Learning about cats

[Doc]

I guess you're right about gelding, I have always had dogs and never neutered them and it was always fine I guess dogs are different though. Dogs are just a pain in the ass to train.

[InbetweenDreams]

This is how loyalty from cats work...

[Emiliano]

What you should never to do a cat is declaw it. They get very upset about that.

[InbetweenDreams]

What you should never to do a cat is declaw it. They get very upset about that.

Yeah I'm not that big of a fan of it. My sister did it but I mean if they ever get lose they can't defend themselves. Plus, aside from the squirming to get loose they're easy to trim, just not too car you'll cut into the quick.

[Doc]

What you should never to do a cat is declaw it. They get very upset about that.

If I did that it couldnt fight mice. I would never, I dont want to cut anything off or out of any cat I get if I can help it.

[TwisttheLeaf]

When commenting please list the type of cat you have and the sex, so I can get an Idea of the cool cats to own.

My first cat was a russian blue orange tabby mix named Meanie (the mix created a gray tabby with green eyes). She was a mean ass bitch, and very persnickety. She was a completely indoor cat. She passed away at 18 years old.

I now have a tortoise shell calico named Luna. She is also a completely indoor cat with a completely different personality than Meanie had. She's a mischievous (not so little) snot. She is currently 9 months old.

How many of you have cats that poop outside?

None. I don't like outdoor cats. I've met many of them, and I find that they are a little more wild and less attached to their humans. I have a pet because I need that sense of connectivity with something. Having an outdoor cat would defeat the purpose for me.

If I choose to try to train a cat to go outside, should I maintain a bed of loose soil for the cat to use?

Hell yes, but not loose soil unless you want muddy prints all over your floor. Get a good quality litter (Arm & Hammer has some awesome ones for controlling odor) and clean the box daily.

Would it be ok for the cat to use my Garden, is cat poop bad for plants?

Good luck with that. If you let your cat outside, it's not just going to be satisfied with just your garden. It's going to want to wander and roam, and it's going to shit where it wants, whether that's in your garden, the bushes next door, or in someone's shoes on a porch a block or two down the road.

I heard if a cat goes outside it will get wild and mean, is this true?

Outdoor cats are more wild, and in my experience also more... indifferent to their humans. Not necessarily mean, though, unless they don't get the love and attention needed to bond with their humans at all.

I also heard that they kill birds and mice in hide them in the house, why dont they just eat them?

They don't hide them usually. They bring them to YOU. It's a brag of their prowess at hunting, and a way for them to show that they are providing for you. That's why they don't eat them. They eat the ones they don't bring inside, but they also want to give you a..... gift.

My grandmother owned siamese cats and they were mean and stuck up, is that true of the breed?

From everything I've read on that particular breed, yes. Each cat breed has a personality profile that includes energy level, dependency on humans, how likely they are to prefer indoors to outdoors, etc. (Just like dog breeds, yeah?)

Are tabby cats considered the poor mans cat, I only see poor people with them?

Who cares? Are you going to be carrying the cat around in your purse like a little dog? A pet is not a status symbol, it's a living thing in need of love, attention, and care.

Are cats a common gay pet, not that it matters but alot of you fellas seem to own cats?

Not as far as I know. Cats are a common pet in general, regardless of sexual orientation. I have a cat. Gid has a handful of dogs and sugar gliders. It just depends on your personal preferences, and possibly what many are familiar with when growing up.

I abhor the idea of a cat pooping in a box in my house, every house Ive been in that had a cat smelled a little. Except one but his cat was always outside and half wild and unfriendly anyway. I know its alot of questions.

My home does NOT smell like cat. I've asked damned near every person, repair man, housekeeper, etc that has ever come in here to make sure of this fact.

You want to know the secret? The cat litter you choose to use, making sure the cat -always- goes in the box when inside (which includes getting the cat spayed/neutered), and scooping the box at least once a day. If you want a pet, there's going to be work, no matter what type of pet you get or whether it's an indoor pet or an outdoor pet. If you're not up to the work, then you shouldn't have a pet.

Do cats get fat easily?

Not as long as they are getting proper exercise and being fed properly.

Do cats eat veggies, Im a healthy eater so could my cat eat with me?

Cats are carnivores, and they need to be fed cat food. NOT people food. They are not people and their dietary needs are different than humans. That said, if you wanted to feed your cat their cat food at the same time you personally eat, I don't see why you couldn't.

Be aware there are many things cats digestive system find undigestable, and even poisonous. These include onions, garlic, chocolate, grapes, raisins, currants, candy, sugar-free substitutes, fatty scraps, macadamia nuts, alcohol, and unbaked bread dough.

What about an unspayed female do they spray?

No, but they go into heat. Trust me, that's not pleasant at all and if you are going to let your cat outside you can expect to promptly have LOTS of little kittens to try and get rid of.

I know spaying and neutering is beneficial, but if somebody told me castration would make me liver longer, I'd choose death. It seems cruel I cant do it.

Then you shouldn't have a cat, IMO.

I could buy a used cat though that has already been gelded, saving myself the guilt. Are used cats worth it?
Will a used cat love you as much even though you haven't raised it from birth?

Of course they are. I've known many to take in an adopted cat and find the bond to be just as strong as having a cat from birth.

Is it ok to let your cat hunt a little bit, it seems natural?

You won't have control over this. If you let your cat outside, it's going to hunt. Period.

Cats are pretty cheap right? Not a fancy one just a common peasants cat.

Around here, it usually costs $100 USD to adopt an already spayed cat from an adoption center. I don't know about where you are, but yes, they are relatively inexpensive as long as you aren't going for a specific pedigree.

[Doc]

My first cat was a russian blue orange tabby mix named Meanie (the mix created a gray tabby with green eyes). She was a mean ass bitch, and very persnickety. She was a completely indoor cat.

I now have a tortoise shell calico named Luna. She is also a completely indoor cat with a completely different personality than Meanie had. She's a mischievous (not so little) snot.


They don't hide them usually. They bring them to YOU. It's a brag of their prowess at hunting, and a way for them to show that they are providing for you. That's why they don't eat them. They eat the ones they don't bring inside, but they also want to give you a..... gift.

Who cares? Are you going to be carrying the cat around in your purse like a little dog? A pet is not a status symbol, it's a living thing in need of love, attention, and care.

If you want a pet, there's going to be work, no matter what type of pet you get or whether it's an indoor pet or an outdoor pet. If you're not up to the work, then you shouldn't have a pet.

Around here, it usually costs $100 USD to adopt an already spayed cat from an adoption center. I don't know about where you are, but yes, they are relatively inexpensive as long as you aren't going for a specific pedigree.

I wouldnt mind if the tabby is a working mans cat, I dont care about pedigree as along as its a good cat. I just think tabbys look good.

I dont mind work I always had dogs growing up. My father used to run tracking/ trailing dogs and its alot of work to train and maintain them.

I think its nice that they bring you gifts, its like tribute.

I guess Im going for a inside female cat thats spayed, does the pound tell you if they were inside cats before you get them.

I dont care about blood lines my father always had dogs with good bloodlines but they cost money, As a teenager I had a cheap mutt and she was a good dog.

You have nice looking cats but they dont sound nice at all.

[InbetweenDreams]

[MENTION=24108]Doc[/MENTION] Well the thing is about shelters is that they may or may not know the history of the cat, they can probably more easily estimate their age and I will go ahead and say the younger is probably better, they can and do get set in their ways. Like my parents, they like to feed at him the dinner table, really bad habit and yeah I have told them time and time again not to do it but anyway my cat will just about hop in your lap and eat off your plate because he's used to being fed and that is a bad habit that will be hard for me to stop with my cat being 6 years old... I mean it can be fixed but I have to be moved out lol

[Doc]

Beat his butt, or does that not work on cats? Lol

I know its works on dogs and kids, it worked on me. I really don't know how do you discipline a cat or if you even can?

This cat likes it

[TwisttheLeaf]

I guess Im going for a inside female cat thats spayed, does the pound tell you if they were inside cats before you get them.

If they have the information on the cat, they will provide everything they know including if it was indoor or outdoor, if it's good with people and/or kids, etc.

You have nice looking cats but they don't sound nice at all.

The funny thing about cats? They all have their own personalities, but they all have their own ways of expressing how much they love you, too. Meanie loved to lay on my ass while I slept, and snuggle up with my feet when I sat on the couch. She also couldn't stand to be in a different room than I was whenever I was home.

Luna is a mischievous snot, but she loves to cuddle. For the first six months, she refused to leave the bedroom if I was sleeping in there, and trailed me around like a lost puppy. Even now, she prefers to be in the same room with me (and within direct eyesight) when I'm home, and often settles near me, wherever I'm currently settled.

You have to get to know them, and they need to get to know you. It's a part of the bonding process.