Your daily cat and kitten news

[Vintage Paw]

Is Breeze a pain to groom, CRI?

I've never had a long haired cat. It's taken 14 years to get Charlie to let me brush him. He'll stay asleep while I do it now. I've got a normal bog-standard cat brush, and one of those amazing Zoom Groom things, that manages to get a ton of fur off him. They're meant to be a bit kinder than those other ones I can't remember the name of now that are metal --- I've heard differing reports that they may cut the fur instead of just removing dead fur, which is why so much comes off. The Zoom Groom is amazing though.

 

[Vintage Paw]

She always looks so spectacularly pissed off. She's great

 

[CRI]

Is Breeze a pain to groom, CRI?

I've never had a long haired cat. It's taken 14 years to get Charlie to let me brush him. He'll stay asleep while I do it now. I've got a normal bog-standard cat brush, and one of those amazing Zoom Groom things, that manages to get a ton of fur off him. They're meant to be a bit kinder than those other ones I can't remember the name of now that are metal --- I've heard differing reports that they may cut the fur instead of just removing dead fur, which is why so much comes off. The Zoom Groom is amazing though.

She's not too bad. She has one serious brushing session a week with the Furminator (I think that's the one you mean and it is pretty savage, yes, so really best only for long hairs and semi-long hairs and judicial application,) and an ordinary wire pin brush. Sometimes she has a "fun brush" which doesn't yield much fur, but she seems to get off on it at least. I have notice a few matts here and there on her recently that I've had to tease out or cut out. I think she was doing a bit of overgrooming before her tooth problem was treated, and that's left some matted patches.

Breeze loves her Zoom Groom - as a chew toy!

But then again, I've discovered she has a taste for dog biscuits, particularly these Lamb ones from Arden Grange (although she won't touch lamb flavoured cat food )

 

[CRI]

She always looks so spectacularly pissed off. She's great

Ha ha, well, she's got a reason to be pissed off now with Charlie (although she gets to eat his food, so that's a bonus!)

Actually, I'm quite pleased how well they are getting on now. Maybe not BFF, but "companions," a bit like Griff and Mal. Kinda sweet!

Not that she looks particularly thrilled in these from last night when Charlie was going a bit over the top with his toys.

 

[Puddy_Tat]

that is one seriously pussed off kitteh

 

[Epona]

I encountered the term 'maltese cat' earlier today (an O Henry story) and vaguely wondered what it meant, but hadn't got round to looking it up yet...

"Maltese" is an old general term for a grey or blue cat of indeterminate breed, it's like how polydactyl cats with more than the usual number of toes are sometimes called "Hemingway cats", or mostly white cats with a few black spots are called "cow cats" - it's a colloquial term.

EDIT: Should add that the term Maltese is an old fashioned term that specifically refers to the distribution of pigment in the hair shaft of a dilute pigmented cat or dog (and possibly other animal), in that the hair shaft itself is spotted with tiny dark and light areas (hence making an animal "grey/blue" instead of black), but it is not the name of a breed or anything like that, it just somehow became used for the animal itself - I have heard it used to describe dogs of similar colour too, despite it being an actual dog breed which is usually white

 

[toggle]

I've discovered at least part of the reason for madamme being out of sorts. she's been in some sort of scrap. She's got scabs under her chin, which is where she's been hurt before when I've known about the fight. I don't think there's anything that's not healing properly because she didn't pull away when I gave her a good tickle all under her chin and down her chest and i got to feel right down her back without any complaint. She's ducking my hand when i try to stroke her head, but I can't feel anything there. She's ticking me off with a sharp miow if i try to go near her back legs, but that's not unusual for her if she's feeling grumpy. she's only ever tolerated being touched there, and then only if she's relaxed.

my expereince with cats says that the places they are most likely to get catfight injuries are round the face and head and above the tail from being raked while running away. so if the only place out of those i'm feeling anyhting is under the chin, then there's a good chance that is all there is. I'm not going to insist on feeling her all over and upsetting her more unless I see any indications she's hurt somewhere else, like lots of fussing at one bit of herself or any indicator of pain anywhere.

she is however, back to drinking a more normal amount. i suspect now that a good bit of that was her eating less than normal. she always has a small bowl of dry food, but i reckon 3/4 of what she eats is the wet food and she definately tops that up with furry things.

comments/suggestions appreciated.

 

[Epona]

toggle - scabs under the chin can also be caused by feline acne, one of mine is very prone to it and all 3 of them get it to some extent. It's not usually serious unless a spot gets infected (the one of mine who is prone to it once had a very bad case and had to have steroids for a few days, he had some very nasty ulcerated sores on his chin), and the best course is prevention - do not feed or water using plastic bowls which is the main trigger for acne, swap them for stainless steel which you should rinse well with boiling water between feeds.

I just mention it, because if the only area affected is under the chin, it sounds more likely to me that it is acne (it's actually very common, but difficult to see on cats unless they have white fur or a very bad outbreak) rather than a fight which would likely result in scratches other places too (I know even if my lot who are friends 99% of the time get in a disagreement they smack each other around the top of the head, so a scratch on the ear, top of the head, or upper neck is more likely result from a small scrap)

 

[toggle]

thanks Epona. We use ceramics for food and water. that in all honesty, probably aren't washed out as often as they should be.

i had assumed fight, because the last time she had scabby bits there, she also had a sore at the base of her tail and there was an ongoing battle with a local tom over her garden. but I shall be more concientious with the washing and see what happens. i don't know she dosen't have other small injuries, but i don't know if she does either.

but even if it is acne and does get bad, I'm told cats tolerate steriods well, it's not that big a deal should they need regular treatment and they are exceedingly effective. big soppy bastard cat that my mother stole, that is brother to MsT's pair, self harmed himself a 2 inch diameter hole through the skin on his neck. antibiotics to prevent infection, steriod treatments and those soft false nails on the back paw he was scratching with and he was healed in a few weeks.

 

[Epona]

toggle - yeah ceramic bowls aren't the best either, only marginally better than plastic for acne, any microscopic cracks in the glaze can harbour bacteria - even if it's not acne, I'd really recommend switching to stainless steel if possible (edit: some stainless steel bowls come with rubber rims on the base to stop them moving about, you should remove the rubber and throw it away).

And yeah you're right my cat was fine on a short intensive course of steroids, but I still wouldn't want him on a long course because of the weight gain and risk of other associated health problems, but the short course did clear it up OK. Just keep an eye on it, if there are any sores that are weeping, feel hot, or smell funny, then take her in for a check up, similar if she gets a fever (ears and paws hot) or seems lethargic or unwell or unusual behaviour in any other way. Regardless of if it is caused by fight or acne.

 

[toggle]

the main behavior change is that she's seeking a high spot to sit in, or a hidden spot to sleep in rather than lounging in the middle of the floor. which could be her being nervous after a fight or after the fireworks. it's still at 'keep watch' on her rather than worry. but i have leanrt that sharing any worry here brings new insight.

ty hun


i'll suggest himself gets new food bowls asap. and i'll keep an eye out for something that will work for water.

 

[Epona]

Yeah that does sound like she's worried, could be fright or could be that she feels unwell, I would classify that as unusual behaviour and see if she comes back to normal tomorrow, if not I'd be inclined to take her to the vet but then I do tend to err on the side of caution.

I don't think I mentioned it (my husband didn't want to stress me with it but our computers are next to each other so unfortunately I saw a bit of it and then wanted to know what the rest of it was about) -my MIL sent my husband an email having a go at him for spending money on surgery for a cat, she said we should put him out on the street rather than pay for surgery or just let him die if it came to that, can you believe that shit??? Thank fuck for my compassionate parents, who are a hell of a lot less well off (in financial terms, not in compassion or karma terms obviously) than my MIL and they paid nearly £400 for our cat's surgery anyway because we were having a difficult financial month! (our other cats are insured, he isn't only because he was older when we got him).

EDIT: And FFS - I am utterly shit at remembering to give good wishes, I hope your cat is well etc. - I get caught up in the advice part, I can be a bit single minded like that, but I hope you know that spending time thinking about you and your cat means I am wishing you and your cat well, even if I forget to say the words. Love and best wishes to you and your cat toggle. xx

 

[toggle]

GRRRRRRRRRRR.

family on both sides would knock our heads together if we didn't do everything we could for her. Bakunin 's parents paid for vet bills for an injured (probably tortured) stray that they only later decided to keep. my parents helped us cover up the presence of madamme to the letting agent at the last place, where they were guarantors on the lease (cause letting agents don't like mature students anymore than they like 18 year old students) and could have been stuck with as much grief over that as us. and my mother stole (well sort of) my last 2 cats.

i'm still leaning to the side of upset rather than unwell. and while i'm remaining there, i'm not wanting to compound upset with a vet visit. the last one she had, was when we left her there to return her to the home she strayed from. she was back on our doorstep and very pissed off a week later.

 

[Epona]

GRRRRRRRRRRR.

family on both sides would knock our heads together if we didn't do everything we could for her. Bakunin 's parents paid for vet bills for an injured (probably tortured) stray that they only later decided to keep. my parents helped us cover up the presence of madamme to the letting agent at the last place, where they were guarantors on the lease (cause letting agents don't like mature students anymore than they like 18 year old students) and could have been stuck with as much grief over that as us. and my mother stole (well sort of) my last 2 cats.

i'm still leaning to the side of upset rather than unwell. and while i'm remaining there, i'm not wanting to compound upset with a vet visit. the last one she had, was when we left her there to return her to the home she strayed from. she was back on our doorstep and very pissed off a week later.

I hope she doesn't need a return visit to the vet, it's always a bit stressful and none of them like to go to the vet. I should post up the photos sometime of the scratches I got (not aggressive scratches, just 'cat in panic mode' scratches) from when I had to get Jakes in the carrier to take him in for surgery. To be fair, I only got scratched because I forgot to put on a thick long-sleeved sweatshirt before the 'you are going in the carrier whether you like it or not' battle commenced.

My MIL drives me up the fucking wall to be completely honest, she seems to have little compassion or understanding for others. I come from a family where we've always had pets and everyone is very fond of animals (and treats keeping pets as a responsibility), I remember as a child my dad cried when our rabbit had to be put to sleep - that's the type of people I come from.

 

[Cribynkle]

toggle - scabs under the chin can also be caused by feline acne, one of mine is very prone to it and all 3 of them get it to some extent. It's not usually serious unless a spot gets infected (the one of mine who is prone to it once had a very bad case and had to have steroids for a few days, he had some very nasty ulcerated sores on his chin), and the best course is prevention - do not feed or water using plastic bowls which is the main trigger for acne, swap them for stainless steel which you should rinse well with boiling water between feeds.

I just mention it, because if the only area affected is under the chin, it sounds more likely to me that it is acne (it's actually very common, but difficult to see on cats unless they have white fur or a very bad outbreak) rather than a fight which would likely result in scratches other places too (I know even if my lot who are friends 99% of the time get in a disagreement they smack each other around the top of the head, so a scratch on the ear, top of the head, or upper neck is more likely result from a small scrap)

I didn't know about the stainless steel Epona. Ours use plastic, will get them swapped out. They'll only drink out of a glass though

 

[Epona]

I didn't know about the stainless steel Epona. Ours use plastic, will get them swapped out. They'll only drink out of a glass though

Oh drinking out of a glass is fine, glass is not normally used for dedicated cat dishes because it is a bit fragile, but in hygiene and allergy terms it is fine - it doesn't get scratched up as much as plastic or tiny cracks in glaze/porous like ceramic, and doesn't cause allergy flare-ups that some plastics can cause.

More a question of are you happy reaching out half asleep in the middle of the night and taking a swig out of the cat's glass by mistake

 

[StoneRoad]

Interesting, about dishes. We tried Hilli with steel ones a while ago, but she hates them (it must be the reflection under her nose or perhaps the feel on her tongue) She'll drink out of my night glass ....... I've changed to a bottle and put her glass elsewhere otherwise she stands on me and drinks very noisily.

 

[Epona]

I have 3 cats, 2 of them drink from a bowl, but Radar likes to drink from the kitchen tap. He will wait until one of us heads to the kitchen then he will charge along the hallway at about 30mph and leap up onto the edge of the sink waiting for the tap to be turned on. Often by the time he is finished there are water droplets glistening all over his face and water all over the kitchen counter.

We tried a cat fountain once, but he had broken it within 24 hours (due to playing with it vigorously and dunking things in it to see what the water did - he is one of those cats that likes water). There is a good reason that one of his nicknames is "Destructicat"

Oh and once we had a blocked sink, I went into the kitchen and found him sitting in about an inch of water in the washing up bowl, which was floating in about 5 inches of backed up water in the sink - like his own private yacht - with pool.

 

[Epona]

I should add that my other cats are completely normal (for cats) around water - if a drop touches them, it's like they've been burned by acid - screeching and running away.

 

[Epona]

Every time Jakey wants feeding there's no fuss, he just sits down on my mousemat and purrs loudly.

He is an hour early for lunch.

 

[CRI]

Thanks for the tip about plastic and ceramic dishes. For Breeze, I've been using small ceramic baking dishes (they were a quid each from Poundland - seemed sturdier, larger and cheaper than actual cat dishes,) and they go in the dishwasher every day. Is that likely to be okay? My worry about stainless steel dishes is that they tend to be light and the way she splashes around, she'd have the water bowl at least tipped over in minutes - cue small flood in the hall. It might work for the feeding dishes because she generally wolfs the food down so fast it wouldn't matter what kind of container it's in.

I'm thinking I need to change the water bowls perhaps twice a day now as Charlie tends to prefer drinking from it as well as Breeze. Then again, they are as likely as not to eat each others' food as well, so it might end up pretty complicated.

 

[CRI]

Every time Jakey wants feeding there's no fuss, he just sits down on my mousemat and purrs loudly.

He is an hour early for lunch.

Kitty clock is on continental time!

 

[Epona]

The fur on Jakey's front leg from where he was shaved and presumably anaesthetised has grown back well, but he's still bald where he was shaved from his elbows to his balls (not that there is much left of them, he is neutered), bless him.
Hope it grows back before the weather gets really cold! He looks a right state, massive scar down his belly. I'm just glad he's OK, he's a very sweet cat (except when I have to get him in the carrier!) and I love him dearly.

 

[CRI]

I hope she doesn't need a return visit to the vet, it's always a bit stressful and none of them like to go to the vet. I should post up the photos sometime of the scratches I got (not aggressive scratches, just 'cat in panic mode' scratches) from when I had to get Jakes in the carrier to take him in for surgery. To be fair, I only got scratched because I forgot to put on a thick long-sleeved sweatshirt before the 'you are going in the carrier whether you like it or not' battle commenced.

My MIL drives me up the fucking wall to be completely honest, she seems to have little compassion or understanding for others. I come from a family where we've always had pets and everyone is very fond of animals (and treats keeping pets as a responsibility), I remember as a child my dad cried when our rabbit had to be put to sleep - that's the type of people I come from.

Urgh, sorry to hear about this. I didn't come from an "animaly family" so I was the odd one out. Very pleased though that my elder brother is now Treasurer for a local animal welfare organisation and has 4 rescued moggies. It was so, so weird but lovely to see cats crawling over him! So, I guess people can change.

In Laws have always had and loved animals, particularly cats. I think they show as much care and affection for their fur grandchildren as the human ones (possibly knowing they'll never ask for money, get into drugs, fall into a bad crowd, etc. ) Hey, and they seem to like me, too. I consider myself very, very lucky.

 

[Epona]

Thanks for the tip about plastic and ceramic dishes. For Breeze, I've been using small ceramic baking dishes (they were a quid each from Poundland - seemed sturdier, larger and cheaper than actual cat dishes,) and they go in the dishwasher every day. Is that likely to be okay? My worry about stainless steel dishes is that they tend to be light and the way she splashes around, she'd have the water bowl at least tipped over in minutes - cue small flood in the hall. It might work for the feeding dishes because she generally wolfs the food down so fast it wouldn't matter what kind of container it's in.

I'm thinking I need to change the water bowls perhaps twice a day now as Charlie tends to prefer drinking from it as well as Breeze. Then again, they are as likely as not to eat each others' food as well, so it might end up pretty complicated.

I'm a bit worried that I might have caused cat-bowl panic tbh. Although a lot of cats get feline acne (all mine do to some extent), not all do, and some can eat out of plastic bowls without issue.
However, if a cat gets a spotty chin or sores, or grey scurf/dandruff or oily looking around the chin, then switch out for stainless steel bowls (and they aren't that expensive).
Personally I think stainless steel is easier to clean so I would probably use it regardless, but it's not a must unless a cat has problematic acne.

I don't think everyone needs to throw out their plastic bowls (unless their cat has a problem with acne), just next time bowls need replacing, consider stainless steel instead.

 

[Mogden]

My brood share a jumbo stainless steel doggy bowl for drinking water, and an old bucket outside of course, and then Wedgwood seconds soup plates for their food. Sounds posh but cheap from old workplace and the rim allows for snuffling without too much hitting the mat undeneath.

 

[QueenOfGoths]

Mr. Kippers eating (Mr.QofG's took these as occasionally we get obsessed by how cute he is when he eats !!

 

[Epona]

My brood share a jumbo stainless steel doggy bowl for drinking water, and an old bucket outside of course, and then Wedgwood seconds soup plates for their food. Sounds posh but cheap from old workplace and the rim allows for snuffling without too much hitting the mat undeneath.

My lot eat out of a set of 1970's stainless steel peanut/nibbles plates - very Abigail's Party!
Because my cats have long jaws (2 Oriental Shorthairs and 1 Cornish Rex x DSH cross) they have a tendency to bolt food in a bowl that they can shove their whole greedy face in, these that I use are flatter so the food is spread around, less likelihood of bolting their food and vomiting right after.

 

[StoneRoad]

Bolting food and vom'ing almost straight after is something Hilli has always done - to keep her busy and slow her down I sometimes sprinkle some of her kibble over an area (as large as convenient) and leave her to it.

 

[Epona]

Bolting food and vom'ing almost straight after is something Hilli has always done - to keep her busy and slow her down I sometimes sprinkle some of her kibble over an area (as large as convenient) and leave her to it.

That's not a bad idea regardless, if they have to search around for their food it is mentally stimulating. Mine eat mostly wet, so I'm not going to do that as it would probably make more mess than if one of them vommed, but it is certainly a good idea if you feed dry - both in terms of minimising vomming, and 'environmental enrichment'.