cat news

[Steely Dan]

Thank you Up until then neither of my parents would've imagined that could've happened. I didn't mean to take away from your happy kitty pictures thread!

I don't mind it. It's always cathartic to commiserate with friends.

BTW, It' PFF's thread.

 

[Nova]

Cats are trainable. I've not tried tricks. But I have taught rules. We have had only 1 cat that refused to learn rules. Who would go out of their way to break them. LOL!

2 weeks ago I was at the pet store and noticed a training kit to teach a cat to use the toliet. I've decided to get one of those for my cat.

It starts with kittie box that looks like a toliet seat, but with litter in the middle. After a couple of weeks, that is moved to the actual toliet. After a couple of weeks, the litter container is replaced with one with a hole in the middle.

Basicly, the cat learns to set on the toleit seat to do it's business.

No litter,no mess.

While the whole process is 'cute'. I'm thinking of the cost of not having to buy litter. AND not having to change the litter. AND not having the smell of litter.

...in addition to LadyL's cautions, I want to add that my beloved cat Gaveston, now 11, recently developed kidney problems. Since he eats (dry food) and drinks when he pleases, I have to monitor the litter box very closely to make sure he is getting (and passing on) enough food and fluids. There would be no way to estimate the latter if he were using the toilet.

I taught this cat to come and give me a kiss on command. I could go into an empty room, lay down and call "Gaveston, I want a kiss!" -- after several calls, he would come and find me, climb up and lick my nose. The funny thing was that he always argued about it for some time first. So I'd be calling for a kiss and he'd be in another room yelling, "Arrggh arrghh arrghh meOW!" until he finally gave in. Cracked my husband up.

Since he's been so sick this year, I've let the trick slide a bit. And being a cat, he has taken this opportunity to "forget." Now he only delivers kisses on command if I am holding him in my arms and he doesn't have to walk anywhere to deliver. And instead of arguing for awhile, he now looks at the ceiling and avoids eye contact, as if to say, "I can't hear you, I can't see you." Just as funny, but quieter.

(ETA: Gaveston also "speaks" when asked if he wants a treat. I taught my previous cat to do that and also to fetch a ball or rubber band. I'm no expert and of course cats don't have the same "need to please" that dogs have, but I find cats easily trainable as long as I stay within their areas of interest. I've never tried to train a cat to do something he's never done on his own.)

 

[Steely Dan]

...in addition to LadyL's cautions, I want to add that my beloved cat Gaveston, now 11, recently developed kidney problems. Since he eats (dry food) and drinks when he pleases, I have to monitor the litter box very closely to make sure he is getting (and passing on) enough food and fluids. There would be no way to estimate the latter if he were using the toilet.

I taught this cat to come and give me a kiss on command. I could go into an empty room, lay down and call "Gaveston, I want a kiss!" -- after several calls, he would come and find me, climb up and lick my nose. The funny thing was that he always argued about it for some time first. So I'd be calling for a kiss and he'd be in another room yelling, "Arrggh arrghh arrghh meOW!" until he finally gave in. Cracked my husband up.

Since he's been so sick this year, I've let the trick slide a bit. And being a cat, he has taken this opportunity to "forget." Now he only delivers kisses on command if I am holding him in my arms and he doesn't have to walk anywhere to deliver. And instead of arguing for awhile, he now looks at the ceiling and avoids eye contact, as if to say, "I can't hear you, I can't see you." Just as funny, but quieter.

(ETA: Gaveston also "speaks" when asked if he wants a treat. I taught my previous cat to do that and also to fetch a ball or rubber band. I'm no expert and of course cats don't have the same "need to please" that dogs have, but I find cats easily trainable as long as I stay within their areas of interest. I've never tried to train a cat to do something he's never done on his own.)

I'm sorry to hear about your kitty. It's important to give them wetfood every now and then to avoid these problems. (that's for other people reading this who may not know). At least he's still alive and kisses you on command.


If he doesn't like it anymore maybe you can teach him to blow kisses. :blowkiss:

 

[Spangle]

I doubt the Kittie will ever forget what a litter box is for. Our out door cat came in for the first time in years. I didn't think he knew what a litter box was. But he found it and used it.

As in all things in life, things change. We need to watch and change as need be.

 

[Steely Dan]

http://video.yahoo.com/network/100284668?v=5722676&l=3774740

:floorlaugh:

 

[jade78]

I had a cat that liked to play fetch.

The following story is true;

I lived with a woman and we had a cat named Hobbes that was the funniest cat I've ever lived with. We had another cat named Einstein. If a magic fairy came down and offered to turn them into humans Einstein would've looked at her like she was nuts while Hobbes would have jumped at the chance.

Before we start the main attraction I'll tell you this. One time Hobbes was doing something naughty, so I had my left hand held flat with his paws resting on them. My right hand was under his armpits and his paws were sticking straight out while I scolded him. While I was doing this he slapped me in the face with one of his paws. Claws retracted but still a slap. :crazy:

Ok, one night Hobbes was playing with and chasing another of the four total cats we had. I was on the floor watching TV and Hobbes kept chasing Twiggy around our apartment. While chasing her he jumped on my thigh and pushed off in order to try and tackle her, pushed off with claws out that is. The next time he zoomed by I grabbed the little bastard and told him if he didn't stop chasing Twiggy I was gonna put him outside. (They were all outside cats.) It was November and a cold night. So of course he didn't heed my warning and I took him down the steps to the front door telling him I hoped the serial killer, who was still not caught (Arthur Shawcross), wouldn't get a hold of him and he'd end up on some Eastman students violin. (Yes, I am cruel. In my defense I was nursing a painful thigh wound.) :angel:

So I took him out and threw him out the front door. (not literally) After an hour my girlfriend told me he had probably learned his lesson and to let him inside. I went down the steps and opened the door and called for him. He emerged from under the porch. He looked at me and walked to the top of the steps turned around, sat down with his back to me. :snooty: I told him I knew what he wanted, he wanted me to apologize to him. I assured him that wasn't going to happen. He wouldn't budge. :snooty: So I went to pick him up and he ran under the porch. :runaway: I told him that if he didn't come in now it would be an allnighter for him and I didn't care if I found a catscicle in the morning ( :angel: ) but he refused to come in.

My girlfriend laughed when I told her this and saying that he was obviously mad at me she'd go get him. She goes down and opens the door and calls for him. He comes up the steps and sees it's her and goes back under the steps. :runaway: She comes up laughing about how he was obviously mad at me and would deal with me only and so we gave him another hour to come to his senses.

After another hour she tells me she doesn't care what I have to do. Just get him in, she doesn't want to worry about him all night. (Neither did I) So I go down to the door and call for him. He comes up the steps and turns around again. :snooty: I plead with him to come in. He sits there. :snooty: I tell him my girlfriend is worried about him. He sits there. :snooty: I tell him I don't want to worry about him either. He sits there. :snooty: Finally I tell him what he wants to hear. "Hobbes, I'm sorry. Now come in." He turns around and runs up to our apartment. :banghead:

His name went from Hobbes to slHobbes and then finally to Slobs. One day my girlfriend and I were eating HOT chicken wings. The cats were all meowing around us because they smelled the chicken. So my girlfriend dips her finger in the hot sauce and holds it down for them. Shadow comes up and sniffs it. He's not dumb enough to lick it. Einstein comes up. He's not dumb enough to lick it. Twiggy comes up. She's not dumb enough to lick it. Hobbes comes up, sniffs it, looks up at us and figures if humans can eat it then he can eat it too. He takes one lick of her finger and BANG ZOOM!!! to the water dish! My girlfriend almost choked on her chicken wing she was laughing so hard.

I know it sounds like I was always annoyed with that cat but that's very far from the truth. I really loved him, as I did all of our cats, and when he was lovey dovey he was a great cat to have in your lap. He was just a :censored: bastard cat!! :banghead:

This isn't him but he looked a lot like this cat.

very beautiful cat in your picture!
I grew up with one just like that.

 

[Steely Dan]

very beautiful cat in your picture!
I grew up with one just like that.

Was yours an effing pain in the posterior?

 

[panthera]

Cat finds way home after 11 days, 2 broken legs

SPRING HILL - Giggle-Blizzard may really have nine lives.

The cat disappeared from his Spring Hill home Nov. 15.

Eleven days later, on Thanksgiving Day, owner Tracie Steger heard a faint meow on her front porch.

"My niece opened the door and he came hobbling in, two legs forward, and then baby steps with his back legs," she said.

Giggle-Blizzard was home – but with broken hind legs.

Steger has 13 pets, and on the night her cat went missing, she had called for her animals to come inside. They all came, except Giggle-Blizzard.

"When I realized he wasn't coming back, my dog and I walked the neighborhood," she said.

Steger put up posters and placed an online message on Craigslist. She wandered the neighborhood with her 6-year-old nephew, Christopher Jameson, calling for Giggle-Blizzard.

After about 10 days, some bad news: A neighbor said she'd seen Giggle-Blizzard get hit by a car the previous Saturday more than a mile from home.

"She didn't tell me until Wednesday because she didn't want me to be sad," Steger said.

Steger didn't give up hope. She and Christopher spent the afternoon looking in the area where her cat had been hit.

The next day, Giggle-Blizzard arrived back home.

"I really believe if we didn't go out on Wednesday and leave our scent trail, he wouldn't have found his way home," Steger said.

But getting home was only half the cat's battle.

"I was so excited and frantic and happy and crying and everything all at the same time," Steger said. "I picked him up; we went right to animal emergency."

Giggle-Blizzard had two severe fractures. He has had two surgeries to set the bones and now wears two green casts. Veterinarian Mike Kern of the Animal Care Center of Weeki Wachee describes the injuries as serious but isn't surprised Giggle-Blizzard made it home.

"They do very, very amazing things," he said.

more at http://www2.tbo.com/content/2009/dec/23/231742/cat-finds-way-home-after-11-days-2-broken-legs/

 

[Steely Dan]

Cat finds way home after 11 days, 2 broken legs

SPRING HILL - Giggle-Blizzard may really have nine lives.

The cat disappeared from his Spring Hill home Nov. 15.

Eleven days later, on Thanksgiving Day, owner Tracie Steger heard a faint meow on her front porch.

"My niece opened the door and he came hobbling in, two legs forward, and then baby steps with his back legs," she said.

Giggle-Blizzard was home – but with broken hind legs.

Steger has 13 pets, and on the night her cat went missing, she had called for her animals to come inside. They all came, except Giggle-Blizzard.

"When I realized he wasn't coming back, my dog and I walked the neighborhood," she said.

Steger put up posters and placed an online message on Craigslist. She wandered the neighborhood with her 6-year-old nephew, Christopher Jameson, calling for Giggle-Blizzard.

After about 10 days, some bad news: A neighbor said she'd seen Giggle-Blizzard get hit by a car the previous Saturday more than a mile from home.

"She didn't tell me until Wednesday because she didn't want me to be sad," Steger said.

Steger didn't give up hope. She and Christopher spent the afternoon looking in the area where her cat had been hit.

The next day, Giggle-Blizzard arrived back home.

"I really believe if we didn't go out on Wednesday and leave our scent trail, he wouldn't have found his way home," Steger said.

But getting home was only half the cat's battle.

"I was so excited and frantic and happy and crying and everything all at the same time," Steger said. "I picked him up; we went right to animal emergency."

Giggle-Blizzard had two severe fractures. He has had two surgeries to set the bones and now wears two green casts. Veterinarian Mike Kern of the Animal Care Center of Weeki Wachee describes the injuries as serious but isn't surprised Giggle-Blizzard made it home.

"They do very, very amazing things," he said.

more at http://www2.tbo.com/content/2009/dec/23/231742/cat-finds-way-home-after-11-days-2-broken-legs/

I'm very glad t he kitty is ok. It's a heart warming story, but anyone who names a cat Giggle-Blizzard should, seriously, not be allowed to own pets. JMO

 

[panthera]

I'm very glad t he kitty is ok. It's a heart warming story, but anyone who names a cat Giggle-Blizzard should, seriously, not be allowed to own pets. JMO

Oh I agree ~ my cats all have 'human' names!!

 

[PFF]

Seen a Aninial channel clip of cat on tradmill FUNNY:truce: :cat:

 

[Steely Dan]

Seen a Aninial channel clip of cat on tradmill FUNNY:truce: :cat:

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=peLD2vlxRM0[/ame]

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPHyvWGuf9g&feature=related[/ame]


The fat one in the background needs the exercise a lot more than the puddy on the treadmill. :loser:

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3pLwbMTypqM&feature=fvw[/ame]

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CO-wZmYJ3Ws&feature=related[/ame]

 

[paris_paris]

My son's cat does somersaults on demand. We call it a flip.

He used to head butt the couch or a wall and flip over. I started saying "good flip!" whenever he did it. It only took about a week of the praising to get him to flip when I told him too.

 

[spicedtea]

I have a cat (Mister Shnoo) that I trained to jump in my arms then up to my shoulder to lay around my neck. Or so I thought. After giving it much consideration I realized that it was the other way around,that Mister Shnoo had trained ME to catch him when he jumped and hold still while he climbed to his favorite perch around my neck. I felt so humiliated when I realized that,lol!

 

[Steely Dan]

I have a cat (Mister Shnoo) that I trained to jump in my arms then up to my shoulder to lay around my neck. Or so I thought. After giving it much consideration I realized that it was the other way around,that Mister Shnoo had trained ME to catch him when he jumped and hold still while he climbed to his favorite perch around my neck. I felt so humiliated when I realized that,lol!

Does he do that when you're standing? Is he like a mink stole around your neck? :waitasec:

 

[theforgotten]

I love animal stories. I really need to get myself a cat.

 

[panthera]

I have a cat (Mister Shnoo) that I trained to jump in my arms then up to my shoulder to lay around my neck. Or so I thought. After giving it much consideration I realized that it was the other way around,that Mister Shnoo had trained ME to catch him when he jumped and hold still while he climbed to his favorite perch around my neck. I felt so humiliated when I realized that,lol!

Oh that's too funny! I think I'd love Mister Shnoo!

 

[panthera]

Clayton Cats Could Lose Right To Roam

Cats in Clayton could lose their right to roam the streets.

It's currently against the law to let pets wander around in Clayton. But the town's ordinance makes an exception for cats.

That may soon change.

A handful of people complained to the town council recently that cats were making a mess in their yards and scratching their cars. Others say the cats themselves are in danger.

"I'm more afraid for them getting run over than anything else," said Joy Williams, whose father lives in Clayton.

The complaints prompted council members to reconsider the town's animal ordinance; and make cats and their owners follow the rules that apply to all other pets.

The council could vote on the issue tonight or schedule a public hearing.

If the town council changes the ordinance and your cat got picked up by an animal control officer, you would have to pay up to $50 to get it back. But the town has just one animal control officer.

Mayor Pro Tem Michael Grannis says the town is not setting out to hunt cats.

"There may be a perception by people who are not in favor of this ordinance, is that all of a sudden we're going to enact animal control officers that will be all over the entire municipality looking for cats to be picked up. That's really not the case," Grannis said.

Clayton's animal control officer picked up about 190 cats last year.

http://johnston.mync.com/site/Johnston/news/story/46356/clayton-cats-could-lose-right-to-roam/

 

[Steely Dan]

17 things worth knowing about your cat. I can't vouch for all of these being true, but it is funny.

http://theoatmeal.com/comics/cat_know

 

[Steely Dan]

More important stuff about cats; How to tell if your kitty is plotting to kill you!!


http://www.catswhothrowupgrass.com/kill.php

This quiz might help you to determine that too!! http://www.heyquiz.com/quiz/cat_kill