# hey guys whats going on??



## petebutter (Mar 17, 2015)

I have a cat that I got from Petsmart in July 2013 when she was four months. Well, my husband wanted to get her. We already have a pit bull. And a preschooler. And now an 8 month old.

I am here to learn about the cat at much as possible, since we are not naturally cat people. I want to know whats normal, what isn't and maybe learn some fixes for certain behavior.


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## marie73 (Jul 12, 2006)

Welcome!

_Normal_ for cats? :grin:

Hopefully we can help you with your questions. Looking forward to pictures in Meet My Kitty when you have a chance.


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## Arianwen (Jun 3, 2012)

Hope your pit bull is as good as my old Staffie was with cats! That's a big bonus if he is. My current dog is a Staffie X Greyhound and she's amazing.


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## petebutter (Mar 17, 2015)

Thanks! Yea our pit (Eliza) was actually my hubby's baby first. But she is very playful and pretty much a 4 year old puppy. She doesn't really care about the cat(Jazz). Eliza will try to play with Jazz like a dog and of course Jazz hates it and swipes/hisses. But Eliza thinks its funny. Afterwards Jazz pretty much follows Eliza around to see the action and swiping at her tail.

What we loved about Jazz initially is she was very careful about her claws and very loving (purred a ton). With the kids we didn't want any issues with scratching. So far so good, she lets me clip her nails and bathe her just fine. I am just not sure what kind of attention she really needs. It's not like we can walk her or play fetch. What do you guys do?


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## marie73 (Jul 12, 2006)

Cats like simple things like the cardboard roll that toilet paper comes on, the plastic ring from milk bottles, ping pong balls, cardboard boxes, etc.


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## 10cats2dogs (Jun 16, 2013)

Hi Petebutter!
One of my dogs is a Pittie girl! She adapted very quickly to my cats, when I got her from our animal shelter! As big as she is, 60 pounds of Love and tailwagging joy...the Cats Rule!
My other dog is a Border Collie, and she thinks it's her job to (try!) and herd the cats! They ALL get on famously! 

Like Marie said, Jazz will be just fine with the Simple things! Some Special playtime, for just her, would be awesome, get one of the fishing pole type toys, like "Da Bird", most cats love those! A few catnip toys...
She's all set! 
She already has the most important thing...a family that loves her!
Sharon


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## petebutter (Mar 17, 2015)

Thanks Sharon and I will try those simple toys Marie mentioned too. I never did the catnip with her hahahaha I guess I feel like its drugs for cats? What is it, like cat weed? 

awww, I had a border collie growing up she was amazing. As a pup I gave her balls and watch her herd them around the room. Potty training her consisted of me saying "not in the house, go out here" only ONE time and she got it.


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## maggie23 (Mar 10, 2012)

hey congrats on the addition to your household! what a menagerie you have going there now! ha ha!

i'd say first of all that you are very lucky to have found a kitty who is very friendly and gentle with everyone. being able to BATHE her AND clip her claws is great! you may or may not know that there are tons of cats out there who will totally freak out and perhaps cause a human injury if we tried to bathe them or clip their claws.

i would definitely recommend that book "Think like a cat" if you haven't read it already. it gives great basic information on all kinds of things that will prep you for the more in-depth stuff that you will undoubtedly get into later. every cat is so different, but there are definitely certain behaviors or symptoms to keep your eyes open for in case of health problems.

good luck!!!


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## marie73 (Jul 12, 2006)

petebutter said:


> ...she lets me clip her nails and bathe her just fine.


Just a note, unless they get into something bad, like oil or something, cats really don't need to be bathed.


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## MowMow (Nov 6, 2010)

petebutter said:


> It's not like we can walk her or play fetch. What do you guys do?


I respectfully disagree.

Here is MowMow taking a walk in his harness. 


Here is MowMow in his stroller at the Saturday Morning Farmer's Market. He *LOVES* the Saturday Market.


Here is a video of Book playing fetch with me. Both and and Neelix will do this for hours.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykLnoxkoeIk
.
.
.
.


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## Mochas Mommy (Dec 9, 2013)

As MowMow said, you CAN train your cat to a leash and harness. All four of my kittens go for walks on theirs. It isn't like walking a dog in the beginning....you will follow the cat where the cat wants to go. Once the cat is used to the harness, start clicker training with the harness on....eventually you will get to walk where you want.


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## maggie23 (Mar 10, 2012)

i LOVE the stroller. i might have to do that with Angel someday. i take her for car rides and sometimes i just park and let her watch people walk by the car or i feed birds so she can watch.


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## MowMow (Nov 6, 2010)

LOL @ Maggi23.

This is @ the park. We swung by Burger King for a vanilla cone to share and parked to watch the people. This was a few weeks after his surgery last year.


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## bluemilk (Oct 3, 2005)

Willkomen!


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## cat owner again (Dec 14, 2012)

OK Mow Mow, we know that you have dogs disguised as cats.


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## MowMow (Nov 6, 2010)

Yes and my point is that lots of people on CF have cats just like that.


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## 10cats2dogs (Jun 16, 2013)

Banjo, is my fetcher! I've got the mini whiffle balls, with holes in them, you can actually find them in the golfing section...I guess they are considered practice balls! Anyway Banjo loves these, he chases them down the hallway, and can pick them up, he's so cute as he saunters back to me, all proud of himself!


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