HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: loosemore-sandra@CS.YALE.EDU (Sandra Loosemore)
Subject: Re: Has my cat gone mad?
Organization: staff hacker @ Yale Haskell project
Date: Fri, 2 Oct 1992 12:01:49 GMT

My guy Nerf chases his tail too.  He *really* likes to chase my other
cat's tail better, but sometimes he spots his own tail out of the corner
of his eye and gets confused....

-Sandra
From: klier@iscsvax.uni.edu
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
Subject: Feline Leukemia research symposium
Date: 5 Oct 92 22:10:52 -0500
Organization: University of Northern Iowa

Linda Jacobsen mentioned reading an article on feline leukemia vaccine 
failures in "household" use.  I've been hunting for this ever since, and
I think I may have found Linda's source (she, like me, reads so much that
the bibliographic details escape ;-)  )

The Nov 15 1991 issue of the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical
Association has a large number of articles on FeLeuk, a publication of
a symposium on that wretched virus.  If your library has JAVMA, please
scan these -- there's some valuable and interesting information.  Not
all vaccines are equal!  And there are some _very promising_ new 
vaccines being developed.

I'll be posting bits and pieces as I have time, but please, if you can,
read the research for yourself.  Fascinating!

Kay Klier    Biology Dept  UNI
From: bette@wc.novell.com (Elizabeth Brennan)
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
Subject: Re: Purring as a sign of illness
Date: 28 Sep 92 20:17:17 GMT
Reply-To: bette@wc.novell.com
Organization: Novell, Inc.

In <lcejkaINN1a1@jethro.Corp.Sun.COM> avi@rix.Corp.Sun.COM (Ann Adamcik) writes:

>In article 69223@hydra.gatech.EDU, iadt1jm@prism.gatech.EDU (Jean McSpadden) writes:
>>
>>All the other cats I have know have wanted to be by themselves when ill,
>>this little cat's loud purring and wanting to be held through his 
>>illness has mystified and touched me. Has anyone else had a cat
>>who purrs when he is sick?

Many years ago I put a flea collar on my cat and within a few hours she was
acting very much like you describe, except that she was also began shaking
very slightly.  It was heartbreaking to see her snuggling up against me as
if she was trying to hide from the bad feeling.  Removing the collar fixed
the problem immeadiately. 

I hope the little fellow gets better soon.
Bette Brennan

bette@novell.com
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
From: yozzo@watson.ibm.com (Ralph Yozzo)
Subject: Re: Color TV For Sale 
Date: Thu, 01 Oct 1992 03:34:36 GMT
Distribution: seattle
Disclaimer: This posting represents the poster's views, not necessarily those of IBM
Organization: IBM T.J. Watson Research Center

In article <1992Sep30.072625.2063@u.washington.edu> grimjack@milton.u.washington.edu (Leslie Basel) writes:
>
>Just like it says.. 10 inch diagonal color TV for sale.
>Generally works well, reception dependent on where you
>are.  General Electric basic model.  Moving, must sell
>by Friday, otherwise it goes to the Wise Penny. $15, or OBO. 
>
>Phone 527-4452 or 543-4335.  Email is fine, too.
>
>Leslie Basel
>

Maybe, this is a tricky way of saying that the television can only
receive the Mary Tyler Moore show.

Since the symbol for Mary Tyler Moore productions is our feline friend.

-- 
Ralph Yozzo (yozzo@watson.ibm.com)  
From the beautiful and historic Mid-Hudson Valley area of NY state
From: mls4@ns1.cc.lehigh.edu (Maurice L. Sipos)
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
Subject: Not in the box!
Date: 2 Oct 92 01:54:13 GMT
Organization: Lehigh University

I have two cats.  One is about 4.5 years old and the other is about 1 year
old.  The older cat decided that she doesn't want to pee in the litter box.
Instead, she likes the bathroom rug.  She was just at the vet, so I don't
think it is health related.  I think that she is jealous of the younger
cat...any suggestions on how to get her back in the box?
-- 
------------------------------
Maurice L. Sipos
758-4525
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
From: vicki@steam.atd.ucar.edu (Vicki Holzhauer)
Subject: Re: opening doors
Organization: Atmospheric Technology Division/NCAR Boulder, CO
Date: Mon, 5 Oct 1992 19:57:07 GMT

In article <HNc2RB1w165w@cybernet.cse.fau.edu> aaronm@cybernet.cse.fau.edu (aaron meyerowitz) writes:
>How common is it for a cat to open a door by itself? 


My uncle used to have a large (20 lbs) tuxedo cat named Fruitcake who
could open doors with the normal, round handle on them.  (They lived
in an older house in Massachusetts, so the door handles had little
filligrees on them and weren't completely smooth.)  Fruitcake normally
stayed in the cellar, and the door to the cellar was in a corner of
the kitchen.  When a bunch of people gathered around the kitchen table
and started having a conversation, Fruitkitty would realize he was
missing out on something.  Suddenly, the doorknob would turn, the door
would slowly open, and out would come the cat.  A very amusing thing
to see ... :-)




--
Vicki Holzhauer, National Center for Atmospheric Research
Boulder, Colorado / / / /  vicki@ncar.ucar.edu
From: lhuffman@stsci.edu
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
Subject: Re: how much to feed
Date: 6 Oct 92 13:53:59 GMT
Distribution: na
Organization: Space Telescope Science Institute

In article <BvoGDF.L7@mentor.cc.purdue.edu>, larsenp@mace.cc.purdue.edu (Paul Larsen) writes:
> Our cat is about 2 and 1/2 pounds overweight.  Her weight optimum is supposed
> to be 10 pounds.  The vet put her on Hill's Science diet light and told us
> to feed her about half a cup a day.  Maybe it is my feelings getting in the
> way, but the poor cat always seems to be starving when we feed her this much.
> Should we feed her a little more or is the cat putting on a real good
> acting job?
> 
> 
> Paul Larsen
> larsenp@mace.cc.purdue.edu
> 

I've found the best way to decrease food is to do it gradually. It's as much 
routine to them to eat a certain amount as it is hunger. So going drastically
from one to the other is probably what's bothersome to her. Just think about
how difficult it is for people to suddenly alter their eating habits.

Also, as an aside, I used the Lite Sci Di for a while but found that some of 
my cats got bloody stools from an irritated bowl, probably from the high 
roughage. Again, for this reason, I would gradually introduce this into her 
diet by mixing it in increasing amounts to decreasing amounts of her 'old' food
while gradually (over two week period) decreasing the total amount.
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
From: gck@hector.uucp (24641-kemmerling)
Subject: Re: Stretchy collars (was Re: Advice, please!...)
Organization: Bellcore, Livingston, NJ
Date: Fri, 2 Oct 92 19:24:09 GMT

In article <16533@bcars664.bnr.ca>, lianne@bcarh17e.BNR.CA (Lianne Raley) writes:
> 
> The collars I buy are nylon. They're actually in two sections with an
> elastic joining them. The collars themselves aren't stretchy. I don't 
> think they would easily break but it does give enough leeway that the
> cat wouldn't choke himself if he got caught on something. Also, when I
> follow the rule of being able to fit one finger inside the collar it
> seems to be enough that the cat would be able to pull his head out if
> he did get caught. I also use small plastic name tags that are very
> light. They don't seem to notice them at all.

 I only had my cat wear a collar when we made our move , but what
scared me is I left it on him while we were in a rental house 
waiting for the closing on our house.  Anyway...It was one of those nylon
braided ones and I heard this terrible noise and saw him writhing and 
growling on the floor.  What happened was as he was scratching his neck
with his back foot, a claw got stuck in the collar and he couldn't get loose.
I'll never use  a nylon collar again - I went and bought a leather one.  Do
they make break-away leather collars?

gayle

E-mail address: gck@hector.cc.bellcore.com 
Morristown, N.J.
(201) 829-3950
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
From: gck@hector.uucp (24641-kemmerling)
Subject: Re: Why Do Cats Lick Humans?
Organization: Bellcore, Livingston, NJ
Distribution: na
Date: Fri, 2 Oct 92 19:14:09 GMT

In article <Oct.1.18.51.09.1992.29516@andromeda.rutgers.edu>, giordano@andromeda.rutgers.edu (E. Giordano) writes:
> My cat, Nickie, is absolutely obsessive about
> licking, especially hands. arms etc. when hes
> purring and happy he will lick my hand
> until it hurts and try to keep going, I thinbk
> its a drawback to his childhood

I read somewhere that when  a cat licks you, it's the highest form
of a compliment and affection a cat can show.  If your cat licks
you, you should be very flattered! :-))

gayle
 
E-mail address: gck@hector.cc.bellcore.com 
Morristown, N.J.
(201) 829-3950
From: gibson@dl5000.bc.edu (Rene Gibson)
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
Subject: Re: Cat doesn't purr.
Date: 2 Oct 92 19:58:59 GMT
Distribution: na
Organization: Institute for Space Research, Boston College

In article <lswan.33.0@ucsd.edu> lswan@ucsd.edu (Swan, Lyn) writes:

<Some leading bits deleted>

>   And this one time the purr was so quiet that I may have just imagined it. 

<Some other bits deleted>

>   If anyone has ideas on how to get Kate to purr please advise.  

Since she purred that once and it was really quiet, are you certain she
doesn't purr at other times and you're just not hearing it?  Sheba
was just like this (and is still mostly like this).  Life in general
seems to simply be louder than this cat is willing to purr.  I have to
practically hold her up to my ear to hear the purr sometimes (then she
gets upset and stops purring!!).  By listening carefully at quiet times,
we found that Sheba purrs often.  I guess she's sort of singing to
herself instead of to the rest of the world.  She's very happy and I can
only assume she doesn't feel any great need to purr loud enough for the
rest of the world to hear.

Sheba is one very intelligent/odd/pretty/content cat.

Rene
--
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
From: kjt34420@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu (Kristin J. Thommes)
Subject: toxoplasmosis
Organization: University of Illinois at Urbana
Date: Fri, 2 Oct 1992 20:25:21 GMT

There has been a lot of discussion lately on toxoplasmosis and so i thought
I would share some useful info with you all :-)

It takes between 36 and 48 hours for the eggs shed in the cats stool to
reach the infective stage, so if you change your cats litter every day
chances are very very very slim that you could contract toxoplasmosis.

Also, of studies that have been done, in a class I took 2 years ago we
learned that absolutely NO cases of toxoplasmosis could be traced 
directly back to a cat.  They were all due to the mishandling of raw
meat.  (which is one reason why you need to wash of the plate that had
the raw burgers on it before you put the cooked ones on the same plate...
cooking destroys the larvae and placing cooked meat in with uncooked
juices can reinfect the meat).

So, if your doctor tells you that you need to get rid of your cat 
because you are pregnant, don't listen to him, call the vet for a feline
toxoplasmosis test, and (best of all) ask your husband to clean the
litterbox for you :-)


--
From: kjt34420@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu (Kristin J. Thommes)
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
Subject: Re: Necessary Dental Work or SCAM? Need advice
Date: 2 Oct 92 18:45:25 GMT
Article-I.D.: news.BvIC3r.2vv
Organization: University of Illinois at Urbana

DBBARBER@MACC.WISC.EDU (Deborah B. Barber) writes:

>After a recent teeth cleaning, my new vet told me that 2 of my cat Zuni's
>teeth have broken off due to cavities at the gum line.  Now, it is supposedly
>necessary for me to have dental x-rays for her, to determine if the roots
>of the 2 missing teeth remain; and if so, they must be surgically removed
>to prevent infection.

>Do folks with more experience of cat dentistry think this diagnosis and
>suggested treatment sounds logical?   Or should I be suspicious that the
>teeth were broken DURING the recent cleaning?  Is this a routine problem/
>condition?

Yes, it is very very important to have the x-rays done to insure that the 
roots were resorbed.  If they were not, then they will get infected and
cause all sorts of problems, simply because cats have a lot less bone 
between their teeth and their nasal passages.  I have seen quite a few cats
who have had abcessed teeth and the infection goes right up into their 
sinuses and then not only do they need to have the roots removed surgically,
they also need to have their nose flushed out and get put on fairly long-
term antibiotics because nasal infections can go to the lungs, which is
very bad :-(

It is a relatively common problem for cats to get gumline cavities, the
best thing you can try and do is that if your cats are prone to them that
you try and use an animal-formulated fluoride gel on their teeth once a 
week.  Yes, I know how hard it is to do a cats teeth, but it is worth the 
stress if it prevents them from losing a tooth later on.

Cats teeth are fairly fragile when compared to dogs teeth and they can
break off during a dental, however, during a normal cleaning not enough
force is exerted on a tooth for it to break.  Usually if a tooth breaks
it is when they are trying to pull it to begin with.  So in all likelihood,
your vet did nothing to cause the teeth to break off.  

Good luck!

-- 
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
From: young@serum.kodak.com
Subject: Re: Purring as a sign of illness
Originator: young@sasquatch
Reply-To: young@serum.kodak.com
Organization: Clinical Diagnostics Division, Eastman Kodak Company
Date: Mon, 28 Sep 92 19:54:04 GMT

In article <69223@hydra.gatech.EDU> iadt1jm@prism.gatech.EDU (Jean McSpadden) writes:

[...]

>All the other cats I have know have wanted to be by themselves when ill,
>this little cat's loud purring and wanting to be held through his 
>illness has mystified and touched me. Has anyone else had a cat
>who purrs when he is sick?

	The fact that cats purr when sick or injured does seem strange until
	you apply the knowledge that purring is NOT a sign of contentment,
	but rather a sign of submission.  A cat's purr says, "I'm non-
	threatening right now; I accept the fact that you're my superior,
	and I'll permit you to do almost anything without fear of reprisal."

	Of course it should be noted that said cat can change its mind at
	any time!

	I've found that, if you look at the purr as a communication to you
	rather than a statement of well-being, it becomes very logical that
	they will purr when sick or hurt, or when they're at the vet.  It's
	like saying, "I'm non-threatening, can't you hear?  So please fix
	whatever is wrong and don't hurt me."  Actually, since domestic cats
	are neotenized, there's probably a component of , "Make it better,
	Mommy," in the purr as well.


-Rich Young (These are not Kodak's opinions.)
From: klier@iscsvax.uni.edu
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
Subject: Re: Cat freaks at vet's!
Date: 27 Sep 92 19:50:26 -0500
Organization: University of Northern Iowa

granzeau_c@cho006.cho.ge.com writes:
> 
> I've been having a problem with my black and white DSH, Willy, and the vet. 
> Willy used to be okay at the vet, but as time goes on, he gets more and more
> afraid.  Probably a combination of the shots and other unpleasant things the
> vet does to him, and the fact that there always seem to be large friendly dogs
> running around the waiting room and getting in his face. ... 

> Does anyone else have a cat that their vet can't seem to handle?  What do you
> do about it?  Should I try another vet?  Should I stick with the same vet and
> try a larger dose of acepromazine?  Should I just tell Willy he can't go out
> anymore (as it is, he only goes out in my yard under direct supervision), and
> give up on getting him the shots?

Personally, I'd try this vet ONCE more IF you can have an early appt or a
late appt where there are no dogs in the waiting room.  In the meantime,
I'd be loading Willie into the cat cage and carting him around in the car
with me to try to desensitize him to the car=vet equation.  Short trips,
pleasant things at the end of them (like chicken treats, or whatever 
Willie likes).

If you can't get a dog-free appointment see if they'd be willing to let 
you and Willie in the back door, or give you a holler while you sit in 
the car.  If I told the receptionist at the vet college that I'd be outside 
with my gang, the vet students would come get me and I'd haul them all in 
through the equine entrance, not the *horrors!* DOG entrance!

Alternatively, you may want to start looking for a cats-only vet, or a 
vet that makes housecalls.

Good luck!  

Kay Klier  Biology Dept  UNI
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
From: steveg@teal.csn.org (Steve Genoff)
Subject: Re: Why Do Cats Lick Humans?
Organization: Colorado SuperNet, Inc.
Distribution: na
Date: Sun, 27 Sep 1992 23:04:45 GMT

In article <1992Sep25.204515.1@stsci.edu> lhuffman@stsci.edu writes:
>In article <1992Sep25.224923.14570@epas.toronto.edu>, dschlow@epas.utoronto.ca (Deborah Schlow) writes:
  [... the question about cat licking ...]
>> I always though it was the salt on our skins.
>Nah... it's love.

hhhhmmm, so it's a kitty margarita;  salt on the rim, and lots o' lovin' on
the inside ;-))

  Chunky, my only male cat, is the only one of my five cats that is obsessive 
about licking me.  He especially loves to lick my nose (it is a wee tad
greasy) and (now this is kinda gross...) would even lick inside my nose if
I would let him.  Sometimes his breath confpetes with the affection he
gives me.  At one time i nicknamed him 'Mr Tongue' because of this
behaviour.

   Steve



-- 
                                                                   Mir na zemlye
Steve Genoff                                               steveg@csn.org
- Join the League for Programming Freedom ---   Innovate, Don't Litigate       -
     (info from league@prep.ai.mit.edu)
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
From: lewf@newton.ccs.tuns.ca (Fred Lew)
Subject: Cat doesn't purr.
Organization: Technical University of Nova Scotia, Halifax, N.S.
Distribution: na
Date: Tue, 29 Sep 1992 23:04:10 GMT

I have a cat which does not purr unless the person has food.  This cat
will sit on laps but will not purr.  The person must have some sort
of food in their hands or be near food (i.e. in the kitchen).  I also
have another cat of the same type (Egyptian Mau).  This cat, a female,
does purr alot.  The cat that won't purr is a male.  We got the male
after the female.

They both get along but the male sometimes look jealous (?) when we
play with the female.

I was wondering if other people have similar experiences.

The female is called Kismet and the male is called Typhon. (no not
typhoon).

If you wish to email me, I can summarize.
Thanks 

Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
From: lhuffman@stsci.edu
Subject: Re: Why Do Cats Lick Humans?
Organization: Space Telescope Science Institute
Distribution: na
Date: Sat, 3 Oct 1992 00:06:36 GMT



 I read somewhere that when  a cat licks you, it's the highest form
 of a compliment and affection a cat can show.  If your cat licks
 you, you should be very flattered! :-))
 
.. then go wash.
From: sw39+@andrew.cmu.edu (Susan R. Wagner)
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
Subject: Invisible fences...what are they?
Date: 30 Sep 92 12:34:28 GMT
Organization: University Libraries - Technical Service, Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh, PA

Hello everyone,  I realize that most people that read this probably do
not have an invisible fence to keep their cats in their yard, but maybe
you know something about them.  I have seen advertisements for them, but
never understood the whole concept of how they worked, etc.  Can someone
explain?????  Thanks in advance.

Susan and Jester
Organization: University Libraries - Technical Service, Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh, PA
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
Date: Fri,  2 Oct 1992 08:45:08 -0400 
From: "Susan R. Wagner" <sw39+@andrew.cmu.edu>
Subject: Re: Claw questions

>First, this just seems really weird: Hemingway chews on his claws.  (Maybe
>he picked up my fingernail-chewing habit from observation? :) )  Anyone
>else have a cat who does this?  He just sits there and ruminates and chews
>on his claws, especially the dewclaws.

My cat Jester does this when it is time for a trim.  I figure if he can
get his teeth to them, them they can do damage to me.  It sounds like
you need to trim your cats claws.  Is your cat a kitten?  Well, if so,
then it would be advisable to start "training" him to accept claw
trimmings.  Jester has no troubles, but we trained him from kittenhood. 
Good luck.

>will be a problem?  I ask mostly because I have these mental pictures of
>Hemingway running full tilt across the apartment, leaping up to climb the
>futon, and falling flat on his behind when he discovers his claws are
>gone.  Any experiences with cats learning to deal with clawlessness?

Trimming his claws will not render him "clawlessness" unless you mean by
trimming - declawing.  Clipping his nails will not prevent him from
being able to "grab" on to things.  If you are talking about
"declawing",then he may slid down your futon. However, ours can leap and
climb on to any piece of furniture w/o his front claws. Good luck
clipping his/her claws.  It is such a wonderful part of motherhood.

Susan and Jester
From: trudy@bcarh17d.BNR.CA (Trudy McConnell)
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
Subject: Re: Cat Hockey
Date: 30 Sep 92 16:03:49 GMT
Reply-To: trudy@bcarh17d.BNR.CA (Trudy McConnell)
Organization: Bell-Northern Research Ltd.

My kitten, Freddy loves to play cat hockey. His favorite things to play
this with are plastic bottle caps and pens. The last time we moved the 
couch in our living room, we found about 10 each under it. We try not 
to leave anything like that out anymore, so he has to find new things 
to play with. One day he came downstairs with a razor in his mouth (it
had a cover over the blade, so he didn't hurt himself), we figured this
wouldn't be a good hockey toy, so now those are put in a drawer when
not in use. (He is getting really upset that we keep hiding his favorite
playthings). For about the last week now, his favorite has been my 
blush brush. I'll be sitting downstairs and Fred comes racing around 
the corner batting my blush brush around - why can't he play hockey 
with his own toys ?????? (and he does have a lot of cat toys !!!!)
 
Trudy.... and Joe (5-year-old maine coon) and Freddy (6-month-old
          orange tabby).
From: lswan@ucsd.edu (Swan, Lyn)
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
Subject: Re: Cat doesn't purr.
Date: 1 Oct 1992 20:00:16 GMT
Organization: University of California, San Diego
Distribution: na
NNTP-Posting-Host: card3.ucsd.edu

In article <1992Sep29.230410.1450@newton.ccs.tuns.ca> lewf@newton.ccs.tuns.ca (Fred Lew) writes:
>From: lewf@newton.ccs.tuns.ca (Fred Lew)
>Subject: Cat doesn't purr.
>Date: Tue, 29 Sep 1992 23:04:10 GMT

>I have a cat which does not purr unless the person has food.  This cat
>will sit on laps but will not purr.  The person must have some sort
>of food in their hands or be near food (i.e. in the kitchen).  I also
>have another cat of the same type (Egyptian Mau).  This cat, a female,
>does purr alot.  The cat that won't purr is a male.  We got the male
>after the female.

I think you are lucky that your cat will purr for food.  My Kate does not 
purr at all!  She's 19 months & only once have I heard her purr - it was 
after a bath (hers) & I was holding her in a towel & using the dryer on 
her.  We were closeted in the bathroom so her attention loving sister/
littermate Allie couldn't interfere.  And this one time the purr was so 
quiet that I may have just imagined it.  I want Kate to purr sooo badly!  
Allie purrs a lot but only when she's in the mode which is several times a 
day.  Kate is a sweet kitty, a little skittish, always wants to be in 
the room with you - but not on your lap, heaven forbid, that would be a sign 
of "Kate's not dominant" and she couldn't stand that.  If anyone has 
ideas on how to get Kate to purr please advise.  Rubbing, brushing etc doesn'
t work.

Lyn & Kate & Allie
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats