Blog Comments

Originally Posted by Geen

You're entitled to your opinions, but growing up I always had cats who were declawed and they never had any trouble and lived long happy lives. When I got my most recent cats my ex-wife thought it was cruel to have their nails removed so we left them in. Even with multiple scratching posts, they tore up most of the carpet in our bedroom and some of our clothes whenever they could get our closet open.

Our first cat was declawed, because we had lived in an apartment, so we didn't feel the need for the cat to have her front claws. We'd moved into a house a year later and the back yard had a doggy door for our 2 dogs. The cat learned how to use the doggy door, and about a year later our cat was left defenseless against a cayote and got eaten. Our latest cat (brought in from Animal Rescue) has his claws and goes out on a regular basis. He's large enough to defend himself and has had no problems with wandering the neighborhood. We have 1 scratching post, and a scratching mat (cat nip on both), to ensure that is where he scratches. We've had no problems with our furniture or items getting damaged.

There's a little kitten that's been hanging out around my house, petitioning us to adopt it, too. It tries (sometimes successfully) to run into my house and then cries when I put it back outside. I let him sleep here one night and he curled up in my lap when I went to sleep.

Problem is, we have a cat already and he fucking hates cats. Also our cat is gay and will rape the kitten's bottom if given a chance (he has a history of doing this). So I've just been feeding him and we put a little bed out for him to keep warm.

Cats and dogs can be fine, if your dog is mellow. If your dog is high strung and wants to bark at the cat all day, the cat will be freaked out and things will be very hostile.

Yeah, the whole dogs and cats hating each other thing is only really true in cartoons. Sometimes they won't get along, sure, but that happens regardless of species.

Sometimes cats do look annoyed when a stupid dog is acting all crazy and rambunctious and they're just trying to chill.

Depends on the cat and dog in question. They almost always like each other if you get them together from the time they're puppies/kittens.

How do cats and dogs get along?

We have four cats right now. Two of them were "I'm moving into a place where I can't have pets, but only for a month, can you watch these so I don't have to give them to the pound? I'll take them back when I get my permanent living situation settled." Over a year later, and they're still with us. Their both nice kitties though, so I don't mind. They're indoor kitties and I feel bad for them because they like to sit on the windowsills and longingly stare out the windows. I've tried taking them outside a couple times, but they freak the fuck out and whine to go back in.

Our original cat is an indoor/outdoor cat and though she's kinda small, she's a hell of a hunter. Every day there's either a mouse or mole left on the front porch for us to admire. She get's along with my daughter's dog, but can't stand any of the other cats.

Back in July my daughter's friend had a cat who died from kitty cancer but had a litter of kittens pretty much on her deathbed. My daughter talked me into letting her take in one of the orphans. It's not the cutest kitten, but he has his moments. He went through a plethora of names (mostly derived from Miyazaki characters) before we found one that stuck. Due to it being very small (it was the runt of the litter), gray, and it's predisposition to scurry across the floor and go behind furniture against the wall I started calling it Mouse. He's more like a rat now, but Mouse suits him fine.

I'm against declawing and for neutering.

Really, the only reason to worry about de-clawing is a bad job will leave your cat with pain for the rest of it's life. It'll bounce back from the surgery better the earlier you get it done (but I think you're supposed to wait until it's like 1 or something?). Gotta do what you gotta do for an animal to live in a human world, IMO.

Leave claws in unless you think it would be pleasant to have your fingernails torn off.

If you're that worried about a kitten tearing up your precious worldly goods, maybe you just shouldn't have that pet.

Originally Posted by Joust Williams

yay kitty~~~~~~~~~~~

This ^

You're entitled to your opinions, but growing up I always had cats who were declawed and they never had any trouble and lived long happy lives. When I got my most recent cats my ex-wife thought it was cruel to have their nails removed so we left them in. Even with multiple scratching posts, they tore up most of the carpet in our bedroom and some of our clothes whenever they could get our closet open.

Originally Posted by kedawa

I really don't agree about the declawing thing. They don't just remove the nailbed, they cut off an entire knuckle from their toes. If you're concerned about furniture, a scratchpost and some of that cat repellent furniture spray will take care of that. You can also just trim the front claws every couple of weeks.

Yes, this is very true and very important.

http://www.catswhothrowupgrass.com/kill.php

I really don't agree about the declawing thing. They don't just remove the nailbed, they cut off an entire knuckle from their toes. If you're concerned about furniture, a scratchpost and some of that cat repellent furniture spray will take care of that. You can also just trim the front claws every couple of weeks.

Woot kitten!
I've had two cats for about two and a half years now. A visit to the vet about once a year should do it.
As for letting the cat sleep in your room, that's your call. My concern would be how severe your night terrors are. Normally cats are pretty peaceful to sleep with, but if you are really having night terrors and fear that you may hurt Eve when one occurs, I would leave her out of your room for her safety.
Keep her exclusively inside. I'd also recommend getting the front claws removed if she is staying inside - she won't need them and she'll do a lot less destruction to your furniture and carpet, if you have any.

You need to move out of your cat rapist neighborhood. Oh, and Kung Pao Kitty.

They sell cat treats that prevent hairballs at Target. I give them to my cats about once or twice a week and they haven't been hurking.

This happened to me with a full-grown cat, who then lived with us for about the next 10 years until his death. Whoever had it before had clearly taken care of the cat, but we had bird-feeders so it started hanging out at our place to feed on the birds. Pretty awesome, in any case.

I've been taking care of a few kittens myself. Enjoy them while they're friendly (the stalking and pouncing). Cats are fairly low maintenance, so if you're already taking care of a dog it shouldn't feel like much more responsibility.

Take her in for her shots and shit when she's six weeks old. Get her spayed and you won't have to have the talk with her. I grew up in a house that let the cats come in and out as they pleased, but the one that lived the longest came to us at age 10+ and didn't want to go outside anyway. My current cat doesn't sleep with me because he'll usually end up biting my toes at 3:00 am.

yay kitty~~~~~~~~~~~

"my neighborhood is notoriously known for cat rapists (people who will have sex with cats against their will)."

What the hell?

Kitten sounds cute. Post pics.