Your daily cat and kitten news

[pogofish]

I love how cats visit people, make themselves at home, decide to move in.

Visitors are fine but with me it has always been outside and never feed them.

Of course some visitors determinedly refuse to play by the rules:

 

[rutabowa]

I've been feeding our cat those frozen whitefish fillets you can get in big bags from iceland quite often lately, just pouring boling water on to defrost and leaving it for a bit then serving. its pretty much as cheap as cat food and smells a lot better.... it seemed like it should also be healthy, but the internet has mixed opinions, what do you all reckon?

 

[Epona]

I've been feeding our cat those frozen whitefish fillets you can get in big bags from iceland quite often lately, just pouring boling water on to defrost and leaving it for a bit then serving. its pretty much as cheap as cat food and smells a lot better.... it seemed like it should also be healthy, but the internet has mixed opinions, what do you all reckon?

There is no taurine in fish so you cannot feed that as their main diet. They will go blind and suffer muscle wasting.

It is not natural for domestic cats to eat fish at all.

 

[Epona]

I just read that post out to my OH btw who is no expert and just gives the cats what I tell him to feed them and even he looked askance and said "but there's no taurine in fish"

He actually suggested that whoever posted that was just trying to have a laugh and "trigger" me.

 

[rutabowa]

thank you for letting me know!

Is that for sure about the no taurine in fish? A lot of sources seem to say fresh fish is a source of taurine.... How To Add Extra Taurine To Your Pet’s Diet

Whitefish (raw): 113.9mg per 100g

Turkey (light meat raw): 29.6mg/100g

 

[Epona]

In case you are being serious (I don't think I end up looking foolish if I give the right advice either way) you need to put them on a complete diet cat food - even Whiskas has a better idea of cat nutrition than "white fish fillets from iceland" - sorry to be blunt, but if this isn't a joke, please start feeding them an appropriate diet - the easiest option is a commercially produced cat food appropriate for their age.

If you want to start feeding a home made raw food diet (which is not going to involve fish or be cheap) you need to do a LOT of research and buy supplements or your cat is going to become ill.

 

[Epona]

Neither fish nor turkeys are things that cats would naturally eat.

Fish is known to cause urinary tract issues in cats.

When do you think cats ever would naturally eat white fish or any fish from the ocean? They are animals that evolved in arid landscapes, they have never gone out catching sea fish.

If you don't want to take my word for it, speak to your vet.

Please just feed them a balanced "complete" cat food in the meantime.

 

[LeytonCatLady]

There is no taurine in fish so you cannot feed that as their main diet. They will go blind and suffer muscle wasting.

It is not natural for domestic cats to eat fish at all.

I didn't know that about fish! Luckily Lilith isn't keen anyway - she'd always turn up her nose whenever Tim offered her any, although she's OK with fish flavoured cat food. I only ever feed her cat-designed food anyway.

 

[Epona]

I didn't know that about fish! Luckily Lilith isn't keen anyway - she'd always turn up her nose whenever Tim offered her any, although she's OK with fish flavoured cat food. I only ever feed her cat-designed food anyway.

It's ok as a treat, as long as they don't have any health conditions that would prevent it

 

[rutabowa]

It seems like it is ok as an occasional treat but not recommended for every day, according to the RSPCA. Tbh I can't find anything on the internet against giving a cat the occasional bit of fresh fish... there is a lot against raw fish, and some against canned fish and cat-based cat food (as it has high levels of mercury/phosphorous), but nothing against giving the occasional bit of fresh cooked fish if they enjoy it.

edit: i see you were mainly worried that i was suddenly switching to an all fish diet, don't worry i'd never do that.

(there's definitely taurine in fish though!)

 

[rutabowa]

I understand they wouldn't naturally eat fish, but in the wild they naturally eat "...the carcases of the prey animals they hunt, which consist of raw meat, bones and organs" apparently and I'm not feeding them that for sure! (and it would go against all advice to feed them that too)

 

[Epona]

Taurine requirements for cats to stay healthy is 200mg per 100g portion, so both white fish and turkey are falling way below that. Fish is also not good for urinary tract health due to high phosphates and nitrates.

The natural diet for a cat is live rodents, lizards, amphibians and nice crunchy insects, basically anything that is smaller than them - rodents provide the taurine that a cat needs and are usually their preferred prey (if they were wild and fending for themselves).

No poultry or fish provides enough taurine per 100g.

It is absolutely fine to feed a bit of fish or poultry without bones or seasoning to your cat as a treat, but neither provides a balanced diet for them by itself - if you want to go completely natural then I guess live mice would be the way to go but seriously there are some good commercially produced cat foods available

 

[seeformiles]

Aye, if someone doesn't pay the vet bills for a domestic pet and talk to the vet about its consultations, they shouldn't be giving it food, they don't know if it is on a prescription diet and might be fucking its health in their "kindness"

My mate was very confused why his cat kept putting on weight despite him putting it on a strict diet. Turned out that next door was feeding him pork pies. He had a word and his neighbour was mortified because the cat was doing a very good impression of being a hungry stray .
My sis-in-law lived in a shared house in Nottingham and had a stray cat called Billy who turned up every other day to be fed. It was only when he got ill that she spoke to the neighbours and found out that several people in the street thought he was their cat too. The little bugger was a true neighbourhood moggy - with several different names, owned by no one and fed by everyone

 

[Epona]

I think that is going to come to an end with compulsory chipping, someone is going to have to take responsibility if they are feeding an unchipped cat - I daresay this will work out well for many cats.

It could well mean that if there is a fine for having an unchipped cat, if you are feeding a stray it might be best to make sure it doesn't have an actual home (or if in a street with various itinerant moggies, come to some agreement with neighbours about who is responsible for each), make sure it is chipped and registered with your local vet.

I am not fully sure how this law will work in practice - I mean I am really not sure who is going to get fined if an unchipped stray is picked up, but I reckon if you are seen feeding it it is likely to be deemed yours and if unchipped could be getting a fine.

 

[stavros]

Almost 1 am and Akiro wont leave the flat

The girls are watching him...

How did he get up there? And how would he get down? For the latter I could only see the possibility of a curtain dive, which could go badly for him, the curtain or both.

 

[Epona]

^ Just random thoughts on the chipping legislation and how it might affect "street cats" with multiple feeding points but no actual "owner"

Or concern for whoever is deemed to be the owner and in need of a fine, because they love fining people for daft shit.

 

[Epona]

How did he get up there? And how would he get down? For the latter I could only see the possibility of a curtain dive, which could go badly for him, the curtain or both.

They jump?

I mean I have had a half CRex x Moggie and 2 OSH so maybe they are particularly athletic, but that is no obstacle

 

[seeformiles]

They jump?

I mean I have had a half CRex x Moggie and 2 OSH so maybe they are particularly athletic, but that is no obstacle

Quick question - what breed is Jakey (& of course the late much missed Sonic ) ?

 

[Epona]

Quick question - what breed is Jakey (& of course the late much missed Sonic ) ?

Oriental Shorthair.

They are (were, in Sonic's case) fairly moderate/traditional looking ones, rather than modern/extreme type.

 

[seeformiles]

Oriental Shorthair.

They are (were, in Sonic's case) fairly moderate/traditional looking ones, rather than modern/extreme type.

Ta! I’m not very up on cat breeds but both your boys are very striking looking

 

[Epona]

Ta! I’m not very up on cat breeds but both your boys are very striking looking

Thank you! I like their physique, long limbs and bodies and faces, they are the cat equivalent of greyhounds.

They are essentially the same breed as Siamese which are more well known, but those original Thai temple cats didn't just come in Siamese coats (which is a form of albinism), they also came in tabby and black and grey and brown and white and bicolour and tortie - and the OSH is all those other non-albinistic colours not covered by the term Siamese but is essentially the same cat.

They are massively affectionate and very people-oriented and quite noisy too, I wouldn't advise people get one unless they are at home a lot and happy to have a cat pretty much glued to them, they are highly intelligent but not very aloof or independent.

I absolutely love them.

 

[seeformiles]

There’s a stare-off going on over the rights to the windowsill:

 

[Epona]

Awww I really miss those sorts of minor cat battles, Sonic and Jakey absolutely loved one another but they couldn't half bicker over who owned which bit of the sofa/windowsill/bed/chair.

 

[Nikkormat]

Three weeks here and Esteé is settling in nicely. She still hates the vacuum cleaner, and she is not keen on my girlfriend (who stays over at weekends), but otherwise we are getting on fine. Today, she sat on the sofa for the first time.

 

[Epona]

I'd just write the vacuum cleaner hate off as a normal cat (most dogs too) thing - pop her in another room while you are vacuuming.

My departed Radar once grazed his cheek on the side of the bookcase he was in such a panic to hide from the vacuum, after I saw his poor bleeding face I realised that I just had to shut them in one room while vacuuming the other rooms and not ever have them in the same room as a running vacuum cleaner!

(He was fine and no lasting damage).

 

[Nikkormat]

I'd just write the vacuum cleaner hate off as a normal cat (most dogs too) thing - pop her in another room while you are vacuuming.

My departed Radar once grazed his cheek on the side of the bookcase he was in such a panic to hide from the vacuum, after I saw his poor bleeding face I realised that I just had to shut them in one room while vacuuming the other rooms and not ever have them in the same room as a running vacuum cleaner!

(He was fine and no lasting damage).

The flat is quite small, and vacuuming in any room drives her under the bed for half the day. I'm getting a lot of exercise with a dustpan and brush

 

[Dystopiary]

I feel a bit awkward about our relationship with scrounger Bloom reading the above. My get out clause is that Mike, who is Bloom’s dad, is cool regarding his visits to our place for a small treat and a chill.

Bloom's human being fine with it means everything's cool surely. Might be worth checking if you see him that there's nothing Bloom's allergic to or anything like that, but I'd have thought he'd have told you if so.

 

[donkyboy]

How did he get up there? And how would he get down? For the latter I could only see the possibility of a curtain dive, which could go badly for him, the curtain or both.

I put him up there as he was tired and to keep away from the girls. To get down, he has to jump ,which is why the jump cushion is there so soften the blow.

 

[seeformiles]

Just used the BBQ tongs to rescue a mouse from Vic’s clutches and set it free in the garden. He’s currently wondering where his breakfast has gone.

 

[pogofish]

I'd just write the vacuum cleaner hate off as a normal cat (most dogs too) thing - pop her in another room while you are vacuuming.

Once he got used to the noise, my old BD used to go absolutely daft for a vacuum - As soon as he heard it going on, he would be straight through from wherever he was, rolling about in front of the head, demanding to be gone-over before you could get-on with the rest of the house!