Cat Lovers Thread

[Overmind One]

Why does Fisher do this? The other cats do not do it. Fisher has exactly two toys I have given him directly to play with in his room (the bathroom) where his original isolation was. This is his "safe" zone and the other cats recognize it as his, even though they will nibble from the food dish in there sometimes, and use his litterbox (he uses theirs too and eats from the other dishes). When Fisher wants to be alone or if he is stressed, he will go in there and hang out by himself. Anyways, these two toys never leave that room and whenever I go in there I find both of them in his food dish. I was just getting off a phone call when I caught him actually putting the toys in his food dish:

Anybody have an idea why he does this? Lots of other cats do this as well. At least he does not put them in the water fountain like other cats (and dogs) do. Reading tells me they are protecting these toys from "predators" (the other cats?). As an experiment, I took the spotted catnip mouse (in the picture on the left, not the one with feathers) into the other room and within 10 minutes, Fisher has taken it back into his room and put it in the food dish.

Dante has a toy mouse which is gray and I see him with it on the bed (it is just sitting there). But later on, it's gone. Then I see him with it again. This means he is hiding it somewhere and getting it out when he wants to play with it.

The cats have about 50 toys in their toy basket, but only two or three were given directly to a specific cat. Its like that makes them special to the cat.

Siete has had this little foam soccer ball since years before I owned him. He will not let any of the other cats touch it and will sometimes sit on his perch with the ball in his mouth. This is the same ball I use to play fetch with him when he is in the mood.

 

[Gatefan1976]

Was fisher the outside cat?

 

[Overmind One]

Was fisher the outside cat?

Dante and Siete came as a pair. And of the pair, Siete was indoor/outdoor and Dante had been banished to the outdoors only before I met him. Fisher was always indoor. But Fisher was adopted from a different friend.

To answer the question, no but Dante was. The only cat that cries to go outside is Siete. And I let him out but only supervised. He is allowed to walk behind me to my neighbors apartment when I go there because Mike talks to him during the day through the screen and in familiar. I think he believes that Mikes place is also his.

 

[Gatefan1976]

It could be that Fisher wants to be a hunter, it IS in their nature.
When My cat's catch birds or lizards, they want to bring them inside to "show off" their prowess as hunters, and Fisher's toys do look like birds, and he puts them in his "food bowl" to not make a mess anywhere in the rest of the house.

I think he is just being a cat dude, one who knows he will be in trouble if he leaves bits of bird everywhere, so he puts them in his bowl. Respect his mad hunting Skillz, give him a pat (NOT a hug) when he puts his toys in his bowl and appreciate his concern for your house.

 

[Bluce Ree]

My oldest cat used to steal jewelry and hide them in my shoe and it was always the same shoe. He would sometimes rub up against that shoe, marking it most likely.

I doubt it has anything to do with hunting. When a cat hunts, they will usually bring their prey to you. This doesn't seem to be the case. He's just putting his toys in his space with his food.

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk

 

[Overmind One]

My oldest cat used to steal jewelry and hide them in my shoe and it was always the same shoe. He would sometimes rub up against that shoe, marking it most likely.

I doubt it has anything to do with hunting. When a cat hunts, they will usually bring their prey to you. This doesn't seem to be the case. He's just putting his toys in his space with his food.

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk

Jewelry? I bet some criminals would love to have that cat! Birds are known to do this too...they love shiny objects. Especially magpies. But you are right, this is different than bringing prey because he is taking the toy back to his personal safe spot and not to me. Articles are telling me that he would be burying those toys if he had a place to bury them (a cat would never bury a toy or food near where he poops so litterboxes dont count ).

This article told me a lot, but it deals with the (far more common) behavior of cats putting toys in the water dish instead of the food bowl.

http://catexpert.blogspot.com/2012/04/reader-question-why-do-cats-bring-their.html

My cats do not have water dishes, they have cat fountains. I have three of these:

Fisher never puts anything in the cat fountain. But every day he puts those toys back into the food dish after I have taken them out. He eats around them...I find it more curious than anything else, he isnt hurting his food or making a mess. Its just one of those cat things I want to know the WHY of.

 

[Rac80]

cat humor:

 

[Overmind One]

I am running the Roomba and it went under the bed and evidently found Dante's gray mouse under there. So that's where he is hiding it! I just gave it to him and I am going to bet that shortly after the Roomba has finished running, he will hide it back under there. . I moved Fisher's dish to the other side of the bathroom and took the toys out, and he has put them back in there. I dont know why I find this so fascinating. What is he thinking when he is putting the toy in the dish?

 

[Overmind One]

LOL!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwT7BHztBIU

 

[Illiterati]

LOL!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwT7BHztBIU

ROTFLMAO!!

 

[Illiterati]

Your next place, OM1?
http://www.hauspanther.com/2014/02/12/colorful-catification-for-some-very-lucky-cats/

 

[Overmind One]

Your next place, OM1?
http://www.hauspanther.com/2014/02/12/colorful-catification-for-some-very-lucky-cats/

WOW! I thought I was "catified" already with three cat trees, 3 filtered water cat fountains, 3 feliway diffusers and ambient sound generators in their sleeping areas.

Think this person likes cats?

LOL! Its a bit much.....but I like the look of the place outside of the cat accommodations. I love the natural look and all the houseplants (I love them and have lots of them too). Not keen on the yellow/green look, but the theme of "nature" is really cool. LOVE the stone slab occasional table under the cat picture hanging on the wall in the left picture.

 

[SciphonicStranger]

Strangely enough after loving a cat I always end up with a peculiar rash.

 

[Overmind One]

Strangely enough after loving a cat I always end up with a peculiar rash.

Allergies. Many people who love cats also have allergies to their dander...now THATS love! Seriously though, I think the allergy to cat dander is much more common than allergies to dogs or other animals.

 

[Overmind One]

Ah, those picky picky felines. Cats are picky. This post applies to indoor cats.

They will turn their nose up at food they don't like, they will actually "fetch" you to come and clean their litterbox if it isnt absolutely clean on a basic level. They will not drink standing water, it has to be moving, and it better not have anything visible floating in it, even if it is their own hair. I have seen my cats fish their own hair out of their fountains before drinking. And food, well that one is easy if you avoid trying to get them to "like" a certain flavor of canned wet food or dry food. Cats are obligate carnivores. That means they MUST eat animal proteins to be healthy. This means if you go grain free, they will like it right off the bat. It costs more, about $35.00 for a 12-lb bag, but your cats will be eating the equivalent of raw dry food and there will not be any grain in their diet (which they would never eat in the wild on their own). Wet food appeals to cats based on what they *think* they smell in the food. Many canned cat foods are garbage, but have animal "digest" (partially digested meat proteins from bacteria) mixed in them to smell appealing to cats. But they can also smell the additives and grains and anything else which is not protein. That is most likely the reason they reject certain foods.

My picks:

Blue Buffalo grain free dry cat food: http://www.bluebuffalo.com/cat-food/grain-free-wilderness My cats absolutely LOVE this food.

And for the wet food, you can do the raw recipe I posted earlier by using raw ground turkey and TC Feline raw food premix.

Believe it or not, making your own cat food using the premix is actually cheaper in the long run than getting canned wet food. Each serving size (about 1.5-2oz) is equivalent to eating a medium sized mouse. The cats cant really taste "flavors", but they can definitely taste quality proteins. Any cat owners here having picky kitty issues?

Cats also really love eating "cat grasses". The types of grass typically used for lawns is not good for cats and they will not eat it. You may have noticed stray cats eating grass, and only certain grasses they look for. But most cat owners do not provide any greenery for their cats to eat. Many cat owners will have houseplants (like any lily) which are deathly poison to cats...fortunately, THEY know not to eat them too. But they are even sensitive to the pollen in lilies. Cat grasses are oats, barley, wheatgrass and other related grain grasses. The cats will only eat them at a certain stage of growth and then they will mow it down. I have three of these, which are always seeded and growing cat grass. If there is no cat grass, they will be more likely to sample the other green plants in your home.

More observations from a new cat daddy. Im now working on creating more high energy indoor activities for these cats which dont involve me dangling toys from a wand. I do like playing with them, but sometimes Im just tired. Any ideas about that would be greatly appreciated. not much luck with laser toys.

Article on transitioning cats to raw food (from TC Feline): http://tcfeline.com/category/transitioning/

IMPORTANT: ASPCA list of toxic and non-toxic plants for pets. When buying houseplants and checking them against this database, I suggest using the scientific name and not the common name, since many plants have several common names. Pictures accompany the plant names as well as the effects on pets:

http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/animal-poison-control/toxic-and-non-toxic-plants

 

[Illiterati]

This happened a few minutes ago and I couldn't resist recording it.

 

[Overmind One]

This happened a few minutes ago and I couldn't resist recording it.

He is "tenderizing" his kill...in that case, its your sweater. My cats knead, but they dont also combine it with a death kitty grip with their teeth! LMAO!!!!

 

[Illiterati]

And once the nursing was over with...

Sleepy kitty!

 

[Backstep]

The cats eyes are fully green now. If Jet Girl holds still I will take some pics.

 

[Overmind One]

Lit, I LOVE that avatar with the full grown adult lion and his soccer ball. It reminds me so much of Siete and his little foam soccer ball:

The lion in your avatar seems to love his soccer ball too. Perhaps it's the pattern? Siete only likes the foam soccer ball and none of the other foam balls in the toy box. He carries it around with him all day sometimes, wherever he decides to chill out. If I toss it in the cat toy box, he will dig it out and take it somewhere else.