The CAT room!

well put Roger

I'm so sorry Farmer, it is heartbreaking losing a pet. I like the way you all thought of a happy story - it's a nice way of coping and saying goodbye. Maine coons are beautiful.

You are lovely taking in the strays



Roberta yes, his thumb is really useful - he juggles objects very successfully with his front paws (I know you mentioned Mikey once caught a screwed up paper in one paw!) and they certainly help him climb (scramble).

I'll try to take a close up of his paws but it isn't easy as with being black you lose the detail.

Yesterday himself was watching snooker <yawn> and so was Paddy from about 18 inches away from the TV - after a while he started patting the screen rather like Mikey and it was the white ball he was after all the time - I suppose it moved most and then after a bit the players heads were getting bopped as well as they moved backwards and forwards - Rosie was cuddled up on me so I couldn't get the camera.

Ah, cat stories! I missed that... haven't been around for a while...

Farmerman, sorry to hear about your loss. Like Misti said, I can't imagine loosing one of our cats.

I did choose a sad day to check in at A2K again...

You all take care!

Yes, farmerman, you are.

No pats on the back for taking in strays, we have room and a nice warm kennel house (which, although constructed like "Tammy Fayes" kennels, they have never been used except for "kicking the dogs out when they get too rowdy). We keep several cat boxes and the building has an entrance so the cats can have freedom. They earn their keeps by "mouse patrol" . Our food bills are bulk , so when we buy sheep feed, the mill delivers dry food and we mix that with moist (usually chicken). Only lucky is a pickey eater and she likes to "age" her food in the dining room and she eats with the family. I know thats a bad precedent but what the hell, its a short life isnt it?

No? Imagine the alternative for them, you ol' softie!

I am a huge Fan of Cat's. I have one indoor. & there are several outdoor. My indoor cat is quite a goof-ball. He will roll over for you if you say FLOP. He will play fetch with a ball. Over & Over..his record of return's to me is 24 time's.

I too am sorry to hear of your loss of your pet. They are & alway's will be a Huge part of our live's.

my wifes birthday is in May and I want to find a Maine Coon kitten or a Ragdoll "for her". Ive heard that they have similar laid back traits and , with the exception that Maine Coons are "meowless" It could be a votefor either.
We have a few breeders , but since the Coon cat has gotten to be popular, theyve gotten much more pricey.

Scaredy cat

welcome Mrs LD

Hi Mrs LD. There are people on this line who love dogs and hate cats. I cant figure out the duality in play there.

Me neither, farmerman. They all enrich our lives so much!
Good luck with the hunt for your wife's birthday critter! Can't think of a better present, myself!

Welcome to the cat thread & A2K, Mrs. L.D.! A pleasure to meet you! So, do you have some good cat stories to share?

Thank's for the Welcome's
Hubby wanted to get a main coon cat. At the time I didn't think my indoor cat would get along with another. He does. I dont know much about that breed. I know they are BIG.
I have a few stories on cat's. Mine can be quite a ham if he want's. His latest antic's..he will wake me up by rubbing his teeth on my nose. He want's to be fed. & doesn't care what time it is.

I was walking up the stairs yesterday and my cat, Wench, was on the landing, intently watching my approach. As I reached her I extended my left arm toward her. I had an empty can of Dr. Pepper in my hand. She reached forward and sniffed the can, her nose gently rubbing the metallic surface. Satisfied that she could neither eat or play with the can, she turned around and headed to the living room where she curled up in a basket and drifted off to sleep.

A male coon cat can be up to about 25 lb, while a female will rarely top 16. Our guy was a huge furry lover. He would put up with most anybody . He ook no **** from the dogs and there was a simple arrangement they worked out.

1 Dont screw with me
2 You retain your nose
They often slept in a big lump . Reebok and our Border Collie looked very similar in fur colors and shared that laid back temperment. Im just heart broken that we never bothered to take pictures of the coon snuggled up to the dogs using a dog as a pillow.

My eight-year old Tabby still terrorizes the new cat, Sally. (Sally was born last summer, so I figure she's eight or nine months old.)

This morning, Tabby had Sally trapped on top of the dining room table. I HEARD the sound of pee hitting a hard surface. Yes, I heard it!

I ran to look and sure enough . . . Sally peed on the dining room table. The urine poured off the table onto the carpet. Yuck, yuck, yuck.

I've been having trouble getting Sally box trained . . . she will usually pee in the box (not on the table, LOL), but poopy on the floor next to the box. NOT ACCEPTABLE. I'm much too old and tired and busy with other things to be cleaning the carpets everyday!

I finally went out and bought a cage. I hate to put Sally in a cage, but I have NO CHOICE. Now, Sally has NO CHOICE but to potty in the litter box . . . or potty where she sleeps/plays.

I made the cage as pleasant as possible. I bought new toys for her cage and she played for a long time. Then . . . she realized she was trapped. She was crying and searching for a way out. It broke my heart.

Do you think she will EVER get litter box trained? How long do you think it will take?

It's usually intuitive, or maybe instinctive. I rescued a feral kitten, and as soon as he was back from the vet's, I showed him the box, and he used it ever since.

A previous cat was good about burying when outside. In the house, he would use the box, but bury nothing. Go figure.

I once had some cats. When the best one, a calico, died, I got a dog that would never coexist, so no more cats. We continued to have a stray black cat come to the back door for four or five years. It would hiss at me as I let the food down, eat and leave. One day it didn't come back.

Keeping cats is new to us, we lived in the country for years, now have scaled down so must keep the two cats in the house though we leave the sliding door open for about an hour after dark & before dawn (they're afraid of everything around here, so many houses and people).

Anabel is 8 mos. Josephine 5 years. We rescued Josey but raised Anabel since about 5 weeks. Love her silly, she was my baby and still. She is crazy, sits and watches her tail straight in the air and bent like a cobra, then she hisses at it and bites it. She also kicks herself in the head with her hind foot, then attacks it, growling.

Funny things, cats. We bought them a playscape, why not. Can't believe I'm calling my Anabel, my baby, Mo Guishka, since the movie Million Dollar Baby. The dog loves them and would be most upset if they didn't dog-sit while we're out.