No, i'm afraid not, he's very weary of people, noises, etc. I was surprised he came in the house last night, but, like i said, we had a storm come in. I can tell by looking in his eyes, he's still traumatized, (pretty scared) at least he came inside, and got some good uninterrupted sleep, he'll normally go under the TV table, there's some space under there and he feels pretty safe. We'll just do what we can for him for now, keep him fed, and see if he'll continue to eat the soft cat food that i've been putting the penicillin in. Hopefully the wound will heal over, scab up and he'll be ok. I'll give it a try,sitting down when i take his food out, and see if i can get closer to him.
We see wounds in some cats around here, but mostly those are from a run in with a predator. Fisher cats etc. Vicious things. I never let my cats out no matter how much they want to. I just won't do it. One will escape past the wife now and then, but we go after them. often the hose is all we need to hurd them back. Winter snow or just rain also keeps them in. Mostly content to watch the birds feeding from their window. I hope your cat heals up. When I was a kid, we had an old tom cat that got infections several times and healed up all on his own.
The Destructo Duo went in for their yearly check up. It was a month early as I needed to get Rita in for a weight check so she was a tag along. She was in for her annual checkup last month and had lost weight (at 7.6 lbs) so we wanted to monitor it - all is good, she gained 1/2 pound and is back to 8.1 pounds. I figured out the youngsters were cleaning out her food as she is a grazer, so made sure that there was a surplus of kibble to be had. Back to the youngsters. At about 14 months old, they both got their 3 year rabies booster along with FLVEPHCTDS (or whatever those letter are ). Spot is 7.5 pounds and healthy. Rainey, formerly Runt (because she was the runt of the litter), is now my biggest cat at a whopping 8.6 pounds . Yes, she is the one that will clean out Rita's food, and eat her kibble regardless of how much is in the "kittens" bowls. Although not lithe, she is by no means a fatty. She is visibly taller, and a bit wider than Spot. I didn't realize she is at least as tall as Rita and probably as long. Like they say, dark clothes make you look smaller - which must translate to fur color too. Anyway, everyone is healthy and happy, and that is all I want.
Great- glad to hear they are doing so well. Our 'kids' are doing well also. Weight is not known but they are both small cats, with Gizmo being both smaller and more lightly built than Slash. Of course they both look tiny next to Phoebe 'cause Phoebe is broad, bulky and fat. Well, not fat per se, but she has a belly sack that is the size of a softball and hangs to w/in 2-3" of the floor when she walks. The vet. said it was perfectly normal and the result of spaying but still, she is quite heavy. Neither of these kids are 'lap cats' though and neither appreciate even being picked up. Slash has her moments but Gizmo is generally pretty aloof with people though she is getting a bit warmer with me (does not care for Andrea). I can now pick her up without a death- struggle to get away at least. And of course each has her own personality and it is amusing to watch them: Gizmo can open the tub / shower doors while neither of the other two can. So the other two, mostly Slash, pound on the glass doors and the rattling attracts Giz.... and then the other two back up, sit down and wait for Gizmo to open a door, which she does. Hysterical to watch. Brian
Sounds like ours are very much the same. Neither likes to be picked up, although Spot is getting better and will tolerate 5-10 seconds. Rainey will start to squirm the minute I start lifting her, but at least doesn't get violent. And they definitely each have their own personalities. Spot can figure out problems, and I have no doubt she could open the shower door as Gizmo does. Rainey can, and does learn by watching Spot, but would much rather Spot do things for her - and she doesn't usually have the drive to figure things out for herself. Rainey likes to snuggle in my lap while I am reading on the couch - but not while I am at the computer (she prefers the desktop then). However, when I am reading, I have my legs out on the coffee table so she will lay all stretched out on my legs. Spot will sometimes lay in my lap when I am at the computer. Either one, both or none will join me at bed time - no rhyme or reason that I can figure out. I had a neighbor pet sitting while I was out of town for a couple of days and she said she never even saw either of the youngsters. she was happy that Rita came to her for snuggles though. Course the youngsters have only seen 1 other person, 1 time, since coming home with me (not including when we went to the vet) so I'm not surprised they were apprehensive when the neighbor came over. Rita's background is unknown, but she obviously came from a loving home and was socialized with at least some people before she went to the rescue group that I got her from. Glad your cat pack is doing well and I hope Andrea isn't too disappointed by Gizmo's aloofness towards her.
The other two prefer Andrea so she is not coming up short in the 'cat love' dept. (Easy Boys!). All four of the kittens from this litter are small, as was the mother. Not sure who dad was of course though. BTW, fewer cats running around outside these days. Not sure why that is although my neighbor has stopped leaving her shed open and providing food / water inside the shed, so that may be helping. Also have not seen 'Tom' around and he was the one.... er, fertilizing all the females around here, or at least it seemed so. At any rate, two is my outside limit on cats and seeing as we have three now we cannot take in anymore. My garage now has the eves closed in so I should not collect any more kittens in there anyway. Just thought of this: every now and then, I have the garage open for an entire day. Then I close it from the house, sometimes after dark. And I do not go into the garage every day. Couple this together and we get me opening the garage door only to find the world's fastest cat racing out so fast it leaves smoke, like the Road Runner. Not my intention but apparently I occasionally trap cats and they may be in there for a couple of days. Have not had that happen in a long time though but it was both kinda' sad and funny all at the same time. Brian
I've done that a few times with my storage building. Open the door to load saws and tools to go the the woods, sneaky, nosy little female would get in there and behind stuff, next time I opened the door to put tools back, she was ready to get out...lol
Hey, BDF . Thought you would get a kick out of Spot on the upstairs pellet stove. Spot is the one that seeks warm places (like the top of the dishwasher when it is running). Up until about a month ago though, I had never seen any of my cats on either stove. Spot jumped up there a couple of times during the summer to check things out. Well, this morning, after it had shut down and been off for about 1/2 hour, that th stove would be a great place to be to watch as I fed the birds. The Duo are doing well , and although still mischievous, have slowed down on their destructo style. Spot is still the leader in most thing, my biggest issue at this point is trying to keep her from following behind Rita when I let her out. The backyard is fenced so Rita is safe (and disinclined to try to figure a way out), and it gives her alone time as well as "play" time with bugs. Spot has managed to elude me a couple of times and wiggle out the door. She hasn't made it off the ramp yet before I run out to scoop her up. But I know she would easily figure a way out of the pen, and want both youngsters to be house only for that reason. At least with winter coming, Rita won't be going out so it won't be so much of an issue until next spring. Hope you and your brood are doing well! Well, just heard a crash from the basement (seriously, what timing) - better go check it out!
Nice looking cat. You are so right about all their cat activity. Knocking things off seems to be a favorite activity. I have found that a full shelf won't tempt my five cats. They will knock over pictures when they are the only things, but when I put up a Christmas village with the artificial snow, they don't touch it. Also they never bother the Christmas tree. They have short legs so jumping up is more limited than it would be with most cats. Glad you and your friend rescued those kittens from the feral mother or there would have been many more wild cats.
The crash was minor, my stand up clothes rack was knocked over. Nothing broken or bruised so all is good. These two don't care how much stuff is in an area they have decided to investigate and are happy to move things as they see fit even while in the act of jumping onto a counter.
She has lost a lot (most?) of her cream colored markings- at first, I thought that was Rainy. Gizmo (Glasses) has also lost most of her markings though there is still faint splotches / slices of fawn on her. I guess only Slash looks pretty much exactly as she did from day- one, she has lots of fawn and it is in the same patterns. It allows me to tell who is attacking my feet when paws shoot out of the couch and grab me- if they are fawn (almost always are too), it is Slash. Finally they are done shedding for the winter. That was...... not pleasant. Gizmo has become quite the articulate thief- according to Andrea, Giz can now UNZIP her knitting / crocheting bad, pick stuff out and run off with it. Andrea is knitting our granddaughter a sweater and Giz has now apparently unraveled it three separate times (some of us think it is funny, some not so much). Giz has also found a new hobby..... late at night, I sometimes hear a light 'popping' noise. ?? It goes on for a while then stops. Could not figure it out until Andrea says that everytime she gets into the shower, the floor mat is un- attached and bunched up in a corner (she showers before me). So apparently Giz thinks that the shower mat should definitely NOT be stuck down with the little suction cups and pulls them all loose..... every night. And Andrea spreads it back out and attaches it...... every morning. This one we both find funny. It is interesting how different all of them are; on the one hand, they are cats and behave like cats of course. On the other hand, each one has wildly different interests, likes and dislikes; in other words, all are very much individuals with their own personality. Of course all higher- order animals are like this (including homosapiens sapiens,mostly ) but it is easy to dismiss that idea and underestimate them. It is interesting to me that none of them like or even really tolerate being picked up. Our two are most definitely NOT lap cats either- though Slash does climb up onto our chests, right under our necks, curl up and sing when she feels like it- absolutely no way if it is not her idea but ours. What surprises me about this is that these cats where human, hand- raised from 4 weeks of age including being bottle fed. I would have thought that would have thought that would have bound them much better to humans. And the two you have used to jump up on my thighs / lap the second I sad down in the room with them. As far as stranger fear, not much of that here. Phoebe and Slash will sit right where they are and watch strangers walking the house. Giz makes herself scarce at first but w/in 15- 20 minutes is walking around the strangers and at that point, the new people can reach down and pet all three of them. In fact one casual acquaintance of ours was in the house, reached down and picked Slash up- she did not like it but acted no worse than she would with Andrea or me. He put her down and she did not move an inch- no fear whatsoever. Glad to hear your half of 'the brood' are doing well, as are ours. Brian P.S. I kept putting in h-o-m-o before the word sapiens and the software kept changing it to "hipster"..... must have triggered a P.C. catch. Funny thing too 'cause it was not used in any form that could be even remotely offensive to any one who could actually read it (because he / she would also be a homosapiens sapiens).
It must be the lighting that makes the cream colored markings look fainter. They are still quite strong on Spot - I can even see them in low light situations. The only thing that has changed about her is that she is no longer a skinny Minnie - not as hefty as Rainey, but I can't feel her ribs anymore. Funny that you mention the thieving. I put something in a small baggie, in the bottom of my purse Yesterday. This morning I got up from the computer to see what they were batting around the kitchen - yep, it was the very thing I had hidden. Didn't disturb anything else in there. Not positive, but I'm guessing that was Spot who conducted the pick-pocket. Unlike you, I have been amazed at how much the youngsters don't shed. Sure, they lose some hair, but when compared to Rita, it is nothing. Of course white hair is much more noticeable than gray. But even just petting them, I didn't notice clouds of hair coming off as happens with the older cat. I've only had a couple of cats that liked being picked up and held. I am just happy that most times I'm sitting or laying down, at least one furry body is, if not on me, within touching distance. It is funny that there is a definite pecking order when I am laying down; Rita gets the chest area and above, Spot gets the middle and Rainey takes my knees (when all 3 cats are there). If it is just the Destructo Duo, Rainey is usually closer to the middle of my body, and Spot toward my feet (but that isn't a hard and fast rule - just the norm). Sounds like we are both proud, if at times puzzled or confused "parents".
I must be blessed! I've never seen my cats on the dining table or on the kitchen counters. They won't touch people food. I have offered chicken, fish, other meats, but no takers. They only take their kibble and what they see me putting in their dishes from cans. never ever licking their dish clean. My dog looks for their left overs. I do feed the cats on their own table so the dog won't bother them. That is the only table they get on. They will jump up on shelves if their is an open area.
Close up of Spot from a different angle. Even thought the picture is still washed out, you should be able to see she is still quite "spotty" and still has quite prominent eyebrows. Picture of Rainey from earlier today. Caught her jumping into the hammock to be in the warm air stream from the P43 which had fired up shortly before.
Yep, the fawn shows up fine in that photo. In fact, she looks a lot like Gizmo, in fact almost a twin. That is how Spot got her name: the only way we could tell Spot apart from Glasses (because she has fawn lines back from both eyes, making it look like she was wearing eyeglasses) was by the spot on Spot's head. Hence the name. And Rainey is a true doppleganger for Phoebe although maybe 10 lbs. or a little better on the lighter side . Brian
Mine were all asleep so no decent photos of their faces, at least 'the kids'. Also, used the phone for a camera so not the best in quality: Slash: the biggest of the lot, with the most fawn and a coat just a bit longer and softer than the others: Gizmo: was almost a twin to Spot without the Spot. Her marks have faded quite a bit. A very small cat, a thief and extremely clever at stealing. Giz also has a really funny quirk: the only way she will sing and 'play piano' is in a fleece blanket and has been like this since 4 wks. old. But she does not like doing it alone (yep, a joke in there somewhere) so she cries, rubs, arches and carries on until one of us, preferably me, walks to the couch and rubs her while she sucks on that blanket, sings and plays piano. She requires this 'service' at least three times a day although more is fine with her. Otherwise, she never sings at all. Phoebe: Older than 'the kids' by about 10 mos., about 1 1/2 years old now. I <think> they all have the same father, Tom, big, bulky, solid gray male. Phoebe is more than twice the size of either of the other two. Very different personality that I guess I can best describe as being based in dignity more than anything else. Does not generally get into any trouble and has never been destructive, something I cannot say about the other two. But Rainey (Runt originally, the smallest of the litter) is a dead- ringer for Phoebe.
Things are still slow around here- I am about to start the second fire of the year and expect to have a window open before the night is over So just as a time- filler: A photo of the four kittens when first brought into the house at 4 weeks old. They all still have blue eyes, cannot climb out of that box yet and are being bottle fed..... and doing an absolutely terrible job of using the cat box! Clockwise from the top: Slash, Runt on the right, Spot on the bottom and Glasses on the left. Of course they are now 1 1/2 years, and bogieb has Runt (now Rainey) and Spot while we have Slash and Glasses (now Gizmo 'cause her 'glasses' faded).
