bad news for the cat-lovers here:
http://effectmeasure.blogspot.com/2006_01_01_effectmeasure_archive.html
seems that WHO should also start reporting b2c-cases now and c2c or c2h is also very worrying. Are there many cats in China ?
I somehow doubt it.I won’t post why.
Cats often met the same fate the chickens are having now during the SARS epidemic when it was believed that the palm civet, a “cat-like” animal, was the source of the contagion. Why cats still hang out with people is a mystery to me. We are not very dependable partners.
The article also mentions pigs. Pigs are the mammal that is most like humans. Student doctors perform surgeries on pigs to practice before starting on people. If pigs have H5N1 then I think it would be quite possible for it to mutate there. I have an indoor cat that I absolutely adore. I always keep him away from the outdoor cats that roam the neighborhood because I know they could carry feline leukemia and other nasty things. Hope I don’t get sick and give it to my kitty.
this is very bad news! I dont think we have to wait for a pandemic to have a really big problem going on! I have a cat, and it goes outdoors, And the Avian flu is scheduled to arrive this spring in europe so what should I do?? Haven’t china developed a vaccine against H5N1 in use for chickens? Wouldn’t it be a good idea to make this vaccine available for pets, before the migrating birds enters new territories?
The choice you face seems clear enough from my perspective. May it be the hardest choice you have to face during the (anticipated) upcoming crisis.
Someone else posted about this a week or so ago. They said they had an outdoor cat that they had neutered and now is an indoor kitty. “One pissed off cat” they said, as I recall. Mine does not go out, no way, no how.
Keeping my cat indoors for maybe years sound to me like a bad solution.. I am not saying that vaccine production for pets should be prioritized in this situation with a pandemic maybe on its way, But I do think vaccinating pets are better than chickens in meat factories…
Just because it is a effort in avoiding human contact with the H5N1, and therefore is reducing the pandemic risk. A huge demand (pets owners will pay a lot of money) in vaccines would also speed up the production capacity..?
But then I don´t know if a vaccinated cat would be able to spread virus without getting sick.. If so the only answer is to lock the cat indoors, and I will hate it :(
Any creative ideas? anyone?
Racter: If you love your pet like family, you will prepare for your pet like family. That even could include a dose of antiviral med. I posted on that in a previous thread.
Don’t forget the Tamiflu! Your pets would likely benefit from their own if you have any to spare. A study was done by E. Govorkova et al. (Antimicrob. Agents Chemother. 2001 October; 45(10): 2723–2732) comparing the effectiveness of zanamivir (Relenza) and oseltamivir (Tamiflu) on protection of mice against infection by various avian influenza viruses. It found that 0.1mg/kg/day was effective as a prophylactic dose against H5N1, at least for the mice under the conditions in which the study was conducted. This is not meant as Gospel, but it would indicate that there may also be some protective advantage to other of God’s creatures besides humans when it comes to the use of Tamiflu to prevent H5N1 (and the amount is relatively small). I just wish there were enough antivirals available for people, their pets, and all the big cats, as well, since they seem to have been hit hard by this virus. Watch out, for it is the little things which can get you. I should also post a warning that the Tamiflu study I previously cited was done in mice. Although Tamiflu toxicity in rodents is fairly low (no ill effects were seen in the study when the mice were given several orders of magnitude greater doses), you must realize that all species are not the same in their ability to metabolize drugs. Unless you are intimately familiar with the physiological differences between species, you should consult a veterinarian as to any potential toxicity hazards. First Do No Harm!
Wow—Major IT triumph (at least for me). Now I have one wiki forum skill down!!!
stg: If your cat is young, one of the best things you can do is give him/her another feline companion to play and chase with. That would take a lot of the pain out of indoor living and make you less the center of your cat’s need to be entertained. Watch out, though, you see my posting name…It is much less feasible, but a fenced in area (read chicken wire) with a solid roof to prevent bird droppings from getting in with a second perimeter fence to prevent direct contact with outside animals may also be a consideration. Just realize the greater the potential for contact with the virus, the greater the risk. My cats will stay indoors!
I just wrote a mail to my country´s food an health dep. Telling them to consider drastic cuts in the citys amount of pigeons and ducks before the migratory birds come home.. Also asking for better cleaning of the streets.. The city council is conservative, and they dont think cleaning streets is a big issue since few of them live downtown. Maybe the news about cats getting infected will change their minds..
My cat will not hunt for pigeons and ducks, so a small bell on the cat would prevent smallbird hunting, If he catches some he probably will tell how good he was by putting the bird on my doorstep. If so he goes into isolation for some days.. I think we will be ok :) Most of you fluwikis are living in USA, why keep cats indoor now? The avian is not there yet? and probably will use a longer time according to the migratory route map..
My kitty is perfectly happy in doors. He has lived his entire life here. We keep him inside because we love him so much and don’t want anything to happen to him, like being hit by a car or cat knapped by bad people. That is something else to consider. Once people realize that cats could be carriers, they may begin doing them in like the suggestions the Russians had about shooting all the migratory birds. Our cat travels with us when we go to our vacation spot in the Texas Hill Country. He rides for hours in his crate and is okay with it. I will have to say that he does depend on us for his well being and entertainment. (read “spoiled”) but our decision to keep him in doors was made years ago for his own good.
stg: Clarification: My cats will stay indoors when the bird flu arrives. Right now they have supervised time in the backyard. Supervised because the male is good at jumping the fence and we have too many cars and loose dogs running around here for me to let them out on their own (not to mention mountain lions, coyotes and owls). Also, as TopCat mentioned above, we have a number of feline communicable diseases. Funny, all my cats were indoor only PRECISELY for that reason. Never out at all, disease free. Then one had surgery at the vet and she, along with a number of other animals from that same vet clinic came down with feline infectious peritonitis, thought to have been spread by an employee who worked with sick shelter animals. Feline Infectious Peritonitis has around a 2% survival rate when untreated, which is why you don’t want your cats to get it and now my SAFE, PROTECTED cats are all exposed through the one who had to go to the vet’s office. This is a good example of viruses like H5N1 in that despite your own efforts, terrible things can still happen. I am using an experimental protocol which has a 33% survival rate and so far Maggie is 6 weeks out and doing well. The protocol uses feline interferon (damned expensive!!!) but my cats are my children, so I am shelling out the $$$$$$$ (info. on this treatment can be found at draddie.com). I started to let my cats out to give Maggie something to look forward to during her treatments and I don’t have to worry now---what are they going to catch---FIP???? So I have a little experience with facing a deadly virus and hope not to have to do it on 2 fronts. P.S. This was a fluke, DO NOT let your cats go without veterinary care if they are sick. The chance of something like this is usually fairly remote.
P.S. All my cats were vaccinated against FIP, but it has a 70–80% efficacy, so vaccinate, but don’t think you are safe even then.
stg:no need to worry about the cats now. The bird cases are rare and local. Only when there are infected birds in your area you have to keep cats inside. Manycats:the government will dislike you stockpiling Tamiflu for cats… Topcat:yes, pigs are also a problem. But pigs are usually kept in stables and fences here and they don’t eat dead birds AFAIK. I don’t know how it’s in China, they have many pigs and maybe they are living like pets close to humans and chicken. This b2h problem could be minute compared to b2-other animal. We are only counting human victims but animals could be also important sources for mutation. Although, the 1918 virus did jump directly from birds to humans, AFAIK.
gs: The dose/weight ratio for a cat is so small that for all of my cats a prophylactic dose would equal about 1/35 of a capsule! I (and most pet owners too, I would guess) would be willing to forego 1 capsule out of a ten-pak treatment if it came to that. I would hardly call that stockpiling. And it is a moot point anyway since my cats would be permanently indoors the minute an infected bird hits these shores.
I didn’t know that. Why is the dose for cats so small ? Can’t we benefit from it and boost the Tamiflu for humans too ? What’s so special about cats ?
gs: In the studies I cited above, the experiments were done on rodents and I am extraoplating. 0.1mg/kg was given to the mice and 4 hours later they were given a dose of viral particles which was the equivalent of 5 times the amount of virus that would have been predicted to kill off at least 50% of them and, at this oseltamivir dosage, all the mice survived. There are HUGE assumptions here (what are the newer strains of H5N1 like, such as seen in Turkey and have they affected the amount of antiviral which would be needed to prevent clinical signs? Can you extrapolate the work done in mice to cats? To humans?). All of this is a shot in the dark, but you can only go with what information is out there. Taking these ASSUMPTIONS, then 0.1mg/kg x 20kg (approx. weight of 4 cats)= 2mg. 75mg capsule/2mg = 1/35 of a capsule. IF, and this is PURELY HYPOTHETICAL, you were to extrapolate this to humans (a HUGE if), then 150lb human = 68.2kg, 0.1mg/kg prophylactic dose x 68.2kg = 6.82mg. 75mg capsule/6.82mg = approx. 11 prophylactic doses/capsule. HOWEVER, the CDC recommendations for prophylaxis are 1 capsule/person/day, and they probably know more. Prophylaxis is NOT the same as a treatment dose, which is what most people are hoping to use antivirals for. Prophylaxis is a dangerous game since people may employ it out of fear when they think the virus may be near and it is not. Antivirals are a last resort, which is why I said my cats would be indoors LONG before I personally would have to worry about using Tamiflu in this fashion, but if you are preparing and if you let your animals roam, I don’t think it is bad to keep your pets in mind when making your preparations. NONE of the above information is meant as medical advice. It is only presented as a methematical exercise based on data published at one point in time and utilized assumptions which may bear NO relation to the current reality that is the ever-evolving entity known as H5N1.
(Nothing special about cats, gs, I think it is the difference in body weight between you and a cat that is the difference in dosage.)
http://www.fluwikie.com/index.php?n=Forum.CatStudiesHaveNoSubclinicalCases
Time to get cats used to being indoors is now, not when officials tell you high=path H5N1 is already in your area; cat may have time to mouth a dead bird before then.
“Cat in Germany has deadly strain of bird flu” http://tinyurl.com/zeew2 …”on the northern island of Ruegen” where the H5N1+ birds were found.
and indeed, we have an immediate reaction by the German
Animal-Protection-Association, who calls to keep cats inside.
This is a real problem in Germany, I don’t think they can
keep the cats inside. However it’s just one cat now
and I don’t expect that this will increase a lot.
http://openpr.de/news/78446.html
Why, because they won’t have enough test kits?? Birds will still get H5N1, outdoor cats will still touch sick or dead birds, and it seems quite fatal to cats, from what the researchers saw last year.
Meanwhile,
http://www.who.int/csr/don/2004_02_20/en/index.html …”20 February 2004, Reports of infection in domestic cats (Thailand)”
…”However, concern is great and several specific questions are being raised about risks to humans in close contact with infected cats and the need for surveillance of disease in cat populations.”
…”The animals are part of a single household of 15 cats. Of these, 14 have died. Contact of one cat with dead chickens was observed by the owner.”…
…”The reported infection of domestic cats with H5N1 is an unusual event in what is an historically unprecedented situation.
Results from the investigation undertaken by Thai authorities will shed critical light on this unusual event.”…
CR Fullmoon is right. The cats go in now (in North America) in my house. Niman says there are H5 isolates from North American birds now in Eurpean H5N1 birds. Niman says tests on birds in Canada last fall found H5 but they said “it wasn’t H5N1.” Niman thinks it was. That is enough for me.
I can’t have a dieing bird plop down on the grass near my house. My cat would definately take advantage of the situation. As a result he would probably get the infection which he could possibly transmit to family members.
Why take the chance?
worried, but how likely is this ? Let’s not forget, that the real problem is the pandemic.
But this is a “teachable moment” for the public.
Many still think it is just goverment or some group they don’t like’s “hype”.
Also, birds will pass H5N1 to cats, and cats will die. People won’t want to put their pet at risk.
We have in-depth coverage of Cat Bird Flu issues in our Cat Bird Flu Information Center. http://virtualpet.com/birdflu/cats
As the owner of 7 cats, and 2 dogs, all of whom are indoor critters (dogs go out to potty and play in back yard), I say……teach kitty to stay indoors now. Get a friend, so toys and kitty will “get over it”.
I have two cats, one of which is a mighty hunter. She always brings me one or two birds during nesting time. She is also very good at running out the door when I open it…she loves to roll in the dirt on the sidewalk. My solution was to move the litterbox to the basement so they would get used to going down there. My plan is to throw some kitty treats down the stairs and shut the door after them, every time I plan on going outside. I’m doing this now, so that I get in the habit of doing it and they get used to it too. And as soon as some snow melts, I’m going to collect the dry catnip which grows all over the yard, so I have a good supply for when she gets antsy to go outside. Catnip is a good thing to have on hand, for helping an outdoor cat learn to like being inside.
I have a great escape artist myself. She is a Manx and 2 weekends ago when she got out she was “bothered” by a pit bull. She chased him off! All attitude and no brains. Funny as that may seem, I am always trying to keep her in anyway. I put her in the dog crate whenever I know I am going to be going in and out, but I think no matter how much we prep, there is always an element of risk for all of us. We just have to accept that.
the outdoor watering dish will have to go… I’ve seen birds drinking from it. I did read a story on Tigers that showed strong cat to cat transmission. I suppose that if BF doesn’t go H2H, this will remain a serious problem for cats (and thus cat owners) until such a time as a vaccine is created for them
Sometimes I get the impression that some people think that when/if BF goes H2H, that it will do so everywhere at the same time and the other previous forms will just suddenly disappear. Won’t we then have both a people transmission and a continuing bird transmission? Continuing new variations and combinations? I’m wondering if cats should ever go outside again. How many different vaccines will be needed? It makes my head spin.
KTea
On reading this discussion I became alarmed! Do NOT give any medication to an animal w/out first discussing it with a veterinarian! A mouse’s physiology is different than a cat’s, and what is well tolerated in a cat can kill a dog. It’s not just about the conversion of body size and equivalent doses, it’s different biochemistry.
When avian flu comes to your area, you will not be able to risk sending your cats outside unattended. If they kill an infected bird, it could kill them and infect you and your family, as well as other pets.
I have a sedate senior cat and a young hunter who wants to cuddle at night. I have gotten cat harnesses for each, and will be keeping them inside, or attaching a leash and take them out. Now I understand this will take some getting used to (heavy sigh), and considerable frustration, but I think it might work. Also considering having a “cat run,” where I string a clothes line across the deck and hook their leashes up to it and they can be out there when I am. ( Hey, it’s my fantasy)
Here is a good summary on BF and cats: http://abcnews.go.com/Health/print?id=1706795
cats can get birdflu but not normal flu. Why ?
They get flus, just not human flus. Just like we don’t get bid flu, usually. Different proteins on the outside of the virus and binding capacity to other species. Think lock and key. Changes to the proteins (locks and keys) jump the species, keys fit new locks.
can they serve as an intermediate host as with swine, where H5N1 maybe recombines,reassorts with catflu , mutates and become pandemic ? This could happen in wild cats or cat-like animals in Asia,Africa. Maybe these famous Angora-cats were involved in Eastern Turkey spread ?
I suppose they could, but I’m not a virologist, so can’t say for sure. Any mammal could have the potential perhaps, but as cats and others are so rare as intermediates, I would guess that the proteins of cat influenzas are too different.
I believe that pigs have more similar influenza proteins and require fewer mutations, but again, this is out of my field.
Gary Polson, thank you so much for that link! I just forwarded it to a friend whose sister runs a small cat shelter and will keep it on hand to send others. I haven’t been fully through the site, but at some time it may be appropriate to post possible treatment regimes.
The published research papers describing H5N1 infection of cats all show that housecats and larger zoo-kept tigers likely ate uncooked infected chicken (or in the case of housecats, one cat was found to have eaten a dead wild bird that was infected with H5N1).
Therefore if you have cats, don’t feed them uncooked chicken or turkey and don’t let them eat any wild birds they have caught. It is better to keep your cats indoors if at all possible (so they can’t come into contact with wild birds or stray cats, etc). Also it is a good idea to make sure your cats are up to date on all their vaccinations (rabies, FeLV, FIP) now — I wouldn’t put this off because with all there is to do to get ready for a pandemic, it would be easy to skip the shots and potentially have a cat sick with a preventable disease when it would not be safe to leave home to seek veterinary care (besides what if all the vets in your area are pinch hitting for MDs because of the severity of the pandemic-induced health-care crisis?!?)
Check with local vets and see if they have this printed and posted and are passing info to the public:
I live in the country and have a small dog and cat that use a doggie door (we don’t even own a cat box). My cat loves the outside, I can’t imagine shutting her in…I think she would go mad. My other dilemma is that I have a husband and 2 young children who “think they were born in a barn”, and are in and out all the time—can’t see controlling the cat sneaking out. (ok, maybe the humans could be trained…) Last issue is the dog needing to use the doggie door.
And the problem being… much to my dismay (and concern) my cat is a hunter and has brought home many treasures (frogs, mice, moles, and yes…a few birds).
So, is it inevitable that the cat has to stay inside? HELP
okcinder, are you a gambler? The stakes are pretty high in this game. The experts say birdflu will get here. I haven’t heard of songbirds getting it, but if your cat chews on a flu-killed bird (it doesn’t have to catch the bird, the bird will be lying on the ground), the cat will get the flu. Then if the cat nips a child, or sneezes on a child or in the house…. What’s an unhappy cat compared to allowing in the flu?
To keep in the cat, maybe it will have to be confined to a room without an outside door?
Did you ever hear the story of a farmer with a bunch of noisy kids and a wife with a loud voice? He asked his rabbi for advice about how to tolerate all the noise. The rabbi said, bring your chickens and your goats into the house. He did. He went back to the rabbi and said it’s too noisy, it’s even worse now. The rabbi told him to bring in the ducks and the cows too. He did and didn’t like it. He went back to the rabbi complaining about the constant noise. The rabbi told him to take all the animals outside. He did. He was very happy at how quiet it became.
That’s a roundabout way of suggesting confining the cat to one room until it gets used to not being out. Then later it will be happy to roam in the house. Maybe?
Jane,
That’s a little draconian and you will guarantee yourself very little peace. The cat is already used to roaming the house and you are going to have a cat screaming 24/7. A better solution: go to the pet store and get the cat a window seat. These attach easily to the bottom of standard double hung window. Your prince or princess will have a royal view of everything that’s going on in the yard.
Also, those cat videos for the TV work very well and will distract your feline.
Hi everyone. There is a couple things about cats…and don’t get me wrong…I have a cat that owns me and I love her just the same.
Cats are inherently lazy…Cats with full stomachs for sure will not eat wild game (mice, birds) and often will not bother to hunt them either.
So the answer is not to keep your cat indoors because we all know that won’t work for more than 5 minutes…but to feed your cat just before it goes outside…no more free choice cat food.
Yeah, I guess I forgot how willful a cat can be. Our cat died a few years ago, so maybe I only remember the good parts. She was so smart that I thought I should get HER a pet. (What can you get for a carnivorous hunter?)
Jane. A cat doesn’t need a pet…the cat’s owner is the cat’s pet and slave etc. They are really very smart but you can outsmart them once in a while.
Actually, mine have been known to hunt after just being fed, perhaps because they were strays for a time…
OK. So, what about barn cats? We live in the country and have 2 cats that are “outdoor” cats, they do come in once in a while but spend the majority of their days/nights outside. They aren’t ferel cats, they sleep on the porch and love to be petted, so there is contact between us and them. Even though we feed them they still hunt mice and birds. So now what do I do with them. If it’s them or my kids/family, I know who I choose but I’d rather not make that decision.. any ideas?
Tom DVM,
When have you ever outsmarted your cat? C’mon, I want stories. I’ve been cat owned for most of my 52 years, have an above average human IQ and I’ve never done it.
Same here Melanie, at 50,….I’m a fur-beaten mom.
I’m workin,
Let’s face it, we’re owned. How they tricked us in to this: every time I look in her green eyes I get goofier than I ever did over a man.
Actually I am not a gambler…just trying to keep peace. My husband and cat are not the best of buds, so confining her is going to cause strain all the way around until (if) she gets adjusted. I guess I was just hoping that maybe it could be avoided…I would like to avoid it until absolutely necessary. By the way, she is a nibbler, almost always has food…so I believe she hunts for pleasure.
At an herb farm today. The propieter keep Japenese chickens, uses the chicken manure and worm castings as his only fertilizer, has two very fat nuetered cat, one of which arose out of its warm garden bird to investigate and agitated wren nesting. Another slim huntess chasing a chipmunk up and down a tree. Two Australian sheepdogs keeping an eye out on one of chickens which had gotten loose. This is the world at large. After a futile attempt to suggest some preps to some mothers with children to defend, I wasn’t about to tell anyone about free range show chickens and roosters, cats and dogs with a complete freedom and a happy life. We are all going to have to take our chances. The cats twined around my legs, the dogs accepted being petted when they shepherded the chicken back into her run. We are just going to do what we all have always done, take our risks in life.I think I am not going to talk about the bird flu to anyone else. They have to learn it for themselves. No one is going to penetrate this mindset.
Lily,
You know, there’s a ‘pattern’ if you will of growing things……you prepare the soil, you sow the seed, you water the ground, you tend the weeds, and you harvest your crop.
But sometimes in life, those duties are divided up and it may be your subtle duty to plant the seed of thought about the bird flu to someone, then let someone else water the ground, someone else till the weeds & let the person themselves harvest a crop of accurate knowledge from the encounters from those who planted and watered and weeded.
Keep talking…….it’ll take root….even if it just happens long after you’ve moved on to other adventures.
Here is an excellent website, started by a FluWiki member!
Hi All, This is a subject I have been concerned about. See I have 2 cats.My oldest is a meezer 2 Yrs.old.My second Is half blue rusian 1/2 meezer (shimeeze)My 2 yr.old is the dad of the little one. Both have been fixed they have had all there shots and worm meds.My problem is the little one Tippsy (named for the white tip on his tail)is a hunter.if he sees it and can get to it is dead.We keep a bolw of dry food out 24 hrs a day.He is constantly on the move and never slows down.He only comes in to grab a quick snack and some water and back out he goes.until he is so tired that he just falls over and goes to sleep for a couple of hours then he is up and gone again.He hunts constantly from 5 am till 10 am is his first rump lays down for a few hours around 2 pm. he’s out hunting again.Bugs, lizzards, snakes,(3 to 4 ft long) spiders, frogs, mice, mole crickets, crawfish,worms ( the last 2 he digs up like a dog would dig ) he eats all of his kills.My magor problem is we live right next to a bird preserve on the international fly way.He has never killed a bird yet ( Only because he can’t catch them but he tries ).But I’m sure if he came across a dead one he would bring it home or not.He won’t eat what he hasn’t caught himself.If I can’t slow him down by the time bird flu hits I’m afraid I am going to have to put him down.I have 4 children I really can’t take the chance.I need help. We really love both of the cats.I was thinking of putting him in a cat harness and a line staked to the ground but he would only get all caught up in it and get hurt or choke himself I’m afriad…any ideas are more then welcome. Oh by the way……He is a very affectionate cat.He plays with my children all the time and never gets nasty at all He sleeps at the foot of my 2 youngest girls bed.And he looks like such an angle.The big one my meezer runs the house and knows he does….Give me some pointers …..Talk to you soon
Mstrbubbie - I saw in a catalog recently (and I am sorry that I don’t remember which one) that they make cat “tunnels” for cat to go outside and explore, but they are screened in and the cat can feel like it is outside and be in the fresh air, but could not catch a bird, etc. The catalog might have been Home Improvements, I will look and see if I can find it. Don’t know if it would help, but it might give your kitty the freedom to go outside, he couldn’t get tangled in a harness and he could not get to dead things. I feel for you - our only kitty passed away many years ago and we are a dog only family now, but we love our pets and I would not want to have to put one of them down. Maybe you can find a solution. I’ll look for the catalog and let you know if I find it.
Yes, WIT, it’s Improvements www.ImprovementsCatalog.com The tunnel is called Kittywalk. It’s 10′ long, $99.99. Kittywalk Curves can attach to it, 2/$69.99.
Unless carpentry is a possibility. I saw one on tv, a platform at several levels through the house, going outside with wire mesh covering it, even into a tree. The cat was out, but confined. The family must have added to it bit by bit. It was inspiring and colorful. :)
Hey thanks you guys I’ll have to check it out a little more it just might work…….Thanks again….if you think of anything else please let me know….thanks again
Jane - I am so glad someone else knew what I was talking about! Thanks.
actually I’ve confined cats using both methods successfully. although the harness and line seemed a little bit like trolling for coyotes. it was easy to build a wood framed, wire meshed run along the side of the house to a basement window. I’ve also used the rule of “in at night” (you catch them a dinner time), all in all cats can be adaptable, including walks on a leash with a harness. (of course that sounds silly now but in a pandemic you won’t want to be up close socializing with anyone anyway) good luck
Years ago, I had a lovely cat named Cosmo Kitty who loved to be walked on a leash - of course the training period was trying - for the first couple of weeks, it consisted of me “walking” her while she was flattened against the sidewalk hissing madly. Patience triumphed in the end, but I always got some odd looks from others - walking a kitty is most assuredly not the norm.
Watching in Texas LOL!! I can just see that training period as it unfolded.
Old thread - Closed to increase Forum speed.