A Dog AND A Cat????

[Terabith]

I wonder if kitten would like to play with a ping pong ball or a milk lid or chase a string or a stuffed animal?

[Spy Car]

2 minutes ago, Pawz4me said:

Oh, just wait until tonight.

Although it might not happen tonight.

Takes 'em awhile to settle in and feel at home.

But sooner or later . . . it will happen. 😉 

He's in the laying low mode. Did just hop onto a new bed (for him) just now.

Seems to like beds.

So a little settling in period and then we might expect "kitty exuberance?"

Bill

 

[Spy Car]

2 minutes ago, Terabith said:

I wonder if kitten would like to play with a ping pong ball or a milk lid or chase a string or a stuffed animal?

I've been trying to encourage him with a wand. Mild interest.

I'll try to dummy up a few more toys. My hunch is he's just settling in. Appears content.

Bill

[klmama]

I'm glad it's going well so far. Daytime kitten activities are great.  It's the 2 a.m. ambushes that get distressing, lol! 

[Spy Car]

15 minutes ago, klmama said:

I'm glad it's going well so far. Daytime kitten activities are great.  It's the 2 a.m. ambushes that get distressing, lol! 

The what?

Bill

[Tiberia]

14 minutes ago, Spy Car said:

The what?

Bill

Zooming might happen in the middle of the night. 

Hunting might happen. You might get attacked, but it will be cute.

Also, you need to know: Never move a cat that is sleeping on you. You must remain in place for hours or days until the cat awakens and moves. You must cancel your own appointments and activities if necessary. It is a great honor to be chosen. 

[Scarlett]

42 minutes ago, klmama said:

I'm glad it's going well so far. Daytime kitten activities are great.  It's the 2 a.m. ambushes that get distressing, lol! 

 

26 minutes ago, Spy Car said:

The what?

Bill

Ours sleeps in the laundry room which has a pet door to the garage where her litter box is. I can’t handle the 3 am yowling at our bedroom door 

[Matryoshka]

9 minutes ago, Tiberia said:

Zooming might happen in the middle of the night. 

Hunting might happen. You might get attacked, but it will be cute.

Also, you need to know: Never move a cat that is sleeping on you. You must remain in place for hours or days until the cat awakens and moves. You must cancel your own appointments and activities if necessary. It is a great honor to be chosen. 

Yes, even out senior cat is prone to night zooming, including galloping over our prone forms. She has horrible bed manners. Not all cats are so bad, lol. She used to be exiled at night, but we got another cat she doesn't like, so we relented in her dotage (other cat gets more of us during the day).  She likes to snuggle with dh at night. I am just a runway.

[Matryoshka]

3 minutes ago, Scarlett said:

Ours sleeps in the laundry room which has a pet door to the garage where her litter box is. I can’t handle the 3 am yowling at our bedroom door 

The one who doesn't sleep with us banged and yowled at the door till I closed the other door to the connecting room and now we have a buffer...

[KSera]

25 minutes ago, Tiberia said:

Also, you need to know: Never move a cat that is sleeping on you. You must remain in place for hours or days until the cat awakens and moves. You must cancel your own appointments and activities if necessary. It is a great honor to be chosen. 

QFT 😂. It’s fascinating to me how universal this life truth is among cat owners. 

[ktgrok]

2 hours ago, Idalou said:

I've owned solo kittens my entire life, never had trouble with behavior. May be true, may be bunk. Reminds me of the of the 'can an only child be happy' type debates.

Oh, we are talking about kittens who are taken from mom when young AND don't have another kitten to be with. No cats to teach them how to be a nice cat. An only cat that was with mom the right amount of time is TOTALLY different. (this was a side track)

[klmama]

When my cats were kittens, they zoomed around for a couple of hours in the night, and the most enthusiastic one would zoom up onto the bed and pounce on me.  Repeatedly.  It took about 6 months of being tossed off the bed 5-6 times a night for her to learn I didn't want to play that game, but she did eventually learn.  After that, she'd just hop quietly up onto the bed to sleep near me, like the others did.  I loved being able to wake up in the morning and immediately hear the sound of purring.  I'd open my eyes, and there she would be, gazing at me happily from about a foot away.  I felt very loved.  😊

ETA:  Once I got married, they didn't sleep in the bedroom anymore, and they did. not. like that.  Because of the yowling and door pounding, they were relegated to the basement laundry room with a thick pad attached to the door to quiet the pounding.  I think we added some foam tape between the door and frame, too, to prevent it from banging.  

Edited October 11, 2021 by klmama

[Pawz4me]

1 hour ago, Spy Car said:

He's in the laying low mode. Did just hop onto a new bed (for him) just now.

Seems to like beds.

So a little settling in period and then we might expect "kitty exuberance?"

Bill

 

Yep. It could be a couple of days, a couple of weeks or a couple of months. It's really individual.

 

38 minutes ago, Matryoshka said:

The one who doesn't sleep with us banged and yowled at the door till I closed the other door to the connecting room and now we have a buffer...

For our worst nighttime door banger/pestilence kitty (we all adored him, but also . . we needed to sleep) I resorted to shutting him in the cat room and putting double sided tape on the inside of the door.

[Jean in Newcastle]

Cat's can be trained too. . .   Just sayin'. 

[Drama Llama]

22 minutes ago, Jean in Newcastle said:

Cat's can be trained too. . .   Just sayin'. 

I am putting my money on Bill being trained.

Does this cat have a name?  I have suggestions.  

[Spy Car]

3 minutes ago, BaseballandHockey said:

I am putting my money on Bill being trained.

Does this cat have a name?  I have suggestions.  

That would be a good bet.

No name yet (other than "Tigere" which isn't transferring). So go ahead and suggest.

I liked Milagro. nothing has stuck yet.

Bill

 

 

[Drama Llama]

. . . 

Edited October 26, 2021 by BaseballandHockey

[Spy Car]

Fortunately the little guy is not into Zooming in the middle of the night.

He prefers Facetiming, and doing so during normal hours.

The things you all train cats do do is amazing.

Bill

 

 

[Starr]

Remember clock radios? Our old kitty learned to step on the button to get our attention lol

[Spy Car]

Just now, BaseballandHockey said:

I think you should do a sibling name and also pay homage to our dear Terabith and use a presidential name.  He looks like a Rutherford to me.

We have a Chester (as in A. Arthur).

Just glad the cat isn't orange.

Bill

 

 

[Terabith]

So, this kitty is new and intimidated still.  He may relax and start doing things like zooming around your bed at 2 am, or jumping on the counters, or unrolling all the toilet paper.  

Are you going to clicker train him?  Let him go outside?  Build him high perches?  Does he have appropriate things to scratch on?  Does he like catnip yet?  

If you leave an address, we could mail Unnamed Kitty presents from Hive aunties.  

[Drama Llama]

. . . 

Edited October 26, 2021 by BaseballandHockey

[Spy Car]

2 minutes ago, BaseballandHockey said:

I know hence the “sibling name”. You need a theme.

 

Millard?

Bill

[Spy Car]

5 minutes ago, Terabith said:

So, this kitty is new and intimidated still.  He may relax and start doing things like zooming around your bed at 2 am, or jumping on the counters, or unrolling all the toilet paper.  

Are you going to clicker train him?  Let him go outside?  Build him high perches?  Does he have appropriate things to scratch on?  Does he like catnip yet?  

If you leave an address, we could mail Unnamed Kitty presents from Hive aunties.  

I need a sound to call him in. Was thinking of a hand-held bell. Could use a clicker.

I'm not sure where this guy is yet physically. He had a pretty bad injury. Supposed all healed but de-conditioned. Needs slow building up. 

Has scratch post. Looking at other items. Not sure the degree of athleticism at this point. 

If he relaxes anymore than he was been, I'm going to invest in a heart-rate monitor.

He's good at conserving energy.

Bill

[Terabith]

I use a clicking of my tongue to call my cats.  Well, that and shouting across the neighborhood, "OoooooooooBaaaaaaaMaaaaaaa."  It works.  He comes when he's called.

[Drama Llama]

. . . 

Edited October 26, 2021 by BaseballandHockey

[Spy Car]

6 minutes ago, BaseballandHockey said:

YES!

I'll pitch it.

Bill

[BeachGal]

My son uses two water fountains for his four cats — all males — to entice them to drink more. He likes this one which is quiet and easy to clean although the ceramic occasionally needs to be scrubbed with CLR.

https://www.chewy.com/drinkwell-pagoda-ceramic-dog-cat/dp/174362?utm_id=401427327&msclkid=f4c9c18344961d17563aa0e7931b4730&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Shopping-Product Targets-Hard Goods-SSP-DDG&utm_term=4585169651471391&utm_content=Drinkwell

He also monitors their urine with Pretty Litter which changes color if something is off and should be checked out.

When I cat sit them, the one toy they all seem to like is a stick with cotton string tied to it. I whip it around and they chase it like crazy. We do this before bedtime for about 15” and it seems to help prevent nighttime zoomies. The string that seems to work best is about 1/8” thick.

If catnip is not a hit, silver vine might be. The twigs can be lightly scraped before offering them to the cat.

Enjoy! He is already eating a stellar diet and that will be a great boon to his health.

[fraidycat]

3 hours ago, Tiberia said:

 

Also, you need to know: Never move a cat that is sleeping on you. You must remain in place for hours or days until the cat awakens and moves. You must cancel your own appointments and activities if necessary. It is a great honor to be chosen. 

This is The LAW! Be sure to always, always empty your bladder prior to sitting down, even if you're only planning to sit for 5 minutes. Kitties often have other plans for you and your bladder capacity will be tested as a result. 😁

[KSera]

46 minutes ago, Starr said:

Remember clock radios? Our old kitty learned to step on the button to get our attention lol

Yes! Our clock radio was missing one of its rubber feet, and our kitten would sit on the clock radio in the middle of the night and rock it back and forth repeatedly to make a super annoying noise right by our heads. 🤪 We had to start closing her out of the bedroom, but then she destroyed the (apartment 😳) carpet right outside our bedroom door with her claws. Foil on the floor eventually stopped that.

[klmama]

51 minutes ago, Starr said:

Remember clock radios? Our old kitty learned to step on the button to get our attention lol

Ours learned to turn on the Roomba.  Then she learned to ride it.  Good times!  It only happened in the middle of the night once when we forgot to put her in the laundry room, but it was certainly a  startling way to wake up!  

[ktgrok]

I'm suddenly very thankful for my cats nighttime antics being seriously less active than some other cats!

Mine mostly just want to lay by me and purr really loudly. 

[Terabith]

Yeoww catnip products are the best. Are you going to teach Rutherford math?  Is he going to get a Halloween costume?

[Starr]

That same radio kitty also took off with our glasses and then dropped them on the floor. That would wake us every time. To this day we put our glasses in the bedside drawer even though kitty is no longer with us. Such funny memories.

[Tiberia]

And has anyone told you about boxes?

[Spy Car]

The name "Desmond" is not yet official, but it is trending.

So excited just now, had a feeding breakthrough with "Desmond" working his way through a portion of well-smashed raw chicken neck along with his other delectables.

I've been hoping he'd take to eating bone, rather than needing to supplement calcium. Took him awhile to chew through to all (which is super positive, strengthening jaws and teeth), but he did not quit.

Yippie!

 We really need to help get this little guy strong. He's a little weak now after all the time in a cast and external stabilizer.

Very pleased that he's eating well.

Bill

 

 

[Spy Car]

14 hours ago, BeachGal said:

My son uses two water fountains for his four cats — all males — to entice them to drink more. He likes this one which is quiet and easy to clean although the ceramic occasionally needs to be scrubbed with CLR.

https://www.chewy.com/drinkwell-pagoda-ceramic-dog-cat/dp/174362?utm_id=401427327&msclkid=f4c9c18344961d17563aa0e7931b4730&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Shopping-Product Targets-Hard Goods-SSP-DDG&utm_term=4585169651471391&utm_content=Drinkwell

He also monitors their urine with Pretty Litter which changes color if something is off and should be checked out.

When I cat sit them, the one toy they all seem to like is a stick with cotton string tied to it. I whip it around and they chase it like crazy. We do this before bedtime for about 15” and it seems to help prevent nighttime zoomies. The string that seems to work best is about 1/8” thick.

If catnip is not a hit, silver vine might be. The twigs can be lightly scraped before offering them to the cat.

Enjoy! He is already eating a stellar diet and that will be a great boon to his health.

The fountains look interesting. Do they plug in? 

I do hope eating well will be a huge benefit. He needs the nourishment and the opportunity to rebuild. 

Bill

 

 

[Spy Car]

7 minutes ago, Tiberia said:

And has anyone told you about boxes?

I'm collecting boxes. He also likes baskets.

Bill

[TravelingChris]

20 hours ago, ktgrok said:

Yeah, we now have a kitty who was orphaned. She has terrible manners. Getting better, but she is still randomly feral, lol. We know what we are getting into, but yeah. 

My dd2 took the cat that I had adopted upon dd1's urging back in 2012 to college as an emotional support animal.  Now Tiggy (short for Antigone- which is her real name), is a black Oriental mix- very oriental.  And while I had two Siamese before as an adult and a black Siamese mix as a child, all of those were males.  I hadn't realized that Orientals have a 20% chance of having OCD.  And yes, she has that- big time.  Now when she was living in our house, I was medicating her to stop the OCD- with amitriptyline.  DD2 took Tiggy when she moved out after college and last year, she rescued a starving kitty she found in TN ( along with a starving dog - some people nearby where she found the two took the starving dog).  The OCD affects Tiggy by having her chew on and possibly eat all sorts of bad things-papers, wires, cords, etc.  Well because she wasn't treating Tiggy what happened is that the kitten who was very young, decided to mimic the much older Tiggy.  And now she has two cats- one with OCD and one with the same behaviors, just learned.

[TravelingChris]

I really miss cats but I cannot have one anymore-  I turned allergic to them a few years ago.  And my asthma is bad enough, that I cannot make an exception.  

[Alte Veste Academy]

Just remember, they like a snug fit in baskets and boxes sometimes. Bigger is better for play, and smaller is best for naps. The last pic should give you hope for a nice friendship between kitty and puppers. And I threw in a nice extra photo of Caesar Cat that I found somewhere on the internet about The Truth about cats.

 

[Spy Car]

4 minutes ago, Alte Veste Academy said:

Just remember, they like a snug fit in baskets and boxes sometimes. Bigger is better for play, and smaller is best for naps. The last pic should give you hope for a nice friendship between kitty and puppers. And I threw in a nice extra photo of Caesar Cat that I found somewhere on the internet about The Truth about cats.

 

Very cute.

This species certainly seems to enjoy naptime.

Bill

 

[ktgrok]

18 minutes ago, Spy Car said:

Very cute.

This species certainly seems to enjoy naptime.

Bill

 

cat sleep about 2/3 of their lifetime. 

[BeachGal]

54 minutes ago, Spy Car said:

The fountains look interesting. Do they plug in? 

I do hope eating well will be a huge benefit. He needs the nourishment and the opportunity to rebuild. 

Bill

 

 

Yes, they plug in. Very quiet. All of our cats have liked them. Anything to help prevent kidney problems is a 👍🏼. It can affect them even when they’re young.

If you create a good raw food recipe, please post it. My son’s cats all eat Primal frozen raw food but I wouldn’t mind trying to make something myself.

His cats also like bonito flakes which they get as an occasional treat.

[Drama Llama]

. . . .

Edited October 26, 2021 by BaseballandHockey

[RootAnn]

This is a former foster of my dd's. She & her sister are in the same home but has bonded with one of their dogs, too. Apparently, she'll take off and zip through the house as if she's getting away from the scene of a (real or imagined) crime. She also likes to try to turn door knobs. Her sister was the trouble-maker here, so I blame the dog for any new hijinks.

The non-profit my dd fosters for trues to get people to adopt two, but doesn't forbid single adoptions. If you already have a cat or a dog, they don't worry as much about the kitten being lonely. I've seen several kittens becoming very good friends with dogs when they go into their adoptive homes.

[Spy Car]

42 minutes ago, BeachGal said:

Yes, they plug in. Very quiet. All of our cats have liked them. Anything to help prevent kidney problems is a 👍🏼. It can affect them even when they’re young.

If you create a good raw food recipe, please post it. My son’s cats all eat Primal frozen raw food but I wouldn’t mind trying to make something myself.

His cats also like bonito flakes which they get as an occasional treat.

What I will shoot for is maintaining a PRM ratio, which is the same as I've been doing with my dog.

A few differences, rather than 10-15% bone with the dog, I'm looking on 10-6% bone with the cat (still looking at that).

Other than that 10% organ (half liver, half "other" (such as kidney, spleen/melts, sweetbreads, braints, etc.

The rest will be "meat" (including fowl, connective tissues, egg, fish, etc.)

Since cats can not synthesize taurine (and taurine breaks down under cooking and under grinding), I'm working on seeing how big I can make individual items. I'm doing rough dices now (a little bit big) except on the chicken neck which I smashed.

Edit: lost train of thought, the size of the chop was a secondary issue to making sure to feed plenty of taurine-rich food. Hard not to be taurine rich with a meat-based diet, but some foods like dark meat turkey are especially high. 

I'm hoping to get "Desmond" to really work at chewing. Off to a great start. He seems to love fresh food. 

Funny you mention bonito flakes as I was just thinking I'd get some both for us and the cat.

When my wife and I were young-dating there was a homestyle Japanese place around the corner and one of their specialties was frying slices of tofu in an iron pan, then when just right they'd pur in beaten eggs and let it cook till it set. Just before serving (in the iron pan) they'd sprinkle with benito flakes.

Not only was the benito delicious, but the flakes "dance" from the heat of the eggs. It is quite entertaining.

Bill

ETA: The water needs I read are really critical with cats, especially ones fed dry kibble. I'm hoping the fresh diet is helpful towards hydration.

I'm thinking of making a batch of bone broth, freezing portions, and using a littled warmed broth to warm up refrigerated food. Last night "Desmond" got a lick of my son's remaining Pozole soup and seemed to like it. This morning I used a scant bit of boiling water to warm and dehydrate the meal. It all got taken.

Bill

Edited October 12, 2021 by Spy Car

[Spy Car]

16 minutes ago, BaseballandHockey said:

I wish I was a cat! 

I think that when they are not sleeping that cats are resting up for their next sleep session.

Who knew?

Bill

 

[Spy Car]

Another terrific feeding session. "Desmond" is a great little eater.

An innovation at this meal was the inclusion of one toe off a (raw) chicken foot. It was hard to chop with a heavy cleaver, not easy to eat. "Desmond" chomped away though it.

When he finished the toe, he shot me a look that read, "did you see what I just did?" Too fun.

He did NOT like doing outside for a walk (on a harness). Beat it right toward the front door, wanting to go back inside. Might be safer that way. 

Bill

[Terabith]

Yeoww catnip products (banana, rainbow, fish, etc) are very popular items here.  

He might really enjoy Da Bird, a toy with feathers dancing on a string.  

Harness walking is a skill that takes a ton of training.  

Maybe he needs a Pride Kitty House?  https://www.target.com/p/double-decker-pride-cat-scratch-house-boots-38-barkley-8482/-/A-81646214