Herd your cats here

[mamselle]

Kitty updates?

How's Maestro doing?

My students cats have stopped crowding into the background and looking out the window to distract me.

She says it's because her 5-year-old has taken to holding them hostage in his bedroom so he can play with them during her lesson.

I wonder...

;--}

M.

[the_geneticist]

We had a wonderful kitty when I was little who had no teeth for the last several years of her life, and did just fine.  We gave her wet food arranged in a "mountain" on the plate so she could lick it up easily.

Buddycat was close to being the "one toothed wonder" and still happily ate kibble and wet food.  Chewing is totally optional.

[MarathonRunner]

I am currently owned by four cats. We never intended to have four, but, well, life happened. The eldest is on heart medication due to hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, the next oldest has outlived his prognosis by 4 years (in Feb 2016 he was given 1-3 months to live). The two youngest are pretty much in good health (bar food/environmental allergies).

[Cheerful]

Anyone know how smallcleanrat is doing?  She used to post in this thread so thought I'd ask here.

She had a lot going on.  Hope she is doing well.  Wishing her the very best.

[AmLitHist]

Jake, our outside visiting cat, has disappeared since about 10 days ago.  I've cone some sneaky drives through the neighborhood and haven't seen anything hit by a car, which I'd think would be unlikely anyway, since he could run faster than any cat I've ever seen. 

With his personality, I'm convinced he took up with a  family who let him into the house, and he's found an inside home.  Good for him, both in the recent heat and with the coming winter.  (We couldn't--meaning, I wouldn't--let him in the house, both because I don't want my furniture shredded and also because the two girls would NOT have it.  They're 13 and deserve to not have their lives turned upside down by a kitten they clearly don't want in here.)

The girls are fat and sassy, and they lounge around in their late-summer way, lying in the sun while enjoying the AC. Come cooler weather, and they'll perk up and become frisky, if this year follows their usual pattern.

[mamselle]

Lately I've noticed a curious behavior from Maestro. It's a variation on a behavior he's had since we first got him.

From day 1, Maestro enjoyed soft, fuzzy blankets. He would "nurse" from the blanket for about 5 minutes at a time: biscuit paws, suckling noises, fervent purring. I read this is fairly common behavior for kittens, especially when separated from mother too soon.

As he's matured, he's been nursing on blankets less often, and I've noticed a new quirk: as soon as SO enters the room, Maestro begins nursing and purring furiously. He will stop as soon as SO exits; we've tested this several times. Maestro does not do this with me. He and I can be lounging together on the bed peacefully, Maestro leaning against my side. Then SO pops in for a chat, Maestro leaps to his feet and attacks the blanket, making suckling noises and forcefully kneading the cloth.

Now I've read some opinions that cats nurse on objects as a form of comfort during stress. I've read others that say cats nurse as a form of comfort. Period. Cats do it because it feels nice, not necessarily because they are stressed.

Is Maestro just excited to see SO? He will often jump in SO's lap or follow him out of the room, so I'd like to think he is not seeing SO as a source of stress.

What does the forum think?

I've heard similarly divided reasons for purring. 1) Cats purr as an expression of pleasure and contentment. 2) Cats purr when experiencing stress or pain as a form of self-soothing. Maestro purrs loudly when I pick up his bowl to fill it and sometimes when he is eating. I assume these are purrs of pleasure. He will also purr sometimes if I simply move to be physically closer to him. No petting, just proximity, and he rumbles away like a motorcycle engine. I want to believe this just means he is happy to be hanging out with me.

How can I make sure he is not purring because he is stressed about me invading his space?

Agreed...I was also thinking of smallcleanrat a couple of days ago.

Her post on this thread, 3 weeks ago, was her most recent post overall.

I hope all is going as well as possible.

M.

[apl68]

My brother recently lost his cat of 12 years.  He was sad to lose the old fellow.  They still have a younger cat who is doing fine. 

[sprout]

My brother recently lost his cat of 12 years.  He was sad to lose the old fellow.  They still have a younger cat who is doing fine.

12 is not nearly long enough. 

[Larimar]

Sorry to hear it. I agree that 12 years is not enough.

[apl68]

This morning's feline encounter:

In the broad alley
A black cat crossing my path
Just what I needed!

[mamselle]

They're good luck, you know....

;--》

M.

[FishProf]

Orestes has grown so much when he stretches out on the floor, it looks like he has a 2nd cat midsection grafted in.  He's like an accordion.  Or a dining table with a leaf that drops into place when he goes long-cat.

[apl68]

Sorry to hear it. I agree that 12 years is not enough.

In this case it was longer than they had expected.  The cat had had a chronic condition that could easily have cut his life much shorter.

[apl68]

They're good luck, you know....

;--》

M.

Their reputation notwithstanding, I actually love black cats (As much as I can love a creature I'm allergic to and can't have around the house).  Our family had several over the years.  For a time Mom and Dad had both a black lab and a black cat.  Had they lived in old Salem Village they might have been in trouble with pets like that!

[San Joaquin]

I'm ready for FB and such to cease the asinine political bickering and get back to posting cute cat videos.