Kitty advice

[Possegal]

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

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Amanda! What a beauty she is!!!!!!!! Such a pretty kitty!!!- and look how happy the doggie looks!

You are all so lucky to have found each other!!!!!!!!

Truly, what a happy match made in Heaven. I can just see this kitty becoming your husband's little 'baby'. That's what happened to my Pearl- she's DH's Little Precious Princess. He walks aropund the house with Pearl riding on his shoulder purring wildly, and he says he's "walking the baby". This evening he was doing this and I said "What, does the baby have colic?".....and he replied "No, she just has 'lic'." OMG too funny.

You got yourself a real treasure there!

[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!!

[tulip]

When I was young (9yrs old or so) we had a Manx cat named Cabot. Cabot was a funny cat for the short time we had him. He followed us around and acted much more like a dog than a cat.

[badger]

that's amazing that Heidi and Tortilla are sleeping together so soon. My cat was all spit and vinegar and never got along with the foster dog I had for 2 weeks. He did sleep with Chevy, but it took a while.

Glad she's settling in, and I'm glad you caught the bite - one of my co-workers lost her cat due to a dog bite he incurred while in her friends' care. The woman denied the cat being bit, but when it became obvious, the wound had gotten infected and the kitty died so I'm glad you were cautious and took her to the vet!

[Aggie_Ama]

Badger- That is scary! She would have had to be checked for the upper respiratory infection shelter cats get anyway but I am so glad we took her. She is already much more mobile. And the vet said she is 9 lb which is already heavier than thought, I wonder how big she might get?

I don't know how she ended up at the local kill shelter, she seems like a good cat. I do wonder if she might have lived with a dog or small child because she is so tolerant of Heidi. We got really lucky.

Oh and I love the manx stories. We had one growing up named Sylvester, he was a great cat. I had one manx kitten after him that disappeared, I was heartbroken. I think people "re-adopt" them because they are naturally friendly. I am glad Tortilla won't be outside to disappear.

[Kathi]

What a pretty kitty, I love her markings.

Speaking of cats and dogs living together one of my cats appeared to be raised with dogs. Someone dropped him off at the school where I taught, he was about 3 mos. old. I couldn't resist him and took him home. At times his behavior was so dog like. He also loved being outdoors so we trained him to go out with a harness and leash. We kept a close eye on him and it gave him the opportunity to enjoy the outdoors. I also had peace of mind because I always knew where he was.

BTW, last night I saw a coyote in my front yard. My cat was sitting in the living room window which was closed. The coyote stopped and looked toward the window. It was as if it saw my cat. Just the thought sent chills up my spine. I'm so glad she's an indoor cat.

[nancielle]

Love the picture of the two furkids together...very sweet. Congrats on the new addition.

[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