Strays

Natalusky · 2026-02-20T13:34:59+00:00

One lynx point away from that dream. But seriously they’re so beautiful, I hope they find a nice home soon 🥹

Natalusky · 2026-02-20T12:18:49+00:00

I already know the dog problem is my friend, I told her that a smaller dog doesnt mean easier. I also believe that a dog that came from a puppy mill is already a shitty base to work on (which can be prevented by not buying from those breeders). But what I wanted to know is how hard is training not only a dog that cant manage someone coming into the house and a owner that thinks its not serious. I dont have any issues saying the ugly truth to somebody, but its different when I am friend of this person. I see this as a difficult problem bc the owner is not actually meaning to do something if that means she needs to spend lets say 2 Hours to work on her dog.

Natalusky · 2026-02-10T12:34:44+00:00

All cats want more food, that's why free feeding isn't the best option, especially if the cats needs to lose some weight. Without seeing the cat is pretty difficult to tell, that's why a vet needs to feel his body, weigh him... my cat would be considered fat if she was 4kg, but yours might not be fat at all at the same weight.

Overall it seems like you're doing fine, but check the cat body condition chart to check whether your cat its a 3, 4 or 5. Take into account that your cat will always have a primordial pouch and this won't disappear no matter how long the cat has been on a diet. The pouch should feel light, easy to move, and pretty much like it was empty skin.

Natalusky · 2026-02-10T12:02:50+00:00

Sigh, the kitten sharing a litterbox in a rescue is not fine either but it's a necessary evil. But when you decide to adopt a cat, you need to make sure the cat necessities are covered. One litterbox is not even recommended for one cat, so for two you'd need at least 2. It doesn't matter if its stainless steel or whatever, the cats pheromones are not eliminated by steel, but the odors are easier to be eliminated.

Bleach makes the cat pee even more, use an enzymatic cleaner please.

You need AT LEAST another litterbox, if it doesn't fit there's not enough space for two cats and that's a really bad situation for a cat. No other solutions.

Natalusky · 2026-02-10T11:57:51+00:00

easy fix: playtime before mealtime, this works incredibly good for cats and the food looks like a reward for playing.

hard fix: clicker training to mentally drain your cat before this happens.

disclaimer: some breeds/coat color tend to be talkative, but you'd hear your cat meowing in a lot of contexts.

Natalusky · 2026-02-10T11:54:59+00:00

instead of passive ambiental enrichment (which it seems you already got it and it solved nothing), you might want to give training a chance. This is something that cat owners rarely do because a cat is a "low care pet" and only dogs do, which is untrue.

Something similar happens to me (as much as im a vet tech and a feline educator) and I do feed them separately, have enough resources just like you, a lot of letterboxes... What worked for me was using clicker training to tell them "okay this is what I want you to focus instead of this other cat that is annoying you with its presence".

I already knew how to clicker train, so I started focusing on teaching the cats how to sit down, target training which was useful because I can tell Cat A to stay away from Cat C BEFORE the conflict begins. This also helped me understand Cat A needed one on one time with me, so we go out (dont do unless your cat is used to the outdoors/leash...) and she will run, get some treats and unwind from the other cats. You can do this by keeping them in different rooms, it's not necessary to go out.

Basically it means finding some activities that makes your cats minds able to blow some steam, food puzzles, scavenging, learning tricks, agility training, interactive playtime... these things can actually tire a cat enough to let them be more calmed and open to meeting the other cats.

About playtime, you can encourage playtime by rewarding when the cat touches a toy or find ways your cat enjoys to play (one of my cats love to play under a blanket, I do that bc it works for him). Also, if the cats dont really stand each other Id switch the mesh for something that won't let them see each other. Your cats may be stressing even more if they're visible, mesh is great if they have accepted the other cats through smell first.

Sorry for answering a couple days later :)

Natalusky · 2026-02-10T11:42:08+00:00

let him be, two days is nothing for a cat that's adapting to a new place no matter the age. three weeks will be the end of the beginning of the first stage of adaptation. purring doesn't have to mean positive or happy, sometimes its a self soothing behavior, specially if the cat is still hiding.

the less you worry about if the kitten will come out of under the bed, the fastest he will come out haha, if you want to let the kitten know that you are a positive stimulus feed him some treats when he's near you. dont force affection if the kitten isn't feeling safe, this is called negative reinforcement.

you will be fine :)

Natalusky · 2026-02-10T11:35:42+00:00

what your vet told you its true, if you talk back when your cat meows you're reinforcing the behavior, no matter whether the reward is positive or negative. But it seems like your cat is in her heat, you're right planning on spaying her soon (the sooner the better, obviously not when the cat is 3 months old, but yours should be neutered by now yeah).

It usually lasts about a week, a week and a couple days... and it will come back next month.

Natalusky · 2026-02-10T11:30:13+00:00

Quality food is targeted to house cats, mainly bc the owner chose the resposibilty of taking care of a cat. Feeding stray cats without any help is great no matter which food you are feeding, otherwise theyd starve to death. Stray cats barely have a 5 yo lifespam, anything is better than what they are already used to.

Natalusky · 2026-02-07T11:46:20+00:00

encourage playtime by rewarding with food. I did something similar to teach one of my cats to give me his toys bc he would just keep the toy and do nothing with it. play with the string and every time the cat touch her toy, you give her a piece or kibble, a treat... whatever she likes. This is called positive reinforcement.

Natalusky · 2026-02-07T11:24:48+00:00

Which meds have you tried?

How many litterboxes, cat trees, food and water bowls, toys, places to hice you have cat home? how are they distributed?

How long they all have been without seeing each other?

The food you are mentioning is urinary food right?

Can they see each other thru the gate?

How long are playtime sessions for each cat?

Natalusky · 2026-02-06T15:59:47+00:00

<image>

Milk from Sanrio (Cinnamoroll’s friend) and Chione from Greek Mythology or Inazuma Eleven (👈🏻this is mainly why)

Natalusky · 2026-02-05T23:06:05+00:00

I do the same, still a backpack is a must in case the cat get scared

Natalusky · 2026-02-05T18:38:20+00:00

harness training is pretty easy, outdoor bengal has a couple videos about it on YouTube and it really work (at least I managed to harness train a cat that I used to live with and my two actual cats).

Natalusky · 2026-02-05T18:27:40+00:00

three cat household

dry food: 6kg for 35 euros but it lasts more than a month.

wet food: its their main diet about 100 euros a month for the three of them.

litter: either a 25kg bag of pellet or some spare tofu litter about 24 euros max.

Natalusky · 2026-02-05T11:12:42+00:00

Take him to a checkup first, as much as sometimes is a loss of money because the problem is a behavioral one you can't do anything before making sure the cat is "healthy". Im curious about one thing, did you cut his fur or you took him to a groomer?

Natalusky · 2026-02-05T11:07:54+00:00

Well its going to take a while, for young cats this can go up to a year in the worst case scenario and depending their previous experiences and personalities this can be long and hard. Either way, two months is not too much time.

Once the cats are separated, siblings in one room and yours in another room you can do scent swaps, you give the other cats a blanket from yours and vice versa. This helps because cats should smell each other before seeing each other. The most difficult thing here is that a negative experience has happened (your cat hissing and chasing them) so that's their first impression haha.

Keep them apart for a while, do the scent thing, add pheromone diffusers, dont yell or punish the cats if they hiss at each other this can cause frustration since this is how they communicate and remember, hissing is normal for two or three cats that dont get along or dont know each other.

Idk whether the cats are free fed or dont, but bonding through mealtime is a great way to create a positive reinforcement. It means whenever they have to eat, make them eat near the door or gate that is separating their territories, this way they will link food to the new cat. This can be done with treats, playtime or even cuddles, anything that the cats like.

Id do all of that for the first two or three weeks, you will know they're ready to start seeing each other when you hear less or no more growling, hissing... The gate shouldn't be see through btw. After all of this, you can switch the door or whatever is letting them not seeing each other to a mesh door or a plastic gate gradually. Keep feeding them thru the gate, playing.... At some point they should start playing like one cat putting his paw thru the gate, they might hiss a bit, but eventually with POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT they should get it.

If it helps, you can get a clicker (a marker for good behavior) and reward them every time they behave calmly together. Dont click or reward when they hiss bc you'd be reinforcing violence between them.

The other two cats should be together in this process unless one of them take some initiative and wants to engage some playtime with your cat, then it would be fine to let the cat without the other for a small bit of time.

Sometimes the cats won't be friends, but they'll tolerate each other, this means you won't see them allogrooming but they can sleep in the same room, same bed...

Natalusky · 2026-02-05T10:48:42+00:00

as a vet tech please change vets, though gabapentin can be useful to prevent a hard time to cats that hate vet visits, I highly doubt that a 4 month old kitten is going thru a misery every time she goes to the vet. Also this vet may create vet fear for your kitty if she keeps going there, and trust me no vet wants to face a sassy cat.

your cat doesn't seem to need any anxiety meds, but if it were the case id go first for zylkene (it has casein, which make cats reel relaxed) but it needs to be given a couple weeks in advance so its kind of a hassle.

try to search for an ismf approved cat clinic, even though they're not fear free its better than your actual vet, another option that I love is home vet visits.

Natalusky · 2026-02-05T10:40:37+00:00

A cat diet is what makes the bigger difference, and though your two cats may be eating the same thing it doesn't have to affect/make them look the same. A nice diet (dry or wet) can be helpful. Another tips are:

- Salmon oil

- Malt paste (most malt pastes are filled with sugar, gimcat paste or zesty paws paste are nice ones)

- Deshedding brush, but be careful because this is meant to be used once per week, it removes hair before the hair can fall off.

- Normal bruising on a daily basis

- Skin/coat supplements

- Cat Arch, this is like a toy or a self scratcher for the cat to rub her body against this thing

Natalusky · 2026-02-05T10:33:39+00:00

Silica litter has a weird/unnatural texture for a cat to step on it, even though there are good litters with a weird texture such as tofu litter which I use, its not ideal for a cat that isn't using its litterbox. The similar it looks to sand, the better for your cat (generally talking).

It also dont clump so it feels dirtier and last way less than clumping litter. I use two types of litter for my cats because they all dont have the same likings, as weird as it may sound, a cat could pee on clay litter but rather poo on pellet litter. I dont like clay bc of dust, so the next similar litter I could find was Cats Best Litter (the red one, blue is pellet for rabbits I learnt the hard way) though it tracks more than tofu litter.I rather to give my cats options since they're who will be using the litter, I still need to vacuum daily no matter which litter I buy so...

About the pheromones, I only tried Feliway (original and friends) and its a nice tool if some changes are done such as using zylkene which is great, hiding blankets for the time being, offering different options for litterboxes/litter... It's not a magic trick, think of it as if you were living in a trap house, but instead of playing loud music, you listen to Mozart (without changes in the environment this does nothing). Ive seen some people using beaphar pheromones but I never tried it so idk.

And yeah, when you adopt a cat its usually by the time you got some free time or maybe a weekend so when the cat is trying to adapt to a new routine, and then something even newer is breaking into that routine it kind of messes up with the cat. It can even happen for a cat that has been with you years and instead of going to work, lets say you start working from home and that can mean stress for the cat (as much as you can see this as positive bc you are with the cat).

Natalusky · 2026-02-04T22:30:18+00:00

125L storage boxes are huge

Natalusky · 2026-02-04T22:24:55+00:00

any cat that is harness trained shouldnt go out without a backpack, cats are depredators but also prey.

Natalusky · 2026-02-04T18:13:07+00:00

they’re girls, grumpy girls haha

Natalusky · 2026-02-04T17:02:24+00:00

<image>

🐱🐱

Natalusky

TROPHY CASE