<p>Yes, tying a cat up for any reason is a really bad idea. Anything punitive, tying up, yelling, spanking, is extremely counterproductive in cats. They must be romanced into doing the right thing. Positive reinforcement, treats, gently talking and petting is the way to go. It just takes some patience. Remember, this is just as new for him as it is for you.</p>
<p>not zip tying kitty to a pole to trim his nails. got it.</p>
<p>Nothing to add, but wonderful that you took him in. Schoolbus is a freaking fantastic name. </p>
<p>Best of luck to you and chubs.</p>
<p>Lol good. My local SPCA has a help line for behavior issues. You might try calling yours and see if they can give you some pointers.</p>
<p>For one of our cats, claws are a two-person job. I hold her very firmly – not tightly, but firmly – while my husband does the clipping. When we got her at the SPCA, I’ll never forget the volunteer clipped that very same cat’s claws, holding her in one arm and clipping with the other hand, just casually standing there. Amazing. It really is an art. You’ll learn the tricks though.</p>
<p>yea, I’ll learn, and probably the scars to show for it.</p>
<p>As far as fixing your air mattress, you could use some epoxy and duct tape to seal it up perfectly. If it’s a small hole, epoxy alone should work pretty well. It’s more flexible and stronger than super glue, so it should hold up.</p>
<p>I just used some bike tire patches, with epoxy. Layered with duct tape to make sure they don’t stretch too much. So far so good. Also made a little fortress around my bed with moving boxes from walmart. It looks pretty ghetto, but it’s doing its job.</p>
<p>anyone know why my new cat won’t touch the indoor cat food? I bought it because it has vitamins and things like that. But the cat won’t touch it, unless I feed him with my hand. But it’s like feeding him medicine. If I mix up the indoor with the outdoor cat food, he’ll only pick off the ones he wants. Can I grind up the meat flavored cat food and pour it over the indoor cat food like a seasoning? I just don’t want to waste it.</p>
<p>And does wimpering usually mean hunger, or boredom? He does that almost every night when I sleep. I just send him outside and let him back in the morning, or come back during my lunch break to let him inside.</p>
<p>Yesterday, I saw a huge cockroach on my floor when I came back. Pointed to it and told schoolbus to attack, but he just watched it as it moved along. Why does he mess with everything except the one thing that I actually want him to mess with?</p>
<p>He’s a cat. Cats can be finicky, especially when they sense they are driving their humans nuts. They play with what they want. They’ll attack your bed, and ignore the cockroaches.</p>
<p>And I’ve never had a car yet that actually used a scratching post.</p>
<p>Corrugated cardboard scratching boards are usually relatively inexpensive and can be found at a local pet store.</p>
<p>already got my air mattress on lock down, surrounded by cut up moving boxes, and duct tape (see my post above). </p>
<p>first visit to the vet today; just a couple of shots and a “wellness consultation” that consisted mostly of me sitting with my cat in a claustrophobic room, waiting for the vet. $89.50. And that was supposed to be a cheap clinic. And apparently this cat has stomach worms. I would’ve never imagined him having worms, considering how fat he is. Am I missing something here??</p>
<p>spectastic … If he is fat JUST in the stomach that is worms. It will be good to get rid of them although nasty.</p>
<p>I imagine by now the vet has told you that the current thinking is to avoid dry food altogether and feed only wet (canned). The former is heavy in carbohydrates and is seen as the cause of a great increase in feline diabetes. (My vet says to buy the cheapest kind–it’s all the same.) To use up what you have, just mix it with wet food. And I recommend you vary the flavors of canned food so the cat doesn’t become too wedded to one type–no need to encourage the finicky thing. BTW, the "indoor cat food " vs. "outdoor cat food " business is just marketing nonsense.</p>
<p>As for the roach–surely you’ve had this guy long enough to have figured out that cats don’t do our bidding–we do theirs!</p>
<p>i’d get some wet food, except I got two 16 lbs bags of indoor and outdoor cat food sitting in my apartment. they really made a sucker out of me didn’t they?</p>
<p>vet mentioned nothing about what to feed him. not even his approximate age. but he does seem to have a small head, so maybe he does have worms.</p>
<p>and that worm test… mmm not fun to watch. that thing went in a good 4 inches.</p>
<p>For what it’s worth, neither my vet nor my daughter’s vet has ever mentioned canned food being preferable to dry food. We just took three of our four cats in for their annual check-up. He asked what brand we used and we said Science Diet - senior for the older cats, adult for the non-senior cat, and kitten for the kitten. Vet said good brand - great.</p>
<p>Sprinkle a little (very little) catnip on the dry food and see if that entices him.</p>
<p>Our vet said to try to get our one outside cat to stay in at night for safety reasons. He suggested wet food mixed with some water each evening. Our cat loves it and is more than ready to settle down after eating. Actually we buy the little jars of baby food meat (chicken, turkey, ham). It’s not too expensive as we mix about 1/3 jar a night with warm water - a thick broth, if you will. Easy on the stomach and good for the cat. That a bowl of dry food and water, available for later in the night works well. Crying to go out at night gets ignored and then eventually it stops.</p>
<p>I think your cat will start hunting roaches after he becomes accustomed to being an indoor kitty.</p>
<p>I’ll prep the ear plugs and crank up the alarm radio then…</p>
<p>I’ve really enjoyed reading your thread. I have 2 dogs and a cat, but deep down I’m a “cat person” at heart. I love, love cats, and my current cat is the most affectionate, easy animal I’ve ever had. She’s funny, she’s smart, she’s absolutely beautiful (shiny jet black with bright lime green eyes), she’s independent at times, but oh is she loving and cuddly! It has to be when SHE feels like it, but when she does, she is so sweet-big round eyes rather than the typical almond-shaped cat eyes-and I find myself accommodating HER so that she is comfortable while cuddling on me at night in my bed. Sheesh, what a pushover I am. </p>
<p>I hope you and your cat negotiate a mutually rewarding relationship. It will probably take some time with a stray such as you have adopted, but be patient and tolerant, and this may turn out very well. :)</p>
<p>yea, and hopefully he doesn’t have that feline AIDS. It doesn’t affect humans, but spreads among cats. Didn’t want to pay $40 for the test.</p>
<p>By the way, how are cats supposed to react when you take them out? Mine was terrified riding in the car, and made this really weird crying sort of meow when we were on the highway, on the way to the clinic. I had to put him in a tote box (which was also my carrier) for safety reasons; he jumped on my lap and dug his claws into my leg during the first car ride. I can still see the marks. When we got to the clinic, he was so afraid he moved around like a little worm, and curled in the corner behind the big pot plant. I had to basically pull him up by the skin on his back to fish him out of there. I’m guessing it was his first trip to the clinic. When we got back, I had to squirt a little worm medicine through his mouth. I think he chocked on it… Oops.</p>
<p>next time he’s going to get his nuts clipped. yippee!</p>
<p>Very common for kitties to get freaked riding in a car. We had an unusual cat who enjoyed short trips. Surprising! My husband joked that the cat would love it if we got a motor home.</p>
<p>Get a spray bottle and squirt him with water when he does something you don’t like. That little bit of annoyance can be a good deterrent.</p>
<p>My current cat has really hooked nails so has to be trimmed. I can never get all of his clipped in one sitting. One paw at a time…</p>