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.
I get most of my cat in disreputable chinese restaurants. But I can never be sure...
Seems a mother cat was moving her kittens around in the neighborhood. She must've been a stray also. One kitten must've gotten separated and was mewing and hanging around my niece's porch.
She took the kitten in to keep but her fiance has allergies real bad and her toddler son kept pushing the kitten into the water dish to "help" it drink.
I was petless at that time and so I adopted Smoky from them. He's a little over 2 now. He's black with alot of grayish fur - kind of like smoke.
I got a cat for father’s day. From my 6 year old daughter!!
BTTT. Nice looking cat habitat!
I have six kittens with their promiscius mother in a box in a bathroom. They showed up the usual way.
My cat came from the Animal Shelter in Tracy CA in 1996 because my wife’s sister lost my wife’s cat and this looked liked the one she lost. The best $50 we ever spent.
3 came from the “shelter” and one found us after being abandoned by his former owner. He was starving and living in the street but has been here with us 6 years...we love them all but I made a promise to the one that was abandoned as long as I have a home he has a home (as do they all). Odd isn’t it that the promise made to that little creature means as much as any I ever made.
I had to scrape mine off the street. And another time one got in my engine bay. At least I think it was a cat.
I wouldn’t spread it around you’re a cat rescuer - you’ll get more.
But it is great to see they have wound up at such a great place with you. God can take the actions of uncaring people and still turn them into something good. I am certain you have found it rewarding.
My lab came from a well respected breeder. I’ve adopted a couple of cats from the local humane society shelter. I grew up on a large acreage in the country. We seemed to gain an animal a year from people dropping them by the side of the road. All of them became very good and loved pets. Probably the best was a cat named Malcolm. How could he not be? Malcolm was named by my sister mis-hearing the sexy-thing disco song “I Believe in Miracles (Malcolm)!”
Right now I am trying to befriend a female that needs to be fixed. I just can't turn my back on a starving animal.
Further reading clarified the meaning.
My Ex just walked away from her animals. She picked them out, now I feed them.
He pretty much just lays around all the time
One from the local shelter, one from a litter born in a neighbor’s machine shed, and one just appeared on my woodpile, sick and half starved, just as the worst winter storm of the season was rolling in 2 years ago.
Had two cats with a girlfriend. When she moved out and took the cats they rioted and destroyed all her stuff (including her dog) in less then 24 hours. She called and begged me to take them off her hands.
New girlfriend (later became wife) had a cat. That’s three now.
Neighborhood stray had kittens in the bushes outside my front door. Kept one, took mother and others to shelter.
Other neighborhood stray had kittens in the bushes on my back porch a month later. Kept one, gave one away, too mother to shelter.
Bought new house and moved all the way across town.
At new place one of the previously stray (now all grown and domesticated) was outside and his clone showed up. Thought it was ours and chased him all over the neighborhood. Gave up. Came home and ours was on doorstep.
Next day the clone walks in the back door and says MEEEOOOW! and never left (gave him plenty of chances to). He was pretty beat up with abscesses all over and smelled bad. Got him cleaned up, abscesses drained, vaccinations and neutered. Now he sleeps on the bed at my feet, or wife’s feet, or in between us...or on us.
So six cats....want to trade 5 cats for a dog.
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