter, and she's fine.
That's one reason why I bought the 30lb bucket last weekend so it doesn't happen anytime soon.

Here is a site I've gone too about cats and colds:

http://petcaretips.net/cat_cold.html
*****
Just like in humans, a cat cold will last from 7 to 10 days.

Many cats will also refuse to eat when having a cold.
One reason for this is that cats like to smell their food first,
and with a runny nose, it's rather hard to pick up the scent.
*****

 

[corianderstem]

Thanks for the tip. She doesn't seem very warm at all. she's napping now, and has stopped sneezing every three minutes. For all I know, she was fine all day and only started up when I came home!

I just wanted confirmation that unless something seems REALLY off, I was okay waiting a few days to see how it goes.

Same litter, too. I've alternated between two different kinds (whichever is on sale), and she's fine with both.

 

[sue4u2]

For all I know, she was fine all day and only started up when I came home!

Uh Oh - that's a bigger problem..
I edited my response with a link if you want to check it out.

 

[corianderstem]

Ha ha, that's funny - I did a Google search when I came home, and that's one of the first bits I read.

I think I just wanted an actual human telling me "it's okay to wait a few days and keep a close eye on her."