Pet owners, specifically of cats but all are welcome, I'm in need of advice for several things
So, some of you already know I adopted a cat that basically fell into my lap out of nowhere. She had a terrible first year and a half of he life. To keep a long story short, I was given an ultimatum - either they put her in a shelter or I adopt her. I felt bad and guilty because we fostered her for two months in which I got attached to the grumpy little girl and ended up giving her back because they said her original owner got back on his feet (it was BS).
Anyways, my current living situation is changing. I'm moving out because I'm tired of the people I live with and want more freedom in the way I live (woohoo, walking around in my undies ftw!) I would just like to respect my future landlord and not have my kitty and her kids (yes, kids, I made the mistake of letting her go out and get preggo, she's definitely spayed now (if anyone wants to adopt a kitten or two and are in the Midwest, lemme know)) destroy the new place.
⬇️Start here to get to the point, I'm a chatter box today(the main things I need advice about are in bold)⬇️
He's given me permission to change the Window Blinds as long as I keep the old ones and put them back when I move out in the future. Does anyone have an recommendations on what type of blinds are cat resistant? I know there is no such thing as cat proof, but I'd like to have something that would at least hold up to some abuse. These little bastards like to get into a lot. One little demon has already learned how to climb to the top of the fridge (it's annoying but funny because her bro hasn't and just sits there staring up at her).
Also, how about Computer Chairs? I am currently using a hand-me-down that I wrapped in a bed sheet and towel. The mother shredded part of the back of the chair and got through the foam to the base of the chair, didn't know she had it in her really. She also tore right through the bed sheet I had wrapped it in. Is there anything that is resistant short of chain-mail? I'm thinking to just buy a cheap one and wrap a thick blanket over it, but I do want to be comfortable when I sit in it.
What are some good Scratching Posts as well? They like the one I have but it is a little small and they've mutilated the top part already.
Any recommendations for a Cat Tower? I would like one that doesn't have carpeting on it because I like to constantly dust and vacuum and I don't want anything that traps dirt.
What kind of Cat Litter do you use? I've tried many and I can't stick to one. Most companies are liars and say 99% dust free, giving the impression that there is little dust, but after a week of use, dust is everywhere. I am planning to use feline fresh pine pellets and see how that goes, but I like the idea of clumping litter and just being able to scoop out clumps.
What kind of Undercoat Brushes do you use? I've tried several combs but it seems like very little comes out, but when the turds sit on one of my shirts or bed, they poop and barf fur everywhere.
Finally, some advice from me. If your cat is like mine and transforms into an over charged excavator when pooping and spreads litter everywhere, I recommend you use a storage container as your litter tray. You just need to cut out an entrance from the side. I read that cats like to see around them when they do their business, in case a predator approaches them, so I recommend a transparent one:
That's the one I have, though the lid is a shade darker. I used a marker to draw the outline of the cut out and heated it up using a kitchen torch and used a box cutter to do the cutting. You can also use a dremel or saw. A box cutter without heating first will not be easy at all. Just make sure the bottom of the door way is at least 5 or 6 inches higher than the base.
This in combination with a litter mat that has a pocket to catch the litter from the dust monsters feet has helped keep things clean for me.
Another bit of advice I have to share is that raised bowls makes eating for your cat easy. I read that it prevents them from barfing and my cat has never barfed since I got them.
I got them this one:
and have it on the highest level and they have taken to it quiet well, though since the food and water can get mixed I plan to switch them to something like this:
Don't use plastic for your pets. Even after washing, bacteria could still hide in it. Glass and ceramic is better while metal is best.
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Well my comment won't post, but Jackson Galaxy is a great source for information on cats for new and old cat owners. Check out his channel and blog. Hoping I can post this now without the links.
I've had cats my entire life but none of them really had any affinity for scratching furniture, so I'm by no means an expert.
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Jackson Galaxy makes a lot of great content for new and old cat owners, check out his channel:
Blog:
I'm by no means a cat expert, every cat I've ever had hasn't particularly had an affinity for scratching furniture. I hope these resources might help you.
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Can’t really give any advice as inonly have chinchillas (and still have the problem of them shredding my chair as well amongst other things). But wanted to say you have my respect - again! It’s nice to see you inform yourself to make the life of your pet better even in areas that most don’t even think about (prevent barfing, making litterbox see-through etc)
i really wish you and your cat family the best 💙 and congrats to your new freedom
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(I know quoting people is bugged and isn’t currently sending a notification, let me know if tagging you worked)
Thanks so much for the links! I’ll definitely be partaking in Mr Blacks blog and channel. My family has had cats when I was younger but they were more outside than they were indoor cats and my mom did most of the work for them (I just fed them and tortured them with a laser pointer). I’m always willing to learn more about making my kitties have a good life. Yeah, they can be frustrating but the comfort they provide is just too sweet.
Thank you for the good wishes! I just feel like animals deserve a chance at a good life! Sure it’s hard out there in the wild, but under my stewardship, it is my responsibility to make sure they’re content. Besides, I love animals more than I like most people. They won’t betray or take advantage (except when it comes to food) of you.
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I am here to third'ed Jackson Galaxy. A LOT of the stuff I do for Holly is specifically due to watching his videos (his Youtube videos on cat basics as well as his show on Discovery, My Cat From Hell. While Holly is a perfect angel of wonderfulness, that show can still teach you a lot on what NOT to do with your cat as the vast vast vast majority of "problem" cats aren't the cats, it's the owners actions).
For your questions...
Blinds: I actually don't keep any blinds because then Holly can't look out the window :D I have curtains on a few windows but curtains allow Holly to go around them and look outside
Computer Chairs: I just accept that it might get poked around but if you give the cat other stuff to scratch and move them away from the chair to the scratching posts any time they try to scratch it (or other furniture), the cat will learn pretty quickly they should scratch the posts and not the chairs or furniture.
Scratching Posts/Towers; I have two towers, one giant multicat one and one little one for the office. Both of them have twine ropes on them for scratching, though both are carpet covered. I'm sure you can get uncarpet ones but I've never actually seen one. The main thing to keep in mind is that different cats like different surfaces so it's a good idea to buy not only a cat tower (which will have a vertical scratching post) but buy a few of the cheap cardboard ones that are flat and angled so that you can see if your cat likes different ways to scratch. I'd highly recommend Chewy.com for a site to see all kinds of scratching devices as that's where I have gotten most of my scratching stuff.
Liter: I just use the standard stuff that I get from Costco (Scoop Away) and have just kind of accepted that the area that the kitty litter in is going to get a bit messy as no matter what you use, most cats will by their nature bury their doody (which means they're going to kick litter, which means at least some is going to go out of the box). The main thing to remember is to have 1.5 boxes per kitty (so if you have 1 kitty, have 2 boxes, 2 kitties, 3 boxes, etc). Also don't use any kind of smelly stuff with it. I know it can smell funny but as long as you clean it out once a day or so, it shouldn't ever really smell and cats LIKE their own smell and generally do not like fresheners. I would also recommend buying a Litter Genie (Search for it on Chewy but basically it's a trash can that closes in on itself so it's easier to take out and the poop doesn't sit out and smell in your garbage can).
Brush: Holly is a short haired cat so I just have a standard cheap brush that I barely use :D
Now a few things you didn't ask but I'm going to say anyway :D
Water: Get a water fountain ideally. Cats naturally do not drink water and in the wild, standing water is bad to them as it breeds bacteria. They might drink from standing water in your house but ideally it is running water
Food: I am a big proponent of wet food diets. All Holly gets is wet food as cats naturally do not drink water (as stated above) and wet food let's them get all their hydration they need. It is a bigger pain in the butt (you can't leave it out like you can dry food and it's more expensive) but at least some wet food is better than no wet food at all. With that, do not have your cat be a grazer. Wet food is where this actually does help but cats should ideally have 3 to 4 "meals" a day rather than just having food out at all times. Cats have the stomach size of a ping pong ball so keep that in mind if you do the meals setup.
Toys: Different cats respond to different toys. Holly LOVES these cheap ass 50 cent toy mice so hopefully your cat will too but try a bunch of different toys to see what they like. For Holly, she also loves feather wands but HATES bells, which I found out when one of the feather wands I bought had a bell on it and she was TERRIFIED of the thing. I'd also recommend looking at a kicker toy.
Play with your cat: If "My Cat from Hell' has taught me anything, 85% of cat problems are because they have too much energy. You don't need to spend a ton of time with this as cats are "Sprint" animals in that they play hard and get tired quickly (at least 10-15 minutes a day is ideal) but play with your cat. It's amazing how many people get cats and just ignore them because they think of cats as this independent creature that doesn't need love and care. Seriously, so many cat problems are solved if you just play with your cat and get their energy out.
Cat TV: For the times when you're out and can't, give your cat some Cat TV. JG has a video on this specifically but for me, I have multiple bird feeders outside my house and a squirrel feeder in the backyard. This brings all kinds of critters around for the cat to watch out the window. Cats LOVE it (even though Holly sounds miserable as she sits there and chatters like a crack head coming down from a high, evidently they love watching like that). Even if you can't setup animal stuff like I have, just having windows the cat can look out can really help as they'll sit there and watch the outside world
...I think that's about everything I have to say about kitty cats. Hopefully something in my long ass rambling post is helpful.
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And to celebrate the kitty, here is an exclusive Holly pic just for you! No one else look at Holly!!!!
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I'm going to look at Holly! And you can't stop me...she's also so adorable <3
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Total tangent but for a second I initially read
I would just like to respect my future landlord and not have my kitty and her kids (yes, kids, I made the mistake of letting her go out and get preggo, she's definitely spayed now (if anyone wants to adopt a kitten or two and are in the Midwest, lemme know)) destroy the new place.
As talking about “future landlord and HER kids” which made this whole sentence a lot funnier. 😄
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Alright, I'll let this one go just because you're a Mod so you work hard to keep the forum safe.
But no one else! Just Mandy and Huge_Bush!
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I did not look but I did upvote.
I hope this is acceptable.
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That is acceptable. For being so polite, you can also look at Holly's picture in this thread
Also OP: I ended up buying two different heated pads (one is a pad I have to actively turn on and one is a bed). I'd strongly recommend getting this heated cat bed if that's something you're looking for
It turns on automatically once the cat is in the bed (it's got sensors in it that detects when something is in the bed) so unlike the pad that I also have, you don't have to remember to turn it on. I bought the large one (I've shown pictures of Holly in it here in the past, the large one is probably bigger than you'd need with one kitty but there was such a little price difference at the time that I went big, it looks like right now it's the same price for either).
Although like all of this stuff I've talked about, every cat is different. Holly uses that bed constantly but my co-workers cat (who I also recommended this bed to) never uses theirs according to them. I would imagine most cats though would love this kind of thing as cats are heat seekers.
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Window blinds go for the cheap ones that you pull to roll it down then do slight tug to roll up - while not necessarily fashionable they are cheap and do what you need. Avoid ones that have strings to adjust since that would attract the kitties to want to play with it.
Double sided tape for things they are scratching that you don't want them to scratch. They usually aren't a fan of the feel of it. Petshops usually sell wide rolls of it. Also when you're not sitting in the chair put a sheet of foil on top, cat jumps up and usually the slight sound scares them off. If not scared off usually they won't think to scratch at metal and would just lay down instead.
Sisal scratch posts tend to be more durable than carpet scratch posts. You can sprinkle a little catnip on the post of the cats seem a bit hesitant about it.
I used a furminator when I had a big fluff ball of a cat and it worked amazing. With cats though you can constantly brush them but you'll still have tons of fur every where, it just comes with having a cat. I recommend grabbing a couple couch covers you can alternate to make it easier to manage the fur getting on your furniture.
If they are puking up alot of hair balls you'll want to either use a food that is designed to help with hairballs or use a supplement - since you do have kittens just double check with vet about using hairball supplement with them. I had to use hairball food, and later on when my cat was older and had to be put on prescription diet for old kitty medical issues I had to use hairball supplement since it was no longer in his regular food. Using those it was very rare I'd see a hairball, before I used them he would constantly be throwing up hairballs.
No litter is dust free unfortunately. Clay litter is the most dusty. The paper litter has the least. If you use the crumbled paper litter instead of pellets it should clump. They sell some at Petco and fun fact (since I used to work there) they have their brand paper litter that's packaged for cats and ones packaged for small animals buuuut it's the exact same thing - even scented/unscented. So if you use that litter and it's on sale for small animals but not cat you can save money buying the small animal one.
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Blinds - the blinds I have in my house that are fairly cat resistant are the ones that are a bunch of panels that you twist the little stick to open and close
Computer Chair - For Computer chair I have found no solution and I don't think there is any unless the chair is wooden. best you could do is get a cat scratcher board or tower
Scratching Post - Depending on the cat they can go through these fairly often the best thing to do is get a post that has replaceable inserts
Cat Trees - There are a fair amount that are wooden that only have carpet on the top ledge or in the cubby, mine is made entirely out of rope that she can scratch
Cat Dust - if you are worried about cat liter dust, you can train your cat to use the human toilet fairly simply if you give it a little while, they sell training kits for it, my cat now freely uses the toilet. but has an extra liter box in the basement incase the door to the bathroom somehow gets closed
Edit: cant say anything about brushes since my cat brushes herself very well so I don't use them unless she is sick
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I am definitely going to be looking into Jackson Galaxy! I have heard about his show My Cat from Hell but I've never really watched it. Haven't had a cat in a long time and when I did, the were never vicious or crazy (except for the occasional zoomies and butt sniffing). I hope to have Misty and her son, Rambo, for as long as possible, though I am willing to adopt him out as a pair with his sister Michael Jackson (MJ for short, and it's only a place holder name due to her antics).
I read that the faux-wood blinds are good because cats can't break them. I don't plan to keep them drawn all the time, but MJ is a little turd and likes to launch herself at everything as if she's a rocket. I'd rather she break my things rather than my landlords.
Someone else suggested a fountain. So far, I just use a raised bowl for their water and replace it every day. They don't have a problem drinking from it. I give them wet food once in the morning and once in the evening and leave out dry food for when I'm at work. I thought it was a good solution but the mother is becoming chonky so I may just reduce the amount of dry. I do like the idea of a fountain though, Rambo comes to the kitchen faucet every time I turn it on. He loves walking around in it, but acts like I am killing him when I gave him a bath (it booty was really dirty one day).
As far as toys go, I work at Walmart(hopefully temporarily until my health improves to find something better, I may make a thread for advice about it later) so I'm always paying attention to sales and clearance on cat stuff. They love the fake little stuffed mice! The mother, even though these days, she act's like she's going to murder them, picks up the mouse and starts calling her kids to come eat. They also go crazy for a feather wand. I found a nice set of real feather replacements with a small bell attached on Amazon (click here) that they love. They just have to hear the bell and all three run up from the basement, even if they were passed out, to come play. I play with them for at least 15 minutes every evening before bed, though the mother is done with her kids after weaning them, she just sits back and watches at a distance. She's a grumpy thing now, she acts like its the end of the world if her kids approach her and beats up on her daughter. So I'll give her some alone time and let her wrestle with my hand (I love her bunny kicks) and have her run up the walls with a laser pointer.
The place I'm moving to has a nice small balcony, I'll consider getting a bird feeder. I'll have to ask my landlord if it's okay. I don't own a TV since I do everything from my PC, but when funds are more plentiful I plan to purchase one along with a PS5 since I want to switch from PC to an iMac (I want less wires and to reduce clutter to make things easier to clean). Thanks for that suggestion, I've noticed my babies will come sit behind me and watch me watch a show or play dbd sometimes. MJ will sometimes attach the mouse cursor like the little turd that she is.
Thanks for the advice, and no, you didn't ramble!
Here are some pics for your service:
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Yea, I don't have much hope for the chair. I think I'm just going to buy two thick blankets and come up with a custom chair cover.
I have one scratching post. I tried the cardboard ones but they don't touch it, so I got one wrapped in rope and they love it. I'll look into gets several larger ones and having them placed around the apartment.
For the cat tree, I think I'll look into making one out of cloth and pvc pipes and eventually crafting a custom one out of wood. We'll see, I need to settle into the new place first and worry about other furnishings.
I thought about training them to use the toilet, it's just that I read that cat poop has some bacteria that is bad for our water systems and we shouldn't let it contaminate it since cities generally recycle water.
As for the dust, I saw videos about Pine Pellets. I'll just have to scoop out the poop and change out the pellets once a week. I read that the pellets just turn into saw dust and settle on the bottom of the box and there is no dust in the air and nothing for the cats to track out of.
My cats seem to be lazy. I see them grooming themselves, but not as often as I'd like (I blame the mothers previous owner for taking her from her mother before she could learn from her properly) I sometimes have to wipe her bum for her (at her extreme displeasure) because she doesn't do a great job at it and it sometimes dries on her.
I didn't realize I should have more than one litter box. Thanks for that! They've been using only the large one I made for them and haven't had any problems, but I prefer cleanliness over everything so I'll get them another one!
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The mother cat is actually picky with where she sleeps. She refuses to sleep on any bed I buy for her. Instead, she prefers sleeping on a plastic box, an old back pack or on my bed as long as no one else is sitting on it. The kittens sleep on everything. I bet they would attempt to sleep on hot coals if given the chance.
I forgot to compliment Holly earlier! She is a cutie! I want to rub her ears between my fingers soo bad!
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Yeah, kitty sleeps where kitty wants and all you can do is give them comfortable spots and hope they choose them :D
Currently Holly has...approx 6 sleeping spots (chair in Holly room, heating pad in my room, my bed in my room, office cat tree, living room cat tree, and living room heated bed) pending whatever goes on in-between those ears of hers. In the winter, you can add the 7th spot in the bathroom where the heating vent is on the floor.
She used to sleep in my bed when I was also in my bed but that only lasted a few days. I don't know if she decided she didn't like it, she preferred the heating pad (which is right next to my bed so she gets the "security" of her human while getting her own space), or if she gets mad at me because I accidentally punched her that one time 😅 (I was turning over in my sleep and woke up because my hand hit something! Turns out it was a Holly...)
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Oh my goodness, that is some big news and a lot of questions! That definitely is a lot lol hopefully I can be of help on a few of these ❤️
Window Blinds: Seconding IlliterateGenocide, vertical blinds like that are a LOT more cat resilient. Those kind of blinds are fairly normal here, and the cats don't bother them much. The only thing they did bother with was the chain and cord used to open and slide the blinds, but some newer blinds just have plastic rods for both of those, or a Command Strip Hook or two you can put it out of reach without damaging the wall with a nail.
Computer Chair: Unfortunately, Cats are gonna cat; they will go where you don't want them to go, and sit where you don't want them to sit. Due to limited space, we use run-of-the mill office chairs without the backs, and they are always on them. Blankets help, redirecting helps (if they are on the chair or scratching it, tell them no, BUT immediately give them an equally enticing place to be or scratch...like a child, tell them "NO, you cannot have this, but you CAN have this."). But if you give them options to scratch, they should leave it alone, which brings me to:
Scratchers: We have several, and so far they have all been very good about not scratching the furniture. Primarily they have their cat tower (though its carpeted as you said you didn't prefer). After that, cardboard scratchers are inexpensive and come in different varieties! Petfusion has a bunch of different shapes and even little mini towers (they are a little pricer than others but last a while, almost two years later we still have the triangular one). After that I'd recommend Frisco; inexpensive and our cats love them (As Blue can attest here)
We also got them the Frisco 31" tall Cactus Cat Scratching Post; great vertical scratching and they enjoy climbing and playing on it and been worth every cent (image from Chewy):
Lastly, no idea the brand on this as it was a gift this past holiday season, but if you are in the US I know HomeGoods stores carry them (and currently have Halloween themed ones). THE MOMENT we put it on the floor Mia claimed it as her own, and as much as they have scratched/chewed it these last 8.5 months, its still here and still her throne:
Cat Towers: The best non-carpet one we found for our catio was the FEANDRA Cat Tree 2-in-1 Modern Cat Furniture Rustic Brown UPC112X01 on Amazon; it has fluffy cushion/blanket things that can be removed for quick cleaning. BUT, if you are looking for a potentially more economic solution (and putting shelving up just for the cats to get up and sleep on isn't possible), I may recommend plastic shelving:
So here is our catio including the FEANDREA tower, but my other half used some old plastic shelves we were going to throw out to give them more vertical space. You can add blankets, old towels, or even just some cardboard from shipping boxes for them to scratch up as needed, and is easy to clean (which this one does and did get cleaned after this photo).
Litter: Not much luck either, We use Scoop Away Multicat as it was the least dusty and controlled odor well.
Brush: We have an old undercoat brush from a brand called Bamboo that works very well, but I heard about FURminator brand de-shedding tools and may pick one up myself. If you are mentioning hairballs, that will help, but I would look into hairball control treats and cat grass (easy-peasy to grow and helps aid digestion)
Extras: As far as just going crazy and tearing things up, calming spray may help, especially with the babus. We've had luck with Nature's Miracle for Cats, but Feliway is also good. Great for spraying in carriers before vet visits too!
Environmental Flea/pest Control: Fortunately there are much more natural and pet-friendly products in this regard now (thank goodness), we've been using Wondercide for fleas and mosquitoes and its been an Entitysend lol plus, different scents!
Hope this helps!
Signed,
-EQ, Your fellow multi-cat parent lol
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Thank you fellow cat parent!
I am definitely going to look into the vertical blings. I was thinking about the faux wood, but I like your suggestion better. So it's either that or blinds that roll up. I plan to have most of the blinds pulled up anyways.
As for the chair, I need a back to it or I'll honestly fall on the floor a lot, thinking I could lay back. I know it's all about the cats, but I don't care too much about the cardboard scratchers. They just seem to make a mess and the mama cat, Misty, wouldn't even use them. They all have taken a liking to the rope kind, which is good enough. It also helps I trim their weapons every two or three weeks (the moment I feel that they can sink into my legs is when they get cut).
I saw something similar if not the same thing of that cactus you posted about at Walmart. I'm a sucker for stuff like that! I'll probably buy it and it'll probably end up ignored and be used as a decoration.
Thank you for that plastic shelving idea. I love it. I could also doctor it up (when I'm not lazy) with craft sticks and a glue gun! It'll be great to support my little fatties (mama kitty needs a diet, she's starting to look like she's preggo).
As for the litter, I'm just tired of clay. I love how it clumps and how I can scoop it, but with three cats, it needs to be changed out weekly ( could probably do it every other week) because it starts to stink pretty fast. I am going to try giving the pine pellets a try because even though they turn to saw dust when peed on, it just goes to the bottom of the box. It doesn't scatter everywhere and doesn't track out of the box and it controls the smell much better. If they take to it, I'll be fine.
As for the brush, one of my roommates got one for them, it has a feature where you push a button, it pushes the hair off of the bristles. Its nice, but a little bigger than I wanted (feel like too big for the kitties!). I read mixed reviews of the furminator. I will probably end up buying one if I find one for short hair at Walmart. I read comments that if you order from Amazon, you can get a used one, and at that price, I'm entitled to a new one.
I don't have too much trouble with them going crazy. I usually end up whipping out the laser pointer and/or feather want and make them jump until they tire out. The mama likes to wrestle with my hand so I do that with her for a bit, but I'm going to give her personal exercise time because she's getting lazy.
I don't have much problem with fleas since I'm not letting them outside. I also hardly ever notice mosquitos indoors either, but thank you for the suggestion of Wondercide. Mosquitos are third on my list of insects I hate (Roaches are first, Centipedes are second).
My only other problem is, I am really only approved to have two cats while I actually have three. I don't like lying or being dishonest, so I'm actually thinking of adopting out Rambo and MJ as a pair since I'm think they're bonded. I'm not sure what I'm going to do, but I think it would be best, especially since the mother is no longer tolerating MJ. I am assuming it's because she's female and doesn't want the competition, but she basically yells like she wants to killer her daughter, sometimes quickly attacks her and runs away.
This is one of the most difficult things I have to make up my mind. The only other thing I could do is give up Misty, their mother, but no, she's my grumpy baby and I'm keeping her to the end. I may just keep all three but I don't want to live in a state of worry. We'll see what happens.
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Advice for the blinds - just DONT. I literally remove them from every window, they break easily, even without cats, and they are super expensive. Get blackout curtains, they are way cheaper. And if you want some sunlight, you can layer it with a thin see through material on a double rod setup so you can have sun or dark when you want it.
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cats are an AMAZING companion, friend and keeping them healthy is VERY important. Most of our cats throughout the years made it 15-20 years before their age finally caught up with them.
Clean water - Reverse osmosis, nano filtration.
Self cleaning litterbox - The litter things matter ;) . Cats are very selective on their litters and some litters can have really bad consequences since cats clean themselves and accidental ingestion of a bad litterbox material can mean multiple expensive vet bills and a very unpleasant time for your cat(s). As well as if your cat is not using their box, more than likely they are simply protesting the litter and not so much trying to be mean.
Cat house and cat trees are a good idea to have. Your cat does need their own retreat.
If your cat becomes sick, always get second and THIRD opinions from VETS in the area. Never take the advice of just ONE veterinarian. Spend the extra money on a thyroid and kidney function panel if you can and request it. That way you can catch early onset illness. Losing a Friend is not fun.
I've had better luck with liquid dewormers prescribed by the VET such as NEMEX vs topicals that apply at the neck and it makes the cat drool all day and feel ill.
Watching for ear mites (eradimite does wonders).
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