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Cat Forum / Health and Behavior / March 2006Behavior modification; cats and strangers
Last year, this cat used to visit me regularly in late afternoon, eat her favorite canned foods, watch tv, then leave. During the winter a family emergency forced us to go overseas. We had an apt-sitter, who I couldn't expect to be like me and who mostly left dry food out. At least the cat could eat. Coming back, I find the cat is slowly warming back to me but her habits have changed. (1) She has become used to dry food. I have been putting out a little bit of canned each time but she barely notices it. I want her to eat canned but my first priority has got to be that she ha enough to eat, right? (2) She has become used to eating around 1PM. At 5, I had about 2 hours to watch news and play with her. At 1 I am busy at the computer with real work and she feels ignored and looks grumpy. My fear is if I don't feed her when she comes, instead of returning later she may simply give up on me. Questions so far: How can I make her come around 5pm, eat canned food, and feel it is all her idea? :-) (3) Yet another potential problem is that two new families are about to move into the ground floor apartments that have been empty so far. She passes through those porches to climb to our 3rd floor. Now there could be a few strangers in her path. For a few days last Fall, there were wormen in the yard, not even in her direct path, but she hid untill everyone had left and came several hours later, still looking anxious. I am worried by that memory, Question: What can I do to let her know these new people are ok and she should just climb up? Should I not bother trying to force too many changes, and just keep feeding dry whenever she shows up at least until she gets used to the presence of new people? All opinions greatly appreciated. > Last year, this cat used to visit me regularly in late afternoon, eat > her favorite canned foods, watch tv, then leave. [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > Coming back, I find the cat is slowly warming back to me but her habits > have changed. Do you know whether the cat is homeless? Have you tried to find out who owns it? If nobody owns it, keep it indoors. It shouldn't be roaming around anyway. I agree. Keep her indoors. >I agree. Keep her indoors. That may not be legal. The cat may well have several owners that you don't know about. Here in the US dog law is straight forward, the dog has one owner. Cat law isn't in that the cat often has several owners none of whom know about each other. So it may be illegal/unwise for you to keep the cat inside. In order for you to keep it inside you'd have to establish that it is indeed homeless and that may next to impossible to do. >>I agree. Keep her indoors. > That may not be legal. The cat may well have several owners [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > In order for you to keep it inside you'd have to establish that > it is indeed homeless and that may next to impossible to do. actually, any cat not confined to an owner's property is technically classified as a stray [snip] > actually, any cat not confined to an owner's property is > technically classified as a stray Not in this country. Not everyone is in the US. Ivor >> In order for you to keep it inside you'd have to establish that >> it is indeed homeless and that may next to impossible to do. >> >actually, any cat not confined to an owner's property is technically >classified as a stray Maybe where you live but not here. (United States). >Do you know whether the cat is homeless? Have you tried to find out who owns >it? > >If nobody owns it, keep it indoors. It shouldn't be roaming around anyway. You may never know if it is homeless. One thing I discovered around here (US) is that when it comes to cat law, it gets very complicated. A cat may have several "owners" none of whom know about the others. It may be with one of those owners at 5pm. As far as the being afraid of people, not unusual. When the cat comes at 1pm could it be because it is light out? Around here in the US it gets dark at 4:30pm, As far as food my preference is dry food for cats. : As far as food my preference is dry food for cats. This caught my eye. Why do you think so? I always heard, including in these groups, that canned was better. >: As far as food my preference is dry food for cats. > >This caught my eye. Why do you think so? I always heard, including in >these groups, that canned was better. Moist food is alot water. Also if the cat chews the food dry food is better for it's teeth. My cats all prefer dry food. Some past cats preferred moist food but will not eat moist food out of the refrigerator. Even if it was heated up in the microwave. So now i'm glad that all my cats have a preference for dry food. >>: As far as food my preference is dry food for cats. >> [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > Moist food is alot water. Also if the cat chews the food > dry food is better for it's teeth. This is an old wives tale. Google it. dry food is not better for the teeth. Cats need water, and do not have a high thirst drive. It is better if it comes in their food. Look up the moisture content of mice and rodents and birds.. Has a lot more water in it than dry food. > My cats all prefer dry food. this is because this is what they know and are used to. Cats in general do not like change. > Some past cats preferred moist food but will not eat moist food out of > the refrigerator. Even if it was heated up in the microwave. So now > i'm glad that all my cats have a preference for dry food. Dry food is becoming the "McDonalds" of cat food. Research has shown they have had to put additives and spray on fat to the dry food to get it to be palatable to the cats. It is often referred to as kitty crack. What sugary cereals are to kids, dry food is to cats. Research is also showing that a wide variety of diseases including diabetes can be either better controlled or completely regulated by removing cats from dry food and putting them on a low carb canned food. All dry food is extremely high in carbohydrates - something cats are not designed to eat. Your cats - and millions of others - may do very well on dry food, but it is not better for them, and on the whole isn't even that good for them. > >: As far as food my preference is dry food for cats. > > > >This caught my eye. Why do you think so? I always heard, including in > >these groups, that canned was better. > > Moist food is alot water. Canned food generally contains more protein than an equal quality dry food. The water has noting to do with nutrient content. The most accurate way to compare dry food to canned food is on a caloric basis. For example, SD Original Dry contains 7.7 grams of protein per 100 kcals. SD Adult Turkey contains 8.3 grams. Similarly, on a dry matter basis, SD Adult Dry contains 33.5% protein whereas SD Adult Turkey contains 35.1%. Canned food almost assures the cat is well hydrated. Even though cats fed dry food drink more water than cats fed canned food, their total water intake and water turnover is less. Cats are carnivores and evolved to obtain most of their water from their prey thus they never developed a strong thirst drive. Also if the cat chews the food > dry food is better for it's teeth. That's *if* the cat chews the food- The problem is cats can't chew food in the sense of mastication- their jaws aren't capable of rotary or horizontal motion. The cat's jaw and teeth are designed to cut food- The upper and lower molar and premolars slide accross each other like a pair of shears. The only dry food that might have some dental benefit are special dental diets that have large nuggets that the cat's teeth can sink into, and nuggets that don't shatter when the cat bites into them. > My cats all prefer dry food. That's because they were probably weaned on dry food. Cats' texture preferences are very strongly influenced by the type of food they were fed at a young age. > Some past cats preferred moist food but will not eat moist food out of > the refrigerator. Even if it was heated up in the microwave. So now > i'm glad that all my cats have a preference for dry food. Do some research on feline nutrition- I think you'll change your mind. Start here: http://maxshouse.com/feline_nutrition.htm Then go here: http://home.earthlink.net/~jacm2/id1.html : Do you know whether the cat is homeless? Have you tried : to find out who owns it? : : If nobody owns it, keep it indoors. It shouldn't be roaming : around anyway. She lives among 5-6 interconnected yards. AFAIK she does not venture beyond these and does not need to cross any road or traffic. I only worried about her comfort during the coldest of winter days, otherwise she is safe and can be said to have her pick of many homes (lawns, bushes, garages, space under porchs, etc). She seems more attacched to one particular yard, so that may have been her home once. Or maybe she just likes it there. She is well known and accepted, but no one I could talked to remembers any real "owners" or when and where from she came. As this "advice" keeps coming up, I have explained before that some in our family are opposed to taking in a pet, and she herself shows no desire to stay beyond 2-3 hours max. > > Last year, this cat used to visit me regularly in late afternoon, eat > > her favorite canned foods, watch tv, then leave. [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > > If nobody owns it, keep it indoors. It shouldn't be roaming around anyway. Ryan, what a surprise, I should have know you would be are a cat fancier. By the way, I like the messages you post over on the 'Lost' NG. Fred Ellis  SignatureWho do you serve. . . . And who do you trust? (To e-mail me, remove the X from my address) > Last year, this cat used to visit me regularly in late afternoon, eat > her favorite canned foods, watch tv, then leave. [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > canned but my first priority has got to be that she ha enough to eat, > right? She should be fine with just the dry food. Vet told me to feed one of mine only dry food. > (2) She has become used to eating around 1PM. At 5, I had about 2 hours > to watch news and play with her. At 1 I am busy at the computer with > real work and she feels ignored and looks grumpy. My fear is if I don't > feed her when she comes, instead of returning later she may simply give > up on me. Let her wait, 15 minutes one day then 25, then an hour till you get back to 5 PM. > Questions so far: How can I make her come around 5pm, eat canned food, > and feel it is all her idea? :-) See above > (3) Yet another potential problem is that two new families are about to > move into the ground floor apartments that have been empty so far. She [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > Question: What can I do to let her know these new people are ok and she > should just climb up? Intro her to them, and ditto for yourself. > Should I not bother trying to force too many changes, and just keep > feeding dry whenever she shows up at least until she gets used to the > presence of new people? She'll adjust most likely. She knows where the food is coming from. > All opinions greatly appreciated. And don't listen to those that freak at the thought of a cat being allowed to be a cat. Better a good life than a long life of denied essence of being. If a cat wants to be outside it should be allowed, locking it up only breaks it's will unless it truly wants to stick around inside. I live out in the forest so I can say that. There are some good arguments for those in the city though. High traffic etcetera. Stone Some pic's http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/stoneman72/my_photos >> Last year, this cat used to visit me regularly in late afternoon, eat >> her favorite canned foods, watch tv, then leave. [quoted text clipped - 59 lines] > Stone > Some pic's http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/stoneman72/my_photos I think you can take ownership of the cat if you don't know that it belongs to anyone and perhaps keep her in at night/bed time where you know she's safe and out during the day. You already know she'll come back to you, so that wouldn't be a problem. If you live in an apartment building, my guess is you live in a at least somewhat high traffic area. Introduce yourself to your new neighbors and introduce the cat and if you don't want to take full ownership, maybe just tell them that she comes to you for food sometimes so not to worry about seeing her wandering around. But, I think if she loves you enough to keep coming back, then perhaps you should let her fully claim you:) Beth : I think you can take ownership of the cat if you don't know that it belongs : to anyone and perhaps keep her in at night/bed time where you know she's [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] : you enough to keep coming back, then perhaps you should let her fully claim : you:) We live on a low traffic residential street, mostly homes, ours is the only apt building. She doesn't go even to this street. She lives in 5-6 interconnected backyards. The total area is fenced in and while she could get out if she wanted to, I have never seen her do so. Nor is there a need. She has a large area to roam from basements to yards to a 3rd floor porch, food, and a variety of shelter. I have seen her arrive without one drop of water on her immediately after long downpours, so she has good rain shelters. I have not been able to and don't know how to ascertain if she has comfortable winter shelters on bitter cold days and, after weighing various options, I will work on a cat door installed in our apt before next winter. This will give her an option, and she can ignore it if she has better ones. This is a transient community, we too are relative newcomers. I don't know her story, nor does any neighbor I could talk to. My best guess is she might have been an abandoned pet who settled in and made herself a new life she seems to prefer. We do love each other and I always emphasize that it wasn't for food that she started coming to me! She was fed by a neighbor who lived below us and had a cat of their own, but as their son was a terror she preferred our porch, quieter as well as the highest one, for rest and sunbathing. Then she started coming inside and watching tv with us. When the neighbors returned to Europe, I picked up feeding too. > I will work on a >cat door installed in our apt before next winter. This will give her an >option, and she can ignore it if she has better ones. I for one will never install a cat door. If a cat/dog can get in through the door so can a 6-12 year old kid. And around here those 6-12 year old kids whould just as easily kill you if you don't money or other stuff to steal. : I for one will never install a cat door. If a cat/dog can get in : through the door so can a 6-12 year old kid. And around here those : 6-12 year old kids whould just as easily kill you... LOL you must live in a bad area with skinny 6-12 yr old kids. :) I don't see such dangers here. In the end all life is local, I guess. |
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