Advice to a first-time cat owner
09-11-2011, 12:45 PM
#71
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Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: home again, after 27 yrs!
Posts: 19,388
my back hurts a lot when i bend over so i had to put my cats litter boxes up on something. now i don't have to bend over too far.
lots of water for the cat is important. toys maybe. and maybe a bed or tree perch. and scratching posts.
and beware. cats do throw up hairballs, a lot.
lots of water for the cat is important. toys maybe. and maybe a bed or tree perch. and scratching posts.
and beware. cats do throw up hairballs, a lot.
09-11-2011, 12:48 PM
#72
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Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: SW Ohio
Posts: 2,103
Originally Posted by quiltmom04
Good to get tempting stuff out of the way. Neither of my cats bother any quilting stuff though. I've found they are NOT like dogs. They don't care when you come home, won't come when you call, acknowledge you when THEY feel like it. But they ARE lower maintenance than dogs, and when they DO decide to snuggle and purr, they are very sweet.
09-11-2011, 12:48 PM
#73
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Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: SW Ohio
Posts: 2,103
Originally Posted by quiltmom04
Good to get tempting stuff out of the way. Neither of my cats bother any quilting stuff though. I've found they are NOT like dogs. They don't care when you come home, won't come when you call, acknowledge you when THEY feel like it. But they ARE lower maintenance than dogs, and when they DO decide to snuggle and purr, they are very sweet.
09-11-2011, 12:49 PM
#74
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Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Just move back to Chattanooga, TN.
Posts: 2,022
I have two sister cats. They keep each other company when I am not home. I use reverse tape when they decide that they want to scratch on doorfacings or want to jump on tables. I have had my "girls" for the last 10 years. At times, they are what brought me home. My second husband died and they were there and they still needed me. So I will be there for them.
09-11-2011, 12:50 PM
#75
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Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Tucker, GA
Posts: 2,042
The worst mess ever in my quilting room was an overturned bowl of pins that ended up all over the carpet. I picked up what seemed like a million pins and then found more and more as I stepped on them over the next few days. He didn't try to eat them or play with them; I think he just enjoyed batting the bowl off the windowsill and watching the pins "splash" as they hit the floor. PS: before anybody tells me----yes, I know it was my fault and it never happened again. I began using my magnetic pin holder AND keeping it out of his reach.
09-11-2011, 12:53 PM
#76
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Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Tucker, GA
Posts: 2,042
Two more thoughts....my favorite cats have always been orange striped males. Their personality always is so friendly! Also, a squirt bottle to squirt them with water and back up your "NO" about furniture or getting on the kitchen counters or whatever is a great idea. They don't realize it's you; they think that whenever they do something wrong water comes out of nowhwere to get them.
09-11-2011, 01:05 PM
#77
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Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: SW Ohio
Posts: 2,103
Originally Posted by Granny Quilter
Originally Posted by IdahoSandy
You will need to get your cat de-clawed because they will use anything upholstered and sometimes a wooden door frame to sharpen their claws. I have had chairs re-upholstered because of this problem. Last cat was de-clawed, so worked out fine. You didn't say if you were going to keep it in house all the time? If not, don't let out side until it gets use to you, then leave the door propted open so it can get back in. Female cats make make better house pets. Also make sure that someone is going to take care of your cat, if something happens to you. Cats can live up to 17-18yrs. Good luck.
IdahoSandy
IdahoSandy
De-clawing is cruelity. They don't just cut off claws. They cut off the first joint of each of their toes. Don't do it!
09-11-2011, 01:32 PM
#78
Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Minnesota
Posts: 997
I was always a dog person but right now with the kids having moved home for a while we have three cats. Each cat is different, my cat just goes about his business and might only dig in the plants. My sons cat loves to sit on the sewing table and watch me sew. He likes rubber bands and string. He just like to run around with the string and have the cats chase it. My daughters cat will try and swallow any string, yarn shoe laces he can find. You might have to just watch and see what yours will get into. I would also get a cat tree so her can be up high. That has kept the cats from jumping up on the counters and high book cases in the house. I hope you get one that like to cuddle , I'm 0 and 3 in the cuddle department. My kids cat will cuddle with them but not me. Good luck and enjoy your new fur baby.
09-11-2011, 02:23 PM
#79
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Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Central Coast CA
Posts: 1,918
Be very careful to never leave a threaded needle anywhere the kitty can possibly get it!
Play with her daily, but train her to never claw you or your clothes.
Buy the best food you can afford. Try and find those that have no color additives. My 3 don't upchuck hardly at all any more since I switched...and the color additives can stain your carpet.
Read the ingredients of the cat food you buy. "By-products" and "___ meal" are poor substitutes for quality ingredients, and ingredients you can't pronounce are not desireable! Tuna is actually not very good for cats, but they love the smell--that's why so many cat foods contain it.
Best of luck with your new purr-baby! And thank you for not getting her declawed, it is xonsidered inhumane and is a poor excuse for not training her properly. And the possible resulting infections can kill her! My sister nearly lost two of hers, she'll never declaw again.
Play with her daily, but train her to never claw you or your clothes.
Buy the best food you can afford. Try and find those that have no color additives. My 3 don't upchuck hardly at all any more since I switched...and the color additives can stain your carpet.
Read the ingredients of the cat food you buy. "By-products" and "___ meal" are poor substitutes for quality ingredients, and ingredients you can't pronounce are not desireable! Tuna is actually not very good for cats, but they love the smell--that's why so many cat foods contain it.
Best of luck with your new purr-baby! And thank you for not getting her declawed, it is xonsidered inhumane and is a poor excuse for not training her properly. And the possible resulting infections can kill her! My sister nearly lost two of hers, she'll never declaw again.
09-11-2011, 02:31 PM
#80
Junior Member
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: North Olmsted, OH
Posts: 144
If you have friends with lowered immune system ( transplant patients) , please lock up the kitty - when your friends come over. I have a kidney transplant and nearly died from an infection from a cat bite. People talk about building up your immune system, but for transplant patients' systems are kept deliberately low to prevent rejection.
That said, best of luck with your new kitty.
That said, best of luck with your new kitty.
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