Conference misery::feline_v1

    Yes, The Book of The Cat.  Don't recall the authors off hand. Large
    format book, about $11.00 7 years ago. Informative and fun.
    
    Frank

    
    Re : .0
    
    All you have to do is read this notes file.  EVERYTHING is in here!!!!
    
    And its alot of fun too!
    
    Karen

    This is my first time replying to this conference.  But I have been
    a cat-addict all my life.  I currently share my space with 3 beasties,
    Seamus, Molly and Boomer.
    
    I have found that cats are by far the easiest animals to live with,
    as long as you don't prize your furniture and carpets above all
    else.  Here are some tips that I recommend to first timers.
    
    -Bring the kitten to the vet first thing.  Get it checked for worms,
    feline leukemia, etc.  The money is well worth it.  Kittens, like
    babies, don't need much to override their immune system.
    
    -Decide where the litter box is going to be and leave it there.
     Moving it around only confuses the kitten and can only make for
    nice "surprises" all over the house.
    
    -Use kitten food, not cat food.  Kittens need different nutrition
    than adult cats.  
    
    -The only other ingredients you need are love and playtime.  And
    thank the great cat-god in the sky when they tire and pass out!
    
    The only other thing that I have found is that the cats I have had
    enjoy a playmate.  I have had very few who enjoyed being an only
    child.          
    
    Enjoy your new friend!
    
    Anne
    

    
    You don't know what fun you have been missing - read all about it
    in this notes file.
    
    The book I found most helpful, although I don't know if you can
    get it in the states is called (simply enough) CATS by David Taylor
    - he is a vet with lots of letters after his name.  Cost about 13.00
    pounds but worth every penny.
    
    
    Good luck and enjoy
    
    Sharon
    

    Here's another vote for starting out with two.  They really are
    company for each other when you're at work, and starting now will
    save introduction hassles later.
    

    Another good book is "How to be Your Cat's Best Friend".  I didn't
    agree with everything in there, but I never agree with everything
    in any book.  It had a lot of good, sensible ideas, some of which
    I had never heard of before.  I don't remember the author's name,
    but it's a hardback, not too expensive as I recall, and available
    in many book stores.
    
    I too vote for two.  I believe that two are good company when you
    can't devote all your time to them.  We have two cats and a dog,
    and have actually gone crazy and are adopting a second dog this
    weekend.  They all help keep each other happy.
    
    Good luck!
    Karen, Tristan and Tenzing.

    Two are much more fun and company for each other while you're out
    at work.  They also take some of the heat out of kittenhood - they
    can wear each other out:-)
    
    I found the useful thing is that they teach each other - when we
    got them Tarot was still having trouble registering the fact that
    the place to go to the toilet was the dirt box.  Isis was clean
    and he soon learnt from her.  He took to the cat flap, she wouldn't
    go near it on her own, but would follow him through, etc.  Conversely 
    if one finds out how to open the living room door the other can soon 
    do it as well.
    
    Kate
                            

    The best thing about having the 2 cats is watching them clean
    eachother, snuggle up together, and sleep together.  Our 2 are
    hilarious to watch when they sleep.  Portia is about twice the size
    of Oscar.  Oscar will curl up on top of Porty like Porty is one
    big fluufy pillow.  They'll snooze like that for hours.
    
    	-Nancy