The Pet Info Thread

[digitalmonkey 929]

Is that your cat Dale? Looks like an awesome cat.

No, that's not my cat. My cat is just normal-cat retarded...nothing cool like that.

[digitalmonkey 929]

After nearly 15 years, I had to say goodbye to my Loyal Friend Fargo tonite. The Casa de RAC will feel empty without her warm and comforting presence.Fargo was a Good Dog.Fargo (circa 1994-2011)

RIP Fargo.Side note: just found a mallard duckling. A crow (raven?) tried to fly off with it and ended up dropping it. S/he looks completely unharmed. Mother and other ducklings are nowhere to be found. I have the duckling in a box with a shoe and some paper towels and some water with a lamp providing some heat.6 kids, a cat, two guinea pigs and now a duck? WTF?! I'm turning into Dr. Dolittle. Or Noah with poor math skills.

[Pot Odds RAC 23]

RIP Fargo.

Thanks man.

Side note: just found a mallard duckling. A crow (raven?) tried to fly off with it and ended up dropping it. S/he looks completely unharmed. Mother and other ducklings are nowhere to be found. I have the duckling in a box with a shoe and some paper towels and some water with a lamp providing some heat.6 kids, a cat, two guinea pigs and now a duck? WTF?! I'm turning into Dr. Dolittle. Or Noah with poor math skills.

6 Kids!Good luck to little Scrooge.

[SuperJon 175]

You think your dog is cool?

[speedz99 145]

So...anybody got any non-reptile questions for me?

[mrdannyg 274]

So...anybody got any non-reptile questions for me?

Sure. My cat has some knots in the fur on his back. Been there more than a week now. Doesn't look like he's getting them out (nor does he appear to care), and they certainly won't come out easily.Should I leave it alone, or try to cut them out? I'm going to try brushing them out (first: buy a brush), but I don't think that will work. If I do cut them out, I have a feeling one of us will end up bloody.

[speedz99 145]

Sure. My cat has some knots in the fur on his back. Been there more than a week now. Doesn't look like he's getting them out (nor does he appear to care), and they certainly won't come out easily.Should I leave it alone, or try to cut them out? I'm going to try brushing them out (first: buy a brush), but I don't think that will work. If I do cut them out, I have a feeling one of us will end up bloody.

Definitely don't try to cut them out with scissors. Your feeling is correct...it's much easier than people realize to cut right through the skin and end up with a big hole (not just a slit). If brushing doesn't work, use a pair of electric clippers. They sell them at pet stores, I think, and in the long run it'll be much cheaper than always paying a groomer or vet tech to remove knots (if it becomes a regular thing). I wouldn't leave them alone, it's best to remove knots while they're still relatively small.Is not grooming himself a new thing? If so, keep an eye on him, make sure he seems otherwise fine.

[mrdannyg 274]

Definitely don't try to cut them out with scissors. Your feeling is correct...it's much easier than people realize to cut right through the skin and end up with a big hole (not just a slit). If brushing doesn't work, use a pair of electric clippers. They sell them at pet stores, I think, and in the long run it'll be much cheaper than always paying a groomer or vet tech to remove knots (if it becomes a regular thing). I wouldn't leave them alone, it's best to remove knots while they're still relatively small.Is not grooming himself a new thing? If so, keep an eye on him, make sure he seems otherwise fine.

Thanks for the tip on the electric clippers - I have some and will definitely use those instead.Grooming doesn't seem to be an issue - this is the only aspect that has shown itself. Sometimes the female cat grooms him (he never grooms her), but it seems like it's just a power thing, and he still does most of the work himself.I noticed the knots after we had been away for a few days. Possible he was not grooming himself as some sort of demonstration of anger.

[brvheart 1,752]

One of our cats just died. Anything you can do?It was a "farm" cat and I'm pretty sure it had a parasite or something. He wasn't moving, but just lying around and meowing loudly whenever a person was close to him. He didn't eat for a week and didn't drink for many days.All the other cats seem fine, but if it was a parasite, should I be worried?

[Dubey 1,035]

Sure. My cat has some knots in the fur on his back. Been there more than a week now. Doesn't look like he's getting them out (nor does he appear to care), and they certainly won't come out easily.Should I leave it alone, or try to cut them out? I'm going to try brushing them out (first: buy a brush), but I don't think that will work. If I do cut them out, I have a feeling one of us will end up bloody.

this has been happening to my cat recently too.In fact , my cat has been having a few health problems. We took her to the vet and he didn't seem particularly worried, but I'll list out the things that are happening here, for a second opinion.I'll list all possibly relevant facts:1. We recently took him for a checkup, and the vet told us she was overweight, so we put her on a new type of food, and started regulating how much she ate. We have two cats, and we'd always just leave food out all the time. neither of them seemed to eat that much, but one cat is really skinny while the other is kinda fat (7.3 KG). We started putting food out only when we were around, and making sure that they only ate out of their own dish. I have no idea if the food has anything to do with it, but it's worth mentioning.2. Shortly after, we noticed that the fur on her back was matting, and getting knots. We have done our best to brush her daily and keep the knots out, but they continue to form. We called the vet, and he said it was nothing to worry about.3. We noticed in the last week that she was licking her paws a lot, like all the time. We didn't think much of it, but then, on Sunday, we noticed that she was limping noticably. We took her to the vet, and they sahved her paw, and the vet said that it looked like she had some impact wound or sore of some sort on three of the 'toe pads' of here rear foot. like she'd stepped on the stove or something. This seems like the most likely possibility, though neither me nor my girlfirend can figure out when it would have been, as we don't use the stove top terribly often, and we are usually close by. The vet gave us anti imflammatory medication, as well as antibiotics, and sold us a cone for her to wear for awhile so she couldn't lick her feet.4. She's been doing ok, other than being generally unhappy about having to wear the cone. However, occasionally, she will jump up randomly and run off, and kind of shake her leg like a dog would shake his paw to get water off, like a full on vibration, but only for a moment or two. and then she will limp noticably for a few seconds, then calm down and come back to where she was sitting. The hair on her back kind of twitches/stands up when she is doing this too, it almost seems like some sort of 'attack'.I know the matting fur and food and foot issues are probably unrelated, but it just seems like lots of things have been suddenly going wrong in the last 2 weeks. She is 3 years old and has never had any health problems until this point.

[speedz99 145]

I noticed the knots after we had been away for a few days. Possible he was not grooming himself as some sort of demonstration of anger.

Very possible.

One of our cats just died. Anything you can do?It was a "farm" cat and I'm pretty sure it had a parasite or something. He wasn't moving, but just lying around and meowing loudly whenever a person was close to him. He didn't eat for a week and didn't drink for many days.All the other cats seem fine, but if it was a parasite, should I be worried?

That doesn't sound like a parasite to me. It quite literally could be almost anything, including a transmissable disease...there's no way to know unless you can bring him in for a necropsy, and even that might not provide conclusive evidence.Do you not ever bring your farm cats to the vet?

[speedz99 145]

1. We recently took him for a checkup, and the vet told us she was overweight, so we put her on a new type of food, and started regulating how much she ate. We have two cats, and we'd always just leave food out all the time. neither of them seemed to eat that much, but one cat is really skinny while the other is kinda fat (7.3 KG). We started putting food out only when we were around, and making sure that they only ate out of their own dish. I have no idea if the food has anything to do with it, but it's worth mentioning.2. Shortly after, we noticed that the fur on her back was matting, and getting knots. We have done our best to brush her daily and keep the knots out, but they continue to form. We called the vet, and he said it was nothing to worry about.

It's definitely possible that she was stressed out about the diet change and stopped grooming.

3. We noticed in the last week that she was licking her paws a lot, like all the time. We didn't think much of it, but then, on Sunday, we noticed that she was limping noticably. We took her to the vet, and they sahved her paw, and the vet said that it looked like she had some impact wound or sore of some sort on three of the 'toe pads' of here rear foot. like she'd stepped on the stove or something. This seems like the most likely possibility, though neither me nor my girlfirend can figure out when it would have been, as we don't use the stove top terribly often, and we are usually close by. The vet gave us anti imflammatory medication, as well as antibiotics, and sold us a cone for her to wear for awhile so she couldn't lick her feet.

Is she licking all of her paws, or just that one? Also, what is "sahved"? Probably a typo I should recognize, but I'm having trouble.

[speedz99 145]

Brv, if I were you I'd be more worried about a toxin lying around the property than a parasite. Make sure you don't have antifreeze spilled somewhere, rat poisons deployed, new flowers planted, etc. But it still could be lots of things.

[Dubey 1,035]

that should be "shaved" sorry.I think she was just licking the bad paw, but I can't be sure. we just noticed she was licking her paws a lot more than usual, but didn't notice that it was just the one paw, and only started paying closer attention after she started limping and then the subsequent vet visit.

[brvheart 1,752]

Brv, if I were you I'd be more worried about a toxin lying around the property than a parasite. Make sure you don't have antifreeze spilled somewhere, rat poisons deployed, new flowers planted, etc. But it still could be lots of things.

Ok. I'll check the shed for an antifreeze spill. I don't take our farm cats to the vet, just our in-house cat.

[speedz99 145]

Ok. I'll check the shed for an antifreeze spill. I don't take our farm cats to the vet, just our in-house cat.

You check the shed while I'll do my best to keep from judging you for letting the poor thing suffer for a week.

[Mercury69 3]

Beware of zombie cats...

[brvheart 1,752]

You check the shed while I'll do my best to keep from judging you for letting the poor thing suffer for a week.

Well to be fair to me, my daughter wouldn't let me shoot it a couple days before he died. So put your judgment on her head.Furthermore, I was planning on taking him in, mainly for my daughters sake, the morning I found him dead. Something weird happened though, because he was only like 3.

[mrdannyg 274]

Thanks for the tip on the electric clippers - I have some and will definitely use those instead.Grooming doesn't seem to be an issue - this is the only aspect that has shown itself. Sometimes the female cat grooms him (he never grooms her), but it seems like it's just a power thing, and he still does most of the work himself.I noticed the knots after we had been away for a few days. Possible he was not grooming himself as some sort of demonstration of anger.

I might have the best cat in history. He never leaves me alone when I get home from work. He also loves being up on the bathroom counter. So when I came home, I just went right into the bathroom, knowing he'd jump onto the counter. Grabbed my razor, and probably spent 20 minutes trimming out all the knots. He sat there contentedly the entire time, never giving me a problem. I don't think I could sit that still for that long while someone was using an electric razor against knotted hair.Got them all out though, right down to the skin. He's not hurt, and doesn't look too silly, though there's a couple bald spots. Will just have to watch to see if they come back.He received a fair helping of treats after all that.I could see really quickly how much better the razor was then scissors. Razor was very easily to just take off bits at a time, and only attack the knot when that was all that was left. With scissors, I would've been pulling at the skin too much, and probably hurt him. Speedz knows his stuff!

4. She's been doing ok, other than being generally unhappy about having to wear the cone. However, occasionally, she will jump up randomly and run off, and kind of shake her leg like a dog would shake his paw to get water off, like a full on vibration, but only for a moment or two. and then she will limp noticably for a few seconds, then calm down and come back to where she was sitting. The hair on her back kind of twitches/stands up when she is doing this too, it almost seems like some sort of 'attack'.

Sounds like her leg is falling asleep. That is my diagnosis.

[Dubey 1,035]

my cats are awesome too.

[speedz99 145]

I might have the best cat in history. He never leaves me alone when I get home from work. He also loves being up on the bathroom counter. So when I came home, I just went right into the bathroom, knowing he'd jump onto the counter. Grabbed my razor, and probably spent 20 minutes trimming out all the knots. He sat there contentedly the entire time, never giving me a problem. I don't think I could sit that still for that long while someone was using an electric razor against knotted hair.

That's definitely an impressive patient. Knots start hurting after they get big enough, so it's good you're staying on top of it.

[vbnautilus 48]

So...anybody got any non-reptile questions for me?

Would you be interested in curing Familial Shar-pei fever? My parents have had 2 dogs die from it over the last couple years, and last week my sister's succumbed. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shar_Pei_fever

[speedz99 145]

That's pretty shitty luck. Time to find a new breeder.But no, I shall not be curing that disease. I'll leave that to the people who are smarter and less socially competent than I.

[vbnautilus 48]

That's pretty shitty luck. Time to find a new breeder.But no, I shall not be curing that disease. I'll leave that to the people who are smarter and less socially competent than I.

They weren't all from the same breeder, but I do think my parents have an unhealthy shar-pei addiction. They currently have three, and have had four die young over the last couple decades.

[El Guapo 8]

Is your family opposed to normal dogs?