Questions

[RipSpark]

A friend told me about this place and it is awesome! yay :) I bought my first Chin last June. I did a lot of reading up on them but I have some questions. I want to make sure I am doing everything right.

I feed her pellets twice a day and give her timony hay as well. I bought her a hammock but she started chewing on it, could that be bad? I have heard it can be... I also feed her a chin treat when I put her back up, is 1 a day okay? They are the little yogurt treats. I know only to feed raisins every once in a while. Also she loves cherrios, how many can she eat? Are there any other treats she can have? I want her to be able to run around but she has been getting into some trouble(of course, lol). I am working on a place to let her out though. Is it bad for her to just stay up in her cage? Also should she have any supplements? I saw vitamins and others things at the store... And one last thing, I read that they can't get fleas, but guess what she has them... One of my cats sleeps in my room most of the time, but the other night my other one slept in there, and it seems he brought fleas. I am taking her out to spray some stuff on the floor(I don't want to bomb because I have fish). Can the fleas acutally live on Ruffy?

Okay wow lots of questions, sorry, just want to make sure everything is right :)

Any other stuff I might need to know would be awesome, thanks so much!

[dawn]

When you say you feed, do you remove and install the bowl or do you freshen up the pellets? What brand are you feeding-if its from a petstore and not mazuri start doing more research on feed because petstore feed is junk.

The yogurt drops got to go-stick with the raisen or cheerio-a couple of cheerios a day is ok if you want to feed treats=alot of us here do not do treats on a daily basis-a high quality hay, pellets and purified water is what a chin needs for optimum health-the more treats you give the more it takes away what they need. Chins have a delicate digestive system-high fat, sugar and protein items slow down the digestive process and can cause constipation-chins need a high fiber low protein/fat diet to keep the digestive tract moving.

Do you have a wheel? Chins need exercise so if you can't get the chin out of the cage on a regular basis a wheel is a great idea for chinnie fun. www.qualitycage.com (http://www.qualitycage.com) has the flying saucer wheel and the 15in chin spin-both good wheels.


A chin on a high quality pellet and hay, non-breeding does not need extra vitamins or a suppliment for good health.

[parkerspetchins]

I feed her pellets twice a day and give her timony hay as well

What pellets are you feeding? Chins really need quality pellets. I free feed pellets meaning that if my chins ever ran out I would give them more and I dump every day and refill. You also have to be sure to give water that is as free of parasites as possible which may mean bottled, reverse osmosis, filtered....Timothy hay is great, also free fed, as long as the pellets you are feeding are alfalfa based.

I bought her a hammock but she started chewing on it, could that be bad? I have heard it can be...

If your chin chews on her hammock I would remove it. Not only would it be bad if she ingested some of it, it can make it the hammock unsafe (can make it fall if she chews a structural piece, can get her foot caught in loose fibers, etc.). Fleece hammocks are harder to chew but I have read that some chins can and do chew them. If she likes a hammock and you bought it at a petstore and it's a cotton or nylon material, try a fleece one that you can make or buy from a member in classifieds. It may be harder for her to chew on.

I also feed her a chin treat when I put her back up, is 1 a day okay? They are the little yogurt treats. I know only to feed raisins every once in a while. Also she loves cherrios, how many can she eat? Are there any other treats she can have?

If she is over 6 months old, treats fed sparingly are fine. Plain cheerios, old fashioned oats (not instant), and rosehips are healthier treats. I would feed no more than one treat a day, less is better. Avoid sugary treats like dried fruits and feed very sparingly if at all. Unfrosted mini wheat squares are good too but are also used for soft poo issues so if your chin gets constipated stop feeding as a treat. I don't know anything about yogurt treats as I don't feed them.

I want her to be able to run around but she has been getting into some trouble (of course, lol). I am working on a place to let her out though. Is it bad for her to just stay up in her cage?

As long as she has enough space in her cage to jump and run playtime is at your discretion. If she has a wheel to exercise on even better. Chins do seem to love playtime but I wouldn't recommend it until you have a safe area for her to play.

Also should she have any supplements? I saw vitamins and others things at the store...

Supplements aren't necessary if you are feeding quality pellets and hay. I feed an oat supplement as a treat once a week. I also give acidophilus to one of my girls once a week (the other won't eat it) as she has had small poos in the past, seems to have helped.

And one last thing, I read that they can't get fleas, but guess what she has them... One of my cats sleeps in my room most of the time, but the other night my other one slept in there, and it seems he brought fleas. I am taking her out to spray some stuff on the floor(I don't want to bomb because I have fish). Can the fleas acutally live on Ruffy?

Why do you think your chin has fleas? If she is scratching it could be dry skin from too many dust baths or something else. How often are you dust bathing her? From what I have read fleas cannot penetrate the thick fur of a chin. I doubt treating one small area for fleas is going to get rid of the fleas. If they are in one room than they are more than likely in all of the rooms and will keep coming back into the area you treat. I would remove my animals for however long it took and do a full treatment.

If you have any other questions feel free to post them, CnQ is a great place to come for information :) .

[RipSpark]

Thanks for all of the info!
I do feed pellets from the pet store Kaytee brand...My friend said she feeds Mazuri so I have been looking around to order Ruffy food somewhere. I leave the food in there and refill two times a day.

I don't have her a wheel I have been looking around for one, thanks so much for the link!

She takes a bust bath 1-2 times a week, every once in a while a bit more but usually not. She doesn't stay in it very long....
The basement has had fleas but my room never has, and just treating that room has worked before so that is what I am thinking...we can't take all the animals out anyway so hopefully this will work. I think she has fleas because I saw one on her. And she never scratched before the cat slept in that night. I am wondering though if the are just bothering her but can't acutally live on her...does that make sense?

[Emilys_Exotics]

Dunno about the fleas and the chin, but to get rid of them in the house, you will need to treat the cats. Use a product like advantage or frontline on the cats. Then, vacuum all the flea areas DAILY (or even 2-3 times daily) making sure you throw out the vacuum bag after you are done. You can spread borax powder (usually a laundry detergent additive) before vacuuming to kill the adult fleas. Throwing out the bag will get the flea eggs out of the house. Treating the cats will make sure they don't bring fleas in the house, and will mean that the fleas in the house cannot hide on your cats while you are vacuuming them away. (I got fleas in my apartment once ages ago, and couldn't get rid of them until I treated my cat with a high quality flea treatment. The otc flea stuff is NOT GOOD. The spot treatments (like advantage and frontline, but otc) either contain too little medicine (wont' work) or too much (can make your cat VERY sick or kill it). The stuff that isn't a spot treatment may kill the fleas on the cat, but won't prevent reinfestation of fleas--usually less than an hour later fleas can go back to the cat!

Emily

[Lutra]

Chins CAN get fleas. Thank god my chins never got them, but my friend's did, and I spoke to our vet and he had treated chins with fleas numerous times. However, they can only get around the base of the tail and around the eyes and ears. Now, if your cat brough in fleas your house is pretty much infested at this point. And fleas are a nightmare. I couldn't bomb either because of my reef tank. What you HAVE to do is take both cats to the vet to get revolution/frontline/etc drops. That is the only thing that will work aside from kicking the cats out. They will keep bringing them in. The drops will kill fleas that jump onto the pet as well as kill eggs and larva. You can get revolution for your chin, but it is $$$.

To get rid of our fleas, I bought a special aquarium safe spray from the vet and sprayed that, and then powdered every week for a month. Also vacuumed every day and washed linens like a mad women. I washed and bagged up any unecessary pillow, blankets, and stuffed animals. Now, after a couple of months my apartment apears blessfully flea free. Buuut, this worked for me because my fleas arrived on furniture, not a cat.

Good luck.

[RipSpark]

The weird thing is we do put flea treatment on the cats and dogs....but it doesn't seem to be working anymore....Lutra what kind of spray did you use? I have two fish tanks so I want to be careful what I put down. Thanks :)

[RipSpark]

Oh and one other thing, I use water out of the sink, should I be giving her bottled water or something? thanks

[RipSpark]

I thought of another thing, sorry guys ;-) I bought her a granite cooling stone, she tries to chew on it a bit, is that okay?

[alli713]

you shouldn't use water out of the sink, you should use filtered water. Someone else could probably give you all of the reasons why, I just know that's what you're supposed to do :)