Who Here Owns Cats?

It's a struggle with my 2 cats. The 1st cat was a stray that just showed up and is a great cat. Fill her food dish up and she would nibble throughout the day. Than we got another stray male. Now this dude is a pig! Will eat all the food plus the other cat's food. So now we have to space out feedings throughout the day and babysit so he doesn't eat hers also. Frustrating.

 

That's cats. The new arrival is making it known he's the Alpha.

 

Even though Alfie and Polly are brother and sister, he believes he has the right to tuck into her dry food whenever he likes. They are the same age and will be 2 years old next month but Alfie is noticeably bigger. I attempted to discourage Alfie by placing Polly's food on a small table that stands about 19 inches off the floor.

Polly has no trouble hopping up onto the table. She is a grazer and will nibble food throughout the day. Alfie is different and usually eats at set times. He is given the same dry food as Polly and likes wet food too. I have seen him jump up onto Polly's table and munching away at her food, despite having the same food in his bowl.

Michael

 

Here's the boss hog!

 

Groucho will be 2 years old next month. There's a stray cat hanging about, stays down in the barn, will not come anywhere close, I put some wet food down near the barn but the cat wouldn't touch it, magpies finally ate it after 2 days of it being out. No wonder there's no mice around, between the stray and Groucho the hunting has become scarce.

 

Getting some early morning cat lovin'

 

I grew up in a household that always had a cat. When my cat of 15 years passed away in October 2021, I made the decision not to get another one. This was short lived because in June last year, I took the plunge again and got Polly and Alfie from a shelter. It wasn't my intention to get two cats but they are brother and sister, and I was informed they couldn't be separated. It was the first time I had gone to a shelter since I have always raised cats from kittens.

For the most part cats will take care of themselves. As long as one can cope with their little eccentricities, which they all seem to have particularly when it comes to food. They will eat it one day and ignore it the next which can be very frustrating. However, life for most owners goes relatively smoothly keeping a cat. Apart from those times when it becomes sick and requires a visit to the vet, this can be a worrying time.

Polly is very fussy and will only eat dry food which has got to be a particular type. I recently weaned her onto a new brand as the previous manufacture was having supply issues.

I was in the pet shop browsing the shelves for Polly's food. My attention was suddenly drawn to a woman approaching and what first looked like a ball of fluffy fur curled up in the crook of her arm. When it moved and lifted its head I could see it was actually a small dog. Its little pointed ears and tiny fox like face, had to be one of the cutest things that I have ever seen and had to ask her the name of the breed, as I'm not clued up on dogs.

This friendly lady informed me it was a Pomeranian. I am always wanting to increase my knowledge and asked if it requires a lot of care and does she have any other pets. She mentioned having Ragdoll cat. It gets along with the dog and stays in the home most of the time. Occasionally she takes it outside for walk but keeps it strapped to a harness. Understandable since it's a pedigree and wouldn't want it to run off and get lost.

I am familiar with this breed which has a beautiful long hair coat, often cream or white in colour and has sparkling deep blue eyes. Top of the head, face and ears are etched in rich dark brown. A strikingly beautiful cat.

She said the Ragdoll can be left at home during the day without a problem, but her life revolves around the Pomeranian. Although some can be left on their own her dog cannot. It constantly strives for attention. If left alone for more than three hours it becomes stressed and soils the carpets throughout her apartment. When going off to work she has to leave the dog with friends and family members during the week. On the weekend she has to take it out shopping with her.

As cute as they are, Pomeranian is not for me, so I'm quite happy with my cats.

Michael

 

When I met the lady I married, she had 2 miniature schnauzers, and they were absolutely the greatest dogs I had come across. The male Mitch, had been a show dog, so he was quite mild. The female Lara, was wound like a tight spring. That dog could escape through the eye of a needle, which she would convince Mitch to do. At least in the small village someone would call to say your dogs are here. We lost Lara to cancer and Mitch to old age. Then in Montana we acquired another that the owner didn't want. Another escape artist. We lost her to cancer also. So with that cats have become the pet for their independence. Unconditional love is all they require, with Groucho our million euro cat, it's a monthly vet visit to treat her gingivitis. But when you take on pets, no matter what pet we are responsible for their care and health.
I can spend hours watching Groucho hunt mice, the patience they have and knowing there's a mouse in the tall grass is remarkable.

Love em.

 

Just a nap under the blanket.

 

So some helpful advice is needed. The cat has gotten real flaky dander showing on her back. So I did some research on cat dander. Mostly it's from diet, not enough fatty acids. So pure salmon oil is supposed to really help in healthy skin, hair and essential vitamins. So ok, I ordered salmon oil. Instructions says start with just a drop in the food. So I did, sat it down for Groucho to eat. Damn cats can smell something ain't right with this food, I ain't eating it. So now how in the heck does a person sneak this oil into the food or another way to get it down her.

HELLLLLLP.

 

My cats love their new cat house with balcony.

 

We had worked in the back garden on the upper bank that leads into the mountain, all the tall grass knocked down, leaving open land for Groucho to hunt. And boy did she find the surprise. I know there's something in that grass I just can't see it. Sticks paw into small hole. Put my nose in get a sniff. Uh oh I've woken a swarm of bees, run Groucho run, too late, bees won, 3 stings to zero.

@Michael Leigh, thought you may like some cat humour.

Elmer

 

Does anyone have experience with blind cats here? I have two cats (19 years old female and 3 years old male) inside and several outside in my garden. One outside cat gave birth to 3 kittens, and one of them had a severe eye infection which made it blind, even though I got it to the doctor for treatment. It was too late I guess when the mom cat brought them in our sight.

So now, I have the kitten (about 1 month old) in my balcony with its bed, food and stuff, seperated from my other cats and of course the outside. It's very sad and depressive to deal with it because it is so skinny and helpless (even though it eats and drinks a lot) compared to its siblings outside. Let alone the fact that it looks like an alien with one eye very swollen looking and cloudy and the other eye almost non existent and closed. The infection was very hard on the poor girl.

I spend a lot of time with her showing her around the balcony and the 1st floor of our house, guiding her with sounds and smells and she is quite enthusiastic most of times to explore or follow my steps etc. However, it's just so heart-breaking to see her get lost sometimes or fearing to go down a few centimeters from a small, small height. For a small blind kitten, she really does a great job getting around though.

It's just that it's me that I'm so sad looking at her and always one step away from crying (yes, grown men can cry too). I feel so down that I'm almost scared of making my tinnitus worse from this...

Anyway, I don't know why I wrote this post, maybe to see if someone has a similar experience!

 

Not me - but my mum has a black cat - every time I visit her and stay overnight for 2 nights - when I come back to my own flat I find several bites on my feet and ankles. My mum never gets bitten by the fleas from her cat but I do. It takes 4 weeks for these bites to clear and my skin reacts badly. I was thinking of wearing several pairs of socks maybe next time. No idea what to do. She does use a flea comb etc. I like cats other wise - though find them a bit impersonal compared to dogs.

 

Give yourself a gold medal for what you've done to help that kitten to survive. As she gets accustomed to the environment, she will conquer things on her own. One thing to remember, her food dish should always remain in the same spot. Cats leave a scent trail to find their way back. Let her rub against any object on the way to her feed.

 

Thank you for the encouraging words! It's now a week later and things have already started improving. I feel much better overall, and the kitten has already learnt her way around (she even runs playing around or following me) and she put on some weight because she eats A LOT. She probably does what all other kittens do at this age, except of course seeing, but doesn't seem to bother her at all hehe.

Yeah, I have learnt almost all the stuff that needs to be done for blind cats like keep things stable as much as possible. The rooms and the balcony are mostly open-spaced, but I think she leaves scent trails on the floors too, because she doesn't seem to have too much of a problem navigating.

I really can't wait to see how much she will conquer as she learns more and grows bigger!

 

That and their whiskers keep them on the right path, probably because they are so sensitive, they also have a type of whisker on their paws, which lets them feel rough or smooth ground.

Keep up the good work. No one else would say this, I'm proud of you. I've got a serious love for cats.

Elmer

 

The boss hog soaking up the last bit of warm weather before winter. He doesn't like winter.

 

I don't own a cat, but I am enslaved by them (I work at an animal sanctuary).

 

I want to get a Maine Coon cat, like it is a combo of a dog (size) and cat (fluffiness). There's a breeder close by to me that I'm going to initiate contact with. I used to love rabbits and wanted a Giant Flemish but Maine Coons seem more personable and cuddly lol.

 

Be sure you're getting a Maine Coon and not a crossbreed of some other.

 

Definitely, looking into specific breeders. One lives close by and I feel in love with the below cat featured on their front page. I will be contacting them soon but I take it since the cat below is a Maine Coon King, they hold onto it for breeding purposes. Also looking into Norwegian Forest cats. So beautiful

 

I read this thread's title as "Who Owns CARS". Needless to say I was surprised to see all the cats. Lmao!

 

I think cats can't be owned. Some of us are just lucky enough to share some time w/ them. Besides, it's the old story, dogs have masters, cats have slaves :>}

 

My cat, Garfield.

 

Love it, great pictures of a well cared for cat. Looks like an orange Tuxedo, they do come in black and white, also orange and white. The hair is short and silky like.

 

Looks a bit full and needs to cut back on the carbs to avoid health issues. Both my boys were like this and had urinary blockage issues. A wet food diet saw both of them drop the excess and live long lives.

 

My little man Casper. Loves his cat milk, under the chin rubs and goes crazy for his catnip treats. Most likely to be found sleeping. It's a hard life being a cat

 

Molly turned 4 in Sept. Very loving.

 

The wet diet is good as wet food contains water for the cats.