Conference misery::feline_v1

How lucky you are!! I, too, tried once to take in a very tiny, young kitten,
Unfortunately, although I feed her with an eye dropper and loved her all
I could, she died after only four days.  At least I was holding her when
she died.

One of my other cats will also hug, talk, and lie limp.  She came to us
as a kitten, although about 7 weeks old.  It is a wonderful feeling
to have that total love and devotion.  They ask nothing of us but to
feed, provide litter or the outside, and to love them.  What greater
gift!!

I enjoyed your sharing -- Ellen

I also have a kitty that, although I didn't find her, I came real
close to loosing her.  A beautiful Red Tabby Persian, at two weeks
contacted such a bad upper respiratory that she couldn't breath
and stopped nursing.  Hourly feedings with an eye dropper,
carrying her to work hidden in a box under my desk with a 
heating pad, and constant care and love for weeks kept her
alive.  I call her Survivor...and she is...

Survivor is now almost a year old, although she only weighs 
3 1/2 lbs and still sneezes all over me alot, she is a tuff
cookie.  I love her and could never bear to part with her.
She NEVER stops purring and making bread, even when she eats,
she hugs me and cuddles and wants to lick your face all the
time.  The only thing she won't do is sleep with me in the
water bed, any ideas why not???   

Glad to hear that you have a kitty that means as much to you
as Survivor does to me.  

Purrs---Cin

All of my cats have slept on my waterbed. I dont know what the secret
was but maybe you could try placing the cat on top of your tummy or 
chest at first or put a favorite blanket or pillow up there for him.
                        good luck sleepin with kitty's almost as good......
                                            well maybe on some nights......

   Possibly Survivor doesn't like the unstable footing.  Most cats don't 
like to step on things that won't hold still.

   I also have a real lover. We got Sam at the shelter when he was around
8 weeks old. He *always*purrs when I pick him up or touch him.  (Even when I
held him so the vet could squeeze his anal glands to clear them.)  He will
almost always purr when I talk to him and will often purr just cause he saw
me looking at him.  He is the most trusting cat I've ever seen.  (Not with 
everbody, just me.  He trusts dad (my husband) ok but not to the same blind
extent.)  He will let me do *anything* to him and purr while I do it. (And I've
had to do some weird and painful vet type things to him.)  He will stand on 
my hands!  I'll hold my hands out in front of me and he'll stand with 2 feet 
on one hand and two on the other.  Sometimes he'll stand with all 4 on one 
hand, but we don't do that very often or very long because my hands won't
hold up under that weight for very long.  He is the only cat that I know who
will step down onto my hands when he's stuck somewhere.  (Usually cats will
want to be held when you're taking them down from a height.)  I'll hold my
hands up over my head and Sam'll step dwon onto them and let me lower him
to the point I can put my arms around him.
    Gandalf is a real lover with my husband.  He throws himself against Gary's
hands to be petted.  He'll stand on his hind legs and bump against Gary's 
hand if Gary's slow to kneel down and pet him.  
    Pip will hug us when he gets really lovey.
    I think the key is to socialize them when they are little.

tlh

It may not be the waterbed.  It can depend upon the sleeper, too.  I know that
I am a restless sleeper, and the constant moving of the bed, exagerated as it 
is on a waterbed, can make many cats uneasy.  I find that our cats will not 
sleep on the bed with me when I first go to sleep, even when I pick them up 
and put them on the bed.  They might hang around a few minutes (as long as I 
pet them), and then jump down.  But I usually wake up in the morning to find 
Empress Star snuggled under the blankets, often between Lynne and I, purring 
contentedly in the warmth.  Either that, or Oscar II will be lying near the 
head of the bed, where the soft sides of the bed stabilize excessive movement, 
also purring like mad.

Funny thing, though.  Only one of the cats will be on the bed at the same 
time.  Seems like they can't share the bed - although they lay around together 
anywhere else in the house...

- Chris

It may also be the type of cover you have on your bed.  We have found that if 
we have the slick topped comforter on the bed our cats would rather go 
somewhere else to sleep.  If we put a blanket (or something that is warmer to 
them) over the comforter they snuggle up real well.

Irene

	My cat must be one of a kind when it comes to waterbeds.  He was
	about 7 months old when I got my waterbed.  He didn't like being on
	it when the mattress was bare, but as soon as i put the sheets on
	he went crazy.  Not having much experience with waterbeds (my first)
	I didn't do such a good job on the air bubbles the first time.  He
	loved it!  He would jump on one and when that caused it to move, he
	would chase after it.  It was such a funny sight.  I got kind of
	worried that he would pop it but he didn't.  Now, he sleeps with
	me all the time and doesn't seem to care if the bed is not too stable.
	My reasoning is that he doesn't really mind because I got a semi-
	waveless mattress so it doesn't move much anyways.

	patti

When Val & I got our waterbed, the cats didn't like it. However, they soon
got their sea legs, and don't leave if the waves aren't too bad. I'm sure
that the fact that the bed is heated (and thus the warmest place in the
house during the day) helped change their minds.

	Jon