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Epona
Sonic: 1 Nov 2006 - 8 Jan 2022
NO!!!! You shouldn't do that, whiskers are part of their sensory system and help them to get around, navigate, and find stuff.
Most importantly to the modern housecat, they use their whiskers to judge whether they can get through a gap without getting stuck.
They are also extremely sensitive (in terms of sensation in their whisker pads) to any touch on their whiskers.
Trimming a cat's whiskers is bordering on cruelty.
purenarcotic
Conveniently Pocket Sized
There is no need to trim whiskers. It's one of the primary ways cats sense where they are so they can move around.
Utterly unnecessary and cruel.
moodygirl86
Active Member
Another thing I don't understand is declawing - though I think that's done more in America than here. But that's always struck me as cruel too. What if the cat needs to run up a tree away from a fox? (I have seen this happen out of my own flat window).
Yeah, adding my voice to the chorus of - please don't trim kitty's whiskers.
Yeah, adding my voice to the chorus of - please don't trim kitty's whiskers.
Declawing is illegal in Britain (except for medical reasons).
moodygirl86
Active Member
Good! Should be illegal everywhere, except in the circumstances you described.
Epona
Sonic: 1 Nov 2006 - 8 Jan 2022
This, any vet performing a declawing for non-clinical reasons WILL be struck off immediately.
Obviously there are some clinical reasons, such as where a cat has suffered paw trauma and requires amputation of toes, where it is acceptable, but only with good clinical reason for doing so.
Declawing for convenience of the owner is not allowed.
moodygirl86
Active Member
So it's not just the human race with the helicopter mum problem then...
Epona
Sonic: 1 Nov 2006 - 8 Jan 2022
Cats have whisker pads and whiskers on their front legs too, a bit above the 'thumb' claw, to assist in handling prey.
They might be able to see better in poor light than us, but they don't have the ability to focus their vision to things that are up close, so anything close looks blurry and unfocused to them. Their whiskers fill in the gap left by their visual capacity, allowing them to accurately "see" with their whiskers things that are too close for them to see with their eyes.
They might be able to see better in poor light than us, but they don't have the ability to focus their vision to things that are up close, so anything close looks blurry and unfocused to them. Their whiskers fill in the gap left by their visual capacity, allowing them to accurately "see" with their whiskers things that are too close for them to see with their eyes.
moodygirl86
Active Member
The Irish couple living in the flat below me have just adopted this little black kitten. I asked the wife how their new furbaby was. The wife rolled her eyes like a tired mum who'd been up all night and exclaimed, "Ah she's lovely, but she keeps pissin' on the feckin' bed!"
Epona
Sonic: 1 Nov 2006 - 8 Jan 2022
Tell her to make sure there's a litter tray in the bedroom within sight of the bed, and sprinkle some lemon juice on the bedsheets - cats would rather steer clear of citrus scents.
Sonic went through a bed-pissing phase when he was a kitten, and it was the lemon juice that sorted it out
moodygirl86
Active Member
Good tip, thanks. I'll remember that as well for when I get my own cat.Tell her to make sure there's a litter tray in the bedroom within sight of the bed, and sprinkle some lemon juice on the bedsheets - cats would rather steer clear of citrus scents.
Sonic went through a bed-pissing phase when he was a kitten, and it was the lemon juice that sorted it out
Epona
Sonic: 1 Nov 2006 - 8 Jan 2022
Hopefully you won't need to use it, it seems to be an attachment/territorial thing rather than a not knowing where to piss thing, iyswim.
Cats piss either because they need to empty their bladder (in which case they are very clean and don't tend to soil their home unless they are unwell), or because they are insecure and want to mark territory with the strongest smell in their arsenal.
Epona
Sonic: 1 Nov 2006 - 8 Jan 2022
We've been away for 2 weeks and the cats came running up the road to greet us
We weren't even talking that much - I think they recognise our tread as much as our voices
I love this sort of thing - a lot people say that cats don't care whether you're away as long as they get fed, but that's not my experience - if I'm out for just longer than usual I get smothered by a small pile of needy cats who want cuddles and reassurance upon my return.
moodygirl86
Active Member
I'm not a particularly sentimental person, Trashpony, but that made me all gooey inside.We've been away for 2 weeks and the cats came running up the road to greet us
We weren't even talking that much - I think they recognise our tread as much as our voices
Puddy_Tat
naturally fluffy
We've been away for 2 weeks and the cats came running up the road to greet us
We weren't even talking that much - I think they recognise our tread as much as our voices
I am fairly sure that the mogs I used to live with could recognise my car from a reasonable distance - reversing in to the driveway, there was often something furry climbing over the gate from the back garden at high speed (this meant that the reverse had to be carried out with some care...)
Epona
Sonic: 1 Nov 2006 - 8 Jan 2022
I am fairly sure that the mogs I used to live with could recognise my car from a reasonable distance - reversing in to the driveway, there was often something furry climbing over the gate from the back garden at high speed (this meant that the reverse had to be carried out with some care...)
Definitely be careful, someone I know ran over her cat while parking outside her house and it died from the injuries, it can and does happen. It must be worse to come to terms with than pretty much any other way your pet can pass on.... (and always check your washing machine/dryer before starting it off, that is another common way that people end up dealing with a ton on cat-related grief and guilt)
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wobbly
one of my kids did to one of my cats once.
in a few other places as well, I think. when one of my kids did the trim, we had a long chat about why cats have sensory hairs. and then spent a while finding them, actually quite easy when the cat is mostly black other than very small tuxedo style patches and their sensory hairs.
this is not the almost black tux cat who now lives with my mum. this is the all black cat who has clearly had an exceedingly tiring day of being a cat. and I'm very happy that i've finally got to the point I can get one usable photo in 10 tries of flash photography of a black cat at night.
Epona
Sonic: 1 Nov 2006 - 8 Jan 2022
I am certain that kids sometimes decide to do this sort of thing to give their pet a bit of trim, you aren't the first parent (and your cat will not be the first pet) who has experienced this and you certainly won't be the last. The cat forum that I used to post on was full of this sort of thing about children giving the cats a bit of a trim.
It's a million miles away from an adult taking a conscious decision to do it though.
Also I assume you explained to your child why it's not a good thing to do.
I'd credit an adult with realising that already though.
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wobbly
a long chat, in very calm voices about how cats whiskers kept them out of places where they might get stuck. that ended in the child crying because they realised they might have put their cat in danger. she only ever cut her own hair after that. but I do have numerous photos spread over a 5 year period of her with a stripe of half cm long hair somewhere on her head. that only stopped when we had to use half a pot of cheap gel to get her looking 'suitable' for a ballet exam and then each day of a series of performances (2 days dress rehursals and 2 days of performacnes) and she devided not fucking about with her hair was better than the amount of time it took to scrub the gel out every night
Epona
Sonic: 1 Nov 2006 - 8 Jan 2022
It seems suspicious more than anything.
Most of the big stores have a vet during store hours that you can use, but I wouldn't go to them any more than I would ask the cashier at Tesco to sort out my own health care needs.
£99 vaccinations for life seems ridiculously cheap unless they don't expect your pet to last very long, I pay £48 a year for each of mine, but maybe that is the price of going to a proper vet.
And that sums up my thoughts on it, I would not take my pets there even if they paid me to do so. I get great service and care for my pets from my own vet. Go there, and you'll all just be numbers in their income column.
Edit to add: I wonder how long it would be before they started selling you this or that overpriced prescription food that only they can provide, or how many other costs they could come up with. This is a "loss-leader", much like supermarkets selling milk for 25p or tins of beans for 10p to get people in store regularly. It's marketing, they have no concern for the health of your pets or for you.
Avoid, and stick with a proper vet.
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