Pet(s): Photos & Discussion

[theredhead77]

On 8/27/2022 at 4:48 PM, Gramto6 said:

Well I learned something interesting the other day. The new guy I have to mow my yard was telling me about my neighbor across the field that "found" a dark gray cat with green eyes. Just like the one from the last litter I had here.  I had said they moved on and got some flack here that "they" knew what that meant... Well guess what the neighbor sold my kitty to someone that really wanted it!! 

I have another that is almost the same but it's eyes are bright yellow, not piercing green. I need to protect that kitty!! I expect the others found places where they can get food.

From what I am seeing this season, the 2 mama cats are starting to hiss at last season's kittens, I guess to prepare  for the new crop this year.  They are feral and will move on  but I am pissed at the guy that sold my kitty!!

Are you still trying to find an organization to TnR before you have an insanely large colony on your hands? You mentioned your neighbors who had the original cat don't help and their food is getting pricey. They may be feral but they rely on humans for food and it's not going to end well if there isn't enough food to go around. 

[SuprSuprElevated]

[Gramto6]

1 hour ago, theredhead77 said:

Are you still trying to find an organization to TnR before you have an insanely large colony on your hands? You mentioned your neighbors who had the original cat don't help and their food is getting pricey. They may be feral but they rely on humans for food and it's not going to end well if there isn't enough food to go around. 

Still looking... these kitties eat better than I do!! There will always be enough food here for them!! :))

[Bastet]

2 hours ago, Gramto6 said:

Still looking... these kitties eat better than I do!! There will always be enough food here for them!! :))

Which is fantastic, but they need more than food; getting them fixed is the most important aspect of stemming the tide and keeping the colony healthy until it dies out on its own after lives as long and safe as they can be, without adding more and more cats to a situation that will go on forever.

If you can't find a local TNR program or, if no such thing, a low-cost spay & neuter clinic in reasonable driving distance, what about launching a fundraising account and publicizing it on social media (locally, on places with larger audiences focused on community cats, even on spaces like this thread with a general interest in animal welfare) so you can save up enough to, one or two a month, get the cats fixed at the cheapest regular-priced vet in your area?

[Scarlett45]

Cavendish keeping me company during my morning round of answering emails. 

I bought this bin for seasonal clothing storage, it will be time to swap out warm weather clothing in a few weeks.

[theredhead77]

8 hours ago, Bastet said:

Which is fantastic, but they need more than food; getting them fixed is the most important aspect of stemming the tide and keeping the colony healthy until it dies out on its own after lives as long and safe as they can be, without adding more and more cats to a situation that will go on forever.

If you can't find a local TNR program or, if no such thing, a low-cost spay & neuter clinic in reasonable driving distance, what about launching a fundraising account and publicizing it on social media (locally, on places with larger audiences focused on community cats, even on spaces like this thread with a general interest in animal welfare) so you can save up enough to, one or two a month, get the cats fixed at the cheapest regular-priced vet in your area?

@Gramto6there are so many TNR places that promote on Instagram. If you don't have an Instagram perhaps your kids or grandkids can help you get the word out and catch the eye of these places? I know kittens are cute but these kitties are not going to have safe or healthy lives and the colony is going to become unmanageable really fast.

[bilgistic]

1 hour ago, Scarlett45 said:

Cavendish keeping me company during my morning round of answering emails. 

I bought this bin for seasonal clothing storage, it will be time to swap out warm weather clothing in a few weeks.

It seems you bought the bin for your pretty girl to lay on!

[EighteenTwelve]

I'm working from home today and I had a Zoom meeting this morning.  Quirk couldn't figure out who I was talking to, because I wasn't talking to her. 

[Leeds]

On 8/30/2022 at 7:36 AM, Mondrianyone said:

By additional coincidence, I watched that cat program on the same night, too. I thought I was watching the next episode of a series called The Hidden Life of Pets, but this came on instead. I wonder if cats are now in charge of programming at Netflix.

Haven't cats always been in charge of everything?

[peacheslatour]

27 minutes ago, Leeds said:

Haven't cats always been in charge of everything?

No offense to pug owners.

Edited September 1, 2022 by peacheslatour

[Annber03]

Our cat Mitsi has found a new fascination of late - hiding behind one of the pillows on my mom's bed:

[nokat]

13 hours ago, peacheslatour said:

No offense to pug owners.

Well kind of offense to specialty breed owners, because they need surgery to not suffer. I've seen comparisons of skulls.

Also, cats seem to be perfect as they are. 

Edited September 2, 2022 by nokat

[nokat]

On 8/31/2022 at 10:51 PM, Bastet said:

Which is fantastic, but they need more than food; getting them fixed is the most important aspect of stemming the tide and keeping the colony healthy until it dies out on its own after lives as long and safe as they can be, without adding more and more cats to a situation that will go on forever.

If you can't find a local TNR program or, if no such thing, a low-cost spay & neuter clinic in reasonable driving distance, what about launching a fundraising account and publicizing it on social media (locally, on places with larger audiences focused on community cats, even on spaces like this thread with a general interest in animal welfare) so you can save up enough to, one or two a month, get the cats fixed at the cheapest regular-priced vet in your area?

So much yes to this. Spay and neuter and the colony stays the same size at least. My vet gives good rates for cats you bring in. 

[Scarlett45]

36 minutes ago, nokat said:

Well kind of offense to specialty breed owners, because they need surgery to not suffer. I've seen comparisons of skulls.

Also, cats seem to be perfect as they are. 

Dogs are the most phenotypically diverse mammals on earth- because humans were involved in their breeding!

Yes, cats are perfect 😄.

[Leeds]

5 hours ago, nokat said:

Well kind of offense to specialty breed owners, because they need surgery to not suffer. I've seen comparisons of skulls.

If they need surgery it's frequently because of over-breeding for cuteness or some other superficial characteristic.

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2019/feb/27/this-is-a-calamity-the-surgeons-keeping-pugs-and-bulldogs-alive

[peacheslatour]

40 minutes ago, Leeds said:

If they need surgery it's frequently because of over-breeding for cuteness or some other superficial characteristic.

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2019/feb/27/this-is-a-calamity-the-surgeons-keeping-pugs-and-bulldogs-alive

As a vet tech, I saw it. It's really tragic. Poor things.

[nokat]

This is something I now worry about: water for wild animals now that there is severe drought. Birds I'd see happily bathing in runoff from sprinklers may need a birdbath. We have a good population of opossums who like to eat pet food if you put it out, plus many stray cats. 

I'm not hearing the bird chorus I used to wake up to. :(

[Browncoat]

3 minutes ago, nokat said:

I'm not hearing the bird chorus I used to wake up to. :(

Part of that is just because it's fall.  Birds have (mostly) fledged their babies, and are leaving their nesting territories.  They have less reason to sing, as a lot of the spring and summer chorus is all about finding a mate and defending territory.  Plus, migration has started around here (not sure where you are), so some of the summer birds are leaving to go south.

[nokat]

1 hour ago, Browncoat said:

Part of that is just because it's fall.  Birds have (mostly) fledged their babies, and are leaving their nesting territories.  They have less reason to sing, as a lot of the spring and summer chorus is all about finding a mate and defending territory.  Plus, migration has started around here (not sure where you are), so some of the summer birds are leaving to go south.

I'm in southern California. the heat is about to hit so they may have gone to wetter states.

I'm thinking well obvious about the nesting. I should have realized. It was an awesome chorus to wake up to.

[nokat]

I need help with petiquette. I stop and talk to dog walkers and the dogs give me the sniff test. Am I out of line if I give them snuggles because if I lean down I get a face full of slobber. At this point I think I'm accepted even if I wipe off my mouth.

[Browncoat]

1 hour ago, nokat said:

It was an awesome chorus to wake up to.

I love keeping my windows open in the spring so I can wake up to the glorious dawn chorus.

[SVNBob]

14 hours ago, Leeds said:

If they need surgery it's frequently because of over-breeding for cuteness or some other superficial characteristic.

I've seen on Reddit that there is at least one breeder of French Bulldogs in the Netherlands that is working to try to give Frenchies a muzzle again.

The one on the left is an AKC award winning French Bulldog.  The one on the right is one of the new breed from the Netherlands.  His name is Flint.

[bilgistic]

#glowup

[peacheslatour]

15 hours ago, Browncoat said:

I love keeping my windows open in the spring so I can wake up to the glorious dawn chorus.

This gives my inner paranoid anxiety.

[Browncoat]

33 minutes ago, peacheslatour said:

This gives my inner paranoid anxiety.

I wouldn't leave my windows open if I lived in a less rural area!  And if I didn't have thorny shrubs and brambles  below the windows.

[Moose135]

20 hours ago, nokat said:

I need help with petiquette. I stop and talk to dog walkers and the dogs give me the sniff test. Am I out of line if I give them snuggles because if I lean down I get a face full of slobber. At this point I think I'm accepted even if I wipe off my mouth.

GF calls me the Dog Whisperer because of the way they seem to be drawn to me, and I always want to stop and love on dogs. I always ask the owner if it is alright to say hello to their dog first, and really appreciate it when someone asks before just going up to pet Jake.

[Bastet]

3 hours ago, Browncoat said:

I wouldn't leave my windows open if I lived in a less rural area!

I live in an inner suburb, and have windows open 75% of the year.  Only when I'm home, though, just in case Riley would push through a screen.  Which she's never shown the slightest inclination towards doing, but I learned my lesson with Maddie and Baxter, having come home around 3:00 in the morning to find Maddie waiting for me on a back step and having to find Baxter hiding under the next-door neighbor's shrub because they'd decided to push out the screen of their favorite bedroom window and go on an adventure they couldn't get back in from. 

Edited September 3, 2022 by Bastet
Live, not love. I mean, I love here, too, but ...

[nokat]

11 minutes ago, Moose135 said:

GF calls me the Dog Whisperer because of the way they seem to be drawn to me, and I always want to stop and love on dogs. I always ask the owner if it is alright to say hello to their dog first, and really appreciate it when someone asks before just going up to pet Jake.

I do always ask first.  It's the polite thing, asking may I pet your dog and never give treats. Of course the dog may decide first.

This used to piss me off when people would stop and feed various things to the horses. Horses are nosy beings but I don't want a huge vet bill or get sued because you sat your child on a colt.

Rant over.

[nokat]

4 hours ago, peacheslatour said:

This gives my inner paranoid anxiety.

I have windows I can barely open. I feel okay leaving a second floor window open. No ladders in the yard. Cats of course think they are invincible.

[Leeds]

21 hours ago, nokat said:

I do always ask first.  It's the polite thing, asking may I pet your dog and never give treats. Of course the dog may decide first.

This used to piss me off when people would stop and feed various things to the horses. Horses are nosy beings but I don't want a huge vet bill or get sued because you sat your child on a colt.

Rant over.

Please rant away.  It's like people who think it's okay to touch/kiss/cuddle your (human) baby.

20 hours ago, nokat said:

I have windows I can barely open. I feel okay leaving a second floor window open. No ladders in the yard. Cats of course think they are invincible.

They don't think, they know.

Edited September 4, 2022 by Leeds

[nokat]

34 minutes ago, Leeds said:

They don't think, they know.

I have to laugh when I see rescue shows where a cat is way up in a tree. "I meant to be here." Firemen are trying to help, and the cat has the "piss off" face. 

[peacheslatour]

33 minutes ago, nokat said:

I have to laugh when I see rescue shows where a cat is way up in a tree. "I meant to be here." Firemen are trying to help, and the cat has the "piss off" face. 

[oliviabenson]

2 hours ago, peacheslatour said:

That’s me. I guess I’m a cat 🐱😂

[nokat]

20 minutes ago, oliviabenson said:

That’s me. I guess I’m a cat 🐱😂

I have my moments. ;) If you see me in a tree please call the firemen.

Edited September 4, 2022 by nokat

[JustHereForFood]

On 9/4/2022 at 10:11 PM, oliviabenson said:

That’s me. I guess I’m a cat 🐱😂

Same. Would be a good thing.

[luv2lurk]

How quickly time flies. Today I had my 5.5 month old kitten spayed. The vet says since she was so active she has to wear a collar for the next 10-14 days. How the vet noticed she was so active during the 3.5 hours she was in the clinic (part time of which should have been under anesthesia) I have no idea.

Anyway, upon coming home she decided the best place for a nap was this:

Yup the litter box. This kitten has a history of finding comfort in a litter box - she did the same when I first brought her home (apparently when she was younger she used to play with her siblings in one) Good thing I dumped the old litter, cleaned and put fresh litter in while she had surgery this morning.

Anyway I have never had a cat/kitten with an E collar before. Since coming home Selene walked right past food and water bowls to the litter box and has not eaten/drunk since then. She is now thankfully out of the box and sleeping on the couch. My question is - do they figure out how to eat/drink with the collar? She was clearly thirsty this am before we went to the vet and jumped up on the kitchen counter to try to drink from empty bowls (I had to remove food/water at 9pm last night in prep for surgery). Is there something I can do to help her now?

[Bastet]

They usually figure it out, but if she has trouble and she's someone who will eat her food in one or two sittings (rather than grazing a little at a time), it may be easiest to take the cone off, let her eat, and then put it back on.

She may not want to eat or drink yet tonight, given the anesthesia.  Once she's ready, if she tries and fails, help her maneuver the cone around the bowl/plate.  If that doesn't work, you can remove and replace, so long as you can supervise while eating so she doesn't get at the stitches.

(I made "cone bowls" years ago that are two plastic bowls screwed into a block of wood several inches high that are wrapped in non-slip shelf liner -- they're small enough for the cat to be able to put their face in the food/water with the cone clearing the bowl and its base without hitting the floor, and the liner means they stays in place if they get knocked by the cone as the cat learns how to get into position -- but if possible I just take the cone off for feeding and let them eat out of their regular bowl.)

And, yes, some of them take to their litter boxes when they are uncomfortable physically or emotionally.  It seems she's one of them who takes comfort there -- good she's already moved to the couch.

[SuprSuprElevated]

I don't know why vets don't use the wrap-style or tube bandages.  I'm sure there are some individuals that will pull at those too, but I would think they could at least try them first.  

Edited September 13, 2022 by SuprSuprElevated

[Scarlett45]

On 9/12/2022 at 11:10 PM, luv2lurk said:

How quickly time flies. Today I had my 5.5 month old kitten spayed. The vet says since she was so active she has to wear a collar for the next 10-14 days. How the vet noticed she was so active during the 3.5 hours she was in the clinic (part time of which should have been under anesthesia) I have no idea.

Anyway, upon coming home she decided the best place for a nap was this:

Yup the litter box. This kitten has a history of finding comfort in a litter box - she did the same when I first brought her home (apparently when she was younger she used to play with her siblings in one) Good thing I dumped the old litter, cleaned and put fresh litter in while she had surgery this morning.

Anyway I have never had a cat/kitten with an E collar before. Since coming home Selene walked right past food and water bowls to the litter box and has not eaten/drunk since then. She is now thankfully out of the box and sleeping on the couch. My question is - do they figure out how to eat/drink with the collar? She was clearly thirsty this am before we went to the vet and jumped up on the kitchen counter to try to drink from empty bowls (I had to remove food/water at 9pm last night in prep for surgery). Is there something I can do to help her now?

Awww the little lady. I have never had a cat do that but I often see that if there are cats for adoption at Petsmart. 
 

Speedy recovery for her. 

[Scarlett45]

Photo time

Cavendish looked like he would jump but didn’t. 

Lady Reese in an unusual lap time moment. She interacts but she’s not the attention whore Cavendish is. 
 

Cosmo in his fall bandana. He went to the groomer. 

[peacheslatour]

5 minutes ago, Scarlett45 said:

Photo time

Cavendish looked like he would jump but didn’t. 

Lady Reese in an unusual lap time moment. She interacts but she’s not the attention whore Cavendish is. 
 

Cosmo in his fall bandana. He went to the groomer. 

Such darling babies!

[luv2lurk]

On 9/13/2022 at 8:56 AM, SuprSuprElevated said:

I don't know why vets don't use the wrap-style or tube bandages.  I'm sure there are some individuals that will pull at those too, but I would think they could at least try them first.  

I think it might have something to do with leaving the incision open to air for faster healing. Anyway after watching only four days of this (10 more days to go), I think whoever invented the cone meant to subject kittens to cruel and unwarranted punishment. Yes, by the next day she was eating and drinking normally. And she is much less active than normal. But she still gets up from sleeping to help me go to the bathroom 😁 It's like watching a three year old wearing a football helmet as a Halloween costume. Jumping up, no problem, jumping down limited peripheral vision and no working whiskers is done very slowly. The saddest thing - when she tries to scratch her ears and hits the cone instead. (Yes I do scratch them under the cone, but it's not the same). At least she has stopped trying to take it off but licks it trying to groom herself 🥲

2 hours ago, Scarlett45 said:

Awww the little lady. I have never had a cat do that but I often see that if there are cats for adoption at Petsmart. 

Any cats I have seen for adoption are in small cages in which the litter box takes up half the space - so no wonder they do that! Thank you for the well wishes. Lady Reese is a beautiful looking Tortie. I love Cosmo in his bandanas. Cavendish looks like the mischievous one.

Edited September 16, 2022 by luv2lurk

[Bastet]

1 hour ago, luv2lurk said:

It's like watching a three year old wearing a football helmet as a Halloween costume. Jumping up, no problem, jumping down limited peripheral vision and no working whiskers is done very slowly. The saddest thing - when she tries to scratch her ears and hits the cone instead. (Yes I do scratch them under the cone, but it's not the same). At least she has stopped trying to take it off but licks it trying to groom herself 🥲

If she's not walking around in reverse trying to back out of this horrible contraption, she's acclimated well.  They make better options than the cone, from a soft version of it to the inflatable donut to the "recovery suit" (although that doesn't allow as much air to the healing incision, so it's a mixed bag -- plus, most cats don't like being decked out in clothing any more than they like a cone, given how it restricts their bathing), but as a one-off she'll do just fine and it will quickly be a faded memory.

And it's highly likely to be more like ten at most rather than 14 days for her to heal.  You'll be able to see and feel the incision, and possibly give her supervised cone-free time accordingly at that point.

Once it's off, she's going to take the world's greatest bath and take the world's greatest nap.

[SuprSuprElevated]

[supposebly]

My girls, Scully and Fox. I really like this picture.

22 hours ago, Scarlett45 said:

Photo time

Cavendish looked like he would jump but didn’t. 

Lady Reese in an unusual lap time moment. She interacts but she’s not the attention whore Cavendish is. 
 

Cosmo in his fall bandana. He went to the groomer. 

I'm absolutely a cat person but I would take Cosmo!

[peacheslatour]

Tres chic!

  

[Suzn]

On 9/15/2022 at 8:46 PM, Scarlett45 said:

Photo time

Cavendish looked like he would jump but didn’t. 

Lady Reese in an unusual lap time moment. She interacts but she’s not the attention whore Cavendish is. 
 

Cosmo in his fall bandana. He went to the groomer. 

4 hours ago, supposebly said:

My girls, Scully and Fox. I really like this picture.

I'm absolutely a cat person but I would take Cosmo!

I love your fur babies, Scarlett45.  Beautiful kitties and Cosmo has the sweetest face I can imagine.

Supposebly, those girls are gorgeous!

I appreciate people sharing their pets! 😄

[Scarlett45]

23 hours ago, supposebly said:

My girls, Scully and Fox. I really like this picture.

I'm absolutely a cat person but I would take Cosmo!

Awww I love black kitties!

23 hours ago, peacheslatour said:

Tres chic!

  

Don’t you love how their paws are posed?

[theredhead77]

My kitten-cat (now 7 y/o) refused to wear the cone after he was neutered, and he refused to "take it easy". The vet told me to keep an eye on him but he ended up fine. He had emergency surgery about 5 years ago and he again refused to wear the collar. I was in tears trying to get him to keep it on and he ripped out his stitches from scratching. The vet ended up using staples and made him a little shirt that he couldn't get out that went on over the bandages. He healed up without issues and was back to his old self within a few days of getting his "shirt", despite having staples.

[isalicat]

My giant tom cat from when we lived in the mountains got into a fight with somebody and came home with a big hole and incipient infection. Naturally I rushed him off to the vet - they kept him overnight and sewed him up and sent him home with a drain in his upper neck and the cone on - this was two days before we were scheduled to go on a two week trip to Europe and he was going to be boarded during that time. He spent the night he got home whacking the cone against anything and everything, including the washer and dryer (boom! boom!) and since we clearly could not let him out, he was also super upset about that despite a nice new litter box to use. There was no possibility of sleeping through this and so the second day (a day before we actually left) I took him to the cat hotel (run by two ex-vet techs) and they took him a day early and wound up as the very best solution - they got his meds in and eventually took the drain out at the appropriate time. I came home to a happy healed cat and am forever grateful to those lovely ladies.