Kitten thread if not minded? A bit of an UPDATE.

[the ringo kid]

Ive decided that when Lisa gets back, I think ill get both kittens at once. As the pure white will be at least a month old-she is old enough to be weaned-and as both are raised together-neither one should feel too lonely and can keep each other company while I'm at work.

Speaking of which-do any of you all have those carpeted towers, tunnels etc for yours and what yours do you have for yours if any? I had tennis balls, golf balls rubber balls, toys with catnip in them for Shasta-and she liked most of them.

 

[walkin jack]

The carpeted towers are great they love 'em but if they have had or will have their front claws removed they will not be able to get all the good out of them. To tell you the truth I think a cat, any cat, if he could talk would say that his favorite toy is a paper bag and a close runner up would be an empty box big enough to get inside of. Also the little stuffed mice, fish, rabbits, pillows etc are always a hit. We have a "round up" every morning to put them all back in the toy basket. They spend the day spreading them around all over the house.

And mine love straws, empty paper towel rolls, and small balls made out of paper.

 

[the ringo kid]

The carpeted towers are great they love 'em but if they have had or will have their front claws removed they will not be able to get all the good out of them. To tell you the truth I think a cat, any cat, if he could talk would say that his favorite toy is a paper bag and a close runner up would be an empty box big enough to get inside of. Also the little stuffed mice, fish, rabbits, pillows etc are always a hit. We have a "round up" every morning to put them all back in the toy basket. They spend the day spreading them around all over the house.

And mine love straws, empty paper towel rolls, and small balls made out of paper.

I'm all set with empty boxes and cardboard rolls. Had forgotten about paper bags. Shasta used to love to chase wadded up paper sheets-id forgot about those too. That cat could sure make me pick up after her. Another item this reminds me of--Q-tips-how she loved to play with q-tips.

 

[Mack_C85]

Patches goes crazy over the wife's elastic hair bands. She's always complaining 'cause he steals them all the time!!!

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[Lil' LadySmith]

Any of you all feeding yours the Hills Science Diet food? I'm thinking of starting the kitten off with it-just in case it actually works-even if it is more expensive than the stuff on H.E.Bs and WMs shelves.

What do you all feed your cats? I had to feed Shasta her Hills Science Diet food for her Urinary Tract Infection-to try to keep it under control-which it kinda did-but not fully worked. As I now have a bit of extra monies to spend--I want to do things correctly-shots etc.

I've been feeding Science Diet to my pets for over 27 years. Current cat (and the visitor) are eating it and my last cat was on it since she was 7 weeks old. She lived to be 18 years old.

As Walkin' Jack mentioned (I think it was him) skip the milk and raw eggs. In fact, I'd suggest skipping all people food. Some will be hard to digest, some will give them diarrhea, and others can make them sick. Plus, feeding pets people food increases begging and bad table manners.

 

[chaparrito]

I wonder if I should try giving them raw eggs and milk too? Shasta never liked either-which was the only cat I ever had that never took to either. I also plan on giving tiny bits of Tyson's chicken as well as Soule's Beef (no inserted ingredients) to them as treats.

No raw eggs, no dairy past weaning age. Cats are naturally lactose intolerant after they are weaned. Dairy products can cause intestinal upset and diarrhea. Raw eggs contain an enzyme that sequesters B vitamins, preventing their uptake in susceptible cats. There's also the risk of E Coli and Salmonella associated with uncooked eggs.

 

[rburg]

No dairy? Thats just mean. Give them a squirt of whipped cream. If they hesitate, push their nose in it or put some on your finger and then tap them on the nose. If they've got some on the nose they instinctively lick it off. From there you've discovered their new favorite treat. The only thing better is a can of people tuna. Man do they like that.

 

[oldbrownhat]

...To tell you the truth I think a cat, any cat, if he could talk would say that his favorite toy is a paper bag and a close runner up would be an empty box big enough to get inside of. Also the little stuffed mice, fish, rabbits, pillows etc are always a hit. We have a "round up" every morning to put them all back in the toy basket. They spend the day spreading them around all over the house.

And mine love straws, empty paper towel rolls, and small balls made out of paper.

Exactly. All those fancy, over-priced toys at the pet store pale in comparison to the paper stuff we all accumulate around the house. My gf's two "mega-moggies" (25 lb. Norwegian foest cats pictured somewhere above) love when the Amazon orders arrive because it means new bits of paper and boxes! (And it seems important that the paper is ON something, such as a rug or another bit of paper.) As to boxes "big enough to get inside of", hers seem to prefer boxes just slightly smaller that what we logical humans would consider ideal.

One store-bought purchase our cats love is a red dot pointer. Not one of the weak, crappy ones from the pet store but a proper pointer from Staples called the Quartet. Uses a coin battery that lasts for ever. (I guess you could also pretend to chase flies on the floor and walls with your Crimson Trace grips, but that might be taking things a bit too far.)

 

[shouldazagged]

Since I had to part with my dear little dog Moose my sister and others have been urging me to get a cat. I'm not at all sure I want to do that, though I've had them in the long-ago past. They mostly were fine, but the last one, a Siamese cross, was so damn vocal he nearly drove me out of my mind.

If--IF--I get one it will be a female, solid black all over, and I will name her Blanche.

 

[Targets Guy]

Love the pics.

 

[the ringo kid]

Patches goes crazy over the wife's elastic hair bands. She's always complaining 'cause he steals them all the time!!!

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That reminds me, I need to get a laser pointer. Shasta would go crazy over those-so I'm hoping these kittens will do the same.

 

[the ringo kid]

I've been feeding Science Diet to my pets for over 27 years. Current cat (and the visitor) are eating it and my last cat was on it since she was 7 weeks old. She lived to be 18 years old.

As Walkin' Jack mentioned (I think it was him) skip the milk and raw eggs. In fact, I'd suggest skipping all people food. Some will be hard to digest, some will give them diarrhea, and others can make them sick. Plus, feeding pets people food increases begging and bad table manners.

Thank you, what you said does make total good sense. I think they'll be "spoiled" enough with Science Diet and Fancy Feast. I might get them some-kind of feline treat once in awhile.

 

[the ringo kid]

No raw eggs, no dairy past weaning age. Cats are naturally lactose intolerant after they are weaned. Dairy products can cause intestinal upset and diarrhea. Raw eggs contain an enzyme that sequesters B vitamins, preventing their uptake in susceptible cats. There's also the risk of E Coli and Salmonella associated with uncooked eggs.

I hadn't thought of that risk either-and thank you. No eggs or milk-I don't intake much of either. Once in a great while, id dip my finger in butter and let Shasta lick that--but that was just enough to give her a different taste-add only about once every two months or so.

 

[the ringo kid]

No dairy? Thats just mean. Give them a squirt of whipped cream. If they hesitate, push their nose in it or put some on your finger and then tap them on the nose. If they've got some on the nose they instinctively lick it off. From there you've discovered their new favorite treat. The only thing better is a can of people tuna. Man do they like that.

I was told by the vets (the same two who neglected Shasta after the money started running out) that it was Ok to give her tiny doses of people food-but now that ive read it here and seen it first-hand--I think it accelerated Shasta's bad health-and I'm not going to do that to these two kittens.

 

[6518John]

That reminds me, I need to get a laser pointer. Shasta would go crazy over those-so I'm hoping these kittens will do the same.

Carl—the kitten has not been born yet that won't chase the laser dot! Even the fattest, laziest Tom will break down eventually.

 

[the ringo kid]

Exactly. All those fancy, over-priced toys at the pet store pale in comparison to the paper stuff we all accumulate around the house. My gf's two "mega-moggies" (25 lb. Norwegian foest cats pictured somewhere above) love when the Amazon orders arrive because it means new bits of paper and boxes! (And it seems important that the paper is ON something, such as a rug or another bit of paper.) As to boxes "big enough to get inside of", hers seem to prefer boxes just slightly smaller that what we logical humans would consider ideal.

One store-bought purchase our cats love is a red dot pointer. Not one of the weak, crappy ones from the pet store but a proper pointer from Staples called the Quartet. Uses a coin battery that lasts for ever. (I guess you could also pretend to chase flies on the floor and walls with your Crimson Trace grips, but that might be taking things a bit too far.)

Shasta loved to get in the tub after I took a shower. Luckily, she never bothered my toilet paper.

 

[the ringo kid]

Since I had to part with my dear little dog Moose my sister and others have been urging me to get a cat. I'm not at all sure I want to do that, though I've had them in the long-ago past. They mostly were fine, but the last one, a Siamese cross, was so damn vocal he nearly drove me out of my mind.

If--IF--I get one it will be a female, solid black all over, and I will name her Blanche.

Ive nothing against dogs but, cats are much quieter and cheaper. Shasta only meowed when I came home and when she didn't know where I was in the house-or when her food was running low-which == only a few times a day. Going into these two kitty's-I know the first one is going to be a "talker" according to Lisa-the other is quieter. I think when both are settled in and staying used to each other--shouldn't make much noise cept for playing around. Also-they'll sleep 20 out of 24 hours anyway.

 

[the ringo kid]

Carl—the kitten has not been born yet that won't chase the laser dot! Even the fattest, laziest Tom will break down eventually.

Actually, I did have one who wouldn't budge. This one was one from one of Shasta's last litters. He was a domestic longhair-tan and white and wouldn't even look at the light-and Shasta would be all over it. That cat i'd named Garfield.

Sadly, one of my neighbors picked up Garfield-who would allow anyone to approach him) and beat him senseless-just because he sat on his doorstep once. The beating was so severe-he went cross-eyed. A few months later-I found him dead-thinking that jerk poisoned him as well. I could never prove anything even though I did make a police report the first time.

 

[oldbrownhat]

I was out for a run one night, after an evening of rain had finally ended. Going past a treeline along the local college, I heard some "meowing". It was a tiny kitten...

That's similar to how I acquired my black kitty, Smudge. He was the last of a litter born in the neighbor's barn after someone left a pregnant cat in her driveway. The others were quickly adopted but Smudge was very skittery. There was a big lightning and thunder storm that Sept.1 which I guess they got caught in. The mother was never found but llittle Smudge, just over 3 mos. old, ended up stuck 30+ feet up a tree for three days, meowing pitifully. The Fired Dept. was called but they couldn't get him down. As we were standing around wondering what to do, he JUMPED! He hit the ground, gave his head a shake and thought, "Well, THAT was nasty!" and high-tailed it back to the barn, unhurt.

Long story short, as my neighbor was really a dog-and-horse lady, I offered to adopt Smudge and after spending quite a lot of time gaining his trust up in the barn (aided by introducing him to the red dot pointer ), I brought him home.

It's true what they say about black cats:

 

[snubbyfan]

Ive nothing against dogs but, cats are much quieter and cheaper. Shasta only meowed when I came home and when she didn't know where I was in the house-or when her food was running low-which == only a few times a day. Going into these two kitty's-I know the first one is going to be a "talker" according to Lisa-the other is quieter. I think when both are settled in and staying used to each other--shouldn't make much noise cept for playing around. Also-they'll sleep 20 out of 24 hours anyway.

Sara sings with my wife. She makes the sweetest little chirp and squeak sounds.
Sometimes all three of our cats'll have a pow wow in the middle of the hall floor, chirping and squeaking at each other.
Makes me wonder what they're planning....