Cats in general I find to be more independent and really just do what they want, sometimes its inline with the owners expectations sometimes its not. That is not to say they cant be trained but they are not as easily trained as dogs in my experiences. My gf has two cats both are crazy, one likes to vomit and piss when ever it doesn't get what it wants. The other refuses to drink water and tries to stuff itself with hard pellets the other cat eats. I remember it almost burst its own intestines because the amount of hard food it ate without drinking. It for some reason wont drink water so they have to buy it expensive soft food now.

As far as women and animals, I find more women in general do build a more emotional attachment to animals and more quickly then men will. I do believe that plays off the nurturing mother aspect of females though which is partially genetic but also hormonal. Upbringing can drastically change that of course, if a female is raised by males those aspects can be deadened.

Or we just like how nice their soft fur feels.

Why is it that men are always the expert on women?

Women are not overly emotional so to raise babies better. We are more keen to our surroundings, more alert and have better observational skills. We stay level headed in bad situations and take charge and get what needs to be done done. THAT is not overly emotional.

There are exceptions to the "rule" but over all, we are not the emotional basket cases you guys describe.

Anthony, your girlfriend needs to have her cats taken away from her. She has no clue how to train them or how to read why the one cat over eats and won't drink water, and why the other is so upset it's pissing all over the place. Cats don't soil for no good reason, including spite. Something is wrong physiologically or psychologically to be doing that. That is abnormal behavior on both and the first thing I suspect is an owner who is not suited to keeping cats.

I've had upwards of 40 cats over my lifetime and not one of them was anything that's been negatively described here. Again, it's all on the owner.

FYI - cats train faster than dogs if you know how to train them.

I've never had a cat that chose to vomit just for the fun of it either. Sounds like kitty needs a trip to the vet, that could be a sign of kidney problems.

Cats are indeed trainable. But you can't use the same methods as you would with a dog!

I have all of my cats trained so that I can converse with them much like one would talk to a 7 or 8 year old child. If one is about to do something that it shouldn't I simply have to call them by name and tell them "You shouldn't do that. Get that idea right out of your little cat head." and 95% of the time they will abandon what they were about to do.

My comment on having her cats taken away is a bit harsh. She does need to learn more about them and why they do things though, unless it's Anthony giving a poor description.

Kitty vomit could be anything from serious to simply hair balls. I'd take it to the vet if it's a constant problem. Iggy was vomiting daily, several times a day in the months leading up to his head tumor.

Seems like all roads lead to kidney disease with cats unless they die younger from some form of cancer. I'm always amazed when I hear of cats in their late teens, the oldest one of my cats has made it was to 13.

I wish I knew how old my Patch cat is. She has been around here a long time and has to be well into her teens. All outdoor, never to the vet, never had any kittens around here.
She is a mystery, but a nice cat and I'm happy to care for her.

Both cats have been to the vet numerous times and each cat has gone to multiple vets all of them said its psychological. The one that vomits and pisses is almost 17 years old and the vet said hes very healthy his body looks half his age. I agree they are doing something wrong, but I dont blame my gf because there are 4 other people in their household that interact with the cats more then she does its one of them causing the problem. I am not one to tell people how to raise their animals unless the cat attacks me I avoid the situation for the most part. They have been doing things that have made the situation better for the older one and he doesn't do his vomiting as much but he still does it from time to time. Bottom line is either the cats were crazy when they got them the younger one was adopted, or they made them crazy out of habits.

(06-09-2012, 04:31 PM)Twilla Wrote: Seems like all roads lead to kidney disease with cats unless they die younger from some form of cancer. I'm always amazed when I hear of cats in their late teens, the oldest one of my cats has made it was to 13.

And here I am with "death watches" on nearly all my cats. Iggy was only 11 and I still miss him dearly. I STILL catch myself calling him too. He was my buddy, my boy who always tried to make me feel better when I'm sick or recovering from a surgery. Smitty lived to 21 and we were on "death watch" for 5 years with him. Chucky now is either 16 or 18, we're not sure and a bag of bones. Healthy as ever too. Death watch began for him last year.

Anthony, I bet someone in that house is messing with the cats. It's usually the case and just a matter of getting caught or not. Some people think it's funny to mess with animals, especially cats. They think throwing something to make them jump in the air is cute, but it will make a cat nervous over time. Lots of things like that... tie a bag to it's tail, put tape on their feet - what may seem innocent will mess a cat's head up if done enough times.

That 17 year old could simply be a bit senile too. It happens. 17 IS very old and there is no test for senility in animals. Couple that with god knows what goes on when the girlfriend isn't around, it's a recipe for disaster.

Cats are not just "crazy" out of the blue unless you have a case of the worst genetics possible, which I find really hard to believe.