HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: K_LEPA@unhh.unh.edu (Kristen   Lepa)
Subject: Re: Exspot -- warning to cat owners
Organization: University of New Hampshire
Date: Wed, 19 Aug 1992 23:45:17 GMT
X-News-Reader: VMS NEWS 1.12

Saw this in rec.pets and I didn't see it in rec.pets.cats, so here it is
just in case...


In <1992Aug18.050430.25631@sco.COM> megm@sco.COM writes:

> 
> I witnessed something very sad at the vet's this
> weekend and thought i would pass it on in hopes
> other tragedies can be avoided.  A woman came in
> carrying a kitten (I'd guess it was 7-9 weeks old).
> The kitten was in convulsions.  The owner also had
> dogs and had applied Exspot and the kitten had
> licked her hands before she washed them.  Three
> doctors and three technicians worked on the kitten
> for an hour, but she died later that evening.  A
> few hours later, the woman came back with the kitten's
> brother who was also in convulsions.  The rescue
> efforts were more effective with him and he is alive
> and has gone home, although it's still too early to
> know if he will suffer any long-term damage from
> the episode.
> 
> My vet says Exspot is known to be poisonous to cats,
> and she would suspect that rabbits can't handle it,
> either.  She doesn't think it is poisonous to dogs,
> but if i were using it i think i would be extremely
> careful to scrub my hands thoroughly after applying
> it no matter what animals were around.
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
From: fstruwe@unlinfo.unl.edu (franklin struwe)
Subject: Re: Chronic FUS, CT vet info request
Organization: University of Nebraska - Lincoln
Distribution: usa
Date: Fri, 21 Aug 1992 16:26:55 GMT

Don't know of a vet in your area, but I can tell you that my cats 
haven't had a recurrence of FUS since I changed their food (Science 
Diet C/D).

Jacque Virts
**Thanks F. John for letting me use your computer**
From: dn22+@andrew.cmu.edu (Denise D. Novak)
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
Subject: Re:Rescue Cat
Date: 12 Aug 92 14:03:52 GMT
Organization: University Libraries - Technical Service, Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh, PA

Spooky is eight years old and he had to take baths for a flea problem
when he was a 10 week old kitten.  He loved them!  He still loves the
water and if one is in the bathtub taking an actual bath, Spooky will be
right  there walking the rim of the tub and trying to jump in. The first
time he did this I was in the middle of a good bubble bath and was he
surprised when the bubbles didn't hold him up. There is no accounting
for the pleasures cats enjoy.

Denise
dn22+@andrew.cmu.edu
From: judy@valinor.mythical.com (Judy Labovitz)
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
Subject: Re: How long cats live (was Re: Indoor cat wants out)
Keywords: indoor, outdoor, ages
Date: Thu, 13 Aug 92 21:50:09 CDT
Distribution: world
Organization: (What? Organized??) - Mythical Computer Systems

machanicm@gtephx.UUCP (Mindy Machanic) writes:

> I doubt it. Let's do a survey on the net:
> 
> Indoor cats--how old are they living? Ones you have now, ones you have had
> before?
> 
> Outdoor cats--how old are they living? Ones you have now, ones you have had
> before?
> 
> I'm betting that the outdoor cats live as long as, if not longer than, the
> indoor cats.

Here's my experience.  Out of the 6 cats I've been owned by through the
years (cats that lived past a year, that is), only one has lived past 10;
3 - 2 spayed females and one tom (didn-t have him long enough to get him
fixed) - were run over by cars, all on the same road, and 2 - a fixed
brother and sister - simply disappeared.  At the time, we lived in a very
rural area (i.e. the roads were so skinny the state didn't bother painting
lines on the roads) with the "death road" 1/2 mile away.

The one to survive past 10 is the only cat to be an indoor cat who goes
out on a leash or under constant supervision while I'm working outside in
the yard.  Mandy is currently 16 1/2 and still going strong.  She was
originally an outdoor cat but was nearly killed by poison when she was 5.
I wouldn't want to repeat those 2 weeks ever again; her insides were so
messed up by the poison (probably from a rabbit she ate, the vet said)
that she nearly starved to death because she couldn't keep anything down.
Vet's opinion was if she remained an outdoor cat, she would have died
since the tummy couldn't handle prey and you can't convince an outdoor cat
not to hunt.  It took us a while to find a food that she could eat without
throwing it up.  She still has occasional tummy problems if she eats too
fast or too much.

After losing so many cats out in the boonies, no way would I let my cats
be outdoor cats in the suburbs where I now live (too many cars, too many
people, too many dogs).  They are quite happy as indoor kitties (I now
have a 2 year old in addition to the old lady) and greatly enjoy going
outside with me to chase bugs and eat grass and aggravate the squirrels
while I putter around in the yard.  After 2 hours however, they are more
than ready to go inside and race me to the door to go in.

Just my two cents worth, or should that be more since I rambled on so?

Judy
        
   Judith A Labovitz               judy@valinor.mythical.com
                                   uunet!valinor!judy
            I bark, therefore I am.    ---- Rene Descarte's dog.        
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
From: smills@news.weeg.uiowa.edu (MuffinHead)
Subject: Re: Funny walks
Organization: University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA
Date: Thu, 20 Aug 1992 07:15:46 GMT

kevin@ucrmath.ucr.edu (peter kevin lund) writes:

>Can cats walk sideways?  I don't mean physically, but has anybody ever
>actually caught one in the act?  Thanks...

Kittens do all the time when they're playing with another cat. They'll
arch their back and sorta walk sideways.
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
From: phz@cadence.com (Pete Zakel)
Subject: Re: Scratching that litter 'til the cows come home...
Organization: Cadence Design Systems
Distribution: usa
Date: Wed, 19 Aug 1992 21:03:31 GMT

In article <1992Aug15.041941.7929@adobe.com> dauphin@adobe.com (Kimberly Dauphin) writes:
>Sigh.  My SO's cat, Fezzik, scratches in the litter box
>for (*literally*) hours.  It doesn't matter if it's slightly
>dirty or brand-spanking new litter.  He scratches and scratches
>and scratches.

Reminds me of one of my cats (can't remember now whether it was Ghost or
Oolong) when I lived alone in my previous house.  I kept the litter box
in the hall outside my bedroom, and he always seemed to do it right when
I was trying to get to sleep.  I would usually end up throwing a pillow
at him to get him to stop.

Then there was Ghost, the loadest licking cat in the world.  He'd get
on my bed when I was trying to sleep and start licking himself, and licking
himself and licking himself -- slurp, scritch, slurp, slirp, scritch, slurp,
-- sigh...

When I started wearing earplugs it made sleeping MUCH easier!

-Pete Zakel
 (phz@cadence.com or ..!uunet!cadence!phz)

		Wisdom consists of knowing when to avoid perfection.
		
                            - Horowitz's Rule
From: jim@n5ial.chi.il.us (Jim Graham)
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
Subject: Tail stood up straight, what's up?? 
Distribution: world
Date: Sat, 22 Aug 92 22:24:41 GMT
Organization: Me? Organized? Hah! :-)

In article <MOSS.92Aug19105022@ibis.cs.umass.edu> moss@cs.umass.edu writes:

> One meaning of the tail straight up posture is that the cat is acting
> like a kitten (with you being the parent). I can see a cat doing that if
> you introduce it to a new place where it might be a bit unsure and
> tending to defer to you as "parent".

hmmm.....  if I understand what y'all mean about the cat's tail being
straight up, we're talking about it being completely vertical, right?

I'd always understood this to be a ``sign of pride and content'' (right
out of one source that I read a long time ago.... I don't recall what
the source was, but I still remember the quote).

how does this fit into the above?
   --jim

--
DISCLAIMER:  My cat typed this for me, and I didn't proofread it.  The above
may not represent what I said (she changes things to match *HER* opinions).
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AMATEUR RADIO: n5ial@n9hsi (Chicago.IL.US.Earth)         73 DE N5IAL/9
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From: maurercj@ucbeh.san.uc.edu
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
Subject: Re: Exspot -- warning to cat owners
Date: 20 Aug 92 16:32:08 EST
Distribution: world
Organization: Univ. of Cincinnati

 What is Exspot?
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats,rec.arts.wobegon
From: soley@trooa.enet.dec.com (Norman Soley)
Subject: Songs of the Cat
Organization: Digital Equipment Corporation
Date: Thu, 13 Aug 1992 20:39:56 GMT


I'm considering ordering Garrison Kiellor's Songs of the Cat record, the 
description in the Wireless catalogue doesn't seem to suggest that it 
contains any of the Johnny Katz songs (It Ain't Me Cat, Don't Take Your 
Cats to Town, etc.) which are really what I want. Can someone who has the 
record send me a song list so I can make an informed decision?

Thanks 
--
    Norman Soley, Specialist, Professional Software Services, ITC District
    Digital Equipment of Canada                   soley@trooa.enet.dec.com
    Opinions expressed are mine alone  and do not reflect those of Digital 
    Equipment Corporation or my cat Marge.
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
From: dowling@nssdca.gsfc.nasa.gov (Marie Dowling)
Subject: Re: The Humane Society Again
News-Software: VAX/VMS VNEWS 1.41    
Organization: NASA - Goddard Space Flight Center
Date: Fri, 14 Aug 1992 12:39:00 GMT

I adopted Reilly from our local shelter for the homeless, and he cost 
$10 - completely refunded upon proof of neutering. (That'll be next 
month.)  He had all the first shots except leukemia. That was $81 for 
the first shot and $25 for a "follow-up" or booster shot two weeks 
later. As new "parents" we didn't know if kittens came litter box 
trained so we purchased a large wire cage to keep him in til we knew 
he would use the box. Cage = $85. (He only had to use it one night.)
Big box of litter to save money = $40.  Max-cat kitten chow 4 lbs.= $7. 
Flea bath=$3. Bandages from trying to give cat flea bath=$2. Vet visit 
for flea bath $14. Travel carrier for all these vet visits: $25. First 
litter box: $6. New owner learned lesson COVERED litter box: $10. And 
I haven't begun to add in the toys.  For a cheap little kitty, 
Reilly's running up quite a tab!!!
From: gt1167b@prism.gatech.EDU (Christie Shackelford)
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
Subject: Re: Flushable Litter Isn't
Date: 22 Aug 92 16:19:45 GMT
Organization: Georgia Institute of Technology

Most of the cat-owners I know use those little plastic bags from
the grocery store to dispose of "pee-balls" and other waste.  They
don't seem to be good for much of anything else (besides the 
recycle bin, but I always forget to take them back anyway).

I have considered shoveling the poop 'n' stuff back into the jug
that the scoopable little came in.  Anyone do this?  Does it work
out OK?  I have to scoop more often now that I'm a multi-cat owner
and hate to use so many plastic bags.

-- 
Christie Shackelford
gt1167b@prism.gatech.edu
Meow!
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
From: kjt34420@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu (Kristin J. Thommes)
Subject: Re: Peace Lilly -- poisonous?
Organization: University of Illinois at Urbana
Date: Thu, 20 Aug 1992 22:38:46 GMT

There is a poison-control center number that you can all which will
tell you if a plant is poisonous or not, and also will tell you what
to do in the event of a poisoning.  It is called the "National Animal
Poison Control Hotline"  and is staffed by veterinary professionals
24 hrs a day.

1-800-548-2423


-- 

Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
From: lestat@wixer.cactus.org (Lyle J. Mackey)
Subject: Cat piddles on bed... all the time...
Organization: Real/Time Communications
Date: Thu, 20 Aug 92 04:22:50 GMT

Bagheera, my ~5 month old cat-in-training, has an annoying tendency to piss on
my bed. All the time.

It doesn't seem to matter if his litter box is clean to the point of being
spotless, he'll do it anyway.

I try to keep him off the bed when I'm home, but I can't do anything about it
when I'm not home.

Any ideas, short of locking him in the bathroom whenever I leave? I live in an
effeciency (one room + closet + bathroom), so I can't very well lock him out
of the bedroom.  Any and all suggestions appreciated- I'm tired of having to
do laundry EVERY day... at a buck-fifty plus soap per round, it's getting to
be a strain on my beer budget.

  -LjM
-- 
 .--------------------------------------------------------------------------.
/ Lyle J \ lestat@wixer.cactus.org /  Team Doofus  \ DoD / Nobody else WANTS \
\ Mackey /     Social Engineer     \ '89 Kaw EX500 / 587 \  my  opinions...  /
 `--------------------------------------------------------------------------'
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
From: dmillard@encore.com (Debbie Millard)
Subject: Re: Terrified of Ceiling Fan!
Date: Thu, 20 Aug 1992 15:27:13 GMT
Organization: Encore Computer Corporation, Ft. Lauderdale, FL

In article <1992Aug19.172951.26514@cbnews.cb.att.com> sandyb@cbnews.cb.att.com (sandra.e.braun) writes:
>Hi.  I just moved to a house with a ceiling fan.  My cat Coco is absolutely 
>terrified of it.  She will run out of the room and hide downstairs under the
>ironing board until it's turned off.  Then she sneaks back in the living
>room and stares at it for ~1 hour, just to make sure it's not going to turn
>on again.

Hi Sandy,

Cissy was like this the first time she saw ceiling fans, too!  She
stayed with my brother for a couple of weeks when I went out of
town.  Calli & Timmy weren't worried about the fans; they just went
through the normal uprooting phases of adjustment. 

When I bought a townhouse recently, I worried that the ceiling fans would
cause Cissy trouble again, but she rarely even notices them.  In the
past, when something has troubled one of the cats (like hanging a new
picture or something similar), I've picked each one up and let them sniff
the offending object so they can see that it's not dangerous.  I'd
try this with the fan, turned off, of course:-)

Good luck,
Debbie
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
From: C14383@maccvm.corp.mot.com (Marie Cannizzaro)
Subject: Blown Dry Siamese
Organization: Motorola
Date: 14 Aug 1992 16:02:29 CDT

With all the recent cat bathing articles, it is high time to discuss
cat drying. My nine year old seal point siamese enjoys a hearty
warm bath and a blow dry. No crying, scratching or clawing. We always
he thought he was human.   MC
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
From: diana@wetware.com (CatWoman )
Subject: Re: FUS reply
Organization: Castle WetWare MouseCatcher
Date: Wed, 12 Aug 1992 17:44:00 GMT

Carol B's good advice deleted for brevity.

Additional comment - not only is the cat's
urinary track shaped oddly - the male's penis
is an inflexible cartilige shaft, and again,
small particles get stuck easily.

My only addition to her advice - keep your
cats on DISTILLED water.  Based on my personal
experience of seeming to have had EVERY cat
come down with FUS at least once, using 
distilled water is mandatory.  My vet thinks
that FUS may be an allergic reaction, since
she notices certain times of the year when it
seems that a lot of her clients are having
bouts (kind of like hayfever).  And either
she is correct - or it is DEFINITELY caused
by water quality (my tap water is chewable - 
even *I* don't drink it, but drips and open
toilets are an invitation to cats) - or it
is communicable.  I had my youngest cat - who
is barely over a year old - come down with it
recently.  She (yes she) was drinking the tap
water constantly, AND she played with the 
male who has the chronic problem.  They all
get high-quality cat food, so it is NOT what
they are eating...

Diana
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
Subject: Re: Bobcats
From: david@master.uchicago.edu
Date: Fri, 21 Aug 1992 19:52:44 GMT
Organization: University of Chicago, Department of Anatomy

In article <BsHF2t.C44@news.cso.uiuc.edu>, levine@symcom.math.uiuc.edu (Lenore Levine) writes:
> In last month's issue of "Cats" magazine, the letter column featured
> a picture of two beautiful female bobcats, who were being raised
> on a ranch in Wyoming as pets.
> 
> Because I was curious, I wrote a letter to the family living on that 
> ranch, asking how the precious cats were doing. They sent me back a
> brochure from the "Wyoming Fur Ranch" showing pictures of healthy,
> happy bobcat pets, and offering these animals for sale as household
> pets. The brochure claimed that, if raised by humans at birth,
> bobcats would make almost as good pets as domestic cats.
> 
> My questions about this brochure are:
> 
> 1) Is it true that bobcats are appropriate as household pets? (I
>    don't want one, just curious...)
> 
> 2) Do you think these cats are really being bought by creeps, who
>    want to raise them to save on the price of a fur coat?
> 
> 3) Where do you think these cats come from? Were they captured
>    as kittens in the wild from killed mother cats?
> 
> 4) Is what these people are doing inhumane? If so, why, and
>    can anything be done about it?
> 
> I am also curious if domestic cats could be part bobcat. E.g.,
> my Neek, who looks like a Maine Coon, has a face similar to
> the bobcat faces. She is also extremely (incredibly, considering she's
> 11 now) active and mischievous, and meeps instead of meowing, just 
> like a wildcat. 
> 
> Lenore Levine
> levine@symcom.math.uiuc.edu






In reponse: 
1) NO !!!!!! bobcats are not appropriate as pets.  Even if it is a "nice" cat, it could
 	still do damage.  Has your cat ever accidently bit you or scratched you ?  Now
	imagine that it is a Bobcat up to forty pounds. Wild animals are not pets !
 
2) Who knows !?! probably both by creeps and the uneducated.

3) Probably from the wild, maybe second generation young.

4) The only thing that could be done would be to check to laws on permits for wild
	animals in their state.  If there are no laws, no luck !
From: deleon@hpl.hp.com (Laura de Leon)
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
Subject: what to do with stray
Date: 18 Aug 92 00:44:56 GMT
Organization: Hewlett-Packard Labs

Once upon a time (this last winter), my husband and I noticed this 
beautiful but skinny long-haired gray stray in our apartment complex.

We gave her (I call it a her, but I don't know) a bowl of food, and
as soon as we went inside, she started happily eating it.  Every time
we noticed her, we gave her a bowl of food.  She started hanging out
on our patio more frequently, and Grey Kitty and May (one of my indoor
cats) have become good through-the-glass friends-- they will stretch
out by each other, May on the inside of the glass door, Grey Kitty
on the outside.

She started letting us pet her a little while she was eating-- she
trusted us enough to let us do that rather than interupt her eating.
She never got friendly, but we had an agreement of sorts.

She got a little plumper, and her fur got a little less tangled.

Then she disappeared.  She finally showed up again, about a month
later, more afraid of us than ever.  We happily started feeding her
again, whenever we noticed her out there (if we leave it out, other
cats get it, or the snails get it).  She still won't let us get near
her again.  I hate to think what must have happened to her.

She has started scratching on the glass door to get our attention,
so we will feed her.  I think she is ours now.

The problem is, we are moving, and we don't know what to do with her.
Even if we could catch her and put her in our new backyard, I don't
think she'd stay.  We can't keep her inside-- we have 3 other cats
with feline leukemia, and I don't want her catching it.

She seems to be relatively happy with her life overall, and I know
she can get by without our food, but I really don't want to just leave
her.

Any suggestions on what to do with a stray that we have attached ourselves
to, but can't take in?

				laura de leon
				deleon@hpl.hp.com
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
From: puter@no1home.nashvil.ingr.com (PuterDude)
Subject: Re: Indoor cat wants out
Organization: None, today. Thank you.
Date: Thu, 6 Aug 1992 16:03:09 GMT

> rodw@scs.leeds.ac.uk (R Williams (CBL)) writes:
>>> 
>>> Everyone who loves a cat should keep it indoors, or on a leash when
>>> outdoors.
>>
>>Sorry, Paula, I disagree, as I'm sure a lot of others do. 
>
>All I can say is that I'm sure you would change your mind if a cat of yours
>was killed outside.

	Well, I've had cats killed outside, and I've had cats killed
inside. Neither has changed my mind. I've even had a child killed outside.
Don't think where one has been killed has anythin' to do with lettin'
them out or not. There is _NOTHING_ wrong with you decidin' to keep
yours indoors, just as there is nothin' wrong with me lettin' mine out.
If he is killed, that's life.

P.S. The natural end to life is death. I'm not bein' morbid. Just
wantin' to let you know that just because one has been killed outdoors,
keepin' others in will not give them one second more to the life that
they were supposed to have.

-- 
Puter	puter@no1home.nashvil.ingr.com	.sig by Generic Labels
(Put obnoxious title here)		(Put phone # here.)
(Put irritating quote here. Please make it as long as possible.)
From: edr@gtech.com (Eric D. Remington)
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
Subject: Re: New cat--help will not sleep at night
Date: 18 Aug 92 16:28:24 GMT
Organization: GTECH Corporation, West Greenwich, RI

In article <1684610188.LHAAS@kentvm.kent.edu> LHAAS@kentvm.kent.edu (Leslie M. Haas) writes:
>weeks old and it is named Malcolm.  She wants advice on how to
>train it not to jump on her while she is sleeping!  We have

	My father "trained" one of my cats not to jump up on the bed (while he
	was visiting with me, he got the bed, and the cats, and I got the couch)
	by using a spray bottle. Every time she jumped on the bed, she got a 
	squirt. Did not take long at all. The downside is that she is really
	not a lap fungus anymore, you *REALLY* have to invite her to get on the
	bed/lap, and not have any spray bottle in sight !
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats