And sorry to be a downer with that post....Don't really have anyone else to vent to about it and let it out. It kills me. I'm going to get a gogurt, sit in a nice bath, and watch something funny on my phone.
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CatEra |OT| Share your pics, read our tips, ask any questions
- Thread starter Weltall Zero
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That's what this thread is for though. Just as okay to vent as to post cute kitty pictures, just a shame you did both within the space of a few days.
Wish it could've been different :(
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Lt. Dan?! Oh no... no no no no. No!
I'm sitting here shocked and horrified. I can't imagine how you must feel. I'm so, so deeply sorry. I don't have words, this fucking sucks. :(
If you want to cry, then you should cry. You can't keep it bottled inside. Hell, I feel like crying myself...
Only thing I can add is, try not to be too too hard on the person with the other cat. It's so, so rare for a cat to attack a kitten, and this is the first time I've even heard of such a fatal attack. You just had the absolutely most abysmal luck imaginable. :(
Sorry, I quite literally don't know what to say. My most heartfelt condolences.
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This thread is for moral support too, so don't feel bad about it. That said, you probably need stronger support that what essentially amounts to strangers over a text forum. Isn't there any family member or friend you could call to take it off your chest, too?
Thank you. My biggest support is fiance, and she isn't home at the moment. Outside of her, I feel the most comfortable sharing with strangers....as sad as that might sound. I like it though. But I am feeling much better now. I sat in my chair for a while after posting, just scrolling through pictures of all our previous foster kittens, and watched some videos, and they put a smile on my face thinking about them. One in particular was Chester from last year, and this video of him fighting the air. But the best part is right near the end when he makes eye contact with me. I don't think he knew he was being watched.
(we cover vent with younger fosters just in case one decides to stick their foot down there and hurt themselves)
Lol, don't worry too much about it. There's plenty of options to help make your allergies bearable.
I didn't realise it was such a rare thing for it to happen, I just figured it was a territorial thing. I take back what I said in my earlier post, it's clear there's no way they would've known it would happen. Terribly sad for all involved :(
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Kittens are rarely considered a threat even by the most agressive of cats. Typically they will get a few hisses at most, and are often readily accepted and even fostered. Besides that, cats very rarely hurt each other seriously even when actually fighting. I don't think I've ever know of a case of a cat actually killing another.
I do remember now that my SO told me of a time when one of her cats attacked a kitten and she even thought she had killed it, but the kitten was just playing dead to avoid further attack. The cat of hers was notoriously bad-tempered and jealous, and this was way before we met (so probably 15-20 years ago).
This is a really tragic but also quite unforeseeable and just unlucky situation. There's nobody really at fault here (well, among the humans at least), it's just a freak, tragic accident. :(
It's not weird or sad at all. Sometimes we cope better with people we don't have right in front of us because it's easier to bring our feelings forward. I'm also assuming it won't / wasn't be easy to break the bad news to your fiancee.
This is beyond adorable, thanks a lot for sharing. I'm glad to hear you're feeling better, too. Just hang in there and know we're here for you.
How old exactly is the cat supposed to be? Do you have a picture?
Deaf cats tend to be more easily stressed as they always look out for what they miss. They startle easier due to missing out you walking behind them. What you need to keep in mind is, that certain things other cats hear they can't (shaking the dry food container, calling by name, talking, etc.). A Deaf cat, once asleep, won't wake up for dinner unless you touch them or put the food bowl directly near them so the smell eventually wakes them up. But waking a Deaf cat up by smell will take some minutes.
Deaf cats can learn signs instead of words. (My cats can do paw, sit, high five, one can do lay down). They can't hear you come home but that does not mean they can't recognize that you return. Our bossy cat is welcoming me everytime when I return. They feel vibrations, see how others react and they can actually develop a feeling for our schedules.
To raise a small kitten with two elders is kinda tricky, I'd actually suggest to either get a second small cat or prepare for intense play times to avoid cat fight problems. Normally its recommended not to keep a kitten alone (without a second kitten). Kitten need a play mate, adult cats are usually too annoyed to be bothered with little babies. I mean you don't want to play with a 2 weeks old as best pal either. From time to time or as your child maybe, but you are forcing this 2 weeks old on a grown adult cat who has no shared interest.
An own litter box is neccessary for the time they are separated, after that "an own" does not exist. You'll need at least 4 litter boxes for 3 cats.
As Kitten Shiro received endless food supply of adult food. Ryu on the other hand would have developed serious diabetes because he ate none stop. In the end a good rule of thumb is not longer than 6 hours between the meals. Our vet told us 200-250 in wet food only, dry food you need to subtract from this but not 1:1 because wet food is higher in calories.
Maybe Weltall wants to add, more experience and everything.
The cat flu can have two different triggers:
Calicivirus
- Mild sneezing, conjunctivitis
- Lesions on the margins of the tongue
- Pneumonia
- Chronic inflammation of the gums and mucous membranes of the mouth
Characteristic signs are:
- High fever
- Tongue and foot pad lesions
- Oedema (fluid retention)
- Haemorrhage (bleeding)
Herpesvirus
The clinical symptoms of herpesvirus infection include:
- Sneezing
- Watery discharge from eyes and nose, later often with pus
- Bouts of fever
- Lack of appetite
- Conjunctivitis and corneal ulcers, sometimes lasting several weeks
- Mucous membrane defects on the tip and back of the tongue
- Inflammation of the upper respiratory tract
- Possibly coughing
- Pneumonia
Just FYI, I think he's chasing shadows, my cat does that a lot(and he's pushing 7, lol).
When I was a kid my parents had a white cat that was deaf. Our back yard wasn't far from train tracks shortly before the station (don't worry, you can keep reading), and every day at 4pm it would make its way across the yards and shed roofs to get a perch to watch the train coming in. We never figured out how he knew to go at that time. First thought would be vibrations, perhaps that was the longest train in the day, but he'd be heading there 5-15 minutes before. It was uncanny.
We have 2 deaf cats (stone deaf, really. We had installed our fire alarm and they didnt even twitch). One is really good in picking up these things, he grew up with hearing cats in a mall, and the other one in a foster home with a room that hosted 7 cats.
Shiro, the one from the foster care, is a truly Deaf cat, he needs things "spelled out". The mall cat (Ryu) follows the ways of the hearing. He figures out everything especially if its food related.
Last update on Lt. Dan. My fiance had this made today from the paw prints before cremation---the foster mom was calling her Kitten. She gave to the foster mom so she had something to remember their short week together. You never know if this will make someone feel better or worse after what happened, but she was grateful to have it so she didn't forget her.
I never heard this until last year. I thought my leg was being pulled at first. Such an odd, interesting little detail.
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That's a very nice gesture. I feel bad for the foster mom, this must have been absolutely devastating.
Yeah, it's so interesting how some genetic traits are tied to others, particularly coats, like almost evety calico and tortoiseshell cat being female.
Actually making me cry now :(Last update on Lt. Dan. My fiance had this made today from the paw prints before cremation---the foster mom was calling her Kitten. She gave to the foster mom so she had something to remember their short week together. You never know if this will make someone feel better or worse after what happened, but she was grateful to have it so she didn't forget her.
And smile again, thankfully! She looks like the lovechild of these two:
This is Gally, my parents adopted her while their neighbours got her sister! The pic is from months ago, she's way bigger now, but I can't see her more than once a year when I go back to my hometown, so she's still a little kitty for me!
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This is Gally, my parents adopted her while their neighbours got her sister! The pic is from months ago, she's way bigger now, but I can't see her more than once a year when I go back to my hometown, so she's still a little kitty for me!
Oh she fucken mad.
lol. Literally two minutes ago, my fiance found a mess in the cat bed. Their traditions are not to be trifled with or questioned, it seems.Cross-posting this pic I saw in another topic.
I think I saw this kitty in that one movie Tales from the Darkside.
This is Gally, my parents adopted her while their neighbours got her sister! The pic is from months ago, she's way bigger now, but I can't see her more than once a year when I go back to my hometown, so she's still a little kitty for me!
100% acurate!And smile again, thankfully! She looks like the lovechild of these two:
That's a pic taken post Grasshopper Hunting, she's still a bit in Berzerk Mode!
If you look at it biological, it makes sense. White means the pigments dont develop.Last update on Lt. Dan. My fiance had this made today from the paw prints before cremation---the foster mom was calling her Kitten. She gave to the foster mom so she had something to remember their short week together. You never know if this will make someone feel better or worse after what happened, but she was grateful to have it so she didn't forget her.
I never heard this until last year. I thought my leg was being pulled at first. Such an odd, interesting little detail.
Without pigments the "hairs" in the ear can't develop — therefore the cat does not hear.
Often white cats with spots are more wanted by breeders even if "invisible" because it means that pigments exist and the cat might be hearing.
Both of mine have yellowish/greenish eyes. So they are odd one out. Ryu even has shadow marks and 8 black hairs on top of his head. Bad luck cat.
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This is Gally, my parents adopted her while their neighbours got her sister! The pic is from months ago, she's way bigger now, but I can't see her more than once a year when I go back to my hometown, so she's still a little kitty for me!
"I'm a wowfie, hear me howl!".
Not exactly the same as the pic above, but It's always hilarious to me how cats look like some kind of demonic being when caught on camera mid-yawn. :D
My cat throws up about once a month. Is this normal? She eats grass too.
Also she doesn't drink much water maybe 1-2 a day? Is that normal? even though it's away from her food.
Also she doesn't drink much water maybe 1-2 a day? Is that normal? even though it's away from her food.
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Throwing up once a month is pretty much normal. Cats throw up a lot, especially but not exclusively hairballs.
Drinking water a couple times a day is a bit low indeed. Are you sure she doesn't drink more when you're not watching her? Does she drink a lot each time? Do you feed her mostly dry or wet food?
Yeah, cats eat grass to force themselves to throw up hair they've ingested while cleaning themselves.
So I have two cats, one of which gets pretty bad acid reflux and throws up if there isn't food always available, and the other is a gluttonous fuck who eats way too much. How might I be able to balance one cat needing to graze and the other not having appetite control enough to graze without being fat? Dude is already approaching 14lbs and he's only two years old.
I just got a Cat about a month ago and he's obsessed by food. He doesn't have worms or anything else and in good health but man he likes his food. Gluttonous AF. The first week he hid in the bathroom and ever since he come into his own we learned he REALLY loves food. He's a tiny little black cat to boot. Not sure where he puts it?
Side note: we are in the process of moving and we have boxes everywhere. During the night he has been taking the tape off the boxes. No idea why I find this so funny.
Side note: we are in the process of moving and we have boxes everywhere. During the night he has been taking the tape off the boxes. No idea why I find this so funny.
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Is that still water? Maybe the cat only wants moving water, from a fountain or tap, and is drinking the still water only when it has to.
My buddy had a similar situation. He put the food for the grazer up on some furniture the fattie couldn't reach, and had rationed food in their usual spot. The vet wanted the fattie to lose weight too, and she has, and is more active and healthier now.
Yeah not there in he daytime so she probably has more than I think. She slurps for about 30 seconds at a time. She mostly has dry food James Well Beloved as she's super picky with wet and always leaves about half of the packet which gets thrown away each time anyway.
We had this issue, one grazer and one gorger, and we ended up getting one of these for the grazer's food so only she could access it:
So I got a new cat about 3 weeks ago. I had her separated from my other cat so she had a space to roam and make her own, and things seemed to be going well. I opened the door separating them and fed them together and things seemed to be going ok. However now the new cat chases my other cat around the house and when trying to play with them, she takes over the play time leaving my other cat to seemingly become jealous/disinterested and she ends up going somewhere to watch from afar.
I've tried separating them again during playtime to give my first cat some playtime on her own, but she ends up just looking at the other cat through the door and not really engaging. I can get some playtime with her if she can't see the other cat, but that lasts for maybe 1 minute before the new cat comes back around and the cycle starts again. My first cat also normally likes to be on my bed at night when I sleep, but now my new cat is trying to be up there, and my first cat ends up either leaving or hissing and give some swats at her.
They seem to be decent around each other when I'm gone according to the home owner, but when I get home, my first cat will hiss at my new cat some and give her some warning nips if she gets too close. The new cat will roll over on her back to seemingly show vulnerability to my first cat, but nothing really progresses. I know it's only been 3 weeks, but I feel bad for my first cat because it seems like she's jealous of the new cat and I'm trying not to make her feel bad ; ;
I've tried separating them again during playtime to give my first cat some playtime on her own, but she ends up just looking at the other cat through the door and not really engaging. I can get some playtime with her if she can't see the other cat, but that lasts for maybe 1 minute before the new cat comes back around and the cycle starts again. My first cat also normally likes to be on my bed at night when I sleep, but now my new cat is trying to be up there, and my first cat ends up either leaving or hissing and give some swats at her.
They seem to be decent around each other when I'm gone according to the home owner, but when I get home, my first cat will hiss at my new cat some and give her some warning nips if she gets too close. The new cat will roll over on her back to seemingly show vulnerability to my first cat, but nothing really progresses. I know it's only been 3 weeks, but I feel bad for my first cat because it seems like she's jealous of the new cat and I'm trying not to make her feel bad ; ;
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Perhaps get one of these:
It scans your cat's chips and only opens for the one you have allowed to eat. I know people who have it and it works as advertised.
How old is he?
30 seconds is quite a bit of time. Cats don't drink a lot in nature, they usually get hydrated from their preys' blood, so they have less of a drinking instinct than us. Sheepinator's advice about seeing if she prefers running water is good. Do you notice if she sometimes drinks out of the tap if you leave it running?
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Hahah, you beat me to it.
It's normal for a cat that was the sole resident to feel jealous and displaced when a new cat comes in. As you say, three weeks is very little time; as long as they're not actively fighting, you're OK, and it's very likely they'll eventually become friends. Our first two cats, both female, took months until they were fine with each other.
In a year or two I want to get a cat. A normal domestic shorthair because they're much healthier than pedigree. Any absolutely essential advice for new cat owners, I only have a goldfish as a pet right now.
That chip reader grazer is a pretty good idea. Unfortunately fatso is still pretty able to jump around so we can't separate like that.
that's very reassuring, thank you! they've never actually had any fights thankfully. just some hissing and occasional warning swipes from first cat, aside from the new cat chasing her around. I'll stay as patient as possible and hope for the best, as I got the new cat because my first one seemed lonely when I was gone the home owner said.
Throwing up is NEVER normal. Even hair should pass normally. If that's not possible you should brush your cat more frequently. Some cats with allergies also just throw up 1-2 a month, so such things should never be taken lightly
All cats get sick.
Rescues, pedigree or none pedigree it does not matter. If you want a guaranteed healthy cat, get none. Certain breeds have certain risks for diseases, but just because you get a rescue cat does not mean it won't get FORL or HD.
She's a month old according to the vet she doesn't need milk as long as she eats wet food. The vet said the swollen spot on her face was an abscessed pimple pretty gross they lanced it and are giving us some medicine to give her I don't know what medicine as my girlfriend is still at the vet and just texted me about the pimple and her age.
I bought another litter box which brings me up to 4 I found one in my closet while I was looking for the big cat carrier we have.
i'm loving life with kittens who will be 14 weeks old tomorrow. they snuggle right up to me a lot. they lay on my chest, my legs, around my neck, under my arms, and even at my head. it's just that the cats i had before weren't like this. i mean they would come up and lay down beside me but these kittens feel more comfortable around me. they just plop down anywhere and sleep :)
i woke up this morning with one of my kittens sleeping on my pillow. best way to wake up! i also noticed i have a scratch across my face so they were probably both running around my bed during the night.
when i last had a kitten i was only 4 years old (14 years ago) and once thing that i'm concerned about is how much they are biting. i know they are just playing but i don't want to let them think that biting my hands is OK. i don't tell them off i just take my hands away. is it normal for kittens to bite? will they grow out of it? i just don't know how to deal with it.
i woke up this morning with one of my kittens sleeping on my pillow. best way to wake up! i also noticed i have a scratch across my face so they were probably both running around my bed during the night.
when i last had a kitten i was only 4 years old (14 years ago) and once thing that i'm concerned about is how much they are biting. i know they are just playing but i don't want to let them think that biting my hands is OK. i don't tell them off i just take my hands away. is it normal for kittens to bite? will they grow out of it? i just don't know how to deal with it.
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None of our cats bite hands, including kittens we've fostered. Cats will continue to bite (and scratch) your hands until taught it's not OK. To do that, never play with them with your hands. Get a cat fishing pole, balls, etc. If they bite you, redirect their attention to a toy. If you notice they bite you out of the blue, flatly tell them "NO!". They won't be traumatized, and they learn quickly.
I'd actually go as far as stopping to play immediately. Redirecting attention can lead to them learning if i scratch i get attention/toys/playtime. Which is basically a positive reinforcement and lead to the cat scratching to communicate.
Wait 2-4 seconds and then reinitiate playtime but not with your body but with a toy.
Telling them off is not necessary. I mean i have Deaf cats and they dont bite or scratch. It does add another input, even if they dont react to the "hand pulled away" they might react to the no.
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Uh, you might not want to train your cat to ask for food while you're eating. Trust me on this; it's a really hard thing to untrain them later on. :D
(of course, "asking" for food is sometimes the lesser evil. One of our cats is a straight out food burglar and will always, always try to steal our food and run away with it. Sounds hilarious, gets tiring fast).
Couldn't agree more. My partner's aunt has like 8 cats, and they're poor-mannered, always trying to steal food every time we eat something, it's exhausting really. She entertains it because that's a sign of love to her, but I don't like it in the slightest when I have to fight off 8 cats every time I wanna eat something.
Our own cat on the other hand, can stand still, sitting on my desk near my plate, and she will not touch it in the slightest, even if I turn my back from her.
Cats are so different in their personalities, that I feel it is hard to generalize. My former cat just had no interest in human food at all. He was absolutely my cat, and I always offered when I was eating something I figured he would like. He would usually just sniff and move on.
My current little fella is VERY interested in whatever I am eating. Have made a habit of getting him a taste in the kitchen in his own bowl. He accepts that that is what he gets, and then he doesn't really bother me much about it when I am eating. Only exception is yoghurt. He will sit very close and stare intensely in hopes of him getting to lick the bowl afterwards.
Oh mind you, she tried a bit at the beginning, when she was little, to make us give her our food whenever we had some ourselves. But we never caved (mostly for her health, really), and she responded well to our education and rules (she's a very polite and respectful kitty), and she always has something to eat in her own bowl anyway, so she knows better than to annoy us that way anymore. Sometimes she sniffs though, but will never touch, knowing it's forbidden and that it will displease us. Boundaries are good, we respect hers, she respects ours.
She often drinks in my own mug of water placed on my desk though, that is something I like to share with her, and it's always full, either for me, or for her.
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We have 4 cats and none of them are that interested in human food really. They do sometimes jump up for a look, but just try and sniff it then walk away. The only exceptions are we have one cat who likes mayo, but she only tries to get it after yuo've finished and will want to lick any remaining mayo off your plate, and her and one of our boys also are quite partial to crisps, although again they don't really ask for them or try to take them. Just sometimes they hear the crisp packet and come for a look lol. Certainly nothing like those videos you see of cats stealing whole slices of pizza etc
(note: we don't actually give them crisps often, and even if we do it's just a tiny bit broken off)
(note: we don't actually give them crisps often, and even if we do it's just a tiny bit broken off)
I knew that pic reminded me of something...
One of our cats is a vacuum, will eat anything, and is always interested in our food. We find it cute most of the time. The other couldn't care less, and is extremely picky about his food anyway. If you're going to do things like give out treats at certain times, be consistent. If you give more one day they'll expect that same amount forever.
This is spot on. Positive reinforcement training can be tricky. You need to see it from the pets POV. Stopping play and ignoring them is very effective correction.
The talk about deaf cats reminds me about deaf dalmatian dogs. They get considered dumb and untrainable just because the owner doesn't realize they are deaf. Once that is realized and owner behavior is adjusted to compensate, they grow up to be happy, normal dogs.