Pet(s): Photos & Discussion

[Bastet]

7 minutes ago, Mindthinkr said:

I loved how the Panther Jumanji was as determined to eat the box as well as play with it.

That was my favorite, too; that's Bandit with sacks - he eats them from inside, and then sleeps in his pile of confetti.  I don't have a picture of that, but I do of my favorite thing about cats and boxes - how they squish themselves into ones smaller than they are.  Here's Bandit sleeping in a shoebox lid:

Edited November 19, 2018 by Bastet

[AgentRXS]

17 hours ago, ratgirlagogo said:

Like there was ever a cat who could resist going inside a box or a bag.

 This was the first time she's shown any interest in bags, that's why I thought it was so cute. Boxes, on the other hand, are instant hits:

 

 

 

[isalicat]

Okay for all you animal lovers, here is a wonderful story from a terrible place (just now):

 

 

https://www.sfgate.com/california-wildfires/article/Cat-loves-firefighter-rescuer-Paradise-Camp-Fire-13405593.php

[DeLurker]

If you can find the video of that cat & firefighter it is something that just makes you feel smile.

Edited November 20, 2018 by DeLurker
Using gooey & warm in the context of the fires was dumb.

[theredhead77]

13 hours ago, isalicat said:

Okay for all you animal lovers, here is a wonderful story from a terrible place (just now):

https://www.sfgate.com/california-wildfires/article/Cat-loves-firefighter-rescuer-Paradise-Camp-Fire-13405593.php

Thank you for sharing that story. The horror of what happened to Paradise doesn't even have words. So many living beings were failed.

On 11/18/2018 at 1:40 PM, theredhead77 said:

If anyone is so inclined, the North Valley Animal Disaster group has been working their asses off to rescue and reunite pets from the Camp fire (this is the fire that burned the town of Paradise to the ground). They also took on the heartbreaking task of trying to find animal survivors within the ashes.

https://www.nvadg.org/

I posted this upthread but it's worth quoting myself as this thread grows. The bottom of this story has links to additional places that are helping animals (and humans)

 

[Moose135]

[CrazyDog]

On 9/8/2018 at 11:47 AM, CrazyDog said:

I haven't posted here much, but I had to share that we lost our poor Elliot this morning. He had a long and complex medical history, and got to the point where he had 3 serious conditions develop quickly, on top of his existing kidney issues. We are heartbroken, but know we made the right choice. He had enough sass left to give us an annoyed swish of his tail as we sat with him, and we were happy to see his old (cranky) self was still there :)

Elliot was a gift because he was such an unusual cat. I adopted him after fostering him, and he was such a grouch (much hissing, swatting, etc.) that I knew he was not going to be a candidate for adoption at the shelter. I ended up taking him back home after he was deemed a "behaviour fail" and he was a challenge. I never knew his backstory to know if he was under-socialized, or had been abused. He was never a lap cat, and really didn't like to be handled at all (especially at the vet, hoo boy). But he grew to love head scratches, and cheek scratches, and in his own way, would headbutt our hands for more pets, and then gently bite us, lol. 

He mellowed throughout the years, and loved his catnip toys, sunny rooms, and his old, sagging bed by the fireplace (I bought him a new orthopedic bed, but NO, he wanted his old bed, always, ha) so he had it until the end. He was cute, and curious, and I think he enjoyed having us around, always on his terms. I will always appreciate loving such a unique, grumpy, and feisty boy and learning to appreciate him as he was. 

He's an especially hard loss because at one point, my SO and I (between our two cat families), had 7 cats. Now we are just down to one old lovely girl, and she will of course be getting even more spoiled.

We miss you Elliot!

[DeLurker]

@CrazyDog - so sorry.  He's beautiful.

[MargeGunderson]

@CrazyDog, that is a lovely tribute to your feisty fellow. I’m so sorry for your loss.

[Mindthinkr]

@CrazyDog My condolences on losing Elliot. After reading your story, I think you saved him. You gave him a much happier and longer life and he knew that. Purrs from the Mindthinkr kitties. 

[walnutqueen]

I am so very sorry for your loss, @CrazyDog.

That was a beautiful tribute to your beloved Elliot, and brought tears to my eyes.  You are in my thoughts.

[CrazyDog]

Thank you all, and I'll have to come back and share something positive with a pic of our last girl. She's 17, and I think a bit stressed at this point to be the last cat standing from our cat posse, and I think she's picking up on our sadness too, but she's a tough old lady.  We lost her brother back in July, so it's definitely been a tough year. She'll be getting spoiled of course, and I'm glad I'll be off work and home with her over the next few days. 

She'll probably perk up with all the smells of people food tomorrow and I'll have to make sure she gets extra big servings of Fancy Feast Turkey and Giblets :) (It's all she'll eat, brand-wise. Sigh.)

[Mindthinkr]

@bosawks I’m ready for my Turkey Day Alli picture.  Please. 

[bosawks]

58 minutes ago, Mindthinkr said:

@bosawks I’m ready for my Turkey Day Alli picture.  Please. 

She aims to please, Happy Turkey Day everybody!

[Mindthinkr]

Thanks Alli. Hope you get good bites tomorrow. 

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone and our dear pets. 

[MargeGunderson]

This year I’m especially thankful to have this warm, caring group of people. You all were so supportive and thoughtful as I was going through all of Kitty Gunderson’s issues, and even more so when I had to say goodbye to her. I love seeing everyone’s adorable photos and hearing cute and funny stories of your pets. So, I’m thankful for you and all of your furry, feathered, and scaly family members. Happy Thanksgiving!

[bmasters9]

It seems as if Harry is becoming quite the mouser/hunter-- yesterday morning, I saw him playing with what appeared to be a mole or a vole. I didn't have my phone on me to take a picture of it, but suffice to say that I think he's learned what it means to be a hunter.

[DeLurker]

I made a cup of coffee and sat down to watch some news/weather.  Catty Face promptly took up his post sleeping in the cradle formed by my sitting in the lotus position (Indian style I think was the more common term growing up) and is snoozing away.

I now need another coffee, but am putting it off because clearly a cat napping shouldn’t be disturbed.

Edited November 23, 2018 by DeLurker
Inadequate caffeine muddled terms

[AgentRXS]

I woke up this morning to the sound of a loud, guttural honking  that went on for about 20 minutes. I went outside to see what was going on and found 3 peacocks on my building's roof! I threw some blueberries up to them for breakfast, which they seemed to enjoy.

Edited November 25, 2018 by AgentRXS

[bosawks]

Someone is ready for the holidays....

[theredhead77]

19 hours ago, AgentRXS said:

I woke up this morning to the sound of a loud, guttural honking  that went on for about 20 minutes. I went outside to see what was going on and found 3 peacocks on my building's roof! I threw some blueberries up to them for breakfast, which they seemed to enjoy.

And that is how you get a peacock!

@bosawks 1,000,000 / 10. Will pet!

Edited November 26, 2018 by theredhead77

[DeLurker]

Despite being a mix of two breeds of dogs known for guarding, Great Pyrenees and German Shepherd, Kook is definitely not a guard dog. 

He is an alert or an alarm dog - he will bark, very loudly, to tell you something is amiss.  He will continue barking until you go look and he knows you are aware of the danger.  He is not the kind of dog to rush fearlessly up the stairs when he hears something odd up there - he will bark, continuously, from the landing downstairs.

Kook's List of Things Amiss  in the past 24 hours:

• Different car parked in neighbors driveway;
• People putting up Christmas lights;
• Pizza delivery car parked street in front of neighbor's;
• Thud from shampoo bottle that slipped out of daughter's hand in the shower;
• Neighbors bringing garbage cans out to the street; and
• Any/all delivery trucks.

[JTMacc99]

Oh my, Kook is a silly dog.

In the Macc house, Danny (formerly fairly quiet yellow lab) over the last year or two has taken to just standing there and barking for no particular reason that anyone can figure out. Best theories so far are that:

1. Neo (who talks a lot) has taught Danny to do the same thing, but Danny's got crickets between his ears sometimes and where Neo has a reason for barking, Danny hasn't figured out that he needs a reason.
2. Danny is getting senile and he hears voices.

[emma675]

Bonnie is a big talker, too. She barks, growls, and throws herself at the windows when people, other dogs, squirrels, etc. walk by. Yet she'll run away when face to face.

She also talks back to me with whines and growly barks. She a good noisemaker but not a good guard dog.

[ABay]

Dog Haiku. Among many gems: 

I sound the alarm! 
Neighbor's cat! Come to kill us all! 
Bark, bark! Bark! Bark! 

[walnutqueen]

10 minutes ago, ABay said:

Dog Haiku. Among many gems: 

I sound the alarm! 
Neighbor's cat! Come to kill us all! 
Bark, bark! Bark! Bark! 

Needs one more bark.  ;-)

I have a watch cat.  He freaks the fuck out every goddamn day the mailman comes up the driveway, so no serial killer has a chance to sneak up on me!   He also alerts to the occasional neighborhood cat that dares to set foot on the property - but not to my semi-ferals, raccoons, possums or skunks.  He knows who belongs here, and has adopted my hermit ways.

[EighteenTwelve]

Lily's home!  She came upstairs at roughly 40 mph last night and Snip promptly ate her dinner for her, so everything's back to normal, pretty much.  And the radioactive iodine worked, because she's less hyper than she was and she's putting on weight.  She's still on the skinny side, but she's not painfully skinny.

It's only me and the cats, but it's a family, and it feels a lot better to have it all back together again.

[ABay]

Great news, @EighteenTwelve!

On the way home yesterday, I saw a gorgeous husky wearing a bright bandanna and thought"Our Alli is a fashion maven!" because, of course, where else would the idea have come from?

Edited December 1, 2018 by ABay
I can't believe I typed the wrong name!

[DeLurker]

Happy dance for Lily!

I spent an excessive amount of time on Rescue Me and Adopt-a-pet today looking at cats.  I think Sir Robin would be happier with a cat buddy since his efforts to buddy up with Kook are pretty one-sided.  When they aren't one-sided, it often results in a Pyr paw being plopped on him and that hardly feels like a sign of affection given the size difference.

I've been searching for articles about long haul truckers and their cat buddies who travel with them, but haven't really found that many.  I've seen Siamese or similar type cats on the road before, but they seem to be one of the cats I get an allergic reaction to. 

[isalicat]

If you haven't seen this yet, get out the hanky now....

 

https://ksby.com/news/2018/12/02/bushs-service-dog-lies-by-flag-draped-casket

[ABay]

Local news is hyperventilating because the Bush family lived here and both Pres Bushes went to Yale. It is endless and I pity any unsuspecting Yale student or staff who ventures out on campus today because they seem to all have been set upon by reporters. Shelter in place, people.

But about pets...

Girl cat seems to have yet another UTI. Or YAUTI as I'm starting to call them (so TM, me). The doctor doesn't want her to develop resistance to the antibiotic shot because "we've used it so much this year" so I'm picking up pills tomorrow. WTF? There 4 litter boxes in this house and I scoop them out every morning. I switched litters, although thanks to Stop & Shop's quixotic stocking policy, I had to pick up something else this week because it was the only fragrance-free one they had. This is so frustrating.

Edited December 3, 2018 by ABay

[DeLurker]

I surprised myself by coming home from the mall without a car full of cats & kittens.  My daughter needed to go to Barnes & Noble to pick up something so off we went.  A pet rescue group was set up in the open area near the approach where everyone has to traverse to get to the bookstore  - it is attached to the mall, but you have to go out an exit to get to it (worst explanation ever).  Anyway, it was cold and windy for here (so mild with a breeze for lots of you) and all the kitten types were burrowed under blankets and peaking their little faces out.  The ones really seeking attention were out of the blankets so they could be pet, but shivering.

I compensated for not becoming a cat lady in one afternoon by donating generously to them.  Based on the bills I saw in there, it was a prime location for getting donations.  Based on the number of people I saw seriously checking out the pups and cats, it was a prime location for connecting with potential adopters.

[Bastet]

On 12/3/2018 at 3:08 PM, ABay said:

Girl cat seems to have yet another UTI. Or YAUTI as I'm starting to call them (so TM, me). The doctor doesn't want her to develop resistance to the antibiotic shot because "we've used it so much this year" so I'm picking up pills tomorrow. WTF? There 4 litter boxes in this house and I scoop them out every morning. I switched litters, although thanks to Stop & Shop's quixotic stocking policy, I had to pick up something else this week because it was the only fragrance-free one they had. This is so frustrating.

Chronic UTIs are indeed frustrating!  How long between UTIs usually, and are they doing follow-up cultures* a week or two after the antibiotic shot wears off each time to make sure there are no bacteria lingering?  Because sometimes what happens is the antibiotic knocks out almost all of those little buggers, but the very few that remain reproduce and, voila, in time the infection is enough to cause symptoms again.  Lather, rinse, repeat, because you're never truly eradicating the infection with a single course of antibiotics.

Or, if they don't even run the original culture to determine the specific bacteria causing the infection, rather than just seeing the evidence of bacteria, period, in the urinalysis (or, at this point, just her usual symptoms) and treating based on an educated guess, that can also cause limited success.  Because Convenia is a broad-spectrum antibiotic, which treats the several bacteria that are the most-common culprits in UTIs.  But maybe her infection is caused by one of the less-common ones, and a different antibiotic is needed to eradicate it, because the one given only has moderate effect on that one.

Maddie's UTIs were always caused by E.coli (well, after the first few times, I quit doing the culture to confirm, but it's a safe bet).  That bacteria is sensitive to Baytril, so I initially gave her a course of those pills, but it's also sensitive to Convenia, so I switched to that injection for convenience with the next one, and so on.  When I realized the timing suggested maybe we were almost but not completely knocking it out, rather than there truly being discrete infections, I gave her a triple course of the Convenia - one shot every two weeks for six weeks.  Follow-up culture at two weeks and then at a month, I think, just to make absolutely sure.  Always clear, and she never had another UTI, so it was either a tremendous coincidence or my hunch was right and she just needed a longer course than is normally adequate.

[Moose135]

Someone sat still long enough last night for me to get a few photos:

[theredhead77]

I wanna pet the fluffy!

Edited December 11, 2018 by theredhead77

[ABay]

@Bastet, thanks. This vet does a follow-up after the first course of antibiotics but I'm not sure about specific bacteria. The last time, he did the triple course and that was with Convenia. This time I'm giving her Z...something pills and her first re-check is the 31st. They also need to draw blood for the T4 test then, too. She'll be so happy.. He has mentioned testing but I don't remember if he said what it was. 

 

@Moose135, Denali looks like she took inspiration from Henri the Existential Cat. "The duck, so obviously faux. Does it fool my human captors? It fills me with ennui..."

Edited December 11, 2018 by ABay

[Bastet]

Just now, ABay said:

This vet does a follow-up after the first course of antibiotics but I'm not sure about specific bacteria. He has mentioned testing but not if he said what it was. 

When you take her in for her follow-up, I would suggest finding out whether he is doing a culture, or just the urinalysis.  If the latter, he only knows there is an infection, but not the source, so is just making an educated guess as to what antibiotic to use.  In that case, I'd suggest a culture if this happens again, so you can find out if a different antibiotic should be used.  (UA quickly says yep, there are bacteria present in the urine sample, while culture says okay, after being let to grow in this petri dish for several days, we can see that it's [specific type of bacteria].  And then there's a list of what antibiotics different bacteria are sensitive to.)  But I hope you don't have to deal with YAUTI!

[smittykins]

Shadow got a cat tree from Grandma as an early Christmas present(unfortunately, I can’t upload a photo because I get a message saying “You can only upload 1003.52 kb”).  

[smittykins]

Question for cat hoomins:  Has anyone tried Tidy Cats Breeze?  I'm currently using Arm and Hammer Slide, and although it works pretty much as advertised, my main issue is that it's too. damn. heavy.  I have mobility issues(I have to use a wheeled walker)and cleaning the box is difficult since I have to lift it to scoop, plus I'm always afraid of missing the trash bag when I empty it out(plus it's a high-walled box since Shadow is a kicker).  The reviews I've seen online are pretty positive, but I've decided to run it by you folks first. 

TIA!

[bilgistic]

I use Fresh Step Lightweight Unscented. I like it because it's...lightweight and unscented. I just can't haul heavy litter up and down stairs. It's less dusty than Tidy Cats' lightweight offerings, which I used to use.

Edited December 12, 2018 by bilgistic

[ABay]

Whichever light litter is in a green container, that's the one I was using for a while until Stop & Shop didn't have the fragrance free and then I went back to Arm & Hammer which is brutally heavy but at least fragrance free and was on the shelf. I might go back to the green again. S&S is just so freaking unpredictable about what they have on their shelves. You know...I bet Chewy or Amazon would deliver any brand. Hmm.

[Mindthinkr]

32 minutes ago, ABay said:

I bet Chewy or Amazon would deliver any brand. Hmm.

I have just begun using Chewy and highly recommended them. I’m getting better prices than in the store, it’s deivered to my door and there’s no fuss. When I place an order it is usually here within 3-5 days. They have a great selection of products. It’s just less hassle and usually cheaper than Amazon. 

[bosawks]

On Dasher on Dancer on Prancer and that vixen Alli...

[SuprSuprElevated]

[CoderLady]

Holy shit. I'm speechless in admiration.

[ratgirlagogo]

Where is this?

ETA: where is this cat/dog/bunny/duck show?

Edited December 16, 2018 by ratgirlagogo

[theredhead77]

On 12/12/2018 at 1:06 PM, smittykins said:

Question for cat hoomins:  Has anyone tried Tidy Cats Breeze?  I'm currently using Arm and Hammer Slide, and although it works pretty much as advertised, my main issue is that it's too. damn. heavy.

Have you tried Arm & Hammer Clump and Seal lightweight? I used to use light weight and found it to be about as amazing as thee regular Arm & Hammer Clump and Seal, and Slide

On 12/13/2018 at 10:07 AM, Mindthinkr said:

I have just begun using Chewy and highly recommended them.

Another vote for Chewy. My only complaint has to do with delivery vs the company - they no longer deliver to my door. All packages are left in a package locker so I still have to lug it up the stairs.

[ABay]

@theredhead77, how strong is the scent from A&H lightweight? I've been looking for A&H Clump & Seal lightweight unscented but it's very hard to find. This house is very, very small and the one time I had to use a scented litter, it was a good thing the weather was nice enough to open the windows.

[smittykins]

I didn't know there was a Clump and Seal lightweight, I'll have to look into it(my supermarket definitely doesn't carry it).  The only issue I have with Chewy is the $49 minimum for free shipping.  I have Amazon Prime, so I can get most things from them shipped free.

[theredhead77]

6 minutes ago, ABay said:

@theredhead77, how strong is the scent from A&H lightweight? I've been looking for A&H Clump & Seal lightweight unscented but it's very hard to find. This house is very, very small and the one time I had to use a scented litter, it was a good thing the weather was nice enough to open the windows.

I don't recall specifically buying "unscented". I think I just bought plain. No difference between lightweight and regular when it came to smell, no dust, no tracking. I have serious allergies and it doesn't bother me at all. I only switched due to cost.

The formula may have changed over the past 3 years so please don't shoot the messenger.

http://www.clumpandseal.com/clump_and_seal-lightweight.aspx

 

If you have a Target Red Card (debit or credit) you get free 2-day shipping too. I can't find C&S on Amazon for a decent price anymore and my mom orders it for their house on Target.com

Edited December 15, 2018 by theredhead77