Thanks for the warning, Bignorton! I’ll definitely pass that along to my dad. He got home this afternoon to find Oscar with a trapped mouse behind the hutch in the dining room and after a bit of a chase, we managed to get the little guy in a box and set him free over by the creek (my dad just shakes his head at why I’d rather not kill the mice, but he respects my wishes and does it if he can - if the cats get to them first, unfortunately, there’s a good chance the mousey will die). Now we’re all a little nervous that there are mice running all over the house, and I’m worried because I have two very good mousers who’ll kill 'em at first chance. I know it’s instinctual and they’re protecting their home, but I still hate to see these things die because the cats get to them - it can’t be a pleasant death.
I’ve volunteered to go pick up a shitload of no-kill traps tomorrow and we’ll put them all over the house. Of course, it would be the weekend that my boyfriend’s coming to visit, too. At least he’s not afraid of mice.
celestina, Da Bird is not like other toys - I really don’t think your kitty will ignore it, unless she’s some kind of freak.
I have an acquaintance who has to keep hers locked in a gun safe when not in use. The cats will scale bookshelves, conspire to get drawers and cabinets open, and generally do almost anything to get ahold of it so they can devour it in peace.
If you buy one, get a few extra lures at the same time.
I once had this little siamese, 7 pounds of cuddle. One time my (then) wife, cat and I were walking and came upon a field with cattle. When Amanda (the Cat) saw them she went instantly into the stalking crouch. Slowly so as not to cause a stampede she singled out her walking prime rib for the kill. One paw slowly placed in front of the other she advanced, ready for the kill.
The poor helpless cow. With a bovine look it appeared to be thinking “Oh, look! It’s a cute little kitty!”
At that point I recovered from my shock and scooped Amanda up, much to her displeasure. There was much anger from her to deal with. If that stupid cow only knew how close she came to being steak tartar.
Cats are cool and can play music quite well. Note:that link may take a while to load with dial-up connections.
When I saw the thread title, I thought this was something altogether different.
< Bosda SINGS! >
Memory
All alone in the moonlight
I can smile like the old days
I was beautiful , then I remember
The time I knew what happiness was
Let the memory live again
</ Bosda SINGS! >
ENugent, I just love the name “Da Bird” so I’m going to have to get one for my naughty kitty, and I’ll get extra lures as you suggest.
IDBB, what’s so bad about the Petco?
tunabreath, Amanda the kitty is quite the huntress taking on a poor, defenseless cow. [giggle] But, I have to wonder what the cow would have really done if you hadn’t intervened. Just like our naughty kitties at first appear to be sweet and innocent and harmless, perhaps in the face of provocation, extreme or otherwise, cows may also get an attitude and fight back. That cow may have given your kitty quite a surprise.
Bosda Di’Chi of Tricor, I presume that song you’re singing is from the musical “Cats.” I wouldn’t know as I’ve never seen the musical and don’t plan to since musicals get on my last nerve. However, if through no fault of my own, a musical called “Cats” is inflicted on me, you may rest assured that I will start a pit thread about it too.
I do declare! I don’t know what I’m going to do with this furball! I’ve broken down and given her catnip, and at first she was all excited–at least she didn’t throw up this time–but now she just sniffs it, and then goes off somewhere else. So after I saw the allure of catnip had worn off I went to plan B.
Now I’m not an engineer, but I built my kitty a cardboard structure to play in. It’s got all kinds of interesting holes to crawl in and everything, and there’s at least two levels of boxes she can climb. So I just finished it and called my kitty to come see her new play toy, and she wouldn’t budge from her place in the other room. :mad: While I was building the cardboard monstrosity that is an eyesore in my livingroom, I showed the cat one of the boxes I’d just cut a hole out of, and she looked at me all confused, wondering what she was supposed to do with it. I’m about to give up. I’m just confused, I tell you. I’m an idiot who can’t understand what my kitty wants or needs.
Maybe I should stop getting all excited about the toys and stuff. Maybe if I leave them there and ignore them, then she’ll get all excited about them. I’m still working on getting her Da Bird, but I did get her the Cat Dancer, and she does play with that a little bit.
That’s cats for you, celestina. They’re ungrateful sods. I have 17 of the damned things and not once have they said “thank you”. Well, maybe they have, but the headless birds and mice they bring me just doesn’t have the same effect.
Jesus, Necromancer! You have 17 cats?! I hope that you live in a mansion or something. Where do you put them all?
At any rate, when I was growing up and we had outdoor kitties, they would kill mice and birds and things and bring them to the door. [shudder] But this cat that I have now who’s ignoring the cardboard playhouse I built for her is an indoor, declawed kitty, and she’s not going to bring me dead creatures–I hope. :eek: I figure the best way she can show appreciation for my efforts to keep her happy would be to play with the toys and things, but perhaps I’m missing something here with her disinterest. Still, I’m just wracking my brains trying to figure out how to keep her from being bored. I’m about to give up, and shame on it, she’ll just have to be bored. Hmpffh.
Celestina–well I’m not sure if ALL Petcos are this way but the ones around here that’ve been too are horrible. In the center of the store is a DIY doggie cookie buffet where you bag your own doggie cookies which are whitetrashily displayed in bins. Most of them have been slobbered on and there is dried dogslobber all over the bin itself. Also…I don’t know what the smell is but whenever I go into a Petco, there is a distinct unwashed, unidentifiable stench. Petco (or the one around here anyway) also sells ferrets and chinchillas, which I am not opposed to. I AM opposed to the way our local Petco handles them, stuffing them in teeny little cages while they stare out at you, pleadingly, begging to be taken away where little fingers cannot poke at them with doggie chewsticks, where there is no squawking of a loud parrot 2 feet from your precious ears. It also seems our local Petco only employs halfwits who don’t know the difference between catfood and dogfood. :rolleyes: So like I said, I won’t step foot into a Petco unless our Petsmart is burning to the ground and the grocery store doesn’t carry IAMS adult hairball/weight control formula anymore. Bosda–I thought the same thing! Heh heh heh.
IDBB sings:
There’s a man over there with a look of suprise. As much as to say “Well now! How about that!”
Do I actually see with my own very eyes…a man who’s not heard of a Jellicle Cat?
IDBB
When I lived in a house with decrepit foundations, I’d be awakened in the wee hours by the sounds of Sophie and Sylvia playing kitty badminton with a mouse. I could (a) get up, catch the cat that happened to be holding the wee critter, extract the rodent and dump it outside (you can imagine the dirty look Sophie/Sylvia would give me), or (b) try to ignore the sound effects and clean up the upchucked fragments in the morning.
My current herd of eight like to chase a piece of sash cord. They’ll take turns batting at it when I stand in the midst of them. They also enjoy playing chase up and down the three floors of stairs.
And then there’s Squash. Who comes to quivering life at the sound of a Hershey’s Kisses wrapper being crumpled, and implores me to throw it so he can pounce on it. Who has his very own set of plastic forks and spoons scattered around the house, and who taught himself to fetch. Yup, he’ll fetch play balls and dead leaves and even the sash cord, but his absolute favorite fetch toy is one of his plastic implements. I wake up every morning to a fork or spoon being dropped upon the covers by my hand, while an eager little Squash stands on my chest and nose-butts my face till I throw it for him.
avabeth, thank you for saying that. I guess I am overreacting a bit, and I imagine it is easier for me to worry about my cat than it is to face the mountain of things I need to get done. [giggle] I’m sure my Shnuggy Kitty really is doing just fine.
IDBB, goodness, I’m the last person to judge Petco or any other pet product store, but the one time I went to Petco, the folks there were real nice and helpful; the few pets I saw escorting their owners around the place were happy and well-behaved; and the store was neat, though it smelled of animals. Hmmm. Fancy that. A pet store that smells like animals. I’m sorry your experience at your Petco was not as nice as you’d hoped.
EddyFreddyTeddy, sounds like you’ve got quite a handful of adorable naughtiness on your hands. I’d be conflicted about the mouse business. I generally don’t like killing animals of any kind, but I’m scared of rodents–this I think is absolutely illogical since I used to work in a lab that dealt extensively in research using rodents–but I don’t like those disease-ridden beasts running around my house and getting in my things or touching/biting me. [SHUDDER] I’d like to think I won’t have to worry about that now with Shnuggy Kitty, but who knows? She may decide if she ever meets a mouse that she’d just like to be friends with it rather than torture or kill it. Thanks for sharing your story.
That cow may have given your kitty quite a surprise.