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A Dog Man Gets a Cat
Slate ^ | August 4, 2006 | Jon Katz

Posted on 08/04/2006 1:58:31 PM PDT by libstripper

Before Mother, I was never much drawn to cats. They seemed slithery and remote. I have a farm, and cats didn't appear to be useful.

I am partial to working dogs—especially border collies and Labradors—that can herd sheep, fetch sticks, hike with me, cuddle on the sofa, and swim in nearby streams. I didn't really get having an animal you couldn't herd sheep or take a walk with.

Then the rats came. They invaded my farm last summer, especially the big barns. They were fat—at first, I mistook one for a rabbit—arrogant, and fearless. The farmers told me there was nothing much to be done: Rats, naturally drawn to farms, were smart, hardy, and tough to get rid of, especially with other animals around.

(Excerpt) Read more at slate.com ...


TOPICS: Pets/Animals
KEYWORDS: animals; cats; dogs; pets; rats
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To: SHARI BABY

What is a "mill" style kitty? Anyway, I will get myself a Siamese one day once my friends have moved on. For now, 2 is enough.


61 posted on 08/04/2006 2:33:42 PM PDT by MikeA (Not voting out of anger in November is a vote for Nancy Pelosi as Speaker of the House)
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To: 80 Square Miles

Very cute cat! I love the picture of that gray tabby sitting on your husband. He/she looks like they know who's in charge. Anyway, sorry about the loss of your cat. That's a tough one I'm sure.


62 posted on 08/04/2006 2:34:54 PM PDT by MikeA (Not voting out of anger in November is a vote for Nancy Pelosi as Speaker of the House)
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To: Redbob

There are many more mice and rats on a farm than you can hunt down and shoot. If you have driven a tractor to mow a hay field you will have an idea of just how many there are, lots. Cats are welcome, also snakes, hawks and coyotes. Even chickens will kill and eat mice.


63 posted on 08/04/2006 2:34:55 PM PDT by Inge_CAV
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To: Blueflag

I live on a creek. My neighbors borrow my cat to keep mice and (horror) water rats our of their houses and garages. Cats discourage rodents from taking up residence at your house...it's a smell things. My cat is not friendly.

We call him Mishka, but we refer to him as Rosemary's Baby, Satan's cat and Beelzebub. He is a house cat and has lived a live of plenty. We wanted him to stay inside-safer and all. But,he is allowed outside now. After he spent months hunting us (we look like giant gerbils I guess), we opened the door and let him out.

I had a Siamese cat when I was growing up, and I will get one one of these days-lovely cats. Ours use to follow my brother to school. The principal would call my Mom and ask her to come get the cat almost every day.


64 posted on 08/04/2006 2:35:14 PM PDT by nyconse
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To: kaylar
I never had to wait long to dispose of the catch, though. There have also been a few small dogs around here snatched off in the late evening. I keep waiting for the chance to pick that critter off with my NM-clone 1903A3 (Lyman 48 sight), but he's a tricky one.

I always talked bad about the two cats and joked about getting rid of them, but they grew on me over the 15 years I had them, and I found myself just expecting to see them for months and then looking around for them....

65 posted on 08/04/2006 2:36:04 PM PDT by Gaffer
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To: RosieCotton

Oh yeah, do I know about the fetch fanaticism. Every morning as I'm hurrying around getting ready for work, there's C.B. dropping a ball at my feet. It's hard to say no, so I'm often late to work. But since I'm the first into the office, who cares??

The other one does like to get into the lower kitchen cupboards and will sit there trying to get it open with the attendant noise that comes with it until he can get that door open. Then he disappears inside. Go figure.


66 posted on 08/04/2006 2:37:14 PM PDT by MikeA (Not voting out of anger in November is a vote for Nancy Pelosi as Speaker of the House)
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To: RosieCotton

That's interesting. Halvah looks so much like my Chocolate Point. He definitely got the Siamese domininate featurs. I have a few pictures I'll post to you if I can find them in my sent mail box. You can't see Max's face in them real well so it will be hard to see how much they look alike.


67 posted on 08/04/2006 2:39:10 PM PDT by MikeA (Not voting out of anger in November is a vote for Nancy Pelosi as Speaker of the House)
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To: Lx
If you do get a cat, please get one from a rescue shelter or the local pound. It's obscene how many animals are put down every day.

BTTT

We've had the pleasure of welcoming many cats into our home over many years, most of whom lived long happy lives. The most charming one we ever had was a large orange Manx cat. All cats have distinctive personalities, and they are very loyal and affectionate companions.

68 posted on 08/04/2006 2:39:38 PM PDT by janetgreen
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To: Bogtrotter52

I'm glad you've found a friend! I like dogs too, but I am a confirmed cat man now. Like you say, I appreciate that cats are a little easier to take care of than dogs. No need to walk them or to go out to the backyard to clean up after them. Of course easy for me to say, since they're my friends' cats, they do the clean up of the litter box. I might be singing a different tune one day when I'm the one having to do the cat box.


69 posted on 08/04/2006 2:41:19 PM PDT by MikeA (Not voting out of anger in November is a vote for Nancy Pelosi as Speaker of the House)
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To: MikeA

Thanks. She does know who's in charge - she is! It's the first time a cat chose us - usually, we've chosen the cat. She's been very good at easing the loss of our older kitty. Our older kitty was diabetic - we'd given her insulin twice daily for several years. We estimate she was about 16 years old - we had her for 14 of those years. My daughter feels that this cat (Snuggles) was a gift from God, who knew the older cat had almost reached the end of her years.

We can take the younger cat out on a leash (she's shown a tendency to run into the street when free). When we hold out the harness, she climbs into our lap and waits patiently while we fasten the buckles. She's pretty entertaining and talkative, too.


70 posted on 08/04/2006 2:41:57 PM PDT by knittnmom (...surrounded by reality)
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To: Lady Jag
I can hear it now.

Hey, whatcha going; why are you sleepin? Nighttime is the best time to hunt and other stuff... come on get up get out of that bed...

71 posted on 08/04/2006 2:44:11 PM PDT by AFreeBird (... Burn the land and boil the sea's, but you can't take the skies from me.)
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To: 80 Square Miles

That's cute how she gets in your lap to put on the harness. Our cats just really don't like their's and struggle against them. Part of it is they're a little small for them now. So we just keep them indoors. We are protective mother hens and don't want anything bad to happen to them by being outdoors.


72 posted on 08/04/2006 2:45:43 PM PDT by MikeA (Not voting out of anger in November is a vote for Nancy Pelosi as Speaker of the House)
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To: RosieCotton; MikeA

She is gorgeous - inside and out. I feel extremely fortunate that she wandered into my life. She was a kitten and I was just home from a serious surgery that ordered me to bed at home for 30 days. She was young and lost and soaked from rain, and spent most of the month with me. We are much too bonded, to be honest.

She's very pushy and very intelligent. She taught herself to use the toilet for #1! She doesn't flush, not strong enough.

When you come home, the urgency with which the cat greets you is certainly a detailed report of what happened why you were you out.

She has different greetings for different friends. She has more visitors than I do, too. They call and say they're coming over to visit and I think they mean me, but it turns out it's the cat.


73 posted on 08/04/2006 2:46:11 PM PDT by Lady Jag (Hatred is the coward's revenge for being intimidated)
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To: Lx
Years ago, when I lived in Milwaukee, a friend of mine had two out-sized cats. On, an orange tiger cat weighed 29 pounds. The other, which looked like a Chocolate Point weighed 38 pounds! Neither were fat! The big guy's head was the size of a cantaloupe! Bob kept his furnishings very simple, because when the cats started playing and chasing each other around, the knocked over furniture!
He got them by contacting a club that was always looking for big cats for breeding. They had an add in the back of a cat fanciers magazine. So,,, big cats are out there.
74 posted on 08/04/2006 2:46:46 PM PDT by Dr. Bogus Pachysandra ("Don't touch that thing")
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To: MikeA

More on that cat. I had her a few years while I was living in Sitka Alaska. Amusing story. I went to my dentist right down the street. Cat got out apparently. When I was in the dentists chair the receptionist came in and said "Do you own a small black and white cat?" I replied that I did and she informed me that it was at the glass front door, little paws on the glass and screaming its fuzzy head off. They let it in to wait for me. The sad end to my cat was that Sitka has more eagles then most places have robins. She slipped out and was no doubt eagle snatched as many are there. Risky place to live, if you are a cat.


75 posted on 08/04/2006 2:47:49 PM PDT by Bogtrotter52 (Singin' the blues with a smarmy Irish smile)
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To: MikeA

We don't let her out unless one of us will be outside, too. So we have a tie-down stake that we put near wherever we're doing yardwork. She chases butterflies, ants, and the occasional mouse while we pull weeds or whatever. We estimate she was about six months old when we got her, and we started right away getting her accustomed to the idea of the leash if she wanted to be outside. She likes going out - so she's accepted the terms. :-)


76 posted on 08/04/2006 2:47:50 PM PDT by knittnmom (...surrounded by reality)
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To: 80 Square Miles

I assume the cat in all the pictures is the same one. It's interesting, in some of the pictures she looks a little more red than gray, so I was thinking maybe they were different cats. But she's a gorgeous one. There's a cat that looks a lot like her that sits in the window of one of my neighbor's home. She cries wildly when we walk by to get attention. I will often walk up to the window and talk to her and she goes crazy rubbing her face and crying with joy to have someone talking to her. I'm going to get arrested for trespassing and/or peeping tom-ism one of these days doing that!

Anyway, the last time I saw her early this week she didn't look well and I've not seen her since : (


77 posted on 08/04/2006 2:49:19 PM PDT by MikeA (Not voting out of anger in November is a vote for Nancy Pelosi as Speaker of the House)
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To: libstripper

You'll see a picture of my Maine Coon on this link. He was a stray.

http://www.freeonlineshippingquotes.com/cat.htm


78 posted on 08/04/2006 2:49:23 PM PDT by Hazcat
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To: Inge_CAV

So were women, they were wrong about the cats.


79 posted on 08/04/2006 2:49:35 PM PDT by U S Army EOD
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To: Slings and Arrows
One of our cats left this little calling card the other day.

Val says "Get a picture of that!"

So I did...they must really love us.


80 posted on 08/04/2006 2:49:42 PM PDT by andyandval
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