New Cat Questions

[richtea78]

He's been fine for the last week and a bit then tonight he threw up again. Was very strange as was almost a straight line. It was the first time he had tuna and anchovy applaws so I'm going to put it down to that.

[The Nur]

He sounds like he is getting on well

[richtea78]

Yeah he is a lot of fun. He really dislikes spiders though

I had a house spider that was living under my sofa. I didn't mind him and every few days he would scuttle across the floor. Till Loki saw him that is. He squished him into the floor then ate him. He has a very smug look at times

[The Nur]

Spider watch is one of a cat's many favourite games. Have you tried him with a laser pen?

[richtea78]

I got a laser pen, he hates the dot. Goes mad chasing it.

I think he might be a bit simple though as he spends quite a lot of time staring at things that aren't there then pouncing on them.

[IanA2]

richtea78 said:

I got a laser pen, he hates the dot. Goes mad chasing it.

I think he might be a bit simple though as he spends quite a lot of time staring at things that aren't there then pouncing on them.

One of my cats does that!

[irocfan]

richtea78 said:

I think he might be a bit simple though as he spends quite a lot of time staring at things that aren't there then pouncing on them.

maybe he saw a flea...

[richtea78]

Hah. He doesn't have fleas!

I'm going to start letting him outside for a while before dinner now. He got out yesterday and spent about 15 minutes teasing next doors dog through their patio. Lazy bugger didn't want to climb back over so my neighbour had to push him back!

Cat flap is being fitted next week so I figured would build up the time till it arrives

[richtea78]

Loki has been settling in very well. He runs my house now. He is up to 7kgs now so is going to have to be cut back a bit. He has perfected is "Where the fk is the rest of my food?" Look

The only problem is he has put one of my neighbours cats in the vets. It would appear that there was a disagreement about who controlled the car park. Neighbours cat lost. Mine has not a mark on him.

Said neighbour came round to tell me as she was "worried my cat was injured". He was perfecting his rolling on the gravel. Should I offer to pay her vets bills? She hasn't asked but I'm not sure of the etiquette. I'm inclined to put it down as cats are cats and that's the end of it? Or is it accepted I should pay? I don't want to fall out with them but I don't think it's very fair. Her cat may have started it.

[bexVN]

No legal responsibility but maybe a bottle of wine from Loki to the neighbour would be appreciated and some cat treats for her cat .

Hopefully they'll sort their boundaries etc out soon enough and the fights will stop

[IanA2]

richtea78 said:

Loki has been settling in very well. He runs my house now. He is up to 7kgs now so is going to have to be cut back a bit.

Definitely, he's getting a bit too big. Around 5 Kgs is a decent weight. 7's a bit too much. Arthritis and all that.

richtea78 said:

. I'm inclined to put it down as cats are cats and that's the end of it? Or is it accepted I should pay? I don't want to fall out with them but I don't think it's very fair. Her cat may have started it.

Definitely, cats will be cats, no way would I be offering up for the vets bills. If she's worried about Vet bills then she should carry insurance. Not even sure I'd be offering a bottle of wine, not unless she's a nice neighbour and you sit down and drink it with her, but Vet's fees? No way.

[bexVN]

Cat fight wounds rarely go high enough to make an insurance claim though.

How much did he weigh when you got him? He looked fine at that weight in your pics so whatever that was get him back to it time to be strict with his food.

Edited by bexVN on Monday 2nd June 01:02

[richtea78]

He weighed 6.1kg when I got him and hes now 6.9kg. The Nurse said 6ish was his ideal weight as hes quite big anyway so need to keep him down a bit. He likes his food I guess which I can relate to. He is the powerfully built director of the cat world

Thanks for the advice about the Vets bills. She didn't out and out ask for money so she may just have been hinting or I may have misinterpreted it.

[IanA2]

Ask the vet about best weight next time you go.

[bexVN]

Erm vet nurses are more than capable of advising on ideal weights. In fact animals are usually referred to nurses for weight advice/ targets/ monitoring. I have been a 'weight watcher' nurse for 15yrs. Which is why it is nice for me to see that the nurses advice matched my thoughts .

[IanA2]

bexVN said:

Erm vet nurses are more than capable of advising on ideal weights. In fact animals are usually referred to nurses for weight advice/ targets/ monitoring. I have been a 'weight watcher' nurse for 15yrs. Which is why it is nice for me to see that the nurses advice matched my thoughts .

Fair enough. One of my cats was a bit of a glutton and a prolific hunter. Our vet (and the vet nurse) kept blowing the whistle every time the scales tipped over 5 Kgs. We managed to keep it around there with difficulty as whenever we tried restricting food, another rabbit was ostentatiously devoured with relish and panache!

[richtea78]

I did a lot of reading up on them and it's not unusual for toms to get to 8kg. He is a bit chubby but he's not hugely over weight. The nurse said 6kg was ideal so that's what I'm aiming at. He hasn't brought me anything yet so if he is catching food he's eating it all

[IanA2]

Ours brought it to us and ate it in front of us. Growling (yes from a cat) would accompany any attempt to take the rabbit. Only ever left the eyeballs, gross!

[Mobile Chicane]

Weigh his food and err on the stingy side. Most 'feeding guidelines' on product packaging are far too generous.

Have words with neighbours to ensure they aren't giving him tit bits.

You may have a struggle on your hands: cats which have ever been strays have it programmed in their brains that they must eat whatever food they see, since they can't entirely be sure where their next meal is coming from. They're also accomplished thieves / beggars.

It's very, very easy to allow them to become overweight.

ETA: He could also be over-eating out of boredom. A treat ball will help with this to simulate having to 'hunt' dried food, rather than just having it presented in a bowl.

Edited by Mobile Chicane on Wednesday 4th June 20:02

[omgus]

Mobile Chicane said:

Most 'feeding guidelines' on product packaging are far too generous.

I went away and left a friend looking after my cats, he called on the 3rd day to say they weren't eating all their food and i started to get really worried, asked my Mother to go check on them as it was the first time i had left them for a week. It turned out Dave had been following the feeding guidelines on the back of the pouches exactly and not the instructions i left him. They recommended 3 times as much food a day as i give them when i'm feeling generous.