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Deteriorata
Feb 6, 2005

Boz0r posted:

I have a cat that wakes me and my girlfriend up at around 5 every morning. It finds whatever can make a noise and pokes it ever so slightly, just to make enough noise to drive us insane. We've tried getting a water pistol, but she's on to us, and when we reach for it, she hides. 30 secs later she's back, poking at poo poo again. We live in a studio-ish apartment, and we don't really have any doors.

Does anyone have any ideas for dealing with this?

Your cat wants your attention, and has obviously learned how to get it. You've now trained her to do it.

The only real solution is to absolutely ignore her and teach her that the humans do not respond when they're in the bed. You must resist any and all urges to respond to her in any way, even when she sticks a wet nose in your ear or howls likes she's dying. Eventually she'll figure it out, but it will take a lot of reinforcement to de-train her from pestering you.

Closing the bedroom door doesn't usually work, as then they will howl and carry on outside the door even worse. You're still in the position of having to ignore her to teach her that pestering you has no benefits.

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Organza Quiz
Nov 7, 2009


Boz0r posted:

I have a cat that wakes me and my girlfriend up at around 5 every morning. It finds whatever can make a noise and pokes it ever so slightly, just to make enough noise to drive us insane. We've tried getting a water pistol, but she's on to us, and when we reach for it, she hides. 30 secs later she's back, poking at poo poo again. We live in a studio-ish apartment, and we don't really have any doors.

Does anyone have any ideas for dealing with this?

Plug the vacuum cleaner in somewhere near your bed so that you can reach the plug without moving very much, put the vacuum cleaner far away from you and turn it on but have it turned off at the wall. When the cat wakes you up, flick the vacuum cleaner on briefly. Cat won't associate you or getting attention from the noise because the noise is coming from somewhere that isn't you and you clearly aren't looking at her or anything, so instead she'll just eventually come to the conclusion that making noises in the night makes the horrible scary terrible noise happen.

Unless your cat isn't scared of the vacuum cleaner, in which case I guess find something she is scared of that she won't associate with getting attention from you, or take Deteriorata's advice and just wait it out.

Chili
Jan 23, 2004

college kids ain't shit


Fun Shoe

That sounds a lot like a URI (upper respiratory infection). I would call up the vet and describe the symptoms, if it sounds fishy they'll have you bring her again and you can get the right meds.

I will say, having fostered tons of cats and kittens, URI's are really really common when you get a cat that's coming from any kind of facility like that. Wouldn't surprise me at all. Meds can clear that all up in a week's time or so and all you'll have to deal with is runny poops.

Fragrag
Aug 3, 2007
The Worst Admin Ever bashes You in the head with his banhammer. It is smashed into the body, an unrecognizable mass! You have been struck down.

Chili posted:

That sounds a lot like a URI (upper respiratory infection). I would call up the vet and describe the symptoms, if it sounds fishy they'll have you bring her again and you can get the right meds.

I will say, having fostered tons of cats and kittens, URI's are really really common when you get a cat that's coming from any kind of facility like that. Wouldn't surprise me at all. Meds can clear that all up in a week's time or so and all you'll have to deal with is runny poops.

Thanks! I just came back from the vet and he thinks it's niesziekte, which I think is a URI in Dutch. We got meds, Meloxidyl for dogs. Is this normal to give to a cat as well?

Rat Patrol
Feb 15, 2008

kill kill kill kill
kill me now

Fragrag posted:

Thanks! I just came back from the vet and he thinks it's niesziekte, which I think is a URI in Dutch. We got meds, Meloxidyl for dogs. Is this normal to give to a cat as well?

I've had vets give me dog medicine for my cats too, but it was for an ear infection. They said the only difference is the dosage and I guess it's just not worth it for some companies to change the packaging.

kaworu
Jul 23, 2004

Hey so, I have a question vis-a-vis window safety, and I may be acting in an irresponsible manner (some may think so) but I want to get input from you guys.

So me and my cat, Jackie, share a single-room efficiency apartment - a fairly nice one with a fairly big kitchenette that's almost it's own room and obviously a bathroom, but yeah - so there is literally only one wall in the main room with a big bank of windows comprising most of the wall. When I got here there were screens, but for various reasons (involving having the ability to lean out the window and smoke something on occasion without getting anything into the apartment for example) and just because they make me feel claustrophobic when I'm in front of the window and I don't like them in general.

Now I live on the fourth floor, so it's a fairly big drop. But it also means I get a ton of heat from lower floors. Despite the fact that I live in freakin' Maine, I haven't turned my heat on once this year and I *constantly* keep the windows open for the most part, just so it stays at 72 and doesn't go to 76. So yeah it's a pretty hot apartment. And my cat, of course, loves sitting in front of the window. My futon bed is situated so that my is resting directly in front of one of the two windows that open (which seems natural to me) and so obviously when I am gone, Jackie *loves* to just sit right down on my pillows and look at the window and smell the smells, and I think it's important she be able to do this as an indoor-only cat living on the fourth story in a single-room apartment that she very rarely leaves.

But the thing is, obviously, there is an wide open window and this is the FOURTH goddamn floor and she is a few steps from splatting dead.

But the thing is, Jackie is actually pretty smart. I have tested this quite a few times: Jackie will come within maybe ~6 inches of the open window, but any closer (even if I try and push her) and she totally flips out digs her claws into whatever and her ears go back and her muscles tense up and starts that whining scared meow. She does the same thing if I'm holding her and go close to the toilet.

So she absolutely 100% gets that even coming close to the open window is OMG REALLY SCARY PLEASE PLEASE LET ME GET AWAY when I try to nudge her closer to actually trying to force her closer. So I've basically always just let the window open when I leave and allow Jackie to sit in front of it and chill, because I sort of feel she earns/deserves the privilege for being smart enough to understand the danger. She is also NOT an acrobatic cat - she is an incredibly clumsy cat and knows it, and has trouble so much as jumping onto the futon - even that she does hesitantly and with NO grace whatsoever.

So the one fear I have is of her somehow... screwing up due to clumsiness and falling out the window. But again, I don't think it will happen simply due ti gravity. She sits sort of below the window, and thus she couldn't exactly "fall up". If the bed were ABOVE the open window instead of BELOW the open window, I would be much more frightened and would never have allowed it in the first place.

Actually, I just snapped a pic of her in her usual place/position, even though she looks absurdly fat/ginormous here. She sometimes gets a little close but generally this is where she chills.



So yeah, I don't think she would clumsily fall, but it worries the HELL out of my if I ever see her peek out with her on the window ledge at all. But again, I rely on the fact that she gets SO freaking scared when forced to go close to the window to keep her away.

So I dunno, you guys, am I crazy? Is it irresponsible as hell of me to let my cat sit in front of the window like that? I honestly think it's OK because I trust here. Before this place I lived on the third floor and half the windows didn't have screens, and she never came close to coming near to falling out of those, despite proximity on some occasions... Anyway.

Puppy Galaxy
Aug 1, 2004

although she instinctively stays away from the window, accidents can happen. I would try and get over your fear of screens.

Hyperlynx
Sep 13, 2015

James has another scrape on his ear (or it's reopened) and I see three parallel lines in the fur on his other ear, so I think the boys have been playing rough again.

I didn't do anything about it last time, and it still doesn't seem to have bothered him in the slightest, so I guess I'm cool with it. Just double checking that there isn't some horrible risk of infection and his ear falls off or some other kind of horrible consequence?

Puppy Galaxy
Aug 1, 2004

One weird trick to virtually guarantee your cat won't fall out a window is to make it so the cat cannot physically fall out a window.

Organza Quiz
Nov 7, 2009


kaworu posted:

Cats and windows

You are being irresponsible. Get flyscreens on your windows so you don't come home to a missing and/or dead cat. It's possible that it won't ever happen but it's a massive risk.


Hyperlynx posted:

James has another scrape on his ear (or it's reopened) and I see three parallel lines in the fur on his other ear, so I think the boys have been playing rough again.

I didn't do anything about it last time, and it still doesn't seem to have bothered him in the slightest, so I guess I'm cool with it. Just double checking that there isn't some horrible risk of infection and his ear falls off or some other kind of horrible consequence?

All open wounds have a risk of infection. I guess keep an eye on it? Get some disinfectant that you can use for it when it happens? Are Wolfgang's claws clipped?

Rat Patrol
Feb 15, 2008

kill kill kill kill
kill me now

kaworu posted:

When I got here there were screens, but for various reasons (involving having the ability to lean out the window and smoke something on occasion without getting anything into the apartment for example) and just because they make me feel claustrophobic when I'm in front of the window and I don't like them in general.

What do you like less: screens, or the possibility your cat could fall out the window? I don't particularly like having to keep my bathroom and spare room door closed at all times, but I know if I leave them open, there's a chance my cats my get into some cleaning supplies/painting stuff/other things that could injure/poison/kill a cat. Maybe they would know better than to get into any trouble. But maybe they wouldn't.

Hyperlynx
Sep 13, 2015

Organza Quiz posted:

All open wounds have a risk of infection. I guess keep an eye on it? Get some disinfectant that you can use for it when it happens? Are Wolfgang's claws clipped?

Hm. I'll keep an eye on it. No, they're not. Maybe I'll go to the vet and see if I can get some cat-friendly disinfectant, unless there's human disinfectant I could use. I wonder if vinegar would work...

Marchegiana
Jan 31, 2006

. . . Bitch.
Gahhhhh don't put vinegar on your cat's open wounds. That would hurt like a bitch, why would you do something to an animal that no sane human would do to themselves? If you're that worried about it get an over the counter antibiotic ointment (one without pain relief additives) and use a tiny dab of that, just a thin smear that will have some effect but not so much that the cat can lick off big globs of it. The mechanism of action is the same for both people and pets, pets just have to be monitored to make sure they're not doing things that humans won't like lick it off.

Hyperlynx
Sep 13, 2015

I'd totally vinegar myself. If a cursory google after I posted hadn't indicated that it's poo poo for wound care, that is.

Sexy Randal
Jul 26, 2006

woah
My cat has been acting really weird lately and I have no idea what's going on.

It started last weekend when he was laying on my bed with me. I moved and he bolted up and seemed really afraid, and started backing away slowly and seemed kind of afraid of the blanket. I didn't think anything of it at the time but since then he's been having these moments multiple times a day. He basically will move really slowly, carefully examining the area around him and looking startled at just about everything in front of him, occasionally pawing at something and then quickly pulling back away from it. I'm not sure how to explain it but he just generally seems spooked, almost like he's in a place he's never been before.

It's weird because I can't think of what started this. No changes in the environment, same food, no difference in litter box usage, there was no major incident where he got really spooked. He's not afraid of me at all and he'll totally cuddle up with me like he normally does in parts of apartment where he seems more comfortable. I brought him to the vet the other day just to make sure it wasn't some weird manifestation of a health issue but the vet couldn't find anything unusual (also he was 100% cool and chill at the vet).

It's really weird and kinda sad. Normally he chills with me on my bed every night but he'll barely come into my bedroom now, that seems to be his most "on alert" space. His personality is generally outgoing, almost obnoxiously so, so this is like a total 180 for him.

Reik
Mar 8, 2004

Sexy Randal posted:

My cat has been acting really weird lately and I have no idea what's going on.

It started last weekend when he was laying on my bed with me. I moved and he bolted up and seemed really afraid, and started backing away slowly and seemed kind of afraid of the blanket. I didn't think anything of it at the time but since then he's been having these moments multiple times a day. He basically will move really slowly, carefully examining the area around him and looking startled at just about everything in front of him, occasionally pawing at something and then quickly pulling back away from it. I'm not sure how to explain it but he just generally seems spooked, almost like he's in a place he's never been before.

It's weird because I can't think of what started this. No changes in the environment, same food, no difference in litter box usage, there was no major incident where he got really spooked. He's not afraid of me at all and he'll totally cuddle up with me like he normally does in parts of apartment where he seems more comfortable. I brought him to the vet the other day just to make sure it wasn't some weird manifestation of a health issue but the vet couldn't find anything unusual (also he was 100% cool and chill at the vet).

It's really weird and kinda sad. Normally he chills with me on my bed every night but he'll barely come into my bedroom now, that seems to be his most "on alert" space. His personality is generally outgoing, almost obnoxiously so, so this is like a total 180 for him.

Is there a window in the bedroom an outdoor cat could access? Maybe some stray came up and started acting like a jerk.

Sexy Randal
Jul 26, 2006

woah

Reik posted:

Is there a window in the bedroom an outdoor cat could access? Maybe some stray came up and started acting like a jerk.

No definitely not, way too high up for that. Sometimes there's pigeons that land on the windowsill but he gets more excited than scared at them.

Reik
Mar 8, 2004

Sexy Randal posted:

No definitely not, way too high up for that. Sometimes there's pigeons that land on the windowsill but he gets more excited than scared at them.

Unless like a hawk or owl landed on the sill I can't think of what could've spooked him. Do you play with him in there? Maybe some positive reinforcement in that room with play and treats will help.

kaworu
Jul 23, 2004

OK, you guys have confused me to start using screens again, much as I despise them. I'd rather to have to deal with taking the screen in and out a lot than a squished kitty which would probably haunt me for the rest of my life. It's just tough, I mean, it's one of these odd things. Being a guy who lives with his cat in a one-room apartment and is going through a fairly lonely period in life to some extent, it's oddly very easy to delude myself into thinking my cat is more intelligent and/or aware of things than she really is, especially because she's a very clingy and vocal cat whom I basically have (albeit brief and concise) conversations with at times.

So let me put it this way: it's easy for me to delude myself into thinking she would never really go close enough to the window to get hurt because I talked to her about it and demonstrated it and she was appropriate terrified and resisting going any closer to it than I wanted her to. So it's easy for me think everything will be ok.

And I mean maybe from that point of view they would be. But Jackie is still... clumsy as hell and has a terrible sense of balance and god knows what could really happen when I'm gone from the apartment. And it freaks me out a little every time I do that. So yeah, guys, new policy in place regarding cat safety. I'm already a bit horrified at myself. Should trust my instincts of "if it makes me feel a little anxious and its regarding my cat err on the side of safety!!"

Reik
Mar 8, 2004
We treat our cats as if they were toddlers with regards to safety. It has been a good rule of thumb so far. We may be a bit overzealous when it comes to keeping stuff off the floor but we know they're safe.

Why do I look at adoptable cats online? We already have 4 and they have enough issues to keep us busy.

Reik fucked around with this message at 19:41 on Feb 12, 2016

kaworu
Jul 23, 2004

Reik posted:

We treat our cats as if they were toddlers with regards to safety. It has been a good rule of thumb so far. We may be a bit overzealous when it comes to keeping stuff off the floor but we know they're safe.

Well, it's funny but I think that this sort of behavior is also very much dependent on certain cats and levels of trust that may or may not get established. I also think that the more cats you have, the trouble they have the capacity to cause/get into tends to multiply... well, exponentially, to be honest. Having 3 or 4 cats versus 1 cat is a very different affair.

I mean, with my current cat, I trust her overall in ways that I have *never*, ever trusted a cat before, and I don't expect I'll ever have another cat like her that I have this level of trust. And I mean on really basic levels. I can put my face in her belly, pick her up and drape her about my shoulders.. she would let me do just about anything within reason and would never dream about biting or clawing me or being aggressive in any real way, though she will make her displeasure known if she is uncomfortable about something - and she may even use her paws/claws to do so - but she won't leave a mark or cause any pain.

And it goes both ways, too. She will *never* wake me up when I'm sleeping unless I really, really oversleep or she is really hungry because I forgot to give her half a can before I went to bed and also overslept, or something. And this is a cat who sleeps either on or up against my legs, or curled up an inch away from my head. I am told she literally creeps around me while I'm asleep as quietly as possible to get close while not disturbing me, I wish they'd taken pics of it but apparently it was hilarious to see.

I do watch what I leave on the floor to some degree (like anyone) but I would hardly call it toddler-safe. Again, there is a mutual degree of trust. After five years of living with Jackie I know that there are certain things she will get into trouble around (anything containing food or weird smells in general), and I do make sure nothing abjectly dangerous is around, but I mean, the worst she could really do is accidentally throw up on a shirt or something, heh. Which has happened, in fact!

The one thing she used to do is have a bad habit of biting/chewing on wires, as like any goon I have too many drat wires going this way or that. And that made incredibly nervous, but I managed to actually get her to stop in pretty short order, and now there are never any bite marks on *any* wires I leave out in the open. I mean, there's trust there that's established - she hasn't chew on a wire in over 3 or 4 years so I figure that's a good track record.

But again, it's all very subjective in my opinion. Like I said, I'd *never* trust a new cat and I would REALLY never trust a kitten in my apartment, as it is right now. Not in a thousand years. But I trust Jackie, for sure.

kaworu fucked around with this message at 22:22 on Feb 12, 2016

Rat Patrol
Feb 15, 2008

kill kill kill kill
kill me now
Every cat is the smartest and best cat, until the day they decide to eat 16 feet of fishing line or whatever. You've turned your cat into a person in your mind. Lots of cats develop comfortable living agreements with their owners and with other pets. For instance: my cats have basically worked out a time share on their favorite tree perch and I know when the terms are being renegotiated because there's a few days of angry slap fights. My cat Pete has also never clawed or bit me, despite me holding him down to trim his claws/bathe him/give him meds/whatever. Some cats are better at socializing than others. My parents' dog actually whispers to communicate at night, to avoid disturbing the house, and nobody taught her that. Animals are smart and they want to treat you well. But it's just not wise to hang their safety on their judgement. Good pet owners develop great bonds with their pets, but good pet owners also don't knowingly subject their pets to unnecessary risks.

Reik
Mar 8, 2004
Which is why I don't understand letting a cat outside.

Zaftig
Jan 21, 2008

It's infectious
My cat is super smart and crafty, and usually pretty well-behaved. Once she got her head stuck in an empty box of popcorn and just walked around with it on her head, meowing pathetically.

floofyscorp
Feb 12, 2007

Reik posted:

Which is why I don't understand letting a cat outside.

It's silly, but in many places cats are regarded as outdoor animals, or indoor-outdoor at best. In the UK and Ireland it's still considered relatively unusual for cats to be indoor-only; every time I chat to my mum she asks me when I'm going to start letting my two outside(NEVER), since as far as she's concerned being outdoors is natural for a cat and they must be bored out of their tiny little minds being kept inside all day. Even reminding her that of my two childhood cats one got hit and killed by a car because she loved sunning herself on the drat road and the other got in so many fights he had a cauliflower ear, was missing half his teeth and had the end of his tail amputated doesn't change her mind: Cats Live Outside.

I'm past the point of trying to convince a friend of mine who lives in London to keep her drat cat inside; he fights with neighbourhood cats and foxes all the time and has almost been killed after taking on a fox twice this past year. But she won't keep him in because he cries and scratches at the door. :shrug:

Savings Clown
May 7, 2007

We all float down here
I was going to ask about letting cats outside, I'm thinking about letting mine into the back garden. There's so many people who think you're basically satan if you let them outside, but when I was adopting them, there were no shelters that would give you kittens if you didn't have a garden to let them into.

Puppy Galaxy
Aug 1, 2004

Savings Clown posted:

I was going to ask about letting cats outside, I'm thinking about letting mine into the back garden. There's so many people who think you're basically satan if you let them outside, but when I was adopting them, there were no shelters that would give you kittens if you didn't have a garden to let them into.

It's definitely a regional/cultural thing. I'm in the US and it's 50/50 with the cat owners I know.

Honestly, I think it's worse for bird populations than it is for the cat itself. I'll always have indoor cats myself but I think the evilness is overstated. Cats have been outdoor animals for centuries.

Deteriorata
Feb 6, 2005

Savings Clown posted:

I was going to ask about letting cats outside, I'm thinking about letting mine into the back garden. There's so many people who think you're basically satan if you let them outside, but when I was adopting them, there were no shelters that would give you kittens if you didn't have a garden to let them into.

The dangers of a cat being outside vary enormously with location. It's not a good idea if you live on a busy street with lots of fast traffic, or in a more rural area with coyotes and other predators around.

If you're in a quiet suburb, the dangers are minimal. It then depends on the cat. Some love going outside, some hate it. We have three cats, and all are free to go outside whenever they want. They almost never do. The one that does go out just makes a lap of the house and comes right back in.

So use your own best judgment. There's no absolute answer either way.

Savings Clown
May 7, 2007

We all float down here
I'm on a pretty quiet road, with a back garden, so that's not too bad (though there are foxes and plenty of other cats about).


Although this sick fucker isn't a million miles away from me.

Rat Patrol
Feb 15, 2008

kill kill kill kill
kill me now

Savings Clown posted:

I'm on a pretty quiet road, with a back garden, so that's not too bad (though there are foxes and plenty of other cats about).


Although this sick fucker isn't a million miles away from me.

I wouldn't want my cat out where there are foxes, personally. Is a supervised outing on a leash out of the question? Cat gets outside time and you can prevent cat from killing any birds/fighting with anything.

Cats aren't hurt by staying inside, but they can be badly hurt while outside. If they are injured inside, you can find them and help them. If they're injured outside, they may hide away somewhere and you might not even know. And, as you linked, some people can be really spiteful toward unattended pets.

I understand wanting to let your cat have fun, but the risk just isn't worth it to me. My parents kept three outdoor cats when I was growing up. One was killed by a fight with another animal, one was killed by a car, and the third straight up vanished never to return. Only one of them lived past 10. My family lived in a very nice, quiet neighborhood on a dead-end road (no fast traffic) with a big yard. There's just no way to be sure your cat won't get into trouble.

Savings Clown
May 7, 2007

We all float down here
I have taken them out on a leash, it's been fine. I haven't totally decided what to do yet, maybe just let them out when it's about half an hour before they're due to be fed so they'll come back. I've no intention of letting them stay out at night. Not going to do anything for another month or two anyway, until they're both neutered and chipped.

Scatsby
Dec 25, 2007

I'd agree there's no absolute right answer either way. As someone who has owned cats of both descriptions, I'd say it depends on the location and the cat. My previous cat (who is now living with my parents in another state) was essentially feral when we adopted him and he CANNOT stand to be inside all the time. He's gotten in tons of fights and cost us a lot in medical bills, but even after being attacked by birds in his new location, he absolutely hates being locked inside. My current cat, on the other hand, is an indoor kitty who was also adopted feral, but at a much younger age. She has no interest in the outdoors and is perfectly happy as long as you play with her. In the former case, I'd say that having him die somewhere is worth the risk because living 22 years locked up inside would be no life at all for him. In the latter case, the only outside time she's going to be getting is on a leash.

Of course, none of that takes into consideration the bird issue, and I'm sure Kitty-puff has a mountain of songbirds and mice to his name.

the_sea_hag
Oct 9, 2012
LOAF FANCIER

Huntersoninski posted:

I wouldn't want my cat out where there are foxes, personally. Is a supervised outing on a leash out of the question? Cat gets outside time and you can prevent cat from killing any birds/fighting with anything.

Cats aren't hurt by staying inside, but they can be badly hurt while outside. If they are injured inside, you can find them and help them. If they're injured outside, they may hide away somewhere and you might not even know. And, as you linked, some people can be really spiteful toward unattended pets.

I understand wanting to let your cat have fun, but the risk just isn't worth it to me. My parents kept three outdoor cats when I was growing up. One was killed by a fight with another animal, one was killed by a car, and the third straight up vanished never to return. Only one of them lived past 10. My family lived in a very nice, quiet neighborhood on a dead-end road (no fast traffic) with a big yard. There's just no way to be sure your cat won't get into trouble.

I think the trouble is that it's completely random whether something happens to the cat when they're out there. I had an indoor-outdoor cat growing up, and my parents would let her out every day at about five in the morning, then let her back in. This cat was born feral and a very good hunter, so I don't think we thought anything could happen to her. When she was twelve, they let her out like they usually did and she didn't come back. They figured she could deal with herself out there, so they didn't worry. When they came home in the afternoon and looked for her, she'd apparently gotten in a fight with a fisher cat and lost because they only found half of her. This, mind, was in a well-developed suburb.

The fact is that this could have happened any day. Letting the cat out is always a gamble. Cats aren't at the top of the food chain.

e: Fishers are nocturnal, so I shouldn't have said any time. But there are always cars, and bigger dogs.

the_sea_hag fucked around with this message at 19:43 on Feb 13, 2016

Cythereal
Nov 8, 2009

I love the potoo,
and the potoo loves you.
Also, outdoor cats have a habit of devastating local rodent and bird populations. Cats are efficient predators and are known to kill simply for fun and not for food.

kaworu
Jul 23, 2004

Yeah, my dad and his family have lived at the end of a dead end road with two houses on the road and no traffic and thus let their cats out, and a very sad number of them have died/disappeared and I think it's absurdly irresponsible that he continues to let them out despite how many great and amazing and beloved cats have just never come home, or been discovered hit by a car anyway. I'd never let Jackie out in a million years, the only reason why she survived over at that my dads house (her original home for 4 years) was because she barely left the yard.

And while I may anthropomorphise my cat a bit, I certainly don't consider her a person and I'm absolutely willing to look at my own bouts of light insanity with a sense of objectivity when needed. But I will say that cats communicate in abundance with body language, vocalizations, tail gestures - all sorts of things. And you slowly learn to speak that language if you pay enough attention and make some effort to learn.

For example, Jackie had recently started turning her back to me a lot more when she slept a couple years ago, which she used to not do so often but now did all the time. I initially was a bit hurt and took this as a sign that she was rejecting me in some way or had no interest in having me stroke her ears or give her attention which made me a bit sad initially, but this did not really seem to be the case. I eventually looked it up and found that it's actually a complement concerning trust -- if a cat is willing to turn her back on you and relax, it's a big symbol of trust and means the exact opposite of what I had initially thought it did. So there ya go - often stuff is rather counter-intuitive with cats, it's true.

Rat Patrol
Feb 15, 2008

kill kill kill kill
kill me now
Yeah, that's true, and a lot of times cats, who don't vocalize with each other, will develop specific vocalizations for their owners' benefit. Who was arguing that cats can't communicate, though?

Deteriorata
Feb 6, 2005

Huntersoninski posted:

Yeah, that's true, and a lot of times cats, who don't vocalize with each other, will develop specific vocalizations for their owners' benefit. Who was arguing that cats can't communicate, though?

I think his point was a caution against anthropomorphizing a cat. If you interpret its actions as you would a human's, you can be misled.

Hyperlynx
Sep 13, 2015

Cythereal posted:

Also, outdoor cats have a habit of devastating local rodent and bird populations. Cats are efficient predators and are known to kill simply for fun and not for food.

This is the main problem with cats in Australia, because feral cats have no predators here and most of the native wildlife is not very good at evading predators overall.

The thing about keeping cats inside vs not keeping them inside depending on region is: there are risks if you let them outside which vary depending on where you are. However, it's always harmless to keep them inside, regardless of region. They're cats. They're the same all around the world. Just get 'em a cat tree and/or shelves to jump on. Kitties can always go upwards if you don't have much area for them to go sideways in.

Hyperlynx fucked around with this message at 00:09 on Feb 15, 2016

Marchegiana
Jan 31, 2006

. . . Bitch.
All our cats have been indoor-only, and have been perfectly happy with that. The one cat we have currently who is really fascinated with outside has been very easy to train on a harness and leash. Now she knows that harness = outside and as soon as we pull the harness out she runs over and tries to shove her head through the loop as fast as she can. Our previous cat Suzie used to love to go outside too, but didn't like the harness. We'd let her out for short supervised trips mainly because I knew that all she wanted to do was roll around on our deck and nap in the sun. She never went outside unsupervised and came back in when we went back in, and she only went out without the harness because I knew from experience she wouldn't leave the deck- usually she wouldn't even go more than about 5 feet from the door.

When I was a kid we had family friends who had a cat I used to love to visit. His name was Schultz and he was this huge 20+ pound orange tabby- not fat, just BIG. Schultz was indoor-outdoor and had only one eye because he'd lost an eye from being hit by a car. When he got older he got hit a second time, but survived again needing an artificial hip. The third car finally did him in, the poor thing. This family didn't live by any major roads or anything, just a quiet Michigan suburb with very little traffic. Knowing what had happened to Schultz I knew I couldn't subject my cats to that risk, so they stay inside.

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Puppy Galaxy
Aug 1, 2004

My cat's mats are out of control. I've been trying to stay on top of them and have had some success, but he recently got two huge ones in his neck area that I cannot brush out. And I think I was too aggressive trying to pull one apart and ripped out a big chunk and now some of his skin is showing. Might be irritated, it's tough to tell. Gonna try and bring him to the vet tomorrow, hopefully they can give me some guidance on how to deal with mats in the future and maybe shave out the super tight ones.

I feel like I'm gonna have to start bringing this stupid cat to groomers regularly or something. He's not even something cool like Maine Coon, just a long haired rear end in a top hat.

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