My daily TV fix is to watch Jackson Galaxy (Eden 3pm). TBH I didn't like him much at first, but was interested in the cat behaviour issues he demonstrates. And now that I've seen a lot of it I get where he's coming from and have learned so much about cats and what makes our cat tick.
Yes, the programme is American and they keep cats inside. We will probably move in that direction too but for conservation reasons rather than for the safety of the cats. The other night when our guy was running full speed across the lawn playing I thought how unhappy he would be if he had to be shut in. And he has had no real impact on our urban bird life. He does catch some, mainly blackbirds, but we still have at least two successful clutches a year in the garden. And he always catches any rodents in the compost before they come inside.
When we lived next door to native bush, there would be the remains of up to 4 rats on the deck every morning, bits of mice, and even webbed feet. He also caught blackbirds, thrush and waxeye. Never saw him catch a native bird, but he saved thousands with the rats he killed.
My daughters moved on the weekend - there cats are now inside cats.
Our cat Billie is on her spring rabbit purge at present. Somewhere around 12 young rabbits have ended up semi consumed on our floors in the past couple of months. Her younger 'apprentice' ,Grace, has yet to discover the free food just outside the house even when I've pealed back the skin and semi boned the remnants of one or two of them she hasn't partaken. The older cat though vacuums up the entire carcass with usually only a tail, rear paw or two and oddly enough eyeballs remaining uneaten by day's end. Oh and as we have a river boundary occasionally after a wet night the morning haul includes half a small eel.
Young Grace has given us a hallway full of blackbird feathers occasionally or a dead mouse that has lost its appeal once it stops moving. She'll learn I guess.
cats are evil...
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(10-10-2022, 06:32 PM)king1 Wrote: [ -> ]cats are evil...
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As I have one who thinks 4am is breakfast time, I am inclined to agree.
Cats are the biggest manipulators. I've long ago decided that the biggest difference between cats and dogs is that dogs want to do what you want them to but cats will only do what they want to do. And if 4am is breakfast time, so be it. Unless you don't comply and she gives up. Some of the Jackson Galaxy stories are about night-time problems. His cure is to make dinner time just before bed. And play time just before dinner time. Get the cat tired out then feed it and it will go to sleep for the night. Theoretically.
(11-10-2022, 12:25 PM)SueDonim Wrote: [ -> ]Cats are the biggest manipulators. I've long ago decided that the biggest difference between cats and dogs is that dogs want to do what you want them to but cats will only do what they want to do. And if 4am is breakfast time, so be it. Unless you don't comply and she gives up. Some of the Jackson Galaxy stories are about night-time problems. His cure is to make dinner time just before bed. And play time just before dinner time. Get the cat tired out then feed it and it will go to sleep for the night. Theoretically.
Ha. He hasn't met my CoCo. Who is not only a Burmese Rex, which is a disaster in itself, but is also old, female, and with a wealth of life experience training human beings.
And is currently asleep, after her second breakfast, on the pile of summer clothes I unearthed last night ready to freshen up today. Sssssh, tiptoe around her, please do not disturb...
The neighbours cats crap on my lawn and if I had a gun I would shoot the bastards.
(12-10-2022, 09:17 AM)Oldfellah Wrote: [ -> ]The neighbours cats crap on my lawn and if I had a gun I would shoot the bastards.
Sprinklers are much more fun...
It looks like the programme has ended. Drat. I've been watching it for a while and have seen a lot. Hopefully there'll be another re-run so I can catch the first ones that I missed.
(12-10-2022, 09:17 AM)Oldfellah Wrote: [ -> ]The neighbours cats crap on my lawn and if I had a gun I would shoot the bastards.
The crap on your lawn is marking territory. If you shot them there would always be more filling the space. The answer is to let one have the territory and chase the rest away. Then the crap will stop, and you might find you enjoy your new friend. You don't have to own a cat to have one for a friend.
That's my experience from long before I saw the TV programme.
Yes, cats are assassins, and bury their poo so prey don't know they are around, and the whole cleanliness thing for the same reason. Poo on the lawn is a ramping up of territory claims...someone is wanting to move into that area, they are being told to fuck off.
(19-10-2022, 04:50 PM)Zurdo Wrote: [ -> ]Yes, cats are assassins, and bury their poo so prey don't know they are around, and the whole cleanliness thing for the same reason. Poo on the lawn is a ramping up of territory claims...someone is wanting to move into that area, they are being told to fuck off.
Cats and poo are a thing, for sure. Herself uses a litter box, usually without incident unless it is freshly scrubbed and refilled with nice clean litter. That requires snorkling, don't ask me why, it is a cat thing, which leaves her with a very dusty face which is presented to me for cleaning. She also has this habit of trying to escape the flat before the stink is noticeable, wild eyed and with a bad case of the zoomies, usually just after I have retired to a warm comfy bed making getting up to light a candle (it's a very tiny flat!) a pain in the proverbial...
She has just developed a new favourite cat thing. As I recline Lady of the Camellias style in my gorgeous bed of a morning, propped up on pillows doing the quiz and yakking on the tablet with tea to hand she appears and pats the neatly turned sheet demanding entry. When I lift the sheets she disappears down into the dark, curls up between my feet and snoozes off. Never done it before, until just this week, today being the third day repeat.
Old cats new habits I guess...
Glad Im not a cat person!
(20-10-2022, 01:33 PM)yousnoozeyoulose Wrote: [ -> ]My cat from (not) hell
just like babies - adorable when they're asleep, monsters when they come to life
(20-10-2022, 07:03 AM)Oh_hunnihunni Wrote: [ -> ]Old cats new habits I guess...
They are creatures of habits...and change. Sometime my cat is an inside cat, she hardly goes outside...sometimes she is an outside cat, and hardly comes inside. At the moment she is an outside cat. She sleeps in certain places all the time...and then she never sleeps in those places. Always doing the same thing, always doing something different....
(20-10-2022, 04:50 PM)Zurdo Wrote: [ -> ] (20-10-2022, 07:03 AM)Oh_hunnihunni Wrote: [ -> ]Old cats new habits I guess...
They are creatures of habits...and change. Sometime my cat is an inside cat, she hardly goes outside...sometimes she is an outside cat, and hardly comes inside. At the moment she is an outside cat. She sleeps in certain places all the time...and then she never sleeps in those places. Always doing the same thing, always doing something different....
"Her latest favourite spot" applies to both of our moggies. Cardboard cartons often feature in that respect.
(20-10-2022, 04:50 PM)Zurdo Wrote: [ -> ] (20-10-2022, 07:03 AM)Oh_hunnihunni Wrote: [ -> ]Old cats new habits I guess...
They are creatures of habits...and change. Sometime my cat is an inside cat, she hardly goes outside...sometimes she is an outside cat, and hardly comes inside. At the moment she is an outside cat. She sleeps in certain places all the time...and then she never sleeps in those places. Always doing the same thing, always doing something different....
I've found ours has very poor change management skills but gets bored when things stay the same. Has his own move-around his preferred spots but also looks very stressed if we make any changes in the garden. Will have a favourite toy for ages then after a while I get the "look" that goes up the string (or equivalent) and he shows the awareness of "that's all just you doing that" and won't play that game any more.
(20-10-2022, 05:40 PM)harm_less Wrote: [ -> ] (20-10-2022, 04:50 PM)Zurdo Wrote: [ -> ]They are creatures of habits...and change. Sometime my cat is an inside cat, she hardly goes outside...sometimes she is an outside cat, and hardly comes inside. At the moment she is an outside cat. She sleeps in certain places all the time...and then she never sleeps in those places. Always doing the same thing, always doing something different....
"Her latest favourite spot" applies to both of our moggies. Cardboard cartons often feature in that respect.
Yep, anything cardboard. Or any "different" surface. If I want him to sit somewhere else when he's in the way I just need to put a piece of paper on the floor. It's new and different and he'll sit on it every time.
(11-10-2022, 12:25 PM)SueDonim Wrote: [ -> ]Cats are the biggest manipulators. .... cats will only do what they want to do.
You can train a cat, but it takes more patience than most people have. I've done it.
Took a couple of years.
As for Mr Galaxy he trains the humans how to treat the cats.
The one thing I disagree with is locking them inside.
He ever met Snuffs. I had to one day, having asphalt laid, and once she figured she couldn't get out, she ran back and forth all over house, literally screaming, in a total panic. It went on for hours until my son turned up and accidentally let her out.
She'd come in to eat, and if it was very cold but that's it. Rain or not, she was out.
The programme is back on on Sundays on Eden. 3:20pm today. I recommend it to every cat owner. A lot will have no direct relevance, but it is very interesting to learn about why cats do what they do.