I am in so much trouble....

My indoor cats always loved to fetch and play soccer. I'd wad up a piece of paper about the size of a ping pong ball and entertain them for hours throwing and receiving the fetched ball. When I got tired of it, they'd entertain themselves by playing soccer with it, dribbling it all over the house with their front paws. Wooden floors make the best soccer fields.

Another toy they loved was a piece of newspaper, fan folded into a twig shape and tied in the middle with a very long piece of twine or strong yarn. I tied the toy to a hook in the ceiling or on the knob of a door so that it was just at head height for them and they'd entertain themselves with it for months until it was shredded and needed to be replaced.

One cat loved to play with the plastic rip tie from a milk bottle. He'd run around the house looking for a good spot to bat it around, usually the bathtub was his favorite spot. He'd prop it on the edge of the tub then lightly nudge it until it fell into the tub. His challenge was to jump into the tub fast enough to catch the thing before it had a chance to hit the floor of the tub then jump out again for an instant replay.

I have a photo of him doing that somewhere. I'll look for it.

Here you go:

[url]Kingsford.wmv[/url]

It is quite possible but I hadn't heard that - that would mean my all white kitty would be part coon cat because she has that extra toe or thumb as we do call it. One of the reasons I adopted her - I thought it would be cool to have a cat with thumbs.

OMG, yet another Maine-Coon half-breed, just like my Happy Kitten!

Some Maine Coon characteristics from my recent Happy research: VERY Pouffy toes and tail; a very, very, large cat; a surprisingly quiet cry; an usual like of water; retaining a playful/kittenish personality throughout his/her lifetime; NOT a lap cat, but wants to be "around" his/her family; very gentle, never claws you; almost always calm; gets along well with household cats & dogs; and can be almost any color except for Siamese/Himalayan types... there's your Maine Coon.

Oh, other stuff, all CUTE: "britches," that is, longer fur on back of legs; a neck ruff (variable); shorter fur on back than stomach; medium-hair (though I'd call mine a long-hair); easy-care, just groom once a week; tidy, very soft fur with an undercoat.

I'm in the process of deciding whether Happy Kitten, adopted from our local Animal Control shelter last August ('08) is mostly Maine Coon. (I'm pretty sure he is, at this point.)

Like you, I like to learn about my half-breeds, mostly for anticipated health problems, and these cats do have some, appearing mostly later in life.

Happy loves to be picked up and carried around on my shoulder; I don't know if this is a breed characteristic. He adores his 3 dogs (2 of them Pit-Bull-mixes) and his 2 other cats. He does NOT want to go outdoors, at least not yet... he's 11 months old.

Here's Happy:



Just took this video yesterday!

Please DO let me know how your baby adapts; I suspect you will NOT have problems with a mostly-Maine-Coon cat. They are very easy-going, not prone to nervousness or anxiety, and very loving.

I had no idea Happy might be a Maine Coon (half-breed?) until someone on A2K mentioned it. They are wonderful pets!

(Yippee!)

Oh, right, and NOT all Maine Coons have extra toes! Not even the majority, at this point in time.

But they all have large feet and very fuzzy toes. Hubby calls this extra toe-fur "Fur Spurs."

Cat Fancier's description of the Maine Coon cat here, including possible health problems:

http://fanciers.com/breed-faqs/maine-coon-faq.htm

Happy is 11 months old and 11-12 lbs, the Biggest Kitten Ever!

Godzilla looks very much like Happy Cat!

She's adapting quite well, really. She wants to be around people so much that she is overcoming her hesitation about the dog, Diamond, and the cat, Biscuit.

She had her first outdoor experience today, in our well fenced back yard, and seemed to enjoy it once she got over the intitial fright. I wasn't too worried about her out there because she is not a "vertical" cat, if you get my drift. She very rarely jumps up on anything so I wasn't worried about her trying to climb the fence or sneaking over some other way. It's strange having a horizontal cat.

Progress!

Clever Godzilla!
That's terrific, boomerang!

I got one of each.

Dink never goes higher than a window sill, and bubba is always on the tallest thing in the room, whether it is legal or no...

(is biscuit dominant?)

Biscuit is not dominant, neither is she passive. She is unlike any cat I've ever known. She is the Jeff Spicoli of animals; she's just learing about Cuba and having some food.

ahh, cool buds and a tastey wave, dude...

I did my daily "what I laearned from A2k" because of you.

I had to go and look up Jeff Spicoli.

stop wasting my time mr. spicoli.

if you're here, and i'm here, doesn't that make it our time?

teeheehee

I get credit for introducing dlowan to Jeff Spicoli.

Gnarly!

I (heart) Jeff Spicoli.

Oh dear, now I'll have to go watch it again.....

Oddly, or not, Jeff Spicoli is up there in my film memories.

Jeff Spicoli <sigh>

i have trouble remembering much of the film once i see the phoebe cates swimsuit scene

who?

oh yeah, you're a boy

I didn't have a crush on him, I was older and already dealing with a younger husband and vice versa. I just thought the writing, acting, direction was top notch.

So... netflix..

Godzilla is a great name for this Giant Cat! So has she learned to love her dog already? (Wouldn't be surprised if she did.)

Never though about the "vertical/horizontal" stuff with cats. Boris (Russian Blue, MOL), gets on the highest thingie in the house and goes to sleep. Happy (Maine Coon, MOL) gets on his windowsill perch and goes to sleep.

Then they throw up on the carpet.

Decoration, you know (OK, just kidding! These 2 don't throw up nearly as much as other cats I've loved.)