Ah! Neighbors just got kittens--bad news!
So, our neighbors (a family with 3 kids aged 6, 8, and 11) just got two kittens (about 7-8 weeks) and I am really nervous about it. The kids have not been taught how to treat animals (they are very rough, loud, and overall frightening to kittens) and they are going to declaw them! How can I make sure these sweet kittens are treated well? Is there anything I can do? I don't think that they would hurt them, but I also don't think the kids (or the parents, for that matter) know how to take care of animals. Ah! How can anyone just go get a cat/dog/other animal without having any knowledge of them? It just scares me! You can't just go and pick up a kid (well, I guess you could just *make* one), so why can someone just go get an animal? Sorry...angry rant, but I just want to make sure these kittens are safe, healthy, happy, and have claws :-\
My boss has a room in my house for when he's in town and he was trying to lecture me about why i should get my cats declawed. We ended up having to agree to disagree. If you do get the chance to talk to them about it, I hope you can get through to them. >:(
I have to agree--liberation time!! Get yourself a cagoule and a black sweater and go for it.
Dave, how about a road trip! ;)
You can buy them a book on proper kitten care. Find one that talks about how cruel it is to declaw and how it's not like cutting our fingernails but equivalent to amputating the finger at the joint. Highlight that part with a florescent marker. That's assuming they can and will read the book. If you're friendly enough with the neighors you can "offer them some tips" on taking care of them. I've never tried them but there are claw covers that prevent damage to furniture from scratching. My cats were too old to accept them when I found out about them. You might find a site that sells them, print out the description and give that to them too. It depends on how redneck they are as to how well this will go over.
Thanks, all. As much as I would like to kitten-nap them...
The kids really want to show me the kittens all the time, so maybe I can show them how I clip their nails and they can tell their parents. Their parents are kind of odd (they're super loud and the dad's idea of bonding with his son is staying up late playing violent video games), but maybe I could talk to them. I'll see. They seem to think that we're 'neighborly' enough to ask to borrow our cat carrier, so I think that gives me permission to talk to them about proper kitten care. The food thing is a whole other issue--I don't even want to think about what they are feeding them. Ugh. I just hope they don't get sick of them when they aren't cute little kittens anymore.
On another note, kids need to be more creative with cat names. The girl's name is "Baby" because she cries (hmmm...maybe she cries because you are scaring her?) and the boy's name is "Oreo" (seriously, I bet there are a million black and white cats named Oreo...sorry if anyone's cat is named Oreo here, but sheesh, I'm so sick of meeting cats named Oreo).
Thanks, all. As much as I would like to kitten-nap them...
The kids really want to show me the kittens all the time, so maybe I can show them how I clip their nails and they can tell their parents. Their parents are kind of odd (they're super loud and the dad's idea of bonding with his son is staying up late playing violent video games), but maybe I could talk to them. I'll see. They seem to think that we're 'neighborly' enough to ask to borrow our cat carrier, so I think that gives me permission to talk to them about proper kitten care. The food thing is a whole other issue--I don't even want to think about what they are feeding them. Ugh. I just hope they don't get sick of them when they aren't cute little kittens anymore.
On another note, kids need to be more creative with cat names. The girl's name is "Baby" because she cries (hmmm...maybe she cries because you are scaring her?) and the boy's name is "Oreo" (seriously, I bet there are a million black and white cats named Oreo...sorry if anyone's cat is named Oreo here, but sheesh, I'm so sick of meeting cats named Oreo).
Um, with the oldest child being only eleven, I'd cut them a break on the naming creativity. They probably haven't been exposed to enough cultural jetsam and flotsam to be really creative. That said, my cats are Stevie (deceased), Angel (she's white), Cheyanna (she's shy, OK kinda creative), Biscuit (shortened from Angelo Biscotti), Bandit (he's a Siamese with a mask) and Sarah Michelle Pretty Cat. :-[ Cats have three names anyway according to, I think, T.S. Elliot: the one you call them, the one they call each other and their true secret name. I'm getting so forgetful. The broadway play "Cats" was based on a book that he wrote and I can't remember the name of the book, either!
Um, with the oldest child being only eleven, I'd cut them a break on the naming creativity. They probably haven't been exposed to enough cultural jetsam and flotsam to be really creative. That said, my cats are Stevie (deceased), Angel (she's white), Cheyanna (she's shy, OK kinda creative), Biscuit (shortened from Angelo Biscotti), Bandit (he's a Siamese with a mask) and Sarah Michelle Pretty Cat. :-[ Cats have three names anyway according to, I think, T.S. Elliot: the one you call them, the one they call each other and their true secret name. I'm getting so forgetful. The broadway play "Cats" was based on a book that he wrote and I can't remember the name of the book, either!
Yes, I should be nicer to these children. They're just really obnoxious. It's not really their fault though because their parents aren't really parents (and their parents probably weren't parents either, etc. etc.). I really like "Biscuit". My mom works with a lady whose cat is named Tater Tot (Tater for short) and I think that's super cute. Not that my cat's names are that creative either (Lucy and Joe), but Oreo just gets me... ;)
I love Angelo Biscotti!
I love Angelo Biscotti!
Well, actually it's Angelo Biscotti Ricotti Rigatoni Baloney of Ulm. I think I was hungry and I had just seen a Monty Python episode that featured silly names! :D
I love Angelo Biscotti!
Well, actually it's Angelo Biscotti Ricotti Rigatoni Baloney of Ulm. I think I was hungry and I had just seen a Monty Python episode that featured silly names! :D
K, you get the prize for greatest cat name ever! The "of Ulm" makes it that much better ;D
I guess this isn't the right thread to say our beagle was named Snoopy. ::)
I guess this isn't the right thread to say our beagle was named Snoopy. ::)
As long as it wasn't Oreo!
P.S. I love Beagles!
My mom works with a lady whose cat is named Tater Tot (Tater for short) and I think that's super cute. Not that my cat's names are that creative either (Lucy and Joe), but Oreo just gets me... ;)
How is tater tot any different than Oreo? They're both still wierd and food but at least in your neighbor's case the kids chose it and not a grown up. ???
Although I can't say I'm much better...I named my twin's cat Poo from when she was learning how to use litter and always had poo on her paws. All our other cats were named Tigger, Murray, Diablo, Miss Hissy, Mama, Squirt, Michaela, and Mirrya.
How is tater tot any different than Oreo? They're both still wierd and food but at least in your neighbor's case the kids chose it and not a grown up. ???
Because I can count the number of cats named Tater Tot on one hand (actually, I've only met one) whereas I don't know how many hands I would need to count all of the Oreos I've met (both dogs and cats).
On a slightly different note, my mom just found a starving, skinny little kitten in their garage tonight. Poor thing--he was so scared, hungry, and thirsty! We have no idea where he came from! He (?) is a black and white tuxedo kitten who will probably be joining the family. Guess what we're NOT going to be naming him? ;D ;D (rhetorical question)
We have claw caps on our girls. They don't mind a bit AND our furniture is relatively un-destroyed.
Our cats are Baxter (from the old Meow Mix Commercial), Voodoo (because she's mysterious), Tucker (because we found her at a bar called Uncle Tuckers), Houdini (because she hides from us in crazy places and we can't find her), Tony Danza (umm...long story), Gizmo (looked like a Gremlin when we found her), and Lemon Pepper (because she is yellow, black, and white and looks like or lemon pepper grinder from Trader Joes).
Who're you holdling in the picture?
our cats were sparkle (dad found her on a airstrip in nc, named her when i was little in the 80's, rip), tigger (mom named him, got him from my uncle but had to give him back b/c we had to move, rip to him to stupid pple trying to get into the garage), frisky (new yrs eve cat, i think mom name him), and finally smudge (brother got him from a ex friend of ours, got his name b/c he had a smudge on his head that went away).