Pets chit chat thread

[kijani]

Re: Pets chit chat thread

The weight gain could be the food, I would bet. I do hope you figure out what's wrong, though. It always sucks when there is something wrong with your pet. You can't just ask them what it is and it's really frustrating. Hope you figure it out and she gets to feeling better soon. Good luck.

[Corvus]

Re: Pets chit chat thread

Overgrooming is usually anxiety related in cats. If you've ruled out parasites then the other common options are allergies or anxiety. Unfortunately, many general practice vets don't really understand anxiety in cats or how to recognise it, let alone treat it. Does she have other symptoms? How many pets do you have and what species? Is she indoors or outdoors? What's her routine? Her diet? Tell me as much as you canpossibly think of and I'll try and work out if it's worth you taking her to another vet.

One day we just noticed she was going bald, then we noticed she was grooming more often. She's about four years old, been spayed but I'm not sure her breed. She's an indoor cat and only been outside once. We thought it might be changing the powder we use in the litterbox so we switched back to baking soda but she's still doing it. We have two dogs (a basset hound and a chiwawa/doxin/something mix) addition to the cat but she'd been living here for a few months without problems previously. She spends most of her time sleeping but since she's a cat I didn't think it was odd. She usually spends her time laying on the floor or sleeping in the arm chair, sometimes she sits in the window. She was eating dry food for years then we moved in and my step mom insisted on giving her wet food too. The cat loved it but she complains now if she doesn't get it but that was before she started the grooming. I think she's been getting a little chubbier the past few months too.

[kijani]

Re: Pets chit chat thread

Hey guys! So I changed my SD prospect's name to Vincent (his father was Picasso) and today he learned 'go get it!' and has been running back and forth in the same spot in the living room bringing a squeaky toy to my girlfriend. I am experiencing cuteness overload and all of the lol's right now.

Re: Pets chit chat thread

Maines do love the water, and their strong personalities can really make it tricky to groom/treat them (though not as bad as some Bengal cats I've known).
You can get hair detangler solutions/sprays , but you will still have to groom him to get the clumps out.
My technique for grooming reluctant cats is to do a little once a day (or even once every other day), by little I mean maybe a few seconds while petting. Just to try and increase his tolerance for it. In some cases I've started with a little manual massage of the clumps, not even real grooming, then over time introduced combs/brushes ( to non-matted hair first). I find its all about building up to it.
Maybe try getting a plug-in calming vaporizer to try and take the edge off his reluctance?

You can also take him to your vet and get him sedated and groomed if its a real problem, at least then you can start the gradual grooming afterwards when he has a non-matted coat.

Thanks so much for the quick reply. I will definitely try this as soon as I get him to the vet, so they can get the matts out first. Thank heavens it isn't too bad yet, I just really do not want to see it get any worse. Plus I really wanted to find something that will prevent it from happening over and over again.

What Optimistic Discord said. Though I would say if he is already matted then get hom sedated and shaved first, then start with the slow grooming stuff. Do NOT try to brush out any matts ot knots as it hurts and will just reinforce his dislike of grooming. Then start with a daily routine of stroking with flat hand, then with fingers tented like a comb, then use a Zoom Groom (they are a massaging rubber brush a bit like a horse curry comb but softer), then up to a slicker brush. Start each stage in an area he doesn't mind being touched then work up to the other areas, leaving his sensitive belly til last! As OpD said, start with just a few seconds and build up. The trick is to stop each session BEFORE he gets upset, and build in slow, small steps.

Thanks to you as well!! I really do appreciate all the advice I can get on this. I didn't try to brush him now of course with all this matting going on because I didn't want to hurt him, it's bad enough when I get a "rat" in my long hair and have to brush it out, I don't even want to begin to imagine how horrible it would be for him lol
So yeah that was out of the question. I'm going to make an Apt. with his vet, get him shaved and then start a slow and gradual process on getting him to deal with his necessary grooming. Mommy is putting her foot down lol

Keep your fingers corssed guys, hopefully I get to keep my hands....and they will not be clawed to shreds.

[Rae'ya]

Re: Pets chit chat thread

Alrighty so Kitty Arlowe is a Maine Coon, meaning he has long fur. Usually they aren't known to have lots of matting issues. But mine loves getting wet while playing with any water source he can get his paws on and then doesn't want to be brushed. So he has a ton of knots. He doesn't let me brush them out, nor cut them out with scissors, I would end up cutting him, hence he doesn't hold still. I got clippers but he wont let me do this either. On top of that he fights back and scratches etc, him being a Coonie, he is frikken huge and really heavy and strong. So there is no way I'm getting this done on my own. Are there any other long hair cat owners who have this dilemma on their hands?! Tips on how to avoid knots?! Kitty hair spray? detangler?! ANYTHING really lol I'm at a loss what to do with the poor thing. This has to be uncomfortable for him. T-T help, pwease.

What Optimistic Discord said. Though I would say if he is already matted then get hom sedated and shaved first, then start with the slow grooming stuff. Do NOT try to brush out any matts ot knots as it hurts and will just reinforce his dislike of grooming. Then start with a daily routine of stroking with flat hand, then with fingers tented like a comb, then use a Zoom Groom (they are a massaging rubber brush a bit like a horse curry comb but softer), then up to a slicker brush. Start each stage in an area he doesn't mind being touched then work up to the other areas, leaving his sensitive belly til last! As OpD said, start with just a few seconds and build up. The trick is to stop each session BEFORE he gets upset, and build in slow, small steps.

My kitty is overgrooming so she's slowly going bald. We've put anti flee stuff on her and she's being given antihistamine pills in case it's something physical but it doesn't seem to be helping.

Overgrooming is usually anxiety related in cats. If you've ruled out parasites then the other common options are allergies or anxiety. Unfortunately, many general practice vets don't really understand anxiety in cats or how to recognise it, let alone treat it. Does she have other symptoms? How many pets do you have and what species? Is she indoors or outdoors? What's her routine? Her diet? Tell me as much as you canpossibly think of and I'll try and work out if it's worth you taking her to another vet.

[Corvus]

Re: Pets chit chat thread

My kitty is overgrooming so she's slowly going bald. We've put anti flee stuff on her and she's being given antihistamine pills in case it's something physical but it doesn't seem to be helping.

[Optimistic discord]

Re: Pets chit chat thread

Alrighty so Kitty Arlowe is a Maine Coon, meaning he has long fur. Usually they aren't known to have lots of matting issues. But mine loves getting wet while playing with any water source he can get his paws on and then doesn't want to be brushed. So he has a ton of knots. He doesn't let me brush them out, nor cut them out with scissors, I would end up cutting him, hence he doesn't hold still. I got clippers but he wont let me do this either. On top of that he fights back and scratches etc, him being a Coonie, he is frikken huge and really heavy and strong. So there is no way I'm getting this done on my own. Are there any other long hair cat owners who have this dilemma on their hands?! Tips on how to avoid knots?! Kitty hair spray? detangler?! ANYTHING really lol I'm at a loss what to do with the poor thing. This has to be uncomfortable for him. T-T help, pwease.

Maines do love the water, and their strong personalities can really make it tricky to groom/treat them (though not as bad as some Bengal cats I've known).
You can get hair detangler solutions/sprays , but you will still have to groom him to get the clumps out.
My technique for grooming reluctant cats is to do a little once a day (or even once every other day), by little I mean maybe a few seconds while petting. Just to try and increase his tolerance for it. In some cases I've started with a little manual massage of the clumps, not even real grooming, then over time introduced combs/brushes ( to non-matted hair first). I find its all about building up to it.
Maybe try getting a plug-in calming vaporizer to try and take the edge off his reluctance?

You can also take him to your vet and get him sedated and groomed if its a real problem, at least then you can start the gradual grooming afterwards when he has a non-matted coat.

Re: Pets chit chat thread

Alrighty so Kitty Arlowe is a Maine Coon, meaning he has long fur. Usually they aren't known to have lots of matting issues. But mine loves getting wet while playing with any water source he can get his paws on and then doesn't want to be brushed. So he has a ton of knots. He doesn't let me brush them out, nor cut them out with scissors, I would end up cutting him, hence he doesn't hold still. I got clippers but he wont let me do this either. On top of that he fights back and scratches etc, him being a Coonie, he is frikken huge and really heavy and strong. So there is no way I'm getting this done on my own. Are there any other long hair cat owners who have this dilemma on their hands?! Tips on how to avoid knots?! Kitty hair spray? detangler?! ANYTHING really lol I'm at a loss what to do with the poor thing. This has to be uncomfortable for him. T-T help, pwease.

[Heka]

Re: Pets chit chat thread

I second you on the weather at the moment. WTF.

Unfortunately there's no way around this one, Heka. You gotta keep him warm. Does the local pet store have at least a cheap aquarium heater? If you can keep it at least 22C consistently then he'll probably get by, but consistency is also important... the constant up down, up down of adding hot water is not great for them either. Otherwise I don't know... insulate the tank maybe? Move it to an area where there's more environmental warmth, like near the heater?

Either way, drop the water content a bit so that it's easier to keep warm in the short term. As long as he's got twice the depth of his body of water he'll be okay in the short term and frankly warmth is more important at this point.

A shallower water depth will also mean that a light above his tank will add some warmth. Even a desk lamp can make a difference, though it has to be safe to leave on over a period of time, and not so great to leave on overnight as that will mess with his day/night cycles, and you have to monitor the temperature closely to avoid overheating because desk lamps just get hotter and hotter and hotter until the plastic covers melt.

Hubby and I keep waiting for spring to show up... it arrives for about a day then disappears again. It's still raining off and on down here. In October.

The nearest pet store is in Port Augusta. I'm in Leigh Creek............

I'm trying not to make the changes too huge. I just get really worried when it drops below 20. And I havemt got it over 24 yet. I'm trying to keep the changes gradual, and give him outside warm time everyday! Today was warmer, so less tank stresses, well, less than yesterday. And he ate today. Really positively too! Was trying to eat the food before it had soaked up much yet! I thought that was a good sign!

Won't shallower water just get cold quicker too? So when it hits 11 tonight, it's more likely to be 11 in the water, rather than say 16? (It hasn't got below about 15 yet). That's what I'd be worried about with shallow water... I guess I could try insulating... I just dunno...


Water heater is on it's way though. 4-5 days he said, so praying for Monday! I'll just keep doing my best till then.......


And yeah, pretty much fuck this weather. Why in balls am I wearing tights in mid October? And a jumper? I don't think well get much spring, it's gonna jump straight to summer! Should be 35 here in Saturday, them 38 Monday! Won't get lucky though, it'll get cool again soon enough........

[Rae'ya]

Re: Pets chit chat thread

I'm so stressed about my turtle. Trust there to be a bloody cold snap NOW! Just when I get the turtle! His water is dropping to like 15 degrees C at night. I'm taking him out, and putting kettles full of boiling water in there to raise the temperature, but it doesn't last long. It's just so cold. I mean it's fucking mid-October. Why in balls was it 2 degrees last night? I mean seriously what the fuck? I've ordered a water heater (and all the other gear), but it will only get here next week. Do I really have to stress that long?! I don't know what else to do. I'm actually seriously considering firing up my electric blanket to sleep tonight. How is my turtle going to survive? He didn't eat much today, even though I gave him about 20 min of outside time, and go the water temp up to about 24 degrees. He needs to eat, he's just a baby, but then he shouldn't eat if he's not metabolising, and he can't metabolise well at all under about 18 degrees. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

I second you on the weather at the moment. WTF.

Unfortunately there's no way around this one, Heka. You gotta keep him warm. Does the local pet store have at least a cheap aquarium heater? If you can keep it at least 22C consistently then he'll probably get by, but consistency is also important... the constant up down, up down of adding hot water is not great for them either. Otherwise I don't know... insulate the tank maybe? Move it to an area where there's more environmental warmth, like near the heater?

Either way, drop the water content a bit so that it's easier to keep warm in the short term. As long as he's got twice the depth of his body of water he'll be okay in the short term and frankly warmth is more important at this point.

A shallower water depth will also mean that a light above his tank will add some warmth. Even a desk lamp can make a difference, though it has to be safe to leave on over a period of time, and not so great to leave on overnight as that will mess with his day/night cycles, and you have to monitor the temperature closely to avoid overheating because desk lamps just get hotter and hotter and hotter until the plastic covers melt.

Hubby and I keep waiting for spring to show up... it arrives for about a day then disappears again. It's still raining off and on down here. In October.

[Heka]

Re: Pets chit chat thread

I'm so stressed about my turtle. Trust there to be a bloody cold snap NOW! Just when I get the turtle! His water is dropping to like 15 degrees C at night. I'm taking him out, and putting kettles full of boiling water in there to raise the temperature, but it doesn't last long. It's just so cold. I mean it's fucking mid-October. Why in balls was it 2 degrees last night? I mean seriously what the fuck? I've ordered a water heater (and all the other gear), but it will only get here next week. Do I really have to stress that long?! I don't know what else to do. I'm actually seriously considering firing up my electric blanket to sleep tonight. How is my turtle going to survive? He didn't eat much today, even though I gave him about 20 min of outside time, and go the water temp up to about 24 degrees. He needs to eat, he's just a baby, but then he shouldn't eat if he's not metabolising, and he can't metabolise well at all under about 18 degrees. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

[nbdy]

Re: Pets chit chat thread

my kitten seems to know that a bunch of us are going out of town this week. we're all university students and it's our fall reading week. he's spent all of today being in a really bad mood and not letting us pet or hold him, when he's usually the cuddliest cat ever. HE KNOWS O.o

They always know. I don't know how, but they always do. I have even waited to throw a few things into a bag at the last minute so they wouldn't know, but the night before --- they knew anyway. Maybe our scent changes when we are anticipating travel?

As for the beanbag licking ... Is it maybe a catnip toy with beans in it , too?

[alternatingSelves]

Re: Pets chit chat thread

my kitten seems to know that a bunch of us are going out of town this week. we're all university students and it's our fall reading week. he's spent all of today being in a really bad mood and not letting us pet or hold him, when he's usually the cuddliest cat ever. HE KNOWS O.o

Re: Pets chit chat thread

sooo...my cat has an obsession with licking bean bags...for hours...on end... >_> not sure what that says about him...

[Hawkfeathers]

Re: Pets chit chat thread

I'm so proud of Buddy (African Grey Parrot) - yesterday he went for his wing & nail clip and he grumbled but didn't really fight, so it went very quickly. Didn't sulk afterwards, either. It only took 23 years to get to this point LOL