Conference misery::feline_v1

    Wish I could say the same, it has been cat h*ll month for me.
    
    Jo

    I am lucky, so far, knock on wood.
    
    Otis was REAL sick but is doing fine now.  We feel he was allergic
    (or had a bad reaction) to the medication that he was on for a
    urinary infection AND the antibiotic after being neutered.
    
    He and Tiffany play REAL hard though.  Sometimes it seems as though
    they are going to tear each other's eyes out - being in the headlock 
    they have each other in - with their hind feet kicking each others
    faces.  So far no blood, and they keep coming back for more!
    
    M
     

    
    Smoke, Sneakers, & Nova have NEVER been ill.
    
    11 years for Smoke, 1 each for S & N.  Great record!
    
    Bob
    

    Lightning, Thunder, DejaVu, Patches and Storm are all doing well.
    
    Patches the Stray went to vet and got clean bill of health.  Getting
    shots in first week of May.
    
    Sandi and the Storm Troopers
    
    

    
    SPRING!!!!
    
    Panther comes out of hibernation and starts racing around, looking out
    windows and begging to go for walkies with mummie.  (She loves to have
    her harness and leash put on so she can wander around the yard with me
    in tow.  She makes all kinds of comments on the neighbors yards, our
    yard, the birds, planes and everything, it really is entertaining!)
    
    Spot gets very puzzled, you see Panther has been a "Panther Lump" all
    winter and all of a sudden Spot has competition, and she can't beat
    Panther up any more, (Panther starts to fight back and to initiate
    games of tag and hockey.)
    
    I've got my kittens back!!  (In the winter they seem like old ladies,
    but then so do I! :-D
    
    Feline Great now that Spring is here!!!
    
    Sue & Panther & Spot
    

    To Susan regarding 3537.5:
    
    Did Panther start as a kitten with a harness.  I have two cats Rocky
    and Smokey and they HATE their harnesses.  Rocky will try to squirm
    out of it (and has suceeded a couple of times) and Smokey will just
    slink for a couple of yards, then fall over.  Do you have any
    suggestions?  I would love to be able to take them for walks as
    we live in a townhouse community with ALOT of dogs and even though
    there is a leash law, nobody pays attention to it.  
    
    Thanks in advance.
    
    Robyn

    Oliver went to the vet last night and rec'd all his shots plus the
    rabies shot, which is now being recommended here. He's fine except for
    his teeth.  She suggested a dental, which I originally balked at,
    but am now considering.  He such a spooked cat and I am a worry
    wart - Oh well - it will be difficult on both of us.

    It's a beautiful warm day today.  Spring has finally arrived.
    
    Flo and Oliver                                                 
    

    Robyn, try a collar and leash instead of the harness.  Kelsey never
    took to the harness but got used to the collar/leash very quickly.
    
    We also live in a townhouse community and there are few dogs, those
    that have dogs keep them on leashes.  A warning:  be careful of
    strange dogs wandering into the area.  Kelsey knows that the dogs
    on leashes won't bother him (there's always a human on the other
    end pulling them back and telling them to stop barking!!); however,
    one afternoon, we were in the backyard and all of a sudden, two
    very large husky type dogs appeared out of nowhere, unleashed, and
    ready to run after Kelsey.  They were several yards away from us,
    but started to trot toward where we were standing.  Kelsey flipped!
    He was trying to get away, and would not let me pick him up to take
    him back into the house (the front door was only around the corner).
    He was running in circles, growling and hissing, and I knew if I
    let go of the leash I might never see my cat again.  The dogs were
    getting closer.  Finally, I got down on my knees and took the palm
    of my hand and pushed him (not hard) to the ground then picked him
    up and held him (unwillingly) while I ran to the front door
    and into the house.  My stomach was covered with scratches cause
    he had clawed right through my shirt.  For several days afterward,
    he refused to take a walk and is just now getting back into it.
    We are both very cautious, and stay close to the house and I also
    leave one of the back sliders open in case we ever have to make
    a run for it again.  I found out later that the dogs had gotten
    loose from a surrounding neighborhood.
    
    So -- even if you are supervising your cats outside, there are still
    imminent dangers to be aware of.  Our community is so quiet and
    peaceful that I never expected something like this to happen.  I
    am certain those dogs did not want to make friends with my cat;
    they were probably thinking what a great hor d'oeuvre he would make
    prior to their dinner!
    
    T.K. and Nikki were smart -- they went right under the deck and stayed
    there until the dogs left!
    
    
    --Roberta
      
    

    Roberta, thanks for the suggestion.  I will try it.  That was a
    scary story about the dogs.  Read note 3465.7 that I put in awhile
    back. You might get a chuckle but then again, it was only a puppy.
    
    Robyn, Rocky & Smokey

    
    ...having adopted Rusty, an orange tabby and hoping to adopt
    another orange tabby.  Have to talk hubby into it.  Any suggestions. 
    
    
    Val
    
    

    
    Hi Robyn,
    
    Sorry it took so long to get back to you, I had a class yesterday
    afternoon.  Panther was started as a kitten with her harness.  But she
    has always liked it.  Spot, my other cat has NEVER liked her harness or
    the outdoors.  She never even asks to go out, for her indide is better. 
    She is more timid, and feels safer inside looking out. 
    
    Panther dislikes having her harness put on her, but once we are outside
    she is fine.
    
    I wouldn't use a collar only on Panther, there are times when she
    panics and tries to pull away to run or whatever, and I am afraid that
    she would slip out of a collar and I'd never see her again.  The figure
    eight harness that she has is escape proof (for Panther, I've heard of
    cats that figure out how to get out of them!)
    
    Try putting the harness on you cat just before dinner time.  Nothing
    likeagood meal to make a cat forget something and help he/she get used
    to something new!
    
    Good luck and keep us posted on how you make out!!
    
    Feline Fine!
    
    Sue and Panther and Spot
    

    Re .10 - Use the, "cats need company" routine.  It worked
    for me.
    I'm trying it for another horse now! :-)
    
    L-

    This is how I got my husband to agree to more cats.
    
    To justify Nikki after Chauncey came to live with us:
    
    But, Dana, they were abandoned together!  They love each other.
    We *can't* let poor Nikki stay at the shelter.  He'll be miserable
    without his buddy.
    
    To justify the Ragdolls:
    
    Nag, nag, nag, nag, nag, nag, nag, NAG!  After awhile, he got tired
    of listening and told me to just shut up and get them!!
    
    To justify Murdock:
    
    Um, well, I wouldn't suggest this method, especially for newlyweds,
    as we are now:
    
    Sister was driving from Virginia to Mass for Thanksgiving.  I hear
    about a wonderful Birman looking for a show home.  I call breeder
    at night while hubby is working.  After several chats, work out
    a contract to pay for him.  Call sister and give her directions
    to breeder's house.  Ask her to pick up kitten on her way to Mass.
    Tell hubby about the newcomer while sister is en-route to our home!!
    
    He really didn't have much choice!!  Good thing they bonded
    immediately.  They are madly in love with each other.  I have to
    compete for my share of attention!!
    
    I saw some wonderful orange tabbies last weekend at the Framingham
    Animal Humane Society in Southboro.  They have both shorthairs and
    longhairs and I believe they are all males.
    
    
    --Roberta
    

    To Sue RE: #11
    
    Hmmmm, that's a pretty good idea putting the harness near dinner
    time.  Spot sounds just like Smokey - paranoid! And they both have
    figure 8 harness but somehow or other Rocky figures some way to get out
    of it.  I just I should tighten it just a little.
    
    Thanks for the idea. I'll try it over the weekend and let you know.
    
    Robyn, Rocky & Smokey

    re:13  re:  Birman Boy
    
    Good thing I don't live closer to you Roberta, you would probably
    never get any hugs, I'd probably scoop them all or whatever was
    leftover from Dana !!!  That 'little' guy is really a piece of
    work, and I think he 'knows' it !!
    
    E.

    Thanks, E.T.  "Little Guy" is Dana's pet name for Murdock.  Funny
    you should mention it!
    
    And for you, I'm sure happiness is 5 adorable little exotic babies.
    Are there an shorthair baby girls yet?
    

    
    
    He is a cutie - tiny thing that he is!  I love it when he kisses
    you right on the mouth - I think he LIKES girls !!!  You should
    have named him lover boy !!
    
    Wellllll, all I can say as of today, is , that they all look alike.
    They feel like brillo pads, not soft and silky.  Idunno. They will
    be six weeks Tuesday, and if I can't tell by then, I'm gonna throw
    in the towel!  Tonight I have to check for ear tufts - maybe that
    will help.  OFf hand, I haven't seen anything long and strange
    coming out of their ears, so maybe they don't have long ear tufts.
    Could it be, that I have 5 shorthaired babies???  I think that's
    great - my one customer for a longhair will not be very happy,
    that I'm sure of!  At least I will have almost enough for the
    other folks that want shorthairs!  And, of course, one for ME !
    
    Adorable, yup, I have to say, that they really are!  Huge eyes,
    round as they are high, and CUTE !!  Plushy little bears with
    big round eyes and flat faces!  Short stumpy legs, and little
    short tails !!  They can run now - last night I opened the
    screen door and found the little bluecream girl attached 
    to the screen - silly thing climbed up and then climbed down!
    Every time I open the door, the little red boy runs out faster
    than I can catch him, and 2 or 3 others follow right behind him.
    They move faster than fleas now!

    
    re. 10.	I tried the Rusty needs a buddy routine but hubby said he had
    the neighborhood cats to play with. Last neighborhood cat Rusty tried
    to get friendly with beat Rusty up.  Rusty growls when he sees this cat
    walking around.  Never heard a cat growl. Don't understand why men are sooo
    stubborn.  
    
    Now on the other hand...
    
    re. 13.	I like Roberta's idea of just bringing the cat home.  Open and
    Closed Topic...End of discussion.  The cat I want is Nutmeg (see
    415.685).  He is located in Boothbay, MA.  The foster parents had some
    relatives up from Kensington, NH this weekend who could have carried 
    Nutmeg back to NH.  I came very close to calling but I chickened out. 
    Why?  I don't know. I'll keep you updated.
    
    Val  

    
    Robyn,
    
    How are you making out in getting your furbaby to take to his harness?
    
    Feline Curious,
    
    Sue & Panther (Can we go out NOwwww Mummie?) & Spot (I think I'll stay
    						         inside today.)
    

    Sue,  sorry for taking so long to getting back to you, but I've
    been sick with the flu.  I tried your suggestion with the food and
    Smokey ran behind the waterbed (her *favorite* hiding place) and
    wouldn't come out for nothing! I even brought the dish and let her
    see it. (No way Mom, not until you take this thing off) However,
    it did work with Rocky cause he's such a pig! But when I attached
    the leash to it, He wouldn't budge at all.  Do you think I should
    just let them wear the harness for awhile without the leash to let
    them get used to it?
    
    Robyn, Rocky, & Smokey (Rocky & Smokey are probably saying "Don't
    sign our names, cause we don't want to have anything to do with
    this"!!!
    

    Happiness is when you wake up to a kitten licking your hand and
    saying purrrpppp.
    
    Robyn, Rocky and Smokey

    
    	Being groomed by Sasha-kitty while laying in bed.