I’m sorry for your loss.
Thanks, but that’s not the point. He was just a struggling human and trying to do as right as he could by the kitties. Though, I would preferred that he be able to place every feral/dumped cat, it was unrealistic for him to be able to do so in a hamlet of 50 souls. He did what he could. And that was enough.
OK. But I don’t want to encourage people to leave unwanted cats off at farms, under the delusion that they’ll be bound to find a home in the nearest barn.
That, I understand and apologize for mentioning what my friend did because he had very little choice in the matter. He wanted to save all the cats, but didn’t have a path forward for that scenario. For most people, there are other, better, options.
Yeah; sometimes there are no good choices and you’ve got to pick one of the bad ones.
I’ve been in situations where it isn’t “what’s the best option?” but “what’s the least bad option?” I do sympathize.
My two are making for an “interesting” morning. Allie, coming up on 12yo, has been with us for over 10 years. She’s not thrilled that Buddy, about 7yo, has recently moved in with us. He’s a community cat in our complex. Leasing manager thinks he was abandoned by his previous “humans”. LM is one of several people who’ll make sure he’s fed, offer shelter and any needed vet care, etc.
Morning started with letting Buddy in from his early-morning roaming (trying to get him to accept a much more indoor lifestyle, but he’s not so sure about that). Allie snuck out onto the patio along the way (she is allowed patio time when weather allows, but I hadn’t seen her go outside, so I didn’t know she was out there). After an unusual amount of mischief on Buddy’s part (getting on the kitchen counter, climbing onto the top of the bird cage), I noticed he was paying a lot of attention to the patio door. I’d closed the blinds after letting him in. This is about when I noticed that I couldn’t account for Allie, and there was an odd shadow at the door. Opened the blind a bit, and there she was wanting IN. Let her in, Buddy promptly started hassling her to PLAY, which she’s not receptive to, but he persists. At least they’ve both settled down now, after a round or two of feline sibling squabbles. Allie’s snoozing on the sofa, Buddy’s in the dryer nesting in some clean towels and sleepwear I hadn’t bothered to put away yet.
Look to the left. You’ll see a roll-up shade.
Abbey climbed up and was on the 2x4 that supports it. It’s open up there, because other cats didn’t climb. (This was put up after Creamsicle.) Grrr… Cat Mom took the lantern you see in the right corner and put it up on the 4x4 post that supports the roof. That should deter Abbey from climbing up there. I still might add some fencing between the 2x4 and the roof.
Progress continues to be made.
Goo will approach Abbey for a sniff. Abbey licks Goo’s head, Goo licks Abbey’s head. I’m not sure what the hierarchy of dominance is, but they seem to be getting along.
Nice! Grooming is a good step.
That’s excellent. It is interesting because cats and dogs have very different hierarchies amongst themselves. So, a truce like that is very acceptable.
Sometimes there doesn’t seem to be one; especially with only two cats who like each other.
And sometimes when there is one it is, by human standards, odd. I once had a houseful of four cats in which the dominance hierarchy was circular. Cat A was a bit of a bully, and dominant over B and C. Cat D was a very timid cat, who deferred to everybody, including cats B and C and sometimes his own shadow – except that he wasn’t in the least afraid of his littermate Cat A; and Cat D was by a significant margin the largest of the batch. So when he cared to, Cat D dominated A.
The cats are back from vacation. They were both hiding when we went to pick them up, and seemed mad at us for leaving them for a week and a half. It was quite a struggle to get Abbey into her carrier. I think it took me and the woman there four tries. I went to get Goo, who was puffy and throwing a fit, and when I came out Cat Mom had Abbey out of the carrier and was snuggling her. The woman was not pleased, saying we’d had a hard time getting her into the carrier. The cats yowled all the way home.
Abbey went to hide under my bed, where she still is. Goo had to go into every room in the house – at least twice – meowing all the while. We let Goo out into the catio and she made several circuits, meowing as if she was excited to be home.
Don’t be silly. She’s using echolocation to check for vampires.
The cats have been getting along very well. They don’t sleep touching each other, but they often spend the day in relatively close proximity. There is frequent mutual grooming.
Abbey’s in trouble. You know we have a catio. Here’s a picture of the side prompting this post:
Two-inch by four-inch fencing encloses the sides up to the crosspieces that hold the screens. Abbey has been trying to climb the support post between the screens. Catmom hung a lantern on the front of it to dissuade her. The other day, Abbey got past it and almost made it to the top. Catmom hung another lantern on the same nail, only offset to the right. That worked for a day. About 20 minutes ago I looked out and saw Abbey up on the screen-supporting cross rail. I got up and went out in one quick hurry. I scolded her, and she jumped down. Then she scurried off into the house and into a bedroom. Catmom found another nail and mounted the other lantern on the side of the post, next to the front lantern.
Abbey just went back out, and we’ll be keeping an eye on her.
Yayy!
No screening on that top bit above the crosspieces?
You may need to add some there. I presume the top is covered; it looks like it’s roofed in the picture.
Some cats are harder to keep in than others.
Nope. Never needed it before. Creamsicle died before the catio was made, Tonka wasn’t a climber, Goo stays low, and Abbey hasn’t tried to scale it until now (over two years on).
Yes, there’s a roof (click the picture to see it). Screening the top would be a real PITA because the joists aren’t aligned with the rails. I was thinking I might be able to put a short, inward-sloping screen by the post, anchoring it to the little 45º angle 4x4 piece.
Catmom discovered a dead mole next to the catio. We’re wondering if that’s why Abbey was trying to get out. We also wonder if that’s why we haven’t had any more molehills in the front yard. (Timing makes it seem unlikely.) Catmom said it was still warm, but it might have just been warmed in the sun. She said it had a hole in its head.
I wonder whether Abbey had been out, and had gotten herself back in again before her escape had been noted?
I don’t think so. we saw her make multiple failed attempts before the successful one. If she had gone over the other side, she would not have been able to climb back in.
The weird thing is the hole in the mole. I’d think a predator would have eaten the rodent immediately. I’m thinking unluckiness and a very small meteorite.