So, I'm getting a kitty. - Page 2

Hanuman · 05-03-2010, 02:10 PM

Wrestle a shark to death with your bare/bear hands, whichever the case may be.
Food problem solved.

Giving cats human food in my experience makes them more cuddly, wet food counts too.

The environment a cat is subjected to highly influences it's life. Playing with it and making it chase and attack will hone it's mind to that purpose, loving the cat and sitting with it on your lap for hours will make it more serene, ect.

Meister · 05-03-2010, 02:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lev

Playing with it and making it chase and attack will hone it's mind to that purpose

When my parents' cat was a kitten I'd put on a leather glove and have him hunt and pounce on my hand. Cat wrestling was always great fun, but nowadays when I visit them I have to be very careful where I rest my hands and can't let my guard down. Who'd have thought imprinting would go such a long way.

Julford Hajime · 05-03-2010, 02:51 PM

I have three kitties. They can each be summarized with a two-word phrase: adorable idiot, lovable blob, and FUCKING NINJA.

Guess which one was the stray we took in >.>

ANYWAY, I'll attest to UTIs (Urinary Tract Infections) being VERY dangerous in cats. I've lost two over my lifetime to them, and a third one very nearly died from it around this time last year (He's on a stricter diet now, and is fine). Keep an eye on water consumption, and see if wet food will be necessary or not; you'll probably need to ask someone who's trained to know how much water the kitty should be drinking, because I honestly couldn't tell you >.>

I've learned that so long as you keep the feeding habits the same, cats won't gorge themselves on food if you just leave it out for them. For example, I have one large bowl of dry food out that I keep filled at all times, and once a night I give them each part of a can of wet food. One of my three current cats is slightly overweight, and is the only one to be so in the fifteen or so cats I've had in my life. I tend to avoid tablescraps for them, though, which may be part of it.

I'll attest to two cats being something to consider based on the time you'll be spending with them; besides, that just means more kitties! YAY!

Tev · 05-03-2010, 02:59 PM

As for keeping them hydrated, I heard from a friend that keeps cats that the furballs prefer running water. As such she got them one of those neat water bowls that has a little fountain pump to keep things moving around.

She has found great success with this. Which is good because she's got like five cats now and keeping them all happy is almost a fulltime job.

katiuska · 05-03-2010, 03:15 PM

That never did anything for Rusty. We gave it to my brother, because one of their cats loves moving water, but he loves it best when he's doing the moving (knocking glasses over, batting the bowl a few times before taking a drink). In general, though, I hear those work pretty well.

BitVyper · 05-03-2010, 05:05 PM

Yeah, some cats like their water flowing. Some don't though - it's really a crap shoot.

Quote:

I've found that blocking off the kitchen during mealtime seems to help with that

If it's a problem for you, you can also try mixing a little bit of dental care food in with your regular stuff. Dental care foods use bigger harder chunks that help force the cat to chew. Science Diet's chunks are usually the biggest as far as the oral care foods go.

....but we've got the best balls of them all.

05-03-2010, 02:10 PM	#11
Hanuman Love Is Strength Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Vancouver/BC/Canada Posts: 1,135	Wrestle a shark to death with your bare/bear hands, whichever the case may be. Food problem solved. Giving cats human food in my experience makes them more cuddly, wet food counts too. The environment a cat is subjected to highly influences it's life. Playing with it and making it chase and attack will hone it's mind to that purpose, loving the cat and sitting with it on your lap for hours will make it more serene, ect. __________________ If you want to stay connected send me a PM with your email.

05-03-2010, 03:15 PM	#15
katiuska Unlicensed Practitioner Join Date: Sep 2007 Posts: 801	That never did anything for Rusty. We gave it to my brother, because one of their cats loves moving water, but he loves it best when he's doing the moving (knocking glasses over, batting the bowl a few times before taking a drink). In general, though, I hear those work pretty well. __________________ If I try too hard my brain explodes, so don't expect me to be witty on purpose.

05-03-2010, 02:51 PM	#13
Julford Hajime Monty Mole Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 744	I have three kitties. They can each be summarized with a two-word phrase: adorable idiot, lovable blob, and FUCKING NINJA. Guess which one was the stray we took in >.> ANYWAY, I'll attest to UTIs (Urinary Tract Infections) being VERY dangerous in cats. I've lost two over my lifetime to them, and a third one very nearly died from it around this time last year (He's on a stricter diet now, and is fine). Keep an eye on water consumption, and see if wet food will be necessary or not; you'll probably need to ask someone who's trained to know how much water the kitty should be drinking, because I honestly couldn't tell you >.> I've learned that so long as you keep the feeding habits the same, cats won't gorge themselves on food if you just leave it out for them. For example, I have one large bowl of dry food out that I keep filled at all times, and once a night I give them each part of a can of wet food. One of my three current cats is slightly overweight, and is the only one to be so in the fifteen or so cats I've had in my life. I tend to avoid tablescraps for them, though, which may be part of it. I'll attest to two cats being something to consider based on the time you'll be spending with them; besides, that just means more kitties! YAY!