Pets chit chat thread

[DragonsFriend]

Re: Pets chit chat thread

Well, I go out in the early winter to find animals that are cold and then I bring them home and warm them up.
I find a frying pan works well in most cases

[Rae'ya]

Re: Pets chit chat thread

Awww little cuties! There's nothing cuter than a furry or feathered baby (even the scaled ones set me off lol).

(Also, are you giving her free access to dry kitten food? Not adult food, kitten food. If not then please do that as well as the regular wet food.)

Now you'll have to figure out how you're going to give them back when they're old enough! Good luck with THAT

[Hawkfeathers]

Re: Pets chit chat thread

How sweet! Where Mama's paw is sticking out from under the orange kitten, I thought at first glance that was another animal, like a guinea pig or something LOL

[Shahaku]

Re: Pets chit chat thread

Awww little cuties! There's nothing cuter than a furry or feathered baby (even the scaled ones set me off lol).

(Also, are you giving her free access to dry kitten food? Not adult food, kitten food. If not then please do that as well as the regular wet food.)

Now you'll have to figure out how you're going to give them back when they're old enough! Good luck with THAT

Yeah, she's getting all the food she can eat, wet and dry. Right now, I'm contemplating and enclosed cat box for her too. She's over enthusiastic about covering her poop. A vacuum might come in handy too.... Also, we're considering keeping one of the kittens, but it's a long stretch. I've got hit and miss allergies with cats, so we'll have to see if any of them end up setting me off. They would have to like my daughter (2 and annoying). My other cat appears to already be in love with the family. He was rubbing up against their cage and purring the one time he slipped upstairs. I could practically hear him shouting, "My people! My people!" But if we kept one they would have to get along with him and be happy together.

We have a German Shepard who panics at the sight of cats and charges the one we have on a daily basis. We are working on this. Positive reinforcement when she sees him and stays calm, having her look at him then giving her a treat, startling her out of it when she does charge via loud clapping etc. We're making progress, but it's slow and the new cat if we kept one would have to be able to stand up for himself and not be afraid of Chlo.

And it's an only if we don't have any other homes lined up idea. Cause we've got three animals already. And we don't want to become hoarders.

[DanieMarie]

Re: Pets chit chat thread

I bought a new litter for Albert made of corn husks. As soon as I put it out, he pooped in it. I guess he likes it

He seems to really want to dig in it for some reason. Maybe it's because it's more natural?

[SleepingCompass]

Re: Pets chit chat thread

The dogs stealing my bed; they love to take my pillows and my blanket!!!

[Shahaku]

Re: Pets chit chat thread

So, we're thinking about introducing or kitten family to yoshii (our house thief, aka cat). But we're iffy. The kittens are getting bigger and want to play more. Mama is getting less protective. But I've never introduced cats before.

[Herbert]

Re: Pets chit chat thread

I just helped a cousin introduce her new cat to her other two. There was a great deal of hissing involved. If you have glass doors within your house, use them; otherwise, try keeping them on other sides of a gate for a while, so they can sniff each other out.

[Munin-Hugin]

Re: Pets chit chat thread

I'm a big fan of just throw the door open, and let them sort things out on their own. Just make sure you do it when you're around to avoid any possible bloodshed. Of course, you've also got to be aware of what constitutes as just trying to suss each other out and establish order from "I want to kill you" sort of fighting. It's really a matter of listening to the sounds they make and being able to determine pain yowls from irritation and pissy howling.

[Shahaku]

Re: Pets chit chat thread

Mama's in a cage and we've blocked off all but one side so she has plenty of room to go back. We're hoping that by the time the kittens are really rambunctious in a week or two we'll be able to let them roam a little more if we introduce them early. They're about five weeks now. Shrug. We'll manage.

[Rae'ya]

Re: Pets chit chat thread

So, we're thinking about introducing or kitten family to yoshii (our house thief, aka cat). But we're iffy. The kittens are getting bigger and want to play more. Mama is getting less protective. But I've never introduced cats before.

Yoshii and the kittens may manage okay, as kittens are usually treated differently than other adult cats, and sometimes it seems more like the older cat is scared of the kittens. Yoshii and mama cat may take a few weeks to start accepting each other.

Think very carefully about the value of doing this though. Are you keeping any of the kittens or mum? Why do you want them introduced? Think about your motives, because the reality of cat social dynamics is that Yoshii WILL feel threatened and invaded by this. The reason they spit and fight and ambush each other is that you have an invading cat taking over part of a resident cat's home territory and resources. After a few weeks, when none of the normal social cues and arguments result in the invading cat going away (because you've artificially locked them all up together), they will normally settle down and begin to learn to cohabitate. This is often easier for cats who have lived with other cats before, so sometimes they will be better at avoiding each other and you'll get less hissing and posturing (hence why sometimes people find the process isn't too bad at all). It's not that they like each other, it's that they already know how to cohabitate so there's less trial and error on their part.

If you feel there is actual value to putting Yoshii through the stress of doing this, then there are a few tips to consider:

- Feed and water them separately. Don't ask them to eat out of the same bowl, even if it's at different times of the day.
- Have at least 2-3 litter trays, in different areas of the house. Don't ask them to use the same litter tray.
- Make sure that they each have areas they can get to that are 'theirs'... that the other cat/s can't or don't go into.
- Supervise all interactions. It depends on the personality of the cat and their experience with cohabitating whether or not a 'throw them in together' approach will work or not. You'll need to chose which way you want to do it.
- Understand that hissing and spitting are NOT the only signs of cats having an argument. Staring at each other without blinking is actually the most common thing that they do. Two cats sitting very still near each other, one sitting up 'minding their own business' with the other sitting down with subtle defensive cues = argument.

Know that this will be incredibly stressful for all cats involved. You may not just get fighting... you may also get urinating in inappropriate places, wandering up and down at night time, cats not eating properly, hiding under the bed and not wanting to come out, getting snarky at the humans in the household. These are all signs that the cat is not coping with the stress of the situation. Pheromone diffusers are always helpful in this situation and I'm a big fan of them, but they aren't cheap.

[Kiesha'ra]

Re: Pets chit chat thread

My poor little Boston Terrier's seizures have worsened. She had 3 today one after another, the most she's ever had in one day so I've spent most of my Sunday at the ER vet. They and my primary vet have decided to add potassium bromide along with the Kepra (in case it's liver related though the ultrasound shows normal liver and so do the chem values we are trying to save it from Phenobarb as a last result drug, Kepra doesn't affect the liver). She also gets 1/4 tsp of gelatin twice a day to protect her brain as well as milk thistle and a low carb/high protein diet. I really wish the vet field could adopt medical marajuana drops since it doesn't have the THC for dogs with seizures. I guess over Christmas break I will have to take her to the specialist for an MRI to see if it is truly idiopathic or if its a spinal or brain tumor causing them. She's only going on 8yrs and they started when she was 6yrs. It makes me sad that her life will be so much shorter because of this. I rescued her from a lady who's dog had puppies because she was the runt and malnourished. Best little pup ever! She's such a trooper!

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[magusphredde]

Re: Pets chit chat thread

For further cannabis reading ... http://www.veterinarypracticenews.co...able-Epilepsy/ ... http://www.theweedblog.com/veterinar...works-wonders/ ... http://www.leafscience.com/2013/10/2...medicine-pets/ ... http://www.naturalnews.com/043071_me..._animals.html# ...https://www.avma.org/news/javmanews/pages/130615a.aspx

[Kiesha'ra]

Re: Pets chit chat thread

For further cannabis reading ... http://www.veterinarypracticenews.co...able-Epilepsy/ ... http://www.theweedblog.com/veterinar...works-wonders/ ... http://www.leafscience.com/2013/10/2...medicine-pets/ ... http://www.naturalnews.com/043071_me..._animals.html# ...https://www.avma.org/news/javmanews/pages/130615a.aspx

Interesting read, though I would prefer a veterinarian case study first to weight the pros and cons and effects before even trying it.

[Medusa]

Re: Pets chit chat thread

Lexi has tics. What's the best way/stuff to get rid of them. They are pretty much under her armpits.