Does anyone on here have a Birman Cat? I would love to get one but don't know how expensive they are or how and where to buy?
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I haven't gone through this but I told my SO to message our fantastic vet about it. He surprisingly (because he's always very grim and giving pessimistic prognoses) told us it has a very good lookout, and as long as they clean up well the femur heads it should heal without issue, which I'm quite happy to hear.
If there's anything more specific than that that you want to know, please let me know, although it's late here in Spain so I may take a while to reply.
Thanks for the reply.
Does he have any info about the recovery time? I didnt get a chance to ask my vet. Online, it looks like they are saying a week of no movement and then to start with physical therapy after that. Is that correct?
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Please don't buy cats, there are far too many cats that need a home. Contrary to popular belief, there's even breed cats for adoption all the time, so look around first. But even if you don't find one, wouldn't you rather focus on personality, rather than breed? A cat is a companion, not a statue.
I had my SO text him asking that but he may have gone to bed already. I'll let you know when he replies.
Hi, CatEra. Thanks ahead of time for any help.
I'm trying to switch my cat over to a more wet food/raw food-centric diet - any recommendations for brands in the US? Especially brands that can be found in grocery stores. She's 15+ and had dry food (prescription science diet) for most of her life. From what I can see, she's not all that picky re:wet food, although I'd prefer to get chicken over fish.
There's also, NomNomNow, which I don't know anything about beyond some random article recommending it. Has anyone tried it?
I'm trying to switch my cat over to a more wet food/raw food-centric diet - any recommendations for brands in the US? Especially brands that can be found in grocery stores. She's 15+ and had dry food (prescription science diet) for most of her life. From what I can see, she's not all that picky re:wet food, although I'd prefer to get chicken over fish.
There's also, NomNomNow, which I don't know anything about beyond some random article recommending it. Has anyone tried it?
New Cat Week 4:
I made some screw ups this week.
1. In response to her throwing up, I changed her food. Almost a week without throwing up. But I also forgot to give her her cat treats when I got home for a few days, and now I'm wondering if the cheap cat treats were the blame. I will experiment with the food a bit, but I'm going to keep her off the cat treats (anyone have good recommendations for cat treats?)
2. I got one of those motion sensor air cans to help with her counter jumping after seeing that video about not using a spray bottle. Well, I misread the instructions with the 3ft range, and thought that was the sensor range, not the spray. So I put it at the far end of the counter. Well, 10ft away is her favorite window and cat tree. Motion senseor must have gone off when she went on it, even if she didn't get an air blast, the noise freaked her out. I get home and pick her up, and she freaks out when i get near it. Felt awful about it. Thankfully, this only lasted about a day and she's using the cat tree again and seems to have calmed down about it. I can pick her up around it without issue. But now I know to be better about where I aim the thing.
I made some screw ups this week.
1. In response to her throwing up, I changed her food. Almost a week without throwing up. But I also forgot to give her her cat treats when I got home for a few days, and now I'm wondering if the cheap cat treats were the blame. I will experiment with the food a bit, but I'm going to keep her off the cat treats (anyone have good recommendations for cat treats?)
2. I got one of those motion sensor air cans to help with her counter jumping after seeing that video about not using a spray bottle. Well, I misread the instructions with the 3ft range, and thought that was the sensor range, not the spray. So I put it at the far end of the counter. Well, 10ft away is her favorite window and cat tree. Motion senseor must have gone off when she went on it, even if she didn't get an air blast, the noise freaked her out. I get home and pick her up, and she freaks out when i get near it. Felt awful about it. Thankfully, this only lasted about a day and she's using the cat tree again and seems to have calmed down about it. I can pick her up around it without issue. But now I know to be better about where I aim the thing.
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I don't think I can help you, we give them mostly dry food plus canned wet food once a day (which might be too fatty for a regular diet), and we live in Spain, but I'll ask my SO anyway.
Don't beat yourself up, it's all a learning curve, and no lasting harm was done in either incident. :)
1- Unless you were giving her lots of treats at once, I don't think these are likely to be the culprits, it was probably the normal food. I'll ask my SO what brands she gives them, as they're locked up (for obvious reasons :D) and I don't want to wake her up (I should ask her if our vet ever answered about the femur head operation recovery time).
2- I've never used or even seen one of these in person, but I'm assuming it's actually the sound that's meant to deter them, as if it was another cat's hiss? This works really well to deter certain behaviours by the way (simply blowing / hissing at them if they come sniffing too close to your food, etc.); it's a warning they understand immediately, so they normally back off without hesitation but without resentment.
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One of the reasons I suspect the treats is that I have been gradually moving her over to the new food, so she's still been eating it (old food is Hills Science Diet). The new food is "Simply Nourish Source", a grain-free diet. Right now in the transition i'm at about 50/50 mix of the two.
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So I asked my SO about the lingering questions and:
HellforLeather , recovery seems to be about a month if the cat is young. So, lots of patience.
DrForester , brands are different in the US but mainly check that they don't have cereals or sugars, and have a high amount of meat or fish.
egg-on-curry , she recommended NatureMenu treats, which are 85% meat; also same guidelines as abobe (no cereals or sugar, high protein).
"What does this button do?" said every cat ever. :D
The best part is that, according to the video, the police officer's own family adopted the kitty. :)
HellforLeather , recovery seems to be about a month if the cat is young. So, lots of patience.
DrForester , brands are different in the US but mainly check that they don't have cereals or sugars, and have a high amount of meat or fish.
egg-on-curry , she recommended NatureMenu treats, which are 85% meat; also same guidelines as abobe (no cereals or sugar, high protein).
"What does this button do?" said every cat ever. :D
The best part is that, according to the video, the police officer's own family adopted the kitty. :)
Thanks, he goes in for surgery tomorrow. Its just tough because he almost seemed back to his normal self yesterday.
About four months since adopting Cat-two. She's now addicted to era. I had to buy a stand for my laptop so she would stop laying on it. 😝
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About four months since adopting Cat-two. She's now addicted to era. I had to buy a stand for my laptop so she would stop laying on it. 😝
If anything I'm surprised a stand deters her from sleeping on it. :D
I'm assuming her name isn't really Cat-Two? :)
Her previous owner named her and her mom Cat-one and Cat-two. 🙃
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Hahah, well, my favorite cat was named "Raton" ("mouse") by his previous owner and I didn't change it, so who am I to say anything? :D
About four months since adopting Cat-two. She's now addicted to era. I had to buy a stand for my laptop so she would stop laying on it. 😝
Awww super cute!! And love the unique name too xD!!
I have a question some might help me with.
I have a number of either new neighbour cats or well cared for strays coming into my garden.
My current situation is I live in a block of 4 houses which back on to another 4 houses. So that is 8 houses of which 6 have dogs and I am the only one with a cat. These cats have discovered this and now uses our garden as a highway. This is causing my cat to leave the house less and less as she can't relax in her own garden. Last year it was one cat now it's at least 6 on the highway since a litter of kittens appeared last summer.
At least one is a Tom cat as my gazebo smells like cat urine. I am going to scrub the place down in the spring. This morning I found one of the kittens sitting on my second floor bed room window. It's my cats emergency entrance if no one is downstairs to let her in.
It's really the last straw, my cat won't go outside unaccompanied, I can't leave doors open during the summer and now I can't leave upstairs windows open.
Is there a way to stop these invading kitty army without causing further distress to my cat?
I have a number of either new neighbour cats or well cared for strays coming into my garden.
My current situation is I live in a block of 4 houses which back on to another 4 houses. So that is 8 houses of which 6 have dogs and I am the only one with a cat. These cats have discovered this and now uses our garden as a highway. This is causing my cat to leave the house less and less as she can't relax in her own garden. Last year it was one cat now it's at least 6 on the highway since a litter of kittens appeared last summer.
At least one is a Tom cat as my gazebo smells like cat urine. I am going to scrub the place down in the spring. This morning I found one of the kittens sitting on my second floor bed room window. It's my cats emergency entrance if no one is downstairs to let her in.
It's really the last straw, my cat won't go outside unaccompanied, I can't leave doors open during the summer and now I can't leave upstairs windows open.
Is there a way to stop these invading kitty army without causing further distress to my cat?
I think my first step would be finding out if they have owners or if they are actually strays. Do any have collars that you can see? Are they approachable? You can get paper collars that you can put on to basically say to any owners "hey i've found this cat wandering by my house a lot, if it belongs to you please give me a call so I know it's not a stray". Are there any rescues near you that could come out and scan them for microchips? If they're determined to be strays, some rescues will neuter them and rehome them, but make sure it's a no-kill rescue.
A slightly more expensive approach would be turning your garden into a "catio". Depends on how your garden is set up but you can get nets or rollers that mount on the top of fences to stop cats climbing over. They're more for keeping your cat in than other cats out, but it's a possibility - things like these: https://protectapet.com/shop/cat-products/
Say hello to:
Mr Soft
And Fleur!
My two loves in my life!
Softie is getting on for 11 yrs and Fleur around 8 years now.
It was a difficult transition introducing them both (Mr Soft was first) but we're now at a point of minimal scrapping.
They are literally the reason I'm still alive today!
Mr Soft
And Fleur!
My two loves in my life!
Softie is getting on for 11 yrs and Fleur around 8 years now.
It was a difficult transition introducing them both (Mr Soft was first) but we're now at a point of minimal scrapping.
They are literally the reason I'm still alive today!
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MrT's advice is solid; additionally, people also use ground pepper around their garden perimeters to stop cats from entering as cats apparently can't stand the smell; you might want to give that a try as it's easy and inexpensive.
If there's new litters in your neighbourhood though, you need to get in contact with an association and get the adults, and eventually the kittens (when they mature), spayed, or it will keep spiraling out of control. This will also help a lot with cats marking their territory by pissing, of course.
Say hello to:
Mr Soft
And Fleur!
My two loves in my life!
Softie is getting on for 11 yrs and Fleur around 8 years now.
It was a difficult transition introducing them both (Mr Soft was first) but we're now at a point of minimal scrapping.
They are literally the reason I'm still alive today!
Hello! :)
"Love of my life" is how I describe Raton, so I get you completely. It's amazing to think how could we live before them.
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Yeah! I never envisioned myself becoming a 'cat guy' as I grew up with dogs but I'm now infatuated with them!
I am very jealous of your cat family! I don't think I could handle more than two on my own though!
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Two-three is the ideal number, I think. My SO just can't say no to a cat in need, and it takes all our will to part with them even to give them great, loving homes.
As I wrote this, one of the ones we have for adoption climbed to my lap and started purring and kneading (and headbomping the keyboard in my lap which makes writing a bit hard. :D):
I know that feeling! If I nip to the toilet when working from home, I usually come back down to find that one of them has sent garbled messages to various people on Slack from standing on the keyboard!
My wife and I got involved with a rescue as fosters for cats. We now have 4, so... yeah... lol
I think your priority should be getting the population under control.
- Catch the kittens and get them spayed or neutered. A local shelter or humane association may do this for free on certain days. Try to adopt them out. if not, then have the vet clip an ear at the same time so people know that cats status.
- Try to identify if the adults have owners or are strays. Do you have a message group for your area? A postbox to leave information and pics? Or maybe going door to door might help. Or as others mentioned, checking for chips. If you can identify which are strays you could also try a no-kill shelter for them, or spay/neuter and release.
So that hopefully gets the population under control for now and the near future. It doesn't necessarily free up your garden for your own cat though, especially if one or more are peoples pets who insist on claiming that territory.
My dad bought some motion sensor thing which gives off a high frequency sound that humans can't hear, and it seems to work well on keeping a local cat out of his back yard and messing with his gardening. Maybe you could put one in the gazebo area, or if you have a path from the front to back of the house. You should consider though whether that placement blocks the cats from getting to a feeding ground, or directs them to a more dangerous busy road instead which could lead to them getting killed. Search on Amazon for "ultrasonic motion sensor".
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I work from home too and use a wireless keyboard that has an "off" switch. I now have the muscle memory of turning it off every time I get up for anything, for precisely that reason. :D
We currently have four of our own plus another two that are theorethically up for adoption, which isn't bad as we've had up to 12 at some time (mostly kittens).
So my wife and I have been wanting a pet. We adopted a dog a few weeks ago but unfortunately, due to sudden changes at work we had to give her up. We were planning to work from home but that fell through and we realized it's not fair to a rescue dog to leave it alone for 10-11 hours a day M-F.
That brings us to my question, would a cat be ok with being alone from around 6:30am to 4:45pm during the work week? We have a smallish 2 bedroom apartment. Our neighbor mentioned cats should be fine left alone that long but I've also read it's better to have 2 cats if they'll be alone for that length.
Any advice or info please?
That brings us to my question, would a cat be ok with being alone from around 6:30am to 4:45pm during the work week? We have a smallish 2 bedroom apartment. Our neighbor mentioned cats should be fine left alone that long but I've also read it's better to have 2 cats if they'll be alone for that length.
Any advice or info please?
Yeah cats will be fine as long as they have food and water left out for them. When we go on holiday we have someone who comes in twice a day to change the water, put fresh food out, and scoop the litter trays. Also make sure they have scratching posts and some stuff to play with and they'll be absolutely fine. Cats can sleep for like 16 hours a day, so they may not even notice you're gone :P
As for having 2 cats, not necessarily. A lot of cats just don't get on with others unless they're litter mates or brought up together, and can be pretty solitary. If you do end up getting two and they haven't met, make sure they get introduced properly.
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I was going to recommend you get at least two cats. A single cat left alone for that long will often suffer stress, depression, overweight and several other issues.
Sorry, this is really bad advice. You should never assume a cat is going to be fine on their own for extended periods of time; the vast majority of them, in fact, aren't. Cats are very social creatures in general that need company to be mentally healthy; this cannot be stressed enough.
Definitely go with two cats if possible ... They'll be much happier rather than being alone all the time. It's even better if they are litter mates -- but, that's not necessary. Cats are social and will from each other and play together.
Honestly, two cats really isn't much more work then one, you'll just need an extra litter box.
As the others have said, it'll be fine, though two would be better. One by itself will likely end up fat and lazy, especially in a small place like you described. Be sure to have a plan for when you're both away, even if just for a couple of days it's important to have someone checking in and spending some time with it/them.
Please resist the temptation to get a collar for general indoor use, and especially resist the urge to have a bell on it.
We got our oldest cat from a shelter, she was about 2 1/2 at the time, and as we were walking along I felt a paw grab me on my shoulder from inside the cage. I said that's it we're done here, we've been chosen. That was 14 years ago and she's still hanging in.
Do you have any stats on this (the "vast majority" part)? Here if you go to rescues/shelters to adopt, the majority of cats are listed as "needs to be an only pet". I'm definitely not saying don't get two, and you're right, you shouldn't assume they will be fine, but in my experience it's not necessarily company they need, but stimulation, hence why i mentioned scratching posts and toys. It would also depend on whether they're house cats or have outdoor access. We have cameras set up to keep an eye out and when we're at work, the cats tend to sleep. When we get home, we play with them (yes, we have 4 now, but that wasn't always the case). When you talk of extended periods of time, I'd be thinking "more than a day" not while you're away at work. Like I said, cats tend to sleep 16-18 hours a day anyway. Cats may be social in general, but they are also territorial so I wouldn't like to assume they will be friends either.
So my cat went in for his FHO surgery tuesday this week. The first night was pretty rough, he was pretty drugged up and in a lot of pain (lots of howling, angry meows). I had to shove the painkiller med down his throat because he refused to eat anything including the pill pocket treats. Its been much better every day since though, Im really surprised how well he has taken the whole ordeal. Hes moving around and eating and generally being much better than I ever would have guessed. He is still trying to stay off the leg and its awkward for him to get confortable with the cone but hes managing.
I take him in for the post op follow up next tuesday and we can take the cone off then and let him start to move around. Im sure we both cant wait for this whole ordeal to be over with.
I take him in for the post op follow up next tuesday and we can take the cone off then and let him start to move around. Im sure we both cant wait for this whole ordeal to be over with.
Thanks for the advice. Its going to require a lot of work on my part. Trying to find possible non existing owners will be difficult. I may live in a block of 8 houses but in in Estate of over 300 backing on to another 300 housing estate. I think there is a total 2000 over 5 estates and I have seen them in 2 or 3 of them.
We have a community What's App but its never used. I think 10 houses out of the 300 signed up. Going to the community meetings has less people. People pay the fee to get the grass cut and care little about anything else.
There are animals charities near but none offer catch, spay and release services. I have to buy the cages and capture them myself. But none are non kill so I am reluctant to hand them over.
The cats themselves are cheeky. They won't come near me but they don't run but stare you down and if you approach them they run a small distance and continue the stare. I found them sheltering from the rain in the garden and sleep in the Gazebo at night but look well taken care of.
A sensor is a good idea but I have one for dogs barking. But I don't want to disturb my cat as its her queendom.
Neighbour suggested a water gun
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We're kind of a shelter ourselves; my SO is responsible the adoption of around 400 cats by now and still monitors many of them. We've had around a hundred different cats fostered here at home at one point or another; cats that don't interact with other cats do exist, but they're the vast minority (I'd say less than 10%). Of the adopters we've had that had one cat and then got another, nearly 100% (that's well over 20 of them) express surprise at how much more lively and active their cat becomes, and become strong multiple cat proselitizers themselves.
I find it weird that your local shelters have more "needs to be an only pet" cats than "these come in a pack" cats. For us the struggle is trying not to separate cats that have grown together and are inseparable. The only thing I can think of is that they really mean "this cat is not socialized at all" which would obviously make them a tough sell to adopt and be the ones that remain unadopted. Or alternative, that they're adults that have lived all their lives without other cats, but "adult cats that have lived alone for a long time and are mentally healthy enough to be further adopted" is a heavily selection-biased group! For anyone wanting to adopt two cats, finding a couple that is already good friends with each other and used to play together shouldn't be hard.
"Cats sleep a lot anyway" isn't a good argument either. For one, sleeping more is a sign of depression and boredom. Cats do sleep a lot of hours but they wake up regularly, and if there's no one around when they do, they'll still get bored, anxious and depressed.
I'm frankly nonplussed at reading this kind of advice after spending years trying to educate people about adopting more than one cat and dispelling the cat=loner myth. My advice is the extreme opposite: if you're not home for most of the day, adopt two cats or don't adopt any.
https://petcube.com/blog/why-you-should-adopt-two-cats-at-once/
https://www.catster.com/lifestyle/cat-behavior-care-adoption-tips-two-multiple-cats-better-than-one
https://www.chewy.com/petcentral/do-cats-get-lonely-if-left-home-alone-all-day
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Thanks for the replies. I appreciate the info. I wonder if we might hold off on a pet for now then. While I don't think we'd mind having two cats, my concern is having the space for 3 litter boxes around the apartment.
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I think 2 litter boxes is plenty for two cats, especially if they're large enough and you clean them daily (which you obviously should). "Number of cats + 1" always seemed like a bit of an exaggeration to me.
One is better than none. You can always get another in the future. Re the litter, I assume you were exaggerating. Maybe I've been lucky, I've had no issues with one litter box for two cats, which I take care of every day and a half.
I agree that you could go with just two boxes. The reason they go for +1 is just to make sure there is no competition for them. There is also furniture that hides them, if you need to conserve space.
Hey all, one of our two (3yr old) cats suddenly started throwing up her food after eating. We didnt change her diet (theyve been eating the same kibbles for ages). If it doesnt improve we'll call the vet on monday, but any ideas what the cause might be? We'll give her smaller portions for the time being :/
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Could be a number of things, which the vet will hopefully go over. In the meantime, off the top of my head:
- Can you check the exact composition of the food you're giving her? In particular, is it grain free / cereal free food? She might have developed an allergy to any of the components in the food (this can happen even with specific kinds of meat).
- Is there a chance she might be eating other stuff unnoticed, like grass or whatever else?
Thank! Will check out the food. Will try to feed her something else to see what happens. Regarding other stuff, they haven't been outside lately so unless its some human food she stole, I don't think so. She is still playful as usual, so from the outside thinks seem to be ok. Thanks again, will just see how it goes until the vet is able to see her.
Anyone else have a cat that got old and grouchy?
She's nothing but pleasant to me, but she's not tolerant of other people any more
Worst part is she will approach them all friendly like and sit next them
But eventually she starts hissing and swiping at them (not actually trying to attack but as a warning)
This started maybe a year ago
She's nothing but pleasant to me, but she's not tolerant of other people any more
Worst part is she will approach them all friendly like and sit next them
But eventually she starts hissing and swiping at them (not actually trying to attack but as a warning)
This started maybe a year ago
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Welcome! Please post pics! :)
Is your food chicken-based? A lot of cats develop allergy to that, strangely enough. Try to change the base protein of the food, e.g. to ox or fish.
Does her attack them when they're petting her, or after no contact at all?
Petting or just after sitting down next to the person (she has plenty of places to lay down or hide but she will crawl up next to anybody)
Sometimes even if the person is just ignoring her
I have one friend who she will climb into their lap and then start hissing
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If it was after petting her, it might be a case of overstimulation, but it happening without even touching her is quite weird. I wonder if she might be in pain? I'd try talking to a vet just in case.
It is. Gave her some wet food and that went well, and also some dry food just now, so far so good. We'll see how tomorrow goes, but it seemed like it was a 1 day affair, so hopefully she is on the mends :)