Why a Forum for cats?

[ecktronic]

Why?






Eck

[Farview]

Originally Posted by ecktronic

Why?






Eck

Because they are cute.

[Dragon]

And we love them. Especially me. Especially Jennifur.

[Dogman]

Why not???

[slidey]

boing

luvvin the dude on the right

hehe what a face

[ecktronic]

ok then.

Eck

[legionserial]

Also because cats are gods. They watch us, and depending on what they see and how we treat them, defines what happens to us when we die.

That's just about one of the only religious philosophies I can deal with.

[dogwomble]

The question should not be why.

The question should be why not.

[jpw23]

Cats are cool.....not my first choice for a pet but, I have and would have another as a pet. I like their attitude

[Dragon]

Originally Posted by legionserial

Also because cats are gods. They watch us, and depending on what they see and how we treat them, defines what happens to us when we die.

Very close to correct!!!!

Wait till I finish the book I'm writing...

My cat is an asshole.

I never was much of a cat person and never wanted one, but I gotta admit I'm starting to like him even though he's a fuckin asshole.

[Dragon]

Originally Posted by danny.guitar

My cat is an asshole.

I never was much of a cat person and never wanted one, but I gotta admit I'm starting to like him even though he's a fuckin asshole.

Cats are independent. Their first rule is to do cat stuff, then worry about people stuff later. This intimidates a lot of guys who want "an obedient animal" (which is usually code for a dog or woman they can beat and thereby feel manly and stuff like that).

But it also bothers many other people, and the reason is that it's exactly the way many humans act, often themselves. And this subconsciously annoys the heck out of them, because on some level they feel that only they get to act that way.

Once you understand that cats are people too (just small furry ones), things generally get easier. Sounds like you're getting there!

So, what specific assholic behavior are you complaining about?

Originally Posted by Dragon

So, what specific assholic behavior are you complaining about?

Random attacking/biting. Meowing, go to pick it up...ouch. No thanks.

Only time he's cool is when he first wakes up or gets tired. He's gotten a little better lately...and he's still pretty young so that's probably why.

When we got him he was a stray, and only a couple weeks old if I remember correctly.

But as it is, it doesn't look like he's going to grow out of the whole attacking/biting at random thing.

Maybe I can get a picture of him if I can find the camera.

[Dragon]

When we got him he was a stray, and only a couple weeks old if I remember correctly.

But as it is, it doesn't look like he's going to grow out of the whole attacking/biting at random thing.

A stray? Well, there are different kinds of strays. Some are dumped pets, some are literal strays (they were in the wrong place and escaped), and some are feral cats who are nth generation of cats not used to people.

But actually you are probably in pretty good shape no matter what. When we got Jennifur (my cat girlfriend, pictured in another thread) she was almost a year old and unadoptable. She was a feral cat who had been abused (her littermates had been killed by kids with firecrackers). She hissed, bit, scratched, and when we got her she spent months away from us hiding under various pieces of furniture (large unmovable pieces of furniture). And she had this great little trick of grabbing your hand and biting it just when you thought it was safe to put it near her.

After six months or so of giving her unconditional love, she quieted down quite a lot, and now is very sweet with us humans. But she hasn't changed her personality towards other cats, few of whom she tolerates. And we still can't pick her up for more than 15 seconds or so. And none of us are brave enough (or crazy enough) to try putting her into a carrier more than once a year or so.

Your cat (he does have a name, I hope!!! Cats really appreciate when you use their name) was adopted young and is still young, so it should be much easier with him. He will almost certainly grow out of it, if you work with him and tell him what you like and don't like.

Oh, and if he does that hand grabbing thing that Jennifur did, write back, I have some interesting perspective on that one.

Random attacking/biting. Meowing, go to pick it up...ouch. No thanks.

Only time he's cool is when he first wakes up or gets tired.

OK, you have two different problems here, plus a solution!

1. Random attacking/biting. This is almost surely because he's bored. Get some cat toys and play with him. He'd much rather play "kill the feather" than "kill your ankle", but he'll do the latter if he doesn't get enough stimulation. Laser pointers are great but please keep it out of his eyes.

If he runs up to you and grabs you and starts biting, bend down, look him right in the eye and say "NO!" firmly. He will eventually learn that it's not acceptable behavior. Hitting cats will only make them scared of you and more aggressive, if anything (don't believe the old saw that hitting them with a newspaper is OK because it's not your hand. They're not stupid.).

2. Meowing but doesn't like to be picked up: OK, meowing is designed to get your attention because you can't hear them properly yet. It does not necessarily mean they want to be picked up. Agile meows when he wants to be thrown down on the rug and rubbed all over. Yin meows when he wants to be fussed over and kissed. Panther meows when he's hungry. Aurum meows when there's smoke in the house.

Some cats just don't like to be picked up. Jennifur doesn't, we can't even get near Aurum (she's new and another hard case), Agile doesn't fight when you pick him up but mews piteously like you'd think he was being asked to be an entree or something, and Charger doesn't say a word but wriggles away as hard as he can (and at 19 pounds, that's quite wriggly). Just for statistical purposes, that's half our cats right there. And half of those I just mentioned are purebreds; the other half were born feral. So it's pretty common.

3. Since you say he's cool when he's tired, that's the time to get him used to it. Pick him up (make sure you support both ends!), and hold him close to you so he feels safe. As soon as he lets you know he's ready to go, let him go. In fact, help him, by raising your knee so he can jump down onto it first instead of straight to the floor, and he'll really appreciate it. But if you do that once, you should do it all the time or he'll feel like you're letting him down. And to your friends, it will almost look like a trick, so it's kinda cool

[Harvey Gerst]

Cat Duchess (with human pet), and in her "Do not fuck with me" mode:

[themaddog]

Originally Posted by Dragon

Cats are independent. Their first rule is to do cat stuff, then worry about people stuff later. This intimidates a lot of guys who want "an obedient animal" (which is usually code for a dog or woman they can beat and thereby feel manly and stuff like that).

But it also bothers many other people, and the reason is that it's exactly the way many humans act, often themselves. And this subconsciously annoys the heck out of them, because on some level they feel that only they get to act that way.

Once you understand that cats are people too (just small furry ones), things generally get easier. Sounds like you're getting there!

So, what specific assholic behavior are you complaining about?

My girlfriend's cat is mean. I've never liked cats, and in turn they've never liked me, but it's because I've never had the exposure to them. When my girlfriend got our cat (we live together), she was nice at first: she liked to be patted and would sit with us on the couch.

Now, if she approaches you, she doesn't like being patted and will bite. Sometimes she'll attack unprovoked (at least in our mind).

I know enough to leave her alone, and she actually hangs around me the most, probably because I ignore her. My girlfriend, who's had cats her entire life, likes to harass her, and wants her to hang out. She just can't stand to ignore her like I do.

As a result, I like this cat better than any cat I've had to be around!

What Wendy (the cat) does that bothers me is she scratches the posts around my house. We're moving to a condo soon, and if she scratches any part of my new house, I'll be pretty pissed. Any thoughts on what we can do to stop this? We have a few scratch posts and cardboard things around the house she uses on occasion. She's not allowed in my studio room, but she still tries to get in there all the time!

-MD

[Dragon]

Originally Posted by Harvey Gerst

Cat Duchess (with human pet), and in her "Do not fuck with me" mode:

Hey! Welcome to the club!

[Dragon]

Originally Posted by themaddog

What Wendy (the cat) does that bothers me is she scratches the posts around my house. We're moving to a condo soon, and if she scratches any part of my new house, I'll be pretty pissed. Any thoughts on what we can do to stop this? We have a few scratch posts and cardboard things around the house she uses on occasion. She's not allowed in my studio room, but she still tries to get in there all the time!

-MD

Get her more interested in the scratching posts, and encourage her to use them. Demonstrate how (you will feel very silly though). Sprinkle catnip on the scratching posts, if she likes it, or spray them with Feliway if she doesn't...and make sure there's room around the scratching posts so she can get to them. Until then, spray some kind of citrus scent on the places you want her to stop scratching, because cats hate that stuff.

[true-eurt]

I don't own a cat, but have owned many and I love them. They are one of the funniest creatures on earth! Always something new and surprising to show you. I have never laughed at any animal as much as a cat. They are creatures with a mind of their own and a fuck off attitude I like, yet can still be needy of love and give it back in great quantity.

At the same time, I love dogs just as much and can not think of a more loyal friend, to have in the animal kingdom or any other animal, that would give their life for you.

A dog forum would be nice too.

You should see all the toys and scratch-things we got him that he doesn't ever play with.

Earlier he jumped up on me when I was laying down and was about to fall asleep. Out of nowhere I feel this sharp pinch on my nose, he bit my fucking nose. For no reason. Later on he bit my face...

Wasn't a vicious attack or anything, just a little *bite* saying "Hey I'm an asshole, how do you like that?".

He's calmed down a lot since he was real young though. Just seems to be every now and then he'll bite or scratch for no apparent reason. Saying "no" firmly just seems to get him more riled up. We tried spraying him with a little water bottle when he did this but he likes water.

I just have bad luck with pets man. My dog is even worse, I don't even want to get started on that...

Oh, and ironically enough, the cat's name is "Darling". My sister always names our animals stupid names like that.

[themaddog]

Originally Posted by danny.guitar

Oh, and ironically enough, the cat's name is "Darling". My sister always names our animals stupid names like that.

Our cat is named Wendy. People ask, "Wendy, like from Peter Pan?" My response is usually, "No, Wendy like that was her name from the pound."

We're not really a big fan of that name, and she doesn't respond to it anyways. We thought of calling her Chairman Meow for awhile.

-MD

[Freudian Slip]

I've got no cat only a dog I've been disenfranchised!

The cat forum is the will of dragon, or was it landrew?


F.S.

[ez_willis]

Originally Posted by Farview

Because they are cute.

Dude, that looks like my cat when he was a tiny tike.

[Dogman]

[Harvey Gerst]

Here's our cat, Josie Outlaw, a bottle-fed kitty (who thinks she's a feral cat):