The Cat Thread

......tried cat milk...no success..... so - think i'll go with the boil-the-broth option - might even freeze it and can just pop it into her dish as iced cubes for melting.

no, i put my finger in the milk and licked it, because i was curious.

I'd be interested to know how you get on.

Dehydration can ruin cats' kidneys & kill them.

It's also one of the standard cat symptoms for something else being wrong.

You might want to see a vet.

Haha.

I realise cats need fewer carbs than humans but the higher end dry mixes I've used (James Wellbeloved, Hill, Purina) seem to get all the right nutrients in, making wet food a calorific supplement.

It's day two without wet food now. Moses won't leave me alone and is extremely vocal about his disgruntlement. Maia has protested by bringing in a mouse last night and disappearing completely tonight...my resolve is waning!

Dehydration can ruin cats' kidneys & kill them.

You have seen a vet haven't you @anthonyj?

Thanks for the tips @TW - as part of her regular booster stuff she sees the vet then - we mentioned it before and they did not seem that concerned - perhaps we'll book her in again !

You can gauge if she is actually dehydrated by the elasticity of her skin - if you pinch up the skin on the top of her head, if it take a little long to subside, she may be dehydrated.

(I am not a vet. My advice is no substitute for a vet's advice.)

fantastic - will give it a try :) thumbsup @TW

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Crafting-Cat-Hair-Cute-Handicrafts/dp/1594745250/ref=pd_sim_14_22?ie=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=RE771ST0FQ1GD2MX80Q5

FFs - just finished hoovering

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Just wanted to give a positive review on Sureflap customer service. So I have one of their microchip catflaps and the dial lock thing has broken, so I called them fully expected to be told it's not under warranty and I'd have to pay x amount to get it replaced, or at least pay for the postage. Nope, they are sending me 1 out for free. Also they told me all the spare parts - locks, the actual flap door, the front plate etc etc all come with a lifetime warranty and replacements are sent out on request, they didn't even bother asking for my proof of purchase or any proof that any part is broken. They also told me that the only time they would charge out of warranty is when they have to send out an entire replacement unit for half the RRP.

Having a photographer as an owner, I mean, sorry, slave, much be quite annoying for the Princess...

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And by the way, the replacement lock for my Sureflap arrived today. Another point to their after sale service.

Ozzy likes to climb things:

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hehe

So, the cat was disappearing for days at a time, coming back occasionally, not eating much at home. Looking fat.
Bought him one of those "please do not feed" collars. Within a couple of days he has been back much more often and eating at home again. Worth trying if you suspect someone else is feeding your cat.....

can Ozzy get down from there?

Worked it out once a cat treat was placed at the bottom!

Word of warning, John Lewis pet insurance is sneaky to say the very least when it's renewal time, especailly if you have made a claim like I have.

There is a very important clause that affects Patch's policy for the rest of our time with them, they just just forgot to mention it both whe I took out the policy and when I made a claim, and they had the guts to tell me that they are not obliged to disclose it anywhere - not on their website, most importantly, not on any official policy docs they sent me. This goes without saying, 3 days on a roll calling them, I am being passed from 1 person to the next, everyone is saying different things. Good thing I have all the conversations recorded.

About time I make an offical complaint...

How can a clause be undisclosed? (And are you able to say what it is?)

I would like to know too...

Yes I am happy to share:

As long as you have made a claim of any nature, you are barred from upping your policy to the next brackets. I argued with them that I understand if I'd made a claim for an on-going / chronic condition that is unresolved or there to stay for life like diabetes or heart mur mur etc, then it'd be fair, but since the lump that Patch had has been resolved and she is not undergoing any treatment / being monitored specifically for this. It is, medically, a done deal, fully healed, just like a broken leg or what have you. The said it doesn't matter because once a claim, any claim has been made, we are now not allowed to up the policy to, the next one which is £7500 max payout for a year (we are currently on £3000).

Patch is turning 5 soon and the vet's recommendation is that £3000 a year isn't going to go very far if she ever develops any long term problem / more complicated issues etc, especially as she gets older, it'd be harder to get high level insurance deals. Which is why I thought I might get her better cover now, particularly I am earning a bit more this year than I have ever done... At the moment, she has been given a perfectly clean bill of health from all the pre-op checks, so I am really annoyed that they are not willing to up the policy when there is nothing outstanding, if anything, she's had a full body MOT to prove that.

I have spoken to 3 different insurers today with regards to switching / this clause or similar in particular, while all 3 of them won't accept pre-existing conditions (which is more than fair), one of them said there would be a 2 years exclusion on the lump, and the other said the only time they won't allow customers to up their policies is when a claim has been made for chronic conditions - diabetes, heart problems, arthritis that requires more than 1 claim for the same issue etc. I think both are reasonable.

A blanket bar for life on a one off, standalone, non recurring illness is just plain stupid. If they'd told me when I took out the policy, I'd have gone for the higher one to begin with. Equally, if they'd told me about this stupid clause at the time of making a claim, I might not have bothered with making it, as the total payout was just shy of £800, which I could still afford to pay for it if that means I'd retain my rights to chop and change my policy in the future (now).

It'd be interesting to see if they will call me back on Monday, as they said they would, and if so, what will they say. I think they might have shot themselves on the foot on 2 conversations I had with them - they repeatedly said it's not fair on me that if I wasn't informed etc etc, they were going to work out a quote for the £7500 policy for me. Maybe these are mistakes from their low level CS advisors, but as far as I am concorned, they have admitted error for non disclosure and they have made a verbal promise that they would up the policy. The only problem is that the person who said all of these 'does not exist' anymore.

Just made a complaint to the Finacial Ombudsman... bypassing all the JL complaint non sense, after 1 last conversation with JL that makes very interesting recording, particularly when they put me on hold but forgot to turn the music on...

FYI, if anyone's pets have pre existing conditons, PetPlan would accept some of them with a 2 years exclusion from the illness was last seen / treated.

So sorry to hear this. I hope you get it sorted. I've only ever insured with pet plan, as the cat charities give out 6 weeks free insurance and I continued it.

And your post a while back about the cat flap was really useful. Wish we had rep again so I could thank people for useful posts without have to do it in the thread.