# Hello there...



## Azerane (Feb 26, 2015)

Hi all, I'm new (obviously). I'm not new to cats as I grew up with them, however I don't currently have one. It's been just over a year since our last childhood cat passed away (at 18 years) so I certainly miss having one, especially since I wasn't living at home for the last year of her life.

Fast-forward to now, I'm owned by a 2 year old house rabbit, Bandit. Obviously when the time comes, there will be some interesting cat/rabbit introductions to be done, but I feel that getting a 12 week old kitten will enable me to train the cat to ignore my rabbit (that is if the cat isn't scared of Bandit).

I have recently discovered a Somali/Aby cat breeder in my city (which is very exciting). Somali cats have long been my favourite breed, since the first day I "discovered" them. And while having a cat is not something that's on the cards yet (maybe 1-2 years away), I feel like I could learn a lot in the meantime by being part of this forum. Owning a cat as a child is very different to owning one as an adult, because you don't get to choose food/toys/vet visits etc, you just have to feed what your parents buy. I'm determined to know as much as I can in anticipation of eventually getting one. I'm also just really excited that I managed to find a local breeder of my favourite breed  While I've always been really big on getting pets from rescues, sometimes you have to get your dream animal too, so I anticipate owning both a rescue and a Somali in time.

I look forward to learning more and getting to know you guys


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## 10cats2dogs (Jun 16, 2013)

Welcome Azerane! It's always wonderful when people have their priorities figured out! Kudos to you for wanting to learn everything you can about cats, before you get your kitty!
You'll be a Great Cat Parent, when the time comes! 
Feel free to share a pic of Bandit, in the meantime!
Sharon


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## Azerane (Feb 26, 2015)

Thanks  After browsing the forum for a bit I realised that I'm not that informed about cat nutrition and a few other things, and learning will take some time. We grew up feeding wet food in the morning, and dry biscuits the rest of the day, but I can see on here that biscuits seem to have no positives apart from being convenient for the owner 

And how neglectful of me not to post a bunny pic.
1: He thinks I have treats 
2: DBF/Dead bunny flop = one very relaxed bunny.
3. His deluxe apartment  He's out of it whenever I'm home anyway.


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## 10cats2dogs (Jun 16, 2013)

That's one cute bunny! And I like your bunny apartment!!
Yep, you'll find a lot of info here on food (and discussions!)
Sharon


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## Azerane (Feb 26, 2015)

Thanks, he is very cute 

It seems I've already got a lot of reading ahead of me, since I was wanting to look into the homemade/raw food diet and it's more involved than I expected. Just need to wrap my head around it I suppose.


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## howsefrau32 (Mar 6, 2013)

Your rabbit is adorable! I love to see people that really love their bunnies, because I've seen so many people buy their kid one for Easter, and then it sits in a cage and never comes out. I knew someone that kept their bunny in a cage, in a dark garage every day, until finally, because people kept telling her that was not cool to do that, she gave the poor thing to someone who did love and care for it. A very good friend of mine had a bunny, his name was Snickers, and she has two cats as well, and they absolutely ignored the bunny. And one of the cats had been a stray, who was an adult, and she never had any interest in the bunny at all. I think if you get a kitten, you'll be able to socialize them together. I had a cat once that did not go after a bird that I had. This cat would sit on the window sill next to the bird cage, and the bird would sit outside of her cage and pick at the cat's fur, it was so cute. Same cat, I was hand feeding a baby bird, which if you have ever seen that done, it is very messy, and the bird ends up with food all over it's face, crop, all over, and this cate would lick the food off of the birds face when it was done eating. 

I know what you mean about it is very different owning a cat as a child than when you are an adult. The only cats I really ever had as a kid ended up running away, because my mom never had them fixed, and they would roam, and who knows what became of them. I remember being heartbroken a few times as a kid when my cat just never showed up again though. 

It's good you are learning about nutrition now, before getting a cat. From experience, I have learned how important diet is. My vet says it is everything, the most important thing, just like with humans. I don't understand how people don't get that. Most people in my family that I try to tell about feeding their cats and dogs bad food, they just look at me like I'm from Mars, they don't want to hear it. Then the cat ones call me, crying and sad, when their kitty has crystals and is completely blocked and can't pee, and want to know what to do then. I did not know how important diet was and when my cat Taffy was 1, he had some urinary issues, blockage, crystals, uti, and I learned that the all dry diet I was feeding him, even though it was high quality kibble, was causing him the problems he was having. We switched him to wet food, and luckily, he never suffered any more UTI's after that. One of my vets believes that raw food is best for cats, and if you can't do that, or don't want to, wet food is the next best thing. I'm so thankful to have a vet that thinks like he does, most just want to sell you their cruddy food that they make huge profits on and is full of corn and fillers, and little or no meat in it. I do not feed mine raw, I have thought about it, but I do feed mine an all wet diet. They get a small amount of kibble as a treat, just a few pieces, once a day. I use the kibble as a treat rather than buying the cat treats that are usually full of bad stuff. 

Well, welcome to the board, and can't wait to see what kitty you end up with


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## Jenny bf (Jul 13, 2013)

Welcome to CF. Your bunny is adorable and you can see you care a lot for him. It's great you want to learn before getting additional family members


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## Azerane (Feb 26, 2015)

Thanks for all the welcomes 

It is tough because not a lot of people see rabbits as a house pet, they're generally something you keep in a hutch out in the garden or similar, and they do get forgotten, even with the best intentions. Combine that with the fact that most foods they sell in pet stores are bad for rabbits (I'm seeing a theme here), it makes it tough to know that you're actually doing the right thing when the place people most often buy from is giving you bad advice.

As a kid we were lucky that all our cats were spayed/neutered, but they didn't really see a vet unless there was something seriously wrong, which is better than nothing, but wasn't adequate for me at times.

I'm not sure I'll want to go to a completely raw food diet, but at least partial, maybe feeding it 3 times a week or something. There's so much to learn!

Thanks again


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## spirite (Jul 31, 2012)

Hi Azerane,

Your bunny is so cute!! He almost looks like a cat in the pic where he's sprawled out on the floor. 

Who is that in your adorable avatar pic ? So cute!


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## Azerane (Feb 26, 2015)

Thanks so much 

The cat in my avatar is a mystery cat  From a photographer called Rachael Hale, she does a lot of dog/cat images on mugs/magnet/stationary etc. I had a key chain with the image on it years ago and have often used it as my avatar ever since. Though I suppose I could change it to an image of my childhood cat too.


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## TabbCatt (Mar 26, 2014)

LOL. I love your avatar!
My two kitties would never tolerate wearing a beanie hat for even a second, lol.
Welcome to the CF, Azerane!  I also love Bandit's sleeping pose! Never knew bunnies sleep like that!


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## Azerane (Feb 26, 2015)

Thanks  It would be a rare cat indeed that tolerates hat-wearing.

It's not the common sleeping position, such as when they're just lounging around, but it's more of a super-contented position. It's called the dead bunny flop because not only do they tend to just throw themselves over (as opposed to gently resting down). But often they become almost tranced in it and can appear dead on first glance. Some even end up laying with their feet sticking in the air, though Bandit's a side flopper


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## TabbCatt (Mar 26, 2014)

Lol! I'd love to see Bandit's dead flop if you ever capture it on video!!

G does this flop on his side and belly up when he wants attention from me. I just wish he wouldn't do it when I'm walking right behind him when he stops abruptly and does it. I fear one day I'm gonna step on him and he (& I both) will never recover! :shock:


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## spirite (Jul 31, 2012)

Aha. I was wondering because you said you don't currently have any cats. I love that picture! Is Rachel Hale the one who does the cats in hats calendars? 

LOL - bunnies sleeping with their feet in the air! Kitties do that do. It's so funny-looking, but in an "awwww!" kind of way.


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## Azerane (Feb 26, 2015)

I don't think I've managed to catch a flop on video yet, though not from lack of trying 

I'm not sure if Rachael Hale is the one who does those calenders or not, she might be.

Also, did my thread get moved? I feel like I posted it in the Intro forum, and now it's here. It's alright if so, it just left me a little confused until I found it again


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## marie73 (Jul 12, 2006)

you can post about other subjects in the proper forums


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