"Humanz! The things they say"
Posted on 12/01/2015 8:04:21 AM PST by Vigilanteman
Freepers are such good sources of information (with an ocassional goofball mixed in) that I thought I'd reach out to get a little additional advice.
Recently, my daughter got a major job promotion which includes a transfer to Japan. One problem with the transfer is that they couldn't take their cat whom my son-in-law, she and our two young grandsons adore.
So we offered to take her for the duration of the assignment, probably about one year. She is a wonderful cat, sweet with the boys (doesn't bite or scratch when they get rough with her, just walks away and hides for awhile) and getting accustomed to us. After pouting and hiding for most of the first day with us, she has picked my Mrs. as her favorite person and sleeps at her feet.
We believe she is a Chartreaux cross as the description at the link fits her nearly perfectly, but she is not a purebred as our daughter adopted her from one of those pet store rescue programs, which is not a logical place for a purebred Chartreaux. She is spayed but not declawed; they advise against it for an adult cat as it cause arthritis later in life.
She is clean, litter box trained and very low maintaninence except for wanting to play laser tag and get petted which we all enjoy even if her timing isn't always best.
Only complaint is that we can't seem to get her interested in her scratching pad. She prefers the carpet or, worse yet, one of our reclining chairs. She does stop when we yell at her but, of course, often goes off to pout for awhile. Other than two active little boys who play rough with her at times, we have tried to duplicate her environment at home as nearly as possible, right down to the cat tower, scratching pad and design of the litter box.
Thanks for the link. I knew about them but I’m not about to commit this to a 6-8 week replacement cycle. It is going to be declaw or she’ll get her wish to go outside and I won’t let her back inside.
I also rubbed some catnip into the base of the scratching post.
It always surprises me when I see the comments from mental midgets about all kinds of cruel things you can do to cats, if not to stop or modify behavior, just for fun.
I expect it from 11 year old boys, but it is pretty creepy from people old enough and interested enough to post on FR.
Some are kidding, and it is usually evident and we can laugh, but from a lot of them if you call them on it, they just say “Hahahaha...I was only kidding...” which is a typical liberal response when you criticize them for saying what they are really thinking.
Catnip...scratching post...water pistol..all good ideas. Do NOT declaw. Any vet willing to perform such surgeries should lose their license.
Sprinkle catnip (as prev. mentioned) on the post and place the post next to her cat bed......
Like my friend’s husky, who completely destroyed the stairs in his house?
Get a thick cardboard scratchpad from the pet store. All cats love them!
I prefer them batter-fried extra crispy with a creamy habsnaros and Asiago sauce. Some prefer the buffalo sauce, but to each his own.
Go ahead and declaw. best thing I ever did while owning cats. Current cats are not declawed because they are outside cats and have manners when inside.
Inside cat? Snip snip.
Had to put my 15 year old best kitty friend and fur child down yesterday. He was good boy and brought Mrs Clamper and I much joy. He will be missed
I have found that most cats will do that more frequently in the first few weeks of a new home. As you say, she stops and runs away if you scold her. That activity should taper off a bit as time goes on, especially if she is an older cat rather than a young kitten.
Also, never get a cat "declawed" as it is more akin to having your fingers cut off at the first joint, rather than trimming your finger nails. And yes it can cause a lot of problems for them later in life, not to mention that it will be completely defenseless if she happens to slip outside of your house now and then.
FWIW...Our family was offered a temporary position in Japan back in 2000 but had to turn it down. The reason we turned it down was because two of our sons had severe allergies to nuts, shellfish and certain antibiotics, requiring Rx Epi pens to be on person at all times. The language barrier as well as the need to read all consumable ingredient labels proficiently and the fact that at that time - carrying Epi pens was prohibited, made our decision to refuse the offer.
“My advice...get a dog.”
Get those cardboard corrugated pieces and add cat nip.
We’ve had both and they both add to a household, and have their good points. Dogs can be more personable and serve as bark alarms, but can be a lot more trouble unless you don’t mind walking them at all hours in all weather when they need to go.
Cats can do damage with claws. Dogs can chew. My friend put his dog in a garage once and until he got home it had ripped all the insulation down because it was not yet dry walled. He had a pink mouth. Cats can hunt and are not as dependent.
Excellent idea.
Ready to be a millionaire?
Go for it!
I had Malamute Wolf hybrid for a little while. The “dog” and I use that term loosely was not right in the head. The dang thing chewed the side of the couch up one day. He would eat any play toys, balls, Frisbees you gave him. I caught him chewing on the bricks on the side of the house. Then the next week he ate enough of our waterbed that the water leaked out and all over the floor. The next week he managed to chew through the sheetrock from the kitchen into the garage and escaped. Buh Bye!
Maybe your guest needs a different type of scratcher? This is the one Max and Tweety like, especially with some potent catnip: http://www.petsmart.com/supplies-training/scratchers/grreat-choice-cat-scratcher-zid36-5160975/cat-36-catid-200086?_t=pfm%3Dend_cap%26pfmvalue%3DBEST%2520SELLERS
Trimming claws helps a lot! Get a good cat-claw trimming tool and ask your vet or a PetSmart groomer to give you a quick lesson. It’s easy and cats feel better with trimmed claws.
Declawing is a painful mutilation. Please don’t consider.
When I was a kid, we had an indoor/outdoor cat. That cat sharpened claws on the furniture. It especially loved the drapes on the sliding glass door.
Cat would start clawing on the drapes, and Dad would get up, swat the cat, and toss it out the door.
Finally the cat learned that this was the way to get let out of the house. So when he wanted out, he’d go claw the drapes, duck his head, and wait to get tossed out the door.
squirt gun. every time she scratches where she’s not supposed to, squirt her.
on a side note, you MUST feed her a really high quality food which will save you grief, heartache and vet bills in the future. We really like FROMM brand, grain free. I also recommend a scoop of canned food every day as well which gives oily fat that helps skin, coat, brain, etc.
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