Yet Another Cycling Forum
Random Musings => Miscellany => Where The Wild Things Are => Topic started by: Eccentrica Gallumbits on 02 July, 2014, 12:34:11 pm
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More and more lately, I've been thinking about getting a cat. In particular, Pete as featured here http://www.lothiancatrescue.org/featured-cats.html . Look at his lovely face!
Cons
- I'm allergic (but I am changing to soft contact lenses, and I don't always die when I go to bobb's and cuddle Boris)
- second floor flat (but could put catflap in my door and there is already catflap in door to back green)
- expense, commitment, risk of decapitated wildlife
Pros
- would help to keep the bastard mice away
- http://www.lothiancatrescue.org/featured-cats.html - look at his lovely face!
- it would make bobb happy cos he misses Boris when he's with me
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Look at his lovely face!
Look at all their lovely faces!
Except Lenny - he looks scary.
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YES!
Poody looks like our Oreo, Pete like our Twix.
Go for it, you won't regret it. Though, TBH, if you are allergic you might want to go for a long hair rather than your normal common or garden "short hair" variety, people tend to react less to them (I had no reaction to Lord Dashworth, but if either of ours sit next to me I start sneezing very soon after)
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Cat allergies can fade as you get used to the cat in question.
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Cat allergies can fade as you get used to the cat in question.
..but don't bank on it.
Anyway, things are always better when there's a cat.
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Look at his lovely face!
Look at all their lovely faces!
Except Lenny - he looks scary.
My colleague Jane and I are pissing ourselves laughing at Fluffy. That is one cat who didn't want his photo taken. ;D
Jane is very sad today because her cat, Felix, will be taking his final trip to the vet tomorrow. :'(
What do you reckon the running costs of a cat are? £50 for food and insurance per month?
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One other (major) con: Everything you ever own, from your clothes to your refrigerator air-intake to your TV cooling vents, will become coated in cat fur. But the layer of cat fur does protect the carpet from small squeaky bloodstains and regurgitated kibble. ::-)
As for costs, our vet lets us pay for vaccinations etc by DD throughout the year. It works out at about £13 per month per cat, and gives us a 10% discount on other treatments. Add to that the insurance (£18 per cat per month, but ours are rather old so their insurance is more expensive - and I recommend Pet Plan as they are far more likely to pay out) plus kibble (maybe £10 per cat per month? More if I'm treating them) plus miscellaneous toys that you see in the pet shop and simply MUST buy and then you take home for it to be ignored like all the other toys while the cats play with a bike light instead, plus treats and catnip that you buy to encourage the ungrateful buggers to play with the stash of expensive ignored toys...
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Cat allergies can fade as you get used to the cat in question.
Operative word "can". Neighbour's cat elected domicile with us a few years back and every day turned into a nightmare of itching sinuses, streaming nose & eyes and eventually asthma. I put up with it for a month or two but in the end I had to resort to staring at it with bared teeth and hissing as viciously as I could every time I saw it. It buggered off.
Don't much like cats anyway. Self-serving and insincere.
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You just listed two of their best features :)
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Yes. Get a cat :) And I'll build a massive cat ladder for it ;D
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One other (major) con: Everything you ever own, from your clothes to your refrigerator air-intake to your TV cooling vents, will become coated in cat fur. But the layer of cat fur does protect the carpet from small squeaky bloodstains and regurgitated kibble. ::-)
As for costs, our vet lets us pay for vaccinations etc by DD throughout the year. It works out at about £13 per month per cat, and gives us a 10% discount on other treatments. Add to that the insurance (£18 per cat per month, but ours are rather old so their insurance is more expensive - and I recommend Pet Plan as they are far more likely to pay out) plus kibble (maybe £10 per cat per month? More if I'm treating them) plus miscellaneous toys that you see in the pet shop and simply MUST buy and then you take home for it to be ignored like all the other toys while the cats play with a bike light instead, plus treats and catnip that you buy to encourage the ungrateful buggers to play with the stash of expensive ignored toys...
We've not had a cat hair problem - and ours is semi-longhair. Furball and subsequent ejection thereof - oh yes :sick:
Insurance - we don't bother, harsh though it may seem. Cat cost £50 from RSPCA. We get the annual service and inoculations for the cattery (about £50) and the occasional toenail clip (I'm too scared to do it) even though ours is out more than in. Anything too major, it's sleepy-bye pussycat :'( and off to the RSPCA for another.
We alternate food now - was all dried (Pets @ Home have a decent variety) but now she's older she get a wet food pouch in the morning (currently Whiskas on offer at Tesco) and dry stuff in the afternoon.
Biggest expense is cattery at £10/night (well it IS Buckinghamshire) but we have a good network of feeders for short trips.
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No just get another bike ;)
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I was allergic to cats but I dosed myself up to the eyeballs and got a tolerance after a bit. Still come up in a big itchy lump if I get scratched though.
We also have long haired cats and I find the hair less irritating - it seems more float felty and less of a cloud of pointy hairs trying to get up my nose.
And yes, of course you should get a cat - a house without a cat is not a home :)
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Get the one called Bob.
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Dammit! Want to stroke & tickle all of them :D
I'd love one, but I'm at work all day & live on the 4th floor , so have never thought it right to acquire a furry owner :(
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Kirst obviously needs to follow @EmrgencyKittens on Twitter
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hmm. Now I love the fluffy, spiky little bastards that MrsMike insisted on but my allergies have got steadily worse....
I'm now on antihistamines 365 days a year (and now need prescription ones, not the cheap ones from te*co) and the doc always sighs when I tell him we've still got them.
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Dammit! Want to stroke & tickle all of them :D
What, even Nami, who appears to be doing a sick?
And is Lenny 8 feet tall?
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hmm. Now I love the fluffy, spiky little bastards that MrsMike insisted on but my allergies have got steadily worse....
I'm now on antihistamines 365 days a year (and now need prescription ones, not the cheap ones from te*co) and the doc always sighs when I tell him we've still got them.
I've been on prescription anti-histamines for the last 20 years just to stop me clawing my own skin off :-[
Own up you lot. Who has voted that they want rid of their own cat? :o
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Not me, I recently shocked my colleagues by making the observation that if my house was on fire I'd rescue him in preference to Mrs W. I'd happily take them all home, but Baggins, who is a big, strong white and black (as opposed to black and white) would be a bit upset. Dog would hide in the corner quivering....
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hmm. Now I love the fluffy, spiky little bastards that MrsMike insisted on but my allergies have got steadily worse....
I'm now on antihistamines 365 days a year (and now need prescription ones, not the cheap ones from te*co) and the doc always sighs when I tell him we've still got them.
I've been on prescription anti-histamines for the last 20 years just to stop me clawing my own skin off :-[
Own up you lot. Who has voted that they want rid of their own cat? :o
Not me.
Mainly because I already gave 'my' two away to some forumites who were able to give 'em a fair better home than massively allergic me. I still haven't got back into the habit of actually sitting on the sofa, which was damn near a no-go zone for years if I wanted to minimise the sneeze-fest.
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Pete looks magnificent.
We have a black and white Rodney, who is a big strong boy on account of being neutered late. He's just a big amenable lump, very even tempered.
The late neutering doesn't seem to have done him any harm, though he really loves his blanket, which can be a bit grim when you've got visitors.
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I spoke to the cat rescuers yesterday and they said he's a nice boy, bit temperamental, and will let you know when he's had enough, but not nasty, and wouldn't be fazed by me being at work all day. They can't reserve him for me though, so I either have to take him asap and then find other arrangements for when I'm in Greece, or I have to hope nobody else picks him before mid-September.
I really don't want to get a rescue cat, spend 2 months getting him settled and used to me, then put him into a cattery or have someone come in to feed him for two weeks. So I won't be doing anything till at least mid-September, and I hope he's still there by then!
We have a black and white Rodney, who is a big strong boy on account of being neutered late. He's just a big amenable lump, very even tempered.
The late neutering doesn't seem to have done him any harm, though he really loves his blanket, which can be a bit grim when you've got visitors.
When I was a kid, we had Tiptoes, the best, but fiercest and frankly most psychopathic cat in the world. My parents didn't have him neutered - they were going to, but then my dad had the snip and decided it was unfair to put the cat through the pain when it had no way of understanding what was going on. I think they regretted that decision, because he was roughly the size of a tiger cub, extremely fierce, and sprayed a lot. But he was the most bestest cat ever, and is the reason I now can't resist a cat in dinner jacket. ;D
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I voted for option 3, which is not strictly accurate because it's my daughter's cat. I don't mind when you go to the bog and it pongs of the last person to dump in there but the huge ammonia output from the cat litter tray lurking by the bath is unbearable on a hot July day.
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If the smell is that bad a) it's not being cleaned out often enough and b) think how bad it smells to the cat!
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You are right, it isn't being cleaned out often enough. It's one of the jobs that gets left when two busy teachers have two small children and one of those teachers, due to injuries sustained when giving birth, is in constant pain and is incapable of lifting anything of greater mass than a wet teabag without risking further injury.
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When I was a kid, we had Tiptoes, the best, but fiercest and frankly most psychopathic cat in the world. My parents didn't have him neutered - they were going to, but then my dad had the snip and decided it was unfair to put the cat through the pain when it had no way of understanding what was going on. I think they regretted that decision, because he was roughly the size of a tiger cub, extremely fierce, and sprayed a lot. But he was the most bestest cat ever, and is the reason I now can't resist a cat in dinner jacket. ;D
;D Sounds like you'd be an ideal owner for Pete after Tiptoes' rigorous training.
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People don't get cats.
Cats get new servants.
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I've just spunked £160 on cat flap, cat carrier, cat bed, cat litter tray, cat litter, bowls, placemat and spork.
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So you're getting a tortoise then :)
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I've just spunked £160 on cat flap, cat carrier, cat bed, cat litter tray, cat litter, bowls, placemat and spork.
Cat bed ? _You_ are the cat bed................. ;D
if you are very unfortunate also the litter tray!
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But sometimes I have to go to work. ;D I got one of the igloo types to offer protection from draughts.
I'm going to go have a look at Pete this weekend and see if he picks me. Lothian Cat Rescue have just put a video of him on their facebook page.
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(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v249/Bloke_on_a_bike/Mobile%20Uploads/1404511379786_zps5768766d.png) (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/Bloke_on_a_bike/media/Mobile%20Uploads/1404511379786_zps5768766d.png.html)
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Is that real? What did it have to say for itself? Are you a great mouse detective?
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Is that real? What did it have to say for itself? Are you a great mouse detective?
Dunno. It just wandered into my twitter feed.
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I met Pete today. He let me pick him up for a cuddle, and he kissed my nose. He's taking possession of me on Monday or Tuesday.
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I've just spunked £160 on cat flap, cat carrier, cat bed, cat litter tray, cat litter, bowls, placemat and spork.
And the furry bugger will still prefer to sleep in the empty boxes of everything you ever buy online. Or the bath. Or maybe the sink.
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I know. And he'll ignore the toys in favour of destroying my plants. And he'll probably end up on that pets of shame tumblr of cats who just watched while mice ate their cat food.
Any second thoughts I might have had about getting a cat when there are so many reasons not to were banished forever when I got home and spent 20 minutes hoovering up mouse shit, including from inside my favourite boots.
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Mouse shit in your boots? Cats can do better than that.
(http://www.funkyzilla.com/acatalog/Fat-freddy's-cat-mouse-mat.jpg)
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Huzzah to your tobe enslavement!
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Mouse traps are easier...
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Pete deserves you :thumbsup:
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Mouse traps are easier...
Ten years of mouse infestation and if only someone had suggested that before! What a fool I've been!
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Mouse traps are easier...
Ten years of mouse infestation and if only someone had suggested that before! What a fool I've been!
Wait until you find his first headless gift to you hidden under a pillow ;D
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I believe that it was someone here on yacf who noted cats' natural sense of Fair Play, in that they would always only eat half of a mouse, thus giving the other half a chance to still run away. ;D
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Mouse traps are easier...
Ten years of mouse infestation and if only someone had suggested that before! What a fool I've been!
Wait until you find his first headless gift to you hidden under a pillow ;D
I have decided he's not allowed in the bedroom. I think the only chance I have of not dying of allergies is if I keep him out of the bedroom altogether. Also, I don't like being woken up at 4am by cats jumping on my head.
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Mouse traps are easier...
Ten years of mouse infestation and if only someone had suggested that before! What a fool I've been!
Wait until you find his first headless gift to you hidden under a pillow ;D
I have decided he's not allowed in the bedroom. I think the only chance I have of not dying of allergies is if I keep him out of the bedroom altogether. Also, I don't like being woken up at 4am by cats jumping on my head.
This seems sensible.
May I also suggest an evening feeding time? That way he's marginally less likely to pester you in the morning (traditionally by shredding the carpet outside the bedroom door, if they can't jump on your head).
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I have decided he's not allowed in the bedroom. I think the only chance I have of not dying of allergies is if I keep him out of the bedroom altogether. Also, I don't like being woken up at 4am by cats jumping on my head.
You think you will be in charge?
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We keep the bedroom door shut.
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This seems sensible.
May I also suggest an evening feeding time? That way he's marginally less likely to pester you in the morning (traditionally by shredding the carpet outside the bedroom door, if they can't jump on your head).
I have already foiled his evil plans by not having any carpets. :demon: The shelter say they feed him morning and evening, so I'll carry on that way. The good thing is, because the shelter feed the cats on whatever cat food people have donated, none of the cats get the chance to be fussy. So my plan is to buy several varieties of food and alternate them so he doesn't get used to one thing and start turning his nose up at the cheaper varieties. ;D
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We keep the bedroom door shut.
"OK, it's just the two Raptors, right? You're sure the third one's contained?"
"Yes, unless they figure out how to open doors."
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I have already foiled his evil plans by not having any carpets. :demon:
That doesn't help. He'll shred the wall/door instead.
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The last cat once made his feelings known by taking a crap on the shower mat, then folding it into a neat little catshit Cornish pasty, ensuring that the next user of the shower didn't see it until they went to shake it out.
I'm not sure why we got rid of the shower mat not the cat.
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Mouse traps are easier...
Ten years of mouse infestation and if only someone had suggested that before! What a fool I've been!
I hope there was an exaggerated hand to forehead slap with that. :-*
I love furballs, but getting one for mice, from experience is not a great idea. Step cat was scared of mice, the cat ran behind me...others have not caught the mice just played with them till she was bored. Then the mouse was still in the house. The other would bring them them in, along with loads of other gifts, such as slow worms, frogs, toads, birds and even a warm chicken breast and lamb chop.
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This seems sensible.
May I also suggest an evening feeding time? That way he's marginally less likely to pester you in the morning (traditionally by shredding the carpet outside the bedroom door, if they can't jump on your head).
I have already foiled his evil plans by not having any carpets. :demon: The shelter say they feed him morning and evening, so I'll carry on that way. The good thing is, because the shelter feed the cats on whatever cat food people have donated, none of the cats get the chance to be fussy. So my plan is to buy several varieties of food and alternate them so he doesn't get used to one thing and start turning his nose up at the cheaper varieties. ;D
Ha ha ha ha ha ha, you think that you are in charge...... :facepalm:
Just wait till the 3am singing the song of his people when he decides that he wants food/attention/litter is not up to standard.
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The only time I've been free of mice was for a few months when Harry was visiting regularly. The new neighbours' dog has terrified Harry out of this stair and the mice have come back. Traps and poison haven't worked at all as a long-term solution.
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How is the dog with cats? How is your new step cat with dogs?
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Well, my colleague Norma and I went along to get him this afternoon. Amazon haven't brought my carrier yet, so I borrowed one of Norma's. The rescue person went along to get him and when she brought him up to reception he was yowling. We went to put him in the car and he shifted his (considerable) weight and the door flew off the carrier and he jumped out. So the cat rescue people have lent me a crate to get him home in and I think I will use it for his trip the vet tomorrow.
He really didn't like the car journey home, but has been relaxing more and more with every minute since he got into the flat. He's had a sniff around and found his bowls, flatly refused to get into his bed (I might swap it for a flat one as he doesn't seem to like the igloo one), had a cuddle on my lap, and had a stretch on the floor. He runs to me when something frightens him rather than away from me so I think we're going to be ok. ;D
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:D TTIUWP !
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:D TTIUWP !
*rushes to the Gratuitous Cat Pics thread*
*presses F5 a lot*
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I left him alone for an hour or so while I went for a swim. When I got back he peered nervously round the edge of the sofa and looked a bit anxious, but then we had a cuddle, and now he's eating Tesco rabbit chunks in gravy. Pics later.
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This is Pete, just after he arrived.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v379/Flossiesdoll/Pete/DSCF3323_zps27e37e25.jpg)
Further pics in the GCT.
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:)
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Good looking lad that :)
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We've had a good night. I went off to bed, and left the bedroom door slightly ajar so that he would know where I was and could come in for reassurance if he needed it. He came in, slept on my feet until about half three, and then went off to the livingroom, came back, meowed loudly and started asking him to follow me in a manner which made me think perhaps Timmy had fallen down a well. I got up and followed him, only to find he was unhappy because there were only biscuits in his bowl. I told him that was it till breakfast and there would be no breakfast at such an unreasonable hour, so he followed me back to bed and slept until I got up. And then he ran through at the speed of light and danced in circles while I dished up his Felix pollack with crunchy crumbles, which is the most digusting thing I've ever smelled. So tonight he's not getting in the bedroom at all!
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A very good name if I may say so...
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He won't touch the Tesco own brand biscuits, so the rest of the packet can go to the shelter when I take the crate back. I got him some Go Cat ones and he likes those. He's happily using his litter tray so I'm not anxious about leaving him when I go back to work tomorrow. And when he really really wants a head-rub, he stands on his back legs like a meerkat. ;D
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"The Chronicles of Pete" ?
He can see in the dark & is good at slashing things up ? ;D
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We've been to the vet today. He was a good boy at the vet, tolerated his first injection with only minor protest, and then tried to have a snooze on the weighing scales. He weighs 5.8kg!
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He runs to me when something frightens him rather than away from me so I think we're going to be ok. ;D
You are going to be more than ok, that's a really good sign. Congratulations to you both.
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I'll be glad when he's had his second lot of jabs and he can go out. The stink he made in the litter tray was so bad I had to put my head out of the window. :sick:
One advantage of having wood floors is that when he wants to scratch, he walks straight over to the scratch mat and scratches there. :)
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Stinky poo is affected by diet.
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Some cat litter is better than others at containing smell and not getting smelly from urine. The better it is at absorbing moisture, the faster it dries out turds.
In my experience, biolet cat litter is the ultimate.
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I didn't let him into the bedroom last night. He cried outside and scratched at the door for a few minutes, but I hardened my heart and kept repeating to myself "Boris is fine on his own all night, Pete will be fine too." He stopped crying after a couple of heart-rending minutes, and when I got up this morning he was asleep on what he has decided is his seat on the sofa.* He woke up pretty sharpish though and started pestering me for breakfast. ;D
I know the wet food is what's making his poo so very awfully smelly, but he's been used to it at the shelter and I'm not intending to change his diet so soon after a move. Besides, in three weeks he'll have his second jags and be able to go out. What I might do is make sure I have my meal before I give him his, as eating seems to make him want to go, and it's hard for me to eat when I'm trying not to vomit from the poo smell. He's a bit unpredictable when he's scratching the litter too - more often than not he forgets to scratch the litter and starts scratching at the wall in front of him. ::-)
*This is also bobb's seat. I foresee trouble!
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How is your nose?
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Not too bad today. I still sneeze, and he doesn't like that ;D, but keeping him out of the bedroom and going to work today has reduced the symptoms. I will have talk with him about me staying at home and him going to work, when he wakes up.
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Well, I won't make the mistake of leaving the box of catfood pouches on the worktop again. Somebody has spent the night dragging three pouches out of the box and across the floor and eating the contents of one of them. No wonder he hadn't eaten all of his overnight biscuits.
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He likes hummus. ;D
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Pete is a classy cat. More photos, please.
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He likes hummus. ;D
Garlicky cat farts....... :sick:
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He likes hummus. ;D
Have you tried him with taramasalata, or as it's know by our mobs as "Oh gods pink fishy egg paste want moar NAO!"
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No, and he's not getting at the hummus again either!
Because I love him so much, and because I am very tragic, and because not everybody wants endless facebook updates of "this is what my cat did," Pete now has a blog.
https://thechroniclesofpete.wordpress.com/
:-[ :facepalm: ;D
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^^^^^^^^
Mad Cat Lady
;D ;D :D ;D
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Pete has discovered that where the cushions overhang the base of the sofa, there is a gap between the base of the sofa and the throw that's over it, which is ideal for hiding in and pouncing on things. ;D
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Pete now has a blog.
https://thechroniclesofpete.wordpress.com/
:-[ :facepalm: ;D
<nb10>
They didn’t choose their cat, their cat chose them
They didn’t choose their cat, their cat chose them
They didn’t choose their cat, their cat chose them
And what do you know – it’s got its own website
</nb10>
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Tesco had prawns in the clearance bit of the fridge, so he's had fresh prawns for tea. He likes them. ;D
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You are totally a mad cat lady now! :D
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Not totally. I didn't give him the dipping sauce.
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You are going to end up with a very fussy, picky Pete.
Daf is lucky if he gets chips with curry sauce once a month.
Really. He lurves chip shop curry sauce. We've never tried him on the real thing.
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Nah, he's too greedy to be picky. ;D
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Tonight Pete spent about half an hour running round the house like a mentaller, with a catnip mouse in his mouth, interspersed with crouching in his current favourite cardboard box then bursting out of it like a greyhound from a trap and starting all over again. ;D
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Never mind the catnip mice, he's supposed to be ridding the place of real ones ;D Has you caught any yet ?
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No, but I haven't seen or heard any evidence of them since he arrived. I'm hoping they know he's here and they've fucked off next door. Next door say they're going to get TWO CATS and send the mice back to me. ;D
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No, but I haven't seen or heard any evidence of them since he arrived. I'm hoping they know he's here and they've fucked off next door. Next door say they're going to get TWO CATS and send the mice back to me. ;D
MOAR cats to spoffle :D As long as they don't fight with Pete..
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They were joking.
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The first two days I had Pete, I was on annual leave from work and by the end of the second day I was confident he was settled enough that I had no need to worry about him while I’m at work. I’ve continued to believe that for the last two weeks. As I start to unlock the door, I can usually hear him jump to the floor and run to meet me. He waits by the door for me to come in, lets me rub his head, and then he does that big stretch cats do when they’ve just woken up from a long sleep. So I’ve assumed he’s quite happy during the day.
But I saw my neighbour yesterday and she says she heard him crying on Monday. It was about lunchtime, and he was sitting behind the front door and meowing very loudly, and for quite a while. So now I’m worried that he does that every day.
It’s only another week till he gets his second lot of jags. I’m hoping that once he can come in and out freely, that might keep him a bit happier during the day. I hate to think of him crying alone all day every day.
McBobb arrived last night and he and Pete are getting to know each other. Pete was a bit uncertain at first, but within ten minutes was asking for a headrub. This morning he looked a bit surprised when he saw bobb - I think he'd forgotten he was here - but he's fine now.
I'm really struggling to work out how much to feed him. The shelter said they gave him a wet pouch and biscuits twice a day. The vet weighed him and said 5.8kg was fine. I've been giving him a pouch when I get up and 20-25g biscuits when I leave for work, a pouch at teatime, and 20-25g biscuits when I go to bed. And if he's been a really good boy, he gets a couple of Dreamies, and now and again I defrost a couple of prawns as a treat for him. He gobbles the pouches down in seconds, and when I put the biscuits down, he gobbles about 3/4 of them and eats the rest little by little. But he seems to be hungry so much of the time, he spends a lot of time meowing for food, winds round my feet hopefully as soon as I go near the kitchen and tries to eat anything left out on the worktop that looks likely. And when he doesn't get anything he lies down next to his bowl and looks sad. I don't want to over feed him, especially just now when he's not getting much exercise, but I don't want to starve him. I gave him 30g biscuits this morning after his wet food and he ate most of them and has been snoozing contentedly ever since.
He's a big strong cat, but he's not fat, and you can feel but not see his ribs along his sides. How do I tell if he's genuinely hungry and needs food, or if he's just being greedy?
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They lose and gain weight pretty quickly, so if he gets fat you can always go back to lower rations. More biscuits in the bowl with soft food as a treat when you get back.
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Weigh him: assuming you have scales, weigh yourself then pick Pete up and weigh both of you. Keep a note of his weight and watch for any major changes.
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They will ask for food when they don't need it (but won't usually gorge themselves).
It's a way of getting reassurance. I think it is best to stick to fixed feeding times.
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That makes sense. He'd been much better about not begging until last night, so perhaps he was feeling insecure with bobb being here. We just went out and got food for lunch, and he woke up when we came back and asked for food, although there are plenty of biscuits in his bowl. He lay by his bowl looking sad, but now he's back in his favourite cardboard box. And Pete's doing ok too. ;D
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He might think that bobb will feed him as well as you. One of mine does that. He's a greedy bugger and if I have guests round he will do the "I'm staaaarving, I've never been fed in my whole life" yowl by the food cupboard in the hope that one of them might feed him thinking I've forgotten or something.
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...if he's been a really good boy, he gets a couple of Dreamies...
Dreamies == KittyCrack
All my cats have self-regulated their intake. Charlie gets a square tray's-worth in the morning, and free access to outside + kibbles + water all day. He pretty much only eats what he needs to - certainly he doesn't gorge on the dry food, even when it's something he really likes - IAMS, or Royal Canin after a stay at the vets, for example. Dreamies are used in the CatDistractor, which prevents him joining me on the journey to work|shops|wherever, but usually he settles down in the greenhouse for a hard day's snoozing before I head out for work.
He still takes his toll on the local rodent population - of the four cats I've owned he's definitely the best mouser/ratter - next door have a horse and some chooks, so with all that feed around it would be easy to have a real rodent problem, but he deals with it. The tinkly bell on the collar reduces the number of birds he gets, but doesn't eliminate it altogether. He just does what he does, and as far as next door's tortoise is concerned, he's just confused.
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I wonder if the shelter would take him back and swap him for a cat that can tell the time. ::-)
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Ha ha ha ha. ::-) So who is incharge ;D
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Pete went back to the vet today to have his final set of vaccinations. He jumped out of his carrier, sniffed around the floor, jumped onto her worktop, walked over her keyboard and settled down for a snooze. Then she stuck a needle in his neck and he bit her!
He's fine now though, sleeping in his bed next to me and snuffling a bit.
We had a chat about his weight and his eating - he's put 100-150 grams on in three weeks which is about the top end of what a cat his size should be. She says it can take strays anything up to 6 months or so to really settle down, so he's got a way to go yet. We've agreed I'll cut his dried food down by 10g per day and see how that goes, and weigh him every month. She also suggested getting him one of those maze feeders to he has to work for his food and eat more slowly. He's allowed out after another week, so it'll be easier to judge his activity levels in a few weeks' time.
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Sounds great! Makes sense re strays settling to eating more normally after food may have been scarce before.
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Trying to teach Pete to use his catflap. It's not going well. ::-) ;D :facepalm:
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If he's anything like our cats, he knows full well how to use it but is trying to train you to open it for him. It will be a battle of willpower. Good luck! :)
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Nah, he doesn't like putting his head in it, and the noise of it clicking open unsettles him. Even Dreamies aren't bribing him to try it.
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Tape the flap in the open position for now and see if he gets the hang of the portal to somewhere else...
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If he gets desperate enough to go out he'll use it!
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After tonight, I don't know if he'll ever use it again.
Several months ago a couple with a dog moved into this stair, on the same floor as me. I don’t think it would be fair to describe the dog as vicious or mean, but it’s very excitable and doesn’t understand that the communal stair is a communal area rather than its own territory, barking at people in the stair as much as it barks at people knocking on their door. I don’t think they’re irresponsible owners but they haven’t trained the dog not to bark and get over-excited. When I decided to get Pete, I let them know, and they said they’d make sure the dog was always on her lead when she’s in the stair, and as far as I know, they have.
Pete and I had another go at the catflap tonight. I taped the flap open and enticed him in and out with a treat stick and he’d managed to go out and come in twice that way. He still prefers to grab the treat with his paw rather than stick his head through, but we were starting to get somewhere. Then after I’d untaped the flap, he wanted to go out again and was sitting on the doormat while I was inside, with the door shut, trying to persuade him back through the catflap which I was holding open.
So, my door is shut, Pete’s outside on the doormat, I’m in my hall next to the door, on all fours, holding the catflap open, and then I heard a door open and before I even knew which door it was, a flurry of barking and I just saw the dog shoot past the catflap trailing the lead. I had a couple of seconds of absolute terror, so frightened that the dog would kill him before we could stop it. By the time I got the door open the neighbour had hold of the dog and Pete shot past me and into the flat – through the catflap in the open door!
She was so apologetic – the dog was on the lead but as she turned round to pick something up, the dog had just seen its chance and pulled free. It’s partly my fault – I should have let them know that Pete has had his jags and he’ll be out and about in the stair, and I’m sure she would have checked before she let the dog out of the flat.
She went off to walk the dog and Pete and I came inside and he had his tea and fell asleep. The neighbour came round when she’d got back with the dog and apologised again and said she’ll get a muzzle for the dog. She also said the dog was bleeding from her nose, so Pete obviously got a good swipe in. I don’t see the point in being unpleasant about it – I want to keep on good terms with her, for Pete’s sake as much as for my own. The dog was just doing what dogs do, it was a genuine accident, and I hope it’s helped to reinforce to Pete that this is his safe place and if something happens he should come in here as quickly as he can. I might offer to pay half for the muzzle – they were here with the dog long before I got Pete, and as soon as I said I was getting him, they immediately made sure the dog was always on the lead and have tried to make sure bad things didn’t happen. So as a gesture of good will and appreciation for their help, I’m happy to make the offer.
As for Pete, he’s been fast asleep in his bed for the last two hours and looks completely happy and relaxed. I might wake him up in a minute and sit him on my knee for a cuddle, just because I’m so happy he’s ok.
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That sounds like a very measured response EC and it's good that Pete is calm.
I hope the rest of the cat-flap training can proceed satisfactorily.
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Inside my head I'm dishing out fire and brimstone, believe me.
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Yikes, that sounds too close for comfort. What kind of dog do your neighbours have? Is the idea that your neighbour muzzles the dog just while it's in the stairwell, or does it sound like it needs it while out on walks, too?
(As an owner of an excitable dog with a high prey drive, I make damned sure she never gets the opportunity to hurt one.)
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Sooner or later they are going to meet unsupervised. It might be best to have another chat with your neighbor and see about arranging a formal introduction. Maybe Pete in his travel cage & doggy on the lead & muzzled.
My parents have 2 large & excitable Rottweilers, they share the house with a fat, sleepy old moggy in perfect harmony. She's even been known to lick their ears :D
If they get too annoying a loud hiss normally has them backing well away ...
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She's talking about a muzzle just for when the dog's in the stair. There's no reason for them to meet unsupervised - the dog doesn't go out alone.
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Doesn't sound all negative to me.
Pete escaped dog via catflap. He might associate catflap with security from now on.
Dog got a scratch. It might be less inclined to chase Pete now.
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Yeah, I'm hoping that it will just reinforce to him that my flat is the safe place and that's where he should go if he's worried.
He went out of the catflap voluntarily last night, had a little think on the doormat, and then came back in. :)
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Either Harry was back in the stair last night, or I've really annoyed one of the neighbours. Someone has peed all over the bottom half of the outside of my door, paying particular attention to the catflap. I've just cleaned it up with hot water, white vinegar and bicarbonate of soda. I hope Pete doesn't decide to retaliate by peeing all over the inside today.
http://thechroniclesofpete.wordpress.com/2014/08/13/pissflaps/
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There is some stuff you can get that removes cat pee and spray odours - we needed it. I'll find out what it was from MrsC.
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Pete's got the hang of the catflap now and his new favourite game is clattering in and out repeatedly for no good reason at 6am. ;D
He doesn't really go properly out - he usually just sits on the doormat and then comes back in, although last week he went up to the top landing and came back down. I've tried to persuade him down to the ground floor to show him the catflap into the back green, but he's not keen.
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Simple Solution Stain and Odour remover.
http://www.petsathome.com/shop/en/pets/simple-solution-stain-and-odour-remover-750ml (http://www.petsathome.com/shop/en/pets/simple-solution-stain-and-odour-remover-750ml)
We bought the concentrate and made up some in a spray bottle. Works incredibly well.
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One of my friends bought him a little catnip mouse. Its innards are clockwork and there's a little plastic tag you pull out to make it go, and then it turns in a few circles on the floor and judders to a halt. He loves it, and he's worked out that if he holds it in his front paws and pulls the tag out with his teeth, he can set it off himself.
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As I made friends with an Edinburgh cat outside my old flat last evening, I wondered how Pete was getting on :)
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I update his blog more than I update this thread, so you can always check there. He's getting on very well. He's a good boy (mostly).
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There appears to be cat hair in my pot of hair wax. Pete obviously wants to sculpt, define, hold and add shine and gloss. ???
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Love the Pete updates and the blog. He sounds like a proper character! How are your allergies?
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He doesn't like it when he's sitting on me and I sneeze ;D
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He doesn't like it when he's sitting on me and I sneeze ;D
One of ours would exit via the cat flap at a rate of knots whenever MrsC sneezed. She thought it most unfair that my sneezes didn't have the same effect.
Said cat is now to lazy to bother which such strenuous activity.
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Pete just caught and killed his first mouse. It took me a while to get it off him, but it's in the bin and he's been rewarded with Dreamies.
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He's out of sorts this morning, hasn't touched his biscuits and tried to bite me when I rubbed his head. I wonder if he ate a mouse yesterday when I was at work, and it was bad. I'll be home at lunchtime so will see how he is then.
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He caught another mouse last night. He's a clever boy.
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Three mice in three days. He's fantastic.
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He's obviously located a good spot for trapping them.
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All different places so far. Pete and I watched this morning's climb out from a gap in the floorboards and amble across the floor, with me looking at Pete in a "are you going to do something about that?" kind of way. He just bided his time and then went and got it when he felt the time was right. He seems to kill them instantly so they can't run off when he plays with them, which gives me a chance to get the dustpan and brush.
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He's out of sorts this morning, hasn't touched his biscuits and tried to bite me when I rubbed his head. I wonder if he ate a mouse yesterday when I was at work, and it was bad. I'll be home at lunchtime so will see how he is then.
Is there poison laid down? I'd be worried about him eating them.
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I'm worried about that too. There's no poison in this flat; I got rid of it a few days before I got him, but I can't speak for any of the other flats in this street. I've managed to get them off him so far but I won't be able to do that when I'm not in.
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Usually after Pete has his breakfast, he spends half an hour mithering me for more breakfast, then eats some dry food and has a sleep. This morning he ate his breakfast and then went out. He hardly ever goes out, so this is very unusual.
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I have decided he's not allowed in the bedroom. I think the only chance I have of not dying of allergies is if I keep him out of the bedroom altogether. Also, I don't like being woken up at 4am by cats jumping on my head.
He was so well behaved over his first couple of months that I started letting him in the bedroom at night. At first all was well. He would jump onto the bed, curl up by my feet and sleep till morning. Now though, he curls up right in front of me so I have no room and at some point during the night decides he needs to be worshipped, and headbumps me for spoffling until breakfast time, then he scratches the shit out of the bedside cabinet, pausing for only a second after each telling off. Last night he surpassed himself - I had rolled onto my back and he saw his chance and jumped onto my chest, purring madly and settling down to sleep on me. I half woke up, moved, he lost his balance, flailed his limbs, and whacked me in the eye with his paw.
No more sleeping in the bedroom for Pete.
For the past couple of months he's had free access to dry food via a gravity dispenser, plus two wet pouches a day. He hasn't learnt to regulate his intake at all and he now weighs a whopping 7kg. So he's on a diet. I'm restricting him to two wet pouches and 40g of biscuits a day for now, and I'll be dropping that to 30g of biscuits next week, until he's under 6kg again. He's incredibly lazy - although he likes to play for a few minutes a couple of times a day (usually when I'm going to work and then when I'm going to bed ::-)) he hardly ever goes out. He sleeps even more than bobb's Boris, which I would have thought was impossible.
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...and he now weighs a whopping 7kg. So he's on a diet...
I think he would benefit having his progress documented on the weight loss discussion thread.
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Pete's desire for breakfast plus the clocks changing has ensured I have been awake since 4 for 2 days
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You need to get a little stern with him.
Never feed him before feeding time. If he pesters too much, delay the feeding.
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I don't feed him before feeding time - and he shouldn't really be asking because there are always some of last night's biscuits in his bowl in the morning. If he was really that hungry he could eat those. If he wakes me up at stupid o'clock I lock the bedroom door so he can't come in and he cries outside, and then when it's getting up time, as soon as I open the door he shoots off to the kitchen and dances in circles round my feet until he's fed.
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Tesco had a large pack of uncooked chicken wings in the reduced bit tonight, so I bought it. Pete had one of the wings for his tea - he loved it, and it took him a good 20 minutes to demolish it, rather than the 10 seconds he takes to eat a wet pouch. The rest are in the freezer so he can have one a week or so.
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Kirst, how about one of those balls that you put biscuits in and they have to chase it about the room for minutes to get the goodies out?
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Tried it. He totally ignored it.
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They can get very clingy and demanding.
On Tues I didn't feel well by 7pm, so went upstairs to bed. About 8:30pm MrsC comes into bedroom with cat. Seems he'd been all over the rooms downstairs, couldn't find me, so came and hassled her until she took him to me.
He just came over, pushed his head against me and went away, satisfied.
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He was very funny with bobb over the past week. Pete's bed is usually on the other sofa cushion, next to me, but I moved it onto the chair when bobb arrived. That didn't stop Pete though - he knows where his spot on the sofa is, and if that means sprawling on bobb rather than his bed, so be it.
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Just as I was going to bed last night, Pete caught a mouse. I managed to get it off him and put it in the bin. Went to bed. Got up half an hour later, picked the bin and its contents off the floor and took the binbag out to the outside bin. Told Pete he was a good boy for catching the mouse and a naughty boy for pulling the bin over. Went back to bed.
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Got home just in time to see him eat one whole. Didn't have a chance to get it off him. I hope it wasn't poisoned.
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Tried it. He totally ignored it.
Now that is funny...
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Got home just in time to see him eat one whole. Didn't have a chance to get it off him. I hope it wasn't poisoned.
Maybe the feeding a bit less is making him hunt more? No idea if it is true, just what was said on the cat prog the other day.
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No, I think it's the cold weather bringing the mice indoors.
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Wild organic free range mice?
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When I got up this morning there was gunk on the duvet cover that looked like it might be dried blood. Pete ate his breakfast fine and then went and lay in his bed, not asleep, eyes half shut just looking sorry for himself. When I put his biscuits down he didn’t even bother to look. I had a look at his ears and one is fine but one has black tarry gunk in it and blood around the edges. I’m hoping it’s just ear mites but I’m worried that maybe the mouse was poisoned and he’s bleeding from his ear a bit. So we’re off to see Simon the Vet at 5pm
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When I got up this morning there was gunk on the duvet cover that looked like it might be dried blood. Pete ate his breakfast fine and then went and lay in his bed, not asleep, eyes half shut just looking sorry for himself. When I put his biscuits down he didn’t even bother to look. I had a look at his ears and one is fine but one has black tarry gunk in it and blood around the edges. I’m hoping it’s just ear mites but I’m worried that maybe the mouse was poisoned and he’s bleeding from his ear a bit. So we’re off to see Simon the Vet at 5pm
Check he can wee properly. Neutered toms are prone to urinary tract problems.
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There were massive clumps of pee in the litter tray yesterday. Would a UTI give him a gunky ear?
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no and massive clumps of pee are a good thing to see.
UTI in tomcats is life-threatening. If he had problems in that way he'd be straining to pee, possibly dribbling a little pee constantly.
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I don't see any signs of a UTI. I see a tarry, gunky ear, lethargy and loss of interest in food. Pete being really just the outer casing of a permanently voracious stomach, the last of those is the one that worries me the most.
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Fingers crossed for Pete. :(
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Hopefuly just a mousy that disagreed with him, rather than a poisoned one. All available digits crossed for Pete, he seems like a good solid mog (and useful, too). Could the gunky ear have a physical reason, like interaction with something sharp/scratchy? He seems to be built like a brick outhouse, hopefully his constitution will shake it off, whatever it is.
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I've just got home to wrangle him into his carrier before we go to the vet. He has definite gunk in both ears which might be old blood or might be mites, and he has a new manky patch behind one ear which I'm sure wasn't there this morning. He's obviously been asleep all day until I came in because this morning's biscuits weren't touched.
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Get well soon Pete.
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Well, the manky patch behind his ear was fur matted with blood, and the blood has come from a slash in his ear. He obviously got into a fight last night when he went out to play and I didn't notice when he came in because I was in bed in the dark, and this morning it was too dark to see much other than gunge. £44 for a 5 day course of antibiotics. Wish me luck getting those into him.
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Glad to hear it's nothing too serious. Phew!
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A mouser & a bruiser! Glad to hear it's nothing serious :thumbsup:
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I am so relieved.
The vet was very taken with what a lovely boy he is. We talked about his weight and he really needs to lose another 500g. There was a vet student in the examination, who remembers him from volunteering at Lothian Cat Rescue, so she was pleased to see him. He was really very good while he was in the examination room, just lay down and let the vet fuss him, and tolerated the examination of his ears without too much protest. So, I'll be keeping an eye on his wounded ear for a while, and trying to get 1.5 antibiotic tablets down him twice a day. I'm going to try poking them into prawns.
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Bribery is by far the best approach for administering medication to cats. Unless you can master the mysterious "hold cat in one hand and quickly insert pill in the other" method used by experienced vets and TimO.
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Hopefully he'll be like this:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/the_pingus/3772427131/
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Charlie (fearsome dentures, bruiser mentality) has a more-or-less permanent set of scabs and scars on his head due to fights with who-knows-what. The tip of one ear got ripped, and now has a little kink in it. I've long since stopped doing anything more serious than checking him over and cleaning (warm saline) anything he's missed.
OTOH, tablets? Sit him down, tilt his head back, open his jaw and pop it in. He's a good patient, unlike the last two, who reduced to spitting furballs at the hint of medication. Alice used to need wrapping in a towel just to take a regular worming tablet.
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I use worming liquid! I mix it in his food and he eats it fine.
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Well, the good news is the tablets I poked into his Tesco beef chunks in gravy :sick: are gone, and I think they're inside him rather than spat out somewhere. The bad news is I feel like an awful human.
When I got up yesterday morning I did what I always do - threw the duvet back to let the bed air, and then didn't make the bed like I always don't. When I went to bed last night I pulled the duvet up, and there was a massive patch of blood on it. He'd obviously come in from fighting, jumped onto the bed, and bled on it, while I didn't even notice. :'( :'(
He seems to be much perkier now but I'll try and keep him in for a couple of nights anyway.
Charlie (fearsome dentures, bruiser mentality) has a more-or-less permanent set of scabs and scars on his head due to fights with who-knows-what. The tip of one ear got ripped, and now has a little kink in it. I've long since stopped doing anything more serious than checking him over and cleaning (warm saline) anything he's missed.
If I had seen the wound, I probably would have done the same, but all I saw was a gungy black ear and a cat looking sorry for himself.
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£17 to get the duvet cleaned, ffs.
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The vet thought he might be a bit shaken and subdued for a while, but he's back to normal. He went out to play last night. I'm not sure if he's so dim he's forgotten about his fight, or if he was looking for a rematch, but I went to bring him in after 15 minutes or so, just in case.
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Spoke too soon as always: Charlie visits the vet in an hour for a look at - you guessed it - the suppurating fight wound that won't clean or heal. ::-)
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He wasn't fighting Pete was he?
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Could be, but he'd need to be driving a fast car to get there overnight, and I'm not sure he's bright enough to drive… ;D
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Cats have no need for fast cars. They can quantum tunnel their way into (but strangely not out of) closed cupboards, so covering large distances shouldn't be too hard...
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This is my next plan http://jeffdeboer.com/Galleries/CatsandMice/tabid/77/Default.aspx
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:D That'll give your metal bashing skills a good workout!
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When I find out who told Pete it is acceptable to wake me up by jumping onto my shoulder and biting my head, there will be trouble. He's sulking now, having been locked out of the bedroom at 4am.
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Oi servant no tail you will do my bidding - the cat.
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He was trying to use my shiny smooth metal walking stick as a scratching post earlier, the big divvy.
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(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v379/Flossiesdoll/Pete/DSCF3002_zps202a665c.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v379/Flossiesdoll/Pete/DSCF3004_zps747703a0.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v379/Flossiesdoll/Pete/DSCF3005_zps89647a4e.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v379/Flossiesdoll/Pete/DSCF3006_zps89ee144b.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v379/Flossiesdoll/Pete/DSCF3007_zps4cf7f632.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v379/Flossiesdoll/Pete/DSCF3008_zps088343c6.jpg)
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So much sleeping to be done.
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Chunky and adorable!
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I was away at bobb's for the weekend, with friends coming in to feed Pete. When I got back he was so happy he ran and jumped and scampered around the flat for an hour, then did a big poo.
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I was away at bobb's for the weekend, with friends coming in to feed Pete. When I got back he was so happy he ran and jumped and scampered around the flat for an hour, then did a big poo.
Are we talking about your cat or bobb? Just checking.
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The Tesco reduced cabinet had 550g pork liver at 69p so I bought it. Liver revolted me even when I ate meat. Cutting it up into 100g portions for the freezer has left me feeling pretty queasy. It's a good job I love that cat.
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Pete has celebrated the solstice by refusing to let me sleep past 6am, then once I got up, going back to bed himself.
He'd make a lovely pair of gloves.
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I could probably find you a pattern… ;D
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A friend gave me a squeaky mouse for Pete as her cat isn't interested in it. I got in from work, fed him, and while he was eating, went to get the mouse out of my bag. And then something happened I thought I would never see. He was so intrigued by the squeaking as I retrieved the toy that he LEFT FOOD UNEATEN in his dish while he attacked the mouse. I've never seen him so enthusiastic with a toy before, properly throwing it into the air and leaping after it like normal cats do with real mice*. He tormented it for a good 10 minutes before going back to his tea, then gave it another 15 minutes later. He does play with his other toys, but I've never seen him like that with anything before. I'll try to give him 2 sessions a day with it, and he should lose that extra pound very quickly. I think I'll put it away when I go out though - he's so energetic with it I think I'd rather be here when he's killing it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GaeZ1b7ja3A&feature=youtu.be
*He just puts them in his mouth and eats them whole. He's quite efficient.
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I do enjoy reading Pete's Chronicles, just as I enjoyed reading bobb's blog of when he did his French bike trip a while back. You two needs to find other outlets for your literary talents.
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I write YACF/Cyclechat slashfic.
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Ohmagerd. I go away for three days, and he sets up a facebook page.
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Lets have a link then!
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https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100008712673581
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:thumbsup:
I'm not letting our kittens anywhere near the Internet as they'd probably break it.
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I only just noticed this thread, and Pete sounds like a fine cat.
His behaviour all sounds fairly typical. Male cats tend to fight more, and wander more, than female cats, basically in the search for, and competition for, getting their paw over. Since he was neutered relatively young, Pete probably won't be as bad, but that can apparently make them a bit more prone to being overweight.
Kai was only neutered when I got him, probably four or five years old, and he's always tended to wander off, now barely spending any time even near the house.
Talisker was neutered at an age similar to Pete, and still tended to fight, so did have cuts and nicks in his ears. Towards humans he was the most mild mannered and pleasant cat I've ever known, but that obviously didn't extend to his feline colleagues. :)
They do get up to a lot of things that we don't know about. On the face of it, Zev is a typical lazy cat, and sleeps as many hours as she can, but whilst she may be on the bottom of my bed when I go to sleep, and is there in the morning, she clearly disappears off in the middle of the night. sometimes for hours.
If you really want to know what he gets up to, you'll need to put cameras on the cat flap, his (current) favourite sleeping location, food bowls, and litter tray!
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bobb's arriving today and Pete is so excited he's been awake since 6.
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Yes. Get a cat :) And I'll build a massive cat ladder for it ;D
How's that ladder coming along?
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Yesterday Pete did a wee so big that the (flushable) cat litter clump blocked the toilet. I'm so proud. ::-)
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You just need to train Pete to use the toilet properly. :)
(http://www.moderncat.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/CitiKitty2.jpg)
CitiKitty Cat Toilet Training Kit (http://www.citikitty.com/)
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But never train them to flush!
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He was capering last night and sadly I missed the opportunity to get a photo of him on his back legs, sort of squatting, not fully upright, with his front legs wrapped around his scratching post, looking like an incompetent pole dancer. I laughed and offended his feline dignity.
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Yesterday Pete did a wee so big that the (flushable) cat litter clump blocked the toilet. I'm so proud. ::-)
Have you no immediate next-door-neighbours with a suitable space in their garden?
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I'm in a second floor flat with a back "green" that is just tarmac.
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You just need to train Pete to use the toilet properly. :)
(http://www.moderncat.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/CitiKitty2.jpg)
CitiKitty Cat Toilet Training Kit (http://www.citikitty.com/)
Mrs B's mum's brother & his wife used to have a paraplegic (hit by car) cat that could use a human toilet.
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I got Pete a new scratching post yesterday, which has a platform on the top. It's higher than his other ones and he decided to see if he could launch himself from it to the top of the Ikea CD towers which are next to the scratching post.
Massive, huge, humongous, hilarious fail. His leap took him about 2/3 of the way up, and he was clinging to and scrabbling up the tower with all four feet, for what seemed like forever until he realised he wasn't going to make it and jumped to the ground in a futile attempt to save his feline dignity. Then he came to me for comfort and reassurance, like a toddler who's just fallen over. ;D
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He likes his new catnip-stuffed hedgehog.
http://youtu.be/AFnEptSyWc0
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He likes his new catnip-stuffed hedgehog.
http://youtu.be/AFnEptSyWc0
My Dad's old cat Bagpuss was a bit like that. He would just sit on the mouse with it between his paws and lick it until it was totally saturated. None of the rolling about or going mad, just lots of cat spit.
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He likes his new catnip-stuffed hedgehog.
http://youtu.be/AFnEptSyWc0
My Dad's old cat Bagpuss was a bit like that. He would just sit on the mouse with it between his paws and lick it until it was totally saturated. None of the rolling about or going mad, just lots of cat spit.
TBH, that seems like a more sensible approach to TEH GOOD DRUGZ than the more usual rolling about.
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Pete and I just went to the Groom Room at Pets at Home to get his nails clipped. He won't let me do them, but he behaved perfectly for the professionals. He was also very keen for a look in the cages of live tasty snacks!
I got him a Da Bird cat toy and tried it with him for the first time today. He was a bit mopey when we got back from his manicure (he doesn't like car journeys) but the minute he saw it he was frenzied trying to catch it. And once he did, he held it in his mouth and carried it back to his food bowl to chew on it. ;D Something about it is clearly triggering all his hunter instincts; he's even ignoring food in his dish to attack it. I've put it away for now, but we'll try with it again later.
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I've never had a cat's nails clipped, but then again, all of my cats have been indoors-outdoors cats, with a cat flap, so I presume that wandering around outside wears the claws down adequately.
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Yeah, he seems to have decided he's not really interested in going out since he had his fight and split ear. He'll come out if I encourage him and stay with him, but since Christmas he's been out about twice on his own. His nails were really long and very sharp, and he's a bit stupid about retracting them; my legs are full of holes. I'd like him to go out more - there is land at the back here which would be wonderful for romping in, but he'd rather claw my legs.
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He may not be able to retract them fully. Our Ginge, who has been an outside cat for most of his life so his claws get worn down, can't fully retract him. You can hear him 'clicking' across the kitchen floor.
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He can. He just doesn't.
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Pete's in hospital. :o He hasn't peed since yesterday lunchtime and he's a bit mopey and off his food. I took him up to the vet and they say his bladder is about half full and it's obviously hurting him when they palpate it. He's not keen on having thermometers shoved up his arse. They've kept him in so they can sedate him, catheterise him and do the necessary tests. With any luck I can get him later.
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GWS Pete :(
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Yes, get well soon Pete, and hope your visit to the doctor doesn't cost your Daddy too much.
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Poor Pete. "Gentleman's Problems" are never much fun. Get well soon old chap.
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Yes, get well soon Pete, and hope your visit to the doctor doesn't cost your Daddy too much.
Estimate is £200-300. I am glad he is insured.
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:fingerscrossed:
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Poor Pete. Hope he's sorted soon and given lots of fuss by the vet staff.
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They've just phoned and he's fine. He's been sedated, his bladder emptied easily, no crystals in the urine but some blood, bladder X-ray was clear, no signs of infection but they've sent samples away for testing. She thinks it's been a stress reaction to having his nails clipped at the weekend! At the moment he's quite happily stoned on painkillers, behaving well, and I can pick him up tonight with some anti-inflammatories.
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Good news.
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Good news!
I hope Pete never finds out it was all down to having his nails clipped. I think we can safely assume you'll be in deep shit if he does! "It was for your own good!" just isn't going to work!
;D
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That £8 nail clipping isn't so cheap now!
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He's home. He's really stoned. His pupils are enormous and he has no idea where he is. ;D
£314. ::-)
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Glad to hear he's OK.
We've had multiple moggies and never had to get their claws done . Didn't know it was required.
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I think it depends on the cat. His get very long and very sharp.
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Details all blogged
https://thechroniclesofpete.wordpress.com/2015/02/02/poor-pete-is-poorly-in-his-pee/
https://thechroniclesofpete.wordpress.com/2015/02/03/on-the-mend/
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He is looking much perkier, and is tearing into a chicken drumstick like something out of a horror film.
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Our cats are like that for Dreamies.
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He punished me most of last night by refusing to talk to me, but this morning he's either forgiven me or has forgotten all about it. I've been working from home while waiting for the washing machine repairperson, so I've been able to keep an eye on him. He's maybe a tiny bit sleepier than usual, but otherwise he's happy and back to normal.
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The Cat Clinic have put a photo on their facebook page of what I believe is the roundworm Pete vomited while in their care on Monday. :sick:
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Yum!
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The Cat Clinic have put a photo on their facebook page of what I believe is the roundworm Pete vomited while in their care on Monday. :sick:
Soooo glad you didn't leave a link to that!!!! :sick:
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I thought anyone who wanted to see it could go and find it!
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I thought anyone who wanted to see it could go and find it!
I saw it on Facebook. Like you say :sick:
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I don't mind Pete chasing his tail but I wish he wouldn't do it when he's on my lap.
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There are few things he enjoys as much as the chance to use bubblewrap in his stalking activities.
http://youtu.be/QsPhtKUU9Ic
http://youtu.be/gd1jXSV0UZo
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Somebody misjudged his aim in the litter tray and pissed all over the cupboard door.
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Barakta's cats used to routinely sit in the litter tray and poo over the side. I'm not sure whether this was due to poor spatial awareness or a cunning strategy for keeping the litter tray clean, but their general prowess with the catflap would suggest the former.
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Somebody misjudged his aim in the litter tray and pissed all over the cupboard door.
I didn't know Bobb was visiting :demon:
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Pete has some brown gunge in the corner of his left eye which looks quite thick and wet. I've been trying to wipe it away with saline solution on cotton wool, but he's not keen, even with chicken treats as a bribe.
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He'll probably clean it away himself, cats quite often get gunk like that, and generally it gets cleaned away eventually, when they wash their faces.
To be on the safe side, watch that eye, and make sure he's not closing it more than the other one, and any gunge coming out of the eye isn't getting worse. Zev had that recently, and it was 'just' conjunctivitis, which managed to then jump to the other eye. After a week of eye drops three times a day, she's almost sorted. She really doesn't like having eye drops though!
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He's letting me wipe it but tries to hide his face ;D It looks worse than the usual cat eye gunge, thicker, shinier, gloopier, so I am keeping an eye on it. If it's getting worse, we'll go see the vet.
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With Zev, it wasn't so much the style of the gunge, as much as the quantity. The eye weeped more than usual, and even when it was cleaned (by her, or me) continued to return.
On the plus side, conjunctivitis can just go of its own accord. It only needs treatment if it continues for several days.
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After being evacuated from the building all day, we were sent home at 3pm so I took advantage of my early arrival home to get an appointment with the vet who confirmed conjunctivitis and prescribed drops for 5 days. Wish me luck.
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At least you've got a lower chance of picking the wrong cat to medicate :-[
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Last night's drops didn't go well. This morning was easier. I think he hates me. ;D
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Drops aren't a big hit with cats, and because they can see them coming, they'll react at the last, most inconvenient, moment!
I recommend wrapping in a towel, to avoid too much blood loss. ;D
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If you have a spare finger, tapping quite fast on his head between his ears can sooth/distract enough to get the job done.
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Spare finger? I'm not from West Lothian.
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OK, two spare fingers.
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Those two fingers are gesturing at you, Jaded.
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Anyone who can restrain a cat the size of Pete, and administer eye drops without losing any digits deserves an award! We spend years administering eye drops to our much missed squidget, and even though he was a lovely patient patient, it was still a somewhat distressing experience for all of us.
It needs two people, something which I assume EG generally doesn't have available most of the time. One to hold the cat wrapped in a towel, one to administer the drops, and one to catch any stray escaping limbs and restrain them. Ah, that seem to be three people...
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Fortunately the cat we have that frequently needs eyedrops is stupid enough to let us put them in without much struggle (that same stupidity is, alas, the reason she so frequently needs eye drops). I've never tried the monster cat though, she's wrigglesome at the best of times and goes absolutely mental when I put the flea/worm stuff on her neck. I have to sneak up and dab and she's off like a rocket. I don't want to contemplate eyedrops. There's no way anyone can hold her if she doesn't want to be held. Even vets give up. She has to have general anaesthetic just to look in her mouth. On the plus side, she has no teeth. On the negative side, she has claws like Wolverine (fortunately neither of them are intentionally bitey or scratchy).
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My current technique is
1) put him on the kitchen worktop (easier height for me to work at, means he has to turn round before he can jump off which means I have time to catch him)
2) face him away from me
3) left arm around his left side, under his chin, tilt head up, use thumb to pull eyelid up
4) right upper arm pressing into his body to hold him still as much as possible, right hand to wield the drops
It only took four goes tonight before I got a drop in his eye.
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Much as I hate to say it, you may wish to consider putting drops into the good eye at the same time, since there's a risk that the conjunctivitis could jump from the other eye, that's what happened with Zev.
I find it easier (!) to do, with Zev inverted, even though she hates that position. With her upside down, you can just place the drop into the corner of the eye, and it will run over the entire eye.
I drop the towel over her, and then pick her up, turning her over, wrapping the towel around her, and over her paws (it doesn't matter too much if her rear paws are sticking out a bit at this point. She'll tend to fight, but her claws then get caught in the towel. It's important to get it fairly tight around the neck, so she can't get her front paws out. You may need to redo it, if they escape.
Then with her head on the left, I hold her head with my left hand, over her ears, and down to her jaw (partly from using those fingers to help force her mouth open, to give pills). I pull her head back slightly to help make her open her eyes, you can use your fingers or thumb to slightly pull the skin down a little, to aid that. Pressure through the right arm at the same time holds the towel around her, and holds her on my lap. I administer the drops using my right hand, which is naturally in roughly the right position.
(I'm right handed, if you're left handed you probably want to do it the other way around).
That may send a bit involved, and you need to be firm, but it lets me put drops in the eye of a cat who dislikes being picked up, and hates being turned upside down, unlike Talisker, who was happy to be held like that.
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What's required here is for some clever sod to invent a cat holding attachment that could be used with a Black & Decker Workmate.
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Much as I hate to say it, you may wish to consider putting drops into the good eye at the same time, since there's a risk that the conjunctivitis could jump from the other eye, that's what happened with Zev.
I find it easier (!) to do, with Zev inverted, even though she hates that position. With her upside down, you can just place the drop into the corner of the eye, and it will run over the entire eye.
I drop the towel over her, and then pick her up, turning her over, wrapping the towel around her, and over her paws (it doesn't matter too much if her rear paws are sticking out a bit at this point. She'll tend to fight, but her claws then get caught in the towel. It's important to get it fairly tight around the neck, so she can't get her front paws out. You may need to redo it, if they escape.
Then with her head on the left, I hold her head with my left hand, over her ears, and down to her jaw (partly from using those fingers to help force her mouth open, to give pills). I pull her head back slightly to help make her open her eyes, you can use your fingers or thumb to slightly pull the skin down a little, to aid that. Pressure through the right arm at the same time holds the towel around her, and holds her on my lap. I administer the drops using my right hand, which is naturally in roughly the right position.
(I'm right handed, if you're left handed you probably want to do it the other way around).
That may send a bit involved, and you need to be firm, but it lets me put drops in the eye of a cat who dislikes being picked up, and hates being turned upside down, unlike Talisker, who was happy to be held like that.
The vet did say to do both eyes if the other eye got it, but both eyes are clear now. Five more doses to go. This morning wasn't great.
Your technique sounds absolutely impossible for me to manage. Pete wouldn't tolerate being upside down at all.
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What's required here is for some clever sod to invent a cat holding attachment that could be used with a Black & Decker Workmate.
POTD!
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... Your technique sounds absolutely impossible for me to manage. Pete wouldn't tolerate being upside down at all.
Zev wouldn't either, but she doesn't get to have a say in the matter!
Slightly amusingly, she doesn't come down for breakfast at the moment, she stays comfy upstairs, until some bastard comes and grabs her. :-[
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Pete still pesters me for breakfast. And then he realises he has to get his drops in before breakfast and he regrets it. :demon:
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Last night's drops went in on the second attempt. This morning's - well, let's just say any conjunctivitis lurking in the kitchen worktop is now all gone. ::-)
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Don't get me wrong, I am very pleased with and proud of Pete's mousing abilities, but I do not enjoy trying to get slightly chewed mouse corpses off him from the bedroom floor at 0620 on Saturdays.
He is a mighty hunter though.
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Pete has been sneezing for a few days, and his eyes are gummy again. ::-)
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Pete helped me take the recycling down this morning and then we sat on the doorstep for half an hour in the sun. He enjoyed rolling on his back to entice naive passers-by to stroke his furry tummy so that he could maul them.
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Pete helped me take the recycling down this morning and then we sat on the doorstep for half an hour in the sun. He enjoyed rolling on his back to entice naive passers-by to stroke his furry tummy so that he could maul them.
Tigger the Big Cat (now deceased) used to do that. The current cats actually like having their tummies tickled and are clever enough to realise that mauling is a significant disincentive to tummy tickling.
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This morning he hit me in the face until I stroked him, then tried to bite me. ::-)
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We are off to the vet's again this afternoon. The fur between his ears and eyes seems to be thinning very quickly and the skin looks a bit scabby.
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On Monday Pete and I were sitting on the front step watching the world go by when our neighbour came down, carrying the dog which was poorly and had to go to the vet. Pete doesn't like the dog and they've had an altercation before. I was somewhat embarrassed by him doing his best to chase my neighbour and the dog away! Sadly the dog had to be put to sleep.
Last night we were sitting on the front step and a man came past with two ferrets on leads. I've seen him before; he takes them out for a walk now and again. Pete was all bristly and fighty-looking and the man was saying "oh, it's fine, they won't attack a cat." ::-) I eventually convinced him Pete thought they might make a tasty snack and he carried them past us instead.
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I'm very lucky with Pete in that he's not fussy about food. He'll happily eat dry food, wet food, Whiskas, Kitekat, Felix, Tesco's own, Thrive, raw meat, live mice, stilton, hummus, baked beans... Until today the only thing I tried him with that he wouldn't eat was Tesco own brand dry food. This morning I gave him Pets at Home own brand wet food. He took one bite and backed away like it was an unexploded bomb.
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Have you tried him on dried mealworms? Ninkasi likes them :facepalm:
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;D
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He took one bite and backed away like it was an unexploded bomb.
We had a regular visiting cat in Sheffield who was inexplicably terrified of ham. Hissing and jumping away. Most odd.
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I went out to the supermarket this evening and Pete followed me into the stair. I was expecting him to still be in the stair when I got back, but he'd actually popped in to see the people in the flat under mine, where he disgraced himself by trying to eat food from their food waste bin.
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I went to Lothian Cat Rescue's open day yesterday and spoffled a lot of cats. I had a long chat with one of the volunteers who had spent a lot of time with Pete, and he was very happy to hear how he's getting on.
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I went to Lothian Cat Rescue's open day yesterday and spoffled a lot of cats. I had a long chat with one of the volunteers who had spent a lot of time with Pete, and he was very happy to hear how he's getting on.
:thumbsup:
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I met Pete today. He let me pick him up for a cuddle, and he kissed my nose. He's taking possession of me on Monday or Tuesday.
I pointed out to Pete today that it's a year since we met, and Tuesday will be a year since he came to live with me. He didn't seem very interested.
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It's our one year anniversary today. In celebration, he's having lamb kidneys for breakfast. :sick:
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Did you put a candle in his lamb kidneys for him to blow out?
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Of course.
He was celebrating his adoptaversary by scampering round the flat at 5am.
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Pete and I went to the vet yesterday for his annual checkup and booster jags. I’m pretty skint this month and didn’t want to pay £15-20 for taxis there and back, so we got the bus. Getting him to the bus stop was the most difficult bit because he’s heavy and what is usually a 5 minute walk took nearly 15. He was really good on the bus though, a bit anxious to start with but once he’d realised there was nothing scary happening, he settled down and lay down in his carrier and just looked around quite calmly.
The vet (Edinburgh Cat Clinic) gave him a good checkup and said his heart and lungs are fine and his teeth are in good condition. The main issue is his weight. Although I haven’t increased his food, he’s put on about a pound in the last five months and he’s now 2lb overweight, which is a lot for a cat. He is a big cat, and we think about 6kg would be right for him, but he’s currently just over 7kg. I don’t know what else to do to reduce it – he gets one pouch of wet food in the morning, usually the 100g pouches but I mix in some of the 85g a couple of times a week, and he gets 30g of Thrive dry food which is 90% meat and about 190kCal per 100g. So he’s on a maximum of about 170kCal per day, and all the research I can find says to get him to 6kg he needs to be on about 200 per day! The vet says I’m doing all the right things, putting his dry food around the flat on the windowsills, on his platforms and in his activity feeders, so he has to go and look for it if he wants it, so the only thing I can try now is reducing his intake even further. I’m really worried he’ll eat my face in the night. We are wondering if he’s getting food elsewhere, but he doesn’t go out very often, and although the neighbours have been known to sneak him bits of steak bake (!) and the odd dish of milk, I don’t think they do it regularly. Because he’s so fat, the vet couldn’t examine his abdomen, but he seems healthy and happy so we’re assuming he’s ok.
The other issue is that after he’s used his litter tray, he often has a stinky mess down “the back of his trousers.” (Is it just me who loves cats’ fluffy britches?) So I asked Simon to check his anal glands. Pete did not enjoy having his glands checked and was quite happy to say so, but it didn’t take long. The right one was fine, but the left one has some infection in it, so Simon got it all out, and we’re going back in 4 weeks for another check, and I will keep an eye on it meantime. Simon does think though that some of the mess is because of Pete’s size, making it difficult for him to poo cleanly or wash himself properly afterwards. I think it’s all about his glands, his poo is firm and seems to come out cleanly, and the mess on the back of his legs is greeny and stinky, so I’m sure it’s exudate/secretions. While he was giving the injection, Simon found a lump on Pete’s back, which he thinks is just a lipoma, but we’ll keep an eye on it.
The other thing we did was a nail trim, to blunt his scimitar-like claws and protect my legs a bit. I try to do it at home but I only ever manage one claw, then he wakes up and attacks the clippers.
On the way home, partly because he’s heavy to carry, and partly to give him a bit more exercise, I let him out of his carrier as we got to the police station instead of waiting till we got in the stair, and he trotted along behind me quite happily. He had a bit of a run around in the evening as well, scampering up and down the stairs, and I took him over the road to see if he would romp in the grass, but a seagull swooped on us, and it got very windy, and he really wasn’t keen so we came back in.
He was very sleepy last night and still this morning, and not pestering for food quite as much, which I think is a reaction to the vaccination. He was the same after his first ones last year.
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Since we were at the vet's last week, I've been trying to encourage Pete to go out more, and to go further. This has meant picking him up and carrying him across the road to the Engine Shed carpark, and taking him up the lane at the back to explore the wooded area that leads to the park. He still won't go far without me, but as long as I'm with him, he'll explore quite happily. This afternoon he spent an hour jumping over some walls, walking along some fences, thinking about climbing a tree, pouncing on some grass, skulking in some shrubbery, and doing some good scampering. He's really tired now. ;D
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Get him one of these for walks - especially to the bus stop:
(http://d1r8barnfus2fl.cloudfront.net/cache/39d1244a888119c5b8d63fa4240d6a5e/cats--products--collar-lead-sets--hem-bo----hmc-00149--0.jpg)
I'm sure he'd love it :P
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I'd have to get him one for a small dog, he's such a fatty!
ETA: He's actually really good at trotting along beside me, and coming when I call. I couldn't see him at all when he was in the shrubbery, but he came running when I called him.
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My grate frend Mr Woolrich was roundly castigated for allowing one of his cats to follow him to the pub, like he had a choice in the matter. She proved a big hit among the regulars in spite of not getting a round in.
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Pete has been continuing his adventures this week, and climbed a big tall tree on Wednesday, mainly to see if there were tasty snacks in a bird's nest. He then got a bit panicky about getting back down, but he made it. Does anyone know if there's a non-emergency number for the fire brigade for rescuing cats in trees, or is it 999?
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Call the SSPCA who will call the FB if needed.
That's what happened at work last week when a seagull was stuck in the anti-seagull netting on the roof :facepalm: A fire engine and a BFO ladder appliance were summoned by the SSPCA bod. The seagull was extracted but was in such a bad state that it had to be put down.
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He's getting really good at coming out for walks - he trots along behind me, stopping to sniff whatever's interesting, inspecting every tree for climbability, and scampering through the grass.
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We went back to the vet today. He's lost 120g, and his anal glands are clear.
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What a heartwarming sentence.
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Nobody wants blocked anal glands, Riggers.
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Now that you've been with Pete for a while, how is the allergy thing?
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I come up in a weal if he licks me or claws me, but I'm not sneezing as much.
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That's good. I'm finding I'm not as allergic to Pumpkin & Ninkasi as I was to Mojo and Pippin, which is weird. I don't come up in a weal like I used to.
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Pete and I were out for a walk and a woman had to ask me to stop him trying to beat up her Jack Russell. :-[ :o ;D
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My cat Worcester was always chasing dogs off the field. Was Pete actually getting any blows in or was he just threatening the dog?
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He was threatening the dog, which was yapping and trying to run at him, but I picked him up before he could actually get in there.
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Spoilsport!
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Well done Pete. Why are Jack Russells always so willing to 'have-a-go", and be yappy?
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(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v379/Flossiesdoll/Random%20stuff/dogevil_zpskxypcezg.jpg)
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^ like
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Look at his lovely face!
Look at all their lovely faces!
Except Lenny - he looks scary.
Lothian Cat Rescue's facebook page has just posted an update from the person who adopted Lenny a year ago. He's called Bo now. He seems to be very happy.
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:thumbsup:
Look at his lovely face!
Look at all their lovely faces!
Except Lenny - he looks scary.
Lothian Cat Rescue's facebook page has just posted an update from the person who adopted Lenny a year ago. He's called Bo now. He seems to be very happy.
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Pete managed to knock my hand with his big furry head this morning while I was putting his breakfast down. Breakfast all over the floor. He ate it anyway.
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But is your hand OK? Cats are really clever like that, headbutting the hand that feeds them, Baggins is particularly hopeless in this respect, but I still love him to bits.
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Headbutting? Headbutting would have been fine. Charlie tripped me up in the back garden last Wednesday night, causing me to twist my right ankle quite badly, and I landed full stretch on the concrete. Fortunately, the rat-brain put itself in charge long enough to arrange an almost perfect breakfall, which means that the damage from the fall was limited to the merest scrape of the skin on the left knee. I then lay there for about half a minute wondering if I'd actually broken the ankle. Luckily not, but by Friday it was deep burple in colour, and cycling to work for the MOTD shift on Saturday and Sunday was made interesting - and painful - and stairs are a bugger.
Cats, eh? ::-)
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I was in the kitchen this morning when I heard a thud from the bedroom, followed by two very plaintive meows, and then Pete trotted out trying to look nonchalant.
I don't want to know.
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I don't want to know.
We do.
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Pete and I went to the vet tonight because he's had a scabby patch on his tummy for ages, and although it doesn't seem to bother him, it hasn't cleared up and a couple more have appeared. The vet thinks it's just dermatitis and not worth treating. She put him on the scales, and he's down to 6.5kg, which is great news.
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Pete is a neutered male, a rescue cat so we're not sure how old, but probably nearly 5. I've had him since July 2014 and he's a very contented cat and I love him to bits. He's very food-oriented, and when he wants to be fed he can be a bit bitey, but that's his only misbehaviour issue. He's fed a small amount of wet food in the morning, a small amount of dry food in his activity feeder through the day, and a larger amount of wet food at night, which I split between when I get in from work and before I go to bed.
Generally at night at some point he will come into the bedroom, jump onto the bed and go to sleep until what he thinks is breakfast time (which is about an hour before actual breakfast time ::-)). But for the past week he has been waking me up at least once and usually a couple of times a night, sitting next to my face, hitting me in the face with his paw, biting my head, purring in my face, wanting attention, wanting food, wanting a game. Sometimes ten minutes of strokes and cuddles will calm him down and get him back to sleep. Last night that worked and then I moved my arm to put it back under the duvet and then he got all awake again and wouldn't settle, so I put him out of the bedroom. I've had to put a lock on the bedroom door because otherwise he just barges back in. Usually if I've shut him out of the bedroom at night (which doesn't happen often) he'll go off and sleep in his own bed, but last night he spent the night crying at the bedroom door.
I can't work out what's going on. He was at the vet last week about a minor issue and he's in great health. The only things I can think of is that he's sleeping more during the day because it's dark and cold and miserable so he's more awake at night, or the bedroom temperature has dropped at night when the heating goes off, and he's cold.
I'm baffled -and suffering from lack of sleep.
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Perhaps he needs to be played with more before going to bed to tire him out.
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He can't be persuaded to play. If he wants to play, he will, and last night he spent some time running up and down the communal stair for no reason, but if he doesn't want to, it doesn't matter what you try to entice him with.
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I guess cats are much like the rest of us, and sometimes need more (or less) attention. It doesn't sound like he's behaving dramatically different from usual, although clearly it's a bit annoying for you.
That is one of the benefits of a cat flap, when Zev gets too bored or annoyed with me, she can go outside and take it out on the local wildlife (although I have my doubts over her success at this!)
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Our 3-legged cat (the one attacked by a grey-hound) has become much more vocal of late. Thought she must be getting deaf. Not, according to the vet who checked her out, but you can approach her from behind shouting "NOODLE!!", and no recognition. If you step into her line of vision, then she'll chirrrrrup acknowledging you.
Noticed she also does it now, to announce she either wants to go out the front door, or be let back in. Quite effective.
Maybe Pete just wants your company and misses you.
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That is one of the benefits of a cat flap, when Zev gets too bored or annoyed with me, she can go outside and take it out on the local wildlife (although I have my doubts over her success at this!)
He does that sometimes - I hear him clattering out and then eventually he comes clattering back in and shouts to let me know he's home. He's pretty lazy about going out though.
Maybe Pete just wants your company and misses you.
I think it's just been because it's been colder at night which has woken him up and then he decides he wants a meal. He's settled down again now, although there was a brief interlude of meowing and looking for food last night.
The good news is, he's lost 500g! Only another 500 to go.
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... The good news is, he's lost 500g! Only another 500 to go.
Pete needs a gym membership!
(http://balius.sp.ph.ic.ac.uk/~timo/stuff/CatTreadmill.jpg) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESM3495FiZM)
(Click image for YouTube).
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Well done Pete!
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I was very worried about Pete on Sunday night when he didn't want his tea, which is absolutely unheard of for him. He perked up later though and he's fine now.
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I've had that happen very very occasionally too. I suspect it's just a slightly dodgy tummy, he's eaten someone who disagrees with him.
If it lasts several meal times, then I do worry, since a cat will lose mass very rapidly. Generally you can tell if they are really ill, because they'll stop drinking and become dehydrated too, which is relatively easy to check (http://www.petmd.com/cat/emergency/common-emergencies/e_ct_dehydration).
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Pete almost never drinks - he has mainly wet food, and I often add a bit of water to it. He was lively enough tonight to jump onto the kitchen worktop in search of treats, having just been fed.
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My friend Norma has given Pete a present of a spider cat toy. It's got a rough pink body, green teeth, and glittery purple legs, and a thing to pull to make it move. He loves it/hates it - spent ages biting it, then took it up to the top of his climbing tower, bit it some more, then spent ages throwing it on the floor and glaring until I picked it up and gave it back to him (over and over again), then ran round the flat with it in his mouth for five minutes.
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It does seem rather unpredictable what toys cats seem to love the most! Zev has a green (!) mouse, which she loves to "kill", and which she also carries around the house, so I find it in various random locations. Luckily she doesn't seem to have realised that she can carry toys outside. I did find a very soggy and "dead" catnip flavoured sausage that Kai loved, in the back garden, under some weeds. That disappeared before Zev had outdoor privileges, so Kai must have taken it outside, and forgotten that he'd left it there.
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Bad Cat has a stupid, sparkly and brightly coloured fly-thing that she loves, so there might be a theme here. It appears at random places around the house, and after a good scrap she usually ends up snoozing with it on the bed. Little Monster cat, on the paw, prefers socks and other items of clothing, though she'll also randomly distribute the contents of the toy box about the living room on a daily basis.
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Charlie's current favourite is the 99p Wilko catnip rat, in a fetching brown velour finish, with bonus teethmarks in the ear and a missing eye. This is when he can't attack my foam roller, which is his bestest-ever-favouritest toy, but it cost 15 quid and I'm not about to let him destroy it.
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Worms in the poo, worms in the poo. :sick:
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Worms in the poo, worms in the poo. :sick:
Best place for them.
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We went out for a little walk today. He got all excited by some littery shrubbery.
https://youtu.be/I2uRFIXkK28
Then he decided to jump onto the wall behind the shrubbery and then couldn't work out how to get down because of the railings.
https://youtu.be/5V2h-THa9zU
After he fell off the railings, he climbed a tree, couldn't work out that he could get down the same way he came up, ended up jumping from the tree to one of the pillars between the railings, couldn't get down from there, and I had to leg it round the other end of the flats to get into their back garden, climb up the wall, balance on the railings and lift him down with one arm. Neither of us enjoyed it.
https://youtu.be/b7W2QvoXjI4
Last week was easier.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-0wCfF7W4g
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What's required here is for some clever sod to invent a cat holding attachment that could be used with a Black & Decker Workmate.
I reckon the ACME Dog Spigot (http://scaryduck.blogspot.co.uk/2015/11/introducing-acme-dog-spigot.html) might work for cats.
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Pete and I went for a stroll this afternoon
https://youtu.be/-WB4kP4ignU
https://youtu.be/R3byIvzmNk8
https://youtu.be/Oi9ZCtJIWKM
https://youtu.be/-WB4kP4ignU
https://youtu.be/R3byIvzmNk8
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Pete climbed a couple of trees today, did some good acrobatics when he was struggling to get down again, and then stalked and very nearly caught a hen pheasant.
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National Pet Month have done a piece on Pete. Fingers crossed it encourages people to use Lothian Cat Rescue.
http://www.nationalpetmonth.org.uk/blog/2016/04/21/from-street-life-to-a-loving-forever-home-pete-packs-a-powerful-punch-with-kirsten/
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Aww :)
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Aw that's wonderful :)
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I hope this new-found fame isn't going to go to his head.
(Has he got an agent?)
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Can I get his pawtograph?
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Fed up of being smacked awake at dawn, I got an automatic feeder and set it to dispense at 5am. I got two weeks of not being smacked awake at 5am until he worked out he could break into it. ::-)
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Haha, clever boy :)
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It's just brute force. He bashes it with his giant head and forces his huge hands into it.
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I was about to leave for work yesterday when my neighbour chapped on the door and asked to borrow my cat carrier because she was going to get a kitten. I went in to see him last night and he's gorgeous. He's 8 weeks old and he's called Rico. His markings are very similar to Pete's, but instead of black, he's grey with a bit of tabby. He's so teeny.
I'm really worried that Pete will hurt or possibly kill him. So we've agreed I'll take Pete through there in his carrier at the weekend and begin the process of introductions.
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... I'm really worried that Pete will hurt or possibly kill him. So we've agreed I'll take Pete through there in his carrier at the weekend and begin the process of introductions.
It seems unlikely to me. Kai was always incredibly well behaved with Zev, even though she was a complete arse. Once she was an adult cat (sized), he was prepared to whack her if she got to be too annoying, but as a kitten he just got annoyed and swished his tail, but never tried to be even slightly aggressive towards her.
I guess there's a natural instinct with some mammals, that we don't attack younger versions of our own species (albeit not always the case, especially with unrelated offspring).
Nevertheless, careful introduction seems to be a sensible approach.
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And sometimes the cute little kitten turns out to be a secret murderous bastard and puts the older cat in their place.
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Or vice-versa.
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I put Pete in his carrier today and took him through to meet Rico. Pete seemed completely uninterested. Rico was intrigued, kept coming close, making himself big and hissing and running off, then coming back for another look. We're going to keep introducing them a couple of times a week.
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... Rico was intrigued, kept coming close, making himself big and hissing and running off, then coming back for another look ...
That's interesting, Zev and Kai were nothing like that, they both just behaved very cautiously, like cats do when meeting each other. I guess two male cats vs one male and one female cat, is going to be different behaviour.
It sounds like Pete is very laid back. :)
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Pete's ridiculously laid-back. Rico is very tiny, only 8 weeks old, so everything new is both scary and interesting.
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Pete and I went to see Rico again tonight. Pete had a bit of a sniff at him, then ate Rico's tea and drank his kitten milk. ::-)
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;D, never mind miss a opportunity to pete :thumbsup:
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... then ate Rico's tea and drank his kitten milk. ::-)
That was certainly Kai, if Zev was stupid enough to leave any food or drink !
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We went into see Rico again today, and poor Rico's kitten milk had vanished about 30 seconds after Pete crossed the threshold! He seems a bit bemused by Rico but hasn't shown any interest in eating him, even when Rico stood on his back legs and waved his arms in the air. Rico is very cute.
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When I got in tonight, Pete came running down the communal stair to meet me, yowling his head off. He sometimes does that if he's annoyed I'm late back, but I was fairly early tonight. Obviously I knew he wanted his tea; it wasn't a demonstration of any kind of affection. I gave him his tea, then went to speak to my neighbour about something. Pete came running after me, and as soon as she opened the door he tried to get in. She said "you're not coming in again, you've only just left" - turns out when he came running to meet me, they'd just put him out of their flat, after he'd gone in, ignored Rico and eaten all his kitten food. Again. :-[
And now he's just spent 20 minutes sitting outside the neighbours' door, hoping to get in! What a bloody chancer.
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Rico will soon learn the value of eating all his food, before Pete visits! Think of it as Pete teaching him a valuable life lesson. ;D
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We went in again the other night. Rico came right up to Pete and they touched noses, then Rico waved a paw at Pete as if he wanted to play, and Pete very gently and clawlessly swatted him on the head, and Rico ran off. The kitten milk, however, did not survive.
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As a cruel plan to starve poor Pete maybe moving the kittens milk and food out his reach for the duration of his visits might work?. Not so entertaining though ;D
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I have suggested that to the neighbours.
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Other than a locked cupboard there are few places out of reach for a determined cat.
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Lothian Cat Rescue will confirm that. Pete was notorious stealer and secreter of food when he was with them.
Speaking of LCR, there is a cat called Ali on their site, looking for a home, and he has brilliant eyebrows and whiskers and I wish Pete would let me have him.
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Well, my colleague Norma and I went along to get him this afternoon. Amazon haven't brought my carrier yet, so I borrowed one of Norma's. The rescue person went along to get him and when she brought him up to reception he was yowling. We went to put him in the car and he shifted his (considerable) weight and the door flew off the carrier and he jumped out. So the cat rescue people have lent me a crate to get him home in and I think I will use it for his trip the vet tomorrow.
He really didn't like the car journey home, but has been relaxing more and more with every minute since he got into the flat. He's had a sniff around and found his bowls, flatly refused to get into his bed (I might swap it for a flat one as he doesn't seem to like the igloo one), had a cuddle on my lap, and had a stretch on the floor. He runs to me when something frightens him rather than away from me so I think we're going to be ok. ;D
Tomorrow will be two years since he claimed me as his own.
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Too late to get a refund then? ;)
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I got him one of those dvds for cats :-[ filled with interesting clips of mice, birds, kittens etc. He watched it for a minute tried to get to the tropical fish through the screen, then went to sleep.
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Pete had his annual checkup and booster jags today. He was a very good boy at the vets', just lay down on the examination table and behaved. Simon's very good at doing a physical check-over while the cat thinks he's just getting a lot of fuss. He's in excellent nick, his teeth are in good condition, and all is well.
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How's his weight? Is he at target yet?
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What a scrumptious boy he is! Love following his antics.
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How's his weight? Is he at target yet?
The nutrient-rich kitten food hasn't helped, but he's only about 400g off target now. Simon doesn't mind big cats being a bit meaty, but Martha and Jenny are a bit stricter.
What a scrumptious boy he is! Love following his antics.
We went for a little walk in the Meadows on our way home.
https://youtu.be/6X26t8nsLpA
https://youtu.be/eEB7pRlj9IM
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Poor Pete. He's not very well after his vaccination and he's completely ignored his breakfast.
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We went a long way on our afternoon walk today.
https://youtu.be/7eeVt0mcpn8 (https://youtu.be/7eeVt0mcpn8)
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That's fab! Are you not worried he'll run off? How's his recall? ;D
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No, sometimes he jumps a fence or something and I lose sight of him but I can usually hear his bell tinkling against his tag, and he always comes back when I call.
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Pete managed to scratch my conjunctiva last night. He's a very naughty cat.
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It's not easy to lift Pete's dish off the floor when he's standing in it. The big numpty.
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Pete reacts to seagulls flying overhead as if they are Nazgul. Nazgull?
He was funny last night. There's a cardboard box on the floor, and he pounced himself into it, then started chasing his tail so enthusiastically he was doing somersaults in the box, until he saw me watching him, then he tried to look nonchalant.
He woke me up at 4am today, which he hasn't done for ages. He didn't want his breakfast, he just wanted a cuddle. I think the noise of the gales outside upset him.
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Pete's not quite himself at the moment. In the two years he's been here, I've been fortunate that he's never vomited or produced a hairball. But last week he threw up clear mucus. I wasn't worried, cos I figured he had a hairball brewing, and over the next few days he produced a couple of tiny hairballs. But this week he's still puking small amounts of different coloured liquid, maybe twice a day then nothing for a couple of days, and this morning he sicked some of his breakfast back up. He's not interested in his dried food, but he still pesters me for wet. He's a wee bit sleepier and less interested in cuddling than usual, and he hasn't had a mad half hour for a few days. If he doesn't pick up over the weekend, we'll go see the vet on Monday.
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I had a not dissimilar problem with Kai, who is long haired, and I was given a tube of Catalax by the vet, which pretty much does what it sounds like. I guess that if they can't cough it up, it has to come out the other end.
Unfortunately, Catalax is a bit like Marmite, and some cats love it, while others hate it. Unfortunately, Kai was in the hate it category, and short haired Zev who needs it less, seemed to love it !
When Kai was coming here for food, I had to put a squeeze of Catalax (which is in a tube, and comes out like toothpaste) directly into his mouth, as you do with pills, and smooth his throat until he swallowed it. I can't remember exactly what the recommended dose was, but it was something like once a month.
Zev ate any that I'd "hidden" in food for Kai, and which he spurned. ;D
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I've never had to try the pill-giving technique with Pete, cos I just put them in his food and he doesn't even notice them.
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It could be a bad worm infestation. Ethel-the-toothless sometimes gets even more chundery than normal (and normal for her is once every 36 hours). The vet reckoned it was just worse-than-normal worms partially blocking the digestive tract. Double-dose of worming tablets and she was fine!
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I've never had to try the pill-giving technique with Pete, cos I just put them in his food and he doesn't even notice them.
I wish that worked with Kai, Zev and in the past with Talisker!
I can't get away with putting it in their food, they notice, and eat around it. At least Talisker could be held upside down, like a baby, and his hyperthyroidism pills relatively easily popped in. Zev needs to be wrapped up, before I can get a pill in her mouth.
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If he doesn't pick up over the weekend, we'll go see the vet on Monday.
Any news?
IME vomiting clear liquid could be anything from:
Meh - seems fine to me. Here's a large bill.
Through:
I think he's got grass stuck in his nasal passage (FFS how?). Here's a large bill.
Onwards and upwards to:
Probably an infection <stab>. Here's a large bill.
Through to:
<redacted, but he survived>. Here's a mind boggling bill that'll make you really glad you have pet insurance.
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He's out playing golf (https://yacf.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=144.msg2072581#msg2072581), so probably got better. :thumbsup:
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I think he's got grass stuck in his nasal passage (FFS how?). Here's a large bill.
Been there, done that, at the weekend too so doubleplus spendy good.
Oh, and the explanation for how was: eat grass, Vom up, grass goes up wrong way, gets stuck, repeated gacking, coughing & spluttering leads to an end curling up each nostril from the oesophagus side.
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We went to the vet (http://www.catclinic.co.uk/) on Monday. We saw Simon, who is really good at giving him a thorough going-over without him realising; he just thinks he's getting a lot of fuss. He did notice getting his temperature taken, however. Simon thinks he might have an inflammatory bowel thing, so gave him an injection of an anti-inflammatory, and if that stops him puking, we'll probably need to repeat it when it wears off. He hasn't puked since, but he's still a bit sleepier than normal and not having his mad half hours.
He's out playing golf (https://yacf.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=144.msg2072581#msg2072581), so probably got better. :thumbsup:
He's far too well dressed to be interested in golf!
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He's out playing golf (https://yacf.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=144.msg2072581#msg2072581), so probably got better. :thumbsup:
:thumbsup:
He saw Simon, who is really good at giving him a thorough going-over without him realising; he just thinks he's getting a lot of fuss. He did notice getting his temperature taken, however.
Goodo, hope that's all it is. I think any cat would need a full 7 course meal set out on the top table at Milliways to not notice their temperature being taken.
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He's sneezing a lot tonight, and shaking his head. I think he has something up his nose.
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I've just got up, slightly worried that he died in the night as he hadn't come in to ask for breakfast at all. He's still sneezing, and he's huffing through his nose a lot as if there's something in there, so we're off to the vet again. Poor baby.
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Poor Pete. When we went to the vet on Monday about his puking, Simon thought it might be an inflammatory bowel thing, and gave him an injection of steroids. He wasn't sick again until yesterday, and that was just clear mucus (with some hair in it), so that seemed to be an improvement. But he started sneezing last night, and doing a weird huffing thing out of his nose as if he's trying to clear it. He's kept on doing that, and he didn't come and ask for his breakfast this morning. I woke up about half eight, realised he hadn't asked for any breakfast, and panicked that he'd died in the night! So we went back to the vet, and he thinks that it's possible Pete got feline herpes when he was straying and if he did, the steroid injection on Monday has suppressed his immune system and allowed the herpes to give him some respiratory problems. He had an antibiotic injection today, and I have antibiotic tablets for him, but if he's still poorly over the weekend I'll take him back on Monday. The other thing it might be is perhaps a bit of grass or something stuck up his nose, which would need sedation and possibly x-rays, but he hasn't been out for a walk since Monday so I'm pretty sure it's not that.
Poor boy. He's sleeping pretty much round the clock, isn't really interested in food or cuddles, and he's not enjoying his sneezes! He was a very good boy at the vet though.
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Poor sneezy Pete. I really hope he picks up soon.
Your vet sounds a good un. Is Pete insured?
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How is he this morning?
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Poor sneezy Pete. I really hope he picks up soon.
Your vet sounds a good un. Is Pete insured?
He is insured, but the excess is £100 and the total for the 2 visits this week including meds is only about £60. If he needs sedation and X-rays and stuff, I'll be claiming! The vets are great, it's http://www.catclinic.co.uk/ . They only see cats, so everything is set up for cats, the vets have lots of training in feline medicine, and they're really good at examining Pete without him realising what's going on.
How is he this morning?
Much the same. :(
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... The vets are great, it's http://www.catclinic.co.uk/ . They only see cats, so everything is set up for cats, the vets have lots of training in feline medicine ...
That's very cool. :thumbsup:
Edinburgh is a little far to cycle with Zev, however. :)
It makes a lot of sense, since cats are now the UK's most common pet, especially in a city practice. The vast majority of pets in my vet are cats and dogs, it's very rare to see any other species.
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http://icatcare.org/advice/cat-health/feline-herpes-virus-fhv-infection
Hopefully he won't be feeling rubbish for as long as 3 weeks!
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That's very cool. :thumbsup:
Edinburgh is a little far to cycle with Zev, however. :)
It makes a lot of sense, since cats are now the UK's most common pet, especially in a city practice. The vast majority of pets in my vet are cats and dogs, it's very rare to see any other species.
Yeah, there is a vet within a 5 minute walk, but I'm sticking with the Cat Clinic even though it's a ten minute walk and a 15 minute bus ride. When Lothian Cat Rescue handed him over to me, they gave me a voucher for discounted vaccines at the Cat Clinic, which is obviously worth their while cos most people aren't going to claim discounted vaccines and then go elsewhere.
http://icatcare.org/advice/cat-health/feline-herpes-virus-fhv-infection
Hopefully he won't be feeling rubbish for as long as 3 weeks!
It's so strange not having him clawing my legs for food every hour!
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He seems to have perked up a bit. He's still sneezing and huffing, and doesn't have his usual appetite, but he's asleep next to me instead of hiding away, on his back instead of hunched over, and earlier on he attacked my emery board.
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Pete is still having the very occasional sneeze and snuffle, but otherwise is completely back to normal.
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I like that news :thumbsup:
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Pete has been helping the plumber. ::-)
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Cleaning the pipes? :o ;D
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More of a supervisory/inspection role.
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Bad Cat has feline herpes which is why she's Madam Squinty at the moment, nasty little corneal ulcer. Only her second one, normally she settles for sticking big thorns through her eyeball. Don't stress her says the vet. Yeah, dripping antiviral eyedrops into her eyeball four-to-six times a day is just the thing for that. I don't know how the furball gets stressed in the first, she lives the life of Riley. The most stressful thing that happens to her is that some days Little Monster Cat steals her favourite snoozing spot on the balcony.
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He's been sick again. :(
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:(
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How is he this evening?
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On my knee, watching Jackson Galaxy's My Cat From Hell.
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Pete has been picked as The Cat Clinic's model on the booster vaccine reminder cards.
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Pete has been picked as The Cat Clinic's model on the booster vaccine reminder cards.
(http://balius.sp.ph.ic.ac.uk/~timo/cats/SeductiveCat_withBorder.png)
;D
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https://www.facebook.com/catclinicvets/
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Pete is so famous! Does he do autographs?
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Yeah, but he incises them on your flesh with his claws.
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I've just cleaned up seven piles of cat sick. Time to ring the vet again.
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We saw the new vet today, who has replaced Martha, who has gone to live up north. Claire thinks Pete has either inflammatory bowel disease or pancreatitis. She gave him an injection of painkiller, which he did not like at all, and she's given me some antacids to give him with his food, plus some pouches of sensitive stomach food to try him with. He was fairly well behaved and she said she wishes all cats were as well behaved as him.
He's had about a quarter of a pouch tonight and has been asleep ever since. This is most unlike him, as he usually pesters me for food constantly, so he's obviously not quite right yet. He hasn't thrown up since about 2pm though.
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Pete was very unsettled during the night, and then woke me by howling very loudly while sitting in his litter tray, so I took him back to the vet this morning. They kept him in - leaving cats at the vet is what I imagine leaving your child for their first day at school must feel like - and phoned just now. They've sedated him and X-rayed him and done bloods. Jenny says his colon is very gassy and bloated, and his urine is very alkaline, which is abnormal for cats, so they're testing that for infection, and doing bloods. If he's much better by tonight I can bring him home, but if not they'll keep him in overnight. The flat feels so empty without him!
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:(
GWS, Pete
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He must be feeling sorry for himself, cos he didn't even protest when she took his temperature.
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... leaving cats at the vet is what I imagine leaving your child for their first day at school must feel like ...
Possibly, it's not a nice feeling. :(
The flat feels so empty without him!
Most recently, every time there was a slight jangling noise, or thud, I thought it was Zev's bell, or her knocking something over.
GWS Pete.
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:( GWS Pete.
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I'm filling the time/dealing with my anxiety by making tahini & pomegranate cookies. Cooking without a furry overload hoping for treats is very strange.
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Aw poor Pete. Hopefully they can make him feel better soon x
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I rang at 5 and they said he still wasn't eating, so they wanted to keep him in overnight. I'll ring tomorrow morning. A friend gave me a Bagpuss wheatbag a while ago, so I'll put that at the foot of the bed tonight and pretend it's him.
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Get well soon Pete :)
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Yeah, Pete GWS
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...they said he still wasn't eating, so they wanted to keep him in overnight. ...
Once they stop eating, cats feel ill, get dehydrated, and then feel even less inclined to eat etc. It's a vicious circle, and part of the problem I had with Zev recently. Talisker also suffered from the same several times, resulting in an overnight stay on a drip to rehydrate him, and make him feel better.
Hopefully the overnight stay, and possibly rehydration and other treatment to make him feel better, will have him eating again.
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I just rang for an update. He's still not eating, still on his drip, enjoying lots of cheek rubs, and has done a big wee, but still not eating. Vets will confer and ring me later.
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Claire just rang from the vet. He continued to refuse food - he was lipsmacking and drooling when they gave him food but then wouldn't eat it, so she gave his mouth a good check over and he has some discolouration on his tongue but they're not sure what it is. Bloods aren't back from the lab yet. They gave him another anti-emetic with an appetite stimulant in it, and 20 minutes after that he was at the front of his cage waiting for food and gobbled everything they gave him. If he keeps it down and continues to eat and not vomit, I might be able to bring him home tonight. If he keeps vomiting, stops eating, or the blood results show something bad, he'll have to stay another night. He seems quite bright in himself and is enjoying lots of cheek tickles and they all seem to have fallen in love with him.
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Good news. He's continued to eat, and although the blood results aren't back yet, they're happy for me to take him home tonight. I'm going to collect him in about an hour, so there is a chance the bloods might be back by then, but if not they'll phone me tomorrow.
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:)
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We'll need a photo when he's home. Preferably of you tickling his fluffy tummy :P
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Come on young Pete. Your fans need you.
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Most of his bloods are back, and they indicate he might have a bit of pancreatitis, but the pancreas-specific test isn't back, so they'll ring me about that tomorrow. He was very pleased to see me, and the vet and the vet nurse both said he's had lots of attention while he was in, lots of cheek tickles and today he's been giving out headbumps. They're a bit worried about his tongue which has some discolouration down one side, and he's dropping food out of that side too. When I got him home, he went straight to his dish, which wasn't there, then he went to his litter tray and did a huge pee. I put some of the sensitive tummy food down for him that they'd given me, and he sniffed and licked his lips but didn't eat it, so I put a teaspoon of tuna in with it. He nibbled it a bit, but he's still dropping it out of his mouth, and he lost interest pretty quickly. Then he went to lie on my bed for a bit, then came and sat by his dish again, and now he's sulking somewhere - every time I try to stroke his head he walks off, so I'm leaving him to it for now. He's still a long way from fully better, but it's nice to have him home.
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He cuddled up next to me on the bed last night, but a couple of times he got quite lively and was trotting round the flat. I got up at 6ish to make sure he was ok, and he'd cleared his dish, so I put some more out for him and he gobbled it. I went back to bed, and was awakened by what sounded like Pete having some sort of seizure under the bed.
As he'd been so uninterested in food I'd let my guard down and left some pouches on the worktop. The naughty cat had snaffled one and was ripping into it under the bed. I think he's feeling better.
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:thumbsup: Sounds like good news.
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Blood results confirm no pancreatitis! And I found two more stashed pouches...
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Haha :)
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When I say found, one of them I only "found" because he walked past me with it in his mouth.
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He's been very cuddly since yesterday, but also seems to have found his manners while he was an inpatient. This morning he patted my arm without using claws! He's been keen to help me plant herbs today, and definitely has his appetite back, and even did a little bit of scampering.
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I popped into the infidel butcher the other day to see if he could get me some chicken necks for His Nibs. He couldn't, but suggested I try the halal butcher down the road. I called in there today and he couldn't give me necks, but did give me a massive back of chicken off-cuts, and didn't charge me. I just weighed it, and it's 1.96kg! I've portioned it out into freezer bags and it's mainly skin with fat and muscle attached, but also several bones with meat on including some wing tips and other parts. I've put most of it into the freezer, and took 800g upstairs for Momo the new ginger and white boy. Pete came with me. He hadn't met Momo before and did some cautious sniffing, Momo hissed at him and backed away, and Pete wandered off into their kitchen looking for food!
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(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v379/Flossiesdoll/Pete/IMAG0815_zpsgyocizqe.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v379/Flossiesdoll/Pete/IMAG0818_zpsyqhimlbp.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v379/Flossiesdoll/Pete/IMAG0804_zpsmnpckmyr.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v379/Flossiesdoll/Pete/IMAG0801_zpsiwo79xlh.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v379/Flossiesdoll/Pete/IMAG0808_zpswlsn4vpu.jpg)
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Pete has been picked as The Cat Clinic's model on the booster vaccine reminder cards.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v379/Flossiesdoll/Pete/IMAG0810_zps3paojyh7.jpg)
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:thumbsup:
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Fame at last ... now where is the red carpet?
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Pete seems to have learned some manners! My upstairs neighbours have a gorgeous ginger boy called Momo, and they told me today that the other day, Pete was out in the stair when they got home. When they opened their door, Momo ran out and came face to face with Pete. Fighty Pete who hated all the other cats when he was with Lothian Cat Rescue and tried to fight them through the pen. Fighty Pete who I have seen punch two dogs in the nose. They said that Momo was a bit wary, but Pete was very sweet and polite and just wanted to say hello.
Maybe I can get a kitten!
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The daft boy appeared to be absolutely baffled by his tail last night.
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When Pete stands on me and starts to knead, I get no sense that he's feeling relaxed or calm. It's more like he's trying to compress me into diamonds.
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When Pete stands on me and starts to knead, I get no sense that he's feeling relaxed or calm. It's more like he's trying to compress me into diamonds.
In the world of meat eaters, that is known as 'tenderising'. :demon:
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Pete has a playdate on Saturday. ;D
My upstairs neighbours said that once a week or so he goes out through his catflap and goes upstairs to their front door and sits there meowing until they let him in. He and their cat Momo have a bit of a sniff at each other and then Pete raises a paw to play with Momo, and Momo gets scared and runs away. So I'm going to take him up in his carrier on Saturday and let them get used to each other and then let him out and hope they make friends.
I'm a bit sad about him going upstairs looking for company when I'm not in.
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Pete had his playdate this afternoon, with Momo. I took Pete up in his carrier and we put him in the living room. Pete was quite relaxed in his carrier, just chilled, while Momo sniffed around him. I took a toy and some treats with me too, and once we let Pete out of the carrier, he hopped out, and I distracted Momo with the toy. Pete wasn't interested in Momo at all, he just wanted to explore the flat and eat Momo's food. ::-) Momo was much more agitated, following Pete around, sniffing at him and then hitting him with his paws, sometimes standing on his hind legs to do it, sometimes scarpering and jumping into Pete's carrier. Pete tried to ignore him but when Momo was too persistent, Pete would swat back and then it turned into handbags. We gave them about 20 minutes together and then decided that was enough. We'll do more another day.
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Sounds a bit territorial. Pete would probably behave differently if Momo came down to see him.
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Yeah. Momo was absolutely aghast as Pete hoovered up all the food Momo had spilt.
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For those who care to know such things, Lidl's own brand wet food is the most disgusting smelling cat food in the world, even worse than Felix Crunchy Crumbles with Pollack.
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Yes, but does Pete eat it? I don't think our interpretation of "disgusting" and a cats is quite the same!
Having said that, I buy Encore1 cat food for Zev, and the tinned chicken looks and smells like cooked chicken. I suspect it would be perfectly palatable to eat.
Footnote [1] : Sainsburys Encore, which is basically Applaws cat food, only cheaper!
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The only thing he won't eat is supermarket own brand dry food.
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I bought Pete a lovely new bed yesterday and he won't even look at it, preferring to curl up on my lap and fart.
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Tilley destroyed the bed we got for her. The cardboard box she got* about two and a half is still going strong.
*/ Well more jumped into as I put it on the floor to crush down for recycling.
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He may change his mind. Zev originally turned her nose up at the heated bed that I bought, but now sleeps in it more than almost any other location.
Cats are not always the most consistent, or apparently logical of animals!
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I went to Huddersfield and back today for a family funeral and as I wasn't going to be back before 2130, a friend popped in to give Pete his tea. She gave him a whole 100g pouch (I usually portion it out over the evening) and while she was changing his water, her nephew gave Pete a 50g pouch he'd brought from home! Pete ate the lot, and since I got home 20 minutes ago, has been trying to convince me that he's starving.
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Yeah, YOU didn't feed him that is why he is hungry, you evil servant.
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If I feed Pumpkin when I get home from work and then go out, she tries to tell Pingu that she hasn't been fed when he gets home. We had to resort to notes.
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My upstairs neighbours have just shown me photos of Pete in their flat, sitting on their cat's climbing tree, looking out of the window. ;D
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When I get home from work Pete is usually either waiting inside the front door, or he comes out into the stair to shout at me as I make my way up. Tonight when I got in, there was no sign of him; he wasn't in the flat.
Turns out he spent the afternoon upstairs visiting Momo!
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Pete and I went for a walk tonight. He climbed a tree to the top and convinced himself he'd got stuck, but eventually worked it out. A man asked if he could steal him. Another man took a photo of him. He got agitated at three dogs, only one of which showed any interest in him. He went into stalking full on wigglebum crouch and pounced on something in the long grass, missed, and walked off nonchalently. And he really doesn't like the new bike park.
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... He went into stalking full on wigglebum crouch and pounced on something in the long grass, missed, and walked off nonchalently. ...
Of course, he completely meant to miss.
;D
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After being a good boy around the neighbours' cats for so long, yesterday he put Momo in a headlock. ::-)
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Pete climbed a tree, then tried to chase his tail while he was up there.
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We went to the vet for Pete's annual check-up and boosters. He tried to have a sleep on the exam table.
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Pete celebrated his third adoptaversary by head-butting me awake so hard I think I have concussion.
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Pete celebrated his third adoptaversary by head-butting me awake so hard I think I have concussion.
Never mind you, has Pete managed to concuss himself?
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Pete just did a huge poo in the shape of a CDC. I am so proud.
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Pics, or it didn't happen ;)
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:hand:
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I bought some cheap ham the other day to give him bits as an occasional treat. He's now spending most of his awake time trying to break into the fridge. Apart from yesterday, when he spent quite a while chasing his tail. In the bath.
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Don't be too overconfident, one of my colleagues cat saw fish being placed in their fridge, and did manage to open it, and then consume said fish !
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In a previous house we used to have a visiting cat who was scared of ham. Instant heckles-up and hissing reaction. No, I don't understand, either.
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Many years ago my black and white mog Alice worked out she could open the fridge by lying on her back and reaching both paws up past her head and under the edge of the door.*
Ham was consumed on that occasion. My ham, what was going to be my supper when I got home from work. >:(
*She could also open the internal house doors by pulling them towards her, and ate Go-Cat or similar crunchies direct from the box by posting her paw through the little dispenser hole and getting them out one by one.
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Pete can open all the doors except the bathroom door, but my fridge is on a shelf above the washing machine, slightly beyond his current abilities. If he had a cardboard box of dry food, he'd just tear it open (and in fact has done!)
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Bad Cat can open any door. Even locked ones (well, if it's a catflap, she somehow manages to get a claw behind it and with a little persistence pops the catch). She's stymied by the fridge on the grounds she can't reach it. Uncharacteristically she doesn't really steal food (though I wouldn't leave her unsupervised with a can of tuna).
Little Monster Cat can't do doors though which means she gets stuck in the bathroom a lot. She can only push, hasn't figured out how to pull.
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I have hard floors throughout so there's a bit of a gap under every door (except the bathroom) so Pete hooks his paw underneath and pulls them open. For the push doors, he just barges in.
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Yes, she'll get her claw then paw behind anything and pull. It's how she slides open the wardrobe doors, the little shit.
Little Monster Cat never figured that out. We prop most of the doors open* with the exception of the bathroom which is why she tends to get stuck in there. She tries to push which merely closes it and seals her in. She does wait very patiently for liberation.
*because once upon a time when they were kittens we had the bright idea of keeping some doors closed, like my office. In new house with spanking new and very expensive carpets. One Saturday we were out all day and came back to find that Bad Cat had spent the entire day trying to dig under all the closed doors. The carpets, alas. The little shit.
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Pete has spent all of today asleep and snoring, until I started using the steam cleaner on the kitchen floor, whereupon he decided he wanted to help.
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Pete just came face-to-face with Rico in the stair (neighbour's cat). No fighting!
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Pete is a very naughty cat who has pulled the shift key off my keyboard with his claws, and was caught up on the worktop inspecting the top of the microwave.
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Pete and I are off to the vet later as he is producing huge amounts of soft, foul-smelling poo, then trying to cover it up with litter but standing in it and getting it all up his back legs. Silly boy. I would have left it a few more days if the vet was going to be open Monday and Tuesday, but having discussed it on the phone, we agreed I should bring him in.
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Poor Pete, not a good way to celebrate Christmas. Hopefully it's something relatively easily solvable.
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They gave him antibiotics last Friday, the taking of which he has not cooperated with. His liquidy poo has continued, and he has very little appetite so I took him back in today. She gave him an injection of something which is supposed to relieve pain and stimulate appetite, and said it would take about an hour to work but that was four hours ago and he still isn't hungry. He hasn't eaten since yesterday morning. I'm going to ring them in a little while - I think they'll want to admit him tonight or tomorrow morning. Poor boy, he's not at all happy; he's just hiding away by himself.
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How is he?
One of ours is a tad fluid at the mo but not like poor Pete. Every morning reminds me to ask.
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We went back to the vet on Wednesday evening and she injected him with an antibiotic and a long-acting painkiller, and took bloods. We discussed admitting him but she felt as he was well hydrated (and she gave him 150ml saline while we were there) there wasn't really much else they could do and felt he'd be comfier at home. The bloods they could analyse on-site were clear and the rest had to be sent away. We discussed how difficult it is for me to get pills into him - he is much more cooperative for the vets than he is for me - so she suggested they teach me how to inject him. We agreed that if he was still as poorly I would take him first thing next morning without an appointment, but if he was doing better, I'd take him in in the evening, and I brought him home. Oh, and they weighed him, and despite having eaten very little for 4 days and nothing at all for 2, he'd gained 40 grams.
He was so poorly on Wednesday evening, not eating, leaking tiny amounts of liquid poo from his bum, crouching on the floor in the hall all night, and I really wondered if I should have asked them to admit him. I didn't sleep very well and got up to check on him at midnight when he was obviously much better and asking for some food. He's gone right off poached chicken; I assume he associates it with feeling ill, so I gave him some wet food which he gobbled and some more at 4am and breakfast time. I went to work but couldn't really settle and they let me work from home in the afternoon so I could keep an eye on him.
We went back to the vet Thursday and they taught me how to inject him, confirmed all his bloods had come back as normal, and they gave me 4 syringes drawn up with his antibiotics. He ate normally on Friday and his injection went fine. Yesterday he slept all day and didn't even ask for his tea. I made a hash of his injection, squirted antibiotic all over his fur instead of his insides so had to use tonight's dose, so he'll be a dose short. (Rang the emergency vet to see if they would give/sell me one but they'd have to see him first and having paid £350 in vet fees in the last week, that's not an option). He has a blocked nose now, poor thing, and is very sleepy and snuffly. He keeps huffing through his nose and looking confused. I put him in his carrier earlier with a bowl of boiling water next to him and a towel over it all to give him some steam inhalation. He hated it, but it did seem to help.
So that's where we're at. If he's still as snuffly tomorrow I might have to think about the emergency vet but fingers crossed it'll settle.
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Fingers crossed indeed. It’s really no fun, situations like this.
As for injecting a cat - seeing the fine jet of liquid go all over the surface because you’ve gone right through two layers of skin and out the other side... beenthere.
C’mon Pete :thumbsup:
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He tolerates it really well, although I shifted the odds in my favour by giving him some food. He barely noticed the needle!
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When I had to give Talisker a pill every day, because of hyperthyroidism, I gave it to him before breakfast, with the hope that he would associate it with his food. ;D
Luckily, he liked being held upside down like a baby, so was in the perfect position for feeding a pill to ! Zev hates being held like that, so I generally have to resort to wrapping her in a towel for pills.
It's worth remembering that cats can't spit, so if you can flick the pill to the back of the tongue, and smooth their throat until they swallow, most of the time they will be unable to avoid ingesting it. Talisker would occasionally manage to work the pill around his mouth until he could let it drop it, but that happened less than once a month (and I'd grab the pill and shove it back in, since they cost over £1 each!)
It sounds like Pete is getting slowly better, which seems to be par for the course with cats. They don't seem to have dramatically sudden recoveries. Fingers crossed for further improvements.
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My memory of giving geriatric kittehs pills is very much different to giving to the youth now!
You get lulled into a false sense of security....
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Alfie would happily accept pills from me.
Anyone else - blood, tears, guts, disaster.
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I know the theory of how to do it, but Pete doesn't want to learn, and he's such a big strong cat I worry that overpowering his resistance will hurt him.
The poor boy has snot bubbling out of his nose today and he keeps trying to huff it out. I gave him more steam inhalation which he still hates, but it did help.
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Getting tablets into our late Ginge was a nightmare using any of the 'standard' techniques.
As he was on thyroid tablets for the last two and a half years of his life, and then Phenobarbital twice a day for the last nine months or so, we needed to come up with a different solution.
'Shippam's' fish pastes (or meat) to the rescue. A small, maybe about 8mm ball with the tablet in the middle. That worked almost all the time. On the rare occasions it didn't, crushing the tablet into a small amount of butter and either feeding it to him, or smearing it round his chops so that we would wash if off later, seemed to do the trick. Even the vets had problems injecting him.
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I know the theory of how to do it, but Pete doesn't want to learn, and he's such a big strong cat I worry that overpowering his resistance will hurt him. ...
Drop a towel over him, and wrap him in it, fairly tightly. Largely this stops them struggling, and it can catch sharp claws too! I think it's fairly benign, but you do need to keep it tight enough around their necks, that they can't get a paw out.
For some odd reason, Zev has yet to make the association between a towel and being wrapped in it, which is lucky, since I've had to give her pills and eye drops, and wrapping her is the only practical and safe way to do it.
(http://balius.sp.ph.ic.ac.uk/~timo/cats/small.php?size=300&file=IMG_20150310_074555.jpg) (http://balius.sp.ph.ic.ac.uk/~timo/cats/IMG_20150310_074555.jpg)
If looks could kill, etc ... ;D
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Even vets have struggled to give Little Monster Cat pills and have had to take a 'time out' while she calms down, the only real method is surprise, once she knows, she starts to do the eleven-dimensional twist and claw. We'd have no chance. Taking her to the vets or cattery is however quite easy since she's not yet figured out that the best place to hide isn't the cat carrier... We leave it open on the bed and start to corral her with closed doors and every time she'll end up in her carrier. Door closed, job done.
Bad Cat will make a noise that I suspect would beckon the any RSPCA van within a 10 mile radius, but mostly you can make her take a pill or suffer the indignity of eye drops. After initial struggles she most opts to play dead.
Our ex-cat was on on thyroid meds, we used to grind them up and sprinkle over her food which she always wolfed down.
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I had no problem getting eyedrops into Pete at all.
He's currently fast asleep, with all his claws out. ;D
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Hope the poor chap is on the mend soon.
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He's doing better today. He's been awake for longer, has tried a few different sleeping places, looked out of the window, sat on the top of his tower, and sat on my knee. He also did some scampering earlier on. He's not as snuffly as he was, and is generally much brighter. I gave him another steaming session earlier which improved his breathing, and I haven't seen any snot bubbling at his nostrils. He has been rubbing his face on me though, so I could be covered in it.
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You know what's worse than affectionately-rubbed cat snot? Sudden death explosive cat snot. :hand:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ng0olzfFzog
https://youtu.be/Ng0olzfFzog
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For the past couple of mornings Pete has awoken me with purrs and head-bumps rather than smacks in the face, which is nice.
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Aw!
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Pete met Jaded's daughter today. He likes her.
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:thumbsup:
I hoped they'd get on!
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He did bite her, but only because she was stroking him. ::-)
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Pete is not sure what to make of the snow. I tracked some in on my boots yesterday and he was fairly intrigued by it. He keeps running to the window, all alert, ears forward, looking like he wants to hunt something. I have opened the window a bit for him a few times and he's sat quite happily sniffing the snow and looking interested until a flurry hits him in the face, and then he runs round the flat like a proper mental.
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Pete sicked up his breakfast this morning, looked sorry for himself for 20 minutes, then asked for more.
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This afternoon Pete relieved himself in the Queen's park.
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What a doofus.
https://youtu.be/klSqv5oIhcc
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Pete caught, played with and eventually ate a mouse this morning.