Nameless Cat update

 Hubby came in from his daily morning adventures with some news about 'the cat.'

Sadly, it wasn't good news. 

His lifeless body had been placed at our mailbox post in front of the house.

I have some questions. 

There are several houses on our road that are within the '300' area that was listed in the paper. 

Our address was on his chip, but that should have been confidential. 

Where was he all this time? 

And, most importantly to me, why did he leave in the first place. 

At least, he's home. 

Nameless Cat

 About six months ago, we were given an adult cat from someone who rehomes them. The cat seemed rather docile and he definitely bonded with me.

We never got around to giving him a name, but he was cared for as well as we possibly could.

I was petting him as I sat on the couch the other night, as is our custom. After a while I put him on the floor so I could get up for a drink, like I have done many times before.

A couple of hours later, Hubby came over and asked where the cat was. When he wasn't under the couch (his usual go-to place) we searched all over.

No cat. Anywhere. 

The only way out was a window in the laundry open enough to vent the dryer--somewhere he hadn't been before.

Strange.

Robert the Bruce

 

Our newest edition to the family, Robert the Bruce!

RIP Bruce

 

You were only a part of our lives for just under two years, but I hope we made your time with us happy. We will miss you.

Meet Bruce

 We moved to our little house about a year ago. Mickey seemed happy at the new place with his chip-controlled cat flap. After a few months, we went for a 4 day trip, as we had many times before. Hubby found a lady to feed him while we were gone, so we didn't have to worry. 

Apparently, something happened to him soon after we left as the lady never saw him at any time and the food wasn't eaten. 
We were devastated that he never came home.

Fast forward to last Sunday... Out of the blue, Hubby asked me if I was ready for another cat. I, of course, said, 'Sure' and he began telling me about a very friendly cat that needed a home.

It seems the cat belonged to the owners of a small store in a nearby town but he was left behind when the store changed hands about a month ago and the new owners chased him off.

A concerned neighbor lady put a plea out on the FB page for a home for him and Hubby told her we would take him if a family with kids didn't want him.

Long story short...we have a new family member and his name is Bruce. 

They guess he's about 7 years old and as friendly as cats come. He loves being petted and wasn't scared at all when he got to our house. He's finding the best places for a nap and seems OK that we won't let him outside yet. I don't think he will wander too far when he finally gets to go out but we'll see after we get him chipped and looked over by the vet.

Mickey, Mickey, Mickey

Whoever decided that cats only meow around humans should come to my house and I will prove that theory wrong!

Mickey is very smoochy and starts meowing as soon as he gets through the cat flap. But I don't think anybody told him to keep his meows inside.

He wanders around the flower garden or sits on the front porch and meows just like he does inside.  Sometimes, he sits in the flowerbed and meows--maybe, he's singing his favorite song! There's always a hint of urgency in his meow but he doesn't seem anxious. It's very strange to see and hear.

I don't think he is upset or searching for something. I believe he just like to meow!

cats are weird

I  will never understand cats. 

I feed ours wet food from pouches.

If I leave it in a hunk, they just lick it dry. 
If I cut it into smaller pieces, they will eat it all. 

But if I buy wet food already cut into pieces with gravy, the just lick the gravy.

*sigh*

Mickey

I have been remiss in introducing our new cat.

This is Mickey (originally called Mickey Mouse, but what do cats care?!).

Sadly, Sox disappeared last October, I assume with the same ending as his predecessor, Grace. Since we got Sox and Garfield at the same time, Garfield was a bit off kilter after that Sox was gone. Hubby says he was acting like a spoiled child more than a cat, whining and expecting lots of attention. So, after out holiday in February we found Mickey and Garfield started acting like a cat again!

When he was first let outside, he would go out when Hubby went to work and come home at 8PM every night, almost on the dot! Eventually, he spent more and more time inside and now he acts like a normal house cat.

Garfield is a little senile and hard of hearing so sometimes Mickey's attempt to play and be affectionate startles him and he's not quite as appreciative as he could be.

Garfield and Sox

It's been about 8 months since we rescued our cats. They certainly have their own distinct personalities but are happy to be together most of the time.

We are not sure how old Garfield is--just that he is over five years old. Sometimes, I'm sure he's a lot older than five when he takes forever to walk down the hallway. But then, when Sox walks by and he smacks her on the nose for no apparent reason, I'm not so sure. 

He gives a little 'meow' lots of times during the day for no reason I can fathom so we just call him 'Mad Uncle Jack' and try to ignore it. When he sees us, he looks at our hands, from one to the other, but never in the face. And the fact that he doesn't like closed doors is weird, but other than that, he has adjusted well.
As you can see, he loves to sleep on the bed. Any time. 

Sox, on the other hand, doesn't sleep in the bed with us. She will jump up early in the morning but not during the night. Her favorite place is in her basket.

I love that she sleeps on her back sometimes but never long enough for me to get a photo of it. I also love it when I'm on the couch and she rubs up against me, curls around on herself and ends up half-upside down while I pet her. Sometimes, she just flops (I use that term loosely as she doesn't weigh much) up against me and falls asleep however she lands.
She's a great little mouser. And baby rabbit-er. And moth-er.
When she's laying next to me and I get up, she still startles me a bit when she grabs my clothes with her claws. She does the same thing when I pet her and stop before she thinks I should.
When I am standing at the sink or sitting on the toilet, she will sit facing away from me like a sentry and wait until I move. Strange cat.
All in all, they rule the house. I think that's the way it's suppose to be.

Kitty crack

For the second time, we got a free package of these treats in the mail last week. I don't know what they put in them, but I've never seen a cat actually beg for anything like ours does for these things.

It's truly like Grace is on crack and looking for another 'hit' any way she can get it. Hubby rationed them 3 at a time for her, but that didn't stop her following him around and meowing like there was no tomorrow. I had never seen her so aggressive, and she sure was his best buddy. Until she figured out that she wasn't getting any more. I've never seen anything like it.

The guy across the street had trouble feeding his cat anything else after he 'treated' his kitty to some of these things--she wouldn't eat for days, waiting for her fix.


I wonder how the makers of this kitty crack could use their power for good...? They certainly get a cat's attention.

Cats

Both Grace (on the left) and Wheelie think my right shoulder is the best place in the universe to sleep. And I have learned how to lean so that the cat doesn't fall off and I can still type with both hands.

 Now that Wheelie is getting bigger and braver, they don't fight and actually try to share my right shoulder. There's not enough room, of course, so the second arrival tries to make the left shoulder home. It never works.

And if the shoulder isn't available, any other part of me is optional. Apparently.

Hubby calls me 'the crazy cat lady.'

Grace's version of Charades

I blogged earlier that Grace loves to sleep on my shoulder (click here for that post and photo). But only when I'm on the computer. It sure makes it hard to type with both hands when a large part of my torso is used as a prop for a full-grown cat and I'm slouched at an angle away from the keyboard, but being the sucker that I am, I accommodate her most of the time.

Sadly, I'm the only one with that special touch, much to the dismay of us all. I assume it's because I'm here all the time and am more of a stable object in her life. But I really wouldn't mind sharing that 'burden' of being Grace's day-bed. Really, I wouldn't.

Well, lately, she has been more vocal on occasion, meowing while she paced in front of the computer room door. I'd open the door, thinking she wanted into the room and she'd walk in like she owned the place, watching to see if I'd follow. If I didn't, she'd meow to be let out again. But if I stayed, she'd continue meowing at Hubby's feet while he was in 'the chair'. We both would work hard trying to figure out what she wanted, but I had not a clue, so I'd leave. When I left the room, she left with me.

This went on several times but it seemed all very cryptic to me, being the anal person that I am. I don't 'think outside the box' and all that stuff. But Hubby to the rescue! He finally figured it all out. He's good like that.

She was trying to tell me to go into the computer room, make 'him' get up and sit down at the computer so she could have a nap on me.

All in all, not too shabby for not knowing English.

Slouching is bad for you

...because your cat will think you have become a place to sleep!

I'm not sure why or when she decided my right shoulder is a good place for a nap while I am at the computer, but it has become a regular stopover on her way to the inbox for a second nap.

It's such a tough life being a cat....

South Taranaki, the armpit of the universe

An article on the front page of the South Taranaki Star, Thursday, September 30, 2010

I couldn't find this story online, so I scanned the article for some semblance of credibility. I'll rewrite it exactly how it is written so you don't have to squint to read it.

Shouting and swearing, a man stormed into the South Taranaki SPCA to dump a ginger and white male cat, calling it a pest and saying he just driven 20km and wanted it "shot, drowned or knocked on the head".

The cat-rage incident on Friday left staff members stunned but they were alert enough to jot down his car details.

SPCA centre supervisor Atholl Byers says the cat is very friendly, in good health and obviously someone's loved pet.

"We believe the man was rude and refused to leave his details because he knew it was someone's pet, possibly a neighbour's.

"I was on the phone and the man started shouting at my volunteers who handed him a sign-over form so that we could legally take the cat into our care," Mr. Byers says.

"He flat out refused and was very rude to our SPCA volunteers.  I had to tell the person I was on the phont to that I'd call her back. 

"I politely explained to the man that in order to take custody of the cat, no matter what the reason is, we have to have a signature.  He was very aggressive towards me and shouted at the top of his voice.

"He said he had driven 20km to bring this 'f***cat' here and I'm not signing any form.

"He said shoot it, drown it, knock it on the head or something I'm not signing it.

"His wife stayed very quiet, I tried to explain again that we would take it, if like everyone else, he could just give us his contact details.  He turned around and shouted to his wife, 'We're out of here'."

Mr. Byers says he asked one of his volunteers to write down his number plate and make/model of car.  He has just dumped or abandoned an animal.

"Sadly the plate was a number short on the silver car.  (The number has been recorded by the SPCA and the Star).

"The cat is a very lovely tame and social animal.  It is by no means a stray.

"The man was obviously a cat-hater of sorts, viewed the cat as a pest to himself and has probably picked it up on his street.

"I'm not surprised he didn't want to put his name to it and got so upset because he new he was trying to hand us someone's pet to put down."

**If this is your cat or you th ink you may know who it belongs to, please contact Mr Byers on 278 5605, PO Box 648, 62 Beach Rd, Hawera, or spcasouthtaranaki.co.nz.

I did find it online here