Show us your kitty cats

Captain Planet said:
I have a male and female. Granted they are only just over 4 months but they both smell nice, even the vet remarks how they smell (I'm convinced it's their litter lol :p ). No spraying by the boy yet though and he smells just as nice as his sister - SO FAR.
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It is probably because they smell of your gun oil and testosterone, mixed with the aromatic whiff of the far east - you love it! :D

FoxEye - cats are naturally very clean animals. They only tend to spray to mark territory or because of stress (or sometimes cystitis where they will wee standing up). Stress can be caused by changes to their environment, or other cats. Our one cat started spraying because we had issues with other cats coming in at night. We caught a couple in our bedroom at night, but chased them off to an extent they have been scared to come back! Since then he has stopped spraying. The bottom line is, your home should be the place that your cat feels confident and safe. If your cat is spraying in the house, there is always a reason and you just need to learn cat and figure it out. Their body language and behavioural patterns should help you assess the underlying cause.

As for smelly tom cats - it is probably the ones who have not been neutered who are marking their territory. It is not the cat that smells, it is their spray / urine. It is very potent and soaks into fabrics and carpet, never to be removed. You can buy products like Unine-off which can be helpful. I have also known of one cat to spray on another, which obviously makes the other one smell!

Regarding temperament, all cats are different. But hand reared cats tend to be a lot more personable to humans. There will be plenty of hand reared kittens/cats at any rescue centre. Our vet also says that ginger and white cats are usually really friendly and docile too. Both our boys are ginger/white and they are the most loving, friendly and soft cats we have ever had. They have only ever caused injury when they are tender and we prod something that hurt them. But it has never been malicious.

Cats are also not the 'loners' they are made out to be. Siblings are very often close, and will do their own thing in the day but snuggle up together at night. Ours tend to sleep apart these days (often in the same room though), but if one is stressed, or under the weather, or frightened it is like they just know and you will find them cuddled up together. They also get separation anxiety from each other too.

Cats are amazingly loving and sensitive animals, not at all like the aloof cold animals they are often described as. I think you just need to get to know them and build trust. Cats just seem to know if someone likes them or not.

I'm really pleased you are one step closer to getting a cat. I would recommend two! Cats are awesome :D
 
FoxEye said:
There are two things I'm thinking about here:
1. Availability. I can only find male cats for sale. All the females go instantly leaving the poor boy cats often with no homes. I wonder if preconception about the sexes plays a role in this. A lot of people think female cats will be more affectionate and sweeter.
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Out of the cats I've had the female are more skittish, and the one we had, more independent minded. The ginger tomcat we had.. he was awesome. Big, friendly lunk of a cat, loved everyone, but quite a bruiser when other cats invaded his territory. Watch out, kitties.

2. Neutered males are supposed to be the more laid back and relaxed of the sexes.
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I can vouch for this. If he was any more laid back he'd be horizontal. Never bothered hunting, it was to much like hard work I think.

Also from what I've read, if a cat is neutered after they become sexually active they are much more likely to continue spraying, as by then it has become habit and etched into their brains.
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Thats my understanding, although we had no trouble with ours.

There are oodles of people online who claim male cats don't smell, it's just that round our way the conventional wisdom on the estate is that they *all* smell :p
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Thats just general prejudice.
 
90% of the time Murray, our ginger Tom smells of flowers as he must sleep in some daily. The other day he had been in our mint and smelled great.
 
I noticed Felix had a bloody paw this morning. Looks like his claw. Do they usually get bleeding, he only uses the scratching post. He doesn't look in any pain. Is this normal, should I keep an eye on it?

Sorry for such noob questions.
 
Liquid_Entity said:
I noticed Felix had a bloody paw this morning. Looks like his claw. Do they usually get bleeding, he only uses the scratching post. He doesn't look in any pain. Is this normal, should I keep an eye on it?

Sorry for such noob questions.
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He's probably broken a claw. Which if it breaks far down enough can bleed. Dave did it in on the fence once.

Go careful, cos if the broken bit is sharp, it could hurt him elsewhere. Dave ended up with a scratch on his eye which needed antibiotics. He did it cleaning himself and caught the broken claw on his eyeball.

Can you get hold of him and check the state of the claw, just in case. :)
 
FoxEye said:
From what I've read, 10% of male cats will spray even if neutered at 7-9 weeks (3 months is actually pretty late, male cats can be sexually active at 5 months old). Breeders often sell kittens at 14 weeks, already neutered, from what I'm seeing.
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Yes, this is generally correct.
If buying a pedigree cat, ask the breeder to get the cat neutered AND chipped at the same time. You will pick up the bill.

The major advantage here is that if there are any complications and the cat dies during the operation, you will not be out of pocket - the breeder is the one who takes the risk.

That said, neutering a male kitten is very simple. Female spaying is far more complicated.

If you get a rescue cat, then the rescue centre will do the neutering for you.

Also, feel free to email the breeders and browse their websites. Ask them questions - that's what they are there for. Breeders breed because they enjoy dealing with cats and talking about cats. Generally, they dont actually make much if any money. It is a hobby.

I know that on this forum there are plenty who have bought Maine coons and Bengals - so you can get recommendations. I own Egyptian Mau and Bengal, so can send you some links to some breeders, if you decide on either cat breed.

Also take your time when choosing the right cat/kitten. This is not a race. Breeders are not going out of stock, so wait for the right animal. Consider that the animal may be with you for 15 years or so. Don't be pressured by the breeder to rush your decision.

Also, try visiting the following forum:
http://www.petforums.co.uk/cat-chat/?
 
Cheers :) I'm in the process of mailing breeders atm. Quite a few that are listed no longer update their websites, and you find they stopped breeding years ago (but never de-listed themselves). So it can be frustrating like job hunting, mailing all these people and never hearing back :p I've got plenty of time tho.

I still need to choose a cat tree and buy other essentials before I bring a kitty home anyhow :) Sadly I'm super anal about buying anything, so I will need to study 500 cat trees before I can contemplate buying one. Sometimes I hate being me :p
 
re: The male cat thing, Oscar is about four and was only neutered just before I got him, and he doesn't spray or anything like that, and smells pretty much the same as my female cat.
 
Or, you know, as a responsible and loving pet owner you could try work out why they were behaving in such a way and try change their behaviour. Easier just to get rid though eh.
 
ubern00b said:
Or, you know, as a responsible and loving pet owner you could try work out why they were behaving in such a way and try change their behaviour. Easier just to get rid though eh.
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On a related note, looking through all the cats for sale, it's quite sad to see all the adverts for people giving up their cats. They always say "reluctant sale", but the reasons given can be kind of weak.

"Selling my cat as I've just had a baby." OK, and...?
"We're moving house"... And?

These people obviously don't think of their cats as part of the family.
 
Agreed, it is very sad. I follow the rescue I got my two from on FaceBook and some of the cats they get into their care and the reasons for their owners giving them up are really weak. However it is still a better scenario than the all too familiar "just dump them in a box somewhere and forget about them" that also happens far too frequently. At least these people are trying to find a suitable home for them, I guess.
 
FoxEye said:
"Selling my cat as I've just had a baby." OK, and...?
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doesn't want to put their baby at risk from a potential future accident where say they forget to close the child s door and the cat goes in and ends up scratchign the **** out of the bay when it pokes it in the eye
 
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