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Kitty advice?!
I am in desperate need of cat advice. About a year ago, an adult cat come to my house, I petted it and he never left. I posted "found cat" ads and checked craigslist for lost cats, never found who he belonged to. He was free to come and go as he pleased. He often went outside or in the backyard to bask in the sun, but never left the property, even when he was outside while we went to work.
While we were moving, he stayed with my cousin. He was not allowed to go outside. She had other cats. He liked playing with them.
We have had him back at our new place for 3 weeks now. I play with him everynight, but he likes to wake me up around 4am! It's killlling me! He knocks things off our nightstands, so we clear them before bed. He tries to get into our closets, plays with my lampshade.... At first, I thought he was hungry and didnt want to go downstairs by himself. But the last few nights when we go downstairs he doesnt eat.
Yesterday afternoon, I went into our little courtyard and he followed me. He was just hanging out, next thing I know-he is on the fence!! I didn't think he could even hop a fence, he's severely obese and can barely get on the bed!! Well, that was a major mistake becuase now he wants out. I think that might be what he wanted this whole time. I really don't want him outdoors becuase we live near a very busy street. And what if he gets into someone else's courtyard? UGH!
We thought about getting him a kitten, something to play with and keep him from getting lonely (he really does love other cats), but we are worried that we will end up with two cats that like to wake us. If we get a kitten, we don't want it outside, easier if they never develop the taste for it.... so we kinda have to decide.
We are going to get him microchipped just incase he does get out again. I feel so mean, he loves the outdoors!
I just don't know what to do, he woke us at 3am and we couldn't go back to sleep. This is common. I cant imagine how sleep deprived I will be when we have a baby plus this cat!! Wow, sorry this was so long
Re: Kitty advice?!
Our cat did exactly the same thing and would run all over the apartment. We talked to the vet because the behavioral problems were pretty bad and kept us up a lot. He said we needed to get another cat, which we did, and it solved the problems. We went from being woken up at 3-4ish in the morning EVERY DAY to 5 (which is when DH wakes up for work), only if they have no food in the bowl, or we sleep as late as we want.
Long story short, yes, you probably need to get him a play mate otherwise he will keep trying to play with you at the most inopportune times.
Tea Time for Lulu
PAL/PGAL Welcome
is your guy neutered? i found out recently that neutered adult male cats are often really good foster parents to kittens, so much so that some rescues will use them in that capacity. we've had that exact experience when we got herbie & chiana (he was adult, she a kitten), and with hitachi and the new kittens. you must get a female kitten, though, if you go that route. is it possible to set up some sort of cat enclosure in the back yard? links below, sorry not clicky but this mac never works w/ the pop-up windows for some reason. some are really elaborate, some are just people fencing in their balcony so their cats can enjoy the outdoors.
http://tinyurl.com/4awco3r
http://tinyurl.com/4ts9osm
http://tinyurl.com/4korla6
also, if you don't let him in your room at night that might help, but it does sound like he could benefit from a playmate. i'd also really consider getting your vet's help to get him on a diet. we have just started one for our fatty. we switched from open feeding to just feeding them at certain times for a set amount of time (30 minutes, then the food gets put away), and it's gone surprisingly smooth. i was sure the one who isn't on a diet would be frantic if the bowls weren't out all the time but he's doing really well, all things considered. after a two days of turning his nose up at the diet food fatty (that'd be hitachi) got hungry enough and now he eats it. we feed him in a separate room or otherwise he'd be going for the yummy stuff!
Approximately how old would you say he is? We have three cats right now, all male and the two 7 year olds are really no problem at night. Although our newest of the 7 will cry sometimes. The 2 year old is little and young, and the older cats don't necessarily want to play with him or play nicely with him. He will explore night stands, steal keys and coins and anything else small, and he will knock things over, but not on purpose (Had a cat that did that too). We spray him if it is in the morning with a bottle I leave by the bed. He has gotten much much better and usually sleeps with me all night.
I think your little guy would benefit from a buddy. Good luck! There are so many lovely cats out there right now that need homes.
Also, if you don't let them out side they'll forget they want to go out. But you have to be stern with the policy and not cave because it will just make it worse... kinda like caving to a child just once... :-)
That makes a lot of sense about male neutered cats. Batman (our oldest cat) was neutered when we got our second (Lulu) and he absolutely loved her. Within 24 hours he was taking care of her like a baby and they are two peas in a pod.
As far as temperament of the cat and making sure you get a playful one, just see which one seems clingy/playful at the shelter. The one that plays with you through the cage or meows at you as you walk away will be the one who is playful and energetic all the time.
Tea Time for Lulu
IUI #1 10/12/11 (Bravelle + HCG + Prometrium & acupuncture) = 10/26 BFP! Beta #1=250, Beta #2= 615. 1st u/s 11/8.
THank you for all the great advice girls!
Anneg-We have tried closing the door at night, but he just meows. It's so sad! Also, we have him on diet food and he's lost a couple pounds. We are going to talk to the vet when we take him in to get microchipped. I'm wondering why we have to get a female kitten tho? I'm biased towards males. All the male cat that I've ever had are super affectionate, the females seem to be more independent.
Roni-I think he'a about 4 years old maybe? The problem with the squirt bottle trick, I sleep with an eye mask on. When I move or take off the mask, my cat runs. He's very smart. He waits for us to look away before acting naughty lol.
Leolyns- I bought him a scratching post, it cost me a pretty penny with different textures and materials. He wont use it. He did however, remove the tag so I could not exchange it!!
you don't have to get an opposite sex kitten, but in my experience integrating non-litter mate males can lead to a lot of struggles for dominance and the bad behavior that goes along with it, or just not getting along and bullying. male cats are more tolerant of females they don't know and vice versa, so you will probably have a much smoother intergration of the new cat as well as easier bonding with one another. in my experience opposite sex introductions of new cats always go better than same sex. some male cats just don't like other male cats - we had that happen - and that cat ended up going to live with the neighbors. everyone is much happier since that happened, including the neighbors, but he just didn't want other male cats living with him.
i don't think independence is sex-specific so much as temperament. we have three female cats right now and the most independent one is also the biggest lap kitty. she just loves to be held and petted. one of the kittens is total lap kitten (the more shy of the two) and the other loves to be petted but not held so much. i don't find our males to be less independent as much as food obsessed, so they demand more of us! only one of the males is a lap kitty (the other is a nearby kitty but he is super affectionate). if i were you looking for a kitten i think i'd pay attention to how the kittens interact with one another and you maybe a little more than who is the most playful. the shyer of our two kittens is the kind of cat that LOVES other cats and she and hitachi are almost inseparable. they're curled up together grooming each other so much we joke she's his girlfriend.