OT - tell me what I need to know about CATS...

[crisi]

We tried as a kitten - and are still working on it four years later, but hasn't stuck. I've had cats successfully not countertrained before, but not this one. Water (water+vinegar), tin foil (sort of worked but it was nearly impossible for US to work with) and tape. She doesn't mind getting squirted much.

 

[NYCDiane]

Trimming depends on the cat in another way as well. Some cats (my current cat) will let you trim. I had one cat where you'd be taking your life in your hands if you tried to trim that cat.

And mine knows when she is being watched and the squirt bottle is nearby. She certainly has the run of the counters when we aren't home, no matter how often she is squirted when we are. And when we are, she play a "you can't squirt me" game.

If you start the trimming when they're babies and do it often, they get used to it and it won't be much of a fight.

Squirt Bottle? One of my cats is hilarious. All you have to do is say "water bottle" and he goes flying away!

 

[NYCDiane]

I am not a cat person, either.

The most important thing is to keep your cat as an indoor cat ONLY if you live near any other houses. I cannot stand when people let their cat outside and it lays around in my yard all day, crushes plants by trying to sleep in them, and poop in my yard. As an owner of two small dogs, I am required by law to keep my pets in my own yard and cat owners should be held to the same standard.

Cats track kitty litter all over the house so be prepared to vacuum a lot more than you currently do. It gets stuck in their paw pads because they scoop/kick the litter to bury their waste so it naturally gets tracked all over. Those mats that you put in front of the box help but not completely.

You don't want to declaw a cat. Just trim their nails periodically and provide some sort of scratching post.

Cats are pretty independent...they don't really need much and are just kind of "there". Not my type of pet, but a lot of people love how low maintenance they are.

That's not why you keep a cat indoors. You keep them indoors to keep them safe and healthy. According to animal care and control by me, cats are "free roaming animals" and they don't take complaints or action on someone's cat going onto someone else's property. Dogs, on the other hand, must be leashed at all times because they can attack or bite without being provoked (cats don't do this).

Cats ARE independent but you still have to interract with them, pet them, brush them, and play with them. It's called "enrichment" and all pets need it, even cats.

 

[si-am]

We are really lucky with our two cats: neither is really a scratcher. One of them loves his cardboard scratchy thingie we leave beside a chair... The other doesn't use it, but neither of them claws the furniture (unless they are super hungry and trying to get our attention!)

We have never trimmed their claws and they have never given us a problem with scratching as long as the food bowl is always filled.

The only advice I have in terms of litter and food is that Fresh Step litter is the worst ever (really dusty). Feed high quality food, preferably canned more than dry, especially if you have a male (dry food can cause urinary tract issues).

 

[luvavacation]

How wonderful that you are going to bring a cat into your home! I am both a dog and a cat person, I love them both, and have both in my life. However, as much as I love my German Shepherds, there are times I just don't want to be their constant center of attention. My cats have no need to constantly be petted, though my Maine Coons always have to know where I am. And I really appreciate it when my cats show me affection or let me know that I am important (but only at that moment!), because it isn't something that is constant. My dogs always want to let me know that I am important, but when the cats do it, I really notice and yes, feel special!

You have lots of great advice here on bringing a cat into your life, from feeding a good quality food to making a safe home, but I wanted to touch on the declawing. I must tell you first that my views are not what appears to be the majority on this board, but I also know that what works for one family may not work for another when it comes to cats and their claws.

Presently, I have a 2 year old Maine Coon that we got as a kitten, and he has all his claws and we will not declaw him. He was good from day one, and rarely uses his claws for anything but climbing the screen door and for traction when running corners. My other Maine Coon, however, had his claws unsheathed and loved to use them from the day he came to us (at 4 months, he is now 13). Back when we got him, it was the norm out here to declaw cats, and we did have his front claws declawed.

We also have a cat from a shelter that was declawed shortly after we adopted her because she liked to scratch every darn thing she saw, especially humans as they slept, and the shelter warned us that no one wanted her because of that. They actually suggested declawing her to prevent injuries.

The big difference with her front declaw 7 years ago and the one for my old guy 13 years ago is that now, there is the option of laser declaw. Whatever objection anyone has for declawing, laser declaw is still an easier recovery than the old fashioned declaw. This cat had no bandages, no bleeding, no soreness that we were aware of, nothing. She was jumping and playing the day we brought her home, as if nothing had happened, even though we did our best to keep her isolated to help her recuperate. She was having none of that!

I will also attest that none of my cats has ever had any ill effects from declawing. My 2 year old Maine Coon did have a neuter that went bad and his "tube" popped out and would not go back in, thus needing a second surgery to repair the first bad neuter. So no problems ever with a declaw, but bad problems with a neuter. Doesn't stop us from neutering or spaying though, but yes, bad things can happen with any surgery, not just a declaw.

I say this because, while a cat with all its claws is ideal, and it is what I desire also, sometimes things just don't work out that way. Don't feel bad if you have a great cat in every respect except its use of claws. If trimming and kitty claw protectors and water bottles don't work and you are at your wit's end and ready to get rid of the cat, don't feel that this is your only option. Sometimes a front declaw will bring peace to your home and a continued good home to an otherwise wonderful cat.

And I say all this knowing that others will vehemently disagree, and that's ok. I would rather see a cat declawed than given up or set free on the street. I also volunteer at a shelter, and it breaks my heart when families bring in great cats and give them up because of scratching. I don't see how giving up a cat is a better choice. Some cats just are going to use their claws, some aren't. Don't feel bad making the choice that is right for your family, if this is what it comes to.

And good luck with the new cat!

 

[amyy]

I have had cats all my life and am learning a thing or two. My cats will love the new items I purchase. I think owning a cat is one of life's greatest pleasures.

Our 2 cats are complete opposites. One loves strangers the other hide, different brushes they like, one loves toys the other will only play with a red laser pointer (best cat toy in their opinion), one loves the catnip we grow inside the other could care less, one Needs her nails clipped (almost got an ingrown nail and I learned this) and the other doesn't, one loves watching animals on tv and videos for cats while the other seems to not even notice anything is on etc. They both LOVE their window seats for cats. Plus we have a couple of bow windows they love and 2 doors they can look out. One cat loves her cardboard slanted scratching post. I did first run her paws over it so she got the hint and I sprinkle it with catnip every now and again.

One of the biggest problems we have had is one lifts her leg too much when she goes to the bathroom so urine was always on the floor no matter what litter box we used. We tried several with covers, 3 litter boxes at once (hers, hers, theirs) etc. Finally we bought a very large plastic storage box and cut a hole in it. They have to hop at little into it but just a tad more from what they were use to. Thank goodness we solved that problem. We keep their litter box in the basement so luckily most of the litter goes off their paws downstairs but we still find it in the bed etc.

Please come back and post some pictures.

 

[LJSquishy]

That's not why you keep a cat indoors. You keep them indoors to keep them safe and healthy. According to animal care and control by me, cats are "free roaming animals" and they don't take complaints or action on someone's cat going onto someone else's property. Dogs, on the other hand, must be leashed at all times because they can attack or bite without being provoked (cats don't do this).

Cats ARE independent but you still have to interract with them, pet them, brush them, and play with them. It's called "enrichment" and all pets need it, even cats.

I totally agree with you that it's safer to keep a cat indoors. Outdoors they are subject to being prey, at risk for diseases, etc. I never said a cat should be kept indoors because they're irritating to neighbors (which they are). I was just stating my opinion...saying that cats should be held to the same standard as dogs in regard to owners being responsible for them. I have zero problem using a live trap in my own yard to capture someone's cat and taking it to the shelter without notifying the owner. Just like I would expect someone else to take my dogs to the shelter if they got out. I don't have any tolerance for someone's pets in my yard, whether it be a cat, dog or other animal. Why should I have to "pet sit" your cat all day or clean up after it? I don't let my dog poop in your yard or hang out on your porch. Just saying. Cats can and do attack people, by the way. It's just irresponsible to be a cat owner and not keep your cat indoors...in more ways than one.

 

[uromac]

Hi!

We are mainly dog people - that being said, I loved our cats, however for the most part I feel that male cats are more 'people' oriented cats and of than their female counterparts. Others may disagree with this, but many of my friends also feel this way comparing their own experiences with their cats. Not that one is better than the other - giving any homeless animal a loving home I believe they know that you saved their life and demonstrate this to you with their eternal love !

Good luck!!

Melissa

 

[si-am]

Hi!

We are mainly dog people - that being said, I loved our cats, however for the most part I feel that male cats are more 'people' oriented cats and of than their female counterparts. Others may disagree with this, but many of my friends also feel this way comparing their own experiences with their cats. Not that one is better than the other - giving any homeless animal a loving home I believe they know that you saved their life and demonstrate this to you with their eternal love !

Good luck!!

Melissa

I don't know that male cats are any more loving than females, but in my experience they are way more mellow and laid back and tolerant. Females tend to be high strung and moody.... At least in my experience with cats!

 

[Sandy61]

A dog is like a 3 year old child that you can't leave alone for any length of time. They need potty breaks and food at certain times, you can't just leave a bowl of food out or they will eat it in one gulp.

A cat is like an 18 year old that you can leave alone for a weekend but there will be a terrible mess when you get home.

 

[SettinSail]

Hi!

We are mainly dog people - that being said, I loved our cats, however for the most part I feel that male cats are more 'people' oriented cats and of than their female counterparts. Others may disagree with this, but many of my friends also feel this way comparing their own experiences with their cats. Not that one is better than the other - giving any homeless animal a loving home I believe they know that you saved their life and demonstrate this to you with their eternal love !

Good luck!!

Melissa

This is so true in our house! Our male cat is a total love bug while his sister is very aloof and afraid of her own shadow.

Please do not have your kitty declawed

Enjoy your new pet

 

[kamik86]

On the claws...

You will probably find a few things get scratched even if your cat doesn't really "scratch" the furniture. If you look really close at our dining room chairs for example you can see 3 parallel lines against the grain. These generally come from us picking up the cat and the cat deciding they dont' want to come right away.

However we don't have lines in curtains or the couch or anything.

Triming we do have to do every so often. If we dont' we find that they start accidentally scratching us more often. Once in a while if the cat is on your lap and something scares it (thunder for example) they will instinctively both put out their claws and go to run... which tends to scratch a bit. If we don't trim this is worse and more frequent, if we wait too long they start to prick a little if they just walk on us.

 

[LockShockBarrel]

I think the male/female thing is a myth. I've seen male cats be friendly and standoffish and I've seen females do the same thing. My old female that I had to put down a few years ago was a stereotypical cat. Only wanted attention when it suited her. My male now is a total lovebug and just loves to be fussed over. My female is still pretty young but as I said in my first post acts more like a dog in her day to day, if I call her she comes and takes attention when she can get it but she tends to stick around me more than anyone else. She definitely knows I am the mommy.

 

[ZephyrHawk]

DH and I are dog people as well, however, we've had 2 cats and no dogs since we've been together.

Cats are easy pets. They come free (our first was abandoned at a pet store, our second came to us via facebook). They mostly will eat any brand of cat food (unless they have a medical issue). I have never heard of an indoor/outdoor cat needing to be taught how to come home. They do not need to be taught to go outside to do thier business and most will adjust to their litter box being moved, or to a box in a new home, very quickly. They can be left alone for several days with sufficient food and water and be none the worse for wear. It's hard to go wrong with cats as pets.

As for declawing, there are many arguments against it. I have had cats with and without claws and all have been happy, healthy animals. One cat we had growing up did not appear to need claws in order to be a successful huntress. My current cat is front declawed, but our reasoning for doing it was that our other cat was fully declawed (she came to us that way) and was being severely beaten up by the hard playing new kitten.

 

[jls886]

I agree that the male/female thing really just depends on the cat. My last cat was SUCH a lover and wanted to be plastered to my hip at all times...she was female. My cat now is a male and he is terrified of anything and everything, but is still super sweet and wants attention. At the shelter where I volunteer we have male and female cats of every shape and size and they have so many different personalities. OP, just go meet multiple cats and see which you most connect with. Many people will tell you that it isn't just you picking an animal, many times an animal will seem to 'pick' their human.

 

[uromac]

BTW, on a side note - our last male cat was such a DAT (our phrase for a dog- like cat) and we attribute this to when we brought him home as a kitten from the shelter, our female dog actually started lactating and nursed him!! He was such people pleasing cat and even acted like a watch-cat - a very special cat who lived for 22 years!!

 

[Mic]

I have 3 cats, with 3 very different personalities. You will absolutely LOVE whichever cat chooses you. If possible, consider adopting two cats, so they will always have a playmate. My older female prefers to be alone, and wants attention from me only when no other cats are around. She showed up on my deck when she was a few months old, flea-infested and starving. She has come a long way from that first day, but she is still scared of most cats and all people. The younger cats (a brother and sister) are a little more social because we rescued them when they were 2 weeks old...they are now 2 years old. A feral mother cat abandoned her 5 kittens, and we intervened only after one died. I had no choice but start hand-feeding the remaining 4. All 4 of those kittens grew into spoiled-rotten cuddlebugs! I found GREAT homes for two of them, and we still have 2 of them. "Mickey" was the runt of the litter, and I worked harder to keep him alive, so he is special to me. He loves people, and has never been anything but sweet to any visitors we have, but he periodically disappears throughout the day for some "alone" time. His sister, however, never leaves the room we are in, and even follows me all over the house. It's hard for me to leave her alone because I know she misses me so much...hence my Disney trips are shorter than they used to be! I grew up with all kinds of animals(farm), and I loved all of them, but cats are unique. No two cats are ever alike, not even remotely. From my vet I have learned that, like dogs, "mutt" cats tend to be fairly healthy, but neutered males are a little more prone to kidney failure, regardless of "breed" or type. I ALWAYS keep fresh water out, but in a bowl. Mickey does not know how to behave himself with a water fountain...he used his paw to "swipe" moving water at his sister. Then we tried the upside-down water bowl(it resembled the office water cooler), but Mickey would splash the bottom/bowl with his paw to make bubbles in the top (the cooler part), so we just went back to the silver bowl! As far as food goes, most cats are pretty adaptable. Most rescues/shelters feed them whatever is donated, so your cat likely will not be picky. Per my vet's advice, I do mix it up a little, using mostly dry food for their teeth, but also wet food a few times a week. My 3 indoor cats are not too picky when it comes to food, but my older female does prefer a hard, crunchy cat treat. Now, the outdoor cats (I call them my backdoor friends), who belong to no one..they remind me of this every day when I try to pet them...turn their noses up to anything but Meow Mix. MM is not the best food on the market, but those outdoor cats sure look good to be homeless! Good luck with your search!

 

[Mom2Ben02]

Oh, my - my head is spinning! You guys actually got me excited - thank you for all the advice and stories!!

 

[cjlvsccm]

I am so not a cat person.
... Somehow, when talking about pets, I was talked into a cat. I know NOTHING about them. What is the best litter? Food? Other things I need to think of before we bring one home? Do I need to get it declawed?

We are going to Animal Welfare for a "summer special" - I think it is $38 for a cat, microchipped, fixed, shots, etc.

Congrats on choosing a kitty! You've been given lots of good advice here, and I'll throw in my .02.

Every pet will have its own "person"-ality, but most can be somewhat trained to be a well-mannered family member, if they aren't naturally that way. If climbing or scratching in unwanted places, take him/her to the place that it is allowed. A squirt bottle or water pistol (can you still buy those?) usually works for deterrence, since most just don't like to be wet. In the past, I successfully used folded duct tape on the edge of countertops to stop one from ever wanting to get up there again.

I use Cat's Pride Multi-cat scoopable (even with only one cat), it clumps the best I've found and it's reasonably cheap! Have you seen the Litter Genie? I got a tip here on DIS several years ago, before that was available, to use the Diaper Genie! Still works good in our household. Bag the scoops, and drop it in. Take out with the trash once a week, no odor!!

PLEASE, feed canned or other wet food, not dry. Even the "high-quality" dry foods have entirely too much carb for a cat. They CAN NOT DIGEST grains, and do not need high carbs of any other source, they just aren't built that way -- they're guts are built for eating mice, birds, rabbits, squirrels, lizards and the like. But apparently most vets aren't really taught feline nutrition in vet school, because they continue to peddle garbage labeled as food. This site, CatInfo.org, has a chart that details the Protein/ Fat/ Carb level of nearly every canned food on the market, and you can see how they stack up. Best ones will have >40% protein, <50% fat, and <10% carbs. If you get an older cat, they also need lower phosphorus to protect their kidneys, and there is another chart that covers that.

The other trouble with dry food (besides carbs) is that cats just don't have a high thirst drive, so tend to not drink enough water for what they need. So they need real meat, and those brands deliver, also with low enough phosphorus. We also use a cat fountain for the water dish. The flowing water entices more drinking than still water, supposedly. Seems to work for Herbie, he has lots of "water" output in the litterbox, and he hasn't had any hint of stones/crystals that were troubling him. Oh, and some foods add salt to make a kitty thirsty. They don't need salt added to their diet.

I only found out about all this after we lost my 14yo Gigi to diabetes. Had to give her insulin shots for a year, but didn't know that the high carbs in even the Rx kibble were killing her. We recently adopted 11yo Herbie, and we transitioned him off the Rx dry stuff for bladder trouble, and he is healthy (vet-checked), happy, active and playful eating 3 flavors of Weruva brand. Merrick brand figured good for him, he just didn't like any of the flavors we tried in that kind.

I also prefer not to declaw. Herbie was re-homed with us, and he was already declawed. Looks like he has stubby front feet, since the ends of his toes were chopped. He still instinctively needs to stretch and "claw" at his basket and tower post, for the exercise to his muscles. He also likes to jump up to the middle level of the tower and hop up to the high perch, instead of climb up from the lower level.

Some critters like dangly toys, some like crinkly toys, some like balls that rattle, some like chasing laser light, some will carry around a stuffed mousy while muffling a meow. The only things Herbie will chase is a cat toy that looks like "3 rings from a milk jug cap", and a ping-pong ball.

I wish you all the best with the new addition to your family!

 

[d3boyz]

We have had dogs and cats. Our dogs have always been extroverted and absolutely loveable. They are outside animals (Maximus and Nala). They do require a lot of care ... feeding twice a day (for Nala's sake ... she was abused as a puppy and must keep her weight down so she doesn't further injure her left-front paw), romps at the river, etc. They have a large enclosure of about 100 sq ft, but they still want to play with the two-legged brothers!

Our cats are inside and introverted. We now have two ... getting the last almost a year ago. My first cat was put to sleep 2.5 years ago after she suffered a stroke. She was just over 20. I've had all my cats declawed and fixed, and they've been just wonderful. No need to worry about scratching up the furniture or spraying anywhere. They're never outside, so no worries about fleas and ticks. They are the epitome of indifference usually, although our newest family member thinks she's a dog ... she has a soft ball with which she plays soccer and fetch.

All are rescued animals ... they tend to be SO happy to have a home! Take the plunge and enjoy them!

Deb