Posted on 10/22/2017 2:26:39 PM PDT by boatbums
Gary wasn't used to being around people. He didn't like being touched, or even looked at. If anyone came too close, he'd lash out.
He was perfect for the job. Because at the "Working Cats" program, no manners is no problem.
Philadelphia's Animal Care and Control Team established the program about four years ago to place unadoptable cats - the biters and the skittish, the swatters and the ones who won't use a litter box - into jobs as mousers at barns or stables.
The shelter recently expanded the program to move cats that were less-than-ideal pets into urban jobs at places like factories and warehouses as a sort of green pest control.
(Excerpt) Read more at tampabay.com ...
Bkmk
We currently have two rescue cats and two rescue dogs. Each is wonderful, loving, and interacts with us all the time. I have always contended that the perceived problem with cats are because the masters think the cats should act like dogs. No, No!! Treat the cats as cats. They will never fawn or slobber over you but the will want to be near you and cuddle with you They will never play fetch or learn tricks. But they will learn their name and about 100 words. They love to be on high places or in boxes. They generally do not do well on a leash because they have (I think) a more confidant view of themselves as compared to the submission of dogs. My two cents worth.
Plenty of crazy cat ladies out there.
My current cats haven’t learned that ‘never fawn or slobber’ stuff. They’re after our laps, in the bed, trying to make the hands pet, all the time.
They are more affectionate than any we’ve had, and I think it’s because they were born into and initially raised in a volunteer rescue place where they were doted upon all the time.
Great story, thx!
Good story.
One of my cats loves to play fetch. She will come drop a fetch item at my feet and won’t leave me alone until I play fetch with her.
My Rum-Dum loves to play fetch too. “come fetch my breakfast” “Come fetch my lunch.” “Come fetch my dinner.” And of course “Come fetch my treats.”
Our two kitties also. Stella likes to silently lick my leg when I’m trying to read the paper and will sit and stare at me - as if to send her message via ESP that she wants to (a) be fed; (b) run up and down the halls of our condo floor; (c) no reason at all. But Beaux is the REAL licker. He never met a lap he didn’t like to sit on. I love them!
Kitty *PING*
Cats learn 100 words? Wow. The only sound our cats ever learned was treats in the bag. In the old days, it was the can opener working. A stern, loud “No” works...sometimes. When that fails, it’s a heavy clomp of the shoe on the floor to get their attention.
I love to hear stories about people who “rescue” animals and then realize that they, themselves, were rescued. Emily healed my heart after breaking up with my now husband. Stella healed my heart when Emily died. Beaux will heal my heart when Stella breathes her last. I steel my heart knowing that in this life there will always be a goodbye, but I know that there are so many needy critters who are waiting to heal me once more and the love I can shower upon them can’t come close to the joy they bring.
Proud to claim that title! ;o)
“Plenty of crazy cat ladies out there.”
My wonderful (and pretty) younger sister had an engagement go south, and then started complaining to me that she was never going to be with anyone and would wind up a ‘cat lady’. She’s now very happily married, with two daughters, but the cat she had when she was single now terrorizes her husband (e.g. curls up on his face - suffocating him when he’s sleeping)..
LOL dogs have owners, cats have staff.
There are no “untamable” cats.
You just have to know how to interact with them: let them know you care, but don’t force them to do anything.
I had a “wild, untamable” cat once, but after a while she calmed down and turned into a sweet, patient, loving and lovable cat.
I tend to think of the not slobbering all over you as a feature—not a bug.
A neighbor bought/got two Barn Cats to control the mice, rats and ground squirrels around his home.
Within a couple of weeks, one of the barn cats disappeared. They found what was left of it, fur, paws and skull about 100 yards away. It probably got in the territory of coyotes, bob cats or our rumored mountain lion.
The survivor is a chunk and stays in its new owner’s yard and patrols the 4 yards next to it at night, including ours.
We see it coming home in the early morning and heading out at dusk. It wants nothing to do with any humans. We leave an old baking pan filled with water to keep it in our area for part of the night.
It is the type of cat which is a good neighbor with our family.
That is the great thing about these programs that give kitties the extra attention and socialization to be confident, loving pets...and they also end up loving their job too much to leave.
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