Search found 560 matches

by MarySkater
Mon Jun 25, 2018 2:02 pm
Forum: General Cat Chatting!
Topic: Adopting a Cat
Replies: 44
Views: 5533

Re: Adopting a Cat

My cats are contained in a run. However, I have a "just in case" strategy. Both of mine love Dreamies. I made a rattle, a few bits of cat litter in a plastic bottle. Every now and then I shake the rattle and give them some treats. They both come running to the sound of the rattle now. Once...
by MarySkater
Fri Jun 22, 2018 8:22 am
Forum: General Cat Chatting!
Topic: The slippery slope...
Replies: 11
Views: 1391

Re: The slippery slope...

Giving cats boring or silly names because you don't intend to keep them is why my family ended up with Fangs, Tom, Tufty and Stroppy registered at vets at various points. I tend to give descriptive names to the cats I see in my street. There's a thick-coated tabby with a very thick tail that I call...
by MarySkater
Wed Jun 20, 2018 8:46 pm
Forum: General Cat Chatting!
Topic: The slippery slope...
Replies: 11
Views: 1391

Re: The slippery slope...

I'll certainly take steps to find an owner before I do anything else. But he's been coming around for months, it just seems more frequent recently, and I've started wondering. There are several free-range cats in my street, mostly with collars, and I think most of them are owned. I'm not going to le...
by MarySkater
Wed Jun 20, 2018 8:10 pm
Forum: General Cat Chatting!
Topic: The slippery slope...
Replies: 11
Views: 1391

Re: The slippery slope...

Someone once optimistically said:

Big fleas have little fleas
Upon their backs to bite 'em.
And little fleas have lesser fleas,
And on, ad infinitum.

But that was wishful thinking. I don't believe they have any natural predators to keep them in check. :(
by MarySkater
Wed Jun 20, 2018 7:31 pm
Forum: General Cat Chatting!
Topic: The slippery slope...
Replies: 11
Views: 1391

Re: The slippery slope...

I think I'll start by keeping records for a while of how often he comes around. I'm going to be out all day tomorrow, so he won't get any attention or any food from me. But he might come to visit my cats - they seem happy to sniff noses with him through the wire. I just hope he keeps any fleas to hi...
by MarySkater
Wed Jun 20, 2018 3:56 pm
Forum: General Cat Chatting!
Topic: The slippery slope...
Replies: 11
Views: 1391

The slippery slope...

I have two cats. I don't want another one... Part my garden is a wire cat enclosure. Neighbourhood cats used to roam through the rest of the garden, and I would chase them away, so my cats don't get disturbed. The others have mostly taken the hint and stay away now. A few months ago, I saw a small b...
by MarySkater
Wed Jun 20, 2018 3:07 pm
Forum: General Cat Chatting!
Topic: Cat Cafe
Replies: 8
Views: 1517

Re: Cat Cafe

I do know a cat café in a nearby town that is closing due to lack of custom. That doesn't really surprise me. Their customers are limited to cat-lovers who have no concerns over the possible welfare issues. And even if the welfare was perfect - sociable, laid-back cats with thorough health care - y...
by MarySkater
Wed Jun 20, 2018 10:16 am
Forum: Health and Behaviour Queries, Help and Advice
Topic: Kitten keeps pulling vet collar off.
Replies: 11
Views: 2030

Re: Kitten keeps pulling vet collar off.

When Ria was spayed, my vet sent her home without a collar. He said he didn't think it was necessary for a cat spay, I was just to keep her indoors for 4 days after the op. She had stitches, not glue. I watched her when she licked the wound area, but she was more interested in the edge of the shaven...
by MarySkater
Tue Jun 19, 2018 10:20 am
Forum: General Cat Chatting!
Topic: Cat Cafe
Replies: 8
Views: 1517

Re: Cat Cafe

I've heard of them, and I would use one myself. But if I'm out with friends, it would depend on everyone in the group being cat-friendly.
by MarySkater
Mon Jun 11, 2018 9:03 pm
Forum: General Cat Chatting!
Topic: Cattery for Non vaccinated cats
Replies: 6
Views: 7335

Re: Cattery for Non vaccinated cats

This is a random thought, but what about asking a boarding kennel (one that doesn't normally take cats) if they would keep your cats in one of their pens for a couple of days? I don't think cats and dogs transmit diseases to each other, so they might be more flexible about the vaccinations. It would...
by MarySkater
Mon Jun 11, 2018 9:01 am
Forum: General Cat Chatting!
Topic: Cat safety - fencing
Replies: 5
Views: 1499

Re: Cat safety - fencing

I have part of my garden secured for my cats - pics in the thread Janey linked to. It cost a bit, because I had the extra fence posts installed professionally, and they are very strong. I might have done it myself with lighter-weight materials and saved money. My overhead netting was secured on one ...
by MarySkater
Fri Jun 08, 2018 3:51 pm
Forum: Health and Behaviour Queries, Help and Advice
Topic: Has anyone ever taken a cat on an airplane?
Replies: 5
Views: 1121

Re: Has anyone ever taken a cat on an airplane?

Thanks, Kay, it didn't occur to me that anyone would try to take an animal in the passenger area. They'll allow it for guide dogs, but I shouldn't think they would for anything else.
by MarySkater
Fri Jun 08, 2018 11:13 am
Forum: Health and Behaviour Queries, Help and Advice
Topic: Has anyone ever taken a cat on an airplane?
Replies: 5
Views: 1121

Re: Has anyone ever taken a cat on an airplane?

Maybe it depends on the airline - the sizes you are quoting seem ridiculous. There used to be a factual TV series filmed at the Animal Reception Centre at Heathrow airport, London. They had cats and dogs coming through in various-sized airline-approved carriers. In fact, some of the problems arose i...
by MarySkater
Mon Jun 04, 2018 8:48 pm
Forum: General Cat Chatting!
Topic: a tip for the desperate
Replies: 79
Views: 10200

Re: a tip for the desperate

I think I must be one of the few people who had a music teacher tell them to mime when the class was meant to be singing in front of an audience. It happened to me, although it was just in class, not in front of an audience, so she didn't ask me to mime, just to keep quiet. Re tooth loss - I had a ...
by MarySkater
Mon Jun 04, 2018 2:36 pm
Forum: General Cat Chatting!
Topic: a tip for the desperate
Replies: 79
Views: 10200

Re: a tip for the desperate

A friend told me once that she had trouble at school because, although she was clever, there was some sort of block in her brain and she couldn't learn by heart, however much she tried. Teachers scolded and punished her because they thought she just wasn't trying. Eventually she found that if, in he...
by MarySkater
Fri Jun 01, 2018 9:58 pm
Forum: General Cat Chatting!
Topic: Happy birthday Ria!
Replies: 8
Views: 1295

Re: Happy birthday Ria!

Two years! I keep thinking of that cat as a kitten! 21 months since I got her, as her breeder doesn't release kittens until they are 3 months, and have had their second vaccination. (Fine with me.) When I adopted Rocky, he came with a long-time friend Bridie, a smaller cat, who unfortunately died 6...
by MarySkater
Fri Jun 01, 2018 9:24 pm
Forum: General Cat Chatting!
Topic: Happy birthday Ria!
Replies: 8
Views: 1295

Re: Happy birthday Ria!

Ria thanks you all for the good wishes, and adds that all Dreamies will be gratefully accepted. :lol:
by MarySkater
Fri Jun 01, 2018 7:50 pm
Forum: General Cat Chatting!
Topic: Happy birthday Ria!
Replies: 8
Views: 1295

Happy birthday Ria!

Ria is two years old today. Rocky doesn't understand the fuss - his date of birth is unknown, and even the year is uncertain. But Rocky is a lap cat and Ria isn't, so Rocky gets more cuddles anyway.
Ria.jpg
Ria rolling.jpg
Ria with Rocky.jpg
by MarySkater
Fri Jun 01, 2018 7:45 pm
Forum: Health and Behaviour Queries, Help and Advice
Topic: Staying out in warm weather?
Replies: 11
Views: 3583

Re: Staying out in warm weather?

brigidrynne wrote:He's home!
Wonderful! Thanks for telling us. :) :!:
by MarySkater
Wed May 30, 2018 3:19 pm
Forum: Health and Behaviour Queries, Help and Advice
Topic: Have you ever trained your Cat
Replies: 6
Views: 1085

Re: Have you ever trained your Cat

Ria was quite "bitey" as a kitten. I used to hiss at her when she bit. She'd look surprised, and change the bite to a lick, which I praised. She stopped biting as she got older, but I don't know if she was trained out of it, or if it was just a kitten trait that she outgrew.
by MarySkater
Tue May 29, 2018 2:53 pm
Forum: Health and Behaviour Queries, Help and Advice
Topic: Which grooming tool for tangles/knots?
Replies: 13
Views: 5032

Re: Which grooming tool for tangles/knots?

My Ria (Norwegian Forest Cat) is now 2 years old, and manages to keep her fur fairly free of knots, but when she was younger I'd sometimes find a lump, usually in an awkward spot like behind an elbow, and with a bit of garden debris at its centre. I'd use an electric clipper to just lift the lump ou...
by MarySkater
Wed May 23, 2018 11:19 am
Forum: General Cat Chatting!
Topic: Afraid :(
Replies: 9
Views: 1441

Re: Afraid :(

I'm not an expert on what's the "normal" injury rate for a free-roaming cat, because mine are restricted to just the house and a garden enclosure. But I would have thought that your repeated vet visits were an indication of how well you care for your cat, not something to be interpreted as...
by MarySkater
Wed May 23, 2018 10:59 am
Forum: Health and Behaviour Queries, Help and Advice
Topic: Emergency Vet
Replies: 19
Views: 3688

Re: Emergency Vet

Lilith wrote: Cats - get a human - it will be so much fun! :lol: :lol: :lol: :shock: :?
:lol: :D :lol: :D
by MarySkater
Mon May 07, 2018 10:44 am
Forum: General Cat Chatting!
Topic: How can I be cross?
Replies: 5
Views: 1174

Re: How can I be cross?

I've always understood cats won't eat shrews, that shrew-meat is repellent in some way. I heard that, and certainly Rocky's victims had no visible bite marks. On the other hand, I tried a couple of times offering him a raw chicken wing as a tooth cleaner, and he wouldn't touch it, even when his lat...
by MarySkater
Sun May 06, 2018 11:48 am
Forum: General Cat Chatting!
Topic: How can I be cross?
Replies: 5
Views: 1174

Re: How can I be cross?

Yes, you can't be cross. Cats kill small animals, it's the way they are. The first summer I had my garden enclosure, Rocky killed several shrews. He hasn't done it for a while - I assume he has now eliminated all those who were daft enough to move into a small area which smells of cats. Darwinism in...
by MarySkater
Thu Apr 19, 2018 10:46 am
Forum: General Cat Chatting!
Topic: Outside cats
Replies: 4
Views: 1336

Re: Outside cats

If it's not practicable to catproof your whole garden, could you make part of it into an enclosure that she can use? That's what I did. I made a rectangle which uses the house wall (including kitchen door with cat flap) and the existing garden fence. I had to build two straight sides of netting fenc...
by MarySkater
Sun Apr 15, 2018 11:58 am
Forum: Health and Behaviour Queries, Help and Advice
Topic: Dental fees
Replies: 10
Views: 2126

Re: Dental fees

10 or 12 years ago, the middle-aged cat I had then needed a number of teeth out under general anaesthetic. I think it cost about £200. He had been fed mainly on wet food. My vet advised feeding him on a dental-care dry food, with big kibbles which would clean his teeth as he crunched them. I tried t...
by MarySkater
Wed Apr 11, 2018 9:28 am
Forum: General Cat Chatting!
Topic: Not cat related but need to talk.
Replies: 21
Views: 4382

Re: Not cat related but need to talk.

Some forums have an "off topic" section, where you can discuss unrelated issues with an audience who share some of your interests.
by MarySkater
Mon Apr 02, 2018 5:01 pm
Forum: General Cat Chatting!
Topic: Cat milk?
Replies: 11
Views: 4323

Re: Cat milk?

Who was that member who posted a pic of the supermarket display stating that cat milk did not come from real cats? :lol: cat milk 2.jpg Of my two, middle-aged Rocky likes cat milk (Whiskas or Morrisons brand). I give him some once or twice a week. He doesn't guzzle it all at once, but grazes it (if...
by MarySkater
Thu Mar 29, 2018 12:58 pm
Forum: Health and Behaviour Queries, Help and Advice
Topic: How Often Do You Wash Litter Trays?
Replies: 19
Views: 4902

Re: How Often Do You Wash Litter Trays?

So far I haven't had to deal with a cat with mobility issues getting in and out of a litter tray. But I have wondered if it would help to provide a "step" - maybe a block of wood or a brick, half the height of the tray edge, so that the cat can take two steps to get into the tray. And, if ...