DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Everything Else... Cat lovers... need some help here.

It seems Pat and I now have a cat.


She fed it while I was up at the game this weekend, and now it is here in the den with me.

I don't know crap about cats as I have never had one....I am a dog guy, but this is the first cat that hasn't scratched or bitten me when I made a offer to pet it or pick it up.....so that has to make it pretty cool in my book.


So now what in the hell do I do? It seems pretty comfortable laying here next to me....I don't know if it best to just send it back outside.....it's tame, but it looks just like a wild cat that roamed around here for a couple of years.


It's a cool looking cat....green eyes,,,,,black around one of them, orange around the other....orange, black, and white on the body.

I call it Marme....short for Marmalade.


Heck...I can't put it out....guess a trip to the vet is in order....


I have a friggen cat.....damn.

I don't have a box nor know how to train for that.....I am just going to let it out in a while...hope it knows what to do....I may just leave it in the garage for the night, toss down a blanket, then leave it outside during the day. That may be the best long term solution. It has it's claws. It's already left a chipmunk present by the door, so it knows how to hunt well enough.





I don't really want the thing, but have a feeling I've got it.

I need some help here.


A question....If I kept it on the back screened in porch...I have a dog door I could easily open, would a coon be a problem for a cat?? I know a coon could kill a cat if it became a fight...I just don't know if it would. I know it would with a dog because the dog is going to go after the coon unless it's some timid, tiny dog not worth a salt.


Maybe it's best to just kick it back outside, supplement it's diet with some cat food when it shows up and leave it at that.

I don't mind feeding a cat $15-20 a week worth of food. Especially if it leaves chipmunks at the door.

I hate those things. Cute, but destructive, useless creatures.

Not a cat person (allergies) but I would at least take it the vet to have it checked out and fixed. Make sure it's not carrying diseases etc.

My former neighbor worked for the Human Society and would take all the strays and ferals there to have them checked out but mostly to get them fixed.

15 to 20 a week of cat food? WTH you going to feed that thing?

I dont like cats either, so i would keep it outdoors. Cats are good at finding warm places to curl up, just put some food out and it will stay around and keep the varmint pop down.

If you decide to keep it in house, all you have to do is show it where litterbox is and keep it clean

King

$15 to $20 a week? Dude, back off the pipe. $15 to $20 a month is more like it.

I don't have much time right now, but trust me, we've had so many strays show up at our house it's crazy.

DO take it to the vet to get spayed or neutered. The sooner the better.

We have a "stray" that now lives in our house. Best damn cat in the land. Claws and all. Dumb thing (Milo) showed up, fed her......and once you feed a cat, it isn't going anywhere without significant "encouragement".

Thing follows me around like I'm God. Take my daughter upstairs to bed, she'll sit on Sooga's bed till she falls asleep - like clockwork. I guarantee, when Milo comes downstairs, Sooga is asleep. Awesome cat.

Then there's Sammy - the outdoor cat. Dude is crazy. Took a month for him to even allow himself to be touched. Since I have to watch the Browns games in the garage, he and I got to know each other real well last year.

Hell, he's not even scared of the shotgun. Sits on my shoulder. When we feed him, he rubs against us - only on 1 side........if you don't let him, he looks up at you like "what's going on?"

Peen - I was never a cat person, till I had these 2.......well, Clyde was a good cat too..........

A good cat is a great pet. This, from a dog lover.

Eh, Sammy, my outdoor cat, gets worms quite often. Why? He's out eating mice. It costs about $1 to get him a pill to take care of the worms when he gets them.

Otherwise - he's a "best friend" He asks nothing. Shoot, if I'm out in my office, he'll sit outside and wait for me to walk up to the house. Then, we race. He always wins.

Black, White and Orange....

Has it asked to watch the Pittsburgh game this week?

My advice is going to deal chiefly with indoors behavior, as all three of our cats are strictly indoors cats.

If you're going to keep it inside get a litter box, some clumping litter and a little scoop for cleaning the box. If you're serious about keeping it around, it might not be a bad decision to take it to a vet to get it checked out/vaccinated/fixed. This is especially important if its going to be indoors a lot, because a cat will mark its territory by spraying. If you see it back its butt up to a corner or wall with its tail straight up, and do a little shimmy-shake, its probably spraying.

Cats love the chase stuff, and they love to climb stuff. Tie something to the end of a shoelace and drag or wave it around and the cat will probably be entertained for hours. You can feed it immediately after playing so that it satisfies the urge of its hunt-eat-sleep instinct.

Shelves, desks or chairs under windows will make good sleeping and observation spots.

If you see it trying to go to the bathroom outside of the litterbox (indoors, of course), don't punish it. It's not doing it out of malice. Its typically a sign that something is wrong, or the cat is distressed. It may be as simple as the litter box needs to be cleaned because its full of waste (you wouldn't want to use an overflowing outhouse, would you?). It could be something more dangerous, possible life-threatening to the cat. If it's having pain or discomfort when trying to use the litterbox, it may associate that pain with the texture of the litter, and seek out a surface of a different texture on which to do its business. Not the worst situation when its on a tile floor. Not much fun if its on carpet.

The important thing is to find out whats causing the pain. A likely culprit is bladder crystals, which are kind of an enigma, even to vets. Cats can develop crystals in their bladders from psychosomatic causes such as stress or anxiety. These crystals, especially in male cats, can block the urethra and cause urine to back up in the bladder. This can be fatal to the cat in very short order if not taken care of by a vet. They can be held in check with diet and by ensuring that the cat gets plenty of liquids. Speaking of, if you give it dry food, leave dishes of water out as well. Cats get most of their water intake naturally through their food, which doesn't happen if they're eating dry food.

If the cat does pee or spray on the carpet, an enzymatic cleaner will get rid of the odor. I recommend Bissell's Pawsitively Clean Pet "EWWW" spray (largely because my little girl is featured on the product's label). Works well for the occasional hairball, too.

As for the coon question...can't help you there. I bet my two boys could take a coon, but they're both pretty big and can scrap.

Good luck!

Keep it. Cats rock.

I grew up with both cats and dogs.

First, decide i it is an indoor cat or outdoor cat. If outdoor, it is pretty easy, put some food outside and it'll eat it. Then again, so might other area strays or even other animals. You might want a litter box indoors too, if you'll bring it in once in a while. The biggest negative to me on outdoor cats is the higher potential for vet bills (worms, fights, hit by car...).

If indoor cat, get a litter box and food/water dishes. Assuming it hasn't been declawed, a scratching post or something like that will be helpful too. As well, maybe a few toys. Mine don't play a lot, but they love the laser pointer

I have 2 cats and use about one $20 bag of food a month. Per my vet, spend a little extra for the better food if you're going to keep the cat. The cheap stuff is just that. For litter, I use Worlds Best cat litter - it is twice as expensive, but lasts at least twice as long and I never get that ammonia smell. You'll need a scoop as well.

As per what to do with them, they're not dogs - they'll find you when they want attention.

Vet will be expensive, but that is true for any animal. I drop $200-300 a year on my two, just for annual checkups, blood tests, etc...

Keep the cat.

Bowl of water, bowl of dry friskies and a litter box. Get the vet to check it out..Thats all..

Cats are easy. Plus is that this one seems to be all about varmint control.

Thanks for the tips.


For now, I have it in the garage as a overnight environment and plan to let it out during the day while we might be gone.

I am thinking a outdoor cat with some indoor time, and a tempered environment to spend the night since I don't have a barn where it can seek shelter.

Keeping it or not keeping it is not your decision.. your wife will make that call.

Not a cat guy either,, But when something that looks at me and cuddles with me, I melt..

I guess I'd take it to a vet, make sure it's healthy and get it groomed so you know it's clean. Watch to see if someone is missing a cat. watch for signs in the area,,,

If nobody claims it, sounds like you got a new friend. enjoy it. Cats can be a ton of fun.

I had 2 cats show up on my deck the other night, meowing their butts off .......

My dog barked at them through the door.

I let him out.

He chased them away.

They haven't been back.

Good solution all around.

I am a dog guy. But I have 3 cats as well.

My oldest is 12 years old (goin on 13). I've had him since he was 3 weeks old. Thumper is a typical cat in my opinion. He likes attention when he wants it, where he wants it. He goes in and out the dog door on his own and hunts and cats around at night. He's been a indoor cat for most of his life, but recently started enjoying laying around the yard. Doesn't go to far away and always comes home.

Nibbles, is my stray that picked me. She is the huntress. Brings me all sorts of "trophies".

That said, training is very intuitive. Put a box of litter down and they will find it and use it. Make sure you clean it often. They are prissy little things and like to be clean. Food is easy enough, I feed mine dry cat food only. Won't do the wet stuff cause it stinks to high heaven when it comes back out. All of mine are fixed. No kitties for me.

They are pretty easy to take care of. Other than the annual trip for the shots and the occasional clean up of the trophies. I love my cats. But I prefer my beagles any day.

About 5 years ago our one cat died and like an act of reincarnation this younger stray comes out of nowhere soon after and sat on deck all the time. The girlfriend couldn't help herself and fed it daily so it wasn't going to go anywhere. Why would it?

Well winter came and I created a box for her (the cat, not the girlfriend) with hay etc and still kept her outside.

Well then I decided the garage was better so I would get her in the garage and soon she would put herself in there when the door opened and left the same way. But, felt bad on those 10 degree nights and let the cat in and put her in a back room. Soon she was coming and going. Every time she was let in, she went straight to "her room". Problem was that the other cats got a little PO'd by her presence so we closed the door. Bad move. She clawed the carpet to pieces by the door so the cats had to learn to get along.

Spring came and we sent her back outside, but she got knocked up before we decided to fix her. I got drunk one night and she was crying to get in so I let her in. I woke up to 4 kittens in the closet. So I raised four kittens and got rid of them pretty quick.

Anyway....today she is my cat. She goes out in the morning...comes in when I get home from work (she sits in the drive and waits for me). After a quick snack she is back out until night. At bed time I open the door, clap my hands a couple of times and she comes running in and sleeps right next to me.

I fill her bowl with dry food and give her a bowl of water in the morning before my shower so she is ready to go for the day. I clean the cat box when she uses it, but during the summer, she is mostly goes outside. Which leads me to this....

"Advantage" flea control for cats. Trust me when I say if the cat is still going out, you gotta use flea control. I learned the hard way when all the cats got fleas. Once a month you apply it to the back of their neck and they are good to go.

So.....dry food (its cheap)...clean water...litter box (there is no training...they know exactly what to do with anything that resembles a sandbox..just show it where it is) Get it fixed. Some vets will give a discount if you tell them you are taking in a stray. Use flea control. Maybe give it something to run its claws on instead of the furniture or carpet. Try to let it in and out on your rules otherwise be prepared to let it in and out quite a bit (I somehow let it train me instead of the other way around when it came to this). Cats are really not too big of a hassle. Given enough food and water, you can take a weekend trip and not have to worry like you would a dog.

Sorry for the long post.

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So now what in the hell do I do?

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I'm going to click out of this thread now.....

Boy could we have some fun in this thread

So far the advice is pretty good. My wife the vet tech says to get some flea and tick treatments going on, Frontline for fleas and ticks or Advantage for just fleas, depends on whats up in your neck of the woods.

Congrats, Peen. Cats can be great little things -- or hell.

I would just like you to consider making an informed decision on making this an indoor vs outdoor kitty. I will get you some links, but the safest thing for all creatures involved is keeping it indoors.

and getting rid of it's claws and nuts

Nuts, yes. Claws, no.

Claws no!!!! Absolutely do not declaw.
Especially if this cat is ever going outside.
Get a scratching post or two. Show the cat the scratching post. Scratch at it with them until they get the point. It's best to have a scratching post in the livingroom/den where you hang out most.
Then get a squirt bottle to train them off your valuables. The pet store has double sided tape that's okay for furniture. It's effective for corners of chairs or couches a cat might find interesting. Stick with the squirt bottle. They learn.

Cats are great. I've owned them for 20 years. Each so different from the other. I lost a great pet of 15 years a couple summers back. He was such a cool animal. So laid back.
I now own 2. An 8 year old black long hair named Nomi. She's cranky but can be extremely sweet on her terms. Then there's Limea (aka Kitty). She's a 3 year old black short hair. High energy, playful monster. Curious about everything. Mischievous.
A word of wisdom. Hands aren't playthings. Don't rough house with cats (especially young cats) with your hands. They'll associate rough play with hands. A recipe for strangers (kids, friends) to get bitten or scratched just for attempting to pet your pet. Gets toys. Figure out what your cat likes to play with then engage with them at their level. Not all cats like the same toys. Nomi likes balls. Kitty likes furry mice.
Lastly. Cat nip. It's awesome. Get some. Some cats don't react. Especially young cats. Most do. It can be entertaining for all.

Let you cats do what they want. They're just in love.

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Boy could we have some fun in this thread

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I keep hearing someone yell PULL in my head......

My experience with cats have been that they are pretty self reliant . We have an 18 ... yes an 18 pound killer well a potential killer as she has yet to succeed in making me fall all the way down the stairs each morning. She always ignored me but lately she has taken to curling up next to me on the couch and I am not sure whether it is my company or the spot on the couch that she likes.

My experience with cats has only been through the local Chinese buffet.

I get where you're coming from. I've always been more of a dog guy- but given the odd hours I have to work and the lack of land (apartment living) I just don't feel I can justify providing an ideally stable home for a dog. I didn't plan on getting a cat ever, until one day when I was on third shift- I got a wild hair up my ass while my girlfriend and I were getting breakfast and I said, "Aww hell. Let's check out the animal shelter across the street. If there's a cat we really like, we can consider it."

Came across Fannie (renamed to Frannie as Fannie is just a lame name for anything)- a munchkin cat (think wiener dog of cats with short legs and long torso) and I've 180'd as far as my opinion of cats.

They can take care of themselves whereas a dog can simply be needy. Simple load of dry food a day and they're set. Some toy that hangs by a door or scratching post with nip and the cat is content. I appreciate their independence and lack of maintenance.

As far as the litter box situation goes- all you really have to do is train it by placing the cat and the box to get it acclimated and praise it when it exits- even with out using the poddy. I know it sounds cheesy- but it helps them get in the habit and associate positive behavior with using the litter box as opposed to dumping and peeing elsewhere.

Don't be afraid to love the damn thing! It kills unwanted rodents and doesn't require much maintenance. Take it from a dog guy.

Peen, you have been given lots of really good advice. My only advice is to decide indoor or outdoor. Cats are very self reliant. Make sure they have water, bowl of DRY food and a litter box. I spend about 14 bucks every 2 to 3 weeks on food for my indoor cats. (five) Not a big deal. One big bag of cat food will last you a good month with only one kitty in the family.If you need any more advice just pm me.

Plus - an outdoor cat tends to keep the mice away, or dead. Sammy is a terrific hunter! And, he eats what he kills - after he parades it around.

Geez Peen.. listen to the crazy cat lady lol..

'Peen.... My Man....



See how much traction this thread has produced?

Puss is always more trouble than it's worth- you haven't figured that out yet?



Dawgs be the way to go.
Always.

WOOF!!!

Damn Clem, ya being rotten to us cat lovers LOL

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So now what in the hell do I do? It seems pretty comfortable laying here next to me....

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Yep, you're getting old.

Sorry I don't have more to add in assistance. Never had a cat.

Yeah, what you said - especially the going away for a weekend or so......

Plus, Sammy, my outside cat - jumps on my shoulders when I'm outside or in the garage. Sometimes he sits up like a parrot (only on my left shoulder though), sometimes he curls around the back of my neck, front legs hanging on one side, back legs on the other.........and he just lays there.

ATOMIC!!!


Good to see you, sweetheart!




...If I'd known you were were still monitoring these boards, I MIGHT have 'toned it down' just a bit.... but probably not-


Grrrrrrrrrrlfrnd, How ya doin'?


PM me with updates, yo- I've truly missed you, kid!


Deep affection,
Clemmy


p.s. All you other Dawgs.... Don't ask- 'cause me and AD ain't tellin'....

Portland:


You know I'm only kidding, don't you?

Cats be cool, too.

We had a cat when I was growing up. "Cuddles" was his his name. (My li'l Sis named him)

"Cuddles" grew to be the size of a bobcat.... (20+ lbs.-and all muscle and attitude until his last 3 years) -and terrorized all the pets in our 'hood. He was a badazz.... and was the ONLY cat that cowered not one, but TWO neighborhood Dobermans- at the same time. Misty and Gabe ran the hood.... until they ran into Cuddles. in our back yard one day.

Dawg.... I heard all this ruckus goin' on in my back yard, and ran out to rescue the Family Cat- only to find him backing up BOTH Dobies against our garage wall! Ears all layed back, spittin' and hissin'.... Eddie Lawson's dogs ran freely throughout the neighborhood- but they NEVER ran through our back yard ever again!



That cat was the shizz.( I think he overcompensated because My Sis named him "Cuddles.")

Waaaaay too much testosterone for The Hood, yo-


So... I'm not actaally down on cats. We've just been a "dog house" since Mommy & Me hooked up. (I'd have one in a minnit,, if she'd relent, but she's a die-hard "hayta')


just wanted to clear that up, yo.