Cat Chat Feline Forum

I had a cat when I was very young that got pregnant at the same age - she needed some help from me in cutting cords and drying the kittens, but she gave birth without problems. She did stay small all her life - too much nutrition going to the kittens rather than into growing. I would plan on being w...

Pippin got like this when he was around 9 months old. I adopted him with his brother Mallow, and one Sunday morning Mallow vanished, never to be seen again. Pippin was desperate for a playmate and his play attacking got ferocious over the next weeks, but settled down immediately he had Tilly to play...

Which flavour are you using? Have you tried the chicken or tuna one? Perhaps mixing it into a really high value treat like Lick-e-lix would do the trick? And try offering it to her to lick from a spoon, rather than having to grab her to smear it on, which my cats have always hated. I would also find...

I agree - just make sure the mother cat can get away from the kittens (and back to them) and let her sort it out. She will gradually leave them for longer and longer, and discourage suckling as Lilith says - those teeth and claws are sharp! My Siamese always heaved a huge sigh of relief when the las...

In general the more meat the better in cat food - cats are obligate carnivores, which means that unlike human omnivores (and even some other meat eaters like dogs) there are many essential amino acids etc that they cannot make themselves, and have to get from meat. Grains are cheap fillers to bulk u...

Are you using an enzyme cleaner? That, together with strategically placed trays, may help. But as they have learned to toilet in a place treated as one huge tray you may need to do rather more toilet training than is usually needed for kittens, perhaps trying some of the methods used for puppies. Wa...

New territory is scary for cats - there might be anything out there. I would make a safe place for her, plus several high spots to survey her new world, and let her get used to the change in her own time. There may be old scents that are adding to her anxiety, but I suspect it is mostly fear of the ...

Which make are they, Mollycat?

I have considered a chip operated bowl, but I don't think they work to keep out extra noses that join in while they are still open - my animals are all prone to barge in rather than take turns if I am not there to supervise. I suspect the tiny noise of one opening would have the others running to tr...

It is not easy - she likes to eat a mouse-equivalent portion every few hours, but also likes it to be the right food, absolutely fresh and at exactly the right moment. The blackbirds have been raiding the outside bowl, and there are few places indoors safe from the dogs. The frozen bowl seems to be ...

Me: Tilly, you are losing weight, and the vet says this is Not Good. Have some of your favourite food. Tilly: Not hungry. Don't want it. Me: What would you like, then? Tilly: Chunks of raw beef and chicken and liver and... Me, after shopping: Here you are! Tilly: YUM, Yum, ummm - had enough. Next da...

Can you separate them when you are not there to supervise? You don't say whether the cats are allowed outside - having more space to roam and more stimulation often helps dissipate excess energy. I would also play with him more yourselves - fishing pole toys, tossing a toy for him, tug toys, anythin...

I am so sorry - you knew he would not be with you for much longer, but it is still a shock.

I would expect your vet to recognise harvest mites, though. Do you have rabbits, as well as cats? Or other animals? Could it be something more commonly found on another animal? Or ear mites, outside their usual range? But if it is new to your vet it is unlikely to be anything that occurs frequently ...

I am so sorry. Sleep well, Boo, after a long life well lived.

I would look into social care agencies, if you can afford it. A 30 minute visit twice a day would be reassuring for you if you need help, and you could stipulate help with the cat trays! Or advertise for help locally - lots of capable, animal loving young people who might be ready to help for a reas...

I think, as she has been with you such a short time, she may be displaying learned behaviour. Perhaps the person she knew and trusted best in the past was a man, and so she is drawn to your husband. Give her time - once she knows you, and knows you are the main source of food and play and comfort th...

I agree - soak it off. And resist the urge to pick at it, which will hurt. Soggy cotton wool or kitchen towel or old face flannel, a bowl of warm water, and some really good treats, repeated every hour or so until it is all gone - just get it wet and leave it. Eventually it will just wipe away with ...

I would put up notices and post something on local social media. An unneutered male out roaming is probably a farm cat or semi feral, but it would be kind to try and find the owner. And do not blame yourself - it is impossible to avoid a cat that runs right under your wheels, and you have done your ...

Car-Pets are BRILLIANT! The only thing I know that really gets hairs off rugs, carpets and upholstery. Good to know I can get them here and help cats at the same time. On carpet scratching in a rented property - I would try both tape and perhaps aluminium foil over larger areas, taped oround the edg...

Pippin has quite severe arthritis and is on metacam - I have tried umpteen glucosamine supplements, and he hated all of them. Someone on here recommended Seraquin and I tried it - he loves it and is looking decidedly better after a few weeks on two tablets a day. Only problem is he likes them so muc...

I would always get flea treatment from your vet - they know whether the local population of fleas is resistant to some of the insecticides used, and can prescribe more effective treatments than are usually available over the counter (I am sure you know to avoid anything not specifically labelled for...

Always wise to get vet advice when there is a sudden change in behaviour - I'm glad he is going to be OK.

I too have shed tears for a cat no longer with me, reminded of bygone days by the antics of a new arrival, or just remembering the soft warm weight in my lap. But I do believe that there is no better tribute to the love we shared than finding another small friend in need of a home and a lap. Each on...

Great minds, Lilith! Excellent advice on reftrigerating the solution and scalding the bowl, too - I keep chuckable yoghurt pots etc for just these occasions.

How lovely to be planning for a new kitten/s! I live alone, and actually found two easier than one. They still bonded closely with me, but were much less demanding in terms of play and constant attention, and quickly learned to control all those little needles kittens like to try out on skin. There ...

I find chicken helps most things! Offer him a treat, have dampened, not too wet, cotton wool ready, and touch very gently while feeding scraps of something delicious. Best not to hold him down, or you are unlikely to be able to do it a second time...

I would definitely bathe with salt water if he will let you - boiling the water, adding the salt and letting it cool makes it easier to dissolve the salt. I would also plan on a vet visit after the weekend - it is not an emergency if he is eating and perky, but as Lilith says if he has been in a scr...

Cats' gums do tend to be paler than dogs, but very pale gums are a sign of anaemia as you know and I am surprised your vet did not give more helpful advice, or offer diagnostic tests to look for an underlying cause, if they diagnosed that. Iron supplementation may help, at least in the short term (l...

It is an important thing to know and to keep checking - vets often forget if you have both cats and dogs and recommend an unsuitable treatment for the dogs. My dogs are so tiny I simply buy multipacks of cat spot-ons, and treat them all with those on the odd occasion we have a flea problem.