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Advice on kitty proofing house.. (1 Viewer)

Scott Merryfield

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Definitely. Ours decided to rip a hole in the dust cover underneath the box springs to our bed and crawl in there. We ended up laying paneling down on the bed frame to keep them out of there.

Another time, I was painting the spare bedroom and had removed the vent covering the cold air return. I opened the door for a minute to do something, noticed the male cat nearby, but didn't pay much attention. Going back in the room a few minutes later, and no cat. Yes, he had gone through the cold air return. Luckily, as I was contemplating how to get him out of there, he crawled out.
 

Ed Moxley

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Don't declaw the cats! It's cruel.............. not so much that it hurts the cat, but that it takes away their protection. They learn to be more efficient with biting, but they need to be able to climb, to get away from big, mean dogs. If they have claws, they can handle a small dog. Even if you plan on them being inside cats, you can't say they'll never get out. If they start to sharpen their claws on the furniture, squirt them with a water pistol, and they'll stop. It won't take too many times, before they learn not to do it. Get, or make them a scratching post to use instead. Cats aren't stupid.

If you keep the litter box clean, you shouldn't smell anything. I know people that have cats, and when you go in their house, you don't know it until you see them, because there's no smell. Litter that clumps when it's wet, is easy to find and remove from the litter box. When you go in someone's house, and smell cats, it's because they don't clean the litter box well enough, or often enough. That's also why cats dump on the floor..............they can't find a clean spot in the litter box. Do you sit on a filthy toilet, and use it?

There is nothing on the planet, any cuter, or more fun to watch, than a kitten. Especially two kittens! When they start to play, hilarity can and will ensue, in a lot of cases. Take lots of pictures! Here is a cute one:



Cats are much more independent than dogs. They'll only be petted, when they want to be. Not necessarily when you want to pet them. They may not come when you call them, unless it's time to eat. Their independence is why some people don't like them. Some people can't handle interaction with cats, being on the cat's terms. But that's the way it will be, whether you like it or not.

BTW........
Yes, there is a certain age to fix an animal. Ask a vet when to have it done. It costs more to spay a female, than to neuter a male.
Good luck, and enjoy the kitties! :)
 

Johnny Angell

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Agree with all this. However if you play with them now, pet them as much as you can, do all you can to encourage closeness with you while they are young, you will be surprised how much they will crave affection as adults.

Spaying a cat costs more than a neuter because a neuter surgery is all external to the main body cavity. Each scrotum sack is simply cut open and the testes removed and cords are tied off. Stitches are usually not used to close up the cut. From the moment the cutting starts, it takes less than 5 minutes. A female's abdomen must be opened up and internal organs removed, it is more significant surgery.

As for the automatic boxes, obviously a lot of people have had success with them. In my volunteering I have run across people who have had cats who were scared by the box and wouldn't use it. So if you have an automatic box and the cat is not using it, consider trying out a standard box.

Also, if either cat starts peeing in multiple places outside the box, get thee to a vettery, since the cat probably has a urinary tract infection.
 

drobbins

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I can't believe we have a thread about kittens with out a "Fluffy Pumpkin" appearance :eek:.
Let me introduce you to "Princess Furby":


Here she is doing "cute kitty move #28" The up-side-down-through-the-back-of-the-chair-roll
 

Jay H

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Oh Oh, a fluffy pumpkin picture... there goes this thread...

Just kidding... :) I went and bought some Iams dry cat food on sale and some miscellaneous pet supplies.. I'm going to be using a plain old kitty litter tray at first, but I'll keep those automated ones on the back burner... christmas is coming too :)

I figure I will name them after I've had them for a week or so...

Probably wont be getting them til late next week since they are in PA so I have to meet up with my friend somewhere in between..

Jay
 

Brian W. Ralston

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1. please do not declaw your cats. There are other things that can be done that are just as effective and do not damage the cats digits. Like soft Paws. www.softpaws.com . You just apply them once a month or so. And if you get a kitten use to cutting their nails...it will become easier the older they get. Just don't cut into the quick (the pink part seen inside the nail). That is very painful if you do and it will bleed.

2. A burst of the compressed air can will work about as well as a squirt bottle. You don't have to burst air on or at the cat, just the loud sudden sound near by will make them stop the offending behavior. My cat got to the point where I no longer had to use the can but just made a quick hissing sound with my mouth and it had the same effect. Now that she is older...she does not get into trouble too often. She is more concerned about sleeping than anything else.

3. Dry food is best. Once she became an adult, I feed her one can of soft a morning (she picks at it throughout the day)...and she has dry food out 24/7...and water of course.

4. Try to make barriors behind and under applicances and such where you do not want them to go. They are very curious kittens when they start waking. So...make a barrior so they won't go under the stove/oven...or under or behind the refrigerator...washer & dryer, etc...Maybe even behind your home theatre system area where all the cables are. I made my barriors by cutting out long sheets of foam core board, etc...

5. Provide a place for them to scratch and they will soon learn that is the only place to scratch. Get one of those carpeted kitty play trees or at least a scratching post. If they start scratching on furniture or go places where you don't want them, there are sprays you can buy (they taste bitter to them) to spray on cables and things so they won't chew on them or you can lay out some alum foil around an area where you do not want them to go. They hate foil usually. Unless you get an adventurous one like mine who decided to just jump over it.

6. Buy tape rollers in bulk at Cosco and keep them handy so you can get all the pet hair from a loving cat off you and your guests at a moments notice. :)
 

drobbins

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There are a lot of statements on this thread about declawing being "cruel". In all honesty, I never thought much about it until reading this thread. I do not want to turn this thread about a happy moment in Jay's life into a big debate. I have had cats, dogs, horses, sheep, chickens, ducks, turkeys, peacocks, hamsters, gerbils & fish as pets at some point in time during my life. Cats like people each have their own personality. Some are passive and some are aggressive, some are friendly some are not, some are smart and easy to train some are more difficult. So what works for one cat may not work for others. As I said, do not declaw an outside cat. Although all 3 of my cats are front declawed and have unlimited access to the outside. (Pet door) I live in a very rural area.
Sammy is 8 years old. He started out as an inside cat, but in the past year he has decided that he prefers the outside. Even with out front claws; he has no troubles climbing fence posts or catching birds, rabbits, etc. He has never come home injured from a fight that he lost.
Chump-o is a typical "Garfield" cat both in coloring and personality. He was very active as a kitten, but now he mainly eats & sleeps. I think a cow kicked him. He stops to rest on his way to the food dish. He is 70% inside cat.
Princess Furby pictured in previous posts has earned her title Princess. She is definitely an upper class personality and rarely goes outside.
For Fathers day I was given a chiwawa puppy all full of energy to play. Non of our declawed cats have had any issue taking on the puppy either as a group or one on one. As I am writing this "The Furbinator" (Furby's alter personality) has been chasing the puppy around the house and definately has the upper hand.
The only part about the "cruel" statement I may agree with, is the operation its self. But I don't see it any crueler that having a female cats plumbing removed. I would think that is a far more serious operation. If they are done both at once as a kitten, the kitten usually just lays around for a few days anyway. I can’t see this being any crueler than other things that humans do to animals:

* Riding horses - they do not allow us to ride them until their spirit is broken.
* When sheep are born their tail is over a foot long and is cut off for sanitary reasons.
* Domesticated birds have their wings clipped so they don't fly away.
* Many, many animals are taken out of their natural habitat for zoos or entertainment purposes.
* Cows and other animals are raised solely to be killed for food.
* Fishing is a sport where they are yanked out of the water by a hook in the mouth into the air where they can't breath, only to have their picture taken if they are worthy and then returned into the water.

Reasons for declawing include young children and babies. Even if the cat does not scratch them intentionally during play, there is always that kneading thing cats do before they sleep. Neutering or spaying a cat is "acceptable" because it is more humane than putting unwanted cats to death. How many more cats do you think would end up in shelters for tearing up expensive furniture or other house hold items if not declawed?
The reason I am writing this is because using the word "cruel" gives such a negative almost intentionally evil meaning to the act. I agree that any operation on any animal, even tagging wildlife, should be avoided, but declawing is no more cruel than a zillion other things that humans do to animals and wildlife. I would never do anything cruel to my pets. Heck I avoid swatting flys and misquotes if at all possible. Believe it or not most of the time I will try to catch a fly and let it outside if I can. Why should he be given the death sentence just because he found his way into my house and can't get out.
Like I said, I don't want to turn this thread into a debate that will not convince either side of the issue. I wanted to present another pint of view.
Jay - enjoy your kittens. You can decide if you want them declawed or not.
Johnny - Keep up the good work with the FuRR project.
Dave
 

Johnny Angell

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I too will have said my peace about declawing, after this. Please, please do not compare declawing to sterilization. Millions of dogs and cats are euthanized each year and countless more live homeless lives wondering if they'll find something to eat or if they'll be attacked by another animal or human. Sterilization is the only solution to this. We can argue back and forth about declawing, but sterilization is on such a fundamentally different level, that I believe it is incorrect to argue because one is ok, so is the other.

'nuff said.
 

BrianW

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I can attest that squirt bottles/water pistols work very well to train cats. Dogs are clever (or merely socially different) enough to associate negative feedback -- like a squirt from a water pistol -- with the person doing the squirting. Consequently, they will see you reach for the squirt gun when you see them about to do something forbidden, and they will stop. But they also know that if you're not around, then forbidden activity goes unpunished.

No so with cats. They seem to associate negative reinforcement with geography, not at all with you. Consequently, and before they've learned their lesson, when they are about to engage in forbiden behavior (like scratching the sofa), they will not stop even if they see you reach for the water pistol and aim it at them. They're not being defiant; they truly don't know what you're about to do. When they engage in the behavior (and you should wait until they do), give them a squirt, and instead of associating the unpleasant squirt with you, they will (seemingly) associate the unpleasant squirt with where they were and what they were doing at the time they got wet. This means that, once they've learned their lesson, it will never occur to them that engaging in that behavior at that place when you're not around will go unpunished, which is a good thing.

This may seem to indicate that dogs are smarter than cats, but I don't think this is the case. Inter-species theory-of-mind is something only a handful of animals are capable of, domesticated dogs being one of them. It's a social thing, not an intelligence thing, and it makes dogs appear to be slightly less-intelligent versions of humans with very little anthropomorphism on our part. Cats, which are extremely smart in their own way, simply have brains that are wired so differently that they just cant be evaluated the way we tend to evaluate dogs and humans. But, just like dogs, they respond to affection, play, and other social activity, albeit a little differently.
 

Jay H

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Nice, I've got my super soaker ready.... :)

I'm not going to jump into anything right now, I'm going to block off most of the wiring behind my home theater setup and do some basic kitty blocking, but I have no plans on doing anything to them other than the neuter/spay thing once I can get them in my possession and sex them. I still have to find out how old they are..

I was in a petsmart this weekend, (Iams is cheaper there than at the grocery store so looks like I will be shopping there next time) and checked out the softpaws that Brian and Johnny has linked too here. They sound like a lot less drastic than declawing to me personally and since I already live a fairly granola lifestyle :) I am hoping to do that if need be. Hoping to not even need that though.

I wish I could spend the weekend with the little guys, but I will pick them up friday after work and be around friday night to observe and play. Saturday, I am off hiking up in NY but just for the day. Sunday, I may be kayaking again...

Jay
 

Marianne

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For some more information to help you decide about declawing:

http://www.pawproject.com/html/faqs.asp

Declawing is illegal or considered inhumane in many countries around the world, including in the United Kingdom, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, France, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Austria, Switzerland, Slovenia, Israel, Yugoslavia, Australia, New Zealand, and Brazil.

In the United States many respected individuals and organizations are opposed to declawing. These include the Humane Society, the ASPCA, the Cat Fancier's Association and others.

As someone else mentioned, you can trim your cats claws yourself. You can get special clippers and kittens should get used to it. Just be careful because their claws are tiny.
 

David Hobbes

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Please don't let your kitties and cats outside. Keep them inside where they will avoid predators, cars and disease.

I find letting cats outside much more "cruel" than declawing them.

I've hit 3 cats in my life and each time it tore me up. I was so bummed out. i was ready to berate the owners for allowing their cats outside where cars can hit them. and in the process causing me some heartfelt grief.

Cats can get all the love and life they want inside!!
 

RyanAn

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We had a quack vet do our kitties declawing and my girls's front paws shake sometimes. Like they're swatting something involuntary. Make sure if you get them declawed that it's a vet you can trust.

Try your best to get the kitties to be cool and trustworthy of you trimming their nails. DON'T get their back nails declawed - another quack vet did that to my uncle's cat and now she has it rough for a scratch.
 

Jay H

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The eagle has landed, I brought home the two little scared-dee-kitties home last night. I'm sure it's all normal. Hell, I'd be scared to death in the same situation. Opened my pet carrier and setup the food/water/litter box, closed my door and went to bed... in the middle of the night, I could hear Mo, the black one come out, eat, drink, use the litterbox, squirrel away somewhere. The grey guy is a lot more shy and he remained squirreled away all night... I had the window open so Mo would go up to the screen and rest but he was out and about and tonight I'm going to leave my bedroom door open and block off my living room (and my HT) so they can wander the hallway and my bathroom... Slowly acclimating them to my house and me... so far so good! I can then also get the food and liter box out of my bedroom...

The grey guy is definitely the shy one but they are both so so cute. Today, when I woke up, and got myself ready for breakfast, I found them plastered underneath the lowest drawer of my wooden desk I have. was looking forever, couldn't find them until I took my flashlight and both of them are like stuffed wall to wall under my desk! very cute.. I'm sure they're still scared.

They are 12 weeks old, I'm told both males but I haven't checked myself.

Should I wait til I get them neutered before doing the shots and the FELV/FIV tests? or should I go get them their shots ASAP. they are not going outside.

Jay
 

Johnny Angell

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If you lift the tail and see an upside down exclamation point, that's a female.

At 12 weeks, they are old enough to be sterilized. Don't delay much longer, unless otherwise advised by your vet. The vaccinations can make the cats feel funky for a day or two, so combining with surgery may not be ideal, but talk to your vet.

Do not get any FIP vaccinations; they are useless and have been known to trigger the disease. Talk to your vet about the FIP vac and make sure he's not going to do it. I'll never understand why some vets still give it.

If your vet wants to give the FIP vac, contact local humane groups or other vets, before allowing your vet to give it. I'll bet you will find some opposition to this vaccination.

Maybe I mentioned this before, but there is a possibility of a false positive on the tests. If this happens wait one to two months and retest. The false positive can happen because they still have their mother's antibodies in their blood and she may have been exposed. Often, a positive kitten will retest negative.

Also, if you do end up with an FIV positive cat, keep him and love him, take care of him, and chances are, he'll have a long and happy life. You'll feel good about giving him a home.
 

Jay H

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OK, I will call the vet tomorrow...

They've been in my house for 4 days now and I'm kind of getting worried about the grey one, "greylock" The black cat, I'll call him Marcy now, seems OK, both of them are very nocturnal, in fact, as far as I can tell, they are both literally couch potatoes in the daytime, sitting around under my desk.... Anyway, at night, they do go out and roam, Marcy being the more sociable and active one and is eating very healthy and drinking and happily using the liter pan..

Greylock, on the other hand has me worried, he's somewhat active at night, but I can't seem to get him to eat and he's starting to feel bony... not visually but beginning signs.. I've separated the two because Marcy would eat all the food I left for Greylock yet he still doesn't seem to show any interest in food. This is the Iams Purple Kitten food. I think I've had him drink though. Both of them don't seem hostile to me, I can pet them when they are lying under my desk, but usually they'll run away at night if I get near...

What do you think I should try with the Greylock, I am going to ask my friend to see if he was like that when he was with her... I know she told me he clawed her one morning but he's not shown any aggression to me and my friend has an adult cat they may have been scared of even though they were separated.

I have you sexing hint, but I haven't felt comfortable to check yet knowing these guys seem to be scared all the time...

Jay
 

Johnny Angell

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The kittens are still getting used to their new home and every cat is different. It is not surprising that one cat is doing better than the other. Watch his water intake, that is important. If he gets dehydrated, that can cause a downward spiral of feeling bad which causes him not to eat and drink which makes him more dehydrated which... you get the picture.

If you don't know the dehydration test, ask your vet to show it to you. You pinch a fold of skin on his back, behind his neck and pull it up gently and let go. With a properly hydrated cat the skin should pop back into position quickly. If he's dehydrated it will slowly go back into position or even leave a little ridge of skin where you pulled it.

If dehydration is a problem, your vet can hydrate your cat with sub-q (under the skin) fluids which will help him a lot. We have two geriatric cats thast my wife and I hydrate ourselves on a daily basis.

The bit about coming out at night is normal for cats getting used to their new home, they're still a bit unsure about you. Even after they've acclimated to their new home, you're going to here them banking of the wall at night as they burn off kitten energy:

As you said, talk to your vet.
 

Jay H

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Johnny, thank you for all your help... Actually I've heard about the skin test, but I've heard of that in terms of humans... I guess it would be the same.

Anyway, I tried it on Greylock and seems to be fine. Marcy is getting more voracious and getting more used to me... and his front claws are getting pretty sharp! But I would probably need a hand to get softpaws on him as I don't think he would sit still for it. I have the scratch pad up but he's not really using anything that I can tell as a scratch pad. I added some more catnip to it just to be sure.

I am alternating foods between Iams kitten (purple one) and Hill's Science Diet. Looking at the nutritional information, seems fairly similar anyway. Marcy just eats it all up, doesn't matter, no need to slowly wean it into their diet, I figure it's better to get them variety now before they decide to be picky. I have some fancy feast wet cat food too for the occasional treat.

I also kitty proofed more of the house. I verified a basic spider plant isn't poisonous to cats and I ziptied my LCD TV down so they can't knock it over. I have to worry though if they want to scratch the screen.... so right now I've blocked off the living room when I'm not there... however, they seem to be happy enough to live in my bedroom but I want to give them more space to play/roam eventually... I do have to keep them away from my tarantula and my fish though...

Jay
 

Johnny Angell

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Because they are small, kitten claws can seem like needles. Do you have someone who could help with the clipping? It helps to have one person firmly hold the cat while the other clips the nails. Depending on how big they are, kitten claws can actually be trimmed with fingernail clippers, the kind that have a leaver that folds up after using. Otherwise get a good quality clipper from a pet store. Err on the side of clipping too little nail rather than too much. If you cut into the quick inside the nail it will hurt them and they'll start resisting getting their nails clipped. Some cats will simply sit there and allow the clipping, but they tend to be an exception.

To compare the foods, check the nutritional label. I think we decided on SD dry because the important ingredient (chicken, I think), was listed first or 2nd while on other foods it was further down the list.

We are getting an HD lcd which will be standing on a base. Exactly how did you zip tie the TV down? We may be interested in doing this. As for scratching the screen, I have a dell lcd monitor and the cats have never shown any interest in it.
 

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