Cat Chat Feline Forum

A young cat doesn’t sound like the best match for you. Did you get him/her from a rescue centre? If so, I’d consider returning the cat and explaining the situation. A good rescue centre will understand. Please consider homing an older cat instead. One about 7-8 years old or older. They are a lot les...

Well, the double bell certainly cramps Walter’s style. He brings me far fewer presents than he used to before I got it.

Did the double bell collar not help ArgyllCat? Sorry you wasted your money if that is the case. If it's any consolation, in my experience, things generally quieten down in the winter as I think neither the cats nor the wildlife are quite so active. That has been the case with all the cats I've ever ...

This sounds like urinary retention, which is a medical emergency and can lead to renal failure quite quickly if left untreated. I agree with the other posters, an urgent visit to the vet is best.

She might have eaten it. If not and it’s in the house somewhere, just wait a few days and follow your nose to find out where it is! If you don’t want so many presents, try a collar with 2 bells. Apparently cats can learn to control one bell but can’t control 2. ‘Kitty Collars’ will make you a bespok...

Hi Tracie, So sorry to hear about your puss. As far as I’m aware there is no treatment for FIV, although various things can be tried to alleviate symptoms in the short term. This won’t work for that long though, if at all. My advice would be to be guided by your vet. If you feel you want a second op...

Just to mention, not all FIV cats require a lot of vet trips. Some live to a ripe old age and you’d never know they had it. I had a lovely cat who was diagnosed FIV+ on a routine test at a rescue centre. I took him home aged 5 and he died of cancer aged 15. In the 10 years I had him I’d say he didn’...

On reflection, I agree with you Kay. Maybe short visits from a live-out cat-sitter isn't such a great idea for such an extended period, although it works very well for those just going away for a few days. A live-in catsitter would be the best option, if you can find the right person. If you can sel...

PS. If you go to the “International Cat Care” website and put “choosing a boarding cattery” into the search box, you’ll find a fantastic article on what to look for when selecting a cattery, as well as information about what to avoid! Hope that all helps.

My advice would be to research the cattery as some are better than other, eg in cleanliness etc. I picked up my cats from one cattery to find they’d been put in their carriers and shoved in a room with two dogs and another cat prior to collection (before you ask, no I wasn’t late picking them up). O...

Actually Ioan, thinking on it, it might be something people might be interested in even if they have a cat that will re-use an un-flushed toilet. Having cat pee/poo sitting in the toilet bowl for hours is a factor which would put me off toilet training my cat and your devise would certainly interest...

Barb, you can definitely toilet train a cat. A former work colleague of mine did it. You use training rings to put inside the bowl to get the cat used to it and then remove them once it’s got the idea. I had a friend who went to someone’s house once and got the shock of her life when she walked into...

Apologies, I mean ‘ Hi Jim loves cats’, rather than ‘Hi Ruth’ sorry, Ruth was the last to post, not the original poster, I got a bit mixed up.

Hi Ruth, I’d love a reusable litter but I can’t think how you’d design one that didn’t need to be washed at least once a day, which would be too much of a faff to make it viable for most people. A litter that controls odour is one of my main priorities. Also on the wish list is eco friendliness, one...

Thanks both. We'll see what happens. I'll try and give Walter as much enrichment as I can by playing with him often (he may be a golden oldy but he still goes nuts for a bunch of feathers on the end of a stick) and if another cat comes along, well we'll see, but I don't think I'm going looking unles...

Thanks to everyone for their support in helping me make the difficult but right decision. I phoned the rescue centre this morning and spoke to the manager there. She was very supportive and said she wouldn’t take a cat with cat flu either! Apparently, staff are supposed to do things a bit differentl...

Thank you. This whole experience has quite put me off the whole idea of getting another cat, especially as you and Booktigger are both right that a young cat is probably not a good match for a chap in his twilight years (although many chaps of the human variety would heartily disagree, I am sure!). ...

Thank you for your replies. I was kind of hoping you would tell me my vet was wrong but it looks like I'm going to have to do the right thing by Walter and back out of the adoption. Its so sad. She is such a sweet little cat. Booktigger - the explanation my vet gave regarding the Chlamydia vaccine i...

Help! I have a healthy 11 year old cat, Walter who seems a bit lonely following the death of his friend just before Christmas so I decided to find him another companion. I chose a 5 month old kitten from the rspca a couple of weeks ago, Saturday before last, which I’d seen on their website. When I t...

Thank you Josie.

Thanks Vivian and Sue. I am so pleased at the positive response I've had to my 'George poem'. He has a pink dalia on top of him at the moment, from a variety called 'happy', which although in one respect is ironic, in another is quite fitting, since he has given me such happy memories.

BW

Susan

Thanks Lileth. Susan

Thanks Janey, he was a gorgeous boy and I wwill miss him. Hey ho. Susan.

For George He was an ordinary, two a penny, black and white cat, The kind that you see everywhere, a standard 'Postman Pat'. I got him down at Battersea, one April afternoon, And then I brought him home, where he inspected every room. A 'Welcome' tin of tuna was devoured, the dish licked clean, Then...

Thanks Sniper. I think that is good advise and i’ll go with it. The vet is worried about him getting it trapped but balancing the risk of that with the risk of surgery, I think that unless I see evidence that it is causing him genuine problems, he’s probably best left alone I think. Actually today i...

Thanks both. He seems to be managing the cat flap fine. I really don't want to keep him in as i know from past experience he'll get very distressed and then I'll have other problems like him licking himself bald etc. I've heard amputations can result in balane problems and "phantom tail", ...

Can anyone advise me? My cat George has a serious tail injury and the vet thinks she is probably going to have to amputate it! He was fine when I left for work on Tuesday morning but when I came home in the evening he was in obvious pain and hadn't touched the food I'd left for him. His tail was jus...