I Have More Trust Issues Than This Feral..

[rubysmama]

when I feed food with seafood in it, I think it irritates his tummy. Anyone heard of this?

I haven't heard specifically of seafood irritating a cat's tummy, but if he's sensitive to it, it makes sense. Ruby, as I think I've mentioned before, has a chicken intolerance, and any chicken at all in food will eventually start giving her, thankfully not terrible diarrhea, but definitely looser stools, and accidents around the house, and vomiting. So if you've made the correlation between seafood and Finn's tummy, I'd probably cut back on it, and see if that helps. It might be that he can't tolerate seafood at all, and you have to stop it altogether.

 

[walli]

My street Ferals that are always there 1st thing in the morning, Tex and Sammy,
Tex is a meower (he meows a lot) and Sammy is not, I suspect Tex was an abandoned cat the turned Feral
well one day I heard the tiniest meow come out of Sammy, It was the cutest thing!!
that was the only time tho, He must have learned it from Tex.

 

[pearl99]

I decided to cancel Charlie's appointment yesterday. I came to the conclusion that the Comfort Max must develop a funny flavor after the seal of the bottle has been opened for a while. I stopped all the CBD and Comfort Max, and Bach's (which I alternated) and he has started eating. So I put CBD on his treat and he'll eat that way, as long as I leave his food plain. I'm hoping that that's all it was - will keep watching him.

Finn, however, has developed terrible diarrhea again. I suspect it is seafood - when I feed food with seafood in it, I think it irritates his tummy. Anyone heard of this? For a kitty with urinary issues, isn't seafood a cautionary food? I feel like I've read that somewhere. He hasn't had any more urinary issues, and he does LOVE his seafood, so I've been feeding that more often than I used to. Now he has the loud, noisy gut when he empties into the litterbox like a scene out of Dumb and Dumber. I feel so bad. Back to the urinary food. It's always something. I thought kitties were supposed to be low maintenance!
Anyway, I hope everyone had a lovely New Years Day today! Blessed to have made it to 2020!

I'm glad Charlie is eating better now! I've read that fish has a high phosphorus content with there being bones, which wouldn't be good for urinary issues, don't know about shrimp, crab etc. And have read cats shouldn't have a steady diet of seafood, just treats or small amounts sometimes. I think chicken, turkey, game meat has a higher concentration of protein anyway than fish, so there is more bang for the buck.
I've used Bonito flakes to put in a little food here and there as a treat- cheap from Amazon. It's dried fish flakes. That's all I give in the way of fish/seafood. They love them! Oh and I also have seafood flavored Temptations treats.
Maybe Finn is just sensitive to seafood, as in some cats being sensitive to chicken and other foods, depending on the cat.
So glad Charlie didn't need the vet!

 

[pearl99]

We need videos of this!!

Haha I've been thinking that! Gracie meows less now that she's more comfortable (was 7 weeks yesterday!) and it will be hard to catch but I've decided to try .
She still gets the zoomies in the night.
Moo and Waffs like to hide behind the ridges in the Ripple Rug and watch Gracie walking around. No aggression still () just hisses and growls sometimes from Moo to "keep your distance" and Gracie honors that. Waffles still just watches and hides when he's had enough.

Picture of Moo when she discovered Gracie on the couch "why is Gracie on the couch????"

 

[Buffster7]

It can depend on the cat, but in any case have you tried something like Merrick Backcountry rabbit?

Yes, Merrick rabbit is what I feed mostly. They do get bored so I rotate other flavors. I and Love and You has a rabbit flavor that Charlie loves. Lately I've been rotating some seafood in, and it's just this week that Finn's had this awful issue.

So if you've made the correlation between seafood and Finn's tummy, I'd probably cut back on it, and see if that helps. It might be that he can't tolerate seafood at all, and you have to stop it altogether.

I'll eliminate the seafood this week and see how long it takes to get him back to normal. I don't know what else it could be that might be causing this as that's the only thing that's changed? He's always been just a step away from loose stools, though - he's never had truly healthy poop like Charlie.

well one day I heard the tiniest meow come out of Sammy, It was the cutest thing!!
that was the only time tho, He must have learned it from Tex.

That is adorable! I guess if cats teach each other how to cat, it makes sense that they'd imitate each other in other ways! Just today I noticed another naughty thing that Charlie almost picked up on. Finn has been door-darting out the garage lately. It drives my crazy as he won't come back in, and I have to go out and chase him around til I can catch him. Really annoying and worrisome that he'll do the same out the front door one day.
Anyway, when I got home today, Charlie was waiting for me, and Charlie - who NEVER door darts, never counter-surfs, never yowls and never generally does anything naughty - almost darted out the garage door! Guess he wanted to see what Finn found so fascinating out there. I nipped that in the bud right there. I think if Finn ever escaped, I would hate it but think he would survive decently well til I could catch him again. Charlie is way too soft, too spoiled, too docile, fearful, and no claws - I would be beside myself if he ever got out!

Picture of Moo when she discovered Gracie on the couch "why is Gracie on the couch????

This pic is SO SWEET!!! I know that look well - I get that look from Charlie every now and then! And I LOVE LOVE LOVE it! There are 100 words spoken with that look. I could gobble him up!

My patience is REALLY worn slick with Finn today, and I feel really badly about it. The other day I caught him scratching one of my chairs, and he damaged it. I was so aggravated but just redirected him to the scratcher and taped up the chair with double-stick tape.
Then last night I caught him scratching my good couch which he's never done before - I was PISSED. He was literally standing on his scratcher and reaching past it to scratch the couch. I scolded him and taped up the couch. I'm so tired of all my furniture being taped up. It looks horrible, it's inconvenient, and I had really hoped that I could remove the tape in the near future.
This morning I woke up to hear him scratching the same sofa in the same spot (next to the tape I'd applied). I was half asleep and came flying out of bed and I yelled. (Yes I know you're not supposed to scold or yell, just redirect. I was half asleep and reflexively yelled to get him to stop). It scared him and he ran away and has been skittish since then. Since then he has been temperamental, meowing non-stop, he's been attacking Charlie, fur has flown several times, and I should feel guilty but I am just fed up. I came home from errands to find more of Charlie's fur on the rug. I'm trying to find some compassion within myself, but man, this cat tries my patience. And it's a vicious cycle, because I know how sensitive he is to my moods and how he reacts to them; surely he senses the way I feel. Calgon!

 

[Furballsmom]

Calgon!

...relaxing bubble-bath time. (I'd forgotten all about the "Calgon Take Me Away!" tv commercials LOL)

 

[Talien]

My patience is REALLY worn slick with Finn today, and I feel really badly about it. The other day I caught him scratching one of my chairs, and he damaged it. I was so aggravated but just redirected him to the scratcher and taped up the chair with double-stick tape.
Then last night I caught him scratching my good couch which he's never done before - I was PISSED. He was literally standing on his scratcher and reaching past it to scratch the couch. I scolded him and taped up the couch. I'm so tired of all my furniture being taped up. It looks horrible, it's inconvenient, and I had really hoped that I could remove the tape in the near future.
This morning I woke up to hear him scratching the same sofa in the same spot (next to the tape I'd applied). I was half asleep and came flying out of bed and I yelled. (Yes I know you're not supposed to scold or yell, just redirect. I was half asleep and reflexively yelled to get him to stop). It scared him and he ran away and has been skittish since then. Since then he has been temperamental, meowing non-stop, he's been attacking Charlie, fur has flown several times, and I should feel guilty but I am just fed up. I came home from errands to find more of Charlie's fur on the rug. I'm trying to find some compassion within myself, but man, this cat tries my patience. And it's a vicious cycle, because I know how sensitive he is to my moods and how he reacts to them; surely he senses the way I feel. Calgon!

Try covering the couch with a sheet and spray the sheet with something citrus scented. If you have access to lemon or orange oil that should work, or if you don't mind changing the sheet every couple days you could rub peelings from citrus fruit around the areas he scratches.

If you don't want to go the sheet route you could tape paper towel over the area he scratches and rub the scent into that.

 

[pearl99]

My patience is REALLY worn slick with Finn today, and I feel really badly about it. The other day I caught him scratching one of my chairs, and he damaged it. I was so aggravated but just redirected him to the scratcher and taped up the chair with double-stick tape.
Then last night I caught him scratching my good couch which he's never done before - I was PISSED. He was literally standing on his scratcher and reaching past it to scratch the couch. I scolded him and taped up the couch. I'm so tired of all my furniture being taped up. It looks horrible, it's inconvenient, and I had really hoped that I could remove the tape in the near future.
This morning I woke up to hear him scratching the same sofa in the same spot (next to the tape I'd applied). I was half asleep and came flying out of bed and I yelled. (Yes I know you're not supposed to scold or yell, just redirect. I was half asleep and reflexively yelled to get him to stop). It scared him and he ran away and has been skittish since then. Since then he has been temperamental, meowing non-stop, he's been attacking Charlie, fur has flown several times, and I should feel guilty but I am just fed up. I came home from errands to find more of Charlie's fur on the rug. I'm trying to find some compassion within myself, but man, this cat tries my patience. And it's a vicious cycle, because I know how sensitive he is to my moods and how he reacts to them; surely he senses the way I feel. Calgon!

I'm so sorry. I can relate. {{hugs}}

 

[Jcatbird]

We can all relate to that! I moved my antique sofa into the garage! I have old furniture in my living room because with bringing in so many the past couple of years I felt I was fighting a losing battle! I have “cat art” on the old stuff. ( when I retire the furniture I plan to frame the art and sell it as amazing and talented work!) I finally bought the sofa covers you see in all of my posts. Family dollar for 20 bucks and worth it! Hairball? Toss them in the washing machine! Finn everywhere? Washing machine! Scratching on the cover, it usually just shifts and they can’t get a good grip. Citrus spray at Home Depot does send them away temporarily. I find that it’s the younger cats that tend to scratch stuff. The older ones are less active. Have you tried bringing in a fallen tree limb? Lol Seriuosly, they love that above everything although it’s messy when the bark shreds. Take heart! Finn will settle. He is still trying to mark the house so that he feels he belongs. Clip claws and live with the tape for now. I’ve had all kinds of animals in my lifetime and cats are the least work compared to others. That’s not to say that they require no care. Lol People often think fish are easy. NOT! Fish tanks require a lot of attention. Fish get sick too! Puppies chew everything! Forget having nice shoes! Try having a pony! Mucking the stall is lots of fun! Way better than a litter box. Finn sounds like Dumb and Dumber! Yikes! I know that’s awful but when I read that I cracked up! Audio? Your thread would either become famous or have very few posts afterwards!
Ever had a bird? Birdseed everywhere and if they get out of the cage..... flying poop! Try giving medicine to a bird! Owl poop can be severe! My van can tell you all about that! Used to be a red van! If only I could find a spot to park without a tree! I guess the red van is sort of like aiming at the bullseye on a target. The owl is practicing his aim. He’s very accurate. If you don’t feel any better yet, come stay here for a week. We’ll get a tarp for your car! I’ll give you some cat art to take home.

 

[pearl99]

W I have “cat art” on the old stuff. ( when I retire the furniture I plan to frame the art and sell it as amazing and talented work!)..... Have you tried bringing in a fallen tree limb? Lol Seriuosly, they love that above everything although it’s messy when the bark shreds.

Oh My I'm cracking up!
I have a few fallen tree limbs! I wanted my basement area to have a "lodge look" since it has pine paneling etc., that would complete it!
It'll go with my "cat art" that is on the couch and chair down there. Waffles is quite the artist.

 

[Jewely]

I keep the feliway spray on hand and it stops any scratching, and has never stained any furniture. I only use it occasionally now, especially if we’ve had company.

I keep a throw strategically placed over one side of the couch so it completely covers the arm, front of the arm and side. As long as it is kept in place, it’s never disturbed. He has damaged the side, which I haven’t yet shown my husband. Since I got more strict about keeping the throw covered perfectly in place, nothing. On the ther side of the couch I have two pillows wedged between a gap in the back of an end table and the wall. You can’t see it unless you stick your head back there. In the front of that arm there is a plain decorative, yet functional storage basket with a hinged lid. Right now there is a fan on it because I’m hot with the heater on but even without it, he loves to sleep on the basket so no scratching. We no longer have a love seat and he doesn’t care about the chair or any of our other furniture, thankfully. He’s had his moments over the years, and I truly sympathize!

My other baby who we lost to illness was declawed ( came to me that way) chewed the legs and edges of our coffee table, and part of a wall in our bathroom, shoes, bras, you name it. Yes, he was a cat!

Have you ever heard of ssscat? Finn responds well to your can of compressed air, a few well placed cans around your couch and vulnerable areas might be worth the cost of him not damaging your furniture. I did a quick search on here and see that DreamerRose has had success with ssscat. Maybe she can tell you about it.

 

[Jcatbird]

pearl99 Lodge look! That’s great! I thought about using the base of a tree trunk that was cut as a side table. It was too heavy for me to move but it would have been a favorite for the kitties!

 

[rubysmama]

I think I've mentioned this before, but I have aluminum foil over the top back of my sofa and love seat. It's doesn't look great, but it does deter Ruby from scratching.

 

[DreamerRose]

I did a quick search on here and see that DreamerRose has had success with ssscat. Maybe she can tell you about it.

Yes, Ssscat is great. I've used it to keep Lily off tables and to stop scratching an armchair. There's a scratch board on the feet of that chair, but she would hop on the arm and scratch the upper arm. I put the Ssscat on a table pointing at the upper arm, and it only took a couple of times for her to quit that. It has a motion detector on it, so it spits out a spray of air when the cat passes in front of it.

Ssscat

 

[Buffster7]

Ahhh, you guys are awesome. Thank you. I think I just wanted someone to point out something good to loan me some patience or jump-start my compassion, and Jcatbird you did even better, you made me LAUGH! I'm feeling much better today, I knew it would blow over, but those days do happen now and then. A 'teenager' is expected to be a pain now and then, and I can deal. On the days when that teenager is attacking my older boy relentlessly, is tearing up my furniture, and is yowling non-stop (some of you have heard Finn's yowl on video - it hits a volume that really pierces the nerves), I can get frustrated. Yesterday was a day! Today things seem to have settled back down. There were a couple times I saw Finn start to scratch a piece of furniture and then stop himself. This cat is smart, I tell you! And he's not yowling today, so sanity has been restored.

I had a parrot once - I hand raised and hand-fed her from a fledgling. I loved that bird! It's also what taught me that I'll never have another one. God didn't give birds wings so that we could keep them in cages. It was heartbreaking to see her looking longingly at the birds outdoors and knowing she'd never be able to enjoy that. Yes, they are messy and a whole lot of work! Bird poop, bird dander, and bird food all day every day. Yes, no living thing is "easy". The beauty of being single is that I don't have to deal with a husband complaining or getting angry about the things that I just complained about to you guys! That's so stressful. I can deal with my own annoyance.

Take heart! Finn will settle. He is still trying to mark the house so that he feels he belongs. Clip claws and live with the tape for now.

Thank you for the reminder! It DOES help to think that he may settle some more!

Have you ever heard of ssscat? Finn responds well to your can of compressed air, a few well placed cans around your couch and vulnerable areas might be worth the cost of him not damaging your furniture.

Yes, I have a couple cans of these and I use them to keep him off my kitchen countertops and they are EFFECTIVE! They are sensitive, though, so they will frequently spray if in a high-traffic area and a shadow or body heat passes by. Would be hard to use in the living rooms. But I do use a can in my formal dining room to keep him off the buffet - I would be crushed if he scratched that furniture.

I keep the feliway spray on hand and it stops any scratching, and has never stained any furniture.

This is something I've not thought of! I have 4 feliway/comfort zone diffusers throughout the house, so I've never thought of buying the spray, but it's definitely worth trying on the furniture.

I think I've mentioned this before, but I have aluminum foil over the top back of my sofa and love seat.

Yes, I remember that! Finn likes to scratch the sides of the furniture. I have the chairs and ottoman wrapped all the way around in plastic, but the couches are too large, so that's why I have to resort to the tape.

Yes, Ssscat is great. I've used it to keep Lily off tables and to stop scratching an armchair.

Ssscat is fantastic! I don't even have to keep the cans turned on anymore; just the sight of them is enough to keep Finn off the counters!

 

[DreamerRose]

I'm going to have to give Lily a refresher course on the kitchen counters. I can't leave a spoon in the sink that she doesn't hop up there and start licking it. Ssscat is a nuisance in the kitchen because you have to keep turning it off and on, but I'll survive.

 

[pearl99]

Buffster7 , a little update and pictures:
Things are progressing slowly, but progressing- Moo and Waffs go up to the gates when Gracie's in the bedroom often, being very curious, and she can be out daily for a good stretch with them with me supervising, but they definitely keep their distance. But that distance is shrinking. All is calm, just wary.

Waffles watching me play with Gracie about 8 feet away. He's laying in a bedroom doorway and looks like something out of a scary movie...

Moo and Waffs came over to watch more play, they look like they've seen a ghost!

And then decided they were safe-

And Gracie says "Hi!"-

 

[Furballsmom]

Oh my word that picture of Waffles is hilarious!!

 

[pearl99]

Oh my word that picture of Waffles is hilarious!!

Isn't it? He does that when I'm in the kitchen too and he lays by the kitchen wall and watches the goins' on.

 

[Jcatbird]

Isn't it? He does that when I'm in the kitchen too and he lays by the kitchen wall and watches the goins' on.

Waffles! Stop trying to scare the other kitties!