Posted on 04/16/2005 9:31:21 AM PDT by Rakkasan1
One minute you are enjoying a tender moment petting your purring cat and then, suddenly, your lovey-dovey kitty whirls around and attacks you.
Cat lovers pull away wondering, "What just happened?"
"Most of these problems can be linked to people who acquire kittens too young in the belief that they'll develop a closer bond with the cat," explains Carolyn Osier, a breeder of cats for more than 30 years and an all-breed judge for the Cat Fancier's Association.
Having watched almost 300 litters of kittens develop, Osier notes that, just like children, certain feline social skills develop at different times. A kitten acquired at six weeks of age may be fully capable of eating from a dish and using a litter box but still needs to master social skills such as learning how to fight and play together. Kittens learn their more serious fighting and predatory skills by engaging in what look like serious tussles but actually are play battles that don't involve the use of teeth or claws. If a kitten chomps or claws too hard, the game is over, and he learns he has to control himself with family.
Given the importance of these skills for the cat's survival, missing these lessons sets the stage for problems later.
(Excerpt) Read more at twincities.com ...
Dogs are very forgiving. Cats never forget.
Congratulation on the kitties.
There are few things cuter than a kitten.
There are few things cuter than a kitten
Four kittens.
Cute kitty...looks like a tortoise shell which mine is.
my cat doesn't let me write with a pen or pencil in front
of her, she has to grab the top of the writing utensil
while I am writing....I usually have to "shoo" her away.
And she does the dropping off of stuff on top of your
dresser or shelf thing also...I think they like to see
things move...cause then they can chase it...
Very endearing...
I hope she is honing her skills, but in my neighborhood,
there are too many coyotes, and lame follks drop off
their big dog, after they realize it eats more than some
people do, and is dangerous also...I constantly gotta
watch out for big stray dogs...so I don't let the
poor thing out much...Also, I live on an incline, and
other lame folks like to drive down my street sometimes
as fast as 50 miles and hour...I've lost a few cats that way.
Given your situation and location, I'd keep the cat indoors too, Getready.
I have four strays hanging around the back yard. A calico Tom. A black striped gray, and two black cats with white spats and chests. Been keeping an eye on them since they were kittens. Put food and water out for them twice a day.
They each have their own spots in the back yard and seem to get along. They've never gotten close enough for me to pet.
Jack.
OH, I know what you are talking about. They are like children in some ways. I hope you can come to have a new kittie soon.
I have a dumpster cat that does that. He's a beautiful longhair, and very affectionate, but occasionally he goes into attack mode.
He was worse when he was younger, but we acquired another stray kitten, and they taught each other how to play nice, at least almost nice. there was a lot of screeching for a few months.
I'd get one tomorrow. But my wife wants to wait until some undetermined point in the future when she's "ready."
So in the meantime, I'll just have to settle for the ball python.
well, I guess it is a plan but he just doesn't seem, well, warm and cosy and fluffy.
True, not warm and cozy and fluffy (actually, Fluffy is what I wanted to name him.)
But being nocturnal he comes out and dances all night under the black light over his tank (the blacklight is for his benefit, not ours). It's like looking at a living lava lamp. We have to keep the room dark, lest we disrupt his nocturnal rhythms. My wife and I pull up chairs and sit in the dark in front of the cage watching Pyewacket dance in the purple light while I massage my wife's feet which she places in my lap.
It's not like having a kitty, but it does have a certain charm. My wife thinks the snake is cute and loves to watch him dance all night.
For a second there, I thought you had a picture of my PIB. Great shot!!!
Oh mine likes to take my writing utensils away from me too. She'll sprawl herself over a book on a desk, or if I'm reading in bed, she'll get right between me and the book. When she knocks things off shelves, though, it's very calculated and precise. She makes a game out of it.
I think it was from "fighting cat" image search at Google. It was a good one!
I had a cat who attacked us moments after purring. One day she jumped into the empty bathtub and began with playful gestures and I succumbed. I reached for her,she would paw back at me.
This went on for several minutes until I thought she had lost interest. I made the mistake of turning towards the mirror and within seconds I felt a burning sensation on my posterior. (Nice teeth marks)
I screamed, she ran and I'm still laughing..
Of course, I have also been over affectionate towards some cats that did not give me the same courtesy. I still bear small scars from those occasions.
19 is the funniest thing I've seen in ages...
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