fandomsecrets | [ SECRET POST #3149 ]

[ SECRET POST #3149 ]

⌈ Secret Post #3149 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

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Hrmmmmm...had cats all my life, and love them to death. Like some have said - food *does* matter. Good food that is mostly animal protein (we use Taste of the Wild) means a healthier cat who not only eats less, but also poops less. Cheap cat food means lots of poop, because they have to eat so much to get adequate nutrition. It also absolutely reeks.

On wet food - some cats will eat it, some won't. Jack and Diana will eat it, but Jack doesn't like the 'fish' kind. Oliver will not touch and, in fact, reacts as if it were poison. He also reacts to all people food this way. He's a kibble-only cat.

Get stainless steel bowls. Plastic can become icky, and greasy, and cats who eat from plastic bowls tend to get 'cat acne' on their chins, from rubbing on the greasy plastic while they eat. If you can find inexpensive ones, get four, that way you can switch out the bowls once a week or so and wash one pair. (Obviously you can do that with just two bowls, but if you're kinda lazy, like me, it's easier to just switch and not have to immediately wash and dry.)

I've always just put some food - about two cups for our three cats - out in the bowl, and left it. They eat when they're hungry, otherwise they ignore it, and in a day or so, I put in a little more. I don't like it to sit out too much, otherwise it gets stale. I also don't really like the 'feed half a cup once a day' thing. I've never had a cat that 'binged', and if I can eat whenever I like, why not my cat? Unless your cat just swallows all the food until it pukes, there's no reason to restrict their ability to nibble a few bits of kibble now and then. That's what our cats do.

Unless the cat will go outside, don't bother with a collar. Most cats hate them, and they can be super-dangerous. Even if they *are* outside, make sure you get an elastic collar that will pull off if it gets hooked on something, because cats can and will strangle themselves on a collar, or get it caught on their hind paw.

Consider getting two cats. Unless you're home a lot, one cat alone (especially one used to other cats) gets bored and lonely, and might become destructive.

Toys are great. Catnip is great. Balled up paper wads and the ring off a milk jug are great. Cats? Are not picky. Definitely something to scratch, either a post or a cardboard box or *something*.

DO NOT DECLAW.

Make sure there's somewhere up high the cat can go to chill and hide. They like to be up high, surveying their domain. They also feel safer up high if there are guests or the terrifying vacuum.

My cats get fresh water about three times a day (I don't fill the bowl to the rim or anything) because cats are picky and rarely drink enough, and the fresher the better. Cats really like moving water, so they like to drink from the sink a lot. You might consider a kitty fountain. The more water they drink, the healthier. Cat's will actually dehydrate themselves by *not* drinking if they don't like the water/bowl/whatever. Silly creatures.

Definitely clumping cat litter, try to get the non-fragrance kind. I get the 'Tidy Cat' multiple cat kind. Almost dust-free, and no scent, which is big turn-off for my cats and for me, too. If you get two cats, get two litter boxes.

Enjoy! Take pictures! :)

Thanks this is great. The leaving them alone thing is actually why I'm going for a cat even though I eventually want a dog and a cat and like dogs slightly more. But until I can afford a daycare, it seems crueler to leave a dog alone. Cats seem to be able to entertain themselves, especially if they have plenty of toys.

The water thing is funny. My roommate's former cat would not drink out of a bowl. She would only drink out of the bubbler on the fish tank. We think it is because she was abandoned on the street for a long while before she was found, so she likes the running water which in the wild would be safer.

Yeah, i hate it when people are like 'oh, yeah, i got a dog, i work, he spends about 14 hours a day in his crate, he's fine!!'

Yeah, no. That's mean, boring, and pointless. Get a stuffed animal!

I really want to get a fountain for my cats, but just can't find one i like so far. But then, i haven't been looking *too* hard, heh.

My cats all love to drink out of the sink, either by 'biting' and lapping at the little stream of water, or sticking their paws in it and then licking their paws.

A fountain is a great idea.

And yes, dogs alone for that long isn't nice. They are very social animals, and if it is just you and them you are their pack. I actually think I'll eventually have 2 dogs and a cat. Because we had a dog growing up and then we got a second one and even though the second one was kind of a diva, our first dog was so much happier to have a friend. They just do better when they aren't alone.

They really are. I...always found dogs to be too needy. Cat's are fine if you're paying attention or not, but dogs....

Plus, you can go off for an overnight and leave cats and they're fine, but a dog? Not gonna happen.

I love our dog (70 pound rescue mutt, neurotic as the day is long) - she's a sweetheart and a good dog to the family, but i worry about her being alone in the house too long if everybody is out for some reason, and i don't think we've ever left her alone more than 7 hours at a time, and that only like twice. (Luckily, our work schedules vary, so she's not alone too much.)

But yeah - pack animals need a pack, and dogs in particular need lots more exercise than life in a crate can give them.

Dogs are very needy, but they also give you lots of love. When you're having a bad day, a dog will lick you and wag its tail and curl up in your lap. Some cats are very affectionate too (and some cats are also very needy). There is just nothing like an animal curling up in your lap giving you affection. We've always had pets since I was a baby, and I miss having one.

HA! Annalee will sometimes put her big paws up in my lap and duck her head down against my stomach. Her version of a 'puppy hug'. But mostly she's a twitchy thing. If you get on the couch and she's on the other end, and you put your feet too close, she'll jump down, all huffy and offended.

Same in the bed - if you get too close, she gets all freaked out. She's a funny thing.

But she follows me everywhere I go - can't leave a room or use the bathroom without her dogging - ha! - my steps. Of course, there's always at least one if not two (or three) cats in the bathroom with me, too....

I went through like a frillion different fountains before I found one I loved, it's this one.

Don't get plastic or ceramic if you have hard water, they are an absolute bitch to clean. And even when I cleaned them regularly there was always this weird almost crystalized ring that never went away.

Ooh, that's neat! Thanks!

We *do* have hard water. It makes that ring on stainless steel bowls, too. I soak them with vinegar and scrub with a scrubby sponge. Most of it goes away.

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[ SECRET POST #3149 ]

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