THE NEW CAT ROOM! (or the Cat Room #2)

margo wrote:

Well....if you ask me - Possum is an excellent name for a cat!

Possum thinks so, as well

I'm sure she does, margo! :wink: It's a great Oz name (courtesy of Dame Edna), but I don't think I'll confuse things by introducing another Possum here! (As you know, many A2Kers seem to confuse you & me, from time to time! Let's not muddy the waters even more, hey? Never could figure that one out, except the Oz/cat connection!) But for some reason these "p" names keep popping out, spontaneously. "Poppy" would suit her perfectly, but I have a friend with a dog with the same name. And "poppsie/popsie", too. I think that's the way things are headed.

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ul wrote:

Once in a while Kiki likes to "work" for food. My son puts bits of dry cat food in little boxes, hides them and Kiki looks for them, opens them- and that play keeps him busy for a while.

I love this idea, ul! Never a dull moment! Very Happy

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Vivien wrote:

msolga she's settling in beautifully - she'll be fine when she's allowed out (under close supervision) when you are ready - she's clearly bonded and sounds very very happy.

I do hope so, Vivien. I've felt quite guilty going to work after the holidays & leaving her to her own devices all day. But I certainly receive a wonderful greeting (The food-provider is back! Laughing

) when I return home!

After just one week back at work I've developed quite a ripper of a cold! Today I surprised myself by taking the morning paper to bed at around 9 am, then promptly passing out & sleeping till around 3 o'clock. All through my unexpected sleep-fest, she kept me company, curling up & taking advantage of the situation. Very Happy

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msolga wrote:

Speaking of that name, it just won't stick!!! Instead of Mags, silly names like Popsie, Poppy, Possum (sorry, margo!) just pop out! Sometimes I even call her Flatty! (Habit!) She must be one very confused cat, poor thing!

Ever had to change a cat's name because it just didn't seem right?

Thank you for all the suggestions of toys & games, everyone. I gather from your posts that there are a lot of very indulged in A2K cats out there! Tonight my friend, A, arrived with a gift of 3 stuffed mice - coloured white, black & grey. Right this minutes Popsie/Possum/Poppy is tearing up & down the length of the passage, doing summersaults & giving hell to the white one! I hope she doesn't wake the neighbours!

Thanks for your lovely message, Misti. Yes, she's a petite, rather delicate looking girrl! This is interesting! I've had cheeky boy cats for years. Girl cats are different!

OK, since I last posted, she's discovered my bed & now sleeps at the end of it each night. Also she's become extremely adept at scaling both front & back fly-wire (door) screens! An extremely successful ploy to gain my full, undivided attention! .... and has become very skilled at zig-zag walking in front of me (as I move around the house) in the hope of gaining yet another feed. I think she must be feeling more at home here, yes?

Bless her...sounds good!

I'd go with "Poppy" out of that lot, BTW!!!!

She's not a Pip, at all? Or Pippa/Pippy?

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MA

Captor 683 just needs to learn the ropes of captor-hood. He (I assume) is simply not used to his normal activities being curtailed!

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dlowan wrote:

Bless her...sounds good!

I'd go with "Poppy" out of that lot, BTW!!!!

She's not a Pip, at all? Or Pippa/Pippy?

Now there's a thought, Deb: Pippa or Pippy! I'll try that out on her!
And report back on my progress!

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msolga,

a cold, that's nasty. Get well soon.

Baptasing a cat is a quite a task. I wonder what will feel right for your cat.

Last night Kiki started to growl and to run from the boy's room window to the balcony, and back again. His tail got as big as a brush-so I checked what was so upsetting. The huge black tomcat was back, sitting on the roof of the next building ( 4 floors up). Actually you could only see his eyes and hear his hiss.
So it seems spring is here- this tomcat comes only in spring and summer. How he finds his way up to the roof is his secret.

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Thanks, ul. I've been sleeping for most of the day. Still in my pyjamas, I'm afraid! Back to bed soon! Very Happy

I figure that what rolls off my tongue with ease & the cat readily accepts will end up being her name. It's just taking a while getting there! (tomorrow she'll have been here for 2 weeks!)

Oh, A nasty big, black tomcat prowling the neighbourhood! Why oh why don't folk get their cats neutered? Poor Kiki!

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Kiki?

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Kiki is ul's cat, Deb. Very Happy

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I like Poppy and Pippa - wonder what she'll finish up being called?

Sorry to hear you aren't well - there's nothing like a companionable furry hot water bottle when you feel ill though is there? She sounds gorgeous.

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How about Pipsqueak? Shortened to Pip!?

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http://www.freakingnews.com/cache/contest/contestcache.asp?contest_id=976&start=1&end=10&display=photoshop#entries

Our Louis is a year old today. Not knowing his real birthday, we figured that since he thinks he's a dog, April Fools Day would be perfect.

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Vivien wrote:

I like Poppy and Pippa - wonder what she'll finish up being called?

Sorry to hear you aren't well - there's nothing like a companionable furry hot water bottle when you feel ill though is there? She sounds gorgeous.

What name will she end up with, Vivien? Probably Princess somebody .... Well, she is a bit of a princess!

Sick or healthy, I'm online today - doing reports for work! They must be done! (And now we can do them online, due to insufficient time at work! Grrrrrrrrrr!) Ms Popsie thinks I'm neglecting her & is prowling the house, looking for trouble!

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margo wrote:

How about Pipsqueak? Shortened to Pip!?

Pipsqueak! Now there's a thought, margo! She's a major squeaker! (She actually thinks she's meowing.)

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Guys I've got a few questions.

During the last hurricane a kitten showed up at our door and I we adopted it.
He's really great, he'll chase me around like a dog and roll over so I scratch his belly. He's my first cat however.

He's very well behaved, we both enjoy playing rough and I end up all scratched and bitten. Razz

He's never aggressive though, unless I initiate the fight, even then however it doesn't seem to be his intent to hurt me.

Which brings me to my first question, when I'm sitting down he likes to climb on my lap and proceed to use my thigh as a scratching post, this isn't fun for me but I don't want to discourage him from climbing on me. Is this behavior normal among cats? I've tried cutting his claws but he gets really pissed.

One more question, if I neuter him will he become lazy or mild? I know it is irresponsible to leave him intact but I'm worried he'll loose his warrior edge and will not want to play flay-the-human with me anymore. (lol)

So, any advice for a newbie cat owner?

I know I could look stuff up online but I'd like some different opinion and whatnot.

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You can encourage the climbing, but stop him scratching you! Say no firmly, and stop him.

My neutered cats play as roughly as I like to let them...

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Eryemil,

I find a squirt bottle is an excellent trainer for cats. They are not hurt by a spray of water and they quickly learn to change their behaviors. After a couple of squirts, many just see the bottle and will not continue in the same behavior. I do not ever physically discipline the cats other than with a squirt bottle.

Their clawing like that is perfectly natural. I always tell them "my leg is not a tree!" and then pick them up and move them. But, it is a behavior they can change.

As to neutering your cat, some become lazy, some don't. I have a male Siamese that even though neutered, is still the alpha male and protects that position. He will occasionally fight with other males. You might ask CowDoc about whether there is any indicator as to how the male cat will become after neutering. I'd be rather interested in that myself.

Bless you for taking in that little baby. So many lost their families during the hurricane. I have two Katrina cats here. One has just finally stopped living on the refrigerator.

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Eryemil wrote:

I know it is irresponsible to leave him intact but I'm worried he'll loose his warrior edge and will not want to play flay-the-human with me anymore. (lol).

Once, I had a neutered male, Fitz, who was .... uh ... psychotic -- yeah, psychotic's the word. The vets wore falconry gloves to handle him. The Post Office lodged a complaint because he continually attacked the delivery people. He hospitalized a drunken party guest who was demonstrating how to skin a cat. When our neighbourhood went through a rash of burglaries, the police were puzzled that our house was the only one that had been broken into but had nothing stolen. Fitz had a peculiarly satisfied grin on his face.

Although your cat will probably defer to an unaltered male cat most times (they have strict heirarchies and social behaviour in the cat world) I don't think neutering has much to do with taking off the "warrior edge". :wink:

I had some very thick hand puppets that I used while playing with him, to save my own skin and give him the workout he craved. (Oh for those wondering why I put up with him -- he was the biggest baby with me!)

As for using your thigh as a scratching post -- I suggest simply grabbing his front paws, gently but firmly, in your hands. Look him in the eyes and say a firm "no". Then place his paws back down on your thigh to let him know that you accept him there but not with scratching. Do it as often as it takes, and be absolutely consistent with it.

And finally, I beg you to do the world a favour and have him neutered. There are far too many unwanted kittens in this world.

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Tico,

A watchcat! Shocked

Awesome! Did Fitz lose his psychotic behavior when he was neutered? I know there are some cats with a "psychotic" type personality that have to be put on things such as Prozac. I have only seen one cat such as this. He was a neutered cat and it didn't change his psychoticness one iota. He was in a cage at the vet's office at the time. If anyone got near the cat he would attack. But, the vet said he was fine after being put on medication.

I'd be thrilled if I could just get five of my cats to band together and chase the neighbor's dog but they ignore the thing!

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