|
|
|
Junior Member
Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 5/7/2008 6:53:29 PM
Posts: 1,
Visits: 1
|
|
 Hi my name is Sara and I am new here.I have a cat named Princess Daisy.I need advice about how to stop her bitting.She lets you pet her then she turns around and starts bitting with no reason.SARA
Sara
|
|
|
|
|
Senior Member
Group: Forum Members
Last Login: Yesterday @ 10:20:32 PM
Posts: 489,
Visits: 704
|
|
| Welcome, Sara. When you pet a cat, usually it will get so stimulated that it gets to a point where it's like it's mating, and it bites to let you know it's had enough. Learn to read the cat's body language and stop when you see it about to bite. To the rest; concerning the big cat poop, that reminds me of something that occurred here in Orange County, CA. Back in the 70s we had Lion Country Safari, which was a wildlife exhibit where guests stayed in their cars, rented a tape player with a guided tour on tape; it's long since gone, though. Anyway, I saw a story in the local newspaper about this guy who had trouble with deer eating his garden. After trying the usual remedies with haphazard success, he called Lion Country Safari, explained his deer problem, and asked if he could have a few bucketfuls of lion poop. The keepers collected the poop and had it waiting for him when he arrived. I remember there was a picture of the guy loading lidded buckets of the stuff into the back of his truck, with a couple of cute lion cubs checking it out. It worked great--he kept the lion turds in the buckets, opening the lids before dark and covering them the next day because frankly, lion doots are pretty strong, and he didn't want his neighbors complaining. His wife was complaining about the smell, though; she contended that the deer must faint when they caught a whiff of the lion droppings. But the guy got his garden back! So I'd say it's worth a try!
Some cats are more special than others.
|
|
|
|
|
Senior Member
Group: Forum Members
Last Login: Yesterday @ 5:46:11 PM
Posts: 447,
Visits: 474
|
|
| I'd imagine bear, or any other predator excrement would work as well. Dogs are instinctively afraid of bears. I live in Western PA, where we have a fairly large black bear population. My parents keep bees, and have gardens, apple trees, and a grape arbor, which are all very inviting to black bears; we suspect a bear had wandered into my Sassy dog's territory. She's never seen a bear before but she alternated between cowering and defensive posturing. She's not the bravest dog, but she had a very strong reaction to it.
My cats own my house they just permit me to live there. Only cat lovers know the luxury of fur-coated, musical hot water bottles that never go cold."
- Susanne Millen 
|
|
|
|
|
Member
Group: Forum Members
Last Login: Yesterday @ 12:27:49 PM
Posts: 83,
Visits: 104
|
|
To Chy: We have had many cats over the years who used to be strays and therefore outdoor cats. They all adjusted well (over time) to being indoor only cats. We used to let our cats out during the day as well. (it's been over 20 years.) But a couple of things happened to change all that. Our cat Snowball (who looked just like allmycats' Snowball) was stolen and then our other cat Tiger was attacked by three neighborhood dogs! (it took my mom 3 or 4 hours to get him down from the tree the dogs chased him up.) We had to rush him to the vet because the dogs had taken a couple of inches off his tail.  The vet told us that our Snowball (who was a pretty tough girl) was protecting him. Those two incidents scared my mom so much that she never let any of our cats out again. (This was over 20 years ago.) So you may be able to turn your cat into an inside cat. If there weren't so many dangerous things around, I would let our two guys out. They do love it if we open the window! (but not enough for them to be able to push the screens out, because we live on the third floor and they could fall.) Screened porches, if you have or can have one added, are great for cats. Please don't think I'm judging you or anything, just wanted to let you know that some cats can be turned into indoor cats. The tiger poop sounds like a good idea! It might just keep those coyotes away! (though they are probably just hungry, you certainly don't want them eating your baby!) Your cat is beautiful, by the way!Nicky's Mom
|
|
|
|
|
Member
Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 6/22/2008 5:09:09 AM
Posts: 77,
Visits: 138
|
|
| Well, I can tell you that it's pretty much impossible to have a post like yours without everyone telling you to keep your kitties indoors. I fully understand where you're coming from. We have 6 cats, the last 2 since october of 2007. They all came and went as they please through a cat door. There were never any incidents with wild animals or dogs, just an occasional injury from getting legs caught in fences or scrapes from thick wooded areas. One of our lovely neighbors,however, complained about the cats coming across his yard and another neighbor commented that he was going to start shooting cats that were sitting on his car, so all 6 became indoor cats. They really didn't fuss too much until it started getting warmer. they have access to a small screened in porch via the cat door. We recently built an enclosure that is attached to the screened in porch via another opening. It's fully enclosed in chicken wire with a screened door so we can come in and sit with them and use a weed eater to keep the grass down. We have a ladder in there and some scratching cedar posts and benches and a bird bath for their water bowl and other things for them to play with. They really love it and don't whine to go outside anymore since they can go outside to relax in the sun whenever they want. I feel so much better knowing that nothing can get to them and hurt them. I've even taken 3 of them out on a harness. 2 of them did very well and rather liked it. But it's not the same as being able to roam. Trust me, in a purrfect world of nice people and friendly animals, my cats would all be indoor/outdoor. I fully believe that cats are happier when they can roam around and run full blast and play in the tall grass, but we don't live in that kind of world. I don't blame you for letting your cat out to live as a cat was meant to live. As long as you can live with the possible consequences, then all's well. You've given a lot of thought to the obvious dangers of animals and mean people, however, what about the accidental ones? It sounds as if your cat roams around the neighborhood freely and your neighbors seem to like him/her. However, the hidden dangers are things like antifreeze. many people have radiator leaks and antifreeze sitting out that aren't trying to kill cats, but don't think about it at all. so accidental poisoning is a real possibility. Also, many people set out rat poison. Even a mouse that eats rat poison in a house might be a danger to a cat. When mice eat rat poison, many times they go outside in search of water and die outside. If your cat were to consome any part of that mouse, it could also die from the rat poison. the one thing that I know,and call me selfish, is that I don't ever worry now. I don't stand at my back door and call and call for one of them to come in. I don't leave for work wandering all day if they are going to be home when I come home. We are already thinking about expanding the cat enclosure to give them even more room to frolick. It's only about 9 x 14 now and we would like to double that. It cost us almost $300 and it was well worth it. It's actually a lot cheaper than a lot that I've seen. It's just 7- 4x4s with some 2x4s along the top and bottom and then chicken wire around the entire enclosure, including the top, and then a screen door with a lock on it so noone can open the door and let them out for meaness. Sure they could just cut the chicken wire, but the cats run back in the house anytime a stranger comes around. Your decision and it's not an easy one to make. No judgement here, just advice and scenarios. the one thing I really miss is being able to sit in my backyard with the grass a little high in some places and watch them play and chase each other across the yard. It was like a little "wild kingdom" and it was so fun to watch and take pictures of them chasing butterflies and grasshoppers. Maybe one day our entire backyard can be enclosed! Something to think about...
|
|
|
|
|
Member
Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 7/6/2008 2:27:43 PM
Posts: 67,
Visits: 137
|
|
Thanks for your comments and concerns, Nicky's Mom and radtech. I totally agree and understand everything you've both said.
I got my baby at 8 weeks and making the decision to let her out was a very hard one to make. Even harder was the training period that lasted for over two years. Since the Coyote episode, she has stayed in her own fenced in back yard more often and has been coming inside earlier than ever before. The worry never goes away, but in my heart of hearts, I really feel like it's cruel to keep my cat inside all the time.
She has really had a wonderful life so far and she seems to want to please me and has been so obedient that sometimes I wonder if she really is a cat ;-) Other than the Coyote fear, my biggest fear is that a neighbor will sell their house and the new owners will not like cats. This is a ridiculously pet friendly neighborhood, which weighed heavily on my decision to let her outside.
Also my experience with cats is contrary to the statistics we've all come to know. All my cats, when I was growing up were in/out cats and they all lived past 18 and one to 23. My brothers cat, my Aunts cat and my friends cats are all over 17 now and have all been in/out cats. I know of 3 indoor only cats that have met their demise from dangers inside the home. One from consuming a dropped prescription drug, one from ingesting a cleaning fluid and one who was poisoned from indoor insecticide. One of my fears is that a fire may start while my baby's trapped inside and I'm away from home. So cats can be unsafe indoors too. Safety really has a lot to do with the owner and his/her ability to be aware of danger.
I'd like to see some more specific evidence from those statistics to see if they included alley cats that were born outside and never had a home with a human, because that would be understandable and add a lot of weight to the side of the low life span numbers. Also how many that did have homes were just let out willy nilly, without the owners really taking stock of the dangers in the neighborhood or using common cat sense? Without the proper attention, an indoor cat can lead a life of a doorstop, and I really feel deep down inside, that that is bordering on cruelty.
My fence needs repair and I'm considering replacing the whole thing and designing a cat fence with all kinds of attachments that would give her endless options for climbing, playing and hanging out. I think she could adjust to the new boundary limitations if the design was interesting enough, so we'll see.
Cats can adapt to so many exciting things to do if given the love, patience and training needed. Eat your hearts out, indoor kitties
|
|
|
|
|
Senior Member
Group: Forum Members
Last Login: Yesterday @ 5:46:11 PM
Posts: 447,
Visits: 474
|
|
| Porbably the safest assumption is that the statistics on indoor/outdoor cats are about barn cats. Which to me, is the saddest life of all for any animal. A well treated barn cat gets kibble to supplment their diet, maybe medical care when needed, they're almost never spayed or neutered and almost never get their shots. And farmers almost never know how many cats they actually have. Radtech probably missed the most obvious danger to a cat, cars. some cats learn to look both ways before crossing the street, others aren't quite that astute.
My cats own my house they just permit me to live there. Only cat lovers know the luxury of fur-coated, musical hot water bottles that never go cold."
- Susanne Millen
|
|
|
|
| |