Cat Chat Feline Forum

He couldn’t have asked any more from you, he’s so lucky to have someone who understands him so well, particularly at this difficult stage in his life. I hope knowing this brings both of you peace. Xx

I've tried learning to "speak cat", basically mimicking the way they communicate with each other; communication is a two way thing, and while they learn some of our language (at least body language and tone of voice), I feel we can both gain so much more by us doing the same for them. We n...

Could you keep him in a bit later in the morning? Mice are nocturnal/crepuscular feeders, and less likely to get caught in daylight. You could also try fittings a safety collar with a couple of bells - that would reduce the kill rate a bit. Do make sure you worm him regularly too - mice are a common...

It's so hard when you lurch from one medical crisis to another, but I'm pleased to hear this one was quickly dealt with. I hope you will continue to have happy times together for a good while yet.

Everything crossed for helpful results tomorrow

It sounds like you're coming to a good arrangement there, and good to hear his onlymproblem is his weight. I had a cat who got fed up with her boisterous feline companion and semi moved in with neighbours. We eventually became good friends, and so long as she always came hime for her food and they l...

Good to have a diagnosis for the urine issue, hope the treatment works quickly. But do keep liaising with the vet re the Pooh problem, rather than just randomly trying different foods - too much variation in diet can have the effect of upsetting their tummies, which will just confuse the issue even ...

I only used a tiny bit of mashed potato to bulk it out a bit, but the cat hated it, I remember the expression of complete incredulity when I “ruined” some perfectly good venison by adding potato :lol: Do talk any diet changes through with your vet first. There may be a few more options you can try. ...

HI and welcome to the forum. If she has a weepy eye and the third eyelids have been showing for this long, and if she's got loose stools, I feel she needs to see the vet again, as these are all signs of poor health. Cats are very good at hiding when they're ill, so by the time we see the signs you k...

Just to add to LIlith and Mollycat's replies, if your puss isn't familiar with the street, it could be cats outside setting him off. We keep ours in at night but our younger male cat goes bonkers if he sees a cat in the garden.

Hi, and welcome to the forum. If they've both gone down with this, they're either ingested something to affect their digestive system, or they've got a bug. Have you changed their food lately? Have you (or your neighbours) been using pesticides, weedkillers, creosote or other potentially toxic treat...

I agree, if you can't get anywhere with soaking it off as others have suggested, it might be best to get a vet nurse to deal with it. They may have to sedate her slightly to make it less stressful. But it does seem odd that she hasn't cleaned this off herself, so have a word with the vet to see if t...

I'd keep an eye on her tonight, and if there's no improvement try to get an appointment in the next day or so. Cats are prone to soft tissue injuries (sprains and strains), I had one all action hero who was always hurting himself leaping out of trees, or occasionally getting hit by a car :o (he surv...

I’ve found putting mats on the floor can be part of the problem, because they love scratching the carpet right next to the rug! They do like making us work...

Hi Lilynmitz, Good idea to mention the 'Car-Pet' hair remover... did you know we sell those on the Cat Chat webshop? We have them available singly, in orange or pink, or as a Twin Pack (Save £1 if you buy two). So thought I would nip in here with a link: https://www.catchat.org/shop/index.php?route...

I agree with Ruth, rather than protecting you, she is very fearful of what the people will do to her and is defending her “safe space”, ie your home. I also agree that having visitors completely ignore her is the best way to go. Try to get them to behave in a calm relaxed way whenever she ‘s around,...

Never heard of Advecta, but I use Frontline and find it works well. But you need to treat the whole house for fleas too, and keep on top of it with thorough and regular vacuuming, including under seat cushions, round the edge of the floor etc, which is where fleas like to lurk. It’s quite possible o...

We have a terrible carpet scratcher, so I sympathise. He seems to do it when he gets excited, frustrated, or if anything new has been placed on the floor, all round the house. It's partly scent marking (they have scent glands in their paws) but it also seems to be one of his ways of grabbing our att...

Have you checked his eyesight and hearing? Just a thought. Sight can deteriorate slowly over a period of time - I adopted an 8 yr old moggie who had been in rescue two years, but he was so well adapted no-one realised he was blind till I got him home. But he used to meow a lot for all sorts of reaso...

I'm so sorry Donna, I really hoped I was wrong but what you described was so similar to my own experiences, I feared the worst but hoped for the best. It's so hard when they go so young and so suddenly, but cats are so good at hiding even severe medical conditions, it can be really hard to pick it u...

My sister's cat has megacolon, which they treat with Hills dried food with a teaspoon of cod liver oil on it to keep her bowels mobile. For a while they also had to give her daily enemas, which they learnt to do themselves, but she's been fine on this diet regime for a few years now.

I'm sorry you had such a bad experience. The lesson for all of us, at all times, is "read the small print", but I agree, it's difficult to understand or second guess what medical conditions your pet is likely to get. One of my vets did question whether pet insurance was worth it - a lot of...

you don't mention whether he was tested for hyperthyroidism? This is a common cause of weight loss in older cats, particularly when they're not off their food - basically their metabolism is on "full steam ahead" and burning up energy faster than they can replace it by eating. This can str...

I agree, a quick check up with your vet would be a good idea at the very least. I'm not sure whether any of the contents could be toxic, but chemical burns are possible with fresh wet concrete. If it had dried out, it might not be so serious - I had a cat who was obsesssed with licking concrete pavi...

Hello Donnak, I would be worried too. In your position I would get her straight back to the vet for more tests, and PERSEVERE with them. I don't want to risk worrying you unnecessarily, but in two instances (aged 7 and 12) it turned out to be advanced cancer, and in a third (aged 4) I'm pretty sure ...

If someone introduced a very large grizzly bear into my house, I'd be pretty freaked out, even if it did mostly ignore me. Specially if I could now only have one safe room instead of the whole house. That's how your cat feels about the dog. However well behaved it is, it's still a dog, it has invade...

I do vaccinate every year, although current research on whether that's necessary for the full life of the cat is interesting. I shall watch to see how that develops. But I almost never worm, as my two aren't hunters and can't get out of the garden, and flea treat only when necessary. Elsie is vulner...

Is he on meds for his CKD, and also for his thyroid? I had an old girl who we managed to keep going for several years this way, although admittedly she wasn't facing some of the other challenges your boy has. I hope you can keep him comfortable for a long while yet.

I'm so pleased you are earning her trust. I'm not that experienced in raising young kittens, so I'm not the best to advise on feeding, so it would be well worth popping her along to your local vet as soon as you take her in to make sure you're getting everything right, and then when the time comes, ...

Whatever you do, DO NOT HOSE HIM DOWN WITH WATER!!! Yes, this WILL traumatise him and destroy any hope of him trusting humans, and you rightly point out he may die of exposure through being saturated. Young kittens are extremely vulnerable and can go downhill very quickly. Don’t feed him tuna either...