Pet Paradise

[samls324]

Show off pics of your pets, tell stories, anything you want to share about those special animals in your life Post as much and as often as you want!




Here are are my fluff babies DJ and Gunner (also called Lulu or Lou). They are mother and daughter. DJ is my baby and Gunner is a daddy's girl. They are approximately 9 years old and very spoiled!

This is DJ. She loves to be near me.

Miss Gunner Lou loves her catnip carrot

[snoflakefaerie]

Marzipan has been a travelling kitty this week. From packing to airport to getting to roam around a house 3 times the size of my apartment. Here are a few from the last few days:

She's ready to go.Hiding in the safety of the carrier in the airport.Little (by comparison) cat hanging out on a big bed.

[lipstick4soul]

How awesome Marzipan gets to travel with you @snoflakefaerie

Anyone have tips on how to train a cat to tolerate the carrier?

my cat Ivani (aka the Baroness von Bossypants) HATES the carrier. I have to wrap her in a towel and stuff her in it. I have tried soft carrier like one above and different sizes of standard hard sided carrier. I tried leaving it out all the time with her favorite toys and blanket in it and also putting treats in it. Have tried feeding her in it but then she won’t eat.

I have had her a year in September and she is 3.5. She is really a sweetheart and very loving but won’t tolerate the carrier. I worry that if there was an emergency she’d go hide and I couldn’t get her out safely. 

Any ideas?

[snoflakefaerie]

I'm sorry @lipstick4soul I don't really have any good suggestions. It's only been in the last 3-4 years she has started being ok with her carrier. I spent years stuffing her in to it and have always had to buy the ones where the zipper locks together. The only thing that has seemingly helped is repetition. She has also learned that in stressful situations, like the airport or fire alarms, the carrier means safety and a get away from the loud/bad stuff. I have always put her in there with a favorite toy and give her lots of treats. I do think leaving it out is a good thing, and perhaps the more you put her in the carrier, the easier it will become. Practice makes perfect?

[lipstick4soul]

Really gives me hope that Marzipan has gotten used to it over time @snoflakefaerie. I won’t give up yet if it might be possible. Thank you!!

[RebeccaBT]

Hi @snoflakefaerie,

How cute! What a good kitty Thanks for sharing. 

Best,
Rebecca 

[aswizzy]

so cute!

[tsavorite]

@snoflakefaerie,

Beautiful Marzipan!  So lucky to be able to go with you instead of being left at home!

What a good kitty!

[yankeefaithful]

@snoflakefaerie Oh, I love Torties, and Marzipan is sooo pretty!! I had one before, Pepper,  and she was such a sweetie! Does she travel well?

[snoflakefaerie]

@yankeefaithful thank you. She definitely has "tortie-tude" but she is also a cuddle bug. She's been flying 2-3 times a year for most of her life, so it's old hat to her. I'm pretty lucky that she's an adventurous kitty that way.

[faeriegirl]

She is beautiful @snoflakefaerie!

[snoflakefaerie]

Thanks @faeriegirl!

[jozkid]

So I’m looking for advice. My kitty Ernie turned a year old in September. Maybe some of you remember when I adopted him in March when he was seven months old. Not long after he got really ill with a roundworm infestation. After several trips to the vet we got that all taken care of and he was doing great. Then around September I noticed he was getting bald patches on his sides. The vet didn’t see any evidence of any mites or skin irritations and said it looked like Ernie was overgrooming due to stress. I have NO idea what might be stressing this cat out. Has anyone out there ever dealt with this issue before? The vet wanted to put him on meds for anxiety. I hate to have to drug the poor guy. We’ve talked about adopting a second cat as a companion but are worried that might backfire and stress him out even more. Any thoughts are appreciated!

[Samtian]

@jozkidPoor Ernie! Has the vet done any blood work or anything to test for infections? There could be parasites, ringworm, thyroid, or steroid levels could be too high as well.

[itscarin]

@jozkidI sort of have dealt with this.  About 6 mos after I broke up with my ex, he told me the cat was losing hair due to stress.  The triggers for my cat were that my ex got a new gf who moved in with them, they all moved to a new apartment, and the gf would chase the cat around the apartment like Elmira from Looney Tunes Jr. 

Sounds like Ernie was doing fine March - September.  Did something change around August/September?  Does Ernie have enough play time/toys?  If he doesn't already have, can you get him a toy with feathers?  Pumpkin has a few toys with feathers and sometimes she likes to just sit down and groom the toy.  Maybe a feathered toy would give Ernie an outlet for his grooming behavior.

[jozkid]

Thanks for responding @itscarin The only thing that happened in September was that my kids went back to school. But when we first got Ernie in March, my kids were in school. I don't know if he got used to having them around and got lonely in September, but he's not really alone for super long periods. I don't often leave for work until after 9 and my kids get home about 2:15.

I do worry about him getting enough play time. The kids don't play with him as much as they used to, but they do have more homework they have to do. We bought him a bunch of jingle balls which he loves, but they always end up under the furniture. Lol!

[alexasteph]

@jozkid Are there any other signs of anxiety or just the over grooming? It could also be an allergy... sometimes that can cause skin irritation but won’t necessarily leave any evidence. My parents dog can experience irritation due to allergies and she will obsessively lick her paw. After some trial and error they found a food that doesn’t cause a reaction and she’s been fine!  

[jozkid]

Nope @alexasteph. Just the overgrooming. There's no sign of irritation at all on the skin, just a lot of broken hairs from the grooming.

Ernie is already on special food from the vet (which he loves) because they prescribed it when he had the worms (and diarrhea). When we tried to transition back to his regular food after the worms were under control, his stools got looser and frankly, he didn't like his old stuff as much as the prescription.

[Meghan12]

@GG84 my dog used to do that every spring, he would lick his front leg raw. Vet said seasonal allergies so every year had to get a hydrocortisone shot and then he would stop.

[jozkid]

@Meghan12 the vet didn't mention any cortisone injections, but then again, nothing is irritated.

[GG84]

@alexasteph Omg! My dog has started obsessively licking his paw and I could not figure out why! I have security cameras and can watch them on my phone and I watched him lick his paw for 45 mins straight. I took him to the vet thinking he injured it and no, he's perfectly fine. She didn't suggested that it could be an allergy but now I'm wondering..