h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

We're just about to go out looking for a pair of kittens! I am so damn excited. I've always been a dog person but recent events with a few cool cats (the ones that don't randomly scratch your face off for no good reason) has convinced me that they're cool.

I have also come to the realisation that cats are not just really crap dogs, but just different animals with different things on their mind. Also, we might be able to train the cats to be more dog-like. There is hope. Oh, and we're only allowed cats in our apartment, not dogs.

I've always wanted a decent pet, but the best my parents could muster (for various reasons, they're not simply mean) was a goldfish and thet died. So this is the first real pet I'm going to own. And I'm 25!

Hee!

Ste

hi Ste,

I think it's wonderful. And a very good idea to get two kittens. That way they can keep each other company when you're not home and, really, it's not that much more expensive to feed and keep two.

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Yes, well . . . One of my cats is actually a 'dog', but this is just his nature, no training involved. Basically, if you give them a lot of affection then they will probably respond in kind.

Anyhow, lots of luck and, um, hope you aren't too fond of your sofa.

az

"One of my cats is actually a 'dog'"

I saw a woman on TV who had trained her cat to fetch a ball. The cat seemed to be having great fun, but the sight of such a dignified animal doing something so servile was kind of weird.

Mine fetches olives! And honestly, he wasn't trained to do this at all. I used to toss olives all the cats because they really like them and I was so shocked when Sunny brought his back and dropped it at my feet so I could throw it again.

No, 'dignified' is not a word that would best describe Sunny.

az

Fetches olives?!? I'm impressed.

Yeah that's the plan to get a bonded pair so that they're happier and so they aren't ever separated. There was a pair of kittens (a brother and sister) that we nearly got last weekend, but we just found out some idiot has only adopted one of them. The other one is now miserable and panicked.

We intend to protect our furniture with the cunning use of double-sided sellotape. They don't like it apparently and learn not to scratch certain things.



Ste

Well, you could have adopted the remaining kitten and looked for another kitten of a similar age! Trust me, being from the same litter does not mean they will be especially 'bonded'. I brought in a rescued street kitten when my huge male cat (the dog) was almost three years old, and those two are totally inseparable now. Best mates.

Meanwhile, Sunny and his mother Lua totally hate each other.

Double-sided sello tape??? Well, I only have shreds of sofa left, covered in a pretty white Indian cotton bedspread. I also learned the hard way that kittens and curtains do not mix. Plus, when Sunny was a puppy - I mean kitten! - he constantly ate my clothing.

Re: olives. I have found that most cats LOVE olives, though they shouldn't be given them too frequently because of the high salt content. Also, they should only be given olives without pits (in case they choke on the pits, especially when they are young).

az

ps
photos of Sunny (the dog) Lua (his mother) and Azar (rescued black gypsy street cat) can be seen at: http://public.fotki.com/azahar/gatitos

(Azar was rescued after someone mangled his front leg while trying to kill him)

Oh, I never said. We got two CUTE kittens about a week after I last posted. I've been a bit busy since then.

They're brother and sister, called Henry and Victoria. They are mischevious and loving. Henry likes to lick your nose and make lots of noise. He's black with white gloves on his front paws and white socks on his back legs. He has a white belly which stops at his chin (so his bottom jaw is white, but the rest of his face is black.

Victoria is a supermodelcat she is just stunning. She is white with black patches (in a Vee on her face). She's less of a lap cat but loves to hang out close by. Grooming is her way of bonding, so if you brush her she purrs constantly.

I love them

Ste

Ste,

They sound lovely! And also very lucky. Let me know if you ever get any photos of them put online, I'd love to see them.



az

We have a bunch of photos and some of them will get scanned soon when we get round to it. I could email some then

Ste

Okay, you can email them or else put them on Fotki so everyone could see them. Fotki gives you a certain amount of space for free - after that it costs about $30 a year for unlimited space.

http://signup.fotki.com



az

Or you could sign up with Webshots or Photobucket - they're free, and they host images as well. I usually dump my photos in one or the other.

Oooohh, free. I LOATHE to pay for anything to do with the web. It should all be free.

Thanks guys, I'll look into it.



Ste

So, how are the kittens doing? Got them toilet trained yet?

Still waiting for the photos . . .



az