How many Mudcats have cats!?

Subject: RE: How many Mudcats have cats!?
From: Raggytash
Date: 18 Nov 18 - 09:20 AM

If she was anything like me Jack she probably spent hours and hours walking everywhere looking in every nook and cranny.

Subject: RE: How many Mudcats have cats!?
From: Jack Campin
Date: 18 Nov 18 - 09:06 AM

Different kind of lost cat story. My neighbour Fiona across the road was a cat fanatic who had Somalis (purebred, expensive, manic little things with huge fluffy tails). She got one as a kitten intending to breed her, but once she came into heat Foxy wasn't going to wait for a human to provide her with an approved mate and broke out of the house in search of nookie. She was gone for a few days before Fiona found her, a mile away.

Which raises more questions about the owner's mental capacities than it does about the cat's. What kind of woman can identify accurately enough with the mindset of a cat in heat to locate her in the undergrowth beside a disused railway line at the other end of the village nowhere near any road?

Subject: RE: How many Mudcats have cats!?
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 18 Nov 18 - 05:50 AM

One does sometimes read stories of animals finding their way home over even longer distances. I don't know how it works but one suggestion I've read is some sensitivity to the earth's magnetic fields.

Whatever, glad your catty friend is back, Raggy.

Subject: RE: How many Mudcats have cats!?
From: Senoufou
Date: 18 Nov 18 - 05:32 AM

So sorry about your cat that died Raggytash. But how wonderful that your 'escapee' managed to get back across three miles of unfamiliar territory!

I reckon cats have a good instinctive sense of direction (like migrating birds) They can sniff the air and recognise the smell of their home area. (Just a theory!)

Sam the Skull is still around keberoxu. My husband is just as soft as me. He's always on the lookout for the thing around our garden and rushes into the kitchen to prepare a dish and a bowl of milk.

In fact, Spirit has just this minute left the premises. He's been in our hall on the doormat scoffing a sachet of best Purina Gourmet food and a small saucer of milk. Our cats ignore him now, and he's stopped being aggressive towards them. He has a lovely little 'chirrup' as a greeting. Husband calls him 'Le Mendiant' (beggar)

We keep our bedroom window only slightly open at night now, to prevent an unauthorised visit during the small hours!

Subject: RE: How many Mudcats have cats!?
From: Raggytash
Date: 18 Nov 18 - 05:07 AM

6 months ago one of our beloved cats died suddenly. I was too upset to even mention it on here. Two months after that we put our other cat (the son of the first) into a cattery when we went on holiday.

The little bugger escaped by pulling an air vent off the wall and knocking the outside cover off. That was 4 months ago.

We searched the streets night after night to no avail.

Earlier this week my son said he thought he had seen Mickey in the garden and when we came home in the early hours of Thursday morning my lovely big boy had found his own way home.

To say we are delighted is a gross understatement, we were ecstatic. He has not shut up for the past 4 days telling us his story and we had been feeding him all his favourites, including smoked salmon !

One thing puzzles me however. How on earth did he find his way home it's almost 3 miles to the Cattery and the other side of town and on the other side of a river. (There are bridges so he didn't swim!)

Subject: RE: How many Mudcats have cats!?
From: keberoxu
Date: 17 Nov 18 - 11:18 AM

What the latest about your attempts to deal with

"keep oot Sam the Skull"-Spirit?

Subject: RE: How many Mudcats have cats!?
From: keberoxu
Date: 08 Nov 18 - 12:35 AM

Never mind, Eliza/Senoufou,
it kept the cat thread from dropping out of sight anyway.

Perhaps a nice Mudelf will drop by...
and delete...
my post.

Subject: RE: How many Mudcats have cats!?
From: Senoufou
Date: 07 Nov 18 - 08:51 AM

Aaaaaaagh! Why has this posted twice????

Subject: RE: How many Mudcats have cats!?
From: Senoufou
Date: 07 Nov 18 - 08:51 AM

Spirit could probably find somewhere more sheltered, but it seems he waits on 'sentry duty' on the bench as he knows I open the curtains at roughly the same time each day.
He's out all night, as once he leapt through our bedroom window in the early hours and scared the life out of us!

His owners are very nice people, but they walk their three dogs in the morning then go off to work. They have four cats in all, Spirit, Marmite and two new kittens.

I wonder, as he's a rescued cat, if he's got into the habit of scrounging round folks' doors for food, and still does it in spite of having a home.

To my mind (being judgemental here!) one shouldn't really have seven animals, including two kittens, and be out all day long while they fend for themselves in the house and garden. I worry that all the animals fight over the food and some don't get a look-in.

Perhaps I've been a bit daft giving him a snack, but I'm soft-hearted and can't turn away any animal (or human!) that seems in need.

Subject: RE: How many Mudcats have cats!?
From: Senoufou
Date: 07 Nov 18 - 08:51 AM

Spirit could probably find somewhere more sheltered, but it seems he waits on 'sentry duty' on the bench as he knows I open the curtains at roughly the same time each day.
He's out all night, as once he leapt through our bedroom window in the early hours and scared the life out of us!

His owners are very nice people, but they walk their three dogs in the morning then go off to work. They have four cats in all, Spirit, Marmite and two new kittens.

I wonder, as he's a rescued cat, if he's got into the habit of scrounging round folks' doors for food, and still does it in spite of having a home.

To my mind (being judgemental here!) one shouldn't really have seven animals, including two kittens, and be out all day long while they fend for themselves in the house and garden. I worry that all the animals fight over the food and some don't get a look-in.

Perhaps I've been a bit daft giving him a snack, but I'm soft-hearted and can't turn away any animal (or human!) that seems in need.

Subject: RE: How many Mudcats have cats!?
From: Charmion
Date: 07 Nov 18 - 08:33 AM

Eliza, do you suppose Spirit's people are the kind who think they're doing their cat a favour by putting him out at night?

I once had neighbours who treated their cat that way, and he would arrive at my house early in the morning and spend most of the day. He would go home at suppertime, presumably to check in for the evening, and the next day at dawn he would be on the step outside my kitchen door to repeat the routine. I was on the brink of taking him to the vet for shots, worming etc. when I learned that he actually belonged to the house three doors up.

Subject: RE: How many Mudcats have cats!?
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 07 Nov 18 - 04:31 AM

Poor cat. Is there not a sheltered spot he could use?

Mind you, cats vary. Mewan would usually go under the oil tank and wait for a call if she found herself locked out in the rain. Oedipuss would be more likely to go under the car. Snotcat on the other hand would climb on the wood bunker and try to get my attention from my window, sometimes getting himself soaked through before I spotted him.

We did buy a shelter for PussPuss to wait in and placed it close to where he is fed but he’s never used it. He tends not to turn up on a day with prolonged periods of rain though. I guess he figures he can make up for the lack of food the next day?

Subject: RE: How many Mudcats have cats!?
From: Senoufou
Date: 07 Nov 18 - 03:48 AM

It's now very chilly in the mornings, and today it was raining. Very dismal. But on The Bench waited poor old Spirit, and when I opened the curtains he flung himself at the window and tried to touch me through the glass.

Of course, I let him in (6am!). He was soaking wet. I fetched him a plate of grub and a small saucer of milk, which he loves. He gobbled it down in the hall.

Meanwhile SmokeyPokey was glaring at him from the study door. I feared a fight, but no. He approached the 'guest' confidently, sniffed him all over, then set off for his usual place on the sofa.

Spirit finished his breakfast and shuffled off down the road.
I can't let him stay in our house all day, his owners would be cross and our cats wouldn't be comfortable.

Murphy is still losing weight by the day, although he's eating regularly and not in any pain (I've checked him over thoroughly). I'm so sad, but as he isn't suffering I'll 'wait and see' for the time being. :(

Subject: RE: How many Mudcats have cats!?
From: keberoxu
Date: 06 Nov 18 - 10:39 PM

here kitty kitty kitty (USA, obviously)

Subject: RE: How many Mudcats have cats!?
From: keberoxu
Date: 02 Nov 18 - 11:13 AM

ah, the cats that got away ...

Subject: RE: How many Mudcats have cats!?
From: Charmion
Date: 28 Oct 18 - 12:48 PM

In the country, the life of a lost or strayed cat is terribly hard. Not that it's any treat in the city, but at least the dangerous urban environment offers enough humans to raise the odds of at least one hospitable household per acre into the "possible" range.

When my family lived in a country village, stray cats would appear at the kitchen door and more often than not my parents would at least offer food. I remember one who moved in with us, a little grey female my mother named Susie, but she was so traumatized that she never settled down properly to being a housecat. She disappeared one day, and I never learned her fate. That was well over fifty years ago, and still a sad memory.

Subject: RE: How many Mudcats have cats!?
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 28 Oct 18 - 12:29 PM

(yep, it was cold night. Another like that and I'll be starting lighting the living room wood burner after tea for the season)

You did well with Solo.

Subject: RE: How many Mudcats have cats!?
From: Senoufou
Date: 28 Oct 18 - 12:24 PM

That's really sad Jon. It was very cold here in Norfolk last night wasn't it?
I remember when 'Solo' appeared in the snow in the huge garden of our last house. He too was gazing wistfully at the lighted windows, lifting up one paw after the other as his feet were slowly freezing.

He fled when I appeared bearing a plate of food for him. But crept up to eat it once I went indoors.
I actually cried, it was so pitiful.

Little by little he got used to seeing me. I took to taking a mat onto the patio and sitting there on the ground, with the dish of grub not too far from me. (I hate the cold and it nearly killed me, but still...)
He gradually ate his food warily with me beside him, but I didn't move or try to touch him, just gently spoke a few words each time.
This went on for days.

Then I moved the dish nearer to the back door. Eventually, he peered in and saw the other cats stretched out sleeping in the warmth, and poked his nose in for a split second.

Finally, he decided to risk it and came indoors. I left the door ajar (waste of heat, but there it is) and he plastered himself against a radiator and fell asleep.
The other cats were strangely accepting of him. I think they sensed his suffering.
He absolutely adored us after that, and would sit literally wrapped around my neck while I watched TV.
We had to work on his matted fur, fleas, worms and general ill health.
After two years though, his belly swelled alarmingly and the vet told me he had advanced liver disease and advised euthanasia.
I sobbed, but one has to do what's best.
At least he'd had two years of love and luxury.
My husband was terribly upset as well, but agreed we'd done the right thing.

Subject: RE: How many Mudcats have cats!?
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 28 Oct 18 - 11:15 AM

I felt sorry for PussPuss last night. When I spotted him on the cold damp night, he was closer to the porch than usual and staring at the porch. I fed him in his usual outside place and when I checked back later he was back where he was before, staring at the porch. It was almost as if he wished he was inside. We tried calling him but that just resulted in him hiding under the car. Again, I don't think he'll ever understand a welcome.

Subject: RE: How many Mudcats have cats!?
From: SamStone
Date: 24 Oct 18 - 08:15 PM

how 'bout a barn full...last count 18 give or take...three in the house ...all have been neutered or spayed and the barn is climate controlled for all the animals...pigs and goats and an old dog or two. To me animals are better than most humans and most certainly better than all politicians. we seem to elect some real snakes.

Subject: RE: How many Mudcats have cats!?
From: Charmion
Date: 23 Oct 18 - 08:58 AM

Watson has grown too large for his reliable kitten trick of flinging himself straight up in the air to land somewhere on ny upper torso, but that has not stopped him. At least once a day, he announces his intentions and spends a good few minutes working up his nerve while he edges me into position. On a good day, he finds a stop-over on the table or the stairs and steps onto my shoulder like a gentleman, but occasionally he goes for broke and leaps from the floor, in full confidence that I will catch him and boost him into position. I had better, if I don’t want my shirt ripped to shreds.

This performance never fails to get a laugh from Himself.

Subject: RE: How many Mudcats have cats!?
From: Senoufou
Date: 23 Oct 18 - 06:00 AM

Pwahahahahaaaaaaaaaaagh Jack! I'm doubled up after reading that!
Hee hee, has Marblecake no sense of...er...smell??

Subject: RE: How many Mudcats have cats!?
From: Jack Campin
Date: 23 Oct 18 - 04:41 AM

Now it's getting colder Marblecake has found a new place to get warm.

Any time I sit on the loo she immediately curls up in my trousers between my feet.

Subject: RE: How many Mudcats have cats!?
From: Senoufou
Date: 22 Oct 18 - 12:15 PM

I know just what you mean Sam. I could sit and watch cats all day long, especially kittens.

When we've had kittens in the house, they've been extremely entertaining, zooming up the curtains and sitting on the curtain rails, getting inside a cardboard box (I always had one or two of those for them to play in) and poking a paw out at a passing sibling. They even used to shin up our clothes to sit on our shoulders.

I was often frightened out of my life by a hidden cat suddenly flinging itself at me and grabbing my cardigan with its sharp little claws.

And we had five cats in our last house, it was like Monty Python's Flying Circus!

Our two are very sedate nowadays, but then, so are we!

Subject: RE: How many Mudcats have cats!?
From: SamStone
Date: 22 Oct 18 - 11:21 AM

12 balls of fur inside and outside in the barn.to me to watch them doing what cats do is akin to watching a ballet.

Subject: RE: How many Mudcats have cats!?
From: Senoufou
Date: 22 Oct 18 - 04:22 AM

Ah Jack, that's why we shut our two terrors in the kitchen/utility room at night. Otherwise they'd be plodding all over us in bed and trying to get under the duvet, sit on our heads etc. (Not for food, or because they adore us, but to make use of the warmth!)

My husband does the evening feeds - two bowls, one of best-quality Purina sachet meat in gravy, and one of 'real' chopped roast chicken, or tuna, or minced beef or flaked cod) and also a dish of Iams biscuits, so that if they get the munchies they can crunch on those if their other food is all gone.

I do the midday feeds (same Michelin menu) but I still get the Swiping Paw attacks while eating my lunch. If it's a tuna sandwich, a crafty cat will try to whisk it out of my grasp with a handy claw, while the other miscreant will try the pleading eyes and starving-to-death act.

Subject: RE: How many Mudcats have cats!?
From: Jack Campin
Date: 21 Oct 18 - 07:29 PM

Our Ollie (ginger, about 11, with an odd curly tail like a husky) has suddenly started demanding far more food than ever before. This typically means stomping all over us before dawn to inform us that a food bowl is running low; for the last couple of years his normal routine has been to disappear almost all day, hardly eat at all, and just come back to sleep. His mum Marblecake, who hardly goes out, hasn't changed her eating habits at all. So my guess is he'd found a soft touch neighbour who has just moved away.

We once had it the other way round. There was a big old grey and white tomcat who had founded a dynasty of grey and white offspring and was the undisputed Top Cat of the neighbourhood. But he got caught outside on the coldest night the village had seen for decades. He obviously knew about our catflap and jumped in to try and keep warm - only to walk into a stakeout by the team of six cats we had then (who operated with military discipline at times). He fled almost immediately. I'd have happily taken the poor old guy in for the night and shut him in the bathroom, but ours weren't having it.

Subject: RE: How many Mudcats have cats!?
From: Senoufou
Date: 21 Oct 18 - 04:36 PM

Ah thanks Jon. His owners are really very nice people. The lady confided in me that she lost her first husband to suicide, which I found dreadfully sad.

It's just that they have so many animals and are out all day at work. I wonder if their three dogs guzzle all the available food and Spirit doesn't get a look-in. Goodness knows how their new kittens are surviving!

I do feel bad feeding their cat,I wouldn't like it if it was ours being surreptitiously fed by some crazy old woman across the road!

Glad that PussPuss is still regularly appearing. These cats don't half know where to come for some spoiling don't they? We must have 'MUG' written on our foreheads Jon!
I just can't resist any living creature that seems to need a bit of TLC.

Subject: RE: How many Mudcats have cats!?
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 21 Oct 18 - 04:25 PM

PussPuss is back to being a regular here for now. He's been turning up at any time from 5pm to 11pm and I think he's only missed one day since this last round of visits started.

Sen. I guess I'd probably be a bit nervous about feeding someone else's cat but it certainly does sound as if he needs your support and that he's looking healthier for it does back that up. I think you are doing the right thing.

Subject: RE: How many Mudcats have cats!?
From: Senoufou
Date: 21 Oct 18 - 04:09 PM

'resigned' not 'reigned'. Although they do 'reign' jointly over our household!

Subject: RE: How many Mudcats have cats!?
From: Senoufou
Date: 21 Oct 18 - 04:07 PM

I've been feeling sorry for poor old Sam the Skull Spirit. I get up at around 6am, and there he always is, sitting on my garden bench waiting for the curtains to open.
As soon as he sees my face through the window he miaows with joy.
I go into the kitchen, collect any food our spoilt pair haven't eaten and take it outside, together with a small dish of milk. He nearly explodes with pleasure and wolfs down the lot while I sit on the bench in my dressing gown and slippers.
After he's licked the plates clean he rubs his poor little head on my knee and chirrups.
Over the last couple of weeks he's started to look much healthier. He's put on a bit of weight, his fur looks in better condition and his eyes are clearer.
I can't refuse him. I've decided he needs this support. Our two seem reigned, and I don't let him sit inside the house. I hope I'm doing the right thing!

Subject: RE: How many Mudcats have cats!?
From: keberoxu
Date: 21 Oct 18 - 03:57 PM

We have to stay tuned
to the adventures of Spirit the Skull (sort of)
and Puss Puss here.

Subject: RE: How many Mudcats have cats!?
From: Senoufou
Date: 11 Oct 18 - 07:49 AM

It sounds a bit like us in the Food Hall of the shopping mall in Norwich Jon - a selection of food outlets, and we decide what we fancy that day and which one to visit.

A neighbour told me this morning that the couple who own Spirit have just taken in two kittens!! So they now have four cats and three dogs.
That explains why poor old Spirit is haunting our garden so much.

We left our front door open today (lovely warm sunny weather) and before we knew it, he was in our kitchen, hoovering up yet more grub from our own cats' plates. SmokeyPokey was thoroughly disgusted and said some very, very rude Siamese words.

Subject: RE: How many Mudcats have cats!?
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 11 Oct 18 - 06:59 AM

But he knows (and expects) that this is a "drop in point~" for food if he needs.

And sometimes I can almost imagine him going through his list of “food outlets” and thinking “I didn’t think much of them last night, I’ll try this place today” or “they gave me cat milk and I liked that so they are worth another visit”. And he might make similar choices about his “places of residence” (of which, the old pigsties may be in favour again, he left in that direction last night).

But I guess it’s all rather more mundane survival stuff. A “food source” might go on holiday or move. Other events (eg our arrival of Furball) may make a place less desirable. And it’s possible he just feels more comfortable moving around a bit.

Subject: RE: How many Mudcats have cats!?
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 10 Oct 18 - 01:56 PM

Had a lot of food in, firstly 'cause of Mewan and then Furball but will have to be getting more in soon...

Spirit sounds yet another mystery but glad things seem to be going well.

Subject: RE: How many Mudcats have cats!?
From: Senoufou
Date: 10 Oct 18 - 01:46 PM

You're like me Jon - I can't refuse any cat that arrives at our door apparently hungry. And we always have spare grub, tail ends of cat-food pouches, bits of chicken, slices of ham etc.
Spirit has taken to lounging on our bench in front of the house from about 6am. It faces south and he basks in the sunshine. He's definitely of the opinion that this would make a good 'gaff' to move into!

Subject: RE: How many Mudcats have cats!?
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 10 Oct 18 - 01:32 PM

Puss-puss has turned up last 2 days. Yesterday, I fed him the first three pouches then (as we were on Wiltshire farms, rather than our own (mostly mine) cooking yesterday, so microwave one meal at a time), had Pip feed him the last one, apparently plus some "cat milk~" which he relished.

And he's back again tonight....

Can;t work out his ways at all. But he knows (and expects) that this is a "drop in point~" for food if he needs.

Subject: RE: How many Mudcats have cats!?
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 03 Oct 18 - 11:05 AM

"I strongly believe that cats mourn when a sibling or a kitten dies, or even another cat in the household who was not related by blood."

Not sure there.

Oedipuss who had been a bit scared of SnotCat was back to “king cat” when he realised the latter had gone. Strutting around and asserting himself…

More generally though, they do seem to know something is amiss and seem appear a little disturbed for a while.

Mind you, cats are funny creatures in another way in that they get used to how things are “supposed to be”. Things like a furniture rearrangement or say with Snotcat either Pip or I not in the living room for the last bit of the night can throw them.

Subject: RE: How many Mudcats have cats!?
From: Senoufou
Date: 01 Oct 18 - 02:04 PM

Well, today a small miracle occurred. Spirit was hanging around whingeing for food, so I put a plate out for him plus some milk. SmokeyPokey looked peeved as usual, but after he'd eaten, Spirit came right up to him, nose-to-nose and they both sniffed each other. Neither growled or lifted a paw. Then they went on to sniff each other's bottom (always a good sign!) and it's looking as though a Peace Treaty has been signed.

Not only that, but while Ruth and I were sitting on the bench in the sunshine, Logie and Molly came past. Their owners let them off their leashes and they bounded into our garden. They gave Ruth a 'kiss' (slobbery) and offered me a paw. Both dogs and both cats, Ruth, Steve, Anne and I had a little chat together, and it was just lovely.

I'm now wondering if I dreamed it!!

Subject: RE: How many Mudcats have cats!?
From: keberoxu
Date: 01 Oct 18 - 12:55 PM

Eliza/Senoufou, once again the nefarious misdeeds of Spirit
recall a song I quoted many posts ago.

"The polis station doon oor way
Has baurs oan the windae sull
They're no tae keep the prisoners in
They're tae keep oot Sam the Skull"

Subject: RE: How many Mudcats have cats!?
From: Senoufou
Date: 30 Sep 18 - 12:05 PM

Ooooh Charmion, that's a good idea! Wouldn't mind rats or mosquitoes, but SPIDERS?! Anything that keeps them (and Spirit!) out is favourite!

Those raccoons being charmed seemed to be feeding on a line of food on the ground. I wonder if they've come to associate the flutey music with grub?

Subject: RE: How many Mudcats have cats!?
From: Charmion
Date: 30 Sep 18 - 11:23 AM

Eliza, do you not have window screens in Norfolk? They work, not only on flies and mosquitoes, but also on rats, cats and -- yes! -- spiders. I promise.

Subject: RE: How many Mudcats have cats!?
From: Jack Campin
Date: 30 Sep 18 - 08:48 AM

Raccoon charming

Subject: RE: How many Mudcats have cats!?
From: Senoufou
Date: 30 Sep 18 - 06:40 AM

We had the fright of our lives last night at about 3am. We always have our bedroom window wide open (bungalow) and suddenly a Being jumped through it and landed on the carpet, making strange sounds.

We shot out of bed, and it turned out to be That Cat (Spirit the Nuisance) He'd decided it would be rather nice to get into bed with us, the blighter.

Our cats are always shut in the kitchen/utility room and don't go out at night, so they never knew what had occurred.

Husband grabbed my glass of water from the bedside table, opened the front door and 'persuaded' the poor thing to exit swiftly.


We're going to have to open only the small louvred window at night (he can't get through that).

Subject: RE: How many Mudcats have cats!?
From: Charmion
Date: 20 Sep 18 - 09:55 AM

What is it about a bacon sandwich that makes me laugh like a drain? The very phrase "bacon sandwich" is enough to set me off.

I strongly believe that cats mourn when a sibling or a kitten dies, or even another cat in the household who was not related by blood. They certainly feel the loss of human companions; their efforts to find the missing person are unmistakable.

My first husband, Mr Wrong, was a lousy spouse but very good to cats. When he finally left (or was pushed; it's debatable), the three cats then in residence, and the two pensioners who dropped in daily for grub and company, all showed signs of missing him, sitting on me obsessively in shifts and wandering about shouting.

Subject: RE: How many Mudcats have cats!?
From: Senoufou
Date: 19 Sep 18 - 12:53 PM

Oh Jack that's so sad. Poor little thing.

Subject: RE: How many Mudcats have cats!?
From: Jack Campin
Date: 19 Sep 18 - 10:02 AM

One of our cats came through the catflap one morning carrying a still-warm bacon sandwich in her mouth. A neighbour must have left a window open a few seconds too long.

The same cat had a thing about gloves. She'd had one litter of three kittens, one of them stillborn. For the rest of her life, she would pick up a glove and carry it around like a kitten, then gently put it down and meow pathetically to it when it didn't move.

Subject: RE: How many Mudcats have cats!?
From: Charmion
Date: 19 Sep 18 - 09:54 AM

A raccoon who can open an Ottawa green bin would have exactly zero problem with your standard North American refrigerator, and chaos would ensue. Messy chaos.

Squirrels and hedgehogs lack the initiative and stick-to-it-iveness, not to mention the hands, that your typical Ontario raccoon demonstrates on a daily basis. As for foxes -- well, maybe. But they, too, lack the trash panda's finger strength.

Most Canadian municipalities, even very small ones, have by-laws against keeping wild animals within town limits. People complain that their pet whatever (boa constrictor, tiger, kangaroo) is no problem, but on the whole their neighbours disagree. I would be exceedingly unhappy to discover that the people next door are keeping a "domesticated" raccoon, especially in row (terrace) housing.

I wonder what focussed Simon-the-Pieman's attention on small items of clothing? I can sort of understand a fascination with bras, having seen what our cats did to the tassels on the ends of a table runner, but underpants? That's weird.

We used to have a long-haired tuxedo cat name of Lucy who liked rolled-up socks. If she got into the sock drawer or found a basket of unattended laundry, she would seize a sock ball in her teeth and carry it around the house for hours.

Subject: RE: How many Mudcats have cats!?
From: Senoufou
Date: 19 Sep 18 - 08:30 AM

We have foxes that like to rummage through rubbish/wheelie bins.
Like raccoons I imagine, they don't normally make good pets because they're essentially wild animals.
But people here have taken in baby squirrels, foxes, hedgehogs and other wild creatures and maintain that they become very domesticated and tame.

I saw an article in the newspaper yesterday that reported a cat stealing ladies panties from washing lines!! People thought a pervert was responsible, but when they set up a camera, they saw the little blighter doing exactly what Simon-the-Pieman did - grabbing the items and tugging them down from the pegs.

Luckily Simon restricted himself to bras. But once, some little girls in a nearby garden were having a dolls' tea party on their lawn, and Simon managed to snatch the little tablecloth and run off with it.

Subject: RE: How many Mudcats have cats!?
From: Charmion
Date: 19 Sep 18 - 07:51 AM

When city-wide collection of organic garbage for composting was introduced in Ottawa, special green wheelie bins with solidly latched lids were distributed, one per household. The nannyish cleaning instructions that came with ours assured us that the latch was proof against raccoons so the bin could safely be left outside.

Within a week, the Ottawa Citizen published a feature story, complete with photos, by a reporter who rigged infra-red cameras around his green bin. Two raccoons were immortalized in the act of prying the lid open; one, clearly reacting to camera noise, is looking over his shoulder with an expression that says, "Do you mind? We're working here!"

We lived close to the Rideau River, where raccoons and skunks abound, so our green bin lived in the garage and never saw the great outdoors until the morning of garbage day.