New kitten problems.

ZENER

Hi all,

Our daughter recently arrived home with a female kitten that she said was stray on the local park. Up till now I have been reluctant to keep a pet as both my wife and my self work during the day so there would not be anyone to care/play with it and I believe it's very cruel to leave a young pet un-accompanied for that length of time.

Anyway as expected I was out voted and the kitten stayed on the condition that she will be returned to her owner should they come looking for her. It's been about 6 weeks now and no-one advertised a missing kitten so it looks like she's ours.

A neighbour suggested she may be about 6 months old and she has been very playful with all of us. She appears to have been "potty trained" and goes to the door when she needs to go out, we haven't bothered with a litter tray because of this.

As I expected the novelty seems to have worn off and the kitten is pretty much left to her own devices until the kids come in from play and spend an hour or so with her. We've noticed since she arrived that she tends to sleep a lot - deep sleep for upto two or three hours at a time awake for a short time then back asleep again. I haven't put any pass on this 'cos I assumed it's what cats do, but over the past week she has been sleeping more and eating very very little. She has become less playful/bothered when the kids play with her. I thought she was unwell but yesterday she seemed fit enough fighting ith a dog and gave as good as she got while we tried to get the mongrel away.

I'm worried about her behaviour and am afraid she is lonely, based on the circumstances above does anyone have any suggestions what the problem may be. She still cleans/grooms herself and her fur is clean shiney, I'm thinking of taking her to the vet but how do I explain the problem to him/her.

ZEN

Doper Than U

OK, first things first. I suggest, since it is a stray, you take her to the vet asap. No telling what she could have, whether or not she has had her injections, etc etc. Nothing to get majorly concerned about *I think*, but without wanting to alarm you, the kind of lethargy you describe could possibly be a number of things, from the tiniest cold to full blown Feline Aids. (Ok, HIGHLY unlikely at the moment, but as her history is unknown, you should get a thorough check up, which they will do when giving her her first injections) Don't worry, feline Aids is NOT contagious or transferrable to other animals or humans. The fact that she is not eating is enough to take any animal to the vet, just tell the vet what you've said in your post.

As for her being house trained, man, you got SO lucky, that's one cool cat, wanting to outside to do her business. She sounds like a real character. Cats do sleep an awful lot of the time, and they do enjoy nocturnal activity, so it could be that she is up playing while you are sleeping. Also, cats don't crave company in the same way as dogs, chances are if she becomes bored, she'll destroy the place, so you'll know pretty quickly if she needs more attention.

OfflerCrocGod

Is she neutered? It may be pregnancy!

ZENER

I rang the vet today to make an appointment, she offered me tomorrow evening but when I mentioned that she sneezed a couple of times she seemed keen to get her first thing in the morning ! Feline Flu perhaps ?!

I was afraid someone would mention pregnant but I don't think so, I don't know why: I just don't. She wouldn't go outside today at all but seemed willing to play with us and seemed to be eating a bit better this evening but not drinking milk or water at all.

Hopefully the vet will spot something in the morning and get her back to herself, I hate seeing her like this. Jeez it's worse than having a sick child at least they can tell you what's up !!

ZEN

flangeman

WHAT!!!!

I have to wait until tomorrow now for an update on the Cat Crisis. I'm actually quite touched by this thread. First time in a long time.


Ensure you post how you got on with the VET!

ZENER

Right ! Well nothing unusual to report I'm afraid. Over protective "parents" I guess.

The vet gave her a good check up - I have to admit feeling embarrassed for the cat, I wouldn't fancy having my temperature taken that way !! She couldn't really find anything wrong but gave her an antibiotic and a worm shot with some follow up pills for me to give her. Gave us some great advice which was reassuring - she was really caring, very nice lady.

We borrowed a pet carry cage yesterday from a friend who has 6 cats and when I arrived home the kitten took great interest in it, went straight into it and slept there all night !! Probably the smell of the other cats I suppose. She seems in much better form today and is off out galivanting at the moment after eating. I was worried about her not drinking as I think I mentioned - I shouldn't have been it seems, the first thing she did when she went out was hop up on a garden chair and lap the water pool on it !! Little rip.

I'm getting her shots done when she's finished these antibiotics and she'll be neutered after xmas, vet thinks she's only about 6 months at the moment and a little too young yet for the op.

Thanks all for the advice.

ZEN

karlin

One thing to consider -- despite the whole myth around cats and milk, the majority of cats cannot digest lactose in cow's milk and being given milk often makes them ill -- bloated and uncomfortable -- plus can give them diarrhea, So I wouldn't give milk or cream. You can buy a cat-friendly form of milk in little boxes in petshops (even my nearby Tesco carries it) if you want to give her a treat. But if you are giving regular milk every day this could make her continuously uncomfortable.

Veterinarians suggest that you determine if she can tolerate milk by offering her a small amount. If she does not experience diarrhea or vomiting, then it is ok to feed her small amounts occasionally, but not on a regular basis. Generally 1-2 oz a week is fine. A great alternative is to purchase one of the special cat’s milk products available on the market.

From: http://www.activecat.com/CatTopics/the_milk_myth.htm

Cats don't like to be played with in the way that dogs do, so I wouldn't worry that kids aren't playing with her all the time (indeed once she gets to about a year old she may not like a lot of fuss anyway; they don't play as madly by then) but she will always enjoy daily interaction and play with you -- say a couple of sessions of 15-30 min each, playing with her with some toys that she can chase, like balls or dangly things or some string. Often she will most appreciate a lap or sitting nearby and being stroked -- not big play sessions.

If you are worried about her feeling lonely, a cat companion is the single best way to have a contented cat, if they get along -- which they are almost certain to while she is still young. I have always found that two cats are actually easier than one -- they don't suffer from boredom, they have a friend to play with and curl up with, they enjoy grooming each other, and sitting in the sun together, are less likely to wander etc etc. You can also help relieve boredom with some cat furniture that allows her to scratch, climb, and hide -- you can get some great cat stuff direct and great furniture to your house from:

http://www.pet-bliss.ie.

I've got a cat tree they have that goes to the ceiling and it is much enjoyed for climbing, sleeping, looking down on the humans and dogs from a great height, and other cat things... Lots of stuff on the site that can be hard to find in petshops in Ireland.

Glad you are getting her spayed, too, as if she is around 6 months she is at the point where this is urgent to prevent unwanted litters. Enjoy her -- they are a great calming presence in a house and also great fun.

ZENER

Wow ! I never realised there was so much you could buy for them !

It's funny about the milk thing, it never dawned on me that a cat may not like it, it seems from todays feedings that she prefers plain water which surprised me a little.

She's settled down for the night now in the pet cage thing we got from a cat owner friend, she seems very attached to it and its scent which I suppose means she would like company.

She seems in much better form now this evening which has everyone in the house cheery again so there's lots of positive karma about for her.

Oh and another thing she likes football, watched the whole united match while lying on my chest. Lucky for her there weren't any goals I s'pose !

Anyway guys you've been a great help and I've no doubt I'll be back in the future looking for more advice from ye.

Thanks again

ZEN

Alun

ZENER wrote:

Wow ! I never realised there was so much you could buy for them !

You can buy all sorts of stuff, but frankly I'd save your money instead. Cats have no sense of how much money you've spent on toys for them, and derive just as much enjoyment from a rolled up bit of newspaper, a cardboard box (our cats' favourite!) or a paper carrier bag on the floor ...

It's funny about the milk thing, it never dawned on me that a cat may not like it, it seems from todays feedings that she prefers plain water which surprised me a little.

Our cats seem to love milk, and appear to suffer no ill efects, so they get it as a treat every now and then.

Also depending on what you're feeding them, they don't drink much water anyway. The "wet" food contains a large amount of moisture that means they won't drink much, if at all. If you're feeding them "dry" food then you absolutely must kep their water bowl topped up, as this can cause kidney problems later in life.

You may also notice that they much prefer drinking out of puddles of rainwater than tap water, I guess that's because of the chlorine or other chemicals in the tap water. We've put a small bowl outside that fills up with rainwater that they drink from regularly.

Our man in Havana

Cats also sleep about 18 hours a day so a cat alone all day is fine! If you are worried as Karlin says get a companion.

PeadarofAodh

I have two cats and would back up what Karlin says about milk, especially if your cat is only 6 months old. Another thing I would advise is to feed it dry food. I'm an aspiring vet and worked in a very good vets for the summer which included sitting in on operations and helping out on routine check-ups etc. This often included dental cleanings. This process involves drugging the cat, then using a jack to wedge the jaw open. The decay is then scratched and chiselled off the teeth (much like scratching your nails on a blackboard...) which causes bleeding and pain when the animal wakes up. This is a very unpleasant but neccessary routine, however I learnt that if a cat is fed wet food rather than dry, the routine has to be performed more than twice as often. You may think your cat would prefer wet but it won't in the long run. (If you're thinking financially, wet food is a lot more expensive too, just make sure you buy decent food and not the cheapest-makes a big difference!)

tk123

Yeah Peadar is right about the food - we give our cat Hills cat food from the vets. It's about €20 for 2kgs - it seems like a lot but because it's got all the vitamins you only use a little bit. Also it's got a much higher meat content too so it's better...You should definitely get her a cat tree to climb and scratch - especially with Christhmas coming up!! My cat climbed the tree a few times last year - he even got caught with the lights wrapped around him one morning ;P Thanks for that link Karlin - I think I might get a new tree for him now!!

PeadarofAodh

I get prescription food (just means you can only get it at the vet) which is what is usually used for cats when recovering from an illness as it is much gentler on the digestive system but is fine as normal feed. Used to feed them some other crap but you can smell the difference of this food- would really recommend it.

tk123

Thats prob what my guy has!! He got a bit pudgy so he's on the prescription stuff - it's high protein low carb like Atkins - I call it his Catkins diet!! ahahahahah

EDIT : I thought of something else!! They have lovely fleece pet blankets in Dunnes for €6. The have ones with a cute pic of a cat or dog in the corner but v.handy if you don't want hairs/foot prints on the furniture!! ALSO a good tip for getting rid of hairs is to rub down the furniture/your clothes with a damp cloth!

PeadarofAodh

ha ha very good Please don't let your cat get horrible and fat! I saw far too many cases of that in the vets and felt really sorry for them- not much of a life not being able to move around properly. Do you let your cat outdoors, this helps a lot as it lets them get lots of excercise.

tk123

My cat is kind of big so he didn't actually look fat but if I hadn't of brought him to get his boosters I wouldn't have known there was a prob! Make sure you bring the kittie for her checkups etc in case there's a prob you can't see!! And get her microchipped too!

karlin

I'm a big advocate of keeping cats inside rather then letting them outside. Statistically 1 in 4 outdoor cats is killed by a car. 1 in 6 is killed in other outdoor accidents. That works out to a 40% early death rate for outdoor cats. :eek: This pretty well fits my own experience growing up with lots of outdoor cats.

Now, I have four that live inside and all are fit, healthy, and content. They do have access to a sideyard with walls too high for them to jump -- they can sit on a window ledge and hide in the plants out there. Indoors, they have a cat tree, places to hide, things to play with (including two small dogs!). They enjoy chasing flies in the summer, sitting in sunny windows, chasing each other up and down stairs, and of course the cat tree.

Many of the cats rescues in this country and elsewhere strongly recommend keeping cats indoors-only. This is especially the case if you are in an urban area or near busy roads. Despite what people think, cats have no road sense and are often frozen in fear if in the middle of a street with a car bearing down on them -- or will run to one side then reverse at just the wrong time (one of my rescue cats is the victim of a bad head injury from a car accident -- I found her with her head the size of a grapefruit, bleeding in a doorway). I know many people feel cats need wind in their hair etc etc -- personally I've always found it odd that people will leave cats out when they'd never leave a dog to roam in the same way. This is my perspective but it might provide some food for thought.

As for real food my gang get Royal Canin 32, an excellent food which I prefer to Hill's. In particular it cut way way down on hairballs, if anyone has cats prone to these. A noticeable difference! Mine get a bit of wet food in the morning -- usually a little canned or canned mashed into a raw diet (I feed my dogs a raw diet with Royal Canin fgor small dogs as well). Then they can feed from the dry as they wish during the day.

PeadarofAodh

Thats the same food I feed mine Karlin, and I'd reccomend it too. I'm going have to disagree with on the whole keeping the cats indoors thing. You have to admit that your circumstances aren't the norm for most cat owners. A lot of people only have one cat and no other pet for them to socialise with (and no goldfish don't count!) A lot of people's cats are kept indoors, grow fat and become slothlike. They may live longer and healthier lives (phsyically if not mentally) but I believe that a shorter and more enjoyable life is a better one. I'd rather live til I'm middle aged and die rather than live a life of boredom and slothfulness. I live in an estate which leads onto a busy road but have never seen my cats stray anywhere near the road, they're quite content playing in the bushes and surrounding greenery. Leaving a dog out to stray is far more serious than a cat as dogs have been found more likely to stray far from their home whereas cats prefer t stay near their food source. I don't leave my cats out 24 hours a day but prefer to ensure their safety from foxes and roaming toms by calling them in at night.

ZENER

Thanks a million for all the great advice guys. This cat tree sound great, where can I buy one in Dublin anyone know ?

Anyway Kitty seems to have made a full recovery and is eating everything in site including my bowl of Alpen that let out of my sight for a few seconds this morning !! She's still reluctant to go outside for any long periods but then it's been cold the past few days so I can't really blame her.

How many times and what quantities are reasonable for a seven month old kitten could someone tell me ? I'm one of those people that went AWWW in the cinema at Puss in Boots in Shrek 2 so every time she looks at me and meows I go to the press to give her something. She almost takes my hands with the food and licks the bowl clean EVERY TIME !!!

We've been feeding her Wiskas Pouches for Kittens giving her about a third of the pouch every time she comes begging. We'll be back in the vets next week so Ill enquire about the products mentioned above, they sound better than what we're giving her. She's put back on the weight she lost while she was unwell which is good I guess but now I'm concerned she's over compensating.

As an aside I've gone to town on the whole pet thing - my daughter has me around her little finger . . rip ! - I bought a small aquarium (27 litre) and five cold water fish. Fascinating to watch them and I get a great giggle watching Kitty trying to get at them ( she can't so don't worry) plus the smile on my daughters face is priceless.

ZEN

karlin

You can order the cat furniture from www.pet-bliss.ie -- they don't sell cat trees and the like in any pet shop that I could find in the country!! Nor on any UK websites as I spent ages looking before pet-bliss set up. Plus pet-bliss prices are really good (lower than most pet shops). Check out the October specials -- the Snoozer beds are a major favourite in my house with both cats and dogs and they can be tossed onto beds or couches (to keep cat and cat hair in the bed rather than on your bed... ).

I'd start feeding her a set three times a day at this point and DEFINITELY get her onto a dry food at least for half her meals as an all wet diet will cause her teeth and gum problems later on. Those pouches should say how much to feed a cat of that age -- is it a pouch a day or what? If so I'd feed half a pouch in the morning then let her self-feed on dry the rest of the day. I always have a bowl full of dry for my gang as they don't overeat.

There's loads of info on the web on care and feeding etc -- just google cat care for example. About.com's cat pages have loads of info.

PeadarofAodh

Karlins right. You should try and make sure you give her the dry food as the last meal before night as it acts like a cleaner to get all the gunk from the wet food off her teeth. Better than having wet food stuck between her teeth and in her gums for the night!

tk123

I got my cat tree in Argos for around €50 but the ones on pet-bliss are SOOOOOO much better i'd get one there. Get it sooner rather than later since it's coming up to xmas so she's not tempted to climb the xmas tree!!

LegacyUser

Hi,

Just a pointer on the pouched food. Our vet recommended NOT to use the pouches as apparently they arefull of sugar and bad for the teeth. This is why the cats love the pouches. 9/10 kids prefer sweeties to stew.

The vet recommended using dry food as much as possible.
Use the whiskas kitten food in the tin until kitty is about 10 months old .. in conjunction with kitten dry food .. and leave out the pouches.

B

(Formerly Maeve .. but boards.ie .. what happened to my account!!)

tk123, the fish in the tank are doing great! Good tip about the Christmas tree, I was wondering what I was going to do with my two .. apart from getting a BIG piece of cement to weigh the tree down. I have two cats .. one kitten (3 months) and an 18 month old.

tk123

Actually don't get the Argos one cos it's a bit flimsy - Kitty-O'Shea knocked his down this morning!!!

SpaceJunkie

If this is your first cat, I would recommend getting a cat book to learn more about your pet and its habits. Knowing your pet is the first and best way to quickly identify a real problem when it occurs and a good way to prevent unnecessary stress on your part worring about its behavior.

From what I have read in this thread, it sounds like the kitten may have had a small worm infestation which adversely affects appetite and drains them of energy. And once treated, they bounce back pretty fast which seemed to be the case. Vets are unable to test for this without a bowel sample which may explain why they found nothing serious.

Cats are territorial animals and very independant. A companion must be carefully selected to avoid confrontations later over territory. Cats (and kittens) are fully capable of entertaining themselves entirely on their own.

I also agree with previous posts that cats should be kept inside at all times. But it is important to get them used to it early on when they are young. Domestic cats can easily cover an area a mile and a half radius when out wandering which, in most cities, takes them close to too many highly traveled roads and automobiles. There is also the threat from dogs and other animals who can prey on cats.

Feeding a cat is a bit of a science these days. I recommend only two feedings per day, once in the morning and once in the evening, of so-called wet food. And only a small amount like a tablespoon or two. For the rest of the time, put down a "small" bowl of dry food that the cat can "snack" on if she gets hungary. Any food given to a cat should be well balanced for nutritional purposes and brands like Hill's Science Diet are exceptionally good. Although other brands are ok for *most* cats, they can be the source of problems for some. Currently, "Urinary Track Blockage" in some male cats is believed to be caused by the high magnesium content in some cheaper brands. But I should also mention that this has not yet been confirmed. This is more prevalent in males but has been found in female cats as well but to a much lesser degree.

Cats have an unusual lifecycle in that they live two days to our one. In the morning, they are up with us for feeding and some attention and then will sleep while we are away at work. They are back up again when we get home for feeding and attention when we get home and again sleep while we watch TV and prepare for bed. Then they will often stir during the night because of their strong hunting instinct and good night vision. My cats sit in the window watching for intruders at all hours of the night.

Along with cat trees for climbing and sleeping on, I also recommend scratching posts or pads in several areas of the house. If these posts or pads are not available, a cat will use whatever they can find, usually furnature. Once they start this habit, it is difficult to curtail it. Training of the cat in this regard is also recommended when it is young.

One of the biggest problems I have seen with people and cats is the misunderstanding that people own their cat and that it should do as it is told. Dogs can be trained this way, but not cats. Cats belong to nobody, listen to nobody and will be controlled by nobody. Cats tolerate us for their convenience. They are tactile, meaning they like contact but only on their terms and on their schedule. For a cat to be a good pet, you must accept their independance and be very tolerant of their peculiarities.

Finally, I read that since you let the cat outside, you did not bother with the litter tray. I'm not sure if you meant you let the cat out all night or whenever she went to the door. Since you would not know if she went to the door during the night while sleeping, it is always a good idea to have a tray available for the cat to use in emergencies. Some cats will hold their job until they can get outside which is not healthy. Others will find a corner and go anyway, only to be found by you at a later date. Either way, it developes bad habits that can be hard to break later on. It's always best to adopt a methodology from the beginning that is both convenient to you and healthy for the cat. As a new pet owner, it is as important to train yourself in healthy practices for your cat as it is to train the cat what is and is not acceptable behavior. If you train them early and provide them with all the tools they need, you will find co-existing with the cat to be much easier in the long term and more healthy for the cat overall.

tk123

SpaceJunkie wrote:

One of the biggest problems I have seen with people and cats is the misunderstanding that people own their cat and that it should do as it is told. Dogs can be trained this way, but not cats. Cats belong to nobody, listen to nobody and will be controlled by nobody.

Hey people can train cats!! What about the one in Meet The Parents!! Or there's this cat documentry thats been on tv a few times and they have this cat whisperer guy who has a cat circus! lol My dad tried to train our cat to "give the paw" when he wanted to go out in the garden except it backfired - now the cat holds his paw in the air when he really wants something! :cool:

SpaceJunkie

tk123 wrote:

Hey people can train cats!!

As you may have read in my previous post, I mention training in several areas. Yes, cats can be trained. But it is not like training dogs or other animals. Training a cat requires a "carrot & stick" approach, so to speak.

Some background:

Dogs are pack animals, meaning they hunt in groups and follow a leader (the dominant dog). They have a need to be welcomed as a member or they end up alone which reduces their chances of survival in the wild. As a result, dogs have developed this instinctive need to "please" its human owner because the dog views the human as the "dominant dog" in the family "pack".

Cats hunt alone. A cat's survival depends on its ability to find and catch its food regularly. Other cats are seen as competition that, if left unchallenged, will steal the food from its territory leaving the cat to starve to death or forced to move to another location. Moving usually involves having to confront another cat in its territory and "whipping" it in a fight for the territory and ultimately its own survival. A fight between cats can be quite unnerving if you have never seen one before. And injuries sustained often reduce a cats ability to hunt until it mends which has a significant toll on its overall health. This is why they establish a territory and defend it vigerously.

Because of the fundimental differences between dogs and cats, their willingness to be trained is quite different. The dog wants to please its owner and will "catch on" rather quickly. Cats have no such desire. To train a cat, you must first convince the cat it is in his/her best interest to do so. Rewards when the cat does something right and consequences when it does it wrong. When it ignores you and does nothing, there is little you can do. I give treats when a cat remembers a good behavior and when they do something wrong, a small squirt from a water bottle or quirt gun quickly reminds them.

I should also point out that with the punishment, you should also be ready to supply some TLC (Tender Loving Care). Cats have very long memories. And punishment should never be such that it causes pain or any other harm to the animal. Any relationship you manage to enjoy with a cat will be based on its feeling comfortable around you. When it does, all sorts of things happen between you and your cat that will seem remarkable to others.

Example: My female Siamese will not hesitate to jump from the roof of the house onto my back when she wants down. That's real trust.

RainyDay

karlin wrote:

Now, I have four that live inside and all are fit, healthy, and content. They do have access to a sideyard with walls too high for them to jump

Hi Karlin - Just out of curiousity, how high are the walls? I'd have thought that most cats would have no bother with getting up a 15"-20" wall, especially given their legendary curiousity.

karlin wrote:

You can order the cat furniture from www.pet-bliss.ie -- they don't sell cat trees and the like in any pet shop that I could find in the country!!

I'm having trouble finding any cat trees on their site. What category are they under?

tk123

RainyDay wrote:

I'm having trouble finding any cat trees on their site. What category are they under?

They're under scratchers

karlin

Small cats can't get the height and some of mine are not large cats. My walls are also about 7 feet and the yard isn't wide enough for them to get the angle needed to jump out. There's also a rose growing across the top which adds another foot of prickly stuff on part of it. But you can do a garden fence that angles inwards that they can't jump over. There are commercial fences done too -- have seen them offered on the web.

They don't really show any interest in trying to jump the wall, though one got out once by climbing a ladder a builder left on the wall -- she was lost for nearly 2 weeks. I was fortunate to get her back -- a kind man found her a few streets away where the charming neighbourhood kids were throwing stones at her. She had tags, so he returned her to me. She was skin and bones by that point.

SpaceJunkie

karlin wrote:

Small cats can't get the height and some of mine are not large cats...

Most folks who own cats and know something about them should be able to determine accurately what the limits of the animal is based on its body weight, build and normal lifestyle. For example: Cats that are small because they are still young are not the same as cats that have a small build and are adult cats. Young cats have lots of energy but lack the physical conditioning that comes with a couple years of exercise and practice. The desire to "escape" deminishes as the cat gets older or if the cat has led a sedentary lifestyle and has become overweight.

Also, consider how cats climb such tall structures and provide appropriate deterants. Fences designed to prevent cats from getting over them, must be constructed of materials that they cannot get their claws into. Wood is a bad material for this purpose but concrete works well. Cats normally judge the height and step back far enough to jump only about 2/3 the way up. They walk the wall the rest of the way catching the top with their claws and pulling themselves up the rest of the way. 7 feet is no problem for a medium build cat in fair physical condition. Most cats can get on top of a standard door in your house by this method fairly easily.

The rose plants along the top is a good deterant as long as the cat cannot find a "weakness" where they can still catch the top of the wall. They'll go right through rose bushes, thorns and all. Their fur offers plenty of protection against thorns. Iceplant is a great deterant because it spreads and is mostly water making it much more difficult for the claws to get a grip. The tilted angle top also works well because cats cannot judge them as well as a straight vertical wall.

karlin wrote:

one got out once by climbing a ladder a builder left on the wall ...

Cats are unusually intelligent animals for their size. They are excellent problem-solvers. Fences and walls cannot have anything near them that a cat can use such as trees, buildings, connecting fences or ladders.

My biggest cat is 23 lbs and 8 years old. He can fly up my 6 foot ladder in the garage (propped up against a shelving unit) and get into the rafters easily. He also uses it to come back down but at a much slower pace. : )

Keeping a cat outside AND contained is not an easy task if they WANT to get out.

luckat

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List Price: £7.99
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In this book you will discover a new way to communicate with your cat. Clicker training is a method of training without using punishment, pain or fear. It uses all-positive clicks and treats to help your cat learn. It's easy for you and fun for your cat. This is the answer for all pet owners who want a well-behaved feline companion.

---

Clicker training is actually good fun - a game for you and your cat. It'll also teach you how to deal with *people* better!

Now, back to generalities: basic rules for a new kitten: *bring it to an excellent vet straight away to see what it needs in terms of worming, vaccination, etc, and to get advice on diet. Richard Lavelle in the Sandymount Animal Clinic in Gilford Road is a great vet.

I personally don't keep cats in - but there is the risk of the cat being run over. Don't let a *very* young kitten out anyway - it can get itself into bad trouble with other cats. And it's a good idea to let the cat only out the back door, so that it regards this as its territory. It will discover the front garden and the road after a while, but is always likely to centre its attention more in the back garden.

If your cat becomes anxious, apart from looking at problems like bullying, you can get a pheromone plug with a bottle of stuff called Feliway, which releases a pheromone that cats themselves spread from their cheek glands when they're happy and marking their territory and each other (and their humans, when they rub their cheek lovingly on you). It's scentless, but makes them feel secure. You plug it into an electric plug and forget about it, replace the bottle every month or two. Expensive, but worth it.

Good luck with your kitten, you're going to have a great time with it.

luckat

Oh, the kitty's six months old! Well old enough to go out, Zener.

Don't worry about the sleeping; cats are nocturnal animals by nature, and cat-napping is one of their great skills when there's not much going on.

One great toy is a kind of mini-fishing-rod with a stick and string, and a ball of paper on the end. She (and you) will have endless fun hunting the ball as you trail it along the ground, leap it suddenly into the air and let it lie still for tense moments as she stalks it.

A good shop for things like cat trees is Breffni House in Dundrum, just after the turn into Bird Avenue.

luckat

Oh, and... keep her in around Halloween. Some "people" are cruel to straying animals at this time.

Nala

Yeah, I found a little kitten on Tuesday. She had blood coming out of her opening, wounds under her tail and her tail seemed to be broken. I think she'd been interfered with with a banger. Makes me so mad. She came straight up to me and kept purring, poor little mite is too trusting for her own good! I've another cat like that, she'd go to Jack The Ripper! Mine were all locked in for Halloween.

Alun

luckat wrote:

Don't worry about the sleeping; cats are nocturnal animals by nature, and cat-napping is one of their great skills when there's not much going on.

Not to be pedantic, but cats are not nocturnal, but crepuscular, i.e. they are most active around dawn and dusk, which not entirely coincidentally is when their prey, mice and small mammals which are also crepuscular, are also most active. Cats actually sleep quite a lot at night, but you're asleep then too so you don't notice

Alun

neev wrote:

Yeah, I found a little kitten on Tuesday. She had blood coming out of her opening, wounds under her tail and her tail seemed to be broken. I think she'd been interfered with with a banger. Makes me so mad. She came straight up to me and kept purring, poor little mite is too trusting for her own good! I've another cat like that, she'd go to Jack The Ripper! Mine were all locked in for Halloween.

I'd like to take people that do that and do the same to them and see how they like it.

SpaceJunkie

neev wrote:

Yeah, I found a little kitten on Tuesday. She had blood coming out of her opening, wounds under her tail and her tail seemed to be broken.

Although I wouldn't rule out Bangers, it sounds more likely it was hit by a car. The fact that she had some internal injuries and a possible broken tail. If anyone had done that to the cat, if would have a strong fear of humans. That's an instinct they take seriously. I would strongly recommend a vet trip to have her/him checked out in any case.

Alun wrote:

Not to be pedantic, but cats are not nocturnal, but crepuscular, i.e. they are most active around dawn and dusk

Correct. As I mentioned above (somewhere), they have two cycles they go through in our day. They become active in the mornings when we get ready for work (and normally get a feeding) and again in the evening when we get home (and they get another feeding). The fact that this activity of ours coincides with their cycle is one reason cats and humans get along so well. But, they are not constrained to that though. My "hunter" occasionally disappears in the evening and does not come home until around 4 AM.

luckat wrote:

Oh, and... keep her in around Halloween

Unfortunately, this is very true. Even more so if your cat is the traditional "Black Cat" like two of mine are. Some are supersticious an have a real dislike for black cats while others are just cruel people. I keep mine in on Halloween night.

luckat wrote:

Clicker Training Your Cat

I've heard of this before but have never tried it. I have heard that it can give excellent results. I understand that this method can be time intensive and requires that you keep the clicker handy.

luckat

Clicker training is the least time-intensive method of training I've ever used! It's basically a game you and your pet play when you feel like it.

First you "charge" the clicker, by associating it with treats: click, give a (very small, so the animal doesn't get stuffed and get bored with it) treat, click, treat, click, treat, click, treat - until the animal starts looking to the clicker in expectation of a treat.

*Never* click without immediately following with a small food treat.

Then you have the powerful weapon for training. Training is done in 5-minute bursts - just a short game each time - and should be very pleasurable and good fun for both sides.

It's a blast. One story in one of Karen Pryor's books (she's a dolphin trainer who started the clicker training thing) is of a friend of hers who's a pianist, and whose party piece ends with a single Middle C note; she trained her cat to hit Middle C on cue, so the cat hops on her lap when it hears her starting to play that piece, and on cue, at the end of the piece, the pianist lifts her hands off the keys, and *bounce*, the kitty hops on Middle C!

SpaceJunkie

Interesting...

In a way, I guess I have tried a similar method without knowing it. Years ago after my divorce from my first wife, I was living in an apartment and had a cat for companionship. She watched TV, slept and ate with me. She was incredibly fast and bright.

Being a creature of habit and somewhat lazy, I developed a habit of feeding her while I ate. I did this for two reasons. I wanted to do all my kitchen chores at once. Eat, do dishes, feed the furball etc. (I hated every minute I spent in the kitchen) and I wanted to keep her busy and away from the table where I was eating.

The problem was that when it was time to eat, I didn't always know where she was. Sometimes she would be sleeping on my bed, sometimes playing on the enclosed porch and sometimes hiding under the couch. So, in an effort to get her to come to me, I would call her. Usually with less then impressive results. But, I learned that there was one sound she would identify with when I could see her. I would snap my fingers to get her attention and she would look in my direction. I would then pick her up and take her into the kitchen for feeding. Over the months, she associated the snapping of my fingers with dinnertime and would come to me wherever she may be.

Then, one day, she surprised me. I had snapped my fingers to get her to come to me and she did much more. She came trotting in from the porch and climbed me until I pucked her up mostly out of a reaction to the pain and place her on my shoulder. Her claws were long and sharp! From that time afterward, when I snapped my fingers, she would come running and from about 3 feet away, would leap hitting me about mid-chest and end up on my shoulder. I still have a picture I took while hand-feeding her on my shoulder. That was nearly 35 years ago.

My current Siamese female does not respond to any sound I make like she did, but she does know the sound of my truck and meets me in the driveway almost every night when I get home from work. While unloading my stuff, she will jump into the truck bed rubbing her face and body on every edge and corner she can find. When I lock the truck and go to where she is, she will climb onto my shoulder and we will go into the house together. She does this because I often stop at McDonald's (for some takeout) before going home, and she loves cheeseburgers.

ZENER

Guys thanks for the great advice and the resulting restoration of harmony in the Chez Pussy house hold. Unfortunately I need your help again but this time on a slightly more worrying matter.

On Tuesday evening she wanted to go outside so we opened the door as we normally do and let her out, as usual we left the door open so she could come back in if she wanted, she didn't but this is not unusual as sometimes she goes wandering at night. Anyway thats the last time we saw her and my 9 year old daughter - and myself to be honest - is heartbroken with worry. Every time she hears a noise outside she runs to the door hoping it's the cat - it isn't!

A friend tells me that at this age (9 - 10 months according to the vets estimate) it's normal for her to go mating and that she may well just reappear as if nothing has happened. I've walked around the main roads nearby looking for her body but found nothing.
Anyone any ideas ?
Is my friend right in what he says?
Should I start looking for a new kitten?

ZEN

ZENER

My 9 year old daughter Kirsty found our cat - Kitty - in a local park this morning in high grass, she had been hit by a car by the looks of her and was dead. I've spent the last couple of hours trying to console Kirsty but at the moment she is inconsolable and we are all very upset over the loss of our first family pet.

It's difficult to explain to someone so young what dead means, I never realised this until now. We had a small burial and said some words and this has made it a little easier for her.

Thanks again to everyone for your help and advice.

ZEN

tk123

This is TERRIBLE - i'm really sorry Zener & Kirsty - I don't know what i'd do if something happend to my cat - he's curled up beside me now....

Saruman

Oh no thats awful.. sorry to hear it.

eth0_

Poor little thing :-(

karlin

I'm so sorry for you. This is always so sad and difficult and my heart goes out to your daughter -- so hard for her to make the discovery.

Just two notes I was going to make before hearing this sad ending, but they are I think still worth making:

1) wasn't she spayed? As if so she wouldn't have been wandering for mating reasons -- but all cats will wander if left outside, often across streets at night. She would have been unlikely to have been in season at the moment anyway with the weather growing cold -- cats tend to have kittens spring through summer.

I hope all owners of females will remember to spay by 6 months (and keep females as indoor-only cats until they are spayed, as they can become pregnant as early as 3-4 months) as there aren't enough homes for the existing supply of kittens and cats. This is an endless uphill struggle for those (like me) working in animal rescue and a female could easily have two litters a year, up to 10-18 kittens needing homes.

2) please do consider an indoor-only cat if you decide on another cat -- the death rate is so, so high from cars for all outdoor cats -- about 1/4th to 1/3rd will be killed by cars before they are 5. I actually collected some rescue material from a US cat rescue today at a Petco (large petshop chain; they offer only rescue animals for rehoming at their shops, a great policy -- I am out in the US at the moment) which states these figures: avg lifespan for outdoor cats, 1-5 years; indoor cats, 12-20 years.

If after some time you do think of another cat or kitten feel free to PM me and I can put you in touch with one of the very good cat rescues.

RainyDay

Sorry to hear your news.

Karlin - Any idea what the figures for outdoor cats in Ireland would be? I'd imagine there are far more wild predators in the US (outside of the cities) than here in Ireland.

SpaceJunkie

It is always sad to hear about a young kitten who was not able to live out a full life because of tragedy. I have lost 3 (to cars) in my lifetime, all of which broke my heart. One was only a year old, one was approaching 2 years and my latest loss was 6 years old. Having known her for 6 years and having formed a strong bond, she was an exceptionally powerful loss.

It is hard for us adults to cope with such a loss but even more so for youngsters who really have little experiance with the permanancy of death. The little ceremony and burial is really all that can be done in this situation.

As I often tell others, if one decides to let a kitten roam and excercise her instincts to hunt and reproduce, understand the dangers ahead of time and make the decision knowing and accepting the risks. Give them the best advantages possible with full immunizations first and make sure she is Spayed. Cats have no desire to reproduce. They are driven to it by the changes that occur in their body, often called "heat". At the very least, it will help her fend off diseasees and reduce how far she will be driven to wander. A cat on the hunt can easily cover a distance of 1.5 miles radius from where she establishes her home. In today's world, there are just too many roads within that distance. And cats will cross them all sooner or later.

ZENER

Thanks for your very kind replies people, Kitty was special in our house be it only for a short time. Anyone with kids knows the streses and strains of it, getting them to help out and do chores etc. Not where Kitty was concerned - she was treated like a queen, every one looked after and fed her and played with her. The rows weren't over who's turn it was to feed her they were over why someone didn't get their turn. She had a taste for roast chicken and I used go out of my way to buy some for her on my way home, the nose would go up to her bowl instead she would shout up at me knowing I had her favorite treat . . .

She'll certainly be missed.

Thanks again guys, by the way I've been in touch with irishanimals.com with a view to adopting another cat. I'll let you know how it goes.

Ken

pretty-in-pink

Oh thats so sad, poor kitty.

Hope she died quickly and without pain. Shes up there in heaven and she knows you love her very much.

I've had a few kitties die over the years and it still gets me so badly. I still cry over everyone of them- and even over pets I don't know (kitty, millie etc), and some people don't get why. For anyone who knows, its not "just a cat", its a loved member of the family. They are there for you, and mine give you kisses if you're sad/sick. They just know. Best of luck finding a new kitty. Glad you had a funeral, it helps ease the pain. We should make a national "remember your dead pets day", or a day to commenerate pets. National Animal Day?