You can take Johnny D. (the one eyed tabby) out of the SPCA database. He went home with me on Saturday.

Great! TSM.

THANK YOU!!!

He was abused by his owner, losing his eye and having his tail broken (it's crooked). A neighbor rescued him and brought him in to the shelter. Next month would have been one year he was in the shelter. He was really friendly and we took to each other right away.

The hard part is remembering to approach him from the side with his good eye. He's none too happy being snuck up on as the number of scratches on my leg can attest to.

He's a weird cat. He likes to be brushed while he eats. He'll stand by his dish and howl until I start brushing him, then he'll start chowing down. It's a good thing he doesn't eat much.

what Johnny D needs is a whole lotta love

He got comfortable enough last night to join me in bed. He had been sleeping under it.  It got chilly this morning and when I pulled the covers up, he freaked out and bolted back under the bed. He extends his nails and curls his paws when he's petted so I'm always having to move his paws away from me so he doesn't turn me into a pin cushion.

I need to get a video camera. When I took a shower this morning he stuck his head through the curtain and meowed at me. When he got splashed with water he shook his head, hissed and took off. I could hear him howling in the kitchen. I couldn't stop laughing.

gotta a good vet in mind?

I'm taking him to the North of the River vet this afternoon for his SPCA mandated checkup (not really mandated, but they are paying for it). It's just down the street from me. We'll see how it works out.

Has anyone used Soft Paws? They're supposed to cover the nails so cats don't do any damage when they scratch. Trying to find someone who's used them to see if they really work.

I could also use a recommendation for a good pet groomer in the Oildale area.

I trim the nails myself

I screw up trimming my own nails, I don't want to put him through that train wreck.  ;)

I'll start trimming the nails and washing him eventually, but I wanted him to get pampered for a while.

You picked out the orange long-hair one-eyed fur-ball we had our eyes on?

Guilty as charged. I don't know if he would have gotten along with so many cats at your place. I noticed at the shelter he didn't interact with the other cats in the cage and kept to himself.

I almost took an older female that was declawed. But after seeing Johnny, how laid back he was and being told he didn't have any emotional baggage, I couldn't resist. He let me hold him without a fuss and he rested his head on my shoulder. It broke my heart when they told me he had been at the shelter for 11 months.

He was perched on one of the cat furniture pieces

They said he liked to sit up on the highest perch and hang out so I ordered a three perch stand that's 61" tall. He'll be able to look down over his domain once it comes in. I think he'll be a lot happier having something other than my leg and counter tops to climb up on.

Thanks for the info, Pam.

I talked to the vet yesterday and he said Soft Paws didn't really work. He said the cats tend to bite them off in short order. He said if you keep up with trimming the nails and give the cat a scratch post, it will cut down on them using their nails on furniture and legs. I'm going to follow his advice.

How old is Samson? Johnny's almost 4 years old. Is a kitty cube appropriate for a grown cat?

Johnny doesn't seem to want to play much. I'm sure it has to do with missing an eye and having his vision impaired. He gets really annoyed at me when I play with him and get on his blind side. He'll yell, walk away a few feet and then sit down to glare at me. All is forgiven after a few minutes and he'll come back to get petted.

Most kitties are quite forgiving of even the most heinous infractions!  This is going to sound crazy, but I read somewhere once that kitties like to scratch things that have their people's scent.  So when I've purchased scratching posts, the first thing I do is rub my hands and arms all over it real good, to get my scent on it.  It seems to work.

Samson just celebrated his 4th birthday in April with a lovely patio party.  (I got him as a stray, so I've made up a birthday for him, and am basing his age on the vet's estimation.)  We bar-b-qued chicken and had cheese cake for dessert and he got some cool gifts.  He loved the chicken and the cheesecake, but didn't care for the beans.

He's a 20-lb. declawed monster with paws the size of silver dollars, and when he goes into, or out of, his cube, sometimes his butt gets stuck.  But still, he loves it.  Also, all of my friend's kitties are adults as well.  Also, Johnny might really enjoy having a place to sort of hide out.  With his handicap, he might feel more secure with a place like his own cube, to run to.

By the way, for those of you who don't know, what I'm referring to is called a "Cat Cube".  It's a nylon cube with 4 holes in it, and a flexible wire frame.  They're available at Wal-Mart for around ten dollars.

He's a 20-lb. declawed monster

Yowza! Johnny's only 10.5 lbs and I think he's big. I can't imagine what he would look like at 20 lbs.

the first thing I do is rub my hands and arms all over it real good, to get my scent on it

Great tip. Thanks. I just got an email from the company I ordered his furniture from and it should be delivered this afternoon.

The one I ordered has a cube in it, but it's not big enough for him to play in. He can hide out in it though. I'm hoping he'll use the top perch like he did at the shelter so he feels more comfortable.

for those of you who don't know, what I'm referring to is called a "Cat Cube"

I had to look it up. Silly me thought it was one of those balls you put hamsters in, just bigger.

loves to watch tv

Johnny sits on the couch with me when I'm watching TV or playing video games, but he soon falls asleep.

It's funny to watch him when birds are chirping and singing on my surround sound system. He'll look around the room trying to find them.