Impossible Cat

[maggiedemi]

I was just thinking about how you said you wanted to bathe Drifter before she is allowed in your bedroom. But one thing that I do instead is put towels everywhere for the cats to lay on. That helps keep everything clean, because you can just throw them in the wash every month or so and it's like the cat wasn't even on the bed or chair because it's covered. I swear, when I put down a clean towel, they know it's for them, they jump right on it.

 

[susieqz]

but, how do you cover your bed?
i guess i could constantly wash a spread.
i kinda screwed up, here.
see, i really wanted her on the couch, so now she thinks she's allowed
anyplace i'm lying down.
she thinks she's entitled now.
she's with me when i'm flat outside
she's with me when i'm flat on the couch.
she will see no difference when i'm on the bed.
but, my bear will object.
she will certainly get squished if she;s on the bed, so i'll be waking up to an upset cat.

 

[maggiedemi]

Just put a towel on the bed, she will probably know it is for her. Or you could put an extra sheet over your bed spread. Yeah, they don't really stay on the bed with me when I'm asleep anymore because I rolled over on them. But sometimes they will come up on the bed while I'm watching TV or reading. You could make her a little bed on the floor, with a towel or blanket in a box.

 

[susieqz]

i'll make her a bed. i want her comfy.
i just don't need her on my bed.

 

[orange&white]

You'll probably have to shut your bedroom door if you don't want her up on the bed. Cats make really good feet warmers in the winter though.

 

[maggiedemi]

Demi likes to get in my bed and suck on his blankie, but then he goes to sleep in my computer chair.

 

[susieqz]

i don't want drifter to have the run of the house while i'm between closed doors.
i'll keep
putting her out, but once last year it went down to -1.
how cold can a cat take it?
it's 40s at night now

 

[orange&white]

Misfit has been going inside the little cardboard box with a fleece blanket when the temp has dropped to the low-60's, acting like she's cold. And that's on a shelf under the covered patio to block any wind or moisture. LOL We're wimps down here.

I'm going to make her a double-walled, waterproof shelter with Styrofoam in between the two walls, floor and ceiling for insulation.

I was thinking of getting her a Snuggle Safe microwavable disc that's supposed to provide warmth up to 10 hours. They made me mad though. I put one in a cart at Amazon when they were on sale for $15 and when I went back to order 2 days later, they had raised the price to $25. Now they're $29. So she may not get a warming disc. I'll probably line the inside of her inner box with body heat reflecting material and heat some bean socks to warm her box initially and let her body heat do the rest.

I am thinking she'll be ok to come in the house by the first cold spell, at least overnight.

Do you have a garage at least that Drifter could stay in? -1 is awfully cold! She'll definitely need some shelter that's dry and out of the wind, and coyote-safe.

 

[susieqz]

well, i made a very nice insulated shelter out of a cooler.
she ignores it.the wooly one seems fine in the 40s.
she has a den someplace.
if she was a dog, i could chain her indoors while i slept, but a feral person would fight that.
i need her inside for janurary at least, but i don't know how.

orange, a tip for you. when you lost the deal at amazon, you should have called them.if you talk to a live human n nicely insist, you will get what you want, every time.
i had a beef about a $40 lobster order.
i got the lobster free.
they are under orders to make you happy, no matter what it takes.

 

[orange&white]

Well, when I "saved" my cart, I expected it to save the price for a few days...but it didn't. The item was saved but the price changed on me. At $15, I had decided to buy two instead of one, but now I'm not buying any at the current price. Thanks for the tip! If that happens again, I'll call them.

Drifter may use the cooler you made for her when the temps drop below freezing. Did you put straw in it for dry bedding?

 

[susieqz]

i made it comfy as i could with some torn up sheets.
the door is the right size because i saw her chase something into it.
no straw for me. when i got some for my doggie, she hated it with a passion. she cleaned
every bit of straw from her house.
an indoor bed might be good, but she sleeps anywhere.
i can't use a box because she never hides. she wants no cave, indoors.
even when i called her a bad dog, she went n sat in the middle of the bathroom, waiting for me to stroke her.
i guess i'll keep her in soon, but i will still need her partolling. i have to wrap my fig trees for winter. mice are known to find a nicely wrapped tree a nice home.
then, they eat all the bark off thru the winter.
i'm hoping cat smell keeps them away.
drifter will want to play outside most days.
she hasn't used the litter box yet.
she goes outside but when the temps are around zero she'll have to go inside.
i guess i could lock her in the bath while i sleep but neither of us will be happy with her trapped
we don't do trapped.

 

[maggiedemi]

I think Drifter will do fine in the house, she seems like such a good girl. Do you have a chair that you could put by your bed with a towel on it? That way she is where you can keep an eye on her, but not in the bed. Has she used the litter box yet? Have you showed it to her and put her in it?

 

[maggiedemi]

How many times a day do you guys feed your cats? I have always fed mine 3 times a day, but lately they are not eating their 6am breakfast very well, they don't seem hungry. Should I switch to two meals a day?

 

[orange&white]

I feed three meals. Farrell is fussy and sometimes skips breakfast. I thought about switching her to two, but then sometimes she does eat her breakfast. Her pattern seems to be to eat really well for 2-3 days, then not eat very much for 2 days. I figure that's all right - I don't eat the same amount of food every day either. Her food for the previous week gets averaged on Sunday and she always averages about the same amount across 7 days.

If I didn't give her breakfast, she'd go 21 hours without being offered food. That's too long (even if she decides not to be a morning person).

 

[maggiedemi]

What times do you feed the 3 meals? I do 6am, 12pm, 7pm. But this is not working anymore, they are leaving their wet food for hours and just nibbling on the dry food whenever. I liked it when it was scheduled so I could be sure how much each cat was eating.

 

[orange&white]

When I get up between 6-7am, then when I get home from work 6pm (7pm if I run errands after work) and before bed, usually 9-10 (depends how late dinner was fed). They have a long stretch during the day, so I wouldn't want to cut back to on breakfast. If anything I could combine dinner and before bed, but this is working out fine.

I pick up any food Farrell didn't eat before I leave for work. Her leftovers go in the dog's bowl at his dinner time.

 

[maggiedemi]

Is the bedtime one a full meal or just a snack?

 

[orange&white]

I would like to give Farrell and Misfit 1.5 ounces each meal, but when Farrell doesn't finish breakfast I weigh what she didn't eat and give her more food at dinner. She usually scarfs down dinner when she doesn't eat breakfast. Sometimes not. So ideally, it would be 3 equal meals. Some days Farrell only eats 3-3.5 ounces, but she'll eat 5 ounces to make up for it. When I notice she's eating less, I make her meals larger.

Misfit licks her plate clean and gets some kibble as training treats. Tangent is on a weight loss diet, so his food is packaged and frozen in daily portions. I give him a small breakfast and dinner and a large bedtime meal to keep him from meowing overnight. Misfit and Tangent eat everything in 2 minutes or less.

My house has turned into a full-service restaurant for kitties.

 

[foxxycat]

you don't want to use sheets in the shelter-when they get damp it will freeze. On alley cat feral website they recommend straw. Said it keeps them warmer than blankets believe it or not. Plus it doesn't get moldy like a damp blanket. We don't want Drifter to be stinky!

 

[susieqz]

drifter gets 2 meals/day.
for her, this is the right amount.
i can tell because it takes an hour for her to clean her plate.
if she ate the whole half cup right away, i'd give her a snack.
she has done that once or twice.

i do wish she'd use her litter box, at least once.
straw sucks.