Welcome to the Lounge

16-Aug-15 0:38

Just ordered necessary supplies because my new friend will need some special care and equipment.

Going to the animal shelter on Wednesday to get a cat! Big Grin | :-D

They have some awesome cats (well, from what I can read from their website).
Jasper[^] would be my first choice, but I understood some other people liked him too...
Luckily they have more[^] Big Grin | :-D

Non-Dutchies just look at the pictures, cats is what the internet is all about anyway, right? Big Grin | :-D

Whoohooo I'm getting a cat!!! Big Grin | :-D

Visit my blog at Sander's bits - Writing the code you need.
Or read my articles at my CodeProject profile.

Simplicity is prerequisite for reliability.
— Edsger W. Dijkstra

Regards,
Sander

Daniel Pfeffer16-Aug-15 0:41

Daniel Pfeffer

16-Aug-15 0:41

Pictures or it didn't happen Smile | :)

If you have an important point to make, don't try to be subtle or clever. Use a pile driver. Hit the point once. Then come back and hit it again. Then hit it a third time - a tremendous whack.

--Winston Churchill

Sander Rossel16-Aug-15 0:53

16-Aug-15 0:53

Well, it didn't actually happen just yet... Sniff | :^)

Visit my blog at Sander's bits - Writing the code you need.
Or read my articles at my CodeProject profile.

Simplicity is prerequisite for reliability.
— Edsger W. Dijkstra

Regards,
Sander

Eddy Vluggen16-Aug-15 0:52

16-Aug-15 0:52

Gratz

Bastard Programmer from Hell Suspicious | :suss:

If you can't read my code, try converting it here[^]

Sander Rossel16-Aug-15 0:55

16-Aug-15 0:55

Thanks!

By the way, is this[^] your cat?
Looks very much like the one on your profile! OMG | :OMG:

Visit my blog at Sander's bits - Writing the code you need.
Or read my articles at my CodeProject profile.

Simplicity is prerequisite for reliability.
— Edsger W. Dijkstra

Regards,
Sander

Eddy Vluggen16-Aug-15 1:04

16-Aug-15 1:04

A good look-a-like, but looks like it had too much catnip.

The profile says the cat "needs" to be able to go outside; it may complain loudly if it can't.

Bastard Programmer from Hell Suspicious | :suss:

If you can't read my code, try converting it here[^]

Sander Rossel16-Aug-15 1:10

16-Aug-15 1:10

Eddy Vluggen wrote:
looks like it had too much catnip

Maybe his diabetes has that effect.

Eddy Vluggen wrote:
The profile says the cat "needs" to be able to go outside; it may complain loudly if it can't.

I have a garden and (I think) a cat-friendly neighborhood Smile | :)

I might have a cat flap installed in my backdoor.
And I might complain loudly back at him. That tends to mess with their heads Big Grin | :-D

Visit my blog at Sander's bits - Writing the code you need.
Or read my articles at my CodeProject profile.

Simplicity is prerequisite for reliability.
— Edsger W. Dijkstra

Regards,
Sander

Eddy Vluggen16-Aug-15 1:32

16-Aug-15 1:32

Sander Rossel wrote:
Maybe his diabetes has that effect.

Sad, gives it less chance to find a decent home.

Sander Rossel wrote:
I have a garden and (I think) a cat-friendly neighborhood

Goedzo is only allowed in the garden, not outside of it.

Sander Rossel wrote:
And I might complain loudly back at him. That tends to mess with their heads

I am sure that your neighbours will be pleased to hear both you and your cat sing at night Cool | :cool:

Bastard Programmer from Hell Suspicious | :suss:

If you can't read my code, try converting it here[^]

Sander Rossel16-Aug-15 1:52

16-Aug-15 1:52

Eddy Vluggen wrote:
Sad, gives it less chance to find a decent home.

Yep. It's the reason I won't have him. I just can't give him his medication twice a day as I'm often away from home Frown | :(

Eddy Vluggen wrote:
Goedzo

Awesome name, goedzo! Laugh | :laugh:

How do you keep him in the garden though?
My cat could easily go under or over the fence.

Eddy Vluggen wrote:
I am sure that your neighbours will be pleased to hear both you and your cat sing at night

It's pretty well isolated. I never hear my neighbors Big Grin | :-D

Visit my blog at Sander's bits - Writing the code you need.
Or read my articles at my CodeProject profile.

Simplicity is prerequisite for reliability.
— Edsger W. Dijkstra

Regards,
Sander

Eddy Vluggen16-Aug-15 2:37

16-Aug-15 2:37

Sander Rossel wrote:
I just can't give him his medication twice a day as I'm often away from home

Would be ideal for someone who is retired.

Sander Rossel wrote:
How do you keep him in the garden though?

A collar with a battery. Makes a warning sound if he strays too far, and goes "zap" if he ignores the sound. Sounds worse than it is. I tried it (ofcourse) and it is less stingy than your average electric fence.

Some cats are already used to roaming for days, I don't think they'd accept it. He never got out as a kitten, so the garden is just another room to play in. He quicly learned not to get zapped Smile | :)

Nowadays there are also collars for tracking[^] your pet.

Sander Rossel wrote:
It's pretty well isolated. I never hear my neighbors

Good. That means you won't wake them up if the beast bites your toes at 4am Thumbs Up | :thumbsup:

Bastard Programmer from Hell Suspicious | :suss:

If you can't read my code, try converting it here[^]

OriginalGriff16-Aug-15 1:12

OriginalGriff

16-Aug-15 1:12

Good for you!
I hope you are both very happy together.

If you haven't had a cat before, some tips that might help:
1) Get a good cat box: one the cat can stand up in, turn around, and so forth. The plastic ones[^] are ok - but we had one escapee from our one so I prefer the metal wire ones[^]. They are more expensive, but they last and let the cat see out, which can help. Don't use the cardboard ones! They can claw (or slobber) through them in moments, and the last thing you need is a cat doing a "wall of death" round the car on the way home!

2) Get two litter trays - one per cat plus one is the general rule - and put them well away from the food, and one on each floor so the cat can get to them easily. Get a scoop, and remove the waste at least daily - urine soaked litter as well. I also have a third tray, so I can empty, clean and bleach a tray every week - we have no problem at all with smell.

3) Make sure it's microchipped!

4) Separate the food and water bowls - Dij has his food in the kitchen, and water in the lounge. Since we did this with Dij, he has drunk about 50% more. Apparently, they consider the area around their food to be "messy" and prefer water well away. Given that he drags "choice pieces" onto carpet and eats it there I'm not sure about this! Laugh | :laugh:

Remember they will not do what you want: "never work with animals or children"!

Bad command or file name. Bad, bad command! Sit! Stay! Staaaay...

Eddy Vluggen16-Aug-15 1:34

16-Aug-15 1:34

5)

Don't feed them when you wake up, feed them when you go to bed. Otherwise you'll end up waking up every day at 5 in the morning, even during the holidays.

Poke tongue | ;-P

Bastard Programmer from Hell Suspicious | :suss:

If you can't read my code, try converting it here[^]

OriginalGriff16-Aug-15 1:40

OriginalGriff

16-Aug-15 1:40

Herself does the feeding, not me.
And they always wake me up, not her... Sigh | :sigh:

Bad command or file name. Bad, bad command! Sit! Stay! Staaaay...

Sander Rossel16-Aug-15 1:48

16-Aug-15 1:48

OriginalGriff wrote:
Good for you!
I hope you are both very happy together.

Thanks!

OriginalGriff wrote:
If you haven't had a cat before, some tips that might help:

I grew up with one, she passed away at the age of 19 a few years ago Frown | :(

My mom found her in the forest in a bad condition. The vet had to amputate her tail. I was about 5 years old at the time.
She always remained shy and she didn't like strangers (especially kids), dogs or other cats.
Yet she always sat next to my head during dinner and she would cuddle and purr Big Grin | :-D

Thanks for the tips! Big Grin | :-D

We never did any of those though Laugh | :laugh:

Visit my blog at Sander's bits - Writing the code you need.
Or read my articles at my CodeProject profile.

Simplicity is prerequisite for reliability.
— Edsger W. Dijkstra

Regards,
Sander

OriginalGriff16-Aug-15 2:55

OriginalGriff

16-Aug-15 2:55

Sander Rossel wrote:
We never did any of those though

Neither did we! But then we read some cat psychology books, and saw a few things on TV and tried them - was surprised at the difference it made.
When we had two cats, we really didn't notice that one of them was "guarding" the litter tray and causing the other difficulties. Suddenly, she was a lot happier all the time, because even Beldin couldn't guard three trays at the same time!

19 is a good age for a cat - my families original cat made it to around 20 before a massive collection of cancers suddenly appeared (the vet said he'd seen it a lot, and blamed the Chernobyl fallout - it was around the right time).
She was a monster - chased dogs, attacked geese, hunted everything...

Bad command or file name. Bad, bad command! Sit! Stay! Staaaay...

908236516-Aug-15 1:14

9082365

16-Aug-15 1:14

Rakker or Marble for me but I guess they all only speak Dutch?

I'd just reached the point of deciding I probably wouldn't add to my menagerie but now ... ?

Sander Rossel16-Aug-15 1:40

16-Aug-15 1:40

Rakker looks cool too, but he has some bladder problems and I'm not at home enough to give him his treatment two times a day.
Marble would probably be my second choice Big Grin | :-D

Visit my blog at Sander's bits - Writing the code you need.
Or read my articles at my CodeProject profile.

Simplicity is prerequisite for reliability.
— Edsger W. Dijkstra

Regards,
Sander

Amarnath S16-Aug-15 1:28

Amarnath S

16-Aug-15 1:28

Nothing is as satisfying as a cat sitting on me, and purring!

Have been associated with cats for 32 years now; my daughter is very fond of the one we have now.

Sander Rossel16-Aug-15 1:50