I could have had a great cat pic yesterday. But my phone camera sucks too much. A turkey vulture was snacking on a road kill squirrel out front when mom's cat decided to wander over for a talk. Vulture bigger than cat. But vulture flew off to roof of house across the street, and cat followed.
Cats and Kittens
- Thread starter Azem.Ocram
- Start date
Did the cat enjoy the roadkill?
I was trying to get Lucy as she was climbing up my leg, sadly my reflexes and camera are too slow and she started going back down. She was standing fully upright almost and her paws were stretched up to my waist; she was insisting I pet her (by doing that thing where she forcibly rubs her face against my hand until I get the hint).
We have a couch in our family room which I lay on to watch TV. When I laid north to south our cat Par would jump up and I would pet her. I can't lay on one side for too long so I eventually would switch to lying south to north and Par would jump down and Bogey would jump up for me to pet her. It became such a routine that even after Par passed away years ago, Bogey will still only jump up for a pet if I'm lying south to North.
GoodSarmatian
Jokerfied Western Male
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- Apr 25, 2006
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Thinking about getting a cat.
Is it practical to have a cat when you live alone ? I would feel uncomfortable leaving an animal unsupervised for hours every time I have to work. Will it get bored ? Will it randomly destroy things ?
Is it practical to have a cat when you live alone ? I would feel uncomfortable leaving an animal unsupervised for hours every time I have to work. Will it get bored ? Will it randomly destroy things ?
They take care of themselves pretty well for that length of time. Remember they sleep like 16 hours a day. You've just gotta give them some quality play, food and affection time when you get home. They'll probably come to you.
You have a few options for feeding routine, ie whether you leave food out or not. With water and clean litter they'll be fine for the work day. With food as well you can stretch it to 24 or 36 hours or more. Though they might be cranky or sooky after that.
And if they are going to misbehave like destroy things they're exactly as likely to do it when you're around. Zero respect or shame in that regard.
But the main thing they'll destroy is clawing stuff to maintain their claw quality. That's usually resolved by giving them something to claw that they like, like a post or a block of rigid cardboard.
One thing that can alleviate any possible boredom, if you can handle it in the space you have, is to get two cats. Assuming they get along. Simultaneously getting two actual litter mates work best for this, because introducing strange cats to each other is risky, especially in a strange new place. But bonded cats eg litter mates will play and often also groom and sleep together.
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Berzerker
Deity
get 2, preferably siblings...
yes, no, maybe...Younger cats have more energy to burn, older cats are boring
Dogs need distractions, cats are so laid back they just need a human can opener/pillowYeah, we've usually gone with two. Siblings are best but if you get them from a shelter you can also pick cell mates. It doesn't take long to see if they like each other or just hiss at each other all day. Our last pair were siblings and they got into it every now and then but they did sleep curled up with each other. Now one has passed and the replacement wasn't received very well but 8 months later they play together some. It will take longer before the older one let's the younger one sleep real close, No matter how much the younger one tries too 
It's very practical to have a cat when you live alone. For one thing, the cat is someone to talk to (I tell Maddy when I'm going to the lobby to get the mail; sometimes the mail has to do with her in the sense that if it's a cheque, it means I will possibly use some of the money to buy cat food or milk for her), and someone to talk to you (Maddy tells me stuff, we converse in cat, I have no idea wth I'm saying but it seems to make sense to her).
For two things, if the cat decides to sleep with you, it's like having a spare blanket... that purrs. Two cats is like a thicker blanket, and four cats is like a heavy quilt. The only downside to more than one cat sleeping with you is if they wake up and decide it's time to wrestle.
For three things, Maddy has sometimes alerted me to odd things going on, like people outside the door, or some insect I need to take care of. So while they're not as good as most watch dogs, they can be helpful in that regard.
For four things, it's just the plain fact that I always have the sense that I'm not alone here. There is one other person sharing this suite with me, and it doesn't matter that we're of two different species. Without her to talk to, I'd probably go days without talking to anyone.
For five things, humans and cats are both social (yes, cats really are - mostly). There are times when I could really use a hug, and Maddy is right here - hugs, cuddles, purrs, and face washes.
To alleviate boredom, provide a few toys. They don't need to be elaborate - cats are fine with things that are simple and provide a chance to practice their stalking and hunting skills. Maddy's favorite toy is a fuzzy cloth mouse that's soft enough for her to pick up in her mouth and carry around, and she can also bat it around. She's got a ball she'll occasionally give a bat, and sometimes if she finds a bottle cap around (plastic), she'll use it for a hockey puck. Ditto with cheeseburger wrappers - sometimes I'll get a cheeseburger at McDonalds, bring it home, eat the cheeseburger, and crumple up the wrapper for Maddy to play with. Laser toys are something that some cats like; my cats would just look at me like I'm an idiot ("Come on, Mom, you know there's nothing there, do you think we're stupid?").
Not all cats like catnip (none of my cats ever did). So I would advise trying it in a small dose to see if the cat likes it. If not, the cat will either be indifferent to it, or do what mine did - pee on it. You could try honeysuckle; that was a great favorite with some of my cats.
A good scratching post is essential. It should be tall enough that the cat can stretch vertically and still have room at the top to claw. As for what materials... cats have various preferences. And be prepared to have your furniture attacked. If you have any leather couches or chairs, either put covers on them or change them out for non-leather. There are ways to train a cat not to scratch the furniture, but I found it easier to just use covers on what matters and forget about what doesn't matter.
As for randomly destroying things... yeah, there will be destruction at first. As I've said previously, if you have house plants, make sure none of them are toxic. Cats can't read labels, and they don't instinctively know that something is poisonous. And any houseplants that would greatly inconvenience you to replace should be put in a place where the cat can't get to. Don't assume that putting it on a high shelf will solve the issue. Cats can find any number of ways to get up there.
Cats sometimes have a compulsive need for order, as in "if it's on a shelf or table, it really belongs on the floor." So if you have any breakable things around like glass or ceramic ornaments, be aware that they might end up broken. I never put any of mine where they could fall on the tile floor, and told any housekeepers I had that they must never put anything glass or ceramic on the window ledges. Ditto for anything like plastic models, if you collect things like that. Those tend to be fragile when dropped, and the cat has no idea about things like that.
Yep, ditto on the two cats situation. When Chloe was still alive, she and Maddy played together, groomed each other, and got along for the most part (I had to switch to dry food because Maddy kept bullying Chloe out of her canned food).
Our new addition was bullying our older cat out of the morning canned food so I would chase her out and close the french doors until bogey had eaten her share then let Ping back in. Now a few months later when I get up in the morning Ping will exit the room and stand on the other side of the french doors until I close them since she has figured out that she can't eat till her older companion is done. I really thought cats were harder to train.
Zkribbler
Deity
I read L-shaped are best, so they can stretch vertically or horizontally. True?
brennan
Argumentative Brit
It doesn't matter: your sofa is dooooomed.
Cat-related rant that people might want to consider:
Somebody gave me a sample plate of pastries - lemon chiffon square, chocolate brownies, coconut squares, and a carrot cake muffin.
I set it down, turned my back, heard a "splat"... and found that Maddy had tipped the lot of it over onto the carpet.
Lesson: Never trust a cat to keep out of food you wouldn't expect them to get into - they will do it anyway.
Somebody gave me a sample plate of pastries - lemon chiffon square, chocolate brownies, coconut squares, and a carrot cake muffin.
I set it down, turned my back, heard a "splat"... and found that Maddy had tipped the lot of it over onto the carpet.
Lesson: Never trust a cat to keep out of food you wouldn't expect them to get into - they will do it anyway.
Berzerker
Deity
Velegon
Chieftain
Cat-related rant that people might want to consider:
Somebody gave me a sample plate of pastries - lemon chiffon square, chocolate brownies, coconut squares, and a carrot cake muffin.
I set it down, turned my back, heard a "splat"... and found that Maddy had tipped the lot of it over onto the carpet.
Lesson: Never trust a cat to keep out of food you wouldn't expect them to get into - they will do it anyway.
Second Lesson: Cats always like shoving things off tables.
Seriously, my current cat still does it despite my "training" (ie discipline) to prevent him from doing it. What amazes me is how strong he is - he pushes things around that weigh more than he does...
bernie14
Filter Manipulator
Zkribbler
Deity
Cats are organizers. The first rule of cat organization is that everything belongs on the floor.
Berzerker
Deity
Some is relative. I would bet the percentage is considerably less than 1%. But I have great respect for those that succeed.
I can imagine getting up at two in the morning and having to wait for the cat to finish.
There was a scene in "Meet the Fockers" where Ben Stiller walks into the bathroom and sees the cat squatting over the toilet bowl. I vaguely remember one of our cats doing that a couple times but we didn't train him.
Thats probably them marking their territory, they brush up against objects. Any house with cats will end up with dark stains on corners they enjoy sideswiping.
