HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: ken@ece.orst.edu (KEN MCCRACKEN)
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
Subject: Re: Proban for Fleas?
Date: 29 Sep 92 20:40:38 GMT
Article-I.D.: ece.ken.5
Organization: Electrical & Computer Engineering Department, OSU

In article <1992Sep26.220416.29469@aio.jsc.nasa.gov> kjenks@krakatoa.uucp (Kenneth C. Jenks [GM2] 483-4368) writes:

>In article <1992Sep22.182952.6984@iscsvax.uni.edu> klier@iscsvax.uni.edu writes:
>>In article <1992Sep22.215725.12189@sura.net>, nunn@sura.net (Deborah Nunn) writes:
>>> In article <BuwpuD.IC@news.concord.wvnet.edu> dan@krider.concord.wvnet.edu (Dan Krider) writes:
>>>>Does anyone know how safe Proban is for cats? My vet gives it to his cats  
>>>>but says it is only approved for dogs. I am thinking about giving it to my  
>>>>cats and was just wondering. 
>>> 
>>> DO NOT GIVE PROBAN TO YOUR CATS!!  And, BTW, I'd change my vet if my vet
>>> was giving it to his own cats.  Proban is a systemic poison which is
>>> specially formulated for dogs.  It would be like dipping a cat in a flea
>>> dip which said "dogs only".  Cats and dogs are different.
>>
>>Apparently Proban is licensed in Canada for use on cats.  Don't know if
>>there is a different dosage recommended.  Personally, I wouldn't use it.
>>
>>Kay Klier  Biology Dept  UNI
>>
>I overheard my vet talking to the dog owner in the next cubical about
>Proban (ProSpot), The vet explained that the flea had to bite the dog
>to get the poison, so it didn't help keep the dog from flea bites, and
>that it killed the dog slightly slower than the fleas.  It sounded 
>logical to me!!
>(You might say that my vet doesn't recomend the stuff :)).

>Lisa Jenks on Kens account
>Instant gratification takes too long


It sounds logical, but it doesn't deal with reality.  I had to watch a week-
old kitten die, once from flea bites.  They really are poisonous.  We tried 
everything,...  But that's another story.

With Proban, we have *NO* fleas in our yard, in our house, or on our 
animals.  *NO* fleas means that the animal is much more comfortable, and not 
scratching at raw places every five minutes.

How do you catch a flea?  Bring a dog in the room.  If you don't have a dog, 
a cat will do.  Put Proban in the cat, and when the flea bites the cat, it 
dies.  It has no time to go looking for a mate, laying eggs, and making 
hords of new fleas, or even generating flea dirt!  It dies *NOW*, and kitty 
sleeps comfortably.
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
From: lzs@indetech.com ()
Subject: Fleas/tapeworms harmful to humans?
Organization: Independence Technologies, Inc. Fremont, CA
Date: Wed, 30 Sep 1992 23:22:43 GMT

I have a cat who used to be indoor/outdoor, and has been strictly 
indoor for the past 2 years.

Every summer he seems to get fleas and a tapeworm. I have done all
the usual stuff to get the fleas off of him and out of our house.
Frankly, I think that the lady who watches him when we go on vacation
keeps bringing fleas back into our house on her clothes, since she
watches lots of animals. But that's another story. (Yes, I know that
you can bring them in on your shoes, etc...)      

Here's my question: I've heard, time and time again, that fleas
are not HARMFUL to humans (other than biting you and leaving 
bumps on your skin). I've also heard that if your cat has a tapeworm,
the segments that drop out of the anus are not alive and therefore are
also not harmful. In other works, you cannot get a tapeworm or a parasite
from them, even if you injest one (a disgusting thought...).

Is this absolutely correct? I just want to be more sure.

Thanks,

-Lynn
-- 
Lynn Schneider              lzs@indetech.com
{sun,sharkey,pacbell}!indetech!lzs
Fremont, CA
From: 22302LMK@MSU
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
Subject: Help, my kitty has dandruff
Date: 1 Oct 92 21:13:09 GMT
Organization: Michigan State University

Tucker is a big 20lb cat and he has dandruff. He only has it on his back near
his tail, it's not very bad, but are there any suggestions as what to do.
Oh and I don't do head and shoulders.


Lisa
From: sstover@sumax.seattleu.edu (Maven o'Mirth)
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
Subject: Re: Cat Hockey
Date: 1 Oct 92 02:06:42 GMT
Organization: Seattle University, Seattle WA

In article <1992Sep30.160349.14462@bnr.ca> trudy@bcarh17d.BNR.CA (Trudy McConnell) writes:
>My kitten, Freddy loves to play cat hockey. His favorite things to play
>this with are plastic bottle caps and pens. The last time we moved the 
>couch in our living room, we found about 10 each under it. We try not 
>to leave anything like that out anymore, so he has to find new things 
>to play with. 

Why would you do that? :)  Cats know much better than you or I do what
they want to play with.  Plastic bottle caps are especially good for
teething kittens, since they're hard and satisfying to chew on and don't
splinter and are going to get thrown away anyway.

>One day he came downstairs with a razor in his mouth (it
>had a cover over the blade, so he didn't hurt himself), we figured this
>wouldn't be a good hockey toy, so now those are put in a drawer when
>not in use. (He is getting really upset that we keep hiding his favorite
>playthings). 

I don't doubt it at all.  Like I said, he knows what is fun for him. 
Hemingway likes the razor (yes, capped) that sits on the side of the
bathtub because it's hard plastic and he can chew on it.  He also chews on
the plastic end of the doorstop, and on a wicker Easter basket that got
left lying around when I was unpacking...

>For about the last week now, his favorite has been my 
>blush brush. I'll be sitting downstairs and Fred comes racing around 
>the corner batting my blush brush around - why can't he play hockey 
>with his own toys ?????? (and he does have a lot of cat toys !!!!)
> 
>Trudy.... and Joe (5-year-old maine coon) and Freddy (6-month-old
>          orange tabby).

If you can't beat 'em....no offense of course, but maybe you made a
mistake in buying him cat toys in the first place. Nothing makes Hemingway
happier than when I bring home a new gallon of milk, because he gets the
plastic ring that holds the lid on (now *why*?...)--except perhaps when I
get to the end of a roll of toilet paper and he gets the cardboard tube. :)

There's nothing wrong with pens or plastic bits of garbage from your cat's
perspective; our aesthetics are the only things that dictate a cat will
have more fun with something labelled "cat toy."

--
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!		|
From: exuptr@exu.ericsson.se (Patrick Taylor)
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
Subject: Re: Differential flea population
Date: 28 Sep 92 02:07:12 GMT
Organization: Ericsson Network Systems, Inc.

In article <38581@sdcc12.ucsd.edu> myers@cs.ucsd.edu (Margaret Myers) writes:
>Comb, comb, comb Oliver (when he is calm enought to be combed) -- 4 fleas.
>Comb, comb, comb Tinker (new cat) -- 35 fleas.

>In a way this is good for Oliver since he is allergic to fleas and gets
>scabs along his back as a reaction. 

I wonder if this reaction repels the fleas?

 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
    "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: dauphin@adobe.com (Kimberly Dauphin)
Subject: Kitten with a Fat Lip
Organization: Adobe Systems Incorporated
Distribution: usa
Date: Fri, 2 Oct 1992 21:51:59 GMT

Our youngest, Binckley, has been on antibiotics and eye ointment
for an upper respiratory infection.  He seems to be recovering
fine, except that last night as we held him, we noticed that
his upper lip is swollen on the left side.

My SO thinks he just ran into a wall playing and gave himself
a fat lip.  I pulled the lip up, and his gum is a little red
and sore right around the fang gumline, and the underside of
the huge lip has little red bumps.  We sort of pressed on
it to see if it hurt, and he kept on purring and didn't notice.
The swollen part is hard.

The vet said it's just probably an immune reaction to the
virus that his little body is trying to get rid of.  She's going
to check him carefully next Wednesday night, to see if he's
healthy enough for his neuter appt. on Friday. :-(  We trust
this vet *completely* with our babies, so I'm not asking for
advice here; I'm just posting to see if anyone else has 
ever noticed a fat cat lip?  Any comments or stories?

Thanks!

-- 
_____________________________________________________

Kimberly Dauphin	  Adobe Systems Incorporated
dauphin@mv.us.adobe.com	  Mountain View, CA
From: steveg@teal.csn.org (Steve Genoff)
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
Subject: Re: Fraidy cat
Keywords: scardy cat
Date: 7 Oct 92 00:05:48 GMT
Distribution: na
Organization: Colorado SuperNet, Inc.


 Toska, my oldest cat, is the quintessential fraidy cat.  I got her from
the local humane society when she was 7 weeks old, apparently having been
abandoned.  She has always run to hide whenever any strangers appear in
my abode, usually ducking under a sofa, or some other hiding spot.  Her
reaction thereafter varies a great deal, and I put a great deal of trust in
how she reacts to people neither one of us knows.  Sometimes I will go find
her and drag her out (not literally) to meet people I want her to be
friends with, and that sometimes does the trick.  She still stays somewhat
aloof, but she'll stay in the same room.
  This is kinda funny behaviour, because when there is no one else around
she is always crawling up in my lap (esp when i'm at the 'puter) and she
meowls at me if i come in the room where she's napping and demands my
attentions.

  Cats get scared for good reasons, even if it isn't apparent to us
humans...

   Steve



  
-- 
                                                                   Mir na zemlye
Steve Genoff                                               steveg@csn.org
- Join the League for Programming Freedom ---   Innovate, Don't Litigate       -
     (info from league@prep.ai.mit.edu)
From: hannah@pomponio.ai.sri.com (Marsha Jo Hannah)
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
Subject: Re: Nasty Tapeworms-
Date: 6 Oct 92 21:33:36 GMT
	<lswan.34.0@ucsd.edu>
Distribution: na
Organization: SRI International, Menlo Park, CA
In-reply-to: lswan@ucsd.edu's message of 6 Oct 92 17:46:12 GMT

In article <lswan.34.0@ucsd.edu> lswan@ucsd.edu (Swan, Lyn) writes:

   In article <1992Oct6.085655.1@stsci.edu> lhuffman@stsci.edu writes:
   >From: lhuffman@stsci.edu
   >Subject: Re: Nasty Tapeworms-
   >Date: Tue, 6 Oct 1992 13:56:55 GMT

   >Droncit tablets, obtained at the vet ... cost about $1.50 apiece and are the 
   >remedy of choice for tapes.

   I've been told that these pills cost about $12-$13 each from the vet.  Is 
   this just another S. California rip off?  Could someone else please comment 
   on cost in their area?

   Lyn

Our vet (San Francisco Bay area) has a pricing policy that seems to
have a minimum prescription fee of $7.  For that price, I can get 3
cat-sized tablets (2 doses) of Droncit, or 1 dog-sized dose, or 4
cat-tablets of Ace (kitty tranq for trips to the vet).  Ask your vet's
receptionist just how their pricing policy works.  If you have a lot
of cats (or a lot of worms ;-) ), ask for a written prescription, and
buy the pills in bulk from a supplier like Omaha Vaccine.

Marsha Jo Hannah
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
From: andy@cmptrc.lonestar.org (Andy Hart)
Subject: Norse Maid 
Date: Tue, 29 Sep 1992 05:08:48 GMT
Organization: CompuTrac Inc., Richardson TX

(Deborah Schlow) writes:

>This is somewhat off the track, but relevant to anyone who knows about
>Odin. We named our ferret Ratatoska, who is the squirrel that trades
>insults between two other Norse deities. (I'm not the Norse expert, my
>boyfriend is). the cats and the ferret get along fine.

That's pretty good!  At one time I had a maine coone called "Merlin".  I 
moved in with a guy who had a ferret.  After initial culture shock, they
learned to get along and play.  

_I_ never got used to the ferret, however.  Tell me, does it poop behind
your dresser and build nests of socks in your box springs at 6 AM?


-- 
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
|   Andrew Hart                   |  CompuTrac, Inc.                 |
|   (214) 235-7161 x 5320         |  222 Municipal Drive             |
|   andy@cmptrc.lonestar.org      |  Richardson, TX  75080           |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
Subject: Re: Why Do Cats Lick Humans?
From: margaret@cs.arizona.edu (Margaret Newman)
Date: 28 Sep 92 19:48:00 GMT
Distribution: na
Summary: taste good

(stuff deleted)

>   Chunky, my only male cat, is the only one of my five cats that is obsessive 
> about licking me.  He especially loves to lick my nose (it is a wee tad
> greasy) and (now this is kinda gross...) would even lick inside my nose if
> I would let him.  Sometimes his breath confpetes with the affection he
> gives me.  At one time i nicknamed him 'Mr Tongue' because of this
> behaviour.
> 
>    Steve


My late cat Mouser (Mighty Mouse) used to get very intense about licking
my nose, forehead, eyelids, etc...  Occassionally he would lick my feet,too.
The worst tho was sniffing and trying to lick my armpits.  Yes, he was
a unique cat...

margaret@cs.arizona.edu
From: kjenks@krakatoa.uucp (Kenneth C. Jenks [GM2] 483-4368)
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
Subject: Re: Drumming the Cat
Date: 26 Sep 92 21:55:08 GMT
Organization: NASA/JSC/GM2, Space Shuttle Program Office

In article <1992Sep22.201536.21708@bcars6a8.bnr.ca> marylou@bcarh11a.BNR.CA (MaryLou Rowe) writes:
>
>Jesse is a dead-ringer for a Maine Coon both physically and personality-wise.
>He does go in for something that I find VERY amusing but have only ever heard
>of in one other cat (through r.p.c). He loves to be 'drummed'. He loves to be
>drummed continuously ... he purrs and stetches and begs for it and flops
>down at me feet and chirps and meows at the top of his lungs for it.
>
>(When I say drumming, I mean just like playing a bongo and with almost
> as much noise. **HE IS NOT IN PAIN OR HURT BY THIS... I AM NOT BEATING
> MY CAT.**)
>
>                                    Mary Lou,
>                                    Jake aka Problem Child aka Stopit,
>                                    Jesse aka the $1350 Cat aka The Cat
>with the
>                                                                Wallet
>Sewn Up in His
>                                                                Stomach
>     
>
>Mary Lou Rowe   |My opinions are my own and do not reflect those of
>BNR             |Bell-Northern Research.
>P.O. Box 3511, Stn. C. Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1Y 4H7
>...!bnrgate!marylou%bwdlh490 MARYLOU@BNR.CA +1 613-765-4408 

Hmm, you are kinder than I am.  I admit that I beat my cat.  Cosine
loves to be beaten upon.  I smack her on the sides and back, esp.    
near the base of the tail.  I beat her hard enough to make her sway
from side to side.  She *Purrrrrrrrs*, she talks, she gets unhappy
when I stop....  Sine, her litter mate & twin thinks that she and I
are nuts.  

Lisa Jenks, on Kens account
Instant gratification takes too long
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
From: HF.CLN@forsythe.stanford.edu (Cynthia Ng)
Subject: HELP! Abandoned kitty
Organization: Stanford University, California, USA
Date: Tue, 6 Oct 1992 23:06:58 GMT

HELP!  A sweet little kitty was abandoned when her family apparently
moved.  She/he (don't know which it is yet) comes running out when
she/he hears the apartment house door open and when she sees it's
not her mommy she looks sad and hides behind the tree and peeks out.
 Neighbors have been feeding her but they will be moving soon too.
Please help find a home.  If interested call Jim Larimore at (415)
 725-6944.  Thanks.
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
From: wd6cmu@netcom.com (Eric Williams)
Subject: Kitten with foot fetish
Organization: Netcom - Online Communication Services  (408 241-9760 guest) 
Date: Fri, 2 Oct 1992 18:47:14 GMT

Murphy is a 7-week old orphan longhair found in the parking lot at
work a week ago.  He seems happy now, but has acquired an annoying
and potentially dangerous obsession for my feet.  He will follow them
around, crouch between them when I stand still, climb on top of them,
sharpen his claws on my shoes, etc.  I have to check every time I
take a step that I'm not about to crush him.  I've never raised a cat
before and would like to know if this is normal behaviour for small
kittens.  Will he grow out of it?  Should I train him to avoid feet
and, if so, how?

-- 
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
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: amd@ghost.mit.edu (Ann M. Davis)
Subject: Kitty at work
Organization: MIT Center for Space Research
Date: Tue, 29 Sep 1992 13:12:11 GMT



I had to take Tess to the vet yesterday, she's got some kind of
infection/virus in her eye.  Ointment and antibiotics.  I sure my
cat will hate me by the end of the week.  *SIGH*  

Anyway.  I didn't want to take the time to bring her back home, as
it was already 3:00 in the afternoon, so I brought her into work
with me.  Well, my spider plant is still mostly intact, although the
one I was sprouting in a cup is now severely munched.  I was playing
tetris (don't tell my boss), and she kept trying to attack the things
on the screen.  This led to a very low score. :-(  But the favorite
resting place turned out to be the mouse pad. (I don't think she even
knows what a mouse is!)  I'd be working along, and all of the sudden
my cursor would start sliding accross the screen.  It made for
an interesting afternoon anyways.

	Ann
--

Ann M. Davis
amd@space.mit.edu			 "Choose your battles wisely"
MIT Center for Space Research		
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
From: philip@labtam.labtam.oz.au (Philip Stephens)
Subject: Re: Drumming the Cat
Organization: Labtam Australia Pty. Ltd., Melbourne, Australia
Date: Wed, 30 Sep 1992 23:57:11 GMT

Gary Scott Carlson writes:

>	BTW - I don't know how many men read this NG, but few seem to post
>to it.  Let it be known that I *love* cats, and enjoy this NG thoroughly
>when I have time to read it.  I also copy select articles for my sisters,
>who have more cats than I do.  

	I'd love to post my own cute cat stories to this newsgroup, but the
five cats that used to live around my block of flats have moved away with their
owners :-(  Funnily enough, wherever I've lived during my life there has always
been cats to me to make friends with.  When I was living at college during my
Uni days we had five stray cats who "adopted" us.  One of the males (Bronson)
was a real lap fungus (love that term!) and had the sweetest of temperaments--
and the strange thing about him was that he couldn't meow!  He'd open his mouth
and nothing would come out!  Then there were the two black and white kittens
(Willy the long haired cat, and Modesty the short haired cat) who loved to bat
a ping-pong ball around the unit at every opportunity, and play with the TV
cords even though we tried in vain to teach them not to.  They were pretty much
inseperable--if one hopped on your lap, the other would too :-)  Not to mention
that if Bronson decided to sit on you, Willy and Modest would try to fit
themselves on your lap as well, so you'd end up with a pile of cats on your
lap.  Then there was the mother cat (who'd let you stroke her but nothing else),
and finally Bronson's sister Whitefront, who never let anyone near her during
the whole time we knew her, no matter how much I tried to coax her.
  Sadly, however, some students living at the same college complained that we
were keeping "diseased cats" in the unit and so traps were set and most of them
were sent off to be put down :-(  Fortunately Bronson and Modesty escaped, and
later on Modesty became a mother herself and for a little while we had four
crazy kittens running around the unit again.  Stray cats might very well be a
burden on the environment, but living with a family of five for a year
convinced me that they have just as much right to live out their lives as any
household pet...and they were the nicest cats I've ever had the pleasure to be
owned by.  May they all Rest In Peace...

-- 
| Philip Stephens, Systems Programmer. | %%%%  %     Labtam Australia Pty Ltd |
| Address:  43 Malcolm Road, Braeside, |   % % % %     "Applied Ingenuity"    |
|           Victoria, 3195, AUSTRALIA. |  %  % %  %  We make the fastest RISC |
| Internet: philip@labtam.labtam.oz.au | %%%%% %%%%% X terminals in the world |
From: dgordon@gssec.bt.co.uk (David Gordon)
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
Subject: Keeping Cats In
Date: 30 Sep 92 11:02:56 GMT
Distribution: uk
Organization: BT

I don't think this is in the FAQ but apologies if it is. I have a couple
of indoor cats and would like to be able to fling open the windows in
my house without having to worry if Nera & Bianca will dive out after a
bird and get turned into a couple of pizzas on the road outside my house.

While on holiday in the states last year, our hosts had fine mesh screens
over their windows which allowed lots of fresh air in but stopped their
cat getting out. Does anyone know of a supplier in the UK which might have 
something similar ? (I don't think my DIY skills would extend to anything 
aesthetically satisfactory.) Any answers to address below please. (I'll
post the answers for indoor-cat owners if successful)

----------------------------------------------------------------------

David Gordon                                    dgordon@gssec.bt.co.uk

----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: iadt1jm@prism.gatech.EDU (Jean McSpadden)
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
Subject: Purring as a sign of illness
Date: 28 Sep 92 17:26:20 GMT
Organization: Georgia Institute of Technology



The Toonsinator is sick.

The Toonsinator is an orange five month old tabby cat that was found
abandoned on the interstate when he was 12 weeks. He is normally 
extremely full of energy, as are most normal kitties, only stopping long
enough to allow himself to be petted when he is falling asleep.

A few times in the last few days my son said. 'Toonce is becoming 
another Pickle' (Pickle is our old overweight cat who does nothing all
day but lay around demanding to be petted). But, as I was very
overworked week last week, and since Toonce is my son's kitten, I
didn't pay much attention to Toonce's transformation. 

Then Saturday I noticed that Toonce was not playing with our other cats,
instead he was staying with my son and purring loudly, I noted that        
he was eating and drinking, and that he looked well and so I
decided to give it another day. Yesterday, he felt warmer then usual 
and was still begging for constant affection and purring loudly. I took 
him to a drop in vet clinic, where his temperature was 105. All through 
the vets exam he was purring, even when he gave him a shot of antibiotics. 
The vet could not find any reason for his illness, and prescribed some oral 
antibiotics and said if he is not better in three days to come back.
All last night the kitten stayed by my son purring loudly.

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
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats