Cats and keyboards

[Mercutio]

Wish the batteries for my camera weren't charging.

I have two cats. At this very moment they are laying on three different keyboards. One of them the one I'm trying to actually use.

Animals are amazingly smart some times.

 

[Vlad The Impaler]

Our cat Suzi is sat on my lap watching me type at this very moment. She keeps trying to bat at the lights in the middle of the keys (I have one of those MS split keyboards where the LEDs are in the middle of the split). Little so and so......

 

[Prof.Wizard]

I wish I could remember that infamous software which actually sensed "cat-like" activity on the keyboard* and locked it... Sometimes cats (and programmers!) are really interesting species! :lol:


*pressing of keys with no natural (see human) pattern

 

[Fushigi]

Wish the batteries for my camera weren't charging.

Animals are amazingly smart some times.

I can use my digi cam while it's charging; have you tried it or do you have to remove your batteries to charge?

Anyway, my cat (seal point Himalayan) isn't necessarily all that bright but she sure is jealous. Here I am telecommuting and she's in her pet bed sleeping. But when my fiance gets home she will be up right away and begging me for attention. Happens all the time...

When she gets too annoying we stone her. With catnip, not rocks.

- Fushigi

 

[Mercutio]

Yes, I probably could plug it in to something, if I had the faintest idea where the power cord might be (note to self: get another set of NiCad AAs), but they aren't being terribly cute anymore. 50,000 freakin' cat toys on the floor, not to mention the whole of my computer room (their gymnasium), and they're fighting over the same toy mouse.

 

[Cliptin]

Remember, It starts when the girlfriend brings home a stray that she found on the stoop. And then another one "follows her in from the car" and so on. Soon, you are known in the building as the cute couple that loves animals.

Then, you break up. And the building begins to refer to you as "the crazy tenant with all the cats."

P.S. I rescued a cat from the animal shelter early this year.
http://cliptin.dyndns.org/images/shadow/shadow.htm

 

[jtr1962]

That story about taking care of strays sounds familiar. My mom started feeding some strays. Some then had kittens, and others came once the word got out. When all was said and done, we ended up with four cats in the house, and found homes for probably 10 more.

Three of them are still around and nearly 15 years old, and while I don't have Mercutio's keyboard problem, one of them does like to use the chair that I have in front of my computer, so more often then not I end up with a cat on my lap while I'm surfing the Internet. I've also taken to calling where I sleep "her bed", referring to the six pound feline. As anyone familiar with the species knows, there is no such thing as a "cat owner", rather they own you.

BTW, does anyone here have a problem with cats while eating? Unless I physically remove the cats from where I'm eating, I end up with a paw in the plate and/or stolen food. I can't blame them, really. I'm sure our stuff tastes better than that junk in the can.

Can they be trained not to jump on the table?

Trained cats-now that's a contradiction in terms.

P.S. Cute kitty, Cliptin

 

[Fushigi]

BTW, does anyone here have a problem with cats while eating? Unless I physically remove the cats from where I'm eating, I end up with a paw in the plate and/or stolen food. I can't blame them, really. I'm sure our stuff tastes better than that junk in the can.

Can they be trained not to jump on the table?

Trained cats-now that's a contradiction in terms.

I got my cat when she was just a kitten; 8-12 weeks old. I raised her on dry food & never gave her human food. Now, 7 years later, she never begs for food. Sometimes she wants attention while we're eating but not food. She also doesn't understand canned food. She won't touch it.

Iams orange bag dry, Pounce Tartar & Plaque 'treats', and water are all she ingests. That and the occasional pinch o' catnip.

For fun, I take a starlight mint and pop it in my mouth. After a minute, I start exhaling into the cat's face. Since it's a mint, and catnip is also a mint, she goes nuts and tries to stick her head in my mouth.

- Fushigi

 

[Will Rickards]

Iams orange bag dry, Pounce Tartar & Plaque 'treats', and water are all she ingests. That and the occasional pinch o' catnip.

Sounds real familiar. My cat paws (tuxedo cat, white bottom and paws, rest all black) eats iams and the occasional treat. But we have to put the treats in her bowl. She won't eat them out of your hand. She likes to drink water out of the sink faucet. We try to use the iams hairball care stuff with weight control.

But you have to watch out with only using dry food. Their kidneys may not fare well because of it.

You can train a cat not to jump on the counter or table or whatever.
We never succeeded though. But there are these mats that you can put on the surface that will give the cat a shock or something. We tried the water gun approach... but she just licked the water off her coat and stared at us wondering why we were squirting her with water. She also loves to inspect the tub after we take a shower... or while we are in the shower.

 

[Vlad The Impaler]

Suzi is from an animal shelter as well. She is very well behaved and very clever, but she gets bored easily and then decides to embark an a wind-up with us.

She eats off of anything including your hand or plate, but her best trick is with a glass of milk. If it is too small for her to get her head in she dips a paw in and then licks the milk off. Very cute!

We have found that buying her high quality food minimises begging and raiding our plates at mealtimes. If I cook some sausages, I will cook a couple specially for her as well; she will not pester after that!

 

[bahngeist]

Anyway, my cat (seal point Himalayan) isn't necessarily all that bright but she sure is jealous. Here I am telecommuting and she's in her pet bed sleeping. But when my fiance gets home she will be up right away and begging me for attention. Happens all the time...

That sure sounds familiar: my wife often complains that I love 'our' cat -- a 15 yr old Lynx-Point Siamese queen -- more than her. My explanation that it is a different type of rapport, generally due to the fact that I had Akasha eight years before we got married (my wife and I :wink: ), doesn't quite wash with her. :roll:

I don't have any problems with Akasha jumping on the counter or table -- she wouldn't dare since Tam (my wife) has instilled a corresponding sense of fear in her. But more often than not, as soon as I sit down at a computer or lie down, Akasha jumps immediately onto my legs and shortly thereafter falls asleep -- makes it kind of difficult to play games at times.

 

[Mercutio]

Trained cats-now that's a contradiction in terms.

I relate this story with an overwhelming sense of just how "wrong" it is:

For the past three or four months, my fiance has been teaching Gracie, one of my cats, to play fetch.

Specifically, Gracie will fetch toy mice, bring them back, and drop them close enough for you to grab them.

A couple of weeks ago, I noticed that Gracie has started to pile her toy mice around the the places where Amy and I sit (the couch, computer chairs, our bed, the kitchen table). Now she voices a complaint whenever she brings us a toy mouse and no one throws it. Like right now. It's both amazing and annoying.

Our boy cat also tells us when it's time for bed (he stands on our bed starting at around 10:30. If we aren't in bed after a half-hour or so, he finds us and cries until we at least go in the bedroom).

 

[jtr1962]

Mercutio:

That's a very interesting story. I suspect on some level fetching behavoir is instinctive to cats. I play a similar game with one of my cats, named Tiger, where I throw a small acorn and the cat chases it. Occasionally, she even drops the acorn near me when she wants to play. The funny thing is that I never even tried to teach her about fetching. The whole acorn thing started when my mom made a decoration with acorns hung on the wall, and eventually the acorns starting disappearing. It didn't take us long to figure out who was responsible. Even stranger is that the acorns that the cat likes must be a certain size, or she shows no interest in them, and she only chases things that sound similar to an acorn.

This same cat does things similar to your boy cat around bedtime, too, and all three always know when it's dinner time. I suspect cats are a great deal more intelligent than they let on. Certain cats are more amenable to training than others, although my view on this is that dogs are smart enough to be trained to do tricks while cats are smart enough to know they don't have to.

One thing that amazes me about cats is their survival ability. When my mom was feeding the strays outside, word got around quickly, and eventually more showed up. Our dryer vent became a favorite cat spot in the winter months, too, since it is only about 18 inches off the ground and blows downwards.

 

[Mercutio]

When I was very, very young a stray kitten followed me home from school after I stopped to pet it. It was August, and the kitten was probably only a couple months old.
Of course my parents wouldn't let me keep her or feed her, and in fact I think my father tried to catch her and drive her out into the farmland surrounding my house.

In the middle of November, my mother finally noticed that something was eating the Jack-O'-Lantern that was basically frozen to our porch at that point. My little stray had hung around the house that whole time, living on who-knows-what and pining outside my bedroom window, hoping someone would feed her.

We had that cat for probably 15 years.

 

[Cliptin]

My cat seems very uninterested in doing anything other than lying around whether it is in my lap or somewhere else.

My favorite of my cats is unwadding the newspaper. It started with a balled up paper towel. I threw it at her to chase or something but she did not react. Sometime during the day I noticed that the paper towel had been unwadded and was layed out flat on the floor.

We are up to double width newspaper now. Wherever she unwads it, it becomes the place for cat naps.

 

[Cliptin]

On a less whimsical note, what the heck is the deal with the matted fur under my cats chin and at the base of the ears. This is my first cat.

 

[Mercutio]

Does your cat have a collar?

 

[Cliptin]

Does your cat have a collar?

Never. My very best guess is that she often sleeps with her chin on my arm or hand thus getting my skin oils on her fur. But what do I know.

 

[Mercutio]

Cat Support

Longhair/shorthair? Do you ever brush it?

Is it just really, really lazy?

Why is this starting to sound like the tech support call from heck?

 

[Vlad The Impaler]

Yes, now I think we need to reboot your Cat. Maybe refurmatting and installing Cat O/S V2.0!! Oh, and don't forget the Begging For Food update V6, and the patch for eating grass and being sick on the floor. :lol:

 

[Mercutio]

Just don't ask where the reset switch is!

 

[jtr1962]

On a less whimsical note, what the heck is the deal with the matted fur under my cats chin and at the base of the ears. This is my first cat.

I think it is partly caused by lack of certain oils in the diet, and partly caused by obsessive cleaning behavoir. The vet can give you a dietary supplement. Longhairs are much more suspectible to it, and our Persian has had this problem in a major way the last few years, although not previously. Since she's nearly 15, it is probably partly caused by age. It's best you nip this problem in the bud, because when I say major, I mean major. I needed to use an electric razor to remove the clumps, and I would say the cat is now temporarily 20% bald. Needless to say, the cat was less than thrilled while I was doing this, and so was I.

Anyway, if that doesn't work, try some of Mercutio's suggestions. You can try the newest OS, Feline XP, but you need to call an accredited veterinarian to reactivate your cat after you install it.

Since this is your first cat, welcome to the wonderful, wacky, wild world of felines, and may you have many happy years with your new friend.

 

[Cliptin]

Being somewhat warped, I have considered shaving her fur down to around 1/2 to 1/4". When she was fixed they shaved a good bit of her underside and I think it looks good growing out. I already have the clippers to do it because I generally keep my own hair cut to 1/4 to 1/8".
I just need to find a cat sedative.

I got this vibrating brush for Christmas that I sometimes use on the cat as I keep my hair so short I don't need it. I really freaks her out when I turn on the motor so I can imagine the difficulty in shaving a cat.

 

[Mercutio]

Just use a normal hairbrush. Slickers (the flat brushes with the slanted handles) encourage hair growth. Normal hairbrushes do a better job of simple hair removal. Shaving a cat is probably, well, maybe cruel isn't a good word. Let's just say it would be hard on the cat.

While you're doing regular cat maintenence, you should also trim their claws (dog trimmers work but special cat-claw trimmers can be found in ag/vet supply catalogs like KV) and clean their ears with a damp cotton swab (if you find black gunk, it's probably mites. That's bad, but a $10 bottle of ear wash from the vet will take care of it).

 

[Prof.Wizard]

Cat Support

Why is this starting to sound like the tech support call from heck?

Guys... I have a really really annoying cat. It's making these clicking noises all the time... What should I do? RMA her?! :mrgrn:

 

[Fushigi]

Certain cats are more amenable to training than others, although my view on this is that dogs are smart enough to be trained to do tricks while cats are smart enough to know they don't have to.

Dogs think they're human. Cats think they're god.

- Fushigi

 

[Cliptin]

When dogs think of their owners they think: He feeds me. He shelters me. He loves me. He must be God.






When cats think of their owners they think: He feeds me. He shelters me. He loves me. I must be God.

 

[Vlad The Impaler]

When humans talk to God they are called religious.

When God talks to humans they are called schizophrenic.

 

[Mercutio]

Cliptin,

My fiance suggests that you head to the head over to the nearest big pet-supply store and find yourself a "mat-comb". She says they're metal combs with scissors attached, made specifically for working on matted fur.

 

[NRG = mc²]

Remember, It starts when the girlfriend brings home a stray that she found on the stoop

Or the mother, or the sister...

Back at home we've got two cats my sister found in a rubbish bin around 7 years ago (you don't want to know how they were found - in a tied up plastic bag if you care) and we've still got them. Never like to go out of the house, they might go half way down the stairs of the apartment and then run back up again.

One of the two is always running after me everywhere I go, when I go to bed she jumps on the bed, finds the end of the cover and pushes her head underneath and slowly gets under the cover and rolls herself up by my feet. I still don't understand how she can breathe under there (and sometimes she stays there till early morning).

Can they be trained not to jump on the table

Sure. Throw a big portion of the tables content down on the ground, thats the only way we can eat in peace. They sit on the side of the chair (that no one's sitting on) and reach out their paw and touch my hand just as I'm about to put it in my mouth - again, drop some on the floor, preferably a large chunk of whatever so that they stay for hours trying to eat/chew it, by which time you're done and cleared up the plates to the kitchen.

One of mine will only drink running water from the tap, she just waits in the bathtub, or jumps in the sink and stares at you.

Crazy animals

 

[Mercutio]

My batty Great Aunt had a Scottish Fold (that's a cat breed) that she set a place at the table for. When she passed away, my parents inherited her... and quickly found that the only way to get her to eat was to set her food on a plate, at the table.

Same cat used to sit on the piano bench with her two front paws on the keys and dance back and forth while I was practicing.

Goofy animals indeed.

 

[jtr1962]

They sit on the side of the chair (that no one's sitting on) and reach out their paw and touch my hand just as I'm about to put it in my mouth -

That sounds familiar. Tiger jumps on the table and does the same thing with me.

One of mine will only drink running water from the tap, she just waits in the bathtub, or jumps in the sink and stares at you.

Crazy animals

My sister's cat does that.

Each cat has it's own idiosyncrasies. Sometimes they seem so human it's almost scary. And I really do think they're alot more intelligent than they let on. They play cute and get free room and board for life. You have to be pretty intelligent to think of that.

My batty Great Aunt had a Scottish Fold (that's a cat breed) that she set a place at the table for. When she passed away, my parents inherited her... and quickly found that the only way to get her to eat was to set her food on a plate, at the table.

This is the first time I ever heard of something like this. That cat probably thought is was human- "You want me to eat off the floor? No way! People don't do that!"

 

[bahngeist]

.... she jumps on the bed, finds the end of the cover and pushes her head underneath and slowly gets under the cover and rolls herself up by my feet. I still don't understand how she can breathe under there (and sometimes she stays there till early morning).

My cat used to do the same thing before I got hitched: at that time I slept on a futon that I had lying directly on the floor. She occasionally did this during the summer, but more often during the winter. The place I lived in was an absolute dive, and when it got down to -20 to -30C outside it was something like 10< in the apartment. She obviously liked the warmth of the down duvet I used; I think we both liked the closeness.

Whenever I move, I place that duvet (now used exclusively as her bed) in an out-of-the-way corner in the new flat, and place her under it. Since cats don't like having their environment changed, this eases the move for her since the duvet is familiar, and she is covered and hence feels safer. After a couple hours she relaxes, comes out to explore, and quickly adopts her new surroundings.