# New to cats and the forum



## fortpancake (Jul 27, 2012)

I've never had a cat before or really been around them. A few weeks ago a friend of mine was fostering a litter of young kittens. Unexpectedly, she had to go back home to help her family and she gave me one of the fosters to watch while she was away. At first, I had no intention of keeping the kitten permanently and fully intended to either find him a home or give him back to his foster mommy when she returned.

Now I'm not so sure. I have to admit I've never been a cat person and I am shocked at how much of a pleasure he is to have around. What a joy it's been! I really had no idea cats were so personable, affection and so much fun. I'm seriously considering keeping him for myself, but for now I'm trying to learn everything there is to know about cats, which is why I joined the forum.

My kitten is a domestic short haired and I'm pretty sure he's medium coat, but he may be short coated. He's black and white and about 7 weeks old. His name is Pancake. 

I've been feeding Pancake raw since I started watching him a couple weeks ago and I hope to get more information on how to improve his raw diet on this forum.

Here's a video of Pancake [ 



 ]

That's about it!


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## oreo_kitten (Jul 28, 2012)

Your kitten looks almost like mine!! Oreo has less black on her than pancake, so cute! I love your video! they look to be around the same age to!


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## Mays (Jul 28, 2012)

Welcome!


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## fortpancake (Jul 27, 2012)

Thank you!


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## HepCatDave (Jul 29, 2012)

So cute!! I love the bit at the end where he "attacks" the camera!!

Some cats are very affectionate; some are rather aloof. Just like people they have distinct personalities. If you have one that's very affectionate, that's wonderful!! I do think being loving and affectionate toward your cats will bring out their affectionate nature, to whatever extent they are affectionate. Some cats just couldn't care less about humans most of the time no matter what, but I don't think that's most cats. Most cats like some time with humans and still need some time doing their own thing. (Some people give cats a bad reputation as being selfish and uncaring creatures, but I suspect many of those people didn't give it a good solid ongoing effort to bond with their cats and give them lots of love.)

Congrats on discovering the joy of cats!!


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## maggie23 (Mar 10, 2012)

hey! welcome to the club! i, too, was in the dark about how wonderfully warm and loving cats can be before we unexpectedly took in a stray last year. i couldn't believe what i'd been missing my whole life. i was definitely ignorant and under the impression that cats were aloof and independent. not so!!! so many of them LOVE human contact. i swear over the course of 2 weeks, we went from:

1. the cat can ONLY stay in the garage
2. okay, she can go in the furnace room, but NOT the laundry room
3. okay, she can explore the laundry room, too, but she CAN'T come upstairs
4. okay, she can come upstairs but ONLY if she's supervised
5. well, all right, she's not tearing up the leather furniture, so she can be upstairs, but she has to go back downstairs at night
6. all right, fine. we'll leave the downstairs door open at night but she can't come into the bedroom
7. omg! look at that. she just jumped into bed and curled up on my chest to sleep! awww...
and all the rules went out the window after that!

she was sleeping on my chest throughout the night by the end of that 2 weeks and did so every night till she was diagnosed with cancer just a few short months later.  but she taught me so much about love in her short short time with us. i'm sorry to relate such a sad note in welcoming you, but i think it gets the point across that i fell HARD for cats once i opened my life up to them.

i also read a ton of books, watched lots of educational dvds, and got on this forum to learn everything i could about cats in just a few short months. i'm still learning, of course.


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## orrymain (Dec 9, 2011)

He is ADORABLE!! I would definitely keep him. You have learn how quickly a kitten can wrap his little paws around you heart and hold on tight. And the best is yet to come. Learn all you can about cat care if you keep him and this forum is a great place for learning. Welcome.


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## OctoberinMaine (Sep 12, 2006)

I'm glad to see other people on here who weren't cat people until later in life! Well, in my case, _way_ later in life. I never had a cat (or dog for that matter) until my late 40s. I then became a sponge for knowledge about them, which you're doing now. This is a great place to learn a lot!

I've had two cats now, and what I've learned is that they're not aloof at all. That's just a bad rap. Neither of them are lap cats at all, but they sure do follow you around the house and keep up on your activities.

Pancake is adorable!! He's practicing all of his hunting skills, isn't he. Good boy!!!


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## 4CatZoo (Jul 30, 2012)

Pancake is so adorable!


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## Mitts & Tess (Sep 4, 2004)

OMG he is adorable! I loved all his antics! He even did my favorite sideway hop with the tail straight up. I dont see him going anywhere. The only thing better than just Pancake would be for him to have a companion to grow up with!

Maggie23 I laughed thru your description of learning to love a cat. Im so sorry you lost her so soon. That had to be devastating.


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## spirite (Jul 31, 2012)

Hi there! I'm new here too, and also became a cat person pretty late - I was allergic for a long time, which didn't give me much interest in getting to know cats. My experience was similar, though it took catsitting for 3 different cats before I caved: first I agreed to take care of a friend's kitten for a couple of days - sooo cute, despite the fact that she scratched up the back of my legs when I opened a can of tuna (I didn't really even know then that most cats love tuna). The 2nd cat would run full speed down the hallway and crash into my bedroom door and yowl if I was in there and the door was closed, but I missed having the little guy around when he went back home. The 3rd cat hissed at me the whole time, tried to scratch me, and shook all the leaves off my new ficus tree. And yet...my apartment felt empty without him.

I didn't realize how entertaining it could be to have cats, and I've often said to people who don't like cats that I think you have to live with one in order to appreciate them.

Anyway, I've heard mixed things about raw food diets for kitties. It might be because they need various minerals/vitamins that aren't in a lot of raw foods, like taurine. I'm sure there are supplements though. It's impressive that you're willing to put in the time and effort to give the a raw food diet!


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## OctoberinMaine (Sep 12, 2006)

spirite said:


> I didn't realize how entertaining it could be to have cats, and I've often said to people who don't like cats that I think you have to live with one in order to appreciate them.


I'll go you a little further . . . I think the cats has to be _yours._ I did live in a house with a roommate's cat for 10 months, and I never liked that cat at all. There's something very powerful about picking out or finding the cat, naming it, feeding it, etc., that makes the bond so strong.


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## Mewster (Aug 1, 2012)

Hello fellow cat-lovers! 

I came to this forum in search of help and education and it is wonderful to have discovered such a great community here as well =)

I have always had cats all throughout my life. Currently I have two female one year old cats. They are sisters and I saved them through my vet. One of the vet nurses found them garbage dumbster when they were 7 weeks old and they were going to bring them to the shelter soon. They are amazing cats named Sugar and Spice =) 

I have just took in about a few weeks ago two male 5 week old kittens. A neighbor caught them in a trap and was going to dump them in the woods and I just wouldn't let him do it so I took them in. Their names are Feisty and Hippie =D 

It is a pleasure to be here and thanks for the great site ^_^


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## Jacq (May 17, 2012)

I took care of my sister's cat Cheshire on-and-off for about 10 years, all told, and I agree with October. (a few years at a time, while she was globe-hopping or going to school).

I love that cat very much, but he's not _mine_. Every time I spent my last $15 on litter and food, or a whole paycheque went to the vet visit, or I had to shampoo the carpet _again_, I had a little twinge of regret and second-guessing that I never had with my own pets.


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## Susan (Mar 29, 2010)

What a sweetie!


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## spirite (Jul 31, 2012)

Jacq said:


> I took care of my sister's cat Cheshire on-and-off for about 10 years, all told, and I agree with October. (a few years at a time, while she was globe-hopping or going to school).
> 
> I love that cat very much, but he's not _mine_. Every time I spent my last $15 on litter and food, or a whole paycheque went to the vet visit, or I had to shampoo the carpet _again_, I had a little twinge of regret and second-guessing that I never had with my own pets.


What you and October say is interesting. When I got my first cat, my mother, a cat hater, threatened (only half-kiddingly) to poison her. We made probably 6-7 visits a year, lasting a couple of days to a week. After about the 3rd visit, my mother was pretty fascinated - "Look at how she licks a longer part of her forearm when she's cleaning her ears, and a shorter part when she's only cleaning her whiskers!" It didn't take all that long before she was freezing leftover turkey from Thanksgiving in a ziplock for our Christmas visits (and it wasn't for me - it was marked "Margaux"). She loves both of my cats now - even took care of them once while I was away. But maybe that's because she's finally realized that the only grandchildren she'll be getting from me have fur and tails. :mrgreen:


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## kmsmaine (Aug 2, 2012)

Pancake is adorable! I can't wait until we get some kitties.


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## maggie23 (Mar 10, 2012)

spirite said:


> It didn't take all that long before she was freezing leftover turkey from Thanksgiving in a ziplock for our Christmas visits (and it wasn't for me - it was marked "Margaux"). :mrgreen:


i love it! your Mom is born again. ha ha! we also freeze chicken for Angel. she only gets the organic, free-range stuff, of course, and we cut them up into snacksize morsels for her so we can just boil one of them up each night for her pre-bedtime snack. she aint spoiled!


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## RockyandLily (Aug 2, 2012)

He is adorable!, so cute with the dogs too !


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## MyriadVoices (Aug 3, 2012)

What a cutie! I am glad you are now a cat owner! I have found that the best advice for raising kitties is that you have to understand them and why they are doing what they do. I guess that's good advice for raising children, too, haha!


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## Tripel (Aug 5, 2012)

That's a cute name.


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## babylonsister (Aug 5, 2012)

What a little sweetie! It's no wonder you've decided to keep him. It's been my experience that the only difference between cat people and non cat people is that the latter just haven't spent any/enough time with a cat. Each one has his/her own unique personality. 
I am also new to the forum, though I've had cats almost my entire life.


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## dlowan (Jul 13, 2012)

What a lovely story and kitten!

I am so amused to hear about all the people who were reluctant to let a cat into their lives and ended up totally run by their cat!

That is the natural order people.....get over it.


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## Charvale (Aug 4, 2012)

Welcome, I'm new too. Pancake is gorgeous, I loved your video! I'm also a first time cat owner, never considered myself a cat person and now I can't imagine life without one, they're amazing creatures!

You should definitely keep him .


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