cat question...

[raider]

so, here's my deal... i've been allergic to cats my whole life... my daughter found 2 new born kittens in a box by a dumpster spring of 17, and my soft hearted animal lover bride bottle fed them and kept them alive... she and our daughter fell in love, and i relented - we now have 2 cats which i now enjoy and have gotten adjusted to with allergy meds...

we discussed the whole declaw deal and decided with all the cats in the neighborhood that that would b the wrong thing to do - also were thinking they would be leaving at some point...

here's my question - do they hunt hard their entire lives, or will they slow down at some point??? they r like trained assassins!!! they catch mice or birds almost daily, and bring them into the house at times to show them off (i think), dead or alive... i'm fine with it, but my bride freaks out - and having an injured bird screaming and running/flying around the house is a little disturbing...

just wondering if they will become fat and happy, and at what point...

signed - proud papa with a freaked out bride...

 

[RustyTackleBox]

Cats kill more per year than anything else... no they won't stop, cats are assassins and would kill you if they could figure out a way.

 

[Fishmission]

About the only way to stop the killing is turn them in to strictly house cats. If you know they are only in the house and never go outside then you can Declaw them. We did that and glad we did as we have no furniture etc. damage from sharpening claws on everything. My neighbors have a couple house cats but they also put in a high fence in the back yard with a barrier at the top to keep them from climbing out. That seems to work well

 

[Lapper]

Our vet said declawing is ok because cats fight with their back legs. They go onto their backs and rake with the stronger back legs. Our cats are declawed and still go outside. And still bring back plenty of kills too.

 

[MathewsZman]

Keep the damn things in the house !

 

[Kurtr]

I have told my neighbors I am done with their cats running all over. If my dogs did the same cops would be called two live traps are now set in my yard. Declaw the cats keep them in your house

 

[sl1000794]

We had 1 or 2 cats for 40 years - some only inside and some in and outside. Always lived in town so the critter decimation wasn't too bad. We did have 2 inside only cats ... started them out as only inside cats, so not sure how changing a cat from in/outside to only inside would work ... but if you keep a litter box in a room with a hard floor - lino in bathroom worked for us - they were OK.

I found that I am allergic to animal fur (or the dander from animal fur,) but cats were not a serious problem for me. They are smaller than dogs. I cannot have a dog with fur tho. We had 2 wire hair fox terriers and I was pretty good with them. They have hair (need to be trimmed) and I only had a few incidents. Once I got an inhaler I was OK.

 

[Petras]

I've read that if a cat brings you gifts like dead or live rodents/birds, they are trying to help feed you and possibly help you learn to hunt for your own food.

https://www.petfirst.com/pet-fun/why-does-my-cat-bring-me-dead-animals/

 

[Migrator Man]

I do not believe in outside cats as they are invasive species do not belong in the wild. Instead of declawing our cats we decided to use claw caps. No more furniture damage but they still try to scratch. If you do decide to let your cats outside make sure they are fixed. We do not need anymore cats repopulating the country side.

 

[WormWiggler]

Our cats are killing machines, mostly mice type rodents, a few gophers, a few rabbits, and more song birds that I would like. Every day in the summer I hose down our cement in front of the door. It is a rare occasion that any kills make it into the house. Are you letting them in and out by hand or is there a pet door for them? As far as declawing, I don't have an opinion either way, do what you want? A train of thought that it is cruel seems valid, but also puts you on the path where animals have cognitive thought. When their claws are gone, they don't have a clue what happened, what it was like before, or even that they don't have them. I watched this old black cat of ours, sitting on a brick, little neighbor dog about twice as big as the cat come up to it barking its fool head off. The cat, with no front claws, slapped the crap out of that dogs head, about 30 hits in 8 seconds. Dumb little dog scampered home, I laughed my ass off and offered the cat a beer. I like dogs, I like cats, they are not the same and should not be. Dog do well when trained to be obedient, cats do well when ignored. I do wonder about the claw cover things, I heard they only stay on for 3 months?

 

[shorthairman]

We have inside/outside cats and they are always bringing “presents” in. We are personally glad to see the mice, gophers, and moles. Hate to see the songbirds. They say you can put bright multicolored collars on cats (the kind I saw look like clown collars) and birds can see those and escape. Not sure if they work, but a google search should help.

 

[Kurtr]

Everyone wants to kill raccoons and varmits that kill birds why is it ok for a cat to do the same. I returned one to the neighbor this morning asked if my dog could run around there yard and they don’t get it.

 

[Davy Crockett]

I grew up with at least 2 barn cats and one inside cat all my life. if you live out in the country you will either have mice in your house or garage or a cat. Indoor cats won't kill anywhere close to what an outdoor cat does if you let them out during the day they stay close to home, If you let them out at night they will roam.

Have only had one declawed cat and it lasted about a year and something got it, Wasn't that good of a mouser anyway. We prefer to have the litter box down in the basement in an unfinished storage room and the food upstairs . Most of what I have read says keep food and litter box together but I don't want the cat shitting up stairs and I don't want to go down in the basement to feed it and they adapt well. I've never found cat shit in the house ever.

Buy or build a scratching post and get some liquid spray catnip and spray it down and the cat should start scratching on it almost right away. Keep a flyswatter and a balled up pair of socks handy and smack it good if it sharpens its claws on furniture. Cats are easy to train. One good smack is all it takes for respect unlike dogs that you can beat the shit out of with no positive results.

A bed close to the scratching post and toy that it likes. Our present cat turned his nose up at every toy except for a mouse that makes a squeek that I can not hear so I take my wifes word for it . When the instincts kick in He will beat the crap out of the mouse and he can throw it across the room and then pounce on it.
They are smart animals and by far the least maintenance of any pets I have ever had. We have a self feeder and waterer and two large litter boxes , We have left cats home alone for 2 or 3 weeks and they did just fine. They like a shelf where they can lay and see outside.


My 2 ¢ about dogs is that they make great pets if you have the time, Space and patients to train ,care for and watch over them. And understand a dog's behavior depending on the breed you choose. A relative stopped in one spring for a visit and let two high energy bird dogs out to run and shit all over my yard. I didn't know they had let the dogs out till I saw them running and We had pheasants and ducks nesting right in the yard and I told him I didn't want the dogs running loose . Ohh they won't hurt or get into anything was the reply. After about an hour they finally loaded up the dogs and left That was the end of the pheasants and the ducks. I'd love to borrow those two town dogs and put a collar camera on them and let them recreate what they did on video and present it to NDGF . My cat kills mice,voles,pocket gophers and other small critters but very seldom a bird and if it does it's most likely because the cat has been laying in the raised strawberry bed waiting patiently.

 

[Kurtr]

its has been three fucking years I have been dealing with cats in my dumpster in my garage and shiting in my wife’s flowers. They have killed all the pheasants that used to be around. I would rather have mice than these stinky good for nothing things around. Sub sonic 22 from now on I think taking the same cat back over 10 times out of my garage has been more than fair. A dog runs around once and the cops are called but for some reason it is ok for cats to roam. Ferral cats are the biggest killer of game birds more so than all other predators combined. I don’t care if some one has a kangaroo for a pet keep that fucker in your yard

 

[revolutionz]

I do not believe in outside cats as they are invasive species do not belong in the wild. Instead of declawing our cats we decided to use claw caps. No more furniture damage but they still try to scratch. If you do decide to let your cats outside make sure they are fixed. We do not need anymore cats repopulating the country side.

How well do those claw caps work? Do they last long? I gave in to getting a cat with the stipulation that it stays an indoor cat and gets declawed, so she goes and adopts a 3yr old cat only to find out they can't be declawed once they're adults. So, the current options are continue to trim the things nails once a week or to do those claw cap things.

 

[Jigaman]

How well do those claw caps work? Do they last long? I gave in to getting a cat with the stipulation that it stays an indoor cat and gets declawed, so she goes and adopts a 3yr old cat only to find out they can't be declawed once they're adults. So, the current options are continue to trim the things nails once a week or to do those claw cap things.

False. I had a 2+ year old cat declawed in GF. Petcetera Animal Clinic. Im assuming she got it from the humane society? They tell you not to declaw them.

 

[revolutionz]

Yes. She brought it to a clinic for it's first checkup, they told her some places will do it but they don't recommend it so now she's set that that's how it is. I don't remember where she brought it. Nice enough cat, but loves kneading and swatting at things with fully deployed claws.

 

[Jigaman]

Yes. She brought it to a clinic for it's first checkup, they told her some places will do it but they don't recommend it so now she's set that that's how it is. I don't remember where she brought it. Nice enough cat, but loves kneading and swatting at things with fully deployed claws.

I would keep looking. For me it was either the cat gets declawed or its gone. Was damaging too much stuff. best thing we ever did.

 

[WormWiggler]

its has been three fucking years I have been dealing with cats in my dumpster in my garage and shiting in my wife’s flowers. They have killed all the pheasants that used to be around. I would rather have mice than these stinky good for nothing things around. Sub sonic 22 from now on I think taking the same cat back over 10 times out of my garage has been more than fair. A dog runs around once and the cops are called but for some reason it is ok for cats to roam. Ferral cats are the biggest killer of game birds more so than all other predators combined. I don’t care if some one has a kangaroo for a pet keep that fucker in your yard

the downside of being a pussy magnet...

 

[guywhofishes]