Bringing groceries in the house, turned around and there she was......

Yep, I walked into the house with the first batch of groceries (after Gimpy on her crutches), pushed the door 'closed' but it did not close, and put the groceries down. Turned around to get batch #2 WHEN SUDDENLY there is a kitten standing in my kitchen, looking at me. Hmmmmm. So I walk toward her, and she walks toward me, and I put my hand out and she jumps up to rub my fingers. She is singing and using small, high- pitches cries. A solid gray kitten, I would guess about 4 months old. So I get the rest of the groceries, walking around the kitten and finish unloading the car.

The kitten is now standing in the kitchen singing so loud I can hear her standing up, and I am 1/2 deaf (sorry- hearing impaired.... whew, that was close). So I pick up the kitten and she is singing and rubbing my face and neck and just having a grand ole' time and I walk around the corner to show Gimpy what followed us in. Hmmmmmm. This is last Friday night. So I put down some Half 'n Half and she turns her nose up to that. I then offer her a slice of American cheese and she attacks that like a wild animal. OK, so later on I open a can of tuna and the kitten loses all consciousnesses and attacks the tuna like a tiger... managing to bite two of my fingers pretty hard in the process (I was feeding her by hand). Now we are talking about the kitten, and how we do not want any pets with the house the way it is and I sneak a peak to see the gender: it is a female (I would not have a male cat in my house, they spray or mark with musk all over the place). We go to bed, and the kitten joins us- this thing really likes people and is more dog than cat I think. Anyway, the next morning I open the door she walked in to offer her 'out' in the event she belongs to someone, she walks onto the threshold, looks around and walks back into the house.

OK, now we have to do something: I take my extra Ideal Steel ash pan, take it outside and throw a shovel full of dirt in it, bring it into the house and sit the kitten in it and she immediately leaves a puddle and covers it. Great. Then I give her 1/2 can of tuna, she eats that like she is rabid and because I am hand- feeding her on my chest in my office, a piece of tuna falls down my chest: she gets it and on the way back, bites the hell out of my right nipple. (what the hell?). More feeding, another nipple chomp but I am getting attached to the little girl.

Now, we are not going to keep this kitten so it is going to the town pound. Sorry folks, we like cats just fine and have both had cats in the past but are just in no shape to have a pet with the house as it is (too dangerous for the pet). But in the meantime, we stop off and buy a few things to tide the kitten over, and start testing out names. We get a proper litter box and litter, kitten food, some toys rolleyes, a cat- carrier, a harness and leash. And call our vet and make an appointment for an initial cat visit.... just to tide us over until we can make it to the pound of course. By Sunday, we settle on the name Phoebe and she is sleeping in our bed, eating and drinking and living large in the ole' homestead. This thing really likes people and prefers to help me work and type although to be honest, her typing skills leave much to be desired (then again, she IS typing with all four feet and her butt so maybe it is really pretty good, considering).






As you can see, she is extremely high strung and nervous. A beautiful medium- dark gray, with a lighter, almost silver, mask on her face. Really, a beautiful kitten and has a fantastic personality. But that does not matter 'cause she is going to the pound.

Today we took her to the Vet.: he estimated she is 5 mos. old, weighs 5.7 pounds, got her first inoculations, was treated (orally and externally) for fleas and wormed. She did well on her first car trip, did well with the Vet. and was generally excellent. There was a dog in the waiting room and we found out Phoebe can make all the other cat noises, spitting, growling and that low pitched 'cat howl', and her tail can expand to three times its normal size.

So now we are just killing time until we get Phoebe to the pound. But I thought you folks would get a kick out of the fact that she too enjoys reading FHC!



Which she does far, far better than she types.

Brian

 

Pound huh?????........................I highly doubt it...................

 

BDF Looks like you got adopted.

 

Yep she picked her home...

 

Oh no, you understimate me and my cruelty.

Back around 1998 or so, I was picking up a load of firewood from a pallet manufacturer. I used to buy their 4" square, between 4" and 8" long cut- offs of hardwood. But one particular night, I had both of my sons with me and they did not have my blocks ready. But when I walked up to the dark building, in a light rain, something ran between my legs: my first thought was RAT! But it was jumping all around and acting like an idiot so I reached down and the rat turned into a puppy, very young by the feel of his coat (puppy down rather than actual fur). Got him near the door, opened it and saw what looked like a German Shepherd Dog about 6 or 7 weeks old hopping all over the place, drenched and covered with burrs. No firewood but I asked the pallet co.'s owners and they had been feeding him for over a week. Temp. was going to 9F that night and he would not survive outside, so I asked them if they were going to bring him inside.... after a lot of him / hawing, they would not commit to that and so I took the pup home to save his bacon until I could bring him to the pound. Checking him out, he was not a pure bred GSD because he had webbed feet but he was adorable. I told the kids to be quiet and stand still and when we entered the house, I turned the pup loose and he ran around like a wild thing- Andrea saw him and screamed 'You let something into the house!!!'. I said 'really, what is it?'. The pup and the wife are running around in circles for a while, amusing us, until they finally came fact- to- face and she realized it was a puppy. We had lost our last dog about a year before and kind of had a 'pet hole' in the house. Anyway, I saved him from freezing to death and brought him to the pound the following day. Well, not the following day but a little later. Took him to the Vet. got him checked out, named him (Zachery, Zach) and he turned out to be an absolutely beautiful GSD / Labrador mix. I slacked off a bit and was tardy gettign to the pound for the next 15 years until he was beyond all hope; I still have him in an urn and if you do not think he is STILL going to the pound, you are sadly mistaken Sir! Yep, Zach and Phoebe: off to the pound, and taking both in one trip will save fuel! Soon..... very soon. But right now she is looking for someone to throw her bell toy so I have to go. But tomorrow, off to the pound! Or the next day at most. Though we do have a Vet. appointment in three weeks.... OK, I will wait a bit but right after that next Vet appointment, off to the Pound! And I mean it!

Brian

P.S. Phoebe helping my Gimp wife knit in her sick bed last night......



And BTW: this is Zack, on his way to the pound. Look at these photos and tell me he is not terrified!







Silly dog slept on his back. And he really did not care what or who was beneath him: this is him sleeping with Mom, also sleeping:



Oh yeah, he was within an inch of going to the pound in all these photos!!!

 

Thanks!

Yeah, I do like my pets. I even like some other people's pets. My brother had a Doberman who was just a wonderful entity (spirit, dog, whatever) and it was terrible when he reached the end of his life for me as well as my brother.

I always carry Milk Bones with me and can <almost> always have a little conversation and share a snack with dogs I meet. Miley at Woodstock Soapstone was a great example; shy and retiring, she warmed up to me and we got to be 'associates' if not best- buddies.

I like animals, especially dogs, although this little feline is getting under my skin too (both figuratively as well as literally: when she goes into 'crazy kitten mode' it seems my feet have misbehaved something terrible and MUST be punished ). But dogs are special with me and for whatever insane reason in the universe, they like me too. Seriously, I can almost always 'make nice' with a snarling, growling dog given a few minutes.

And a quirk of mine has always been that I am wary of anyone who cannot get along with dogs. My own dogs were never aggressive and yet some people are just terrified of them, and in turn the dogs act funny around those people, and I find the whole thing odd enough that it makes me wonder if the dog is sensing something that I cannot in that humans's (what? psyche? personality? Intentions? I do not know).

And Phoebe is very quickly working her way into my psyche too. I look forward to coming home to see her and see what silliness she has been up to. Not really sure when I turned the corner but now she is kinda' mine, and that means my entire abilities are now extended to keep her safe, make her comfortable and keep her happy. Not sure how or why that happens but it is really nice having a third 'personality' in our house and we both look forward to seeing her and watching her antics.

As an aside, the Vet. called earlier tonight and said the results of her tests and she has 'whipworm', which he says in almost exclusively a dog worm. ?? Nothing to worry about and it should just pass through her system in a few days (no more exposure to dogs in this house) but if not, it is easily treated and eliminated. But I was impressed that the Vet. called me personally to explain the situation.

Funny story: long time ago, we 'caught' a gray and white mouse in the kitchen; he was just standing there and looking at us. Ended up being a pet for my youngest son, about 12 or so at the time, and we got the cage, toys, food etc., etc. to keep him. And, of course, another mouse to keep him company. At the pet store, my son picked our a black and white male mouse that he wanted and the store owner put them together in a tank for a few minutes because he said sometimes males fight. But not these two, no problem at all. So he names the gray and white one Mt. Jingles (from The Green Mile), and I call him Mr. Sprinkles just to annoy the kid (someone had to do it, right?) and he names the black and white one Spike. Well, after a few weeks together, Spike starts getting "fat" and sometime later, Spike gives birth to 10 mice. No wonder they got along. So we separate them, give all the offspring back to the pet store 'cause 'they stepped in it' selling us a "male" mouse that had a uterus, and somehow, my wife and I ended up with Spike in our bedroom. Well, after watching her for a while, I started to interact with her and found her to be amazingly intelligent, at least to me. She would ride on my shoulder, or in my pocket, and made zero effort to get away. In fact, if you just put your hand in Spike's care, palm up, she would run over and sit in your hand for a visit. Anyway, Spike was a gas, and I really enjoyed our time with her, which was almost 3 years, a long time for a mouse. Almost proof that nearly all of us mammals can get along if we make a little effort I think.

Brian

 

Dogs are definitely good judges of character without a doubt. One of the reasons that people who have a fear of dogs often are the recipient of aggressive behavior by certain dogs, is that they (the fearful person), exude fear pheromones which are picked up by dogs as part of pack dominance. Dogs being pack animals, view humans as a extension of their pack where every dog has a place.

 

You should be ashamed of yourself - that poor Zack is positively mortified in that picture. And poor kitty is going to get the same treatment? Fie on you sir!

 

Good looking cat that adopted you.

So you checked and it a girl huh? Well, judging form the way Zack is laying, he's a boy and wants everyone to know!

Those animals have a great place!

 

Yeah, he always struck me as embarrassed.....

Funny Zack story: my youngest son got a couple of guinea pigs and Zack was beside himself with jealousy. Whenever anyone went to the pig's cage, Zack was front and center making sure they did not get too much attention and that he got more. And if feeding the pigs and something was dropped, Zack would grab it and eat it as fast as possible to keep those pesky pigs from getting it. So one day, I decide to test the waters and see how far he will go in his quest: I peel an onion and cut it in half, walk to the pig's cage, fumble around and 'accidentally' drop 1/2 of a raw onion. Crunch, crunch, crunch, gone. Pretty amusing and the dog is not put off in the least. So I dropped the other half and that went just as fast. Hysterical! And before someone asks, no, the dog did not get sick or suffer in any way from eating the onion but it was most certainly not something he would have eaten on his own.

Brian

 

Kitten is absolutely a female. Male cats spray musk and I would not have one living in my house. So that would have been a deal- killer the first night she was here.

And yes, she IS a very nice looking cat: solid dark gray, beautiful coat, with a very slightly silver mask below her eyes. But even better, she has the best disposition of any cat I have ever known and I grew up in a house with several cats over the years; she will come when called, absolutely loves humans (at least Andrea and me, but was extremely nonchalant and very relaxed around the Vet staff as well) and stays right out in the open, and in a room that at least one of us is in. She does not hide behind or under things as many cats tend to do. She is a cat but on the dog end of the spectrum of cats I think.

Yeah, everybody used to laugh hysterically the first time they saw Zack sleeping. He only slept on his back for 'the long haul' like overnight, normal naps and casual sleeping was done in the regular dog fashion. And a lot of the time, one of his lips would hang 'down' and show a couple of teeth- it kinda' looked like someone shot him and that was how he landed.

Yeah, we like our pets and treat them well. Not ridiculous though, such as allowing them to not be housebroken or destructive, etc. But they do get the run of the place and are all indoor animals though the dogs went outside on a run, they were never left out long when it was cold or raining so yeah, I think we provide a pretty good life for the animals that fall into our sphere; Phoebe (the kitten) absolutely LOVES tuna fish (human, canned tuna) 'cause of course we did not have any cat food when she 'arrived'. So while she is fed kitten food as her regular food, I did pick up four cans of tuna for her as a now- and- then treat. Hey, we all have to have those little highlights in life, right?

Brian

 

Had one that looked just like Phoebe years ago named Whiskers. Kittens are fun!

 

The fear is almost palpable. Terrifying photos.

 

I've had plenty of male cats and never had an issue with spraying . Even the feral cat (whom is now a housecat), didn't spray before I got him neutered - after 6 years. OTOH, a former neighbor's neutered male cat always came across the street and sprayed one of my perennial beds almost every day. Saw him do it many times. Neighbor never had an issue with him spraying over at their place though.

Try to get the very low sodium tuna for kitty if you can. Much better for the humans of the household too. Course if it's just an occasional treat, salt intake won't be a huge issue.

 

Brian

We are also in RI, and I wish I could help you. Today we have two dogs, two cats and a pet rabbit. If I were to get another cat, it would be me you would see at the pound. Not only that, our recent addition a black mouth cur, Piper, is very jealous. She likes to attack the cats. We have to keep a weary eye on her at all times, and our cats are grown. I'd hate to see what she might do to a kitten. That would not be a good situation for us.

Phoebe is beautiful though. What is interesting is how Phoebe obviously picked you guys. I've never seen a cat come into a home like that. You might consider a trial period to see how things go. If that does not go well, then take her to the pound.

Jason from RI.

 

I think you missed something in the translation . . .

 

I very well could have. The way it was written screamed that Brian would be keeping the kitten.

 

okay - so I missed something in translating your post

 

Yeah, I have heard of male cats that do not spray but in each case, at some point, we have found the streaks on the wall behind the couch, in that dark corner of the closet, somewhere. You may well be right but my own experience has made me just too wary of male cats.

Phoebe will only get the occasional teaspoon of tuna so I doubt the sodium (or even the mercury) in the tuna will be much of a problem. She seems to like Blue Buffalo (or is is Buffalo Blue?) kitten food so that is what we are giving her. We starred off with small amounts so that she would not over- eat but now we have settled into a usual three feeding cycle, and she always walks away from the bowl before all the food is gone. Cats are normally self- regulating, which is a good thing.