Pet Advice Thread.

[Lexicon]

be careful about grabbing him with your bare hands. he could have any number of diseases/parasites, etc. might be helpful to have a thick blanket you can hold him with so he cant scratch you

Good point. But no worries - grabbing him is an absolute last resort. And I have a few sets of these crazy sturdy gloves I've used when I've had to bathe my cat so he didn't shred my arms (eventually it became less stressful on him, so that's not necessary anymore). Nothing gets through them. I have some clear safety goggles, too, & thick clothing.

If the shelter doesn't have a trap, I have a decently sized carrier that perhaps I can slowly get him to eat in voluntarily. It can be taken apart, so maybe I can introduce it as an open tray with a small food bowl in there, then after a few feedings put the top on, then next time a door, propped open. We'll see.

But that is definitely a good point. Strays can be vectors for all sorts of nasty pathogens. If I have contact with him at all, I'm even changing out of my clothes right at the apartment entry/bagging them in case he's carrying ringworm or something. No chances.

 

[Frosty]

Sparky- 9.5 week old kitten... hes a very good little guy but a tiny bit hyper and goes places that wed prefer he didnt- just for his own safety- go. Like behind the tv where there are a shit ton of wires he could chew and hurt himself with. And plants where...(my moms afraid mostly) something might be toxic to him.

My mom bought a spray bottle and shes been doing that when he goes in the flowers. But behind the tv- cant do that really. So Ive been putting him in 'time out' in the bathroom for 5 minutes when he does that. Im not sure if he understands that or if its just cruelty if he doesnt... but not really sure what else to do. Removing him doesnt help. I can do that 15 times and he just runs right back again. Hes stubborn. Just wondering if anyone had any ideas.

I put lemon juice on exposed wires around- because I guess cats hate citrus- and its stopped him from biting them- we sprayed some back there but he still goes back there.

Any tips? Hes just a baby and so I feel bad doing anything to him- dont want to crush his tiny spriit... but hes rowdy. He jumped off the top step one day and so well... just want to keep him safe. Hes just a baby.

Hes also got this biting problem. Its not generally very hard- usually just in play. And I dont super mind it but dont want to teach him to bite others. Just- giving him another toy generally helps with that though so not super concedned there.

Just thought Id ask.

 

[Neal Caffreynated]

It's always difficult keeping pets from doing dangerous things - I always spend like ten minutes before living my home to make sure that there are no too obvious wire my dogs will try to chew or no glasses on my dinner table (once, I got back home, one of them had jumped on the table and threw a glass on the floor, fortunately none of them got hurt with the broken glass but it was a close one). I'd say put boxes or maybe a chair in front of the wires/flowers ?

 

[FemMecha]

Sparky- 9.5 week old kitten... hes a very good little guy but a tiny bit hyper and goes places that wed prefer he didnt- just for his own safety- go. Like behind the tv where there are a shit ton of wires he could chew and hurt himself with. And plants where...(my moms afraid mostly) something might be toxic to him.

My mom bought a spray bottle and shes been doing that when he goes in the flowers. But behind the tv- cant do that really. So Ive been putting him in 'time out' in the bathroom for 5 minutes when he does that. Im not sure if he understands that or if its just cruelty if he doesnt... but not really sure what else to do. Removing him doesnt help. I can do that 15 times and he just runs right back again. Hes stubborn. Just wondering if anyone had any ideas.

I put lemon juice on exposed wires around- because I guess cats hate citrus- and its stopped him from biting them- we sprayed some back there but he still goes back there.

Any tips? Hes just a baby and so I feel bad doing anything to him- dont want to crush his tiny spriit... but hes rowdy. He jumped off the top step one day and so well... just want to keep him safe. Hes just a baby.

Hes also got this biting problem. Its not generally very hard- usually just in play. And I dont super mind it but dont want to teach him to bite others. Just- giving him another toy generally helps with that though so not super concedned there.

Just thought Id ask.

Very cute. One of our cats likes to chase the other one too much, so we've been putting her in timeout until she settles down, and that has been working. I don't believe that cats understand the idea of punishment, but they remember sequences of events. From my understanding, your kitten will get a sense of that routine - that after she gets into the wires, she ends up in the bathroom, but with her level of energy, I don't know if she will stop. Is there anyway you can block the back of the TV area? It might not look pretty, but I would try to eliminate access somehow.

 

[Frosty]

Very cute. One of our cats likes to chase the other one too much, so we've been putting her in timeout until she settles down, and that has been working. I don't believe that cats understand the idea of punishment, but they remember sequences of events. From my understanding, your kitten will get a sense of that routine - that after she gets into the wires, she ends up in the bathroom, but with her level of energy, I don't know if she will stop. Is there anyway you can block the back of the TV area? It might not look pretty, but I would try to eliminate access somehow.

Yeah my mom put sticky double sided tape around it and I tried to bar it off the best that I could- but sometimes he still manages to get back up there because hes the cat version of houdini.

Lately- as in the last few days- its become him running to the top of the stairs and looking out... again. And he already jumped once so its terrifying. But thing is- if you ignore him for a minute he usually stops and finds something else to do. Like if I go upstairs and just sit with him while hes like... walking around the top- and dont try to move him unless he gets too close to the edge- and THEN just slowly walk back downstairs- hell follow me.

If I just pick him up and bring him down hell run up again and again and again.

I would prefer the wires almost. They scare me less then him jumping again.

Ive tried to stop with the bathroom thing because I felt it might be kind of cruel. My dad and brother like... lightly 'spank' him- but never in my presence- I only got told about it afterwards. And I flipped out at them a bit about it- about how hes so fucking little and defenseless and how they are so much bigger and just... how confused and scared he had to be when they did that. So that shouldnt happen anymore.

Its been the spray bottle for the last few days. Which works ok. Sometimes. But hes fast. Anyways. Hes getting bigger so Im hoping it helps him a bit with... like cat decision making skills or something. Or at least he wont be able to fit in those dangerous places anymore.

Anyways thank you so much for your answer.

I might do the bathroom thing- but I dont want him to be alone and scared. Hes only little and Im so much bigger. I dunno. Im not sure it works- but it might. So maybe Ill try it again if... something too dangerous happens- he finds a new favorite spot in the middle of the kitchen sink between the sharp knives or something.

 

[Z Buck McFate]

[MENTION=29687]Eskimo2[/MENTION] As a deterrent for going behind the TV, you might want to consider putting scotch tape around that area - either sticky side up set on the floor, or just loosely hanging (so that it will stick to the cat if he goes back there). I seem to remember someone here (Amargith maybe?) mentioning it as a good deterrent to keep cats off of counters. I personally have always found a spray bottle effective enough for areas that a spray bottle can be used (provided you only use the spray bottle for that one single area - if you use the spray bottle to stop all unwanted behaviors than it's going to seem too arbitrary to the cat and it'll backfire), and easier than the tape thing, but I imagine the tape thing would work effectively to create an aversion. Especially if tape is constantly replaced so that getting tape stuck to its fur was a consistent consequence.

eta: I mean, I did read above that your mom tried double-sided tape, but single-sided tape will actually stick to the cat and be more annoying.

 

[Lexicon]

[MENTION=5494]Amargith[/MENTION] to Aisle 3 for cleanup...
(Or any other Feline Associates)

So, I guess this isn’t terribly serious, and honestly, it was initially amusing in its absurdity. I started to feel bad as it continued, though...

So, the exhaust fan in the bathroom’s broken - waiting on the landlord to fix it since we couldn’t ourselves. There’s literally no other ventilation in that closet of a bathroom, so I’ve had to keep the bathroom door ajar during my showers to get rid of some of the excessive steam/help prevent mold.

Cricket has taken to visiting me while I’m in there. He just sits by the tub and BAWLS the entire time. He has a cry that is very specific to his own ‘bath time,’ which he used to have often from that whole ringworm plague (example: YouTube ). He’s doing his ‘bath cry’ the entire time I shower. Every time. It was sort of funny the first minute or so, like, “you silly boy, I’m fine..”

He seems genuinely distressed. My friend here tries distracting him with toys/treats, but he refuses to leave the bathroom until he’s sure I’ve survived the ordeal.

I’m just wondering if you’ve had any experience with this, if you can think of anything I can do to distract or comfort him, or if you think it’ll wear off in time. Despite how noisy the crying is (if you listen to that link of his bath cry), no one is bothered by it (neighbors, etc), so my main concern is easing his stress, since I’m not sure how long it’s going to take to get the landlord here to fix our ventilation fan/be able to shut the bathroom door completely during showers.

I don’t think it’s serious/dire, but if I can ease his stress, I always want to explore that.

 

[Amargith]

[MENTION=5494]Amargith[/MENTION] to Aisle 3 for cleanup...
(Or any other Feline Associates)

So, I guess this isn’t terribly serious, and honestly, it was initially amusing in its absurdity. I started to feel bad as it continued, though...

So, the exhaust fan in the bathroom’s broken - waiting on the landlord to fix it since we couldn’t ourselves. There’s literally no other ventilation in that closet of a bathroom, so I’ve had to keep the bathroom door ajar during my showers to get rid of some of the excessive steam/help prevent mold.

Cricket has taken to visiting me while I’m in there. He just sits by the tub and BAWLS the entire time. He has a cry that is very specific to his own ‘bath time,’ which he used to have often from that whole ringworm plague (example: YouTube ). He’s doing his ‘bath cry’ the entire time I shower. Every time. It was sort of funny the first minute or so, like, “you silly boy, I’m fine..”

He seems genuinely distressed. My friend here tries distracting him with toys/treats, but he refuses to leave the bathroom until he’s sure I’ve survived the ordeal.

I’m just wondering if you’ve had any experience with this, if you can think of anything I can do to distract or comfort him, or if you think it’ll wear off in time. Despite how noisy the crying is (if you listen to that link of his bath cry), no one is bothered by it (neighbors, etc), so my main concern is easing his stress, since I’m not sure how long it’s going to take to get the landlord here to fix our ventilation fan/be able to shut the bathroom door completely during showers.

I don’t think it’s serious/dire, but if I can ease his stress, I always want to explore that.

Poor dude. It does seem like he's reliving his own trauma a little bit
(The other option is that he's doing this coz your focus is elsewhere and meowing is a way of getting attention from you)

I have my own visiting me and meowing at me - mostly coz there is a door between us, but also because she's no fan of water. I personally took a couple of moments to just...'demystify' the shower, and take her with me in there, turning on the shower facing away from her. That was enough to convince her that clearly I wanted to be there, but she didn't have to be


I personally, in your position, would take him in there several times a day, show him the shower, without getting him wet (and potentially showering your hand to show that the water doesn't hurt you), and take some treats with. That way you can show him that the shower doesn't have to be a miserable place. I'd also ignore him when he's bawling out there and you really are taking your shower, coz talking to him will keep him going, though it's certainly not a bad idea to do a training session right before, or right after your shower, just integrating it into your routine, as such. Again, it will also address the potential second option for why he is doing this.

That said, this stuff does take up precious time, so I'd get if you were not willing to go that far. But, ime, if you cannot distract them from their fear, the only way to go is to introduce them to it in a positive way and make them re-assess

Caveat:

assess his true level of fear when you approach the shower and stop if he becomes clearly upset, and start from the place where he doesn't flee yet, but clearly is focused on the shower. I'm not in a position to gauge his fear response from here, but you don't want to retraumatize him by taking him into the shower if that actually makes him utterly upset. Mine was unsettled, but she trusts me to such a degree that as long as I'm there, she'll tolerate an uncomfortable position - and then I adjust for her comfort level, if need be, once we're in that situation.

Fears typically are addressed by starting at that place where they're uncomfortable but not yet fleeing (so they can still learn and aren't stuck in flight or fight yet), making it a positive experience if at all possible and then gradually closing the gap between them and the object they fear, always using that 'out of comfort zone but not flight/fight' as a standard for when to stop and when to proceed.

 

[Lexicon]

Poor dude. It does seem like he's reliving his own trauma a little bit
(The other option is that he's doing this coz your focus is elsewhere and meowing is a way of getting attention from you)

I have my own visiting me and meowing at me - mostly coz there is a door between us, but also because she's no fan of water. I personally took a couple of moments to just...'demystify' the shower, and take her with me in there, turning on the shower facing away from her. That was enough to convince her that clearly I wanted to be there, but she didn't have to be


I personally, in your position, would take him in there several times a day, show him the shower, without getting him wet (and potentially showering your hand to show that the water doesn't hurt you), and take some treats with. That way you can show him that the shower doesn't have to be a miserable place. I'd also ignore him when he's bawling out there and you really are taking your shower, coz talking to him will keep him going, though it's certainly not a bad idea to do a training session right before, or right after your shower, just integrating it into your routine, as such. Again, it will also address the potential second option for why he is doing this.

That said, this stuff does take up precious time, so I'd get if you were not willing to go that far. But, ime, if you cannot distract them from their fear, the only way to go is to introduce them to it in a positive way and make them re-assess

Caveat:

assess his true level of fear when you approach the shower and stop if he becomes clearly upset, and start from the place where he doesn't flee yet, but clearly is focused on the shower. I'm not in a position to gauge his fear response from here, but you don't want to retraumatize him by taking him into the shower if that actually makes him utterly upset. Mine was unsettled, but she trusts me to such a degree that as long as I'm there, she'll tolerate an uncomfortable position - and then I adjust for her comfort level, if need be, once we're in that situation.

Fears typically are addressed by starting at that place where they're uncomfortable but not yet fleeing (so they can still learn and aren't stuck in flight or fight yet), making it a positive experience if at all possible and then gradually closing the gap between them and the object they fear, always using that 'out of comfort zone but not flight/fight' as a standard for when to stop and when to proceed.

Thanks for responding to this, Amar. I wanted to follow up with you, letcha know your advice has helped a lot.

I’ve allowed him to come with me into the bathroom during non shower time, as well, now. He’d avoid going near the tub completely, so I put one of his favorite treats on the edge. He wouldn’t go near it, initially. Just mewed, and walked away.

When he finally got up the courage to grab it, he knocked it off the edge & into the tub. He jumped in after it, and ate it, with all of the fur on his tail standing up (his fur stands up like crazy even if he’s slightly startled, though generally he’s a very confident/chilled out cat.. it’s a weird contrast). His fur would stand on end when I placed him in the tub for his baths in the past.

I’ve also sat on the edge of the tub, with the faucet running, and my feet inside, simultaneously offering Cricket a treat, or petting him while he sits behind me. His body would go from stiff to fairly relaxed over time. He’d peek over the edge in his own sometimes, & just watch the torrent of water fall on my feet.


This has been practiced a few times (tub treats/foot baths), and it has cumulatively seemed to calm him down. He still waits outside the shower until the water monster has freed me, but the crying has decreased a lot. The other day, during a short shower, it didn’t happen at all. He seems generally calmer.

I always worry about using treats as an aid in scary situations, because I don’t want him to become a weird emotional eater (Jack had a little stint of stress eating before) but that doesn’t seem to be happening.

Anyway, just wanted to update & say thanks.

 

[Amargith]

Thanks for responding to this, Amar. I wanted to follow up with you, letcha know your advice has helped a lot.

I’ve allowed him to come with me into the bathroom during non shower time, as well, now. He’d avoid going near the tub completely, so I put one of his favorite treats on the edge. He wouldn’t go near it, initially. Just mewed, and walked away.

When he finally got up the courage to grab it, he knocked it off the edge & into the tub. He jumped in after it, and ate it, with all of the fur on his tail standing up (his fur stands up like crazy even if he’s slightly startled, though generally he’s a very confident/chilled out cat.. it’s a weird contrast). His fur would stand on end when I placed him in the tub for his baths in the past.

I’ve also sat on the edge of the tub, with the faucet running, and my feet inside, simultaneously offering Cricket a treat, or petting him while he sits behind me. His body would go from stiff to fairly relaxed over time. He’d peek over the edge in his own sometimes, & just watch the torrent of water fall on my feet.


This has been practiced a few times (tub treats/foot baths), and it has cumulatively seemed to calm him down. He still waits outside the shower until the water monster has freed me, but the crying has decreased a lot. The other day, during a short shower, it didn’t happen at all. He seems generally calmer.

I always worry about using treats as an aid in scary situations, because I don’t want him to become a weird emotional eater (Jack had a little stint of stress eating before) but that doesn’t seem to be happening.

Anyway, just wanted to update & say thanks.

Aww, so glad to hear it's working for him

I get that you're worried about triggering obsessive behaviour with food, but typically, that gets triggered by having situations they don't know how to cope with (boredom or stress), or by being taught by the owner that they'll get a treat whenever they perform 'X' (and the owner not being aware of them giving into that behaviour), ime.

From what I've seen of Cricket, he's too curious and you keep him busy enough that he's going to have that problem

But, if you feel uncomfortable training him with treats (it's just the most easy and most common motivator for cats), it is also absolutely possible to do this with play and with affection. Typically, you use which one of those three that they are absolutely mad about, to train them on, coz it makes it easier to train them, but you can use whichever one you want, so long as your kitty is motivated by it

And from what you've told us about Cricket, you can pretty much use whichever one you want

Can I btw say that you're one of the most motivated/easiest clients I've ever had? You've got the highest success rate so far, I think

 

[Eilonwy]

I'm dog sitting two 1 yo golden retrievers, brother and sister. Boy weighs about 65 lbs, girl about 45 lbs. I would like advice on how to let them be puppies while still maintaining discipline. They know sit and stay pretty well, but no other commands. They don't know how to heel, but I've been keeping them on a short leash so I have more control when they decide to chase a leaf or a squirrel. They are walked in a harness with 2 leashes attached. I'm walking them separately, at least 3 times a day. The owners only left 2 rubber bones for toys because the dogs chew through everything. They also left rawhide treats and cows hooves. I bought a Kong Extreme and a Kong tug toy. The dogs like the tug toy a lot.

Also, their play with each other can get rough. The owners have let them roughhouse to a degree, but I haven't seen them playing much since they grew so big and I'm not sure if I should stop them biting each other after a certain amount of time, let them calm down a bit, and then let them roughhouse some more. They have tried to include me in this kind of play and I leave, but I'm concerned that I'm not getting the message across to not roughhouse with humans. How much is puppy behavior and how much is lack of discipline?

 

[prplchknz]

This isn't really and issue or in need of advice but more of a curiosity, so my cat stomps her toys with her back feet, why does she do this? also working on her not scratching the furniture 99% of the time i just have to say her name sternly but sometimes i have to point the spray bottle (not spray it) the times i do i don't have to spray her just spray it in the air.

 

[Ace_]

stomps? how?

as for the scratching, did you buy her that thing, a cat scratching post like this:

View attachment 19187

 

[prplchknz]

stomps? how?

as for the scratching, did you buy her that thing, a cat scratching post like this:

View attachment 19187

I'll try to take a video and yes she had a scratching post which she uses.

 

[Eilonwy]

This isn't really and issue or in need of advice but more of a curiosity, so my cat stomps her toys with her back feet, why does she do this? also working on her not scratching the furniture 99% of the time i just have to say her name sternly but sometimes i have to point the spray bottle (not spray it) the times i do i don't have to spray her just spray it in the air.

Have seen stomping with front feet but not back. Looking forward to video.

 

[prplchknz]

Have seen stomping with front feet but not back. Looking forward to video.

it looks similar to thumper thumping.

 

[Eilonwy]

it looks similar to thumper thumping.

No clue. Hope someone with more knowledge will reply.

 

[prplchknz]

No clue. Hope someone with more knowledge will reply.

maybe she's half rabbit.

 

[LTilson89]

IM TRYING T0 FIND 0UT WHY MY D0G (almost 3 years old) THREW UP 2 PINKISH CHUNKS, KIND 0F L00KED LIKE RAW CHICKEN. THERE WAS ALS0 S0ME GRASS, BUT THAT IS N0RMAL BECAUSE SHE HAS ALWAYS MUNCHED 0N GRASS.
CAN ANY0NE HELP!?!?

 

[SurrealisticSlumbers]

mew mew MEW... mewie meow meowie meow