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Posted: 2/8/2016 10:51:48 PM EDT
I have 2 Italian Greyhounds and am thinking about taking in a cat about to be sent to a shelter. It's an indoor/outdoor cat. I have a unique situation where I can try the cat out for a few days to make sure my dogs go for this. What manner of destruction and chaos can I expect this feline to do to my house and furniture? What kind of stench and foul odors will it bring with it? I have absolutely no experience with cats but this little guy seems to have picked me for some reason. I also don't know what I would feed it. Am I supposed to go into the field at night and bring back dead birds and mice for it, or will honey bunches of oats do? |
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Quoted:
I have 2 Italian Greyhounds and am thinking about taking in a cat about to be sent to a shelter. It's an indoor/outdoor cat. I have a unique situation where I can try the cat out for a few days to make sure my dogs go for this. What manner of destruction and chaos can I expect this feline to do to my house and furniture? What kind of stench and foul odors will it bring with it? I have absolutely no experience with cats but this little guy seems to have picked me for some reason. I also don't know what I would feed it. Am I supposed to go into the field at night and bring back dead birds and mice for it, or will honey bunches of oats do? View Quote I all varies by the cat. Some are well behaved and don't destroy much, others live to use everything as a scratching post. Standard cat food will do, you can get it when you buy the dog food. Cats generally are clean animals, just keep the litter box clean and you should be fine. |
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You might want to see how your iggies respond to cats first. Ours is part rat terrier (so she's bigger than pure iggy) and... we CANNOT have cats around her - the hunting drive is too strong.
But with a pure iggy it might be easier... hell I just met one iggy owner who actually uses a litter box for the dog. That being said, clean the box often cos ammonia smell sucks. |
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If the cat has claws he can tear stuff up. But getting a cat to use a scratching post or similar isn't any more difficult than house breaking a dog.
Cats are basically self cleaning. No smell or odors unless it pisses on the floor and you don't clean it up. Litter training is pretty much automatic. I usually keep them locked in a room with food and a litter box until they demonstrate that they will use the litter box. Usually just takes a day. Feed it cat food... imagine that. Give it wet food for regular meals, but keep a bowl of dry food around for it to nibble on. The dry food will clean it's teeth. Cats are much simpler than dogs. It's basically give them food and a place to shit.. they will take care of the rest. |
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Cat trees and scratching posts will make your life easier... And make your furniture last longer
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Quoted: Cat trees and scratching posts will make your life easier... And make your furniture last longer View Quote I brought in some wood for the fire and the cat started scratching it with an orgasmic look on his face. No way you should pay money for a post for that walnut brain. Just lean a free piece of oak in the corner. Haha, I said "walnut brain" out loud and the cat perked up his ears. He knows what he is. |
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If it's an indoor-outdoor cat like ours was, it probably won't use an indoor cat box. It also probably does it's claw sharpening outdoors. So I wouldn't worry too much that it will tear up your house, as long as you let it out for a while every day.
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My kitty is an indoor/outdoor. She spends most of her time outside, but can come in whenever she wants. Sometimes she sleeps inside, sometimes outside.
She's never made a single mess in the house and will let you know when she needs to go outside to handle her business. |
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Last cat I had didn't shred anything. She was a very gentle animal. I miss her.
That said, like people, every cat is different. |
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Cats largely keep themselves up. That said, clean the litter box and expect hair over everything that you own. If you don't want shit covered feet you'll keep up with the litter box. I recommend that you keep the box outside somewhere, personally.
Cats are also fairly stupid animals and they do stupid things. They aren't as bright as dogs as a general rule so you have to keep that in mind. A lot of the time they will require many lessons before they figure things out. Keep a squirt bottle full of water handy because they need lessons over and over again before they figure things out. They randomly like to jump on top of things and they sometimes knock things over. The good thing is that cats can be sweet and they like to hang out. They can be fun to play with too but it's a rare cat that figures out how to retrieve like a dog. Just so long as you remember that it's a fairly one dimensional pet you'll be fine. |
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Cat live in a vertical world.
Give them high places where they can survey their kingdom and mock the dags from safety. Cats are full of murder, can go from zero to furry ninja asshole for no reason and they have teeth on their feet. Avoid the feet teeth. |
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indoor cats will live longer happier lives
Get scratching pads, posts and put by the furniture, they learn fast Takes nothing for them to be litter trained either |
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Feed it good quality cat food. Saves money in the long run, with fewer trips to the vet for UTI's, etc. A trip to the vet to diagnose abd treat a UTI is at least $200. If it's a cat with a blocked urinary tract from crystals, you can triple that.
Provide a scratching post or two, and keep the litter box clean. Get some catnip to rub on the scratching post. Cats are low maintenance, and very clean animals. |
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Is he un-neutered? Grown ferel cat? Both of those can be very bad things. Beyond that, it just depends on a cat. Indoor/outdoor expect it to get worms 2-3 times a year, disappear overnight once in a while and occasionally get into a fight with another cat. No big deal really Feed it cat food. As a bonus you probably will never have to clean the litter box.
We have a leather couch and keep it covered when we're not using it. He'll probably stretch out on the carpet and pick little strands out of it, or do it on the furniture etc. Scratching is easily fixed by providing a place to scratch, like a carpeted cat tower or some cardboard laid down over the problem area. |
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My wife's two cats destroyed the $3000 leather couches we got for free from my last job we are replacing the couches(with shitty ones) and the cats are allowed to stay
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Scratching posts, scratching posts, scratching posts.
If you want to make your own, just bolt a freshly split log to a stand so that it stands upright. Other than that, feed em' twice a day, replace the cat sand every 2 -3 days, and you're done. With the two Italian Greyhounds in the house the cat will have a lot of social interaction, which is good. Bored cats destroy shit. |
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Like said before, all of our indoor/outdoor cats do their scratching outdoors. In the winter they dont got out as often so we got them a post and they used it.
Overall you dont own a cat, the cat owns you. |
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There are cat scratch pads that look like small pieces of rough carpet. I bolted one of those pads on a post in the house at the right height for the cat to happily scratch. They like to stretch to do it.
You can do the same thing by wrapping rope tightly around a post in your home. Get litter box liners when you buy the litter box. They are plastic garbage bag looking liners that keep things simple when it comes time to change the litter completely. Put the cat box in a boot tray (shallow plastic tray) to keep the litter somewhat contained. I would keep the dogs and cat separate for a few days (we used strong baby gates). The two acclimated to each other quickly and now are two peas in a pod. If you have the opportunity segregate an area for the cat that the dogs don't go into. That will keep the dogs from shopping for treats in the litter box and give the cat some place to eat in peace. The dogs will eventually see the cat as a 'tarded dog and adopt him into the pack. The cat will see the dogs as remarkably 'tarded cats and have fun showing them the ropes. |
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Quoted:
I have 2 Italian Greyhounds and am thinking about taking in a cat about to be sent to a shelter. It's an indoor/outdoor cat. I have a unique situation where I can try the cat out for a few days to make sure my dogs go for this. What manner of destruction and chaos can I expect this feline to do to my house and furniture? What kind of stench and foul odors will it bring with it? I have absolutely no experience with cats but this little guy seems to have picked me for some reason. I also don't know what I would feed it. Am I supposed to go into the field at night and bring back dead birds and mice for it, or will honey bunches of oats do? View Quote I would be more concerned with Kitty being killed by the two dogs. You won't have smells if he shits and pisses outside. |
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Cats are territorial, if this is an adult cat the first time he is outside has the possibility he will try to return to his previous home.
Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile |
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I have a cat and an IG/Whippit (he's 30lbs). We had the cat first then got the dog. They are best friends and chase each other around.
Like other said, keep the cat box clean and get a scratching post. Also, keep an eye on the dogs eating the cat poo... |
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for some weird reason, cats go bat shit crazy after taking a dump.
Don't be surprised when the cat comes tearing out of the room where the litter box is like it's ass is on fire. Then it will jump around and play with its toys for a few minutes. Then just as abruptly stop and walk away like nothing happened. |
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If the cat is litter-box trained (and most are as it comes naturally) all you have to do is provide a litter box and KEEP IT CLEAN.
With my two cats, I have two boxes. One gets used most of the time by both cats. I use traditional clay litter. It's cheap and I just prefer it. I have to clean the primary box out COMPLETELY every 3-4 days, as well as picking out turds whenever they are present. The box is under the sink in my primary bathroom, so it's very convenient to clean. I keep plastic bags in the bathroom, and pick cat poop whenever I see it. The secondary litter box gets used occasionally, when I have been neglectful of the primary. Other than that, it's no big deal. Cats are easy! |
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My cats will claw things to say hello.
I got them a giant tree fort thing that is also a scratching post, and they only scratch that now. |
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If it's a male make sure it's fixed before you let it in the house. A few days is not enough time for dogs and cats to get used to each other.
There will be hissing and barking for some time but eventually a truce will be drawn up and they will be fine. Much easier if the dogs/cat have been around the other species before. Watch the dogs around the cat. Dogs sometimes get worked into a frenzy a could attack the cat. The cat on the other hand may swat the dogs nose. No big deal really. It's sometimes the only way dogs ever learn to leave kitty alone. It is not unheard of for cats and dogs to become great friends. |
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Quoted:
I have 2 Italian Greyhounds and am thinking about taking in a cat about to be sent to a shelter. It's an indoor/outdoor cat. I have a unique situation where I can try the cat out for a few days to make sure my dogs go for this. What manner of destruction and chaos can I expect this feline to do to my house and furniture? What kind of stench and foul odors will it bring with it? I have absolutely no experience with cats but this little guy seems to have picked me for some reason. I also don't know what I would feed it. Am I supposed to go into the field at night and bring back dead birds and mice for it, or will honey bunches of oats do? View Quote If you keep the cat locked up in a room with food, water, and liter box for a couple days it softens the intro- dogs and kitty get scent-aquainted. Then use a toddler gate on the room kitty can jump over into the room so he has a "safe place"- depending how things work out you may want to make it permanent. Follow this by "supervised visits", then full integration. Be patient. If you give the kitty a scratching post, that will probably take care of furniture issues. Or de-claw. De-claw isn't that big a deal- they still have the back claws and teef to fight if they need to. Either use the good scent-fighting clumping litter, or if you want to be cheap add baking soda to cheap litter. Kittys want to bury their pee and poop. If your cat will go outdoors AT ALL make sure it gets ALL immunizations, and get it FIXED. If you don't, a female will go in heat and bug the hell out of you and def. get knocked up if she goes outside. A male will fight constantly if he goes outside and pee all over the house, and be babbydady to all kinds of hood rat cats. Dry food is best- good for the cat and poop stinks less. Maybe an occassional spoonful of canned food for a treat- get the small cans the size of a skoal can. Get advice from vet on food- fixed male cats MAY get bladder infections from those $5 for 20 pound bags of generic sam's club food. Good luck! |
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I've had good luck with this food.
http://www.amazon.com/Purina-Cat-Chow-Naturals-Pound/dp/B005FVLAKI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1455032619&sr=8-1&keywords=purina+cat+food+naturals Better than typical cheap dry food but not as expensive a Blue Buffalo. I used to buy the BB but the cost was crazy and I can't get it local where I live. |
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How old is the cat? I found a kitten a few years back and was hesitant to take in another animal, but I did and I'm happy I did . He's great!
I bought this scratch pad for him and he shreds it . All It is is a box with corrugated cardboard .He's never scratched on our furniture but we have an arm rest on our coutch that is scratched due to him jumping onto it when he gets startled. Get a scratching post for it to scratch . We have a litter box that is enclosed. I never smell shit, just keep it clean and you all will be happy. Cat urine is horrible smelling .As for food we get purina indoor cat food or a local brand by Daves pet food and soda city. No hairballs ! We had a couple Maine coon cats. They were indoor/outdoor cats. We found many dead snakes , mice and other small rodents at the front step. They were killers. This one I have now has got his share of mice that get into the old farmhouse , but I keep him inside. Good luck! |
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I have two italian greyhounds as well and an outdoor cat that I bring in for the winter. The cat tolerates the dogs and, if your iggys are anything like mine, they will play with the cat so you need to make sure it won't get pissed off and shred them. You already got some great advice so I wish you luck!
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Cats don't smell. They are always cleaning themselves. Get a covered litter box Get scratching posts like these so that they avoid using furniture: http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/81X2-piGHwL._SL1500_.jpg http://magnifeco.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/Imperial-cat-Large-Whale-Scratch-n-Shapes.jpg https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/G/01/AXB_pets/Kyjen/Cat_poking._V400666273_.jpg View Quote It's been my experience that cats are convenience scratchers. I have scratching posts strategically placed to try and be convenient for them when they get the urge to scratch. |
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Oh yeah. Clumping cat litter is the best invention since the wheel. F--- the old tech cat litter...
Not all clumping litter is good. If the urine clumps break apart to easy when scooping try a different brand. |
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If it's an indoor-outdoor cat like ours was, it probably won't use an indoor cat box. It also probably does it's claw sharpening outdoors. So I wouldn't worry too much that it will tear up your house, as long as you let it out for a while every day. View Quote Sometimes they get pissed off and tear shit up in protest. If it is an indoor/outdoor cat, don't get the it de-clawed. Trust me on that. They are effectively defenseless once you get their scratchy shit amputated. Don't be afraid to bitch smack the cat when it truly crosses the line. Treat it like a belligerent dog when it fucks up. Don't be a liberal parent. Cats will get away with what ever they can. They will always escalate their bullshit. Find your line in the sand, and don't let them cross it. Bastard cat likes to knock over my beer, rage out on my desk, block the TV, head fuck everything I own, claw up my clothes and furniture, and swat at the computer screen while I read. He likes to claw the shit out of my sheets, too. Even the treat of me smacking him causes him to re-evaluate his bullshit. The rest of the family have a moral relativism thing with animals. That cat abuses them constantly. Their shit gets torn up, they get clawed, and shit gets knocked over. When I walk in the room, he calms his bullshit down. He earned the name "bastard cat." Cats can be rough if you get a bastard cat. |
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Nobody owns a cat. They are not dogs. I do love my cat though. She lets me know what she requires.
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Cats don't smell. They are always cleaning themselves. Get a covered litter box Get scratching posts like these so that they avoid using furniture: http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/81X2-piGHwL._SL1500_.jpg http://magnifeco.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/Imperial-cat-Large-Whale-Scratch-n-Shapes.jpg https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/G/01/AXB_pets/Kyjen/Cat_poking._V400666273_.jpg View Quote I have the round one at the bottom for The Divine Miss M. She's pretty rambunctious but doesn't tear shit up. She's addicted to the laser pointer and any toy she can fling around the house. She's an indoor cat that owns the upstairs. Not all cats will use a covered litter box. Miss M won't. No prob. Keep a vacuum cleaner handy. She adopted me at a Seattle shelter. |
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Quoted: What manner of destruction and chaos can I expect this feline to do to my house and furniture? View Quote Total What kind of stench and foul odors will it bring with it? View Quote I've found Arm and Hammer clump and Seal litter to be the best, it really locks away the odors. |
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If the cat has claws he can tear stuff up. But getting a cat to use a scratching post or similar isn't any more difficult than house breaking a dog. Cats are basically self cleaning. No smell or odors unless it pisses on the floor and you don't clean it up. Litter training is pretty much automatic. I usually keep them locked in a room with food and a litter box until they demonstrate that they will use the litter box. Usually just takes a day. Feed it cat food... imagine that. Give it wet food for regular meals, but keep a bowl of dry food around for it to nibble on. The dry food will clean it's teeth. Cats are much simpler than dogs. It's basically give them food and a place to shit.. they will take care of the rest. View Quote This is pretty much it . If you have a room to put the cat in for a day or so it and the dogs can get to know one another by way of the gap under the door. Greyhounds chasing a cat through the house could be destructive. You may also need to locate the litter box where the dogs can't get to it . Cat shit is a delicacy to some dogs. This leads to really bad doggy breath and the litter is not good for them. Good luck with your new owner. |
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a cat is just like a dog or a kid
try before you buy generally speaking a chill cat will remain chill and a turd will remain a turd meaning... if the cat has a bad attitude at the shelter or rescue dont expect a lap kitty when he gets home my advice is to hold them like a baby, its a great gold standard on what you can expect out of your cat how much interaction with other animals have your dogs had? what kind of prey drive do they have? |
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Feed it good quality cat food. Saves money in the long run, with fewer trips to the vet for UTI's, etc. A trip to the vet to diagnose abd treat a UTI is at least $200. If it's a cat with a blocked urinary tract from crystals, you can triple that. Provide a scratching post or two, and keep the litter box clean. Get some catnip to rub on the scratching post. Cats are low maintenance, and very clean animals. View Quote Listen to this. My male cat suffered from it and we did bring him to the vet as soon as we noticed something was going on. It did cost us 2800 bucks to have it fixed |
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Listen to this. My male cat suffered from it and we did bring him to the vet as soon as we noticed something was going on. It did cost us 2800 bucks to have it fixed View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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Feed it good quality cat food. Saves money in the long run, with fewer trips to the vet for UTI's, etc. A trip to the vet to diagnose abd treat a UTI is at least $200. If it's a cat with a blocked urinary tract from crystals, you can triple that. Provide a scratching post or two, and keep the litter box clean. Get some catnip to rub on the scratching post. Cats are low maintenance, and very clean animals. Listen to this. My male cat suffered from it and we did bring him to the vet as soon as we noticed something was going on. It did cost us 2800 bucks to have it fixed Yes, it's caused by something in cheap cat food. |
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Quoted: Cats largely keep themselves up. That said, clean the litter box and expect hair over everything that you own. If you don't want shit covered feet you'll keep up with the litter box. I recommend that you keep the box outside somewhere, personally. Cats are also fairly stupid animals and they do stupid things. They aren't as bright as dogs as a general rule so you have to keep that in mind. A lot of the time they will require many lessons before they figure things out. Keep a squirt bottle full of water handy because they need lessons over and over again before they figure things out. They randomly like to jump on top of things and they sometimes knock things over. The good thing is that cats can be sweet and they like to hang out. They can be fun to play with too but it's a rare cat that figures out how to retrieve like a dog. Just so long as you remember that it's a fairly one dimensional pet you'll be fine. View Quote |
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Quoted: Total I've found Arm and Hammer clump and Seal litter to be the best, it really locks away the odors. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Quoted: What manner of destruction and chaos can I expect this feline to do to my house and furniture? Total What kind of stench and foul odors will it bring with it? I've found Arm and Hammer clump and Seal litter to be the best, it really locks away the odors. That was the first litter I tried with my two cats. It works OK. I've tried a few others. I'm using Tidy Cat Dual Power now, and it's a superior product. I don't see myself using any other brand now. |
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Cat live in a vertical world. Give them high places where they can survey their kingdom and mock the dags from safety. Cats are full of murder, can go from zero to furry ninja asshole for no reason and they have teeth on their feet. Avoid the feet teeth. View Quote So much This....... On a Serious Note, if you DO declare Fealty to a new Feline Overlord, play with his/her feet a LOT, handle them rub the toes and pads, get it USED to having it's piddies manipulated, it makes claw clipping a LOT easier. Don;t be Shy about using the Feline Disconnect button (Nape of the neck) You wont hurt the little Fur Monster, and you'll establish yourself as a parent figure. Even my Big Cats, got Naped once a week or so just to cement in their fuzzly little brains that Opposing thumbs are the Boss. |
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There are cat scratch pads that look like small pieces of rough carpet. I bolted one of those pads on a post in the house at the right height for the cat to happily scratch. They like to stretch to do it. You can do the same thing by wrapping rope tightly around a post in your home. Get litter box liners when you buy the litter box. They are plastic garbage bag looking liners that keep things simple when it comes time to change the litter completely. Put the cat box in a boot tray (shallow plastic tray) to keep the litter somewhat contained. I would keep the dogs and cat separate for a few days (we used strong baby gates). The two acclimated to each other quickly and now are two peas in a pod. If you have the opportunity segregate an area for the cat that the dogs don't go into. That will keep the dogs from shopping for treats in the litter box and give the cat some place to eat in peace. The dogs will eventually see the cat as a 'tarded dog and adopt him into the pack. The cat will see the dogs as remarkably 'tarded cats and have fun showing them the ropes. View Quote Dogs also for some reason LOVE Cat food...but it makes their crap watery and yellow (At least it does with my Idiot)...conversely the Cats all snack on the Dog's Kibble too...which id kind of funny when you see a very small kitten gnawing away on a kibble 3/4 inch across... |
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Buy a better grade of dry food.
The cheap stuff isn't good for them. |
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I all varies by the cat. Some are well behaved and don't destroy much, others live to use everything as a scratching post. Standard cat food will do, you can get it when you buy the dog food. Cats generally are clean animals, just keep the litter box clean and you should be fine. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
Quoted:
I have 2 Italian Greyhounds and am thinking about taking in a cat about to be sent to a shelter. It's an indoor/outdoor cat. I have a unique situation where I can try the cat out for a few days to make sure my dogs go for this. What manner of destruction and chaos can I expect this feline to do to my house and furniture? What kind of stench and foul odors will it bring with it? I have absolutely no experience with cats but this little guy seems to have picked me for some reason. I also don't know what I would feed it. Am I supposed to go into the field at night and bring back dead birds and mice for it, or will honey bunches of oats do? I all varies by the cat. Some are well behaved and don't destroy much, others live to use everything as a scratching post. Standard cat food will do, you can get it when you buy the dog food. Cats generally are clean animals, just keep the litter box clean and you should be fine. |
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Cats are great until they get old. I'm getting very tired of cleaning up cat piss and feces off the floor becuase my 20 year old cat doesn't feel like walking to the litter box. Oftentimes he does it right in front of the damn litter box - and yes, I clean it out daily for his highness, so that's not the reason.
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Cats are great until they get old. I'm getting very tired of cleaning up cat piss and feces off the floor becuase my 20 year old cat doesn't feel like walking to the litter box. Oftentimes he does it right in front of the damn litter box - and yes, I clean it out daily for his highness, so that's not the reason. View Quote That's often a sign that they are sick. |
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