I’ve had cats since 1991 so I know a few things about raising them. Not everything , but just a few. A couple of pointers:
nEVER hit a cat for any reason. You will make them vicious. And fear you. YOu do not want your cat to fear you. You want your cat to love you. Just like you would never want to hit your mate for any reason or to have him/her fear you. Fear is not good in a relationship.
Never shout at a cat, they won’t understand why you are shouting and just think you are a person to avoid.
Persuasion works. Speak to your cat. Constant mentioning of a needed behavior change will have results. CAts really can understand you !
Kittens are more rambunctious , just like puppies. Later they will mature and be much easier to have around.
CAts do not stay up all night. They are most active at sunset and at twilight. Its the twilight part that gets a lot of people upset. Because they are often up at 5am , just before the sun rises. And they like to get their owners up too !
Some cats will happily , quietly play until they realize you are up. Others will not be so nice.
But instead of shouting at them. I try to grab them and hug them in bed when they wake me. They usually tend to NOT come around so much then. Because most cats do not like to be grabbed or hugged for any length of time.
If they don’t over eat, making sure food and water is available through the night may work in not having them come over to wake you for food.
My cat is on a diet so he does not get ready food all night long so he often wakes me or my wife around 630am. Sometimes if we manage to keep him awake most of the day and late evening , he won’t wake up until 730 or 830!
So if you can play with your cat during the day, take them on walks (on a harness is best) and play with them late in th evening, they may be too pooped to wake up too early. But they wont sleep till 10 or 11am though.
[quote=“tommy525”
2. Never shout at a cat, they won’t understand why you are shouting and just think you are a person to avoid.
Persuasion works. Speak to your cat. Constant mentioning of a needed behavior change will have results. CAts really can understand you !
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Tommy, man…
@Icon’s
I think if it were to come down to it, my gf and I would take care of Moon. I’ve spoken to my gf about it and she said she would gladly take care of Moon, however, it’s not our place right now to suggest gf’s roommate that she should give Moon up for adoption or leave him in our care. I wish she would do it soon though, Moon is such a well behaved cat and very friendly too, he really doesn’t deserve this kind of treatment.
@Hansioux
It’s funny that you mention the rich boyfriend should buy that because the rich boyfriend is deathly afraid of cats. This poses a huge issue because gf’s roommate and him are getting married soon (and will eventually move in together. What’s more peculiar is gf’s roommate will continue to live at the apartment after they have gotten married (or registered). Gf’s roommate reasons that “they still need their own space after they get married” (Insert picture of epic eye roll/翻白眼) I won’t get too far into this since it’s off topic, but I just want to say I can’t believe Moon is still alive and healthy after being cared by this woman.
@tommy525
Thanks for the tips! Will pass it on to my gf. She wanted to let Moon sleep in her room during the cold wave last week bc it was freezing out in the living room, but that lead to two nights of being constantly woken up.
Translation: some time after, they will live with the in-laws, who will cook for them, clean the house, and take care of their offspring… but before that they want a bit more freedom to boink boink.
The past few times we’ve entered the apartment, Moon has been walking out the door again. Both times his mom has been home, so we’ve ruled out he’s missing his mom, I really do not know why he would miss her, he probably has a better relationship with his cat feeder than his mom.
I have to go with the possibility that he’s trying to claim the area outside the door in the stairwell? However, he when he does walk out, he immediately regrets his decision and goes back in the apt, but only to do a 180 and look back out into the stairwell. Yesterday, my gf almost crushed him in between the door bc she saw Moon come in, but did not notice him poke his head back out the door immediately after he came back in the apt.
I have been using my foot to block his path out the door when I can, but he’s a cat and has super fast reflexes. In the end, if he doesn’t slowly walk back into the apt, I go over and pick him up. Still very scared of the day he realizes he has faster reflexes and can run faster than me.
This is about the same cat, Moon. Gf’s roommate’s cat.
Here’s the situation:
Gf just moved to a new place with Moon’s mommy and Moon was brought to the new place immediately. Moon’s mommy was afraid of Moon scratching up the new landlord’s couch, so she locked Moon in her bathroom as they were moving stuff in. Moon also got a new litter box since the old one was too big to move to the new house.
Problems arise and Moon hasn’t used the new litter box for a few days now and is not moving. Moon’s mom noticed he wasn’t himself and brought him in for a check-up. He’s now in critical condition and in the ICU at the 24H animal hospital up near Minquan East Road.
Reasons for Moon’s mom to lock him in the bathroom: It worked last time when she moved. (seriously? )
I’m not cat expert, but I know cats do not like new environments and Moon was put into a new environment with a new potty. Pretty much got stressed him into his current state.
This instance feeds the stereotype that people love to have pets, but have zero clues as how to take care of them.
Prayers to Moon, I am going to see him after I get out of work to lift his spirits and hope he pulls through.
It can be tough with cats. They rely a lot on their environment to be comfortable, so it can be tough to cheer them up or reassure them when they’re in foreign situations. I’ve been saddened, but no longer surprised, when my normally loving cats barely respond to me at all when we’re at an animal hospital.
Have you got anything that smells like “home” to him? (A blanket he uses, or whatever.) That kind of thing can sometimes help.
On the kitty litter: it’s probably too late to transfer some of the old litter to the new litter box, but if it’s not, moving some of that old litter is a standard tip to help cats get used to a new box.
Sad news indeed. Just how long was “a few days”? Cats can’t handle not eating for over 3 days. They don’t do that well with not drinking for an even shorter period of time.
I have to comment that the conditions in this “ICU” seemed not great. I was getting stressed as to how noisy and stuffed it was in there. It was in the basement level, no windows, no air flow and had a radiator or some kind of machine humming on the other side of the wall right next to his cage. Apparently it was one of the few 24H animal hospitals in the city (near Ming Shen and Long Jian Rd intersection)
We arrived at the animal hospital and the doctor had been doing CPR for over half an hour. He said if Moon had any chance, it would’ve been in the first 10-15 minutes.
Moon was young too. Only 4 years old.
Sounds ridiculous, but thinking about dedicating my cycling race this Sunday to him.
Very sad - my condolences. And only four years old?! Poor thing. For a kitten to be adopted should be equivalent to winning the jackpot, but not in this case.
I do hope Moon’s owner will never, ever have a pet again. I didn’t realize the poor cat was left with no food and water for three days. That’s got to be crossing the line into illegal mistreatment.
Yes, dedicate your race to him. Not ridiculous at all.
Sorry to hear about poor Moon, but his life was already compromised with a not suitable owner. It was a matter of time. Cats are not resiliant. 3 days without eating drinking pooping?!
Peace to him now, over the rainbow bridge. Four is too young to go, but those years were hard on him.
I used to frequent that hospital a lot with Toto. It was OK at the time, but I have received mixed reports since. I think the machine you refer to is the incubators. There is a whole room of those for extreme cases. The basement is supposed to have AC and a sofas for you to spend time with your sick pet. And they are way too busy. Misdiagnosis is always a danger.
I’ve kind of brushed off the emotions after two days, but I can see the gf is having a hard time. She is still pouring over old videos and pictures she took of Moon. I’m doing what I can to get her mind off of things, but it’s up to her to let go.
Tough because despite Moon’s mom not doing the greatest job of taking care of him, he was still a good cat with a nice personality.
On the bright side, this brought the gf and her roommate a little closer together. Before all of this, the two of them were textbook passive aggressive.
Sorry to hear about your cat. Cats MUST eat daily. Even one day without food is a sign to take him to the vet IMMEDIATELY.
And they should not be confined in small places.
Cats are like kids. They really are. They are very sensitive to your mannerisms, your speech. And what goes on.
Unlike what people think, house cats require constant attention. They require constant interaction when you are home.
It’s important.
A change of environment should be met with very much handling and attention and free roam of the place. They will adapt easily if they are treated well.
Also early on, its good to take your cat to visit other places, friends homes. This way they won’t fear new places.
Cats and Dogs and Kids are inherently very scared. And fear many things. You must work at removing fear.
Fear leads to depression, to stress , to not eating , to eventual death.
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