Cat Chat Feline Forum

I don't have a microchip cat flap - I don't need one, as my cat flap opens into a garden enclosure which my cats can't escape from, and strange cats can't get into. But maybe someone with experience of coded cat flaps can comment. Does Stanley force it open, or does he follow Elijah through before i...

Maybe he encountered a strange cat, or some other animal, in the garden at a time when you weren't watching, and got scared? Does he seem happy to go out in the garden, or has his behaviour there changed?

My Norwegian Forest Cat's pedigree name was Priya, but I thought that was too many letters, and made it Ria. She gets other names late at night when I'm relaxing before bed, she goes out in the rain and gets saturated, then comes in and rubs affectionately round my bare legs.

Lilith, thanks for the info about the ultrasound gadgets. Useful to know.

You probably can't stop other cats coming in, short of doing a complete cat-proofing job, but you could discourage them. Google "cat repellent," and you'll find various options like things that smell bad to cats, or ultrasound that they're supposed to dislike. I don't know how well they wo...

Glad things are settling down now. :) Re the microchip feeders: they need 4 "C" batteries. I put Duracell in mine, which was expensive to start with, but I find a set lasts about a year. They have a "training" mode, but my cats got used to them quickly, and the lid keeps flies of...

It probably will, but worth it if you have a four-legged cat at the end of it. Good luck.

fjm wrote: Perhaps the "Out" tray would be more appropriate though?!

Some years ago I had to cage a cat. The cage had two doors, front and side. I was able to secure a covered litter tray to the side door, giving him an "en suite". There was a gap round the top and side of the litter tray hood, which I closed with plastic garden netting wired in place. Glad...

All good wishes to Fred and to you.

Terrific, Papa cat! Some cats, you'd only contain them with an actual cage - and I wouldn't leave wire cutters or pliers around!

Just yesterday I read a story on Facebook about one cat who defeated an overhang system. I think it's worth quoting here. I have the protectapet system installed and I have one cat who can get out of it. She is the only one but it took her less than 3 mins to figure it out and was out and away in ar...

Thank you! While Ria was at the kitten stage, Rocky did get fed up with her, but he never did her any harm. Those snaps at her paws are play bites, they did no damage. There's some information here about posting photos: https://www.catchat.org/felineforum/viewtopic.php?f=29&t=227 I always need t...

This was Rocky and his original pal, Bridie. When I adopted them, they had been in a shelter together for 4 months. They lost their previous home when the owner had to go into hospital permanently, so I never got many details about their past life. Rocky Bridie by fire.jpg When I decided to get anot...

I've been in a similar situation. I adopted a pair of cats; not related so far as I know, but long term friends. About 6 years old, male and female, both neutered. A few months later, the female had to be pts for cancer. I wanted the boy, Rocky, to have a companion since he was used to that. So two ...

CAUTION - SLIGHTLY RIBALD JOKE COMING UP!

Reminds me of a cartoon, which I think was by Rupert Fawcett: middle of the night, two cats on the dressing table poised to leap on to the humans in the bed, and one cat says to the other, "Remember - land on the bladder!"

Whenever it rains they all make a bee line for mummy - Muuuummm I'm wet DO something! My older cat Rocky, a short-haired boy, has enough sense to stay out of the rain. He either comes indoors or sits in the covered platform in the garden. Long-haired Ria doesn't mind the rain at all, and I think it...

I didn't enclose my whole garden, but fenced a stretch 10 feet by 30 feet for my cats. That's narrow enough that I could stretch netting right across the top; however the netting needs to be tight to the fence. If there's any slack there, a cat can go up the fence and head-butt through. Later I real...

Could all or part of your garden be made secure, keeping your cat in and other cats out? There are costs involved, depending on how you do it, but it gives great peace of mind.

In terms of behaviour, this is a new one on me. As a short term help, maybe you could put a heavy water bowl inside a big, shallow waterproof container - perhaps a kiddy paddling pool, or a plasic underbed storage box. That should at least contain the spill, and if she finds she's making a puddle wh...

I don't know about your cat with her specific health issues. But I've always believed that grass is good for a normal cat. They need to be able to vomit to get rid of hair in the stomach. And many will nibble a little grass even if not enough to make them sick. It looks to me like normal healthy beh...

When I lived in a flat, I gave my cats a constant supply of pot-grown cat grass. It springs up very quickly, but also dies back in a few weeks. It's not actually "grass," usually it's oats. I grew mine in 1-litre ice cream cartons. Usually if you get two of the same type, one will nest ins...

You could try growing cat grass in a pot for her in the house, something like this:
https://seeds.suttons.co.uk/search?w=cat+grass
If she can "graze" indoors, she might not be so desperate for greenery when she goes out. But most outdoor cats chew grass, and don't seem to come to any harm.

Maybe Cats Protection or the RSPCA would come and check it for a microchip. Or, if you have a cat carrier and can catch the cat, you could take it to a vet, who again should be able to scan it for a chip.

Alan, I hoped we might start a gallery of pictures of flopped cats. But it looks like you and I were the only ones able to grab a camera without the subject doing a runner. :lol: I have a couple of these so-called "cool pads" that I've put down in places where I thought my cats might like ...

Nice one, booktigger! :D I'm trying to groom Ria's long coat whenever she'll keep still long enough, but she has been bringing up some hairballs lately. But the kind girl is leaving them outside in the cat pen more often than indoors. However, if anyone talks to me about getting a cat, I'll always m...

I looked on the website of my local CP branch, and found this: "We are running another Assisted Neutering Campaign from 27th February to 31st March 2018. " So based on that, they may not be in line for a cheap spay this year. I'm very wary of appearing to be interfering or officious. I don...

I don't feel I can really interfere unless they do ask me to take a kitten. (Maybe they'll get lucky and their cat isn't pregnant after all - she's not bulging at the moment. But I wouldn't count on that.) But if they do get stuck with a litter, I thought maybe I could print them out an information ...

My neighbours have a very pretty tortoiseshell cat, between 1 and 2 years old. I know they used to keep her as an indoor cat, so when I saw her in my garden today, I wondered if she'd escaped. My cats were inside at the time, so I coaxed the neighbour cat into my cat enclosure and shut the gate, so ...

It's catching!