The Official HTF Cat Thread (2 Viewers)

[questrider]

 

[Stan]

Sadly, don't think this little guy is with us any longer. Haven't seen him in almost a month. Maybe he's had a home all this time and as the weather has cooled, he's not allowed out. I hope for the best, but he always had that wild, feral cat type of attitude, probably never know what has happened with him.

Unbelievable, but I saw the little guy yesterday about four houses away. He must have a home, we've had single digit temps the past few weeks. Yet there he was, running across the street, patrolling the neighborhood. I'm friends with all my neighbors and nobody knows who he belongs to. He may be wild, some how surviving on birds and finds a place to stay warm.

My 20+ year old Siamese can move surprisingly fast. I've got a pit-bull, long story, he's not mine, he'll be leaving on the 26th. He chases her, caught her once and got a mouth-full of fur. She's learned when it's safe to come out, but she was here first, he's got to go.

 

[Sam Posten]

Boop war!

 

[Alf S]

That is HILARIOUS!

 

[Malcolm R]

Easy way to get a free whisker grooming.

 

[Stan]

Well the 20+ year old Siamese who will never die left me a message this morning.

Pooped on the basement floor, her litterbox wasn't up to her standards. Since I'm trapped by about 18 inches of snow, it won't be until tomorrow when a friend with an AWD vehicle will take me shopping. I actually walked to the store this morning, about 1/2 mile each way, but no way was I lugging back a 25 lb. box of kitty litter

 

[Stan]

Well got a new load of fresh kitty litter, she's happy. Wow, do not piss off your cat, even the invisible one that eats, drinks and uses the litter box. She's somewhere in the house, see her maybe once a week.

She's doing better now that the pit-bull is gone, but still very reclusive.

Horrible to say, but I wish she'd just go away. 20 something years old, complete hermit, but I have to spend the money for supplies for the invisible cat.

She used to be so cuddly and friendly, but when her brother died, she basically vanished.

Took her to the vet last fall. OMG, that was a disaster. Put her in a crate, drove less than 1/2 mile to my vet, she was terrified, it did not go well, but she's healthy, got her shots, etc. Carried her out to the back yard last summer to see how she would do, another major disaster.

I just feed her and let her live. She sneaks up at night from the basement to eat and drink so I know she's alive.

 

[Johnny Angell]

Well the 20+ year old Siamese who will never die left me a message this morning.

Pooped on the basement floor, her litterbox wasn't up to her standards. Since I'm trapped by about 18 inches of snow, it won't be until tomorrow when a friend with an AWD vehicle will take me shopping. I actually walked to the store this morning, about 1/2 mile each way, but no way was I lugging back a 25 lb. box of kitty litter

Do you use the clumping litter?

 

[Stan]

Do you use the clumping litter?

Always. The cheap stuff is worthless, you've got to dump it every 1-2 days. The clumping stuff you can scoop out. Even though it's 'flushable", don't do it, you'll go through hundreds of gallons of water to get rid of it.

So much easier having a dog. Kylie just stands at the back door, or if I'm sleeping, makes a little woof-woof noise to wake me. I pick up after her, but much less work than a cat.

70 lb. dog vs. 12 lb. cat, go with the dog.

I've still got two Australian finches my brother gave me. Originally four, but apparently they live very short lives. They are f**king slobs. Constantly cleaning up, vacuuming the carpet, cleaning the cage, changing their water because they barf in it. Only because I'm a really nice person, they're allowed to live. I'd love to just let them out to fly away, but that would be a death sentence, so I tolerate the final two.

Haven't even seen my cat in over two weeks. But the litter box is being used, she somehow sneaks around and eats the food I put out, so she's somewhere. My house is only 2,000 square feet, but she's found perfect little hidden spots so I rarely see her.

A few years ago I found her sleeping under a couch. She had torn the lining open and crawled inside, kind of like her own personal hammock.

 

[questrider]

Stan, I'm always so heartbroken for both you and your invisible cat when you report how you never see her. My two cats follow me all over the house—no matter where I'm at or what I'm doing, there they are just hanging out either wanting my attention, playing, or taking a nap. They can be sleeping on the couch in my office while I work and if I leave the office, if even for a minute to refill a beverage, they get up and follow me. I don't know what I'd do about a cat that wants nothing to do with me.

 

[Johnny Angell]

I used to have a cat (since passed on) who was very shy and spent his time in the guest bedroom. Really didn't want to have anything to do with us. One day I decided I would try bring him out of his shell. Twice a day I would go into the bedroom and pet him for about 5 minutes and whisper sweet nothings to him. After about a week he started to come out of the room. In two weeks he was fully integrated into the household.

 

[questrider]

Johnny, I too have always talked to my cats and I think that is one of the keys to acclimating them socially to their environment. I know they can't understand me but they do understand that I am attempting communication with them and thus it definitely helps with the bonding since I'm sure it equates to attention in their minds.


By the way, here's the progress of Simon and Maya's relationship. She loves to spy him in the room and then lay down on her side (in the "dead raccoon" position) and coax him over so they can do a stare down and paw at each other. He used to charge at her when she did this and she would run off but now he's learned that if he lays down next to her she stays.

They also love chasing each other around the furniture like two squirrels on a tree trunk. But then when he takes it a step further and wants to wrestle, that's when she growls and hisses as if to say, "Back off, kid, that's enough!" And the other night I caught her cleaning his forehead so they're not getting along famously yet but progress has most definitely been made since Thanksgiving!

 

[Johnny Angell]

Johnny, I too have always talked to my cats and I think that is one of the keys to acclimating them socially to their environment. I know they can't understand me but they do understand that I am attempting communication with them and thus it definitely helps with the bonding since I'm sure it equates to attention in their minds.

By the way, here's the progress between Simon and Maya's relationship. She loves to spy him in the room and then lay down on her side (in the "dead raccoon" position) and coax him over so they can do a stare down and paw at each other.

They also love chasing each other around the furniture like two squirrels on a tree trunk. But then when he takes it a step further and wants to wrestle, that's when she growls and hisses as if to say, "Back off, kid, that's enough!" And the other night I caught her cleaning his forehead so they're not getting along famously yet but progress has most definitely been made since Thanksgiving!

It has been my experience the while Dogs give love that is unearned, many, if not most, cast expect you to earn their love. If an owner is apathetic towards the cat they know that. They also know when the owner has a genuine interest in them and it makes a difference.

I'm happy to read Simon and Maya are progressing in their relationship. Cat's are weird. One moment they are lovey-dovey and the next it's WW3.

 

[Stan]

Stan, I'm always so heartbroken for both you and your invisible cat when you report how you never see her. My two cats follow me all over the house—no matter where I'm at or what I'm doing, there they are just hanging out either wanting my attention, playing, or taking a nap. They can be sleeping on the couch in my office while I work and if I leave the office, if even for a minute to refill a beverage, they get up and follow me. I don't know what I'd do about a cat that wants nothing to do with me.

She and her brother were wonderful when I got them. Big, cuddly lumps of fur that were always with me. Had an Italian Greyhound at the time and everybody got along. They loved being outside, just lounging around. Never in my yard. One would go east, the other west and snooze for hours on the neighbor's garages. At night, they'd sleep next to me or on me, very affectionate.

The brother passed away at four years of age, vet never could figure out what was happening. He went from 16 lbs. to 8, his fur turned white, he got very thin, and he was gone. She's never been the same since, but she's alive so I let her do her thing.

Fed her brother through a tube the vet put into his neck. It was awful, I'll never put an animal through that again.

 

[Mark Booth]

I shared this first photo over a year ago. But I captured another "portrait" shot of Sasha today and I think it's cool how her color and fur have filled in.

Sasha @ 6 months old:

Sasha @ 20 months old:

Sasha says she's waiting by the phone in case Cat Fancy magazine calls!

Mark

 

[Johnny Angell]

I shared this first photo over a year ago. But I captured another "portrait" shot of Sasha today and I think it's cool how her color and fur have filled in.

Sasha @ 6 months old:

Sasha @ 20 months old:

Sasha says she's waiting by the phone in case Cat Fancy magazine calls!

Mark

She's beautiful in both, but perhaps she's more regal now.

 

[Stan]

Mark, those are amazing photos. I've never been able to get a cat to pose for a picture.

My Italian Greyhound was fantastic, AKC show dog, so I've got lots of professional photos, but total freak if I tried. I even had to hide when she was in the ring with a handler. If she saw me it was "daddy, daddy, playtime, as she went crazy". My black lab is hopeless, being black, it's impossible to get a good photo of her.

Got some great pictures of my cats, I'll see if I can scan them and post. The male was like a panther. Just this rugged, muscled stud who patrolled the yard. He'd wait for hours underneath a shrub, patient as could be, then pounce on a bird or mouse that passed by.

Told this story long ago, but he brought a mouse inside, tucked it under the sheets of my bed with the top half of its body exposed, like it was taking a nap. I went to remove it, pulled back the sheets and it was half of a mouse. He had bitten off and eaten the lower part of the body, pretty disgusting.

 

[Johnny Angell]

Mark, those are amazing photos. I've never been able to get a cat to pose for a picture.

My Italian Greyhound was fantastic, AKC show dog, so I've got lots of professional photos, but total freak if I tried. I even had to hide when she was in the ring with a handler. If she saw me it was "daddy, daddy, playtime, as she went crazy". My black lab is hopeless, being black, it's impossible to get a good photo of her.

Got some great pictures of my cats, I'll see if I can scan them and post. The male was like a panther. Just this rugged, muscled stud who patrolled the yard. He'd wait for hours underneath a shrub, patient as could be, then pounce on a bird or mouse that passed by.

Told this story long ago, but he brought a mouse inside, tucked it under the sheets of my bed with the top half of its body exposed, like it was taking a nap. I went to remove it, pulled back the sheets and it was half of a mouse. He had bitten off and eaten the lower part of the body, pretty disgusting.

He was gifting you his treasure.

 

[Stan]

My Italian Greyhound passed away a few years ago. I was home sick with the flu. Honestly, every two hours she walked around the house to check on me. It reached three hours and I hadn't seen her. She had quietly died on my bed. It was devastating. Had her cremated and still have her ashes.

The cat is like the Energizer Bunny, just keeps going and going, totally ignoring me most of the time, but she's still here.

 

[questrider]