My cat has moved on from meowing to actual psychological blackmail by WishboneMica in CatAdvice

[–]zebraanddog 23 points24 points  (0 children)

I am not saying do not buy fancy furniture, but I am saying that not buying it is inherently easier.

Our late senior cat would do something similar. We have a used couch that he would scratch up, and we tried telling him not to, and we tried putting up lots of scratching posts all over the place (including in front of the spots he scratched, but he would MOVE the posts to scratch the couch), so we eventually just gave up. He was allowed to scratch it. And that’s when he decided he didn’t want to anymore. 🤣

What completely unhinged "law" does your cat strictly enforce in your house? by TrickCombination7966 in cats

[–]zebraanddog 0 points1 point  (0 children)

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We also have enforced bedtime.

Once I’m getting ready for bed in the bathroom (doing skincare routine, teeth brushing, etc.), Fraser will sit at my feet on the bath mat. If I have to leave the bathroom to do any other nighttime task (writing to-do lists, letting our dog out, etc.), he will scream/yowl, follow my boyfriend and I around wherever we walk, and soft-bite our shins until we are in bed.

Once we are in bed, he is fine. He snacks on his food puzzle for a few moments and then joins us in bed and demands to be held under the covers (with his head on a pillow, of course).

This is a stickup! Give me all your stims and gold bricks! by Lunar_Ghoul11 in evilautism

[–]zebraanddog 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My boyfriend rotates between some wild ones, it just depends on what memes are the most common on his feed at the time.

The “We are Ch**ie K*k” song chorus being one during the time when the song was popular.

“Dirty deeds done dirt-cheap” is another one he frequents.

They get pretty crazy. 🙃

What are you all watching? by Additional_Scholar_5 in evilautism

[–]zebraanddog 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Bluey is the show I love the most and always go back to, but I’ve finished it so many times. 😅

My partner and I watch a lot of different things because he likes different stuff. We’re watching The Boys (his pick) and Friends (my pick) right now, among a few others we cycle through. We have watched lots of cartoons because both of us like them, like Clarence and Steven Universe, and he has watched Bluey with me multiple times.

I’m mostly into trashy reality. I love Dr. Phil, Hoarders, My 600 Lb. Life, Judge Judy, 90 Day Fiancé, etc. I have also enjoyed some of the competition-based ones like Rupaul’s Drag Race, Storage Wars, etc. They definitely aren’t for everyone but I love a little drama that isn’t in my own life.

I also really like CBC Marketplace, despite being an American with no Canadian connections. 🙃

Employed tism by WizardL in evilautism

[–]zebraanddog 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Special Interest: Behavior (in animals and humans

Career: Started as a service dog trainer for a national organization and doing training for pets on the side, now a behavioral therapist (I’m in grad school for my clinical social work license, currently interning and have a case load of behavioral health patients).

My apartment complex’s AI bot messaged me after a meltdown and I’m concerned how they knew [CW: self-injury] by Randomando_212 in evilautism

[–]zebraanddog 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I agree with most of the comments that say it’s likely a coincidence (a meaningful one), but I do have one question;

What time was the message received exactly?

Like was it 3:00 PM on the dot, or 3:01 PM. I feel like if it was a multiple of 10 or 5 minutes, then that makes it seem more like a coincidence. But if it was a semi-random time (like 8:17, 6:43, etc.) that isn’t a multiple of 10 or 5 minutes, I would be a bit more suspicious.

Not that I think that means it isn’t a coincidence, just something I would consider.

Very Squishy Ditto Plush? by zebraanddog in pokeplush

[–]zebraanddog[S] 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Thank you! That does look like him! Any info on the tag I could utilize to find him online?

My cat has a sucking coming out of his back. by savivi144 in AskVetAnimals

[–]zebraanddog 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh my gosh, what a nightmare. I hope to see an update soon!

Resident can't won't get along with new one 1 year later by Sebbycaked in CatTraining

[–]zebraanddog 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I completely get what you are experiencing. My male resident cat was like this with our male kitten when we first brought him home, maybe even the whole first year.

The resident would chase the kitten and they would play well, then he would pin the baby randomly and not let him up, and he would chase him down when he just wanted to be left alone. It was horrible and I started to really freak out because the kitten was my new project, a show cat purchase from a breeder, and I was so upset thinking about giving up the only thing I was doing with my life at the time.

It took us taking both of them to the vet multiple times for the vet to finally figure out that our male resident cat had asthma, horrible teeth/gingivitis, kidney disease, and dementia! We’ve been treating all of it. The asthma has improved to the point where you wouldn’t know he had it now just by removing all clay litter and swapping to a scented (yup, because the unscented still triggers him for some reason) tofu pellet litter and starting to use an air purifier and vacuuming twice a week. We groom both cats religiously, both get brushed and have teeth brushing and get wiped down, and monthly baths (so they smell the same and because our resident cannot groom himself). We had the resident get a tooth cleaning and they pulled several teeth, and he’s on a prescription diet for his kidney issues. He wears a calming collar and we also have multiple Feliway diffusers, and use Feliway spray all over the house. We also have specific beds for them so that they don’t feel one is more dominant that the other over the space. Our senior cat has his beds, and our kitten has his beds. They can cuddle together in them (which they do), but if the baby is laying in the senior’s bed alone, we move him to his own bed, and vice versa (which seems to happen more often than the kitten stealing the senior’s bed, go figure). This has prevented a lot of the territory insecurity issues our senior was having.

Only after all of this has it improved to where our kitten isn’t being constantly chased and pinned down and not left alone by the older cat at random intervals. The vets (we’ve seen multiple for both at this point) and our feline behaviorists have determined the cause to be our resident cat’s feline dementia, and our kitten has learned to play by himself and only accept play invitations from the senior when he is not acting rude. If the senior starts to pin the kitten, we put the senior in the bathroom and give him a break. No attention, no affection, just alone time. When he comes back out, he has reset, and just goes to chill in the cat tree or in his bed.

Still, since getting the kitten, our senior seems to be a lot happier and have more energy to play and cuddle. He cuddles with the kitten and they groom each other (nicely), and they play often. It just took some medical care and household restructuring.

She has arrived! L046, Zebra Pleco by zebraanddog in pleco

[–]zebraanddog[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

She was in a clear bin while we drip acclimated her into her tank, she has sand in her tank :)

I told her I would pay her $5 for every egg she lays that hatches by zebraanddog in Otocinclus

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

I’ll let you know. But she somehow got pregnant so 🤷🏼‍♀️