Cats

[Westi]

Hi Smurfy

My cats were attracted to the leather sofa also. Firstly if
I was in I clapped my hands and made a racket but they
were still norty when out so I reverted to the water pistol
which seems to have worked although still cheeky occassionally.
I have read that putting double sided tape on the corner also
helps as their feet stick and they can't get going too well.
I haven't tried this only because of the leather marking but
a friend at work said it worked on her fabric sofa.

Good Luck.
Westi

[Elaine]

Ello Smurfy, thanks for the update. I'm so glad Sami is settled in well! As for scratching, cats don't only scratch to strop their claws but also to scent mark their territory as they have scent glands in their feet. To deter her you could try covering the affected corner, or rubbing it with a blanket or something with her scent on. Try wiping round her muzzle and cheeks with a cloth (if madam will let you!) then wipe the scratchings with it. I was fortunate that Tibby only ever stropped her claws on the doormat and still does. Her claws have to be clipped now and again as she doesn't go out much now so they don't wear down naturally. As for how she is, she is quite well thanks, considering. She has a benign tumour on her thyroid gland which makes her thyroid over active. She gave me a really bad scare last year when it became apparent. Because her blood pressure was sky high with the problem, she had a massive bleed in her eye. I couldn't see her pupil. It was filled with blood. She couldn't see properly as she also has cataracts. She has been on medication for over active thyroid and high blood pressure ever since and it is controlling it nicely. She is still very thin...good job she has long hair! And YES!! she is still ruling the house.. I wouldn't have it any other way though! Cheers, Elaine.

[Smurfy]

Thanks Westi and Elaine. I will try these tactics and see if it can't stop her. I did try some cat deterrant spray but she licked it off and then promptly scratched the sofa again

Sorry to hear Tibby is a poorly girl, the eye bleeding sounds horrible.

As an aside do you clip her nails yourself or does the vet do it? I only ask because as Sami is a house cat her nails wont get worn down as much and i'm not sure how often they will need doing (and whether she'll let me!!).

[Johnboy]

Hi Westi,
Years ago my sister had the problem and I made some scratching posts for her. (or her cats to be more precise) I got a piece of 2"x2" timber and made a heavy base, made heavier with a chunk of lead on the base. I wrapped a piece of 1/2" Sisal rope around the post, nailing through the rope to the post.
Her cats absolutely loved that and left her her furniture alone.
Could be worth a try. Sadly where you can get Sisal rope today somehow defeats me! Maybe the same could be done with Nylon rope.
Here there are at least 12 feral cats none of which would dare to come into the house! I give them milk but no other form of food and they certainly feed on vermin and young Rabbits and are very very healthy.
When I can catch them they all get wormed.
JB.

[Smurfy]

Just thought i'd bump this one back to the top to find out how everyones cats are doing.

Sami had a big day yesterday as she went out into the big wide world for the first time since she's been with us. We got her as a house cat but previously she was allowed outside and she's been getting more and more impatient to go outside and nothing we did would stop the incessant miowing so we took the big step. She explored the garden and next doors garden but if she ever went out of view she was never gone for more than a few minutes.

[macmac]

this has been lovely hearing about everybody's cats though my original post was about problem cats, i feel quite left out as our pets are twelve koi carp, though they all have names they're not quite as cuddly as these lovely moggies you've all been writing about
oops have i offended anyone by calling them moggies?sorry

[pongeroon]

C'mon then Macmac, what are your koi called? They can't be sillier names than ours.....

[Colin Miles]

The 2 lovely adorable kittens from next door have turned into the ultimate killing machines! Rescued a blackbird chick last night but the way they are stampeding up all the trees around here and devastating the wild life is rather painful to behold - Voles, shrews, mice and now of course lots of baby birds. Not to mention the fact that I have had to spend a lot of time and money fencing in the veg plot which they were shitting in at least 4 times a day!

And I think they're scared off the Nuthatches which had started to use a nest box.

[macmac]

hi pongeroon,
theyare...sumo, aerial, rocky, kevin, gorby,dot,gem, mini(the twins) trevor, spider shirley, lance,We got them all from a local breeder who's got literally millions of fantastic fish,the bank balance has almost recovered 2 years on.What are yours called?

[pongeroon]

Hi Macmac. We inherited our koi with the house, and knew nothing about them , but we have learned a bit and the only one we lost was Rupert (so named because he was a bit posh). It happened when the pump stopped running and being the largest (he was HUGE) he was the first to run out of oxygen. We felt terrible about it.

Having said that, the Kray twins seem to have disappeared over the winter, I've no idea what happened to them.

We also have Nigel, Dave, Mr Bling (he's gold and a bit flashy), Luke, Johnny Depp (the most beautiful to look at), Lola (pale,slim and lovely) and various black ones which we cannot tell apart, known as the Urban Black Youth. That sounds a bit racist, but isn't meant in that way.

We love them all.

[oldherbaceous]

I think i have just seen a Heron flying towards Worcester.

[pongeroon]

You could be right, OH.

But seriously; I was worried the heron (there are lots around here) would take the fish, but only the Krays have disappeared in mysterious circumstances. Am I right in thinking that herons like to land and stand in shallow water? Cos our pool has straight sides to a depth of about 2 1/2 feet, and maybe that it is why it built like that.

[oldherbaceous]

Dear Pongeroon, as far as i know they will stab fish that are in reach of the side of the pond without entering the water, but it is easier for them if they can get into the pond itself.

[alan refail]

Herons do seem to prefer standing in shallow water, river/lake edges or in the sea, but according to this article they do float/swim.

I was expecting OH to tell you the heron he had spotted heading your way was wearing stilts

[oldherbaceous]

Dear Alan, you must think i have the most awful imagination, stilts indeed.

But i think it did have a fishing rod tucked under it's wing.