Search found 1631 matches

by fjm
Mon Jun 20, 2022 7:33 am
Forum: Health and Behaviour Queries, Help and Advice
Topic: My Tiggee was sprayed in the face by a skunk!
Replies: 11
Views: 574

Re: My Tiggee was sprayed in the face by a skunk!

I'm not quite sure how one could trap/release a skunk without triggering yet more spraying?
by fjm
Mon Jun 20, 2022 6:08 am
Forum: Health and Behaviour Queries, Help and Advice
Topic: Cattery concern
Replies: 2
Views: 220

Re: Cattery concern

As Mollycat says, needs must. I would prepare blankets and toys so that they smell of home - take them into your bed, put them where she sleeps, etc - and take as much of her stuff as you can to make the pen feel as familiar as possible. My cats always enjoyed their time in the posh cattery, althoug...
by fjm
Sat Jun 18, 2022 8:39 am
Forum: Health and Behaviour Queries, Help and Advice
Topic: Teenage cats
Replies: 5
Views: 330

Re: Teenage cats

It does sound like adolescent independence. I found mine snuggled as kittens, became less keen on it as life became more exciting, and then rediscovered the comfort of laps as they got a bit older, especially when the weather turned chilly. Does she enjoy being groomed? That may be another way to en...
by fjm
Fri Jun 17, 2022 7:17 am
Forum: Health and Behaviour Queries, Help and Advice
Topic: My Tiggee was sprayed in the face by a skunk!
Replies: 11
Views: 574

Re: My Tiggee was sprayed in the face by a skunk!

No skunks in the UK, thank heavens, but I believe the standard recipe involves 3% hydrogen peroxide, bicarbonate of soda (baking soda) and washing up liquid. As the recommendation is to avoid eyes, mouth and ears that may not be of much help to poor Tiggee even if he let you wash his face. Have you ...
by fjm
Wed Jun 15, 2022 4:36 pm
Forum: Health and Behaviour Queries, Help and Advice
Topic: Plz help figure out kittens gender
Replies: 6
Views: 1162

Re: Plz help figure out kittens gender

I think the OP's question will now have been resolved one way or the other - the kitten must be rising 3 by now!
by fjm
Mon Jun 13, 2022 6:39 am
Forum: Health and Behaviour Queries, Help and Advice
Topic: New kitten panic - kitten proofing & sleeping advice
Replies: 7
Views: 441

Re: New kitten panic - kitten proofing & sleeping advice

Way back when, cross-patch Rosie lured Tiggy the kitten up a big tree in the field behind where we live and left him there.In the dark. In a thunder storm. At 1am when everyone was in bed. Several attempts at getting him down by climbing the tree myself just had him back along narrow branches furthe...
by fjm
Sun Jun 12, 2022 7:39 am
Forum: Health and Behaviour Queries, Help and Advice
Topic: New kitten panic - kitten proofing & sleeping advice
Replies: 7
Views: 441

Re: New kitten panic - kitten proofing & sleeping advice

Congratulations! Let the games begin...! Two kittens are going to play wherever and whenever, upstairs or down. I think they will be more dependent on each other's company for confidence at this stage, assuming they are siblings, and may not be as desperate for human company as a single kitten or a ...
by fjm
Fri Jun 10, 2022 12:32 pm
Forum: Health and Behaviour Queries, Help and Advice
Topic: Kibble recommendations (liver, anti-sickness and/or stool firming)
Replies: 5
Views: 352

Re: Kibble recommendations (liver, anti-sickness and/or stool firming)

One of the gastro-sensitivity foods may be your best bet. Unless his liver disease is bad enough to be causing encephalitis you probably don't want to reduce protein too far, and the hepatic foods are designed to be low in protein - Poppy, my toy poodle, has confirmed liver failure and eats Royal Ca...
by fjm
Tue Jun 07, 2022 8:00 pm
Forum: Health and Behaviour Queries, Help and Advice
Topic: Help... My cat won't eat!!
Replies: 11
Views: 734

Re: Help... My cat won't eat!!

Sounds as if he's feeling better! If the Optirenal is described as suitable for healthy cats of all ages there's no need to change it - the "renal" bit rang an alarm bell as most renal diets are formulated for cats with kidney disease.
by fjm
Tue Jun 07, 2022 1:56 pm
Forum: Health and Behaviour Queries, Help and Advice
Topic: Help... My cat won't eat!!
Replies: 11
Views: 734

Re: Help... My cat won't eat!!

I would continue syringe feeding but start offering him small quantities of highly palatable food - think a half teaspoonful of liver, a tiny bit of Gourmet Gold, mince beef if that is not on his list of dislikes, almost anything that you have not put in the syringe. Does he refuse freshly cooked un...
by fjm
Sun Jun 05, 2022 8:20 am
Forum: Health and Behaviour Queries, Help and Advice
Topic: Please Help! What foods will make my cat gain weight fast and safely?
Replies: 3
Views: 358

Re: Please Help! What foods will make my cat gain weight fast and safely?

I agree about consulting your vet - I would think at this stage the key thing is to manage the pancreatitis, and a canned recovery food that you can dilute a little and syringe feed or a liquid food may be best. Fat content is not as critical in cats as it is in dogs with pancreatitis but the recomm...
by fjm
Thu Jun 02, 2022 6:03 am
Forum: General Cat Chatting!
Topic: Is this boy a Siamese??
Replies: 7
Views: 464

Re: Is this boy a Siamese??

I can't see much Siamese there, although he may have some in his ancestry. Siamese are temperature sensitive colour points - the cooler areas of the body (muzzle, ears, legs, tail) are darker than the warmer body. They also tend to lean litheness and a long, wedge shaped muzzle, although the latter ...
by fjm
Mon May 30, 2022 8:47 am
Forum: FIV Questions & Answers
Topic: Newly diagnosed FIV in an ex-stray cat
Replies: 3
Views: 1522

Re: Newly diagnosed FIV in an ex-stray cat

It sounds as if you have most things well in hand. If you search for "catio" here and on the internet you will find ideas for creating a safe, enclosed outside space that he might enjoy.
by fjm
Mon May 30, 2022 8:44 am
Forum: General Cat Chatting!
Topic: Need a laugh on Monday morning?
Replies: 5
Views: 423

Re: Need a laugh on Monday morning?

Love it! Thank you - I needed the giggle.
by fjm
Fri May 27, 2022 7:26 am
Forum: Bereavement Support
Topic: Goodbye to my baby boy
Replies: 15
Views: 2267

Re: Goodbye to my baby boy

I am so sorry - Findlay was a very special cat, and the greater the love the greater the wound loss leaves. I have found some comfort in the past in thinking of my animals safely with my parents - I am not sure that I even believe in an afterlife, but in my mind's eye I can see Pippin-cat curled on ...
by fjm
Thu May 26, 2022 7:11 am
Forum: Health and Behaviour Queries, Help and Advice
Topic: Kitten won’t stop screaming from 4:30am until I get up at 7am
Replies: 4
Views: 324

Re: Kitten won’t stop screaming from 4:30am until I get up at 7am

Has she been spayed? Is she allowed outside during the day? If she has not been spayed she may be calling, although usually that would mean crying throughout the day as well. If she likes to go outside the crepuscular hours around dawn and dusk are favourite hunting times for cats, and dawn comes ea...
by fjm
Thu May 26, 2022 5:29 am
Forum: Health and Behaviour Queries, Help and Advice
Topic: Gabapentin 25mg from online pharmacy?
Replies: 15
Views: 3556

Re: Gabapentin 25mg from online pharmacy?

In the UK Gabapentin is a human POM - prescription only medicine - and unless there is a version licensed for veterinary use online veterinary drug sites are therefore not allowed to list it. Animed or similar sites may have the smaller dose but not show it on their website - they suggest that once ...
by fjm
Thu May 19, 2022 10:55 am
Forum: General Cat Chatting!
Topic: Please meet Teddy
Replies: 42
Views: 12178

Re: Please meet Teddy

Beautiful boy! It sounds as if he is already beginning to relax and settle in - I look forward to hearing more as you get to know each other and his personality emerges.
by fjm
Tue May 17, 2022 7:09 am
Forum: Health and Behaviour Queries, Help and Advice
Topic: Hungry cat
Replies: 13
Views: 823

Re: Hungry cat

I would say it is much more likely to be HT than cancer, given the symptoms. Both Mollycat and I have seen spectacular results from radio iodine treatment - it is expensive but almost guarantees a complete cure. There are other treatment options - drugs in the short term, a special diet if it fits y...
by fjm
Tue May 17, 2022 7:02 am
Forum: Health and Behaviour Queries, Help and Advice
Topic: Putting weight on Tilly-cat
Replies: 2
Views: 271

Re: Putting weight on Tilly-cat

Renal food or not is a very tricky one. On the one hand she is still reasonably healthy and her kidneys are functioning well three years after diagnosis; on the other she could definitely do with rather more weight and much better muscle tone. There seem to be more and more early renal foods availab...
by fjm
Mon May 16, 2022 8:33 pm
Forum: Health and Behaviour Queries, Help and Advice
Topic: Hungry cat
Replies: 13
Views: 823

Re: Hungry cat

I would suspect hyperthyroidism - very treatable, but can be dangerous if left untreated. I would make a vet appointment for blood tests ASAP - his age, increased appetite and weight/muscle loss are all indicative of HT, and it would be sensible to rule it out and to check for any of the other disea...
by fjm
Sun May 15, 2022 10:48 am
Forum: Health and Behaviour Queries, Help and Advice
Topic: Kittens stuck in womb
Replies: 1
Views: 241

Re: Kittens stuck in womb

Firstly, cooked chicken bones are dangerous and not a good idea. They can break up into sharp shards when chewed, and these can cause serious internal damage, peritonitis and death. Raw bones are safe, or strip off all the meat and edible bits from the cooked ones for the cats and dispose of the bon...
by fjm
Sat May 14, 2022 6:32 am
Forum: Health and Behaviour Queries, Help and Advice
Topic: Putting weight on Tilly-cat
Replies: 2
Views: 271

Putting weight on Tilly-cat

Tilly is nearly 19 years old, happy and active but very skinny. In 2019 she was diagnosed with early CKD and put on a renal diet, which she didn't much like but sort of ate. At her latest check up earlier this year her kidney results had improved over the 2019 baseline and all blood test results wer...
by fjm
Sun May 08, 2022 6:12 am
Forum: Health and Behaviour Queries, Help and Advice
Topic: separating bonded cats-rehome both or keep one?
Replies: 5
Views: 412

Re: separating bonded cats-rehome both or keep one?

If she is rolling and he is pouncing that would worry me a little - rolling is often a defensive position for a cat. Does she remove herself from play when she can, or restart the game when he backs off?
by fjm
Fri May 06, 2022 11:04 am
Forum: Bereavement Support
Topic: Sleep Tight Sweet Tiggy
Replies: 6
Views: 1431

Re: Sleep Tight Sweet Tiggy

Goodnight, Tiggy. A long life, much loved, and a peaceful, easy passing at the end. It is always sad when we have to say goodbye, and the hole they leave is there forever, but there is comfort in knowing it was the right time to let her go and that all the days and years that came before were as goo...
by fjm
Sun May 01, 2022 7:16 am
Forum: Health and Behaviour Queries, Help and Advice
Topic: 9 month old Russian blue - lymphoma
Replies: 3
Views: 413

Re: 9 month old Russian blue - lymphoma

I am so sorry - this is a devastating diagnosis for such a very young cat. But if the vets are considering chemotherapy it is not yet hopeless - the drugs and doses given to animals are far less toxic than those used for humans and most tolerate them well. While total remission is uncommon it does h...
by fjm
Fri Apr 29, 2022 6:46 pm
Forum: Health and Behaviour Queries, Help and Advice
Topic: My cat pees all over the apartment everyday
Replies: 3
Views: 367

Re: My cat pees all over the apartment everyday

What is stressing him? I think resolving that is the key to improving things.
by fjm
Thu Apr 28, 2022 3:22 pm
Forum: Health and Behaviour Queries, Help and Advice
Topic: Cut or skin problem?
Replies: 2
Views: 269

Re: Cut or skin problem?

How long has it been there? If it is simply an abrasion I would bathe it with warm slightly salted boiled water several times a day and expect it to heal swiftly (I would probably also use HyperCal ointment, as that is my go to remedy for cuts and abrasions). But if it has been brewing for some time...
by fjm
Mon Apr 25, 2022 3:02 pm
Forum: Health and Behaviour Queries, Help and Advice
Topic: Raw pork
Replies: 6
Views: 426

Re: Raw pork

Aujeszky's virus was last seen in the UK in 1989. It is a notifiable disease, like Foot and Mouth, and as it is not endemic the risk of UK pork being infected is extremely low, I would think. Trichinosis is also pretty rare these days, although I am another who grew up with the "never eat pork ...
by fjm
Fri Apr 22, 2022 1:34 pm
Forum: General Cat Chatting!
Topic: Getting involved with cat welfare with restrictions?
Replies: 4
Views: 389

Re: Getting involved with cat welfare with restrictions?

My local rescues often ask for help with socialising kittens - sitting and talking to them, playing with them, etc. Older cats might also appreciate some calm, quiet companionship. If you were able to clean a few trays that might also help of course!