Conference misery::feline_v1

    Heh heh heh...I'm glad I'm not the only one!  When I walk into my
    boy's bathroom after one of they has "gone poo-poo", it's overwhelming.
    Neither of them bury.  Occasionally, when Chauncey's is too much
    to bear, Honey will go in and bury for him (brave!).  Sigh....
    
    Sometimes I wonder how something so non-offensive going in can come
    out like something used for chemical warfare!  Incredible...I always
    wonder if their insides died ages ago.
    
    Good luck with your new baby!
    Mary

    some cats do it, some don't! Argus doesn't but when he litterbox
    trained Eirene and Panther, he taught them to cover it (to the point
    that Panther is obsessive about covering it). Just be glad that
    the cat hits the box; Alex always misses.
    
    Deb

    
    You can always do what we have done....move the box to the cellar!!
    Installed a Pet Door in the cellar door, had 'em trained in about
    an hour to go through it, and the result is the house smells a LOT
    better.  When it is "times 2" it can get really bad whether they
    cover up or not.  The only other remedy is scoop, scoop, scoop!
    
    "C"
    

    However, when you live in an apt. and have no cellar at your disposal,
    you must make do with what you've got - the super dooper pooper
    scooper.  Out of my 3, only one doesn't take the time to cover his.
    The other two seem to take forever covering theirs.  I think it
    probably does have something to do with their early training with
    or without their mom cats.
    
    

    I doubt if Tabbatha had much training from her mother.  We got her
    from an animal shelter.  They say that she is about 6 weeks old,
    but I seem to think that she is younger.  She is suckling and she
    is crying CONSTANTLY!  No matter what, she crys.  Even when we are
    holding her.  Last night, I put her in the kitchen as usual and
    barracaded the doorway.  Well, she didn't like that at all!  She
    sat there and cried the best siamese cry she could (which was VERY
    loud).  she finally found a way to get out and no matter how many
    times I put her in, she kept getting out.  I finally gave up and
    let her sleep in my room.  This morning I found a "lovely little
    surprize" on my comforter.  Hopefully, the stain will come out.
    
    The main thing I am concerned about now is her crying.  It is
    continuous and quite loud and annoying at times.  Can you help?
     Thanks for the input about not covering her messes.
    
    Holly

    My neighbor's young cat Khaliph (sp?) is also an all black part
    Siamese puss.  I sat for him awhile back while his people were away
    for a week.  He cried allllll the time, except when I was holding
    him or playing with him, until they came back.  I think Tabby just
    misses her mother and needs time to realize she has a human Mum
    now.  Isolating her in the kitchen probably made her feel even more
    abandoned.  I'd be inclined to overdo the attention for awhile (cart
    her around on your shoulders, and so forth).  If she redoes the
    comforter number, there are a jillion messages in this file about
    problems like that.
    

    RE: .5
    
    Eirene, Panther and their 2 littermates went on the comforter maybe
    a dozen times when they were real young, but once they learned to
    use the litter box they never forgot. Immediatly run the stain under
    cold water and let it dry. If that doesn't get rid of the odor,
    bring it to a laundymat and use 1/3 a package of OderDisposers (a
    water soluble, non-toxic enzyme available in pet stores), or something
    like Arm and Hammer Laundry Detergent.
    
    As for the crying, Siamese will be Siamese. Panther and Eirene are
    part Siamese and they do it all the time. I've found that if I
    ignore them they will just trot into the bedroom sleep on me.
    
    Deb

    Tabby did a bit better last night.  We put her into the kitchen
    and she only got out twice before she gave up.  As soon as she is
    old enough, and big enough, she will be sleeping in my bed.  Right
    now, she is too little to jump off of the bed.  So, all is well
    at my house for now.  The stain came out of my comforter.  Samantha
    is adjusting to my sister's house quite nicely.  Thank you everyone
    for all of your advice.
    
    Also, last night, I went to see Sue Millott.  She still had the
    one Korat kitten left.  When I saw her, I immediately fell in love
    with her.  We put a deposit down on her and we will get her next
    month.  Sue says that she is definitely show quality.  I plan on
    showing her as soon as she is old enough.  Anybody have any ideas
    for names?  I want to stay away from the more common names for a
    Korat or a russian blue like smokey, dusty, or gray.  That's not
    very original.  Also, can anyone give me any advice on showing as
    kitten.  I know that she has to be 4 months old to show her.  
    Thanks again for everything.  I'm beginning to feel like an over
    concerned mother!:-)
    
    Holly

    Oh yeah, I forgot to mention.  Has anyone talked to sue lately?
    I was very lucky to get the Korat.  This is her last litter.  She
    is no longer going to breed them. 
    
    Also, she just lost her champion Korat.  I have forgotten what her
    name was, but she just died last month of Kidney failure.  From
    what I understand, quite a few judges had told them that she was
    the best Korat that they have ever seen.
    
    Holly

    Of all the cats I've had, only one ever covered its leavings.

    Try getting a doll bottle with nipple, and feeding her that way
    for a while.

    Forgot to suggest try making a snug, soft, furry "nest" for her
    somewhere where it's warm.  She may need a "mother substitute" for
    a while.  Or, a shaggy stuffed animal might help.

    How did you train your cat to use a Pet Door?

    Re: .8
    
    How about a "stepping stone" for her to get off and on the bed?
     I got a cat platform for my living room and put the platform next
    to the mantel (mantal?) because the cats were trying to leap up
    there and just making it by their clawnails.  I couldn't stand to
    watch.
    

    re: baby bottles...
    
    This month's "Cats" magazine's Photo of the Month shows a little
    orphaned six-week-old kitten lying on her back nursing from a baby
    bottle she was holding between her front paws and propping up with
    her back paws.  You could almost hear her purrr....
                          
    When I first got Honey, I used to hold him like a baby and rock
    him in my favorite rocking chair.  He still loves it.
    
    Your vet can provide you with just the right kind of nurser...it
    might be worth a shot.
    
    Mary

    RE .13 - Pet Door Training
    
      It took me only about a half-hour to train my kids (Zuba n' Scooter)
    to use their pet-door (of course it was to the great outdoors -
    now Scooter keeps bringing in leaves from the outside). Just keep
    pushing them through it at first and have a tidbit on the other
    side. Then, prop the door open for a while so they don't have to
    push the door out of their way. Once they get used to going through
    the open door, close it again and push them through some more -
    they'll catch on pretty quickly.
    
    Mathew
    
    

    Bottle feeding may help BUT, DON't lay kitty on her back - she/he
    may choke!  Lay the kitty either on your lap or on your chest and
    hold the bottle up.  If you have ever watched kittens nurse, they
    usually do so uphill.  Most of my 11 still like to sleep uphill
    - their ages are between 8 yrs. and 4 1/2 months.  good luck!
    

    There a book by Desmond Morris, CATWATCHING, that talks
    about covering.  He asserts that 'not covering' is a sign
    of dominance.  Since odor is everything in the animal
    kingdom, the idea is that the cat leaves it uncovered 
    deliberately, for the odor to waft as far as possible,
    establishing territory.  He says this is how it's done
    with wild cats anyway.  They go up to a high spot and
    sometimes find a rock, and do it atop the rock.
    
    I'm not sure that I believe this to be the case with
    domestic cats though maybe sometimes it is.
    
    -Donna
    

    Well, we have finally decided on a name for the new Korat kitten.
    (3 more weeks and counting before we get her!)  Her name is going
    to be Sterling Silver.  We are not sure if her "call name" is going
    to be Sterling or Silver.  
    
    Holly

re: nursing kitten....good idea, pet stores carry formula that won't
cause diarrhea...and it might stop adult "sucking" behavior I've
seen in cats that were weaned too soon.

re: crying at night...old trick is to get a good old-fashioned ticking
clock, wind it up and wrap in a big fluffy towel or blanket piece.
the ticking is like a hearbeat and will generally calm down kittens
and puppies while the towel or blanket allows for "burrowing" for
warmth.

re: covering messes - well, we have Nick who covers up for Tabby and
Hannah as well as himself.  He gets really angry when they leave
a mess uncovered, chides them by "slapping" on the head, and then
proceeds to cover it himself...I wonder if that means he thinks he's
dominant over the girls?

    RE: .20, covering the messes
    
    No, Argus did this to the twins when he was raising them. To this
    day, they are obsessive about covering. It is a shame that Argus
    wont cover his own. I guess he thinks that his messes don't smell.
    
    Deb

    My baby Milo -- Oh, excuuuse me! Mr. Milo the two-pound macho cat
    -- once more astounds me with yet one more trick I've never seen
    in many years and many cats.
    
    First let me state that Milo is an extremely fastidious little cat.
    He always covers; he washes after every meal; and smooths his fur
    down after playing and before napping.
    
    Last night when I got home, Milo's litter box seemed somehow short
    on litter and, not to get graphic, also short of any evidence of
    the day's business [I had changed his litter before leaving for
    work so the absence was quite obvious].  While I was putting together
    dinner for the 'kids' I heard scratching in the litter pan and then
    Milo exploded into the hall making little tiny gagging noises and
    ran upstairs to where the workmen have been making major rennovations.
    Hearing my baby apparnetly choking, I ran up after him only to find
    Milo scratching damp litter over poops he had put in the far back
    corner of what will be a dressing room/closet.  It seems that he
    had found the perfect privy but found that he couldn't cover on
    the tile so he was transporting the clean litter a mouthful at a
    time.
    
    Together we went through the motions of transferring all artifacts
    back to the litter box and then we sat down beside it to have a
    lengthy discussion on the relative merits of using the litter box
    and having the run of the house versus spending our days in the
    cellar with a heating pad and a few toys.  He _may_ have gotten the
    point [one way or another], because he dutifully used his box all
    evening, last night, and this morning.
    
    Annie

    What we have here is a book in the making... If you haven't already
    done so, try firing off some of your notes to the various cat
    magazines. I've known some notable cats in my time, but Milo sounds
    like he's going to be the first cat to run for public office - and
    win!
    
    -b

    re : some where back there
    	Ticking clocks....  only work till the alarm goes off
    		(Unless you have a cat like Callie, kept waking me up
    to ask what time it was now.  She now waits for the alarm to go
    off, then hops up on the bed and starts biting at me, walking across
    my head, and purring louder than the average tornado till I get
    up.  It's enough to make me stop setting my alarm (not a bad idea
    in its own right)).
    
    Dave