HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: Jack_Webb@mindlink.bc.ca (Jack Webb)
Subject: Re:Pregnant women/litter question
Organization: MIND LINK! - British Columbia, Canada
Date: Sat, 19 Dec 1992 23:04:42 GMT

> Laura Bassi writes:
>
> Msg-ID: <1992Dec19.185444.60485@ns1.cc.lehigh.edu>
> Posted: 19 Dec 92 18:54:44 GMT
>
> Org.  : Lehigh University
>
> Hi folks,
>   I recently caught a bit of a news piece that was saying something about
>   pregnant women and cat litter.  Apparently, contact w/ cat litter (used,
> I
>   assume :), is dangerous to the developing fetus. Anyone hear of anything
>   about this?  Thanks.
>   peace,
>   laura


Yes, there is a danger of pregnant women contracting TOXOPLASMOSIS.  A
parasite that lives in cat feces can cause it.  Pregnant women don't have to
get rid of their cats, they just have to:

a) get someone else to handle the litter box or:

b) wear rubber gloves and a cheap filter mask that you can find at hardware
stores over your mouth and nose when you do it.  Wash your hands thoroughly
after handling the feces.  If you follow these precautions, you will have NO
PROBLEM.

Also, remember that unused cat litter poses ABSOLUTELY NO THREAT.
Also, the incidence of this happening is VERY low... I have heard of many
women who didn't do the above, and were okay.  It's just that if you want to
be perfectly safe, that's the way to go.

*j*

--
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****
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
From: "doug powless" <doug.powless@canrem.com>
Subject: whiskers
Reply-To: "doug powless" <doug.powless@canrem.com>
Organization: Canada Remote Systems
Distribution: rec
Date: 15 Dec 92 07:11:11 EST

        Hi all!

        Well, I have an interesting situation with one of my kitt-, uh,
        cats:  it's Muffin, and she appears to have a few whiskers
        broken off.  In fact, when you have a good look at her face, the
        numbers of whiskers on one side seems to outnumber those on the
        other.

        This may be nothing - but I wonder if anyone has run into this
        before?  I know there are whiskers of different sizes, but the
        two that appear broken off are hard and straight (ie they don't
        taper off), and really *appear* as if someone broke/cut them.

        She is not an outdoor cat and has never been, so that means
        there probably weren't any humans involved.  (I say "probably"
        because I have a nine year old son).

        In a way, I feel a little ridiculous posting this because it
        seems so trivial.  But it bothers me, so I'll post anyway!  <G>

        Thanks for any help you can give me!

        Sincerely,

        Doug (and his co-owners Princess and Muffin)
---
  1st 1.02b #818  (A)bort, (R)etry, (W)hackitonthesideofthemonitor!
--
Canada Remote Systems  - Toronto, Ontario
World's Largest PCBOARD System - 416-629-7000/629-7044
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
From: ramirez@julia.math.ucla.edu (Alice Ramirez)
Subject: cats and bagpipe music
Organization: UCLA Mathematics Department
Date: Sat, 12 Dec 92 03:57:40 GMT

I happen to adore bagpipe music...any kind from any culture that has produced
a tradition of bagpipes.   My cats, especially the Magnificent Bubbles,
respond varyingly to the nature of the music.
   
For instance, I have to play Great Highland Pipe music in my car only,
because both cats appear extremely distressed to hear it played at home.
They seem to go into major anxiety attacks.  Ditto when I play Bulgarian
bagpipe music (very similar in sound, at least on recordings).

On the other hand, the Irish (Ullean) pipes don't seem to bother them
at all.  These have a softer, lighter, rather bubbly sound that
appears to lack whatever so irritates my kitties when I play
recordings of Great Highland Pipes.  They pretty much ignore these and
Cornwall pipes.
From: lcornell@stein.u.washington.edu (Linda D. Cornell)
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
Subject: Re: Any interesting cat tricks out there? 8-)
Date: 19 Dec 92 02:47:59 GMT
Article-I.D.: u.1992Dec19.024759.629
Organization: University of Washington, Seattle

My favorite trick is when they curl up in a ball, get all fluffy, squeeze
their eyes closed tightly, twitch their whiskers....and turn me into a
cooing ball of mush!  Amazing to see - and it works every time ;)!

Linda
From: jimw@cup.portal.com (james jim woomer)
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
Subject: Re: What's Your Favorite Kind of Cat?
Date: Wed, 16 Dec 92 08:08:26 PST
Organization: The Portal System (TM)

If you ever spend any time around a Maine Coon - You will never want another 
breed of cat.  Of course Ive never met a cat I didn't like.

Jim Woomer
From: froud@SunLab40.sx.ac.uk (Froud D D M)
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
Subject: Re: What's Your Favorite Kind of Cat?
Date: 17 Dec 92 16:21:26 GMT
Organization: n/a

In article <71811@cup.portal.com> jimw@cup.portal.com (james jim woomer) writes:

> If you ever spend any time around a Maine Coon - You will never want another 
>breed of cat.  Of course Ive never met a cat I didn't like.

Uhoh - I prefer my burmese to the Maine Coons in our house...ok, so they
chirp a lot, but they just aren't as playful and cuddly...

Dunno about Siamese about Tonkinese (sp?) are completely mad-brained creatures
that declare war on any living thing - especially female tonks...and there's
one at home I've been told...

In fact, I'll probably post some list of felines at my house at some point...

Dom
--
Name: Dom. Species: Spod. Breed: 2nd year. Body: long
Other features: ugly, boring, funny eye, says 'barf' a lot.
For more information: email the address above. " <- a quote
From: alspach@lilly.com (G. K. Alspach)
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
Subject: Re:    declawing?
Date: 18 Dec 92 17:56:26 GMT
Distribution: world,local
Organization: Eli Lilly and Company
X-UserAgent: Nuntius v1.1Lines: 31



In article <9059.82.uupcb@cutting.hou.tx.us> Tim Burton,
tim.burton@cutting.hou.tx.us writes:
>JJ.The mother of a friend of mine just had her cat
declawed and he is not
>  .recovering well.  I haven't seen him (since he's
almost 2000 miles away)
>  .but my friend says he walks as if his paws are still
hurting him even
>  .though he is long past the point at which they should
be healed.

Your mother's friend may want to check how the vet removed
the claw in the first place.  Some vets use a device that
looks like a nail trimmer which removes only the front
part of the claw.  Others use a scalpel to remove the
entire claw.

If a scalpel was not used the part of the claw that was
not removed may have become loose within the paw and scar
tissue could form around it causing the cat some pain.  I
would look for a vet who uses the scalpel method to x-ray
the paws and see if that is the case.  The remaining
pieces of claw can be removed using the scalpel technique.

Kay Klier had a more detailed description of these
procedure posted today under a similar heading.  You may
want to check for the technical terms there!

Gretchen
Organization: Temporary Employment Service, Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh, PA
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
Date: Fri, 11 Dec 1992 16:23:23 -0500 
From: Deborah Nina Cherry <dc30+@andrew.cmu.edu>
Subject: Re: Pet Store Kittens
	<1992Dec10.192616.27867@den.mmc.com>

There is asmall  pet store here in Pittsburgh called Pet Pad, which is
different from most mall-type pet stores.  They do not sell dogs at all,
and carry a few home raised kittens (including some purebreeds) when
they get them. They have 2 store cats, Barney and Clyde, that provide
perfect demonstrations of the various climbing things, etc. that the
store sells (several items are labeled "Not for sale, the property of
Barney & Clyde"), they even star in their TV commercial. The purebreds
(I've never seen more than 3 at once, often littermates) are kept in a
large cattery-type cage, and the others in a large area (all in the
window of course...) with a double decker kitty trampoline/sleeper, a
palm tree look alike with sisal up the whole thing (plastic at the top,
to prevent them from getting out, every once in a while one does manage
to get himself stuck up there though), a small climber-tree thing, and
various toys. They always look so cute sleeping in this huge pile. They
are kept in the store for a minimum of 10 days, and visit a local vet
for their first shots, checkup, kitten de-wormer, etc. I don't know
where they get the kittens from other than homes, I know that a litter
they recently had there had a  mother who was a purebred birmese and an
unknown father, sounds like a show cat that managed to sneak out for a
seedy affair. :-)

They take great care of their cats, and make sure people are aware of
the responsibility of caring for a cat. It seems like all the employees
have pets (Most of the ones I've talked to have cats), and the owner is
a really nice guy. 

Debbie Cherry & Isaac
Carnegie Mellon University
Pittsburgh, PA

INTERNET: dc30@andrew.cmu.edu
BITNET:	  dc30+%andrew.cmu.edu@carnegie (preferably) 
	  or debbie@drycas
	
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
From: kjt34420@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu (Kristin J. Thommes)
Subject: Re: Rhinotraecheitis?
Organization: University of Illinois at Urbana
Date: Thu, 17 Dec 1992 20:06:01 GMT

maxfield@athena.cs.uga.edu (Joan C. Maxfield) writes:

>He told me it [rhinotracheitis]
>was a Herpes virus and 80% of the cats that get it have it for life.
>I am obviously concerned (and worried:( ) and would like to hear what
>you know about it (good and bad).  Thanks!

Feline rhinotracheitis is a contagious disease that is spread either 
horizontally or vertically.  (They can get it from either direct contact 
with moist mucosal surfaces, or they can also get it from their mother's
milk or through the mothers placenta).  In young cats, it is often seen as
causing acute upper respiratory diseases or conjunctivitis, or corneal ulcers,
and rarely oral ulcers.  In the adult, you may see recurrent subclinical
infection due to the virus being reactivated from a latent state.  

The most important thing for you to do is try to keep your cat from getting
stressed (when that's possible) because if he is under stress, he can begin
to shed the virus again without showing any signs of being sick himself, and
if he is around other cats who aren't vaccnated, he can then give it to them.
Most cats who have had rhinotracheitis are 'sick' more while they are kittens,
but then when they get older you wouldnt even know that they have the disease.
And yes, herpesviruses are almost always present for life once an animal has
been infected.  But, it probably doenst mena that your cat will live any
shorter of a lifespan, just that you need to be careful not to have him around
other nonvaccinated cats or kittens who may get the disease from him.


-- 


Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
From: vboynton@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu (Virginia R Boynton)
Subject: Re: Flaunting the law - responsibly...
Organization: The Ohio State University
Distribution: na
Date: Tue, 15 Dec 1992 00:35:46 GMT

What does *any* of this have to do with *cats*?  Could we please keep this 
network for topics relating to cats, and let the drug users use their own 
network to discuss their issues?
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
From: Jack_Webb@mindlink.bc.ca (Jack Webb)
Subject: Re: Cruising kitty
Organization: MIND LINK! - British Columbia, Canada
Date: Sat, 12 Dec 1992 02:53:02 GMT

You definitely want to have all your vacc. certificates and as much
documentation of their health as possible.  Try calling the local health
department... they know what people have to do when they travel, maybe
they'll have the same info for pets.
 *j*

--
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****
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
From: thomas@yap.las.uiuc.edu (Susan Thomas)
Subject: Re: Name of my Black Cat / Feline alarm clock
Organization: Speech Comm, University of Illinois
Date: Fri, 11 Dec 1992 22:06:03 GMT

In article <1gaqliINNmo7@usenet.INS.CWRU.Edu> at881@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (N. French) writes:


>In a previous article, holmbeck@cs.weber.edu (Laura Holmbeck) says:

>>One thing that I'm curious about, how many people's kitty's suddenly
>> get this in their head that they HAVE to try to wake their owners
>> up -- and thru persistent methods!  Nokky has started this up the 
>> past week or so, and if I don't get up after he mewls at me loudly,
>> he'll start pouncing at my face and toes and fingers and what else
>> he can nab. =)
>>
Yes, Booties is terrible about this.  She stands on our dresser and pushes 
everything off the edge to get our attention.  If this doesn't work, she 
hooks one slat of our mini-blinds, pulls it out, and then lets it go with a 
ping.  Most annoying.
 Speech Communication Department
 University of Illinois
From: at881@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (N. French)
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
Subject: Re: Help me name my cat
Date: 16 Dec 1992 18:39:00 GMT
Organization: Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH (USA)
Reply-To: at881@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (N. French)
NNTP-Posting-Host: hela.ins.cwru.edu


In a previous article, dan@msen.com (Dan Sugalski) says:
>Eric Williams (wd6cmu@netcom.com) wrote:
>: And the winner is: Vincent.  Thanks to all who gave suggestions.  Vincent
>: is 14 weeks old and is already 5 pounds.  I hope that means he's going to
>: be a big cat.
>: -- 
> Big?  More likely *hugh*!  He outweighs some of the adults I have(had).
>Vincent outweighs Spike, who's 23 weeks old, by at least a pound :)
>
>Karen
>
At four months Spanky tipped the scales at 7 pounds - a good
two pounds more than any other four month old boy kitty we
saw at the vet that day. At seven months he's about 10 pounds -
what a monster :)

NIcole
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
From: srscnslt@telesciences.com (SRS Consultant)
Subject: Re: How can I get cat/mouse X software?
Keywords: X, pointer-watchers
Organization: TeleSciences CO Systems, Inc.
Date: Thu, 10 Dec 1992 15:55:43 GMT

In article <Byy6Js.As0@cs.dal.ca> maillet@cs.dal.ca (ANDRE MARC MAILLET) writes:
>
>    oneko when completed is 81920 bytes long.
>    xneko when completed is 57344 bytes long.

	Uh, yeah, on _your_ machine.  But if you've got a Sun IPC, and someone
	else is running DesqView X, they will most likely NOT get the same
	results.


	In other words, so long as the build of the programs works (no error
	messages), the executable file will be the right size for your
	machine.


-- 
Mitch Gorman		srscnslt@telesciences.com		slave@work
			emrys@cellar.org			god@home

"Stand, on hills of long forgotten yesterdays..."
From: lianne@bcarh17e.BNR.CA (Lianne Raley)
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
Subject: Re: Mischievous Black Cat
Date: 18 Dec 92 14:49:42 GMT
Reply-To: lianne@bcarh17e.BNR.CA (Lianne Raley)
Distribution: world
Organization: Bell-Northern Research Ltd.

In article <1992Dec10.152043.6905@gdr.bath.ac.uk>, ccspjs@gdr.bath.ac.uk
(Pete J Suters) writes:
 ... stuff deleted ...
|>  Itsy's main hobby is burgling people's houses.  He's come into
|>our house on numerous occasions and stole our cat's food.  It 
|>doesn't matter what you do, throw water at him, shout at him,
|>chase him up the garden... he always comes back.  He's also a
|>very charming con artist - he always comes swaggering up to you,
|>tail up, looking as cute as possible, and if you try and ignore
|>him, he'll rub around your legs until he gets the attention he
|>wants.  
|>  I think he has to be the most mischevous cat I've come across.
|>
|>
|>pete j suters ---- bath university ---- email: p.j.suters@uk.ac.swurcc 

Well my cat isn't black, but he can be pretty sneaky. My two neighbours
have several cats each, and they're all indoor/outdoor types. I found out
over the summer that when Salvador would go out for the day, he'd eventually
end up meowing at the neighbour's doors. They'd each take him in, feed him,
pet him, then let him out again (or he'd curl up somewhere for a snooze if
the weather was anything other than perfect). He usually skipped breakfast
at home because he'd want outside so badly...no wonder, he probably liked
the neighbour's food better!

The final straw was when I heard this little story...my neighbour Marg went
to let her cats in and Salvador came running in right behind them. He headed
straight for the basement door, down the stairs, used the litter box, then
came running right back up again and meowed at the front door. She opened it,
and off he went.

Guess the ground was a little too hard that day... :).

- Lianne -
From: lianne@bcarh17e.BNR.CA (Lianne Barre)
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
Subject: Re: cheap cat toys!
Date: 15 Dec 92 14:07:13 GMT
Reply-To: lianne@bcarh17e.BNR.CA (Lianne Barre)
Distribution: world
Organization: Bell-Northern Research Ltd.

In article <1992Dec7.155322.22004@ohm.york.ac.uk>, ian (I Stephenson) writes:
|>
|>Ourcat Gem loves a ping pong ball that she's got, but better than that are  
|>corks. They don't roll straight so are better to chase, and she can
pick them  
|>up and take them into a corner for serious baiting.
|>
|>Of course there not as cheap as ping ping balls as they invariably
come with a  
|>bottle of wine attached (shame :-)), and alas she keeps loosing them. Every  
|>time I go shopping I have to buy another cork for the cat ;-). Its a
tough job  
|>but how could I deprive my beloved cat.
|>
|>The other favourite is a smartie tube (or similar) with a cat treat in
it so  
|>that it rattles. These roll very eratically, and are very hard to track.
|>
|>Ian Stephenson
                              
Yes, corks are great! My little guy, Guinness, just loves them. They're
nice and soft, probably smell interesting, and are perfect for carrying
around in his mouth. And I too have an endless supply...

Eventually they dry out and get hard, which is when he starts stashing them
under the nearest piece of furniture or appliance. I think they're best
when fresh and still a little springy.

- Lianne -
From: 22302LMK@MSU
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
Subject: 1 month & the tree is still standing
Date: 15 Dec 92 19:03:14 GMT
Organization: Michigan State University

Well the tree has been up for almost a month and the cats haven't touched it.
Tucker was looking rather hungray at the lights but I nipped that in the bud.

But other than that they have no interest in the tree at all. Hell Bleu is more
interested in the box that it came in than the tree itself.


Lisa Bleu & Tucker
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
From: ramirez@julia.math.ucla.edu (Alice Ramirez)
Subject: this drug discussion
Organization: UCLA Mathematics Department
Date: Mon, 14 Dec 92 23:32:14 GMT

why is a discussion on LSD and drugs appearing on rec.cats?

Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
From: cmo@stsci.edu
Subject: Re: Do your cats know their names?
Organization: Space Telescope Science Institute
Distribution: na
Date: Fri, 18 Dec 1992 13:39:28 GMT

> 
> I heard a story of a woman who had several Siamese cats.  When she would
> call the name of one of them, all the others would turn to look at the
> one who was being called, but the one being called ignored it.  Typical.
> -- 

Oh gawd, I laughed till I cried at this one... 
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
From: david@tms390.micro.ti.com (David Thomas)
Subject: Re: When will people learn???
Keywords: kitten, SPCA,
Organization: Texas Instruments, Houston
Date: Sun, 20 Dec 1992 20:42:27 GMT

das@voodoo.boeing.com (Deb Schwartz) writes:

>>>What are the restrictions in your town?  We don't have any on cats.
>>
>> Huh?  I never heard of such a restriction either.
>>
>The city of Seattle has a limit of 3.  When I went to get Oreo a license,
>when the guy entered my address, the computer beeped and flashed him a
>message telling him I already had one cat registered.  That's when he
>told me there was a maximum of 3 per address. 

Cat license?!?  Computer?  This is starting to sound like Monty Python:

Man [Michael Palin]: All right, all right, all right.  You want a license?
Mr. Praline [John Cleese]: Yes.
Man:     For a fish?
Praline: Yes.
Man:     You *are* a loony.
Praline: Look, it's a bleedin' pet isn't it?  I've got a license for my
         pet dog, Eric, and I've got a license for my pet cat, Eric.
Man:     You don't need a license for a cat.
Praline: You bleeding well do, and I've got one.  Ho, ho, you're not
         catching me out there.
Man:     There is no such thing as a bloody cat license.
Praline: Yes there is.
Man:     No there isn't.
Praline: Is!
Man:     Isn't.
Praline: Is.
Man:     Isn't.
...
Praline: Is.
Man:     Isn't.
Praline: What's that then?
Man:     That is a dog license with the word 'dog' crossed out and the
         word 'cat' written in in crayon.
Praline: The man didn't have the proper form.
Man:     What man?
Praline: The man from the cat detector van.
Man:     Loony detector van, you mean.
Praline: It's people like you what causes unrest.
Man:     All right, what cat detector van?
Praline: The cat detector van from the Ministry of Housinge.
Man:     Housinge???
Praline: Yes, it was spelt that way on the van.  I'm very observant.
         I've never seen so many aerials in my life.  The man told me
         that their equipment could pin-point a purr at four-hundred
         yards...and Eric being such a happy cat was a piece of cake.
-- 
David Thomas  Texas Instruments  (david@wotangate.sc.ti.com)  (713)-274-2347
From: mary@uicsl.csl.uiuc.edu (Mary E. Allison)
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
Subject: Re: Is Christmas Tree Water Dangerous?
Date: 14 Dec 1992 23:20:48 GMT
Organization: Center for Reliable and High-Performance Computing, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Distribution: na
NNTP-Posting-Host: uicsl.csl.uiuc.edu

dauphin@adobe.com (Kimberly Dauphin) writes:

>Is this dangerous to kitties?  

I've heard that it is.

> Even if it's not, is there something besides aluminum foil that will
> keep them out of it? 

Well, there are different type of tree stands.  Some are not quite as
open as others.  You might try a stand with a narrower opening.  It
makes it more difficult to check on the water, but Fezzik, Hershey,
and Binkley are worth it.

Mary (Meriadoc and Isis)

--
I'm on Santa's naughty list

 and PROUD of it

    Mary Allison (mary@uicsl.csl.uiuc.edu) Urbana, Illinois
From: STAN@VM.TEMPLE.EDU (Stan Horwitz)
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
Subject: Spaying
Date: 13 Dec 92 03:41:57 GMT
Organization: Temple University - Computer Services

My cat  Fred (a  female) was spayed  3 years  ago when she  was barely  out of
kittenhood.  Fred  is in great shape  and only has  a glob of skin  that hangs
down from her belly when she walks,  but she definitely isn't fat and is quite
active.
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats