On Jul 2, 4:40=A0am, Stan Brown <the_stan_br...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
> I know this is a dangerous admission on Usenet, :-) but I'd like
> advice.
>
> I've been ten years without a cat, and I'm thinking of adopting a
> one-year-old neutered male from the shelter. =A0I worry, though, that
> it may not be a good idea because I'm gone every weekday for work for
> 9.5 hours counting commuting, and during the summer I'm often out
> doing yard work. =A0The last time I had a cat, I was working from home
> so there was plenty of time to play with him and make him feel secure
> as he adjusted to his new home. Then a couple of years later when I
> had outside work again I didn't worry about leaving him.
>
> But this time he'd be on his own most of the day, right from the get-
> go. He'd be the only pet in the household, and I'm the only human.
> And he'll be exclusively an indoor cat -- I'd do that anyway, but
> it's especially im****tant since he was declawed before the shelter
> got him. =A0What do y'all think?
>
> And assuming that I go ahead with the adoption, is there a helpful
> FAQ about choice of food, choice of litterbox and litter, and so
> forth? I know I can look in the newsgroup archives, but there are so
> many contradictory opinions that I just get confused. Is there some
> good authoritative source?
>
> Thanks!
>
> --
> Stan Brown, Oak Road Systems, Tompkins County, New York, USA
> =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0
=A0htt=
p://OakRoadSystems.com
> ****kata ga nai...
Two cats keep each other company; one will probably be lonely and
isolated for that many hours and might get into things to amuse
himself, since they don't read, watch TV, or surf on the computer.
People have very strong opinions about food, but I've fed cats the all-
natural high-end, all the way down to the cheapest off-brand.
I've had cats live healthy lives to age 21 on Meow Mix and Purina and
had one die at age 10 from high-end pet food that contained the
Chinese poisonous substance, so it's a crapshoot, from my experience.
Now my adults get Purina indoors dry (has some greens in it) with some
canned Friskies or 9 Lives, kittens are getting either Purina or Meow
Mix kitten food with a tiny bit of canned.
When I made a lot of money I always bought the high-end stuff, and
since I've been struggling, I don't, so it's a practical choice for
me.
Cats have litter preferences, in some cases, so you may have to try
different ones. Again, I used to buy the very high end stuff, and now
I just buy Priority multi-cat from the Safeway, and they use it just
fine. My kittens don't like the Yesterday's News, although I really
tried to train them to it trying to be "green." I gave up and went
back to the standard stuff. I just have a large litterbox and one
that's a bit smaller and covered, and I have several friends who swear
by the newer electronic ones. Cat size is a contributing factor--I
had one cat so big he needed the jumbo box just to fit his body in
it.
I've worked most of my adult life, and I think that cats are
completely happy as long as they have company in the form of another
cat, and you make sure they are well-cared-for and loved.
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