HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: anne@solstice.riacs.edu (Anne Kohutanycz)
Subject: Re: talking to cats over the phone 
Organization: RIACS, NASA Ames Research Center
Date: Tue, 28 Jul 92 20:23:39 GMT

Well I haven't talked to my cat but when I brought
home the 2 week old calico orphan she was making
so much noise I decided to call my brother in DC.
Got his answering machine and held the phone next
to the kitten for about 30 seconds.  Then I hung
up.  Apparently his cat was quite interested in
the conversation and requested more.  But now that
the kitten has a full belly the noise level has
dropped considerably.

Today is the kittens last day at work with me, my
aunt is coming for a visit and I'll have a built
in babysitter.  Lunchtimes will become a bit dull.

Anne
From: pdsmith.mitre.org (Pat Smith)
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
Subject: maine coon cats
Date: 28 Jul 92 14:01:28 GMT
Organization: The MITRE Corporation

I am looking for the address and phone of a maine coon cat club that is 
presumably located in Maine.  
Organization: Office of the President, Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh, PA
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
Date: Thu, 30 Jul 1992 12:43:17 -0400 
From: "Kathleen P. Kowalski" <kk00+@andrew.cmu.edu>
Subject: Jealous Cats Update

Many thanks to everyone who responded to my questions about how to help
Callie and Taz get along (and for all the good ideas on how to get baby
Taz to stop chewing wires.)  Here's how things are progressing...

We picked Taz up on Tuesday of last week (he's 15 weeks old, Callie's 2
years old, declawed and spayed.)  There was a lot of hissing, spitting
and aggression on Callie's part at first. We kept them separated
whenever we were gone and let them be together when we were home and
separated them at night.  By Saturday, Callie let Taz play with her a
little bit.  Then they shared a saucer of milk together, ate from the
same plate and when little Taz used Callie's litterbox by mistake, there
was no problem.  

Taz keeps trying to play with Callie (I mean, he LEAPS on her every
chance he gets!)  So now Callie's either hissing and swattng him or
hiding a lot. (They do play, too.)  We let Taz stay out of his room when
we went to bed last night, and instead of Callie sleeping on the bed
like she usually does, I woke up to find Taz snuggled next to my leg! 
He didn't stay there long.  We woke up again around 2 am when Taz fell
off of the nightstand!

I really wish Callie would stop hiding, though.  I miss having her
around me all of the time.  

Cats!  Ya gotta love 'em!

Kay


Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
From: lpj@col.hp.com (Laura Johnson)
Subject: Re: Cat eating Trash...
Date: Thu, 30 Jul 1992 16:58:24 GMT
Organization: HP Colorado Springs Division

antoniou@buitc.bu.edu (George Antoniou) writes:
> 
> Well... what could I do...  I just yelled at them and clean the place up...
> Do cats get sick from eating semi-bad food...  the meat did not look that bad
> even though it had spots...
> 
> 

Most cats and dogs can eat food that is closer to rotten than what people
can eat, with no ill effects.

I believe that they are fairly smart about this; if they thought it was
good enough to eat, it was probably good enough to not make them sick.

-Laura.
-- 
lpj@hpctdls.col.hp.com
Opinions expressed are my own, but may be licensed for a nominal fee.

Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
From: sallyg@oregon.uoregon.edu (George, Sally)
Subject: Re: New cat
Organization: University of Oregon
Date: Thu, 30 Jul 1992 13:58:12 GMT

In article <1992Jul29.135211.24141@murdoch.acc.Virginia.EDU> rkn3u@kelvin.seas.Virginia.EDU (R. Keith Norwood) writes:

>There seems to be a lot of questions about adopting cats lately, so I 'll
>throw my question into the mix.  My wife and I already have Ziggy (1 year old
>neuterted male) but we feel that he could use a companion while were at work.
>What are some of the pros and cons of introducing an adult versus a kitten 
>and a male versus a female. 

>Thanks

>Keith

Keith,

Rosie was a stray that would not go away . . . so she was adopted and became 
QUEEN.  We are working every day so decided to get her a 
companion, Bones, male, and had him neutered.  He has a great personality 
but had been in cages all of his life so he was quite timid (AT FIRST!)  She 
was in total control, hissed, growled, acted like her whole life had been 
turned upside down.  It took about a month for Bones to get tired of it and 
to let her know who was boss.  He never did hiss, growl, or attack.  One day 
he just walked over to this raving maniac and layed his paw and front leg 
across her whole body and held her down as if to say, "I've had enough!"  
Now they are best of friends and defend each other . . .

Sal
From: margaret@cs.arizona.edu (Margaret Newman)
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
Subject: Sleepmates
Keywords: cats and dogs
Date: 29 Jul 92 21:02:41 GMT


My black cat, Mouser, that has gone on to his great reward always slept
with me.  He had his pillow, and I had mine.  He always had to have
some part of his body touching mine while we slept -paw, tail, back or
head.  When he was younger, he liked sleeping on me -my chest or my
back.  He would meow and herd me back to my (our) bedroom when he thought
it was time for bed -didn't matter what I was doing, he said it was time.
I really miss him, and it has been hard to adjust to not having him
around.  I always called him my "husband-cat".  Very jealous, and very
possesive.  My family said that I would never get married until after
he died.  So far, not yet!

My Siamese cat, Mia, sleeps with me occasionally.  Her greatest delight
is to attack my legs when I'm sleeping.  She will also come up under
the blankets to attack any hapless appendage.  When she was a kitten
(this last Christmas) my hands were a mess because she hadn't learned
not to use her claws.  Now, when she chews on my hands, it doesn't hurt.

I also have two small dogs that like to sleep with me from time to time.
As it is quite hot now (and we are having fun with fleas), the dogs
mostly sleep in their basket or pillow on the floor.  The older dog likes
to sleep in the hallway under the cooler.  Which doesn't help her 
arthritis!

Well, that's my experiences with cats (and dogs) sleeping with me!

margaret@cs.arizona.edu




Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
From: afallen@lims02.lerc.nasa.gov (E. Allen Arrington)
Subject: unknown cause of death
News-Software: VAX/VMS VNEWS 1.41    
Organization: 1st Kentucky Cavalry Co. C
Date: 23 Jul 1992 11:34 EST  

One of our cats died very suddenly this week and as of the mement the vet 
has no idea why.  I was hoping that someone here could help.  Here's the 
story.  The cat was a yellow tiger mutt shorthair, 1 year 5 months old 
named Ambrose (after confederate general Ambrose Powell Hill).  The cat was 
a nuetered male in apparaent good health (had been to the vet for a regular 
checkup and shots just the week before and there were no reported problems)
Our cats are generally indoor cats but do go outside a couple of times a 
week (we live in the country and we are afraid that the cats will raom to 
far from home or meet up with unfreindly critters or cars).  Last Sunday 
both cats were very lively and active during the day except that Ambose was 
sneezing; they were outside for 
about an hour durin the middle of the day and showed no unusal signs after 
coming back inside.  My wife and I went out to dinner and we came back, we 
were met at the door by only one of the cats (usually both are there to 
greet us).  We found Ambrose sitting under a table very quiet; his eyes 
were "rolled back" into his head and his breathing was slightly labored.  
We went to the emergency vet where it was felt that this was a respritory 
problem of some sort; he was given antibitoics and we were instructed to 
take him to the regualr vet tomarrow if no improvment was seen (his temp 
was on the high side of normal, 102.8, according to the vet).  His 
condition did not improve over night so we took him to the vet on Monday 
were his condition declined fairly rapidly during hte afternoon; the cat 
died around 8:15 Monday evening.  The vet said that the test results showed 
all body/blood chemistry levels of the cat were within normal levels.  The 
cat did throw up blood just prior to expiring.  Post mortem showed no 
unusal damage or irritation in the intestines or stomach and no signs or 
trauma; results from tests of the tissue samples are not avaliable as of 
yet.  The cat appeared to be disoriented, was having trouble seeing and was 
displaying neurological problems (right side of its body was not working 
well, he was walking in circles and stumbling around).  The vet could find 
no signs of poison or toxins of any kind, the stomach contents were fulid 
only.  The vet has not ruled out poison or even rabies, but does not think 
either likely.  Anybody got any ideas, we need to know so we can protect 
the other cat (Ulyses).  My only idea is that the cat was healthy but had a 
defect of some sort that killed him (maybe he had a stoke?).  Thanks in 
advance.

E. Allen Arrington  
        Trooper, 1st Kentucky Cavalry, Co. C 
        Mounted Memorial Unit                 
and Mason (a darn fine horse)
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
From: meyer@uuisis.isis.org (Katherine Meyer)
Subject: Re: New Cat Book (humorous)
Organization: International Shared Information Service (Ottawa)
Date: Thu, 30 Jul 92 01:10:19 GMT



 stuff deleted> 
> My mother gave me a really good "cat" book last year - it's called
> "The Cat Who Came for Christmas" by Cleveland Amory.  It's a real life 
> tale of a man who gets "adopted" by a fat white cat called Polar Bear.
more deleted...
> It is also quite moving.  He's got another one out now about the same
> cat, with a similar title, although I can't quite remember what it is.
> 
> If you see it - buy it!!! It's set in America, so some of you might find
> it even more interesting than those of us across the water!
> 
> Roo

Cleveland Amory's other book is "the Cat and the Curmudgeon" .  It was given
to me by my mother this year.  I haven't read "The Cat Who Came for
Christmas" yet so I don't know how this compares but I really enjoyed it.       

Katherine

Meyer@UUISIS.ISIS.ORG
From: rmilner@zia.aoc.nrao.edu (Ruth Milner)
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
Subject: Re: Cat eating Trash...
Date: 30 Jul 92 16:04:11 GMT
Reply-To: rmilner@zia.aoc.nrao.edu (Ruth Milner)
Organization: National Radio Astronomy Observatory, Socorro NM

In article <92301@bu.edu> antoniou@buitc.bu.edu (George Antoniou) writes:
>Last night I decided to grill a steak... as it turned out the steak in
>my freezer was bad... it had brown spots in it...  

Brown patches are usually just a sign of exposure to air. If you cut raw beef
you'll see that inside it's very dark red while outside is distinctly brown.

Greenish spots, though, that's another story :-).

Basically you should go by the smell. If it smells like raw meat, it's OK.
If it smells putrid (anywhere), it isn't. (No comments from vegetarians about
how bad *all* meat smells, please :-) ).

>Well... what could I do...  I just yelled at them and clean the place up...

If I were a cat, being yelled at would be a small price to pay for steak :-).
Though they probably didn't really know what they were being yelled at for ...
isn't garbage *supposed* to be spread all over the floor? :-)

>Do cats get sick from eating semi-bad food...  the meat did not look that bad
>even though it had spots...

If it had truly smelled bad they probably wouldn't have eaten it. I am sure 
that really bad food would make them sick, but even humans can tolerate a 
certain amount of decay in food before the body rejects it (this is precisely
why hot countries tend to develop spicy cuisine - to mask the smell/taste of 
spoiled food, which happens very quickly). 

If your kitties haven't barfed it up yet, more than likely they're just fine 
(and had a wonderful treat to boot!). :-)
-- 
Ruth Milner                          NRAO/VLA                  Socorro NM
Computing Division Head      rmilner@zia.aoc.nrao.edu
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
From: postmast@ee.up.ac.za
Subject: Testing
Summary: Testing
Date: Thu, 23 Jul 1992 20:46:43 GMT
Organization: Centre for Computing Expertize, University of Pretoria
Keywords: test

Just testing. Please ignore
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
From: vicki@steam.atd.ucar.edu (Vicki Holzhauer)
Subject: Re: cat gone mad
Organization: Atmospheric Technology Division/NCAR Boulder, CO
Distribution: na
Date: Thu, 23 Jul 1992 22:09:05 GMT


>Libby writes:
>
>>....... Anyway, about a year ago she started having these "fits" 
>>where she would with no provication attack my mother.  These attacks
>are quite 
>>vicious--she clearly is not trying to play.



Another possibility is epilepsy.  I had similar problems with a kitten
that I acquired in 1976.  As she approached puberty, it got much
worse.  A person she normally knew would come into the room (like me),
and she would totally panic, jump in the air, and dive into some
inaccessible spot (like behind the refrigerator).  After an EEG
determined epilepsy to be the cause and the possibility of paying
$50/month for medication on into the infinite future, I made the
painful decision of having her put down.

A sad story except that it was this cat's death that caused me to go
looking for another cat to fill the "kitty hole" left in my heart, and
I found the lovely Abigail, who's been my delightful roommate for the
past 16 years.

I too sympathize with you.  It was a difficult time, and a difficult
decision, but I think it was the right one ...



--
Vicki Holzhauer, National Center for Atmospheric Research
Boulder, Colorado / / / /  vicki@ncar.ucar.edu
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
From: coimay@sn01.sncc.lsu.edu ( LAURA CARRIERE)
Subject: Re: Update (re: Adopting a Cat)
Nntp-Posting-Host-[nntpd-23646]: sn01.sncc.lsu.edu
News-Software: VAX/VMS VNEWS 1.3-4   
Reply-To: coimay@sn01.sncc.lsu.edu
Organization: The unofficial LSU news node
Distribution:  world
Date: Thu, 30 Jul 1992 18:14:01 GMT

In article <111860022@hpfcso.FC.HP.COM>, jodi@hpfcso.FC.HP.COM (Jodi Peterson) writes...

>We took him to the vet yesterday for shots and a leukemia test. 
>The test was negative, thank goodness, and he's been castrated. 
>He had some sores on his tail (fighting?). The vet
>shaved the areas and gave him some antibiotic pills. 
> 
>And now comes the worrisome part . . . When Tiko
>got home he was exhausted--slept for 6 hours. When he finally
> 
>This morning he was still lethargic and not very friendly.
>He didn't try to run off when we let him out, though.
>I'm wondering if his odd behavior is a result of the vet visit
>(which he seemed to take fairly well) or the shots, or the
>antibiotics, or something else.
> 
>Anybody seen behavior like this after shots?

I took the kitten who lives with us, her name is Frog - long story, to the
vet on Monday of last week for her 12 week shots.  For the next week she
started eating lots more than she had before and she was growing rapidly.
But on Sunday night she was very lethargic and slept all night.  Monday
night was the same so I called the vet Tuesday morning.  She said to bring
her in Wednesday (first available appointment) morning.  Little Frog had a
fever of 105, normal is 101.8 for cats.  They tested for Feline Leukemia,
FIV and did some blood tests.  Nothing.  I mentioned to the vet, among 
other things, that she'd had her shots just one week before.  The vet didn't
think they were related.  In fact, she said that sometimes kittens get
fevers and nothing else is wrong.  She called it the "I need some antibiotics
Fever".  So now I'm learning how to force a kitten to open her mouth so
that I can give her her medicine.  (Liquid, not a pill.)  She doesn't mind
too much, she's a good little kitty.  She liked the ear mite drops less. 
She seems better today.  

So I don't think they're related, but I know that's what I thought at 
first too.  Of course, your cat isn't a kitten, and apparently he's already
on antibiotics, so if he's still lethargic tonight, I'd call the vet.

>--Jodi Peterson (feeling like a nervous new mother :-)

I feel exactly the same way.  Frog is an outdoor cat because my husband is
allergic.  (a stray mother cat had five kittens in our yard - we didn't get
cats on purpose - they got us.  Four kittens have been given good homes,
Mom and Frog still live in our fenced in backyard.)  Anyway, I even stayed
home from work Tuesday so that Frog could sleep inside where it's cool.
Notice, however, that I'm writing from Baton Rouge, Louisiana.  I just 
couldn't put a sick kitten out into 95 degree, VERRRY humid weather.
(Besides, computer programmers can work from home, especially when their
bosses are out of town.)

  Laura Carriere
From: kaz@vineland.pubs.stratus.com (Karen Fegley)
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
Subject: Re: New cat
Date: 31 Jul 92 13:55:01 GMT

> In article <1992Jul29.135211.24141@murdoch.acc.Virginia.EDU>,  
rkn3u@kelvin.seas.Virginia.EDU (R. Keith Norwood) writes:
> > There seems to be a lot of questions about adopting cats lately, so I 'll
> > throw my question into the mix.  My wife and I already have Ziggy (1 year  
old
> > neuterted male) but we feel that he could use a companion while were at  
work.
> > What are some of the pros and cons of introducing an adult versus a kitten 
> > and a male versus a female. 

Two cats in a household are MORE than twice as much fun as one cat in a
household.  At least, that is our experience.  You get to watch their
interaction as well as their individual behavior, which can be absolutely
fascinating.

Over the years, we've introduced a male kitten (6 weeks) into a household
with an older female cat, a female kitten (6 weeks) into a household with
an older female cat, and a female kitten (4 months) into a household with
an older female cat.  In all cases, we took the following precautions.

     o    We provided the newcomer with its own private room for a week
          or two, complete with its own feeding station, litter box, and
          toys.  This gave the two cats the opportunity to play "paws
          under the door" and get used to each other's smell without the
          risk of a direct confrontation between an adult and a kitten.

     o    We timed the adoption so that we were on a week or so of
          vacation when we finally let them meet face-to-face, and could
          monitor them.

     o    We made a point of giving the senior cat lots of extra attention
          so that she/he wouldn't feel left out.          

They all eventually got along fine.  Some got along well immediately upon
becoming acquainted; some took a little longer while they worked out their
own pecking order.

We have never introduced an adult cat to a household that already has
another cat.  I have heard that it is more difficult but I can't speak
to this from personal experience.

Good luck!

Karen
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
From: wlhadley@mwunix.mitre.org (William L. Hadley)
Subject: Re: cats over the phone
Organization: The MITRE Corporation
Date: Wed, 29 Jul 1992 21:29:55 GMT

sallyg@oregon.uoregon.edu (George, Sally) writes:

>In article <1683014F73.C0043@vmcms.csuohio.edu> C0043@vmcms.csuohio.edu writes:
>
>RE:
>
>> . . . both girls trot right into my bedroom, hop on
>>the bed and "watch the mom box" for greetings.
>> 
>>     I'm telling ya'....if it gets any better than being owned by a
>>couple of cats, well they'll just have to declare it illegal!
>> 
>>Beth
>> 
>
>Beth,
>
>Great idea with the answering machine!  Your last sentence says it all!!!

My cat loves my answering machine (mainly because I leave it where he can 
walk on it).  My answering machine has a "personal message" feature which is
controlled by a special button.  I keep getting these personal messages (or
"kitty" messages as my wife calls them) from my cat that are like 20 minutes
long.  All I hear usually are a few meows or my playing with one of his louder
cat toys.  It is still kind-of neat...especially if I am having a rotten day at
work and I call my answering machine to check messages.
Bill
--
      William L. Hadley            |     User Support Center Specialist 
      The MITRE Corporation        |       Internet: wlhadley@mitre.org
      7525 Colshire Drive, MS W130 |     UUCP: linus!mitre.org!wlhadley
      McLean, Virginia 22102-3481  | My opinions! Do you hear? MINE!!!!
From: mas5@ns1.cc.lehigh.edu (MICHELLE A. M. SZENA)
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
Subject: Why do I buy cat toys?????
Date: 23 Jul 92 16:00:23 GMT
Organization: Lehigh University

After reading about all the available cat toys available, I have to ask myself
why I even bother to waste my money.  I have spent a fortune on little stuffed
toys, sponge balls, plastic balls with bells in them of various sizes, catnip
toys, fishing poles and more.  The only toy my Merlin will play with is the
cat dancer, (similar to the cat aerobics).   My Pookie won't even play with
that.

They'd rather play with boxes waiting to go out for the garbage man, jar lids,
towels, the bathroom rug, mommy's toothbrush, mommy's earrings, the toilet
paper (I'm thinking of selling designer toilet paper).  I buy them a $6. toy
and they only want to play with the bag it came in.

Cat toys should just be made of stuff we normally throw out.  Just thought I'd
share that.

Michelle
Merlin & Pookie
From: bicker@cbnewsi.cb.att.com (The Resource, Poet-Magician of Quality)
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
Subject: Longevity of Tapazole Therapy for Hyper-thyroid
Date: 30 Jul 92 16:45:45 GMT
Reply-To: Brian.C.Kohn@att.com (The Resource, Poet-Magician of Quality)
Organization: The Internet


I just spoke with my vet to update him on !bicker's condition.  I told
him that !bicker threw up the soft-most stuff, and he confirmed my
suspicion that that wasn't related to the thyroid problem, but rather
to the sugar content of the food.

I also asked him about some of the stuff people were saying about how
long a cat could take Tapazole to control hyper-thyroid.  He said he's
"never seen a case where the drug has lost its effectiveness." 
Actually, he indicated that eventually the dosage could probably go
down to one tablet a day (instead of two).  I really trust this guy so
I am kinda confused.

I still don't know for sure how old !bicker is, but I would still bet
it's close to 5 years than to 10, so the other options (surgery and
radiation) are still worth considering I suppose...but if !bicker
remains a mench and takes his pills like a good boy, then the only
concern I have is about kenneling him when I have to go away.

-- 
Brian Charles Kohn               using !bicker's account
Poet-Magician of "Quality"       E-MAIL: att!hoqax!bicker  (bicker@hoqax.ATT.COM)
    'Hope, not fear, is the most positive advocate of action.' - S.R. Lawhead
                   Stamp Out "SO": "RP" = "Romantic Partner"
Newsgroups: rec.pets.cats
From: ssnyder@sunai.er.usgs.gov (Steve Snyder)
Subject: Re: Should I give one away?
Organization: U.S. Geological Survey, Reston VA
Date: Fri, 31 Jul 1992 16:21:00 GMT

In article <1992Jul30.211715.1910@wkuvx1.bitnet> shroymp@wkuvx1.bitnet (Mike Shroyer ) writes:
> [stuff]
>or try it and see how they react ... Plus two cats in a small
>apartment couse cause a smell very quickly.
>
I have a friend who has 4 cats in a one bedroom apartment, and it does
not smell at all. She keeps the place fairly clean and changes litter
frequently.

Steve