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[Life] =^w^= The Litter Box =^w^= (a cat lovers club)

So I finally found a brand of cat food that is very healthy and my pet also likes. He has been weaned off of Wild Frontier, and onto Acana. He especially likes the Acana Bountiful Catch. If I have learned anything from the experience of having to change cat food is that he responds best to limited ingredient brands. He's a spartan boy.

I am in the business of shopping for a new litter box for my cat lately. I don't have anything in particular in mind, I want something new and more attractive, with good odor control, but also something spacious and comfortable for my cat. High side walls would be nice since my cat likes to kick up quite a bit of dust. He has a wooden enclosure already, so the litter pan/box can be open top, privacy isn't an issue. Any ideas friends?
 
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So I have slowly switched my cats food from Meow Mix / Purenia to Authority Mature and Authority Mature Hairball & Weight Management. My older one Missy who is 11 has issues with hairballs and throwing up. So I switched them both to the Authority and it seems like ever since then she has bad gas. So I'm not sure if its the new stuff or something more. And neither likes wet food at all.
 
My sweet 10/11-year old gray kitty we picked up off the street as a kitten passed away last night from cancer. We buried her today. I won't get the picture of her limp body sprawled out on the floor out of my head for a long while. Glad she isn't in pain any longer. This has been very hard on me. Keep your pets close.
 
Regrettably, it's been more than a year since I posted this, and the situation of the neglected cat we found has not been fully resolved. This is what I am talking about below.

https://www.pokecommunity.com/posts/10050844/

I have written off the neighbors entirely, and contacted Aarf last autumn-- the no-kill shelter that feeds, treats and caretakers unwanted pets and tries to get them adopted. I told them the situation of the poor cat from the streets Salem, and said I believed he was abandoned--which I currently do. Unfortunately they were full up, and there was a waiting list of 40+ cats at the time I first tried to involve them, and that situation has only worsened with the Covid 19 pandemic. They are now closed I am sad to say, so they cannot come to rescue.

So when winter was on the way last year I just cleaned out the garage and fixed up a room for him because it was too cold to leave him out there. I bought an outdoor cat house that is heated, added a memory foam cat bed and plenty of blankets and toys, cat perch, scratching post and made it a cat guest room for him.

He has been groomed, received medical care, gets all the food he wants but I have not actually adopted him, because my own cat Ward has become jealous and doesn't like him in the house. I'm pretty much just operating a soup kitchen. It's a pity because my cat gets bored easily, and Salem is a youthful, active, friendly and playful cat that would make a good playmate for my boy. So since my cats is indoors I have to keep Salem in an area where they can't get to eachother.

The garage had been working okay as a hangout for Salem. The door would be left cracked open during the day, so he could go in and out and explore and play outside like he is used to, but have a safe place to return to and eat and rest at the end of a long day.

Now we've had some heavy storms and bad weather recently, so it's best for Salem to stay in the garage right now where it's dry instead of going out for a stroll. We are getting some spill over from the tropical storm Eta I think.

However, we also have a contractor right now who is coming in and out of the house to do renovations. He's expanding the house to build a studio above the garage. Now Salem normally has the sense not to leave warm shelter when it's raining and pouring outside, but he's spooked by seeing strangers show up and make lots of loud noise, carrying power tools and seemingly attacking the side of the house with their hammer, wood and drills. This understandably has made the cat feel threatened and he runs off at the first sight of men he doesn't know pulling up in a pick up truck and parking near where he lives, and we usually can't find him until after things have quieted down and the construction work has stopped for the day. This wouldn't be a big deal if the weather wasn't so bad. It's not good conditions for him to be outside right now. He's going to bolt as soon as the workers show up. I can't just shut the garage door and seal the cat in today because the contractor has to enter the area sometimes to connect equipment to the electrical outlet in the garage. I can't bring Salem into the regular living space because my cat doesn't like him.

There is an option or two that my cat can't get to. The garage connects by doors to a very large basement and solarium that the cat could stay. My boy wouldn't be able to reach that part of the house, and it would give Salem a comfortable and quiet temporary place to stay. He in fact used to stay there before making the garage his home. The problem is my mother. The reason he was moved to the garage is because she does not want him in the basement/solarium area at all. She installed some French double patio doors to connect the two with glass window inserts in the doors. She is crazy about her nice things, and says that he scratches the screen behind the inserts when he is down there. I didn't even notice, I just saw a prick or two in the screen, but she hit the roof and angrily refuses to let him be there even for just a few hours.

I said all this to ask how might I keep a cat from scratching a screen? I'd like him to be in this room because it's the safest option for the time being, and I need to convince my mother that her pretty things won't be damaged.

Is there maybe something that I could put on the screens that would make him not want to touch it?
 
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I ❤ cats I hope I can join this club.
Name/Nickname: Leaf
Name(s) of your cat(s): Tac
Picture(s) of your cat(s): N/a at this time, apologies.
 
Glad to see a new cat lover here, and can't wait to learn more about Tac.

I came by today to share with my fellow cat lovers how Clever my cat is, and how much he loves me. I was told that cats can't be trained in the way that dogs can, and for instance don't respond to their name being called. However, I can see that's not true.

There's been an awful storm raging these last couple of days, gray and black skies, howling wind, heavy sheets of rain, sometimes thunder and lighting. I was a little on edge this morning as I woke up. I'm not normally bothered by storms, the sound of rain running down the windows can be calming to me, but because there were so many different sounds coming at me this morning, I wasn't always sure of what I was hearing. I'd hear a fast rush of wind, falling acorns hitting the window, or a branch snapping, but worry it was something else like rats coming in and scampering in my hall. It wasn't anything like that. It's just wind and rain.

In my worry though I pulled my covers over my head, and called my cat's name a few times. I didn't know where in the house he was, it was dark and shadowy. I just knew he wasn't in the bedroom with me. As I fretted, I heard a meow call back to me, a high, bright meow like I don't normally hear. My cat makes a series of meows that sound different depending on how he feels or what he wants. I can distinguish meows that mean he wants to eat, from meows that are content and just saying hello. This one was a meow I hadn't heard before. I think he picked up on the fear in my voice. He came to me, as if to say, "I"m hear now."

I was so relieved to have him with me. I was petting him, and he was purring and rubbing against my leg. It might seem like a small thing, but for me it was an important moment. Love my boy!
 
Name/Nickname: Sandalphon
Name(s) of your cat(s): TJ (noise maker and food getter), Smokey (fluff)
Picture(s) of your cat(s):
 

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heyyy purrfect people!

I've had troubles (again) with my long haired white cat and it's not because of the hair haha. It's because of him biting me whenever I try to cut his claws ;;

Next up, we're gonna try making a cat burrito AND putting the cone on him, and then attempting a two human mission to Cut Them Claws. Sigh.

Thankfully my grey cat is super kind and friendly and just lets me without a fuss. Thank god for kind cats.
 
Is it always grey ones? My grey cat is the most relaxed young man you'll find.
 
Name/Nickname: Meganium
Name(s) of your cat(s): Chase (3 year old male Tabby), Tara (11-month old Tortie)
Picture(s) of your cat(s): On my Instagram!
Tara: https://www.instagram.com/p/CMkfydppOMK/
Chase: https://www.instagram.com/p/CDiLNW6JoFD/

I've owned cats most of my life, I've had tabbies, calicos, and even befriended strays, too. The story of how Chase came into my life is pretty long to tell, but I will say he is a lucky cat! Actually, both cats are very lucky. Chase was born to a sick mother cat who we brought her in as a stray. She and two of Chase's littermates died, and I ended up raising him at three weeks old (bottle feeding and everything...that was a tough few weeks!). He is now three years old and very healthy. Tara, on the other hand, we found her abandoned on the street, and I knew she was abandoned because she looked clean, knew how to eat big cat food (normally stray kittens don't recognize cat food right away) and refused to drink kitten milk. She knew what people are, too. Both cats are a joy to have, even though they love to wake me up in the middle of the night because their food bowl is "empty."

[PokeCommunity.com] =^w^= The Litter Box =^w^= (a cat lovers club)
 
Excited to see new feline friends have joined! Greetings Meganium, pokemon fan person and Sandalphon from another member!


Question to all cat lovers:

What are some of your favorite things to see cats do?

I love it when kitty cats stand on their hind legs. You forget how long cats are, and it's cool to see them stretch out to their body full length. They also seem very alert and inquisitive when they do it, so serious, but at the same time they look humorous. They remind me of meercats in this pose.

[PokeCommunity.com] =^w^= The Litter Box =^w^= (a cat lovers club)

[PokeCommunity.com] =^w^= The Litter Box =^w^= (a cat lovers club)

My cat doesn't stand on back legs very often, just when he wants to see something better out of a window. I can never photograph him in the act though. I'm too slow, since he never stays there for long.
 
What are some of your favorite things to see cats do?

Blepping!

It's rare for Chase to blep, but my youngest Tara is the queen of bleps, tbh. It happens so randomly.

Also, when they get in front of the webcam during a meeting and try to chew on the camera lens. (had that happen a few times).
 
My cat is funny about toys. I have wasted money on a number of gifts that go ignored by him. He usually prefers to make his own toys, he will go hop inside of a box I'm unpacking, or play with the packing on the insides, he gets intrigued by the crackling sound of peanuts and paper. He will grab draw string on sweat pants I'm wearing, stick his claws in my clothes and try to drag me down. He will make with the cap to a bottle. I have to stop him from treating the family dog like a toy. He'll see him wag his tail, and try to grab the tail.

One toy that he does like though is the laser light. I hear that most cats do. One holiday season I bought a pointer from Target that omitted a tiny red laser light when I pressed the button, and that would always command his attention. He would run with excitement after the light wherever it shined. Once the battery died I bought him a better one, an automatic laser tower that you turn on by pushing tiny buttons on the side of the device, and a beam of light will travel in circles around the floor for my cat to chase.

The only downside is that the patterns aren't varied, and my cat likes novelty, so after awhile, when he realizes the light's always going in the same direction, he can get bored, and stop trying to catch it, but when that happens I pick it up and walk with it, and hold it and shine it about the room, put it in a different position. That usually renews his curiosity, and he'll try to paw after the moving light.

This is what I have.

[PokeCommunity.com] =^w^= The Litter Box =^w^= (a cat lovers club)
 
Glad to see some newcomers to the cat club.

Does anyone have any recommendations for outdoor cat shelters for feral cats?

My cat Ward has a possessive streak, and does not want any more cats coming inside with us, so I bought this 3 story cat house for a friendly little stray who wanders the neighborhood to provide with some means of protection from the elements and temperature. I think it's a handsome shelter, and it's built very sturdy with good weather-proofing, not a drop of rain gets in, even in the worst of storms the place stays dry as a bone, so it does what it's supposed to do. But the homeless cat will not enter it, though he sometimes hops on top of the roof of the house and perches there, he won't stay inside of it. I put toys for him in, but it doesn't entice him. If I leave food in the cat house, he will step in, eat the food and leave immediately. I had hoped with time he might adjust, but it's been some months, and he is not getting accustomed to it, even when it pours down rain, he won't take shelter there. He just doesn't like it for some reason, so I'm back to the old drawing board. I will donating this cat house to a local animal shelter, if they will accept it, since it's hardly been used, it might be useful to another cat out there.


[PokeCommunity.com] =^w^= The Litter Box =^w^= (a cat lovers club)

I'm trying to figure out what it is about this structure that puts this cat acquaintance off, and what type of shelter I should perhaps look at that might be more compatible with him. Suggestions? Ideas?
 
Ahh I'm sorry that's happening, it seems like such a cute little house too. D: All I can think of is putting some catnip in there to see if he'd get accustomed to it that way (if he reacts to catnip) or maybe moving it to a different spot since I know cats can be picky with where they rest/sleep... but not sure if it'll work. I got my girl a little cat house years ago too and she never did adjust to it either. It's still in my room and has went pretty much unused.
 
I appreciate those tips Sheep! I am in luck because my aunt brought me a catnip plant as a present for my birthday, so I have some to spare. I bought a second little cat house, and it's assembled and sitting outside in the backyard. Right now the cat is sniffing around it, curiously checking it out and sitting on the roof. So he might get used to this one in a few days, we'll see.

I can put the catnip in to try to get kitty off to a fresh, inviting start. I saw the previous cat house as a bit nicer, or at least more spacious-- it had different storeys to fit a cat family if necessary, but my mom mentioned that perhaps because of the height it looked too imposing to a small cat. So I went with something smaller, simpler and closer to the ground this time. This is it.

[PokeCommunity.com] =^w^= The Litter Box =^w^= (a cat lovers club)

I think it is also wise to make sure I keep it in a location he likes. I followed advice from a thoughtful sheep named Janna, and the house was set up in the shade of this feline's favorite oak tree.
 
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