cats

3 comments on "So"

So. It’s been a bit of a ratfuck of a month.

I hadn’t really been brushing Lemon because my brother took on the job. Every night he was using these two brush things and “torturing the cat”–which she loved and begged for. So I assumed that all her brushing needs were being handled and I did my usual petting her on the back and face.

But it turns out that he was actually only brushing the TOP of the cat. So her long fur was beautiful on the surface, and terribly matted underneath.

I should have just spent the money and bought the cat/dog shaver. I’m not a big fan of the lion cut, but when the fur is matted to the skin a shave is pretty much the only choice. As I learned.

Amazon adlink: Oneisall Cat Grooming kit (electric shaver for cats and dogs)
Amazon: Oneisall Grooming Kit

I was thinking that there was a way to detangle/demat her fur without shaving because I didn’t do my research. Not until afterward.

I got a combo set of a detangling/dematting brush and comb. And I really thought it was cool… at first.

Detangling/dematting brush

I looked on the cat info sites, and one did a “top brush/comb” list that suggested different styles and uses. So I bought the little set and I used the brush and it was great. At first.

You use the side with the 9 teeth for dematting, and the other side for deshedding.

And Lemon didn’t complain or anything. She just laid in my lap and let me brush through her mats and I was pleased with the way they were coming out.

I brushed her for like 30 minutes until she made a “MEW!” And I checked and there was a BALD PATCH around her neck where her collar is. And the skin looked irritated but unbroken.

So I freaked out and got out a comb and a pair of scissors and I trimmed her hair on both sides of her body to see if there were any other sore spots she hadn’t complained about

And HOLY SHIT.

She’s currently got a cat mohawk, with the sides short and a four inch stripe down her back (where there weren’t any tangles). She looks so skinny and pathetic! I feel terrible for her.

But that dematting brush TORE HER SKIN. There’s a small circle above her back left leg, a larger circle against her ribs, and a HUGE circle on her shoulder. Like, you could see MEAT.

But there was no blood. It was just missing fur.

Still, I’m really scared I may have killed my cat 🙁

So I looked up what antiseptics can be used on cats, and it turns out you CAN’T use alcohol, peroxide, or Neosporin, all of which we had.

The only real choices are chlorhexidine or iodine, which need to be watered down.

So I made some saline solution out of warm water and salt and flushed out her wounds. Then I went online to order some next-day delivery antiseptic.

Amazon Basics Povidone-Iodine solution
Amazon Basics Povidone-Iodine Solution

The iodine would come soonest, so I ordered it immediately for next day delivery along with a box of 100 individually wrapped sterile gauze pads.

It’s been several days and her little wounds have formed shallow scabs. But I’m still so scared. Those wounds look terrible.

The shaver I should have ordered in the first place came today. And now I’ve ordered some Vetericyn Antimicrobial Feline Wound Care spray because I’m not sure the iodine is working.

Amazon ADLINK: Vetericyn Antimicrobial Feline Wound Care spray
Amazon: Vetericyn Antimicrobial Feline Wound Care spray

For reals, I’ve wasted so much money in the last week. I should’ve just ordered the shaver, or after I screwed up I should have just ordered the Wound Care spray.

And I keep looking at her scabs and there’s a bit of redness around them and I keep wondering “Does that look infected? Do I need to get my brother to take her to the vet on his payday? What do I do?!?”

I’m just one big panicked flail away from knocking myself stupid at this point.

And, of course, Lemon is the one with the asthma. So on the regular there are days when she’s just laying around and everyone worries that she’s dying. Like, she’ll start gasping and choking, or she’ll just lay on the floor with her sides heaving, and that’s even with her Fluticasone Propionate inhaler.

We’re always really worried about her.

But right now with her wounds and her asthma and the way she lays around and she breathes so hard and looks so (I assume) miserable… I can’t tell if her wounds are infected and if she’s got a fever.

I’m so stressed out that she’s going to die. I’ve been having NIGHTMARES every night since the brushing catastrophe. And her scabbed-over wounds look so terrible that it’s not making me feel any better at all.

So I’ve been stressing out that I may have killed the cat.

And it’s always so terrible when a cat is sick or dies. Like, something happens and you do all that you can do, but it just goes wrong and that’s that. You feel like liquified shit. And you cry your eyes out. And you pack up their toys and all their stuff and you think you’re never going to get over it, but eventually you’re able to take a full breath again. And you think “Well, that’s life, isn’t it?”

But it’s so much differenter when you’re the one that fucked up. When something you’ve done with your own two hands results in them being sick or suffering or dying.

It feels so terrible. A heavy weight of guilt and concern and thoughts of “If I end up in Hell, the demons are going to torment me with all the pain I gave that poor cat with my stupidity. I can never be forgiven.”

Even now she’s sleeping on the chair in front of me and I’m afraid to go to bed because what if she dies? What if I’m not here and she goes into some kind of shock or something and she dies? And it’s all my fault, because she needs me and can’t call me because she’s a FUCKING CAT???

Lemon laying on chair

So yeah. I’ve been losing my mind. Not so quietly. At home.

0 comments on "“My cat isn’t drinking enough water”"

If you’re worried that your cat isn’t drinking enough water, look at the placement of their food and water dishes.

You don’t want the food and water right next to each other.

As carnivores, cats in the wild eat their prey and that’s a messy business. As such, their instinct is to avoid drinking from standing water near where they’ve eaten as they want to avoid fouled water that will make them sick.

I know it’s more convenient to have the food and water dishes right next to each other, but if you want your cat to drink more water… Think about putting the food at one end of the room and the water at the other.

Your cat will eat, groom, then search out water. And make sure you give them fresh water everyday and when the water gets dirty.

My cats will usually let me know if they need new water by standing next to the bowl and looking at me meaningfully while not drinking.

If your cat is stubborn about drinking water, consider feeding them wet food so they get at least some hydration. But if separating the bowls helps, that’s an easy fix.

0 comments on "Cat toys question — Imma look for the answer"

So I’ve got these two cats now. Well, a cat and a kitten. Which is kind of the problem.

Banjo is kind of a bully. And I’m thinking it’s due to a sense of being usurped. (I’ve seen that Simpsons episode. "Uu-SUR-pER!")

She’s starting to get along with Lemon, but she’s also become kind of aggressive. She’s just all around grumpy.

We try to include her in play, but she just sits and stares. She’s become standoffish. And I think it’s because she feels like she’s losing her place.

I want them to play together.

So I was wondering if there is a toy where they have to cooperate together to get treats. Like a Kong for cats, but forcing cooperative play.

Or are cats not able to relate like that? Would they be able to figure out that the toy only works if they BOTH depress a switch at the same time? Or maybe if they pull at the same time, treats shoot out both ends.

They could become buddies.

Though, maybe I’d regret it if they became hunting pals. I’ve watched stuff on lions and tigers and other big cats:

Two female cats. One a large calico short hair with a kinda smushed face(?) and the other a long-haired tabby (Morris cat). Working together, like lionnesses, they hunt through the house. Pouncing on anything that moves. Bullying the dog. Making everyone regret their life choices.