Duchess SMELLS better, at any rate

[cjsmith]

Duchess has had, drumroll please, a BATH. She was not exactly pleased, but she cooperated well enough and I got her cleaned up quickly. I rushed it a bit because she was panting (bad kittymom! wrong water temp!). She and I are both lucky this wasn't a flea bath. I could leave her head completely dry.

Then I sat and watched (and combed) her while she dried out a bit. I wasn't about to let her climb right back into a litterbox with wet feet, not after digging out what I dug out from under her toesies.

After a bit of combing and towel-fluffing she began to groom herself. It was wonderful to see. First time she's shown any interest in that in days.

She still misses the box, at least the little one in the bathroom, but maybe it's not her fault: the box isn't quite as long as she is. She's got a big frame. So now she's out of the bathroom and she can use the big mondo box again.

Time to go crush up her meds. [edit: She doesn't want wet food! Grump.]

Comments

[sunnydale47.livejournal.com]

=big sigh of relief=

I'm so glad Duchess seems to be okay! I think you're probably right about why she's missing the box -- I have to use one that's fully enclosed because Val is so big that he used to do that too. He thought he was in the box ... after all, all four feet were in the box. He had no idea his rear end was hanging out in space ... over the floor!

I recently noticed that he clears the litter out of his toes on his way out of the box. As much as I tease him for being a doofus, he's really a very smart cat. When he turns around to the entrance to come out of the box, he stops to scrape his front paws on the edge before jumping out. Of course that makes it all come down on the outside, so I'm constantly sweeping it up, but I'd rather do that than have his paws full of litter from digging to cover things up.

I'll tell Val that Duchess is doing well -- he'll be glad to hear it! :-)

[dizzdvl.livejournal.com]

My cat was doing that too, so I bought one of those underbed containers and put the litter box in that and put a thin layer of litter in that. It's only about 3 inches bigger than the litter box, so she can't exclusively go in the underbed thingie. And I wish my cat was as smart as your with the paw scraping. I ended up buying one of those bristle welcome mats and it gets off most of the litter. (Stupid litter. I hate liter.)

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

We had a two-tier system like that for a long time. We may go back to it. I like the welcome mat idea!

[sunnydale47.livejournal.com]

That's a great idea! But the enclosed box works really well, and Val has been using it all his life. It's just a plain box, like this one (http://www.kittenkaboodle.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Session_ID=44A89B9100031D10000043A800000000&Screen=PROD&Product_Code=CP72&Category_Code=Cat-Litter-Box). To fit in he has to stick his head and shoulders out of the entrance while he goes, but that's okay -- he likes to have people around when he goes, so he doesn't mind the lack of privacy. ;-)

We recently got one of these domed litter boxes (http://furlongspetsupply.com/booda_dome_clean_step_litter_box.htm) to clean their feet on their way out, but Val won't use it. Friday likes it, though, and the ridges do seem to get some of the litter off his paws before he tracks it all over the house.

More recently I did think of getting a bristle doormat but I was afraid they wouldn't like walking on it and would decide to just go somewhere else!

[shadopanther.livejournal.com]

We have 2 Booda dome (http://www.petco.com/Shop/petco_Product_R_1654_Nav_1_N_0_Ntt_Booda%20dome_sku_823422_familyID_9965.aspx) litter boxes here, but neither one is the kind with the ramp. ...We then have rubber kitty anti-litter mats in front. One is shaped like a cat's face with rubber nubs kind of like a small version of a rubber nubbed door mat, the other is more like a ramp with raised bars only without much height. The mats seem to help with getting the litter off the feet... but some is still tracked further around the house.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

She's a big girl. I want to get her an enclosed box too, but they don't make enclosed ones the size I want!

That's very smart of Val to clean his feet that way!

I'm a little worried that she didn't touch the food, but what the heck, I can be stern and stubborn. I just pitched her into a room with the bowl and I'm not going to let her out until she eats some. Heartless, that's me.

[sunnydale47.livejournal.com]

Loving kittymom, that's you.

I hope she starts to eat. The bath probably just threw her off a little. Val hasn't had a bath since he got into the marshmallow bag when he was a kitten (that's quite a story!), and I don't think Friday has ever had one -- at least not since he was 11 weeks old.

I'll keep watching for Duchess updates!

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

She nibbled a bit, but wasn't interested in kibble this morning either. I wonder if the meds are doing something weird to her appetite.

[firecat]

my cat angus is 23 pounds and he loves his new enclosed box. it's pretty big. bought it at san mateo feed and pet supply.

i'm glad she's feeling better.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Oo, I'll check out that store & see if they have larger enclosed ones than I've seen at the local places. Thanks.

[platypus]

I'm glad she's feeling well enough to groom herself! I really cannot imagine what my cats would do if I attempted to bathe them. Given the screaming and death throes that sometimes accompany applications of Advantage, I don't think I want to find out.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

*laughter* And Advantage really isn't that big a deal compared to a bath! They'd probably threaten suicide and write bad emo poetry. Or shred your arms, one of the two.

[shadopanther.livejournal.com]

Glad she's feeling better... I hope continued improvement goes smoothly.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Thanks.

[quasigeostrophy.livejournal.com]

She doesn't want wet food! Grump.

Of course not - you just spent however long with her and water. She'll get over it. :-)

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

She seemed to be over the bath pretty quickly, but I guess ya never know. She still hadn't eaten much of that stuff by this morning, and she didn't go for "breakfast" either. Maybe the meds (or her infection, though that seems odd) are affecting her appetite.

[lkeele.livejournal.com]

Eeek, kitty baths! I'm glad she cooperated, and that you didn't have to wash her head. And very glad she groomed herself afterwards! Guess she just needed you to start the process.

It's hard to crush meds into dry food...

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Washing the head is the worst. They haaaate that. I always try so darn hard to keep the soap out of their eyes, too, and I'm never quite sure I've succeeded.

I suppose I could try crushing meds into a little bit of water, and then squirting that down her throat!

[just-cyd.livejournal.com]

so glad to hear she's doing better!

will she eat tuna? i mixed samkitty's meds in a tiny dab of kittyfood-tuna to make sure he'd eat it, then he could have more. worked like a charm.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Hmm, I don't know. Right now she's refusing to eat anything. I could pick up some tuna on the way home and give that a shot. She oughta be hungry by then.

[ladycelia.livejournal.com]

Glad to hear that she's doing better.
My cat, Flynn, is a...Rubenesque cat, herself--I had an enclosed box and that just didn't cut it, so now she has the largest size possible, and it's on top of a large sheet of plywood 'just in case'.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Exactly! The main litterbox we have is currently an underbed box adapted for this use. It is on top of a big garbage bag "just in case", and I do need to change that bag pretty often. We used to have a two-tier system (smaller box inside larger one, litter in both) and I may well go back to that. If I could find an enclosed box the size of our current main "litterbox" I think that would work, but I'm not sure anyone makes them that big.

[ladycelia.livejournal.com]

I think the only way to get an enclosed litterbox big enough for a large cat would be to build it. I love the idea of the underbed box--I may have to add that to their box.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

I like the premolded plastic ones because they're so washable. Maybe I just need to get creative. Surely someone has made a larger covered square plastic box that could be adapted!

[ivormonger.livejournal.com]

My cats loved it when I gave them a bath, but I had to stop. It was so hard to get the fur off of my tongue! ;)

I've solved my litterbox problems with a method of my own design. Instead of a regular box I use a large old Coleman cooler. The sides are quite high and the litter stays mostly in the box. They don't mind the height of the sides at all, and they usually flip the litter off of their paws before they jump out.

Clay litter creates dust which causes silicosis which leads to inflammation and scarring of lung tissue. If humans work with clay dust they must use air filtration masks. Is it any different for cats? Nope. Not only that, but scented litters tend to turn cats off. How must it smell to a nose which is 14 times more sensitive than a human's?

Instead of clay litter I buy huge bags of wood shavings which are used for animal bedding. A 3.5' x 1' x 1' bag lasts many many times longer than regular litter and only costs $6. Not only that, but it absorbs smell better than the best clay litters. There are two kinds of animal bedding-one is a finer pine, and that sticks to their paws more than the less fine cedar shavings. And the cedar shavings smell nice and natural. Sure I still get a little tracking of litter, but for my cat's health it's worth it.

I've had several vets suggest this, and I've found it to be true: If a cat turns down every kind of food you put in front of it, try bottled baby food. I've had a cat turn down salmon, but eat Gerbers vegetable beef. Vegetable chicken, and lasagna with beef are my cat's other favorites. They're low in sodium, which is good if your cat has kidney problems.

Oh, and while I'm playing doctor, a little tuna is fine for cats, but too much can cause steatitis, also known as yellow fat disease.

Awww, I really feel for your situation with Duchess. Best wishes and take care.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Ooo, the Coleman cooler idea is intriguing!

I can't STAND scented litters. Even some of the unscented ones stink to high heaven (unscented just means they didn't ADD scent, not that it doesn't reek). Hopefully I'm not doing too badly there. Speaking of cats' extra keen senses, that's why I give mine fresh water -- to cats, water must have the richness of flavor and scent we humans associate with wines or beers.

I may get desperate enough for the baby food. Problem is that the crumbled-up meds smell bad and (I would guess) taste nasty. I'm so soft-hearted about the sharp half-pill... it would be easier just to stick it in her throat! :-(

Thanks for all the tips and tricks!

[ivormonger.livejournal.com]

You're welcome, my pleasure.

I totally agree with you on the water. I thoroughly wash my cat's water bowl out every day and put fresh water in.

And I know what you mean about those sharp half-pills. It's good to remember that cats are a little tough. They chew up mouse bones and swallow them (but bones and cats should ideally be kept apart).

I don't know if you know this, but there's a super-cool and cheap little thingy that most vets sell. It looks like a long skinny syringe which has a latex tip. You take the half-pill (round off the sharp corners of it with your fingernail) and put it into the latex tip. Then you put your finger and thumb of one hand under the cat's cheekbones and lift up. While the cat's mouth is open you quickly put the soft latex end of the thing on the back of your kittie's tongue. With your other thumb press the plunger. The pill goes right in with a bare minimum of stress for all concerned. The cat doesn't get a chance to taste it much. You can even put a bit of butter or cat food on the pill to make it go down easily, and leave a nice aftertaste for your furry companion. The whole process can take only a few seconds. It takes a few times to get it down pat, but after that it's a breeze.

Oh, and of course, it's all followed by lots of loves and pets. But I'm sure you know that. :D