Current Events > Ask me anything about cat/kitten development, behavior, etc.

(+) Yeah! (+)

Is it even a thing for expectant cat mothers to absorb her unborn kittens?

That was what I was told as a kid by my mother when our adopted cat from the streets had lost her kittens when she was pregnant and I still don't know if that can actually happen or not.

DnDer posted...

I have a couple of longhair cats, senior adults, one m and one f. They get really bad mats and hate being brushed. At least twice a year, I have to get leather/welding gloves to come at them with scissors and cut out those mats. Usually one mat at a time, over a course of days or longer because of their attitude.

They're sweethearts and like pets and skritches any other time, and one of them lets me head butt him... but they loathe being brushed.

I've tried a variety of brushes and tools, but they won't tolerate it for more than like 30 seconds at a stretch before they turn and scratch or nip. They have been like this as long as the family has had them (adopted at different times from different litters/rescue efforts), which is now 6+ years, I think.

How can I normalize them to being brushed in order to prevent the mats? Or even get them to like it?

If it's not the shape, form, bristle, or whatever from the tool, then it must be in the methodology?

Did you adopt them as adults? If they weren't groomed from a young age that may be the cause of the aversion. It's probably uncomfortable to them. Honestly you may need to give them some kind of sedative prior to grooming, or take them to an actual groomer.

MorganTJ posted...

Cool, as a follow-up question, he sometimes likes nibbling on tall grass and then throwing up. Is that normal? I don't notice any hairballs, so I don't really know what's he's trying to clear out, if anything.

Yep, super normal. They eat grass in order to vomit other things they want to get out or if just feeling nauseous in general.

warlock7735 posted...

I have two adult cats both male and fixed, littermates, that we've had since they were kittens. One of them has been displaying uncharacteristic aggression, and will occasionally act very territorial towards my girlfriend when she heads to the bathroom. When this happens, if either of us get anywhere near him, he'll attack with teeth/claws. He seems to be particularly bothered by movement during these spells, since he only attacks once we try to move forward/away, but he doesn't calm down if we stand still, so there's no options.

Any thoughts on what we could be dealing with? We use fel-away diffusers and vets haven't found anything wrong with him.

Has there been any changes in the household? Did he have any recent negative events happening with your gf or near the bathroom?

Ricemills posted...

Dang, not only high maintenance, they're also hard to understand.
Caracals are not fit as a home pet.

Yeah, the Youtube videos of them honestly upset me because they should be in the wild.

SydnieStarlight posted...

Hey, this is exactly the kind of topic I should be posting in!

We have a stray that we're kinda trying to make ours, because we got tired of getting attached to neighborhood strays only for them to suddenly die or disappear. This one in particular is pretty spooky, though. We're thinking he's probably always been feral. Our big roadblock right now is trying to get him to come inside without forcing him. He seems curious, but we can't usually get him more than a couple feet in the door before he turns and runs back out. Got any tips for helping him warm up to being inside?

With ferals, it depends on the individual animal. Some can never become domesticated. You really have to go very slowly and a pace the cat dictates. I would just continue feeding and spending time with the cat.

@C_Pain
So what is their assessment of us? A frequent idea I hear is them thinking we are large and slow (witted?) cats.

DementedDurian posted...

Is it even a thing for expectant cat mothers to absorb her unborn kittens?

That was what I was told as a kid by my mother when our adopted cat from the streets had lost her kittens when she was pregnant and I still don't know if that can actually happen or not.

Yes, but it would happen very early in the pregnancy such as in the case of a congenital defect, and you may not even know the queen was pregnant. They certainly can miscarry and have stillborn kittens though.

Antiyonder posted...

@C_Pain
So what is their assessment of us? A frequent idea I hear is them thinking we are large and slow (witted?) cats.

Impossible to know without a complete cat theory of mind. Adult cats meow at people but actually tend to not meow at one another so I think they know we're different.

C_Pain posted...

Has there been any changes in the household? Did he have any recent negative events happening with your gf or near the bathroom?

Not at all. The most we can figure is that he either is very sensitive about routine or just doesn't like it if either of us walk around without pants, but he's never started the aggression at me, only attacked me if he was already showing signs of aggro towards her.