"She's an indoor kitty..."

Sometimes Bob shouts at you until you pick him up and stroke him. This isn't normal, is it?

what is that cat in the gif, he's amazing

my parents bought my girlfriend and I a large leather-lined mirror as a housewarming gift and within 10 minutes of unpacking it our cat had climbed on top of it and started ripping the top apart. I cannot deny a cat an experience that awesome.

Max spent his first six months outside under a house, and now he lives inside with me. My face got a scar the day we drove him home from my friends driveway. My carpet got destroyed when he wanted in my room when I was sleeping. The couch will be replaced or re-something-holstered. He got a bladder infection, and the carpet by the litter closet is now tile.

We got him a kitten (Kali) early on, and she tamed him in a way we never could have. Teased him and bathed him and put him in his place.

I'll never regret the damage or the expense because we missed Chloe and Milo so much after all those years of faithful service.

Max and Kali will be allowed outdoors eventually, starting with supervised time on the patio, followed by supervised strolls and lay-downs in the courtyard (just like Milo and Chloe). As soon as they and I aren't too scared of sudden startles.

Lots of folks let their indoor cars roam freely on my residential block
I approve in that I get one frequent visitor to our backyard who is friendly and let's my kids pet him

If I fell into $3K worth of fancy furniture I'd immediately craigslist it for $1K worth of shitty furniture and a cat.

^^^^

wish I could get my wife onboard with that!

Oh word. I'm sorry frogs.

what is that cat in the gif, he's amazing

Colonel Meow

cats hate citrus smells so maybe mix some grapefruit oil and water in a spray bottle and mist the corners of the couch? those catnip scratchers are also really great.

― clouds, Wednesday, October 9, 2013 2:24 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Aluminum foil also works, I've heard.

― Johnny Fever, Wednesday, October 9, 2013 2:25 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

The citrus defense is what I was going to recommend.
My ex roomie heard aluminum foil works, too, but my cat was only put off for a couple days then tore through that shit. Added bonus fun of explaining why you have foil in random places of your home to guests.

you can buy tape that you put on your furniture ('sticky paws' or something) and that keeps em at bay while you keep this weird tape on your couch, but in my experience, they just start scratching it again when you take it off. I've given up tbh.

thred revive tl;dr but try poking around your local ASPCA/Shelter for cats that have been declawed by a previous owner -- downside it is not a kitted, it has already been declawed (eg mutilated). upside -- giving what is surely an older cat a second life/good home.

When I went to get my cat I knew I wanted an older cat bc birth-death cat ownership was something I didn't think I was ready for and potentially getting one that had been declawed would have been a bonus.

Outcome: older non-declawed cat that is not a "clawer" so to speak. She gets off on cardboard scratching posts. ymmv

not a kitted = not a kitten

Kittens are overrated. Older cats are rad.

Years of experience have inured me to the inevitablity of feline domestic destruction but also taught me that the most liberal sprinkling of cat scratch devices lessens the impact somewhat. Once cats become used to scratching somewhere, they'll continue so new furniture needs to be policed pretty strictly for awhile after it's bought.

also dose said scratching devises w catnip often @ first, or as often as you like, depending on how funny the outcome is

Kittens are overrated. Older cats are rad.

― Johnny Fever, Thursday, October 10, 2013 6:02 PM (5 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Kittens are not overrated, Albert will have you know.

On the other hand, older cats are totally rad AS WELL.

thred revive tl;dr but try poking around your local ASPCA/Shelter for cats that have been declawed by a previous owner -- downside it is not a kitted, it has already been declawed (eg mutilated). upside -- giving what is surely an older cat a second life/good home.

This is a good point. Our cat is declawed, but he was that way when we adopted him. It was not a factor in our adoption (he was at the end of his stay at the shelter).

in london everybody lets their cats out. do brooklyn cats just get lost more easily or what?

little buggy wumpums is basically a glorified baby

also there is a lot of shit on the street and a lot of places to hide? like, if I was a cat I would totally leave for days at a time and kill rats n shit

Re leather furniture, even if they don't enjoy scratching it on purpose, they'll poke holes in it every time they jump up on an arm or the back of the couch and use their claws to hold on. It's doomed. My parents' cats did srs damage to the only leather armchair we ever owned.

yep I was thinking the same, I may just get one that's declawed already

pets ruin everything

It's been just under a month, but my cat has been trouble free (except for barfing on the rug in my bedroom once). But who's to say I would never have barfed there myself had I not gotten a cat?

"I want a mutilated cat but I don't want to mutilate it myself" is sort of a weird way of approaching it imo

I agree that it's a weird approach. But cats are out there, at shelters. Gonna die. Thousands every day. It is likely that frogs can find one that is already declawed.

maybe you disagree but I think living in a house declawed is probably better than having your claws but being at a shelter where you may remain unwanted until you die. I agree it's kind of a weird rationalization but those are the parameters I'm working with!

Fair enough!

y that's basically my point xp

We got two 7-ish month old cats a few months ago, we had to keep them in for a long time as one of them was too poorly to be neutered. We live in a house with large windows on to a front and back garden, we were in and out all the time during the summer, it was a pain to keep shutting the doors and the cats were desperate to get out and spent most of their time staring out of the window. When they finally got outside they were much happier, the poorly one in particular perked up and started walking round with her tail in the air which she'd never done before. Then yesterday, barely two months after we'd let them out, we found out one of them had been hit and killed by a car. In short, my answer to the contentious issue of indoor or outdoor cats is, neither. Just don't have cats.

:( I’m sorry to hear, I’ve been there and it’s the worst

Aw man, that’s horrible. I’m sorry that had to happen to you.

Aw, sorry to hear that ledge. That's awful.

We desperately try to keep our very indoor (she'd make a terrible outdoor one) cat stay that way, but this is one of the two times of year (like April) where she just makes it damn near impossible, daring out of nowhere whenever a door is opened and absolutely HOWLING at the door when she's blocked.

So sorry to hear that. One of our old cats was the type to wait by the door to try to dash out. He escaped on multiple occasions and sometimes came back injured.

Of our current 3, we have one who occasionally takes advantage of a carelessly opened window, etc. to go on overnight adventures. She has always returned within 24 hours, but it's still scary.

One of the others never tries to go out on her own, but will sit patiently meowing by the door. She has responded pretty well to a harness, so now she gets occasional walks around the yard.

https://i.imgur.com/IWsKC70.jpg

I'd like to create some sort of catio, so the cats can all get some fresh air and come and go as they please.

Aw cuet!

Thanks all. I thought our girls - 4 & 7 - would be absolutely distraught and there were plenty of tears of course but they've both bounced back pretty well. When I suggested an early bedtime yesterday because of it the older one said "I've forgotten about it already, stop reminding me!"

hearing thread title to the tune of "New York Minute"

My big fat mouser caught a (not very big fat) mouse yesterday! Not his first, but this one I managed to wrangle off him before he tried killing and eating it. Not just bcs I dont want mouseguts all over the carpet but also bcs I have no idea if my neighbours use Ratsak.

He made the most impressive doglike growling sounds at it and was very miffed when I caught the mouse and put it outside (seemingly still quite alive).

If by "put it outside," you mean anywhere within 2 miles of your home, they are apparently quite adept at finding their way back.

[

pets ruin everything

True enough. So do kids.

I've had both indoor and outdoor cats. In my experience, going back to childhood, outdoor cats usually have shorter life expectancies. They are exposed to all sorts of hazards--predators, disease, parasites, traffic--that indoor cats generally avoid. Our two indoor kitties right now are quite happy. Or, they would be, if the new Black Lab were to meet with an unfortunate accident.

I dunno, most of us typically don't let our dogs roam the neighborhood, do we? It seems to me that this used to be a thing but isn't any more, at least not in the U.S.

Yeah my kitties don’t like it when I rescue rats from them, the doglike growl is too cute coming from them though.

I once got there too late when I was younger and living ant home. I got to watch the family cat devour literally the whole rat, head, bones and all. Never looked at him the same….

The outdoor one we used to have (before FIV claimed him) used to leave half-devoured ones on the doorstep.

When I was a kid, we had one bring a bat into the house one time. That was quite a scene.

Counterpoint: Pets are the best part of life. My life would be so much poorer without the joy my kitties and dog bring. Also what else would I have to talk about at the dinner table?

My fave part is coming up with all the dumb names. We have Laszlo (his Official name), Laz, Lazopolous, Lazbian, Lazamatazz, Razzlo, Fattyboombah, Chonkers, Big'n'Fat, and Fuckface.

LOL

My mother in law named her Black Lab (who now lives with us) "Lorenzo." I have rechristened him "Larry."

We lived in the country. Our cat Girlie Girlie was gifted to us by my older sister from the Guru Ram Dass Ashram in Buffalo and had only been fed brewer's yeast for her entire life. She came to us with a big jar of brewer's yeast and was so skinny. We were very skeptical of that and eventually fed her meat, which almost drove her crazy - it was like a lightning bolt for her. We let her outside and she became a predator, killing birds and mice and bringing them to our doorstep

Otm: Peach, Peachie, Pooch, Peachypeachypoopypie, Floof, The Floofer, Mrs. Land-shark, /Butch, Butchie, Butchinator9000 (what he most commonly goes by), Mr. Chunks (he’s been on a diet lately so this name has sadly gone out of fashion)

We let Tuffy out in the backyard on a leash; his collar is loose enough for him to escape from it if he gets caught. Even on those rare occasions when he has gotten loose, he knows where he is and always returns to the back door. I don't think he'd even make a concerted effort to leave the yard, unless he was caught up in a chase.
He's not very good at catching things but I do have to credit him for making me vegan.

He's not very good at catching things

Usually only cicadas.