BS: Cats

Subject: BS: Cats
From: Raptor
Date: 07 Feb 12 - 08:03 AM

Should we get a boy cat or a girl cat? We have a boy dog who gets along with cats a the vet.And we need a mouser.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Becca72
Date: 07 Feb 12 - 08:08 AM

I have had both and much prefer male cats. Females, in my experience, tend to be much more aggressive and bossy and harder to get along with. Of course, that is true of more than just female cats... :-)

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: artbrooks
Date: 07 Feb 12 - 08:22 AM

We currently have one (very old) male and two female cats. All three are very friendly, to us and each other. None are mousers (not an issue here), although one of the girl wills chase the occasional dove or pigeon. We have had many cats over the years, and the only two mousers we have ever had were male.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Little Hawk
Date: 07 Feb 12 - 08:24 AM

I think it's an individual thing. I've known both male and female cats who were real sweeties....and some who were self-centered creeps...some who were dullards...and some who were just sort of average.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: GUEST,Seayaker
Date: 07 Feb 12 - 10:04 AM

If you want a mouser the most important thing is to get one with the right orientation.

Some cats I have known catch mice in the garden and transfer them to the house

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: GUEST,CS
Date: 07 Feb 12 - 10:11 AM

In my experience the best hunters we've had were female. Perhaps something to do with the fact that female cats have to feed young, while male cats only have to make them? As for character the male cats we've had have probably in general been more docile (and fatter!) than the females, but the two females we had who were scratchy and needed 'respectful' treatment had both been abused so it's hard to make a clear judgement on that one..

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 07 Feb 12 - 10:25 AM

I've had both, and I don't think it matters. Cats do have individual personalities. It's hard to generalize. Of course you'll want to have it neutered.

To be good mousers, cats need to be taught by their mothers how to catch mice.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Bert
Date: 07 Feb 12 - 10:38 AM

As LH says it's an individual thing. You get two cats from the same litter and they will have completely different personalities.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 07 Feb 12 - 10:39 AM

I used to have a cat that I let go outside, and sometimes she would catch and eat a mouse. The result was tapeworms. According to the vet, the mice transmit tapeworms when eaten.

I also fostered two cats for a friend, and the same thing happened to them. In all three cases, they needed to go to the vet for treatment.

I say use traps to get rid of mice and keep your cat in the house. My present cat stays indoors 24/7. She is twelve years old and in good health.

As for male vs female, I have a friend with many cats, and in her opinion, males are more affectionate. (We're talking neutered here.) But I've had two females who are affectionate, members of the family, definitely.

Some people say that tabby cats make the most sociable pets. All of my cuddlebugs have been tabbies.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: GUEST,Bluesman
Date: 07 Feb 12 - 11:10 AM

Had to have my queen put down last week, she was 18, kidneys failed. I will get another at some stage, queens are best.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: GUEST,Eliza
Date: 07 Feb 12 - 12:33 PM

Females are often good mousers, but I always prefer males for affection. The females I've known have accepted stroking then suddenly whipped round and scratched me, they seem capricious. I've had so many male cats over the years, and they've nearly all been extremely loving and gentle.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Bert
Date: 07 Feb 12 - 01:22 PM

...have accepted stroking then suddenly whipped round and scratched me...

If a cat does that you might want to get it checked for an ear infection.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Anne Lister
Date: 07 Feb 12 - 06:24 PM

Our female tortie is the most cuddle-able cat I've ever known. Not sure how good a mouser she is, as she has only presented us with dead voles so far (and not many of them) but she's certainly keeping them out of the kitchen, which her predecessor (also female but elderly and deaf) entirely failed to do.
She's also got a wonderful sense of humour, is very intelligent and is a superb companion.
I'm only managing to type this in a rare moment where she's not hugging me. (Extra affection at the moment after a weekend in the cat hotel, which she doesn't like - she likes being home, with us.)

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Raptor
Date: 07 Feb 12 - 07:07 PM

It will be an indoor cat for sure I love the birds. We have mice in the house I'm hoping it will evict.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: ranger1
Date: 07 Feb 12 - 07:55 PM

We've had both males and females, with mixed results in both. My three most recent cats have all been female and all were extremely affectionate. One of them was my constant companion from the time I rescued her from the campground at the park I work at. She was the most inept hunter I have ever known. Our current cat is also extremely affectionate, but I have the feeling she is a natural-born killer. Fortunately for the small feathered and furred set, she is an indoor kitty, forever relegated to watching from the other side of the glass.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: gnu
Date: 07 Feb 12 - 09:00 PM

Males over females for being docile and affectionate but every cat is a cat. Ya pays yer money and ya takes yer chances. After that, it's up to you. If you can communicate with the cat, yer good and so is the cat. I never had any problems with female cats... that I couldn't work thru. Ya just gotta do the right things and train em right. Same with males. If ya know how, it don't matter. If ya don't, get a tom... but read up on it... lots of info on the net.

I still miss Maggie after all these years. Sad story. I hope she lived a good life with the ex after I refused to take her back after the ex took her away from me during the divorce. I was pissed that Maggie was being used as a pawn. She used to come to me when I called and she slept with me. She was... oh, nevermind.

I guess, in the end, it doesn't matter all THAT much about gender. It matters about the luck of the draw and that means you as well as the cat.

Good luck to both of you.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: GUEST,999
Date: 07 Feb 12 - 09:04 PM

Well, ya got yer natural-born mousers

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: GUEST,999
Date: 07 Feb 12 - 09:06 PM

and the it goes with the turf mousers.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: GUEST,999
Date: 07 Feb 12 - 09:07 PM

Then there's Herbie and the cat ain't sayin' nothin'.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: ranger1
Date: 07 Feb 12 - 10:00 PM

LOL, Bruce. I needed that.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 08 Feb 12 - 10:11 AM

Sometimes the mere presence of a cat will keep mice out of the house. The cat doesn't have to be a hunter; the scent of a cat scares the mice away. But I suppose it depends on how cold and hungry the mice are in any given winter.

My sister-in-law once saw her dog and her cat posed in the kitchen door, watching something with great interest. She checked, and they were watching a mouse with its hind feet clamped on the edge of the cat's dish, drinking its milk. The pets evidently thought they were watching "Wild Kingdom."

If you want a nice pet, get a kitten from a mother that was a nice pet. Make sure the kitten has been handled and is used to people. Don't adopt a feral animal. Those are tips that may not guarantee success, but they will stack the odds in your favor.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Rapparee
Date: 08 Feb 12 - 11:09 AM

...the other white meat.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: lefthanded guitar
Date: 08 Feb 12 - 02:04 PM

leenia you are absolutely right. My cats were great mousers, they were indoor/outdoor cats and were raised by a very good mother.

I also feel in general, boy cats are more outgoing and affectionate and better mousers, but it's not true of every cat, of course.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Charmion
Date: 08 Feb 12 - 02:43 PM

We have just adopted a second cat, a female Siamese who came to us with a reputation for submissive timidity. Ha! Not so's you would notice. Cat 1, a large aging tom named Bill, is still trying to figure out what the hell happened while Cat 2 eats his dinner.

Cat 2 came to us from a home with three other cats (all male) and two untrained dogs, plus four humans, two of them teenagers, all packed into a frankly cramped row house. We are quiet, middle-aged readers, and there are only two of us.

All of which is to say that living conditions have a powerful effect on feline behaviour. Cats are affectionate if you handle them gently and frequently, and talk to them (they soon start talking back). Even cats who don't like sitting on laps will hang out with people who avoid abrupt loud movements and encourage them with appropriate stroking and scratches. It helps if you don't mind sharing the bed with your cat ...

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: GUEST,Eliza
Date: 08 Feb 12 - 05:24 PM

Feral cats can be a bad idea. Our neighbours took one in from the local cat rescue centre. (Very commendable, and I support these charities with contributions.) He's called Alfie. He'd obviously learned to scavenge and beg, poor little soul, as he'll whizz through any catflap or open door and wolf down any food he can find, even though he's now very well-fed. At night he explodes through our catflap and snarls at our three Siamese cowering in their bed on the counter top. He then hoovers up all the food, then vomits copiously all over our kitchen floor before exiting. I've now stopped putting food down unless I'm there to supervise. I haven't told his owners, as I understand completely that Alfie has problems and no-one's to blame. Feral cats can be so difficult to 'civilise'!

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Raptor
Date: 08 Feb 12 - 07:01 PM

Guest999 please see the Great Music thread in the ubove section.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: GUEST,999
Date: 08 Feb 12 - 07:10 PM

Camels have been domesticated for five thousand years--and they still don't like people.

Cats can be a blessing or a curse. Feral creatures are just that: feral.

My skunk--don't know where he lives--, Charlie, is a calm peaceful creature who will walk near me, not spray me (he knows my voice because when he's around I say stuff to him like "Yo, Charlie, how's it hangin'" or "You're out early tonight, arent you?") and I know he harbours me no ill will. However, Charlie is a skunk with sharp claws, teeth that could be detrimental to one's well-being and a spray that can cause blindness if not treated very quickly. So, I would never try to pet him or cuddle him. I can think of easier ways to get punctured and ripped to sh#t.

I adopted a feral cat years ago. It was clear to her that he was welcome to the house--actually ground floor of an apt building--but also that I didn't like her any more than she liked me, so let's agree to keep out of each other's way. We did for the eight or so months she stayed around. (She got all pissed off with me near month two because I trapped her and took her to a vet to be fixed and given a check up, etc., but what are ya gonna do, ya know?) Feral means 'leave me t'hell alone, thank you very much', but somehow I think she knew at least one person liked her. I don't know her fate. I like to think she went to live on Mt Royal, but it's as likely she was killed by a car. Tough little thing, no doubt the result of some thoughtless so-and-sos who didn't have the common decency to spay or neuter their house pet. Anyway, since I don't particularly like cats, I'll end here.


Except I want to know one thing. Basically, other than they're wonderful warm creatures and all that, I do NOT like cats. Period. I think they are fairly stupid creatures with a very narrow association to do with anything that requires thinking. So why me? The damned things rub against my legs, come sit where I am, just generally be a nuisance. I tell them in plain English accompanied by hisses and snarls that I think "You are the most useless thing I have encountered since my pet rock ended up in the river (I was teaching it to swim) and left home." You let a dog know you don't like him and he'll keep away. Tell a ^%&(*#@$ cat that and all of a sudden you're his best bud.

And one more thing. There was a Siamese cat in NYC that took a liking to me (yippee) and I admit to scratching behind her ears for a few minutes. It was at a party in Brooklyn. Anyway, some loud mouth took issue with another loud mouth (me) and started towards me with a loud voice. I stood up to deal with the situation and the damned cat was in between us with a 'do not mess with my friend look' on her face and one leg (front right if I recall) up, claws extended somewhat and the surliest and ugliest disposition I've seldom seen other than in humans. The guy stopped and sat down. I scratched the old gal behind the ears for a few minutes. OK, so she was ok.

Then there was the hungry one in Alberta. Poor little thing. I fed her for months until I could find a good home for her.

And the one in north Alberta that came to me to die. His belly had been ripped open by a dog, and it was bad. I'd left food out for him for about two years, but he never was trusting of people, so I didn't think we were friends or anything like that. I went out one morning and there he was. I later traced the blood back and he'd come about 200' in that condition. I wrapped him in a towel, took him off the reserve and shot him. I left him for the scavengers because we all know very little goes to waste in this world, but now and then I think of the old guy and hope he understands.

Then there was Lucy. She was a twit. She also had some issues, so I kept her until she was over her issues and found her a good home. Last I heard she was doing fine.

I don't like cats, but I do know there are as many personalities--good and bad--in the cat world as there are in the human world. One cat, one personality. Ya gotta read 'em right and they'll do what they're s'posed to. Read 'em wrong and all they're gonna do is piss ya off, and you them.

NOW, salut!

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: gnu
Date: 08 Feb 12 - 07:54 PM

There it is, 9. They are them and you are you. Unfortunately, there are bad pets and bad pet owners. Your heart was in the right place and that's what matters most. Kinda like interaction between humans, innit? >;-)

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: GUEST
Date: 09 Feb 12 - 12:01 PM

Oh yeah, gnu. >;-)

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: GUEST,Bluesman
Date: 14 Feb 12 - 06:25 PM

Just bought two persian kittens tonight, had to replace my dear 18 year old which I had to have put down two weeks ago. It is like having children in the house again !

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: gnu
Date: 14 Feb 12 - 08:24 PM

Good on ya, Bluesman. Enjoy. And, condolences. It's never easy.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Ebbie
Date: 15 Feb 12 - 02:23 PM

Like leenia, I found that a cat needn't be a mouser in order to scare off the mice. When I had a mobile home in the woods I had mice. So I got a cat who seemed never to pay attention, but every night I left the kitchen cabinet doors open and I never found another sign of mice.

Speaking of feral cats, at another place there was a feral mother cat that neighbors said had a litter every year out by the railroad tracks. When I moved there, they were perhaps8 or 9 weeks old and wild as cougars.

I wanted a kitten so I started putting out food and little by little setting the dish closer to the back door. The mother never came close but the kittens couldn't resist and one day a kitten went into the kitchen. I closed the door- that ended up being a wonderful cat.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: gnu
Date: 15 Feb 12 - 02:52 PM

Nice story, Ebbie.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Ebbie
Date: 15 Feb 12 - 03:31 PM

That cat, gnu, ended up knowing what time I should go to bed. At a certain point she would dance on my pillow squalling for me to come into the bedroom. :)

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: gnu
Date: 15 Feb 12 - 03:52 PM

That's cool, Ebbie.

I used to nap every day after lunch for 40 minutes with the office phone ringer muted. I would give this certain call (sounded like a cat) and even if Maggie was a hundred yards away outside, she was there to snuggle up to my chest (never on top of me) in jig time.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: beeliner
Date: 15 Feb 12 - 09:32 PM

We have one of each, my wife calls the male "Homopuss" because he seems to prefer the company of male humans.

When they fight, which is frequently, it's usually the female who is the instigator - or is that instigatrix? The fights are usually about 10% antagonism and 90% recreation.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: GUEST,Patsy
Date: 16 Feb 12 - 07:22 AM

I only had two cats and a dog all of which were female so I can't really give an opinion but I enjoyed the friendship of all three each of them had a personality of their own. The main reason for that was because I was the only female in the house. But I am sure that if we had decided to have a male cat I would have loved it just as much. The other deciding factor was that I had heard that males tend to spray urine marking their territory. It probably would have been trainable but my ex-husband wasn't very keen on the idea.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 16 Feb 12 - 08:33 AM

Castrated males do not usually spray.

But cats are a nuisance anyway. At least a dog will learn quite speedily what "fuck off" means .

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Becca72
Date: 16 Feb 12 - 02:34 PM

Richard,
A cat knows what "Fuck off" means; they just choose to ignore you.

The key to spraying is to stop it before it ever starts by having them neutered before they come into maturity. If a male cat starts spraying and is then neutered it is far more likely to continue post-op.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Charmion
Date: 16 Feb 12 - 03:39 PM

Ebbie wrote: "That cat ... ended up knowing what time I should go to bed. At a certain point she would dance on my pillow squalling for me to come into the bedroom."

We are well accustomed to having our behaviour monitored and regulated by the cats: they get us up in the morning, they inform us when dinner is due, and they announce bedtime. In fact, felines are downright normative.

What I find remarkable is that they always seem to know the time. Cats can't read the clock, but they want us up by six o'clock in the morning whether it is black dark (i.e., the dead of winter) or broad daylight (half-way through June).

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Jack Campin
Date: 09 Sep 16 - 07:42 PM

A picture too heartbreaking to ignore:

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/e4/d8/1b/e4d81b6f0573def29cea8a33fcce042a.jpg

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Bill D
Date: 09 Sep 16 - 07:54 PM

Obviously they're singing doggerel.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Senoufou
Date: 10 Sep 16 - 05:07 AM

Can I have a self-indulgent moan here please?
Our little Siamese 'Minty' suffers periodically from triaditis, involving inflammation of the pancreas, gall bladder and liver. He had an episode three years ago and the vet pulled him round, but it cost £600. This summer, he fell ill again and nearly died, but having spent three nights in the vet hospital on a drip, he survived once more. This time, the bill was £800. Minty cost £400 to buy as a kitten. He's cost us an arm and a leg over the years. We can't get Pet Insurance as all our cats are elderly and it wouldn't be possible.
Now, my sis is a hospital doctor, and told me that re-hydration drips cost pennies, and she reckons these vet's bills are a total rip-off. The poor little cat only lay in a cage (didn't eat or drink) with one nurse doing very little. He had antibiotic tablets. But no operation or intervention. I think these fees are exorbitant. In Dundee (where my sis is a doctor) she made enquiries and the vets there would have charged about £80-£100. I'm so glad Minty survived and am grateful for the vet's having saved him, but I do think they having a laugh to be honest!

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 10 Sep 16 - 10:43 AM

charge what the market bears & the market for a beloved pet ...

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: gnu
Date: 10 Sep 16 - 11:20 AM

How far are you from Dundee?

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Bee-dubya-ell
Date: 10 Sep 16 - 11:54 AM

The degree to which individual cats will tolerate folk music varies widely, but it's never a good idea to leave an instrument case open if there's a cat in the room. "Oh, you mean that's not a litter box? Well, I thought it was! Maybe I wouldn't have made that mistake if you people were paying more attention to me and less to those noisy things in your laps and under you chins!"

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Senoufou
Date: 10 Sep 16 - 12:08 PM

At the time Sandra, I'd have paid a million pounds to save Minty, as he's very dear to us. My husband was in Africa visiting his family, and Minty is his favourite cat. I wanted him to be still alive when 'dad' came home. And one could ask, "What price to save a loved one?" I could have had him euthanased, but it's so hard to face. I reckon vets know this. It made me think about the NHS and how awful it would be to have to pay for treatment of a human loved-one, as in Africa.

Gnu, we're about 500 miles from Dundee.

Regarding 'mousers', it's quite true that eating mice gives cats tapeworms. And while cats will eat MOST of the mouse, one finds a dismembered head or a lone tail lying about on the carpet. Not pretty.
Ours when younger used to bring in mice to play with mercilessly, tossing them around until they expired. And rats. And pheasants (posted with difficulty through the cat flap) And rabbits. And pigeons.... and even sloe worms.
And all my (male only) cats through the years have weed on anything that takes their fancy. Siamese are terrible for that. Even directly into sockets, causing sparks to fly out. (We've taped plastic sheets over ours!)
To be honest, cats are a bloody nuisance. (But have enriched my life immeasurably over the decades) Terrible buggers...

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Senoufou
Date: 10 Sep 16 - 12:10 PM

That should be 'slow worms' of course! Sloes are for gin, and very nice too.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Greg F.
Date: 10 Sep 16 - 12:48 PM

Ours when younger used to bring in mice to play with mercilessly, tossing them around until they expired. And rats. And pheasants (posted with difficulty through the cat flap) And rabbits. And pigeons.... and even sloe worms.

Oh, isn't that just ADORABLE!

Cats should be kept INDOORS!

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Jim Carroll
Date: 10 Sep 16 - 12:57 PM

Just kidding - love 'em really
Jim Carroll

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: gnu
Date: 10 Sep 16 - 01:53 PM

Speaking of vet ripoffs, we took Cassie to the vet that the ex used to use. $18 for the shot but she would have to stay for three days at big $$$. I said, give her the shot and send me the bill but I can't afford the stay. The ex said something like, we should have her stay. I was standing next to the ex and prodded her in the back with a finger and said, "You know we can't afford that bill right now. She'll be all right. If not, we'll bring her back and whatever the bill ends up at, we'll pay when we can." She clued in and we left. I went straight to another vet... an old guy *I* knew but hadn't seen for quite a while. I told him the story. He said, "She'll be fine. Might need another shot next summer. I'd love to talk but it's busy today. No charge." and he walked out. Cassie's swollen pink lips just fine in two days. I got the bill from the first vet about a week later... threw it in the garbage.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Senoufou
Date: 11 Sep 16 - 01:32 PM

I think what it is gnu, we so love our pets we daren't refuse treatment or try to reduce the fee, in case they die or suffer. It's an emotional thing. Vets obviously know this, and while it's only fair they be paid for their skills and long period of training and studies, sometimes they're having a laugh, in my opinion.

We're going to try a new little vet's surgery we saw in a slightly less 'posh' area, and ask what their charges are, for future reference. It'll be interesting to compare the two price-scales.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: gnu
Date: 11 Sep 16 - 01:40 PM

Senoufou... tis always best to "shop ahead". Smart move.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: mkebenn
Date: 12 Sep 16 - 09:28 AM

Rap, buy a rat snake, she'll feed her self, just add water. Mike

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: gnu
Date: 12 Sep 16 - 02:36 PM

Rap keeps rattlers just fer petting.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: keberoxu
Date: 09 Apr 17 - 02:24 PM

I am still haunted by the memory of a cat that adopted us.

We kids were in upper grades of grade school when this happened. Of course, it's hard to say who adopted whom.

My older sibling, with classmates, happened upon this kitten, lurking by itself around a filling station. Tiny kitten with a horribly bloated belly. Turned out to be female. The kitten was carried to our house to be fed.

She was mostly black, and never did get very big, although in time she matured to adulthood; since she was inclined to remain with us, we had her spayed and doctored.

The thing is, I never called her by name. Maybe the others in the house had named her, but I never did. It's just that this little black cat and I were so close. We had some kind of telepathic psychic thing going on. We would look at each other across the room and pay silent attention to what we saw in the other's eyes.

The silence is also critical here. This was a cat that made very little sound. Well, once she got underfoot, and my foot came down with my full weight on her flexible little person, and THEN, by God, she let out the heartiest miaow I could hope for. Otherwise, she never went around mewing, ever. She could make that funny little chirruping noise that reminds one of a birdcall. A very sensitive, alert, communicative animal she was, but she simply would not vocalize except as a last resort.

When I called the cats for feeding-time from the garage door, I always said "kitty kitty" anyway so names were not that big a deal.

Even the purring was different. More tactile vibration than sound, a very low-volume purring. With this cat one always had a sense of still waters running deep.

I was away at university, when a neighbor brought home a watchdog that I never got acquainted with; the watchdog wasn't there very long. No lead or fence, the dog was at large when outdoors. Before the watchdog was evicted in disgrace, it managed to slaughter both of our cats, stalking the garage door when the cats came out of the house.

That's the last pet cat I ever had.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: keberoxu
Date: 06 Jul 19 - 01:42 PM

I just learned something new.

There are scent glands in the PAWS of cats.
When they do that kneading / nursing / "baking biscuits"
forepaw thing,
cats are leaving their scent on the object of their forepaws.

I knew about scent glands elsewhere,
but not on or in the paws.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Mrrzy
Date: 07 Jul 19 - 09:40 AM

The cat we got from a friend's litter was a great hunter, as was the only cat I ever got from a pet store. Current cat is a ragdoll, truly madly deeply affectionate, my only male. I like calicoes and torties who are generally female. But the affectionate bit usually comes from lots of affection when they were kittens.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Charmion
Date: 07 Jul 19 - 12:08 PM

Cats vary in their expressions of affection, just as humans do, and I think it's anybody's guess what they learn from whom. I had a cat who came to me as a suckling kitten found alone in a flower bed; I have always assumed her feral mother had been killed on the street. Perdita received the same level of attention and affection as all our other cats (i.e., lots), but was always more restrained in her reactions than the others. No wild belly displays on the carpet, infrequent ankle-rubbing, almost no lap-sitting, very quiet purring. But she was definitely our cat, and we were most certainly her people; she rarely let us out of her sight for more than half an hour over a very long life.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: keberoxu
Date: 08 Jul 19 - 02:48 PM

Of course Senoufou / Eliza doesn't post like she used to,
but at last report,
only one of her
old Siamese tomcats was left,
the other two having succumbed to illness.
More for Spirit / 'Sam-the-Skull',
the neighbors' cat who has become
a two-household cat,
spending considerable amounts of time,
and eating considerable amounts of packets, at Senoufou's house.
Hope they are all well.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: keberoxu
Date: 11 Jul 19 - 12:47 PM

and how are your
"stately, kindly, lordly friend[s]"?

Algernon C. Swinburne,
To A Cat

Stately, kindly, lordly friend,
Condescend
Here to sit by me, and turn
Glorious eyes that smile and burn,
Golden eyes, love's lustrous meed,
On the golden page I read.

All your wondrous wealth of hair,
Dark and fair,
Silken-shaggy, soft and bright
As the clouds and beams of night,
Pays my reverend hand's caress
Back with friendlier gentleness.

Dogs may fawn on all and some
As they come;
You, a friend of loftier mind,
Answer friends alone in kind.
Just your foot upon my hands
Softly bids it understand.

Morning round this silent-sweet
Garden seat
Sheds its wealth of gathering light,
Thrills the gradual clouds with might,
Changes woodland, orchard, heath
Lawn, and garden there beneath.

Fair and dim they gleamed below:
Now they glow
Deep as even your sunbright eyes,
Fair as even the wakening skies.
Can it not or can it be
Now that you give thanks to see?

May you not rejoice as I,
Seeing the sky
Change to heaven revealed, and bid
Earth reveal the heaven it hid
All night long from stars and moon,
Now the sun sets all in tune?

What within you wakes with day
Who can say?
All too little may we tell,
Friends who like each other well,
What might haply, if we might,
Bid us read our lives aright.

-- Littell's Living Age, Boston: Littell and Co., 1894, page 194

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: beardedbruce
Date: 11 Jul 19 - 04:14 PM

Sonnet 18/10/2001 To Jennifer’s Kitten            DCXV

So, playful kitten, shall I find a ball
Of yarn to help entice you closer? What
Bright bauble might attract your gaze, to call
You to my lap, that I might watch eyes shut?
Shall dancing feathers on a string be prey
To huntress in carpeted hall? Is toe
To be target? Do you with shadows play,
Or does your path through unseen jungles go?
Fierce fuzzy feline, proud puff tail held high,
What beasts do you pursue? Are monsters found
Behind the curtains, or do dragons fly
Invisible to those upon the ground?
You look at me, then march across the floor
On padded paws, and promenade out door.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Mrrzy
Date: 12 Jul 19 - 12:20 PM

Look up a book called I Could Pee On That if you like cat poems.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: keberoxu
Date: 12 Jul 19 - 08:02 PM

ever see the photograph book by Walter Chandoha
of cats?

I grew up with it, big coffee-table sized thing,
and it's a delight.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: keberoxu
Date: 14 Jul 19 - 03:46 PM

New York Times obituary for Walter Chandoha, with photos

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: keberoxu
Date: 25 Nov 19 - 01:04 PM

O! where, o where have our pussycats gone,
O! where, o where can they beeeee .......

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Senoufou
Date: 25 Nov 19 - 01:52 PM

It's absolutely pouring with torrential rain, and at our back door sits the strange little cat I call Binky. And on our front doorstep sits Sam the Skull. Both are soaking wet to the skin, and I've given each of them a nice dish of best Purina cat food. Why are they still sitting there like two feline martyrs?
SmokeyPokey is still with us, albeit rather deaf and a bit senile.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Charmion
Date: 26 Nov 19 - 08:37 AM

I believe deafness hastens senility in cats just as it does in people. Poor SmokeyPokey is probably putting in time until he can cross the Rainbow Bridge to hang out with his brothers again.

Has either Binky or Sam the Skull ever crossed your doorstep, Eliza? Do they poke their noses through the catflap? Inside your house is still Siamese territory, maybe?

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Senoufou
Date: 26 Nov 19 - 09:38 AM

Yes, Charmion, they have both come inside. Sam the Skull belts in and hoovers up any of SmokeyPokey's leavings. And little Binky has crept into the study through the conservatory and rolled about ecstatically on the carpet. She has an extremely loud purr.
But I hesitate to encourage this. Their owners might not like it, and also, I found a flea on Sam the Skull last week. I wonder if Binky has worms, as she eats constantly and cries for more. My husband calls her Oliver Twist!
Smokey seems physically in quite good shape, and rather likes the other two visitors. I saw Sam and Smokey eating together from the same dish last week. He lifts his tail and wiggles it (welcome gesture) to Binky. So no animosity.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: keberoxu
Date: 28 Nov 19 - 07:38 PM

... ha!
Caught the Cats thread trying to sneak off the queue.
Not tonight, you won't, you wiley critter, you.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: keberoxu
Date: 30 Nov 19 - 12:22 PM

I was unaware that the
Lloyd-Webber/Rice production "Cats"
has been filmed.

Sir Ian McKellen as Gus the Theatre Cat.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Senoufou
Date: 30 Nov 19 - 01:51 PM

Oh dear! Came home today from the shops and SmokeyPokey had managed to vomit copiously all over the back of the sofa. He'd eaten rather a lot of smoked salmon (which he'd nicked from the kitchen) and it hadn't agreed with him.
Spent ages sponging down the upholstery (sigh). Husband says we should have left out caviar and some champagne instead! He was so kind to the poor cat though, cradling him in his arms and stroking his tummy.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Senoufou
Date: 02 Dec 19 - 08:52 AM

I'm so very sad today. Poor SmokeyPokey had some sort of neurological 'event' yesterday, resulting in one rear leg dangling uselessly behind him. He had no pain, but was very confused and kept falling over.
I managed to get an appointment at the vets this morning, and she agreed that it was 'time'. So he was put to sleep, and went very peacefully. Husband has buried him under the pear tree in our back garden, next to Minty and Murphy. He said a Muslim prayer for him.
Both if us cried buckets, but we believe we have done the best thing.
The house is strange without him. He was always glued to my side on the sofa.
Oh dear.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Donuel
Date: 02 Dec 19 - 10:15 AM

So sorry. It will be perfectly normal to see Pokey out of the corner of your eye for some time to come. I have a 'pokey' who will tap me around corners or perches.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Charmion
Date: 02 Dec 19 - 11:39 AM

Oh, no! So, so sorry. Of course you will have a Siamese spirits about for quite a while.

But I wonder how much time will elapse before the word gets about that the gig is open chez vous?

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Senoufou
Date: 02 Dec 19 - 01:11 PM

Thank you so much Donuel and Charmion. Your posts comforted me a great deal.
I have to try and concentrate on the happy life Smokey had - 18 years of good food, nice 'friends' and always access to the open air and the garden, plus loads of care, love and affection from his two-legged servants.

Sam the Skull is still around at the front of our house, and little Binky peering through the conservatory windows at the back.

My sister (who also adores cats) told me to get another one immediately, but it's too soon and we need to grieve first.
Anyone who loses a much-loved pet has to go through this, and only time heals the sadness.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: keberoxu
Date: 02 Dec 19 - 08:39 PM

So passes the last of the Siamese trio.
It isn't any easier when you can see it coming.
I concur with Donuel --
an indoor pet like this, it takes time to transition
from not having that presence near you.

I can't think of anything else comforting to say but
my sympathies go out to your house.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Charmion
Date: 03 Dec 19 - 09:54 AM

When my dear Black Maria died -- she was mortally injured by a motorist who deliberately swerved to hit her -- I was left with two cats in the house and two "pensioners" (cats resident elsewhere who hung about my garden waiting for handouts of grub and attention). I had adjusted to a three-cat household, don't ask me how!, and the Universe had apparently established three as my carrying capacity, for a new Number Three appeared within a couple of months of Maria's death. That was Cecil, who popped into the kitchen one summer evening as I was putting out the garbage and never left.

Cecil died of pancreatic disease toward the end of October about six years later. We were down to two cats again, and the Universe allowed us to operate under strength throughout the winter. In early April, Old Bill arrived at the back door, sick and wounded and infested after a winter on the street, and demanded entry. Standing on his hind paws, he hammered on the door and yelled until we opened up. Bill, too, lived out his days with us.

The Universe seems to have re-assessed our carrying capacity, as we have now been a two-cat household for about ten years. It isn't that we are hostile to the idea of another cat, but that no other cat has appeared at the gangplank (as it were) and asked permission to come aboard. That may be because the current incumbents, Watson and Isobel, live entirely indoors, and so the outside territory is controlled by cats who live elsewhere. I imagine their people occasionally receive refugees ...

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: keberoxu
Date: 03 Dec 19 - 07:09 PM

By the way, Senoufou,
who IS Binky's owner
and why have they not de-wormed the poor kitten?

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Senoufou
Date: 04 Dec 19 - 05:46 PM

We're not sure keberoxu. She seems to come from somewhere behind our house, as she scrambles over the high fence at the bottom of our garden when she hears the conservatory door opening.
I'd like to know who her owners are, and why the poor little soul is so hungry, but one has to be very careful in a village. I wouldn't want to upset people or come across as a nosy, grumpy old biddy.
It's bitterly cold in Norfolk now and I just hope Binky has a warm home in which to sleep at night.

Still having a few tears about the loss of SmokeyPokey. I miss him so much, and husband wept this evening coming in from work, as he used to stroke him and say some loving words in Malinke as he came through the door.
Only time will help us to feel less sad.
Trying to concentrate on the lovely life he had and how happy he always was living with us.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Donuel
Date: 06 Dec 19 - 10:12 AM

10 years from now you may unwittingly call another cat Smokey...and 1% of the emotions and all the appreciation will flood back.

Our pokey is female, small and has a super purr.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Senoufou
Date: 07 Dec 19 - 04:16 AM

My kind sister rang yesterday evening to ask how we were feeling. She suggested that we foster cats for Cats Protection. Apparently they seek experienced cat-owners to take in a cat temporarily while a permanent home is found.
I don't think that would suit us, as we'd get too fond of the 'lodger' and be upset all over again when it left.

Sam the Skull has just demolished a plate of Purina best cat-food on our front doorstep. But then he had a massive poo and wee in our prize border where Ruth-across-the-road has planted some wallflowers for us.
Blooming thing!

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: keberoxu
Date: 12 Dec 19 - 11:43 AM

Do cats fear tangerines??

(the decorated Christmas tree story --
everybody see that?)

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Senoufou
Date: 12 Dec 19 - 12:31 PM

I don't think it's fear so much as an aversion to the smell of citrus fruits. Our cats have always hated the smell of oranges.

Went to the supermarket yesterday and a choir of dear little primary school children grouped near the checkouts sang Christmas carols. Although they weren't deaf,they had been taught Makaton (a basic deaf sign language for children) and were signing as they sang.
It was too much for me and I felt overwhelmed with sadness for SmokeyPokey. Husband trundled on with the trolley and I sat in the car mopping up the tears. Oh dear.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: rich-joy
Date: 12 Dec 19 - 06:43 PM

Cats and Numerology?

My beloved feline, Hector Lysander, passed on yesterday - a Prince amongst Catz! And he chose the 68th month anniversary of the death of my late beloved human (he was 68 years old), to move on. Also, I am now 68 years old........

The house, which is so cluttered with "stuff", now feels sooooo Empty.
As do I.
My Living Legend (both of them) now gone from this space that we three happily shared.

Can't yet imagine another companion (feline or human), contrary mary that I am, I only want the two I had!!!

(the not so joyful)
Rich-Joy
Down Under

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Donuel
Date: 12 Dec 19 - 08:15 PM

Neither the cat or the human deliberately chose to be ultimate party poopers. It just happpened like any surprise the world can dream up.
May your new surprises come with caring smiles and newly discovered miles.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Senoufou
Date: 13 Dec 19 - 03:47 AM

So very sorry rich-joy. I know exactly what you mean about the emptiness, and the sadness is very hard to bear. At one time we had five cats and now the house feels like a tomb.
I'm trying to concentrate on the happy lives they led, and the love they gave and received.
Sleep peacefully Hector Lysander.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: rich-joy
Date: 13 Dec 19 - 04:46 AM

Thank you both, Sen and Don, for your kind words.

I thought I was all cried out after 5+ years post-Paul, but I am discovering a whole other full-to-the-brim reservoir :(

I like to imagine them together "waiting for me" - but it still is just soooo lonely back here ......

R-J

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: keberoxu
Date: 22 Dec 19 - 02:57 PM

Condolences, rich-joy, we're here to listen and empathise.

I'm not going to see the Andrew Lloyd Webber film.
Someone else can report on the film if they wish.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Joe Offer
Date: 22 Dec 19 - 03:17 PM

I'd like to see a review of the movie, but not in this thread. If you have seen the movie and want to talk about it, please start a new thread.
Joe

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: keberoxu
Date: 05 Feb 20 - 12:45 PM

refresh ...
after all, Valentine's Day is coming.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Senoufou
Date: 05 Feb 20 - 01:37 PM

There's an event on in Paris, at Disneyland, called 'The Lion King and Jungle Festival'. They've been putting adverts on TV every evening, using that gorgeous song 'Circle of Life' and showing the cartoon of the little lion cub being held out for all the African animals to see. The singing is in Zulu, a 'click' language. I can't really explain why, but a massive wave of grief just crucifies me and I keep sobbing my heart out. I suppose it combines my love of Africa, cats/SmokeyPokey and my dear husband, and the emotions were too hard to bear.
I'm on the watch for it now, and quickly hit the mute button on the TV remote.
Should I keep playing it on Youtube to desensitise myself, or just avoid the song when possible?

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Donuel
Date: 05 Feb 20 - 03:25 PM

There is a sweetness and self indulgent side to grief from my pov.
We do it for ourselves with a degree of pleasure.
I'm not being callous here while I may be chronisticly annoying.
We grive because it feels good, concentrating many missed emotions in one moment.

The circle of life theme is basic and exploitable.
The Lion King out with the old and in with the new poignancy
is now being used by legumes.
In TV commercials Mr. Peanut died to make way for baby peanut.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Donuel
Date: 05 Feb 20 - 04:04 PM

We love Senafou because of her deep feelings, not for an absense of feeling. Competative Alpha qualities sought by some men require the burden of having to staunchley squash feelings. For a few there is no empathy to begin with.
To me a strong purr is empathy made loud.

What if people purred reflexively just like cats? :^/

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Senoufou
Date: 05 Feb 20 - 04:27 PM

Oh Donuel, wouldn't that be good? People purring! hee hee.
That's one of the things I love about little Binky. She has a very loud purr, and does it nearly all the time. Poor old Sam the Skull is a bit crotchety now (he's very old) and just gives a sort of 'mler' noise when he wants some food. But he has started miaowing outside our bedroom window very early in the morning.
I reckon these two little cats have been sent to comfort us. It's certainly lovely to have them come and go now and then.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Charmion
Date: 06 Feb 20 - 08:57 AM

Oh, Eliza, just let the sobs come and go.

When my father died, I was too stunned by grief and overwhelmed by unavoidable duty to weep. A few weeks later, the death of Alexander the Great, a large, biscuit-coloured tomcat with blocked kidneys, reduced me to howls and screaming that went on for hours, with recurring bouts for weeks whenever I saw a ginger cat.

There’s something about cats that pulls the deepest feelings out of cat-loving people, into the world of awareness where those feelings need to be.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Senoufou
Date: 06 Feb 20 - 09:48 AM

I think you may be right Charmion. My sister says the same thing. When her young husband dropped dead suddenly at 36, and left her with two little babies, she found that letting out her grief, not holding it back, helped her somewhat to cope. Obviously, loss of a cat isn't in the same league as losing an adored family member, but the mechanism of grief is probably the same.
It's strange how a trigger can set it off - particularly music or a certain song. I can only hope time will heal.
I'm very sorry about the loss of your dear father and your lovely ginger cat.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: keberoxu
Date: 28 Feb 20 - 11:27 AM

we need to check in on the cats who have claimed us, again.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Senoufou
Date: 28 Feb 20 - 01:15 PM

The people who live behind our back garden, the owners of Binky, had a tremendous 'wake' a few nights ago. They are Travellers (although they live in a house) and their traditions are like my mother's (Irish)
A horse-drawn float decorated with flowers was parked outside and everyone was wearing black. Irish wakes are a huge affair, and the noise went on all night, with a massive bonfire too. Rather a nice send-off for the deceased, but nobody got much sleep!
Little Binky thundered on our back door and I went to see what it was. She was in a very nervous, upset state, so I let her in, much to her utter delight. I gave her chopped, cooked chicken, a sachet of Purina gourmet food in gravy and a small bowl of milk. (Milk isn't really all that good for cats, but as a treat it's all right.)
She purred and purred, and I let her curl up on an armchair in our study.
A few hours later, in the early morning, I let her out and she trundled off back to the Travellers' house.
Peace to the village, peace to Binky and peace to the departed person!

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Charmion
Date: 28 Feb 20 - 08:48 PM

It’s cold and snowing in Stratford, and we have a nice fire roaring in the grate. Isobel is firmly parked on Himself’s lap, and Watson is in the cat basket that sits in top of the heat vent under the sitting room window.

For the last month, I have been copy-editing a big, fat book about the Canadian Army in Afghanistan. The study is not quite warm enough — it’s the windward corner of the house — and Watson thinks I should not spend so much time in there. Yesterday, he nearly wrecked an hour’s worth of work trampling the the computer keyboard.

For sheer destructiveness, Watson has nothing on one of his predecessors, Cecil by name, who liked to shred paper with his fangs. When I had a great heap of academic papers at home for a last check before sending them to the client, I left them on the dining-room table and Cecil found them. He settled himself on top the pile of marked-up copy, all bristling with Post-it notes, and started gnawing all around the edges of the pages. By the time I caught him in the act, nearly 100 pages were fringed on three sides.

I had a hell of a time explaining that to the client!

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Senoufou
Date: 29 Feb 20 - 03:28 AM

Ha Charmion, gnashers and gnawers are dreadful aren't they? We once had a cat called SimpsonSam who loved to chew woolly jumpers. I always drape thick knitted garments on the radiators to 'finish them off' before putting them away in a drawer, and while we were out he would tug on one sleeve, pull the garment to the floor and get busy. He once chewed away an entire sleeve!
It's funny, our study too is on the windward side of the house, and rather chilly (French doors,and not double-glazed) so three weeks ago we had a new lot installed by an excellent firm. Cost an arm and a leg, but now the room is hermetically sealed and very snug. In summer we can open wide these swanky new doors into the conservatory and enjoy the sun. (Oh please let it be soon!)

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: keberoxu
Date: 29 Feb 20 - 09:34 PM

"Thundered"?
How, Eliza/Senoufou,
is it possible for
tiny Binky to "thunder" on the back door?!

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Senoufou
Date: 01 Mar 20 - 03:36 AM

She was hammering on the cat-flap (which we now keep locked) with all her strength, using her front paws. She does this quite a bit nowadays and it makes an awful noise, like a drum! (Sort of 'bam-de-bam-de-bam!bam!bam!)
She's such a sweet, affectionate little cat, I really like her. But of course, she's not ours and I don't want to irritate the Travellers!
Sam the Skull is now looking more and more decrepit. I think he's deaf and his manner is a bit senile. I don't think he can have much longer, but I'm just hoping he can sit on The Bench with me in the warm summer weather just one more time.
:(

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Charmion's brother Andrew
Date: 01 Mar 20 - 09:52 AM

An excuse for the ages: "My editor's cat ate my manuscript."

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: keberoxu
Date: 01 Mar 20 - 08:56 PM

Welcome,
Charmion's brother Andrew!
Take off your coat and hat,
and stay awhile,
now you're truly a Mudcat member.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: rich-joy
Date: 08 Apr 20 - 08:37 PM

I finally got to watch the film from Turkey named :

KEDI (The Cats of an Ancient City)

It was just beautiful!!
If you haven't seen it, and you are fascinated by Cats (and a city that appreciates them - ISTANBUL!), really do go and find it.

I've got to see it again, bcoz it was hard to keep trying to read the subtitles AND watch the felines in the wonderful scenery!!

Cheers!
R-J

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: keberoxu
Date: 01 Jun 20 - 03:17 PM

Did I hear a report from Eliza/Senoufou
that "Spirit" aka Sam the Skull
has the use of only one eye -- ?

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Senoufou
Date: 01 Jun 20 - 03:55 PM

Yes keberoxu, he now seems to have a cataract in his right eye. But I'm proud to say his white coat is looking rather good, shiny and thick (perhaps a little bit due to Purina best cat food sachets?) and he's revelling in the hot weather in our front garden.
Regarding the little black-and-white cat, there's been an interesting development. I've recently taken the plunge and registered on our Village Facebook site. The owner of 'Binky' put a photo on there and asked if anyone was feeding her. Her name is apparently 'Pippin' (isn't that a lovely name?) and the lady was concerned her cat was getting a bit too fat! I replied, and we had a nice chat online. She sounds like a very good cat person, and I promised not to feed Pippin any more.
Great weight off my mind, as I did wonder whose cat she was.
Still miss our darling Smokey, Minty and Murphy, and I still shed a tear at bedtime - no SmokeyPokey to say 'Goodnight' to!

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Senoufou
Date: 01 Jun 20 - 04:32 PM

bout this deluge of posts, but I forgot to recount the tale of 'Archie'.
Our neighbours' daughter is a trainee veterinary nurse, absolutely lovely young lady. She's involved in voluntary animal rescue too, and has a flock of sheep. A horrible, cruel farmer in another village shot dead a mother cat (a feral one) and left four tiny kittens, He was going to drown them, but our neighbour quickly saved them and found friends who could cope with such tiny babies, about 4 weeks old. Archie is the one she took in. He's fed with a little bottle, and is flourishing. She brought him to see me (in the garden) and he's an adorable sweetie. So small, but being superbly well looked-after.
Feral cats are usually useful to farmers because they kill vermin. No idea why that evil man did this.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Thompson
Date: 02 Jun 20 - 06:03 PM

I used to know someone who ran a pet rescue society, rehoming any animals (mostly cats) she found or were dumped on her. A community liaison police officer - not in her area, but in an area where she'd rescued a cat in very bad condition, with cigarette burns and other scars - asked her to tell him whenever she found an animal that had obviously been deliberately ill-treated, because this raised flags and the police would go and check the family, and invariably find that members of the family were being ill-treated in the same manner.
How delightful it is that Archie's found you and you've found Archie, Senoufou.
I'll probably never have another cat, as age advances, which is a pity for lots of reasons, but especially because I have two good names saved up: Peeve (for a standoffish cat) and Guimauve (for a plump cat).

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Donuel
Date: 03 Jun 20 - 07:44 AM

Is Catnip a performance enhancement drug, arthritis medicine, hallucinogen, stimulant or suppresent?

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Senoufou
Date: 03 Jun 20 - 07:54 AM

I love those two names Thompson!
I'm hoping that when the lockdown relaxes a bit, my lovely neighbour will let me come and visit Archie and maybe even help to feed him with the tiny bottle-and-teat. I bet when he's much older, he'll find his way into our garden and stretch himself out on our patio. (Most cats round here do!)
Donuel, it's true that most cats love catnip, but strangely ours have never shown any interest in it, despite my efforts to grow it in our herb garden. I think it's because they were Siamese.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Jack Campin
Date: 03 Jun 20 - 08:47 AM

"Kedi" is a subtle film. It isn't just about cats, but about the way cats and people interact. Each cat in the film links a group of people who might not have much to do with each other except that they end up co-owning the same cat - the usual way it works in Istanbul, antithetical to the American thing of each cat confined indoors in one household. The cats form a kind of social adhesive like gluons in particle physics.

We have two cats, Marblecake and her son Ollie. You probably know the story of Greyfriars Bobby in Edinburgh, the dog who spent years (in somewhat romanticized legend) keeping watch over his master's grave? Marblecake has been demonstrating what the cat equivalent is. Ollie killed a pigeon a month ago, ate a couple of mouthfuls of it, and left the rest outside the back door in a cloud of feathers. I buried it in a shallow grave under an apple tree. Every day since, Marblecake has spent part of the afternoon asleep on that exact spot. It's a touching display of devotion to her interrupted dinner.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: rich-joy
Date: 03 Jun 20 - 07:07 PM

Thanks for that evaluation of "KEDI" Jack! I really must go an watch it again this weekend.
(available on 2 film sites (Kanopy and Beamafilms) that Aussies (e.g.) can watch for free if you have a Library Card - fabulous idea!!!)

Cheers,
R-J

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: keberoxu
Date: 04 Jun 20 - 07:40 PM

Nice to know that Binky/Pippin has a home,
I remember you relating to us how much the little cat
was around your neighbour's.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Donuel
Date: 06 Jun 20 - 03:15 PM

Jack thats a fascinating story. It might even work for ancient Egypt.
Cats do live longer as house cats and birds are safer.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: keberoxu
Date: 07 Jun 20 - 04:56 PM

"Response to catnip is hereditary," says an article in Scientific American,
which rather validates your conclusion, Eliza/Senoufou,
about the immunity of your Siamese pet cats.

More about catnip:
a member of the mint family.
Volatile oil, called nepetalactone, in catnip
is what a cat smells, and it's all about the smell
and what it triggers in
the cat's amygdala and hypothalamus (brain areas).

And Donuel, according to this same article,
the cat responds to catnip as it would
to a feline pheromone --
behaving like a female cat in heat!

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Bonzo3legs
Date: 07 Jun 20 - 05:01 PM

Fortunately the local cats leave our greyhound alone!

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Donuel
Date: 08 Jun 20 - 08:40 AM

Bonzo 3 leg
My childhood dog was a long haired white greyhound,

a Borzoi named Semantic.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Charmion
Date: 08 Jun 20 - 09:56 AM

I always thought Borzois were wolfhounds, and greyhounds were bred for coursing hares. Is that wrong?

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Charmion's brother Andrew
Date: 08 Jun 20 - 10:10 AM

Despite their breeding, greyhounds will chase anything from their own tails to tank transporters.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Donuel
Date: 08 Jun 20 - 09:51 PM

Of course they are different breeds but are nearly identical in speed and appearance except for the hair length of Russain Wolfhounds.
Irish wolfhounds are not similar at all.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Senoufou
Date: 09 Jun 20 - 07:38 AM

Grrr! What are all these dogs doing on a 'Cats' thread eh?
As the cockney hardware shop owner used to say when we children climbed up his huge pile of sand:-
"GERTCHA!!"

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: keberoxu
Date: 09 Jun 20 - 09:27 PM

Now, now, Eliza!
Remember that when a dog-fancier's thread appeared hereabouts,
all the dog-haters came out of the woodwork
and started trolling like mad.
Let the dog-lovers take refuge here for a change ...

besides,
hounds are wonderfully mellow dogs away from the chase,
which cannot always be said of terriers,
as charming as terriers may be at times.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Senoufou
Date: 10 Jun 20 - 03:14 AM

I was only kidding keberoxu! I love dogs just as much as anyone else, and no end of beautiful pooches get walked past our house twice a day, soaked to the skin from having jumped into the river to cool off.
But I'm not sure if the cats on here would welcome a pack of dogs poking into their affairs hee hee.
Bonzo, I'm glad Dreamy is still getting along nicely.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: keberoxu
Date: 21 Jul 20 - 07:04 PM

How are all the Mudcatters
who are owned by their cats
doing lately?

(any progress in herding cats?)

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Donuel
Date: 21 Jul 20 - 07:18 PM

Lucy the cat chewed the wire off our computer mouse today.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Charmion
Date: 22 Jul 20 - 09:43 AM

I am spending many hours per day at my desk lately. Late in the morning, I can count on a visit from Cat Watson, now a robust 7 kilos of claws, muscle and floof, who stomps into the study yelling, clambers onto my lap with maximum fuss, and then scrambles up my left arm (it only hurts when I larf) to drape himself over my shoulder, relaxed on the support of my left forearm and his claws sunk into my upper back.

You try typing like that.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Donuel
Date: 22 Jul 20 - 10:37 AM

I'm binge watching a chaotic gory series called er, posting and having a cat rub my leg precisely at the severed nerve. ow
16 lbs is big for a shoulder sitter, unless you're a full back.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Charmion
Date: 23 Jul 20 - 10:00 AM

Watson has always been a shoulder-sitter; it's a habit he developed as a teeny kitten. I have a lovely photo of Himself making coffee in the kitchen with Watson perched like a parrot on his shoulder -- but Watson was then about six months old and very, very cute up there. Now he's nearly seven (and 7 kilos), and that kittenish behaviour is less cute than domineering. The message I get is unmistakable: "Enough about you; let's talk about ME!"

Neither of us is a fullback, we do not own hockey pads, and Himself turned in his body armour when he redeployed from Afghanistan. If somebody would invent a Kevlar dressing-gown (bathrobe), however, I would be first in line to buy one.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: keberoxu
Date: 01 Aug 20 - 10:41 PM

Eliza/Senoufou,
what news of the orphaned 'Archie' rescued and nursed by
the young veterinarian in your neighborhood?

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Senoufou
Date: 02 Aug 20 - 03:46 AM

My neighbour posts the most lovely photos on our village Facebook of Archie. He's grown a lot since she took him in, and looks very happy. He's often sitting in their front window, with the lace curtain draped around his face, like a bride. Apparently, he likes playing with small crusts of bread, scooting them around on their conservatory floor and posting them under furniture.
She's the best person to have found him, being professionally trained and an ardent animal rescuer. Her flock of sheep are all 'rescues'.
Archie has had his first injections, and it won't be long before he has to have what she calls his 'crown jewels' removed! Has to be done - entire male toms smell and get aggressive. They also roam far and wide.
MickeyPickey (aka Sam the Skull/Spirit) is visibly failing, but still spends most of his time on our front bench in the sun. He's twenty now and can't have too much longer. But he seems happy and likes to sit with me and be gently stroked.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: keberoxu
Date: 02 Aug 20 - 10:01 PM

When did the neighbor's white cat, "spirit",
turn into MickeyPickey?
I thought he would eat anything ...

maybe this will be his last summer.
Lovely that he gets to sit with you in the sun.

That's fun to have photos of Archie on the Facebook site.
What colour(s) is the kitten?

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Senoufou
Date: 03 Aug 20 - 03:47 AM

Archie is white with sweet little black splodges in random places. The one over his right eye is very funny - he looks a bit like a pirate. The latest photo is of him trying to join my neighbour in the bath!
Poor MickeyPickey (my husband coined this new name!) is indeed rather picky now. We get the special cat food for 11+ age, which is more easily digestible, but he just licks it and eats about a third of a sachet. A lovely female blackbird waits politely until he's had enough, then she grabs the chunks for her babies in their nest in our garden. The fat old hedgehog finishes off the plate in the late evening, and some wasps appear to lick the dish clean, so everyone gets fed!

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: keberoxu
Date: 03 Aug 20 - 05:36 PM

A fat old hedgehog ...
shades of Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle
and Wind in the Willows.

Eliza/Senoufou,
your existence is sometimes like a storybook.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Senoufou
Date: 03 Aug 20 - 05:53 PM

Hee hee keberoxu,I've often thought the same thing myself!
Unfortunately, the fat old hedgehog leaves long black smelly tokens of his appreciation on our lawn!
Another 'storybook' part of our village life is Bambam the tame red deer. He was rescued as a small fawn by a lady who lives in the Old Rectory (she's actually French!) She fed him with a bottle and he grew enormous (red deer are very big) He's been neutered, and now he follows everybody around down by the river, and swims/paddles with all the children. We're a bit worried because he wanders along the village street at night and could be hit by a cattle-feed lorry if he's not careful.
People come from surrounding villages to see Bambam. The parking down by the river is getting a bit OTT. But a massive oak tree suddenly fell on a car last Friday. Luckily nobody was in it, but a branch broke a lady's neck. We had Police, firemen and the Air Ambulance zooming in.
This village is absolutely crazy sometimes!

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Donuel
Date: 15 Aug 20 - 02:56 PM

An amazing factoid is that cats have about the same number of neurons in their brain and solar plexus as we do.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Charmion
Date: 16 Aug 20 - 11:50 AM

And what do cats use all those neutrons for? From where I sit, teetering on the top edge of doors and nagging the humans look like top priorities.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: keberoxu
Date: 16 Aug 20 - 01:30 PM

Your remarks, Charmion, call to mind
Martha Grimes' mystery series featuring Inspector Richard Jury,
his Superintendent named Racer,
and the office cat, Cyril,
who delights in tormenting Racer especially when Jury is present.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Charmion
Date: 18 Aug 20 - 06:03 PM

Cyril. Now that's a great name for a cat.

I had forgotten the office cat in the Richard Jury stories. I was put off Martha Grimes by her irritating amateur sleuth, Melrose Plant. If only Richard Jury preferred the company of Cyril instead.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: keberoxu
Date: 20 Aug 20 - 06:24 PM

Chacun à son gout, Charmion:
I can see how the character Melrose Plant is not to every taste.
Probably the reason that I can stand that character
is that I have been in no position to meet anybody, in my life,
who speaks with his posh accent
or his affectations, and so on,
so I don't really fully get what he must sound like --
but Canada is different, you must be acquainted with his type somewhat.

Have you read more recent Richard Jury/Martha Grimes installments?
Somehow I believe that Racer,
the Superintendent stalked by Cyril the cat,
has gone by the wayside over time.
I don't know about the cat, though.
And I believe that Jury has risen in rank
although I don't recall how high.

I found haunting, in recent years, the installment about
the "Kindertransport" during the Second War,
with one of the children drowning
during the Channel crossing
and consequences that still had their effects decades later.

But yes, Cyril is one memorable, if fictional, cat.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Donuel
Date: 22 Aug 20 - 07:55 AM

For me cats have a huge vocabulary of facial and body language from head to toe. Unlike dogs they even seem to be able to express the sardonic.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Senoufou
Date: 22 Aug 20 - 08:11 AM

That's so true Donuel. I pride myself on being able to speak 'cat'. There are several gestures they instantly understand, For example if I lift my chin and close my eyes, all cats know that's a greeting. Much better than a big smile, which can be a bit intimidating.
The little rescued kitten next door often sits in their front window, and as we pass by I do that gesture. He always responds with the same 'chin lift, eyes close' greeting.
Poor old Sam the Skull (renamed by my husband as 'MickeyPickey'!) is still around. He's so visibly failing it makes me sad. But he still loves to sit with me on The Bench and eats about four sachets of Whiskas cat food for 11+ yr-olds. I also slip him a bit of diced chicken breast and a tiny bowl of milk. He sits in our front garden facing our bedroom window from 4.30am onwards, wistfully waiting for me to open the curtains. Breaks my heart, poor old thing.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: keberoxu
Date: 22 Aug 20 - 10:57 AM

Charmion,
if your home acquires a Roomba,
what will the cats make of it?
Especially Sergeant Watson??


There are YouTube videos demonstrating the fact
that Roombas attract
a cat's undivided attention ...

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Charmion
Date: 22 Aug 20 - 03:39 PM

I have decided that a Roomba probably would not work for us — our house is full of Afghan and Pakistani rugs with fringed ends. Also, the cats probably would not like it. Watson would eventually decide to ignore it, as he does the normal vacuum cleaner, but Isobel would freak. The natural habitat of the Roomba is a sparsely furnished condo with wall-to-wall carpets, where the owners are out all day, and that is the opposite of our house.

I haven’t looked at anything by Martha Grimes for at least twenty years; I read about eight of them back in the 90s, and abruptly stopped when I realized that I could not stand another dose of Melrose Plant — I have met a couple of people a bit like that over the years, and they were indeed intolerable. But Martha Grimes also put very odd child characters in her books, and I did not like them, either. The whole gestalt was a bit twee. Except Cyril the cat.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: keberoxu
Date: 23 Aug 20 - 06:27 PM

... are you quite sure, Charmion,
that Watson would not want to play with the thing?
After all,
it would not have one of his Humans pushing it about,
like the vacuum cleaner.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Charmion
Date: 24 Aug 20 - 11:54 AM

Actually, Keb, Watson might not ignore a Roomba -- he might do his level best to kill it. Judging from his performance with respect to mice and various toys, he could well succeed, and those things are expensive!

But the most off-putting aspect of the vacuum cleaner seems to be its roaring, whooshing noise, closely followed by the way it bumps into things, causing massive disruption in what should be a day of lounging and snoozing punctuated only by meals. A Roomba would not only roar and whoosh, it would also bump into things. So, on the whole, no.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Jos
Date: 25 Aug 20 - 02:41 AM

"The natural habitat of the Roomba is a sparsely furnished condo with wall-to-wall carpets"

That is, a condo whose owners are happy to pay for the device and the electricity required to have their carpet cleaned all day long when it is not getting dirty?

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Charmion
Date: 25 Aug 20 - 09:46 AM

Got it in one, Jos.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Charmion
Date: 25 Aug 20 - 10:10 AM

On a whole 'nother note, I wonder if any of youse followed up on rich-joy and Jack Campin's enthusiastic comments about the Turkish documentary film "Kedi: Cats of an Ancient City". If not, you really should.

It's stunningly beautiful just to watch, showing the city of Istanbul at its best -- its best, that is, if you like looking at working-class areas of old cities. The camera follows the cats through their daily lives, and the only human voices on the soundtrack are people talking about their relationships with the cats. There is no voice-over narration telling viewers how to understand what they see and hear.

As Jack Campin said above, it's a subtle film. One thing I noticed about it is that all the humans in the film interact with the cats in gentle, respectful ways, even when shooing one away from a place where cats are not entirely welcome.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: keberoxu
Date: 19 Oct 20 - 03:41 PM

I wonder, Charmion,
how Watson and Isobel are responding to
the unexpected loss of one of their humans?

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Senoufou
Date: 19 Oct 20 - 04:50 PM

That little cat called Pippin (who I christened BinkyWinky) was in our back garden again looking pleadingly at us through the kitchen window. So silly me chopped up some very tasty chicken breast for her and set it on the patio. She galloped up, sniffed it and let out such a stream of joyous miaowing right into my face as I bent down to stroke her!
I've never heard such loud purrs either.
Husband quite rightly said, "You're a silly lady. She'll be back tomorrow for more!" She will too!

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Charmion
Date: 19 Oct 20 - 06:08 PM

Watson and Isobel have experienced the one-human thing before, but not since Edmund left the Army. For the first four years of their lives, he would disappear for periods ranging from the inside of a week to a month when he went "on circuit", as lawyers say, to do trials.

They are maintaining standards, getting me up at 0600 hr and claiming their late-afternoon treat at 1700. Nagging me to go to bed will certainly come with time; until now, they didn't have to, as we usually toddled off before the cats were ready to call it a night. But my hours are erratic right now, as I have so much to do and I still suffer badly from disrupted sleep, so the cats are checking in every hour or so to find out whether I'm awake yet. So far, the answer is usually Yes.

The only notable change is that whenever I sit down and put my feet up, both cats immediately climb aboard; the second one to get the big idea doesn't bother waiting for Lap Two to appear in the sitting room.

And Isobel has just about learned to eat all her meals on the floor. Edmund always gave her her routine treats on the dining-room table, but I'm not having that any more.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: keberoxu
Date: 19 Oct 20 - 06:59 PM

Seems to me, Charmion, that Isobel and Watson's
frequent attention to you and your sleeping/waking state
is a sign of genuine concern.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Charmion
Date: 20 Oct 20 - 08:17 AM

Yes, keb, I agree with you.

They have taken to snoozing tangled up together on the sofa, leaving the comfy chair for me. I appreciate that.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: keberoxu
Date: 21 Oct 20 - 12:48 PM

Eliza/Senoufou,
I thought that Pippin the cat
had an owner who
requested that you not feed her pet ...

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Senoufou
Date: 21 Oct 20 - 02:41 PM

That's true keberoxu. But she looks so lonely and sad, and cries for a little snack. Her owners are out all day I reckon. I shan't do this every day, just as a little treat occasionally.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: keberoxu
Date: 26 Oct 20 - 03:36 PM

... an irreverent question, Charmion:
would you sleep better
if the cats slept with you ??

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Charmion
Date: 26 Oct 20 - 05:27 PM

Yes, keb, I think I would.

For the last few days, Watson has started the night curled up solidly in the middle of the bed, pressing himself against my side. He’s gone when I wake up in the small hours, but returns to turf me out of the pit between six and six-thirty.

But Isobel has yet to join the fun.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: keberoxu
Date: 03 Nov 20 - 11:13 AM

Mustn't let the cats get away from us.

Prairie Home Companion parody:

To all the cats I've known before,
Who wanted to come in my door,
And then they turned about
And wanted to go out
So they could come back in some more ...

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Senoufou
Date: 03 Nov 20 - 12:11 PM

Sad news. Poor MickeyPickey/Sam the Skull/Spirit died a few weeks ago. It was very sad. He was tottering about and obviously very poorly. I often had him on our sofa wrapped in a fluffy blanket, and he was drinking gallons of water (sure sign of kidney problems/diabetes)
One evening I had to call my neighbour's daughter round (veterinary nurse) and she reckoned he was 'on the way'. We carried him down to the owner's house and he tottered through his cat-flap (they weren't in)
Next morning, he was lying in the middle of the road gasping for air, and obviously actually dying. Again, nobody was in. I posted him through again into his house. That evening another neighbour came to our door to tell me that he had died in the night. So his owners hadn't even sought help for him, just left him to get on with it. I cried and cried.
On a happier note, little Archie the rescued kitten has discovered bungalow roofs! He gets onto ours via the conservatory sloping roof and sits right up near the chimney pot trying to nab birds. He's a real character.
I still find myself in tears sometimes in the evening missing SmokeyPokey. Don't cats get into ones heart?

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: keberoxu
Date: 15 Nov 20 - 11:23 PM

Charmion,
with all that floor-scrubbing and rug-cleaning
and furniture-moving chez vous,
Watson and Isobel must have found it challenging,
cats being both territorial and creatures of habit ...

how did they get through it
and are they adjusting?

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: keberoxu
Date: 16 Nov 20 - 12:14 PM

Whilst surfing the Internet, I stumbled across a description of
a breed of cat called the
Japanese Bobtail. Never heard of it before.

Said to be as talkative as any Siamese.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Charmion
Date: 16 Nov 20 - 05:23 PM

Watson and Isobel have decided that humans gotta do what humans gotta do. When things get too strange and weird, they sack out on my pillow. And when the rugs come back from the cleaners, they have major work to do — all that woolly acreage to re-anoint with catness. In fact, even as I type, Watson is doing victory rolls on the big red Turkmen rug in the parlour. In a couple of weeks, he will have ground in almost enough grey fluff.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: keberoxu
Date: 16 Nov 20 - 06:35 PM

Just watched a YouTube video of a picture window, from indoors.
Two Japanese Bobtail cats, obviously boon companions,
are on the windowsill, obviously on
outdoor-bird-patrol watching trees and rooftops.

And they do indeed talk.
One of them positively chatters, it's hilarious.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: keberoxu
Date: 17 Nov 20 - 11:41 AM

I really must link to that Japanese Bobtail cat video

watching birds out the window

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Raggytash
Date: 17 Nov 20 - 01:07 PM

Charmion, if you want him to desist sprinkle a small amount of ground pepper over it, he won't thank you but the chances are he won't go near it. :-)

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: keberoxu
Date: 18 Nov 20 - 08:40 PM

Keep those cats and kittens coming.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Charmion
Date: 19 Nov 20 - 07:24 AM

Raggy, Watson performs victory rolls on every square foot of every carpet in the house. That would be a lot of pepper.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: keberoxu
Date: 22 Nov 20 - 06:14 PM

When it is time to downsize, Charmion,
I hope the cats are going with you ...

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Charmion
Date: 22 Nov 20 - 09:07 PM

I’m not going anywhere for quite a while, keb, and when I do, Watson and Isobel will come too.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: keberoxu
Date: 23 Nov 20 - 01:56 PM

Now, if we can just find what is needed
to fill the dog-shaped hole in Mudcatter Ebbie's heart,
then everything will be lovely in the garden.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: keberoxu
Date: 24 Nov 20 - 09:00 PM

here kitty kitty kitty ...

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: keberoxu
Date: 26 Dec 20 - 02:34 PM

where I am staying right now,
I am outnumbered by cats on two legs.

I much prefer cats on four legs.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Donuel
Date: 28 Dec 20 - 07:38 PM

I'm intrigued.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: keberoxu
Date: 28 Dec 20 - 08:17 PM

No, Donuel, nothing all that interesting ...

I mean people whose behavior is particularly catty.
In this clinic I seem to be surrounded by them.
Some of them even MOVE like cats, I swear,
very fluid arrogant hoity-toity gestures,
even the way they walk across a room.

To say nothing of their conversations about people who are not in the room --
that is when the retractable claws come out. Ugh.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: keberoxu
Date: 30 Dec 20 - 08:50 PM

Charmion,
how are Watson and Isobel doing chez vous?

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: keberoxu
Date: 16 Jan 21 - 09:09 PM

And Eliza/Senoufou,

what's the latest on Archie the orphaned cat?

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: keberoxu
Date: 17 Jan 21 - 04:44 PM

cats ... we need cats ...

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Senoufou
Date: 19 Jan 21 - 08:25 AM

Oh keberoxu, 'Archie' is now a magnificent young chap! He's always bashing around in their bungalow, chasing all his special toys that the veterinary nurse has bought for him. (Wind-up things with holes in from which a 'pretend' mousie pops out). She often posts little videos of him on our village Facebook site. And I often see him through our utility room windows (adjacent to theirs)
They have three cats, and 'Delilah' sits on top of their boiler in there. I wave to her and she opens her mouth to me and shuts her eyes ("Hello there!" in Catspeak)
Their third cat'Tiger Lily' is a bit old now and not very interested in her elderly neighbours. She's nearly always fast asleep.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: keberoxu
Date: 22 Jan 21 - 07:21 PM

Archie the tomcat is the one who lives with a veterinarian
who has her own flock of sheep, correct?

Still haven't heard lately about Watson and Isobel,
although I recall Charmion allowing that
they took her stay-at-home lifestyle adjustment to mean
that she is staying home for THEM.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Senoufou
Date: 23 Jan 21 - 03:52 AM

Yes keberoxu, she has a flock of twenty two sheep. They are 'rescued' from farmers who intended to send them for slaughter after they're no longer any use. (mostly old or infertile, sometimes lame or poorly)
During the recent severe storm, her large sheep-shed (where the animals can shelter at night) blew down. Luckily no sheep were hurt,but the wooden construction cost £1000 and she's very upset because the company are refusing to sort it out.
Many of us in the village have contributed to a fund to put a new shed in place.
Sorry this is not about cats!

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: keberoxu
Date: 23 Jan 21 - 10:00 PM

Hooray for Watson who caught himself a mouse in the house.
(thus de-cluttering the house)

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: robomatic
Date: 24 Jan 21 - 01:41 AM

There was an episode of the 'original' Avengers, with John Steed and Emma Peel, where a team of killers used cats. They had a magic frequency that released all the feline ferocity bottled up in a tabby and could turn any cat into a killer in an instant.

Good Show!

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Charmion
Date: 24 Jan 21 - 07:02 AM

In the dead of an Ontario winter, there isn’t much for a housecat to do but take in another performance of the Squirrel Show, followed by a bout of bird lust and yet another long snooze. Watson did indeed clobber another misguided mouse the other day, but he spends most of his time in a basket on top of a heat vent in the parlour.

Now well past their seventh birthday, Watson and Isobel are now middle-aged pussies, and the vet has started clucking about Watson’s weight, now about 17 pounds. He still jumps with apparent ease, but not as often or as eagerly as he did in his youth, and it’s a long time since he flung himself into my arms straight up from the floor. Isobel, on the other hand, is as slender and nimble as ever. Her concession to age is domination of my lap, whenever I park my butt in the comfy chair. With the whole province locked down, whole days pass like that.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: robomatic
Date: 24 Jan 21 - 07:00 PM

I lived with a pair of neutral males, the property of my landlady. Other than being domestic felines, they were different as night and day. One was black, rather laid back, not quite as self confident in balance and jumping as the piebald kitty. That one had grown up in the Alaska village of McGrath, was known in town for going up and getting stuck in a tree. The volunteer firemen simply cut the tree down for him.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: keberoxu
Date: 25 Jan 21 - 11:26 AM

By the way, I looked up the
Richard Jury mysteries written by Martha Grimes,
trying to trace Cyril the Cat
who is always pouncing on Superintendent Racer.

I believe the last time Cyril shows up is in the book titled
"The Grave Maurice."

After that came an installment titled
"The Winds of Change,"
and indeed, a sea change was worked on Richard Jury,
including a passionate love affair with a Latin woman.
(Melrose Plant, on the other hand, never changes.)

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: keberoxu
Date: 25 Jan 21 - 07:22 PM

I spent a brief period of my life around Austin, Texas.

In a room full of people, making conversation,
one lady casually referred to her neutered pet cat as
an "ex-Tom."

Whereupon one of the red-blooded Texan men present
fired back,
"That's politically incorrect . . ."

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: keberoxu
Date: 27 Jan 21 - 08:20 PM

Charmion,
have Watson and Isobel
claimed the territory of the cleaned rugs
to their feline satisfaction now?

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 10 Feb 21 - 05:34 PM

Heheh. There's no cat like like a Texas judge cat... :-)

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Charmion
Date: 11 Feb 21 - 11:59 AM

Embuing the carpets with catness is apparently a long-term mission, keb. At any given time, one cat or the other will be flat on the floor and squirming about, doing victory rolls and grinding as much grey fluff into the pile as possible. Of course, this performance is usually accompanied by loud purring and mewing, as if to advertise the general abandonment of inhibition.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: keberoxu
Date: 28 Feb 21 - 07:54 PM

. . . or maybe the cat in question is trying to tell you:

I'm doing you the supreme favo[u]r
of making your rug my territory,
so why don't you groom me and pet me in return ...

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Senoufou
Date: 02 Mar 21 - 07:29 AM

Archie the rescued kitten is now almost fully grown. He haunts our garden during the day, and we were amused to see he has paired up with Pippin the female cat and chicken-addict. They sit peacefully together and gaze lovingly into each other's eyes. I don't think Pippin (female) knows that Archie no longer has the ... er...'equipment' to do much except purr.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Jos
Date: 02 Mar 21 - 08:16 AM

Animals generally seem to keep love and lust separate. I suspect that even those that pair for life stay together because they love each other rather than because they lust after each other. This can, of course, be the same with humans as well.
We used to have a cat who adored a dog up the road. The dog ignored him completely but our cat would sit at the end of their path and just gaze longingly at the dog.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Senoufou
Date: 02 Mar 21 - 08:40 AM

Oh how sweet Jos! It's true, animals can love each other. My veterinary nurse/shepherdess neighbour tells me her sheep make firm friends with a selected pal. Pairs or trios, always together and cuddle down in their straw at night with their 'friend' close and snuggly!
All the cats we've ever had used to be much closer friends with one than with another. Minty and Murphy, although litter mates, weren't all that keen on each other. And SmokeyPokey was rather a 'loner' than a matey type. But SimpsonSamson and Gussie (one a Siamese and the other a pedigree British Black Shorthair) were very close pals.
I've posted on here before how Sam the Skull (Spirit) hated every cat he clapped eyes on, until he began sitting with me on The Bench. He accepted Smokey eventually and they'd smile at each other in a chummy sort of way. I miss them both so much. Hope they're exploring Heaven together now!

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Donuel
Date: 02 Mar 21 - 09:31 AM

In the living room one wall is glass. The Mourning Doves have returned to keep the cats entertained for hours in the morning.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 03 Apr 21 - 05:39 AM

In an hour's time we will be in receipt of a cat. She'll be our first cat for eight years, after 35 years of catfulness before that. She's a rescue tortie who has been temporarily named Twinkle by Cats Protection. We'll soon be changing that. I'm going to spend the afternoon showing her pictures of rats, mice, squirrels, rabbits and moles. I've installed a large warning sign on the bird table. This is going to be good!

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Charmion
Date: 03 Apr 21 - 07:46 AM

Catfulness! Now, that’s a word I’ve needed my whole life.

Good luck with your training program, Steve. In my experience, a cat is either a mouser, or not.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Raggytash
Date: 03 Apr 21 - 07:59 AM

Don't feed the little bugger, it will some become a mouser!!

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Raggytash
Date: 03 Apr 21 - 09:04 AM

or even soon become a mouser!!

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 03 Apr 21 - 09:36 AM

Well she hid under the sofa for twenty minutes, then became the world's friendliest and most personable cat. Amazing considering we'd never met her before (can't do things like that under current rules). She's a bit podgy so we have a regime to follow. We have to put up with a stinky old litter tray for a couple of weeks, then the world will be her oyster. We're dead chuffed so far. We are becatted once again!

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 04 Apr 21 - 08:24 AM

She's a damned fine characterful cat, well-behaved, house-trained and incredibly friendly. Just a bit of confidence-building to do but we're getting there...

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Donuel
Date: 04 Apr 21 - 08:59 AM

Its not a cat but you can sympathize crossing the street with too many children
https://kfor.com/news/human-parents-feel-for-mama-bear-trying-to-get-her-four-cubs-to-cross-this-road/

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: keberoxu
Date: 04 Apr 21 - 06:24 PM

Enjoying these additions to the vocabulary:

catfullness
becatted

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 05 Apr 21 - 05:56 AM

I think Steve would rather have her be a scouser than a mouser :-D

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 05 Apr 21 - 06:05 AM

I'm training her to be a centre-back...

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Donuel
Date: 06 Apr 21 - 04:19 PM

A new colorful cat sounds like a great idea Steve.
Any names come to mind?

When a cat sits on our hip we call it being catted.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 07 Apr 21 - 06:41 AM

Polly. The name derives from hidden meanings to do with family history. I won't regale you.

We are over the moon.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Charmion
Date: 07 Apr 21 - 10:40 AM

Polly is an excellent name for a cat, Steve. Dignified enough for an introduction to the Queen, short enough to be hollered off the back step at supper-time.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 07 Apr 21 - 11:32 AM

I know. Even though she's still confined to quarters so that she doesn't get any ideas about running away, I've been outside practising the call. I ask you to imagine a scruffy, bearded old bloke in shorts standing on the backdoorstep hollering POLLYPOLLYPOLLY!... in a loud falsetto... The lack of near neighbours is a definite boon (for them anyway...)

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Charmion
Date: 07 Apr 21 - 11:41 AM

In my family, we call cats by means of a loud trilling sound generated in the mouth just forward of the hard palate. It carries across an acre of garden and can't be mistaken for anything else.

And yes, the "food call" is one of several reasons why the neighbours consider us a little strange. We're okay with that.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: keberoxu
Date: 07 Apr 21 - 08:09 PM

Do cats respond to anything OTHER than food calls ??

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: keberoxu
Date: 22 Apr 21 - 11:16 PM

Now, when a cat actually WANTS to come indoors . . .

in my childhood home, there was a side door from the garage
into the kitchen;
when the cats were fed indoors, they were fed in the kitchen.

That wooden door, with a pane of window glass in the top half,
was somewhat the worse for wear:
the cat [s] would leap up to the window pane,
hanging onto the wooden panel with their claws,
and singing at the top of their lungs, to be let in.
Actually the clawing was louder than the singing,
but the cats probably didn't care.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: keberoxu
Date: 21 May 21 - 03:05 PM

One of our "becatted" Mudcatters reports on
supplying the cats, by whom the Mudcatter is owned,
with their own water fountain.

Curious to see how the cats come to terms with same.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Charmion
Date: 22 May 21 - 08:22 AM

I think it’s working, keb.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: keberoxu
Date: 26 Jun 21 - 04:24 PM

Well, I'm updating this thread because I miss the cats,
but since I haven't got any food for them,
they probably won't come when I call.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Charmion
Date: 26 Jun 21 - 04:32 PM

I am sitting in the comfy chair with my feet up, and Watson stretched himself out along my legs. Isobel is yeasting around, looking for lap space, but Watson isn’t yielding an inch. Treat time in 28 minutes …!

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 26 Jun 21 - 06:48 PM

Polly the cat has settled well and greets us very vocally several times a day. She's food-obsessed. She's happy outdoors and she loves the cat-cave we've installed outside our front door. Thankfully, she doesn't have wanderlust. We do live in a house with a huge garden and no neighbours, a long way from roads, ideal cat territory...

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Charmion
Date: 27 Jun 21 - 08:39 AM

Newsflash, Steve: All cats are food-obsessed. It’s part of that predator thing.

When they lose interest in food, there’s something amiss. So Polly is firing on all cylinders.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 27 Jun 21 - 08:48 AM

She was overweight when we got her and has been on a strict regime ever since. We're getting there, though I'm sure she feels somewhat badly done to. :-)

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Jos
Date: 27 Jun 21 - 09:43 AM

Often, rescue cats have gone hungry in the past, so they eat whenever they get the chance.
When I had cats they had dry cat food (and water, of course) available all day long from the time they were weened, and just ate when they felt like it. They weren't overweight and they weren't food obsessed.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 27 Jun 21 - 02:22 PM

I have only just noticed the choice of name, Steve. Not only was I Polly at school, but our remaining cat is Molly. Were we separated at birth? :-D

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 27 Jun 21 - 07:25 PM

Well I was "shorty-pants" at school, Dave. Bastard northerners... All our cats have been named after puddings, though the connection is often a private family joke... We've had a Pud, a Sago, a Fig, a Mousse, a Toots (tootie-fruitie) a Monty (?) and now a Polly (derived from roly-poly a la jam, a reference to the rather rotund shape she was when we first acquired her).

Mrs Steve's gone to bed so I'll ask her about "Monty" tomorrow!

In 2002 I got a photo of Toots and me in the Guardian weekend mag... Now there was a cat...

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: keberoxu
Date: 04 Sep 21 - 10:35 PM

By the way, Charmion,
have you managed to wean the cats off of the kitchen tap altogether
with the implementation of the water fountain for cats?

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Charmion
Date: 05 Sep 21 - 10:37 AM

Watson still occasionally hangs around the sink and nudges the spout with suggestive chirps when I’m making coffee, but quickly gives up and resorts to the fountain. Isobel doesn’t bother with the sink at all any more.

They both like to visit the shower while I am drying myself to lap up the water around the drain. Fortunately, I do not indulge in complicated body-wash products.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: keberoxu
Date: 21 Dec 21 - 09:00 PM

How goes it with our cat-owned Mudcatters
hunkering down for the (Northern Hemisphere) winter?

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: keberoxu
Date: 29 Jan 22 - 09:56 PM

cats, cats, glorious cats . . .

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: rich-joy
Date: 30 Jan 22 - 03:37 AM

After I waxed lyrical on this thread about the film KEDI : The Cats of Istanbul on 08April2020 and JackCampin and Charmion concurred!(conpurred?), I came across SARPER DUMAN's lovely YT channel.

He is a gentle pianist from Istanbul who took in some of Istanbul's myriad cats (I think he shared his abode with 19 at one time, one blind) and cares for and repairs them! He has many vidclips of playing his compositions either surrounded by his cats, or, playing around - and with - them at the keyboard!


This is my fave tabby cat : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1A3hOmH-hI0

Here are his videos : https://www.youtube.com/c/MrSarperd/videos
(includes one of "his story")

Highly recommended.
Cheers, R-J

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: rich-joy
Date: 30 Jan 22 - 03:40 AM

Sorry, I forgot to Bl'ickisize :) R-J

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: keberoxu
Date: 25 Jul 22 - 08:27 AM

One of our Mudcatter members
recently said goodbye to their cat.
Commiserations from cat-lovers here at the Mudcat.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: keberoxu
Date: 16 Sep 22 - 03:14 PM

How are the Mudcatters's cats responding
to the change of the seasons,
whichever hemisphere they dwell in?

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Donuel
Date: 16 Sep 22 - 03:41 PM

I got rid of old rugs and put down dark green carpet and the cats are ecstatic about it. They also got an additional window perch. Any open window season is a good season.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Senoufou
Date: 17 Sep 22 - 01:50 AM

Well Pippin (cat owned by neighbours behind my bungalow) is ready at the conservatory door when I get up at 6am. She stands up on her hind legs and does a sort of mambo with her front paws on the window pane.
I always give her a plate of Whiskas cat food, as she seems very hungry, and her owners aren't the best of pet-owners. They have a poor dog that spends its entire life shut in a cage in their garden, barking and howling. I might contact the RSPCA, but they're notoriously non-responsive round here.
And Archie, the rescued kitten, is now fully grown and flourishing. He comes belting through the hedge to see me on The Bench, and rolls around on his back making funny little moaning noises. His housemates, Delilah and Tiger Lily, have accepted him, and the delightful shepherdess/vet nurse look after them all beautifully.
Both Pippin ans Archie like to sunbathe in my greenhouse, so I leave the door open for them. It's boiling hot in there at times, but of course, cats love heat!

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 17 Sep 22 - 05:41 AM

I have a large bag of puppy food in my outhouse (are you listening, Backwoodsman?) I'm using it to feed a rather skinny fox that's been turning up in our garden for weeks, eating bird food on the ground. My cat does not like the fox although the fox would really prefer just to ignore the cat. Polly the cat does that wiggly bum swishy tail stalking thing when she sees the fox and has been known to chase it off. I try to feed the fox when the cat's indoors having just had her tea. So far, so good.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 17 Sep 22 - 06:41 AM

Our little calico, Molly, has a new lease of life. She is getting on in years (15 I think) and has always suffered from problems with her back legs but after a visit to the vets about 3 months back she in on regular Solensia injection which has put the spring back in her step. Must see if I can get it :-D

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Charmion
Date: 17 Sep 22 - 09:15 AM

I rearranged the parlour furniture and the cats don’t approve. I have evidently disturbed an important observation post.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: keberoxu
Date: 17 Sep 22 - 12:30 PM

It's too bad, Charmion, about Watson and that one carpet; your reports of sending the carpet to be cleaned have become drearily regular and routine. I don't know what can be done when an aging cat claims an object in that fashion, you can't train him out of it in any way, can you?

Regarding the parlo[u]r, is it about the windows? The cats want the furniture a certain way so that they can see out the windows?

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Donuel
Date: 18 Sep 22 - 10:10 AM

My cat Rocky would cause deer in the front yard to freeze in place.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Charmion
Date: 18 Sep 22 - 03:22 PM

I solved the parlour carpet problem by moving the litter box upstairs to the coat closet, so Watson doesn’t have so far to go when the urge strikes, and replacing the pissed-on green Bokhara with a less beautiful but still quite acceptable old red Persian that has never been pissed on, at least not lately, or by Watson.

The freshly cleaned green Bokhara is rolled up and stowed in the basement. I don’t know yet when or where it will be deployed again, but it’s too nice to let slip through my fingers.

As for the windows, the new furniture arrangement actually provides better sight-lines. But cats hate change, and that’s that.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 18 Sep 22 - 04:33 PM

I must admit I was surprised in another thread by Donuel commenting:

"Furniture moving was the bulk of the lifting but I'm not sore today. The room looks bigger today and the cats seem to love it."

We never had a cat that wasn't thrown by reorganising furniture.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: keberoxu
Date: 22 Sep 22 - 01:34 PM

Keep those cats and kittens coming.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: MaJoC the Filk
Date: 23 Sep 22 - 09:34 AM

> Keep those cats and kittens coming.

Don't snip them, then :-) . Our current feline tenant was the result of a serial slut (her staff's description, not ours) high-tailing it over to the graveyard every night, for fun and entertainment with the local troupe of entire toms. Methinks she never was qualified to sing "A Solo Miaou".

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: keberoxu
Date: 24 Sep 22 - 07:44 AM

Nice take on "O Sole Mio" there.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Donuel
Date: 27 Sep 22 - 06:44 AM

stray cat strut

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Donuel
Date: 28 Sep 22 - 07:30 AM

House trained and cuddly these are compared to cats by owners but they don't eat birds! https://www.mypetalpaca.com/

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Donuel
Date: 28 Sep 22 - 07:44 AM

My neighbors can be seen walking their dog with their cat bounding about freely behind the dog and an exotic leopard-like kitten strutting behind the first cat.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: keberoxu
Date: 06 Jul 23 - 04:28 PM

How are your cats coping with climate change??

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: MaJoC the Filk
Date: 07 Jul 23 - 10:44 AM

> How are your cats coping with climate change?

Ours has taken to lounging on the nice cool floor tiles in the kitchen. It's a start.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Charmion
Date: 07 Jul 23 - 11:01 AM

My cats have always lived indoors, in heated and air-conditioned space, and they can't read and probably wouldn't bother with the newspapers if they could. What's more, they are quite unaware of energy costs. Consequently, Watson and Isobel have no notion of climate change.

The different seasons affect them only to the extent that Watson's occasional dashes onto the front porch last about three minutes in summer and more like two seconds in winter.

All year round, they enjoy lounging on the vent gratings -- warm in winter, cool in summer. Can't beat that with a stick.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Senoufou
Date: 10 Jul 23 - 03:29 AM

My lovely neighbour (a veterinary nurse) has an animal sanctuary and rescues animals of all types, mostly farm ones. A year ago she saved a litter of farm kittens from a cruel farmer who had shot their mother. She bottle-fed them, then re-homed them all, keeping only 'Archie'. He's grown up beautifully, and comes to sit with me on The Bench in my front garden.She also has Delilah and Tiger Lily, who also come to visit me. Since my last cat, Smokey, had to be put to sleep three years ago, it's nice to be able to 'borrow' these cats.
Pippin, another cat who lives in a house behind mine, also comes. I think she's fallen in love with Archie!!

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: keberoxu
Date: 13 Jul 23 - 01:30 PM

I'm posting this from the computer lounge where I am staying.
Alas, we residents are not permitted to have cats, or any other pet.
Many of us, however, have pets back home, especially cats.

I am looking right at someone's poster project on behalf of everyone
who is missing a pet animal.
It's a collage of photos printed out by people who have photos of their pet.
Several Great Pyrenees dogs, for some reason;
an occasional bird, an occasional horse,
and the great majority are cats, by far.
THe poster is mounted on the wall next to the computers.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Senoufou
Date: 13 Jul 23 - 03:50 PM

Aaaagh! My neighbour has just told me that Covid has now started killing cats! In Cyprus, around 300,000 have died of it, and it's now here in UK. It's called F.I.P. Good grief! Whatever next?

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 13 Jul 23 - 04:53 PM

FIP has nothing to do with covid-19. It's caused by a coronavirus but not the one that causes covid. Cats can catch covid but it's generally either mild or symptom-free. It's something to not worry about.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Charmion
Date: 13 Jul 23 - 09:25 PM

Watson is glaring at me from the mat at the foot of the stairs. It’s obviously time for bed.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Senoufou
Date: 14 Jul 23 - 02:33 AM

Thank you Steve for clarifying. I had a little chat with her over the fence yesterday evening, and she said exactly what you just wrote - that FIP is not exactly 'Covid', but as a veterinary nurse she's already seen some cases here.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 14 Jul 23 - 04:31 AM

Molly is still doing well with her Solensia injections. She has taken to sleeping in the cat carrier that we take her to the vets in. She shouts a lot when in the car but I wonder if she enjoys it really. :-) Not much chance of her catching anything from other cats - she hates them!

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 14 Jul 23 - 05:38 AM

FIP is rare in the UK. It normally affects only young cats (under 2) in a severe way.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: FreddyHeadey
Date: 15 Jul 23 - 11:41 AM

Something I'd never needed to think about before:
Why do you get cats with contrasting white extremeties(paws & tail tips & chests) but never black or other colours?

",,,Humans probably also selected for cats who were calm and comfortable around humans, Lyons* said. Behavioral traits seem unrelated to coat color, but for reasons that scientists don't fully understand, white spots tend to appear when the tamest individuals are selected and bred. It's true of horses, pigs, mice, cows and rats.

These distinctive fur colors and markings emerge while a cat embryo is developing. The cells that give cat fur its color first appear as neural crest cells, which are located along what will become the back, Lyons said.

Then, those cells slowly migrate down and around the body. If those waves of cells move far enough to meet each other on the cat's front side, the embryo will be born a solid-colored kitten, such as an all-black or all-orange cat. Felines develop white feet, faces, chests and bellies when these cells don't quite make it all the way."

*nice bit of nominative determinism ;)
Leslie Lyons, professor emerita and head of the Feline Genetics Laboratory at the University of Missouri College of Veterinary Medicine.

more
www.livescience.com/why-cats-have-white-socks-on-paws.html

______________________
All because somebody on Facebook was looking for a replacement cuddly toy tabby cat which had to have black paws.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: MaJoC the Filk
Date: 15 Jul 23 - 12:06 PM

Thanks, FreddyHeadey; that explains much. Our second pair of cats were pure-black when we got them; over the next few years, they started developing white patches under their chins and on their bibs. Quoth darling daughter: "The paint's wearing off."

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Charmion
Date: 15 Jul 23 - 12:36 PM

Yabbut — Siamese?

Siamese cats are born pale all over and gradually acquire darker “point” colouring on ears, face, paws and tail. IIRC, this phenomenon arises from melanin cells that cluster in the cooler parts of the body.

I have two black cats, each of whom sports a little white patch on the lower belly that looks just like the visible part of a thong swimsuit. They’ve had those markings all their lives.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 15 Jul 23 - 01:15 PM

I cat-sit for a friend who travels a lot and has three tiny cats, getting up in years, and one with persistent medical issues that require medications and a shot every three days. A 1/4 can of cat food per cat at a meal and that one with the most medications takes about five minutes to eat everything. The others are quicker, at 2 - 3 minutes per what is essentially 2 tablespoons of food.

She was over for dinner at my house and when I fed the dogs she was astounded at how quickly they wolfed down their mix of dry and veggies; it's usually finished in around 30 seconds.

I had cats for about 40 years, and I didn't get more after the pack of dogs arrived. The last one was a Siamese who would sit beside his empty bowl at mealtime and shoot laser vision at you until you noticed him. We had a little tortoise shell who arrived as a stray and didn't live as long as he did, but I was astonished to realize after a few weeks that she joined him in the silent bowl laser vision routine.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: keberoxu
Date: 15 Jul 23 - 01:42 PM

"Laser vision" -- I can just see the stare!

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: MaJoC the Filk
Date: 15 Jul 23 - 03:24 PM

When we still had two cats, they had different ways of indicating hunger or general dischuff. The white-and-black one (some call them "moo cats") would sit and be furious at us; the tabby would just sit and look disappointed.

Nowadays the survivor, the tabby, paws noisily at the glass of the back door if he's actually hungry, or gently lays his paw on the glass if it's just for keeping score.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Donuel
Date: 15 Jul 23 - 03:32 PM

Ours just smack their lips the way we would pantomime eating.
Body languages differ.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: Donuel
Date: 08 Aug 23 - 12:19 PM

HAPPY INTERNATIONAL CAT DAY

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: keberoxu
Date: 08 Aug 23 - 05:44 PM

Good thread to refresh --
we need updates on the Mudcat's members' cats.

Subject: RE: BS: Cats
From: keberoxu
Date: 13 Aug 23 - 05:11 PM

refresh again