The CAT room!

Vivien -- Congratulations on your new Paddy Cat! My first cat was a black one, Winston, but she didn't have extra toes. (Six extra -- gee whiz, Roberta!) My Winston was a lovely thing and a beautiful mother to her kittens. (We got a package deal... this was a long time ago.) Her most clever trick was pulling the cat food box out of the cupboard and feeding herself and the rest of the herd.

I have two black animals now, so I know how hard it is to take photos of them... you lose the details in soft light. Bright sunshine is good. (Got any?)

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you can see his little extra toe - like a thumb in this picture - he's got one on each toe - not quite as many as Mikey though!


and echoes of Rosie - this poor plant is going to go through the mill again! and I daren't even think about the Christmas tree! (next weekend)

sunshine???? in November? in England????? - well actually it has been quite nice and sunny - but he can't go out until after his second injection in a couple of weeks and I want photos NOW!


Have you got any photos to post?

Wow... you can easily see his "thumbs." They do look handy, don't they?

yes - very handy for holding onto you to chew your fingers at the moment!

Congratulations, Vivien! He is a very cute little fellow. I am sure Rosie will like him soon enough.

I have never seen extra toes on a cat! I do think they are getting there with tumbs and all...

Vivien. Beyond cute!!! The Rosie-Paddy scenario you describe sounds remarkably like the Miranda-Patty experience. Lots of noise, growling, snarling, hissing from the resident cat. Spunky exploration from the kitten. Although within a few days they were cuddled together, I don't think Miranda ever fully adjusted to the new presence.

As for the toes, yes, there's a a thumby looking thing. But not the brain power to figure out what to do with it. At least not in Mikey's case. However, Mikey has occasionally exhibited the ability to catch a small ball in one paw. It always makes me gasp when I see it. It looks so, well, wrong.

Best of luck with the new and adorable Paddy. I'm expecting frequent reports.

Ohhhhh, what a gorgeous fella Paddy is.

My parents had a very large cat (named "Big Bruiser") who had extra toes. He used them as a thumb and would stand on his hind feet and pick things off the kitchen counter. (drove my mother nuts)

Vivien

Paddy is just beautiful!

a whole family of polydactyl cats ( hope I spelt that right Roberta) with white fur and such beautiful eyes and the big paws must have been lovely.

I'm going to start a Rosie/Paddy thread to save hogging this one

Mikey catching the things one handed is so incredible



no. Timmy (previous cat) never fully accepted Casey - but they did play together and i did feel that he appreciated her company when we went on holiday and they went to kennels (my parents had their own cat then. so couldn't look after them), Also they stood up to intruders together,
he just made sure she always knew that he was top cat.

thanks to everyone for the interest, advice and encouragement

over to the Rosie/Paddy thread ....

Vivien

What a darling!


Waaaahhh! Wanna kitten!

Hello fellow cat lovers... do you have any advice for allergies in cats. My poor Max-a-maillion is licking himself bald and I can't find a good solution. I have taken him to the vet and they have shots for him but they only last a few weeks at best. The other options were finding out what he is allergic to and creating solutions of those things to administer by shots to hyper-allergize (if that is a word) him. I would prefer a more natural option if anybody knows of one.

And Vivien... Paddy looks darling. Congrats.

poor Max - can't he have antihistamines in tablet form that you can give him?

Does he go out or is he a house cat? have you tried changing cat litter? do you use an fragranced stuff like shake n' vac? that can cause allergy in cats. can't think of anything else offhand.

He is a house cat... we've tried changing foods but haven't tried changed the litter.

We tried to give him some childrens alergy medicine and he just threw it up.

it would have to be via the vet - human medicines can be lethal to cats - many antiseptics and pain killers are.

Maybe try a different litter then? what about washing powders for blankets etc? new? changed formula?


he hasn't managed to pick up mites or fleas somehow has he? might be worth a flea treatment just to make sure

I hope you manage to sort it out

I don't think it is fleas. Moodswing hasn't been acting up at all so it seems to be unique just to max. I'll try the litter.

jpin, First of all, are you sure it's allergies? Mikey used to lick himself bloody, but it wasn't because of allergies. It was a skin disorder. One of the natural remedies I tried was some kind of fish oil I got from the vet. It lubricated his skin--from the inside.

My cat Miranda had allergies. Nobody seemed to be able to come up with a solution. I took her to the Animal Medical Center, where she was seen by an internist who consulted with a dermatologist who consulted with an allergist. Conclusion--food allergy; source unknown. I fed her chicken for a while. The symptoms disappeared and didn't return even though I expanded her diet.

Good luck.

jp

Flatty (my bomba cat! ) used to lick himself obsessively when he was first rescued from his homeless life. It was a neurotic condition, set off by a reaction to flea bites. Boy, did he make a mess of himself!