Fuzzbutts Blog

Machka is a typical cat. She likes things the way she likes them, and that's how she likes them.

Go ahead. Just try changing the system. She'll win anyway. She always does.

Take her drinking habits. No, she's not into the hooch...I mean the way she likes her water.

When she was very small, she had no problem drinking water from a bowl. Granted, she preferred it very cold, but the vessel itself wasn't a concern.

I know this, because I busted her several times dipping her paw into a glass of water on my nightstand.

Anyway, at one point, she was busily exploring the range of her little apartment dominion, when she happened to hop into the bathtub. This was shortly after Tara had take a bath, so there was still a small drip of water coming from the faucet. At first, this was a source of amusement for Princess Fuzzbutt...she would watch patiently as the next drip fell, and tried to frantically swat it out of the air.

Ah...but after a time, she discovered that this thing that was falling was in fact water. Water that you have to catch is definitely more interesting than water that just sits there in your bowl. Soon she began sitting in the tub, demanding that the faucet be turned on just enough to create a small steady drip.

And like the gullible bipeds we are, we indulged her. We had to...at one point, she stopped drinking from her bowl entirely.

The first time we moved, which was a traumatic experience for Machka, she did drink from a bowl for a few days -- the days, in fact, that she was cowering in a storage closet, refusing to explore this frightening new territory. But within a week she was in the tub, meowing at the uncooperative faucet.

We moved again, and this time she skipped the nearby bowl completely and went straight to begging in the bathtub.

Well, our most recent moved started out as a promising change of habit. She spent the first couple of nights upstairs, so we kept her food and water in the upstairs bathroom. The water was, of course, in a bowl and easily accessible. And darned if she didn't drink from it...for over two weeks!

Ah, but the next month we had a little argument. I was in the kitchen fixing my coffee when the little rat jumped up on the bathroom counter (we have two bathrooms now), and started pacing the sink. I picked her up, carried her upstairs to her water dish, and put her in front of it. She wanted none of that though, and quickly scooted out of that bathroom, down the stairs, and into the other bathroom. When I got there, she was curled up in the sink.

I figured I'd show her I was boss, and promptly cranked the water up, figuring a good soaking would teach her. She didn't bolt. Instead, she nonchalantly stepped aside (only a few drops on her coat), and sat beside the sink waiting for my tantrum to end. And when I turned the tap off, she casually leaned over, tilted her head, and started licking at the faucet.

She won. If she wasn't going to get water from drips, at the very least she would still get it from her preferred source.

Now, when Machka drinks from the tub or the sink she develops a condition we've dubbed "wet-head." This is because she doesn't drink straight from the tap. Instead, she drinks from the area near the drain. The water drips on top of her head and rolls off, and she laps it up from the sink surface.

To avoid this problem, I've come up with a compromise that seems to be working. I placed a small plastic dish over the bathroom sink drain. I fill it up every morning and evening with fresh water, and she drinks contentedly from it. The compromise is that I no longer have to keep water dripping down the drain to satisfy her highness' random drinking times. Also, there's no more "wet-head."

And she's happy, because she still thinks she's won.

I have a friend who just posted a very sad and heartfelt plea for help in locating her poor lost kitten.

Here's a stupid question: Why is your cat lost?

There are only two ways a cat can reasonably get lost: 1) it runs out of your house while the door is open, or 2) it doesn't come back after you let it out at night.

Statistically, the average lifespan of an outdoor cat in a city is three years. The average lifespan of an indoor cat is 17 years.

You will never find a veterinarian who agrees that cats need to spend time roaming freely outdoors. You don't let your dog roam free right? So what makes a cat so special?

I have other friends who claim that cats are by nature more "independent," and as a result need to have the freedom to explore their territory. They need to roam freely in order to get the exercise they need.

Bull.

When you decide to add a cat to your family, you are taking responsibility for that animal's life. Just as with a dog, or even a child (to a point), you are the parent. You are the one charged with their care.

And just like with a dog, you are responsible for providing your cat with exercise. If you must take the cat outside, do so with a leash and harness. Yes, they can be trained to go for walks. Yes, they can be happy with an outdoor fenced run or tied up in the back yard.

And yes, in most municipalities in North America, it is against the law to let any animal, cat or dog, roam free without a license and leash. Just putting a collar on your cat isn't enough.

Cats who are "lost" when allowed to roam free are mostly likely not lost. They're most likely dead, or at the very least impounded. Cats who roam free are exposed to predators (including other cats, as well as dogs, foxes, coyotes, bears, skunks, badgers, hawks, crows, etc.), diseases (both from other cats and from the small animals they kill and eat), violence from people, injury and death from cars and even trains, and of course the animal control officer. They destroy wildlife, ruin people's gardens, and are generally a nuisance.

"Oh, my cat would never dig up someone's flower bed."

Bull. That's what cats do. Yours isn't some special angel that knows the difference.

Listen...Machka has been an indoor cat her entire life. She's afraid to go outside, and we like it that way. As a result, the vet has specifically instructed us to not bring her back, since most of the vaccines she would normally get protect against diseases she can only get from other cats in the outdoors.

We take her health as our reponsibility, so we make sure she gets all the exercise she needs. Now that we have a house with stairs, it's even more fun. There's no better aerobic workout for a cat than a game of "kill the flashlight" up and down the stairs. Believe me.

And here's a bonus (as if having no vet bills weren't enough): most people with cats are warned to be extra careful during pregnancy. There is a parasite that lives in cat feces that can get into a woman's system, causing serious problems with the fetus (notably causing the fetus to develop a hole in its heart). But this only applies to outdoor cats. If the cat stays in the house, and isn't exposed to diseased animals in the wild, there's no risk.

That means Tara is free to handle Machka with no danger to the baby.

In general, I consider people who prefer to let their cats roam free to be the opposite of a cat lover. If you don't want a cat, don't get one. There's no need for them to be outside and out of control. They're your pet, and if you really love them you'll keep them in the house where it's safe.

My wife and I have a cat. Her name is Machka (the cat, not my wife).

"Machka" is Croatian for "cat" (actually it's "Mačka," but we figured most people wouldn't get the little wicky thing over the "c"). Creative...but we needed a name quickly for her first visit to the vet.

Before you ask, no...the kitten in the blog template is not Machka.

Machka has been the centre of our universe for about seven or eight years. It hardly seems like it's been that long, and by the look of things she'll be around for many years yet. We are expecting our first baby, and as strange as it seems, one of our first concerns was the effect this would have on our little fuzzy princess.

Of course, she'll have to adjust. But it does give you some idea of where she sits in our family. She's not just a furry piece of furniture that sucks up food and vet bills. She's a part of our family, and we love her to bits.

This blog is dedicated to her, and to all pet lovers who care enough to find the best information they can on taking care of their fuzzy and feathered friends.