|
Post by Lindsey on Sept 3, 2009 13:02:31 GMT -5
When I had my cat Maddux snipped i didnt change the litter box at all, just made sure the litter was clean and new. He was pretty knocked out for about a day but after that, you need to keep an eye on him because the 'taking it easy for a week' isnt easy for most kittens.
|
|
$heriff Tom
Administrator
Groom ba ya ya ya
Posts: 16,173
|
Post by $heriff Tom on Sept 3, 2009 13:05:13 GMT -5
Yeah, I got a couple of new containers of litter for the express purpose of cleaning out the box as it was. Im thinking of going that way, the paper thing sounds like a mess to me. As to the taking it easy thing, I was going to let him dictate his own policy. I even asked the doc about he and the other cat, but he pooh-poohed any worries over it.
|
|
|
Post by Lindsey on Sept 3, 2009 13:22:13 GMT -5
Ive honestly never heard of the newspaper thing. If the vet isn't worried about him running around upsetting the wound, then i dont think getting a piece of kitty litter in his weehee is going to be a problem.
|
|
$heriff Tom
Administrator
Groom ba ya ya ya
Posts: 16,173
|
Post by $heriff Tom on Sept 3, 2009 13:39:32 GMT -5
Dana told me there is a "shredded paper litter" they sell. Im not sold on the idea, they are fastidious with the litter. Hell, one thing the doctor did admit was that he NEVER had a kitten come back cause of a litter snafu, after the op. And Im sure not everyone is shredding papers.
|
|
|
Post by 9 on Sept 3, 2009 16:53:17 GMT -5
I thought the newspaper thing was for when they got declawed, not spayed/neutered.
|
|
$heriff Tom
Administrator
Groom ba ya ya ya
Posts: 16,173
|
Post by $heriff Tom on Sept 3, 2009 17:24:45 GMT -5
Nah, the thing is the smaller crystals can get in or around their cuts, its a sanitary thing. We picked up this different litter which is bigger granules, more papery. Going to give it a whirl. Put a bed of a couple of inches of their old litter underneath a pile of this new stuff, a concern is them not recognizing or liking the smell of the litterbox now.
|
|
|
Post by crazilyz on Sept 3, 2009 20:40:22 GMT -5
Question for the cat folks. Storm, aka "Pork" - is getting snipped today. Hes been at the vet, for an evening pickup. One thing the vet told me is to empty the litterbox, and replace with "shredded newspaper." So no litter gets "in there." He admitted chances of this are miniscule. Heres the thing, Im anti the shredded paper idea, on the surface, especially with TWO cats. Not only may they not take to it, it seems to be a collosal mess to me. Anyone? I was thinking of living on the edge, and keeping him the comfort of his litterbox. He's been through enough. Or should I start having Emma ripping up old newspapers, and do this for the next "7-10 days?" I'm surprised the vet didn't recommend "yesterday's news," a litter that's made from recycled newspaper. It's sold at the larger pet stores.
|
|
|
Post by crazilyz on Sept 3, 2009 20:41:55 GMT -5
I thought the newspaper thing was for when they got declawed, not spayed/neutered. When my cat got declawed, I was told about the newspaper litter. When she got spayed, she stuck with her regular litter.
|
|
$heriff Tom
Administrator
Groom ba ya ya ya
Posts: 16,173
|
Post by $heriff Tom on Sept 3, 2009 23:04:01 GMT -5
Liz, heres whats funny - thats what we ended up picking up. I got that in the litterbox now, on top of a base of the old litter. Storm hopped right in, he has no problem with it, although it looks more a pain in the ass to clean / replace. Owen is a bit more hesitant, its not familiar, I guess.
The idea of a litter that fits the bill made more sense to me than the vets idea, of putting Emma to work ripping up newspapers. Dana and I do know someone who uses nothing but old newspapers in their cats litter, however. I wont go there, no way, that seems ick to me.
|
|
|
Post by elliejay21 on Sept 5, 2009 20:41:39 GMT -5
I'm a little late on this, but we used regular litter when the girls got spayed. We just kept them confined to the bedroom for 3 days after. I also HIGHLY advise against giving cats any shredded paper... used shredded newspaper for my Zongie in college. She showed up as a stray & we didn't have any litter, so I gave her the paper. Now she uses regular litter & still shreds any paper she comes across... including important documents!
|
|
$heriff Tom
Administrator
Groom ba ya ya ya
Posts: 16,173
|
Post by $heriff Tom on Sept 5, 2009 21:01:35 GMT -5
Well, no way we were going to go "shredded paper." This litter we tried was recycled newspaper, apparently, into pellets. The pellets were bigger than the litter crystals, which they told us to hold off on using for a bit. But heres how it went down....that lasted all of 2 days. Done with it.
Back to our normal litter. I think we were lucky in that the second we got Storm AKA Pork back here, he was his normal self, doing his normal things. You would not have even known he was out getting nipped that day. So, Im going back to our normal routine.
In 2 days time, this "Yesterdays News" stuff was stinking up a storm, and I dont think the cats liked it. They would stand outside of the box here and there meowing. So I dumped and cleaned today, and put back all-new crystals. Thats the end of that.
|
|
$heriff Tom
Administrator
Groom ba ya ya ya
Posts: 16,173
|
Post by $heriff Tom on Oct 25, 2009 9:16:00 GMT -5
Well, we had to put Owen down this morning. Its as painful as you can imagine. My heart is breaking, especially for Emma and Dana.
Feline leukimia. Things went askew this past week, starting with lethargy, then decreased eating, hiding, step to step. We took her in this morning, after a tough day yesterday for her. The news was grim, and we had no choice. Her quality of life was already gone.
See page 1 for pics of Owen, the happy days we first bought him home. This is all very sad.
|
|
MSBNYY
Administrator
El Guapo
Posts: 15,545
|
Post by MSBNYY on Oct 25, 2009 9:26:46 GMT -5
Sorry to hear that.
|
|
|
Post by Jackass on Oct 25, 2009 9:58:51 GMT -5
Tom, Dana, and Emma, I am so sorry to hear the news about Owen. I know that she was a big part of the family for a too brief period of time.
All my best to you folks in this sad time.
|
|
|
Post by Jason Giambi on Oct 26, 2009 0:08:36 GMT -5
Tom and Dana,
I am sorry for your loss. Losing a pet is difficult, and I hope that you guys find peace in this terrible time. Pete
|
|
|
Post by 9 on Oct 26, 2009 7:42:14 GMT -5
What Pete said. Horrible news.
|
|
|
Post by elliejay21 on Oct 26, 2009 9:43:00 GMT -5
Condolances from Dave and I, and our girls. Give Emma hugs from us.
|
|
$heriff Tom
Administrator
Groom ba ya ya ya
Posts: 16,173
|
Post by $heriff Tom on Oct 26, 2009 10:39:41 GMT -5
Thanks for all your thoughts and kind words. We're obviously not taking this very well. What a perfect cat she was.
|
|
$heriff Tom
Administrator
Groom ba ya ya ya
Posts: 16,173
|
Post by $heriff Tom on Oct 26, 2009 12:20:39 GMT -5
Well, as Dana mentioned on Facebook, things could conceivably get even worse. This is a communicable disease, and very congatious. We are concerned Storm too is carrying this virus. We're taking him in on Wednesday early evening. We are very worried about this visit.
|
|
|
Post by cactusjames on Oct 26, 2009 13:05:11 GMT -5
Ugh, that sucks. Sorry for the loss. My condolences to everyone. Here's hoping the other little one is unaffected and has a long healthy life ahead.
|
|
|
Post by Lindsey on Oct 26, 2009 16:48:31 GMT -5
Oh thats horrible news I'm so sorry. I hope all is well for the other little cat. <3
|
|
$heriff Tom
Administrator
Groom ba ya ya ya
Posts: 16,173
|
Post by $heriff Tom on Nov 4, 2009 11:30:43 GMT -5
Well, as many of you have no doubt noticed, even with a World Series going on, I have not been able to help being distracted. We got a second round of bad news yesterday.
Vet called, results of Storms second test were in, and he was a positive.
Basically, cats carrying this disease are looking at a lifespan of 2-3 years. Some, like our Owen, dont make that. The most the vet has seen is a 5 year old walking around still with this. But that is as rare as the 10% chance that this cat - now showing positive - can defeat this, and test negative when we bring him in for a checkup in 3 or 4 months.
So the mood is dark around us. I feel terrible for Dana and Emma, and Im sad. One thing we have going for us is that Storm is beyond healthy right now. Vet loved what he saw, and he is as frisky and eating as much as ever. Healthy cats have a longer shot at keeping on with this.
So there you go. We lost one cat, and we are going to lose the other. It sucks.
|
|
|
Post by Chris on Nov 4, 2009 11:34:34 GMT -5
Not to sound cold, but.....it's DOG TIME, Tom!
|
|
$heriff Tom
Administrator
Groom ba ya ya ya
Posts: 16,173
|
Post by $heriff Tom on Nov 4, 2009 12:16:35 GMT -5
Thats not happening.
We're keeping this one as long as we are lucky enough to have him, then going out and getting 2 more cats.
One crux of having a positive cat is you can not bring another cat into the house. The vaccination is not lock-solid, and cats in close quarters are quite susceptable. See this situation. We're cat people now.
|
|
|
Post by Jackass on Nov 4, 2009 18:14:58 GMT -5
Sorry to hear the news, Tom.
Here's to Storm beating the odds. Best of luck.
|
|
|
Post by Jason Giambi on Nov 5, 2009 1:26:48 GMT -5
I 2nd Jackass, CHeers to Storm beating the odds!
|
|
|
Post by Ms. Jericho on Nov 5, 2009 13:30:04 GMT -5
If any cat can do it, he can. I'm not giving up on my boy.
|
|
|
Post by Ms. Jericho on Nov 8, 2009 16:00:34 GMT -5
|
|
|
Post by Lindsey on Nov 8, 2009 18:22:33 GMT -5
What is it? a hamster? I'm not good with rodent types.
|
|
$heriff Tom
Administrator
Groom ba ya ya ya
Posts: 16,173
|
Post by $heriff Tom on Nov 9, 2009 8:45:58 GMT -5
Its like this dwarf hamster. I hear him running around on his wheel on and off all night from a room over. We're stuck at not getting another cat, we're not getting a dog, so this is Emmas second pet. Shes taken a shine to it, thats what matters to us. But yeah, when they say these are a nocturnal sort, they got that right.
|
|