Harold as a kitten; no picture available yet of his brother Gordon, who was pure black
Posted on 10/02/2008 3:12:52 PM PDT by franksolich
I'm wondering how others came across the cat (or dog), or cats (or dogs) they currently have. I grew up in the Sandhills of Nebraska with dogs, although once in a great while there was a cat around.
Then I went away from home after graduating from high school, and no more pets until many many many years later, when I moved back to the Sandhills (but not the same part where I had grown up), and involuntarily began acquiring cats.
I wish I had pictures of all the current cats to post here, but I'm still learning this "scanning" thing, and while I have photographs in real life, I don't yet have them all scanned, imaged, and photobucketed.
The first cat who came here was Abbie, in January 2002. Abbie, the senior cat, is mostly grey, with a little bit of white and a little bit of black, and probably about 8 years old.
One dark night, while looking out the window, I saw a van drive down the gravel road nearby, and a cat tossed out of it.
Now, I'm not a cat person, but this irked me, especially since a domesticated cat would have problems surviving in the wilderness. It's an all-too-common practice for people, when tired of a cat or a dog, to take them out into the country and simply dump them.
The next day, I borrowed an animal trap and baited it, setting it out for this cat. Two days later, during a heavy winter rainstorm, the cat took the bait. And so Abbie, who was immediately shot and neutralized, and has always been comfortable here.
About a week later, when glancing out the window, I saw another cat--the exact same cat I had seen dumped.
Ooops, I had caught the wrong cat.
So I borrowed the animal trap again, and some days later, during one really bitter-cold night, the cat took the bait. Snow is grey-and-white, about half and half. She was too young yet to be neutralized, but got her shots.
Then a few days before she was scheduled to be neutralized and shot, she got out of the house and came back enciente, and so one had to put a "hold" on that.
In September 2002, she bore Junior, Apricot, and Floyd, all of them spitting images of herself, although Apricot was more black-and-white, than grey-and-white. They were great kittens, great cats.
Alas in May 2003, Apricot was crushed by a motor vehicle when crossing the road, and has since been missed very much, as she was quite a saucy personality.
And then in November 2004, Junior abruptly took off, never to be seen since.
I have already told the story of Floyd here, last week.
Noticing my discouragement at the loss of Apricot, a neighboring farmer presented me (without my asking) Gordon and Harold, two long-haired kittens.
Harold as a kitten; no picture available yet of his brother Gordon, who was pure black
Harold is still here, and now the senior male cat. Gordon like Junior before him, mysteriously evaporated in May 2008.
George came here in summer 2003; actually I stole him, from a primitive, a DUmmie, who had neglected him. Horror of horrors, she had named him "Sunshine."
George in the summer of 2008
Unwilling to tolerate animal abuse, I simply took him, and the primitive, the DUmmie, never even knew it, and probably does not know to this day. George has always had ample opportunity to return to his old home, but even after more than 5 years here, he shows no inclination to do so.
Ellie came here on Christmas Day 2003; a city councilman driving down the highway had seen her, and as I lived in the house closest from the highway, dropped her off. She was a very tiny all-orange kitten, so small one could hold her inside the palm of a hand without any overlap. She also had a broken tail, weighed less than a pound and a half, and was infested with all sorts of parasites. Ellie has since remained pretty small for a cat, but remains healthy and chipper.
Ellie in summer 2008
Sometime after she had been shot and neutralized, during a late-March snowstorm, Ellie disappeared for some days, coming back with a busted-off back leg. The leg was successfully set, although it was a long spring, as she so wanted to romp and play in the great outdoors, but the cast and splint were about the same size as she was then, and such was not possible. But by early summer, she had healed, and has since remained healthy and vigorous.
Leo came shortly after Ellie, within weeks of January 2004; Leo was obviously a feral kitten (about the same age as Ellie), and refused to come inside. One night, however, when it was -20 degrees F with a 50 mph wind blowing, Leo came inside.
Leo the summer of 2008
I had hoped I was done acquiring cats; even though by this time, the time Leo came here, I had already lost Apricot and Junior, the number of cats here, and those two losses, sapped more out of me than I had thought possible.
But then.....in May 2008, about five years later, Gustav showed up. Gustav is about 10-12 years old, an ancient among cats.
Gustav in July 2008
Gustav came here dangling a busted-off front leg, which was repaired by the veterinary the following morning, in addition to the shots and neutralization. Gustav really really really wanted to be wandering the great outdoors, but was incarcerated here until the splint and cast were removed some weeks later.
Unlike Ellie, who had recovered use of all four legs instantly the splint and cast had been removed, perhaps because of his Great Age, it took Gustav some weeks to re-discover his fourth leg. Once he started romping and racing in the meadow here, I figured Gustav was leaving. Since late August, Gustav has shown up for supper perhaps six times, and I'm hoping as the weather gets colder, Gustav will make it a point to stick around here, inside, more.
While Gustav was still on the mend, when I was in the "big city," someone dumped a cat inside my motor vehicle (fortunately all four windows were down a couple of inches, and fortunately I got back to the car less than an hour after I had parked it).
William, the latest and youngest cat, the summer of 2008
Well, I hope that's all the cats for now, as it gets crowded in the wintertime, when all are indoors. The house is large, with plenty of acreage for each cat, but for some reason they always want the same space all the other cats want.
This place is, really, a paradise for cats.
The river that runs near; I am the only house on this side of the river
The cat terrain to the north
The cat terrain to the west
The cat terrain to the south, getting to the river; there is a grove of walnut trees on the right, outside of this picture
On the east of the house is the famous William Rivers Pitt, circa 740 cubic tons of antique swine excrement dating from 1875 until 1950, looking very much like a miniature Jungfrau; no photograph available yet.
My three current cats, Muffin, Cookie, and Jasper. First, Muffin and Cookie are both sisters. They are 10-years-old. Jasper, who is 6-years-old was given to me by a friend who was going through a divorce.
Though I have a dozen cats (see post 34 and another above), my daughter got a dachshund. My cats response was "That is the ugliest cat I have ever seen!" But Yakumo, being just a puppy fit in real well, learning to be a cat. We had to get another dachshund just to teach her how to be a dog!
Chi-chi is a blue-gray cat. My daughter took him in when he was a stray about 12 weeks old. He had been hit by a truck and was so bad off the vet didn’t have any hope for him. My daughter is a miracle worker, though, and somehow managed to heal him. He’s about 11 now and even with his broken tail and somewhat crippled hips, he still easily manages to capture and drag in an icky sequence of little formerly living cratures.
Our second cat was also a foundling. My daughter found her in a parking structure. She was about 8 weeks old, but when she arrived home she spotted the dogs eating and promptly harrassed them until they gave up their food bowls to her. She was so nasty we really had no choice: We named her Hillary. Later we had to call her Senator. She has sweetened since then and now often likes to be a pillow for the dog to rest her head.
Good cats, both of them.
Chi-chi is a blue-gray cat. My daughter took him in when he was a stray about 12 weeks old. He had been hit by a truck and was so bad off the vet didn’t have any hope for him. My daughter is a miracle worker, though, and somehow managed to heal him. He’s about 11 now and even with his broken tail and somewhat crippled hips, he still easily manages to capture and drag in an icky sequence of little formerly living creatures.
Our second cat was also a foundling. My daughter found her in a parking structure. She was about 8 weeks old, but when she arrived home she spotted the dogs eating and promptly harrassed them until they gave up their food bowls to her. She was so nasty we really had no choice: We named her Hillary. Later we had to call her Senator. She has sweetened since then and now often likes to be a pillow for the dog to rest her head.
Good cats, both of them.
We have always lived in the country and always had cats. When she was in high school, our daughter was almost shocked to hear that people BUY cats! LOL
We currently have 4 and all of them found us. That same daughter is married now and a cat found their house as well.
petfinder.com or a local rescue group can point you in the right direction. Try the humane society if you can’t find them in your area. Petfinder is searchable by zip code.
I recall reading recently that all the 'domestic' cats are descended from the same biological strain of a smaller wild cat found in what is now Iraq. It seems that nearly every corner of the Earth has small wild cats but only one strain chose to become friendly with people.
It is thought to have happened when man first started grain farming and producing enough to store for later use. The stored grain attracted rodents which in turn attracted wild cats. The cats hung around the grain bins and became accustomed to people and they eventually accepted us. As trade developed cats hitched a ride on the trading ships and paid their way by keeping the rat population in check. This allowed them to spread across the civilized world.
There is evidence that the reverse is also to be found in that 'domestic' cats can and sometimes do crossbreed with smaller wild breeds. It is not impossible to find a bobcat with domestic coloration for example.
Regards,
GtG
PS Jasper, my best friend, is a rag-doll who was given to us by a niece after she bought a corgi. The dog really plagued Jasper to no end. We've had Jasper now for about six years. We inherited Ringo when my wife's uncle died last winter. Ringo was slated to go to HSUS when I said we'd take him in. He is blind and somewhere near 17 so doubtless the "Humane" Society would have disposed of him rather quickly. He is in much better shape then we first found him and is getting fat and sassy.
We have quite a collection of feral cats from a local horse barn that come and go on our patio. They visit and enjoy a handout but are happy with their life and don't want to move in w/ us.
I'm 65 and have had cat(s) around since I was 12. My wife calls me the "cat whisperer" because I seem to engender their trust without even trying. She says it's because I think like they do and know the proper etiquette, maybe so.
1). Shelter
2). Shelter
3). Pet store giving away kittens
4). Friend
5). Shelter
I am sorry, I don’t know how to post photos.
Daniel ...... Acquired 5 years ago from a co-worker
Gracie....... Aquired 5 years ago from a co-worker
Tigger ....... adopted from SPCA in 2003
Smudge ....... adopted from a no kil shelter
Miss Cricket .. adopted from a no kill shelter
Scampi ......... rescued off Craigslist
Fuzzball ....... rescued off Craigslist
Emily ........... adopted from the SPCA
McIntosh ......... was fostering him, and kept him!
Megan.............. was fostering her, and kept her!
Marsha ............. showed up in our yard in June.
Miss Marsha Mellow is a 5 year old fluffy white beauty who showed up in our backyard in June. We took her to the vet and learned that she has squamous cell carcinoma (skin cancer) in both ears, so 3 weeks ago she had surgery, and is now recovering inside. She has to stay inside to avoid further sun exposure .... and she’s pretty grouchy about it. We’d love to rehome her to a home where she can be inside only AND an only cat, but there’s just not much call out there for no-eared, inside-only, cancer-surviving, somewhat grouchy fluffy white cats.
Go ahead. Call me a crazy cat lady.
self ping so I can post kitty pics and stories in the AM. We have anew kitty and does she ever have a story! LOL
We vhe two — brother and sister, from the same litter. I think I’ve mentioned them in previous posts.
We got Maggie and Willie from some people that were friends of friends. Their cat had had a litter of 9 and they were looking to get rid of the kittens ASAP. These two delightful little beings picked us. (Willie picked my wife and Maggie picked me.)
The dynamic between the two of tehm is interesting. (They also love to help on the computer, BTW.)
lol midnight hockey
Norman was a stray kitten that my secretary found outside her apartment. She already had a cat and didn’t want another one, so she talked me into taking him. I grew up on a farm, but I had never had an indoor cat before. It’s been almost eight years and my life has been better for having him around.
About a year after I got Norman, I went on a three week vacation, and had my neighbors feed and keep an eye on Norman in the house. When I returned, they told me how much he missed me. I was working long hours and traveling a lot at the time, and I got worried that he was lonely. A few months later, a co worker had to find homes for two litters of kittens from her farm. I took one, whom I named Betty. I knew I had a good one when I got her home. Norman hissed at her, and Betty the eight week old kitten arched her little back and hissed back at him.
Photos of both kitties are on my FReeper homepage.
LOL The perfect gift.
All the cats I’ve had, and most of the dogs have been rescues.
They are so grateful to be given a chance to love someone, they almost turn themselves inside out. Some cats are aloof, but, eventually, they warm up.
This is my third cat which I obtained from Petfinder also. The first cat I had for only 6 weeks ultimately had to be put down due to liver cancer (and over $800 in vet bills).
I immediately got another one from them which turned out to be feral. I never saw it for a week and even searched above the drop ceiling in the basement. Turned out her hiding space was behind my computer which she accessed thru that opening in the back of the desk. I returned her to the cat rescue group.....
Several weeks later I then found P-Squeeky, my current cat, again via Petfinder.com. During warm months I leave the door open to the back deck and she is free to come and go as she pleases but odly enough she will only leave the deck to stalk a bird which might be on the birdfeeder 20 feet off the deck.
I've had her for about 4 years now and she has been great company and never a problem.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.