Cat Chat 2

[Frøggy]

Wow. Outside of my condo, I heard my mom say- "What the- There's a cat out there"
Being the person I am I literally RUSHED outside, I thought maybe it ran away but it was under a tree, I decided to go back inside and get some treats for it.
I started tossing some treats toward it and it came out. I thought it was someones pet they let out until I saw his condition. Both his ears were torn and bleeding, one of his eyes was scratched and oozing, his nose was running, he had bugs and ticks all over him, and he had scratches all over his body. Not gonna lie I almost cried seeing the state he was in. He was starving so I gave him all my cat's treats and a bowl of water. He was not feral at all, he was rubbing his head against me and meowing at me. I decided to call him Marco. He was light orange and and a bit of a pale light orange. He kinda looked like a mix between Firestar and Sandstorm from Warriors. After that me and my neighbor put him in a bin (We didn't really know what to do with him) and started calling the vets and animal rescue shelters. Nobody answered because of Covid-19 and the fact it was Saturday and stuff. So we took him to my local sheriff's office and he told us to bring him to the Animal Control one town over. I didn't want to have to do it, but I did. I just got back from dropping him off maybe 3 hours ago. I don't know if he had to be put down but I highly doubt he did. Tomorrow I'll check with them to see if maybe he had an owner. I don't know if he was microchipped but he had no collar. That's all I know about him but he was the sweetest thing. Reply if you have any questions! ~Buddys79
LINK TO A POLL HAVING TO DO WITH THIS- Forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=4343629&p=130544433#p130544433

[Lemon Tea Rain]

Hey there! I want to know if anyone has tips for introducing two adult cats. (One aged nine, one an undetermined age but very old - greying fur and everything.)

Basically, the gist of it is a stray that I've been taking care of for a year or longer - he's an old, very tame soul, but he just keeps getting himself hungry and hurt out there - came home yesterday with a massively swelled paw he couldn't put any weight on. We called the RSPCA yesterday but he had ran off before we could get the pet carrier out for him. He returned this morning, and we managed to get him in to a pet carrier and take him to the vets on the RSPCA's behalf. Thing is, because he's a stray, there's a big possibility they'll just treat him and then ask the vet to rerelease him in to the garden, and he's so old we don't want that to happen to him.. So we've said that if that happens we're willing to take him in.

Anyway, I already have an outdoor cat who, while she grew up with a lot of other cats, she's been an only cat at home for 7/8 years. I have no clue how to even start introducing her to the stray, and I'm a little worried because obviously as an outdoor cat they've met before, so I'd assume there'll be pre-existing rivalries between them both.

Honestly, I'd just like to know if anyone has some advice, or some sites to visit to see how's the best way to go about this? It's going to be tough already to keep them separated to begin with because the cat is only allowed downstairs, where there's only two real rooms (plus a tiny bathroom.) I just don't know how to tackle this, really, but I'm willing to go through any time consuming process to help him. He's really tame and trusting, and while he doesn't actively seek out being stroked he'll let it happen, (even when he came to us injured). I just wanna give him the best life in his old age.

[Bitters]

Clipped.

Hmm. I don't know about having preexisting rivalries, and I don't know if this would work in all situations, but I have had to introduce adult cats to one another a few times because of moving/changing roommates and their pets.

One thing that helped me the last time was initially keeping them separated with the ability to smell each other through/under a door. For example, when my cat was 2 and I needed to introduce her to a past roommate's older cat, I kept her closed in the bathroom with her food, water, and litter box. The bathroom was pretty small, but they would sniff each other under the door. Originally she was terrified and my roommate's cat was very angry. Eventually they became more comfortable smelling, and even began pawing under the door in a playful way. Then I let them (supervised) see each other a few times a day. Finally I was comfortable leaving them be alone without the fear one would attach the other. It was a pretty long process (weeks) but it did work.

Goodluck.

[pizzas and scream]

yes he is waking my family up and they would like to sleep longer. Gary is a needy cat. 11+. i feed him and give him the slip. he looks for me if he notices I am gone. even if i play with, when he grabs toy , i do. unless i play with him in my room, his stomping around will wake family up. he also makes a noise when his toy is in his mouth

my family has beddrom upstairs, near living room. its one of the (master bed-baths of the house?) where up the stairs is no hall way and door. so it's open. so his voice can travel.

mostly it's at 4 am. if he does it earlier i will try to play with him, and give him touch of pettting, hug, scritch then toy and hope it is enough.

he used to sleep with me, but he impedes my sleep(when I tell my Pulmonolgist he'll be happy to hear" you don't realise how heavy a cat is untill they use your cheekbones or near your eye as a pillow.


his voice is "grnaahhhhhhh, gahhhhhhhhh warhhhhhhh" brash voice

[Lemon Tea Rain]

-snip-

Sounds like this will take a while, but I'm willing. That does sound sensible though, and like a good way to go about it! I'm just worried about stressing out the new cat too much, since he was a stray, and going from having the whole outside as his territory to a small room is probably gonna freak him out a lil. Would you recommend feeding them both during the supervised seeing eachother, or do you think that should stay separate for them both?

And thanks for the advice!

[pizzas and scream]

does anyone have any good, affordable, cat food recommendations? my cats, both indoor and outdoors, are on meow mix currently and have been their whole lives, but i know it's one of the unhealthier brands out there and i'd like to switch them to something better. the problem is my family is on a very tight budget and a 22lb bag of meow mix costs $15.95, which is a steal compared to some brands that charge that much for a 5lb bag. counting my indoor and outdoor cats, i have ten cats total, probably more because a lot of the more feral strays also like to come up and eat out of my bowls. their ages range from 15 years all the way down to around 8 months, dunno if that factors in to deciding brands or not, but figured i should mention it. price is honestly what's going to be what determines whether or not they get switched over to something else. i don't have any money of my own, my dad is the one who pays for their food, and if it's too expensive, he'll say no and that will be the end of the discussion. are there any affordable brands out there that, while they might not be the healthiest, they're better than meow mix and also around the same price?

is Rachel Ray's food in your budget? I am still, myself trying to find food that dosen't give my cat sour pudding plops.

[Thalassic]

-snip-

Sounds like this will take a while, but I'm willing. That does sound sensible though, and like a good way to go about it! I'm just worried about stressing out the new cat too much, since he was a stray, and going from having the whole outside as his territory to a small room is probably gonna freak him out a lil. Would you recommend feeding them both during the supervised seeing eachother, or do you think that should stay separate for them both?

And thanks for the advice!

Separated at first.
Seeing a "stranger" eating in their territory could be seen as an attack on their own food, so it's best to just have them smell eachother for a while and then reward them with food.
What I'd suggest is
1. Smelling eachother
2. Seeing eachother (from a distance)
3. Being in the same space but watched closely so they don't interact, just enough so they can observe one another
4. Short periods of interaction under supervision

You also have to keep in mind that, since they are both adult cats, it's entirely possible that they will not get along/not be friends. So the goal should be just to have them coexist comfortably. Always remember to reward both of them and give both of them love and playtime so neither feels left out.

[Gizmutt]

does anyone have any good, affordable, cat food recommendations? my cats, both indoor and outdoors, are on meow mix currently and have been their whole lives, but i know it's one of the unhealthier brands out there and i'd like to switch them to something better. the problem is my family is on a very tight budget and a 22lb bag of meow mix costs $15.95, which is a steal compared to some brands that charge that much for a 5lb bag. counting my indoor and outdoor cats, i have ten cats total, probably more because a lot of the more feral strays also like to come up and eat out of my bowls. their ages range from 15 years all the way down to around 8 months, dunno if that factors in to deciding brands or not, but figured i should mention it. price is honestly what's going to be what determines whether or not they get switched over to something else. i don't have any money of my own, my dad is the one who pays for their food, and if it's too expensive, he'll say no and that will be the end of the discussion. are there any affordable brands out there that, while they might not be the healthiest, they're better than meow mix and also around the same price?

is Rachel Ray's food in your budget? I am still, myself trying to find food that dosen't give my cat sour pudding plops.

RR food is fairly good food for a reasonable price. I have a VERY picky eater. And the only food she has ever eaten/will eat consistently is RR salmon blend. (I have tried many different foods, high end included). Seeing as it is the only food she will eat, I don't have much choice .. but I have done some research. It's pretty decent. Yes there are better food out there .. but it doesn't use saw dust bone meal filler like some. One of the biggest problems, is weight gain - which I have noticed in my other cat .. and I have had to monitor, and separate meal times (which is a bit of a pain) But she is a big of a pig naturally anyway.

[retro]

[~ moth ~]

oh my gosh so much has happened in the last week!

for one my sister brought home a stray cat on wednesday without my parents knowing. she spent a few days locked in my sisters room but now she's in mine. the girl is ten years old and a pretty calico (?). she's so loud and rambunctious, though. very hesitant but sweet. we took her to the vet. they found a microchip with some info on it, but her owner doesn't seem very interested in keeping her. if he gives her up then my sister wants to keep her, but we will need to get past our parents first.

secondly one of my cats, percy, got into a fight with a stray yesterday. this stray terrorizes all of the neighborhood cats, but has left percy injured several times now. this time percy came home with a very swollen face. we think he lost a tooth to this cat, but it's hard to tell since his lip is just huge and it's hard to see inside his mouth. we're taking him to the vet today to get him checked out asap.

then there's tiny. just doing her indoor cat things. being a derp.