Pets chit chat thread

[Rae'ya]

Re: Pets chit chat thread

The ears is probably ear mites, and the vet can confirm for you on Monday. A young puppy or kitten is the ONLY time I will ever say 'it's probably ear mites' without seeing a pet, because its very very rare to have ear infections at that age, and very, very common to have ear mites lol Adults rarely get ear mites, but pet shops seem to like to tell people that any ear scratching is mites, when in actual fact it's more likely to be an infection.

It sounds like you're well on top of things, which is good to see. The vet can sort out the rest for you on Monday. They should also be able to confirm her age by looking at her size and her teeth. And make sure to mention about her toileting problems. And they can check for signs of fleas and other things. Make sure you go to a vet who actually does a proper health check during vaccinations - some vets just do cheap vaccinations and don't actually do health exams unless a pet is sick. The best ones (I could be biased here... given that we do this!) do a full health exam at every visit, including teeth and ears, will talk to you about good nutrition, worming, fleas, toys, all those sorts of things that people sometimes feel is 'overselling'. When they're your babies you want to make sure that they are getting the best we can give them!

It's disappointing about your previous vet, especially if you had paid out a pre-paid health plan. At our clinic, EVERYONE gets at least a letter when their pet dies. Most actually get a brass memorial plaque as well. And we would (and have) transfer any pre-paid plan over to a new pet if one dies very young. It's sad that you've had that experience with them. Our pets are a part of our family, and should be afforded the respect and compassion that reflects that. My clinic's motto is '...because they're family' and that's just the way that we see it. Even if they have only been with you for a short time, it's still just as tragic and just as heartbreaking to lose them.

[Ouranos Ouroboros]

Re: Pets chit chat thread

I lost my fur-kid Iroh a few months back. He was always very clever in figuring out devices and learning the house rules and such, but he never seemed to notice magical energy much (certainly not as much as his younger brother). Only now that he's crossed the veil do I feel that we might be able to share a circle. Has anyone else had an experience where a pet only wants to work with you after they die? If so, have you got any advice? I've only had one familiar. I've never wanted to have another after he died (about 20 years ago). But I do think I might want to work with Iroh now, if I can figure out quite how. I don't think I will be holding him to this world. His form in the otherworld is already starting to change; I have no problem with it, and I still recognize him when he's an amorphous cloud and such.

[Jembru]

Re: Pets chit chat thread

I've just realised I never updated here. Well, the vet thought she was 6 or 7 weeks when he looked at Dolly. She also definitely had ear mites so he gave me some drops that he said would clear them up in a few days. Well, she is onto her second bottle and 3 weeks have past and she still has the infestation. It takes both of us to get the drops in, she cries, and although we hold her ears down and rub them for a few moments, she eventually struggles free and shakes her head. Then the drops go all down her face making her look perminantly wet. She rubs her ears on the floor too. The vet suggested warming the drops, but this hasn't made any difference. We're feeding her chicken just after we've put the drops in, which distracts her, but only delays the inevitable.

This cat will be the end of me! We love her to bits, but my gods she's hard work. She's having wees on the rug and on her stuffed unicorn, even though she's litter trained and her tray is kept clean. She DOES sometimes go to pee, then when we make a dash for her, seems to remember and go to her tray, but there are also the times where we don't get to her on time and, well.. it's a disaster.

Magpie had a similar phase and did grow out of it, but I'm a bit worried. We can't watch her 24/7.

[Rae'ya]

Re: Pets chit chat thread

I've just realised I never updated here. Well, the vet thought she was 6 or 7 weeks when he looked at Dolly. She also definitely had ear mites so he gave me some drops that he said would clear them up in a few days. Well, she is onto her second bottle and 3 weeks have past and she still has the infestation. It takes both of us to get the drops in, she cries, and although we hold her ears down and rub them for a few moments, she eventually struggles free and shakes her head. Then the drops go all down her face making her look perminantly wet. She rubs her ears on the floor too. The vet suggested warming the drops, but this hasn't made any difference. We're feeding her chicken just after we've put the drops in, which distracts her, but only delays the inevitable.

What is the name of the drops? We use ivermectin in the ears and I have NEVER had a case of ear mites that don't die within the first course (which is one dose on the first day, then another dose two weeks later). We have also had success just using plain old topical Advocate or Revolution, but it takes longer to get rid of the ear mites then. The other possibility is that she no longer has mites but now has an infection, in which case the mite drops wont be helping. Did you take her back to the vet to have a recheck?

This cat will be the end of me! We love her to bits, but my gods she's hard work. She's having wees on the rug and on her stuffed unicorn, even though she's litter trained and her tray is kept clean. She DOES sometimes go to pee, then when we make a dash for her, seems to remember and go to her tray, but there are also the times where we don't get to her on time and, well.. it's a disaster.

Magpie had a similar phase and did grow out of it, but I'm a bit worried. We can't watch her 24/7.

Did this just start in the last few weeks? It could be the stress from the ear drops causing some generalised anxieties, which tends to lead to urinating in inappropriate places. The most important thing to do is reduce all stress related to toileting. Don't yell at her, don't get angry, don't make her feel stressed or bad about it as that normally just makes it worse. Two litter trays is better than one... the general rule is to have one litter tray per cat plus one extra. Wash the rug and her unicorn in an enzyme based washing powder (in Australia the brand we use is called Bio-Zet) as well as the carpet under the rug. Go down to the supermarket and look at all the washing machine powders that are designed to wash your clothes with and find one that uses enzymes rather than detergent, and use that. It's cheaper than buying a bottle of 'Urine Cleaner' and works just as well. Also make sure that her tray is close to where she spends a lot of time, so that she doesn't have to go all the way to the other side of the house to use it... she's the equivalent of a toddler right now... toddlers get distracted, they forget, they can't hold it... make it as easy as possible for her to 'win' at this. An easy route to the tray, a guaranteed clean tray each time, a private place to pee and a litter substrate that she likes (that's the stuff that you put in the tray). Also, if she's really struggling then you may need to temporarily put her tray on the rug where she has been having accidents, then slowly move it away down the hall until it's in the place you want it to be.

Good luck.

- - - Updated - - -

Also I just remembered that she was having problems with using her bowels, right? There's a small chance that she has developed an aversion to her litter tray because she's experienced pain while using it. This is a case where we should look at the simple things first, but keep in the back of your mind that cats do develop aversions to litter trays and substrates because of seemingly silly things like they had a urinary tract infection and it hurt, or the washing machine started spinning while they were using it, or the dog sniffed at them and gave them a fright. They also develop food aversions very easily too. They are complicated creatures lol

[Jembru]

[Rae'ya]

Re: Pets chit chat thread

There is some evidence that Canaural kills ear mites, but we don't use it for that. It's primarily used in bacterial infections. Did he actually look down her ears or take a sample of the wax and look at it under the microscope? It's obviously not working for you. Get some Advocate or Revolution, if you can. I know that Revolution is used in the UK, though I'm not sure about Advocate. They are our second choice and the product that our most recent associate vet is used to using. My vets have always used Ivomec cattle drench in the ears... I also use it for killing mites and lice on my bird. It's a bit fiddly because you have to get the correct dose and mix it with carriers etc, but it does the trick. Both Revolution and Advocate are just at topical 'spot on' on the back of the neck, and also kill worms and fleas. You buy a box of three or six and apply it monthly. I would do at least three months if you've had ongoing problems. But beware using it if you have just dosed her with something else for worms or fleas... check that the products are compatible or you can risk overdose.

Do you think praising her for using her tray will make any difference? She IS using it maybe 80% of the time. It's just I can't imagine cat's giving a damn if we think they've been good or not, not like a dog who just lives and breathes for that golden nugget of praise. (aww, I adore dogs almost as much as cats, but for such different reasons it's impossible to really compare them).

It may help, and cats DO respond to positive reinforcement, it's just that they are motivated by different things than dogs and so it's a lot harder to make it work. Rewarding use of the litter tray is not normally included in programs for re-training urinating in inappropriate places, but you could give it a try. You also have to consider that some cats prefer to be private and not have a big deal made out of their ablutions, so giving them attention for using the litter tray can actually be counter-productive in that case. I would first try the giving her two options, one that's a little more private (but still has an escape route... cat's don't like to be cornered). Ironically enough, cat's who don't like where their litter tray is for privacy reasons will sometimes pee in very public places. It's very strange... I don't think we'll ever truly understand the mind of a cat!

[Jembru]

Re: Pets chit chat thread

OMG Thanks. We will definitely change vets. In fact, I might make an appointment with the new vet anyway, and just explain that I need to go back to the other guy just for the second jab, just so we can get her on to better treatment right away.

The second tray idea should be great then, because if she is favouring the more hidden location, we know that she just wasn't comfortable being right next to the step, which probably feels very exposed. I'm on night shift tonight and tomorrow, and tomorrow, I'm starting at 5pm (15 hour shift, nightmare, but profitable ^^), so I can't get the second tray until Thursday now, but I will definitely get it. I'll probably try her on just the one tray once we know which one she prefers and the accidents stop.

I got a bit upset this morning, because she was being hyper and attacking my hand. She is only playing, but I am on my time of the month and I always have overwhelming feelings of self-pity around this time (30 minutes later, I was crying because the people on Animal Crossing were being mean to me when I was just trying to be their friend). So I'd convinced myself she hated me. She was all fluffed up, with what I call her 'sharp face' and wouldn't stop. She could actually be teething and that's making her want to chew. I cried for a while, and thought about how Magpie always had a purr and a love for me when I was sad and that make me cry more.

I was worried that I'd be stressing her out even more, so I decided to see if there was music for relaxing cats like there is for dogs. There is! Strangely enough, it really seemed to work too, even though it's really just generally soothing music. She lay beside me before the end of the first track (I found a playlist) and when I stroked her she purred. She's doesn't tend to purr too much, but she did this morning. I'm almost sure she was really listening to the music too, because she kept looking up, jolting out of her snooziness, when an advert played (I don't have ad-blocker switched on, so I'll have to work out how to do it and change that). I made her her very own playlist of this music and I'm playing it now for her. She had a little play earlier, but usually she is all over the keyboard when I'm trying to study my podcast lessons, yet tonight, she's just lying peacefully on the sofa.

Oh I have also noticed that if I scratch around in her tray because I've just skipped it out, she'll come and sniff me then have a little wee, so maybe I need to do this a few times a day, so she uses her tray and doesn't get caught out and use the rug.

- - - Updated - - -

Oh and I forgot to say (I do that: so many words, so little communication of facts), no, the vet did nothing but look in her ears. The vet we took Magpie to, even trimmed her claws while we were there without charging extra, it was just part of the general checkup process we were already paying for (I had a plan with them, I think I said already). This other vet did nothing of the sort. The first time we were there, he took a long phone call right after, without forwarding the notes to the receptionist, who then didn't know what to give us or charge for. We waited 20 minutes for the call to end, and when it didn't, the receptionist eventually interrupted him. The next time we went (we've only been twice), there was an emergency waiting for him. A poor elderly lady's cat was very sick. Our appointment was at 9am, but of course, we understood that the other cat was a priority, and would hope they'd do the same for Dolly if she was in need of help. So that wasn't the problem. The problem was that this emergency had been waiting since 8:30, when the vet was meant to open and at 9:30, he still hadn't shown up to work because he'd slept in. The staff swore a few times too. Just in a casual friendly way, but it didn't give off a good impression.

[Heka]

Re: Pets chit chat thread

On the music thing, when I used to live at home and practise piano one of the cats would visit and sit on the stool with me

[Rae'ya]

Re: Pets chit chat thread

I got a bit upset this morning, because she was being hyper and attacking my hand. She is only playing, but I am on my time of the month and I always have overwhelming feelings of self-pity around this time (30 minutes later, I was crying because the people on Animal Crossing were being mean to me when I was just trying to be their friend). So I'd convinced myself she hated me. She was all fluffed up, with what I call her 'sharp face' and wouldn't stop. She could actually be teething and that's making her want to chew. I cried for a while, and thought about how Magpie always had a purr and a love for me when I was sad and that make me cry more.

She's young and was possibly taken away from her litter too early. She may not have learned proper play boundaries and doesn't necessarily know that she's hurting you. Try not to use your hand for play but use toys or string on a stick or something. Some cats play very gently, and others don't differentiate between 'hand play' and 'toy play' and so they use their claws. When they're aroused in play mode (especially when their eyes go real big because they're worked up) then they are not paying attention like normal. Getting upset or frustrated or angry just makes them even more aroused and more likely to play rough. A calm voice, slow movements and other calming techniques help much more... it sounds like you already clued into that with the music. Let her have her rough play times but use a toy that she can chase around the floor, then have calm time together with snuggles when she's not feeling crazy. Cats are designed for short bursts of activity... so they'll normally have ten minutes of crazy and then settle down. Time your snuggles to not interfere with the crazy patches.

[kijani]

Re: Pets chit chat thread

I had to rehome Trooper. I got him when he was eight weeks old. He was a red, full-blooded miniature pinscher, and he was special needs. He was actually given to us because the lady who bred him wanted to find him a good home, but with me using the cane pretty much all the time now, it was getting harder to watch after him, and with my service dog pup coming to the house next month, I talked it over with the family and we found a really nice family down the street that is going to spoil him rotten. They stayed and talked to us for like three hours and watched him move around and play, and the lady refused to take him until he was ready to come to her all on his own, so we just kinda talked to them until she called for him and then finally he looked at me and went to her. She lives right down the street though, and she said she's going to keep me updated and that if she feels that he's not settling in/is unhappy she'll give us a call and she'll bring him back if we want. I know it's best for him. It just sucks. :<

[Heka]

Re: Pets chit chat thread

Awwwww Kijani! I could never imagine having to give one of my dogs away! I just realised one is nearly 5, so he could actually be most of the way through his life and I was devastated! Imagine giving one away! I'm so sick and emotional right now I want to cry! Waaaaaaah! I'm trying to be strong, thinking of all the love you can give your service dog, and that trooper will be just down the road.

But waaaaaah!

[Jembru]

Re: Pets chit chat thread

Kijani, is that the handsome fella in your photo? I'm so sorry you've had to rehome him, but you've done it for the right reasons. It's not a decision anyone would make easily. It must be very hard.

Well, so far so good. Two full dry days and a very soggy tray! I think the music is having an affect on my well-being too, I've been feeling a bit more positive these last few days.

[thalassa]

Re: Pets chit chat thread

One of Chickadee's hamsters is sick...I think it has wet tail We're on our 2nd dose of antibiotics, and have it isolated and in its own little cage with clean food and fluff and water. Poor little guy...positive energy would be good. She will be heartbroken if he doesn't make it...he's her favorite.

IMG_0048.jpg
this little guy is GoGo

[Rae'ya]

Re: Pets chit chat thread

One of Chickadee's hamsters is sick...I think it has wet tail We're on our 2nd dose of antibiotics, and have it isolated and in its own little cage with clean food and fluff and water. Poor little guy...positive energy would be good. She will be heartbroken if he doesn't make it...he's her favorite.

Awwww hamsters are so cute. We don't have them in Australia and I've never seen one in person, but hubby has shown me lots of photos.

I hope this little one gets better and I'll send some energy his way.

[Gleb]

Re: Pets chit chat thread

My cat and dog are always fighting. Though, I love them, and they love me