HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: klier@iscsvax.uni.edu
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
Subject: Re: Do antibiotics increase appetite?
Date: 15 Oct 92 00:21:10 -0500
Organization: University of Northern Iowa

In article <1992Oct14.230752.3851@athena.cs.uga.edu>, maxfield@athena.cs.uga.edu (Joan C. Maxfield) writes:
> Well Angelica seems to be doing fine.  She is still hopping on 3 legs
> and being moderatly antisocial but she DID try to eat my finches!  So,
> I think she'll live.  What I am wondering about is this.  
> 
> Since returning from the vet she has been on antibiotics.  She has
> also been eating like she has never seen food before!  She has been
> loosing weight continually for about 6 months (2 lbs in 6 months for
> an 8 lb cat is alot, she is 6 lbs now) and the vet is going to run
> some tests in 3 weeks if she doesn't improve.  She never went off her
> food and is fine with the litter box and I catch her drinking out of
> the toilet all the time ( actually, I end up sitting on a wet seat
> right after she drinks eewwww)  Could it be the antibiotics increasing
> her appetite?  Has anyone else had experience with this?

Maybe she's convinced if she doesn't eat she'll go back to the vet for
more toes off?  ;-)

Seriously, I wonder if the problem might not be traceable to the cat 
food.  The only Kozy Kitten I've seen up here is a revolting-smelling
canned food, cheapest of the cheap.  It's so strong I've used it
to disguise some really foul liquid meds, but I can't say my crew 
really like it.  Yours may be something quite different.

I'm probably over-cautious or paranoid, or incipient yuppie, or something,
but I'm not really fond of the cheaper brands of grocery store 
cat foods, wet or dry.  Seems to me that you get what you pay for
(and sometimes less than what you pay for), but all of those listings
of corn meal and soybean meal and *finally* getting down to the meat
_way_ down on the label makes me nervous.  Esp. when you start thinking
about the meat vs. vegetation content of mice and other small prey.

I used to feed Friskies or Purina, and I've had lots of healthy cats
raised on these foods.  I used to alternate brands thinking one might
make up what the other one lacked, too.  A few years ago, I had enough
money that I could afford Purina Pro-Plan or Science Diet or Hills
or one of the other "premium" foods that are higher in meat.  I don't
know if these made any real difference in the cats' health, but the 
litter box smells better, they've got lovely fur, and the vets always
tell me how well-fed and healthy they look.

For me, it's more a matter of "religion" than anything else, I guess. 
They ate cheap food when I had to eat cheap food.  Now that I can afford 
it, they eat good food and I'm still eating like a grad student.
Well, I _like_ peanut butter. ;-)   But my crew likes the "good stuff" 
better.

Kay Klier  Biology Dept  UNI 
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
From: mary@ferkel.ucsb.edu (Mary Cardenas)
Subject: Re: More strange but amusing cat behavior
Organization: University of California, Santa Barbara
Date: Wed, 14 Oct 1992 21:30:14 GMT

marie@guppy.ai.mit.edu (Marie Lamb) writes:

>Tros ("He Who Naps") has two new favorite spots.  The first is
>on the couch, which I have wisely decided to cover with the keen
>towel I got from the pet store for buying Science Diet.  He 

>Marie

Luka, my 6 month old, sleeps IN his Science Diet.
Doesn't matter that he doesn't fit in the bowl.
For a while, I was convinced he was sleeping
in the litter box too, since he always smelled
like the lovely odor-covering-odor of scented
cat litter.

mary
From: zlsiida@fs1.mcc.ac.uk (dave budd)
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
Subject: Re: The amazing standing cat?
Date: 7 Oct 92 12:35:39 GMT
Organization: Manchester Computing Centre

In article <3884@unisql.UUCP> collene@unisql.UUCP (Collene Pearce) writes:

>In article <1992Oct06.020435.32720@watson.ibm.com> yozzo@watson.ibm.com (Ralph Yozzo) writes:
>>
>>The cat (without any training) will stand up on its hind legs
>>and rub her head against your hand.  All you have to do to get
>>her to stand is to put your hand over her head where she can see it.

>My Tamora does this.  Normally, when I come thru the door in the evening,

Truffle does this when she comes in at the end of the evening.  I or my wife 
bend over and she stands up and rubs her cheek (scent glands!) against the 
offered face.  NB face - not hand, I'm not sure if she'd do it for just a 
hand.


              Have another day    [Armageddon, the musical] 
  Dave Budd, MCC, Oxford Rd, Manchester, England   (44|0)61-275-6033
From: bdm@druwa.ATT.COM (Brian Millham)
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
Subject: More cats 'n screen doors
Date: 12 Oct 92 20:25:46 GMT
Distribution: rec

A while back, I posted about Buddy's habit of hanging from my screen
door, and several other replied that they also had cats that did this.

Well, we had fun with the screen door a few days ago.  Since it's
getting cool here, I decided to replace the screen with the glass.
About 5 minutes after I put the glass in, I was in the kitchen and
heard a loud crash.  Buddy came tearing full speed through the kitchen,
jumped over the ferret barrier, flew in the air the 6 feet from the
ferret barrier to the back door, bounced off the back door, and
disappeared down the basement steps, not to be seen for the next 1/2 hour.

Poor Buddy, I don't know if he just tried to jump up and hang from the
screen, or if he thought that he could just jump through it (not
seeing the glass).  I also don't think that he found it near as funny
as I did.

So, if you have a screen-hanging-cat, and will be replacing the screen
with glass, get your video cameras ready :-)
--
Brian Millham     |Kitty      |Fletch |Dragon's Lair |Kick Man |New World
AT&T Bell Labs    |Ferrah     |Buddy  |Space Ace     |Sinistar |High Speed
Denver, Co.       |Dr. Pepper |       |              |         |
bdm@druwa.att.com |(ferrets)  |(cats) |(laser disc)  |(video)  |(pinball)
From: johnh@eas.pdx.edu (John Harris)
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
Subject: Re: opening doors
Date: 13 Oct 92 19:10:19 GMT
Article-I.D.: eas.johnh.10.0
Organization: Portland State University


>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>

How about kitchen drawers?  My cat has taken a fancy to openning them.

Cabinets and doors?...old stuff.  But then some of the doors in my 
older house don't latch quite tight.

John.
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
From: hamon@a.cs.okstate.edu (HAMON SHARON ANN)
Subject: Re: fun cat books
Organization: Oklahoma State University
Distribution: na
Date: Wed, 7 Oct 92 22:39:00 GMT

>James Herriott has a wonderful children's book out called "The Christmas
>Day Kitten".  The perfect gift for all you cat-lovers to buy your
>children or nieces and nephews for Christmas!

I found it rather sad, actually.  Did anyone else?
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
From: wd6cmu@netcom.com (Eric Williams)
Subject: Re: Kitten with foot fetish
Organization: Netcom - Online Communication Services  (408 241-9760 guest) 
Date: Thu, 8 Oct 1992 17:54:28 GMT

Thank you all for the responses.  It seems clear that this behavior is
pretty common.  Murphy would climb my legs, too, but a couple of
encounters with a squirt gun has convinced him that this is not a good
idea.  I've stopped trying to step around him and instead take the path
I normally would and step "through" him in slow motion, pushing him out
of the way.  He's still attracted to feet, but he's learning to respect
them.  We both enjoy the morning "shoe ceremony" where Murphy will
climb inside my shoes and attack my socks and shoe laces as I put them on.

-- 
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Eric Williams     wd6cmu@netcom.com  |  Never attribute to malice that which
WD6CMU@WD6CMU.#NOCAL.CA.USA.NA       |  is adequately explained by stupidity.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
From: afdenis@lims01.lerc.nasa.gov (Stephen Dennison)
Subject: Re: I feel SO guilty!
News-Software: VAX/VMS VNEWS 1.41    
Organization: Ancient Souls Inc.
Date: 16 Oct 1992 10:57 EST  

In article <1992Oct15.213100.693326@locus.com>, krissie@locus.com (Krissie Griffiths) writes...

>i have suspected this to be a truth for many years.  i firmly believe that 
>my old crew would sit around and decide just whose turn it was to get sick
>and off they would go to the vet.  

I guess I could buy this... cats conspiring, but how do you explain my cats 
rotating with my goats, birds, ferrets, horses, and ducks ? Is there some 
kind of universal `animal drives owner to financial ruin' language I don't 
know about ? If I hadn't conned my vet into getting a computer and trading 
consulting services for vet services, I'd be posting this from a stone 
tablet in the poor house by now. :-)

>i swear that there was a pattern to it,
>mouse, michael, bunny, ryanne, then mouse, michael, bunny and ryanne again,
>and again, and again ad infinitum.   

If you look carefully, this is the same verse-chorus pattern Phil Collins 
relies on to write hit after hit ... coincidence ? I think not ! Look for 
the BMI or ASCAP seal on their scalps ... your cats are probably getting 
royalty checks and not telling you. :-)

> 
>cats are wonderful at draining your financial and emotional resources :-)
> 

.. and, occasionally, your blood. :-)


-- Stephen

     Though *believing* in things often wounds the spirit, *not* believing 
     in anything will eventually kill it. Therefore, *dream* ... and accept 
     the costs as reasonable.
Organization: Business Systems, Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh, PA
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
Date: Mon, 12 Oct 1992 13:37:07 -0400 
From: Diane Gibson <dg0q+@andrew.cmu.edu>
Subject: Re: how much to feed

Jack writes:
	
>I've been feeding her Science Diet Light, one half cup in the AM,
	>one quarter cup in the PM.  For three months!
 >
 >Not one ounce lost! (The bag says 1 to 1 1/2 cups for a 15lb cat.)
 >
	>Yesterday I stopped in at the Vet's and she told me that SDL is
	>to keep  cats from getting bigger, it's not a weight loss product...........

My vet told me the same.  He said the SDL has roughly the same caloric
content as cheaper "store-bought" cat food (e.g. Purina, etc.).  It is
"light" relative to the regular SD, which is very high in calories.

Suki now eats a combination of Hills RD and whatever store brand I feel
like buying at the time.  She lost some weight -- and now seems to be
maintaining.

Diane and Suki

Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
From: lewf@newton.ccs.tuns.ca (Fred Lew)
Subject: Re: cat's perception
Organization: Technical University of Nova Scotia, Halifax, N.S.
Date: Sun, 11 Oct 1992 15:43:06 GMT

Here's another perspective on the subject. One of my cats seems to have
very good vertical perception.  She frequently bats the ball out of
mid-air when it bounces off the floor.  I throw the ball in the air
in front of her and she will knock it flying.  She does not have any
problems with the ball being thrown vertically.  Now my other cat is
not interested in this type of playing.


To each their own.......
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
From: nunn@sura.net (Deborah Nunn)
Subject: Re: Why do cats......
Keywords: cats, litter
Organization: SURAnet, College Park, MD, USA, NA, Earth, Milky Way
Date: Tue, 13 Oct 1992 18:32:12 GMT

>jrc@IEDV4.acd.com ( Janis Clark ) writes:
>
>This is along the same line as the postings recently about why
>cats like to sit on paper.  Why do cats have to use a litter box
>the moment you are done cleaning it?  I have two 4 month old kittens
>(whom I am convinced are monkeys in kitten's clothing) that watch
>anxiously as I scoop the litter box, or replace the litter. As soon
>as I finish, put the rim back on, and step back, they immediately
>get into the box to inspect and use it! I have had several cats over
>the years, and they have all done this.

Malcolm, too, does this.  I thought it was common cat behavior.  He
gives it a really thorough going over, inspecting all the litter to make
sure I have done a good job of cleaning out the box, then, giving his
approval to the new litter, he promptly uses the box.

One of the funniest things he's done was when I was changing the litter
box one day.  It seems like he suddenly realized that he needed to go,
after I had emptied the litter box and was washing it out.  When I
returned to the bathroom, he had tried to actually get inside the bag
where I had put the dirty litter and pooped in there.  What a mess!  Of
course, I was so sorry for the poor guy.  I mean -- he did try!

**************************************************************************
  /\___/\                ___                     
 /       \              / __}
 | *   * |             / / 
 \   ^   /__ _______  / /
  \_~^~_/           \/ /
   |                  /    Deborah J. Nunn       | Snail mail:
  /             /     |    e-mail: nunn@sura.net | SURAnet
 /   \/   |    _\     \    phone: (301) 982-4600 | 8400 Baltimore Blvd.
 \___/\___/\__/________|   fax:   (301) 982-4605 | College Pk, MD 20740
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
From: sweatn@nul.nil.edu (Never Sweat)
Subject: Re: Cat names
Organization: The Fantasy Factory
Date: Thu, 15 Oct 1992 18:19:07 GMT

In article <1992Oct15.151125.2474@zia.aoc.nrao.edu> rmilner@zia.aoc.nrao.edu (Ruth Milner) writes:

>In article <nvrswt.4@nul.orst.edu> nvrswt@nul.orst.edu (Never Sweat) writes:
>>This might be a place to satisfy my curiosity about a cat name.
>>
>>One of my former wives got me a kitten and named him Anqua.  She said that 
>>it was Greek for "life's lover", or "lover of life".  I have always thought 
>>it a 'purfect' name for a cat, especialy him, but I've always wondered if 
>>she was right.
>>
>>Does anyone know what 'anqua' really means?

>Might be related to the Egyptian "ankh", which is that sort of cross-with-a-
>loop-on-top symbol for life. "Anqua" doesn't sound like Greek to me, though I 
>confess my classical Greek is just a tad rusty these days :-).

>I have friends who had two smoke-grey cats named the Greek for thunder (bronte)
>and lightning (astrape) (or at least that's what they said it meant). The
>names were very appropriate: Bronte was a big hulking neutered male, and
>Astra (for short) was a tiny light-footed quick female.
>-- 
>Ruth Milner                          NRAO/VLA                  Socorro NM
>Computing Division Head      rmilner@zia.aoc.nrao.edu

I love naming cats.  Somehow their names always adjust to them and seem to 
fit them like their colors and markings.

Turbo was my favorite name for a kitty, until 'he' had little ones.  Then 
Turbo Junior became the favorite, because it was instantly shortened to TJ, 
and TJ was one 4-wheel-drive kitty!

A friend from Peru helped me name Nariz, the coward of the family.  He has a 
patch of black completely covering just his nose.  He's the only cat I ever 
saw get beaten by the cat in the mirror!
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
From: trifid@agora.rain.com (Roadster Racewerks)
Subject: Re: Kitten with a Fat Lip
Organization: Open Communications Forum
Distribution: usa
Date: Thu, 8 Oct 1992 01:05:42 GMT



I haven't had any cats with "fat lips" but once had a German Shep who had them
regularly, because he loved to *eat* bees! Is there any chance this cat has
taken up bee-catching?

Suze

Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
From: tzing@nyx.cs.du.edu (Tom Zing)
Subject: Cat in Tree, 3 Days
X-Disclaimer: Nyx is a public access Unix system run by the University
	of Denver for the Denver community.  The University has neither
	control over nor responsibility for the opinions of users.
Organization: Nyx, Public Access Unix at U. of Denver Math/CS dept.
Date: Mon, 12 Oct 92 14:15:31 GMT


A cat is up in this tree and has been there 3 days.
I tryed putting a long branch up the tree so it might be easier for it to
get down but it will no come down.  It is about 30 feet up.  Most sy wait
and it will come down eventually.  What do you think I should do ?
I am thinking of calling a tree trimmer to go  and get it or should I just
wait ?
From: jonb@Ingres.COM (Jon Berger)
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
Subject: Re: Re: Declawing older cats - long, of course ;-)
Date: 16 Oct 92 20:36:00 GMT
Reply-To: jonb@ingres.com
Organization: Ingres, an ASK Company

In article <91980004@otter.hpl.hp.com>, adw@otter.hpl.hp.com (Dave Wells) writes:
>it seems to me like a mutilating operation detrimental to the cat and only
>of benefit to the owner. I guess pro-declawers must believe either
>
>i) It isn't actually mutilation or
>ii) That mutilating a cat for one's own convenience is OK or
>iii) That declawing benefits the cat in some way or
>iv) Something else...?
>
>I await enlightenment.

Having been through the last iteration of the declawing argument on r.p.c,
my understanding is that it's actually a combination of ii and iii:
declawing is, in fact, for the owner's convenience, but if the owner
is denied this convenience, s/he will be forced to take the cat to a
shelter, where the cat will be killed, so the benefit to the cat is that,
by virtue of the declawing procedure, it is permitted to remain alive.
I'm not particularly swayed by this argument, but I think that's a fairly
close approximation.

Incidentally, another argument that doesn't move me very profoundly is the
one that goes, approximately, "My cat is declawed and she's a perfectly
well-adjusted little cuddle-pie."  That may be, and I'm happy for her.
I've met cats who were severely abused as kittens, and cats who were
abandoned in local parklands as adults, who were also perfectly happy
and content, and I'm happy for them too, but I don't think I'd buy that
as an argument in favor of abuse or abandonment.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
   -__ __ /_   Jon Berger              "If you push something hard enough,
  //_// //_/   jonb@ingres.com          it will fall over."
_/ ---------                              - Fudd's First Law of Opposition
From: john.hayden@analog.com
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
Subject: Re: Need help - traumatic flea removal situation
Date: 15 Oct 92 22:13:55 GMT
Distribution: usa
Organization: Analog Devices, Inc.
Originator: john@atlas

In article <1992Oct14.133435.19491@viewlogic.com> greg@mobius.viewlogic.com (Gregory Larkin) writes:
>
>Can anyone recommend their preferred method of flea removal?
>I have read the FAQ on fleas.  I am mostly interested in the
>actual removal from the kitty.  We will cover the other
>areas (vacuuming, etc.).
>.....deleted...
>With all of the problems, though, I have to say that the
>spray worked really well.  We picked about 7-8 live fleas
>off of him last night and several more showed up on his
>sleeping towel this morning.  
>

When we got our two kittens last January, we had the same problem- 
fleas. The two were so drained, they didn't even play much- just 
exhausted. We called them 'the fish' because they were about as animated 
as goldfish. Anyway, we got some of the spray stuff. (It has the
pyrethrins in it that are also in various bug sprays, lice shampoos,
home termite treatments, etc.) and it was quite effective.

The cats hated it, as did yours. Someone posted a suggestion of
soaking a washcloth in the stuff, which I think is a good idea.

The kittens were cured after many treatments - it took about ten days
of treating them maybe every other day. (We didn't want to spray them
too often.) We would spray them and then flea-comb their fur. The first
time we got about ten off each one, then three or four the next time,
then one or two until they were clean. We kept them indoors, so after the 
final decontamination of the house, we had no further incidents, and
finally they (yay) started to play again.

Of course now they're huge and rambunctious.


-- 
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| John Hayden,  SPD Div. CAD Manager       Internet: John-a.Hayden@Analog.Com |
| Analog Devices Inc, 3 Technology Way, Norwood, MA 02062 |   617-461-3862    |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
From: amyk@netcom.com (Amy Kurtzman)
Subject: Re: Spanky my spunky kitty
Organization: Amy's Boca-By-The-Sea Resort (sm)
Date: Sat, 10 Oct 1992 15:09:51 GMT

In article <1b60a7INNlbc@darkstar.UCSC.EDU> moose@ucscb.UCSC.EDU (66025000) writes:
>
>When my kitty got neutered the vet told me he would probably sleep for the
>rest of the night.  Not my Spanky though....he was up and running after a
>couple of hours!  Not even neutering has made my cat slow down.  He's as
>hyper as ever.

My little Spotty got neutered recently too. He was pretty frisky
afterwards too. So was Lucy who got 'em wacked 1.5 years ago. The vet
told me that Lucy might hiss and growl at Spot as if he didn't know
him anymore. Something about them smelling different when they get
back from the hospital. But that didn't happen either. Lucy was happy
to see Spot again. Lucy was sniffing and nosing Spotty and rubbing up
against him. Lucy is a sensitive kitty who was worried about his
little brother. I think Lucy was afraid we took Spot away and that he
would never come back. After I left the house with Spot, my husband
told me that Lucy was acting very insecure and anxious.



-- 
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Amy Kurtzman                   |  "By August I'll be just a puddle."
amyk@netcom.COM                |     
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: nvonstein@memstvx1.memst.edu
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
Subject: Re: Farting Kitten
Date: 15 Oct 92 13:35:28 -0600
Organization: Memphis State University

In article <1992Oct14.173425.7656@iscsvax.uni.edu>, klier@iscsvax.uni.edu writes:
> In article <1992Oct14.123028.25401@gssec.bt.co.uk>, dgordon@gssec.bt.co.uk (David Gordon) writes:
>> Bianca is the friendliest seven month old kitten anywhere (oh yes she 
>> is). Trouble is she has a problem that not even her best friends will
>> tell her about - she has *THE* most disgusting gas/wind (depending on
>> what side of the Atlantic you are) problem. When she farts it is as
>> though she has had a serious accident and the smell usually clings to
>> her fur for 10 - 15 minutes giving the impression of a dose of the 
>> runs that she's forgotten to clean up properly.  :-(
>> 
>> She has been fed on both dry and tinned food - to no avail. Can
>> anyone suggest a cure before I throw up on my nice new lounge carpet ?
> 
> 
> Three posibilities:
> 
> 1) lactose intolerance leads to smelly farts (and usually diarrhea).  
> Cure is no milk or milk products except yoghurt or cheese, or milk
> treated with lactase.
> 
> 2) bean farts.  Check the ingredients on the food list.  If soybeans
> or bean meal is high on the list, switch to a high meat/low soybean
> food (more expensive, alas).
> 
> 3) most probable cause of the three:  worms.  Cure is diagnosis and
> proper worm medications.
> 
> Kay Klier  Biology Dept  UNI
> 
I agree with #3.  According to my vet, this is most symptomatic of whip worms
which are really dangerous.  They will really make an animal anemic - rapidly,
too.

Good luck - it's worth having your kitten checked.
From: mverman@msus1.msus.edu
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
Subject: Re: Help needed to save cat's life
Date: 15 Oct 92 12:11:51 GMT
Article-I.D.: msus1.1992Oct15.181151.1433
Organization: Minnesota State University System

In article <1992Oct14.144705.1812@udel.edu>, rob@apache (Rob Jarman) writes:

> The diarrea is slightly bloody. 
> Personally, I think this is the reason he's not using the litter box.
> Well, he does use it, he just uses the tub and floor also. 
>    Anyway, my girlfriend has threatened to dump the poor thing in the
> woods, tonight. I can't let her do that. It's winter and I don't think he
> would survive long out there. ... gonna take him to my mother's house until I can either find a new
> home for him or fix whatever ails him. I rather fix the problem. 
...
>    If anyone has any suggestions please let me know. The response I get
> could save a cat's life. 

Hullo.  A kitten with bloody diarrhea, who has not been previously diagnosed --
sounds like the little fellow needs to see a vet, no?

Good luck!

...shu...
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats