I will never have a cat ever again.

[sammyg2]

Originally Posted by vash

Doing laundry. Dumped a load onto bed to fold. Went to wash next load.

Came back and my cat burrowed into the warm pile and proceeded to vomit over the entire thing.

Now? I’m at a coin-op laundry washing the down comforter and blanket. My home machine isn’t big enough.

I’ll be lying if I didn’t quietly wonder if I had any subsonic .22 anymore.

No more. This is last cat. Forever. Somebody come and punch me in the stomach if I waver.

To paraphrase others:
There are no bad cats, only bad owners

[widebody911]

Originally Posted by sammyg2

To paraphrase others:
There are no bad cats, only bad owners

You say that in jest, but there is more than a little bit of truth to it. Cats need socializing even more than dogs do, because "social" isn't their default mode. Even the outside strays around our house will climb into your lap when you sit down because they've been extensively socialized.

[reachme]

[Pazuzu]

Our life changed when we got a cat.

It changed again, for the better, when we got the second one.

See, the first one had teeth and claws and was bored, so when you came home or woke up in the morning, the teeth and claws and pent up frustration came together in a flurry of blood and spit.

Once we got a second cat, they kept each other busy during the day and all night, so they were both calm and content when we were around. It's literally 1000 times better having a second cat.

The 3 strays that live outside are perfect, they never hiss or pull out a claw when we pick them up or feed them, because they're plenty socialized. One day we will find them nice homes, and they will end up being great cats.

[vash]

my cat's signature more:

she will sneak up on my while i am in deep REM sleep. she creeps up on the night stand, and will leap up in the air and land on my belly. to wake me up, so i can feed her.

she has not learned that i do not negotiate with terrorist.

one time i faked sleep and watched her do the entire maneuver.

[mepstein]

My cat used to knock over glasses on the table. He would look you in the eye and bat it over with his paw. He also used to steal the ham out of my daughters ham and cheese sandwiches, leave the rest.

[Evans, Marv]

My first pet was a cat I got from a junk yard when I was in first grade. I had to tame him. He was used to defending himself from the Doberman pincers and German shepherds that guarded the junk yard and could demolish any dog. He turned out to be a great pet, though he didn't pay much attention to anybody else but me.

[javadog]

The first half of my adult life I owned five cats and was around countless others. I like cats, but I will never own another one. I have since owned five dogs, still have two of them, probably will always own at least one or two dogs. I find that dogs make far better pets and that is just the bottom line.

I have a few friends that still have a few cats and when those cats expire, they will not be replaced. I don't know if this is a trend or just simply a realization that people come to after owning cats for an extended period of time.

I see a lot of cat ownership with the younger generations, so perhaps cats are more suited to a young adult life style than dogs. When you're young, you don't want to be tied down and cats require a lot less maintenance, or to put it another way, will put up with a lot less care.

To vash I will say that it's interesting how much wisdom we acquire from simply living our daily lives. Now that you have acquired this wisdom about cats, you must stay strong and not have another one foisted upon you by outside influences.

[vash]

Java hit the nail on the head.

i love my cat and will defend and take care of her until she passes. it will be a sad day..sad sad day.

but never again. i have a $900 dental thing coming up. no biggie since my wife's last cat developed an allergy. i chit you not..the vet said she was allergic to her teeth. gums from hell.

my cat: she is why i cannot have nice things. i bought a custom upholstered chair. i have never seen it. i have it covered with a painters canvas tarp. i surrounded it with three scratching post coated with catnip. she would get all amped up on the weed and go after the chair. walk right past $300 worth of cat post. hahaha..

and i swear, if she was the size of my dog, i bet she would kill me for fun.

[vash]

i have asked Siri:

"what is the average lifespan of an American Standard cat"..

my wife thinks i am not funny...but it is a little bit funny..maybe not to BAZ

[widebody911]

Originally Posted by vash

i chit you not..the vet said she was allergic to her teeth. gums from hell.

A friend of mine's wife has a cat like that. Had to have all of its teeth pulled.

[ckelly78z]

We do have outside barn cats that I like scritching now and then, but no more will be allowed in the house, and the "box of chit" will also go away for good.

[stomachmonkey]

I've had 15 cats in my lifetime.

Currently have 4.

We volunteer for a cat rescue socializing them to make adoption easier so I'm interacting with new ones every couple a few weeks.

Each one has been unique, no two with the same personality.

Some are total *******s but most are great.

The *******s won't prevent me from getting more in the future.

Our current issue is trying to have no more than 4 at a time.

YMMV.

[LeeH]

Originally Posted by vash

but never again. i have a $900 dental thing coming up. no biggie since my wife's last cat developed an allergy. i chit you not..the vet said she was allergic to her teeth. gums from hell.

Yep. Had a cat for 15 years. The last 5 he started throwing up more and more. Eventually, the vet came to the conclusion that he had gum problems that were causing lesions in his throat. By this time he was pretty sick. He'd throw up just about every time he'd eat... lost a lot of weight, stopped grooming.

His farewell act was to start heaving, then run behind the TV cabinet and projectile vomit into the back of the satellite box, the DVD player, the center speaker, etc. He's been gone for 10 years, but I bet I could find some remnants of it today.

My wife had been very sympathetic towards him until then. My recollection was that the vet said they needed to pull all of his teeth, which was going to run around $1500 for the entire procedure start to finish.

[stomachmonkey]

Originally Posted by LeeH

Yep. Had a cat for 15 years. The last 5 he started throwing up more and more. Eventually, the vet came to the conclusion that he had gum problems that were causing lesions in his throat. By this time he was pretty sick. He'd throw up just about every time he'd eat... lost a lot of weight, stopped grooming.

His farewell act was to start heaving, then run behind the TV cabinet and projectile vomit into the back of the satellite box, the DVD player, the center speaker, etc. He's been gone for 10 years, but I bet I could find some remnants of it today.

My wife had been very sympathetic towards him until then. My recollection was that the vet said they needed to pull all of his teeth, which was going to run around $1500 for the entire procedure start to finish.

Had a radioactive cat.

Turok, my big Orange Tuxedo.

He was more like a dog than a cat.

Real chill, would greet people at the door.

Started losing weight. Turned out to be a thyroid issue.

We went with a radioactive Iodine treatment.

He spent two weeks in quarantine at the vets then another two weeks at home.

We were not allowed to spend more than 15 minutes a day with him for those two weeks at home.

We set him up in our master bath.

Made a nice cat condo out of our Mastiffs crate so he had plenty of room.

First night the little ****er got pissed off and flung radioactive cat litter into every corner and crevice of the entire bathroom.

Mind you I'm supposed to be wearing a hazmat suit just to clean the litter box.

We gave him free roam of the bathroom after that.

I'd do it again without blinking an eye.

We had him another 4 years.

[Bill Douglas]

Originally Posted by vash

and proceeded to vomit over the entire thing.

Vash, that's cat speak for "I love you."

[sammyg2]

We have a cat that is actually pretty cool to have around.
She pissed me off when she clawed up the dining room table legs and took the wall paper off the wall in one spot, but I'm just about over that.

She's fun and entertaining, but I'd like her more if she were more like a dog.

[ckelly78z]

I think a cat(s) could be entertaining, and part of the family, if it weren't for our dogs. I am much more of a dog person, so.....

[gacook]

And I'm just the opposite--I've decided to never have a dog again.

We just bumped from 2 cats to three last week, and all of them are awesome. Very affectionate and very sociable. Can't remember any cat I've ever owned vomiting in the house...don't know what's up with that.

The big thing for me is that cats are independent. I like that. Further, I'm a bit of a neat freak and I'm just done cleaning up dog hair (not to mention the messes outside). I have dark hardwood floors throughout my house and a big Golden Lab. That combination is just the right mix that when I spend my time vacuuming, mopping, etc...the house looks like crap again 5 minutes later.

Love my dog (daughter's dog, really) but will be happy once nature has run its course with him. I'll always have cats.

[sugarwood]

I thought he was talking about emissions