Thinking of getting a kitten. - Page 13

illeagle · #**121** 10-07-2007, 11:28 PM

Man I love cats but I'd never have one inside my house. This is what they do, check it out. You give them this little plastic box and put gravel in it right? Then they crap and piss in the box full of gravel and paw around in it. Then they walk around your domicile tracking their urine and feces all over every square inch of your living quarters. No matter where you sit or lay down or step, you find yourself in feline waste. Now I'm not a germ freak or anything but that's just sick.

train. · #**122** 10-07-2007, 11:31 PM

this is Lil (lillian) of phil and lil fame. she's a tonkinese (cross between a siamese and burmese)

her momma was a grand champion but she's just an old housecat that loves to have her ears rubbed.

(it's not her fault, blame the photographer)

aladare · #**123** 10-10-2007, 02:38 AM

ok- i have a 'Murphy' cat story from 2 nites ago...his pictures are posted in this thread.

First, what you need to know is my cat loves to lay on our laptop computers- for warmth i think and attention b/c i use mine so much. My pc mostly stays on the coffee table- and my daughter's laptop is in her room. SO i'm not on the sofa, talking to my kid about gettin a little mouthy- i'm a single mom, and have raised her alone since conception- by choice- but that's another story.

So while we're talking, i see murphy walk across my laptop keyboard, and to lighten the mood up, i was like "murph, who did you just e-mail?" Well, no he did not e-mail anyone obv...but he did manage to turn my screen completely upside down. Could not get that undone...read the manual upside down- but the mouse moved opposite, so difficult to manuver.
Rebooted computer...screen still upside down. Finally just resorted to system restore. Go Murphy- see cat's can be extremely entertaining- and for the life of me, i cannot figure out what combo keys he walked on to do that!

manbearpig · #**124** 10-10-2007, 11:01 AM

Me and my GF's new kitten. 8 weeks old or so.

The only issue we have is she is a biter. It seems like it is just playful biting but it is still annoying. We have tried the squirt bottle but so far that has not worked too well. Any hints?

suzzer99 · #**125** 10-10-2007, 11:11 AM

You actually bought a Friends dvd? [img]/images/graemlins/confused.gif[/img] 15 reruns a day just not filling your need for the show?

manbearpig · #**126** 10-10-2007, 01:27 PM

[ QUOTE ]
You actually bought a Friends dvd? [img]/images/graemlins/confused.gif[/img] 15 reruns a day just not filling your need for the show?

[/ QUOTE ]

No kidding. Not my purchases. Blame the gf.

tuq · #**127** 10-10-2007, 01:40 PM

[ QUOTE ]
The only issue we have is she is a biter. It seems like it is just playful biting but it is still annoying. We have tried the squirt bottle but so far that has not worked too well. Any hints?

[/ QUOTE ]
I've done a lot of research on cat behavior. Often times biting when playing is their way of saying "stop". Mine, sometimes they try to bite my toes when I'm on the bed but that's pretty infrequent.

aladare · #**128** 10-10-2007, 01:53 PM

my cat always bites and plays too hard, and we recently learned to blow in his face and that rough play has almost stopped- and instead of biting my hand, he just licks me really, really hard.

manbearpig · #**129** 10-10-2007, 04:13 PM

[ QUOTE ]
my cat always bites and plays too hard, and we recently learned to blow in his face and that rough play has almost stopped- and instead of biting my hand, he just licks me really, really hard.

[/ QUOTE ]

I will try that next. Thanks for the tip.

CORed · #**130** 10-10-2007, 05:04 PM

Play biting is pretty normal in a young kitten, but it is behavior you want to discourage. Some things that will help: These are organized from least severe to most. Try them in order and escalate if they don't work.

Yell Ouch! whenever she bites. Act like you're really in pain. This is often enough. Kittens will try to play with you like they would another cat, and they really don't know that your hide is a lot more tender than a cat's

When she bites, pick her up by the skin behind the neck, like her mother would have (but with your hand, not your mouth) and bring her close to your face (not close enough to bite or scratch) and yell No! or Stop that! or whatever. What you yell doesn't matter, but try to sound like you are really angry and are seriously considering killing the little furball.

If all else fails, grab her by the scruff of the neck, but leave all four feed on the floor, couch, or whatever surface she's standing on, and give her one slap on the butt, then let her run away and hide. This is pretty harsh, so don't do it unless nothing else gets the message across, and don't do it too often, or you may seriously traumatize her.

Any of these techniques, especially the last two, may scare her quite a bit. Let her run away and hide for awhile, and then come back when she's ready.