Cat Chat Feline Forum

You are not a bother at all, it's good to share and discuss but we have to find ways to keep ourselves calm and filter out the insensitive and misguided panic-inducing input from the Wrong Sort Of People, and do it quickly as soon as they say it before The Fear gets a grip on us. Nothing to fear but...

Please forgive me if I'm wrong here but the sense I get from your posts is that you tend to panic because you are very aware that the vet care available to you is not of the standard you would wish, and that nobody else cares for or understands your cats like you do. Seems to me maybe you then look ...

I honestly think it's an adjustment and sure holding on too long isn't ideal and needs watching, but if Mila was really upset she would be hissing, hiding, spitting, lashing out and possibly peeing in really difficult places.

Stop asking idiots for advice. You need to have more faith in your own experience and gut feelings, and trust your cats. If Mila was that upset, holding on to her pee for a while would not be your only symptom. What happened? You were managing the litter shuffle and then suddenly it's a panic again ...

Sorry for your loss. They say ew have that one special animal who is just part of our soul, and it sounds like maybe he is the one you just lost. I used to really judge people who went straight out and got a "replacement" pet - one guy I worked with had one dog when we left work on Friday ...

I'm rather anti insurance, having worked in the insurance sector. The phrase "you get what you pay for" comes to mind, only with insurance unless you're extremely "fortunate" you actually get back half of what you pay for, it's what they work to. When premiums are £19 a month and...

To be honest there are so many possibilities, and we tend to be most awake to the ones we've experienced. Just as fjm's dog had a slipped disc, someone else's cat had this and another had that, mine has an occasional twitch that is nothing at all but as she was low on potassium she has been on a sup...

I'm no expert on cats holding it in but you know Mila best and if you feel she is happy, healthy and not stressed and obviously she is getting more comfortable even with an intruding curious kitten, I don't see the need to rehome anyone in a panic because the vet has taken one thing as a red flag. Y...

We're talking about giving up on a lifetime for the sake of what is most likely a temporary problem. I don't like the idea of a vet being so prescriptive and dictatorial without seeing the issue for himself or offering any kind of alternative ideas. Yes he's right if she keeps holding it and holding...

It's ok, I call these my "little moments", when losing a loved one even from a long time ago just hits me and I need to talk or share memories, or just sit with them quietly by myself. A few months is not long, the first year is full of firsts - the first of each holiday, the first anniver...

Thank you, he sounds really amazing and so sensitive, he must have been such a great comfort to you especially after losing your mum. I'm so sorry, that's a lot of loss in a short time. Were you and your mum very close? And what about Basil, does he try to give you some comfort now?

Roadioactive iodine is worth every penny, and where we went wasn't the cheapest we could have had. If your cat is suitable for it and if you can scrape the funds together or if the cat is insured, I would call it a gold standard no-brainer, just do it. My girl had her treatment 2 years ago wen she w...

Hi there is guidance on the step by step process on the cat chat website but the first essential thing is to put them in separate rooms with two doors between them, immediately and completely. At every small step in the long process they must both be completely comfortable for a week, not just a few...

Ahh that's interesting to know too. So I imagine if your cat is histamine sensitive, you'd probably want to feed them the newest stuff, as once it's been waiting awhile, even though it's still in date, it would be higher in histamine? Interesting! Is there more histamine in dried than canned or is ...

I would argue against a single crate for both. If anything startles them there could be a fight which could be disastrous. I've done a 4 hour trip with a cat before and it wouldn't have occurred to me to provide a litter tray for that length of time. One time my cat had to provide a urine sample and...

Bertie, in my opinion anyone has the right to engage with you or not, but nobody has any right to judge you and bully you online regardless of their own experiences, coping ability, emotional state or anything else. Nobody here is qualified to diagnose you, and nobody should ever look down on anyone...

I asked about antihistamines for Harvey when he had to stop the steroids because of his conjunctivitis. Her answer was that antihistamines dont tend to work very well in cats and suggested Apoquel instead. The Apoquel has worked very well, I have to say. Thank you, that's interesting! There are a c...

I've never asked a vet about antihistamines so don't know at all, all I know is I googled and found that antihistamines can be prescribed for pets so it has to be worth asking. But surely if they say it's an allergy they should have thought of that. Your reactions to fresh fruit - as I said it's an ...

Somehow no matter how long we have never seems enough when we have to face goodbyes. I recently found a dead pet bird that had escaped, and managed to trace the owner and return the body. Owner didn't want the children to know the bird was dead so was at a loss as to how to dispose of the body respe...

I use antihistamines, I don't have allergies I have an issue where my body doesn't get rid of as much histamine as I take in or produce, resulting in an overload that comes out as evil welts and itching - that's a very oversimplified description. Originally I was prescribed AH and I still have them ...

I'll ask again, has ANYONE with an itchy cat been offered antihistamines? Especially if they also have digestive system issues? Has anyone since I last asked, questioned their vet about using antihistamines? If there is an allergy, there is a histamine reaction, and if there is a histamine reaction,...

This is clearly a very unhappy cat, and I'm sorry but plug-in pheremones are not a solution. Why does this cat have to be an indoor only cat? Shouting and even hissing are only making it worse, that must stop immediately. Imagine, you do something you know you shouldn't and that you hate doing but y...

Voiding insurance is significant but it's also blackmail, really. If they go outside at all, there is a small risk something could happen. There are also risks around the house, and there's always illnesses. Fresh and raw in my mind, my neighbour's cat was recently attacked by a passing dog and has ...

Something you said earlier rang a bell, that you can distract Spaska, but as soon as she hears a cat scraping in the tray she is gone again. At first when I get a new wireless printer in the other room, Molly runs to investigate. She is fascinated with the noisy contraption chucking out warm paper f...

Have you seen how to catch them in a simple tape circle?

Whilst I would agree with most f what Mollycat says, I would say that the Maine Coon and the Norwegian Forest Cat got the way they are (big and long haired) by natural selection. So far as anybody knows, that is. Human involvement was restricted to providing places in a cold winter climate requirin...

I am in love with your firebird for Anna Svetchnikov! The internet is such an amazing place where you can meet people you would never meet without it. Someone gave me a book for Christmas, I said something about it on social media and the next thing you know the author popped up with a comment!

I have only ever owned one pedigree cat, it was not a choice I would ever have made and one I would never make again (though I love the idea of a Turkish Van) as nature breeds in my view a far more catly class of cat to anything humans can produce. Cat breeding is relatively new, compared to dogs, s...

Nobody knows Mila like you do but in almost all cases once the cause of stress is removed the cat returns to good litter tray etiquette. Cats are by nature clean animals, and not being clean is a sure sign there is a problem, and if you already know what the problem is before any problems start, you...

Listen to fjm, very wise words. Please wait and bear with a while longer, she should grow out of it and for the sake of a few more weeks for a potential lifetime, I hope you can give her just a little more time to come good, and Mila will be fine even if she has a little blip for a while.