cats – Page 7 – jellybeansofdoom.com

September 28, 2010December 15, 2012

Tito’s Guide to Cats

Mee! Introducing your new cat to your home

We kitties don’t like change. Change is very scary to us.

When you bring home your new cat, put them in a quiet room with food, water, litterbox, toys and scratching post. This room should have a door that closes. The safe room gives your cat time to adjust to the change of location and makes them feel much more safe. Make sure to spend a lot of time with them. It may take a couple of days before they come out of hiding.

This is especially important if you have another cat in the house. If you already have a cat, this change is as scary for them as for the new kitty. With the new cat in the safe room, the original kitty can sniff at the door. You may see and hear a lot of hissing and whatnot. It’s normal. Follow the guidelines I discuss below and it should be ok. If it doesn’t work the first time, just start over again.

When mom and dad brought me home, they put me in a safe room. It’s a good thing as I’m a very nervous kitty. I have a few phobias as a result. Anyhow, The Boober, who already lived there wasn’t happy and he hissed at me at lot. It was good to have a door in between us. It took about 3 days before he quit hissing and I wasn’t as scared. After that, mom took me out to the other room in the carrier to spend a bit more time with everyone. The Boober hissed a bit more. After two days of that, he quit hissing and was friendly. Mom and dad turned me loose in the apartment after that and The Boober and I became the bestest friends. I miss him.
After The Boober passed away, my folks brought Kitsy home. They knew I was lonesome without a brother. Like me, he had a safe room. He only spent one night there. I wasn’t upset to have a new cat in the apartment and Kitsy wasn’t scared. I was a bit wary, but I wasn’t scared or angry. Within a day, we were good friends.

In conclusion, my biggest advice is to have patience. Patience will mean having a much better adjusted cat (or cats). Otherwise, sudden changes can lead to behavior problems and that’s no fun at all.

September 21, 2010December 15, 2012

“welcome to the jungle”

Okay, so it can go either way with Kitsune a.k.a Mazuzu Whang: tuna will either make him sleepy, or turn him into a crack monster.
After feeding him maybe a spoonful in hopes of calming him down and going back to sleep, nature called and I had to get up again.
Outside the bathroom, something sat in a crouch, waiting for poor, unsuspecting me in the doorway: the hunched back, the basket ball sized eyes, the ears, big enough to outfit the Mayflower.
Right: Mazuzu Whang, the Benjamin Button of catdom.
The unsettling part? He was making this weird clacking sound he usually makes when staring at birds, like the Predator.

Klak-klak-klak-klak!

After maybe half a minute, he trotted away back to bed. Neither rhyme nor reason.

You gotta respect something about a tenth your size, standing in your way and looking up at you as though it could just as soon kill you. Christ, even Schwarzenegger might have to check his drawers…

September 17, 2010December 15, 2012

Tito’s Guide to Cats

MEE! My first column was about where to find your new cat.

Today, I’ll talk about things you need to do before you get your kitty. I’m hoping that you plan to keep your cat indoors. Outside is full of dangers for them.

If you are thinking of declawing your kitty, then don’t adopt one please. Just imagine having your fingers cut off at the first knuckle. It can cause permanent problems and leaves your cat defenseless. Kitsy and I have our claws. We use our scratching post, though once in a while we’re naughty and scratch the futon. Mom makes sure she keeps our nails clipped.

There are a great many things in a home that can be dangerous to cats. A lot of houseplants are poisonous. For a complete list of poisonous plants for dogs and cats, visit the ASPCA for a toxic plant list.

While most people know that chocolate is bad for pets, not as many realize that there is a far more dangerous food ingredient. Xylitol is the main ingredient in sugar-free foods. It can be deadly, so keep all food with this ingredient out of reach of all cats and dogs. You can find out about Xylitol and more at the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center.

Now for the rest of the cat-proofing.

Make sure all dangling wires and cords are out of reach. If necessary, get some Bitter Apple at the pet store. You can wipe the electrical cords with it. It prevents chewing. Yes, cats will chew.
Make sure all meds and make-ups are in a cupboard away from kitty.

Check all the nooks where a vacuum can’t reach for bits of string or rubber-bands. These can block the intestine if swallowed.

Put all breakable knick-knacks away for a while so that they don’t get broken.
Recliners and rocking chairs can be dangerous for a cat. My mom’s rocker sits in the corner and has stuffed animals on it. That way no one can sit on it and rock over a tail. Ouchie. We sleep on it.

When doing laundry, always check the dryer before starting and keep the lid to the washer closed at all times.
Make sure that you have a scratching post available before you bring your kitty home. It will help protect your furniture.
If you have expensive furniture, consider a good cover for them. The scratching post will help, but even so, kitty claws can be bad for them. Merely jumping on the furniture can be a problem.

These are just a few suggestions. Look around and I’m sure you’ll see other things to do.

Next time I’ll tell you how to introduce your new kitty to your home.

MEE! Goodbye for now.

September 7, 2010October 28, 2013

Tito’s Guide to cats

Mee! You want to get a kitty huh?

Before I say anything else, please-please-please never buy a cat or dog from a pet store. No reputable breeder will ever sell to a pet store. Only the puppy and kitten mills do that. Mills are horrifyingly bad places for dogs and cats. Don’t support them. Around here, pet stores are not allowed to sell cats and dogs.

If you already have one, you know the drill. If you don’t, then you need to do a bit of research. Do you want a kitten? Is a full grown cat better for you? Are you away from home a lot of the time? Cats are as varied as people. Some need more company than others. Some are more independent. Some are outgoing and some are timid. You have to match a kitty to your personality and home.

Kittens are wonderful and cute, but there are a great many adult cats who need a good home. The shelter is a very good place to look. If it’s a purebred you want, the shelter is still a good place to look. There are also purebred rescue groups. Granted, the kitty will be spayed or neutered, but unless you plan on breeding it’s for the best. My brother and I are both neutered. We have less health and behavioral issues that way. We’re good kitties. Well, Kitsy isn’t: he’ll steal your food when you aren’t looking.

I came from the San Francisco SPCA

This is my baby picture

Dad found my picture at the SFSPCA’s website. He sent the pic to mom. Then they came to meet me. It was love at first sight.

I was a bit scared when I first got home

Now I’m all grown up. I’m not much of a talker. I say MEE! sometimes, but I’m fairly quiet most of the time unlike my naked brother. He yells all the time. I’m also a nervous kitty. If you wear shoes in the apartment, I hide. If you move furniture, I hide. My mom and dad love me anyway.

I’m a good example of why shelters are such great places.

If you truly feel the need to get a purebred and can’t find one at a rescue group, then you need to research catteries.

A good cattery will be located in the breeders home. You should be able to go and meet your kitty and the breeders. Never pay for a cat you haven’t met yet, unless it’s a deposit on kitten not yet born. A really good breeder will want to meet you and see how you are with the kitties. You will also want to meet the breeders to be sure that reputable and loving when it comes to breeding their cats. Right now, with the economy in such a mess, a lot of catteries have stopped breeding and closed.

The Cat Fancier’s Association glossary describes a cattery this way.

CATTERY – A name registered by a breeder to identify their line of breeding. A registered cattery name always appears as a prefix to the name of the cat bred by that cattery/breeder.

CATTERY REPORT – A listing of all individually registered cats bred by a particular cattery/breeder. The computerized print-out gives cat names, numbers, litter numbers, birthdates, CH/GR points, and owner names. The list is guaranteed complete only with those cats that were registered after 1978, and is available only to the registered cattery owner.

Well, well, well, I guess that’s my advice for the day.

Oops, I almost forgot something. Kitties do better in pairs. If you have room for one, please consider two. They keep each other company and the playtime keeps them exercised.

MEE!

September 2, 2010September 4, 2010

Science Droppings

I found a few more science droppings that were interesting. Have fun.

Oink! Oink! From Science Daily

Experts from the university’s School of Agriculture, Food and Rural Development have shown for the first time that a pig’s mood mirrors how content he is, highlighting that pigs are capable of complex emotions which are directly influenced by their living conditions.

You can read more here.

A cat mimics it’s prey From Science Daily

In a fascinating example of vocal mimicry, researchers from the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and UFAM (Federal University of Amazonas) have documented a wild cat species imitating the call of its intended victim: a small, squirrel-sized monkey known as a pied tamarin. This is the first recorded instance of a wild cat species in the Americas mimicking the calls of its prey.

You can read more about it here.

Diabetes help for cats, dogs, and other animals From Science Daily

A University of Missouri researcher is using a continuous glucose monitoring device — commonly used in humans with diabetes — to help treat dogs and other animals. The device, which provides a detailed glucose picture of an animal over several days, will help pet owners manage their pets’ diabetes.

You can read more here.

These droppings were brought to you by Tito and Kitsune

August 29, 2010September 4, 2010

And now for something completely different…

This wonderful, melancholy clip accompanying “valse triste” by Jean Sibelius is an excerpt from the animated film “Allegro non troppo” by Italian animator Bruno Bozzetto. Bozzetto’s 1976 homage to Disney’s “Fantasia” is one of our all time favorites here at JBoD.

This “valse triste” segment has my preference, although the one highlighting Ravel’s “Bolero” has some personal significance in that “Bolero” was the first program I took my wife to at the San Francisco Symphony, an unforgettable evening. Even the kittehs approved and gave us space afterwards… ‘Nuff said. Note: due YouTube limitations the first 3+ minutes are missing from this recording. The rest is great.

August 17, 2010October 29, 2013

My turn, my turn

Hello, my name is Kitsune. No, I’m NOT named after the clothing company. Anyhow, they call me Kitsy for short. I’m a Sphynx , which means I have no fur, although I do have some peach fuzz.

Naked beast that I am, I race around the house with no shame. I’m quite the exhibitionist. I like to yell a lot. I will also steal my humans’ food when they aren’t looking. I get along well with my brother, Tito. I love to sleep on top of him. Sometimes, he gets tired of it and goes to his cushion.

My favorite place to sleep is rolled up in my fuzzy blanket between my humans.

August 17, 2010October 29, 2013

Welcome to JBoD

Who are we?
Let’s begin with Tito, a smoky-gray domestic short hair without a mean bone in his body. Both he and his brother from another mother, Kitsune, are about a year and a half old as of this writing.
Kitsune, or Kitsy for short, introduced Tito to Parkour, a series of gravity defying leaps and bounds over and against walls, furniture or the unfortunate biped. I should add “naked streaker food thief” to Kitsy’s bio (he’s a Sphynx, so hairless and somewhat lewd). Runs around a lot…
Rudha-an, the other human in the realm, worked as a bookseller for 20 years, has a green thumb, two left feet and a handy love of tools and home repairs (which is cool, because I don’t). She hasn’t met a dust bunny she didn’t like and her favorite writers include Shirley Jackson, Ray Bradbury, Richard Morris, Dan Simmons, Richard Feynman and Stephen Baxter.

As for me, I am a Jack-of-some-trades (guess we call ourselves ronin nowadays) lured westward from Europe over 20 years ago, who worked his way to a corner office, eventually getting laid off) with a marked preference for four-legged creatures, whiskey and wide open spaces, who hasn’t met a dust bunny he couldn’t live with. My list of favorite writers include Gore Vidal, Jean-Pierre Andrevon, William Styron and H.P. Lovecraft.

Now, why jellybeansofdoom?
Those cutesy, not particularly sanitary pads cats walk on?

Why, Wolverine’s got nothing on them. As a wee lad, I once witnessed a red tabby put a neighbor in the hospital as the neighbor tried to strangle said kitteh with a snare. Bad move. The cat appeared to have a keen understanding of the human circulatory system and the tools to, shall I say “excavate” his would be assassin’s forearms.
The man bled profusely and “Red” lived to mark his territory for, well who knows how long…
Because cats tend to live and die like outlaws. One day, Fluffy jumps the fence never to be seen again and his or her humans never know what happened. A car? A dog? Some nasty neighbor..?
Unless they dwell in cities and remain indoors for the rest of their life and seem to evolve in front of us. Like the Sphynx breed: no hair nor whiskers, all ears and eyes gauging you. But this is for another post. Jellybeansofdoom, [JBoD], aims to welcome all of us who bear witness to the lives of all these animals whom we share our life with, not solely of the feline persuasion.
These times we live in are rife with challenges and hardships, leading many to find out who and what their true friends are, and as it happens, truest friends wear fur because it actually grows on them. They are kin.

So. To you and them: welcome.