The Cat Lovers Thread

[KLS52]

Those are awesome, rofl

 

[Spang]

 

[Spang]

Cat vs. Sheet

 

[KLS52]

Lol

 

[CrazyCatLady]

The entire bed is free but Goomer would like to sit HERE!

her

 

[KLS52]

Me too.

 

[sallyomally]

Aw. She knows she's well loved.

 

[SuicideBlonde]

 

[SuicideBlonde]

http://www.buzzfeed.com/dimitri/why-the-cat-circus-is-the-best-circus

 

[KLS52]

http://3milliondogs.com/friends/proof-that-cats-are-better-than-dogs

 

[CrazyCatLady]

Another one of me and Goomer in bed lol x

 

[Spang]

 

[Spang]

 

[SuicideBlonde]

What do you do for fleas that is not chemical, is inexpensive and works? My cat has fleas.

 

[Tom L.]

There are flea combs that you can use, and then can get rid of the fleas that you get out of the cat's fur. I don't think this would get all the fleas though.

I think there is a 'growth regulator" that you treat the house with which prevents the flea larvae from becoming adults, but I heard about this a long time ago, and don't know if it was found to be unsafe for cats or humans. I think it was an artificial hormone that affected the fleas; I guess that would be chemical.

I think there are insecticides derived from plants, like rotenone, which you could use (I'm not sure if there is something like this for fleas). But even if they won't hurt you or the cats, some of them can be deadly to fish or other critters- and you posted in another thread that you have fish.

 

[SuicideBlonde]

I read a bath with apple cider vinegar and water treatment might work, but I am a bit skeptical. I just heard bad things about the cheap store flea drops and I can not afford expensive stuff.
Yes, we have fish and turtles also.

 

[Calliegirl]

I've heard of using a little bit of dawn soap in a bath, Dr. Brommers peppermint soap is also recommended (and is a lot safer). The dawn strips oils, so you need to do a vinegar rinse afterwards.

I wouldn't use the flea drops. I had the vet put some on one of my cats and he almost died.

 

[ledboots]

I read a bath with apple cider vinegar and water treatment might work, but I am a bit skeptical. I just heard bad things about the cheap store flea drops and I can not afford expensive stuff.
Yes, we have fish and turtles also.

Florida fleas are pretty hardy. You don't need to go to the vet to use the better drops. http://m.1800petmeds.com/mt/www.1800petmeds.com/Frontline+Plus-prod10459.html

 

[KLS52]

Bratt seems to have this thing about grooming Joon at least twice a day. It always starts out ok, but she eventually wants to be left alone, starts to whine, and then he ends up really getting rough and making her cry and run away. Is this normal? They are siblings. I feel bad and sometimes I'll intervene to save her from him if it gets really bad and sometimes it does.

I'm having a similar problem and almost made a thread asking for help.

I have two elderly cats and one young one that I kept after he was abandoned by my roommate. The young one, Chico, wants to play all the time, but the older two, Gizmo and Tyler, just want to sleep. Also Gizmo has arthritis and doesn't get around so well. Chico will go over and groom Gizmo and won't stop until Gizmo is growling and biting at him, and finally runs away. At night he dominates him and won't let go until I get up and chase him off, Gizmo isn't strong enough to get him off himself. He tried to get Tyler to play and doesn't stop until there is a fight. I'm at the point of asking friends if anyone wants Chico. It isn't fair that the older cats are constantly harassed, or that Chico gets in trouble for wanting to play. Plus I'm exhausted from getting up EVERY night around 3 or 4 to get Chico off Gizmo, sometimes twice a night.

Anyone have any suggestions on how to stop this behavior? I don't have anyway to keep them separate.

My problem is getting worse. I'm beginning to wonder if you don't really get to see a cat's personality until they hit the year old mark. Bratt is acting different. He's less affectionate and going after Joon more frequently. I give them lots of attention. We play every single day, morning and night. They especially love the night routing where we play, eat and then sleep. But sometimes I think Bratt is jealous of Joon because she seeks me out constantly so it probably seems like she gets more attention. I didn't think cats got jealous so I'm not sure that's it. But Bratt is definitely not as nice as he was.

I was wondering if you had any luck/improvement with Gizmo and Chico, Calliegirl. My Bratt sounds like your Chico, except that he doesn't get away with the bad behavior with Ben or Cybil. Plus, he doesn't seem to go after them as viciously as he does Joon. Maybe because they are siblings.

 

[Calliegirl]

We recently moved and the behavior stopped for awhile. But, now that they've settled in it's started right back up again. He never does it in front of me, always in the other room. As soon as I hear Gizmo crying I go in there and Chico gets off Gizmo and runs and hides under the bed. I have no idea how to stop it.

I found this article (and a few other similar ones). http://www.petstyle.com/cats/health/dominance-cats
I heard that you're supposed to always feed and pet the dominant one first, I may try that. I usually do the opposite and feed/pet him last. Maybe that will work with Bratt?

The 'hierarchy' here is a little odd. Chico dominates Gizmo multiple times a day, but never Tyler. Yet, he will play gently with Gizmo (when Gizmo is in the mood to play), but will play very roughly with Tyler who ends up losing chunks of fur and usually ends up running and hiding behind me, otherwise Chico won't stop. Every so often Gizmo will wake up suddenly and try to dominate Tyler if he is sleeping nearby. Tyler will put up with it for a minute or two, but usually fights back and gets Gizmo off himself (occasionally I will pull him off). I always worry when I leave that someone is going to get seriously hurt since I'm not there to stop it.