Review: Juvenile Felis Catus

MBCook writes "Looking for something new? Well Dan's Data has a review of something called a "Juvenile Felis Catus" (or "kitten" for short). The review goes over everything from how to aquire one, to required maintence, to storage, to a comparison against other ways of spending your money (kitten vs. puppy vs. baby vs. new video card). The article is full of useful and informative links such as your average kitten's standard configuration. A well reasoned and interesting review."

Comments

Slashdot. News for Nerds. Stuff That's Old

[Anonymous Coward]

This review is well over a year old.

Um, talk about out of date....

[endersdouble]

We do all realize that this is WAY out of date? This page has been up since April 1st. 2003.

Fun fact

[ImaLamer]

Did you know that only about 1% of the housecats in the world are pure breed?

Most cats (99%) are mixtures of several breeds.

Re:Fun fact

[stratjakt]

"Purebred" is just an arbitrary term cat (or dog) people come up with to create an artificially "elite" class of pet ownership.

Personally, I think it's a little cruel to keep inbreeding animals. Purebred pets suffer so many more congenital problems than mutts.

I mean, why do we make dogs who are cousins hump and make inbred, sick puppies?

Re:Fun fact

[imac.usr]

Er, no.

No reputable breeder sets out to make a profit on their cats, nor are they trying to breed "disease" out - they're bred for specific physical or emotional characteristics, and judged as such.

People who breed cats for profit are looked down upon as the scum of the universe by any real cat breeder. Every single one I know puts the health and well-being of their cats above any financial concern. There are people who spend close to $5,000 per year on their catterys, just for vet visits and sheltering.

Please, do a little research on the subject before you paint all cat breeders with the same evil brush. (No, I'm not one, but my wife is, and I assure you she's not in it for the money.)

Re:Fun fact

[ballwall]

http://www.straightdope.com/columns/041001.html

Cat tale

[slumpy]

Cats are not compatible with optical mice.

Re:Two words in cat care

[Anonymous Coward]

It's a joke. Look at Snopes before revealing your ignorance.

I mean, REALLY! What sort of /. reader HASN'T heard of Bonsai Kitten? Next, you'll be asking what HHGttG stands for.

Re:Just say no!

[twocoasttb]

Sounds like your cat maybe has the same thing mine does. Megacolon is where the cat's large intestine becomes enlarged because of nerves not working properly. Stool accumulates and gets, well, enormous. Benefiber mixed in his food and two capsules daily of DSS stool softener help my cat maintain somewhat regular bowel function. It's definately something that should be treated; the longer you let it go the worse it gets, and if it goes to far surgery is the only option.

OK Ya'all, Try This WIth Your Cat

[Greyfox]

You know how your cat likes catnip right? Try valerian root sometime. Yes, the stuff smells nasty, kinda like gym socks that smell so bad it takes your breath away. It will drive your cat even more insane than catnip will. So much as opening the bottle and letting the cat smell it will result the cat rubbing up against the bottle and eventually trying to take it away from you. By force.

I put a couple of unopened capsules in my cat's refillable catnip mouse and that thing now gets a lot more play than it used to. I'd suggest being careful not to let them OD though. It is technically a drug and if that's not enough, a valerian spill in your house could result in you having to move out (It smells that bad, seriously.)

As an added benefit a couple of capsules of the stuff before bed will help you get to sleep a lot more gently than Nyquil will.

Re:Please stop having cats.

[shawb]

I agree that a cat must have a chance to explore. It is just fine exploring under your bed, in a paper bag just brought in, etc. And the hunting instinct can be more than compensated for by play and attention. Cats that are never allowed to roam free outside never really have much of a desire to.

The fact is that cats that allowed to roam free have an average life expectancy of 3 years as opposed to 15-18 years for indoor only cats. House cats are domesticated animals. Many of the traits which help them survive in the wild have been bred out over thousands of years. Even wild cats which still have all of their instincts have no way of dealing with traffic, the number of poisons that are easiily found in the city and the cruelty that can be inflicted on them by other humans.

And if you are still convinced that your cat needs to go outside, please make sure that it is spayed or neutered. Remember that in seven years one female cat and her offspring can produce 420,000 cats. Because of this shelters are forced to euthanize millions of cats anually. These are people who love animals enough to make taking care of them a career, who have to kill cats each and every day because people are unwilling to spay/neuter and keep their cats locked in the house.

However, I do agree with you 100% on declawing. It is indeed cruel, and there are ways to cope with the instinct and redirect it. And from personal experience working in shelters, a cat poses a much greater risk to people after it has been declawed, since the only weapon it has left to use when frightened is its teeth.

And as long as I am ranting on the topic of humane treatment of animals: If you are considering adopting a cat (or any other animal) please look into the amount of actual work it is and decide if you are capable of providing for the animals needs. If you do decide to bring an animal into your life, please please please consider adopting one from the local shelter or a breed specific rescue organization. Many pet stores and ads in the paper often get their animals through very cruel sources. There are too many perfect animals waiting for homes to support the cruel trade of pets as product. And paying alot for a pet through a breeder that you do not know does nothing to guarantee the health and condition of that animal.