As some of you know, my 17 year old cat, Rupert, had to be put to sleep Jan. 7th, and I was very upset and lonely. My family finally convinced me that I needed another kitty to keep me company.
Enter Pepper, a 9 month old female tortoiseshell (she is black and gold) that my DB and SIL presented to me. She is very cute, but we have had some adjustments to make, one of us more than the other (guess who?)
Remember the story that went around a while back about the couple with the extra high water bill and couldn't figure out why it was so high because nobody was at home most of the time? Turned out to be their cat flushing the toilet so he/she could watch the water (I think it was on utube.) My DS and DIL had given me one of those electric, self-cleaning litter boxes, and I have figured out that my dear little cat goes in and scratches around in it (sometimes for real but more often not) and then waits for it to do it's cleaning process! I slowly figured this out, because I kept hearing this motor running pretty often, and began to wonder if Pepper had a bladder problem, so I started keeping an eye on her. If she is out of the room when it starts to run, she takes off like a shot to watch it!
Whenever I hear someone say animals aren't smart and don't think, I think to myself, "you must not have ever lived with one!"
Wonder how much electricity that thing uses? Janice
I love cats, they have such fun personalities. Some times I wish they could talk to you, somewtimes. Thanks for sharing, I thought we were the only ones with peculiar cats.
Janice,
I'm so happy that the two of you are getting along 
Now, go teach Pepper how to flush your toilet 
That's so funny, Janice! Cats are such funny pets! We have a new kitten who will play in the toilet if we don't leave the lid down! (ew!)
Other than providing playtime for Pepper, how do you like the automatic litter box? We've been thinking of getting one.
Janice ... Congratulations on your sweet new baby!! That story made me laugh ... cats are soooo funny! My sister has a tortie, and she is the funniest/craziest cat I've ever met!!! They definitely have their own personalities!! 
shelbur10 I really do like the automatic litter box, especially for this one (she loves to do the scratching, so it would be a messy thing with a regular one.) I'm going to try to get a photo of Pepper watching the litter box "show!"
My older cat who just died refused to use the automated one for the longest time (during which time he showed his displeasure by using various other parts of the house, including my bed grrrr.) By the time he finally decided he would deign to use it, he was in the last stages of kidney failure, and evidently the litter couldn't handle the amount of urine he was passing, so I had to quit using it again.
I'm not too sure how it would work with multiple cats, not having tried that, but sure do like it for one. You do have to be sure to get a strong clumping litter (the one I'm using is Fresh Step for Multiple Cats and it is working great. HTH Janice
Thanks for the advice, Janice! We have three cats and two little boxes and I sure get tired of cleaning them every day!
One of our cats is 11 though, and very set in her ways, so maybe we could replace just one of the boxes with the automatic kind to give her a chance to get used to it. She expresses her displeasure when the little box is not up to 'scratch' by using my bathmats and scale.
My sympathies on your loss of your older cat. We lost one to kidney failure two years ago, it is so difficult. I'm glad you have Pepper now to bring some joy to your life.
Thanks shelbur10, it was a very difficult time for me, he was 17 years old and the last 7 years it was just the two of us at home all the time. I really wasn't sure I wanted another cat, but it was just so empty here without him, so My DB and SIL got this one spayed for me and gave her to me.
Your older cat may resist the new litter box, Rupert sure did! If you get the auto one, it will be wise to keep the regular ones for a few days just to be sure the kitties are all using it. I made the mistake of setting up the auto one and putting the old one in storage, didn't take me too long to drag the old one out again when he wouldn't use the new one. After a while I set both of them up side by side, and after a while he started using the auto one. This kitty came from DB's, a house with two older neutered males, her mom and a calico sister, so my DB thinks she is "taken" with this litter box because it is exclusively hers!
Thanks cakesbyjess, I'm still adjusting to a new cat, but this one definitely is a character, so maybe it is a characteristic of the torties! I'll post a photo of her as soon as she slows down enough for me to get one! LOL Janice
I think it's definitely a characteristic of Torties ... they're very high energy and have a mind of their own!! I'd love to see a picture of Pepper!
Here is some interesting info about Torties ...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tortoiseshell_cat
http://www.purrspectives.net/torties/
http://www.squidoo.com/tortoiseshellcats/
Oh, and how about this:
"People often talk about the "tortie temperament," which says that torties tend to be very nervous and jumpy, sometimes have an 'attitude,' (commonly referred to as "tortietude")and are prone to hyperactivity. They are also very sweet and loving when calm, but are easily riled up and very high strung."
"People often talk about the "tortie temperament," which says that torties tend to be very nervous and jumpy, sometimes have an 'attitude,' (commonly referred to as "tortietude")and are prone to hyperactivity. They are also very sweet and loving when calm, but are easily riled up and very high strung."
Cakesbyjess, this totally describes Pepper. Thanks for the info and the links, helps me understand her better! I've noticed (and worried about) the fact that she even breathes rather fast! At times Rupert breathed so slowly that I would go check on him to make sure he was actually breathing, so this fast breathing is scaring me a little that something is wrong with her. My DB assures me that the vet checked her thoroughly before she was spayed and pronounced her in good shape.
Taking her photo is a challenge, she moves so fast! Also, if the flash catches her, her eyes reflect a bright green and the red eye correction doesn't do a thing for that. I think maybe I got one tonight, without a flash, and will post it as soon as I can get it into the computer.
Since you all have been so sweet to listen to my story about Pepper, I have to tell you she is also a ham.
She gets up on my dresser and admires herself in the mirror, and then she looks at me in her reflection and flashes me this look that says she knows just how cute she is.
Okay, I'll shut up now. Janice
We had one Tortie cat once when I was a teen. She had character! She tried to drown my turtle because she was jealous.... And she never meowed. She barked (like a little pupuy, not a big dog) and sometimes she tought she was a pigeon...
She was a weird cat.....
Glad it goes well with Pepper!! Can't wait to see pics!!!!
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