Cat People

[mcppalmbeach]

I have accidentally fallen into being owned by a cat. My mom feeds ferals. She had two cats and then last summer had a new cat turn up pregnant and pass away. The babies were so little no one would take them, our local shelter said they would most likely be euthanized and now she has 4 cats. All that to say, I have promised her to care for her cats if something were to happen to her and had no plans to have my own. Except another cat turned up pregnant this summer and had babies. One had something going on, couldn’t walk, would shake. So she took it to the vet and he was riddled with scabies. None of our rescues would take him and she didn’t want to take him to the county shelter. He’s a black cat and she thought he’d linger. Lo and behold I now have a cat and I’m keeping him.

Tell me cat things I should know. What are your favorite toys, food and treats? He has his days and nights mixed up. He gets the zoomies around 5am and 11pm. His zoomies also include a lot of biting like a puppy. I have been around cats my whole life and we fostered kittens forever and I’ve never seen anything like it! Suggestions for biting toys? My H is currently not a fan.

[starburst604]

Maybe he would like something to climb like a cat tree? Definitely a scratching post and use catnip to attract him to his things. He sounds like one that will need a lot of play to tire him out, my best suggestion is a second kitten. 😇

[So_Fetch]

The tunnels are a big hit with my friends super active kittens. They like to jump out and "scare" everyone. A feather toy or something on a string would be good too. Maybe play and do zoomies at a more convenient time. I think you're doing pretty good. Most of the cats I've had do 2 or 3 am zoomies.

[Nugget T. Brain, The OG]

This probably isn't what you wanna hear but you should get another kitten. It's not ideal to have one by itself, single kitten syndrome is a thing and it's a bitch to fix.

[spinnaker5]

@kittenxlady on Instagram (she also has a YouTube channel) has tons of kitten care tips, including for fragile or ill babies. 

Also, kitty pics are always appreciated here so feel free to share.

[mommyatty]

We have three cats. Yes, you need a second cat! And maybe a third. But seriously cats are very social animals, and they need companionship. They’re most active at dawn and dusk, so if they don’t have another cat to hang with, guess what? It’s YOU! Plus yeah, they need a cat to teach them to be a cat. Including teaching them that nails and teeth are sharp and hurt. (That’s what single kitten syndrome is… they’re rough because they don’t realize they’re hurting you.) So I recommend an older juvenile. Like 9-12 months old.

Our cats have this fuzzy snake looking thing on a string attached to a stick that we got at PetSmart. They love it. They also love this 3 in 1 toy from Amazon that has a feather that goes around and round, a little mouse looking thing that pops out the sides, and a ball on a track. It’s rechargeable, and we originally got it when Cat #2 was a very rowdy kitten who would chase feet under covers if not otherwise entertained. It would turn on every couple of hours and he would take off like a shot to go play with it. Then come back to bed with us and sleep.

Also, orange cats are hilarious. So if you’re looking for another cat, highly recommend an orangie. But our brown and gray tabby is the sweetest, purriest, cuddliest boy. According to our vet- who only sees cats- the stereotypes are generally true. Brown tabbies are love bugs. Orange boys are loveable goofs. Black cats are smart, slightly evil geniuses who love one human best and tolerate the rest. (My black cat makes no secret that I am his human. And I love him right back.)

ETA- Squeeze pouches like Churus are amazing. Cats lose it over those. Our vet recommends at least some wet food. Mine love Meow Mix tenders in sauce. They have hoity toity dry food (Solid Gold chicken flavor) and we tried all kinds of expensive wet food, thinking they would appreciate it. They only like the Meow Mix cheap grocery store stuff.

And kicker toys are good bite toys. Ours like the ones made of burlap and corduroy with a furry tail. I occasionally rub some catnip on one to watch our boys lose their minds.

[lavenderblue]

I'm also here to recommend that you get a second cat My kids tried for months to get me to agree to getting a cat and next thing I knew, we had two! It's honestly been great. Mine happen to be litter mates but I that's not really a requirement. They have each other for rough play and us humans for cuddling. They also get the zoomies in the middle of the night, around 2-3 am, which I only know from waking up to go to the bathroom at night, otherwise we all sleep with our doors closed.

I highly recommend getting a cat tower, several scratching posts/mats, my cats happen to love balls, they could give or take the cat tunnel, and they are obsessed with anything string-like.

[Jalapeñomel]

The Litterbot was the best purchase I made.

[shauni27]

this is so random, but we have a kid's fishing pole and we took the hook off the end and attached a cat toy to it (feathers). Our cat will spend literal hours a day having us cast to him and reeling him in. We joke that we are cat fishing. When we get home he goes to the fishing pole and knocks it over and drags it to my husband to play.

We only have the one cat and got him when he was a little older (9 months) but other than the 3 am wake ups for the last month (wtf, dude!) he has been just fine. I love him to pieces.

[mcppalmbeach]

You guys are funny…I have always said (I think even here) if you like one cat, you will love two. I tried to shame my friend into getting two lol. But we didn’t really want one cat and H is never going to go for it. My kids have been hard court pressing for a dog for two years and I hope my parents outlive their pets, but they are 70 with 1 and 7 year old cats. If something happens to them, I will have 5 cats (and that annoys me because I only agreed to the first two who are orange and delightful…her other 2 are bullies and don’t like people besides my parents).

I have grown to love this guy which is why he stays. He lets my 7 year old haul him around without scratching or biting (except on play) and he makes me so happy.

[deadwing]

The best thing I ever bought for my cat was an automatic timed feeder. So many cat owners complain about cats waking them up to be fed. The timed feeder fixes this problem because the cat gets fed reliably and without your direct involvement.

[mcppalmbeach]

Sept 25, 2024 22:24:26 GMT -5 spinnaker5 said:

@kittenxlady on Instagram (she also has a YouTube channel) has tons of kitten care tips, including for fragile or ill babies. 

Also, kitty pics are always appreciated here so feel free to share.

If you can believe it, this baby is 100% back to himself. My mom had him a week and a half or so and he started to grow his fur back. But when she brought him to me he still had a few bad spots and he couldn’t walk right, he would drag his back legs and slide on his back feet like Bambi on ice. I wish I had taken video. It was just due to inflammation from the scabies. It’s amazing and hurts my heart than any animal would have that happen and not be able to get simple treatment.

[jamaicam]

Another vote for 2 cats!

deadwing, we also have an automatic feeder and it is great. It is set for when we get up in the week but it means t hey can get fed without us getting up on a weekend which is nice.

[starburst604]

Sept 26, 2024 7:29:36 GMT -5 deadwing said:

The best thing I ever bought for my cat was an automatic timed feeder. So many cat owners complain about cats waking them up to be fed. The timed feeder fixes this problem because the cat gets fed reliably and without your direct involvement.

Unless it can open cans, it won't stop my chonker from screaming for his breakfast! I did just recently buy the automatic feeder for his dry food though. He used to just have a full bowl that he could eat at his leisure, but one of the dogs was making it his mission to sneak up and eat it all. I bought the feeder so that if the dog does get at it, he's going to get either a tiny bit or nothing at all. He needs to lose weight anyway, which was tough when I had two cats, but now that it's just him I'm trying some portion control with the dry food. DD thinks it's hilarious that I was able to make a recording of my voice telling him to come eat when the food dispenses!

[tiki]

Being awake at night and asleep during the day is totally normal for a cat. I do think another kitten is probably the best option for drawing his fire so he doesn't end up attacking you for fun. If you definitely can't do that, you're probably just going to have to try a whole bunch of different kinds of cat toys to learn what works and/or just wait it out till he's older and chills out. Wear gardening gloves when you play with him for some protection from pointy teeth and claws.

[sarahsays]

The only thing that made my cat stop biting was a second cat.

Their favorite toys are these springs: www.chewy.com/frisco-colorful-springs-cat-toy/dp/188522?utm_source=google-product&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=20669001539&utm_content=&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwjNS3BhChARIsAOxBM6o_3mGogl3PjICk2BkLQD0BmR7SQ_vlvEAFry7FuCxd9J5M50yHn-YaAlB_EALw_wcB

[meanie]

We got our cat when she was 1, she attacked my ankles any chance she got and bit my hands. Our vet said to use cat toys that are dangled from a stick to help teach her not to bite my hands, I walked around with a spray bottle for a while and wore thick socks. It helped, she eventually calmed down and stopped stalking me.

[lab7979]

If the cat was taken away from the litter early, it may always be a biter. I got my cat at 5 weeks old. The vet says it has a "personality disorder." She said when they are removed from the litter early, they don't have as much of a chance to learn normal social behaviors. He is an only cat so that hasn't helped. I love my automatic feeder and water fountain. I didn't get those until my cat was a little older though. He also loves puree treats and cardboard scratch pads. His favorite toys are soft balls he can grab up with his paws or mouth, stick toys and cardboard boxes. Cats love a good box to lay in and chew on. I recently bought this www.amazon.com/dp/B0CMQL6DZ8?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title&th=1 I think it will actually work if I can get my cat to use it. I stuck it to the bottom of his favorite cardboard scratch pad. He stares at it now like it's the black hole of death. He refuses to get near it. He probably wouldn't have noticed if he hadn't been sitting there watching me put it on.

[livinitup]

Why don’t you take one of your parents cats for a little while as a friend for your new kitten? It may be the ticket to some good cat socialization. You tell your H that’s it’s temporary and you’ll give the cat back and it might even be true!

I can guarantee that you won’t have any mice in the house with that one. Can your H catch mice with his bare hands? Can he? I didn’t think so. Maybe he should show a little appreciation.

Buy different types of cat scratchers. The kind you put flat on the floor and the kind that stand up. Cats like to stretch and scratch on different surfaces, in different ways. If he scratches furniture, move abstracted that resembles the type of scratching he is doing & give rewards and treat for proper scratching in the post.

Yaay! I am so happy for you.

[hermione]

Sadly, I don't think he has his days and nights mixed up. Those are just his preferred times. My cat is 5. She loves a good 4am zoomie session and always has.

[verycontrary247]

Yeowww catnip bananas have been the #1 preferred toy of every cat I've owned

[picksthemusic]

Sept 26, 2024 15:46:31 GMT -5 verycontrary247 said:

Yeowww catnip bananas have been the #1 preferred toy of every cat I've owned

Can confirm. Mine cuddle them, rabbit-kick them, and lick them.

Congrats on the kitty! I have two from the same litter, and recommend at least a temporary friend (like pp suggested) or adopting a slightly older kitten to help teach them some manners and socialization. Ours didn't calm down (I have one rambunctious one, and one aloof one) until about a year old and calmed down even more after they got spayed. Now they're just lazy ladies that occasionally want to play.

They love catnip, dangly toys, crinkle balls, the felt rainbow catnip balls (usually come in a pack of four), and only randomly enjoy electronic toys. We try not to invest in those too often because the vanity wears off quickly IME, and then you're left with a paperweight in the shape of a mouse. Also a laser pointer - mine love chasing the dot every once in a while (DS is usually the one to use this toy with them), and I use it mostly when I can tell they're needing some exercise to tire them out.

We feed them Blue Buffalo Blissful Belly dry food because my girls urp and have hairballs occasionally, and this helps reduce that a lot. For soft/wet food, I love the OMG Gravy! pouches (I get the variety pack boxes on Chewy, and there's only a couple of flavors they don't like) and they split one pouch a day and graze on crunchies throughout the day. We also have a water fountain with a filter.

Litter wise, I'm not ready to invest in a Litter Robot yet (sorry Jalapeñomel haha) so we use the Tidy Cats Breeze Litter Box system and I love it (compared to what we started with, which was pine pellets). Minimal effort - scoop poop, change pee pad tray weekly (I get the double-absorbency pads because two cats). Disinfect the box/change the litter monthly (or sooner if one of them has explosive diarrhea...). 

Good luck!