Am I Being a Good Person for My Cat?

[wolkenkaiser]

I don't know if this is the right place to post this, but I'm sure I'll hear about it if it isn't.

I just got a 1½ year-old female domestic shorthair tabby named Ellie, whose name — as lame as it is — I haven't changed because it was clear from day one she understood what it meant. I'm just wondering if I'm being a good person for her.I feed her twice a day, a third of a cup of dry food between six and seven in the morning and again at around the same time in the evening, I keep her water bowl filled and change it when I check on it so she doesn't have too much dust in her water, and I sift her (clumping) litter box three times a day. She doesn't seem to care for dry food, which kind of worries me because I've heard too much dry food can cause urinary track infections in cats. I try to play with her when I get up in the morning, around when I check on her litter and feed her; also in the evening at around the same time as I attend to her food and water and litter. She likes Chase the Cat, but I don't like making noise above my downstairs neighbor, so I just do it a little bit sometime in the early evening.

I guess what I'm worried about is I happen to like my Leave Me Alone time and my online gaming time. I just wonder if I'm playing with her enough and giving her enough attention. I try to get in a couple of ten-minute play sessions with her, though they tend to be fifteen minutes long because she likes to get a little lazy in the middle of them. I also try to pet her regularly, look out the window at what's piquing her interest, talk to her frequently, and lay down on our bed to read next to her for a half hour to an hour a day.

Yeah, I'm a worry wart. Pets are serious business. I can't stand people who just want fluffy paper weights.

 

[NewYork1303]

It sounds like you're doing a great job with your cat!

Eating a diet of all dry food isn't as bad for cats if they drink a lot of water to go with it. I have two cats who won't touch any type of wet cat food no matter how many flavors or types I try. We just try to encourage them to drink as much as possible.  We do this by having a lot of water bowls around the house. Some people buy pet fountains which also can help encourage them to drink a lot more.

I don't think its a problem for you to have cat free time. With our cats, it is actually sometimes a challenge to get them to be interested in coming down from a high perch to socialize with us. Cats are good at asking for attention when they need it and want it, either by approaching you or by doing something they know is bad.

I definitely get where you're coming from with the fluffy paper weight comment. Those people drive me crazy.

 

[wolkenkaiser]

Cool. I just worry because she does tend to shadow me a lot and likes to get my attention by transforming into a Galloping Galoot (though not in the sense that she's clumsy). I suppose it may be that she hasn't been here for long and so is still a bit insecure in her environment and wants me to be around and pay attention to her more than she normally would to comfort her. I hope so, because frankly I'm a bit catlike in my desire for space and autonomy, and would find it frustrating to have to fight over my computer with an incorrigible attention-*****.

As for the water, she seems to be doing okay in that regard, though I definitely need to get one of those fountains as soon as I can to ensure she drinks enough water. The trick in my old building is where to put it that's near an outlet. Water is included in rent, though, so I may just turn the bathroom sink faucet on drip overnight.

You know, it's kind of hard to own a pet when you're poor. Sure, there's lots of low-cost services and even some financial assistance available, but the pet paraphernalia hustle is ridiculously expensive! I totally want for her to have a couple cat trees, but I'm going to have to build one because even smaller ones can cost close to a hundred dollars. Of course, living in the era of sixteen-dollar Chinese plastic can openers, I shouldn't be so surprised. Still, it's beginning to feel like living in Switzerland on a teenager's allowance.

 

[elliot]

You sound like you're doing great! I'm a new cat owner myself though and I'm learning a lot here!

In regards to water, my cat usually ignores her water bowl and goes for the faucet. I leave it dripping sometimes, and other times if I'm nearby, I just let it drip when she starts licking the faucet and turn it off when she walks away. I always leave a water bowl down though, just in case. A water fountain is pretty expensive and my family cant afford one for her, so my dad's looking into a DIY type water fountain using a water filter for fish? I don't know if that makes sense but it's somewhere out there on the internet.

And as for alone time, my cat would follow me wherever I went for the first few weeks. She still does most of the time, but she now just lies in the middle of the room while I do my thing or wanders off once she realizes I'm not going anywhere.

And I can understand your struggle with the cost of a pet! Our family struggles with money often, and I feel guilty about not being able to spoil my kitty with cat towers and toys. But I find that cardboard box towers and homemade cat toys work great! Also, there's nothing better than a paper bag, at least in my cat's eyes (: