Awwwww (it needs a name)

Ahh, it looks like a Graham to me or maybe Steve.

We're waiting to see its personality before naming him/her (as yet unsure of the sex but most gingers are male?). So far its pee'd on the carpet, taken a chunk out my hand, slept and eaten so it might be better that we wait a bit first

edit: hmmmm but i suppose all cats do that, right?

Ours never pee'd on the carpet, her mum taught her to use the tray. But you've got curtain climbing, sofa scratching, carpet pulling, ornament smashing and thingamy losing to look forward to. I thought I'd lost my RSA SecurID recently until I found the cat had batted it under one of the sofas.

But seriously, Graham is a great name for a cat.

For the gender, have a look at the hind end. Slit-shaped == female; both ports round == male.

Cheers

Looks identical to the one we got rid of - because she fought too much with our established 17 year old cat. Absolutely identical.




Don't worry - got rid of means gave to a family we know whos old cat finally passed away...living happily 1/2 a mile away

My two kittens favorite past time at the moment is screen climbing Also kitten proof the house, any small crack left open they will find their way into it and probably get stuck. I had to block under the stove with a towel. My two are sisters named Maggie and Misty.

Umm, how about Ginger

My first cat was called Ginger, we got him when I was only a couple of months old, he died the day I finished school, he was a great friend.

Cheers

Cris.

Name the baby after you know the sex, it can save embarrassment for the kitten later on. (I had a female cat named Herm once) Or find a uni-sex name. You may just start calling it a nickname that will stick.

got rid of - because she fought too much with our established 17 year old cat

Advice needed here...

At the end of July I will be integrating two new cats into my already-two-cat household, along with the two new cats' owner.

I anticipate considerably less difficulty integrating the owner than I do the additional cats.

Can anybody offer advice on how best to do this, with minimal bloodshed and caterwauling?

The two existing cats are a male and a female, as are the two new cats. Both male cats are at least 10 years old, the female cats somewhat younger. I am afraid that both male cats are territorial by nature.

Current plans are to keep them separated -- two cats upstairs, two cats downstairs, and I have cut an 18" square hole in the door to the basement, said hole covered with a screen whose mesh is about 3/4" square.

We'll alternate the upstairs and downstairs cats every couple of days until the cats come to some sort of accommodation with each other.

What else can we/should we do?

tanstaafl.

Hmmm, if it's male, "Ladmo" , if it is a female, "Ladmorella"!

Are the cats all fixed? Expect more trouble with the females, it's the queen cat who runs the house usually. Don't be surprised if one of them takes to not using the litterbox, that happens often. Try leaving the new cats in carriers in a room with the others to get them used to each other. I have more luck bringing in kittens than mixing older cats and once had to keep an adopted older female in a laundry room for 3 months till I found her another home because her and my established queen went after each other for the kill everytime they saw each other. Just give them time and have patience and hopefully they'll learn to get along. Make sure you pay them equal attention. I'll try and think of some other tips.

So Laura.... how do we stop him/her peeing on the carpet? Rub its nose in it and place it in the litter tray? The last kitten my girlfriend had was house trained from day one by its mother so I've no idea. Any other advice would be great too.

If it keeps using the carpet, the best thing would be to confine the kitten in a small room or a cage with the litter box. My kittens were born feral (meaning out in the wild) and had accidents for the first few days but then starting using the litter box. It's natural for them to want to cover their waste to hide from predators so that's why they take to litter. It could also be the litter you are using, some don't like litter that smells too much, try using clumping kind, and also make sure the litter box isn't too big that the kitten has trouble getting into it. Rubbing noses in it doesn't work for cats but you could place her in the box after she wakes up or after she eats or plays hard. Hopefully the kitten will get the idea.

Cefer

I had an orange tabby that had dark markings on his head that looked like horns and he was a real devil he would sneak under my blanket and pounce on my feet wrapping his paws/claws and biting at the same time. and he would also run around the house real fast until he was at full speed then run straight up the door jam and hang from the top of it with his rear legs dangling down. So I named him Lucipher gawd I miss that cat. always kept me on my toes

By the way, congratulations, you two.

If you're a pvp fan there's always "Scratch Fury, Destroyer of Worlds" . . .

How about Runty? that was what my evil ex-girlfriend called one of hers that looked a lot like it....

Seems he's named Leo now so we'll see how that goes.

LOL... my girlfriend's little sister (she's 5) went to school and announced to the teacher/class that she "was now an auntie". She was the asked "awww thats nice did your sister have a baby?" and she came out with "no, a kitten". Awww. She got some strange looks

So, you found out that it was a boy kitten. How's the litter box training coming along?

We started using 'standard' litter and it used it immediatley! The stuff we had before was advanced odourless etc and I don't think it knew what it was. We'll introduce the good stuff once he's used to his tray and surroundings. Awwww.... a kitten!

They are very cute and entertaining

One month on! Awwwwwwww

Awwwwww...

Those big eyes that seem to say "You look tasty!".

Ours is nearly a year old now. We hardly see her, she goes out every night, gets let in in the morning to have her breakfast then she either curls up in her basket for the day or goes out again. She then has her tea when we get back from work and then goes out again. She's got a hectic social life it seems.

My family learned over several years and cats NOT to let them out of the house.
*Poisoned.
*Hit by a car (survived to claw his way back to the porch).
*Shot.
*and the last succumbed to Feline Leukemia.
Sad stories for undeserving cats.

Cat tips:
Spey/neuter
innoculate
keep indoors
grow planters full of grass (and for fun, catnip)
work fine, last long time.

yea, it depends on the cat, and the area.. both of mine are outside all day. Letting them out keeps them fit and trim. They also sleep at night and don't pester us until morning when it's time for breakfast.

Keeping them up to date on shots, and making sure they're trained to come home when you call makes letting them out a lot safer.

I couldn't justify having cats if they had to be kept inside, it just doesn't feel right to me. If I lived somewhere that they couldn't go outside I wouldn't have cats.

She'd go fscking nuts if we didn't let her out. She already pulls the carpet up under the front door if she's in for too long. We don't live anywhere near a main road and she spends most of her time in woods at the back of the house.

I wish ours would go out from time to time, he has free access to the whole of Yorkshire but only goes out on sunny days, apart from the needs of nature!

We don't let ours roam, but we DO confine them to the yard. Rowan makes the occasional foray onto the roof of the house, but seems to never jump down on the far side of the fence.

Keeping them from climbing over the fence took a bit of effort, but now "no one escapes from Stalag-33".

Cheers

Sharks with frickin' laser beams on their heads.

My cat has been indoors for...I can't even remember how long. Probably about eight or nine years. We didn't have a choice. The last time she was out, she got in a fight with another cat and walked into the garage with her eye cut open and a lot of scratches. She had to go to the emergency room, and was pretty bad off, but she pulled through. So now she's strictly indoors. It's easy to see that she'd like to go outside, as she eyes the door whenever we go through it, but the house is pretty large, and she spends most of her time sleeping in a few select spots. She's mostly happy sleeping on our laps, so wherever there is a lap available, that is where she is. Particularly if it's mine. I swear that she will follow me anywhere in the house if she thinks I'm going to be sitting anytime soon.

We've had her for about 19 years, with no signs of slowing down, except for a little hair loss.

My nan has found another hanger-on who has now taken ownership of the garden/field areas, and p*ssed off the other cats (and rabbits):



PS. Sorry for the blurry pic, it was one of the first I took with my new 70-200 L lens. this and this (100% crop) is a better example!

G

I don't think you qualify until you're 65. My dad is 61 and so far all he's got is the sort of stuff you've mentioned like reduced entry fees to art galleries and his winter heating allowance, which is nice.

I agree strongly with you on this. None of my cats go out and never will. There are shots for Leukemia and Feline AIDS but they are not 100% effective. Having a cat fixed will help prevent millions that are put down every year. There are also many predators that will go after cats; dogs, coyotes, foxes and if they are kittens, hawks. Cats are small creatures and while they have claws for defense, they are no match for the many dangers out in the world. Mine have access to every window in the house and full run of the house and that is enough. Half of mine were born in the wild and it hasn't bothered them to stay indoors, they can get used to it. Out here in the country lots of people have barn cats and many of them end up dead on the side of the roads, a fate none of my cats will endure..

Winter heating allowance? In this house you sit in your underpants all winter whilst mrs.Boxer stokes the fire with the commitment of the fireman of the Flying Scotsman, that's probably why the cat doesn't go out!

I have always had cats, and they always go out - my current (very old) cat goes out at bedtime, and comes back in for breakfast. Then he sleeps all day. Perfectly nocturnal.

But then I have always lived in places with fields and trees all around, so the risk from cars etc is low (although I did have one fatality from being run over - all the rest died of old age)