Questions for Cat Owners

I second what t-bonham said. When a cat gets declawed, the doctor removes the last joint on all the toes. It’s just gruesome to me and it looks quite painful on the cats I’ve seen it done to. Most vets won’t even do it if the cat is more than 2 years old because it is so painful.

About the only reason I’ve heard to declaw runs: if the owner is hardnosed about getting the declaw done, better to declaw the cat so the cat can have a home than to euthanize the cat for the sake of its toes. This line of logic is pretty weak to me.

Scratching posts are your friend. I’ve got three cats and all of them prefer different things to scratch on from different angles. So, I made sure to get a post that’s got upright carpet parts for Jupiter, horizontal carpet parts for Celest, and a wood corner for Tycho.

It also helps to have the same mentality as a person with young children. Furniture will occasionally get thrown up on, fuzzed upon, and otherwise abused. These are the perils of pet ownership. Don’t get a cat if minor damage will destroy your psyche. :slight_smile:

This is only true if your cat already has kidney or urinary issues. And it’s only true then if the dryness of the food is interfering with your cat’s water balance.

Dry food is just fine for healthy cats. As noted above, it reduces teeth problems by scrubbing them pearly whites better than wet food or raw food.

We have a top-loader carrier. Our smaller cat can be put into this with both her and her owner relatively unscathed. Our larger cat–HA!! Trying to hold the cat in place with one hand, with all four paws and the tail inside the box as you fold over the top half with the other hand is virtually impossible.

For the larger cat, we have a cheap, cardboard carrier that the humane society gave us when we adopted the smaller cat. To him, it looks like a big cardboard box. Put a few pieces of “kitty candy” in the box, and he jumps right in–no questions asked. He doesn’t even protest when the top of the box is closed, since he likes both cardboard boxes and kitty candy. (However, we also suspect that he actually likes going places, especially the kennel, since he is a very sociable cat.)

This is true if it’s cheap cat food and/or the cat doesn’t drink enough water. However, our vets have always recommended dry over canned as the main part of the diet because it is better for their teeth, and our late cat actually had several very bad UTIs from being fed canned food instead of dry for extended periods of time. We feed our cats a higher-end dry food (Hill’s or Eukanuba, usually), and have several large bowls of water in various places in the house. They don’t like canned cat food at all, though, even as a treat.

I’ve known people who bought really cheap cat food, as a way of saving money. However, the more expensive foods tend to save money in the long run, if only because of lower vet bills. And in the long run, even expensive cat food isn’t that expensive. I buy a 10-pound bag of Hill’s for about $20, and it lasts for about two weeks, as the main food for both cats. That means I spend about $5 per week per cat. If you can’t afford $5/week to feed a cat, you shouldn’t have a cat.

  1. You’re fine.

  2. For most cats- no. If you find your cat seems to like the radio (a few do) then leave it on.

  3. It depends on the cat. Most are Ok by themselves for 8 hours. Don’t get two to start, unless they are siblings.

  4. No, a cat is Ok not getting out, if they aren’t used to being an outdoor cat. Some will even fear the outdoors. A window with a good view so they can watch birds & stuff is fun, however. In fact, a bird feeder right near that window is a nice combo for many cats.

  5. You’re likely fine. My cat has no fleas, nad has never been trated. But as others have said, it is possible to carry a couple in your self, so do examine her from time to time.

6- The cat will sleep where ever. But a 'special spot" (in a window, or near a heater, or even a heated bed if your house is chilly) will be a nice thing. Some few cats will find their “commercial cat bed” and sleep there most of the time. Don’t count on it. :stuck_out_tongue:

Right. Get a good brand of dry cat food- ( I prfer Felidae, but Sceince Diet, Eukanuba and others are fine)- and keep a bowl of it for her feeding all the time. Don’t get the cheap grocery store stuff.

Offer a small can of canned cat food once a day at “dinner time” (which can be anytime at all, morning, nite, bedtime, whatever- but DO know that the cat WILL want their dinner THEN) and see is she likes it. But that’s it. Mostly “free feed” a good grade of dry food*, and LOTS of water. I suggest two sources of water. Some cats prefer flowing water and will drink from a dripping faucet or a “kitty fountain”.

(This is a good idea for cat owners that might have to leave their fuzzy friends alone for a wekkend- get a bowl, and put in the sink, and set the cold water to
drip into it. Viola! Everful waterbowl, and entertainment for kitty, too!)

  • Oh, yes, and get a bag of “kitty treats” too.

One more note about fleas: Cats can groom something like 40 fleas off of themselves a day. And eating fleas is how animals get tapeworms. So, while it is less likely that your indoor cat will pick up fleas in the first place, it’s a reasonably good idea to keep some Advantage on hand for no reason other than to prevent tapeworms. I dose my cats every other month or so. And I like Advantage better than Frontline because Advantage will kill the flea as soon as it lands on the cat. The flea doesn’t have to bite your cat to get the toxin. Happy unbitten cats. YMMV.

A word about buying expensive toys and accessories for your cat:

Don’t do it. Your cat is not impressed by the money you spend on it, and is perfectly happy playing with some cruddy old piece of cord that you drag quickly across the floor. we have bought toys of varying complexity for our cats which elicited boredom, disdain, confusion, nervousness and a look that could only be translated as “WTF is that thing???”

We don’t even consider buying one of those carpeted kitty condos, because we really don’t enjoy being laughed at, even by our cats. Their favorite scratching post is an old driftwood stump I found on an Oregon beach 30 years ago. As far as sleeping goes, that’s what our bed is for, and occasionally they let us use it.

Oh, I’ve been looking for an outdoor/indoor cat thread.

I have two cats. One is an outdoor/indoor cat. I’m pretty sure he would tear his way through the screen to get outside, although he is otherwise mellow. One is indoor only, and she is psychotic.

I don’t know whether she is batshit crazy because she stays indoors. I do know that on a couple of occasions she did get out, and she stepped in the grass as if it was something vile. Nor she she like the texture of the patio. She somehow got onto the roof, and then couldn’t get off. She doesn’t actually seem to want to go out, which is good. (She got out because the other one can work the screen door, but cannot be persuaded to close it behind him.)

Mostly the other cat stays indoors, too, and they do keep each other company (although Miss Batshit Crazy occasionally attacks violently. Mr Mellow is younger and he does like to play, and once Miss B.C. has attacked him he usually feels righteous in attacking her back, all in play of course–and she takes him apart. The fur flies, and I mean that literally. Of course eventually it falls back down on the carpet and has to be vacuumed.)

That said, you can buy the cat a bed, but the cat will probably find some other place to sleep. Mine like the wooden in-box on my desk (and Miss B.C. will knock papers or anything else that happens to be in it, out of it, so she can have it). They also took over a box I was filling up with old Halloween costumes–it is a preferred place for both of them and it is fun to watch one of them feign interest in something on the other side of the room to get the other one out of said box so the first one can steal it.

They do have toys. They tend to appropriate things that are not really toys. He likes to get socks out of the clothes hamper, for instance. She likes ping-pong balls. Kneaded erasers are also popular. The official cat toys have pretty much been washouts. However, they both like play mice made out of feathers–these don’t last very long–and things that catnip can be put into.

They are both crazy about catnip. Miss B.C. likes to eat house plants, then throw up. You can get trays with grass, and supposedly indoor cats like this, but as I’ve mentioned she doesn’t like grass (and, since I bought the cat carpet just for her, naturally she wasn’t interested). He liked it for a couple of days, then it was old hat.

Miss Batshit Crazy was a single indoor cat for a long time. She was nutzo even then–actually a little less so now, I think. Both cats were strays we adopted. (One of my sons is a cat magnet–every cat we’ve had in the last 20 years has walked up to him and more or less jumped into his arms, starting when he was 4 years old. What I mean to say is, that’s how we acquired them–they sought him out.)

It is probably best to acquire an already-indoor cat. Mr. Mellow is supposed to be an indoor cat but he’s very quick and, as I mentioned, he can work the screen. I don’t think he’s going to make it as an indoor cat. We do try very hard not to let him out as dark approaches, although unlike many other cats I have known, he comes when called. Miss B.C., also a stray, was obviously an outdoor cat at one time. The thing is, both of these cats are excellent cats that used to belong to somebody else . . . who let them out.

Just thought this deserved re-emphasis. Growing up, PulletFiance lived in a house that was disintigrating. And they were poor. There was no way to keep cats inside. They would wander in, have kittens. And when the kittens got big enough, after they had all been loved and named and fawned over, they would just leave. We saw one once following someone else into a nearby apartment complex. The ones that stayed were usually the ones that got caught by the local neighborhood psychopath who likes to kick cats and break their pelvises. They would limp back and hang out for a few months while they healed. Repeat twice a year. Very sad.

You don’t need to spend a fortune on fancy pet toys.
We have some little balls that we call “jingle balls” that our cats love. They’re pretty cheap ($2.99 for six, I think, at the grocery store).
They’re like little cages with a jingle bell inside, and the cat can pick it up with his teeth. One of my cats will play fetch with it, even by himself. He’ll stand at the top of the basement steps and drop it down and watch it fall and hit each step. Then he’ll race after it and bring it back up.

The rings from gallon milk jugs are great for skidding across the floor.

Best cat toy ever: a laser pointer. Hours of fun for you and Kitty.

With age, wisdom. I realise just how lucky I was growing up - houses where my parents are have large gardens with a bit of rough ground at the back. The cats (one at a time) had the space to roam, little animals & birds to chase or not, they could spend all day inside or out, same thing at night.

I’d never heard of de-clawing, indoor ctas, kitty walks or even cat killing dogs until I came to this board. Altho’ now a city dweller a lot of the cat talk here still seems a wee bit odd to me (that’s my opinion it is not meant as an insult in any way). However we’re currently custodians to a lovely young feline and I just know she’d like a vantage point she could get ‘up’ to so if you have the space and money a cat condo sounds cool.

Beyond that I’d suggest a small tray of grass or cat nip for her to chew should she feel the need. I wouldn’t worry about a single cat being lonely - they are hardly pack animals after all and, unless siblings, I think two would tend to co-habit more than share.

Toys ? A cork on a string - something to chase as you drag or dangle it for her but also something to chew on once caught. For something she can play with on her own a ping pong ball or cork (but from a sparkling wine so that it doesn’t just roll in a straight line).

  1. Besides adequate food and water, a clean cat box and some cat toys is there anything else we should leave around the house to entertain the cat?

That sounds like a good basic start - although I might add a scratching mechanism of some form. Our cats have an amazing ability to locate toys in ether so we often come home to find that they’ve unearthed some random object and it is now The Best Toy Evah! for about a week. Oh, and they steal pens. I can’t keep pens.

  1. Should we leave a radio on in the house so that there is some noise/human voices for the cat during the day?

It depends on the cat. One of our two loves the TV. She will sit and stare at it for literally hours. The other one can’t be arsed. If you’re not home and kitty has no little kitty friend to play with, she’ll sleep until you get home. No big hardship. Cats sleep a lot.

  1. Would a single indoor cat become lonely being in the house alone during the weekday? Is it cruel to only have only one cat in that situation? Would a male or female be any better suited to a solitary life?

Again, depends on the cat. Single cats are a little needier with their people (or so I’ve found), but some cats can’t stand other cats. I don’t know that gender will make a difference though. If you do decide to get more than one, try to get them approximately the same age and at the same time. If you get a shelter kitty, I’m totally certain the shelter can help you pick cats that at least get along with each other. Trust me - the prospect of a twofer will excite them to no end.

  1. Assuming that we adopt a “teenage” cat (4-6 months old) from the local animal shelter, and that it isn’t used to being outside, can we simply restrict it to indoor life by never letting it out? Will the cat instinctily try and escape to the outdoors? Is there something else we can to do to encourage it to stay indoors?

Just don’t let it out. Our kitties do not go outside. Ever. It helps that they’re skittish little beasts and the Great Outdoors fears them something fierce. Most indoor only cats that never get to go outside are willing enough to get their fix by watching out windows. I’ll second the thought of a Feline Entertainment Center (birdfeeder outside a window), but add that you may want to position it well away from your bedroom :stuck_out_tongue: Our cats were born in the shelter, so they don’t seem to have any urge whatsoever to go outside.

  1. If there are currently no fleas in the house, and the cat never gets to go outside, is a flea collar or flea powder treatment still necessary?

We haven’t had any problems yet, but we’ve been keeping an eye on them just in case we bring fleas in from outside. Your shelter can advise you, but just knowing to keep an eye out is probably about all that’s required - with supplies available just in case.

  1. Does it make sense to buy a cat bed or will the cat most likely sleep wherever it darm pleases?

*You can try a cat bed :slight_smile: Good luck with that. Ours sleep wherever they damn well please - although they do fight over the favored locations. Our big one prefers to sleep inside a desk drawer and our small one prefers to spread her skinny little self over the most possible surface area of a computer chair - although they have a bed. *