M Swensen

It is about day 4 of the oil treatment. The ears became visibly spotless inside... not sure if because of the treatment itself or because of the obsessive cleaning the cat does afterwards. Trying to use minimal amount but hard to get it directly into the ear sometimes because of struggling. Best method is to do it while she is sleeping... can get one ear done perfectly at least. She wakes up from this, but overall much less drama. I am not happy that some oil is ingested during this grooming, it is probably not healthy for it. Not sure if it is my imagination, but she feels a bit heavier, she is doing small jumps successfully sometimes, and not seen her falling as much. Trying to play with it once per day to get it to chase a toy on a string, and to climb a wooden beam, to improve coordination, strength and balance.

Some people advised 2-3 times per week for 3 weeks, another advice was twice a day for 7 days. Then 7 days rest. Then twice a day for another 7 days. I decided to do both cats, because they often sleep next to each other and I saw a tiny deposit of brown material in one of the ears of the male. I read that ear mites are transmitted extremely easily between cats, so I figured better to do both.

Does anyone have any experience of this treatment? Does it really work? Or am I just tormenting these poor animals for no reason?

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Timothy Norton wrote:I believe internal parasites might be an issue as well. Worms and such can cause symptoms that can appear as issues with the nervous system such as the stumbling and issues walking.

I didn't know worms could cause any serious problems, that's not good.

Robin Katz wrote:It's likely the cat has more wrong than ear mites, although mites can get really bad and need to be treated asap. She really should see a vet to get checked and treated for parasites, which is also very likely. Cats usually recover really well once the underlying problems are treated. I'm all for home remedies, but when the situation is severe enough, I get to a vet and use stronger treatments so the cat gets better quickly. The language barrier is difficult, but the vet should be able to do an exam and give you medication without detailed information from you. They do it all the time in shelters.

We have always had rescue/feral cats and they can learn to get along, but it takes time. Right now we have two male ex-feral cats that took us over a year to get to trust us. Now they snuggle with us and are wonderful cats. We also have another rescue cat that hates all other animals and it took a while to get across to all of them that the aggressor gets yelled at for being a butt-head. Right now she is sleeping 1 foot from one of the ex-ferals. Time and patience and a lot of love is the key. I wish you and your cats the best.

Thanks for advice. Parasites as in worms? Or fleas? I do see them scratching sometimes. But when I comb their fur I don't find any fleas. I read the article on this site about dichotomous earth. Found a lot of such products available to buy, so I might get some and start a regular combing schedule.

I can give them detailed info. Even if it is just a prepared written note with everything carefully translated in advance. The problem is understanding what they say, and following their advice.

It is day 2 of the ear mite treatment, and there is a lot less discharge visible in the ear. Not sure if it is mostly from the cat obsessively grooming to get rid of the oil. Can't say she is enjoying it. But I am getting faster at doing it, and using less oil with less spillage, so it causes minimal drama.  

6 month old female, much smaller + weaker than her brother.

When I got her 1 month ago, she was v thin, like a skeleton. The guy was just carrying it inside his coat. I don't think they were feeding it properly, or at all. And it is most likely that she was too weak to hunt for herself. I have still never seen her successfully hunt anything, although she shows interest sometimes, but she is too slow and clumsy I think. Diarrhea during sleep for first few days, possibly because of suddenly eating more food? Not cleaning herself very well. The fur around the tail and back passage was completely solid with dried bm. Tried a bath but that was way too much drama, so just tried to carefully snip off the worst of it with scissors.

Originally I got this cat because I was concerned that her brother would be lonely. But it was a mistake since they don't get along. He always wants to play fight with me and with her. But it is too rough and she starts growling and flicking the tail. Then he attacks the tail. So unfortunately there is some "bullying" going on. I have to constantly supervise them when they are together. And when I am out of the house, they have to live in different sides of the house. The brother is slowly understanding that attacking her is banned, but it is a v slow learning process involving many sprays with water.    

She to have health problems, but she did put on a little weight. I understand that males will be a bit bigger, but she is literally about half as big and as heavy.

- Staggers, especially after waking up. Staggers over to one side usually  
- Sleeps very deeply, having vivid dreams, twitching, moving body. Sometimes falls off a chair or window sill during sleep.
- Poor appetite, especially in the mornings. Eats less than half the amount compared to the brother. Tried feeding her separately, seems to eat even less. Prefers dry feed to wet but I give a bit of both. Has poor coordination when eating so she eats slowly with lots of head movements. Often dropping the food from her mouth. Drinking OK.
- Walks with a side-to-side swaying of the hips, like a young kitten who has not got perfect balance yet, with the legs spread slightly apart.
- Poor balance but head not tilted to one side. Can't climb, jump or walk along ledges well. Sometimes almost falls over just sitting down, when she is cleaning herself. It's kinda sad to watch her struggle to do normal "cat things" sometimes. Rarely tries to run anywhere.
- Inside the right ear, brown-black material. Itchy - I see her scratching it, but there is no skin lesion from scratching.

I have been reading online and rarely ear mites can cause an ear infection which sometimes can give problems with balance. Treatment for mites is ivermectin ear drops, but struggling to find this product. I read about some home remedies like neem oil, castor oil, olive oil or even coconut oil. Apparently the oil suffocates the mites. But it needs to be done a few times per day for several days. Tried with sunflower oil (all I had). Syringed a tiny bit directly into the ear canal, and then massage / rub the ear to allow it to work in. Cat crying, not enjoying it. Afterwards she spent a long time grooming the ear, probably got a bad taste in the mouth. I don't know if it will tolerate this treatment from me twice a day for a month. Probably it will try to run away first =(

I really don't know what to do with this cat. Feel like it is a losing battle. Vet is not a great option right now, since there is a language barrier I will struggle to get much benefit and follow their advice. Both cats will need sterilization soon I guess, but I was waiting until they are fully grown. Sometimes I think it might have some kind of epilepsy because of how it is sleeping. If anyone knows what is wrong or what to do, please let me know, thanks!

Glenn Herbert wrote:The spaced-out bricks to hold the mass up off the slab are a good plan, but you do not   want to totally fill the spaces with insulation (an inch or so would be fine.) Insulation does not stop heat flow, it slows it down, and without freely moving air, heat will build up over time. This  is unlikely to actually damage concrete in a residential-scale application, but a wood floor could be overheated and eventually char and catch fire. Circulating air in the spaces will  let the heat get out to the room where it will be useful.

For an RMH with a tall narrow bell, I would want to know that the slab was thick or reinforced or both. Failing that, I would pour a reinforced slab on top of the original one with enough area to spread out the load over the total bell footprint or more, depending on the circumstances. A bench-style bell will spread the load enough that I wouldn't worry about it.

So I understand, would you advise to put only 1 inch layer of insulation between the bricks even on a concrete floor, or you only advise that for wooden floor? (I decided to follow everyone's advice and not build on a wooden floor). Circulation of heat sounds desirable yes. If I pour a new concrete floor in the future, should I take this into account and raise the level of the RMH accordingly? Please see diagram to check I understood correctly:


1. bottom part of RMH and bell. 2. bricks. 3. 1 inch layer of insulation material, with airspace on top. 4. Original concrete floor, of unknown depth. 5 proposed future concrete floor, poured directly on top of the old, with floor heating.

So I decided to start by building a RMH in the kitchen, because there is already a concrete floor there and it is a simpler job for me to try first.
I am also wondering, is it really a big disaster if I DON'T pour any new foundation slab for the RMH, and then the original concrete floor cracks under the weight of a RMH with bell? This worst case scenario doesn't seem so terrible to me, because in the long term I will be pouring a new concrete floor on top of the original one, which will be heated. Or maybe in my ignorance I misunderstand the significance of a cracked concrete floor...

Cristobal Cristo wrote:
This would make a proper foundation for building a quality heater. On this slab you can build canals from bricks laid on stretchers and fill them with perlite or crushed glass. On them you would lay bricks and that would be your base for building.

Thanks for info! I'll follow this advice.

Would you advise to build a RMH (with bell) on an existing concrete floor, without any knowledge of how it was poured, only that there is no basement beneath?

Matt McSpadden wrote:Hi M,
I don't think copper pipe in cement would be a good mix.

I can think of two ways to do this. The most common way is to embed pex pipe in the cement floor and pump hot water through it. This can be achieved with a lot of different equipment, and should be possible using water heated with a RMH, but I think to do it safely you are going to need quite a bit of other equipment like pumps and relief valves and whatnot.

Another possibility is to dig down deeper, so that the chimney goes through the floor instead of a bench. Essentially just dropping the whole thing lower than normal. I have seen one guy experimenting with this in his garage. He seemed to think it worked ok.

Sorry, I was not being very clear in my words. Copper would be for the section of the system that wrapped around the flue of the RMH or otherwise was closely adapted to receive heat from the RMH. The system of tubing in the concrete would better be a different material, agree. As far as I can see, this is exactly how the current gas heating system works. Small pump to circulate the heated water to each radiator, and 2 relief valves, one for gas, one for fluid. I struggle to maintain this system at the "ideal" pressure, for some reason it is always too low or vents because I let in too much water. I can't see any leaks in the system... maybe it is just evaporating a bit the whole time the heater is running?  

To sink the RMH lower into the floor, it sounds like what you are suggesting would be similar to an "ondol" or hypocaust system? Yes it's an interesting idea

Peter van den Berg wrote:
Most of the material on the batchrocket site has been written in 2016/2017/2018. There has been more recent updates, those are mentioned here and there on the site. Development has been going on through the years, latest additions are the double shoebox designs, the latest one (#3) isn't on the site yet. I am busy with development of a compact batchrocket core at the moment, results are looking good but no firm final design in sight as of now.

Hello! Is this your website? It is very useful and educational, thank you!

I read the whole website. Now I understand the advantages of Bell vs exhausting gas via ducts through a thermal mass. I also like the other advantages of Batch box mass heaters, such as greater capacity of wood, more efficient, and esthetically, I really like that the flames can be visible.

I have zero experience with casting, so I'll need to do a brick core. I read your notes about Double Shoebox Rocket, but space is not an issue for me, so the designs I am interested in would be "7: Another core layout" and also "Bell with dead-end benches" (except I would plan for only 1 extension of the bell to act as a bed). The "baffle board" is very ingenious. I've downloaded the 3D models. Thank you again!

If you have any other advice:

1. Would you place the RMH at point A in this house? (see original post for floorplan). These are the most used rooms, apart from kitchen and living room. I am thinking about putting another heater in the kitchen (already has a concrete floor), which will heat and also double as an oven.

2. What is the simplest way to make foundations for the RMH and to insulate them? I read on your site that someone used portland cement / vermiculite mix. Could I use perlite instead of vermiculite? I made a test cavity into this flooring, and found that there is no slab foundation. there is about 1 foot of crawlspace, if that is the correct term, and then just rubble and earth under that. I am thinking of using concrete blocks to build up to floor level, and then put a layer of some insulation similar to shown in "pool heater and pizza oven".

3. Long term I want to replace this wooden floor with an acid-stained concrete floor, which ideally would be heated. I don't know exactly how to do this safely. Could I use a copper pipe which would closely articulate with some hot part of the RMH and then connect with a looping tube system embedded in the concrete to circulate heat via convection? What is the easiest way of doing this? Thank you for any advice!

thomas rubino wrote:.
Are you aware of the newest design RMH?  A hollow bell to hold your heat rather than a heavy piped mass?
And then there are Batchbox RMHs that burn longer and produce more heat than a J-Tube design.
There have been many improvements and changes in the last few years.

I found this website, linked on wikipedia. It seems like a pretty good source, but I don't know when it was written: https://batchrocket.eu/en/

thomas rubino wrote:.
Hi M;
I  will try to answer your questions.
#1)  Some RMHs and mass can weigh in around #4000.  If this load is spread over many floor joists it may be ok, but a qualified builder should be consulted.
It sounds like your home is one story with no crawl space.  If the ground is close by, then removing a wooden floor and pouring an insulated slab is a better safer alternative.
#2) No concrete on top of the wood floor, that is just asking for problems in the future.
#3)  Only someone qualified on-site can determine if you can remove a section of the wall.
As Fox mentioned, a new support must bridge the gap.
#4)  It is possible to exit a wall but not recommended.  An insulated metal chimney must be installed beyond the roof peak to maintain a good draft.
A vertical chimney through the house will stay warm and draw properly.

From your photos, it appears that you want a traditional J-Tube RMH with a piped mass.
Are you aware of the newest design RMH?  A hollow bell to hold your heat rather than a heavy piped mass?
And then there are Batchbox RMHs that burn longer and produce more heat than a J-Tube design.
There have been many improvements and changes in the last few years.

Check out some of the posts in the RMH forum and read all about the newest inovations.

Thank you for great answers!
1. Yes 1 story with no crawlspace. Pour concrete foundation, understood. I already have 2 huge builder's bags of cement here. Normally I hand mix it with a shovel, but I guess I will have to get a concrete mixer for this job. And build forms etc. So much to learn.

2. Understood. It is a longterm plan. Maybe I will only replace some of the floors with concrete to make the job more simple. How can I connect a RMH to a supply a heated concrete floor in the longer term?

3. Yeah, I'll need to get someone in. Maybe it could be done at the same time the roof is redone... I'd like to put a few more southfacing windows at the same time too.

4. Yes, I read this in the the textbook after I wrote the OP. I guess the more of the chimney that is inside the house, the warmer it is and the easier it is to get a good draft.

I wasn't aware of newer designs. I am working from the Wisner textbook (2016). I'll look up batchbox RMH, thank you!