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Post by Weims on Jul 28, 2020 16:08:11 GMT
Hi everyone, some of you may remember me but I was always more active on the dog side of the forum so to those of you who don't I'm Weims(or WR55 to some of the older members!). My cat is Ziggy, a 13 year old black and white moggy(as you can see from my photo).
Sadly my mum passed away a couple of weeks ago, and this of course brings a lot of changes to not only myself, but also Ziggy. The biggest change is that Ziggy will be moving out of my childhood home where she has lived her entire life, and in with me. She's very much an outdoor cat as the home she is used to has a large garden and is surrounded by fields that she can roam, but I now live in a city and I don't feel like I'd be comfortable letting her out there as I'd worry constantly - she's not used to busy roads, having other cats around(she is not cat friendly at all), and she tends to have quite a nervous disposition. My current tenancy ends on the 24th so I'm conveniently looking for a new place now and am hoping to find somewhere with a garden so I can at least let her have a walk around outside - I've bought her a harness and have been training her on that, which is going well, but again I'm reluctant to take her to public areas on it. My question here is really how to make this change as easy for her as possible, and how to keep her both mentally and physically stimulated indoors, as she is still very active for a 13 year old.
I'd also appreciate any advice on how to reduce the stress of moving house for Ziggy, as she has never done this before. She'll be moving in with myself and my boyfriend, and our friend(thankfully a huge cat lover). I'm not too worried about this aspect but any advice on how I can make the introduction to such a new place as stress free as possible I would greatly appreciate.
Thanks in advance:)
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Post by cazypops on Jul 28, 2020 20:46:45 GMT
So sorry to hear about your mum Weims Before you bring Ziggy home to yours, do you by any chance have some of your mums old cloths you could use to rub round yours to spread her smell? Also I'd think about getting a felliway plug in. I've never used it myself but believe it can help very well with stress.
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Post by scallywag on Jul 29, 2020 5:27:12 GMT
Hi Weims , sorry to hear about your mum. HUGS X As for advice re cat , No help here sorry but I sympathise with you , its not a great situation to be in on top of all the other stresses ahead of you. What cazypops has suggested is a good start, im sure you will get more suggestions come along soon. Hope you find the ideal new home for yourselves and Ziggy x We are here should you need to off load X
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Post by lotsofcats on Jul 29, 2020 10:50:06 GMT
Sorry to hear about your mum Weims. Sad for Ziggy as she can't really understand what's happening. Good suggestions from cazypops. I would definitely get a Feliway plug in and also a Feliway spray for when you take her in the car. Make sure you have a safe carrier for her to be moved in. I really hope you can get a new home with a safe garden for her as she's used to going out. If you have to keep her indoors for a while try to find some toys for her to play with to keep her occupied. Be careful with the harness as cats can sometimes back out of them, one of mine did, so I bought a cat's walking jacket instead. Give her lots of love and attention and hopefully she will settle down. Let us know how you get on. I have 6 of my cats in a garden pen that hubby built as I live on a very busy road. If you get a house with a garden that you don't think she is really safe in perhaps you can consider this option as well as walking her on her harness.
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Post by Weims on Jul 29, 2020 16:02:33 GMT
Thank you all for your kind responses. Ziggy seems to be doing okay, my mum was in and out of a hospice a bit this year so I think Ziggy got used to being away from her for periods of time. She's generally a very vocal cat(part siamese) and stopped "talking" to us for a little while, but she seems to have got her voice back now, funnily enough that seemed to be after my brother and I found her on curled and purring to herself on my mum's bed last week and we all sat together for a bit - perhaps that helped her grieve in her own way? cazypops Yes thats a good idea, I'll definitely make sure we make her a little den in the corner of the bedroom with some of my mum's clothes. I was thinking of asking my boyfriend and housemate for some old clothes of theirs to get Ziggy used to their smells before we move in perhaps? I've heard mixed reviews of Feliways, but I think I'll give them a go as we have nothing to lose! We've also got some prescription anti-anxiety tablets for her from when she's been anxious in the past so I might have a chat to the vet about giving her one those for the car journey. lotsofcats I like the idea of one of those garden pens, I worry that it would be difficult to get permission to assemble one at a rented property but maybe a small one would be possible! scallywag thank you xx I'm sure there will be times I'll need to come here to vent! Today's palaver was trying to change Ziggy's insurance policy into my name...I should've known that wouldn't be simple!
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Post by tonib on Jul 29, 2020 23:25:59 GMT
Weims, So sorry to hear about your mother, my condolences to you & your family, Ziggy looks a lovely cat & glad she seems to be gradually becoming her normal self now your mum's not there. I've not had any experience of moving homes with a cat although I have rehomed cats from the rescue so the principle should be the same when she leaves your mum's to your current flat. Another plug-in is Pet Remedy based on valerian, I have Feliway & Pet Remedy around the house, not sure if or which works but the Peet REmedy is in my bedroom & I get a good nights sleep! When we had Penny who was travel sick I found that a combination of the 2 in her carrier/car could often stop the worst of her output on the journey to/from the vets/cattery mind you a Fairport Convention CD also helped! Good idea about getting Ziggy used to her future new home's smells. As to the old clothes preferably unwashed! The vets advice sounds sensible. As she's used to going out I'd ask your housemates to be ultra careful when leaving/entering the property to make sure she doesn't escape especially in the early week(s). As she's insured I presume she's also microchipped, if not I'd get her chipped so that if she does escape then it will help reunite you all if someone finds her. If she is you'll need to change the contact/owner details, yet another palaver but they should be used to that & hopefully not as bad as the insurance Whenever we've got a new cat into the household we've kept them in a room for a week or so before letting them gradually explore but that was also to do with getting them settled & the other cats used to their presence. But the same principle applies to letting them get used to their surroundings gradually. When it comes to moving to your new premises that will be slightly different as there will be a lot of disruption around her as you pack up & unpack in the new premises. This seems good advice www.bluecross.org.uk/pet-advice/moving-house-and-travelling-cats
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Post by Weims on Aug 6, 2020 16:16:06 GMT
Thank you tonib, that's all very helpful info That's a very good point about making sure people are careful entering and leaving the property, I think I'll make a sign for the door to remind them!! Yes she's microchipped so will get that changed to the new address. Luckily we should be able to move her in after all the furniture and such is moved so there won't be much disruption around her and she can move into a ready settled home. I think you're right about limiting her to one room for a week or so so that she feels comfortable there first and gradually let her explore after that. We've found a lovely cat friendly flat so fingers crossed they accept us as tenants and we can start the moving process!
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Post by Weims on Aug 6, 2020 16:21:21 GMT
Another thing I meant to ask is if anyone has any advice on getting Ziggy playing with toys? As she spends most of her time outside at he moment(during spring and summer, at least) I want to make sure she has enough to keep her occupied and stimulated indoors as she won't be allowed out. She'll pounce on a bit of string but other than that she's not really fussed by toys! I assume catnip toys are worth a try?
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Post by cazypops on Aug 6, 2020 20:28:51 GMT
Our flirts was an outdoor cat, but he loved to play with his snuggle/catnip toy. He also use to love chasing a bit of fluff on tied to the end of a bit of fishing line. 2016-04-25 19.00.04 by Cazypops, on Flickr
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Post by lotsofcats on Aug 7, 2020 8:36:11 GMT
What a gorgeous cat Ziggy is Weims, she looks kitten-like on the pic with the catnip. I hope she's settled in well. Great pic of Flirts with that mad catnip look cazypops. He was a gorgeous boy.
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Post by Weims on Aug 7, 2020 12:00:19 GMT
cazypops Flirts looks like he was a lovely cat and looks like he was lots of fun with that toy, I'll definitely give one like that a go, thank you:) lotsofcats, thank you:) yes she's very kitten like for her age, you wouldn't believe she's 13
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Post by tonib on Aug 7, 2020 16:15:54 GMT
Weims all my cats go out but they still enjoy catnip toys, Yeowww ones seem to be a favourite take tough play & chewing. A lot of pet shops (especially independents) stock them (not sure about Pets at home) Another product that has been successful, with them & other peoples cats, are plague rats, these are made with a mix of catnip & valerian. I used to get them at the Supreme Cat show from the people who make them. They have a website www.plaguerats.co.uk/ which describes them but its currently not brilliant as its being updated. However follow the links & you'll be able to buy on line. Another site I have used that sells them but in bright colours is www.coolcatcollars.co.uk/cat-toys-catnip/vibrant-plague-rat-catnip-toy.htmlAnother toy that can be used outside or in, with a bit of space, is Da Bird www.da-bird.co.uk/ their web shop www.purrsinourhearts.co.uk/shop/is closed until 10th August due to feline bereavement but you also get 10% of your 1st order (see the da-bird site for the code) It's also available at the Cat Gallery thecatgallery.co.uk/products/da-cat-bird-toybut its out of stock but they do have a video on this page showing it in action. Looks like Petsathome sell it www.petsathome.com/shop/en/pets/go-cat-feather-toys-da-bird-teaser-cat-toyLexie enjoys the rabbit fur mice (with or without catnip) from myshkastoybox.co.uk/she carries them around the house. Of course don't forget a cat scratcher/climber, strategically placed can also give her a lot of fun/exercise & viewpoints.
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Post by Weims on Aug 9, 2020 13:26:22 GMT
Thanks tonib , looks like some good choices there, thanks for the links! I'd love to get her a plague rat as they sound very effective, unfortunately not sure I can justify the £10 shipping:( I will get a "da bird" and rabbit fur mouse though! And of course a cat climber to put under a window is a definite:) If I get those and some other little bits and bobs then surely something will take her fancy Does anyone know whether it's okay to use those "videos for cats" on youtube to entertain her? I put them on my brother's ipad a couple of times for her and she was transfixed, but I worry that being able to see birds and mice and never being able to catch them could cause her some kind of problems. Does anyone know about that? Or am I just fussing, I suppose it could be no different to her watching birds out the window (For those who aren't sure what I mean: and )
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Post by tonib on Aug 9, 2020 23:48:23 GMT
Weims was shocked you got the £10 shipping from but on coolcatcollars its only £1 (but just checked & they are out of stock at the moment) & plaguerats have £3.70 & that's per order within Royal Mail's small parcel weight, so you could order more than one or perhaps a stinkie shark a well However I did a dummy purchase & can see where you got it from. When reading it carefully that's the price of airmail to the States! Most confusing on their website but if you continue to the checkout you can choose the UK or even on the page that shows estimated shipping! I think I'll contact them & let them know I've not heard any bad reports of cats watching them. All I can say is that the DVD I got to play for my 3 was basically ignored only Lexie showed any interest & then only briefly (having checked behind the TV first ). But then they can go out & Ziggy will be indoors from now on. She's the only one that has shown any interest in the TV, she was transfixed by the Trooping of the colour when the Horse Guards (can't remember which troop it was) paraded in front of the Queen, she sat alertly watching I posted videos of her here yourpet.boards.net/post/131419/thread
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Post by Weims on Aug 10, 2020 19:34:45 GMT
tonib thanks for spotting that! Looks like I can get her one after all Brilliant photos of Lexie, she looks transfixed! I might try letting Ziggy keep watching the videos occasionally and maybe hide a toy to the side of the screen and she can always pounce on that if she wants something more interactive!
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