Visiting Cats

Sometimes cats who have a home somewhere else like to visit us. There are two of these visitors at the time I'm writing this. The strange thing is: our cats get along with them quite well. They don't seem to pose a threat.

One of them we named Friendly because he was so friendly to us and our cats. He came from our new neighbours across the street. We found out his real name was Dusty; an orange and white domestic short hair. Orange cats are known to be saucy, but not this one, he is something else. Today he came into our house, wondered around for a little while, and went right back out. Our cats didn't pay him any heed.

The other one is a pure black domestic long hair. We call him Black Cat. We don't know where he lives, but we know he has a home. He is well fed and well groomed. His coat has no mats, and is as silky smooth as can possibly be. He wonders through our yard two three times a day, stops to say hello, and continues on his merry way. Our cats are a little nervous of him, but seem to tolerate his frequent forays through their territory.

This seems to be unusual behaviour for our four cats - one female and three male; all fixed. I don't really know what gives here, but if I find out I'll out it in a future article.

Decisions Decisions

Cats seem to find making a decision a difficult thing.
They ask to go out, then stand there 40 seconds.
With the door open while they contemplate.
If that is really what they want.
Then they go out and 4 minutes later
They are asking to come in.
To the water dish they go.
Then back to door for another try outside.
And if you don't let them out
You would think the house was on fire.
So you let them out.
They sniff the air, sit down, and wash a whisker or two.
Then paw at the door for the servant to keep.
Sometimes they want to be out.
Sometimes they want to be in.
And, sometimes they want to be both at the same time.
Peter Fevens

My Staff

My Staff

I chose them, they did not choose me,
But it is hard to get good staff these days.
They could a little faster be.
When I am hungry, or athirst you see.

They seem a little dull or out of sink.
They should know when I want a little drink.
When I want to go out the door,
They should be there in a minute, not a second more.

They should know without a second thought,
That a closed door is a signal to riot.
But given the nature of these giants,
It's real tough to find them compliant.

But my home is warm, and they sort of keep it clean.
They could pay more attention to the litter box routine.
Of more use than that I find I can dream,
In the lap of my staff on a cool rainy evening.

Peter Fevens

Positive Reinforcement

As a parent you may know the value of positive reinforcement, and responsible dog owners can usually be described in this manner too. Our feline house pets also respond well to positive reinforcement.  Cats for some reason liked to be talked to like you would talk to a baby. Giving your pet cat a gentle scratch on the back while saying, "You're so sweet my little baby pussy cat." saying the cat's name a couple of times "My little sweetie; you're my baby." Cats love that stuff even though they know nothing about Valentine's Day. They understand food too. A little tasty cat nibble will go a long ways. Be careful you don't give positive reinforcement for a bad behaviour. Case in point is when one our cats would do anything to get let outside using a bad behaviour such as scratching my leg, or when another one of our cats would knock stuff off of the dresser in order to get us out of bed. Getting out of bed reinforces the bad behaviour. But maybe the cat was trying to correct what it considered a bad behaviour. Have a happy Valentines Day.

Feline Discipline

Now I don't have to tell many of you that the discipline of cats is a touchy subject considering all the abuse that is directed their way, but discipline is a must in certain circumstances and must be exercised swiftly and calmly. A gentle swat is all that is required for the feline pets to get the message and they wont hate you for it. In fact, in a little while they will be cozying right up to you again. Cats understand the gentle swat as discipline because our furry friends have been doing that to each other for thousands of years. Just watch your cat get irritated by another one of your per cats and its the gentle swat. Notice no harm is done and the offender understands the situation very well.

There may be situations when discipline is required such as: urinating or defecating on the floor, scratching furniture, digging in the plant pots, attacking other pets, or other behavioural problems. The message you give through the gentle swat must be loud and clear. The cat in question needs to know why it's being swatted.  Don't wait too long after the incident or they will have no idea. Take the cat to the scene of the crime where you will make the cat understand that this is the problem. This may have to be repeated several times for it to sink in. Then before you know it, the cat has moved he offensive behaviour to another location.

Make sure you have proper scratching pads or posts in the house, enough clean litter boxes, place brightly colored pebbles on top of the soil in your plants, and above all provide lots of affection and patience, and your house will be a happy home for everyone.

Helping Strays

Strays are almost everywhere, and really, they are not happy campers. Cats have been bred to depend on people, live with people, and serve people.

What do you do if you see a lost cat near the road as you're heading to that important appointment? Do you stop to help and end up with expensive bills and a new pet? Do you just drive by and risk feeling bad? What if there is a stray roaming your neighborhood. Do you feed it? Do you bring it in? Do you do the catch and release procedure? Do you try to find a new home for it? Do you try to find its original owner? What if you already have enough pets occupying your accommodations?

These and many other questions are answered in a book by Diane Carey, How to Help Stray Pets and Not Get Stuck. After reading this inspiring book, I was struck by her simplicity, faithfulness, love, devotion, wisdom, and strength that she teaches her children, her readers, and her friends by rescuing strays of all kinds. She goes through: how to be prepared, how to be safe, proving safety for the pet, should you try to find the owner, finding the right home, how to discipline cats, charging adoption fees to cover expenses, helping ferals, spay and neuter, how rescuing a pet changes you, and many other topics of discussion. A must read book for cat lovers and even dog lovers. Thank you, Diane.

A Bad Reputation

Cats in general seem to be portrayed in books and on TV as being bad. From killing the poor little mouse, to scaring the little kids at Halloween, to leaving scars on grandma's legs. These furry purry golden eyed quadrupeds don't really deserve this bad rap. 99 and 44/100 % of cats are tame, docile friendly, soft, warm, purring, and lovable. They have few needs: a warm place to sleep, a clean litter box, nutritious food, clean water, play time and a loving person to provide these basic needs. It's the absence of a loving person that make cats go awry.  I suppose it's the same for people. But, what if a cat won't let you love it? What do you do? How do you get around that? I will tell you that it takes time, energy, compassion, understanding and money. The tales are endless about people winning over a cat. But I would like to note here that it is a lot easier to win over a cat than to win over a person.