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Very Young Stray Advice
- Thread starter kechi
- Start Date
A few suggestions for constipation:
If you don't have laxatone - use milk (they can't digest sugars and it
gives em runs - just a SMALL or tiny amount will do).
You can also use (very safe)
an 1/8 a teaspoon of olive oil - or a few drops given the size of your
wee one.
In a wee one, constipation should clear up ... but a vet visit may not
be out of order, if you can afford one.
For the clean up - don't ever use ammonia - simple pure white vinegar
works the best. To clean a pee smell - 50/50 strong white vinegar and water - let the spot dry, then a mix of baking soda and peroxide which
you let dry then vaccum up. This really really works, as well as the expensive
cleaners do! To wash bedding use Drift for babies - it breaks down the
pee smells (the detergent does) and is very gentle. Watch the perioxide tho, as it can bleach things...
As far as potty training, if the wee one is small, you can
stimulate them to pee by using a warm wash cloth and
rubbing the crotch/wee area. Just like momma cat would do.
Also there is a "cat attractant" litter which supposedly
tells cat "pee here" cause it smells so good to them, LOL.
I haven't used but others say it works.
Lastly, use a
softer litter like sand or clay, as they like to dig in it... its
an instinct. Do not use clumping litter yet.
Later you can switch to the pellet or clumping
formulas. (Dont' use the clumping w/ little ones, it gets
in paws etc and can be eaten and cause... constipation!!)
If you don't have laxatone - use milk (they can't digest sugars and it
gives em runs - just a SMALL or tiny amount will do).
You can also use (very safe)
an 1/8 a teaspoon of olive oil - or a few drops given the size of your
wee one.
In a wee one, constipation should clear up ... but a vet visit may not
be out of order, if you can afford one.
For the clean up - don't ever use ammonia - simple pure white vinegar
works the best. To clean a pee smell - 50/50 strong white vinegar and water - let the spot dry, then a mix of baking soda and peroxide which
you let dry then vaccum up. This really really works, as well as the expensive
cleaners do! To wash bedding use Drift for babies - it breaks down the
pee smells (the detergent does) and is very gentle. Watch the perioxide tho, as it can bleach things...
As far as potty training, if the wee one is small, you can
stimulate them to pee by using a warm wash cloth and
rubbing the crotch/wee area. Just like momma cat would do.
Also there is a "cat attractant" litter which supposedly
tells cat "pee here" cause it smells so good to them, LOL.
I haven't used but others say it works.
Lastly, use a
softer litter like sand or clay, as they like to dig in it... its
an instinct. Do not use clumping litter yet.
Later you can switch to the pellet or clumping
formulas. (Dont' use the clumping w/ little ones, it gets
in paws etc and can be eaten and cause... constipation!!)
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #23
Actually, I took her flea collar off for a little while now. But my sister came by the on the weekend, and swore she saw one jump across her face and dig itself into the fur. So she's had the collar on her since.
The day I found her, I bathed her twice that night for the fleas. About 85% of them died/fell off within the next couple hours. I gave her another bath 2-3 days later, and found maybe another 4-5. After a week, I stopped seeing fleas. A week after that I found a single flea. And a half week later, my sister says she saw a flea. Perhaps these last single ones were eggs or last remainders? I haven't found any fleas or signs of fleas otherwise. But I figure it's a good idea to continue some kind of treatment and prevention until she's entirely flea free for a little longer. I've only had her about 3 weeks now.
As for the laxative/regularity issue. I stopped using mineral oil a while ago. And I figured olive oil would be a better long term solution then mineral oil. The olive oil is probably good for her, while the mineral oil probably just goes right through her. Currently, I'm feeding her maybe 2 teaspoons of soft kitty food, with about 15mL of watery KMR, with about 3-4 drops of olive oil 3 times a day. And she seems to be doing fine with this. She poops either every day or every other day, and pees 5 or so times a day. I told the vet about this, and she says it's just fine both in terms of her current regularity and the long term use of olive oil.
For the cleaning of her pee spots, I used this cleaner that had enzymes and other cleaning things in it. Seems to have worked. She has yet to have an accident in the same place a second time. Thank god my entire place is hardwood/linoleum
She's pretty well potty trained now. When I first found her, I had to massage her to get her to pee/poo. Took almost a week before she started peeing on her own. And then close to a week later, she started pooping on her own. She picked up litter training surprisingly quickly considering she was about 4 weeks old when I found her. She started peeing consistently in the box within 3 days, and the pooing was a little slower, but also less frequent. I never have to worry about her peeing anywhere other then the box. But occasionally, her first instinct is to go under my bed. But she's pretty good about it. The last couple poops have been on point.
I use a clay, clumping litter recommended for kittens. I think the brand is something like Fresh 4 Life or something like that. It has a herbal attractant in it which looks like tiny bits of ground up vegetation of some sort. Works just fine. Her first experience of it was to sniff/taste. But she quickly figured out, this stuff smells fantastic, not so great tasting. She pees and poos in it no problem. Loves to scratch/dig in it even when she's not using the box. I play with her a couple times a day, and in the first couple days of litter training, might've found a couple grains stuck to her, but not anymore. It also clumps well and doesn't make much dust. Not even when I'm shaking it from the giant jug to the box. Definitely on the expensive side, but it seems to work fantastic. Probably buy it again. And most importantly Itis likes it.
The day I found her, I bathed her twice that night for the fleas. About 85% of them died/fell off within the next couple hours. I gave her another bath 2-3 days later, and found maybe another 4-5. After a week, I stopped seeing fleas. A week after that I found a single flea. And a half week later, my sister says she saw a flea. Perhaps these last single ones were eggs or last remainders? I haven't found any fleas or signs of fleas otherwise. But I figure it's a good idea to continue some kind of treatment and prevention until she's entirely flea free for a little longer. I've only had her about 3 weeks now.
As for the laxative/regularity issue. I stopped using mineral oil a while ago. And I figured olive oil would be a better long term solution then mineral oil. The olive oil is probably good for her, while the mineral oil probably just goes right through her. Currently, I'm feeding her maybe 2 teaspoons of soft kitty food, with about 15mL of watery KMR, with about 3-4 drops of olive oil 3 times a day. And she seems to be doing fine with this. She poops either every day or every other day, and pees 5 or so times a day. I told the vet about this, and she says it's just fine both in terms of her current regularity and the long term use of olive oil.
For the cleaning of her pee spots, I used this cleaner that had enzymes and other cleaning things in it. Seems to have worked. She has yet to have an accident in the same place a second time. Thank god my entire place is hardwood/linoleum
She's pretty well potty trained now. When I first found her, I had to massage her to get her to pee/poo. Took almost a week before she started peeing on her own. And then close to a week later, she started pooping on her own. She picked up litter training surprisingly quickly considering she was about 4 weeks old when I found her. She started peeing consistently in the box within 3 days, and the pooing was a little slower, but also less frequent. I never have to worry about her peeing anywhere other then the box. But occasionally, her first instinct is to go under my bed. But she's pretty good about it. The last couple poops have been on point.
I use a clay, clumping litter recommended for kittens. I think the brand is something like Fresh 4 Life or something like that. It has a herbal attractant in it which looks like tiny bits of ground up vegetation of some sort. Works just fine. Her first experience of it was to sniff/taste. But she quickly figured out, this stuff smells fantastic, not so great tasting. She pees and poos in it no problem. Loves to scratch/dig in it even when she's not using the box. I play with her a couple times a day, and in the first couple days of litter training, might've found a couple grains stuck to her, but not anymore. It also clumps well and doesn't make much dust. Not even when I'm shaking it from the giant jug to the box. Definitely on the expensive side, but it seems to work fantastic. Probably buy it again. And most importantly Itis likes it.
Flea collars are definitely toxic to cats. VERY toxic. They emit poison gas and the cat inhales it. They have been connected to cancer in pets.
The other issue is that they are ineffective. They don't really kill the fleas on the whole body.
You should use a flea comb, washing, sprinkle borax on everything in your house but the cat. Then vacuum it up.
Once the kitten is 8 weeks then you can use Advantage which is so much more effective and much better for the cats.
The other issue is that they are ineffective. They don't really kill the fleas on the whole body.
You should use a flea comb, washing, sprinkle borax on everything in your house but the cat. Then vacuum it up.
Once the kitten is 8 weeks then you can use Advantage which is so much more effective and much better for the cats.
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #25
I'm aware of advantage. Are the toxins in Advantage no more dangerous then the ones on the flea collar? I figured advantage would be even worse since it is absorbed directly into the skin, and then diffuses throughout each cell of her body.
Regarding the flea collar discussion.... Other than natural botanicals, ALL flea products have toxic elements to them - they are, after all, various types of poison. What the companies go for is finding the poison/agent that kills the fleas, eggs, and ticks without harming the animal on which the products are used.
That said, Advantage has the least problems and least potential side-effects - OUT OF the non-botanical options.
Here are some links that may interest you:
http://www.hartzvictims.org/
http://www.beefrecalls.com/Hartz.htm
http://www.articlesbase.com/pets-art...er-212009.html
If our kitties were indoor/outdoor, we would cut up the flea collars and put them in the vaccuum - they're great at killing fleas and eggs when in that close contact. But we would look into botanical options.
On the ferals outside, we use Advantage.
However, if you want to continue using a flea collar, please find a product in a break-away type collar. Too many kitties have died choking from a collar getting hooked on something (even in your home).
Laurie
That said, Advantage has the least problems and least potential side-effects - OUT OF the non-botanical options.
Here are some links that may interest you:
http://www.hartzvictims.org/
http://www.beefrecalls.com/Hartz.htm
http://www.articlesbase.com/pets-art...er-212009.html
If our kitties were indoor/outdoor, we would cut up the flea collars and put them in the vaccuum - they're great at killing fleas and eggs when in that close contact. But we would look into botanical options.
On the ferals outside, we use Advantage.
However, if you want to continue using a flea collar, please find a product in a break-away type collar. Too many kitties have died choking from a collar getting hooked on something (even in your home).
Laurie
