Comments on: Kitties Rule, Except For That Awful Smell

By: Alanora

Alanora — Sat, 23 May 2009 12:38:27 +0000

Yikes. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that the kittens were just weaned? That would be my guess. You might call a vet’s office and ask about it. She might need a change in her diet until the effect wears off.

By: sheta

sheta — Sat, 23 May 2009 04:19:50 +0000

Yeah, I know they’re lactose intolerant (so am , but I don’t know if that would cause such an extreme reaction with no other noticeable symptoms. Too bad cats can’t talk.

I’ve changed the dry food twice — once to a cheaper brand, briefly, and once back, though I am still using a mediocre canned variety (Friskies), which seems to make their litter boxes smell worse than before. I am just having problems affording all of these cats right now. It’s ridiculous.

By: sheta

sheta — Sat, 23 May 2009 04:15:52 +0000

I’m used to cats and can get by with Febreze and a few moments of choking, but when Tonks goes it’s horrific. I mean it smells like 3-days-in-the-blazing-sun roadkill. Vile. I have no idea what is up with her but it’s only been going on about three weeks, since around the time she (mostly) weaned her kittens. I have never had a smell like that inside my house, except once when a snake got into the attic and died. It rained maggots in the bathroom before we found it. It stank for a year.

As a matter of fact, I am pretty sure this is worse, at least in terms of intensity if not stench.

By: Alanora

Alanora — Sun, 17 May 2009 08:45:17 +0000

Kitties are good pets, but I agree about the smell part. My cat (whom I like to refer to as the shit factory) is a clean healthy animal, all indoor, but when he potties in his litter box, the smell will make your eyes water clear across the house. For this reason I keep the litter box in the bathroom, so I can hose the air with Oust and shut the door with the vent on. And god help you if you’re in there when he goes.

I don’t know why he’s like that. I feed him a regular brand of cat food, and indoor formula. If I work a different kind of food into his diet, it’s just as strong. It might simply be the way it is for some cats, I don’t know.

By: aydira

aydira — Sun, 17 May 2009 02:03:11 +0000

Maybe someone is feeding her milk? (Don’t know if you knew but cats are horrendously lactose intolerant.) Another thing that can cause poo problems is if you change the cat’s food suddenly. I’ve had that happen even when I tried to mix in the new food slowly. It could just be something in her regular food. I had one cat who just couldn’t deal with a certain ingredient, can’t remember what it was.

I hope it’s something simple like that and she’s ok. Nice photos though! Very cute! We have one of those stripey grey and black cats. He’s one of the cutest cats I’ve ever had.

By: aydira

aydira — Sun, 17 May 2009 01:58:48 +0000

Aww my cat did one of those running directly under the foot things yesterday and I stepped on his foot. He screamed! He was fine, I think it just scared him and it made me feel bad even though it was his fault. He once tripped my husband onto the floor before my husband was used to having cats. He’s the kind of cat who needs to rub on your shin every time you walk past him.

By: sheta

sheta — Sat, 16 May 2009 21:46:10 +0000

I know! You try to step over them and they pick that second to run ahead “out of the way” and so you end up nearly killing yourself. Cats are buttheads. She said gracefully.

By: sheta

sheta — Sat, 16 May 2009 21:45:01 +0000

I’m not sure what is going on. I’ll keep my eyes open, though. Thanks.

By: sheta

sheta — Sat, 16 May 2009 21:42:23 +0000

Yeah, they get into everything, and if there’s an opening, they’ll find it and do their best to wiggle through. They are notorious for getting inside reclining furniture and then getting killed when it’s moved. They like to get under chairs, couches, beds, etc and dig at the soft underparts and crawl inside the springs. Plus there’s the whole appliance nightmare waiting to happen. If you intend to give them run of the house 24-7, then you have a lot of proofing to do, indeed.

My couch sits less than an inch off the floor, so that’s safe, though he likes to dig on the cushions. The chairs are more interesting for hiding under, and once I get this room proofed he will be able to run freely in here as long as there’s someone present in the room. I need to reinstall the doors and baby gates, possibly reinforced to avoid him going through them or climbing them.

We’ve had to reinforce his cage with hardware cloth and a dividing wire screen, because he was escaping. We’d leave the house with him in the cage, and when we came home he’d greet us at the door. He’d show up in the bedroom in the middle of the night, etc. lol. So I think we have the cage proofed, I hope. When I am busy or need to leave the room, he’s confined in his playpen, which is harder for him to escape. So far he hasn’t managed it.

He’s like a fur-covered slinky. lol

By: Grey Glamer

Grey Glamer — Sat, 16 May 2009 19:47:18 +0000

They're cute until they give you whiplash! I tripped over Odysseus on Thursday, and threw out my left shoulder and neck. Not fun. But yes, they're still cute creatures, even when you know they're plotting your demise. Grey Glamer´s last blog post..The Minor Arcana and Gender