Are men with cats odd?

FlexGunship

Okay, my new nutty cat obsession is combining with my olde-tyme engineering obsession to create a wallet-obliterating combo-attack on my bank account.

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This will be more fun for me than for Pixel. "No, Pixie-girl... back up... I'm playing. You can play after!"

Stephen Tashi

The respiratory infection is a good explanation for the sneezing. Another cause of sneezing is dust. Perhaps she likes to hide in dusty places. Sneezing can also be caused by dusty cat litter. The "clumping" kind of litter is easier for both cats and humans to manage.

Is Pixel a long-haired cat?

turbo

You can make her something home-made, Flex. Measure up a place where she is comfortable and figure out how much real-estate her new "apartment" might need, and build her something. You'll want to spend a bit of time asking around for low-nap carpet scraps (not the shag stuff that can snag in her claws -especially since you might be gone for a night or two!), and bits and pieces of luan or other thin plywood stuff to build enclosures for her. You can get perforated MDF (Masonite) for cheap, and that might make her real happy, since she will be safe and secure, and still be able to peek through the holes to watch whats going on.

I loved building a tree-like environment for my parrot, and she truly enjoyed it. If you have a place where you can cut the materials without making a mess, all you really need is some carpenters' glue, some screws, and a screwdriver (a decent cordless one would be nice).

FlexGunship

She sure is! She's a regular Swiffer.

I have a lot of materials around, actually (MDF, pine boards, etc.), and I love to build. But I have a condo and my work-space is my patio. Between low light in the evenings and cold days, I've given up on building for the season.

I've already thought about it, too. some 11.5"x11.5" pine boards make good surfaces with 1" dowels to connect them. I could even cut up fleece blankets to make the various "hammocks" or fabric walls for her to sleep in or walk on. Speaker box carpeting seems to be good for cats (in general) and I know where to get plenty for cheap.

That being said, I'll just spend the money for now rather than wait for spring.

EDIT: And say what you want, but the promise of reliving my Lego/K'Nex/Girder&Panel days is WAY too tempting.

FlexGunship

Should I be leaving the TV on while I'm at work? Would that help her not feel lonely? I have no idea if she is lonely, but I would be.

Stephen Tashi

So she's long haired. Does she have thick legs and big feet? I'm cat sitting such a cat - a Norwegian Forrest cat. They are very talkative.

I doubt TV will keep a cat company. Cats have exceptional hearing. It might mask sounds that disturb her if there are any.

Does she have a good "perch" in front of a window? Most cats like to look out windows, especially if they can see other animals outside. Don't open the window unless you're sure she won't claw through the screen. The ideal window perch would also be a place where she would feel hidden.

Math Is Hard

Yah, my Skogkatt never shuts up. :)

Math Is Hard

Hey Flex, have you seen these Cat Exercise Wheels? I always wanted to build one.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_2qY...eature=related

turbo

My cousin's Siamese "talked" all of the time. Simon was one chatty cat, especially when he wanted attention. And when he was upset about something, the whole house would know - he'd make these "yowling" noises until somebody figured out why he was upset and help settle him down. He was quite a sweetie, though. I would have kidnapped him (in contrast to my sister's cats, which I would have given up to a shelter in a heartbeat) because he was so calm and collected. Some cats are quite flighty and unpredictable - not Simon.

turbo

Wow! Hamster-wheels for cats!

AlephZero

Cats are naturally nocturnal animals. Given warmth and shelter, they are quite content to sleep all day.

Pixel will soon figure out where is the warmest place in the apartment (apart from yourself!), at which point your best option for a quiet life is just let her "live" there and reorganize the rest of the house for human use.

rhody

I wouldn't sweat the TV or radio, Flex, Aleph is right, being left alone they alternate between sleeping and eating and patrolling their territory, that's their job and they are damn good at it. If you have any bugs or crawly things scurrying about, you won't for long. Don't forget about changing the litter with a scoop to filter it every two days, you want to start on a good foot. Be aware of things that might disagree with her. My cat eats dry food, dry treats with occasional table scraps, small amounts. Since she is long haired, think about hairball food as well, you will find them about when she coughs them up. Not to worry, no big deal. As for toys, stuff you make and invent is just as good as store bought stuff. I made an aluminum ball out of tin foil and get a lot of mileage out of that.

She will sharpen her little claws on carpets, etc... you can't stop it, usually when she is having a cat crazy moment when running around the house like being chased or chasing an imaginary predator. A loud "No" with a stomp of your foot will usually stop the scratching. I have posts where she can scratch if she wants. You can buy trimmers to trim the needle sharp claws, but if she is going outdoors I would suggest not doing it. That is her only form of defense, in addition to being able to launch herself four feet off the ground when frightened. I know people who have declawed their cats. I think it is cruel personally, would never do it myself. If ripping up furniture becomes a problem, you can install an electric fence indoors. I am told they work well, however, I don't need one myself.

Aleph is right about finding warm spots too. If my heat mats for plants are exposed, she will skootch in to protect my pepper plants. Not that the hottest pepper plants need any protecting, they can fend for themselves quite nicely.

Oh yeah, you being a techie guy, they love laser pointers, you can be sure Pixel's cerebral cortex is properly programmed with horizontal and vertical movements of the pointer (healthy cat brain).

That's it for now. Here is a video for a few laughs... It's old, but the audio makes it worthwhile.

Funny Cats



Rhody...

TylerH

You should get some catnip and see how your cat reacts. Not all cats respond to it, and even most that do don't go entirely crazy, but you never know.

FlexGunship

She doesn't have thick legs or big feet, and other than one yelp when she ran from the sound of heat (take that thermodynamics) she's never said a single word.

I bought a simple cat cave with a bed on top the day I got her and placed it next to the window part of the sliding glass door that leads to the patio. I have chipmunks that run through there so she should be entertained.

Hmm, no... looks more like someone's cray idea for perpetual motion. "You just put the cat in here..."

She hasn't really picked a place. I've decided the sound of the front door frightens her. I can usually find her hiding upstairs under a wooden plank (not comfy or cozy, and not even well protected), or under my bed (well protected, but doesn't seem comfy, maybe cozy). She'll come trotting out though if she realizes its me walking around. If I'm around, then her favorite place is either on the stairs, in front of the TV, or directly under my feet.

I left the radio on today. She just enjoys watching TV with me so much that I can't help but think she gets something out of it. I ordered some Baby Einstein DVDs for her (kidding). If I sit down for Dirty Jobs, she'll come to my lap for some petting, but ultimately set up camp on the arm of the chair and just watch. She doesn't attack the screen, or get startled by noises... she just watches. We watched the whole lightning-rod-installer episode together.

I've been cleaning her box after every, uh, incident. She's very polite about not scattering the litter everywhere, so I try to be polite about keeping it clean for her. I wouldn't want to use a half-flushed toilet; especially if I had to stand in it to use it. Besides, she's just barely learning to use it (at 4 months old) so I don't want to give her any excuse not to.

She looooooves her ball. An aluminum foil ball might even be better! I have a video of us playing fetch that I'll share in my next post.

I'm not worried about her claws, she's been doing fine with the scratching post I've given her. We have had a few incidents, but I think some of them are because her claws aren't long enough to actually help her climb. She sort of scrambles up the side of the sofa. Every time she does it, she has the goal of getting to the top, so I don't bother punishing her for it.

I clap my hands loudly if she's doing something I want to discourage. The only bad behavior she really has is she plays with the tag on my subwoofer power cable which I think is dangerous. I clap my hands to stop her, wait for her to run (or sulk) away, and then give her a toy to play with instead.

I don't want her to think playing is bad, I want her to think playing with that specific tag is bad.

I have absolutely no plans to declaw Pixel ever, but I specifically avoided the Cocheco Valley Humane Society because you must sign a form promising never to declaw your cat if it's adopted from there. Just my stupid libertarian ideals... it's going to be my decision not to declaw her.

Maybe I should get something then, there's really no "warm spots" in my condo. I leave the curtain open a little which warms the floor in the morning, but does nothing in the evening. I have a laser pointer, but it's... hardcore... I wouldn't want to risk burning her little kitty paws or retinas. I'll buy a few cheap ones from Wal*Mart next time.

I think one of her shelter toys had catnip in it. It wasn't my plan to give it to her until she was comfortable in the house. I hate being dragged to an unknown place and drugged.

FlexGunship

We normally play with me out of sight, but for the purpose of the video I had to be seen. If you look at 1:05, that's usually how we play. I think she was putting on a show for the camera wrestling the ball all the way down the steps.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ST6ZgmssPn8



No need to watch past 1:30 or so... it was just hard to turn off the camera while still playing.

FlexGunship

We ordered this yesterday. I can honestly say Pixel was the one who finalized the order.

rhody

that one just kills me... (kidding)

BTW. The link for your video appears to be broken, at least for me. Luna does not care for TV at all, nor does she meow loudly, like the cat Turbo mentioned, she is a mellow, sometimes bordering on timid, but very sweet. Heat mats for plants work great too (for cat couch), especially in the winter on cold floors, you could put a small cat bed on top of it as well.

Rhody...