Cat Chat Feline Forum

A 2ft length of old sash cord with a large knot tied in one end of it works wonders for Tilly. Can be dragged over the floor in front of her so she pounces on it and plays with it. She seldom lets it go, so a second one to distract her into dropping the first is also useful! A bit of Sissal twine wi...

I don't know whether this will be any help or not, but do you give your kitty milk? My Tilly had several bad bouts of pancreatitis, but none since I stopped letting her have milk.

I agree with Papa and Mollycat. With a very shy cat, be prepared for a long haul. It took my Misty 3 months to come out of his shell. Once he did, though, he became a very loving and cuddly cat.

I think of the many cat books I have, Grace McHattie's "Supercat the non-pedigree cat care book" is the most useful. It is just as relevant to pedigree as non-pedigree mogs. Getting a bit old now (1989) so does not cover microchips, but otherwise the advice is still good.

When I got my Misty back after his being lost for 9 weeks, I was so happy I was even polite to cold callers! Misty was so hungry he seemed to do nothing other than eat for days. He didn't go out for a fortnight and only then because I carried him out. He shot straight back indoors and demanded dinne...

There is nothing quite so delightful as a prodigal cat returning home!

Hi Alwal and welcome.
My Tilly has just about got used to me being in all day.
She has been ordering dinner earlier and earlier as the months have gone by - it used to be 5:15pm and is now about 11:00am!

Also consider getting an older 10+ years cat. Most rescues have some and they are often quite happy with a more sedentary lifestyle. My Tilly, who as a young cat ranged far and wide, is now quite content to sit at home in front of the radiator.

My experience of kittens is getting a bit old now (10 years) but I don't recall them having any difficulty in finding their dinners. Their sense of smell is pretty good and will lead them to food when they are hungry. Probably best to keep her out of the kitchen while you fill the bowl, though, as y...

I used to give Tilly Yumove and for a while she loved it (she is very fond of fish and Yumove smells of fish). Initially, it certainly seemed to make a difference. However, Tilly has gone off it and doesn't seem to be any the worse for not taking it now. I do feed her muscles as a treat several time...

There's a picture of the Edgard Cooper food here: https://uk.edgardcooper.com/pages/our-food Tilly only likes it occasionally. Canagan "Chicken and " is strands of chicken with chunks of whatever the chicken is with. Tilly likes Canagan. They also do Tuna fillets with Mussels, which are ch...

Just been checking on Tilly's food tins and so far as I can see neither Canagan Grain free and Edgard Cooper have cassia gum or Carrageenan in them (not mentioned on the labels).

My Badger (an 8kg Maine Coon) managed to sleep in a 40cm diameter hut bed, so I think it ought to be big enough. As Ruth says, whether he uses it is another matter!

My Tilly had to have the 12 weeks cage rest (7 years ago now) after breaking a tarsal bone. I found it best not to put her cage next to the window as that could defeat the object of keeping her quiet and also could get too hot. Whilst initially keen on escape, Tilly soon settled down to cage life. I...

Pedigree kittens have obviously gone up in price a bit over the last 10 years - Badger an Tilly cost me £700 for the pair of them (would have been £400 for one). As Maine Coons, there was a bit more of them than a Ragdoll! That included vaccination but not microchipping, but they were GCCF registere...

It tried it once to often today, and got caught by Tilly. Fortunately she brought it in straight away and I managed to set it free. Doesn't seem to have suffered much damage. Tilly went off in a huff and has gone to bed!

I agree with Ruth, though just checking the vets websites should be sufficient to find out if they are doing neutering operations. Ours are doing them.

I reckon you are all right. When the blackbird flew off, Tilly made a token pounce and swipe that was 5 seconds too late to catch anything.

I know Tilly is getting old (10) and doesn't go hunting any more, but I reckon this blackbird is chancing his arm!

Isn't that always the problem with them - don't like the old thing being replaced however tatty it is!

How old is your cat and is she used to going to a cattery for shorter periods?

I have had success with Thrive Chicken when my Tilly needed encouraging to eat, but it is expensive.

The scooping action is an instinctive cat play, mimicking how they catch fish.

Its at times like these that I am glad Tilly does not socialize with other humans. She is unlikely to be within sneezing distance of anyone other than me. All the same, I am keeping her in as much as possible. Fortunately, now she is getting old, she is quite happy sleeping in the sun on my bed most...

Problem with this working from home business is that my Tilly thinks that as I am home dinner ought to be served at 3:15pm, not 5:15pm!

They do cause us a bit of grief when they get old. Some possible help with your problems, although my experience of old cats is 10 years old now: 1) I use Pettex grey clumping cat litter, which works well for me (and my Tilly being a big cat can deliver quite a volume of pee), though I do not know h...

Agree with Kay and Booktigger. Happened to me with my first cat Sally, rushed of to vet thinking she was gravely ill, only to find out she was on heat. (OK I should have realised why the local tom cat was sitting on my front door.)

Just had a new practice guideline from my dentist regarding COVID-19. Glad to see it is certified virus free!

As Williams says, if you are in the US, you should certainly add Rabies to the list of essential vaccines. We do not need it in the UK as we do not have Rabies.

Today is Tilly's 10th birthday. She has just finished her birthday dinner of Sardines and Mussels and gone back to bed to sleep it off.