Conference misery::feline

    Trying to analyze a CAT?
    
    
    AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!
    
    K.C.

    Jo-Ann...I have one cat that does this as well...and my logic
    is that if it smells like SH** they try to bury it.  But that
    doesn't explain why he was trying to cover you this morning. (ha ha!!)
    
    Sandy
    
    

    Actually, I've heard that when cats are full, they try to bury the
    rest of the food for "later".  Pretzel has tried to bury food, and
    it's food that he usually likes.
    
    Maybe your kitty was tired and didn't want to play when you were
    lying in bed - maybe he wanted to save you for "later"!!

    YIKES, Sandy.  I'd rather think he's "saving me for later" than making
    statements about morning breath.
    

    Alex loves morning breath...she will sit right in my face and ask me to
    blow gently.  Then her eyes will close, and she'll try to lick my lips. 
    And she won't do this for my hub...it HAS to be me.
    
    As for burying the food, the only time Alex and Rico do this is if the
    flavor of canned food is one that they are either sick of or just don't
    care for.  Then they'll BOTH sit there and attempt to bury it.
    
    K.C.

    Cleo paws and scratches at my bed covers because she wants to get
    underneath them and cuddle with me.  She also does it when mom doesn't
    want to get up yet and she's hungry!!!!!!  (Which, BTW, is 24 hours a
    day!  :-)
    
    Karen

    re: .3
    
    WEll that explains alot....
    
    Maybe that's why Smudgie sometimes acts like she's trying to bury
    her favorite baby food chicken and other times she'd practically
    open the jar for me and push the others away.  Maybe she's just
    full ???  
    
    Sure would be more polite to just turn and walk away, but no she
    has to make sure you see that she doesn't like your choice of snacks!
    
    I just assumed that it was the kitten in her. The other two never ever
    do this "bury it" dance.  ...and she always pulls this trick when I'm
    pooped and walk in the door and feed her before even taking off my
    coat!
    
    They know something we don't, don't they??  :-)
    
    Robin /Bosco, Money and Smudgie
    

    Here's another one, compliments of big Jabba (11.75 lbs. at age 
    9.5 months).  He will sometimes get a little too "wired" during
    playtime, and will slip into his bully game and start smacking Edgell
    on the head.  Jabba does the usual ... puffs up and pretends he's
    enormous, walks sideways, stomps his feet while circling around Edgell
    (who just paws at the air, anticipating the blows). 
    
    Then Jabba starts to ... huff.  It's a very funny sound -- not a hiss
    or a pant, but a ... huff.  His huffing increases in intensity and
    volume until he whacks Ed's head.   Then he turns his back on his
    "victim" -- still huffing -- and slowly walks away, decreasing the
    huffs.
    
    Of course, he usually only gets a foot away before "lightning" Edgell
    pounces, gets him in a headlock, flips him, and the two scramble out of
    the room.
    
    I've never heard him huff when he plays bully with the girls.
    
    Jo-Ann  

puffing up, displaying the largest view of self, and making "angry giant"
noises are all aggressive displays used by males to "negotiate" dominance.
These actions probably prevent more serious encounters to decide who is
the "BC" (biggest cat) around.  The huffing noise is actually the noise that
a male would make if he encountered another male in HIS territory...even
though neutered (I assume, as living with an unneutered male is generally
pretty "fragrant" and seldom done unless breeding), Jabba still "knows" how
to express his dominance.  Of course, being neutered, he isn't likely to
really be willing to back it up with serious battle...but it is a great way
to start a rumble with another male cat and get some play going....Of course,
with females, the male must be more subtle or he won't get what he wants,
ergo, the different behavior Jabba displays with the female cats in your home.
His instincts are well tuned to being a cat!

    Mocha, when he doesn't get his way or is displeased with something
    that doesn't suit him "just right" stomps across the room and
    huffs at the same time. One of his favorites is, he just came in 
    from outdoors, runs over to his dish to eat and then wants out again.
    (He has set hours we let him out.)  When you tell him NO he can't go
    out he stomps across the dining room throught the living room and up
    the stairs huffing and stomping all the way. Our family and friends
    who have seen this can't believe their eyes and ears. Mind you, we
    have very thick wall to wall carpeting all over our house. The BIGGIE
    for him is to stomp, huff and push his ears back. Now there is a wicked
    ugly, mean looking, picked on, I hate the whole world looking cat.!!
    
    Our layed back himmies, Ming and Miyagi just stand aside and look at
    him as if to say, "What is this big problem you have." Sometimes at
    this point we remind Mocha that he was once a stray, dirty, hungry,
    unloved and HUNGRY, and could return to that statis again if he doen't
    shape up. RAGDOLLS, you have got to love them to put up with them.
    
    Barbara & her 3M's

    Barbara....Nippa does the same thing!  When she is mad- she'll let us
    know by huffing and stomping.  It's such a riot! 

    In Birmans, huffing is considered a breed trait.  On the show bench,
    they are the only purebred breed that displays this behavior.  Judges 
    all know about the "Birman huff".
    
    Jo

    re .10
    
    Never remind a cat his sad past...that is not fair. You would be the
    saddest to see him dirty, hungry and unloved again.
    
    Never.
    
    
    Nat

	Milady "buries" her food.  Or does she?  What actually happens is
	that she strokes the tiled floor in front of her dish with one of
	her forepaws.  I think she varies between using the left and the
	right paw.

        I think she only does this when she's going to go back to it later,
        possibly because it's just come out of the fridge and she can wait
        till it warms up.  If she really is not going to eat it at all, or
        perhaps if she's undecided, she just turns up her nose and walks
        away.

        Another thing I haven't worked out is the significance of the
        number of strokes, which can vary from just one to about seven or
        eight.  Is she trying to tell me how long she's going to leave it?
	
        When she's angry with me for any reason, she pulls books and
        records off the lower shelves and tries (sometimes successfully) to
        tear them up.  Yesterday, she sat looking at the books on the
        bottom shelf, and I stood behind her, sort of daring her to do it,
        and thinking I could stop her.  Ha!

	She had four or five books out of there in one lightning swoop, and
	looked at me defiantly.  I shouted at her, then picked her up and
	put her out in the garden.  But she knows how to express her
	displeasure, or boredom, or whatever it is.  That cat certainly has
	a mind of her own.  Little devil!  But I wouldn't be without her.

	Delia

    We moved to a different apartment last week.  I thought it would be
    easier to move the cats last, but now I'm convinced this was a big
    mistake.  
    
    First of all, they were pretty neurotic (Tiger more than Kiana and
    Shadow) because everything was disappearing into boxes.  And then
    it got worse when everything disappeared from the apartment, especially
    the last load, when there was only the cats and the frozen food left.
    
    By the time we went back for them, they were a mess (emotionally)!
    Kiana wouldn't come out of the bathroom, Tiger hid in a closet.  Shadow
    was the only one remotely normal, and he wouldn't let us near him.
    
    Finally Angel got the box in the car, and I took down Tiger.  He is
    an indoor kitty (I'm too afraid of losing them to let them out) and
    hates going outside for any reason.  He's also the most neurotic cat
    I've ever owned, afraid of anything that isn't totally familiar.  He
    tried to scratch me and jump out of my arms.
    
    Shadow was next, and wasn't pleased about being outside, either.  I
    think they were afraid they'd disappear, too.  Then Kiana was last.
    I know she was upset because when I put her in the box she didn't
    hiss at the others.  They were all quiet on the ride over.
    
    Shadow and Kiana were fine once they were inside and all the old
    familiar stuff was there.  Tiger was not.  He found the cupboard in
    the bathroom and spent two days there before he'd venture out and
    start exploring things.  It's only been the last couple of days
    he's gotten brave enough to sit on the window sills instead of
    creeping around the baseboards!
    
    If there's ever a next time, I'll move them somewhere in the middle!
    
    Ellen

re: moving with cats....

for sanity of cats and humans...I take the cats to their vets for a
visit (or a good kennel, for that matter)...BEFORE the stuff starts going
into boxes..and I don't bring them home until the basic stuff is back in place
and their food dishes and cat boxes are extablished.  I move their cat boxes
with one day's use so their smells are in the box - clean out the solids and
turn the litter, but keep it.  That way, their smells are at the new place,
their boxes and food dishes are setup - and they don't go through any special
trauma.  Yes, it is more expensive to kennel them for a few days...but so
much easier on the cats - it really blows their minds to see their home
being dismantled.

    Or I've heard that people keep the cats shut into one room, so they
    can't see the commotion going on elsewhere in the house, then put them
    in cases just before that last room is packed.  I'd also worry
    about their being accidentally closed in somewhere or getting lost
    outside if they have the run of the house while packing is going on.
    

    When we moved across town, we took our 2 to my father-in-law's, who
    took them willingly (he and Tiki were old and close friends).  Tiki
    knew right where he was going, and actually rode in the van without
    benefit of a box (which, for him, was mega-unusual - he was NOT a
    car-cat!). He actually sat up on the dashboard to watch and "help 
    drive".  Rico a) wouldn't get into a box without totally destroying 
    the pants I was wearing, b) wouldn't stop howling throughout the 
    entire van ride, and c) wouldn't come out of hiding the entire time he 
    was there.
    
    We did it first thing, because they were both indoor exclusively, and
    we didn't want them either getting "packed", or getting out when the
    boxes were being put in the truck.  Also, the moment we started putting
    things in boxes Rico started to panic.
    
    K.C.

    Here's another curious one.  Why don't cats like words that begin with
    the letter 'P'?  When I tell my Shalimar that she's a Princess, she
    recoils.  Yesterday Jabba was sitting near me, I asked him why his tail
    was Puffed up.  He ducked -- and the nasty 'P' went right over his
    head.
    
    Do they think I'm spitting at them?
    
    Jo-Ann

    Hmmmm......never noticed "Pepper" recoiling from his name! (:
    
    Maybe because of the way the letter P is pronounced? 
    (out comes a puff of air? ...)

    When we call Alex our little Princess, she makes a "sweet face" - big
    eyes, ears up, sitting pretty.  "Pretty Princess" gets even a better
    reaction!
    
    When her tail is puffed out, we tell her to "de-fouf".
    
    I don't think I even SAY any "P" words to Rico, except for maybe
    "Precious" - no reaction.
    
    K.C.

I call Sabrina "Pretty girl" all the time, or "Pretty baby", and she responds
by purring and kneading the sheets and drooling...doesn't seem to bother her
in the least!!

Lola

	We adopted two female kittens a few days ago. (Beamer and 
	Quicksilver)  They're not littermates, but we hoped that they
	would become friends.  So far, though, whenever Quicksilver
	comes near, Beamer hisses and arches.  I can tell that
	Q wants to play, but B is having none of it.

	I suppose they may never become friends and may just learn to
	tolerate each other, but I've never had two kittens at the 
	same time before, so I thought I'd see if anyone has had
	similar experience and if there's anything I can do to
	encourage them.



	-Andy

        Best I  can give you Andy, is an old folk method I learned back
        in Scotland years ago.
        
        Get hold of the kittens and _butter  their  paws_.   Literally,
        spread butter on front and rear paws and  shut  them  into  the
        same room for a few hours.  Just leave  them  alone  for  a few
        hours  and then open the door and walk away.   They'll  get  so
        into washing that fighting is at the end of the choices list.
        
        Andy
        
        PS.    This  has  worked for me with a number of  cats  -  your
        mileage will vary...but it's worth a try.

    re .-1
    ...and stay with them, if you can, because
    
    1. You can avoid them hurting each other seriously (what they
    WON'T, for the method is OK, just for your own souls's sake)
    
    2. You surely get wet, for that was the most funny thing I've ever seen
    in my life as I did this. Better than a best movie.
    
    (do not let it too much butter, avoiding diarrhea...)
    
    Nat
    	

    If you take Andy's advice, try this in a room not does not have nice
    furniture.  :^) 

Honestly Andy, they WILL become best friends!  Especially if they're
both kittens.  They're just not used to each other right now.  Once they
get used to the idea of a new home and a new kitty to play with, you
won't be able to stop them from tearing through the house together!  It's
only been a few days.  Give it an other week or so and you'll soon find
them curled up together on the living room couch!

How ya doin' andy??  Is this the same Andy Lee that I know??? From D&D??

Holly

    I don't know if anyone has ever seen/heard of this before...
    
    Alex had devised yet another way to worry us.  She will lay down at the
    foot of the bed, hang her head over the edge of the footboard (to watch
    Rico or to stare at a jingle-ball or whatever) and start to choke
    herself.  She will be lying there, staring, when we will hear this
    "huffing" sound.  One of us then has to pull her back (she usually
    fights us at this point), and after a second her breathing is back to
    normal.
    
    Another point...she seems to only do this in the middle of the night,
    so that the "huffing" will wake us up. 
    
    Other than when her head is hanging over the footboard, we never hear
    her "huff"...so we know that it is directly caused by her leaning her
    throat over the board.  (If we had the money, we'd get a footboardless
    new bed!)
    
    Wierd, huh?
    
    K.C.

	Thanks for the advice everyone -- I decided to wait a while before
	getting too worried and, indeed, they are getting along much
	better now.

	Re: .-2

	Yep, it's me!



	*A*

    
    I can't figure this one out.  Cleo licks the basement (cement) floor? 
    I don't let her go downstairs but when she manages to sneak by me the
    first thing she does is start licking.  I immediately bring her
    upstairs but I'm wondering what she finds so tasty.
    
    Any ideas?
    
    ...Rania

    Salt, probably.
    
    /Charlotte

    Well, to begin with my Manx kitten (4mos old when I got him)
    chews my clothing.  He scratches the cat tree and nothing else.
    
    He has two older (4yrs) stepbrothers and his stepsister is 15 yrs
    old.  BUT he is the only cat that has done this!
    
    If I leave any clothing thrown about (ex., coming home from work,
    strip then put on sweat uniform, or come back from the gym - do a
    quick change and fix a snack) - he chews holes in the garment.
    
    My lost list:
    
          5 to 7 prs of hosiery
          3 other nylon undergarments (slips, etc.)
          1 pr nylon gym pants
          6 prs of cotton socks
          4 Tee shirts (100% cotton and one was brand new (the little
            beast)
    
          3 pr of sneaker shoe laces.
    
    Spike is now 11 mos old and still chewing my stuff if I for get to
    place           
    immediately
        in hamper.
    
    
    WHATS HE TRYING TO TELL ME????
     

This may sound like a bizarre problem, but sometimes
(usually about 2am or so unfortunately) my boys
(Hurricane and Spike) decide that they MUST have atterntion
an pets NOW. They indicate this by purring that would wake
the dead, and nipping at exposed body parts (toes, fingers, 
nose). In addition Hurri may decide to need my scalp
(or my wifes) which can be rather unpleasent. I've figured no
good way to stop this but to pet and cuddle them until they
calm down or kick them out of the bedroom and lock the door.
This latter technique leaves Spike digging at the carpet
under said door which is nearly as undesireable as gnawing on
assorted body parts. I know these boys just want attention
but for crying out loud couldn't they do it at some other time?
I hate to discourage them from being loving and attentive
as these are probably the most friendly (practically "doggy"
if you'll pardon the term) cats I have ever had/met.
Any suggestions (either on calming them down or keeping them from
clawing the carpet once evicted) would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Keith
(and My wife Lorrie thanks you too...)

    Tucker them out with games before you go to bed.  Also, are they
    less than one year old?  If so, there's a good chance that they'll calm
    down as they leave kittenhood or adolescence.
    

    My Otis STILL does this and he is 3 years old.  As years have gone by
    his purrs get louder and he becomes more and more affectionate.
    
    I keep a bag of Tender Vittles next to my bed and pour a bit in my
    hand - which he nibbles out of - he then settles down on the end
    of the bed (takes a bath) and goes right back to sleep until 5:29
    ...1 minute before the alarm goes off.
    
    Guess it's his "midnight" snack - which has become more of a habit
    than anything else.
    
    M
    

>    Spike is now 11 mos old and still chewing my stuff if I for get to
>    place           
>    immediately
>        in hamper.
    
    
>    WHATS HE TRYING TO TELL ME????
     
neatness counts?  no, seriously, he likes the feel of the fabric when
he chews on it (my theory, anyway - I have a blanket chewer) and it
is sorta like a comfort thing...a throwback to kitten nursing on mom,
but now kitten has teeth and chews through things.  Be sure to have
your vet check that there is not a mass of undigested fabric growing
in the tummy there - it can happen.  Do you find all the scraps?

    Well Keith you've got the same problem I do with Cleo.  Can't figure it
    out either but I'm hoping it is just kittenhood!  Some nights it has
    gotten to the point where I lock her (and Spike - to be fair) out of my
    room so that I can get some sleep.  This hasn't lessened her affection.
    
    Cleo has this thing with my face.  She wants to have a paw touching my
    chin or her face pressed against mine.  It really is cute but at 3 am
    it is a bit much.  Some nights I'll 'toss' her to the end of the bed
    but she just comes back, purring.  I've even tried hiding my head under
    the covers but she pounces on me (ouch!), scratching to get underneath.  
                                                                   
    They also have done a number to my rug.  Luckily, I've got two
    entrances to my bedroom, hallway (rug) and bathroom (linoleum).  I've
    put boxes in front of the hallway door and thus saved (what's left) of
    the rug.  I don't think this will help you much unless you've got a
    second door or are really thin!
    
    You and your wife are not alone!
    
    ...Rania

    I know about that rug thing!!! It's like they have become little miners
    going to China!  I now have receding carpet that is shrinking back into
    my room.  They do sell a plastic protector especially for this.  It is
    hard like the translucent hard plastic mats for under your desk chair. 
    They are cut to fit in a doorway and to prevent "receding carpet
    syndrome".  Some of mine especially like to "clean" my hair early in
    the morning, Yucchh! 
    They like to do this on purpose!
    Karen and her thirteen little monsters!

   I have always had to put our kitten in a separate room at night. He has
never seemed to mind it and crawls up in his cat carrier for the night (no, I
do not close the door on the carrier, door has been removed). We started this
when he was young so he has never minded it.

   A couple times I have tried leaving him out but as soon as the light goes out
then he jumps up and goes wild. I attempted to leave him out last night but
about 10 minutes later he went and got a ball of yarn that I had tied up for him
jumped up on the bed a dropped it on my face when I was half asleep.

   He decided at 11:00 that he wanted to play fetch. Of course if I throw it
then he will only bring it back.

   This kitten has a liking for things made of yarn and will walk around the
house carrying them in his mouth but never really chews them. So far he has
never touched anything that we did not purposely give him. except...

    One night we had gone outside to watch the firworks. He got ahold of 2 balls
of yarn and strung them around and through the legs of the kitchen table and 
chairs.

    Bailey used to do this.  It drove me crazy.  I tried everything
    including spraying "Bitter Apple" on my gloves, etc.  It didn't
    work.  I was forced to start putting shoes with laces up where
    she couldn't get to them.  Keeping closet doors closed (a real
    challenge since Amelia would open them for Bailey), not leaving
    any type of cotton underwear, bras, t-shirts, sweaters, nylons 
    (anything with that type of texture to it) where she could get 
    to them.  Since I'm basically lazy, this was a major effort for 
    me.  I blew it alot and kissed some of my favorite things goodbye 
    after she chewed holes in them.
    
    I've been even worse about leaving things out lately 'cause she's
    not chewing things like she used to.  In fact, I can't remember
    the last time she did.  Has probably been at least a year.  She 
    may have finally grown out of it.  Bailey turned 6 this year.  She'd
    been chewing things since kittenhood.  Not very encouraging is it.
    
    You should probably have him vet checked as suggested.  Most everything
    Bailey chewed made its way out safely (except the Kitty Tease string
    and denim...we never did find that, even with an x-ray).  There are no
    guarantees that he isn't collecting a nice store of all the materials
    he's chewed in his stomach or intestines.  This can be very dangerous.
    
    So, I guess what I'm recommending is start becoming very good about 
    putting everything away.  If you can't put the shoes with laces in a
    closet or up high, at least tuck the laces into the shoe tops.  That
    will help a bit.  With luck, he'll outgrow it.
    
    Jan (who is looking for some wood to knock on since she'll probably go
         home and find chewed stuff now that she has announce it isn't 
         happening any more...I'm not the least bit supersitious, not me)
         ;^)

    I managed to cure mine of this.  I think it is because when they
    come wake me up in the middle of the night they end up not getting
    what they want.  What I usually do is pick their little body up 
    and make them lay down on the bed next to me.  I sorta wrap my arms
    around them like I'm sleeping with a stuffed animal.  They'll usually
    lay there for a while then get antsy and want to get up.  I make them
    stay just a little longer than they want to.  Then I let them go.
    They generally steer clear of me until morning then.  
    
    Your mileage may vary.  
    
    Now, Onyx has gotten into the habit of coming in when I first go to
    bed, laying down on me (or next to me) for some last pets before I
    fall asleep.  Then he gets up and leaves me alone until morning.  Just
    as I'm waking up he's there for his first of the morning pets or is
    busy terrorizing Carrie on the window platform above my head.  At 
    least he waits till the alarm goes off the first time before he starts
    this.
    
    Jan

    RE: .32
    
    Assuming that he isn't teething, his sidtructive behavior could
    either be a sign of bordom or a medical disorder called "pica".
    Pica is a disease that is also known in humans that cause people to eat
    weird things (dirt and paint), and often when it shows up in cats they
    are eating clay kitty litter and wool.
    
    If I remember correctly, pica is believed to be caused by some kind of
    diatary deficiency.
    
    Deb

    
    I'm new to this file and I'm also a new owner (since Aug.) of three
    kittens.
    
    I'm a little concerned about the baby of the bunch, she seems to suck
    (not chew) on the piles(?) on blankets, sweaters or afgans.  Crunch
    only seems to do this when being held, petted or if I scold her for
    clawing the furniture.  (They have two beautiful scratching posts)
    
    I'm afraid that these little pieces of material are getting into her
    stomach.  She's already had a life threatening episode which ended up
    costing a bundle.  The vet said it looked like some kind of poison.
    I think she got it in the barn, which still needs to be cleaned from
    the previous owner of the home.
    
    I would appreciate any advice on this matter, seeing I'm new at owning
    cats.  Can you please reply to my mail account.  I don't usually have
    time to spend in the notes file. (Wish I did)
    
    My mail account:    WMOIS::FLECK_S       
    
    					Thank you, Sue & Crunch, Munch and
    							Pumpkin

    Hi Sue,
    
    I have an afghan chewer too.  His name is Cyrano.  It doesn't seem
    to bother him, and with regular hairball medication (I give it to
    my gang weekly) there's no problem so far.  The only problem is that
    my afghans suffer.  I now have what look to be mothball holes all 
    over the things.  :-)  The only problems I have encountered with my
    cats and kittens are with things like rubber bands, curling ribbons
    (from gifts) and string.  Cyrano once swallowed an 18" piece of curling
    ribbon and had to spend a couple days in the hospital to make sure it
    passed safely without ripping through his intestines.  Oddly enough, it
    came out....bow first.  If I could have stood him on his head, he would
    have looked like a present.  :-)  Not funny AT ALL at the time, but in
    retrospect....
    
    I also had to be aware of open closets where I store chemicals.  Like
    your kitten, one of mine got into the cabinet and got chemical burns on
    her tongue.  It was awful.
    
    They have a way of just getting into EVERYTHING.  (sigh)
    
    Nancy

    If the cat is actually biting into the fabric and swallowing it, then
    it could cause a major problem if the fabric becomes tangled in the
    intestines.  The best thing to do is to remove all the types of things
    that the little one likes to suck and chew from his/her immediate area. 
    This could save you grief and money in the long run.  Surgery to remove
    an intestinal obstruction can be very costly, and dangerous for the
    cat.
    
    Jo

    I'm with Jo on this one.  My Bailey was a chewer.  I couldn't
    break her of it.  I just had to be really good about making sure
    I didn't leave anything that was on her "good for chewing" list
    lying around the house.  This was especially hard since a lot of
    those things were in the closet and Amelia was really good at 
    opening closet doors and going in for a nap leaving it wide open
    for Bailey.
    
    Jan

    My cat, Carrie, seems to prefer drinking from a glass over
    drinking from the water bowl.  I leave a plastic glass (like
    the kind that comes with those bathroom decorator sets) full
    of water on the bathroom counter for her.  However, a warning,
    if the glass isn't full enough she will pull it over to get
    to the contents.  This makes for wet bathroom counters 
    periodically.  If you can live with that, this is an easy 
    solution.
    
    Jan

    
    Well my crew are pretty weird too...I have a few that
    only drink out of the sink...a few that only drink out
    of the toilet...a few that will drink out of their
    water bowel..and then I have Poco who will only drink
    out of a coffee mug!!
    
    So before we leave in the morning...I have to make sure 
    water is in the sink...toilet cover is up and clean...
    water bowl is filled..and mug is on the counter!!!
    
    Sandy

    I think Furby is the nuttiest one I have. She gets a good drink of
    water every morning from the tub, as I run the water to heat it up for
    my shower.
    
    She sits in the tub, and as the water reaches her, she starts drinking.
    She waits for the water to get hot though! I've thought it might not be
    good for her, but when I run just cold or cool water, she doesn't
    drink!
    
    I think maybe it's because she ends up sitting in water, and doesn't
    like it cold. ;-)
    
    Then, before I'm allowed to take my shower, I have to take the hand
    held shower head, and put it near the edge of the tub. Furby then
    drinks from the shower head, and plays in it for a while. When she's
    done, THEN I get to take my shower! I've tried cooling the water down
    while she did this also, and she stops. Go figure!
    
    She comes running as soon as I turn on the water in the tub. Sometimes
    she skids by the door into the bedroom. Too funny!
    
    The others drink spring water from their bowl, or from the bowl I leave
    on the bathroom sink. Ordinary! ;-)
    
    Yonee
               
                    

Spikes technique is EXACTLY like that in .48, drink from it if he can
get at it, pull it over if he can't. He's bonked himself at least once 
(that I have seen) by pulling a double oldfashion/ice tea glass (16oz, 
heavy glass) onto his head. He meowpped (hey I just describe the noise)
and then barged in to lick up the puddle. Another time he knocked one over
in our upstairs bath which has tile (My wife ignored it for about
30 seconds while brushing her teeth). That time it shattered into a 
million pieces (and my fear was I'd have cat and wife, both with cuts 
on their feet). I was hoping not to indulge this behavior, but to correct 
it :-). Any suggestions, short of giving up drinking from glass? 

	Can you get the glass pyrex bowls?

	They are very sturdy (I've dropped a few on concrete and they've not 
	broken).

	I belive you can also get glass pyrex beakers - just as indistructable
	(well, for humans, who knows about cats!).

	Mind you, mine will drink out of the plastic dustbin (trashcan) cover
	but not his clean plastic dish.

	Heather

	Oh yes, I forgot - he likes milk, so I dilute it with 75% water/25%milk
	and he drinks that.
	So I can get some decent water inside him.

	I've gradually weaned him from 100% milk.

	Heather

    Smokey drinks from the bath tub tap. It must drip-drop-drip for her to
    let her drink. If it doesn't, she meows until I turn the tap so, that
    water is dropping slowly.
    
    She has her bowl, from where she drinks, too. But if I sit in the tub and
    just stop the hotwater running into it (for it got full) she
    immediately pops her furry face over the tub edge, jumps on it and
    meows me to turn the tap open to drop...
    
    Nat

    Well, I did it again.  Moved.  And the cats were basket cases.
    
    After the problems with Tiger last year I'd decided to move them
    somewhere in the middle of all the stuff, or even at the beginning.
    But that just wasn't possible this time.  So they got moved near
    the end.
    
    Wednesday, we had three of them in the bathroom and Tiger was in
    the bedroom.  When I opened that up to empty it, I didn't see him,
    and then I forgot about him, until about four hours later.  We
    couldn't find him anywhere in the house, and my daughter got 
    hysterical on top of it.  We looked outside and didn't find him.
    He's so neurotic and scared of everything and everybody that I
    didn't think he'd go far, or he'd find a safe place to hide.
    Finally, we borrowed flashlights and took a bowl of his favorite
    food around the two vacant lots around us, and drove around the
    neighborhood.  No luck.
    
    Finally, after over an hour of searching, we gave up and went 
    home.  And guess who was waiting for us in the kitchen...  Tiger.
    Scared to death, but home and safe.  We figured he must have 
    squeezed under the dishwasher because that was the only place we
    didn't look.  Angel was so happy she grabbed him and held him and
    cried all over him.
    
    We moved them to the new place last night, and once all of them
    were there for a while they were fine.  Tiger did hide in the
    bathroom cupboard for a couple of hours, but even he finally
    ventured out into the strange new world...  
    

    re drinking habits - boy, and I thought Merlin was weird.  He used to
    drink only bottled spring water from one of those tall water tower
    gadgets (like the bulk feeders for dry food), but after Wabbit passed
    on he seemed to associate it with her disappearance and refused to
    drink from it ever again (ok, I'm anthropomorphizing, but he *did* stop
    drinking from it).  He too likes to drink hot water from the tub, and
    nowadays he'll only drink from his bowl if he sees you fill it fresh
    from the tap.  I guess it's got to have that fresh cold chlorine tang?
    (But the why hot water fom the tub?)
    
    If the water in his bowl is more than a few minutes (right, minutes)
    old, he'll jump up on the sink and wait there patiently (well, for a
    little while, then he starts "calling") for me to fill the sink. 
    Fierce jungle beast at the wah-wah hole.  Sometimes I can get him to
    drink from the bowl by showing him that I'm filling it and setting him
    down beside it.  Sometimes he just sits and looks at the bowl like, "Uh,
    this is not big like the sink" and then jumps back up on the sink and
    "vocalizes".
    
    I'd love to know what goes on inside that little head...
    
    len.
      

    re.47
    
    mine does the same thing with knocking glasses over.  She only does
    it however with glasses filled with water...doesn't matter how full or
    empty they are...she pushes them off with her nose....she's broken
    about 8 by now....the only thing I can do is to try to remember not to
    leave glasses sitting around when I'm not around.  You might try
    putting glasses on coasters...that works sometimes....for some reason,
    she's less apt to knock them over if sitting in a coaster...
    
    mine like to push lots of things off of counters....with her nose....
    luckily I'm not a knick-knack freak....
    
    good luck....if you find something that works, please post it....
    
    michele

Yup that sounds just like Spike, 'cept he uses his paws
(or occaisionaly tags it with a hip bump, quite intentional)
If I figure out a way to stop it I'll post it. 

PS: coasters often follow the glass (maybe he wants the coaster? :-))

Thanks, 
Keith

    
    Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
    
    My cat needs to lose weight, he's naturally small, delicate boned 
    and short legged. For the past year he's gained 2 more reaching 16 lbs! 
    The vet says I have to lose his weight cuz his jelly belly almost
    touches the floor when he's walking. 
    The way I see it (that's how I used to deal with my weight), no miracles -
    don't eat and pounds of fat eventually will shed off of one's body like 
    last year snow. 
    Now the problem - he is a glutton and adores his food. I tried to feed
    him senior low cal science diet, that caused the great outrage, he's
    threw a plate off on the floor (we feed him on a table because of
    doggie). Then I made an attempt to skip his meals, he was haunting me, 
    scratching and biting my ankles (I even used bitter apple to keep him 
    off with no effect) until I finally gave up.
    
    My hope is some experienced people around here know how to deal with
    hungry beasts like mine and give me a good good advice?
    
    Thanks,
    
    Liza
                 

    
    Hi Liza...
    
    I have a few kitties with the big bellies...and I find one way
    to help them is to make them excercise more.   Get his favorite
    toy out and play with him for a good 1/2 hour at a time!! If
    he doesn't like to run...get him to reach for things...or roll
    from side to side!!!!
    
    To switch my crew from regular science diet to the low cal...all
    I did was warm it up in the microwave.  That brings all the oils 
    out...and makes it smell good for kitty!!   Once they got use to 
    eating it....(within 3 days) I no longer had to heat it up.
    
    Sandy

or pet stores. Two of our three cat's are on Feline R/D dry. It fills them up
without lots of calories. One cat's dropped from 17 to about 13 1/2 over the last
six months. The other goes outdoors and heads down the street to a neighbor's
open garage where they keep a bowl of food for their cat. We're not doing so well
getting him to lose weight. He's at the vet's today - got an abscess on the face
from getting smacked by someone. Maybe his welcome's warn thin.

						Trace

    
    Thanks for the advice. 
    
    I warmed up his food a little and he was not so upset.
    Actually had some. Not much, which got me suspicious. He is an
    outdoor cat and a hunter, well, at least goes outside, how he spends
    his recreation time I am not sure, maybe sleeping somewhere.
    But there might be a chance that he's begun on a live diet.
    Always in summer months brings birds and snakes and mice (intact) to
    show us and play a bit.
    

    Hi -
    
    You might also try Max Cat lite. My Poppy, queen of dieting, prefers it 
    to Iams less active. In fact, she goes absolutely nuts for it. 
    
    Kate
    

Figured this was the best place to put this one.....mods, feel free to move

CAT_TO_DOG STRANGE BEHAVIOR :

   OK, here's a strange one for all of you to help me out with.........

   I have two relatively-new female kittens that we adopted who are now just
   a few days more than 4 months old, Missy & Patches.  Every night, when
   I go to bed, they plus my two male dogs (Coca, Toy Poodle and Kain, Bichon) 
   join me for the night and they all get along fine *except*.....

   sometimes I wake up during the night to these **noises** which I can
   only describe as sucking noise........I've never been awake enough to
   figure out which of the girls it is, but one (or both) of them will
   occasionally be sucking on the Kain's belly area !!!  Now, 
   they've *never* done this with Cocoa, but then he's all black and
   you have a hard time seeing him, never mind finding these parts !!
   Since the Bichon is white, his pink skin and pink nipples are pretty easy
   to spot, but ISN'T THIS UNUSUAL for kitten(s) to try to be nursing from
   a MALE DOG ?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

   Weird, huh ?  Any suggestions/ideas ?
   Debbi J

and while I'm at it, here's another behavior issue.......

CAT_TO_CAT ISSUE :

   Now that our household cat population has grown from 1 16-yr-old cat
   to a total of FIVE cats, ranging in age from 4+ months to the 16-yr-old,
   I need some advice on how to handle the wrestling/dominance stuff.....
   My questions are basically (1) are we handling this right or should we be
   letting them "duke it out" and (2) will it change once they have an all
   out brawl or get older or what ??????  We'd like to feel that sooner or
   later, we'll be able to leave everyone together for the day without having
   to worry about what we come home to !!!!!

   Details follow :

   The 16-yr-old is a female, Neely, who wants NOTHING to do with any of the 
   others, so no problem there.

   The second oldest is a male, Peanut, who's a little over a year old - he
   was the only other cat in the house (we also have dogs, but that's another
   note !!) until early April - then in the course of about a week, we added
   another male, Lipton, from the shelter who was 5-1/2 months and the two
   girls, Missy & Patches, also from the shelter, who were just about 2 months
   old...........

   The girls are pretty much kept by themselves, either in my bedroom or in
   the "playpen" I bought in the living room so they can be with the rest of
   the family and see/get used to everyone else.  If I do let them out when
   Peanut's also out, he's starting to wrestle one or the other to the ground, 
   on her back and pins her - I have to make a loud noise/spray water to
   get him off (yes, he HAS been fixed already, thank goodness !!!).....
   I've decided to only let them loose with him if I am around to separate
   them, especially since they are still so much smaller !!

   Lipton, on the other hand, is now @7-1/2 months old and although not as
   big as Peanut yet, we think he'll end up as big or bigger.  We like to let
   the two of them out together - if we let Peanut out and not Lipton, L
   *cries* at the door for his "buddy"......all was going fine until this
   past week when we finally were able to let L unrestricted again (he was
   just neutered) and now they're into heavy-duty wrestling !!!  Again, we
   can separate them with loud noises/water spray, but hate to have to keep
   separating them.

   Advice ??

    re: .64
    
    It isn't that unusual.  I have a houseful of suckers myself. 
    Unfortunately for me, they aren't sucking on the dog.  They are sucking
    on me (my arms!! no where else)!  Gunny gets glossy eyed if she sees my
    forearms exposed.  She has to knead and suck on my forearms every time
    she sees them exposed. I usually fight back by only wearing
    longsleeves, but in this 90 degree weather that hasn't been a viable
    option.
    
    So, my advice, be thankful it's the dog that has to deal with it and
    not you!!! ;')
    
    Jo

    re: .66
    
    When the smaller kittens are getting pinned down are they objecting to
    it?  Are you separating them because you think that the older cat will
    hurt them, or because he actually has hurt them?
    
    The reason I ask is that adult cats won't usually hurt kittens.  They
    are most likely just involved in some rough play, some of which may be
    to establish who's dominant and who's not.  I usually let cats sort
    this out themselves.  If you begin separating them, and punishing the
    offender, it can go from play to aggression against the kittens.  The
    adult may end up taking it out on them that he got into trouble with
    you.
    
    Also, if you keep interfering, they are going to take longer to
    establish their pecking order and the rough stuff could go on for
    longer.
    
    Jo

    
    re .64 - like Jo in .66, I have three 13 week old kittens (see 509.) who
    do the same to me.  It's always the same one that starts it, but once the
    others hear that noise, it's open season on me.  *Any* exposed skin
    will suffice.  I hope this is something they'll outgrow...
    
    len.

    re: .67
    
>    When the smaller kittens are getting pinned down are they objecting to
>    it?  Are you separating them because you think that the older cat will
>    hurt them, or because he actually has hurt them?

     Usually, we're holding off and separating the two boys only when one 
     (usually Peanut, the larger) has the other crying out - altho' last night, 
     they did do better for over an hour - my roommate only separated them 
     when Peanut decided to get a strong mouth-grip on Lipton's neck and then 
     wrapped his paws around to pin him - is this the kind of stuff we should 
     let go and only break up if the proverbial "fur begins to fly" ??

>    The reason I ask is that adult cats won't usually hurt kittens.  They
>    are most likely just involved in some rough play, some of which may be
>    to establish who's dominant and who's not.     

    With the girls, since there's such a difference in size/weight between
    them & Peanut, I've been worried that he's going to hurt them when he
    pins them underneath him - are you suggesting that we let this go too
    unless/until one cries out - should we wait if one cries to see if
    he'll let her go ?

>						 I usually let cats sort
>    this out themselves.  If you begin separating them, and punishing the
>    offender, it can go from play to aggression against the kittens.  The
>    adult may end up taking it out on them that he got into trouble with
>    you.
     
>    Also, if you keep interfering, they are going to take longer to
>    establish their pecking order and the rough stuff could go on for
>    longer.
    
    This is what I'm really trying to avoid (dragging it out) so I guess
    I'm really trying to ask how far do you let them go before you do
    interfere ??

    Thanks,
    Debbi

   re: .66 & .68 -

   I sorta know what you both mean - when Peanut was smaller, he used to
   knead/suckle on my inner arm, but usually only at night when we went
   to bed (he would curl up inside my arm before going to sleep) - still
   does on occasion, but haven't had him sleeping with us lately because
   of the little girls......just have never seen/heard it happen with a
   DOG before, MALE DOG at that !!!!!

   now there's an idea - is maybe why he's picking on the girls because
   he's jealous he doesn't get to sleep with me anymore ?  How can I let
   him sleep in the room with all of us without having problems in the
   middle of the night  -  or do I just put up with some lack of sleep
   for a while and let it work itself out ????

    Deb...
    
    I would start letting them have full run of the house  when your 
    around.  That way you can still monitor any aggresive behaviour 
    before it turns into a brawl.   If you see it getting rough...
    just go talk to them softly and see if you can calm it down
    by just patting them and telling them how wonderful they ALL are!!!    
    If that doesn't work...just try picking Peanuts up and walk around
    with him to calm him down.   Use the squirt bottle or the confinement
    as the last resort!!
    
    My guess is...the kittens probably start some of these brawls by
    bugging Peanuts...and he is just showing them who is boss!!
    
    Now...you really didn't expect to get a full night sleep with your
    furry crew...did you???? (ha...your night will never be the same!!)
    
    Sandy
    
    ps...My big Dewey (3 years old - 12 pounder) still sucks on a certain 
    afghan.. but only if it is on my lap!!   

    I stay out of the scuffles all together when they are the result of
    introducing cats.   My feeling is that it's best to let them work it
    out, and if you interfere, you are preventing the kittens from being
    able to tell the older cat themselves how rough is too rough.  They
    need to work it out themselves.   
    
    Jo

Hi Debbi, congratulations on all your new additions.

You asked when to break up these fights, mentioning that
you usually break them up if one cries.  Since I agree
with the last few notes that breaking it up too early is
just prolonging the resolution of pecking order, I wanted
to say that we usually don't interfere if one cat lets out
a cry or two.  

It's obviously a judgement call, but we have forced ourselves
to wait for shrieks or screams that don't stop after one of
two hollers or if we see signs that blood is being drawn
or large amounts of fur are flying.  We don't just stand
by while one cat beats the living daylights out of the
other, but that really happens very very rarely.  Lots of
noise with little real damage is the rule.

Even a chunk of fur may be "all in fun" for cats who are
just playing a little rough -- some of ours do and usually
stop by mutual agreement ("hey, that hurt" from one, with 
"yeah, well you just hurt me" from the other, followed by
"guess we better walk away and calm down").  Our interference
isn't needed and nobody gets any lasting hurts.

Good luck, I certainly know how hard it is to watch them
fight and do nothing about it.  And we have one cat that
we instantly break up fights with because she ALWAYS tries
to kill the other -- her fights are always serious and we
don't delay in stopping them.  


JanB  

    We have four cats, and two of them are "suckers."  Shadow has 
    Angel's black knit gloves that he'll suck on.  He'll also 
    protect it from the other cats and us as if it's his baby.
    Kiana usually settles for a piece of the blanket, but if she
    had her choice, it would be someone's earlobe!  And sometimes
    she can get really insistent about it and we have to fight
    her off.
    
    Prancer, our year old male, likes to play "fetch" with the
    rings off the milk jugs.  He'll drop one in front of us and
    wait for us to throw it for him, then he'll chase it and bring
    it back for more.  I used to think only dogs did things like this.
    
    Tiger is just neurotic.  Scared of everything, but he'll fight
    for his food (his nickname is Garfield!).
    
    Ellen

    I hope this is the right place for this...I could use some advice.
    We adopted Shadow about a year ago, he was a stray at our
    apartment complex. He's about three or four years old. After a huge flea 
    problem last summer (Georgia fleas are bigger and meaner and multiply 
    faster than other fleas, it seems), and after Shad came home with his 
    belly ripped open and had to have stitches, I decided to make him indoor 
    only. (It's also against the apartment complex rules for him to be out 
    alone.) He's a sweet, sweet boy and usually very obedient, but after being 
    in over a period of time he just acts like he's going to explode if he 
    doesn't get outside. He defiantly jumps on all the furniture he's not 
    supposed to, he jumps me and swats my legs, he nips me, beats up on Sammi 
    and lurks by the front door waiting for the potential moment of escape. 
    Ironically though, even if he makes it out the door, he's so obedient that 
    if I tell him to stop he does and then growls as I carry him back into the 
    apartment. He gets plenty to eat and drink, gets lots of loving and has 
    play time. He has toys to play with and Sammi for kitty companionship.
    He is neutered. 
    
    Will he get over this, should I increase his play time, try harder to 
    train him to a harness (he does have one, just growls the whole time he's 
    in it and on occasion tries to shred the legs of my jeans), or...what? 
    Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
    
    Thanks!
    
    Rebecca  
    

    Sounds like my Mitties!  Wow, when she wants to go out, she wants to
    go out!  Instead, luckily I have a basement which I let her down in.
    I;m sure you probably don't have one of those though. Do you have a
    window you could put one of those screen boxes in that's supposed to
    make kitty think he's outside?  Or a deck that could be secured?
    Training him on the leash would help, if he's a good boy while he;s
    on it.  My Kooki loves his, he hated it at first too, but now that
    he knows its going to be the only way he will ever go out, it's
    suddenly great in his eyes.
    
    denise

    
    	Try a harness or leash, when I go up to Maine to the campground
    	were my trailer is parked for the season, I put my fur-face on a
    	15' leash tied to the trailer or to a gallon jug full of sand.
    	He has learn not to shorten the rope by walking under the table 
    	or around the tree. 
    
    	Being in a complex this may be a good option, he will be outside
    	but can't go exploring....
    
    	Mike

When I lived in a ground floor apartment it was all I could do to keep Tigger
inside. She literally *yelled* at me to let her out. Since we moved to an 
upstairs apartment she's been fine. She'll sit in the windows and watch the world
go by, but has not once cried to be let out. I truely believe that not living
in a ground floor apartment was the answer to our problems. Just letting you
know what worked for us. 

I also found that if I broke down and let her outside for a little while, the 
next time she wanted to go out she became more demanding and difficult to deal
with. 

My instinct tells me that the longer they go without being outside the easier
it will get, but like people, all kitties are different. You may find that a 
little supervised play time is what you kitty needs.

Good luck to you. I know that it can be difficult watching them get so upset.

Laura

    This is the *third* time this has happened to us, and we're at wit's
    end!  I hope *someone* out there can help...
    
    We have, for the third time, found ourselves with a CrazyCat[tm] in our
    pack.  He's six months old, part Siamese (Yes, I *know* that Siamese can 
    have problems!).  We got him when he was twelve weeks old.  We should
    have known when we went to pick him up!  Originally, we wanted one
    kitty from this litter, but the woman said that these two *really* got
    along together and *didn't* want to be separated, so we fell like
    suckers and took them both, despite the fact that one was nice-tempered
    while the other was *incredibly* skittish.  Oh well, he's just anxious
    about the new people... he'll settle down, we told ourselves, and we
    took the pair.
    
    Looking back on it, we figure the woman told the story about not
    wanting to separate them because she *knew* that the crazy cat would be
    *impossible* to give away by himself!
    
    This cat is *incredibly* high-strung, anxious, and often descends into
    full-blown panic attacks at the *slightest* provocation.  When in panic
    mode, he backs as far as he can into a corner, gets this really
    low-pitched rusty tone in his meow, and is absolutely impossible to
    deal with.  Push him *any* further (e.g. by talking to him, trying to
    pe him or pick him up or whatnot), and he's bound to become a flying
    furball... caroming off the walls, climbing the curtains, *anything* to
    get away from this monster human coming towards him!
    
    He's also regressed.  When we got him, he was fully weaned.  However, 
    we have a black girl cat that looks *just* like their mother.  She's
    unfixed and has never been bred, so when these two kittens that
    look a lot like her came into her life, she adopted them... she got as
    fiercely protective about them as any momma cat would, and they
    responded by regressing (the crazy one *much* more so than the other).
    Crazy cat would nurse off of her dry nipples until they hurt, and she'd
    let him.  This has *not* helped his emotional development any, to say
    the least!
    
    Anyhow... we have a busy multi-cat househould and can't go walking on
    eggs all the time to keep this monster from tearing the place apart...
    any suggestions?  Do they make kitty Valiums? 8-)  We either have to
    get this guy to calm down, or we'd have to give him away... and we 
    don't think he'll take too well to the latter!  Besides; nobody *likes*
    a problem cat, and we won't *lie* just to get rid of him ("Oh, (hiss!)
    he's just a little skittish (ROWR!)!  Once you get him home (bite!)
    he'll calm down and be no trouble at all! (slash!)").
    
    Unfortunately, it may be the shleter for this guy unless we can come up
    with a better idea... suggestions?
    
    Thanks,
    
    --jim
    
    

    Re: .-1
    
    I should mention what happened with the other two CrazyCats we had...
    the first one we discovered was fine as long as there were no other
    cats in the house, so we gave her away to a nice home with no other
    cats, and we hear she's been doing wonderfully.  The second was much
    like the one we had now; *nothing* seemed to work to make him sociable,
    so we finally gave him to a shelter in desperation...
    
    --jim
    

    
    re:-1
    
    > I have four cats. Out of the four, two like catnip, but three
    > of them would much rather have a sweaty sock!
    
    I think you should recount the cats, you might be surprised that 
    you realy have five cats..... ;-)
    
    There was an episode of 'Married with Children' that these alians 
    were stealing Al's dirty socks to use for fuel to go back to their
    planet, maybe your cats are from the same planet ;-)
    
    sorry, just couldn't resist that one!
    
    Shaw

    RE: .82
    
    sounds like Kyra.  She's got a food fettish.  She especially likes my
    shoes after I've worn them ALL day long.  She sticks her whole head
    inside the shoe and doesn't come up for air!  Ugh!  Bob's sneakers are
    a favorite, too.  Especially after he's been wearing them while playing
    basketball.  
    
    If shoes aren't available, socks will do.  Especially good old sweaty
    socks that I've just worn.  She rubs her head all over it as if it was
    filled with catnip.  It's a RIOT to see!
    
    Holly
    

    One of our cats - Mike - also LOOOVES shoes.  If I leave mine out on
    the bedroom floor you can always find Mike curled up and snoozing on
    them.  We also have a great photo of him lying next to one of my
    husband's huaraches with both of his front legs inserted into the toe
    area and his furry little feet poking out of the hole in the front.

	One of my cats is really confused with shoes.

	They obviously smell like they should be fun, but he's really scared 
	they'll bite back.

	So he does the ritual of attacking by standing on his rear legs, and
	giving a swift dab at the shoelace - and retreats.

	He does this a few times, and gets bolder, so pounces on the shoelace
	and "kills" it.

	He then repeats the ritual for the shoe, until he thinks its
	definately dead, then he will sleep on it.

	Heathre

    
    One of mine always chooses hubby's shoes to "yurple" in/on....
    
    (-8
    
    

    We've had several cats who seem to love the aroma of dirty socks and
    shoes. Recently, I accused my 15 year old son of leaving his socks
    strewn around. Of course he denied it, but I must say I was surprised
    one day to see Merlin our youngest (cat) rooting in Matt's laundry
    basket and gleefully running off with a "fragrant" sock as if it were a
    prized trophy ! Naturally I had to apologize, and I wondered if this
    were the solution to the mystery of where do all the missing socks go.
    And I always thought the dryer ate them !
    
    Anne

    Did anyone see America's Funniest Videos's last night?  They had a dog
    that growled fiercely at himself in the mirror.  I was wondering if
    anyone ever had their cat do something like that?
    
    Michele

    I saw that episode!  My ex-cat, Nikki (lives with ex-husband now) used
    to scare himself to death every time he passed a mirror.  He is a very
    skittish cat, and would pass the mirror, get all wide-eyed, look away,
    then look back in the mirror again to see if the cat was still there. 
    He never growled or hissed, just kept going back and forth in the
    mirror until he lost interest.  We used to laugh hysterically at him!
    

    Sammi doesn't growl, but she does seem fascinated with looking at
    herself in the mirror.  As a result, most of my kitty accessible mirrors 
    have little paw prints on them. 
    
    Rebecca

    My young sister has moved in with me recently and Jimmy has thought up 
    such a wonderful game to play.
    The underneath of Kerry's bed (she's my sister) has that sacking stuff
    on it (can't remember what it's called now). Jimmy lies on his back and
    SLIDES, clawing at the sacking stuff, from one end to the other, turns
    around like an Olympic swimming champion, and back he goes to the other
    end again.
    He can keep this up for a couple of minutes and goes at an incredible
    speed, just a ginger blur!               

    Cain has discovered a new kind of mouse. 
    Last night I as I was working on my mac, Cain decided to come
    watch (from the top of the monitor).  He became rather fascinated with
    the things moving around on the screen, especially the mouse pointer.
    
    At one point my screen saver came on, started drawing spheres on the 
    screen and he watched each one as it was drawn and quickly switched 
    to each new one.
    
    As the evening went on, he became more agitated trying to swipe at the
    things on the screen, making it hard to do anything, until he finally
    fell off!
    

    And how hard did you laugh when he finally did tumble off the monitor?
    And what kind of dirty looks dod you get whn you laughed? I can just
    picture this going on! Thanks for the story! I needed a chuckle this
    morning!
    
    My cats only help me on the system by walking across the keyboard when
    they want attention, and are not getting it! ;-) The only problem is,
    their typing looks like 'noise' on the lines! 8-)
    
    Yonee

    
    Hello friends, 
    
    You might remember Racheal which I introduced last week. Anyhow
    she's been with us for almost two weeks now. She was an only cat
    with this lady was taken to a shelter because her boyfriend didn't
    like cats. Well, Racheal still misses her old mom. She is always in 
    solitude. Aparently her previous owner use to feed her a lot of people
    food 'cause the only time she comes out is when someone's cooking in
    the kitchen or we are eating and she begs for food. Other than that 
    she will not socialize with anyone. Whenever we go to pet her she just 
    gets up and goes somewhere else. It is breaking my heart to see her so 
    depressed. She has no interest in catnip, cat toys or nothing. She
    doesn't want to do anything with the other cats either. She
    occassionaly observed our new Main Coon kitty playing but that's it. 
    I bring her to the bedroom and as long as I'm holding her, she purrs 
    a little but the minute we let loose off she goes to some lonely
    corner.  Will she ever come around. Is there anything I can do to make 
    her life more joyfull? Would she be better off as an only cat with a 
    single person? She is only two years old and I don't want her to spend
    the rest of her life in depression. 
    
    Thanks, 
    
    Shaw

    Shaw....
    
    I think she'll come around....and as long as she doesn't feel
    intimiated by the other cats I think she'll do fine.  She is
    the one that had the cold...right???  Maybe she still isn't
    feeling up to par.
    
    When Moses joined our house he was so so depressed.  He just
    sat there, wouldn't play, but would stare at you with these
    very sad eyes.  We just gave him extra attention and love...
    and he soon became Maniac Moses and has become the clown
    of the house.
    
    Time and love is what she needs.
    
    Sandy

    When our Chowder (a Maine Coon Cat) was exhibiting similar behavior
    as outlined in note -.2, our cure was to be persistent in our loving
    attention to her.  For example, whenever we would sit down to watch TV,
    one of us would pick her up an put her in our lap and stroke her and
    tell her in soothing tones what a wonderful kitty she was and how much
    we loved her.  After a couple of months of this, Chowder would come up
    to the couch by herself and *ask* to come up to be with us by sticking
    up one of her front paws.  A pat on a the edge of the couch was all
    the invitation she needed.
    
    Try it, maybe it will work for you as well as it did for us.
    
    Carl

If a person can make any kind of comparison between cats and dogs, I'd say
your new cat will eventually become happy.  We wondered the same things when
we added another dog to our household of the two of us plus one other dog.
She quietly sat in a corner, just observing and moping for about six weeks.
Barely responded to her name, would fast for a few days in a row, was very
timid and hesitant.  Now, she's a rambunctions, incorrigible, happy dog.
She leaps and bounds all over, tries to climb up onto the sofa or into our
laps (she's a collie and not exactly lap sized) and gets into everything.  
Just last night she kept trying to grab my pen while I was writing a letter.
I put it behind my back and she'd stick her long nose back there trying to 
get it, I'd push her away and she'd hop right back.  So just continue to 
give your kitty lots of attention, encouragement, and love, and I'm sure
you'll be able to say the same thing in time.

Leslie

    
    Well I spent a good time of the weekend observing Racheal and spending
    time with Keesha my Main Coon kitty. I don't know if this is only my
    imagination or what. Racheal seems to be ok as long as you are only 
    touching her head and chin area. But the minute one touches her body
    she takes off. Although she has put on quite a bit of weight, you can
    still feel all her back bone. The only time that she comes to us is 
    if there is people food involved. She is eating less and less of the
    cat food but gobbles down all the chicken we made her. At this point
    I don't care if all she wants is people food. We make her special stuff
    with no spices. I am just worried that something more serious than
    depression could be wrong with her. My girlfriend is going to call up
    the lady that does volunteer work with the Newburyport shelter and 
    is familiar with Racheal. I know that bringing her to the vet might 
    add to her troma but I just don't feel comfortable not doing more. If 
    there is something else wrong, it should be identified so maybe we can
    make her more comfortable. It just breaks my heart to see her so
    lonely.
    She does sit on my lap if I insist and only rub her chin. but the
    minute I touch her body she's off and gone. 
    The other two cats (Ziba the 1 and half year old tan, light orange
    tabby and Main coon kitty) are getting along fine. The little kitty
    follows Ziba everywhere and is learning from her. But when it comes to
    playing she is a lot quicker and dare I say stronger than the adult
    cat. She can jump in the air a good two feet or so when shes chasing
    her toys. 
    
    Shaw

    Shaw,
    
    Any chance you could have the Newburyport shelter arrange for you to
    speak with Racheal's former owner?  If she is any decent kind of human
    being she should be amenable to talking with you and sharing
    information that might better help you deal with Racheal.  Maybe she
    will even feel a little guilty for bringing her to a shelter in the
    first place.
    
    Maybe she is in pain when you touch her body?  Perhaps the vet
    should have another look at her.
    
    Just some thoughts,
    Roberta
    

    
    Roberta, 
    
     We are going to arrange for her to see the vet again. My feelings are
     that she is possibly in some kind of pain when her body is touched. 
     As for the previous owner I don't think that she wants to deal with
     it.  Last time we discussed Racheal with the shelter poeple, they said
     the her ex-owner has married the guy.  Whatever her problem is I just
     feel it in my heart that there is more to it than just depression. 
     You know she is the first two year old that I've seen that doesn't
     care about those feather things on a pole. She just has no real
     interest in anything. She does occassionaly observe the kitty but 
     hisses at her too. When we go to pick her up she makes this god awfull
     sounds. Some kinda of growling but real deep sound.
    
     Shaw
    

    
    We took Racheal to the vets yesterday. To see why she was the way 
    she is. After a thorough check up the vet felt first of all that she 
    looked a lot healthier than a couple of weeks ago when we first got
    her. She also checked her for any physical pain athritis or ... and
    nothing wrong. The only thing was the vet beleives she is a lot older 
    than the two years that we were quoted at the shelter. She is an older
    cat. This plus the fact that she is suffering from depression explains
    why she has been so groggy and does not like to be picked up and does 
    not have the paitience for the other cats.  Now we know and we will 
    respect that. I just don't feel it was right for us to be told she is
    only two when she is not. Not that this will make any difference for 
    our love for her now. But I am not sure if we would have willingly 
    adopted an older cat. Maybe this was her luck that the shelter miss led
    us, or she might have never been adopted with all the other younger
    cats there.  
    We have requested that the shelter get in touch with her previous owner 
    to atleast give us a better idea of how old she realy is. 
    
    Shaw

    Shaw,
    
     I wouldn't look to harshly on the shelter about Racheal's age. It's
    sometimes very difficult to age an adult cat. I adopted a cat from the
    shelter I volunteer at, and his chart said two tears, and I know he's
    older than that.
    
     It's almost a standing joke at our shelter, that if a cat comes in
    that isn't less than a year old, or the age isn't known, it's
    'automatically' two years old! We don't say this, the vet does! We do
    get a chuckle out of it sometimes, although I know how you feel,
    finding out your kitty is older than you thought. 
    
     She must have needed you to adopt her though! ;-) We women DO have a
    tendency to lie about our ages, do we not? 8-)
    
     I hope she comes out of her depression soon. Just keep loving her, and
    I'm sure she will realize she still ahs a loving home!
    
     Love,
    
     Yonee
          

    
    Thanks Yonee, 
    
    I am not upset with the shelter, I know they are trying their best to
    find homes for a lot of needy cats. If only I knew that Racheal was
    an older cat, from the beginning we would have dealt with the whole
    thing differently.  
    The shelter called the previous owner's, I don't know if this is fact
    or she is just trying to ignore us, but they were told that she has 
    moved out of the state with no forwarding address. 
    Now the good news, in the last couple of nights, Racheal has taken a 
    liking to my girlfriends teenage daughter. Racheal basically stays
    around the kitchen and dining room. The closest bedroom is Melisa's 
    so the past two night she on her own has gone to Melisa and crowled up
    on her bed. Although Melisa is only 12, but her and her brother 14 are
    both great with animals. They have been doing volunteer work with a 
    petting Zoo, They know quite a bit about animal care and Melisa is 
    also a handler of her dad's show dog a briard (sp) so I am very happy
    the Racheal is bonding to someone in the household. She will not go 
    to the other side of the house where our bedroom is and the home of
    Keesha (maine coon kitty) and Ziba (the orange tabby). 
    These two Keesha and Ziba are inseprable. They play all day and all
    night together. They take turns in playing with toys one sits and 
    watches while the other bats the thing around and then they switch.
    I have never been happier ;-) Last night Keesha's foster mom called
    to see how she was doing and we told her how much we loved Keesha and
    that she how she was spoilt. She said Keesha's little sister misses her
    terribly , she is long hair black and white ....I'm getting ideas ;-)
    You guys are a BAD influence on me. ;-)
    
    Shaw

    Yonee, when I adopted Nikki from FAHS in 1988, they told me he was two! 
    :^)  Turned out he was closer to 8 or 9 at the time.  :^)  Dana kept
    insisting he was older, cause he had so much grey fur, especially
    around his face.  The only thing that gave his age away was his
    teeth... he needed major dental surgery.
    
    It is very hard to predict a cat's age!  :^)

    Shadow has developed an - unfortunate - fascination with toes.  I
    became aware of this as I was taking a bath and he came racing into the
    bathroom, leaned over the edge of the tub and began earnestly trying
    to fish my toes out of the water.  He did this on several occasions; it
    was hilarious until he caught one =:-o .  Disciplinarian that I am, I
    went back to taking showers and thought no more of it.  Until the other
    morning...when my husband came into the living room barefooted and
    sat down with his knees under his chin and his feet up on the couch. 
    We were quietly talking, when I happened to look down and saw Shadow
    with that *look* on his face, intent upon his daddy's toes. "Watch
    out," I cried, "Shadow's toe hunting!"  Alas, my warning came too late 
    and the peace of the morning was shattered, as Vincent shot up off the 
    couch clutching his foot and Shadow made a mad dash for cover. 
    (Who knew they were attached?!)  Anyway, for now, toes residing in the 
    Sinatra household have gone undercover.
    
    Rebecca    

    Since we're on a similar subject...does anyone have a cat that performs
    what we call, "the ritual washing of the fingers?" Poppy does this all
    the time, mostly to me. While sitting on my lap or nearby, all of a
    sudden she'll start licking the ends of my fingers, one at a time. Then
    she puts the end of the finger in her mouth and gnaws on it. She's not
    doing it to hurt (although she does get carried away sometimes). 
    
    She goes from one finger to the next, usually, in order, then starts
    all over. She gets so into it -- her eyes close and her ears go back,
    and she goes into a sort of trance. 
    
    Last night, she must have done this to me for about 10 minutes before
    I stopped her because my skin was beginning to wrinkle. 
    
    Any ideas to explain this ritual? 
    
    Kate
    

    My J.C. does this...and I haven't figured out why!!!  I always
    thought he didn't want me to pet him...until he was darn sure my
    fingers were clean!!!!!!
    
    Sandy

    Bailey (RIP) used to do this.  However, she generally stared on my
    forearm and worked her way down.  There is nothing that feels quite
    the same as a cat tongue on bare skin.
    
    Jan

    Smokey does clean me as well. Sitting on my lap, she licks herself,
    then if I pat her, she licks me too. I know it's not the same as you
    mentioned, but since my mother's two never do it, I think that not all
    ctas clean the humans.
    
    And, a cat tongue is something special... I hate if a dog licks me. But
    a cat's tongue is somehow dry and... I dunno. I'm a fool even.
    
    Nat

    I've heard that the reason for this is that they like the taste of the
    salt on your skin. Rosie does it and Jimmy like to chew fingers when
    he's feeling extra loving.

    My cats seem to like the taste of the lotion I put on my skin and
    Lizette loves to lick my shampooed hair when I get out of the shower.  Misty
    will do a fair amount of licking my face, but when she gets to my
    eyelid -- ouch!  The birmans like to chew on my gold bracelets, the
    shorthairs never touch them, wierd.
    
    Steffi
    
    

    Hi,
    
    Harley's Mom here again!  This conference is sooo wonderful and I got
    so many replies to the orignal note that I put in that I just had to
    tell you the latest that my little guy is doing.  Harley has taken on
    the habit of sucking on my earlobes!  He never used to do this
    (it's become a new habit for him).  He also wants to be held all the
    time.  I would guess that it's my fault for holding him when he was
    sick.  I can't go one place in the house that he isn't right behind me.
    
    How about it...anyone else experiencing strange habits in their 
    Kitties?
    
    
    Dawn
     

    Strange kitty behavior???  How much time do you have.
    
    One or two of my cats have gone silly over ear plugs.  It's the wax 
    I think.  Maybe your kitty likes the smell of your ear.  Maybe he
    does it to drive you crazy and set you wondering "Why does he do that".
    
    Go figure!

Hi,

I never thought that he might actually like my ear?  When I first got Harley,
the lady told me that he had a cold and his eye was runny.  When I saw him I
fell in love with him and decided that even though he was sick I had to take him
home and make him well and I held him all the time and gave him lots of
attention.  Now he has to be everywhere with me.  He sleeps with me, watches TV
with me and has to be in the bathroom with me or he starts clawing underneath
the door.  I wouldn't have it any other way.  I think that we were destined to
be together and he's a great companion.

Dawn

    My friend had a cat that liked to suck at any part of you she could 
    get hold of. It really tickled, and you had to move her off after a while.
    
    I glad you and your cat are getting on so well, Dawn. Cats choose their
    owners and to be approved of by a cat is an honour indeed!

    I wonder if someone here might be able to give me some insight into a
    behavior I'm very curious about. It's probably very common, but I'm not
    familiar with it. First, let me say that Shadow and Sammi still don't 
    get along. They coexist relatively peaceably but do not touch unless 
    fighting. However, I've noticed something that Shadow's been doing that 
    I'd love to be able to understand. Sammi will be lying down minding her 
    own business, and Shadow will come up and sit down close to her, his 
    back very straight, and tuck his head into his chest. He then cocks his 
    head very far to the right ('til it's almost sideways) and then back 
    around to the left, and so forth, for quite awhile, studying her like 
    she's the most curious creature he's ever  seen. He doesn't appear 
    aggressive. Then after awhile he'll bend down  slowly and look like he's 
    going to lick her. At this point though, he's violated her comfort zone 
    and she swacks the hooey out of him, so I've never been able to tell 
    whether he's trying to make friends or not.
    
    Has anyone watched their cats do this or read an interpretation of this
    behavior that tells whether it's friendly or aggressive or what? I'm
    dying to know what's going on in his head. And of course, I'd love to
    see them be good buddies.
    
    Any ideas? Thanks!
    
    Rebecca
    

    Rebecca,
    
     This is exactly what my Finnigan does to Feendoonie! He sits there
    looking at her with his head cocked, and after a while he starts
    leaning toward her, and, if she doesn't whack the hooey out of him
    before he gets the chance, he pounces on her! This wouldn't be bad but
    he;'s almost twice her weight, and when he jumps on her he knocks the
    stuffing out of her, not to mention the wind out of her sails! ;-)
    
     Don't know if your kitty is planning the same strategy, and just
    doesn't get close enough before he gets the hooey whacked ot of him!
    :-)  ( I love that! Hooey I mean! 8-} )
    
     Hope this gives you some insight as to what's happening, or at least
    'attempting' to happen! ;-)
    
    Love,
    
     Yonee 

    From my experience the cocking of the head is one of the
    signs before an attack.   I have one stray (rio) who is very
    tiny...but very aggresive.   He will meet up with another cat
    and stand on his tippy toes (to make him look bigger), cock
    the head from side to side with ears back, and do a low mean growl!!
    
    The reason your other cat runs away before the other one is ready
    to do something is she might feel the vibes of an attack coming on.
    It could be a playful attack too...and not a mean one!
    
    Sandy

    Thanks y'all, I guess I should have known it was wishful thinking on my
    part that "WildMan" Shadow wanted to be cuddle friends. Good thing Sammi
    knows what's going on! Maybe someday....
    
    Thanks again!
    
    Rebecca 

    
    	Jebb does this quite often to Whitney, and while it's the
    	prelude to an "attack" it's always been playful. She knows
    	what's coming and either rolls on to her back and swats
    	him or just up an leaves ... and then of course he's free
    	to chase her.
    
    	When I got Whitney she growled (LOUDLY) at Jebb for a few
    	days, he couldn't even enter the same room let alone enter
    	"her" space. He tried making friends from day one, but got
    	no response. After about a week she settled down and now
    	they've become my "Two-Cat Tag Team" running the "Kitty-500"
    	through my kitchen ... linoleum slides nicely!
    
    	Heidi

    
    
    My cat Spike is doing something that I think is strange but maybe
    normal.  After he is finished eating he will walk around the tray
    that his food dish is in and scratch with his front paws as if he
    were burying something.  (The same motion they make in the litter box)
    
    He eats all his food and I do give him a variety so I dont thing he
    is trying to tell me he doesnt like it.
    
    Is this normal?   Has anybody else seen their cats doing this?
    
    Just curious  (like a cat)
    
    MikeR

    
    You're not alone.  My 1 year old, Shelby, has been doing it since
    I got her at the shelter last year.  She used to do it after every 
    meal when she was smaller, but now it's just once in a while.  
    
    I don't know what it means though.
    
    -Kim    

    I had a cat that did that and I too wondered why.  The only thing that
    I could think of was that she wanted to make sure that her area was
    clean.
    
    *joyce
    

    Of my three - Otis will do it more than the others.  It appears that
    his sense(s) of hearing and smell are much more sensitive than 
    Tiffany and Abigail's.  He's a GREAT mouser ... even though he is
    an indor cat only.  He likes to THINK he could catch anything!  Ha.
    
    Anyway - he tends to do it to food he doesn't like and/or food that
    has dried in his bowl.  When I get home from work he'll walk over
    the the bowl I had left him in the morning ... looks at me, scratches
    around it with a definite attitude like "...you don't actually
    think I am going to put THIS in my mouth, do you?
    
    One time, there was a blanket on the floor and he literally covered
    the bowl with the blanket.  Perhaps it goes back to the OLD days
    when lions would bury there food (when they didn't finish it all)
    so that no one else could eat it.  Then, they could come back 
    later and uncover it ... and finish the meal off!
    
    None of the cats do it with dry food - and only once in a while 
    will he do it with moist food!
    
    Marilyn
    

    Joe Mao does looks like he's trying to bury his dish after he finishes
    his food.  I'm sure he likes the food because he eats all of it.  But
    when he's done, there he goes with the sniffing and scratching, just
    like he does in the litter box.
    
    I think he's trying to keep things clean smelling.  His litter sister,
    Mai Buri, does not exhibit this behavior, and neither do any of our
    other 3 cats.  Mocha, however, will shake her paws after she finishes
    eating, like there's something stuck on them.
    
    Carl

    I guess I didn't make it clear that Finney is just playing, but he's SO
    big compared to Feendoonie. (8 1/4 pounds compared to almost 17
    pounds!) he trounces her just by playing! That's why the girls whack
    the Bejeezuz out of him before he gets the chance, and then, like the
    last note, the chase is on! ;-) Sounds like a herd of elephants! 
    
    Yonee

    My little girl Furby did this quite often right after we got Finnigan,
    the Feline version of a Hoover! I would feed all three cats on the
    floor, in separate bowls, and as soon as Finney finished, he'd finish
    off the food in the girl's dishes!
    
    My two girls are nibblers, and Finney's a gobbler, so I now feed the
    girl's on the counter. (Finney's a good boy, and doesn't get on
    counters. And HE'S the shelter kitty!) When I first started to feed
    them up there, Furby would try to cover her leftovers with anything
    handy. I figured it was so Finnigan couldn't find it and eat it up on
    her!
    
    She still does it sometimes, but not as much any more. I crack up every
    time she does though!
    
    Yonee

    Kelsey has been doing this since kittenhood.  It drives me insane!  I
    am renting a very nice apartment right now, and after he eats he goes
    over to the carpet that separates the kitchen from the living area and
    scratches.  An entire piece of carpet is missing!  I keep telling him
    if he doesn't stop he's going to ruin any chances of me getting back my
    security deposit.  Heck, what does he care.  He doesn't have to work or
    worry about where his next meal is coming from.
    
    What I find amusing is when I make myself dinner, and he takes the
    liberty of getting up on the table, sniffing my plate, and pawing at
    the table top in a scratching motion.  Nothing like telling me in his
    own cat way that I am a lousy cook!  He is lucky his meal comes ready
    made from a can.  Although Herbie and Taja love my baking and always
    eat my homemade oatmeal cookies!!
    
    Cats are too funny sometimes!
    
    -Roberta
      

    
    Like Marylin, I think mine do it when they are not quite found of 
    the food. I've noticed they only do it when they just eat a bit or
    the moist food is older than a couple of hours and is sorta getting
    crusty on top.  
    
    Shaw

    I have a few that do this too.   I originally thought they
    were burying it because it smelled like sh**!!!
    
    I did read something awhile back stating that BIG cats that live
    in the wild always would eat and bury the remaining food so they
    could come back to it later.   The thought was our domestic cats
    carried on this trait.
    
    Sandy
    

    Misty often makes that scratching gesture after eating food.  However,
    she often does it after drinking water also (and the food bowl is no where
    near the water bowl.)  I think she's just trying to tidy up.  She's the one
    who will clean off my vanity area by pushing the little jars, etc to
    the floor.
    
    Marnie, doesn't scratch around the dish, he pushes the dish all around
    the floor.   Both the dry food dish and the canned food dish.
    
    Cats are so funny.
    
    Steffi

    Kyra, Pita and Silver all do this, and Mondo is starting to do it too. 
    Like Sandy, at first I thought they were trying to tell me, "Mommy,
    this stuff smells like sh**!!".  But I think I heard that it's a
    natural instinct passed on from the wild cats that cover up their food
    so that other animals won't find it.
    
    Oh, and both Mondo and Kyra do the "foot shake" when they're done
    eating, too.  That's how Bob and I can tell when they're truely done
    with dinner!  haha!
    
    Holly
    

    Sammi does it too, scratching all around her bowl to "hide" her food. 
    However she also goes to great lengths to cover up a cup of coffee or a 
    glass with anything alcoholic in it - I'd swear she'd be holding her nose 
    if she could!
    
    Rebecca
    

      One of ours, Abby, will try to cover up mugs of coffee that she comes
    across but it's another one, Buster, that's got me confused...
    
      He's on one of the Hill's special dry food (FUS-problems) while the
    other two have standard Hill's Feline Maint dry, each in their own
    bowls. He's fine at staying at his own bowl but somtimes after using
    the litter tray, on the way back to the rest of the house he'll stop
    and attempt to cover the other two bowls before continuing!  There's
    lino in the kitchen, so it's no problem but is intriging...

    
    Don't you just wish they could explain to us what it all means?
    
    Has anyone else seen the new book "The Secret Life of Dogs"?  I wish
    someone would write a similar book about cats.
    
    I've had cats who did the head cocking routine, but I always interpreted
    it as a gesture of curiosity, like "maybe if I check this out sideways it
    will make sense.  Hmm, maybe if I try the other way..."  This seems to me
    to be more common in kittens than in mature cats, at least in my
    experience.
    
    And I've also had cats who do the "scratch around the food bowl" routine.
    My guess is that this is just another manifestation of cats' obsessive
    fastidiousness, with some cats more obsessive than others.
    
    len (for Merlin, Rocky, Robin and Blueberry).
      

I've enjoyed reading about all the kitties in here.  And I hope you all 
don't mind if I interject a dog story that seems to fit this topic apart 
from species.

I have a dog that sometimes seems to be part cat.  She does that back and
forth rubbing routine on our legs just like I've seen cats do.  She also
will try and bury her food bowl sometimes, usually with her "lambskin"
that she has for a bed, or else she'll push it across the floor with her 
nose and try to wedge it under the wall unit.  But the oddest thing she 
has just started doing after she finishes eating is to stand with both front 
feet inside her bowl, and then start scuffing at it.  So, is she an oversized 
cat, a dog, or an alien from outer space, or what ;-} ?

Leslie

Back a few notes ... My two older cats (that passed away last year) would put
their heads down, as described, when they wanted their ears washed.  It took a
time, but finally when one would put his head down -- and if the other was in
the mood the ears would get washed.  Or if one was not in the mood -- he would
smack the other one. The two cats developed a 'friendship' -- but were certainly
never best buddies like to two I have now.

My vet had said that the beauty of having two or more cats is that you do not
have to perform this task for them.  He said that cats that learn to just
tolerate each other will do this ear washing thing -- kind of a community
service.

Could this be what you are seeing?

    Well, with Finnigan, he sits up nice and tall, (which of course primes
    his back end for a pounce!) and then as he cocks his head, he sort of
    tries to 'sneak' it toward Feendoonie, real slowly. Of course she
    already knows what's about to happen, and will whack him a good one.
    This doesn't always work if Doonie is sort of cornered, and she get
    the wind knocked out of her anyway! 
    
    I noticed that my two girls wash each others ears a lot, but when they
    tilt their heads, they are usually flat on their stomachs, which really
    doesn't put them in a pounce position.
    
    Mine also tilt their heads when looking at stuff, but it's usually a
    tilt this way, that way, etc. as opposed to a stare down. 8-)
    
    I'm with Len, I wish soemone could figure them out and write a book for
    all of us!
    
    Yonee
    

    re: .138
    
    Hi!  I'd like to think so, but knowing Shadow, I'm doubtful. And this
    weekend he did something which seems to confirm the playful attack
    theory. *I* was sitting in my chair, minding my own business. He jumped
    up on the arm and started cocking his head. It seemed a good
    opportunity to validate things, so I just watched him and he ultimately
    attacked my hand (no claws, fortunately). So...
    
    (I went out and bought lots of new toys this weekend - this toe/hand
    attacking has got to stop!)
    
    Rebecca

    Hi!
    
    Harley also scratches the side of the bowl when he's done eating.  At
    first I thought that he had an "accident" by his bowl, but I have
    watched him do this and it's only when he's done eating.  It's quite
    interesting.  Harley always does something to amaze me and that's why I
    think that I love him so much.
    
    
    Dawn
    

    My beloved Tamba use to scratch the refrigidaire after doing his
    thing in the litter.  He wouldn't cover the poop...but sit there
    and scratch the frig for 5 minutes!!
    
    I thought this was very strange...and now my little Chloe does
    the same darn thing but Chloe refuses to even put her paws in
    the litter so she balances on the edge...and then scratches
    the frig when she's done.  
    
    Strange...
    
    Sandy
    
    

    
    
    Hi although this subject has been discussed earlier, but I still
    can't figure out if there is anything wrong with one of our three
    cats Ziba, so at the risk of being redundant I'll ask again ;-)
    
    Ziba is our two and a half year old spayed blonde cat. Although 
    she is pretty active, she is usualy very quite cat. Never bothers
    you when you are eating and plays moderator between our Maine Coon 
    kitty and our older cat. Lately especially at night time like 2 
    in the morning or early morning after breakfast she goes down this 
    long hallway we have and meows loudly and repeatedly. My girlfriend
    says she sounds like she is in heat (from her past expereinces) but
    we know that she is spayed. I can not see anything phsycally wrong 
    with her either. She some times runs from window in one room all 
    the way to the other end of the house and meows like that. I would
    have guessed it might be something outside that sets her up but 
    not every time that she is so vocal is a window involved. 
    
    Any ideas?
    
    Shaw

    Shaw...my Mr Meow occasionally does this too.  A couple of months
    ago he did it at 3:00AM and when Ernie got up to see what was 
    wrong...Mr Meow was on my sink in the bathroom...meowing very loudly
    at his reflection in the mirror.  (go figure...)  Sometime he just
    stands in the middle of the room and does it too...and other times
    he sits in the window.
    
    I personally believe it is the time of the year...my cats are crazy
    right now and I'm having a very hard time getting them in at night!!
    I also had two of my stray disappear (Happy Cat and Reggie) and I
    think they are out running for their last "fling" before winter.
    
    There probably is some "tom" cats hanging around outside your
    house...driving your little girl crazy!!
    
    Sandy
    
    

    I agree with Sandy, that it might just be the time of year. My three
    have been bonkers lately too. They have been racing around like they
    are posssessed! ;-) Feendoonie has even been chasing Finnigan, who is
    almost twice her size, and who she pretends to dislike! 8-)
    
    I think once it gets good and cold, they will all settle down. However,
    if your kitty starts sounding like she is in pain, instead of looking
    for someone to play with, I'd get it checked out, just in case. It will
    make you feel better, even if there is nothing wrong! ;-)
    
    Love,
    
     Yonee 
    

    Thanks Sandy & Yonee, 
    
           That sounds logical. She does not look like she is in pain 
           or anything wrong with her. She is very playfull and appears
           pretty happy. It's just when she does this she appears like
           she's lost or something. 
           We did not recieve any history on her. She's been with us 
           for six months but has been to two other homes in her short 
           years. My guess is that she must have been an outdoor/indoor 
           cat. A few times in the past she tried to walk out the front 
           door. Our cats are all indoor only.  Unfortunately there are 
           too many young children around the area and from some of the 
           stories I've heard, they are worst than predators such as 
           coyotes and fisher cats. 
    
           Shaw

    
    Maybe there *is* something about the time of year.  My normally merely
    hyperactive kittens have been extrasuperhyperactive the past few days.
    I even caught Merlin "playing" with Rocky (i.e., swapping swats).  The
    kittens run like a herd of buffalo from one room to another.  I hear
    Rocky meowing plaintively and I go investigate and it turns out he just
    felt like yodeling.  It's almost always been only Blueberry that climbs
    up me, but lately when I feel those precious little claws in my legs or
    back, I say "Ouch! Blueberry!" and look down or around to see it's Robin
    or Rocky.
    
    Maybe it's just post-Halloween stress or something.
    
    Actually, I'm pretty sure cats live partially in another dimension, and
    maybe there's something weird going on over there.
    
    len.
     

    
    Hi again, a few notes back I wrote about Ziba our blonde two and a half
    year old that was acting a little strange and meowing loud and
    repeatedly in the middle of the night .... Well her behavior progressed
    into her being overly affectionate not just to us but the furniture,
    the walls the rug any open doors ;-) she just rubs herself all over,
    then she started doing this funny walk with her hips low to the ground.
    Well my girlfriend and also the cat sitter we have for weekends,
    observed her and they are possitive she is in heat!! Well when we
    adopted her we were told she is a spayed female ;-0 So we called the 
    shelter and the lady there told us, since most of the shelters will 
    not accept a whole cat, the people that dropped her off might have 
    lied about it. 
    Isn't there an easy way for the shelters to check this? 
    Ziba is going to the vet later today for a verification and ofcourse
    arrangments for spay if not already. The shelter however was nice
    enough that they said if incase she is not spayed, they will cover 
    the cost.  (when we abopted her, we gave the shelter a $75.00 donation)
    
    Shaw

    Well that would explain it!!!!   At the Pat Brody Shelter ALL
    cats are taken to the vets prior to even coming to the shelter.
    All cats are neuter/spayed (or checked to see if they are already),
    checked/treated for worms/mites/fleas, tested for Feluk and FIV,
    and given their booster shots...as well as Rabies.   Once they
    are at the shelter they stay in quarantee for 10-14 days so we
    can monitor them.
    
    The only time we do not follow that procedure is if the "drop off"
    person can provide a recent document from their own vet stating what
    was done to the cat and when it was done. This document MUST be in
    the vet's letterhead and must be current.
    
    I know many shelter do not follow this procedure......yes it costs
    MONEY...but I feel it is a VERY important role for shelters to keep
    their shelter cats healhty and germ/flea free and do their part for
    helping the overpopulation problem.  THANK GOD this kitty found
    a responsible owner...because some people would not have picked up
    on the signs...and they would have allow the cat to have multiple 
    litters.
    
    Sandy
    
    ps...I believe for males it is pretty simple to tell if they have
    been neuter...but with females I believe the only way to tell is if
    you shave the belly to see the scar.   

    A spayed female can still come in season if a piece of tissue was left
    behind during the spay.  Even a small piece can cause problems.  The
    vet will probably have to perform an exploratory surgery to detect
    this.

    Yup, this could definitely explain it! ;-) The Framingham Shelter also
    has the cat go to the vet before ever coming to the actual shelter.
    (there are exceptions, like drop offs, that are kept overnight only.)
    They get a check up, wormed, vaccinations, rabies, flea dipped if
    necessary, and females may be shaved to check for a scar from spaying.
    Also tested fro FELV, FIV before they get to come to the shelter.
    
    I think it's great that the shelter is willing to pay for the spay if
    yoou need to have it done. What a surprise this must have been for you!
    How long have you had her yourself?
    
    Yonee

    
    Geez I hope all this checking is not going to be too stressfull
    for my little darling. She is already in a lot of stress. As much
    as she always looked after the other two and was always playing
    moderator etc., they (the other two cats) seem to have been fed up
    with her behavior. Our 5 month old, just totaly ignores her (they used
    to be best bodies) and the older cat slaps her around any chance she
    gets. So most of the time now Ziba is hiding in a closet. 
    
    Shaw

    
    
     As a reply to Roberta's question, we've had her for a little over 
     four months now. She is the gentlest of them all. She is never ever
     around when we eat. A few occasions that we gave her people food
     like chicke breast or a little turkey she just plays with it. 
     How often do cats go in heat anyways.
     
     Shaw

    I am not sure if this belongs here but I am curious.  Our tiger kitten,
    Ashley, will be one year old in a couple of weeks.  We got her in June
    when she was a couple of months old and her personality and behavior
    has changed a million times over in the past year.  She has recently
    been on a really "good"streak of being friendly and lovable which is
    not really her style.  We have always been alloted only a certain 
    amount of time a day for affection (of course determined by her).
    But now she seems to be starving for it most of the time. Finally,
    my question...How long does it take a cat to settle into it's
    own personality?  I realize there will always be things that will
    effect them (ie.Ashley is definitely effected by the lunar cycles)
    but I'm just wondering what to expect after her first year, cause
    we kind of like each other now!
                                   

    Keep in mind, that kittens/cats do more "growing" in the first year or
    2, then humans do.  Your cat is in it's early teen years right now...
    She will probably settle down in a few more months, unless she decides
    she likes herself the way she is right now... then she will just stay
    this way.

    My catlets (thanks for the word Len) are almost 9 months old and are in
    a very loving mood most of the time... the rest of the time they are
    like a herd of elephants running wild through the house.  They even
    drag the older girls along with them, on their jaunts.  Nothing is safe
    when they get to racing.... including us human interferences!

    M-L

    
    My three "little ones" are about 10 months old now, and their
    personalities seem to be jelling.  Rocky's seems to the most
    stabilized; Blueberry and Robin still surprise me.  I think part of it
    comes from their interactions with me.  For example, as a few month old
    kitten, Robin didn't mind being picked up; then she went through a
    period where she wouldn't abide being picked up and held at all, she'd
    get frantic in a moment.  After a few more months of picking her up
    and making sootheing noises, she seems to have gotten to the point
    where it's more or less ok as long as you don't push her limits, which
    are getting longer and longer.  Blueberry has always loved to be picked
    up, but now she's getting very vocal about it; I think she's learned
    that if she meows plaintively enough, I'll do anything for her (almost
    true).  She's also much more aggressive lately about demanding lap/chest
    time and space, where she can zonk out.
    
    So, I suspect it varies from cat to cat, depending on their ability or
    willingness to learn.
    
    len.
    

    
       My daughter's female cat did something very strange this past week.
    
       Last week she had a litter of 4 kittens. She had them in MY bedroom
    closet. She pulled down one of MY soft winter coats and had them on
    the coat.
    
       Well, I was outside the closet watching her clean them and she
    took one of them and put it in front of me! Then she went back to
    the others. I then tried to tell her to come and get it back. She
    came over to me and licked my lips and went back to the other
    3. I told my daughter that I thought maybe one of the kittens was
    sick because she put it near me and won't take it back to the rest
    of the litter. My daugther put on a glove and put the baby back with
    the rest of the litter. The cat seems to be 'mad' at me now or
    something.
    
       I was looking at them this morning and the one she had put in
    front of me about 4 days ago looks just fine. She had it cradled
    in her front paw and licking it clean. It was on it's back and enjoying
    it! So, I know that kittens fine. 
    
       Why did she do this? Someone said that she probably trusted me
    enough to let me 'play' with it for a while? I did keep telling her
    how cute and adorable they were and how I can't wait to play with
    them. I didn't really think she understood that!
    
         Rosie

    Maybe she wanted help with the cleaning job. :^)
    
    Actually, it may be that she trusts you with her kittens.
    
    Jan