Made himself at home, he did...a cat story

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When I was a kid we had a tom cat (Named Tom, how original!) who would take out the neighbors German Shepard's and Dachshunds. One day Dad said watch this, the neighbors dogs were loose, Tom had climbed a tree and waited for for the Shepard to pass, then Tom jumped on his back. Neighbor wasn't happy with Tom, but we wern't happy with him letting his dogs run our property. Neither was Tom. We suspect it lead to his early demise at the neighbors hand. 43 or so years and it still irritates me. Such as it is, we get attached to our pets.


A couple of years back a beatiful black feline showed up and wouldn't go away. Then, funny, a bunch of Toms started hanging around, and a few nights we heard some Rowles .... then the Feline started getting fat ... we brought her in the house and got three black and one gray kitten out of it. The Mother cat, otoh, was an ankle biter and diver. Ma would have had herself a nice home if she wern't an ankle biter. I could see if we were kicking at it or stepped on her but, no, that cat would attack Wifes ankles if Wife was just standing there.

Whats funny is two of these cats have the attack trait, we'll walk through the house and feel paws batting at our ankles. But no Fang and Claw. The Girl cat is cool, she'll wrestle with me, bite but only hard enough to score points, she'll grag and rake but without extending her claws. I got her worked up enough to use claws, once. took a bit of work.

Now the Gray 20+ pounder, he's the other ankle swatter. He'll play but after the third or fourth 'score bite' it's time to stop because he really gets into it. Believe me,, you don't want a 20 pound cat hanging from you with his spur claws.

Now Killer Koz, the hunter, has nothing to do with humans all day. But when we go to bed he makes his demands. Now I'm not fond of the way my face has turned out, age and all, but, darn, if I don't give Killer his props he'll rearrange my face, use it as a kneeding pad then a pin cushion. And in the morning as soon as I wake up Koz is making his demands again! And last night he slept on the couch so this morning Killer was extra demanding.

Funny thing is , in my teen years no one would have guessed I would turn into a cat person. Even after Tom. It took me a while to appreciate cats independence, and it took a while for me to appreciate how, whe the cats food bowls are empty, how they7 look at me like I'm meat.
 
I'm sound asleep last night at half past nine....and rolled over. My foot hit something rather solid at the end of the bed. Maxi.:ermm: She stayed on my feet till shortly after 1am. I realize it was 1am because she went down the stairs to the living room where Coco was. I heard Coco greet her...and then proceed to say 'no'....'no'. When I called down to find out what was up, she told me that 'the cat is using your sofa to sharpen her claws'.

I guess I've got to get one of those scratchy posts or something. I did like having warm feet for half the night.:winkiss:
 
my thomas, is an ankle guy, no bites or claws, just batting. however if he sees my bare toes, he will attack. i think he thinks they are little pink mice. lol. we never did do aggresive play even when he was small. so he goes attack if you swat at him.
 
Good morning Vera. When I had a Siamese we used to call that game you move I move. I was once told that a cat's outlook on life is - "If something is not moving it should be. If something is moving it will move better if they help it."

I have loved every one of my cats. I hope you really enjoy this one.
AC
 
Vera - I would get a scratching post and also some cat clippers (or better yet, have the vet clip her nails when you get her checked out). Also buy some cat nip and sprinkle it on the cat scratching post. Your cat will learn that the post is the place to sharpen her claws, and they love cat nip.

My cat sleeps right by me on the pillow, Walter thinks he is a human and likes to put his head on the pillow and get tucked in. They like to be near their human.
 
I love these "The Cats Who are Really in Charge" stories.........I had a cat, Liono, that when I'd come home from a morning of hot, sweaty tennis would wrap his paws around my ankles, lick the dried salty perspiration off (he'd do this when I was on the phone and had no chance to get into the shower, and then bury his head in my Adidas.......ugghh........... I've heard that cats also mark you with their scent and they love moving objects.....aka ankles.........
 
Vera, you can try a couple of things to stop the scratching. Put some clear packing tape on the areas that are being scratched. She will hate the feel and stop. Or buy some bitter apple spray. They make it for dogs to use on hot spots to stop biting but it works wonders for cats and scratching couches. I think the smell is so bad they can't imagine putting their paws on it. I can't really smell it myself and it didn't leave a stain on my furniture.

Good luck with Maxi. She is a beauty. Oh, and just carry her into the vets. Be prepared with a towel to swaddle her once you get there though. Sometimes they turn into a Cuisinart with fur when they see the vet.
 
A dog can be taught and trained NOT to do something.

A Cat ... Good lick with that! :ROFLMAO:

I've found some measure of success by appealing to a cats instincts. If the cat wants to use the furniture as a scratch post give them a tall "post" with levels and platforms that allow the cat to climb as high in the room as possible. This appeals to the cats instinct of taking the high ground and having a command position.

This will get the cat(s) on the post, and if the post is made of or covered with a suitable material, the cats will start scratching the post. We had one cat that had little interest in carpet or other fabrics once he had a 2x4 to sharpen his claws on. I saved a piece of 2x4 from the old post, used it in the new post, these cats have no interest in clawing the old cats wood.

Another thing about a post is, it has to be tall enough or have an open enough section for the cat(s) to reach to full extension and hang by their claws. They need something they can use to stretch. If cats aren't given something to hang on they will find something to hang on. And even when you give a cat everything they need to claw, stretch and climb, they will still claw, stretch and climb other things. Just not as badly. Such are cats.

Far as just ending the clawing problem by de-clawing a cat? (Gritting teeth) If someone de-claws a cat I don't know what they want but they don't want a cat.
 
I agree with everyone who has recommended that a carrier be used. Maybe this will help, Vera: Having had to cancel several vet appointments to get one of my feral cats neutered, I followed a friend's advice and grasped him by the scruff of the neck (just like a momma cat does). The cat will go completely limp. Quickly lower her into the carrier....zip it up. It works like a charm.
 
I like the idea of catnip on the scratcher. So far, she just looks at it and walks away from it.

Max and I had sushi for dinner last night. Max likes nice fresh tuna..but has no interest in imitation crab meat. Who would, eh?

She has a pink ball now. I have to get a picture of her playing with this thing. I have a feeling it's been doused in catnip.

The Animal Hospital just called to confirm 'Maxi's appointment for tomorrow'. I have no idea what I've gotten myself into, do I?

I do have to admit...I think I might love this cat.
 
Vera- I think you already love that cat. good luck at the vets, I have to get my kitty tto the vets, but I keep putting it off because I'm afraid they'll tell me something is wrong with her and I couldn't bear losing her after putting my dog down in Nov.
 
I'm having a heart attack....She's gotta sense my tension. I just keep remembering how freaked out she got last Monday.

I need a sedative.

Next communication will be post vet. I'm having a heart attack.
 
Maxi is officially a 5 year old girl! The technicians at the vet's office loved her. She cried in the carrier, which in turn made me want to cry. She weighs 9 pounds and was very good natured during the entire exam.

She has pink eye in her left eye, which I suspected. I have drops for that; and it should clear up in 3 days or so.
She tested negative for feline HIV and leukemia, which is a great relief. She got a rabies shot, and a distemper shot. She's got a bit of dander that I got a special comb for and some kind of drops (fatty acid ) to add to her food which will clear up the dander problem and give her a shinier coat.

Everyone there suspects what Lou and I suspect...that she belonged to someone at one time and was released for some reason. The doctor also suspects shes may have been spayed, explaining why she never got pregnant during the 9 months she was hanging out in my yard with facciabrute. And no, PieSusan, I'm not ready to take in another one just yet!;)

So, that's it. I'm the proud staff member of a very affectionate 5 year old dolly named Max-i. And she didn't even go run to hide when we got home. She's hanging out in the kitchen hoping for some chicken.

xoxoxoxo to all of you for walking me through this!
 

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