HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: gremlin@buhub.bradley.edu (Stephanie Udry)
Subject: litter green ok for bunnies?
Organization: Bradley University
Date: Thu, 31 Dec 92 01:50:59 GMT

well, folks, has anyone out there tried this stuff? the ingrediants sounded ok..
i'm just about ready to die of sneezing at the litter dust

--
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~ Stephanie Udry                tanha on IRC                        ~
~ gremlin@buhub.bradley.edu     goddess of mischief and grins       ~
~   "The innocence of sleeping children, dressed in white and slowly~
~    dreaming, stops all time."    "primary" by the cure            ~ 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From: Joseph.V.Kelly.Jr@dartmouth.edu (Joseph V. Kelly Jr)
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
Subject: cat in heat?
Date: 31 Dec 92 07:57:07 GMT
Organization: Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH
X-Posted-From: InterNews1.0b1@newshost.dartmouth.edu


My cat is probably about 9 months old, and she's making funny mewling
noises,
is rolling over on the floor, and when I do the ol' *pat the cat on the
rump so that its hindquarters go up in the air* trick, her haunches
shoot way up into the air higher than normal. Does this mean my cat is
in heat?

Well, I guess I'll take her in to get fixed (or broken, as the
operation seems to render a great amount of disrepair.) Even though
part of me doesn't wanna do that to a cat (how would I like it if it
happened to me ?) I can't afford taking care of a whole litter of them
at least in a humane fashion.

Anyhow, she's an indoor cat, so I don't have an immediate concerns.

joe & chloe
From: sstover@sumax.seattleu.edu (   Wilde Dame)
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
Subject: Re: A moral dilemma
Date: 30 Dec 1992 23:13:37 -0800
Organization: Seattle University
NNTP-Posting-Host: sumax.seattleu.edu

Here on Capitol Hill in Seattle, the majority of apartment buildings don't
allow pets.  Tenants vent their frustration at this injustice :), it
seems, by feeding the local cats, 10 or so of whom I have befriended in my
6 months of living here.  To a critter, they are well-fed, happy, and able
to defend themselves against cars (by not running out in front of them)
and predators--including vicious humans (by knowing exactly who they're
going up and talking to before they do it).  Some of them are
extraordinarily beautiful animals who would no doubt be adopted almost
immediately at a shelter--for example, the easily 20lb. inhabitant of the
Abonita apartments doorway, who has tuxedo markings but very defined black
and grey tabby where the solid black should be, and who greets me every
time I pass by with a loud purr and a few words on the social scene on his
block.

Any of these animals, as I observe them, would be stifled by a
single-owner, designated-home environment such as the one they would
likely be forced into by a shelter.  The streets are no place for kittens
who may have trouble defending themselves, but these adult cats have grown
accustomed to their present way of life and I would feel as though I had
patronized and betrayed them if I was responsible for their loss of
freedom.  My policy, and my advice, is to help the cats who need help, and
simply enjoy those who are managing for themselves. :)

-- 
       Sheryl Stover  %  If you ask me what I have come to do in the world,
  & Hemingway & Clio  %  I who am an artist, I will reply: "I am here to
sstover@seattleu.edu  %  live aloud."                    -Emile Zola
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
From: ned@halcyon.com (Ned Schumann)
Subject: Severe weight loss
Summary: Weight loss resulting in imminent demise
Keywords: weight appetite blood tests
Organization: Northwest Nexus Inc. (206) 455-3505
Date: Sat, 26 Dec 1992 02:42:34 GMT


Tigger cat is thirteen years old and has lost half his weight since
getting in a fight two years ago.  After the fight he started to lose
weight and developed an abscess on his hindquarters. His appetite has
been good, but he suffers from diarrhea. His stools and blood have 
tested negative for worms and feline leukemia. Tigger has taken a 
turn for the worse so any ideas about his ailment would be appreciated.
He lives in Washington state, USA
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
From: ddenk@utkvx2.utk.edu (Deanna P. Denk)
Subject: Re: Cat licks plastic and likes it
News-Software: VAX/VMS VNEWS 1.41    
Organization: University of Tennessee Computing Center
Date: Tue, 29 Dec 1992 04:16:00 GMT

One of our cats, Fribbles, likes to lick photographs. We can't leave photos out
anywhere for even a second. He'll challenge you just to get at the photo.
Chemical dependency? He's the same way with rubber bands.

       DEANNA P. DENK           BITNET:     ddenk@utkvx  or denkdp@wkuvx1  
       Knoxville, Tennessee     Internet:   ddenk@utkvx.utk.edu
                                Freenet:    ch950@cleveland.Freenet.Edu       
================================================================================

In article <1992Dec29.003256.4582@bradley.bradley.edu>, guru@camelot.bradley.edu (Jerry Whelan) writes...
>	My year and a half old, neutered generic black short hair has
>started licking plastic.  He seems to specialize in licking those
>plastic bags that you get from the grocery store in lieu of paper
>bags.  But, he does lick other types of crinkly plastic as well.
>He doesn't seem to actually chew or ingest the plastic and will
>happily lick away at the same spot on a bag for five or ten minutes
>if I let him.
>	So, what I want to know is why is he doing this?  He's got
>plenty of food and water and other toys and I don't think the plastic
>has anything on it (as he seems to go for most any crinkly plastic)
>that might taste good.  Is he getting some cool tongue stimulus or
>something?  What is the deal here?
> 
>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>``written by a drunken insane pathological liar''        guru@stasi.bradley.edu
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
From: jonathan@geop.ubc.ca (Jonathan Thornburg)
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
Subject: Re: finicky cats
Date: 1 Jan 1993 06:33:59 GMT
Organization: U of British Columbia Astronomy / U of Texas Physics+Relativity
NNTP-Posting-Host: rubis.astro.ubc.ca
Summary: My cat is too fat, and hence is on a diet.  She isn't pleased :-) .
Keywords: fat feline flabby tabby porcine pussycat pig eat excess diet gimme eat catch-22

In article <1993Jan1.033043.5965@math.ucla.edu> ramirez@julia.math.ucla.edu (Alice Ramirez) writes:
> [ tales of finickey-felines-fasting deleted ]
>I suppose other people have had to deal with finicky cats.  Might be fun to
>hear your stories.  At least those whose cats eat anything and everything
>will be able to read the postings, smile smugly, and realize how lucky they
>are.

Well, I'm not so sure about "smile smugly, and realize how lucky they
are".  I have been involved with putting two fat felines on diets,
and neither cat seemed very enthusiastic about the matter.  What's
more, both cats were quite effective at communicating their lack of
enthusiasm to any and all humans in the vicinity :-) .  Neither cat
was/has-yet-been seen dancing on the sidewalk wearing a poster board
saying "Gimme" on one side and "Eat" on the other, but both have-tried/
are-trying just about everything else!

Oh yes, the results...  Both cats were/are spayed females.  Mortina
I was ~10 years old when she got fat.  She stayed fat until shortly
before she died at age 16.5 (of unrelated causes).  In hindsight,
we weren't very agressive with her diet.  Mortina II (will be 4 in
the spring, has been on diet ~ 4 weeks) seems to be loosing a little
bit of weight.  She used to look like a 747-400, with the very rounded
fuselage and the tail sticking straight up.  Now she looks like a
747-200, with a slightly less rounded fuselage...

But we love her very much whatever her girth, and I certainly do smile
(though not quite smugly) when she comes and sits under a lamp but *on*
my thesis when I'm trying to work on it.  And She (capital "S"!) sleeps
very nicely on my bed, loves to have her belly scratched, and was
flea-free as of 24 hours ago...

- Jonathan Thornburg and Mortina II (who will stay in Canada when I, alas,
				     go back to Texas for 9 more months)
  <jonathan@geop.ubc.ca> through mid-January 1993, then
  <jonathan@einstein.ph.utexas.edu> or <jonathan@hermes.chpc.utexas.edu>
  [for a few more months] UBC / {Geophysics & Astronomy, Physics}
  [then through Aug/92] U of Texas at Austin / Physics / Center for Relativity

Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
From: barlow@prodigal.psych.rochester.edu (Rebel)
Subject: Re: When the Cat is Lost...
Organization: University of Rochester - Rochester, New York
Date: Thu, 31 Dec 92 22:12:36 GMT

I agree totally with Stella...walk EVERYWHERE around the neighborhood and call
the cat's name and whistle...make noise...!! Our cat Zeb was out in the yard
with my fiance when the neighbor's cat decided to slap her in the face...Zeb
was about 5 pounds, 4 months old to this other cats 15 pounds, 2years old.
Needless to say Zeb ran like a wild woman! It took my fiance and the neighbor
45 minutes to find Zeb and it was only because Chris my fiance walked in front
of the bush she was hiding under calling her name...Zeb started meowing like
crazy once she heard him calling her. Kinda like "Save me Daddy!!!" so my
fiance had to explain to this other neighbor what he was doing crawling under
their bushes :-)

Hope you find your kitty :-) *hugs*
Jen and Zebulon the fearless ;-)



Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
From: afdenis@lims01.lerc.nasa.gov (Stephen Dennison)
Subject: Re: jellicle?
News-Software: VAX/VMS VNEWS 1.41    
Organization: Ancient Souls Inc.
Date: 21 Dec 1992 14:50 EST  

In article <1992Dec18.200401.28318@ncar.ucar.edu>, vicki@steam.atd.ucar.edu (Vicki Holzhauer) writes...
>In article <18DEC199209453664@lims01.lerc.nasa.gov> afdenis@lims01.lerc.nasa.gov (Stephen Dennison) writes:
>>In article <1gqke4INN3po@usenet.INS.CWRU.Edu>, at881@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (N. French) writes...
>>>excuse me if this is a stupid question, but what the heck
>>>is a jellicle cat?
>>It's like a `gummy' bear... a cat made of jelly that comes in an assortment 
>>of flavors and colors. Geeze, ya thinks *some* things would be obvious. :-)
> 
> 
>Good lord, Stephen, can't you confine your sarcastic invective to
>r.a.startrek.* and leave us poor cat lovers alone?  Gummy bears,
>indeed ... :-)

Hmmmm ... But, Vicki ... I *have* more cats than I do Starships ! :-)

> 
>(Besides, a true "jellicle cat" gummy bear would only be available in
>black and white, so get your facts straight!)  :-):-):-)
> 

Now, *wait* a cotton-pickin' minute ... the color doesn't make any 
difference ... *all* cats are jellicle cats ...

AN-jellical (Angelical) ! :-)

(Puns in the true spirit of the season...) :-)

-- Stephen

	My .sig generator is shooting blanks these days.
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
From: spo@lesti.hut.fi (Silja H Pohjolainen)
Subject: Re: Catproof couches?
Reply-To: spo@lesti.hut.fi (Silja H Pohjolainen)
Organization: Helsinki University of Technology
Date: Wed, 23 Dec 1992 08:00:36 GMT

In article <0075@starsend.chbrk.pa.us> floyd@starsend.chbrk.pa.us (Floyd Miller) writes:
>In a previous article judy@evolving.com (Judy Bettinger) write:
>> I've heard that if you get fabrics which have a smooth finish rather
>> than something rough and nubby, cats aren't excited about scratching it.
>> ................
>> .....  Anybody else found that smooth fabrics are
>> less appealing?
>
>I have a leather sofa and chair.  My two cats like to sit or sleep
>on it but they've never purposely scrathed or attacked them in any way.


I also bought a leather sofa after a totally destroyed cotton one 
(and also with cat hair stuck all over). After one year the sofa looks
like new! The cats don't scratch it, they don't even like to sit on
the bare leather but go there if the sofa is covered by a blanket.
And the best to come: it is very easy to clean because cat hair does
not fasten to it. Unfortunately after leaving my sofa alone they
attacked my bed...

Silja, Mimi & Morri


-- 
Silja Pohjolainen       ** ** ** ** ** ** **      " Life is like a Ferrari
Metsahovi Radio Research Station                   - it goes too fast but 
Solar Research Group                              you can't afford it anyway"
Finland                 ** ** ** ** ** ** **                     Garfield
From: loosemore-sandra@cs.yale.edu (Sandra Loosemore)
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
Subject: Re: Plant question
Date: 30 Dec 1992 09:29:07 -0500
Organization: staff hacker @ Yale Haskell project
NNTP-Posting-Host: functor.systemsz.cs.yale.edu
In-reply-to: ren@Turing.ORG's message of Wed, 30 Dec 1992 03:32:44 GMT

ren@Turing.ORG (Karen Prestemon) writes:

   The question is:
   are spider plants poisonous to my kitty cats??

It seems they are not harmful to your kitty cats, but the reverse is
very likely to be true.  :-)  Spider plants are preferred by 9 kitties
out of 10 over any other type of plant for munching on!  So either
hang the plant well out of the reach of the cats, or be prepared to
have it be severely mangled.

-Sandra
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
From: Jack_Webb@mindlink.bc.ca (Jack Webb)
Subject: Re: socks
Organization: MIND LINK! - British Columbia, Canada
Date: Fri, 25 Dec 1992 22:30:17 GMT

I decided not to include the long message that you all just had the
*pleasure* of reading...

what a *special* message on Christmas day... how I am sure it *warms* all our
hearts.

I hope my *sarcasm* is evident.

I have no problem with people doing what they want, but venting it on others
is another thing entirely.  Do what you want to yourself, but leave your pets
and others out of it... I don't think your cats exactly came up and *asked*
you to treat them this way.

Call me a "bottom" person if you like, but I've never felt the need to
dominate anyone or anything, or be dominated by anyone or anything.

I don't know about anyone else, but I thought this forum was supposed to be
of *general* *interest* to *most* cat owners. (!!)

*jack and jasper and stig... just one big collective bunch of animals*

--
WE SAIL TONIGHT FOR SINGAPORE - WE'RE ALL AS MAD AS HATTERS HERE!!

*******************Jack_Webb@mindlink.bc.ca***********************
****VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA...HOME OF THE NEUROTIC****
From: ambar@cygnus.com (Jean Marie Diaz)
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
Subject: Re: Cat show
Date: 3 Jan 93 15:02:13 GMT
Organization: Redheads Anonymous
In-reply-to: cs431109@umbc8.umbc.edu's message of 3 Jan 93 06:21:43 GMT

In article <1i60lnINNt0f@news.umbc.edu> cs431109@umbc8.umbc.edu (cs431109) writes:

   One thing I don't understand is how the owners get the cats to be 
   so well behaved and friendly. The judges pick them up and turn them 
   around, and even blow on their fur -- yet the cats behave themselves. 
   One Somali I saw was even flexing its paws in delight as it was being 
   judged! How do breeders get their cats to tolerate strangers and being 
   around so many other cats? 

At risk of being trite, practice, practice, practice.  It helps if you
start showing a cat as a kitten, so they get accustomed to the notion
that all the travelling, noise, and strange smells are also accompanied
by lots of attention, pats, and food.  The ones that are true show-offs
at heart quickly get used to this idea; the ones that don't generally
aren't shown for long.

I started with my last litter of kittens when they were still damp,
practically. :-) Pick them up, hold them in the air as the judge would.
Various breeds have various different things to get used to; Siamese and
similar will be 'hung' (held up briefly with just one hand under the
shoulders) to see the length of the body.  Maine Coon cats are always
handled 'stretched', (one hand under shoulders, the other under hips).
Cornish Rex are handled with one hand under the shoulders and the other
under the rump, since the arch in the back is one of the features of the
breed.  And so forth.  Whatever it is, your cat needs to be used to
doing it.

We also practice table stance.  Using a hard, slick surface that
resembles the judge's tables is nice.  (The top of the washing machine
works great.. as long as the machine isn't in use. :-) I usually just
use my carpet-covered grooming table.  The cat learns to stand tall (or
whatever variant is required) and that the table is a place to play and
be admired.  In addition, I teach my cats that they aren't permitted to
jump off the grooming table--when I'm done, I'll put them down.  What
this results in is a cat will can sit on its table and enjoy being
admired while hordes of spectators are pushing by inches away, rather
than trying to jump down and run for it.

It never hurts to collect one of each of the sorts of toys and feathers
a judge might use to get a cat's attention, and make sure every single
one is utterly fascinating.  Of course, a good judge will try a
different toy if the first one isn't working.. but not all of them take
the time. :-)

So, yes, it takes some work to convince a cat that cat shows are a
source of fun.. but it's worth it.

				AMBAR
From: npm@dale.cts.com (Nancy Milligan)
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
Subject: Re: socks
Date: 26 Dec 92 06:48:37 GMT
Organization: Titan Linkabit Corporation
X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.1 PL6]

I also had a cat that just LOVED to be spun around.  She would jump into
a plastic sack and then I would twist it up and let it unwind.  Her little
head would be poked out of the sack.  When I let her go she would wobble
away looking like she'd been hitting the rum.  But as soon as she could
walk a straight line she'd jump right back in the sack ready for me to
wind her up again.

--
Nancy P. Milligan 				npm@dale.cts.com
Titan Linkabit					cts!dale!npm
		  Gravity is no laughing matter.
From: klier@iscsvax.uni.edu
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
Subject: Re: Shelter cats
Date: 23 Dec 92 09:22:01 -0600
Organization: University of Northern Iowa

In article <1992Dec18.191901.9513@iscsvax.uni.edu>, klier@iscsvax.uni.edu writes:
> In article <BzEy6s.7vG@news.cso.uiuc.edu>, levine@symcom.math.uiuc.edu (Lenore Levine) writes:
>> klier@iscsvax.uni.edu writes:
>>  Nameless is at the vet's tonight, losing an important
>>>portion of his anatomy and getting his FeLeuk shots.
>> 
>> Please tell us more about this beautiful cat, as you get to know him.
> My last glimpse of him was a pair of _blue_ eyes and a silver and flame
> paw leaking out from under one of the treatment room doors...
> 
> I get to pick him up at 8am tomorrow, then he'll be on his way to
> Indiana Sunday morning...  :-(  Gonna have to wangle an invitation
> to come see him!  8-) 8-)

Nameless made the trip to Indiana AOK.  As life would have it, just that
morning his new person had gone out for a walk and found a bedraggled
black kitten by the side of the road, and took him home and cleaned him
up, and introduced him to the resident cat, Bupo (named for a bad case
of social improprieties concommitant to worms... ;-)  ).  Mark showed up
with Nameless about two hours later, and when last seen, Nameless and the
kitten had joined forces to tell Bupo (22 lbs) about his new status...

Nameless' new people love him already-- "Gorgeous animal! Magnificent cat."

More to follow as I hear more.  Grading to do at the moment... :-(

Kay
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
From: rmd@tellabs.com (Bob Dyas)
Subject: Re: Meaning of tabby cats
Organization: Tellabs, Lisle, IL
Date: Tue, 22 Dec 1992 23:16:07 GMT

jhoskins@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu (James M Hoskins) writes:
>
>   What are the characteristic, defining markings of what are
>   called tabby cats?
>
>   Also, can anyone comment on coloration and markings of "tortise-shell 
>   tabbies" and "mackerel tabbies"?
>

I've read/heard that many/most/all tabbies have what appears to be a
capital letter M on their forehead.  My cat does.  Is this true for all
the tabbies out there?


-- 
---------------
Bob Dyas
Tellabs, Inc.
rmd@tellabs.com

Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
From: davidl@flounder.ratsys.com (Dave Lane)
Subject: Re: Kd food
Organization: Rational Systems, Inc.
X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.1 PL6]
Distribution: usa
Date: Wed, 23 Dec 1992 20:17:21 GMT

Julia Erhart (erhart@athena.mit.edu) wrote:
> Funny, my cat (the one with the respiratory problem that I wrote about
> a couple of days ago) absolutely LOVES kd diet (the dry food), more than
> she ever did Science Diet or Eukanuba (sp?)

I missed the original article talking about KD, but for our cat Higgins,
who was on KD for 4 years until we finally had to put her to sleep 3 months
ago, the secret was to feed her both the dry and canned food.  She liked
the dry stuff just fine, and we found that she liked the canned stuff if
we mashed it up & added water to it.

--
- - -
Dave Lane  davidl@ratsys.com
R a t i o n a l 
Systems, Inc.
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
From: bron@iastate.edu (bronwyn)
Subject: Re: Should they fight it out?
Originator: bron@tbird.cc.iastate.edu
Organization: Iowa State University, Ames, IA
Date: Wed, 30 Dec 1992 09:26:48 GMT

In article <C018C2.LFB@Novell.COM> lyndap@Novell.COM (Lynda Peterson) writes:
[about adding a kitten to the domain of an older cat, and the tension it
creates]

I recently (gak! months ago, I guess) added a kitten to the domain of my
one-and-a-bit year old female.  At first, they hated each other. Loathing.
They refused to be in the same room with each other.  They fought.  They
whined.  They cried.  I interfered.  They fought more.  I pulled my hair 
out.  I gave up, knowing that Nermal (front declawed) couldn't do any 
lasting damage with a front swipe, and simply provided Nermal with some
alone-time whenever she chose.  (my method was to invest $$$$$ into
a magnetic pet door to which only she had the "key")  I decided to 
interfere only when actual damage was likely.  A week later, I walked 
into the living room and found them curled up, kitten asleep, Nermal 
licking her affectionately.
*double take*
Now they tolerate each other.  Well, Feeper treats Nermal like a toy, and
Nermal avoids Feeper like the plague.
My *personal* experience is that a new addition needs time to learn the
"rules" of the house, and the established cat needs some time to adjust
to sharing the space.  I also believe that the new addition at some point
learns that the dominant cat is *not himself*, and to treat the established
cat with a *bit* of respect.
Again, that's only personal experience.  

May your days be filled with friendly felines.

--
Bronwyn J Scrutton                                          bron@iastate.edu
Project Vincent                                               (515) 294-4994
                    If it's not one thing, it's Bronwyn.
From: stubaker@casbah.acns.nwu.edu (Stuart Baker)
Subject: Declawing Older Cats
Organization: Northwestern University, Evanston Illinois.
Date: Fri, 25 Dec 1992 05:44:56 GMT


How about any comments on older cats being declawed.  My cat is 9 and I may
have to declaw her in order to move in with my girlfriend who has 2 declawed
cats.  Anyone have any comments or suggestions.

Stu Baker
From: spp@zabriskie.berkeley.edu (Steve Pope)
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
Subject: Re: A moral dilemma
Date: 29 Dec 1992 23:49:29 GMT
Organization: U.C. Berkeley -- ERL
NNTP-Posting-Host: zion.berkeley.edu

nlp@pacvax.pacersoft.com (Nancy Pilsch) writes:

>Isn't running around free better than being killed?  

Yes.  YES!  Obviously.

>I really don't know what to do.  

I think you answered your own question...

>Nancy
>Owned by Calvin and Hobbes

Steve
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats