- Joined
- Oct 25, 2020
- Messages
- 3
- Purraise
- 2
My closest friend just adopted a 3 year old cat and is a first-time cat owner. I've been trying to help her to learn how to develop a good relationship with her kitty, give care tips and tricks I've learned, etc.
It'd be great if some other seasoned cat owners could share some insights about cats that you wouldn't find on the first page of the google search "how to take care of a cat". I think I was able to give her a lot of insight, but I'd love a crowdsourced list of advise to pass along (in case I'm missing something!).Here are some of mine I've shared with her, to get the thread going:
It'd be great if some other seasoned cat owners could share some insights about cats that you wouldn't find on the first page of the google search "how to take care of a cat". I think I was able to give her a lot of insight, but I'd love a crowdsourced list of advise to pass along (in case I'm missing something!).Here are some of mine I've shared with her, to get the thread going:
- They don't like to drink water in the same area as the litter box
- Flat bowls or plates are best for food and water, because they don't like having pressure on their whiskers for too long
- At random hours of the night, they will run back in forth in the hallway, sometimes meowing or jumping around
- wagging cat tail is NOT the same thing as wagging dog tail
- purring doesn't always mean good - sometimes can mean she's afraid
- If you use a laser pointer with a cat (though some say you shouldn't in general) always throw something at the end so the cat can catch something as part of playing and isn't just driven crazy by the invisible toy
- Catnip has different effects on different cats - made my first cat purr endlessly, makes my second cat nippy and irritable
- (my favorite!) when a cat sits on your keyboard, it is "mirroring" your behavior and the best way to distract them is to put a similar object (another keyboard, a notebook, etc) next to you and they will divert their attention there instead
- if your cat is a counter hopper, don't scold the cat when you're in the room, it will only cause the cat to jump up when you're not home. Instead, put her down on the ground and keep upside-down cookie sheets on the counters - the next time she jumps she'll react to the noise that comes from jumping onto the pans and wont jump up again.