Well the GF convinced us to get a 2nd cat. Our 1st is a girl, bout a year and a half old, and we just picked up a 4 month old kitten…both are American shorthairs and it’s a pretty friendly cat breed.
We’ve been having some issues…tried to introduce them slowly and they’re getting along ok, with some bullying by the older one. The main problem is me waking up every morning to a diarrhea dump on my couch (from the kitten)…we have 2 cat boxes, both on the same balcony…which the little one has used before, but I think maybe the problem is having the 2 boxes so close together and when the adult sees the little one there she intimidates him and makes him weary of the area. Along the same lines we have their food dishes together and there doesn’t seem to be an issue (they actually eat each other’s food), and they share the same water bottle with no problems.
So I’m going to try to put the little one’s litter on the 2nd balcony and hope that speeds up the litter issue.
Is this the right approach? Any further advice? Anything that gets this kitten to stop crapping on my beautiful sofa would be splendid.
I think you’re heading in the right direction. It’s about territory. Each new kitten who comes in has to have their own space and feel comfortable. Going to the bathroom requires a bit of privacy. I have set up different litter boxes in different locations for my cats and it seems to work. But you mentioned diahrrea; maybe the kitten is trying to communicate this to you.
In any case, after some time, the 2 cats will adjust and find their spaces. Everything washes and the love you get from your cats is much more important than furniture or the few minutes it takes to tidy up a mess. Good luck!
[quote=“douglas@taichungpaws.org”]I think you’re heading in the right direction. It’s about territory. Each new kitten who comes in has to have their own space and feel comfortable. Going to the bathroom requires a bit of privacy. I have set up different litter boxes in different locations for my cats and it seems to work. But you mentioned diahrrea; maybe the kitten is trying to communicate this to you.
In any case, after some time, the 2 cats will adjust and find their spaces. Everything washes and the love you get from your cats is much more important than furniture or the few minutes it takes to tidy up a mess. Good luck![/quote]
But it’s a new sofa!
Just kidding, thanks for the reply. My a-hole older cat decided to start using the little one’s box, so I think that scares him off when the scent is fresh. He seems to get the box most of the time regardless, and if not it’s at least on the balcony outside.
The kitty has had diarrhea though and seems fatigued/a little sick, not sure if it’s nerves or diet or what. We were feeding him dry food (science diet) out of habit because our older cat has no problem with the dry stuff, but I think maybe it’s too harsh for his stomach and we should feed him canned food…he seems ravenous when he gets the canned stuff.
Bad news…the kitty didn’t seem so well so my GF took him to a vet yesterday…she said he gave it a couple of shots and some new food (I wasn’t there but it sounded like some clueless vet)…and last night and this morning the kitty seemed really weak…i could tell he was dehydrated and tried giving him water but he just wouldn’t take so we took him to another vet just now. They gave him an IV and we’re going to leave him there for the night, it doesn’t look too good though.
I really feel bad…he was eating and drinking fine until yesterday with some diarrhea and I think we took him in as soon as we felt was necessary, but still. He’s such a friendly little guy and I’ll feel so guilty if he doesn’t make it because we didn’t get him in sooner. The vet says he could have been sick when we bought him, though to me he seemed ok and saying that doesn’t really help much.
I know not many people read this forum, just needed to vent.
The vet was probably right. A lot of these diseases don’t manifest right away, and kitten mills are usually rife with disease. Just another reason not to lend your support and give your money to these unscrupulous charlatans. Diarreah, lethargy in a cat bought from a total cunt probably indicates either feline enteritis or feline influenza, both normally fatal. Any discharge from the eyes and nose?
You bought a cat from a Taiwanese breeder. That’s a pretty good way to purchase a bundle of trouble.
Hope the little guy makes it.
DO NOT SUPPORT THESE DIRTY FUCKS!
You could be right, the vet suggested we go back to the pet store we got him from. It’s also where we got our first cat from, but she was fine. I really don’t get the sense they took poor care of him or that they do in general, but whatever.
The little guy seemed fine when we got him, not lethargic at all (actually quite the opposite) so I dunno.
Yes, he had discharge in eyes this morning, to the point where they were shut closed and I had to clean them. Before today he had maybe a little, but that’s part of the reason I made sure we took him in as soon as we could today. Regardless of what happened to him it’s not going to be much consolation…you may be right in that he might not make it.
Cat bought from a dirty scumsucking bastard, has the shits and runny eyes. Its dead. I’m sorry, but them’s 99 percent sure to be the facts.
DO NOT SUPPORT TAIWANESE BREEDERS! DO NOT GIVE THEM YOUR MONEY! DO NOT BE PARTY TO PERPETUATING THIS BRUTAL FILTHY TRADE!
If you want a pet, contact Animals Taiwan or Stray Dog at the SPCA. They ALWAYS have a choice of beautiful pets available for adoption.
Well, don’t give up on the kitten; some pull through at the last minute. I always keep hope. I also hope you have a good vet who can communicate with you about the process. Most vets in Taiwan are dog-oriented and don’t really work well with cats. In any case, if you don’t think your vet is doing the right thing, ask Animals Taiwan or Taiwan SPCA for some recommendations.
I think you should have some blood tests for your other cat too, just in case. And, yes, make sure the pet shop and their customers know that this happened. Post the name and address of the shop online.
But for the kitten’s sake, don’t be angry and say mean things. What’s the kitten’s name?
You are likely to lose your kitten, but if you don’t get your older cat to the vet and checked out soon, you could also lose her. She may have picked up what the kitten brought into the home.
[quote=“douglas@taichungpaws.org”]Well, don’t give up on the kitten; some pull through at the last minute. I always keep hope. I also hope you have a good vet who can communicate with you about the process. Most vets in Taiwan are dog-oriented and don’t really work well with cats. In any case, if you don’t think your vet is doing the right thing, ask Animals Taiwan or Taiwan SPCA for some recommendations.
I think you should have some blood tests for your other cat too, just in case. And, yes, make sure the pet shop and their customers know that this happened. Post the name and address of the shop online.
But for the kitten’s sake, don’t be angry and say mean things. What’s the kitten’s name?[/quote]
Thanks for the advice from you and housecat, we will take the big one in and I will take it to the pet shop (the issue). The vet we went to today speaks some english and seems competent to me, he said the case with the kitten is severe (dehydration) and that he may pass tonight, but he also guessed a 30% chance he could make it, which is better than nothing. He is in there now hooked up to an IV and we’ll see what the case is tomorrow. We went back to see him earlier tonight but there doesn’t seem to be much change, so I’m not expecting a lot.
His name is Tuffy. He’s such a sweet little guy, he follows us everywhere and plays tug of war with receipts. I feel so bad about this…he’s just a baby and I keep thinking if I had caught onto this sooner things would be different.
Well Tuffy didn’t make it, the vet called this morning to tell us the bad news. We just took in our other cat to get checked, she seemed tired today and seems to be getting some kind of skin rash, which undoubtedly came from the little one. The vet said she has a fever and gave us some medicine to take home…she’s older and a lot stronger so I think she’ll be ok.
The vet also wrote us a note to take to the petstore, basically saying this kitten we took in to them was very sick and died. I’ll visit them tomorrow.
Hopefully someone can read this and learn from it in terms of getting your animal to the vet asap and in terms of dealing with pet stores, I’m glad you guys urged me to take my other cat in.
I’m so sorry to hear about Tuffy. I know it was a short time, but it’s still hard to lose something so precious. Make sure your older cat is up-to-date on vaccinations.
Sorry to hear about the little one. I’m glad you had your older kitty checked out and I hope she’ll be okay. After she’s well and vaccinated, you should really contact Animals Taiwan. I’m sure they have lots of lovey kittens and you will know for sure that the new family member is healthy!
We went back to the pet store, but they insisted both the kitten and our older cat had their shots. I actually kind of believe them…I’m sure there are a lot of places breeding cats under shitty conditions, but I’ve been going to this store for over a year (we get our cat’s food there), and they only ever have a few animals at a time there available and they seem to care for them (there’s 3 people working there). I don’t get a slimy vibe from them, essentially, which is more than I can say for a lot of businesses here. We brought them the vet’s note and they offered to give us a new kitten, which was decent of them.
I think we’ll wait a bit before getting another one though.
Our other cat is doing fine after the vet visit yesterday, she’s back to her normal self, looking strong.
You’re right, it is a short period of time, but it’s so easy to fall in love with a baby pet, and ultimately I feel responsible, even if there is no real fault here.
Actually kittens can get dehydrated and die quickly from stomach problems. Sometimes the stomach problems are just a result of switching to a new food. Diarrhea is a big warning sign in kittens. However, the fact that your cat is now also acting sick should mean that the kitten actually had something else wrong with it.
I got two cats who had herpes virus before and the people I got them from swore high and low that none of their other 13 cats had ever had any herpes virus symptoms before.
It doesn’t make sense.
Mups, why not SAVE an existing kitten’s life by adopting it rather than paying some breeder to CREATE a life just for you? Please stop being part of the local animal breeding trade. Please.
