Yet Another Cycling Forum

Random Musings => Miscellany => Where The Wild Things Are => Topic started by: Gattopardo on 03 September, 2017, 10:01:29 am

Title: New meowing furball
Post by: Gattopardo on 03 September, 2017, 10:01:29 am
So there will be a cat in my life  :facepalm:

It is a kitten and maybe more than one.  So food, what is the current good thing for cats and any vet recommendations near N22 in London.
 
Title: Re: New meowing furball
Post by: Gattopardo on 04 September, 2017, 06:47:06 pm
Anyone?
Title: Re: New meowing furball
Post by: essexian on 04 September, 2017, 07:23:13 pm
Congrats on the new moggies. IMHO you can never have too many cats.... ;D (we currently have five and feed another five strays most days!.... no wonder why the locals hate us!)

I am sorry but I can't help with vets in your area but when you find one, I would suggest that you have your moggies vaccinated against all nasties. We failed to do so which resulted in us losing two of the five kittens we adopted to preventable but not curable illnesses (FIV). I believe that if you get them done young, that should last all their lives. As we didn't, we have to take ours in each year for a booster something which they hate! Also, don't forget to get them "done." We have four stray intact tom cats who visit us each evening for a meal. They all get into fights and have a short, unpleasant life. Not saying your home cats would turn stray, but with their bits attached still, they may, especially if there are intact female cats around.

As for food.... try not to feed them on treats.... we spend £15 a week on prawns for our pride as they were given them as a treat when they were young. Now one of them just won't eat anything (Petal) else and two others (Jamise and pixie) prefer them to "normal" food. Most cats will try it on and walk away from food they don't think is good enough for them... it's not a fight you are going to win easily but you need to stand firm or your food bill will be like ours at well over £50 a week!

Finally, I would strongly suggest you get health insurance for them... we only took this out earlier this year after Posie when down with a mystery illness. She was ill for a week and needed two days in emergency care costing us over £2K. Of course she is worth it, but that's £2K I would have rather have spent on something else. Our insurance costs around £6 a month each what with a "multi cat" discount.

Enjoy the kittens and don't forget, we need photos!

Title: Re: New meowing furball
Post by: Mrs Pingu on 04 September, 2017, 07:45:52 pm
Essexian, AIUI you should be getting boosters every year, especially if you are feeding the local unneutered stray population and bringing unvaccinated and possibly virus laden cats into contact with your cats.
Have you thought about asking your local cats protection for help trap/neuter/releasing your strays to help keep the population and spread of illness down? (Assuming they are strays and not just '6 dinner Sids'.
Title: Re: New meowing furball
Post by: rafletcher on 05 September, 2017, 03:18:00 pm
So there will be a cat in my life  :facepalm:

It is a kitten and maybe more than one.  So food, what is the current good thing for cats and any vet recommendations near N22 in London.

Give this lot a ring.

https://www.woodgreen.org.uk/what_we_do/veterinary_services

Have them neutered when old enough, microchipped, vaccinated. There are specific kitten foods readily available from Pets at Home and the like.

We feed ours a mixture of wet and dry foods - generally wet in the morning, dry in the evening.  Always have water available - though they'll probably prefer the loo or a puddle! As Essexian says, they'll turn their nose up if the decide they don't like something. Ignore them, they'll not starve themselves.

If you're in N22 then get a cat flap that works off the microchips - urban cats get very stressed with more dominant ones coming into "their" territory. A safe haven is a must. Initially though they should be kept in until all the vacs take effect - the vet will advise.  And get them something to scratch on and encourage them to use it if you value any fabrics around the house.  Litter tray of course.

Our last few cats have all been rescue cats, it's been 30 years since I had a kitten. I think we used a kids playpen to keep them coralled a bit initially!
Title: Re: New meowing furball
Post by: Gattopardo on 05 September, 2017, 07:34:31 pm
So there will be a cat in my life  :facepalm:

It is a kitten and maybe more than one.  So food, what is the current good thing for cats and any vet recommendations near N22 in London.

Give this lot a ring.

https://www.woodgreen.org.uk/what_we_do/veterinary_services

Have them neutered when old enough, microchipped, vaccinated. There are specific kitten foods readily available from Pets at Home and the like.

We feed ours a mixture of wet and dry foods - generally wet in the morning, dry in the evening.  Always have water available - though they'll probably prefer the loo or a puddle! As Essexian says, they'll turn their nose up if the decide they don't like something. Ignore them, they'll not starve themselves.

If you're in N22 then get a cat flap that works off the microchips - urban cats get very stressed with more dominant ones coming into "their" territory. A safe haven is a must. Initially though they should be kept in until all the vacs take effect - the vet will advise.  And get them something to scratch on and encourage them to use it if you value any fabrics around the house.  Litter tray of course.

Our last few cats have all been rescue cats, it's been 30 years since I had a kitten. I think we used a kids playpen to keep them coralled a bit initially!

Not sure we can go to that one as we went there looking at cats, there were a few that we liked but never took it forward.

This will be a house cat and go out on a leash  :facepalm:  Hence why I am no longer involved and the comment there is a cat in my life.  I wanted to get a FIV cat but that was over ruled and the kitten will be here.
Title: Re: New meowing furball
Post by: mrcharly-YHT on 06 September, 2017, 10:23:37 am
get them started on dry cat food as soon as they are old enough - if you buy decent quality food it is graded by age. Make sure they always have access to clean water - change it often even if they haven't emptied the bowl.
Title: Re: New meowing furball
Post by: ian on 06 September, 2017, 10:30:07 am
Food, water, litter tray, microchip catflap, annual vaccinations, infinite patience, and lots of money.
Title: Re: New meowing furball
Post by: Riggers on 06 September, 2017, 10:45:29 am
If you have a nice sofa, say goodbye to it now. The bastards used ours as a scratching post and, okay, you can 'deal' with them while your there, in the house, but when you're out the 'mice-will-play', as the saying goes. Or rather cats. So encourage (if that's the right word) to scratch on a designated post provided for them by you.

You're looking forward to all this aren't you!
Title: Re: New meowing furball
Post by: TimO on 19 September, 2017, 12:29:29 pm
I can't help with northern London vets, I'm in the opposite direction !

Generally I buy premium cat foods, on the bases that it's still a fraction of my food costs, and I'd prefer not to feed junk to Zev.

The cheaper cat foods can have carbohydrates in them, which are cheap and bulk the cat food out, but cats are obligatory carnivores and naturally have very little carbohydrates in their diet, so it seems like a poor choice to me (not that we always keep to our natural diets very well!)  Interestingly, cooked rice is generally considered to be fine in a cats diet, even though you'd think that contradicted the "obligatory carnivore" bit.  A few of the cat foods I've bought have had cooked rice, and it normally gets enthusiastically demolished with the remainder of the meal.

I mostly keep to wet cat foods which are predominantly based on meat (Sainsbury's Encore seems good for that, and appears to be a cheaper "oem" version of Applaws).  Schesir also seems good, but the only "easy" supplier for that seems to be Zooplus (http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/cats/canned_cat_food_pouches/schesir), who are an online pet supplier, based in Germany.  As said by others, most manufacturers seem to make specialised kitten food, which seems to be softer and easier for them to eat (and I suspect has differing dietary components, but I'm no expert on that).

I do tend to vary the brands I use, on the basis that I'd get bored eating the same food all the time, and to minimise the risk that any one manufacturer has something dodgy in their food.  If I'm home, and Zev winges for lunch, I'll normally give her a little dry cat food, to shut her up, but her main two meals of the day are more traditional wet meat cat foods.

It's the same diet that Talisker and Kai have also eaten quite happily.
Title: Re: New meowing furball
Post by: Gattopardo on 21 September, 2017, 12:44:18 pm
There are two of the furry meowing attacking gits.  A boy and a girl.

The claws are sharp and so are the teeth.  Food wise they are getting go cat and whiskas kittens nuggets as well as felix pouches.  Looking at the ingredients list I do not like the ash content of the food.  Or am I being silly.
Title: Re: New meowing furball
Post by: Oscar's dad on 21 September, 2017, 02:24:10 pm
There are two of the furry meowing attacking gits.  A boy and a girl.

The claws are sharp and so are the teeth.  Food wise they are getting go cat and whiskas kittens nuggets as well as felix pouches.  Looking at the ingredients list I do not like the ash content of the food.  Or am I being silly.

Cat soup is like crack cocaine for cats - they go mad for it.  And I imagine it costs more than crack.  I say imagine as I've never bought crack so don't know how much it costs.  But I do know cat soup is expensive and there doesn't seem to be much per pouch.  I do know that cats love it.

We have three cats in our house.  Isabella (senior cat) is about 3 years old and a wonderful animal.  A year ago we decided to get a kitten, but we got two  ::-) - apparently this is my fault.  Victor and Daisy, aka The Tabby Terrors, are still hooligans.  As kittens they were complete and utter hooligans which was hugely entertaining but actually quite tiring - sometimes it was like living in a Tom & Jerry cartoon but with Jerry being played alternatively by either of the Tabby Terrors depending which was in attack mode at the time.

Title: Re: New meowing furball
Post by: Eccentrica Gallumbits on 21 September, 2017, 05:34:22 pm
I'm lucky in that Pete will eat anything, but his meals are wet food, with small amounts of Thrive (90% chicken) dry food in his automatic feeder and activity feeders. If I had the freezer space, he'd be on the frozen raw meat such as https://www.naturalinstinct.com/#tab_emtabs_7bae6a66c18825355b87a0c3abbe4858_2 on the grounds that that's what he has evolved to eat.

If he had his way, he'd live on cheese and hummus.
Title: Re: New meowing furball
Post by: Gattopardo on 21 September, 2017, 07:49:51 pm
I'm lucky in that Pete will eat anything, but his meals are wet food, with small amounts of Thrive (90% chicken) dry food in his automatic feeder and activity feeders. If I had the freezer space, he'd be on the frozen raw meat such as https://www.naturalinstinct.com/#tab_emtabs_7bae6a66c18825355b87a0c3abbe4858_2 on the grounds that that's what he has evolved to eat.

If he had his way, he'd live on cheese and hummus.

Most cats I've known like cheese and butter.
Title: Re: New meowing furball
Post by: Gattopardo on 21 September, 2017, 07:56:18 pm
I am terrified that we will do the wrong thing.  These are supposed to be my girlfriends kittens but am terrified that we will do something harmful and detrimental to their health.  Terrified of overfeeding and then underfeeding.  Worried about their teeth. Think we need to clip their nails as they have started curtain climbing and falling to the floor in a big thud.

So far we have discovered the best toys are balls of paper, and plastic or paper bags that make a rustling sound.
Title: Re: New meowing furball
Post by: hellymedic on 22 September, 2017, 12:28:15 am
There are two of the furry meowing attacking gits.  A boy and a girl.

The claws are sharp and so are the teeth.  Food wise they are getting go cat and whiskas kittens nuggets as well as felix pouches.  Looking at the ingredients list I do not like the ash content of the food.  Or am I being silly.

'Ash' is the mineral content. It's not actual ash; it's the potential ash which would be left after combustion of the organic material (protein, fat, carbs and fibre).
Title: Re: New meowing furball
Post by: Eccentrica Gallumbits on 22 September, 2017, 08:17:20 am
I am terrified that we will do the wrong thing.  These are supposed to be my girlfriends kittens but am terrified that we will do something harmful and detrimental to their health.  Terrified of overfeeding and then underfeeding.  Worried about their teeth. Think we need to clip their nails as they have started curtain climbing and falling to the floor in a big thud.

So far we have discovered the best toys are balls of paper, and plastic or paper bags that make a rustling sound.
As long as they have food and water, litter trays (three for two kittens), warmth and toys, they'll be fine. Neuter them, vaccinate them, microchip them, make sure they get their checkups, and enjoy them.
Title: Re: New meowing furball
Post by: Oscar's dad on 22 September, 2017, 08:30:11 am
Exactly!  With 2 kittens in your life you should be more worried about yourselves, they will be fine, you might not make it!
Title: Re: New meowing furball
Post by: Oscar's dad on 22 September, 2017, 08:31:57 am
Oh, I should have mentioned, your curtains and soft furnishings are definitely doomed. Should you doubt what I'm saying please feel free to pop round to our place.
Title: Re: New meowing furball
Post by: essexian on 22 September, 2017, 09:40:58 am
Exactly!  With 2 kittens in your life you should be more worried about yourselves, they will be fine, you might not make it!

This is so true! I ended up with badly bloodied arms once when I tried to pick up Pixie as a kitten when she didn't want to be picked up.

My one piece of advice to add to the above is get to know your kittens movements...yes, I mean both ways as funny poo's etc can be a sign of illness. Also, if your cat starts to hide or not sleep in their normal place or if they change their routine, this again could be a sign of illness. Our vet once told us that cats are some of the best actors in the world as they won't let you know they are ill so you have to spot it. Hence, if they change their eating/sleeping/killing routine, then it may be worth getting them checked out.

And vomiting...expect it! Cat use vomit to get rid of stuff which doesn't agree with them so don't worry...unless it lasts for more than a short while. If it does, get them to the vets.  As a tip (sorry about this), if you can't find the vomit, take your shoes and socks off and trust me, you will quickly find it!

Finally, if they are long haired...enjoy the furballs.  ;D
Title: Re: New meowing furball
Post by: Gattopardo on 22 September, 2017, 11:35:58 pm
There are two of the furry meowing attacking gits.  A boy and a girl.

The claws are sharp and so are the teeth.  Food wise they are getting go cat and whiskas kittens nuggets as well as felix pouches.  Looking at the ingredients list I do not like the ash content of the food.  Or am I being silly.

'Ash' is the mineral content. It's not actual ash; it's the potential ash which would be left after combustion of the organic material (protein, fat, carbs and fibre).

Oh I didn't know that.  Just want them to have good food.  The girlie and I do argue over treats, like dreamies.  I say no.  Maybe prawns, fish and meat as treats.
Oh, I should have mentioned, your curtains and soft furnishings are definitely doomed. Should you doubt what I'm saying please feel free to pop round to our place.

They have learnt to climb the curtains, and try and climb the blinds.  Fear that they will hurt themselves.

Exactly!  With 2 kittens in your life you should be more worried about yourselves, they will be fine, you might not make it!

This is so true! I ended up with badly bloodied arms once when I tried to pick up Pixie as a kitten when she didn't want to be picked up.

My one piece of advice to add to the above is get to know your kittens movements...yes, I mean both ways as funny poo's etc can be a sign of illness. Also, if your cat starts to hide or not sleep in their normal place or if they change their routine, this again could be a sign of illness. Our vet once told us that cats are some of the best actors in the world as they won't let you know they are ill so you have to spot it. Hence, if they change their eating/sleeping/killing routine, then it may be worth getting them checked out.

And vomiting...expect it! Cat use vomit to get rid of stuff which doesn't agree with them so don't worry...unless it lasts for more than a short while. If it does, get them to the vets.  As a tip (sorry about this), if you can't find the vomit, take your shoes and socks off and trust me, you will quickly find it!

Finally, if they are long haired...enjoy the furballs.  ;D

Their claws are not just sharp they are razor like.  The problem is not picking them up, the problem is them jumping and using my skin as grip with their claws.  They also lick me, alot.  If I'm asleep they will lick my face and lips, or my nose or my ears. 
Title: Re: New meowing furball
Post by: Eccentrica Gallumbits on 23 September, 2017, 08:55:31 am
They sound like normal kittens.

Try Thrive treats - they're freeze-dried meat and fish pieces.
Title: Re: New meowing furball
Post by: Mrs Pingu on 23 September, 2017, 09:35:46 am
*All* the things you describe are typical kitten behaviour.  The old human as a climbing frame is great but only if you're wearing thick jeans
:D
Be careful not to use your hands as playthings now though, or you will end up with bitey scratchy adult cats and that will hurt.
Title: Re: New meowing furball
Post by: bobb on 23 September, 2017, 11:13:00 am
I'm lucky in that Pete will eat anything

I'm not sure I'd say that was lucky. He'd eat your arm given half the chance!  :P
Title: Re: New meowing furball
Post by: Eccentrica Gallumbits on 23 September, 2017, 11:25:07 am
True. But he's a good boy.
Title: Re: New meowing furball
Post by: hellymedic on 23 September, 2017, 12:56:44 pm
There are two of the furry meowing attacking gits.  A boy and a girl.

The claws are sharp and so are the teeth.  Food wise they are getting go cat and whiskas kittens nuggets as well as felix pouches.  Looking at the ingredients list I do not like the ash content of the food.  Or am I being silly.

'Ash' is the mineral content. It's not actual ash; it's the potential ash which would be left after combustion of the organic material (protein, fat, carbs and fibre).

Oh I didn't know that.  Just want them to have good food.  The girlie and I do argue over treats, like dreamies.  I say no.  Maybe prawns, fish and meat as treats.

I thought I'd follow this up. I am neither vet nor pet owner but...
...minerals are an essential part of animal and human diets. We all need sodium, potassium, calcium, iron, magnesium, iodine etc to function normally (and in the case of juveniles, to grow).

'Empty calories' for humans have scant 'ash' (apart from salt) but your kitty will need lots of minerals. I don't know what kittens need but 'treats' might well be the foods with little 'ash'.

Ash is good in moderation.
Title: Re: New meowing furball
Post by: SteveC on 23 September, 2017, 04:57:53 pm
*All* the things you describe are typical kitten behaviour.  The old human as a climbing frame is great but only if you're wearing thick jeans
I once heard a scream from the first MrsC when the kittens had managed to climb up her legs under the floor length dressing gown she was wearing.
Title: Re: New meowing furball
Post by: Ham on 23 September, 2017, 07:40:06 pm
'ere Gatto, you may find this useful reading https://www.boredpanda.com/funny-cats-catnip/
Title: Re: New meowing furball
Post by: ian on 25 September, 2017, 05:32:00 pm
Lots of scratching posts will help keep claws under control (they'll still use the sofa), but a cat is always going to be able to slice and dice the average human and yes, those claws are very useful for climbing up that average human for a shoulder-based vantage point. Just learn to swear and forbear.

And yes, invest in a bottle of carpet cleaner, because cats can and will casually upend the contents of their stomach as and when it suits them. Even if you're sleeping underneath them.

Oh and get used to cat fuzz being every-fucking-where.
Title: Re: New meowing furball
Post by: Oscar's dad on 25 September, 2017, 05:44:42 pm
The latest Tabby Terror atrocity, treat this as a cautionary tale (you're welcome)...

I have a dodgy right eye and need a special lense in my glasses which consequently cost £300 to £400 a pair. I picked up a new pair just last week. Daisy loves chewing the arms of glasses, I forgot so left my new pair lying around. They now have teeth marks.  ::-)   >:(
Title: Re: New meowing furball
Post by: ian on 25 September, 2017, 08:02:36 pm
Oh and random injuries and the vets bills. We've funded plenty of skiing holidays for our local veterinary surgeons over the years. You truly don't want to know how much it costs to consult a veterinary ophthalmic surgeon at 2am on a Sunday morning. Especially when you're standing at the emergency vets running up even more bill. Still, it's cheaper than US healthcare (but shush, don't tell them).

The was the most expensive from Bad Cat. Slightly less expensive was the time she jumped off the balcony in a flying squirrel mode and landed in a recently cropped tree full of spiky branchiness. Oh the time Little Monster Cat eviscerated herself trying to wriggle under something. And the time she had all her teeth pulled out. Etc. Etc.
Title: Re: New meowing furball
Post by: MikeFromLFE on 26 September, 2017, 07:56:18 am
 Vets bills?
We were adopted by Bob the 5kg Killing Machine, he found us when we visited the animal rescue place. What no-one knew was that he is allergic to fish. Yes, fish.
An emergency trip to the vet on a Sunday and two overnight stays, plus medication, drip, and sedation- don't ask, just don't.
(And cheaper 'meat' dry food has ocean scrapings in it too)


Tapatalk puts this signature here, not me!
Title: Re: New meowing furball
Post by: Oscar's dad on 26 September, 2017, 08:55:53 am
When Barry the Cat fell out of our bedroom window is cost c£900 to fix his fractured pelvis.  I can't work out whether its cheaper in the long run to pay for insurance or just pay the vet bills; ours are insured.

After returning to rude health Barry got himself run over  :'( and then we found out it costs £180 to cremate a cat.

Despite all the moaning you'll struggle to find a cat owner who would have it any other way.  Our three make us smile at least once a day, more often than not its a LOL moment.
Title: Re: New meowing furball
Post by: Jaded on 26 September, 2017, 10:38:30 am
Learn how to pick them up by the scruff of their necks. As kittens they are fine but you shouldn't do it with a heavy cat. Holding the scruff of a heavy cat can make it compliant though.

If one is being rather difficult, with your third hand tap it gently and fairly rapidly on the head. It will stop being difficult.
Title: Re: New meowing furball
Post by: Eccentrica Gallumbits on 26 September, 2017, 12:39:25 pm

If one is being rather difficult, with your third hand tap it gently and fairly rapidly on the head. It will stop being difficult.
This also works for erections.
Title: Re: New meowing furball
Post by: Basil on 26 September, 2017, 01:14:55 pm
 ;D
Title: Re: New meowing furball
Post by: Gattopardo on 26 September, 2017, 01:55:52 pm
That is the next, insurance or not.
Title: Re: New meowing furball
Post by: essexian on 26 September, 2017, 04:14:08 pm
That is the next, insurance or not.

As cats always seem to get seriously ill at night/the weekend or worse, bank holidays, the answer to that is yes IMHO.

Our recent trip to the Vets with Posie was pre insurance and resulted in an overnight stay on a Sunday and a huge amount of tests to find out what was wrong with her. The total costs: £2 000. If a cat lives for 15 years at £10 per month (you can get cheaper: its like car insurance, there are different levels of cover), the total cost for insurance over their life will be less than one Posie trip. Also, the insurance we now have pays for cremation and all that as well, so it's worth it.

One final thing....have I missed the photos of the furballs?

Title: Re: New meowing furball
Post by: MikeFromLFE on 27 September, 2017, 08:56:09 am
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170927/f8de753a45caef3930e351773f9ff975.jpg)
OK - insured furball photo of Bob - who doesn't look like a 5kg Killing Machine, but is, believe me.
I suggest that you look at Animal Friends for insurance - they were among the cheapest for us, don't appear to be evil, and as long as the vet fills the forms out correctly*, they pay out quickly.
(*You'd have thought there would be 'a system' / vets would be used to form completion- but ours are rubbish at paperwork, but excellent in every other respect)


Tapatalk puts this signature here, not me!
Title: Re: New meowing furball
Post by: Eccentrica Gallumbits on 27 September, 2017, 10:36:50 am
Second vote for Animal Friends. The money was in my bank before I got the letter saying they'd approved the claim!
Title: Re: New meowing furball
Post by: Gattopardo on 02 August, 2018, 02:53:37 pm
Oh, I should have mentioned, your curtains and soft furnishings are definitely doomed. Should you doubt what I'm saying please feel free to pop round to our place.

You were/are right.   Should post a picture up of a pair of curtains...  The furballs love the curtains, to hide behind and sly attack the other.  Climb up and the most amazing thing to watch is to see them jump and fly in to the curtains claws out.
Title: Re: New meowing furball
Post by: Oscar's dad on 02 August, 2018, 03:03:39 pm
Oh, I should have mentioned, your curtains and soft furnishings are definitely doomed. Should you doubt what I'm saying please feel free to pop round to our place.

You were/are right.   Should post a picture up of a pair of curtains...  The furballs love the curtains, to hide behind and sly attack the other.  Climb up and the most amazing thing to watch is to see them jump and fly in to the curtains claws out.

 ;D
Title: Re: New meowing furball
Post by: hellymedic on 02 August, 2018, 03:26:42 pm
Our furballs have mostly left curtains alone, except when attempting to evade capture.

They were mostly outdoorsy feral when very young.
Title: Re: New meowing furball
Post by: ian on 02 August, 2018, 07:27:49 pm
There's two good reasons we (a) don't have curtains and (b) have cheap(ish) Ikea furniture. They both have sets of very sharp claws.
Title: Re: New meowing furball
Post by: hellymedic on 02 August, 2018, 07:42:28 pm
They seem to savage the carpets, which were fitted by the previous residents but there's little visible damage.
I set eyes on this place 19 summers ago.
Title: Re: New meowing furball
Post by: ian on 02 August, 2018, 07:54:21 pm
Once upon a time, a few months into our tenure in a splendidly new executive townhouse (hey, that's what it said in the Zoopla description, but then it was in South Norwood) we obtained two new kittens (our old cat had just died, and whereas the plan was to take a break from pet ownership and go to NZ for a month, much pining resulted in new kittens instead and we've still not gone to NZ).

To minimize the potential for kitten-derived mischief with computer cables and the like, we kept our offices on the top floor closed. So one Saturday afternoon while we were out taking a stroll through the Kentish countryside one of those kittens took the opportunity to spend several hours attempting to tunnel under those doors. Through the carpet. The new executive townhouse carpet that had cost many, many thousands of pounds (honestly, one the big disappointments of being a grown-up is that you have to spend your money on crap like carpets).

That's one of the many reasons that kitten came to be known as Bad Cat.
Title: Re: New meowing furball
Post by: Gattopardo on 02 August, 2018, 10:35:52 pm
Ah bad cat, or just very determined?

Maybe write a story, bad cat would make an interesting character.
Title: Re: New meowing furball
Post by: Oscar's dad on 03 August, 2018, 08:54:50 am
The Tabby Terrors who are now 2(ish) have given up trying to wreck home furnishings. 

Small TT, Daisy, has now adopted both our neighbours, one in particular, and spends as much time in their house as she does in ours, not that the neighbours mind - thankfully. 

Larger TT, Victor, is proving to be something of a daredevil.  He can now catch and kill pigeons, and enjoys eating them from the inside out  :sick:  Whilst we were on holiday he sustained an injury to his rear left flank which has been comprehensively stitched by the vet (c£450 including overnight stay  ::-) ) and he now has to live in a cage wearing a Cone of Shame for about 2 weeks.
Title: Re: New meowing furball
Post by: Cunobelin on 03 August, 2018, 06:38:21 pm
get them started on dry cat food as soon as they are old enough - if you buy decent quality food it is graded by age. Make sure they always have access to clean water - change it often even if they haven't emptied the bowl.

I lost both our cats to kidney problems, and the vet attributed this to our use of dried cat food

Title: Re: New meowing furball
Post by: Mrs Pingu on 03 August, 2018, 06:47:15 pm
Ours were put on dried food formulated to prevent bladder stones after Mojo got them when fairly young. They both lived to 20. Mojo did have kidney failure by the end but that's just one of those geriatric cat things like hypothyroidism and diabetes (yep, tick both of them too) that tend to turn up from living long enough.
Title: Re: New meowing furball
Post by: Gattopardo on 03 August, 2018, 08:59:13 pm
Forgot to say that the kittens have just had their first birthday.
Title: Re: New meowing furball
Post by: hellymedic on 04 August, 2018, 12:45:53 am
Blackie is about a year old. We don't know exactly as she was one of a litter of 6 David discovered in the garden hedge early last September.
Title: Re: New meowing furball
Post by: ian on 06 August, 2018, 11:19:07 am
get them started on dry cat food as soon as they are old enough - if you buy decent quality food it is graded by age. Make sure they always have access to clean water - change it often even if they haven't emptied the bowl.

I lost both our cats to kidney problems, and the vet attributed this to our use of dried cat food

That doesn't sound very likely.

The main failure modes for cats are (a) cars, (b) kidneys, and (c) thyroid. I don't think there's many cats beyond the age of 14 the don't have (b) and/or (c) to some degree. Kidney and thyroid issues are the curses of all obligate carnivores.
Title: Re: New meowing furball
Post by: TimO on 07 August, 2018, 02:09:34 pm
Kidney failure in cats, appears to at least be related to insufficient liquid in their diet.  Since cats derive most of their fluids from their food, rather than from explicit drinking, they have a low drive to drink water.

So, I think that whilst dry cat food arguably does increase the risk of kidney failure, it's not necessarily the direct cause, but a factor.  Mostly dry cat food and water, however well intended, is probably not a good approach.

A lot of relatively cheap dry cat food also seems to not be particularly healthy for cats anyway, having a large proportion of carbohydrates, which don't naturally exist in most cat's diets.

I've only ever fed dry cat food to my cats, as a small overall proportion of their diet, mostly when I can't avoid it.  If I leave Zev alone for a few days, I've got a programmable dried cat food dispenser.  I do leave her wet cat food, but in hot weather this is not going to stay palatable or healthy for very long, so dry cat food is the only reasonable approach.

I do aim for the premium dry cat food, in these situations, which explicitly details high and good quality protein as the majority of its constituents, and low carbohydrates.
Title: Re: New meowing furball
Post by: ian on 07 August, 2018, 05:56:25 pm
A decline in kidney function is common in any obligate carnivores that live to an old age – all that protein generates lot of urea that has to go through the kidneys. Wear and tear. Thyroid problems (hyperthyroidism is also common in older cats) conflate with this.

Less protein is probably a good thing on that basis, pet cats have longer lifespans than their wild brethren. Of course, we all have to die from something, pets included.

Cats can eat wet food that's been festering all day. They'd eat dead and decomposing stuff in the wild, so they have a strong constitution. Whether or not you want your kitchen to smell funky is another matter. Fortunately I cooked a fish curry last night and threw the packaging in the bin with only perfunctory rinse. Having just opened the bin, well let's just say that I'm not worried about this morning's cat food.
Title: Re: New meowing furball
Post by: TimO on 15 August, 2018, 02:41:07 pm
... Cats can eat wet food that's been festering all day. They'd eat dead and decomposing stuff in the wild, so they have a strong constitution. ...

Apparently, this is also why cats will sometimes turn their noses up at something which to us seems completely OK.  Their sense of smell can detect whether carrion is safe to eat, or not.  I guess the downside is that with somewhat less "naturally" occurring items (eg Kanga-Chunks (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pOMQLhf7N4Q&feature=youtu.be&t=55) ... ;D ) it can sometimes trigger that warning, and a refusal to eat what appears to be entirely patable (for a cat!)