Cats

[TikindiDragon]

I'm going to give him raw chicken. When I run out of this bag of dry food I'm cutting it out entirely, and once he's eating raw better I'm cutting the wet out, too.

You'll need to keep a close eye on his teeth then. He'll be getting no 'crunch' in his diet and he may get problems with tartar.

[7Deadly$ins]

You'll need to keep a close eye on his teeth then. He'll be getting no 'crunch' in his diet and he may get problems with tartar.

I'm going to give him the occasional boned wing.

[Rosedamai]

I would love to have a cat. Unfortunately my brother has asthma :/ Does anyone know how this problem can be solved? Oh well.

[TikindiDragon]

I'm going to give him the occasional boned wing.

It might just be me having a bit of a funny, but I'm not sure what that is...

 

The point still stands, though. And, to be honest, a good vet will always check the teeth every time they see an animal anyway.

[7Deadly$ins]

It might just be me having a bit of a funny, but I'm not sure what that is...

 

The point still stands, though. And, to be honest, a good vet will always check the teeth every time they see an animal anyway.

I plan to give him some meaty bones sometimes. I'm not dedicated to do a complete, home made raw, but as a treat I think it'll work fine from time to time, maybe weekly or so.

 

That is also true. I'm sure the vet will tell me if there's anything I ought to be doing for his teeth. Hopefully he won't need to go to the vet too often though. But he likes his vets and the ride isn't a hassle at all so at least I don't have to dread it! I plan to have the vet examine him thoroughly next time he goes in for vaccines in spring.

[TikindiDragon]

I plan to give him some meaty bones sometimes. I'm not dedicated to do a complete, home made raw, but as a treat I think it'll work fine from time to time, maybe weekly or so.

 

That is also true. I'm sure the vet will tell me if there's anything I ought to be doing for his teeth. Hopefully he won't need to go to the vet too often though. But he likes his vets and the ride isn't a hassle at all so at least I don't have to dread it! I plan to have the vet examine him thoroughly next time he goes in for vaccines in spring.

Mine normally checks their teeth when they go in for their yearly vaccs. Just be prepared that if the vet notices tartar starting to build you may need to re-introduce some dried food to help combat it

[marhawkman]

I plan to give him some meaty bones sometimes. I'm not dedicated to do a complete, home made raw, but as a treat I think it'll work fine from time to time, maybe weekly or so.

 

That is also true. I'm sure the vet will tell me if there's anything I ought to be doing for his teeth. Hopefully he won't need to go to the vet too often though. But he likes his vets and the ride isn't a hassle at all so at least I don't have to dread it! I plan to have the vet examine him thoroughly next time he goes in for vaccines in spring.

That's good. Kitties like to chew on bones too. they just prefer there bones smaller. Maybe a few ribs with a little meat stuck to them?

[Disturbedchic]

I would love to have a cat. Unfortunately my brother has asthma :/ Does anyone know how this problem can be solved? Oh well.

Asthma itself shouldn't stop someone from getting a cat.

 

I have asthma (thats triggered by like everything) and I have three cats that sleep with us and everything. My mom also has asthma and she has a cat. Both of us are also technically allergic to cats on top of it which honestly surprised the heck out of me since I don't react to any of mine or my mom's cats.

 

Some people with cat allergies find they don't react to certain individual cats over others so maybe bring your brother along to look for a cat to find if there's one he doesn't seem to react to. Also, don't keep the litter box anywhere that he would be frequently or have him clean the litter box. I don't clean our litter box because it causes me some issues.

[Rosedamai]

Asthma itself shouldn't stop someone from getting a cat.

 

I have asthma (thats triggered by like everything) and I have three cats that sleep with us and everything. My mom also has asthma and she has a cat. Both of us are also technically allergic to cats on top of it which honestly surprised the heck out of me since I don't react to any of mine or my mom's cats.

 

Some people with cat allergies find they don't react to certain individual cats over others so maybe bring your brother along to look for a cat to find if there's one he doesn't seem to react to. Also, don't keep the litter box anywhere that he would be frequently or have him clean the litter box. I don't clean our litter box because it causes me some issues.

That would be great! Maybe I should introduce him to my friend's cats first, and see if he has a visible reaction to them or something. Thank you!

[Ruins]

I love my cats; I'm living at Uni right now, and this is the first time I've been without a cat for an extended period of time. We usually have two at home, but we have sometimes had one when tragedy strikes and one of them dies. In total, I've lived with about four cats and known about seven others very well. My cats were/are:

 

Morgana Le Fay: My mother's cat, she was actually older than me. Morgan was pure black apart from her white 'knickers', a little white splotch on her stomach where a human would wear knickers. She was a very dignified but friendly cat, willing to hug but not willing to suffer any fools. I was scratched more than once for being an idiot toddler, and it definately taught me some lessons on how to treat cats! She was put down because of old age at the ripe old age of seventeen.

 

Tiger: Our lovely tabby boy. Officially known as "Rainbow Tiger", he was a modest cat- whenever we took a picture of him, he always had a paw over his, er, naughty bits. He was very friendly and loving to humans, but was abandoned by his owner because he liked to scratch and bite when you tickled his tummy. It didn't even hurt, but apparantly that was reason enough to dump him. With other cats and dogs he was a real brawler- he even chased a cat out of our garden- and had the ragged ears to prove it. He died peacefully in his sleep at home, battling cancer until the end.

 

Cybele: Another rescue cat, she's very shy and as likely to run as come up for a cuddle. My second black cat, she has a white marking just like a heart on her neck. She was abandoned because she became pregnant, and had her kittens in the wild; Mum named her after an old Mother goddess. Her name means 'Good Mother', but I call her Fatty BumBum and The Italian Mama as Mum compared her to an Italian mama- all sleek and beautiful when young, but not so thin when older. (I have no idea how accurate this is, so blame my mother, not me!) She's an old girl now and currently having some hip troubles, but hopefully she has a lot more life in her yet.

 

Pumpkin: My step-dad named her, okay? We swapped her for a pumpkin on Halloween, as our neighbours had a litter free to good homes. She's our Peter Pan cat, a runt that never wants to grow up. Even if she's three, she still acts like a hyperactive kitten- which is either amusing or very annoying, depending on what she's doing. She's another tabby, continuing our habit of having a black cat and a tabby at the same time. Pumpkin is odd, though, as he body is mainly black with brown marks while her limbs, head and tail are traditional tabby. Her tail and legs are very long, and she's an expert leaper. Due to being a touch inbred, she has a heart murmer and odd kidneys. Having kittens and being neutered could kill her, so we keep her inside or watch her closely when she's out. She chews window frames, licks taps and windows and stuffs her face in glasses to nick your drink. It's hilarious when it's a tall glass and she stuff her entire face in, though.

[7Deadly$ins]

That would be great! Maybe I should introduce him to my friend's cats first, and see if he has a visible reaction to them or something. Thank you!

Depending on the strength of the reaction it might go down with time. The first day I brought home my cat I considered myself allergic to cats, and I was a bit sniffly and I had some rashes. I don't have any trouble now, even it I rub my face on him.

[boscodelta]

I have a cat named Clover<3 Shes a calico and she's my first.

Shes an outside/inside cat so she comes from outside with fleas and sleeps in my bed

 

And then theres the whole bringing dead animals into the house and putting them on our plates

 

And eating my fish

 

But I still love her.

[7Deadly$ins]

I have a cat named Clover<3 Shes a calico and she's my first.

Shes an outside/inside cat so she comes from outside with fleas and sleeps in my bed

 

And then theres the whole bringing dead animals into the house and putting them on our plates

 

And eating my fish

 

But I still love her.

You ought to look into flea prevention if it's a problem. Your cat doesn't enjoy them, either, nor does being an indoor/outdoor cat mean she needs to be flea-ridden.

[TikindiDragon]

You ought to look into flea prevention if it's a problem. Your cat doesn't enjoy them, either, nor does being an indoor/outdoor cat mean she needs to be flea-ridden.

^ This is very true. I've kept cats that go outdoors all my life and we've never had a flea-problem. You use spot-on every 3 months, and you give the cat a flea collar.

[boscodelta]

This is very true. I've kept cats that go outdoors all my life and we've never had a flea-problem. You use spot-on every 3 months, and you give the cat a flea collar.

 

Haha, I do trust me. You think I want fleas in my bed? Nuh uh. I got her a flea collar and I use the spot on every 3 months (I actually have a calendar pinned up because I hate fleas)

[TikindiDragon]

Haha, I do trust me. You think I want fleas in my bed? Nuh uh. I got her a flea collar and I use the spot on every 3 months (I actually have a calendar pinned up because I hate fleas)

The problem may well be your bed then. Killing the fleas on the cat doesn't stop their life cycle, and if fleas have got into the soft furnishings they can be the devil to get out again.

 

Also - which kind of spot-on are you useing? It really is worth using the good stuff rather than the cheap stuff.

[hazeh]

We use our spot-on every month, so maybe it's a time issue? For the longest time the fleas wouldn't die on my kitten either. After a few months of using the treatment, though, they haven't shown up again.

 

 

Edit: Unfortunately my kitten does have kitty acne D: Ick.

Edited November 20, 2011 by Shiny Hazard Sign

[Dragonleaf]

I have a calico cat! She is adorible and i love her soooo much! <3 her name is Coconut but i call her Coke or Coco sometimes. Hey did you guys know that a calico cat isent a breed because its rare to find a boy calico. Just wondering if anyone new that lol i guess it could be a fun fact!

[7Deadly$ins]

I have a calico cat! She is adorible and i love her soooo much! <3 her name is Coconut but i call her Coke or Coco sometimes. Hey did you guys know that a calico cat isent a breed because its rare to find a boy calico. Just wondering if anyone new that lol i guess it could be a fun fact!

Yes, I knew that. Calico is a color pattern, like tabby, not a breed of cat. Plenty of breeds come in calico pattern, however. Even if male calicos were viable, it likely still wouldn't be a breed since they can come in a variety of body types.

[TikindiDragon]

I have a calico cat! She is adorible and i love her soooo much! <3 her name is Coconut but i call her Coke or Coco sometimes. Hey did you guys know that a calico cat isent a breed because its rare to find a boy calico. Just wondering if anyone new that lol i guess it could be a fun fact!

Being somewhat knowledgeable about feline genetics... yes I did know that. And the reason for it is because the red gene it cats is sex-linked. That ginger colour is produced by a gene on the X-chromasome. Which means a genetically normal male can only ever have one of them. He's either ginger, or he isn't. Calico is caused when a cat has two X chromasomes - one with a gene saying 'ginger!' and one with a gene saying 'not ginger!'. Different colour genes can be activated in different parts of the cat, which is what causes the patchwork effect.

 

So, in genetic terms

 

O = male cat carrying the orange gene - looks ginger

o = male cat not carrying the orange gene - not ginger

OO = female cat with two copies of the orange gene - looks ginger

Oo = female cat with one copy of the orange gene - looks calico

oo = female cat with no orange gene - not ginger or calico

[hazeh]

Aren't female orange tabbys also rare?

[witch09]

I used to have a cat. Sadly, we had to give her away when we moved, but we managed to find her a nice home (eventually) and she had her first babies almost a month ago. Some of my friends were wary of her whenever they came to visit though. Something to do with her being silky black.

I love cats in general.

[JaziandCo]

Aren't female orange tabbys also rare?

I've heard that too, as well as the varient "/red/ female tabbies are rare, but the dilute /cream/ is much more common". Someone like Tiki would probably know the right answer, but that's what I've been hearing.

 

My own cat is cream, which means she's dilute red, but I see more red toms than cream toms, and more cream queens than red queens.

[earthgirl]

I have a 14 months old cat and I'm planning to get him 'fixed' this week.

 

Is it okay to do it now or should I wait until he gets older?

 

Because as of now his spraying and yowling is starting to get on our nerves. :|

[TikindiDragon]

Aren't female orange tabbys also rare?

Only because they have to get the gene from both parents. Which means a red father and a calico or red mother. So in the general population of moggies there aren't that many. They're quite easy to breed for, though.

 

W/regards cream over red that has nothing to do with gender. The red gene basicaly over-writes whatever else is there. So a black cat becomes a ginger, and a grey cat becomes a cream.

 

In it's most basic form there are only 4 gene loci that control cat colours.

The black loci controls wether the cat will be black (dominant) or brown (recessive). BB and Bb will be black cats, only bb would be brown.

Next comes the dilute loci. A cat carrying even one dense gene (D) will be either black or brown, a cat with two copies of the dilute gene (dd) will have the base colour diluted - Black becomes Blue (dark grey), Brown becomes Lilac (light grey).

After that is the Agouti gene. A cat carrying the agouti gene will be tabby. A cat with two copies of the recessive (aa) will be solid. (Please note - the patterns are controlled by a totaly different gene locus, agouti just determines wether they show. Agouti restricts melanin, which allows the patterns to show. Orange cats, which do not have melanin to start with, will show their tabby patterns anyway regardless of wether or not they carry an agouti gene).

Lastly is red, which I've mentioned already. The orange gene basicaly makes everything orange. Black and Brown become ginger, Blue and Lilac become Cream.

There are a bunch more - including the ones controlling various patterns, the siamese/burmese dilutions and genes that cause various different kinds of white... but those are the basic ones.

 

Anyhoo - for a cat to be cream they've got have have received the dilute gene from both parents. And, if female, they've got to have received the orange gene from both parents as well.

 

Edited to add: 14 months? Good grief get him neutered already. Although if he's already started spraying you may never completely cure him of the habit even if you neuter now. FYI 6 months is the normal age to neuter.

Edited November 20, 2011 by TikindiDragon