Cat Lovers Thread

[kiwiman127]

This is Sydney. She was a Christmas gift from my girlfriend at the time. I had just moved to Seattle and my girlfriend thought that Sydney would help me not get lonely. In the first five seconds I was thinking "what the hell can I do with this kitten, who can I give it to". In the sixth second I thought "I think I'll keep her". That night she slept next to me and when I woke up, there she was and she gave me a single "meow" good morning.
She has slept next to me ever since and every morning she greets me with that single "meow" and she's done that for over 21 years and two wives. (Except when I've been out of the country).
She's my little girl

 

[syrenn]

This is Sydney. She was a Christmas gift from my girlfriend at the time. I had just moved to Seattle and my girlfriend thought that Sydney would help me not get lonely. In the first five seconds I was thinking "what the hell can I do with this kitten, who can I give it to". In the sixth second I thought "I think I'll keep her". That night she slept next to me and when I woke up, there she was and she gave me a single "meow" good morning.
She has slept next to me ever since and every morning she greets me with that single "meow" and she's done that for over 21 years and two wives. (Except when I've been out of the country).
She's my little girl

aawwww, that is so sweet

 

[Mertex]

This is Sydney. She was a Christmas gift from my girlfriend at the time. I had just moved to Seattle and my girlfriend thought that Sydney would help me not get lonely. In the first five seconds I was thinking "what the hell can I do with this kitten, who can I give it to". In the sixth second I thought "I think I'll keep her". That night she slept next to me and when I woke up, there she was and she gave me a single "meow" good morning.
She has slept next to me ever since and every morning she greets me with that single "meow" and she's done that for over 21 years and two wives. (Except when I've been out of the country).
She's my little girl

aawwww, that is so sweet

I was thinking the same thing.....

 

[Mertex]

 

[Luddly Neddite]

I consider myself more of a dog person, but I have and love two cats as well, and have had cats all my life.

I saw this posted on facebook and thought WOW - I so want a house like this for my cats!

Colorful Catification for Some Very Lucky Cats! ? hauspanther

I love this but wouldn't want the whole house to be taken over. We did a little bit like this in the master bedroom. Shelves and ledges with steps. And most of our windows have very deep sills which the cats love.

I really love the colors and the whole feel to this place though. Also like the way the cats can avoid each other when that's what they need and want.

 

[Luddly Neddite]

This is Sydney. She was a Christmas gift from my girlfriend at the time. I had just moved to Seattle and my girlfriend thought that Sydney would help me not get lonely. In the first five seconds I was thinking "what the hell can I do with this kitten, who can I give it to". In the sixth second I thought "I think I'll keep her". That night she slept next to me and when I woke up, there she was and she gave me a single "meow" good morning.
She has slept next to me ever since and every morning she greets me with that single "meow" and she's done that for over 21 years and two wives. (Except when I've been out of the country).
She's my little girl

aawwww, that is so sweet

I was thinking the same thing.....

Yes, very sweet.

They do have a way of getting under our skin.

 

[Michelle420]

 

[Luddly Neddite]

That's so cute.....makes me want to get another kitten....but, my hub doesn't like for them to be outside....and we can't handle 5 in the house.

The only reason our "boy" cats are outside....when our neighbors abandoned them (they were Cali's brothers)....they were already beginning to act feral, and we tried bringing Tiger in the house....but he made such god awful noises, we had to put him back out. They get put up at night (shed with heater) as we have raccoons, opossums and other wild animals that could be rabid.

Your husband is right and one more won't make any real difference.

Really. I've had many more than I have now and they're aren't any more trouble.

Build a cat run. Its easy and can be very cheap. Just make sure there's no way out at the top. Put in a cat door (or window) and let them come and go.

Cali is the only one of our cats that my hub lets out.....she will go to the door and whine until he opens it and lets her out....15 minutes later she is back whining to come back in. He won't let Dolly out, he's afraid she might wander off and get lost (we have acreage) - Boots is too frightened to even consider going out....and Freakyfritz is our son's cat and my hub would be so upset if she were to get lost. We're supposed to take her back to our son this summer, maybe after we lose her, I'll consider getting another kitten.....maybe......

Nice thing about having a "run" is that everyone gets their way. Everyone gets what they want and need. Its the best kind of habitat enrichment.

 

[Luddly Neddite]

Wildest of the tame.
Tamest of the wild.

I love all the photos.

 

[Mertex]

We only have one "cat post/pole" - and they compete for the top area...this time Dolly beat Freaky for it...

 

[Mertex]

 

[Mertex]

Thank goodness for cat lovers......

 

[syrenn]

what is not to love about an arm load of kittens?

 

[HenryBHough]

Spock.

Named for his kittenhood huge ears.

When God passed out the brains Spock stepped out for a beer.......now he's almost 15 and finally his face caught up with the ears but he never caught up with the beer.

 

[Mertex]

 

[Mertex]

This is Tiger, one of our outdoor male cats.

 

[protectionist]

Nice poem. I act as a caretaker for homeless cats in my apartment complex (along with a few other people who do that same). I started a cat rescue group, and now have 7 people in it. Each of us has an area that has its own group of homeless cats there. They are all at dumpsters, which the cats used to go to for food before we started feeding them every night.

Some of the cats are fully feral. Others are castaways that people callously put out and abandoned. The castaways are friendly and let you pet them, and sometimes follow you home, after being fed. I'd like to take some of them in, but I only have a small apartment, and I already have 2 inside cats.

We have also brought some cats (10) to the Humane Society, and had them fixed. Now we have 10 cats running around with the tipped ear of fixed cats.

What I've been doing lately is creating shelter boxes for the cats to give then a place to cuddle up in, and get out of the cold. They're just cardboard boxes with a small, square entry hole in one side, and a soft cloth on the bottom. To look at them you might think they wouldn't be so warm. They are though. The cat's warm body heat warms them up. Same as the little pup tents I slept in, when I was in the Army.
I'm in Tampa, Florida, so only rarely does the temperature sink down to the 30s (VERY rarely to the 20s), but the cats use the boxes when the temperature goes to the 40s. Rain is a problem, but we have a relatively dry winter here, so I only occasionally go out and cover the boxes in plastic bags, before the rain,as I did tonight.
In colder climates up north, cats really NEED these cold shelter boxes, and I would encourage people to make them and set them outside where cats hang around. Instead of using cardboard, I'd recommend using a PLASTIC storage tub, turned upside down, with the top clicked on, but on the bottom, making it the floor of the box. The cut a square hole on one side, towards the now top, and put something soft inside for the cats to sit on (towels, old sweater, pet bed, etc). These are superior to the cardboard, because they are water repellent, and don't get soaked. I have one made like this here, and plan to replace the cardboard ones with plastic tubs.

PS - when feeding the cats, put the food (dry) on plastic plates or bowls to keeps the ants off them. Also, put out water with the dry food. Cats don't have water faucets.

All of this is some work, but it's also fun and rewarding. I like to walk a few steps away from the feeding spot, then stop, turn around and look at 6 or 7 cats feeding their little faces.

 

[Kooshdakhaa]

Actually, the best suggestion for a warm cat shelter I've seen recently is a styrofoam cooler. Styrofoam will keep them really warm, it's an insulator. Forget where I read that, if I run across it I'll post it here.

I know this to be true because as a young woman I lived on a homestead with no running water, no electricity. We had an outhouse and my husband cut toilet seats out of sheets of styrofoam. It could be 30 below out, but once your naked butt hit that styrofoam, it was warm, warm, warm!

 

[Kooshdakhaa]

Pinky (orange tabby) and his true love (Zoe). Both strays I took in.

 

[Kooshdakhaa]

Five of my cats. Not pictured are the most recent strays I took in, Thomas and Lazarus.