I try to wear my kitten out (6 month old) before going to bed. Just get a toy with a string on it and make him chase it until he's tired of it (ever made a cat pant?).

They do get a second wind in the morning and he'll be chasing our older cat (2 yr old) around the apartment starting around 5:30AM which is close to when we get up anyhow.

They also love the berber carpet that we have. Their claws stick to it so they can turn on a dime at full speed.

norcalchick: I'd also suggest a laser pointer. Just be careful, but your kitten will run into walls at full speed if you let it!

Oh, and trim your kittens nails. Trimming nails takes practice and you don't want to hurt your kitten, so until you have a firm understanding where the kitten's quick is - just trim them when they are sharp, and just take off the tip. That way the kitten gets used having their nails cut! Oh, and you'll want to ensure you have a scratching post because nothing makes my cat want to scratch like dulled nails.

Hmm... but call your vet about cutting nails. I don't see an issue cutting a kitten's nails before a certain age - but I can't remember when we starts - and better safe than sorry!


eta: Ontopic - another con is that animasl learn. Like that if they miao at both owners at separately they might get fed twice! Or that a door stop makes a really cool sound when they play with it!

if you get a day off work, your pet doesn't know and will assume you're late and you'll get a claw in your hand as a wake-up call at 5:45AM.

If you have a roommate who's an idiot, they'll train their dog badly and then YOU have to put up with it.

I think I need to take my roommate to obedience school.

I had a roommate (this lasted all of 3 months, moved out in month #3 when the following happened) who got a dog then would go away for the weekend, or LONGER and leave the dog to crap all over the house. When she did this for the very first time I was half asleep and stepped into the shower narrowly missing a pile of $hi#.

I have a guy friend with a dog who used to live with his "best friend" (who didn't have pets). They no longer speak cuz he came home from work one day early and his former friend was beating the crap out of the dog.

I guess my point is that not everyone LIKES dogs and it is hard when dealing with a roommate situation.

Good point!

Also, be sure the roommate is trained (at least domestically... like not leaving gross stuff all over all the time) before bringing any type of pet into the picture :p

How can anyone beat up a dog? That's some sick s***.

The dog still has to go for a walk before you go out, no matter how late you're running. Otherwise you'll find lots of surprises in your house when you come back.

You may not be staying out as late as you like, particularly if you live with others and you have a dog who likes to bark his head off when you come home.

Ditto on the "not going away for a weekend spontaneously" and "getting up every day at 5:45". I with the dog could understand that weekends are different and she doesn't get to eat at 5:45 am on weekends.

Add to it: Finding creative ways to chain every possible escape hatch in a fence when you have a very creative and smart dog who can squeeze her 90 pound body out of a 12"(Long) x 6" (side) gap in a fence.

Can't go somewhere right after work, even if it's inconvenient to go home first. You always have to go home first to feed and water the dog.

The expense.

Dee

Yeah, I get up early every day now including weekends. I have the option of making my schedule whenever I want but choose to work starting early in the day since my dog gets up early. I also limit my amount of alcoholic beverage intake because who wants to walk a dog if you are feeling your drinks? Add who wants to wake to a barking dog hung over?!

The second thing happened to me yesterday. I knew I had to take a client of mine somewhere at 3:45 and I would be there at least until 7PM. I had left my house around 8:30 that morning so had to drive all the way home out of my way around lunch time to walk the dog, then back to where I was to pick up the client cuz I knew I couldn't leave the dog home alone that long.

I know there is going to come a time given the nature of my field that I am involved in a crisis situation and won't be able to leave to go home to walk the dog. I don't really have anyone dependable to rely on for this, my boyfriend could do it, but it takes him over an hour to get to my house (or more if there's traffic) and I really don't want to hire a dog walker cuz I do this myself for the most part. Plus it is difficult to find trusting people........

Sounds like you just need to start feeding your dog more often. Lots of fat = no more squeezing through tight holes.

Oh, I love dogs. I just can't stand how my roommate is training him, because he's setting the dog up to misbehave and be a general little turd the rest of his life.

Let's see.............
 

Foreign object in stomach which caused excessive vomiting, vet didn't know what it was after the two hot water flushes, x-rays, and the sedative he gave my cat twice in order to perform all of this. One day visit = $448.

I caught myself switching from clumping liter to pine litter because my cat was tracking it everywhere. You name it, it was there. I was vacuuming everyday. Well my cat decided to tell me she didn't like it by peeing elsewhere. Thank goodness she never went on the furniture. I didn't know she didn't like the pine litter because she would still use it. After a vacation during which my coworker took my cat in, we found out she liked the clumping litter. 14 bottles of cat enzyme, "no go", and repellant over $200. One steam clean carpet service $80. One chem-dry carpet cleaning service $189. Thank God the new carpet for my apartment was free considering it was already on it's way to being a hot mess and I was able to downplay the whole "pee-pee" cat situation.

Other cons: My cat likes to eat cotton balls, chew on electrical wires, and eat paper. She also likes to take her food out of the bowl, eat it off the floor and leave crumbs everywhere. I have hair all over my apartment. I have a rotation of about 10 lint rollers from my house to my car and my office. Even though she has about 4 scratching posts, she loves my bedposts and my couches. Sleep, what is that again? I haven't had it since I got my cat last year. She likes to jump on the blinds at night and wake me up about an hour before my alarm goes off for affection. She's SO lucky she's too cute.

It's kind of gross, but my german shorthair pointer has a urinary tract infection. So the con is that if you get a kiss from her, its probably pretty gross.....

i've got her drinking a lot of cranberry juice

You have to consider your cat or dog when you place anything in your home. I got rid of a couple plants to prevent poisoning if she ate them. You can't just set your plate down on the coffee table or dining room table because (cats in particular) she will get it. I had to revamp some of my knick knacks and I have to be careful about candles or incense. When I need to mop I have to lock the kitty up until the floor is dry (which she HATES) because I'm afraid she'll get chemicals on her paws and then lick them. It's like having a child or a roommate: you have to consider them with everything you do.