Happy Anniversary to Us!
Today marks the one year anniversary of the day that Steven and I adopted Bella kitty from Christine.
I can't believe it's been a year already! Thankfully she's been potty trained in that time except for the occasional "my box isn't pristine, so I'm going to pee on the floor" incident. She's a wonderful cat and I love having her in our little family. Happy anniversary to all of us!
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yay, Bella Kitty! Happy Anniversary!
Posted by mikey at August 8, 2003 03:52 PM
YAY! What a pretty kitty!
*HUGS*
Posted by :: jozjozjoz :: at August 8, 2003 03:59 PM
What a beautiful kitty!!! Happy anniversary!
Posted by teresa at August 8, 2003 08:40 PM
I'm so glad that things worked out with Bella! She's such a pretty cat. Congrats on the one year mark.
Posted by Lisa-grrl at August 9, 2003 10:34 AM
Happy anniversary to everyone! I started reading your blog right about the time you got Bella. :)
Posted by Marie at August 9, 2003 02:08 PM
She is such a beautiful kitty - I still miss Bella, but I am SO happy she has such a wonderful home where she is so loved!
Posted by Christine at August 9, 2003 06:27 PM
Aww what a cute kitty as well as Steven. 
Posted by Martie at August 11, 2003 09:44 PM
Hi! I'm sorry to bother you, but my cat is quite grumpy after her shots today and so I was doing searches to see if this way normal and your Bella mad-after-shots-experience from February popped up.
I just wanted to say thanks for mentioning it as I was getting quite worried.. :)
Posted by Amy at September 4, 2003 04:41 PM
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Steven and Bella
This picture's up over at the Neurotic Fishbowl Moblog, but since it's my favorite picture of Steven and Bella together ever, I had to post here for everyone to see. How cute are they, huh?
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What a great pic! Thanks for sharing. :)
Posted by Hey Lisa at June 8, 2003 12:11 AM
Absolutely adorable! I especially love the shot of Bella with her head cocked to one side staring at you like you're nuts on the Moblog. Absolutely priceless! LOL! :)
Posted by Kathy at June 8, 2003 01:24 AM
they are too cute! look at bella's face, she looks like she is thinking really hard about something.
Posted by jane at June 8, 2003 09:26 AM
that picture is priceless!
Posted by munin at June 8, 2003 06:59 PM
What a great picture! I love catching those moments.
Posted by ginadapooh at June 8, 2003 11:55 PM
Awwwww! What a sweet pea! She looks all lushy like my kitty! I just want to squeeze her!
Posted by Hunter at June 9, 2003 12:24 AM
They're both adorable - but that look on Bella's face is just PRICELESS!
I tried to moblog several times on Saturday, but it wouldn't "take". *sigh* I guess I should try again. I can't wait until I can moblog with MT or WordPress! (Mike's working on code for me! Yeah!)
Posted by Christine at June 10, 2003 12:13 AM
They totally look alike..
Posted by sean at June 10, 2003 01:07 AM
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Guess what happens...
...when you leave the free sample bag of Purina One kitty food you got in the mail today, just laying around...
Guess I wasn't thinking! With eight cats, we buy the largest bags of cat food, and then dump them out into plastic bins...so there are no bags for hungry kitties to rip open!
Oh, well! What can you do? Pictured here is the Stripecat.
This has been a guest post from Christine of The Passionate Ailurophile
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LOL! Ooops! Silly kitty! :)
Posted by kristine at May 13, 2003 12:26 AM
LOL! Adorable cat though! :) Looks like a cat I had which now my friend in Colorado has, named Mojo.
Posted by Kimberly (guestblogger) at May 13, 2003 03:04 AM
lol! 
Posted by Mandie at May 13, 2003 06:55 AM
My kitties were more than happy to tear into bags for a snack a few times in the past as well, so we've got to use the plastic bins too.
Posted by gingersmack at May 13, 2003 11:27 AM
LOL I have done that one to many times including forgetting to put the catnip away. :)
Posted by Martie at May 13, 2003 12:50 PM
Very cute this cat
Posted by Claudio at May 14, 2003 07:44 AM
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Kitty Problem
I posted on Friday that Bella wasn't feeling well after going to the vet and getting four (it was four, not three) shots.
It's been a couple of days now and she's still pissy if anyone picks her up (she was never like this before) and while she's using her box, she's also peeing in the floor, one time right in front of Steven.
I'm planning on calling the vet tomorrow and telling them about all of this, but I thought I'd ask and see if any of my readers might now if this is normal behavior or not. I miss my sweet kitty. :-(
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What kind of shots? I would think that some types of shots might have more of an effect than others.
Posted by Art at February 16, 2003 05:50 PM
My cats get three separate vaccinations: rabies, FVRCP (a combo vaccine for distemper and a few other diseases) and FeLV. It is normal for them to be a bit cranky and lethargic for about a day afterwards, but I've never had the peeing on the floor problem.
I've also never seen this go on for as long as it is with Bella. Usually my kitties are back to their normal selves by the end of the day.
It might prove to be nothing, but I would still be concerned. You are doing the right thing by calling the vet tomorrow.
I wish I could be of more help here. I hope Bella feels better soon!
Posted by Christine at February 16, 2003 06:13 PM
Aw, poor kitty. Maybe she is having some sort of reaction to the shots. I would definitely take her in asap. Hope she feels better soon.
Posted by Steph at February 16, 2003 07:52 PM
After going through something similiar with my baby Phoebe, I have to say that it sounds like a behavioural problem. You can always take her back to the vet and rule out a UTI, etc., but if that comes back clear, it's more than likely that she's upset about something. If you need more info, drop me an email. I have several link on cat behaviour.
Posted by Jenni at February 16, 2003 11:27 PM
Knowing how she was at Christine's house I'd think it's revenge of angry Bella (usually allergic reaction happen sooner, but the UTI test is definitely a good thing.)
One of the best tricks with a behavior problem cat is to try and exhaust them with whatever kind of play they like. Usually once they have a quality feather stick play session they'll forget why they were mad.
Posted by Cis at February 17, 2003 07:51 AM
I know now that one of our cats is older (almost 17) he doesnt get all his shots at one time because the normal reaction to them (sluggishness and sometime mood 'swings') tend to last longer and they are more sore after getting their shots...but I think talking to your vet is the best thing to do, at least you will know what it might be instead of trying to guess for yourself!
Good luck!
Posted by Jennifer at February 17, 2003 11:58 AM
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Poor Bella
My poor Belly Girl (as I like to call Isabella AKA Bella, our cat) had to go to the vet today for a check-up and she got three different shots. She was pissy as soon as we got home, took a giant dump in front of the door, and now hasn't moved for hours. I think the shots made her feel really bad. Poor kitty. :-(
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Super Kitty
As of late, Bella has become obsessed with the algae eater that we have in our 55 gallon tank. It's very odd since currently he's the only thing in there and she doesn't pay any attention to the two tanks in the computer room which have the lively, always moving goldfish. All I can figure out is that he confuses her since he doesn't move much and she's trying to decide what the hell he is. She's spent the better part of almost two weeks in front of the tank, rarely coming to sit with me in the back room and even sleeping on the table that faces it instead of with us in the bed.
This morning, at about 4:45, she hops up in the bed. Her bell wakes me up, so I call to her to come cuddle with me. Instead, she remains sitting by my foot, meowing. I sit up and lean towards her, squinting, to see if anything is wrong. Since it's fairly dark and I don't have any glasses on, all I can see is that she's brought a black blob up with her. I immediately think, "OMG. She learned how to open the tank and caught the algae eater." Leaning closer I see it's one of her feather wands (though not the one from the infamous Hellcat picture). I say out loud, "She's got her feather wand," and hand it to Steven who's also stirring at this point. It's then that things take a turn for what could have truly been a disastrous conclusion.
We live in a loft condo and for, whatever reason, Steven tossed the feather behind him over the ledge to the floor below. Bella runs at the feather and continues over the ledge, which is probably twenty feet high. I hear a thud and Steven yells an obscenity, while I scramble for the lights and he starts running downstairs. She had missed landing on the glass table (I shudder to think how badly she might have been hurt) and appeared to be fine. We petted her and looked for any injuries she might have sustained, but she just wanted to go back downstairs and sit in front of the tank so we let her.
When I woke up this morning she wasn't at my feet like she usually is and I started thinking she had died from internal injuries overnight and refused to get out of bed until Steven would go check on her. She was fine and even played with us, so I guess all's well that ends well. Maybe she just wanted to take this pose to the next level.
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Glad she's okay! And now that your adrenaline is flowing, you should be wide awake to tackle the day.
Posted by wendell at December 18, 2002 01:19 PM
Oh my. They can be so stupid sometimes. I mean cats, not men. Glad she's okay!
Posted by Kim at December 18, 2002 01:26 PM
Hehehe...you a have a super cat...Kinda like Mighty Mouse...but a cat. LOL! I love my three kitties, but I admit, cats are weird.
Posted by Rilana at December 18, 2002 01:50 PM
Whew! So glad she's OK. Hope Steven doesn't feel too bad. I'm glad she's doing better with the litterbox thing--so many other people would have just gotten rid of her. Thanks for making a commitment.
Posted by Lisa at December 19, 2002 09:49 AM
Kim, it could probably go the other way around too! :P
Glad Bella's okay, kitties are pretty reselient that way.
Posted by jana at December 20, 2002 11:16 AM
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Litterbox Problems? Here's Some Solutions.
The other night Steven gave me an ultimatum regarding Bella - she had until the end of November to become litterbox trained or she was going to have to find a new home. We've had her now for over two and a half months and she's peed in a few places dozens of times.
Since I love my kittles and don't want to get rid of her, I did some scouring around the Net and found some excellent resources. Based on articles that I read, we put a second litterbox upstairs and used citrus smelling carpet deodorizer on places we didn't want her to pee.
As soon as Steven set the second litterbox up and moved it upstairs near my side of the my bed (a place she's particularly fond of peeing on), we took her upstairs. We placed her in the box, praised her, petted on her, and made a fuss about her, giving her a kitty treat to eat. We backed off and Steven went downstairs. I moved to the end of the bed and watched, with amazement, as she climbed back in the box and peed! I called for Steven and we fussed over her and gave her two more little treats to eat.
Later on, Steven went to the bathroom where we keep her during the day to play with her. The articles said to play with her and pet her in there so she doesn't feel like it's a punishment to be put in there. He looked over, and lo and behold!, she'd actually already pooped in the box down here!
Tonight she went upstairs and I waited a little bit and followed her up there to see what she was doing. She was in the box, but me showing up with cat treats was enough to distract her from doing her business. I told her she was a good girl for getting in her box and gave her a treat anyway so that she'll associate getting in the box with positive reinforcement. I went upstairs later and she'd gotten back in and done her business.
Last night and tonight she actually seemed to be happier too, though that might sound funny. She was a lot less skittish than she'd been the past few weeks and wanted to be played with and cuddled with a lot more. All the articles said that the was probably stressed over the fact that she felt like she had to use the floor to pee, so not only are we going to be happier now that she's using the box, she is too. I hate to say after only a few days that we've solved the litterbox problem, but she's three for three on using the box. Steven and I are both crossing our fingers that now she'll continue to use her box.
If you're having the same problem we were, here's some of the links that I found particularly helpful. Also, Cats International welcomes both mail and phone calls to help you with your feline problems, free of charge. They had a wonderful mission statement and I will probably make them one of the charities that I donate to.
.: It's a Cat's World - Litterbox Training
.: Cats International - Prevention of Litterbox Problems
.: Cats International - Litterbox Problem Solutions
.: Perfect Paws - Litter Box Training Your Cat
.: Perfect Paws - Basic Cat Training or How Cats Learn
.: King County Animal Services - Adult Cat and the Litterbox
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I sure hope this solves the problem...you don't want to get rid of a sweet kittie.
Posted by sandy at October 24, 2002 11:01 AM
Yay, keep the kitty! Maybe she heard the ultimatum...
Posted by jana at October 24, 2002 12:14 PM
That's great news! I'll keep my fingers crossed.
Posted by Lisa at October 24, 2002 12:58 PM
My kitty was having an issue with going in the right place. She was jumping in the bathtub. (Gross, but easier to clean than carpet!) We have had luck with using a green apple candle and spray (from Glade or Wizard) in the bathroom.
I'll be crossing my fingers for all of you!
Posted by zuly at October 24, 2002 08:32 PM
wow, that is great. i am going to have to try that with nova kitty as she likes to pee and poop right outside the box. literally within inches.
Posted by kat at October 24, 2002 11:41 PM
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The Visitor
I had a visitor tonight while I StairMastered. I was puffing along, minding my own business, when suddenly Bella jumps from the back of my computer chair (where she had been watching me) onto the little tray that extends above the display. She sat up there for over ten minutes, gently rocking with my movements. I wonder if she'll start exercising with me every time.
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Vet Visit
I took Bella to the vet today and it seems like we might have an answer to why she's been peeing in the floor. It appears that she has a urinary tract infection and she also has ear mites. They gave her a shot of antibiotics and some ear drops and oral drop medication that she's supposed to take twice a day. It cost me almost $300 in vet bills, but it will be worth it if it fixes her litterbox problem.
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Oh man, $300? I hope this will make her feel all better and stop peeing all over your poor floors!!
Posted by kristine at September 23, 2002 06:57 PM
Better late than never... you might want to look into pet insurance. We have VPI - http://www.petinsurance.com - for all 4 of our cats and have been very happy to have the coverage.
Sorry to hear she has a UTI, but at least it's something that can be fixed! What food do you feed her?
Lisa, cat mom
Posted by Lisa at September 23, 2002 07:05 PM
Poor kitty! I hope Bella feels better soon.
Posted by Bacardi Girl at September 23, 2002 07:07 PM
Hurrah for all the people that suggested a possible urinary tract infection! Hurrah Bella is going to feel better and Kimberly is going to feel better to (especially about he floor). Ouchy vet bills, but peace of mind can be a balanced package for sure.
Posted by Anne at September 23, 2002 07:21 PM
my Maddie had a little pee-ing problem, too... her ph in her urine was a little bit too high... but the vet thought it was due to something new that we gave her... which was true... chicken-basted rawhide chewies. she's had the plain ones ever since she was just a pup (she gummed them more than actually eating them) and when we wanted to try something new, she just couldn't stop peeing. i'm glad it was detected. don't feel bad that you're having to spend $300 on Bella. Maddie had mange and we were spending $100-$150 a month for nearly a year!
Posted by Kathy at September 23, 2002 07:57 PM
I'm glad it's something easily treatable. Although, having had to give oral drop medication to cat in the past, it's not that easy! I hope she's feeling better soon.
You may want to get some of that special cleaning stuff from the pet store that gets rid of pet odors. Now that she won't have a medical reason to go in the hall, she may go there because of the smell.
Posted by Kim at September 23, 2002 09:37 PM
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WTF?
Riddle me this, Batman: why would Bella go take a big dump in her litterbox, all on her own, and then, ten minutes, later pee in the hall? Why won't she pee in the litterbox? WTF? Argh!
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If she does it often, I would take her to the vet. She could have a urinary tract infection - or something - that doesn't allow her to get to the box in time.
If it's not often, or the vet says she's healthy, I would look at the state of the litterbox at the time she does it. My Demon is very particular about the litterbox and will pee down the drain in the tub if the litterbox isn't up to his standards. And by his standards, I mean if there's slightly more than a speck in it. Maybe Bella is that picky, too.
As gross as it is, I consider myself so lucky that Demon pees down the drain and not on the floor.
Posted by Kim at September 20, 2002 09:45 PM
Yes, Darned lucky Kim that he uses the drain... and the bathtub drain at that... easier to clean up. And can you really blame him for wanting clean & tidy facilities? I'm a little fanatical about bathroom cleanliness for myself (and home). So I sort of empathize with your DEMON. As far as Bella... I would agree with all that Kim said, but if those all wash out as to "WHY" it happened... My next question is was she "corrected" or "denied" something. She could have simply been "angry" and "rebelling" against being disciplined or denied the attention she desired at that time, too.
Posted by Anne at September 21, 2002 12:20 PM
Unfortunately, ever since I had my son two years ago and our cats suddenly weren't the king and queens of the household anymore, we've had problems with cat pee on various parts of the house.
Some of it was due to a urine infection, but it's continued even after treatment.
Welcome to my world... and it's a smelly one... :( :( :(
Posted by Amy at September 22, 2002 02:34 AM
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Praising Bella
I've been keeping an eye on Bella for the past two days and every time I can tell she's about to use the bathroom (she goes to one of a couple of different spots and stats looking around) I pick her fluffy butt up and plop her in the bathtub next to her litterbox. I tell her to be a good kitty and use her box and then I leave the room. Twice now she's used the box and when she gets done I tell her what a good kitty she is and I pet her. Will this help train her? I now it's positive reinforcement and it should, but I've never had to potty train a cat before.
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i think that's the best way to potty train a puppy or a kitty. when Maddie was just a puppy, she would circle around as if she was just about squat... then i would pick her up and throw her outside and repeatedly say "pee pee, Maddie, pee pee Maddie!"... and everytime i would throw her outside, i'd walk the same path and say the same thing... she was potty trained at 3 months old. that's how my mom's 2 dogs were trained when i was still living at home.
keep it up, Kymberlie!
Posted by Kathy at September 1, 2002 05:18 PM
Good for you, I think that'll help! Go in the box, Bella :)
Posted by erica at September 1, 2002 06:16 PM
It was one of the things that Chelsey suggested in addition to using the stuff on the carpet.
Her advice? "The normal honeymoon period for a pet is 2 weeks. Now that that has passed, Bella has accepted that she is at her new home and she's marking things to claim it as hers." Positive reinforcement is the best. She also said that letting her go outside may not be the best idea because then she can go freely again wherever she wants - so it might reduce her desire to use the litterbox when she is indoors.
Posted by Christine at September 2, 2002 12:11 AM
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Kitty Thanks
I just wanted to thank everyone who's either left me a comment or sent me an e-mail about Bella's litterbox problem. I read a few articles today and just found out that we're supposed to dump the old litter even though the LitterMaid automatic litterbox scoops all the clumps out. She may have just hated how it smelled even though the actual waste was gone. We've changed the litter and bought some of the enzyme stuff to erase her odor out of the carpet so I'm crossing my fingers that maybe the issue might get solved.
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That's partly why we never tried the Littermaid thing...even though it was offered to me a hundred times in the Amazon Gold Box! Around here, Mike is the one who cleans the litter boxes, and he does a much thorough job than the Littermaid thing (or even I) could ever do. We use litter boxes with a sifting system...Mike has a rather complex cleaning system that I can't even describe, but it works well, and we often find cats have been *holding it in* until box cleaning time.
I think that what you are doing will help...good luck!
Posted by Christine at August 31, 2002 03:45 AM
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Bad Kitty!
Bella just took a giant shit in front of the bathroom door upstairs in our bedroom. She was outside for like two hours and was only in the house for about ten minutes when she let loose. I don't know what the fuck is the matter with her, but I have got to figure out a way to potty train her or she's not going to be able to stay here. She knows where her litterbox is and was using it and will use it when she's in the bathroom, so I don't know what's wrong with her. She knows she did something wrong because as soon as I came upstairs, she started to try and go downstairs. Anyone have any ideas what her issue might be or how to train her? She did this at Christine's, but she thought it was because she didn't like to share a litterbox. Arggh!
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your cat and my dog should get together (she just started messing on the floor again, and we hope to be moving to the house - ie. all brand new floors put down - in a few weeks). Eek.
Posted by erica at August 30, 2002 02:49 AM
Where is the litter box? Try moving it and also try switching kitty litter from clumping to clay or vice versa. Cats can be so irrational sometimes!
Posted by Lisa at August 30, 2002 08:07 AM
When my cat did that they vet did say to move the litter box to another location. We did and no more problems.
Posted by sandy at August 30, 2002 08:36 AM
Did it begin at Christine's house? Maybe she's still angry? Maybe she needs her nosed rubbed in it and then her little fluffy but gently dropped into her litter box to make a point.
Posted by Anne at August 30, 2002 08:46 AM
the 'just came in from outside' part worries me -- could be your cat's like a dog i once had that preferred carpet to any other pooping venue. not grass, or dirt, or linoleum, or newspaper -- you could cover the whole house with newspaper and he'd find the one little spot that we missed.
i hope you find a way to convince kitty to go in the box, because otherwise he will be the kitty called "out! get out!".
Posted by kd at August 30, 2002 06:16 PM
Nose rubbing has never helped - she knows it's wrong. I don't know about moving the litterbox. *sigh* Keep me posted. I'll find her a new home if need be so you don't have to worry about it. But ... it's still frustrating because I thought that (1) having the box to herself and (2) the perfectly clean box would make her happy and there wouldn't be any problems. And I know you love having her.
Maybe it's an issue with clumping litter? With the fancy litterbox, do you have to use the clumping kind?
Posted by Christine at August 30, 2002 06:31 PM
I just dealt with this with one of my cats. While I'm sure that your problem isn't the same as mine (her issue was that my 10 month old kitten was pouncing on her while she tried to use the box, so she would go in hidden places so the kitten couldn't see her), I did visit a vet specializing in behavioural issues so I can share what he said.
First try changing the litter. If that doesn't work, lock her in the bathroom (or another small room with easily cleaned floors) with a sparkling clean litterbox for a week. Don't let her out at all. Try and go in and give her lots of attention though. She should use the box because she won't like the smell if she goes on the floor and has to stay in the room with it. After a week, let her out and if she starts again, talk to a vet. If that doesn't work, it's either a medical problem, or if it's not, they can prescribe behavioural adjusting drugs (it's a temporary thing, not a drug they have to be on permanently). Good luck! I've been battling with my girl for quite some time now.
Posted by Karla at August 31, 2002 12:15 AM
I have two 5 month old kittens and one of them will refuse to poo in the kitty litter. she used to go in it all the time but now she shits near it and the smell in the room is disgusting and i have tried sprays and perfumes everything. does anyone have any advice on how to stop her from doing it.
Posted by Lizzie at February 6, 2004 03:45 AM
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Kitty Problem
For the last five nights or so, we've been leaving Bella out in the house with us when we went to sleep. Last night and the night before she used the bathroom in my computer room and in the hallway in front of it. She's been using her litterbox since the first day we got her, so we're not sure what the problem is. She would use the bathroom on the floor at Christine's house, but she thought it was because she didn't like to share a litterbox with the other kitties.
Anyone have any ideas on how to discourage her from using the bathroom on the floor? I know a lot of bloggers have cats, so I would love to hear any suggestions. Thanks!
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You mention your kitty, up until now, has used the litterbox in your home. The first thing I would do, is rule out any type of bladder, and/or urinary infection.
In my experiences, kitty beginning to use the floor around the house, rather than their litterbox as usual -- has been a way to get me to realize something was not right with kitty.
Rule it out first - because all too quickly, an infection gone untreated , can wind up damaging their kidneys.
If it comes down to a behavior issue, here is a site with helpful information:
PetPlace
good luck =)
Posted by LillyQ at August 25, 2002 04:19 PM
My advice is to spray something really noxious on the areas she's been using as a bathroom. Our cats didn't like the smell of lysol and they wouldn't go near it again.
Posted by Jason at August 25, 2002 06:49 PM
Make sure to clean up the mess as well as possible and then put nasty smelling stuff on it. Ours kept messing on the floor because they could smell the previous mess.
Posted by erica at August 25, 2002 11:12 PM
If she is just peeing and not pooping, it could be a urinary tract/bladder infection, as LillyQ said. Once that is ruled out, you might want to check out a product called Feliway. I had problems with cats being stressed out and peeing where they shouldn't, and this helped a lot. You don't have to buy it from the website...if you are in a hurry to get it, they have it at stores like PetsMart.
If there is poop involved...well, the only times this happens is right before the boxes need to be cleaned (we thoroughly clean them every other day)...someone was pooping in the bathtub for a while (never figured out who), but this hasn't happened in over six months now.
Hope this helps!
Posted by Christine at August 26, 2002 12:34 AM
the only time I had issues with Teenie, was when Sara was living here... I had first thought it was because I had let the litter box get to yucky... alas, since then (Miss Sara having already moved out) it's been yuckier, and she didn't go anywhere else...
anywho, to get to my point, I second the notions to get her checked first and foremost. Then the erase smells & emote other noxious ones... (they don't seem to like citrus smells)
You could also make sure that she has a clear path to the potty (maybe even a little light) 'cause contrary to popular belief, cats can't see in utter darkness!
have I babbled enough?
Posted by amancay at August 27, 2002 01:26 AM
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Bella Update
As you may have read, earlier this week Steven and I adopted Christine's cat Bella.
I am pleased to report that things are going great with her and she's become a wonderful addition to our little family. She's absoultely the sweetest thing. She purrs all the time, loves to sit with you and be petted, and has just the nicest disposition.
She's started getting into things that she shouldn't (getting behind the bar, on top of the entertainment center, playing with the fringe on the rug), so we've implemented the "spray bottle of doom." When we catch her doing any of that, she gets told, "No!" and sprayed with the water bottle. She seems to know she's done something bad, so hopefully we can cure her of these issues.
You can see all the pictures I've taken of her here.
Thanks to everyone who's wished me well with her and sent in advice!
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If you shake it first and then squirt, you'll eventually only have to shake something with liquid to get her attention. Congrats on the new addition.
Posted by Lisa at August 11, 2002 08:38 PM
Wanna trade? My cat digs in the carpet and then looks at you like you're stupid.
Posted by Anna at August 12, 2002 07:45 AM
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Kitty Cat Love
Today Steven and I adopted Christine's cat Isabella (Bella for short). She was originally going to be an outdoor cat, but was so miserable outside. I had decided to take her back to Christine and brought her in the house until we could leave. Steven has never been a big cat person, so I was surprised when he started talking about keeping her.
Bella is absolutely the most mellow and sweet cat I have ever met. She spent the night sitting on the edge of our loft's railing watching us, sitting quietly on the floor, or following us around. At one point Steven and I were on the couch and she jumped up to sit with us. She sat on my chest purring and loving it when I pet her. She did the most amazing thing then. She put her paws around my neck and hugged me. I have never had a cat do that before and it kind of surprised me. She then went to the other end of the couch where Steven was laying and did it to him!
It's amazing how much Steven likes her. He's said to me many times in the past that we would never have a cat because he didn't like them. It looks like Bella has totally won him over. He's been petting her, talking to her, and even had her come jump up on the chair to sit with him.
Bottom line: Steven and I both are just in love with her. The only thing that I'm worried about is that she might scratch the furniture up. We bought a really nice leather set this year and it would be terrible if it got ruined. I noticed a couple of times tonight that she kind of pawed the ground. I couldn't really see if her claws were out, but I'm going to try and go to Wal-Mart and get her a cat scratcher that I saw that lays on the floor and see if she likes it.
I put some pictures of her up at Picture Fish so swing by and see what the newest member of our family looks like!
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she is really beautiful. she looks to be a cross between a maine coon and a domestic longahir. very beautiful.
Posted by kat at August 8, 2002 06:05 AM
It there anything cuter that a happy cat in the sink?
Posted by Michelle at August 8, 2002 06:54 AM
she's beautiful!! but what ever happened to that stray kitty??
Posted by danni at August 8, 2002 10:33 AM
I suggest investing in a cat scratching post tall enough for her to stretch up to use. They also seem to like the kind with the rope wrapped around and a platform to sit on.
They like to be up high, but being higher than you is a dominant thing.
My cat only scratches one junky chair that I keep in the laundry room. He has never touched my suede furniture.
Posted by pero at August 8, 2002 10:37 AM
She's beautiful, Kymberlie! Great pics!
I would get both the tall post and the one that lies on the floor...my cats like both. Sometimes they do like to stretch up, as Pero said.
These usually come catnip-scented, but it wears out. They make catnip spray in cans, that you can spray on the posts (not in front of the cat, as some cats are afraid of spray cans), and this will maintain her interest.
Congratulations on your new family member!
Posted by Christine at August 8, 2002 11:33 AM
Awww..she's a total cutie!!
Posted by jenni at August 8, 2002 12:43 PM
Word, if I may say so, on the tall scratching post - we got one last year at PetSmart, and our cat loves it. You can also use the dreaded "spary bottle of water" to train her gently away from behaviors you want to discourage. :) Congratulations on the adoptee!
Posted by Donna at August 8, 2002 03:33 PM
My husband also doesn't like cats...however the two we have love him the best so he came around ;)
Posted by sandy at August 8, 2002 07:27 PM
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I'm Getting Christine's Kitty
As you may have read a few weeks ago Steven and I adopted a stray kitty but it disappeared. Christine got busted for having too many cats. Her pet lease didn't cover them all since she adopted Isabella Muffinchops, a stray, last year. She was going to have to get rid of her, so I asked Steven if we could take her. He said yes, so tomorrow after work Miss Isabella Muffinchop is coming home to live with us. I am so excited! You can see what a pretty kitty she is here and here. How wonderful to be getting a kitty!
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Congrats! I personally think that cats are the best pets. I just hope she gets along with all your neurotic fish ;).
Posted by matt at August 6, 2002 07:29 PM
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