Cat Hazards

[thalassa]

So...we just got a kitten.

I'm a dog person. I've often owned dogs, so I'm pretty familiar with the no-no's of dogs...but not so much with cats/kittens.

This is particularly a concern since we use a lot of essential oils and herbal stuff...and we have lots of house plants.

Anything ya'll can think of that's a HEY THAL, STOP THAT RIGHT THIS SECOND!! sort of thing that I should know about?

[Munin-Hugin]

Re: Cat Hazards

I've pretty much had cats my entire life, and still don't have a concrete "bad-for-cats" list on things. The only two things I've really heard time and time again is that anti-freeze and poinsettia plants are BIG no-nos, but since my cats don't go outdoors, and I've never seen one even attempt to eat that plant, I've found them to be pretty moot points.

[DanieMarie]

Re: Cat Hazards

The ASPCA has a good list of plants that are poisonous to cats: http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/animal...n-toxic-plants

Most plants that are toxic for dogs are toxic for cats, but there are a few exceptions.

Also, I've had a few things that were listed as "safe" on there cause some gross side effects in my old cat. He was elderly, so that probably had something to do with it, but once he ate a plant that was non-toxic and it gave him the runs and he also threw up everywhere.

You'll have to watch your kitty with plants, even non-toxic ones. Cats LOVE to eat plants. Mine will destroy almost anything that grows and doesn't really take to discipline when it comes to growing things. The only thing that has worked for us is to keep a little pot of grass in the apartment. If he has that, he'll leave the other plants alone. Same with outdoor plants (we don't have a proper yard...if you do, you might be fine).

[anunitu]

Re: Cat Hazards

I have read that Onions and tomatoes are bad for cats. Also with Cats,to gain their respect you must not try to make them like you. They will come to you,just ignore them,and they will decide if you are ok.

[Munin-Hugin]

Re: Cat Hazards

Also with Cats,to gain their respect you must not try to make them like you. They will come to you,just ignore them,and they will decide if you are ok.

Once, people revered cats as gods. Trust me, even today's modern cats have a kind of racial memory and have NOT forgotten this, and will expect the same treatment.

[B. de Corbin]

Re: Cat Hazards

Cats differ as much as people do - I've had stand-offish cats, clingy cats, friendly cats, cats that don't like to be touched, cats that can't get enough petting and being picked up, cats that will go mad if you rub their bellies, and cats that will flop in front of you until you do rub their bellies, and cats that fetch like dogs. But! They will pick the relationship, not you.

Unlike dogs, cats, though, won't accept just anything you want to do to them. They'll resist collars, the concept of a leash is totally foreign to them (use a harness, and don't expect a brisk walk. They tend to lie down and roll about in the dirt), and don't even THINK about cute sweaters and booties... They'll read your mind and try to kill you...

I recommend that you keep the cat indoors. They don't respect boundaries, like to wander about (sometimes for days at a time), and frequently end up as road kill. If you keep them inside from the time they are little they don't miss outdoors.

Also, if you leave them home alone for a few days, just leave out food and water. They generally tolerate solitude without a problem.

Oh - if you do decide to give one a bath, you probably won't survive unscarred. Try putting an old window screen down in the tub so he/she has something besides you to bury his/her claws in.

While you have a kitten, keep the toilet lid down - they are extraordinarily curious critters, and, if a kitten falls in, it can't get out. That could end badly.

Our cats have a tendency to live about 20 years, give or take a year or two, but it's more common for them to live about ten-twelve years, barring cars.

Catnip in jolly for them, and harmless. They play more if it goes into a cloth bundle so they can smell it, but not eat it. Otherwise, they'll eat, goof around for a while, then pass out. They don't pay attention to it until they get to a certain age, though - the age escapes me at the moment, though.

[Ophidia]

Re: Cat Hazards

You can protect your houseplants w/stuff that cats don't like to walk on - like mesh or netting that will catch their claws. Just wrap the pots or drape it over the plants themselves. One of the biggest attractions about houseplants is the dirt - if you cover the dirt w/something like rocks, broken pottery, oyster shells or marbles, they can't get the satisfaction of digging in it (and your plants will retain moisture better). There's also StickyPaws, which is a double-sided adhesive tape.

Essential oils can be bad, but there are some that are GRAS. Here's the science on essential oils & cat livers (yes, the site looks cheesy, but the science is good).

[volcaniclastic]

Re: Cat Hazards

You'll have to watch your kitty with plants, even non-toxic ones. Cats LOVE to eat plants. Mine will destroy almost anything that grows and doesn't really take to discipline when it comes to growing things. The only thing that has worked for us is to keep a little pot of grass in the apartment. If he has that, he'll leave the other plants alone. Same with outdoor plants (we don't have a proper yard...if you do, you might be fine).

Not all cats are like this. Mine wants nothing to do with my houseplants...except the big tree, which he pees in when he's mad at me.

Cats differ as much as people do - I've had stand-offish cats, clingy cats, friendly cats, cats that don't like to be touched, cats that can't get enough petting and being picked up, cats that will go mad if you rub their bellies, and cats that will flop in front of you until you do rub their bellies, and cats that fetch like dogs. But! They will pick the relationship, not you.

Unlike dogs, cats, though, won't accept just anything you want to do to them. They'll resist collars, the concept of a leash is totally foreign to them (use a harness, and don't expect a brisk walk. They tend to lie down and roll about in the dirt), and don't even THINK about cute sweaters and booties... They'll read your mind and try to kill you...

I recommend that you keep the cat indoors. They don't respect boundaries, like to wander about (sometimes for days at a time), and frequently end up as road kill. If you keep them inside from the time they are little they don't miss outdoors.

Also, if you leave them home alone for a few days, just leave out food and water. They generally tolerate solitude without a problem.

Oh - if you do decide to give one a bath, you probably won't survive unscarred. Try putting an old window screen down in the tub so he/she has something besides you to bury his/her claws in.

While you have a kitten, keep the toilet lid down - they are extraordinarily curious critters, and, if a kitten falls in, it can't get out. That could end badly.

Our cats have a tendency to live about 20 years, give or take a year or two, but it's more common for them to live about ten-twelve years, barring cars.

Catnip in jolly for them, and harmless. They play more if it goes into a cloth bundle so they can smell it, but not eat it. Otherwise, they'll eat, goof around for a while, then pass out. They don't pay attention to it until they get to a certain age, though - the age escapes me at the moment, though.

Unlike dogs, cats don't need to be bathed very often. When they have fleas, when they've rolled in the mud, but that's about it. My cat is 5 and a half, and he's had about 5 baths in his life. Everyone's cat is different, but for bathing, close the bathroom door, put down an extra towel or two on the floor in case your cat turns into a rocket when she/he gets wet, and use baby shampoo, a pet shampoo, or castille soap. My old roommate used to bathe her cat regularly with her scented shampoo, and he stunk. It was awful, and the scent isn't great for the skin anyhow.

The magic trick to all cats is that little spot behind their head that their mother used to pick them up by when they were young. It essentially neutralizes a cat - when I bathe mine, I just hold him there and he looks at me, but doesn't do anything. I've never gotten a single scratch bathing him. It works well for other things too.

Cats are natural burrowers - they like small dark places. If your mattress has a hole in it, you can guarantee you will find your cat there. I have to keep my washer and dryer closed, or I find my cat there. Most cats like to be high up, as well.

On the note of catnip, it's actually a genetic thing. 54% (or something like that) of cats are genetically predisposed towards catnip, and some cats just won't touch the stuff. Kittens tend not to be interested in it until 4-6 months of age. Spay or neuter your kitten at 6 mo, and make sure he/she gets their first set of vaccinations. It protects against the common kitty diseases. A vet will tell you to booster them every year, but that's expensive, and most people don't do it.

Is the kitten kitty litter trained yet?

[thalassa]

Re: Cat Hazards

I dont believe in outdoor cats, from an environmental perspective anyhow, so the indoor cat bit isnt a problem--outdoors, cats are an invasive species that destroy native birds...simething that is incredibly obvious here, where there is a huge feral cat problem on the bases.

[B. de Corbin]

Re: Cat Hazards

Additional thought...

Being curios animals, many cats go through a period in which they find it highly entertaining to push stuff off tables and shelves, just to watch it fall. It can be pretty fun to watch them do it - they are clearly conscious of what they are doing, and do it intentionally - unless it happens to be your prized family heirloom teacup. You might want to put your prized frangibles in a safe spot, until you see which way the wind blows. And "up" is no protection from cat explorations. It's amazing how aerial they are.

(I never bathe cats, except for fleas. They really don't like it, and unlike dogs who love to smell like poop and roll in it every chance they get, really don't need it.)

[thalassa]

Re: Cat Hazards

Yup, she all about the kitty liter, lol.

Not terribly into my plants, mostly just her own tail and shadow and the toy on a stick thing. And naps.

She's the lazy kitten of the litter, also the runt. And the folks we got her from had kids, so she's used to that.

Really the big thing is the bath...which she's going to have to get used to (she did okay today), because i dont have a choice because of my allergies. My coworker fosters cats and evals them (and in some cases trains them) for therapy cats and has had to had to do the bath thing, and I've had some luck in the past with cats and baths because of allergies (we have a shampoo and wipes that are supposed to help with that--Ive used something similar, different brand though in the past to minimize the misery,).

[anunitu]

Re: Cat Hazards

With Cats,there is ALWAYS an exception to the general rules. I had a cat that loved to jump into the bathtub with me. He had no fear of water,and in fact seemed to love being in the water.

As B. De. said each cat is its own animal,and it is hard to make any blanket statement about them. Just about the time you think you have figured them out,they go an break every fact you have acquired about their behavior. I think this is in fact why so many people love the little killing machines they are,cause they MAY remind us of ourselves.....our love of our own personal freedom to do what ever we freaking want...and the devil take the hind most...

[Ophidia]

Re: Cat Hazards

When I was little, we had a cat that would take showers w/us. For baths, he'd mostly just sit on the corner of the tub & bat at the bubbles.

Cats are weird - apparently, they can be taught to do tricks & acclimatized to things like baths & car rides, just like dogs. But just because they're taught or acclimatized doesn't mean they'll actually do anything on command. So they're kind of like teenagers in that respect.

[Rae'ya]

Re: Cat Hazards

So...we just got a kitten.

I'm a dog person. I've often owned dogs, so I'm pretty familiar with the no-no's of dogs...but not so much with cats/kittens.

This is particularly a concern since we use a lot of essential oils and herbal stuff...and we have lots of house plants.

Anything ya'll can think of that's a HEY THAL, STOP THAT RIGHT THIS SECOND!! sort of thing that I should know about?

Most essential oils are toxic to cats... the site that Ophidia posted up is great.

Lilies and everything in the lily family is toxic. Don't even have them in the house and immediately remove them from every bunch of flowers that you are given (and tell hubby NOT to buy you flowers with lilies in them). Cutting the stamens off is not enough... the petals and leaves are also toxic. For some reason most cats love lilies, but they cause kidney failure. Educate yourselves about all the different types of lilies... every single client I've had who's cat had lily toxicity swore black and blue there were no lilies in the house... right up until we showed them photos and they recognised one and went 'oh, I didn't know that was a lily'. The reason I bang on so much about this is that lillies are almost always in bought bunches of flowers, so even once you've gone through the 'toxic houseplant' list and gotten rid of anything and think your house is safe, lilies sneak in with that bunch of flowers you got from your workmates and stuck on the table without thinking.

You can protect your houseplants w/stuff that cats don't like to walk on - like mesh or netting that will catch their claws. Just wrap the pots or drape it over the plants themselves. One of the biggest attractions about houseplants is the dirt - if you cover the dirt w/something like rocks, broken pottery, oyster shells or marbles, they can't get the satisfaction of digging in it (and your plants will retain moisture better). There's also StickyPaws, which is a double-sided adhesive tape.

Essential oils can be bad, but there are some that are GRAS. Here's the science on essential oils & cat livers (yes, the site looks cheesy, but the science is good).

Great website and great advice. Shallow trays of water will also work for most cats. The idea is that anything the cat doesn't physically like the sensation of will act as a deterrent. I also recommend double sided tape on cardboard then taped to the bottom of your bedrooms doors, and your kitchen benches etc. It's a good tool to prevent door-scratching at 5am when they want breakfast, and jumping on counters when you aren't home.

Spay or neuter your kitten at 6 mo, and make sure he/she gets their first set of vaccinations. It protects against the common kitty diseases. A vet will tell you to booster them every year, but that's expensive, and most people don't do it.

I agree with spay or neuter at 6 months. That's when we do it. Microchipping is something I always recommend if you can afford it, even for indoor only cats. Please don't de-claw. There's a reason it's illegal here in Australia and many other countries. And I'm sure it will be illegal in the US eventually... it's already frowned upon by most of the veterinary industry in the US. AAHA recommends against their accredited hospitals doing it and the 'Cat Friendly Clinic' program doesn't allow it. It's slowly being pushed out, and for good reason. There are ways to train and retrain cats not to scratch furniture... de-clawing is not necessary. It's just 'easy' and convenient for people. If you absolutely feel that you must de-claw, please, please, please ensure that it is being done by a high standard clinic/hospital under proper orthopaedic standards with appropriate and ongoing pain relief (in which case expect more cost). You would die if you knew what cheap spay-neuter clinics do. Comparing a high standard clinic to a cheap clinic is NOT comparing apples to apples. The level of service and care your pet gets is very, very different.

On the subject of vaccinations, there's a reason that we tell people to vaccinate every year... because the vaccines don't last more than 12-18 months. There is a vaccine company currently trying to develop a 2 year F3 vaccine, but they're having trouble getting consistent results. Some cats will maintain immunity for about 2 years, but not ALL cats. While we can guarantee that every cat will maintain immunity from an F3 vaccine for 12 months, and be fairly sure they'll maintain it through til 18 months... everything past that is pure chance. FIV and FeLV are 12 month vaccines only. FIV in particular has absolutely NO room for overlap... after 15 months immunity is gone.

Contrary to popular belief, vets don't recommend annual vaccinations because we want more money... there is actual science behind it. All the high standard vet clinics should have changed to the 3year canine C3 vaccines, because it's better for the animals (you'll find a lot of smaller vets that are run by the older generation wont change, because they don't keep up with new medical advances very well). If they manage to develop a 2 year F3, we'll be switching to that almost as soon as it's out. Unfortunately there are some vaccines that will always be 12 months... canine KC, feline FIV and FelV are among them. They just haven't been able to get immunity to last any longer than that.

I dont believe in outdoor cats, from an environmental perspective anyhow, so the indoor cat bit isnt a problem--outdoors, cats are an invasive species that destroy native birds...simething that is incredibly obvious here, where there is a huge feral cat problem on the bases.

Good choice. I recommend keeping cats indoors, ideally with an external enclosed cat run. The vast majority of cats are perfectly happy staying indoors... they'll hang out at the door and go out if you leave it open, but that doesn't mean that they are unhappy indoors. I have met a few cats who didn't cope being indoors, but most do. Aside from the environmental factors, it's actually safer and healthy for the cats. The average life expectancy of an indoor cat is 4-5 years longer than an outdoor cat.

As an indoor cat, you wont need to worry about FIV or FeLV vaccinations, because those are transmitted via direct contact only. You should ideally still have F3 vaccines done though, as those diseases (what we normally call 'cat flu') are airborne and can therefore be caught through an open window or screen door. Yes, the risk is much lower, but if you have a large outdoor cat or stray population in your area then it's best practice to maintain F3 cover, because it is still possible to pick it up. None of the 'cat flu' diseases are fatal, but they can have serious ongoing consequences and will predispose kitty to other upper respiratory issues later in life. Indoor only mean you will also need to deworm less often and the risk of fleas will be much, much lower. They CAN still pick up fleas and worms as indoor only cats, it's just not as common. And having a litter tray that is cleaned regularly reduces the chances of reinfestation of worms. We recommend that indoor only cats still be dewormed once or twice a year, especially with children in the house.

Additional thought...

Being curios animals, many cats go through a period in which they find it highly entertaining to push stuff off tables and shelves, just to watch it fall. It can be pretty fun to watch them do it - they are clearly conscious of what they are doing, and do it intentionally - unless it happens to be your prized family heirloom teacup. You might want to put your prized frangibles in a safe spot, until you see which way the wind blows. And "up" is no protection from cat explorations. It's amazing how aerial they are.

(I never bathe cats, except for fleas. They really don't like it, and unlike dogs who love to smell like poop and roll in it every chance they get, really don't need it.)

I want to second both of these statements.

Cats usually come in roughly two categories... cats who like to climb, and cats who like to burrow. If you have a climber, it's imperative that they have appropriate things to climb on... you'll really struggle to keep a climber off benches etc as an indoor only cat if they don't have an appropriate outlet. Get a cat post that has enough height on it that they can climb up, give them a shelf they are allowed to sit on... that sort of thing is usually sufficient. Then put double sided tape (on cardboard) on everything else. They'll soon work out that 'their' shelf is safe and rewarding and everything else is sticky and not-fun. Burrowers tend to prefer nooks and hidey holes that they can climb in... and often hang out under beds, behind curtains and inside cupboards or drawers if they have the chance. This is all just personal preference... which your kitty will be remains to be seen. As his personality develops you'll start to work it out.

A word on scratching posts... yes, you need one. Indoor-outdoor cats generally don't need one, and indoor-with-a-cat-run cats will sometimes get away without one. But indoor only cats should have a cat post, because it's important for them to have an acceptable outlet for 100% NORMAL behaviours like scratching, climbing and inquisitiveness. But there are a few things to consider when getting a scratching post.

a) height vs length... most cats prefer a post that they can stretch to full length or height on, which means that most of the commercial ones are far too small. You can't force your cat one way or the other... if the scratching post doesn't suit their preference, they'll go elsewhere (ie, your furniture). So make sure it has enough height that he will be able to stretch up if he wants to. And don't stick it in the corner where he can't stretch lengthways to use it... the covered bases are usually big enough for them, but they need the room around the base to be able to use it they way they want to. If it's stuck in the corner behind the couch, it wont be comfortable to use and they are liable to scratch on the base of the couch instead.

b) covering material... they all come with carpet, but not all cats like carpet, and not all cats like the feeling of carpet directly over wood. Most prefer a bit of padding beneath the covering, and some prefer other fabrics. My cat likes vinyl. He always ignored a cat post and used to scratch the vinyl covering of the bed bases, right up until we reupholstered an outdoor chair in vinyl. Now he has an entire 'scratching chair' in his outdoor cat run and leaves the bed bases alone. My other cat rarely scratched on anything at all. In the cat run we 'planted' a special tree that they could scratch on as a cat-post, but they ignored that and scratched the rope that we had spiraling around a diagonal bridge beam leading up to their shelf instead. Cats have preferences... people usually have trouble with them scratching the furniture because they simply don't have an alternative option that they like. So make sure that your cat post is made to HIS specifications, or he wont use it. If either you or hubby is handy with DIY, make your own. Commercial ones are expensive, usually too small, and most cats actually don't like them.

c) options are the key. Give him options. The best cat posts are the 'cat gym' ones that have holes and tunnels and ledges and high perches. Most cats will find something they like on posts like that. Plenty of people have wasted their money on 'affordable' cat posts that the cats just wont use... because they don't like them. DIY is a good, usually affordable option that will get you the best result. I think that commercial ones are overpriced, even the good ones.

[DanieMarie]

Re: Cat Hazards

Ours is NOT happy indoors. He's lived his whole life indoors, but he just doesn't like it. He has a secured terrace (our roof terrace is as large as our living room), but it's not enough. We'll let him out when we move to a place with a yard. But, in Germany the ecosystem is a bit different. We've already pretty much destroyed all of our natural habitats around anywhere with people and there are pretty much no predator species left. He's neutered, so he's not a threat to native wild cats (they interbreed, which is killing them out. Not that there's many of those left, either).