BS: Another cat wants to move in with us!

Subject: RE: BS: Another cat wants to move in with us!
From: katlaughing
Date: 12 Jan 10 - 06:38 PM

Good for your aunt, LtS!

Ebbie, I had a tamed bobcat jump up into my arms one time! He was found as a waif out near a drilling rig in WY and one of the fellahs rescued him and raised him up with his german shepherd/alsatian. I went to their office to call on someone else, saw the cat coming towards me. Opened my arms, called to it, with the guy next to me telling me what to do, that it was tame. It was LONG! I am 5'2", but with heels that day, I was probably closer to 5'4". He draped his forearms and paws over my shoulders, gave me kisses in my ear, while I wrapped my armsa round his middle and his hind feet sort of dangled against my knees with his tail almost reaching the floor, tickling my legs. It was magnificent. He used a litter box when in town and the dog was his best friend. He could jump to the top of the office door and knock off a toy, from a sitting position, right next to the door. I'll never forget what a thrill/joy it was to be in such close contact.

Subject: RE: BS: Another cat wants to move in with us!
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 12 Jan 10 - 04:16 AM

True, wildcats are a different sub species to feral cats. There are many cities that have huge populations of feral cats, Rome especially...

My aunt feeds a band of feral cats down in Dorset. Each cat lives wild in the village, but they are all micro-chipped with her details, they get regular vetinary inspections, neutered or spayed where necessary and fed in the winter. As the village is mostly agricultural, they do a fine job of keeping the rodent population down. There are barns and stables where they can shelter, lots of visitors to suck up to and ponies and horses to snuggle up to.

Woe betide anyone who tries to take one home though - they do not like being indoors!

LTS

Subject: RE: BS: Another cat wants to move in with us!
From: Shanghaiceltic
Date: 11 Jan 10 - 05:41 PM

You can have feral cats anywhere and they are not related to wildcats.

When Chatham Dockyard was a working Naval dockyard it had a huge population of feral cats that lived under the gratings where the steam pipes ran through. They had the best of food as they rummaged in the skips provided for waste food, RN ships were not allowed to ditch waste in the water as it was non tidal.

Woe betide any drunken sailor who tried to pet one, a visit to the sick-bay was usually the consequence.

Subject: RE: BS: Another cat wants to move in with us!
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 11 Jan 10 - 05:08 AM

European wildcats are larger than "domestic" cats, but smaller than bobcats - sort of like an ocelot or civet - or think of a Maine Coon with attitude on a bad fur day. They tend to be stocky and tabby coated. Even when born in captivity or bred with "domestic" cats (not a particularly good idea but it happens) they retain a wild and uncontrollable streak a mile wide. There have been cases of abandoned wildcat kits being nursed and cared for by "domestic" cats, but they've never been as friendly or maleable as their litter mates.

LTS

Subject: RE: BS: Another cat wants to move in with us!
From: Ebbie
Date: 10 Jan 10 - 10:58 PM

If 'European Wildcats' are the same as wildcats we have in the US, they are not domesticated. However, although I haven't heard of a Bobcat being tamed, I do know of a lynx that lived a long life in the bosom of a veterinarian's family.

Subject: RE: BS: Another cat wants to move in with us!
From: GUEST,999
Date: 10 Jan 10 - 09:46 PM

"Another cat wants to move in with us!"

Do you have a wok?

Subject: RE: BS: Another cat wants to move in with us!
From: Shanghaiceltic
Date: 10 Jan 10 - 06:30 PM

Quote : 'Speaking of "semi feral", SC, I heard the other day that European wildcats are impossible to tame - whether born in captivity or not.'

So are wives born in China....

Subject: RE: BS: Another cat wants to move in with us!
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 10 Jan 10 - 02:02 PM

It's that last bit that realy hurts, Alan!

:D (eG)

Subject: RE: BS: Another cat wants to move in with us!
From: Alan Day
Date: 10 Jan 10 - 09:07 AM

When we lived in Crawley we had two dogs and then three cats.One day a pregnant tabby turned up at the front door,absolutely determined to get in. That night she had six kittens. We found out that she had walked from the pub where she lived about a mile across main roads to have her kittens at our house. I didn't even get a pint!!
Al

Subject: RE: BS: Another cat wants to move in with us!
From: WalkaboutsVerse
Date: 10 Jan 10 - 08:41 AM

Speaking of "semi feral", SC, I heard the other day that European wildcats are impossible to tame - whether born in captivity or not.

Subject: RE: BS: Another cat wants to move in with us!
From: Shanghaiceltic
Date: 10 Jan 10 - 02:19 AM

When we moved from Shanghai to Perth we were allowed to bring 2 cats with us. We had 5, so we had to have a Kitty Survivor competition to see who would get the tickets Down Under.

Actually it was pre-decided and as Jade's parent were moving into our house in Shanghai and renting out theirs, the three that lost the competition would still have a good home.

It took 7 months to get them here, One month stay in Singapore quarentine, 5 months in a Singapore cattery and one more month in the Australian quarantine station near Perth. We nicknamed that one Guantanameow Bay.

By the way those are Aussie regulations.

In the meantime we merely jumped on a plane and brought our human diseases with us.

Soon after we arrived we found the house we wanted and moved in. Of course we were catless but not for long.

Jade was up a tree in the back yard lopping branches with her chain saw (one I bought her as a present, last of the old romantics I am) when a very small, fluffy ginger female appeared at the end of the branch that Jade was lopping totally unperturbed by the chain saw. We nicknamed her Boots and we could never work out where she came from. From time to time we saw her mother and sister. We did eventually find out they were all semi feral.

Boots was the tamest and within a few weeks Jade had her tamed and she was a lovely cat. By the time the Shanghai Two were released from Guantanameow Bay, Boots was well established. We had her neutered and she was fine, there were a few hissy fits when Mimi and Guoguo were released and came to the new home but they all settled down.

Boots was sadly killed when she dashed across the road at the front of the house, Jade was devestated as she had never had a pet killed that way. Boots was buried in the front garden.

Boot's sistser and mother kept turning up and they were quite skinny and wretched but would not come near us. We decided they needed food and some care.

A couple of months before Christmas 2008 Jade noticed that the sister, who we named Socks (yes Boots & Socks) was pregnant. Then suddenly she was thin again clearly she had had the kittens but we did not see them. Then at Christmas 2008 she brought all three to our garden. Clearly a clever cat, she and the kittens stayed. As she weaned them she took to disapearing again and we were left with 3 kittens, one male ginger and 2 female black and ginger.

Our local vet offered to take them to the CPL but we said we would try and look after them. He agreed to neuter them at a knock down cost which we did for all three plus Socks who we trapped with food.

Max the ginger male dissapeared one day, Socks too dissapeared leaving us with the 2 females now named Vicky and Pinky (Jade would not let me called them 9 Tails and Lash).

In May 2009 Guoguo was also killed on the same road and we were very very upset. Blaming ourselves for letting her escape to the front. She too is buried at the front.

So we are down to 3 again. Mimi is very definately the Queen and is now 10 years old, Vicky very timid and Pinky into everything. We have seen other cats around clearly homeless and we have decided now that we will stick with the three we have and not take on anymore. But Jade has the breaking strain of a warm Kit-Kat when it comes to felines, so watch this space...

By the way we know the identity of the father of the kittens, a very randy three legged tom.

Subject: RE: BS: Another cat wants to move in with us!
From: WalkaboutsVerse
Date: 09 Jan 10 - 04:47 PM

I normally advocate native gardening (as here), Dave, but a bit of guerilla gardening could fix this case - by dead of night, plant some catnip in your favourite neighbour's garden. ;-)>

Subject: RE: BS: Another cat wants to move in with us!
From: Stringsinger
Date: 09 Jan 10 - 04:35 PM

Don't ask us for advice. We have nine cats. We love 'em all.

Oh yes, twelve if you count the "outside" cats but we share them with the neighborhood.

Frank

BTW, watch out for coyotes. They will kill cats.

Subject: RE: BS: Another cat wants to move in with us!
From: katlaughing
Date: 08 Jan 10 - 07:36 PM

Cats have their own "underground railroad." They leaves clues for each other of which houses are owned by soft touches, etc. We had lots of cats show up because of it. Never could turn them away.

Subject: RE: BS: Another cat wants to move in with us!
From: ranger1
Date: 08 Jan 10 - 07:03 PM

I like cats, but I prefer other peoples' cats. That being said, I am owned by a cat that was dumped in the campground at the park I work at ten years ago. She only came home for the night...

Subject: RE: BS: Another cat wants to move in with us!
From: Desert Dancer
Date: 08 Jan 10 - 11:26 AM

It does indeed sound as though you "have a sigh saying 'cats welcome'" - LOL!

Subject: RE: BS: Another cat wants to move in with us!
From: VirginiaTam
Date: 08 Jan 10 - 10:35 AM

So when I finally have a house and garden and can have kitties, does this mean that many more will descend upon us?

We planned to train the new kittens to travel and caravan with us, so we can avoid using cattery while on hols. But if we will be obliged to adopt half a dozen foster kitties, well the prospect doesn't look good.

I would do nothing but fret about the fosters we leave behind.

Subject: RE: BS: Another cat wants to move in with us!
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 08 Jan 10 - 09:50 AM

VT - my kitty raven eats rubber snakes, he's not at all afraid of them. There are several around the house (relic of an old Hallowe'en costume) and he plays with them. They turn up in the most ridiculous places, usually in my bag when I'm at choir practice or once in my coat pocket whilst I was looking for my rail ticket...

Dave, the sympathy card is well known to kitties - our old b&w tom Max did his cruciatus ligament a mischief (dropped from a height of 2ft and landed like a brick) and spent a week limping and being molly-coddled. I'd have to lift him on and off the sofa, help him up the stairs, help him in and out of the catflap and watch him limp pathetically around the house, wailing occasionally. That all stopped the day I carefully helped him off the sofa, nursed him down the hallway, through the kitchen and eased him out of the catflap for him to go and ablute... only to look out 5 mins later to see the little bugger bouncing around after butterflies. What made it worse was that when he saw me watching, he immediately started to limp again!

We're presently being visited by a ginger squirrel-tailed tom, a big black bully (Raven's evil twin) and a set of half grown kittens that I helped out back in August, consisting of a ginger and white, a tabby and white, a ginger and a tortoiseshell/white (calico). The squirrel tailed and the doppelganger have been overnight visitors, the others are still wary but have been seen sneaking biscuits.

They'll move in when they feel good and ready.. that's how we got the Shopkeeper!

LTS

Subject: RE: BS: Another cat wants to move in with us!
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 08 Jan 10 - 08:44 AM

Thanks for the snake tip, VT. I'll give it a try. If our two are frightened of them they can use the front door!

Pepe still limps a bit, Mary. Mainly if he jumps off things - seems to jar it or something, but generaly it seems fine. We wonder at times if he is playing the sympathy card:-)

Cheers

DeG

Subject: RE: BS: Another cat wants to move in with us!
From: VirginiaTam
Date: 08 Jan 10 - 08:30 AM

Can't believe I wrote that. I want a kitty, but we work and live in 1st floor flat. Actually, I want 2 kitties, 1 siberian huskie and some chickens.

I need a house with a garden is all.

Subject: RE: BS: Another cat wants to move in with us!
From: SINSULL
Date: 08 Jan 10 - 08:24 AM

David,
How is Pepe's paw?
M

Subject: RE: BS: Another cat wants to move in with us!
From: VirginiaTam
Date: 08 Jan 10 - 08:08 AM

I understand that cats do not like snakes. Saw on some garden show that putting rubber snakes around the garden keeps strays away.

Don't know if it is true but is a cheap thing to experiment with. Failing that.... get a real snake?

Subject: RE: BS: Another cat wants to move in with us!
From: GUEST,CS
Date: 08 Jan 10 - 08:00 AM

Last few days I've had a new little tom, with such an appealing little face crying outside my backdoor. I've opened it a bit so he can sit on the mat in the outhouse instead of huddled up on the patio in the snow. But I don't feed. Yet! Arggh - I don't want another either, but they do so play at your feelings. He hasn't cried during the evening yet though. So I'm crossing fingers that he has a home nearby where they kick him out for the day and he just gets cold and lonely. A friend of mine had a stray crying at her backdoor one cold night, she ignored it and found it still there in the morning - frozen to death. I wonder how many other abandoned pets that will happen to this winter?

Subject: RE: BS: Another cat wants to move in with us!
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 08 Jan 10 - 05:01 AM

Thanks Bryn. Seasonal felicitations to you and yours too.

Purrs, meows, catterwalls, growls, trills and assorted other noises from the tribe:-)

I don't mind too much but it is driving Mrs G nuts. She cannot open the back door without shooing cats away, falling over them or any other such activity - and seeing as we use the back door for all sorts it is getting a bit much:-(

Cheers

DeG

Subject: RE: BS: Another cat wants to move in with us!
From: Bryn Pugh
Date: 08 Jan 10 - 04:52 AM

Happy New Year, DeG.

Cats know fine who loves them and who don't.

Seems to me you're lumbered, old son. And I bet you don't mind a bit.

Kind regards to you and yoiurs from Erica and Bryn.

Purrs from Maisie and Smutts.

Subject: RE: BS: Another cat wants to move in with us!
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 08 Jan 10 - 04:31 AM

An update for anyone interested. We lost our poor old Homer to cancer a bit back - Can't have been too long after I started this. So we now have Molly and Lily and...

Pepe is still on the scene. We feed him sometimes.

Boo. A pure white 'Egyptian' type cat with blue eyes. She is definitely a stray but doesn't seem in bad shape and is neutered. She runs in when we open the door, grabs a mouthful of food and runs out again!

Maven and Mim - A pair of kittens who are housed, we think, but like to party in our back yard.

Commander Skank - Black and white beat up tom. Master of the streets and a nasty piece of work - he gets the hose pipe.

New arrival - An unknown Ginger Tom who we saw for the first time this morning.

In answer to the question about do we have a sigh saying 'cats welcome' - No! But there is definietely something, How do we keep the ones we don't want out without upsetting our own ones? Any ideas?

BTW - Leigh cat and dogs home no longer take strays - Huh?

Cheers

DeG

Subject: RE: BS: Another cat wants to move in with us!
From: SINSULL
Date: 18 Jul 08 - 08:03 AM

Eric Bogle

Subject: RE: BS: Another cat wants to move in with us!
From: SINSULL
Date: 18 Jul 08 - 08:01 AM

He's Nobody's Moggie Now

Subject: RE: BS: Another cat wants to move in with us!
From: GUEST,Arnie at work
Date: 18 Jul 08 - 07:22 AM

Does anyone recall a song that went;-

'Somebody's moggy, at the side of the road
Somebody's moggy, who forgot his highway code'
etc...

Never a dry eye in folk club when Jim Lamb sang that one!

Subject: RE: BS: Another cat wants to move in with us!
From: Bryn Pugh
Date: 18 Jul 08 - 06:45 AM

For my beloved and me, a house is not a home without at least one cat. I agree with Greg - two cats = four times the pleasure.

It has been commented that perhaps our familiars are surrogate kids. It is possible that we might have had a houseful of kids, and still shared our lives with pussy cats.

Wonder if 'folkies' tend more to be 'cat people' than (say) 'dog people' ?

Thanks, Bee, for the 'blue clicky' on puss purrs - amazing.

Subject: RE: BS: Another cat wants to move in with us!
From: Bee
Date: 17 Jul 08 - 10:43 PM

There is also an old veterinary adage still repeated in veterinary schools which states, "If you put a cat and a bunch of broken bones in the same room, the bones will heal."

From this article about cats healing abilities and some speculations about purring.

http://animalvoice.com/catpurrP.htm

Subject: RE: BS: Another cat wants to move in with us!
From: Greg B
Date: 17 Jul 08 - 10:20 PM

He's your moggy now...

Our four guys (all 'fixed' and strictly indoor cats, thank you)
are all incredibly grateful for their home, and make it clear
on a daily basis.

There are enough people in the house to divide them up (to say
nothing of square feet). 'Boots' is the traveling cat, following
Karen and I from her house to my condo, and enjoying (!) the car
ride between.

You 'need' at least two cats... unless you never leave the house.

When you wake up in the morning and one of them puts their heart
on your heart and purrs, and you feel your blood-pressure dropping,
it's all worth-while.

Subject: RE: BS: Another cat wants to move in with us!
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 17 Jul 08 - 01:28 PM

Brilliant - thanks all. I will check out the Stretford one and the Leigh cat and dogs home - The one down the 'Lancs that I had forgotten about.

Cheers

Dave

Subject: RE: BS: Another cat wants to move in with us!
From: GUEST,cats
Date: 17 Jul 08 - 01:22 PM

Is this anywhere near you?
The Society for Abandoned Animals
Mosley Acre Farm
Barfoot Bridge
Stretford
Manchester
M32 9UP

Telephone

0161 973 5318

Subject: RE: BS: Another cat wants to move in with us!
From: Bee
Date: 17 Jul 08 - 01:20 PM

Good luck on the rescue effort.

If you do end up continuing to feed him, maybe the intolerant cat will come around eventually. In my experience they usually do, even if it's at best a live and let live relationship.

Dog relationships, because we have a reasonable knowledge of pack behaviour, are so much easier to figure out. Domestic cats seem able to choose among being singletons, living and hunting alone; duos, which you often see where a pair of littermates sticks together, sleeps together, etc.; and colonies, where a multitude of cats manage to develop pecking orders, group 'rules', matriarchal units, and so on - very complicated and fascinating behaviours.

Subject: RE: BS: Another cat wants to move in with us!
From: Bryn Pugh
Date: 17 Jul 08 - 10:48 AM

Incidentally, Dave, it's "Pepe le Pew", not my surname. I promise not to have you for defamation :-)

I'll leave you to imagine the stick I took at school.

If all else fails, try the animal rescue at Freshfield, near Southport, or there's a Rescue just up the East Lancs from you.

Subject: RE: BS: Another cat wants to move in with us!
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 17 Jul 08 - 06:23 AM

Sorry - should have said before. Salford - North West England.

Subject: RE: BS: Another cat wants to move in with us!
From: GUEST,Cats
Date: 17 Jul 08 - 06:09 AM

Look around for other animal shelters and rescue centres. Try googling or the yellow pages. Failing that, what part of the country are you in? I might know someone who knows someone..

Subject: RE: BS: Another cat wants to move in with us!
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 17 Jul 08 - 05:28 AM

Tried the CPL - All local branches are full:-( Any other suggestions? Didn't see him yesterday. Mixed feelings - Glad he is not hanging about but hope he is OK. Funny things us humans aren't we:-)

Cheers

Dave

Subject: RE: BS: Another cat wants to move in with us!
From: GUEST,Pamela from Ithaca
Date: 16 Jul 08 - 10:46 PM

If you've fed him, you own him...
or, as others have pointed out, he owns you.

A neighbor's cat keeps hanging around our place
acting like he lives here rather than there. Our hard
and fast rules - he doesn't get fed here and he doesn't
come inside. For one thing, one of our resident cats
won't tolerate being near him. Good thing for us, we
know where he's *supposed* to be.
If only we could convince *him* of that.
(Actually, he's very sweet and friendly to us)

Subject: RE: BS: Another cat wants to move in with us!
From: JennieG
Date: 16 Jul 08 - 09:02 PM

Dave, we lost Belle a few weeks ago but still have Binky and Bianca - and Himself insists that we don't have a vacancy for another cat yet. While my head agrees, my heart doesn't.

But as stated above, you have named the pusscat so you keep the pusscat!

Cheers
JennieG

Subject: RE: BS: Another cat wants to move in with us!
From: Sorcha
Date: 16 Jul 08 - 06:14 PM

Hey, Dave...contact Anne/Tabster...she just lost one.

Subject: RE: BS: Another cat wants to move in with us!
From: Genie
Date: 16 Jul 08 - 06:04 PM

Kat beat me to the punch again. ; D

Subject: RE: BS: Another cat wants to move in with us!
From: SINSULL
Date: 16 Jul 08 - 02:58 PM

The Princess stayed with me for years while we looked for a permanent home for her. Sadly, she died before that happened.
You are stuck,Dave!

Subject: RE: BS: Another cat wants to move in with us!
From: Bee
Date: 16 Jul 08 - 02:48 PM

Search the word 'Snowball' on Mudcat and despair.

Said Snowball currently snoring on upstairs bed, careless of the fact he's shedding long white hair all over my black cotton sheet set. (No, I haven't made the bed yet.)

Said Snowball eats twice as much food as original chosen kitty Tommy, is three times as demanding of attention, and infinitely louder and meow-ier.

Very cuddly, though.

Subject: RE: BS: Another cat wants to move in with us!
From: SINSULL
Date: 16 Jul 08 - 01:45 PM

You named him. Now he's yours. Didn't you know the rules?

Subject: RE: BS: Another cat wants to move in with us!
From: katlaughing
Date: 16 Jul 08 - 01:09 PM

Resistance is futile...:-)

Subject: RE: BS: Another cat wants to move in with us!
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 16 Jul 08 - 12:59 PM

Is there a sign on your gate that says "dump unwanted cats here" ?

Subject: RE: BS: Another cat wants to move in with us!
From: Becca72
Date: 16 Jul 08 - 10:19 AM

I agree with Kat! :-)

Subject: RE: BS: Another cat wants to move in with us!
From: katlaughing
Date: 16 Jul 08 - 09:59 AM

Give up and give in...you are his!:-)