Animals we share our lives with

[TromboneAl]

This guy has been around a lot lately.

 

[veremchuka]

I wouldn't want to share anything with those things!

 

[TromboneAl]

Here Kitty, Kitty!

 

[bbbamI]

Here's another pic of Tootsie (aka Tootsinator). I just gave her a bath. She looks a bit disheveled....but you should see me.

 

[Purron]

Here Kitty, Kitty!

.

 

[Purron]

Here's another pic of Tootsie (aka Tootsinator). I just gave her a bath. She looks a bit disheveled....but you should see me.

Cute pic! So the Tootsinator is a handful to bathe, huh?

 

[bbbamI]

Cute pic! So the Tootsinator is a handful to bathe, huh?

Oh lord have mercy....she's five pounds of dynamite...with claws and teeth! That's why I only bathe her once a year.

All the pets I've had in the past did fine with baths...but not this girl. She's a whirlwind.

 

[Nords]

Oh lord have mercy....she's five pounds of dynamite...with claws and teeth! That's why I only bathe her once a year.
All the pets I've had in the past did fine with baths...but not this girl. She's a whirlwind.

Speaking as someone who's never owned a cat, and who knows better than to try to bathe a bunny, why do cats need bathing? Don't they take care of that on their own?

 

[Sarah in SC]

Rarely do cats need baths, but sometimes those with allergies do, or like my Pancake, who was covered with kitchen grease from her week behind the IHOP before my boss rescued her and brought her to me. I avoid giving baths to cats at most all costs for the same reason that bbb does!

 

[bbbamI]

Speaking as someone who's never owned a cat, and who knows better than to try to bathe a bunny, why do cats need bathing? Don't they take care of that on their own?

For the most part they do take care of themselves.

However kitty litter dust, petting her, and her own grooming habits of 'cleaning' herself build up on her coat. She has long hair and it can get a bit greasy looking after time. Bathing can also eliminate most of the dandruff.

Well, that's what I tell myself while I'm wrestlin' her during bath time...

 

[Nords]

Rarely do cats need baths, but sometimes those with allergies do, or like my Pancake, who was covered with kitchen grease from her week behind the IHOP before my boss rescued her and brought her to me. I avoid giving baths to cats at most all costs for the same reason that bbb does!

For the most part they do take care of themselves.
However kitty litter dust, petting her, and her own grooming habits of 'cleaning' herself build up on her coat. She has long hair and it can get a bit greasy looking after time. Bathing can also eliminate most of the dandruff.
Well, that's what I tell myself while I'm wrestlin' her during bath time...

OK, I'm glad I asked.

I guess I'd use Kevlar gauntlets and a face shield. But mostly I'd hope to be otherwise unavoidably scheduled to be elsewhere on bath day!

 

[cj]

This is a question for Purron; as I recall, you do rescue work, right? A friend is thinking about adopting a kitten that was rescued from a feral colony, but because the kitten is only 7 weeks old (she's working directly with the rescuer), she can't test it for feline leukemia until it's 3-4 months old (so says her vet). She's afraid of bringing an untested kitten home, because she has another cat. They are doing a TNR with as many in the colony as they can. What if they tested the mother? If the mother cat was caught and tested negative, wouldn't there be a pretty good chance that the kitten would be negative also? That's what I told her, but I don't really know much about this stuff.

 

[Purron]

This is a question for Purron; as I recall, you do rescue work, right? A friend is thinking about adopting a kitten that was rescued from a feral colony, but because the kitten is only 7 weeks old (she's working directly with the rescuer), she can't test it for feline leukemia until it's 3-4 months old (so says her vet). She's afraid of bringing an untested kitten home, because she has another cat. They are doing a TNR with as many in the colony as they can. What if they tested the mother? If the mother cat was caught and tested negative, wouldn't there be a pretty good chance that the kitten would be negative also? That's what I told her, but I don't really know much about this stuff.

From Cornell University - one of the most respected authorities in veterinary medicine:

FeLV and FIV Testing

I would talk to another vet. My understanding is a kitten can be tested at any age and if the test is negative, it should be fine. If the test is positive, the kitten should be re-tested when older to confirm FeLV. From the Article linked above:

When Can Cats be Tested?
Cats can be tested for FeLV at any age. A positive FeLV test, even in a kitten, indicates circulating virus. FIV tests should be performed on cats over the age of six months. Kittens may carry maternal antibodies for the first several months of life. If such antibodies are present, they will result in a positive test, but the kitten may not necessarily be infected with FIV.

What Should be Done if a Cat Tests Positive?
A single positive test should ideally not be used to determine a cat’s retroviral status. The American Association of Feline Practitioners (Levy et al 2008) recommends that if a cat tests positive for either FeLV or FIV, a confirmatory test should be performed. The use of confirmatory tests is impractical in many shelters, however, due to financial constraints and time. If retesting of only some positive cats is possible, a shelter might choose to retest only otherwise highly adoptable cats. Shelters testing for FeLV/FIV should be aware that as the frequency of infected cats (i.e., prevalence) diminishes, the probability of obtaining falsely positive results increases, however.

 

[kcowan]

OK, I'm glad I asked.

I guess I'd use Kevlar gauntlets and a face shield. But mostly I'd hope to be otherwise unavoidably scheduled to be elsewhere on bath day!

We have 2 cats that are 13 and have never had a bath. They are indoor cats. One of them looks remarkably like Tootsie. I show DW the picture and she asked when I took the picture of him. Although he weighs 14 pounds...

 

[easysurfer]

My friend has two kittens. They are siblings, one male, one female. About 6 weeks old. The female, I guess thinks I'm her mom. When she sees me, she loves to climb up and perch herself up on my shoulder and lean against my neck. Then she goes nibbling on my fingers as I try to push her away. It's cute for awhile, but also is a it much. The other Kitten has a cute habit of enjoying watching my surf the web. He's be fasinated, just sitting on my lap, watching the graphics on my screen as I scroll the page.

 

[kyounge1956]

Rarely do cats need baths, but sometimes those with allergies do, or like my Pancake, who was covered with kitchen grease from her week behind the IHOP before my boss rescued her and brought her to me. I avoid giving baths to cats at most all costs for the same reason that bbb does!

For the most part they do take care of themselves.

However kitty litter dust, petting her, and her own grooming habits of 'cleaning' herself build up on her coat. She has long hair and it can get a bit greasy looking after time. Bathing can also eliminate most of the dandruff.

Well, that's what I tell myself while I'm wrestlin' her during bath time...

OK, I'm glad I asked.

I guess I'd use Kevlar gauntlets and a face shield. But mostly I'd hope to be otherwise unavoidably scheduled to be elsewhere on bath day!

It also helps if you get them used to it early on. Show cats (at least the longhaired breeds I'm more familiar with) are bathed before every show, and sometimes between shows, to keep their coats in top condition. They don't much like it, but they become accustomed to it. Generally speaking, no protective gear is required to wash a cat that has been bathed regularly.

I have had some cats that could never get used to being blow-dried. I can sympathize with them. Power saws make me cringe, and a blow-drier must be just as bad if not worse to a cat's sensitive ears. This characteristic seemed to run in one family. Maybe they all just had some gene for particularly acute hearing.

 

[Khan]

.

There once was a man from the city
Who saw what he thought was a kitty
To make sure of that
He gave it a pat
They buried his clothes what a pity

 

[Nords]

Our daughter goes to a college whose mascot is "Sammy The Owl".

Let's just say that he doesn't exactly inspire fear & trembling in the hearts of the opposing teams in the way that Vili the Warrior does. But spouse and I aren't big sports fans, and we just figured that all the other good mascots had already been taken.

It never occurred to us that the mascot might actually be named for one of the college's campus critters. But now that it's breeding season and we're getting their magazines & online updates, we're seeing lots of photos of baby owls. These raptors look so cute when they're little fuzzballs, and I suspect that the photographer had to work pretty hard to be in the right spot at the right time. But gosh that's a lot of them in one tree!

I can only imagine what the students are doing with Photoshop next semester...

 

[TromboneAl]

This guy (girl actually) showed up a few days ago.

She's young and pretty thin, but not emaciated. I can feel her ribs clearly, but she's healthy, although she has ear mites. She's super friendly, which suggests she's looking for a home. She likes to be picked up, so she's apparently lived with people.

I'm guessing someone dumped her here, but maybe some neighbor recently got a cat. haven't fed her.

 

[Purron]

This guy (girl actually) showed up a few days ago.

She's young and pretty thin, but not emaciated. I can feel her ribs clearly, but she's healthy, although she has ear mites. She's super friendly, which suggests she's looking for a home. She likes to be picked up, so she's apparently lived with people.

I'm guessing someone dumped her here, but maybe some neighbor recently got a cat. haven't fed her.

Girl cats get super friendly when they're in heat. To rule out the possibility of her belonging to a neighbor, you might put a collar on her with a note to call you. Last thing the world needs is another litter of unwanted kittens. If she is homeless and you'd rather not keep her, a rescue group or shelter would be the best option.

 

[bruce1]

For those who are having trouble bathing the cat. (joke)

- How to Bath the Cat

Thoroughly clean the toilet.

Add the required amount of shampoo to the toilet water and have both lids lifted.

Obtain the cat and soothe him while you carry him towards the bathroom.

In one smooth movement, put the cat in the toilet and close both lids (you may need to stand on the lid so that he cannot escape). CAUTION: Do not get any part of your body too close to the edge, as his paws will be reaching out for anything they can find. The cat will self-agitate and make ample suds. Never mind the noises that come from your toilet, the cat is actually enjoying this.

Flush the toilet three or four times. This provides a "power wash and rinse" which I found to be quite effective.

Have someone open the door to the outside and ensure that there are no people between the toilet and the outside door.

Stand behind the toilet as far as you can and quickly lift both lids.

The now-clean cat will rocket out of the toilet and run outside where he will dry himself.

Sincerely,
The Dog

 

[Gotadimple]

ROFL! Good One!

 

[Dawg52]

- How to Bath the Cat

Thoroughly clean the toilet.

Add the required amount of shampoo to the toilet water and have both lids lifted.

Obtain the cat and soothe him while you carry him towards the bathroom.

In one smooth movement, put the cat in the toilet and close both lids (you may need to stand on the lid so that he cannot escape). CAUTION: Do not get any part of your body too close to the edge, as his paws will be reaching out for anything they can find. The cat will self-agitate and make ample suds. Never mind the noises that come from your toilet, the cat is actually enjoying this.

Flush the toilet three or four times. This provides a "power wash and rinse" which I found to be quite effective.

Have someone open the door to the outside and ensure that there are no people between the toilet and the outside door.

Stand behind the toilet as far as you can and quickly lift both lids.

The now-clean cat will rocket out of the toilet and run outside where he will dry himself.

Sincerely,
The Dog

Good one.

 

[TromboneAl]

Selfishly, I'm enjoying the company of this cat. It comes and visits while I'm working in the garage. I was holding it when Lena started the car, and expected it to freak out and claw me to death, but it didn't.

 

[Purron]

Selfishly, I'm enjoying the company of this cat. It comes and visits while I'm working in the garage. I was holding it when Lena started the car, and expected it to freak out and claw me to death, but it didn't.

She's working her way into your heart. Smart little girl cat. She is beautiful by the way. Have you given her food yet?