Small Talk: We'll Be Right Back

[Bastet]

2 hours ago, mmecorday said:

My sweet Simon was recently diagnosed with diabetes and is on two units of insulin twice a day. He is also on a special diet. Has anyone here used chewy.com for kitty insulin supplies?

I'm sorry to hear about the diagnosis, and hope a low-carb diet will send him into remission and he won't need insulin permanently.  A veterinarian compiled protein/fat/carb content data on a large assortment of canned cat foods (it also has phosphorus content, for anyone whose cat has CKD); her chart makes for easy comparison.  (There are commercial formulas that are higher in protein and lower in carbs, while using better ingredients and costing less than the prescription formulas, so there are options.)

It has been so long, I can't remember where I got everything.  I got the insulin at the Costco pharmacy, as that was by far the cheapest in my area, but I can't remember where I ordered the needles (I don't remember there being a significant price difference among sources when it came to needles, though).

I got the meter and test strips (the AlphaTRAK, which is made for cats and dogs, and which I recommend, although the glucometers for people tend to be accurate enough to get by) through American Diabetes Wholesale.

Karo syrup is what I kept on hand in case of hypoglycemic emergencies.

Good luck!  It's overwhelming at first, but you get into a routine.

[mmecorday]

Quote

Good luck!  It's overwhelming at first, but you get into a routine.

Thanks! He's already responding well to the insulin therapy. He had gotten really skinny and now he's putting on weight and looking better every day.

[SoMuchTV]

3 hours ago, mmecorday said:

My sweet Simon was recently diagnosed with diabetes and is on two units of insulin twice a day. He is also on a special diet. Has anyone here used chewy.com for kitty insulin supplies?

When my kitty was at that stage, the insulin & supplies she needed weren't cat-specific, they were regular human stuff.  We were already Sam's Club members, and it was worth it to bump the membership up to the premium level and get the pharmacy discount for the insulin and needles.  I think I found the best glucose monitor at Target; I can't remember if we got the strips there or somewhere online. 

Hopefully you won't get to that point!  Also, when I googled cat diabetes, there was one site that tended to stand out as the best info.  I don't remember the name now, but you'll probably get a sense for what's helpful, somewhere between big kitty pharma and earth mother organics. Now that I've probably offended pretty much everybody, I'll just wish you & Simon the best.

[mmecorday]

I'm tempted to take one of those DNA tests to confirm that I'm 100% that bitch.

[friendperidot]

I feed my dogs Purina Dog Chow. Over the past almost 50 years of adulting with my own dogs, and I'm now on my 10th & 11th dog, all my dogs have eaten Purina Dog Chow. Sometimes I go with the Lamb and Rice, but most of the time I stick with the Chicken. My Pit doesn't care much for the lamb and rice. Most of those 9 previous dogs have lived well into their teen years, I lost one because of the ending of a relationship, another I had to rehome because of landlord, one died when she got out of the gate my ex-husband had left open and she was hit by a car, all the others were 12-16 years old when I lost them. Purina seems to work well, my dogs are happy and healthy, they are not overweight, they all seem satisfied with the amount of food they get, except for the Pit, and his name is Quark because he's greedy. But he is a healthy weight for his size so he's not getting more than I feed him now. 

I've been ordering my food from Walmart for about a year, first on the 2 day delivery, it's easy to find $35 to order from Walmart when one of the items is a 50 lb bag of dog food. I've tried Chewy, I couldn't bring myself to spend $50 on dog food and toys, so I paid the shipping. I liked Chewy except they don't have 50 lb bags of Purina, they have 40 lb bags, which is fine most months. I like them because the soft stuffed animals from Kong that Quark likes so much are 1/3 of the price I've paid on Amazon, but I am not buying him $30 of stuffed toys at one time.

And there are times I buy 20lb bags because we have plenty of food from the previous month. I keep their food in 2 plastic bins with latches, I try to not buy more food than I need. 

[mmecorday]

Here's a recent photo of my sweet Simon. He continues to do well on his insulin therapy and is looking so much better these days. Thanks for all the input on the best ways to obtain the supplies he needs to keep him healthy.

[peacheslatour]

What a beautiful boy! 

[Colleenna]

2 hours ago, mmecorday said:

Here's a recent photo of my sweet Simon. He continues to do well on his insulin therapy and is looking so much better these days. Thanks for all the input on the best ways to obtain the supplies he needs to keep him healthy.

He's gorgeous. 

Balancing his food and insulin must be hard on you. I hope I never have to do that. 

[Brookside]

I learned to cover my water glass with a coaster when I discovered my kitty with her head all the way in.  Because apparently human tap water is much tastier than kitty water from the same tap.

I also learned to cover my butter dish, which I keep out, when I got up one morning and discovered those tell-tale cat lick marks on the top of the butter.

I would occasionally let her have a tiny piece of my toast with butter and Marmite (weird super salty topping that Americans loathe but Brits and cats love).

[smittykins]

China(my previous cat)would lick the condensation off my soda bottles, and now Shadow has started doing it.

[funky-rat]

35 minutes ago, smittykins said:

China(my previous cat)would lick the condensation off my soda bottles, and now Shadow has started doing it.

The vet once told me it's because cats prefer "fresh" water, and to them, it's fresh if it "moves".  Condensation often drips down.  It's another reason why many cats prefer to drink from the faucet or a fountain.  Ours use a fountain.

[Prevailing Wind]

I have to be careful with my glass of V8. Stella loves tomato stuff & I've caught her dipping her paw into the V8 & licking it off.

Many decades ago, I had a white chocolate Easter bunny. I ate his ears & left the rest for the next day. When I got up and I looked at him, there was a hole in his belly with those tell-tale lick marks around the edges. Chester had commandeered my bunny.

Edited October 4, 2019 by Prevailing Wind

[funky-rat]

Ugh.  The talk about school cliques makes me wonder about whether that kind of crap ever truly goes away.

Every year, for the past few years, I do a thing at work where I make tacos in the crock pot, and share with the works groups in my vicinity.  I can't feed the whole facility, but if anyone who isn't in our work group wants one, they can have one.  I don't exclude anyone.  I always did it as a morale booster and a teamwork kind of thing.  I usually do it when we're at a low for morale, etc.  It's always gone over well.  I spend about $50 out of my pocket, and don't ask for reimbursement (because I don't think it's right to do that).  I just ask people to bring a side dish or something to share, but stipulate that it's not necessary, since I know people are at various financial states (myself included).

Since I started it, employees have come and gone.  The group we have right now is not one of my favorites, but this year I did tacos anyway, just later in the year.  Same spiel as every year - please bring something to share if you can.

One of the work groups used to sit in my area, but late last year, they received a very fancy and expensive work space separate from everyone else.  Most of us were left to scratch our heads as to why.  Since they're now on their own and left to police themsevles, they waste a TON of time, but get tons of overtime complaining that they can't keep up with their work.  They make these stupid flyers that they send around for bogus events.  Some of us have brought up about how they seem to have time and use company resources for this stuff but can't get their work done, but no one says anything to them directly (like a supervisor).  And it does no good to go to their supervisor because they will be vigoroiusly defended - even as I find more and more mistakes in their work (excuses are made).  Nevermind that their mistakes directly affect me.  If I don't catch them, it comes back on me.

This year, I had no choice but to set the crock pot up in their space - the space I usually set it up was being used by someone else - a government representative who came in to do some audit stuff.  When I sent the notice around, two people (out of almost 20) got back to me that they would bring something, and they did.  I provided meat, various shells (including gluten free because of one co-worker), and cheese.  One co-worker provided tomatoes, and another one provided a bunch of sides, like salsa, sour cream, etc, and a big bag of tortilla chips.  No one else brought anything.  Prior years, we've had desserts, drinks (non-alcoholic), and other things.  Most people ate, but no one brought anything else.  And some of that's on me - I did say they didn't need to bring anything, but stuff to share would be appreciated.  The people in that workgroup said they'd bring drinks.  They did not.  Because everything was set up in their area, they ate TONS of meat.  They bragged about how much they ate.  They contributed nothing.

As mentioned before, they post bogus flyers.  A few weeks ago, they posted some Crocktober Fest thing.  I couldn't decide if they were making fun of me, or what (since their flyers are always bogus).  The bottom of this flyer said that they wanted people to bring stuff in (and says nothing about them making anything) and if you want to eat, there's a charge of $2.00 per plate.  I decide it must be fake because of that, but still wonder if they're making fun of me.

Apparently earlier this week, a 2nd flyer went around to other work groups, but not mine.  This apparently is a serious thing.  Today, we come in to find all kinds of crock pots cooking stuff.  People are tripping over themselves to provide desserts, sides, etc.  They're all hanging around talking about how awesome this is.  I always did my thing as a morale booster.  Instead, this all feels really "mean girl" to me, even though the people who dreamed it up are all men.

I'm eating my frozen dinner.  Someone asked us what we made - we all said nothing, because we weren't told about it.  The one person in my work group was really unhappy about this, and she's not shy, so she called and told them it would have been nice if they told us, and asked what they provided. One made a small contribution, but otherwise, nothing.  She kept on them in a jokey, but firm sort of way, and then he finally said he had to go, but grumbled something about people not appreciating what they're trying to do.

I've made the decision I'm not doing tacos next year. I can put that $50 to better use.  They all have the recipe.  If they want to make them, they can.  I'm not angry. I'm mildly annoyed, but more than that, I'm hurt.  I don't like some of these people, but the rest I thought were OK.  The one that I bought special shells for didn't eat anything.  That was $4 down the drain becuase no one else wanted gluten free shells.  I sent several reminders, and she brought a salad.  I wanted to be sure she was included, because she's often not when people send us Pizza, etc.  HR, who was in the break room as I nuked my lunch, said that she didn't realize not everyone was told about it.  I said "My opinion is include everyone, or don't do it".  She agreed.  Our one younger employee said "That's kind of not very nice".  I said no, it isn't, and I've decided against tacos next year.  I said I couldn't help but feel that this was in some ways a thinly veiled stab at me (since I know two of them turned out to be not very nice - when they sat with us, they'd make fun of our one developmentally delayed employee, and make comments about other ones), and this past time, no one really bothered to contribute, so I didn't think I wanted to do it again.  She said "I don't blame you".

I would have never thought the many years ago that I started here, that it would devolve to crap like this.  We always had a fun, upbeat, family type atmosphere.  Disappointing.  And they are supposedly doing this every Friday. 

My co-worker that called them (she's somewhat new here) said that a friend sent her coffee, donuts, and two tins of popcorn from the local gourmet popcorn place a few months ago.  She said that work group took the donuts and popcorn back to their work area.  One of them took the coffee.  She got none of it.  She said she would have shared, but that was incredibly rude.  I will just be keeping to myself from here on out.

[Suzn]

On 10/3/2019 at 11:26 AM, mmecorday said:

Here's a recent photo of my sweet Simon. He continues to do well on his insulin therapy and is looking so much better these days. Thanks for all the input on the best ways to obtain the supplies he needs to keep him healthy.

What a beautiful boy!  He reminds me of my ginger boy I had named Samson, who was a sweetheart.

[Suzn]

32 minutes ago, funky-rat said:

Ugh.  The talk about school cliques makes me wonder about whether that kind of crap ever truly goes away.

Every year, for the past few years, I do a thing at work where I make tacos in the crock pot, and share with the works groups in my vicinity.  I can't feed the whole facility, but if anyone who isn't in our work group wants one, they can have one.  I don't exclude anyone.  I always did it as a morale booster and a teamwork kind of thing.  I usually do it when we're at a low for morale, etc.  It's always gone over well.  I spend about $50 out of my pocket, and don't ask for reimbursement (because I don't think it's right to do that).  I just ask people to bring a side dish or something to share, but stipulate that it's not necessary, since I know people are at various financial states (myself included).

Since I started it, employees have come and gone.  The group we have right now is not one of my favorites, but this year I did tacos anyway, just later in the year.  Same spiel as every year - please bring something to share if you can.

One of the work groups used to sit in my area, but late last year, they received a very fancy and expensive work space separate from everyone else.  Most of us were left to scratch our heads as to why.  Since they're now on their own and left to police themsevles, they waste a TON of time, but get tons of overtime complaining that they can't keep up with their work.  They make these stupid flyers that they send around for bogus events.  Some of us have brought up about how they seem to have time and use company resources for this stuff but can't get their work done, but no one says anything to them directly (like a supervisor).  And it does no good to go to their supervisor because they will be vigoroiusly defended - even as I find more and more mistakes in their work (excuses are made).  Nevermind that their mistakes directly affect me.  If I don't catch them, it comes back on me.

This year, I had no choice but to set the crock pot up in their space - the space I usually set it up was being used by someone else - a government representative who came in to do some audit stuff.  When I sent the notice around, two people (out of almost 20) got back to me that they would bring something, and they did.  I provided meat, various shells (including gluten free because of one co-worker), and cheese.  One co-worker provided tomatoes, and another one provided a bunch of sides, like salsa, sour cream, etc, and a big bag of tortilla chips.  No one else brought anything.  Prior years, we've had desserts, drinks (non-alcoholic), and other things.  Most people ate, but no one brought anything else.  And some of that's on me - I did say they didn't need to bring anything, but stuff to share would be appreciated.  The people in that workgroup said they'd bring drinks.  They did not.  Because everything was set up in their area, they ate TONS of meat.  They bragged about how much they ate.  They contributed nothing.

As mentioned before, they post bogus flyers.  A few weeks ago, they posted some Crocktober Fest thing.  I couldn't decide if they were making fun of me, or what (since their flyers are always bogus).  The bottom of this flyer said that they wanted people to bring stuff in (and says nothing about them making anything) and if you want to eat, there's a charge of $2.00 per plate.  I decide it must be fake because of that, but still wonder if they're making fun of me.

Apparently earlier this week, a 2nd flyer went around to other work groups, but not mine.  This apparently is a serious thing.  Today, we come in to find all kinds of crock pots cooking stuff.  People are tripping over themselves to provide desserts, sides, etc.  They're all hanging around talking about how awesome this is.  I always did my thing as a morale booster.  Instead, this all feels really "mean girl" to me, even though the people who dreamed it up are all men.

I'm eating my frozen dinner.  Someone asked us what we made - we all said nothing, because we weren't told about it.  The one person in my work group was really unhappy about this, and she's not shy, so she called and told them it would have been nice if they told us, and asked what they provided. One made a small contribution, but otherwise, nothing.  She kept on them in a jokey, but firm sort of way, and then he finally said he had to go, but grumbled something about people not appreciating what they're trying to do.

I've made the decision I'm not doing tacos next year. I can put that $50 to better use.  They all have the recipe.  If they want to make them, they can.  I'm not angry. I'm mildly annoyed, but more than that, I'm hurt.  I don't like some of these people, but the rest I thought were OK.  The one that I bought special shells for didn't eat anything.  That was $4 down the drain becuase no one else wanted gluten free shells.  I sent several reminders, and she brought a salad.  I wanted to be sure she was included, because she's often not when people send us Pizza, etc.  HR, who was in the break room as I nuked my lunch, said that she didn't realize not everyone was told about it.  I said "My opinion is include everyone, or don't do it".  She agreed.  Our one younger employee said "That's kind of not very nice".  I said no, it isn't, and I've decided against tacos next year.  I said I couldn't help but feel that this was in some ways a thinly veiled stab at me (since I know two of them turned out to be not very nice - when they sat with us, they'd make fun of our one developmentally delayed employee, and make comments about other ones), and this past time, no one really bothered to contribute, so I didn't think I wanted to do it again.  She said "I don't blame you".

I would have never thought the many years ago that I started here, that it would devolve to crap like this.  We always had a fun, upbeat, family type atmosphere.  Disappointing.  And they are supposedly doing this every Friday. 

My co-worker that called them (she's somewhat new here) said that a friend sent her coffee, donuts, and two tins of popcorn from the local gourmet popcorn place a few months ago.  She said that work group took the donuts and popcorn back to their work area.  One of them took the coffee.  She got none of it.  She said she would have shared, but that was incredibly rude.  I will just be keeping to myself from here on out.

Sounds like a pearl before swine situation.

[funky-rat]

24 minutes ago, Suzn said:

Sounds like a pearl before swine situation.

Yeah.  It's a tough pill to swallow, but my decent co-workers are mostly gone, and I just won't bother anymore, since no one appreciates it, for the most part.  I don't want a pat on the back, or anything, but I also don't need to be a doormat either (for lack of a better word)  I just wanted to provide a fun thing for everyone, and it's different now.  Times change, and not always for the better.  We always do a work group picnic over the summer, when we reach a point where the rest of the facility is off while maintenance is done.  The work group that organized the thing today didn't contribue to that either.  The more that I think about it, they grabbed food and went in to their area, and watched TV.  But as much as I try to not let it bug me, it does hurt.  I'll get over it.  I don't like being of the "all for myself" mentality, but as of late, it's going to be necessary.

[smittykins]

5 hours ago, funky-rat said:

The vet once told me it's because cats prefer "fresh" water, and to them, it's fresh if it "moves".  Condensation often drips down.  It's another reason why many cats prefer to drink from the faucet or a fountain.  Ours use a fountain.

I have considered buying a cat fountain, but have had concerns about possible noise(which are not as bad now that I’m no longer in a studio apartment)and water splashing on the floor.

[funky-rat]

10 minutes ago, smittykins said:

I have considered buying a cat fountain, but have had concerns about possible noise(which are not as bad now that I’m no longer in a studio apartment)and water splashing on the floor.

We have had several.  The first one was an inexpensive one that had the reservoir on the top.  Big mistake.  Tabs thought it was her duty to try to flip it over.  All....the....time.  So we gave that one to my aunt - it was a little noisy, and she had a blind cat.  It helped him find his water. 

The 2nd one was nice, but it had filters that looked like teabags, and they sat at the front of the spout (this one had a reservoir in the back, where she couldn't get at it).  She wouldn't rest until she dug the filter out, and chewed it up (the vet said it wouldn't hurt - it was just charcoal).  That one ended up going to a friend who wanted a fountain.  Plus, we had also found out that Tabs had feline acne, and they recommended we ditch plastic things.

The 3rd one we had a for a long time.  A Drinkwell 360, stainless steel (the spout was plastic, but she seemed to be OK).  It was heavy, and didn't make much noise unless the water level got low.  We had it when we got Sylvester, and it bit the dust about 2 months ago.  The pump just died, and when we moved, we had very hard water, so the whole thing had deposits on it that wouldn't come off.  We opted not to go with another one of those because they've really gotten expensive, and the filters were expensive.

We're on number 4.  A Cat-it flower fountain (it has a blue base -they have a few different ones).  It's all plastic, but Tabs doesn't get acne much anymore.  I like this one because the water is in the base and unlike the Drinkwell, they can't really splash around in it, like Sylvester would do (that one has the water in a moat type thing, and it also runs out of the top). It also has much fewer parts to clean than the Drinkwell.  They seem to like it, and there are a number of ways to configure it.  Tabs doesn't care, but Sylvester doesn't like to get his whiskers wet, so we've had to fool around with it to make him happy.  I think it cost less than $40 on Amazon (the Drinkwell is around $100 if you get the stainless), and the filters (which are hidden in the base) aren't bad either.  We fill this one with filtered water, since ours is so hard.

We rarely have spills, but even if we do, we always set the fountains on a small bound piece of carpet with a rubber bottom (like a kitchen mat).  It helps quiet the vibrations, and helps with any spills that might happen.

Edited October 4, 2019 by funky-rat

[Bastet]

2 minutes ago, funky-rat said:

A Drinkwell 360, stainless steel (the spout was plastic, but she seemed to be OK).  It was heavy, and didn't make much noise unless the water level got low.  We had it when we got Sylvester, and it bit the dust about 2 months ago.  The pump just died, and when we moved, we had very hard water, so the whole thing had deposits on it that wouldn't come off. 

The Drinkwell is a very good and very popular fountain, but its design makes it problematic for those whose water is really hard; the motor can't be properly accessed and cleaned, so it burns out quickly due to the build-up.  In those areas, the Pioneer - similar quality, features, and finishes - is a better option, because you can actually get to the motor to thoroughly clean.

(I should add the caveat that this was the case years ago when I was comparing, and I'm only assuming the designs are the same now.)

11 hours ago, Brookside said:

I learned to cover my water glass with a coaster when I discovered my kitty with her head all the way in.  Because apparently human tap water is much tastier than kitty water from the same tap.

My cat would hardly drink water if we didn't share a glass.  She occasionally drinks out of her bowl, and drinks from a big vase on the coffee table once a day, but her favorite water source is my glass (I drink water all day, and have some on the nightstand overnight).  I have several different sets of glasses in different styles and colors, and her favorite is one with a wide mouth, allowing her to stick her head in, access water, and still breathe comfortably, until the water level is pretty far down (other glasses, she can only reach if it's at least 3/4 full).  So that became the style of glass I use for my water every day.  Because Riley is in charge; I just live here.

[funky-rat]

3 minutes ago, Bastet said:

The Drinkwell is a very good and very popular fountain, but its design makes it problematic for those whose water is really hard; the motor can't be properly accessed and cleaned, so it burns out quickly due to the build-up.  In those areas, the Pioneer - similar quality, features, and finishes - is a better option, because you can actually get to the motor to thoroughly clean.

(I should add the caveat that this was the case years ago when I was comparing, and I'm only assuming the designs are the same now.)

Sylvester is 7, I think (I know, bad catmom), and we got him when he was 6 months old.  We got the Drinkwell before we got him, so it held up pretty well.  I just didn't want to reinvest that kind of money when Tabs doesn't really get much in acne breakouts anymore (save for some blackheads occasionally), and the Drinkwell had a bazillion parts to take apart, clean, and put back.  Plus Sylvester liked to splash in the fountain, and the moat would get full of hair.  We could get to the pump in the Drinkwell, and you could take it apart (they had a video that showed you how and how to use Q-tips to clean it out) but the design of putting the foam filter around the pump always boggled me.  I get they wanted to keep it clean, but the filter itself was a magnet for stuff, and then water wouldn't flow freely (and mine would get gunked up quickly).  We got lucky and got a Forever Filter for the cone before PetSafe sued the guy who made it multiple times.  My dad bought a Drinkwell 360 for his cat, and I gave him my extra pieces, and my Forever Filter.  He was tickled.

[Brookside]

1 hour ago, Bastet said:

My cat would hardly drink water if we didn't share a glass.  She occasionally drinks out of her bowl, and drinks from a big vase on the coffee table once a day, but her favorite water source is my glass (I drink water all day, and have some on the nightstand overnight).  I have several different sets of glasses in different styles and colors, and her favorite is one with a wide mouth, allowing her to stick her head in, access water, and still breathe comfortably, until the water level is pretty far down (other glasses, she can only reach if it's at least 3/4 full).  So that became the style of glass I use for my water every day.  Because Riley is in charge; I just live here.

Aha, you just think you drink water all day.  It's actually Riley who is doing most of the drinking 😉

Edited October 4, 2019 by Brookside

[ABay]

I bought the Pioneer Pet Big Max stainless steel fountain 5 years ago and it's still going. It's easy to clean, especially compared to the plastic Drinkwell ones I had before. It's quiet unless the clam that holds the motor and filter slides up against the cover and then it hums a little. This is the Amazon link.

[Colleenna]

One of my cats is fascinated with the toilet. She wants to drink out of it. Now mind you, there are TWO full bowls of fresh water (because, ya know, she can't share with her sister) that are pretty much untouched. 

She must be part dog. 

[smittykins]

Yup, same with mine.  That’s why I now have to keep the lid down.

[Gramto6]

My late Baby Boo would only drink slowly running water in the bathroom or from a bowl on the bathroom sink. He had 2 other bowls but never touched them.  Lost him to lymphoma just before Christmas last year.

Edited October 5, 2019 by Gramto6
typo

[Brattinella]

We have exceptionally bad tap water, so we rented a water cooler for years.  Then we got smart and bought the unit outright, and the water company delivers just the water now.  That is what our LittleFatKitty gets, same as us.

[Prevailing Wind]

My cats' water bowl is on the counter in the bathroom. They don't like water dishes on the floor and they don't like 'em near their food, so every time I go to the loo (often, I'm an old woman) they get the water dumped & refreshed. Stella tries not to let me see her drinking. If I come upon her at the water bowl, she startles, like I caught her doing something wrong. I have to coo to her to calm her down. She is SUCH a scaredy cat. Bosco doesn't care. He watches me brush my teeth, knowing he's gonna get fresh water right after.

[Annber03]

5 minutes ago, Prevailing Wind said:

Stella tries not to let me see her drinking. If I come upon her at the water bowl, she startles, like I caught her doing something wrong. I have to coo to her to calm her down. She is SUCH a scaredy cat.

Ours do that, too, with the food dishes. I'll be going to throw something in the trash, for instance, and they'll stop eating and back away and I'm just like, "It's okay, you can keep eating!" I don't know if they think I'm coming to steal their food or what. 

With the water, one of our cats, Mitsi, doesn't meow and isn't very fussed about it one way or the other. Lily, on the other hand? She's VERY vocal in the mornings about it. She'll come out and sit and stare into the kitchen, or she'll go and sit by the water dish and just wait there, and meow constantly until she gets her water. And she'll rub up against my mom, then flop onto her side and roll around and be like, "Scratch my tummy!" beforehand as well. 

And the cat we had before these last two would go and sit by the fridge to signal she wanted some water.  

[peacheslatour]

12 hours ago, Annber03 said:

Ours do that, too, with the food dishes. I'll be going to throw something in the trash, for instance, and they'll stop eating and back away and I'm just like, "It's okay, you can keep eating!" I don't know if they think I'm coming to steal their food or what. 

With the water, one of our cats, Mitsi, doesn't meow and isn't very fussed about it one way or the other. Lily, on the other hand? She's VERY vocal in the mornings about it. She'll come out and sit and stare into the kitchen, or she'll go and sit by the water dish and just wait there, and meow constantly until she gets her water. And she'll rub up against my mom, then flop onto her side and roll around and be like, "Scratch my tummy!" beforehand as well. 

And the cat we had before these last two would go and sit by the fridge to signal she wanted some water.  

We need a "d'aaww" button.

[smittykins]

I can’t put any kind of rug or mat underneath Shadow’s food/water bowls because she’ll paw at the upper-left corner and usually make a mess.(Last week, I woke up to find both bowls overturned onto the floor and a soaking-wet rug, which promptly went into the trash.)

[funky-rat]

On 10/5/2019 at 4:17 PM, smittykins said:

I can’t put any kind of rug or mat underneath Shadow’s food/water bowls because she’ll paw at the upper-left corner and usually make a mess.(Last week, I woke up to find both bowls overturned onto the floor and a soaking-wet rug, which promptly went into the trash.)

Tabs would overturn the self waterer that our Shadow cat loved before she died.  The fountains are heavy and she'd probably have a hard time overturning them, but if she likes to play, she might want to splash in them, like our Sylvester would with the Drinkwell.

[mmecorday]

I have two cats who cannot wait for me to finish showering so they can jump in and lap up what remains of the water. I don't know what the deal is there.

[smittykins]

Ditto!(Mine’s an accessible shower, so unless I tuck the shower head behind the bench, Shadow will lick it.)

[Prevailing Wind]

20 hours ago, mmecorday said:

I have two cats who cannot wait for me to finish showering so they can jump in and lap up what remains of the water. I don't know what the deal is there.

Stella doesn't lick; she just sits in the residual water. And then walks into the bedoom and jumps up on the bed to have a seat, so I've got wet pawprints in the hallway and a wet spot on the bedspread. Bosco just gets panicky when I'm in the shower - he stands on the toilet seat/lid and looks at me through the glass doors and howls. I open the door just wide enough for him & ask him if he wants to take a shower, but when the first lil bit of water splashes on him, he's outta there like black lightning!

[Ashforth]

At some point in his life, maybe around age ten, my late cat started freaking out when I got into the shower. He would literally race at me and wrap his front claws around my leg and bite it as I stepped into the tub. I never figured out what caused his distress, but I after a couple of deep scratches, I did determine that it was in both of our best interests to close the bathroom door before I turned on the water. I'm no fool, haha!

[Annber03]

Our cats like to sit outside the bathroom door and stare at it whenever one of us is in there. Occasionally if the door's open a crack, they'll either peek in or sneak in and look around a bit, maybe sit on the toilet seat or climb in the cupboard under the sink. 

Something about cats and bathrooms, I guess :p!

[Bastet]

I never close any of my interior doors, so it used to be that when a guest closed the bathroom door behind her/him, there would be two cats pawing at it, wondering why on earth they were being denied visitation.  Thankfully, pretty much everyone who visits me also has pets and is familiar with the routine rather than feeling stalked by furry creepers.  But the cat I have now doesn't like anyone other than me, so she has no interest in what guests are doing, just how soon they'll be leaving.

[Colleenna]

1 hour ago, Annber03 said:

Our cats like to sit outside the bathroom door and stare at it whenever one of us is in there. Occasionally if the door's open a crack, they'll either peek in or sneak in and look around a bit, maybe sit on the toilet seat or climb in the cupboard under the sink. 

Something about cats and bathrooms, I guess :p!

I have to be really quick if I want to use the bathroom in private. If I'm too slow in closing the door, my black cat races in and winds her way back and forth between my ankles while I do my business. 

[Jynnan tonnix]

We used to have a cat, strictly indoor, that only liked any sort of water which collected between pebbles, or had a rock of some sort in the dish. For a long time, her water-bowl of choice was a shallow dish which had an anthurium rooted on a lava rock in the middle. She also liked more murky water - maybe it had more flavor or something - but I would constantly be trying to keep her head out of my brush water when I was trying to do watercolors.

We currently have two cats. Cora (on my avatar) is pretty easy going, but Onyx has been obsessed with running water since he was a kitten. He even learned how to flush the toilet just to watch the water going down the drain. He doesn't quite have that sort of ambition anymore, but he still loves to head-butt his reservoir-type water bowl to make it gurgle.

My dog (a little Papillion) is scared of that bowl, though. Even if his own bowl runs dry and there is plenty of water two feet away in the other, he won't touch it, but cry until his own bowl is refilled.

[mmecorday]

Before I discovered Simon was diabetic, he was peeing rivers of urine every time he used the litter box and producing clumps the size of bicycle seats. I was getting in my cardio just cleaning out the cat box. He's not nearly as thirsty as he was so he's not visiting the cat room as much. Thank God.

[bad things are bad]

Quote

 It's another reason why many cats prefer to drink from the faucet or a fountain.  

One of our cats happily drinks from the dog's water dish. The other one will either lurk on the edge of the tub when someone's taking a shower and wait for splashes, or jump on the vanity until you turn the faucet on to make a little trickle for him to drink. 

[Prevailing Wind]

My brother has a cat that will drink ONLY out of a certain flower vase. The other 3 cats are fine with that. So they each have an auto-feeder food dish that's keyed to their individual microchips because of all the special diets each cat is on, along with a very tall pink vase with water in it that has to get changed/refilled several times a day.  Not to mention the tiny girl cat whose skeletal problems prevent her from grooming her butt so it has to be wet-wiped at least twice a day, right before she gets her asthma treatment. Those hard-to-place/special-needs kitties have found a really great home!

[Bastet]

4 hours ago, Prevailing Wind said:

So they each have an auto-feeder food dish that's keyed to their individual microchips because of all the special diets each cat is on,

A few years ago, when my friend adopted two kittens and was having trouble keeping them out of her skinny old man cat's food, I said they should make feeders that will only open for a particular cat, like doggy doors that only function upon sensing the dog's chip, so unwelcome critters can't come in/cats can't go out.  I got online and, sure enough, someone had already had that same brilliant idea long before me, as it already existed.  

So she promptly bought three of them.  Except the old man cat simply allows his little sister to stick her head in his feeder once he's opened it, and happily munch along beside him.  But it improved the situation enough that he gets enough to eat - and his fat little brother is losing weight because he doesn't realize he could do the same thing.

[Colleenna]

33 minutes ago, Bastet said:

A few years ago, when my friend adopted two kittens and was having trouble keeping them out of her skinny old man cat's food, I said they should make feeders that will only open for a particular cat, like doggy doors that only function upon sensing the dog's chip, so unwelcome critters can't come in/cats can't go out.  I got online and, sure enough, someone had already had that same brilliant idea long before me, as it already existed.  

So she promptly bought three of them.  Except the old man cat simply allows his little sister to stick her head in his feeder once he's opened it, and happily munch along beside him.  But it improved the situation enough that he gets enough to eat - and his fat little brother is losing weight because he doesn't realize he could do the same thing.

Wish I'd known about that 12 years ago. I have a fat cat and a skinny one. I put the skinny one's dish UP, because fatso can't jump and get to it. The skinny one will sometimes ignore her food and nudge fatso out of the way. (The girls are the same age ---17--- and I got them together when they were 8 weeks old.)

[Bastet]

7 minutes ago, Colleenna said:

Wish I'd known about that 12 years ago. I have a fat cat and a skinny one. I put the skinny one's dish UP, because fatso can't jump and get to it.

I did that routine, too.  Baxter was only a little overweight, but I swear his ass was made of lead, and he couldn't jump very high.  Maddie was quite agile, and she also liked to eat throughout the day/night - it took her all day to eat her breakfast and all night to eat her dinner.  Baxter - who ate each meal in one or two sittings - was not about to have food sitting out and not help himself to it, so I put her bowl on top of the dryer and problem solved.

My friend with the feeders used to keep her fat cat out of her skinny cat's food by putting the skinny cat's bowl in the bathtub, with the shower door opened wide enough for the skinny one to get through.

This group of three, though, none of those tricks would work.  So, enter the feeders.  They're pretty cool.  Expensive, but a big help.  If anyone who has problems keeping pets out of each other's food is curious about them, here is the website for the Surefeed microchip feeder.

[Prevailing Wind]

My SIL says the little girl cat is really skittish about the feeder, but if she wants to eat...

I don't think they would work in my house - Bosco would just bully his way into Stella's by pushing her out of the way.  Right now, they exchange dishes. When I feed 'em, she's on the right & he's on the left. I turn around to put the food back into the cupboard and when I turn back around, he's on the right & she's on the left. They're so goofy....

...even with litterboxes.  He thinks, "I poop in this box and pee in that box," whereas she thinks, "This is my box; that one is his." So I end up with similar amounts of solids to sift, but one box is totally saturated while the other stays mostly dry. I love my quirky cats.

[Bastet]

35 minutes ago, Prevailing Wind said:

Right now, they exchange dishes. When I feed 'em, she's on the right & he's on the left. I turn around to put the food back into the cupboard and when I turn back around, he's on the right & she's on the left.

Before it became necessary to put Maddie's food up on the dryer where Baxter couldn't reach it, I called them Yin and Yang, because they'd start out facing forward the normal way, her in front of the left bowl and him in front of the right, but within seconds they would always switch to her body in front of the left bowl but her head stretched over to the right one and him moved to position his body behind that right bowl with his head eating out of the left. 

[Bastet]

On 10/19/2019 at 10:33 PM, Prevailing Wind said:

I don't think they would work in my house - Bosco would just bully his way into Stella's by pushing her out of the way. 

I forgot to address this -- if he truly pushed her out of the way, her feeder would close, because it wouldn't detect her chip anymore, and his attempt would be thwarted.  But the way his plan would work would be if she held her ground, just scooting over a bit so he could stick his head in there right alongside hers and eat while she was eating. 

[Colleenna]

Over in the "Favorite Commercials" thread, someone mentioned Goobers (the candy). Anybody know if they still make Goobers? I grew up loving those and Raisinets. 

Dang. Now I want Raisinets. 

[smittykins]

I believe so, I’ve seen them in stores.