Getting a cat

[Shizzle12345]

thx for the advice. Problem is he escaped quite alot of times now and really knows what hes missing. I bought a leash now and he can walk in the garden and all. I might let him walk outside soon without leash...

The neighborhood is pretty cool and wont kill or steal my cat, the only thing that could happen is a car running him over.

[hedxcold]

I got a second cat to keep my first (Lola) company since I thought she was getting lonely during the day while me and my GF work. We just got him yesterday, and I know it'll be a while before they get can at least live in peace together,but so far its not looking to good. Lola hisses like crazy at the site or sound of him. They got into one altercation already when they both managed to get underneath a table (Charlie snuck out of his room when I opened the door.)

As for Charlie, hes amazing. He belonged to some old lady who got sent to a nursing home, and hes so nice, calm and affectionate. You can hold him, pick him up whenever, and hes cool with it. He wasn't even hissing back at Lola until she took a swat at him. Now he does a little sometimes.

my nieces said to name him Charlie since theres some British kids show "Charlie and Lola", so we're going with that

[Soulman]

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I got a second cat to keep my first (Lola) company since I thought she was getting lonely during the day while me and my GF work. We just got him yesterday, and I know it'll be a while before they get can at least live in peace together,but so far its not looking to good. Lola hisses like crazy at the site or sound of him. They got into one altercation already when they both managed to get underneath a table (Charlie snuck out of his room when I opened the door.)

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Be patient - eventually, they'll probably tolerate each other. Our cats were at each other for 3-4 days with the hissing and howling, which is below average from what we read.

Nice-looking cat [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[livecards]

I used to be against declawing but I don't think it is inhumane. If you declaw your cat just don't let it outside. Your cat will have a difficult time defending itself or climbing trees to avoid dogs if it is declawed.

When you buy litter make sure that you buy the clumping litter. It is easy to scoop out and lasts a long time. Just make sure that you scoop around the clump of pee and not cut through it because that becomes messy. Also, make sure you put enough litter in the box so the cat doesn't pee on the bottom because that is a pain to clean out. Some cats will dig deeper to pee then others so you will have to find the right amount through trial and error. Cleaning the box once a day is best because if the litter box is clean the cat will never not use it. When you go away just for the weekend just put an extra litter box out.

The automatic feeders are a few bucks but I understand they work very good. They dispense the food periodically. Of course you could have someone come by the house but if you can't an extra litter box, the auto feeder, and an extra water bowl should do the trick. I don't think you should leave a small kitten alone for a few days but an adult cat will be fine. Good luck with your cat.

[wdead]

All of the cats I have owned have been declawed. I had the coolest cat ever, but once he was declawed, he suffered from feline depression, gained a lot of weight, and died young due to kidney complications.
He was probably the coolest most outgoing cat when he had claws, and most immediately after we got him declawed he lost all of his edge.

[wdead]

Oh yea I think our cat got depressed after the older one died, not after declawing. But the other stuff is true, declawing really changed his personality for the worse. Much less confident and fun.

edit: I am not gonna get my future cats declawed

[steel108]

Here is my Muggle. One crazy cat; I have all the scars to prove it

[FaDi]

god this thread makes me want to get a cat

[tuq]

steel, that cat looks small, I'm guessing it's <1 year old. Nice shiny coat though. I recently switched to Science Diet food (dry for both, although I also get cans for one of them as a treat). It's more expensive but the word is that it's way better for them than stuff you get at the grocery store (for whatever reason Science Diet isn't at the Safeway by me). Their coats seem to be a bit shinier and they seem more energetic, maybe it's my imagination but that's my take.

hedxcold, I'm sure they'll get along fine once they get used to each other. From what I've researched you need to keep them in separate rooms for a few days and let them sniff each other under the door. Once they're used to the other's scent and existence they will find a way to get along and hopefully eventually like each other. When I brought home the stray he was very defensive and the other one just wanted to play but he would hiss at him while I held him in my lap. After a few days they got along and now about a year later they play together all the time and never fight.

[hedxcold]

Poor Charlie. Lola lures him in and they kiss for like 2 seconds, then she hisses and wacks him. She has done this like three times already.