Ask the Veterinarian!

[Xana44]

I could not have said it better than Poppet did!

[Xana44]

I am doing a presentation this afternoon about Feline environmental enrichment.

Once I get my notes done and such, I will post them here for anyone who is interested.

[Xana44]

Environmental Enrichment

In the wild, each Cat would have a territory of roughly 1400 sq ft
cats would spend most of their time patrolling the territory and hunting

By domesticating cats and keeping them indoors, we give them a better life, BUT
often we are keeping them in smaller areas, shared with other cats
and sometimes predators (primates and dogs)
we give them food in one location and it does not try to get away
their environment rarely changes.

This can be very stressful and we are seeing an increase in stress related diseases

What can we do to help to make our indoor cats lives more fufilling?


Vertical world

Cats live in a world of vertical space
no need for an expensive cat tree (although those are great!)
ladders near the doors and windows
cheap wooden ladders are fine
also provide and elevated sleeping location or perch

Feeding

Hunting is a normal part of cat behavior,
large part of the day of a wild cat
cats have strong prey preferences rodents versus birds or fish, for example
at best only six out of ten hunts are successful
but we remove this activity from indoor cats by feeding them in one location
often we make food available all the time
they don't have to work for it.
This leads to boredom and obesity.

Food toys:
purchase or make.
Toilet paper roller feeder
Food fetch:
cats will work for food.
run the cats up and down the hallway
Treasure hunt:
put food in small bowls in different locations around the house.
the cat must hunt for the food.
placing the food up high encourages the cat to exercise as well

Other things that help:

Puzzle toys:
these can include food or not, but the cat has to work to get whatever the reward it

Cat toys:
feather toys
fishing pole toys
throwing toys

Scents:
sprinkle different herbs in various locations around your house occasionally
encourages activity and sensory input

Cat videos:
yup cats do watch TV
"prey" videos are fun, but remember that prey preference.

Bags and boxes
make these occasionally available


Bird feeders

Switch up toys frequently so the cat is not bored

WWW.indoorcat.org has lots of other great information!

[Sweetpea The Tigress]

Xana44

Environmental Enrichment

In the wild, each Cat would have a territory of roughly 1400 sq ft
cats would spend most of their time patrolling the territory and hunting

By domesticating cats and keeping them indoors, we give them a better life, BUT
often we are keeping them in smaller areas, shared with other cats
and sometimes predators (primates and dogs)
we give them food in one location and it does not try to get away
their environment rarely changes.

This can be very stressful and we are seeing an increase in stress related diseases

What can we do to help to make our indoor cats lives more fufilling?


Vertical world

Cats live in a world of vertical space
no need for an expensive cat tree (although those are great!)
ladders near the doors and windows
cheap wooden ladders are fine
also provide and elevated sleeping location or perch

Feeding

Hunting is a normal part of cat behavior,
large part of the day of a wild cat
cats have strong prey preferences rodents versus birds or fish, for example
at best only six out of ten hunts are successful
but we remove this activity from indoor cats by feeding them in one location
often we make food available all the time
they don't have to work for it.
This leads to boredom and obesity.

Food toys:
purchase or make.
Toilet paper roller feeder
Food fetch:
cats will work for food.
run the cats up and down the hallway
Treasure hunt:
put food in small bowls in different locations around the house.
the cat must hunt for the food.
placing the food up high encourages the cat to exercise as well

Other things that help:

Puzzle toys:
these can include food or not, but the cat has to work to get whatever the reward it

Cat toys:
feather toys
fishing pole toys
throwing toys

Scents:
sprinkle different herbs in various locations around your house occasionally
encourages activity and sensory input

Cat videos:
yup cats do watch TV
"prey" videos are fun, but remember that prey preference.

Bags and boxes
make these occasionally available


Bird feeders

Switch up toys frequently so the cat is not bored

WWW.indoorcat.org has lots of other great information!

It sounds like fun- cuz my cats bug me to play with them no matter what I'm doing. They sure are bored.

[Obliviously Obvious]

Right now my cat is just overly horny and in heat (I assume because she's dipping her back instead of arching, shes mewing -not full meows- constantly, and rubbing on EVERYTHING)

DX I had to deal with this not too long ago too... how often do cat's go in heat?

We don't have the spare funds to spay her, but she's a strictly indoor cat >.O

[Kiyuta]

I got a question about my dog. She's a lhasa apso, and is really difficult when it comes to eating. When we set food in her bowl for her, she circles it and tries to knock it over with her snout. She also refuses to eat her food. We've tried canned food, dried food, and meat, but she doesn't eat by herself. It takes a LOT of cajoling from my mom and she often pries the dog's mouth open and stuffs the food in a few times - after a few repetitions of this she finally eats. Otherwise if you just present food to her she turns away or knocks it down. If left hungry, she'll just vomit bile instead of eating the food that's readily available. The only thing that she eats willingly is this and a cracker-like treat, but she can't have those all the time.

[Lovable_Sinner]

~Ichigo_Pie~

Right now my cat is just overly horny and in heat (I assume because she's dipping her back instead of arching, shes mewing -not full meows- constantly, and rubbing on EVERYTHING)

DX I had to deal with this not too long ago too... how often do cat's go in heat?

We don't have the spare funds to spay her, but she's a strictly indoor cat >.O

Cats are polyoestrus... meaning they pretty much continuously cycle until they are bred or spayed. I STRONGLY suggest saving up and getting her desexed or getting in contact with an agency that offers subsidies (we have Animal Welfare League here in Australia, not sure about anywhere else!). Not only will it prevent her from getting pregnant (because cats in season are superb escape artists!) but it will protect her from a number of health issues such as ovarian and uterine cancers.

PS: Xana I love the new thread!

[Lovable_Sinner]

Kiyuta

I got a question about my dog. She's a lhasa apso, and is really difficult when it comes to eating. When we set food in her bowl for her, she circles it and tries to knock it over with her snout. She also refuses to eat her food. We've tried canned food, dried food, and meat, but she doesn't eat by herself. It takes a LOT of cajoling from my mom and she often pries the dog's mouth open and stuffs the food in a few times - after a few repetitions of this she finally eats. Otherwise if you just present food to her she turns away or knocks it down. If left hungry, she'll just vomit bile instead of eating the food that's readily available. The only thing that she eats willingly is this and a cracker-like treat, but she can't have those all the time.

It's possible that she has some kind of underlying gastrointestinal problem, especially if she is vomiting frequently, so the first thing to do would be to take her to the vet and rule out anything medical. However, by the sounds of it, it may be a behavioural thing. Forcing her to eat and making a fuss about her when she doesn't like you have been doing is reinforcing her bad behaviour.

I adopted a greyhound recently who had the same issues, she wouldn't eat what she was given and would just knock her kibble all over the floor. We solved it by giving her access to food for only 10 minutes in the morning and evening, if she showed no interest, it would be taken away. She barely ate for the first few days, but it didn't take long for her to get the message! Give it a try, and be aware that a day or two without food wont kill her!

[Obliviously Obvious]

Lovable_Sinner

~Ichigo_Pie~

Right now my cat is just overly horny and in heat (I assume because she's dipping her back instead of arching, shes mewing -not full meows- constantly, and rubbing on EVERYTHING)

DX I had to deal with this not too long ago too... how often do cat's go in heat?

We don't have the spare funds to spay her, but she's a strictly indoor cat >.O

Cats are polyoestrus... meaning they pretty much continuously cycle until they are bred or spayed. I STRONGLY suggest saving up and getting her desexed or getting in contact with an agency that offers subsidies (we have Animal Welfare League here in Australia, not sure about anywhere else!). Not only will it prevent her from getting pregnant (because cats in season are superb escape artists!) but it will protect her from a number of health issues such as ovarian and uterine cancers.

PS: Xana I love the new thread!

I want to get her fixed, and I intend too (she's a real wild child... I honestly think with her body type that shes at least part feral but I'm not entirely sure...) but at the moment being unemployed is strapping me for cash.

thankfully my parents help with my pet food

[Obliviously Obvious]

ok! I have a question about my pitbull <3

when we first got her (almost a year ago) we took her everywhere with us. she was by either my side or my boyfriends (more his than mine) at all times... this is bad, and we knew it, but if we put her in a bathroom so we could run to town, his mom got mad and said we were cruel to her.

She had everything she needed. food and water, toys, there was paper all over the floor incase she made a mess. We pulled every harmful thing out of her reach... basically we puppy proofed this room that at the time was plenty of room for her to run and play in.

fast forward to now.... she's over dependent. she has a fit if we even walk out of the room and close the door behind us and shes on the other side. She throws a fit if I stay in the room with her.

Eventually she stops barking, but she will lay down and huff and whine (literally whine, and huff and dramatically sigh)

I don't know what to do to break this independence.

Last August, she had to start staying outside in a pen (big big pen) during the time my boyfriend and I were at school. and it's been a thing. Everyday she goes outside during the typical 8-5 work schedule... she's STILL pulling this over-dependent stunt and tantrum throwing.

I don't know how to break her of this. It makes finding an apartment hard because we know if my boyfriend leaves for work, she will bark for at least an hour or better then whine the rest of the time.

;-; help?

[Obliviously Obvious]

REPLY # 100 <333

this one is dedicated to my love of aquatic life as today is the first day I saw live piranhas and I got to pet the stingrays... though the big ones scared me so I have a video of me petting the little ones <333

[Royston_Crow]

Kay I have a bit of a question about my cat Tabby.

My cat is skinny, now before you say anything I have a large food dispenser for her put up and away from my dog, Red, and she has lots of water from a large water bowl, But the thing is she is bone skinny, you can almost feel her spine...but she acts like she is healthy....which worries me about her cause and I know this will sound kinda dumb BUT I don't think thats how she is supposed to look even for an indoor outdoor cat...

Now I am going to the vet sometime this week end but I need to know if I should get her there sooner....cause I don't think its natural....

[Xana44]

~Ichigo_Pie~

Lovable_Sinner

~Ichigo_Pie~

Right now my cat is just overly horny and in heat (I assume because she's dipping her back instead of arching, shes mewing -not full meows- constantly, and rubbing on EVERYTHING)

DX I had to deal with this not too long ago too... how often do cat's go in heat?

We don't have the spare funds to spay her, but she's a strictly indoor cat >.O

Cats are polyoestrus... meaning they pretty much continuously cycle until they are bred or spayed. I STRONGLY suggest saving up and getting her desexed or getting in contact with an agency that offers subsidies (we have Animal Welfare League here in Australia, not sure about anywhere else!). Not only will it prevent her from getting pregnant (because cats in season are superb escape artists!) but it will protect her from a number of health issues such as ovarian and uterine cancers.

PS: Xana I love the new thread!

I want to get her fixed, and I intend too (she's a real wild child... I honestly think with her body type that shes at least part feral but I'm not entirely sure...) but at the moment being unemployed is strapping me for cash.

thankfully my parents help with my pet food

Is there a low cost spay and neuter clinic in your area? Or maybe a humane society who might help you out?

As Lovable Sinner said, she is going to be in heat roughly fourteen out of every twenty one days until winter. Everyone is going to be miserable. If you PM me your location, I can maybe help find you a place that can help.

FYI For those who don't know her, Lovable Sinner is a Veterinary Student from Australia. She is full of excellent knowledge and I believe has an interest in behavior, if I remember correctly, but maybe she can introduce herself. Vet School keeps anybody insanely busy, so I am very glad that she could stop by.

[Xana44]

Lovable_Sinner

Kiyuta

I got a question about my dog. She's a lhasa apso, and is really difficult when it comes to eating. When we set food in her bowl for her, she circles it and tries to knock it over with her snout. She also refuses to eat her food. We've tried canned food, dried food, and meat, but she doesn't eat by herself. It takes a LOT of cajoling from my mom and she often pries the dog's mouth open and stuffs the food in a few times - after a few repetitions of this she finally eats. Otherwise if you just present food to her she turns away or knocks it down. If left hungry, she'll just vomit bile instead of eating the food that's readily available. The only thing that she eats willingly is this and a cracker-like treat, but she can't have those all the time.

It's possible that she has some kind of underlying gastrointestinal problem, especially if she is vomiting frequently, so the first thing to do would be to take her to the vet and rule out anything medical. However, by the sounds of it, it may be a behavioural thing. Forcing her to eat and making a fuss about her when she doesn't like you have been doing is reinforcing her bad behaviour.

I adopted a greyhound recently who had the same issues, she wouldn't eat what she was given and would just knock her kibble all over the floor. We solved it by giving her access to food for only 10 minutes in the morning and evening, if she showed no interest, it would be taken away. She barely ate for the first few days, but it didn't take long for her to get the message! Give it a try, and be aware that a day or two without food wont kill her!

I could not agree more. Another thing to consider is food allergy. It is fairly common in dogs and can cause hesitation with food. Also consider calling your vet and seeing if there is an appropriate dose of Pepcid for your baby. It will not cure the underlying problem, but may help with the symptoms.

[Xana44]

Gemsplycer

Kay I have a bit of a question about my cat Tabby.

My cat is skinny, now before you say anything I have a large food dispenser for her put up and away from my dog, Red, and she has lots of water from a large water bowl, But the thing is she is bone skinny, you can almost feel her spine...but she acts like she is healthy....which worries me about her cause and I know this will sound kinda dumb BUT I don't think thats how she is supposed to look even for an indoor outdoor cat...

Now I am going to the vet sometime this week end but I need to know if I should get her there sooner....cause I don't think its natural....

Certainly this is not normal. I think you will be ok getting her to the vet this week. She will need bloodwork to test for Diabetes, kidney disease, and thyroid disease. A fecal sample to check for intestinal parasites would also be in order. How old is your cat?

Continue to give her access to as much food and water as she wants. Hopefully you will find her problem and it will be something fixable.

Good luck.