Author Topic: Free Kitten to good home.  (Read 48695 times)

Regulator

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Re: Free Kitten to good home.
« Reply #25 on: 11 August, 2011, 11:16:27 am »
Xev or Lyekka?

Zev or Lyekka?

Go back a few posts, Valiant beat you. ;D



D'oh!  :facepalm:  Missed that.

Great series though.
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I completely agree with Reg.

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Re: Free Kitten to good home.
« Reply #26 on: 11 August, 2011, 10:31:02 pm »
:thumbsup: Am very pleased that this chap has found a such a great home. Love his eyeliner in this shot!


Re: Free Kitten to good home.
« Reply #27 on: 12 August, 2011, 10:52:35 am »
I had to leave him alone quite a long time last night, whilst I went to Birmingham to pick up the kitten.

He wasn't too aggrieved to see me when I got in, and was actually quite active, a lot of cats do seem to be active at night, I guess it's a good hunting time, especially in the mild summer.

After not touching the prawns I put down for him on the first night, he's gradually been eating them, when I put a side order next to the wet cat food.  This morning, whilst I was dealing with the kitten, he scoffed all of them and ignored the wet cat food!  (He has just scoffed most of that as well though, the prawns were clearly just preferred).

He is getting more confident at noising around the house, although he mostly doesn't like to go too far away from me.

He still hasn't passed any solid material, which is a little unnerving.  At some point his digestive system is going to explode!

He's also starting to be a bit more vocal.  Last night when I closed him back in the bathroom, he complained loudly a few times, and this morning I had an inquisitive meooooow from him!
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Biggsy

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Re: Free Kitten to good home.
« Reply #28 on: 12 August, 2011, 11:05:16 am »
He still hasn't passed any solid material

Are you quite sure it's not behind the sofa?  :demon:
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Re: Free Kitten to good home.
« Reply #29 on: 12 August, 2011, 11:34:04 am »
He still hasn't passed any solid material
Are you quite sure it's not behind the sofa?  :demon:

Nope.  Since he's still entire, I don't let him out of the bathroom unescorted, so he doesn't spray anywhere.  The bathroom is relatively spartan, so there's nowhere he could have gone, and it wouldn't be visible (or smelly!).

He's being very cute at the moment.  I'm sitting cross legged on the bed, typing this, and he's curled up hard against my leg.  He really likes to be close to me, most of the time.  I'm not sure if that's insecurity, or because I'm "his mum" (because we behave towards cats, even adults, a lot like the way their mothers would have treated them).
Actually, it is rocket science.
 

loafheads

Re: Free Kitten to good home.
« Reply #30 on: 12 August, 2011, 03:35:06 pm »
Oh that's great he is getting friendlier. It took a while but he really got used to us ( humans). Eventually we were able to pick him up and curl him in a little ball and cary him around without him complaining or crying. It took a lot of hugging him to get him to relax in your arms. He used to just  stiffen up at first. You will see that he is very talkative once he becomes more comfortable.  He never really liked wet food. Just ate the dry and left the wet food there.
How is the little black kitten?

rogerzilla

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Re: Free Kitten to good home.
« Reply #31 on: 12 August, 2011, 07:48:54 pm »
I came across* a cat in the woods today.  Friendly, not especially young or old, calm demeanour (mind you, most cats will come to me when called because I am a Cat Person), looked in good health but when I stroked it it was incredibly thin.  Not near any houses, so it's either a long-range tom or feral.  However, even a feral cat ought to be able to feed itself in woodland in August, I'd have thought.  No collar.

I'll keep an eye out for it and tip off the CPL if it genuinely seems to have been abandoned.  It's not your average feral cat in appearance because it's very fluffy and quite striking in appearance.


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Re: Free Kitten to good home.
« Reply #32 on: 12 August, 2011, 08:42:25 pm »
... so it's either a long-range tom or feral. ...

Minor quibble, if you could approach and pet it, it's not a feral cat, it's a stray.  A feral cat is one which was born in the wild (often of ex-domestic house cats), and once they're beyond about 6 months old, they'll never be domestic cat, and you certainly won't be able to approach one.

Some feral cats, who are familiar with humans (for example in Croydon's Animal Samaritans feral cat colonies), will tolerate being approached by humans, but certainly not handled.  Feral kittens can be domesticated, so long as they are still young kittens, but you're likely to loose some skin in the process!

Anyway, he doesn't sound like he's in a good way.  As you say, at this time of year, even the most hopeless mouser will probably be able to find a reasonable amount of food.  I imagine some domestic cats are truly useless mousers though, never having had to practice the skill.
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rogerzilla

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Re: Free Kitten to good home.
« Reply #33 on: 12 August, 2011, 08:48:16 pm »
Ours are all hunters; Sassy (in exile) actually taught Boo to hunt by bringing live mice back to the house for her, before Boo reached adulthood and Sassy turned on her.  Which is why Sassy now lives happily with the in-laws in rural Bedfordshire, and why we no longer have to get Joshy and Boo patched up at the vet every six months.

Fortunately they all go for rodents* rather than birds.  We even get the odd dead rat.  And they leave our own rabbit alone; in fact, they're all good chums and the rabbit follows the cats around and lounges about with them in the sun.


*OK, a rabbit isn't actually a rodent, but it's close
Hard work sometimes pays off in the end, but laziness ALWAYS pays off NOW.

Re: Free Kitten to good home.
« Reply #34 on: 12 August, 2011, 09:10:32 pm »
It does seem to vary, Talisker was a fairly efficient hunter, although utterly dopey and soft with humans.  He could catch pigeons and squirrels, so I'm sure the population of small rodents, birds, and reptiles also suffered.

A couple of times I've seen the local squirrels going absolutely batshit as a domestic cat wanders down the road, so the squirrels definitely view Felis Silvestris Catus as a threat.
Actually, it is rocket science.
 

rogerzilla

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Re: Free Kitten to good home.
« Reply #35 on: 12 August, 2011, 09:20:20 pm »
A couple of times I've seen the local squirrels going absolutely batshit as a domestic cat wanders down the road, so the squirrels definitely view Felis Silvestris Catus as a threat.
Swindon squirrels don't give a toss about our cats, but the rabbit chases them instead.
Hard work sometimes pays off in the end, but laziness ALWAYS pays off NOW.

Re: Free Kitten to good home.
« Reply #36 on: 12 August, 2011, 09:40:09 pm »
I've just tried changing Kai's cat litter from the Bio Catlet to the Catsan that Kim and barakta were using with Zev (and which she has no problem with).  Since he hasn't cleared his bowels yet, and I've had one instance of inappropriate urination (followed by a significant purchase of carpet cleaner and air fresheners from Sainsburys), I'm guessing he didn't like that cat litter (or something else to do with the litter tray).

I think Kai's eating the wet food in preference to the dry, but both are premium brands, and he's still eating dry food as well.  Actually for a small cat, who isn't doing much, he's eating quite a lot.

He's getting more vocal, but some of that is complaining when I close him back in the bathroom, and go away.  Even when the doors open, he doesn't go that far from me, but I have to watch, and make sure he doesn't try and use somewhere else as the loo.

I don't think I'm even going to try and introduce them to one another until he's been to the vet, and been neutered.  I don't want him leaving any more smelly patches, which the stress of another cat (even a kitten) could instigate.  At least, once he's been to the vets, I won't have to watch him quite so closely, so he shouldn't need to complain too much about being locked up.
Actually, it is rocket science.
 

rogerzilla

  • When n+1 gets out of hand
Re: Free Kitten to good home.
« Reply #37 on: 12 August, 2011, 09:44:45 pm »
I was lucky before Josh was neutered; he never sprayed once.  He did shag his sister, but that's another story.
Hard work sometimes pays off in the end, but laziness ALWAYS pays off NOW.

Kim

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Re: Free Kitten to good home.
« Reply #38 on: 12 August, 2011, 09:46:40 pm »
Swindon...

rogerzilla

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Re: Free Kitten to good home.
« Reply #39 on: 12 August, 2011, 09:49:13 pm »
Yup, the kids will proudly tell you that the cats were adopted from "pikey Dean Street" which is glamorously located opposite a TA establishment and next to the old railway works.  Breeding?  I've heard of it.
Hard work sometimes pays off in the end, but laziness ALWAYS pays off NOW.

border-rider

Re: Free Kitten to good home.
« Reply #40 on: 12 August, 2011, 09:52:45 pm »
Ours were from Newport, but we've been able to gentrify them.  And they don't have the accent.

rogerzilla

  • When n+1 gets out of hand
Re: Free Kitten to good home.
« Reply #41 on: 12 August, 2011, 09:57:45 pm »
I bet they go out fighting at weekends though.
Hard work sometimes pays off in the end, but laziness ALWAYS pays off NOW.

Re: Free Kitten to good home.
« Reply #42 on: 13 August, 2011, 12:37:24 am »
Yay, he used the cat litter to pass solid matter.  He's not some sort of feline nuclear reactor, who converts cat food into pure energy. ;D

Clearly biodegradable cat litter may be the greatest thing since sliced bread, but he doesn't think so.  The Catsan does a damned site better job of absorbing his odour as well.

He is a great cat, very mild mannered and friendly, and he doesn't particularly try and escape the bathroom when I close the door.  He obviously doesn't like being locked in there, and makes a half hearted attempt to leave, but he could be a lot more difficult than he is.

He clearly likes companionship and attention, and doesn't like being locked away in one room, which I can understand, so I feel very guilty, but I haven't yet managed to remove the smell from the carpet so not that guilty (diluted biological washing liquid is apparently the answer, I'll try that in the morning).
Actually, it is rocket science.
 

Re: Free Kitten to good home.
« Reply #43 on: 13 August, 2011, 02:10:46 am »
He's a bit hopeless with toys.  Anything on a string seems to scare him, bouncy balls and ping pong balls are ignored, normally with him looking at me in a "If you wanted that, why did you throw it away?" manner.

I got one of those balls which you can feel with treats, and if they bat it around, eventually all the treats fall out.  You would think that he'd smell them, and knock it around, and eventually work out that if he does this, the treats fall out.

Nope, it doesn't occur to him.  I've tried knocking it around so that bits fall out, and he'll rush over and eat them, but doesn't yet see the link.  I guess I'll just have to keep on trying.  Talisker worked it out quite fast, and I thought he was a bit thick!  Maybe I was wrong, and he was a genius amongst cats. ;D
Actually, it is rocket science.
 

Re: Free Kitten to good home.
« Reply #44 on: 13 August, 2011, 07:53:06 am »
He's a bit hopeless with toys.  Anything on a string seems to scare him, bouncy balls and ping pong balls are ignored, normally with him looking at me in a "If you wanted that, why did you throw it away?" manner.

I got one of those balls which you can feel with treats, and if they bat it around, eventually all the treats fall out.  You would think that he'd smell them, and knock it around, and eventually work out that if he does this, the treats fall out.

Nope, it doesn't occur to him.  I've tried knocking it around so that bits fall out, and he'll rush over and eat them, but doesn't yet see the link.  I guess I'll just have to keep on trying.  Talisker worked it out quite fast, and I thought he was a bit thick!  Maybe I was wrong, and he was a genius amongst cats. ;D

I dunno, sounds pretty clever to me. Why go to the effort when the helpful tall thing will do it for you? ;D

My PhD supervisor, who taught the zooarchaeology courses (the archaeology of human/animal interaction), produced a crib sheet of domestic species, listing latin names, wild ancestors, when domesticated etc.  At the bottom was:

Man. Homo sapiens. Domesticated c7000 years ago by cats.

Also, I just had this random thought: Domestic cats generally don't like getting their feet wet. So how in heck did they/we find out they like fish?
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rogerzilla

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Re: Free Kitten to good home.
« Reply #45 on: 13 August, 2011, 07:56:27 am »
Also, I just had this random thought: Domestic cats generally don't like getting their feet wet. So how in heck did they/we find out they like fish?
I'm not sure why humans eat fish.  They live in a different element FFS!
Hard work sometimes pays off in the end, but laziness ALWAYS pays off NOW.

Re: Free Kitten to good home.
« Reply #46 on: 13 August, 2011, 08:04:56 am »
Also, I just had this random thought: Domestic cats generally don't like getting their feet wet. So how in heck did they/we find out they like fish?
I'm not sure why humans eat fish.  They live in a different element FFS!

Yes, but we are omnivores, who don't generally mind getting wet so much. How did cats ever find out (and how did we find out they liked it too?)

I mean, how is a cat going to catch prawns? Build a trawler?
If I had a baby elephant, it could help me wash the car. If I had a car.

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Biggsy

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Re: Free Kitten to good home.
« Reply #47 on: 13 August, 2011, 08:25:19 am »
Didn't all animals evolve from sea creatures?

Fishing jaguar:
http://youtu.be/o_MjHVgzdbk
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Re: Free Kitten to good home.
« Reply #48 on: 13 August, 2011, 09:26:41 am »
Cats don't like getting wet, but they can be fascinated by water.  Turn a kitchen tap on, and preferably adjust it to drip or run erratically, then sit a cat in front of it.  Invariably the cat will try and catch the water with it's paw!  Do a YouTube search on that sort of thing, and you'll find many videos of cats trying to catch or attack a stream of water. ;D

I think curiousity and lust after food will exceed their dislike of water (and many other things!)
Actually, it is rocket science.
 

Re: Free Kitten to good home.
« Reply #49 on: 13 August, 2011, 11:01:57 am »
Yay, he's drinking!

I had yet to have any proof that he was getting any fluids, although he would have got some through the wet cat food, which is how cats get most of their fluids naturally.

I'm spending some "quality time" with him in the bathroom, so he's got my company, and isn't quite so bored, and he promptly wandered over to the water bowl and licked away at it like mad, actually quite a noisy drinker!  Looking at it, it's dropped in level significantly since yesterday, so I don't think this is the first time he's had a drink.

I shall have to try him with some milk again, he ignored it earlier in the week, but was also ignoring prawns then, which he scoffs down quite rapidly now. ;D
Actually, it is rocket science.