Flower patch still going surprisingly:
Have to head back to melbs tm. Resting heart rate went from 110 -> 70 bpm since being down here. Back up we go.
beautiful flowers, you take care
Hello DT people!!! I originally posted this yesterday on my sh.itjust.works account, but for some reason or another, it didn’t federate over here. Neither did my upvotes on everybody’s comments :(
Anyways, I just wanted to drop in to say long time no speak! And to share some cat photos
But how is everyone? Been a while. How’s the year treating you all?
caaaaat
(I know it looks like the harness is ridiculously tight and must be cutting off his circulation, but I promise he’s fine! He’s not chonky, just a super long haired flooooof. That also means when the floof is displaced, he looks a little lopsided)
Cat brag
I seriously think I won the cat lottery with this little guy. I don’t think I socialised him enough when he was young, he’s pretty scared of visitors and absolutely terrified of tradespeople. But he’s so, so confident and easygoing around me. If I leave him alone enough to sleep, he will let me do pretty much anything. He’s also a big fan of water! And he genuinely loves belly rubs and being carried around. The least cat-like cat I’ve ever met
Caaaaat in triplicate! (also - I have a cat related request)
On that last note: I do come with a request: does anyone have any reccos for a cat or animal rescue? I’ve looked around, and it kind of seems like the common consensus is that pretty much any shelter in Melbourne is fine. I’ve been to that cat protection society and quite like them. Looking into getting a second cat later this year, he’s a pretty playful sort of a cat, so I think he might benefit from a friend.
Also, I’m particularly interested in a shelter or rescue that does some level of personality matching. Although he’s quite confident around me, I have seen that he is not a fighter. He is a bolter. He doesn’t even hiss at the vet, he just tries to slink away and hide under the examination table. So I don’t think he would cope well with a strong personality or rough play fighter
So, keen for reccs. I know most people here are cat people, so figured you’d all have thoughts. Super appreciate any suggestions! I’m still in the inner west, but willing to travel
(I don’t have any other AZ account, but I’ll reply to this comment from my sh.itjust.works account. Not sure if that will federate or not, but I’ll link it: https://sh.itjust.works/post/59165660/25048625 Promise I’m not a fake-baku)
Hey! What a shiny floof and floomp you have. Three of my cats have come from Lost Dogs, one from Lort Smith, and the others directly from friends/neighbours. Maneki Neko seems pretty decent, a friend has fostered for them in the past. Introducing a new cat I’ve always chosen the new to be younger than the resident regardless of gender. No power dynamic disasters but ymmv of course. Worst combo were sisters who barely tolerated each other.
Thank you for the wisdom! The maneki neko place I’ve seen a couple of times, I might need to take a look into them
When I was a kid, and the last cats I had before I was sent into care were also siblings and they had such polar opposite personalities. One of them was so scared that she would hide in a cupboard day in and day out, only emerging at food time and to use the litter box. If you carried her anywhere, she would wail the house down and then run back into the cupboard as soon as she was let go. And no amount of treats and bribery could convince her to come out of the cupboard. The other was the clingiest little cat of all time. He was pretty much at my feet or on my bed every hour I was home. Though he wasn’t as attached and could be bribed away by food pretty easily
So nice to see you. 😺😊
the RSPCA do careful personality and needs matching
don’t be shy in describing your home situation and your present cat, they will find a new cat friend who will be happy with you both
I was so nervous when i got Bill Cat, thinking living in an apartment and being quiet people would be bad, but no, Bill needed all that. He needed a small private safe place and needed quiet older people. So it really is about matching. There is no right or wrong,
Hey goonsy! How’s things? Oh, and Bill cat, and Ted cat (?)! How are they?
The RSPCA seem decent. When I lived in a state care home in Ballarat, I was really missing my cats at home. The RSPCA has/had a shelter in Ballarat with an interesting setup: they had the usual cages out the back, but they also personality matched 5 cats each into 2 tall floor-ceiling cages they had. It was a bit smaller than an average bedroom, from memory. Enough space for a couple of cat trees, a couch, and plenty of space to run around in
Provided you didn’t mind the cat hair, you could sit on the couch for a little while and play with/pet the cats. I really liked that setup. I believe the RSPCA stopped running it sometime after I moved, and it transitioned into council control. But AFAIK they kept the same setup
Yeah, I think a lot of shelter cats and strays are like that. Need time and space to decompress and a while to build up trust. My place is generally fairly calm, but also on occasion pretty hectic when the tradespeople, inspections, smoke alarm testers etc come barging through. And the neighbours have been doing some rennos recently, which has had resident cat up in arms
Hey Baku! Good to see you.
He’s a great cat. Cuddly and will walk on a harness!
It’s an unpopular place but maybe you could bust someone out of The Lost Dogs Home. They tend to have compatibility/personality blurbs. Other choices might be Lort Smith, 2nd Chance Cat Rescue, or Friends Forever. There are timid cats and cats that are really chill with other cats but I don’t have much experience in introducing them. Maybe try watching Jackson Galaxy.
I’d recommend a senior cat because they can be calmer but to be honest while they’re the best ones (according to me) they tend to need more frequent checkups and need a bit more in vet costs if there’s any health conditions. Upkeep is usually a fair bit more than the initial cost of a cat.
Edit: Maybe an adult cat, because they will be at a good age to tell whether they have a similar personality. A kitten hasn’t settled into that yet and could be too boisterous
Thank you very much Melbsy, good to see you again as well!
We still aren’t fully harness trained (including me!) - he’s still very prone to being spooked by any noise at all outside, and he still engages the protest flop from time to time
The almight "protest flop"
I did actually try to visit the lost dogs home a couple of weeks ago, but it was super busy. The waiting room was chockers, there were a couple of people queued up outside, and it was raining so I ended up leaving. Not sure if 3pm on a Thursday is peak adoption hour, if they’re always that busy, or everybody else had the same thought I did!
Thank you for the other suggestions as well. I didn’t even realise Lort Smith had a rescue service, I thought they were just an emergency vet
Will need to think a bit more on ideal age. I don’t think resident cat would cope very well with a kitten, and I think I’d prefer an adult cat young enough to take out pet insurance for. Having a pet insurance and vet with GapOnly does ease my mind when it comes to potential (very expensive) emergencies. Then again, at a certain point, it becomes cheaper to just set aside a large chunk of money in case of emergency anyway. Things to think about. Thanks again for your advice!
Ah yes, the protest flop.
That’s definitely a good idea on all of it. Get pet insurance asap, establish good credit and start saving for at least one checkup a year plus for emergencies. And vaccinations. And flea and worm treatments.
And to go the extra mile -
While Melbcat wouldn’t accept this, if you’re able to get them used to having their teeth brushed past kittenhood that’s fantastic. There are special toothpastes and brushes (don’t use human stuff, xylitol is poisonous to pets) but even just dry brushing with the smallest baby toothbrush (or the cheap one that goes on your fingertip, or even tooth wipes) on the outside of the teeth is better than nothing. Even a scrub with a soft cloth on your finger every second day. The rough tongue should get the inside.
I don’t say that to be unnecessarily fussy. I say that because when I got Melbcat I paid $900 for surgery to have one of her teeth out due to a painful resorptive lesion. And that was on the cheaper side for an extraction. Vet care can be very expensive because there’s no Medicare.
Also consider that they may develop food allergies or IBD needing special food, and as they age they will very likely develop kidney disease which needs a prescription diet or phosphate binders. Also arthritis which may need pain meds and/or monthly shots.
Also watch out for urinary blockages especially in the boys! This is a medical emergency and can be incredibly expensive. Cheap dry foods can make them more prone to it. Even a cheap wet food is much better than dry, and even feeding both is better than dry only.
So yeah, just giving you some warnings about what to plan for that I wish I’d had! Hopefully you don’t get stung 🤞
If you find yourself struggling with affording the basics I made a post with low cost vet options, and low cost or free pet food. And cheap brands of spot ons.
Thank you! That was a very detailed (and helpful!) reply
I already have a pet insurance policy for the resident kitty, which I got pretty much the moment I turned 18 and was able to sign the contract (I got the cat in Feb last year and turned 18 that march). I went for one that covers 90% with a $0 excess that covers dental and has GapOnly, because the idea that he might end up in some emergency I couldn’t pay for was pretty painful to me. Fairly affordable since he’s still a young buck. They do have an age cutoff (7 or 8 years from memory) for entering into a new policy, but they’ll keep covering him as long as I keep paying. I think it’s around the young double digits where they start charging exorbitant prices.
teethbrushing
I’ve been meaning to get onto the teethbrushing. At his last checkup, the vet said there was some minor gingivitis but didn’t seem particularly concerned. Do you have any suggestions on toothpastes? I remember when I was researching it coming across an american company that makes pet toothbrushes and was working on developing their own. They had a blog of sorts where they were documenting their findings asking vets and animal dentistry experts. I remember one of their key claims was that when they tested a bunch of different cat toothpastes or generic “pet toothpaste”, they found that a lot of them were just rebranded dog toothpaste ingredients which were or could be (under some circumstances) toxic to cats. I didn’t look much further into it, so I’m not sure how much was true or if it was just preamble to selling snake oil. But that coupled with the (completely unrelated) studies choice did on (human) sunscreen, I don’t have much trust in products that aren’t independently audited
but in any case, do you have any specific reccos or other learned wisdom you’d mind sharing?
His staple food is a decent quality dry food, but I try to feed a wet food most days. I’ve heard anecdotally that while a dry-only diet can lead to kidney and urinary issues, a wet-only diet can lead to dental problems. So I tend to be of the opinion that a hybrid approach is best. The wet food he eats is only a paté, so I’ve always added some additional warm water to make it more of a soup. He seems to like that
Thank you for reminding me of your wonderful budget pet ownership post! I’m sure I remember it from back when I was a reg here. It was very handy. I should go back and see what your suggestions were for flea and worming stuff, because that shit is bloody expensive! The only thing is, I’ll have to get the vet to weigh him so I can work out the right dose. He’s too heavy for my food scales, and I don’t own a set of human scales
Edit: OMG I found the toothpaste I was talking about. It’s Ryer cat, who make toothbrushes specifically designed for cats. The last update they posted about it was in August 2024. And then over a year ago in a FB comment, they said it would be “a few more months” until launch. Kind of sounds like one of those kickstarter things that just never happens, conveniently after they’ve taken everybodys money. But AFAICT they’ve never sold or crowdfunded it, it still isn’t available for sale, and they are still actively selling the toothbrush. https://ryercat.com/blogs/cat-care-dental-health-tips/cat-toothpaste
You’re a lot more sensible than I am! I adopted Melbcat as a senior so too old already for insurance.
After the vet suggested teeth brushing I tried out some toothpaste from a pet shop. I think the brand was Petsmile. But it was so not worth the excessive money. She didn’t like it, it all went to waste, and I wouldn’t buy it again. There are oral gels that can be used if the pet won’t allow brushing, or additives for their water.
But yeah. There’s a lot of marketing to pet owners. Since there’s no fluoride involved it’d probably be mostly something antibacterial (zinc, or sorbitol - which is an artificial sweetener and in excessive amounts can give them the runs but isn’t as dangerous as xylitol) and a flavour to make brushing more tolerable to the pet.Ask your vet, but I’m guessing unless they specifically tell you to use paste or unless there’s serious gingivitis or bacterial problems and they really won’t allow brushing… wiping or scrubbing off the plaque before it can harden is probably the most important bit and can be achieved with something really simple. You might be able to get away with not using it.Edit: Nevermind, I could be wrong. Don’t use baking soda though. By all means get an enzyme toothpaste if it’s in your budget.
I found this guide and some suggested pastes? And some have bundled brushes? I bought the blue Petsmile tube for the meat flavour but it looks more expensive than the others which are fairly cheap. There’s also brushes and finger brushes sold alone but your link looks smaller and closer to the one I bought. Uhhh… good luck I guess. Don’t get scratched https://www.petcircle.com.au/discover/how-to-brush-cat-teeth
There are finger toothbrushes sold at some vets or on eBay too but some might be a bit big for cats as they’re also made for dogs. There are very tiny long handled toothbrushes for cats on eBay but see how you go with the tip of the smallest little kid toothbrush you can find before you drop any serious dough, because specialty ones can be very overpriced.
I’m not familiar with all the toothpastes but a lot of things are dog products rebranded for cats (or generalised to pets) and can be dangerous to them. I’m not sure of a specific toothpaste that is dangerous to cats but good looking out.
This definitely applies to flea products
Flea bombs, powders, sprays, collars, and even some cat spot ons from the supermarket contain pyrethrins or may be contaminated by them. I avoid supermarket flea products. Avoid anything containing pyrethrins. Things like imidocloprid are cat safe (not the only chemical used in cat flea products but very common).
Also avoid things like tea tree shampoos or skin treatments. Tea tree and other essential oils are very bad for cats. As are flowers or plants like lilies.
That’s probably a good idea, wet food for the kidneys and a bit of dry food for the teeth. It’s what I did. I haven’t done this due to poultry allergy but I heard something about giving them uncooked chicken necks to chew. (Never cooked bones, which splinter.) But you might want to check with the vet if raw chicken is safe. It’s free to ring up and ask a quick question on the phone. Otherwise there are dental treats for cats which I haven’t tried.
The added water is great. Cats originated as desert creatures so they have an extra long Loop Of Henle in their kidneys to concentrate their urine and conserve water with maximum efficiency. But that is very hard on their kidneys, so keeping them hydrated may help delay chronic kidney disease which is very very common in cats especially as they get older.
Yes, premium parasite stuff is so pricey. Even cheaper brands can be. Buying multipacks is expensive up front but can make it cheaper per tube.
I was going to suggest Aristopets for the flea and worm stuff. Because I haven’t used it before, it was such a good price, and that brand is sold in supermarkets (sus) I specifically checked with the pet shop manager that it was safe. And it is! It’s a generic of another brand, while Purina wasn’t recommended.
However the Aristopet spot ons haven’t been in stock for a while now. I found a brand called Neopet that is similar in value but I haven’t tried it. Definitely ask the shop manager or the vet about it because I’ve only just seen it.
You can buy worm pills like Milbemax quite cheaply and add a cheap flea only spot on. But the all in one spot ons (usually described as Plus, +, or will say on the packet) cover those and everything else including heartworm mites and ticks. I got lazy and went without parasite treatment for a bit because I figured Melbcat was inside only… but you can still track or carry fleas in, or a mosquito can come in and spread heartworm. (Yeah, she still got fleas and I had to start dosing her again.)
Also some pet shops will give you short dated or expired spot ons for free if you ask. They will still be effective enough. Also at least one of the pet food banks I posted will give flea and worm treatments as well as food.
As for his weight, you can either get him weighed at the vet checkup which is quite standard.
You can stand on the scales holding him then subtract your weight.Kmart has baby scales which are functionally similarly to the vet ones.Or you can just guess. I was worried because I didn’t know the weight of a random visitor cat but was told you would have to be way way over the amount for there to be any danger of overdose. I knew Melbcat was about 6.5 kg (absolute unit) and he was big but skinny so I guessed him about 5kg and someone else agreed. There are also some pretty wide recommended weight ranges on some of the brands. A lot of brands are even just simply deciding between Over 4kg and Under 4kg.
Hey Baku, you must have ESP, was only thinking about you the other day… hope you’re doing well.
Your cat is gorgeous! Much like people, they have different personalities and changes like strangers can be scary. My fluffy boy sounds a lot like yours. I’m in the outer south east, and we have adopted and support One at a Time Pet Rescue. They do some mapping to ensure good fits, but sometimes things don’t work according to plan. Our two youngest hate each other, but can co-exist.
Something like that hey, I’ve been checking in to this place from time to time, so it’s quite likely we thought of each other on the same day!
Interestingly, he was super confident when I first met him and really outgoing. He didn’t hide or anything, even after I brought him home (he was literally purring in my lap after half an hour of exploring, despite it only being the 2nd time I’d met him!!!). So I do think it was a bit of a failing on my part in not exposing him to more people and in not demonstrating well enough that new people aren’t scary. But I don’t often have visitors, so i guess there wasn’t much more to be done
I’ve just looked at OAAT, they seem decent, thank you for the suggestion! Do you happen to have more info about their home check step? I do like that they’ll accept a deposit to place a “hold” on specific cats. Though, I’m not a fan of how the adoption fee varies so much and they don’t give any indication of what they charge
Great to hear from you! What a gorgeous cat!
Thank you! I’m sure he’d agree. He seems to think a lot of himself!
spoiler
Hi Baku!! Hope you’re doing well.
Your cat is gorgeous. I might have missed it, but where did you get kitty from?
hey Low! No, I’ve not mentioned it here before. I got him not long after I left this place. But I got him through a kind of mutual acquaintance*. They found him as a stray. So he didn’t come desexed or vaccinated, but they did do a bit of work in de-flea’ing him. But he was also free, and a beautiful little baby
* kind of a distant relationship, actually. One of my old support workers son’s friends were the ones who found him. I guess the 6 degrees of separation
between peasants and billionairessomeone after a cat and someone with a stray cat, really is true!Some pics from when I met him as a kitten
Also a story and some more kitten pics!
He was such an outgoing kitty, he was in my lap purring after only half an hour of exploring. I left him in a room I’d set up for him overnight and then the next morning we played for over 4 hours before he finally tired himself out! And then he headbutted me for ages, before we both took a nap on the couch. All up, I spent about 12 hours sitting, playing, and petting him until he finally got bored and I cooked some tea.
And then a few days later, he prompty crawled underneath the couch, got stuck, and I had to lift it up to get him out (it’s one of those pull out couch bed ones, so I think the mechanisms were preventing him from getting out). I bought some pool noodles to stick under it to prevent a recurrence, and even though he’s too fat to fit now, they red and green $2 bunnings pool noodles are still wedged under my couch 😄
^ not a fake baku
Tonight’s calamari dins w/ a view.
I will fall off that ladder / roof at some point you guyz can have all my stuff.
Tying the ladder to the roof somehow so it doesn’t blow off and you’re stuck up there by yourself is an old farm thing i was taught.
clever
It’s that weird guy on the roof again
I’m perving on a body (of water) that’s not weird (until someone sees you).
I prefer to eat where the birds don’t shit but you do you queen.
No one (and I mean no one) escapes the poo of bird. They were here first. Accept the poo.
birds don’t poop on the roof per se
they release their doodaa after they take off
W00T
I found a pristine condition 1st Edition of the Silmarillion for $4
sadly it won’t buy me a house , not even a smidgen toward a deposit but it’s a good find, I might sell it for 500
Oh that’s very cool
My teeth are now squeaky clean and my gums have a been declared healthy. The new dentist seems very thorough, all teeth have been thoroughly examined, photographed and x-rayed.
I made banana bread
Hahaha. I think it’s the most laziest bread you can make.
But also, a fast track to my heart
Do you reckon chilli flakes in the banana bread would go alright?
I’m down. Maybe a drizzle of hot chilli honey
I did it! I added chilli flakes to the batter. I melted leatherwood honey then stirred in bit of reaper paste and drizzled it on the slice. It is a winner. Thank you.
Wow. I might have to try that at some point. You must now name the recipe after me. Spicy_Banana_God_Bread, or something
Yesssss!!!
This isn’t a question.
Ok then. I’ll do it.
looks like today is a slow day
After preparing since yesterday, I managed to run late for my dentist appointment.
Walked a little early before as I didn’t want to be out too late after dark… saw a familiar shadow going into my block. I did another loop hoping to give him the slip but when I got back he was waiting out the front of mine.
Thankfully he’s a bit miffed at me for not being around, so after a quick greeting (and an opportunistic scan) he sauntered off a little down the path. So I was able to get inside without him trying to slip in as well.
He’s just checking to see if you’re ok. 🐈⬛
the dreams with this virus and meds have been different 😃
last night I dreamt I went up in a plane with a sentient very very big squishmallow, he jumped at about 500 metres, I waited til he landed then I jumped aiming to land safely. I aimed, jumped and made a perfect soft landing with only a little bounce
( I sleep on a squishmallow pillow)
Beep Beep 🚚
🍏🍎🍐🍊🍋🍈🫐🍓🍇🍉🍌🍒🍑🥭🍍🥥🥦🥑🫛🍆🍅🥝🥬🥒🌽🥕🥐🍠🫚🥔🧅🥯🍞🥖🥨🧀🧇🥞🧈🍳🥚🥓🥩🍗🍖🫓🍕🍟🍔🌭🥙🧆🌮🌯🥗🍲🍜🍝🥘🍛🍣🍱🥟🦪🍥🍘🍚🍙🐠🍤🪼🦀🐙 🍗🥮🍢🍡🍧🍰🧁🥧🍦🍨🎂🍮🍭🍬🍫🥜🌰🍪🍿🍯🥛☕️🍵🍺🍶🥤🧋🧃🥂🍷🥃🍸🍹🧉🔋Porridge w/cinnamon, brown sugar, soy milk and a pinch of salt, thx chef
🌾🟤🟫🫘🥛🧂
I think I can eat again so I’ll take some coffee, eggs, bacon, and waffles with brandy butter sauce
☕️🍳🥓🧇🥃🧈
Bacon mash w brown sugar please
🥓🥔🔨🟫
Ravenous this morning. Could I have fish pie (2 serves) and a cup of tea please chef.
🐟🥔🥧🐟🥔🥧☕️
Thanks chef. I think I’m finally getting over the Snottening. Bit of a wasted weekend though.
My doggo looking after me as I nap away another day of depression. It does bring me a small smile to look up and see her watching over me. 🥰
Omg she is so cute! I’m glad she’s watching over you!
Good night everyone
hope everyone is well or getting well,
sweet dreams 😘
