Friendly Cats

[guinevere]

bronxgirl, I'm glad Harry is ok!

I've become an expert pill-giver to my cat Veruca. The trick is to prise open their jaws, toss the pill to the back of their throat and quickly close their mouth and massage under their chin with your finger (it makes them swallow). You may feel really mean at first but it's quick and painless. of course, you may be lucky enough to have a cat who will just eat their pills if you mush it into some wet food - mine won't

Adding to the calico stories - Veruca is a tortoiseshell cat, and she doesn't dip her paw in water and daintily lick it off, but she does like to push the water dish around and make it spill everywhere, just for the sake of it When I first got her, I used to keep her water dish in the bathtub because she made such a mess!

guinevere

 

[PrincessLeppard]

I am so glad Harry is fine! I'm a mess when my pets have surgery, so I made sure when I adopted my current baby, Finley, that he'd already been neutered.

Since this is a cat friendly thread, allow me to ask a question. Finley has recently started sleeping in the bathroom sink. I have never seen another cat do this. Does anyone else have a cat that does this?

He's a Norwegian Forest cat, but I'm fairly sure it's not a genetic thing....

Laura

edited to add link to pic of Finley in the sink:

http://homepage.mac.com/princessleppard/PhotoAlbum2.html

 

[Pati]

It must be nice and cool, and it looks like a perfect fit! So cute!
Glad to hear about Harry.

 

[bronxgirl]

Great Pic of Finley! What a cutie pie! And I'm proud to say that Harry took his first pill this AM like a trooper.

 

[megsk8z]

Princess Leppard-my mother has a Norwegian Forest cat and she sleeps in the bathroom sink, too. Maybe it's the shape of the sink or maybe it's that they have so much hair and the sink is so nice and cool.
What do you think?

 

[show 42]

Way to go Harry............glad he's feeling better....I love cats... 42

 

[Blue Bead]

Loved the cat in the sink picture! Thanks for sharing it. I have many indoor cats, and several that spend quality time in the sinks, LOL. These are not purebred cats, however. This activity seems most popular with them in the Spring and Summer, so maybe it's a way to cool off.

I also have several of those cats who get bored with their water bowl so they get into the kitchen sink to lick water out of the leaky faucet. It seems I'm always wiping out the tap with a bleach/water solution and then flushing the faucet; cat germs in the water just isn't very appealing, LOL.

In regards to giving pills should your cat begin to object with the process of prying open the jaws, be aware that their primary defense mechanism is using their claws to stop you from messing with their jaws. Since the pills must still get into the cat, one way to prevent being clawed to ribbons is to wrap the cat in a large terrycloth bath towel so as to prevent it's claws from making contact with you. My vet showed me that method for handling protesting cats who despise oral medications and it has worked wonders. Plus I also have many less scars on my hands and arms than otherwise, LOL.

 

[PrincessLeppard]

Thank you all for your compliments about Finley. I won't tell him, because he's already quite vain.

I don't know if he's trying to keep cool, because it's not too hot in the house, but he hasn't shed his winter coat yet, so it's possible. Although, possibly, since Megs' mom's cat also hangs out in the sink, perhaps it is genetic.....

Laura

 

[mpal2]

Since this is a cat friendly thread, allow me to ask a question. Finley has recently started sleeping in the bathroom sink. I have never seen another cat do this. Does anyone else have a cat that does this?

My cat Sylvester loves the sink. In fact, the sink is like his security blanket. Whenever he is scared, he runs straight for my bathroom sink. I had to bring him over to my sister's house when my house was getting bug bombed and he spent the whole day in her sink. By the end of the day, he got adventurous and moved into the bathtub.

 

[Tonichelle]

sorry to interrupt and ask a gross question but
what gets cat pee/diareha(sp?) out of office chair canvas??? the cats I'm house sitting are protesting quite nastily about the whole not having their real family here and I'm having to clean everything by Friday when the family gets home... I've tried the pet resolve stuff but it still stinks... tried fabreeze as well... and it's not completely dry... but the stink is still there

 

[bronxgirl]

unfortunately, it may come down to new litter boxes and new canvas chairs. I've never found anything that cleans that scent out completely. (Let me know if you do!)
Harry update- he's definitely feeling better, because that second capsule didn't go down quite as smoothly as the first. As long as he seems happier and stronger, I'm more than happy to put up with his feistiness towards pills.

 

[megsk8z]

I wish I didn't know the answer to the question about stinky cats, but this happened to us once when we went out of town and our cats weren't happy with our pet sitter. I got something from the pet store; I want to say it's named something "--out", but your local pet store should carry it. I know it works very well wtih carpeting, but since furniture is unholstered and there's a little more to it than carpeting, it might not work as well.

As an aside to this problem, I have a weird cat that prefers to lick my leg dry when I get out of the shower, rather than just go get a drink from her water dish. Anyone know what that's about? It's like being wiped down with high-grade sandpaper but she seems to like doing it so much that I just let her.

 

[Kara Bear]

I also have several of those cats who get bored with their water bowl so they get into the kitchen sink to lick water out of the leaky faucet. It seems I'm always wiping out the tap with a bleach/water solution and then flushing the faucet; cat germs in the water just isn't very appealing, LOL.

My Kitty gets in the tub after my shower and licks it clean. Its my signal to freshen up her water dish. It so weird to see, especially since when she first came to us a year ago, she was terrified of the bathtub...to the point where she would not go in the bathroom. Now when I'm having a bath, she'lll come right in, sit on the edge of the tub and sniff the water. Its so cute! And it makes me feel good...knowing that she trusts me.

 

[bronxgirl]

another Harry update

H K-B is definite feeling better. Even with stitches in his paw, he's scratching away at all of his favorite posts and boxes. He's even spitting out his pills. Yes, life is once again good for my favorite spoiled boy.

 

[JOHIO2]

bronxgirl, glad your furry baby is feeling better! I know we pet owners' seem silly to non-pet-owners, but we do feel those "pets" are just fur-people and we tend to treat them as just another part of the family.

hi, laura. kitty in the sink? cute as can be! and i swear that kind of stuff is in the job description of "kitty." cats love tight spots. maybe it makes them feel safe. whatever it is, every cat i've ever known has spent time in the sink, the bathtub and the toilet. my cat has a morbid fascination with the toilet. it makes a gurgling sound that she can't figure out so she sits in the bathroom and stares at it. occasionally she sticks her head in the bowl as if that would help explain the sound. sometimes, she sits in the bathtub and looks up at the skylight in the bathroom. considering that a bird got in through the vent one time, she might be waiting to see if it happens again.

in case you haven't guessed, i am typing one-handed 'cuz my fur baby decided on some lap-sitting time.

meg, my cat likes to lick my elbow. don't know why, she just does. someone asked me if i put some lotion of perfume there that she liked but that isn't it. it's just my cat's idiosyncracy.

hi pat, i noticed your blue star. do you have someone in the service now or is that to support others who do? my son was in the gulf last spring, just after the iraq invasion, but he's back home and back in college now (actually, he's counting down the time left on his reserve enlistment. when people ask if he's going to re-up, i just laugh. what seemed like a good idea to him at 17 is a bother now at 23. he wants to get a job in some finacial field and make big bucks. says he did his part and now he's done. can't disagree.) even so, i am proud of him. he made a commitment and he carried it out and matured. makes college seem like fun. almost makes up for all those bad grades in high school. almost. i'd still rather have had fewer hassles then.