I have a question for anyone having to feed two separate foods to 2 cats. We just got back from spending almost all Sunday morning at the emergency vet. She determined that Anna had pancreatitis. She’s keeping Anna overnight (or 2 or 3) to stabilize her. The vet said we will need to feed Anna a prescription food, which her sister, Bella, won’t need. What are some of your tricks for keeping them eating their own food?
I’m hoping others will chime in here, but I’ll say that you probably need to either feed them in separate rooms (when Spanky needed special food, we always fed him in the bathroom) or you could try the feeders that work with RFID chips – this is the one I’ve seen, and there’s a great, in-depth review of it over at Cats Herd You. I’m sure there are others – who out there has advice? Please chime in!
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If anyone is so inclined, please consider voting for my child Gabby’s painting of our Summer she’s entered in a pet portrait contest with an art supply company.
Please vote for Gabby! You can vote once every 24 hours.
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How do you keep your cats from climbing the fence?
We have a cat fence.
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You have your own WATERFALL?? Very cool! Also, so jealous!
I WISH we had our own waterfall! The first waterfall in the 1 Second Everyday video was located behind a house on the street behind us and shows up after a heavy rain. Fred happened to hear it when he was walking one morning, and we drove by later that morning so I could see it (I love waterfalls) and take a picture. The second waterfall is located just off the Alum Hollow Trail on Green Mountain here in Huntsville. (I am not much of a hiker, but I’ll make an exception for a waterfall.)
There’s another waterfall that I can see from Fred’s office window – it’s behind the next door neighbor’s property, and it’s another one that only shows up after a heavy rain. Here’s a picture out the window, across the neighbor’s back yard. You can see the waterfall pretty much in the center of the picture. Not the greatest picture, but you get the idea.
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So how long did it take Emmy to relax and let you handle the Noms? I guess she is the feral standard we’ll measure Katia progress by. But The Nominees ended up being friendly babies, didn’t they?
The Noms did end up being friendly. I think it was a few days before I tried touching the kittens, and Emmy was pretty growly when I did. I don’t think it was until the kittens were toddling out of the box on their own that I got to do any serious handling. Emmy was a lot less prone to smack the hands that reached for her than Katia is, though. I’ll be interested to see how Katia handles it once the kittens are moving about on their own.
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I know Katia’s already been named but I think her secret superhero name should be Night Fury (the type of dragon Toothless is in How to Train Your Dragon). Fury for short.
(It took me a while, but I finally realised what those lantern eyes of hers reminded me of!)
I love that!
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Two name suggestions: Kerrigan and Harding.
Oh no no no, we won’t be doing THAT. (But the idea makes me laugh!)
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What about snakes?!?! I’m terrified of them and I know down South, y’all got a lot of them. How do you handle possible intruders and have any cats ever met one?
We’ve dealt with snakes in the past, as evidenced by this video of Stefan bringing a snake into the house and my resultant scream.
Fred LOVES snakes (once, when we lived in the house before Crooked Acres, he called me from a hike excitedly saying “Can you hear it? Can you hear it? It’s so cool!” because he was harassing a rattlesnake and it was rattling at him)(no, he did not get bitten, and yes, he would have deserved it). I’m not scared of snakes, but I also pretty much avoid them when I see them. Generally I handle snakes (we’ve only had the one in the house THAT I KNOW OF, but I saw plenty outside in the back yard at Crooked Acres) by yelling for Fred, who picks them up and carries them away from the house.
Years and years ago, Fred went out back to see Spot slapping at a snake. Fred mistakenly thought it was a Water Moccasin and so killed it with a hoe. He later found out it was some other kind of (non-poisonous) snake, and has felt bad about it ever since.
I expect, given the way our back yard is arranged, that we’ll see snakes this summer. I will, of course, report what happens!
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From Carolyn: Update on Tiny/Bailey. First, a thanks to Connie for her suggestion. Secondly, there’s been a hiccup. There’s been no contact except what they can do under the door because Tiny pretty much stopped eating. Monday he ate some chicken and Temptation treats, but not his food. Tuesday the same, Wed AM he wouldn’t even eat the chicken or treats. He spent most of Wednesday and Thursday at the vet, getting hydrated, warmed, syringe fed and loved on. And came home to sleep with me each night. Wednesday night I got him to eat some watered down food off my hand. Thursday night I got Tiny to eat a teaspoon of chicken baby food. He still spent a fair amount of the time he was home hanging out outside the door to Bailey’s room. I was concerned that the not-eating was stress related, but it seems (to me) that if Bailey’s presence was stressful Tiny would avoid the area rather then try to barge into the room when I open the door. PLEASE let me know if I’m wrong. So Bailey had the run of the house Thursday while Tiny was away.
So this morning Tiny still didn’t want to eat, so I syringe fed him about 7-8 cc’s, with the other 2-3 cc’s going all over Tiny, down my leg, on the floor, etc. My vet recommended I take him to the emergency vet hospital. He’s there now. The sonogram showed no blockages, but some swollen lymph nodes. He’ll stay overnight and be treated for for the runs and dehydration, with a goal of getting his GI system calmed down and back on track.I also ordered some FortiFlora to see if that will help Tiny eat.
The good news is that, in the waiting room, I put my hand in to pet him and he proceeded to grab my finger and gnaw on me. And in the exam room as I was talking to the vet, he sat on my shoulder and bit my face.
So that’s the drama at my house. Bailey’s at least got the run of the house for the day. My main concern with the two cats is whether the stress of Bailey has caused Tiny’s not eating. If not, I’ll probably start more face to face time (after Tiny starts eating again.)
And Bailey just sat on my lap for the first time and now he’s rubbing his face against my head.
PS the name combinations are neck and neck with votes, but I probably won’t make a final decision until Tiny stops giving me grey hairs and heartburn.
How is Tiny doing now, Carolyn? I hope he’s bounced back and that the two kittens are already best friends!
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No kittens from Kristi yet – but she’s enjoying being petted. She purrs like crazy and kneads and drools. Such a sweetheart!
Finally, a shot of the belly. I love her kneadin’ paw.
I peeked into the crate, and then I died from the cute.
I mean, seriously.
“You no touch, lady.”
Squeeeeeee.
It’s hard to tell from this picture, but you see that little pink mouth in the middle of the picture? That would be Katia’s kitten, hissing at me.
Katia was particularly growly at me yesterday, I’m not sure why. Maybe she was tired of all the rain and gray skies. Maybe she’s tired of having me come peek in at her. Maybe (my favorite theory) she knows Kristi’s going to have her kittens very soon and then Kristi won’t have time for all the mother-daughter snuggling that’s been going on. Who knows? I keep hoping she’ll relax, and then she doesn’t. Maybe she knows I’m just dying to snatch her up and squeeze her because she looks SO SOFT. With that girl, it’s all a guessing game.
We’re hoping to get the kittens sexed this weekend. Keep your fingers crossed that no Anderson loses an eye or finger in the process.
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Stefan has reclaimed the island as his own, and is VERY PLEASED, as you can see.
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Previously
2017: Dewey bounded over to Stefan to play, and Stefan responded by flipping Dewey onto his back and gnawing on him like he was a chicken wing.
2016: “::thlurrrp:: I swear I heard a clicking sound, but I don’t see – ”
2015: That Open Mouth of Outrage is ALL BUSINESS.
2014: No entry.
2013: No entry.
2012: Little stumpy the half-tailed kitten.
2011: Alice, Alice, Alice.
2010: No entry.
2009: No entry.
2008: No entry.
2007: Best picture of Spanky, EVER.
2006: No entry.
2005: No entry.