Wicked Photos wrote:
hello.. it's been awhile!

so i am cat sitting for 3 weeks later this month and now that it's almost here, i am kinda like WTF! my house is kinda big and there is a basement so i am kinda worried about her running around and getting into trouble. as for that, i think i can just block off the entrance with a nice big box. she is older and kinda fat.

That sounds like a good idea.

now my other issue is should i leave her in one of the rooms while people are out of the house or let her roam. i'd of course leave food/water and a liter box. when i get back, i will her out for the day.

That depends on the cat. Generally they're fine roaming around the house - as long as you don't have food where they can get it. She'd probably appreciate a comfortable sleeping place and somewhere with a view.

The big thing is to try to play with her every day - cats often need interaction, even if they don't ask for it. Ask what games she likes - string etc. But don't leave dangerous toys - eg string - alone with her while you are out, in case she is in the minority of cats with no sense.

..Ask if she likes catnip!

Honestly I'd keep her locked up in one room for the first day if you're not going to be home to watch her. Let her out as soon as you get home and just observe. If she's chill then let her keep roaming, if she immediately starts getting into everything then you'll want to keep her confined when you can't be there to keep an eye on her.

Cats are generally more chill than dogs, especially if she's older. You're not going to come home to find your canned goods cabinet ransacked and your sofa half-eaten, but if youve got lots of shelves/counters/things to jump up on with anything breakable on them thats where your problem is likely to be.

i like this.. she is coming this sat but ive a long day at work. maybe i will put her in the room and my mom will open the door for her. or not, she's not fond of the idea of kitty coming over. from what ive seen, she's a quiet cat at my brothers house. it's his.

That depends on the cat. Generally they're fine roaming around the house - as long as you don't have food where they can get it. She'd probably appreciate a comfortable sleeping place and somewhere with a view.

so one of the rooms, i have faces the street with windows. the bed is kinda high for her probably. at least the floor has carpet though. i am sure he'll bring toys. probably.

Wicked Photos wrote:
I've got some cat questions

they taste like chicken......

PhillipM wrote:
We have 11 of them.

All are locked up at night, because of predators in the area.  The males are let out during the day.  We live on a small 35 acre area, and is pretty much in the country.  I don't mean suburbs... I mean the Sticks.

I'm assuming this is an outside cat, since your willing to let it out.  If I were "kitty" sitting, I'd be wary of letting it out, because I wouldn't want it on my conscience if something happens to it, even if it weren't your fault per se'

Just my thoughts.

I read "roam" as "around the house". No way should she be allowed out of the house - she might wonder off trying to get home!

thiswayup wrote:

I read "roam" as "around the house". No way should she be allowed out of the house - she might wonder off trying to get home!

Yeah, I see how that can be read that way.

PhillipM wrote:

Yeah, I see how that can be read that way.

Well, with the ambiguity you're right to raise the point.

Paolo Diavolo wrote:
if youre concerned about the cat being lose in the house when youre not there, just shove it in a large pillow case and suspend it from something.

If you force-feed it candy first, it might make for a passable piñata.

Wicked Photos wrote:
hello.. it's been awhile!

so i am cat sitting for 3 weeks later this month and now that it's almost here, i am kinda like WTF! my house is kinda big and there is a basement so i am kinda worried about her running around and getting into trouble. as for that, i think i can just block off the entrance with a nice big box. she is older and kinda fat.

now my other issue is should i leave her in one of the rooms while people are out of the house or let her roam. i'd of course leave food/water and a liter box. when i get back, i will her out for the day.

she's never been here before so it will interesting. any other tips would be great.

When you bring it home, coat the tops of it's front paws with butter. The cat will love you for it (who doesn't like butter?) and it will spend several hours licking the butter out of it's fur. By the time it has groomed itself, it will be fairly comfortable in it's new surroundings.

Try to emulate the litter box setup it is used to. For example, if it is coming out of a one story house with the litter box in the basement, and you have a two story house, you may need to provide a litter box on the main floor as well as the basement. I've been told, and have found in practice, that cats get used to a certain routine that way. They won't necessarily go down more flights of stairs than they are used to going down before they want a litter box.

Wicked Photos wrote:
hello.. it's been awhile!

so i am cat sitting for 3 weeks later this month and now that it's almost here, i am kinda like WTF! my house is kinda big and there is a basement so i am kinda worried about her running around and getting into trouble. as for that, i think i can just block off the entrance with a nice big box. she is older and kinda fat.

now my other issue is should i leave her in one of the rooms while people are out of the house or let her roam. i'd of course leave food/water and a liter box. when i get back, i will her out for the day.

she's never been here before so it will interesting. any other tips would be great.

I would definitely start her off in one room, a safe room.

I highly recommend reading anything online you find by google searching, "cat integration."  Or cat homing. I'd give her a safe place to hide, (even putting a table cloth or sheet over a low table so she has a safe hidey spot versus going into an unsafe hidey spot is a good idea.

The best way to keep a cat out of something is a securely closed door, not a box. something set up to just block or barricade may become the actual object of injury that the get hurt on while trying to go around it.

Jen
p.s. edit, have the owner bring over the cat's litter box and belongins and maybe have the owner come over for a few hours and actually help set up the main room the cat will be in. 3 weeks is a long time, know that the cat will likely not eat or drink the first day, if there is no urine or stool in the box, (you will know because you will scoop it once, maybe twice a day to keep it clean,) then you need to make sure kitty is drinking water, put a waterbowl out, heck, put multiples out and make sure its fresh every day too.
p.s. oh yeah, my cat is a plastic chewer too, anything in plastic he chews it off if I don't put it away, he also loves to bite through plastic water bottles if they are left out, regardless if full of water too. Joy, right?!

PhillipM wrote:
All are locked up at night, because of predators in the area.

your hockey team hangs around the neighborhood looking for cats ?

Laura UnBound wrote:
Alternately the cat hates you for having done something to its feet and youve got butter all over your living room....

I've done that with every cat I've brought home. Works like a hot damn.

WR Photographics wrote:

I've done that with every cat I've brought home. Works like a hot damn.

My cat would be plotting your soon to be met demise for touching her feet. /shrug.
Never had any trouble just leaving them to themselves, they come around when they feel like it

Laura UnBound wrote:

My cat would be plotting your soon to be met demise for touching her feet. /shrug.
Never had any trouble just leaving them to themselves, they come around when they feel like it

I wholeheartedly agree. Leave the kitty alone. No reason to mess with it. BTW cats are lactose intolerant. Ahem.

thiswayup wrote:
The truth is that cats are individuals.

The only general rule is move slowly and don't force unwanted contact with a strange cat - if the dickens goes behind a sofa, let her come out in  her own time - cat bites hurt and can need ER treatment for infection.

Don't otoh assume a cat will be shy or cautious. One of my rescue cats was shy for about 2 hours after being brought home and then started to take over the place.

My recent stray rescue started to take over immediately, the minute he agreed to get into the car with me to go home. He rode like a boss. He also owns me now too but, he is a gentle ruler.   Not only that then he rode shotgun a couple months later as I got transferred across county. http://jenniferblockerphoto.zenfolio.co … 1/cool-cat picture.

Jen
p.s. and yes, do not force a cat, let them do it on their own time

Isis22 wrote:

I wholeheartedly agree. Leave the kitty alone. No reason to mess with it. BTW cats are lactose intolerant. Ahem.

Do a bit of research. Butter (margarine will do, BTW since the idea is to occupy the cat for a while in it's new home), is somewhere in the range of .8% lactose. Compare to milk, which is closer to 5%, and often, butter is fine for lactose intolerant people because the amount is insignificant.
Anyway, I will tell my vet when I take my dog in for her annual this Saturday that the advice she gave me some 30 years ago regarding cats has been poopoohed by a couple of experts on a modeling website.

WR Photographics wrote:
Anyway, I will tell my vet when I take my dog in for her annual this Saturday that the advice she gave me some 30 years ago regarding cats has been poopoohed by a couple of experts on a modeling website.

the advice you were given  pertained to  Canadian cats

.. NOT USAian cats

WR Photographics wrote:
I've done that with every cat I've brought home. Works like a hot damn.

No luck with mine. I've had a few cats and lots of dogs in my life, and I've found that cats are way more unique than dogs. Unless a dog is rescued from a hard life, or is an inbred breed, chances are that its personality is pretty predictable. If it's friendly, it's almost always friendly; if it likes to wreck your shit, it will take almost every opportunity to wreck your shit.

They're also bad liars.

Cats, not so much.

My cat is about six years old, and almost nothing anyone has ever suggested has worked for her. Butter? In the rug. Double stick tape around plants to keep her out? Knocks over the plants, and pulls the tape off with her teeth. Spray bottle? She walks up to it and drinks from it. I even tried putting a little hot sauce in the bottle, and she STILL drinks from it.

She doesn't even chase a laser pointer. She paws at it, realizes she can't catch it, meows at me, and fucks off.

At least she always pees in the litter box. I used to have a cat that peed in the shower when she was mad at me. It would have been fine, except that she was a long hair, and she stood on the wrong side. At least she was out of pee come bath time.

If you haven't started cat sitting yet, I'd lock the cat in the bathroom for the first day with the litter box and a couple toys. Make sure to put away everything on the counter, and maybe take down your shower curtain. Be prepared to roll the TP back up.

If that works okay, maybe let the cat run around a little more, if your house is set up such that you can limit her to just a couple rooms. Go from there.

Either way, good luck. I realize my cat is a schmuck - most of them are much easier to deal with.

ernst tischler wrote:
When I am away for days or weeks at a time, my cats stay here at home.  It's where they live and where they are comfortable.  Except for vet trips, they never leave the house.

I have someone come in once a day to be sure the 24 hour buffet is fully stocked and scoop the litter box.

I would never even think of making my cats stay at a place they are unfamiliar with just so I can go out of town.

I agree. When I'm gone for more than one or two nights I get a cat sitter. Moving a cat to a new environment is very stressful on them, and they may react badly.

ernst tischler wrote:
When I am away for days or weeks at a time, my cats stay here at home.  It's where they live and where they are comfortable.  Except for vet trips, they never leave the house.

I have someone come in once a day to be sure the 24 hour buffet is fully stocked and scoop the litter box.

I would never even think of making my cats stay at a place they are unfamiliar with just so I can go out of town.

see thats a good idea. i dont know why my brother didnt do this.