Animals and Shelters

Noodle

Well spotted Nick!

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capt_mahajan

Late entrant to the conversation, so excuse any repitition:

-we used infant squeaky plastic toys with our dogs and (now) cat. They loved them. To be replaced at first sign of destruction. Buy only the better quality (thicker plastic) ones. Made for infants, so is normally safe till torn up.

-cats seem to like anything which makes them curious. Open school bags, cupboards, wrappers, the insides of washing machines... and they do have nine lives.

- we have made a simple scratching post for our cat by winding a lot of coarse rope around a wooden stool leg. If the stool is around it is used, otherwise there is always the rest of the furniture

-for waste in an apartment, a big deepish plastic tray with sand will do the trick. Tends to stink up the place, but you do get kitty litter (imported), which we use. Expensive, but worth it.

I always say that we have an Indian street cat eating imported food and crapping on imported sand. Globalisation!

Nick-H

A cardboard box or a paper bag can give a cat hours of fun.

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Noodle

That's true, Nick. But in a shelter that's outside and gets rinsed to be cleaned anything that dissolves in water won't live longer than a day.

Capt, thanks for your input!

That's the point I'm worried about. Because I won't be there all the time and the Indian workers won't have an eye on the cats all the time either. So they might rip the toys up and then swallow parts ... ???? Do you think?

Ideas with rope keep turning up. I really have to do something with rope!

We use simple sand for our cat toilets at home. We get it for free at building sites. A couple of buckets full last a long time - we put the used sand on the terrace, let everything dry, pick out the poo and rinse the rest, let it dry again. Only now in the monsoon it's bit of a problem cause it won't dry fast enough ...

But I wouldn't be able to afford the imported cat litter ...

machadinha

I think with cats this really isn't much of a problem, but better not leave them alone with destructible edible plastics and stuff I guess. With dogs and as noted, it will be a problem, although supervised like the Capt. notes it will do no harm. The squeaky toys I gave mine would be finished within minutes -- good fun while they last though (these were dog toys, probably crap quality anyway). (And yes, they'll destroy at least one of your favorite belongings too Well, less likely in a shelter I guess )

You can make any number of rope toys yes. For dogs, they sell these expensive thick pieces of rope here -- naturally much cheaper if you do it yourself.

Let your imagination do the rest. It's true, cats and dogs are just naturally curious, so you don't need expensive or complicated stuff, materials you find around you are just as good. My friend's cats are naturally much bigger on all the homemade stuff she gives them than on any expensive ready-made toys. And don't forget the cats too will love you doing some playing with them.

Anyway you're putting a lot of thought in this so I'm sure they'll be fine

ps For dogs, don't forget good old bones. I don't know if they have chewy bones there, expensive anyway. Real bones I'd get for free or a small price at the butcher's. You need to beware of them splintering; in theory I think you need to cook them to prevent this, also makes them brittle though so they'll be eaten very quickly.

In practice I'd never really do this. What I gave mine was mostly marrowbones and kneecaps, the latter come with a piece of (thigh?) bone and can last a grown-up dog forever.

You need to beware of tooth wear again, so don't have them chew them all the time. And with puppies of course, keep an eye on what they can't handle yet, I don't think for very small ones this would be advised.

Have those German friends send some manuals along! Or maybe you can get some in Pune.

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Nick-H

The rope... preferably not synthetic, though it would last longer.

Coir should be easily available (made from coconut fibre).

Coir matting and stuff could be useful somewhere too maybe.

Noodle

machadinha, yes, we get chewie (rawhide) bones here but I would never give them to the shelter dogs cause, as I said, they won't be supervised all the time and might get one stuck in their throat.

Real bones get brittle and can splinter after cooking - they are ok when given raw.

What kind of manuals were you thinking of?

Nick, I was also thinking of coir, but I think it would be similar to sisal and suck moisture and not last very long. But then again, since it's not expensive, one could replace it from time to time.

machadinha

The big ones? Hmm.

Ah! I mostly remember people being somehow fussy about them.

Just some basic animal do's-and-dont's. Reading them I'm always surprised at all the stuff you didn't know (conflicting advice alert).

A note on the towels which you're not gonna use anyway: I'm advised now that kittens can't retract their nails yet, so using cloth it should be smooth, i.e. no towels.

capt_mahajan

Cats dont really need toys. I bought some fancy stuff from abroad which the cat didnt look at; it went back to its plastic bags and candy wrappers...

Another thing we bring the cat back are bird feathers we find lying around (mainly pigeon, I think).. the cat plays for hours on its own, attacking the feather.



Consider buying a bag of sand at a time, then, in the monsoons. Cant be too expensive, and it really lasts.

Nick-H

I hope that the Captain, at least, will know what a monkey's fist is, in the context of rope work...

I've made several for my last couple of cats. Invariably they much preferred to play with the unworked plain string end!

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capt_mahajan

Quite sometime ago, some Filipino guys put in a small shackle in the 'fist' for additional weight, and threw the thing at a harbour tug assisting us to dock at Le Havre to take in their line.

It went in through the tugs porthole and created a diplomatic incident of sorts.

Back ontopic, more toys for our cat... leather shoes. Preferably chewable.

Nick-H

Mine are rather flat, as I don't put the stone or other heavy item inside, and never had any difficulty in chucking an unweighted line from one end of a room to the other!

Back to the cats... You could try sitting in their midst knitting a pullover. The pullover will never be finished and the cats will never be bored!

Noodle

Same with our cats. They love the old paper ball, chase it around like stupid. But the catnip-stuffed jingly mouse is boring to them ...

I know that pigeons can carry nasty diseases, and shelter cats usually have a weaker immune system than wild living ones, so I would probably decide against feathers.

Yeah, I'm sure they were interested in the plain string end! It's wiggly!

But that thing looks very interesting! Kinda neat.

Great idea!

Nick-H

Just throw in the occasional visiting tourist.

Mind you, unless they are really hungry, they tend to get bored after tearing off an arm or two, maybe a leg if they can be bothered.....

Prashant.M

Which cats are we talking about here?

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