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Posted 1/5/2009 6:23 AM (GMT 0)
so basically the link is that "most" UCers like/love/have cats.

They're not clean in the sense that they lick their butts firstly....then...the rest of their bodies. skull


My cat sleeps with me under the covers...but I make sure her butt is covered with her tail. I don't like "pucker" marks anywhere.... nono


Mine's a puker...when we hear the horka-horka-horka...we run to get her and put her on the vinyl flooring...whew! The little green machine has been a worthy purchase,however. tongue


Regarding clean....there are times when she may eat too much or eat lint or my hair or grass or whatever...that tends to link the turds together, not making for a clean exit or a hanger-oner. We do check her when she's "flicking" her tail when she comes up from poop-duty. shocked


Oh....sorry...got off track...had to share.

Does anyone have a cat that will prefer to eat a piece of lint on the floor over a piece of her own food? I should have named her Hoover. rolleyes


OK, done.
q

Posted 1/5/2009 6:47 AM (GMT 0)
Hmmm...I don't think most cats would want their butt holes touching anything anyways..my cat is medium hair length and I won't let her under my covers just because my skin is too sensitive to her hair and it would be all over my bed sheets and I don't like that (I'd be itching like nuts).

I feed my cat purinas anti-furball formula, in the 3 yrs we've had this cat she's only ever puked up 3 hairballs (one/yr)...some cats are more prone to furballs then others...she's also strictly an indoor cat.

My cat prefers to chew on plastic and loves licking windows, t.v & computer screens as well as mirrors, but she doesn't eat lint or prefer anything other than her food, except for the odd bit of human food, she loves turkey and salty chips.

For the record, cats and dogs can also get IBD and cats are naturally lactose intolerant so no one should be giving their cats milk unless it's lactose free.

:)
Posted 1/5/2009 7:32 AM (GMT 0)
pb4...we vacuum the bed daily and she'll poke me until I let her in....beast! and some cats don't care where their puckers are..lol! She actually waits for me to tuck in her tail.

My cat does get hair balls but she also has some physical problem like a small gullet or something...eats too fast and if she has water afterward..up it comes..When she does have a hairball..it's more phlegm.
She's indoors as well and we feed her Solid Gold and a new one from Alberta called Acana from Champion.

Have you tried any of the indoor grasses?

I've read about animals and IBD..sucks.
Definitely nix milk...

q
Posted 1/5/2009 2:25 PM (GMT 0)

pb4 said...

mbx5 said...

cats....i dont want to even go there.... wife has one.... love that litter that sticks to their feet and tracks on stuff they walk on....mmmmm.... love the fact that they stand in a box with their poop, push it around, then walk on your bed....

Cats are actually very clean animals (most that I know of at least) when they're in the litter box they push clean litter onto their mess trying to avoid touching their own mess, at least that's how my cat is and when she comes out of the box she flicks her paws so litter isn't stuck to them and she pretty much always licks her paws shortly after comming out of the box too (does a whole cat bathing thing on herself)...besides which, I've never seen a cat eat it's own poop like I've seen dogs do.


:)

I agree - they are incessantly clean - her cat actually cleans himself after you pet him....insulting....... But - flicking one's foot does not flick poop / pee bacteria off it.... We have the clumping litter used in one of those automatic scooping (i.e. poop smearing) cat boxes... The clump litter likes to stick to their feet... her cat likes to get on the kitchen table to look outside.... gotta love litter pieces where you eat... one tries to assume that the litter on the table wasnt just touching a cat turd, but not likely the case.

ahh poop eating dogs....mine included....who also eats cat poop as a treat....as well as many other species fecal matter....not sure why, but they love it.... idea hey - maybe that is a perfect system.... i wont have to clean the litter box any more - just let the dog in the basement for a bit....all done!

my wife is pregnant so i get cat litter duty. i dress almost in a hazmat suit.... those auto-clean boxes are more to be desired, and fling litter pieces everwhere when changing the little bucket....got it in my eye once and wanted to go to the ER!!! nasty.
Posted 1/5/2009 4:01 PM (GMT 0)

Peety said...
I LOVE my cats and would never, ever get rid of them! Even if it would cure me, I would not! They are beauties, and so loving. I always get my kitties from the humane society.
My husband loves them too but he has to wash his hands a lot and not touch his eyes because he is a little allergic.

Way to go, Peety yeah yeah
Posted 1/5/2009 4:05 PM (GMT 0)

piccolobellezza said...
haha I have 8 cats shocked

I had an aquarium when I was younger too.

Wow, my dream, do they all get along?
Posted 1/5/2009 4:41 PM (GMT 0)

Sara14 said...
What makes you think there is any association between cats & UC, bobbit? I have never heard anything like this before.

Sara, the origonal post was not a reference to a link, it was a question that i followed up with some backgroung,I had cats and an aquarium and learned a few things about both thats all.

On my diagnosis i was never asked any questions as to my lifestyle, infact nothing at all, what would it have been like if say i had been asked a question like, "do you smoke" "yes" "thats why you have lungcancer" because statistics show that smokers are more at risk of this disease than non smokers, now say the question is "do you sleep with socks on" "yes" " well sorry but we have not done any statistics for this act because we have never asked anyone"

Around the world i know but do you see what i mean?

 

Posted 1/5/2009 6:04 PM (GMT 0)

love4cats said...

piccolobellezza said...
haha I have 8 cats shocked

I had an aquarium when I was younger too.

Wow, my dream, do they all get along?

For the most part they all love each other! I have one who is 12 and hes pretty crabby so occasionally he'll swat at the others, but other than that they link up in pairs or do their own thing and no fighting. Its great!
Posted 1/5/2009 6:55 PM (GMT 0)
God bless the little green machine indeed. Two cats. Had them 6 years or so. Humane society kitties also. MBX5, We have one of the cat genies for a litterbox. Hooks right into the toilet and self cleans the litter with water, then dries itself. We had a messy littermaid previously.... hated it.
Posted 1/5/2009 9:28 PM (GMT 0)
We have kept our litter box in an extra bathtub or shower, they get their own bathroom! So the litter is pretty well contained. We use the flushable type, it's wonderful. I would have loved to teach them how to go in the toilet...I guess that really works.
Only the longhaired one gets "dingleberries" and she is cooperative about letting me cut them off. Yes, eww. Otherwise, they are very clean! They also tap me on the arm until I let them under the covers, when it's chilly.
Posted 1/5/2009 10:19 PM (GMT 0)

quincy said...
pb4...we vacuum the bed daily and she'll poke me until I let her in....beast! and some cats don't care where their puckers are..lol! She actually waits for me to tuck in her tail.

My cat does get hair balls but she also has some physical problem like a small gullet or something...eats too fast and if she has water afterward..up it comes..When she does have a hairball..it's more phlegm.
She's indoors as well and we feed her Solid Gold and a new one from Alberta called Acana from Champion.

Have you tried any of the indoor grasses?

I've read about animals and IBD..sucks.
Definitely nix milk...

q

Hey Q, no I've never tried the indoor grasses since my cat doesn't have any major issues with hairballs she probably doens't really need the grass which is typically used to encourage helping cats get fur balls out...she's never been a mucus gagger either, just 3 hair balls in her life (she's 3 yrs old).

:)

Posted 1/6/2009 1:40 AM (GMT 0)
This is a great topic indeed. A good question was asked and there's a good discussion going. Also it's nice to debate and chat with people who I have something familiar with...

I have always had cats. I currently have 2 indoor, 1 part time indoor/outdoor, and 1 temporary outdoor until we find him a good home. We also have a Lab/Pitt Bull mix. He *loves* cats. He washed them and protects them. The oldest cat I ever had(20 yrs old) had UC. He passed away a few years ago, but he lived a very long life.

I used to be severely allergic as a child, but I started taking allergy shots for a few years and have never had a reaction since.

Only 1 cat is allowed upstairs and the other one stays downstairs since she uses my area rugs as her extra potty place. Nasty! The reason pregnant women are not allowed near cat feces is due to a parasite that cats can carry called Coccidia. The vet can prescribe a pill that will take care of those. Mine are free of this parasite. They've all been tested.

For almost 10 years I worked in pet stores. For about 6 of those years, the job included cleaning sal***er aquariums. I touched all sorts of yucky things and the only reaction I ever had was the occasional rash on my upper arms from the rim of the aquariums. I touched live anemones, dead anemones, live fish, dead fish, all sorts of corals except the fire coral(most people break out from touching them...they didn't get that name for nothing), etc. I never felt that the marine life caused my UC.

Quincy.... You're too funny! Cats are an acquired taste. I couldn't imagine my life without one. My best cat is my youngest who follows me around and lays in bed with me. I didn't get a dog until 2 years ago(this summer) and he's taken a while for me to really get used to... Dogs are disgusting. They eat anything they find on the ground. It's taken some work to get him to stop dining from the cat box. :o I still can't get him to stop eating deer pellets from the yard. shakehead
Posted 1/6/2009 4:26 AM (GMT 0)
OKAY>>> AM upping the ante.... 2 steaks a week... and I'll throw in a milk bone a day. Heck maybe even give him a beer. Come on dog... eat the cats. ****> All he does is lick them..... I won't go there with that comment. LOL
Posted 1/6/2009 4:57 AM (GMT 0)
I like having cats and dogs both together. They feed a different emotional side and balance me a bit. The cats fill my softer side of kids and wifey and laying around doing nothing. The dog however, feeds my rough and tumble wanna wrestle in the yard and go huntin' side. Its a nice mix.

Learned when I took kung fu, "one must learn to juggle hard and soft emotions for complete balance of mind and body."
Posted 1/6/2009 5:27 AM (GMT 0)
We had cats and a dog together...that was when I realized that I was a cat person, not a dog person, I like dogs in general, I just don't like owning a dog...too much work, when you want to go away even for just a night or weekend you HAVE to find someone to look after them, with a cat you just leave them extra food and water, it's their independance I like over a dog.

:)
Posted 1/6/2009 4:58 PM (GMT 0)
We have a young cat and I grew up with various cats. I have noticed my stress levels much lower at the time cats have been around, so if anything I'd see them as a positive benefit against UC. I also recall reading that young kids that grow up exposed to house pets tend to suffer from less allergies in later life.... perhaps from the immune system being primed. As an aside, I am a firm believer in the "hygiene hypothesis", notably the effect from deworming, in being responsible for the differences between the industrial world and developing countries when it comes to auto-immune diseases and allergies. Unfortunately, reworming is far from a cure all (though I can attest that pig whipworm eggs dampened my UC, and completely cured me 100% of hay fever as a side benefit), but it does seem to go a long way to explaining why auto-immune diseases have been exploding in dewormed countries.  Plus, the science is now hard not just on the epedmiology, but also on the actual mechanisms by which certain parasites  dampen the immune system as part of their survival mechanism.
Posted 1/6/2009 5:17 PM (GMT 0)
Hi all, wow! never thought my thread would woo so many, i totaly understand alot of post and how animals/cats, etc.. are benificial to UC sufferers as they bring so much comfort and are good for karma, with the exception for Unclebubba by the way it seems the stress of getting the dog to rid the cats is hitting a nerve,
by the way we had a germansheperd around 18 months ago and she used to eat her poo, we were told that it is supposed to be a trate and that they also do this to, and hear is the funniest/sickly bit, eat it to gain bacteria to help the gut,......not too sure if that one is so true though
please dont try this at home
ROB
Posted 1/6/2009 5:35 PM (GMT 0)
I had a german sheperd mix a few years ago (had to put her down) and she was notorious for eating her own poop and my other dogs. So to get her to stop doing that my vet said to sprinkle her food with meat tenderizer. It makes the poop taste disgusting. The same thing can be done for cats. If the dog likes to eat their poop you can sprinkle some meat tenderizer on the cats food so the dogs won't touch it.

As for cats, I love cats but unfortunately I can't have any. My hubby is severely allergic to them. I had one for about 16 years before it died - had her since I was 10 so when I met my hubby, I wasn't about to get rid of her. He had to suffer so when she passed I didn't get another one.

I've always had aquariums until about 6 years ago. I love fish and I think it's soothing to watch the beautiful ones swim gracefully around the tank. I have been thinking of getting another one but I don't have anywhere to put it.
Posted 1/6/2009 5:50 PM (GMT 0)
RED, my aquarium was a reef, there were very few fish bit lots of corals and shrimps, the USA, if that were you are, was the leader in the marine aquarium field and i used to get the marine monthly from a friend of a friend, what great reading and pitures and oh how i do miss it,
ROB
Posted 1/6/2009 6:19 PM (GMT 0)
As long as I don't make out w/my cats (have you seen those pic's of celeb's letting their dogs lick their lips......that grosses me out) I don't think their saliva will bother me.  Though I have heard of dander being a problem.

Who knows what kickstarts this disease??  What if it turned out to be a specific type of cat hair dander you are exposed to???  Not saying it is but wouldn't that just be the weirdest thing???

Anyhoo, I love my cats and I love dogs, but we are maxed out at 3 cats right now, I don't want anymore pets.

A theory on the Dog not liking steak.......maybe the cats have struck some other kind of deal w/the dog?

Posted 1/6/2009 7:09 PM (GMT 0)
I have a cat also a dog and rabbit the cat is 16 and was here way before dx u/c.
Posted 1/6/2009 8:05 PM (GMT 0)

bobbit said...

Around the world i know but do you see what i mean?

Not really. I guess I was just wondering if you had heard about some kind of link or if you had a theory behind it.
Posted 1/6/2009 8:08 PM (GMT 0)

Beth75 said...

A theory on the Dog not liking steak.......maybe the cats have struck some other kind of deal w/the dog?

lol!

 

Posted 1/6/2009 11:37 PM (GMT 0)
beth.... what could t he deal be?,,,, Please give me insight.. I will top the deal if only the dang dog would eat the cats. Last night I went to my normal bathroom trip at 4:00 am. When I got back to bed around 4:30 I had a girlfriend in the middle of the bed.... legs spread. cuz the two dang cats had curled up there. A dog on my side of the bed. I think its a conspiracy. Went to my recliner to sleep where I didn;t have to fight for room. Next these animals are going to bring in allies and I will be screwed.
Not that I am not an animal lover. I am. With my job as a horseshoer, you'd better love them. And I have always had dogs in the house. Its just this cat/dog conspiracy thing confuising me.
Whats next? these beasts bringing in other species to ruin my existence? LOL. next they will drink my beer and eat my food without fullfilling their obligations. LOL
Look up TIm Bedore... he understands this ( its even humorous )
Posted 1/6/2009 11:53 PM (GMT 0)
I've never owned a cat in my life. My parents don't like them and I don't care for them much either. I like other peoples' cats well enough, but I don't want one. In my opinion (don't kill me!) they're just boring. And I HATE litter boxes! And I've been to too many houses that just reek of cat pee and it's the worst thing ever.

I'm definitely a dog person.. Or should I say, a BIG dog person- I also hate those stupid little yappy ankle biters :P LOL. Which most people find amusing- I'm only 30lbs heavier than my dog. All of my dogs have been large breeds and my dream in life is to own a Great Dane or a Bull Mastiff. To me, nothing in life beats snuggling or wrestling with a big furry beast. And those puppy kisses...
I really need a bigger bed too... I usually find when I wake up that she's stretched out, using my pillow and everything, and I'm the one curled up in a little ball to give her more room.

I just prefer how loving and affectionate dogs are, and even though cat people would argue that they're stupid, I think most dogs are very intelligent, they are just equally as playful and goofy :)
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