# Seeking advice on my hypothetical cat **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 13, 2022, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeking-advice-on-my-hypothetical-cat/966137 "2022-06-13T23:57:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2022, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeking-advice-on-my-hypothetical-cat/966137/81 "2022-07-05T12:54:44Z")
> [@Moriarty](#): > > What website can I use to create a link? I use Flickr, Imgur is another you could try. You set up a free account, upload your pictures there, and then you’ll be able to take the link and share it with us here. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2022, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeking-advice-on-my-hypothetical-cat/966137/82 "2022-07-05T13:05:41Z")
Congrats! “Two cats playing with each other” is one of nature’s most perfect television shows. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2022, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeking-advice-on-my-hypothetical-cat/966137/83 "2022-07-05T15:09:28Z")
Back in the 1970’s, I was living in a house full of people and cats, and with no television; and working in a vineyard. The other vineyard workers asked me ‘but what do you all do in the evening with no television?’ and I said ‘We sit around and watch the cats play.’ They looked at me funny; but it was true. (It occurs to me: most of them must have known perfectly well what sorts of things could be done with spare time but no television. It was the 70’s, TV wasn’t common till the 50’s, and most of them were in their 40’s through 60’s and would have grown up without it.) ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2022, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeking-advice-on-my-hypothetical-cat/966137/84 "2022-07-06T05:41:12Z")
> [@Moriarty](#): > > (Although there is pain. Baby kittens are so adorable. They also have sharp needles and a propensity to want to play at bedtime). Cats are _crepuscular_. That means they are most active at sunrise or sunset. That would be for outdoor cats. For inside cats, ‘sunset’ comes when you start turning off the lights and get ready for bed. So that’s when their body tells them it’s time to become active. So it might be advisable to plan for a few minutes of playtime each night just before you go to bed. They will get used to this, and expect it. And they can learn to recognize when it’s over. Like when you get into bed and pull the covers over your head. They will learn to know that is the end of playtime. (Or, at least, the end of playtime with you. They might decide to continue playing with each other, zooming around the place, climbing on things, etc. Let them do so, alone. Don’t get up to see what they are doing or knocking over – NO! That will train them that if they make enough noise, you will get up and playtime will be extended. That is NOT something you want to teach them!) ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2022, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeking-advice-on-my-hypothetical-cat/966137/85 "2022-07-06T13:18:54Z")
i do get up if the knock over sounds like glass breaking. otherwise i ignore it. when cleaning up the cats get put in “time out” so they don’t get the idea that cleaning up glass is “fun”. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2022, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeking-advice-on-my-hypothetical-cat/966137/86 "2022-07-06T14:09:32Z")
Also do not get up earlier than you were going to anyway because the cats are bugging you. Especially don’t get up earlier than you were going to anyway and feed the cats! (Staggering to the bathroom and then back to bed, and/or a sleepy couple of pats, you should be able to get away with.) ---
**Author:** ![Esprise\_Me](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/esprise_me/32/2947_2.png) [@Esprise\_Me](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Esprise_Me)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2022, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeking-advice-on-my-hypothetical-cat/966137/87 "2022-07-06T15:18:47Z")
Congrats on your new fur-babies! Can’t wait to see pics! ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2022, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeking-advice-on-my-hypothetical-cat/966137/88 "2022-07-06T15:59:59Z")
This is Lucy. (And my feeble attempt at posting a picture online) > **[7-C31-FABF-A136-4687-9327-107-C010-C503-C hosted at ImgBB](https://ibb.co/LgW1kZp)** > > Image 7-C31-FABF-A136-4687-9327-107-C010-C503-C hosted in ImgBB ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2022, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeking-advice-on-my-hypothetical-cat/966137/89 "2022-07-06T16:03:17Z")
And this is (a glimpse of) Ricky (and, along with my poor computers skills, proof that I can’t take a good picture. In my defense, when he sits on my chest and I pull out my phone, he doesn’t wait for me to take a picture - he wants to inspect the phone instead) > **[4-AD4-C9-CC-374-F-4-FF2-BFDD-8065-B9-E8-C3-EC hosted at ImgBB](https://ibb.co/wgg1yq5)** > > Image 4-AD4-C9-CC-374-F-4-FF2-BFDD-8065-B9-E8-C3-EC hosted in ImgBB ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2022, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeking-advice-on-my-hypothetical-cat/966137/90 "2022-07-06T16:05:49Z")
[![](https://i.ibb.co/W551nXm/4-AD4-C9-CC-374-F-4-FF2-BFDD-8065-B9-E8-C3-EC.jpg) ](https://i.ibb.co/W551nXm/4-AD4-C9-CC-374-F-4-FF2-BFDD-8065-B9-E8-C3-EC.jpg) [![](https://i.ibb.co/z2YZn4f/7-C31-FABF-A136-4687-9327-107-C010-C503-C.jpg) ](https://i.ibb.co/z2YZn4f/7-C31-FABF-A136-4687-9327-107-C010-C503-C.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2022, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeking-advice-on-my-hypothetical-cat/966137/91 "2022-07-06T16:06:15Z")
Grazi! ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2022, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeking-advice-on-my-hypothetical-cat/966137/92 "2022-07-06T16:07:09Z")
prego. ---
**Author:** ![Esprise\_Me](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/esprise_me/32/2947_2.png) [@Esprise\_Me](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Esprise_Me)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2022, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeking-advice-on-my-hypothetical-cat/966137/93 "2022-07-06T16:19:13Z")
Squeeee!!! So happy you three found one another. ---
**Author:** ![SuntanLotion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suntanlotion/32/16165_2.png) [@SuntanLotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanLotion)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2022, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeking-advice-on-my-hypothetical-cat/966137/94 "2022-07-06T16:30:45Z")
Double squee ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2022, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeking-advice-on-my-hypothetical-cat/966137/95 "2022-07-06T16:59:58Z")
What cuties! ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2022, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeking-advice-on-my-hypothetical-cat/966137/96 "2022-07-06T17:08:27Z")
> [@Moriarty](#): > > I had read that cats won’t recognize their kittens if they get separated (and Lucy and Ricky were in different rooms at the shelter), because the kitten loses the scent the momma recognizes. > > Well, in the midst of her terse introduction, Lucy was giving him a lot of smelling (including some good wiffs of his butt). She hasn’t told me so, but I’m gonna go with the idea that she recognizes him. > [@Moriarty](#): > > And this is (a glimpse of) Ricky Ah – not a very young kitten, then. It makes more sense that she took a while to recognize him; or even that she might have at first swatted at him despite recognizing him. Mother cats sometimes chase out older kittens; and it’s normal for half-grown males to move out, though they’re more likely to be driven out by older tomcats than by their mothers and other female relatives. But in any case she was probably establishing relations with him as if he were another adult cat, not as her dependent kitten – as those relationships are different, she may have felt she needed to establish that she’s boss, or at least equal. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2022, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeking-advice-on-my-hypothetical-cat/966137/97 "2022-07-06T17:31:46Z")
But the mother and child reunion is only a motion away. 😻 ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2022, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeking-advice-on-my-hypothetical-cat/966137/98 "2022-07-06T17:31:50Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > Ah – not a very young kitten, then. The shelter listed him at 3 and a half months old. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2022, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeking-advice-on-my-hypothetical-cat/966137/99 "2022-07-06T17:38:14Z")
Big kitten, or a small mother cat, or I misjudged relative size from the picture! – I might still have been right about what was going on, though; that’s generally past weaning age, though it does vary some. ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2022, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeking-advice-on-my-hypothetical-cat/966137/100 "2022-07-06T18:49:11Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > a small mother cat This. She’s tiny. (He has long skinny legs; when he was born, he was all head and ears, which is why the shelter named him Spock). Here’s the only other pic of him I’ve managed to snag: > **[C6065-C27-E0-B9-4340-A82-A-FF4065-F1-FED8 hosted at ImgBB](https://ibb.co/CKcNzL8)** > > Image C6065-C27-E0-B9-4340-A82-A-FF4065-F1-FED8 hosted in ImgBB [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeking-advice-on-my-hypothetical-cat/966137.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/seeking-advice-on-my-hypothetical-cat/966137.md?page=6)