Kitty advice

[Possegal]

Oh my gosh she is absolutely beautiful, and look at her sitting with her new puppy friend. I love that picture!!

[Aggie_Ama]

Our poor baby!!!! The limp was because she was bit by another animal at the shelter. Our vet gave her an antibiotic shot as a precaution and to knock out the little cold she had from the shelter. I woke up this morning to find Heidi snuggled on one side of me and Tortilla on the other. I love my little girls!

[Biciclista]

what a cute kitty!

[Ninabike]

What a beautiful kitty. My first kitty when I was 8 years old was a Manx. She had moderately long fur and her tail was a fur puff. She was so tolerant - she let me ride around with her in my bike basket. How very lucky your new baby is to have found you!!

[Aggie_Ama]

Tortilla is quite a hoot and really a love bug. She bathes Heidi! It is hysterical to see the cat licking the dog because Heidi used to lick Maggie. They chase one another, snuggle and have become quite the good buddies. Only problem is they sample each other's food.

The main complaint is Tortilla thinks my bedroom furniture is her own jungle gym. I wonder if a scratching post or tower would amuse her? They are pretty pricey so I am hesistant to buy the declawed cat a tower. But she does scratch at things.

[smilingcat]

Don't be shocked to see a declawed cat making it to the top of a floor to ceiling scratching post with landing/perch along its height. Cats can jump really well.

Years and years ago, my partner came home from work and found out that her husband had declawed both of her himalayans (by a vet). After recovery, the two cats still managed to scale their backyard fence.

[Biciclista]

declawed or not, adolescent cats need places to play and toys to play with!

[Aggie_Ama]

declawed or not, adolescent cats need places to play and toys to play with!

Good reminder, she likes her fuzzy stick cat toy and chasing Heidi. I will start looking for a cat tower so she can have a jungle gym of her own. This morning she was trying to scale a bookshelf.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Good reminder, she likes her fuzzy stick cat toy and chasing Heidi. I will start looking for a cat tower so she can have a jungle gym of her own. This morning she was trying to scale a bookshelf.

Cat towers are very expensive, but I think they are well worth the money.
Your cat will see it as their refuge and 'lookout point', they will satisfy their scratching instincts on it (even when declawed), and they'll use it for hours every single day for years and years to come. Everyone in the family winds up being happy. It's the best gift you could ever give a cat you love.
A lot depends on where you locate it- if they don't like the first place you pick, try another location.

We don't have a cat 'tree'- but we have a tall scratching post and the special 'climbing wall' I made which Pearl absolutely LOVES:
We have a dark hallway with several corners that stick out. I bought a big 3' x 5 foot piece of brown carpet remnant and screwed it onto the wall, centered on a projecting corner and reaching five feet up the wall. OMG, you should see Pearl come racing down the hall and throw herself up onto the carpet 'wall' about 4 feet up from the floor, and then hang there for a few seconds like some wild thing with a crazed look, then ricochet off it with a huge leap and race back down the hall again. This simple carpeted wall corner has provided ENDLESS joy and excitement for Pearl over the past 6 years! She loves that it's so tall, like a tree trunk. it drives her wild.

Whenever Pearl does this wall leap, it always reminds me of the David Letterman Velcro suit classic segment (watch the famous Velcro leap at the end of the clip):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9uxxqKGmYg