Recent Content by mtgal

My best advice is patience. I have an adult cat of unknown age -- I suspect she is up there, probably around 15 or so -- that came to me as a rescue. She was extremely shy and nervous and hid for the first month. The only time she'd come out of hiding was at night and then only to crawl into bed...

I have no clue where the myth of rehoming cats and thinking the cat won't adjust to its new home comes from, but it seems fairly wide spread. Thankfully, it is mostly myth and not real. We rescue all sorts of animals here and then find them homes. When adopting cats, we require new owners to...

If you have not already, make sure you notify your local police and animal control officer. I would take a poster to the office and ask them to keep it near dispatch. Depending upon where you live, sometimes people call the police to report found pets. I would also take posters to your area...

Hi - thanks for the quick response. Yes, I know many cats (and dogs, people, horses, etc.) eat much less as they age. All my personal cats are over ten - one is almost 16. The others are good eaters and perhaps it's just my expecting this little one to eat as they do. I just keep looking at her...

Not accusing in any fashion - but how often do you clean her box? One of my older cats suddenly became very picky about her box. I've always cleaned the boxes daily, but when she got around 12 she decided once a day wasn't enough and began peeing elsewhere. I now clean her box twice a day and...

Hi All  - I haven't been on the forum in a long time - life and all that jazz     I have something of a problem with a new cat. To be clear: we have a small farm with loads of animals. We also play host to an animal facilitated therapy program for at-risk kids; do animal rescue and have worked...

DISCLAIMER: Although I've had cats for most of my life, all my cats have been rescues. I have no first hand experience with breeders.  I've gotten a number of dogs from breeders. In the case of dogs, being told I could not see the puppy before making my decision would send me running! The...

We have a small farm and have dogs, cats and assorted farm animals. Between the coyote and fox, fisher cats and raccoons and a fairly busy road, outdoor cats don't live long. We have self-invited barn cats, some of whom are feral, others may have been abandoned and found their way to us. We also...

People are idiots! Sorry, but that type stuff makes me angry.  We do some animal rescue - actually it's by default since we host a program for at-risk kids on our farm. Since we've been doing this for years, the rescue groups in our area know we are suckers for any animal in need. I cannot tell...

Before offering any advice I might have, I want to know if the cat is always this fearful and shy? If she is generally calm and loving, but didn't take to the new people , it might not be her, it's possible it was the people. I strongly believe animals are excellent judges of people, in fact, I...

After having animals of all sorts for many years, I've reached the conclusion that, like us, animals do things because...well, they want to do those things! Last year I bought a new cat climbing perch/pole because the old one was in tough shape. I brought it home, put it together and rubbed it...

Has he been to the vet? Are you using an over-the-counter wormer or one the vet prescribed? Many OTC wormers are minimally effective. Also, depending on where you live, speak with your vet about less common parasites. Often when the general wormer fails to help it's because that wormer doesn't...

Oh boy -- you are over your head, aren't you? Is this your first kitten? He is very young, so everything you shared is simply a kitten being a kitten. I'm a bit suspicious he may have been taken from his mother too early. In a good environment, the mother cat will teach the kittens how to use a...

Thanks for the response. She remains a work in progress, but I've concluded her food obsession is more about a need for attention than about the food itself. She constantly needs/wants human attention and runs to get food when she is ignored or pushed away. Thankfully, I think we've found her an...