First pet...

mdaudioguy

If we had a nickel for each time my wife or I said, "I hate cats" or "I'm definitely not a cat person"...

Then we would have had more than enough money to cover the adoption of our new kitten!

Yes, evidently I've lost my mind. The thought of a cat had come into my mind recently after a series of mouse invasions... Plus, the kids have asked for a pet for years and had basically given up hope. I like dogs, but just didn't think we had the ability to give one proper attention.

Somebody at my work posted an ad for a kitten that they had found and turned over to their vet to be rescued. He was sick, with a nasty infection in one eye, that might have left him at least partially blind in that eye. On a whim, my son and I went to see him, brought a few pictures home for the wife and girls, and a week later here he is in our home. I just had to kick him off my lap in order to type this! Very friendly and playful. We'll see how this goes... hope he doesn't become a scratcher! I guess all cats scratch - I'm just hoping we can control were he does and doesn't. Wish me luck!

txcoastal1

Not a cat person either but had them when I was a kid. My mom would get them a cat scratch post a rub it with a cat nip pouch periodically when they were kittens...never had a problem.

Good luck she'll end up in yours and the families heart

SCompRacer

Congrats! The wife and I had dogs while we were growing up and we have had three since we were married. Cats are different than dogs. Here is some suggested reading, why cats do what they do.
http://user.xmission.com/~emailbox/whycat.htm

Dear wife always liked exotic cats so we adopted a hybrid (wild and domestic mix). He was front de-clawed and neutered but still has his rears; sometimes we wish he was totally de-clawed. Cat's have scent glands in their paws and scratch to mark territory and/or file their nails.

Ours hunts spiders and flys that get into the house and kills and eats them. He would most likely do that to birds, so he stays indoors. With no front claws, he wouldn't have all his defenses (and offenses) anyway.

We like not having to let him go outside for potty time and the yard clean up. Just dig for gold in the litter box once or twice a day. Ours also needs challenging play time daily or he gets into things he shouldn't.

cfrizz

Congrats! Get him fixed when the time comes, do NOT let him out of the house, he will live a much longer and healthier life that way. As for the scratching, it's instinct & hopefully he won't take a liking to your speakers grills. And your mouse problem will clear up very quickly one way or another!

You always have the option of having his front claws removed. I had both Tami's & Oscar's done and that's all that saved my speakers. Tami lived to 20, and Oscar lived to 13.

He will bring you a lot of joy to you and your family.

nguyendot

We have 3 cats and 3 dogs.... one of the cats is brand new as of Sunday. It's crawling on my keyboard as we speak. Rodents? What rodents?

SCompRacer

Keiko wrote: »

....Bandit loved to chase the flashlight when I spotted it on the floor and walls for him to chase. Used to drive him nuts as he could never figure it out. They can be a lot of fun.

We got one of them rotating laser lights for Jasper. A couple of minutes after chasing and not being able to pin down the light, the little bastage goes after the source.:eek::cheesygrin:

rromeo923

cfrizz wrote: »

Congrats! Get him fixed when the time comes, do NOT let him out of the house, he will live a much longer and healthier life that way. As for the scratching, it's instinct & hopefully he won't take a liking to your speakers grills. And your mouse problem will clear up very quickly one way or another!

You always have the option of having his front claws removed. I had both Tami's & Oscar's done and that's all that saved my speakers. Tami lived to 20, and Oscar lived to 13.

He will bring you a lot of joy to you and your family.

I had two cats (one recently died at age 19). My other cat is 17. Both cats have been outdoor/indoor cats all there lives. I think that keeping cats indoors all the time is cruel. Cats love being outdoors hunting and playing. Anyway enjoy your new pet.

SCompRacer

Keiko wrote: »

......Tabo was a wannabe acrobat......

LOL about the acrobat. Jasper is quite an acrobat himself. I can't leave my 244 acoustic treatments standing up all the time. He bounds off the top of four foot tall 244 panel and makes it to the top of the 8 foot stacked Tri-traps. But he never gets down on his own. He used to strut on the upper level handrail, which is gloss laquer. He fell off once, about a 12 foot drop into the stairwell going down to the lower level. He still gets on the rail, but doesn't strut as much.

We've had to put down pets, it is very hard.

hockeyboy

We have a cat that we let outside whenever he wants. He comes and goes through the doggy door and couldn't be happier. He tends to come in during the middle of the night and sleep at the end of the bed. Funny we have two dogs as well and the old dog and the cat get along as best of friends. The young dog always wants to try and chase so the cat ignores him. If you are going to let your new cat roam outside be sure not to declaw him. Also not a good idea to keep a collar if he goes in and out. The collar can get caught on fences, etc and choke him out. Better to have your cat "chipped" which is harmless to the cat and very cheap.

LeftCoast

Grat on you Cat

Never been a cat person but I am a pet person, so I would never really be opposed to having a cat. I think they are cool in their own unique way.

Also thumbs up on having your first pet and ESPECIALLY on adopting! I used to breed show quality Maltese, but supported adoption and rescue enthusiastically.

My only advice is to read and research and invest time in your pet. What you get out of it is what you put into it. Too many people think their pets can learn without being taught.

Again Congratz!

mdaudioguy

He's going to be an indoor-only cat. The first thing I did after bringing him in the house was pull my speaker grills! Haha! He was neutered earlier in the day that we picked him up. While he was under, the vet also did what he called, "a little cosmetic surgery" around his bad eye, as it had shrunk somewhat as a result of the infection he had. His eyelid was folded in slightly and was rubbing the eye, causing some irritation. He put in a couple of stitches to reshape it, and he seems ok. However, his one eye is quite a bit darker and kind of cloudy.

Thanks for all the tips and advice! SComp - great link - thank you!

dee1949

,,,takes a MACHO guy to get a cat for a first pet. Cats, unlike dogs, are independent creatures. They bend you to their will....... unless you really melt......and then you will be pleasantly surprised by comradery.

Gadabout

+1 on the cat nip on the scratching post. Just once a month or so with a bit of catnip keeps them happy and using it. One note on scratching posts, get one that is relatively heavy and won't tip over (or make your own). If it tips over, the cat will never use it again. We never had any issues training cats w the catnip to use the scratching post and they never used furniture or speakers for their claws. (We never cared if they used the carpet which they would occasionally).

Have fun with your new family friend.

Scott

PS We always had the best luck with the scratching posts that were rope wrapped. They seemed to hold up a long time, it held bit of the cat nip between the coiled and the cats loved them.

jbooker82

A nice pine landscaping timber or 4x4 make for a nice scrating post.

We also have one of these and it works wonders.
https://www.emerycat.com/

It is just a stack of card board on edge glued togther. Then they dip it in sand. It took the cats a couple months to figure it out but now they both tear the heck out of it. You can change the card board inserts, and put cat nip underneith the insert. PetCo and Pet Smart should have them.

jbooker82

This stuff also works good to keep cats from scratching.
http://www.petco.com/product/102902/Sticky-Paws-On-a-Roll.aspx?CoreCat=OnSiteSearch

It is a double sided tape. Their paws stick to it when they try to scratch. They really dont like the feeling and usually leave it alone.

BeefJerky

Pics or it didn't happen. But seriously, post some pictures of your new kitten!

Here, I'll start with a couple of my cat:

mdaudioguy

BeefJerky wrote: »

Pics or it didn't happen. But seriously, post some pictures of your new kitten!

Here, I'll start with a couple of my cat:

Wow, is your cat a freakin' model?? That's a beautiful cat... and I'm not a cat person.

Here's one from the night we got him. I just tried to get another, but he wouldn't sit still. He's a little wound up this morning.

cfrizz

Aww. both are adorable!

billbillw

Cats are great to have around. Not only will they keep the mice away, but they are also a great bug-warning systems! Every time a fly, a beetle, a spider, etc gets in the house, we know it! I highly recommend getting a set of claw clippers. Don't de-claw, but also don't let him keep those sharp daggers. If you start clipping when they are kittens, they never get used to having the sharp claws. Read up on how to clip the claws. If you do it right, it is painless to them. Keep them short (and dull) and it will drastically cut down on the damage they can do around the house (and to your family). Cut them every few weeks. He will fuss a lot the first dozen or so times, but eventually he will sit right through it without any fuss. Of course, this is highly dependent on not hurting him when you do it. Follow up with a treat each time as well, both a food treat and brushing. They love both. We have been doing this for about 8 years with our cat. She has never damaged anything with her claws. We have one scratchy toy for her (a turbo scratcher pad, highly recommended at PetSmart, you can put cat nip in it for extra effect) and that keeps her more than happy. Enjoy your new family member.

BeefJerky

mdaudioguy wrote: »

Wow, is your cat a freakin' model?? That's a beautiful cat... and I'm not a cat person.

LOL! No. I just happen to get lucky with a good picture here or there; trust me, there are lot of bad/mediocre attempts. He's older now, so it is easier to get a good picture now versus when he was a kitten with unlimited amounts of energy.

I just found a couple of pictures comparing his size between a kitten and adult. He was a actually smaller when we first got him, but it's still a good comparison. He's about 3 months old in the first picture and 5 and half in the second. He is 9 now, and his name is Fuzzbuster. The pictures are flipped to ensure the same perspective in both photos.
Kitten:

Cat:

And, now that you had me looking at my photos, I found one of my my prior cat, who lived to be 14 years old. Her name was Snow (very original, I know):

mdaudioguy wrote:

Here's one from the night we got him. I just tried to get another, but he wouldn't sit still. He's a little wound up this morning.

Very cute kitten you have there! Be sure to take lots of pictures.

starkiller

Very cute kitten there!! Must say I love the little monsters, thanks to my mom. Here is a pic I just took of my 17 year old Maine Coon mix chloe, can you tell that right beneath her condo is electric baseboard heat?

wz2p7j

(no charge)

Chris

starkiller

Thanks, appreciate the redo! I do not know how to do that....

jbooker82

Left to Right: Teenie and Destiny. Teenie has only 4 teeth. The two bottom K9's and the top two molars. Her body was just rejecting her teeth so they needed to be pulled. That is why she looks like she has "Old Man Mouth". Destiny was at the shelter for 3 years. Se was real timid and when you would pick her up she would his and act mean. She never bit or scratched while we were at the shelter. The wost she would do was act like she was going bite you. She would just hit your arm with an open mouth. So the shelter wouldn't allow her to go home with a family who had kids. We dont have kids and she was real pretty and I couldn't resist. We got her home and her attitude did a 180. She is real loving. She is real small and would get picked on at the shelter. She would hide all day and at night when all the other cats are locked up they would leave her out to rome.

dfretwell

I would love a new kitten! But my dog is not a fan....

mdaudioguy

Well, at least he seems comfortable with us! He's asleep in these pics... he wore himself out earlier today.

cfrizz

Too cute!

deronb1

Cats suck! I say that because I cannot remember a time where a cat has not been present in my life. Save my time in the field while in the Army. Cats have flourished because they are adept at getting what they need while not being too much of a pain in the ****. Compared to dogs, they are virtually non-existant. Dogs are a money pit and require entirely too much time and effort. I don't care what kind of dog it is......they are needy, crazy beings that cant be left alone for more than half a day without losing their minds. I will end this with dogs suck too!

BeefJerky

mdaudioguy wrote: »

Well, at least he seems comfortable with us! He's asleep in these pics... he wore himself out earlier today.

Very cute!

deronb1 wrote: »

Cats suck! I say that because I cannot remember a time where a cat has not been present in my life. Save my time in the field while in the Army. Cats have flourished because they are adept at getting what they need while not being too much of a pain in the ****. Compared to dogs, they are virtually non-existant. Dogs are a money pit and require entirely too much time and effort. I don't care what kind of dog it is......they are needy, crazy beings that cant be left alone for more than half a day without losing their minds. I will end this with dogs suck too!

Then you haven't met my friends cat; his cat is truly as needy as a dog. His cat doesn't like to be left alone, and craves constant attention. When he gets home from work, the cat emits something along the lines of: "MMMMRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW." This is not an angry meow, just a "how could you abandon me for more than 5 minutes" meow.

rromeo923

My Dog and Cat are buddies!