Breaking Cat News by Georgia Dunn for August 18, 2019

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    RAGs  over 4 years ago

    I have a beard and sometimes I feel like I have “whisker fatigue”. (especially around very small children)

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    Olive O'Sudden  over 4 years ago

    I do so love a good kitty PSA.♥

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    Slappy Squirrel  over 4 years ago

    Like everything else, depends on the individual cat. My husband’s cat Shadow wanted her wet food still in the small can, and would flip her dry food off the saucer one piece at a time to eat it. She would then dip her paw in the water dish and lick it, although on that one, she seemed to sometimes double check to see where I was to see if I would end up walking on her wet footprints.

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    ikini Premium Member over 4 years ago

    Who knew?

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    dmah Premium Member over 4 years ago

    Oh, this is wonderful! I’m so glad Georgia is getting the word out!

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    Strob Premium Member over 4 years ago

    Ok, looked it up, it’s a real thing, had cats for 30 years and never heard of this.

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    DennisinSeattle Premium Member over 4 years ago

    I did not. Is this a real thing? Is it common?

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    meowlin  over 4 years ago

    It’s a real thing.

    https://www.petmd.com/care/whisker-fatigue-cats-what-it-and-how-help

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    DennisinSeattle Premium Member over 4 years ago

    OK so you can put food on a flat plate, but what about water?

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    WelshRat Premium Member over 4 years ago

    If you ever meet that giant Ginger lady you might find you ARE in love, Lupin.

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    Robin Harwood  over 4 years ago

    She-Whom-The-Australian-Tax-Office-Will-Not-Let-Me-Claim-As-A-Dependant lifts bits of food from Her flat plate, takes it away from the plastic mat the plate is on, and puts it on the floor. Then She eats it. But She wolfs kibble straight from a dish with sides.

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    shirins Premium Member over 4 years ago

    Sunday Funday!!!! Ok, the Mega-Orb gives so much, I’d like to give back to the Orb, but of course, I can’t do it alone. Since soon we will no longer need a spoiler zone, I think if we had a designated spot each week for folks to share something fun, great news, a funny story, a joke, anything. This is not to prescribe that this is the only place or time to do it, if you have great news or something to share at anytime, by all means DO so!

    Just like the spoiler zone, whoever thinks of it first on a Sunday should start it, even if you don’t have something to share!!!

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    Robin Harwood  over 4 years ago

    No, Lupin, you aren’t in love. It’s just static. And believe me, that’s much better.

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    shirins Premium Member over 4 years ago

    OT: Nushi update – Saturday was black cat appreciation day!!!!

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    Sue Ellen  over 4 years ago

    That explains why Jasper liked to dip his paw into his food then lick the food off his paw.

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    Gent  over 4 years ago

    Whiskers? I’ve never seen whiskers on these cats.

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    Font Lady Premium Member over 4 years ago

    Pandora has never had a whisker problem when it comes to eating. She just swallows her mouse whiskers and all.

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    catmom1360  over 4 years ago

    Knowing how my cats eat, if I put food into a flat dish, I would find most of it on the floor where the cats may or may not continue to eat it. A mess in any case.

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    Georgia Dunn creator over 4 years ago

    The story behind this, my dear friend Fray sent me an article on this exact thing a few months ago. It was new information to them too, and they thought it could possibly be a help to one or two of our crew. I immediately recognized that Elvis in particular seemed to leave the sides of his food bowl untouched. We switched to some flat glass plates, and now all four of our crew (Elvis, Puck, Lupin, and Goldie) are clearing their plates most meals! I’m not sure if it made a big difference temperament-wise, but they’re eating more and that’s got to make them happy! (Elvis does seem a bit more relaxed, but I could be reading a lot into it) I thought I’d share this info, since it was new to me! Thank you, Fray! (By the way, you know Fray—they’ve helped me with Tabitha and Fig’s translations before!)

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      over 4 years ago

    Puck has the cutest whiskers ever!

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    Janetb689  over 4 years ago

    We the women and man had no idea about whisker fatigue, so today we will check out using flat plates, for SleekSammy and his fuzzball baby sister. They want to thank the BCN news for finally getting this Breaking Cat News out in the open.

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    ChristineFoxdale  over 4 years ago

    We’ve fed our cats on saucers for years. Sometimes from a dessert dish (small, wide, not deep) if it’s got a lot of gravy. Hmm, guess it’s called a condiment bowl now:https://www.corelle.com/product/country-cottage-10-ounce-dip-condiment-bowl-0Putting the dishes on a plastic ‘boot tray’ keeps most of the food off the floor when they push it over the edge of the dish.

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    Gent  over 4 years ago

    Today’s comic is brought to you by the Simply Superb Sunday Special Salmon Sandwiches.

    Simply savouring the sublimely savoury Simply Superb Sunday Special Salmon Sandwiches is the simplest way to make your Sundays super special. Simply Superb Sunday Special Salmon Sandwiches serve your souls with supreme succulent satisfaction and make your simple Sundays simply superb and scrumptiously splendid.

    [in a musical tune] Simply Superb Sunday Special Salmon Sandwicheesss. Makes your simple Sundays simply superb!

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    shwhite369  over 4 years ago

    Very informative! Thank you!

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    cnk381 Premium Member over 4 years ago

    See also: https://www.healthypawspetinsurance.com/blog/2019/04/22/whisker-fatigue

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    tatempleman  over 4 years ago

    Hot tip – go to a Goodwill or second-hand store, and you can usually find and buy an inexpensive stack of coffee cup saucers. We did that; dirty ones go into the dishwasher, and there’s always clean saucers for our fur babies’ meals!

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    asrialfeeple  over 4 years ago

    My life is richer knowing this.

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    cat19632001  over 4 years ago

    My mind boggles at what getting a metric bonker’s worth of information each second would be like.

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    cat19632001  over 4 years ago

    As usual, Burt has done a superb job with the chyrons today.

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    cat19632001  over 4 years ago

    OMC – screaming clowns?! Noooooooo! Get me out of here.

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    Lady Bri  over 4 years ago

    Tickled pink by Lupin’s “Am I in love?” :D I had no idea whiskers were used to determine this! Ha!

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    Hungry_Ghost  over 4 years ago

    This can also affect dogs – we have a huskamute who won’t touch food presented in a bowl.

    For non-breakable (and cute) options, try looking at plates designed for camping or picnics.

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    rs0204 Premium Member over 4 years ago

    For the first time in years I have changed my avatar. These cute kitties are Giblet and Belle! Notice how Belle looks up to her Big Brother! These two rascals are my muse. Giblet the rather grumpy, reserved cat. And Belle, the black kitten who is so full of life.

    Yesterday I was writing and I figured out why Giblet is so reserved for his character in the story. Note: Giblet was found in the yard the day before Thanksgiving but there was not a Brother with him.

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    YatInExile  over 4 years ago

    Another term is “whisker stress.”

    https://www.petmd.com/care/whisker-fatigue-cats-what-it-and-how-help#

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    ladykat  over 4 years ago

    Again, I thank Georgia for this information. I’ll have to monitor Yum Yum more closely.

    I think we’re going to have a quiet day here today. I may try to get some knitting done, if it’s not too hot and humid.

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    I AM CARTOON LADY!  over 4 years ago

    I did notice that my cats do leave soft food on the side of their bows! So, now I’ll use a saucer for their wet food. Now that I think of it, dogs may also have this. It would explain why my Shep/Lab mix, would take a mouth full of dry dog food, from her bowl, dump it on the floor and then eat it!

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    cat19632001  over 4 years ago

    Okay then can someone explain how cats can sleep with their whiskers bent or flexed under their heads?

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    Andrew Sleeth  over 4 years ago

    “metric bonker’s worth” — now there’s a unit of measure they didn’t teach us in grade school!

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    skipper1992  over 4 years ago

    They say you should be careful about following random links on websites.

    On an unrelated note: https://shar.es/aXqM03

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    A Good Boy  over 4 years ago

    “Screaming clowns the whole way down”. Yes Elvis, sometimes I feel that way about the human race! LOL

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    Portmanteau  over 4 years ago

    If today’s News cast causes you to rethink your pet’s bowls… why not check out your local re-sale shops or your local shelter’s re-sale shop. They often have plenty of ‘accessories’ sometimes really cute ones. Years ago I went thru a bunch of store bought bowls – to find which ones worked for my cats – the “disliked ones” were donated to the local animal resale shop (didn’t know about it when I started buying). My next round of cats I used the resale shop for new bowls (food and a water bowl – they have 2 water bowls). I also found a couple of large hard plastic Dog Water bowls (that were alittle rough) for a $1 each. They became Birdbaths on my patio. Cheep entertainment for my cats (and me) and the Birdies seem to like the new “spa”.

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    Nuliajuk  over 4 years ago

    Huh, never heard of this before, but I’ll try a flat plate. Mind you, Saxon will probably still find a way to scatter bits of food everywhere.

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    mistercatworks  over 4 years ago

    Unfortunately, with flat saucers cats push the food across the saucer as they eat. One of my cats will wait until I turn the plate around then push it back across in the other direction. Worse, they will push it onto the floor. I use big bowls and it is no longer a problem. Funny how cats never seen to be bothered by “whisker fatigue” when probing small spaces for rodents.

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    rbluecat  over 4 years ago

    I switched to serving Marlowe his canned food on a dessert plate a year or so ago. But I soon discovered another issue! Marlowe pushed food over the edge of the plate and the stuff hid under there, growing cold and icky. Sticking my fingers in that yuck to pick up the plate wasn’t as bad as stepping on cold barf in the middle of the night, but eeyeeew! Apparently pugs and other dogs with pushed-in noses have similar eating styles and dishes that have a tilted edge are made to help keep the food in the bowl. A tilt bowl I found in the dog section of Petsmart worked for Marlowe. (I had to remember to put the bowl down the ‘right’ side away from the furball). I see that Jackson Galaxy now offers a tilt bowl made for specifically for cats to address whisker fatigue and messy eating (although a bit pricey).

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    Colonial Cats  over 4 years ago

    Oh, if whiskers could talk. Wait, apparently they can!

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    GaryCooper  over 4 years ago

    Worrying about whether or not your cat has “whisker fatigue” from eating out of a bowl strikes me as the archetypal “first-world problem.” I have five cats, and they eat out of anything their food is served in. No complaints so far.

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    Catmom  over 4 years ago

    ¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬Hello Orbsters! It’s a beautiful sunny Sunday here in southwest Virginia. In light of some recent developments, I feel the need to get something off my chest, so I hope you will indulge me for a bit. The last three years have been a bit unsettling for me, being “involuntarily retired” and riding a veritable train of health problems, some minor, some major, some painful, some pretty serious, some just annoying. I had been reading BCN for a while, and discovered the Orb when the comic moved to GoComics. I’m not much into social media, so for a while I just read and enjoyed the comments without offering any of my own. I soon realized that this was a place of gentle, loving, non-judgmental folks, where I could feel safe and find comfort when needed. I love the interactions we have had. Lately, there have been lots of newcomers posting on the board, which is a great thing, the more the merrier. However, some of them apparently do not share the philosophy that the Orb has been practicing from the beginning. (Continued below)

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    Catmom  over 4 years ago

    Everyone, if you have time, check out Snow Sez today, it’s very sweet!

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    JenniferJohnson  over 4 years ago

    Seems to help with my cats also, my Aunt Susan has mentioned it to me

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    chattingwithchris Premium Member over 4 years ago

    Holy cow! We are going to try that starting today. Elsie drops her food outside the dish a lot; I never realized it could be whisker-related! Ginger and Elsie thank you!

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    KL  over 4 years ago

    This is great info! I changed my smaller cat bowls for wide-mouthed soup bowls a few years ago, but they still avoid food on the sides till I remound it. I’m going to try some plates! Nothing is too good for my finicky furbabies.

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    andycat Premium Member over 4 years ago

    All those jokes about cats saying they’re hungry if they can see the bottom of their bowls might just be whisker fatigue, then.

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    Daeder  over 4 years ago

    I thought this comic was building up to a “always keep the food bowls full so we can eat off the top” pitch from the boys.

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    Code the Enforcer  over 4 years ago

    Well, do we want to see a ‘Cat Lawyer’ take advantage and advertise about all this?! I mean, do you WANT to see and hear?:

    “Have YOU suffered an injury due to Whisker Fatigue??!! If so, YOU may be owed some due and just compensation! Kibble – Bacon – Needful Naps – and Treats – are rightfully YOURS!! NO CAT, should have to suffer while simply going about their day, eating food, or enjoying the company of their humans and other cats!”

    “Just dial 555-CATS! … And get the legal help YOU deserve!!”

    "WE are ‘FOR THE CATS!!’ " :)

    (Actually, that WOULD be cool to at least see!!) LOL!!

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    Denny Wheeler Premium Member over 4 years ago

    I’d been told that it was good to feed cats on a saucer or plate, but not why. This fills that gap, so thank you, Georgia on behalf of Zoey, the Pampered Persian Princess.

    Yes, she pushes her kibble out of her shallow bowl and onto the floor, but she does eat what she pushed out. Give her typical Persian squashed-in face, I imagine that stressed whiskers do happen for her.

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    dmah Premium Member over 4 years ago

    I posted the following in Georgie’s comment, but I’m also going to post it again, in case the link gets buried there …

    With whiskers on my mind today, I remembered one of my favorite videos about cats and how they use their whiskers, and thought you all might enjoy it! Btw, I had no idea that cats also have whiskers on their ankles!

    How do Cats Use Their Whiskers? Slow-Motion | Cats Uncovered | BBC

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdqBbvYX3MU

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    Aspen_Bell  over 4 years ago

    Foxy update

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    Aspen_Bell  over 4 years ago

    Okay, I updated Foxy’s gofundme page and further explained what I was using the money for. Thank you, everyone!

    https://www.gofundme.com/f/foxy-is-sick-help-me-pay-vet-bills

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    Andylit Premium Member over 4 years ago

    We feed dry in wide bowls and BARF on plates.

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    Portmanteau  over 4 years ago

    My guys also have a large diameter ceramic dog water bowl -aka the Savanna Watering Hole (it seems so big). Current and previous cats preferred to drink out of the wide bowl versus the smaller for cats water bowls that were also set out in different places. (The Queen of All She Surveyed would sometimes get a Her tail in a knot and “protect” a bowl – so I had spares around the house so no one ever couldn’t get a bite to eat or a drink.) Even when there was a knotted tail – the Big Bowl was the favorite. Not sure if it’s a whisker thing or if it’s just fun for cats to drink out of really wide low bowl .

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    GSD Mom Premium Member over 4 years ago

    Asking prayers, bumps, and purrs from this community today. Our community lost a wonderful veterinarian and a wonderful person to an accident yesterday. Doctor George Seier was one of the few vets who could handle Akiro’s antics without automatically reaching for the sedatives or restraints. He was unendingly calm and caring, had such patience in explaining what was going on with your pets until you understood it, and was so reassuring to nervous cats and dogs … he was the first male vet that Conan actually trusted and he never failed to greet both of us as he passed. I know his legacy will live on in our community because he has trained up so many young veterinarians and vet techs and taught them first and foremost to be compassionate. I know he will be welcomed at the foot of the Rainbow Bridge by many pets whose lives he touched and made better, but please keep in your prayers his family and those who loved, worked with, and respected him.

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    Jason Scarborough  over 4 years ago

    This feels like the kind of information that once you have it explained you feel like you should have already known, at least that’s how I felt just reading it just now, I knew that a cat’s whiskers are a large part of how they perceive the world, but, it never crossed my mind that a food dish could have negative effects on them. Of course I’m not a cat person IRL so their could just be an extra piece I’m not considering

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    whybother  over 4 years ago

    Fellow Orbsters, I’ve been feeling stressed and rushed lately, and haven’t been able to read the comments every day like I usually do. Tonight is the last night in our home. Tomorrow, we move into the RV and start our new life. The buyers moved up the closing date, which made everything have to move at a much faster pace. We’ve been doing so much every day that my enemy, insomnia, has been beaten back with sheer fatigue. I have so many emotions running through me: I’m happy for what lies ahead, but sad to be leaving family and friends behind. It’s scary not to have a house. It’s exciting to get on the road. It’s late, but I wanted to post this while I still have an online connection. Please keep me in your thoughts for “safe traveling mercies”, something my mother would say every time we left our parents’ house. Hope to “see” you all soon!

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    rick92040  over 4 years ago

    My cat would move his dry food out of the bowl and eat it from the floor. My wife said it looks like he didn’t like his whiskers touching so we moved his food to a paper plate and he is much happier.We didn’t know it was a thing. None of our other cats we’ve had have this problem.

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    jonesbeltone  over 4 years ago

    It works! My Robin eats all the way to the edge of the saucer I use now. Thank you!

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    MargaretShannon  over 4 years ago

    I’m really glad BCN did this report. Charlie has been mysteriously losing weight, so I began giving him soft food. I also replaced the dry food dish (8×9 brownie pan) with a dinner plate. I’ve seen Charlie eating from it as well. So he must have developed WF! Hopefully, he’ll gain his weight back.

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    LeslieAnn Premium Member 9 months ago

    2023 here. Thank you, Georgia! I’m getting up right now to change Gracie’s dish. Thank you.

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