The Cat Thread

+10000000000 on the scratch pads. Cheap and work a treat. Just make sure to get one per cat or you'll end up with fights.

I have 3 per 1 cat... but yes, they are cheap and cheerful.

I have also found a cheap Argos bare wood coffee table to be the best scratch posts - 4 legs = 4 post for a grand total of £9...

That is cheap, it's almost as if it grows on trees.

Can't recommend these guys enough. Always super human and never took the piss out of us. Been taking our cat there for 5 years:

http://www.midlandvetsurgery.co.uk/

seems ours requires 2 scratch posts, one in the lounge and one in the bedroom, sort-of-mainly-where we are mostly. the bedroom one is a recent addition as she was plucking up the new carpet at 4am when she wanted some-thing-or-another (food/out/cuddles/chaseychasey game/all of the above) - now she plucks the scratch post at 4am

: ]

I have a moral dilemma, neighbours have got a new cat, seems a very friednly cat too, the problem is he keeps coming to the front of my garden door, in fact, to put it more accurately, he keeps sticking his face to the cat flap every single fucking night and sits on my window sill. As a result, Patch is getting quite stressed.

I have tried making loud ish noise to scare it away, shining a light at it, tapping on the window / door, all the gentle methods have been translated to an invitation to come play.

I don't think he necessarily wants to stay there, or trying to pick a fight, but he lives upstairs so his garden is next to mine and the guys upstairs don't have a cat flap so when they are out or simply forget about their cat is still out in the cold or rain, he just hangs around until he is allowed inside.

Initially, I would send them a message or call them to let them know their cat is waiting, but I can't keep doing it every night as it's not my place to teach them to be responsible cat owners, but that cat keeps showing up the same sort of time every night, hence my conclusion.

I have been suggested a sonic repeller but isn't it really mean to the cat? And Patch might also be affected too.

Any suggestion?

It might take a while for Patch to get used to the cat and then he/she might not be that bothered about the cats presence and you can just let it do its thing. Failing that, they'll brawl it out and avoid each other. I have always found its best to let them sort it out themselves. And, they will.

We had a cat that started coming in through the bathroom window in a flat years back. I tried everything to get rid of her. Turns out my cat really liked it and they just chilled together for a bit in the flat or in the garden and the other cat would go home when it felt like it. We never fed it or did anything to get to to stay, it just did.

Cat is depressed

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Hopefully, but the daily screaming and punching the cat flap is starting to get to me. Also, I know Patch is not cats cat... I might have said it here before, we used to have a bunch of cats hanging out in our gardens, but since her arrival... within months... there was only 1 cat left - Patch...

And to be honest, upstairs cat has been here for a good few weeks now and I have seen them co-existing in the general garden bits, but what Patch will not have and quite rightly so, is that kitty coming all the way to stick his face to the cat flap.

:-(

If you want to discourage it. Try squirting water at it from a water bottle, especially when it has its face at the cat flap. It won't like it but it won't hurt it. Hopefully it will soon learn. Good luck

Will try that. I almost had a chance to cat sit for them weekend just gone and I thought... hummmmm... I am so gonna teach him a lesson... then they cancelled their plan last min...

(PS: I wasn't actually going to do anything to the kitty... but the thoughts... lol)

pee in a bottle and spread it around the cat flap.

Pee on the cat. It won't like it but it won't hurt it.

NO PEE.... you guys are disgusting... :-)

Just ordered a water pistol... He visited 3 times this evening and Patch was not impressed at all!!!!!

And... What's the longest have you left your cat(s) alone for going away? There is a couple of dyas gap between my going away and my friends are able to move in. Just wonder if I should be bothered to get a neighour to feed Patch or would a giant big bowl of dry food and double the amount stale wet food (which she seems to quite like?) be enough for a little under 2 days?

I don't normally leave mine alone for more than a day. But they can stay longer alone.

Once, by mistake, she was alone for I think three days (misunderstanding between me and cat sitter), she was hungry but fine.

sometimes they get a bit stressed - esp. if they are already stressed at another cat.

pee is the only way, trust me.

Ours will be pretty content up to a week by themselves. We have an auto dry feeder so they don't just hoover up what is left out and we leave more water around the house. Any longer and a friend pops their head in every few days to check on the water levels and that the feeder hasn't jammed.

We try not to miss a proper meal with ours, otherwise we come home to a vomit protest. Leaving food out doesn’t seem to make any difference!

It really depends on the cat, we can happily leave ours for a week, she gets more stressed out if random people visit the house than if she's left alone. We have an automatic feeder and a water fountain plus we leave extra water all around the house. Any longer and we have some one to change the litter tray and check on her.

Picked Alley up from the vet yesterday after she had 24 hours of fluids. Apparently she was borderline hyperthermic due to not eating/drinking for a few days.
Happier now she's been pumped full of fluids but they're worried there might be an underlying problem. Need to take her back in a few days once she's hopefully back for normal for blood tests. Poor little sod. she's my best friend and 17 now.
How much am I looking at for these blood tests?

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What blood tests? I thought Patch was posioned last year and the tested for liver and kidneys funtions and something else. I think it was around £150 inclulding the consult... We are in South London if that's any help...

And bless this little lady. Hope she will be back to her good self soon. :-)

They've not really said.

Just said that tests will show if there's any underlying conditions. Anything from cancer to kidney problems etc etc.

I obvs want the old lady to be as well as possible, jsut want to make sure I'm not being taken the piss out of. They've quouted £115 which I guess now sounds reasonable.

Cheers guys for the advice. Operation get rid of upstairs cat is now in full swing. Patch was worried to go out today and used the little tray again. She'd stopped using thte tray since I changed back to her usual type of litter. She was digging digging and digging forever more, clearly a stressed cat.

Re: the leaving her alone, I think I can bribe my friends to move in a day earlier... we will see, if not, it'd now only be a full day or less, so... she should be fine, she is a fully grown adult now!!!