Recent Content by crankydave

I'm not exaggerating. I'm not joking. You can see his eyes glaze over while he's chewing, and then he stops and wanders off. He then starts yowling in hunger because his wet food has gone dry. Why not give him dry food, you say? Because it doesn't register as food in his broken cat brain. He...

One of mine gets the same way, like some sort of OCD repetitive motion trance. With him, he always goes near the edge of the box (he's a big fella), and he tries to bury it by reaching straight ahead instead of twisting left or right to reach fresh litter. I usually step in after 5 minutes or...

I know this is an old-ish thread, but I thought I'd chime in since I'm in a similar situation. A feral kitten claimed me a while ago (her sister is less enthusiastic about being indoors permanently, but she's coming around), and she's now pretty well socialized. She's about five months old...

I'm in the same boat, though we haven't quite hit those temps here yet. Mine already loved to come inside for food, playtime, and petting, but always got ... insistent... when she decided she wanted out. Last night, I ignored her meows and kept her inside for her own safety, but she didn't take...

Of the two feral kittens I've been feeding/sheltering, I've made a lot more progress with the smaller of the littermates. She would run inside for food and playtime the instant I opened the patio door, and would purr like a motorboat when I started petting her. (The other one will come in, but...

That K&H heating pad did the trick - the momcat is happily curled up on it inside the A-frame shelter. Admittedly, it was windy and snowy *last* night, but I think she'll remember her new cozy spot. I also found a couple 1-quart heated water bowls, so I should be able to provide them with...

I'm tempted to blow a hair dryer into the dang thing for a few minutes. I've found that they're more play-driven than food-driven. I can set out a dish of food, but they won't show any interest until they've had some chase-and-pounce time with various wand toys. Sadly, I can't wave the end of a...

That's the same one I bought, though I got the heated model. I've also pulled off one of the flaps. I've tried putting a few heavy cookbooks on the pad to activate it, but with the interior exposed, it doesn't remain warm for long. Plus, all the coming and going scares off the mom, and one of...

I bought a K&H heated shelter for a family of ferals now that it's gotten cold, but they don't seem to get what it's for. First, they were stymied by the "walls of hard air" on the outside - ie, the clear flaps on both entrances - and then when they did get inside, the air was still freezing...

Yeah, mine gave it the old "sniff it, then paw the floor and walk away" treatment. If it has anything but meat in it, they won't touch it. Then again, they'll do the same with any wet food whose consistency isn't acceptable to them. They won't touch pate of any kind, the fussy jerks.

My first cat, an 8 week old stray, had a bout of diarrhea that lasted at least three weeks soon after I got him, so I can relate. Shelled out for x-rays of his abdomen and everything. In his case, it seemed to be triggered by me having the genius idea of exposing him to multiple food types and...

I have one of these as well, and can also recommend it. It's *very* sturdy, and even my ginormous cat can stretch out full length with it. The company also sells a topper platform for it. It's good in theory, but has two serious design flaws: they used plastic for the tabs that lock it in place...

Hah, yeah, mine have a clear preference for longer rear claws, but more for traction as they run like maniacs across the carpet.

Yep, my stray kitten had a botfly erupt from his neck a few days after I took him in. Looked just like that.

Mine were too squirmy to handle solo, but I've had luck using a compression jacket called a Thundershirt from Petsmart (basically the "cat burrito" method, but much more expensive. Ugh.). Even my constantly hyper 11-month-old instantly mellows out when it's on him. I lay him belly-up on my lap...