Thanks for the update on Iggy, ignatius. Glad he is maximizing his 9 lives. Hope when Pug’s time comes, she will depart painlessly and peacefully.
Thanks also for the updates.
I picked up my cat today and as is my habit, kissed her about 4 times on her face. I wonder what she thinks of that, lol.
My seal pointed ragdoll cat, 태민 (Taemin), is now a full year old, and is doing fabulously well. (In my avatar photo, he is 15wks old) My H spoils him rotten, which amuses me no end. We took him off the kitten kibble when he was five months old because it was making him gain too much weight, and was giving him massive, paint peeling nuclear farts.
At that time I began doing quiet a bit of research, and found out the kitten kibble had apparently become inappropriate to his caloric needs from the moment he was neutered. I slowly began increasing the ratio of wet to dry food, and began feeding a high quality canned food which can only be purchased through pet supply stores. His kibble, which he now only receives small amounts of in the form of occasional light garnish on his wet meals, and as thrown snacks that he loves to chase down and pounce upon, is an adult, indoor weight control formula. The nuclear farts went away when the kibble was greatly decreased. His weight is now right in the sweet spot for his breed. Kibble is often the cause of feline obesity, and is highly implicated in diabetes, kidney failure, and liver disfunction, because it is sorely lacking in moisture content, and it is just about impossible to get a cat to drink enough water to make up for the deficit. I’m hoping that being very proactive about diet and exercise early on will help keep him free of major health issues well into his teens, because those vet bills are no joke. He is strictly an indoor cat, so we have to constantly look for ways to keep him entertained and out of mischief. We set aside time to actively play with him each day. One toy he loves is called, the Bird Catcher Pro Ex, which we found on Amazon. Even I enjoy the times we play with that thing.
@poetsheart, our cats LOVE to get water from our faucet. I have a Bengal who takes showers regularly, but even my domestic short hair loves to climb on the sink and get water. im hoping it helps them stay more hydrated.
Poetsheart, your cat was adorable as a baby, and I bet he is still adorable, just in a slightly different way!!! 
My immigrant grandcats have finally figured out that the US citizen cat would not hiss at them if they would not harass her. No more fur flying into the air, yay! The citizen cat figured out that she could mooch off the male cat’s food. It only took 10 months for the kitty truce to kick in. Phew…
On the topic of food… I mentioned someplace else ghat I discovered that the citizen kitty developed bladder stones. I suspect the reformulated Blue Buffalo food had something to do with it. Oy. So… pH control food for the citizen cat, weight control for the immigrant boy, and kitten food for the girl. Double oy. So I was trying to feed three cats three different diets - it is not easy and makes you appreciate the phrase “herding cats.” We are all good now. All three eat Hill’s perfect weight formula. They poop less and do not gain weight (the girl also gets a can of wet food every night, because her brother eats her dry food).
1214mom, Bengals are impressive, beautiful cats. My stepson has one which he named after an Egyptian pharaoh (wish I could remember his name…). I know they’re quite a bit more athletic than my large framed, heavy bodied cat (태민 weighs 14lbs!), being capable of amazing vertical leaps and such. Since we switched his diet to primarily wet food, he drinks a lot less from his water dish, which I keep filled with fresh filtered tap water. When dry food comprised the majority of what he ate, I’d see him frequently drinking from it. I’ve read multiple times that cats evolved to get almost all of their water from the bodies of their prey animals. I’m thankful 태민 has never seemed to need moving water, though I was totally prepared to buy one of those ceramic pet fountains.
Our cat has shown an interest in water only as far as sometimes stepping onto the floor of the shower while it’s still wet. We’ve yet to bath him because he hasn’t needed it so far. I can bury my nose in his fur, inhale deeply, and smell virtually nothing. However, my niece is highly allergic to cat dander, so much so that Claritin has virtually no affect when she takes it to try to tolerate being around 태민. Christmas will be at our house again this year, so I went online and found a couple of suggestions for helping to keep the dander at bay. 1). Shampoo the carpets and upholstery just before the allergic person comes to visit. 2). Bathe the cat. I’m not looking forward to trying to wrangle a 14lb. Ragdoll in the bathtub. God only knows how he’ll react. He wriggles and protests mournfully as if we are trying to murder him when we clip his nails every three weeks (a job that takes the two of us to accomplish). Let us pray brothers and sisters. [-O<
Poetsheart, I hope you will have a helper with a camera capturing the cat bath process. I look forward to watching it on Youtube!
BunsenBurner, thanks. 태민 was indeed an adorable kitten, and can still project some of the sweetest kitten-like expressions, but he looks pretty much full grown now, and is stunningly gorgeous, with seal mitted markings that seem to be constantly changing. And then there are those startling blue eyes…
Ragdolls can take up to four years to “fully mature” from what I’ve read. Their coloring can change clean up until that point, so it’s been fun trying to predict what it’ll do next. One of the reasons I chose a ragdoll is that they are single coated cats with, generally, medium length fur that doesn’t require intensive maintenance. But Taemin loves to be combed! He requests it at least twice a day, tapping me gently with his paw while looking toward the computer desk draw where the comb lives. He’s a quiet cat with a very demur voice, but you should hear how loudly he purrs while being combed. Afterward, his fur is incredibly soft, and there is the added bonus of far fewer fur deposits on floors and furniture. Helps keep the hair balls at bay, too (though we do liberally dose him with hair ball control treats as well). We haven’t come upon a surprise on the carpet (why do they always choose the carpeted areas?), or heard that ominous wrenching cough in months.
Bunsen, where are “the immigrant” cats from? How many of them are there? I know there are great advantages to having more than one cat, the biggest being that they can keep each other company and entertain one another. We’ve thought about getting another cat, but truthfully, I feel like one is the most we can be confident of properly maintaining at this point.
The two cats in my avatar are the kitties our D found in a dumpster while working for a US NGO in Central Asia (Kazakhstan) - not without the help of her enthusiastic US boss who adopted and brought back to the US 7 (!) dumpster cats. Of course, when D’s fellowship came to its end, the cats had to come to the US. That was quite a story - I promise I will write about that later. The kitties are presumably brother and sister, and they display a lot of affection for each other because they have bonded with each other during their kittenhood. They sleep curled up in a big cat ball and lick each other’s faces. So cute. The US citizen cat is the older female same D found on Petfinder when she bored during her spring break. The citizen cat came from a cat hoarder house and apparently is severely inbread. 
She was so small she could fit into the palm of my hand! She almost died twice (!) in her first year of life; the only thing that saved her was her voracious appetite! When she had to wear a plastic cone after her spay surgery, she would use the cone to scoop the food, lol. Despite my efforts to limit her food, she weighs 18 lb. She was not a happy camper when the two immigrants came to live with us! It took 10 months for the cats to figure out their hierarchy. Sigh. Cats apparently do well in pairs… Three cats are not a good combo.
So, long story short. If you cat is happy as an only child, let him be the only child.
Argh! Purina stopped making the soft treats, which were the only way I could get my old guy’s twice-daily pill down him. I panic-bought Pounce, Pill Pockets, and Meow Mix Irresistibles, and he’s having none of it.
Wow, now that’s some dedication and love!
D’aaaaw…! I hope you have lot of pictures of these sessions. :x
Wow, and wow, and wow! The way she used her cone of shame to scoop up food gives new meaning to the term, “food motivated.” 
poetsheart: We have a cat that has cat dandruff. She gets a bath every so often when it flares up. We take her to a groomer for an oatmeal bath. The groomer charges $25 if the cat gives her no trouble, which I think is reasonable. She says my cat complains quite vocally, perhaps using kitty obscenities, but never bites etc. My daughter just took her two bengal cats for a bath this week (first time) and they behaved also. She took one because of kitty dandruff and the other because of shedding. She’s pleased with the results.
If you decide to go the grooming route, check around. I found quite a price range and even an option for a mobile groomer.
Lasma: We had to give Iggy a pill a day for a while and he didn’t fall for pill pockets etc. We bought a pill gun for cats and - while not perfect - at least got the pill in him on the first try each time. We bought it on Amazon but pet stores carry them also. I think it cost around $5.
Here’s what they looks like: https://www.google.com/search?q=pet+pill+gun&client=safari&channel=iphone_bm&biw=2005&bih=1252&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=uk6ZVareH4XDsAWL7pXQDw&sqi=2&ved=0CH8QsAQ
My husband held Iggy and I shot the pill in (side of mouth). Still a pain to do but at least the pill went where it should rather than on the floor multiple times.
My cat Pug takes a pill each night. She loved the pill pockets until recently. Now she eats the pill pocket (with pill) along with two or three cat treats. I’m dreading the day when she stops doing even that. It’s been easy so far.
Ziggy approves of this thread.
My favorite thing he does: whenever I come home, and sometimes during the day when I’m already at home, he loves to stand up against me, stretching his paws up as high as possible (and he’s as tall for a cat as I’m short for a person, so his reach extends well past my waist), and beg me to pick him up. Which of course I do, and carry him around with his head on my shoulder, paws resting on me, holding him exactly like I held my son as a toddler. Sometimes for as long as 10 minutes at a time before he jumps down. I have never known a cat as affectionate as he is.
Awwww, Donna! The little tortie in my avatar likes to be held and carried around like a baby. Her big brother tries to wiggle out of my embrace, but as soon as I start rubbing his belly, he relaxes and becomes a big, plush toy. He is the first cat I met who likes when people, even our visitors, scratch his belly!
Wow. Cats actually herd mice? 
My domestic short hair likes to have his belly scratched, but you have to know when to stop, or he will “bite” you. He’s never really hurt anyone, but he does get irritated at some point. Kind of weird, but that’s who he is. In the TMi I and I should be “ashamed” department, he has decided that our kitchen table is a lovely place to hang out. I never thought I would sink this low
We are at our lake house for the weekend. Today, kitty was sleeping in “my chair,” which is right next to DH’s chair. I had made myself some breakfast, walked toward my chair, saw Kitty, and decided to eat at the table. DH said, “Did you just let a CAT usurp you from your rightful place?!?! Really?!?!?”
I had to admit I had not wanted to disturb the little princess. Yeah, I’ve got it bad. :">
Cats take over the stage at the G20 summit in Turkey:
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-34830110
Security? What security?