Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84; site burl.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!rcj From: rcj@burl.UUCP (Curtis Jackson) Newsgroups: net.pets Subject: HELP!! Cat litter question (phew!) Message-ID: <984@burl.UUCP> Date: Sat, 1-Feb-86 14:25:23 EST Article-I.D.: burl.984 Posted: Sat Feb 1 14:25:23 1986 Date-Received: Sat, 1-Feb-86 21:51:27 EST Reply-To: rcj@burl.UUCP (Curtis Jackson) Distribution: net Organization: AT&T Technologies, Burlington NC Lines: 64 Keywords: Stink! Summary: I know this question has invariably come up in this group before, but I just started reading it today. Please mail replies to me and I *will* summarize them to the net: --------------------------- I have two cats, a male and a female, both about 8.5 months old. For economic reasons, the 3 of us are forced to share a one-bedroom apartment until my lease runs out in August, when I intend to buy/rent a house. In the meantime, I am having 4 major problems: 1) Litter box. Both these guys are excellently trained to the box, but I can change the litter in the afternoon and by the next morning the whole apartment smells. Any suggestions on this would be greatly appreciated -- if you have cats you probably know that no deodorizors will help (although good incense seems to do better than anything). Would it help if I had one/both of them fixed? I've run through every brand of litter known to man/beast -- nothing works; my best experience so far is with Kitty Litter brand. They are both still on Purina Kitten Chow, which I'm sure is ultra- loaded with protein -- a bad thing for me since protein breaks down into ammonia in the body. Would a dietary change help? 2) Spraying. I guess this is what he is doing -- the male started a month ago to "mark his territory" by urinating in obscure areas of the living room. To my knowledge (and boy, you have instant knowledge when you open the door of the apartment!), he has only done this twice; but I'm quite sure that won't be the end. I really hate to have him fixed for no reason, as he is already playful but basically docile (he doesn't really use his claws and teeth even when really excited while playing/fighting), and I don't want to turn him into a fat, boring old man before he is one year old. 3) Scratching post. I bought one of these oddities (carpet-covered variety, you know the type) at the local pet store when my babies were very young. They used it as a base from which to pull a Snoopy-style vulture routine, then pounce on each other. They never once scratched it. Now that they are too big to perch on it, it sits in the middle of the living room floor while they gleefully attack my $300 ottoman. For some reason they haven't yet realized that the easy chair and sofa of the same group are much more expensive, but I'm sure they'll figure it out sooner or later. I have an old fake-wicker clothes hamper that I really don't care about in front of the ottoman, but it is rapidly disappearing in shreds and doing wonders for the appearance of my apartment at the same time. Any scratching-post suggestions? The male discovered my speaker covers last night, and for that he will die -- only you can save him! 4) The house won't solve this one, but my job requires me to go the New Jersey [:-(] fairly often for around 3 days at a time, sometimes 4. Except when I get lucky like next week and get to go to Minneapolis [:-( :-(]. Has anyone had any experience with automatic feeders/waterers so I don't have to leave tons of food and water out? The male is in fantastic shape, but the female is a butterball -- a real tubbo. I have the feeling that if there isn't a huge pile of food *in the bowl* that maybe she'll cut down a bit -- I tried this when I was home for a long period and it seemed to work. She never cleaned out the bowl but she did eat less. Sorry this turned out to be so long, but this is my first experience with indoor cats and the pet stores in town have been no help whatsoever. Any help would be greatly appreciated! P.S.: Thanks in advance from Sam and Kodi, too! -- The MAD Programmer -- 919-228-3313 (Cornet 291) alias: Curtis Jackson ...![ ihnp4 ulysses cbosgd mgnetp ]!burl!rcj ...![ ihnp4 cbosgd akgua masscomp ]!clyde!rcj