# Deaf people don't understand how to adopt cats **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 23, 2003, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deaf-people-dont-understand-how-to-adopt-cats/203296 "2003-09-23T12:25:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Mama\_Tiger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@Mama\_Tiger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Tiger)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2003, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deaf-people-dont-understand-how-to-adopt-cats/203296/41 "2003-09-25T23:39:57Z")
And watch out giving him cheese – most cats are intolerant of dairy products, in spite of all the “cats love milk” propaganda to the contrary. How will you know? Easy answer: Two ways, diarrhea and flatulence. (Dogs, too; the only time our golden retriever ever tasted cheese, we ALL paid for it afterwards. :eek: ) Have a wonderful time with Enzo, spoil him rotten, and don’t forget to complain to the shelter manager about the idiot you dealt with the first time around!! ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2003, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deaf-people-dont-understand-how-to-adopt-cats/203296/42 "2003-09-25T23:56:24Z")
**Fran** : was this Battersea, or a local shelter? ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2003, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deaf-people-dont-understand-how-to-adopt-cats/203296/43 "2003-09-26T01:34:08Z")
It’s too late to say it, but it sounds really good anyways, " **Give 'em Hell, Frannie!** 🙂 (Where is that Horatio Nelson smilie when we need it? Which is why I think basic sign language should be mandatory in every school. ---
**Author:** ![look\_hergo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85e7bf/32.png) [@look\_hergo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/look_hergo)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2003, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deaf-people-dont-understand-how-to-adopt-cats/203296/44 "2003-09-26T05:36:42Z")
Hey Shirley – my stepson spent all of kindergarten and first grade learning sign language in school. He was so impressed by it that we actually had to ask him to use words at home, because he would sign to us rather than talk. He can still whip off the pledge of allegiance at age 12, though it confused him when I asked if he could do it with his hand over his heart… ---
**Author:** ![Francesca](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/9fc348/32.png) [@Francesca](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Francesca)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2003, 9:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deaf-people-dont-understand-how-to-adopt-cats/203296/45 "2003-09-26T09:53:40Z")
**Gyrate** - it was Battersea, but it was an offshoot in Windsor. **80sHairMetalMaven** - he wouldn’t be cool with me moving his paws about at all! He’d run away. We’re being careful not to give him too much cheese (I know about the dairy intolerence) and he’s started eating his food properly out of the bowl now. I took a whole roll of film of him yesterday and I’ll get it developed over the weekend. Hee! ---
**Author:** ![ENugent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/4af34b/32.png) [@ENugent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ENugent)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2003, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deaf-people-dont-understand-how-to-adopt-cats/203296/46 "2003-09-26T13:24:10Z")
Actually, I think that most cats are just annoyed by moving their paws on the scratching post. What I have found helpful, though, is to dangle a toy around the top of the post. When they pounce against the post, they often scrape their claws down it, and then discover, “Hey, that feels pretty good!” Cheese has a lot less lactose in it than milk (speaks the lactose intolerant person). Try the little Nutro foil packs of wet food for a treat (available in PetCo or PetSmart, but probably not at most grocery stores) - they were (and still are) a huge hit with our kitties. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deaf-people-dont-understand-how-to-adopt-cats/203296.md?page=2)