Cat Advice

[pricklypear1971]

Apparently, Gracie is done with me. She only has eyes and cuddles for M (16). Last I looked she was sleeping soundly on his chest as he was trying to nap. I'm sure its my fault I didn't cat-nap her years ago and bring her to him.

When he wasn't suitable for sleeping on, She is sleeping on my workbench, on the spongy glass cutting mat,that I doubled over to keep clean. This may be a problem.

Only a problem for YOU. She's perfectly fine with it.

[IrishHeart]

Only a problem for YOU. She's perfectly fine with it.

:lol:

[Juliebove]

Needing means that the cat is very happy. I have never had a cat wake me up for food. But then I have always put out a self feeder with plenty of dry food in it. My current two cats each get an Appetizer for breakfast. And they get that whenever I get up. Might be early. Might be late. They never question the time. They split a small can of cat food for dinner. Again, might be early or late depending on what I am doing that day. At midnight they get some treats. They do seem to know the time then. And if I haven't given them the treats, they will come to me with big eyes.

We have a mom cat and her baby. Although the baby is grown now. Mom purrs frequently and very loudly. The baby rarely purrs. It's as though she saves the purrs up or something. Often you can tell that she is happy but she isn't purring.

You might want to trim the cat's nails or have it done. I just had ours done at the vet and they charged $25 per cat, although I did get a military discount. Groomers charge less. I just don't know of any close by. My old cat used to go to Petco or Petsmart. I could usually get her done as a walk in. That way when then cat does knead, at least it won't hurt you.

[kareng]

Needing means that the cat is very happy. I have never had a cat wake me up for food. But then I have always put out a self feeder with plenty of dry food in it. My current two cats each get an Appetizer for breakfast. And they get that whenever I get up. Might be early. Might be late. They never question the time. They split a small can of cat food for dinner. Again, might be early or late depending on what I am doing that day. At midnight they get some treats. They do seem to know the time then. And if I haven't given them the treats, they will come to me with big eyes.

We have a mom cat and her baby. Although the baby is grown now. Mom purrs frequently and very loudly. The baby rarely purrs. It's as though she saves the purrs up or something. Often you can tell that she is happy but she isn't purring.

You might want to trim the cat's nails or have it done. I just had ours done at the vet and they charged $25 per cat, although I did get a military discount. Groomers charge less. I just don't know of any close by. My old cat used to go to Petco or Petsmart. I could usually get her done as a walk in. That way when then cat does knead, at least it won't hurt you.

Julie, she doesn't have any claws, front or back! I wish she would purr....

My dog always gets a dog biscuit at bedtime. What kind of treats do they like?

[psawyer]

I wish she would purr....

Some cats do, and others not so much. Caramel, our almost-13 former store cat, very rarely purred while on duty at the store. Now that she is living at home with us, she is purring a lot. Give her time, she may start.

[Juliebove]

Julie, she doesn't have any claws, front or back! I wish she would purr....

My dog always gets a dog biscuit at bedtime. What kind of treats do they like?

No claws! Oh the poor thing. You don't wanna know what they do to them to take the claw out.

My cats prefer crunchy treats. Current cats will eat only the tuna flavor.

I have read that some cats do not purr but do not know why. My neighbor had one that she just sort of found. Siamese cat. She found out that his name was Sam. When she found him, he was being strangled by his collar. It was far too small. These days all of the cat collars are made to break away. But this was many years ago and the collars then were not like this. She put a new collar on him with a note with her phone number. The people who owned him called her and thanked her and told her that they didn't have enough money to feed him or get him a new collar. He never purred and he had a very strange meow. The family that owned him said he had been hit by a motorcycle and his vocal cords were damaged.

My neighbor would let him in during the day and provide him with food and whatever medical care he needed. Then she had to move out. So I don't know what became of Sam. I used to feed him when she was away on vacation.

I didn't dare take him in because we weren't allowed to have pets. Our living arrangement was a strange one. My elderly neighbor and her husband had built the building some 50 years prior. At first it was a Drs. office with an apartment at the front. I was living in the front apartment on a very busy highway. But part of my apartment had been at one time a little store. So it was a really weird layout with lots of extra doors. To get to my apartment you had to go in a down downstairs and then up a flight of stairs. Directly underneath me was a dance studio. Not sure if that was always there or not. She lived in the part that had been the Drs. office. Most of her apartment was downstairs but there was a stairway to upstairs and she had one bedroom up there which she used for storage. A door connected to my apartment. They made it so that if they were renting to a person who needed two bedrooms, they could give them that one as well.

But by the time I lived in there, a contracting office had gone in next door and the man who owned that, owned the building. Things were fine until he got a divorce and was forced to sell the building. The man he sold it to seemed to be totally nuts!

This guy did all sorts of things that were illegal. Such as building a huge walk in closet in my apartment while I was at work. Then telling me that I couldn't use it. He could. He let himself into my neighbor's apartment and took a lot of her stuff while she was away. Stuff that she owned! He took a very old room sized rug that she had made. Claimed she might trip on it. Put wall to wall carpeting in there instead. Took her washer and dryer. Then when she complained, he got her a stacking washer and dryer which she could not use because not only was she short but she had osteoporosis or some such thing which left her hunched over and unable to stand. Worse still he took the 5 cars that she had in the garage that used to be down there.

Long story short on that one, she wound up suing him and won. He had to pay her quite a large sum of money and she moved out. But as for the cat, I think she could get away with feeding him because she had a large deck at the back of the building and she could let him in there. She could also quickly put him back outside if need be. No way could I have taken him around the building and into my apartment. The poor thing would have freaked with all the traffic there.

And then the crazy landlord moved into her apartment and put a business into the area that used to be her garage. Things went very sour after that and I very much disliked living there after he took it over. So I stayed as far away as possible from him and then moved out as soon as I could. So I don't know what became of Sam.

[IrishHeart]

What kind of treats do they like?

IMHO, cats do not really need treats, K, but there are many kinds on the market.

I would suggest some grain- free salmon ones maybe? Peter probably has better ideas.

My wild child's treats go unnoticed. I eventually gave the bags to the vet's office.

I found she often just walked away from the treats we purchased. She likes to roll around in the catmint plant in the yard and thinks the moles, voles and chipmunks are her treats.

As for purring, some are purring machines and some may not do it very often. Vets do not really know why they do it. Our Thor always purred .....24/7--was she content? upset? had the hiccups? who knows.

Gracie will calm down, become comfortable and she may purr.. or not. It does not mean she is not happen with you guys, ok? I am sure she is.

I once had a cat for a brief time (we had temporary custody of her)named Pearl who purred very lightly, and loved to cuddle and lay across J's shoulders or on my lap, but she made no sounds. Nothing. No meowing or crying...we called her "the mime."

[Jestgar]

My kitties get a spoonful of canned food for a treat.

[kareng]

My kitties get a spoonful of canned food for a treat.

I was thinking something like that or maybe some tuna at bed. I want her to stay in her new 900 sq ft apartment (basement) at night. The dog sleeps in our room and her food, water, litter box, leather couch, double chair with attached ottoman, big screen TV, Xbox and ground level bunny viewing are there. Of course, she will not be spoiled....

[Jestgar]

Make sure it's kitty tuna. People tuna is no so good for frequent treats.

[Jestgar]

I want her to stay in her new 900 sq ft apartment (basement) at night.

Good luck with that...

I envision her new puppy friend fussing to have her brought in to sleep with him...

[pricklypear1971]

I was thinking something like that or maybe some tuna at bed. I want her to stay in her new 900 sq ft apartment (basement) at night. The dog sleeps in our room and her food, water, litter box, leather couch, double chair with attached ottoman, big screen TV, Xbox and ground level bunny viewing are there. Of course, she will not be spoiled....

If you buy whole chickens and don't use the giblets too often...just boil them and dice them up and give her little bits as treats. Mine loved that. You can also buy a pint of chicken livers and bake them on lllloooowww (basically dehydrate) and freeze those and portion them out. Be prepared to share with dog (and start WWIII).

[come dance with me]

Hi, my name's Jo and I'm a cat slave too. Nice to meet you all! My cat wakes up really really early but he doesn't actually eat in the morning. He will only eat in the late afternoon. He likes to hunt my toes at around 4am, roughly an hour before we need to be up, and if he gets booted out he climbs the screens and makes a lot of noise.

[ravenwoodglass]

My dog always gets a dog biscuit at bedtime. What kind of treats do they like?

Depends on the cat what kind they like or if they even like any. My 2 manxs liked a bite of anything I was eating. I never gave them anything while I was actually eating but they would run for the counter for any leftovers. They also had to have a can of cat food split every evening for dinner. Kibble is always kept full for day or night dining. After they both passed away I soon realized no one was eating the canned food. The stray I rescued on a snowy day has tried cannned food a couple of times but the look on her face was priceless. Kind of like a baby when you give it a lemon. Big Boy won't even look at canned food. Saves me a lot of money. As far as actual treats go neither of my two will even eat a piece of chicken or beef so they just get their regular food.

It won't be long before Gracie makes her preferences known. At one time I had a cat who loved peanut butter and jelly, another who craved veggies and one who would eat any meat or noodle. Never had to worry about leftovers back then.

[GF Lover]

My maniac cat never like canned food either. He goes in and outdoors and unfortunately brings his snacks to the door. Bats, moles, small birds and an occasional frog. He freaks me out

[IrishHeart]

My maniac cat never like canned food either. He goes in and outdoors and unfortunately brings his snacks to the door. Bats, moles, small birds and an occasional frog. He freaks me out

chipmunks, mice, moles, voles, bats, snakes, frogs, squirrels, baby turtle, a bunny (which was NOT at all acceptable) .....

[IrishHeart]

I was thinking something like that or maybe some tuna at bed. I want her to stay in her new 900 sq ft apartment (basement) at night. The dog sleeps in our room and her food, water, litter box, leather couch, double chair with attached ottoman, big screen TV, Xbox and ground level bunny viewing are there. Of course, she will not be spoiled....

heck, I could live there. I'll forward my list of treats to you so you can prepare.

[GF Lover]

I would bet the new miss kitty will be happily sleeping with mom and pooch in no time.

[kareng]

Last night I gave her a tiny piece of roast beef. I held it out to her and she wouldn't take it. As soon as I put it on the ground, she gobbled it. So far she isn't picky about food. She had some cheap looking kibble at her old house, my neighbor had some cans of Friskys she liked and I have BB grainfree and she seems to like it.

We are going to the vet today. She won't like me much later.

[IrishHeart]

We are going to the vet today. She won't like me much later.

Now worries, K.-- they have short memories of things like that and if she is getting any shots, she'll sleep it off.

She's get over it and you guys will be buds again in no time.

Good luck with the car ride!!!....

you're gonna need it.

[kareng]

She doesn't have all those nasty diseases an outdoor cat could have. She was fine in a cardboard box on the way there. I let her out in the van on the 5 minute ride home. She crawled under my seat and was fine. Then she came out into the garage and right in the house with no problems. Her only issue is dermatitis. We are going to give it a week and see if being inside helps before we try a steroid shot.

She weighed 10 pounds.

[pricklypear1971]

She doesn't have all those nasty diseases an outdoor cat could have. She was fine in a cardboard box on the way there. I let her out in the van on the 5 minute ride home. She crawled under my seat and was fine. Then she came out into the garage and right in the house with no problems. Her only issue is dermatitis. We are going to give it a week and see if being inside helps before we try a steroid shot.

She weighed 10 pounds.

That's all good news. Uhm, fair warning on the steroids - they can make her aggressively nuts. As in The Cat From Hell that you're afraid to sleep around. I advise trying her new improved diet a bit longer, perhaps a gentle bath (gentle for her, bloody for you) and some oil on the itchy spots (if that's what she has).

[jerseyangel]

Sounds good, Karen--love the pic

[bartfull]

I had a cat once who loved cooked spinach. And if Mom was baking sauerkraut, he would march back and forth in front of the oven door until it was done an we fed him some.

My current kitty has dried food available at all times and gets one small teaspoon of canned food each morning and again each evening. But I still give her treats on occasion - maybe once a week. I just buy Pounce treats for her and wash my hands well afterward.

She doesn't do well with people food. She usually vomits it back up. The only things she does well with are a little bit of white meat chicken, or some cod. And I NEVER give her any while I am eating. She has enough bad habits! I just wait until she isn't looking, put a little in her dish, and then call her.

[sora]

This was posted on my Facebook today.

Rules to live by.