servo's recent activity
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Comment on Cat owners of Tildes, what are your tips & tricks? in ~life.pets
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Comment on How many of you feel yourselves being drawn back to Reddit for the sake of niche communities and discussions? in ~talk
servo LinkI have been lately because I'm a huge hockey fan and I want to know what's going on as it gets closer to draft day and with trades. There just isn't enough information elsewhere at the moment. LGRWI have been lately because I'm a huge hockey fan and I want to know what's going on as it gets closer to draft day and with trades. There just isn't enough information elsewhere at the moment.
LGRW
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
servo Link ParentDRG is my go-to over the past year. I have a weird gaming schedule where I can play mostly during the day while my friends play at night. Playing with randoms is a ton of fun and I'd have a hard...DRG is my go-to over the past year. I have a weird gaming schedule where I can play mostly during the day while my friends play at night. Playing with randoms is a ton of fun and I'd have a hard time remembering when anybody was an outright jerk. Although there is voice chat people seldom use it and it doesn't hurt the gameplay at all - in fact, it makes it more interesting and fun. Its a game where working at a team is very advantageous and there's no reason to grief other than to just be a dip, which, again, has happened maybe twice. I've heard some people say that it's necessary to play with others but I have just as much fun playing solo with "Bosco" the helper drone. Although there aren't a huge variety of mission types, procedurally generated maps means everything is a little bit different and new. The developers are top-notch lads. There are five different "hazards" that you can play to tailor how difficult you want your experience, and if you lose a player during the match it scales down the difficulty. It's a great game that I can't recommend enough.
I grew up with cats and they are my favorite companions. My wife and I currently have four that we love dearly. Some observations from a crazy cat guy:
Many plants/flowers are toxic to cats, especially lilies. I learned this the hard way with our guy Duke (he's fine). A romantic gesture to my wife turned into a very sick cat and a $5000 vet bill. He currently is in early stage renal failure that may unfortunately be related to this.
Cats love to be talked to. I use what we call "pillow talk" ("You're so sweet," "I love you," etc. in a slow, low voice - this seems very creepy to write this and I apologize) with them and they will sometimes literally fall over and present their belly (a sign of trust). What you'll find is the more you talk to them the more they talk to you.
They can be very misunderstood by people with little experience with them. One misunderstanding is that they are not affectionate like dogs. While it is true that cats won't jump all over you when you get home from work (or a two week vacation), what you'll notice is once you've settled (or unpacked) and sat down on the couch - here they come. Signs of affection can include rubbing up against your legs, head-butting you, "marking" you with the sides of their mouths, "twerking" (vibrating tail), slow-blinks, and falling over and showing the belly.
It's been said but cats are hunters and they (especially the females) seem to need to feel like they are contributing to the pack. That's why we'll have toys lined up outside our bedroom in the morning or one will come bounding down the stairs with a fake mouse in her mouth making ungodly sounds - they are bringing us food. I used to think they wanted to play and would pick up the mouse and throw it. In hindsight, this seems so completely rude. Is it like going to a restaurant and throwing the plate that was brought to you across the room?
Because cats are hunters they need lots of stimulating playtime. We play with our cats daily and they especially like toys that are some variation of string on a stick or bird on a string on a stick. My wife will sometimes swing it around predictably and they will get bored. I try to mimic a bird or a mouse by varying the "behavior" and it seems to keep them more engaged. It's also good to have small mouse-size toys around for them to hunt. Each night I'll throw them into a different room.
We spent a year getting them used to wearing a harness and walking them around our fenced-in backyard, and now will take them outside without harnesses for 30 minutes-1 hour most days. They love to eat grass (careful with chemicals), watch the birds land on the ELEVATED feeder, and zoom across the yard. Only a few times has one of them tried to jump the fence, but we still keep an eye on them and won't let them out unattended. They're very good about staying in the yard and will usually ask to come inside when they're done.
Cats are very clean animals and their litter boxes need to be scooped daily. We do a deep clean of the boxes (Clorox bleach, new litter) every few months. It is recommended to have one litter box per cat - we have three litter boxes and it hasn't been an issue. It's not a good idea to put litter boxes in the same room their food is in.
Don't feed cats out of plastic bowls/containers, it can make their skin break out. Use metal, ceramic, etc.
Cats all have very different personalities. And just like people, you have to treat/approach each one differently. It's hard not to anthropomorphize when describing non-human companions that you know and love so much. Currently we have:
Duke - Male, outgoing, jealous, the alpha.
Chet - Male, sensitive, quirky, extremely intelligent.
Kacey - Female, laid-back, affectionate, curious.
Nina - Female, the wallflower, sweet, playful. She is the one that I'd like to highlight for this discussion. She would likely be feral if we didn't adopt her from a shelter. We wonder if she was abused. We've had her for nine years and she will still run away from us if she feels unsure. The most important thing that I've learned about her is that she needs to trust you. She does not like to be approached, so I sit down on the floor and let her come to me. She does not like to be reached for, so I walk by her throughout the day, talk sweetly to her, and let her be. She is the sweetest and most playful cat we have, but you wouldn't know it if you didn't understand her. She will let me pick her up and hold her on her back, she will let me pet her belly, she will let me put a collar on her when she goes outside, and it's taken years to get to this point. She will never sit on our laps or cuddle with us, and that's OK. She is perfect, just like the rest of them.