The Cat Thread

[Dan Denson]

Originally Posted by BTinSF

Is changing litter boxes a full time job for you?

Scooping is a big chore. Takes about 20 minutes in the morning and then again in the evening. I also vacuum most of the house in the morning and evening, because the litter particles are all over the place. Spraying has been fairly uncommon from the males, fortunately. About 5 years ago I replaced all the carpet with tile, which has made things go much better. I wanted to get laminant flooring but the sales people told me that if a cat pees along the baseboard it will ruin the laminant. With tile, there's never a problem.

As much as I love all my cats, I'm not getting any more now, and will let the population get down to about 3 by attrition. That will be about the time I'll want to downsize and probably move into a small condo.

Anyone else doing shelter volunteer work? It's hard work and time consuming but well worth it. Sometimes there are crises and some sad things happen. Yesterday one of our shelter kitties had a dislocated jaw and ended up at the emergency clinic. It was the saddest thing to see. They put her on an IV after getting her jaw back in place. Most days at the shelter are great, and I usually go home feeling really good.

[glowrock]

Originally Posted by James Bond Agent 007

^
I actually recently bought a bag of Purina One kitten food, which is a grade above ordinary Kitten Chow. But when I put both in her dish she seems to prefer the Kitten Chow.

But she gets spoiled anyway. I just gave her some tuna fish (along with the fish-flavored water from the can), which I do on occasion to give her a treat. I also buy an occasional can of Fancy Feast which I give to her on the weekends (it's the small can in the 2nd pic).

So she does get a little spoiled, but not too spoiled.

Oh god, Fancy Feast is like kitty crack, I tell you! That's what my Bengal, Bulu, got addicted to!

Thankfully, my calico kitten, Mojave, will pretty much eat anything, canned or dry, doesn't matter...

Aaron (Glowrock)

[DLLB]

Originally Posted by Dan Denson

In my spare time, I volunteer at a cat shelter near Austin. Over time, I've brought home a few cats from the shelter, but have accumulated most from just finding them as strays. At one time I had 16, and have 14 now since two have cross the rainbow bridge. Here are my favorite photos of my "family".

This is why I don't sleep too well sometimes:


My cats love to watch squirrels:

The world needs more people like you. I am sure they will really miss you in Austin when you move but it will be Houston's gain.

I love the one of the cats watching the squirrels. Our cats sit by the patio doors for hours watching the birds. They are indoor cats and are so used to it that when we open the door (or screen) to pass by them to go outside they just sit there and never try to get out.

[Dan Denson]

Originally Posted by DLLB

The world needs more people like you. I am sure they will really miss you in Austin when you move but it will be Houston's gain.

I love the one of the cats watching the squirrels. Our cats sit by the patio doors for hours watching the birds. They are indoor cats and are so used to it that when we open the door (or screen) to pass by them to go outside they just sit there and never try to get out.

Thanks, DLLB!

[buswizard]

I love cats. Even alley cats when they stroll close enough for me to get a photo.

[plinko]

I have a Russian Blue as well Dan. Beautiful cats. Got Bob 10+ years ago at the Phoenix SPCA.

[James Bond Agent 007]

Sooo . . . I just bought a $7 bag of catnip to give my kitty her first taste of the stuff . . . only to come home and give it to her and find out she's immune from its effects.



My kitty is NOT normal!

[James Bond Agent 007]

Well, it seems she might be "normal" but is still in the minority:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nepeta

About two thirds of cats are susceptible to catnip. The phenomenon is hereditary; for example, most Australian cats do not react to it. There is some disagreement about the susceptibility of lions and tigers to catnip.

[Dan Denson]

Originally Posted by plinko

I have a Russian Blue as well Dan. Beautiful cats. Got Bob 10+ years ago at the Phoenix SPCA.

Cute kitty, Plinko. I love Russian Blues. Dusty is very athletic and she never walks; just runs. She's very shy with strangers but is affectionate with me.

[Dan Denson]

Originally Posted by James Bond Agent 007

Well, it seems she might be "normal" but is still in the minority:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nepeta

That's interesting that Australian cats don't react. All of mine do!

[Jimby]

Try honeysuckle wood as an alternative to catnip. Some cats go crazy for it.

[James Bond Agent 007]

Hmm, never heard of that before. Maybe I'll check it out.

[Ayreonaut]

My dad's got some mint growing outside (not sure what kind, for some reason I think it's actually called cat mint), they friggin love that shit.

[BTinSF]

My cat watching Fast Money on CNBC, her favorite TV show:

[Jimby]

rasta kitty, Taz wearing a fez





a few of the many cats I saw in Kenya and Tanzania:

cheetahs, Masai Mara Kenya





leopard, Masai Mara Kenya





Lion cubs learning to hunt. Sadly, the baby water buck was still alive and its mother watched helplessly from a distance.



Lion pride feasting on a hippo. We didn't see the kill, but it is very rare for lions to take down a hippo. The round sac in the innards of the hippo the guide thought might be a fetus.





one of 4 lions in a tree, Terengire National Park, Tanzania

[BTinSF]

Originally Posted by James Bond Agent 007

Sooo . . . I just bought a $7 bag of catnip to give my kitty her first taste of the stuff . . . only to come home and give it to her and find out she's immune from its effects.



My kitty is NOT normal!

Mine isn't very interested in it either. Since she's a Bengal, I always attributed her lack of interest to the wild Asian Leopard Cat genes.

[BTinSF]

Originally Posted by glowrock

Oh god, Fancy Feast is like kitty crack, I tell you! That's what my Bengal, Bulu, got addicted to!

Thankfully, my calico kitten, Mojave, will pretty much eat anything, canned or dry, doesn't matter...

Aaron (Glowrock)

For me and my Bengal, Maharet, it's basically kitty methadone. What she got addicted to was Trader Joe's Tuna For Cats. After that, the only other things I found she would eat was Fancy Feast Grilled Chicken. I've gradually weaned her to the Grilled Turkey and Grilled Beef so she has a somewhat varied diet.

[KevinFromTexas]

So, I have a new cat. Back in June we lost our cat Jodie. He had some kind of stone that had started to develop without us knowing it.

This little guy was sitting in the street one night. He's a few months old I guess, I'm not really sure. I don't have a name for him yet. We came home and he was sitting in the street. I had to get out and move him. I was expecting him to run off as soon as I got close, but I just bent over and scooped him up. He seemed really tame and clean, so I took him home thinking he belonged to someone. I figured if he didn't know to get out of the street that he'd be right back there and might possibly get hit. So the next day I walked back down there to knock on their door to see if they owned him. They said their neighbor has cats. So I went over there and didn't get an answer at the door. I went home and made a "cat found" sign. On the way back to put it up on the street light, I noticed our neighbor walking down his driveway. I asked if he had cats, and he said the cat was from a litter that started hanging around and said I could have him. Our neighbor across the street recently went into the hospital (she's elderly) and all the stray cats she'd cared for are starting to branch out into the neighborhood. Anyway, apparently the mother of my cat hung around her house. My neighbor said the cats follow him around everywhere. He said he'd probably just left and walked up to the store when we came by and found him sitting there. So anyway, now I have a new cat. I just don't know what to name him yet. He's really sweet and soft. He has sort of orange/brown eyes. He's really affectionate, purrs all the time and gets along well with the dogs. He has the tiniest meow, he's a bit of a crybaby. He's an awesome lap cat and has this funny thing about putting his feet on you, he doesn't scratch you, he just puts his feet on you. He'll even reach up to try and pull you closer. He loves being close. He also likes SkyscraperPage and wants to know what it's about.

[Robert Pence]

While meandering about Shirleysburg PA with my camera, I came under the scrutiny of the neighborhood watch-cat.

[Ayreonaut]

Looks (and sounds) like a cool cat Kevin.