What should I do? (kitten woe)

[Nani]

I thought cats could choke on rubber bands?

My cat eats 'em. Then he throws up. We constantly worry that he will choke one day. So don't give them to a cat unless you're actively supervising.

[autechre]

Well, my friend has a small cat toy that you put a few small treats in, and it keeps their cat (aka the Queen of Sheba) amused for a fair few hours trying to get them out. They're pretty cheap.

funny you should say that, my cat is called sheba! for that very reason

my advice, is if she starts mucking up, not to actually hit her, because i've been told, several times, this is only encouraging her to be rough with you. i have to deal with the concequences of my actions, *points to hand scars* so yes. if they continue to muck up even with the squirt bottles, add some lemon into it, they will hate it.

also with food, don't let them get picky, then it gets expensive. our household never follows my rules for dealing with my cat, so shes consequently a pain to put it lightly, but mum pays for the food now since i gave up buying food thats $20 a kilo. if they don't eat it, take it away for a couple of hours, then put it back down again. eventually they get the message. *except my parents are too soft*

i would probably not advise rubber bands, but a roll of wool is fine for toys. and play with they as much as you can, because otherwise they start on the furniture also cats are quite social creatures, so they need the interaction

also, btw do you have alot of wildlife near your house? i live near a national park, so we have built a bit of a cat run for our cat, but it cost a great deal. a cheaper alternative is a bell lol.

also, make sure that your local council is ok with this. some councils actually aren't, in know that the council next to us despises cats, and tried to put a ban on them because we are so close to a national park.

best of luck in making a decision though if you need to, then she will, being a small kitten, have a high chance of finding another home as well

[Istanbullfrog]

i agree with all the things about toys

but unless you want to declaw her, you MUST get a scratching post, spray it with catnip and she'll go nuts.

[jellyoflight]

Well, my friend has a small cat toy that you put a few small treats in, and it keeps their cat (aka the Queen of Sheba) amused for a fair few hours trying to get them out. They're pretty cheap.

funny you should say that, my cat is called sheba! for that very reason

Hehe, she sits on the chair arm and puts her head up high and mighty, and lavishes every time you pet her. She was abandoned in a bin bag when she was little, and now she's a pampered puss that scares their big German Shephard.

[Xandra]

I don't suggest declawing- trust me, though you won't have the cat scratching everything up, it won't like it.

Get a few scratching posts. Every few days, sprinkle catnip on it, and you should be fine. Keep the catnip far away from any fabric-covered furniture, of course.

Brush the cat at least once every week, thoroughly. If you don't, you'll have puke-hairballs everywhere. And it's not fun to clean them up. Nor is it enjoyable stepping in them.

As for toys... You can make your own. Either get a long, smooth stick and super-glue a ribbon at the end (then act as if it's a mouse, by putting the ribbon in front of them, then pulling it back, slowly, then repeating until they start playing. My cats love this), or buy a small animal-shaped drawstring pouch and stuff it with catnip, then tie it shut.

And if you must give the cat away, be ABSOLUTELY SURE it's a no-kill shelter.

And if you keep it... Once you go cat, you never go back. ^_^ (My family currently owns four spoiled cats and two dogs, in one tiny rowhouse)

Last edited by Xandra on Fri Oct 22, 2004 4:37 am, edited 1 time in total.

[Kitten Medli]

And if you keep it... Once you go cat, you never go back. ^_^ (My family currently owns four spoiled cats and two dogs, in one tiny rowhouse)

Oh, totally. Our house used to consist of only one cat.. before I was born. Then mom saw the cutest little kitten face.. thus was Sarah..then Simon, king of the neighbor hood liked being laughed at and play with by / with a little kid so he stayed, then i saw the cutest kitten face.. then mom saw another cute face, but got the "wrong" kitten of the two grays which turned out to actually be the right one and then we lost one (:() and many a times we have been almost put under the spell to get another one..

My ... that was ... um ... a bit of history ... with bad grammar ...

[ahoteinrun]

Despite what people may tell you abotu declawing, it is not a simple procedure.
It involves taking out a piece of the bones in the claws, it's not cheap, and it can be very painful for the cat.
Get a scratching post, take the time, and take the effort, and try to warp your cats minds to scratch the post.
*nods*

[Kitten Medli]

Despite what people may tell you abotu declawing, it is not a simple procedure.
It involves taking out a piece of the bones in the claws, it's not cheap, and it can be very painful for the cat.
Get a scratching post, take the time, and take the effort, and try to warp your cats minds to scratch the post.
*nods*

My word.

I feel so guilty for declawing our kittens now.

Last edited by Kitten Medli on Mon Oct 25, 2004 3:20 am, edited 1 time in total.

[Eo]

Mm. I didn't have to warp Lucky's mind to get him to scratch it... he's very smart. Yah, declawing is about equal to taking your fingertips off. Bleh.

[shapu]

Despite what people may tell you abotu declawing, it is not a simple procedure.
It involves taking out a piece of the bones in the claws, it's not cheap, and it can be very painful for the cat.

My word.

I feel so guilty for declawing out kittens now.

The actual mechanism for declawing is more painful for older cats than for younger ones, although it's really just a matter of degrees - pain is pain.

The way cats are declawed is to surgically remove the end bone of every digit. As a corollary, look at your own hands. Think about removing the last bone of each finger and thumb, and that's the eqiuvalent. it's done this way because nails actually grow from the bone, and so in order to keep them from growing back, the bone with the nail bed in it must be removed as well.

It's always done under general anaesthetic, so the cat only wakes up with stubbier fingers and wonders what's going on. If it's done early enough, the cat is much more able to learn to run and play and use the shortened digits, and usually (like, 98% of the time) there's no real behavioral or attitude difference. If the cat is old enough, it will have developed its own cleaning instincts, so there's a chance that he or she will work at the surgery site and cause some damage chewing at the stitches.

It should be noted that some anaesthetics cause hallucinations in cats and dogs (ketamine, for example, is like LSD for cats), so if you see a cat right after waking up from surgery and it's looking a little bonkers, it's the ketamine, not the surgery.

Since age is a factor in determining how well cats deal with declawing, cats above one year of age should never be declawed. Never never never never. And cats that spend any significant amount of time outdoors should also never be declawed. If your cat is older and causing furniture damage, you have three choices: Bust out the squirt gun, toss him outside, or give him away to someone who can keep him out-of-doors.

[PKMN Kid]

KAT TOYS:

NOTS:

Rubber bands
String
Pencils
Wires

GETS:

Cotton
Useless letters
Basketballs

LITTLER BOXES:

NOTS:

Cardboard

GETS:

Plastic trays
Tin foil trays


FOOD:

Whiskas Wet Gravy Food - $0.43 - 85 g
Whiskas Temptations (Treats) - $1.23 85 g
Purina Filled Delights - $2.50 - 2 kg
Pounce Tartar Control - $5.00 - 3.5 kg

[Kitten Medli]

Nice job, PKMN Kid.

Wow... who knew..man.. I feel horrible. And I think they got declawed and fixed at the same time. My.. word... I'M SO GUILITY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Atleast they still have their back claws.

[xjox]

We just got a kitten too and I did a search on the internet and found that alot of the big pet food companies will send you free samples of their products as well as money off vouchers.

Felix and Whiskers being 2 of the ones I tried, they send you a kitty kit, which consisted of 3 pouches of cat food, 3 money off vouchers and a toy. Plus if you register with them they sometimes send other goodies out too!

Also, petfood is loads cheaper if you buy the loose stuff at the petshop, instead of buying tins of big brands in the supermarket.