- #301
Moonbear
Staff Emeritus
Science Advisor
Gold Member
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I just read this whole thread and was smiling and laughing through it all. Those of us with cats likely all noticed the moment that Pixel chose you at the shelter, not the other way around. I love that name, Pixel, by the way!
Men who care for critters are very attractive to women, and not at all weird (well, at least the weirdness has no relation to the critter). It doesn't matter what the critter is.
As for earlier questions on bathing, I bathe mine about twice a year, which is when her fur starts getting sticky and she starts scratching a lot of itches that indicate she needs a bath. As a kitten, she managed to find extra special messes often, so she was bathed pretty frequently then. That started as soon as she came home because she lived in a barn and while she was welcomed into my home, fleas were not. We also used to have dogs as neighbors, so before I moved, she would pick up fleas from even the briefest outdoor excursion onto the deck (I kept her on a leash, she was allowed outside, but not without supervision and limits on how far she could roam...just enough to soak up some sunshine and chase a cricket or watch the birds). She thought the printer was fun to play with and appeared with black printer ink all over her paws, she has long hair, so had some litterbox issues until I figured out just how much butt fur to trim, etc. So she had a lot of baths as a kitten. She now calmly accepts the bath and doesn't use my arm as a ladder to the top of my head to escape the water, but still hates the brushing and blowdrying afterward. When I can anticipate a bath (not the emergency messes), I trim her claws a day or two before the bath. That gives her time to work off the rough edges from the trim but not enough time to regrow points on them. Then, even if she does cling to my arm, it isn't with little needles, and a long-sleeved t-shirt is enough body armor.
I've done okay on clawing. Mostly, it was accomplished by keeping plenty of approved scratching surfaces available and redirecting her to those. She was persistent on one sofa arm, but the sheets of double stick tape applied there worked as a deterrent (and she also used to climb inside the sleeper sofa and would find places where she could get inside the back of the sofa and had a blast removing stuffing...I ended up turning the sofa over and stapling an old bedsheet under it like a dust cover, but to keep the cat out instead of dust). I have one newer chair in my living room now that she seems to be testing me on. She's already claimed it as her chair, and I keep it draped with an old blanket, but the blanket doesn't cover the arms. She clearly knows she isn't supposed to scratch it, but is like a mischievous little kid about it. She very deliberately goes over to the chair while I'm on the couch, stretches her paws onto the arm, then looks directly at me as she hooks one claw to pluck. I clap my hands and yell, "no!" and she knows she lost the game once again an bounces over to the scratching post next to the chair or to the blanket on the chair. She also stops if I respond by asking, " Do your claws need trimming?" She hates being held still long enough for claw trimming. If she starts trying to scratch in a lot of places, it's usually when her claws are getting long and need trimming. Otherwise, she normally just scratches during a good stretch after waking up (that's why the scratching post is right next to her chair), or while playing (she'll run around like a lunatic, then "tag" the post like it's home base, give me a look of, "you can't catch me now, I'm safe," attacks the post for a bit, then resumes our game of tag...if I can catch her, I get to give belly snorgles).
Hmm...on second thought, maybe people with cats really are odd.
Men who care for critters are very attractive to women, and not at all weird (well, at least the weirdness has no relation to the critter). It doesn't matter what the critter is.
As for earlier questions on bathing, I bathe mine about twice a year, which is when her fur starts getting sticky and she starts scratching a lot of itches that indicate she needs a bath. As a kitten, she managed to find extra special messes often, so she was bathed pretty frequently then. That started as soon as she came home because she lived in a barn and while she was welcomed into my home, fleas were not. We also used to have dogs as neighbors, so before I moved, she would pick up fleas from even the briefest outdoor excursion onto the deck (I kept her on a leash, she was allowed outside, but not without supervision and limits on how far she could roam...just enough to soak up some sunshine and chase a cricket or watch the birds). She thought the printer was fun to play with and appeared with black printer ink all over her paws, she has long hair, so had some litterbox issues until I figured out just how much butt fur to trim, etc. So she had a lot of baths as a kitten. She now calmly accepts the bath and doesn't use my arm as a ladder to the top of my head to escape the water, but still hates the brushing and blowdrying afterward. When I can anticipate a bath (not the emergency messes), I trim her claws a day or two before the bath. That gives her time to work off the rough edges from the trim but not enough time to regrow points on them. Then, even if she does cling to my arm, it isn't with little needles, and a long-sleeved t-shirt is enough body armor.
I've done okay on clawing. Mostly, it was accomplished by keeping plenty of approved scratching surfaces available and redirecting her to those. She was persistent on one sofa arm, but the sheets of double stick tape applied there worked as a deterrent (and she also used to climb inside the sleeper sofa and would find places where she could get inside the back of the sofa and had a blast removing stuffing...I ended up turning the sofa over and stapling an old bedsheet under it like a dust cover, but to keep the cat out instead of dust). I have one newer chair in my living room now that she seems to be testing me on. She's already claimed it as her chair, and I keep it draped with an old blanket, but the blanket doesn't cover the arms. She clearly knows she isn't supposed to scratch it, but is like a mischievous little kid about it. She very deliberately goes over to the chair while I'm on the couch, stretches her paws onto the arm, then looks directly at me as she hooks one claw to pluck. I clap my hands and yell, "no!" and she knows she lost the game once again an bounces over to the scratching post next to the chair or to the blanket on the chair. She also stops if I respond by asking, " Do your claws need trimming?" She hates being held still long enough for claw trimming. If she starts trying to scratch in a lot of places, it's usually when her claws are getting long and need trimming. Otherwise, she normally just scratches during a good stretch after waking up (that's why the scratching post is right next to her chair), or while playing (she'll run around like a lunatic, then "tag" the post like it's home base, give me a look of, "you can't catch me now, I'm safe," attacks the post for a bit, then resumes our game of tag...if I can catch her, I get to give belly snorgles).
Hmm...on second thought, maybe people with cats really are odd.
But after a few corrections she decided to leave things alone. She seems to sense the seriousness of the situation through the tone of my voice, and decided to cooperate. 
