(Part 2) Top products from r/CatAdvice

Getting my cats used to having their nails trimmed was a long process, but it’s worked. Each time is easier than the last and honestly, it hasn’t been difficult for years. Here’s what I did:

Whenever the cat was comfy & relaxed somewhere, I’d gently tough her paws. Just a couple of light strokes until she says No, thanks. Always stop when she says No; I’ve found it builds trust.

Over time, you’ll be able to handle her paws lightly for a few seconds at a time. Make sure you use only light pressure. Cat paws are more delicate than ours and the point is for her to get used to the handling, while trusting that you won’t hurt her.

Next, you’ll be able to practice spreading her toes to see the nail - again, gentle touch. Pause when she says no until she settles down again.

Once she’s used to this, you can do some quick trimming. Only do this when she’s relaxed. A tense cat will fight. We trim only their front nails since they do the majority of the damage. You might want to get her professionally groomed at the vet until this point or just wear thick gloves :D

I really found that building trust with my cats has gone a long way in our relationship. Learn their cues, put them down when they ask, stop petting when they ask, etc. You could probably use this same method to get her used to the brush.

Make sure you have a lot of good scratching posts around the house. They need to be sturdy - cats won’t like a post if it feels like it will fall on them. It should be tall enough to let them stretch, too. I’ve had a lot of success with this one. Keep in mind that some cats prefer to scratch horizontally. The cardboard flat scratchers at the pet store are great for that. Position the scratchers near where she scratches. At our apt, that’s near the arm of the couch and in the bedroom. Try rubbing some catnip on it to get her interested. Newsflash: She will still occasionally claw at things. Having pets usually involves some sort of compromise...like a completely intact house. Thank goodness, they overcompensate for it!

If you’re new to cat ownership, try and keep in mind that she isn’t (necessarily) a bad cat. Scratching is part of who she is. Her nails need it and she’s selecting things that would give her the same satisfaction as a tree might outside. She’s not doing it to upset you. Living with animals takes a lot of patience and willingness to learn their signals and needs. Once you understand where they’re coming from, you can better accept that they’re not going to act like miniature adults.

Since she’s built up some bad habits (as has your bf), I recommend you guys read this book. It really helped me learn about some of my girls’ behaviors and how to more peacefully coexist.

Sorry for the long post- hope any of it helps. Congrats on moving in!

Ooooh, okay - at first I thought you just didn't want to play with him, and was kind of sad for him. Nevermind, though, you sound like an awesome pet parent :)

Personally, I have 4 cats. Two of them won't play with toys on their own, one will bat some toys around for a bit, and the last will play from dawn till dusk on his own. It could be a personality thing with him, where he's just not into playing alone.

If you know that's not the case, sometimes it takes a lot of random $1 toys to figure out what makes him tick (This is why our cats literally have their own toybox!)

My cats who sometimes likes to play by himself loves rattling toys, crinkling toys, and balls - he'll sit there and roll them around on the carpet and hardwood floors, butt-wiggle-stalking and all.

My cat who is really into self-play likes small soft toys that he can toss in the air, but his all time favorite toy is a dog treat. (Long story short, I bought some Dingo treats for my neighbor, and before I could deliver them, my cat tore into the package and went nuts). He doesn't chew on them - he plays with them like he would any other toy, but those dog treats are far and away his all-time favorite.

tl;dr: If your cat is the kind to happily entertain himself, sometimes it just takes trial and error to figure out what makes him tick. Trying out toys with different sounds, textures, lights, and smells is probably your best bet.

And u/HelloKittyy is right about the turbo scratcher - that's a favorite of their's, too!

 

Some of my cats favorites that fit within your description:

chirping bird

Kitty Wubba

Battabout

Sock Pals

Crinkling and Rattling balls

Treat ball (For the food-oriented cat)

Or you could always make your own toys! (My two most playful fur-babies, Mojo (left) and Leo (right), trying to grab a ping pong ball)

I'm dealing with the exact same issue, our boy has start pawing at the bedroom door and the rattling is becoming too much to handle. Glad to have your insight on the motion sensor air spray as that was the option my fiance was considering. We haven't tried this personally yet, but I was looking into a ScatMat. It seems like it would extend far enough in front of the bedroom door so our cat can't just try to lean his way against it to paw. Good luck and I would love to hear about any results!

My Lydia has strange mixed fur, too. She’s got toe fluff, a small neck ruff, and curly hair near her ears like a Maine coon, extra long guard hairs down her back, and a long fluffy tail... but short, clumped medium fur down her sides. She always looks a bit ragged, even though I brush her regularly and she grooms herself fastidiously. And she loooooves being brushed.

Anyway, I suggest keeping the wire brush for once a day grooming and getting a gentle soft bristle brush for the “petting” brushing sessions, if you’re worried about over-brushing. They’re very gentle brushes, so it shouldn’t pull out much hair and should still satisfy her desire to be brushed.

I use this one: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0002RJMB4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_83BOBbB1GVSFR

My cats have a ton of toys too, these are the only ones they really like now and still play with:

https://www.chewy.com/yeowww-catnip-pollock-fish-cat-toy/dp/130278 (I was skeptical my cat would play with this but they all went INSANE with it - kicking up a storm and wrestling with it)

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0006N9I68/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 (this one you have to play with them. I'd say it mimics flying insects and my cats NEVER get tired of it)

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00JANUEQ8/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 (a wand toy. Mine get bored with wands after awhile but for some reason really like this one)

A laser pointer is always good for exercise and fun also.

I did a cross country trip, by myself with two cats and I read every article I could find to prepare for the trip. I highly recommend that you do not take the advice of some of the others here that say you can let your cat roam free in the car. Regardless of how well you know your cat, it is still a cat, and he will definitely be freaked out during this adventure, it would only take a second with the window down and a loud semi truck to go past and you cat freaks and hops out the window, or maybe when you're paying a toll, or just a stoplight. There's also the possibility of him going under your pedals and making you unable to drive properly. What I did was I purchased a large kennel, it fit into the backseat of my car, and took up the whole backseat (it was about $100), then they had room to move but were still contained. Most cats will not eat or use a litterbox whole traveling (some will not most won't) so it's best to limit your driving times to 8 hours or less. I did get a spill resistant water dish and I would put it back there when I stopped for gas or for water, though again, they were too freaked out and rarely, if at all, took a drink - which is another good reason to limit your travel time. For a litterbox I got a rubbermaid/large Tupperware type container, that way in between stops I had a lid I could put on it. I had harnesses on both of mine and would just carry them one by one into the hotel, while holding on securely to them and the harness, really hold onto them firmly when doing that transport. I put a link below to the type of kennel I suggest. Hope this helps, feel free to ask me more questions if I missed anything!

Petego Pet Tube Car Kennel, Large https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000HVV3OE/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_05CXBb05XYB01

I really love the wellness brand wet food for kittens. It's probably the best wet food you can buy from a pet store.

Did you use an enzymatic cleaner? I've had really good success with this one: https://www.amazon.com/Mister-Max-Original-Remover-Gallon/dp/B000I6NF6W

Yesterday's News is a good option for a pellet kind of litter. It's made from recycled newspaper.
https://smile.amazon.com/Purina-Yesterdays-News-Non-Clumping-Litter/dp/B0002TIJB6/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1497016351&sr=8-2&keywords=yesterdays+news

Another option is litter from walnut shells.
https://smile.amazon.com/BLUE-Naturally-Fresh-Multi-Cat-Quick-Clumping/dp/B00BPA12MO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1497016410&sr=8-1&keywords=walnut+cat+litter

I've recently started using Pretty Litter.
https://prettylittercats.com/

I have two cats and we have one of these for each of them & they’re by far our favorite carrier we’ve used. They have both side and top open options, which we’ve found very useful at various points. We leave them sitting out in the corner of our office and the kittens will even take naps in them (this was something that I saw suggested here and has seemed to make a big difference in our cats comfort level with the carriers). We also usually cover the sides with a towel to limit overstimulation for our shyer cat and since we started doing that she’s been way less stressed about using the carrier.

Sherpa Travel Carrier

i have this one but it's currently unavailable

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000N5WJUG/

you just need to make sure the bag can fit in. the above can hold a 6 pound bag

Yeah I get that. She was feral and is about 2 years old, so there's a good chance she didn't have a previous owner even briefly. That said, I use pretty high quality shampoo and soap, so it's unlikely someone else used it.

The one thing I realized last night was that my normal shampoo (https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B000IZ8KZ4) has mint in it, and mint is in the same family as catnip, which means some cats go a bit crazy over it. I tried not using it when I showered last night, and did not see the aggression. That said, I also didn't let her in the bathroom until I was fully dried off.

I would get an indoor cat grass planter like this one https://www.amazon.com/Catit-Senses-2-0-Cat-Grass/dp/B015J4I51M grass is actually very good for cats digestion. As for the bolting, I know of people who have had success with this https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000A76ZYS/?cv_ct_id=amzn1.idea.ERFFU9PN21D&cv_ct_pg=storefront&cv_ct_wn=aip-storefront&ref=exp_cov_myfosterkittens_dp_vv_d its like an electric fence for dogs but the barrier is the doorway.

Other people have good ideas in this thread but also there is special cat-attractive litter box training litter that you should try. It works for re-training too. https://www.amazon.com/Dr-Elseys-Attract-Problem-Training/dp/B000PKY7YA

Similar to the shower idea, get one of these (or one like it). Put your cat in a carrier and loosely cover it with a light towel. Position the steamer towards the front of the carrier and let it fill up with steam. This is what we do for very congested cats and a couple sessions a day makes a huge difference.

https://www.amazon.com/Imperial-Cat-Grass-Seeds-4-Ounce/dp/B0017JBB8I/ref=mp_s_a_1_8?keywords=Imperial+cat&qid=1554912337&s=gateway&sr=8-8

This brand?? Thank you so much for the suggestion! When you say disposable sandwich containers.. I'm picturing a ziplock bag. But I don't think you have that in mind..

If you are in the US it is this version that is available. And it seems it can be bought without a vet on amazon in the US. It's slightly different formulation but should work just as well.

https://www.amazon.com/Siphotrol-Premise-Control-Spray-16-Ounce/dp/B000KVSTC0?th=1&psc=1

We've had [pet stairs] (https://www.amazon.com/Stairs-Steps-Ladder-Portable-Travel/dp/B000H7K2MM/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1480022030&sr=8-5&keywords=Pet+Steps+Stairs) like these for an elderly cat, so she could get up onto a bed.

https://www.amazon.ca/Ethical-Pet-Durable-Plastic-Colorful/dp/B000CMKHDG

I am using the Drinkwell Platinum as well. Do you own the cleaning kit?

I keep mine upstairs and find it particularly difficult to lug it around full of water. I dump the old water out of my window before taking it downstairs.

The kit makes cleaning it easier, but it has all those awkward areas in the back where the pump is located..