What's wrong with my cat?

[Belok]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
After going through 20-30 cats in my lifetime

[/ QUOTE ]

20 to 30 cats? Are you eating them or something?

[/ QUOTE ]
Had 3-5 at a time since I was 5 years old.
And lived in California for most of that time.

Basically we were a meals-on-paws service for the coyotes.

[Los Feliz Slim]

Belok,

I honestly can't understand how a cat owner could possibly be spouting the "cats have no personality" drivel. It is my hypothesis that you had tons of cats at a time, treated them like crap, and left them outside to be coyote-fodder. Thus, the cats didn't want to give you the time of day. Because you suck, you know?

Just a theory.

[mosdef]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
After going through 20-30 cats in my lifetime

[/ QUOTE ]

20 to 30 cats? Are you eating them or something?

[/ QUOTE ]
Had 3-5 at a time since I was 5 years old.
And lived in California for most of that time.

Basically we were a meals-on-paws service for the coyotes.

[/ QUOTE ]

When I was young we went through quite a few cats, too (also lived in the country). Domesticated cats don't really have very good survival instincts. I think my girlfriend's cat would last about 1 day outside the apartment.

[maniacut]

You need to give her some exercise like the quote in esad's post says and you need to involve yourself to make it challenging for her or else she's going to bore of it pretty fast. For some reason my cat doesn't really like those ringing toy balls you can buy at the store, she much rather play with a ball made of tightly bound saran wrap. So we've made a bunch of those and now theres maybe 20 of them around the house under couches and stuff. Make the ball (the noise sets her off), tease a little by pretending to throw and crunching to make noise, throw, she gives chase, rinse and repeat. Another thing I like to do, not sure how much my cat likes it is to have her do pullups on a door. The door opens to the kitchen where it is stopped by the counter, hold her midsection up high, she grabs with her front two and gets to the top, jumps onto the counter, rinse repeat.

[PokeReader]

Signs of heat
include continuous meowing, rubbing, arching back, tail flicking, rolling on
the ground, aggression, etc. Signs of heat can last up to two weeks.

She can't be in heat this whole time. Either she is a talker, she is lonely and bored, or is sick. His description does not sound like a sick cat. The fact that she is so active and tries hard to socialize with the only available companion cat makes me believe that she is just a very active cat who does really have enough to do in the apartment. Getting her a good cat tree may give her enough play space to get her to settle down more, and eventually as she ages this will stop, but not for a long time probably. I still think you will probably need to get another cat. By the way, younger doesn't need to mean kitten, just an adolescent.

[bobman0330]

Thanks for all the advice!

It seems unlikely that she's in heat. She's not doing the butt-arching, and her behavior isn't the same as the last time she was in heat, before she was fixed.

The general consensus seems to be to play more often with her, as actively as possible. Does anyone have any thoughts on this:
[ QUOTE ]
But if you want a few moments of peace, you can teach your cat to be quiet on request. Gently ask kitty to "Shush." If the cat ignores you, immediately shout, "BE QUIET!" or squirt her in the face with water once or twice. After a few repetitions, kitty will get the idea and obey the gentle request of "Shush," rather than get screamed at or doused with water.

[/ QUOTE ]

Finally, if I do get a second cat, what can I do to make sure they get along? My cat (Medea, btw) and my gf's cat got off on the wrong foot because she's really play-aggressive and decided to jump on the other cat a very short time after they were introduced. Should I just find as playful a second cat as possible and keep them separated for a while so they can get used to each other's scents?

[Los Feliz Slim]

When I introduced a second cat into my house I kept them totally separate for a while and slowly, slowly, introduced them to each other. One is much older than the other, they're both female. The older one HATED the younger one for a long time, and the best she ever does is tolerate the younger one. Once a day or so the older one just beats the living [censored] out of the younger one, just for kicks.

I do think it's kind of nice for them to have each other when we're not in the house, but I think the only way you can know they'll be friends is if they're siblings.

[Belok]

[ QUOTE ]
Belok,

I honestly can't understand how a cat owner could possibly be spouting the "cats have no personality" drivel. It is my hypothesis that you had tons of cats at a time, treated them like crap, and left them outside to be coyote-fodder. Thus, the cats didn't want to give you the time of day. Because you suck, you know?

Just a theory.

[/ QUOTE ]

Nice theory.

I had 2 indoor cats who are about 10 years old now...we gave them away a year ago because they were just a pain in the ass and not worth the effort. We treated them well, they were spoiled little turds who did nothing but shed all over our house.

Our outdoor cats, however, were the best behaved and at least served a purpose. They were nice to us when we went outside to pet them. They'd catch a bird or snake every now and then, keep rodents away from the house, etc. They were useful and they were friendly. Unfortunately, they were also the most likely to be eaten by Coyotes. When you live away from town and have cats that roam, you really cant avoid this happening.

We never treated our animals badly.



My dog (still a puppy, really), however, at 6 months old knows about 10 obedience commands, actually shows -emotion-, will fetch, walk, swim and float on a raft with us, etc. Not only that, but it is very attached to my GF and I, who raised her.

Ever try to teach a cat to sit? It will stare at you blankly until it realizes you dont have food/wont pet it and then it leaves. At best, your cat likes you to be around, and is dependent on your food.

An outside cat is alright as an accessory. An indoor cat is a waste of time.

A dog is a good pet [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[DMC0627]

Sounds to me like the cat is in heat, but a vet check can't hurt. Gotta say, I have both cats and dogs, and they are all affectionate.

[Bostaevski]

Dogs are good pets for sure but there are also downsides - for instance you can go away for the weekend and just give your cat enough food and water, but with a dog you pretty much have to take it with you or else board it somewhere.