<p>If you are a cat owner, even if you can sleep through the loudest thunderstorm, NOTHING will get you leaping out of your bed faster than a cat sitting on the foot of your bed who suddenly starts to cough up a hairball, right? Don’t you just instantly come to life at the first sound of that violent retching, leaping to action to get that cat OFF the bed and onto an easily cleanable surface before the cat can regurgitate that mass all over your pretty linens or carpet? </p>
<p>When I saw that Shrek movie with the cat who starts to hurl up a hairball, I practically peed my pants laughing. Anyone who’s ever had a cat has seen that little drama played out on their favorite sofa, bed linens, carpet, etc. at least once if not dozens of times…:D</p>
<p>Oh, yeah! My Calico #2 was a prolific barfer. When she felt a hairball coming up, she would run up the stairs, position herself at the top and send a mudslide of barf down, hitting every single step! Oh, the joys of cat ownership. My current cats do not have the hairball issue.</p>
<p>somemom, we went for years without having barfing cats, but the current contingent is just awful about it. Hardly a day goes by without a little gift from someone. </p>
<p>The worst offender is our elderly semi-long haired boy, who has always been a great producer of hairballs. Of course, daily combing helps with that, but 6 months ago, he also started just straight barfing. Every single morning we woke to that awful horking sound. I took him to the vet, who said it could be related to all kinds of (expensive) problems, but suggested we start by treating for acid reflux. So the cat gets Cimetidine twice a day, and it has greatly reduced the problem; maybe once every 10 days, instead of daily. He seems to feel better too.</p>
<p>For pilling him, we tried the Greenies Pill Pockets, which were absolutely fantastic until the day he decided he wouldn’t touch them ever again. Now we use Whisker Lickins Tender Moments (lol). That’s a little more work, since we have to knead the treat to get it to a consistency that will hold the pill. Still, far better than the dreaded pill-shoving battle. And the other cats love the treats too, so hopefully future pilling problems are solved.</p>
<p>One of our Ragdolls used to “speak” on behalf of our rather dumb (dearly departed) Lab who would stand outside the glass deck door waiting to be let in and never bark. If we didn’t notice her right away, this cat, looking at her from the inside, would let out a very distinctive yelping meow that he never used for any other purpose. I suppose in catspeak it was “Hey–that ridiculous canine needs to be let back in.”</p>
<p>That same Raggie has always been very shy around strangers (unlike his very sociable brother). The Lab, as is typical, never met a human she didn’t adore. Whenever the doorbell rang, the Lab would rush through the foyer toward the door, obviously thinking “Oh my God, someone’s coming, how thrilling.” Simultaneously, shy Raggie would tear through the foyer and head up the stairs to hide out, obviously thinking “Oh my God, someone’s coming, how terrifying!” We had a Keystone cops near-collision moment with every ring.</p>
<p>Cat barf is no party, but I prefer the clean-up to having to walk a dog in every kind of weather. Every species has its pros and cons.</p>
<p>Mamma kitty helped to raise our youngest. She had night terrors frequently when she was young and instead of running away when she was screaming, mamma kitty would go to her and sit in her lap.</p>
<p>We have 2 long haired Birmans - brothers who are about 9 years old. We never had the issue with hairballs until about 18 months ago and it was pretty severe. Just constant every time either one of them ate. Apparently they shed more and so groom more as they age. We tried everything.</p>
<p>We went to a new vet who suggested giving them only wet food twice a day. He is totally against leaving dry food out all day and having the cats constantly eating. And apparently the wet food moves through the system quickly taking more hair with it. This was a big change for us but we were willing to try anything. It worked. We probably get a hairball a month now.</p>
<p>We also had a cat that loved showers. Some cats like to swim. I’d pick him up and he’d go limp under the hot water. He also loved to jump in the tub after someone else had showered to roll around in the water as it emptied. He didn’t like being dried nearly as much. He also loved playing in the snow; he dive and dig tunnels and leap out at you from hiding places. </p>
<p>One of our current guys likes being out in the rain. He also likes being dried off, which helps because he comes in soaked. </p>
<p>We have had my first cat for 9 years. Our toy Pom was 6 when we brought the kitten home and they got along great. Funny thing when our Pom died the cat took on many of his behaviors. He started sleeping with us which our dog always did. He is at the door when we get home and became much more social. So he acted like a cat his first 5 years and now is more like a dog. </p>
<p>Cats are the best. I rescued one around a year ago as a kitten from a tree. His name is Otto von Katzen. He seemed lonely, so 2 weeks ago we adopted 2 kittens. They are all grey/brown tabbies. Yesterday the older cat went to the litterbox for his kitty business, and then one of the kittens went inside to join him. Otto meowed and stared at me confused, and then the third cat went into the litterbox too. The kittens did their thing, and left their older mate to bury everything, meowing loudly.</p>
<p>It seemed to me like he may be having second thoughts about his new playmates.</p>
<p>I posted at length on CC about losing our 14 year old yellow lab last fall. She was the sweetest dog I’ve ever had and I cried daily for weeks. I still miss her deeply. But I’ve been a cat person long before that beautiful lady came into my life. I recently took our cat to the vet because she cries a lot, and I’ve worried that she’s in pain. The vet said, “how long has this been going on?” I responded, “well, for months, though I couldn’t tell you exactly when.” Vet asks, “Has anything changed in her routine?” I said, “No, nothing.” “Wait…our lab died.” “Okay, how long had kitty known the lab?” Me: “Ummm, all her life.” Vet: “Well, is there a possibility she is in mourning?” </p>
<p>OMG. This just breaks my heart. Kitty misses our sweet lady too. She cries out for her and doesn’t understand where she’s gone. Kitty used to groom sweet lab’s face, and they played every night right before dinner time.</p>
<p>Just so that I won’t cry:
Worst/best cat memory: We had invited a young person who worked for DH to Thanksgiving dinner , possibly her first far from home. Many people, much noise, everything finally on the dining room table, an awkward blessing trying to include all faiths. As we sat back down, guest (who alone had a view to the kitchen) whispered “the cat is eating the turkey”). Yep, our aged Siamese had managed to leap up to the kitchen island and find her dinner.</p>
<p>For those who need act two, we had carved enough onto dining room platters. Guest never mentioned it. Cat lived . </p>
<p>I worked with a really smart, assertive, GORGEOUS young nurse in my ICU unit. She loved to date, and young men loved to date her. She had a cat and loved him dearly. I said, “What if you meet some amazing guy, smart, ambitious, great looking, successful, etc., and he tells you he hates cats?” She didn’t hesitate and said, “I’d say he is a complete effing idiot and don’t ever call me again!” </p>
<p>I wonder if she ever found her wonderful guy who also loves her cat…</p>
<p>Okay, it’s totally off-topic, but the Siamese cat turkey story reminded me of that classic and hilarious episode of Mad About You where the young couple is nervously hosting their first Thanksgiving and their dog eats the turkey–before any of it is carved. Hijinks ensue, of course. </p>
<p>"I worked with a really smart, assertive, GORGEOUS young nurse in my ICU unit. She loved to date, and young men loved to date her. She had a cat and loved him dearly. I said, “What if you meet some amazing guy, smart, ambitious, great looking, successful, etc., and he tells you he hates cats?” She didn’t hesitate and said, “I’d say he is a complete effing idiot and don’t ever call me again!” "</p>
<p>Nrdsb, this pretty much describes my D, the (young) self-proclaimed cat lady. :)</p>
<p>^^^Ha ha, funny. D1 has been dating someone for about a year. He has a cat, so she is thrilled. Her apartment doesn’t allow pets, so she gets her cat fix when she goes to his place.</p>