HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: cczcole@unicorn.nott.ac.uk (Marlon Cole)
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
Subject: Re: Kitty Killers
Date: 12 Aug 92 16:16:49 GMT
Organization: Cripps Computing Centre, University of Nottingham

In article <wb9omc.713574168@dynamo.ecn.purdue.edu> wb9omc@dynamo.ecn.purdue.edu (Duane P Mantick) writes:
>cczcole@unicorn.nott.ac.uk (Marlon Cole) writes:
>
>> My cats are 18 months old, and in that time have caught 
>>just one bird each, Daisy a sparrow and Whisper a juvenile starling that just 
>>wasn't very good at flying!                       ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>                                                            |
>                                                            |
>In spite of the following paragraph, read as "airgun target"<
>In much of the US, Starlings are considered an annoyance that often 
>terrorizes other birds at feeding stations,

I think that's called the "pecking order", isn't it? :-)

>If I could train my cats to be selective about
>which birds they kill, this one would probably be #1 on my hit
>list.  Sorry about that, but I despise them.

And there's the rub..... you can't train cats to be that selective, so while
on the one hand you can cheer them on as they bring down flocks of starlings,
sparrows, pigeons, or whatever is currently most prevalent in your part of the
world, there's always the risk of them taking out a rarer bird (people have
posted already in r.p.c. about their cats bringing home owls, etc.). I'd
sooner them not.

>	If you compare the total number of birds that bite the dust
>from cats such as yours to the total number that bite the dust from
>other reasons: hit by cars, killed by "wild" cats, killed by idiot kids
>with BB guns, whatever......

The RSPB (which is not, as John Cleese once referred to it, the Royal Society
for the Prevention of Birds :-) has made conservative estimates that a cat on
average gets 3 birds per year (which balances stay-home kitties with the 
Robo-cat types).  There are at least 3 million cats in the UK.  9 million 
birds each and every year sounds rather bad, don't you think?  How many cats 
are there in the US?

I, for one, would rather prefer my mogs not to savage birds, especially not
rare ones.  However, I, for one, am more than willing to recognise that I've
also invested a large amount of time training my cats to hunt, ie. by
"playing" with them, and so have to accept any bloodletting on their part as
a fact of life, but I still stick by my attempts to curb their activities in a
manner of which the cats are unaware, ie. by 'belling' them.

However, I also noted someone else's post about the possibility of bells
harming cats hearing.  I doubt it myself, but if anyone out there has any
conclusive evidence of such I'll be the first to remove my cats bells (and
construct higher perches in the garden for the birds :-)

Cheers,
		Marlon

------------
Marlon Cole                  email:  cczcole@unicorn.nott.ac.uk or
Systems Programmer                   cczcole@uk.ac.nott.unicorn depending.....
Cripps Computing Centre
University of Nottingham
NOTTINGHAM
NG7 2RD
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
From: kjt34420@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu (Kristin J. Thommes)
Subject: Re: Chocolate
Organization: University of Illinois at Urbana
Date: Thu, 20 Aug 1992 22:34:54 GMT

linda@frcs.Alt.ZA (Linda Jacobson) writes:

>Large amounts of chocolate are toxic to anybody. It contains
>theobromine, which is similar to caffeine, and can cause some nasty
>and potentially fatal effects *if taken in large enough quantities*.
>Small amounts shouldn't do any harm.

This is true, but you need to talk about "relatively" large amounts.
If you can imagine that a person weighing 100lbs can eat 10 times
as much chocolate as a 10lb cat, relatively speaking, even what
we would consider a "small amount" would be a large amount to a cat.
So why take a chance?

>Aspirin, on the other hand, should stay right away from any cat. There
>are two problems: one is that cats aren't good at metabolising it, and
>the other is that people tend to give a cat a half or whole aspirin,
>which is an overdose. In certain circumstances (like cardiomyopathy),
>cats can be put on aspirin, at *maximum* 25mg/kg once every three days.
>Keep away from paracetamol (acetaminophen) too.

Well, you are partly right here.  Cats *can* have aspirin, for things
such as allergic reactions to vaccines and arthritis.  We usually dose
them at 1/4 baby aspirin per 5 lbs body weight, every 48hrs.  
Acetominophen, or Tylenol, is DEADLY to cats and if they ingest it
accidentally you should call your vet or an emergency clinic pronto
to prevent any long-lasting problems.

--
From: zlsiida@fs1.mcc.ac.uk (dave budd)
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
Subject: Re: Hairballs
Date: 12 Aug 92 16:16:13 GMT
Organization: Manchester Computing Centre

In article <5507@transfer.stratus.com> kaz@vineland.pubs.stratus.com (Karen Fegley) writes:

>In article <1992Aug7.161839.17676@morgan.ucs.mun.ca> colette@morgan.ucs.mun.ca  
>(Colette Goodyear) writes:
>> 
>> My 1 1/2 year old cat, Willow (grey DSH) has never yet thrown up
>> a hairball.  (I can hear some of you saying " I wish
>> I had the luck!").  She is meticulous in her grooming and I'm
>> beginning to wonder if I should worry about this.  I've been
>> owned by only one cat before (Fluff, who was 19 when we had to put her
>> to sleep) who did throw up regularly so this is new to me. 
>> 
>>    .
>>    .
>>    .
>>
>> Colette Goodyear
>> Memorial University of Newfoundland
>> colette@morgan.ucs.mun.ca

>We have one very long-haired cat (Sabrina) and one very short-
>haired cat (Mehitabel).  They are both pretty thorough personal
>groomers (though neither tends to groom the other.)  Sabrina
>upchucks hairballs regularly.  Mehitabel has never, to our
>knowledge, produced a hairball.

>Since Mehitabel is the first short-haired cat we have had
>(Sabrina is our third long-haired cat), I cannot be sure that
>her nonproduction of hairballs is typical of short-haired cats.
>But it does seem to make some intuitive sense.

>Karen

Truffle is occasionally sick.  Always there are a few pieces of grass and a 
fair bit of hair in it.  I think she deliberately induces vomiting to get 
rid of excess hair.  She eats grass in small amounts daily, but when she's 
sick, there are usually a couple of loooong poieces in there.

+---------------------------------------------------------------------+
|  The trouble with having an open mind is that people come along and |
|  put things in it.   {attribution? I nicked it from Readers Digest} |
|  Dave Budd, MCC, Oxford Rd, Manchester, England   (44)061-275-6033  |
+---------------------------------------------------------------------+
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
From: cookson@mbunix.mitre.org (Cookson)
Subject: Re: How long cats live (was Re: Indoor cat wants out)
Organization: The MITRE Corporation, Bedford, MA
Date: Mon, 17 Aug 1992 18:12:04 GMT

In article <1992Aug14.150723.1@cubldr.colorado.edu> matthews_k@cubldr.colorado.edu writes:
>
>Anyhoo, I digress.  I think cat lifespan depends on A) the intelligence of 
>the cat, B) genetics and C) care and treatment by owners.  I'm not sure how
>much indoor/outdoor has to do with it.
>
I think you can pretty safely ascribe A and B to just about anything currently
living (esp. people :-).  I've had 4 cats, two still alive and all are
outdoor.  The two that have died basically old-aged themselves at 15-16yrs.
Besides, the two that we have now make a REAL BIG PAIN IN THE ASS of them-
selves when they want to go out. :-)

-- 
| Dean Cookson / dcookson@mitre.org / 617 271-2714    | DoD #207  AMA #573534 |
| The MITRE Corp. Burlington Rd., Bedford, Ma. 01730  | KotNML  /  KotB       |
| "If I was worried about who saw me, I'd never get   | '81 CB750C            |
| nekkid at all." -Ed Green, DoD #0111                | '88 Bianchi Limited   |
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
From: jill@cray.com (Jill McAllister)
Subject: Re: It's Raining Out! (was RE: baths)
Keywords: wet, raining
Organization: Cray Research, Inc.
Date: 21 Aug 92 14:56:52 CDT

In article <1992Aug12.173324.13273@ncar.ucar.edu> vicki@stout.atd.ucar.edu (Vicki Holzhauer) writes:
>Oh, yes.  Don't you just love the looks on those little faces when you
>open the door to let them out and they stick a paw outside, only to
>discover that IT'S RAINING (or, worse indignity, SNOWING!).  They look
>at the outside, look at you, and almost implore you to make it stop!

One of our cats begs to go out the back door.  If it's raining there,
she runs to the front door and begs to go out that one.  We always
say that she's hoping someone changed the channel.  (Makes no sense,
I know--one of those dumb family jokes.)

Jill McAllister
(jill@cray.com)
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
From: jpk@Ingres.COM (Jon Krueger)
Subject: Re: Bathing my Siamese
Reply-To: jpk@Ingres.COM (Jon Krueger)
Organization: Ask Computer Systems Inc., Ingres Division, Alameda CA 94501
Date: 15 Aug 92 04:46:28 GMT

Daniel Briggs writes:

> I think the best thing to reduce cat hysteria during baths is simply
> two people to do the deed

Hmm, wouldn't the cat get away while you're, uh, otherwise occupied?

Besides, does it really calm the cat down?  Have you tried this?

Well, if it does work, this is gonna revolutionize the grooming trade.

:-)  :-)  :-)  :-)  :-)  :-)  :-)

OK, seriously now: I have given about thirty cats baths now at my
local shelter.  Two groomers can be worse than one, they can get in
each other's way, they get confused, each thinks the other has the
cat.  One groomer though can have trouble restraining the cat and
bathing it with only two hands.  So, if the cat isn't wildly
uncooperative I prefer one groomer.  Otherwise two, but one must be
experienced, a good communicator, and clearly in charge.

-- Jon
--
Jon Krueger  jpk@ingres.com  
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
From: dmillard@encore.com (Debbie Millard)
Subject: Re: Chocolate (was Re: Question: Kitty pawing around floor around other cat's dish.)
Organization: Encore Computer Corporation, Ft. Lauderdale, FL
Distribution: usa
Date: Thu, 13 Aug 1992 16:02:54 GMT

>> John Opalko Warns:
>> 
>> Please do *NOT* give chocolate to cats or dogs.  It can be lethal.
>> 
>
>Mindy Machanic wonders:
>
>I thought it was only dangerous to dogs, and not to cats. And aspirin is only 
>dangerous to cats, and not to dogs. What's the truth here? I give Huggy Bear
>little licks of chocolate pudding, to no problem that I can see. Is it only
>chocolate in raw form that's dangerous?
>

I add my .02 worth:

Sorry if this has already been answered...I'm behind from taking
a few days off.

Anyway, here's a little excerpt from the August edition of 'Cats Magazine':

...Recent research has shown that soft moist products may have other
dangers (re: allergies) because of the propylene glycol used as a
preservative.  This ingredient can cause damage to the red blood cells
that may sensitize them to other oxidizing agents.  This has been proven to
cause the cat to be even more sensitive to acetaminophen...(the active
ingredient of Tylenol)...a known poison to cats.

There was also a warning in another magazine (which I don't have
with me) about *NOT* giving chocolate of any kind to either cats 
or dogs.

This is weird, too, 'cause my Timmy tries to fight me for 
chocolate.  I've never given any to him, he just goes after it.

Debbie (a confirmed chocloholic)
Calli, Cissy, and Timmy the would-be chocloholic
From: giordano@andromeda.rutgers.edu (E. Giordano)
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
Subject: Re: Can we all get along?
Date: 13 Aug 92 23:20:36 GMT
Organization: Rutgers Univ., New Brunswick, N.J.

belld@uxh.cso.uiuc.edu (David Bell) writes:


>Upon moving to a larger apartment, we adopted a third cat from the shelter.
>Now there is frequent hissing, growling and fighting, sometimes even 
>between the two cats that have lived together for the last year.  Is this
>likely to last for long, and if not what can be done to ease the transition?

Give it some time, I just did something very similiar and in about 2-3
weeks they were back to normal
From: machanicm@gtephx.UUCP (Mindy Machanic)
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
Subject: Re: Turkish Angora Question
Date: 18 Aug 92 22:25:31 GMT
Organization: AG Communication Systems, Phoenix, Arizona

In article <1992Aug12.232548.1@acad2.alaska.edu>, axpmw@acad2.alaska.edu writes:
> Help me make a positive id! hahaha...
> 
> About 2 years ago, we found this grey tiny kitten in a wrecker...
> Now this tiny kitten has blossomed into a 3 foot long furry 
> prankster... 
> 
> 
> He's a blue mackeral tabby (very dark grey color - the stripes only
> show up really in pictures!) ... very very soft hair, long hair,
> it's sorta wavey, esp. on the tail you can see the hairs aren't straight
> Look sorta like a frizzed perm... kinda like a big grey squirrel too...
> 
> He's very very good at jumping (5ft easily) and he loves to fetch. He's
> also quite vocal. 
> 
> His face is sorta narrow but not like a siamese, and a very broad nose
> (looks like a tiger, w/his tabby markings)
> (marroon coloring on the end!) ... golden eyes... 
> 
> He's not a main coon - definitely - But he's as long as one, not really
> a broad cat, just very long in the body... much longer and his back
> will start to sag I think! (I'm not sure he's done growing) 
> The top coat is the dark grey and the belly,under tail are pure white
> (giving him a sorta silvery/shiny look at times) ....
> 
> ----------
> So if you have some ideas on what type he might be, let me know...
> I'll post what the judges opinions are....


I don't think he's a Turkish Angora. I was under the impression that Turkish
Angoras are all white, with green eyes, and long long straight, thick hair,
and a face in-between a squished-in Persian and a pointy Siamese. I was told
that Honeycat is an Angora, since he looks just like this description, and a
veterinarian told me that's what he was...I looked him up in a book and that's 
how they described him there, although I think they're allowed to be tipped in
some colors. I'm not positive, however.
-- 
Mindy
*****************************************************************************************
Mindy Machanic  (AG Communication Systems/Quality Engineering, Phoenix, AZ)               
(This space available for interesting messages and the usual disclaimers...)
From: jm0b@ns1.cc.lehigh.edu (Janet McMonagle)
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
Subject: Re: what to do with stray
Date: 18 Aug 92 17:00:36 GMT
Organization: Lehigh University

In article <1992Aug18.004456.13116@hplabsz.hpl.hp.com>, deleon@hpl.hp.com (Laura
 de Leon) writes:
>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
>
My best suggestion is to take "her" with you, but maintain her outside status.
The worst that can happen is that she does not stick around.  The best that
can happen is that you remain her "at a distance" family, OR EVEN BETTER, she
finds a home in the new neighborhood (she certainly hasn't had any luck in
your soon-to-be old neighborhood. If you take her and she doesn't stick
around you are no worse off than if you left her.  If she does leave maybe she
will return periodically! Lots of luck with your hard decision.
-- 
_______________________________________________________________________________

Janet Doherty
Senior Communications Analyst
(215) 758-5003
JM0B@lehigh.edu
From: lswan@ucsd.edu (Swan, Lyn)
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
Subject: Re: Flushable litter isn't
Date: 20 Aug 92 21:43:22 GMT
Organization: University of California, San Diego
NNTP-Posting-Host: card3.ucsd.edu


>Well, I used to use flushable kitty litter but never flushed it
>for the fear of clogging the toilet.  I used it because I thought
>the idea of clumping "pee balls" that could easily be scooped was
>neat.  But I have since quit using it ever since one disasterous
>day.  I scooped out about a zillion pee balls and put them on
>a paper plate which would transfer them to the trash.  (Paper
>plates were easy.  Paper bags require very deft maneuvering 
>of the scooper).  Well, as I was walking across the kitchen
>floor, the paper plate slumped and I had pee balls ALL OVER
>THE KITCHEN FLOOR!  Those things both rolled and disintegrated
>all at once.  Never, never again.


Hmmm.... Maybe this is why I always take the waste basket to the litter box!
I'm glad it never occurred to me to do otherwise.

Lyn
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
From: pinky@milton.u.washington.edu (Robert Burbank)
Subject: Re: Chocolate
Organization: University of Washington
Date: Sat, 15 Aug 1992 16:16:38 GMT

one of our 4 cats, the only female, likes to lick the chocolate
on to of little lu cookies.  go figure......
From: hannah@pomponio.ai.sri.com (Marsha Jo Hannah)
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
Subject: Re: How long cats live (was Re: Indoor cat wants out)
Date: 18 Aug 92 23:37:16 GMT
	<1992Aug10.203958.16722@gtephx.UUCP> <19016@vpk2.UUCP>
Organization: SRI International, Menlo Park, CA
In-reply-to: jmckerro@attcan.UUCP's message of 14 Aug 92 18:43:05 GMT


In article <1992Aug10.203958.16722@gtephx.UUCP>, machanicm@gtephx.UUCP (Mindy Machanic) writes:
> 
> ...  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.
> 
****************************************************************************
> Mindy Machanic  (AG Communication Systems/Quality Engineering, Phoenix, AZ)

Our cats have all been indoor/outdoor cats---outdoors (but with access
to under-building shelter) when we aren't home, and in- or out-doors
as they pleased when we are home---in extremely rural areas (at least
1/2 mile off any public road).  The first pair (male/female siblings,
raised from littermates, both neutered) lived to be 14, and died of
cancers (they spent their formative years sleeping with a smoker :-( ).  
The current pair (same combination) is 7 years old, and going strong.
The major local hazards are coyotes and bobcats, but I figure that
cat-evolution has built-in programs for coping with those (as opposed
to truck-avoidance algorithms, which haven't had time to develop 
properly).

I am of the opinion that cats are happier, hence healthier, when
they're allowed access to the "real world" of trees to scratch on,
dirt to roll in, mice to chase, etc.  However, I understand the
concerns of those whose living situations make outdoor access
hazardous to cats.

Marsha Jo Hannah
From: giordano@andromeda.rutgers.edu (E. Giordano)
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
Subject: Re: Cat likes cantelope???
Date: 15 Aug 92 15:48:48 GMT
Organization: Rutgers Univ., New Brunswick, N.J.

peggys@orca.wv.tek.com writes:

>In article <42150004@hplsla.hp.com>, tomb@hplsla.hp.com (Tom Bruhns) writes:
>> From: tomb@hplsla.hp.com (Tom Bruhns)
>> Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
>> Subject: Cat likes cantelope???
>> Date: 13 Aug 92 23:49:30 GMT
>> Organization: HP Lake Stevens, WA
>> 
>> Does anyone else out there have a cat that loves _cantelope_??  As far
>> as I know, no other veggies do this to him.  We keep a bowl of kitchen
>> scraps that gets put on the compost pile occasionally, and if we put
>> cantelope rind in it, Mittens will almost invariably dig it out and
>> chew on it.  And he loves it if we cut up some of the inside flesh and
>> give it to him.
>> 
>> Tom Bruhns
>> tomb@hplsla.hp.com

>Yep, my Muffin loves the stuff...she will start out licking then actually
>nibbling away at the rind...silly kitty...;}

>					Peggy

>           ===================================================
>          | Peggy Shock  				      |
>          | Tektronix, Inc., Network Displays Division	      |
>          | PO Box 1000, MS 60-430, Wilsonville, OR 97070     |
>          | (503) 685-2030 - email: peggys@orca.WV.TEK.COM    |
>           ===================================================







My cat also goes WILD on any kind of melon, it never
ceases to amaze me that she can be fast asleep
in naother room, far away from the kitchen and if
I cut melon (and oNLY when I cut melon) she can
actually SMELL it almost immediately and comes running.













































>]
From: young@serum.kodak.com
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
Subject: Re: Smelly kitten poo-poo
Date: 19 Aug 92 23:02:23 GMT
Article-I.D.: pixel.1992Aug19.230223.6434
Reply-To: young@serum.kodak.com
Organization: Clinical Products Division, Eastman Kodak Company
Originator: young@sasquatch

In article <19AUG199214004168@vax.sonoma.edu> esaia@vax.sonoma.edu (MICHELLE ESAIA) writes:
>
>I have an 8 week old female kitten (Sophie) who has the strongest smelling
>poops I have ever encountered...We've de-wormed her; she gets purina
>kitten-chow, mixed with water.  
>I do have an older cat, and because of his FUS, he gets wet food, but his is up
>on the counter where she can't get it....
>
>any other suggestions?

	Well, no carnivore is going to leave "spoor" that smells like
	fermented grass, but some of the premium kitten/cat foods claim
	to minimize the problem.  You might try one of those...Science
	Diet, Iams, and the like.  I don't know which ones make the claims,
	so check it out before you buy...they tend to be expensive.

-Rich Young (These are not Kodak's opinions.)
From: exuptr@exu.ericsson.se (Patrick Taylor)
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
Subject: Re: Terrified of Ceiling Fan!
Date: 20 Aug 92 21:51:32 GMT
Organization: Ericsson Network Systems, Inc.

In article <1992Aug20.154052.116508@ns1.cc.lehigh.edu> jm0b@ns1.cc.lehigh.edu (Janet McMonagle) writes:
>The cat may never get used to the fan.  I have an otherwise FEARLESS cat who
>is reduced to milktoast when we turn on our ceiling fan!

Just try vacuuming with a cat in the room sometime!
 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
    "This must be Thursday.  I never could get the hang of Thursdays"
                                                       - D Adams
  - Patrick Taylor
    Ericsson Network Systems
    exuptr@exu.ericsson.se                       "Don't let the .se fool you"
    alternately, exuptr@ZGNews.Lonestar.Org
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats