Posted on 04/12/2005 6:54:55 AM PDT by RedBloodedAmerican
I've seen them try to scratch the heck out of my Jag and BMW. Cat claws don't seem to have any effect whatsoever.
I don't think you're a liar, but the problem is that cats retract their claws when they walk.
Well, let's just say that you are talking about something I've never seen, and I've had many kitty paw prints on my cars through the years.
The number of Moo Shoo pork specials at local chinese resturaunts has skyrocketed....
Sorry, that would be Moo Shoo Chicken...
See my post #31 for the music that goes with this thread.......
Cat...the other white meat....
NeverGore :^)
Though I live in the country, I keep my dog fenced in or leashed at all times. Why shouldn't cat owners have to do the same?
BTW, I live on a farm, grew up hunting, and have seen the damage that both feral & domesticated cats do to wildlife.
Although we don't shoot such cats, my dad and I have a half-dozen Havahart traps in which we quite regularly trap cats. The animal control officers come by and pick them up.
I agree on the dogs. We just had four barbado sheep killed and a bunch chewed up from a pack of "playful" neighbor dogs. Hubby hadn't gotten his guns out of the gunhouse yet (had been away from home) and only had a pistol and his underwear on in the rain. No take downs.
Nice "little" Boxer. We have a mastiff for stray cats that get in his yard.
The ant poison seems to deter them from their favorite spots ... for a while.
They are bold now ... used to just come at night.
g
lol!
Both of y'all are talking in the general "shouldn't ought to happen" sort of vernacular. I'm telling you that I've seen it. I'm not denying it doesn't happen every time, and I sure won't say your precious kitty does it.
But it might well be that the cats you've seen aren't feral. I can't say that the cats I've seen doing the scratching have been feral, but that could be a factor in their claws hanging out. The one that I witnessed pulling up the most paint was actually a "domesticated" roamerd being chased up a car by a dog--it leapt from the ground all the way up to the car top, and the dog ate door, and the cat just barely stopped before falling off the other side because the top was waxed nice. But there was one nice paw-sized set of gashes and a quarter sized nick out of the paint where they first went in on the top of that car.
But it was funny to watch--'cause it wasn't my car.
I assure you it can and does happen. We had feral cats all over a neighborhood I used to live in near McLean VA's downtown, and they'd get under and on cars to warm up in the spring and fall. My roommate drove a classic car at that point, and it was all scuffed up with nail marks on the hood and roof after we moved there. Where their nails go when they're walking is evidently different from where they go when they're warming up.
I've been a hunter, an outdoorsman, and a sportsman my whole life and IMHO, shooting something that you are not going to eat and that is not causing you any direct harm is just ball-less! It reminds me of the drunken yahoos that go out on opening day of deer season and blast every road sign that they see. Gives hunting a great name! In these times where we gun owners have to fight just for the right to keep our guns, you get this jackass that wants to make major headlines about shooting house cats! That is really going to help our cause! What a jerk!
Annie was born outside and had been on her own for at least a year before being captured and had never been socialized. When I adopted her she had been spade but the vet screwed up and she will now have to have hernia repair surgery in a couple of months.
BTW, she choose ME. When I picked her up she nuzzled me and fell asleep in my arms. That all changed when I brought her home to my dog (she had been in a foster home for a few weeks with a dog so I figured it would be okay).
Annie’s problem was and still is trusting humans. But she has come a long, long, way in the past almost 7 months. For the first several days she hid underneath the bed but slowly came down the stairs to listen what was going on in the living room. Finally she made it to the bottom step and then a few feet more into the living room and finally over the past couple of months has jumped up on the sofa or ottoman and cuddling with me.
She had a respiratory infection back in March and the vet wanted me to give her antihistamines a couple of times a day. That's when I found out Annie is smarter than I am! I tried to “mickey finn” them a few different ways but she wouldn’t take the bait. After forcing liquid Benadryl down her mouth one night she became so upset (foaming at the mouth) that I finally gave up even though I did manage to get a couple more pills down her over the next couple of days. It was HORRIBLE stress for the both of us and I finally decided that if she worsens that I would take her to the vet again so they could give the stuff to her.
Annie now trusts me to where she will let me know when its treat time, when her food dish is half empty (I simply MUST refill it then!) and when she wants to be rocked in my arms and sung to. God has guided me in how to handle and speak to her. Oh, she still freaks out/reverts to her feral nature at strange or loud noises (and may always do so) but she has become a very loving cat who meows whenever I take the dog outside and doesn’t let up until he is back in. She has come to truly love the dog and he somewhat back (he is still jealous).
Did I have second thoughts over these months? You betcha!!! But I knew if I gave her up chances were that she would never trust another human ever again.
I tell you one thing, when she has her hernia surgery at the end of June I’m going to inform the vet that they had better load her up with antibiotics before they release her to me cause there is NO WAY ON EARTH this cat will take ANY medications from me! Even when I had to put tapeworm medicine between her shoulders a couple of weeks ago it was an on and off chase all day to grab her so I could do it.
But she is worth it. She really is a very loving, vocal cat both to me and the dog. We simply had to get used to each other. But boy is she gonna be mad at me when she has her surgery! (And I’m going to be a nervous wreck Momma even though I will be able to visit her the day after the surgery.)
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