Cat Moms-Volume II

[jnettie]

I wouldn't worry about a cat that pukes once or twice every two weeks. That's about the frequency that Jade pukes, and my vet didn't seemed concerned when I brought it up last checkup. It's good to observe when Toonces pukes. For example, Jade tends to puke when she eats too fast, especially if I give her something yummy to eat and she thinks Sissy will take her food! It's actually gotten better lately with the most recent food change.

[Renee34]

For some reason I just can't see how puking so much can be normal....what a life. I had started feeding her smaller portions, different cat food none of that changed anything. I think I will bring her the vet and if they can't do anything I'll just have to settle for cleaning up puke all the time. I'm just wondering if she has digestion problems.

[Peppy]

Renee, I'm sure it must be so hard to have to go back to the vet. :( Hopefully it will just be a false alarm with Toonces and you will get out of there quickly. I have to admit my advice was definitely on the cautionary side, because my cat is not a puker. Poor Toonces, it sounds like she has been through a lot recently. I'm hoping that the new addition of Muffin will cheer her up, and the puking will be easily fixable.

ETA: I'm so happy that Muffin is completely healthy! It's great that you at least have some good news!

[KaliLily]

For some reason I just can't see how puking so much can be normal....what a life. I had started feeding her smaller portions, different cat food none of that changed anything. I think I will bring her the vet and if they can't do anything I'll just have to settle for cleaning up puke all the time. I'm just wondering if she has digestion problems.

Have you tried a low allergen food? Toonces may have developed an allergy or intolerance. Your vet can get you prescription allergy food, or you can try the commerical kind. Kali and Lily both loved Natural Balance's Venison & Green Pea canned allergy formula. Kali can't have it right now, but I still give some to Lily and she goes nuts for it.

Hopefully it's nothing at all, or something very simple to fix.

As for cleaning puke, I can empathize there! After many many weeks of cleaning carpets and worrying about my furniture, I finally got wise and covered the furniture with old blankets and towels. I also have an old twin-size comforter on the floor between my side of the bed & the wall. That's where Kali sleeps at night and now if she gets sick all I have to do is remove the comforter and toss it in the washing machine. I also have a layer of old towels below the comforter so the carpet is still protected if I have to remove the comforter. It's made my life so much easier!

Kali Update: I think the ulcer medicine is helping. I gave Kali 1/16 tsp of Hill's Prescription i/d canned food (intestinal diet) at 10am and she's kept it down! I gave her another 1/16 tsp at noon and that has stayed down too! :D We still don't have the GI motility medicine, but the ulcer medicine seems to at least be helping with the GI irritation problem. The i/d might also be easier on her system than the z/d (allergy formula) was since it's formulated for cats with intestinal issues.

Crossing my fingers we may finally have a treatment that will work. I'm ready for my girl to be healthy again - and I think she's ready to be healthy too! :) I'd love to take her into the vet in a couple weeks and find she's gained weight. She's the skinny cat in the family now. She's NEVER been the skinny one!

[Peppy]

Yay for Kali! I hope this works for her. It must be so difficult to see her so sick and not know what the exact problem is.

[KaliLily]

Yay for Kali! I hope this works for her. It must be so difficult to see her so sick and not know what the exact problem is.

It is! It's frustrating, maddening & heartbreaking.

I must say this whole ordeal has really made me come to respect & trust our vet. We took the girls to him after we moved to VA 2 yrs ago because he was the closest vet (less than 1 mile from our house). He's also the only vet in our town. I figured if he was a bad vet he would've been run out of business long ago. :)

While getting ready to leave Monday afternoon, I asked if Kali was "all set" to make sure it was ok to load her up in her carrier. He replied, "Oh I wish" and smiled. He wants her well (almost) as much as we do. :)

[Renee34]

I'm so glad kali is looking like she's going to get well!

[soxgirlie]

KaliLily I've been quietly following Kali's story. I'm so glad to hear she's doing well. We've got our fingers and paws crossed here that you and Kali have found a treatment that works.

A quick update on shy, timid Chloe...we've definately made some progress in the last week. I've got her to come to me and take a treat from my hand if I offer it to her under the bed. She doesn't take the treat everytime I offer it to her but its a start. This afternoon she came out from under the bed to use her litter box while I was in the next room with the adjoining door open. This was the first time she's come out from under the bed unless I was sleeping or out of the house. I've been home sick for a couple days so she was probably tired of waiting for me to leave or go to sleep! Small progess but I'm happy to see some progress.

[jnettie]

I'm glad Kali is feeling better! :)

You know, it all depends on the reasons and frequency of cat puke, but it can be sort of "normal" for them to throw up so much. Cats are built to puke, so usually it's just normal cat function. It's when there doesn't seem to be a reason, it's happening too much, and it's coupled with a lethargic kitty that you start to worry.

And now, a funny picture of Sissy getting into her food can:

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/167/392610452_2de0e6c3fe.jpg?v=0

[MizLarner]

Here is my 'first' baby, Kristen. She is 18 years old and in good health, other than being stressed by so many people in her house! She has lived with my parents since I got married, and they are now foster parents so she has to deal with extra kids in their house, as well as the ones I bring over myself :)

She tends to chew at the base of her tail from stress and a mild allergy to fleas, so she has a thin area there. She is saggy-baggy from having tubes put in her when she got an infection from one of her kittens nursing. But she is so soft and has gotten lovey-dovey in her old age. She is really good with conveying her emotions through her eyes.

Sorry about the cat red eye!
http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o128/chmesca/PICT3552b.jpg

http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o128/chmesca/PICT3549b.jpg

[KaliLily]

MizLarner - What a beautiful cat! She looks so sweet, too.

jnettie - Is that Natural Balance? Lily just loves that stuff! :)

Kali Update: I picked up the motility medicine from the vet Saturday and she's been on it since Saturday evening. I think this new treatment is actually working. (Knock on wood!) Kali's appetite is increasing, and in the last 3 days she has only dry heaved once. No vomiting! She also seems to have more energy and is moving around during the day. Yesterday I felt like she was finally coming back to us. :D Crossing my fingers sharing this hasn't jinxed us (again). :rolleyes:

Here's a picture of Kali lounging in the sun the other day. That afternoon she kept "following the sun." It was hysterical.

https://www.t-mobilepictures.com/photo/photo26/43/1a/e342817d8804.jpg?tw=305&th=228&_rh=1sooxlwh8mrd05amwnplkf5bg

And here is one of Lily all bundled up last week. It was very cold!

https://www.t-mobilepictures.com/photo/photo30/9f/a5/bf5db62f8183.jpg?tw=305&th=228&_rh=dn0mug09676egyg2o115gunza

[Renee34]

I had to share this with you guys. A mother skunk abandoned her babies. This farm cat had just gotten done weening her kittens and let the baby skunks have milk. Is that the sweetest thing or what!.....(sorry, this didn't work. I'll try to get the pics up) Can't get the correct pic to come up.

[maxandmolly]

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[imagirliegirl]

Jnettie, when I first looked at the picture of Sissy I thought it was Griffin!! I was like, huh, I don't have a pic like that of Griffin do I?

He even has that little black piece on his back leg! :)

[maxandmolly]

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[Peppy]

I don't use a flushable litter (I use Fresh Step, which I really love), but I have a suggestion for litter that clumps and sticks to the bottom of the box. Try spraying a cooking spray, like Pam, on the box. I have heard that it makes the clumps come right up.

I read something recently about flushable litter--that it can kill sea otters (I don't remember if it is the litter or the feces that causes the problem, I think the latter). This isn't an issue if you are on the east coast, but if you are out in California you might want to look into this to make sure flushable litter is a good choice for you.

[diam124]

We used Feline Pine for a while, but the dust from the pan would get all over the place. Then we started using Yesterday's News. I'm not sure if it's flushable (we used one of those Litter Lockers).

[greenbunny]

I can't say enough good things about the Litter Locker! The only problem with it is that the latch is poorly designed and if it's full, you have to hold it from the bottom or it can come open. But as far as having it sit around to scoop any time of day, it's awesome.

Unfortunately, I go through the refills like lightning because my two PITA cats always, always pee down the back of the box and I can't scoop, I have to use TP to scrape and scrub the clumps off. For normal cats who are kind enough to use the middle of the box, the refills last for ages.

[maxandmolly]

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[Kate&Joey]

M&M: Here you go!

http://www.petsmart.com/global/product_detail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=84552444178 0636&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302033737&ASSORTMENT%3C%3East_id=2534374302023690&bmUID=1172159809331&itemNo=13&In=Cat&N=2033737&Ne=2

Litter lockers are great! We used one when we only had 1 litter box. Now, with 2 cats and 2 boxes, DH thinks it's easier/faster to take the boxes outside and dump them in the trash. In our old house, the litter box was in the basement and there was plenty of room for the litter locker, too..not the case anymore. I wish I had room for one in my bathroom (where Cat #2's box is) because she pees all.the.time. ;)

[Peppy]

Wow, that Litter Locker is really cool! I have actually wondered whether a Diaper Genie would work to hold cat waste. After all, its purpose is to keep out odors, right? I don't have kids, though, so I've never used a Diaper Genie, but in theory I thought it made sense. Has anyone ever tried that?

[Sazoo]

I am loving my new Scoop Free LB1 Self-Cleaning Litter Box (http://www.amazon.com/Scoop-Free-LB1-Self-Cleaning-Litter/dp/B000ELUQQS/sr=8-2/qid=1172162031/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2/105-8576278-4079652?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden).

http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/P/B000ELUQQS.01._SS500_SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg

My old LitterMaid, which I've been using for about 4 years, was pretty much kaput. I thought about buying a new one but I've heard nothing but bad reviews from other cat owners about the newest model of LitterMaid. I came across the Scoop Free litterbox on the Petsmart website and saw it had lots of positive reviews, so I decided to give it a shot. So far I'm impressed - it's easy to set up/change & is relatively maintenance-free like it says it is (well, so far anyway...I've only had it a week!) One of my cats loves it & uses it exclusively now. The other cat has yet to try it but she seems curious about it so I'm hoping she'll give it a try soon. :)

[KaliLily]

I can't say enough good things about the Litter Locker! The only problem with it is that the latch is poorly designed and if it's full, you have to hold it from the bottom or it can come open. But as far as having it sit around to scoop any time of day, it's awesome.


ITA!!! I've used the Litter Locker for several years and don't know how I'd manage without it. It makes cleaning the boxes every day so much easier.

[Renee34]

Sorry about my last post. I googled the 'mom cat and skunk babies' and the pic came up and i posted it, but now when I looked at my post again, the whole website instead of ONLY the cat pic came up. I must have copied it wrong or I don't know what happened. I defintily did not mean for that page to come up. On to my cats....we brought Muffin in for a week, and it did not turn out very well at all. We had to put her outside again. She was meowing at the door all the time, not very nice to the kids and not nice to Toonces. I guess she just really likes being an outside cat. Toonces seems to be getting better though, she's not crying so much and is being very lovable with us.

[jnettie]

jnettie - Is that Natural Balance? Lily just loves that stuff! :)

Yup! They love that stuff, which is good, because it's the only food Sissy can eat.

Jnettie, when I first looked at the picture of Sissy I thought it was Griffin!! I was like, huh, I don't have a pic like that of Griffin do I?

He even has that little black piece on his back leg! :)

Lol! Nope, that's Sissy.

[maxandmolly]

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[diam124]

I love Litter Locker. We bought it when we moved into a new house because I didn't want to be flushing litter down the toilets. We keep it in the closet in our cat's "bedroom". The only time I've noticed an odor is when it's almost full and it's hot out (and therefore hot in the closet). I don't know what I'd do without it!

[eli1126]

Question: How Do You Feed Your Cats?

I noticed that Beau and Belle were getting a little "soft around the edges" and realized that I was probably overfeeding them :o We never did meal times with them; I would put a few scoops of crunchy food in their bowl each morning and leave it all day. For Christmas, they got soft food and we had been giving them soft food more often than we had previously been doing because they like it so much :o

The other day, I started only giving them 1 scoop of the crunchy food instead of filling up the bowl. They always have fresh water available. How do you feed the crunchy food? Do you do meal times or put in a certain amount each morning? For the 2 cats, how much crunchy food should they have per day? How I should go about the soft food? Should I give as an occassional treat? Once a week or month? We had one Vet that advised us to give a small amount a soft food daily, but then that's all they want!

At their last nail trim, Beau was about 14lbs and Belle was 11lbs. I don't think is overweight right now, but I want to make sure they stay at a healthy weight. TIA!

[diam124]

We're really bad about measuring dry food. We used to be more careful about it when she was a kitten, but I pretty much just fill up the bowl each night and give her a fresh bowl of water. Our cat is pretty good about not over-eating. There is enough food in the bowl for probably 2 days. When we go out of town I have to leave a ton of food though because she eats A LOT when she's alone. I guess it's emotional eating.

[ignutzz]

Our guys are on a scheduled feeding - 1 meal morning and evening and a small scoop of dryfood after they've finished the wet food. We started this because we had one cat put on a prescribed food and he was not allowed to eat the regular dry food either.

After speaking with out vet, we restrict the dry food. Because it's mostly carbs, it can contribute to significant weight gain. Also, because cats don't drink a whole lot, the wet food helps them get extra moisture (in fact, we mix in extra water); if you have male cats, water intake is very important.

Oliver has lost 2 pounds in the last 2 years (which if you think about it proportionately, is a lot of weight) and the vet is quite happy with that. Rosie has maintained her weight and all of them (2 others) are healthy.

There is nothing wrong with wet food provided that you're not overfeeding them (as is true with anything). I don't see it as a treat, it's part of their regular nutritional needs.

[Peppy]

Mine gets both wet and dry food daily. I free feed her dry food, so I basically keep a cup or more in her bowl at all times. Then I feed her a little less than an ounce of wet food once a day, when I get home from work. I would feed her more wet, but I have figured out that she only eats about a quarter of a small can of wet at a time, so that's what I give her--no need to waste.

Ideally, I would have her on an all-wet food diet. Like ignutzz said, it provides much needed moisture and there really isn't much benefit to dry food, as it has a lot of carbs, which cats don't need (some people say that it is good for cleaning teeth, but the more research I do into that, it seems that is outdated thinking and not really the case). But I work a lot, so I want her to have something to eat while I am away, hence the dry food. Also, my cat doesn't have any weight problems. But I definitely wouldn't feel at all bad about giving them the wet food daily. It's good for them!

I would see what the vet has to say about Beau and Belle's weight. For some cats, 14 pounds might be fine, but for others it is definitely overweight. When you look at them from behind, do you see the outline of their shoulders, spine, etc.? When you press on their sides, can you feel anything other than fat? If all you see is roundness and all you feel is fat, he's probably overweight.

I would concentrate on finding a high-quality dry food, assuming you want to continue feeding them dry food. If you find something that has less filler and more protein, they won't eat as much. A lot of cat obesity is the result of feeding foods with a lot of fillers. Because cats don't get the nutrients they need, they eat more of it, eventually becoming overweight. What do you currently feed them?

As for portions, everything I read says that every cat is different and needs different portions. The back of the bag usually tells you what the recommended allowance is, but apparently this really varies for each individual cat, so it probably isn't the best guide. Mine probably eats about three quarters of a cup of dry food and three quarters of an ounce of wet food every day.

[eli1126]

(some people say that it is good for cleaning teeth, but the more research I do into that, it seems that is outdated thinking and not really the case).
I would see what the vet has to say about Beau and Belle's weight. For some cats, 14 pounds might be fine, but for others it is definitely overweight. What do you currently feed them?


Thanks for the responses! I was using the dry food because I had read that the wet food, while good for them, is fattening and isn't good for their teeth. I'd really be interested in learning more about this other research.

Our Vet said that Beau was fine where he was, but that he should not gain anymore weight. So I think he is on the bigger side, but still okay. I asked if I should implement a diet and she said no. You can feel Beau's spine and ribs, but he definitely has a little more fluff around the ribs than he should :o

Right now they eat Nutro Adult Oceanfish Flavor and the same brand soft food in seafood flavors. They aren't fond of the chicken, turkey, or beef flavors :)

[Peppy]

Here is one article (http://www.littlebigcat.com/index.php?action=library&act=show&item=doesdryfoodcleantheteeth) (written by a vet) talking about the myth of dry food being good for dental cleaning. She includes a lot of other references. Of course, I still feed mine dry food and not as much wet. I figure she isn't overweight, she seems happy with it, and it allows her to eat whenever she is hungry, so it works for us.

I would think you are doing okay with Nutro. It's considered a pretty good food. Maybe not the absolute best, but certainly better than most of what is out there. If you have an interest in changing the dry food they eat, my one suggestion would be looking into one that doesn't have any corn, corn gluten meal, etc. (Nutro does). I only say that because corn doesn't have any real benefits for cats, so it is truly filler for them. Other things you should look for in a cat food are the first ingredient (and preferable the first two out of three) being a named meat (like "Chicken" or "Turkey," not "Poultry"), and no byproducts. If the first ingredient can be a named meat, rather than a named meat meal, even better. But it sounds like you probably already know most of that.

I realize that's more than you asked for and probably more than you needed to know, so sorry! It sounds like Beau is doing just fine with his weight, though.

[maxandmolly]

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[eli1126]

I realize that's more than you asked for and probably more than you needed to know, so sorry! It sounds like Beau is doing just fine with his weight, though.

Thanks Peppy! It wasn't too much info at all! I want to make sure that Beau and Belle are getting what they need, but I don't want to have to shuffle them back and forth to the Vet for obesity related problems/illnesses. I have looked around for a better food, I know greenbunny and Thlew have listed a bunch, but I am having a hard time finding them. I did read that the first ingredients should be actual meat, but didn't know about the corn and gluten. Last night, they were thrilled because I gave them a little wet food :D

maxandmolly: How are your kitties adjusting to being back with Mom?!

[Peppy]

eli1126, it can be hard to find some of the higher-quality brands. I think it is easier when you are in a bigger city that has smaller specialty shops. You can order online if you want, though. I have a friend who goes to this site (http://onlynaturalpet.com) to buy her food. My cat's personal favorites are Wellness and Innova.

maxandmolly, I think the reason moisture is particularly important for male cats is that they can be prone to urinary crystals. Moisture is one way to help prevent that. So it's great that Max drinks so much!

[maxandmolly]

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[greenbunny]

Yup, male cats are more prone to urinary blockages, which can make them very ill very quickly (so if you notice him not drinking, don't wait to call the vet) so a male drinking a lot is a good thing.

We only give wet food as a treat now since Bella was gobbling so fast it made her throw up. According to my vet, wet food is definitely good for organ health but not so good for teeth. Bella's teeth are extra bad since she was on an all-wet diet for years as a breeding queen.

Both my girls are now on the Innova Evo grain-free kibble. Summer is 11 pounds and gets a little less than 1/4 cup twice a day. Bella is barely seven pounds and she eats as much as she wants, though we take it away when she stops rather than free feed her.

ITA that it can be hard to find the better food. We buy our food at small local chains; the big box stores (Petco and Petsmart) do not carry anything I would feed my girls.

The unofficially human-grade foods I was recommended are:

Innova
Wellness
Solid Gold
Felidae
Natural Balance
Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover's Soul (I can personally vouch for this; Bella ate it for a while)

We are planning to transition both of them to a whole prey diet in the summer when DH can be home all day to monitor their progress. I expect to see a lot of improvement in their teeth. I will be ordering less common items (like pinkie rabbits and chicks) frozen through the Internet, and also joining a co-op to buy in bulk from local farmers and butchers.

[maxandmolly]

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[tlew12778]

I measure out a day's worth o f dry and leave it in a high place. I free feed throughout the day (more or less) from that cup. I only give Romeo a little at a time bc I think he binge eats when his brother stresses him out. He runs to his food bowl bc he knows his brother won't attack him while he's eating. It's sufficient that he run to the kitchen but now he just won't eat anything if the bowl is empty.

I leave Casanova's food on a high shelf where Romeo cannot jump. He's not skinny, but he's not fat either, so I give him as much as he wants.

They only eat dry. Romeo will occasionally get a pack of wet. In that case I decrease his dry by 1/3 for that day.

[greenbunny]

M&M, you made the right decision! I learned the hard way that two females is the absolute hardest combination of cats (both in my experience and then had it confirmed by the vet). A male and female is best, two males is second, and two females is worst--assuming they are all fixed, otherwise you have a whole other set of problems!

[maxandmolly]

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[Asha]

i don't know if my kitten, bili, is in heat or she is having a strange reaction to her antibiotics. from what we can gather she is around 6 mos. i had already scheduled an appt for spaying, but it looks like we are going to not miss our chance of experiencing our cat in heat. fun! :rolleyes:

anyways, all day yesterday she was following us around an making sad chirping sounds. when she was sitting, she had her fanny in the air. she was rolling on the ground much more than usual. just two days ago she peed in my overnight bag. this is very unusual for her bc she has never had an accident. she seems to have calmed down a bit this morning. how does long does heat last?

another questiojn - is bili's personality going to change much as she ages? right now, she is very attached to us. she usually stays in whatever room we are in. she comes to the door when we come home. 9/10 times she comes to me from another rooom when i call her name. in the morning when dh opens the bedroom door, she runs in the room and makes a flying leap onto the bed to get her morning cuddles. dh thinks this is bc she is still a kitten, so she is more attached to us. it makes me sad to think she won't want this much attention in the future.

[greenbunny]

Asha, Bili does sound like she might be in heat. I have not personally dealt with spaying because my girls were done before I adopted them, but IIRC having them spayed during heat is more expensive for some reason. Maybe it's more risky? I'm not sure.

As far as personality, I don't know that she will become more solitary, but she will become less energetic as she ages. Bella is a total lovebug--she always wants to curl up in your lap or follow you around--but she sleeps TONS more than Summer (Bella is 8 and Summer is 3). She's perfectly healthy, she's just not bouncing off the walls like the teenager is.

M&M,

And, irresponsible that it may sound, I wouldn't have cared anyway. I had to have him. It was love at first sight.

Oh boy, do I know what you mean! Even if I'd known Summer would be a peeing machine, I doubt I could have resisted her. And I made that decision based on seeing her on Petfinder--we drove out of state to get her based on one picture! Sometimes you just know.

[tlew12778]

Asha - sounds like heat to me. My parents would always let their outdoor girl cats have a couple litters (except one bc my mom is convinced she should have been male as she has no maternal instinct with the other cats). The girls always behaved like your Bili while in heat. It's the right time of year too.

As for personality, there is no telling. Romeo used to pounce on me every morning when he was a baby. Now he sleeps right through my alarm. Thank God too bc he now weighs about 17 lbs. Casanova, on the other hand, has always had to have human contact when he sleeps and he is still the same way. Both are 6 years old. My parents had a cat whose personality completely changed when the alpha male died. She was really mean and nasty before he died then she became really cuddly and protective of the other cats when she was left in charge. I think she was about 12 when that happened. She finally died of old age at around 18-19.

[diam124]

Oh yes, that definitely is heat. Our cat did the same thing around 12 weeks or so. We had no idea what was going on but the ILs were visiting at the time and MIL told us right away it was heat. She did the same thing - stick her butt in the air and make weird noises. Luckily it only lasted a few days and she didn't do the really loud wailing that other cats do. She seemed really uncomfortable though. And, this may be TMI, but there was some "liquid" coming out of her - I guess maybe for lubrication? DH was totally grossed out by it and we had her spayed about 2 weeks later.

As far as personality, we have had our cat for a little over 2 years and she has really calmed down a lot (although she still has her crazy moments) but her overall personality hasn't changed. She's still quite mischevious but LOVES to cuddle with DH and I. I actually think she's gotten MORE attached to us as she gets older. She really needs a lot of attention and can be very clingy on weekends. Mondays are always hard because she's used to us being home on weekends. She gets freaked out by strangers and visitors to our house now and it never really bothered her when she was a kitten.

[Peppy]

Sounds like heat! Asha, be very careful with Bili while she is in heat. I know she is indoor-only, but when cats are in heat they can be more wily and try to get out of the house quickly (because they want to mate). So be super-careful to watch the doors and windows and make sure she doesn't dart outside by accident.

[greenbunny]

I vaguely remember reading something in Cat Fancy years ago about how to get them out of heat. IIRC it has to do with...um...making them believe something took place in order to make use of that particular hormonal state. :o I'd call the vet to double check--I'm not about to recommend that you masturbate your cat.

Mondays are always hard because she's used to us being home on weekends.

ITA. Even worse is when DH goes back to school in September. They get used to having him to themselves all summer and, boy, do they get pissed!

[Asha]

greenbunny - i think i will steer clear of that!! though, i half suspect that she expects us to do something about it bc she is following me around and giving me such pitiful looks. plus, i don't know if i should be petting her now as she just gets into the "ready position" even more so when i pet her.

tlew - dh is of the same mind as your parents and thinks it would be nice to give her a chance to raise a litter. that is not a good idea bc we are not in the position to be caring for a litter and finding them all good homes. plus, she would probably be mauled by the strays since she has become an indoor cat.

diam - not tmi about the liquid. someone said they bleed, and i keep fearing there is going to be blood all over our house.

peppy - thanks for the reminder to be more careful about not letting her escape. i sometimes let her sit by the glass door and watch outside. for the past couple of days, she has been a little more stubborn about moving when i need to close the second, solid door.

***
well, i guess my bili is growing up and becoming a lady!! thankfully, she is not yet acting as crazy as i have heard some cats act while in heat. we actually have an appt for her spaying in two weeks, so i think she will be out of heat by then.

[diam124]

IIRC it has to do with...um...making them believe something took place in order to make use of that particular hormonal state. :o I'd call the vet to double check--I'm not about to recommend that you masturbate your cat.
Hahaha!

I've never heard of that but I was half-tempted to try to find a boy cat to put her out of her misery! And yes, it seemed like she totally expected US to do something to help her because she would really stick her butt out at us!

Like I said though, it only lasted 3 days (weird thing is, she literally started doing this as soon as the ILs arrived, and as soon as they left she went back to normal). I think it was almost like a "practice heat" like a first period or something. Oh, and she didn't bleed - it was actually a clear liquid. I wiped some of it off of her with a paper towel.

[greenbunny]

Asha, if you're worried about blood or other fluids, you can buy diapers for her at the pet store. Breeders use them all the time, so they shouldn't be too hard to find.

[Asha]

diam - funny you mention the il's. mine were just staying for a week and a half, and they left a few days ago. i wander if having their territory invaded pushes them into early heat.

greenbunny - oh, she wouldn't tolerate diapers. she was none to happy about the scarf the groomer put on her. quite honestly i think she licks up whatever fluids she may be having.

[jnettie]

Ah, yes, a cat in heat. I knew for sure when Jade went into heat because normally she attacks my hand when I rub her belly, but instead she enjoyed it! :eek: It kind of creaped me out! :D

Anyway, I purposely waited for Jade to go into heat once before taking her to be spayed. My Dad has a theory that it's good to let them get those adult hormones in them once. The practice now is to do it quite young, but sometimes that makes cats a little nutso.

As for personality, Jade still does a lot of the things she did as a kitten now that she's 4. She still meets me at the door when I come home and follows me around the house. We still play our pounce game where I hide around a corner and she jumps out to "get" me. She does less playing, but she's still just as loving. :)

[Asha]

It kind of creaped me out!

lol - it freaked out dh too!! usually she just wants to play with dh instead of letting him pet her, but this time she was really liking it. when dh realized what was going on, he just kept looking at her with a scared look on his face all day long.

jnettie, and others its good to hear that the personalities haven't drastically changed. i might actually like it if she would sleep a little more since she is so very energetic.

[maxandmolly]

*deleted*

[Asha]

m&m - lol!! you didn't read my journal. he "forgot" that he was so adamant about me not taking away her womanhood. he asked me why i had taken so long to schedule her appt. he's so funny!

i'm finding the best thing to do for bili is ignore her. everytime i try to show her any sort of affection even talking to her sweetly she gets all "excited." so now, i am just letting her be.

[maxandmolly]

*deleted*

[Asha]

m&m - yup, bili does that too. its not her usual ass in the air position. its more of a hunched "i'm ready" position. she also does it when i just talk to her sweetly. yesterday she was sitting all day like that. the funniest thing is she does that when its time for her to leave a room. she is usually good when i give her the "out, out" command and leaves the room. now she just hunches to the floor and shows me her ass. i have to pick her up and take her out of the room and she stays in that position even when picking her up. its so bizarre.

[jnettie]

Lol! He didn't want to take her womanhood away! He sure is singing another tune now. Besides, cats can have more than one litter a year...so spaying is in everyone's best interest.

And not to get too OT...you have Girl Scout cookies, MaxandMolly! I'm so jelous!

[tlew12778]

Anyway, I purposely waited for Jade to go into heat once before taking her to be spayed. My Dad has a theory that it's good to let them get those adult hormones in them once. The practice now is to do it quite young, but sometimes that makes cats a little nutso.
Actually for male cats, it's best to have them fixed before. Some male cats will never stop spraying if they go through a heat cycle.

[eli1126]

Belle never went into heat before she was spayed, but she still sticks her ass right up in the air to be petted! I even have a song for it, it goes a little something like this: "Put your buns in the air and wave 'em like you just don't care" :o Of course she gets a kick out of it :p

[maxandmolly]

*deleted*

[KaliLily]

Lily was on the verge of being in heat when we got her fixed. We were a little late in having it done because she fractured her hip (falling about 10 feet off of a window sill) when she was 4/5 months old. We noticed she's walk around the house dragging her bottom on the ground, which the vet said was a sign she was going into heat.

[Asha]

i was lol this a.m. when i was remembering greenbunny's "suggestion", and i thought it would be riot to start a thread titled, "my cat is in heat. do you think masterbating her will help?"

[KaliLily]

i was lol this a.m. when i was remembering greenbunny's "suggestion", and i thought it would be riot to start a thread titled, "my cat is in heat? do you think masterbating her will help?"

LOL!!! Man, if I'd been drinking something while reading this I would've spit it all over my keyboard & monitor!

[jnettie]

Actually for male cats, it's best to have them fixed before. Some male cats will never stop spraying if they go through a heat cycle.

Hm, I had no idea. We have two girls, so it's not an issue. I've had 4 other cats in my life, and the 2 males never sprayed, but I don't know when they were neutered.

[greenbunny]

Great, Asha, what a name I've made for myself on CC. The chick who knows all about pissing outside the litterbox and cat masturbation.

As far as males spraying, my childhood cat did this, but I was too young to remember when he was fixed or what the circumstances of his spraying were. I do know he was locked up a long time while our kitchen was being renovated.

[Asha]

greenbunny - you ARE the guru on all things cat!!! i think that's pretty impressive.

***
ok, i have another question. we may be moving to an apt from our house. where on earth do you apt dwellers put your litterbox?

in addition, we may be living with my folks for a bit if we don't find an apt soon enough. they have an older golden retriever. how do you suggest introducing bili to the new abode and the big dog? my mom suggests keeping her in our room for a week and then letting her go to other parts of the house. she doesn't think her dog will attack bili bc he has never tried to attack any of the cats outdoors. do you think it might be a good idea to get her a sedative in the beginning?

[tlew12778]

Litterbox is in the bathroom under the sink. We have a pedestal style sink without a pedestal attached/in front. The covered box fits right under it.

The other possibility is a spare bathroom if you will have one, or a laundry room if you have one of those. I knew one girl who kept it in the LR (gross! even if they DO sell those covers) and I know another family that keeps it in the kitchen (double gross! bc it's not even covered). The people in the building across from us keep theirs on their balcony and they have one of those cat doors.

[maxandmolly]

*deleted*

[Peppy]

My bathroom is just like maxandmolly's old one: bathroom counter that goes across the entire wall, but a cabinet that only goes halfway across, so I have an open kneespace underneath the counter. I am able to put the litterbox there.

If you can't put it in the bathroom or an extra room, I had a friend who had it in her living room. She had a really cool screen up and the litterbox was behind it. She scooped a lot and you could never smell or see it.

[Peppy]

Also, I use the Booda Scoop and Hide (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0002DHA2Q/ref=nosim/?tag=dealtime-kitchen-20&creative=380333&creativeASIN=B0002DHA2Q&linkCode=asn) as my scoop. It has a housing for the scoop, so you don't have to worry about finding somewhere to put a dirty scoop when you are dealing with a small space.

[greenbunny]

The Fosters & Smith catalog has a lot of decorative furniture-type options for hiding litter boxes.

[maxandmolly]

*deleted*

[imagirliegirl]

Aw it's my one year anniversary of adopting Griffin! :)


What's up ladies?
http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h200/myheartbelongstodallas/47b7dd25b3127cce82d20213a8690000000.jpg

[jnettie]

LOL! Jade and Sissy sit like that all the time. Jade especially will just plop down on her but like that and start licking away...and then just kind of hang out sitting like that. DH says that she thinks she's a person, which is why she sits like that. :D

ok, i have another question. we may be moving to an apt from our house. where on earth do you apt dwellers put your litterbox?

in addition, we may be living with my folks for a bit if we don't find an apt soon enough. they have an older golden retriever. how do you suggest introducing bili to the new abode and the big dog? my mom suggests keeping her in our room for a week and then letting her go to other parts of the house. she doesn't think her dog will attack bili bc he has never tried to attack any of the cats outdoors. do you think it might be a good idea to get her a sedative in the beginning?

Litterbox - Ours is actually in the kitchen :o because there's no place else. We really just have two rooms, anyway, so the only corner is between the garbage can and the fridge under the window. It's kind of hidden, and I keep it super clean. I can't cover it, though, because Jade only pees by hanging over the edge of the box on a corner.

Introductions - Well, when we introduced Jade to Jackpot (DH's uncle's dog), we just kind of dove in. I held Jade (she was 7 weeks old at the time) and DH held Jackpot by the collar, and we just let him sniff her. That was it - they were instant friends. I've known quite a few Goldens and cats who have cohabitated, so I don't think you will have a problem. Maybe allow a few days where your kitty can aclimate to her new place in a single room where the dog can't go, let them sniff each other through the door, then make your introductions.

[Asha]

imagirliegirl - funny pic! i better not let bili see your little man sitting like that in the state she is in.

[KaliLily]

Anyone have any advice for bulking up a cat with GI tract problems? We tried adding butter to Kali's food (per vet's instructions), but it irritated her stomach and she refused to eat her food. (She actually gagged upon smelling the butter last night, and only stopped gagging when I took it away. It was really strange.)

She's eating Hill's prescription i/d canned food mixed with Purina's FortiFlora.

Thanks!

[tlew12778]

Kitten food... it's high in caloric content.

[KaliLily]

Thanks, tlew. That's a great idea. Do you know if it's easily digestible?

[tlew12778]

I would assume so. Casanova had digestive problems when he was a baby (we adopted him at 4 weeks) and I just made a soppy mess with KMR and kitten kibble (as per the vet's suggestion). He also ate wet food and boiled, chopped chicken breast, all mixed with KMR.

Actually, KMR is probably a good option too. I would assume it's just as high in caloric content.

[KaliLily]

That sounds great. Thanks!!!!

Uh...What's KMR?

ETA: Nevermind! I Googled it and figured it out. :) This looks promising, so I'm going to pick up a can of the powder when I'm out tomorrow morning. Thanks, again tlew!!!! :D

[KaliLily]

I got restless and went to the pet store this evening. :) I picked up a can of KMR powder, as well as a tube of Nutri-Cal. It has 4420 kcal/kg. I'm supposed to give Kali 1 tbsp of it a day. Boy I hope this works. She's down to 10.4 lbs and her spine really sticks out. :( She is improving, she's just not eating enough to even maintain her current weight. I think if she can perk up and get some energy she'll feel better and start eating more.

[tlew12778]

If you find that it works, start looking at other brands. KMR-brand is super expensive and it starts to hurt the budget if you give it consistently. There are a few good generic brands out there with the same content. Also, the powder is a lot cheaper than the pre-made stuff in general.

[Peppy]

KaliLily: I saw this and thought of you. There is a lecture next month in Northern Virginia about IBD. I thought you might be interested, considering Kali's issues. It's at the bottom of this page (http://www.petmac.org/events.htm).

[KaliLily]

Thanks so much, Peppy!

ETA: Has anyone tried those teeth wipes you can get at pet stores? Do they help? Kali's breath smells worse every day and her teeth aren't doing too well. Unfortunately, I can't brush them because of the risk the toothpaste will upset her GI tract. I thought the wipes might be a good alternative.

[imagirliegirl]

I took the cats in for their yearly appointments today. Princess was awful. She's always bad but this was the worst year ever. She scratched me.

Griffin was so good and he weighs 12.8 pounds! There's not an ounce of fat on him, he's just a huge cat.

[jnettie]

ETA: Has anyone tried those teeth wipes you can get at pet stores? Do they help? Kali's breath smells worse every day and her teeth aren't doing too well. Unfortunately, I can't brush them because of the risk the toothpaste will upset her GI tract. I thought the wipes might be a good alternative.

A ha ha ha ha!!! That's so funny! Wipe my cats' teeth! There is no way that Jade, let alone Sissy, would ever let me anywhere near their teeth to wipe or brush their teeth. I would be so scratched up, even with the Kitty Burrito.

And now, some cute Jade pictures! :D

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/187/413098672_7353ecb127.jpg?v=0
Yesterday morning, Jade decided to sit in the recycle bin! I had just shreded a bunch of papers, and I think that she was attracted to that.

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/165/413098667_9ae3d2783b.jpg?v=0
Grooming in my clean laundry.

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/130/413098664_5e4b35cd80.jpg?v=0
We got one of those water fountain thingies for the girls, and Jade has taken to drinking from where the water comes out at the top. It makes sense, since she's a sink drinker.

[TracieB]

Aw! Jade's so cute!

[KaliLily]

[FONT="Century Gothic"]I took the cats in for their yearly appointments today. Princess was awful. She's always bad but this was the worst year ever. She scratched me.

I took Lily in for her annual exam & vaccinations last Wednesday. What a nightmare! The assistant had to get the big gloves and even then we couldn't get her under control. Lily kept attacking the assistant's leg when she'd go to get her out from behind the exam table. They had me leave the room to see if that would calm her down, and it worked. No clue why it worked, but so glad it did! She's been pretty bad before, but I have to say this was her worst year ever, too.

Next year I have to pick up a tranquilizer pill for her the day before. The vet and his staff might want to take one of those themselves before she arrives!

[maxandmolly]

*deleted*

[jnettie]

I guess I'm lucky, too. Jade just gets really really shy at the vet. And, at the last checkup, Sissy didn't seem to be at all upset. She just kind of crawled around the exam room, checking things out until it was her turn.

[maxandmolly]

*deleted*

[tlew12778]

Mine don't freak at the vet, but the truth is, I think they've only been to the office twice. Our vet is a good friend of ours so he just comes over to check them out. Since we have two, it's a lot easier on all of us for him to come here.

The reason the cat(s) act better when the owner is out of the room is bc they feel out of their element without anything familiar nearby. Our vets partner actually does house visits and he says they're the worst bc the cats feel too comfortable and just dart around the house to the closest hiding spot. At the office they generally cower from nerves.

[Asha]

well, bili and i had a traumatic experience getting her into her crate to go into the vet one time. we ended up missing the apt bc she just wouldn't get in the crate. she was flailing and hissing. i ended up having to get a bigger crate bc it was too hard to get her in the smaller crate.

when i take her to the vet, she just acts like a timid creature. i think they didn't believe my story about how she was a holy terror getting in the crate.

[jnettie]

Aw, poor Bili! I found that if you can lower them in butt first while the cage is vertical, it's easier. If they can't see what they're going into, they're less likely to fight.

[Asha]

jnettie - thanks for the tip. this past time i just lured her in with boiled chicken and she went in without a fight. i also have just kept the crate out so she gets used to it. i might try your trick when we get her spayed in a week bc she isn't allowed to eat before her surgery.

[greenbunny]

My girls can't really do any damage what with the lack of claws, but instead of getting aggressive at the vet's they both get very clingy. They basically play ostrich, shoving themselves into my chest and stuffing their heads in my armpit. I feel badly that it stresses them out, but I have to admit it's pretty darned cute.

We also get them into the carriers (and out of them) by unscrewing and removing the top half. If your carrier comes apart, you can also leave the bottom out with a blanket in it. If they get used to it being there, it might not freak them out come time for an appointment.

[diam124]

Our cat had a bad reputation at the old vet, but I don't think she's ever actually scratched or bit anyone. I think it was mostly hissing and being uncooperative.

At our new vet I always warn anyone who comes into the room that she can be aggressive. I would hate for them to get scratched by her.

I don't usually have a problem getting her into her crate before we go, but she refuses to come out once we get there. I have the kind of crate where the top can come off, so that's usually what I do. She tries as hard as she can to get back to the crate because that becomes her "safe place". It's funny - she usually is pretty good for the techs (who are all female) and bad for the male vet. I think soft voices are soothing to her.

[KaliLily]

I found that if you can lower them in butt first while the cage is vertical, it's easier. If they can't see what they're going into, they're less likely to fight.

This trick doesn't work for me. I think Lily has eyes in her butt. :p

[Peppy]

It took me 25 minutes to get mine into her carrier to go to the vet the last time we went. It was terrible. Of course, she's not so bright, so she would run away when I was trying to get her in, but then I would call her name and she would come running back to me. Then I would try again, she would run away, and we would repeat the whole production. It was so frustrating. When there are two of us putting her in the carrier, it takes about 10 seconds.

When she is at the vet, she is fine. She doesn't mind the other animals, and when she's in the exam room she'll just jump onto their windowsill and stare outside.

[KaliLily]

You all have been so helpful and supportive during Kali's illness I felt it was only right to let you know that after a long, brave fight Kali passed away yesterday afternoon.

After Kali's check-up last Friday (3/2) we were feeling positive that with a little more time and effort, she would recover. However, over the weekend Kali started showing signs that she had had enough. We took her to the vet the following Friday (3/9) and her tests showed her health had sharply declined, to a point where there was no going back. After much thought and discussion, and searching our hearts, we came to the heartbreaking conclusion that it was time to let Kali go.

DH and I took Kali to the vet yesterday afternoon, wrapped in a soft, flowery blanket. It was a gorgeous pre-Spring day, and the staff took us out back to sit with Kali in the grass behind the clinic. We had well over an hour to play with her until the vet came out to talk to us. He helped us find peace (again) with our decision, and said we could stay outside with Kali the whole time if we wanted. We did. When we were ready, the vet gave Kali the sedative/pain reliever while I held her in my arms. DH and I took turns holding Kali under the warm sun until she was in a very deep slumber, then brought her inside and gave her to the vet's assistant, saying goodbye one last time.

Here are a few of my favorite pictures.

Our Sweet Kalista
April 14, 2000 - March 10, 2007

7/7/01
http://www.dedapper.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10002/normal_IM000162.JPG

10/6/01 (Taking care of sick Momma. This is the blanket we took her to the vet in.)
http://www.dedapper.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10002/normal_IM000171.JPG

7/10/02 (looking for recipes)
http://www.dedapper.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10002/normal_IM000196.JPG

9/19/04
http://www.dedapper.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10002/normal_KaliDrawer03.jpg

10/11/04 (Hiding amongst her animal friends)
http://www.dedapper.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10002/normal_KaliAnimals02.jpg

1/05 (Posing for Momma)
http://www.dedapper.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10002/Kali%20011305.jpg


(con't next post)

[KaliLily]

3/3/05 (Getting kozy in the new house)
http://www.dedapper.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10002/normal_Kali030305.jpg

6/10/05 (Nap time!)
http://www.dedapper.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10002/normal_Kitties%20001.jpg

6/15/05 (Scratch my tummy, Momma!)
http://www.dedapper.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10002/normal_Kitties%20009.jpg

8/27/05
http://www.dedapper.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10002/normal_Kitties%20016.jpg

Happy Face
http://www.dedapper.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10002/KaliFace.jpg

12/9/05 (Santa Kali)
http://www.dedapper.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10002/normal_Christmas%202005%20002%20%289%29.jpg

Thank you for all of your support these last 3 months.

[greenbunny]

Kim, I am so, so sorry. I thought for sure things were getting better. I can't imagine what you must be going through right now. Kali was a lucky little girl and she is waiting for you at the bridge. Bella and Summer and I are sending you and Lily and your family all our loving and healing thoughts.

[eli1126]

Kim,

I am so sorry for your loss. You are an awesome cat mommy and Kali was just as lucky to have you, as you were to have her. I can only hope to be half as good, as the example you have set, taking care of your babies. You have certainly set a high standard for us other cat mommies to live up to. Beau, Belle, and I are sending prayers and good thoughts your way.

[jnettie]

Kim, I'm so sorry. Saying goodbye is so hard. You are such a great cat mom.

[Renee34]

Kim, I'm soooo sorry about Kali, I know how hard it is saying goodbye. Hopefully, Chester and Kali are making friends with each other in kittycat heaven. ;)

[Sazoo]

Kim, I know I already told you this personally, but I am so sorry about Kali, & I am very proud of you for being such an awesome cat mom to her all these months that she was sick. I know it has been so hard on you emotionally, but you really did everything you could possibly do for her (& then some), & over the years you gave her a really great life in a happy, loving home. I hope that gives you some comfort. I will miss Kali - she was the sweetest kitty & she was so soft & snuggly! The "scratch my tummy, momma" picture you posted above is my favorite. :)

[Peppy]

Kim,
I am so sorry about Kali (and looking at her photos, I have to say she was absolutely beautiful). I can't imagine how difficult the decision must have been for you. I know that you tried so hard to help Kali through her illness, and you did a wonderful job. You were lucky to have Kali, and Kali was lucky to have you.

My thoughts are with you through what I am sure will be a difficult time.

[Asha]

kim, i am so sorry for the loss of you sweet and beautiful cat, kali. thank you for sharing the photos of her to honor her life.

[southerner]

I'm heartbroken for you :(

[ignutzz]

Kim, you and your husband have been such amazing and wonderful caregivers to your little Kali. You are all blessed to have been a part of each others lives. From my family to yours, we wish you much love and healing while your mourn your loss.

[bunnybeth]

I'm so sorry for your loss. Those are wonderful pictures you shared, it looks like Kali had a great life.

[maxandmolly]

I'm so sorry, Kim. You did everything you could for her, and you gave her the greatest gift of all, a peaceful, painless end to her suffering.
You, DH and Lily will be in my thoughts.

[imagirliegirl]

Kim, I'm so sorry. I actually teared up thinking about what an awful time this must be. Kali was really lucky to have such a great mom who went to such lengths to try to make her better. And it sounds like you gave her a wonderful send off. I bet you made her feel like a really happy and peaceful girl.

Thanks for sharing her pictures with us.

[soxgirlie]

Kim, I'm so sorry for your loss of sweet Kali. Its obvious what a caring and loving mommy you were to Kali. You are in my thoughts.

[diam124]

I'm so sorry to hear about Kali - your post brought tears to my eyes. I can't imagine a more peaceful way to go though - in your arms and in the sun. You have been such a dedicated cat mom to her - I'll keep all of you in my thoughts.

[KaliLily]

Thank you all for your very kinds words of sympathy and support. They are a great source of comfort.

[ysolde]

Kim --

My thoughts and prayers are with you. You and Kali were so very lucky to have one another. She is not far, you know. Every now and then, in the hazy, twilit moments between sleep and wakefulness, you will feel her little paw upon your belly, her little wet nose nuzzling up to your cheek, just for a second or two, just enough to let you know that she is near. And one day, the two of you will cross the bridge to eternity together, as only pets and their humans can.

Hugs to you.

[Kate&Joey]

KaliLily

I'm so sorry about Kali. I haven't been online since Friday. When I read your post earlier today, I was crying too hard to type. You are a wonderful furmom.

Take care,
K

[jnettie]

ysolde, you're gonna make me cry again. That was incredibly touching.

[KaliLily]

Thank you for your kind works, Kate&Joey & ysolde.

Just thought I'd pop in and let you all know DH, Lily and I are doing ok. Kali's absence is still very obvious to us all, our family just isn't whole without her, but it gets a little easier to cope each day.

Despite her animosity toward Kali when she was alive, Lily seems to miss her very much. I always knew that deep, deep, deep down Lily loved her "sister." :) We've been giving Lily extra love (and treats), and she has been extra loving to & snuggly with us.

I just can't express to all of you how much you helped me through Kali's illness & in coping with her passing. You are an incredible group of women, and I thank you with all of my heart.

[Sazoo]

DH sent me this article earlier this afternoon:60 Million Containers of Pet Food Recalled (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17650075/)

Scary! So far they don't seem to have much details available regarding what specific brands of food are affected, but they say they will have a list posted on the website tomorrow.

We just found out that our older cat, Pepper, has a kidney infection/kidney failure :eek: so this article really caught our attention. However, after reading the article I don't think we've fed our cats the type of food they're talking about - seems like they're mostly referring to the pieces & gravy style of food, which we don't feed our cats. Nevertheless, I'll certainly be following up on this more over the next few days.

As for Pepper's situation, the vet has us giving her antibiotics for a couple of weeks, & then we're supposed to bring her back in for a weight-check (she's lost a lot of weight recently...she lost over a pound just in the past month between vet visits!) & to re-run the kidney function test to see if the antibiotics are helping.

She hasn't been eating much lately (hense the weightloss) & has also been vomiting more than usual, so they also suggested we give her "fluid under the skin" & they sent us home with a bag of big needles & an IV bag of saline solution that has some medication in it that is supposed to give her more of an appetite. We're only supposed to administer it if the vomiting/not eating continues, & it has been for the past few days so I think tomorrow we're going to try to do it. I really don't want to - when the veterinary assistant showed us how at the clinic last Sunday it did not look fun & Pepper didn't like it. Poor thing! :( She is doing really well with taking the antibiotics, though, which impressed me since I've never had to give her pills before & I was worried about it.

Anyway, the vet said that this type of infection can be difficult, if not impossible, to cure in older cats (Pepper is 11) so it is very possible that she may have to be on & off antibiotics for the rest of her life. :(

*********

ETA - Here's a link to the website of the company who actually manufactures the food involved in the recall: www.menufoods.com/recall

ETA (again) - the link doesn't seem to be working right now...maybe it's just down temporarily while they try to update it, or something. *shrug*

[KaliLily]

Sarah- Thanks for posting about this. I went on the website and found more info (see below). Fortunately, I haven't fed Lily anything on the list (nor did Kali eat any of it, which is a relief). We used to give her (and Kali) the Iam's pieces & gravy-style food for "special occasions" but stopped buying after last summer. The vet told us in the fall that that kind of food has a lot of sugar, and to just use regular canned food.

I'm so proud of you for learning to give Pepper pills. It's not easy, but I actually came to prefer pills over liquid. Good luck with the IV. I'm thinking about you & Pepper and sending positive thoughts your way.

****

Here's the cat product recall list from Menu Food's website (http://www.menufoods.com/recall:

Recalled Cat Product Information
Recall Information 1-866-895-2708

1. Americas Choice, Preferred Pets
2. Authority
3. Best Choice
4. Companion
5. Compliments
6. Demoulas Market Basket
7. Fine Feline Cat
8. Food Lion
9. Foodtown
10. Giant Companion
11. Hannaford
12. Hill Country Fare
13. Hy-Vee
14. Key Food
15. Laura Lynn
16. Li'l Red
17. Loving Meals
18. Main Choice
19. Nutriplan
20. Nutro Max Gourmet Classics
21. Nutro Natural Choice
22. Paws
23. Pet Pride
24. Presidents Choice
25. Price Chopper
26. Priority
27. Save-A-Lot
28. Schnucks
29. Sophistacat
30. Special Kitty Canada
31. Special Kitty US
32. Springfield Prize
33. Sprout
34. Total Pet, My True Friend
35. Wegmans
36. Western Family
37. White Rose
38. Winn Dixie

The Press Release (http://www.menufoods.com/recall/Press_Recall_03162007.pdf) states, "The recall is limited to "cuts and gravy" style pet food in cans and pouches manufactured at two of the Fund's United States facilities."

[greenbunny]

That is a LOT of brands! Now I can rub it in DH's face that the expensive holistic stuff is worth it. :)

[KaliLily]

That is a LOT of brands! Now I can rub it in DH's face that the expensive holistic stuff is worth it. :)

Enjoy the "face rubbing." ;) This sure made me feel better about spending a little more on Natural Balance for Lily!

[KaliLily]

It seems that list is mostly store brands. Here's a Press Release from Iams.

http://www.iamsco.com/en_US/jhtmls/iamsco/news/sw_in_News_page.jhtml?li=en_US&bc=C&pti=IN&ai=3885

ETA: And here is their list of recalled products (Iams & Eukanuba)
http://us.iams.com/iams/en_US/data_root/html/product_article/ProductRecallList.htm

ETA (again): And the Announcement/List from Hill's (Science Diet)
http://www.hillspet.com/menu_foods/Menu_Foods_en_US.htm

[Tonysweetie]

Kim: I am so sorry I'm late coming in, but I just wanted to say I am sorry for your loss. The pictures you posted just shows what a wonderful life that she had. She was one beautiful cat I must say! I will say a pray for kali. God Bless!!!

Sazoo: Oh my!!! Keep us updated!

[jnettie]

Sazoo, kidney failure is such a hardship on poor kitties. But I know there's lots more now they can do than before. Here's hoping Pepper feels better soon!

I'm also glad we made the switch to Natural Balance! :) But I still have some old pouches of Iams and Nutro, so I'll be checking numbers.

[Sazoo]

THanks for posting the Science Diet list, Kim. I hadn't found that yet. We just checked, & none of the cans we currently have in the cupboard are on the list. We don't usually feed them the savory cuts formula though - but it's still good to hear from Hill's directly that their other formulas are okay.

Thanks Tonysweetie & jnettie! I am really hoping the antibiotics help Pepper's kidney infection. We gave her the fluid under the skin today (which was not fun, but it went pretty well & she behaved beautifully - she's such a good kitty!) but I hope to not have to do that much more because I just hated sticking her with that giant needle. :(

[Asha]

i have science diet kind that they list, but the expiration doesn't match. bili threw it up when i gave it to her a couple of days ago. i just assumed its bc i mixed her meds in with it, but now i don't know. i am not feeding it to her again even if it is not on the recall list.

[Katy]

So those of you that are using Natural Balance, do the cats like it? While Charlie will eat high end dry food just fine, he actually walks away from high end wet food (so I've been giving in and getting him his kitty crack - though now, we have a few things on that recall list). I'm looking for something new to try with him then. Suggestions?

[jnettie]

Sissy loves the Natural Balance wet stuff, but Jade's getting kind of sick of it, I think. She only eats a little bit, then walks away, so Sissy eats the rest! I don't mind if Sissy finishes Jade's food, since Jade is the fatty. ;) I think maybe she's not so keen on the wet food anymore because I gave her some leftover Iams and she only ate a bit of that, too. Oh, well, she'll just have to deal.

[KaliLily]

Lily loves the Natural Balance canned food (and has taken to their dry food quite well). I started her on the Venison & Green Pea allergy formula. She doesn't have food allergies; it was what we were feeding Kali at the time and Lily wanted some too.

Lily also loves the Ocean White Fish, but I initially had to "entice" her to eat it by mixing it with the Venison & Green Pea. She eats it alone just fine now. I also tried to feed her the Turkey and one other flavor a few months ago, but she wouldn't eat them. I may try them again, though. Variety is good. :)

ETA: The Menu Foods recall list has been updated to include Iams, Eukanuba & Science Diet. www.menufoods.com/recall

[Peppy]

Katy, I'm not sure what brands of wet food you have tried, but I tried just about every brand and flavor of high-quality we food with Emma and all she will eat is Innova Lite. But I think Emma's maybe a little strange. :)

I would recommend you try Merrick if you haven't already. The people at the pet food store I go to call it "kitty crack"--apparently every kitty (except for Emma) loves it. They have a LOT of different flavors as well, so maybe you could try a couple of different ones.

[imagirliegirl]

Wow. That's a LONG list. I just changed my cats to Pro Plan from Nutro on my vet's recommendation and I'm so glad I did.

[Katy]

hey ladies, thanks for the Merrick suggestion. Turns out we've picked up some of their cans for treats while on vacation! Luckily, it's available at a couple of our local pet/feed stores. We also have some of our stores that sell both the Innova/Natura line as well as Nature Balance. So glad to know we have options.

Upon further investigation let me just say that I love, love, love having feed stores right up the street!!! They carry ALL the lines that you all have suggested :cool: You guys rock!

[eli1126]

I finally found a pet store near me that sells all these brands of cat food:

Wellness
Innova
Soild Gold
Natural Balance
Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover's Soul


Now, I am just debating on which brand to choose! I would like an weight management indoor formula and Chicken Soup has one, but I've heard great things about Innova and Natural Balance. Any Suggestions?

[Katy]

I picked up some Natural Balance for my little guy. Hopefully he'll like it.

[eli1126]

I picked up a small bag of Wellness Healthy Weight. I have started the process of introducing it to them. I chose the Wellness because the other brands that were available at the store were poultry and Beau and Belle prefer seafood/fish flavors. I thought that it might be more enticing if the food had some kind of seafood flavor. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I also read the back of the bags and I have really been overfeeding them :o My plan now is to try to balance the dry food with a little wet food each day.

[greenbunny]

Innova Evo is what I use, that's the grain-free stuff. That and Chicken Soup are known to be good for sensitive tummies. If you don't have that issue, I think any of them are good quality brands.

[Peppy]

Eli, my cat eats Wellness and she loves it. But you really can't go wrong with any of those brands. If they don't like the Wellness, try another.

And it's great that you are starting to integrate wet food into their diet! It's really good for cats and I bet it will help with their weight loss as well.

[eli1126]

Well, Beau and Belle haven't been too thrilled with the Wellness. So far I have tried each day to put a little in their food to begin the process of switching over. They will eat around it as not to accidentally get any of the Wellness food :eek: So I think I may be back to the drawing board.

[jnettie]

Man, not to rub it in, but I'm so glad my girls aren't fussy eaters! I can do a total switch over of food and they don't care at all. They'll eat whatever I put in front of them. :D

[jnettie]

Ok, have to share what Jade did last night. It was very cute, if slightly twisted.

So, I'm sitting on the couch, and Sissy wants attention. She's eying my lap, but she is still too afraid to sit on my lap most of the time. Well, Jade sees this and will have NOTHING to do with Sissy sitting on my lap. Jade jumps up on my lap, lays down, and snuggles into my legs, facing Sissy and glares at her! I mean, she gave Sissy the kitty cat evil eye! It was a total "this is MY mommy and YOU can't sit on her lap!" moment. All I could do was laugh!

[maxandmolly]

JEALOUS! We have that at our house, too. On the rare occasions Molly sits on my lap (not fear, she just isn't into it), Max will come up, stand over-straddling her, basically-and bite her on the head and neck til she gets mad and leaves. Actually, he does this to her daily, when he decides he wants her spot on the floor, the bed, the couch, or just to get her to play with him.
He's kind of a brat.

[imagirliegirl]

Please welcome the newest (and last) addition to the family! This is Mr. Bailey Grey.
http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h200/myheartbelongstodallas/47b7dd05b3127cce835e432ce8cd0000001.jpg

I wanted to call him Grey because I love that name but I didn't want to upset Griffin. When I saw him he just had a Bailey face and I love Dr. Bailey on Grey's so it worked.

Here's his little tummy! His markings are so cute.
http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h200/myheartbelongstodallas/47b7dd05b3127cce835e5d1469ca0000001.jpg?t=11747872 46

We adopted him from the same organization we got Griffin from. He's 5 - 6 months old and in perfect health. We don't know much about his past. He was left at a shelter and this organization (SCAT) acquired him. I wish we knew a little more. He scarfs his food so fast he doesn't even chew it all. He drank a whole bowl of water today. Makes me think he was either stray or neglected. Poor little guy.

He's very adorable. He's not pushing himself on the other cats but he's not taking any crap from them either. When they hiss he looks totally unaffected which is great. Princess and Griffin are hissing a bit but they'll be fine. Griffin's just being a brat because he's following big sister's example. :rolleyes:

He has a big voice and he loves to hear himself talk. He's been walking around meowing. I wonder if he is just worried we might lose him.

He's so cute!! I think he's going to be huge like Griffin. He has gigantic ears, a really long tail and huge toes. We think it looks like he's wearing catchers mitts.

[maxandmolly]

Awww!
His markings (other than his face) remind me of Molly when she was a kitten. Her stripes faded as she grew up, though. Wonder if his will?

[TracieB]

Aww.. congratulations! Mr. Bailey Grey is so cute! :)

[Sazoo]

Oh, your new kitty is adorable! :D I hope your other cats calm down and accept him eventually - I'm sure they will.

Congratulations! :)

[imagirliegirl]

Oh, your new kitty is adorable! :D I hope your other cats calm down and accept him eventually - I'm sure they will.


I think so too. They aren't doing too bad. They aren't trying to attack him, they just sort of hiss and growl when he passes by. He keeps walking up to them like "love me" but they aren't having it just yet. He's really trying to pal up with Griffin who's the bigger growler at this point. But they have made more progress in a day than Princess made with Griffin in a month so I think it will all settle down. Griffin actually just let Bailey sit right next to him. :)

Question:

Bailey meows all the time. He doesn't seem unhappy because he rubs on us and purrs. He's eating and drinking (well, guzzling) his water. But he still meows so much. I think it just sounds pitiful because he's small and has a pretty weak voice. I'm just afraid that he's afraid we will lose him. Can't help but wonder if he got left behind before someone took him to the shelter. Do you think he's ok? I'm going to give him more time to adjust, I just worry. I've just never had a cat do this. Princess was vocal but not like this.

[Sazoo]

That's great that Bailey isn't getting flustered by the growling from your other cats. Good for him! I'm sure they'll warm up to him soon enough. It sounds like they are making some progress already. :)

I think the meowing is probably okay - I'll bet he's just feeling unsettled because of his new surroundings, etc. Hopefully after a few days he'll get more familiar with you guys, your other cats, the house, etc. and stop talking so much. Have you taken him to the vet for a check-up yet? If/when you do, you could ask the vet about it and see if he/she thinks there's any reason to worry.

Good luck!

[greenbunny]

He's a dear. What great markings!

[maxandmolly]

Molly used to yowl all. the. time. While purring. Drove me NUTS. She would never. shut. up. It took years to get her somewhat trained to not do it all the time.
Until she went to stay with grandma & grandpa-grandma thought her yowling was 'cute'. :rolleyes:

[imagirliegirl]

Molly used to yowl all. the. time. While purring. Drove me NUTS. She would never. shut. up. It took years to get her somewhat trained to not do it all the time.
Until she went to stay with grandma & grandpa-grandma thought her yowling was 'cute'. :rolleyes:

I won't tell Brad that. I'm just gonna stick with the he's a baby and he'll grow out of it thing. ;)

It's funny, I've always thought of Griffin as such a baby. But now that I see him next to a baby he's such a CAT! He grew up and no one ever told me.

[Smilin13]

Ozzie is a meower. All the time, except when he is sleeping. We adopted him from the shelter over a year ago. At first it was endearing, now it is just annoying. And he isn't a kitten, he was about 2 when we got him. I still have faith he'll outgrow it, but that faith is getting slimmer and slimmer every day.
Good Luck

:)

[imagirliegirl]

Ozzie is a meower. All the time, except when he is sleeping. We adopted him from the shelter over a year ago. At first it was endearing, now it is just annoying. And he isn't a kitten, he was about 2 when we got him. I still have faith he'll outgrow it, but that faith is getting slimmer and slimmer every day.
Good Luck

:)

Well, at least I know it can be normal. He sounds SO pitiful but it's just the sound of his little baby voice. I'm starting to get to the point where I don't freak out and jump up every time he makes a horrible noise. :p

He's such a cutie! He reminds me of an old Egyptian cat. His features are a little different than my other cats.

We made a lot of progress last night. Griffin actually realized having a brother can be fun! They played for at least an hour and neither of them came to bed. He's been playing with toys like crazy. I'm so glad. At first he didn't seem to understand but he watched Griffin and got the hang of it. He still wants to love on Griffin too. Princess still hisses but she hisses at everything that's not me.

OMG this is so dumb but...Griffin and Bailey are both neutered but I guess they used some new procedure on Bailey. They said it's like a vasectomy so he still has his little nuts. Brad says it's impossible for Griffin to know but I swear he's fine with Bailey until he notices the nuts then he gets upset. Is he mad because his are gone? :D

[jnettie]

LOL! That's so funny!

Bailey sure is beautiful. Some breeds are very vocal, so you could be in for a lifetime of yowling. It helps if you don't react to every yowl. Sissy used to yowl all the time, and it was horrible sounding and LOUD because she's deaf and couldn't hear herself! Ugh!

[vwinkel]

Bailey is so cute! The meowing does start off as cute, but quickly turns annoying at 2am. :)

[imagirliegirl]

Bailey is Griffin's shadow and Grif's been a terrific big brother! He lets Bailey follow him around and lay with him. He even kisses on him! He's been such a sweet boy. I'm proud of my Bubba!

http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h200/myheartbelongstodallas/bubba.jpg

[greenbunny]

You are so lucky! It's been almost two years, and my girls are still at each other's throats most of the time.

[eli1126]

What a great picture of your babies! It is nice when they get along :) Congratulations on the new kitty!!

[diam124]

That is such a cute picture!


Does anyone know if regular Hallmark stores sell pet sympathy cards? My sister called me last night and was very upset because one of their cats died suddenly. He was only 12 and had been acting a little funny for a day or so but wasn't really sick or anything. His brother (littermate) was very agitated yesterday before she found the cat, so she thinks he must have known. The vet told her it was probably something sudden like a stroke. My poor niece is going to be very upset. She is 4 and she was "best friends" with the cat that died. :(

[imagirliegirl]

Does anyone know if regular Hallmark stores sell pet sympathy cards?

Aw your poor sister. :(

The Hallmark stores here sell pet sympathy cards.

[Kate&Joey]

diam124: I am so sorry about your sister's cat. I hope your niece will be ok.

Well, we've had great success in allowing Cat#1 (Sullie) to be with Cat#2 (Gabby). We just went cold turkey and keep the door open to the bedroom where Gabby usually hangs out. She gets quite annoyed when Sullie keeps bugging her, but can hold her own. DH has a great picture taken with his camera phone of the cats squaring off around a corner. He said that Sullie kind of stood up like he was trying to a *big cat* and scare her and Gabby just went after him. :eek: Scared the beejeezus out of Sullie, who ran away and hid under the bed. Serves him right! ;)

Another positive outcome of this is Gabby is much more brave. She comes out into the main parts of the house now, even when DS is awake. I also think she's *roaming* at night. I'll wake up from time to time and she's not in the room so I think she's *on patrol.* She'll also jump up on the couch and look out the window. It makes me so happy that she's showing interest in her surroundings and acting like a real cat again. :D

My only concern now is that Sullie has access to Gabby's food. When he was an *only* cat, we fed him twice a day, like we do with the dogs. Now he eats food out of her bowl and his bowl. Will he self-regulate his intake regardless of how much food is offered? I'm taking him to the vet for his annual check-up on Saturday so I'll see how his weight is. Don't want him to be a glutton! :)

[diam124]

I called my sister to see how they're doing. She said my niece doesn't seem to really understand it (although she's been home sick, so I think she's kind of out of it from that). She did draw a picture of the cat today though. One of the funniest things I ever saw was when my niece was 1 1/2 - she basically tackled the cat and was hugging him while laying on top of him. it was hysterical and I couldn't believe that the cat didn't try to get away or scratch her!

My sister did say that she can't find their other cat now! She thinks he's outside (he goes out with their dog a lot) but it was raining and he never stays out in the rain. She said he slept in the other cat's bed last night too. She thinks she's "humanizing" the cat and his reaction, but since they're littermates and have never really been apart I think it makes sense that he would take it hard.

[imagirliegirl]

My only concern now is that Sullie has access to Gabby's food. When he was an *only* cat, we fed him twice a day, like we do with the dogs. Now he eats food out of her bowl and his bowl. Will he self-regulate his intake regardless of how much food is offered? I'm taking him to the vet for his annual check-up on Saturday so I'll see how his weight is. Don't want him to be a glutton!

I can't keep Princess out of Bailey's food either! She's already fat so the last thing she needs is kitten food. The vet told me just to mix a little kitten food in the regular food in all the bowls so he gets a little kitten food then phase it out.

Do yours eat the same kind of food? If they do I'm sure Sullie will regulate himself. Cats aren't usually like dogs and they won't eat if they aren't hungry. :)

I HAD to post this. :)
http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h200/myheartbelongstodallas/47b7dd09b3127cce837314862fe20000002.jpg

[dragonfly28602]

Just wanted to say hello, and that after a LONG two years, I'm a kitty mommy again.
This is Anna.
http://images.kodakgallery.com/photos3138/9/79/50/95/35/0/35955079911_0_ALB.jpg
Cross-eyed Kitty.
http://images.kodakgallery.com/photos3138/9/79/50/82/75/0/75825079911_0_ALB.jpg

[calliope_muses]

She thinks she's "humanizing" the cat and his reaction, but since they're littermates and have never really been apart I think it makes sense that he would take it hard.

This is actually how they grieve and adjust to the loss. When we lost Miss Monkey Moose last year our vet told us that Pete would probably sleep in her favorite spots for a while, might walk around the house and chatter for her, etc.

I haven't posted pictures in eons, probably since Tango was still a kitten. A couple of recent ones:

Hanging out on top of the cabinets together:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v299/roltid01/PICT0008.jpg?t=1175136510

Snuggled up together, being sweet for 5 minutes:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v299/roltid01/Kitties/brothers-1.jpg?t=1175136658

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v299/roltid01/Kitties/PICT0057.jpg?t=1175136710

I hope these don't come out huge...

[ignutzz]

OMG, all of these snuggly kitty pictures are fabulous!!! I love all these sweet sweet faces. :D

--------------
We had a freak occurrence with our upstairs friend/neighbor (K) on Tuesday. She called in a panic a little after two pm (thank goodness for Vonage and remote voicemail notifications!!!) because she'd come home to find her little furball had passed away. I made DH call her back (I couldn't keep it together) and he arranged for her to bring Tuesday (the cat) into our vet's office for an autopsy and safe keeping. The vet found a mass in Tuesday's intestines that was indicative of cancer and she feels the cancer affected his liver. He never showed any signs of illness though, and even after he passed the vet said he looked like a very healthy animal. K was so relieved to know that it wasn't anything she had caused or a health issue that she hadn't noticed or ignored (she was really worried about the food stuff even though none of us feed the brands that had been listed).

I have to say, I'm so impressed with our Drs office. K said Dr. T was so kind and gentle in handling Tuesday; she was petting him during the examination and wrapped him in his towel and carried him gently out of the room when they were done. She even stayed really late to finish the autopsy so K would have some peace of mind that night (K called me with results at 10:30pm).

-----------------
On a lighter note, Izzy is growing like a weed. She's obsessed with water and talks back when we scold her for being on things she not supposed to. :D

[Kate&Joey]

Do yours eat the same kind of food? If they do I'm sure Sullie will regulate himself. Cats aren't usually like dogs and they won't eat if they aren't hungry. :)

Yes, they eat the same dry food. I give Gabby some wet food once a day for hairball maintenance (Sullie gets a *bite* added to his bowl or I'd never hear the end of it :rolleyes: ). If she doesn't eat her wet food right away, I keep Sullie out of her room until she eats. But, otherwise, they get the same food so hopefully he's just enjoying the option of two different bowls. :)

On that note, I saw Sullie using Gabby's litter box for the first time last night. And later on, Gabby was eyeing up Sullie's box so maybe she'll try his out for size. ;)

ignutzz: Such a sad story, but so wonderful to hear about a great vet. It warms my heart to hear such compassion. Poor Tuesday.

[imagirliegirl]

As long as they eat the same food I wouldn't worry. If there's one thing I've learned, it's that nothing around here belongs to just one cat. It's all about community property. :)

[diam124]

Ignutzz, I didn't realize that they actually did autopsies on animals. When my sister called Tues. night she talked about trying to find out what was wrong with him, but then decided against it for some reason. I was under the impression that if you had an animal put to sleep in a vet's office you can't have the body back to bury it (although I didn't think about cremation, which is what she decided to do with their cat).

She said her other cat continues to have a hard time. She said this morning he was in and out of the house a hundred times looking for his brother and at one point stopped by the door and was sniffing something. She thinks he picked up his brother's scent there. He curled up in that spot and hasn't moved. It breaks my heart to think of how sad he is.

[Asha]

dragonfly - anna is so beautiful!!

all the pix of the cuddling "siblings" are absolutely adorable. almost makes me want to get bili a pal.

well, we got bili spayed last week. as per the vet's orders, we had to confine her to a room for two days. normally they don't require that but she acted like a little hellion after the surgery when they had to transport her to her crate. apparantly, she acted like a bat out of hell and flew around the room and wouldn't let them easily put her in the crate. i am "impressed" she could have so much energy after the surgery. they were afraid she would be running around the house and tear open the incision. she wasn't happy about being confined and sat by the door half the time. i slept with her in that room both nights and she was happy about that and snuggled very close to me. in fact, she has been much more affectionate than before spaying. i think her being in nearly constant state of heat was too agitating for her, and now she can relax again. i am impressed that cats recover so quickly bc she is back to her playful and happy self just a week later.

[eli1126]

As long as they eat the same food I wouldn't worry. If there's one thing I've learned, it's that nothing around here belongs to just one cat. It's all about community property. :)


Yup! When we first brought Beau and Belle home, I was nutty about there being two of everything.....and then I realized they only drank out of the one water dish, ate the crunchy food from the same bowl, and didn't bother with the other litter box :rolleyes:

DH and I are going to get another litter box for upstairs though because they don't come down when we have a lot of company here.

[Peppy]

Yay for Bili!!! I bet she will be so happy to never go in heat again.

[jnettie]

Aw, poor Bili! But everything should be back to normal soon.

I was so impressed by the medical glue they used on Jade. She had absolutely no problems, and there were no stitches for her to bite at.

Ok, ladies, it seems that Sissy is back to chewing out her fur. We've done a complete food change to a no carb food, so I don't think it's a food allergy after all. Perhaps it's something airborne? Or, maybe it is all behavioral. Poor kitty has had her share of problems, it's not so unbelievable that it's behavioral. But I don't want to have to give her kitty prozac every day. :( She doesn't take medicine very well.

[maxandmolly]

Ignutzz, I didn't realize that they actually did autopsies on animals. When my sister called Tues. night she talked about trying to find out what was wrong with him, but then decided against it for some reason. I was under the impression that if you had an animal put to sleep in a vet's office you can't have the body back to bury it (although I didn't think about cremation, which is what she decided to do with their cat).

She said her other cat continues to have a hard time. She said this morning he was in and out of the house a hundred times looking for his brother and at one point stopped by the door and was sniffing something. She thinks he picked up his brother's scent there. He curled up in that spot and hasn't moved. It breaks my heart to think of how sad he is.
My mom had our Shepherd mix put down (actually, s-dad took her), then she came home. S-dad let the other two sniff her when he brought her home, and they seemed to understand that she was there but not there. He buried her in the backyard, put down concrete, then a hisbiscus tree. Rusty visits Baby's tree fairly often.

She needs to give her other cat time. He may mope around for quite a while-eventually, he will start to get back to his old self.

[imagirliegirl]

So Griffin is taking this whole momma cat thing a little far...

Last night he was licking Bailey and then all of the sudden I see him trying to pick Bailey up by his scruff to carry him off!! Bailey, or course, just laid there and purred. I couldn't believe it. It's so funny because Princess never acted that way with Griffin.

[KaliLily]

Awww, that is so sweet. I'm torn about whether we should get a kitten for Lily. She has always seemed so independent and she was often aggressive toward Kali, but it's been clear these last 3 weeks that she does miss Kali. (I think Lily just wanted to be the dominant cat and felt she had to regularly "reinforce" her dominance to Kali.) I just don't know if she would resent a new kitten because it isn't Kali. And I don't know if I'm ready for it. I still miss Kali very much and wish I could have her back.

[imagirliegirl]

Aw poor Lily. I bet she's sad. :(

If I were you I would probably keep an eye out at the shelters or adoption agencies and see if you find someone who you think would fit. That way you aren't putting a timeline on yourself but you're open to bringing the right one home.

This must be such a rough time for you. Kali was such a lucky girl. I bet she wants her mommy to be happy and would want you to be open to having another kitty. You're a great mom and some kitty will be very lucky when you feel ready.

[Sazoo]

I'm torn about whether we should get a kitten for Lily. She has always seemed so independent and she was often aggressive toward Kali, but it's been clear these last 3 weeks that she does miss Kali. (I think Lily just wanted to be the dominant cat and felt she had to regularly "reinforce" her dominance to Kali.) I just don't know if she would resent a new kitten because it isn't Kali. And I don't know if I'm ready for it. I still miss Kali very much and wish I could have her back.I wouldn't rush into getting a new kitty, unless, for example, Lily starts misbehaving a lot or just behaving really differently in general because she doesn't have a companion (when I was a kid one of our two cats ran away & the other one sort of went bonkers & started peeing around the house, chewing on the window blinds, etc...but once my mom adopted a new cat (it was a kitten) she calmed right down again). Aside from that type of thing, I'd wait until YOU are ready to bring a new cat into your home. And don't think of him/her as a replacement for Kali - it's just a new addition to your family. ;)

Also, knowing Lily's personality, I agree with you that if/when you do adopt another cat you should try getting a kitten, or at least a fairly young cat. She may take to that a lot better than an older cat who she has to exert her dominance over like she often did with Kali. I've also heard that getting a younger male cat to partner with your older female cat can sometimes be a good idea...but personally I think it really depends on the specific cats in question.

You're a great mom and some kitty will be very lucky when you feel ready.I totally agree with this! :D

[maxandmolly]

Molly was 2 when I got Max, and it was the best thing I ever did for her. But don't feel rushed-you need time, and so does Lily. Even if they didn't always get along, she's in her own form of mourning right now, too.

[Peppy]

KaliLily, I agree with everyone else that you should wait until you are ready before bringing another cat into your lives. (OT, but is anyone else having a problem where the word "you" appears as "***" on their screen?)

However, I'm not sure that I would agree that you should get a kitten. How old is Lily? If she is an older cat, a kitten might annoy her and be too rambunctious, depending on Lily's energy level. I might suggest adopting a somewhat older cat that you know is NOT an alpha and gets along well with other cats. Rescue groups with cats in foster care would definitely be able to tell you which cats are good in that way. Or if you wanted to do something as more of a trial, you could foster a cat through a rescue group, with the idea that you would adopt it if it worked out, and if it didn't, the cat would get a permanent home (this is a win-win, since the cat would have probably been put down at a shelter otherwise).

I actually do rescue work with a group in the NoVa area, so if you want more information, feel free to ask here or PM.

ETA that I now realize that the asterisk thing is part of an April Fool's joke. Silly me.

[imagirliegirl]

These asteriks are so annoying.

This is so gross, but tonight I was watching TV with Princess and looked over to see a TICK on the couch. It was making a run for her! I don't know where it came from. We don't live in a rural area, our house was just sprayed last month for bugs and I use prevention on the cats. Where the hell did a tick come from? I'm totally grossed out. Are ticks like fleas? If there's one there's more. Or could it just be a freak incident?

[eli1126]

Someone could have brought the tick in from outside. Was anyone doing any type of lawn work?

[bunnybeth]

Ticks certainly aren't just in rural areas, we're overrun with them every spring/summer and we live in a very developed suburban area. The tick stuff for cats that we use (from the vet- we put the liquid on the cat's shoulder area) doesn't actually do any