posted on January 2, 2001 05:56:56 AM new
ExecutiveGirl, a friend sent me that in email a couple months ago. We both have three cats - all former strays. I thought it was so funny that I asked my husband to read it. By the time he reached the computer my long-haired tabby cat was already settling down on my lap.
posted on January 2, 2001 11:56:49 AM new
We acquired Speck a year ago Thanksgiving weekend. Val rushed in from work saying that there was a kitten outside in the dark somewhere yelling - and boy, "yelling" he was, under the neighbors' car. He walked right over to Val, who showed him to the neighbors (not theirs), so this tiny fuzzball (hence the name) became ours. He still thinks it's weird to be picked up but he has made it clear from Day 1 that he had enough of being a barn cat and unlike our other 2 has NO interest in going outside.
Yesterday we had a flock of some 3 dozen turtledoves in the garden. Speck was sitting in the bedroom window, twitching and chattering the way cats do when they see a flock of birds, so Val picked him up and took him outside to the back stoop so he could get a better look. I was going to follow her, but when I opened the back door, Speck shot inside and hid under the bed.
posted on January 2, 2001 12:19:07 PM new
This may be a silly question, but... how do you tell if a cat is a stray? There are a few cats in my neighborhood, none with collars. At least one I know lives across the street. There's a grey cat, though, who my husband claims lives in our back yard. We see him there every once in a while, and he was perched on our upper deck over the weekend looking at our cats inside.
I don't know how to tell if that cat is a stray or if he has a home somewhere in the neighborhood and is just outside a lot. Hubby has turned on the porch light sometimes at night and seen the cat run off the deck. He says the cat sometimes sleeps on our porch swing, sometimes in our (otherwise unused) dog house, but I'm not sure if he's right about that. The cat doesn't look exceptionally skinny or shabby.
posted on January 2, 2001 06:25:53 PM new
Well, last year, the week of Thanksgiving, there was this tiny black & white kitten sitting on my front porch. She was SO tiny - less than 3lbs and fit in the palm of my hand. I just *HAD* to put food out there for her, poor thing looked like she was starving. At the time, I had 2 other cats. Every morning when I'd go outside, the kitten was there and the food was gone. On Thanksgiving I came home from my parent's house and she was on my front porch. It was freezing weather, and I just couldn't bare to let her stay out there another night. I brought her in, and put out a blanket for her in my living room to sleep on. When I woke up the next morning, she was purring next to my head on my pillow! Needless to say, she's been mine ever since. I figured if no one came looking for her, she was MINE. I think she's smaller than the average cat, too. I now have 2 cats and a puppy, a miniature pinscher.
Here's Missy:
[ edited by ExecutiveGirl on Jan 2, 2001 06:26 PM ]
[ edited by ExecutiveGirl on Jan 2, 2001 06:27 PM ]
posted on January 2, 2001 09:34:12 PM newRainyBear, you usually can't get near a stray, they're distrustful. Other than that, no collar is another way. But then I've met cats who had a collar but someone dumped them to fend for themselves.
Awww, ExecutiveGirl she looks just like my mom's cat Venus (Whom I rescued at about the same age as Missy from the desert.) Venus is now 15, small and happy as ever!
HCQ, now that is funny!
Our brood of 6 cats includes:
Prince was born to a stray (we figure someone moved out without her, she was too friendly).
Buddy is a former stray we adopted from the Humane Society and is happy as clam to not be a stray anymore.
Tom is a neighborhood stray who was too nice of a cat to leave behind when we moved, so we took him with us. He too is a happier cat now and has FIV so he'll live much longer than he would have (and he still hides when there's a storm).
Charlie is another stray kitten that was teeny tiny that wondered into my mom's house one day. She's still half wild, but she's our precious baby and helped bring the boys together. (I knew when my husband saw her and went, "Aww, look at the itty bitty baby" in that silly voice that she would be ours )
K.D. is another stray female that we figure someone dumped at the tender age of 6 months. We live next to a canal and my neighbors tell me it happens often. She is such a sweet girl!
And our last baby isn't a stray, but who knows what her life would have been at a party house that was supposed to be her home. Hubby's friend had a cat that had babies. Friend's sisters dog kills kittens. Sure enough, dog killed one of the litter. Friend told hubby, hubby told friend put the whole family in a box and bring them over-don't argue. Friend did. The plan was to foster them until they were old enough to fend for themselves/be adopted. Friend took the male, who has since been hit by a car and killed. I couldn't let Pogo go, she was the runt. I should have known she'd be mine- from the very first time I looked in the box, she'd always gaze up at me. You know that cat looking into your soul look? That's the one. Anyone remember last summer when I was looking for a name for a kitten? That was Pogo.
Ok, ok, I like talking about my kids Anyone want to see pics?
~~Angels fly because they take themselves lightly~~
posted on January 2, 2001 10:10:12 PM new
A very happy thread
Haycat is a black meatloaf with a tail that I adopted from a shelter. Knew she was the one as soon as I had her come to me in the cat room - despite the fact that she had been beaten up buy some of the others - any cat with that good a nature MUST be saved. Had her for 8 years now.
Punkin is a "Loaner" for a friend that cannot keep her right now - but she will always be her cat. Big moving persian haystack of orange fur. Loves to play and will knock herself silly on walls in her enthusiasm if you are not careful.
The best description I have ever found for cats came from a posting on AW a year or so ago.
"FUR SLUGS" - - says it all
nutspec
[ edited by nutspec on Jan 2, 2001 10:11 PM ]
posted on January 2, 2001 10:48:26 PM new
We have 4 former strays, all sisters. My 8-year-old daughter found them one spring day playing in the little patch of woods next to our house. They were only a few weeks old and apparently abandoned by their mother, who I never did see.
That summer my dear daughter would run outside each morning to feed and play with "her" kittens. They wouldn't show themselves if I or her brother or anyone else went out, but all she had to do was call their names and out they tumbled!
When we were out doing yard work, it was such a treat to watch their antics! My DH still tells the story of the day he was on the roof fixing something and happened to glance across at a nearby tree. There, right at eye level, was one of the kittens supervising his work! Some days there were more kitties in the trees than birds!
As fall approached, I worried about what would happen to our brood. Two huge dogs inhabit our household, one of which is most definitely not the "safe-with-small-animals" sort. After much fussing and fretting, I found a website that offered blueprints for a kitty house. I would heat it, I figured, and place it right in their favorite play area.
Husband bought the lumber and made the house. Tile floor, shingle roof, baby blankets for comfort. Next on the to-do list was to get them spayed before all the toms came calling. My vet gave us a group discount and we managed to corral 3 of our litter and get them there. The fourth, always the shy one, outfoxed us.
While they were at the vet's, I made elaborate plans to let them recuperate in the basement (where the dogs aren't allowed), housed in a huge wire dog crate. We filled it with blankets, scratching posts/climbing towers, litter, food, water, etc., etc. The plan was that they'd stay long enough to get their stitches out, then out to the kitty house.
Well, the crate lasted about 1/2 hour, long enough for my daughter to announce she was going to sleep in there with her kitties. Of course I don't need to tell you, they never did make it back outside. For the last 2 years they've been supervising our basement ebay activities. And Shy Thing is *still* not spayed, but not for want of trying!
posted on January 2, 2001 10:57:30 PM new
I just love my cats, but sometimes...
Here is one of my cats, Ashe, he's the plastic eating one of the bunch. He's all white except for 3 tiny grey 'ashe' marks on the top of his head.(I hope I can figure out how to post pictures.)
Patricia
posted on January 2, 2001 11:08:30 PM new
Patricia - your pic worked fine
Mouseslayer - YES, we want to see your pics!
I've really enjoyed all the kitty stories... and what a perfect way to end a long day! Our youngest kitty spent the evening helping me dismantle the Christmas tree. She was a big help.
posted on January 3, 2001 02:05:28 AM new
My SO and I take care of a feral colony.
Right now there's four on the bed, and ten in the house. Two of them come in at night and out in the day.
Outside only cats (mostly feral) number around fifteen to twenty. We trap, fix, and release. There's a vet in town that works through a program where she spays or neuters ferals for free. Only drawback is that the slice off the tip of one ear to mark them.
Names?
Shamus, Spencer, Trouble (And she is), Rascal, O.J., Pretty, Tiggy, Little Friend, Patches, Looky, Sissy, Momma Kitty, and Junior.
At least that's the ones I know the names of. Most of the ones in the house have various health/physical conditions.
posted on January 3, 2001 04:06:05 AM newmouseslayer:Would love to see pics of your "kids"! (And anyone else who has pics of their pets!)
I'm a huge animal lover and love to hear stories about animals and other people who love them! Thank you all for sharing your stories! Missy was the first stray I ever adopted - and she is the most loveable cat I've ever seen. Always wants affection! I have another cat - Jasper - he's white with gray/black/brown patches and I adopted him from the humane society when he was about 4 months old. Don't know anything about his previous owners - but I think he may have been abused. Poor thing - he hides from just about everyone. Someone knocks on the door and he's out of sight. Runs from the vacuum cleaner, everything. Very few people get to see him when they come over. He sure does love Missy though! When I come home they are always sharing the same space on the couch, all cuddled up with each other.
posted on January 3, 2001 07:20:40 AM new
Here's Tigerliger ("that's Mister Witten to you, buster", our "alpha puddy", with his foster mom. For the first couple weeks we had him, Tiger would nurse on poor beleagued Lily, chomping and "happy feeting" on her until her nipples bled. It obviously hurt like hell but she never did make him stop. Funny part is, Lily is terrified of cats.
posted on January 3, 2001 08:56:31 AM newdmercer - thank God! Someone else is in the same situation I am....
When we moved up here, we trooped six cats with us from Denver. In a car. It was ugly. When we got here, the previous owners of the home had abandoned five cats when they moved out. And the cat farm and looney bin was born.
These days, only three of the original travelers remain with us. But we still have a houseful.
Foxy and Minnow are the old-timers - brothers, 16 and 15 years old, respectively. I had to put there momma to sleep two years ago. Aggie is old, but we don't know how old, since he wandered into our lives in Denver one winter before we moved. He's a biggg boy - likes to share my pillow at night. We've had him for eight years, and he was no spring chicken when he came to us.
Of the abandoned lot, only one remains with us. Andrew - king of the cats. Big orange boy with orange eyes and orange ears and personality oozing outta every pore. We nearly lost him a few years ago - he apparently got hit by a car, but managed to make his way home over a number of days. Broken pelvis, the vet said. And the lacerations were already healing. She said it wasn't unusual for that to happen. It was unusual for me. He is gimpy, but he does everything the others do. And rules over most of them, too!
The rest are a motley crew of strays and offspring. (It's not easy to get other people's cats spayed/neutered in a hurry!). The latest one to wing into my heart is a black kitten - from a litter of four. (Momma's going to the vet as soon as she stops nursing - I swear, she gets downwind of a tomcat and BOOM.) He is about the cutest thing I ever saw. He will be a permanent addition to the family here - we are torn between two names, tho. DC (which would stand for Damn Cat - trust me, it fits) or Sh***y Kitty. He's quite the trip - can't walk through the house without him attacking and latching onto my shoe, then taking a "ride" while I'm walking. heh
posted on January 3, 2001 10:42:35 AM new
As much as I love my cats, one of them nearly drove me crazy last night. Kabu, the brown tabby in the picture below, kept meowing and scratching at my bedroom door. (We keep the door closed because otherwise the cats -- about five and a half months old now -- won't let us get a good night's sleep.)
The first time it happened I woke up and went out into the hall to give him some attention, and I even carried him around the house for a while. I tried to get him to go to sleep next to his brother, but he wanted "people attention." When I went back into my room and got into bed he started doing it again. When I opened the door that time he shot into the room like a rocket and darted under the bed, and I had to use the spray bottle to flush him out, which was no easy task. It took me a long time to get back to sleep.
Around 2:00 in the morning he started doing it again, and this time my husband took over the duty of trying to get him to cut it out. We finally ended up locking him in the basement with his brother so we could get some sleep. Kazu, the black and white kitty, is the "good" kitten and was sleeping peacefully. I felt bad waking him up from his curled-up position on the sofa to move him downstairs with his brother, but I couldn't leave Kabu downstairs alone.
It really makes me appreciate Sunshine, our oldest cat, who doesn't even really like people and pretty much keeps to herself!
posted on January 3, 2001 11:12:13 AM new
Having three cats does not make me by any stretch a cat person. However, I am perpetually amused at the blank "What." look that apparently every cat can summon at will. (see RB's pic of her two puddies) Particularly useful when they've just smashed a Depression glass tumbler or run around the house with a spool of clear nylon thread. Teenage humans have nothing on cats in this regard.
posted on January 3, 2001 12:28:01 PM new
Rainybear, I can relate to your nighttime escapades. Many years ago, my boyfriend at the time taught my cat to play fetch with a rolled-up cigarette package. Whenever she wanted to play, she'd jump up and drop it in our laps. Another of her favorite pasttimes was to perch on the toilet seat and bat at the water, sometimes dropping things in it for the fun of fishing them out.
One night I was jolted awake with a wet face and that damned, soggy, cigarette pack lying on my pillow and Cissy looking down at me with that expectant, come-play look.
I wasn't amused then, but get a chuckle out of it now when thinking of her.
[ edited by fountainhouse on Jan 3, 2001 12:29 PM ]
posted on January 3, 2001 01:26:12 PM new
>psst< help! I've been held prisoner by my cats...
they have taken over the house....
I only have this computer
call 9-1- WTDGLKHDSFKHTIUJV98
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WE FELINES WILL CONQUER ALL HUMANS!
posted on January 3, 2001 04:14:29 PM newHCQ: YES! That blank "Angel" look. That look on their faces when you come home and the curtains are shredded. I swear if they could point they'd be in a circle pointing at each other saying, "Wasn't ME!"
All of them but our Tiggy. She was born crossed eyed and with a too small head. She is one of our special cases. We first found her in our yard trying to hide and hissing at any movement near her, she was so terrified. Now she plays with a few of the others inside and likes to wake me up by trying to eat my toes.
posted on January 3, 2001 09:27:57 PM new
Hi, I have 6 kitty cats. All strays or the result of strays. The oldest, Tigger, it 17 and he is the grumpiest old man I have ever met. He hates all the other cats and tells them so from anywhere in the room - sometimes there not even in the room. Next is Wilbur. Wilbur is actually a she kitty. My brother agreed to cat sit for a girl he was trying to impress. He told me the kitten was a "he" and I didn't check. The girl friend never returned to town and I named the cat "Wilbur." I wasn't even made aware of the situation until I took him in to be spayed. HA HA! The third, Fatso, lives up to his name - 29 pounds and doesn't even look fat - just huge. He was a "take home from the pound" kitty. Next is BigMac. He was found in the parking lot of McDonalds - hence the name. Next is Do Da - short for Doodle Bug. She found me on a bike trail in the middle of nowhere - Darn near ran her over. Lastly, Puss Puss. Puss Puss was rescued from the idiots across the street who thought you could let 8 week old kittens run around in your front yard. The other 3 didn't survive. I also have three dogs (all strays) and they would have their feelings hurt if I didn't mention them: Corky (black lab), Sadie (blonde lab), Samantha (Shepard mix and Sadie's sister) Great stories!
posted on January 4, 2001 12:46:30 AM new
I gotta tell you guys, I too am getting a big kick out of this thread and all the pictures! HCQ, that pic of Val and Speck is just too precious! Let me see if I can dig around and come up with some good pics here...(I've been horrible at scanning and organizing lately!)
Ok, found a few Here's Prince:
Here's Buddy, he last weighed in at 20lbs. and I'm pretty sure he's more now!
Here's the best one of Tom I could find, he hates the camera:
Here's Queen Charlie
Here's my shy K.D. (short for Kewpie Doll):
Last but not least, my baby Pogo:
This is Pogo's sister, I just love this picture! Cab you guess what she's in?
Oh wait, the dog will get jealous if I don't include him Here's Gunther:
I have lots more where those came from!
~~Angels fly because they take themselves lightly~~
posted on January 4, 2001 12:31:39 PM newExecutiveGirl wins the door prize! Yoyo is what we called her and she is indeed in a Kleenex box. We had a kitten a long time ago we called Yoda because she was so ugly she was cute. Yoyo was Yoda Junior and it migrated to Yoyo. She was a pistol before she went off to her new home. Check these out:
She isn't afraid of this big dog!
More in the Kleenex box:
The sisters loved each other:
An extremely rare silly pose from Prince:
Pogo decided to play in the shredder one day, I swear she was posing for her close up
And here's Daddy holding her baby style:
One thing about Tom that cracks me up is that he frequently goes into what we call his "happy cat" mode. He'll play with a tiny speck of fuzz, or sometimes nothing at all. Acts like a kitten when he does this. Mind you, this is an at least 9 year old cat who limps and used to be an alley cat. It makes me feel good that he now has this opportunity to do that. I just hope I can get a picture of it someday!
Can you guys tell this is my environment?? Having no 2 legged children yet, I can spoil my 4 legged ones that much more. I wonder how my 2 legged kids will turn out... Up for more pics? Needless to say I have more! I even got some new ones yesterday (I just need to unbury the scanner...)
~~Angels fly because they take themselves lightly~~
posted on January 4, 2001 12:45:46 PM new
Mouseslayer, your kitties are all adorable, especially pogo!
My Kazu likes to be held that way, too. Whenever I pick him up he'll roll over onto his back and I can just walk around the house with him like that. Such a furry little baby!
posted on January 5, 2001 01:02:50 AM new
Thanks RainyBear! When Charlie was younger, after she got over the 'attack anything that moves' stage, she liked to be picked up like a football and just carried around the house. She grew out of that when she got older. Poor KD, she hates to be picked up and I'm the only one she'll let do it, rarely. I don't know what happened to her out there, but it couldn't have been good
Here's some more pics to entertain you guys
KD was in heat in this one, she was smooching up to Prince. The funny thing is, he has no clue what to do with her!
Pogo and Yoyo's brother. Poor baby is no longer with us
Yes, she really was asleep, she's so funny
I hope you all enjoy!
~~Angels fly because they take themselves lightly~~
[ edited by mouseslayer on Jan 5, 2001 01:04 AM ]
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[ edited by Malady on Jan 2, 2001 11:24 PM ]
