Herd your cats here

[mythbuster]

PlumpCat loved Christmas trees. She would live underneath ours every year. In stressful years, we joked that we only went and got one because she would be disappointed otherwise.

So the plan is that Mr. Buster and I will be headed to the local SPCA tomorrow afternoon to see who we fall in love with. I've been checking their photo gallery, but they change really frequently (yea!). So I think I'd rather just be surprised by who I find. Or rather, who finds us. A co-worker of Mr. Buster's is working to convince him that we need a pair, and this a pair would be less stressful for MythicPuppy to adapt to.

I made a preemptive trip to Pet Smart this morning and so have a small bag of World's Best litter and some food. We have lots of cat beds etc (fully laundered) from our dearly departed previous kitties. I will keep you all posted.

[onehappyunicorn]

Congrats on getting a new kitty! We got our last cat from the local humane society, the moment my wife picked him up and he just melted into her we knew that was the one.

[FishProf]

Orestes has decided that only the Finest Tree-Stand Water will satisfy his feline palate.  Destroying the presents in his way is a bonus, apparently.

[Puget]

PlumpCat loved Christmas trees. She would live underneath ours every year. In stressful years, we joked that we only went and got one because she would be disappointed otherwise.

So the plan is that Mr. Buster and I will be headed to the local SPCA tomorrow afternoon to see who we fall in love with. I've been checking their photo gallery, but they change really frequently (yea!). So I think I'd rather just be surprised by who I find. Or rather, who finds us. A co-worker of Mr. Buster's is working to convince him that we need a pair, and this a pair would be less stressful for MythicPuppy to adapt to.

I made a preemptive trip to Pet Smart this morning and so have a small bag of World's Best litter and some food. We have lots of cat beds etc (fully laundered) from our dearly departed previous kitties. I will keep you all posted.

Congrats on your pending new cat(s)! I must say, if you can get a bonded pair I'd encourage it.From what I've heard, male-female or male-male sibling pairs tend to work out the best, whereas two females can get territorial.

 I'd only ever had one cat before, but because places around here will only adopt kittens in pairs for the most part, I came around to the idea a bit reluctantly and got my sibs together, and it has turned out great! They are good company and playmates for each other-- Panther Boy is still kind of high maintenance, but I can only imagine how much more demanding he would be without Little Calico to interact with. Plus they are just so darn cute when they snuggle and groom each other.

[the_geneticist]

Orestes has decided that only the Finest Tree-Stand Water will satisfy his feline palate.  Destroying the presents in his way is a bonus, apparently.

Ah yes, the festive holiday water dish with the rather over-the-top tree garnish was one of Buddycat's joys in life.

Lady Jane has ensured that all breakable, ribbon-festooned or hung-on-a-string ornaments are now high up on the tree.  She says that they are cat toys and it is entrapment to scold her for playing with them!

I also support the getting kittens in pairs (or more!).

[OneMoreYear]

We subscribed to the "get kittens in pairs" advice because at the time we had FluffyGirl, a senior lazy calico.  When they were itty bitty two-pound kittens, they'd play with each other. Unfortunately, as an adult cat, Ricochet is not quite domesticated and spends a good portion of her time on her "safe spots." So, Ninja adopted SO as her playmate and follows him around the house.

[evil_physics_witchcraft]

Youngest evil cat was actually playing a game on my phone. She's too darn smart.

[citrine]

I hope the right cats find you, mythbuster! Today is my shelter volunteer day, and I know there will be a whole different group of cats there this week than there was last week. Cats go fast this time of year, especially kittens. Last week we had four kittens at noon and no kittens at two, which is when I left.

Also putting in an endorsement for chipping. My shelter reunited a cat with his people who had been missing for four years after he got out accidentally! It is briefly unpleasant for the cat (just like getting a shot) but I've held plenty of cats for the procedure and they were all fine afterwards, albeit disgruntled. If you get a collar, make sure it's a breakaway collar to avoid accidental injury to your cat if the collar were to get caught on something. You will also want to monitor collar fit and replace or adjust it if your cat changes size. To check and see if a collar is fitting properly, you should be able to slip one or two fingers under the collar with relative ease while the cat has it on. (I have seen the extreme cases of what happens if people leave a too-tight collar on for a long time, and it's...just take my word for it, okay?)

[Harlow2]

Do cats like only real trees?  Or is Ulysses unusual in ignoring the artificial tree we put up?  Previous cats loved to climb the real cut trees we had and then shelter quietly under the branches.

[Harlow2]

Excuse the double post.  Just back from Ulysses’ yearly checkup.  Waited in parking lot while shots given and stethoscope applied.  Could hear Ulysses wailing from my car.  “Your cat certainly let us know how she felt about this,” the vet said.  Yes, this is one talkative cat unafraid to express her needs.  And yes, Ulysses is female but was named because she tried 10 different houses in the neighborhood Bedford she found a home. In this case houses stood in for years.

[evil_physics_witchcraft]

Excuse the double post.  Just back from Ulysses’ yearly checkup.  Waited in parking lot while shots given and stethoscope applied.  Could hear Ulysses wailing from my car.  “Your cat certainly let us know how she felt about this,” the vet said.  Yes, this is one talkative cat unafraid to express her needs.  And yes, Ulysses is female but was named because she tried 10 different houses in the neighborhood Bedford she found a home. In this case houses stood in for years.

Poor kitty. Elder evil cat and Eldest evil cat are also very vocal (in terms of wailing/yodeling, etc.).

[the_geneticist]

Do cats like only real trees?  Or is Ulysses unusual in ignoring the artificial tree we put up?  Previous cats loved to climb the real cut trees we had and then shelter quietly under the branches.

Buddycat LOVED the fake tree.  He would remove just one ornament every day when I was at work and then sit by it to say "See how good I was?  I only caught one of the sparkly toys".  And he chewed the needles off the lower branches.

[wareagle]

Catso has never been into Christmas trees or ornaments (spider plants are another story).  Batting an ornament off the tree is too much like work for him.  Napping is a much better option.

[mythbuster]

We are back with success! It was a competitive process.
     First you has to wait outside to be allowed in (good COVID Protocol). Then once you were let in (masks on!) you could browse either cats or dogs and put your name on a list for an adoption assistant when you wanted to meet someone. Two issues we ran into. First, at least a third of the cats (and almost all the kittens) had signs that they were already adopted and just awaiting pickup. Then many of the others were at the vet down the hall for surgery or a check up. So we surveyed the currently available and did not find many that were to our liking, or we didn't move fast enough and they were scooped up in time it took to survey a row! Like I said competitive, and I'm not about to strong arm a five year old out of the way for a kitten.
       But we lingered, and then the afternoon "delivery" came back from the vet. I quickly spied a pair that were slightly larger kittens and yet unclaimed. So we jumped in line to meet them. Not fast enough for one, but we started with the girl- a poly-dactyl pewter grey girl who really wanted to explore. She was a clear winner. So we immediately claimed her and then asked again about the cage mate. We were #2 in line to meet him and the #1 appointment did not show! So we got to meet the most mellow and snugly golden dilute tabby boy. So we happily claimed him as well.
   We pick them up on Saturday (they get "fixed" tomorrow). So we have time to set up a safe zone away from the dog and ponder names. Any suggestions?
     

[evil_physics_witchcraft]

We are back with success! It was a competitive process.
     First you has to wait outside to be allowed in (good COVID Protocol). Then once you were let in (masks on!) you could browse either cats or dogs and put your name on a list for an adoption assistant when you wanted to meet someone. Two issues we ran into. First, at least a third of the cats (and almost all the kittens) had signs that they were already adopted and just awaiting pickup. Then many of the others were at the vet down the hall for surgery or a check up. So we surveyed the currently available and did not find many that were to our liking, or we didn't move fast enough and they were scooped up in time it took to survey a row! Like I said competitive, and I'm not about to strong arm a five year old out of the way for a kitten.
       But we lingered, and then the afternoon "delivery" came back from the vet. I quickly spied a pair that were slightly larger kittens and yet unclaimed. So we jumped in line to meet them. Not fast enough for one, but we started with the girl- a poly-dactyl pewter grey girl who really wanted to explore. She was a clear winner. So we immediately claimed her and then asked again about the cage mate. We were #2 in line to meet him and the #1 appointment did not show! So we got to meet the most mellow and snugly golden dilute tabby boy. So we happily claimed him as well.
   We pick them up on Saturday (they get "fixed" tomorrow). So we have time to set up a safe zone away from the dog and ponder names. Any suggestions?
   

Congrats!

How about Peter (Pan) and Wendy?