Cat Lovers Please Help (1 Viewer)

[Zen Butler]

My newest addition Ali is a very well groomed kitty. I got him (sorry Jack) from a grooming shop, just before they were going to take him to a shelter.
He appears to be about 6-8 mos. old, he's very active and eats well and loves to play all damn night long.
My questions are:
How do I know he has had shots? if there is no way to tell, what is the procedure?
Should I have him neutered?
Will this all night playfullness subside? He seems to only want to sleep, when its time for me to get up
other than that he seems extremely good natured and healthy. Anything I may have forgotten, please let me know
Thanks

 

[Jack Briggs]

Zen, we'll leave the concept of "owning" a living, breathing cat to another discussion.

All healthy kittens play hard and sleep hard, and their circadian rhythms are not synchronized to yours. Add to that the fact a cat is a nocturnal person, then there you go.

Ali, a he as opposed to an "it" (more lecturing there), should be taken to a doctor and given a thorough once-over. Tell the doctor you don't know if Ali has had his shots or not.

Finally, and here's where many will disagree with me, I am not in favor of mutilating a cat's sexual organs. My little buddy Attila is a fullblown tomcat. And for some reason, he doesn't spray randomly. When the weather gets chilly, Attila wants to spray on a chest of drawers, but I successfully persuade him to go to his litter pan instead.

Attila is unique, though. A perfect cat.

(Besides, neutering a tom does affect his metabolism. I consider it cruel.)

 

[Jeff Kleist]

Do NOT, I repeat DO NOT give him a ping pong ball or marble. You will be insane in a matter of minutes

 

[Tom Rhea]

Finally, and here's where many will disagree with me, I am not in favor of mutilating a cat's sexual organs.

I'm not in favor of doing it just to prevent spraying, but as much as it pains me (I know, not as much as it does them) I think it's a necessary evil. If I could have guaranteed that none of my cats would ever get out and impregnant some street 'ho, then I would not have done it. But I can't make that promise, and the consequences of not doing it are too horrible to think about.

If only we could get them to use condoms.

 

[Zen Butler]

Finally, and here's where many will disagree with me, I am not in favor of mutilating a cat's sexual organs.

I'm glad someone mentioned this. Something inside of me did not want to put him through this. Being as though he will be in the house, I don't see why I would.

On the issue of sleep, he just appears to real excited when I get home. He's home all day by himself. Should I get him a friend?

 

[Matt Pelham]

My experience has been that indoor cats need and desire companionship more than outdoor ones. If he's alone everyday than maybe a "friend" would be a good idea.

As far as the night playfullness, it will subside as he gets older, as will his overall level of hyperness that is common to kittens and younger cats. However don't expect it to ever fully go away.

 

[Jack Briggs]

That's because he's happy to see you, Zen! My little buddy is the same way. After we do our traditional tour of the building's first floor (Attila is keeping the apartment safe for all tenants), Attila and I walk inside our pad and he promptly takes leave of his sanity. It's good there are straight spaces so that he can maintain his trajectory at those speeds. If I make certain playful noises that just raises Attila's hyperkinetic levels. (He loves to be chased.)

 

[Ryan Spaight]

Yeah, he'll calm down in time, though even our ten-year-old has bouts of insanity every now and then. (We share our house with four cats -- just over one, about six, and two around ten. It's hard to know exactly since all but one were strays.) Get one of those fishing pole-type toys -- that way you can more easily wear the little guy out.
A brother or sister would be a fine idea. Littermates are ideal, but one of similar age would be good, too. They'll probably hate each other for a few weeks but come to an understanding eventually. (Same age is important because an older one would probably not be as eager to play as Ali.)
If there's ever *any* chance of Ali coming into contact with unfixed female cats, then he needs to be neutered. There are *way* too many unwanted cats in the world.
Ryan

 

[Malcolm R]

Katt's Krazies....

 

[KyleS]

Malcolm that was Awesome
KyleS

 

[Bill Kane]

If you DO make the decision to neuter your cat, NOW is the time to do it. Once they start that tomcat spraying and scent "ready" females, it gets imprinted and becomes behavior hard to reverse.

My fixed "Boots" is a loving cat who spends the night in the garage because being gone a lot I didnt want a "house" cat. He was neutered at 7 mos. and at age 4 still scents places in the garage, tho, seeing that his food tray often attracts neighbor cats, even thru the little swinging door I installed in the garage side door.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Casey, our 14 year old male cat still goes crazy and bolts up the stairs and around the house every once in awhile, so I do not think they ever completely outgrow it. Also, while he may get more restful at night as he gets older, as Jack mentioned cats are naturally nocturnal animals, so do not ever expect a complete, uninterrupted night's sleep. Both Casey and his female littermate Sheena wake us up more nights than not (they are indoor-only cats).

Since Casey and Sheena are male and female, respectively, we did have them neutered as kittens. They do keep each other company while we are at work, but it's amazing to watch them cuddled together one minute and fighting like wild animals a few minutes later.

 

[Zen Butler]

Quote:

He has one already, all other toys pale in comparison. I have yet to see a cat that didn't love these things.
Thanks for all your responses, and sorry if I seem a bit immature about the whole thing. I haven't had a kitty since 11, and now I have a new best bud. I feel like a young child myself, even 20 some years later

 

[Scott Merryfield]

For another source of amusement for your feline friend, try one of the plastic rings that comes off the cap of a plastic milk carton. Our female cat loves to "hockey puck" these all around the hardwood floors or vinyl in the kitchen. She will chase them all over the house.

 

[Ryan Spaight]

Oh, yes, the milk jug rings are the absolute best cat toys. One of ours has figured out that she can step on one side, pshing it up on its edge, the hook a paw through it and fling it up in the air. Then she bats it as it comes back down and chases it.
It's really quite amazing.
Just be sure you get milk jugs with the whole ring that pops off, instead of the kind you have to break and tear off. They're not nearly as much fun broken.
Ryan

 

[Julian Reville]

Finally, and here's where many will disagree with me, I am not in favor of mutilating a cat's sexual organs. My little buddy Attila is a fullblown tomcat. And for some reason, he doesn't spray randomly. When the weather gets chilly, Attila wants to spray on a chest of drawers, but I successfully persuade him to go to his litter pan instead

Everyone has the right to make their own choices, but Jack, how do you stand the smell? Forget for a minute that this (and a few more complicated things) is what I do for a living, and obviously since Zen is in CA and I am in GA, I'm not trying to drum up business. But the first question people ask me when they bring in a new male cat is "How soon can I get him neutered?".
Sometimes when we have a couple of tomcats here in the hospital the smell gets *cough* over-powering *cough* *gag*.
Does it have something to do with CA now requiring "pet-owners" to be called "animal-caretakers"?

 

[Andrew_Sch]

Jack, now that you've made your position on the chopping off of cat privates known, I'd just be interested to know how you feel about de-clawing?

 

[Alan Benson]

Couldn't disagree more. Unspayed or unneutered pets are a menace to any neighborhood, and to society at large. Keeping your pet inside the house or secured in the yard will mitigate this problem somewhat, but not completely.

Most shelters will not let you adopt an unfixed cat or dog, and with good reason. Besides being much cleaner, better behaved and sociable, they will not contribute to the rampant overpopulation that causes thousands of housepets to be destroyed every day.

 

[Ryan Spaight]

All our cats are fully armed (with claws). I like to think of it as a way to save money by not daring to buy expensive furniture.
If you get them used to having their claws trimmed when they're young, it's not that big of a deal.
Ryan

 

[Hugh Jackes]

We like to crumple a piece of paper. While lying on the floor watching TV, we thumb-and-social-finger flick it at the TV screen. It bounces off in a random direction and our two cats chase it, much like a dog. After worrying it for a minute or so, the cat who captured this fierce toy brings it back (again like a dog) for one of us to launch it again.

I'm in the spaying/neutering camp. Unfixed animals become more desperate to get out and will make every attempt to sneak past you as you come in and out. Outside is a very dangerous place (cars, coyotes) for a domesticated house cat. Fixed animals, while still goofy (insane) and loving, are more docile about staying in.

Let them keep their claws. My vet says that the feeling is probably akin to ripping out a human's fingernails.