For the Cats

[musicman]

Originally Posted by jagolden01

Love the pics and the cats, Gary!
Sometimes it seems as if they LIKE the cold.

JoeG

Hi Joe,
I'm glad you are getting a kick out of
the pictures of my kids.
I have to say that most cats are heat seeking missiles.
Winter bothers some more than others though.
Callie doesn't seem to mind it when I take her out
for a short walk in winter. (We have them leash trained. )
But her brother Brumby will not stay out very long
in the cold. And if it's below zero out he won't even go
near the door to let me take him out.
When he does go out and comes back in, he goes over
to the nearest heating vent to warm up.
It's good to let them get a bit of fresh air anyway.
They sure do keep me moving. ( HA HA )
Best Regards,
Gary

[sgoti]

Announcing...

Reba Arriba Andale!

Couldn't stand the emptiness from putting Moses down (still in our hearts, buddy!), so after a couple weeks of looking I got a rescue cat.

Her shelter name was Scarlette, but for some reason "Reba" popped into my mind. And, my mind, having watched waaaay too many Looney Toons on Saturday mornings, filled in the rest. Besides, "Reba" seems to rool off the tongue easier than "Scarlette".

Four years old, female, a bit shy, but adjusting quickly to our home. I think she was yelled at quite a bit in her previous home(s?)- She immediately crouches down and runs away if I use the "don't do that" tone of voice. So, I am careful to follow up with gentle words that we are not angry with her, we just don't want her doing certain things...

Funny thing- I love her immensely, but I'm also realizing that the more time I spend with her the more I miss good ol' Moses. (Perhaps not surprising- He spent 19 years working his way into our hearts, it's going to take more than just a few weeks to get over him.)

[musicman]

Hi Glen,
Thanks for sharing the picture of Reba with us all.
What a cutie !!! Share more if you care to.
And great job on adopting a rescue Kitty.
Ours were rescues too.
I understand how you feel as well.
Cats are good for your heart and your soul.
And they are our Children as well.
( At least that's how I feel and think about ours. )
I know you miss Moses.
After all he was your Baby for 19 years.
Give Reba the same love and caring that you gave Moses.
She will return it to you.
As for the Not doing certain things,,,
I understand that too.
Ours have full run of the house.
We just get upset when they play too rough with each other.
Don't want someone to get hurt.
Best Regards,
Gary

[jagolden01]

Glenn, she is beautiful! Happy she is adjusting.
Congratulations on opening your home and heart to her, I'm sure you'll be a great fit for each other.
Moses will always be in your hearts, and that's good. Now there's another to share that place.
Best wishes with her!

JoeG

[Lee Nelson]

Thanks,

These kitties help with everything, they will love playing with their new little friends.

[musicman]

Hi Lee,
Looks like you have a really bright eyed and
energetic looking group of helpers there.
Thanks for sharing the picture.
Post more of them with your models if
you care to.
Best Regards,
Gary

[ringmaster]

No end to the cats and some really meet owls if you dig further.
Chemical9: Cat and Pumpkin - Paper toy with printable template

[Kevin WS]

Lee - a cute little bunch! Are you keeping them all?

We ended up with 8 cats at one stage - but that is unmanageable and not great for the cats as they stress each other out.

Down to 4 cats now - a Tabby, a Norwegian Forest Cat, and two feral cats we raised from kittens.

All very interesting cats, and actually well trained. They all come in in the evening at night when called and we can then lock up - dangerous for them to wander at night.

They then line up early in the morning to be let out!

Some good cat tips.

A rolled up scrunched ball of paper makes a wonderful toy.

And for cat boxes keep a shaker of bicard of soda handy to sprinkle in the box. The cats do not mind it at all and it keeps the litter really fresh and without smell.

Do not give them milk - it is not good for them. They like running water - if you go to the local pet shop they sell water fountains for animals, or look on-line. If you have a couple of cats get the bigger one for dogs - they can then drink standing which they prefer. These fountains hold a good stock of aireated water for the cats. Can post some pics if anyone is interested.

I also have a good solution that works (!) for cats that scratch furniture.....

[musicman]

Hi Kevin,
I think it's really great what you do to care for your Kitties.
And not letting them run at night is really smart.
We have ours leash trained here. But we live in town.
We are by the Mississippi River, and we do have deer and coyotes
and foxes and all the other critters that are visiting our
back yard. We also have Hawks and Eagles that fly around here too.
So I want to keep our kids safe.

We clean the cat box in the morning and at bedtime every day.
And I will clean it in the afternoon most days as well.
I tell folks to liken it to human terms.
You don't poo and pee in your toilet all day long and then
flush it only once do you?
The same is true for cats,,, and they are walking in it.

Our favorite cat toy is a paper ball also.
The way I do them is to use half a sheet of
light weight printer paper squared off.
The extra little bit is used for shopping lists.
I roll it up tight, and then undo it, and roll it up
again going the other way. This winds up with a really tight
ball that rolls really nice for them to play with.
Of course we have balls that I will eventually find in
corners of the house that my boy BRUMBY has deposited
and forgot about. ( HA HA )

We do the other things that you mentioned too.
We have a pet Mate fresh flow water fountain for our kids.
We use reverse osmosis filtered drinking water in it too.

As for milk,
Our Vet says that it is good for cats as a natural laxative.
But cats are by nature lactose intolerant.
So we only give our cats a little bit of lactose free milk.

By the way,,,
Please do share some pictures of your Kitties with your
models with us if you care to.
Would enjoy seeing them.
Best Regards,
Gary

[Kevin WS]

Gary, we also clean the cat boxes morning and night. They hardly use them during the day though. Try the bicard - sprinkle it in when you are cleaning and after.

Feed is important as well no rubbish. Decent cat pellets. Our cats have been brought up on cat pellets and will not eat anything else. Occassionaly some dried meat (jerky/biltong) as a treat for two of the cats - the others are not interested.

Keeping the cats is an issue. We are in town and have a big garden. We let then run around in the day and they tend to stick generally to out premisies, but there is a risk. But we cannot keep them locked up all day (two being ferals).

If lived in the country here we would pardoxically have to keep them locked uplargely, or put them in a run - too many wild predators, including birds.

Of our current four, one was run over - badly. This also happened to be the real special cat as well. Broken pelvis, back leg etc. Should maybe have been put down, but as the vet said they could fix, via specialist surgeons (!) we went ahead, even though we could not afford it. Metal plates, screws etc. Cost nearly $1,500.

But worth every penny. He now zooms around like crazy and is healthy and happy and loving. He is the cat in the bird feeder (and thats taken after the accident).

We are always picking up feral kittens and doing rehab - good success rate, though we lost the last one - died of dehydration, which was strange as he was eating well (not pellets, but a special baby cat mix which had enough liquid). Was 2 weeks old roughly.

The feral kittens are at deaths door and generally need around two weeks attention. They all have feline HIV/Herpes/Sniffles but despite what many vets say if you look after the cats right and provide the right food these diseases do not matter really as they go into a full remission and are healthy. All our cats are so inflicted, but they are all healthy and happy, with the oldest going into her 15th year and still bright and happy.

I'll post some pics....