Herd your cats here

[smallcleanrat]

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Maestro sounds like a wonderful companion. I'm impressed with your training!

Training has been so much fun. I've been impressed with how quickly the Maestro makes the connection between doing the action and getting the treat.

Every time we start training on a new trick, he wriggles this way and that, trying to find the magic combination of moves to get his treat. Learning "Wait" was initially confusing for him. He'd try one movement after another, eventually stopping for a breather. When he got his treat for just sitting there, he seemed so puzzled.

One things that slows things down a bit is that he feels the need to groom after every treat. So I have to wait for him to finish before we can go again. Sometimes I call his name to get his attention, but he just gives me a quick glance and then goes back to grooming. No further training until his dapperness has been restored...

His Play Dead trick is hilariously deliberate. I pretend to shoot him, he looks around for the best place to die, meanders to the right spot and proceeds to languidly lower himself to the ground. No flopping for this cat.

[OneMoreYear]

Maestro sounds like quite the character! And such a smart kitty!

We've not attempted to teach Ricochet any tricks, and I'm not sure how we'd reward her for doing any of them. She's the least food-motivated cat I've ever met, as she seems frequently convinced that treats are poisonous. 

She has, however, taught us a game that she created--we have named it follow-follow.   She runs past you, then looks back to indicate you are to follow her (fast-walking pace preferred). Then she flops down and wants scritches for a few seconds.  Then she jumps up again and runs somewhere else, often jumping on top of a bookshelf or cabinet, so we have to stand on a stool to reach her. The game continues until she runs into the basement.

[geoteo]

I haven't been here for awhile, and haven't caught up on the posts yet, but I have a question.  Beloved and I now have a cat, Nebula, who delivered a litter in our local no-kill shelter after living as a stray.  She is about a year old, a beautiful longish-hair dilute tortie. very affectionate.  She loves canned food, but she doesn't like her indoor kibble at all.  She's been forcing herself to eat a bit of it every day, but it doesn't meet her remarkably high standards.  What kibble are others feeding?   

[Larimar]

The Larimar cats get Purina indoor cat kibble mixed with Meow Mix Hairball Control kibble.

[OneMoreYear]

The only food Ricochet agrees to eat is Purina sensitive systems. But as she thinks canned food and treats are poison and supplements her diet with live bugs, you might not want to put too much stock in her recommendations.

Congrats on the newest member of the household, geoteo.

[Puget]

I haven't been here for awhile, and haven't caught up on the posts yet, but I have a question.  Beloved and I now have a cat, Nebula, who delivered a litter in our local no-kill shelter after living as a stray.  She is about a year old, a beautiful longish-hair dilute tortie. very affectionate.  She loves canned food, but she doesn't like her indoor kibble at all.  She's been forcing herself to eat a bit of it every day, but it doesn't meet her remarkably high standards.  What kibble are others feeding?   

Congrats on your new addition! Cats seem to be very idiosyncratic in their food tastes. One of mine loves wet food and doesn't care much for kibble, whereas the other loves kibble (they are getting Purina ONE indoor) and thinks wet food is fine but nothing to get excited about. You may just have a wet food cat. That said, maybe experiment with poultry vs. fish flavors (cats seem to have a strong preference for one vs the other often). You can also try putting the wet food on top of the dry food-- she may go for it if it has wet food "sauce" on it. Final thought, though hopefully the shelter vet checked, is to make sure she doesn't have any tooth/mouth issues that make it painful for her to eat the dry food.

[geoteo]

Many thanks for the answers!  We are trying original flavor Meow Mix right now, and it seems to be playing to rave reviews.  We'll see what she thinks of it tomorrow.

She sees the vet this week to be spayed and shot--I'll suggest they look inside her mouth while she's there.

[the_geneticist]

Cats are nothing if not particular about food.

We buy Friskies and Meow Mix kibble.  They also get a spoonful of Friskies wet food each at breakfast and dinner.

Sir Puck aka "Sir Chomps-A-Lot" approves of food in all it's forms and will happily eat any kind, any flavor, any texture. 
Lady Jane is convinced she doesn't need food and would prefer to be in the gardens all day.  She will eat the same kibble we put in the kitchen only when it's in the living room and only fish-flavored pate-style wet food.  She also eats bugs.
Izzy Kitten takes after Sir Puck, but doesn't care for "fancy" pate and only wants Friskies.  She will eat dried up food (or things that might possibly be food) off the floor and/or carpet.  Her nicknames are "Izzy! What did you just eat?!" and "Izzy!  Don't eat the rug!"

[FishProf]

As you all know, Orestes will eat anything that isn't nailed down.  And I wouldn't put pulling up nails to eat beyond him either.

As for food, he and the sisters (they are all now, collectively, the Thundercats) get a can of wet food in the morning.

For Kibble, I just switched to mixing meow mix with Blue Buffalo.  I'll report on its popularity in time.

[smallcleanrat]

About a month ago, Maestro was shedding teeth. The first one we found was at the bottom of his food dish, smack in the center as if it were an offering. I picked it up and put it on my desk to keep until I could figure out what to do with it. It wasn't long before Maestro jumped onto my desk, spotted the tooth, licked it up, and ate it. Then he sauntered away, calm as you please, heedless of my protests. "Maestro, nooooooo!!!!"

Most of the other teeth have never been found (is he eating them? is this something cats do when teething, or is this a quirk?). But I did manage to snag a few more (one dropped out of his mouth mid-meow!).

Now I'd like to find out some way to save them, like a little case or whatever people do to put objects into scrapbooks. Has anyone done this before? I have no idea how to preserve teeth as souvenirs.

[the_geneticist]

Awww!  He got his adult teeth in!  I never found a single milk tooth from Puck or Jane or Izzy.  I think they must eat them or they are so tiny they just get vacuumed up.

I save tiny keepsakes in tiny glass bottles on a shelf.  You can get tiny bags or envelopes to put things in for a scrapbook.  I'm sure your local craft store will have entirely too many options!

[mamselle]

Sounds like a sweet idea! Some crafters make little decorated glass pill bottles for such things.

You can often find them online, with things like tiny shells or decorative beaded tops or sides added to the glass.

Some are listed as "potion" bottles, or "stash jars," also:

   https://www.buyhappyglass.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/spiral-glass-pill-bottle-stash-jar-519-9-e1557333225715.jpg

These little "pet hair keepsake" jars, with a tiny, named charm on the neck, could also work:

   https://www.google.com/search?q=tiny+decorated+glass+pill+bottles+keepsake+jars&client=firefox-b-1&sxsrf=ALeKk038pgHWPYJHQbY7UHV77VANATPXUw:1602792909610&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjlgJrwtLfsAhWpl-AKHU9-CkwQ_AUoAXoECAQQAw&biw=1408&bih=688#imgrc=bwObMt27NRYdnM&imgdii=Fdc7E68hsDUw0M

Or you could get little plain plastic ones with colorful caps (useful for other small stuff you want to keep, as well)

   https://i.pinimg.com/236x/2b/30/ef/2b30eff77edb33c100385232f2ee70fe--screw-caps-pill-bottles.jpg
   
And...scritches to Maestro from me!

M.

[evil_physics_witchcraft]

Smallcleanrat:

I haven't seen any baby kitty teeth- maybe my cats ate them too?

In other news, the two senior cats went to the vet today for preventatives and checkups. Youngest evil cat is convinced that they have been replaced by evil body snatchers and has been hissing and attacking when she can.

[smallcleanrat]

Thanks, the_geneticist and mamselle. All those options sound like they would work nicely. I’m not very crafty, but I want to put together some kind of display or scrapbook and call it something like Maestro’s Memoirs. It would tell the story of his journey from sad little fuzzball in a cardboard box to pampered prince of our household.

It might make a good gift for SO’s mother. She loves cats and has lamented being out of state and not being able to watch her “grandkitty” grow up.

mamselle, Maestro happily receives your skritches and sends you back a purr and a milk mustachioed smile.

Also, poor youngest evil cat! I often wish I had some cat-to-English translation device. I want to know what’s going on in those little kitty brains. Do you think she will be able to make peace with the senior cat impostors soon?

[evil_physics_witchcraft]

Thanks, the_geneticist and mamselle. All those options sound like they would work nicely. I’m not very crafty, but I want to put together some kind of display or scrapbook and call it something like Maestro’s Memoirs. It would tell the story of his journey from sad little fuzzball in a cardboard box to pampered prince of our household.

It might make a good gift for SO’s mother. She loves cats and has lamented being out of state and not being able to watch her “grandkitty” grow up.

Also, poor youngest evil cat! I often wish I had some cat-to-English translation device. I want to know what’s going on in those little kitty brains. Do you think she will be able to make peace with the senior cat impostors soon?

A scrapbook sounds like a neat idea. You could put a little tuft of his fur in it and maybe another baby tooth if you can get it in time.

Yep. Youngest evil cat is confused. I think it's probably the 'vet smell' on them. They don't 'look' different, but I bet they sure smell different.