New cat and a few questions

Hi. I have a new cat (called Ranma, like the cat-fearing star of the Anime series ), it's the first cat i've owned, so i have a couple of doubts.

First, i haven't checked with the vet yet, but there are times when he makes a strange sound, that sounds like he swallowed a miniature motorcycle or something. Is this what people call purrs? because i do have noticed him making the sound when he's very comfortable, so it may be.

Second, is it true that is dangerous to let the cat sleep with you? The people in the house have heard lots of thinks about letting the cats sleep with you, from the hair being dangerous and a potential transmissor of deadly diseases (you'd think they'd ban cats as biological weapons or something), to them killing people in their sleep by playfully striking your throat as they see it moving while you breath. I don't believe that (what i believe is that the kitty is dangerous to my sleep because he always decides to play at 1AM waking me up so i can play too ), but i want to receive confirmation, preferably with links to related information.

Third, as i've related people here don't want to let the cat sleep with anyone, so we've tried to keep him sleeping in a small basket we prepared as a bed for him that he seems to like on the day. But at night, he doesn't like to be alone and he starts crying to be let in on the rooms (and when somebody lets him in he goes straight to the nearest pillow to sleep there, doesn't matter if it's being used, he'll just sleep over someone's face ). Is there a way to teach him to sleep where we want him to?

Hi, and welcome to the boards and to the world of cats!

The "strange" noise you hear, the rumbling is indeed called purring. Cats purr when they are contented, but they also purr when they are scared or in pain. Some people do not realize this.

As far as the dangers of illness in having a cat sleep with you? My hubby and I would of been dead years ago were that true. We typically have up to 8 cats on the bed with us at night. They sprawl wherever they want to, and we just let them. Bartee likes to sleep wrapped around my head on my pillow, which is a bugger on hot nights! Kahuna sleeps near by back and Dunkin likes to sleep on my feet. I try to move her off them, and she just comes right back.

I believe your relatives are referring to what we here in the states call and Old Wives Tale. It was believed long ago, that cats had the ability to steal away breath in the middle of the night and the owners would die. But this myth which first began during the Salem Witch Hunts, turns out to be false. If you keep your cat up on vaccinations, take it to the vet on a regular basis, feed it well and provide it love, you will be rewarded beyond belief!

You can try to take the kitty bed and put it on the regular bed, or maybe near it and see if the cat will just stay put, but it sounds to me like this kitty wants and craves people attention, so maybe you just have acquired a new pillow pal?

Hissy is one of our resident experts around here. She definitely knows her cats!

That wonderful little motorcycle noise is purring, and it is the most soothing sound in the whole world to me. We also have our two cats sleep with us every night, with no harmful effects.

Feel free to ask any more questions you have about Ranma. People here are very happy to help, and have a lot of experience with cats.

Welcome to the site, and to the world of owning a cat. It is a wonderful thing to be loved by a cat, and it sounds like Ranma really loves you.

I have allergies - but take Zyrtec to fight it, because our kitties want to sleep with us. Unlike Hissy's problem, our kitties are content to sleep on pillows above our heads - just leaves a little less room on the bed for us. Quite frankly, it has put a crimp in our sex life, but we're learning to adjust to the cats hours.

Cats, unlike dogs, are not socially-motivated animals. Dogs can easily be trained because they're pack animals and want to learn the rules and make their "pack leaders" happy. Cats do not have this peer pressure hang-up and will do what they want or let you know they want it. If you don't want kitty in the bedroom at night, all you can do is ignore the crying until kitty realizes it isn't going to happen. It'll probably make your heart break, and I bet kitty'll be sleeping with you. We were able to bring the cat's bed into the bedroom and get him to sleep there instead of on the bed - but only when we put it on the nightstand right next to the bed.

Having a second cat has taken a LOT of pressure off of us in terms of kitty needing attention - but that's more when it comes to play. Now we have two sleeping with us in bed, because we gave up trying to get them to do what we want. We were both dog people, and have had to relearn a number of things!

We use a water squirt-bottle to get them to stop hopping up on counters we don't want them on, but that's about it. We've taped up the furniture we don't want them to scratch, and that's that!

Have fun with your kitty, ask as many questions as often as you want or need to in the various places on the site (I've utilized the nutrition forum and the behavior forum frequently), and you'll find many cat-lovers with lots of experience ready and willing to help!