Cat Lovers

Comment by Barbara Pearl on July 28, 2011 at 10:01am

EVERYTHING CATS-This is a place to share and discuss how to take the best care of our feline friends. I rescue and currently share my home with 6 cats ranging in ages up to seniors. If you can foster or adopt, please let me know.

Comment by cecilydo60 on October 11, 2011 at 4:20pm

Hi, cat people.

I am owned by 5 cats: Twerp (23 pounds, 43 inches long, big boy, possibly schizophrenic), Mickey-ManyToes (responsible, thoughtful, quiet), Merlin Too (intellectually challenged), Betty White (our diva), and Frank-not-so-old-blue-eyes.  With the exception of Mickey, they are all strays that my DH has rescued and brought home.  Mickey and Betty came to us already declawed; we had Merlin declawed as a kitten because he was soooo destructive and because he kept getting his claws caught in stuff.  Betty (the only girl) is our senior kitty who showed up at our house a year ago; she is probably 10 or so.

     None of our cats are vegan, since my veganism is based on food preference rather than animal rights.  Frank, however, is 90% vegetarian when given the opportunity -- he loves tomatoes, olives, onions, peppers, cucumbers, tofu (he doesn't get much because it gives him gas), beans, peas, etc.

   I could go on for hours about my kitties.

 

Comment by Barbara Pearl on October 11, 2011 at 4:33pm

Welcome Cecilydo60: It certainly shows how much you love your cats! Thanks for taking such good care of them. Did you know it is now illegal in some states to declaw cats and consider excessive cruelty? It is now banned, despite what your vet tells you. There are all kinds of alternatives now to cats that scratch "stuff." I had the same issue with my cats (6 of them)  and put double stick tape on the ends of chairs and sofas and any other place they were destined to destroy. It stops them cold in their tracks (pun intended). Please google declawing cats and learn more about how harmful and cruel it is to our feline friends. Thanks again for caring so much. Meow

Comment by cecilydo60 on October 12, 2011 at 7:09am

Hi, Barbara Pearl,

I'm not a big fan of kitty-declawing.  Merlin was a unique case, however.  He really is mentally challenged, and several times we found him trapped by his claws in unsafe places (the rug, under the bed, in the closet) -- he had obviously gotten caught early in the morning and was still there when we got home from work.   In any case, his declawing (front only) seemed like a stressless procedure that was done via laser removal of the nail-bed and not the whole toe.  Betty was obviously declawed in a much more aggressive way, and her toes are pretty deformed.  I like the double-sided tape suggestion; I have a couple of places where that just might work. 

Comment by mongi fantar on December 2, 2011 at 3:45pm

with all tolerance, honestly I could at the most let pass " neutering " , but never " declawing " . I would have spared my mother the news about declawing cats today...Again, it´s not my intention to thrust my opinion on whoever, but I doubt that we´re entitled to rob them of their nature...Bring a cat home to file on them and remodel ??? !!! It´s maybe that, what makes them get sick, who knows ?! They need all that is part of them, it´s theirs...

and we think, they´re sick and take them to the vet when suddenly they become less active and in many cases even look (like) apathetic...they tell us everything, but declawing them I guess scours a scar in their soul and they turn quite to slowly get sick without having a chance to pour out their heart to us...Give it a think please... animals and mankind are only fun when we leave them their nature...we can teach pets to play and they love it, which is never mistreating animals unlike some see, cause logically they wouldn´t play along with (in a circus for instance) if they didn´t want to, would they ?! but you see, they retire and sit all day by the wall because of the food we give them and because we declaw them... My cats would eat what I would eat and they were playing all day...

just an opinion 

and thanks for a topic that gives stuff and lift to write

Comment by mongi fantar on December 2, 2011 at 3:56pm

part of post right below:

I forgot to add -well even though not quite important-, but Ihere´s enough stuff to cratch on I guess...to buy and homemade...have a great day everyone.

Comment by Carolyn McEvoy on December 2, 2011 at 4:48pm

Hi all, Carolyn here.  I'm in North Texas (Dallas area, specifically); just thought I'd join in - always nice to belong to a group of like-minded people.  I have one kitty, her name is Hab (named after the beloved nickname of the Montreal Canadiens pro hockey team); unfortunately, her name was given to her by my ex-husband (gag).  She's only my second kitty, my first, "Baby" lived for 21 very robust years.  She saw me through some serious ups and downs - and I always keep a picture of her on my desk at work.  I'm a journalist for the ABC affiliate in Dallas (WFAA-TV).  Send me an email - let's get to be friends.  :-)

Comment by pw smith on January 5, 2012 at 4:30pm

Hi all - just joined and have been vegan for a while, cat lover all my life. I need to say something and I hope no one will take offense, but we're on this site that seems to be about being healthy and thriving... so here goes. Cats are obligate carnivores. Their digestive system is designed exclusively for meat. Yes, they'll survive for a while if you give them vegan food, but they won't thrive. Imagine how you'd feel if you had to do the "supersize me" diet for a month... or longer. Sickening, right? Not giving a carnivore loved-one their meat is like torturing them. If you can't stomach it, then it's probably not the right pet for you-- as much as you love them. I do mostly raw for my cats, all from sustainably and humanely raised sources. Yes, it's tough. But seeing them in excellent health with huge energy and beautiful coats helps. Just because I'm vegan doesn't mean I expect my carnivorous cats to be vegan. Again, I hope I haven't offended anyone, but please -- give it some thought. If you do have cats on any dry food, please make sure there's zero grain in it. The difference in their health will be like night and day. Ideally, they'll be on wet food only to prevent UTI problems. Wet food in grain free formulas has made a massive difference in my cats' health; I'm sorry I ever gave them anything with grain in it (and that includes prescription diets from Hill's etc.). Peace...

Comment by Ryan Michael Dreier on April 12, 2012 at 8:10am

I have one cat, Marty possibly 8 years old? He is a stray that wandered into my life and has acclimated quite well to indoor living except for the fact that he needs to go outside to use the "bathroom" (he refuses to be litter trained and will "hold it" until he gets outside). He's been with me for around 5 years or so. I suspect he lived out of garbage cans because he loves to eat bread and peanut butter, Whole Wheat Pasta etc. I keep this to a bare minimum and sometimes have to send him out when I eat! I feed him regular store bought cat food because I feel that I made the Vegetarian choice for myself and have no right to impose it on him.

Comment