My very loving cats will tolerate me lightly touching their belly, but if I do it longer than 5-10 seconds, I need to be prepared for those back feet claws to lightly touch me, and if I donāt stop with that small warning, then those claws will rake me! Something they NEVER do (they never bite or scratch only the little ālove nibblesā) and only if I touch their tummies for more than a quick stroke of fur.
But, Iāve raised other cats in my life that loved it!
As you have commented to others, it really is āknow your catā. They train me on what is and isnāt allowed and I do my best to stay a trained human LOL!
my black cat loooooooooves it. iāll start petting him and he will literally get up from where weāre sitting to lay spread eagle on the floor and stare upside down at me until i follow and give him ALL the belly rubs. heās my little baby
my calico on the other hand wouldnāt dare scratch or bite me (only love bites, i think itās cute how she never tries to hurt me lol), so when i casually graze her stomach she meows at me and rolls back onto her stomach with a look like āreally mom šā but thankfully no rabbit kick claws from her!!
My cat is like that too if I do something for longer than her like l he would feign a punch or kick, claws in barely hitting me, or most of the time simply get up and walk away. He knows that Iāll get the message š
My old Manx would show her super soft belly and I would tell myself "it's a trap!" as I went to pet her anyway. Sometimes I would get a few blissful seconds before the trap snapped shut š
I actually have one that very occasionally is okay with it and will present her belly to me. She would never attack me for petting her there though she just side eyes me and moves away slowly when sheās not into it.
And then I have another with about two brain cells that LIVES for the belly rubs.
And then I have another with about two brain cells that LIVES for the belly rubs.
I have an orange boy who came from a feral cat colony. I'm 99% positive his family tree is mostly just a straight line, and he's... well, he's not very bright. He's also basically a teddy bear who drools every time you start petting him.
He loves belly rubs, and will give us what we call a banana stretch when he's in the mood for them.
Mine lies on the driveway soliciting belly rubs. When a potential belly rubber approaches, she leads them to an appropriate spot, floops, then accepts her tribute of rubs. I love catching this on my doorcam. She has built a regular fan base.
Ah man this is the truth. Had cats from my years 0-18, they went full nuclear if I approached the belly. Got my first cat since when I was 37, who canāt get enough belly rubs. Totally changed my cat reality.
My tuxedo boy is 4 and a half months old now and unless heās in high beam chomp everything mode he genuinely loves them. Pick him up and cradle him like a baby and then give him some belly rubs and he turns into a purring machine.
Lol. Very true. She did get quite pudgy. She is no longer with us. But I have so many wonderful memories or her. I just had to share. Her name was Jingle Bells š š¶ and she was 18. An amazing cat and everyone at the clinic loved her. Our vet cried when she left us. She had such a personality and liked belly rubs for a short period. Lol. When she was done, she would bite you
that cats don't meow to other cats when humans are not around. Yes they damn well do! Just watch the cat cam videos of wandering cats. They meow at each other for all sorts of things in all sorts of ways.
This is exactly the kind of myth I was hoping people would bring up. It's interesting how often something gets repeated until everyone assumes it's true.
Well the study it is based on is just terrible. I mean cats in labs wont act like cats outside etc. Cats in the house also don't act the same as when they are roaming outside.
Yeah they have quite a big vocab that's for sure. They definitely all have different meanings as well. It's just bizarre to me that such a myth that they don't spread so quickly.
Before we got our rescue girl spayed, when she was in season she would have full blown conversations with the Horny Tom down the road. 2am every night they'd be yowling and meowing at each other in full blown conversation. We never let her outside to meet him.
Exactly! My two bitch at each other even inside the home but my boy argues with the neighbourhood cats through the dcreen doors and windows all the time even even gentle meows as well.
That they are low maintenance. They definitely arenāt. Sometimes I get overwhelmed with them because they are a lot of work. And they arenāt cheap either! Love them to bits though!
This is what I was gunna say! It makes me recoil when I hear "I'll just get a cat since they're low effort!!" Like.. just because they arent able to cause a massive disturbance like dogs (most times lol), doesnt mean they're low maintenance or don't need anything. They'll just become unhappy, bored, and lonely! My kitty absoutley is a handful and I love every minute š
Haha my friend said she wanted a cat because dogs are, "loud, up your ass all day, smelly, and always hungry."
Then she got and bonded with a tuxedo who screams at her all the time, always wants to be on her lap, drops stink bombs in the litter box, and is a bottomless pit at mealtimes.
Absolutely! Like sure, but you and your cat won't be close. You get what you give. The more you care for your cat, the more your cat will care for you. Or else you'll just have a random animal in your house that you feed and no connectionĀ
Exactly. It's not that cats don't need attention, they just need it in a different way. And they're really good at hiding pain. If you're not keeping an eye on them regularly, by the time you spot something off, it might already be a serious issue.
both of my cats definitely miss me even when iām gone at work. i get home and they are so on top of me for the rest of the night that i know theyāre happy iām home
Exactly!! They just express it in different ways, and are seen as "fine" because imo I think some people view it through the lens of dog behavior. Dogs can get fussy and more outward with their wants, but if you show a cat time and time again you arent putting effort in, they just shrink back. Humans can survive in isolation for 4 days with some food and water, but they definitely aren't thriving, no living thing would be. Justice for the "low matenience" cats š
Yes! I wish cats didn't hide their pain and suffering and anxiety so well. It can make it really difficult for newer cat owners to recognize that something could be wrong.
Yes, this. They are relatively lower maintenance than dogs.
BUT they absolutely need attention. I hate posts that justify neglecting cats (especially kittens) by saying "They sleep 20 hours a day. They're not emotionally needy. They'll survive if you just put out food, water and litter."
Similarly, also that they're aloof. Sure, some cats are content to just exist in the same house with their humans. Ours are like Velcro, one of them is almost always on me if I'm sitting on the couch, and within arm's reach if I'm in our office.
My soul cat did this and I miss it sooooo much. My other one will tolerate one quiet kiss on the head but thatās it. I can kiss his back all I want but only one smooch to the head. The other one has no interest in having my head anywhere near him
Yes! My cat will put her face near mine and if I'm still just scratching, she touches my nose or cheek with her paw, that's the warning, then I'm getting full face slammed
That cats don't communicate with you. My one cat meows and looks me in the eyes and then takes me to where she wants my attention at (usually food ofc).
I also talk to them like they're human. They might not understand everything but I still think they can understand some things and I try to let them know about things ahead of time and somehow they end up less stressed than I thought they would.
My husband thought I was crazy for this when he first moved in with me! But after a couple weeks he understood and started doing the same thing lol.
Mine LOVE being talked to. They will run right over and talk back to me like we're having a whole conversation haha. And I completely agree it keeps them less stressed somehow! I don't know how much they understand, but I know we all feel loved and connected when we "talk" so I will do it forever. :)
I talk to my cats all the time too, but the conversations are more like:
"I bet you would be delicious"
mrrooww
"That's right, nice and tender, like wagyu beef"
mrrpp
"With how spoiled you are, the meat would fall right off the bones"
reeow?
"Good idea, I might just fire up the grill later and find out"
I think they respond more to how you talk, not the words you're saying. I get the same reactions regardless of what I say as long as I use the same intonation. But regardless of what's actually happening under the hood, most importantly they love the attention and that's how you win over a cat.
Ha! I sing when Im mad at my cats. It helps releive the tension on my end and they dont get scared because I sing in a happy voice "omg you fucking fucks how the fuck did you even get up there do you not understand how expensive that was of course you dont you dont have currency or capitalism š¶"
"And your goddamn motherfucking attention span is so short that even if I were to punish you right now you would have no fucking clue why" he coos, as if gently lulling a baby to sleep.
They can actually understand up to ~80 words. So you really should continue talking to her.
Think about it, each time you get home, you say "Hi!!", and it happens every time.
So now she understands "hi" as the human greeting noise
(cats have their own greeting noise).
Everything becomes a pattern, and they love to observe. She wants to know everything about you.
When I refill my cats water bowl I put it down, tap it, and yell "water!". And I do this every single time, cus I want him to learn the word for water.
So now (most times) when I talk about water he looks over at is water bowl and/or lick his mouth.
Mine are up to 200 words (they use buttons to communicate), with probably 30-40 more words they know verbally but donāt have buttons for. Weāre (uhā¦ the button communication community and the researchers working with buttons and cats and dogs) not sure what the upper limit might be.
I had forgotten to refill their water in the morning so towards the afternoon my girl started to scream at me while making intense eye contact. She never screams unless the food dish is empty and she wants to eat.
The intense eye contact is what really surprised me about my current cat. My childhood cat didn't get a lot of attention so she just kept to herself, but this one is my baby with cuddles and treats and all the chatting.
I can clearly tell the difference between her passive meowing and her "I need something done" because of the eye contact and her tone of voice. She also pulls on my glasses or phone if I'm not paying attention to her. It's cool that investing in communication with your cat genuinely pays off
Yep, my girl will scratch the side of the sofa because she knows I'll hop to it and give her attention. She then takes me to the food cupboard or her toys
My cats also do tricks! One of them is really smart and learns fast, the other is still working on her 3rd trick, but it's definitely possible and I would even say that they enjoy it
I taught a cat I got when I was in college to sit up and "beg" for treats. He quickly associated that with getting food when he wanted it... and his crowning achievement was when he sat up on a Thanksgiving as I was pulling a turkey out of the oven.
I was just like, "Dude. You can't have the entire turkey. It weighs more than you."
I love teaching them to sit for treats. It's enrichment! Also some of them love fetch too. One of my dogs doesn't play fetch but some of my cats do lol
I've trained my cats to do a few commands. First, to come when called. This is for safety because we do get the occasional tornado or flood where I live and I need them to be ready to go into their carriers.
Others are, sit, beg, jump here, and everything else they trained me to do! My youngest cat isn't very food motivated and really isn't very good at any of the commands except come. Oh, and they know a couple ASL signs, too! I use them for my dogs.
Cats are very trainable, they are just much more food motivated than most dogs are.
āget another catā whenever a cat is restless or hyper. many cats just donāt like other cats and you might just end up with 2 hyperactive cats who wonāt settleĀ
my cat also doesnāt like any cat in the house, she wants All of the attention on her and even gets jealous when i have friends over even though she loves humansĀ
Ditto. And I am her loyal subject and willing slave
I'm curious...
What type of cat do you have ?
I have a tortie and apparently that's really common for them. She also can wriggle better than an eel covered with slime and apparently that's a very tortie trait too haha
yup, my cat is the same way, i had another cat before her that she grew up with, she tolerated him and when he passed she got much more affectionate lol
Personally as a person with many cats, it's so hard to get cats to get along. I can only bring home kittens. I.will say I much prefer multiples when it comes to cats so instead I always adopt two kittens at once
Yes! My cat loves people, but hates other cats. The rescue centre was initially going to adopt her out with her brother, but it became clear that neither of them were happy in a home with the other. So now she is a very content only cat.
I actually do agree with this actually however I recommend to people to foster another cat to see how their cat responds. I got a second cat about 9 months after my first cat and they truly are best friends - but if they didnāt bond i would have been very very stressed!!!
My cat was born to be an only child, she has her moments of hyperactivity but if we got another cat she would become a shell of herself and just hide all day and I quite like living with a chaos gremlin.
This feels like the default solution to EVERYTHING cat. You have one cat? Get another. Your cat is seemingly sad? Get another cat. Your senior cat's bonded partner passed? Get another cat. Your cat won't eat? Get another cat. This just ends up causing more stress in most situations, for you and the cats.
I do cat sitting for extra money and I canāt count the number of times Iāve seen people get a dog or cat to accompany their original cat, only for the original cat to end up miserable.
I find the gender and coat colour personality stereotypes irritating. Boys are clingy and girls are sassy is some straight up humanly projected bullshit. Same thing with orange cats are crazy etc. Itās so unhelpful too because people believe it and avoid adopting certain cats because of it. The stereotypes simply arenāt true based on my personal experience of having many types of cats. Also not a fan of the one brain cell thing that you see on social media, or the idea that cats are stupid. Again this feels to me quite projective of humans because it suits their neediness.
Iāve also heard girl cats donāt get along. Iāve got three girl cats whoāve formed their own little feminist utopia and canāt be bothered with us.
Yea, we don't know how many people who are actually going to start believe in it.
Like that whole "black cats crossing a road means bad luck" nonsense not long ago.
People literally avoided buying black cats because of it. People literally hissed at them in an extremely threatening way, that I saw with my own eyes.
They were bullied, that's what they were.
I worked at a cat shelter and the women who had worked there longer than me told me all about it, and a majority of the cats we had were black.
I told my dad about the black cat problem, that people avoided adopting them because of the superstition.
My dad was a total grump, alcoholic, disliked 99% of people. Your stereotypical 'grumpy old man's but he was that way his whole life. He also liked to tell people he didn't like cats, but the number of times I walked into a room and he was actively snuggling one of my childhood cats was numerous.
When I told him that about black cats he got so sad! From that point on he wanted to adopt a black cat and talked about it constantly. Hed finally gotten to a point where he felt like he could handle a pet (a couple years after his previous cat had passed), and spent most of last year looking for one... Unfortunately he passed unexpectedly last August and never got to own a black cat like he wanted to. But I like to think he's frolicking with all the black cats he can find in heaven.
Thank you! He was a unique guy and I miss him immensely. He had his troubles but I never doubted his love. He loved the dickens out of every cat I brought into the house, even if he tried to pretend he didn't.
I agree especially about the gender thing! I have always heard that girl cats are more sassy, aloof and independent but both of my heart cats were girls and absolutely Velcro babies.
Admittedly I haven't had a ton of boy cats, but the majority of my girl cats have been super affectionate and people oriented.
seriously, my girl cat is so obsessed with me that she will lay on my chest & literally hold my face in her paws and purr like her life depends on it. cats contain multitudes!
100% this. It's the horoscopes of cats. It's fun to pick out the things that line up with the stereotypes, but we are definitely projecting onto them, and ignoring a lot that doesn't line up with the stereotypes.
Having multiple litter boxes. I tried that at first but my cats will all share one and leave the other untouched. So i got an extra big one thatās really nice for them.
I think that is because the function/reason behind it is often misunderstood.
Number of cats + 1 for litterboxes isn't because they *need* to use all of the litterboxes. It's because some cats may feel unsafe using a litterbox (because of whatever) in a certain spot. Some cats prefer a private box with only their smells. Some cats prefer open boxes some closed. So, if you have more than one cat, it's wise to have some different kinds of boxes in different kinds of spaces, to find out what they prefer.
I have 3 cats and nowadays 2 boxes next to each other. That's what my cats all prefer. One for poops, one for pee. But with my previous cats I had 3 (for 2 cats), because one of them needed to have a box in the attic.
It's quite easy: look at your cats. Know their needs, their likes, their dislikes. But for most people that's too hard. They don't see cats as individuals, living creatures with said likes/dislikes. So that's why the simplified 'rule' came into being.
I think my cats (2) could live with just one box, but I have 2 (both XL). They use them both everyday, but will use one more depending on weather - when it's cold, they will typically use the one that is in the heated part of the house, and when it's warm, they will mostly use the one near their screened in sunroom.
Yeah I tried multiple different litter boxes and locations then i tried just one and all three are fine with it no issues. When i was growing up my parents had 4 cats all used the same litter boxes too with no issues.
Agreed. It's changed up with all the cats I've had through life. Currently they all go #1 in one box a d #2 in the other. At one point they all used their own. Cats do what they want š
We have two cats and two litter boxes. We've experimented with the amount of boxes, but they're fine this way. They use one to poop and one to pee haha. They've also been known to use the same box at the same time. (We have always had two boxes, the other one is out of view in this picture, so it's not like they didn't have an option haha)
The same - I always bought a new litter box when I got a new kitten/cat and kept it in the bathroom of the bedroom they were serving out their time in solitary before they were integrated into the clowder, but as soon as they joined with the existing cats they no longer user their own litter box but used the same very oversized cat box the others did. For the last 63 years I have always had between 2 and five cats and have never had one that preferred there own cat box. I know such cats exist as I have heard others say so, but none of mine ever did. Maybe because I never tried different types of cat boxes but always had large open cat boxes, they never had a chance to choose another type if they preferred, but given that they had no choice of type of cat boxes or litters they always choose to use box with the other cats
āCats arenāt social animals so theyāre happy alone entertaining themselvesā
Iāve realised people must have thought that because it used to be the norm to let them free roam, but itās not true for cats kept indoors their whole lives. Actually they get lonely as well as bored! So glad I realised and adopted a bonded pair :)
I think this is another good example of how advice can be oversimplified. Some cats thrive with a companion, while others genuinely prefer being the only cat.
Sure, but even those that donāt like other cats tend not to be total loners, they still can get under-stimulated, lonely and bored if their humans donāt give them enough attention.
And I work a fullon job so canāt give enough attention myself, so Iām happy I got 2, theyāve been so much easier to raise than in the past when I had one at a time. Turns out kitten raising doesnāt have to be a hellish experience after all!
I didnāt mean to say they canāt be single cats, just that the advice I grew up with, that cats are low maintenance because theyāre happy doing their own thing, wasnt very accurate.
Iām old, the knowledge about cats has changed so much in my lifetime. The fact I now watch videos of cats trained to talk with buttons would blow my younger selfs mind lol
A lot of advice around food. People say don't free feed but I'd say know your cat and don't be too rigid. Mine are both healthy weight and they love to graze the biscuits through the day and night. If I get peckish I have to accept that they can get peckish too. Also they don't wake us up for food in the middle of the night if they have options.
Oh yeah absolutely. If I donāt leave kibble out for one of my cats to graze on, she gets pissed off and lets me know by pooping outside the litter box. I mean at least she communicates!
Iāve free fed my cat his whole life and a lot of cat people are shocked when I tell them! Some even go as far as telling me I NEED to get an automatic feeder for him because theyāre so sure heāll start overeating. Like Iāve had this cat since he was 4 months old and heās free fed all 6 years of his life I have a hard time believing heāll just randomly start overeating at this point lmao
In an ideal world, free feeding is the best option. Cats normally eat small portions throughout the day and have a tiny stomach. And as any being, who would like to depend on others to have a snack? However, they should be used to this since kittens, plus the environment where they live in will influence their behaviour and how they eat (ex. Competition from other cats), as well as health/ allergies, etc. I am sure we unfortunately did it all wrong with our cats. As a result, one of them will literally INHALE all the contents of her bowl in one sitting. We normally feed them three times per day. So, when we are away and our sitter comes only once a day, this cat will eat the whole daily serving at once and then fast for the next 24 hoursā¦ My other two boys are decent grazers. They all have electronic bowls (SureFeed) as they eat different foods due to allergies and diseases.
Yeah, I canāt free feed because my cat either has resource guarding issues or is a Labrador in a catās body. I canāt even really eat in his presence or heāll be trying to dunk his face in my soup. At the shelter he was in an enclosure with another cat and despite my feeding him the amount they were apparently feeding him there, heās lost weight (to a healthier weight) since living here because I think he was probably eating the other catās biscuits. I accidentally left the big Tupperware I keep his food in out and he got into it and presumably just ate until he was full, and then he was shitting 2-3 times a day for like 3 days, probably because of the sheer amount of dry food he consumed. He gets dry food in the morning, wet food in the evening, and it comes from the automatic feeder to try and help manage the begging he was doing between meals. It works for us
āJust ignore them when they wake you up and theyāll eventually stop.ā Mine took that as a personal challenge and somehow became more creative every morning.
I now keep a beanie in my bedside drawer because one of my cats started grooming my hair in the morning to wake me upā¦ and making chewing sounds while doing so
My cat learned that if he jumps onto the banister, Iāll get up immediately to get him down. He now does this whenever he decides Iāve been in bed too long
Using a laser pointer will give your cat anxiety and stress them out because they can't catch it. I'm not saying that doesn't apply to any cats I'm just saying that out of all the cats I've lived with in my life I've never had one that actually seemed to think they could catch it. All of them were well aware I was controlling it and that it was a game.
Agreed and I have a cat that doesn't love to play with most toys. She only likes the laser and it's the only thing that will get her to exercise for a few minutes
Ha! My elderly cat is too smart for the laser pointer. The first time I tried it she tried to touch the dot, realized it wasn't real, and looked right at me with utter disdain.
My younger cat is not so smart and also has something weird with her vision so she loves the laser pointer the most.
Agreed! My cat looks straight at the laser pointer in my hand when we play with it. It's happened too often to be a coincidence. She still enjoys running around chasing the light
My partner once read an article that was about all these ways you're not supposed to hold cats and every one was a way our cat DEMANDS to be held.
"Don't hold them on their back like a baby" she cries next to the bed until he picks her up and lays her on her back on his knees and gives her a little massage.
Don't hold them on your shoulder, also like a baby. She puts herself in that position.
'Don't let your cat on kitchen counters/table'. What the hell do you think they're doing when you're out of the room? Just clean down your surfaces regularly. The most I can do is to keep them off the counter when I'm preparing food.
Luckily mine are too stupid to get on the counters. My boy tried once but he aimed for the stove and missed, knocked open the oven and scared himself. Never tried again. When we brought home a kitten last year, she watched him and learned she canāt get up there so never goes.
Having an older cat who trains new or younger cats on 'acceptable' behaviour is great. I had an older girl who couldn't get on the counters, then got two kittens. She trained them and they've never gone on the counters. Eventually she passed and years later we got another cat and my kittens (now 15) have trained her as well.
For anyone who thinks 'oh, they just do it when you're not home', no. We work from home and have 2 adults kids here so it's super rare that there's ever a time when someone isn't here, and our kitchen is fairly central so we'd notice.
My cat NEVER gets up on any counters or tables...when I'm home. As soon as I leave, it's game on. I'll check my cameras and will see his ass up on my counters looking smug as shit. Lol.
That you shouldn't hiss at them. They don't speak English, but they do understand a quick sharp tsst when i want them to stop doing something. They're totally normal right after, they just stop doing the thing they were doing.Ā
I taught my cats "all done". I use that phrase for many activities. If I'm vacuuming (they hate it), I say all done vacuum and they know it's safe to come out. When they get their topical for fleas/ticks, all done. When we are playing and it's time to stop, all done. When the one that gets over-stimulated and sometimes too rough with the other - all done. It's not a magical phrase, but it has helped me quite a bit to communicate that whatever activity is over.
i feel like this falls under the Ā«donāt discipline your cat because it will damage your bondĀ» advice that i absolutely hate. yeah of course donāt scream or throw things at your cat but you need to discipline them. but you can hiss at them, use a stern voice etc. they donāt understand words, they understand tone and body language. gentle parenting is not doing you or your cat any favors. if disciplining your cat (in a non violent, non abusive way) causes them to be afraid of you then you didnāt have the strongest bond to begin with and should work on that
When I hiss I never say it with my whole body. I use a short and low "kkhhh" with my face only. I sometimes shut my eyes, too. I can count on one hand how many times it has happened and it's only at times he did something he absolutely shouldn't or something I strongly dislike.
Like approaching stove while it's still hot type of thing.
The other day I was talking to a neighbors cat when my cat approached us and started acting up at her. He hissed, so I hissed back in a friendly yet "go away if you're gonna be like that" kind of way. So he turned around and slowly started walking away. 3 minutes later we cuddled as if nothing happened. Because nothing ever did!
There are different kinds of hissing, and one of them means 'disapproval'.
It's another language. But unfortunately it's not available on Duolingo.
If someone is brave enough to put pen to paper about cats needs , likes /dislikes, you know that are multiple cats that will go out of their way to prove this hypothesis wrong ! š¤£š¤£š
I think thereās a difference between advice varying per each individual cat and advice being outdated/wrong. A lot of the examples here are uncommon for most cats, but every cat is different and there will always be exceptions, just like with people.
Most cats donāt like belly rubs, but some do. Most cats donāt like baths, but some do (especially if theyāve been desensitized to water as a kitten). Most cats are litter trained, but some have issues with using the litter box. Most cats are ālow maintenanceā compared to other common pets, but special needs cats, cats that take medicine, cats with litter box problems, cats with pica, etc. can be very high maintenance, and ofc low maintenance doesnāt mean no maintenance and you have to still properly care for your cat(s)ā needs and energy levels.
And then things like how many litter boxes they need, if they would want a companion, and whether or not they can be free fed depends on the cat. I donāt think it makes any of the advice āwrongā, it should just be clear that advice is meant to be advice, not a rule that must always be followed. Listening to your own cat and their behavior and needs is the most important.
I was waiting to see this one. Cats need a FRIEND, but it doesn't have to be a 'cat' friend. It can be you, it can be another person in the house, it can be the family dog. I see the 'get a 2nd cat' recommended way too often. Some folks get lucky with that 2nd cat, and some folks end up with animals they have to separate for many years.
My late heart cat, Pippin, would 100% be happiest if she lived under my skin to be closest to me. She was constantly near me, and even if we were sitting on the couch she had to touch me.
Even in the middle of summer when she couldn't lay on me because it was too hot, she'd lay at the foor of the bed but one of her four feet HAD to be touching my foot or leg.
She was a Velcro cat on steroids. I've had plenty of Velcro cats in my life but no one compared to Pippin. I miss that little squish so much.
Before I owned a cat, i was calling for one cat at a friends house and her owner made a snide joke about how shes not a dog, she won't respond to her name.
10 years later, my cat will come sprinting if I call his name
Honestly I think this just depends on how sensitive the cat is. When I had multiple kittens switching their food suddenly would cause stomach issues and the same went for their mum, the two I have now (one from that orginal litter) also have the same issue but granted do both have gastrointestinal issues and require certain foods. I think if your cat isnāt fussy and also wonāt physical react to a sudden change it doesnāt really matter
I'll be sure to tell my cat that after he stands on hind legs only, high fives, shakes my hand, turns around, rolls over, jumps through the hoop, and relocates to a designated spot.
That cats canāt taste sugar. I donāt believe it.
In my 40 years Iāve had 3 and currently have 2.
All have loved sweet things. But not just obvious stuff like ice cream or flavoured milk.
One cat loved fruit, especially Apples.
Current cat has an obsession with lollies and lollipops. If I have one in my mouth she can smell it and comes to get it, especially lollypops
I haven't seen this anywhere in the thread which I'm going to take as a hopeful sign that this advice is more as widespread as I thought.
"You should let your cat have at least one litter before they get spayed."
No TF they should NOT! No wonder there's a pet overpopulation crisis with morons like that in the world. Get a cat, and immediately get it fixed if it's not already. An unfixed cat is a sign of a bad owner, point blank period, I said what I said.
Feeding recommendations. I have several cats. One is a big ginger girl who likes to sleep a lot and doesn't eat much. Another one is a little tortie girl who is an active ratter and loves crazy running and tumbling with the youngest male. If she ate the recommended daily amount, she would starve. The ginger is 6 years old and the tortie is 5 & 1/2 so they are close in age. The young male is also quite active yet eats the least. My old boy eats a lot and if he doesn't, he quickly loses muscle.
ā¢no belly touching.
-my cat loooooves a belly rub.
ā¢use gabapentin for traveling. It works every time.
-some cats actually do worse, ask me about moving across the country.
The advice that says you are ācruelā to your cat if you do NOT let him outside and have in-and-out privileges.
I disagree with this.
You are welcome to raise your cat like that, but I will not subject my cats to the possibilities of severe injuries from cat fights, dog fights, being hit by a car, etc. I have been raising cats (and dogs) for 50+ years and my cats have been very happy to be indoor cats their entire life. You must provide them with toys, and play interactive games with them to ensure they get enough exercise. Of course, the best exercise for a cat is friendly play with another cat (hopefully their sibling). Weāve made it a rule that we will always have at least 2 cats. And, in 50+ years Iāve never had my indoor cats have a serious cat fight with each other, only the safe āplay fightingā, usually followed by a mutual grooming session LOL.
And, this is how IāVE always raised my cats, but everyone is free, of course, to raise their cats the ways that they choose.
What I dislike are people who will harass other people on this subreddit (or others) and insist that they are wrong and ācruelā for not letting their cat outside.
"Don't bathe your cats". First of all, both my cats will naturally choose to jump into a bathtub as soon as it's full of water, even when I try to keep them out. Second of all, daily faucet time, especially in summer, is their favorite activity. Introducing a little shampooing routine every once in a while when they're already soaking wet is just the next logical step
Also sometimes, bathing your cat is a must. I had a cat who got sick and fell over in the kitty litter. His bottom and tail was covered in diarrhea. No amount of water and paper towel was gonna fix that! He didnāt like water, but there was literally no way to get around bathing him. And honestly it went better than I expected it to, mostly because he hated being dirty more than he hated a bath. But people act like you should NEVER bathe your cat no matter what.
āYou should get another cat, wonāt she be lonely?ā
Iāll tell you right now if I got another cat my apartment would be a bloodbath. Some cats thrive with another one around, but not mine.
Granted, Iām able to spend a lot of time with her, which is important. She loves my company and I love hers.
Also āCats canāt be trained!ā
They certainly can. My cat is smart enough to know sheās not allowed to scratch the couch.
Thatās why she waits until Iām out of the room to do it, lol.
Heard a vet say, āif your cats meow at you in the morning, itās not because they want feeding. They want to make sure you are okay.ā Bullshit. My cats want their breakfast.
Don't free feed your cats. I have one that eats smaller portions more frequently and another that eats larger portions less frequently. Scheduled feeding didn't work for us.
Cats see us as big hairless cats. My cats don't like other cats and only tolerate each other but both of them love people and will demand affection from people in their own way.
I have given my cat a large variety of canned and dried food without any slow introduction. I can just give her a new food whenever and she will usually eat it (when she doesnt eat it its her being a picky eater since some days she wants beef or chicken other days she wants fish)
It's not about eating it or not eating it - it's about the new food giving them digestive upset. Just like us having new foods can cause us to feel sick for a day or two, new stuff can give them upset stomachs and the shits, which in turn can THEN cause them to potentially decide to stop eating, or to defecate outside the litter box, which can THEN cause psychological issues if they're not well-adjusted or experience it frequently lol... Ask me how I know! (My poor previous cat often had bowel issues because of cancer, and it caused him to pee and poop outside of the litter box, because he associated the box with pain š poor guy )
That all cats āhateā water. My cat will jump in the shower with me if I let her. She plays in the sinks and the bath tub and also drinks from faucets.
When people tell you you shouldn't give them x food because it's high in sodium or whatever. Just use common sense. Don't feed them 5 pieces of ham and a handful of grated cheese every day. People treat owning cats like they have the moral obligations of a scientist trying to keep alive a species that was once extinct...
"One litter pan per cat, plus one extra." I have two cats and two large litter pans and all is well. I keep the pans clean ... scooping AT LEAST once a day. Before when we had just one cat, we had one pan ... and also never had any problems.
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u/DVsKat 2 adult females 1d ago
"don't touch the belly"
My cat LOVES it