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Beichan posted:They don't listen to me about anything. I'm too young for my opinions or research to have any sway. I try my best. If you can't get your grandparents to listen to you, at least you make sure other family members do and get their animals fixed and not let your grandparents near them. What sort of information do you need? Did you check out the ones I posted up above? Sonata posted:Thanks everyone for your advice. I'm only going on what my friend told me when I met the dog; she said the vet told her that the heartworms will never go away but they need to be kept under control with medication. I really hope this isn't the case because then wouldn't that mean she can't have exercise or excitement, ever? You really need to check, Antibiotics are exceptionally important with Mastitis. If the bacteria continues to grow it can cause gangrene Mastitis where the infection explodes out of the side of the teat and the skin around the whole is dead and black. At this point the dog will lose that teat. http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/breedingdogs/mastitisindogs.htm http://www.petplace.com/dogs/mastitis-in-dogs/page3.aspx (just click 'close window' at the bottom of the stupid pop up) http://www.lowchensaustralia.com/breeding/mastitis.htm
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Apr 17, 2010 05:45
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KilGrey, it's a good link because it presents points often different to my beliefs and the whole point of this exercise is for me to learn about those. I might even learn something.Serella posted:You are anthropomorphizing your dog. Breeding is instinctual in animals; they don't do it because they want the warm fuzzies associated with having a family. KilGrey posted:Taking care of young is again an instinctual thing to make sure those pups grow up to propagate the species. KilGrey posted:No, you don't know anything about the ancestry of these dogs. KilGrey posted:It's not relevant because her having puppies will not cause the change you are seeking. KilGrey posted:This goes for temperament as well as health. It takes years of taking dogs with one trait and breeding it with a dog of another temperament trait in order to reliably predict the temperament of the puppies. KilGrey posted:These breeders are not reputable. KilGrey posted:Are you asking because you think there aren't any side from the mutts you have? DenialTwist posted:Just wanted to touch on the hunting topic a little, have you even ever taken either dog out into the field?
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Apr 17, 2010 05:52
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KilGrey posted:What sort of information do you need? Did you check out the ones I posted up above? Yeah, I think what you've posted so far should be helpful. I thought I had the cousin converted months ago but the family convinced her her dog NEEDS to breed, so something more substantial should be useful. I just get especially irritated by the grandparents because they have like 10 little un-spayed and un-neutered shih tzus running around their property all the time and they just breed randomly whenever one happens to go into heat and, oh boy, one of the cousins decides to leave his un-neutered pit mix there to run around unattended with the little dogs? Yeah it couldn't possibly hurt one of the itty tiny shih tzu girls if it decided they were sexy. :rage:
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Apr 17, 2010 05:58
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rock rock posted:And you know this how? No reputable breeder ever created a new breed? Maybe not as I can't think of a working breed created in the last fifty years and I doubt anyone breeding earlier could be classed as reputable by your standards, not having enough knowledge of genetics. Czechoslovakian Vlcak, created just about 50 years ago to work border patrol in Czechoslovakia. Granted, it's not being used for border work NOW (seeing as how Czechoslovakia doesn't exist anymore) but it's still being bred and developed with similar work in mind such as tracking, search and rescue, and police/military work (in Europe, anyway, only a handful of people in the breed in the US). It definitely IS possible to create new breeds, but it has to be done responsibly. Every single one of these dogs that has been bred is tracked back to the original matings when the breed was created, and the health of these dogs goes that far back as well. This is a perfect example of what we know now of dog breeding & genetics being put to use to create a new breed that will be (ideally) healthier and more sound than dogs bred in the past. It's not unheard of, and it's especially helpful in working breeds since a lot of drive has been bred out of older breeds for show/pet dogs. HOWEVER, it needs to be done correctly, with very detailed recording of all the dogs involved, with health a number one priority (which means testing for genetic problems like I mentioned before and TRACKING any health problems that spring up in the dogs) and with a clear goal of what makes a "good" dog in mind. Personally, I don't think working dogs necessarily need a "breed" or physical standard other than a general understanding of what sort of structure and temperament is ideal for the work (take, for example, Alaskan Huskies, which have no standard other than "be able to sprint fast at cold temps and have the drive to do so"). However, it is VITAL that, as I said, the dogs are tracked and bred with a purpose to produce as many puppies in a litter as possible that breed true to the type required. There is an art and a science to this, and breeders dedicate their whole lives to research to accomplish it. It's not just a hobby, it's a lifestyle. Also, what KilGrey said about dogs getting the same attachment to other dogs as to their own puppies is SO true! My in-laws' shepherd took their golden retriever on as her "puppy" when they got him. She LOVED Riley and seriously treated him like she needed to take care of him. If you're really that concerned about those sort of feelings in your dog adding to the quality of her life, then get her spayed and get a second dog.
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Apr 17, 2010 12:32
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rock rock posted:Stuff about dogs You're ignorance of hunting and game dogs in general is laughable. I'd be happy to type it all out for you again but you simply ignored my first post, and it's also clear that you don't have your bitches best interest in mind either(news flash: dogs don't like having puppies, bitches,especially ones that are as young as yours, are often terrified of their puppies). I'd be more than happy to continue this conversation, but you don't know the first thing about how to breed a decent hunting dog, and it's people like you that give hunting/working dog breeders a bad name. Just because you're aiming for a certain temperament and not a certain aesthetic doesn't mean that you get to just throw two dogs together and get HUNTIN' DAWGS-it doesn't work that way. I am also still very curious about how many hogs your bitch has even seen let alone caught, seeing as she's only 17 months, I doubt her record is impressive enough to persuade any serious hunter that she'll produce pups worthy of a real hog dog pack.
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Apr 17, 2010 14:19
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WolfensteinBag posted:Personally, I don't think working dogs necessarily need a "breed" or physical standard other than a general understanding of what sort of structure and temperament is ideal for the work (take, for example, Alaskan Huskies, which have no standard other than "be able to sprint fast at cold temps and have the drive to do so"). However, it is VITAL that, as I said, the dogs are tracked and bred with a purpose to produce as many puppies in a litter as possible that breed true to the type required. There is an art and a science to this, and breeders dedicate their whole lives to research to accomplish it. It's not just a hobby, it's a lifestyle. This. Kilgrey, while most of what you said is perfectly true, reputable working breeders DO breed 'mutts' - one of the most popular working types in the UK is the lurcher, which is a mixed breed by definition. You will find any and all combinations of Greyhound, Whippet, Saluki, Deerhound (or any other sighthound) mixed with Border Collie, Bearded Collie, Bedlington terrier or Bull terrier (or any other herding dog or terrier). Different combinations are preferred for different purposes. While rabbiting is the only legal activity currently, some types of lurchers were excellent hare and fox coursers, and far and away more popular than any purebred for these purposes - including greyhounds. However, lurcher breeding is certainly an art and there are good breeders and bad breeders - bad breeders being those who just throw an unproven greyhound with any old collie and hope for the best. Rock rock; blindly breeding an unproven 17 month old bitch in a vague attempt to get useful hunting dogs is ridiculous. There's nothing wrong with breeding non-purebreds for hog dog work, but they should be proven and accomplished. Breeding quality to quality is something that both working and show breeders of repute have in common - even though they may differ on how they assess that quality.
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Apr 17, 2010 14:57
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notsoape posted:This. Kilgrey, while most of what you said is perfectly true, reputable working breeders DO breed 'mutts' - one of the most popular working types in the UK is the lurcher, which is a mixed breed by definition. You will find any and all combinations of Greyhound, Whippet, Saluki, Deerhound (or any other sighthound) mixed with Border Collie, Bearded Collie, Bedlington terrier or Bull terrier (or any other herding dog or terrier). Different combinations are preferred for different purposes. While rabbiting is the only legal activity currently, some types of lurchers were excellent hare and fox coursers, and far and away more popular than any purebred for these purposes - including greyhounds. I stand corrected, but there are still years and years that go into this in tracking the health, workability and temperament of the dogs. He's admitted he's never taken his dog hunting before. He asked this: rock rock posted:
Can you give him a better answer? Hunting dogs are up your alley. Rock rock, nosoapes family has spent years breeding quality hunting dogs.
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Apr 17, 2010 17:35
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DenialTwist posted:(news flash: dogs don't like having puppies, bitches,especially ones that are as young as yours, are often terrified of their puppies). Seriously? This surprises and fascinates me. Actually, this whole breeding conversation does, because there's a ridiculous amount of information about it I never knew before, so keep up the great discussion. But anyway, female dogs really don't like having puppies? I ask not because I doubt you (I am wholly ignorant about dogs and breeding in general), but because it sounds so counter-intuitive to the whole idea of propagating a race. Not that I'd assume pregnancy is any more comfortable for a dog than it is for a person, I just find this information quite surprising.
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Apr 17, 2010 17:55
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Auracounts posted:Seriously? This surprises and fascinates me. Actually, this whole breeding conversation does, because there's a ridiculous amount of information about it I never knew before, so keep up the great discussion. Female animals who are bred young generally have a higher frequency of problems (whether physically or mentally) rearing litters. In the high-intensity world of commercial meat rabbit breeding, where female rabbits are bred young and then often on a two-month turnaround for the remainder of their lives, it is often expected that they will lose at least half of their first litter - and to lose all is not unusual. In the 30+ litters I've seen born at the kennels, I've never seen a bitch actually fear her puppies - but beagles are extremely easy breeders (part of the reason why they are popular lab dogs) and we don't breed young (certainly not before the bitch has entered and proven herself for a full season!). I HAVE, on one occasion, seen a first time mother reject her puppies after a difficult delivery; however that only lasted about 24 hours and thereafter she was a great mum. What I have seen, from time to time, is bitches who seem relatively indifferent to their puppies - they 'go through the motions' of nursing and cleaning them, but are perfectly happy to leave them and return to the pack once the pups are weaned. Others obviously enjoy being with their litter, playing with them and cuddling up with them after the pups are weaned. Some bitches will even scale fences to visit their pups long after the pups are 3+ months old and independent. The only real exposure I've had to an animal rearing a litter at a young age was a cat belonging to friends who got knocked up (  ) at like 6 months old. She was absolutely indifferent to her kittens, literally only visited the box to see them and clean them, then spent the rest of the day away from them. Not sure how typical this is of cat maternity, but she certainly didn't seem to enjoy the experience very much. You definitely do hear horror stories of bitches, especially young bitches, being frightened of their puppies or outright rejecting them (attacking/killing them, in some cases), but it's nothing I've personally had experience with.From my perspective, I think it's possible for bitches to either like or dislike the experience of rearing puppies, but a) It is absolutely not important for a bitch to rear to puppies in order to enjoy life or feel 'fulfilled' (I run with the theory that maiden bitches have no idea that they are missing out on anything) b) It is possible for bitches to have terrible experiences, both with giving birth and with the experience of raising puppies. ESPECIALLY if the bitch is young (in small dogs like beagles 2 years would be a reasonable time to have a first litter, but I believe with larger dogs its closer to three?). There is NO REASON to put an unproven bitch through the potential trauma of birth, ESPECIALLY at 17 months of age. Kilgrey; as far as I know the breeding of hogdogs is similar to the breeding of lurchers in that many different breeds are mixed to produce lines of suitable working dogs. In hogdogs, the emphasis is on power, gameness and nose rather than speed, agility, and for want of a better phrase 'hunting intelligence' with lurchers. So, you get mixes which incorporate a lot of bully/mastiff type blood, along with fox- and coonhound blood for nose and often sighthound blood for speed. For example, check out the dogs on this website: http://www.boardogs.com/dogs1.htm Bull terrier/boxer mix?! Bull Mastiff Cross Foxhound/Airedale Terrier over Greyhound/Bull Terrier cross Deerhound?!?! Obviously these are mutts, but they have been carefully and knowledgeably bred by experts and, as such, are accomplished at the task they were bred for. (Side note; it is fascinating the conformation of these dogs compared to the conformation of show-types of breeds which were nominally bred to take down big game - but let's not derail in to show vs field  )There are some standardised types/lines of dogs which either have or are battling for breed recognition, which are competent on hogs. See: Black Mouth Cur Catahoula Leopard Dog Lacy Dogs American Bulldogs If any AKC show breeders regularly engage in hog hunting with their animals, they would be the exception rather than the rule so far as I'm aware. Happy to be corrected on that front. If I were rockrock, and seriously interested in training and breeding my own hog hunting dogs, I would find myself a local mentor who has many years (decades) of experience in breeding proficient hogdogs - whether pedigree or mutted up lines. They would be able to guide you through training your own bitch so that you (and he/she) can evaluate whether or not she is actually worth breeding from, and show you where to go to find an equally worthwhile stud dog. I was actually talking to a guy who had experience hunting feral pigs in the UK (they do exist, in a few specific regions). I believe they used a bobbery pack of bully lurchers and foxhounds/minkhounds. Hmm. A lurcher megathread might be an idea~ 
notsoape fucked around with this message at 18:54 on Apr 17, 2010 |
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Apr 17, 2010 18:44
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Are there any issues with giving pig ears to dogs? A quick google brought up issues with salmonella. Is this something to be concerned about? (Note: My dog turned 4 this past February and this will be his first pig ear. The pet food store we frequent sent out a coupon for a free treat, and it turned out to be a pig ear.)
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Apr 17, 2010 19:51
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Pretty much anywhere that tells you to watch out for salmonella with your dog is full of crap - they can get salmonella, but it's pretty rare, and it's generally from things like rotten chicken. Pig ears are cooked, and pork isn't really a major source of salmonella infections anyway.
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Apr 17, 2010 21:31
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notsoape posted:This. Kilgrey, while most of what you said is perfectly true, reputable working breeders DO breed 'mutts' - one of the most popular working types in the UK is the lurcher, which is a mixed breed by definition. You will find any and all combinations of Greyhound, Whippet, Saluki, Deerhound (or any other sighthound) mixed with Border Collie, Bearded Collie, Bedlington terrier or Bull terrier (or any other herding dog or terrier). Different combinations are preferred for different purposes. This is pretty much what Alaskan Huskies are. They took Siberians and mixed in fast sprinters, mainly sighthounds, to create dogs that were good for the sprint races that the majority of sled dogs are used for these days. This is why you won't find many competitive Siberians anymore, it's all switched from the long endurance hauls they used to have to shorter sprints. You don't need an all around strong, fast, endurance dog, you need a sighthound with a winter coat. It's sad, really, because you see a lot of talk about Siberians not being "as good" as the Alaskans, when really you can't compare them, they're bred for different purposes. /tangent
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Apr 18, 2010 00:43
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Sorry to interrupt dogchat, but I was kinda thinking about something. Why is it every cat breed (and cat personality) descriptor always like "just like a dog! plays fetch! really friendly, runs to greet you" I'm pretty sure this is actually just cats in general, as while not every cat does everything, most of them (in my experience) will come to greet you, a lot will play fetch, etc. I think it's just the bad cat-rep as aloof that makes people think their cat is always so special that's it's friendly.  So? All the well taken care of cats I've met have always been "dog-like," (all three of mine too) but people always say it as if it's something unique. Is it?
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Apr 18, 2010 06:21
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nonanone posted:Sorry to interrupt dogchat, but I was kinda thinking about something. Why is it every cat breed (and cat personality) descriptor always like "just like a dog! plays fetch! really friendly, runs to greet you" I was just having this same conversation with my husband tonight. We have 5 cats and 2 dogs, and we are probably more likely to have a cat greet us at the door than our dogs. Of course part of it is that our dogs are lazy and too busy sleeping in our bed to bother. I pretty much always have a cat on me or within arms reach no matter where I'm at. They pretty much follow us from room to room.
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Apr 18, 2010 06:27
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I think many people are familiar with outdoor, or indoor/outdoor cats, and those are generally less 'dog-like'.
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Apr 18, 2010 07:25
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Think my dog has an ear infection (or something else wrong with his ear). He keeps shaking his head around and scratching his ear. I looked inside both ears and they look clean and don't smell or anything. Is this an emergency vet thing or can it wait till tomorrow morning when the regular vet is open?
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Apr 18, 2010 12:55
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Bob Shadycharacter posted:Is this an emergency vet thing or can it wait till tomorrow morning when the regular vet is open? I can't think of anything that would make it an emergency unless he was scratching so badly you were concerned he was going to damage his ear.
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Apr 18, 2010 14:22
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Ceridwen posted:I can't think of anything that would make it an emergency unless he was scratching so badly you were concerned he was going to damage his ear. Ok. Yeah, he's scratching occasionally but not like constantly. Right now he's even sleeping so I guess it's not a terrible emergency. Poor thing. I guess we'll go first thing in the morning. He has a single painkiller left over from when he got fixed. It says it's good till 2012. If he seems like he's in a lot of pain tonight would it be ok to give it to him to help him sleep? I have no idea why we didn't give it to him last year when he got fixed.
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Apr 18, 2010 14:48
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nonanone posted:Sorry to interrupt dogchat, but I was kinda thinking about something. Why is it every cat breed (and cat personality) descriptor always like "just like a dog! plays fetch! really friendly, runs to greet you" I don't think it's unique and I've wondered the same thing. Of my 4 cats, 2.5 play fetch. Yuuda only counts as a half, because he's a tad  . We like to joke about his ADD because if you throw something, he will start to get it, but before he fully brings it back to you, it's like "SQUIRREL!" and he's hauling rear end across the house to check out something different.Until I got my own, I wasn't aware cats exhibited these behaviors either. Susake taught ME how to play fetch, it wasn't the other way around. Ours follow us around the house, greet us at the door, and have little weird cat conversations with us. Honestly, only Gemini fits the stereotype of aloof princess kitty in this house, so I'm not sure why cats have that reputation as a whole.
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Apr 18, 2010 17:25
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I need to get my cat her rabies/distemper booster shots tommorow, is there anything I should know about 3yr vs 1yr? (I'd prefer to go with 3yr unless there's a reason not to.)
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Apr 18, 2010 19:11
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mistaya posted:I need to get my cat her rabies/distemper booster shots tommorow, is there anything I should know about 3yr vs 1yr? (I'd prefer to go with 3yr unless there's a reason not to.) There are no 3 year shots approved for cats that don't have adjuvants (to the best of my knowledge) and adjuvants are linked to a higher risk of vaccine induced sarcoma in cats. While the risk isn't huge it's not something to laugh at. I'd stick to the 1 year shots.
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Apr 18, 2010 19:21
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Ceridwen posted:There are no 3 year shots approved for cats that don't have adjuvants (to the best of my knowledge) and adjuvants are linked to a higher risk of vaccine induced sarcoma in cats. While the risk isn't huge it's not something to laugh at. I'd stick to the 1 year shots. Good to know, I read something about this but I wasn't sure if it was a real concern or the anti-vaccine crowd playing things up. 1 year it is!
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Apr 18, 2010 20:09
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Auracounts posted:Until I got my own, I wasn't aware cats exhibited these behaviors either. Susake taught ME how to play fetch, it wasn't the other way around. Ours follow us around the house, greet us at the door, and have little weird cat conversations with us. Honestly, only Gemini fits the stereotype of aloof princess kitty in this house, so I'm not sure why cats have that reputation as a whole. My cats are that way as well. Trinity taught us that if she drops a hair tie on the floor, we are meant to pick it up and throw it so that she can bring it back. If you don't throw it, she'll go find a different one, so sometimes you'll look over and see a small pile of varying sizes and colors of hair ties and a very plaintive cat. I'm fairly certain there isn't a hair tie in my home that hasn't been in that cat's mouth. Oscar likes to greet us at the door, or wander by and hang out. Our only princess is Zoe. She asks to sleep under the covers, but other than that she doesn't want us to so much as look at her without her permission.
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Apr 18, 2010 21:44
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Okay another question. We're trying to find the best way to make the back yard safe for the cats to go out in and play or sun in or whatever. My mom's idea is a big completely enclosed wire box with chicken wire or something similar on fence posts with tent stakes around the bottom and stapled to the house. This is probably kind of excessive. What I'm finding online is people have gotten some basic wire fencing and attached it to the tops of their fences and curved it inwards or inwards and slightly down and that supposedly prevents the cats from climbing over the fence, like this or this  My question is basically has anyone here done this and how effective is it really? It seems way too simple. I mean, cats are smart little shits. How can this really keep them inside the yard? If it does work, our yard would probably be a great candidate, it's a small square yard with no bushes or trees or anything in it and the house is tall and there's nothing on it they can climb.
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Apr 19, 2010 01:10
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Beichan posted:Okay another question. We're trying to find the best way to make the back yard safe for the cats to go out in and play or sun in or whatever. My mom's idea is a big completely enclosed wire box with chicken wire or something similar on fence posts with tent stakes around the bottom and stapled to the house. This is probably kind of excessive. What I'm finding online is people have gotten some basic wire fencing and attached it to the tops of their fences and curved it inwards or inwards and slightly down and that supposedly prevents the cats from climbing over the fence, like this That type of fencing would keep a cat in the yard, but it wouldn't stop other cats (or whatevers) from getting into your yard, and then being trapped there. You'd also have to closely monitor for digging under the fence. Have you thought about taking out your cat on supervised walks with a harness instead?
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Apr 19, 2010 01:29
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Meow Cadet posted:That type of fencing would keep a cat in the yard, but it wouldn't stop other cats (or whatevers) from getting into your yard, and then being trapped there. You'd also have to closely monitor for digging under the fence. My mom is adamant about making some kind of enclosure for them. It's her house we rent from her and she very firmly believes cats need to be able to go outside, and she knows I will not just let them out on their own. I was hoping this at least would be a less convoluted solution than a big box of chicken wire nailed to the ground and house. Ehhh I am still not really into this project, they're all perfectly happy as it is. None of them have been outdoor cats for years. I don't know how to convince her they don't need this. I'm trying to think of a way to reverse this so things can't get over the fence from the other side without going over into the neighbors' yards. I don't think digging is a huge danger, though we'd keep an eye on it, the ground here is very hard and rocky. I suppose we could put some wiring at the bottom of the fences and staple it to the fence and tent stake it to the ground.
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Apr 19, 2010 03:53
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Beichan posted:My mom is adamant about making some kind of enclosure for them. It's her house we rent from her and she very firmly believes cats need to be able to go outside, and she knows I will not just let them out on their own. I made an enclosure for my cat with PVC, plastic mesh, and coroplast and it was easy, cheap, doesn't weigh much, and she seems to enjoy using it. I set up a cat door in the window to allow her access whenever she wants. I rent so I needed a solution that did not involve permanent modifications and it worked perfectly. I honestly think it was *way* easier than putting something up on the fence. Of course the fence thing would also not have worked well for us because we have an armadillo that tunnels under the fence regularly. Here is the cat in her box:  I can post additional pics and give you directions on how I made it if you like. I think it wound up running me ~$60 and the cat door for the window was ~$120. ETA: The box is 3' x 3' x 6' and I have a little plastic cat tree ($12 at the grocery store) and a litterbox in there for her. Ceridwen fucked around with this message at 04:24 on Apr 19, 2010 |
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Apr 19, 2010 04:20
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Ceridwen posted:I made an enclosure for my cat with PVC, plastic mesh, and coroplast and it was easy, cheap, doesn't weigh much, and she seems to enjoy using it. I set up a cat door in the window to allow her access whenever she wants. I rent so I needed a solution that did not involve permanent modifications and it worked perfectly. That would be awesome, I'd love the directions. Do you think it would still hold up if we went bigger? We've got 5 cats. Also we have that same cat house thing in our bedroom 
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Apr 19, 2010 04:32
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Beichan posted:That would be awesome, I'd love the directions. Do you think it would still hold up if we went bigger? We've got 5 cats. Should still hold up fine. You pretty much reinforce it every 3 feet, so it shouldn't matter if you are making it larger as long as you still reinforce it adequately. I'll try to put up some directions within the next few days. A friend who runs a cat rescue has been bugging me to give them to her as well but I couldn't find my camera charger until today.
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Apr 19, 2010 05:09
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Beichan posted:Okay another question. We're trying to find the best way to make the back yard safe for the cats to go out in and play or sun in or whatever. My mom's idea is a big completely enclosed wire box with chicken wire or something similar on fence posts with tent stakes around the bottom and stapled to the house. This is probably kind of excessive. What I'm finding online is people have gotten some basic wire fencing and attached it to the tops of their fences and curved it inwards or inwards and slightly down and that supposedly prevents the cats from climbing over the fence, like this Here are some pictures and 'how to' guides for cat enclosures and stuff. Some people are pretty creative: http://www.catsofaustralia.com/cat-enclosures.htm (some of these are my favorite and a bunch give a cost break down too) http://www.seamar.com/nets/cats.html (Here is just netting for purchase) http://cats.about.com/od/outdoorenclosures/Outdoor_Enclosures_for_Safe_Outside_Play.htm http://www.feralcat.com/fence.html http://www.catnets.com.au/self-install.html http://www.catterydesign.com/links/security/catfencing.php http://www.cdpets.com/enclosure_kits.php?product_id=&returnCode=&cookietest=1&sessiontest=1 (these are some diy kits you can buy, but they are a bit pricey when you can do it yourself for much cheaper. It depends on how much the effort is worth to you)
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Apr 19, 2010 08:39
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KilGrey posted:Here are some pictures and 'how to' guides for cat enclosures and stuff. Some people are pretty creative: These links are awesome. My cats may have to move to a mostly outdoors area when we get back to the states (and get them). Mind you, I'll still be out there with them a lot, but they really hated being indoors (constant meowing to go outside kind of hate) when we had them before we moved over here.
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Apr 19, 2010 09:23
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Oh, here's one. How do you keep your cat from clawing a hole in the bottom of your box spring and hanging out in it?
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Apr 19, 2010 09:29
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Lackadaisical posted:Oh, here's one. How do you keep your cat from clawing a hole in the bottom of your box spring and hanging out in it? I put a fitted sheet over the bottom of the bed.
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Apr 19, 2010 09:33
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Lackadaisical posted:Oh, here's one. How do you keep your cat from clawing a hole in the bottom of your box spring and hanging out in it? Child locks on the bedroom door.
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Apr 19, 2010 09:52
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nonanone posted:I'm pretty sure this is actually just cats in general, as while not every cat does everything, most of them (in my experience) will come to greet you, a lot will play fetch, etc. I think it's just the bad cat-rep as aloof that makes people think their cat is always so special that's it's friendly. Yeah, I really hate the bad reputation that cats have. They're always the evil villain in Disney animal movies and all of that. Cats are definitely more independent than dogs, but they can be just as sweet, cuddly, interactive, human-oriented and playful as dogs. Like other people have said about theirs, my two cats are AMAZING and incredibly friendly. It's true that there are some cats that are extremely aloof, even nasty, and couldn't care less about their humans, but in my experience, too, that is not the norm.
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Apr 19, 2010 14:24
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nonanone posted:Sorry to interrupt dogchat, but I was kinda thinking about something. Why is it every cat breed (and cat personality) descriptor always like "just like a dog! plays fetch! really friendly, runs to greet you" I think the flip side of that is pretty funny in that any dog that doesn't behave like a typical "American" dog, like a lab or golden is "catlike" for various reasons. Is the dog aloof? Catlike. Is the dog independent/stubborn when it comes to commands? Catlike. Is the dog clean? Catlike. Quiet? "Primitive"? Calm in the house? I seriously think if you took all these "catlike" breeds and counted them up, you'd get at LEAST half the breeds out there.
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Apr 19, 2010 15:09
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Ugh. Well, we have ear infection medicine. When I first noticed Oscar shaking his head around yesterday I looked in his ears and sniffed them because I know ear infections make the ears smell nasty. They looked normal then but drat when the vet looked at them today one was nasty as HELL. Brown stinky goop. We have meds to put in there, like I said (THAT was a fun process, really looking forward to doing that twice a day for the next week and a half). Should I clean out the goop? And uh, how?
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Apr 20, 2010 01:53
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Meow Cadet posted:I think many people are familiar with outdoor, or indoor/outdoor cats, and those are generally less 'dog-like'. Indeed. I'm so surprised at the amount of people who seem to have no idea what a cat actually does and then they get one and think theirs is really really special. But my cat is unique because it fetches, or goes to the bathroom with me or lies in my lap (like a lap cat almost)I think it comes from people who just never had a house cat. My cat on the other hand is actually unique because she is really really cute. I was surprised that other cats slept under covers though, I really did think only my cat did that.
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Apr 20, 2010 10:15
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ChairmanMeow posted:I was surprised that other cats slept under covers though, I really did think only my cat did that. One of my four does that too. He's really aggressive about getting under the covers if we are using them. If sitting on the couch trying to type on the laptop, he will paw and grab the blanket with his mouth and just climb onto your [lap/computer/whatever obstructions are in his way] until fully covered. He does it when we try to go to sleep. During the day, we often find him burrito'd underneath the blankets on the bed. It's really strange and before him, had never seen/heard this behavior before.
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Apr 20, 2010 19:42
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| # ? May 27, 2024 18:52 |
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Okay, summing this up quickly. My mother is going to be in China for four months and this means that it has fallen to me to take care of our two cats while she is away since my dad doesn't really care for cats. This means moving them from my parents' house to my apartment, a four hour car drive, and transitioning them to being strictly indoor from indoor/outdoor cats. What are some ways I can make the whole process smooth and least traumatic for everyone involved? They're both pretty easy going cats just in general, adult DSH that we got a few years ago from a shelter. Nevermind, mom took them recently and they're dandy. Egad! fucked around with this message at 21:29 on Apr 20, 2010 |
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Apr 20, 2010 21:16
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