Curious About A Lot of Things...

[Momto4FemaleFelines]

Freedom, Thanks for the book recommendation!

[Momto4FemaleFelines]

ATailof2Kitties, Thanks for a reply.
We're all entitled to our own opinions.
We can only hope to keep an open mind and at least look at or listen to other ideas on different subjects.
I've learned the hard way we can only feed what we can afford. I don't like feeding the "el cheapo" foods, but I have to for now...I supplement with some eggs now & again as we have a source for free eggs. And I sneak in the better stuff on occassion.
Our cats' bodies just weren't meant to digest grains, so it's good to try to stay away from corn and other grains.

[katladyd]

I have 2 cats and 2 litter boxes. For my household, that is working fine. I am against declawing. If your furniture means that much to you, don't have pets. I feed Purina One for urinary tract health. My boys do great on it!! I feed a little (1/2 of a small can) of Fancy Feast twice a day. I love the idea of letting my boys outdoors, but in today's world, I won't do it. It is too dangerous for cats outdoors these days. If I lived in the country, maybe.

[Ladybug70]

Hi Pat -

I have 2 indoor kitties (littermates) and, believe it or not, they've always had one litter box (a very large, covered box with multi-cat clumping litter). I know, crazy, right?! Of course being brothers, they're used to sharing and seem to have no issue with it (they've never peed/pooped elsewhere). We just clean it out often.

Our Blackie had urinary tract blockage almost 5 years ago so we've used Purina One Urinary Tract Health kibble ever since for both boys and they like it (we've tried others, including SD and they're not thrilled). We provide cat treats (soft food) every now and then. Of course, all that has changed recently with Blackie's CRF issues so we're temporarily trying out anything that he'll eat for now... and Toby is reaping the benefits with little treats on the side.

I've had numerous indoor/outdoor kitties out in the country and in smaller towns when growing up. They all seemed to thrive and loved the freedom but they always came home with injuries from various kitty battles (and one rogue porcupine). I'm living in San Diego now so it's really not safe to have kitties outdoors at any time because of the threat of coyotes, cars, etc. The boys instinctively want to be outside and sometimes I feel bad for them being cooped up all the time. But we have lots of window perches and are blessed with mild weather so we can have windows open for them to sniff the air and watch/listen to birdies in the big trees right outside our house. We also take them on supervised visits to our large, enclosed patio a few times a week.

I've never believed in declawing indoor cats. In fact, we don't even trim our boys' claws (the only times have been when they visit the vet). I figure if they are going to be neutered and indoors all the time, I might as well let them keep SOMETHING. They are good boys and use their scratching posts.

Your kitty pics are great!

Purrs,
Lisa

[katladyd]

Ladybug70, isn't that Purina One food great? I've tried all the urinary tract foods my vet recommended, and my boys didn't like them. They have both been eating this food for over a year and they still love it and come running when they hear me pouring it into their bowls! That has to be some kind of cat record! Hoping Blackie stays healthy and unblocked!

[Momto4FemaleFelines]

katladyd,
just wanted to say, don't let "country" fool you. Our area is rural, it was even more rural than it is now back when we had our other cats when we first moved here. They still got killed on the road.
Other things to consider when you are in the country are things like coyotes, hawks and eagles. Hawks will take kittens and smaller cats, as will eagles, and coyotes are a threat to cats and small dogs. We have all 3 of those predators here where I live in South Jersey.
I'll never have another outdoor cat again unless we can afford to build some kind of enclosure.

[Momto4FemaleFelines]

To all commenting on urinary issues and feeding dry.
Have you done your own research? It all points to wet food diets being best not only for cats with urinary issues, but also for all cats.
Another thing to consider when you have a cat with urinary issues: Make sure a full spin test of the urine is done, not just a litmus paper dip. Get a copy of the urinalysis, read it & research the results and then research foods to find a good one for your particular results.