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Hey all, does anyone have any recommendation for litter that won't get all over the house? We've been using cat attract training litter and the regular litter and both have bits that make their way all over the place well outside the laundry room where the box is.
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# ? Jun 27, 2022 15:54 |
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# ? May 16, 2024 17:16 |
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Feline Pine and some sifting boxes won’t eliminate litter tracking, but it will make the individual bits of litter big enough to easily sweep. It’s a different style of cat litter, though. Your cat’s not gonna be burying their poop.
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# ? Jun 27, 2022 21:12 |
My cat of 11 years passed away 4 weeks ago. We think he was 2 when we got him, so he made it to 13. He had an eye problem that required surgery. He woke up on the other side but died a few days later - he never quite made it through. He was my dear old friend. He loved to hang out with my wife and me - he'd lay in our laps for hours while we watched TV. He'd sleep on us at night. In the mornings he'd lick the water out of the shower. After a long day away he'd come running and yelling at us for being gone so long. I know no one will ever replace him - I understand and am ok with that. That being said I dearly miss having a furry little friend. I was looking through my pictures from the last 11 years and I forgot how much fun it was when we first brought him home. How full of life and energy he looked. How much he trusted and loved us, and how many years of enjoyment we had together. I would like to help another cat in need and have a new little friend. I think I'm ready to embark on a new 10+ year adventure. There is a complication though. I have an infant at home. He isn't mobile yet but probably will be in the next few months. Before our cat passed away our son was fascinated with him - he would reach out and pat the cat's fur when they were both on the couch together. He would sit and stare at the cat. He even had a special excited scream that was reserved just for when kitty came into the room. Growing up I remember having pets in the house from my earliest memories. When I think of pets I think of some of those earliest memories and associate them with warmth, softness, comfort, and happiness. I'd like for my son to have those same associations, and I would feel sad if he didn't. I also, maybe selfishly, am looking forward to the family having a new furry little friend. On the flip side, my son is as loud as any other infant, and he is still too young to understanding concepts like "no". I would hate for us to bring a cat into the house just to have the cat be afraid of everything, and have my son grow up thinking cats are boring or mean. Does anyone have experience with introducing a cat to a house with an infant? Am I wrong to consider introducing a cat at this point? If so, is there a better age for my son to reach before an introduction? My initial thought is that it would work if we had a cat with the right personality, and I am willing to wait until we come across the right cat, but I want to know if I'm off base to even be looking right now.
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# ? Jun 28, 2022 00:24 |
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I just got a 2nd cat - and then there were two - and he likes to play with kitty litter when he's bored. Anyway to stop that beyond playing with him till he's tired? He's a four month old cat so you can imagine he has lots of energy E: no worries this guy has literally everything https://youtu.be/GiAg1bKwpa0 A GIANT PARSNIP posted:Does anyone have experience with introducing a cat to a house with an infant? I don't have such experience but Jackson Galaxy is always a good first place to look https://youtu.be/onv3BaCdnlY America Inc. fucked around with this message at 07:33 on Jun 28, 2022 |
# ? Jun 28, 2022 07:09 |
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A GIANT PARSNIP posted:My cat of 11 years passed away 4 weeks ago. We think he was 2 when we got him, so he made it to 13. He had an eye problem that required surgery. He woke up on the other side but died a few days later - he never quite made it through. He was my dear old friend. He loved to hang out with my wife and me - he'd lay in our laps for hours while we watched TV. He'd sleep on us at night. In the mornings he'd lick the water out of the shower. After a long day away he'd come running and yelling at us for being gone so long. I know no one will ever replace him - I understand and am ok with that. Cats and infants tend to get along great. They seem to recognize it is a baby and their maternal/paternal instincts kick in. They tend to be very patient and tolerant of the baby's "OOOH KITTY" behavior. They treat babies as kittens and generally keep their claws in if they swat due to excess. One of our cats actually helped teach our baby to crawl. She'd sit a few feet away and wait patiently as baby struggled over to get a hand on her. She'd tolerate a few awkward touches, then move a few more feet away and wait for baby to catch up to her again. It was very sweet. Some cats react badly, but they have legs and just run away if they don't want to be around.
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# ? Jun 28, 2022 14:38 |
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America Inc. posted:Anyway to stop that beyond playing with him till he's tired? Just play with him until he’s tired. Half hour per day, max. Not gonna kill ya. If that doesn’t work, try something else.
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# ? Jun 28, 2022 14:57 |
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Deteriorata posted:Cats and infants tend to get along great. They seem to recognize it is a baby and their maternal/paternal instincts kick in. They tend to be very patient and tolerant of the baby's "OOOH KITTY" behavior. They treat babies as kittens and generally keep their claws in if they swat due to excess. This being said, you can never trust a cat with a baby unsupervised. Nor a baby with a cat.
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# ? Jun 28, 2022 15:45 |
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We have six cats and two kids. When we brought the first kid back from the hospital, we were really scared that they'd be allergic, or the cats would scratch them, or they'd pull the cats tails, etc etc. None of it was ever an issue though! Three of the cats were only about two years old, as well. It would probably be different if there was a kitten and a baby, but I've got to say, our non-scratchy and non-bitey cats didn't scratch or bite our kids. The kids slept in a closed room, though.
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# ? Jun 28, 2022 22:22 |
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If a cat kneads that's a sure sign they were raised by their mom as a kitten and not by people, right? Anyway, I'm on day 2 of introducing my 1 year old black cat Wolfie to my new 4-month old orange tabby Fanta. I'm trying to have them eat and play close to each other, but separated by a gate. They hissed at each other and both jumped the gate, so now I'm putting a veil between them so they don't see each other and can only smell. The older cat Wolfie seems to be more scared than Fanta, and he'll try to sniff his butt and grab him while Fanta is just minding his business. They're still pretty far from being friendly and comfortable with each other. E: I'm also rotating them between the bedroom and living room so they can get used to each other's scent. America Inc. fucked around with this message at 06:23 on Jun 29, 2022 |
# ? Jun 29, 2022 06:11 |
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America Inc. posted:If a cat kneads that's a sure sign they were raised by their mom as a kitten and not by people, right? No. As far as I'm aware there is no way to tell if a cat nursed or was a bottle/syringe/tube feeding baby.
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# ? Jun 29, 2022 10:05 |
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Yeah, kneading is just an instinctive behavior, and the degree to which a cat does it is going to be down to the individual cat.
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# ? Jun 29, 2022 11:54 |
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I have a cat that kneads and sucks tshirts if I leave them around and I was told that it's because they were weaned too early
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# ? Jun 29, 2022 13:30 |
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Suckling might be weaning behavior, but kneading is universal.
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# ? Jun 29, 2022 13:52 |
Thanks for the feedback everyone - this is our first kid and our first time in 10 years getting a cat so I don’t want to screw it up.
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# ? Jun 29, 2022 21:11 |
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A GIANT PARSNIP posted:Thanks for the feedback everyone - this is our first kid and our first time in 10 years getting a cat so I don’t want to screw it up. You will, and it's okay.
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# ? Jun 29, 2022 21:38 |
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my two boys are turning six and it’s high time for some nice kibble. I have a zillion concerns and questions and I don’t know where to start. what do I look for at this stage in their life? I’m in the EU so that limits me. They also have wet food once a day, and Raichu is a big dude, and is a kilo overweight about (I portion out his food). My other, Pikachu, is a slender little jerk and loves nutritional yeast. Both have mealtime four times a day, three dry, one wet at night.
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# ? Jun 30, 2022 00:53 |
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I don't know if it was someone in this thread who made the recommendation for this cheap cat toy of Amazon but it is a good recommendation and Salem (the cat in my avatar) is absolutely loving it. Thank you and I am linking it again because it is fantastic. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0006N9I68?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details
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# ? Jun 30, 2022 19:03 |
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Protocol7 posted:I don't know if it was someone in this thread who made the recommendation for this cheap cat toy of Amazon but it is a good recommendation and Salem (the cat in my avatar) is absolutely loving it. Thank you and I am linking it again because it is fantastic. Oh yeah I bought that too and used a clamp to secure it to a drawer so it bounces around when Quill bats at it. Love it.
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# ? Jun 30, 2022 19:15 |
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I just got a cat dancer (thanks, thread), and it set me wondering. Byakko comes into the room and mews for me to get out a cat toy and play with her. The two toys in question are a laser pointer and the cat dancer. There is nothing interesting to bite on either. Yet Byakko is delighted to pounce. What do we know about why cats play? Is practicing pouncing behaviors inherently fun? I get that stimulation is always good, but how does that tie into chasing things that have no intrinsic value?
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# ? Jun 30, 2022 19:58 |
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Kittens naturally play with anything because they've got the instinct to stalk and attack stuff. After a few months they start to lose interest in static toys and want more interaction.. in the wild, mom will bring mostly dead prey to help that along and teach them to hunt. A domesticated cat doesn't need to hunt (and probably can't if they live indoors) but they still have the instinct. So the play becomes mostly a social activity (with you, the human but this would apply to littermates too).. there's been studies showing that cats are more likely to play with a toy operated by a human than a robotic toy with no humans around. Playing with toys by themselves is mostly just a boredom thing.
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# ? Jun 30, 2022 21:48 |
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My roommate's cat Murfy (He's an F5 Savannah and is 14 pounds of pure lean muscle) has some pretty weird habits... He sometimes kneads blankets, but it only begins as kneading. Very quickly it turns into him humping a certain blanket very vigorously, I've never really seen any cat neutered or otherwise (and Murfy is neutered) do anything like that. I guess he's just weird. He's an amazingly fearsome cat, though. Hunts and kills chipmunk and mice by the dozen, has tangled with a Mountain Lion and survived, schooled a fox slightly larger than him a couple weeks ago, too, though we weren't too happy about that since that particular fox is sort of our pet, and comes by for a chicken leg that we feed him pretty much every night - he gets steak trimmings from me, too, when Murfy doesn't want them at least.
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# ? Jul 1, 2022 04:08 |
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Heh. Our first cat together, my husband found meat that needed to be trimmed from filet mignon. Haven't had a cat since that wanted raw meat.
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# ? Jul 1, 2022 05:17 |
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Ha, mine demand an offering whenever I'm cooking meat. I always open the pack as late as possible, so I can put off dealing with them screaming at me.
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# ? Jul 1, 2022 07:01 |
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Koto tells me "dad I'm hungry" by either nibbling on my elbow or kneading my lap forcefully.
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# ? Jul 1, 2022 14:26 |
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Has anyone dealt with a cat showing food aggression toward human food, but not other cats? Our boy Nicatla Tesla has gotten so aggressive with stealing human food that we have to keep him in another room when we're cooking or eating. He will swat food off of our plates, stick his dumb face into hot pans of food while it's being cooked, and has singed his whiskers and paws doing that. However, he will stand back and allow our other cat, Meowrie Curie, to shove him out of the way of his own food bowl if she finishes her food first. We've been supplementing his food with canned (which he receives separately from Curie, she's still a bit chonky), but it's not helped. We put him on an automatic feeder after he got fat a few years ago, he's slimmed down and our vet was very happy with his weight at his last visit. His weight hasn't changed since then. I hate having to shut him in another room during human mealtimes. He cries and shreds the carpet, but he keeps putting himself in danger, between the stove and getting into human food that will make him sick. Any ideas? - Age: nearly 5, we think - Sex: Male, neutered - How long have you had your cat? Over 4 years. He was a stray who wandered into our garage and decided to adopt us. At his first appointment, the vet told us he was about 3-4 months old. - What food do you use? Crave dry food in an automatic feeder, they both get small amounts 6 times a day, and blue wilderness canned, about half the can, once a day. - When was your last vet visit? Last october - Is your cat indoors, outdoors, both? indoors only - How many pets in your household? 2, one other cat - How many litter boxes do you have? 3
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# ? Jul 2, 2022 19:14 |
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Seems like just a month ago I was posting for advice in this thread before getting my cat. A day ago she got her last kitten food and has moved onto adult food - can't believe how fast the year went by! Thanks to all the thread regulars who help out and answer questions and donate their time to other goons with cats. Quill has been incredible, we all love her so much. https://i.imgur.com/5986Z6h.mp4 Mid-Priced Carp posted:Has anyone dealt with a cat showing food aggression toward human food, but not other cats? Our boy Nicatla Tesla has gotten so aggressive with stealing human food that we have to keep him in another room when we're cooking or eating. He will swat food off of our plates, stick his dumb face into hot pans of food while it's being cooked, and has singed his whiskers and paws doing that. However, he will stand back and allow our other cat, Meowrie Curie, to shove him out of the way of his own food bowl if she finishes her food first. We've been supplementing his food with canned (which he receives separately from Curie, she's still a bit chonky), but it's not helped. We put him on an automatic feeder after he got fat a few years ago, he's slimmed down and our vet was very happy with his weight at his last visit. His weight hasn't changed since then. I hate having to shut him in another room during human mealtimes. He cries and shreds the carpet, but he keeps putting himself in danger, between the stove and getting into human food that will make him sick. Any ideas? Sorry I have no idea. Maybe he sees himself as above you and your partner but below the other cat?
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# ? Jul 3, 2022 00:04 |
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Thanks everyone for your advice a couple of weeks ago when I asked about bringing home new cats to small apartment. Happily the boys' (Vimes and Carrot) introduction to my older cat went shockingly well, given that Balders is generally a weirdo jerk who cannot be trusted, and everyone is living in something approaching harmony.
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# ? Jul 3, 2022 15:46 |
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VelociBacon posted:Quill has been incredible, we all love her so much. What an absolute sweetheart
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# ? Jul 4, 2022 05:37 |
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Mid-Priced Carp posted:Has anyone dealt with a cat showing food aggression toward human food, but not other cats? Our boy Nicatla Tesla has gotten so aggressive with stealing human food that we have to keep him in another room when we're cooking or eating. He will swat food off of our plates, stick his dumb face into hot pans of food while it's being cooked, and has singed his whiskers and paws doing that. However, he will stand back and allow our other cat, Meowrie Curie, to shove him out of the way of his own food bowl if she finishes her food first. We've been supplementing his food with canned (which he receives separately from Curie, she's still a bit chonky), but it's not helped. We put him on an automatic feeder after he got fat a few years ago, he's slimmed down and our vet was very happy with his weight at his last visit. His weight hasn't changed since then. I hate having to shut him in another room during human mealtimes. He cries and shreds the carpet, but he keeps putting himself in danger, between the stove and getting into human food that will make him sick. Any ideas? Katya used to be terrible about human food, she once snagged half a loaf of bread off the counter and shredded it all over the living room and once pulled veggie lasagna left-overs out of the (ajar) oven to take one (1) bite. We quickly learned to put everything out of reach and obviously kept her off the counter when cooking. Then we got a kitten and she was also very sneakily stealing food when our backs were turned but Katya chilled out to the point she let Kimchi steal HER food. I think we've finally reached an equilibrium after both grew up a bit and got neutered, we've thought about automatic feeders but during the pandemic there was almost always someone home to feed them their 3 meals a day so whatever. Does he not learn when you keep shoving him off the counter/stove while cooking? You might want to try one of those deterrents like ssssh cat(?) or some sticky tape or aluminium foil? We know they know they're not supposed to do it because Katya used to wait until we were out and Kimchi is a little dummy who does a very cartoonish villain walk whenever she's managed to snag something and is trying to sneak away with it. So I guess what has worked for us is loudly and physically (but gently obvi) remove them from the forbidden zone when we're there and just put everything away out of reach when we're out of the kitchen.
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# ? Jul 5, 2022 19:42 |
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Hm. I've noticed recently that one of James' nipples sticks out, like nearly a cm, and has a darker mark on the tip. Any ideas? (Not really sure why I'm posting, because I'm going to ring the vet in the morning, but hey)
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# ? Jul 6, 2022 13:32 |
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Hyperlynx posted:Hm. I've noticed recently that one of James' nipples sticks out, like nearly a cm, and has a darker mark on the tip. Any ideas? Vet nurse receptionist said if it's not swollen, red, discharging goop, or bothering him (and it isn't) then it's nothing to worry about. And that it's not unusual for a cat to have different sized nipples. So apparently it's always been that way, and it's nothing to worry about, but they'll take a look if I want to wipe off the black crap on the tip and send them a photo.
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# ? Jul 7, 2022 03:00 |
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I managed to finally complete the introduction of my new cat Fanta to the older one Wolfie, although Wolfie unfortunately developed an eye infection that had to be treated with an eye ointment and a cone of shame: Apparently conjunctivitis is common in cats. I need to get more perches for them to rest on, the apartment needs more vertical space.
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# ? Jul 7, 2022 08:10 |
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I became a first time cat owner about a month ago after getting a two year old black cat called Affie. We got her from a shelter and she has FIV so can't go outside or really be with other cats as far as I'm aware. Since I am a new cat owner and not have had experience with cats before I noticed a few behaviours and just wanted to know what is up and if everything seems to be going well/if the cat is getting stimulated enough for just being a one cat home. There is usually someone in the house for most days of the week, but both me and my SO have to be out to the office on Thursday so that's the only day where we are both out for the entire day. - For the first few days with us, she was extremely sociable/seemed to purr all the time, and wouldn't leave our side at all. For the first few days she would only sleep underneath the couch/in a hidden corner, and would run to a hidey-hole every time she heard someone come into the house. After about a month, she seems a bit more confident and her usual sleeping spot is underneath a table where we can still reach her, or now even on the cat tree we got her. I am assuming that her sleeping out in the open is a sign that she feels safe in our household? - She's usually very chill and doesn't scratch/bite us. The only time she's been aggressive is when we introduced a toy with catnip inside and I petted her when she was playing with it, and she (lightly) bit me and hissed at me: was she just overly stimulated and wanted me to back off? We hadn't had any other issues apart from her scratching us accidently once or twice. - Sometimes when I pet her, even when she's purring, she will stand up, go a few step, and then sit down again. Is that a signal that I should stop petting her, or should I go ahead and try to pet her again? - We are playing with her every day, usually with a feather teaser which she seems to love, or have her chase stuff down that we throw. Is this enough stimulation for a single cat? I was thinking of buying some puzzle treat toys but not sure if they are worth it. - When we were playing with her one time, she looked at me and my SO in sequence with wide open eyes, then zoomed off to another room, then ran back. I haven't seen her do this often though. Is this a normal reaction of playing with her? She didn't seem to be chasing anything, just running fast for the sake of it. - We have been closing our bedroom door to prevent her getting in at night: is this a good idea? She did meow the first few days for attention but seems to have gotten used to it. Mostly I'm worried about turning in the night and hurting her if we allow her on the bed, or her waking us up throughout the night. - Does anyone have any experience with FIV positive cats? As far as I could see, they can live fairly normal lives without requiring medication (which was also confirmed by the vet we registered her with). Anyway, overall she has been an awesome little cat and having her greet us every morning has been great. Some cat picture tax of her:
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# ? Jul 7, 2022 12:01 |
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That's a good kitty!! Everything you're describing is normal and good. Different cats have different levels of energy and boredom, but if she's generally not getting herself in trouble or bugging you to play all the time or seeming bored with her toys she's probably fine. There's nothing wrong with keeping her out of your bedroom at night, I've always done that with my cats because I hate having interrupted sleep based on their whims. You could try it and see if she's the type to settle down all night or if she bugs you. In terms of petting, cats can get overstimulated and they can lash out when they are - this is a common cause of people thinking cats in general are mean and nasty. Moving away from you is probably a sign of overstimulation but might not be. If you're not sure then try moving your hand towards her face and see if she moves in towards your hand to let you scritch her or if she pointedly looks away. You'll get to learn her body language in general over time. ETA: oh yeah cats love zooming. She might want you to chase her, she might just be enjoying running fast. Organza Quiz fucked around with this message at 12:34 on Jul 7, 2022 |
# ? Jul 7, 2022 12:32 |
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This is Sir Chunksworth III This is a stuffed animal https://youtube.com/shorts/kiLUktNFUsA?feature=share It took two days but he isn't afraid anymore
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# ? Jul 7, 2022 12:52 |
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Organza Quiz posted:That's a good kitty!! Everything you're describing is normal and good. Different cats have different levels of energy and boredom, but if she's generally not getting herself in trouble or bugging you to play all the time or seeming bored with her toys she's probably fine.
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# ? Jul 7, 2022 13:03 |
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I'm also a fairly new cat owner, but like Organza mentioned, this all seems like typical cat behaviour. My boys (7-ish months old) are showing very similar behaviour. - For the first few days with us, she was extremely sociable/seemed to purr all the time, and wouldn't leave our side at all. For the first few days she would only sleep underneath the couch/in a hidden corner, and would run to a hidey-hole every time she heard someone come into the house. After about a month, she seems a bit more confident and her usual sleeping spot is underneath a table where we can still reach her, or now even on the cat tree we got her. I am assuming that her sleeping out in the open is a sign that she feels safe in our household? Yep, when I got my boys, they'd hide in corners or boxes at first. These days they sleep on my bags, chairs or on their cat tower in the open. I think it pretty much means they know there's no danger for them and they feel comfortable. - She's usually very chill and doesn't scratch/bite us. The only time she's been aggressive is when we introduced a toy with catnip inside and I petted her when she was playing with it, and she (lightly) bit me and hissed at me: was she just overly stimulated and wanted me to back off? We hadn't had any other issues apart from her scratching us accidently once or twice. I've had this happen when they're playing with toys they really like. Especially Pepsi can get kinda nuts about catnip toys and this one fishing rod toy he really likes. He starts growling/hissing at me when he caught his "prey". Just cats securing their prey. - Sometimes when I pet her, even when she's purring, she will stand up, go a few step, and then sit down again. Is that a signal that I should stop petting her, or should I go ahead and try to pet her again? Price jumps on my lap occasionally asking for pets, but at some point he has enough, despite purring. He just goes somewhere else. If Affie moves away again after petting again, she's probably had her fill. - We are playing with her every day, usually with a feather teaser which she seems to love, or have her chase stuff down that we throw. Is this enough stimulation for a single cat? I was thinking of buying some puzzle treat toys but not sure if they are worth it. Some cheap extra fun for you cat is a carton board box filled with some packing materials like paper. My boys love messing around with it. I've also had some success putting on cat stimulation videos on tv. My boys are also fond of a cat circle. One of those circular tracks with a ball in it. - When we were playing with her one time, she looked at me and my SO in sequence with wide open eyes, then zoomed off to another room, then ran back. I haven't seen her do this often though. Is this a normal reaction of playing with her? She didn't seem to be chasing anything, just running fast for the sake of it. Cats love the zooms! Sometimes they just run around for no particular reason, wide eyes and all. - We have been closing our bedroom door to prevent her getting in at night: is this a good idea? She did meow the first few days for attention but seems to have gotten used to it. Mostly I'm worried about turning in the night and hurting her if we allow her on the bed, or her waking us up throughout the night. If anything, your cat will hurt you. I only occasionally let my cats in at night and every time I've had some regrets as I'm a light sleeper. They love walking over my face and throat or attacking my knees. Cats easily move out of the way, so there's no real risk for the cat unless you have like sharp pointy objects in bed. If you value a good night of sleep, it's probably better to leave her outside your bedroom. Pepsi and Price got used to my sleeping schedule so they only really start meowing around the time I generally wake up. Cat tax! Price being a sleepy head Pepsi staring Price still high af after castration
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# ? Jul 7, 2022 13:04 |
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I think I may have asked a while back, but what's the current hotness in auto-cleaning litter boxes? How often do they need manual intervention? Related, how the heck do I stop litter from going all over the house? I think Latte gets litter on her paws/in her fur, then gets the poop zoomies and bolts all over the place, so I find little grains of litter in the craziest places and sweeping up after it is getting old.
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# ? Jul 7, 2022 15:24 |
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Harriet Carker posted:Related, how the heck do I stop litter from going all over the house?
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# ? Jul 7, 2022 17:53 |
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# ? May 16, 2024 17:16 |
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I trim my cat’s toe-tufts and butt curtains because he’s too dang fluffy and tracks litter (and sometimes poop) out of the box. I also use an overpriced top-entry litterbox (this one) which helps too. Recently realized Sinjin goes completely inside of the box to pee in it, but perches on the edge of the box opening to poop like a bird. Then jumps back inside to bury it???
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# ? Jul 7, 2022 20:07 |