General Chat

Debs, can not be sure of weather but plenty of wine and three dogs that love a fuss :)) x Jill

Roxanne I have to admit that I am not a cat lover, as I said scared to death of their claws!! I would never see any creature put through unneccesary pain. I am the one that gets hubby to remove the dead squirrel from the road before it gets squashed. I cant even watch wildlife programmes due to the 'hunt' of course thats nature but I am a woosey! Birds feet - oh my gosh they are another that scare me stupid! lol. Jill in France - Give us a shout when you want a dog sitter, could you of course make sure that the wine is on tap, the weather is nothing but perfect and the dogs are ready to cuddled silly by my daughter lol. Debs x

Fred,I agree with you! I can appreciate that some people dont like cats, thats a personel choice, but to have a cat and then adapt it to your needs,is so very wrong. Stick with a budgie:-)))))lol

Oh I feel sick........... poor puss :(

A cats tips of claws can be safely clipped the same as a dog if they get too long,but the white bit at the base should never get cut. The ends are the same as our nails and if we cut down into the flesh , it would be very painful. x Jill

Ihave just read this thread and am horrified at what i am reading.To remove a cats claws is inhumane and people who want cats should take them ,claws and all ,or not have them at all. What happens if an indoor cat manages to get out of the house to be chased by a dog,runs to the nearest tree and tries to get up out of the way,result ,one dead cat Our cats never clawed owt in the house because they used to do it in the garden where they should go to get exercise. Perhaps for a vet to practice ,they should have to submit to having their nails removed every time they grow,to show them what its like to have no protection on the ends of their fingers where all the nerves are ..Fred.

Debs,could you move to France not back to the UK as have three big dogs that would love a sitter :)) xx Jill

Roxanne I totally see where your coming from and what your saying but I think in todays society material possesions have become a huge status amongst others. I wanted a dog on our return to the UK in the summer but I realised by doggy sitting our neighbours dogs that I cant have one, I like my freedom and with the children going to boarding school I need to be able to jump in the car at short notice and I cant do that with a dog, so I will just have to find another neighbour when I move who wants a dog sitter lol Debs x

Pat I think that is really sweet of him, he didnt have to unless he knows the cats can talk and would tell lol. Just shows you these men are big softies really, our neighbours accross the road have a puppy lab that we look after if they both work a Saturday or go away and she lies down for hubby as soon as he walks in the room because she knows he gives her belly a really good ole rub!! lol Debs x

hi Debs and everyone, Im glad there are more of you that think this isnt a good idea. Both my cats are indoor cats ,yes, they do scratch things other than their scratch post. We have just replaced a sofa that was well and truely destroyed by themlol but thats part of having cats,isent it? If you want perfect furniture dont get a cat, Im probably extreme but my cats have full run of our house,they go where they want to,im not that fussed about material things they can be replaced,my cats cant:-)) I do think this should be banned,ive seen a film about the procedure and the cats are in so much pain after, its just cruel. people should be educated about this.

Debs, I have no idea why he does it. It drives my partner mad, but he knows i'll put up with it and that he has to aswell! I had to go away last week for a couple of days, Partner forgot to get cat food whilst I was away, so ran out. He came back from work, warmed up his dinner of liver and bacon then gave it to the cats because he'd forgotten. He ended up having toast for dinner! lol. im sure he thought the cat would tell on him! Pat

Rose You must be near the mountains then? I havent been that way yet, off to Niagara and Boston on Saturday. We see the huge eagles circling over head and I bet these big birds would as soon have a cat for dinner as they would a squirrel! Those turkey vultures are grosse too.. they just sit on the side of the roads eating road kill yuck! they wont move when you walk by either! We dont get coyotes just possums and racoons ect. As I said I very rarely have seen a cat just dogs. Debs x

Pat Thats the same as my kids they drive me to despair sometimes but I wouldnt give them away lol. Its habit for your cats most probably, do you think they like the stone (wall) feeling on their claws as if they are sharpening them? I dont think any human controls a cat - they only do what they want to when they want to dont they? My ex neighbour loved hers to pieces too, I remember the cats getting her hubbys bit of steak and dragging it from the side to the floor, she just picked it up wiped it off and cooked it and served it for his dinner! lol, he never knew for weeks. Debs x

Deb, We have a problem with coyotes here and cats are on their menu. They even dug under the neighbours fence and got their 2 huge geese! I see a lot of posters for missing cats. Unfortunately, it's not hard to guess their fate. Our cat stays in and I trim his claws so they don't get too long. I use sticky tape on the corner of the sofa he likes to scratch. Rose

Anne, He's fine with carpet, he wont scratch that. He just loves wallpaper though! If he finds a bit thats coming away, he will flick at it with his paw untill he can get hold of it in his teeth, then he will give it a yank an pull as much off as he can! Debs, I love my cats, wouldn't get rid of them for the world! The wallpaper issue is getting a bit of a nightmare though. We've tried everything suggested to us by the vet, but nothing seems to deter him. Pat

Pat My old neighbour had about 5 cats and I remember they used pull at the carpets, there were threads hanging everywhere, these cats were spoilt, they even got fed better than the womans husband lol. I dont have anything against cats but cant say I really like them, they look very cute and I think its great if people want them I just personally dont and when we rented our house out one thing we did stipulate was we wanted no pets, that went for cats and dogs. I think the reason I am not a cat lover is because of the claws! They give me the heaby jeebies - they hurt when they scratch!! lol.Everyone to their own I say. Debs x

Hi Pat I have 4 cats of varying ages 18 - 10 - and 2 of 3yrs........ I have 2 scratch posts - which they DO use - but my second eldests fav spot is the bottom stair !! She started on it 7 years ago when it was laid ( I was away for 3 weeks) - it's now back to the hessian !!!!

I also think the claw covers for cats are a bad idea....Awful, how would a cat climb or defend its self? www*softpaws*com (change * for dot)

Yes cats do scratch, but a scratching post doesn't always stop them. My cat likes to scratch wallpaper, he does it continuously to the point that we have only lining paper up and then we paint that. When he scratches a section of it, we have to rub it down and then repaint it. This happens on an almost daily basis. The last lot of decorating lasted 3 HOURS before the cat got to it. My hubby would gladly get rid of the cat because of this, However I would not re-home him. Yes he's a pain in the rear end, but he is very loved in this house. We have scratch posts but he doesn't use them, although my other cat does. Pat

Rose when you think about it your right that is one reason people dont let their cats out, I am not sure about your area but here we have a really high population of squirrels (I love them!) anyway whatever road you drive on you will find a dead one! I have actually seen a car aim for one and kill it - I wanted to slash the mans tires cruel g**, I have even had my hubby remove one that fell out of a tree onto the road before a car squashed it. There is nothing worse than road kill - especially the deer! I would rather keep my pet in than have that happen. Our neighbours call my daughter the dog whisperer, because when they go away they ask her to dog sit, we now have a few families whose dogs move in when they vacation. Debs x