183
votes
How can I fix my relationship with my 7 month old cat after I've constantly abused her the past month?
As in human cases of abuse, if you genuinely want to repair the relationship, the first and most essential thing to accept is you may not be able to. Especially with a young kitten, it's entirely ...
- 1,598
103
votes
How can I fix my relationship with my 7 month old cat after I've constantly abused her the past month?
Honestly, it sounds as though you shouldn't have a cat right now. There is never any excuse to needlessly hurt an animal and, whilst your critical write-up of your own behaviour is a start, it ...
- 5,125
71
votes
How can I keep our cats from endangering my pregnant wife?
First of all, please calm down. Your question sounds as if any interaction with your cats would potentially endanger the life of your unborn child, but that is not the case.
It's not the cat itself ...
Elmy♦
- 33.4k
39
votes
Can I allow my puppy near my breast?
15 days is way too young to separate a puppy from the mother. Like Trond Hansen wrote, the puppy has to eat mother's milk in this age to be healthy and it needs the body of the mum to stay warm and ...
- 6,006
38
votes
How to stop adopted stray/feral cat from scratching trees?
Wouldn't it be a better solution to protect the trees from the cat than to remove the cat from the family?
First of all, it's impossible to teach a cat not to scratch on anything. The claws of cats ...
Elmy♦
- 33.4k
35
votes
Accepted
Should I let my cat go outside?
If I were in your shoes, I would not let the cat go outside. It is just my personal opinion based on safety, though - and I'm saying this as a person who thinks that indoor cats are indeed missing an ...
- 210
31
votes
Dad accidentally sat on my cat
If she’s behaving completely normally (other than probably avoiding your dad) rather than hiding, walking funny or being lethargic, she’s probably fine. I’d keep an eye on her for the next couple days ...
- 4,148
30
votes
Accepted
My cat loves coconut oil. Is it safe to give him some?
Coconut oil is safe for cats, if given in moderation.
Potential side effects include:
Upset stomach
Diarrhoea
Pancreatitis
Weight gain
Allergic reaction to coconut oil
Since you've been letting your ...
- 1,374
30
votes
I was bitten by a kitten not even a month old, what should I do?
First off, rule one for an animal bite (beyond the obvious first step of thoroughly cleaning it and properly bandaging it) is to contact your doctor ASAP, even if it seems innocuous. There are two ...
27
votes
Accepted
Is it safe for a cat to be with a Covid patient?
TLDR: Not really.
While the risk is low, COVID-19 seems to be fairly indiscriminate, with documented cases of dogs, cats, zoo otters and farmed minks getting it. Most corona virus (There's a whole ...
- 2,852
27
votes
Leave kitten in small room for 3 days while traveling?
No, it's a bad idea.
Why would you want to adopt the kitten now if you cannot takle care of it now? Why not wait the few days until you're back?
It's not nice not to clean the litter box for 3 days. ...
Elmy♦
- 33.4k
26
votes
Semi-feral cat broke a tooth. Should I give her aspirin?
As a veterinarian I would caution against this. Obviously nobody wants this cat to be in pain, but I do not feel that aspirin will provide much benefit and could actually cause some harm.
First, ...
- 6,256
23
votes
Should I let my cat go outside?
Buy a cat harness and take him out on supervised walks on a leash.
Cat harnesses are a simple, affordable method for a cat owner to take their cat outdoors and let them explore in a safe, supervised ...
- 1,013
22
votes
Dad accidentally sat on my cat
Cats are surprisingly sturdy creatures. By your description, she doesn't appear to act anyway out of normal. She moves normally, eats normally, acts normally. You can keep eye on her for few days for ...
- 491
21
votes
How can I fix my relationship with my 7 month old cat after I've constantly abused her the past month?
I've been very close to a situation very similar to this, where a person spiralled really (=very physically abusively) badly with a new pet, came to their senses and felt horrified after a few months,...
- 539
21
votes
Can I allow my puppy near my breast?
15 days is extremely young for a puppy to be away from its mother, that said it sounds like you ended up with the puppy from a local shelter, so the mother or a surrogate mother may not be available.
...
- 351
21
votes
Accepted
How to deal with the parvovirus infected dead body?
I'm sorry for your loss, but with this particular virus I would be very careful.
The safest solution is to cremate her body or leave her with the vet or clinic, but I can understand if you want to ...
Elmy♦
- 33.4k
20
votes
How can I fix my relationship with my 7 month old cat after I've constantly abused her the past month?
The cat is still young and learning. You want to unteach it that moving and making sounds are potentially dangerous by encouraging the behaviours you want.
Ideally there's a type of food it likes, ...
- 317
19
votes
Accepted
Worried about domestic cat and urban cat fight
Cats are extremely territorial animals. Most of the fights break out when territory is contested. Once territory is established, they no longer fight. Cats doing small excursions to other's territory ...
- 4,774
18
votes
Should a puppy with its first vaccinations meet a dog that’s not fully vaccinated?
I'm sorry but the answer is no, you shouldn't have them meet yet. In fact, non-vaccinated young puppies should be kept away from other dogs as much as possible until they have received all of their ...
- 1,566
18
votes
Accepted
Does my dog need boots for winter?
Have you ever seen wolves hunt in the snow wearing their winter boots? 😉
So the short answer is: No, unless there's a specific medical condition you don't.
Make sure the dog has a warm place to stay ...
- 5,403
18
votes
Accepted
Is Cerenia (maropitant) safe for my cat?
As a vet who sees a lot of cats, Cerenia is one of the most common drugs I turn to for cats these days.
It is far superior to many of the other anti-emetics used in the past. It is nice in that it ...
- 6,256
16
votes
When can my newborn human baby hug my cat?
It's not easy to give one definitive answer - it's never really absolutely and completely safe, even healthy adults could get infected by pathogens transmitted from the cat. On the other hand - we ...
- 210
16
votes
Should I let my cat go outside?
It is not necessarily a bad idea if you take the necessary precautions.
A cat who used to wander freely outside knows the dangers and pitfalls of the outside. However, you need to take some ...
- 4,774
15
votes
When can my newborn human baby hug my cat?
You need to be present in the room if your child is to pet the cat. Young babies have little control of their body, so he might scare your cat. This might lead to the cat clawing or biting your child, ...
- 19.6k
15
votes
My kitten ate a coffee bean
Contact your vet.
Caffeine is indeed toxic to cats. According to vetmeds.org, cats can only tolerate about 36 to 68 milligrams per pound. For a small cat, they estimate that amounts to less than .05 ...
- 16.3k
15
votes
Leave kitten in small room for 3 days while traveling?
No, it’s not a good idea.
A lot of reasons regarding the environment are explained in @elmy‘s excellent post.
There are other factors on top, all related to the change in environment and the risks and ...
- 3,099
14
votes
Pulling my cat back to bed
Stop trying to force your cat to go to bed.
Cats sleep a lot more than us humans do. According to Wikipedia up to 20 hours a day. And they sleep differently as well in that they are prey animals in ...
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible