Animal Shelter Suck (long)

[bainsidhe]

I also have one that chews things. Especially bananas. Damn, that cat likes bananas.

Ok, now that's funny! My kitty doesn't do it now, but when I first brought him home from the shelter, he wrestled/tore/got into everything. And he definitely had a thing for bananas. I'd come home to find the poor things shredded on the floor. So glad he lost that habit!

[Shalom]

And he definitely had a thing for bananas. I'd come home to find the poor things shredded on the floor.

Had a cat once that loved carnations.

We used to get flowers on Friday, in honor of the Sabbath, and leave them in a vase on the table overnight. Saturday morning they were all wilted and droopy. We couldn't figure out why this kept happening, until one Friday night I couldn't sleep, and was sitting up at the table reading a book. Suddenly here comes the cat; she jumps up on the table and pushes her face into the flowers. She sniffed them, rubbed herself on them, very gently bit them - not chewing on them, just holding them carefully in her mouth - generally went to town with them. By the time she was done, half the stems were busted. It was hilarious to watch. Still don't know why she did this; maybe carnations are related to catnip?

[taxguykarl]

Had a cat once that loved carnations.

Ok, now that's funny! My kitty doesn't do it now, but when I first brought him home from the shelter, he wrestled/tore/got into everything. And he definitely had a thing for bananas. I'd come home to find the poor things shredded on the floor. So glad he lost that habit!

My cat evicerated several mouse toys. My wife banned realistic ones so she could be sure they were not the real thing.

[Sapphire Silk]

My cat evicerated several mouse toys. My wife banned realistic ones so she could be sure they were not the real thing.

I had a cat, Jasmine, who killed a mouse in the house one.

She woke me up in the middle of the night with this awful cry, I just had to get up and see what was wrong.

I found her in the living room. I hadn't bothered to turn the lights on. She looked up at me, and poked at something, as if saying, "Mommy! Make it mooovvve!"

I felt down and touched something soft. Soft and . . . warm.

I turned on the lights. Yup. Dead mouse.

How she killed it, I don't know. She was declawed.

But I never had any more trouble with mice.


(Disclaimer: she was declawed when I adopted her).

[Andara Bledin]

the only "issue" we ever had was dad's cat... he preferred going outside. and once he peed by the door cos we were gone for long enough for his bladder to give up.

One of ours won't use the box if it's not clean enough. But he usually won't go anywhere else, either. He'll hold it. Which is really bad for a cat.

Managed to get himself a nice hospital stay with a $1200 price tag for that trick one weekend when we were out. >_< Thankfully, there were no long-term repercussions, although the vet tried to insist that he'd have to be on special food for the rest of his life.

Ok, now that's funny! My kitty doesn't do it now, but when I first brought him home from the shelter, he wrestled/tore/got into everything.

Thankfully, our middle one didn't stick with the paper shredding phase for more than a couple of weeks.

The youngest, however, chews carpeting. He's pulled a bunch of threads out of our bathmat, and he's completely chewed the carpet bits off all of the corners for the cat tree we bought for them.

^-.-^

[terakhan]

My mom always had a weird way of picking cats. Our first one here in Oregon, she picked because the cat bit her. She figured if the cat had the nerve to bite HER, she would be able to take care of herself outside. May not be the best logic for getting a pet with a small child, but it turned out to be a great cat.

[CrazedClerkthe2nd]

I immediately pictured the "I wanna see horses!" one as a dumb blonde...

[taxguykarl]

How she killed it, I don't know. She was declawed.

But I never had any more trouble with mice.


(Disclaimer: she was declawed when I adopted her).

Probably batting it around or mauling--that can easily snap the spine.

[Seshat]

One of ours won't use the box if it's not clean enough. But he usually won't go anywhere else, either. He'll hold it. Which is really bad for a cat.

One of ours is the same about not using a dirty box - but she has learned that bath and shower drains make pee go away, and that if she uses a bath, shower, or tiled surface for poop the humans can clean it fully.

It's inconvenient, but better than most alternatives.



Back on the 'animal shelter' topic:

Our dog is a small dog, and cute. Many older people wanted her, but the shelter wouldn't let them adopt her: she needs too much exercise. Perfect for us.

[Fire_on_High]

One of our 4 is super picky and will go right OUTSIDE the box to make a point, if it doesn't meet Her Majesty's standards. The other 3 are mostly normal, at least by cat standards.

[MadMike]

How she killed it, I don't know. She was declawed.

You'd be surprised how adaptable they are. I had one that was declawed, and she managed to kill a few birds, and even still climbed trees somehow.

One of ours is the same about not using a dirty box - but she has learned that bath and shower drains make pee go away, and that if she uses a bath, shower, or tiled surface for poop the humans can clean it fully.

I recently disovered that one of my is smart like that too. The water heater leaked all over the floor downstairs, so I used a fan to dry the carpet. Unfortunately, the litter boxes are in that same room, and the one cat was afraid of the fan and wouldn't use the box. My wife came downstairs, hysterical with laughter, telling me that he jumped up on the sink, squatted over the drain, and peed there.

Another time, I was taking that same cat to the vet, and before we got there, he decided to take a dump in the car. I guess he just couldn't hold it. But he was actually nice enough to do it on a scrap piece of paper that I had left on the back seat, rather than on the floor or the seat. Smart cat. Maybe we should have tried to toilet-train him.

[fireheart]

One of ours we're not sure what the case is, but he has this tendency to go ALL over the house. He's also got FLUTD (Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease) but he has tablets everyday for it. He will use the litter tray and will go outside to pee if needed, but otherwise he does it all over the house.

[protege]

My cats are good about using the litter box. Not all of them have been though. When I first brought Kitty (a former outside cat) home, he'd use the litter box...along with any other cardboard box on the floor. That was easily solved by getting rid of any empty boxes left over from moving. Didn't have any problems with Snow and the litter box. Same with the current kitties. Both use the litter box...but Baxter will spend *hours* digging in there. Even if the box is perfectly clean, I'll hear him sifting the litter around, and scratching the inside of the box

Nearly all of my kitties came from area shelters. Still, it was a bit depressing to see that nobody had adopted Snow...because of her deafness. Nothing wrong with her at all, except she'd bite if you startled her while she was sleeping. Otherwise, she loved to cuddle and play. Most of her days were spent watching the birds in the back yard...or closing the air vents in the living room Sadly, I only had her 6 months before she died

Before then, she got a *bird* inside the house I came home from work, and saw feathers on the basement floor, in the kitchen, and then more in the living room. Seems a bird somehow came in through the laundry-room duct...and couldn't get back out. Even with her deafness, Snow heard it...and had a feast. Twice, in fact--it happened about a month after that

[Andara Bledin]

Our picky boy will also scratch all around the box when he uses it. His back feet will still be in the box and he'll be arched over the side to scratch around it.

He also knows what the litter that comes in a bag looks/smells like. He's peed on unopened bags of litter, too. Now we buy it in plastic containers.

^-.-^

[protege]

He also knows what the litter that comes in a bag looks/smells like. He's peed on unopened bags of litter, too. Now we buy it in plastic containers.

That's why I keep new bags of kitty litter in the garage. Kitties aren't allowed in the garage, so there's less chance of them peeing on unopened litter bags. Also stored in the garage, are new bags of cat food. Baxter has been known to rip open bags if he can get to them