Cat Chat 2

[Crossflare]

Stress grooming can lead to alopecia which leads to bald spots.

[Minimanta]

*Randomly drops by*

My cat found a hammock at my parents place earlier this year =3

[Brynmala]

So we are going into summer, and ive noticed my cat seems to be grooming herself a lot more then normal, is that normal? or could something be wrong, iam not sure if i should be worryed or not. Should i book a vet visit?

If she has quite a long or thick coat she could just be changing for her summer coat if you have warm summers - keep an eye on her and see if she has matted bits or lots of dead hairs. If she's getting older she may need help with grooming, but an ordinary shorthair shouldn't need you to groom her much, maybe a quick comb once a week or so.

However if she is constantly grooming one spot and is actually pulling the hair out (typically her back legs, or her back) that is likely to be a result of stress. Has anything changed in her routine, the house, her food, the neighbourhood recently? It could be just a seemingly little thing, but worth trying to find out what it is as it is obviously bothering her. This sort of stress overgrooming can become a habit and may continue even after the stress is gone if it goes on too long (one of my rescue cats does this and the fur on his back end is very thin as a result)

Or it could be a whole host of other medical things, so if you can't put it down to either of the above things, or there is any broken, bruised or red skin ring your vet and see what they say, they are best placed to decide if they need to see her.

[Thalassic]

My baby Pūcis died last night at the too-young age of 13.
We didn't find out what was wrong with him..

[friends dønt lie.]

last night, we just got a kitten! he is only six weeks old <3

i’ve never owned a cat before, any beginner’s advice? also, what are some ways to introduce dogs to the new cat?

thank you for the help!

[Brynmala]

@ thalassic: I'm so sorry to hear about your cat 13 isn't a bad age really, but we sort of expect more these days.

@ wolf: 6 weeks is very young for your kitten to be away from his mother, 12 weeks is the recommended age now. Advice? Don't change his diet for a good while, get him jabbed as soon as you can, and keep a sharp eye on him for the next month - if he shows any signs of lethargy, runny nose, weepy eyes get him straight to the vet. If he is a flu carrier this time of stress at changing homes will be when it comes out and he could become a very sick little kitten very quickly (and I don't want to frighten you but cat flu is a killer in young kittens). Keep him contained to one room to start with and slowly introduce him to new bits of the house - don't just give him the run of the place straight away, he'll get lost and you'll lose him! Don't put his litter tray next to his feeding area, and separate his water and food by some fair distance - cats don't like eating where they drink. Don't expect him to ever use the lovely cat bed you've no doubt bought him! If you have any breakable ornaments put them away, and kitten proof the same way you would baby proof. I have genuinely had kittens climbing the wallpaper behind a big Welsh dresser. They made it all the way to the top, a good 8 feet up, and then couldn't get down...

As for introducing the dog and cat, this is a long slow process, it isn't likely to happen instantly, you will need to work at it. You don't say what sort of dog it is, but the kitten is tiny and fair prey for just about any size of dog. Make sure the dog really does understand NO! have the kitten on someone's lap, and bring the dog in on a lead, handled by someone who isn't afraid to reprimand the dog. let the dog approach the kitten and sniff, but at the slightest sign of either over enthusiasm or aggression from the dog, or fear from the cat separate them, and tell the dog off. The worst thing you can do is let the kitten run away, the dog's natural instinct is to chase which will lead to tears. If they react sensibly and calmly praise them both excessively. Leave it at that for the first session. Repeat daily for as long as it takes. Obviously the dog and cat must never be left alone unsupervised at all until you know that the dog won't chase, and the kitten is going to be sensible. Some dogs will never be safe around cats, but with perseverance most can be trained - I've had ex racing greyhounds living happily and safely with both cats and house rabbits, but again I wouldn't ever leave them together unsupervised, it is just too much of a risk.

[arwyn.]

So I have a maine coon who's about 3 years old now, and all of a sudden there are fur tufts all over the house. We brushed him and more and more fur just kept coming off his pelt. This didn't happen last year and I thought cats were supposed to keep their coats long and thicker in the winter? I might just be over-reacting but I'd like to know if this is normal or not. He doesn't shed that much and is usually well kept. Even when we brush him there isn't this much fur.

[Lunarsnow]

So I have a maine coon who's about 3 years old now, and all of a sudden there are fur tufts all over the house. We brushed him and more and more fur just kept coming off his pelt. This didn't happen last year and I thought cats were supposed to keep their coats long and thicker in the winter? I might just be over-reacting but I'd like to know if this is normal or not. He doesn't shed that much and is usually well kept. Even when we brush him there isn't this much fur.

If he's 3 and this has never happened before then it may possibly be a little concerning. Has he come into contact with anything new or had his diet changed recently?

But long-haired cats do typically shed out their summer coat so the longer winter coat can grow in! If he's not an outdoor cat then it doesn't really matter as much what time of year it is for shedding since we keep our houses more controlled climate-wise than outdoors are. So if he used to be indoor only and then just started going outside recently that may explain the sudden heavy shedding. Or if you moved to an area with colder winters. If he starts losing big patches of fur/skin starts showing or he seems itchy then I'd start to worry but as of now it doesn't seem too alarming.

[ola232]

Is there an way to unlearn an cat to jump on table or desk beacause of food? Asking because my cat does that always when i'm eating something with meat in it

[Elleyse]

Hello! I recently got a kitten, an she's getting big enough now to realize she can jump up onto things. How can I teach her not to do that? Along with not scratching furniture? We really REALLY don't want to get her declawed, but if we can't get her to stop, it might be considered. She does have a cat tower and a scratching post, but she doesn't like the post.

Any help is greatly appreciated!

(Edit: she's around five months old now)