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Coping with Cats

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Re: Coping with Cats

#101

Post by clairity »

bloodorange wrote: post #75
grawprog wrote: post #8

It's an alright list, but that's some beginner level stuff. Where's things like -cat is obssessed with plastic bags whenever he wants attention and ends up wearing them like a cape trailing it through the house causing havoc. -cat likes to knock over your breakable things just cause it likes to see them smash -wake up at 2 in the morning to some weird noises only to find the cat spiderman-ing up the screen on the win…

Some of your complaints stem from the cat(s) not having learnt what is and is not acceptable. They love to manipulate things with their paws and naturally many will try to swipe/push things and sometimes off ledges, shelves etc. You can teach them that that is not acceptable and they will learn. It is even easier to discourage such things from a young age. Also, it's good to never give them your food and make them le…

yes, they're quite clever and attentive. the cats i've had have always known what was in and out of bounds. just like people, some push the boundaries and other don't.

my now 2-year-old cat is exceedingly and surprisingly mindful of all of my what must seem to be arbitrary to her rules around tables and scratching and such (whereas my former two cats were always sneaking behind my back and breaking the rules). the only one she routinely disobeys is munching on the plants. but that's partially my fault, as i always take too long to replenish the cat grass for her.

Re: Coping with Cats

#102

Post by munificent »

stevewodil wrote: post #21
r00fus wrote: post #5

Regarding the litter and smell - being a relatively new cat owner I did a lot of reading and I came to 2 conclusions (note: I only have one cat, and she's 1) Litter needs scooping every day. Otherwise cat will rightfully be upset and do poop in the wrong place just to let you know. Recommended to have N+1 litters for the N cats, but small apartment = difficult to place/clean all of them. 2) According to many cat book…

I don't really understand smell complaints with litter. I have a cat that has VERY stinky poops and the litter box is in my bedroom (it's in a closet area that I removed the door from). If he poops then I remove it immediately. Otherwise I collect any urine deposits at night before I go to bed. Obviously the poop itself smells but I've never had a problem with litter smell and don't understand what people are doing w…

People vary widely in their sensitivity to particular smells.

My kids made a "compost jar" for a school project a few years ago. They took some soil, a bunch of rotting food waste, and earthworms and put it all in a jar. At some point, the jar was accidentally got left too close to a window and the worms got crisped and died. It took several days for us to notice. I threw that rotting dark concoction out in the garden.

Unbeknownst to me, the dog got out and—like dogs do—decided to gulp that whole pungent witch's brew down. It became very beknownst to me about ten minutes later when she threw the whole thing up on the brand new rug. We're talking a large puddle of hot garbage, rotting earthworms, dogfood, and bile. It was vile. The smell was heart-stopping. I have never cleaned up a mess so fast in my life.

Even so, cat poop is worse for me. It will make me gag instantly. Something about the fishy meatiness of it turns my stomach.

Re: Coping with Cats

#103

Post by notmars »

birdyrooster wrote: post #99
notmars wrote: post #97

I don’t know much about LitterRobor, but I must say, as an expert in cats (yup, don’t ask), that if you have the money and the room (best place is in the laundry room or next to your washing machine): CatGenie is the way to go...( https://www.catgenie.com/ ) I’m not affiliated or involved in any way, it’s just an amazing product, from what looks like a great company, that has not-as-good SEO skills and (I would guess…

Doesn't this have the same problem as City Kitty where toxoplasma gondii infiltrates water supplies since treatment plants cannot neutralize it? This particular virus is known to be harmful to marine life and other mammals.

You can plug the ‘waste water outlet’ where you see fit. We use our washer’s, which in our city, is the waste water system, thats goes into the waste water recycling plant which doesnt mix with the ‘clean water’ cycle. In any case, it is WAY more filtering that if we were using classical litter granule that would be then send to a landfill where those same bacterias and viruses would fest and infiltrate the soil.

It is an interesting debate to have though. It probably depends how your waste water is processed.

Re: Coping with Cats

#104

Post by munificent »

jakear wrote: post #20

I’ve always had my cats as outdoor/indoor animals, with no litterbox at all (Except when they’re very young). Never noticed any problems with smell, as cats are naturally clean animals and do a good job of simply finding a place to use the bathroom outside. I joke that indoor cats are like children (with all the maintenance that entails..), whereas outdoor cats are like delinquent friends that randomly show up to eat…

Unfortunately, outdoor cats are devastating to local wildlife.

https://daily.jstor.org/environmental-danger-outdoor-cats/

Re: Coping with Cats

#105

Post by tacLog »

notmars wrote: post #97

I don’t know much about LitterRobor, but I must say, as an expert in cats (yup, don’t ask), that if you have the money and the room (best place is in the laundry room or next to your washing machine): CatGenie is the way to go...( https://www.catgenie.com/ ) I’m not affiliated or involved in any way, it’s just an amazing product, from what looks like a great company, that has not-as-good SEO skills and (I would guess…

The website was unclear on this. How does it connect to the sewer system?

Re: Coping with Cats

#106

Post by xyzzy_plugh »

danbolt wrote: post #81
gumby wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Aren’t these all reasons for having a cat as a pet? Intellectually it seems strange to have pets: after all we build homes to keep alien species out . Yet when I met a neighbor who didn’t have a pet it seemed weird and even somewhat of a personality disorder. Which is absurd: households with pets are in the minority. But I really can’t imagine living without dogs, cats and assorted other vertebrates.

It's interesting how you find it weird; I'm almost like the opposite side of the same coin. I have pretty bad allergies to most pets and never grew up with them and find them. Apart from the itching and eczema, I don't really feel like I'm in a home when pets are around. For others though, I think it's the complete opposite. It must be with what we grow up with.

Honestly I have terrible allergies and am so happy to have pets. After around 6mo of cohabitation my allergies settle down, not to zero, but manageable.

Re: Coping with Cats

#107

Post by jakear »

munificent wrote: post #104
jakear wrote: post #20

I’ve always had my cats as outdoor/indoor animals, with no litterbox at all (Except when they’re very young). Never noticed any problems with smell, as cats are naturally clean animals and do a good job of simply finding a place to use the bathroom outside. I joke that indoor cats are like children (with all the maintenance that entails..), whereas outdoor cats are like delinquent friends that randomly show up to eat…

Unfortunately, outdoor cats are devastating to local wildlife. https://daily.jstor.org/environmental-danger-outdoor-cats/

Study says the bulk of this is feral cats, who must kill to survive, as opposed to indoor/outdoor cats, who don’t.

Re: Coping with Cats

#108

Post by colonelanguz »

dmart wrote: post #11

I appreciated the recommendations, but from a tech perspective related most with this sentence in the opening paragraph: "when I tried to research mitigations for any of these it was 100% SEO listicles". I've found this to be true as well. Searching for impressions/reviews on literally any type of product is impossible now - the entire first page of results are just spammy sites either regurgitating PR for a specific…

I just wanted to say that thoughtful posts like this are the reason I come to this site. Well-said, friend. I had never even explicitly acknowledged this in my own mind until I read your post.

Re: Coping with Cats

#109

Post by danbolt »

xyzzy_plugh wrote: post #106
danbolt wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's interesting how you find it weird; I'm almost like the opposite side of the same coin. I have pretty bad allergies to most pets and never grew up with them and find them. Apart from the itching and eczema, I don't really feel like I'm in a home when pets are around. For others though, I think it's the complete opposite. It must be with what we grow up with.

Honestly I have terrible allergies and am so happy to have pets. After around 6mo of cohabitation my allergies settle down, not to zero, but manageable.

I tried acclimating through pets at work and taking allergy shots, but I didn’t have any luck improving symptoms over a year. I wish I was in your situation.

Re: Coping with Cats

#110

Post by gwern »

lostmsu wrote: post #77

I have the previous generation of the litter robot for 6+ years now, and the only problem I ever had with it is that on uneven surface it might be tricky to readjust the sensor, which you have to do once in a few months. Apart from that all my dealing with cat poop is once per week: 1) pull the robot tray, 2) replace the bag, 3) run a cycle ones to ensure sensor works properly.

Yes, I have the previous generation too (the one that looks like a globe mounted on top of a donut), and 'getting stuck' is something that has not happened in 6 years of ownership.

The only issue I have had with it is that the weight sensor gradually drifted and became miscalibrated, so my cat no longer triggered the timer when stepping on it; it turned out the pressure sensor is adjusted by a washer on a screw, and it had come a little too lose (=too heavy requirement).

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