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Originally Posted by Hitch
Do they ever? When we acquired Storm, she already lived in the same house with Zep. They were housemates. He was too young to leave, so--stupidly--as she was a quasi-rescue, adult, I took her, two weeks BEFORE he was able to come to our casa. How'd she act, when he showed up? Holy Mackeral Annie, it was as though aliens had arrived. I was nonplussed, to say the least; I had thought that his recognizable scent would ameliorate the ubiquitous cat-territory issues. WRONG.
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Kittens tend to get accepted quickly enough by existing (female) cats because they
are kittens. (Male cats seem to have "I'm not trained for this!" reactions and back away hurriedly. Females just go "You need
wash", and hold down the kitten to apply it.)
Kvetch had simply been neutered and the only cat in the household for too long. It was amusing when I first introduced them. I got a filthy "What's
this? Since when are you bringing home things you find in the gutter?" look from Kvetch.
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Cats are uniquely attuned to being laughed at--and they do NOT like it.
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Dizzy simply didn't understand it.
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Our male MC has to have his several-times-daily "showers." If you're in the kitchen, at the sink, he'll serenade you LOUDLY until you sprinkle him with water. A LOT. The shower? He has to come in and hang out, once you're (mostly) done. He'll lie in the tub, when you run water. (You have to pay attention, and make sure that you haven't used anything like bath oils, etc.). He LOVES water. It's an MC thing, common in the breed.
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Yeah, Maine Coons like water.
Tigers
love it. Zoos participating in big cat breeding programs have discovered that the way to go was give each cat a dedicated keeper, and a favorite recreation was to jump into the pool with their keeper and frolic. Zoos insert humans into the cat's social structures early. It reaches a point where a female will mate and give birth, and shortly after turn the kittens over to a keeper. "I did
my job and gave birth. Now
you take over!"
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I had a friend who suggested that I address a behavioral issue with him (he wants me to GET THE FRACK UP in the early mornings...) by spritzing him with water. Talk about fall about laughing, that would be the sure way to reinforce the behavior with Himself. In fact, I have yet to find an effective discipline medium that he recognizes; he simply seems oblivious to the idea that he could actually be in trouble, or have done something wrong. I've never dealt with an animal like this one; it's just...bizarre.
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Well of course he's oblivious to the idea he might be in trouble. He's lord of creation. Rules apply to lesser beings.
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Dennis