HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: jlecher@pbs.org
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
Subject: BAD mommy!
Date: 3 Oct 92 13:30:48 GMT
Organization: PBS:Public Broadcasting Service, Alexandria, VA

I feel like such a BAD mommy. *sniff*

A few weeks ago, Sherlock developed a sore-looking bald patch on
his back. He's had them before (before I came), but we just thought
this time the kitten was playing too rough.
We went away for 2 days, and when we got back, Sherlock had
grown two more nastier-looking patches! We were furious at Scarlett.

Oh well, they were due for a checkup anyway, so I made an appt. and
took them in. 
It turns out that the 'darling little kitten' ,imported from New
York, had brought with her imported fleas and worms, and both
cats were badly infested. Sherlock had had a reaction to the fleas
and had scratched himself raw.

I had to leave the cats with the vet, and bomb the house all morning.
I came home with a whole arsenol of medications, and have been
failthfully dosing the cats every morning with 2 kinds of worm
medicine, while my boyfriend rubs ointment on Sherlock's back.
Sherlock is healing very nicely, and I'm getting pretty good at
force-feeding medicine into the cats' mouths. I do it just before
I feed them in the mornings, so they know by now that they won't
get fed before I'm done. It's strong enough incentive to keep them
from running away.

We also have flea mousse to apply once a week, also my job, and
it's a trip, let me tell you. Kitty mohawks! heehee. But after
moussing them, I have to put them into the carrier for 15 minutes,
because I don't want them running around the house wet, and listen
to them howl and fuss until I let them out to be dried and set free.
It breaks my heart, but it has to be done.

The damages came to $342. And the vet got me to write out a check
cheerfully, too! All he did was tell me what an adorable and
beautiful kitten Scarlett was, and every assistant who saw her
said the same thing! Great tactics. Hey, it worked for me.
And Scarlett is up to 3.75 lbs. now.

Oh well, at least they're not *seriously* ill. And we did catch it
soon enough, before Sherlock scratched himself completely raw. 
It just bothers me to realize how much he must have suffered before
then.

I'm such a bad mommy. I should have known.
*sigh*
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
From: tastewar@athena.mit.edu (Tom Stewart)
Subject: Re: Dangerous Cat Parasite
Organization: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Distribution: na
Date: Fri, 2 Oct 1992 18:00:44 GMT

In article <1992Oct1.121005.1@stsci.edu> lhuffman@stsci.edu writes:
>In article <1992Oct1.140134.14953@csd.brispoly.ac.uk>, th2_oate@csd.brispoly.ac.uk (Tom Oates) writes:
>
>> Finally, there's toxoplasmosis which is only a risk to pregnant women
>> - it can cause miscarriages. The risk is easily avoided: pregnant women
>> should avoid cleaning litter trays/faeces if at all possible. If this isn
>> not, they should use gloves, and afterwards wash hands in disinfectant. 
>> Like toxicara canis, the risk is small - but it does exist.
>> -- 
>
>I would like to add that there is a test for toxoplasmosis in cats.  Working 
>in rescue organizations I have seen so many, many sad cases of animals being 
>given up because the woman got pregnant and the doctor scared the daylights 
>out of her by telling her the cat was endangering the fetus.  If your cat 
>tests positive then precautions must be taken. However, if the cat is 
>negative, then there is no need for alarm.
>
>


Just to add more to this thread, my understanding (correct me if I'm 
wrong) is that raw meat (or is it just beef?) can also be a source of 
toxoplasmosis, so pregnant women would be wise to avoid dealing with
that as well, or at least use similar precautions.

Also, I do believe that the only time there is a danger is when the
infection occurs during pregnancy.  In other words, if you are a 
carrier already, there is no need to be concerned about the disease
should you become pregnant later.  I don't know if there is a 
test for this, but I imagine there must be.

Tom Stewart
From: jack@dcs.glasgow.ac.uk (Jack Campin)
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
Subject: Re: Declawing older cats
Date: 6 Oct 92 14:47:12 GMT
Reply-To: jack@dcs.glasgow.ac.uk (Jack Campin)
Organization: COMANDOS Project, Glesga Yoonie

Bruce Tachoir <KGBAT@ASUACAD.BITNET> wrote:
> Has anyone ever had to have an older cat declawed? I have two cats, Apollo -
> a gray tabby going on 10 years of age and Opie - an orange tabby going on 8
> years old. Their scratching has gotten progressively worse and I'm afraid
> I must have their front claws removed. I'm interested in all experiences and
> points of view, specifically: What are the dangers of surgery for cats of
> this mature age?

How about just giving the cats to the pound in the hope that they find an
owner who cares more about them than his furniture?  Or who isn't too damn
lazy even to trim their claws?

No cat adjusts to this amputation, and an older cat is going to find it even
harder.


> Can vets detect if a cat should not under go the declaw procedure?

In some countries (like this one), vets can rather easily detect that
they'll lose their licence and probably face criminal prosecution for
cruelty if they ever try it on any cat.

-- 
--  Jack Campin    room G092, Computing Science Department, Glasgow University,
17 Lilybank Gardens, Glasgow G12 8RZ, Scotland   TEL: 041 339 8855 x6854 (work)
INTERNET: jack@dcs.glasgow.ac.uk or via nsfnet-relay.ac.uk    FAX: 041 330 4913
BANG!net: via mcsun and uknet     BITNET: via UKACRL    UUCP: jack@glasgow.uucp
From: hughes@dogwood.botany.uga.edu (Wayne Hughes)
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
Subject: Re: Has my cat gone mad?
Date: 7 Oct 92 03:35:39 GMT
Organization: Botany Department - U of Georgia, Athens

In article <1399@ncrclm.ClemsonSC.NCR.COM> lsnow@ncrclm.ClemsonSC.NCR.COM (Linda Snow) writes:
>I don't think I've ever had a cat that DIDN'T chase its tail!

    You can easily induce this behavior, at least a few times.
    Soak the tail in water, so that it gets heavy.  The surprised
    kitty simply *must* investigate this new sensation; the
    result is a madly twirling cat.

    They get used to it after a while.

    Wayne
From: exuptr@exu.ericsson.se (Patrick Taylor)
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
Subject: Re: Help name my kittens
Date: 25 Sep 92 19:10:18 GMT
Organization: Ericsson Network Systems, Inc.
X-Disclaimer: This article was posted by a user at Ericsson in North America.
              The opinions expressed are strictly those of the user and
              not necessarily those of Ericsson.


How about "Sex" and "Violence" or
"Sax" and ""Violins"
 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
    "This must be Thursday.  I never could get the hang of Thursdays"
                                                       - Douglas Adams
  - Patrick Taylor                                       (Arthur Dent)
    Ericsson Network Systems
    exuptr@exu.ericsson.se                       "Don't let the .se fool you"
    or exuptr@ZGNews.Lonestar.Org, exu.exuptr@memo.ericsson.se
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
From: martha@gvlf7-o.gvl.unisys.com (Martha Sherman)
Subject: Re: Has my cat gone mad?
Organization: Paramax Systems, Great Valley Labs, Paoli, Pa
Date: Fri, 2 Oct 1992 20:25:40 GMT


I think your cat is perfectly normal.  Two of my 3 cats chase their tails.
(And, of course, MY cats are perfectly normal.  :-) )
My parent's cat really gets into it!  He actually meows/growls/hisses at
his tail when he's chasing it.  It's quite funny to watch!

I sometimes wonder if cats don't know that the tail is attached...



Martha H. Sherman
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
I speak only for myself, and sometimes I even wonder about that...
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
From: dmillard@encore.com (Debbie Millard)
Subject: Re: Kitten update 
Organization: Encore Computer Corporation, Ft. Lauderdale, FL
Distribution: na
Date: Mon, 28 Sep 1992 17:58:43 GMT

In article <1992Sep24.161033.7051@iscsvax.uni.edu> klier@iscsvax.uni.edu writes:
>In article <1992Sep23.232543.679231@locus.com>, krissie@locus.com (Krissie Griffiths) writes:
>
>> and how are your kittens btw, updates please.
>
>Fat! Sassy!  Still in Minneapolis, at Mark's brother's request (he had a 
>great time playing with them last weekend).  

Aawww...don't they sound CUTE?!?  Sounds like Mark's brother may
be a new pappa, huh?

Debbie M.
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
From: rmilner@zia.aoc.nrao.edu (Ruth Milner)
Subject: Worm identification
Reply-To: rmilner@zia.aoc.nrao.edu (Ruth Milner)
Organization: National Radio Astronomy Observatory, Socorro NM
Date: Fri, 2 Oct 92 18:14:53 GMT

OK, there seems to be some discussion here lately about worms, so I thought 
I'd ask about identifying a type of worm I saw once, recently, emerging from 
one of our cats' bums.

The simplest description I can think of is an albino planarian. It wasn't a
segment of a tapeworm, it was very definitely wiggling. It was about half an
inch long, pure white, fairly flat (so not roundworm?), tapered at each end but
had a tiny smooth bump on each side at the "front" end, just like near a plan-
arian's eye spots but all white (so not hookworm either?). The "front" end was
blunter than the "back" (yes, I examined this worm very carefully :-) ). If 
you've ever done a biology lab with planarians, just picture a largish albino 
one, and that's exactly what this looked like.

Abby eats and drinks normally, excretes normally, is a perfect weight, very 
active, very happy, so I'm not too concerned that whatever it is is causing 
her problems. She does catch and eat mice, so it occurred to me that she might 
just be ingesting mouse worms and live ones pass through. I have never seen 
one from our other cat, who doesn't seem to be able to catch mice (just bugs 
and small lizards).

Any ideas? Should I be worried? I didn't want to give her an off-the-shelf
treatment since they all seem to be for types of parasites this doesn't match.

Thanks.
-- 
Ruth Milner                          NRAO/VLA                  Socorro NM
Computing Division Head      rmilner@zia.aoc.nrao.edu
From: sstover@sumax.seattleu.edu (Maven o'Mirth)
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
Subject: Claw questions
Date: 2 Oct 92 04:29:05 GMT
Organization: Seattle University, Seattle WA


Two questions for the net: 

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

Second, when I got him he had had his claws very recently clipped.  They
have (obviously) since grown out, but he does not seem to understand the
difference between using them and not using them.  Though I howl and hiss
(which usually works) he doesn't seem to "get" the fact that it hurts when
he tries to climb my bare shoulder like a tree :|.  He has gotten awfully
proficient with using them, and I don't mind him climbing the futon (he
doesn't scratch on it) and such, but the fact that he also uses them on me
motivates me to want to clip his claws again.  Any advice on whether this
will be a problem?  I ask mostly because I have these mental pictures of
Hemingway running full tilt across the apartment, leaping up to climb the
futon, and falling flat on his behind when he discovers his claws are
gone.  Any experiences with cats learning to deal with clawlessness?

Thanks!
--
Sheryl Stover				|  How passing fair is youth,
*>sstover@sumax.seattleu.edu<*		|  Forever fleeting away;
and Hemingway, feline philosopher	|  Who happy would be, let him be;
Watch this .sig for news of the		|  Of tomorrow, who can say?
upcoming album from Seattle's 		|	-Lorenzo de'Medici
premier band, the Medici!		|


Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
From: maverick@topgun.b29.ingr.com (Mike Sorrelle)
Subject: Re: Update: Missing Cat in Locked Apartment
Keywords: Well?
Reply-To: maverick@topgun.b29.ingr.com
Organization: Intergraph Corp., Dullsville (as in Huntsville), AL
Distribution: na
Date: Tue, 29 Sep 1992 17:36:01 GMT

In article <1992Sep28.220544.19745@col.hp.com>, lpj@col.hp.com (Laura Johnson) writes:
|> It looks (from this site anyway) like Mary never posted a followup
|> after she found her cat. She emailed me and some others and told us
|> the cat came home :-)
|> 
|> (I know you guys worry!)

You're right, we do.

So, where was the kitty all that time?
If it was outside, did she ever figure out how it got out?
Inquiring (kitty) minds want to know!
-- 
                 _   |  Mike Sorrelle, Intergraph Corp., Huntsville, AL 
  /| /| |     / / \  |  Opinions expressed here are a daemon's, not mine.
 / |/ | | /| /   \   |  Internet:  maverick@topgun.b29.ingr.com
/     | |/ |/  \_/   |  UUCP:      ...uunet!ingr!b29!topgun!maverick
From: jmorris@spider.co.uk (John Morris)
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
Subject: Re: opening doors
Date: 5 Oct 92 12:59:46 GMT
Organization: Spider Systems Limited, Edinburgh, UK.

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

You should meet Bobo, the escapologist of our brood. At 6 months he opened
a folding pantry door by pulling away the chair I had in front just to stop
him (!), hooking his paw in the "fold" of the door, and pulling. That left a
gap at one side which he proceeded to enlarge by pulling at the door edge.
That had the door fully open - and he then managed to climb up three shelves
to get at the topmost one where the joint of beef was... (I actually saw
him do this the day _after_ the beef got snaffled, while I was out).

To make it worse, he was not (then) even our cat, but just an occasional
visitor. He has become a permanent resident now, but still does great
things with doors. He can happily open cupboards and most of the house
doors. He can't quite manage the fridge. Yet.

John.
 

-- 
-John Morris-Spider Systems Ltd-031 554 9424-jmorris@spider.co.uk-GM4ANB@GB7EDN-
Organization: University Libraries - Technical Service, Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh, PA
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
Date: Thu,  1 Oct 1992 08:18:13 -0400 
From: "Susan R. Wagner" <sw39+@andrew.cmu.edu>
Subject: Re: Invisible fences...what are they?
	<1992Sep30.175939.14349@Princeton.EDU>

Just to clarify to everyone,  I was not thinking of using this for my
cat.  I was just curious as to how they worked.  I was really thinking
about my friend who rents and has a dog.  I was thinking that an
invisible fence would allow them to take him off his runner.  So, no my
cat stays indoors.  Just wanted some information.  Thanks to everyone
who has helped.  I will suggest this type of fence to my friend. 

Susan and Jester
From: giordano@andromeda.rutgers.edu (E. Giordano)
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
Subject: Re: Why Do Cats Lick Humans?
Date: 1 Oct 92 22:51:10 GMT
Distribution: na
Organization: Rutgers Univ., New Brunswick, N.J.

My cat, Nickie, is absolutely obsessive about
licking, especially hands. arms etc. when hes
purring and happy he will lick my hand
until it hurts and try to keep going, I thinbk
its a drawback to his childhood
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
From: dschlow@epas.utoronto.ca (Deborah Schlow)
Subject: Re: Feline Immigration
Organization: University of Toronto - EPAS
Distribution: na
Date: Mon, 28 Sep 1992 21:45:43 GMT

All you need to bring your cat into the US is a current (i.e. within
the last twelve months) vaccination record. I know the shots must be
up-to-date for rabies and I believe for feline distemper as well. It's
not a bad idea to get the feline leukemia shot, too.
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
From: krissie@locus.com (Krissie Griffiths)
Subject: Re: Cat freaks at vet's!
Organization: Locus Computing Corporation, Los Angeles, California
Date: Thu, 01 Oct 1992 23:52:58 GMT

In article <JOANM.92Sep28185204@moe.coe.uga.edu> joanm@moe.coe.uga.edu (Joan Maxfield UCNS) writes:
>
>Angelica has a problem like this.  Only she gets shots fine, it's
>getting blood that is scary.  She goes into convultions because she
>gets so upset.  Luckily, she's only needed blood taken twice.  The

oh lord........my beloved bunny (r.i.p. age l7) was a bleeder.  i.e., when 
they drew blood, he would continue to bleed into his tissue.

they drew blood one afternoon, late, i put him in the carrier and took him
home.  he got out and laid on top of the carrier.  so about l0 pm i put out
food, went to get him where he was still laying on top of the carrier and
picked him up.  he was real floppy.  as i was walking to the kitchen, i
blew on his neck, and nearly fainted.  he was a black and white, and the neck
was white fur.  he had bled into his tissue from his chin to his breast bone
and from shoulder to shoulder.  he also seemed to be a puffy in the neck.

well a mr. toad's wild ride to the emergency hospital, a night of iv fluids
and back to the regular vet at 8 am to be told he was in shock (thank you!!)
i left him and picked him up at 2 pm and he was fine.  they gave him some
vitamin k to stop the bleeding and something else.

all subsequent draws were done by the VET ONLY not an assistant and were
followed immediately by pressure to the site.  also he was drawn from the
inside of the hind leg from then on.

got dicey when he had his thyroid surgery, but he came through like a trooper.

do they know how to scare the hell out of us or what????

kg

>P.s. Amos has found a new favorite cat treat!  Floating peletted fish
>food!  Don't ask me why, I think it stinks but he goes NUTS for it!!!

he is crazy about it because it is probably some sort of freeze dried fish
product.  have a look at the ingredients.  


-- 
so what if i am a vegan?  so what if i try to live a cruelty free lifestyle?
i'll tell you what, i sleep better at night knowing that nothing suffers for
anything i eat or wear and i try to use products that have not involved 
animal testing.  
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
From: ken@ece.orst.edu (KEN MCCRACKEN)
Subject: Re: Help! Cat Damage!!!
Organization: Electrical & Computer Engineering Department, OSU
Date: Wed, 30 Sep 1992 17:04:20 GMT

In article <t0+p0-h@lynx.unm.edu> pjohnso@polaris.unm.edu (Paddy Johnson CIRT) writes:

>Help! Help! Help!

>My cat (and I mean he is really mine today, instead of the family's)
>knocked the speaker to my daughter's stereo off the top of a tall book
>shelf.  It snapped the cord in two.  I took the speaker apart (and glued)
>the speaker case back together.  I reconnected the cord pieces by twisting
>them together and wrapping in with tape.  Now the speaker won't make
>play with any volume (critical to a teenager) and it sounds scratchy.  I
>realize that this is probably not the correct group for this, but I have
>faith in rec.pets.cats readers that someone will be able to give me some
>advice.  What did I do wrong?  What do I need to do?  Will it hurt her
>"stereo" if we play it this way (my 12 year old son assures me we will, but
>since it is his sister's I have my doubts).  Can you buy just one speaker 
>if it needs to be replaced?
>Gary (THE CAT) and I fear for our lives.  Please help!

>Zoe J

Hey, this is, after all, in rescue of a cat, eh?

Please excuse cheauvenistic(?) flavor to question, but you *did* put wires 
back together with metal-to-metal contact, didn't you?  Also, you made sure 
that wires from stereo were not connected to *each* *other*, yes?

Whew.  Glad of that.  Unfortunately, if you failed the above quiz, you're 
going to have to find a new home.  (Gary has no worries, I'm sure; cats have 
manipulative ways we never dreamed of.)

There is a coil, wrapped around a delicate tube that is connected to that 
big, paper dish, thing.  The coil is fastened to the tube with lacquer, or 
shellak(?), or maybe even epoxy, though they stay with lighter materials, 
usually.  The coil and tube slide inside a magnet, and you'll never get at 
them, nor will you be able to get the speaker back together if you *do* get 
at them.  If you whack the speaker a good one on the ground, or 'crank it to 
the max, dude,' the coil will sometimes break loose from the tube...

...And make the speaker sound real scratchy, and like in the next county for 
volume.  Sorry.

And 12-year-old son is right!  Short the output of a stereo channel, or 
run with nothing connected, and you stand a very good chance of burning 
up an output transistor.  Have more faith in the youngsters of today, Zoe!  
There wouldn't be a VCR functioning correctly in this Nation without the Pre-
Teens!

Bite that bullet, Zoe; this may hurt a little.  You need a new speaker.  
Try the store where you bought the stereo.  They may have a speaker laying 
around.  Otherwise, it might be hard to find a store willing to break up a 
set.  Any speaker that matches or exceeds the wattage rating and has the 
same impedance as the old one, will do.

Ken-

Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
From: un@gdstech.GRUMMAN.COM (Un Fu)
Subject: Re: Cat itching and biting back?
Organization: Grumman Corporation
Date: Mon, 5 Oct 1992 21:40:57 GMT

In article <1992Oct01.025628.162887@watson.ibm.com> yozzo@watson.ibm.com (Ralph Yozzo) writes:

   I have a cat that sometimes bites the hair on his back.  The cat is 
   15 years old.  I've been told that it is caused by dry skin.  It 
   is not caused by fleas.  When he bites the hair, he leave bare spots
   behind. 

   Has anyone else seen this condition in their cat or dog and if so,
   what did you do?
   I read that the itching is caused by a vitamin deficiency.  
   (But this information came from a vitamin retailer.  
   (Hardly, an unbiased source))

I have the same problem with my 10 years old cat.  She keeps pulling
hair out of her body.  I have hair balls all over the carpet.  I took 
her to the vet. and they said she probably has fleas but found none on
her body at the time.  They said fleas don't always stay on the
animal.  But I combed her for fleas or signs of fleas and looked
into the areas she sleeps and found no traces of fleas.  I didn't
get flea bites either.  I suspect flea is not the cause.  If anyone
has any suggestions please help!  I don't know how much longer I can
deal with having hair balls everywhere?
 

--
****************************************************************************
   Grumman Data Systems             Internet: un@gdstech.grumman.com
   1111 Stewart Ave                  Phone: (516) 346-3786
   Bethpage, NY 11714                MS D12/25
****************************************************************************
-- 
****************************************************************************
   Grumman Data Systems             Internet: un@gdstech.grumman.com
   1111 Stewart Ave                  Phone: (516) 346-3786
   Bethpage, NY 11714                MS D12/25
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
Subject: Cats, Allergies and GPC
From: carvalho@tribiet.maintech.com (joe carvalho)
Date: Wed, 30 Sep 92 09:01:52 PDT
Organization: Tribiet: A city much like hell.

Hi,
I've come down with a class 4 GPC. The eye doc. blames it on an allergic 
reaction to the cats. Are there any other sufferers out there? How do you 
handle the situation? Doc says get rid of the kids. help...
ThanX,
Joe & Cami & Hatti & Buster & Sledge & Effie.

ThanX.

Joe Carvalho
Beacher Tool & Die...A Hughe Jorgen Company
1106 2nd Street, Suite 316
Encinitas, CA. 92024