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[Torpedo Vegas]

My one cat saw her first lightning bug last week and it has changed her life. See now sets at the back door all day every day and waits for them to come back. when the sun goes down and they start showing up she chatters real loud. It sounds like a raccoon caught in some type of machinery.

 

[HyperFerret]

The cats are becoming more comfortable about living with us now, the black and white one is strategically sitting in doorways to demand pets and meows if I step over him instead lol (cat cafe spoiled him). The gray one really only comes out when we refill the food bowl and she has to deal with the other cat wanting in on the fresh food too :P

No hissing or fighting is involved so I think it's alright as far as them getting along. The gray one just kinda pads the other one and softly meows like "heyyyy :(" and walks off if he doesn't budge and she comes back later when he's done.

I might have to get a different litterbox for him though, perhaps a fully covered one. Because he digs to China every time he uses it and gets it all over the floor. @_@

Thankfully they have found the scratch post suitable to their needs and haven't touch the furniture... yet...

 

[Spanglo]

 

[ss_lemonade]

Got a new cat tree.



They seem to really like it

The cats are becoming more comfortable about living with us now, the black and white one is strategically sitting in doorways to demand pets and meows if I step over him instead lol (cat cafe spoiled him). The gray one really only comes out when we refill the food bowl and she has to deal with the other cat wanting in on the fresh food too :P

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Haha, those 2 look almost like our cats

 

[Shaneus]

I really want a cat tree for our kitties but I'm worried they won't use it. They never use anything I buy.

Should I just listen to my wife and assume they wouldn't like it, or buy one anyway in case they do? Halp.

 

[MrT]

I really want a cat tree for our kitties but I'm worried they won't use it. They never use anything I buy.

Should I just listen to my wife and assume they wouldn't like it, or buy one anyway in case they do? Halp.

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Our cats (4 of them) seem to have phases where they like certain things. We have 2 cat trees and a large barrel type thing with three levels inside it, and all of them will use one of them for a few days/weeks before deciding they want to use something else for a few days/weeks. We also have a couple of suction mounted window beds and various shelves and bridges and stuff up on the walls that get the same kind of treatment. So we go through periods where it's like "damn why did we get <x>, they never use it", then a week later one of the cats uses it for 3 weeks straight, then moves on to something else we've complained about them not using.

Doesn't really answer your question tho :P

(I'd say go for it, all cat enrichment is good!)

 

[Weltall Zero]

I really want a cat tree for our kitties but I'm worried they won't use it. They never use anything I buy.

Should I just listen to my wife and assume they wouldn't like it, or buy one anyway in case they do? Halp.

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Cat trees are usually very popular; we only have one cat that doesn't use it, but she seems to be afraid of heights and won't even climb on tables, etc. (and gets very stressed when picked up). Put it next to a window and you'll have them entertained for hours.

You can get some really good and tall cat trees for 50€-ish, but if you're on a tight economy, you can try asking some local cat associations for second hand / partially broken ones. Of course you need to either trust the association or make sure yourself that it's safe for them (disinfect it, check that there's no splinters, etc.).

Do your cats climb furniture? That's pretty much the most telling sign of whether they'll use it or not.

 

[Muffin]

I'm finally at the point now where me and my SO can financially justify getting cats. I never had one, she had several in her life so far.

Problem is that at this time of the year there aren't really any weeks or months old kittens in the shelters around here. Any cats that are a even a bit older around here are already used to going out, so not an option either as we want to keep them in our apartment (which is pretty spacey).

Can only hope that kittens start popping up in our nearest shelters soon, it should be time for that in around a month or so. Wait is killing me though!

Will post pics here when it comes to adoption, definitely.

 

[Shaneus]

Do your cats climb furniture? That's pretty much the most telling sign of whether they'll use it or not.

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Does this answer your question?

Edit:

Our cats (4 of them) seem to have phases where they like certain things. We have 2 cat trees and a large barrel type thing with three levels inside it, and all of them will use one of them for a few days/weeks before deciding they want to use something else for a few days/weeks. We also have a couple of suction mounted window beds and various shelves and bridges and stuff up on the walls that get the same kind of treatment. So we go through periods where it's like "damn why did we get <x>, they never use it", then a week later one of the cats uses it for 3 weeks straight, then moves on to something else we've complained about them not using.

Doesn't really answer your question tho :P

(I'd say go for it, all cat enrichment is good!)

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Yeah, Target in Australia have a smaller one available for $25AU. My wife isn't keen because they look quite unattractive (in general, also including this specific one) but I figure that for the price, we might as well.

 

[HyperFerret]

Always exciting when cats actually use something you bought after days "why did I even get this for you?"

:3

Edit: I'm sitting here and there's a bird outside the window and one of my cats is clicking his mouth (?) and making tiny meows and staring at it. Is my cat frustrated he can't get at it? Is this normal behavior?

He keeps walking back to me meowing, I think he wants me to open the door but I don't want to let him out.

 

[Weltall Zero]

Always exciting when cats actually use something you bought after days "why did I even get this for you?"

:3

Edit: I'm sitting here and there's a bird outside the window and one of my cats is clicking his mouth (?) and making tiny meows and staring at it. Is my cat frustrated he can't get at it? Is this normal behavior?

He keeps walking back to me meowing, I think he wants me to open the door but I don't want to let him out.

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That chattering is standard behaviour for cats spotting bugs / birds outside (or out of reach), mine do it too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plPcu0Le1Ts

It's quite disconcerting and as far as I know there's no widely agreed explanation for it. In fact, recently, some scientists suggested the cat may be mimick a bird's chirping to manipulate it!

https://www.catster.com/the-scoop/scientists-discover-new-meaning-for-cat-chattering

In any case, I've never noticed increased levels of frustration or anxiety after it (the way they do get it if you play with a laser pointer), so it's pretty harmless for them.

 

[HyperFerret]

Ok that's good, there's still a lot of minor things about cats I don't know heh

The noise was weirding me out until I realized it was my cat hahaha

 

[Weltall Zero]

Ok that's good, there's still a lot of minor things about cats I don't know heh

The noise was weirding me out until I realized it was my cat hahaha

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I googled "cat owner manual" and found this:

https://carenorthshore.org/cat-owners-manual

It seems pretty comprehensive, it even mentions the "slow blink" affection gesture.

 

[SirCheese]

My cat chatters every morning when she sees the birds outside. Doesn't seem to frustrated about it.

 

[Shaneus]

That chattering is standard behaviour for cats spotting bugs / birds outside (or out of reach), mine do it too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plPcu0Le1Ts

It's quite disconcerting and as far as I know there's no widely agreed explanation for it. In fact, recently, some scientists suggested the cat may be mimick a bird's chirping to manipulate it!

https://www.catster.com/the-scoop/scientists-discover-new-meaning-for-cat-chattering

In any case, I've never noticed increased levels of frustration or anxiety after it (the way they do get it if you play with a laser pointer), so it's pretty harmless for them.

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Our Chloe does it as well, we find it's super cute because she's usually in her prone stance ready to pounce, even though there's always a barrier there between her and the prey. Sometimes I mock her by making chicken sounds (because that's kind of what hers sound like), and she gives me the dirtiest look lol
Her actual sister doesn't do it though, which always struck me as weird. Chloe (the more grandma-ish of the two) has the prey drive, while Spooky (the younger acting one who still thinks she's a kitten, but my wife said she was the runt of the litter as well) has next to no prey drive and just likes to snuggle.


While kind of on the subject, do we all prefer to keep our cats indoors? My wife has always thought cats should be indoor-only pets and I'm in agreement, I'd be too paranoid about letting cats out unless they're really young and can be kept in a pen or something. That, and everytime I read about a cat not coming home or getting injured, I think it's for the best they stay inside. Keeps them basically free from disease, too.

 

[Weltall Zero]

Our Chloe does it as well, we find it's super cute because she's usually in her prone stance ready to pounce, even though there's always a barrier there between her and the prey. Sometimes I mock her by making chicken sounds (because that's kind of what hers sound like), and she gives me the dirtiest look lol
Her actual sister doesn't do it though, which always struck me as weird. Chloe (the more grandma-ish of the two) has the prey drive, while Spooky (the younger acting one who still thinks she's a kitten, but my wife said she was the runt of the litter as well) has next to no prey drive and just likes to snuggle.


While kind of on the subject, do we all prefer to keep our cats indoors? My wife has always thought cats should be indoor-only pets and I'm in agreement, I'd be too paranoid about letting cats out unless they're really young and can be kept in a pen or something. That, and everytime I read about a cat not coming home or getting injured, I think it's for the best they stay inside. Keeps them basically free from disease, too.

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All of our cats are absolutely abysmal hunters and they can't catch a fly indoors between all five of them. Well, four, because Tigris, the one rescued as an adult from the street, has absolutely zero hunt drive. It's as if she thinks "I've had enough hunting for several lifetimes, thank you". We joke about it a lot, that if a fly landed on her nose her reaction would be "meh, you'll get bored and leave at some point".

The most frequent chatterer is Aby, in fact she did it this afternoon between my last post and this one.

 

[Parch]

There's a cat on YouTube that doesn't meow, he honks. He's on a channel called hobbikats. He's 1 of 4 oriental shorthairs in a household. They're kinda odd looking cats. They have a triangular shaped head with big ears, long legs and long tail. One of the other ones has a moustache. They're cute, but quite the strange group of cats.

 

[Weltall Zero]

There's a cat on YouTube that doesn't meow, he honks. He's on a channel called hobbikats. He's 1 of 4 oriental shorthairs in a household. They're kinda odd looking cats. They have a triangular shaped head with big ears, long legs and long tail. One of the other ones has a moustache. They're cute, but quite the strange group of cats.

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This, I'm assuming:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TjAyzuMRKMY

True story, I started playing this video and Aby started growling, and then doing her "suricata pose" to see where the sound was coming from. She's just so territorial. :/

The sound itself sounds a lot like the one my own cat does (Ratón, the one in my avatar), only he uses it very rarely, to get my attention to open a door mostly. None of our own cats have a conventional meow (one chirps, the 7kg one makes a little kitty meow, etc.), to the point that when the one cat we're currently fostering meowed yesterday (a proper, standard-duty Cat Meow) I thought it was my SO's playing stock meow sounds on her phone. :D

 

[Shaneus]

All of our cats are absolutely abysmal hunters and they can't catch a fly indoors between all five of them. Well, four, because Tigris, the one rescued as an adult from the street, has absolutely zero hunt drive. It's as if she thinks "I've had enough hunting for several lifetimes, thank you". We joke about it a lot, that if a fly landed on her nose her reaction would be "meh, you'll get bored and leave at some point".

The most frequent chatterer is Aby, in fact she did it this afternoon between my last post and this one.

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I love watching cats that can't hunt but still want to. Chloe has followed the mouse cursor on my gaming TV before, and she's also done this for some reason (need to cycle through the photos):

She's also the one who'll avidly chase a laser pointer too, but we haven't done that with her since we got our grey, for obvious reasons. Spooky is more of a tapper and plucker though. Sometimes she tries to pluck bare skin though (or tap while she still has claws out) and gets this "what?" look when we scream lol

Our resident bug catcher though is our greyhound. He frequently snaps at flies, and I'm pretty sure he's even caught one or two of them. We saw a fly at our last greyhound meet/walk and wherever the fly was, the greys were going nuts!

This, I'm assuming:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TjAyzuMRKMY

True story, I started playing this video and Aby started growling, and then doing her "suricata pose" to see where the sound was coming from. She's just so territorial. :/

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Our grey Jasper does this with videos of other dogs, but not territorially. He just tilts his head, ears go forward (his curious/investigative pose) and keeps... tilting. So weird, but so cute.

 

[Dan-o]

My two ladies... Rescued August last year.

 

[Nyx]

edit : woops those needed rotation.

These are mine, adopted them in 2009 and at 15 years old they're still going strong. :)

 

[Weltall Zero]

My two ladies... Rescued August last year.

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edit : woops those needed rotation.

These are mine, adopted them in 2009 and at 15 years old they're still going strong. :)

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These are some beautiful four little ladies. <3 Beautiful fur, it's obvious you're taking super good care of them. :)

 

[GeoGonzo]

So, my brother adopted a cat, and since we live together I guess I have a cat now. I remember having cats when I was a child, but only vaguely.

We're naming her "China", and I'll post pictures eventually (as required by CatEra law) but not right now since her hair is a bit fuzzy these days, while we treat some mites that were found in her ears. She's a bunch of fun, I really like how active and playful she is. Also, she sometimes sleeps on me for hours and I can't bring myself to disturb her to I stay put and check my phone till she wakes up.

 

[Weltall Zero]

So, my brother adopted a cat, and since we live together I guess I have a cat now. I remember having cats when I was a child, but only vaguely.

We're naming her "China", and I'll post pictures eventually (as required by CatEra law) but not right now since her hair is a bit fuzzy these days, while we treat some mites that were found in her ears. She's a bunch of fun, I really like how active and playful she is. Also, she sometimes sleeps on me for hours and I can't bring myself to disturb her to I stay put and check my phone till she wakes up.

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Congratulations on the baby. :)

I guess I have no problem pickup up cats and setting them down somewhere else. I mean, I have five cats, I would never get up (or sit down, they like to sit on my spot on the couch) otherwise. Since I take that chance to hug and kiss them, they don't mind, and usually purringly appreciate the attention. :)

 

[GeoGonzo]

Yeah, I think I'll get over it eventually, haha!

 

[HyperFerret]

How my cat sits watching TV

 

[HellforLeather]

Should I get another cat? I have one that I rescued when he was very young (like 4 weeks old) and he does ok but he has developed all the bad habits that cats raised alone get (biting, scratching furniture, etc). Hes two years old now. Should I look for a kitten? Or a cat more his age? Male or female?

 

[Sheepinator]

My two ladies... Rescued August last year.

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Great looking cats. I'm getting a Phantom of the Opera vibe from the one on the left, and that's some serious ear hair on the one on the right!

GeoGonzo Congrats on the new addition to the house.

HellforLeather Absolutely you should get another. I'd say get one that's at least as old, for a couple of reasons. First, he won't feel like he's being replaced by a kitten. Second, it's a good deed to rescue an adult from a shelter. A kitten will easily find a home compared to the adults. I'd get a female to have one of each, but I don't have any specific reasons for that.

 

[Weltall Zero]

Should I get another cat? I have one that I rescued when he was very young (like 4 weeks old) and he does ok but he has developed all the bad habits that cats raised alone get (biting, scratching furniture, etc). Hes two years old now. Should I look for a kitten? Or a cat more his age? Male or female?

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The answer to "should I get another cat", if you only have one, is always yes; they are social animals that need the company. Regarding age, it depends on your cat's temperament, but an adult around his age would probably be optimal. As for gender, females can be territorial with other cats, especially other females, but since your cat is a male, it's probably not going to be much of an issue either way.

 

[Dan-o]

Great looking cats. I'm getting a Phantom of the Opera vibe from the one on the left, and that's some serious ear hair on the one on the right!

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Thanks! They're still pretty skittish, but they've come a long way. The one on the right has some epic toe hair to go with that ear hair. She slides all over the place when she runs around the house.

 

[super-famicom]

Should I get another cat? I have one that I rescued when he was very young (like 4 weeks old) and he does ok but he has developed all the bad habits that cats raised alone get (biting, scratching furniture, etc). Hes two years old now. Should I look for a kitten? Or a cat more his age? Male or female?

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2 cats are better than 1! They can play with each other and learn to socialize. I have a male and female, and they've been with each other since birth. Sometimes they get upset at each other but generally get along.

 

[HellforLeather]

2 cats are better than 1! They can play with each other and learn to socialize. I have a male and female, and they've been with each other since birth. Sometimes they get upset at each other but generally get along.

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Thats my other fear is that I got my cat so young that he hasnt been around other cats at all. Im not sure how well hes going to adjust.

 

[Deleted member 1478]

Well that's the first still alive bird my cat has brought in. Poor thing was still squawking as the cat was biting into it outside my room. She took it back outside while I was getting stuff to get the bird but there are now feathers everywhere!

 

[GeoGonzo]

As promised, here's a picture of China who is finally free from ear mites!

 

[Sheepinator]

As promised, here's a picture of China who is finally free from ear mites!

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Like a little lion. I have one with similar fur.

 

[Shaneus]

From that perspective, that paw looks fucking massive!

Had some wonderful snuggletime with Chloe last night, I have legit never been calmer than when she's on my lap. One of those cats you *really* have to earn trust from, so it's all the more worthwhile.

Jasper wasn't too fucking impressed though:

 

[Parch]

Does your cat and greyhound get along or just tolerate each other? When I had a cat and dog they were really playful snuggle buddies, but they grew up together as kitten and puppy.

 

[Muffin]

I'm finally at the point now where me and my SO can financially justify getting cats. I never had one, she had several in her life so far.

Problem is that at this time of the year there aren't really any weeks or months old kittens in the shelters around here. Any cats that are a even a bit older around here are already used to going out, so not an option either as we want to keep them in our apartment (which is pretty spacey).

Can only hope that kittens start popping up in our nearest shelters soon, it should be time for that in around a month or so. Wait is killing me though!

Will post pics here when it comes to adoption, definitely.

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[super-famicom]

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These are the kittens you're adopting? Congrats! What are you going to name them?

 

[Muffin]

These are the kittens you're adopting? Congrats! What are you going to name them?

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Yep! We're still thinking about names. Both are boys.

 

[Sheepinator]

Yep! We're still thinking about names. Both are boys.

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Ronnie & Reggie (the Krays).

 

[Weltall Zero]

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Awww... :)

 

[Muffin]

I'll post more pics after we pick them up next week.

 

[Muffin]

 

[Deleted member 1478]

Any of you have any opinions on using stuff like Feliway to calm cats? One of my family members is hesitant to use it because she doesn't like the idea of changing a cats temperament/personality. It'd be nice to calm the cat down a bit so she isn't so aggressive towards out other cat.

 

[GeoGonzo]

Very cute pair, Muffin !. Any luck coming up with names for them?

 

[Parch]

Kittens are just so damn cute.
I know adopting older cats is the right thing to do, but you need to have a kitten at least once in your life.

 

[Weltall Zero]

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I awww'ed so loud my SO asked me what was it about, and she's on the other side of the house. :D

Any of you have any opinions on using stuff like Feliway to calm cats? One of my family members is hesitant to use it because she doesn't like the idea of changing a cats temperament/personality. It'd be nice to calm the cat down a bit so she isn't so aggressive towards out other cat.

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Feliway won't change cat behaviour; it's (reportedly) a synthetic version of the hormone they use to mark their turf as "cat-safe" (by rubbing, spraying, etc.). So it's not that it "drugs" them or anything, it just makes them feel their environment is "lived-in" by cats and therefore safe. Of course, it also means you probably won't see much of a difference if the enviroment is actually already lived-in by cats; it's mostly useful to ease cats into new environments.

Kittens are just so damn cute.
I know adopting older cats is the right thing to do, but you need to have a kitten at least once in your life.

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Become a foster home and you can have kittens permanently. :D We have a litter of five currently going through quarantine (not the same one I mentioned a few weeks ago, which moved to another foster home).

 

[Shaneus]

Does your cat and greyhound get along or just tolerate each other? When I had a cat and dog they were really playful snuggle buddies, but they grew up together as kitten and puppy.

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There's one-sided tolerance. He absolutely loves them and wants to be friends, will come right up to them and sniff them and their butts, even try to lightly lick them. All the while he wags his tail like the giant dork that he is. But they just tolerate him, and although they're older (they were 13 when we got him, are 15 now) and pretty set in their ways, I'm continually astounded with how well they get along/don't attack each other.

In fact, this happened the other day when he was sniffing Chloe:

Note: That was not a strike by any means, it was more like her patting him. My heart melted and I was over the moon to have captured a photo of it <3



Slightly depressing side note: Does anyone know what this could be? (Slight graphic warning, nasty looking ulcer thing. Not a closeup though!)
image 1
image 2

Indoor-only cat, and it does look like the sore has gotten bigger (though it doesn't seem to cause her pain or trouble eating). We're in touch with a vet but because neither of our cats like to be picked up AND she's quite old and skinny as it is (she's been skinny for a few years though, no idea why) we're worried about even transporting her, let alone any treatment they might want to give her for it.
We're trying to organise an in-home visit and they're also suggesting giving her something to calm her down so we can bring her in, but my wife (they're her cats initially) is paranoid any kind of medication could kill the poor girl :(
I'm not one to normally go for internet advice or whatever, but if there's a way we can treat the sore/her without causing her anxiety/stress, it would be the best option I think.



Just to bring this post back around, here's a photo I took of our Chloe having a lovely stretch:

 

[Muffin]

Tatsu (tabby) & Temmie (black/white) lying in the sun today. (yes I know Temmie is more of a girls name, but my gf insisted on it)