On Tue, 18 Oct 2011 21:35:24 -0400, Cheryl >
wrote:

>On 10/18/2011 8:18 PM, A Moose in Love wrote:
>
>> I'm just curious, what's involved in having a cat as a pet. I live in
>> the city, and think that dogs should be unchained and running free.
>> However cats, it doesn't seem to hurt them that they are cooped up
>> inside for many days.
>> How much are vets fees, do they shed, etc. The only experience I have
>> are with cats that lived on our farm, and ran around outside. I don't
>> want to declaw them, but is that necessary? etc.
>
>First, there is no reason to declaw a cat. They come with claws and if
>you don't like that feature, pick another pet.
>
>They mostly do shed, and they scratch things. You can give them things
>that belong to them to scratch on, and trust me, they learn that they
>belong to them and they can scratch to their hearts content. You have to
>learn what they like to scratch. Some like vertical, some like
>horizontal. I offer both for scratching. I have cat trees that fit the
>decor of the rooms they are in, and are located where they can climb and
>love to look over their domain. I have smaller scratching posts at the
>corner of furniture that the cats would like to scratch, but the posts
>are more delightful for them so they use them.
>
>Vet bills are something you can't predict. I once used a vet insurance
>policy but the first time they paid out it was so small it wasn't worth
>it. I just plan for it in my budget. Regular exams for my cats are
>about $35 but it can vary, and of course shots or other treatment will
>be more.
>
>Go for high quality food because it will likely lead to lower vet bills
>from better nutrition.
>
>Environmental enrichment is important. More than one cat will help them
>have buddies. Sometimes they get along, sometimes they don't, but they
>have their own kind around and usually bond even just for grooming or
>playing (which can get rough). They may never be buddies but could
>surprise you because their purrsonalities change and they can settle
>down after they get comfortable.
>
>I just offer plenty of climbing places because they love to be on top.
>They like windows to survey their outside domain even if they don't go
>out their. I went one further step and had a screened in porch built
>for them. I'm still getting things in there for them so for now, it's
>just a chair and a couple of perches to be "up" which is what they like.
> They like to chew grass but it always make them hork and the grass
>hasn't grown yet in their outside thing so they fight over the few
>strands that do grow.
>
>Here's a pic from part of a series from my deck renovation.
>http://i54.tinypic.com/11cdson.jpg

That's a nice deck, looks new. But I hope you're not going to always
have such a crappy lawn. Take that damn grill off your deck before
you have a disaster... put it on your crappy lawn, at least 15 feet
from anything that can burn.