Second kitten (success stories you can share?)

weebeasties

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Ohhhh
Has anyone had a kitten that tried to bury/ cover up food, treats etc?
I have tile floor and my kitten tries to bury extra treats and her food bowl.
She was dumped on me at like 5wks old with a few medical issues and I figured she did it because she was hungry prior but after 8wks in my home she still does it, don't get me wrong it's hilarious, wish I could post a video but I'm worried that it may be becoming an unhealthy obsession, now she even tries to bury her litter box after I clean it, from outside the litter box, on the tile, for 5++ minutes. She has unlimited food, gets treats on a daily basis and I clean her box regularly. Not sure why she still tries to hide the things she covets.
Anyone ever experience this?
One of ours does this with food dishes. It's bad enough that she tries to cover her own, but she is constantly trying to cover up the other cats'  bowls while they are still eating! She will straddle the dish and try to cover it up while they are trying to eat around her. It's hilarious.
 

kristara

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I try not to laugh but it's hysterical, last night the kitten was trying to bury treats while my other cat was watching and she'd wait till the kitten thought one was successfully buried and moved on to bury another and then she'd go eat it, worst part is I'm pretty sure the kitten actually thought she hid them sigh... well I'm glad to know mine isn't the only one doing this, I was getting worried lol
 

tarasgirl06

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Oh, yes, the food-burying action is just like what big cats in the wild will do, to hide their food from others who would come and eat it.  As for the litterbox, I'm not sure on that one 
 

kristara

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Huh, I didn't know that lol, I'm definitely not, or wasn't, a cat person but these little monsters converted me. I've always been a dog person until I unintentionally acquired these two death bed kitties, and with teaching my kitten it's not okay to get on counter tops via water sprayer I've realized it works great with my 12yo pitbull too lmao, I've graduated from a small water squirter to one that will reach like 15 feet no joke lol I feel mean but I won't have disrespect and disorder from my cuddly moochers. Simple rules, respect all household residents and don't ruin my furniture, easy life
 

kristara

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I see lots of posts about separate items, i have a cat food dispenser 1lb? Maybe for both and a 3 gallon water dispenser that my cats share with my dog, i also only have one litter box but the older cat goes outside, she was a stray and prefers outdoors but likes regular meals, baby finishes her shots, chip and spay on the 30th,i figured I'd start introducing her to the cat door and outdoors a few weeks later. Is it cool for them to share food and water stations?
 

Primula

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I see lots of posts about separate items, i have a cat food dispenser 1lb? Maybe for both and a 3 gallon water dispenser that my cats share with my dog, i also only have one litter box but the older cat goes outside, she was a stray and prefers outdoors but likes regular meals, baby finishes her shots, chip and spay on the 30th,i figured I'd start introducing her to the cat door and outdoors a few weeks later. Is it cool for them to share food and water stations?
Don't let your new kitten outside! Is is extremely dangerous.
 

kristara

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I can't really prevent it, I have a cat door from my a hole cat that passed 3 years ago. The first cat, Felicia I rescued 11 months ago from the woods she's intolerable if she's stuck inside for any period of time (right now Florida rainy season) she intentionally knocks things off everything while looking at me like I personally made it rain to annoy her lol.
I live in a rural neighborhood with huge live oaks to climb and invasive lizards to be eaten. I prefer the kitten to always be inside but I can't restrict my older cat from going out, she'll make this household miserable and I can't prevent the kitten from discovering the cat door either. I'm at a loss of what to do
 

kristara

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Personally an indoor only cat would be like living in Wal-Mart forever. If I lived in a city I would understand the dangers but it's really rural out here and cats instincts are to chase, hunt, climb etc which I have plenty of land for. Again I prefer the baby to always be in but my other cat I rescued as an emaciated stray in the woods at about 1yo. She found my cat door within 12 hours, I had to block it for a week so she knew where she was fed and loved LOL, she even brings lizards and cicadas the house for the kitten its funny.
 

msaimee

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I have successfully integrated many different cats that I've rescued over the past 15 years, and they have all learned to co-exist peacefully over time. Some have been close buddies and some haven't. I currently have five cats inside my house. Three are ferals I trapped and socialized, one was rescued from a hoarder situation, and one is a 16 year old cat with heart disease. They are very different in temperment, but they have happy lives and live peacefully together because they each know they are loved and cared for. Most cats are better at getting along than most people, so there's lots and lots of hope for people bringing new cats into their homes.
 
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Primula

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Personally an indoor only cat would be like living in Wal-Mart forever. If I lived in a city I would understand the dangers but it's really rural out here and cats instincts are to chase, hunt, climb etc which I have plenty of land for. Again I prefer the baby to always be in but my other cat I rescued as an emaciated stray in the woods at about 1yo. She found my cat door within 12 hours, I had to block it for a week so she knew where she was fed and loved LOL, she even brings lizards and cicadas the house for the kitten its funny.
There are plenty of dangers in the countryside! It's your cat, but, personally, no cat of mine is going outside no matter where I live.
 

kristara

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There's no issues with my 14wk old and 2yo they're fine.
The story on FeFe is I was out of town for my birthday visiting family and friends and she was a stray Woods cat that had been at this place for 2 weeks (they were going to have county trap her) and we were all having a party all weekend long and everybody called her Felicia because she was crazy and screaming and obviously I'm the only one who's like I'm like we have hot dogs in the cooler in the Rangers and razors so I was feeding her and then she started following me around screaming so that's where Bye Felicia came from but I don't know how long she was Outdoors but when I brought her down here I mean I don't even like cats or didn't like I actually brought her 250 miles with me with the intention that I was going to get her healthy fix her all that stuff and find her a home when I took her to be spayed they said she already had a microchip and all that good stuff but the person who had microchipped her had given her away to somebody and they don't it's just a train wreck and it was just bad
I don't know how or how long she lived in the woods but she was completely emaciated
I had an asshole cat prior, the only other cat I've ever had is why I didn't like cats he was always indoor outdoor, we have land but also a cat adoring pitbull and Rottweiler anyway
 

kristara

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I'm not in the least subjecting her, i take my kitten with me to work lol (nanny).
She rides in the passenger seat chill, everyone talks about the nature of a cat the nature of a cat is to climb trees and Chase Critters but everybody is so scared to let the cat out of the house I don't understand it I don't live in a city and I couldn't take all the Joy from my cat when she catches a grasshopper or a lizard and brings it to me that is the ultimate happiness for her.
 

tarasgirl06

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Agree 100%!  And cars are far from the only danger.  Dogs, sociopaths, poisons...the list is almost endless.  Caring, responsible people don't let their toddlers wander around outside alone -- and neither do caring, responsible cat lovers.  Indoors is best! and there are so many ways to enrich the indoor environment for cats.  Our house is proof of that 
  Heartfelt condolences for your losses. 
 

msaimee

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Some cats, particularly ferals or cats who have lived outside most of their lives, are miserable being indoors only. There's a delicate balance one has to walk between doing everything to protect a cat, and allowing the cat to live its life in a way that makes it happy. I could get into a car accident and die today, but I'm not going to live inside my house 24/7 in order to avoid driving or even walking across the street. In my situation, I made a compromise with my one rescue who cried and cried when I wouldn't let him outside after I took him in. I taught him to go out on a harness and lead, so he can eat the grass and climb the tree in my back yard and go for walks. I also was caregiver to a feral who would never come inside, no matter if he were ill or if it was twenty below zero. He lived life on his terms till the day he died. I don't judge people who make the decision to allow their cat to be an indoor/outdoor cat, because it's not a black or white decision to me, it depends on the cat and many other factors.   
 

tarasgirl06

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Your story resonates with me.  When my then-husband, now-ex, and I moved, we took all of our former "community cats" as we could (they lived in our gated yard, but ranged far and wide.  The new place was cat-fenced and had a 2-stall barn compound for them with climate control.) including one little girl who was completely feral.  We'd been able to get her fixed and her baseline checkup and innoculations, how I will never know; but the moment we took her up to the barn compound, she tried so hard to escape that we were seriously afraid she'd harm herself or worse.  After consulting various sources expert in feral cat behavior, we made the very difficult and heartwrenching decision to drive her back down to her old territory and let her go.  There were several people in that neighborhood who fed the community cats, and at least she was spayed and had her baseline shots.  It was one of the most difficult things we've ever done, and it haunts me still.  She has always been in my prayers.  
 

Primula

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I could get into a car accident and die today, but I'm not going to live inside my house 24/7 in order to avoid driving or even walking across the street.
But that's your choice. We can't let our animals decide for themselves just as we wouldn't our children. We make the best decisions for them. We have outdoor cats, but they never leave our backyard & do not cross the street.
 

Primula

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After consulting various sources expert in feral cat behavior, we made the very difficult and heartwrenching decision to drive her back down to her old territory and let her go.  There were several people in that neighborhood who fed the community cats, and at least she was spayed and had her baseline shots.  It was one of the most difficult things we've ever done, and it haunts me still.  She has always been in my prayers.  
You totally did the right thing. Cats are very happy & secure in their colonies & it's cruel to move them to another place. We had a lovely little cat in our backyard this summer whom I fed for 2 months. She was very happy with us, but husband said she could not stay. I did not want another indoor cat so my local shelter took her. Feel very guilty since she has not been adopted yet. Oh, the pain we put ourselves through with our animals.
 

msaimee

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But that's your choice. We can't let our animals decide for themselves just as we wouldn't our children. We make the best decisions for them. We have outdoor cats, but they never leave our backyard & do not cross the street.
It is the ideal situation for cats to be indoor only cats. The reality, however, is that some cats, particularly adult ferals and cats who have lived their entire lives outdoors, cannot adjust to life as an indoor cat only.  They literally climb the walls and endlessly look for an escape, caterwaul, and quite often do slip out the door. Alley Cats advises against forcing an adult feral cat to be an indoor cat because of the stress and depression this will cause the cat. I've successfully converted all but two rescue cats to being indoor only cats. One lived his life outdoors contently in his heated house on my porch, and enjoyed the patch of woods around my house until the day he died, and the other learned to walk on a harness and lead. There are also some cats who live very happily outdoors as barn cats, and who would have no caregiver if someone insisted they be indoor only cats. Cats aren't human children, they are individual souls, and each soul has a destiny and purpose, and for some, their love of freedom and the outdoors is what they live for. But the debate between indoor vs. indoor/outdoor cats will continue forever, I suppose. I just think we need to respect each other's decisions and views on the subject. But I think we've gotten way off topic of the thread, so I will end my thoughts here. Peace.
 
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