Moving and need advice for my 2 Savannahs

[Rafiki]

In regards to the journey, have they been in the car before? I know that my F3 girl is much calmer if her brother is with her so, if possible, I would transport them in a crate that is large enough to fit them both. Also, get the crate as soon as possible so that they acclimate to it inside the house. Put toys and treats inside so that they willingly explore it while it is in a safe environment.

 

[F2bguy]

Thanks!

I cannot add anything new....I think that Paige and WW covered it all.

I fully agree that the addition of vertical space will go a long way for a lack of horizontal . Losing you would be so much more traumatic than moving to a new smaller place. They will not like the journey and they will take time to adjust to the new place and your new schedule but they will adjust. Go thru the routine of confining them to a small location (bedroom?) for a week or two until they get comfortable.

As far as the smell is concerned....what are you feeding them? I have been to my breeder's house on several occasions and there is no smell. I do not believe that my house smells either. We feed raw and that makes the pooh small, dry and not smelly. Feeding high quality food overall reduces the smell. You definitely should vacuum weekly if not more often in the litter box area.

You should not settle for someone who does not like cats as you obviously love them.

I feed the cats Royal Canin dry Adult...it allegedly has stuff in there that reduces the odor of the cat poop. It's the only dry food they will eat. The breeder fed them it as kittens and they seem to like it.

I also feed the cats 1 can (total) of wet food in the morning: http://www.petco.com/product/105308/Natures-Recipe-Adult-Cat-Food-Trays.aspx

A bowl of dry food is left out in the open for them to eat at their leisure during the day and night.

I used to feed them 1 can of tuna every morning for about a year....but someone told me tuna has mercury in it...and my bit cat got a skin issue. I stopped feeding him tuna and it cleared right up. I took him to the vet and the vet suggested to take him off tuna.

Is there something better I can give the cats for breakfast every morning? I recently started eating healthy and I buy a lot of chicken....but I like chicken thighs because they taste so good...but the cats refuse to touch it. They will only eat chicken breasts. I take the meat, cut it into tiny squares, then nuke it in the microwave for 1 minute. I let it cool and they go crazy over it.

Should I be feeding them more meat (the stuff that humans eat)? Is dry food not enough?

 

[F2bguy]

In regards to the journey, have they been in the car before? I know that my F3 girl is much calmer if her brother is with her so, if possible, I would transport them in a crate that is large enough to fit them both. Also, get the crate as soon as possible so that they acclimate to it inside the house. Put toys and treats inside so that they willingly explore it while it is in a safe environment.

Yes, they were in the car when I drove 10 miles from my old place, to where I live now. It was a horrible drive and they both were screaming bloody murder at the top of their lungs. My windows were up and people in traffic next to me were staring at me due to the noise.

The other thing....is that I can only fool the big cat once, he learns very quickly and he cannot be fooled a 2nd time. I intend to throw cheese into the carrier, then close the door shut when he goes in.

This is fine and dandy for the first day of my trip to my new home state.

The next morning, when I wake up in the hotel with the cats to begin the last day of driving to my new home state.....I will not be able to fool him into getting into the carrier with cheese. In fact, I'm almost certain once he sees me getting my suitcase ready in the hotel room to leave....he's going to go into hiding and won't come within 10' of the carrier.

Same goes if I give him a "sleepy pill" that the vet gave me. I can man-handle the cat, put my fingers in the corner of his mouth and use the device the vet gave me to force the pill down his throat.....but that will only work once. He will not let me touch him again the next morning because he knows I will be trying to give him another pill to calm him down for the last leg of our journey.

 

[F2bguy]

Ok, thanks I will give him 1/2 of a pill when I get home this week. The vet says to give him 1 pill. The vet is located 2 blocks from where I live so I will do it in the morning during his business hours in case I need to rush the cat over there.

How do you feed your cats pills? I don't want to scruff the cat, put my fingers in the corner of the cat's mouth and then shoot a pill down its throat (as suggested by the vet). That seems barbaric and I know if I do it that way to my big cat, he will think that I'm trying to hurt him.

Is there any way to give him the pill in which I can trick him?

When he was a baby, he had some issues and I had to give him a pill and it didn't work out.

I tried buying some velveta cheese (the creamy type) and crushing the pill and then coating it with cheese. That only worked once, then he was wise to the scam the next time I tried to give him a pill and he refused to eat it.

 

[Rafiki]

I have had to give as many as 5 pills per day in the last couple of weeks. She is down to 3 pills a day and will continue to get at least 2 pills per day for the next 3 weeks or so.

I smear butter on them to make sure they slide down easier and don't get stuck in her throat. I don't use a pill shooter. My husband puts her on her back in a semi-upright position. I open her mouth with my left hand and push the pill down as far as I can with my right index finger. Initially I had to blow in her nose to get her to swallow but the weird thing is that she seems to understand. I missed with the pill yesterday and it dropped on the back of her tongue. I swear that she looked me in the eye and swallowed it so that she could avoid my finger down her throat.

Her morning pill is a breeze. It is coated so it does not have a medicine smell or taste. I use the Greenies pill pockets in the chicken flavor and she wolfs that down. The pill has even fallen out and she has scooped it up and swallowed it. When she was a kitten, I used the pill pockets as a treat so she did not associate it with medicine. I tried the pill pockets with the uncoated evening meds and it did not work at all. Not only would she not eat the pockets with the pill, she snubbed the pocket once the pill was removed. If the pill is coated, I recommend the pill pockets.

 

[Brigitte Cowell]

I agree with all the comments you have had here already. The smaller space is less important than them keeping YOU in their lives. Ditto on if the girl doesn't accept them, that's a huge red flag. Vertical space is key in an apartment, and multiple levels so that they can amuse themselves running around and up and down... if you think they are getting bored while you are at work then there are enrichment things you can try like treat balls and hiding favorite toys for them to hunt when you leave... stuff like that.

You mention you are worried that scruffing your cat is barbaric and might hurt your cat. It doesn't... it's something their mama did to them as babies and most cats retain the "scruff reflex" which is that they relax and immobilize when you take a handful of skin/fur at the back of the neck that way. Given the size of your cats you wouldn't wish to suspend them by the scruff, always use your other arm to support the back of their body/legs... but it can be useful. Say when you are corralling them in that hotel room on your journey to your new home.

How toy motivated are your cats? Sometimes if you need to catch your cat, getting them distracted with a good bout of play with the wand toy can help and you use the wand to get their attention then your other arm to reach out and grab them. Just hope that the motel room doesn't have beds they can get under else you might have to dismantle the bed to get them in the morning...I've had to do that in the past, it's not fun!

 

[NikkiA]

Welcome to the forum, I'm glad you logged in band joined up.

I am sure that the move will be a transition for you and your babies, but I really think our cats could care less about the decor so long as they have their favorite human. Will it take them some time to adapt to you being gone during the day? Yes, I'm sure it will. But they will come around, and as long as they love you, and you love them, they are much better off with you than with anyone else.

Re: smell, a good vacum may help a lot in the new place. We have a dyson, which is used 2x per week, and with three SVs it picks up about a canister of fur/dust on each floor of the house. I keep a dustpan & brush in the areas with litter boxes to clean up litter on the floor (I've got one boy who throws it out of the boy- he is digging for china) and I do routinely add a layer of baking soda at the very bottom of the box as well as cleaning them. I use vinegar to clean them, I don't do it in the house. With a bottle of vinegar and a bucket to hold water to rinse, you could do the same in the future.

 

[Patti]

If it is the litterboxes you think are causing the smell, Sweet PDZ is fantastic for absorbing odors - just spread a layer on the bottom of the litterbox before adding litter: http://www.sweetpdz.com/ The odor others are smelling might actually be the litter itself - consider changing to a wood based pellet litter, or a crystal based litter such as Fresh Step.

 

[F2bguy]

Wow, thanks for the great replies everyone. Got some great info out of that!

I just got back to my apartment this morning. Both cats are being overly affectionate. Think they missed me for the past 7 days. I had someone come over to make sure they had food/water. But they are afraid of everyone but me....so he didn't play with them.

I actually came up with an idea: Tomorrow I'm going to lure the big cat into his carrier with the promise of cheese. I will then take the carrier to the car, and then drive 5 blocks down the street, then come back home. While I'm driving, I will give him a piece of cheese every few minutes.

I'm going to try my hardest to do this every other day for the next 2 months.

So that when the move date comes along....he will now associate the carrier with cheese, instead of getting poked and prodded at the vet (of which I need to take him for his shots soon).


Also, the little cat kept meowing for almost 1/2 hour straight a few hours ago. Then he stopped, then the big cat started meowing like crazy. They have fresh food/water/litter.....and idea why they are meowing so loudly for? The neighbor slammed his window shut because I'm sure he heard them bellowing out.

Does the meowing mean that they're glad I'm home?

 

[F2bguy]

I agree with all the comments you have had here already. The smaller space is less important than them keeping YOU in their lives. Ditto on if the girl doesn't accept them, that's a huge red flag. Vertical space is key in an apartment, and multiple levels so that they can amuse themselves running around and up and down... if you think they are getting bored while you are at work then there are enrichment things you can try like treat balls and hiding favorite toys for them to hunt when you leave... stuff like that.

You mention you are worried that scruffing your cat is barbaric and might hurt your cat. It doesn't... it's something their mama did to them as babies and most cats retain the "scruff reflex" which is that they relax and immobilize when you take a handful of skin/fur at the back of the neck that way. Given the size of your cats you wouldn't wish to suspend them by the scruff, always use your other arm to support the back of their body/legs... but it can be useful. Say when you are corralling them in that hotel room on your journey to your new home.

How toy motivated are your cats? Sometimes if you need to catch your cat, getting them distracted with a good bout of play with the wand toy can help and you use the wand to get their attention then your other arm to reach out and grab them. Just hope that the motel room doesn't have beds they can get under else you might have to dismantle the bed to get them in the morning...I've had to do that in the past, it's not fun!

They are really toy motivated when it comes to the 3 foot plastic stick with feathers attached to it. I fly it in the air and it sounds like a bird flapping its wings and both cats go crazy over it.

I can call my cats over...and 7 times out of 10, they will come when called.

I had another concern: I am driving 6 hours on the first day of my move. I will be staying in a "pet friendly" hotel in the middle of nowhere (literally, a one-cow town). The hotel is a brand name chain, but when I stayed there a few days ago (as I was coming home from checking out my new state), the hotel looked run down and they didn't do a good job of cleaning.

The hotel will force me to go into a "pet friendly room" when I stay the night with my cats. Do you think my cats can catch anything from another animal (be it dog or cat) in the "pet friendly" hotel room? They will be 100% current on their shots (as advised by the vet) when they go in there. I'm just concerned they will smell another animal or the cleaning lady would have forgotten to clean up some pee or poop and my cats will sniff it and get sick or something. I almost want to sneak the cats in, not tell the hotel front desk to prevent that situation from happening.

I don't trust "pet friendly" rooms.