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Curious to know...

post #1 of 11
6/7/10 at 6:37am
Thread Starter 
Well, I've noticed that my cat, Boo, becomes overly affectionate after we have had a "fight", and I can't help but wonder, is she seeking forgiveness, or grateful that I helped her?
Y'see, recently, I tried to give her a pill to get rid of her worms, and it took me HELL! Eventually, we were both growling at each other--since I don't like giving physical punishment to my spoiled little kitty and hiss, growl, or tisk my tongue at her instead.-- and we parted on cold terms after she had finally swallowed her pill. The thing is, tho, the next day she was super affectionate no matter when I came to pet her, which is unusual since Boo is the sort of cat that will only be petted when she's feeling sleepy, and wants some company as she dozes off.

She does the same things with baths. After I give her a bath, she doesn't want to see me for the rest of the day, but the next day she gets super affectionate and becomes a purring bundle of joy.

Does anyone else have kitties that do this? Is it normal for a cat to do that sort of thing? Does it mean she's especially smart or something?
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post #2 of 11
6/7/10 at 7:07am
Cats are forgiving creatures, and her behavior is normal.

She really shouldn't need baths though unless she is getting into something toxic or filthy. Cats are self cleaning and baths strip the oils from their bodies causing dry skin.

If you are bathing her to help with allergies, baths can be counterproductive because dry skin flakes, which can put more stuff in your air. Wiping her down once or twice day with a damp cloth is a better way to control dander.
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post #3 of 11
6/7/10 at 7:21am
Thread Starter 
Well, I give her a bath roughly around 3 times a month, when I find that my hands come up black after petting her, or when she smells really bad.

She's a stray, so a lot of the times she comes around to my home she smells like a trash can, basically a mixture of old fish, chicken scraps, and, when it's raining, mud.
She does rounds around the neighborhood, and if you were to describe her to anyone living near me, they would all say, "Hey! That's my cat you're talking about!" I've tried it. But I like to think she's more mine since she keeps her kittens at my house. XD

But I didn't know that giving her baths would be bad for her skin. Is there another way to clean her that is better for her? Maybe a special shampoo?
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post #4 of 11
6/7/10 at 8:45am
She should keep herself clean. I'd have her checked by a vet in case of illness. It's unusual, even for an outside cat, to consistently be so dirty. If I understand you right she has kittens. She needs to be spayed to help reduce overpopulation.
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post #5 of 11
6/7/10 at 9:52pm
Thread Starter 
Well, I took her to the vet recently because she had hookworm, and the vet said that all she needed was 2 pills, one a month after the other, and that she was a very strong cat and should get better quickly, so I don't think she's sick or anything like that. Just dirty.
I have attempted on getting her spayed, tho, but it seems like every time I come to the vet tells me that she's pregnant, and I can't bring myself to kill unborn kittens. My theory is that she's getting pregnant again not long after she has had her litter, and I'm too afraid she'll stop feeding the kittens if I spay her.
Not to mention what my neighbors would do. They're really against that sort of thing, prefurring not to tamper with nature.
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post #6 of 11
6/8/10 at 3:38am
You're feeding this cat, caring for her kittens, taking her to the vet, and going so far as to risk scratches to bathe her - who cares what your neighbors think? This is now your cat.
Bring her inside with her kittens and when they're ~4weeks old, spay her. If she goes off feeding them at that age they should be fine with you caring for them.

Pregnancy itself is risky and could kill this cat. If you care about her, get her spay.


As to answer your first question. She's just making sure you still accept her. It sounds like she's very bonded with you.
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post #7 of 11
6/8/10 at 6:29am
Back to back litters over and over are going to kill her pretty darn quick. That is if she doesn't pick up some fatal disease from a tom, or from fighting first. No wonder she's filthy.

Not to mention the creation of all these unwanted kittens time after time after time. What are you doing with all these kittens? Many of these kittens will go on to be abused, kicked around or other kind of suffering. Aborting them would be much the kinder thing.

Who cares what the neighbors think. It is good of you to care about this cat. but PLEASE get her spayed.

I agree with strange wings' advice. Bring her and the kittens inside, and get her spayed when they are eight weeks old. Please, for hers, and all those unwanted kittens' sake.
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post #8 of 11
6/8/10 at 3:38pm
I have to third the others. If the neighbors want to take responsibility they can decide what's best for the cat. Since they haven't they don't get a vote. If they're really upset, send them here. We can help educate them on how overpopulation is a big and very cruel problem.
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post #9 of 11
6/8/10 at 7:10pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by otto View Post
Bring her and the kittens inside, and get her spayed when they are eight weeks old.
Cats can go back into heat as early as 4 weeks after the litter is born, hence why I said 4 weeks. If you wait 8 a cat can already be 3-4 weeks pregnant.
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post #10 of 11
6/10/10 at 12:33am
Thread Starter 
Well, I would bring her inside, but I can't due to my cat allergies. If I stay near her too long a time, I start getting asthma attacks. Her kittens are something around a 3/4 months old, maybe more since they're half her size. She brought them to me when they already had their eyes open and were walking okay, so I'm not sure on what their age is exactly.

Normally, tho, when she has kittens I take care of them until they wander off to stay at another neighbors house. Usually, they chose to stay with the more rich neighbors, a few streets away from my home, since their garden is pretty much a kitty paradise. They usually spay all the kitties, tho, since the woman that lives there has a phobia for kittens.

I've talked to the vet about having Boo spayed and he says he's free over the weekends to do the operation, as well as give her two kittens, Salt and Pepper, their shots.
I'm also considering taking Pepper, her small black kitten, indoors and training him into an indoor cat since I don't seem to get allergic to him, oddly enough.
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post #11 of 11
6/10/10 at 4:26am
If her kittens are that big she can probably be spayed now. It's hard to say over the internet though so it you want to be safe, just take the kittens to the vet with momma. Your vet can tell you best. She really needs to be spayed. You'll be making life much easier on her.

I have heard of people who have cat allergies saying that they find a cat from time to time that doesn't seem to bother them. That would be great for you if you could have an inside cat and Pepper would have a home.
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