Our New Kittens

[anonymous-user]

I may leave the feed and just get the topsoil just in case, if anything happened to the cats I think I would end up being the foundations for a new patio!

[Mobile Chicane]

Quite a few plants are toxic as well.

Lilies being the real biggie if pollen gets on their fur and they lick it off.

[anonymous-user]

Mobile Chicane said:

Quite a few plants are toxic as well.

Lilies being the real biggie if pollen gets on their fur and they lick it off.

Yeah the borders are being done next weekend and we are going to choose the plants/shrubs very carefully with this in mind

[bexVN]

Many plants can have the potential to be toxic to dogs and cats but luckily many need to be eaten in some quantities to do so, others are mild irritants.

Re: lilies it's now been recognised that with some any part of the lily is extremely toxic and can cause acute renal failure, not just the pollen.

I think the cpl may have info re: cat friendly plants.

[Mobile Chicane]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

That soil looks very 'dusty', and I'd suggest you dig it through with compost (the contents of a few grow bags will do at a pinch) if you want whatever you plant there to thrive. Compost will provide nutrients and help the soil hold water better.

On the topic of compost, used woodchip cat litter makes good compost mixed 50/50 with grass cuttings plus whatever vegetable scraps you have.

Compost should be half 'green' materials and half 'brown'. The woodchip cat litter provides the 'brown', and the nitrate content in urine acts as an accelerant to the composting process. (Or you could use your own if you wanted.)

As you can tell, I've been researching all of this since I got Bob. Woodchip isn't the first type of litter I'd have chosen, but Cats Protection recommended it. It's cheaper than the clay stuff too. I'm quite a keen gardener, so if Bob can do his bit to help there as well, all's good.

[solo2]

okgo said:

You'd like to think that they wouldn't be able to escape from a garden that is so well enclosed, but the little buggers would run up the fence like it was flat if they wanted to haha!

If you do not want them to get out the garden...

http://www.purrfectfence.co.uk/default.asp

And for the windows...

http://www.flat-cats.co.uk/cpl/

[K77 CTR]

bexVN said:

Many plants can have the potential to be toxic to dogs and cats but luckily many need to be eaten in some quantities to do so, others are mild irritants.

Re: lilies it's now been recognised that with some any part of the lily is extremely toxic and can cause acute renal failure, not just the pollen.

I think the cpl may have info re: cat friendly plants.

So should I not be planting my tree lillies? They are pollen free ones so I thought they'd be ok.

[ali_kat]

Mobile Chicane said:

Mine gets Highland Spring in a wide bowl. Apparently cats don't like the taste of chlorinated water, or to get their whiskers wet.

The CP lady recommended rainwater, however I'm a bit concerned about this going skanky in the water butt and decided to go for bottled instead.

Tiina

Move Bob's water away from his food; they will eat rather than drink if it is too close.

mine will only drink day old water from glass bowls, or the water in the bath... with or without soapy additives

[blueg33]

okgo said:

Christ.

Mine get water from the tap and they seem to drink it, if it aint broke and all that. But then again bengals tend not to drink like normal cats in that they use their paws to cup the water or something, they don't put their heads in the bowl.

And then leave wet foot prints! They also swipe the top of the water which is a natural instinct Bengals have to skim off debris before they drink.

Ours drink both tap water and filtered water, but only if the bowl is in a different room to the food.

[anonymous-user]

So had a day off today, let the kittens out in the garden while I was filling in the gaps with topsoil (cheers sleep)

Then went off to Whistable for the OH to have an interview and spend some time by the sea, thought we would have a takeout to round off the day so 45 mins later some of Kents finest fried chicken arrived, ate it binned it and the OH left it for me to take the bin bag out, retired upstairs to watch TV and thought I woud take it out when I next went for a smoke, big mistake

Thought they had been quiet, too quiet, went down to the kitchen to be greeted by



Little bugger, methinks the OH will have a special litter tray to clear out later

[ali_kat]

There were no bones in Kents finest I trust?

[anonymous-user]

ali_kat said:

There were no bones in Kents finest I trust?

One big one which was in tact caught them before they got too into it, bones are bad then I take it?

[ali_kat]

Cooked bones are very bad

Don't ever let any form of Lilly in the house either! Completely toxic to cats.

[Who me ?]

Mobile Chicane said:

As you can tell, I've been researching all of this since I got Bob. Woodchip isn't the first type of litter I'd have chosen, but Cats Protection recommended it. It's cheaper than the clay stuff too. I'm quite a keen gardener, so if Bob can do his bit to help there as well, all's good.

Oh, living across the road from catwoman and what could be considered a cat sanctuary ,I can attest that cats love it. In the end I had to get rid of it and put down stone. The place was stinking, and not just urine .

[sleep envy]

ali_kat said:

Cooked bones are very bad

Don't ever let any form of Lilly in the house either! Completely toxic to cats.

IMO that's slightly OTT as we've alwyas got lillies in the house, the cat just stays away from them as their perfume is very strong and he hates the smell

[bexVN]

sleep envy said:

ali_kat said:

Cooked bones are very bad

Don't ever let any form of Lilly in the house either! Completely toxic to cats.

IMO that's slightly OTT as we've alwyas got lillies in the house, the cat just stays away from them as their perfume is very strong and he hates the smell

Not ott at all. Very very serious if cats even just lick or chew. They will die of acute renal failure, those detected very early may pull through. I seen both results.

Being as we cannot tell which cat will or will not ignore the plants the best advice has to be no lillies in the house or ensure a cat can't get to them.

[sleep envy]

do you hide all the sharp objects too just incase they do a bit of knife juggling whilst you're at work?

Edited by sleep envy on Thursday 22 March 13:05

[bexVN]

sleep envy said:

do you hide all the sharp objects too just incase they do a bit of knife juggling whilst you're at work?

Edited by sleep envy on Thursday 22 March 13:05

Really no need for this kind of response.

Look on any cat pages or plants poisonous to cats and Lillies are the worst of the worst.
My job is to inform and advise and help, can't do anymore than that, you make your own choices on behalf of your pets at the end of the day.

[sleep envy]

Yes I understand that they're toxic to cats however the point being not letting any type into the house is OTT - what happens if you were to brush against one? do you buddy check each other before going through the front door?

[Mobile Chicane]

Lilies are my favourite flowers, especially the white Longiflora.

However I'm not taking the risk that Bob might chew a leaf, or pick up pollen on his paws.

If they're not in the house, then I don't need to worry.

I'll be grubbing them out of the garden as well.