HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: wd5j@vax5.cit.cornell.edu
Newsgroups: rec.pets
Subject: Adopting rabbit questions
Date: 7 Sep 92 09:29:01 EDT
Distribution: rec
Organization: Cornell University

Hello...I'm new to this group and have some questions...I'd very much
appreciate any responses, either via email or on the net (if it's of general
interest).  I know rabbits are a hot topic, so thanks in advance for patience
in case this was all discussed just recently.  I'm thinking of adopting a
juvenile (?) Flemish Giant in the next few weeks.  The lifestyle I envision is
keeping him (should I get a buck or doe?) in a cage when unsupervised, and
having free run when supervised.  I have 3 dogs and 3 cats.  So here are my
questions:
1. At what age should I adopt?  I'm going to a breeder so I don't know what the
handling is like early on--is 6 months too late for "taming"?  I'm also going
to have him castrated if its a male--is that too late to avoid urine marking?

2. Males vs females?

3. I'm naive about litter-training.  ARe rabbits OK about sharing withn as
easily as urinating in the pan?

4. This concerns me a lot--any thoughts about cats and rabbits coexisting?

5. Any other thoughts, concerns, etc.--I'm eager to give him/her a good home. 
I'd love to hear about other Flemish...

Thanks again!

Ilana Reisner
WD5J@vax5.cit.cornell.edu
Cornell University 
What kind of litter do they like?  Can they be trained to poop in a pan as
easily as
Newsgroups: rec.pets
From: kjt34420@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu (Kristin J. Thommes)
Subject: Re: pissed-off 'possum in my yard
Organization: University of Illinois at Urbana
Date: Tue, 8 Sep 1992 15:49:03 GMT

If you are willing to try and capture the possunm and move it to
another location, you can invest in a Havahart trap.  This looks
sort of like a cage, and the way it works is that when an animal
enters it, a door will swing shut, trapping the animal in the cage.
It has metal handles on it for easy transport of the animal.  (I
would wear heavy gloves though, so I would be more likely to keep
all of my fingers!)

Possums like all kinds of people food, especially "sweet" things like
bananas, or honey on lettuce.  You can use these to bait the trap.
The best thing to do would be to place the trap right near the porch,
and then bait it for a few days without setting it so that the possum will
not accidentally trip it and get away (and thus never fall for that 
trick again).  Then when you do set it, set it up that evening and ch
check it the next morning, first thing.  If he was not trapped, unset it.
Obviously, you don't want him to get stuck in the cage for a long amount of 
time.  If yo8 do trap him/her, make sure she does not have any babies
under the porch or they will die without her.  The  you can move him/her 
to a forest preserve or nature sanctuary, ideally releasing him/her
in an area with plenty of cover (bushes or shrubs) so he can hide out
until he gets a territory set up.

Be careful not to get bitten....possums have about 44 sharp teeth in their
mouths and they will use them!!  (However for some reason, rabies is not 
real common in possums like it is in raccooons.)

-- 

Newsgroups: rec.pets
From: rhuls@liebnitz.ssd.kodak.com (Robbin Huls)
Subject: Re: cat goes to old house!
Organization: Eastman Kodak
Date: Wed, 9 Sep 92 20:12:20 GMT

In article <Sep09.191235.81049@yuma.ACNS.ColoState.EDU> pruett@CS.ColoState.EDU (J. L. Pruett) writes:
>I have friends who just moved to a new house from an apartment in a house.
>The problem is that the cat keeps going to the old place...
>...but there is a very busy street he has to cross to get there...
>
>Any suggestions on how to get him to stay home?

At the risk of being flamed unmercifully: cats, like dogs and small
children should not be allowed to play unrestrained in an area where
traffic is a danger...until they can comprehend the danger, which for
cats and dogs is pretty much never.

Robbin
From: klier@iscsvax.uni.edu
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
Subject: Re: Need info on Feline Leukemia
Date: 9 Sep 92 16:44:53 -0500
Organization: University of Northern Iowa

In article <1992Sep9.164027.15673@newshost.unh.edu>, K_LEPA@unhh.unh.edu (Kristen   Lepa) writes:

I'm hardly an expert, but I've had a fair amount of experience:
> 
> Some questions are:
> 
> 1.  Will my other two cats be at risk if they're up to date with their
> vaccinations?  Cannan was around Elephi (with leukemia) for about ten
> years and is OK.  (Or is she the carrier that gave it to Harry?)

No vaccine is 100% effective.  I'd consider early boosters for the
others.  Frankly, since the shots have become available, I consider
FeLeuk a non-issue for my gang.  I have more pressing worries, like
hairballs and earmites!  ;-)

 
> 2.  Should I get my other cats tested?  Hannah (2 yrs) was negative a couple of
> years ago, but amazingly, Cannan was never tested by my parents, so I just
> kept going with her vaccinations.  Also, there was a period of time when
> they let her vaccinations go undone for a few years.  She's fourteen now,
> by the way.

Sure, if you want to.  Will this change anything for you one way or
the other?  If it won't, why spend the money?

> 
> 3.  How exactly does this disease work?  What should I look for in terms
> of symptoms?  How long does the average cat with Feline Leukemia live?
> Doesn't is work kinda like AIDS?

Kittens seem to be hit the hardest, and most cats that contract FeLeuk as
kittens will die by 2-3 years.  Adult cats who contract FeLeuk may eventually
succumb, but the time course is variable. My old Gray lived to 21 with
FeLeuk.

Like AIDS, FeLeuk often does not kill, but secondary infections or cancers
that are allowed to grow because of the animal's suppressed immune response
tend to be the main cause of death.  But HIV (the AIDS virus) and
FeLeuk are *ABSOLUTELY NOT RELATED*.  *SO DON'T THINK YOU CAN GET AIDS
FROM CATS.*

And some cats have the virus, or antibodies to the virus, but never show
the symptoms.  My Bear tested positive for FeLeuk at about a year.  He
has some of the physical symptoms of a positive cat (changes in the
retina, very flexible rib cage) *but* he converted to a negative test
about a year later.  That's gotta be 8 or 9 years ago.

Questions to ask your vet include:
Are they testing for virus, or antibodies to the virus?
What's the rate of false positives for the test you're using, and for
your lab?
What's the short term prognosis for this cat?

Kay Klier  Biology Dept  UNI
From: joanm@moe.coe.uga.edu (Joan Maxfield UCNS)
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
Subject: Re: Naming cat behaviors
Date: 6 Sep 92 02:04:47 GMT
	<24388@oasys.dt.navy.mil> <968@seahcx.UUCP>
Organization: College of Education, University of Georgia


Wow, I totally forgot the ever popular 
Cat standing on hind legs with paws down to the sides, head popped WAY
up, looking for something:
	At our place this is the bear walk or the prairie dog thing.
Amos, being all black looks a little more like a bear than a prairie
dog!  But it IS cute!

Joan
From: das@voodoo.boeing.com (Deb Schwartz)
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
Subject: Re: Need info on Feline Leukemia
Date: 14 Sep 92 14:34:40 GMT
Organization: Yet Another Graphics Project, Bellevue, WA

In article <1992Sep13.172356.12211@frcs.Alt.ZA> linda@frcs.Alt.ZA (Linda Jacobson) writes:
>
>Just one addition to Kay's good advice: at least one bunch of people
>have done some research recently which shows that the vaccine is
>unlikely to make much difference, one way or another.
>
My vet told me that the vaccine is only about 80% effective.  Something
that just occured to me is:  does that mean any individual vacinated cat still
has a 20% chance of cat of catching FLV, or does it mean that the vaccine
is effective for 80% of the cats vacinated, and doesn't work for 20%?
Anyone know?

Debbie Schwartz // das@voodoo.boeing.com  // or uunet!bcstec!voodoo!das
From: jlecher@pbs.org
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
Subject: Re: bathtubs
Date: 14 Sep 92 17:07:09 EDT
Organization: PBS:Public Broadcasting Service, Alexandria, VA

In article <1992Sep4.164514.1123@msus1.msus.edu>, mverman@msus1.msus.edu writes:
> In article <186vg8INNhbi@usenet.INS.CWRU.Edu>, cb771@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (S. Macfarland) writes:
>> 
>> Lately my 4.5 month old long hair tuxedo has developed some
>> kind of bathtub fetish. Any time I want to take a shower or
>> bath, I have to first remove an assortment of milk bottle
>> caps, spongy balls, socks, etc from the tub, and often the
>> kitten himself. Anyone else experienced this? He's the first
>> kitten I've had with this behavior!
>>
Scarlett is fascinated by the bathtub. If I'm in the bathroom getting
ready for a shower, she's on the floor outside the bathroom door,
trying desperately to pry the door open (from underneath) and get in.
Then I let her in, and she makes a beeline for the bathtub and sits on
the edge. When I get in and turn the water on, she runs back to the
door, scared, but then decides to climb up on the table next to the
tub and peek around the edge of the curtain to see what I'm doing.
She's absolutely entralled! Then, the minute I shut off the water
and get out, she's in the tub, licking the bottom, and chasing the
drips that are running down the side of the tub. 
And this is the kitten who wants DESPERATELY to bat the ice cubes in
her water disk without getting her paws wet!

A couple of weeks ago, she got big enough to get on the edge of the
toilet. My boyfriend said that he saw her there, but when he went
into the other room he heard the lid fall closed, then this
soaking-wet kitten came running out of the bathroom! He guessed that
she'd nudged the lid so that it fell down, pushing her in.
*snicker* *laugh*  Okay, I worried that she could have gotten hurt.
But it's still funny!

*haha*

Jane
 
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
From: pdsmith.mitre.org (Pat Smith)
Subject: Re: Conversations with cats
Organization: The MITRE Corporation
Date: Fri, 4 Sep 1992 21:15:16 GMT

In article <Bu2Fxv.66K@cmptrc.lonestar.org>, carter@cmptrc.lonestar.org (Carter Bennett) writes:
> 
> In article <1992Sep3.060214.1720@walter.cray.com> bonni@snoid.cray.com (Bonni Ensminger) writes:
> >Winston has an inverted version of this, more of an OW? as if he's asking a
> >question.  In this mode, if I meow back, he'll answer,  over and over.:-)
> 
> Kepler and Einstein and I will have these conversations, too.  After doing
> it regularly, we seem to have an elementary form of communications going.
> Now that I think about it, it amazes me how specifically we can communicate
> with these utterances.  In a way, it's much like the way one can train
> animals to respond to English commands, but we're using THEIR vocal
> patterns instead of mine.  That may make all the difference, since they
> are cognizant that I'm actually trying to communicate and not just making
> noises like the TV.  Rarely does a "comment" in feline go unanswered.
> 
> It's very difficult to describe the inflexions and dynamics (some are 
> rather subtle differences from other phrases), but they have taught me 
> several phrases (or perhaps I should say we've agreed to a few specific 
> meanings).  Just off the top of my head, I'd guess that we have about ten
> "words" in our vocabulary - some of which can be strung together to form
> "sentences."
> 
> Has anyone else done this?  Has my potato been bakin' too long?
> 
> Carter R. Bennett, Jr. - Scientist      No matter where you go...
> carter@scilab.lonestar.org - home                 .../dev/tty!
> carter@cmptrc.lonestar.org - work
> KI5SR
> 
> 
My cats and I talk all the time.  She tells me when she is hungry, scared, 
lonely, cold and proud of some accomplishment.  I tell her when she is
pretty, good, naughty, okay (comforted when scared), and a character (when I
found her in the closet of towel looking like ET).  She also has her own
language for play with the other cat and all her toys.  
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
From: pdsmith.mitre.org (Pat Smith)
Subject: Re: Enough!
Organization: The MITRE Corporation
Date: Thu, 10 Sep 1992 15:19:02 GMT

In article <1992Sep10.090521.12905@phillip.edu.au>, cbradburn@phillip.edu.au writes:
> 
> 
> I was woken for the umpteenth time at 5 am this morning by two cats
> playing (in no particular oder):
> 	chasing each other around in circles
> 	opening the bathroom cupboards and knocking out the contents
> 	leaping on the bed an pulling the human's hair.
> 
> That's it! Enough!  I am not a human that tolerates lack of sleep.  Any
> offers for:
> 
> 1. one siamese, name of Keating (called after our beloved p.m. because they're
> both opinionated and arrogant.) approx. 3 years old.
> 
> 2. one domestic longhair, name of Seconds (too hard to explain). approx
> 2.5. years old.?
> 
> 
> No reasonable offer refused.
> 
> 
> I fel better now.
> 
> 
> Carol .........
> 
> 

Get used to it or be home and don't let them sleep all day.  We only get to
sleep in on Sundays and Mondays after we keep the "kids" up all day Sat and Sun.
If the noise begin to early, we just get up and march the warriors to the 
basement where they can make all the noise they want.  If you are apt 
dwellers than lock them in the farthest room from your room and maybe invest
in earplugs.
From: alspach@lilly.com (Gretchen K. Alspach)
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
Subject: Re: "Killing" Socks
Date: 4 Sep 92 21:08:35 GMT
Distribution: world,local
Organization: Eli Lilly and Company



In article <1709@shaman.wv.tek.com> , peggys@orca.wv.tek.com writes:
>My boyfriends cat, Smokey, has this thing about dragging his socks,
clean or
>dirty, out of his bedroom and into the living room.

Our cat Dempsey has his own sock that has been rolled into a ball.  For
some strange, unexplainable reason, every once in a while I will hear a
cat crying at my feet, look down, and it's Dempsey with the sock ball in
his mouth.  It's really quite cute, because somehow he manages to keep
the sock ball in his mouth while he is trying to meow.

Gretchen
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
From: judith@super.org (Judith D. Schlesinger)
Subject: Re: What kind of cats do I have?
Organization: Supercomputing Research Center (Bowie, MD)
Date: Fri, 4 Sep 1992 10:58:33 GMT

>>> crystal@glia.biostr.washington.edu (Crystal) writes:
>>> 
>>> >
>>> > You have ordinary domestic felines of the household pet variety.   
>>Since there
>>> > are no papers for any of them, they cannot be of any specific breed.  
>>They may
>>> > look *similar* to a known breed, but to call them such would not be  
>>correct.
>>> > Veterinarians often err in this respect.  They have been known to give  
>>breed
>>> > names to cats that were nothing at all like the breed itself.
>>> >
>>> > So, in short, you have domestic longhair household pets.

I can't stand this any more!  If I have a seal-point siamese (which I
do) then I have a seal-point siamese and *not* a domestic short hair.
If I don't have papers for him (which I don't) it is certainly possible
that he's a mix or he may be as pure as the purest blue blood.  The
presence or absence of papers doesn't change what he is.  Regardless of
what breeders and show-folk might say, papers do *not* make an animal a
certain breed or not.  If I were to suddenly acquire papers that
unequivocably state that my seal point Siamese is a blue rex he'd still
be a seal-point siamese.

It is true that people often look at pictures of cats and decide that
their animal must be "some exotic breed" because they look "just like
the picture".  Odds are they're wrong about what they're claiming since
the more exotic the breed, the less likely it bred indiscriminantly
and that the kittens were just abandoned, given to a shelter, etc.
But, if it makes someone feel good to think their baby is more special
because it's some exotic breed, so what?  They're not trying to show it,
get it papers, or make money off of kittens.  And if they're really off
base with what they think their animal is, someone is bound to tell
them all the reasons why they're mistaken.

So get off your breeders' high horse (even if you gave it up, you still
sound like one on this subject), Crystal.  I like you a lot better
when you're not on this subject.  (And yes, I am a little irritable
right now--I've been up far too many hours.)

Judith and Charlie (seal point siamese and not a domestic short hair)
       and Sarah (domestic short hair and not a silver persian, etc.)
From: gt1167b@prism.gatech.EDU (Christie Shackelford)
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
Subject: Re: Goodbye Thomasina-the-cute
Date: 6 Sep 92 01:57:39 GMT
Organization: Georgia Institute of Technology

I am so sorry about Thomasina-the-cute.  I lost my first kitty
suddenly, so I know how you must feel.  Consider this a -huge-
net-hug from me and my cats.  I have a big lump in my throat.

-- 
Christie Shackelford
gt1167b@prism.gatech.edu
Meow!
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
From: baskin@ralvmm.vnet.ibm.com  (Brenda Baskin)
Subject: Re: Should I get a second kitten?
Date: Tue, 08 Sep 92 20:15:55 GMT
Organization: IBM T. J. Watson Research

I think 2 cats are the way to go. Let me tell you my story...

I used to be owned by 2 cats Tami (6) and Martigan (4).  I got
Martigan as a playmate for Tami because she was very lonely.  They got
along great and played together all the time.  Well, actually, Tami
tolerated the little fluff ball when he was little.  He just had too
much energy for her.  I guess getting pounced on all the time has its
draw backs.  As time went on, however, and he grew up, they became
equals in the amount of time and energy they wanted to spend playing.
There were a couple of months when their play was a little more
serious.  Martigan grew bigger than Tami and he questioned her
standing as top kittie.  Boy did she yell at him when he pinned her
(meowmeowmeowMeowMEowMEOwMEOWMEOWMEOW!!$%#!!).  But they got this all
straighted out and she became top kittie again.

Well, into each life some rain must fall.  (why???)  Martigan died
last April.  He had been diagnosed as a Feline Leukemia carrier when I
took him in to be vacinated at 6 months of age.  I do not, to this
day, know how was exposed to it as they are both indoor cats.  Tami,
luckily, had already been vacinated.  He came down with the disease
and was gone within a month.  (sniff sniff)

So now I have a one cat house hold.  After getting thru my loss, I
have started to consider a second kittie.  I definately want one but I
wasn't sure about Tami.  How would she deal with a little
full-of-energy fluff ball?  At first she was very lonely and was
always all over me whenever I came home.  Then she adusted and seemed
to enjoy being able to stretch out on the floor and not have to worry
about being pounced on my Martigan.  What a delema...

Labor day weekend we went to visit Mittens who lives with my parents.
(Tami loves riding in the car and sits on my shoulders and purrs and
kneads her feet.  I get great double takes from people as they drive
past.)  We have been to visit Mittens before but only for regular (2
day) weekends.  After an initial reintroduction, and Mittens learning
how to act with a guest in the house, Tami and I would have to leave.
This time we had an extra day.  It was great fun watching them Monday
morning as Tami tried to teach Mittens how to play 'Chase the Kitty'.
Mittens eventually got the hang of it and they had several rounds of
'I'll chase you, you chase me'.

I decided right then that Tami would enjoy another playmate. I will
lose some of my Tami as her playfull energy will go towards playing
with the new fluff-ball and not with me, but she will be less lonely,
especially when I go on vacations. Only time will tell if she
will get along with the new adition as well as with Martigan,
but if she can get along with Mittens (a slighly neurotic cat), she
can get along with any feline.

Brenda and Tami (who's not quite tamE) and ??? (to be filled in later).
Organization: University of Illinois at Chicago
Date: Monday, 7 Sep 1992 11:29:13 CDT
From: Shawn E. Durham <U53064@uicvm.uic.edu>
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
Subject: Re: "Killing" Socks

In article <1992Sep3.160548.6485@iscsvax.uni.edu>, klier@iscsvax.uni.edu says:
>
>most embarrasing thing I've seen was when my Springer Spaniel retrieved
>my mother's girdle and hose (now that tells you it was awhile back!) and
>dropped them into the lap of our parish priest, who was having dinner with
>us...

Our cats are not socks-draggers either, but they have the most embarrassing
habit of stealing tampons from the box and tossing them randomly about
the living room just before we arrive home with company.  Now the box
stay up higher than the cats can get.

***********************************************************
   SHAWN E. DURHAM
   LIBRARY OF THE HEALTH SCIENCES
   UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT CHICAGO
   U53064@UICVM (BITNET) / U53064@UICVM.UIC.EDU (INTERNET)
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
From: badboy@netcom.com (Jay Keller)
Subject: Hyperthyroid Cat gets Nuked (POINTER)
Date: Mon, 14 Sep 92 07:10:49 GMT
Organization: Netcom - Online Communication Services (408 241-9760 guest)
Followup-To: sci.physics

This is simply a pointer to a cat-related discussion in sci.physics.  When
I started the thread, I attempted to cross-post it to rec.pets.cats, but
I apparently typo'ed or something and it never appeared here.  The original
article was called
  "Radioactive Cat- How Dangerous Is She?"
and you can find it in sci.physics, as I said.  The thread has generated
quite a lively discussion with over 25 postings, even though the rec.pets.cats
crowd was inadvertently neglected.

To summarize, one of my 9-year-old cats got sick with hyperthyroidism and
lost about half of her weight before I found out that this could be effectively
treated with radiation therapy.  At this moment she is in the radio-isolation
ward having been injected with radioactive Iodine to kill her thyroid tumors.
 
Please join the thread in sci.physics if you would like to read about this
or comment on it.  

Regards,

Jay Keller
Sunnyvale, California
 
badboy@netcom.com
From: joanm@moe.coe.uga.edu (Joan Maxfield UCNS)
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
Subject: Re: Crippled kitty
Date: 9 Sep 92 14:57:20 GMT
Organization: College of Education, University of Georgia


	A recently read an article (in "I love Cats" magazine) about a
couple that adopted a 3 legged cat from the shelter.  They went
looking for a cute kitten but this womans husband saw this poor kitty
that had recently had surgery (ie the scar was still visible) and was
about to be put down because no one was going to adopt him.  The cat
had been brought to the shelter after a serious accident that had
shattered the leg and the shelter vet had no choice but to amputate.
The woman who told the story said she felt bad for the cat but could
hardly make herself look at it, it was kinda gross.  But as he healed
and the furr grew back and he put on some more weight he was the best
cat in the whole world (whos isn't?!)  He has no problems at all
without the leg and ran around and chased furry critters with the best
of them.  She is so glad she adopted him (or let her husband adopt
him) because she knows she saved his life, and he has added MUCH to
hers! 
	In short, I don't think you have to worry, I'm sure kitty will
be fine.  I would, however, give Captain Midnight plenty of time to
recover from his injury.  Nerves take a long time to heal and as long
as the leg is not causing a problem I would wait on surgery.  Like
Kay, while I wasn't hit by a car I do have nerve damage in my leg for
a back problem.  My Dr. told me that the longer the nerve is damaged
the longer it takes to heal and if it's only a short term injury
(damage caused by swelling or a 'quick' trauma like a hit) it usually
heals up quickly.  I took quite a while to heal becaue I had been
putting pressure on one nerve for 20 years (ouch!) So, if we take him
at his word, your kitty shold be fine real soon.

Joan (who promises to stop rambling one of these days)
Organization: University Libraries - Technical Service, Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh, PA