hi need info

[shimmy]

hi im new on here im sorry i haven,t posted in the 'introductions' section, its late and i,m tired and thought it cant do too much harm , apoligies in advance
Right , im in the uk s. east area and about 3 yrs ago was given a cat of about 2 yrs old.
He is beautiful and he is just a little handsome so n so lol, then abt 2 yrs ago i was told he,s a maine coon. I,ve done a little research not much tbh and i think he could well be a norweigen forest cat decent. I know nothing about species or pedigree,s and basically im just really interested in finding out he,s native oriegens. Im not good at the pic thing but i,ll try, my pc isnt great either . Description, he is a long / tall cat grey n white , thick furr , large maine , thick set pours with a fox type tail lol, he is so playfull and deeply clever and ahead thinkin more than i reckon. he walks around the block with the dog next door and myself, he tells me off and paly fights/bites/licks all in 1 bout. i trod on his tail slightly the other day, he didnt forget it for an hour lol, ev time i went near him he hissed. Ive a lovely relationship with him, im he,s mate we play in the garden on his terms. fetching has become a midnight treat n i find all sorts lol. hope to post pics, if not he is on youtube i,ll av to post the link. might do a better one thts clearer. thanks in advance for reading , Michael essex uk
P.s forgot to say, me n my friend want advise on quality cat foods tht are better than ur average tin from sweetshop.

[smudgley]

Yes premium quality cat foods are better than petshop brands.

No idea about your cat, but probably a long haired moggy at a guess.

[Shelley123]

Welcome to the forum Michael, your Cat sounds a real character

[shimmy]

hi thanx, yeh he really is , i forgot to mention abt when he see,s other cats he runs after them and tries eggin them on to play by kinda jumpin as he gets close lolol so funny. its not all the time but its he,s way . He,s dog like and goes abt like he,s bored sumtimes , get angry when it rains but is such a softy at heart. he speaks to me even at distance will mioooww n look me in the eye. We definately are close but goes up n down in cycles. just like us . Ive even noticed the calmer i speak the more relaxed it makes him. very clever but also silly n stupid lol , no balance either, he is large tho. ive put a pic on profile now too.

[Leesy]

Hi Micheal and welcome to Catsey,
Your cat does sound similar to either a Maine Coon/ Norweigen Forest cat, but like Smudgly says could well be a long haired moggy, might be able to tell better with pics.
I have two silver, grey and white Maine Coons called Maxi and Maisy if you look in the cats picture section I have some recent pics of them both in the snow that you could maybe compare your cat with, it`s headed as M&M`s 1st snow day.:D

[Leesy]

shimmy, if you look in new posts I have bumped the pics of M&M for you to take a look at:D .

[shimmy]

ok thts great i,ll have a look right now. If he is just a moggy then thts fine by me but it makes me wonder so be nice to find out. not sure i can load attachments at the moment but i,ll try my best when allowed. thanks again

[dandysmom]

:smt039 Hi and welcome, Michael. hard to tell without pics; your boy could be possibly one of the two pedigreed breeds, but also a long-haired moggy. While it would be nice to pinpoint. he sounds like a lovely boy just as he is, and you obviously love him. Yes, generally the premium brands are better than supermarket stuff. What exactly are you feeding him now?

[shimmy]

hi yes i think i better use photobucket n see what i can do, i do love him big time yes, so does all my friends including non cat lovers lol.
I feed him salmon whiskers more thn most, he does eat biscuits too but not often. I always try to stick to fish type flavours, god knows wots in them though, am i best to go to a pro pet shop n ask ?? theres so many varietys
Thanks again mike

[pcspik]

Really, it depends on your budget. I would go first to Pets at Home and see what there are, and what the cost is. Avoid Pets at Home stuff (reason given why later!).

Good brands include Hills, Royal Canin, Purina Pro Plan, and James Wellbeloved. Avoid cheap brands which cost less than £3 for a box, because very often they contain cheap fillers and can contain higher salt contents (which could cause problems in later life). Whatever you go for make sure it says "complete adult food" as that way it will contain the nutrients your cat needs. Some brands e.g. Applaws are not complete, and that means you will have to supplement your cat's diets, which can be very time consuming. A lot of people do feed IAMS, but there have been cases of a lot of cats being ill. Also IAMS do animal testing, so if you object you may want to steer clear.

As for meat, Whiskers or Felix is good brand. Hills do meat, but in reality unless your cat has a specific medical problem or you are feeding an light diet, you dont have to feed the same brand as the biscuits.

Once you have decided, then I would look online (hence why I said don't buy their Pets at Home own brand!) which are very often cheaper than real life shops. A lot of websites also do free delivery if you spend over a certain amount e.g. £60. I never buy any food from a real life shop any more.

Other people on the forum may also have suggestions on brands.

[shimmy]

thts really helpfull thankyou pcspik :)

[pcspik]

No problem. I am assuming your friend has an adult cat though. If your friend has a kitten (less than 12 months old), then you need to look for the kitten range of the food you are going for (again all of the above do kitten food) just as long as the biscuits says "complete kitten food" on the packet. On a similar note, if your cat is 7 years old or older then it needs senior food (as above, but it needs to say senior on the packet).

It is a good idea to feed both meat and biscuits btw. If your friend cannot afford to feed both, then (provided it says complete) it is better to feed just biscuits, rather than subsituting it for a poorer brand. Feeding just biscuits will not do it any harm nutritionally, but your friend may find that you need to provide more water (since the main ingredient of meat is actually water, they get their water from that. Without meat their water source has gone, so they may drink more from an actual water bowl).

Another important thing is if your friend is changing brands then to wean it slowly onto the new food, otherwise you will find a very messy litter tray (and possibly bottom!). You should be aiming to do the weaning over 7 days.

[shimmy]

thanks for the info and suggestions . i still not understanding postin pics, surely i gotta be on photobucket to do this, or do i use my pics fome 'my pictures on pc?

[Shelley123]

Mike, you do need to download photobucket i think and put the pics you want on the forum in it. I couldnt get pics into my posts from my pictures on the pc

[Mags]

thanks for the info and suggestions . i still not understanding postin pics, surely i gotta be on photobucket to do this, or do i use my pics fome 'my pictures on pc?
1. You will first need to host your pics on Photobucket.

2. Under your photo you will see four boxes : Email & IM; Direct Link; HTML
Code; IMG Code. You need the IMG Code.

3. Copy this code, return to Catsey and paste your code (CTRL and V) into your
post. Click Submit.

That's it! :)

You may find it easier to open Catsey and Photoshop in two separate windows first.

Good luck!

[dandysmom]

One caveat about dry food: the potential of cystitis. Males are more prone to it because of their narrower urinary tract, but females can get it too. I personally prefer a mix of about 85% wet and 15% dry; and always add a bit of warm water to the wet; makes more gravy, hence more liquid intake ... and the cats seem to like it.

Good luck with the pics, looking forward to them!

[shimmy]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9kAi99dpBeA
try this , i,ll do a better clear vid , on the stairs or in the garden . hope u enjoy, i,ll add tht im not harmin him in anyway.

[shimmy]

thanks for the advice on the wet/dry mix info . right as for a pic(sorry to post vid on here i shoulda just told u it was in vid room anyway.) when u say under pic on photobucket 4 boxes, i dont seem to see these. going back on to check.

[Mags]

thanks for the advice on the wet/dry mix info . right as for a pic(sorry to post vid on here i shoulda just told u it was in vid room anyway.) when u say under pic on photobucket 4 boxes, i dont seem to see these. going back on to check.
It shows as four different codes directly under your pic on PB ...... you need to copy the last code which is the IMG code...

[dandysmom]

Mike, when you click on the photo you want in PB, there will be 4 choices beneath it. The 4th is the IMG code. Click on that. Then a larger pic will appear and the same 4 choices are available click on IMG again and a small yellow box should appear that says Copied. Then, back on Catsey, click on the second icon from the right, the one that looks like a little yellow pyramid; a box will appear on the top of the screen asking for the info; paste it in, and that should do it. Hang in there, it's gonna work, believe me!

[Mags]

Photos of Boycey have been moved to Your Cats Pictures (http://www.catsey.com/showthread.php?t=35103) section. :)

[shimmy]

cool :)
thanks MAGS

[Shelley123]

Love the vid of Boycey, he's a lovely looking Cat

[shimmy]

Thanks Shelly123 he keeps on doing this now, all i gotta do is show him the back of my hand in a horizontal position and he knows to rest on it lolololo. Unfotunately he is still limpin worse than last nite so god knows wot he,s been up too!! He,s resting it as we speak fast asleep lol, i may be tempted to post another pic now i,ve sussed it lol.