Any Advice????

[shais_mom]

Now I know this is the dog board and I am going to post this on the cat board too, BUT:
This is a plea to anyone who has cats, can you please send me some advice? I have never had a cat for a long period of time, when I was little I had an outside cat but he died after only about a year. LONG STORY!!
So Logan, Pam, Aly, Janet, Cinder and Smoke,
Cristy(cprince) and anyone else I may have missed!!!
Thanks a bunch!!!

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~~~"Noone appreciates the very special
genius of your conversation as a dog does."
Christopher Morley

[aly]

Cats are easier to take care of than dogs for the most part. They make SURE to remind you if you forget to feed them or change their litter If I skip ONE day scooping out Shiloh's litter box, she'll sit by it and meow until I clean it. How did I raise such a prissy kitty?

The only problem I think you might have is if Shai takes up chasing Kylie. Hopefully that won't be a problem though.

Don't get worried if Kylie hides a lot for the first couple days. It is very normal for a cat to do this. She will slowly explore and become more comfortable.

Ask us anything you're unsure of!

[Pam]

I agree with Aly about cats being easier to care for. I would expect Kylie to hide a little at first. Hopefully she'll find a safe haven under a bed or somewhere up high to get away, if and when the chasing starts. (There's bound to be a little in the beginning). Gradually she'll feel a little more comfortable and come out more often. Trevor and Andy were used to dogs but it had been 3 years when we adopted Bella. They hid for a week! I really didn't expect that and it scared me a little at first. I thought "what have I done?" Fortunately it has all worked out beautifully now. Also supervise them when they are together and separate them when you're not home. Another big thing....tah dah!....keeping Shai away from the litter box. Unfortunately sometimes dogs have a hard time staying away from the "tootsie rolls" in the litter box (sorry it is gross, but true!) My kitties' boxes are in the basement and they have a flap door to go through which Bella could never fit through in 1,000,000 years!

[nsweezie]

Cats are probably less work than dogs, since you don't have to walk them.
I think that a good piece of advice is to get a good vet, maybe one that specializes in cats. If I have any problems that can't be answered here my vet will probably know the answer.

[AdoreMyDogs]

Yeah!!! A kitty! She sounds so beautiful! Good luck with the new kitty

[ktreva52]

Being an owner of both dogs and cats, I submit, for your approval, the following information: At my house, the cat box is on top of a large dog crate (like for a Golden) and the food dish is up there, too. The cats can access them, but the dogs cannot. If Shai knows "leave it", use it if she shows too much interest in the kitty that looks like she's thinking "squeaky toy". Lacey, our old cattle dog mix, ALWAYS "squeaked" the kitties, but she never HURT them. I have also used wire crates to introduce the new housemates as safely as possible. While dogs are loose, cats are in crate, while dogs are crated, cats get to explore the house. Worked fairly well. Also, my cats have been allowed to retain ALL claws as they may have need of "instructing" the dog(s) in what cats can do. Lys chews a bit on Monocle, just now, but Monocle lets her know about it when she's tired of messing around.

Congratulations on your new acquisition and best of luck in getting them to be good house buddies. One last note, k'Treva and Monocle got to be such good friends, Trev would go to Monocle and lower her face for Monocle to groom her. They snuggled together at bedtime, too.

[aly]

Staci, Do you have Kylie yet??? Can't wait to hear how its going

Life wiffa Kat...

I moved into the Ranch after Boots, the Kat, had been "raised" for almost a year by Shadow, a Shepherd/Husky (Rainbow Bridge) who would chase all Kats except Boots. Boots dint like the new dawg change and spent the first month keeping a far away from me as possible. Dad kinda ignored our interactions unless I got carried away and chased too hard or started *bothering* the Boots. After that first month, Boots started spending more time onna floor or low furniture, and took every opportunity to "reach out and touch someone", >ME<, wiffa front klaw-knives. After a few closer than close encounters, I started to respect the Kat a liddel more. Ten klawz dragged down the bridge of your nozebone followed wiff a lotta sharp toofies applied to your sniffer starts to change your attitude towards the lil guy! He's stopped wiffa Hisssin an Grrrrin stuff now, but iffin I gets too rambunkshus wiffa play-bites or try to hold him down too long wiffa paw onna back, he jest shows me a toofie *grinn* or flashes the klaws an I let him go.

Boots an the newcomer Smokey get along OhKeeDoKeey as long as SmokeMan duzint chase too fast. If Boots thinks the Smoke is pushin too far, the Kat jest jams onna brakes, turns and stands up inna Bat*Kat stance and lets fly wiffa fast series of fist an klaw *biffs* onto the SmokeMutt's nozebone. Smokey has learned to usually let the sleeping Kat purdy much alone!

Stolen food isn't an issue - Boots keeps his krunchies onna wide side of the baffroom counter - well outa sight and reach of us dawgs. Dad don't take well to us raidin the *tootsie-roll* box inna baffroom - it gets flushed mornin and night whenever Boots makes a deposit. Kupla *butt*smaks* when I furst moved in convinced me that snakin outta that box wuzint worth the pain an sorrow that always followed.

All three of us FurKids got the run of the house and get along fine. We share window sills for lookin out - Kat sanwiched in tween two dawg nozes is a purdy common sight fer visitors! Only time Kat getz *tense* is iffin he's starin down a burd sittin onna bush an wunna us dawgs breaks his concentration. Then he jest makes a fist*paw an reaches round an gives the dawg a *bop* onna nozebone. Sorta sez back off - I'm busy wiffa burd - pick anudder winnow!

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/s/ Cinder & Smokey
the Rescued & Adopted
FurKids of *Phred*

[RachelJ]

Cinder girl, It's Hannah here. As always it is a joy to hear of the goings on at the Ranch. Got me a question for you. When a cat type lives at your house, don't they get to jump on the counter and get any nibbles the people might have sitting up there? That would really yank my chain as sometimes I can stand on my tippy toes and reach up and use my paw to slides stuff off the counter or table. This takes a some effort and I sure don't want no cat beating me to it.

[bugmom]

Staci - Congrats on the kitty addition! they are soo very cute and cuddly and purr so well.
My big advice to you would be not to take advice from me! i was raised with cats for 35 years (give or take a couple) before i moved into the dawg world. my dog (and probably not my last experience!) was feral and so has instincts that can't be broken. i have probably done just about everything wrong since my cats glare at me and the dog still chases them.
I do good on the food and the toy recommendations and can keep all my animals separated. I can also tell great stories of the attempts at "friendship".
But the best thing i can say is with every pet, skretch, rub, brushing, treat you lavish on them - they in turn give you even more!

gotta love the furfaces!
janet


ps - yes, beware of the tootsie roll raids!

Hi, Hannah and All ~ Cinder here ~

Yer rite ~ that durn Kat acts like he's got his name painted onna counters an tables! He surfs at will, eben when Dad's werkin onna counter or sittin atta table eatin grub . But jest let me or SmokeMan lift our fronts offa floor ta take a *peek* up there an yu'd think we were killin sumbuddie. Dad's got a counter slap, he duz it wiffa hand-paw onto the counter top, what sounds like a tomik bomb went off inna house.

I used to stand up an sniff as fer as I could onna kitchen counters, but that tomic slap an a few urlee butt*smaks kinda taught me to stay onna floor and hope Dad getz a liddel klumzee and flips sumthin down to where us dawgs *lurk*. Kinda werks boff ways ~ we teached Dad not ta reach down an try ta recover anything what flies offa counter ~ the Dawg Vacs can hear the fallin food fore it hits the floor. Dad founded out the Dawg Vacs got sharp *toofies* and he dont want his lil finners down onna floor when we're doin a Hoover sweep after sumthin falls .

But that Kat! No shame at all ~ lays down onna table an *stares* at Dad's plate. Kreepz up reel slow an then *grabs* sumpin an flies offa table for Dad can eben start to take a *swat*. He eben got a hole big salawmee slice rite outta a sammich wunst. Dashed downa hallway an jumped inna his fallin wadder klozet hide-a-way for Dad could get up oudda the chair. Kat wuz cleanin musterd offin his face furs when Dad finally found him inna baffroom!

Dad also tells his Two-Legger buds bout Shadow (Rainbow Bridge), jest after he dopted her. He fixed up two HUGE Dagwood type sammiches inna kitchen. Took a bite outa wun and went sommers inna house ta get sumpin. Kame back and picked up the **wun** sammich onna kounter an thought "Did I already eat one??" He ate the sammich an wundered why he wuz still hungree. Bout then he hearded the Shadow doin a lick an slurp job onna rug unner the table. Looks an finds sum bread krumbs onna floor an whut looks like musterd onna Shadow's face furs. Bout then she cuts loose a Giant *BUurrrrp* what gives off a slite salamee an cheeze odor.
Dad still puts the sekund sammich inna icebox an carries the furst wun inna hand*paw iffin he has to move round fore he finishes eatin!

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/s/ Cinder & Smokey
the Rescued & Adopted
FurKids of *Phred*