Pet(s): Photos & Discussion

[NutMeg]

7 minutes ago, Bastet said:

I wonder how that myth got started.  It used to be such a cliché in stories and such to find a wayward kitty and give her a bowl of milk, and then it seemed like all of a sudden any time that happened people started jumping up and down hollering that cats are lactose intolerant so, OMG, don't give them milk ever!  Well, yeah, some are, but certainly not all, and it's usually pretty obvious if they are.  If the cat has the runs every time you give her milk, then don't give her milk anymore.  Otherwise, dairy is a good treat for cats - they need a lot of protein, and are able to handle a moderate amount of fat.   

I was told that cats that have been having milk regularly will continue to take it fine - and happily, but if they stop having milk for a while, they stop being able to process it and therefore become lactose intolerant. It has proved true with my cats so far, is you experience different or supporting that theory?  

[walnutqueen]

3 minutes ago, stewedsquash said:

It is the way you impart knowledge without being a know it all. And you are on my top ten funny posters list. And the interesting life list. 

Oh, wowza - that is just about the nicest compliment ever - but now I am feeling SO much more pressure to be funny, interesting and smart without appearing so ...  not to mention learning how to accept unearned praise!!!  I'm just a lone loser who has zero shits to give and no time left for pretense; mostly my hands or arms giive out before I can post some objectionable screed that alienates everyone (Yay for disabilities).  ;-)

 

2 minutes ago, Bastet said:

I wonder how that myth got started.  It used to be such a cliché in stories and such to find a wayward kitty and give her a bowl of milk, and then it seemed like all of a sudden any time that happened people started jumping up and down hollering that cats are lactose intolerant so, OMG, don't give them milk ever!  Well, yeah, some are, but certainly not all, and it's usually pretty obvious if they are.  If the cat has the runs every time you give her milk, then don't give her milk anymore.  Otherwise, dairy is a good treat for cats - they need a lot of protein, and are able to handle a moderate amount of fat.   

Yep, and it's unfortunate that when it comes to pet nutrition, the professionals are often not the experts.  At least with the internet it's easier to find published articles, but I wish more academic articles were accessible to all.  Owner to owner communication can help fill in the gaps; I checked out a Yahoo group for feline diabetes a while back and was so impressed by the library of information that had been amassed and willingness of owners to help each other.  Because it's downright shameful how many of them had asked their vets if a diet change could help, so maybe they don't have to give insulin, and the vets either just pointed to the prescription food or flat-out said no, it wouldn't matter what was fed.  The latter is simply wrong, and the former isn't as useful as giving a brief overview of cats as obligate carnivores and how carbohydrate consumption affects blood glucose, so owners understand why a food is being recommended (and can evaluate food choices).

I guess it's somewhat a reflection of what can go on with our own doctors, but at least where someone needs a nutritionist as part of their healthcare team, it's pretty easy to find one.  Nutritionists for cats and dogs are still pretty small in number.

And yet, with all those human nutritionists out there, one still has to be informed enough to choose one who isn't a blithering idiot.  Common sense, innate intelligence and the desire to learn is still one's best defense against misinformation.

 

1 minute ago, NutMeg said:

I was told that cats that have been having milk regularly will continue to take it fine - and happily, but if they stop having milk for a while, they stop being able to process it and therefore become lactose intolerant. It has proved true with my cats so far, is you experience different or supporting that theory?  

My personal experience ONLY, is that all the feral kittens started out drinking my supplemental milk.  At a certain age, a couple of them just seemed to stop of their own accord.  But I DO know that in half a century of indoor, feral and barn cats, if they start out as milk lovers, they don't get the shits from milk.  Ever.  I did rescue a feral kitty who certainly hadn't had milk in his adult life before me, and he loved it and showed no ill effects from it.  But as he s-l-o-w-l-y habituated into my household from his segregated room (he was very sick, injured & scared for a very long time), he also seemed to lose his lust for the lactose.  Who knows why - I just followed his lead and kept him as strong and healthy as I could before the Aids eventually got the best of him.  He had a happy and safe life after being BB shot in the hip by some fuckwit on the hillside next to my workplace (who's still on my kill-if-I'm-terminal list).

[JTMacc99]

1 minute ago, walnutqueen said:

but now I am feeling SO much more pressure to be funny, interesting and smart without appearing so ...

Just keep being yourself. You're plenty interesting as it is. The second it looks like you're trying too hard, @stewedsquash will demote you without a second thought. 

[walnutqueen]

2 minutes ago, JTMacc99 said:

Just keep being yourself. You're plenty interesting as it is. The second it looks like you're trying too hard, @stewedsquash will demote you without a second thought. 

Heh - so, so true.  There's nothing like the internet to remind you of your small and inconsequential place on this planet ... oh, except the rest of the natural fucking Universe, of course!  ;-)

[NutMeg]

3 minutes ago, walnutqueen said:

Heh - so, so true.  There's nothing like the internet to remind you of your small and inconsequential place on this planet ... oh, except the rest of the natural fucking Universe, of course!  ;-)

Don't sell yourself short: I for one am looking forward to your posts, and enjoy the vista of the fierce purple dinosaur! (and gee, someday I must find an avatar, and how do I even start?). 

[walnutqueen]

Just now, NutMeg said:

Don't sell yourself short: I for one am looking forward to your posts, and enjoy the vista of the fierce purple dinosaur! (and gee, someday I must find an avatar, and how do I even start?). 

Don't ask me - I mentioned wanting a T-Rex (fierce, with teeny ineffectual semi-disabled arms, just like me), and a wonderful helpful poster provided me with this avatar (and step-by-step instructions) - which almost everyone assumes just looks like Barney (not the fearsome image I'd hoped would strike abject terror into the hearts of mine enemies,  but in the long run, much more benign).  Otherwise, I'd be a Rainbow Baby aged out into the Anonymous Initial avatar (probably in an unflattering color).

[Bastet]

On 4/29/2017 at 0:00 PM, NutMeg said:

I was told that cats that have been having milk regularly will continue to take it fine - and happily, but if they stop having milk for a while, they stop being able to process it and therefore become lactose intolerant. It has proved true with my cats so far, is you experience different or supporting that theory?  

I've heard of that happening, with milk or other things -- plenty of owners have found themselves muttering, "But he used to eat that all the time and was fine."

I don't have any personal experience testing that particular lactose intolerance theory, as I've never given a cat milk regularly; they just drink out of my glass sometimes when I'm having milk, which is only occasionally to begin with.

(Yes, we share germs.   No, I don't care.)

[walnutqueen]

1 hour ago, Bastet said:

I've heard of that happening, with milk or other things -- plenty of owners have found themselves muttering, "But he used to eat that all the time and was fine."

I don't have any personal experience testing that particular lactose intolerance theory, as I've never given a cat milk regularly; they just drink out of my glass sometimes when I'm having milk, which is only occasionally to begin with.

(Yes, we share germs.   No, I don't care.)

HAH!!!  My cats (now cat) always ate off my plate.  I never shared my food with a boyfriend, but my furballs were allowed to take liberties ...

[raven]

laser treatment for soreness on her back leg, must have felt good, she was still for 99% of it!

 

[Bastet]

Oh, the goggles make it perfect.  She should be a spokesdog for the laser manufacturer.  Hope she feels better!

[DeLurker]

I think I'd make my dog wear goggles all the time if he looked that cool in them!

[harrie]

That's an awesome picture! I hope the treatment helps her.

[bosawks]

Soooo, I'm cat sitting and now I'm fairly convinced that my lamp is haunted....

[chenoa333]

On 5/12/2016 at 8:12 PM, riley702 said:

Yeah, when the people at work found out Imp had died, one coworker got all excited and said, "My sister has a stray cat she needs to get rid of!" She still has no clue how close she came to getting punched in the face. My grief is NOT an opportunity for you. That said, the teacher did look happy, so maybe they know her better than we are assuming. One article said the teacher's cat was 16, so maybe it had been declining for awhile and there had been discussions with the students beforehand.

Sorry I'm a year late to this thread...but I just want to expound on my red hot hate for anyone who uses the phrase "get rid of" when referring to pets/animals/wildlife/ human babies. How about "getting rid of" despicable moronic people? Thanks! Peace and love ?

[DeLurker]

2 hours ago, bosawks said:

Soooo, I'm cat sitting and now I'm fairly convinced that my lamp is haunted..

The cat just might be messing with your head.

[Petunia13]

[Qoass]

@Petnunia13, not only do I love that picture but I love your cabinets!

[NutMeg]

1 hour ago, Qoass said:

@Petnunia13, not only do I love that picture but I love your cabinets!

And that reminds me of a coworkers who asked to see pictures of my baby when I went back to work and then were all "Wow, is that the view from your place" or "You have a gramophone!?". That still cracks me up. And reminds me that people DO look at the background.  

[bilgistic]

Hi, everyone I know from other threads/forums/boards/whatever! I thought I'd stop breaking the rules and start talking about Bilgisticat in this thread only.

He likes spankings (I call them "butt pats"), but not nearly as hard as that kitty in the video. It's maybe a "golf clap" level intensity, on each of his "haunches" when he's standing. I don't know how I figured out he likes it. He'll stand with his butt in the air against my leg to tell me he wants butt pats. He's crazy.

I ordered some new sandals and had them delivered to work. When I got home, I took them off near the door. He really likes them. He was rubbing his face all over them. I caught him in the act, looking guilty.

There are an awful lot of brown hues in this photo.

[Bastet]

At least he looks repentant; here was Baxter (when the poor guy had temporarily gone from hyper to hypothyroid and put on A LOT of weight) looking at me, like, "What?  Your lazy ass left two pairs of shoes inside the back door rather than taking them to the closet, and they are now mine; go away and leave me to my fetish."

 

[ABay]

Boy cat's brother used to try to stick his entire head in one of my loafers. He was a very silly cat.

Actually, he was a very dignified cat until he tried to stick his head in a shoe, or when I'd pet him and he'd start to wiggle and drool.

[walnutqueen]

8 hours ago, ABay said:

Boy cat's brother used to try to stick his entire head in one of my loafers. He was a very silly cat.

Actually, he was a very dignified cat until he tried to stick his head in a shoe, or when I'd pet him and he'd start to wiggle and drool.

My Beanie Baby used to try to stick his whole face into my mouth.  It happened once, when I yawned, and he proceeded to carefully inspect my teeth; then it sorta became our "thing".  (Never said I wasn't a crazy old cat lady, now, did I?).  

[isalicat]

Question (again!) for the catexperts here...

My Louis (adopted us in January from the local animal shelter when we visited on the perfect day) who is a ten year old (or so) neutered tom has settled in perfectly and seems to really appreciate our built in cat door (its a two door mini tunnel with a little rain hood on the outside wall, built into the wall of my office) and has mostly stopped using the litter box (YAY). Of course now that it is spring he has turned into hunterboy and has been bringing in live and not so live lizards (the little garden variety like you find throughout California) through his door. My last cat (the extraordinary Mister Oh who crossed the Rainbow Bridge July 2016) learned fairly quickly not to eat the lizards as they made him sick and just ignored them even though there is really nothing else to hunt here. I think Louis ate a lizard as he defecated unusually in the house last night and also refused food (enormously unusual) most of the day....but by this afternoon seemed to be back to normal and then he brought a black spider in from outside and ate it in front of us.

 

My question: what can cats eat (are spiders okay? clearly lizards are indigestible or not?) that is not rodents or birds? Before we moved here to central coastal California this was not a concern because we had tons of ground squirrels and multiple varieties of birds for any hunter type cat to go for...here there are absolutely no squirrels, mice, anything rodent like and the birds aren't stupid enough to spend time on the ground.

Who knew a ten (plus) year old elegant orange tom would suddenly decide that wild food is more attractive than the top sirloin bits he got as snacks yesterday (not that he did not eat those up)?

[DeLurker]

I'd guess a cat would kill a spider for sport, but not to eat.  And since he was fending for himself before landing at the shelter I would assume he's been around the block on what is safe to eat.

[Bastet]

I researched the lizard issue a while back when Bandit (one of my parents' cats) suddenly, after many years of merely chasing them/playing with them upon capture, with the lizard maybe losing its tail but otherwise emerging victorious - and after a lifetime (plus my mom's lifetime) of other cats doing the same - started eating them.  Particularly the heads.  As if it were a delicacy of which we silly humans were unaware.  (And then usually wanting a kiss afterward; eww.)  This was for the lizard species found in southern CA, so may not apply, and I've forgotten many of the details upon finding out they were safe.  But, the bottom line was most lizards were not toxic to cats, although there were some species to avoid -- mostly big-ass things, and skinks, and we don't have any of those.

So, identify the specific species of lizards hanging about in your yard, and check their toxicity specifically.  Louis is probably okay eating what he finds, but you want to know for sure.  Same with spiders; most are fine for them to eat, but not all (and with spiders it's harder to determine all the varieties with which they may come in contact).  Plus, you have to differentiate between "will make him ill for a day and teach him not to eat it again" and "will cause serious, possibly even life-threatening, illness" when doing your risk assessment if a cat is going to be given outdoor access.

Rodents can actually be a huge problem, even though they're a staple of a cat's natural diet, because they may have ingested poison (but not yet succumbed to it) from someone's traps.  Any cat who has brought me a mouse or rat, I have not let them eat it, just in case.  In my lifetime, cats have generally had limited outdoor time - supervised, confined to the yard, only during the middle of the day, etc. - so it hasn't been a huge issue, but it has arisen.

They're generally much more at risk from their predators (plus cars and humans) than their prey, but there are exceptions and if you're going to let a cat out in any capacity you want to explore that; good for you asking, and I hope you find a good source of information specific to your locality.

I'm happy Louis has settled in so well!  You really did go looking at just the right time (for him, and for you).

Edited May 7, 2017 by Bastet

[ABay]

Alert! Disgusting digestive issue ahead!

There are no lizards here so I have no idea what is causing the girl cat's diarrhea today. I've had to clean her and the floor, and change my clothes, twice so far today. It's been a long time since this has happened and then it was, I think, because she ate some of the boy cat's hairball treats. I did just open a fresh bag of her dry food but it's the same brand as always. *sigh* Poor baby and poor me.

[Bastet]

Yuck; that's not a pleasant way for either of you to spend your Sunday!  I hope it stops soon.  Did you double-check that there's no recall on the food?  There was a new one issued within the past two or three days, but I can't remember the brand. 

[isalicat]

Thanks! Louis seems to be completely back to normal today so I assuming the lizard just gave him a day's stomach upset (as it did my previous cat when he ate one when we first moved here). The lizards are the classic southern California mini-dinosaur looking things and because of all the extra rain we got they have been much more plentiful as they have a lot more food available this year. Louis only goes out into our very high fenced back garden so I don't have to worry about anything getting him, thankfully. When we lived in extreme northern California in the mountains my tom (Mister Oh) hunted every single day (through the snowy winters too) and his preferred food was ground squirrel (yes, of course we fed him but he just had to add on something he caught as well) and the heads of our local blue jays. (He would leave us the ground squirrel tails and the rest of the blue jays as our share - lovely!). As we used to drive back and forth between the homes in the north and the central coast we passed a lot of wineries and have decided that should we ever go into the wine making business, in honor of Mister Oh, we shall name our first vintage "Headless Blue Jay Chardonnay".

[ABay]

Hee. But wouldn't it be a more apt name for curacao?

Here's hoping girl cat follows Louis's example and gets whatever it is out of her system. As far as I can tell, no recalls for her dry food but I've taken it away and will just put out the wet food tonight. Boy cat will be annoyed at having to share more than usual. Life is hard. Right now I'm strategizing bed linen. It will be chilly tonight but the comforter is a pain in the ass to wash and has a lot of white, so I should roll it up and get out an easier-to-wash blanket.

ETA: Day 2. Morning dawned with a small explosion that caught all in its path. Everything was OK after breakfast and the litter boxes looked normal when I got home this afternoon. Since then however, there has been another event, smaller and more contained, but still not showing the improvement I'd hoped for after removing the dry food. Although it's cold enough outside to have the heat on, I have a window open a few inches because cat diarrhea is not only a sensory spectacle for the eyes and ears, but also the nose. Poor stinky kitty.

Day 3. No improvement and additional disgusting details. I'll be buying a lot of replacement textiles with what's left of my savings account when this is over. We're going to the vet in the morning. We were just there last Tuesday. I'm trying not to freak out but not really succeeding.

Edited May 10, 2017 by ABay

[DeLurker]

@JTMacc99 brought up the Meyers Brigg Personality Test a while back in Relationships (maybe?).  I tripped across this today and thought it was kind of fun -

What Dog Breed Should You Get Based on Your Personality Type.

Turns out I should have a shiba inu - Shhh!  Don't tell Kook!

[walnutqueen]

On 5/7/2017 at 3:25 PM, ABay said:

Hee. But wouldn't it be a more apt name for curacao?

Here's hoping girl cat follows Louis's example and gets whatever it is out of her system. As far as I can tell, no recalls for her dry food but I've taken it away and will just put out the wet food tonight. Boy cat will be annoyed at having to share more than usual. Life is hard. Right now I'm strategizing bed linen. It will be chilly tonight but the comforter is a pain in the ass to wash and has a lot of white, so I should roll it up and get out an easier-to-wash blanket.

ETA: Day 2. Morning dawned with a small explosion that caught all in its path. Everything was OK after breakfast and the litter boxes looked normal when I got home this afternoon. Since then however, there has been another event, smaller and more contained, but still not showing the improvement I'd hoped for after removing the dry food. Although it's cold enough outside to have the heat on, I have a window open a few inches because cat diarrhea is not only a sensory spectacle for the eyes and ears, but also the nose. Poor stinky kitty.

Day 3. No improvement and additional disgusting details. I'll be buying a lot of replacement textiles with what's left of my savings account when this is over. We're going to the vet in the morning. We were just there last Tuesday. I'm trying not to freak out but not really succeeding.

I'm almost afraid to ask about smelly cat, ABay.  No news is good news, I'll assume?

[JTMacc99]

1 hour ago, DeLurker said:

@JTMacc99 brought up the Meyers Brigg Personality Test a while back in Relationships (maybe?).  I tripped across this today and thought it was kind of fun -

What Dog Breed Should You Get Based on Your Personality Type.

Turns out I should have a shiba inu - Shhh!  Don't tell Kook!

For me, German shepherd:

It would be difficult to find a more loyal breed. Watchful, obedient and intelligent, they want to serve a purpose and keep everyone safe, which often leads them to be overprotective of their families. If you can relate, a German shepherd might be the perfect companion to share the load of responsibilities.

[Jaded]

8 hours ago, DeLurker said:

@JTMacc99 brought up the Meyers Brigg Personality Test a while back in Relationships (maybe?).  I tripped across this today and thought it was kind of fun -

What Dog Breed Should You Get Based on Your Personality Type.

Turns out I should have a shiba inu - Shhh!  Don't tell Kook!

If I had a dog it apparently should be a Tibetan Terrier. Seeing the way a Chow Chow is described in that list they sound like a good fit too.

[MrSmith]

We have an Irish Wolfhound and I'll never own another breed of dog again, except possibly a St. Bernard. Of course, with the St. Bernard I wouldn't be expecting a great amount of trainability, as with the Irish Wolfhound. St. Bernards are just there for loves and looks. Irish Wolfhounds are extremely easy to train. They'll learn things in two or three repetitions and, if there's food involved, they can learn after doing it once. I've got ours trained for voice commands when we're walking him: "come left" and "come right" for left and right, "come about" for making a u-turn. He also knows the words "street" and "sidewalk", which is useful for the times when you want him to walk on the street and then later for getting back on the sidewalk. For some reason, he couldn't associate "left" and "right" without prefacing them with "come", which is the reason for those commands. He recognizes intersections and automatically stops at them and waits for a command to proceed, and he can tell the difference between driveways and intersections (and does not stop at driveways). He also learns our usual walking routes around town and will expect "come" vs "come left" or "come right" at intersections where we never turn. So, if we do one day turn there, then the first time we do it will mess him up because he wasn't expecting the other command; but in the future, he'll never forget that we turned there once and correctly obeys the command given.

He's also learned "squirrel" and "tree rat", knows them to be the same thing, and happily chases them if encouraged. He learned the routes the squirrels take in the yard when running away from him and has managed to pluck one off the tree because of it. It survived uninjured and now it barks at him whenever it sees him in an effort to scare him off. The rabbits have learned he's only a threat between 8am and 8pm and they'll freely roam the yard outside of those hours; the rest of the time, they stay by the edges of the yard and near their escape hatches.

It's really funny at night when he's getting his dinner. He gets a frozen turkey neck every night. In an effort to reduce his aggression and possessiveness over it that he shows to the cat, we made him start sitting, then shaking, and finally laying down in order to get it. He learned that routine after doing it twice. Now when it's dinner time, he automatically sits, shakes, then lays down. If you're not quick enough, he'll repeat the routine a couple of times before he starts to whine and cry in an effort to get you to give it to him.

[ABay]

Everything's fine now. Thanks for asking, @walnutqueen. The vet cleaned off her butt (the look of surprise on girl cat's face was priceless), applied some ointment, and gave me some pills to give her. I feel guilty about the ointment because I'm sure I caused a lot of the irritation when trying to clean her up. Poor baby. 

[NutMeg]

In three month time, give or take, I'll need to take my cat on two long haul flights. Luckily, no quarantine will be involved. My question is, have any of you done it before? So far I have one experience of a short+long haul flight with a non sedated cat in the cabin with me (vet thought she was comfortable enough with me to withstand the flight without being sedated; she emptied her bladder at take-off, unfortunately our second flight was overbooked, and we were in the airport hotel for a night, then a 12 hours flight during which I frequently took her to the bathroom to get her out of the bag when she became agitated) and one of a medium haul flight (3 or 4 hours) with the same cat, sedated and in cargo, still half sedated when I picked her up. The first experience seemed to have been traumatic for her, as for a while she was nervous and fearful, which for her was unusual. The second was less so, and she immediately began exploring the place instead of hiding.

But now with an other cat, I have no idea about how to proceed, it seems to me that the sedating limited stress for the cat (and also for me, but only after I saw she seemed fine) but I don't know if it's possible for a 14+ hour travel time. So any input would be greatly appreciated.

[Petunia13]

Any small dog parents here? I'm looking to get a travel soft carrier for my George. Normally we and my mom and his sitter have car seats for him. But he needs something for transport on train. One I looked at has mesh windows and a zippy side piece that folds out into a mesh expansion so he even walk inside. He's the size of a young kitten. But not like scarily Lilliputian. He's a Yorkie terrier male ...and ultra close with me... so I'm not sure he's gonna be gaga about being in a carrier and confined though. 

[Petunia13]

On 5/4/2017 at 10:06 PM, Bastet said:

At least he looks repentant; here was Baxter (when the poor guy had temporarily gone from hyper to hypothyroid and put on A LOT of weight) looking at me, like, "What?  Your lazy ass left two pairs of shoes inside the back door rather than taking them to the closet, and they are now mine; go away and leave me to my fetish."

 

He knows shoes...I mean he is wearing boots himself. 

[Mindthinkr]

I tried to post a photo of my cats, then just one, but it keeps telling me the file is too big. How do y'all do it? 

[raven]

@Mindthinkr - I resize them in Photobucket.

 

[Mindthinkr]

@raven...which one. The first one I installed makes books and prints but I didn't see (or figure out) how to downsize them. Thanks for taking the time to help. 

[raven]

@Mindthinkr - hope I'm understanding your question!  You sign up here http://photobucket.com/.

After you upload your photo, go to Library, select your photo & click "edit" and then "resize" ,  If you're still having trouble, PM me & I can send you a screen shot. 

Once you've linked the photo here, click on it and you can shrink it a bit also by pulling from the corners or the top or bottom.

More physical therapy to get us back on track :)

[Mindthinkr]

@raven I'm a notoriously private. Person and do not agree to the terms from twitter (allowing them to post under my name) or allowing them to collect personal information. Dang. I'll work on this because I have a fellow poster whom I'd like to show my kitties to. 

I must have missed why your cutie needs physical therapy. I'll read back on the thread to see if I can find out why but do know that you're a good person trying to get your pet back on track and have the best health possible. I dislike people who don't care for their animals (and most who don't care for any persons animals). These "pets" are gifts of love to us. I am a good slave to my two cats...tho my vet would beg to differ as my male is overweight. I gave him an excuse. He gave me points for originality but said that he needed to lose ner the less. Lol...

Thank you for your offer to screenshot. I'll keep searching for a way to get a photo uploaded on to here. Hope you pup makes a full recovery soon.  

Ah, found it. Laser treatments. Glad he/she is doing better. The photo with the goggles is too adorable for words! 

Edited May 26, 2017 by Mindthinkr
Had to search for info, then add to post.

[Lisin]

@Mindthinkr if you're doing it from a phone my suggestion is (this is a clunky workaround but it will work) email the photo from your phone to yourself and when given the option for what size the picture should be select medium or small. Then go into the email and re-save the image to your photo album. Then use THAT one to upload here. (I think texting the picture might also work). 

ETA you can also upload the picture to imgur.com you don't have to join. Just go to the site, click upload, select the image, upload it and then (this is important) right click and select "Copy Image URL" and take that url and just paste it into a reply here. That will also work. 

[raven]

@Mindthinkr thanks for the nice words.  My dog Tai had her rear leg amputated in October (weak bone break due to cancer); hence the PT.  For a 14 yr old gal she gets around pretty well.

I'm not on twitter or FB either.  You can check out our Questions section to see if there's other suggestions for posting photos.  There's also a test zone to mess around in.

38 minutes ago, Mindthinkr said:

I am a good slave to my two cats..

Isn't that the truth?  Tai works with me a few days a week.  She really does amaze me, if I lost a limb, well, I would be doing much, much worse than she is!

[Mindthinkr]

I tried LisaN's trick. Let's see if it works. 

aha...here is my brave little girl. 

that is my boy and (sorry this is taking me 3 posts but I technologically challenged) 

Edited May 26, 2017 by Mindthinkr
Punctuation

[Mindthinkr]

This is the fox squirrel that lives in my brother's back yard. 

@Thanks to @Lisin and @raven for all your help. Couldn't have done this without your suggestions! 

[walnutqueen]

26 minutes ago, Mindthinkr said:

I tried LisaN's trick. Let's see if it works. 

aha...here is my brave little girl. 

that is my boy and (sorry this is taking me 3 posts but I technologically challenged) 

They are lovely.

20 minutes ago, Mindthinkr said:

This is the fox squirrel that lives in my brother's back yard. 

@Thanks to @Lisin and @raven for all your help. Couldn't have done this without your suggestions! 

Guess there's no stopping you now, @Mindthinkr!   ;-)

[Mindthinkr]

@Bastet  Hello. I was given your name by a fellow poster who mentioned that you have done research on cat foods and diets for them. I have a grossly overweight kitty who is going to have big problems if I don't get it under control. He's under duress as we are in the middle of a move and he has had to spend the last 6 weeks confined to a room with his sister. She has no weight issues. He had previously lost 4 lbs and the vet was happy with the progress. Do you have any suggestions of what I can feed him or do to drop the poundage? I've tried Science Diet Diet and he didn't like it. Soon he will be into his new home and not be confined and I'm sure that will help some but think that dietary measures should be taken or diabetes will soon be an agenda that won't be pleasant for either of us. Thank you for any help that you or anyone else can give us. 

[Bastet]

23 hours ago, Mindthinkr said:

@Bastet  Hello. I was given your name by a fellow poster who mentioned that you have done research on cat foods and diets for them. I have a grossly overweight kitty who is going to have big problems if I don't get it under control. He's under duress as we are in the middle of a move and he has had to spend the last 6 weeks confined to a room with his sister. She has no weight issues. He had previously lost 4 lbs and the vet was happy with the progress. Do you have any suggestions of what I can feed him or do to drop the poundage? I've tried Science Diet Diet and he didn't like it. Soon he will be into his new home and not be confined and I'm sure that will help some but think that dietary measures should be taken or diabetes will soon be an agenda that won't be pleasant for either of us. Thank you for any help that you or anyone else can give us. 

It's best to stay away from "diet" foods and simply feed fewer calories of a good food.  Canned or raw food is generally healthier; cats' natural diet is high in protein, moderate in fat, and very low in carbs, and almost all dry food is much more carb-heavy.  If your kitty is a kibble addict, try Nature's Variety Instinct, EVO, or Wellness Core; those use pretty good ingredients and are much lower in carbs than most.

For canned food, Nature's Variety, Wellness, Halo, and Tiki are brands that use good-quality and species-appropriate ingredients (the protein should be animal, not plant) and have good caloric composition (percentage of calories from protein, fat, and carbs).  There are others, too -- just look for animal protein to make up the first few ingredients on the can, no wheat, corn, or soy, and either no grains or starchy vegetables (peas and potatoes are common ingredients) or, if they do appear, they're about halfway down the ingredient list.  For (pre-made, frozen) raw, Nature's Variety and Primal are two I know to be good.

You can take a look at Dr. Lisa Pierson's chart showing the protein, fat, carb, and calorie content of a wide variety of canned foods to get yourself started; she did a lot of number crunching so we don't have to.  (The numbers on the can are just "guaranteed analysis" -- a maximum or minimum it falls below or above, rather than accurate "as-fed" percentages.)

Then, once you find something nutritious that your cat will actually eat (because the "best" food in the world is of absolutely no value if your cat won't eat it), figure out how many calories of it to feed.  A very rough average is 20 calories per pound - e.g. 200 calories per day for a 10-pound cat - to maintain weight, and about 15-20 percent less than that to lose weight.  But it's important to reduce calories gradually, rather than suddenly reducing them by a significant margin, so first calculate how many calories per day you have been feeding.  Fairly recently, I talked with someone who discovered she'd been feeding her cat nearly 400 calories per day.  Suddenly cutting that in half or more could have been dangerous to the cat; hepatic lipidosis generally occurs when a cat, particularly an overweight cat, suddenly stops eating and goes a few days without, but it is possible for it to happen (again, particularly in an overweight cat) with a dramatic drop in calories, even though the cat is still eating.  That's a very serious illness, so it's best to avoid the risk.

So, it's best to reduce calories gradually, about 15-20 percent at a time, until you're where you want to be.  Oh, and protein keeps them feeling fuller longer than carbs, so that's another benefit to feeding a dieting kitty a high-protein/low-carb food -- they're a little less cranky.

Exercise is healthy too, of course, so hopefully when you're settled into your new place and Kitty is out of confinement, you can get some good play time in.

Best of luck to you, and let me know if you have any further questions.

Edited May 27, 2017 by Bastet