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Thread: Blind kitten

  1. #101
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    Gracie caught and killed a mouse this morning. Kind of funny, we live out in the woods so they're a fact of life and in the Winter get in pretty commonly, but we don't see them much when it's warm.

    Like most kittens, she's always 100MPH or zero, runs around like she's on crack pouncing on anything and everything including things that aren't really there. She does have very sharp little teeth and claws. I guess that hunter instinct is there.

    The three big ones will occasionally get a mouse in Winter, they're all mature, two are fat, all declawed and have lived inside all their lives. Usually the three of them will bulldog one that come out of hiding until it makes a mistake and one gets it, 99% of the time, it's the 14 year old one who is the sweetest and slowest. Have to be careful, because they will play with ope and often it's just stunned by the time I get to it and not dead. It seems this little one with the high energy and claws is more efficient at it than the other three put together. Not much question that she can see well enough to function as a cat now.

  2. #102
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    Great! Bet she is quite pleased with herself about it, too

  3. #103
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mr_Sheesh View Post
    Great! Bet she is quite pleased with herself about it, too
    I noticed her playing with something on the couch and didn't really pay much attention, she has many little toys we've gotten for her, so I just figured it was one o them, nope. I went over to play with her and saw what it was. She wasn't happy that I took it away.

  4. #104
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    No, she wouldn't be.

    A momcat we had years ago, would grab mice, spin her head about 180 degrees, and throw them 30 feet or so, then run and pounce on them again. She really enjoyed doing that.

    And another cat would bring his broken prey to us and from what I could tell was asking us to fix it as it broke. Mice are apparently more fun while still alive...

    I've had numerous cats who would bring live prey in and release it, prey from rats to squirrels, mice, lizards, birds, a couple baby rabbits even. And at least as many who left offerings of dead prey.

    I guess they wanted to be sure I didn't starve?

  5. #105
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    This mouse looked like it died pretty fast, puncture wounds through and through. She likes to play and will play fight with us all the time, but she holds back so as not to hurt us. I know she's capable though, the day I found her, when she was half this size and strength, in the two seconds or so that I had my hands on her before I could get the scruff of her neck, she shredded both hands, I was bleeding profusely when I got her to the vet, poor little thing was terrified. She came around pretty quick though.

  6. #106
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    I say this respectfully, please do not declaw cats. I myself in the past declawed indoor cats. Thought nothing of it. Then I saw a documentary on how painful and sometimes crippling it can be to a cat. It's not just pulling out a nail, the claw is attached to the last digit. Somewhat like cutting off the tips of your fingers at the last digit. I also did overed some vets use this procedure as a quick money service to make any easy buck. Now, of course if it's no clws or no home, maybe it's really needed. Since I've researched this procedure, I also learned how to make other changes so I didn't have to mutilate my pets paws. Scratching posts they find irresistible, etc.

  7. #107
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    We're on the fence about Gracie. We've had all ours declawed before, but I may let her keep hers.

    The vets we've had do it, if they were still real young when done, they hardly seemed to notice it.

    My thing is, if she ever got out where we live, she'd be completely helpless and just not sure I want to take that risk. She will be an indoor kitty as long as she lives, but threre's always that chance.

  8. #108
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    As I'm reading this Mittens decided to come up and see what was going on in CB.
    She already tried to log me in on my work laptop but luckily not enough tomes to lock out my account.
    After having our 2 older girls, we had forgotten how much fun it was to have an active young cat around the house.
    “Coincidence is God’s way of remaining anonymous.”

  9. #109
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    I've used the cardboard scratching things, cheap and if you buy a good quality catnip, you can rub the catnip on the scratching post to get them trained.

  10. #110
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    We had 2 orange tabby males that would catch a mouse. Then one would carry the mouse to the top of our slopping driveway, let it go, it would run down hill, where the other tom was waiting. He would catch the mouse, carry it to the top of the slope trading places with tom 1. Lather rinse, repeat.
    QUIS CUSTODIET IPSOS CUSTODES?

  11. #111
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    When I got my Tortie she was about a year old, rescue from a hoarder house. She was almost completely unsocialized, I had socialized fosters before tho When just casually playing she would bite hard and bunny kick (both rear feet kicking together) hard, I mewed like a hurt kitten (Tells her "You're playing too hard!") and she soon was very gentle. Kittens won't put up with a litter mate who is way too rough, they will shun the too-rough sibling, so cats are pre-programmed in effect to be gentle if told it's needed. She's wonderfully gentle now

    I'm anti declawing too. There are adhesive claw caps you can use, or glue a small bead that covers the claw tip; I use scissors like these, (search for "Pet Republique Cat Nail Clipper", the critical part is how the scissor blades have half moons ground in them) probably got these off fleabay but they're sold on amazon, petsmart, etc. as well. The "guillotine" type dog claw cutters usually just shatter cat claws so the claws sharpen again FAST, take just the last 1/8" tip off claws with these and it takes a while for the outside layers to regrow and shed till claws get sharp again. Read up on claw trimming before trying to do it, and at first give kitty a treat, cut one claw, feed kitty another treat or two, let them leave if they want. (That way they aren't thinking you are punishing them.) If you do a couple claws a day, kitty won't get majorly terrorized of it and you'll keep claws short enough even if you skip multiple days a week. Also helps to have 2 people there to hold kitty at first, if kitty is stressed.

    I got my tortie a while after I lost the previous kitty, a silver tabby, who had gotten quite sedentary from age and kidney disease, and eventually passed. It was a shock, as you say, to go to a kitten with tons of excess energy!

  12. #112
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    It's good to hear that Gracie is quickly showing herself to be a more "normal" cat than having any handicap. And her catching a mouse,, well, that's to be expected if she has any hunting instincts. Fun to hear all of that.
    And as for de-clawing,, I'm also in the camp of NOT doing it. All of our cats we've ever had we never de-clawed. We did adopt an adult cat that the previous owner had it de-clawed. We have trained ours to not claw furniture, make sure they have plenty of THEIR stuff to scratch & claw on.
    And lastly, we look at it differently. The inside of our home is their entire world. Using a scratching post is a natural thing. So they must have something to scratch on. Allow them certain objects, and problems are easily reduced.

    As for the worry of them getting out,, if de-clawed,, we haven't had any cat "escape" in over 15 years now. Once they are accustomed to a totally indoor space,, many do not try & escape or explore.

    But to hear that Gracis is doing so well, makes me just smile,, a lot.

    PS; To the naysayers who suggested she be put down,,,,, ppphhhhffffttt!!!!!!!!

  13. #113
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    We keep all ours inside too, but did have one get out and get killed in such a way that it really did cause trauma. Ended up selling the car involved a couple of years sooner than planned and the wife still blames herself. It can happen. If she has claws, she can at least climb a tree, but we have coyotes, bobcats, and a lot of raptors. A cat with claws might be able to survive long enough until we could find her.

    Besides that, when Winter rolls around again and the mice are more of a problem, she'll be older, stronger and still have claws, might help with the problem a little more than the Three Stooges we've had since we got here.

  14. #114
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    I've had a lot of kittens and cats around me my whole life and can't remember a one that grew as fast as this one. I was gone five days last week and it was almost like she was a half grown cat overnight, seems like she's noticeably bigger when I get home in the evening than she was when I left. Sure has a lot of personality, we aren't keeping her separated from the others anymore, they've learned to live with her, the biggest, orneriest one even seems to have taken a liking to her and plays with her quite a bit.

    At the rate she's going, she'll be one big, lanky cat for a female before we know it.

  15. #115
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    I am glad that this cat found a good home and that you are enjoying it so much. I wish it were that way for a lot more cats and dogs.

  16. #116
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    I would leave the claws ...just in case she gets out she will still be able to climb a tree and escape danger ... get her some scratching post and scratching furniture . We had something called a Scratching Noodle ...they like that thing .
    I would get her fixed ... I don't know how people feel about that but our rule is you moved in ...you got fixed . Keeps the Toms from coming around and hopefully helps with the excess stray kitten problem .
    Gary
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  17. #117
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    Getting kitties fixed is the only way to go, far too many kitten mill and feral critters out there and if they have less competition they can find homes indoors

  18. #118
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    Sounds as if Gracie is growing quite well & will enjoy a very good life! Helps make my day to hear such stories.

    I fully agree that fixing cats & dogs is a good thing unless you PLAN on being a breeder. And especially if you keep a cat indoors as their permanent home. At about 6 months, prior to them aging to the point of going into heat, is best, and almost always eliminates the "spraying" (marking) of stuff.
    We currently have (4) cats that were found on my place. Three of them were found as kittens. Quarantined first, then the vet. And as soon as possible, fixed. The one adult cat was about 10 months old & had already had kittens before we found her. (Never found any kittens, and her milk was drying up already.)
    And we've had other cats indoors for decades. All get fixed. And we haven't had any spraying or marking issues in decades either.

    Little Gracie sounds as if she'll be just fine.

  19. #119
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    Many vets will fix ferals in cat colonies for free. My sister in law had 22 cats at one time. Well, she named 22 cats but most were feral and would run if you moved too fast. I would draw her ire by stomping my feet when I'd come in the house and they'd bounce off of the furniture and everything fleeing for the cat doors.
    “Coincidence is God’s way of remaining anonymous.”

  20. #120
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    So great to see these updates!

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