Thread: Pretty tough day today.

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Chevy 37 wrote:

Now there's one kind of "CAT" I don't want anything to do with. Were your children sprayed as even the little skunks can do you in

Fortunately they are not my kids.

We live in the country also, (just not in the sticks) and have a cat colony, aka feral cats, that we feed. They come and go, two years seems about the longest for any of them to stay around although we have two that have been around for over three years. I know we should stop feeding them, but it's hard to let an animal go hungry, especially kittens. Animal rescue will neuter them for a small charge, but you got to catch them first. A few of the older ones are friendly but not petting friendly.

Unfortunately many end up dead on the road, and worse some of our neighbors will use them as target practice with their cars or guns, which ever is handy at the time.

We came to the country with one Dashund puppy, the animals keep coming and we can see they are hungry so we feed them. The ones that want to stay are taken to the Vet to be neutered, and spayed, and then they are tested and given their shots. There are some idiots living near us that have poisoned one, others have been shot. Anyone who has Cat's knows that you cannot keep a Cat from wondering especially the ones that were stray's to begin with. Most of the older ones now are happy just to stay around our property though. We just do the best we can to take care of them, and get them inside at night.

Richard

As I have mentioned, we have about 4 or 5 that come around our shop every night. I have two dishes out on my utility trailer so the ants won't get in their food, and they generally eat about 4-6 cans of food a night. They are warmer to us than at first, but still stay about 3 feet away. Then when we put the food down and turn around to walk back to the shop they come out and eat. When I don't see them for a few days I worry, but the dishes always end up licked clean, so they must come around.

So far we have had one adopted. She was a little cat who used to come around and sit there, waiting to be petted, she evidently had been someones cat. The lady who owns the ballet school a couple doors down adopted her, named here Mia, and took her home with her. We feel really good about that one, she was the sweetest little cat and craved attention. She would just sit there, staring at you for hours as we worked on our cars, until we would go over and pet her.

You can't save them all, but even helping one or two out is terrific.

Don

Guard cat!!

Don

I haven't been around for a while and just read the entire post. I had my dog for the last ten years and with all the changes he's had to go through lately he was started to suffer from severe separation anxiety. He has learned to open my bedroom windows and got out a few times. I was afraid he was going to get hurt so I put jambs in the windows only to come home to a shattered window and blood all over my house. I got him to the vet to get stitched up and it happened again the next day.

Since I got married, his buddy the rotweiller/newfoundlander "bear" has moved out along with a good friend of mine that spent a lot of time with him when I wasn't around. I've started tearing down my house to rebuild and have had to move into another house. He didn't take any of this so well and I could tell he was suffering.

I got lucky when my cousin from a town 1 1/2 hours south of here came to my wedding. He is a farm vet that lives on a big ranch and has 8-10 people around every day as well as a few other dogs, horses, etc. He said he would love to have him come stay with him and his wife. It was just as hard as putting down my 2 year old lab a couple of years ago but I figured it was best for him. I still hate coming through the door and he's not here.

I got an email the other day saying he is so busy visiting everyone that comes by as well as playing with all the other animals, hunting gophers, and following my cousin around all day long. He didn't even make it into the house the other night after he passed out on the veranda. I feel so lucky that he got another good home and is with people that will love him as much as me.

This link still makes me laugh. My friend caught him on film doing some reno's, you can hear his buddy running away cause he knows they're in trouble:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yt2BIYBqPGY

Thanks for putting this up Don,
Sean

It must have been tough to let him go but it sounds like he has adjusted well. You will be able to see him from time to time also since it's not too far away. You sure did the right thing. He will always be happy to see you when you visit your cousin.

Years ago we adopted a part Dashund and part Beagle female dog. The dog had a similar trait, the dog chewed through a door, we came home to find splinters all around her mouth. The dog chewed the arms of our new furniture when we would leave. We found a good home for her also. There was one funny incident that comes to me looking back. This was when my wife, and I had been married for a short time, my wife's aunt came to visit she was sitting at our kitchen table with her feet dangling under the table. When she was ready to leave she noticed one of her shoes was chewed up pretty bad.


Richard

Last night at the shop I looked up and saw the one stray black cat standing there looking at us. He/she comes into the shop to announce her arrival and that it is time to eat. I tried to get a picture of it, but it was too dark and this is all I got.

Don

now that first pic was spooky. i woulld watch my back at night.

Good looking cat, Don. Could be handy when walking into a dark room or shop to have that one with you!

Don, it looks like a female, judging by the eyes!! I could be wrong though but it is a good-looking Cat.

Richard

I see we're not the only folks with those big black cats. Our old man looks just like those. And we have a lot of pictures like those, too, Don, nothing but green eyes. At bedtime, he "escorts" me to bed, and of course, in the dark, I can't see him, so he often gets a nudge with a toe, and occasionally gets stepped on; aggravatin' critter!

When we lived in the mountains, we were a long ways from any un-natural light source, and on many evenings, we'd be sitting on the deck enjoying the solitude, when a ruckus would start out in the dark yard somewhere, and all we could see were shadows in the shadows; Sam and some other poor varmint; then a while later, ol' Sam would come over the fence and sit as if to tell us of his adventure. He pretty much ruled that mountainside.