Cat Chat 2

[pizzas and scream]

Gary has bowel and possible liver cancer. I kind of feel like we should just euthnize him without all the onocologist consulting and such. I don't know the prices yet, or how long they can give him, or if therapy will just make him sick in other ways

[lesbian]

✿
hi, i hope its okay to just rant here for a second, it's totally okay to ignore me but advice is also welcome.

i have a cat who is allowed outside but primarily lives indoors, she's not technically just my cat but i think i am her favourite. if it were my choice she would permanently live indoors, and that would be the end of it, but my parents are her official owners and make the choices regarding her care.

for years i have BEGGED them to let me keep her indoors - i have refused to open an outdoor door for her for years (except to let her in), i am actively protesting their decision but i had to stop arguing with them about it because it was becoming hostile and they refused to listen to me.

today my mum watched our cat nearly be run over by a van, which made her cry (a justified response, i think). except... instead of agreeing with me, she just said "this is why our next cat is going to be indoors only" and i'm just at a loss... we're going to have that next cat a whole heck tonne sooner if i cannot convince them to keep her indoors but i'm so exhausted from trying to convince them last time.

i just feel at a complete loss. my cat is my heart, and its making me cry thinking about her nearly being run over and i didn't even see it. as i said, if anyone has any advice, i am open to hearing it. thanks for reading.

[Lemon Tea Rain]

Hey @lesbian how old is your cat? My oldest cat is an indoor and outdoor cat, so I know what you mean there - she's been in and out her whole life, although she has always had a natural fear of the road so I've never seen her near it. I understand that you're terrified about your cat getting hurt, and don't want her to to go outside for her own safety, but depending on how long she's been an indoor/outdoor cat it could stress her out to keep her indoors. We tried it with mine when she was younger after an incident and she was constantly over active, a little destructive (more just in the way of play, but still) and just overall uncomfortable. As she's gotten older she's taken much more to being inside, and winter is always a good time to rest how they react to staying in instead of out. She's an almost fully indoor cat now, and we haven't had the same issues we did when we tried this several years ago.

But enough about my cat, if you want to try keeping your cat in, winter could be a good time to trial it (depending on what winter is like where you live, of course.) Then you have a solid excuse to be keeping her in for a while (it's cold, it's raining/snowing, it's too dark etc) and you can see how she reacts properly to not being allowed out. This is just a suggestion though, I'm in no way a cat expert, I'm just trying to apply what happened with mine here!

[pizzas and scream]

the onocologist suggests predizone for Gary as there is some swelling. this will make his yelling for food at early morning worse. he'll be yelling for food at 12 and 3 am for now on i guess. he had one dosage

onocologist dosen't know what kind of cancer it is. but tests are invasive. could be one of 3.

agressive chemo was not a good idea.

so Gary will get the pallitive care untill he stops being hisself.

[Falco]

Here’s one of my cats! Her name is bubbles

[LKP12321]

My 14 y/o outdoor/indoor cat just had a large abscess drained at the vet and needs to stay inside for a week or two. Any tips on convincing him to use a litter box? He has always been house trained like a dog, but I can’t risk him getting another infection, especially while the drains are still in.

We do have a litter box (because we also have a kitten that we won’t be letting outside until he’s neutered and closer to a year old), but Herman has never used it or any litter box in the past. We have tried the “normal” sand-like litter as well as a pellet litter a few years ago (he had a foot injury and was supposed to stay inside and not walk in anything dirt/sand-like) but he shows no interest.

I currently have the litter box (cleaned and with completely fresh litter) near the front door, so he can see it when he’s sitting there and asking to be let out. It’s also closed off on one side and from above by a large cardboard box and it has a potted plant in front of it, but not too close that his cone will get stuck. I was hoping that the privacy and being near a plant (he usually goes under the bushes outside) would help encourage him, but no luck so far. He came home over 7 hours ago after seeing the vet this afternoon and has eaten and had water since then.

He keeps waiting by the door to be let out, so I know he needs to go, but I don’t know how to tell him that it’s ok to use the litter box. He has seen the kitten use it and receive praise. I have shown him it’s current location by the door. I’m hoping that he’ll figure out that he’s not going outside any time soon and that the box is his only real option. Any advice would be appreciated! If he continues this through to tomorrow, I’ll ask the vet for help as well. Just thought I’d see if anyone here had ideas in the meantime.

Tl, dr: Cat never learned to use a litter box (trained to go outside) but now has to stay in for a medical reason. Advice?

[pizzas and scream]

My 14 y/o outdoor/indoor cat just had a large abscess drained at the vet and needs to stay inside for a week or two. Any tips on convincing him to use a litter box? He has always been house trained like a dog, but I can’t risk him getting another infection, especially while the drains are still in.

We do have a litter box (because we also have a kitten that we won’t be letting outside until he’s neutered and closer to a year old), but Herman has never used it or any litter box in the past. We have tried the “normal” sand-like litter as well as a pellet litter a few years ago (he had a foot injury and was supposed to stay inside and not walk in anything dirt/sand-like) but he shows no interest.

I currently have the litter box (cleaned and with completely fresh litter) near the front door, so he can see it when he’s sitting there and asking to be let out. It’s also closed off on one side and from above by a large cardboard box and it has a potted plant in front of it, but not too close that his cone will get stuck. I was hoping that the privacy and being near a plant (he usually goes under the bushes outside) would help encourage him, but no luck so far. He came home over 7 hours ago after seeing the vet this afternoon and has eaten and had water since then.

He keeps waiting by the door to be let out, so I know he needs to go, but I don’t know how to tell him that it’s ok to use the litter box. He has seen the kitten use it and receive praise. I have shown him it’s current location by the door. I’m hoping that he’ll figure out that he’s not going outside any time soon and that the box is his only real option. Any advice would be appreciated! If he continues this through to tomorrow, I’ll ask the vet for help as well. Just thought I’d see if anyone here had ideas in the meantime.

Tl, dr: Cat never learned to use a litter box (trained to go outside) but now has to stay in for a medical reason. Advice?

are there attractants for cats, like how there is in puppy pads?

[LKP12321]

*snip*

are there attractants for cats, like how there is in puppy pads?

Good idea. I looked it up and they do exist. I’ll try to pick some up today. He was starting to freak out about 10 minutes ago. We tried to take him outside with the dog’s leash and harness and he slipped out, even with it tightened to his size. Luckily, he was waiting on the back deck within a minute or two. I hate to do it, but if I can’t convince him to use the litter box, I think I’ll have to only let him out during the coldest parts of the morning and evening. I know that’s probably not often enough, but if I let him out during the warmest part of the day, I think he’ll go exploring and that’s too dangerous.

[Thalassic]

*snip*

are there attractants for cats, like how there is in puppy pads?

Good idea. I looked it up and they do exist. I’ll try to pick some up today. He was starting to freak out about 10 minutes ago. We tried to take him outside with the dog’s leash and harness and he slipped out, even with it tightened to his size. Luckily, he was waiting on the back deck within a minute or two. I hate to do it, but if I can’t convince him to use the litter box, I think I’ll have to only let him out during the coldest parts of the morning and evening. I know that’s probably not often enough, but if I let him out during the warmest part of the day, I think he’ll go exploring and that’s too dangerous.

You should look into getting a cat harness for him.

[pizzas and scream]

if Gary is yelling for food every 3 hours, i obviosuly feed him right? he is on
Prednisolone