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Question

My cat has a habit of randomly patting my face - sometimes when I am sleeping, or when he is snuggled in my lap, or when I am sitting somewhere. I can’t really find a pattern to it, and it is somewhat cute, but can also be annoying, especially if he accidentally gets me with his claws.

Why is he doing this?

Answer accepted (score 63)

This is one way cats show affection or try to get your attention. Not all cats do this, however, but they might show this in other ways such as as kneading, gentle scratching and gifting etc. Cats also show affection to other animals by rubbing against them

“When your cat puts its scent on you, it’s saying something like, ‘You and I belong together because I smell you on me and you smell me on you.’ It’s a scent complement.”

Affectionate Pawing

Some cats periodically approach a relaxed owner and stretch out their paws to softly touch the owner’s face. The cat repeats this gentle reaching in the hope that the owner will pet it, brush it or show some affection. Alternatively, some cats paw their owner’s face to wake them from sleep; in this case the cat probably wants affection or play.

Question

I have never had a long-hair cat before. We just picked up two that we rescued, and brought them home.

One of them pooped in the carrier during the drive home. There is now poop in her fur.

I tried to get as much of it out with toilet paper, then a wet rag, but I couldn’t get it all, and she was getting pretty upset.

What is the best way to clean up this mess? Do I need to give her a full bath? She doesn’t know us, and she’s in a new environment, so the transition has been traumatizing enough; I’d rather avoid a full bath if at all possible, at least for the time being.

Answer accepted (score 14)

To be honest, if you get most of the chunks out and blot the dampness up as much as you can, I’d let her clean the rest of it herself. Grooming is a self soothing activity, and since she doesn’t know you, you cleaning her will stress her out.

The exception would be if you know (or suspect) that she has a poop borne illness, and want to prevent the other cat from potential contamination.

Make sure the room you confine her in is warm, and change her bedding every few hours until she gets it cleaned up. It’s usually recommended to confine new cats to a small room (like a bathroom) for the first couple of days anyway, so in this case I would doubly recommend bathroom confinement.

Answer 2 (score 9)

Often with cats you have to adopt a “do a little at a time strategy” as many cats do not like being restrained or roughly held down. Whichever cleaning method you use start by petting and praising them to get them relaxed, then only wipe them a few times. Afterwards pet, praise them more and give them a cat treat. You want them to associate your handling and cleaning them as a positive experience.

Repeat this a few times and your cat should be clean.

Warm water on a paper towel is one method. Use warm water so it is not a big shock to the cat.

They sell pre-moistened cat wipes as well. People use baby wipes too which are less expensive. Don’t use “sanitizing wipes” since they have harsh chemicals and anti-microbials that are not tested on cats.

Some cats will tolerate baths. Just make sure the water is nice and warm (but not too hot) as if bathing a a baby.

Answer 3 (score 7)

I agree with Beo and Zaralynda… both are good advice. I’d like to add some other tips and perspective here too.

Cats, in general, hate bathing. However, if a cat is seriously soiled, especially with long fur that can get matted, I would try bathing the cat.

The method that seems least painful (for the human at least) is the following- get into a close-able shower area (one with doors rather than a curtain works much better) with the cat (you should be stripped for this too, or in something you don’t mind getting wet & or dirty). Make the water warm before you put some on the cat, splash water on the cat very gently to get it wet. You can use a pet shampoo if you want to help get things out but if you do so make sure to rinse it out completely.

I stopped doing this with my “baby”, who has problems like you describe for other reasons, because she gets hysterical during bathing. It doesn’t hurt her but she just always freaks out about it. That being said I think it is worth trying if there is lots of nasty stuff in the fur (as you describe).

If bathing doesn’t work (as in, not tolerated) a fallback would be to cut the masses out with scissors.

Barring those two you let your cat do it herself… but that will take longer, she might get some mats….

Question

I’ve heard cats purr to show contentment (though humans who want that to be true may be imagining it). WebMD suggests they purr (1) to get our attention (“feed me!”); (2) when content (“petting time”); (3) when anxious (“oh no, the vet!”); and (4) for healing. These reasons seem to be somewhat acute; I would expect a cat to purr when in those situations, but not all the time.

My adult (~7 yo) male, indoor cat, adopted from a shelter about a year ago (and already neutered when he arrived), quietly purrs nearly non-stop when he’s awake, enough that the shelter’s medical-exam notes included a comment about being unable to hear his heart clearly due to the purring. He doesn’t just do it when interacting with humans; sometimes he’ll be across the room doing his own thing, yet if I listen closely, I can hear him purring.

Is my cat just very happy all the time or is there something else going on?

I don’t consider this to be a “problem to be solved”, as I enjoy the purring, but none of my other cats have done this so I’m wondering if there is any cause for concern.

Answer accepted (score 19)

The language of purring

Cats also purr if they’re injured, while giving birth - even when dying. British zoologist Desmond Morris has observed that purring is "a sign of friendship - either when the cat is contented with a friend or when it is in need of friendship - as with a cat in trouble. (1)

A cat’s purr is a type of language, as is the meow. The meow tends to be a more intense expression than a purr. Although purring can also have emotion effect on cat owners. Purring doesn’t always indicate a cat is content, it can mean a variety of things. (2) At the very least it is a way of displaying submissive as opposed to aggressive intention.

German ethologist and cat behaviourist Paul Leyhausen interpreted the purr as a signal that the animal is not posing a threat. (3)

Purring and attachment

Even if you’re across the room, your cat is still communicating with you, and being affected by your presence, which is probably reassuring for him. An interesting test would be to film him while you’re out of the house. It could be his way of maintaining a connection with you. It is theorized that kittens and mother cats use purring as a way of bonding and that this may be a form of communication used throughout a cat’s life to facilitate bonding.

Kittens are able to purr from a few days after birth. They can purr while suckling from their mother which may communicate contentment or maintain contact with her. … Mother cats may also purr while nursing kittens, perhaps >to maintain contact with their offspring. Or maybe it’s all down to the hypothalamus detecting a pleasurable sensation and helping to trigger purring. (3)

Possible emotional damage of rescue pets

Contrary to the prevailing view, there is evidence that emotional pain may induce greater suffering than physical pain. Studies have shown that emotional factors weigh more strongly in animals’ behavioral choices than physical pain. (4)

Although it has yet to be determined what the long term effects of psychological or emotional suffering can be; it is becoming more apparent that a history of emotional abuse or neglect may well have lasting effects on a pet’s psychology.

Given you got him from the shelter, it might be a huge relief for your cat to have found you, and this could result in him being extra purry. He may well have an underlying insecurity, without knowing his history, he may have been happy with another owner and then suddenly removed, this is conjecture, but the fact he ended up homeless, means he’s been uprooted. It would be hard to provide a definitive explanation as to why your cat purrs so much.

What we know for sure is that animals do suffer psychological and not just physical pain, and that emotional abuse and maltreatment may be far more widespread and pernicious than physical abuse. (5)

The many articles I’ve linked discuss the variable nature of purring. If your cat is in good physical health and as settled as he sounds, it doesn’t sound like something to be concerned about.

As for something else going on in terms of physical health, there is some discussion about possible physical health issues that can cause (perceived) excessive purring. How much purring is too much purring?

References:

• 1. Myths Debunked: Cats Purr Whenever They’re Happy THE FELINE BEHAVIOR SERIES Paul D. Pion DVM, DipACVIM (Cardiology) and Gina Spadafori VeterinaryPartner.com

  2. 2. University of Sussex News Research reveals how cats purrfect the art of exploitation

     3. CAT COMMUNICATION - BODY LANGUAGE 2002-2009, Sarah Hartwell

     4. CAT COMMUNICATION - VOCAL LANGUAGE (CAT CHAT) Copyright 1995 - 2012 Sarah Hartwell

     5. 3. CAT COMMUNICATION - THE ENIGMATIC PURR 2008-2013, Sarah Hartwell

        4. humanesociety.org Cat Chat: Understanding Feline Language

        5. 4. A world of hurts—is pain special? Franklin D. McMillan, DVM, DACVIM PDF

           5. 5. Emotional Pain in Animals: An Invisible World of Hurt Recognizing the psychological effects of animal abuse by Jessica Pierce, Ph.D. in All Dogs Go to Heaven

              6. 1. What is Feline Infectious Peritonitis (FIP)? dr-addie.com

                 2. 2. Understanding Feline Infectious Peritonitis Niels C. Pedersen, DVM, PhD PDF

Answer 2 (score 3)

Personal experience here:

My elderly cat purrs about 95% of the time, even when he’s sleeping. He has some controlled medical issues, but my vet has noticed the purring and never thought it was a problem. Today my vet commented that he’d like to put a video of my ever-purring cat on youtube. At this point, I’ve not been told that constant purring is a bad thing (except when you’re trying to sleep or listen for the cat’s heart!).

Question

I have a grey, tiger-striped tabby, who is now over ten years old. In the last couple years, she has occasionally grown a large clump of fur on her back that solidifies to the point where it needs to be cut off. When this happens, I enlist the help of a groomer to remove it.

I’m curious what causes this clump, and if there’s any way for me to prevent it from happening in the future?

Answer accepted (score 15)

These are generally called Mats. They are particularly a problem with long haired cats, but short haired cats can get them too. They are more susceptible to them in the spring and fall when they are shedding their seasonal coats. Also, overweight cats might get them in parts they can’t easily reach to groom (i.e. their back).

Prevention is quite simple, just brush your cat regularly and they are unlikely to occur. The main goal is to facilitate shedding. I’d recommend a strong wire brush (often called a cat rake) for this, for example something like:

The reason for this sort of brush is that it gets into their undercoat where mats generally develop. So when brushing your cat with this you want to be fairly aggressive (which they tend to like). The other advantages of regular brushing are that your cat will most likely love it, they will shed less (if your cat is indoors), santization (brushing out dirt / cat litter) and it will help prevent hairballs as well.

As far as what causes them I am not entirely sure, but I think it is probably similar to “Why do cords always end up getting tangled?”

Answer 2 (score 8)

As well as regular brushing which was excellent from Kyle if things are out of control for a start I’ve also found that very carefully cutting about a quarter of the clump off at a time with a pair of sharp scissors does the trick as well followed by brushing alternating between each over a few days.

It depends on the temperament of the cat and of course make sure not to go too close to the skin with the scissors. Just start a little at a time until they get used to it. Once my partner’s cat had a bad case of fur clumps and I thought I’d try moistening with a little water first, but that actually made it harder to remove the main portion so I’d recommend just slowly doing it while the fur is dry.

Answer 3 (score 7)

It is pretty common for cats to get stiff with age. This can make them unable to properly clean hard to reach spots on the back and by the tail. The extra grease and grime acts as a trap to cause the mat.

A way to help clean the cat is to purchase some vet approved cleaning towelettes to get the grease off before it causes another mat.

Question

How long do cats remember places and people? I will leave the house in the next months for half a year or so. Will my cat remember me when I get back?

Answer accepted (score 26)

Cats do remember places and people, although where/who they remember, and for how long, is variable (just like humans).

There’s been some research on feline short-term memory, but I could find less information on long-term memory.

This article is rather poorly referenced, but does make some statements about long-term memory that it claims are research-based:

Researchers have discovered that there is not much difference between how a cat, a human, or another animal’s brain utilizes certain cues to assist in the creation of short and long-term memories. A cat’s brain functioning has been compared to that of a two to three year old child and, when compared to a dog, a cat’s memory is almost 200 times more retentive. Without repeated and reinforced training, a dog’s memory span is about 5 minutes. Cats, on the other hand, averaged about 16 hours, only IF the activity benefited THEM.

and

A cat’s long-term memories are directly related to experiencing pleasure (benefit) or displeasure (pain, fear or threat). For example, it takes a long time and a lot of patience to gain the trust of an abused or neglected cat. If they suffered physical or mental abuse from a man or child, then they will associate that memory with all men and all children. The same holds true for positive experiences. Every time a cat receives affection, praise, or a treat for doing a specific activity, it is logged into their memory as “a good thing” and they will continue to use it to their benefit.

The inevitable anecdotes

I believe that I’ve experienced cats remembering me years after we have had prolonged interactions. One example is a roommate of mine that I lived with about 10 years ago. His cat is not generally friendly, but we got along very well, and I was one of the few people the cat would actively seek out (i.e. he would climb in my lap and sit there while I pet him). After my friend moved out, there were periods of 1-2 years in between my visits to his new home, and when I would come over, his cat would still come and climb in my lap for petting. Over times, my visits have unfortunately become less frequent (I moved out of the area), and while the cat still seems to remember me, he is not as friendly to me as he used to be.

Here is a video of someone who claims to have been reunited with their cat over a year after her cat left home and roamed the neighborhood as a feral cat:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZnTtc4OCu-E

The internet is littered with similar claims. There is also a host of unreferenced claims about feline memory that I won’t include here.

However, it is pretty certain that your cat will remember you after 6 months if you interact with the cat on a regular basis.

Whether the cat is happy to see you (at first) will be another story… ours tend to seem mad at us when we come back after leaving for a few days, and we get the “cold shoulder” for the first day or so :)

Answer 2 (score 4)

My cat is currently staying with my parents - the first time he has stayed with them in their new (5 years) house. He has chosen to sleep by the side of a bookshelf that he was born on 14.5 years ago in their old house. Has he remembered something about the shelf, or perhaps the smell of my Mum’s study in the new house is the same as the old house? Whatever, I find it amazing!

Answer 3 (score 4)

My cat is currently staying with my parents - the first time he has stayed with them in their new (5 years) house. He has chosen to sleep by the side of a bookshelf that he was born on 14.5 years ago in their old house. Has he remembered something about the shelf, or perhaps the smell of my Mum’s study in the new house is the same as the old house? Whatever, I find it amazing!

Question

When we went on a weekend trip a few months ago, I forgot to leave the door open to the cat boxes. So the kitties used our mattress as a replacement. When we got home we cleaned up as best as we could. We bought an enzyme cleaner and some febreeze. We were satisfied with our efforts and tried to continue to use the mattress.

However, a few days after cleaning, the smell of cat urine returned. The smell kept coming back after every cleaning so we decided to switch mattresses with an older one we had on a guest bed. It has been several months now and there is still a smell of cat urine that lingers on the mattress. We have kept the cats out of the guest bedroom so there have not been any additional accidents. We would like to get the smell out and buying a new mattress is not an option.

What else can we do?

Answer accepted (score 12)

I would suggest that you attempt a complete soak of the area. Also, keep in mind that there may be multiple areas, some large, some small. I understand this will be quite challenging for a mattress.

Please read the following for my reasoning, which is based on one company - but applies to all cleaners, enzymatic or not.

An enzymatic cleaner such as Kids ‘n’ Pets (I use) sells their product in a large non-spraying bottle, similar to the water bottles used for bike rides. Before their website received an overhaul, they used to have a FAQ page which included “Why does Kids’n’Pets come in a squirt bottle and not a spray bottle?” They explained that the common problem with pet-stain-cleaners was that customers never soaked the area as thoroughly as the urine originally did. Urinating directly onto a carpet (or mattress) allows liquid to travel deep down and outward. Customers often spray the surface based on the stain they see or think is there - which always allowed most of the urine (deeper under the carpet) to stay untreated. This leads to reoccurring smell, which leads to customers thinking the product doesn’t work. They explained how the large opening squirt bottle encourages customers to actually completely soak the area. This way the product will work, and the customer will be happy. (It was not an expensive product) They promoted simply using your own squirt bottle for stains if you’re sure they are surface-only. Unfortunately the product has grown in popularity; their website has gotten fancy; and I cannot find this information anymore. However, the logic is sound. People often just need to use more product.

Pick a product you’re sure will work on urine, not just microbes. If it kills the microbes, but leaves urine in it’s original “edible” state, more microbes will just move in later and make the smell again. Remember, it’s not really the urine that smells, but the microbial action. You need something that will break down urine into a form that’s not usable by the microbes which cause the smell.

I have used Kids’n’Pets for cat accidents including: food-based vomit, bile-based vomit (very very neon green stains) (a medical issue, now treated), feces smears (cat eats long human hair and freaks out during defecation); and very old, very stubborn grease oil (car/mechanic) stains in carpet. I have not used it on urine, but I originally chose it due to fabulous reviews (mostly about urine).

I would suggest buying an enzymatic cleaner in bulk from online and soaking as much of the mattress as you can. Try to sniff out all areas in advance and perhaps mark with a pen or marker. Use a black light (UV light) in the dark to find urine stains. Keep in mind that if you properly cleaned the surface - it may be impossible to find the stains visually. Try to remember where you cleaned before and soak those areas and/or use someone with an excellent nose.

Answer 2 (score 5)

I have used the get-rid-of-cat-urine-smell technique found at the following website with great success on both fresh and old stains on a mattress. All you need is vinegar, baking soda, hydrogen peroxide, dish soap, and water :) Good luck!! http://www.catsofaustralia.com/clean-cat-urine-mattress.htm

EDIT As requested (and rightfully so), here is the method that I found (and directly quote from the above website) - I have used it successfully twice on a number of stains each time. Darn cat…

Ingredients for the Cat Urine Recipe To Remove Odors & Stains from Mattress * Baking Soda * White Vinegar * Dishwashing Detergent (Dish Soap) * 3% Hydrogen Peroxide (10Vol)

Step 1 - If the urine is recent, blot up as much of it as you can using paper towels or a sponge. Apply plenty of pressure to reach the dampness deep down. Stand on the paper towels for more pressure if necessary. If you own a wet/dry vacuum cleaner extract as much of the moisture as you can. If the urine has dried proceed to step two.

Step 2 - Mix a solution of 50% vinegar and 50% water in a jug or other container. Pour a small amount of this solution over the area of cat urine. I used about 50mls. Then begin blotting (as described above to soak up this solution). Or use a wet/dry vacuum cleaner.

Step 3 - Sprinkle a good handful of baking soda over the area.

Step 4 - Mix a quarter of a cup of 3% (10 Vol) hydrogen peroxide with a teaspoon of dishwashing detergent and drizzle it over the area where you have sprinkled the baking powder and work it in using your fingers or use a brush. Allow fifteen minutes for the solution to work and then begin blotting again. (Don’t use wet/dry vacuum at this stage, just blot)

Step 5 - The mattress must now be left to dry thoroughly. A good indication is when the baking soda feels completely dry. Next vacuum up the dry baking soda thoroughly. The baking soda absorbs the odor and urine. (Use a hard bristled brush to loosen up the baking soda if necessary) If you live in a sunny climate you may be able to put the mattress out in the sun to dry. You can also assist the drying process by using a fan or heater. Another idea from one of our readers is to use a hair dryer.

That’s all there is to it. It’s as easy as that.

Answer 3 (score 1)

Get a steam cleaner, the kind that sprays out dirty water and sucks it back up. A Bissell or some other brand works well. Make sure it has a hose. They also sell smaller versions of this that only have a hose and nothing else. It will have two compartments, one for dirty water, one for clean. Once you have this (borrow or buy-worth the money though.. Seriously) open the windows in the room your about to clean the mattress in. If it’s warm outside it will dry faster. Now, stand the mattress up on its side, upright. This will stop the water from going too far into the mattress and help it dry. Fill the clean water tank with a solution of 1/4 cup bleach and 2 tablespoons of liquid laundry detergent. The hotter the water the better. Now here comes the part that’d going to take a while but in the end you will be quite satisfied. Start at one top corner, working in roughly square foot patches, spraying the mattress with the solution and let it sit a minute. Then suck it back up, repeating as necessary until the water runs clear. Work your way to the bottom and make sure you take your time to suck out as much of the water as possible. You will be surprised at what comes out of the mattress. Dust mites, skin dirt and.. The pee. The bleach will kill germs and help it go back to its new color and the combination of the two (laundry detergent and bleach) will break down the dirt, bust up the pee and allow it to be suctioned out, killing any smell as it goes. I’ve had cats all my life and have seen this work before, as well as if there’s anyone in the house with allergies it should help them. Just keep refilling the tank and emptying the old water (watch it’s color even from seemingly clean spots to be effectively grossed out) and let it air dry. A fan helps but the open windows and sunlight should do the trick before bedtime if you start early enough in the morning. Expect to use between 7 and 9 tanks of water and spend about 3 hours. But I promise it works and will save your mattress. DO NOT DO THIS TO A MEMORY FOAM MATTRESS. It will not dry. Standard, normal, regular mattresses only.

Question

I opened a can of tuna today and my cats went absolutely insane over the smell. I let them have a very tiny piece and they absolutely loved it.

What I’m concerned about is that it’s canned tuna. There’s already another question about whether or not feeding fish to cats is okay. But I think that question is asking more about fish that are fresh, or frozen. Not to mention the two answers are divided on whether it’s harmful, or okay to feed sometimes.

I want to know if canned fish is okay to give to my cats, at least as the occasional treat? Or there are ingredients in the canned fish that is harmful to cats?

Answer accepted (score 27)

Probably one of the worst things tuna has, is the high levels of mercury. Even in humans, high levels of mercury acts as a neurotoxin, damaging the brain and nervous system. Since cats have a much smaller body mass than humans, their tolerance for mercury is going to be lower as well. For that reason, it’s important to limit how much tuna you feed your cats.

There was actually a study done in 1974 titled “Neurological Changes in Cats following Long-Term Diet of Mercury Contaminated Tuna” by Louis W. Chang, Seiya Yamaguchi and Alden W. Dudley, Jr.

Unfortunately the article is behind a paywall, but it can be accessed here, and the first page and an abstract can be viewed. I will try to summarize my understanding of the study below:

Sixteen kittens (both male and female) were fed a daily diet of tuna that contained a mercury content of 0.5 parts per million. They were given vitamin supplements to cover for the nutrients lost in a tuna only diet. The study lasted 11 months and an average of 21.1kg of tuna was consumed by each cat, along with an average of 6.3mg of mercury.

What they found was that there were no observable changes in their growth rate or body weight, but at seven months three of the cats showed outward signs of neurological disturbances. Of the three cats showing symptoms, two of them showed transient symptoms (meaning the symptoms seemed to disappear after 24 hours), and the third displayed severe ataxia and incoordination in movements until the end of the experiment.

After the 11 months, the insides of the cats were observed, and histopathological lesions were found in the nervous systems of the majority of the cats studied (I couldn’t find the exact number). The most prominent lesions were found in the cerebellum, at the deep sulci of the cerebellar folia. Many of the granular cells (neurons) were found to be dense and pyknotic (Irreversible condensation of cells).

The amounts of mercury allowed in tuna hasn’t changed over the years I don’t think. Even today, the amount of mercury found in Tuna, on average, matches the study at 0.5ppm. But it is important to note that the EPA does not take action until it reaches 1.0ppm, which means that you’re likely to see ranges both aboth and below 0.5pmm to reach that average. The FDA has a monitoring program as well.

There is another dangerous chemical that you can find in canned tuna, and raw fish in general. That chemical is thiaminase. Thiaminase is an enzyme that attacks and inhibits the processing of thiamine, commonly known as vitamin B1. Cat’s need high contents of B vitamins in their diet, so feeding a cat too much raw fish would give them a thiamine deficiency. The side-effects of which include seizures and a loss of control over body movements.

It’s important to watch what the tuna is packed with as well. Tuna comes packed with either water, or oil. The oil is bad for cats as it can cause a vitamin E deficiency, which in turn causes problems with their muscles¹. So you’ll definitely want to try and stick only to tuna packed in water.

Check the ingredients as well. Tuna also comes either salted or unsalted. As too much salt can cause electrolyte imbalances in cats, it would be best to only get the unsalted tuna (You can always add salt to the portions you eat). Some tuna also has onions and garlic added to it. Both are poisonous to cats.

Other things that I would suggest you watch for is if your cat has possible allergies to fish, as fish is one of the more popular allergies that cats can have, and if your cat becomes to addicted to the taste of the fish. Just like children, give them a choice between something delicious tasting and something healthy, they’ll take the delicious tasting food.

With all this being said. It’s won’t be harmful to give your cat(s) a tiny bit of tuna as a treat on occasion. But it’s really important to keep it in moderation.

There are some good uses for tuna. Because it smells so strongly, it can be used to capture stray cats for catch and release programs. If a cat is sick and/or refusing to eat, a little bit of tuna mixed in might get them to eat.

¹See “The Cornell Book of Cats: A Comprehensive & Authoritative Medical Reference for Every Cat & Kitten” and “Nutrient Requirements of Dogs and Cats (Nutrient Requirements of Domestic Animals)” for more information on Steatitis.

Answer 2 (score 7)

Another issue with using canned tuna as the bulk of the diet as opposed to tuna cat food is that the tuna won’t have the additives that are added particularly for cats. Cat food has added taurine, the absence of which can lead to blindness.

This would not be an issue for using tuna as a treat.

Answer 3 (score 4)

Fish in general is something cats love but it isn’t so great for them. Fish can have relatively high levels of magnesium and phosphorous. This isn’t an issue for some creatures but one of the main things that can cull cats later in life are urinary tract problems. Magnesium and phosphorous can contribute to the formation of kidney stones and adversely impact an animal that is already prone to renal failure. I never feed my cats fish.

Question

We had ants last summer. They came in through the kitchen and a wall near the kitchen. We caulked it up so they couldn’t get in, and the problem was solved.

This summer, we’ve had ants again. They primarily come in between the areas we caulked last summer (can’t get to it with the caulk gun because of the radiator), and go after the cats’ food. We’ve taken to only putting their bowls on the floor while we feed them, and then taking them away. This generally reduces the ants, but if we go away for a weekend and have to leave some food out, we get a lot of ants.

We’ve read/been told that poison (especially poison the ants will take back to their nest) is really effective, but we’re concerned about using such a solution in our apartment because our cats like to cause trouble and get into things, and we don’t want them playing with any poison.

What is an effective, cat-safe way to get rid of ants?

Answer accepted (score 7)

When you need to leave food out for longer periods of time, you can put the food bowl in a pan of water so that the ants can’t reach it. Of course the pan should be small enough that the cats can eat without getting their paws wet.

The easiest way to get rid of the ants is to remove their food source, which you have done. In addition, you could inject some sort of ant killer behind the baseboards and in other crevices. Borax is probably a good choice; it is not safe for cats in quantity (e.g. to use in a litter box), but minute amounts should not cause problems. Some people report success using soapy water, vinegar, or even catnip!

There are also products that contain ant bait/poison inside a plastic case, with openings big enough for an ant to get through but not a cat’s paw. As I recall, these look rather like those round stick-on air freshener thingies. Assuming your cats are not in the habit of eating ants, these should work well and be safe.

Answer 2 (score 4)

If your main priority is safety, one of the safest insecticides is a laundry detergent called Borax. It’s carried by most grocery stores. It’s often used as a wood treatment in crawlspaces, because it kills and repels both insects and mold [for example, see: http://www.publish.csiro.au/paper/CH10132.htm]. (The “secret” wood treatment used by termite and mold companies is often just Borax.) You can also add it to water and use it as a household cleaning agent, although there might be some slight discoloration due to the salt residue.

Borax is just a boron salt, which can be metabolized by mammals, so it’s almost perfectly safe for both humans and pets, although I wouldn’t add it to food. Material Safety Data Sheet lists it as health hazard 1 and moderate skin irritant, about the same as baking soda [http://www.sciencelab.com/msds.php?msdsId=9924967].

Something else I do is buy a pack of these and toss them under the refrigerator, dishwater, and any other tiny nooks in the kitchen. That seems to work, because my kitchen is never spotless but I’ve never had trouble with ant infestations.

Answer 3 (score 0)

Diatomaceous earth. It’s perfectly safe for anyone or anything without a hard exoskeleton. People often use it to deworm their animals, especially back in the day, and will even eat it themselves for the same purpose I suppose.

Basically, the way I understand it, is that it’s like microscopic shards of glass. It won’t hurt a person, cat, etc… because it’s not big enough to cause damage. However, when any insect with a hard exoskeleton walks across it, it’s like you walking across glass shards. It slices their exoskeleton and they basically dehydrate to death.

So it should be perfectly safe for animals and plants, but deadly to ants, cockroaches, wasps, etc… You can just blow some into the wall or behind the baseboards. I’m pretty sure I saw a tv exterminator (Billy the Exterminator, maybe?) use one of those baby booger suckers to blow it into a crack or crevice where wasps were getting in and said it would last for roughly a year.

Question

I have a female spayed cat in my flat for the last eight months. She used to be stray, I took her in when she was about six months old. So she’s about 1,5 years old.

This past month I have noticed that her urine smells very strongly of ammonia - a much, much stronger smell than it used to be. I have NOT changed the type or brand of her litter (I use Ever Clean Multi Crystal), I have NOT changed her eating habits.

I have noticed that lately she likes to drink more water than she used to, but I consider that normal, since it’s been getting very hot around here. I also take care to always have water out for her.

What could be causing this smell?

Also, today she has -for the very first time ever- defecated and urinated outside her litter box (in another corner of the bathroom, where her box is). I know this may be due to the fact that her litter box smells much stronger than it used to now, just mentioning it in case there’s another connection. Any feedback on this also appreciated.

Answer accepted (score 9)

Drinking more water, urine smelling strongly, defecating outside the litter box - all of those signs sound like she’s sick. Could be something smallish and easily fixed with a few antibiotics, could be something bigger. Maybe it’s something with her kidneys?

My advice: take her to the vet to find out what it is and how it can be treated. I think this is something that can be easily corrected if you act on it now, but I’m just another cat-mom, not a veterinarian.

See if you can determine

• is she urinating more, less, or about the same?
• is she eating more, less, or about the same?

Answer 2 (score 6)

Ammonia is present in urine as a by-product of meat consumption, so its presence is entirely natural. The usual reason for an increase in the smell of ammonia in urine is hydration related. The more concentrated the urine, as a result of lack of water in the system, the stronger the smell.

So, the heat situation could be the reason for this, but cats are not big drinkers and I would be suspicious of this as the root cause. Right now this smacks of dehydration and that may be a sign of another problem, potentially serious. I would arrange a visit to the vet as soon as possible just to be safe.

Answer 3 (score 5)

Urea, present in the urine of mammals, naturally degrades into ammonia.

In solid form it is shelf stable, but in solution it is hard to keep from degrading. There are also bacteria and enzymes that are fairly widespread that hasten this decomposition. Even if it is just damp the decomposition can take place.

The strong ammonia smell would suggest an increased load of urea in her urine, increased drinking and peeing could indicate some problem with the kidneys, or metabolism… I’d suggest a vet visit too.

Question

My cat is usually really social. Loves to be cuddled, loves being around people, always crawls in my lap. Today, though, he spent the day hiding in my closet and in his cat tree. He didn’t really eat a lot of his wet food breakfast, which is usually a big event in this house. He did eat some treats I brought to him, and cuddles when I come to him, but he doesn’t really come out much. His eyes are clear, his nose feels the same as always,and he doesn’t appear to react at all to me checking his belly and limbs and such for abnormalities (I didn’t notice any but I am also not a vet).

For reference, he is about three years old, an indoor cat, and the only pet in my house. I don’t have any plants or anything in my house that he could have eaten.

What should I do? Is this a wait and see situation, or a call the vet in the morning one?

Answer accepted (score 12)

(I see that your situation has resolved itself, but I want to talk a bit about cat anorexia and fatty liver disease because it can be a real problem).

Cats can stop eating for a variety of reasons. They ate a bug, they have a hairball making them feel weird, they’re stressed, they have a cold, there are a ton of reasons.

Feline Hepatic Lipidosis

The main danger when a cat stops eating is feline hepatic lipidosis, commonly called fatty liver disease.

The exact mechanism by which fasting in a previously healthy cat causes hepatic lipidosis is not clear. The process is unique to cats in both severity and rate of occurrence. It is understood as the anorexia continues more and more fat is broken down throughout the body and that this fat is then transported to the liver. The liver should then process this fat and export it back to the rest of the body in a new form. In cats developing hepatic lipidosis this process is impaired and fat accumulates in the liver. Damage to the liver occurs as a result of liver cells being too swollen with fat.

It’s also not really well understood how long it takes for a cat to develop fatty liver disease, but it’s believed that overweight cats will develop it faster than normal/underweight cats.

I had a cat with recurring anorexia (as a result of sinus problems) and the general timeline we followed was:

• Day One: Offer Food, no pressure
• Days 2-4: Initiate Force Feeding (high caloric density soft food with a syringe every 2 hours)
• Day 5+: Hospital stay for regular liver monitoring (hospital staff continued force feeding)

Fortunately he never developed fatty liver (he was pretty underweight from these recurrent episodes). It’s very difficult to get enough calories into a cat with a syringe, and if I knew how often we’d be doing it I would have had a feeding tube placed in his neck to aid in the feedings.

Dehydration

Another concern when a cat stops eating is dehydration, because cats get most of their water through their food (especially on a wet food diet). There are two ways to check your cat for dehydration at home.

• Scruff test. Pull the skin of the scruff (the back of the neck) away from their body a short distance and observe how quickly it returns to place (a healthy cat should snap back immediately, a dehydrated cat will sort of slide back into place).
• Gum test. Press your finger on the cat’s gums. When you release your finger, there should be a white spot where your finger was. In a healthy cat, it’ll take 1-2 seconds for that spot to return to pink. In a dehydrated cat it will take longer.

Dehydration can be easily treated, but a vet needs to examine the cat to be sure that there is not an underlying problem causing the dehydration.

When to See Your Vet

If your cat is dehydrated, you should see your vet immediately.

If your cat has not eaten for 2 days, you should see your vet immediately.

If it’s a Friday and your cat just stopped eating and your vet isn’t available on the weekend, call you vet and ask for advice specific to your cat’s health and any existing conditions.

What to Expect

The most common treatment for anorexia is appetite stimulants. This medication is often used in addition to treating whatever the underlying cause for the anorexia may be. For example, in the cat with sinus problems, we would often give him antibiotics for the sinus infections and appetite stimulants to get him started eating again.

Feeding tubes are a treatment method for chronic anorexia, or anorexia that has progressed into hepatic lipidosis. It can sometimes be used as a treatment method in other cases of anorexia as well. For example, after a surgery, Juliet stopped eating due to stress. She hates being handled by people (medications, syringe feeding, etc), so I had the vet put in a feeding tube immediately and she was fine a week later. I believe that if we had tried to syringe feed her, it would have continued to stress her out (continuing the anorexia).

If your cat is also dehydrated, the vet may administer subcutaneous fluids to your cat, or use an IV for more intensive therapy.

Your cat may need to stay overnight or at the vet’s for several days if she is very ill (from anorexia, dehydration, or from the underlying cause).

Answer 2 (score 12)

(I see that your situation has resolved itself, but I want to talk a bit about cat anorexia and fatty liver disease because it can be a real problem).

Cats can stop eating for a variety of reasons. They ate a bug, they have a hairball making them feel weird, they’re stressed, they have a cold, there are a ton of reasons.

Feline Hepatic Lipidosis

The main danger when a cat stops eating is feline hepatic lipidosis, commonly called fatty liver disease.

The exact mechanism by which fasting in a previously healthy cat causes hepatic lipidosis is not clear. The process is unique to cats in both severity and rate of occurrence. It is understood as the anorexia continues more and more fat is broken down throughout the body and that this fat is then transported to the liver. The liver should then process this fat and export it back to the rest of the body in a new form. In cats developing hepatic lipidosis this process is impaired and fat accumulates in the liver. Damage to the liver occurs as a result of liver cells being too swollen with fat.

It’s also not really well understood how long it takes for a cat to develop fatty liver disease, but it’s believed that overweight cats will develop it faster than normal/underweight cats.

I had a cat with recurring anorexia (as a result of sinus problems) and the general timeline we followed was:

• Day One: Offer Food, no pressure
• Days 2-4: Initiate Force Feeding (high caloric density soft food with a syringe every 2 hours)
• Day 5+: Hospital stay for regular liver monitoring (hospital staff continued force feeding)

Fortunately he never developed fatty liver (he was pretty underweight from these recurrent episodes). It’s very difficult to get enough calories into a cat with a syringe, and if I knew how often we’d be doing it I would have had a feeding tube placed in his neck to aid in the feedings.

Dehydration

Another concern when a cat stops eating is dehydration, because cats get most of their water through their food (especially on a wet food diet). There are two ways to check your cat for dehydration at home.

• Scruff test. Pull the skin of the scruff (the back of the neck) away from their body a short distance and observe how quickly it returns to place (a healthy cat should snap back immediately, a dehydrated cat will sort of slide back into place).
• Gum test. Press your finger on the cat’s gums. When you release your finger, there should be a white spot where your finger was. In a healthy cat, it’ll take 1-2 seconds for that spot to return to pink. In a dehydrated cat it will take longer.

Dehydration can be easily treated, but a vet needs to examine the cat to be sure that there is not an underlying problem causing the dehydration.

When to See Your Vet

If your cat is dehydrated, you should see your vet immediately.

If your cat has not eaten for 2 days, you should see your vet immediately.

If it’s a Friday and your cat just stopped eating and your vet isn’t available on the weekend, call you vet and ask for advice specific to your cat’s health and any existing conditions.

What to Expect

The most common treatment for anorexia is appetite stimulants. This medication is often used in addition to treating whatever the underlying cause for the anorexia may be. For example, in the cat with sinus problems, we would often give him antibiotics for the sinus infections and appetite stimulants to get him started eating again.

Feeding tubes are a treatment method for chronic anorexia, or anorexia that has progressed into hepatic lipidosis. It can sometimes be used as a treatment method in other cases of anorexia as well. For example, after a surgery, Juliet stopped eating due to stress. She hates being handled by people (medications, syringe feeding, etc), so I had the vet put in a feeding tube immediately and she was fine a week later. I believe that if we had tried to syringe feed her, it would have continued to stress her out (continuing the anorexia).

If your cat is also dehydrated, the vet may administer subcutaneous fluids to your cat, or use an IV for more intensive therapy.

Your cat may need to stay overnight or at the vet’s for several days if she is very ill (from anorexia, dehydration, or from the underlying cause).

Answer 3 (score 1)

I’m glad your situation is better but if I had a cat that stopped eating and went into hiding (and I knew of no good reason for it, like some strange disturbance, very loud noise….) I’d be very worried.

Cats have been known to stop eating and go off to hide somewhere as a mechanism for ending their life. I do not know what tells them to do this but some seem to sense when they have a serious condition and they do this behavior.

Evolution could favor this odd behavior as it would help to reduce the passing of some contagious disorders.

I have never had a cat do this but I know other people who have had terminal cats who went into this behavior mode (stop eating & get in a good hiding spot).

Not drinking is even worse than not eating, but in either case I’d make a vet visit pretty early on.

Question

We have a 18 month old male, neutered cat. (His full name is Mr Sid Cuffuffle- Sid to his friends - no lie!)

A mother cat carries her kittens by the scruff of the neck, as the skin is very loose. I am wondering if it is ok to pick a full grown adult cat up by the scruff of the neck. Our cat is only a young adult, so is it ok for younger adults, is there some cut off point.

This post recommends holding a cat by the scruff of the neck, but I can imagine that there would be a difference between this and holding a cat up in the air by the scruff of the neck.

What are the facts about picking up or holding adults cats by the scruff of the neck?

Mr Sid Cuffuffle (aka Sid)

Answer accepted (score 18)

From a behavioral perspective, picking up an adult cat by the scruff is not recommended because the cat has already outgrown it’s kitten reflex to go limp when their scruff is held.

This behavior is typically used by a dominant cat (the mother) on a subordinate cat (the kitten). If you use this technique to lift your cat when they’ve done nothing wrong, they will (rightfully) be confused. Over time, it can contribute to unsociable behavior (why would the cat want to socialize with someone who’s going to punish them for nothing?).

Additionally, it’s scary to be up in the air unsupported! Adult cats generally have been picked up by the scruff when they were kittens, but that was when they were babies and YEARS ago. To suddenly have it happen again is frightening. Again, some cats don’t have the go limp reflex (our youngest doesn’t), and may lash out (bite/claw) at you.

Source for behavioral piece:

Avoid scruffing cats as a routine restraint method. Scruffing actually is not a secure way to restraint a cat, and it aggravates many cats more than necessary. There is no magical “limpness” button on a cat’s scruff and the analogy of a mother cat carrying her kittens is inaccurate. This flexor reflex occurs only in kittens and they outgrow this as they mature. Adult cats are grabbed by the back of the neck in only 4 natural situations: fighting, play fighting, reproduction, and predatory attack – none of which are desirable to mimic in a clinic setting. Alternative methods can be more successful. Safe Humane Restraint

Additionally, an adult cat is heavier than a kitten, so there are health risks associated with being held by essentially just a handful of skin, including damage to internal organs, muscles, or other soft tissue.

Source:

You should not pick up a cat over a few months of age by the scruff of the neck. Yes, this is now mother cats pick up and move her kittens, but they are small and light. A fully grown cat can range in weight from 4kg to 8kg and picking up by the scruff without providing additional support is going to place enormous strain on the spine and muscles. How to Safely Pick Up a Cat by the Neck

For cats who find the scruffing reassuring, it’s fine to hold their scruff WHILE SUPPORTING THEIR REAR END, but I would never pick my cat up with just the scruff unless it was some kind of emergency.

Answer 2 (score 18)

From a behavioral perspective, picking up an adult cat by the scruff is not recommended because the cat has already outgrown it’s kitten reflex to go limp when their scruff is held.

This behavior is typically used by a dominant cat (the mother) on a subordinate cat (the kitten). If you use this technique to lift your cat when they’ve done nothing wrong, they will (rightfully) be confused. Over time, it can contribute to unsociable behavior (why would the cat want to socialize with someone who’s going to punish them for nothing?).

Additionally, it’s scary to be up in the air unsupported! Adult cats generally have been picked up by the scruff when they were kittens, but that was when they were babies and YEARS ago. To suddenly have it happen again is frightening. Again, some cats don’t have the go limp reflex (our youngest doesn’t), and may lash out (bite/claw) at you.

Source for behavioral piece:

Avoid scruffing cats as a routine restraint method. Scruffing actually is not a secure way to restraint a cat, and it aggravates many cats more than necessary. There is no magical “limpness” button on a cat’s scruff and the analogy of a mother cat carrying her kittens is inaccurate. This flexor reflex occurs only in kittens and they outgrow this as they mature. Adult cats are grabbed by the back of the neck in only 4 natural situations: fighting, play fighting, reproduction, and predatory attack – none of which are desirable to mimic in a clinic setting. Alternative methods can be more successful. Safe Humane Restraint

Additionally, an adult cat is heavier than a kitten, so there are health risks associated with being held by essentially just a handful of skin, including damage to internal organs, muscles, or other soft tissue.

Source:

You should not pick up a cat over a few months of age by the scruff of the neck. Yes, this is now mother cats pick up and move her kittens, but they are small and light. A fully grown cat can range in weight from 4kg to 8kg and picking up by the scruff without providing additional support is going to place enormous strain on the spine and muscles. How to Safely Pick Up a Cat by the Neck

For cats who find the scruffing reassuring, it’s fine to hold their scruff WHILE SUPPORTING THEIR REAR END, but I would never pick my cat up with just the scruff unless it was some kind of emergency.

Answer 3 (score 4)

I work at a cat shelter and some of the cats actually prefer to be picked up by the scruff than normally. Granted it’s usually with kittens or small adult cats, but its less about the age and more about the size/weight of the cat. If you can’t easily lift the cat by the scruff with one hand, you shouldn’t pick them up like that but its okay to hold them that way if they aren’t completely off the ground. Ive also heard that it releases endorphins and relaxes the cat. Im sure if one was to do it incorrectly it could hurt the cat, but in general as long as you do it correctly it is an effective way to keep the cat still while medicating or to relax an agitated cat.

Question

This weekend I visited a friend who had a new kitten (about 8 weeks old). The kitten has a fuzzy coat, but most kittens seem to have a fuzzy coat from what I can tell through internet searches.

We were trying to guess if the kitten would have a long or short haired coat as an adult. Is there a way to tell (not knowing what the parents looked like), or will we just have to wait until the kitten grows up?

Answer accepted (score 8)

Check if it has tufts of fur between the toes. That’s a sign that most long and medium-long haired cats share.

Long-haired cat’s paw:

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Short-haired cat’s paw:

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You can see in the long-haired cat’s paw, there’s that sudden sprout of long hair sticking out. You’ll also be able to see that with the front paws.

Answer 2 (score 0)

Apart from the other suggestions, check the thinness of the fur. Thick fur for a kitten typically indicates long hair in later life, and thin hair is usually found in short hairs (you need to have a comparison to see the difference, but it rarely fails).

Answer 3 (score 0)

Apart from the other suggestions, check the thinness of the fur. Thick fur for a kitten typically indicates long hair in later life, and thin hair is usually found in short hairs (you need to have a comparison to see the difference, but it rarely fails).

Question

I just got my cat back from being spayed. She’s got the stitches, and she’s supposed to wear the cone for a week to stop her from licking them. Problem is, we’ve gotten the cone on her four times now, and she’s managed to pull it off all four times.

I really don’t want to hurt her, and I know she doesn’t like the cone at all. I have to go to work, so I can’t supervise her 24/7 to stop her from licking. But how can I make sure she can’t take the cone off at all?

Answer accepted (score 8)

There are a few options. Usually when the veternarian supplies cones, they are hard plastic and annoying to the cat because they interrupt peripheral vision and hearing, as well as eating and drinking.

There are soft cones available that some pets find more tolerable, Trimline is one manufacturer. These cones can be worn in the traditional “up around the head” fashion, or turned down to form a bell around the body. Some cats find the turned down position tolerable because it doesn’t interfere with vision/hearing. If you get one of these collars and try the turned down position, I recommend using it while you can observe your cat to make sure that she cannot reach the stitches with the cone in this position.

Another option is a protective shirt. There are commercially available options, but you probably don’t want to wait for shipping since your cat has already had the surgery. You can make a similar shirt at home.

Basically, take an old T-shirt and cut four holes in it for the cats legs. Then wrap the shirt around the cat and pin/sew it closed at/near the cat’s spine. You don’t want any seams near the wound/suture (belly), that should be a smooth flat piece of fabric. The shirt should be snug so your cat cannot wiggle out of it, but not so tight that it cuts off circulation. You should check the wound every 8 hours or so while it’s covered, and monitor your cat when you first put on the shirt to make sure she doesn’t get tangled in it.

If she licks the shirt it should be alright, but if she bites it you’ll want to reinforce it with thicker fabric (like denim) over the area with the stitches. The fabric will likely stretch and wiggle, that’s normal. Just repin it as necessary to keep the shirt on and covering the sutures.

Answer 2 (score 6)

I have a large (strong) grown up cat, who’ve had a major operation on his hind quarters, and needed a hard plastic cone to keep him from biting the stitches.

To keep him from pulling the cone off, I tied a long ribbon (actually a bandage) through the loops in the cone, once around his neck, crossing down on his chest - behind the front legs - and crossing once more on his back, before connecting to the loops in the cone again. Then it is neatly tied with a bow on his back.

It isn’t super important exactly how you tie it - just keep it behind the front legs and cross onto the back. That way, when the cat tries to pull it off, it will pull against his front legs, and the cat will stop pulling.

This is a sketch of how the ribbon could run: The red and blue are both ends of the same string - they start at the middle, just behind the head of the cat - and run across the breast and under the front legs. Then somehow they are tied together on the back of the cat. It doesn’t matter exactly how they connect at the back, but I like to run them once more through one of the loops on the cone.

Technically it would still be possible to pull the legs out of the loops, and pull of the cone, but so far my cat hasn’t figured that out.

Answer 3 (score 2)

I too had the problem of my cat Fonzie (now nicknamed “Houdini”) pushing the cone off his little head. What I did works great I used a halter and attached two loops of the cone to the halter on his back and the one front loop to the part where the halter sits on his chest. It is a halter one would use with a leash on to take the cat for a walk. He isn’t happy and I wish I could make him understand it is temporary and for his own good. Love my cats so much and one can never say cats aren’t smart.

Question

I’ve heard humans stop growing around age 18-24. What about cats? When do they stop growing in height?

Answer accepted (score 6)

There are a couple of growth periods for cats. The first takes about 4 months and takes them into the kitten stage. The second growth period of a kitten takes them from about 4 months to somewhere between 8 and 12 months to adult size depending on the size of the breed. Larger breeds will take longer to reach their adult size versus smaller breeds, but despite having adult size, they’re still junior cats, they don’t really become adult cats until their 3rd year.

I only mention the two growth stages (which are effectively continuous) because the dietary requirements change.

Answer 2 (score 1)

Usually, around their first birthday is the tallest/longest they will get. Some breeds, their skeleton keeps growing a little bit longer, some stop growing a little bit earlier. But “one year” is the average time for complete skeletal growth.

Question

We recently got an 8 month old cat from a breeder, it had lived its live in a cage with the rest of the litter up to that point. The car journey home was about an hour and the whole time I had my hand in the carrier and was stroking her gently. She didn’t seem afraid at all, and made no attempt to leave the carrier.

When we got to our apartment I made the mistake of not confining her to just one room and I think she got a bit bewildered. For quite a while she just sat in the carrier and didn’t move. I was able to pick her up and hold her without any apparent problem.

That night she peed and pooped on the sofa :-( So we decided to confine her to the kitchen with everything she needed. However, it was now impossible to get close to her to take her to the kitchen. We tried twice to corner her and pick her up but that just ended up with my arms all scratched up and her hiding under the sofa. My wife and I were starting to get a bit desperate.

In the end we managed to “herd” her into the kitchen without having to get too close. However, I think the failed attempts to “grab” her have traumatised her and made her really afraid of us.

She spent the next few days in the kitchen apparently fine. She ate well and did her business in the litter tray, but would always run and hide when any of us entered the kitchen. After a week in the kitchen (and having thoroughly cleaned the sofa!) we let her roam the living / dining room which is pretty large. She seems to be fine with that (and hasn’t peed where she shouldn’t). We’ve also managed to play with her with a stick with feathers on the end, but as soon as we get any closer she runs away. Petting her is almost impossible.

What can we do so she stops being afraid of us? She’s a gorgeous cat and I just want to have her purring on my lap as I watch TV, and that seems like it will never happen the way things are currently.

FOLLOW UP: about 3 weeks after posting this question, without any of us doing anything in particular, just mostly ignoring the cat and trying not to get in its way, she gradually became more and more friendly to the point where she now always follows us around the house and will purr away endlessly as we stroke her. She now has no fear of us at all. I guess it really was just a question of time!

Answer accepted (score 19)

It will take time.

I don’t know how for how long you have owned her now, but from my experience, the relationship can take long to establish itself.

To create this bond you are looking for, don’t rush things. Never chase her, never hold her when she doesn’t want to, and never make sudden movements when you are near her. This would only make her more afraid of you.

Instead, sit down next to her, with her daily food, treats or toys, wait until she comes on her own to eat or play. She needs to understand that you are not a threat. Just hold your hand in her direction, without moving. She will, eventually, come rub her head against your hand. This worked with 100% of the cats I have met :)

Speaking with her gently also helps. Try to call her by her name when you wait with her food/toys. She should learn that this means no harm for her.

Answer 2 (score 12)

We recently got an 8 month old cat from a breeder, it had lived its live in a cage with the rest of the litter up to that point.

Unless the breeder spent the proper effort to socialize the cat with a variety of humans in the first few weeks, you have already lost the best opportunity to socialize your cat.

Don’t expect all cats to behave according to your ideal. I’ve owned a few cats and they are all different. Some are more “aloof” and never sit on laps. I learned to appreciate all the more the times when that sort of cat would sit nearby for a short while and purr quietly while I rubbed its head. (In one case the cat’s purr was usually inaudible unless I pressed my ear to his chest).

I believe the best approach is to be patient, gentle, unthreatening, persistent and consistent. Don’t expect too much. If the cat tolerates being in your presence, that is a win. I would take it a step at a time and be prepared to work on it for months or years if necessary.

As cats get older they become less active outdoors (if permitted) and may become more placid. But cats vary a lot and some may never become lap cats.

See Kitten Socialisation

The experiences kittens have within their first two months of life are important in influencing their behaviour right into and through adulthood. During this early period, often known as the ‘socialisation period’, kittens learn what aspects of their environment are ‘normal’ and ‘safe’ so that everything that they come across during this period is likely to be accepted as something that is ‘okay’ later in life. This typically happens in the safe core environment of the nest and its immediate vicinity. Equally, anything that they do not come across during this period is much more likely to produce a fear response in adulthood.

Studies have indicated that the socialisation period in cats has been identified as being between two and seven weeks of age. During this time, the kitten’s brain and sensory system are still developing and the stimuli he encounters influence how this development occurs.

As cats do not have an inbuilt ‘need’ to be with people – tolerance of and desire to be around people being a learned behaviour – early handling by a variety of people during this time is essential in order to socialise kittens with humans. The onset of a fear response or hazard avoidance response is six weeks in kittens. It is extremely difficult to socialise those which have had no human contact after weaning and almost impossible after they reach sexual maturity.

Answer 3 (score 6)

I think the failed attempts to “grab” her have traumatised her and made her really afraid of us.

So do I. Chasing a cat or trying to grab it, especially before it knows you, starts off on the wrong foot. You now have some work to do to regain trust.

Instead of ‘herding’ a cat into the kitchen or anywhere else, you can use its chasing instinct to lure it to where you want it to go. The difference is huge. A cat that is chasing is focused and has very little concern for anything else, a cat that is being chased associates that fact with all of its current surroundings. It becomes hyper-aware when it encounters the same combination of environmental factors again. That room! Those people! Those noises! TROUBLE!

The slow remedy has already been covered by others.

This is a young cat and the quick way forward is to learn about reward-only operant-conditioning (or rather its offshoot, clicker training).

You can influence a young cat’s behaviour in minutes provided you understand what you are doing and your timing is good. Example: It’s possible to teach a cat to high-five in about half-a-dozen ten-minute sessions (I speak from experience). By occupying its mind, you stop it worrying about fearful stimuli and you can train it to jump onto a chair or your lap. It’s a challenge though. Learning to be a quick and effective clicker-trainer takes patience, thought, insight and patience (oh and patience).

If you search online for ‘cat clicker training’ there is plenty of information. Karen Pryor is a pioneer of clicker-training and is excellent. Try looking at Youtube videos.

If you do it right, you can rehabilitate an animal in a week or even a day where it might otherwise take months. It is fun and rewarding once you get the knack.

Note that a hand-shy cat can be trained using a laser-pointer as a chase-toy. If you do it right the cat won’t even realise you are training it. You train the cat to come to you instead of the other way around. It will forget you are there until it realises it is already sitting in your lap.

In any case good luck!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6wgbCmaD8o

Question

My cat is very very tame, she socialized well with kittens, as soon as she was old enough I got her and she’s a happy cat or so it appears. I’ve tamed her very thoroughly, so I can hold her upside down, or even tilt her upside down, or toss her up and catch her, she seems totally comfortable with anything I do.

But when she’s in a cuddly mood and I’m giving her a petting fit for royalty, she’ll be laid out in my arms in some comfortable looking position purring, looking like the happiest cat on earth, and I stop and I’ll be looking at her face, and she really quickly tenses up and bites my face, often running away like she knows she did something wrong. I immediately retaliate, hard, just like another cat would, to make her think twice about doing this. She doesnt bite hard enough to make me bleed, but it’s an unnecessary shock at really weird timing.

Sometimes she’ll be licking my face to wake me up, and I guess she thinks my face needs to be cleaned at 6AM, and I wake up, pet her a bit, she’ll lick my face more and then randomly lunge and bite my face, before receiving a really good beating in return. Not really, but I make sure to hurt her as much as she did me. That seems like something she’ll certainly understand as retaliation for her aggression toward me.

But I want to know why. Why, at the most intimate moments, right after she rubs her face on mine or licks me, does my cat lunge and bite my face?

Is all of her affection juse a ruse to trick me into dropping my guard??

I know there’s a similar question here, but that question doesn’t quite cover my situation and doesnt really have a satisfactory answer.

Answer accepted (score 14)

You said it happens when your are gazing into your cats face.. As a human that is a good thing but to a cat and especially a stray eye contact or stareing is a sign of aggression and that you are going to attack. To disarm the cat you need to blink slowly and look away. Don’t stare at their face.

Answer 2 (score 12)

I immediately retaliate, hard, just like another cat would, to make her think twice about doing this.

…I make sure to hurt her as much as she did me. That seems like sonething she’ll certainly understand as retaliation for her aggression toward me.

This is a bad idea with any animal, and especially with cats. Cats don’t have the same kind of relationship with us that dogs do. Cats are solitary animals for the most part. They don’t have an instinct to please the leader of the pack the way that dogs do. What you see as punishment or retaliation merely frightens the cat, making things worse for the next time.

Your cat enjoys the play up to a point, and then wants to quit. She can’t say so in words, but she gives you some signal that she needs a break. Unfortunately, you’re missing the signal. That’s not too surprising, because it’s not easy to read another animal’s body language, the signals can be subtle, and each cat is different. And even the most savvy cat owners miss these signals from time to time.

What I recommend is that you keep your play sessions short for a few days. End the session while she still wants more. Then gradually lengthen the time, while watching her body language very carefully. I can’t tell you exactly what to look for, because I don’t know your cat. But likely signs that she needs a break might include: putting her paw on your hand, pulling her head back a bit, or tensing up her body. Once you learn her signal for “enough”, this problem will disappear almost entirely.

We get along a lot better with our cats once we take responsibility for any misunderstandings in communication (which is what this is). After all, we’re the ones with the big brains, so the onus is on us to meet them a lot more than halfway.

Whether it’s a cat or any other animal, when a behaviour problem occurs it’s usually not the animal that needs training, but the human.

Answer 3 (score 11)

First, I need to say: don’t hit your cat. Even if you aren’t harming your cat, you are much bigger than your cat, and your cat does not understand you are trying to discipline it, so you’ll probably just make it afraid of you, or you may harm it by accident. Obviously disciplining it that way hasn’t fixed your problem, so stop.

Some cats are prone to bite if they get overstimulated. They may like the petting at first, but suddenly want you to stop. The best way to prevent this type of biting is to pay close attention to the cat’s body language. If the cat starts to look a bit tense, it’s ears slightly back, then stop petting the cat and move away. Or keep you petting sessions gentle and brief, so the cat won’t have time to get overstimulated.

As for biting while licking you, that is a natural and unfortunate cat behavior. Many cats while cleaning themselves or other cats will bite at the fur as well as lick. So it’s likely your cat is still just trying to groom you without thinking it’s hurting you. If you don’t like it, simply move away when the cat tries to lick you.

Question

I’ve looked all over for an explanation. Surprisingly, there’s not much information about this (most being theories).

Are there any cat experts that can explain this? I’ve heard “the sound is too high pitched for humans to hear”, which would be neat, but seems as if it would be testable and confirmed by now.

My Question

Only one of my cats silently meow, most of the time giving no sound at all. Why does her meows give no sound?

Extra Details

She is around (estimated) 10 years old. In her early years, she wasn’t very talkative. She was an outside cat until she got injured, which we had to amputate her tail. She has been an inside cat ever since. She has become very affectionate since then, which has brought on the meowing, which most of the time give no sound.

Answer accepted (score 5)

From what my vet said when discussing my silent meower (who was perfectly healthy and lived to 21), there are several reasons a cat would meow but not make any noticeable sound.

• The most common according to my vet is that the cat’s vocal cords are deformed so it has no “voice”. My old cat usually made no noise beyond something a bit like heavy breathing, but when she was stressed or in pain there’d be voice. Her purring was also almost silent. If your cat rarely/never had voice as a kitten, this is probably the cause.
• Illness or accident can also cause problems, particularly if there’s nerve damage. This is more likely if a vocal cat stops making noise when meowing.

If your vet says your cat is healthy, there’s nothing to worry about (except possibly the cat getting trapped somewhere and you not being able to hear it - although my experience says the cat will develop other ways to let you know there’s a problem).

Answer 2 (score 3)

I realize I’m coming super late to this conversation but I wanted to add my own experience with my cat because I’ve yet to come across anything that explains or sounds like the situation with my cat.

I adopted her when she was already a year old and she actually can’t meow. She makes a noise, but it sounds more like a puff of air that sounds like “key.” It’s not a chirp, there is no tone or variation. When people first it, they think it’s a hiss, but it’s not. She can hiss but it sounds and she looks very very different when she hisses vs when she “keys.” You also can’t hear her purr at all: I have to feel her throat to know if she’s purring.

I’ve only ever heard her make one other sound, and it’s when she sees birds, but still it just sounds like air being pushed out and more guttural than her key. She doesn’t vocalize often though, usually just when I come home.

The vet said he wouldn’t be able to explain it unless he investigated while she was under anesthesia and I didn’t feel like putting her through an unnecessary procedure just to find if her vocal box is damaged.

I’m bringing this up because I don’t think a quiet meow is always psychological as another post suggested, but physical. Granted my cat has never been able to meow so it could be a different scenario.

Answer 3 (score 2)

Our ten year old female bi-colour tabby gives silent meows 99% of the time. She has many other peculiar traits that I have never witnessed in lots of other cats.

Why the silent meow? I think that she has learnt from our responses to her demands that she can get our attention to open a door, feed her, etc., simply by not going to the extra effort of having to make an audible sound. In other words “Why go to that extra effort when I don’t need to?” That is a sign of a really clever cat - and she displays such cleverness in many other ways.

Question

I’ve noticed this behavior on two of my cats, and I don’t believe it is feline hyperesthesia (neither exhibit any of the other symptoms commonly associated with the condition, and the back twitching does not seem random).

Instead, I believe it is possibly a social/communication cue of some sort.

Typically, it seems that the two cats (our oldest, an alpha female, and our younger male) both will display the back-twitching behavior when I start talking to them.

What does this mean? Is it an invitation to pet them (both are quite affectionate)? Is there documented research that describes this behavior as a social cue among cats?

Answer accepted (score 13)

• It is perfectly normal for a cat’s back to twitch from time to time. Cats have a sheet of muscle under the skin of their trunk called the cutaneus trunci muscle (CTM). There are involuntary responses to being touched on the skin, which result in twitching. This involuntary twitching may assist in flicking away insects that may land on the cats fur.

• This reflex can be stimulated by emotion in cats, fear and/or excitement. It is possible your cats are excited to see you, anticipating food, fun or affection (I would doubt they are fearful of you!).

• Cats tend to do this when patted in certain places, and for some, it can lead to agitation if they are being patted in a repeated fashion, like tapping, as opposed to stroking (this I learnt in a neuroscience lecture for humans, where tests were done on cats!).

• In terms of this being a communication tool between cats, I have not found any studies about this (there may be), but as with many features of animal body language, many of these twitches can be tells or signals to other animals that an animal is frightened, agitated or excited.

A decreased or absent reflex may show: … excitement and fear.
An exaggerated reflex …. may simply be due to excitement and fear. (1)

• It is also normal for cats to have no twitching reflex.

The cutaneous trunci reflex is frequently absent in the cat. (2)

References:

• Descending pathways to the cutaneous trunci muscle motoneuronal cell group in the cat. Holstege G, Blok BF.

• Neurological Examination - Dog & Cat wikivet.net (1)

• Neurology - lecture notes Joane Parent DMV, MVetSc, ACVIM Neurology University of Guelph (2)

Question

My cat hasn’t pooped in 2 days. How long do cats typically go between pooping? How long should I wait before I take him to the vet?

He is a neutered male domestic short hair, about three years old and otherwise in good health.

Answer accepted (score 9)

So, for the short answer on this, I would get him into the vet to check his hydration and to, possibly, clean him out. Not so much because he’s in immediate danger, but because there are long term risks with this situation in the formation of megacolon. As you know, cats are not necessarily avid drinkers and this becomes more risky if a cat is prone to constipation and he may well be. The food he eats and the amount of water he drinks will play a real role here.

There may be nothing to it, but if he’s not getting the moisture in his diet, then a change in diet may help. In addition to wet cat food, I would recommend adding water to it to increase the moisture content. We do that with our cat that suffers from megacolon and it makes a big difference, in conjunction with some medications, in keeping him regular. The goal is to make the stool soft enough so that a cat with weak muscles can still move the stool through the system.

Answer 2 (score 1)

Do your cat vomit or tried vomitting recently? If he/she does, it might be a result of excessive hairballs. As constipation for cat might also be caused by exccessive hairballs. For my case, I had tried giving my cat some Hairball & Laxatives and Hairball remedies and it works well. For safer and cheap remedy, try giving your cat some cat grass or wheat grass to clear the hairballs.

As what the previous answer suggest, it is good to constantly supply your cat with clean water and not too much dry treats if he/she is getting older. Veterinarians suggests that it more efficient for cats to absorb water from wet food rather then just water.

Question

My wife and I would like to adopt two kittens, however she has cat allergies and currently would not be able to live with them. The adoption group let us foster (with the plan for adoption) a pair of shorthair tabbys that she has fallen in love with. We would like to keep them, but think it is a bad decision.

We don’t want to take the kittens, and have her live with the allergies, and we don’t want to try something that only works for a short period of time. So is there something we can do to keep the kittens without having my wife live with allergic reactions all the time?

So far we have employed other strategies to help with the issue, like dusting often and keeping them out of the bedroom, but we are looking for a more permanent solution.

From reading online it seems like immunotherapy is an option to help treat those allergies so she would be able to live with them. I am hoping for some kind of treatment like this, but I don’t know how effective that is, or if it would even help. What are my options?

Answer accepted (score 20)

It’s definitely possible to live with a cat even if you have cat allergies. There are several things you can do to reduce, and remove the allergens that cause a reaction.

Step one is always fresh air, ventilation, and filtration. Open windows when you can to get fresh air flow moving through the house, bring in new air and take away the old with dander and other allergens. If you can’t have the windows open all the time, like if it rains or gets cold outside, you can use an air filter like Oldcat suggested (Technically you can use one all the time I guess, but come one, fresh air!).

Here is an example air filter, though I have no idea how good this one is, it has a 4 1/2 star rating.

You can always give the cat it’s own space so that your wife has places to be safe from any reactions. The bedroom is a perfect place to make into a safe room. You should be able to spend time with your cat whenever you want, but in the case of an allergic reaction, your wife should have a place to get away.

Brush the cat often to get rid of shed hair and dander. Also, brush it outside if you can, or in a well ventilated room. You’re brushing the allergens off of the cat and into the air, which is something you definitely don’t want.

Furniture and upholstery are allergen traps. You can either clean them often, or you can put allergen protectors on them. My wife is allergic to dust mites, so we have a mattress cover on our bed. I will warn you they make crinkling sounds when you move on them.

They make anti-allergen sprays that are supposed to remove even pet allergens, though I can’t say the effectiveness of those, it might be something to look into.

Watch your vacuum. Especially old vacuums with bags are notorious for kicking back some dirt and dust. You can get allergen trapping bags, but newer, bagless vacuums are much better.

Keep the litter box clean. Not only is cat urine an allergen, but cat litter is extremely dusty. You might want to try different kinds of cat litter to see if that helps. Yesterday’s News is made of old newspaper, and Feline Pine is made of compressed sawdust.

Keep the cat clean. While cats will wash themselves, they will not get rid of all their dander on their own. Also, cat saliva is an allergen too (go figure). I personally don’t suggest daily baths; especially for kittens. But a bath once a week or so would help. Daily wipe downs with a cloth or kitten wipes are an alternative to baths, and can be less stressful on both of you.

Important notes:

• Make sure you use soap/shampoo that is safe for your kitten. I use dawn dish soap, which is what is used to clean animals from oil spills. You might want to look into something that won’t dry out the cat’s skin if you plan on giving baths more frequently than once a week. Consult a vet.
• Don’t get water into your cat’s ears when bathing, as water doesn’t drain from their ears like it does in humans, so it will get infected, even cause permanent damage.

Finally, I would suggest you get treatment – Even if it’s just taking antihistamines to reduce the allergic reaction. There’s also the option of getting an allergy test to tell what specifically you’re allergic to. That can help you target the allergens more effectively.

You will want to speak to a doctor about immunotherapy for the details but I can tell you this much: It will not cure allergies. What it does, is it gets you’re body used to the allergens. Desensitizing your body to the reaction and lessening the immune system’s response. Your wife still might have allergic reactions after the treatments are completed, but the point is that they’re so minuscule she won’t hardly notice.

First thing to do is understand what an allergy is. At the basic level, an allergy is the body reacting negatively to an otherwise harmless substance. What immunotherapy aims to do, is expose the immune system to the allergen in minute amounts at first, then slowly increase the dosage until you no longer feel the effects.

The process does take time, so don’t expect it to be done anytime soon. The treatment goes something like this: You will go in once a week for a mall dose at first, then once every other week, then once a month, then once every few months, then once a year, then once every couple years. The dosage increasing by a fraction each time. Because there are so many treatments, it can be fairly costly, but I cannot give an estimate with any confidence. I will say immunotherapy has been shown to be an effective method of managing allergies. If you and, more importantly, your wife are patient enough, it will help her manage the allergic reactions.

Answer 2 (score 12)

It’s absolutely possible - I’m mildly allergic to cats and have three at home.

In addition to Matt S’s excellent summary, here’s a few other things to consider:

• If you’ve been able to foster without serious problems, the cat allergy is probably not severe enough to impair your wife’s breathing. As long as you keep the house reasonably clean and well-ventilated, you should be okay.
• Something I’ve found necessary, particularly at times when I’m having issues with pollen allergies, is to make sure I wash my hands after I’ve been petting one of the cats. If I forget to wash my hands, when I rub my eyes some time later I can guarantee absolute misery for a while.
• Keep their claws trimmed. This might seem silly, but I’ve found that if you have a kneader, they can poke holes in you and if your allergy leans that way, the injuries will be inflamed and itchy (speaking from experience here). Trimmed claws avoid that issue altogether, and it should be reasonably easy to convince kittens that this is a good thing if you give them lots of attention while they’re being trimmed.
• Your wife will habituate. She’ll probably want to have eye drops and possibly a mild antihistamine for the times when the allergy hits badly, but for the most part she should find that if she’s careful and washes her hands after kitty time, she’ll have less trouble the longer the cats are around (of course, this is often specific to the cat - the habituation process will probably need to be repeated for each new cat)
• If she has other allergy issues, she will be more sensitive to the cats when the other allergies are active. I’m rather strongly allergic to oak pollen (to the extent that I spend each spring taking antihistamines) and during spring I react much more to the cats than at any other time of the year.
• If you can choose a breed, sphinxes are low-allergenic (being hairless - although a lot of people find them hideous), as are the rexes (Cornish and Devon Rex - they have the very short, curly fur which has a different texture to normal cat fur). Long-haired breeds are usually worse, although there are exceptions.

Answer 3 (score 5)

The allergens that cause reactions in the allergic are carried on the skin and other places the cat touches with saliva. From what I understand, these allergens tend to be more prevalent in male cats, and some breeds like Siberian have even lower levels for males, and very small in females.

I have heard that the use of home air filtration could be of use in attracting loose hair/skin that carries allergens. A quick wash after touching, and cat baths might help limit exposure. Sweeping up hair frequently would also help.

Also, it has happened that persons become accustomed to particular cats with exposure, and do not react to that cat while reacting to others.

Question

A few times every week, I have noticed that one of my cats would bring me her stuffed mouse-shaped toy with catnip inside it. The living room with all the toys is downstairs, in contrast to where I am working on my computer - upstairs. I always have the door to my room open, so whenever this happens, my cat meows, which naturally is rare of her to do in other occasions, and when I turn around, she would stand there with one of the two mouse toys that contain some catnip, in her mouth. She doesn’t do that with any other toys, even when some others have catnip. Therefore, I’m coming to a conclusion that the catnip is not the reason, but because of the shape. I had the two cats since they were small, therefore I am almost certain that they have not seen a mouse in our house or anything of the sort. I became curious, as I have already heard a few stories from my friends about their cats bringing their dead prey (such as moths or real mice) to their owners.

So the question is, what could be one of the reasons my cat brings me the toy as if it was her dead prey?

Answer accepted (score 22)

I saw a documentary that says cats will bring ‘prey’ (this included dead plant particulate as well as animals in the show) to their owners, because they believed they were bringing sustenance to the pack when they might not be able to obtain it themselves. So your cat probably thinks you’re a bad hunter and she’s trying to keep you alive. The things she has to do for you. :))

My cat does a similar behavior with his little ball toys with the bells in them. He’ll pick them up by biting through the slots and then he’ll walk around the house yowling. He doesn’t do it often, but in his case, he’s asking someone to take it and throw it for him to chase. He likes to hide around a corner and have someone roll it in from the other room so that he can pounce and swat it. He’ll knock it around for a while, then bring it back to your general vicinity and drop it for you to throw again. It could be that your cat wants you to play with her.

Answer 2 (score 13)

Aww - It’s a love offering! Much like the other person answered that it’s an offering of food, it has a deeper meaning. It’s out of favored affection, not so much concern you are going to starve. I learned of this years ago from some pet doctor. And not just anyone gets these special offerings. So you should feel very special. :) When cats bring their prized possessions and/or dead prey (if they’re able) to you, it’s a deep sign of love. So you might not want to toss them away in future. Now you get why she gave you that confused look; sorry to say she probably felt a tinge of rejection. So when she does that again, you’ll know how to better respond.

Answer 3 (score 9)

It can also be “here, watch this for me” or “I like you so I’m sharing my toy with you” or “this place is mine so I’m comfortable parking my toy here” – or even just “I was playing with the toy, but lost interest in it when I saw you; I’d rather play with you.”

I think I’ve seen all of these.

Question

I have seen this behavior in kittens before who are nursing with the mother. They push and pull on the mother’s fur with their paws to get the milk. My cat, however, is a adult and has no mother. She does this while purring loudly and it seems to make her happy. Is this is memory that she is re-enacting? Is it a self-soothing behavior? I know little about her before I found her and her siblings abandoned, seven years ago. She was very hungry back then.

Answer accepted (score 5)

From http://m.livescience.com/40548-why-do-cats-knead.html

“In adulthood, a cat supposedly will knead when it’s feeling happy or content because it associates the motion with the comforts of nursing and its mother. Adding further weight to the explanation: Some cats even suckle on the surface they’re kneading.”

When it comes down to it though, no one knows for sure why exactly some adult cats knead.

Answer 2 (score 2)

Humans domesticating of cats has caused them to retain many childhood actions and habits into adulthood and kneading (as in kneading bread) is thought to be one of them.

As you know, kittens knead at the mothers teats to cause lactation (the flow of milk). Can you imagine something better than being up close to mom, all warm and cosy, getting delicious milk?

When an adult kneads, he or she is demonstrating a activity which was pleasurable for them in kittenhood and still gives them pleasure.

We have had kneaders that are so into it that I’ve often wondered if there is a way to get them help me knead the dough when I make bread.

Question

My cat loves to drink out of my water glass.

We don’t try to encourage the behavior, but sometimes she sneaks a drink while we’re not looking.

She also sometimes tries to take a taste of our food.

Can drinking or eating after my cat has taken a turn make me sick?

Answer accepted (score 14)

The short answer is yes.

The longer answer is that while, for the most part, there aren’t many zoonotic diseases that can transfer from cats to humans, there are some infections that can be transmitted from the cat to you through shared sources, notably protozoal infections. These are basically single-celled organisms that can cause severe diarrhea in both humans and cats and are normally contracted from the same sources (e.g. tainted water). However, depending on the cat and its habits they may be drinking water you are not, such as toilet water, and so it’s possible that it taints your water via transfer.

Also, the great indoors is not always isolated from the great outdoors. Mice and other small rodents, along with insects, can also enter the premises and they may contaminate things that, in turn, get picked up by the cat. The Center for Disease Control has a list of possible infections that could arise.

Answer 2 (score 2)

Yes you can get toxoplasmosis. This comes from litter/cat feces and where do they lick a lot? Then they are putting their mouth in your water and you’re drinking it? I just wouldn’t risk it. If my family leaves water glasses out for a length of time, I dump it in case the cat has gotten to it. Hope this helps.

Question

I was drinking my coffee the other day and I accidentally spilled some on the floor (a couple of drops).

My cat licked them. I don’t really think this is a big deal because it was only two drops, but can anything happen to cats if they drink a (relatively) large amount of coffee?

Answer accepted (score 20)

According to petpoisonhelpline.com, caffeine poisoning is “[g]enerally moderate to severe/life-threatening”, but while “[…] cats appear to be more sensitive to the effects of caffeine than people”, “1-2 laps of coffee, tea or soda will not contain enough caffeine to cause poisoning in most pets […]”.

So you should be safe with the current situation, but please do be careful!

Answer 2 (score 7)

Caffeine is very bad for cats and dogs. Don’t let your cats have any coffee, soda, tea, etc.

One tiny dose won’t kill them, but you could be racking up organ damage each time. The HCCUA health website states that cats will get heart and nervous system damage from caffeine. I imagine it would also hurt the liver, kidneys, and GI tract as well.

Plants make caffeine to kill off any creatures eating the plants. Alkaloids (caffeine is an alkaloid) are intended to kill off anything that eats them, not just insects. Humans and other plant-eating animals have developed defenses to common alkaloids, which is why people aren’t really affected by caffeine. Cats and dogs have no such defenses.

Answer 3 (score 2)

Websearch says that LD50 (the overdose that will kill half the animals in the study) for caffeine is around 70 mg per 1 lb body weight (150 mg / kg body weight). As an example, instant coffee contains over 60 mg caffeine per teaspoon. So, the lethal dose of caffeine for a 15 lb (6.8 kg) dog would be 17 teaspoons of instant coffee. Stronger coffees such as Turkish coffee, percolated coffees, and energy drinks would take much less to become toxic for a dog. LD50 in a cat is 200 mg/kg … So cats are less sensitive per body weight, but do typically weigh less.

The theobromine LD50 is about 1000 mg/kg in humans. But for cats it’s 200 mg/kg and for dogs it’s 300 mg/kg. So cats are more sensitive to tea and chocolate than dogs.

However, cats are much less likely to scarf down significant quantities of either than dogs are. They don’t react to sweetness, among other reasons.

So you don’t want to actively feed your cat these chemicals. But a few drops, or a few chocolate flakes, are unlikely to do any harm.

Question

Recently, my roommate’s sister went on vacation and I offered to take care of her kitten for her in the 1-2 weeks she is going to be gone.

The feeding instruction she told me is to leave dry food out at all times for the kitten and give her a can of wet cat food once a day. I typically open a can of wet cat food when I get home from work around 5:30pm.

The problem is, the kitten never finishes the wet cat food in one sitting. She will typically eat half of it and over the next 12+ hours finish it.

Food safety states that any food stored in the danger zone(room temperature falls in this danger zone) for more than 2 hours will drastically increase chance of food sickness. I know the dry pet food is processed enough that it does not matter. However I am a little worried about the wet cat food.

Does leaving wet cat food out at room temperature for a long period of time pose a risk for your cats?

EDIT:

Upon further research, I found that cats are very resistant to bacteria and virus that are commonly found in food that has been sitting out at room temperature.

• Salmonella - Cats are really resistant to Salmonella which are commonly found in raw meat.
• E. Coli - This is a bacterium commonly found in cat stomach
• Campylobacter - Also commonly found in cat stomach
• Clostridium perfringens - These bacteria rarely affect cats. They more often affect dogs
• Staphylococcus aureus - commonly found bacteria in cat mucus glands
• Norovirus - This is a virus that affect humans
• Toxoplasma gondii - Cats have very high immunity to this bacterium

http://tcfeline.com/2010/08/12/salmonella/

Answer accepted (score 3)

I can answer this question on the basis of my experience as a chef with certification in Food Safety, Sanitation, and Hygiene.

The golden rule in food service is “4 between 40 and 140”. That is to say, in most places in the U.S., Food Safety and Sanitation guidelines state that food which has been between the temperatures of 40 degrees Farenheit (4.4 Celsius) and 140 degrees Farenheit (60 Celsius) for 4 hours must be disposed of. This is based on the growth rates of various kinds of harmful bacteria and other pathogens in this range of temperatures. The range is commonly referred to as the “TDZ”, or “Temperature Danger Zone”.

While cats and dogs are biologically different from us, it stands to reason that they probably shouldn’t be exposed to things that are obviously dangerous to us.

References:

http://www.fwe.com/files/pdf/brochures/FoodSafety.pdf

http://fsafood.com/main/serviceareas/seattle/seattleArticleTemplate.aspx?nid=4a659b5d-f40f-476b-b0b3-40a04d14371a&ref=-1 “Any time unrefrigerated food stays in the danger zone (41 - 140 F) for four hours, it must be discarded”

https://www.udemy.com/haccp-food-handlers-course/ “Potentially hazardous foods must not be exposed to temperatures between 4°C and 60°C (40°F and 140°F) for longer than four hours total accumulated time.”

http://www.piperonline.net/Content/Blast_Chillers__Shock_Freezers.cfm “FDA & HACCP regulations permit a maximum of 6 hours to chill food from 140 to 40 degrees, while some states now permit only 4 hours.”

Understanding Food: Principles and Preparation

http://state.tn.us/youth/dcsguide/manuals/HACCPBasedFoodSafetyPlanforYDCs.doc "Food Safety Plan For Tennessee Department of Children’s Services … Take corrective action immediately if food is not chilled from 140 ºF to 40 ºF within 4 hours.

http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/vsp/training/videos/activity/processthree.pdf “Potentially hazardous food shall be cooled within 4 hours to 5°C (41°F) or less if prepared from ingredients at ambient temperature, such as reconstituted foods and canned tuna.”

Answer 2 (score 3)

I can answer this question on the basis of my experience as a chef with certification in Food Safety, Sanitation, and Hygiene.

The golden rule in food service is “4 between 40 and 140”. That is to say, in most places in the U.S., Food Safety and Sanitation guidelines state that food which has been between the temperatures of 40 degrees Farenheit (4.4 Celsius) and 140 degrees Farenheit (60 Celsius) for 4 hours must be disposed of. This is based on the growth rates of various kinds of harmful bacteria and other pathogens in this range of temperatures. The range is commonly referred to as the “TDZ”, or “Temperature Danger Zone”.

While cats and dogs are biologically different from us, it stands to reason that they probably shouldn’t be exposed to things that are obviously dangerous to us.

References:

http://www.fwe.com/files/pdf/brochures/FoodSafety.pdf

http://fsafood.com/main/serviceareas/seattle/seattleArticleTemplate.aspx?nid=4a659b5d-f40f-476b-b0b3-40a04d14371a&ref=-1 “Any time unrefrigerated food stays in the danger zone (41 - 140 F) for four hours, it must be discarded”

https://www.udemy.com/haccp-food-handlers-course/ “Potentially hazardous foods must not be exposed to temperatures between 4°C and 60°C (40°F and 140°F) for longer than four hours total accumulated time.”

http://www.piperonline.net/Content/Blast_Chillers__Shock_Freezers.cfm “FDA & HACCP regulations permit a maximum of 6 hours to chill food from 140 to 40 degrees, while some states now permit only 4 hours.”

Understanding Food: Principles and Preparation

http://state.tn.us/youth/dcsguide/manuals/HACCPBasedFoodSafetyPlanforYDCs.doc "Food Safety Plan For Tennessee Department of Children’s Services … Take corrective action immediately if food is not chilled from 140 ºF to 40 ºF within 4 hours.

http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/vsp/training/videos/activity/processthree.pdf “Potentially hazardous food shall be cooled within 4 hours to 5°C (41°F) or less if prepared from ingredients at ambient temperature, such as reconstituted foods and canned tuna.”

Answer 3 (score 1)

I would not suggest leaving wet cat food out for more than an hour or two tops. Wet cat food at room temperature is a perfect environment for bacteria cultures, which can grow quite quickly and may pose a threat to the animal. If the kitten consistently eats about half a can when you put it out, then I would only put out half a can. The other half can be safely stored in an airtight container or Ziploc bag in the refrigerator and be served later in the day or the next day.

Question

I like lying in my bed with my arms up, but my cat sometimes comes to lick my armpits. His sandpaper tongue doesn’t feel that nice. I’m using a stick antiperspirant, but he usually does this in the evening after the antiperspirant is long absorbed.

What is so tasty about my stinky, sweaty armpits? Is it healthy for my cat?

Answer accepted (score 25)

Humans secrete a fair amount of salt when sweating and many animals, especially cats, are attracted to the taste of that for some reason.

Another reason is, actually, scent. Your cat may be trying to apply their scent to you in, well, a fairly obvious spot for them to override.

A third reason is grooming. Cats will groom their human companions. This is a sign that they’re quite relaxed and comfortable around you.

As for health, well I can’t say, except that I doubt it’s dangerous if the antiperspirant is truly gone. You could look at citrus-based deodorants as a deterrent since your cat won’t like the taste. Might sting a bit though…

Question

He knows where the cat food is, and he mostly eats cat food, but there are times he’ll eat some of the dogs food, even when there is cat food available for him.

Why is this happening? The cat food we currently get doesn’t seem to be a problem; it’s as if he wants variety.

I wanna put on record that my dogs and cats actually share the same water bowl (related question Is it harmful to allow animals of different species to share the same water bowl? ). Does this play a role as to why he might also be eating the dog food?

Answer accepted (score 4)

Differences between Dog and Cat Food

The major difference between dogs and cats is that dogs are scavanging carnivores (they do best when eating animals, but can digest plant material as well) and cats are obligate carnivores (they can only digest animals). Cats can eat plants, but lack the digestive enzymes to break down the nutrients into a usable form. Because of this difference, cat food has more supplimentation (or supplimentation of a different form) to ensure that the cats get enough of the nutrients that they need. For example:

• Taurine. Taurine is a essential nutrient for cats, and “Dog food does not contain enough taurine to meet the normal requirements for a cat.” (Cheryl Yuill, DVM, MSc, CVH, VCA Hospitals)
• Vitamin A. “Dogs have the ability to convert beta-kerotene to vitamin A. Cats on the other hand need pre-formed vitamin A in their diet, which can only be found in animal tissues.” (Joseph Hahn, College of Veterinary Medicine - University of Illinois). Beta-kerotene is easily/cheaply found in carrots and other vegetables, so it is likely that is how dog food is formulated to include Vitamin A. Since cats cannot use beta-kerotene, they will become deficient.
• “Arachidonic acid, a necessary fatty acid, can be synthesized by a dog using linoleic acid. The cat is unable to do this and needs to ingest arachidonic acid in their diet. This, too, can only be found in animal tissues.” (Joseph Hahn, College of Veterinary Medicine - University of Illinois).
• Higher protein content. Cats need more protein than dogs. While less protein won’t cause any illness, it may make them lethargic and loose muscle mass.

Is Your Cat Eating Enough Dog Food to Be a Problem?

One recommendation is that treats should not exceed 10% of a pet’s caloric intake (Pets.webmd). You can look up the calorie counts of your foods, then figure out how much dog food (and other treats you may be feeding) is 10% of your cat’s cat food intake to determine if it’s just a harmless habit or something you should seriously be worried about.

If you need to stop your cat’s dog food intake, I would recommend switching both animals to meal feeding.

Why is the cat eating dog food

I can speculate, but honestly, only the cat really knows.

My best guess is that if you’re feeding dry food, cat food manufacturer’s coat it with animal digest to make it smell more palatable, and I suspect that dog food manufacturers do the same. Animal digest is irresistable like an open bag of potato chips to a human, so since it smells like food, he eats it.

Answer 2 (score 0)

I have a cat that will eat dog food. I have watched him and he sometimes thinks that he is a dog. He goes outside with the dogs in the morning then when coming back inside they stop for a drink of water and a quick bite of food and the cat does the same at times. He then proceeds to his cat food. I think that this has become just a mimicking habit as the cat is young and has not been around other animals but the dogs. The cat also likes to try human food and wants to try whatever you are eating.

Question

There are a couple of things that I try and prevent my cat from doing: jumping up on the kitchen counter and being mean to the dog (who is obedient and minds his own business). It’s easy to catch him in the act when he tries to bully the dog around, but to catch him in the act of being up on the counter where he knows he is not allowed requires a bit of stealth.

When I do catch him exhibiting behavior, how can I effectively discipline him to discourage him from continuing the bad behavior?

Answer accepted (score 46)

Punishment rarely works because cats don’t have a social structure that recognizes you as the dominant being in the home, they only understand that you’re doing something to them that they don’t want (squirting them with water, for example).

Therefore, it’s much more effective to figure out why your cat is exhibiting the undesireable behavior and meet those needs in a way that is acceptable to both of you rather than punishing the cat for the undesireable behavior.

Usually, cats climb on countertops because they have instincts telling them to climb (better view, hiding from predators/prey, etc). To keep them from the kitchen countertops, you should install cat wall shelves and/or cat trees to give them that height advantage that they are looking for. Sometimes it’s hard to find space for these things in the kitchen, but even devoting a corner to a set of shelves so they can watch you cook can be helpful!

(They also may be climbing on the countertops if you leave dirty dishes out that they can scrounge for food from, so housekeeping is important!).

I’m not familiar with dog/cat interactions, so it’s difficult for me to give advice there. We do have a cat who’s much younger than the other cats and often would harass them because he had a lot of energy and wanted to play. I started making SURE that I spent 30-60 minutes a day playing with him with wand toys to tire him out, and he is now much less bothersome to the older cats.

Answer 2 (score 29)

I use the squirt bottle technique, a little squirt of water doesn’t hurt them, but it discourages the behaviour. However, maybe it’s just that my cats are especially intractable, but it’s usually a short-term dissuasion in my experience. Just make sure that they don’t see you squirt them, it may affect their reaction.

Answer 3 (score 17)

I find most cats are pretty easy to train to a sound. It could be a finger snap, the squirt of a spray bottle, a clap of the hands, etc.

The key is to be consistent about it, and only use the sound when they’re actually being bad. In addition, try not to let them associate the sound with you, or they’ll only be good when you’re around.

Initial training is often done accompanied by an action the cat does not like. I usually use a spray bottle since our cats hate getting wet and its easier to hide the fact that I am responsible for the action. I find that a loud noise or a hiss will startle them and work as well, although it is harder to prevent them from associating the human-made sound with me.

I actually had the same problem as you where we had one cat that would always be jumping on the counter when we weren’t in the room. As a solution, I lined the edge of the counter in empty pop bottles, and after scaring herself twice by knocking them all down, I haven’t caught her up there again. I’ve heard people report the same sort of success with using tin foil or something sticky like double-sided tape on the counter, however that never worked for me (Tinfoil = Toy, and Sticky Stuff = Annoyance) :)

Zaralynda’s answer does provide some good advice too about trying to find and fix the reason for the cat’s behavioral problems, however since this question is specifically about how to discipline a cat, I figured I’d provide an answer that addresses that.

Cats can be just as trainable as dogs, although I find it harder to do since they are usually more independent and not as eager-to-please as dogs, and are sometimes smarter than dogs so can figure out what you’re trying to do and choose to ignore you. :)

Question

When I shower, my cat has this unusual habit. She meows at me insistently and repeatedly, and looks at me with wide eyes. I want to mention that I do not keep her in the bathroom against her will. I just leave the door open and she just walks in and starts meowing at me.

Do you know why she is showing this kind of behaviour?

Answer accepted (score 15)

First, don’t worry, this behavior is entirely normal thing that many cats do. I once visited a friend of mine and she warned me that her cat would visit me on the bathtub ledge between the two shower curtains during my shower. He did, but didn’t talk to me, so I was super startled to see him there when I pulled back the curtain!

There are actually a couple of reasons she could be exhibiting this behavior, or it could be a combination of multiple reasons.

If your cat normally follows you around the house, this is just a normal part of her keeping tabs on you. As Dan S says, she wants to join you but doesn’t want to get wet, so she’s telling you to get out of there.

Another possibility is that if you coo at her and give her attention (verbal, eye contact, etc), she’s looking for that attention and knows if she yells at you long enough, you’ll give it to her.

Cats are also creatures of habit. If you get up in the morning and immediately jump in the shower and get dressed before heading downstairs to feed her (or whatever), then she’s trying to rush you through your morning routine and get to the part where you feed her faster.

If this behavior is bothering you, the best thing to do is close the door so she can’t come in, or ignore her when she does talk to you in the shower. We broke one cat of the habit by switching to an opaque shower curtain so she couldn’t see us anymore (and ignoring her cries), so that’s another option.

Answer 2 (score 8)

One of my cats does this. Cats rely heavily on smell to identify each other and people so I hypothesize she can’t smell me (due to soap and water) and becomes worried and vocalizes a crying/upset type meow.

She continues meowing until I pet her profusely when I get out. So the behavior could also all be her way of getting me to pet her profusely.

We don’t smell like we normally do when we are freshly cleaned and covered with perfumes from soap so the cat may feel they need to do something about it. Cats spend a lot of time scenting things, each other, and us, to identify things as their property or as something familiar and accepted. The behavior could be to ensure she has scented me and I her which is highly important in cat socialization.

Conversely, humans are mostly visually-oriented animals so imagine if your significant other stepped out of the shower and looked different and not themselves somehow. You might go over and investigate and try to correct their appearance.

Also this same cat of mine likes freshly laundered things (like laying in a laundry basket with clean clothes) or freshly cleaned counter tops (even with bleach). Maybe it also has something to do with you being freshly laundered.

Answer 3 (score 5)

I wouldn’t worry about it. Your cat might simply be confused about what you’re up to and wanting to join you but not get wet. My cats often want to join me in the bathroom but I never let them, and they sometimes are very curious / insistent when I am there.

Question

For quite some time now my cat’s new hobby have been destroying cardboard boxes. He can spend sometimes up to a few hours in a box chewing the walls non-stop and ripping it to pieces. My cat used to destroy loose sheets he found laying around and the corner of a few boxes, but now it seems more serious as there’s cardboard pieces everywhere (and I even drag some to work without knowing). I doubt eating that much cardboard is normal.

At first I thought it was because I wasn’t feeding him enough, but the fact that he is spitting the pieces around makes me think otherwise. Could it be toothache or is chewing cardboard is a “normal” cat thing?

Here’s one of the boxes, took less than three weeks :

Answer accepted (score 8)

Chewing cardboard, amongst other things, can be a sign of pica in cats. Basically, this is an eating disorder that could be a consequence of dietary deficiencies or cognitive dysfunction (old age, senility), and some others. This isn’t entirely normal, though not all that uncommon, so it would be a good idea to get him checked out by a vet to make sure that he’s generally healthy (he looks it though).

Answer 2 (score 4)

TL;DR

No one else has mentioned this, but dissection is often cited as part of a carnivore’s prey drive. This is most often discussed in dogs, e.g. Predatory Behavior in Dogs, but is likely to be relevant to other predatory species likes cats.

It is possible that your cat’s observable behavior is a form of play, which often contains components of the predatory sequence. It could also be boredom, a type of marking, a self-reinforcing tactile experience, a thwarted chewing/dissection instinct, or any number of other things.

Prey Drive

The behavior may be prey-drive related. In particular, it may be related to the dissect step of the sequence. The predatory sequence steps vary by source, but are often defined as:

1. orient
2. stalk
3. chase
4. grab-bite
5. kill-bite
6. dissect
7. consume

One web site references Dogs, A New Understanding of Canine Origin, Behavior, and Evolution by Raymond and Lorna Coppinger, University of Chicago Press, 2001; page 116 as the source of one variation of this sequence.

Possible Options

If this behavior bothers you, and once you’ve ruled out medical issues, you can try a number of things to see if they reduce or redirect the behavior.

1. Offer more suitable objects with a similar taste or tactile feel, which may satisfy the oral component of the behavior.
2. Switch to a raw diet that includes raw meaty bones, which may satisfy the chewing or dissection instinct.
3. Treat the area with a pheromone like Feliway to see if scent-marking is a component of the behavior.
4. Feed your cat through treat balls (e.g. Kong Active Treat Ball for Cats, feeding puzzles, or other boredom-fighting objects to see if this satisfies your cat’s play or prey instincts.
5. Keep lots of spare boxes on hand, as chewing boxes (as long as it doesn’t result in a medical issue like intestinal blockage) seems like a relatively harmless pastime.

You can’t ask your cat why he’s chewing the boxes. Empirical evidence and the process of elimination are your friends in cases like this.

Answer 3 (score 2)

Could be pica, and could also be (as Dennis Graves points out) just this cats entertainment. A vet visit might be able to rule out pica. I actually suspect your cat is just doing this for his own entertainment. It’s not a “normal” cat thing but it isn’t unheard of either (some cats do entertain themselves by taking things apart. One of my cats (Pounce de Leon) used to do something far less extreme, she used to destroy some of the cat toys she had (biting tails off of fake mice…).

Question

I have an adolescent cat that I adopted as a kitten. For some time now I have noticed that he is purring a lot. I know that when giving affection this behavior is normal but my cat seems to start purring whenever I’m in the same room as him or even when he sees me from another room.

I understand that constant purring is a thing to worry about. It happens when cats are sick or in distress. I do not believe he is sick as he recently had a visit to the vet for a checkup and to be neutered. He doesn’t seem to be in any discomfort or distress - just a happy go lucky black trouble maker.

My predicament is should I be perplexed by his persistent purring and if not, how much purring is too much purring?

Answer accepted (score 36)

• Cats purr, as the meow to communicate. Purring doesn’t always mean the cat is happy. It’s a type of language for the cat. There has been research into the way cat’s communicate with their owners and how the different types of meows and purrs evoke reactions in their owners, ultimately helping the cat to communicate her needs and wants and getting them met. The pitch of the sound will evoke certain emotional responses within cat owners to express whether the cat’s needs are urgent or a signal of being contended. (1)(2)

• Feline Infectious Peritonitis (FIP) is also known as the purring disease; is an illness that can be fatal to cats and one of the features is that the cat will continue to purr up until the moment of death or last consciousness before death. The purring may also be more noticeable due to chronic airway congestion. (3)(4)

• My suggestion would be, that there would be no upper limit in a healthy cat. Some cats will be more inclined to purr more than others, for many reasons to long to list here. If your cat is not drooling when he purrs, has bad breath, difficulty breathing or sounds congested, does not have any erratic behavior, it would most likely be safe to say your cat is healthy.

• Interestingly there is some research into cat’s purring and links to increasing the pet owners health. Due to the frequency of a cat’s purr, resonating with the human body, a form of entrainment that is similar to the effects of soothing music on the body that is discussed here Does music affect heart-rate?

References:

• 1. University of Sussex News Research reveals how cats purrfect the art of exploitation

  2. 2. Myths Debunked: Cats Purr Whenever They’re Happy THE FELINE BEHAVIOR SERIES Paul D. Pion DVM, DipACVIM (Cardiology) and Gina Spadafori VeterinaryPartner.com

     3. 3. What is Feline Infectious Peritonitis (FIP)? dr-addie.com

        4. 4. Understanding Feline Infectious Peritonitis Niels C. Pedersen, DVM, PhD PDF

Question

I have a Maine Coon kitten who is 1.5 months old. When he’s playful, he starts biting and scratching whenever he sees your arm next to him, and any hand movement is like an invitation to bite. Trying to put a hand on his back causes him to roll over and fight it with claws and teeth. Same is with feet. He even purrs when biting. He never purrs when playing with toys.

When he’s sleepy, he’s nice and sweet, purring and allowing to be petted. He sleeps next to us, so he doesn’t hate us.

Different internet resources divide into two groups: some say ‘He’s just a kitten, it’s totally fine, he’ll stop’, and others say ‘If I don’t teach him not to bite, he’ll bite all his life’.

We’ve tried playing with him with toys, tried screaming when it’s painful, tried spraying with water once, nothing seems to be working really. At most, he switches to something else, and next time he wants to bite again, he bites.

So, maybe he’s really too young to stop just yet? At what age they stop biting on their own?

Answer accepted (score 11)

Kittens need to stay in with their mother for 12 weeks. That’s three months and your kitten is already with you when only 1,5 months old. Being with the mother is not all about the mother cat nursing her babies, it is also an important period of time when they learn to play safely with their littermates and with their mother as well. Little kittens have the sharpest teeth and claws there is, at least that’s how it feels to us humans.

I got firsthand observations of this learning process when we got two male kittens at the same time. They were both 12 weeks old but from different homes and different mix of breeds. The other one came from a fluffy thick fur litter while the other one is from a slick short hair litter. They both naturally learned to adjust their play so as to not hurt their own littermates, but the one with thicker fur had learned to play rougher. It did not start well when these two started playing together here at us. A lot of meowing and hissing from the thin coat fellow went into educating his thick furred mate on safe play rules. After all it worked, they still play together but there’s almost no hissing or such sounds nowadays.

When does a kitten learn to play safe? At its first months of life, and that with the best playing pals; its own littermates. When a kitten in question has been taken away from his littermates at so very young age it means the play training is a job for his owner(s). How to do this is something for another Q&A.

Play training by the kitten’s owners is possible, I’m sure of that, it only takes time and effort. My best advice, given your kitten’s young age, is to quickly get another kitten to play with this one. Just be sure to find one who is well past 12 weeks old already, one who has spent all that time with other kittens and thus knows the rules. In your place this is without a doubt what I would do.

Answer 2 (score 2)

Explanation:

It is like asking “When will human-children stop watching cartoons?” (I’m a 22yr Old Male and I still watch cartoons)

It will happen when they think they are too good for scratching/biting (you) and/or lose interest in that. (Same way humans lose interest in cartoons)

I hope he will stop biting before he is this big (Not all of them get this big) Things I suggest you shouldn’t do:

1. Screaming
2. Spraying Water

Things You should know:

1. Love bites can Hurt

Answer 3 (score 1)

I have always had at least one cat. I have never had a problem with them biting.The first time they bite me ,I bite them gently on the yip of their ear.if the first time does not work, I bite them on the tip of their ear again gently but making sure they feel it . It works every time.

Question

My cat loves to bite and pull at the carpet everywhere there is a seam (between rooms, patches, etc). I’ve tried squirting him with water, but now he just runs away if I even move while he’s doing it. Since I can’t be there all the time, I need some way to keep him from ripping up the carpet while I’m at work or asleep. I’ve seen products that are supposed to keep cats away from an area, but that would require spaying the doorway. I don’t want to prevent him from entering those rooms, just to stop messing with the carpet.

Answer accepted (score 12)

Some cats are horizontal scratchers instead of vertical ones, they like pulling and yanking at carpet and stuff rather than, say, a couch or something, if they don’t have something appropriate. You can get scratchers that are just corrugated cardboard stuck together in flatter box shapes that you set on the floor - I had a cat who was determined to yank up all my carpets, and then I gave him something like this, and he stopped trying to pull my carpet up, and chewed and scratched on the cardboard thing instead.

If it isn’t a scratching need, then you might want to try putting pepper (cayenne or black pepper, I have used both) in the area you want to keep him out of, like along the seams. I do this to keep my cat out of plants and other places, and it works pretty well. Also lemon juice or vinegar also work, although make sure they won’t damage your carpet.

You could also get a small rug and try to train him to only pull at that one, but I have never really gotten it to work (although other people apparently have.)

There are commercial sprays you can use, that claim to keep cats from scratching at things, but I can’t speak to how well they work.

It also might be a boredom thing, or an attention seeking behaviour, and he might just want more active playtime, and there are a large variety of toys and things you can get to help with this.

Also, I found some cats responds better to a noise deterrent than being sprayed with water - for one cat I had, I used a can/jar with rocks in it and shook it right near him when he was doing stuff I didn’t like, and it worked well.

Answer 2 (score 7)

There are products that you can stick on a surface (including carpet) to prevent scratching there. I’ve seen them in the “sticky” variety (like double-sided sticky tape) and the smooth variety. Either way, your cat is likely to find a different place to destroy and you’ll be playing a never-ending catch-up game.

Another option is the rug/carpet item that the cat is allowed to destroy - it should look, feel, and smell different than your regular carpet.

The fact that your cat is biting and pulling the carpet with his teeth suggests that he’s bored and looking for something to play with: (reference) http://en.allexperts.com/q/Cat-Training-Behavior-3489/cat-behavior-4.htm Providing him with more toys, especially chewable or destroyable toys will probably help here, as will you playing with him. If he spends a lot of time alone (which happens when the cat’s human works) you could consider getting another cat - I’ve personally found that it’s easier to add a kitten to a household than an adult cat, and that a new cat of the opposite sex will be better tolerated than one of the same sex, particularly if the current cat is used to being the only cat.

I’d suggest starting with toys that he can destroy without problems. I’ve also had success with the toys that have balls in tracks that the cat can bat around.

Answer 3 (score 4)

Cats nails keep growing and they have the need to scratch to shorten them and keep them dulled down. If they don’t get to go outside or don’t have something to scratch they will do it to the carpet. I would recommend a scratching post of some sort for your cat to use. If they have that they should not do it to the carpet. To attract your cat to the post you can use fresh or dried cat nip on the post. You can even use a log if it will stand up. My research for this answer comes from many years of cat ownership. Hope this helps your carpet and your cat.

Question

When I pet my cat, he often curls his toes, and extends / retracts his claws. I guess it’s a sign that he enjoys getting petted, however this is not something I appreciate when he’s lying on furniture and his claws scratch and pierce the surface. Normally, he doesn’t cause damage to furniture; he likes his scratching post, but this is an exception.

Is there any way to tell my cat to avoid extending his claws when he is being petted, or is the only way to avoid damage to always take him on my lap (not that I appreciate him clawing my clothes either)? Is there another way to prevent this?

Answer accepted (score 24)

This behavior is known as “kneading”, and is an instinctive behavior that stems from feeding on its mother’s milk. Kittens knead at their mother to stimulate milk production while feeding, and the behavior tends to reoccur whenever they are feeling extremely relaxed and contented.

Not all cats maintain this behavior into adulthood, but many do.

Since it is both instinctual, and reinforced during early kittenhood, it is unlikely you will ever train your cat to stop. However, a solution that may work is to get your cat his own blanket.

One of our cats kneads pretty regularly, even when no one is petting her. She does so most often on a soft red throw blanket, that we keep on the back of the sofa (one of her preferred resting/kneading spots) for that very purpose. This avoids damage to the furniture, and when company comes over, we can just put the blanket away.

Answer 2 (score 16)

Well, the short answer is no. This is just an unconscious reaction to the pleasure of being petted and so your cat is stretching out to enjoy. Humans do that too, we just don’t have sharp claws that wreak havoc as a result. :)

At any rate, you don’t want punish the cat for enjoying the petting, you’ll send very mixed signals and possibly result in an even more undesirable behavior. You might consider stopping immediately when that happens, but that’s as far as I would take it. The reality is, if you have cats, some furniture damage is almost unavoidable.

Answer 3 (score 8)

A direct answer to your question; No, I don’t know a way to actually prevent kneading, but redirecting it to another material may be possible.

You can try to train a cat to recognize a certain surface as a no-kneading surface, but I think it needs to be something easy for the cat to distinguish from other materials. I’m thinking of a leather sofa for example; that you can train the cat not to tread/knead on leather while all other materials are okay.

Then again, it can result in a situation where the cat remembers the rule only when you are near and the rest of the time when that cat feels like kneading it won’t matter what’s under its paws. Perhaps this would still be better than nothing?

I have trained one of my cats to avoid kneading on my own skin. Especially in summer but also around the year I like to cloth lightly at home. Wearing shorts and T-shirt all year, and having a cat that liked to knead a lot whenever brushed and petted. While in my lap she would knead on my skin like in a trance. Every time she started doing this on my skin (arm, leg, whatever exposed) I gently lifted her paws off and moved them on cloth nearest to the cat at the moment. Usually that cloth surface was either my jeans or T-shirt or a pillow.

It took time and a many attempts of kneading on skin went by, but eventually that cat learned to notice what’s under her paws when she felt like kneading. Success was noted when the cat started to knead on skin and then immediately moved her paws herself onto cloth surface.

What I mean by “gently lift off her paws” is that I put my fingers under her “ankles” just behind paws and lift the paws up a little, then carry the paws sideways on the nearest cloth surface, moving the cat just so little in the process as not to disturb her kneading too much. If a pillow was nearby, I would not move the paws at all but just lift them and move the pillow under her paws. She did not get a message like “kneading is bad”. For her kneading is okay when she does it on cloth. As I said, it eventually worked out great :)

Question

My cat seems to dislike me holding her front paws, although my friend’s cat doesn’t seem to mind. Is this problem specific to my cat or does it apply to the general population of cats?

Answer accepted (score 7)

The biggest reason I can think of is that you’re taking away a defence mechanism for the cat. Is your friends’ cat declawed by any chance? If it is, it may be that it no longer sees those paws a defence. In general, though, I’ve found that cats see that as an aggressive behavior and react (mine will nip if I do it).

Answer 2 (score 4)

Over time, if you do it a little at a time and start out by petting the paws with one finger, rather than hold them, they will end up loving it. My cat and I “hold paws” all the time now. They love when I pet their little paw pads, too.

Answer 3 (score 3)

Cats don’t usually like to have their paws held, touched, or anything like that. If they are in a mellow mood and trust you they might not mind as much. My “grrrls” tend not to mind me gently petting their front paws, but the ones I’ve had longer (and bonded more with) are more tolerant of it. Paws are a sensitive area that they depend on and having a paw held probably seems instinctively “wrong” and “dangerous” to them. They could view it as seriously limiting their mobility. They have a similar mentality with having their belly petted (a cat who trusts you and is in a mellow mood might let you do it, but otherwise they might get angry) as it is a “weak spot”.

I would never do this myself but I did observe (when I was younger) someone put bags on their cats feet (with rubber bands). The cat was so disturbed about having the bags on its feet it incessantly walked backwards to try to get its paws out of the bags. Do not do this as it psychologically cruel to them.

Question

When she’s walking around I can see her belly hanging low. She has never gotten pregnant before. Does she just need to lose weight?

She is also spayed and is a one-and-a-half year old house cat, if that helps.

Answer accepted (score 4)

The loose, hanging skin on a cat’s belly is simply a natural part of a cat’s anatomy, sometimes called the apron, or as in the following article, the primordial pouch. This is more prominent on some cats than others, and can become more obvious in cats as they age or gain or lose weight. Getting spayed or neutered does not cause your cat to gain an apron, but it may make it more obvious due to related changes in weight.

http://pawesomecats.com/2013/11/19/why-does-my-cat-have-a-flabby-tummy/

Question

I have an adolescent cat that I adopted as a kitten (not this one :P ), and he growls when playing with his toys. At first I thought that he was growling at our other cat (also adopted as a kitten) for getting too close and trying to “steal” the toy but it quickly became obvious that was not the case as he would growl when he was all by him self in the other room.

The cat’s history before his rescue is unknown to me, but I do know that he was rescued from a very traumatic situation being stuck in a road gutter for several hours.

He only growls at the toys made of “fluffy” material, never at the “non-fluffy” smoother ones. He’s never growled at me or the other cat (that I know of).

I once attempted to get really close while he was growling just to see if he was in an aggressive mode and he was quite calm even when I reached out and took the toy he was playing with.

Is this normal behavior or just some sort of personality quirk?

Answer accepted (score 17)

Cats growl when they grapple with their prey. Your cat is just playing, which in cats is just following their natural predatory instincts. Source : Why does my female cat hiss and growl over furry toys?

In addition to this, I suggest that you do not try to pet him or stop him when he is doing this. If you do, he might think you’re trying to take his “prey” away from him and can become aggresive towards you.

Answer 2 (score 8)

I’d agree with Tijesunimi… your cat is -REALLY- getting into the spirit of the hunt.

A true growl is always aggressive. In this case your cat is saying “THIS IS MINE, EVERYONE BACK OFF FROM IT!” That doesn’t necessarily mean that the cat actually thinks you or someone / something else is trying to take it away (it can, but it doesn’t have to). In this case I think the cat is preemptively telling anything within earshot that only it has the right to the toy and no one should interfere. Thus anyone or anything trying to take the toy away should expect that they’ve been warned and a fight might happen.

My grrrls almost never growl at me. When Pounce de Leon was young she’d sometimes get the tossed aluminum foil (that my wife wrapped the fish she put in the oven with) and would growl out me when I would take it from her (fish is not good for a cat to begin with, let alone eating foil with baked on fish residue).

Answer 3 (score 1)

I think its just natural instinct lol. My little male kitten, Hiro, just learned he can grab his toy and carry it. The minute he did, he carried it ALL OVER and started to growl as he carried it. I had been playing fetch with him a couple times and then he realized he didn’t have to let go. I think its just instinctual. When he had finished carrying it around, he came over for attention and purred. He was just getting into it lol. I don’t think its a big deal at all.

Question

So, this comes out of me being a bit of a terrible cat parent. I forgot to pick up more wet cat food, and we are now out. Due to various constraints, it will likely be Friday afternoon before I can easily go get more.

Now, I’d really hate to deprive my cat of his morning breakfast for that long, because I know it is good for him and he loves it.

Is there anything I can prepare at home that would be similar to what he gets, assuming just an average can of wet can food?

Answer accepted (score 7)

There are really two concerns here.

• the replacement meal should not harm the cat
• the replacement meal should be palatable so that the cat will eat it

Safety

The danger in meal replacements is the loss of taurine that is added to commercial cat food that cats need to survive. According to VCA Animal Hospitals:

Taurine is exclusively found in animal-based proteins. It is critical for normal vision, normal digestion, normal heart muscle function, to maintain normal pregnancy and fetal development, and to maintain a healthy immune system. Most mammals are able to manufacture enough taurine from other amino acids to meet their needs. However, cats have a limited ability to manufacture taurine; therefore taurine is classified as an essential nutrient in the cat. Fortunately for the cat, taurine is readily obtained from the diet, as long as the diet contains animal-based proteins. Unfortunately, it is not stored in large quantities in the body and so must be consumed on a regular basis.

Clinical signs of taurine deficiency are slow to develop. It can take between five months and two years before symptoms become apparent, depending on the cat’s life stage.

If taurine levels are deficient, the retinal cells of the eyes will eventually degenerate, impairing the vision. This condition is referred to as feline central retinal degeneration (CRD). Deficiency of taurine will also lead to a weakening of the muscle cells in the heart, causing a condition called dilated cardiomyopathy. Taurine is a component of bile salts, and its deficiency may cause digestive disturbances.

(VCA owns/runs many of the emergency and specialist veterinarian hospitals in my area. I’ve been to 2 of their facilities and found them extremely competent).

For a few days a reduced supplement concentration (you’re still feeding dry, just one meal is supplement-free) should be fine. If you were doing shift work or something and couldn’t get to a pet store for longer than that, I would suggest looking into Amazon or other delivery options in your area.

After considering the safety from missing Taurine, I would also consider the potential dangers of the candidate materials. The most important ingredient is a meat source.

In the US, boiled chicken (no spices) and rice is often recommended by veterinarians for cats who have stomach upset. I would consider that safe.

Many people will give their cats cans of tuna, but that may not safe depending on your level of risk tolerance.

Beef (perhaps as of hamburger) is also common in US households, but if your cat does not already eat beef foods I would not recommend it (I’ve seen anaphylaxis in cats unaccustomed to beef before).

Palatability

I suspect that this will be the real problem in suddenly changing your cat’s food. I have never been able to get a cat to eat chicken and rice (even when they’re feeling good, as an experiment to see if they didn’t eat it before because they felt bad, or because they didn’t like it).

There are pages and pages of strategies written on the web for how to switch your cat to raw/homemade food just because most cats (especially dry food fed cats) don’t recognize it as food initially.

You can prepare the most healthy replacement, but if he doesn’t think it’s food, he won’t eat it.

What I suspect the best strategy will be to think about any time he’s shown interest in something that you’ve eaten (climbed in your lap, licked a dirty bowl, etc) and if that’s something that’s reasonable, make something like that.

For example, I had a cat who once showed interest in chicken wings. Boiled chicken with just a TINY dab of BBQ sauce (for smell/interest) might have worked on him. I had another cat who wanted string cheese. That’s not a reasonable food.

If your cat has never shown interest in human food (or only inappropriate foods), just give him dry food for a few days and get to the store as quickly as you can.

If this is a recurrent problem, many pet food suppliers let you set up delivery subscriptions for pet foods so you won’t forget (I do this! I recommend it!).

Answer 2 (score 3)

Below is my list of emergency meals for cats made from people-food in order of preference:

1. Boiled chicken and rice is great for a meal or two.

2. Scrambled or hard-boiled eggs with no seasoning, cooking oil or sprays.

3. Other cooked meats like fish, turkey, lean beef or pork.

4. Low-fat deli meats.

5. Canned tuna will work in an emergency as well, but the mercury present in tuna is best avoided.

..and lastly it should be mentioned cats will eat some veggies. While a cat can’t live on vegetables, in an emergency situation feeding a cat some veggies is better than letting it starve. Peas, carrots, spinach, cabbage, kale, squash, sweet potatoes, corn, broccoli and asparagus are all cat-digestible. One of my cats will go to great lengths to steal and eat some spinach or broccoli.

Just to make it clear, even the best of the above, chicken and rice, is not a balanced meal for long-term feeding. Cats also require the B-complex vitamins, vitamin E, taurine, fiber, omega 3’s, calcium (bone meal), phosphorus, other minerals, and a bit of the vegetables mentioned above.

Answer 3 (score 3)

Below is my list of emergency meals for cats made from people-food in order of preference:

1. Boiled chicken and rice is great for a meal or two.

2. Scrambled or hard-boiled eggs with no seasoning, cooking oil or sprays.

3. Other cooked meats like fish, turkey, lean beef or pork.

4. Low-fat deli meats.

5. Canned tuna will work in an emergency as well, but the mercury present in tuna is best avoided.

..and lastly it should be mentioned cats will eat some veggies. While a cat can’t live on vegetables, in an emergency situation feeding a cat some veggies is better than letting it starve. Peas, carrots, spinach, cabbage, kale, squash, sweet potatoes, corn, broccoli and asparagus are all cat-digestible. One of my cats will go to great lengths to steal and eat some spinach or broccoli.

Just to make it clear, even the best of the above, chicken and rice, is not a balanced meal for long-term feeding. Cats also require the B-complex vitamins, vitamin E, taurine, fiber, omega 3’s, calcium (bone meal), phosphorus, other minerals, and a bit of the vegetables mentioned above.

Question

I noticed that my cat’s nose gets wet from time to time. I called the vet and he told me that I should observe the cat’s activities: whether it starts being miserable, whether it eats less, etc. None of them happens.

Every night when my girlfriend and I go to bed, my cat lies between us for a while, always purring. And her nose always gets wet. So, I realized that my cat’s nose basically just gets wet when she purrs. All the rest of the day, it seems to be dry.

None of her activities have changed; the only change I can think of is that recently she has started sleeping longer hours, but that could be caused by her age as she’s not as young as she was (2 years and a half now).

Why does her nose get wet when purring? Should this be something to worry about?

Answer accepted (score 13)

Often cats will drool when they’re happy. My youngest boy will drool a big puddle on me every day if I let him. I suspect that your cat’s nose is getting wet from a small amount of drool.

Normally drool isn’t anything to worry about. It can indicate state of mind (cats drool when they’re happy/relaxed, and also when they’re nervous). However, drool can occasionally indicate dental problems, especially if your cat has started eating less.

A two and a half year old shouldn’t have a drastic change in schedule, so depending on how much more she’s sleeping it may be worth a call to your vet. Make sure you’re specific about how much more she’s sleeping (if she’s not greeting you at the door after work, that’s probably not a big deal, but if she doesn’t wake up for meals or playtime, that’s a much bigger concern).

Answer 2 (score 5)

Cat’s noses often run or drip when they purr and it is not drool. I’ve read that it is an indication of them being content and that it is a reversion to their kitten hood when mom cat would lick their little runny noses. . When my 5 yr old cat is kneading on me and purring her nose constantly drips. So much so that there is usually a large wet spot on the bed or me when she walks away. If you take note of the times that the nose is dripping I think you will find that it occurs when she is purring and happy.

Answer 3 (score 4)

My understanding is that the tip of the cat nose is the opposite of ours: if we are healthy the tip of our nose should be warm and dry; for them it should be cool and moist. I would not worry about a wet nose unless it seems to be running all the time, or you hear your cat sneezing frequently, or having trouble breathing.

Question

My cat is 9 months old, and she still likes to nurse from her mother. I’ve been stopping her (also punishing her by removing her from the room we are currently in. Is this a bad way to react?) when I see her do it, but no results come of it.

She eats regular catfood as well. I don’t think the mother cat is still producing milk (it’s been a few months since she had kittens). I have a feeling it’s a bonding thing, because the mother doesn’t mind at all (cleans offspring while offspring is feeding).

Although this brings up many other questions (each deserving their own post), my main question is: How can I get my 9 month old cat to stop nursing off its mother?

Answer accepted (score 6)

Kittens nursing on each other can irritate or injure each other, especially if they nurse on the wrong spots. Since this isn’t the case here, the only down side would be a similar sore spot on the momma, who is well equipped to beat up the kitten making her hurt.

I don’t see why you have to be the enforcer outside of that. Mom will cut off the milk bar when she wants to.

Answer 2 (score 1)

I have the same issue as you but I haven’t stopped them nursing. My cat has lost so much weight due to the feeding and I’m feeding her almost 6-8 times a day. Her kittens eat too, but it’s breaking my heart to see mom so hungry all the time. I over feed because she is looking thin. We went to vet today and she too is concerned and said to shoo the kittens away if I see her nursing. So here goes. So no I don’t think it’s cruel or otherwise to stop kittens nursing especially if they are feeding normally too. Take care of mommy too :))

Answer 3 (score 0)

IMHO I don’t think you should punish her. Seriously! Please do not punish her, it is cruel. She’s a cat following her instincts. I asked my vet about it as I have two kittems who do the same thing and she confirmed its a comforting behavior.

Your kitten’s mother will walk away if annoyed, it’s up to her. I have a 9 month old kitten who suckles my 4 years old cat on her neck, shoulder, tummy or wherever because it provides her comfort. My cat sometimes gets annoyed and walks away, but usually doesn’t care. I do not interfere.

I rescued the kittens’ mother who I found as a pregnant, starving, malnourished stray. She had her litter of six and I kept her and all six until the kittens were 10 weeks old and all were adopted including the sweet mother. I kept two of the kittens and my older two cats a male and female immediately too on the role of nurturing them; they still do to this day. Both kittens suckled my cats all the time–obviously they didn’t get milk, but did it for comfort.

Actually yes it can harm the mother she can get emaciated if the mother doesn’t have the will to push away the kittens even if she doesn’t want to feed them not all Queens are the same my cat fed her kittens up to 2 years old and she almost died from it because she got so skinny even though I was feeding her owns eight times a day. I had to get rid of the two kittens she had( even though they were two years old when I got rid of them they will always be kittens to me)

Question

I have a cat who licks her lower belly almost bare.

The bare patch extends forward just past her rear nipples.

She started this behavior a year or so ago, when she was around ten years old. The height of the fur in this patch varies: sometimes it is almost bare, other times (such as in the picture) it appears she is letting it grow.

She also occasionally bites at the area, so there are a few spots that look like scabs.

Her sister, from the same litter, does not have any of these habits.

A vet told me it was a psychological issue, and he gave her a shot which helped for a week or two.

Why does my cat do this? Would a vet be able to make her stop? Is it worth being concerned about?

Answer accepted (score 7)

This behavior is called “mowing” informally, but any type of hair loss is referred to as “alopecia”. It can be caused by

• Parasites (fleas, mites, ringworm)
• Allergies (food, seasonal, environmental)
• Dry Skin (nutrition deficiency or environmental)
• Pain
• Psychological (boredom, anxiety)

(Source: WebMD)

It’s likely (based on what I’ve read and my personal experiences with mowing) that the shot was cortisone.

For this trial, the patient receives some kind of cortisone-type treatment for 3 to 4 weeks. At the end of that time one can tell if the mowing has improved (and the mowing is said to be “steroid responsive”) or the mowing has not improved at all (and the mowing is said to be “steroid non-responsive.”) Knowing whether or not the mowing is steroid responsive helps classify possible causes. For example, seasonal steroid responsive mowing is most likely to be from fleas (technically allergy to the flea bite) or an airborne allergy. Non-seasonal steroid responsive mowing is most likely going to be from a food allergy. Steroid non-responsive mowing is most likely to be from a parasitic or fungal problem or a food-allergy. Many experts like to do the steroid trial at the beginning of the work up while others wait until more results are in.

(Source: Veterinary Information Network)

Generally, when I’ve worked with veterinarians on my cats’ skin issues, we’ll rule out all of the possible physical causes (do a flea treatment, food trial/allergy testing, etc) before deciding that it’s psychological. If you felt that your vet skipped a step or would just like to see someone who specializes in skin diseases, you can ask for a referral to a veterinary dermatologist. They are slightly more expensive than a normal vet (the one I saw charged double my vet’s normal rate for the initial exam, but follow up exams were about the same amount as my normal vet’s exams).

If you do decide that it is psychological, the VIN article suggests:

This is generally called “psychogenic” mowing. We don’t imply that we know if cats are licking out of obsession or out of anxiety or even boredom. We simply say that there is nothing wrong with the skin. Psychoanalysis is generally unnecessary; the approach is aimed at environmental enrichment. This means the cat gets more toys, more games (feeding in a different location daily to create a hide-and-seek sort of cat entertainment), and more attention. Clomipramine has both anti-anxiety as well as anti-compulsive effects and has been helpful though it does not come in a convenient feline size and may have to be compounded. Amitriptyline has both anti-anxiety properties as well as anti-histamine properties and is sometimes used to cover both the medical and psychogenic causes of mowing simultaneously.

We have put one of our girls on Amitriptyline (she definitely has anxiety, and it was affecting her bladder as well as causing mowing). I definitely recommend getting it compounded into a transdermal gel if you decide to go that route, as an anxious cat doesn’t need additional stress of being pilled.

Answer 2 (score 1)

My cat did this for 7 years. The DR finally figured out she was a carb addict. So I started to give her wet food and her hair grew back.

Question

Is anyone aware of software which could be used to check if an animal is chipped / that could potentially read the chip also?

Background

My girlfriend and I have been visited frequently by a cat which may be lost. We’d like to take it to the vets to check for a chip, but the local vets all seem to be closed at weekends, and our work hours make visiting during the week hard. Also we’re anxious about putting someone else’s cat into a basket and wandering around London with her. I believe the chips communicate via NFC, so would think that it should be possible for an NFC enabled smartphone to detect this. That would at least let us know if she is chipped; and there may even be a way to use this info to get more; e.g. an owner’s contact details, or at least an ID which we could report to a vet by phone).

Answer accepted (score 9)

Many phones don’t currently have the ability to read passive RFID chips, which is what the microchips in your pets are, but some can. Not on IOS, that I know of, but there are Android-based phones with RFID reading capability (Samsung Galaxy, for example) and there are some apps for that purpose.

However, not all pet microchips are the same and it’s possible that none of them are compatible with the reader technology in your phone and that’s really the key to it. You need to know what standards and frequency your phone can read and then what chip, with its standards and frequencies, is in your pet. Assuming that the chip follows any of the standards… not all do.

As an aside, if you really want to, you can buy a scanner to do the check, but typically you can often feel them. The chip, in cats, is usually injected under the skin between the shoulder blades. If your cat is normal body weight (or thinner), you can sometimes feel the small, slim, cylinder there. Unfortunately, not feeling it doesn’t mean it’s absent.

As Frisbee noted, might be better taking the cat into a shelter to get scanned. They’re usually open on weekends, prime adoption period, and if you call ahead, I would think most would accommodate and they will normally have the ability to check where it’s registered if there’s one present. If there isn’t one, you might be able to pay them to do it, it’s a trivial procedure to do, and then have them register you guys.

Answer 2 (score 3)

It does not appear that it is possible to scan micro chips in pets with a smart phone. I searched and found several blog posts that suggested this would be a great idea, but nothing saying it existed. The closest thing I found where someone was seriously looking into it and why it would not work is this post on StackExchange

The chip maker I am most familiar with in the US is Avid, they do have an App but it does not read chips, it will read barcodes and let you interact with the Avid database if you have an account. But no mention is made of reading the chip.

You can’t prove that something does not exist, but everything I am finding suggests that that is not possible at this time.

Answer 3 (score 3)

It does not appear that it is possible to scan micro chips in pets with a smart phone. I searched and found several blog posts that suggested this would be a great idea, but nothing saying it existed. The closest thing I found where someone was seriously looking into it and why it would not work is this post on StackExchange

The chip maker I am most familiar with in the US is Avid, they do have an App but it does not read chips, it will read barcodes and let you interact with the Avid database if you have an account. But no mention is made of reading the chip.

You can’t prove that something does not exist, but everything I am finding suggests that that is not possible at this time.

Question

(I run a small cat sanctuary and am currently between vets. I’m trying to learn to do some basic treating on my own. I know when a cat is sick enough to call a vet so please don’t just tell me to go to a vet. That doesn’t answer my question.)

I’ve been doing urinalyses on my herd and am finding urinary issues from not drinking enough and probably from an all dry diet. Some cystitis and some infection. I’ve found a good natural compound that treats the cystitis really well, but not the infection. So I’ve started them on amoxicillin for UTI, I’m just not sure the correct dosage and length of treatment for each cat. When I’ve looked elsewhere online, I’ve seen 5-10mg per pound and 10-25mg per pound. Also, nothing really says for how long to give it.

Can someone offer me some better specifics on this? I’ve been treating conservatively so far (10mg per pound) and only for about a week but I’m still getting leukocytes showing up when I test them. I know people usually have to take a 2 week course to treat everything, but I wasn’t sure about animals. Honestly, it’s been so long since I’ve used anything but the Convenia shot, I can’t remember. I’m trying to treat the infection without overwhelming their system as I just had two cats die after having the Convenia shot.

Looking for some better guidelines here. If you think it might require further testing, I’m completely open to that. Thanks.

Answer accepted (score -3)

A urinalysis can be suggestive of a urinary tract infection, but not necessarily diagnostic. In a free catch urine sample – which I am assuming is what you are collecting – there is a good chance you get bacteria or cells in the urine sample from the vagina or prepuce. In which case you may be treating a nonexistent UTI. To diagnose UTIs, vets usually obtain either a cystocentesis (needle in bladder) or urinary catheter sample.

Urine culture and susceptibility is needed to diagnose a urinary tract infection, determine what antibiotic to treat with, and determine when to stop treating. If the bacteria happens to be resistant to Clavamox, then you are breeding resistant bacteria. Inappropriately treated lower urinary tract infection could ascend to the kidneys and cause potentially life-threatening pyelonephritis.

The labelled dosage of Clavamox for UTI in cats is 62.5 mg per cat twice daily for 10-14 days. Often extra-label higher doses are used by vets. Obviously for very small or very large cats this dose needs to be adjusted at a veterinarian’s recommendation.

Answer 2 (score 4)

A urinalysis can be suggestive of a urinary tract infection, but not necessarily diagnostic. In a free catch urine sample – which I am assuming is what you are collecting – there is a good chance you get bacteria or cells in the urine sample from the vagina or prepuce. In which case you may be treating a nonexistent UTI. To diagnose UTIs, vets usually obtain either a cystocentesis (needle in bladder) or urinary catheter sample.

Urine culture and susceptibility is needed to diagnose a urinary tract infection, determine what antibiotic to treat with, and determine when to stop treating. If the bacteria happens to be resistant to Clavamox, then you are breeding resistant bacteria. Inappropriately treated lower urinary tract infection could ascend to the kidneys and cause potentially life-threatening pyelonephritis.

The labelled dosage of Clavamox for UTI in cats is 62.5 mg per cat twice daily for 10-14 days. Often extra-label higher doses are used by vets. Obviously for very small or very large cats this dose needs to be adjusted at a veterinarian’s recommendation.

Answer 3 (score -3)

I know that most people don’t recommend home treatment without a vet consultation, but the reason for that is not only the dosage amount, but the type of antibiotics given depend on the type of infection. Not to mention the fact it is tedious to get antibiotics without a prescription. But it is hard to justify a pricey vet bill when you already have what will be prescribed.

My cat came home a few times with a paw infection, and I gave him some of my own antibiotics-amoxicillin, the complete treatment took about 1 or 2 500 mg pills. The dosage is 5-10 mg per lb., and like humans, the first dose or two should be the maximum (10 mg per lb.) and then reduced to the minimum. This is to kill the majority of the infection and not lead to antibiotic resistance and then once that is accomplished the intent is not to strain the system by ingesting unnecessary amounts, but to maintain the resistance to the infection until it is gone.

Once the dose is reduced to the minimum it should be maintained until the cat is healthy again and a few days after just to make sure the infection has been eliminated. It is better to make sure it is gone that to resume treatment after an infection re-establishes. I administer half the dosage of 5 mg per lb twice a day (5 mg X 10 lbs= 50 mg per day; twice a day that means two doses of 25 mg) to make sure it is always in the system, just as recommended for humans, morning and evening doses. I wait for a few days or a week after the symptoms have disappeared, just like I would for myself. The whole treatment is usually two weeks or so. The most important thing is to wait until the cat seems healthy again and then keep giving the minimum dosage for a short time after that just to make sure.

Question

My 8 year old cat has recently began urinating in inappropriate places. How can I correct this behavior?

At first he started urinating on the floor, in a small area in the basement. I moved a litter box to the area, thinking maybe he felt safer in this area and preferred this place (I have two dogs that go down into the basement from time to time, but are typically restricted from going down there). Since then, he’s started urinating all over in the basement. In the 8 years I’ve had him, he’s never not used the litter box. He doesn’t seem to have any other symptoms of dementia, so I’m reluctant to suspect that.

Is there a way to correct this behavior?

Answer accepted (score 21)

The first step for a responsible pet owner when their pet exhibits a significant change (such as described here) is to take the animal to the vet to make sure that there are no health problems.

Health problems can cause litter box issues in several ways.

• A cat with urinary pain (an infection or stones anywhere in the system) will associate that pain with the litter box and will look for alternate sites.
• A cat who was declawed (either front only or front and rear), or a cat with arthritis, may find the litter uncomfortable to use, and look for softer places to go.
• A cat with anxiety or other mental disorders may suddenly decide that they need different boxes for pee and poop, and if you’re only providing a single box, pee does not need to be buried.
• Again, anxiety could cause feelings of insecurity, so they could be marking territory. This is especially true if the cat is not desexed (but I’ve had this problem even in a spayed female).

Once health problems have been ruled out, start looking for behavioral solutions. For one of our cats this phase took 2 years, so be patient and consider everything.

First, look at changes in the environment. Have you changed litter? Are the dogs new to the household? Have you moved? Etc.

If you aren’t able to identify any changes (there’s been a change, but sometimes it’s hard to find), then start laying out litter boxes. One suggestion is to put a box everywhere he’s gone. Another suggestion is to just put out a bunch and make sure that you clean the places he’s been really well (use a blacklight to ensure it’s gone).

Try different types of boxes (covered, uncovered, different sizes, different heights(sometimes an older cat will have a hard time getting into a tall box), different shapes, etc). Try different types of litter. Try different locations (some cats want a quiet place away from traffic, others want to be in the middle of everything).

Keep using the blacklight to track where he’s going and make sure you clean where he’s been really well. If you don’t get rid of the smell, the cat will continue to associate that spot as a place to urinate. There are some cleaners you can use, like Nature’s Miracle, or some common household products, such as vinegar. Don’t use bleach to clean cat urine, as that can actually act as an attractant.

Some notes from my own experience:

We went through a phase with one of our cats where I changed litter suddenly and then he wouldn’t go back to the box even after switching back to the original litter. I locked him in the bathroom with the litter box for about 2 days (with food and water placed on the other side of the room from the litter box), and then he was fine again.

We have another cat who has anxiety/territorial issues. We tried her on prozac, but that didn’t help the litter box situation. Eventually, we set up her own litter box in the master bathroom, moved her food and water bowls to the bedroom, and made that her territory. When we are asleep or not home, she’s in there with the door closed. She only interacts with the other cats when we are able to supervise. That’s mostly fixed the problem (occassionally when we’re home another cat uses her litter box, so we also switched to cat genies, a type of automated box, so she has a fresh box that’s hers and we don’t have to clean that box immediately if another cat uses it).

Good luck!

Answer 2 (score 2)

I agree with Zaralynda. You probably should take the cat to see the vet to make sure it doesn’t have a urinary tract problem. If it does, treating the problem will probably result in it using the litter box again (though it might take several days even after the problem is gone). Aside from urinary tract problems cats will pee outside if they are stressed out, marking territory (as in having a dispute with some other animal in the house), or if they smell urine already there.

Clean up the area where the cat peed. This is very difficult especially if the surface they peed on is porous. Percarbonate (a solid which is a mix of hydrogen peroxide and baking soda) does a pretty good job of obliterating urine (rinse when you are done) and is not persistent and noxious like bleach.

At this point you have a few choices to make. Can you block off the area where the cat peed? If so that is a good way to prevent it from revisiting the area in case there is some faint odor lingering (cats have a sense of smell that is much stronger than ours). If not and you’re worried you can put citrus peels there (or rub citrus peels on the area). Most cats find the scent of citrus rather obnoxious (but it varies from cat to cat).

I have had cats peeing in the wrong place for all the possible reasons. When it is a urinary tract problem a vet visit with treatment usually fixes the problem fast. The behavioral squabbles over territory / smelling old spots is harder to deal with especially on carpeted areas… but you can reduce the problem.

Answer 3 (score 1)

I won’t repeat the information about having the vet verify that your cat is okay, but I would like to add some new information.

If the problem seems as though there’s no solution, try adding another liter box to your home. The universal rule of thumb tends to be

“One litter box per cat, plus one extra”

While some single home cats can run flawlessly on one litter box, some cats need options.

On a personal note, my family has two dogs and one cat indoors. The cat has one liter box on each floor, and tends to prefer to use the one that is farthest from the dogs. Even though she gets along fine with the dogs, their location compared to her seems to have an influence on where she chooses to go to the bathroom.

Question

My kitten is 7 month old, and I…

[Content Warning: Descriptions of animal abuse behind spoiler]

…critically abused her the last month (including throwing her hard on ladders and hitting her hard, many times, with almost no apparent reason).

Now she won’t move around me, being highly cautious to every move and every sound. I feel so bad for what I did to her. Is there any way to fix her and our relationship?

Whatever reasons I had, I had no excuse in the world to treat her the way I did, but I definitely want to change my behaviour and regain her trust. I’ve grown attached to her, and when she started to be distant, I’ve been abusing her even more. But again, I know now that whatever I’ll tell myself is unfounded.

I’m 17, just in case it matters.

Answer accepted (score 177)

As in human cases of abuse, if you genuinely want to repair the relationship, the first and most essential thing to accept is you may not be able to. Especially with a young kitten, it’s entirely possible you’ve scarred her for life. Even if she can recover in general, she may never be able to respond to you without fear.

The second most essential thing is the need for accountability. You know now that you are a person capable of abusing a kitten. You don’t have the luxury anymore of assuming you will just not do those things. You need to involve at least one person that can hold you to account.

I would honestly recommend that you give her to someone else who does not live with you. Give her a clean break and allow her to re-establish trust with an uninvolved human being. If this person reports to you that she’s stabilized emotionally and acting like a normal cat towards them, then you can attempt a supervised visit with her. Do not push interaction on her - you should treat her like a feral cat, at maximum extend a hand and invite her towards you. Do not approach her or take any action that could conceivably be considered threatening. Accept that it could take numerous repeats of this before she is willing to approach.

If after several tries of this you see no improvement, or if the person caring for her reports that she backslides significantly after your visits, refer to point 1: it may be a hopeless case where you are concerned. Accept this and let her go. If she begins to warm back up to you, however, you could consider taking her back only if the following conditions are met:

• You allow your accountability partner(s) to continue checking in on you regularly and confirm the cat’s wellbeing
• You have actively worked on the factors that led you to abuse her in the first place and have shown considerable improvement in the opinion of at least one relevant professional

Recovering from being an abuser is possible (especially as you’re still young), but it is a very serious matter and you cannot treat any part of this lightly. It is vitally important that you address the original abuse and commit to changing anything and everything that contributed to your behaviour. Do not accept responsibility for any animal until point 2 has been satisfactorily achieved, and even then, tread with caution. People criminally charged with animal abuse can be legally barred from owning animals again in the future; in the end this may be the sentence you have to impose on yourself.

Answer 2 (score 98)

Honestly, it sounds as though you shouldn’t have a cat right now. There is never any excuse to needlessly hurt an animal and, whilst your critical write-up of your own behaviour is a start, it certainly doesn’t help the animal that has been abused. From the incidents that you’ve described, the cat could have sustained substantial injuries and needs to be seen by a vet immediately especially as it is young.

What concerns me most is that after having this epiphany about your behaviour, you then continued to abuse the animal when it didn’t do what you wanted. I can’t help you with changing your own behaviour.

Whilst you may be able to change the cat’s feelings towards you, it sounds as though your own behaviour is going to be the limiting factor. Training and imparting knowledge to any animal is a difficult, repetitive and frequently frustrating endeavour. If you cannot rely on yourself to provide this level of care and kindness, the best thing to do is to give the cat to a rescue centre where it will receive the treatment it requires.

_{Just for context – I don’t know where you are located – if you were caught doing that to a cat in the UK, you would likely be prosecuted for animal abuse.}

Answer 3 (score 71)

Your attachment to this cat is irrelevant. It’s what’s in the best interest of the pet.

The best interest of this cat is to be away from you and in a caring and stable home. The cat will unlikely trust you anytime soon and maybe never. My biggest concern is that you are capable of repeating this behaviour.

You cannot own any pets until you have some intensive psychiatric help. The way you’ve treated this animal is not ok, never will be ok and there is no justification for it.

If you want the cat to recover and heal, please find a good, caring and loving home for it. With people who are stable and don’t abuse sentient creatures when they lose control.

As you are under 18, you may be living with your parents, ask them to rehome the cat. I don’t know what situation you have to be living like this, but I urge you to get help now.

The only commendable thing about this question is your willingness to be honest and desire to make a positive change. It’s just too soon and too far gone at this stage to repair things between you and this cat.

Question

My new kitten tries to eat my food. (And quite often succeeds, since I take my time to eat, usually while working)

She has her own food dispenser with lots of food in it that she eats regularly, but when I have food she wants it.

With a dog, I could just say “no” and spank it when it won’t listen, but this kitten seems to ignore all rebukes, maintaining the singular focus to have the food, no matter how many times I push it away, put it on the ground, or pull the food away.

What can I do to teach my kitten that it’s my food and not hers?

With dogs, I know a small spanking does the trick - not causing serious pain, but the offensive action seems to send the correct message to a dog. Cats on the other hand, don’t seem to have the same mechanic.

Answer accepted (score 8)

You’re right, cats really don’t have the same ideas of discipline as dogs. Dogs are pack animals, and the leader’s reaction means a lot to them, and cats are solitary predators, so your disapproval doesn’t mean much to them. They might choose to cooperate if you consistently forbid them to do something, or they might not. Most cats I know chose to cooperate in the end, because things get old even for them. But it usually takes a lot of time and patience.

As for the food, aside from the answers in the question recommended by Ashley Nunn, the best way to keep your cat away from your food is not to leave your food unattended. Also, I used to use a simple trick with my first cats (didn’t need it after the first 2, I don’t know why) : make sure you have something on your plate that your cat won’t eat for sure, like a pickle of a slice of lemon, and when your cat tries to get into your plate, give her that to sniff. After some time the cat associates your plate with yucky staff and doesn’t bother with it anymore.

Answer 2 (score 3)

Simplest answer I’ve found is to set a “no cats on food surfaces, whether there is food on them or not” rule. That’s something cats can learn fairly easily, and it solves the problem by removing the opportunity for temptation.

If I’m eating elsewhere, they’re allowed to expess interest, and if it would be bad for them or I don’t fedl like sharing I just push them away gently with a firm “no.”… which is a word they understand, more or less… sometimes combiined with “mine” or “not for kitty” which they probably don’t understand.

One of mine wants to at least sample anything I’m eating, if allowed. Cat nibbling on the corner of a graham cracker is amusing, though I generally don’t share.

Answer 3 (score 2)

Cat’s don’t really care about pleasing their owners, but they can be trained. Like with any animal you have to find what motivates them, what discourages them and what the most effective way to apply these is. Most of the time I find that it’s a matter of persistence.

A good example is my Jack Russell. She has a crate she sleeps in at night. I let her in early, but I have to take her out before bed. She’s warm and know that it’ll be cold out, so she pretends not to hear me, takes her time getting up, or even hangs back and tries to sneak back to bed. This frustrates me and makes me want to snap, but I look at it from her point of view and realize that every time she obeys, something negative happens (IE going out in the cold).

Along these lines there are several options. You can not have food in a reachable spot, but almost any spot is available to a cat. You could do like one poster suggested and try to trick her into thinking it’s nasty, but she already knows it’s been good before. Another option is to deter her from getting up there in the first place. Two good methods of doing this are getting one of those plastic car mats with the little plastic cleats to keep it from sliding on the carpet and turning it upside down on the counter. They don’t hurt the cat, but it’s uncomfortable on their feet. Along those same lines is using double sided sticky tape. Supposedly, it only takes a few times with either of these before they don’t want to get on the surface. The mat works on couches, beds, or anything else and always works, where the tape may loose its stickiness.

The important thing in any training is to be consistent. You’ll loose weeks or months of effort if you let the cat win once, because it bolsters the idea to keep trying in the face of not getting a treat, because you might get one every once in a while. You see people do this on purpose when weaning trained dogs off of treats. One way to be continually consistent is to get a device off of amazon that attaches to the top of a can of compressed air. It has a motion sensor on it and when it senses motion it sends out a jet of air, poofing the cat off the surface. It works whether you’re paying attention or not, or even in the room. I also saw something like that is good from the Cat Daddy. He said that cats don’t make the association the way dogs do and that if you punish a dog for trying to get your food, he understands that trying to get the food caused the correction. If you, for instance, spray a cat with a water bottle for getting on the counter, he doesn’t think that getting on the counter caused the spray, he just thinks you’re a butt hole. I hope this helps you.

Question

Recently (within the past 2 weeks or so), touching my cat’s hindquarters has resulted in him frantically biting his (FRONT) paws. I noticed it for the first time when I was petting him while he was sitting (he looked like a drinky bird). Also, if he can’t reach his paws (I’m in the way or something), he’ll bite whatever is in reach.

The biting isn’t a problem (he had stomatitis so badly that we had his teeth removed), but I can’t figure out what’s causing this behavior (and the other 3 cats don’t do it). Has anyone ever seen this before?

Update: After a few weeks all of our cats developed this behavior.

Answer accepted (score 4)

I think what you’re encountering is called Feline Hyperesthesia Syndrome but the common name is rolling skin disease. Not all symptoms may manifest, but according to Blackwell’s consult, the episodes can range from several seconds to minutes in length and can involve one or more of:

• twitching skin
• violent tail swishing
• vocalizing
• biting or licking

He may also have dilated pupils and appear further agitated.

There are some medicinal treatments, but one practice is to try and train them out of this if possible (may not be, causes will effect this). However, as the linked article notes, there are other diseases/illnesses that have similar symptoms (e.g. hyperthyroidism), so getting him checked by the vet would be a very good idea regardless.

Some additional information available on the Reno Animal Hospital site as well.

Edit

Evidence for front paw activity from the Cat Channel and on VeterinaryPartner.com. I don’t think you should rule this out, it may be a mild case.

Answer 2 (score 4)

I think what you’re encountering is called Feline Hyperesthesia Syndrome but the common name is rolling skin disease. Not all symptoms may manifest, but according to Blackwell’s consult, the episodes can range from several seconds to minutes in length and can involve one or more of:

• twitching skin
• violent tail swishing
• vocalizing
• biting or licking

He may also have dilated pupils and appear further agitated.

There are some medicinal treatments, but one practice is to try and train them out of this if possible (may not be, causes will effect this). However, as the linked article notes, there are other diseases/illnesses that have similar symptoms (e.g. hyperthyroidism), so getting him checked by the vet would be a very good idea regardless.

Some additional information available on the Reno Animal Hospital site as well.

Edit

Evidence for front paw activity from the Cat Channel and on VeterinaryPartner.com. I don’t think you should rule this out, it may be a mild case.

Answer 3 (score 2)

Cats are sensitive and highly strung, and can sometimes have odd reactions to being over-stimulated. A cat I had would repeatedly pop out her tongue when her back was scratched and would stop when you stopped.

Snapping with the teeth is common reaction in many cats, leading to the ‘but I thought he liked it’ cry. Usually it is at the hand doing the scratching.

I would just interpret this as a reaction to being over-stimulated and ease off when the biting starts.

Question

I have three cats. One, a male black shorthair, is starting to act rather oddly. He’s starting to stare at the walls.

Normally this wouldn’t be a problem. However, it’s gotten so bad that we had to move his cat perch away from the router, because we thought he was going to jump on it to get at the wall. He is now trying to sit on me/my computer desk to get closer to another wall.

The odd thing about this is that he is the only one staring at the walls. The other two cats act like nothing is there at all. Nothing IS there, either, including no sounds and no cracks.

He is only staring at specific places. At first there were only two in the living room: one behind the router (which might have lights from the router on it, though I can’t see them) and one next to the kitchen, which as far as I can tell has no light on it whatsoever. It has the unmoving shadow of a fruit basket, but I can’t imagine that would be it. He now stares at the wall in my bedroom also, trying to climb on my computer desk like I mentioned. There is some light from the shade on this wall in the early morning, but otherwise it is extremely nondescript.

Why is my cat doing this? He is acting as if there is something on the wall that he can’t quite see/hear, but knows it is there. As if he was chasing a laser pointer, but toned down by about a third.

Answer accepted (score 7)

You mention unmoving shadow and a shade of light at a specific time.

This reminds me a lot of my own cat.
He has always had a fascination for these things and a keen memory for it.
He always comes sit with us at the dinner table, because the light reflects on our knifes against the ceiling, he loves this and whenever we eat, he will sit and stare at the ceiling, even if there is no reflection “active”.

He also spots any other reflections nearly instantly.

He also loves moving shadows. Is the fruit basket always there? it could be that he is intrigued by the “new” shadow on the wall.

My other cat who is 1 year older never shows any interest in any of these things, he will not chase a reflecting light on the wall or ceiling and cares even less for shadows.
So interest in things depends on the cat.

I wouldn’t worry to much about it but i understand you as an owner, you have to remember that these animals do not think like we do and that everything new does not have a simple explanation for them.
We know at night that light from outsides comes from cars, streetlights or even people. Cats do not.

Answer 2 (score 5)

How old is your cat? We sometimes see this type of behavior in older pets, it can be a sign of a cognitive disorder (senility). Or as others have mentioned it could be that he may hear somethings in the walls :)

Answer 3 (score 4)

Its impossible to know for sure, but perhaps there is something in the wall he can hear. My cats would stare at the base of the refrigerator for hours. One, way more than others. I couldnt understand why. It wasnt until one evening I found him staring again and turned on the lights and saw the head of a mouse poking out. Again, one cat was far more interested than the other, so it could be his hearing was better, or the other was just not that interested.

Question

I am trying to change the kind of food my cat is getting, and he is refusing to eat it. He is completely healthy, he passed his last annual physical without issue.

If I give him some of the old food, he eats it no problem. But he turns up his nose at the new food. I have heard some different schools of thought on what to do.

Some say, just give him the new food when he gets hungry enough he will eat it.

But someone else told me, if the cat goes without eating for to long it can be harmful to their health.

For a normal healthy cat, is there sometime in a battle of wills that the owner should give up and feed the cat what it wants?

Answer accepted (score 10)

Cats can stop eating for a variety of reasons. They ate a bug, they have a hairball making them feel weird, they’re stressed, they have a cold, there are a ton of reasons.

Feline Hepatic Lipidosis

The main danger when a cat stops eating is feline hepatic lipidosis, commonly called fatty liver disease.

The exact mechanism by which fasting in a previously healthy cat causes hepatic lipidosis is not clear. The process is unique to cats in both severity and rate of occurrence. It is understood as the anorexia continues more and more fat is broken down throughout the body and that this fat is then transported to the liver. The liver should then process this fat and export it back to the rest of the body in a new form. In cats developing hepatic lipidosis this process is impaired and fat accumulates in the liver. Damage to the liver occurs as a result of liver cells being too swollen with fat.

It’s also not really well understood how long it takes for a cat to develop fatty liver disease, but it’s believed that overweight cats will develop it faster than normal/underweight cats.

I had a cat with recurring anorexia (as a result of sinus problems) and the general timeline we followed was:

• Day One: Offer Food, no pressure
• Days 2-4: Initiate Force Feeding (high caloric density soft food with a syringe every 2 hours)
• Day 5+: Hospital stay for regular liver monitoring (hospital staff continued force feeding)

Fortunately he never developed fatty liver (he was pretty underweight from these recurrent episodes). It’s very difficult to get enough calories into a cat with a syringe, and if I knew how often we’d be doing it I would have had a feeding tube placed in his neck to aid in the feedings.

Dehydration

Another concern when a cat stops eating is dehydration, because cats get most of their water through their food (especially on a wet food diet). There are two ways to check your cat for dehydration at home.

• Scruff test. Pull the skin of the scruff (the back of the neck) away from their body a short distance and observe how quickly it returns to place (a healthy cat should snap back immediately, a dehydrated cat will sort of slide back into place).
• Gum test. Press your finger on the cat’s gums. When you release your finger, there should be a white spot where your finger was. In a healthy cat, it’ll take 1-2 seconds for that spot to return to pink. In a dehydrated cat it will take longer.

Dehydration can be easily treated, but a vet needs to examine the cat to be sure that there is not an underlying problem causing the dehydration.

When to See Your Vet

If your cat is dehydrated, you should see your vet immediately.

If your cat has not eaten for 2 days, you should see your vet immediately.

If it’s a Friday and your cat just stopped eating and your vet isn’t available on the weekend, call you vet and ask for advice specific to your cat’s health and any existing conditions.

What to Expect

The most common treatment for anorexia is appetite stimulants. This medication is often used in addition to treating whatever the underlying cause for the anorexia may be. For example, in the cat with sinus problems, we would often give him antibiotics for the sinus infections and appetite stimulants to get him started eating again.

Feeding tubes are a treatment method for chronic anorexia, or anorexia that has progressed into hepatic lipidosis. It can sometimes be used as a treatment method in other cases of anorexia as well. For example, after a surgery, Juliet stopped eating due to stress. She hates being handled by people (medications, syringe feeding, etc), so I had the vet put in a feeding tube immediately and she was fine a week later. I believe that if we had tried to syringe feed her, it would have continued to stress her out (continuing the anorexia).

If your cat is also dehydrated, the vet may administer subcutaneous fluids to your cat, or use an IV for more intensive therapy.

Your cat may need to stay overnight or at the vet’s for several days if she is very ill (from anorexia, dehydration, or from the underlying cause).

Avoiding Feline Hepatic Lipidosis when Changing Foods

This problem is most often seen when trying to change a cat from eating only dry food to eating wet food. To avoid the risk of hepatic lipidosis, you want the cat to be hungry but not literally starving. Feed roughly 1/4 of the cat’s calories as the familiar food until the cat starts eating the new food.

Answer 2 (score 10)

Cats can stop eating for a variety of reasons. They ate a bug, they have a hairball making them feel weird, they’re stressed, they have a cold, there are a ton of reasons.

Feline Hepatic Lipidosis

The main danger when a cat stops eating is feline hepatic lipidosis, commonly called fatty liver disease.

The exact mechanism by which fasting in a previously healthy cat causes hepatic lipidosis is not clear. The process is unique to cats in both severity and rate of occurrence. It is understood as the anorexia continues more and more fat is broken down throughout the body and that this fat is then transported to the liver. The liver should then process this fat and export it back to the rest of the body in a new form. In cats developing hepatic lipidosis this process is impaired and fat accumulates in the liver. Damage to the liver occurs as a result of liver cells being too swollen with fat.

It’s also not really well understood how long it takes for a cat to develop fatty liver disease, but it’s believed that overweight cats will develop it faster than normal/underweight cats.

I had a cat with recurring anorexia (as a result of sinus problems) and the general timeline we followed was:

• Day One: Offer Food, no pressure
• Days 2-4: Initiate Force Feeding (high caloric density soft food with a syringe every 2 hours)
• Day 5+: Hospital stay for regular liver monitoring (hospital staff continued force feeding)

Fortunately he never developed fatty liver (he was pretty underweight from these recurrent episodes). It’s very difficult to get enough calories into a cat with a syringe, and if I knew how often we’d be doing it I would have had a feeding tube placed in his neck to aid in the feedings.

Dehydration

Another concern when a cat stops eating is dehydration, because cats get most of their water through their food (especially on a wet food diet). There are two ways to check your cat for dehydration at home.

• Scruff test. Pull the skin of the scruff (the back of the neck) away from their body a short distance and observe how quickly it returns to place (a healthy cat should snap back immediately, a dehydrated cat will sort of slide back into place).
• Gum test. Press your finger on the cat’s gums. When you release your finger, there should be a white spot where your finger was. In a healthy cat, it’ll take 1-2 seconds for that spot to return to pink. In a dehydrated cat it will take longer.

Dehydration can be easily treated, but a vet needs to examine the cat to be sure that there is not an underlying problem causing the dehydration.

When to See Your Vet

If your cat is dehydrated, you should see your vet immediately.

If your cat has not eaten for 2 days, you should see your vet immediately.

If it’s a Friday and your cat just stopped eating and your vet isn’t available on the weekend, call you vet and ask for advice specific to your cat’s health and any existing conditions.

What to Expect

The most common treatment for anorexia is appetite stimulants. This medication is often used in addition to treating whatever the underlying cause for the anorexia may be. For example, in the cat with sinus problems, we would often give him antibiotics for the sinus infections and appetite stimulants to get him started eating again.

Feeding tubes are a treatment method for chronic anorexia, or anorexia that has progressed into hepatic lipidosis. It can sometimes be used as a treatment method in other cases of anorexia as well. For example, after a surgery, Juliet stopped eating due to stress. She hates being handled by people (medications, syringe feeding, etc), so I had the vet put in a feeding tube immediately and she was fine a week later. I believe that if we had tried to syringe feed her, it would have continued to stress her out (continuing the anorexia).

If your cat is also dehydrated, the vet may administer subcutaneous fluids to your cat, or use an IV for more intensive therapy.

Your cat may need to stay overnight or at the vet’s for several days if she is very ill (from anorexia, dehydration, or from the underlying cause).

Avoiding Feline Hepatic Lipidosis when Changing Foods

This problem is most often seen when trying to change a cat from eating only dry food to eating wet food. To avoid the risk of hepatic lipidosis, you want the cat to be hungry but not literally starving. Feed roughly 1/4 of the cat’s calories as the familiar food until the cat starts eating the new food.

Answer 3 (score 9)

When a cat starves, body fat is moved to the liver for processing. But the cat’s liver can’t handle it, and basically destroys itself. This is “Fatty Liver Disease”.

So you don’t want to starve a cat, as the results might be serious.

I suggest Leigh’s solution to ease in the change gradually.

Question

I’m writing with a question that has bugged me for a while. I have an approximately two year old rescue cat we found as a kitten. She is our first time cat so I’m not too sure if this is common but I find her to be so skinny and slight in comparison to other cats.

She has all of her shots and worming up to date. We feed her high grade dry food and occasionally wet food as a treat. We get nothing but compliments on her coat being so silky.

She is mainly an indoor cat but she goes outside for maybe 4-5 hours a day then stays in for the evening. We try to refrain from feeding her much until the evening because she will stay out after dark if she’s full.

When I went in with her to the vet to get her last shot the vet commented on how small she was and we wormed her then to be sure, that was about 2 months ago now.

Basically, she hasn’t really grown much in height since she was about 6 months old, she’s just really long and skinny, you can even feel her rib cage despite her eating well and being wormed. My friend has two cats (male and female) that are about 6 months old and have way surpassed her in size. Is this normal, has anyone else a similar type of cat? I’ve just been thinking of it ever since the vet commented on it.

Edit: She is also spayed

Answer accepted (score 4)

Yes. Just like us, cats vary in size and shape and weight. And like us, some of that is diet, some is health, some is genetics, some is age.

One of my lady’s cats was the runt of the litter; it wasn’t certain she would survive, and she has always been both small and skinny. It hasn’t seemed to limit her climbing/jumping much, if at all; I think she benefits from square/cube law to be stronger relative to her weight than you would expect.

Another cat in the family was not only longer/taller/broader but also more solidly muscled. I think he may have weighed twice what the small one did, without being overweight.

(The simplest rule-of-thumb test for whether a cat is overweight: if you can count every vertibra as you run your hand down their back, they’re fine. If some or all of them are hard to feel through the skin, there’s probably more fat there than there should be. The runt really is below ideal weight; not only can you feel every bone in her back, it’s somewhat hard to believe there are muscles and tendons there. Especially true now that she’s a senior catizen.)

Answer 2 (score 2)

I have an 8 yr old long-haired tabby who is very long and skinny. He eats, but is never really very interested in food. He’ll always take a cuddle over grub if he has the choice. He’s indoor at night and in and out using a cat door during the day. Occasionally hunts and brings me a bird, but never eats one that I’ve seen.

I’ve tried every kind and combo of food out there. He has only gained 40 grams since I adopted him 2 months ago. The vet did complete labs and a very thorough exam. She says his blood work and teeth are that of a much younger cat and he’s very healthy. I guess he’s just a naturally skinny guy.

If you’re concerned, a blood and urine test to show liver and kidney function could reassure you. Although they’re expensive, it Helped me quit stressing and buying umpteen types of cat food that he didn’t really want anyway.

Answer 3 (score 1)

Is your cat sterilized? Non-sterilized cats are usually rather fit and even skinny coz mating calls take a lot of energy.

In addition I guess she runs a lot outside that helps her to keep fit.

Also I suppose that she is still growing and all her energy goes into size not width :)

Third thought of mine is: was the medicine for warming effective? As she goes outside she must be wormed every 4 months. Maybe it’s worth trying another medicine?

Question

I’ve just bought a female kitten (8.5 weeks old) and although she is litter trained (apart from a couple of accidents), whenever she is using her litter tray she chews on the litter. I presume she swallows some, although I think it is small amounts. I have tried to discourage this by carefully removing the litter from her mouth, as I can imagine she doesn’t find this very comfortable, but this doesn’t seem to work and I’m becoming more worried.

I’ll be taking her to the vet within a week or so for a check up, and will bring this up then, but until that point if anyone else has had this with a kitten before any advice would be appreciated as I don’t want to discourage her from the litter box for obvious reasons.

I have looked this up online and it says that she is just curious and should stop soon but in the 6 days I’ve had her she has done this everyday and doesn’t seem to be showing any signs of stopping .

The litter tray is kept clean with a scoop and is changed every 5 days, and the litter I’m using is non-toxic catsan with a chalky white gravel texture.

Answer accepted (score 3)

It could be one of several things:

1. a kooky kitten phase

2. a sign of some lack of nutrients (trying to get them from clay)

I’d discuss it with your vet as different things could be going on. You can try changing the litter to something slightly better to eat (wheat, note wheat isn’t actually “good” for cats but it is definitely better than clay)

I suspect it is the first condition. Young animals often eat weird stuff (this even happens with humans, supposedly when I was an infant I ate moss and dirt…)

Answer 2 (score 3)

It could be one of several things:

1. a kooky kitten phase

2. a sign of some lack of nutrients (trying to get them from clay)

I’d discuss it with your vet as different things could be going on. You can try changing the litter to something slightly better to eat (wheat, note wheat isn’t actually “good” for cats but it is definitely better than clay)

I suspect it is the first condition. Young animals often eat weird stuff (this even happens with humans, supposedly when I was an infant I ate moss and dirt…)

Answer 3 (score 2)

Go to vet as soon as possible. I just lost my kitten after he ate litter. It clumps up, blocks the digestive tract. He stopped eating, had diarrhea and died. You can’t do anything to save them, if not treated right away.

Question

My cat bites my electronic cords and chews on them. The cat has chewed through a couple cords already. What is a safe and effective way to get the cat to stop biting the cords?

Answer accepted (score 10)

I’ve made sure to have more cardboard boxes around for my youngest cat to shred and bite. Yeah, they’re messy; but each trip to Costco gets me another box, and when he has other sacrificial victims, he spares my cords. (And my books.) Whenever he looked like he was about ready to puncture another cord, I’d distract him with a box or piece of cardboard.

Other things I’ve seen people do include wiping the cords’ surfaces with lemon juice so that the cords taste nasty.

Answer 2 (score 7)

Most cats find citrus oils offensive. Rub the outer part of citrus peels against the wires. Or if you want more bang you can get the essence (peel oil) of bitter orange and put that on it. That should ward the cat off.

Answer 3 (score 3)

Ah yes, I had that problem with some of my cats, years ago.

If you have a sewing machine, you can create fabric “sleeves” for the cords. They should be loose-fitting tubes, wide enough to fit the plug through. You might think you should use thick fabric to protect the cord, but I actually recommend you use thin fabric, perhaps something fuzzy like flannel. The idea is to make it less satisfying to chew on.

Another thing is to make sure the cords don’t dangle loosely, tempting the cat to bat at them and then bite them. Tucking them behind tables, sofas, etc. can help.

Question

I have one cat which seems to obsessively dig at mirrors or glass. We have floor length mirrors on our closet, sliding glass doors to the backyard, a bedside table with glass, the bathtub doors, and the bathroom mirror.

She usually only does it when we’re in the room, and will dig at it like she’s going to go somewhere if she tries hard enough.

We’ve tried double-sided tape, which does stop her from digging at the area its applied, but she’ll just go find another area to scratch at, and its impractical to apply this tape to all glass/mirror surfaces in our house.

We’ve tried discouraging her using a spray bottle, which usually works for other bad behaviors from her, however she’ll only stop briefly, wait a minute, then start again. Frequently she acts almost as if she’s being forced to dig as fast as she can before she gets sprayed again.

She knows it’s “bad” behavior since if we look at her, she’ll usually stop until we take our attention off her again. Or being the cat she is, sometimes she’ll stare back at us, and deliberately do one slow scratch to see our reaction (that one is usually when she wants us to wake up or be pet).

She has plenty of items to scratch on around the house which she does use, so I don’t understand why she feels the need to dig so desperately at glass surfaces.

Why does she do this?

It should probably be noted that she is our “stupidest” cat, frequently doing illogical things like allowing herself to fall off our laps or other surfaces, trying (and sometimes failing) to climb up objects or across small gaps where any other cat would normally jump, not reacting as quickly or intelligently to various situations as our other cats do.

Answer accepted (score 8)

From what you say, particularly about her knowing that it’s “bad” behaviour, it sounds as though it’s an attention-seeking behaviour. As noted on that page, the key to correcting attention-seeking behaviour is very similar to correcting attention-seeking behaviour in children, and involves essentially three steps:

1. Ignore the behaviour you don’t want
2. Provide other outlets for the cat’s energy and attention
3. Give attention to the cat when she’s quiet or acting appropriately

Answer 2 (score 1)

My cat does this occassionally as well. Either to get my attention when outside the window, so that I may let her out too. Or, pawing at the door mirror in the bathroom for she sees the reflection of the sink in it. In which has been found empty. I automatically check the sink when she does this. I often leave it full for her. Perhaps she thinks the reflection is another sink in which she can’t get too. ;)

Answer 3 (score 0)

There are a couple options. She could be window licking special. Her parents could have been siblings.

Maybe she just like less the sensation on her paws, seems to be why some cats enjoy a certain blanket or piece of furniture.

Question

3 months ago, we brought a new cat home. She is just over a year old now, and took a couple of weeks before she was comfortable roaming our apartment. During that time, we had the litter box tucked away besides the couch because under the couch is her “safe zone”. Since then we’ve moved the litter box to an area where it is still out of sight, but the odor doesn’t get to us.

Regarding the litter box, we keep it filled up about 2-3 inches of Arm and Hammer litter. We clean the litter box twice a week on wednesdays and saturdays.

Approximately every week or two, we’ll come home to find poop on our bed. Sometimes she’ll do it when we’re in the living room. I’ve noticed that occasionally she’ll sit on the half-wall shelf near our bedroom door and constantly meow at us. This seems to coincide with when she’s left the gift.

Luckily we have plenty of sheets available, but it is getting agitating either way. When we check the litter box afterwards, we find that there is some poop and some chunks of solidified litter from the urine. However it is not much and usually requires a bit of digging before we find anything.

I am confused as how to get her to stop. She is obviously aware that it is a bad thing. She typically hides under the couch until the next day, and she’ll actively avoid us if she tries to go out for food and water. The first few times she did it, I brought her over to show her that pooping on the bed was wrong, but I don’t know if it left the right impression.

What can I do to get her to stop?

Answer accepted (score 10)

She is obviously aware that it is a bad thing. She typically hides under the couch until the next day, and she’ll actively avoid us if she tries to go out for food and water. The first few times she did it, I brought her over to show her that pooping on the bed was wrong, but I don’t know if it left the right impression.

I can almost guarantee that this left the wrong impression. The fact that she’s trying to avoid you and hide from you means that she’s scared of what’s going to happen if you catch her. She knows that after going on the bed, something is going to happen that she doesn’t like, not that going on the bed itself is bad. There’s a common misconception that dogs and cats can know when they’re doing something bad or good, when they can’t really, but they can associate the events that come after their actions.

That’s the idea behind positive re-enforcement, is that it builds the connections between an action, and receiving a positive reward afterwards. Again, this doesn’t mean that they know what they’re doing is good, they just know that good things happen if they do it.

Dogs are awfully eager to please when they know they’re going to get a rewards for obeying, but unfortunately cats haven’t been selectively bred for obedience as dogs have. People want cats to be independant. But all that just means that it takes more work and patience to train them, not that it’s impossible.

First off, I think that there are two things going on here.

1. She is using the same spot because it smells like her urine. Cat urine is very high in ammonia so it’s extremely difficult to clean out completely. Also consider that even though you might not be able to smell it, your cat still could. Cat’s are hardwired to detect cat urine, since they use it to send messages for things like territory borders and when they’re in heat.

2. Stressed cats typically avoid litter boxes. There are many reasons why that is, and I’m not well versed enough in cat behaviour to say why, but for whatever reason, cats tend to go outside the litter box when they’re under stress. Considering how she’s acting scared for a few days after, I think it’s safe to say there’s some stress being cause of her fearing whatever punishment she receives for going on the bed. But, it’s important to note that it could also be stress from a medical issue, like say a urinary tract infection, and you would want to take her to a vet to make sure.

My advice to you is to make sure that the cat urine is cleaned out of the sheets and mattress completely. Use a strong pet cleaner like nature’s miracle to attack the mattress. Luckily we have another question that’s been asked about removing urine from a mattress: How can I get old cat urine smell out of a mattress?

It might also be a good idea, if it’s a possibility, to restrict your cat’s access to the bedroom. Keep the door closed for a week or two and see if she can’t get back into the habit of using the litterbox.

The absolutely most difficult part of it (believe me, I’ve been through it too) is when you find a mess, you have to completely ignore her. You’re going to have to act like nothing happened so that she realizes that whatever she’s afraid of happening after she goes isn’t anything she needs to be stressed about. It’s going to try your patience, because it will take quite a bit of time for this to happen, but after she stops being stressed she should be more comfortable using her litterbox again.

I assume you’ve had her for a while, so she should know where her litterbox is located, but it might not hurt to re-acquaint her with it. If your bedroom is closer to where she normally spends her time than her litterbox, than maybe she’s having trouble getting to the litterbox in time. This could be a sign of a medical issue, and again you’ll want to have her looked at by a vet.

If it’s not a medical issue, you can treat it the same as you would with a kitten. You want her to relearn how long it takes for her to get to the litterbox from different areas of the house. So say the litterbox is in the basement, you would want her to stay in the basement for a week or two, and once she learns how long it takes to get to the litterbox from a room or two away, then you can let her go a bit farther until she knows how soon she needs to make her way to the litterbox from the farthest point in the house to make it on time.

It might not be a bad idea to have a second litterbox at the other side of the house that the other litterbox is at though. Depending on how much space you’re dealing with of course. It might not be necessary in a small apartment.

You might also want to consider trying out some different types of cat litter. Cats are pretty picky and like kids and vegetables their preferences can change. Perhaps the litter doesn’t mask the smell of their urine/feces enough, or even the opposite where the scent of the litter is too strong.

Finally, something that might help in the training, and calming down stress department. There are a variety of cat calming aids available. Something like the ComfortZone diffuser, assuming it works in helping control the stress and anxiety your cat might be having, would be useful to use if you can identify when your cat is acting most stressed. Separation anxiety for an example, you could turn it on as you leave, and slowly dial it back as you work on training to combat the anxiety.

Answer 2 (score 7)

I would suggest that you clean the Litterbox much more regularly than 2 times a week. We clean ours at least twice daily. Imagine only flushing your toilet twice a week - would you want to use it after 3 or 4 days of no flushing? Cats are just as particular as we are when it comes to this. I find that cats much prefer clean litter boxes. Plus it keeps odors down.

Answer 3 (score 1)

In my experience, cats who sometimes use the litter box but sometimes go to the bathroom in a different and specific location are generally trying to tell you something. It frequently is in a bed or a specific location in the house.

The fact that it commonly occurs around the time that she is meowing at you repeatedly seems to reinforce this idea. It sounds like she may be doing it when she feels like she isn’t getting enough attention or is otherwise upset about something.

It could be many things, like perhaps she doesn’t like her food or litter. One of the first things I would try is swapping out the litter for a different kind. You may try a very plain litter that’s pretty much just clay, or you could go the other way and try one of the attraction litters. You may try switching her to different food. If she’s mostly eating dry food you will also want to be careful about dumping out and refilling her water bowl, and cleaning it from time to time. If the bowl feels slimy when you touch it, it should be cleaned. My cat doesn’t care what her water is like when she has been eating mostly wet food, but will quickly get angry with me if I don’t swap out her water when she’s been eating mostly dry food.

I would also try giving her more consistent attention. I’ve noticed with my cat that she will often act like she doesn’t want attention, but if I (gently) insist then she quickly becomes very docile and cuddly. This usually consists of picking her up and starting to pet her, and then when she jumps away I gently pick her up again. (I usually try to very softly restrain her while still allowing her to leave if she wants. Wrapping my arms around her so that she has to climb over them to get out works well). If she doesn’t settle down after a few times it usually means she doesn’t want attention and I leave her alone.

When I don’t pay enough attention to her over time she will start freaking out completely every once in a while and just start tearing around the house and running wild. I think this may be her form of pooping on my bed. Reacting to this with firm but gentle affection completely stops this behavior. Generally this consists of me yelling her name once in a loud and firm tone to get her attention, followed by affection and sometimes kitty treats.

Something I’ve noticed that is very counter-intuitive with cats is that negative reinforcement does not normally work very well. Your cat probably knows that you don’t like poop on the bed - that’s why she hides. Negative reinforcement in this scenario will not teach her anything. You may think that giving her extra attention when she’s being bad will encourage bad behaviors - but in my experience it actually does the opposite. Positive reinforcement will help reinforce the bond between you and your cat and make her more likely to avoid behaviors that she knows you do not like. Negative reinforcement seems to make cats act much more combative as they will rebel against being controlled in this fashion. You want to convince her that she does not want to poop on the bed as opposed to convincing her that you don’t want her to.

I’ve never had litter box issues with a cat, but this is how I train my cats not to use their claws as I can’t be bothered clipping them. My cat, who lived on the streets for most of her life, used to pop her (very sharp) claws out any time I did something she didn’t like such as brushing her fur the wrong way, picking her up when she didn’t want to be, etc. She even clawed my eyeball once and scratched my schlera pretty badly when she didn’t want to be brushed. Now she never uses her claws, even when I’m drunk and insist on holding her for way longer than she wants to be held ;).

I’ve never punished her or yelled at her for clawing me, she just doesn’t want to because she knows from my reaction that I don’t like it and we’re now very close.

None of this is scientific at all - this is just my own personal theory on interacting with cats. It seems to work well for me but it probably doesn’t apply to every cat.

I wish you luck!

Question

Our eldest cat is 18 1/2 and is healthy for his age. He still runs, loves attention, goes out for ‘constitutionals’ (short walks round the neighborhood) and generally appears to thrive.

He has lost a little weight but we think that that is normal for his age. He still has a very healthy appetite, and makes sure we know it is feeding time. He is a little stiff, but stairs and laps are no problem.

But as of late, he has taken to sleeping in the litter tray. We have two of them (we have multiple cats, all with access to the outdoors), but he has picked one tray as a bed. The other cats don’t use that tray much, and especially when the tray is clean, the old cat curls up on it and sleeps there. When we move him to another, comfortable place, more often than not he’ll trot back to his tray again.

The tray is not in an especially warm place, so the behaviour has us puzzled a little. Is this something we should be worried about? What might cause him to prefer such a sleeping place?

Answer accepted (score 16)

First, with any behavior change, you should take your cat to the vet to make sure there’s no underlying health problem.

After the vet has determined that the change is behavioral and not related to a physical problem, you can start to look at your cat’s environment from his perspective to try to track down the change.

Understand that cats are comforted by things that smell like them (they have a much stronger sense of smell than we do and it’s much more important to their understanding of the world). The litter box is definitely a strong personal scent (even a “clean” litter box will retain some of the scent to a cat).

So look around for things that may be causing stress for your cat. Some possibilities include:

• Any changes in the home environment (addition/subtraction of family members, furniture rearrangement, illness in the home, unusual visitors, unusual frequency of visitors, etc)
• Any changes in your neighborhood, since he’s an outdoor cat (mainly here I’d look for a new outdoor cat in the neighborhood, but nearby construction or new neighbors who spend more time outside are other possibilities)
• Any changes in your interactions with him (new food, new water fountain or bowls, different mealtimes, etc)
• Miscellaneous - anything that causes loud, unexpected noises can cause stress, as can a lack of hiding places or safe pathways through the house

Once you have some ideas (or even if you don’t!) there are some ideas that you can use to reduce your cats’ stress level. If you can pinpoint a few things that could be causing stress, try ideas from the following list that are related. For example, if there’s a new dog in the house, then installing elevated pathways (bullet 2) will help him avoid the dog and feel more secure in the house.

• Try providing different sleeping places. A cat’s ideal sleeping place is warm (sunbeam, covered house, thick bedding), with a good view (think elevated - a wall shelf, a cat tree, or a wide window ledge perch), and often partially secluded (again, a covered bag/house, or thick bedding)
• Make sure your cat has pathways through the house so that he can travel through the house without confronting anyone (human, cat, or any other pets you may have). Usually these paths are elevated to promote a sense of safety in the cat. A good resource is Jackson Galaxy’s Catification pages, but the main idea is to make sure there are pathways and no deadends).
• Reduce the competition for resources among your cats. Start feeding your cats separately to reduce the feeling of competition among them for food. Also add more water bowls/fountains to different locations in your house. Generally there’s a recommendation to add litterboxes until you have one more box than the number of cats, but I don’t know how that would be changed by allowing the cats outdoors.
• Make sure you spend enough time in interactive play (with each cat). This utilizes their hunting skills and helps keep their minds sharp. If another cat is bored and attacking the elderly cat, this will help reduce the number of attacks/harassment.

To end this novel, I’ll add that the first winter we had Cat Genies we found Kendall sleeping in one. They wash and blow dry the PVC litter-pellets, so we eventually figured out that he was cold and put a heating pad in a hidy-box. Now we know the weather is starting to turn cold because 3 of our 4 cats fight over who gets to be in the hidy-box (only 2 fit at a time). So, sleeping in the litter box is not always an insecurity thing. In our case, what changed was the litter box and the weather.

Answer 2 (score 10)

Since this is a change in his behaviour, and he has lost weight, I would take him to the vet for a check-up. You will want to rule out any health issues first.

If the vet does not have any answer for you, then I would have to say that something is causing him to feel insecure. Either he is guarding the litter box, or something has happened where he doesn’t feel safe sleeping anywhere else. In either case you’ll want to watch your cat and his interactions for a few days to see what might be causing him stress.

Answer 3 (score 3)

This sounds similar to my cat, and there was an underlying health condition causing them to act like this; I hope yours isn’t the same, but mine had kidney failure and sadly we had to have her put to sleep. She still ate loads, however she started to drink a lot more water, which would make sense considering the issues she was having. A little stress is sometimes worth it when it could be an underlying major issue. Better safe than sorry :)

Question

We have two cats who are litter trained, but one of them occasionally pees on rugs or linens instead. According to my fiancée, the cat was accidentally toilet trained on a towel as a kitten, and now she likes to pee on towels and similar things like rugs and blankets. While she did manage to re-train the cat to use litter, the cat will revert to peeing on linens occasionally, especially in times of stress. How can we reinforce the cat’s litter training and discourage peeing on rugs and linens?

Note that we have already removed most of the rugs from the house, so the cat doesn’t have many opportunities to pee on them. However, the bathroom is becoming a problem, as we need towels or rugs on the floor while bathing, and the cat has peed on them twice this week. Strangely, the cat seems to leave the kitchen floor mats alone – I don’t know what’s different about those.

Likewise, we keep the bedroom door shut when we’re not in it, so that the cat can’t pee on the bed. Unfortunately, that’s getting to be a problem too, as the cats will sometimes hide in the bedroom so that we can’t shut them out of it. This all would be much easier if we could just trust the cats not to pee on fabric – especially because the whole house has hard floors, and it’s more comfortable with rugs.

I don’t know whether this is relevant, but the cat has done this right in front of me several times. Unfortunately, I know just enough to recognize when the cat is about to pee but now how to stop it. I grew up with dogs and know how to shoo them before they pee, but it doesn’t seem to faze this cat.

Related: “How can stop my adult cat from urinating in inappropriate places?” but in this case, the behavior is not new, and the cat was accidentally trained to pee in the inappropriate place.

Answer accepted (score 9)

Even though you have good reason to suspect that the problem here is behavioral, the first step should always be a through checkup with your vet. Inappropriate elimination can have several medical causes. Feline interstitial cystitis, in particular, is an inflammation of the bladder walls that is thought to be caused by stress (which can be caused by moving).

In addition, if you believe that the inappropriate elimination is caused by stress (especially a big stress like moving), your vet may be able to give you some medications that will help. Many of these medications can be made into a dermal gel that will get rubbed into their ears, so there’s no additional stress to medicate the cat.

The next step is realizing that your cat is behaving this way for some purpose. Towels and linens are more acceptable than the litter box for some reason. The goal is to make the litter box the most appealing option. Look at the difference between each elimination site and the litter box and see if you can make the litter box more like the elimination site. The series of questions I would consider:

• Location of the litter boxes versus frequent elimination problem. Does it seem like your cat wants to go in a particular room or rooms? Perhaps you should put a litter box there.
• Cleanliness. If there’s waste in the litter box, that’s a deterrant to some cats (one of ours refused to use the box if anyone else had used it until we totally washed the box and put in fresh litter).
• Comfort of the litter substrate. Linens/towels are much softer than most clay based litters, and may be uncomfortable on the paws (especially if the cat was declawed). Switching to pine or newsprint may help. (As a note, if you are using a litter liner, stop, they are disruptive to the digging process)
• Safety. If the litter boxes are tucked away in some corner with no sight lines where it’s easy to get cornered, your cat may feel unsafe going there. Try adding more boxes in an open area.

• Odor.

  • Litter Box - This can be related to cleanliness, but can also be affected by perfumed litters or cleaners. In short - don’t use any scents around your cat’s litter box.
  • Towels - Many cats find citrus repellant, so you could try a citrus detergent or fabric softener for your towels to see if that helps. I wouldn’t suggest it on your rugs or bed because you don’t want to make them uncomfortable in your house totally.
  • Previous accident sites - make sure that you throughly clean any previous accident site with an enzyme cleaner and check with a blacklight afterwards to make sure that any trace of the scent is gone. If your cat smells urine there, it will just encourage him to urinate there again.
• Shape of litter box. This is related to safety/odor. A closed litter box is easier to get trapped in, and holds the odor, so generally open litter boxes are better.

Since you believe stress is a factor, I would suggest working to reduce stress in your household. Moving is a VERY stressful time, and cats need consistency! Here are some suggestions:

• Try providing different sleeping places. A cat’s ideal sleeping place is warm (sunbeam, covered house, thick bedding), with a good view (think elevated - a wall shelf, a cat tree, or a wide window ledge perch), and often partially secluded (again, a covered bag/house, or thick bedding)
• Make sure your cat has pathways through the house so that he can travel through the house without confronting anyone (human, cat, or any other pets you may have). Usually these paths are elevated to promote a sense of safety in the cat. A good resource is Jackson Galaxy’s Catification pages, but the main idea is to make sure there are pathways and no deadends).
• Reduce the competition for resources among your cats. Start feeding your cats separately to reduce the feeling of competition among them for food. Also add more water bowls/fountains to different locations in your house. Make sure you have at least one more litter box than you have cats (so, 2 cats = 3 litter boxes).
• Make sure you spend enough time in interactive play (with each cat). This utilizes their hunting skills and helps keep their minds sharp. If one cat is bored and attacking the other cat, this will help reduce the number of attacks/harassment.
• Have a consistent schedule as much as possible. Try to feed them at the same time each day, play at the same time each day, and snuggle on the couch at the same time each day. If they can count on these interactions, their stress level should decrease.

In addition, some folks have seen good results with pheromone treatments like feliway, or herbal treatments like rescue remedy.

Finally, you’ll have to remove opportunities for inappropriate elimination as much as possible. Make sure you pick up after yourselves. If getting the cats out of the bedroom is a problem, train them (to voice or clicker) to leave the room (it takes us about a year to train a cat to respond to a vocal “out”, but we don’t use special training sessions, just tell them “out” and pick them up when they don’t walk out themselves).

One of our girls will urinate on towels/bath mats if left in the bathroom near her litter box, so we used Ikea Runnen to make a bathmat (ran out of tiles on the right and haven’t gotten back to the store). As an added benefit, the litter falls through the gaps so it’s neater than a traditional mat, too.

Answer 2 (score 3)

It can be a huge problem and I suspect you can only diminish the frequency of the occurrences.

1. eliminate the smell on the items that have been peed on, on carpet you might be out of luck but on towels, linens, things you can throw in the washer… detergent and “percarbonbate” might remove the odor. Remember that cats have a much keener sense of smell than we do and they will be attracted to pee on a surface they’ve done that before.

2. give a loud warning if you see “precursor” behavior, stopping to sniff an area especially if you see the “flehmen” (where the mouth is slightly open, they look like they are sneering and they are actually drawing scent into their nose and the VO organ at the top of the mouth

3. reduce opportunities. Closing doors (which you indicate you try to do) is a good way to cut them off at the pass. With the bathmat can you hang it up on the shower rod between uses? If you can’t close the bedroom door you could put a sheet of impermeable plastic over the bed (they probably won’t want to pee on such a surface but if they do it won’t get on the sheets)

4. reduce the stress… moving is very difficult for cats, probably giving them more attention (provided they aren’t telling you guys to go away), more food and drink, a bunch of cardboard boxes, extra play time, extra treats…. anything to reduce their stress level

The kitchen mats probably aren’t as interesting if they aren’t as soft or absorbent. If a cat feels the need to puke or pee out of the litter box they don’t want the stuff splashing up at them, so they like a good soft surface that will take it right in.

I’ve had issues with cats peeing out of place for several reasons:

1. territory squabbles / marking

2. UI infections

3. senility / old age …

In general I’d suggest checking for a UI tract infection, but if this is a moving it is most likely stress from the moving.

Good luck

Question

I recently got a cat, and with summer just getting here, what is the best temperature to keep the house at, for the cat’s comfort?

I’m asking because I would like to leave the place at 75 like I was doing last year to save money, but worry that I should do lower for Shiloh.

Answer accepted (score 7)

A cat’s natural body temperature ranges from 100.5-102.5F, a bit higher than humans. A good general rule is if you’re comfortable, the cat will be comfortable. My mom has Sphynx, and like people, they go find a blanket if they’re cold. (She keeps her house around 71F.)

If you haven’t already, get it a bed, with a small blanket. Put it somewhere off the beaten path, bonus points if it can be in the sunlight for part of the day. Most cats like to lay in the sun.

We also bought the Sphynx a heated bed. It’s always plugged in and warm, but more often than not they would rather just curl up in a blanket than on the heated bed.

Answer 2 (score 1)

My cats usually prefer a soft, cool blanket or comforter to sleep on, and they are comfortable at around 75 to 85 degrees fahrenheit.

Answer 3 (score 0)

Like it was mentioned before, cats have higher body temperatures than humans and as such can also tolerate much higher temperatures. You could shut off your AC completely and the cat will be fine. In fact, if you see your cat curling up into a ball when the AC is on, then you know that that temperature is actually too cold for him.

Question

We adopted our full-grown cat when she was a couple of months old. She has never shown any signs of having been ill-treated prior to our ownership of her.

The problem is that whenever I grab my cat and hold her close to my chest, she stays still for a while (10 seconds at most), and then fights to be put down. I didn’t experience this with my previous cat. It’s also very rare for her to sit on my lap or jump on my bed. It’s like she’s not very fond of physical contact.

Why could this be? Can I correct this?

Answer accepted (score 20)

It may be the cat’s personality; however, you may well be able to change that to some extent.

We adopted our cat when she was about two years old. (She is now about thirteen.) At first, she was very skittish and spent most of her day hiding behind furniture. It’s possible that she was badly treated by her previous owner, and certainly she was traumatized by the noisy, competitive shelter. To this day she is still rather hesitant to approach strangers; and she still does not like to be picked up. (The latter is because we have not tried to alter this behavior, and usually when we pick her up we’re about to stuff her in her carrier to go to the vet, or give her medication!)

Here’s what we did to encourage her to be petted.

1. At first, we simply got her used to being petted. To do so, we just held our hand near the side of her face, so that she could sniff our hands. Then sometimes, after a few seconds, she would gently rub the side of her face against our hand (indicating that it was OK to pet her). When she did that, we would pet her a few times, which she enjoyed. Nowadays she does not require us to follow that ritual; she is happy enough for us to come up and pet her anytime. If she wants us to stop (which is rare), she will let us know.
2. It’s also probably worth trying to figure out exactly how your cat likes to be petted (by how she rubs her face/body against you when you pet her). It turns out our cat particularly enjoys us rubbing the bridge of her nose, under her chin, and scratching right behind her ears. She does not like her belly to be rubbed, which is common especially in adult cats. Experiment a bit and see what she enjoys.
3. After she had gotten used to being petted, we would hold our hands out a few feet away from her and encourage her to come over to us, by saying her name and patting the floor. She figured out that if she wanted to be petted, she would have to come over to us. Of course, if she came over, we would always reward her with some pets and encouraging words, to reinforce the behavior.

Nowadays she responds to her name; she jumps on the bed and purrs if she sees that we’re there; and she will come over and jump on my lap (and purr) if she sees me sit down. We’ve even trained her to meow for treats, “stand up” and paw at my leg to get me to pet her, etc. She did not do any of this when we first adopted her – and she was an adult at that point. So don’t give up: it can be a long, slow process, but at least in our experience, it is possible and quite rewarding in the end!

Answer 2 (score 16)

Some cats don’t like being held. It’s not necessarily a sign of past trauma; it’s just personality.

But I notice that you said you “grab” her. If you are in fact making a sudden motion, and particularly if you’re picking her up from the floor and holding her to your chest while you’re standing, then it’s not too surprising that she’s alarmed – she’s now, through no act of her own, several feet in the air with nothing but your grip to protect her. If you want her to be comfortable being held, then try sitting with her so she has an easier way out (easier to jump down).

I had a skittish female cat (adopted as an adult, background unknown) who was never comfortable being held and wouldn’t sit in my lap. But over time I was able to coax her to jump up on the couch or chair next to me and accept petting. So long as she was in control (not being held) she seemed to be ok with this, but as soon as she was being held, her “flight” instinct seemed to kick in. (“Hey man, this ‘being held’ thing is totally not my idea – run away!”)

Answer 3 (score 11)

Are you holding your cat correctly?

Instead of holding it like you would a baby, on its back. Try holding it so that it is lying along your arm. One arm supporting its rear legs.

See also this link here Yahoo Answers

I’ll quote the relevant bit here

Sometimes I carry them in what my wife calls “the football hold,” one arm underneath the whole cat supporting him while he leans against my stomach/chest – again, in this “football hold” the cat is actually standing on the level part of my arm.

Question

My Maine Coon digs around his water dish before drinking. Is this something that’s common with Maine Coons?

Why does he do this?

Answer accepted (score 6)

Since we can’t know what moves inside a cat’s head, it will all be a theory only.

And theories there is, several of them. Actually the proper word should be ‘speculation’. I believe there is no right answer to this question, and quite possibly there isn’t ONE correct explanation either. However, let’s try a few:

• A cat has its ancestry in the wild cats who needed to find their drinks from little pools of water covered with fallen leaves and whatnot. Clearing the water of debris gives the cat a water surface that is open to drink from. This would be a case of cat’s instincts and there’s nothing we can do about it.

• A water bowl at home should have clean clear water in it. Finding the actual surface of the still standing water is a challenge best defeated by using a paw to find the plane where air and water meet. One could speculate that it is undesirable to dip your nose (rhinarium) into water, so the exact level of water surface is important to find. Some cats even check for ground level first, so scraping around the water bowl is needed to measure the distance between ground and water surface. Avoid water bowls made of glass or polished metal in order to help the cat see where water surface is.

• Digging in the water could indicate a smell in the water or bowl. Chlorine or iron rust can give normal tap water a strong smell that we humans might notice or not. It is also quite possible that the bowl itself smells if washed with strong dish soap without proper thorough rinsing. Surprise; clear clean bottled water sold at grocery shops might have a smell in it too, only different from your tap water.

• If water is clean and the bowl does not smell, then there just might be a smell under the water bowl. Most of us keep a water bowl in the same spot all the time. Perhaps you don’t see or smell anything there, but the floor under the bowl could be quite a mess. Check with a lamp that gives only UV-light.

• When wild animals go to drink at a watering hole, they spend time first checking that the surrounding area is clear of any dangers. Drinking in the wild can be dangerous. A cat “digging” around its water bowl could indicate that the cat is not happy with the location of the bowl. Try moving the bowl to a new spot.

An internet search around the subject seems to support the thought that Maine coon cats really are prone to digging in and around their water bowl, but this breed is by no means the only one doing it, and also not all cats of this breed do it. I have one Maine coon too, and she does not fuss with water in any way.

Answer 2 (score 1)

I have one Maine Coon but she does not do this behavior. I do have a shorthair black female polydactyl who does. Its a habit that isn’t ultra common but isn’t terribly rare either. Another black shorthair I had also did it. I don’t think it is breed or coat specific. It is just an example of play and / or the way some cats like to drink. It’s like pawing at food, dunking objects into the water dish… some cats like to do this but most don’t do it.

Question

Living in a basement apartment, I get bugs; usually ants, sometimes the odd spider or centipede, etc. I keep my house as clean as I can, and put out ant traps where my cat can’t get to them to control the population, but bugs happen regardless.

My cat finds the bugs incredibly fascinating, especially if any of them fly. He follows the bugs around, hunts them, and usually eats them.

I assume cats eat bugs in the wild, so I am not too concerned, but someone told me some ants can be poisonous, so I’m now worried.

Is it okay that my cat eats bugs indiscriminately?

Answer accepted (score 18)

In my experience, cats are pretty good determining whether something they’ve caught should be eaten - one of the cats I grew up with was an avid hunter but while he played with a rat that had eaten poison, he didn’t try to eat it. The other cats I’ve lived with haven’t been as eager to hunt but none of them ever tried to eat anything poisonous although they’d eat bugs quite cheerfully (including crunching down on grasshoppers).

If you’re not poisoning the bugs that get in, there shouldn’t be a problem - but keep an eye out for venomous spiders that are common where you live. Your cat probably won’t try to eat those, but hunting them could get the cat bitten, with ugly consequences.

Update for those who object to my offering the anecdotal evidence of having spent most of my 47 years living with at least one cat and those who think my lack of concern about cats eating insects is problematic:

• A web search did not turn up any definitive answers as to whether it’s generally safe or not. There is a lot of evidence that insects supplement the diet of feral cats
• The same web search included evidence that cats are at much greater risk from being poisoned by pesticides than they are from eating the pests the home owner might be trying to eliminate
• Depending on the biota exactly where you live and your own cat’s tolerances, results may vary. I had thought this was something that didn’t need to be stated outright. Apparently I was wrong.
• Something that won’t bother a healthy adult cat can be a problem for a kitten. Again, I thought this was too obvious to need mentioning, but apparently I was wrong.
• Another piece of anecdata - despite having been an eager bug-hunter in Australia, my 18+ year old cat has never attempted to chase any of the handful of US bugs the search I ran indicated could be harmful (love bugs - which were impossible to keep out of the house in one of the places I lived). She went after “safe” insects (ants which hadn’t been poisoned, mostly, and some flies and mosquitos) until she got too old for that sort of young cat nonsense.
• My brother-in-law (who is a vet in Australia) has never attempted to keep any of the family cats away from insects. If a vet in the country with more lethal poisonous critters than anyplace else in the world thinks cats aren’t likely to have problems eating bugs, I’m not going to argue with him.
• There will always be exceptions. The world isn’t safe and much as we’d like to we can’t make it totally safe for us or for our pets. The exceptions may be tragic, but I’m not going to try to keep my cats away from all insects on the off-chance that one of them would react badly to an insect they killed and ate. That would take watching them every minute of every day, and my husband and I both work and need to sleep now and then.

Answer 2 (score 8)

I don’t know how eating random bugs will affect cats specifically, but generally poisonous bugs taste really foul – the whole point of being poisonous is to train predators to not eat members of your species. Your cat has probably already learned to not eat any of those you might have in your home.

Ants in particular are not typically poisonous (i.e. containing a substance that’s dangerous to consume), but many are venomous (i.e. able to inject a dangerous substance by biting or stinging). Many venoms are not really dangerous to consume – they get digested before reaching the bloodstream. There are plenty of ants that defend themselves with formic acid, for example, which is painful to be sprayed with and probably tastes awful, but is a fairly common food preservative.

The main concern with ants is actually the poison people use to control them. Ant poisons need to be slow-acting in order to have time to affect the entire population. (Worker ants typically forage for food, and when two sister ants meet they share the contents of their stomach, so food gradually “averages out” across the entire colony.) So if the ants from one colony are taking poisonous bait and your cat is eating the ants, it may be accumulating that poison too. To be clear, this is something I can imagine happening, but I don’t know how much of a risk it really is.

Answer 3 (score 7)

Cats are naturally born predators so whatever they hunt doesn’t matter, they are just following their natural instincts. Most household bugs are not poisonous so they will not do any harm to your cat but there are some poisonous bugs that might harm your cat if she eats them. You should prevent her from eating those.

Take a look at this for a list of poisonous bugs.

Question

Most of my cats (past and present) have liked to lick plastic trash bags and grocery bags. Assuming that they are not tearing off bits of plastic and swallowing them, but just licking, is there any harm in this? What are they getting out of this – is it just a texture thing, or are they leeching some chemical out of the plastic, or what?

Answer accepted (score 26)

Why do cats lick plastic bags?

Extensive online research shows it is not just plastic bags which appear to be cat tongue attractants, but photographs as well. The activity of bag licking varies among cats; not all cats lick bags and not all bags get licked. There is no definitive answer, but most theories support @JohnCavan’s answer of bags being rendered with animal fat or having acquired smells. Unfortunately, the majority of answers found are incestuous, referring to each other.

Here is the culmination of what I’ve discovered, with each reason listing the seemingly independent sites which support each conclusion:

Manufacturing

Due to the bio-degradable nature of the bag, it was rendered with something that created a lingering odor. This could be anything from rendered animal fats (“tallow”), lanolin, petrolium products, gelatin, or corn starch. As regards photographs, Manhattan Cats notes that gelatin is also used in the photo emulsion process, directly connecting photo licking to bag licking.

The Feline Express article breaks down bag materials as it relates to cats, noting the manufacturing process may have simply created an odor which we cannot detect, but cats prefer. Though Chron Blog proposes corn starch, Feline Express dismisses the ingredient, as corn starch bags were only manufactured for a short time among few vendors. Feline Express continues by dismissing tallow and even fish scales, referencing quotes from manufacturers stating they are not used.

Supporting Sites: Vetriscience, Chron Blog, Feline Express, Amazon AskVille, Manhattan Cats, HDW

Acquired Odor

Depending on what the bag has touched or held, there may be lingering odors from the prior contact, which the cat can detect and is trying to taste, or is simply curious about.

Supporting Sites: Vetriscience, Chron Blog

Texture

The coolness of the plastic, or the texture of the material, feels good to the feline tongue, and may even taste good as well.

Supporting Sites: HDW, Manhattan Cats

Sound

Your cat likes the sound of the plastic bag being licked. It may simulate the noise of a caught animal. This is dismissed by some sites as unlikely since cats tend to dislike noise.

Supporting Sites: Vetriscience, Manhattan Cats, Chron Blog

Diet / Cravings

Plastic bag licking is compensation for an unsatisfied dietary craving.

Supporting Sites: Chron Blog

Mental Health / Pica

Your cat may either have pica, the compulsion to eat things which are not food, or obsessive compulsive disorder. Either seems unlikely since the licking activity is apparently quite common among cats. HDW proposes the cat may be performing an orally compulsive act to replicate “nursing”.

Supporting Sites: Vetriscience, HDW, Amazon AskVille

Is there any harm in it?

Per all the sites, you should not allow your cat to persist in licking a plastic bag, as this may tempt them to chew and swallow plastic pieces which may result from the activity. Consuming these pieces could potentially create intestinal blockage. Several of the cited sites refer to instances where plastic bags had to be removed from cats, or plastic pieces were found in excrement from the litter box. Additionally, you might not know the history of the bag; it could have contacted a substance poisonous to cats.

I recommend, when possible, that you do not allow your cat to continue licking plastic bags.

Answer 2 (score 5)

One theory I’ve heard is that plastic bags contain the remnants of fats from animal byproducts, which the cats can taste/smell, this seems a little doubtful, though not impossible, given that not all bags are made from petroleum products. Another theory is that the plastic has acquired scents from other substances and the cats are reacting to that.

Either theory kind of makes sense; both our cats lick bags all the time. The common connection I see is that the plastic had come in contact with things from the grocery store. This lends a bit of credence to the second theory.

Answer 3 (score 4)

I strongly disagree with the theory that cats are reacting to trace animal fats on the plastics. My personal theory is that (the cats who do this) are mistaking the plastics for fats.

If you looked at a molecular structure of most fats you’d find that most of the molecule is a chain hydrocarbon. Things like polyethylene are the same way and shorter fragments (oligomers) would possibly show up to a cats smell / taste as fats.

My problem with the animal fats theory is multiple: 1) I think most plastics are manufactured without any animal fats. For instance, mold release agents like magnesium stearate (the stearate portion could be animal fat derived or not) are not always used, bio-degradable plastics are a relatively small fraction of the plastics made (and typically they use something like corn starch, not animal fat)

2. I’ve seen cats do this reaction to well worn products. Thus even if magnesium stearate were used its residues should be on the surface and would have long ago been removed.

3. I typically see cats react to plastics that could conceptually be “misinterpreted” by a chemical sensor (taste bud, smell nerve) as a fat. They seem to react more to things like polyetheylene, polypropylene which would present hydrocarbon chain ends.

Question

Unfortunately I’ve messed up and don’t really know how to remedy the situation, I need some suggestions and help.

The situation is as follows: my in-laws are vets and do a lot of pro-bono work. One day they had a small (feral) kitten in their clinic that had suffered a rectal prolapse and had been brought into them after being found and (unfortunately) after she’d seen some rough treatment at the hands of the cattery’s resident vet, that had apparently stitched her anus shut without anathesia. Anyway, once they remedied the situation and repaired the damage, she was a fairly normal kitten and I took a shining to her, so after a few months that she went unclaimed I took her home.

She’s developed normally and is now about a year old. I’ve had her for about seven months now. She’s extremely skittish and has always rushed under sofas and beds to keep out of our way, but simultaneously seems OK with us when we’re stationary and she is being the active party. Honestly she seems better with my partner than with me, but then again she has a good way with animals. The cat has her litter box and uses it very effectively, eats and drinks, plays around with stuff, and often sleeps with us. First thing in the morning she’s always very affectionate with head bumping, licking, and miaowing.

Anyway, I was trying to use the “gently confine a kitten” method to teach her she had no reason to run under the furniture all the time. That wasn’t working so while I was at it I decided to comb her because she was shedding loads. She never much liked that and probably that was the wrong thing to do because it lead to her suddenly defecating on me, which lead me to scream and jump up, she ran scared, etc., and then I tried to catch her because she was leaving shitty skid marks wherever she went.

That must have terrified her and I regret it. Now she’s extremely wary of me (I don’t blame her, I would be too) and whenever I approach her in a manner she deems threatening (quite difficult not to approach her in a two-room apartment) she pastes herself to the ground, puts her ears back, and flicks her tail in a classic display of submission. She becomes totally non-interactive so I can’t even successfully get her to take a treat and defuse the situation. She’s never been the smartest cookie in the jar (sometimes can’t even find treats that are offered to her on the palm of one’s hand).

Anyway, I know I screwed up, and I would like to know where I can begin to rectify the situation and regain her trust.

Thanks for taking the time.

Answer accepted (score 5)

Ok, this might take a while to fix, but it is fixable.

First things first, when the cat shows fear like that it’s going to be essential to signal that you are not a danger, then leave her completely alone. No kind of interaction except signaling your disinterest. There is no way to interact in a positive way once the cat has taken this position.

Also, if you are walking towards her and she becomes scared, again signal disinterest and then go out of your way to walk around her as much as possible, give her as much room as you can.

Signaling being disinterested and non-threatening consists of a few parts:

• Don’t look her in the eyes. (Cats have excellent peripheral vision and looking directly at someone you aren’t very familiar with means you are considering it for food or similar.)
• If you do by accident, slowly blink, then look away. (Once you two become more comfortable with eachother this will be a very friendly way to communicate that you notice her, but not in a threatening way.)
• Yawn! (This signals boredom, which to cats is bliss. You can’t be aggressive and bored at the same time according to cats)
• Do NOT rush. when walking, stay calm and try not to make any fast movements, especially not in her direction.

Now, for interaction: Avoid going to your cat for interaction, instead try sitting down a non-threatening distance away (I’m sure you’ve figured out how far that currently is already, this distance will lessen over time), then bring out some (smelly!) treats, a toy, or just tap/scratch the floor/chair/sofa to get her attention. Allow her to come to you for playing, treats, or petting. Important here, move slowly when she does come to you, unless she’s completely focused on a toy that needs a bit of speed to operate.

If she doesn’t come after a few minutes just get up and ignore her for a while, then try again later.

Eventually you will begin to build her trust, and she might even become a true cuddly kitty, but it will take time, maybe weeks, maybe months.

EDIT #1:

Rereading some of the medical stuff, there is a possibility that you didn’t really scare her into defecating, but due to the medical procedure she has an “eject button” (or just a really painful spot!) in the form of an exposed nerve or somesuch, which could explain the cause of the incident.

As for the “gently confine method” you mention, I’ve never heard of it, and doesn’t seem to be a very enjoyable experience no matter how much your cat trusts you. Cats will sometimes run and hide, this will resolve itself over time as trust is built provided no stimuli reinforces the behaviour.

Background: I have a cat that used to be really skittish, with major abandonment issues. She’d run and hide when I moved around, or when strangers were around. And she’d only approach me when I was stationary.

After a 2 years she’d actually sit on my lap, after 3 or 4 she’d accept strangers. These days she’s the first to greet visitors, she’s hard to keep off my lap, and she sleeps on the bed next to me almost every night. I even get to cut her claws without her mauling me!

Answer 2 (score 1)

having had big problems with a nervous 3 yr old rescue cat, I am sure that the Feliway plug-in device noticeably helped his situation.He is still wary and we let him approach us, and don’t make sudden movements if possible, but we guess that he has been very badly hurt (emotionally??) in the past, and we have to win his absolute trust. It is improving inside the house and the garden, and I didn’t really believe it when everyone said ‘give it time’ but now I agree Good luck!

Question

I have a kitten about 10-11 wks old. She’s very human-friendly, as sweet as can be and very active.

This morning as I was sitting at my desk she was doing the usual routine of running around and jumping on random objects. She tried to jump up on an area she’s not allowed on and I did the usual gently block her from going there.

She then, in almost one motion, jumped on my lap, and made the face of a hissing cat (mouth open, teeth exposed, ears down and back, “angry” eyes) and a spitting noise (much like a hiss, but very short, about 1/4 second, with a slight “k” sound at the start) with eye contact, then jumped down and continued running around happily.

I’ve never seen a cat do this before.

What was that and what was she trying to say?

Answer accepted (score 8)

Hard to say. You’re relaying what you noticed which could be a partial picture.

I wouldn’t give it too much credence though, from the sound of it the behavior was just a spur of the moment thing. Kittens will often play in an exaggerated manner and try to test out boundaries / roles. She could have been saying “How dare you tell me what to do!?!” but the subsequent behavior makes it sound like she was putting on a little act.

Running in circles (the next behavior she displayed) can also be a behavior of a cat who is nervous for some reason (but I don’t think that is the case here)

Answer 2 (score 3)

Yes, cats can “spit” as well as hiss, though it isn’t that common. If it looked like this video…then it is a spit.

Jitterbug Does It Again

My guess is that it is just a kind of defense for a little kitten to make surprising sounds to make a potential foe move back in surprise.

Answer 3 (score 2)

I know exactly what spitting is, my cat does it ALL the time when she’s super happy and excited.. and from reading your post, I see your kitten who loves you also does it. I -used- to think cats only “spat” when they were extremely agitated or angry, but now I am solidly convinced that this is a sign of extreme excitement.

Excitement can be happy fun excitement, frustrated excitement or angry excitement, but there’s no question my cat absolutely adores me, more loyal and loving than any dog.. and she’s 8years old now and always spits when we play ball, or “gimme dat!” or just play/run around/sing and yell in general.

She gets very happy/excited and runs around as well, puffy tail, ears back, playful “full of the devil” eyes.. She jumps and spits, but if I grab her and pick her up, she’s all love and brumbles. She can put all her claws on my face and teeth on my nose at her most excited, but she won’t sink them in. If I yell at her playfully, she raises her meow even louder. Then she gets hyper and playful, and starts spitting at the ball she kicks around and attacks. It’s super, super cute. She “pretends” to attack my ankles as I walk by, just pouncing on them and spitting.

Spitting is pure excitement, energy level 100%. Just like a little child screaming because they’re happy and hyper. Or angry.

Question

On occasion, my cat will sit there with their mouth open, usually after smelling something new.

It looks similar to panting, but without the heavy breathing or a protruding tongue.

What is the reason for this? Is it a reaction to particular smells? We refer to it as the “stink face”, but does it really indicate that a scent was disagreeable?

Answer accepted (score 19)

This would be the Flehmen response: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flehmen_response

Many animals will do this to move air over a specialized scent gland which is used to identify pheromones for reproductive and communication purposes. Our cats will do it for anything they think smells interesting, usually before they go to investigate more closely.

Question

I know I shouldn’t feed a cat chocolate, and I also know dogs can get sick from it. Do I have to worry for my cat’s health if (s)he eats some chocolate?

Answer accepted (score 6)

I would keep chocolate well away from any cat or dog.

• Xanthines (a class of alkaloids which I believe includes caffeine as well as theobromine (present in cocoa)) have very low toxicity to humans but this is not true for cats or dogs.
• Alkaloids (in general) are designed to both deter herbivores with their bitter flavor, and kill them if they don’t get the hint (strychnine and many other alkaloids are quite toxic to most animals).

I would freak out if my cat ate chocolate (or for that matter: onions, garlic, mushrooms, broccoli - those all have other phytotoxins in them). Certainly, there are cats and dogs have lived after eating chocolate, but likely they got some organ damage as a result of it, and plenty have also died from it.

Theobromine poisoning: cats, dogs & humans (humans can take much higher doses even mg/kg of theobromine because we have defenses like cytochrome P450 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cytochrome_P450)) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theobromine_poisoning

Answer 2 (score 6)

I would keep chocolate well away from any cat or dog.

• Xanthines (a class of alkaloids which I believe includes caffeine as well as theobromine (present in cocoa)) have very low toxicity to humans but this is not true for cats or dogs.
• Alkaloids (in general) are designed to both deter herbivores with their bitter flavor, and kill them if they don’t get the hint (strychnine and many other alkaloids are quite toxic to most animals).

I would freak out if my cat ate chocolate (or for that matter: onions, garlic, mushrooms, broccoli - those all have other phytotoxins in them). Certainly, there are cats and dogs have lived after eating chocolate, but likely they got some organ damage as a result of it, and plenty have also died from it.

Theobromine poisoning: cats, dogs & humans (humans can take much higher doses even mg/kg of theobromine because we have defenses like cytochrome P450 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cytochrome_P450)) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theobromine_poisoning

Question

My girlfriend and I adopted a shelter cat, unknown age, but we were told she was rather old (10 to 17 years?). Was very shy in the beginning and hid under the bed or in my wardrobe. But purred when petted. Now she has fully accepted us as their servants, always comming and sitting on our laps when we return from work and get comfortable on the couch. She’s not hiding anymore and roams the flat freely. Hopefully we can let her out into the garden soon.

Her eating habits are rather un-cat-ish though: She eats very little, most of the food goes to the trashcan when her bowls (yes several, we don’t really know what food she was used to) are renewed. She eats dry food, we see her eating from it, and sometimes we can hear her munching when we are in bed. She drinks water sufficiently. From the wet food she only licks sauce / gravy and ignores the chunks (maybe she eats a few chunks, but merely as a by-product of gravy-licking) (Maybe I should write a letter to whiskas asking for a bucket of their gravy.)

Is my cat behaving normal? Should I be worried she might eat too little? (She seems not enfeebled: jumps on the bed and on the couch, and put her claws to the carpet)

Answer accepted (score 5)

Some cats don’t like chunks and gravy, in fact some cats don’t like wet food at all! If chunks and gravy isn’t working try the pate version, only give out small portions at a time as wet food tends to dry up quickly and then she definitely wont want it. You may also warm it up in the microwave to enhance the smell, though mash it sufficiently so that it’s not too hot when she eats it.

Cats rely on smell and texture first when deeming it edible or not which is why when they are kittens it’s a good idea to introduce them to different textured foods (preferably of the same brand to not cause any GI upset).

If you’re worried she isn’t eating enough weigh her once to twice a week until you feel comfortable. I always recommending weighing once to twice a month in healthy pets to prevent weight gains or losses.

I will also add this little extra tidbit - since your cat is probably a senior I highly recommend doing a wellness visit for blood work at your regular vet. Our senior kitties are high risk for a number of illnesses though the one I worry most about is kidney disease. The thing about kidney disease is that you only start to see physical signs once the kidneys have been damaged by ~70%. Catching it early will allow her to live longer as you can start treating to slow the progression sooner. We like to do a senior wellness screen yearly to every second year as a preventative.

Answer 2 (score 2)

My cat is like that. I put a little extra water to give her more juice but, she still only drinks it. I have tried to give her every other one in store but, the result is the same. I recently discovered lickables. Its a wet cat food similar to our stew. She loves it. She will eat the whole package it just a few minutes. I would recommend trying that if nothing has worked.

Answer 3 (score 1)

Basically your cat has got more sense than eat vegetables passing themselves off as meat. Recently I went through all the packets of so called cat food at a supermarket and they were 4% meat derivatives. Cats know this. Some of the larger tins are about 40% and some of the very premium small packets are a little better. Cats are pure carnivores and apart from a little grass don’t eat veg in the wild. Manufactures are conning us all making the vegetalbes look like meat.

Question

My new kitten is six weeks old and I think he’s defective!

I adopted him from Craigslist and the people said he was litter trained, but he keeps going to the “bathroom” in the corner of the room. When I give him food I play with him after he eats, let him groom himself a little bit, then I put him in the litter box.

I asked for advice online and have tried a few things.

• I tried to gently take his paws and rub them against the litter so he understands, but he just jumps out of the litter box. He disappears for 15-20 minutes, then I smell the feces, and of course he’s in the corner making another mess. :(

• People said to watch the kitten carefully and if I catch him mid-poop put him in the litterbox. I have tried that too.

• Other people said to take the kitten and bring him back to the feces, then rub his face in it while saying “No!”. I tried that about eight times over 2-3 days and the kitten still doesn’t get it! Advice online when I said it didn’t work was just to do it again, but rub his face in the poop more vigorously.

He’s still not getting it! How do I make the kitten understand he has to use the litterbox?

Answer accepted (score 24)

First, immediately stop the activity of rubbing his face in it. This is completely counterproductive, the kitten is not going to make that association, and is going to see this as abusive and become fearful of you. That advice is brutally bad, it boggles the mind.

Second, 6 weeks is way too early to separate a kitten from the mother, 8 weeks is minimum, 12 is best. So, whoever sold it to really has no business doing this and my guess is that they had an unexpected litter and were trying to get rid of them. That’s unfortunate, a couple of more weeks and you might not be having this issue.

So, if you understand that the kitten is not properly weaned from the mother and trained by her, then you need to substitute for her. Some initial steps you need to do are:

Observe the pattern of elimination:

• Does he go in the same place? If so, put a litter box there.
• Does he always avoid the litter? Have you looked at a different litter option? There are some designed to attract cats for this purpose.
• Does he go beside the box or entirely away from it? If beside it, the litter or the box may be the issue. Any idea what litter the people that sold you the cat use?
• Does he spread it about? If so, he may be marking territory. Seems a little young, yet, for that, but still.

There’s a whole program of behavioural medicine work around the answers to those questions, so a bit out of scope here. However, you can use this information to talk with your vet or use as the basis for trying some things out.

Reasons cats usually don’t use the litter box:

• Prefers or dislikes a certain kind of litter (gravel may hurt his paws for example)
• Doesn’t like the location, do you keep the litter box near his food? We don’t like to eat in our bathrooms either
• Do you clean it frequently, cats are fussy and will avoid soiled boxes
• Fear, bad association around the current location of the litter box (which isn’t helped by the existing bad advice you’ve already gotten)

Things to help:

• Keep the litter box clean (assuming he’s using it)
• Wash it out once a week to remove odors
• Different types of litters, switch them up and see if he shows a preference
• Litter attractant, basically designed to attract cats to the litter box
• Check the height of the box, he may be having a hard time getting in it as a kitten and so avoids (if he’s going beside it, this is a possibility).
• Don’t put a lid on the box if you have one (concentrates the odors)
• Ensure you thoroughly clean the area he defecated on, preferably with a cleanser designed for this
• Move the box to a more open area and away from any food
• If he tends to use quiet areas, move the box to a quiet area. If he tends to busy, move to a busy area

Things to avoid:

• Liners, some evidence that they reduce litter box usage
• Punishment. This will make it worse, not better, and may alienate the cat

The things about punishment, and why I’m kind of harping on it, is that there’s this idea that the cat should be able to grasp “bad” in this context. Get past the idea that cat is like a human, they don’t see it this way, they’re just pooping.

Answer 2 (score 6)

In addition to John’s excellent advice, I’d add something that will help with very young kittens like this one (after you stop punishing him when he doesn’t understand what’s happening - chances are you’re finding the poop long after he’s done it so there’s nothing to connect you being mad at him and him pooping in the wrong place)

Whenever you see him getting ready to go, in the squat with the tail up, gently pick him up and move him to the litter box, then stay with him and encourage him to stay in the box until he does his business. Once he’s done, praise and pet him even if he didn’t get the burying part. You want him to associate the litter box with doing his business and - after the horrible advice you got - good things.

For a kitten this young, I’d keep multiple boxes so there’s always one close by because he’s not always going to be able to find his way to it when he needs it. As he gets older, he’ll pick out a favorite place, and you can remove the other boxes. This is how I handled the kitten I got at the age of 5 weeks: there were litter boxes in multiple places, and any time she showed signs of wanting to go, I took her to the nearest box and encouraged her until she was done. After the first few weeks accidents stopped and I was able to ease back to a single box.

Above all, no matter how unpleasant any accidents get, do not punish the kitten. He’s too young to be away from his mother, possibly too young to remember where he should be doing his business, and trying to figure out a whole new environment that’s both exciting and scary. You want him to trust you, not fear you.

Answer 3 (score 1)

When one of my kitties stopped using the litter box my vet mentioned it could be from changing the type/brand of litter or possibly could have an infection. With an infection they may stop using the box because they associate the box with pain. You can mention it to your vet at the kittens visit. Even they would tell you not to rub noses in it.

Question

So my cats - well, one more than the other - will whine and meow at me in a certain manner that I have come to recognize as, “There is no food in the bowl.” When they exhibit this behavior, I automatically check the food bowl. Sure enough, there is food in the bowl, but the bottom of the bowl is visible. Not only that, there is still plenty of food - probably enough for the day.

I know I am not the only one to notice this behavior. There are even memes about it.

I think it is safe to say if multiple, separate cats exhibit this behavior, then it is an instinctual trait carried on from before domestication, not a learned behavior. This is similar to cats (and other animals) walking in a circle before lying down.

However, I cant think of what that pre-domesticated behavior would be. Any ideas?

Answer accepted (score 6)

My guess has always been that kibble (dry food) gets stale when exposed to air, and the cats are asking for the fresher stuff from the bag.

Even if you store kibble in an open box, there’s less surface area exposed to air than in a half-empty bowl, so any added food would seem “fresher”.

I haven’t noticed this behavior while meal feeding wet food, even when they sometimes leave leftovers after breakfast until I get home from work. In those cases they’ll eat the leftovers before asking me for more food.

One difference between wet and dry food is that dry food tends to contain cereals/grains/carbs (it’s VERY difficult to manufacture meat only dry food), and those foods are more sensitive to air conditions (going stale) than meat-based (wet) foods.

Answer 2 (score 6)

My guess has always been that kibble (dry food) gets stale when exposed to air, and the cats are asking for the fresher stuff from the bag.

Even if you store kibble in an open box, there’s less surface area exposed to air than in a half-empty bowl, so any added food would seem “fresher”.

I haven’t noticed this behavior while meal feeding wet food, even when they sometimes leave leftovers after breakfast until I get home from work. In those cases they’ll eat the leftovers before asking me for more food.

One difference between wet and dry food is that dry food tends to contain cereals/grains/carbs (it’s VERY difficult to manufacture meat only dry food), and those foods are more sensitive to air conditions (going stale) than meat-based (wet) foods.

Answer 3 (score 5)

I have noticed this and wondered about it too.

My very vocal cat was crying at me the other day, since I was 30 minutes past the normal feeding time. I looked and they still had some dry food from the morning. I decided to experiment and went over and just shook their food plate making it sound like I dumped food on their plate. It is a flat plate so no whisker contact is involved.

This satisfied him and he stopped crying and ate happily. I believe some of it has to do with them noticing that the food adding event did not occur and becoming worried that there is a break in the normal pattern.

Taken a bit further; the patterns and the routines in which we care for and interact with our cats seems to be comforting to them. They may become a little upset when the routine changes or does not proceed according to schedule.

Question

Most of the time while washing herself, she also starts to ‘grab’ the nail to one of her ‘thumbs’ with her teeth and it looks like she is pulling it really hard. Don’t know if she does it with other nails too, but I have seen it before. The nail doesn’t look strange or anything.

Is that normal behavior? Why is she doing that?

EDIT Actually I’ve observed her doing it at both front paws and at least both ‘thumbs’.

Answer accepted (score 10)

Are you able to get a good look at your cat’s claws? If there’s any redness of the skin around the claw, or discoloration of the claw bed (extend the claw), or your cat acts like he’s in pain while walking, then your cat may have a medical problem and need to be looked at by your vet. (here’s a brief overiew of the potential problems, but your cat needs to be seen by a vet for treatment).

If there’s no problems, then don’t worry, it’s normal, especially if your cat doesn’t have access to a scratching post (or the post is defective in some way, not big enough, wrong material, wrong shape (horizontal or vertical scratching surfaces are preferences).

When cats claws grow, they get longer AND grow layers. The outer layers need to be stripped off. Normally, this is done by clawing something, but if the scratching surfaces are inadequate, she’ll try to scrape if off with her teeth.

I’ve manually removed the outer layers occassionally when trimming claws, but I think it hurts them so I stopped doing it.

Question

We have a beautiful Calico stray cat outside our house. We played with her one day and she just followed us home from about half a mile away. We’ve been feeding her every day since then.

But every time I open the door to go in/come out of the house, this cat keeps trying to come in our house. She doesn’t even want anything from us. She just wants to be in our house with us. It breaks our heart to put her outside, but we just cannot take her in right this minute.

I’d love some guidance on being able to bring this cat in.

About the cat:

1. Girl Calico looks like about a year and a half old.
2. She used to live in an abandoned house about half a mile from our house.
3. The abandoned house has about 50 stray cats (NOT joking). Not a single one of them ever came to us.
4. She is so friendly, it makes me think she was once a domesticated cat thrown out of the house.
5. She has long and SHARP claws.
6. She doesn’t really know how to control her claws. She always pushes her claws out when playing with us. She climbs up our legs so rough, I have holes in my jeans.

Our problems with the cat coming in:

1. As I said, this cat lived with about 50 other cats. So she probably has fleas and ticks and whatever else there is.
2. We have a 16 month old who doesn’t really know how to be nice to the cat. The cat is incredibly patient, but I am not trying to push it.
3. We have a 16 month old and we do not want to risk the baby getting ticks or fleas or something else from this cat.
4. We do not really have a lot of money to spare for the cat’s health expenses.

My questions:

1. Could I go to a department store or a pharmacy and pick something up that would clean the cat up all-around?
2. I HATE declawing and would not do it. Is there a less crueler process to make their claws not as sharp?
3. The cat’s eyes always have some liquid leaking out of them. What could this be and what could I do regarding that?

Note: I am trying my best to bring this cat inside my house given the temperatures are dropping severely outside. She is cold. She wants to be in our house more than anything. I just need to get things straightened out first.

Note 2: I know she NEEDS to go to the vet, we are just a bit financially tight for the time being.

Thank you.

Answer accepted (score 35)

Thank you for your concern for the little homeless kitty. While is very likely the cat has fleas and intestinal parasites, the good news is cat fleas do not feed on humans. I used to rescue dirty, sad, abandoned cats and never once was bitten by a flea or any other skin parasite.

Treating the fleas is best done with a medicine applied the the back of the neck in my opinion. Advantage II is an example of this. These can be pricey at around $40 or $50. The flea collars are cheaper but be aware you cat will be wearing a potent poison around its neck. This is not good for cats or people who pet them or babies in the house. If you go the flea collar rout just keep the cat away from the baby and wash your hands after handling the cat. Naturally don’t touch the collar.

The fleas are not good for the cat but it is unlikely they will cause your cat any serious harm if you have to wait a while before treating the fleas.

If you just want to clean the cat up Vet’s Best No-Rinse Clean Waterless Cat Shampoo is about $5 on Amazon and easy easy to use, and involve no potentially traumatic (for both owner and cat) baths in the sink.

The alternative to declawing is manually clipping your cats nails. This requires some finesse, technique and getting your cat used to the process but it is not too difficult. There are also glue-one cat nail covers (think fake nails for cats) but they are a costlier solution.

As far as the cat’s eyes go, what you describe sounds like an eye infection. These are very common in strays and feral cats. You can try gently dabbing the eyes with a moistened cotton ball to remove an liquids or dried-on exudate. If the liquid is yellowish, greenish or brownish it may be a bacterial infection. This may clear up on its own or may require a topical antibiotic ointment.

A good vet will will get you a broad spectrum ointment without you having to make an more costly office visit. Also some stores will sell animal antibiotics over the counter. Terramycin is a good one. Do not use antibiotics sold for Human use on a cat.

One thing to keep in mind is while you may not be able to perfectly care for the cat, and your baby may be a little rough with the cat, the cat will be much better off just living in your house, under your care and protection, getting regular meals.

The average life expectancy for a feral cat is about 4 years. Under your care she can live 4 or 5 times this or more.

Answer 2 (score 17)

Before you get too far, it’s just worth checking that the cat isn’t microchipped. Any vet or animal shelter should be able to do this, and (in the UK) I wouldn’t expect to be charged.

You say it appears to have been a pet in the past; it could well be a long-lost pet, and the chip may help it to be reunited with its previous humans.

Answer 3 (score 8)

My comment extended itself as it was written.
So, to help with at least part of the issues:

Anti-flea-treatments are available in most pet-stores, and easy to apply.
You CAN trim the claws without declawing the cat. There are special trimmers for just that, and it should help with the issue.
For external parasites, you may be able to give the cat a bath, so pick up a shampoo for getting rid of those.

Now, it seems you are willing to pay for a vet, but are currently just not able to go the whole mile for a whole check-up, parasite-treatment, possibly vaccinations. Many vets will accept you to pay off the treatment over several months. Just ask, worst case is they say no.

It is one lucky cat that found you :).

Question

I just bought a cat and live on the 14th floor of my building, and I realized that he doesn’t have any fear of heights like dogs do. I am really afraid that he might jump from a window.

I did some research, but could only find things like “If a cat jumps from the third floor he might survive, even with some injures” and I was like “don’t cats have any sense of height?! Why would he jump from so high?”

So, should I be worried about my cat jumping out of a window and hurting himself?

Answer accepted (score 12)

Yes you should worry, lots of bad things could happen:

• The cat may get frightened or be chasing an insect and bolt for the window then fail to stop in time, slip and fall.

• The cat may sleep in the windowsill in the sun, roll over, and fall.

• The cat may run out on a ledge outside or jump down to someone’s air conditioner sticking out below or otherwise trap themselves someplace that would require trained rescue specialists to retrieve them.

Cats are thought of as extremely coordinated and agile but they slip, trip, fall and fail in estimating jump distances all the time.

Answer 2 (score 10)

Cats don’t purposefully fall from heights, but it can happen accidentally in the ways that Beo’s answer states. You can see dozens of videos of cats falling short distances on youtube by searching “cat fall”, so it’s not difficult to imagine the same mistakes being made even when the stakes are much higher.

Cats falling from apartment buildings has been called “high rise syndrome”, since veternarians have noticed a tendancy for cats to be less injured when falling from 6-8 stories than from 1-2 stories. The thought is that a longer fall time gives the cat more time to flip its body to land on its feet. However, it may be that the cats who die from the longer falls are not taken to the veternarian, so it’s difficult to know the truth from observational studies.

What we do know is that injuries are common no matter what the fall height. In one observational study, “Ninety percent of the cats had some form of thoracic [heart/lung] trauma”, and in another “Falls from the seventh or higher stories, are associated with more severe injuries and with a higher incidence of thoracic trauma.”

Clearly, you should take some types of precautions to protect your cat. The ASPCA recommends the following steps:

• To fully protect your pets, you’ll need to install snug and sturdy screens in all your windows.
• If you have adjustable screens, please make sure that they are tightly wedged into window frames.
• Note that cats can slip through childproof window guards—these don’t provide adequate protection!

Answer 3 (score 2)

Yes, absolutely you should worry about your cat falling from the window. Even if the cat is able to twist around and land on its feet, a fall from that height would cause serious injury including damage to the internal organs. You must insure that your cat cannot accidentally fall or jump from the window, perhaps not realizing how far down the ground is. Cats have been known to fall to their death by jumping at a bird that lands on the windowsill. Make sure that if the window is open it has a sturdy screen that cannot be pushed out even if the cat jumps against it.

Question

This has happened with 3-4 cats I’ve came to own in the past years.

They rub themselves against my feet, and if I’m barefoot/wearing flip flops, they start to lick my toes.

Why do they do that?

Answer accepted (score 4)

You could just have that kind of scent that cats like. Just like cat nip. Either that of they feel psychologically secure when you are around them, making them want to lick the closest thing to them (your toes).

Answer 2 (score 3)

There’s a couple explanations I can think of. The first is some cats tend to lick when they rub on you. So it may be just that they’re rubbing on your feet because your feet are easily accessible, then licking naturally. The other is that some cats are attracted to shoes. I’ve had cats that like rubbing on and playing with shoes in particular. It may be they are particularly attracted to your feet as a result.

Answer 3 (score 0)

They like to lick your feet because they know that you’re it’s owner and that they will feel more safe around you, just like when you were little, you would never run away from your parents! Cats are the same thing, they are like your younger brother/sister

Question

I often see people out walking their dog to get them exercise and fresh air. However, I have never noticed someone taking their cat for a walk, although I have seen cat harnesses and leashes for outdoor activities with felines.

Why is it less common for cats to be taken outside for walks? Don’t they need exercise and fresh air, too, (especially when they’re young and hyper and active) or do they get enough indoor play-time?

Answer accepted (score 10)

I use a leash + harness with my cats to let them outside, but I don’t take them for a walk like I would with a dog. It’s more of letting them explore around the yard as much as they want, but controlling how far they go, and when they come back.

They’re not interested in walking around the block because they don’t really like meeting strangers outside of the house, as they’re already nervous from leaving the known safety of the house. I also don’t want to take them outside of the yard because I don’t want to have to deal with finding out what happens if they meet a dog. They’ve already had some bad experiences with dogs, so I’d rather keep them away as much as possible.

The only types of cats that really do enjoy walking around the block are cats that are still relatively wild, like Bengals and Servals. They still have strong instincts to patrol/mark a broader territory than normal housecats, along with having higher amounts of energy. Servals are rarely seen as pets due to the legal restrictions on them, and Bengals are generally kept by owners who care more about how they look than how happy they are, so the chances of you happening across an owner walking their cat is almost none.

The only reason I like to take my cat’s outside to explore is for the fresh air really. It’s mental stimulation, the same reasons what people want to get out of the house is that it gets boring after so long. It’s just nice to see something different every once in a while.

Sure, it’s a bit of exercise for them too, but it’s not really the only way they can get exercise. They are smaller than most dogs, meaning they have more room to run around without knocking into things (most of the time). But really the main difference is that they can climb. I have a 6 foot tall cat tree that my cats can climb up and down, which gives them vertical space to exercise.

Answer 2 (score 7)

I believe the simplest answer is that (a) dogs are more likely to be actively aggressive toward other pets and livestock, and toward humans, and (b) more people feel threatened by a dog than by a cat, so (c) it’s considered more necessary to keep dogs under control and (d) leash laws get written for dogs but not cats.

Dogs, being pack animals, also care more about having another member of their pack with them; cats, given their choice are more likely to explore alone. In fact I have walked cats/walked with cats (it’s unclear who was accompanying who) at times, usually off-leash. And when travelling with a cat I have sometimes used a light leash, but that’s more to reassure both the cat and me and to tell everyone else who we belong to than because I expect it to be needed.

In rural areas, I suspect dogs and outdoor cats are allowed nearly equal freedom.

The other factor, of course, is that dogs need to be let outside. Cats, who have an instinct to bury their waste when they aren’t the alpha in their area, are much more willing to use litterboxes – one of humanity’s greatest inventions.

Answer 3 (score 6)

There are a lot of factors that affect the answer here, and each will affect an individual cat/human pair in different amounts.

Harness Training

The first step to being able to exercise your cat outside responsibly is to train him to accept the harness and leash. Often when a cat feels an unfamiliar weight on his back, he will roll over to escape it, and when the harness does not come off he will get confused and distressed. Properly training the cat to accept a harness (instead of just sticking it on him and seeing what happens) is a lengthy process that most cat owners are not familiar with and do not take the time to do properly.

Territorial Familiarity

Cats are territorial, and an indoor cat will view your home as his territory. He’s comfortable there because he knows all of the hiding spots, the food/water sources, and the safe places to eliminate, etc.

When you take your cat to a new place (outdoors) you are forcing your cat out of his territory so he’s already slightly uncomfortable. Additionally, if the area has any feral/outdoor cats, the area may be scent marked as someone else’s territory, further putting him on edge.

You see this behavior some with dogs as they scent mark the route of their walk, but when two dogs meet they may be friends or competition, and they also have a much longer history of looking to humans for socialization cues. Cats are more likely to view an intruder as competition.

Territory Structure

Cats view their surroundings in 3 dimensions, where people (and dogs) generally just look in 2 dimensions. Climbing helps cats feel safe (they can observe their surroundings without beeing seen), but a walk with a person forces them to only use the more exposed ground level. This can be pretty uncomfortable for a cat.

Elimination

Cats are often trained to use a litter box (as predators they will bury their waste to avoid alerting prey to their presence) and so can eliminate inside. Dogs, on the other hand, are rarely trained to eliminate inside and so must have regular outside time.

Owner Selection

Cats are generally seen as more independant and requiring less intensive care than dogs, so they tend to attract owners who are looking for a pet that does not require regular walks.

Question

My wife and I are at our wits end with two of our cats and want to see what advice people have for us. Here’s the problem:

Larry, a male, stalks and attacks Curly Sue, a female. In the past, we have witnessed fights between them starting and were able to break them up: usually they start with Larry “looking at Curly Sue funny” - almost like he is stalking her - and Curly Sue hissing and growling at Larry. This causes Larry to get more agitated, his tail poofs, and he goes into full-on stalking mode. If not stopped, he starts attacking Curly Sue.

Obviously we try and stop this whenever we can, but sometimes the cats are in another part of the house or we are asleep and we don’t hear the commotion until it’s too late.

If we are not around to stop Larry’s stalking and Larry attacks Curly Sue, Curly Sue lets out a blood-curdling series of screams. During the commotion, Curly Sue urinates all over herself, Larry, and whatever else is nearby.

Obviously I feel terrible for Curly Sue - she is so scared that it’s causing her to urinate herself. But this is also causing a lot of stress on my wife and I, and a lot of property/furniture damage from the cat urine. The other day this happened in the middle of the night under the bed and ruined our box spring. Dealing with Curly Sue soiling herself and Larry, the box spring, and moving and cleaning under the bed was not fun.

We have gone through a separation and re-introduction process several times in the past, but inevitably Larry’s violence toward Curly Sue always rekindles. This happened several years ago in our old home, and we ended up keeping Curly Sue locked up with food, water, and a litterbox in our spare bedroom when we were not home. Although I didn’t like making our spare bedroom a “cat room”, it solved the problem and Larry never attacked Curly Sue while we were home. We had not had any issues in our new home until recently. In contrast with the situation in our old home, Larry now attacks Curly Sue while we are home and awake! It’s gotten so bad that I am not going to let them intermingle at all; one cat is going to stay in the spare bedroom until we can figure something out.

To clarify, neither cat has a problem using the litterbox. Curly Sue will only let off a “urine grenade” when Larry attacks her like this.

I cannot think of any changes in our home that would have triggered this behavior. Also, we have tried Feliway products in our home, but they have not affected this behavior.

We are thinking of asking our vet to put one or both of them on a psychotropic drug to calm them down. Short of putting one of them up for adoption, I do not know what else to do.

Both cats are normally very sweet and gentle. This behavior is so strange.

Answer accepted (score 4)

I am very sorry to hear about your kitty problems. Given the description you’ve given, it seems like a very complex problem. You’ve done the right things, trying the reintroduction process and having plenty of vertical space for the cats.

I would definitely get your vet involved. It almost seems like your male cat may have something medical going on, rather than behavioral. Pain can make a cat lash out at another cat.

If it does turn out to be behavioral, have you tried daily play sessions with each cat? The play sessions would now need to be separated. They idea is that you play with each cat until they are finished playing. Be sure to use something on the end of a pole and string, like a feather or something with stuffing they can get their teeth and claws into. Be sure to buy two, so each cat can have their own toy. You don’t want your male’s toy to smell like the female. Also, be sure to put up the toys when done with your play session. This will help your cats look forward to the play sessions each day because it’s the only time they get to play with that particular fun toy. And be sure not to use a laser pointer because this frustrates many cats.

For the male, the play sessions should help him take out aggression on the toy and release any pent up energy. For the female, the play sessions should help her gain confidence. Then, after a while of separation, hopefully you can get to the point where they can come together again. However, the play sessions should not go away.

During this time of separation (while you are trying to figure out what to do), make sure both cats still get plenty of attention from you.

We may never find out why your male kitty is lashing out at his sibling. It could have been something that happened 4 years ago. Also, it may not have had anything to do with the female cat. She may have just been standing near him when it happened.

In any case, I hope you find the solution. I wish you and your kitties the best.

Answer 2 (score 1)

Did you declaw both cats? Declawing (toe amputation) can cause behavior problems after surgery even years down the road. Go to http://citythekitty.com and http://thepawproject.org for more information. Vets promote this for money, and it’s not healthy for the cat either.

Question

By demand meowing, I of course mean that loud, aggressive, nonstop meowing.

I understand that you can positively reinforce silence by rewarding a cat when it stops meowing (eg, “Training your cat to be quiet”), but I don’t understand what amount of time to allow after a meow for the reward - if she gets a reward as soon as she is silent for one second, doesn’t that still reward the meowing? I’m also not sure whether responding to a “polite request” reinforces demanding requests, or if these different meows can be treated differently in training.

For example, we give her dry food throughout the day, but if we just top it up at various times, it may sit too long and not get eaten. If she tells us that she wants some biscuits, that is helpful. She also gets canned meat once a day, but lately she’s started to become very demanding up to 2 hours before the usual feeding time. We always wait it out, and make sure to give her the food once there is a gap in the meowing, but it is a great distraction up to that point and so far hasn’t diminished the behaviour.

Similarly, we don’t want to leave the door open all day; if she wants to go out, it’s helpful for her to tell us. But if it is not convenient for us to let her out, because we’re going out or to bed, she starts to get very loud and demanding. We do keep a clean litter box inside for her, and sometimes we’ll place her in it in this situation, but it has never proven effective (maybe because she doesn’t actually want to go to the toilet!). (NB she has never had any issue with using a litter box, and will use it no problem when it is the only option [after moving to a new house, for example], but she does strongly prefer doing her business outside).

Is there a way to stop her from vocally demanding something without dissuading her from politely asking, or is this just too confusing for her? Will us waiting out the nonstop meowing eventually get her to stop doing it in general? Or is there perhaps a way to distract the cat into forgetting about what she so adamantly wants in the first place?

Answer accepted (score 11)

We have several Siamese (a breed known to be more talkative than normal), and when they want something WE KNOW (even when we don’t know what it is that they want). We’ve also done some basic voice training commands.

Is there a way to stop her from vocally demanding something without dissuading her from politely asking, or is this just too confusing for her?

I’m not sure how you would differentiate this in the training enough to make it clear to her without being confusing. The difference is really just “don’t meow enough to be annoying” and I (as another human) wouldn’t know exactly where that line is.

The only way I think it would work would be to instead train her to some behavior that

• when repeated by an annoyed cat isn’t going to annoy you
• would serve the purpose of “asking”

So, for example, sometimes our most bossy cat will just sit quietly by her food bowl when she’s hungry and wait for food to magically appear. We laugh at her, but we could encourage that behavior since it’s a non-annoying way for her to tell us that she’s hungry.

Will us waiting out the nonstop meowing eventually get her to stop doing it in general?

In my experience, no. Eventually you’ll learn to tune it out or get used to it (or lock yourself in the bedroom or turn the TV/radio up louder).

Or is there perhaps a way to distract the cat into forgetting about what she so adamantly wants in the first place?

Sometimes? It depends on what the cat wants and what you’re trying to do. Usually Ginger yells at us for attention, so if I put her in my lap that’s close enough to what she wanted that she quiets down for awhile, even if I’m not actually paying attention to her. If the cat is bored (which may be why she wants to go outside), try an interactive wand toy. If the cat is hungry, try a puzzle feeder with a small amount of food. I’m not exactly giving the cat what she wants, but I am giving her a small part of what she wants, while stimulating her mind and providing excitement. I think these things help a lot for a typical bored housecat.

Answer 2 (score 5)

I know I am a bit late to the party but a technique I have found helpful is to give a stern forceful command, such as “NO!” when the demand meowing starts, if it continues, repeat the command but add in an additional discipline of a squirt of water. This can be a small water pistol or a spray bottle. Just plain tap water, It will not hurt the cat but will discipline them & teach them that the demanding is not tolerated. After a few times, the command alone will be enough to silence them or the sight of the spray bottle will cause them to stop.

You can reward polite meowing or request with whatever the cat is looking for (outside-time, food, attention, praise) This will let the cat know what is a more acceptable way to ask instead of demanding. I really do not know what you consider acceptable meowing, neither will the cat at first but it will learn tone, pattern, etc. Whatever constitutes as acceptable behavior.

Answer 3 (score 4)

If you know your cat is meowing to demand something it shouldn’t have, you can modify that behavior by ignoring the meow. I have actually seen that this kind of conditioning work. If my cats are demanding food and I feel I’ve given them the food they need, I ignore subsequent requests for food. I do see that while they still meow at me for food, they are much more likely to focus this behavior on someone else who they think will respond to their requests.

Question

My cat loves his canned food that he gets every morning, and he gets right into it the moment I put the dish down. Normally, this is no problem - he eats, I get ready for my day, everything is wonderful.

Except for the days when he wolfs it down incredibly quickly - usually he paces himself, but some days he just gulps it down, and I can’t find a reason for it, it is independent of flavour or anything. If he eats it too fast, then he throws up, and I end up feeling bad because then I know he is missing out on needed moisture and nutrients and the like, not to mention the mess.

Is there any way I can keep this from happening?

Answer accepted (score 17)

I really like the specialized “Tiger Diner” food bowl. It forces the cat to slow down and “hunt” his or her food out of the bowl, resulting in slower (and often less) eating. I usually use it with dry food, but if you break up wet food into smaller chunks, rather than simply a can-shaped blob, it works just fine.

Here is a photo of it:

Answer 2 (score 17)

I really like the specialized “Tiger Diner” food bowl. It forces the cat to slow down and “hunt” his or her food out of the bowl, resulting in slower (and often less) eating. I usually use it with dry food, but if you break up wet food into smaller chunks, rather than simply a can-shaped blob, it works just fine.

Here is a photo of it:

Answer 3 (score 12)

We had the exact same problem with our oldest cat. She refused to eat for a while, unless it was canned food.

The simplest solution we found was to mix some dry food into the canned. This forced her to eat it slower, and eliminated the problem of her eating too fast and throwing up. Granted, she does sometimes eat too much to the point where she throws up, but that’s another issue. :)

Question

Okay! So three weeks ago I got a stray kitten from the streets. He is around seven weeks old and its a male. Eight days ago, he began to stop eating and would throw up worms. He was sick for two days before we took him to the vet. They said he had a infection of roundworms and hookworms and gave him medication. He came back home all better. However, he started to eat too much. He would cry for hunger and ask me to feed him. I thought it was okay since he had lost weight from the worm infection so I fed him more than usual. Three times daily. One and a half can of wet food for kittens. Two days ago, I began to notice his pot belly.

His belly isnt too hard nor too soft. Also, aside from that, he has no other symptoms. He is eating back to normal, pooping and peeing, and his behaviour is the same. He is as playful as always. However, im still worried because ive heard about FIP and im scared he might have it. Can someone tell me your opinion? Ill take him to the vet next week since he had an appointment for his second dose of deworming and vaccinations. But im scared he might be sick..

Answer accepted (score 7)

The reason why you have a second dosage of deworming is because it usually takes 2 dosages to kill all of the worms and get them out of the kitten’s body. This is especially true if your kitten came from outside or was a stray before coming to a shelter. It is very normal for kittens to have worms.

Now, FIP Is a different story. Vets likely won’t test your kitten until he’s about three or four months old. Even then our best tests of FIP are not always conclusive. Cat’s with FIP can still live normal lives, and it’s not likely any other cats you will get it. The vet will tell you to keep the litter clean (a couple times a day), make sure the kitty gets lots of play time, and look for lethargy symptoms.

Likely, your cat still has worms and the worms need time to pass through your kittens system. So be sure to keep your appointment and express your concerns of FIP to your vet.

BTW. You have a beautiful black kitty! Thank you for taking care of this kitten and giving her a happy home!

Answer 2 (score 3)

The main cause of ascites (pot belly) in a found kitten is usually due to parasites, especially with Hookworms. Hookworms feed on the blood of the kitten, thus resulting in a lost of oncotic proteins (such as albumin). These proteins are needed to keep water inside blood vessels, without them water sometimes slips out into abdominal cavity.

An adecuate antiparasitic treatment requires two doses of Albendazole+Prazicuantel (or any other de-wormers) at a 10-15 days interval. This is because the first dose kill the adult worms, but not the larvae. After 10 days larvae become adults so they become sensitive to the drugs.

FIP is a mutation of Feline Corona Virus, most cats have this virus (at least in my here in south america). But it is unlikely (i.e. I’ve never seen it, or heard or read about it) that a cat will develop FIP without being immunodepressed by some other pathology. Usually FIP is seen in cats with FeLV or FIV. I really hope this is not the case.

Bottom line: Check with your Vet. A simple blood work should be enough to shed some light

Answer 3 (score 1)

My kittens had big bellies when I first got them. They were about 8-10 weeks old. Took them to the vet and they had Giardia (and ringworm). Belly swelling went down a bit after that. I’d call the vet and ask them, again. For this test, you will have to bring a stool sample. They will give you the right container - don’t worry!

Question

Ever since she was a kitten, my cat has generally preferred to pull her kibble out of her food bowl a piece at a time and eat them off of the floor. She also has a tendency to drink her water by dipping her paws in and licking the water off.

She displays this behaviour about half the time. As far as I can tell, it’s usually when she is more relaxed or lazy, but there’s no discernible pattern from which I can draw conclusions.

Occasionally she will lounge with one arm around the kibble bowl, pulling the food out with the other paw, almost as if she’s eating a bag of chips.

Answer accepted (score 9)

I have a cat who does this, and have heard about the behavior in other cats. One researcher (sorry I don’t have a reference) believes that some cats don’t like their whiskers touching the sides of food or water bowls, so they use their paws. In engineering terms whiskers serve as sensitive proximity sensors, sending a signal to the brain when they contact something.

You can try a bigger bowl or a fountain-style bowl if you don’t like puddles of water around the water bowl. Several of my cats enjoy sitting in the tub or sink and drinking a thin steam of water right from the tap.

Answer 2 (score 2)

A cat I had pawed her food as well. In her case, there were ants who had found traces of food in her dish and she was trying to separate her food from the ants. Once she started doing this, it became a habit that she continued.

Pawing water in a dish may be a reaction to an unfortunate drinking accident in the past (darn that clear water! sneeze, sneeze). Drinking water directly from the faucet may be a preference for cleaner water than she can get in a bowl. Or there may actually be a difference in flavor; my brother used to claim he could taste which faucet in our house water came from, but since I couldn’t taste any difference he may have been trying to pull one over on me.

Answer 3 (score 1)

I have a subscription to Catster Magazine, formerly known as Cat Fancy. Had it for years now and have learned a lot from it. One article says that cats do not see water unless it’s moving (because it’s clear). That may be the reason they prefer to drink from the tap. I have a cat fountain which works for my cat quite well but she still prefers to drink from the tap if possible. I also learned about them not liking to eat from dishes that touch their whiskers. I bought bigger bowls.

Question

Loud constant meowing, getting into that weird “mate with me” position, a little blood discharge… yeah, my cat’s going into heat.

She’s a 100% indoor cat, and we don’t intend for her to have any kittens. Is her loud meowing a signal of pain and, if so, is there anything I can do as an owner to make her more comfortable?

Answer accepted (score 11)

As you know, it is a natural thing to happen, therefore, with my own cats, I haven’t paid much attention to it, just let the cat get over it. I don’t know if there is any pain involved in it, but to my understanding the meowing is more a call for any toms in the neighborhood. If pain was part of the matter I would still not medicate the cat in any way, since it is natural, and medicating the cat would be more for my own peace of mind than for the cat’s ease.

Beware of possible escape attempts, especially if there is a tomcat nearby answering to your cat’s calls. A female cat in heat, hearing a tomcat answering to her, may summon tremendous strength and agility to conquer any obstacles in her way outdoors to mate. The first heat of a young cat is yet weak, but in later heats the cat may become hard to handle.

Spaying the cat would be a good, and permanent, solution to her anxiety, but is it quite answering your question “…through the estrus cycle?” because spaying effectively removes most of the cycle. However, that is what I’ve done to my cats after one or at max three heats. Much easier for everyone and actually it is good for the health of the cat.

Indoor cats who don’t get to mate while in heat have a chance to go into heat again quite soon, possibly as soon as two weeks after the previous heat period ended. There is a variety of risks to the cat’s health involved with each heat cycle, for example an infection in uterus and breast cancer, so eventually spaying your cat would benefit both her and you, and even your neighbors with the reduced number of loose tomcats circling and spraying your house and the houses of your neighbors.

Answer 2 (score 2)

Spaying your cat, would be a wonderful solution. According to some sources spayed cats live longer healthier lives. Additionally there is less risk of accidentally escaping. As a ‘100% indoor cat’ she would be in extreme risk of traumatic injury should she suddenly find herself outside and making poor chooses because she is in heat.

Spaying adds another layer of insurance to your loved one, should she suddenly loose you through accident, and need to be re-homed, that processes will be much easier if she is already spayed. Imagine your cat suddenly finds herself without your home, placed in a shelter, looking for another home, and having to undergo spay surgery; possibly at an advanced age and without you for comfort.

Question

My cat always seems to get his front paws stuck on any fabric when he uses his claws.

We have blankets on the sofa (so we can wash them out every now and then) and if he stretches his paws after a nap, 9 out of 10 times one of his claws is hooked in the blanket and he seems to have an issue unhooking his paw. Even when he uses a scratching pole, his claw seems to get stuck in the rope of the pole.

He does not intentionality dig his claws into anything, but still gets stuck on it. He goes on a yearly check up every year but the vet never said “its time to clip his claws a bit” even if we ask if its necessary.

Sometimes he will even have both his paws hooked onto something. He usually gets himself lose but it always looks like its a problem when he does so.
Our other cat never seems to get his paw stuck on anything.

The only thing worth mentioning is that he does suffer from the same affliction as shown in this post Why does my cat get calluses on his paw pads?

Answer accepted (score 7)

Some cats seem to have this problem more than others. I would suggest trimming his front claws regularly. You only need to take off the sharp pointy tip so they’re blunted a bit. It doesn’t need to be a precision job. If he isn’t used to getting his claws trimmed, then just do one paw at a time, or even just one nail at a time! If you do this regularly, you’ll probably find that there are only a few claws that need trimming at any one time.

This should eliminate the problem. Any time he gets stuck, check to see if a new nail has appeared; if so, trim it.

If the problem persists despite nail trimming, consult your vet.

Answer 2 (score 2)

Since he objects to trimming maybe gently pet and practice expressing his claws with out clippers until he lets you occasionally clip one claw. Build on this as he is comfortable. Just take the tip. Other idea would be purchase claw sheaths from vet or specialty shop.

Answer 3 (score 1)

I don’t have comment privileges so I can’t comment on mhwombat’s answer, but I agree that trimming the claws should help or possibly solve this. I trim my cats’ claws approximately once a month. One of my cats used to regularly get her claws stuck in carpet even while walking normally, and keeping her claws trimmed has prevented that from happening. When I first started trimming her claws she gave me an extra-hard time, but I think part of the reason was because her toes were sore from getting caught on things; she was much better about it the times afterwards.

Question

Every time my cat eats, he gets food all over the floor, making it a really disgusting and unappealing corner in the house.

What solutions could I use to avoid this problem?

Answer accepted (score 11)

I can think of two possible solutions, having experienced this problem myself.

The first would be to use a dish with higher sides as long as feeding is still physically possible. You may also purchase a dish that has sides that curve inward so that the cat cannot push the food over the sides (see picture).

Now this may not be the exact style of bowl that will work, it is just an example. Plus you should probably use a safer material than glass. The edges could curve inward more drastically and even curve downward after inward. The base should probably also be more solid and larger so that it won’t be easy knocked over.

The second solution would be to place a mat under the dishes. I have used placemats but you could use something with edges, such as a rubber shoe mat. This makes for easy cleanup. You remove the dishes, shake the mat off into the garbage, and put it back. If you have a vacuum cleaner, they are pretty easy to clean off as well.

Edit: I have found a commercial solution if you desire to try this instead. I have never tried it yet it seems to have good reviews on amazon. I will provide the link and you can peruse the reviews and decide if you are interested.

Link: The Neater Feeder

Answer 2 (score 11)

I can think of two possible solutions, having experienced this problem myself.

The first would be to use a dish with higher sides as long as feeding is still physically possible. You may also purchase a dish that has sides that curve inward so that the cat cannot push the food over the sides (see picture).

Now this may not be the exact style of bowl that will work, it is just an example. Plus you should probably use a safer material than glass. The edges could curve inward more drastically and even curve downward after inward. The base should probably also be more solid and larger so that it won’t be easy knocked over.

The second solution would be to place a mat under the dishes. I have used placemats but you could use something with edges, such as a rubber shoe mat. This makes for easy cleanup. You remove the dishes, shake the mat off into the garbage, and put it back. If you have a vacuum cleaner, they are pretty easy to clean off as well.

Edit: I have found a commercial solution if you desire to try this instead. I have never tried it yet it seems to have good reviews on amazon. I will provide the link and you can peruse the reviews and decide if you are interested.

Link: The Neater Feeder

Answer 3 (score 6)

You might also check your cat for dental problems.

Our cat has Feline odontoclastic resorptive lesions, aka FORL. She will gradually but eventually need all of her teeth removed.

She recently was making more and more of a mess while eating, perhaps because of pain while chewing. Then she had six teeth removed. Despite having fewer teeth to “hold in the food”, she isn’t messy while feeding now. (And her general mood has much improved.)

Question

I’ve noticed this with my cats over the years and with the cats of friends and family. Quite often, though not always, the cat will tuck their head down and under, perhaps into a pillow, a gap in a couch, or even into the crook of your arm. The question is… why? It seems counter-intuitive to self-defense to do that.

Answer accepted (score 15)

It is not so counter intuitive for a cat to sleep curled up as you suggest. Protecting the head whilst sleeping is not counter-intuitive for safety. If you think about it, it is, perhaps, the safest position to sleep in. The back is exposed and all the soft belly and face is protected. Even the hard skull at the back of the head is a like a little armour.

As opposed to a stretched position, where this picture illustrates well the soft underbelly that the cat is protecting.

Dogs will often sleep rolled up in a ball also, it’s good to observe when they do and when they are relaxed enough to lay out stretched, or even have a play stretch.

It’s also noteworthy that animals will find the safest place to sleep.

Answer 2 (score 2)

An additional thing to consider: Cats like warmth. Curling up vs stretching is the ideal sleeping position to maintain body temperature, or keep warm when the temperature is cold for all animals, as well as humans. Taking that into account, tucking one’s head is an additional way to keep warm.

Question

My female cat usually sleeps alone in a different room when i of course sleep in my bedroom. She’s never interested in sleeping with anyone in the family,infact she seems to get annoyed and leave the place if the person (trying to sleep with her) touches her alot. She’s still nice and accepts family members to bother her a little. And depending on the person she either swats or leaves when she’s fed up with him or her, and that’s when the person exaggerate’s with giving her too much love (which i don’t see as too much love for a cat). But yesterday i got a cough attack (because of asthma which is not caused by her, it’s caused because i got a male cat to live with us and i’m allergic to males). She was playing fetch at the time, by giving me a head band she loves and i throw it. I threw the head band, she ran, i started coughing alot and having my chest closed, i think i also sighed a little too. She then lost interest in playing and jumped on my bed ( where i was trying to rest a little and where she NEVER hangs out) and it’s like she notices something is happening but she can’t talk, Looking away then at me again then away etc..as if a human was thinking and looking for an answer. She totally lost interest in the game. She then decided to stay on my bed and then slept. The shocking thing was that lots of my family members came to her, petted her, gave her love (which she doesn’t really like,she can usually take it for some time, but then she gets fed up with it), and she got up wanting to leave but decided to stay. After my family got out of my room (which me and my sisters share and the cat know’s someone can suddenly get in and bother her, making it a reason to why she never sleep’s in my bedroom) she stayed in the same spot, made herself comfortable and tryed to sleep (usually if she had to stay in the bedroom she’d jump to the top droor of my closet to be able to rest)

I did once in a while sit down and start coughing again and she looks at me a look that says ‘’i know you’re sick and i don’t like it’’ (i’m not sure about that really) but then closes her eye’s and tries to sleep again with my very disturbing sounds. And when i woke up, alot of hours later she was still there!! It’s really surprising to me that she actually stayed.

She used to sleep by our sides sometimes only when she was a kitten, and whenever we wake up we know that it’s imposible for us to see her still where she’d been before we closed our eyes. Because she simply didn’t like to sleep with us alot, she may feel affectionate and sleep with us sometimes but it’s a 95% chance she leaves while we sleep,or if she’s trapped in our room she’d wait at the door.

So my question is why did my cat sacrifice her time sleeping in an unsual spot and staying right at my feet without moving?

(For more information i did sometimes stretch and my feet pushes her a bit, and still my cat didn’t care, she stayed right at the spot. I sometimes annoy and tease her from my love to her and she would usually leave or bite in obvious discomfort. She doesn’t hurt me though, her bites are ment to warn me, it shows to be an attack while infact she just puts her teeth on me. And yes she could hurt me if she liked as i saw her bad side sometimes. She just didn’t do me a thing,or leave my side even though usually she’d make it obvious if she didn’t like what i do to her)

Answer accepted (score 4)

There has been some basic scientific inquiry into this area (http://www.bbc.co.uk/earth/story/20151015-your-cat-can-pick-up-on-how-you-are-feeling) but there is a wealth of anecdotal evidence that yes they do. In my own experience (and that of every cat-serving friend I’ve known) they display markedly different behavior when their human is unwell or noticeably upset.

Both my two get much more “snuggly” when I’m unwell, often wanting to be near me much more than normal and will be display protective or guarding behaviors as .well

Answer 2 (score 2)

Cats definitely can sense when we aren’t feeling well. My girl is extremely affectionate anyway, but she takes it up to 11 when I’m sick. Over winter break, when we were staying at my parents’ house, I got the stomach flu. She stayed laying across my chest with her paws near the side of my neck (essentially so she could give me a warning with her claws if I tried to get up). The only point where she left the room was when I called for my mom and my mom didn’t hear me. My cat then sprinted out of the room and bit my mom’s ankles until she would follow her back to my room.

Answer 3 (score 2)

Cats definitely can sense when we aren’t feeling well. My girl is extremely affectionate anyway, but she takes it up to 11 when I’m sick. Over winter break, when we were staying at my parents’ house, I got the stomach flu. She stayed laying across my chest with her paws near the side of my neck (essentially so she could give me a warning with her claws if I tried to get up). The only point where she left the room was when I called for my mom and my mom didn’t hear me. My cat then sprinted out of the room and bit my mom’s ankles until she would follow her back to my room.

Question

My cat is currently on Atopica, which comes as a liquid. Apparently this medicine tastes awful, based on his reaction to it. Mixing it into food or tuna juice does not help; he rejects the entire bowl, even if the ratio of drug to food is fairly low. There is another cat in the household, so I can’t just leave it out for a while in hope that he’ll come around – I have to supervise (or isolate somebody, but that’s no fun).

Now that I know how to give a cat a pill I plan to ask about getting this as a pill when it’s time to refill, but that’ll be a couple months. In the meantime, is there anything I can do to help my cat tolerate the taste of this medicine? Are there particular foods that do a better job of masking unpleasant flavors, for instance? I’m already pushing the syringe as far back as I can to minimize contact with his mouth/tongue.

The cat is a ~7-year-old neutered male, indoor-only, with no known medical issues other than the allergies for which this drug is being used.

Answer accepted (score 11)

Atopica has the worst taste! My cat also hated it with a passion, but it helped his allergies so much more than anything else. Yes I actually tasted it, I wanted to see why my cat was acting up so much when he took it and I only put a tiny amount- not even a drop- on my tongue and it was just horrible. I don’t recommend trying that…
I was not able to use the pill version as it only comes in dosages much higher than my cat needs and it can’t be divided.
I finally figured out a way to keep my cat from having to taste the Atopica though. I bought some empty pill capsules, and I use the dosing syringe to measure his medicine into the empty capsule, and then just give it to him like any other pill. So that way he doesn’t need to taste it at all. I even found a website that does flavored empty capsules for pet medication, so it masks the taste even more. Just be careful not to get any of the Atopica liquid on the outside of the capsule when you are syringing it in, or else they can still taste it.

Answer 2 (score 11)

Atopica has the worst taste! My cat also hated it with a passion, but it helped his allergies so much more than anything else. Yes I actually tasted it, I wanted to see why my cat was acting up so much when he took it and I only put a tiny amount- not even a drop- on my tongue and it was just horrible. I don’t recommend trying that…
I was not able to use the pill version as it only comes in dosages much higher than my cat needs and it can’t be divided.
I finally figured out a way to keep my cat from having to taste the Atopica though. I bought some empty pill capsules, and I use the dosing syringe to measure his medicine into the empty capsule, and then just give it to him like any other pill. So that way he doesn’t need to taste it at all. I even found a website that does flavored empty capsules for pet medication, so it masks the taste even more. Just be careful not to get any of the Atopica liquid on the outside of the capsule when you are syringing it in, or else they can still taste it.

Answer 3 (score 3)

It has been some time since this was posted but recently I faced the same issue. After about a week my cat would literally run whenever he thought it was time for the oral atopica. Called my vet and they suggested the atopica capsules. Well, again that lasted about a week until I was basically forcing his mouth open and trying to get him not to spit it out. Every time he spit it out it got sticky to handle and even worse to get it down. But since all our cats love…no are addicted to Temptation seafood meadly treats (I swear they are crack), I decided to crush/grind some up and wet the capsule enough to paste it to the outside of capsule. Sure enough it works! It is still big and he has a difficult time swallowing it but I give him about 4 or 5 treats with it and he eventually swallows it. I use a coffee grinder to crush them. I usually try to pack the powder around the pill and leave it for a while so it dries and stays well coated. I only offer this up out of my considerable frustration trying to administer the atopica. I hope this helps others.

Question

A short discussion in chat made me wonder: do cats that are cross-eyed require any special care?

^{Source: dailymail.co.uk}

• Does it affect the cat’s balance (or negatively in any other way)?
• Can (or should) it be corrected?

Answer accepted (score 11)

Strabismus the medical name for this condition. It can affect one or both eyes, and the eyes may tend towards any particular direction (not just inwards). Siamese cats breed from the original stock given to the Europeans tend to inherient this trait because they were culls (unknown to the Europeans!).

(As an aside, the cat in the picture lacks the distinctive colorpoints that usually indicate Siamese ancestry, but the blue eyes are a common characteristic of the breed not usually seen in other breeds, so I suspect this cat does have some amount of Siamese/Oriental ancestry).

Petmd gives some possible causes of strabismus as:

• an imbalance of extraocular (outside of the eye) muscle tone,

• something decreasing the mobility of the muscles surrounding the eye

• Genetics

• Restriction of eye muscle mobility from scar tissue (usually from previous trauma or inflammation)
• Abnormal crossing of visual fibers in the central nervous system

There was a study done where cats were inflicted (surgically) with strabismus and their ability to jump was judged over time. Kittens were able to adapt to the strabismus, while adult cats were less able to adapt.

• J Neurophysiol. 1980 Mar;43(3):792-806. Spatial localization in cats reared with strabismus. (abstract)

So, if you’re looking at adopting a kitten with strabismus, the cat will learn to adjust and you shouldn’t expect any problems.

If you’re adopting an adult and the onset of the strabismus is unknown, then you may need to observe the cat to determine how well he/she is able to compensate. I wouldn’t have any concerns adopting a cat with clear Siamese heritage (3 of my 4 cats are from the Siamese Rescue Center) because it’s likely that that cat has had strabismus from birth and was able to adapt as a kitten.

There’s no reason to correct genetic strabismus (that was present from birth). It’s a cosmetic condition once the cat has learned to adjust for the condition.

If your cat has normal eyes and suddenly one (or both) become cross eyed (or otherwise turned in an odd direction), then you should immediately take your cat to the vet. Your cat may be sick or injured and it needs to be examined immediately.

Answer 2 (score 3)

In some cats (Siamese among them), crossed eyes can actually be the cat’s way of compensating for a neurological abnormality in which the optic nerves split so part of each eye’s vision is reaching both hemispheres of the brain rather than one each. Some cats with this condition may also, or instead, continuously move their gaze back and forth a bit (integrating over time?) It’s genetic/congenital, and mostly harmless in pet cats whose survival doesn’t require peak health.

(My half-siamese had the moving-gaze symptom, sometimes. “Cat, you’re woggling again…”)

Citation: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Optic_chiasm#Optic_chiasm_in_cats

I’ll also note that in the worst case, the special care needed – assuming this is NOT an indication of current/recent injury or bad health – would be akin to that needed for a cat whose vision was impaired for other reasons. Try to avoid moving furniture/litterbox/food bowls unnecessarily, try to keep “landing surfaces” clear of objects the cat might either fall over or knock over (a good idea anyway), that sort of thing. But you’ll quickly learn just how much the cat can or can’t see and how much assistance it needs.

Answer 3 (score 0)

In Siamese cats it was a corrective effect since their retina turned inward due to a genetic trait linked to their blue eyes I think. They don’t all have it now since breeders have tried to eliminate it. http://pets.thenest.com/normal-siamese-cat-crosseyed-8836.html

Question

I’ve seen my cat charge at me from a distance while running sideways. He simply stops when he reaches me. I’ve read this is called “sidewinding” and some say it’s to look intimidating, others say it’s just being playful, and perhaps it’s both, which I suspect is the case–do they do that in the wild with real opponents to intimidate them? I think he’s just playing, but I’m curious whether it’s an instinctual defense mechanism in an untamed setting.

Answer accepted (score 5)

It is an attempt to look large and threatening and drive you off. In the wild, a cornered cat might do it, or a mother protecting kittens. Usually a cat will slink off and hide, though.

Answer 2 (score 0)

Turning sideways also brings two more claws that are much closer to their target. It’s strange that they like to fight from their back but that’s so they can use their rear claws.

Question

My male cat is about 10 months old and I noticed a strange dark spot forming in/around his nose the past couple days. Originally I thought it was simply Feline Acne, as he had some on his chin that the Vet pointed out before. His chin has cleared up, but now this nose spot has appeared. I was going to ignore it as I thought it would pass like the chin acne, but my SO thinks it looks bad enough for a trip to the Vet. It is a crusty texture like the chin acne was.

Thoughts? Acne or maybe not?

Answer accepted (score 4)

We took our cat to the vet and she took a sample of his skin by pressing a small piece of plastic against the irritated areas. She then ran a test on those samples and found some bacteria present within them. She believed this bacteria was due to an allergy.

Her guess was that he is allergic to his plastic water bowl, and the allergy spread from this chin to his nose (possibly from licking his face). The vet gave him a shot of antibiotics and we bought him a new stainless steel water bowl. It has only been a week now, but it looks like his face is starting to clear up. The vet told us to wait two weeks to see if he really cleared up, so we have one week to go. It is looking promising though.

Answer 2 (score 0)

If it is blood then it needs to see the vet immediately as cats should never bleed from their nose, could also be a sign or respiratory infections or parasites

Answer 3 (score 0)

If it is blood then it needs to see the vet immediately as cats should never bleed from their nose, could also be a sign or respiratory infections or parasites

Question

Yesterday, I was taking care of the trash. I took out the regular black trash bag and opened it through swinging it around (I hope you get what I mean). I was in the kitchen, which is right next to the stairs.

When I started ‘swinging’ the trash bag, one of my cats started running down the stairs like she was being chased by a dog. Long story short, she ran down the stairs so quickly, and then she dashed right under the trash bag and ran for the living room.

From my understanding, she must have been on the stairs, because I expected her to run as far away from the sound of the bag (she should have ran upstairs in this case), yet she went downstairs.

Now, here’s the dilemma. Around 5 minutes after my cat dashed to the living room, I went upstairs and found something dark on the floor right on top of the stairs. The room wasn’t lit up at the time so I touched it to verify what it is. It was poop, and it could be easily said that it was recent. This is the first time it happened. I mean, my cats already heard the bag and so I already know that they are terrified of the sound it makes. They have never had an accident with releasing faeces or peeing anywhere other than the litter box.

The thing I am confused about is whether that bag really scared her. I mean, the poop is there and that’s a clear sign that it all happened at the same time, but my cat was at the top of a fairly long staircase. It’s so long that I really doubt she would have ran down the whole set of stairs, and if anything she would have ran to a room upstairs.

What do you think? Is it likely that she released faeces due to getting scared?

Rejected edit note: Suggested edit has changed the word “faeces” to “feces” only in the title, while the edit should have also pursued the spelling of the word in the question body. Faeces and feces are both the same. I am using faeces due to the area I live in. Feces is used in North America according to this site, however both versions are technically correct.

Answer accepted (score 7)

They sure can!

However keep an eye out, if you see that the pooping around the house continues there may be an underlying medical/behavioral issue at hand. It does sounds like you may have scared the poop out of her :)

Answer 2 (score 1)

Yes, they can. And they can pee too.

Once my cat was watching out the window enjoying views and fresh air. It was in the kitchen, where I was cooking dinner, so I perfectly saw eveyrthing that happend.

She stood on the blinds lace and didn’t realise it. Next moment she turned around and felt, that lace intertwined her paw. She scared but didn’t manage to free her paw. She scared even more, started jumping highly, trying to free herself but intertwined herself even more. I am writing this so long, but those day it took 2 or 3 seconds only. I took her in my hands and freed her. Then I saw yellow drops everywhere: on my arms, on table, on window, on window still. I guess, when she was terrified, she didn’t control her urinary bladder.

Thanks God she didn’t poop.

Question

I’ve heard dogs have ticklish spots where they react when you tickle them there. I couldn’t find any information on ticklish cats and their possible ticklish spots.

My cat tends to flick his ears if I touched the hair on the edge of his inner ear, but I’m not sure if that’s a ticklish reaction or not. Do cats have ticklish spots?

Answer accepted (score 1)

The closest I’ve seen to ticklishness is the reaction many cats have to having their paws handled – and they seem to find it more annoying than entertaining.

I’ve seen cats that like “mock-threat” play with humans – that will struggle when turned upside down or tossed and caught, for example, yet come right back for more. That isn’t ticklishness as most humans would define it, but it’s a similar interrupted-defense reaction.

But cats, like people, have their own quirks and opinions. All you can do is ask them whether they like something or not and pay attention to the answer.

Question

Recently I’ve realized that my cat gets very nervous, and even aggressive, if she hears me snorting loudly several times, even when she’s a long way away from me.

If I start doing so, she immediately becomes more alert, moving fast from one place to another and, if I keep it doing for a while, she comes running towards me and tries to sit on me sniffing over my face and even putting her paw on my mouth.

She’s never been in a conflict with another cat and of course we’ve never beaten her nor used any physical punishment over her. What might be the reason for this behavior?

—- EDIT 1 —-

Additional things about that I’m sure of: The position of her ears are straight, but when this happens she adopt a tense body posture.

—- EDIT 2 —-

Last night my girlfriend and I did some tests and, definitely, she finally gets very angry. When I started snorting she started being very active, running from one place to other, and even something she had never done before: rolling while face up on the floor. When I continued doing so, she started jumping from one chair to another and after awhile came over to me and I got a good chunk taken out. So, definitely, yes she gets aggressive and now I really doubt it’s concern is what she feels.

Now that I have done this experiment, I determined some more physical details: the ears, as I said, were straight all the time except when she came to bite me, then she put her ears backwards. Her tail was in a “normal” position all the time she was jumping around, but when she attacked me, she raised her hackles.

I didn’t want to stress her more so I didn’t made any further try but definitely she doesn’t like hearing me snorting.

Answer accepted (score 15)

So, cats can be fairly vocal animals and many of their vocalizations have some meaning with respect to how they may respond. The ones that indicate a level of aggression include:

• Growl, which is usually low-pitched, harsher, and short in duration and mouth is open. Is usually an antagonistic sound.
• Hiss, which is usually open-mouthed and has visible teeth.
• Snarl, which is very similar to a growl, but higher pitched.

If your snorts (or the aftermath of them) sound like the above to her, it could be taken as aggression by her and so she could react accordingly. If you’re conscious of this and see her reacting, then some steps to try are:

1. Stop the activity.
2. Try to vocalize a murmur (kind of like a purr) sound with your mouth closed.
3. Provide some visual clues that you’re not antagonistic such as slow blinking which is sign of relaxation in a cat.
4. Reward her with a treat if she calms down.

Basically, this is calming the situation and teaching her that when this happens, you’re not being aggressive.

Do not:

1. Make sudden moves or try to grab her.
2. Open your eyes fully.
3. Keep your mouth open.

The above are seen as aggressive and will exacerbate the situation.

Question

I know cats are nocturnal, but cats seem to sleep during the day and at night, so I’m really not sure …

Answer accepted (score 4)

It does matter if you have the light on or off for cats, or any animal that sleeps. Inside cat’s brains along with mammals and some reptile’s brains, they have what is called the pineal gland. This gland has been shown to be very sensitive in its reaction to light and production of melatonin which supports animals in hibernation as well as normal sleep. The pineal glands reaction to a light source is that it stops melatonin production. This is the reason why we get sleepier at night as well as during the winter time because of the absence of light increases the production of melatonin. This sensitivity to light is not limited to just humans but also cats. Depending on the location of the pineal gland in different animals, so is the degree of reaction in production of melatonin, but still there is a degree.

Lights off is good but also try to make the period of time for sleeping habitual. That means try to keep it where the cat knows it supposed to go to bed. If you have no set time the cat might find it harder to sleep especially with extra energy it might have.

Question

I have a quite energetic, 1.5 year old female cat, who used to live outside until 6 months old.

We get along nicely, and I try to have play sessions with her 2-3 times a day for at least 5 minutes - it’s usually two 5-minute and two 10-minute sessions every day. I have to note that these are not on a fixed schedule; the cat does not know when to expect playtime at all, and a couple of times per month there might be a day with no play sessions at all.

The thing is - no matter how much she plays, it never seems to be enough for her! This makes me a little skeptical:

Is she getting the fun, exercise and stimulation she needs? Can there be other reasons why a cat would like to play much more than usual?

There already is quality and variety in her playtime, so I doubt that new toys are the answer here. Is it possible at all that a new kitten in the household would help her? Could she just be lonely and looking for ways to spend more time with me? Any other ideas what this behaviour could indicate?

Here’s some more info on her playing and asking-for-play behavior:

• I often alternate between toys from session to session, give her challenges, encourage her to run around chasing the toy and the such. She also likes to play hide-and-seek and peek-a-boo, although string toys are her favorite. She loves it all (sometimes she even purrs while playing). Most of the play sessions are very energetic.

• I’ve never seen the slightest indication that she gets tired when playing. Sometimes she hides and waits for the moment the toy is not moving before attacking, but I believe that’s just good hunting technique she learned while outside, not an indication of tiredness.

• The more often I play with her, the more playtime she’s going to ask for. If I don’t play with her for a couple of days, she might not ask at all, although she’ll still engage joyfully as soon as I grab a toy.

• How she asks for playtime: Trying to lure me to the living room when I’m not there by meowing expectantly, coming to my door then running away, showing/bringing me a toy, rubbing on my legs to get my attention before making play gestures with her paws, lying on her back while playing with an imaginary toy hanging above her.

• She does not get aggressive when not played with, and is not aggressive in general. She never breaks things or attacks clothes/furniture or other items.

• She always respects my privacy; won’t wake me up at all, won’t bother me again if she’s tried and I’m busy. Will only try to call out for me a couple of times and stop if she fails.

• Playing is the activity we spend the most time together on: she does like to be petted, but less frequently than your average house-cat, and does not usually like to be held.

Answer accepted (score 7)

I think she needs some more stimulation. Keep in mind that she is still a young cat with a lot of energy.

I’d say a good place to start is to make the playsessions longer and atleast one or two of them very high speed. Try to make her pant. I have a 2 years old bengal cat and she can easily run at top speed and do crazy jumps for 15 minutes without being tired at all, and keep up for 15 more minutes of less intense play. And she could do with several of these playsessions a day! There’s no set rule that a playsession should only be 5-10min long. For some cats it’s enough. For others it is much too little.

Another thing that might benefit your situation is to have set playtimes. Cats love routine and if she knows when playtime is the chance is greater that she won’t ask so much. But for this to work you need to be very consistent.

If she eats some kibble and is food-motivated a puzzle-toy or two can help keep her occupied for a while and it lets her think. Klicker training is also a fun way to make her think. Cats get tired from activities where they have to think and solve problems too!

A kitten could go both ways. It could help with in the sense that they play together, but if you are unlucky they will not tolerate eachother. She will still want to play with you though. My cats play a lot together, but wants to play with me more.

I don’t think there’s really any other reason for her play drive than her being a very active cat.

Question

My cats been getting some kind of black stuff around its eyes, is it normal?

Answer accepted (score 1)

Is this black (or dark brown) gunky stuff around his eyes? It -=may=- be that your cat just has a cold. It may be that your cat has feline herpes (viral rhinotracheitis, or FVR), or a fungal infection. Take the cat to a vet and ask them about it. (Hard to guess at what it might be without either a photo or a clearer description; but…going just on your description, there could be many causes. A vet will track down the problem and be able to suggest diagnoses, if they are necessary.)

Answer 2 (score 0)

A small amount of ‘crust’ around the eye is fairly common in cats and you can use a tissue to help them get rid of it. Cats like Persians have a slightly worse issue than normal. It is similar to the ‘sand’ that the Sandman is supposed to sprinkle in kids eyes.

If it is a large amount, or the eye looks red, then a vet visit is in order.

Answer 3 (score 0)

A small amount of ‘crust’ around the eye is fairly common in cats and you can use a tissue to help them get rid of it. Cats like Persians have a slightly worse issue than normal. It is similar to the ‘sand’ that the Sandman is supposed to sprinkle in kids eyes.

If it is a large amount, or the eye looks red, then a vet visit is in order.

Question

I have two six year old cats, brother and sister (friend “forgot” to fix their parents, so I know the specific litter and birth date). The female keeps scratching her chin profusely, to the point that she bleeds. I seriously doubt this is acne because the black dots are scabbing up and there is blood. I have not taken her to a DVM yet because I would like to see if there is something simple (and cheap) I can try without incurring vet bills. I am not asking for medical advice. Ideally, there would be something simple such as “slip a vitamin or something into her food” that I could try first: maybe her skin is dry and a supplement will help. The dog gets supplements to help his skin/fur, but dogs and cats are different so I am not sure what to do.

The male has no scratching problem. Sure, he scratches himself like any cat does. However, his sister goes to town on her chin, sitting there scratching until she bleeds: I have had to soak bed sheets to get the stains out when she does this on our bed.

Daily diet for both cats combined: 5.5 oz Friskies Savory Shreds, 1/2 cup Core Wellness Grain-Free. I chose the food, my DVM instructed me this is a good quantity based on their combined weight and the fact it is almost impossible to feed two cats separately.

Update: I took her to a vet allergist who performed an allergy test. She is allergic to dust mites, which are practically impossible to eliminate from a home. While veterinary specialists can be expensive, it is a worthwhile investment for any other pet owners who are faced with a similar issue.

Answer accepted (score 6)

[Disclaimer: I’m not a vet. This is something I’d see a vet about.]

Since it’s just around the mouth, I think it could be an allergy to something in the food. A common allergic reaction for cats and dogs is that their skin dries out, causing itchiness. Something I’d do is try feeding her something else. Find something with the least amount of ingredients. If you notice that it solves the problem, you can try to work with different foods, adding ingredients each time to try and figure out which ingredient it is that causes it. Common hyper-allergenic foods usually contain different proteins like duck or venison, rather than the normal fish, chicken, or turkey.

You might want to check her for parasites too. The chin is sensitive enough that fleas or mites really bother cats when they’re crawling there. Mites generally like to hide around the ears, while I usually find fleas easier looking on the stomach and back of the head.

Also, ant-flea shampoo usually contains medicine to soothe the skin. Otherwise, plain old oatmeal shampoo will provide relief as well (Just don’t do it too often or it will actually dry out the skin).

Ringworm is a possibility. It’s something like 20% of cats can carry ringworm without the telltale signs of red rings on the skin. Supposedly it will show up green under a blacklight.

Finally, something to do in order to keep her skin from being dry, is encouraging her to drink lots. Change her water often, and maybe even invest in a pet fountain bowl.

In the end, it might be best to give in and buy a cone of shame. Since it’s just her chin that she’s scratching, it’s important that she doesn’t continue to scratch or it siply won’t heal.

Answer 2 (score 0)

blue dawn dish soap diluted with some water and a flea comb will help to remove it. salmon oil or other fatty acids added to their diet will definitely help too. also cleaning their water dish or switching to something other than plastic will help

Question

My cat loves to climb on my desk at home. Problem is, he is constantly knocking things off (he broke a cup and a couple other things this week), and messing up stuff on my desk, bumping my monitors, etc.

I have tried spraying him with water to get off my desk, I have tried scolding him, I have tried putting unpleasant things on my desk, and also bodily removing him every time he gets on it while I am home and can see him. I can’t take everything off my desk, either, unlike, say, a table. He’s three years old now, and I am getting super frustrated by this behaviour. It only started since he has been the only cat in the house (for about a year now).

Nothing seems to stop him.

I know I keep his treats in one of my desk drawers - could this be part of the problem?

How can I keep my desk cat-free, while still keeping my stuff on it?

Answer accepted (score 18)

He gets lonely after losing his companion. Attention seeking adventures on your desk help him a lot. Every kind of attention you give a cat is attention. The cat gets noticed. Be it just a lifting off the desk or whatever, he gets what he came looking for.

When you know you are going to work at the desk, start by playing with your cat first. After a healthy session of playing, you feed him. If he is on constant food offer, then you feed him those treats. What is important is that after the play he eats something. After eating you should have a satisfied cat lying on the sofa instead of harassing you on the desk.

First of all, remove the treats from the desk drawer. Put garlic in there instead. The unpleasant smell of garlic should turn the previously interesting hiding place of treats not so interesting. There are a <selection of scents> that cats are said to dislike; for example citrus, lavender, rosemary etc. The smell of garlic has worked wonders for me.

There is also a technical approach to this. It is a movement sensor actuated spray of odorless liquid that is supposed to scare a cat away from a certain place. In this case you would place the device somewhere on your desk and turn it On when you leave the desk. I have not used this myself, but a cat owner friend (having two cats) tells me it works nearly perfectly. Product name is “ssscat” in Amazon.com and you can order refill bottles for it too.

^{photo by Maritta Arvilommi, used here with permission.}

If this does not work, I think giving up is advisable. Give up like you own the place: if there is a shelf of sorts on your desk, or right next to it, I suggest to make a bed for your cat up there. You know, something that he finds comfortable to lie on. If you currently have no suitable platform for this, buy something. Your cat should find the platform/shelf a good vantage point from where to keep an eye on you and your business. This leaves only the problem of how he will get there.

Answer 2 (score 8)

Cats can’t stand the odour of citrus. We trained our cats to stay off our bookshelves and my desk by leaving orange peel on them for a number of days - replacing dried out peel with fresh when necessary.

The nice thing about this approach is that it doesn’t hurt the cats and there’s no spray involved either, so it can’t affect anything electronic left on the desk.

Answer 3 (score 7)

• Do not spray I wouldn’t advise spraying your cat when he is on your desk, the risk to damaging electronic equipment is too great.

• Food and drink sources: remove the treats from your desk drawer, it can only help. I keep all food sources away from anything I do not want to be damaged by food, liquid, pets, children or pests (for example we are having an ant invasion and they recently destroyed my coffee machine - which has resulted in extreme tiredness and sour mood - but this mood would only be worse had they invaded my laptop).

• Persistence, all you can do is to continually mechanically pick him up and tell him no as you do so whenever you see him there.

• The mice will play when the cats away Ultimately you cannot control your cats behavior (beyond all sort of complex electronic surveillance equipment) when you are absent. This is always a dilemma for pet owners and parents of teenagers.

• Cat proof the desk Pets can be similar to having toddlers and toddler proofing a home. Unclutter your desk. Cats are notorious for knocking things over in their explorations. Remove anything from your desk that you cannot afford to be knocked over. This may mean keeping pens in a drawer, as opposed to a pen cup holder. As a general rule, I never keep a drink on the same surface as a pc, I assume it can be knocked over, I always have my drinks on a separate surface to electronic equipment, and books this will immediately alleviate some of your stress levels).

• The other answer is quite right, in he wants your attention, plus it is an interesting adventure. You can adopt an attitude of the following:

  • Realistic expectations Accepting that he is a cat and it’s their nature to be explorers. By cat proofing as much as possible, thereby limiting consequences, his behavior will be less annoying.
  • Perspective It is a compliment he wants to be in your business and have your attention. By changing your attitude it will help you to cope with the stress and replenish your patience.

edit
Another thought is to encourage your cat to sit on your lap when he climbs onto the desk whilst you are sitting at it.

Question

I recently adopted a cat from a shelter who does not seem to want to be picked up. She loves being petted on the head and scratched at the base of the tail but dislikes contact with the rest of her body. Even maneuvering my hands into position for picking her up will cause her to dodge out of the way. I don’t want to be too aggressive in my attempts because she would probably not be above giving a warning bite if mishandled.

Any suggestions on how I can accustom her to being picked up?

Answer accepted (score 8)

Some cats do not like being picked up and will not allow it ever. It may be that they had a bad experience early in their lives (someone picked them up and did not support them or did something bad to them), or it may be that they are just uncomfortable not having solid ground under their paws. So, first, accept that you may never be able to pick up your cat at will.

Also, keep in mind that if you just recently adopted her, she may not know you well enough to trust you yet, and she may naturally allow it once she trusts you more. In my experience, it generally takes 6-18 months for an adult cat to settle into a new home.

That said, sometimes you can ease into it.

First, find some kind of suitable reward that your cat loves. For some cats that’s a specific treat, for other cats petting and affection will work. Sometimes, it’s worthwhile to establish a clicker training program.

Once you have a good reward system established, then just take it slowly step by step and reward your cat at every step.

If putting your hands in position to pick her up spooks her, try putting one hand in position. If she allows that, then give her the reward. Switch hands until she’s comfortable with either hand, then try both hands (again, rewarding her each time). Once she’s comfortable with both hands, don’t pick her up, just lift a small amount of weight off her paws and reward her for that. The goal is to take tiny, incremental steps that she’s comfortable with and give her lots of praise and rewards.

Each training session should be short (10-15 minutes). This is a marathon, not a sprint.

Once you’re able to pick her up, keep your hands soft and don’t restrain her. If she wants to leave, let her. You don’t want to wrestle with a cat to hold onto her, you want her to trust you enough to want to hang out with you. If she knows she can leave at any time, she will gradually learn to trust you more and not want to leave immediately.

Answer 2 (score 0)

I adopted a sweet 5yr old a couple of months ago and she will not let me pick her up. I know they picked her up in the shelter, so I believe this is related to being put in the carrier when I brought her home, plus being in a new environment. She adores being petted. I have tried the ‘one hand, both hands’ approach and can hold her off the ground for a few seconds. So I am optimistic that eventually she will ket me hold her and will snuggle on my lap/next to me.

Answer 3 (score 0)

I adopted a sweet 5yr old a couple of months ago and she will not let me pick her up. I know they picked her up in the shelter, so I believe this is related to being put in the carrier when I brought her home, plus being in a new environment. She adores being petted. I have tried the ‘one hand, both hands’ approach and can hold her off the ground for a few seconds. So I am optimistic that eventually she will ket me hold her and will snuggle on my lap/next to me.

Question

We got our cat as a kitten; she’s now 12. When we got her, she had a bad upper respiratory virus. She was so congested at one point, we had to hold her upside-down to get the mucus to drain out of her so she could breathe. She survived the virus, but ever since then she’s had a bad problem with congestion. I think the infection left scarring that blocked her tear duct on one side.

Her life is a constant cycle of: 1) Increasing “sinusy” congestion with runny eye and weak, nonproductive sneezing that doesn’t clear anything. 2) Heavier congestion where we can see mucus in the nostril and she struggles hard to clear the blockage. 3) Eventual sneezing out of a very thick and greenish (sometimes hard, sometimes bloody) mucus plug. 4) About one day of amazing energy and playfulness; before back to 1) Increasing congestion. Amazingly, this cat has developed some kind of muscle control over her upper lip, whereby she can pull it up to block the unaffected nostril and increase her sneeze pressure to expel the plug.

Vets over the years have said there’s nothing that can be done for her. The only thing that gives her any relief at stages 1 and 2 is if I rub a little Vicks onto my finger and hold it about 6 inches from her nose. She seems to like that.

Is there any new treatment for this problem? We hate to see her suffer this way, day after day.

Answer accepted (score 4)

The symptoms that you describe seem to describe feline herpes (also known as FHV-1). The ASPCA lists symptoms of a feline herpes infection as

• Sneezing “attacks”
• Discharge from the nose and eyes
• Conjunctivitis or pink eye (inflammation of the eyelid)
• Lesions in and around the eyes
• Eye ulcers
• Congestion
• Fever
• Depression
• Loss of appetite
• Drooling
• Squinting
• Lethargy

While most cats can suppress the infection once their immune system learns it, a few cats are never able to fully rid themselves of the symptoms of feline herpes. One of my four has daily sneezing and nasal discharge from it. Otherwise he’s fine and lives a normal life, we just sometimes wipe his nose (and our walls).

Even though I’m not a vet, feline herpes is extremely common in rescued cats, so it’s a reasonable suspicion. Your vet probably sees this problem daily and didn’t take the time to explain it. I don’t have a particularly good feeling about a veterinarian that doesn’t realize as common as it is to THEM, it’s new to YOU.

I also check with my vet regularly (once a year or so) to see if there are any new treatments for feline herpes, so that’s another thing you can do. There are a few treatments that are being researched, but there is not any evidence that they work yet.

Investigational Treatments

Probiotics. There isn’t any evidence either way that this works, but it doesn’t hurt and can be helpful if there are also gastrointestinal issues.

L-Lysine. Again, the evidence at this point is conflicting but it is made into treats and palatable pastes so you can try it without any harm to your cat.

Managing Symptoms

Most of the current treatments focus on managing symptoms.

My vet recommends saline nasal drops (example, commonly marketed for children/babies). Any drops you use should NOT contain any medications without the advice of your veterinarian.

You can keep your cat in a steamy area (like the bathroom while you take a shower, or a large carrier near a humidifier) to help break up the mucous.

If your cat develops a secondary infection, antibiotics can be helpful (talk to your vet).

Keeping your cat hydrated is important (the mucous will be thinner and easier to deal with). Consider switching to wet food if you feed dry.

Additionally, make sure that you monitor your cat’s food intake. If your cat cannot smell her food, she may not want to eat it. You can heat wet food for a few seconds in the microwave or add smelly tuna juice to it to increase palatability. If she doesn’t eat for a few days she can become seriously ill.

Sidenote: Corneal Ulceration

One of the most damaging affects from feline herpes is the development of eye ulcers. Cornell University gives the symptoms of a eye ulcer:

The clinical signs of corneal ulceration include inflammation of the tissue surrounding the cornea; seepage of discharge from the eye; clouding of the cornea; and apparent hypersensitivity to bright light. An affected cat may squint, rub its eyes, and behave as if it is having vision problems.

If you notice these signs in the future, you should take your cat back to the vet to be evaluated for an ulcer. While most ulcers will heal on their own, they can cause severe discomfort and in rare cases can permanently affect the cat’s vision.

Answer 2 (score 0)

My older cat (a year older than yours) had an infection not long ago, and my vet suggested to instill a watered down injectable antibiotic (Lincomycin in our case, but it’s individual) into her nose. I’m almost sure it can’t be used long-term, but it should be fine if it’s used in courses. Try talking to your vet about it? It can’t be just mechanical blockage, otherwise there shouldn’t be any pus (which makes the mucus green).

Answer 3 (score 0)

My older cat (a year older than yours) had an infection not long ago, and my vet suggested to instill a watered down injectable antibiotic (Lincomycin in our case, but it’s individual) into her nose. I’m almost sure it can’t be used long-term, but it should be fine if it’s used in courses. Try talking to your vet about it? It can’t be just mechanical blockage, otherwise there shouldn’t be any pus (which makes the mucus green).

Question

My cat Hunter (10 year old neutered male with chronic sinus infections and no teeth due to stomatitis) grows these calluses on his paw pads. He’s grown these calluses since I’ve had him (5 months old). None of our other cats have them.

Why do they show up and is there any harm in removing them?

Answer accepted (score 3)

There a few possibilities. As he’s been getting them for 10 years, I think we can probably rule out Squamous Cell Carcinoma in his paws, amongst other cancer options, but non-cancerous possibles include:

1. Cutaneous horn - Which may be linked to some serious issues, but can be benign. They can be removed surgically and should be looked at by a vet for underlying causes.

2. Fibroma - Which is benign, but you can remove it surgically if it’s causing discomfort. A biopsy would be needed to confirm, though I don’t think it’s common to get on the pad.

3. Hyperkeratosis - In cats, this could be caused by pemphigus foliaceus resulting in increased keratin at the foot pad, but there could well be other reasons for it (people are calling it “horned paw”). Also should have vet intercession to deal with, if necessary.

There are some more dangerous causes as well though, as I noted, the history would suggest extremely unlikely. It may also be none of the above as well, it’s really hard to say, but increased keratin from one reason or another seems pretty likely.

On the long story short front… You shouldn’t remove it yourself.

Question

When Im walking down my hallway, my cat follows me as always, but she always attacks my legs with her 2 front legs. It is very gentle, no scratching or hissing or biting. Just curious.

Answer accepted (score 3)

The attack using the front paws to catch something this way can be seen among younger cats when they play very frequently (watch cat videos on YT). It is a technique needed for hunting. You can see this when big cats as lions hunt and nearly always when kittens play.

Your legs resemble the back of a fellow cat. This is an ideal test prey. Be happy that your cat is playing this gently. Not all cats are so considerate. This means your cat knows about your fur beeing rather thin and delicate and thus keeps her claws withdrawn. With fellow cats this is not necessary the case.

My cats used to play this way, too, when they were younger. They also liked it, when I turned the table on them and chased them.

Question

We live in a fairly agricultural area, so we don’t keep a litter box. My 2-year-old female cat goes outside to play and do her business. She was spayed at around 7 months old, but the large neighborhood tomcat continues to terrorize her. I had assumed once she was spayed, there wouldn’t be any issues. I don’t want to lock my cat inside.

What can I do to prevent these attacks?

Answer accepted (score 12)

In my experience there really isn’t much you can do - without getting a dog (and having the “fun” of introducing your cat to the dog) the best I’ve ever managed is to chase the offending cat off my property any time I see him around. That tends to make the tomcat a bit more circumspect around your property - which should give your cat a safe-ish outdoor area.

The only other option I can suggest is an outdoor cat run she can access from indoors (usually via a cat door) where she has plenty of space but the tomcat can’t get to her. That’s going to cost you either money or time.

Unfortunately, your cat being spayed isn’t enough for some toms, particularly if there’s a queen in heat and they can’t get to her. They’re going to try to mate with anything feline that holds still long enough.

Also, there’s some dominance behavior going on here - the tom regards your property as part of his territory, and he’s trying to ensure that your cat acknowledges him as the top cat.

I’d suggest you keep an eye on her - in situations like this it’s not uncommon for the female cat to be injured trying to escape the tom. More than once I’ve had to take neutered females to the vet to treat bad claw wounds near the base of the tail.