Cat Chat Feline Forum

My first cat, Sally, used to do this as well when she was young. I think she was washing her paws! Never did find a solution, so not much help, I'm afraid.

Hi This link has a few cat body shape and weight charts in it. http://www.thecatsite.com/t/213862/ideal-weight-for-cat I think you must have tried everything! As long as he is happy and active, I wouldn't worry to much. I used to have two cats, Honey and Misty. Misty ate 3/4 of the cat food and was ...

Hi I think you might want the Sureflap DualScan, which has a locking bar which rises on the inside which ought to defeat him. The locking bar is there to stop unwanted cats coming in, but should also stop him puling it open. If it is like the Petflap I have, it will have a curfew mode to stop him go...

That's great news. Glad to hear Twiggy likes the Royal Canin Gastro food. I had to feed Tilly on it last week and she wasn't that keen on it!

Thanks, Hera. That's reassuring. Seems Tilly's bout has been quite cheap, she has only cost Petplan £640! I will take heed of what you say about fatty food. Been looking at the contents of the tins and I think the Gourmet Ocean Fish pate which is Tilly's favorite at the moment doesn't have to much f...

Just to add a bit more to previous reply (I was taking Tilly to the vet, so didn't have time to elaborate). If the cat flap only has one bolt (which I think yours only has, my old one only had and I think the Sureflap catflap has) then a cat prepared to put a bit of weight into the job can get quite...

Just to update this. Tilly has been gradually improving all week is now running around as normal. Took her back for a check up this morning and she is now fully recovered and fine. No more pills (hooray!) and she can go back to her previous wet food. A bit worrying that the cause is still unknown.

Yes, its the bigger "pet flap" (was called "Pet door" when I got it) not the catflap one. Maine Coons need bigger flaps and are pretty strong! Tilly doesn't shoulder charge it very often (and Badger never did, just gave it a mighty walloping with his big front paws), but Tay from...

Hi I had the same kind of problems you had with a normal cat flap. I also found that Badger and Tilly tended to accidentally slide the lock with their back paws when going out, which resulted in them not being able to get in again. Nowadays I use a Sureflap microchip pet door (the larger version of ...

We have just had a terrible start to 2016. Two days before Christmas, Tilly suddenly went off her food and was repeatedly trying to be sick, bringing up fluid. Took her to the Vets, where she was treated for the nausea but nothing obviously wrong could be found, although they did mention Pancreatiti...

Pancreatitis sounds a possibility, in which case get her to your vet asp.

Very sorry about Milo. I can understand why you find it upsetting to have his food around. Both our Vets and the local cattery have donation boxes for surplus cat food which is given to the local cat rescue. If yours do not do this, try emailing the local cat rescue, Blue Cross or Cats Protection. O...

My old cat Misty was on special food after his kidneys failed when he was 14 (give or take a bit - never knew how old he really was). Kept him going for another year - he eventually had to be PTS because of a brain tumor. So far as his kidneys and the special food were concerned he could have carrie...

Haven't had to do this for many years, since my old cat Sally got covered in diesel leaking from a Pantechnicon parked outside, so I've just looked it up in my RSPCA cat care manual (1992). What you need is a safe cat shampoo or baby shampoo, a plastic jug, a bowl (big enough to hold your cat), a so...

I think the requirement is for the longest side to be less than 1000 pixels. This usually gives a file size of less than 150kB.

I'm sorry to hear that Molly has had complications. I don't have any experience of ligament damage in my cats, so can't give you any first hand experience. I can sympathize with only being able to see details about dogs - I also had pictures of dog legs shown to me when the vets were explaining the ...

From one Maine Coon owner to another, welcome and fusses to your big lad. A few things I have found over the years to be useful: Crinkle tunnel (both long and short). Furry mouse with pull string tail that vibrates across the floor after releasing the tail (it has long since lost its label and I can...

Reminds me of the time when my neighbors (very) fat cat, Tay, got stuck in my cat flap, like Winnie the Pooh in Rabbit's burrow. His tummy grounded on the bottom of the hole and he couldn't go forward or back! I had to push him through. (After that escapade, he got put on a diet and is slightly thin...

My Badger (a Maine Coon) weighed 7.5kg in his prime. All muscle, bone and fur, no fat on him!

A lot depends on your cats mode of entry. My Badger used to come in with a crash bang wallop that would make any cat flap bounce, whilst Tilly slid in with hardly a noise. Since Badger's death, however, she is beginning to copy his mode of entry! (I have a Sureflap microchip cat door.)

I use a variation of Kay's method. Weigh cat basket empty with digital luggage scales (which weigh up to 40kg) put cat in basket and weigh both. The readout is at eye level where I can see it, which with 7.5kg of Maine Coon in the way is not the case with bathroom scales! Gives an answer to within 1...

Only Vet I know in that area is Willows at Monkspath, Solihull, just off Junction 4 of the M42, but that might be a bit far away from you. They did a fantastic repair job on Tilly's back leg 2.5 years ago after she broke a tarsal bone. I was referred to them by my Vet.

He looks a great cat, but I must admit he doesn't look as though he has any Maine Coon in him! I have been looking through my cat care books and none of them is absolutely specific about when cats stop growing, not that they seem to pay much attention to this matter at all. Anyway, I am sure Kevin w...

I love that picture of Thomas. Reminds me of the day, many years ago now, when I parked at Newnham for the day and came back to find a large black long haired cat sleeping on the bonnet. Needless to say return home was rather delayed.

Has Kevin any Maine Coon in his ancestry? Meriad has underestimated the time they keep on growing! Badger and Tilly were still getting longer and taller until near their 5th birthdays.

Having posted a few comments relating to her, and having managed to shrink a few pictures, I thought I had better introduce you all to Tilly, my beautiful Maine Coon. She is over a yard long from nose to tail, is 5 years 8 months old (so has finally stopped growing) and has lead a pampered life here...

Glad Tilly's experience has proved useful. Food and water everywhere sounds about right, Tilly managed that as well the first night - put her bandaged paw in the water bowl so we had to go back to the vet next day to get the bandage replaced! Tilly sends Molly her condolences, hopes she makes a comp...

From my experience (which is limited to 5 cats only so is not exhaustive by any means) it appears to be related to how long their fur is. My Tilly who is a long haired Maine Coon, brings up hair balls fairly regularly. My late lamented Badger, also a Maine Coon but with somewhat shorter fur than Til...

Hi. I had the same problem 2.5 years ago when my Tilly (a feisty 3 year old at the time) broke a tarsal bone in her right back leg. She had to be confined in a cage for nearly 3 months. Keeping her confined in a room was not an option, as she would have been able to jump up on to window ledges, whic...