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Our Cats...


sassenach

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:24: Ok, Smokey is now 4 yrs. old. Standard silvery gray striped cat who has been quite adventuresome and always loyal, though cantankerous from the start, a true survivor and hunter.

He seems to be settling down now. Smokey is getting so lazy he is not the thin little bugger he used to be! For awhile this year, mostly spring and early summer, he was still going out a lot, usually being the little catamount as usual and sometimes coming in after being in fights or catching his skin on sharp things, wherever it is that he was hanging out. This was not good. Would get him healed up and out he would go again. But finally, he stopped coming in all tore up. Now, he has started just staying inside mostly, even with a fine day out and the window readily open. Hmmm, started gaining weight. He now has outsized his momma even though he still has narrow hips. He is happy to sit with me, let's me put him so he's resting up my body over my shoulders, let's me pet him all over now without reacting badly. He is finding all sorts of odd places to lay down at, not all appropriate and changes it every few days to suit himself, NOT to suit me however..... he seems to dislike made for him spots but may get to that once it get's a bit colder...... Smokey is a different cat than he was six months ago though...... he's actually gaining a round belly! But I know he loves me... :) If he keeps mellowing out I am going to have to call him Bhudda cat! :24:

 

What about your cat(s)?

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The one in my lap doesn't have a name yet. I call her Graybaby. DH calls her Fox. She's also been called Airport, Chinchilla, Owlet, and Grayfluff. Picture a long haired Russian Blue. My son rescued her from a coyote-ridden area, the mechanical end of the airport, week before last. For the first few days, she just sat in shock, staring, except when she was eating. She ate pitifully little. She had a tiny hiss for the puppy, but didn't fight at all. She was miserably constipated, and so close to death the fleas had abandoned her. She's the size of a five- or six-week-old, but is as agile as a ten-week-old or even a twelve-week-old. She didn't purr until a few days ago. She has the most delicate touch of any cat I've ever played with.

 

Our Memorial Day kitten was rescued by a friend from someone ready to feed her to a rottie. She appears to have been born feral. She was quite lively, but terribly young--and dehydrated. She could run a few steps, but not in a straight line, and couldn't jump or land yet. One eye wasn't full open. She is violently jealous of Graybaby, but we're hoping that will change. She's pewter and silver and cream in stripes, and is so soft. She's scheduled to be spayed right after payday.

 

Next older was rescued from the lakebed. She was there three weeks before DH got the drop on her to bring her home. She'd run up to every pick up truck, crying piteously, then hop away hissing and spitting when the wrong person opened the door. Our theory is she was someone's spoiled precious, who got dumped at the lake out of spite. She's glossy black, like a Bombay, compact and extremely vocal.

 

Just a little older than her is a golden tabby boy who very early on lost an argument with a truck. When it's cold, he still limps. He purrs if you look at him. Unfortunately, he also sprays. Which is why he largely gets to exercise his charm outdoors.

 

Next older are the calico twins, courtesy of a friend who knew we were looking for kittens and was willing to hold the pick(s) of the litter for us. The long-haired one is a squeaky toy, dim but very sweet, and my special favorite. Melanie Wilkes would be a perfect name for her. The short haired one thinks she's a dog. A squirrel-hunting dog, to be precise. If the first were Melanie, this one would be Scarlett. They both snore.

 

The eldest pair are a tortoise shell and a squirrel-colored tabby, both pitifully thin and irritable these days. In human years they'd be over a hundred. The tortie likes to sleep on DH's chest. The second oldest, like the calicoes, only comes inside when it's cold or rainy out. They were quite the little queens of their day, but now they're bedraggled-looking and mean-spirited, poor things.

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My baby is also named Smokey! She is 5 years old, and the queen on our hill. I had her fixed a while back, and tried to keep her inside like the vet told me. She just kept walking back and forth in front of the storm door and crying. I finally decided to pick her up to check her stitches . they were ok. but her belly was hot and swollen! I knew that she had been going to have kittens a while back, but I assumed that she had lost them because we never saw them. I opened the door and followed her to the back porch--and there were 3 beautiful kittens. They had been alone for 3 days, 1 just like smokey and 2 siamese. My landlord IS NOT HAPPY!!! post-7458-080125000 1287793994_thumb.jpg Look at how they cut her ear! The SPCA in Gulfport will fix your cat and give them shots for free, but that ear clip is required. They do that while they are doing the surgery. They say it is a universal sign for outside cats--to tell other people that they belong to someone and that they are fixed. I had never heard of that!

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My baby is also named Smokey! She is 5 years old, and the queen on our hill. I had her fixed a while back, and tried to keep her inside like the vet told me. She just kept walking back and forth in front of the storm door and crying. I finally decided to pick her up to check her stitches . they were ok. but her belly was hot and swollen! I knew that she had been going to have kittens a while back, but I assumed that she had lost them because we never saw them. I opened the door and followed her to the back porch--and there were 3 beautiful kittens. They had been alone for 3 days, 1 just like smokey and 2 siamese. My landlord IS NOT HAPPY!!! post-7458-080125000 1287793994_thumb.jpg Look at how they cut her ear! The SPCA in Gulfport will fix your cat and give them shots for free, but that ear clip is required. They do that while they are doing the surgery. They say it is a universal sign for outside cats--to tell other people that they belong to someone and that they are fixed. I had never heard of that!

 

wow, I had not heard about the ear marking, thats a good idea. Glad you found the kitties I bet they were hungry!

 

and kudos to the above post .... sorry, Ive got a half dozen things going on.... but loved hearing about all the cats you have rescued, Ambergris. Your hubby loves cats, I can tell! lol. Made me grin, reading these and that helps everything tonight! Thanks ladies!

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Buster is my oldest cat at 16 1/2 years old. I got him when he was about 2 or 3 months. A lady had found him and his mother and sister by the side of the road. When I went to pick a kitten they were all laying on the porch. Mom and sister ran to hide and Buster came up and started rubbing on my legs and meowing. He hasn't stopped since. We lived on the same street for 15 yrs and when we moved last year I had people who walked past our house for years ask if he died because he would go down to the sidewalk for everyone that passed by to get petted. I had to tell people to take a different route because he's doing it on a different street. :lol: He is incredibly healthy...only now beginning to slow down and lose some teeth.

 

Ginger is 12 years and a tortoiseshell. We got her when she was 4 or 5 weeks old from the shelter. They were asking folks to take kittens because the momma had died. She fit into my hand when we got her and I remember many sleepless nights feeding her milk replacement from the tiniest bottle. She used to love curling up on the shoulder of anyone who sat on the couch. Now she's a confirmed outdoor cat who leaves us a mouse on the porch...several times a week still.

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Look at how they cut her ear! The SPCA in Gulfport will fix your cat and give them shots for free, but that ear clip is required. They do that while they are doing the surgery. They say it is a universal sign for outside cats--to tell other people that they belong to someone and that they are fixed. I had never heard of that!

 

 

 

Here we have low cost spay/neuter clinic that will fix them, give them shots and clip one of the ears for free if you bring in a feral in a humane trap. The clipped ear is to indicate that the feral has been fixed and returned to the wild, it's supposed to keep the same cats from being trapped and taken to the clinic over and over.

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Never heard of the ear clip here, too. :mellow:

 

Alice came walking up our drive on the very day we had arranged to pick up a Golden Retriever/Australian Shepherd mix puppy. We were sitting outside at the picnic table, talking about what we were going to need for the pup with the kids, and what the expectations and responsibilities would be (again). This little gray tabby kitten just waltzed right up and made herself at home.

 

She was small, and looked only just recently weaned, but we learned later that she was just an older small version, maybe the runt of the litter. DH doesn't particularly like cats... he's always had dogs, but she crawled up onto his shoulders, purring and rubbing him like he was *hers*. LOL We left to pick up the puppy, and DH said maybe she'd be gone when we got back.

 

Yeah, right. <_< LOL

 

We had to leave her outside since DH said "NO CATS IN THE HOUSE!" But when winter came, I couldn't leave that little bundle of cuteness out in the cold. I shut her into a box each night for several nights, then let her out next day, but she had enough of that and was soon out and running. So then, of course, we had to get her shots and cleaned, etc. The first time she had a bath, DH used his big thick gloves. I didn't know cats *made* sounds like that!!!! :blink:

 

By January she went into estrus, and it was funny how she was thoroughly attracted to DH. He was her new best friend all over again. :24: We had her fixed and that was that.

 

She would've made a great Mama, though. She stayed indoors, while the dog went outside in a super-deluxe doghouse. When our last daughter was born, Alice would come to me crying and insisting I go care for the baby every time the baby cried. They've had a special relationship ever since; I tell her that Alice thinks she's *her* baby. ;)

 

She's now 17 years old, hard of hearing, with 2 non-cancerous tumors and bad teeth. I keep the tooth decay at bay by using antibiotics in cycles every month, since even the Vet advised that she was pretty old for surgery. Her appetite seems to be declining, but she's not in pain, so she'll be here until the quality of her life is very poor. I'm really dreading that day. :(

 

And at the moment she's sleeping in a *cake pan*... I left it out on my table and it was so funny that I haven't had the heart to wash it and put it away again... :24: :24: :24:

 

She'll move her "favorite place to sleep" again soon, and then I'll do it. :)

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I'm so glad you asked about my furbaby! I love my cat more than I love most people (outside immediate family of course)! :D My baby's named Sampson and he's a 16 year old orange Maine Coon I adopted from a kill shelter 15 1/2 years ago. I think he has some Rex mixed in because the fur on his belly is curly like a poodle's. Ever seen a curly haired cat? Well I have one! Maine Coons are one of the biggest breeds on the planet and mine is no exception. He weighs 17 lbs. and is the size of a med dog. He also has long tufts of fur that grow between his toe pads. They're supposed to work like snow shoes. He has a bushy tail that's meant to filter cold air when they wrap it around their faces on cold outdoor nights. He also has a lion's mane called a ruff and his fur is water repellent.

 

I almost lost him 2 years ago to diabetes. He got down to 7 lbs. and his hind leg muscles started to atrophy. It took us 4 months to find the right type of insulin, dosage and protocol and he still has to have 2 shots a day. But he's back to normal now. I just can't feed him dry food anymore. He has to have high protein can food. His leg muscles came back at about 80%, so I bought him a set of stairs to get up on our bed with. That was the only thing he was having trouble with and he HAS to sleep with me every night! :D

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He loves his stairs! Our bed is VERY high and he would try and try to jump up on it, but after the muscle damage he just couldn't make it anymore. I also have several bird feeders outside the bedroom windows for him to watch while we're gone during the day. If he couldn't get on the bed he couldn't see them anymore. I could tell he was depressed. And yes, they helped my back too! Because he's diabetic he pee's alot so he's up and down several times a night to use the litterbox and he would cry for me to put him back on the bed. Now he can come and go as he pleases without help.

 

I've had other pets in the past and I've loved them all dearly, but I have a special bond with Sampson. When he passes it will take me a long time to get over the grief.

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We have three cats in my house now. Leah is the oldest at 16 1/2 years old. Although she is the oldest and I have had her the longest, she is actually the newest to the household. I had her when my oldest was 17. We moved in with my brother and when we got our own place four years later, we couldn't have pets so he kept her. My brother has recently moved in with me and this has been a big change for Leah. We have 2 other cats and 2 dogs. She has never lived with dogs before and has been an indoor cat since she was about 9 months old. She did live with two other older cats that both died about 3 or 4 years ago. We had another cat then as well, Dewey. You see I lived with my brother, moved out and then about four years after that, I moved back in. When my younger daugther was 17 we gave her a kitten that they had in the grooming shop down stairs. He and Leah took an instant dislike to each other. Then we lost the other two cats so it was just Dewey and Leah. When we moved out a little over 2 years ago, we took Dewey and left Leah with my brother. Now that he had to move back in with me, Leah and Dewey are together again, but don't seem to be quite as bad together. They can be in the same room at least. Leah will not eat with the other cats or sit on the same piece of furniture. She is a loner, although she wants attention from her people when she chooses She has accepted my older dog Emmy who is a 3 1/2 year old spaniel mix. She is a nice calm dog. Winrie on the other hand is full of too much energy.She is a hound mix and if I knew how energentic she was, I would never have picked her. Her mother was calm and she didn't play more actively than typical puppies. She is about 6 months old and is too energetic and likes to play with Dewey. Dewey plays with her as well. This does not sit well with Leah. She wants that dog to stay away from her. She won't even go to the litter box if the dog is in her path. Mossa is my other cat. When I was looking for a place to move to in the country, my daughter adopted a stray kitten at her sisters house. It was fed outside until we moved and then moved in with us. Only flaw in our plan was she got pregnant right before I took her in. Mossa is the queen of the house. She lays around, demanding attention when she wants it, must be fed first, and acts too good for the rest of us. I think it is mostly because she was a stray for about 9 months. She had been dumped near my sister's house around Thanksgiving and we didn't take her in until May. They are good cats, but trying to get them to get a long is sometimes a challenge. Sometimes it feels like I have a house of bickering children with one calling out he touched me and the other saying did not. Of course this is complicated by the fact that I live in a single wide trailer.

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