The Pet Thread

[3798j]

Originally Posted by Llarry

Semi-noob questions for owners of more than one cat...
-- Males versus females; any comments? My recent cats have all been females, although my first cat was a very sweet male. What difference(s), if any, is there in ownership?

Dealing with rescue kittens from the same litter, I can tell you ~generally~ the males are way more adventurous and play much rougher than the females. They'll bop till they drop...very entertaining.

[Esteban]

Originally Posted by Llarry

Semi-noob questions for owners of more than one cat...

We have a line on a pair of young males from a kitten rescue place. I have owned cats for 30+ years, but never more than one. My questions:

— Males versus females; any comments? My recent cats have all been females, although my first cat was a very sweet male. What difference(s), if any, is there in ownership?

— Litter box: Unlike my previous cats, these will be exclusively indoor cats. One (larger) litter box OK?

Thanks in advance for any wisdom!

Male vs female - have had cats all my life, both male and female and my experience is it depends on the cat. I’ve had very docile males and my present female is full of energy. I’ve also had it the other way around. All fixed, of course.

Litter box - again, my experience is to have at least two boxes in different parts of the house. I’ve done this with multiple cats and a single cat. The only accidents I’ve had are from sick cats. I clean the boxes every day.

Good luck, Llarry.

[Esteban]

^^ For feeding and watering: one water bowl would work. Or use a fountain. Never tried a fountain myself. I wash the water bowl every day with fresh water. For food I’ve tried two food bowls for two cats and found they eat out of each other’s bowls so it didn’t matter which bowl they ate out of. Would have two bowls for two cats so they could eat at the same time, or share a bowl; whatever they wanted. Dry and wet and I don’t leave food out all the time.

[Llarry]

We did it. Two eight-week-old male kittens -- Albert and Maxwell -- came home with us yesterday. Cute as can be.

EDIT: My wife succeeded in getting shots with her iPhone. See attached.

They are temporarily confined to our "pool room" (a large glassy room containing a swim spa) while they acclimate to their new home. The water fountain and automatic feeder are enroute via UPS and should be here within a few days. At the moment they are sharing one water bowl and one litter pan, but we have two food bowls on the floor for them. We have a pretty big house, and they will have many adventures exploring their new surroundings once they have the run of the whole place!

[ShopVac]

Originally Posted by Llarry

We did it. Two eight-week-old male kittens -- Albert and Maxwell -- came home with us yesterday. Cute as can be.

Oddly, when you said the wife got shots, I was thinking she had a fix for allergies. Immediately wondered how she got them through the iPhone, took me a few minutes. Guess I'm not awake yet.

I know the arrival day is coming up for us soon. Still not looking forward to it. Those sofa damaging beasts do look cute though.

[flybigjet]

For those of you following the Game at home:

Great, GREAT news from the Specialty Rehab Vet yesterday.

Max went in for another Shockwave treatment after his second PRP (Platelet Rich Plasma) procedure. His hock, while dropping a little bit when he walks without the orthotic, is FAR better than it's been so far.

The vet was STOKED.

So, it looks like the PRP and Shockwave treatments are working and for the first time, the vet said that we may eventually be able to get him out of the orthotic.

BUT, because he's not moving around as much (and getting a LOT of lap time), he's turning into a chonk.

So, diet's for everyone, and the boys are getting special hydrolyzed food. We're down to two 1/8th cup feedings a day as per the vet's directions and the boys are.... displeased.

But, to get him out of the boot, he's got to loose weight, so that's the way it's going to be.

R.

[Maynard]

Boy if looks could kill. You get the big parenting points for sure.

[Esteban]

Originally Posted by ShopVac

I know the arrival day is coming up for us soon. Still not looking forward to it. Those sofa damaging beasts do look cute though.

Get scratching posts and cat furniture and throws for your couches. And if your cat jumps up on your lap to cuddle, consider it an honor.

[Esteban]

Originally Posted by flybigjet

For those of you following the Game at home:

Glad Max is doing better. And as far as weight goes, it could be worse. Lol

(Not mine, from the web)

[Esteban]

Originally Posted by Llarry

We did it. Two eight-week-old male kittens — Albert and Maxwell — came home with us yesterday. Cute as can be.

EDIT: My wife succeeded in getting shots with her iPhone. See attached.

They are temporarily confined to our "pool room" (a large glassy room containing a swim spa) while they acclimate to their new home. The water fountain and automatic feeder are enroute via UPS and should be here within a few days. At the moment they are sharing one water bowl and one litter pan, but we have two food bowls on the floor for them. We have a pretty big house, and they will have many adventures exploring their new surroundings once they have the run of the whole place!

Beautiful kittens, Llarry. Are they brothers? They look like they are. How did you pick the names?

[Llarry]

Originally Posted by Esteban

Beautiful kittens, Llarry. Are they brothers? They look like they are. How did you pick the names?

They are not brothers but have been together at the kitten rescue for weeks. Names? My wife came up with those.

[Esteban]

Originally Posted by Llarry

They are not brothers but have been together at the kitten rescue for weeks. Names? My wife came up with those.

There’s Uncle Albert from Paul McCartney’s Ram album and there’s Maxwell’s Silver Hammer, so I thought they were Beatle names.

[Llarry]

Originally Posted by Esteban

There’s Uncle Albert from Paul McCartney’s Ram album and there’s Maxwell’s Silver Hammer, so I thought they were Beatle names.

I had the same thought when my wife came up with the names, but she is clueless on the Beatles, so I just kept my mouth shut.

[Llarry]

My llamas have always been part pets and part livestock. I have not sold any llamas for 20+ years. So I keep them and care for them. At one point I had 14 llamas -- evenly split between males and females. The last cria (baby llama) was born in 2008, so the herd has gradually gotten smaller since them. The big reduction in size came in 2014; as I aged, I spent less time working with the llamas and, as any animal owner knows, the less you work with an animal the more difficult it gets to work with them. In 2014 I placed an ad on the local Craigslist: "Free llamas to good home." I got a pretty good response and ended up giving five of my younger (and less manageable) llamas to one family.

The remaining older llamas were easy for me to manage. But llamas have a life expectancy in the 20+ year range and I suffered losses due to old age.

Recently I was down to just three animals: One elderly female and two near-elderly gelding males. A neighbor who has sheep approached me seeking advice about getting a guard llama and I responded by gifting him my female, while warning him that she did not have many years to go. But it's hard to beat free, isn't it?

So now I just have the two males left -- and with too much pasture for too few animals, I am allowing my neighbor to graze his few sheep, along with the guard llama, on my pasture.

The crisis will come when I am down to a single llama. Llamas are herd animals, and a solitary llama is a miserable llama. My vet says everybody is healthy but who knows what the future will bring...

Here is a 2010 photo of just my male llamas -- half the herd at the time. The good old days.

[Llarry]

Cat allergies

[JJ 911SC]

20 more to go... https://ottawa.ctvnews.ca/this-ottaw...star-1.6940796

[Esteban]

Originally Posted by JJ 911SC

20 more to go... https://ottawa.ctvnews.ca/this-ottawa-fat-cat-on-a-weight-loss-journey-has-become-a-tiktok-star-1.6940796

That’s a sad and cute story, JJ. How could anyone let their cat get so big?

My cat weighs 9 pounds. How about Tiggie?

[RickFLM4]

Originally Posted by JJ 911SC

20 more to go... https://ottawa.ctvnews.ca/this-ottaw...star-1.6940796

He needs to lose weight but that seems like a pretty big percentage drop in 4+ months.

We unfortunately let one of our previous dogs get up to 26 lbs. I don’t remember exactly how long, but it took a while to get him down to 18-20, where he belonged. It was rough for him yet needed to be done. But he was nothing like a cat at 40+ lbs.

[JJ 911SC]

Originally Posted by Esteban

That’s a sad and cute story, JJ. How could anyone let their cat get so big?

My cat weighs 9 pounds. How about Tiggie?

Poor cat but he got rescue, Tiggie is 10 pound on the nose and the vet is happy with he weight. She is very active outside.

[Llarry]

Our two new kittens are very, very active and a laugh riot. It is difficult to get a photo as they are always moving fast. Here is a brief break when we got a snap.

[ShopVac]

So...this is happening. Today. Appointment at 11:30. After that, a 4 legged varmint will have infiltrated my dog lair and life as I (we) know it will never be the same.

Also, what we thought was a he, is apparently a she. So already this 'thing' is having gender issues. Thus, Bimmer will not be the name of this supposedly "tame" beast.

[Maynard]

I've got $50 says that in 6 months the rest of your family complains that kitty only wants to climb on you.