Feline Pine Forums

To declaw or not??

2008-03-07T15:07:48Z

Hello everyone.

This is a very touchy subject for most cat people, but, without giving my thoughts, what do you all think?? You all have cats or know people that have cats and I would like a wide range of answers. In a week or so I´ll post my thoughts unless there´s a lot coming in.

Thanks.

Bathing your cat.

2009-09-12T09:59:03Z

I am an adult female with a lot of allergies! Cat’s being one of them, I would not let that stand in the way of adding a kitten to my family. So with my theory that I am not allergic to tuxedo cats i adopted one and as soon as he was old enough started bathing him. He is shampooed and cleaned once a week and a lot of pet owners think I am doing something wrong. I discussed the matter with my vet who said there was absolutely no harm in it so I was wondering if I am the only weirdo out there or if other people bathe their cats as well. Please let me know what you think, please only positive comments. Also if you know if there is any information on short hair tuxedo cats being better for people with allergies.

Thank you!!!!!!!
Miles’ mommy

Finding the right dry natural/holistic cat food for weight loss

2010-08-17T15:03:08Z

Hello,

I have a cat, a bit over two years old. We’ve been feeding him Evanger’s Pheasant & Whitefish dry formula. However, we have to go to a special store to get this. It’s terribly inconvenient. Not to mention, our vet has recently told us our precious Mr. Kitty, is overweight, and in danger of developing diabetes. Despite the fact that he is only fed the recommended daily amount. Plus, a treat or two here and there.

Ideally, I’d like to switch him to a new brand of cat food, that I can pick up at the Petco right around the corner. I would like for it to be both natural, and something that will promote weight loss. My Vet will only recommend Science Diet brand cat food, which isn’t natural and it has a lot of ingredients that isn’t good for Mr. Kitty to digest.

I looked at a few select brands that Petco has in their holistic section. Mostly the Blue Buffalo Weight Control Chicken and Brown Rice recipe. however, I don’t know anyone who has fed these brands to their cats and I’m nervous about experimenting.

Aural Hematoma

2008-11-06T10:38:57Z

My old girl Emily (11) contracted ear mites on the verge of a move to Memphis from Chicago (where she was one of Dr. Gaspar’s former patients along with our other two!) We moved, and scheduled an appt. with a local vet to deal with the mites and before her appt. she has evidently shaken her head so hard that the emergency cat center diagnosed an Aural Hematoma last night when we discovered it. We upped our vet appt. to this afternoon but after research I am finding that a very expensive surgery is often the treatment, and expensive is one thing we can’t afford. :( Also, given Em’s age and history of obesity it doesn’t seem she’s a great candidate for that anyhow.

Is Prednisone treatment a reasonable thing to ask the vet to discuss as a first step in treating this? I’m apprehensive because its a brand new vet and with the exception of Dr. Gaspar I’ve found veterinary offices to be very black and white with treatments and often unwilling to take a treatment in stages.

Lisa

Panting Cat

2009-06-20T21:54:01Z

I think my 14 month old cat pants too easily. He pants within a few minutes after playing. This afternoon, I was doing laundry, which is in a seperate building about 20 feet away from my patio door. I walked to the laundry room to switch loads and as usual, Courage started to howl on the top of his lungs like he always does when I leave the house. I switched loads (took less than five minutes) and walked back home. Courage wasn’t howling when I left the building. Anyway, when I walked in the door, he was sitting their panting. He pants after I throw his ball down the hallway a couple times (not a very long hallway either) then sits down and pants for a couple seconds with his mouth open. My husband has been a smoker since he was a teenager - he is now 53 years old. Sometimes Courage will pant before Terry becomes winded when they are chasing each other up and down the hallway. The only time he pants is when we are playing or he is upset over something, like me leaving the house without him.

I brought this up to our vet who said he doesn’t think I have anything to worry about because his heart sounded normal when he was there for a complete physical. Nothing out of the ordinary was found in his blood and urine analysis other than his BUN level was 35. That was more than likely from the fact that he had the complete checkup before he was due to be neutered. He hadn’t eaten since the day before plus he was stressed over being at the clinic, having strangers handle him. They checked the gravity for his urine which was fine. Liver enzymes were normal.

I don’t know much about his background because we found him abandoned at a wayside rest area, crying his head off. I do not think he was born feral because he wasn’t that hard to catch, when I did catch him, he didn’t try to fight me, and he had no problems eating from a dish and drinking from a bowl. His eyes were in the process of changing from their baby blue color to his green with a gold band. After we got home with him, someone mentioned he looked like a Norwegian Forest Cat, so I did a google search for catteries in the state we found him in and sure enough, there was a NFC cattery about 10-15 miles from the wayside rest area we found him at. When I checked out their website, they have a picture of a stud cat that was born there in 2004. If you hold a picture of that cat up and a picture of Courage, they literally look like the same cat. The website said all their kittens tested negative for HCM.

So I started thinking about why Courage was left there. First case senerio: The website said they are willing to drive to the borders of the state to meet potential buyers. My first guess is that they had a few kittens with them for a buyer to look at and Courage got loose and ran to hide in the thorny patch I found him in. They either didn’t want to wade through the thorns to grab him or ran out of time chasing him. They sell their kittens $600 for a pet or $800 for a show cat with breeding rights. Even if they see cats as property, I wouldn’t think they would just leave him there. Then I had a horrible thought that maybe Courage did test positive for HCM and rather than say anything about it, they dumped him at the wayside rest area, pacifying themselves with the thought that he is so cute, someone will take him or he will do his part for the local eco system and become coyote lunch.

He isn’t lethargic or anything like that although he does sleep alot. Courage’s sleep schedule is he is usually up by 5am, takes a nap from 9am - 12pm then takes another nap from 3pm - 6pm, then goes to bed with us at midnight. I think he is there the entire night because when I get up in the middle of the night, he is always in bed sleeping.

If he had HCM or any other kind of heart problem, would there be more signs other than panting for a few minutes after a a couple runs up and down the hallway?

Is milk OK?

2010-05-04T04:14:31Z

My new kittens love milk. They actually beg for it when the bowl runs dry. I have been reading here and else where that milk is not good for them. Why?

Trying to Find Kitten Food

2008-11-17T13:50:56Z

I am so frustrated with trying to find a decent canned kitten food…apparently nobody in this town cares what their kitten eats because the best kitten food I can find is Science Diet…which has a lot of fillers. We have four different store chains and they all carry the same garbage. What is the point of having four stores if the inventory is all the same??? Anyway, I ordered Felidae canned cat food online…bought half a case to start with. I was wondering if anybody here feeds it to their kitten/cat and if their cats like it?

handcreams and anti-bacterial stuff

2010-01-16T20:08:50Z

Hi!!, I´ve a question that has been bother me since a while. In my home, all my family use all the time a anti-bacterial soap with a anti-bacterial gel, and my mother and I use a lot of handcream, so my kitty smell good all the time, because we can´t avoid touch him when he is close to us. This is bad for my cat? the chemicals from de handcream and ati-bacterial gel could damage the skin from my cat?

thanks,
lcnavac

What You Should Know about Flea and Tick Products

2008-03-11T01:40:09Z

Protecting your pet from fleas and ticks is an important part of caring for your pet responsibly. Although there are many brands of over-the-counter flea and tick products available at supermarkets and pet supply stores, it is critical to read their labels, and consult with your veterinarian, before using them on your companion. These products may contain ingredients that could harm pets and children.

In November 2000, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) released a report called Poisons on Pets: Health Hazards from Flea and Tick Products. The report demonstrated a link between chemicals commonly used in flea and tick products and serious health problems.

The Chemicals

The ingredients to be wary of are organophosphate insecticides (OPs) and carbamates, both of which are found in various flea and tick products. A product contains an OP if the ingredient list contains chlorpyrifos, dichlorvos, phosmet, naled, tetrachlorvinphos, diazinon, or malathion. If the ingredient list includes carbaryl or propoxur, the product contains a carbamate. According to the NRDC, the potential dangers posed by these products are greatest for children and pets. There is reason to be concerned about long-term, cumulative exposures as well as combined exposures from the use of other products containing OPs and carbamates.

The Products

The NRDC’s report lists flea- and tick-control products marketed under the following major brand names that have been found to contain OPs: Alco, Americare, Beaphar, Double Duty, Ford’s Freedom Five, Happy Jack, Hartz, Hopkins, Kill-Ko, Protection, Rabon, Riverdale, Sergeant’s, Unicorn, Vet-Kem, Victory, and Zema. To protect their pets and children, consumers should consult with a veterinarian before purchasing over-the-counter (OTC) products.

The Effects

According to the NRDC, there are studies that show OPs and carbamates can harm the nervous system. Children can be especially vulnerable because their nervous systems are still developing. For pets, the data is limited, but according to NRDC, many companion animals appear to have been injured or killed through exposure to pet products containing OPs. Cats are particularly vulnerable, since they often lack enzymes for metabolizing or detoxifying OPs and can ingest OPs by licking their fur.

What about the EPA?

Each year, millions of Americans purchase over-the-counter flea and tick products believing that they couldn’t be sold unless they were proven safe. But the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) did not begin to review pet products for safety until 1996. There is a substantial backlog of products waiting to be tested, so many pet products containing potentially harmful pesticides still make their way onto store shelves.

Last year, after reaching an agreement with manufacturers, the EPA announced that the OP chlorpyrifos—also known as Dursban—would be on a fast track for a phase-out. A second OP, diazinon, is also on the way out. An agreement between the EPA and manufacturers set the phase out at December 2002 for indoor-use products (including flea and tick products) and December 2003 for all lawn, garden, and turf products.

Reducing the Risks

The HSUS recommends the following precautions be taken to reduce the risks to pets and humans during the flea season:

Use alternatives to pesticides to control fleas and ticks: Comb your pet regularly with a flea comb, vacuum frequently and dispose of the bags immediately after use, mow areas of the lawn where your dog spends time, wash pet bedding weekly, and wash your pet with a pesticide-free pet shampoo. In addition, to protect cats from fleas and ticks, as well as a host of other outdoor hazards, cats should be kept indoors at all times.

Always consult a veterinarian before buying or using any flea or tick control product on your pet.

Never use flea and tick products designed for dogs on your cat, or vice versa.

Remember never to apply pesticides to very young, elderly, pregnant, or sick animals unless directed to do so by a veterinarian.

Always read the ingredients, instructions, and warnings on the package thoroughly.

Avoid OP-based products by looking for any of these active ingredients: chlorpyrifos, dichlorvos, phosmet, naled, tetrachlorvinphos, diazinon and malathion. Avoid products with carbamates by looking for the chemical names carbaryl and propoxur on the label.

Consider using a product with insect-growth regulators (IGRs), which are not pesticides. These will prevent the next generation of fleas but will not kill insects already on your pet. Common and effective IGR products include those made with lufenuron (found in Program® and Sentinel® and available by prescription), methoprene (in Precor®), and pyriproxyfen (in Nylar® and EcoKyl®).

You might want to consider several relatively new topical products, available through veterinarians, that are insecticides designed to have fewer toxic effects on the nervous systems of mammals: imidacloprid (found in Advantage®), fipronil (in Frontline® or Top Spot®), and selamectin (in Revolution™).

All information from http://www.hsus.org

Finding a canned food my cats will eat

2008-10-03T23:36:51Z

i have two neutered males, Puck, 12 yo and Hazel, 11mo. Puck used to be an indoor/outdoor cat and Hazel has not been outside since i found him dumped in snowbank at about 4wks old. now both are exclusively indoor cats. After a year of being inside though, Puck has ballooned to 18lbs and i do not want Hazel to go in that direction, too. after research, i switched to Purina Pro Plan weight maintenance kibble (free fed) since it was high in protein and a couple of tablespoons of Purina canned twice a day. i recently started using feline pine litter and after reading the forums and articles on the website, i am changing foods for the guys. however, they HATE both Evo and Wellness canned food that Dr Gaspar suggested. they will eat the Fancy Feast chunky turkey, but are not crazy about it. they will eat the Evo kibble, but again are not crazy over it, either. i have stopped filling the bowl with kibble, attributing the weight gain to boredom eating; i have fed about 1/4 cup in the last 3 or 4 days. also, they always have fresh water.
my vet would like to see Puck lose weight, however he did not seem that concerned over it, since Puck is a naturally large cat. the two of them do play together, so both are getting exercise, although not as much as if they were outside in the woods.
so, a few questions: since i am not sure if they get bored with only one flavor, if the guys will only eat Fancy Feast chunky turkey ( i am unable to find chunky chicken in my area), is it okay that that is all they eat, along with a bit of kibble? is the Purina Pro Plan kibble i was feeding too crummy a diet? i know i cannot starve them into submission, but how long do i hold out before going back to the canned food i know they will eat? how much weight loss is okay over how long of a span of time?
i welcome any suggestions.