What's your favorite cat breed? Do you care about breeds?
Personally, I adore Sphinx's most. I could never get one though unless I randomly become upper class one day. I don't wanna spend $1000 on a kitten when I can adopt a cat for $100.
>>2223660
My cousin got her own Sphinx's from a shelter. Shit happens sometimes. Just don't expect it to be well bred, which includes temperament
Devon Rex and Siamese cats are god tier.
I dont care about breed for cats as long as they are chill.
Orijen and grain-free wet food here.
I don't own a cat yet but I wanna foster soon. Raw food seems the easiest and healthiest. Cats are easier to feed raw than dogs.
I guess this is a good place to ask
I have 2 cats I got from the shelter as older kittens. At the shelter they were fed Friskies dry food. I have tried so hard to try and switch them to different dry foods, and once I have given up they ended up only eating Friskies Indoors or Friskies diet. They are basically the same low fat thing, but they don't need to be on a diet. They are on the thin side.
Whenever i switch, as soon as I get to around 1/4 new food, they refuse to touch it. When I try to take a step back and go to 1/8 new food, they still won't touch it and I have to go back to feeding 100% Friskies. I go painfully slow with switching, but they will go 3 days without eating before I snap and give them Friskies again.
As far as wet food goes, I have no clue how to introduce them to that. I had tried different kinds of wet cat food, never touched. They aren't even interested.
They are both indoor cats, and they refuse to eat any people food, so they aren't getting food elsewhere. Should I just wait it out? I'm worried because they aren't really fat cats and I'm not sure how long their hunger strike will go
Which brands of food (both wet and dry) have you tried?
>>2223662
No mantis thread ever?
>>2223543
Good pets actually.
Funny to watch and easy to take care.
>>2223602
Already taking care of one.
Got here for like 5 days now, still trying to befriend it.
I found one injured on the ground and set him up in a bamboo plant in my house a while back. Fed him crickets and had him for four months. I read somewhere that they live for about 6 months, is this true? Where I live now, they're everywhere but I leave them alone because of the the short lifespan.
Does anyone her know about kittens? Could anyone point me to a source of reliable, accurate information with regards to raising a kitten? (in particular, feline nutrition)
Ive never been a fan of my vets but today I had them emprically prove that they were incompetent morons who had been misinforming me about my kitten and endangering his health.
>>2223503
What they the vet say?
So my kitten is a 6 month old male cat, who I now know is very healthy. However, every time I've taken my kitten in to be weighed, they've said he weighs too much and he's going to get fat. Which I was very upset by as I really had taken the time to educate myself and feed good brands of food and I though that I had been really strict and good at feeding him properly. Also, he doesn't have a tummy and next to other cats, he's slim if anything. They told me I should cut down his food. Turns out that they had listed his birthday incorrectly and they thought he was 4 weeks younger than he is, which at his age makes a huge difference. He went from being overweight, to the skinny side of a healthy weight in seconds.
Also, I explained I wanted to make his food at home so that he was only getting good ingredients and none of the filler they use in commercial cat food. I only asked because I wanted to make sure I was giving him all the right amount of vitamins and minerals. The vet started lecturing me about the problems with raw diets, which I would never ever ever put my cat on. So the vets recommendation was to just feed him dry food 100% of the time because "there's nothing wrong with it". I told him point blank I wouldn't be so cruel as to do that and am now trying to find a reliable feline nutritionist.
Hey /an/, I just found this bug on the counter and was wondering if an anon could confirm my suspicions. Is this little bastard a roach? Excuse picture quality, if you need something described to you I'd be glad to help
>>2223477
Jesus fucking Christ, seriously? That's not a fucking photo, it's an impressionist painting of whatever the hell you saw on the filthy counter of your hillbilly ass kitchen.
The silhouette looks more like a leafhopper to me but I'd be honestly amazed if anyone could look at that thing and tell for sure.
>>2223478
The only camera i have access to is the terrible piece of shit on my phone, sorry. It's got little appendages hanging off it's back end, and it had antennas (got knocked off when I trapped it). It's also got little brown and yellow stripes on this bulbous hood like thing behind it's head. I've never seen one before, and while it looks like a cockroach from all of the pictures I can find, it's far from exact.
>>2223480
It looked like this?
I was coming home from the store after dark and there was a big fucking bright green grasshopper on my kitchen door
It's not uncommon to see moths because i leave my kitchen light on if it's dark and im running out for only a few minutes, but i've never seen a big bug like a hopper. I tried to shoo it off my door with a broom on my deck, so it didn't get in my house, and it flew at me directly, even when i turned out of it's way to back off.
I have two questions
1) why was the Grasshopper there? is it attracted to light or moths?
2) why did it fly at me? was it trying to fight back, thinking i was going to kill it, or was it some defense mechanism?
>>2223392
nigga that's a katydid
grasshoppers don't have those long antennae and cricket-like legs
>>2223472
Nigga i grabbed this off the internet under grasshoppers
>>2223392
Hell naw to the naw naw naw
i got my 30 gallon tank set up a a few days ago and i'm super excited for it to finish cycling! it'll be the third tank up in my room, and i want to put in some goldfish because i think i'm ready for them. however, i’m still really, really torn on getting a fancy or a comet-tail though
pros of a fancy goldfish
-super cute
-i really want a redcap oranda because their little hats are to die for
-they do the bloopy mouth thing more often
a lot of variety even if i dont get a redcap
cons of a fancy goldfish
-their bodies are deformed in a more compressed way which fucks up their gastrointestinal system
-the growths that make up their little hats grow really big and could potentially grow into their eyes, obscuring their vision and making me sad because they can’t see as well
-do i really want to support the commercialization of animals that are bred specifically for deformities just because they’re cute? i don’t get balloon mollies for the same reasons i want a fancy goldfish
-if i only get one redcap and other ‘regular’ fancy goldfish, the redcap will be at a disadvantage later if it’s cap grows to obscure it’s eyes
pros of a comet-tail goldfish
-not a fancy variation but still fun to look at because the long swishy tail
-undeformed, less health issues later down the line
-i’ll feel better about myself
cons of a comet-tail
-no hats
-i don’t want one as much as i want a fancy variation
>>2223379
Get comets and shubunkins if you want "craft" speshul but still qt and healthier than bubble headed goldfish- fish
>>2223388
And to add to this, depending on price of your red caps individually, why not get one to start and compare contrast by getting a comet Aswell. and see which breed you prefer in the end. My parents kept a pond of fish once and the bubble headed fish always had weird health problems (TAHT the shubunkins and comets never got) which made them a waste of money but were cute to look at for the short while they were alive for. Ended up sticking with the other less encumbered speshul breeds from then on
>>2223379
Get a redcap and a black moor.
There, you got two animals with poor vision that suck at swimming
Also
>30 gall
>Any goldfish
Kek, try with 100 for fancy and 200 for comet, shubunkin and common.
Tell me about slip leads for dogs. Aren't they basically just choke collars just not made out of metal? Seems like the idea is the same, if a dog pulls, it tightens and teaches him not to.
>>2223346
I use them for emergencies, and at work for quickly bringing a dog somewhere. I also use it as a secondary leash if I'm not confident in a collar/leash or during training as a back up. It's really not safe for daily walking through. More as a plan B or to use in a pinch
as far as I know the basic mechanics is the same,but maybe the slip leadd is a bit "softer" because it is fabric and not metal. also there is that stopper thing, so you can adjust it to fit snug. with choke chain, if there is no tension on it, it will loosen up a bit, and if it is yanked on by the handler, it tightens with a snap and delivers more force than if it was snug.
>>2223419
>but maybe the slip leadd is a bit "softer" because it is fabric and not metal
That's retarded. You're retarded.
What sort of snek is this? I'm in coastal southern Georgia.
I think it may be a corn snake.
>>2223132
>>2223133
some form of water snake by looks of it
Nerodia taxispilota i think
Was it too big?
yeah don't feed them anything that's bigger than their head.
>>2222894
It's still struggling to eat it, 25% of the pinky is still outside, should I take it?
Oh well the snake puked the pinky...
How do you guys deal with allergies?
I was not blessed with a healthy physique. I am allergic to cats, dogs, birds... Probably most pets. The problem is that I'm a huge animal person. I love dogs, birds, rats, etc. I am not partial to cats but I want to foster one someday. I don't quite know what my allergies are tbqh. The last time I got too close to a cat I was five. I don't remember what exactly happened, just that I couldn't go to school for days afterwards. I know it wasn't one of those life-threatening allergies where you swell up so it was probably asthma related.
What am I supposed to do about allergies besides wash my hands every time I pet an animal? I know vaccines apparently exist to help allergies and there are over-the-counter stuff too.
I'm in your boat. I take Zyrtec daily and it helps a lot but some dogs, and cats in purrticular, still make me sneeze hard. I've never tried shots, I just deal with it. Try some of the over the counter medicines available, they can be expensive but generics are often affordable and on sale too. In my areas Targets have not-zyrtec marked down almost constantly.
I've heard allergies can be of different specific things of animals. for example you can be allergic to the saliva of cats, or their skin shedding. If you know what specifiic thing you're allergic to, you could look into wht animals are a possible option for that. for example hairless cats are said to be less likely to cause an allergic reaction, possible because they have no hair, so they don't groom themselves as much, so don't have that much saliva on their bodies.
>>2222873
I'm allergic to my guinea pigs. It's fine if I'm just feeding them or petting them for a little bit but afterwards I have to wash my hands before my eyes get watery and I start sneezing everywhere. When it's time to clean their cage I pop a benadryl and get to work, I still sneeze, but I don't feel as much of a mess as I would without it.
Science diet vs. blue buffalo?
Just left the vet for the first time and I was convinced prior that blue buffalo was better. The vet said that SD was better, and gave us a free couple pound bag of it to try out.
My brother and I are debating back and forth. Anyone have any advice?
Pic related is pupper
I don't know which one is really better but your vet was probably influenced by SD. Thats why they can afford to give you a few pounds of it free.
That being said either one is really fine.
Blue Buffalo spends tons of money on marketing to people who want "natural" food. Hills does actual research in veterinary nutrition. Take your pick.
>>2222856
>>2222848
All my vet said was how blue buffalo just markets really hard and lacks vitamin a&D along with their large amount of recalls.
She didn't say much beyond that, nothing like "science diet will make your large dog into a small horse" or bullshit fairy tale stuff
Help identify a snake?
North East Florida, found in the pool.
He had a yellow tipped tail and only about 2 feet long, definitely a juvenile.
Sorry for the destroyed head, last snake I had to kill was still alive after decapitation and wanted to put him out of his misery quick.
No animal is alive after decapitation.
Why did you kill this snake? You don't even know what it is.
I should also mention he tried to play dead at first by twisting on his back. Poor guy, this wasn't fun for either of us :(
I just dropped off my pupper at the clinic to get neutered. I did my research and all but I still feel torn about it. He's 3 years old.
Did I do the right thing?
You did but you're kind of late. People generally do it earlier in their lives, they don't wait years to neuter
>>2222653
Sorry anon
You've been under the influence of the spay&neuter lobby, which works for vets, pet food and breeders
Can't really blame you as their propaganda is everywhere, all the time
>>2222653
Too late to regret it now that his fucking balls are chopped off.
And yes, he'll be much better now.
He'll still have testosterone in his body a few weeks afterwards so don't expect him to stop humping or marking until then.
What snake species is this and is it posionous?
There are only 2 poisonous snakes so that is most likely not.
>>2222645
I took this pic in sudbury, and what do you mean theres only 2 posionous snakes. Btw there was a another one smaller, most likely male
Its a garter snake, and it's harmless.