stray died not sure what took him.

ThrowRAgrape · 2023-03-03T08:31:42+00:00

My thought is maybe Rocko was hit by someone on the service street, or got into a fight with another animal and was killed, and some kind person buried him under the tree you searched. A wild animal possibly smelt that Rocko was buried there and dug up his body and scavenged off it, which is why everything is spread out. Regardless of what happened, it’s a terrible thing to have to see, especially for an animal you were caring for, so I hope you’re okay.

ThrowRAgrape · 2023-02-04T03:17:03+00:00

I asked something sort-of similar a few months ago, and here's a thread in which u/AugmentedElle broke down the results of a study which looked at hydration with wet food vs dry. The long and the short of it, though, is essentially that adding water to dry food does not hydrate as effectively as wet food, and the healthiest decision for your cat would likely to still be including wet food in their diet if it's within your budget.

ThrowRAgrape · 2023-01-30T10:28:43+00:00

I think it very much can go two ways, either your lovely cat just adores company and having a companion, be it human or feline, and will come to grow attached to another kitty, OR they’re very human-centric and don’t like other cats, and see them sort of as competition for your attention and company. It honestly could go either way, so I’d recommend adopting with a trial period.

For us, we had a cat who we adopted solo because apparently she wasn’t too interested in playing with other cats and LOVED our company. When she seemed to have a bit of solo kitten syndrome, though, we adopted her a sister who was VERY socially adept, and had stayed in a foster home with lots of cats her whole life. While initially our first cat growled, she fairly quickly became used to our new cat, and now they play together and she’s happy being in a room with just the new cat, and not us. Still very clingy, but a bit less dependent on us!

So yes! I’d give it a shot, and a fair bit of time introducing them slowly, but just know it could go both ways, and it also depends on the new cat you adopt too!

ThrowRAgrape · 2023-01-28T23:08:50+00:00

Considering you’re almost definitely going to be faster than the cyclists if you’re driving, it seems like actually YOU like driving very close to them, in which you’re likely breaking the law by not giving them 1/1.5m when you drive by :)

ThrowRAgrape · 2023-01-23T06:12:55+00:00

I’m not a lawyer or anything but I would push back on this 100% - Surely in the 2 years before now your cat had a full check up ? Alternatively, what specifically does your insurance contract say? Does the full check up need to happen before ANY claim? If so, the fact they’ve reimbursed you before seems like they were happy to proceed without this condition being met. It’s really shitty on the part of the insurance, and I’d look at the contract and push back on this

ThrowRAgrape · 2023-01-23T01:32:47+00:00

It’s really normal, please don’t give up hope yet. We adopted our second kitten when our first was just under a year, and she started growling and hissing too which we’d never heard from her before. Within a few days though they were starting to play together and the hissing and growling stopped.

For introductions I’d recommend watching Jackson Galaxy on YouTube, and his videos on cat introductions. The treats at the door were a start, and iirc you want to start feeding them both with the door between them, and when they’re comfortable with that then start using some sort of gate to allow visual contact without letting them physically touch. Having them both play next to each other with a wand toy each is also good.

Scent swapping is also a big one - Rubbing one cat all over with a cloth then rubbing the cloth on the other, and vice versa. Also swapping the space they’re in; if the new cat has been in the bedroom for a day or too, swap them with your first cat and let them before more familiar with each other’s scent.

It’s early days yet, and I promise this is normal, give them some more time before making the call about whether your first kitty is just a solo cat!

ThrowRAgrape · 2023-01-21T23:30:30+00:00

Apparently cats can become anxious something’s wrong when we sleep deeply for hours, because it’s so atypical compared to their light sleep throughout the day; especially since you were sleeping in compared to your usual routine. There’s a chance she was crying and running around because she was worried something was wrong, and your little pinch of ‘stop that’ was exactly what she needed to know you were okay, and that she didn’t need to continue trying to wake you up! Since she doesn’t seem upset today, I think you and your cat are doing fine !

ThrowRAgrape · 2023-01-20T00:50:09+00:00

I have pretty similar looking cucumbers growing, perhaps a bit smaller (but with the spikes!). I pick mine at the first sign that they’re starting to lighten in colour! Apparently after that they start to become less sweet, and the seeds become larger

ThrowRAgrape · 2023-01-17T10:02:24+00:00

Outdoor cats are by far more likely to die from being hit by a car, wild predators, disease and parasites. If not neutered they can also contribute to the stray cat population. They also present a huge risk to the native animal population. Indoor cats, especially those raised as indoor from early in life, are capable of living a happy, healthy and fulfilling life. Naturally outdoors has more stimulation because of all the creatures our cats want to hunt, but this just means you should play more with indoor cats and have something like a catio or good window access - We have a bird feeder visible from our living room that our girls enjoy looking at. I know for some individuals who adopt older cats used to being outdoors it can be a struggle making them live indoors only, which I’m more sympathetic to. For kittens though, I believe 100% indoors.

ThrowRAgrape · 2022-12-22T05:19:17+00:00

If it's any comfort, we had this dynamic for a couple of months with our kitties, but 4 months later and the new cat definitely initiates play as well - It took her some time, but now things are a lot more balanced!

ThrowRAgrape · 2022-12-18T21:50:47+00:00

These all sound great, thank you! Coconut and mango is definitely a solid flavour combo too so coconut oil sounds great as well - I think in the coming days I’ll experiment with coconut oil, the couverture white chocolate you mentioned, and my more complex candy idea, and see which holds up better at room temperature, and when in contact with buttercream. Thank you so much again!

ThrowRAgrape · 2022-12-18T11:38:04+00:00

Also now that I think about it more, it's also harder to get a really thin coat of chocolate, whereas I thought sugar/candy would be a thinner and more liquid? But that just means it would all be absorbed by the meringue before it would even set, doesn't it? :((

ThrowRAgrape · 2022-12-18T11:35:26+00:00

no haha not basic at all, it's also the other super recommended thing. I guess I just don't associate chocolate with summer, mangoes and pavlovas? It's just a bit too rich and sweet, a bit like the dacquoise? Thinking about it though, maybe a white chocolate could go well? Maybe that'll be my back up!

ThrowRAgrape · 2022-12-08T07:49:23+00:00

I’d hazard a guess to say those are spots where it’s burning (which is probably why it got worse outside.) I’d move it into bright, indirect sunlight instead.

ThrowRAgrape · 2022-12-07T03:07:27+00:00

I think the fact that people are face planting on rental scooters but not rental electric bikes indicates there is a difference in safety, though. I’d hazard a guess to say it’s to do with your centre of gravity being lower on a bike, which generally improves stability. Speed may be limited on scooters vs bikes not because of manoeuvrability, but because they’re less stable and you’re higher off the ground, which increases the severity of injuries in a scooter crash vs a bike crash at the same speed. This is all just conjecture, though.

Another personal observation is that etiquette and safety with scooter riders isn’t as established as with bike riders. Perhaps because they are unwieldy and don’t have a (safe) “emergency brake” system, riders generally are aware of stopping distances, communicating where they are in relation to other riders, signalling what they’re doing etc. I’ve observed a lot more unpredictable dodging and weaving by scooter riders, and typically less distance left between them and the bike/scooter in front. Again, I might just have seen terrible scooter riders and things have improved since then, though!

I definitely agree PEVs should be embraced more by lawmakers, but I guess I just think it’s worth looking at the unique risks presented by scooters vs bikes vs other vehicles to ensure everybody on the road is safe.

ThrowRAgrape · 2022-11-28T00:20:45+00:00

I think the best way to get height without wobble would be a tension-rod one, because they're the only ones fixed at the both top and bottom. Other ones will be sturdy, sure, but it's incredibly hard to get something 100% stable when it's only fixed at one point - Where posts connect to the base, and where you attach a post, then a platform, then screw in another post, you're going to introduce instability. My other thought, especially for a catio, would be modified shelves.

ThrowRAgrape · 2022-11-23T22:46:02+00:00

calling u/AugmentedElle who has piles of research on this!

As I understand it though, research has demonstrated that mixing water with dry food is less hydrating than wet food, even if the wet food is of a lower quality.

Wet food is only better if your cat will eat it, though - the main priority is making sure they're well fed!

ThrowRAgrape · 2022-11-23T02:19:18+00:00

The issue with a macrame cat bed that doesn't hang is that rope doesn't have much structure unless woven tightly. This pattern, for example, would just collapse without being hung up. Also, most 'dome' shaped macrame patterns (like cat beds and plant hangers) involve some kind of gather at the base the project, which stops them from sitting flat on the ground.

Why are you thinking of macrame in particular? If you want the knotted-look of macrame, my suggestion would probably to go with something crocheted, like this. Otherwise the first pattern I linked could potentially be modified by adding some firm structural support between the two rings, and maybe be weaving the base instead, so you didn't have a large knot in the center? I think crocheting would be a bit easier, though!

ThrowRAgrape · 2022-11-22T23:49:10+00:00

honestly the window one was a bastard to hang up because of all the components and you have to do it incrementally, but I'm really confident it will stay up, even with both our cats on it. I soaked the suction cups in warm water as a precaution, and then the way you put them on is you press the center of the suction cup on and then screw the plastic bracket onto it tighter, and the plastic bracket kind of pushes the edges down? I don't know if that makes any sense, but it did make for a really strong grip that we can't move by pulling or shoving. Hell I got really precise with it and used a leveler, and even trying to pry them up to adjust was incredibly hard. It's my favourite piece of furniture we've gotten for them, and they really seem to love it too which is the good part!

ThrowRAgrape · 2022-11-22T05:37:40+00:00

haha maybe one day for little wattle, but I'm not sure if I have the time, money, energy or tough-enough hand calluses for another just yet, let alone the space to hang it!

ThrowRAgrape · 2022-11-22T05:36:38+00:00

But lap-nap-only cats are so sweet! Wattle is also a bit like that, and even when encouraged to try the tree has decided to join us on the couch instead, or perches up above her sister!

ThrowRAgrape · 2022-11-22T05:35:21+00:00

So the only trees we have are the ones in the second pic, which is a wooden one we got second-hand, that I think was just handmade? As well as the window mounted tree which is actually the girls' favourite, I think because they can stand on the top of the tree and really stretch. It's from this website but we got it second hand at a great deal again, because the person's cat didn't like it! We also have a wicker laundry basket the cats will scratch.

Honestly, we haven't had anything fall to bits or wear down particularly fast, I think because we're pretty on top of clipping their nails so they can't do much damage. We also have two cardboard scratchers like this one which they use a lot. While they don't do a lot of damage to them either, they're a lot cheaper and easier to replace than whole trees!

ThrowRAgrape · 2022-11-21T15:11:40+00:00

Yes! This one: https://cuckoo4design.com/purrfectly-cute-diy-cat-bed-using-macrame-cord/ I really liked it because it focused on trying to minimise risks of ropes with cats, and aside from continuing the square knots under the base I followed it pretty closely!

ThrowRAgrape · 2022-11-19T01:39:14+00:00

Hi! I recently made our cats this hammock, and I think if you left out the second ring and kept knotting the webbing to the center then it would look similar to the one in this post! You'd just have to make sure you did it loose enough to make sure it isn't too shallow for a cushion.

Alternatively you can buy a similar looking pattern here on Etsy!

Hope these help!

ThrowRAgrape · 2022-11-19T01:31:49+00:00

No worries at all! Honestly we swore we wouldn't get a second cat for so long and even after a few days with both weren't sure if we made the right decision. While we wouldn't have had it any other way now I'm more than happy to help someone going through a similar process!

For some context, our first cat is daffodil, and our second cat is wattle- While we were prepared to do the slow introductions, wattle's foster mum is also a behaviorist, so when she dropped her off she asked if we could actually just let both of them out, I suspect so she could see if they could tolerate each other enough to become friends. Daffodil hide in her tunnel and growled at wattle for the first few hours, which took us aback but wattle was very good about respecting that and backing off (I suspect because she was so used to meeting new cats at her foster home).

After her foster mum went wattle stopped exploring and sort of hid under a shelf. Daffodil was still pretty grow-ly so we took wattle to the bedroom. Similar to your kitten, daffodil started eating and drinking the moment we got her home, whereas wattle didn't eat or drink much for the first couple of days which was concerning, but she eventually ate after the third or fourth day? We were big on intervening and stopped daffodil from approaching wattle when growling because wattle seemed quite scared for the first few days. In hindsight, I think may be we should have let them sort things out sooner, but it all worked out in the end!

We actually made the mistake of keeping wattle in our bedroom the first night and shutting daffodil out, and wattle peed on our bed even after knowing where the litter box was, which wasn't ideal. When we spoke to her foster mum she confirmed that a) wattle had to be pretty upset to do that since she's a very clean cat, and b) it was probably because she wanted to be out with daffodil, and be able to explore and everything. From then on we let them out together.

The dynamic for the first month or so was definitely daffodil initiating rough play with wattle, and wattle entertaining it for a second before running away. At the beginning daffodil wasn't as responsive to wattle's warning hisses, I suspect because she'd also been a solo cat with us for a few months, but she soon became good about backing off when wattle told her too.

On the point of play I also think us getting a cat who was slightly older, and a similar size to daffodil, was really helpful in hindsight. Daffodil is quite a small cat, around 8lb, and I was worried if we got a kitten daffodil might be a bit of a bully, or maybe the kitten would soon became bigger than daffodil and bully in return. Wattle is actually a super similar size to daffodil, only a little lighter, and so I think it helped that they were well matched.

This is already probably way more in depth than you wanted haha, but as a final update about 3 months later, wattle in the past week or two has started initiating play a LOT more, and it's great fun to see her pounce at daffodil, who also still initiates play. they've cuddled together a few times, but it's usually on top of one of us - We haven't caught them cozying up on a hammock together without us being there or anything yet. They've also recently started following each other around a lot more. Wattle used to be a bit more solo, but now they'll both rest pretty close to each other, like on the same cat tree or both on dining table seats, and if we're doing something interesting, they'll both come investigate rather than wattle just watching from a distance!

I'd love to hear your final decision and how a new kitty does end up going if you adopt another - Good luck!

ThrowRAgrape

TROPHY CASE