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Coping with Cats

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Re: Coping with Cats

#151

Post by smichel17 »

ianai wrote: post #150
smichel17 wrote: post #143

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Depends on the cat -- mine likes to follow me down to the basement and go when I'm in the middle of cleaning the litterbox.

I wonder whether that’s a neurotic thing about wanting clean litter or an emotional support thing. Your cat might only feel safe enough to go potty with you nearby. Just guessing with little info admittedly.

I don't know! There are counterexamples to both hypotheses: She'll often go before I actually start cleaning, so if it's clean litter, she's not very good at recognizing it; and similarly, while she likes to poop in my face, it's not the only time she uses the box, so I can't say she feels uncomfortable without me, either. I'd be more inclined to say the latter (or some variant), since she also likes to come visit me + keep watch while I use the bathroom, if I don't latch the door shut.

Re: Coping with Cats

#152

Post by lars »

DonHopkins wrote: post #127
powersnail wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

That somebody was George Clooney: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qa_HnP9TP5s

Re: Coping with Cats

#153

Post by xyzzy_plugh »

danbolt wrote: post #109
xyzzy_plugh wrote: post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

I know at least one other person who managed to adopt cats and dogs after I told them my journey. Basically, I took a lot of antihistamines and over-the-counter anti-allergy steroids regularly for the first year or so. I still get allergic reactions if I stick my face into my cat, so I don't do that. Having good air filtration helps, as does frequent vacuuming. Regular hand washing is a must. In general though it's very manageable now. I still take allergy meds regularly for seasonal allergies, so that helps too. Work pets/shots never worked well for me. Good luck!

Re: Coping with Cats

#154

Post by atombender »

hvidgaard wrote: post #144
atombender wrote: post #131

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Cats do kill an insane number of birds. We've found that attaching a large, colourful collar with reflective bits helps immensely on our cat. Birds are highly sensitive to colours, and our observation is that the cat simply isn't able to catch any birds anymore. They see him coming far too early. As for the other points, I suspect you're overestimating the dangers, but that's not my call. I personally think no animal…

I've tried multiple collars. The magnetic ones always go missing, and the ones with a buckle have resulted in it being stuck in a hedge... Our cat catches birds and rodents about equally judging on what he leaves at the door. I really appreciate that it catches mice and rats. It's unfortunate with the birds, I try to make up for it with a garden where they have ample opportunity to nest and find food.

I recommend sewing your own, or having someone (on Etsy, for example) custom-make it for you. We didn't find any off-the-shelf ones that were good enough.

Here [1] is what our "clown collar" looks like. It's just a loop. There's a hook that keeps it closed, but it's almost impossible to open it while it's on the cat. It sits so snug around the cat's neck that it never gets tangled in anything, and can't fall off, and we take the collar on and off just by pulling the whole thing over the cat's head.

My partner made this by sewing together some brightly coloured fabric with some shiny, reflective stuff.

[1] https://i.imgur.com/2TtG9rm.jpg

Re: Coping with Cats

#156

Post by leetcrew »

aahortwwy wrote: post #136
leetcrew wrote: post #129

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

It's completely clear cut before you're responsible for the animal: don't bring a pet into an unsuitable living situation. This is why the safety and environmental arguments ring hollow for me - nobody forces you to get a cat.

I can agree wholeheartedly for animals that are raised by breeders, and honestly I think this practice should end; there are already more animals than people want to home. but rescue cats already exist before they are adopted. the question is not "can I provide an ideal life for this animal?" but rather, "can I offer an improvement over living in a shelter and eventual euthanasia?".

Re: Coping with Cats

#157

Post by bagacrap »

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…

for my money I trust niche sites more than reddit. I know subreddits are "niche" but they tend to attract neophytes interested in a topic. For example, hn is better for programming, paceline is better for bike stuff, erowid is better for ... erowid stuff. As far as product reviews, has there ever been a reliable source? Either find an expert reviewer you trust, or a niche retailer (not Amazon).

But yeah it's a good question, why can't Google do a better job surfacing these higher quality sources. Business opportunity!

Re: Coping with Cats

#158

Post by UncleOxidant »

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've come to the conclusion that it's safer for the cats and for the fauna to keep the cats indoors. It also means they don't get fleas. However, I do take them outside in the backyard on a leash and they do seem to enjoy that. This gives them some outside time without the risks (there are coyotes in the area, for example, as well as a nearby busy street). Another option is a catio.

Re: Coping with Cats

#159

Post by grawprog »

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 let him out when I'm out with him, but I don't really live in a place where he can get free reign. The first 7 years of his life, he had to stay in, I lived in a busy industrial area with no yard, there was always vehicles and machinery around, I found more than a couple dead cats(among other cat sized animals) in the area over the years.

Where I live now, there's a fenced yard, but there's a busy highway a block away, a pack of coyotes that lives up the street, a couple owls that live in the yard, a few eagle's nests, there's regularly bears and racoons and a fair bit of forest just behind the yard.

His life as an indoor cat hasn't really given him the instincts to look after himself. He walks and lays out in thr open, doesn't really understand he can jump on things until he tries, doesn't hide from shadows or other things outdoor cats do to avoid dying.

He seems pretty happy getting to go out with the dogs and stuff though. He tends to stick by them and alerts when they do and stuff. He doesn't try to escape or anything unless we're going outside with the dogs, then he's right there at the door with them.

We did leave a window open one time recently and he jumped out. But he freaked himself out or something when he couldn't get back in. He was just lying under the window when I got home and went running back in as soon as I opened the door and wouldn't go outside for a couple days.

Re: Coping with Cats

#160

Post by DonHopkins »

dsr_ wrote: post #24
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…

The Furminator is for long-haired cats, and is not the only brush/comb you should have. I use it to remove excess fur, then I use a soft wire brush to groom and distribute skin oil. The Maine Coons love the Furminator, the Siamese don't like it and don't need it.

If you like maximum softness, then Maine Coons are the way to go! Mine are so soft I can't stop patting them.
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