Pets

[Courtenay]

Our two cats, when we had them, lived both indoors and outdoors and they always had the back-of-the-neck flea treatment — it worked very well and them spending a lot of time outdoors didn't seem to decrease its effectiveness. But it's probably best to consult with your local vet about what the different flea control options are and which would be best for your two outdoor cats in their circumstances. People here can really only guess by what treatments we've tried and found effective (or not), whereas a vet should have expert knowledge of what's available and what's suitable.

[Bertie]

Good advice, Boatbuilder and Courtenay.

Completely agree with your two points against using crushed up tablets, Boatbuilder. That's why I've always used spot on for my cats flea and worm treatment as well. When I've had to crush up tablets for medical treatment for my cats over the years, it's often been tough to get it all down them.

But, as they're growing increasingly trusting and loving with me, I didn't want to take a step back in the earlier months with the treatment that they'll hate the smell of - as well as maybe licking it off each other, or going straight out into the rain with it (or panic them by locking them in). So I was thinking for the first few times, crushed up tablets would be a lot more subtle and non-invasive - even though, as you say, it's trickier to ensure they get a good dose down them.

As Courtenay suggested, I'll probably contact the vets tomorrow and ask what they recommend.

[Bertie]

My 'outdoor cats', Ginge and Beauty, are fully settled in the shed now and have both become such loving pets. After making me work hard to earn her trust and love, Beauty has quickly become even more of a loving lapcat than Ginge! She's still a lot more nervy than him when anyone else is about, but with me she's now 100% loving and trusting.

Thanks to John (Boatbuilder), I've got a couple of photos of them from today. The first is Ginge looking very proud at the top of his cat tree. He took a little longer than Beauty to take to it, but now he uses it just as much and, unlike her, he loves to sit on the very top of it...




The other photo is of them both curled up together in the cardboard box that you can see in the background of the first photo. They have plenty of other places to lie in or on, but they both usually love to sit together - and often choose the cardboard box!

[Boatbuilder]

It’s good to see them curled up together, Bertie. Lovely pictures.

[Bertie]

Thanks, Boatbuilder.

They've started getting a little more competitive with each other when it comes to playing with their toys, and trying to move each other when they want to get on my knee instead. But, overall, they still seem good friends. Not long after that photo, they started licking / grooming each other - which always makes them look very cute!

[Courtenay]

Just gorgeous, Bertie — thanks for sharing those (and thanks to John BB too).

[Bertie]

Thanks, Courtenay.

One little trick that Ginge seems to try whenever he can't succeed in moving Beauty from my knee is to go outside and get on the shed roof - which made me wonder what all the thuds were the first couple of times! If the doors ajar, which depends on the weather, he also leans over the side and peeps / meows at us both through the door. They're both a bit mischievous at times, but are very cute.

[IceMaiden]

Lovely cats Bertie, they're both very pretty with their colours and markings

[Bertie]

Thanks, IceMaiden.

Does anyone who has cats on here feed them Felix As Good As It Looks (which actually looks very unappetising so not much of a boast!)?

If I'm buying Felix, I don't go for that. A couple of times though I ended up with boxes and tried them and Slinky (my house cat) seemed to be sick more often when he'd had those. I googled it and there have been concerns about them at some point, so I've avoided them.

I'm asking now as my brother turned up with Christmas presents for the cats - but, unfortunately, all Felix As Good As It Looks (some Kitten for the outdoor ones). I didn't say anything, and I might risk the outdoor cats, as they still hunt and have been used to eating what they can. But I think I might give the boxes for Slinky to an animal charity, as he seemed sensitive to them in the past and, anyway, he's not to change his diet due to the insulin boosters I have to give him twice a day.

[IceMaiden]

We board cats as well as dogs at the kennels where I work. Several have come in with Felix As Good As it Looks and it's one of our stock foods as well. None of them have had any issues with it, but just like dogs (and us!) , they are all different and what suits one may not suit another. If in doubt Bertie I would do the same as you would for a dog, mix a little bit in with their usual food and if all is well increase it a bit each day. That usually makes a change in diet problem-free .

[Bertie]

Thanks for the suggestion, IceMaiden.
I did sneak in a bit of As Good As It Looks in with their usual food and they seemed to eat most of it and don't seem to have had any negative reaction so I'll slowly increase it if they react OK in the next few days.

[Boatbuilder]

I think most pet foods suggest on the pack that if you are changing to it from another then it should be done as IceMaiden suggested - little by little - increasing/decreasing the amount given each day. I have found that if my cats like a new food it becomes noticeable quite quickly and the change over can be completed sooner than you hoped. Having said that, I have rarely found it necessary to make a change. My cats currently have Burgess dried food along with a portion of Sheba wet food pouches each day, plus their Dreamies 'treats'.

NB. This is not intended to be an advert for any of those products.

[IceMaiden]

Yes a mix of dry and wet is what we tend to feed and just about every cat always heads for the wet food first. Dreamies though go down well with just about everyone .

[Katharine]

Hopefully sometime in the next few days I will be able to transfer some of my guinea pigs into a brand new cage. I've had my current cages several years now, and one of them is starting to look as if it needs a bit of TLC, so rather than waiting until it gets too bad, I've just picked up a new flat pack cage so that I can then work on renovating the old one.

I'm just hoping that assembling the new one is easier than acquiring it! My current cages all have hinged lids - I find that so much easier and safer than having ones that only open from the front. Many years ago, a guinea pig shot out of a door when I opened it to feed them - thankfully he landed on the ground ok, and must have momentarily frozen, so I was able to pick him up. I do occasionally have nightmares of my piggies falling out of the cages and being lost forever.

Anyway, the company that made my current cages no longer makes them with hinged lids, and the only one I could find has to be ordered on-line from Pets at Home. They had a special offer on recently which ended on 21st December. Normally I would wait until after the hassle of Christmas before I'd order anything, but I didn't want to miss out on the saving, so I placed the order, and was told it would be delivered in-store on 23rd December. However, I got an e-mail that day to say it had missed the warehouse deadline, so wasn't on the shop's delivery, and I would be notified when it arrived. I thought it unlikely that they would deliver on Christmas Eve, especially as it was a Sunday, and when I didn't hear anything this week, assumed the warehouse was shut over the festive season. Today I popped into the shop as I needed some other bits for my piggies and thought I'd just ask if they had any idea when my delivery might arrive. The assistant went off to check, and returned with 2 large flat pack boxes!

Still no e-mail to say it had been delivered, so goodness knows how long it had been sat waiting for me! Obviously very pleased it had arrived, but it then threw up a problem as there wasn't enough room in the car for the boxes, plus me, my husband and daughter! Still, we got that situation sorted satisfactorily, and the boxes are now in my garden awaiting a screwdriver.

[IceMaiden]

I'm sure the piggies will love their new home Katherine! I know what you mean about hinged lids, when I kept small animals I preferred them too, far less chance of an accidental fall and broken bones or worse. I think sometimes emails aren't updated regularly, I had an email a while back to say my parcel had been sent out that morning - three weeks after it had been delivered!