Obligatory "Cat" thread

[BlackVega | 583]

 

[darkchylde28 | 1,546]

Here's the potential new addition.

She first showed up one night last week before New Year's weekend.  I was fooling around on my computer downstairs and kept hearing a soft, somewhat squeaky sound, but had thought it was something that my kids were watching in their room while winding down to sleep.  I kept hearing the noise, but it began getting louder, and then was loud enough that it was clearly coming from right outside the window.  I got up, opened the front door, and started looking outside, only to see this little cat sitting on the porch railing, head now stretching out toward me, crying out off and on.

So, I did what anybody with half a heart would do and scooped her up and brought her inside.  Apparently me cracking open the door had alerted my kids that something of interest might be afoot, as they were both in the hallway behind me, halfway down the stairs, with eyes opening wide and big grins beginning upon seeing the bundle of fluff in my arms.  My wife called out to ask what was going on as I headed upstairs to the bedroom, and immediately had a mixed expression on her face when she saw what I was carrying.  I explained what had happened, how I had found her crying outside the window in the cold, then scooped her up and brought her in.

The wife being more practical about this pointed out that we didn't necessarily need another cat, and beyond that, it would really be up to our current cat to provide a passing grade in the interview process before anyone could start thinking about keeping her.  She held out her hands to take a look at her, and ended up with a cuddled up, purring ball of fluff in her arms just as I had.  Working together, we determined that the kitten/young cat was indeed a girl, and then let her cautiously start checking out the bed that she was now sitting upon.  Sadly, as she approached our current cat at the end of the bed, she got hissed at, automatically failing the new forever home interview process.

The kids and I tried introducing her to our cat several more times, but all with the same result, a dirty look and another soft, but firm hiss.  My wife softened the blow a bit by pointing out that as quickly as she'd snuggled up to both of us, she was surely someone else's pet and had been around people before us, most likely slipping out the door and trying to find her way home.  With a sad heart, I agreed, let everybody get their last pets in on her, and took her downstairs to put her back outside so that she'd hopefully be able to find her people.  To make sure she would be ok in the event that she didn't, I went ahead and put some food out in the corner of our porch.  During this time, and until sometime after I finally closed the inside door, she stayed right on the porch, sometimes looking and sniffing around her, but usually coming up to the door and crying to be let back in.

The next day, I said that if she ended up coming back to us, we really ought to rethink keeping her, as it was likely that most any cat lover would scoop her up in a heartbeat given how adorable and lovey she was.  My wife agreed that if she returned, the discussion could be reopened, and that was that.  For the better part of a week (if not a full week), we saw neither hide nor hair of the little furball, despite me keeping a keen ear open toward the window whenever I was downstairs (and catching several other cats passing through, both some I recognized and some I didn't).  New Year's came and went, so I figured it was a done deal and put her out of my mind.

Earlier this evening, I made a plan to go to the store for a few necessities and recruited my daughter to keep me company on the trip.  We left about a quarter after 5, and were maybe 3-4 minutes up the road when my phone started ringing with my wife's ringtone.  Figuring she had something to add to the store list, I picked up and was immediately asked if our daughter was with me.  "Oh, ok, she didn't realize she went along," I thought and told her yeah, she was in the back seat, coming along for the ride.  With that out of the way, I started to hang up, at which point she started telling me that our building's super had called her ("Oh lord, somebody's complained about the kids giggling in their room," I thought) and then proceeded to speak in code, telling me that she had been sent a photo of "our visitor" from the other night, and had been begged to take her in, as our super already had 6 cats and couldn't, but couldn't bear to see her left out in the cold, topping the request with an offer to pay for a visit to the vet and spaying/neutering if it was needed.

Shocked at this development, I let my wife continue.  She proceeded to tell me that we'd have a family meeting when we got home and see how everybody felt about this.  I pointed out that my vote would be to keep, as would both of the kids', so it seemed like such a discussion was unnecessary.  She reluctantly agreed, said she'd tell the super I would be stopping by to pick up the new addition when I got done at the store, and that we'd have to work on coming up with a name.  I volunteered the name I'd offhandedly given the first Minecraft cat I'd had that didn't run away when approached for taming and wasn't based on one of our real cats.  I could hear the eye roll in the "I don't know, we'll see" that followed, said we'd discuss it together when I got back, hopped off the call, and proceeded to shop as quickly as possible, and then snag two flea collars before setting my sights on home.

As I turned into the drive up toward home, I pulled over in front of the super's place, got out, and knocked.  Her son let me in, I confirmed that I'd been informed I was to stop by to pick up the newcomer, and was confused when she told me, "Let me get my coat."  Apparently, despite worrying about the kitten, she hadn't let it inside, or otherwise detained her after securing her a new home.  The super told me she'd made her a little nest at the back of her porch and she was most likely still there, as she very clearly didn't like the rain that was falling.  My stomach dropped, as I figured that it was unlikely that she'd hung around.  Fortunately, I was wrong, as I heard the same soft, pathetic mew come from inside an old cabinet that had been converted into a cozy, winterized outdoor house, followed a few moments later by a timid look from the same bright eyes I'd looked into previously.

As I got her cuddled up to my chest and tucked as far inside my jacket as I could get her, the super told me that she'd fallen down into one of the tubes in the ground meant to let light into lower floor condos and had been stuck there for an unknown amount of time until someone heard her crying and managed to fish her out.  I thanked her, then got the kitten in the car and finished the trip up the hill and home, knowing that there would be a whole night's worth of kitten things and cat introductions to work on in addition to things like putting away the groceries, fixing dinner, etc., that I already needed to do.

So far, she's been fussier than she was when I first brought her inside, and she actually hissed at our cat first this time around, then at both the kids, and then later at me as well, after I held her down so we could trim her claws.  The wife figures she's just grumpy and temperamental after having a really bad day or two, and I'm hoping she's right.  Per my mother in law's suggestion, we tried putting the two cats together in the same room (bathroom, so they'd both have access to the litter box as needed) so that they could start getting used to one another and work things out between them, but after 3+ hours of hearing them hiss at each other any time anything made a noise, I stepped in to see if I could mediate a cease fire, then finally let our cat out, figuring we don't know how the new arrival will behave yet and better to be safe than sorry.

Fingers crossed she gets her calm disposition back quickly, her and our current cat work out their differences, and we end up with a new, permanent addition the family.

[Tabonga | 2,317]

Heh - cats are everywhere!

https://news.yahoo.com/elusive-wildcat-found-living-mount-194717666.html

There is a pretty cute video of one discoveing a camera at the bottom of the article.

[avatar! | 1,811]

They grow up quickly...

[avatar! | 1,811]

Not a feline, but clearly a diva

Less than a month after describing Ralphie as a 100% “full jerk,” Niagara SPCA found Ralphie a new home with an owner who described him as amazing, McClatchy News reported.

Only two days after adopting him, she said she “was literally questioning where the name ‘Demon Dog’ came from,” according to a Feb. 4 update from Niagara SPCA. But that feeling didn’t last long. And now Ralphie is up for adoption — again.

If you have kids, other animals or believe that Ralphie only needs love, staff ask that you do not apply. “He will totally exploit that,” according to the shelter.

[BlackVega | 583]

[Estil | 1,265]

This is among the very saddest things I've ever seen in my life.  Imagine if your girlfriend right before Christmas left you because she said you "love her too much"

 

[PII | 1,886]

23 minutes ago, Estil said:

This is among the very saddest things I've ever seen in my life.  Imagine if your girlfriend right before Christmas left you because she said you "love her too much"

 

They also said he was "too loud."  Sounds a lot like my cat when I got him.  He was homeless and skinny as a string bean when I convinced him, using a can of tuna, to move out of the hole in the side of the house and into the house proper.  For 2 solid weeks he would literally follow me everywhere I went in the house and had to be right next to me always, even in the bathroom.  This only stopped short with an unwillingness to climb into the bathtub with me when I showered.  

The other thing though, is, as soon as I got up to go anywhere, he'd start meowing REALLY loud.  It came down to fear of abandonment.  He got over it, but not completely.  Once when I was about to leave for a month he ran outside, hopped onto the roof (there was a hillside next to the house that made this easy) and positioned himself right over the front door.  Somehow he knew. (I'm certain that cats understand what a person packing up their things means, as I had something similar to this happen once before when a friend's cat jumped into my open suit case as I was packing, promptly planted himself and loudly meowed at me repeatedly, clearly disapproving.)  As soon as I walked out the door to run and catch a bus that I was already bordering on being late for, he started "WEEEOOOOOWWWWWING!" super loud.  I had to get a step ladder out real quick and just pet him and tell him in a soft voice not to worry, that I'd be coming back.  And then I left.  I remember being worried that he was gonna start up again and I'd have to listen to that as I walked down the street wondering if he'd still be there when I got back or not.  Fortunately he seemed to get the idea and when I got back he was fine.

Anyway, I'm not really surprised that this cat's apparent fear of abandonment lead to abandonment.  A lot of people really hate neediness and some people effectively hate goodness.  My one-time girlfriend's mother hated it when she and her sisters would try to hug her.  Occasionally she would let them do it for a second or two and then be like: "Ok, that's enough; stop it already."  so yeah, sad; but not surprising...

[Tabonga | 2,317]

My collie Jack would not be amused!

https://news.yahoo.com/arizona-resident-comes-home-bobcat-153900851.html

[Tabonga | 2,317]

Here kitty kitty kitty......

https://news.yahoo.com/creature-island-mythology-real-species-222414088.html

[Estil | 1,265]

[Tabonga | 2,317]

Here is a cute cat slide tile puzzle for the switch:

 I have finished the first 20 levels - nothing terribly hard but the kitty is cute as he/she goes on their way.  You can get it at the eshop for a mere $4 - there are some other cat themed puzzles there also.

[Tabonga | 2,317]

I remember being told to put a tiger in my tank :

But this is a feline of a different color:

https://nypost.com/2017/11/27/bobcat-somehow-survives-50-mile-ride-wedged-inside-cars-grill/

Fortunately it seems to have survived unscathed.

[Estil | 1,265]

On 4/20/2023 at 12:34 PM, Tabonga said:

I remember being told to put a tiger in my tank :

But this is a feline of a different color:

https://nypost.com/2017/11/27/bobcat-somehow-survives-50-mile-ride-wedged-inside-cars-grill/

Fortunately it seems to have survived unscathed.

Just don't have that tiger by the tail!!

I mean having a pig by the tail is bad enough!!

 

[Estil | 1,265]

In light of me working on MegaMan Battle Network Legacy Collection (doing Level 3 of Battle Network 4 at the moment), here's me with my dearly departed Tweetie sitting on my right thigh while I'm playing BN4 on my Game Boy Player (this is around 2011-12 or so).  I know it's approaching 11 years since she died but I still miss my little daddy's girl so much 

[Estil | 1,265]

Aww, I can't believe I forgot all about this one!  It's like the music fits with each of these kind of cats so perfectly!

[Estil | 1,265]

 

[Tabonga | 2,317]

@Estil

You really need a new checkbook cover.

https://www.amazon.com/AATACAS-Checkbook-Cover-Personal-Blocking/dp/B09FKT2GY5/ref=sr_1_32?crid=YH9Q1TK78ZPE&keywords=checkbook&qid=1689185353&sprefix=checkbook%2Caps%2C676&sr=8-32&th=1

https://www.amazon.com/BREIDMKFM-Checkbook-Leather-Personal-Duplicate/dp/B0C16CPR55/ref=sr_1_52_sspa?crid=1EPJXGB41FC3&keywords=checkbook+cover&qid=1689185923&sprefix=checkbook+%2Caps%2C1539&sr=8-52-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9tdGY&psc=1

Edited July 12, 2023 by Tabonga

[Estil | 1,265]

On 7/12/2023 at 1:14 PM, Tabonga said:

@Estil

You really need a new checkbook cover.

https://www.amazon.com/AATACAS-Checkbook-Cover-Personal-Blocking/dp/B09FKT2GY5/ref=sr_1_32?crid=YH9Q1TK78ZPE&keywords=checkbook&qid=1689185353&sprefix=checkbook%2Caps%2C676&sr=8-32&th=1

https://www.amazon.com/BREIDMKFM-Checkbook-Leather-Personal-Duplicate/dp/B0C16CPR55/ref=sr_1_52_sspa?crid=1EPJXGB41FC3&keywords=checkbook+cover&qid=1689185923&sprefix=checkbook+%2Caps%2C1539&sr=8-52-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9tdGY&psc=1

I don't use checks...just debit/credit card.

[Tabonga | 2,317]

48 minutes ago, Estil said:

I don't use checks...just debit/credit card.

 You could keep your green stamps in them.........

Edited July 18, 2023 by Tabonga

[Estil | 1,265]

6 hours ago, Tabonga said:

 You could keep your green stamps in them.........

That was before I was born, just like that whole leave a note for the milkman thing I sometimes saw in cartoons.

Speaking of which I hope none of your significant others have been smooching with the milkman!! 

 

Edited July 19, 2023 by Estil

[Tabonga | 2,317]

6 hours ago, Estil said:

That was before I was born, just like that whole leave a note for the milkman thing I sometimes saw in cartoons.

Speaking of which I hope none of your significant others have been smooching with the milkman!! 

 

Heh - I  actually have a milkman (maybe milkwoman since I  never see them).

[Estil | 1,265]

Anyone remember the 90s TV show Coach?  Well in this S04E6 episode (Requiem of a Groundskeeper) the groundskeeper had just passed away and wanted Coach Hayden Fox to take care of his final requests.  And as you can see at the 10:30 mark, he left him a special Binky Surprise!

https://therokuchannel.roku.com/watch/5338e726449056e9bb7531cbf50de68a

[Tabonga | 2,317]

 

[avatar! | 1,811]

Owner Calls Cops After Cat Opens the Freezer

https://www.newsweek.com/owner-calls-cops-cat-opens-freezer-1819102