New cat - need tips

[Brother None]

Cats are awesome. Survivalists. Throw it into the yard. If it dies, it dies.

No seriously most stuff has been covered here and your average cat is really easy, Phil is right there (Kitty proofing is indeed goofy). But some will have kinks and personality oddities that can bite you in the ass. Litter discipline is a common one, but so are bouts of sudden aggression or a tendency to go hissy randomly. Come back if you run into any of them.

Also:

I personally wouldn't let the cat roam freely outside.

Oh no you din't.

If you want a pet that sits at your feet all day, available at your beck and call, to walk at your leisure. Get a dog. People who walk cats on leashes simply do not understand cats. They're misguided dog lovers. Or people who own $1000-dollar cats.

I'm not totally surprised you of all people would prefer to turn your cat into a recluse because "OH NO THE GERMS" but c'mon, it's a cat. If you have a yard, hell yeah he/she should be able to roam free. Just chip it and/or collar it, then let it loose.

Cats are survivalists, even housecats. Other than cat HIV (getting them fixed if they're outdoors or even indoors is a must anyway, the pound I volunteer at is full of dumped off bastard kittens), there's not a lot that'll commonly threaten cats. Getting scratched or hurt outside generally doesn't faze them because of the way catskin isolates and heals. And only recluse cats are dumb enough to sit around on a highway. Street cats have street smarts, not like those locked-in retards.

De Bies has always been allowed to roam free. Bitch ruled the street. Any tomcats in the neighbourhood gave our fiesty little queen a wide berth (not the same since we moved, but oh well, she's getting on there in years, somewhere around 15 or 16 years old now. Still hasn't gone into true decline though, cats have amazing lifecycles). Used to be we had moles in the neighbourhood. After one year of finding a fresh mole on our carpet every week, no more moles appeared. Little fuckers.

I find it hard to give the cat a name. I think it's just gonna be called 'the cat', I don't think it gives a shit

Your cat's name is The Order.

 

[TwinkieGorilla]

I hope it won't chew them and get electrocuted...

AAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!TOOFUCKINGCUTEOVERLOAD!!!

Tip: make sure you're feeding it wet *and* dry food. Cats don't drink a whole lot on their own, so you need to feed them wet food and it helps to put various bowls of water around your house/apartment and get one of those drinking fountains for cats (mine love the shit out of theirs).

Forgot if you said if it was male or female but urine crystals can be life-threatening to male cats (as they can block the urethra) and comes from too much magnesium, potassium and not enough water.

Your cat's name is The Order.

i lol'ed.

 

[mobucks]

My cat is strictly an outside cat after it started shitting all over the place. It just sits in my driveway and watches cars go by. Like a lion in some urban savannah.

 

[UniversalWolf]

A dirt cheap toy all cats love:

1) get a piece of string, say about 1m long.

2) get a patch of aluminum foil about the size of your hand.

3) squeeze the middle of the foil together and tie one end of the string around it.

4) crumple the rest of the foil into a tight little ball - about half as big as a golf ball.

Now drag the foil ball across the floor in front of the cat with a hesitating, jerking motion and enjoy the ensuing kitty mayhem.

Irresistible Lure of Cat Curiosity: while the cat is observing the foil ball, drag in around a corner out of sight. Now wait patiently, even if the cat feigns disinterest at first.

You can also hang the toy from something secure so it dangles a few inches off the ground, and the cat can bat it around like a tether ball.

 

[Phil the Nuka-Cola Dude]

I'm not totally surprised you of all people would prefer to turn your cat into a recluse because "OH NO THE GERMS" but c'mon, it's a cat. If you have a yard, hell yeah he/she should be able to roam free. Just chip it and/or collar it, then let it loose.

Depends where you live, I guess.

Over here in the States, it's common (and socially acceptable, among the lower class) for sick fucks to shoot outdoor cats with pellet guns, or lure them with food and then torture/kill them.

 

[Verevoof]

Yeah, I've heard and read many a tale of people doing completely horrible things to outdoor cats. And you wouldn't believe the number of road kill cats I see on the roads, it's like certain drivers go out of their way...

Yes, cats are very resilient and strong little creatures, but things happen. I'm not saying one must leash train, that's pretty rare, I'm not saying that a cat should be cooped up indoors all its life, just saying that one should be aware of what their cats do while out and about.

Oh, yes, I am reminded. Cat food companies seem to forget that cats are carnivores, not omnivores like dogs. They load up dry cat food with corn, and many cats are allergic to corn. But also many cats do well on these corn based diets. So, yes, mixture of dry and wet food is good. In the weekly pet column in the newspaper, there are so many questions about sick cats that don't get better, and when they are told to switch to a less or non-corn based food, the cats do get well.

 

[SkuLL]

Thanks for the info, everyone! The cat's doing great - been hopping around the house yesterday, even checking the stairs to the first floor (and inevitably falling down the whole set).

Today she's been more docile, and I think she's beginning to understand that hands are for touching and everything else is for fun. It's an expert toilet-user - didn't need training and she already poops in the box and covers everything up.

It watches TV with me and purrs viciously.

Your cat's name is The Order.

Haha, so that's sorted!

 

[Verevoof]

I wish I had someone to watch TV with me and purr viciously.

I'm like totally jealous of yooou. Like, totally. Good to hear the little kitty is well. Who decides what to watch on the magic tube box?

 

[SkuLL]

I do, muhahah. To be fair, the cat only watches when there's a lot of sound, action... Otherwise it mostly stares up at me or sleeps.

Just for the record - I don't watch TV. Only DVDs pf awesome films/shows. I couldn't expose myself or my cat to the mad world of TV.

I reckon you should get a cat, voof. For one, it's embarrassing and a little weird that you don't have one already. Also, they're not too hard to maintain.

 

[Verevoof]

If it was up to me, I would live with a cat, but it's not. Once I'm out, though, oh boy, the cats! The cats!

 

[Crni Vuk]

the cats! The cats!

doesnt that sound like the name of a song ?

 

[Leon]

Since the "how to take care of cat ploz" part seems to be concluded, how about we share pictures of our cats?

This is Emmy.

She spends most of her time trying to get outside to kick the asses of the neighborhood cats (I have heard/seen her fight several times but she always comes home unscathed), or just finding ways to piss off my other cat.

This is Dora, the manx.

She spends most of her time whining for attention/soft food, begging for attention/soft food, getting attention/soft food, and being pissed at Emmy.

 

[SkuLL]

I think my cat is gonna grow up like your Dora. It's got similar colours and expression. And loves soft food. Like, really loves it.

On another note, she fell from the stairs again - around 2.5 meters onto hardwood floor. She was just lying there, occasionally making a very high-pitched, long hooting sound. I sat next to her for a minute and she immediately started purring. Another minute and she was jumping around like normal, obviously more embarrassed than anything.

That whole episode made me a bit worried, so I've put up cardboard all around the gaps on top of the stairs and the landing. At least until she's more grown up and has more balance.

EDIT: This gave me some hope. Cats are virtually unbreakable:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QhGOvkQBgK0[/youtube]

 

[Brother None]

Over here in the States, it's common (and socially acceptable, among the lower class) for sick fucks to shoot outdoor cats with pellet guns, or lure them with food and then torture/kill them.

Well then, move somewhere with less of an inhuman sociopathic populace.

 

[Kilus]

Cats shouldn't be left outside. They will kill birds for no reason and generally wont stay within the confines of your property. Cats are perfectly fine with being indoors 100% of the time.

 

[Brother None]

They will kill birds for no reason

Except most don't. Besides, are we talking city birds here? Pidgeons? Those are pests.

and generally wont stay within the confines of your property.

So?

Cats are perfectly fine with being indoors 100% of the time.

Simply untrue. If by being you mean living, which I assume you do in your weird Australian lingo.

In fact, one of the things to keep in mind on making the decision indoor/outdoor is how much time you have free for your cat . Indoor cats tend be much more needy psychologically. Rule of thumb is they need 3 hours of attention each day. Outdoor cats just need one. Cats are adaptive and will survive no matter what, but not every cat is well set-up to live indoors (and some are not well set-up to live outdoors but with a catflap they can make those decisions themselves). There's no way of telling until you have the cat for a while but some have serious issues being confined indoors. Generally if you have a kitten you can cripple its mind to remove any idea of freedom before it even gets it, but even then you'll find some individuals handle it badly.

Honestly, seriously, if you're thinking indoor cat, just drop the facade and get a dog.

On another note, she fell from the stairs again - around 2.5 meters onto hardwood floor. She was just lying there, occasionally making a very high-pitched, long hooting sound. I sat next to her for a minute and she immediately started purring. Another minute and she was jumping around like normal, obviously more embarrassed than anything.

Hurt pride more than anything.

 

[SkuLL]

I'd rather keep a cat indoor than a dog. Granted, there are different types of dog, but the kind of dog I respect needs to run miles and miles every day, otherwise it's torture. Cat's fine sitting on a couch all day

 

[Kilus]

They will kill birds for no reason

Except most don't. Besides, are we talking city birds here? Pidgeons? Those are pests.

What? You are seriously suggesting that most outdoors cats don't go around killing all sorts of shit?

As for the pidgeon thing, I guess it does depend on where you live. But my city has all sorts of birds everywhere.

and generally wont stay within the confines of your property.

So?

If you have a pet then it's your responsibly to make sure it does not impact on anyone else. Any cat that comes over to my yard(if I had one, which I don't) is going to get something thrown at it so it will think twice before coming back.

Cats are perfectly fine with being indoors 100% of the time.

Simply untrue. If by being you mean living, which I assume you do in your weird Australian lingo.

In fact, one of the things to keep in mind on making the decision indoor/outdoor is how much time you have free for your cat . Indoor cats tend be much more needy psychologically. Rule of thumb is they need 3 hours of attention each day. Outdoor cats just need one. Cats are adaptive and will survive no matter what, but not every cat is well set-up to live indoors (and some are not well set-up to live outdoors but with a catflap they can make those decisions themselves). There's no way of telling until you have the cat for a while but some have serious issues being confined indoors. Generally if you have a kitten you can cripple its mind to remove any idea of freedom before it even gets it, but even then you'll find some individuals handle it badly.

But if you are inside and the cat is inside it's easy to pay a little attention to them. And if a person has a problem with paying attention to a pet then maybe they shouldn't own a pet. And Indoor cats live longer and healthier on average.

 

[Verevoof]

Leon, your cats, are awesome. Ah, the cuteness!

Pidgeons

A what?


Cat don't kill birds? Tell that to the Stephens Island wren. Oh, wait, they're all dead! That's what you get for being flightless, I suppose.

It is true, though, that an owned cat who is given regular playtime, mental stimulation, and, of course, food, won't go on a hunting spree. There really isn't a need to hunt, since food is being provided for them. That's not to say that a cat won't hunt, but it's really not their main priority when out. When a cat is outdoors, they spend most of their time patrolling their territory, on the look out for rival cats, and potential mates (if not neutered). A cats territory is around their (owner's) house, and the range of their territory depends on whether they are neutered or not; neutered cats typically have less territory area.

 

[Sander]

Depends on the cat too, I assume. My mom has a cat that grew up on a farm initially. It loves being outside, and when I was still living at home I used to find a dead bird or mouse at the back porch about once a week.