HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: dmillard@encore.com (Debbie Millard)
Subject: Re: Married with cats....
Organization: Encore Computer Corporation, Ft. Lauderdale, FL
Date: Fri, 2 Oct 1992 21:03:20 GMT

In article <hjanssen.09t3@amiganet.chi.il.us> hjanssen@amiganet.chi.il.us (Hank Janssen) writes:
>Help!
>
>My husband and I, in marrying, became a 4 cat family.  
Congratulations!

>The family's been
>together for about 6 weeks now, and everybody's fine with everybody except the
>2 female cats (one from my side, one from his, obviously.)  And it only seems
>to be getting worse.  The older of the two seems to be content with ignoring
>the younger, but the younger refuses to leave her alone.  So they end up
>skulking around growling and hissing at each other, which inevitably leads to a
>full blown fight (usually just after we've drifted off to sleep, of course!).
>
>Any suggestions for getting these 2 to get along?.  I have no hopes of them
>becoming bosom buddies, we'd just like to get them to a point where they'll
>leave each other alone.

My experience recently (in June) was *everyone* gets along better
now that I've moved into a larger place.  I didn't feel crowded
in the old place, but I guess the three cats did, especially
Calli, who is more relaxed and friendlier in the bigger place.
If you're moving into a larger place, that may cure it.

Of course, I gues I should mention that Cissy and Timmy still sound
like alley cats fighting - they'll never get along, but it's still
a lot better than it used to be.
>
>
>Oh, one more thing!  (Hey, we have four of them, there're bound to be problems!
> :-)  )  Any suggestions for teaching a cat personal hygiene?!?  Our younger
>male (about 1 year old) *rarely* bathes, and if we do catch him licking
>himself, it's usually only briefly.  He's a sweetheart, but sometimes it's none
>too pleasant to be close, if you catch my meaning.

Timmy was hand-raised by me, so I had to teach him.  I did this by
giving him a 'sponge' bath after every meal.  When he was *very* small,
I used a warm, wet cotton ball, then graduated to a warm, damp wash
cloth as he got bigger.  I always talked softly to him, and was gentle
with the bathing.  Now, two years later, he bathes himself, but still
comes to me for those face rubs just before nap time.
>
Good luck.

Deb


Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
From: lpj@col.hp.com (Laura Johnson)
Subject: Re: Update: Missing Cat in Locked Apartment
Date: Mon, 28 Sep 1992 22:05:44 GMT
Distribution: na
Organization: HP Colorado Springs Division

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!)
-- 
Laura Johnson
lpj@hpctdls.col.hp.com
Opinions expressed are my own, but may be licensed for a nominal fee.
From: irod@ourbeach.Eng.Sun.COM (Irma Rodriguez)
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
Subject: Re: Need Advice on Kitten Decision
Date: 6 Oct 1992 21:41:49 GMT
Organization: Sun Microsystems, Mt. View, Ca.
Distribution: usa
NNTP-Posting-Host: ourbeach

Yeah! I knew I could depend on the net for encouragement. Thanks Steve, Eric,
and Laura for assuring me that the rescued kitty will probably turn out fine.

We brought five-week-old "Tiger" home this weekend. The lady who rescued 
him said he was timid and hadn't started purring yet. But within 3 hours, 
he was purring up a storm. We settled him in a separate room with his own 
little bed. He likes his Science Diet, and he goes crazy over all the toys 
that my other cat despises.

And Sealea, my full grown cat, is getting better every hour. She hissed and
growled a lot the first day (we let her in the kitten's room as long as
we're there to supervise). By last night, she was trying to play chase with
Tiger! But poor little Tiger couldn't keep up with her, so I ended up chasing
her around the house instead. 

Tiger has gone from cowering in his bed to approaching the door when he hears
us coming. He walks up and literally throws his body against your feet - his
signal that he needs to be scratched.

So now we are a 2-cat family (I hope there's enough room on the bed!)

Irma Rodriguez
and Bob, and Sealea, and now Tiger!
From: judice@sulaco.enet.dec.com
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
Subject: Re: Married with cats....
Date: 2 Oct 92 19:20:40 GMT
Reply-To: judice@sulaco.enet.dec.com ()
Organization: Digital Equipment Corporation


>>stuff deleted about becoming a 4-cat family.

This happened to us (almost exactly) one year ago when my wife
and I were married. For the first 2 months there were frequent
scuffles among the cats (2 hers, 2 mine). But after that, everything
settled down. The cats now tollerate each other perfectly well, even
playing with each other occasionally. Do your cats all eat together
peacefully? This seems to be the "turning point" in their 
relationship - when they don't fear each other taking their food.

We recently rescued 2 kittens and brought them inside - again,
after 6-8 weeks things are perfectly calm, with just mild hissing
from time to time. 

I think your idea that things will get better when moving is 
a good one. The original cats where we live (mine) definitely 
tend to dominate. We're looking for a new house now and I suspect
that all will be more comfortable when they are on equal terms.

Good luck!
--

Louis J. Judice		| Email:      judice@sulaco.enet.dec.com
Digital Equipment Corp.	| Office   :  908-562-4103
20 Corp. Pl South		| FAX:        908-562-4570
Piscataway, NJ 08876	| "Right now, pigs are becoming lunch."
			   	
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
From: diana@wetware.com (CatWoman )
Subject: Re: Wisdom needed: cat peeing blood
Organization: Castle WetWare MouseCatcher
Date: Sun, 4 Oct 1992 12:45:53 GMT

adwright@iastate.edu () writes:

] What is the purpose of the DL methionine?
] Some urinary metabolite that helps?
] Is the L form not better? Or is it that
] the DL is  cheaper, since it is synthetic.

You're asking the wrong person here - I'm no chemist,
just a long-time cat-person who seems blessed with
cats that get FUS.

I will get ahold of my vet if you are serious about
the specifics of the chemical compound - e-mail me.

] We have had cats treated for FUS but never with the methionine.

There are apparently two different compounds used for
treating FUS.  My vet favors the DL-Methionine after
many years in practise since it works better, and 
(If I remember right), has less side-problems.  The
only problem was as the cat got older, if it got
thyroid problems (I think).

If you read the ingredient list in the pet supply type
cat-foods, you'll see that almost all of them have the
dl-methionine listed close to the taurine (except the
Hills SD regular).  It's also in Whiskas (KalKan), both
the regular and the Expert.

What it does specifically?  I don't really know - I 
think it prevents crystallization in the urine.  Again,
I'd have to ask.  What I DO know is that if I try to
feed my male any food without it - I can guarantee an
attack of FUS within a week - it's happened.

Diana
From: cuawj@dcatla.uucp (Andy Jacobs)
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
Subject: Does destuctiveness come with age (past 1 year)?
Date: 5 Oct 92 17:28:02 GMT
Organization: Digital Communications Associates, Alpharetta, GA


My two cats are both about a year and a half old.  We've had them both for
over a year.  They have claws (trimmed when needed), but have done very little
damage to our furniture (luckily).  I've seen them scratch at things, but do
no damage.

My question is: Can I expect this to continue, or should I expect major damage
to my furniture in the not-to-distant future?  In other words, am I lucky to
have such great cats, or do all cats start out like this and get worse (from
a furniture lover's pespective)?  Thanks for any help you can provide. 
-----
 - Andy Jacobs
                        This Signature file under construction...
From: exuptr@exu.ericsson.se (Patrick Taylor)
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
Subject: Re: cat and toilet paper
Date: 25 Sep 92 19:18:43 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.

In article <BuzxqG.B3y@tridom.com> sat@eng.tridom.com (Stephen Thomas) writes:
>>How about putting an elastic around the roll?

>Or placing a small paper cup filled with water on top of the roll.

Oooooooooooooo, that's good and nasty!

I like it.
 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
    "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
From: lianne@bcarh17e.BNR.CA (Lianne Raley)
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
Subject: Re: Cat repro. question
Date: 28 Sep 92 19:09:26 GMT
Reply-To: lianne@bcarh17e.BNR.CA (Lianne Raley)
Organization: Bell-Northern Research Ltd.

In article <churley-210992084548@hurley.med.harvard.edu>,
churley@warren.med.harvard.edu (Carol Hurley) writes:
|>My housemates cat had kittens friday night and my cat Charlie (almost seven
|>months old) has suddenly realized the possibilities of sex with her.  How
|>soon after giving birth can they get pregnant?  I am going to have Charlie
|>neutered, but there is another un-neutered male in the house as well.  Both

   stuff deleted 

|>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~
|>Carol Hurley
|>churley@warren.med.harvard.edu
|>
|>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~
                         
I was just reading some pages I photocopied from a friend's cat book. 
It states:

"The queen should be kept away from tom cats until well after the 
 kittens have been weaned. This is because she may come into estrus
 within a few days of giving birth and conceive again, and an 
 unremitting sequence of pregnancies is likely to damage her health."

I wouldn't want to take any chances! And I would think, if there was
another unneutered male in the house, that the best solution is the 
one that eliminates all possibilities - get the female spayed. You 
should have your male neutered, but what's the advantage is she can 
still be impregnated by the other male? I'd hate to see what she may
be going through for the next few months.

 - Lianne -  
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
From: baskin@ralvmm.vnet.ibm.com (Brenda Baskin)
Subject: Re: Cat doesn't purr.
Date: Fri, 02 Oct 92 13:14:26 GMT
Distribution: na
News-Software: IBM OS/2 PM RN (NR/2) v0.14 by O. Vishnepolsky and R. Rogers
Reply-To: baskin@ralvmm.vnet.ibm.com
Organization: IBM T. J. Watson Research

In article <1992Sep29.230410.1450@newton.ccs.tuns.ca> lewf@newton.ccs.tuns.ca (Fred Lew) writes:
>From: lewf@newton.ccs.tuns.ca (Fred Lew)
>Subject: Cat doesn't purr.
>Date: Tue, 29 Sep 1992 23:04:10 GMT

>I have a cat which does not purr unless the person has food.  This cat
>will sit on laps but will not purr.  The person must have some sort
>of food in their hands or be near food (i.e. in the kitchen).  I also
>have another cat of the same type (Egyptian Mau).  This cat, a female,
>does purr alot.  The cat that won't purr is a male.  We got the male
>after the female.

I used to have a cat who would silent purr.  The only way I knew he was
purring was to put a finger on his throat and feel the vibration.  I
learned to tell when he was probably purring by his body language of
contentment.  But it was sometimes nice to know for sure.

Purrhaps your cat is purring but you can't hear it?


BB in NC
------------------------------------------------------------------------
A well expressed opinion is better than a poorly formulated fact.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: kathrynw%radian@natinst.com (Kathryn Whitworth)
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
Subject: Re: Purring as a sign of illness
Summary: no purring, but lots of lap-sitting-in
Date: 29 Sep 92 18:29:08 GMT
Article-I.D.: radian.1992Sep29.182908.20559
Organization: Radian Cormp.

In article <69223@hydra.gatech.EDU>, iadt1jm@prism.gatech.EDU (Jean McSpadden) writes:
> 
> All the other cats I have know have wanted to be by themselves when ill,
> this little cat's loud purring and wanting to be held through his 
> illness has mystified and touched me. Has anyone else had a cat
> who purrs when he is sick?
> -- 
> Jean McSpadden 
> Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta Georgia, 30332
> uucp: ...!{allegra,amd,hplabs,seismo,ut-ngp}!gatech!prism!iadt1jm
> ARPA: iadt1jm@prism.gatech.edu

After Casey ate the dried Bermuda grass (this is closely akin to eating
splinters or wire) and ended up in the hospital for three days after
vomiting blood, after I got him home, for the first few days all he wanted
to do was sit in my lap.  If I didn't have a lap, he'd follow me around
until I did.  

I don't recall him purring, though.

Hope yr kitten is already over whatever it is.

Kathryn Roth Whitworth (and Casey, who's now 6)
From: stauffer@cc.swarthmore.edu (Glenn Stauffer)
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
Subject: Male cats (neutered)... Are they all lazy?
Date: 29 Sep 92 23:58:52 GMT
Article-I.D.: cc.CD6QBW14
Organization: Swarthmore College Computing Center
X-Xxmessage-Id: <A6EE65DAA1034364@mac1.termigator.swarthmore.edu>
X-Xxdate: Tue, 29 Sep 92 00:58:18 GMT
X-Useragent: Nuntius v1.1.1d11

Ever since my cat was fixed, he's gotten lazy to the point where the only 
spark of activity is at feeding time.  He's an in/outdoor cat and is very 
lazy in both places.  Inside, he tends to lay around and sleep.  Ouside, 
he sets up under one of the trees and pretty much stays there until I try 
to get him back inside.

Needless to say, he's put on some excess weight recently.  I've cut back 
on the amount that I feed him, which has led to a little more activity - 
now, whenever he senses someone in the kitchen, he comes begging for food.

Is there any dietary changes that would increase his activity levels?  Or 
is this normal?  If it is, my next cat will be female!

Thanks for any tips.
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
From: milligan@netcom.com (Michael Milligan)
Subject: Cats in Japan
Summary: Any restrictions on taking cats to Japan?
Keywords: cats japan
Organization: Netcom - Online Communication Services  (408 241-9760 guest) 
Date: Mon, 5 Oct 1992 19:14:20 GMT

Can anybody tell me if there is any kind of restriction about taking cats into
Japan?  I have a possible job opportunity in Japan that would require me to live
there for about 2 years.  My wife and I will only really take the offer if we
are able to take our two cats.  Any help is greatly appreciated.

Michael
From: ssouth@hpldsla.sid.hp.com (Steve South)
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
Subject: Re: more quarantine questions
Date: 2 Oct 92 23:12:36 GMT
Organization: HP Scientific Instruments Division - Palo Alto, CA

Yes, 6 months, regardless of any certificates of vaccination etc.
As a previous poster wrote, the aim is to keep the British Isles rabies
free. I gather that the worry over certificates of vaccination is that
there is evidence of such certificates being issued without any vaccination
having been carried out, or of ineffective vaccination. The problem is not
related to the risk to humans of a particular animal, but to the risk of
the disease being introduced to Britains wild animal population, from which
it would be well nigh impossible to eradicate it. It would only take one
infected animal.....

When I left England for Holland I gave my cat (of whom I am very fond) to
my in-laws because I could not face the idea of him going into
quarantine for 6 months. It was a wrench, but keeping Britain rabies free
is worth it IMHO.

Steve.
From: ken@ece.orst.edu (KEN MCCRACKEN)
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
Subject: Re: Flea season part II
Date: 29 Sep 92 21:33:49 GMT
Article-I.D.: ece.ken.8
Organization: Electrical & Computer Engineering Department, OSU

In article <1992Sep27.202832.7108@iscsvax.uni.edu> klier@iscsvax.uni.edu writes:

>shroymp@wkuvx1.bitnet (Mike Shroyer ) writes:
>>      Someone posted a question earlier about flea season and when it
>> ended. ...

>Flea season doesn't end, it just slows down considerably in cold weather.
>And it may not slow down at all in a house if you aren't working on flea
>control measures.  I used to celebrate the first hard freeze (0oF) by
>draining all the pipes, turning off the furnace, and leaving the windows
>open all night.  Did a remarkably good job, but not 100%.

>Kay Klier  Biology Dept  UNI 

Remarkable!  I never would have considered going that far, but I can imagine 
how satisfied you must feel after having gone that extra 'few degrees' for 
your cat(s)!

I get my flea-killing satisfaction with needle-nosed pliers.  I've been 
working with the dumb things for 35 years, so I feel confident enough to 
pick the fleas off my kittens with them.

They make such a satisfying crunch when you slowly squeeze those handles!
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
From: jbeason@s.psych.uiuc.edu (Joseph E. Beason)
Subject: Pointers on home for kitten
Organization: UIUC Department of Psychology
Date: Wed, 30 Sep 1992 00:59:18 GMT

I've pretty much decided who's getting the kitten I found (unless, of course,
I win the lottery in the next two weeks and can afford to get a bigger place).
He's going to go to a half-way house for developmentally impaired adults.
I'm fairly sure the manager(s) of the house know what they're doing, but
I was wondering if anyone has had experience with pets that "belong to" an
institution, as it were.  Any pointers.  I'm accustomed to cats owning just
one person at a time, the mind boggles at the ego trip this child will be on
when he gets a whole herd of us...

Joe,
who always gets called when somebody finds another cat

Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
From: jclose@chesapeake.ads.com (Jeff Close)
Subject: Should we get two male kittens?
Organization: Advanced Decision Systems division of Booz, Allen & Hamilton
Distribution: usa
Date: Sun, 27 Sep 1992 18:32:20 GMT

We're looking at some kittens at the shelter.  A pair of males were available
and we were wondering if anyone has problems raising two males together (or
any other combination, for that matter).  We've had cats, but not more than
one at a time.
Thanks for any suggestions.

Jeffrey
-- 
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
jclose@ads.com: ADS BA&H/2111 Wilson Bd #800/Arlington, VA 22201 703-243-1611

Anarchists don't believe in rules.  Surrealists make up their own.
From: lianne@bcarh17e.BNR.CA (Lianne Raley)
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
Subject: Re: Stretchy collars (was Re: Advice, please!...)
Date: 2 Oct 92 13:07:05 GMT
Reply-To: lianne@bcarh17e.BNR.CA (Lianne Raley)
Organization: Bell-Northern Research Ltd.

In article <19srdvINNtf@usenet.INS.CWRU.Edu>,
ah881@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Joyce Brabner) writes:
|>
|>This kind of talk makes me nervous.  I'm convinced that indoor
|>cats need ID tags MORE than outdoor cats, since they might have
|>the most trouble getting home.  Ours is a feline-centric neighborhood
|>where it seems that every weekend there's a new "Have You Seen
|>This Cat?" poster on telephone poles, etc. with a blurred xerox
|>of poor little lost Puff.  This makes me feel as anxious as someone
|>with grade school kids who reads milk cartons.
|>
   - stuff deleted -

I agree completely. I think the cats who are most likely to be lost are
those who escape from indoors and then can't find their way back. I'm
even amazed at the number of outdoor cats in my neighbourhood who have
no ID of any kind. The cat may never lose himself, but what if he gets
sick or hurt - he's more likely to crawl away and hide than come home.

The collars I buy are nylon. They're actually in two sections with an
elastic joining them. The collars themselves aren't stretchy. I don't 
think they would easily break but it does give enough leeway that the
cat wouldn't choke himself if he got caught on something. Also, when I
follow the rule of being able to fit one finger inside the collar it
seems to be enough that the cat would be able to pull his head out if
he did get caught. I also use small plastic name tags that are very
light. They don't seem to notice them at all.
                                  
I will admit that each cat got his jaw stuck once, but only the first
time I put the collars on. That's because they both freaked out to have
something around their necks. Amazing the way they can wriggle their
bodies around! :)  I'd leave it on for a few hours each day until they
got used to it. Now it's like a second skin. 

Isn't there a type of break-away collar, that will break apart if 
pulled on? Of course, I think I've also heard of cats coming home with
no collar (on a regular basis) because they lose them in normal play.

 - Lianne - 
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
From: cs202144@umbc8.umbc.edu (cs202144)
Subject: Re: How NOT to impress your girlfriend
Organization: University of Maryland, Baltimore County Campus
Date: Wed, 30 Sep 1992 14:45:59 GMT

> I had a cat named Boona for 13 years.  He would do anything to get
> warmer, especially in the winter, by blocking heat vents, sitting
> under lampshades, etc.  One time, he sat too close to a space heater
> and set his tail on fire.  I was in bed and he went flying across,
> leaving a trail of smoke behind him.  Don't think he ever learned
> his lesson though.  

I have an orange tabby just like that who is 11. He loves to sleep on the stove
(when it's off of course!), lay by the vents, get under the electric blanket,
etc. Guess cats just like it warm.

> Does anyone know what would make a cat start eating plastic?  Daisy
> can't resist chewing on any kind of plastic bag that might be laying
> around the house.  aaagh aaagh ccraaaghhh aaaggh aaagh craaagh is
> the sound of her munching on plastic bags.

My cream tabby does that...I don't know why. She just like to eat crap that is
laying around like paper and plastic. All I can do is not leave any around,
but there has to be something else I can do.
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
From: maverick@topgun.b29.ingr.com (Mike Sorrelle)
Subject: Re: tell age of cat?
Reply-To: maverick@topgun.b29.ingr.com
Organization: Intergraph Corp., Dullsville (as in Huntsville), AL
Date: Mon, 5 Oct 1992 22:39:08 GMT

In article <15988@mindlink.bc.ca>, Alan_Schianni@mindlink.bc.ca (Alan Schianni) writes:
|> Can anyone tell me how you tell the age of a cat?

Um, by counting the number of rings on its tail?  :-)

Or, like this: "My cat is 3 years old."  :-)

Sorry, I couldn't resist.
-- 
Warning: above article may contain flammable material.  Do not expose to heat.
	 In case of accidental ignition, immerse keyboard in water.
                 _   |  Mike Sorrelle, Intergraph Corp., Huntsville, AL 
  /| /| |     / / \  |  Opinions expressed here are a daemon's, not mine.
 / |/ | | /| /   \   |  Internet:  maverick@topgun.b29.ingr.com
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Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats