Howard adores his cats...thinking' of getting one..need real world advice

[Thelma]

Best thing to do is go to NSAL and adopt a black cat.

Nobody wants the black ones.

Tell them Beth O sent you, and you'll get a discount.

But remember black cats don't photograph as well as other cats - unless your photographer is Howard Stern!

"... black-coated animals tend to not photograph as well as animals of other colors—although I know one photographer that takes brilliant animal pictures no matter the color of the animal: my wonderful husband Howard ...

Xo
Beth"

[Rufus Teefus]

Well that is true, same with dawgs..few want a black dawg...I just want a cat that is a Lap Cat...and gets along with my Dawg..

i thought dawg was Mexican?

[DlistCelebutard]

So much energy!!!

Well that isn't a good thing..my dawg is mellow..would like a mellow cat..

[blottomsup]

And since I can't wait for Beth's O My Cat book to come out, thought I would ask here...
BTW, I've never had a cat..only dawgs..so I don't feel that confident being a cat owner..

1) I would like an affectionate kitty..I hear some are very aloof...how do I pick one?
2) that jumping on kitchen countertops..don't like that..can they be trained not to?
3) Do you really have to clean the litter box several times per day? (Beth says so, but I don't have a Conseula)
4) Do they really sleep all day then run around and keep you up all night?
5) Would not declaw a cat..but don't want them scratching up everything....can they be trained to not do that?
6) My dawg is confused by cats, he doesn't know what to make of them at Petsmart or the vet..he isn't aggressive..just confused, might chase them if they run...how do I insure they get along?
7) And why do they spray? Is that a male thing? Should I get a female?

Would tweet beth but I'm sure she would say 'hire a cat psychologist" or some such nonsense.

Here are my answers:

1) As a general rule, the older the cat, the easier it is to make a quick assessment of its personality type. Notwithstanding, the one kitten that I adopted in my life was aloof at the shelter and aloof when I got him home as well. So there is that. Shelter employees should be able to tell you generally about each cat's personality.

2) I've never tried to train a cat not to jump on counters, so I don't know if it's possible. But if I were to try, I would spray them with a water bottle every time they hopped up on one. Cats hate being sprayed.

3) The number of litter box cleanings per day depends on the number of cats you have, the number of boxes you have, and your tolerance level. In general, once a day cleaning for one cat, one box should do it.

4) The cat in my avatar sleeps all day and is up all night. I pet him several times a night, but I don't blame him for my restlessness. He senses when I'm awake and comes closer for affection.

5) As a general rule, the more cat scratchers you provide for a cat, the less likely the cat is to scratch the furniture. Consistently spraying the cat with a water bottle every time it scratches something you don't want scratched might help train the cat.

6) You might try bringing your dog to the shelter when you select a cat. And if you adopt an older cat from a shelter, they should be able to tell you if the cat you have in mind is likely to get along with dogs, other cats, and children. If those fail, it will be trial and error. But I'd bet the shelter would let you switch out cats if the relationship between the dog and cat becomes armageddon-ish.

7) I had a cat who sprayed. Male. Alpha male. And the situation was aggravated when a roommate of mine adopted a male kitten.

In general, I think spraying cats are fairly rare. And it's probably situational. But again, you could probably return the cat to the shelter if that is an issue. And I doubt the cat would hide that behavior in the first month or two - at least an adult cat probably wouldn't.

I prefer dogs to cats but live in an apartment so I've never had the luxury of owning a dog. But cats are great too. Get one.

[Lou Cypher]

I captured a feral kitten/young adult.


She is 6 now. I'm her only human.
She is napping on a thousand dollar recliner
...I'm sitting in a tattered 10 year old recliner

That's adorable. One of mine takes my computer chair a lot. I just roll it gently away from the desk and pull up another chair. Spoiled little things.

[Thelma]

I captured a feral kitten/young adult.


She is 6 now. I'm her only human.
She is napping on a thousand dollar recliner
...I'm sitting in a tattered 10 year old recliner

Sounds about right!!

[Nemo]

That's adorable. One of mine takes my computer chair a lot. I just roll it gently away from the desk and pull up another chair. Spoiled little things.

[Lou Cypher]

one box per cat....scoop it once a day.
so far so good.

Yeah, I do the same thing, but we have one cat who gets bullied by the others. He's afraid to go to the litter box now because they all line up like a scene out of West Side Story and wait for him. He's been peeing in a boot tray by the front door.

[Lou Cypher]

Yours can fly!

[Vashier]

That's adorable. One of mine takes my computer chair a lot. I just roll it gently away from the desk and pull up another chair. Spoiled little things.

I shove my brindle over and we share the chair. She sits with me at least 4 hours a day either in my lap or next to my butt. It's so funny. My white female had a kitten last july. That kitten and the brindle have bonded like she was his mother. The mother cat and kitten hardly get along at all half the time. The kitten is adorable but 2x the size of the females already. He's a wild man but a sweet heart at the same time.

[Beth Eats Hay]

Yours can fly!

Digging that racial equality, too

[knu3421]

Here is the roadrunner's new cat

[Thelma]

^^^^ Definitely in the "too cute" category!

[Vashier]

here is the roadrunner's new cat

awwwwwwwwwwwwww

[Nemo]

Yeah, I do the same thing, but we have one cat who gets bullied by the others. He's afraid to go to the litter box now because they all line up like a scene out of West Side Story and wait for him. He's been peeing in a boot tray by the front door.

one of the litter boxes is far away from the others in the basement....in case they are feuding.
I hope things work out for your dude.

[Howard103]

Yeah when it comes to bonding with cats, you have to be patient and insistent. I recently took in 2 stray kittens (they were already about 8 months, which is pretty old when it comes to adapting to being pets), and one of them took A LOT more time than the other to turn around. It took almost a couple of months of actively seeking her out and petting her as much as she uld allow, which was sometimes only a stroke. Then eventually I was able to pet her more and more, and now she's the sweetest little runt of a cat.

The point is if you keep at it and gradually push them out of their comfort zones they will become very close to you.

[Lou Cypher]

I shove my brindle over and we share the chair. She sits with me at least 4 hours a day either in my lap or next to my butt. It's so funny. My white female had a kitten last july. That kitten and the brindle have bonded like she was his mother. The mother cat and kitten hardly get along at all half the time. The kitten is adorable but 2x the size of the females already. He's a wild man but a sweet heart at the same time.

Wow, that's funny. You'd think the mother and baby would have a special bond. I've tried to share the chair when the cat's in it, but he's pretty humorless about it - gives me a dirty look and spreads out more.

Digging that racial equality, too

[Lou Cypher]

Here is the roadrunner's new cat

Every single one of us just said, "Ooohhh!!" and giggled at that pic. TOO cute!

one of the litter boxes is far away from the others in the basement....in case they are feuding.
I hope things work out for your dude.

That's a good idea and I should move one box, but they'd just surround him wherever it is. I did take all of the boots out of the boot tray, though.

[Vashier]

Wow, I never heard of that before.... Had a few females and luckily didn't have that problem.

it shocked the shit out of me as I've had plenty of males jouvies piss in my lap as a sign of ownership but never a female. I have seen females mark when in heat but it's a very light non-urine smelling liquid unlike male spray. I was pissed off, on, but honored as well hehehe

[ClumpyStern]

With all the advice here, am thinking of getting a kitten..HATE do to that b/c so many older cats never get a good home..but I do love the brindle kitty (1 yr ode) that has been at petsmart for 2 months..

Not necessary. Try what BU suggested and take your dog to the shelter. It will be very easy to see which cats are already OK with dogs. You hang onto your dog and let the shelter person bring over the cat. Or get your dog's scent all over your hands, handle a cat, give the cat back to the staff, take control of your dog, and let them bring the cat over to check one another out. The benefit of starting with a kitten is you can influence their development but what BU said is also true: All kittens are affectionate, so you can't tell their mature personality; if you check out adult cats, you're seeing the personality you're getting. Kinda the same reason I've always advised women to give up the sex immediately as soon as they know they like the guy "that way" instead of "testing" the guy's sincerity during the time he's on his best behavior because he's still hoping for it, but that's a totally different pussy issue.