Mumbles274
running from law and the press and the parents
Couple of the boys last night
Its tiring work exploring
Its tiring work exploring
Your daily cat and kitten news
- Thread starter Mation
- Start date
Oooh! they're so cuuuuuute!
CRI
Registered Chooser
Okay, I squealed, I squealed mightily. They're so gorgeous!Aw CRI , that's really sad about Layla, RIP.
Kitten update: the kits are finally out of the box, and causing chaos already. Marjorie came to wake me up this morning, and dragged me downstairs to witness the hullabaloo. They're all squeaking like Sooty, biting my toes and chasing Marjorie round the dining room
Couple of the boys last night
Its tiring work exploring
Looks like a fab place to explore. Any fish in there (left at least?)
Mumbles274
running from law and the press and the parents
Yeah loads of fish.. They got no chance of catching them and also do a good job of keeping the seagulls away
trabuquera
Modesty Bag
Oh those narrow little shoulders! Big giant bobble heads! insane whiskerage! they're gorgeous! *melts*
slightlytouched
Tick Tock.....
Willy Willows today, she better not have dribbled on my iPad!
izz
Increased Leisure Citizen
Last Friday, time for Hellbeast to have a checkover and blood test, for she is an old gal now. New Young Vet says "Just take a seat, I'll be two minutes if she's OK, or three if she makes a fuss". Two minutes came and went, then three, then five, then ten, then NYV came back in looking dishevelled and asked me to wait in the waiting room, Ten further minutes later, cat returned to me by grinning and totally undishevelled nurse 
Made me proud
Made me proud
Puddy_Tat
naturally fluffy
slightlytouched
Tick Tock.....
Back to the vets for a check up on Willow's lump which has shrunk a little (now golf ball size). Seeing as she isn't bothered by it and antibiotics made it go away last time we are following the same plan again.
Very reluctant for them to go poking about in her insides, which they'll have to do to find out what it is. Until the day she is in pain with it, or it's affecting her quality of life I'd much rather stick to the less invasive methods.
Very reluctant for them to go poking about in her insides, which they'll have to do to find out what it is. Until the day she is in pain with it, or it's affecting her quality of life I'd much rather stick to the less invasive methods.
CRI
Registered Chooser
Please do keep us posted on Willow. Know what you mean about balancing up distressing investigations with more conservative measures. Best of luck with this.
Fingers crossed that the antibiotics will do the trick for Willow, slightlytouched .
Kitten update:
This is Raffles, named after the gentleman burglar of EW Hornung's novels (for reasons that will become apparent). Raffles is the most advanced of the kits, he's eating food already and walking round like he owns the place. I've fallen in love with his cheeky antics and have decided he's going to stay here with me and Marjorie when the other kits leave home.
This is his brother, Fluffyhead. Note Raffles in the background, sneaking up on him in a dastardly manner.
This is Raffles, named after the gentleman burglar of EW Hornung's novels (for reasons that will become apparent). Raffles is the most advanced of the kits, he's eating food already and walking round like he owns the place. I've fallen in love with his cheeky antics and have decided he's going to stay here with me and Marjorie when the other kits leave home.
This is his brother, Fluffyhead. Note Raffles in the background, sneaking up on him in a dastardly manner.
Epona
Sonic: 1 Nov 2006 - 8 Jan 2022
Last Friday, time for Hellbeast to have a checkover and blood test, for she is an old gal now. New Young Vet says "Just take a seat, I'll be two minutes if she's OK, or three if she makes a fuss". Two minutes came and went, then three, then five, then ten, then NYV came back in looking dishevelled and asked me to wait in the waiting room, Ten further minutes later, cat returned to me by grinning and totally undishevelled nurse
Made me proud
My most horrible cat is so completely cowed by a vet visit that he doesn't dare do anything untoward. Last time he had to go in he grabbed hold of the vet's thumb very gently in his mouth and glowered at her, I stuck my finger in the corner of his mouth and disengaged his teeth from her with no fuss whatsoever, apart from sternly telling him NO. He spent the rest of the consultation with his head buried in my armpit.
girasol
Addicted to handstands!
Not had a great visit to the vets just now... Annual checkup, cat is nearly 1kg overweight - even though I thought I was being careful with what I feed her. 1 can OR pouch of encore a day, and 40g of dry food. Vet says half the dry food - I was giving a mix of purina and whiskas (for her teeth), she said cut the whiskas out completely and give her t/d for her teeth as occasional trets. Go back in two months.
I feel terrible, I thought I was being strict with her diet as I did notice the weight gain. Since our other cat died she has became less active, they used to play fight or really fight all the time. She goes out but not far. So we need to play with her more and spread her dry food around the house so she has to look for it.
Sorry Rusty! Apart from that she is in great health, heart rate of 180bmp under stress of being at the vets.
Who ate all the pies?
I feel terrible, I thought I was being strict with her diet as I did notice the weight gain. Since our other cat died she has became less active, they used to play fight or really fight all the time. She goes out but not far. So we need to play with her more and spread her dry food around the house so she has to look for it.
Sorry Rusty! Apart from that she is in great health, heart rate of 180bmp under stress of being at the vets.
Who ate all the pies?
CRI
Registered Chooser
So, Rusty's going to Weight Watchers. 
When we took Breeze to register with the vets, she said best way to check a cat's not overweight is to make sure you can feel all the ribs. Breeze is quite furry, so you can't really "see" what's under there. My brother in law's cat is also semi-longhair, usually very standoffish, but seemed "friendlier" after they had their baby, so when I was last there, he let me pet him and wow, he's quite rotund, but you can't automatically see that. I always thought Herbie (RIP) seemed to skinny, but the same vet said he was just right, so maybe what I thought was "just right" was actually overweight.
Breeze doesn't go out on her own, but does race around alot on her lead and plays alot indoors. Still not mountains of exercise. But I do give her high meat content wet and dry food, which has less sugar, fat and fillers and no grain, so maybe that makes a difference. She's not particularly fussy with the dry food, so I've given her Applaws, Thrive Complete and most recently Meowing Heads Chicken & Salmon flavour and she loves that. It's also cheaper than the other two - probably not as cheap as Whiskas, but cheaper than Science Diet and other "premium" brands that are still full of undigestible stuff that often leads to/exacerbates digestive and endocrine problems (e.g. diabetes, kidney disease, etc.) It might be worth seeking out one of the grain free dry foods like Meowing Heads to see if that makes a difference. I'm also pretty sure she craps less because there isn't as much waste in high meat, grain free foods.
Encore wet is the same stuff as Applaws, and it's not a complete food (although most dry foods are, even the ones that have almost no meat in them.) Breeze adores these, but I try and only give her those a couple times a week. Thrive Complete in tins (not that easy to find - Zooplus or Waitrose) is similar, but a complete food. Natures Menu is one of the cheapest, high meat complete foods. It comes in 100gm pouches (mostly found in independent pet shops, Pets at Home but only online and I found some in the PoundStretcher pet shop in Livingston,) so could last for two meals, or perhaps that little bit extra (most pouches/tins are 70-80 gms) of high meat food will fill Rusty up without adding more calories. I try and mix up some of the really high meat wet foods (90% plus) with some of the moderate meat ones (at least 50%) so it's not so expensive.
Epona knows loads more about kitteh nutrition, so might have other suggestions for getting Rusty fit and trim. Good luck!
When we took Breeze to register with the vets, she said best way to check a cat's not overweight is to make sure you can feel all the ribs. Breeze is quite furry, so you can't really "see" what's under there. My brother in law's cat is also semi-longhair, usually very standoffish, but seemed "friendlier" after they had their baby, so when I was last there, he let me pet him and wow, he's quite rotund, but you can't automatically see that. I always thought Herbie (RIP) seemed to skinny, but the same vet said he was just right, so maybe what I thought was "just right" was actually overweight.
Breeze doesn't go out on her own, but does race around alot on her lead and plays alot indoors. Still not mountains of exercise. But I do give her high meat content wet and dry food, which has less sugar, fat and fillers and no grain, so maybe that makes a difference. She's not particularly fussy with the dry food, so I've given her Applaws, Thrive Complete and most recently Meowing Heads Chicken & Salmon flavour and she loves that. It's also cheaper than the other two - probably not as cheap as Whiskas, but cheaper than Science Diet and other "premium" brands that are still full of undigestible stuff that often leads to/exacerbates digestive and endocrine problems (e.g. diabetes, kidney disease, etc.) It might be worth seeking out one of the grain free dry foods like Meowing Heads to see if that makes a difference. I'm also pretty sure she craps less because there isn't as much waste in high meat, grain free foods.
Encore wet is the same stuff as Applaws, and it's not a complete food (although most dry foods are, even the ones that have almost no meat in them.) Breeze adores these, but I try and only give her those a couple times a week. Thrive Complete in tins (not that easy to find - Zooplus or Waitrose) is similar, but a complete food. Natures Menu is one of the cheapest, high meat complete foods. It comes in 100gm pouches (mostly found in independent pet shops, Pets at Home but only online and I found some in the PoundStretcher pet shop in Livingston,) so could last for two meals, or perhaps that little bit extra (most pouches/tins are 70-80 gms) of high meat food will fill Rusty up without adding more calories. I try and mix up some of the really high meat wet foods (90% plus) with some of the moderate meat ones (at least 50%) so it's not so expensive.
Epona knows loads more about kitteh nutrition, so might have other suggestions for getting Rusty fit and trim. Good luck!
izz
Increased Leisure Citizen
Not had a great visit to the vets just now... Annual checkup, cat is nearly 1kg overweight - even though I thought I was being careful with what I feed her. 1 can OR pouch of encore a day, and 40g of dry food. Vet says half the dry food - I was giving a mix of purina and whiskas (for her teeth), she said cut the whiskas out completely and give her t/d for her teeth as occasional trets. Go back in two months.
I feel terrible, I thought I was being strict with her diet as I did notice the weight gain. Since our other cat died she has became less active, they used to play fight or really fight all the time. She goes out but not far. So we need to play with her more and spread her dry food around the house so she has to look for it.
Sorry Rusty! Apart from that she is in great health, heart rate of 180bmp under stress of being at the vets.
Who ate all the pies?
How old is Rusty ? She doesn't look terribly porky in that picture. If the only issue she has is a weight one you're not doing too badly and I'm sure you'll have her back to her proper weight soon enough
Our Rusty had 11 teefs out last Wednesday, I took the day off and I kid y'all not, it was one of the longest and stressiest days of my life, the gal is 17 now
girasol
Addicted to handstands!
How old is Rusty ? She doesn't look terribly porky in that picture. If the only issue she has is a weight one you're not doing too badly and I'm sure you'll have her back to her proper weight soon enough
Our Rusty had 11 teefs out last Wednesday, I took the day off and I kid y'all not, it was one of the longest and stressiest days of my life, the gal is 17 now
She's about 3.5 years old, she turned up at our garden nearly 3 years ago, looked about 6 months old we think, as she's grown a lot since... She doesn't look too fat, but she's heavier than she used to be. As long as no one else is feeding her she will lose the extra weight, I'm sure.
CRI
Registered Chooser
If the kitten was born feral and hasn't had interaction with people, it might not be possible to change that. Could be neutering and releasing somewhere safe would be the best option. Hopefully others here know alot more about this than I do.
CRI
Registered Chooser
The "anyone else feeding her" might be the key here
Epona
Sonic: 1 Nov 2006 - 8 Jan 2022
Epona knows loads more about kitteh nutrition, so might have other suggestions for getting Rusty fit and trim. Good luck!
No, I think you've got it spot on - avoid the fillers and carbs, cats do not really do carbs. A lot of the supposed "diet" foods are terrible, far better off with a good quality high protein diet, and plenty of excercise. Mine are indoor only so I play with them a lot, get them chasing after toys - even though they're now older (7 and 8 years old) they still enjoy a good fake hunting session!
The only exception would be cats with kidney disease, where a high protein diet is not advised, if a cat has any health issues (other than being overweight that is) then follow expert advice, don't go with the sort of general advice I dish out for the feeding of healthy cats
girasol
Addicted to handstands!
The "anyone else feeding her" might be the key here
The vet, who was quite rude and never heard of Encore ("there are 1000s of cat foods out there and it's not my job to know them all" - her words exactly) didn't even think of that possibility. Didn't like the arrogant woman one bit. No bedside manner whatsoever. She basically had a go at me like I was an irresponsible cat owner, which I'm not
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izz
Increased Leisure Citizen
The vet, who was quite rude and never heard of Encore ("there are 1000s of cat foods out there and it's not my job to know them all" - her words exactly) didn't even think of that possibility. Didn't like the arrogant woman one bit. No bedside manner whatsoever. She basically had a go at me like I was an irresponsible cat owner, which I'm not
ding ding! Time for a new vet
Epona
Sonic: 1 Nov 2006 - 8 Jan 2022
The vet, who was quite rude and never heard of Encore ("there are 1000s of cat foods out there and it's not my job to know them all" - her words exactly) didn't even think of that possibility. Didn't like the arrogant woman one bit. No bedside manner whatsoever. She basically had a go at me like I was an irresponsible cat owner, which I'm not
Many vets it seems just suffer from the "like animals better than people" type of thing (I can't really criticise as I'm a bit like that mesself) but yeah regardless of the reason if you cannot talk to your vet without feeling that you've been waved away or condescended to, then you need to find a vet you get along with better - if you can't openly discuss your pets' health with your vet then that's not great!
Should have added to my post earlier, it's really vitally important with cats that they not lose weight too quickly, the more obese they are the greater risk of liver problems after rapid weightloss, so go gradually.
If she eats any dry food (it's a bit messy with wet), a puzzle feeder is a really good idea as it helps to simulate natural hunting/foraging behaviour, provides exercise before eating, and mental stimulation which can help with behaviour such as boredom eating.
