Cat owners, please educate me

Parent Cafe
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<p>We have had 5 indoor cats, one we just “inherited” as child moved to the other coast.
(this was predictable). Her cat is only 3 years old, our cat is about 18. (big commitment there, her brother passed at 15.5 years old, of a stroke-he was diabetic). So an indoor cat can live a long time! We have never had them de-clawed, we trim their claws with a nail clipper, my H is very good at it. </p>

<p>For very short trips like a weekend, my neighbor comes in and feeds them etc. I do the same for her, so no payment involved. For our annual two week vacation, we have a house sitter, as we can’t bring our dog with us. For an indoor cat, our 18 year old catches stuff in the cellar: a snake, chipmunks, mice, moles, etc. She evidently has not retired from hunting. :slight_smile: All our cats have been rescue cats.</p>

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<p>Our cat doesn’t love to stay at the “kitty spa” (the vet) when we go on vacation but she survives quite well and seems happy enough when I pick her up. Our vet has dogs and cats pretty well isolated from one another so that probably makes the difference. For long weekends we just leave food for her.</p>

<p>We got our cat from the animal shelter. She is a true doll. The nice thing at the shelter is you can watch and hold them (see how they react). </p>

<p>Cats are terratorial. When you bring one home (not sure if this applies to kittens) and if you have a large home, put the cat in one room with their litter box and food–don’t let them have the run of the house at first (it’ll drive the cat and you nuts). That room will become its “safe place” and when it gets scared of new people etc. the cat will return to its comfort zone. They’ll explore bit by bit and pretty soom claim every room as theirs!</p>

<p>Don’t plan on having more than one cat unless they start out as kittens or you adopt them together. Since they are terratorial (with their humans too) it can become a war.</p>

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<p>I have had 6 cats over the last 30 years - currently, H and I have 3 cats. (I joke that when the number of cats is greater than the number of people in a household, you are on the slippery slope to eccentricity.) We have always gotten our cats from the Humane Society, so I don’t know about personality differences between breeds - but I do know there are huge differences, personality-wise, just between individual cats. Some are aloof, and some are very friendly; some are mellow and some are … well, crazy.</p>

<p>If we are gone a trip for 2-3 days, we just leave them extra food and water and they’re fine. If the trip is longer, we have a neighbor who pet-sits. I find that the cats seem much happier (less resentful of our absence) if they get some human attention while we’re gone - even the cat that hides from other people seems to behave better when other people are around.</p>

<p>I don’t know, maybe it’s just coincidence, but our male cats always seem much more relaxed and much less high-strung than the females.</p>

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<p>Do check out breeds–some are more “talky” and sociable than others. A friend had a burmese that literally would play “hide-and-seek” with you.</p>

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<p>We have two cats, 12+ years old. If we go away for a weekend we just leave food and water. If longer than that a neighbor looks in on them to refresh the food, etc. We don’t board them, have used a pet sitter.</p>

<p>I would never declaw a cat. I buy cheap, corrugated cardboard cat scratchers, with catnip, they love them and rarely bother the furniture. </p>

<p>I would recommend two at once. They keep each other company and wear off some of that kitten energy by playing with each others. If you get a kitten be prepared for a predator-in-training, where your ankles are the victims. The love to dart out and grab you as you go by. But they do outgrow that.</p>

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<p>I adopted a 4 month old kitten from a shelter going on two years ago, and it’s one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. Since he was from the shelter my little boy was automatically neutered and I chose to have him declawed (front only) prior to bringing him home. A great many people are staunchly against declawing, as you’ve seen, and will try to rebuke and vilify you for it. Pay it no mind. The way I see it is that this is YOUR decision and you know what’s right for you. I’d much rather see a cat be declawed and put into a loving forever home than sit in a shelter unadopted if the declawing issue was the only thing keeping him from being adopted. Declawing foes will tell you any number of things, and one of the biggest I heard is that my cat was going to be unhappy and have behavioral problems as a result. Let me tell you, my boy is the sweetest, loving, happiest guy around. He is a pure joy! We play fetch and tag together, which are our favorite games. He is highly intelligent and social and enjoys everyone who comes into my home, from friends to repair people. I have absolutely NO regrets about having had him declawed, because he has shown me that he is a scratcher. He still believes he has front claws and “scratches” on the front of my vintage Bose speakers, on certain furniture, and on my wicker hampers. I hope that you will consider adopting a cat in need of a home. I saw a bumper sticker the other day that made me say “amen!” It was written inside the shape of a paw print and read: “who adopted WHO?” Good luck in making your decision.</p>

<p>Oh, and when I travel for more than a couple of days I board him at my vet’s boarding facilities for $12/day. They love him and he loves them.</p>

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<p>I think you might be putting words in people’s mouths here. Yes, there are some passionate anti-declaw people. Just because someone recommends clipping instead of declawing is not sufficient to assume anything at all about their beliefs. And if you think you’ve seen anyone on this thread rebuking or vilifying, you’re seeing things that are not in evidence.</p>

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<p>If you go the way of wanting a specific breed, please check out the local shelter, rescue organization, petfinder. Petsmart and Petco also have space for rescue groups to offer cats for adoption.</p>

<p>An adjacent parish (county for those not in Louisiana) has a large number of oil workers, and their rescue group puts up cats for adoption in our local Petsmart, many of whom are turned in when the workers are relocated/laid off. I am amazed at the number of gorgeous older, breed cats that are available there. There are also, of course, kittens.</p>

<p>The good thing about these rescue groups is that many of them, before they offer a cat for adoption, have already had the animal spayed/neutered, tested for Feline Leukemia/Aids, at least first set of vaccinations for kittens, and even have personality traits, as many of them have been fostered by wonderful volunteers while awaiting their chance at adoption. Some of these groups will take the cat back if things don’t work out. They have invested a lot of time and money to get these cats adopted, and they don’t want a “dissatisfied customer” to just dump the cat or bring it to the local kill shelter. Their goal is to not only get these cats adopted, but to control pet overpopulation and reduce the number of euthanized pets in shelters. </p>

<p>Many of these rescue groups also offer dogs, so if you decide to go dog over cat, please check one of them out. There is a fee, but it is minimal. Our local group charges around $80, but the cat has already been spayed/neutered, vaccinated, and disease tested. Last time I had a regular house cat spayed at the vets, almost 15 years ago, it cost me over $150.</p>

<p>I used to clean the cages at the local Petsmart for our rescue group. I fell in love with a black kitten who was one of a litter of four. All his siblings got adopted but him. I fostered him over Christmas holidays, and he’s been with me ever since. He was fostered with small dogs, I suspect dachsunds, and he thinks he’s a dog. He loves to be held and licks my face. He is fascinated by running water. And he is the biggest lovebug you ever want to meet. He became big brother to a litter of feral kittens we rescued, and the four of them are all partners in crime.</p>

<p>He is the love of my life and the heart of my hearts. And his name? Montegut</p>

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<p>@hayden: I was simply pointing out to the OP what he/she can expect on the issue of declawing. I was not trying to “put words in people’s mouths here”, as you put it. Relax.</p>

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<p>One more piece of advice–ask the shelter people (if you go that route) about the animal. Sometimes there is some history as to where the animal came from, why it ended up at the shelter etc. Also its personality–some cats are rambunctious, some aloof, some like laps and petting, some talk a lot and some don’t meow at all.
Also if it has been an indoor/outside cat or strictly indoors or outdoors.
If you go with a kitten, see how it plays with litter mates if possible. You want neither the most timid nor the ringleader of the group. Look for the “plays well with others”.</p>

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<p>I’d also advise against declawing their front paws. I covered the furniture corners with clear sheet plastic using corkscrew pins. My cat uses scratching posts that I strategically place throughout the house. I will usually leave the cat in the house unattended if we are gone less than one week. I will put out two litter boxes of fresh litter the night before, along with two bowls of dry food and water. I also make sure the toilets are all flushed (particularly in my son’s room!) and the lids are open. My vet said it’s no problem to let your cat drink out of a clean toilet.</p>

<p>For me, the two biggest negatives to owning a cat are 1) hairballs and 2) Gingivitis: </p>

<p>Make sure you give a cat hairball ointment. I do it almost daily and also administer a syringe squirt of Metamucil to keep everything “moving” normal. If cats are vomiting hairballs a lot, they need to get unplugged. Cats are more prone to Gingiviis than dogs, even with regular (even annual) teeth cleaning (which is very expensive). My vet says it doesn’t make much difference whether a cat is on wet or dry food. Some cats just have bad teeth genes.</p>

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<p>For those opposed to declawing an alternative for indoor cats is Soft Paws. These are nail caps that glue onto your cats claws and fall off after about 6 weeks as the cats nails shed. They come in all sorts of colors and look really cool. Our 10 year old cat has had them since she’s been about 6 months old.</p>

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<p>My cats came from a shelter as 2yo liter mates already declawed in the front. I wanted declawed cats (I’ve tried clipping, scratching posts etc my cats always went for my speakers), without the karmic hit :slight_smile: I too prefer a sitter, she checks the mail, and the cats are less stressed when I get home. While dogs were domesticated, cats saw that grain and people and mice wnet together, and with a little attention the poeple would provide food and water so they domesticated themselves. </p>

<p>Most people do not start out as cat people. They get a cat and then become that cat’s person. After the third or fourth cat, they realize they are officially cat people!</p>

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<p>We currently own three cats, or rather, three cats own us.</p>

<p>Eight years ago a stray cat chose to finish her pregnancy under a nearby bush. We cared for mother and four kittens until the mother and two kittens found permanent homes with various friends of the family. We had the other two kittens declawed (front claws) at our vet’s suggestion. He knew that we planned to keep them inside. In his opinion, more cats end up abandoned or taken to shelters because of clawing issues. (My neighbor chose not to declaw her inside cat and indeed ended up moving the cat outside after a few years because of clawed furniture. The cat did not fare well with the change in living arrangements. On the other hand, my daughter chose not to declaw her apartment cat, and it’s working out okay: she has no furniture that she truly cares about anyway. LOL)</p>

<p>Four years ago another stray wandered into our lives, truly needed help: skinny, chewed up by a raccoon, a bacterial infection, two internal parasites. The bill for the aforementioned, plus neutering and shots might have been astronomical, except that our beloved vet (mentioned above) splits the bill for rescues such as this. This cat stays outside; well, mostly outside - he happily goes into the garage each night. We have a huge garage with screened windows and some outdoor furniture. The cat has food, water, and a litter box in the garage. Obviously no declawing took place.</p>

<p>Since April 10 I have been feeding a black and white stray cat that just recently lets me get close. No telling how that’s going to end up, as my outside cat is strongly opposed to sharing. Stray kitty has to visit in the evening after the garage door has been shut on outside kitty for the night.</p>

<p>We seem to be on some sort of four-year-stray-cat-adoption list, though not by design.</p>

<p>If we leave for a couple days, a neighbor checks once a day on food, water, litterbox. Costs nothing as I do the same for her. We make the outside cat stay in the garage during the day also - peace of mind for us really, though I have to say that I’ve heard the cat is not a particularly happy camper with daytime house arrest. Seldom take long trips.</p>

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<p>My family is looking for homes for three black and white domestic shorthair kittens with some Siamese in them. PM me.</p>

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<p>I don’t have currently a cat. Grew up with and loved them but hubby is more of a dog person. However, when our beloved aging Beagle goes, I’m not sure I want another dog for because we travel a lot and it’s very expensive to board her. She can’t really stay by herself with just a pet sitter. But I love the company of pets and will consider a cat if I can talk husband into it. </p>

<p>I do have a few questions - has anyone tried one of those automatic kitty litter cleaners? A lot of older cats will start peeing outside of the litter box - has anyone experienced that? Has anyone been able to successfully keep their cat off the counters? (My only ‘ick’ factor with a cat - though I could probably live with it)?</p>

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<p>One thing I will mention about cats and garages: </p>

<p>We had a kitty door that led into the garage. Our current cat went missing for a day or so and the next day, on my way to my mom’s house, I heard a muffled meow coming from somewhere in the car. I pulled off the road and found her huddled inside the engine compartment, next to the car battery! Needless to say, I would not let your cat have access to your garage where cars are parked. The warmth of the engine makes for a nice cozy spot on cold days.</p>

<p>Momlive: Sometimes cats will pee outside the box if their litter needs changing or it could be a urinary tract infection.</p>

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<p>MomLive, it was never a problem in our house (knock on wood) - even my diabetic cat, who could not bend her hind legs due to muscle atrophy, used her litterbox religiously, until the day she died. Cats do not develop litterbox phobias or become sloppy just because they grow old; usually, there is a medical condition that leads to accidents around the box (painful urination due to kidney problems => cat associates pain with the box => cat avoids the box).</p>

<p>My cats are not into counter surfing, probably, because they have cat trees and plenty of floor toys and, to some extent, because I never leave any temptations on the counters. :slight_smile: But there are devices such as ScatMat and motion sensor air puffers that could keep a cat from visiting places that s/he is not supposed to visit. Cats are pretty smart, they just do not want us to know that. :)</p>

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<p>So true. My childhood Siamese ended up with a broken jaw because she was camping inside of someone’s engine and they unknowingly started the car.</p>

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<p>I highly recomment the Animal Planet’s show My Cat from Hell.</p>

<p>[About</a> Jackson Galaxy : My Cat from Hell : Animal Planet](<a href=“http://animal.discovery.com/tv/my-cat-from-hell/about-jackson-galaxy.html]About”>http://animal.discovery.com/tv/my-cat-from-hell/about-jackson-galaxy.html)</p>

<p>Jackson does not look like a sterotypical “cat whisperer”, but he surely knows cats! This is one of the products that was showcased on his show - it WORKS. :)</p>

<p>[Amazon.com:</a> Innotek SSSCAT Cat Training Aid: Kitchen & Dining](<a href=“http://www.amazon.com/Innotek-SSSCAT-Cat-Training-Aid/dp/B000RIA95G/ref=as_li_wdgt_js_ex?&camp=212361&linkCode=wey&tag=jackgala-20&creative=380733]Amazon.com:”>http://www.amazon.com/Innotek-SSSCAT-Cat-Training-Aid/dp/B000RIA95G/ref=as_li_wdgt_js_ex?&camp=212361&linkCode=wey&tag=jackgala-20&creative=380733)</p>