so, after a stormy night full of lightning, thunder and heavy rains, my wife is leaving for work the next morning. as she walks out the door to the car she is followed by this small cat, who attempts to jump in her car.

she grabs him and walks back inside with this wet dishrag of a cat and asks what to do with him. so, being the sucker for animals that i am, i take him inside and dry him off and look around for something a cat might like. now, this cat is a kitten and completely black...i mean totally black...kinda cool looking.

anyways, we end up keeping it. well, lemme tell ya...this little runt has a slight attitude and won't even take crap from the dog. on top of that, he's like having a 2 year old in the house. he's into EVERYTHING. he has to investigate every little object, every corner, and every nook. so, just like having a 2 year old, we have to put some stuff away. ok...price you pay to have a cat.

so, the other day i'm putting down ceramic tiles in the foyer. as i'm laying tiles down to make measurements, he's swiping the plastic spacers every time i walked away...GRRRR. then, when i put my pen down, he'd take that and runs with it. i can go on and on with the long list of insane things this cat does, but, is this normal for cats? we've been a dog family for years and years and this guy is a real challenge.

we won't get rid of him..kinda attached now...but he does some really questionable things that make me doubt his state of mental well being.

He's a TYPICAL kitten, mga...kudos to you and your wife for taking him in.

When I get time, I'll tell you all about the black kitten that adopted my sister. He and your kitten may be kindred spirits.

Here is an interesting site that might help you:

http://www.kittencare.com/happyhealthy.html

http://www.secretsofcattraining.com/

Catherine

Lol, awsome story mga:) I love animals. They do some of the most amazing things in their innocence that can at times be both hillarious and frustrating!!!

I can still remember the time, nor will I ever forget when I came home one day, (my dog was still a pup) and I found our new couch (used, but new for us) torn to crap. Lol, I laugh now, but boy was I ticked. She ripped the skirt that hangs to the floor from one end to the other. I think that that was the closest I ever came to hitting her. My wife walked in right after me, so she didnt see the couch. I told her to "Get that fucking dog out of here right NOW". Lol, I really dont get mad all that easy when dealing with my own life, I'll tell you what, her eyes got as big as saucers, and she grabed the dog and ran out.

I sat there for a few minutes thinking, steaming, then I hopped into the car, went to the pet store, and got a crate. heh, I didnt think that crating a dog while the owners were out was a good thing before this. Now I understand. Talk about having to learn the hard way!!!

thanks, catherine!!!

crimson.....when i started owning dobermans i bought a crate kennel. let me tell ya, it was the best thing i ever did. not only to keep her out of trouble, but, since we both worked, it house broke her real fast.

i recommend a kennel to anyone who has a pup. dogs will learn FAST that they don't like living in their own mess and will "hold" it until you come home and bring them outside.

I am living with my mother because she has been ill. She has a cat that she saved from the bitter cold. The cat got frostbite and her ears fell off. Talk about weird.

Anyway - I love cats (and dogs too) and they normally love me. Not this earless bitch. She hates me. My bedroom is on the second floor of an old farmhouse. She sits on the landing and waits for me. If I am sleepy and going down for coffee and I forget to grab the fly-swatter - she nails me!

I am not afraid of her, but I like my ankles smooth and normal looking, not looking like bloody shredded wheat. I have to carry a fly-swatter with me so I can navigate the stairs.

Never seen anything like it! I can honestly say this is the first cat I have not been able to "bond" with. Not a whole lot of love or even like going on here.

Lots of times animals will "act out" when something alters their environment, such as your mother's illness and your presence in the house, sadie. I am convinced that animals experience anxiety and worry when their usual routine is tampered with.

I have four wonderful cats...all refugees. The only female among them is Molly, the cat from hell. She's just cantankerous, very aggressive, and doesn't like to be touched for any length of time. When I take her to the vet, he has to have two other helpers in the room, all of them wearing long, leather gloves. She likes to be in our presence, but not on our laps or touching us. She'll lie on a chair, the floor, or the sofa. She'll follow me around, but she doesn't like to be petted.

The others? They are petting machines!

Catherine

You reminded me of a cat I had when I was first married. I loved her anyway. She was just very independant and when she was done being petted she would "bite the hand that pets her".

Same experience at the vet. Took several employees to hold her down so he could examine her. (they need to invent cat straight jackets).

Her name: Bad-ass

The vet didn't get it at first and he spelled it Batasse. The look on his face when he realized what her name really was (after the third visit) was priceless.

Sadie, you just made me laugh my ass off. I'll be laughing about this all night.




Ahhhh, man, you really caught me off guard on that one.

as an added question...aren't cats normally afraid of water? this brat seems to be fascinated with water. his favorite playgrounds are the toilet bowls and makes such a damn mess all over we now have to make sure the lids are down. his "hang out" is the bathroom and when you take a shower he sits right outside the glass...watching the water...or, at least i hope that's what he's watching and he tries to open the shower door with his paws. when you're done..he runs in there to play in whatever water is dripping.

need i mention the dog's water bowl too...another one of his favorite stops. owning a cat is all new to me because, as i stated before, we've always been a "dog" family...but then again, we also own a dog that watches TV all night.

maybe we just attract the weirdo animals......???

but, this cat sure makes things rather interesting lately.

He MAY be a pervert in a cat's body. Are you sure he is watching the water when you shower?

hmm....if i were one to believe in reicarnation, i might agree.

he wakes me up at 5am today...jumps in the bed and starts play-biting my hand...ok...once awake...that's it...i'm up. i thought he might be hungry. right?

i get up and what does he do?

he goes and sleeps in the corner of the living room!!!!!!!!!!!! wtf????

This little fellow is exploring his world, mga, and some cats do like water, particularly black kittens. Ambrose, the delightful little monster that adoped my sister, is the same way. He takes flying leaps and lands on her head early in the morning, wanting her to get up. She says he wants to jump into the bathtub with her. She gives him baths and he loves it, although whether he'll continue to love it as he gets older remains to be seen.

Your kitten got you up, probably after he'd been doing who knows what, and you were just the last thing on his agenda. You responded, so he decides to go sleep for a few minutes because he's tired. If it's any comfort, I have two black adult males. They were once kittens, although not with me, so they do grow up and become marvelous pets.

Ask your vet how soon you can have your kitten neutered. If you do it while he's relatively young, he won't be as likely to "mark" his territory by peeing on things.

Keep us posted about his progress by starting a "sticky" here in the form of a diary!

Catherine

Oh please do. I love kitten stories!

You may have already tried this but in case you haven't - use a flashlight - shine the beam on the floor near the kitten. Once he tries to snag it move it in circles, back and forth, and even up the wall. Mine used to try to catch it and my whole family and I would laugh ourselves silly!

When I had a cat we called him pigpen after the Peanuts character. He used to lay around in his litter box.

I'm a dog fan now as we have an old sack of fur now who just lies around the house waiting for me to make a move towards the door. My boots have to be on, keys in hand and leash ready. These are his triggers to react. It's kind of haunting sometimes how he always tries to keep me in view. Wonder if he imagines how good I'd taste if I dropped dead.

As for your kitten- most of what you say is typical of young cats. When you are in bed they watch your feet move below the blankets imagining mice etc. and pounce on them- arms can be targets too. Watch out for the foot pouncing as you walk across the room though, darting out from some unseen spot and rushing back to hide. I had a friend who had a Siamese cat called Bush, (after Bush 1) who stapled burlap coffee bags to his walls, because the cat used to love to climb the walls sideways, watch and pounce on unsuspecting things or people walking by. He had them set up from room to room, and the cat would run along them from one room to the next, sideways and fast. Cats can do the strangest things.

Me I'm sticking to dog's now. He's 11 now and really is part of the family, a good protector and alarm system. MGA, good luck with the infant stage and work on preventing him from stretching his claws on the furniture- they can wreck a couch quickly. Try the burlap bags on the walls trick for serious amusement.

Welcome back BTW.

lol...yea right...i'll staple burlap to the walls for the cat to climb on. he'll be living in the snow before i did that.

so, this morning i am trying to finish laying the ceramic tile in the powder room. as i'm removing the toilet, he has his nose right there...closely watching me undo the mounting bolts. i get the toilet out and carry if out...he decides to check out the drain....ARGH!!! i grab him before he climbs down. nothing scares this cat and he'll sit right there as i'm using a hammer and chisle to remove any old mortor or grout. plus...he has to touch EVERTHING. removing the sink...watching me do the wrenches on the pipes..not to mention in my way. i must have chased him out at least 100 times.

i think he finally went to lay down...so maybe i can get some work done