Cats Galore

question:

anyone have any suggestions for how to do things like administer ear drops, eye drops etc. to combative cats.. when Im only one person? Ive tried the wrapping them up like a burrito with a towel or blanket...not so effective. Tried sneaking up on them when they are sleeping.. better but not great. scruffing doesnt always work, either.

Hi everyone,

I'm new here and joined because we recently got a new feline addition to our household and have some questions about introducing her to the "old" cat. Any tips?

Both are female - Fannie (the "old" one) is about 7 years old, female, and extremely territorial. Nali (the "new" one") is about 4 years old and as sweet (& timid) as could be. We've had her for about 2 weeks now. Everything we've read said to give it a lot of time before introducing them and mix scents and stuff. So we did that for about 5 days and then introduced them (probably too prematurely). There was some hissing, some freaking out and each cat went their seperate ways. We expected that sort of reaction except that Nali refused to leave from underneath the bed for about 3 days afterward. The vet told us to keep them seperate for a longer period of time and we're going on 2 weeks now - we switch up their rooms so that the Nali can be around Fannie's scent and vice versa. Fannie is very curious and wants to get in Nali's room. They both lay in each other's baskets and seem pleasant when they sniff at each other through the door.

When should we introduce them? And when we do, I know it's normal for their to be some hissing, but what would be the best method of introduction?

I'm sure that someone out there has had a similar experience - hopefully a successful one!

Thanks!

question:

Is it normal for cats to sometimes have maybe a couple of spots of brown wax in their outer ear? (While the rest of the ear remains pink and healthy looking?)

I'm concerned because I just adopted a new cat, and she had ear mites, which were treated today. (She's been at home two days.) I don't normally check my other cat's ears because, well, she likes to kill people who mess around with her teeth, ears, eyes, etc.

The vet said that it would be unlikely that my other cat had caught mites yet, especially because the two haven't even made any physical contact. But I know that those things can live away from the host for a bit, so I was concerned, and braved the Wrath of Cat to check her ears today. I noticed about two spots of wax on the outer ear, and honestly couldn't remember if I had seen anything like that before or not. (I believe I had.) She doesn't seem to be scratching them or shaking her head, which is good. I'll keep an eye on it, to be sure.

But I wanted to check with other cat owners, just to see if this was normal, and most likely nothing to worry about.

I'm worried about Summer. She stopped eating right before she had her dental work, and she lost 2 pounds. I figured it was because her teeth were bothering her. She's a small cat anyway- she usually weighs about 8 pounds. Now that her bad teeth were removed, she is still losing weight. Before her procedure, the vet took a blood and urine sample and everything appeared normal. She might have some other problem that would require an xray to diagnose, but its not likely. I've been feeding her wet food to fatten her up (and locking her brothers out of the room so she can eat in peace) and she will take a few bites, then sit with me, then take a few more bites, but she never finishes it. She's always been a picky eater, but what kind of cat doesnt like wet food?

Any advice to get her to start eating again? I'd like to try everything I can before taking her back to the vet. If I thought it was life threatening I'd take her, but her brother Opie cost us $2,000 with all his problems, and I just don't have the money.

Besides her loss of appetite, she's acting completely normal. She's 7 years old. Her brothers pick on her (except Fuzz, he's cool), so that might be bothering her, but that's why she gets to eat in the room with me.

I am out of ideas, and I'm hoping you can help.  I have a cat I love dearly, who is prone to having accidents on the floor.   When we first moved to our new house, he enjoyed using a spot on the hardwood floor, and because the floors are uneven (it is an old house) it would pool in the same area until someone noticed it and cleaned it up.  The smell has soaked into that spot on the hardwood, and I am out of ideas as to how to make it stop smelling like urine. (He's since moved to the bathtub - yay!!!)
 I've scrubbed with regular floor cleaner, cleaner with Fabreeze, vinegar, and Nature's Miracle (a "odor erasing" product that works well most of the time), slathered the whole area with baking soda and let is sit... what should I do?

I need help.

My cat is old. (18.) About a month ago, she started dropping weight. I took her to the vet, and fortunately, no renal failure or anything. But she was dehydrated and malnourished. She has high blood pressure and gets meds for that.

I figured the issue might be that she sleeps up in my loft, and is having a hard time climbing down to eat. I have a ramp with sisal rope on it, so it's not like she has to do steps or anything. But still, she is old.

Regardless, both cats are now on a combination of wet/dry food. (Wellness brand) Half a can of wet and a half cup of dry per day. She seems to be eating better. I also moved her food and water bowls up to the loft, so she doesn't have to come down to eat and get bothered by the other cat.

She hasn't gained any weight back yet. The vet said that if there was no change, to treat empirically for parasites, so I did.

The day before yesterday, she peed over the side of the litter box. Part of it got in the box, and the rest of it poured over the edge. (My litter boxes have high walls.) She also pooped over the side of the box. Then yesterday, she pooped up in the loft. (Near her food, no less. Bad sign.) Today, again, she peed over the side of the box. She hasn't pooped yet, so I'm not sure where that is going to happen.

She has never had this problem before. I called the vet about some sort of care for her achiness, because she is arthritic, and he gave me two supplements to put in her food.

I have no way of keeping her out of the loft, unfortunately. I would if I could, because I don't think it's good on her joints. I suppose I could move a litter box up there, but that would mean then the other cat would start using it, too, and if my cat is going to pee over the side of the box, I'd much rather her do it downstairs than up there.

I'm not sure what to do. I think she may be dying.

I need some behavior advice.

My vet said to get one of those fountain things for the cats, since one of my cats isnt taking in enough fluids.

Fifty dollars later, I have a fountain that the cats are scared of.

It doesn't make any noise, so that is not an issue, as far as I know. The water comes down a slide and doesnt splash or anything.

I've tried putting a bit of tuna water in the water. That doesn't help. I even tried putting a piece of tuna on the rim, and my cat actually batted it off with her paw and dragged it to her, because she didn't want to eat it off the lip. I've also tried this with the fountain part turned off, and got no better results.

Has anyone who has encountered this problem been able to correct it?

 Ay'all!

I'm new to this comm...but I'm not a new cat person! 

I had a kitten, Sunshine, that we found living in the engine of my dad's stationwagon when I was in kindergarten that had to be taken to the pound b/c of that cat-poop  disease pregnant women can pass on their babies (it took me forever to like my baby brother because he was the reason my kitty was gone!)

I had a calico, Callie, from 3-12th grade; we had resuced her from the pound and she had to be put down when she got sick. 

I had a tiger-striped cat, Cassie, that we got when I was in 6th grade *she's currently now my mom's cat and lives with my parents*.

My dad~the dog person~rescued a cat, Hercules, Christmas 2005. He's also currently with my parents. 

My husband and I resuced a muted calico, Cheyenne, the first week of this year. She's very much a daddy's girl! 

I have lots of great pix, all our cats have been so charismatic *as cats are!* and I look forward to seeing your posts =D

 I've been planning a road trip for half a year now, and had plans to leave my cat, Chill, with my mother. I also had a backup plan: some friends that could take her in while I'm traveling.

Now my mother can't. So I've been bringing my baby over to my friend's house, where their cat is always on Chill. Not literally, but he follows her within an inch of space constantly, which makes her want to hide somewhere. The people barely pay their own cat any attention; the cats aren't even allowed in the bedroom. Their cat has gotten out and come back, but my kitty has never been 'out' before. She's a very affectionate lapcat that loves to play and follow you around. She's fascinated by people bathing/showering, and will give you a bath in the bath! She's never been in a situation before, where no one will love her.

They're going to lock her in the bathroom at night. Rarely, if ever, give her the time of day.

I'm thinking of looking into a professional catsitter. I would drive a long distance to drop her off with someone from online, but I live in Florida, and Iowa is the closest option. I'll be driving by motorcycle, so taking her that far is out of the question.

It's an open-ended trip. I may be traveling for a week, or a few months. So I suppose I'm posing two questions:

1. Is there anyone in Florida that would watch a very sweet kitty with compensation?
2. How much would a professional charge for such a service, and where would I find the information if there aren't any 'petsitters' listed in the phonebook?

Thanks!

Hope this is ok to post here.

Since a couple of people have asked for pet portraits (of their dogs, excetra), I can commission them. The best media I would recommend is acrylics or oil.

Here is a list of what I have to offer.

5x7 inches $20

8x10 inches $30

11x14 inches $50

16x20 and up $75.00

I can paint on both flat canvas panels, and gallery wrapped canvas. Gallery wrapped are those with the thick edges that you don't have to frame, and can be hung as is if you want to.

I accept personal checks, money orders, and paypal. You email me the picture, or send me a link, and I will paint it for you. Checks may be held for a few days to make sure that they clear.

If you would like one of your pets done, my email address is chinbunny1@wmconnect.com

Here is some examples of my work through my EBSQ page galleries. All of my work (including portraits) also comes with a signed EBSQ certificate of authenticity. Those paintings with animal names on them (hattie, jasper, Simba, kitty whispers, and Dakota) are all examples of pet paintings that I have done.

http://www.ebsqart.com/Artists/cmd_14656_profile_portfolio_Gallery_1_1.htm
http://www.ebsqart.com/Artists/cmd_14656_profile_portfolio_new+gallery_1_1.htm

Hi,

My cat Tiger (who is spayed) and I have recently been having trouble with visits from a pesky tom cat. He comes in through the cat flap at various times of the day or night and if I'm not around to shoo him back out he eats Tiger's food or sprays on the furniture. I have tried various things to discourage him, I now lock the flap at night times and make sure that there's no food lying around for him to steal, but now he comes in during the day, which is a problem as I am often at work. I wondered if anyone else has experienced similar problems and if so, what did you do and did it work? I don't want to change my cat flap for one that opens with a collar as Tiger doesn't like collars and besides which in the UK they can be expensive.

Any help would be greatly appreciated :)

Has anyone ever used this carpet shampoo? Does it work?
http://www.odorbgoneproducts.com/shampoo/index.htm

This morning my roommate told me she found a wet spot in her room under her desk. She thought it might be from outside at first but the window/walls were dry so she thinks it might be my cat. He's never done this before so I am kind of freaked out. He's 3 years old, nothing stressful has happened to him recently, he's normally really well behaved except that he's very vocal, but I don't think that has anything to do with peeing on a carpet. There haven't been any other pet smells in there as far as I know, because we don't have other animals.

I kind of think it must have been something else, because she locks her door at night to sleep, so I don't see how she would have noticed this just this morning. She doesn't want to blame him but she can't come up with any other explanation.

Would my cat just randomly pee on her carpet? He's neutered and I scoop his litterbox every day.

HERE

I've emailed the RSPCA and Cats' Protection to bring it to their notice, and a friend in the media to see if any of her contacts are interested.
Also, if you have time, write to the press.

Thanks.

(please remove if this goes to the wrong community)

This is upsetting and infuriating. Please read it, click the link, and sign the petition.

(cross-posted)

<img src="http://pics.livejournal.com/thisisdavid/pic/002qp91g/s640x480">