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How Old Is Your Cat?


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#1 glad2Bme

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Posted 10 July 2009 - 06:42 AM

Our cat found us on the night my husband proposed to me......she was so sweet and didn't look like she had a home : she had no collar, was a little thin, and a little dirty. She was on a hillside next to our old house, and my husband called her. I really didn't think she'd come, but she came running down and slowly approached us. We petted her for a while and went on our way.

The next day, she was there again. What a beautiful little all black kitty.....since she wasn't very big, we thought that she was still a kitten; she has not grown more to this day. We soon discovered that she had 3 all black male kittens of her own under our house. I took them all to the vet for eye infections. They got their shots and I was able to find homes for all of them. It has been 15 years since this took place.

Yep, no one would know our cat is 16 or more years old. She is totally healthy, has very few grey hairs, hears great and still can hold her own in every way. I'm not sure how long cats usually live, although I've heard some going about 20 years. She has moved with us 6 times, once over the Pacific Ocean........I'm afraid this will be her last home.

We recently moved and when we brought her to the new place, she cried and cried and walked so carefully sniffing everything. She would crane her neck, look around, bring her head down low and sniff.....then meow again...a very low meow. It was definitely something like "where the h3ll am I? I want to go home!" Funny, I totally understood her sentiment and told her that it was ok, things would be fine, she'd get used to it......at times I would like to have said "lets crawl into a corner and panic together." But for her sake (and believe me mine) I tried to convince her that change was good; no, necessary; no, inevitable. Yeah, change happens and you can't stop it, just make the best of it. It is hard getting older.......

Our next move, whenever that is, will be tough without her. She's amazing and the sweetest cat I've ever had.....I hope she lives several years to come.

#2 bordercolliefan

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Posted 10 July 2009 - 10:29 AM

That is so sweet. It is amazing (and wonderful) how pets become part of our lives.

I hope you have many more years to enjoy her.

#3 Jolene

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Posted 10 July 2009 - 11:51 AM

What a sweet story! Thank you for sharing.

Our cats are:

Jez: Grey and White tabby who will be 14 next Wednesday.

I've had her since she was born. I have a picture of me holding her when she was just a day or two old. She is old and cranky and B I T C H Y, but I know I will be destroyed when she goes. When my dad passed away, I didn't really lose it until we came across pictures of him with Jez laying across his arm and his shoulders. She LOVED my dad. She has seen me through two marriages, two children and has moved with me countless times. She throws up all over everything and will actually nip you if you don't pet her exactly the right way, and I get so sick of her pushiness sometimes, but, again, I know I will be destroyed when she finally goes. Hopefully that won't be for a while now.

Bijhu: A Himalayan we inherited when Jesse's grandmother passed away. She will be 6 this year. She is dumb as a box of rocks and we call her Houdini because she is an escape artist. We will be returning home from ANYWHERE and there she is, sitting in the front yard and we don't have a clue how she got out, as all windows and doors are closed. We have only recently begun to figure this out. (See below.)

Jorge/George: A black and white tabby that was Jessica's holiday gift in 2004. Talk about mischievous! But also so loving. He's a big cat with long hair and a long swishy tail. He totally has attitude and talks back. He is also the mastermind. One of the ways Bijhu is getting out is because if we leave the slider unlocked (it doesn't have to be opened, just unlocked), Jorge/George will sit there and scratch and scratch and scratch at it until it is opened enough for him to get his paw in and pull it open more. Pain in my butt cat!

And then we have Jedidiah and Little Hex. We adopted them from The Vs when the kittens were just six weeks old. They are now a year and two months old. Jed is solid black, and Hex is almost totally black, but has a white mark on her belly and the underside of her neck. I am extremely grateful that they are now over a year old, because they have really calmed down. The first year was crazy with them tearing around the house and getting into EVERYTHING. I cannot have live plants in the house because of these two. Jed is a little lovebug who will snuggle up with you the minute you're sitting down, and Hexe is just as sweet as pie, but a little standoffish.

I keep thinking we're topped out on the cat thing, but when we were at PetSmart the other week, they had a cat there that could have been a miniature Jorge/George. And his name was Fred. Jessica and I begged and pleaded, but Jesse would not go for it. I think I'm going to work on him again this week. I mean, c'mon! Twin cats named Fred and George?!? How can I resist?

Thanks for starting this thread! I look forward to reading about other peoples' kitties! LOVE THEM!!!
THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING MY GIRL.
We could not be doing this without you.
Much love and gratitude.

#4 bordercolliefan

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Posted 10 July 2009 - 12:20 PM

Ok, cat lovers, who will give me a tutorial on taking care of our cat? (We're novice cat owners).

I had a little book, but when I got to the part about, "Clip your cat's claws once a week" I decided the author was smoking something and tossed the book away.

Let's just say our cat decides who touches him, when, and for what purpose. He's nice enough, as long as you deal with him on his terms. Truthfully, the idea of getting him in a cat carrier and taking him to the vet terrifies me.

What are the basics that I really need to do?

#5 MrsTuffPaws

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Posted 10 July 2009 - 12:40 PM

QUOTE (bordercolliefan @ Jul 10 2009, 01:20 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Ok, cat lovers, who will give me a tutorial on taking care of our cat? (We're novice cat owners).

I had a little book, but when I got to the part about, "Clip your cat's claws once a week" I decided the author was smoking something and tossed the book away.

Let's just say our cat decides who touches him, when, and for what purpose. He's nice enough, as long as you deal with him on his terms. Truthfully, the idea of getting him in a cat carrier and taking him to the vet terrifies me.

What are the basics that I really need to do?


Umm, do you want basic cat care? How to trim nail advice? Book recommendations?

Is your cat inside or outside? Is it spayed/neutered? UTD on all shots?

Feel free to PM me if you like. I'm not a vet, but I have 4 cats (grandfathered in by that new STUPID city rule that we can only have 3 max), and spend WAY too much time reading about cat care.

#6 MrsTuffPaws

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Posted 10 July 2009 - 01:08 PM

I may as well introduce my cats.

Nyanko-chan is a 12 year old faux Bengal. She was roughly 2 years old when we adopted her from Animal Outreach. They told us that she came from a retiring Bengal breeder that was moving out of state. At the time I believed them, now I'm pretty sure it was BS. In any case. She is our grumpy old lady cat, with gorgeous green eyes, and a spotted pelt. Her hobbies include biting my nose while I sleep, practicing opera at 3am, and hissing at the other cats. I love her to death.


Maneki-Neko is our 8 year old kitten. She may be pushing 12 pounds, but she will always be a kitten to me. She's a monkey-faced dilute calico. Her momma was a pregnant stray on death row that Folsom Felines took in. Maneki was twice the size (literally) of her 5 other littermates. She's a big bully, and a big baby. She loves to whine for attention, and play "Puma Attack". I love her to death.


The kittens, Ęsa and Kleng have been with us just over a month, again from Animal Outreach. Kleng almost died of starvation/infection the weekend we brought him home. We fixed him up, then his step-sister Ęsa succumbed to the same, but also healed. It's amazing what anti-biotics can do. The kittens enjoy growing like weeds, snuggling under the blankets between us, and annoying the older cats. I also love them to death.



#7 Thinkingoutloud

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Posted 10 July 2009 - 01:45 PM

Aw!!! Too cute! Thanks for sharing your story.
We got 2 kitties last summer, so they are just hitting their 1 year mark.

Neither is that much of a lover, but the orange kitty, Julius - with his 7 toes on each paw - is a terrific hunter! He brought home a huge gopher yesterday.

The black kitty, Mookie a.k.a. Gump Kitty, is so dumb she just figured out last week how to get back in to the house via the doggie door, but still can't comprehend how to get out. Duh. rolleyes.gif



#8 a little bean

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Posted 10 July 2009 - 01:48 PM

Oh!! They are precious!

#9 bordercolliefan

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Posted 10 July 2009 - 02:06 PM

QUOTE (MrsTuffPaws @ Jul 10 2009, 01:40 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Umm, do you want basic cat care? How to trim nail advice? Book recommendations?

Is your cat inside or outside? Is it spayed/neutered? UTD on all shots?


Ha, I can't imagine any system -- short of general anesthesia -- that would enable me to trim his claws. He is quick with a scratch (or little bite) even if you just rub his back or belly. He doesn't allow anyone to touch his paws.

I see him scratching his claws on various mats around the house, so I guess this is his solution. We bought him a nice scratching post, but of course he won't use that.

He is an indoor cat, neutered male. At least I figure he can't catch too many illnesses just being inside all the time.

He's not as bad as he seems. His good points are: He's 100% litter-box trained. His personality makes you laugh. He likes to be near humans (he will lie next to me)... he is just very picky about being touched.



#10 MrsTuffPaws

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Posted 10 July 2009 - 02:29 PM

QUOTE (bordercolliefan @ Jul 10 2009, 03:06 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Ha, I can't imagine any system -- short of general anesthesia -- that would enable me to trim his claws. He is quick with a scratch (or little bite) even if you just rub his back or belly. He doesn't allow anyone to touch his paws.

I see him scratching his claws on various mats around the house, so I guess this is his solution. We bought him a nice scratching post, but of course he won't use that.

He is an indoor cat, neutered male. At least I figure he can't catch too many illnesses just being inside all the time.

He's not as bad as he seems. His good points are: He's 100% litter-box trained. His personality makes you laugh. He likes to be near humans (he will lie next to me)... he is just very picky about being touched.

I don't trim my cats nails, and feel that I deserve every scratch I get. But, if you really want, there are alternatives. Have you thought about softpaws/softclaws? You can get your vet to apply them, if you are unable. They last roughly 2 months I think. Or, you could wrap your cat up in a towel like a burrito, and pull out a leg and do a few toes every couple of days. This works well for many people. They even make weird burrito bags, but a regular one works well enough. On youtube, there are several nicely made instructional videos about nail trimming, and how to know how much to snip, and what to do if you snip too much.

#11 sat

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Posted 10 July 2009 - 02:47 PM

QUOTE (bordercolliefan @ Jul 10 2009, 01:20 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Ok, cat lovers, who will give me a tutorial on taking care of our cat? (We're novice cat owners).

I had a little book, but when I got to the part about, "Clip your cat's claws once a week" I decided the author was smoking something and tossed the book away.

Let's just say our cat decides who touches him, when, and for what purpose. He's nice enough, as long as you deal with him on his terms. Truthfully, the idea of getting him in a cat carrier and taking him to the vet terrifies me.

What are the basics that I really need to do?


We're new (though a year now) cat owners, and it was an adjustment, as we have only had dogs. Our cat is a little skittish, but basically is a good cat. She's an indoor cat, well trained with the cat box, and for the most part tolerates my two dogs. In fact, sometimes she sneaks up on one of them and kind of pounces on them just for fun. Sorry, I still have not figured out the clipping of the claws. She has not destroyed any furniture, though.

The main difference, to me, is that dogs are happy, excited, to see you anytime, but cats are happy to see you only when they want to see you, and most of the time they ignore you.



#12 rlsliger

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Posted 10 July 2009 - 05:19 PM

We adopted our cat Mary last summer after she and her kittens were abandoned. Our vet estimates that she's about 6 years old. Here are a couple pics. As you can see she loves my daughter!



#13 Jolene

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Posted 10 July 2009 - 05:41 PM

QUOTE (rlsliger @ Jul 10 2009, 06:19 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
We adopted our cat Mary last summer after she and her kittens were abandoned. Our vet estimates that she's about 6 years old. Here are a couple pics. As you can see she loves my daughter!


Awww! She's a watch cat! Good kitty.

THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING MY GIRL.
We could not be doing this without you.
Much love and gratitude.

#14 bordercolliefan

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Posted 10 July 2009 - 07:20 PM

QUOTE (sat @ Jul 10 2009, 03:47 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
The main difference, to me, is that dogs are happy, excited, to see you anytime, but cats are happy to see you only when they want to see you, and most of the time they ignore you.


So true!! Dogs are so uncomplicated. "My master! I love him!!! A tennis ball. I love them!! Dinner! I love it!!!" (Tail wagging continuously).

Having a cat, on the other hand, is a totally dysfunctional relationship. If you show him you love him, he will reject you with a quick swat or scratch. The harder you work to please him, the more he disdains you. You have to pretend you are totally indifferent to him. He, meanwhile, is pretending to be totally indifferent to you. It's kind of like a high school crush.


#15 glad2Bme

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Posted 10 July 2009 - 09:40 PM

QUOTE (Thinkingoutloud @ Jul 10 2009, 02:45 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Aw!!! Too cute! Thanks for sharing your story.
We got 2 kitties last summer, so they are just hitting their 1 year mark.

Neither is that much of a lover, but the orange kitty, Julius - with his 7 toes on each paw - is a terrific hunter! He brought home a huge gopher yesterday.

The black kitty, Mookie a.k.a. Gump Kitty, is so dumb she just figured out last week how to get back in to the house via the doggie door, but still can't comprehend how to get out. Duh. rolleyes.gif


So cute! Your Mookie looks just like my Jazmine, only with a much fuller face!!




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