Cats

[corkybstewart]

We watched our cat stalk a wild turkey once-it took him 30 minutes to make up his mind that pouncing would not go well so he finally walked away.

 

[Pappers_]

 

[rhys333]

It's possible. We have hawks around. And Coyotes (Our local school mascot is the Coyote, pronounced "Kigh-Yote", not Kigh-YoTEE.) And neighborhood dogs.

Up here they're often referred to as kigh-oots. No idea why.

I'm guessing hawk if something did prey on your cat. If the coyote got close enough to leave a mark, that's all there would be left.

 

[Homercidal]

Up here they're often referred to as kigh-oots. No idea why.

I'm guessing hawk if something did prey on your cat. If the coyote got close enough to leave a mark, that's all there would be left.

I tend to agree. Where she got grabbed and the damage done leads me to believe a coyote would have held on and finished her off, whereas with a hawk, it could have grabbed and then been discouraged by her weight and her fight.

I looked up some cat camera collars out of curiosity and I'm underwhelmed by the reviews on them. I just want a simple device that records "ok" video and doesn't die in a couple of months of normal use.

 

[Homercidal]

Good news. Mr. Fuggles looks like she is healing up well. The band of fatty stuff has shrunk quite a bit as far as I can tell, and the open wounds are closing. She has stopped meowing constantly for no reason or when I'm addressing her. And now that Winter is here, I doubt she'll have any interest in getting outside. Her sister surprisingly went out last evening, but it wasn't for long and she deliberated quite a bit before doing so. They are indoor cats starting right about now.

 

[FirstAidBrewing]

Good news about the fuzz ball. They’re tough buggers that don’t take no crap.

Case in point:

Edit: supposed to be a gif of a cat smacking up an alligator. Can’t get the gif right on the mobile app

View attachment IMG_1641.jpg

 

[kristiismean]

We watched our cat stalk a wild turkey once-it took him 30 minutes to make up his mind that pouncing would not go well so he finally walked away.

we watched ours run a flock of geese off the neighbors yard, until we saw one was not backing off. That's when I tore out of the hose to save him, because he was about to be taught a lesson.

That said, Gary (one of my three) also went to the vet today for $160 because a bite on his head......

 

[Homercidal]

So last night I caught Fuggles again and I guess I spoke too soon. I found a band of fatty-looking area under the skin on her back and I suspect it's a lot of infection. She did not like me touching it. She didn't have much of a problem with the sores when I wiped them with peroxide, but that other area made her yelp. At least she's eating well. If it doesn't look like it's shrinking in a couple of days I guess I'll have to schedule surgery.

It's a tough call when I can pick up another cat from the pound for like $10. But then the other cat probably won't get along with it and I don't want to deal with all of that drama, so I guess I have to take Fuggles in. Plus she's infected, so stir-fry is out of the question...

 

[FirstAidBrewing]

I can all to well relate to the suck that is pet medical bills, but that's what you get for getting attached!

Surgery #1:
Our first boy Milo (RIP) had to have surgery because of the tattoo he received when getting neutered by the SPCA. Apparently the SPCA gives neutered cats a small mark on the abdomen to indicate being neutered. Well whoever the half ass doc was that was on shift when Milo arrived ended up puncturing his stomach wall and causing a terrible infection. So our vet had to clean it out to get him back on his feet.

He then ended up having Cardio Myopathy which resulted in a vet ER visit where he was placed in a hyperbaric chamber. Six months of meds later, he went to a better place. But we still have his ashes on his favorite spot on top of the piano.

Surgery #2:
Leo from the OP was also adopted from the SPCA. He has a cold or some sort of sickness that caused polyps to grow in his ear canals. Has to go the a specialist for this one. They extracted three growths from his ear and nose. They were the equivalent of a human having a golf ball sized growth in their ear/nose. Awesome.

Surgery #3:

This is where I lost my trust in the SPCA. Leo was also neutered, but apparently too young. There is evidence out there that neutering too young can cause hip issues in male cats. Well Leo and Milo were wrestling as brothers do and the ball of Leo's hip ended up getting cracked. So after two visits to our primary vet, she's not sure what happened, so we get sent to a cat skeletal specialist (yup, that apparently exists). He identifies the issues and we put Leo under the knife to remove the ball on the damaged hip.

The only one of our boys that has not had medical issues thus far is Jasper. However, he at one point put me in the hospital due to an infected bite (long story). So I almost have to include that in this list.

I should really invest in pet insurance (yes that's a thing)...

 

[Temptd2]

A cat I had long ago was apparently hit by a car, she managed to get herself home but it had dislocated her "ball joint" from her pelvis. The vet said that they simply saw off the ball and that the cat heals just fine and the muscles then keep that bone where it belongs - they were right, she healed fine and walked with no noticeable ill effects from the surgery! Pretty amazing animals.

Homercidal, hope Fuggles heals up OK.

 

[Temptd2]

BTW - we are about to embark on a 12 hour journey to our new home, any helpful advice on transporting the two yowling kitties greatly appreciated!

 

[Inkleg]

All the best to you and the kitties during your travels and in your new home.
Sorry no travel advice as I've only traveled 3 hours with ours. The sisters just curl up in the carrier and slept. Bella on the other hand yowled so much we just let her out after 45 minutes and even then she didn't stop talking completely. Depending their catatude it's good to keep them in one room for awhile and let them get acclimated to the new place. A spare bedroom or just a bathroom will work, but your bedroom is preferable as you will be there sleeping. It helps them realize that even though it's a strange new place there is a familiar human. Whichever room just make sure you have a litter box down and put them in it first.

 

[Brewpastor]

i had cats

i don't anymore

maybe it was waking to see that they were sitting next to me all night either draining or adding thoughts that set me off them

best to all of you who host them

one of you will benefit

 

[Wash1]

Temptd2--hope your travels go well. I've never made my kitties travel in a carrier as they tended to howl the entire time. I found that they would rather curl up on my lap, or on my shoulders, and didn't cry so much. When I was working I used to have an apartment that my wife and I would go to, and the cats usually traveled with us. I realized early on that neither one of them are fond of cars. Actually the picture attached looks like a confident kitty, but he hates traveling the worst, and my wife snapped this picture just because he popped up to look around. Usually he had his head buried in my stomach and wouldn't move. Now that I'm retired thankfully he doesn't have to travel much and is much happier (except when he goes to the vet, but that's a different story)!

 

[Temptd2]

Thanks for the advice, guys!

Yeah, we'll have them all set up when we get to the new place, litter boxes, familiar toys, familiar kitty scratching posts, etc. They'll definitely stay in one smallish area of the house til they acclimate to THAT, then let them gradually get used to the whole place (it has a downstairs as well which they've not lived with here). I'm afraid to let the two of them have free run of the vehicle - can't imagine what kind of mayhem THAT would create, LOL!

We're gonna make the trip in two 6 hour days. KOTC and I are old enough that 6 hours of driving in one day is about our limit - backs start to hurt, no point getting all crippled up over it. So they'll also spend one night in a motel. Oh this is gonna be SO much fun - NOT!!

 

[MaxStout]

I never took my cat on a long journey, though I had driven him to/from relatives a couple hours away to keep while we were on long vacations. He was too active to allow free movement in the car. He would climb all over the place. Found out the first time when he tried to crawl under my feet while driving. I had to keep him in a carrier. He would howl like a banshee the whole time. It was heartbreaking, but necessary.

It depends on the cats. Take them for a short "test drive" and see how they react. Maybe you'll be lucky and they'll settle in the back seat. Bring their kitty beds and see if they will curl up in them. Something familiar for them. Or maybe the passengers can hold on to them. But if they climb around in the car, you don't want that distraction.

 

[Temptd2]

I never took my cat on a long journey, though I had driven him to/from relatives a couple hours away to keep while we were on long vacations. He was too active to allow free movement in the car. He would climb all over the place. Found out the first time when he tried to crawl under my feet while driving. I had to keep him in a carrier. He would howl like a banshee the whole time. It was heartbreaking, but necessary.

It depends on the cats. Take them for a short "test drive" and see how they react. Maybe you'll be lucky and they'll settle in the back seat. Bring their kitty beds and see if they will curl up in them. Something familiar for them. Or maybe the passengers can hold on to them. But if they climb around in the car, you don't want that distraction.

Ours mainly go back and forth to the vet, which is NOT a favorite trip! We will be taking them on a short jaunt this weekend, we're going to be staying locally but not in this house until our escrow closes in about a week, and they WILL be in carriers. When we drive to our new place, we'll be caravaning, so just me in the car with the cats - cannot have them getting under my feet or in my face, so they gotta be contained. I imagine I will be serenaded for quite a while. Hope they quit after an hour or so!

 

[MaxStout]

My cat had a unique, "I really farkin' hate the car" vocalization, that he never used anywhere else. A deep, guttural, MWAOWWWW! He'd do it the entire 2-hour trip. But every cat is different. Maybe yours will settle down along the way.

Best of luck on the move!

 

[skraeling]

i will also confirm my current one hates even the 3min drive to my vet with a vehemence usually associated for nazis'

however I did have one a long time ago that absolutely loved it. Would climb up on the dash when we were travelling down to OKC which from my local is a 9ish hour drive at best.

cats are weird.

 

[leftcontact]

Thanks for the advice, guys!

Yeah, we'll have them all set up when we get to the new place, litter boxes, familiar toys, familiar kitty scratching posts, etc. They'll definitely stay in one smallish area of the house til they acclimate to THAT, then let them gradually get used to the whole place (it has a downstairs as well which they've not lived with here). I'm afraid to let the two of them have free run of the vehicle - can't imagine what kind of mayhem THAT would create, LOL!

We just moved DC to Atlanta last year. Similar length drive, we did it all in one day.
Our girls were in separate carriers, next to each other, but due to the space limitations the carriers were under a bunch of other stuff, although the gates were facing the back of the SUV. They were still pretty annoyed at us from having been at kitty camp for the previous three days while we were getting the house moved, packed, and clean, so it was a pretty quiet ride down. They had food, air, water, and personal space. We stopped off at a grocery store on the way in to town to pick up litter, and the first thing we set up was litter boxes. Sounds like you have the right general idea once you get there.

 

[leftcontact]

cats are weird.

Eh, they say the same thing about us. “ Did you see what that new human that came over last night did to me? I don’t know what she’d rolled in, but she had her fur all stiff and spiky. I tried to groom her to get it out, and she just batted me away! Humans are weird.”

 

[Temptd2]

We just moved DC to Atlanta last year. Similar length drive, we did it all in one day.
Our girls were in separate carriers, next to each other, but due to the space limitations the carriers were under a bunch of other stuff, although the gates were facing the back of the SUV. They were still pretty annoyed at us from having been at kitty camp for the previous three days while we were getting the house moved, packed, and clean, so it was a pretty quiet ride down. They had food, air, water, and personal space. We stopped off at a grocery store on the way in to town to pick up litter, and the first thing we set up was litter boxes. Sounds like you have the right general idea once you get there.

Thanks, I think we're sounding fairly similar - we thought about tag-team driving it in one day, but it's just too much for us human elements at this age!

We just got two carriers that have sides that open up with netting on them to give them a little more space to spread out. Litter boxes and litter will be the first things that go down in the new house. They'll have a bedroom all to themselves for the first few days. Of course, we'll be in there often to talk to them, play with them, feed them and attend to their needs!

After that they'll be confined to the house for at least a few weeks, then they MIGHT get to go out on the balcony if we can get it kitty-proofed for them, depending on the weather.

They're pretty spoiled and we all like it that way. Hope they settle in as quickly as possible!

 

[acarr160]

Oh look a sleeping child.

 

[SEndorf]

Our unaffable little rodent runs the house.
After seeing her litterbox in awe....she is affectionately called "mooseturd"....

 

[skraeling]

Taking up maximum lap.

 

[Cyclman]

Purr

 

[radwizard]

My Cats: Bretta and Roselare

 

[Miraculix]

My Cats: Bretta and Roselare

View attachment 551755 View attachment 551756 View attachment 551757

Such fluffyness!!!

 

[acarr160]

Wanted to post a video of my youngest. They are now yelling they can’t do things because they are catted!

 

[rhys333]

Bump!

.

 

[jerbrew]

^^those eyes read "You did't ask if I wanted a beer..."^^

 

[rhys333]

^^those eyes read "You did't ask if I wanted a beer..."^^

That or "why are you holding that beer instead of scratching my ear?"

 

[Sparkncode]

Leica making reading homebrewtalk difficult. With my bad eyesight a cat between me and the monitor is unhelpful.

 

[Homercidal]

So this weekend Fuggles jumps right up on my desk while I am trying to play Warcraft with my buddies. Strangest thing. She's not really lovable in general, and I can't remember the last time either of the cats were on my desk (That I was aware of, anyway).

I gave her a quick pet, deciding whether or not to push her down, and then I thought maybe she had to go outside and go potty. The alternative was the litter box sitting about 5 feet from me in my computer room.

I put her out.

 

[Inkleg]

Guess it's been awhile and I should update this.
Left to right

Bella is a year and half now and always finding ways to annoy us. She has found that if she reaches under the bathroom door the doorstop makes a boing boing sound when she bends it. Not so cute at 3am.

Half Pint and Kinky the sisters will be 2 next month. Being deaf has slowed their development and are just now doing cat things the others were at 4 months.

Winkie will be a year next month and even with one eye (severe cataract at birth) keeps up with Bella with no problem.

Not a day goes by that we don't laugh at their antics....or yell at them....they are cats after all.

 

[Wash1]

Cute babies!!

 

[Sparkncode]

The nights are starting to cool off here, mid autumn.

I just got a big demanding raspy siamese/oriental meow from Leica demanding I make getting in the bed easy for her... about 7degC outside now.

She only wants in the bed once the weather cools off

 

[fourfarthing]

A few new ones.

 

[opercularia]

I'm a sucker for strays and rescues, always have been. This is just the last ten years. George broke into our garage one winter at -40C (or F if you must!). My wife and I were away, and my daughter fed him ("He looked cold and hungry") He decided to stay.

The next summer he came home one day saying "Look what I found. Can I keep her?"

And honest to god, he let her suckle on two bare teats all summer! Her name, of course, is Georgette.

He taught her everything he knew about trees. This is the first sniff of spring.

He was an independent cuss and often went walk-about for weeks at a time. Liked his food wherever he found it.

He finally completely disappeared and would only come to visit periodically in the evening when the BBQ and fire pit were on. We found out the next year that he had moved in with a family two streets over that had younger kids. He was always a sucker for kids and my daughter had left home. They've now moved out of province, so we no longer see him, but remember him fondly.

Daughters! Another -40C (or F if you must!) winter, at Christmas, I had seen a black ball of fluff blowing down the street but had been unable to catch it. Mentioned it to my daughter, who was visiting, and this is what I got for Christmas.

I was now separated and living on my own. I was spending a lot of time on the road and had a cat sitter who kept their dishes full and their boxes empty, but little else. She never did see him. Georgette adopted him and still cares for him.

My ex had to get herself a kitten, but then discovered that she was allergic to him. She asked me to take him, but he spent too much time tormenting Georgette (I live three doors down).
She went on an extended vacation and I fed him and let him out in the morning, back in at night. He got lonely. It was a nice summer and I worked at the kitchen table with the door open.

He moved in, and that was that. Still snaps at Georgette sometimes, but it's just a boredom thing. For the most part, they now get along. All three snuggle down on the bed at night, in the same order every night, but spread out in the summer and tight together in the winter.
He's got a very fine coat and needs daily brushing. If I'm on the road for a week or two, it's game over. He now gets sheared every spring. Here he is in his long-johns.

God help me, one more and I'll be well on my way to being the town's cat lady.

 

[user 246304]

Great thread. I'm sorry I can't offer any pics, 1 would be that we have an apartment, a lab, and that's it from the LL and 2, though she is also a cat lover and grew up with many, my wife's allergic. My son and I have even pleaded the case but I guess it would suck for her, despite her love as well.

Cats are the best. Totally different from dogs. We still are trying to decide if our 2 1/2 year old pup is insanely smart, or radically dumb. With cats, there's no question. All are geniuses, all are zen, and all, as much as possible, are playful. I just love watching them, and they're beautiful.

Hahahahha - memories. When I was an actor in L.A. my girlfriend and I managed an apartment complex and had Spanky as a pal. Spanky was the coolest cat - with one exception. He'd survived a fall from I don't know how many stories in NY. New York guy, was leaving and offered Spanky to us. We leapt on it and old Spanks became our mate.

Only quirk was that many times I'd come home, open the door, Spanky would freak, hop with all fours, land, then glare at me all as he was traversing the floor. Returns to normal walking across the floor as quickly as possible so as not to betray the cut of his cool, all as if he meant to do it all along. I know you guys know what I'm talking about. I think it must have been the trauma he endured and happy to say he calmed down over time and was very much a lap kitty.

Speaking of the thread, beautiful kitties, guys.