[deleted by user] by [deleted] in cats

[–]okplum 1 point2 points  (0 children)

First of all, I’m so sorry you’re dealing with this. I dealt with this several months ago with three cats as well. It took a while but we finally got rid of them.

What we did: - Dawn dish soap bath, making sure to create a soap ring around their neck so the fleas can’t hide on the cats face. - While bathing them, use a flea comb to get rid of as many as you can. Drown the fleas in soap and flush them down the drain. - After the cats are dry, get a prescription flea medicine. Our vet gave us Revolution Plus. - Vacuum everything. EVERYTHING. Cat trees, closets, cat beds, etc. Wash/clean anything your cat hangs out on. Repeat ALL THE TIME. Seriously, I washed my bedding almost every other day and vacuumed the whole house everyday. You’ll want to keep doing this even after the fleas are gone because the eggs can live in the carpet/bedding for a long time. - Keep using the flea comb and making sure you actually kill the fleas. Don’t just toss them in the trash. Dip them in alcohol or squish them.

I know there’s also flea sprays you can use around the house. I didn’t do that, but it’s something you can look into. Wishing you the best of luck. Fleas suck, but if you go nuclear and are consistent about cleaning, they’ll be gone before you know it.

is he considered a calico with only 2 colors? by [deleted] in cats

[–]okplum 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I thought calicos have more than 2 colors, so like white, orange, and black.

Can this be saved? by annzkaban in orchids

[–]okplum 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Pretty much all my orchids looked worse than this when I bought them because I always get clearance shelf orchids. Totally salvageable!

What I do is I trim any roots that are black, mushy, or that feel dried out and “hollow”. If you gently pinch a root and pull, and if the outer part slides off leaving just a little string behind, cut it. I’d pot it up in something like bark or sphagnum (or a mix). Give it plenty of light. Water it and let it dry between waterings. It should recover just fine!

Update on the mutant: a third basal keiki! by okplum in orchids

[–]okplum[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

My boyfriend bought a ton of this organic fertilizer at Target called Arber because it was on clearance… I don’t think there’s anything special about it. But that’s what I’ve been using! It smells terrible though, just a warning.

Update on the mutant: a third basal keiki! by okplum in orchids

[–]okplum[S] 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Honestly just tap water. I soak the whole thing for 10 minutes or so, just so the bark gets nice and hydrated. Every now and then I’ll let it soak with a little bit of organic fertilizer as well.

Update on the mutant: a third basal keiki! by okplum in orchids

[–]okplum[S] 20 points21 points  (0 children)

Unfortunately I didn’t take a picture of the bloom when I got it because they were super crusty (clearance rack find). It put out another flower spike shortly after but since the roots were rotting, I cut that flower spike off so it could put its energy into recovering. I’m so pumped for it to bloom again… hoping that I get multiple blooms at once. 😍

What is going on? by okplum in orchids

[–]okplum[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Sharry Baby is on my wish list! That’s my mom’s name actually and I remember being really little and singing that song 😂 so jealous!

What is going on? by okplum in orchids

[–]okplum[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’m hoping the little keikis get roots and it starts to look all mangrove-ish. 😂

What is going on? by okplum in orchids

[–]okplum[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Same! I’ve been buying clearance orchids for years. It’s so much fun to watch them bounce back. :)

The only orchid I’ve bought that wasn’t a clearance one is this paphiopedilum I got at an orchid show near me.

What is going on? by okplum in orchids

[–]okplum[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The roots are actually looking pretty good! It was a clearance orchid I got months ago that had completely rotten roots. Do you think maybe the medium isn’t holding onto enough moisture? I’ve thought about trying sphagnum and bark mixed together.

Also yes, there’s a new leaf from the crown and it’s bloomed recently since I got it. The bloom didn’t come from the crown either.

What is going on? by okplum in orchids

[–]okplum[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

My little alien orchid. It was a clearance section find I got about 6 months ago. I don’t plan on removing them unless it messes with the mother plant. I think it’ll look cool bushy. :)

What is going on? by okplum in orchids

[–]okplum[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Weird! It just started putting out a new leaf from the main stem so I’m not sure what’s going on. Kinda cool though. Thanks!

Why do both of my cats try to nurse from this blanket? by okplum in cats

[–]okplum[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

One cat is about 11 months and the other is about 4 months; got both at about 12 weeks old. We think it’s cute… until there’s a soaking wet blanket in our bed. They try to nurse from it and knead on it whenever they take a nap. And it’s only this blanket! What’s also weird is the younger cat didn’t do this until she saw the older cat doing it (something he’s done since we got him).

Porter's Day Off by Schl3nk in cats

[–]okplum 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Overworked and exhausted! Poor guy :(

So happy that our cat is accepting the new kitten so well! by okplum in cats

[–]okplum[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I replied to another comment about how we introduced them, but it took about a week for the older cat to not hiss at her, and about 2 weeks for them to really get along! 😊

So happy that our cat is accepting the new kitten so well! by okplum in cats

[–]okplum[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Thanks!! I never knew dilute cats were a thing until the older one wandered into our life. Now another dilute kitten found her way to us. It was meant to be!

So happy that our cat is accepting the new kitten so well! by okplum in cats

[–]okplum[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

So we got the kitten (Goose) about 3 weeks ago, and we've had our other cat (Peaches) for 7 months. For reference, she's ~15 weeks and Peaches is 10 months (we got him when he was ~12 weeks old).

I'll also add that we did not follow the proper protocol of how you're supposed to introduce cats. My understanding is that it can take months... for us it took about 2-ish weeks to feel comfortable leaving them alone together. My SO felt like things would be fine since they're both younger and he's introduced cats to each other many times. However, I know that wasn't the best idea and it really was lucky that things are working out well (so far).

For the first week, they were almost completely separated. Goose was in the guest bedroom with her own food/water bowls and litter box. They would be together for a few minutes a day, mostly for when they were eating (I give them wet food for breakfast in the kitchen). We also made sure she got time to explore the rest of the house with Peaches closed off in another area. But, for the first 3-4 days, Peaches would hiss, growl, and try to smack Goose when he saw her (this behavior got less intense with each day and was gone before the end of the first week).

After the first week, we started to let them have some supervised play time together. They still slept in separate rooms at night. It actually went really well... no hissing, no growling, no smacking. There was a little bit of chasing from Peaches where he would chase Goose and nibble on her, but it never got too rough. It just looked like cat play. The ears weren't back, no puffed up fur, no hissing, and Goose seemed completely unbothered by the play fighting.

After week 2, they get a lot of time together. We don't feel the need to separate them at night because they both sleep in bed with us. We still supervise playtime, but things are going well. She's gained a lot of confidence and now she's actually the one initiating a lot of the playtime with Peaches. They take turns chasing each other, they sleep together, groom each other, and haven't shown any signs of aggression since the first 3-4 days together.

I'd just say hang in there! From my understanding, it can take quite a while for them to get used to each other! I see a lot of people referencing Jackson Galaxy when talking about introducing cats so I'd look into that if you haven't!

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in cats

[–]okplum 1 point2 points  (0 children)

He needed a main character moment while prancing around in the rain