Cat thread :)

[Samsam]

Hey All,

I'm starting this thread so everyone can post pictures of their cat(s) and any tips and tricks to lower the costs of taking care of one.  I have 2 cats almost a year old now Damon (orange) and Domino (black and white). 

[hybrid]

Gypsy. The best cat ever. Just ask her.

[aetherie]

This is Roscoe. He's my roommate's grumpy old man cat.

[Adventine]

Hey All,

I'm starting this thread so everyone can post pictures of their cat(s) and any tips and tricks to lower the costs of taking care of one.  I have 2 cats almost a year old now Damon (orange) and Domino (black and white).

True cat love <3

[mrsggrowsveg]

This is our very friendly house cat Bruno.  We also have a grey barn cat.  I would love to hear what good cheap food everyone is using.  My husband just left his job at a pet food company, so we have to face paying full price for food again.

[Samsam]

This is our very friendly house cat Bruno.  We also have a grey barn cat.  I would love to hear what good cheap food everyone is using.  My husband just left his job at a pet food company, so we have to face paying full price for food again.

That is a very friendly cat! 

I don't buy the cheap stuff, but most of the time it is "free" for me.  I buy off of amazon (usually vendor is petco or wag.com) and use my Chase rewards cash back money.  It is usually enough to pay for 1 - 12lb bag of wellness core indoor cat food (which is about what both of them go through each month).

[Squirrel away]

Aww, beautiful. I have 6 cats but not pictures at the moment. 5 of mine are black cats.

[Sparafusile]

We currently have 9 cats. I have attached a photo of our recent additions, born last Thursday in the early morning.

[Ottawa]

Please help me to not commit felinicide.   The motive is frequent urination outside designated facility. 

We have narrowed down the cause as behavioural.  It is not likely health.  Urination occurs close to litter box sometimes daily, sometimes not for a week.  I have witnessed it a couple times - once I saw her squat and pee outside the box, the other time a significant quanitity of urine was deposited via a stream backwards onto the washing machine.  It is not spraying.

Stats:
1 year old female - neutered, indoor.

Tried so far:
Changed litter
Changed litter box
Changed box location
Cleaned area of urination with hydrogen peroxide/baking soda/dish soap mix
Disciplined by showing urination outside box (i.e. nose to smell liquid) and then put her in litter box

Other:
Litter cleaned daily
One pet household
Two litter boxes

Let me know if you need more info or have any good ideas - APPRECIATED!

[PMG]

This is Molly.  She was dropped off by the side of the road in 2012.  She is named after two of the greatest witches, Molly Carpenter (Dresden Files) and Molly Weasley (Potter).  She is an adept mountain cat.  Killer of rodents, snakes and song birds.  Super hero.  Ninja.  Really good at geometry.  Not so good at logic.  Natural talent at hair care. 

[MissStache]

I have two- Liberte (Libby), who I got on Bastile Day. She's a black bowling ball with tiny little legs and bright green eyes.  2 years old and the sweetest cat in the world.

Then there is Liza, a 1 year old spectacularly beautiful Russian Blue with big green eyes.  She's loving and soft and charming and she will purr happily as she sinks her teeth into your jugular.  She's a demon cat from hell and I adore her. 

They are terrors and delights and make my life much better!

[Sparafusile]

Let me know if you need more info or have any good ideas - APPRECIATED!

Take her to the vet and have her checked for a urinary tract infection/kidney stones/etc.

Sometimes a cat will fall in love with a specific tactile feel and will want to urinate on that. Our cats like to pee on certain kinds of welcome mats for example. Either eliminate those or put them in the litter box.

[starbuck]

Let me know if you need more info or have any good ideas - APPRECIATED!

If health issues have been ruled out, I would change the type of litter, or the style of litter box. Maybe the formula used by the manufacturer changed? Some cats dislike the open rectangular style boxes. Maybe try an igloo style, or one with lower sides. Maybe she's having difficulty getting IN the litter box because of some undiagnosed pain issue, so she settles for outside the box.

Is she declawed? Declawed cats can be sensitive to regular shaped litter.

[Ottawa]

Take her to the vet and have her checked for a urinary tract infection/kidney stones/etc.

Sometimes a cat will fall in love with a specific tactile feel and will want to urinate on that. Our cats like to pee on certain kinds of welcome mats for example. Either eliminate those or put them in the litter box.

Yes, she's been to the vet and received AB (she did have a UT infection).  She is now all clear from the vet's point of view.  The urinating has occurred from day 1 (almost 8 months now). 

Hopefully she hasn't fallen in love with the tactile feel of the concrete in the laundry room!  We're worried that if we eliminate the concrete area...she'll move to urinate in an undesirable area like carpet or beds! 

[Ottawa]

If health issues have been ruled out, I would change the type of litter, or the style of litter box. Maybe the formula used by the manufacturer changed? Some cats dislike the open rectangular style boxes. Maybe try an igloo style, or one with lower sides. Maybe she's having difficulty getting IN the litter box because of some undiagnosed pain issue, so she settles for outside the box.

Is she declawed? Declawed cats can be sensitive to regular shaped litter.

Yes, we have changed the letter several times over the last few months to no effect.  The frequency of urination (outside the box) doesn't appear to change.  We have two litter box styles - one is shallow and open...the other is deep and enclosed.  She appears to prefer #2 in the open one and #1 in the closed (when she doesn't do #1 on the floor). 

Pain doesn't appear to be present...since jumping up down and around is normal...

She is not declawed...

Thanks!

[Samsam]

Ottawa, is your laundry room in the basement?  Our family cat did not like going downstairs in the basement to do business because it was dark and cold.  How far have you changed the locations of the litter boxes (as in different parts of the room, different rooms, or levels of the house)?

[Ottawa]

Ottawa, is your laundry room in the basement?  Our family cat did not like going downstairs in the basement to do business because it was dark and cold.  How far have you changed the locations of the litter boxes (as in different parts of the room, different rooms, or levels of the house)?

Yes, the laundry room is in the basement.  She also sleeps in the basement (she likes her carry crate - the door isn't on it).  We have tried in different parts in the laundry room.  We could try different parts of the house...but there really isn't an appropriate place for one elsewhere in the house. 

[FrugalZony]

Cats? Now we are talking!! I love cats!

And I even happen to know some who blog and help other save cost on pet care
http://www.pennywisepaws.com/

[FrugalZony]

Ottawa, have you changed anything major in the house recently, that may have upset the cat?
Added another pet? Someone moved in or out? Major changes in furniture?

Also UTI may be cleared, but kittie still may associate litter box with pain from UTI
Try to put up an extra box in the spot where the cat urinates if it's always in a similar place on the concrete

[Ottawa]

Ottawa, have you changed anything major in the house recently, that may have upset the cat?
Added another pet? Someone moved in or out? Major changes in furniture?

Also UTI may be cleared, but kittie still may associate litter box with pain from UTI
Try to put up an extra box in the spot where the cat urinates if it's always in a similar place on the concrete

No changes in the house...as I say - it has done it in our house in the same spot every since we got the cat...this has occurred almost predictably.  It still uses the box to go pee most of the time (i.e. 3 out of 4 times per day)  It just happens to go once or so outside the box in the same spot.  We moved the litter box over the spot...and it just goes in front of the litter box.  There seems to be no pattern as to time of day.  Sometimes over night, sometimes during the day. 

[SisterX]

This is my handsome boy, Zapp Brannigan.  18+ lb., 5 year old rescue kitten, we think he's part Russian Blue and part Maine Coon.  He's been amazing with our baby so far.  He loves to watch people but not necessarily be close to them, however he does snuggle with me fairly regularly.  He's also aptly named, for the most part, since he walks and acts all tough but is super scared.  :)  The only bravery he ever shows is in scaring off other cats.
Poor guy started peeing blood on Monday morning and has his first ever bladder infection right now.  :(  He's also got a slight limp because he broke his left hind femur a couple of years ago when he was outside.  (We have no idea how--the vet suggested that with a break like his it had to be "very powerful rotational force".)
The only money saving advice I have is to be friends with your vet.  Ours is a family friend and I'm pretty sure he takes care of our pets pretty much at cost. 

[zinethstache]

Ottawa, This is going to sound silly, but I suggest you go buy a HUGE flat under the bed shallow container, so huge there really isnt any excuse to not use it. Perhaps you can get a free one from a family member or friend. I suggest this because our Siamese rescue cat had issues with a normal size pan, we had to get a very large one, not as big as what I am suggesting you try. I never did get the perfect solution for our dearly departed siamese and had I thought of the huge size of those roll under the bed storage trays, I think she would have been happy. Sounds like your basement has plenty of room.

Ironically our Maine Coon kitten, who at six months already weighs more than her prefers a snuggly lidded cat pan, so its not the size its just what their silly feline mind thinks will make the perfect potty!

Our new member of the household is Leonidas, aka man chin (nicknamed because of his pointy cleft chin) he should mature to around 20 lbs, but right now he is a rangy long guy with a HUGE duster of a tail.

So far we've stuck with the same food/kitty litter as he used as a kitten. The food is IAMs kitten and Friskies canned (.46 at walmart). Leonidas is a fan of dry food and only eats the wet sparingly. I want him eat wet food for the water content and to keep his coat healthy, not dry. The kitty litter is insanely expensive, but it works well, it is World's Best.

If you like to have your cat wear a collar, you can buy handmade ones from Ebay for $1.50 to $3.50 each. I bought a variety because the price was so cheap, shipping was combined, $2 for the lot of them.

[Ottawa]

Ottawa, This is going to sound silly, but I suggest you go buy a HUGE flat under the bed shallow container, so huge there really isnt any excuse to not use it. Perhaps you can get a free one from a family member or friend. I suggest this because our Siamese rescue cat had issues with a normal size pan, we had to get a very large one, not as big as what I am suggesting you try. I never did get the perfect solution for our dearly departed siamese and had I thought of the huge size of those roll under the bed storage trays, I think she would have been happy. Sounds like your basement has plenty of room.

Hah!  Yeah, i was thinking to myself - just put kitty litter all over the floor.  Problem solved!  FWIW - our cat is a siamesy type one as well. 

[geekette]

You can barely hear him snore...

We have two others, and they're quite the thundering herd at times.  Love 'em!

[Dr.Vibrissae]

Ottawa, This is going to sound silly, but I suggest you go buy a HUGE flat under the bed shallow container, so huge there really isnt any excuse to not use it. Perhaps you can get a free one from a family member or friend. I suggest this because our Siamese rescue cat had issues with a normal size pan, we had to get a very large one, not as big as what I am suggesting you try. I never did get the perfect solution for our dearly departed siamese and had I thought of the huge size of those roll under the bed storage trays, I think she would have been happy. Sounds like your basement has plenty of room.

Hah!  Yeah, i was thinking to myself - just put kitty litter all over the floor.  Problem solved!  FWIW - our cat is a siamesy type one as well.

I used to use these, but the sides weren't deep enough to keep the cats from peeing over the edges sometimes.  So now I use a thirty gallon Rubbermaid-type storage tub with a hole cut in the side.  The lid allows of odor control and easy removal for cleaning, and it's a much large floor area at less cost than you can get in a purpose made litter box. 

I'm going to admit that we are pretty lax on litter box care (despite my training) and only have the one box for all the cats (shameful).  We're very lucky to have minimal issues, other than occasional peeing on the mat in front of the box.  It's there to catch litter, but's washable.  People often comment that our house does not smell like we have cats, so i guess it's working OK. 

I'm including a picture of all our cats arranged from sweetest to most hateful (she is studiously ignoring the proximity of the other animals, and in this picture you can almost make out her glare).  They are rarely this close together, but it was a particularly cold day, and you might guess that we keep our house below the average.   

[MandyM]

Ottawa, This is going to sound silly, but I suggest you go buy a HUGE flat under the bed shallow container, so huge there really isnt any excuse to not use it. Perhaps you can get a free one from a family member or friend. I suggest this because our Siamese rescue cat had issues with a normal size pan, we had to get a very large one, not as big as what I am suggesting you try. I never did get the perfect solution for our dearly departed siamese and had I thought of the huge size of those roll under the bed storage trays, I think she would have been happy. Sounds like your basement has plenty of room.

Hah!  Yeah, i was thinking to myself - just put kitty litter all over the floor.  Problem solved!  FWIW - our cat is a siamesy type one as well.

I used to use these, but the sides weren't deep enough to keep the cats from peeing over the edges sometimes.  So now I use a thirty gallon Rubbermaid-type storage tub with a hole cut in the side.  The lid allows of odor control and easy removal for cleaning, and it's a much large floor area at less cost than you can get in a purpose made litter box. 

+1 on the use of a storage tub. I foster cats for the humane society and have found that these are superior to most litter pans, and usually cheaper. The size and height of a storage tub is perfect - I've seen too many cats standing in a small litter box with their butt hovered over the floor.

I feel like since she is peeing near the litter, she knows she is supposed to go there, but for some reason won't. Is it when the spin cycle is running on the washer? Some other noise? Dirty litter? I would try putting another litter somewhere else in the house to give her a secondary option. It doesn't have to be permanent, but it would help figure out what is going on.

I do NOT recommend yelling at her or otherwise disciplining her - it is very unlikely to help and you risk causing anxiety about the litter box which will further the problems.

[SisterX]

Ottawa, This is going to sound silly, but I suggest you go buy a HUGE flat under the bed shallow container, so huge there really isnt any excuse to not use it. Perhaps you can get a free one from a family member or friend. I suggest this because our Siamese rescue cat had issues with a normal size pan, we had to get a very large one, not as big as what I am suggesting you try. I never did get the perfect solution for our dearly departed siamese and had I thought of the huge size of those roll under the bed storage trays, I think she would have been happy. Sounds like your basement has plenty of room.

Hah!  Yeah, i was thinking to myself - just put kitty litter all over the floor.  Problem solved!  FWIW - our cat is a siamesy type one as well.

I used to use these, but the sides weren't deep enough to keep the cats from peeing over the edges sometimes.  So now I use a thirty gallon Rubbermaid-type storage tub with a hole cut in the side.  The lid allows of odor control and easy removal for cleaning, and it's a much large floor area at less cost than you can get in a purpose made litter box. 

I second the giant storage tub.  Our cat HATES with a passion all small litter boxes, poops over the sides of the few he doesn't hate (simply because he's so long--as tall and long as our cocker spaniel) and despises the enclosed ones.  I tried putting the lid on with a hole in it, but he stopped using it in protest, so now we just have the open tub in the corner.  It does start to smell a bit and I hate that, but the dog's, uh, taste for cat poop is the reason we can't try cutting a hole in the side to see if he prefers that.
To cut down on the smell we're pretty religious about cleaning it out.

[PMG]

Cat purrs and bone density.

[EK]

Great thread!! We have 2 kitties.  Left to my own devices I'd probably have more, but 2 is the
maximum that my husband can be talked into. ;D

Nias is our gray girl (independent, but very affectionate... When it suits her) and Griffin is our Maine coon fellow (the worlds friendliest cat who likes to ride around on people's shoulders!).

[MandyM]

I have two cats of mine own, plus a variable number of fosters. I swear one of my cats is also part spider monkey.

I have been volunteering with a Humane Society for almost 5 years and have lots of opinions about cat care. I'm no expert, but I've seen and heard a lot. Some quick thoughts:

Indoor only cats can generally be kept safer and healthier, which is cheaper. Yes, some cats will refuse to be indoor only (I have one of those), but seriously consider it.

Spay and neuter. So many reasons for this.

Learn how to trim their nails. Your stuff and skin will thank you, even if they are avid scratching post users.

You don't need to feed the most expensive food, but don't feed the cheapest either. Check the first 3 ingredients - at least 2 should be meat or a meat meal ("byproducts" don't count).

[FrugalZony]

I have two cats of mine own, plus a variable number of fosters. I swear one of my cats is also part spider monkey.

I have been volunteering with a Humane Society for almost 5 years and have lots of opinions about cat care. I'm no expert, but I've seen and heard a lot. Some quick thoughts:

Indoor only cats can generally be kept safer and healthier, which is cheaper. Yes, some cats will refuse to be indoor only (I have one of those), but seriously consider it.

Spay and neuter. So many reasons for this.

Learn how to trim their nails. Your stuff and skin will thank you, even if they are avid scratching post users.

You don't need to feed the most expensive food, but don't feed the cheapest either. Check the first 3 ingredients - at least 2 should be meat or a meat meal ("byproducts" don't count).

+1 to all of this!
I volunteer and donate to several rescues and this cannot be said enough

I also am a strong believer in high quality grain free food
These brands are a bit more pricey, but I manage cost real well through couponing (hence the pet blog I posted) and I believe it really saves money on vet cost down the line

[dragoncar]

[Wolf_Stache]

Cats!

I currently have two. An 11 year old pure black alley cat named Nightmare and a six year old half bengal/half alley cat named Indiana Jones.

[Splendid]

I have one fat tuxedo cat named Milly. She's basically a vegetarian. She gets super excited when we bring the vegetables from the CSA home, but is completely uninterested in tuna, chicken, ham, etc. I can't grow herbs on my windowsill because she eats them. And is dang happy about it.

She has a mustache. :) And I have more pictures of her than I do of family members. Ha! Also, she is apparently interested in current events.

[MicroRN]

Our poor broken Gwen-kitty.  She has cerebellar hypoplasia, and now has a broken leg, probably from falling down stairs or off the kitty climber.   

[Squirrel away]

Aw, poor thing.xx

[secondcor521]

This is my cat, Zazzles (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUy5NX0VmA4)

[Trirod]

This is Jerry, one of my 5 current felines.  Luckily he's mellowed as he's got older, but he used to fight all the male cats in the neighborhood (despite being neutered) and he always used to lose.  Hence the dressings.

[Trirod]

Another picture of Jerry, this time spooning with Brittany (he's a lover, not a fighter).

[Samsam]

I tried to take my cats on a walk today...they just kept meowing and trying to run back to the house!  I guess I don't have to worry about them darting outside when a door is open..lol

[sunnyca]

Ok, need to include a picture of my two

[mostlyeels]

So many great kitties!  Here's mine, Pixel, smooching about on a hot day.

[happyfeet]

Ottawa.  Did you try feeding your kitty wet food?  My kitty had peeing problems and I now give her wet food (daily)and add water to that and it really helped with her urine issues.  Kitties also have access to dry food.

"Mom" to two indoor cats - and one stray outside cat we "adopted"

[AlexUK]

This thread may have been dead for a month now... but meet Tramp Babushka Baglady

[cpa cat]

Please help me to not commit felinicide.   The motive is frequent urination outside designated facility. 

We have narrowed down the cause as behavioural.  It is not likely health.  Urination occurs close to litter box sometimes daily, sometimes not for a week.  I have witnessed it a couple times - once I saw her squat and pee outside the box, the other time a significant quanitity of urine was deposited via a stream backwards onto the washing machine.  It is not spraying.

Let me know if you need more info or have any good ideas - APPRECIATED!

Hey Ottawa - did you have any luck with this in the last 6 weeks? I just wanted to second (third? fourth? fifth) that a ridiculously large litter box was the solution to a similar problem I had with my cat.

I don't know why a six pound cat needs a litter box fit for King Henry VIII, but she seems to feel that she does.

[Ottawa]

Please help me to not commit felinicide.   The motive is frequent urination outside designated facility. 

We have narrowed down the cause as behavioural.  It is not likely health.  Urination occurs close to litter box sometimes daily, sometimes not for a week.  I have witnessed it a couple times - once I saw her squat and pee outside the box, the other time a significant quanitity of urine was deposited via a stream backwards onto the washing machine.  It is not spraying.

Let me know if you need more info or have any good ideas - APPRECIATED!

Hey Ottawa - did you have any luck with this in the last 6 weeks? I just wanted to second (third? fourth? fifth) that a ridiculously large litter box was the solution to a similar problem I had with my cat.

I don't know why a six pound cat needs a litter box fit for King Henry VIII, but she seems to feel that she does.

Ugh...no!  But, we just acquired a (free) large dog cage and are going to try this:

Sometimes retraining may be necessary. Using a crate or metal cage is one way to retrain your cat to use a litter box.  Put your cat in the crate with a litter box, food and water. When your cat uses the litter box, let him/her out for a little while as a reward. Play with hin/her and show affection. Then put your cat back in. Allow your cat to stay out longer each time but monitoring your cat while out of the crate. Leave the crate door open while your cat is out playing just in case the cat needs to use the box. You may want to locate the cage in an area that you will eventualy be placing the litterbox after the re-training is over. This could take a few days or weeks depending on your cat.

expanded upon here:

The combination of confinement and supervised freedom is the method of choice. The cat starts the program in confinement. Most cats do well in small rooms. The bathroom is recommended as it typically has non-absorbent tile flooring and offers privacy. Since the bathroom is an essential one for humans, the cat is not isolated for extended periods of time. In addition to those necessary trips to the bathroom, you should make time for 3 to 4 twenty minute sessions with the cat either playing, grooming, talking or feeding. Put a bed for the cat in the room along with some toys. Remember to place dishes and bedding in the corner of the room farthest from the litter box.

Some cats may require a space smaller than a room (with no opportunity to choose the wrong spot) in order to learn to use the box. For these cats, a cattery cage or vari-kennel is useful. It must be big enough to accommodate the cat bed at one end, and the litter box at the other. If the cat urinates on the cat bed, it must be removed. Feed the cat two meals a day, leaving the food down for approximately 20 minutes. Keep a diary; note when the cat uses the litter box.

When the cat has been using the box and ONLY THE BOX for 2 weeks, you can begin to allow him access to other rooms in the house a room at a time. Observe from a distance; make sure that he has not fallen prey to old habits! The best time to let him roam is right after he’s used the box, returning him to confinement before his next scheduled ‘pit stop.’ Do not leave the cat out when you are not home. Only when you observe the cat reliably returning to the litter box on his own, can you begin to cut back on the supervision. Do not leave food out all day; nibbling all day increases the chance of a misplaced bowel movement! The cat cannot attempt to urinate/defecate outside of the box without being observed and directed toward the box. It is best to proceed slowly and build a strong foundation than to rush through the procedure because it is inconvenient or time consuming. In order for effective learning to take place, the cat must be watched carefully and encouraged to use the box; consistency is everything.

The complexities of cat behavior become quite evident when dealing with the cat who does not reliably use his box. The solutions often require patience, and always require consistency. Be sensitive to your cat’s needs. Your investment of quality time and attention will be well rewarded.

[Fonzico]

Ottawa: Not the most frugal solution, admittedly, but have you tried Feliway? It's a cat pheromone diffuser, and helps with a wide variety of behaviour problems. Best case scenario, it might get her in the habit of using the box, and you won't have to use it continually. Might be worth a shot if you're at your wits end.


We have two kitties - an elderly light-tortoiseshell fatty - Neko - whose main interests include food and being petted. The other is a faker black kitty - Pandora - she's really dark brown in the sunlight, but looks black. She kind of hates everyone, myself excluded and my DH to a lesser extent, but I love her madly.

She just had to have surgery to remove some bladder stones (peeing blood :() which was painfully expensive. What can you do, though? Love those fur babies.
 

[Ottawa]

Ottawa: Not the most frugal solution, admittedly, but have you tried Feliway? It's a cat pheromone diffuser, and helps with a wide variety of behaviour problems. Best case scenario, it might get her in the habit of using the box, and you won't have to use it continually. Might be worth a shot if you're at your wits end.

Yes, that was the first thing we tried!  The cat thought it was nice ambience for urinating on the floor...I think  ;-(

Its funny, kind of.  She pees (almost always) onto the front of the front-loader washing machine...which then runs across the concrete floor toward the drain.  So, at least it is consistent and easy to clean.  Now, we tried the tinfoil trick and it worked!  She didn't pee where we laid out the tinfoil in front of the washer.  Instead she peed on the concrete in front of my homebrew kegerator.  If the cat was male...I would have immediately revoked his man card:

 

SO, we discovered that the behaviour would continue no matter how much tinfoil we put down.  So, we halted this...because we didn't want her alternate venue to be on carpet or a couch or something untenable.  She is now back to the floor in front of the washing machine.  This is close to where we are going to initiate the CAGE EXPERIMENT...

[train_writer]

Our cat Mims LOVES leaves. I actually bought a certain edible plant seeds and nursed them in a small greenhouse -closely watched by Mims- just so she can enjoy a leaf every now and than! Spoiled princess, I know.

[nikki]

My best friend, Meme! She's turning 11 this August. She's so sweet and friendly, and she usually sleeps on my pillow with me. I adore her sooooooooo much!

Do your cats let you clean their eye-boogers? Meme always lets me pick them out, and my fiance noted that that's bizarrely tolerant for a cat.