She's cute! It appears that your household is about to get very busy with cat shenanigans.
__________________________________________________________ "This man is Jesus,” shouted one man, spilling his Guinness as Barack Obama began his inaugural address. “When will he come to Kenya to save us?"
“The best and first guarantor of our neutrality and our independent existence is the defensive will of the people…and the proverbial marksmanship of the Swiss shooter. Each soldier a good marksman! Each shot a hit!” -Schweizerische Schuetzenzeitung (Swiss Shooting Federation) April, 1941
they hit it off right away. we're so happy about that because Beau and Coty are closer than any two cats we've had before, including littermates, and we were afraid that would change.
Of course it reminds me of a wild kitten whose ribs were showing that I impulsively snatched up while hunting years ago, you know, the one that sank her needle sharp fangs into my finger clear to the bone! My kids asked for a cat (somebody kill me please) this kitten was not faring well on a diet of grasshoppers (she was too small to catch birds or small mammals) and I quickly decided that we needed each other.
She disagreed and tried to eat part of me instead. I roared in pain so loud that the kitten went limp, probably thinking that I was going to swallow her whole in retaliation. I flung her into the car and drove home, retrieving her from under the seat with a thick glove even though she had abandoned her alpha tiger predator mode. I put her in a cardboard box and after a few bites of tuna my 8 yr old daughter rescued her and the kitten's paws didn't touch the floor for the next six months. (I made my daughter happy and I suppose that was worth sharing my life with what was sure to become a G_d-cursed KAT!)
I wrote about the whole adventure for OUTDOOR DELAWARE MAGAZINE, and I'm proud to boast that it received favorable feedback. I sat in the barber shop and anonymously watched people as they read it just to see them smile. I was particularly pleased for having written things like, "The good news is, no one got sick (from toxoplasmosis) the kitten put on weight and the excruciating pain in my finger began to dull after only a few short weeks!"
Seeing your adorable kitties reminds me of how SonOfLiberty and others comforted me when I couldn't stop grieving over my cat about 7 years ago. And no other can replace the one that loved to roll in the marsh mud on my chest waders after a morning duck hunt. Perhaps it reminded her of her "wild and crazy like a hippie in San Francisco" days before I caught her.
Pedigree Persian versus a worthless, wild, orange tabby. Who can resist kittens even though they grow to be....KATZ?
I live and work in a farming and ranching community in the panhandle of Texas. I have cats at the farm that keep the rodent population to a minimum. Most of my cats are the offspring of a very special little gray cat that I named mama after she had her first litter of eight kittens.
Mama came to the farm 9 years ago as a kitten. We paid very little attention to her at all the first year but somehow she survived the winter and warmed up to me the first spring. This cat was the smartest and most loving creature I have ever known. I could go out to the farm at any given time and whistle for her and soon I'd see her head popping up through the tall grass and weeds or the deep snow as she ran towards me. She was tiny but she had the heart of a tiger.
So many times as she aged, I'd be out there at the farm working on a piece of equipment and she'd show up and sit there to watch me or follow me to the shop when I needed parts or tools, never leaving me unless she was nursing kittens or until I finished and went home.
Often I'd pull my tractor up to the fuel tank and sit in the tractor while it was filling. If the tractor door was open she'd jump all the way up the steps and jump into my lap to be petted. I had no idea that a cat could be such a devoted pet especially a wild cat. So many days I'd pull in to the shop at the end of the day tired and ready to go home only to be met by my buddy and we'd sit there for a little while and I'd pet her in my lap. I have never petted any of the other cats and probably wouldn't have become so attached to mama if she hadn't forced the issue - she was the one that initiated our friendship. Sometimes she'd jump into my car and inspect for food or just get petted - she really was an amazing cat.
Sometimes this cat would come and get me, then get me to follow her either to show me her latest litter or most recent kill which usually was a pack rat or even a rabbit.
I can't tell you how much I grew to love that cat and looked forward to seeing her every day but alas, a racoon killed her and several of her latest litter about a week ago. 9 years is a long time for an outdoor cat to live and I knew someday mama would no longer be around, but what I wasn't ready for was the emotions that I would feel over losing her. (I'm actually having a hard time writing this).
The day I whistled and called her name and she didn't show up I knew she was gone but not the reason for it. I had an idea because I'd lost several other cats but wasn't sure until early one morning about two days after she went missing a racoon darted out in front of my car and I hit the brakes thinking it was one of the cats until I got a better look.
That night I sat out at the farm in the dark hoping to shoot the coon without any luck. So I got a trap and the first night using sardines as bait - I caught a tom cat that I had never seen before. So I released it. The following day the hardware store guy said I should use an egg as bait.
Well to make a long story short I caught two coons and shot them both and when I finish with this post I'll go check the trap for any more coons that may have stopped by for a little dinner.
Two of mama's last litter survived and I brought one home and left one at the farm. There are other cats there and it is possible that other offspring did survive and are being raised by another mama cat as I've seen another kitten that looks just like the one I brought home being nursed. The kitten in the picture looks like the one I brought home. We already had a calico and I'd never thought of having two cats because our place is small, but this new addition is transitioning well with our other cat and it's pretty cute to watch them play together. The newest addition disappeared for a day and caused us to turn the place upside down trying to locate "it" (we're not certain of the gender yet). Finally, a faint meow ... and after searching again - I found the kitten in my top dresser drawer without any explanation for "how" this could occur. If it's a she - her name will be "Heidi" !
"Government is the great fiction through which everybody endeavors to live at the expense of everybody else."
I'm truly saddened to learn of your loss. An animal companion may be prized above most human acquaintances, if for no other reason their loyalty and lack of an agenda.
And control of rodent populations is the one legit reason to allow free roaming cats, but as you know too well that's not without risks.
Good luck with the nuisance coons. If you pop a few holes in a can of tuna or cat food it will draw them in and they can't eat the food after they trip the door. Some folks set 220 or 280 conibear or "killer" traps and too often they kill or injure pets or critters that are not targeted. I like the looks of "DUFFER'S DOG RESISTANT COON TRAPS" for this reason.
The first night that I set the trap with a yard bird egg I caught two coons in a trap very similar to the one pictured. It may or may not be critical in catching coons but I have two store bought eggs in the trap now and haven't caught anything with them. Think coons prefer natural non-radiated eggs ?
"Government is the great fiction through which everybody endeavors to live at the expense of everybody else."
In addition to being known as "living buzzsaws" because of their ferocity coons are also highly intelligent, as I'm sure you know. Unlike opossum which are dumber than a bag of hammers by comparison coons with any close calls will avoid humane traps like the one pictured above.
I once read that a coon will reach into a trap and grab a shiny dime and refuse to release its grip even if it traps itself by not being able to withdraw its closed "fist" through the small opening. If true then their intelligence may be offset by their fondness for ghetto bling, so to speak.
Coons that have raided chicken eggs expect them, but a chicken egg in the woods with no nest or surrounding "ambience", i.e. eau de pollo", may trigger their "po po alarm" and cause them to take flight in their G_d given "*211 shoes".
Also, they frequently eat wild bird and reptile eggs (and those that raid coops will more likely kill the chickens) and I dare say that garbage raiders notwithstanding most may not know that a chicken egg is good chow when they spot it.
This is why the trappers I trust use cans of smelly fish products because coons do trust their noses, and a can that's been punctured but not fully opened can be used several times, at least before it stops stinking to Valhalla. (I have the required mandatory training to trap and to teach outdoor education in DE but I'm not a trapper-those guys are a bunch of hairy-chested brutes who put their paws in ice water to retrieve and set muskrat traps, and I KAN'T with a Kapital K tolerate that with any hope of playing guitar, even if I could stand the intense pain, swelling and split skin that cold water immersion of my hands causes-and any lotion I'd be forced to use would soften my fingertip callouses, so trapping is out)
Considering your success I'd say that you should be giving advice and sharing your secrets! _____________________
*211 CPC is the CA Penal Code section for armed robbery. If you watch CA cop shows you know it's frequently used as part of the Radio Ten Code for the same crime. Also,
A friend of mine has a neighbor at his Hollywood Beach, MD weekend retreat whose house was raided by coons. The neighbor was gone for an extended period and upon his return he found that the coons had torn holes in walls and even ripped open mattresses, and in general partied like it's 1999. They may have sniffed mouse nesting in walls and I don't care to speculate what in mattresses....
And, as you know because coons are so prone to rabies, too often they infect pets that survive initial antisocial encounters. So, even BIG dogs and fearsome, undisputed champion fighting cats can still lose their lives after tangling with coons. Naturally my first instinct would be to treat a wounded companion that limps home, but I'd still have to assume that it may be incubating the disease and could pose a hazard to the family.
In short, coons are a nuisance except as co-stars in Walt Disney films such as WHERE THE RED FERN GROWS. And when I read of a beloved companion and trusted rodent control agent disappearing possibly due to a coon encounter it makes me want to shoot, stretch and nail their hides to a place so designated.
Thanx chrissy, and I love your impeccably decorated home. Bill has a wonderful career as an I.D. if he ever decides to opt out of being a solvent heterosexual doctor! ;)
(Just kidding. It was your son's eye that made the place so great, huh?)
She stood her ground when the two towering adults investigated her presence. She's very cute. and very smart positioning herself so the bowls are between her and them. Beautiful wild haired bunch you have there.
I imagine when it's hot down there they prefer to stay inside with those beautiful coats.
She eats kibbles like a ferret. Although the approved adult carpet shark method involves tripping the plate as they cound do quite well with the one the food is in.
I have to use untippable dishes or I have a 'crunchy' walk through the kitchen.
"The United States today is like a cruise ship on the Niagara River upstream of the most spectacular falls in North America. A few people on board have begun to pick up a slight hiss in the background, to observe a faint haze of mist in the air or on their glasses, to note that the river current seems to be running slightly faster. But no one yet seems to have realized that it is almost too late to head for shore." -- Historian and author Chalmers Johnson"
I imagine when it's hot down there they prefer to stay inside with those beautiful coats.
oh, these babies are strictly indoors. they are pedigreed and even if they weren't, with the coyotes around here (and traffic in the 'hood), i wouldn't let them go out. they wouldn't last a night. i've never let any of my cats outside. the average lifespan of an outdoor cat is 2-3 yrs whereas the average lifespan of an indoor only cat is 12-15 yrs.
It's cooler weather here with less traffic where I live. I have neighbors with non pedigreed long haired cats who visit all the time. The only thing they have to worry about here is raccons.
One person who does have a very expensive pedigreed cat puts a harness on her and she goes outside on a leash she can slide up and down a clotheline type setup. Her name is 'Baby.'
I have to keep the ferrets indoor too as they are an exotic because their eyes are developed only for movement of prey in a burrow system and would be taken out by cars or curious humans.
I know folks in Veneta who live in the mioddle of nowhere and their ferrets live outside and come and go as they please. I've never had that luxory with my fur kids though.
When I take mine out they follow me and get to weat harnesses with a ling string that I can use to extract them from any hard to get at place they nose into.
They like cats too. But the neighbor's male and female long haired cats are the only ones brave enough to go up and play with them. They like me and know I am a soft touch as a animal person, but I can't let these cats come in because they love the ferret food which is too high in protein for them and would make them fatter.
"The United States today is like a cruise ship on the Niagara River upstream of the most spectacular falls in North America. A few people on board have begun to pick up a slight hiss in the background, to observe a faint haze of mist in the air or on their glasses, to note that the river current seems to be running slightly faster. But no one yet seems to have realized that it is almost too late to head for shore." -- Historian and author Chalmers Johnson"
For pretty much the same reason I like having cats. They are friendly, use the litter box, play their entire lives -- they never get too 'cool' for that, they sleepas many hours per day as a cat and eat much the same things. Though they can't do cow's milk.
They will also fall asleep on my person and are more portable then cats. I take them to the park or walk them with no leash. They follow like litle puppies.
Though I keep harnesses and a long cord on them should the find a burrow. I will grab them if a large dog comes too.
I generally keep them locked in the run if I'm not home (indoor) and they are spayed or nuetered. Nuetering gets rid of much the male's musky odor. I use odor killer specific to ferrets and they get weekly baths.
I've had ferrets since 1981. I used to breed the long haired ferrets with a pardner but quit that informal business when we split up. She still breed them though.
Fluffy ferrets are popular and sell well.
"The United States today is like a cruise ship on the Niagara River upstream of the most spectacular falls in North America. A few people on board have begun to pick up a slight hiss in the background, to observe a faint haze of mist in the air or on their glasses, to note that the river current seems to be running slightly faster. But no one yet seems to have realized that it is almost too late to head for shore." -- Historian and author Chalmers Johnson"
