Pets chit chat thread

[anunitu]

Re: Pets chit chat thread

That is strange,for Cats that have been close a while to start fighting. I have had several cats at a time,and never seen this happen,not when they had been together a while. I have seen cats do this when a new cat comes into the picture. I hope they settle down from what ever got them upset.

[Jembru]

Re: Pets chit chat thread

Albert has been attacking when he wants attention again. Usually, I play with him for a bit if he gets super high energy, but he's been doing it while I'm working or while I'm trying to sleep. Last night, he scratched me in the face...he even got my eye. I was just in bed trying to fall asleep, minding my own business, when he just walked over and whacked me in the face. I'd consider not letting him sleep in the room with me anymore, but I'm also worried that if I shut him out, he'll just get aggressive with the furniture...

maybe it's time to build some new puzzle toys? he seems bored with the old ones...

I think I already told this story way back when it was happening, so sorry if it sounds familiar. When Dolly was a kitten we had issues with her playing too rough. It was really hard to deal with because we got her only weeks after we lost Magpie. Magpie had been such a loving cat, and we weren't even starting to get over the loss of her. The overly aggressive attacks from Dolly just felt like rejection when all I wanted was a little cat to cuddle and love.

Then I had the idea of playing with her with glove puppets. Some of the cheaper ones are too thin so we have to wear gardening gloves too, but we can play with her with the puppets and she can get her teeth and claws right into them. She's a house cat so I think she just needs this little outlet for her hunting skills. This way she has learnt that biting hands without the puppets on is bad, although I'm ashamed to admit I sometimes cover my hand with my sleeve and let her attack my arm, despite knowing this sends mixed messages.

If she does attack us inappropriately, she has to spend 2 or 3 minutes in the bathroom. This calms her down and by the time she comes out she's forgotten what she'd been doing. We also recognise that if she's attacking us, it's because we're not playing with her enough, so usually make sure she get's a puppet play soon after. The whole package seems to have worked well for her. She's grown up into a great member of the family.

I'm not sure if this will work for your cat, because Dolly doesn't ever go for our faces. It's only ever been our hands or feet that she's gone for. It's maybe worth a try though.

[volcaniclastic]

Re: Pets chit chat thread

My dog has kennel cough.

[thalassa]

Re: Pets chit chat thread

Danie, how old is albert? from what I've read (and remember from bottle raising kittens before), don't even expect them to mellow until 2 to 3 years, depending on the cat. Dogs aren't much different in that regard, tbh.. Gotta get 'em past 30 in their years, lol.
the kids do a good job of wearing him out. Especially on his leash, outside. Right now they are "training" him to walk on the leash like a dog with the laser pointer and freeze dried shrimp... They were inspired by the hiking cat article i showed them.

[thalassa]

Re: Pets chit chat thread

My dog has kennel cough.

Does the vet know what from? my puppy ended up with bordatella after we boarded her during a vacation...she was pitiful.

Your poor puppy v. Give him some scratchies and a hug for me1

[anunitu]

Re: Pets chit chat thread

Be not deceived,while you may think you are training your cat,in truth the Cat is secretly using his mind control to get you to do these things....From the secret blog of our Feline overlords...

That is not purring,its cat laughter...They are amused...

[Jembru]

Re: Pets chit chat thread

Be not deceived,while you may think you are training your cat,in truth the Cat is secretly using his mind control to get you to do these things....From the secret blog of our Feline overlords...

That is not purring,its cat laughter...They are amused...

Oh definitely! Dolly is most surely the master of this household.

[volcaniclastic]

Re: Pets chit chat thread

Does the vet know what from? my puppy ended up with bordatella after we boarded her during a vacation...she was pitiful.

Your poor puppy v. Give him some scratchies and a hug for me1

He thinks it's from when I took him to work at the boarding kennel last week. I just wish I knew how to recognize it without spending $230 at the vet. He's on cough syrup and anti biotic injections for 5 days.

Dogs are expensive, man.

[Rae'ya]

Re: Pets chit chat thread

He thinks it's from when I took him to work at the boarding kennel last week. I just wish I knew how to recognize it without spending $230 at the vet. He's on cough syrup and anti biotic injections for 5 days.

Dogs are expensive, man.

Did he say why he put him on antibiotic injections? Only one form of kennel cough is bacterial, the other (more common one) is viral. We only use antibiotics in very severe cases where there's a good chance of secondary bacterial infection from damage to the cells in the throat. When we do use ab's, we usually use doxycycline, as that has good action on upper respiratory infections. I've never used an injectable ab for KC. We often use cough syrup, though.

You wouldn't have spent $230 at my clinic for kennel cough. That seems a bit excessive to me, but is probably because of the injectable antibiotic. Do you know what it's called?

In terms of recognising it... any harsh, honking cough is probably KC. People normally describe it as 'like he's got something stuck in his throat and is trying to cough it up'. It's usually a dry cough but sometimes they'll gag and swallow after coughing. It's a little bit like whooping cough in human kids.

And yes... the kennels is the most likely culprit. Usually symptoms don't develop until a week after exposure, so think about what happened last week or the week before. It's highly contagious and is airborne, so they can actually get it while out for a walk, or from the neighbour's dog coughing near the fence. Vaccination isn't 100% effective against the viral form, which is why most dogs actually get the viral one, not the bacterial one. But if a vaccinated dog gets it, it's no where near as bad as when unvaccinated dogs get it, and it doesn't last as long. It's still pretty uncomfortable for them, though. No one likes a cough and a sore throat.

[DanieMarie]

Re: Pets chit chat thread

Danie, how old is albert? from what I've read (and remember from bottle raising kittens before), don't even expect them to mellow until 2 to 3 years, depending on the cat. Dogs aren't much different in that regard, tbh.. Gotta get 'em past 30 in their years, lol.
the kids do a good job of wearing him out. Especially on his leash, outside. Right now they are "training" him to walk on the leash like a dog with the laser pointer and freeze dried shrimp... They were inspired by the hiking cat article i showed them.

Yeahh....he's almost 8....


He has a lot of energy for a middle aged cat! If he were a human, I bet he'd be doing triathalons

[volcaniclastic]

Re: Pets chit chat thread

Did he say why he put him on antibiotic injections? Only one form of kennel cough is bacterial, the other (more common one) is viral. We only use antibiotics in very severe cases where there's a good chance of secondary bacterial infection from damage to the cells in the throat. When we do use ab's, we usually use doxycycline, as that has good action on upper respiratory infections. I've never used an injectable ab for KC. We often use cough syrup, though.

You wouldn't have spent $230 at my clinic for kennel cough. That seems a bit excessive to me, but is probably because of the injectable antibiotic. Do you know what it's called?

In terms of recognising it... any harsh, honking cough is probably KC. People normally describe it as 'like he's got something stuck in his throat and is trying to cough it up'. It's usually a dry cough but sometimes they'll gag and swallow after coughing. It's a little bit like whooping cough in human kids.

And yes... the kennels is the most likely culprit. Usually symptoms don't develop until a week after exposure, so think about what happened last week or the week before. It's highly contagious and is airborne, so they can actually get it while out for a walk, or from the neighbour's dog coughing near the fence. Vaccination isn't 100% effective against the viral form, which is why most dogs actually get the viral one, not the bacterial one. But if a vaccinated dog gets it, it's no where near as bad as when unvaccinated dogs get it, and it doesn't last as long. It's still pretty uncomfortable for them, though. No one likes a cough and a sore throat.

Not exactly. My dog was vomiting for two days, and he felt warm (but wouldn't let the vet take his temperature, so I don't know if he had a fever for sure). When it is walk time, he's still just as active as normal, but when it's not, he just gets lazy and sleepy. So I think the vet just thought to treat stuff on all sides just in case. But tbh, after 24 hours of cough syrup, he seems almost back to normal. But I've already paid for the injections.

:/

[Shahaku]

Re: Pets chit chat thread

I'm glad you're puppies getting better V!

And we're getting yoshii after all. I'm pretty excited. He's gonna be a great addition to the family i think. Though I'm probably going to have a lot of work ahead keeping him entertained. He's used to having 17 other cats and a whole farm too explore. Still. I'm excited. It's been years s since I've had a cat. 14 to be exact.

[anunitu]

Re: Pets chit chat thread

Glad to see things worked out with the cat...

[Munin-Hugin]

Re: Pets chit chat thread

I've discovered another thing that has changed here in the house that may have started to cause the aggression between Sheriti and Nephthys (tow of my three). Along with a new space opening up in the house for them to explore and try to claim, a cat toy that hasn't been around for a while (a catnip mouse, though the catnip is so old as to be impotent) was found while I was cleaning under the couch. They both play with it, and perhaps they are getting into fights over rights to the toy. OR, the introduction of a new toy is ramping up their rambunctious natures and it's bleeding over into their interactions.

[thalassa]

Re: Pets chit chat thread

Thanks to Turkey season sales...

I just got this for Smittens, who is both a climber and a hider

(seriously, $80? awesome--if I made one, it would cost more than that in stuff...we'll just have to vacuum the heck out of it, and its going in the kids room)