Advice on kitty proofing house.. (1 Viewer)

[Patrick Sun]

Pretty soon you won't remember what it was like not to have kitties around the house. Very cute cats.

 

[DaveF]

I'll use this thread; it's the closest I could find to a "Kittens" thread

We adopted two orange tiger-cat kittens last night from the local Humane Society.
These should be visible to everyone (no FB account needed)
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?ai...1&l=f0b385a1d4

Mango is fearless and playful and feisty. Dash is timid, a bit aloof or skittish, but is settling in and starting to play and act. They're kept in a bedroom for now. I'm looking forward to letting them roam the house in a week.

 

[Patrick Sun]

Aw, really cute kitties, makes me want to get some orange swirl ice cream for some reason. I'd like to get a orange tabby, but I'm sort of waiting for my eldest cat to move on to his next stop, but he keeps hanging in there. I'm hoping to find an orange one with a white underbelly, and paws, and maybe on his mouth and chin area too. But that's a ways away.

 

[Jay H]

Awwww... yeah, they remind me of an orange sherbet/vanilla swirl... Yumm!

Jay

 

[DaveF]

Now you've made me hungry for some Summer Dream ice cream

 

[Dennis Nicholls]

Now you will have to start wasting time over at Lolcats ‘n’ Funny Pictures of Cats – I Can Has Cheezburger?

 

[DaveF]

How about traveling with Cats in the car? We do a 5+ day trip, driving 10 hrs / 600 miles for Christmas every year. We can leave the cats at home and have neighbors check on them. But what about traveling with them?

My wife and I are considering taking the cats with us on short errands and acclimate them to the car. We've left their carrier open in their room so they play with it; it's not the "danger" bag to them.

Any advice on cats & car-trips?

 

[Malcolm R]

It depends on the cat.

One cat we had didn't like riding in cars at all. She'd yowl loudly and cower the whole time the car was in motion.

Another cat just curled up on the back seat and went to sleep while riding.

 

[Lew Crippen]

We have one cat who hates any car ride of any length. We used drugs for him when we drove to Mexico. One cat could care less and one finally protested late on the second day. Drugs for her too.

 

[Stan]

I've owned four different cats over the years and all of them absolutely hated being in the car, even when I started them very young. No matter how many times I tried to get them used to it, they just cried and cried. Luckily my vet is about a 3 minute drive from home, so routine teeth cleanings, etc. were just a quick trip.

I moved about 300 miles away a few years ago, so the vet gave me mild tranquilizers to help calm them down. Overall, I think it made things worse. They were calm, but still awake, just in sort of a semi-sleep. Every bump, every little turn and they let out the saddest, most forlorn cry I've ever heard.

After that they always stayed home. 2-3 day trips, I just left lots of food and water, they were fine. Anything longer, I had friends or neighbors check on them.

As Malcolm mentioned, depends on the cat, so may not be a problem at all. Your idea of acclimating them to trips is a good one. You'll know pretty quickly how they'll handle a long trip.

On the other hand, I've got a nine month old black lab. First car trip she was a little nervous for a few minutes. After that, she fell in love with traveling, absolutely loves being in the car, just open the door and she jumps right in, sitting quietly in the back seat. Makes me look like I've got her very well trained, but I didn't do a thing.

 

[DaveF]

Thanks for the comments, even though they weren't quite what I was looking for...

Our cats are getting livelier every day; even the timid guy is getting bouncier

They've begun noticing the door, so today we're going to let them explore the house (in a controlled fashion).

 

[Stan]

Subject did tend to drift...

As far as kitty-proofing, probably very similar to small children.

Nothing dangly hanging from curtains, off a table, countertop, etc. They'll play with it, eventually pulling it down. One of my cats actually swallowed a needle, thread and all. I was fixing a the hem on some jeans, had a needle with about six inches of thread hanging off, he grabbed it and down it went. Vet said to watch carefully, said it would probably pass through with no problems, and surprisingly it did.

My cats all loved to drink out of the toilet, so lid always stays down.

Lots of debate about declawing, but if you get it done when they're very young, usually the same time as spay/neuter around six months, they barely notice and recover in about a day. Much older cats, I wouldn't recommend it. Many vets won't even declaw after a certain age.

Lots of safe, cheap toys to keep them occupied. But avoid things with feathers or fur, mine would just pull it of, eating most of it and later barfing it right back up. Just a wadded up window envelope or empty cigarette package will keep them busy for days, they love the crinkle of the plastic.

A squirtable water bottle or even a little squirt gun works great for discipline for most cats. After few times, all you have to do is just reach for the bottle and they know to behave.

Cats adapt pretty quickly to things. Once they realize they're now in a stable home, they'll relax and make it their own.

 

[Jimi C]

Heres my cat!!

 

[DaveF]

My wife wouldn't let me get a black cat; yours is adorable.

 

[Jimi C]

I feel like she has unusually short legs and a small head. The first photo was a day or two after I got her. She was only about 2 months old.

 

[DaveF]

Our kittens are also about 2 mo old. The older of the two is about the size of yours. The younger is about half the size and noticeably less mature. But we can see small improvements daily

 

[Jimi C]

Mine is about 7 months old now and still terribly immature.

She does do this very odd thing at night where she will lay next to me and suck on this shag blanket I have on my bed as if she is nursing. Anyone ever heard of anything like that?

 

[Drue Elrick]

If you are worried about clawing/scratching, please look into Alternatives to Declawing, Nail Caps for Cats