Free Kitten to good home.

[rower40]

I have a cat flap with RFID reader built in that you can program your own cats into so no others get in 

Their paws can manage the swipe cards then?

[TimO]

I have a cat flap with RFID reader built in that you can program your own cats into so no others get in 

That's what I already have, but that's not techie enough.  A better approach would be one that's wired into the local network, so you can interrogate cat status over ethernet, and obviously make it more widely available through a webserver.

Other mods would be several RFID readers, so you can work out which direction the cat is going in.  Mine only knows that there's a valid RFID chip beneath the reader, it'll unlock the door as the cat is on it's way out (and the door is permanently open in that direction, any cat can get out).  With two readers, you can make a guess over which direction the cat is going (unless it changes it's mind, midway through the door), and so know whether a cat is in or out of the house.  I've seen cat flaps with cameras on them, primarily to do cat visual identification, but it had the added benefit of also disallowing a cat with a mouse in it's mouth!

[Kim]

AIUI at least some of the implantable RFID chips include a temperature sensor, so polling that and flagging up variations could be a Good Thing...

[Regulator]

AIUI at least some of the implantable RFID chips include a temperature sensor, so polling that and flagging up variations could be a Good Thing...

I read that as 'flagging up vibrations'...


... and I wondered 'is that where we get "dogging" from?   

[TimO]

AIUI at least some of the implantable RFID chips include a temperature sensor, so polling that and flagging up variations could be a Good Thing...

Possibly, but I also know that the Pet Porte people didn't use to recommend it, because it wasn't as easy to detect using the reader in their cat flap design.

Why, and whether it's currently commonly used or not, I don't know.

[Kim]

Why, and whether it's currently commonly used or not, I don't know.

A quick google finds research (mostly concerning livestock) suggesting that an implant just below the skin gives a surprisingly poor indication of core temperature.

[Arch]

With two readers, you can make a guess over which direction the cat is going (unless it changes it's mind, midway through the door), and so know whether a cat is in or out of the house.

Shrodinger must be turning in his box...

[border-rider]

AIUI at least some of the implantable RFID chips include a temperature sensor, so polling that and flagging up variations could be a Good Thing...

Possibly, but I also know that the Pet Porte people didn't use to recommend it, because it wasn't as easy to detect using the reader in their cat flap design.

Why, and whether it's currently commonly used or not, I don't know.

I think it's pretty common now

Ours have it, and were offered it as a matter of course.  No indignity of a thermometer up the bum (it's the only time our old Amy every tried to bite anyone)

[rogerzilla]

Retinal scan FTW 

[TimO]

... No indignity of a thermometer up the bum (it's the only time our old Amy every tried to bite anyone)

Interestingly, Talisker was never particularly worried about having his temperature taken this way, but on the other hand, the few times I saw it taken like that, he was feeling pretty rotten for himself anyway, which was the reason why I'd taken him to the vets, so not likely to try and do anything like bite or scratch.

He was a pretty relaxed cat, and I can only think of one occasion when he tried to scratch or bite me, and that was when I had to bathe him, which he really didn't appreciate.  I was prepared for this, and was wearing gardening gloves, but I did end up with a couple of long scratches on my arm, which was the only time I was ever injured by him.


Kai is back from being neutered now.  He seems remarkably OK.  A little inclined towards flopping down in the cat bed in an "I'm knackered fashion", but also prepared to try and escape the bathroom!

The vet's put his fleece / bedding in the washing machine, because he had an accident on it.  I'm not sure when, because it was OK when I left him there (after the short car journey), and he wasn't too upset at that point.  He's had a 1½ hour tube and tram journey, packed with people, which didn't cause him to have an accident previously.

I was advised to only give him small amount of relatively bland food, so I gave him some canned chicken cat food, which he was wolfing down when I went next door to check on Zev.  Hopefully he hasn't promptly thrown it up over the bathroom.

[loafheads]

I always wanted a gps tracking bug on my cats. I wonder how big their territory is? A camera to see what they see would be nice too. I remember some website a few years ago with a cat that had a camera on his neck that showed what he hunted.

[TimO]

I always wanted a gps tracking bug on my cats. I wonder how big their territory is? A camera to see what they see would be nice too. I remember some website a few years ago with a cat that had a camera on his neck that showed what he hunted.

Yes, Mr Lee - CatCam, and he also has a GPS tracker now.

The GPS tracker is just one of the little units used with photography.  I've actually got one which I was going to put on Talisker, but I was never happy with using a harness on him, which wouldn't have had a breakable link like collars do, so he could have ended up stuck somewhere.

[Gattopardo]

But easily trackable

[TimO]

But easily trackable

Not really, it's only trackable after the event.  This is a GPS device which records the location, there's no way to find the current location without access to it.

There are GPS devices combined with GSM phone modules, but they're heavier and more expensive.  They are available for dogs, but for cats haven't really reached the level of miniaturisation necessary.

[TimO]

He's doing fine today.  His testicles (or testicular area, since his testicles aren't there any more) look a little pinker than they did yesterday morning, but that's possibly just because I guess they have to be shaved for surgery.

His still has plenty of appetite.  He's eaten two can of cat food so far this morning, I'll put a third one out before I leave, and he's got dried food and water.

I'm letting him wander around more of the house now, the hallway and landing, the bathroom that's been his domain anyway, and the kitchen and small utility area.

I'm keeping him out of the bedrooms and living room, because they've got more stuff in them, have more items which could be damaged by a cat pissing on them, and which aren't so easily cleanable.  There's nothing too much in the rest of the house which can't be cleaned or which I'd worry too much about being damaged.  It's not quite as tidy as it ought, but so long as he's not too stupid, he won't bring a teetering pile of crap down on his head (OK, so he's a cat, so not always the brightest, but he'll just have to be fast on his paws!)

I've put a second litter tray downstairs, so he's got an upstairs and downstairs toilet, which is better than me!

Most of his stuff is still in the bathroom, the cat bed, scratching post, original litter tray, toys, food, and drink. He'll also revert to the bathroom if he's feeling nervous, like earlier when the machine which eats kittehs vacuum was out.  It seems sensible to leave it all there for the time being, so not everything changes at one go.

Whilst he could still make a mess (it'll take a while for the effects of his hormones to wear off), he was getting so plaintive and desperate to get out of the bathroom, that I've let him room free(er).  I can't really blame him, the bathroom was a bit sterile and boring.  It hasn't even got a window you can see anything out of.

[TimO]

This was him just before I left for work.  Even though he can wander around a lot more of the house, he's happily sleeping in the bathroom still.  I think it was the door being closed, as much as anything, that was upsetting him.

You can see a little pink patch on his right leg, which I'm guessing was where the anaesthetic was applied.  I'd kind of expected his skin to be white, like his fur, since Talisker had black skin and fur.  Presumably the black skin makes it harder to see the pinkness of the underlying skin and veins, whereas on Kai, that's what you get.

I reckon he's going to be impressed with that bed, once the weather gets colder, and I plug it in!  I wonder if Zev will try and usurp him, or whether I'll end up with a blob of knotted cats in there!

[TimO]

Well Kai seems to have been OK today.  He just made a significant impact upon his fourth can of cat food, and he had some prawns with it as well.  I'm slightly worried that neither of the cat litter trays has anything solid in it (but he did use the downstairs one whilst I was in the kitchen), and given the quantity of cat food he's eaten, I hope he's just either mildly constipated, or doesn't want to use the litter (Talisker could avoid using a litter tray for a couple of days).  Otherwise, at some point, I'm going to find a little present somewhere.

Largely he seems happy enough, and he'll follow me around the house a bit.  He was almost hiding on the landing when I came in.  He obviously doesn't associate the front door with me yet, since he's been closed in the bathroom, so won't have been able to link the two.  I'm guessing the front door scared him, until I came up and found him, and he realised it was me.  Probably he's also not yet familiar enough with my voice to know me from that alone.

At the moment he's curled up in the cat bed, letting his supper digest.  I'm sat on the toilet (using it as a seat before anyone makes any suggestions!) so that he's got a bit of company, but I'm going to go down and make my tea shortly.

[Gattopardo]

But easily trackable

Not really, it's only trackable after the event.  This is a GPS device which records the location, there's no way to find the current location without access to it.

There are GPS devices combined with GSM phone modules, but they're heavier and more expensive.  They are available for dogs, but for cats haven't really reached the level of miniaturisation necessary.

Meh thats rubbish then, I want live data.

[Feline]

This was him just before I left for work.  Even though he can wander around a lot more of the house, he's happily sleeping in the bathroom still.  I think it was the door being closed, as much as anything, that was upsetting him.

You can see a little pink patch on his right leg, which I'm guessing was where the anaesthetic was applied.  I'd kind of expected his skin to be white, like his fur, since Talisker had black skin and fur.  Presumably the black skin makes it harder to see the pinkness of the underlying skin and veins, whereas on Kai, that's what you get.

I reckon he's going to be impressed with that bed, once the weather gets colder, and I plug it in!  I wonder if Zev will try and usurp him, or whether I'll end up with a blob of knotted cats in there!

My siamese have a heated bed I got them as kittens to help them settle in, every time I have unplugged it they have been most unhappy. It is still plugged in all year round and they are now 5 

[loafheads]

4 cans of wet food? How big are these cans? I offered him wet food and he always ignored it.

Once they meet I bet they will cuddle up together in the heated bed.

[TimO]

4 cans of wet food? How big are these cans? I offered him wet food and he always ignored it.

These are single (cat) meal portions.  Talisker would have eaten one for breakfast, and possibly another in the evening, with some dry cat food during the day.  Four is pretty exceptional, and if he keeps that sort of demand up, he's going to go on a diet!

This is a fairly premium wet food, Encore (Sainsbury's version of Applaws), it doesn't look like the pink mushy stuff a lot of cheaper (and even not so cheap) cat food looks like.

The chicken looks pretty much like chicken I'd eat, and the fish looks like identifiable bits of fish.  The chicken flavours have >75% meat in them (I'm not sure about the fish flavours).  It's also moderately expensive, but the cats food bill is tiny compared to mine, so I don't worry about it too much.  Their vet bills this month will probably exceed the years bill for cat food, even with Encore, and other premium brands!

[TimO]

Well, Kai just inhaled his wet cat food breakfast.  He'd eaten all of the dry food overnight, and started on the fresh bowl that I put down, once he'd finished the wet food!

I think I'm going to have to start weighing him, and trying to decide whether to limit his intake.

To be fair, his hormones are probably a bit to buggery at the moment, so that might affect his appetite.  He's also possibly bored, with no hunting to do, and that may be displaced into eating as an alternative activity.

[TimO]

Rather amazingly he doesn't seem to be interested in ham.

I made some ham sandwiches earlier, and left some of the fatty bits, and a small bit of the ham to try with him.  Unlike Talisker, his hamdar wasn't triggered by me getting the ham out of the fridge, and indeed putting it in his bowl and plonking him in front of the bowl didn't cause any sign of interest.

I've left the ham in there, and topped it up with two thirds of a can of fishy cat food (Zev's had the other third), and a very generous portion of cooked prawns.  That should keep him going (along with the dry Iams if he feels peckish later on).

He may never had had ham before, so it might be a novelty to him.  If he tries it, he may acquire a taste for it!

[barakta]

Heh at the ham!

[Kathy]

As regards pooping habits - when our cats are being kept indoors, they seem to only poop about once every 36 hours (though as Mr & Ms Weasel discovered, they can still time a stinky one just as you're serving breakfast), and only widdle once or twice a day. I assume it's a combination of slow digestive tract (carnivore) + inactivity.