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Old 05-22-2017, 11:23 AM   #1
Max Cow Disease
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Greetings,

The SO and I have undertaken to acquire a cat for around-the-home companionship and general enjoyment. Said kitten hails from a rag doll breeder in town and will be coming in to our possession in late July more than likely (at which point he'll be a few months old I believe). I resisted getting a pet for a long time, and put up a valiant fight, but alas have finally succumb and am now deferring to the victor's wishes (she's lucky that he's pretty cute...).

The girlfriend has had a couple of cats throughout her life but it'll be a new thing for me, so I've elected to seek out wisdom at the Temple of CP on some of the ins and outs of feline fatherhood. We live in a townhouse with a hardwood main floor and a carpeted upstairs/staircase. One of my big sticking points going in was my assumption that the little guy will destroy everything we own, ruin the floor, eat the wiring connected to my PS4, urinate on all accessible material objects, etc.

I would appreciate any and all tips on things like:


a) preventing material damage

b) creating a great environment for a new kitten

c) feline food management

d) feline waste management

e) general feline management


Thanks a lot!

.
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Old 05-22-2017, 11:28 AM   #2
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f) put it on Instagram and make him a star
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Old 05-22-2017, 11:37 AM   #3
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My ragdoll turns one year old tomorrow.

He won't ruin the floor or pee on things (at least once he has the litter box figured out), but he'll definitely eat wires and chew on stuff. You can prevent this by coating them in lemon juice, and getting chargers for things that have braided cords, like this.


Start with him in just one room rather than giving him freedom to roam the house, so he gets used to that for a couple of days. Also minimizes the likelihood of him peeing on things before he figures out where the litter box is.

Get him a couple of different types of scratching posts, carboard and carpet and hemp and see what he goes for. Unfortunately, this does not stop them from scratching other things. You can use double sided tape for that if you're really worried about it, but you can't really do that to the stairs.

Also make sure there are elevated places for him to go, which might be a cat tree. He will want to be up high.

Get a variety of toys and see what he likes to play with. Pretty much all cats like wand toys.

Mess around with his paws, ears and mouth as much as possible early on so he gets used to it. If it's a rag doll, this is easier.

Get good cat food. Origen is pretty good.
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Last edited by CorsiHockeyLeague; 05-22-2017 at 11:39 AM.
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Old 05-22-2017, 11:44 AM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Max Cow Disease View Post
Greetings,

The SO and I have undertaken to acquire a cat for around-the-home companionship and general enjoyment. Said kitten hails from a rag doll breeder in town and will be coming in to our possession in late July more than likely (at which point he'll be a few months old I believe). I resisted getting a pet for a long time, and put up a valiant fight, but alas have finally succumb and am now deferring to the victor's wishes (she's lucky that he's pretty cute...).
We have 2 cats here and honestly they're more like furniture than a pet. The biggest difference is the couch doesn't walk on my face while I'm sleeping.
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Old 05-22-2017, 11:52 AM   #5
taco.vidal
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Get a scratching post. The taller the better so that when he is grown he is able to fully stretch when he scratches. Id suggest carpeted over the sisal style. Ive tried the sisal but cats always seem to prefer the carpeted variety.

Consider non-clumping litter as its healthier for the cat. Better yet, consider pine litter or another natural alternative.
http://www.petsmart.ca/cat/litter-an...r-5212425.html
The pine is more expensive but its less dusty for your house and the cat itself.

In terms of damaging things, teach the kitten from a young age. Its hard to get rid of bad behavior once its learned. If you give your cat his/her own toys and play with him/her, then cat will be happy and content, thus much less likely to play with and destroy things that it shouldnt be touching.
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Old 05-22-2017, 11:59 AM   #6
Mr.Coffee
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One thing you could do with cats is not get a cat.

Cats are evil. It's science. Once fully grown it will spend its' entire adult life plotting your demise.
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Old 05-22-2017, 12:03 PM   #7
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I have had a few different cat owners before and all are a little different. Just remember to do their chores like cleaning their littler box, feed them treats and giving them cat massage, and they will usually treat their human pets alright.
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Old 05-22-2017, 12:04 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Max Cow Disease View Post
I would appreciate any and all tips on things like:

a) preventing material damage
b) creating a great environment for a new kitten
c) feline food management
d) feline waste management
e) general feline management

Thanks a lot!
Irrelevant, cats do as they please with zero regard for the wishes of their human roommates. Seriously I'm not sure why we even named the cat, she responds to her name less than 5% of the time. She could be nameless and our interactions with her would not change.

Don't get me wrong, I love the cat, but they are not obedient in any meaningful way. They don't do anything they don't want to do.
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Old 05-22-2017, 12:06 PM   #9
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I have no great tips or insights other than the general warning that it is highly likely the cat will enjoy ripping at one of your chairs or pieces of furniture. Fortunately for the cat he does not like to rip at our leather couch, otherwise he would fall in to a household accident

There are different sprays that you can buy that cats are not supposed to like, but for our cat it has no impact.

My cat also has the annoying habit of not wanting to crap in the littler box, he will go close to the box, but generally not in it.
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Old 05-22-2017, 01:12 PM   #10
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Tip 1. Remove cat from premises.
Tip 2. Get a dog.
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Old 05-22-2017, 01:22 PM   #11
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Separate the cat from its Mother as soon as possible after birth. Then it won't learn all of the annoying cat things and you get a cuddly cat. You will also need to bottle feed it for weeks.
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Old 05-22-2017, 01:25 PM   #12
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Get rid of all the black clothes you have. Replace them with clothes the same color as your cat.
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Old 05-22-2017, 01:36 PM   #13
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I have a ragdoll and he's the best pet I've ever had. I was never a cat person but he converted me

Not sure if all ragdolls are similar but mine is like a dog. Follows us everywhere, so friendly, playful, only meows when his food bowl is empty otherwise he's silent, he trained easily and is non-destructive. Make sure you get a scratching post though because mine likes to stretch and ragdolls are big and extremely strong

Whether you're a cat person or not I think a ragdoll is very easy to like. Only thing I don't love about him is the hair. Get a brush immediately lol
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Old 05-22-2017, 01:57 PM   #14
Max Cow Disease
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Wood View Post
I have a ragdoll and he's the best pet I've ever had. I was never a cat person but he converted me

Not sure if all ragdolls are similar but mine is like a dog. Follows us everywhere, so friendly, playful, only meows when his food bowl is empty otherwise he's silent, he trained easily and is non-destructive. Make sure you get a scratching post though because mine likes to stretch and ragdolls are big and extremely strong

Whether you're a cat person or not I think a ragdoll is very easy to like. Only thing I don't love about him is the hair. Get a brush immediately lol
This is what I've been hearing about the breed as well, and is one of the reasons I finally started to come around a bit after doing some research. Supposedly the males in particular are pretty affable and playful. Good to hear you've had a positive experience!
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Old 05-22-2017, 02:28 PM   #15
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OP updated with photo of the animal.
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Old 05-22-2017, 02:28 PM   #16
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My honest tip? Get two cats. They will focus their destructive energies on their "brother", vs you or your furniture. And hopefully be more social.
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Old 05-22-2017, 02:40 PM   #17
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All of our cats have come from the SPCA.

The first we adopted when she was about 5. Best cat in the world. Never destroyed anything, got along with dogs but unfortunately had to be put down at 13 years old.

We got a cat December 2014 along with a dog. They got along fine at the SPCA and continue to do so. Cat was a 1-2 two year old stray. However, when we got the cat home he would take swipes at anything that would pass him by. After one too many ankle bites and claws we were ready to bring him back after a few months. However, my (then) 8 year old daughter refused to have such behaviour from her cat and she diligently cuddled him into submission. He's the biggest suck in the world that acts like a dog and you can rub his tummy for over an hour without him caring. Despite his aggression with humans early on he's also never wrecked anything.

We took in another cat from family friends about 6 weeks. This one they adopted when she was a young kitten and rapidly found out they have kids with cat allergies. This cat spent a lot of time at our house since she was that small kitten and shockingly our existing cat really took to her (it was absolutely pathetic how much they'd whine when it was time for the one to go home). So when they finally made the decision to get rid of the cat we took her in. She's still only 7-8 months old and a ball of energy. She's a bit of a trouble maker but we haven't had any furniture incidents but nothing else is safe! We have several cheap doormats around the house we flip over that the cats seem to really love doing their scratching on.

3 cats and none of them have ever taken to a scratching pole for some reason.

Advice...just be a good pet owner. Let them have space when they want space. Entertain them when they want to be entertained. Cuddle when they want to cuddle.
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Old 05-22-2017, 02:58 PM   #18
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Would you like two more? I'm certain they'd all get along famously. I can deliver.
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Old 05-22-2017, 03:40 PM   #19
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Definitely a cat tree and lots of scratching posts/scratching boxes around the house.

Keep the cat indoors always!
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Old 05-22-2017, 03:45 PM   #20
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Your house will smell like cat piss, even though you can no longer smell it...
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