Question for Cat owners, lovers etc.....

Tiamat · January 5, 2004, 01:18

We have two cats Stevie and Sparky. Stevie is our girl kitty and Sparky our male. We've noticed in the time we've had them that Stevie seems to be the more docile of the two. She seems to have the more true aloof I don't give a flying fig about you cat attitude. But Sparky well.......that's a whole other kettle of fish. He's actually more like a dog. He fetches, yes fetches. He took our earphone piece apart and somehow got the foam out of it and now wants it to be thrown like a frisbee and he fetches and brings it back. He has even taken to jumping in the air and catching it. We could probably make a mint off of him on America's funniest home videos for this trick. But he also is a holy terror! He tears everything up. He chews on everything, seems to get these spirts of energy and goes running through the house. And when we went away for Christmas by the time we got back (2 days) the christmas wreath was off the wall (not a clue as to how he did that), two plates were broken, a shoe chewed up and the trash .......well it was all over the floor.

So for those of you with cats the question would be after you had your male cats fixed did that take them down a peg or two? We were thinking that getting him fixed might make him a bit less of a holy terror and he might calm down a bit, or at the very least be a bit pissed off for his removal

DaShi · January 5, 2004, 01:19

How old are they?

Tiamat · January 5, 2004, 01:31

Stevie is 8 months old and Sparky is 5 months old.

alva · January 5, 2004, 01:36

Both my cats do the fetching game (and the breaking one too

)

They calm down quite alot after they are fixed though, however those 'moments' remain until the end.
Some have more, that's all.

Tiamat · January 5, 2004, 02:43

**snaps fingers** Darn!! I thought we had the market cornered on the fetching thing. Damnest thing I've ever seen. I've never seen a cat do that.

DaShi · January 5, 2004, 03:23

Quote:

Originally posted by Tiamat
Stevie is 8 months old and Sparky is 5 months old.

Then neutering or spaying them won't have much affect on their playtime behavior. It usually decreases aggressive and annoying behavior they develop during kitty puberty. The fetching will stop as he grows older and discovers how much fun sleep can be. However, we have a cat who runs then jumps up walls, which really scratches them up. Even though he's been neutered he did it until he got older, where he now just does it during the holidays for guests.

You should still neuter and spay them. Cat overpopulation is a problem throughout the US, and they will be much more pleasant and cuddly to have around. See you next time on "The Price is Right."

DRoseDARs · January 5, 2004, 04:19

I only ever had Samantha so this is beyond my realm of knowledge, but perhaps some ungodly hot seasoning powder sprinkled on the more delicate items you don't want trashed like the plates for example. You could store them with the powder and rinse them off when you wish to use them. Everything else: vacuum.

But don't take my word for it 'cause Sam was an

...most of the time.

CerberusIV · January 5, 2004, 05:56

You should get them both done and probably fairly soon. In my family we only had female cats but they get to the breeding stage fairly quickly so watch out for that.

As for Sparky he will probably always be a bit like this. The biggest reason for getting him seen to is that he is likely to get very territorial (and scent mark a lot) as he gets a bit older and being done will avoid the worst of that.

East Street Trader · January 5, 2004, 08:42

I have no problems with the exploitation of animals for meat/leather/wool/milk etc. nor with things like castration which go with that (although what has to be done to create veal is overdoing it).

But it sits uncomfortably with me when done to make a pet less troublesome.

I suppose gelding a horse to make it less trouble to ride is no different (and just as common). But I don't feel quite the same about it. No doubt because I like to ride whereas I am not a pet lover.

I wonder how the balance of advantage would strike Sparky, if he had a voice in the decision?

Jon Miller · January 5, 2004, 09:03

yah

that is why I am really against declawing

no reason for it

and you can properly train an animal otherwise

jon Miller

Jon Miller · January 5, 2004, 09:04

the reason for castration is so that the world is not overrun with little puppies and kitties

Jon Miller

Tiamat · January 5, 2004, 11:20

Quote:

Originally posted by East Street Trader
But it sits uncomfortably with me when done to make a pet less troublesome.

I suppose gelding a horse to make it less trouble to ride is no different (and just as common). But I don't feel quite the same about it. No doubt because I like to ride whereas I am not a pet lover.

I wonder how the balance of advantage would strike Sparky, if he had a voice in the decision?

It's not really a question of doing it to make him less troublesome, our reality is that we have a female and a male cat neither fixed and she will soon be ripe for the pickens and we don't want kittens. Which left to their own devices would be the natural outcome. I just thought since we need to do it to control our cat population that he might calm down a bit. As to the declawing.....we never even thought about that. Stevie has gotten out once or twice so we feel that they need their natural ability to defend themselves if that situation arises again.

He's just a bundle of energy at all the wrong times it seems especially when we are trying to sleep, but then again we sleep at weird times like during the day since we work nights.

Sava · January 5, 2004, 11:31

neutering and spaying will make the cats less aggressive, but hardly dosile... you should do it because they will try to **** and have baby kitties... even if they are bro and sis (gross, yes... my kittens got to the age when they started doing that...) I remember yelling at my cats, "MORRIS, DON'T MOUNT YOUR SISTER! GROSS!"

SlowwHand · January 5, 2004, 13:19

http://www.cs.man.ac.uk/~brejc8/pics/Cats/

asleepathewheel · January 5, 2004, 13:22

neutering will help a bit, my cat is a bit calmer now, might be my imagination. Also unneutered males tend to spray when they hit puberty, and unless you want your house smelling like cat piss, well....

Theben · January 5, 2004, 13:27

My female cat is like a dog. She follows me around the house, and if I twiddle my fingers she comes running right over. Very affectionate. Likes people, not other cats. And yes I had her spayed and de-clawed.

chequita guevara · January 5, 2004, 14:02

The only thing that will stop you kitten from acting like a kitten is when he becomes a cat. You definately need to have them fixed, though, and very soon. If not for the kittens, then simply because once a cat starts spraying, they never really stop.

alva · January 5, 2004, 14:25

BTW, don't forget that fixed cats never 'grow-up' and remain adolescent for the remainder of their life.

Amesjustin · January 5, 2004, 14:28

I have 2 cats both female. Casey is 5 years old and Joey is 8 months. Casey only plays about 2 hours a day now, and is pretty docile, but Joey plays constantly. She fetches too, sometimes catching midair. she knocked over our XMas tree 4 times. She also hunts me, and is constantly attacking casey.

This is just feline youth. Cat breed is also part of it - Joey is a Calico, and allegedly these are the most rambunctious bunch. Each cat has its own personality too.

rah · January 5, 2004, 14:57

In her youth, one of our darlings used to play fetch. But now she has discovered the pleasure of sleeping 20 hours a day.

GhengisFarb™ · January 5, 2004, 15:10

Yep, my Hobbes fetches and he's been fixed. Acts like a dog, very loyal, curls at my feet. Holy terror and climbs and gets into everything.

Japher · January 5, 2004, 15:12

Catz suk, get a dog. At least then you can blame it on him/her being a dog instead of a freaky cat.

If you want a freaky cat, come meet mine... Poor thing has flashbacks.

C0ckney · January 5, 2004, 17:43

i've got 3 male cats of various ages.

like others have said get them fixed, to prevent kittens and the male peeing everywhere (and knocking up all the other neibourhood cats). he'll calm down a bit once he grows up but will probably still be fairly playful

Tiamat · January 5, 2004, 22:37

Stevie is just your regular run of the mill tabby and Sparky is our black cat. He hasn't started spraying thank goodness.....but oh my gosh the loads this little thing can drop

How can something so little make something that stinks so bad!

He is a bit of a freek he doesn't really care for the expensive cat toys we've bought him nOOOOoooooo! He goes for the twist off bottle cap, the plastic milk jug top. He plays fetch with those and then has the annoying habbit of batting the bottle cap which is cute except he does it at five in the morning just when we're going to bed. Right as you doze off you here the rattle of the bottle cap then the thud as he runs into the door.

alva · January 6, 2004, 13:31

I have about a bucket filled with cat-toys and hardly any of them are used. The only ones are catnip-mice and a ping-pong ball ( sold as a cat toy so they could charge more of-course.

)
Favourite toys of
cat A : ear-plugs
cat B : leather (broken) shoelace(sp?)
Our job as cat owners (slaves) is not to question the why and how but to provide and serve.

Theben · January 6, 2004, 15:09

Quote:

Originally posted by Tiamat
How can something so little make something that stinks so bad!

Do you feed him wet or dry food?

chequita guevara · January 6, 2004, 15:11

Feed your kitties Iams. Their feces won't smell so bad if you don't give them kittie junk food like Wiskas and Meow Mix.

Japher · January 6, 2004, 15:35

Iams is good. My cat has a weight problem so I have to fork out for the Science Diet crud.

The dumb cat also does not play with it's toys. Instead it plays with the dog's toys or leafs... Strange.

MichaeltheGreat · January 6, 2004, 15:37

Quote:

Originally posted by Tiamat
So for those of you with cats the question would be after you had your male cats fixed did that take them down a peg or two? We were thinking that getting him fixed might make him a bit less of a holy terror and he might calm down a bit, or at the very least be a bit pissed off for his removal

Getting him fixed will take care of and/or prevent a lot of other issues - spraying, wandering off for good, fighting every other cat he can find, etc., (not to mention kitten manufacturing

), but his basic rambunctiousness is the adolescent hunter instinct, and he'll just grow out of that as he grows up. He's working on his fierce jungle predator (in that little peanut looking thing that passes for a cat's brain

) skills, and that's just a phase a lot of cats go through. By about 18 months to 2 years, they should grow out of it, but you just have to find some outlets for all that energy in the meantime.

Japher · January 6, 2004, 15:40

Kittens love to be put in paper bags and then poked at from the sides, through the bag!!!