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Coping with Cats

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Re: Coping with Cats

#121

Post by aahortwwy »

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…

Almost all of these sorts of behavioural issues (with the exception of the food-motivated ones) tend to disappear when you allow your cat the freedom to go outside whenever it wants. They're not well suited to confinement and it always shows in their behavior. Sometimes they just get depressed and mopey, which a lot of people interpret as their cat "not minding" its confinement. Other times they try to relieve the soul-crushing boredom of their lives by knocking things over, yelling, or actively messing with you. Sure, you can "train" your cat not to engage in these behaviors (as other commenters note, however, they're smart enough to realize you're not always watching them) or you could just allow them access to the far more compelling activities that exist outdoors. They'll even choose to do mundane stuff (lie in the sun, poop) outdoors nine times out of ten. They just prefer being out.

Reading some of the things people in this thread do to their cats made me sad, especially the people talking about techniques for preventing their cats from getting out the front door.[0] If you would never treat a human the way you treat your cat on a regular basis, that should give you pause. If it's "for their own good" you made a selfish choice in pet ownership.

[0] An airlock system where the cat is required to sit perfectly still before you open the door? Don't they do similar stuff in actual prisons?

Re: Coping with Cats

#123

Post by snvzz »

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…

>cat likes to knock over your breakable things just cause it likes to see them smash

Depends on the cat. One of my cats would walk super carefully as not to throw anything.

Re: Coping with Cats

#124

Post by winrid »

One thing that helped my allergies a lot was getting a robot vacuum that cleans up the hair a few times a week. I'm definitely not taking the time to vacuum the whole place three times a week so it's awesome (bobsweep pethair vision)

Also, I noticed that I get used to a new cat after about 6-12 months which is pretty interesting.

Re: Coping with Cats

#125

Post by WalterBright »

aahortwwy wrote: post #121
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…

Almost all of these sorts of behavioural issues (with the exception of the food-motivated ones) tend to disappear when you allow your cat the freedom to go outside whenever it wants. They're not well suited to confinement and it always shows in their behavior. Sometimes they just get depressed and mopey, which a lot of people interpret as their cat "not minding" its confinement. Other times they try to relieve the so…

I tend to agree. On the other hand, in my yard I often see coyotes, bobcats, eagles, and large owls. Any cat would soon be pining for the fjords.

Re: Coping with Cats

#126

Post by valuearb »

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.

I made sure my daughters grew up with cats, because I thought it would make their immune system more robust (having grown up around farms myself) and it looks like it worked. No allergies at all.

Re: Coping with Cats

#127

Post by DonHopkins »

powersnail wrote: post #53
omginternets wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>poop him Like... do you hold him over the litter box and squeeze or something?

Bring him to the box, and verbally encourage him. 70% of the time, he'll poop.

I heard of somebody who trolled their cat owning housemate by immediately cleaning the litter box after the cat pooped for a week, to make them think the cat wasn't pooping, then they took a huge dump in the litter box.

Re: Coping with Cats

#128

Post by lovehashbrowns »

RankingMember wrote: post #18

Something about the tone of this article rubs me the wrong way and makes the owner appear to see his cats as being solely for his own pleasure rather than for the mutual pleasure of being companions in each others' lives. One example: > [The furminator] was absolutely amazing at removing fur from the cats (on areas broad and unbony enough to support the comb), and they liked it, but it left them less soft. I did not…

That's clearly a joke. It also makes me think the brush was stripping the oils from the fur, which is a serious concern.

Re: Coping with Cats

#129

Post by leetcrew »

aahortwwy wrote: post #121
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…

Almost all of these sorts of behavioural issues (with the exception of the food-motivated ones) tend to disappear when you allow your cat the freedom to go outside whenever it wants. They're not well suited to confinement and it always shows in their behavior. Sometimes they just get depressed and mopey, which a lot of people interpret as their cat "not minding" its confinement. Other times they try to relieve the so…

the indoor vs outdoor debate wrt cats is a timeless one, but I don't think the answer is so clear cut as you make it seem. in principle, I would like for our family cat to have free rein of the outdoors, but we don't quite feel it is safe for him. in addition to the local predators that actually have to work for a living, my parents live right next to a six-lane death road in the city. the speed limit is 30 mph, but people routinely drive in excess of 60 mph on the downhill side. I'm confident the cat can avoid vehicles moving at a reasonable speed, but that road is unsafe for humans, let alone cats.

there's also the issue of housecats killing a staggering number of birds each year. tbh, this is not really a factor that weighs heavily on our decision, but it's something to think about.

finally, many cats are rescues for whom living freely outdoors was never an option. imo, it's better to be an indoor cat in a loving home than a dead cat.

Re: Coping with Cats

#130

Post by whichquestion »

aahortwwy wrote: post #121
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…

Almost all of these sorts of behavioural issues (with the exception of the food-motivated ones) tend to disappear when you allow your cat the freedom to go outside whenever it wants. They're not well suited to confinement and it always shows in their behavior. Sometimes they just get depressed and mopey, which a lot of people interpret as their cat "not minding" its confinement. Other times they try to relieve the so…

I agree with this, we should allow our cats to be outside. However, I do not think we should allow domestic cats to roam wherever they please. We should let them roam in a somewhat controlled manner.

Additionally, feral cats are awful for native bird and small mammal populations. Your cat will probably hunt and eat small mammals and birds if you let it roam freely.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cat_predation_on_wildlife

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