HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: jonathan@chpc.utexas.edu (Jonathan Thornburg)
Subject: Re: Cat Thoughts
Followup-To: jonathan@einstein.ph.utexas.edu
Summary: as Fat Freddy's Cat said, "everyone knows that fish come from cans"
Keywords: cat humor fish food eat catch can
Organization: U of Texas at Austin / Physics Dept / Center for Relativity
Date: Sat, 11 Apr 92 18:49:53 GMT

In article <1992Apr10.202320.27175@pony.Ingres.COM> jonb@Ingres.COM (Jon Berger) writes:
>Some friends of mine have convinced their cats that they spend the day
>hunting for cylinder beasts.  Every few days they bring home a whole sack
>of them, and every night at dinnertime they skin a cylinder beast with the
>special cylinder-beast-skinning tool, and eviscerate it and give the yummy
>entrails to the cats.

In San Francisco there is an undergound-comic publisher named
"Rip Off Press", who publish (among others) a series of comic books
about the exploits of "The Freak Brothers", three going-on-middle-age
hippies living at "3602D Trashview Crescent" in a fictional US city
which rather resembles SF.  One of them, "Frederick Freekowski", is
nicknamed "Fat Freddy".  (Bear with me, this *is* relevant to
rec.pets.cats!)  Fat Freddy has a very "lean and mean" tomcat commonly
called "Fat Freddy's Cat" and officially named "F. Frederick Skitty"
(say it aloud :-) ), whose exploits figure significantly in the comics.
F.F.C. also has had several of his own comics published.  (Highly
recommended, along with the entire Freak Brothers series!)

Now the connection to the post-I'm-following-up-on:
[My memory of the following dialog is slightly fuzzy, and my copy
 of the relevant comic is at home, but I'm fairly sure I have the
 punch line correct.  I trust the copyright owners will forgive my
 transcription onto the net.]

Frame 1:	F.F.C. is down by the waterfront, and walks out on
		a warf.  He sees another cat eating a fish.

Frame 2:	F.F.C.:		"Where did you get the fish?"
		Other cat:	"From the water, where else?"

Frame 3:	F.F.C.:		"Nonsense!  Everyone knows that
				 fish come from cans!"
				[walks away]

-- 

- Jonathan Thornburg <jonathan@einstein.ph.utexas.edu>
  University of Texas at Austin / Physics Dept / Center for Relativity
  and (for a few more months) University of British Columbia / Astronomy
From: abby@ravel.udel.edu (Louis Abbruzzesi)
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
Subject: Anybody toilet trained a cat?
Date: 15 Apr 92 17:10:41 GMT
Distribution: usa
Organization: University of Delaware


   Has anyone seen the book on toilet training a cat?  They also sell those
toilet liners to help the cat get used to the seat- has anyone tried these?
I know someone who took in a stray that was already toilet trained but it
may have been self-taught.  Wouldn't it be nice?


Lou

abby@brahms.udel.edu
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
From: esh2@po.CWRU.Edu (Evelyn S. Hlabse)
Subject: Cat bringing home unwanted rodents
Reply-To: esh2@po.CWRU.Edu (Evelyn S. Hlabse)
Organization: Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH (USA)
Date: Wed, 8 Apr 92 16:49:00 GMT

Help.  My daughter's cat, Morgan, is a house cat with no front claws.
Unfortunately, now that the weather is improving she goes out the
pet door and has started hunting.  Last night she brought home what
looked like a baby squirrel and laid it at the feet of my corgi who
wanted no part of it.

This isn't the first time she has brought home a rodent but it is the
first squirrel (?).  I have a couple of questions.  How do I get her
to stop this revolting  habit?  She's well fed and doesn't eat her
victim.  Two, how does she do it.  She's brought home moles, shrews and
mice.  Often alive.  Is she is danger of getting a disease from them?
She sees her vet on a regular basis and there is no way I can keep her
from using the pet door short of caging her and I don't want to do
that.

Any help would be appreicated.

Thank you.

Evelyn Hlabse
--
Date: Monday, 13 Apr 1992 13:13:30 MST
From: Allen French <ICSAFF@ASUACAD.BITNET>
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
Subject: Blind cat (Getting attached to strays)

A very peaceful, one-eyed, grey and white, long-haired cat has been
trying to adopt me for the past six to nine months. Well, actually she         t
has two eyes but one of them is clouded over, making it difficult to even
make out the pupil. I cannot tell if she can see out of it at all. At
first I thought she was a neighbor's cat, but eventually I decided she
must have been abandoned. She seems much too congenial to have grown up
an alley cat.

I was often surprised to see her on my roof, making me curious if she          e
had trouble getting down. Then I started finding tufts of white fur in my
rose bushes. Finally, I caught her in the act: she would slide down a
metal awning over the front windows and end up in my rose bush (ouch!).
I wasn't sure why she would go to all this trouble, unless she was
avoiding fights by hiding out on my roof.

Feeling sorry for her, I put a ladder against the roof and she learned
to use it rather than her slide. I also started leaving food out for
her about this time. She has been spending more and more time on my back
porch. My black-and-white indoor cat has gotten used to seeing her
outdoor friend through the windows.

Things stayed this way for many months until this weekend when I noticed
the cat was bumping into things--her other eye was red and inflamed :-(.
Having become somewhat attached to this unlucky feline, I broke down and
took her to a vet to determine her condition and prognosis. She tested
negative for leukemia, but she may completely lose her vision. I am now
giving her eyedrops and antibiotics and hoping for the best.

The vet says a blind cat can get around okay indoors. Has anyone had any
experience with such a situation? If she loses her vision and is not
infectious, I might be forced to bring her in or have her put to sleep.
I really did not want to get involved with a stray, but sometimes it seems
hard to avoid. My indoor cat was born underneath my bed when I foolishly
let in her stray mother a couple of years ago.
From: delisle@fornax.phy.ulaval.ca (Sonya Delisle)
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
Subject: Re: cat hates being brushed
Summary: use softer brush
Date: 10 Apr 92 02:45:04 GMT
Organization: Universite Laval, Ste-Foy, Quebec (Canada)

In article <1992Apr8.153350.27905@usho93.hou281.chevron.com> hwire@gruc07.nor.chevron.com (Robyn E. Williamson CTN-592-6174) writes:
>
>Ralph (Kitty Ralph, Ralphie-poo) hates to be brushed.  I use a small 
>wire bristle brush I bought in the pet store.  George (Georgie Boy)
>doesn't mind the wire bristles.
>As soon as I get a few strokes on the back, he slinks low to the ground
>and tries to run away.  Then I hold him down, firmly but gently, and
>continue brushing.  By the time I get to his belly, he's moaning 
>because of this great injustice.  I don't think I'm hurting him.
>And I have to brush him because he's got medium length hair and 
>sheds a lot.  How can I make him like being brushed?
>
>Robyn

My kitty (Puce, french for flea, although she has none) used to
hate being brushed too. I have the same kind of brush you use,
and anytime I would try to brush her she would roll on her back
and bite the brush. So what I did was buy another brush, a very
soft one. It doesn't remove the hair as efficiently, but Puce
likes it better. Using the soft brush has taught her that being
brushed doesn't have to be torture. Now I brush her almost every
night with the soft brush and use the wire bristle brush twice a
week. She doesn't mind it anymore (well, not as much as she used
to). She thinks it's just me using the soft brush too hard.
	Hope this helps
	Sonya and Puce (who is sleeping on the monitor)
From: tcs@ll.mit.edu (Tom Sefranek)
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
Subject: Re: Well!  I'll be darned...
Date: 9 Apr 92 22:30:30 GMT
Reply-To: tcs@ll.mit.edu (Tom Sefranek)
Distribution: usa
Organization: "Group	47"

In article <1992Apr8.163130.903@nrc.com>, kate@nrc.com (kathi samec) writes:
|> In article <1992Apr6.193226.5686@dg-rtp.dg.com> poirier@ellerbe.rtp.dg.com (Charles Poirier) writ
|> Rabbits are NOT anything like a rat(rodent,vermin) They are lagomorphs and
|> very intelligent little creatures. They are almost better than cats sometimes.
                                                ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
                                                     HAIR-I-SEE!!!
"or so I'm directed by "Black" to type!"
"If you ever show your face, at my place, I'll purr you to death!"
"Even the "Most foul tempered rodent" AKA Monty Python, can't do that!"

|> Kathi Samec     Network Research Corporation   - It's a cold bowl of chili
|> kate@nrc.com    2380 N Rose Ave                  when love lets you down
|>                 Oxnard, Ca. 93030                         - Neil

Tom, Owned by "Black"
-- 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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       |                 x         |
    /--/--/              x     /---/---/
       x       .         x         x
       x       |         x         x
       x       |       __x         x
       x_______|_______||x         x
      /                ||x\      /   \     Call in: 29.60, 145.41, 448.625 Mhz.
    /-----------------/||x \   /___ ___\   Thomas Christopher John Sefranek
    | [ ] [ ] ## [  ]| ||x  | ||  | |  ||  WA1RHP  112 Great Road  Shirley, Ma.
    |         ##     | ||x  | ||  | |  ||  Ham Nite Odd Mondays  425-6672 01464
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: coombes@tcom.stc.co.uk (Philip Coombes)
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
Subject: Kitty toys from nature
Date: 8 Apr 92 15:37:11 GMT
Reply-To: Philip Coombes <coombes@tcom.stc.co.uk>
Organization: Gated to News by demon.co.uk


On the subject of kitty toys, going round there is nothing Minnie 
( aka 'The Monster of Minge' aka 'Whingeing Mingeing', fat black cat, never
happy, unless he's up to his ears in Felix Meaty Chunks ) loves better than....

	STICKS!!!

When he's in the garden he will bat them round and flip them over for ages.
He's takes to trotting round with them in his mouth like a dog, he has also
started quite a collection of his favourite sticks which he keeps in the house
( unless we find them first :-) ). Big ones or small ones, he doesn't care, but
his absolute favourite his to have a giant stick with leaves at one end, 
dragged along the ground in circles, he will charge endlessly round trying
to catch the end.

In order to try to match this bizarre behaviour, Ivy who is generally far
too dignified for this sort of thing has started her own collection of stringy
algae from the pond, looks lovely, mats of green slime lying around the place. 

Is there hope for these cats????

ps. Everyone ( esp. in food thread ) seems to know how heavy their cats are, 
my question is : How can you tell ??, our two haven't been to the vet since
the 'cruellest cut' when they were smaller, they are too big for the kitchen
scales now, but don't register very clearly on the bathroom scales, so how do
you weigh a cat???


Phil C. & the Monsters of Minge
From: sinnott@tc4.fi.ameslab.gov (Susan B. Sinnott)
Subject: Re: PEDIGREES
Organization: /usr/lib/news/organization
Date: Wed, 15 Apr 1992 23:01:11 GMT

In article <1992Apr15.181843.21719@pony.Ingres.COM> jpk@Ingres.COM (Jon Krueger) writes:
>Marla Belzowski writes:
>> responsibly bred purebreds don't end up in pounds.
>
>Happens all the time and for any number of reasons.
>Come on down and check it out.

I think what Marla meant by responsible breeding, is that if the owner
cannot keep the dog/cat for any reason, the dog/cat is returned to the breeder
who takes full responsibility for the dog/cat.  A responsible breeder
will usually demand that some obedience training/learning about the animal
be done before agreeing to sell the animal.  We are not just talking genetics 
here, when we talk about breeding.  That is ONE reason why puppy/kitten mills 
are so bad, because any person can walk into a pet store and if they have the
money, they get an animal.  Even if their idea of ownership is to get rid
of it in a year and get another.  Just to clear up a semantics issue.

Susan Sinnott
sinnott@tc4.fi.ameslab.gov
From: dwhitney@hamp.hampshire.edu
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
Subject: Re: help my cat is skinny
Date: 15 Apr 92 17:49:45 GMT
Organization: Hampshire College

I've found that Marmalade has a "winter look" and a "summer look."  In the fall
he starts bulking up and I don't mean just getting a winter coat.  His whole
body gets BIGGER including his head!  In the spring he begins to thin down
and goes from around 15-16 pounds to about 9.  He is physically a rangy cat
and never is fat, just bigger.  In the summer he's our "lean, mean killing
machine."

His sister, Biscuit, stays small and compact with no noticible winter/summer
change.

Honora, our oldest is quite large and except for shedding seems to stay the
same as well.

Achilles (nearly two) looks chubby but the vet says he's just built square.

Claudius (almost a year) is pushing 14 pounds and still growing.  He is 
happiest chewing.

Pandora -- well lets just say Pandora looks like a fuzzy calico basket ball
on toothpicks!.  Like many ladies, she's apparently cursed with a slow
metabolism and tends to pudge.

All of them seem to have, like people, different builds and food needs so
although it's wise to always have any change checked by a vet, also remember
you might have a lean, long distance runner instead of a blocky heavyweight
wrestler!
-- 
Deb Whitney
From: scm@harvee.UUCP (S. Mudgett aka little gator)
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
Subject: Re: Help my cat is skinny!
Date: 16 Apr 92 08:19:34 GMT
Organization: gators 'r us
X-Version: Rodney's UUCP modules 02/11/90 V1.18

In article <1992Apr14.125448.20072@watserv1.waterloo.edu> khare@watserv1.waterloo.edu
(Kathy Hare - DCS) writes:

> I'm wondering if anyone has any ideas that would help me.  I have a male
> unneuter tabby who is about a year old (we can only guess at his age, we 
> found him on the side of the road). Anyway lately he seems to be getting 
> really thin, his sides just behind his ribcage are sunken in.  He is a 
> very active cat, he tears around the house all day. He is eating quite
> a bit, actually he eats like a pig. We feed him about 3/4 cup of food 
> in the morning and if he finishes his and can't wait till dinner he 
> starts on the dogs food.  What I'm wondering is does he have worms, is
> he just really active or maybe growing again, or is his metabelism (sp)
> really high.  Has anyone else ever had this happen to there kitty? 
> Any help would be appreciated.
> Thanks Kathy
> 
this could be worms, or any number of problems both minor and serious. 
specifically it sounds like it could be either hyperthyroidism, which
 typically happens to older cats, but he may not be as young as you
think he is.  it would be best to get him and checkup, and be sure to bring 
along a stool sample so they can check for worms.
--
-- little gator aka S. Mudgett     email: scm@harvee.uucp
-- friend of a gator is a friend of mine
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
From: edotto@uipsuxb.ps.uiuc.edu (Edward C. Otto III)
Subject: Re: A CAT IS NOT AN "it"!!!!
Organization: University of Illinois at Urbana
Date: Fri, 17 Apr 1992 13:33:19 GMT

aatresa@lims02.lerc.nasa.gov (Teresa Kline) writes:

>Just because a man has a vasectomy does not mean that he is sexless.
>Just because a cat is neutered does not mean that *he* is sexless.

Please note that I did NOT use the term SEXLESS. Sexless and not having
sex are two entirely different matters.
--
Edward C. Otto III   	    *  E-mail addresses:  e-otto@uiuc.edu
Printing Services Office    *  Phone:  217/333-9422
54A E. Gregory Drive	    *  "The only thing we have to fear is
Champaign, IL  61820	    *  24 line .signature files..."
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
From: nik@nik.b23a.ingr.com (Nik Simpson)
Subject: Re: Quaking cats
Organization: Intergraph Systems Product Marketing
Date: Thu, 16 Apr 1992 17:33:25 GMT

In article <1992Apr14.200048.2989@rsg1.er.usgs.gov> ssnyder@sunai.er.usgs.gov (Steve Snyder) writes:
>And now for something a little different:
>
>A few of my co-workers and I were discussing if animals could detect
>earthquakes before they occurred. This is actually directed towards
>people in the San Francisco Bay area but others may respond:
>Before the Loma Prieta earthquake in October 1989, did anybody notice any 
>unusual behavior in their kitties? Or other animals?

	I saw a documentary on animal senses on the BBC once, it some remarkable
film of cats moving kittens immediately prior to an Earthquake,  the
implicastion was that the cats could sense some change indicating that now
would be a good time to move outdoors :-)


-- 
|--------------------------------------------------|
|  Nik Simpson	Mail : nik@ingr.com                |
|  Intergraph Corp.  System Product Marketing	   |
|--------------------------------------------------|
From: 21329KAD@MSU (Kim Dyer)
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
Subject: Re: Cat Thoughts
Date: 9 Apr 92 23:11:08 GMT
Organization: Michigan State University


>I get very inquisitive looks from my cat as I scramble around in the morning
>getting ready to go to work.  What is the cat thinking?  After careful
>consideration I have concluded that the kitty (always poised by the front door
>when I open it in the evening) thinks I have been outside all day long hunting
>food for it.

Isn't that exactly what you are doing, in a sense?  Sometimes I tell MY
animals I have to leave to earn them some kibble ... and have been in
situations where the bag of dog/cat food was purchased first and I ate
rice with boullion for a week.

************************************************************************
*  KIM DYER                    *                                       *
*  208 COMPUTER CENTER         * Had I known this long ago,            *
*  MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY   * I might not have come this way at all *
*  E. LANSING, MI  48824       *                                       *
*                              *                          - Al Stewart *
* 21329KAD @ MSU.BITNET        *                                       *
* 21329KAD @ IBM.CL.MSU.EDU    *                                       *
************************************************************************
From: tbachman@hamline.edu (Toni Bachman)
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
Subject: Re: Ralphin' Kitty
Date: 15 Apr 92 17:35:22 GMT
Article-I.D.: uc.1992Apr15.173522.13831
Organization: Hamline University, St. Paul, MN.

In article <hersh.703357232@exhume.lcs.mit.edu> hersh@expo.lcs.mit.edu (Jay Hersh) writes:
>my 14 year old Phuzz has started doing this in the last 2 years.
>She tosses up furballs in the summer (I do give her petromalt, this helps)
>but she also just randomly tosses her food sometimes. She also eats
>pretty fast, so it may perhaps have something to do with that, but I
>understand stress factors may also have something to do with this
>(I have a 1 year old, and while the 2 play the older cat isn't always
>psyched to play, and the younger cat probably stresses out the older
>one some, though  the older one does appreciate the company).
>
>Phuzz has been to the vet, and they say there is no chronic problem...
>
>-JaH
>
>--
>Hopfen und Malz, Gott erhalts

I also have had this problem with my cat and it was found (after months) that
she was eating too fast - we started giving her more meals during the day of
a much smaller amount and the problem has corrected itself.  If your cat is
spitting up hairballs perhaps you need to try another hairball medicine -
We use Hairball Remedy and she no longer spits them up.  Good Luck!  Cats
who toss their food are no fun to clean up after!!!

Toni
From: sw39+@andrew.cmu.edu (Susan R. Wagner)
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
Subject: Sensory overload
Date: 8 Apr 92 12:29:05 GMT
Organization: University Libraries - Technical Service, Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh, PA

Well it is spring time which means lots of birds chirping and new
smells.  This is my kittens first spring and he has sensory overload. 
We have started opening up the windows on a somewhat regular basis and
we can not get Jester away from the window!  His nose is smelling as
fast as it can and his ears are constantly moving, trying very
desperately to listen to every sound.  It is quite funny, and very cute.
 He runs from room to room to try  and "catch" the birds outside.  He
runs circles around the apartment, and is even starting to use us as
furniture for a good push off and higher leaping places.  He has been
meowing alot more than usual, I think he is trying to tell me that it is
more fun outside than watching everything from the inside.  I tell him
that is more fun to observe than be involved..I will win the battle!  Oh
the rights of spring, what a joy!

Susan and Jester
From: pinky@milton.u.washington.edu (Robert Burbank)
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
Subject: tumor
Date: 10 Apr 92 18:13:40 GMT
Article-I.D.: milton.pinky.702929620
Organization: University of Washington

hi, we just had a malignant tumor removed from a 5yo.
male red tabbys tail.  it was about the size of a tick tack.
any simular experiances out their?  the vet said it
might be all gone might not.  maybe it moved through out
his body.  please email me and share your experiance with us.
we are terrified that we will lose our bubby.  thanks.
From: tomm@voodoo.boeing.com (Tom Mackey)
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
Subject: Re: At what age is kittens personality obvious?
Date: 7 Apr 92 22:03:41 GMT
Distribution: na
Organization: Boeing Graphics project, Bellevue WA

In article <56874@cup.portal.com> amy@cup.portal.com (Amy Marie Kurtzman) writes:
>How may weeks old does a kitten have to be before its personality
>is set and apparent?

>We are planning to get Lucy a new friend soon. I found a breeder
>who has several kittens that were born at the end of March. We
>have to wait until the end of May or beginning of June (when they
>are 8 to 10 weeks old) to bring one home. However, I want to go
>over early to pick one out, before they are all gone. Excited
>as I am, I don't want to go too soon. How long should we wait
>to see the kittens and make sure we can get a true feeling for
>what the kitten will be like. We want to find a kitten with

My daughter's Siamese (purebred Lynx point, but no papers) has had 2
litters now.  The kittens are distinguishable by personality
and other traits at about 4 weeks, but 6 will give you a better
feel.  She gets their first shots and has the new ownee's pick them
up at 8 weeks.  We like to have people come see them at 5 to 6
weeks to spend some time and get to know them.  After a choice is
made she marks the bottoms of their paws with an indelable marker
just to be sure.

BTW, for those of you near Seattle WA, Jenna has 1 Red Point left,
and he seems to be turning into a "lap" cat.  He'll be 8 weeks old
on April 20th.
-- 
Tom Mackey       (206) 865-6575        tomm@voodoo.boeing.com
Boeing Computer Services         ....uunet!bcstec!voodoo!tomm
M/S 7K-20,     P.O. Box 24346,     Seattle, WA     98124-0346
                    -Save Teddy Bear Cove-                   
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
From: aschi@silver.lcs.mit.edu (aschi)
Subject: Re: comforting cats in car? Hi! I'm new to this group and would like to introduce my two cats, Sox
Organization: MIT Lab for Computer Science
Date: Tue, 14 Apr 1992 23:34:16 GMT

I find that my cat handles car trips MUCH better if he's in my lap. If he's
confined to his carrier, he cries and eventually urinates in it. When I 
moved from Urbana, IL to Boston, Elvis sat in my lap the whole time, much
happier than he would have been in the carrier. I just made sure that he 
had on a secure harness and that one end was attached to my belt, just in 
case he decided to check out the outside world at a rest stop.

amanda