"I just want to sit in your lap and tell you stories with my eyes."
September 30, 2015 10:05 PM Subscribe
Breaking Cat News brings you a Special Report: Shelter Cats.
Caution, may cause tears.
Georgia Dunn: "If at least 5 cats world wide are not adopted from this strip, I have not done my job!" The real-life Lupin, Puck, and Elvis.
Breaking Cat News previously on MetaFilter: 1 2 3.
Caution, may cause tears.
Georgia Dunn: "If at least 5 cats world wide are not adopted from this strip, I have not done my job!" The real-life Lupin, Puck, and Elvis.
Breaking Cat News previously on MetaFilter: 1 2 3.
Welp, now I'm tearing up at work.
posted by gloriouslyincandescent at 10:20 PM on September 30, 2015 [8 favorites]
posted by gloriouslyincandescent at 10:20 PM on September 30, 2015 [8 favorites]
TEAM SMALL SHY CAT.
posted by We had a deal, Kyle at 10:20 PM on September 30, 2015 [27 favorites]
posted by We had a deal, Kyle at 10:20 PM on September 30, 2015 [27 favorites]
Saw this at work earlier today and I had to close it about halfway through so I wouldn't start sobbing in my cube.
Team older cat with a teacup!
posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 10:40 PM on September 30, 2015 [10 favorites]
Team older cat with a teacup!
posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 10:40 PM on September 30, 2015 [10 favorites]
Hoo boy, lot of dust and toxoplasmosis in here right now, yup.
I'm a three cat household near a freeway, so I think that's capacity. But volunteering at a shelter sounds like a good idea.
posted by LeRoienJaune at 10:41 PM on September 30, 2015 [6 favorites]
I'm a three cat household near a freeway, so I think that's capacity. But volunteering at a shelter sounds like a good idea.
posted by LeRoienJaune at 10:41 PM on September 30, 2015 [6 favorites]
Dander. The dust must be dander.
posted by Artw at 10:45 PM on September 30, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Artw at 10:45 PM on September 30, 2015 [1 favorite]
Funny, my usual allergic reaction to dander isn't to sob uncontrollably and go hug my two foundling kitties.
posted by cooker girl at 11:04 PM on September 30, 2015 [17 favorites]
posted by cooker girl at 11:04 PM on September 30, 2015 [17 favorites]
I think it's time for a Team Black Alley Cat and Her Kitten huddle on the bed.
posted by carsonb at 11:12 PM on September 30, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by carsonb at 11:12 PM on September 30, 2015 [2 favorites]
"You were more work than I expected."
"Dude, literally everyone in your life requires food and water and has emotional needs. Literally. Everyone."
HARSH TRUTHS from Breaking Cat News. I'm glad this part made me laugh because otherwise I am full of tears and a desire to cuddle a cat, any cat.
posted by yasaman at 11:13 PM on September 30, 2015 [35 favorites]
"Dude, literally everyone in your life requires food and water and has emotional needs. Literally. Everyone."
HARSH TRUTHS from Breaking Cat News. I'm glad this part made me laugh because otherwise I am full of tears and a desire to cuddle a cat, any cat.
posted by yasaman at 11:13 PM on September 30, 2015 [35 favorites]
"Boy... I sure miss Joe..."
Snifff...sniff...
posted by smidgen at 11:23 PM on September 30, 2015 [12 favorites]
Snifff...sniff...
posted by smidgen at 11:23 PM on September 30, 2015 [12 favorites]
I love animals, but I'm usually wary of anthropomorphising them too much. That being said, I felt a small twinge at the thought of Older Cat being allowed to put up a framed photo of his late owner, Joe.
posted by Harald74 at 11:25 PM on September 30, 2015 [9 favorites]
posted by Harald74 at 11:25 PM on September 30, 2015 [9 favorites]
Awww. This makes me want to adopt old cats.
posted by isthmus at 11:43 PM on September 30, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by isthmus at 11:43 PM on September 30, 2015 [3 favorites]
God. Just tonight I was looking at our 12 year old black cat, happily sacked out on the corner of the bed with his paws twitching.
'What?" said spouse.
"I was just remembering that he's as old as our marriage, and how long it took to earn his trust," like, a year before he would let us pet him, "and how he tries to herd us to dinner when it's dinnertime, and tries to herd us to bed when it's bedtime, and how he's a senior citizen now and I was wondering how much longer we'll get to enjoy his company."
He has one hell of a vocal repertoire. Howls, harrumphs, wails, the occasional quack, and once he mooed like a cow. Maybe this will be the kick I need to get disciplined about recording him, so we'll still have his magnificent voice after he's gone.
posted by cybercoitus interruptus at 11:51 PM on September 30, 2015 [41 favorites]
'What?" said spouse.
"I was just remembering that he's as old as our marriage, and how long it took to earn his trust," like, a year before he would let us pet him, "and how he tries to herd us to dinner when it's dinnertime, and tries to herd us to bed when it's bedtime, and how he's a senior citizen now and I was wondering how much longer we'll get to enjoy his company."
He has one hell of a vocal repertoire. Howls, harrumphs, wails, the occasional quack, and once he mooed like a cow. Maybe this will be the kick I need to get disciplined about recording him, so we'll still have his magnificent voice after he's gone.
posted by cybercoitus interruptus at 11:51 PM on September 30, 2015 [41 favorites]
I am Team Siamese Cat on Face.
posted by spinifex23 at 11:52 PM on September 30, 2015 [14 favorites]
posted by spinifex23 at 11:52 PM on September 30, 2015 [14 favorites]
I should so not have read this when I was already having a bummer night.
posted by Archelaus at 11:56 PM on September 30, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by Archelaus at 11:56 PM on September 30, 2015 [2 favorites]
Okay, well, suddenly and unexpectedly crying.
Sweet comic. I wish I could adopt a bunch more cats now. (We have two already, and we had 4 living here at one point... That's when I learned that cats are multiplied, not added, as their numbers increase. 4 cats is a LOT more cats than just two cats.)
posted by hippybear at 12:35 AM on October 1, 2015 [11 favorites]
Sweet comic. I wish I could adopt a bunch more cats now. (We have two already, and we had 4 living here at one point... That's when I learned that cats are multiplied, not added, as their numbers increase. 4 cats is a LOT more cats than just two cats.)
posted by hippybear at 12:35 AM on October 1, 2015 [11 favorites]
Team black shelter cat forever, but it is impossible for me to think otherwise because the cat my family adopted when I was in sixth grade (at my urging, though because I was a kid and completely irresponsible, my parents were the real caretakers) was a black shelter cat. The previous owners had said that they gave her up because she was a biter, but I think that must have been a flimsy attempt at character assassination, because she turned out to be shy and jumpy but a total sweetheart. She had a litter of white kittens, and when we first visited her in the shelter and the cage was opened, she would nudge her kittens out so that they could make a break for it. They were all adopted before she was. After we brought her home, she spent the first few days huddled underneath the last stair in our basement like some kind of cave beast - you would look underneath and just see her eyes staring back at you - but eventually she decided to venture out and became social and talkative and affectionate.
Despite eventually becoming horrendously allergic to her, I was so grateful for her company. (To give you an idea of the extent of my dorky love, I wrote at least one poem about her, and made her the protagonist of a series of unfinished computer games, complete with animated pixel art.) She was a champion string-chaser and mouser, well into her old age, and was brave beyond her tiny size in stand-offs with neighborhood dogs. Also, at some point in her life she had learned to beg for food on her haunches like a puppy, which was as funny as it sounds, even if sometimes she would then inspect the offering and give you a look as though she were insulted that you thought she would enjoy something so self-evidently substandard.
She just died this year, at an unknown age that was at least 20. She had been getting more frail over the last few years and her health finally went south quite suddenly, over a period of weeks - I happened to be home visiting right at the end. My dad and I buried her in the backyard under some new flowering bushes my mom picked out. I like to think she'd approve; they're the kind of thing she loved to hide under. I miss her and I'm so, so grateful that my parents kept taking care of her long after I had moved away, that I got to enjoy her company for as long as I did, and that the Humane Society took care of her before we knew her.
posted by en forme de poire at 12:40 AM on October 1, 2015 [40 favorites]
Despite eventually becoming horrendously allergic to her, I was so grateful for her company. (To give you an idea of the extent of my dorky love, I wrote at least one poem about her, and made her the protagonist of a series of unfinished computer games, complete with animated pixel art.) She was a champion string-chaser and mouser, well into her old age, and was brave beyond her tiny size in stand-offs with neighborhood dogs. Also, at some point in her life she had learned to beg for food on her haunches like a puppy, which was as funny as it sounds, even if sometimes she would then inspect the offering and give you a look as though she were insulted that you thought she would enjoy something so self-evidently substandard.
She just died this year, at an unknown age that was at least 20. She had been getting more frail over the last few years and her health finally went south quite suddenly, over a period of weeks - I happened to be home visiting right at the end. My dad and I buried her in the backyard under some new flowering bushes my mom picked out. I like to think she'd approve; they're the kind of thing she loved to hide under. I miss her and I'm so, so grateful that my parents kept taking care of her long after I had moved away, that I got to enjoy her company for as long as I did, and that the Humane Society took care of her before we knew her.
posted by en forme de poire at 12:40 AM on October 1, 2015 [40 favorites]
I have to go to bed now. I'm crying and I have to go to bed. But before I do, I'm going to give our cats- once strays- a big hug.
posted by happyroach at 12:48 AM on October 1, 2015 [4 favorites]
posted by happyroach at 12:48 AM on October 1, 2015 [4 favorites]
I am team all the kitties - but especially team bitey and kinda psychotic.
posted by fluffy battle kitten at 12:51 AM on October 1, 2015 [16 favorites]
posted by fluffy battle kitten at 12:51 AM on October 1, 2015 [16 favorites]
But of course YOU are....
posted by hippybear at 12:58 AM on October 1, 2015 [13 favorites]
posted by hippybear at 12:58 AM on October 1, 2015 [13 favorites]
I am totally on team older-cat. Our last two were about 12 when we adopted them. They are both gone now, and that saddens me greatly, but I wouldn't have done it any other way.
I want to save ALL THE CATS. And I can see how people become hoarders. If/when I am ever at a point in my life where I am willing-and-able to stay put and get some land, I will be the queen of old and infirm kitties. They will be loved. So much. Until then, I just have to settle for mashing on the cats of friends and family. And watching cat videos.
posted by Halo in reverse at 1:17 AM on October 1, 2015 [7 favorites]
I want to save ALL THE CATS. And I can see how people become hoarders. If/when I am ever at a point in my life where I am willing-and-able to stay put and get some land, I will be the queen of old and infirm kitties. They will be loved. So much. Until then, I just have to settle for mashing on the cats of friends and family. And watching cat videos.
posted by Halo in reverse at 1:17 AM on October 1, 2015 [7 favorites]
That's when I learned that cats are multiplied, not added, as their numbers increase. 4 cats is a LOT more cats than just two cats.)
Except that two kittens is easier than one kitten.
posted by sebastienbailard at 1:18 AM on October 1, 2015 [7 favorites]
Except that two kittens is easier than one kitten.
posted by sebastienbailard at 1:18 AM on October 1, 2015 [7 favorites]
If you're on the fence about adopting from a shelter? According to the Humane Society, about 2.4 million healthy, adoptable cats and dogs—about one every 13 seconds—are put down in U.S. shelters each year. So many beautiful, loving creatures are dying for nothing other than a lack of a good home...it's a tragedy. Please consider adopting from a shelter or volunteering at cat rescues which pull cats from the euthanasia list and find them good homes.
posted by Bassariscus at 1:58 AM on October 1, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by Bassariscus at 1:58 AM on October 1, 2015 [3 favorites]
I love Georgia Dunn and try always to attribute when I use her fabulous aphorism: a box is never empty because it's always full of adventure.
I have 3 shelter cats, two of whom are tuxies who are nearly all black (my introduction to tuxies came when I was trying to find a black cat companion for my then-solo shelter silver tabby). But my three are so happy and loving and well-adjusted that I sometimes feel guilty that I didn't adopt more difficult cats. In each case, I credit their foster moms with socializing them and starting them squarely down the path of goodness. I'm In regular contact with the youngest's foster mother and actually sent her the link to this special report today.
I don't have room or time to foster and I am filled with admiration and gratitude for those who do.
posted by janey47 at 2:01 AM on October 1, 2015 [6 favorites]
I have 3 shelter cats, two of whom are tuxies who are nearly all black (my introduction to tuxies came when I was trying to find a black cat companion for my then-solo shelter silver tabby). But my three are so happy and loving and well-adjusted that I sometimes feel guilty that I didn't adopt more difficult cats. In each case, I credit their foster moms with socializing them and starting them squarely down the path of goodness. I'm In regular contact with the youngest's foster mother and actually sent her the link to this special report today.
I don't have room or time to foster and I am filled with admiration and gratitude for those who do.
posted by janey47 at 2:01 AM on October 1, 2015 [6 favorites]
I mentioned this last week in another thread but it fits here, we took a 3-legged shelter cat last year after our previous forced adoption* of five years had to be put to sleep (*he wouldn't leave and by the time a place at the shelter came up we couldn't give him up). The earlier cat had a back problem when he turned up which meant he couldn't jump and we found this pretty helpful as it meant he couldn't get on the kitchen cupboards. So when we were looking to adopt from cat's protection last year we weren't put off by his missing limb. He was with a foster carer which meant he was kept in cage in their garden, he was actually pretty lucky in that it was a decent sized prefab about the size of a cattery space and they had a little girl who was clearly very fond of him, but you could see in the online video and when we visited that he wanted really badly to be out in the garden on cat business.
He actually had a triple hard luck story, he lost his leg as a kit, was adopted then given up after 2 years, adopted again and given up after his owner had to go into a refuge and then stuck in fostering for five months until we saw him. The cat protection people said a cat is normally in their system for 4-6 weeks so that was a comparatively long time. People wouldn't consider him due to the missing limb.
He loves his outdoor time but is really socialised. He is always grateful for having his ear scratched on the side he can't reach. I got up this morning to finish off a film I was too tired for last night, I popped into the blue for a quick catch-up and by the time I first opened this thread he was curled up on my belly asleep. Two nights ago he went to sleep in the valley between my legs, up until he relaxed, rolled over and fell off me and the couch, before getting back up and going into his Miles Davis routine of turning his back on me. He probably could get up on the kitchen surfaces but chooses not to. He is also still able to hunt and is a half decent mouser, though I was a bit put out to find there were mice around.
Basically he is a great little cat.
posted by biffa at 2:29 AM on October 1, 2015 [15 favorites]
He actually had a triple hard luck story, he lost his leg as a kit, was adopted then given up after 2 years, adopted again and given up after his owner had to go into a refuge and then stuck in fostering for five months until we saw him. The cat protection people said a cat is normally in their system for 4-6 weeks so that was a comparatively long time. People wouldn't consider him due to the missing limb.
He loves his outdoor time but is really socialised. He is always grateful for having his ear scratched on the side he can't reach. I got up this morning to finish off a film I was too tired for last night, I popped into the blue for a quick catch-up and by the time I first opened this thread he was curled up on my belly asleep. Two nights ago he went to sleep in the valley between my legs, up until he relaxed, rolled over and fell off me and the couch, before getting back up and going into his Miles Davis routine of turning his back on me. He probably could get up on the kitchen surfaces but chooses not to. He is also still able to hunt and is a half decent mouser, though I was a bit put out to find there were mice around.
Basically he is a great little cat.
posted by biffa at 2:29 AM on October 1, 2015 [15 favorites]
When we got Hennessey from one of the local rescue orgs, we didn't know he was half blind (though those gorgeous blue eyes should have been a clue). We did know he was HUGE for a one and a half year old kitty. Our standard joke is that he's a mix, one half that's either ragdoll or birman, and the other half is mountain lion.
His original owner had died, and the family had taken him to the vet to have him put down instead of take care of him. The vet refused, instead turning him into the local shelter, where he stayed for about 3 - 4 months before the woman who ran the rescue org told the shelter "I know I come by every week and pick up dogs to adopt out, but that cat has been here too long and needs to get someplace where he can be seen."
I think his time there taught him patience, he'll easily put up with my girlfriend doing things like this to him.
There are times I wonder about his original owner, who must have had him only for a few months when he was a kitten. They certainly got him off to a good start, something I'm always thankful for, because I'd hate to have a 23 lb (mostly muscle) cat that wasn't such a gentle lovebug.
posted by radwolf76 at 2:49 AM on October 1, 2015 [12 favorites]
His original owner had died, and the family had taken him to the vet to have him put down instead of take care of him. The vet refused, instead turning him into the local shelter, where he stayed for about 3 - 4 months before the woman who ran the rescue org told the shelter "I know I come by every week and pick up dogs to adopt out, but that cat has been here too long and needs to get someplace where he can be seen."
I think his time there taught him patience, he'll easily put up with my girlfriend doing things like this to him.
There are times I wonder about his original owner, who must have had him only for a few months when he was a kitten. They certainly got him off to a good start, something I'm always thankful for, because I'd hate to have a 23 lb (mostly muscle) cat that wasn't such a gentle lovebug.
posted by radwolf76 at 2:49 AM on October 1, 2015 [12 favorites]
Shelter cats for the win! Noodles, our oldest, isn't technically a shelter cat, but we got him from a couple who had to give him and his (sadly departed) brother away because their little boy had really severe asthma. Poor guys.
Our other two cats, though, are both shelter adoptees from the fantastic Mayhew Animal Home, which we highly recommend if you live in or near London. There's our little black kitty Stella ("Is no printer; is cat bed now"), and our big black-and-white fluffy goofball Ziggy Stardust.
Ziggy (who was formerly named "Perry" at the shelter) is actually a bit of a famous cat--the Mayhew uses his story in a lot of their fundraising. When the poor little guy was found as a stray, he'd managed to get one front leg stuck through his collar, and he'd been lost so long it had actually worn through the skin and into the muscle. They had to do three surgeries to fix him up, and they weren't sure he was going to be able to keep the leg. Happily, he recovered just fine, and now he's a big happy healthy fluffy terror.
(You can read more about his story here, but be forewarned that there's a pretty graphic picture of the surgical procedure where they removed the collar from his flesh.)
Mrs. Example was going to tell this story, but she keeps complaining she can't think of a username to register with, so she makes me comment on stuff. :P
posted by Mr. Bad Example at 3:16 AM on October 1, 2015 [8 favorites]
Our other two cats, though, are both shelter adoptees from the fantastic Mayhew Animal Home, which we highly recommend if you live in or near London. There's our little black kitty Stella ("Is no printer; is cat bed now"), and our big black-and-white fluffy goofball Ziggy Stardust.
Ziggy (who was formerly named "Perry" at the shelter) is actually a bit of a famous cat--the Mayhew uses his story in a lot of their fundraising. When the poor little guy was found as a stray, he'd managed to get one front leg stuck through his collar, and he'd been lost so long it had actually worn through the skin and into the muscle. They had to do three surgeries to fix him up, and they weren't sure he was going to be able to keep the leg. Happily, he recovered just fine, and now he's a big happy healthy fluffy terror.
(You can read more about his story here, but be forewarned that there's a pretty graphic picture of the surgical procedure where they removed the collar from his flesh.)
Mrs. Example was going to tell this story, but she keeps complaining she can't think of a username to register with, so she makes me comment on stuff. :P
posted by Mr. Bad Example at 3:16 AM on October 1, 2015 [8 favorites]
All cats I've ever had as an adult were shelter cats. My dear departed Ozzy was a black cat who was winding up his time at the shelter because no one wanted a little black boy cat. Oh, the song and dance he did to get me to love him! I walked by his cage and he meowed and meowed, so when I went over to him, he put both front paws around my face as if to say, "Please to love me?" And I did. His little sister that I adopted the same day was the ornery one of a litter of abandoned kittens. Tiny and all claws and screeches, her nickname as a little one was "Dragon Baby." She just celebrated her seventeenth birthday.
The cat that came with our marriage is Picasso, a cat that was returned no less than three times by little old ladies to the pet store he was from because he was, quote, "too rambunctious." (I am guessing they wanted a lap cat.) So my husband's then girlfriend rescued him; the relationship ended, but Pica-pie stayed. He just turned twelve.
And then there's Moxie Parker aka Pooper. The youngest kitty currently in our home, she was adopted from a shelter as well (aka "the girls' home"). I had just lost Ozzy and was looking for a boy cat to fill the boy cat-shaped hole in my heart, but personality often chooses for us instead of what we went looking for. A calico kitty saw me and my husband, leaped up on our shoulders, and five years later, someone is a very happy very willful very funny chubby cat. She was at the shelter because her former owner had moved into an apartment that didn't accept cats so she was sent away. (That still makes me angry.)
This comic is the truest comic. Please adopt shelter cats: black, young, old, special needs. They will love you so much and you have a friend forever.
posted by Kitteh at 4:30 AM on October 1, 2015 [11 favorites]
The cat that came with our marriage is Picasso, a cat that was returned no less than three times by little old ladies to the pet store he was from because he was, quote, "too rambunctious." (I am guessing they wanted a lap cat.) So my husband's then girlfriend rescued him; the relationship ended, but Pica-pie stayed. He just turned twelve.
And then there's Moxie Parker aka Pooper. The youngest kitty currently in our home, she was adopted from a shelter as well (aka "the girls' home"). I had just lost Ozzy and was looking for a boy cat to fill the boy cat-shaped hole in my heart, but personality often chooses for us instead of what we went looking for. A calico kitty saw me and my husband, leaped up on our shoulders, and five years later, someone is a very happy very willful very funny chubby cat. She was at the shelter because her former owner had moved into an apartment that didn't accept cats so she was sent away. (That still makes me angry.)
This comic is the truest comic. Please adopt shelter cats: black, young, old, special needs. They will love you so much and you have a friend forever.
posted by Kitteh at 4:30 AM on October 1, 2015 [11 favorites]
All my shelter cats have had just one eye -- it's how we know they're destined for us -- but older cats are THE SHIZZ. They already come with manners and snuggling installed, it is so much better than a wild half-feral kitten who wants to eat your face for the first six months.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 4:30 AM on October 1, 2015 [8 favorites]
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 4:30 AM on October 1, 2015 [8 favorites]
Here's a picture of Not-A-Sociopath reading this comic.
posted by almostmanda at 4:43 AM on October 1, 2015 [20 favorites]
posted by almostmanda at 4:43 AM on October 1, 2015 [20 favorites]
So much love for this. I have a shelter cat, she was there for more than two years when I met her. She was about seven years old when I got her, and she is just a total cuddle monster, and very vocal. She hasn't quite made peace with my other cat, but their skirmishes are minor and they probably benefit from the exercise... Can't imagine my life without them now.
I volunteered at the shelter she was at until I moved, and always found it sad that so many folks would come in only wanting a kitten. Yes, they're adorable, but some of the older cats are there for years without getting much interest. Thank goodness for all the folks who support animal rescue.
posted by jzb at 4:46 AM on October 1, 2015 [5 favorites]
I volunteered at the shelter she was at until I moved, and always found it sad that so many folks would come in only wanting a kitten. Yes, they're adorable, but some of the older cats are there for years without getting much interest. Thank goodness for all the folks who support animal rescue.
posted by jzb at 4:46 AM on October 1, 2015 [5 favorites]
My little Molly (she's the white cat in the background) died Monday afternoon. She was 19+ years old. So I'm a little raw right now. She and the other two kitties I have are all from the humane society. This sweet comic hits home. Dammit, I'm crying again.
posted by CincyBlues at 4:57 AM on October 1, 2015 [11 favorites]
posted by CincyBlues at 4:57 AM on October 1, 2015 [11 favorites]
We've got a black shelter cat, Apollo. He's the sweetest with people he loves, and pretty territorial and vicious with those he doesn't. We had some problems with his behavior recently, and we only reintroduced him to our other cat in September or October of last year. It didn't go so well, frankly. Picture cartoon brawling, claws and dust clouds exploding around the house.
We also had a baby last year. When we reintroduced the cats, she was only six months old, and not mobile yet. As she became mobile, we were really worried about Apollo's behavior. Like I said, he can be aggressive (he sometimes claws-out swipes houseguests just as a "fuck you" while they walk by). The whole situation was really freaking mrsozzy out (and rightfully so). I started working on finding him another home. Boy did I cry.
And then a funny thing happened. He decided to tolerate the other cat again. They share a litterbox again. They share a food dish. He only hisses at her occasionally. They're not lovey-dovey, but there's a definite detente.
And the best thing of all is that he loves babyozzy. She's a wild toddler, running all over the place, but she knows that she has to approach him slowly, pet him from the side, not to touch his tail. He loves it. And she loves him. I have no doubt that someday she'll get clawed, but I don't worry as much anymore that he'll just go after her unprovoked.
He's still an asshole, he still demands to be overfed, he's still underfoot when anybody is in the kitchen, but he loves (or at least tolerates) the baby, and that's all that matters right now.
posted by uncleozzy at 4:58 AM on October 1, 2015 [11 favorites]
We also had a baby last year. When we reintroduced the cats, she was only six months old, and not mobile yet. As she became mobile, we were really worried about Apollo's behavior. Like I said, he can be aggressive (he sometimes claws-out swipes houseguests just as a "fuck you" while they walk by). The whole situation was really freaking mrsozzy out (and rightfully so). I started working on finding him another home. Boy did I cry.
And then a funny thing happened. He decided to tolerate the other cat again. They share a litterbox again. They share a food dish. He only hisses at her occasionally. They're not lovey-dovey, but there's a definite detente.
And the best thing of all is that he loves babyozzy. She's a wild toddler, running all over the place, but she knows that she has to approach him slowly, pet him from the side, not to touch his tail. He loves it. And she loves him. I have no doubt that someday she'll get clawed, but I don't worry as much anymore that he'll just go after her unprovoked.
He's still an asshole, he still demands to be overfed, he's still underfoot when anybody is in the kitchen, but he loves (or at least tolerates) the baby, and that's all that matters right now.
posted by uncleozzy at 4:58 AM on October 1, 2015 [11 favorites]
Let's not forget the rescues who never had to go to a shelter. The three born under our shed a year ago might have landed there, had we the heart to split them up. Of course we couldn't... they have never been apart for more than a few minutes, I believe: one cat in three parts, tearin' the joint up!
posted by skippyhacker at 5:01 AM on October 1, 2015 [6 favorites]
posted by skippyhacker at 5:01 AM on October 1, 2015 [6 favorites]
Damn my allergies.... I just know I'd be a crazy cat lady with at least three or four of 'em, but living with cats (or dogs) = me unable to breathe, so that's a bit of a problem.
But sometimes I hold silly contests at work: pretty baby contests, scary Halloween food contest & buffet, most-stylish employee's mom, whatever. The only time I charge my coworkers a contest entry fee is the always extremely popular, almost-annual pet contest, where the "fee" is food to be donated to a local shelter..... I usually make that fee one can of cat/dog food per entrant, but it's almost a guarantee that everyone --- including folks who don't even enter the contest! --- will bring in whole cases of cans and/or huge 25 or even 50 pound bags of food, bags of cat litter or old towels for the shelter's cages.
It's enough to make this old cynic smile.
posted by easily confused at 5:06 AM on October 1, 2015 [9 favorites]
But sometimes I hold silly contests at work: pretty baby contests, scary Halloween food contest & buffet, most-stylish employee's mom, whatever. The only time I charge my coworkers a contest entry fee is the always extremely popular, almost-annual pet contest, where the "fee" is food to be donated to a local shelter..... I usually make that fee one can of cat/dog food per entrant, but it's almost a guarantee that everyone --- including folks who don't even enter the contest! --- will bring in whole cases of cans and/or huge 25 or even 50 pound bags of food, bags of cat litter or old towels for the shelter's cages.
It's enough to make this old cynic smile.
posted by easily confused at 5:06 AM on October 1, 2015 [9 favorites]
Man, look at you fruitcakes crying over a silly cat comic.
Oh, these tissues? They're from.... masturbating! Yes of course, the pornography and all.
*sniff sniff*
posted by dr_dank at 5:16 AM on October 1, 2015 [10 favorites]
Oh, these tissues? They're from.... masturbating! Yes of course, the pornography and all.
*sniff sniff*
posted by dr_dank at 5:16 AM on October 1, 2015 [10 favorites]
I have two: Kobayashi Maru or "Kobe" and Ungrateful Bastard or "Youbee". They were just freebie barn kittens (here in Greater Rednecklandia, most cats are freebie barn kittens so this probably doesn't count as a rescue or whatever) but I like 'em pretty well. Kobe's a pleasant, social guy for eighteen pounds of mackeral tabby killing machine. Youbee is only around nine pounds and she's shy with strangers but sleeps on my lap a lot. She's also the chattier of the two.
posted by which_chick at 5:24 AM on October 1, 2015 [5 favorites]
posted by which_chick at 5:24 AM on October 1, 2015 [5 favorites]
Caution, may cause tears.
Mods, can we get this warning on the front page next to the link instead of inside?
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 5:50 AM on October 1, 2015 [3 favorites]
Mods, can we get this warning on the front page next to the link instead of inside?
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 5:50 AM on October 1, 2015 [3 favorites]
I think it's time for a Team Black Alley Cat and Her Kitten huddle on the bed.
And skritchy CUDDLE too.
posted by notreally at 6:03 AM on October 1, 2015 [2 favorites]
And skritchy CUDDLE too.
posted by notreally at 6:03 AM on October 1, 2015 [2 favorites]
This brought tears to my eyes. Breaking Cat News isn't always my thing, but this... oof.
We have a shelter cat and a parking lot cat. It took a lot of work to get them to peacefully coexist, and in hindsight we probably should have stuck with one. For a long time it looked like we'd need to rehome the younger cat, but I didn't want to give her up, and if it got to that point I wanted to say we'd literally done everything we could.
Not everyone has the time or resources to get rival cats to get along, or to give a special-needs cat the care they deserve. But there are also a ton of low-maintenance cats out there who just want a sunny windowsill.
posted by Metroid Baby at 6:06 AM on October 1, 2015 [4 favorites]
We have a shelter cat and a parking lot cat. It took a lot of work to get them to peacefully coexist, and in hindsight we probably should have stuck with one. For a long time it looked like we'd need to rehome the younger cat, but I didn't want to give her up, and if it got to that point I wanted to say we'd literally done everything we could.
Not everyone has the time or resources to get rival cats to get along, or to give a special-needs cat the care they deserve. But there are also a ton of low-maintenance cats out there who just want a sunny windowsill.
posted by Metroid Baby at 6:06 AM on October 1, 2015 [4 favorites]
Are not cats great? They are great.
My almost seventeen year old kitty has entered a state where a) she has periods of dementia and b) she is incredibly loud in her demands. She has a four pill a day regimen and an anal probe once every three weeks (she has IBS and kidney failure).
I merged households with a man with two cats and we have a) Giant bear cub fearful male cat b) Less giant but still big male cats who gives no fucks about anything except food and chasing the other cats c) Tiny demented female cat and d) Hysterically territorial ginger female tabby. The vets have told me that female ginger tabbies are really high strung, which feels like cat racism but has proven to be true.
I love every single one of those fuckers. I know how to scratch a kitty, and although this is a skill that probably any primate could master, I am proud of my skills.
I still sometimes refer to them as emergency meat, though, a term I picked up from metafilter and the first time I used it, gave the man some serious pause.
And that comic made me cry.
posted by angrycat at 6:08 AM on October 1, 2015 [10 favorites]
My almost seventeen year old kitty has entered a state where a) she has periods of dementia and b) she is incredibly loud in her demands. She has a four pill a day regimen and an anal probe once every three weeks (she has IBS and kidney failure).
I merged households with a man with two cats and we have a) Giant bear cub fearful male cat b) Less giant but still big male cats who gives no fucks about anything except food and chasing the other cats c) Tiny demented female cat and d) Hysterically territorial ginger female tabby. The vets have told me that female ginger tabbies are really high strung, which feels like cat racism but has proven to be true.
I love every single one of those fuckers. I know how to scratch a kitty, and although this is a skill that probably any primate could master, I am proud of my skills.
I still sometimes refer to them as emergency meat, though, a term I picked up from metafilter and the first time I used it, gave the man some serious pause.
And that comic made me cry.
posted by angrycat at 6:08 AM on October 1, 2015 [10 favorites]
My all-black cat Lord Conrad Blackcat is pretty unlucky -- he has a permanent eye problem, he broke his leg and had to have surgery and still can't jump properly, my other cat hates him (he loves her, so I adopted a third cat to be his new friend, it's been very successful).
But he has adorable thumbs and only occasionally gets dragooned into cuddling under the covers with me, so I guess it worked out ok for him.
posted by jeather at 6:09 AM on October 1, 2015 [4 favorites]
But he has adorable thumbs and only occasionally gets dragooned into cuddling under the covers with me, so I guess it worked out ok for him.
posted by jeather at 6:09 AM on October 1, 2015 [4 favorites]
When we were kitty-searching Sherman hit the trifecta when it came to hard-to-place rescue cats; older, black, and special needs (FIV). After a year of being a family, I can easily verify that he is absolutely the BESTBESTBEST cat I have ever met ever.
posted by spinturtle at 6:17 AM on October 1, 2015 [4 favorites]
posted by spinturtle at 6:17 AM on October 1, 2015 [4 favorites]
A desperately injured, infected, hungry, skinny cat showed up on my doorstep one night and wouldn't stop looking straight into my eyes and yelling (and bleeding and oozing, with one eye kind of bulging out the wrong way, and half his teeth knocked out) until I had paid a vet several hundred dollars to wire him back together. He still looks me in the eye and yells if he isn't fed quickly enough. Or maybe it's because I had his balls removed. It could be the balls.
posted by pracowity at 6:27 AM on October 1, 2015 [24 favorites]
posted by pracowity at 6:27 AM on October 1, 2015 [24 favorites]
I haven't even read the comic, but the comments here are making me cry.
posted by joycehealy at 6:28 AM on October 1, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by joycehealy at 6:28 AM on October 1, 2015 [2 favorites]
My wife volunteered for a period several years with a feral cat rescue organization. These people would identify large colonies of feral cats and launch a long-term eradication program for each one they found that was sort of interesting, and also possibly totally irrational, although the people behind it had a theory that sounded reasonable at least.
The notion was that colonies are actually easier to deal with than individual strays and ferals, if your goal is too help the animals, and that furthermore colonies act as magnets to draw strays and ferals all into one area from the surrounding landscape, giving you a concentrated population to deal with, rather that a dispersed one. So they'd aim at winnowing a colony down gradually, rather than just putting down the entire population.
They'd start by installing a bunch of shelters into whatever location the colony was occupying. Think in terms of wooden boxes dug into a hillside, and lined with cheap blankets. They'd keep the location stocked with food and water. They'd also install a bunch of humane traps, and go back daily to see what they'd caught, and to reset the traps.
If they'd caught a gravely sick or injured adult feral, it would be euthanized. If it was a healthy adult, or an adult with easily treated injuries, but still an adult, past the point in its development where it could be socialized, it would taken to a vet who was willing to volunteer some free service, where it would be spayed or neutered, and immunized against a battery of ailments. Then it would be released back into the colony.
If they'd caught a kitten, the kitten would be spayed or neutered, immunized, and placed into a foster home for socialization. My wife was one of the people lugging traps back and forth between the vet's office and the colony site, and so we ended up in the pool of people fostering feral kittens as well.
That was an interesting process, especially the first time around. The kittens start out basically modelling the behavior of their feral parents, i.e. totally hostile to human approach. We'd begin the process by keeping in them in a spare room, with a litter box and food and water dishes and blankets, the whole pet cat setup, basically. And the kittens would, we thought at first, get gradually inured to our presence as we came in every day to refill the bowls, as well as just to watch them play, because, hey: kittens!
That didn't work at all. There was no "gradually inured". They'd hiss at us like crazy the first day we had them at the house, every time we entered the room. And they were still hissing like crazy on day seven. Day seven was the day that Ilost patience with being hissed at by little specks of nothing just because I was feeding them, for Chrissakes, so when one of them started hissing and bouncing around with extended claws, I just gave an exasperated grunt and picked the little fucker up.
Within about 10 seconds it was purring in my lap. So that was a valuable lesson in how one socializes a feral kitten, maybe the most valuable lesson: there is no reason to take the kitten's opinion of the process seriously.
posted by Ipsifendus at 6:46 AM on October 1, 2015 [50 favorites]
The notion was that colonies are actually easier to deal with than individual strays and ferals, if your goal is too help the animals, and that furthermore colonies act as magnets to draw strays and ferals all into one area from the surrounding landscape, giving you a concentrated population to deal with, rather that a dispersed one. So they'd aim at winnowing a colony down gradually, rather than just putting down the entire population.
They'd start by installing a bunch of shelters into whatever location the colony was occupying. Think in terms of wooden boxes dug into a hillside, and lined with cheap blankets. They'd keep the location stocked with food and water. They'd also install a bunch of humane traps, and go back daily to see what they'd caught, and to reset the traps.
If they'd caught a gravely sick or injured adult feral, it would be euthanized. If it was a healthy adult, or an adult with easily treated injuries, but still an adult, past the point in its development where it could be socialized, it would taken to a vet who was willing to volunteer some free service, where it would be spayed or neutered, and immunized against a battery of ailments. Then it would be released back into the colony.
If they'd caught a kitten, the kitten would be spayed or neutered, immunized, and placed into a foster home for socialization. My wife was one of the people lugging traps back and forth between the vet's office and the colony site, and so we ended up in the pool of people fostering feral kittens as well.
That was an interesting process, especially the first time around. The kittens start out basically modelling the behavior of their feral parents, i.e. totally hostile to human approach. We'd begin the process by keeping in them in a spare room, with a litter box and food and water dishes and blankets, the whole pet cat setup, basically. And the kittens would, we thought at first, get gradually inured to our presence as we came in every day to refill the bowls, as well as just to watch them play, because, hey: kittens!
That didn't work at all. There was no "gradually inured". They'd hiss at us like crazy the first day we had them at the house, every time we entered the room. And they were still hissing like crazy on day seven. Day seven was the day that Ilost patience with being hissed at by little specks of nothing just because I was feeding them, for Chrissakes, so when one of them started hissing and bouncing around with extended claws, I just gave an exasperated grunt and picked the little fucker up.
Within about 10 seconds it was purring in my lap. So that was a valuable lesson in how one socializes a feral kitten, maybe the most valuable lesson: there is no reason to take the kitten's opinion of the process seriously.
posted by Ipsifendus at 6:46 AM on October 1, 2015 [50 favorites]
Weirdly, our cat drama situation was resolved in a similar way to uncleozzy's: when we brought our baby home, it was like the cats' tolerance of each other immediately jumped several percentage points. I don't know if they decided to unite against a common enemy, or if they knew they wouldn't have as much attention from the grown-ups, or if they got confused and just forgot to hate each other. Having a baby is not the easiest or most cost-effective way to get your cats to cooperate, but I guess it worked for us.
Here's a not-very-great picture of our cats not killing each other.
posted by Metroid Baby at 6:52 AM on October 1, 2015 [7 favorites]
Here's a not-very-great picture of our cats not killing each other.
posted by Metroid Baby at 6:52 AM on October 1, 2015 [7 favorites]
I just brought home a pair of sisters from the shelter. They're insane, and I adore them, and they love each other so much there was no way to just take one.
posted by SecretAgentSockpuppet at 6:53 AM on October 1, 2015 [7 favorites]
posted by SecretAgentSockpuppet at 6:53 AM on October 1, 2015 [7 favorites]
This is very nearly made my cry, and I had to send my BF to go give Battleship a hug. We just adopted him a few months ago after he got dumped on a friends property; he's about 8 years old, a maine coon mix (so only 11lb) and pretty much utterly incompetent at being a 'proper' cat. He's too fearful to jump on anything higher than the couch- and even that he sometimes misses, he gets confused chasing toys, he hates small spaces, hates boxes, and hates being out of eyesight/earshot of his humans...
But damn it, he's the best cat. The absolute friendliest, cutest little bundle of floof you'll find.
posted by larthegreat at 7:23 AM on October 1, 2015 [10 favorites]
But damn it, he's the best cat. The absolute friendliest, cutest little bundle of floof you'll find.
posted by larthegreat at 7:23 AM on October 1, 2015 [10 favorites]
This thread is making me want a rescue cat so much. Unfortunately my roomie has an extremely emotionally needy dog and an allergic boyfriend. Getting a cat is my #1 priority as soon as I have my own place.
posted by codacorolla at 7:24 AM on October 1, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by codacorolla at 7:24 AM on October 1, 2015 [2 favorites]
My shelter kitty and I are pretty set in our ways, and also I am allergic to cats, so we can't really add more to our family. But this comic makes me want to get some nice fuzzy yarn and knit some little blankies for shelter kitties this weekend.
posted by leesh at 7:27 AM on October 1, 2015 [4 favorites]
posted by leesh at 7:27 AM on October 1, 2015 [4 favorites]
Battleship! That's an excellent cat name.
posted by Metroid Baby at 7:29 AM on October 1, 2015 [4 favorites]
posted by Metroid Baby at 7:29 AM on October 1, 2015 [4 favorites]
I honestly couldn't finish this. We found our home empty following kidney disease and a cancer diagnosis a couple of weeks ago. She was the best cat (as they all are).
Life being what it is, that cat-shaped space can't be filled for a while, but when we are ready to adopt again, as always, they will be strays or rescues.
posted by bonehead at 7:33 AM on October 1, 2015 [12 favorites]
Life being what it is, that cat-shaped space can't be filled for a while, but when we are ready to adopt again, as always, they will be strays or rescues.
posted by bonehead at 7:33 AM on October 1, 2015 [12 favorites]
"You're a good boy"
"I'm a good boy"
Jenny Extremely SAD FACE :(
posted by JenThePro at 7:35 AM on October 1, 2015 [16 favorites]
"I'm a good boy"
Jenny Extremely SAD FACE :(
posted by JenThePro at 7:35 AM on October 1, 2015 [16 favorites]
Our foster-to-adoption kittens Jake and Jacqueline. They got extra hugging yesterday.
posted by We had a deal, Kyle at 7:44 AM on October 1, 2015 [11 favorites]
posted by We had a deal, Kyle at 7:44 AM on October 1, 2015 [11 favorites]
my husband and i held hands and weeped yesterday as we read this and then we went and scooped up captain malcolm "tightpants" reynolds and gave him scritchings against his will.
posted by radiopaste at 7:46 AM on October 1, 2015 [7 favorites]
posted by radiopaste at 7:46 AM on October 1, 2015 [7 favorites]
Oh the feels. Our kitties have always been strays. We lost the older one at 16ish in June after a few months of declining health (diabetes, IBS, liver failure), and three weeks ago the younger was diagnosed with cancer and we are basically day to day now. She showed up in our yard ten years ago as a tiny yelling ball of fluff. I have said we need to wait until our toddler is a bit older and theoretically more sensible before bringing another pet into our house (not to mention until my heart has recovered), but sometimes you are chosen, and they look you in the eyes and tell you stories, yes.
posted by percolatrix at 8:26 AM on October 1, 2015 [4 favorites]
posted by percolatrix at 8:26 AM on October 1, 2015 [4 favorites]
My flatmate got drunk and chatty with a vet who was nursing a rescued stray with indeterminate allergies back to health. After a long-distance txt message exchange we agreed we'd take her. The vet wouldn't and still won't let us see pictures of the state she was in when rescued. She needs a lot of care and also a lot of being left the fuck alone because of traumas we can't even guess at because all she can say is "miaow".
She won't get up on any furniture that isn't a hard surface she can put her back against but we think we're making progress with the cat tree - now nicknamed Catatomi Plaza. The vet had named her Pearl because when she finally does let you pick her up and scritch her she purrs like a jet engine. I've since changed it to #Perl but as the original claimer she gets my flatmate's last name - Harper.
tl;dr - My cat is called #Perl Harper and I really need to go home and hug her as soon as she'll let me.
posted by Molesome at 8:46 AM on October 1, 2015 [5 favorites]
She won't get up on any furniture that isn't a hard surface she can put her back against but we think we're making progress with the cat tree - now nicknamed Catatomi Plaza. The vet had named her Pearl because when she finally does let you pick her up and scritch her she purrs like a jet engine. I've since changed it to #Perl but as the original claimer she gets my flatmate's last name - Harper.
tl;dr - My cat is called #Perl Harper and I really need to go home and hug her as soon as she'll let me.
posted by Molesome at 8:46 AM on October 1, 2015 [5 favorites]
My shelter kitties have just had their 1 year anniversary with me. I still get outraged; they were found in a taped up cardboard box in a parking lot in Houston! Grrr. At least a no-kill shelter got them, but they stayed there 16 months. Gah! The vet guesses they are about 5 now.
They are just the most affectionate beasts. Louie is a solid black boy with just a touch of white on his chest. He is such a chase monster - he gets a little crazy if I don't make with the laser pointer or Da Bird every other day at a minimum.
Clio is a dilute tortoiseshell, and very skittish and shy. But sit still with a book, and be prepared to have a friend helping you read it. And she's getting into a habit of jumping on my back after I go to bed, and kneading the blanket next to me for 10 minutes or so.
They are such good kitties :)
posted by Ambient Echo at 8:50 AM on October 1, 2015 [6 favorites]
They are just the most affectionate beasts. Louie is a solid black boy with just a touch of white on his chest. He is such a chase monster - he gets a little crazy if I don't make with the laser pointer or Da Bird every other day at a minimum.
Clio is a dilute tortoiseshell, and very skittish and shy. But sit still with a book, and be prepared to have a friend helping you read it. And she's getting into a habit of jumping on my back after I go to bed, and kneading the blanket next to me for 10 minutes or so.
They are such good kitties :)
posted by Ambient Echo at 8:50 AM on October 1, 2015 [6 favorites]
I think somekittens are getting wet food and a session with Da Bird tonight. *sniff*
posted by Ambient Echo at 8:51 AM on October 1, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by Ambient Echo at 8:51 AM on October 1, 2015 [3 favorites]
Aww, now I just want to leave work and go home and cuddle with my shelter cat. I started volunteering at our local humane society last year cause I love cats but we weren't allowed pets in our rental house. Dangerous strategy: instead of abstractly wanting a cat, I then wanted five specific cats. Our landlord agreed to let us get a cat and we've had Phryne since April. She was there for four months, which I just can't understand cause she is the best, well aside from the part where she hates all other cats so being in the shelter really wasn't letting her show her good side. My husband's out of town for work right now and it is so nice to come home to a soft fuzzy thing that will just lay next to me and purr. And now I'm just feeling schmoopy. Cats are the best.
posted by carolr at 9:32 AM on October 1, 2015 [7 favorites]
posted by carolr at 9:32 AM on October 1, 2015 [7 favorites]
OK, I am now having all the sniffles.
(Proud yet allergic person of former rescue cat who was once picked on by other kitties. I've been congested since I brought her home 12 years ago. Right now, she is calmly contemplating her latest hairball creation and dreaming of lunch.)
posted by chicainthecity at 9:35 AM on October 1, 2015 [6 favorites]
(Proud yet allergic person of former rescue cat who was once picked on by other kitties. I've been congested since I brought her home 12 years ago. Right now, she is calmly contemplating her latest hairball creation and dreaming of lunch.)
posted by chicainthecity at 9:35 AM on October 1, 2015 [6 favorites]
Ziggy (who was formerly named "Perry" at the shelter) is actually a bit of a famous cat--the Mayhew uses his story in a lot of their fundraising. When the poor little guy was found as a stray, he'd managed to get one front leg stuck through his collar, and he'd been lost so long it had actually worn through the skin and into the muscle. They had to do three surgeries to fix him up, and they weren't sure he was going to be able to keep the leg. Happily, he recovered just fine, and now he's a big happy healthy fluffy terror.
My best friend and her boyfriend rescued an adult kitty out of a tree on my property. They didn't notice until they got her home that her left leg was through the flea collar she was wearing. It too had worn through the skin, into the muscle. Off to the vets and a few hundred dollars later back home. Obviously not feral, she had been spayed but had been on her own for some time. Very thin in the beginning she's put on enough weight they have to watch what she eats. Probably a Russian Blue, almost no voice (an occasional squeak). They've named her Ghost, but she only answers to "Kitty" and the food bag.
All my cats have been rescued barn cats or vet rescues. My current two are siblings a bit past 17 and still pretty healthy, considering their start. A dead mom cat and her litter were found at the side of the road by a county road crew after a grass spraying operation. Most of the litter ended up dying or having to be up down except these two. Vet knew we were cat people and tried to get us to take them. We already had too many and begged off. The Vet and his people nursed them along and kept trying to find homes. At 9 weeks we got another phone call. Nobody wanted a couple of kittens that would probably turn out with health problems from being sprayed and the Vet really wanted us to come see them again. Sigh... We couldn't let them be put down, so home they came to join our already large family. The female, Sybil, has respiratory problems that we deal with when it gets bad with medication and her brother, Rudy (aka Rutabaga) seems to have not been affected by the spray as much.
These are the last of my old cat's home. I've buried three in the past year (all over the age of 15). When these guys are gone, my next will be from Cat Adoption Team, a no-kill shelter, in Sherwood, Oregon. I visit from time to time and it's an effort every time to leave without a cat.
posted by jgaiser at 9:35 AM on October 1, 2015 [3 favorites]
My best friend and her boyfriend rescued an adult kitty out of a tree on my property. They didn't notice until they got her home that her left leg was through the flea collar she was wearing. It too had worn through the skin, into the muscle. Off to the vets and a few hundred dollars later back home. Obviously not feral, she had been spayed but had been on her own for some time. Very thin in the beginning she's put on enough weight they have to watch what she eats. Probably a Russian Blue, almost no voice (an occasional squeak). They've named her Ghost, but she only answers to "Kitty" and the food bag.
All my cats have been rescued barn cats or vet rescues. My current two are siblings a bit past 17 and still pretty healthy, considering their start. A dead mom cat and her litter were found at the side of the road by a county road crew after a grass spraying operation. Most of the litter ended up dying or having to be up down except these two. Vet knew we were cat people and tried to get us to take them. We already had too many and begged off. The Vet and his people nursed them along and kept trying to find homes. At 9 weeks we got another phone call. Nobody wanted a couple of kittens that would probably turn out with health problems from being sprayed and the Vet really wanted us to come see them again. Sigh... We couldn't let them be put down, so home they came to join our already large family. The female, Sybil, has respiratory problems that we deal with when it gets bad with medication and her brother, Rudy (aka Rutabaga) seems to have not been affected by the spray as much.
These are the last of my old cat's home. I've buried three in the past year (all over the age of 15). When these guys are gone, my next will be from Cat Adoption Team, a no-kill shelter, in Sherwood, Oregon. I visit from time to time and it's an effort every time to leave without a cat.
posted by jgaiser at 9:35 AM on October 1, 2015 [3 favorites]
God, that had me bawling at work. Had to sneak out of the office.
The foreclosure thing hit home. All the poor animals that suffered because of Wall Street.
I purchased a foreclosure in 2011 that included my current sweet little buddy, MoMo.
I highly recommend used cats.
posted by porn in the woods at 9:39 AM on October 1, 2015 [4 favorites]
The foreclosure thing hit home. All the poor animals that suffered because of Wall Street.
I purchased a foreclosure in 2011 that included my current sweet little buddy, MoMo.
I highly recommend used cats.
posted by porn in the woods at 9:39 AM on October 1, 2015 [4 favorites]
Our foster-to-adoption kittens Jake and Jacqueline. They got extra hugging yesterday.
Frequent stars of Twitter!
Our cat came with the house.
posted by Artw at 9:42 AM on October 1, 2015 [5 favorites]
Frequent stars of Twitter!
Our cat came with the house.
posted by Artw at 9:42 AM on October 1, 2015 [5 favorites]
My Abby passed away two weeks ago. She was a rescue cat and my best friend for the last 11 years.
posted by cazoo at 9:48 AM on October 1, 2015 [10 favorites]
posted by cazoo at 9:48 AM on October 1, 2015 [10 favorites]
My first cat was a black cat, and I miss him terribly. We lost him in February to leukemia after long stressful battles. And the little guy was only 8, too... there was so much more love in him had he the chance to share it. He used to fall asleep with his head in my hands, and I'd be too afraid to move and break those magical moments. So I'd sit there and cramp up, and love him with all my heart.
God fucking damn it all.
His younger buddy is still with us, and he has two new friends - two-year-old brothers who were in a foster home their entire lives. They're total goofballs and I'm really happy they'll spend the rest of their days with us, in their forever home.
posted by erratic meatsack at 9:49 AM on October 1, 2015 [7 favorites]
God fucking damn it all.
His younger buddy is still with us, and he has two new friends - two-year-old brothers who were in a foster home their entire lives. They're total goofballs and I'm really happy they'll spend the rest of their days with us, in their forever home.
posted by erratic meatsack at 9:49 AM on October 1, 2015 [7 favorites]
My ridiculous Siamese bobtail Trilby (aka Tribbles, Tribly, and Noodly) was adopted from a friend whose cat had kittens, but Miss Mina (aka Duchess Wilhelmina von Floofypants) is more of a rescue, having come to me by way of an ex fifteen years ago, a friend's cat had had kittens but was neglecting them to live feral outdoors. I got Mina, the ex got her brother Sebastian. Mina's never quite shed her feral paranoia, but she's a sweet kitty who likes being brushed and petted as long as I don't try to pick her up. I know I only have a few years left with her at best, and I think I'll have to get Trilby a new pet to pick on when Mina goes...I've been thinking of a shelter kitty close to her age of seven.
My old lady Callie passed on earlier this year and she was also rescued from a life on the streets as a very tiny kitten. She was 16 and had always been sickly but was unmistakably the Grande Dame of my household even when she was frail and tired from her last illness. I miss her awfully.
I love BCN and this is such a great if heart-tugging strip.
posted by angeline at 9:58 AM on October 1, 2015 [4 favorites]
My old lady Callie passed on earlier this year and she was also rescued from a life on the streets as a very tiny kitten. She was 16 and had always been sickly but was unmistakably the Grande Dame of my household even when she was frail and tired from her last illness. I miss her awfully.
I love BCN and this is such a great if heart-tugging strip.
posted by angeline at 9:58 AM on October 1, 2015 [4 favorites]
Our shelter kitty Rupert is a wonderful and loving companion we both adore. But yesterday I discovered a 10-12 week old solid black kitten sitting on the steps of the bright orange house that serves as my office. S/he was curious, but shy, and darted under the front porch, which for some reason has attracted numerous stray cats over the years; we rehome them all. There was tuna in the office kitchen, but I couldn't find the can opener. Note to self: bring can opener to office.
I don't know why, but I think Rupert will like this kitten. I hope so.
posted by carmicha at 10:06 AM on October 1, 2015 [6 favorites]
I don't know why, but I think Rupert will like this kitten. I hope so.
posted by carmicha at 10:06 AM on October 1, 2015 [6 favorites]
Yeah, you had me at “I’m a good boy.”
I should so not have read this when I was already having a bummer night.
But I read this in the middle of another meh time at AwfulDayJob. And it gave me a momentary break to think about the timid shelter cat sweetie at home.
posted by NorthernLite at 10:07 AM on October 1, 2015 [5 favorites]
I should so not have read this when I was already having a bummer night.
But I read this in the middle of another meh time at AwfulDayJob. And it gave me a momentary break to think about the timid shelter cat sweetie at home.
posted by NorthernLite at 10:07 AM on October 1, 2015 [5 favorites]
Dammit, I'm crying at work again. Thanks, Metafilter.
posted by maryr at 10:46 AM on October 1, 2015 [4 favorites]
posted by maryr at 10:46 AM on October 1, 2015 [4 favorites]
Just over a month ago Isabel (aka Izzy) and Sprocket (aka Imperator Furiosa) came from the shelter to live with me, and I cannot imagine however I managed to live without them. (Well, I do vaguely remember sleeping through the night, but eh, sleep, whatever.) They were previously unacquainted, and the staff person at the shelter was extremely pessimistic about the likelihood of two females learning to get along, but they have gone from hissing and stink-eye to washing each other's faces (which, to be sure, is usually prelude to slap-boxing and a chase through the house). This thread has me fantasizing about getting more! More cats!
posted by Kat Allison at 11:35 AM on October 1, 2015 [6 favorites]
posted by Kat Allison at 11:35 AM on October 1, 2015 [6 favorites]
i'm just about at the one year mark with my lovely cat flora, who was in the local shelter and then a no-kill shelter for about a year before i got her (she used to just lay down sadly in her litterbox at adoption events so nobody ever seemed to want her). she's kind of a goofball who tends to fall off the bed at night and snores a lot but i'm so glad i can give her a home and love and in exchange she helps me with crosswords
my family's shelter cat zoe, who was found in a box with some other kittens by the side of a freeway, passed away a few weeks ago at age 17. rest in peace, lil zoe, i know you're up in cat heaven gutting lizards and mice to your heart's desire
posted by burgerrr at 11:53 AM on October 1, 2015 [6 favorites]
my family's shelter cat zoe, who was found in a box with some other kittens by the side of a freeway, passed away a few weeks ago at age 17. rest in peace, lil zoe, i know you're up in cat heaven gutting lizards and mice to your heart's desire
posted by burgerrr at 11:53 AM on October 1, 2015 [6 favorites]
I got through the whole comic without crying--but just barely. Please, please adopt shelter cats! If you have any qualms or doubts, I offer the following for your consideration:
We went to the shelter in search of a buddy for our first shelter cat. We were looking for an older cat--we knew they're less likely to be adopted. We walked that long, hard walk through the shelter, looking in at all the little faces and--too often--the little turned backs and balls of sadness huddling in corners. Those, we hoped, were the cats who just needed a little time to be ready to meet people.
About halfway through, we met Wednesday. She was perched on a platform which was attached to the chain-link door of her cage. She was tiny, all sleek black fur, long whippy tail, knees, elbows and energy. She was full of big meows and a surprisingly loud purr. She looked at us with huge, greeny-yellow eyes set in a tiny, heart-shaped face.
"Me! Me! Me!" she seemed to be saying "You! You! You! Us! Us! Us!". She danced around on her little perch and leaned hard against the chain-link. She needed loves the way photosynthesis needs sunlight. We petted her, talked to her, looked into that little face. We looked along the row of cages we still needed to visit. We tried to move along. Surely, someone would want this half-grown kitten.
But every time we tried to move on, her voice followed us. "Meow! Meow! Meow! You! Me! Us!". We went back to her. More loves, more pets, more meows. That little face and those huge eyes.
The need for interaction was so strong that she couldn't keep still. If she could have squeezed through the chain-link, I think she would have. Young cat or no, she needed us, and we (and our other cat, Boris) needed her.
The shelter told us that her name was "Blackie", (a name given her by her previous owner--an elderly woman who could no longer care for her). That didn't sit well with us, so we changed it to Wednesday. She reminded us of Wednesday Addams, (in looks, if not in temperament) and it was almost Halloween.
Thirteen years and 9,483,892 loves later, you still can't overpet that little cat. She's a cuddler, a talker, a walk-across-your-keyboard-and-stick-her-tail-up-your-nose-er. She's ours, and we're hers.
We've adopted other shelter cats, but writing their stories would put this comment well past TL;DR territory. Just know that they have stories.
So please, if you're looking for a cat, go to your local shelter. It will be hard. There will be too many little faces. Find (and be found by) your cat. Make a donation (in money or in kind) to help the ones you can't bring home.
posted by Flipping_Hades_Terwilliger at 2:03 PM on October 1, 2015 [16 favorites]
We went to the shelter in search of a buddy for our first shelter cat. We were looking for an older cat--we knew they're less likely to be adopted. We walked that long, hard walk through the shelter, looking in at all the little faces and--too often--the little turned backs and balls of sadness huddling in corners. Those, we hoped, were the cats who just needed a little time to be ready to meet people.
About halfway through, we met Wednesday. She was perched on a platform which was attached to the chain-link door of her cage. She was tiny, all sleek black fur, long whippy tail, knees, elbows and energy. She was full of big meows and a surprisingly loud purr. She looked at us with huge, greeny-yellow eyes set in a tiny, heart-shaped face.
"Me! Me! Me!" she seemed to be saying "You! You! You! Us! Us! Us!". She danced around on her little perch and leaned hard against the chain-link. She needed loves the way photosynthesis needs sunlight. We petted her, talked to her, looked into that little face. We looked along the row of cages we still needed to visit. We tried to move along. Surely, someone would want this half-grown kitten.
But every time we tried to move on, her voice followed us. "Meow! Meow! Meow! You! Me! Us!". We went back to her. More loves, more pets, more meows. That little face and those huge eyes.
The need for interaction was so strong that she couldn't keep still. If she could have squeezed through the chain-link, I think she would have. Young cat or no, she needed us, and we (and our other cat, Boris) needed her.
The shelter told us that her name was "Blackie", (a name given her by her previous owner--an elderly woman who could no longer care for her). That didn't sit well with us, so we changed it to Wednesday. She reminded us of Wednesday Addams, (in looks, if not in temperament) and it was almost Halloween.
Thirteen years and 9,483,892 loves later, you still can't overpet that little cat. She's a cuddler, a talker, a walk-across-your-keyboard-and-stick-her-tail-up-your-nose-er. She's ours, and we're hers.
We've adopted other shelter cats, but writing their stories would put this comment well past TL;DR territory. Just know that they have stories.
So please, if you're looking for a cat, go to your local shelter. It will be hard. There will be too many little faces. Find (and be found by) your cat. Make a donation (in money or in kind) to help the ones you can't bring home.
posted by Flipping_Hades_Terwilliger at 2:03 PM on October 1, 2015 [16 favorites]
This was so brutal to me. My cat died Aug 24 after a slow continuous decline since April or May. Then we thought she was going to die July 22, and had my friend who she loved stop by (he hadn't seen her in ages). She lasted another month, then took a rapid decline the last 4 or 5 days :(
So I've been dealing with that, and we discuss when the right time will be. We're not one to rush in. Cleo was... well she was special (in more ways than one ;))
Here's one of my favorite pictures of us :)
Anyways... Come to find out my friend who came to see her last month... His cat suddenly stopped eating (A big tank of a cat) and apparently suffered fatty liver disease which can be fatal if they don't eat, and ... well he passed last week :(
So it's a rough few months for me and cats I care about. And damnit did this make me tear up this morning before work. But thanks for posting. It was also nice.
posted by symbioid at 2:05 PM on October 1, 2015 [6 favorites]
So I've been dealing with that, and we discuss when the right time will be. We're not one to rush in. Cleo was... well she was special (in more ways than one ;))
Here's one of my favorite pictures of us :)
Anyways... Come to find out my friend who came to see her last month... His cat suddenly stopped eating (A big tank of a cat) and apparently suffered fatty liver disease which can be fatal if they don't eat, and ... well he passed last week :(
So it's a rough few months for me and cats I care about. And damnit did this make me tear up this morning before work. But thanks for posting. It was also nice.
posted by symbioid at 2:05 PM on October 1, 2015 [6 favorites]
Damnit Flipping Hades, stop making me cry at work!
posted by symbioid at 2:14 PM on October 1, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by symbioid at 2:14 PM on October 1, 2015 [2 favorites]
Man, Georgia Dunn is having a hell of a good week. Not only has she given us the Special Report on shelter cats, but she has also kicked off the month-long Breaking Cat News Halloween Special, in the tradition of last December's Christmas Special.
posted by bakerina at 2:34 PM on October 1, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by bakerina at 2:34 PM on October 1, 2015 [2 favorites]
I tried typing a few things but can't because big ol' blubbery mess. So:
1. Extra cat hugs. (They're confused and would prefer food.)
2. Upped shelter donation.
3. Cava for me, laser pointer for them. A toast to shelter cats.
posted by Orange Dinosaur Slide at 2:40 PM on October 1, 2015 [6 favorites]
1. Extra cat hugs. (They're confused and would prefer food.)
2. Upped shelter donation.
3. Cava for me, laser pointer for them. A toast to shelter cats.
posted by Orange Dinosaur Slide at 2:40 PM on October 1, 2015 [6 favorites]
I've never meet Joe. Sadly, I miss hm too.
posted by mmb5 at 4:05 PM on October 1, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by mmb5 at 4:05 PM on October 1, 2015 [1 favorite]
Just cried at my desk. Now I really want to go home and hug my shelter kitties.
Molly and Finnegan were adopted by a couple when they were just tiny kittens -- that couple returned them to the shelter A YEAR LATER because they were "too wild." They were kittens, of course they were nuts! And whoever these people were, they clearly did not treat Finnegan kindly, because he came to us terrified of loud voices, sudden moves, and men -- it took him more than a year to really trust that my husband wasn't going to hurt him, and he's still very leery of unfamiliar men. (Molly was a little skittish too, but Molly fears nothing and no one. Molly is firmly convinced that she rules the world.)
I would very much like to find those people and give them a hard kick, because Molly and Finn are GOOD kitties. Finn, especially, is the most loving cat I have ever encountered. He is a joy and a delight. (Molly is also delightful. A brat, but delightful. She is a snugglebug, and a total chatterbox.)
posted by sarcasticah at 4:50 PM on October 1, 2015 [9 favorites]
Molly and Finnegan were adopted by a couple when they were just tiny kittens -- that couple returned them to the shelter A YEAR LATER because they were "too wild." They were kittens, of course they were nuts! And whoever these people were, they clearly did not treat Finnegan kindly, because he came to us terrified of loud voices, sudden moves, and men -- it took him more than a year to really trust that my husband wasn't going to hurt him, and he's still very leery of unfamiliar men. (Molly was a little skittish too, but Molly fears nothing and no one. Molly is firmly convinced that she rules the world.)
I would very much like to find those people and give them a hard kick, because Molly and Finn are GOOD kitties. Finn, especially, is the most loving cat I have ever encountered. He is a joy and a delight. (Molly is also delightful. A brat, but delightful. She is a snugglebug, and a total chatterbox.)
posted by sarcasticah at 4:50 PM on October 1, 2015 [9 favorites]
We've adopted other shelter cats, but writing their stories would put this comment well past TL;DR territory. Just know that they have stories.
Sorry, as an inveterate cat-lover and crouton-petter, there is basically no tl;dr possible for rescue cats. I could read this thread with delight until it closed.
But yeah. Going home to hug the much-beloved rescue kitty who found not only a home with my sister, but actually acquired a second one with us, in that we end up catsitting her for a month or two every year while my sister travels. She is a dilute calico, incredibly soft, and also a mutant in that she is one of those random non-Siberians cats who is naturally low in FelD1, which is why my slightly allergic sister can keep her, and why when she comes to stay with me, she only sets off my ridiculous cat allergies if I can't resist kissing the top of her little kitty head.
Hoover got her name for the way she used to suck down chow when she came home from the shelter, but she now feels safe enough and secure enough in her next meal in that she'll portion out kibble she gets over the day. She actually turned her nose up to the whole sardines that we bought her special! for a treat! for her cat dandruff!
Other fave activity: licking my husband's bald head when he is lying on the floor and feeling sad about chemo. We think she likes how it head feels under her tongue, and she loves it so much that he just has to put up with it and hope she doesn't move on to licking his toes like the WEIRDO SHE IS.
posted by joyceanmachine at 4:54 PM on October 1, 2015 [10 favorites]
Sorry, as an inveterate cat-lover and crouton-petter, there is basically no tl;dr possible for rescue cats. I could read this thread with delight until it closed.
But yeah. Going home to hug the much-beloved rescue kitty who found not only a home with my sister, but actually acquired a second one with us, in that we end up catsitting her for a month or two every year while my sister travels. She is a dilute calico, incredibly soft, and also a mutant in that she is one of those random non-Siberians cats who is naturally low in FelD1, which is why my slightly allergic sister can keep her, and why when she comes to stay with me, she only sets off my ridiculous cat allergies if I can't resist kissing the top of her little kitty head.
Hoover got her name for the way she used to suck down chow when she came home from the shelter, but she now feels safe enough and secure enough in her next meal in that she'll portion out kibble she gets over the day. She actually turned her nose up to the whole sardines that we bought her special! for a treat! for her cat dandruff!
Other fave activity: licking my husband's bald head when he is lying on the floor and feeling sad about chemo. We think she likes how it head feels under her tongue, and she loves it so much that he just has to put up with it and hope she doesn't move on to licking his toes like the WEIRDO SHE IS.
posted by joyceanmachine at 4:54 PM on October 1, 2015 [10 favorites]
Oh, and the first cat I got as an adult, living on my own, Smoke, chose me. I adopted her from the Animal Rescue League of Boston -- I went to look at the kitties, and as I was walking along the row of cages, a little paw shot out and grabbed my sweater sleeve. She purred and mewed and gazed adoringly at me, and I knew I'd been chosen, so I took her home. She was a Very Good Girl -- she took good care of me during an awful divorce (and scratched the hell out of ex's hand when he tried to pet her during that time, ha!) and slept next to me and was generally my best buddy for 15 years. She passed away in 2010, and I still miss her so much. (We have seen a little black cat shaped shadow in our apartment from time to time, and I have felt the distinct sensation of her curling up in her favorite spot next to my stomach at night a few times. She still checks in on us.)
posted by sarcasticah at 5:32 PM on October 1, 2015 [8 favorites]
posted by sarcasticah at 5:32 PM on October 1, 2015 [8 favorites]
About 12 years ago, I adopted my two kitties: one solid black and one solid grey kitten, one of whom had been hand-reared, which the shelter declared had to be taken as a pair.
They have gradually decided that, actually, they hate each other. The grey kitten is now 7 pounds when she's doing well, and still full of energy. There are claw marks about 5 feet up the door frames on the house I moved into last year, because one of her favorite activities is to run from one end of the house to the other, leap as high as she can onto a door frame and grab on, wait a few seconds, then drop down and repeat the process in the other direction. The black kitten is now about 20 pounds, and usually won't even jump onto the bed. She likes belly, back, and chin rubs, food, and to sit in my lap -- but only when I'm sitting in my desk chair, and always facing to my right.
Those two balls of fluff have been with me through 8 different homes in 3 different states, 2 major relationships, 5 jobs, periods of unemployment, and all the general chaos of my 20s. They have been the most constant part of my adult life. They're 12 now, and they're starting to have medical problems; I don't know how much longer they'll be with me.
I still feel guilty that I didn't adopt the little orange kitten with the patchy hair who just wanted to be held... and I feel guilty that I adopted kittens, instead of adopting older cats, though I was young and selfish and didn't yet understand the plight of shelter animals.
posted by reventlov at 6:41 PM on October 1, 2015 [7 favorites]
They have gradually decided that, actually, they hate each other. The grey kitten is now 7 pounds when she's doing well, and still full of energy. There are claw marks about 5 feet up the door frames on the house I moved into last year, because one of her favorite activities is to run from one end of the house to the other, leap as high as she can onto a door frame and grab on, wait a few seconds, then drop down and repeat the process in the other direction. The black kitten is now about 20 pounds, and usually won't even jump onto the bed. She likes belly, back, and chin rubs, food, and to sit in my lap -- but only when I'm sitting in my desk chair, and always facing to my right.
Those two balls of fluff have been with me through 8 different homes in 3 different states, 2 major relationships, 5 jobs, periods of unemployment, and all the general chaos of my 20s. They have been the most constant part of my adult life. They're 12 now, and they're starting to have medical problems; I don't know how much longer they'll be with me.
I still feel guilty that I didn't adopt the little orange kitten with the patchy hair who just wanted to be held... and I feel guilty that I adopted kittens, instead of adopting older cats, though I was young and selfish and didn't yet understand the plight of shelter animals.
posted by reventlov at 6:41 PM on October 1, 2015 [7 favorites]
Kittens need homes too! Jacqueline and Jake are fosters-that-we-couldn't-give-up from HSSV; they're innundated with summer kittens right now. (They need short-term foster homes for many older kittens, if anyone local wants a practice kitten for a few weeks.)
So many nice cat stories and photos above. Cat Metafilter is best Metafilter.
posted by We had a deal, Kyle at 7:10 PM on October 1, 2015 [10 favorites]
So many nice cat stories and photos above. Cat Metafilter is best Metafilter.
posted by We had a deal, Kyle at 7:10 PM on October 1, 2015 [10 favorites]
Aww, kitties. I'm partial to adopting cats found in the yard, myself. If anyone wants a cat, feel free to visit my neighborhood, and we'll hook you up. Cat #1 is cuddly and orange and practically a dog with the way he follows us around the yard. Apparently he became a stray when his previous owner got arrested and then moved away shortly thereafter, if I understand the neighborhood chatter correctly. I can only assume he was arrested for possession of the world's most addictive cat (ba dum ching). That cat is FIV+ and maybe has arthritis but so far, it has just made him all the better to snuggle on our bed all day long. Cat #2 was a kitten when we found him in the yard, playing with his mom, a semi-feral neighborhood cat. We got them both fixed and did our best to socialize him, though he definitely absorbed a little bit of his mom's skittishness. But about once every three months one cat or another will try to find a place in our home. As usual, there's a new interloper on the horizon, so yeah, just drop by if you're in the Bay Area and want a cat!
posted by slidell at 7:40 PM on October 1, 2015 [4 favorites]
posted by slidell at 7:40 PM on October 1, 2015 [4 favorites]
Well my tiny, shy, fluffy, black, technically-a-senior MSPCA alumna is at this very moment purring up a storm by my feet, so it's like our very own happy ending right here on the couch.
And I would have like 20 pictures here but I haven't yet negotiated with my husband about which social media accounts we're going to get for the cat.
posted by Hypatia at 8:27 PM on October 1, 2015 [4 favorites]
And I would have like 20 pictures here but I haven't yet negotiated with my husband about which social media accounts we're going to get for the cat.
posted by Hypatia at 8:27 PM on October 1, 2015 [4 favorites]
(One of our kittens is a tweeter.)
posted by We had a deal, Kyle at 8:43 PM on October 1, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by We had a deal, Kyle at 8:43 PM on October 1, 2015 [3 favorites]
(They also quite often guest-star in my Untappd.)
posted by We had a deal, Kyle at 9:14 PM on October 1, 2015 [4 favorites]
posted by We had a deal, Kyle at 9:14 PM on October 1, 2015 [4 favorites]
I have no cats. My wife is a dog person, and it costs too much where we live to rent with pets. But I love Georgia Dunn's work. The BCN team are my kitties.
posted by lhauser at 9:34 PM on October 1, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by lhauser at 9:34 PM on October 1, 2015 [1 favorite]
I cannot have another kitty while my little old lady is still with me (she is happy as an only cat, having survived her two sisters) but I have been having that urge for a new friend even so. Things like this do not help. Nor did seeing the cuties waiting for a forever home when I was buying litter yesterday.
posted by immlass at 10:28 PM on October 1, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by immlass at 10:28 PM on October 1, 2015 [2 favorites]
hope she doesn't move on to licking his toes like the WEIRDO SHE IS.
My older kitty starts by licking the toes. Then she mouths them.
posted by sebastienbailard at 11:17 PM on October 1, 2015 [4 favorites]
My older kitty starts by licking the toes. Then she mouths them.
posted by sebastienbailard at 11:17 PM on October 1, 2015 [4 favorites]
Anyways... Come to find out my friend who came to see her last month... His cat suddenly stopped eating (A big tank of a cat) and apparently suffered fatty liver disease which can be fatal if they don't eat, and ... well he passed last week :(
So, Nancy stops eating sometimes. Usually just for a day or three, but if it goes on more than, say, 5 days, I bring out the secret weapon -- a pill called cyproheptad. I guess it's prescribed to do something for humans, but the vet prescribed it to get Nancy eating again. It's like a miracle, too. Crush up a pill, mix it with some yogurt, get some of that on my finger and smear it on her gums or around her mouth or even get it into her mouth if I can. It doesn't take much, maybe one or two of these little finger smears, and she starts eating again within a half-hour.
I keep the pills around because, like I said, she does this, maybe once a year.
posted by hippybear at 12:28 AM on October 2, 2015 [8 favorites]
So, Nancy stops eating sometimes. Usually just for a day or three, but if it goes on more than, say, 5 days, I bring out the secret weapon -- a pill called cyproheptad. I guess it's prescribed to do something for humans, but the vet prescribed it to get Nancy eating again. It's like a miracle, too. Crush up a pill, mix it with some yogurt, get some of that on my finger and smear it on her gums or around her mouth or even get it into her mouth if I can. It doesn't take much, maybe one or two of these little finger smears, and she starts eating again within a half-hour.
I keep the pills around because, like I said, she does this, maybe once a year.
posted by hippybear at 12:28 AM on October 2, 2015 [8 favorites]
I burst into ugly sobbing when I read this. Cat-lover plus pregnant equals rapid dehydration via the eyes.
My Magic was a shelter cat. She was being pushed on me by the shelter runner, which I resented. But I went to the shelter, opened the door... and she walked right onto my shoulders and snuggled me. "Well okay I suppose you're my cat then!" (She then hid on top of the fridge for two weeks.) She sadly passed away due to acute lymphoblastic lymphoma at the age of 9, because the world sucks.
My Sophie, current cat, was a street foundling. She kept going out and yelling at people to take her home; she had No Interest in being an outdoor cat. My partner naturally brought her home, where we discovered she's also a living avatar of noise when she's distressed. Polydactyl, plus some missing teeth because poor nutrition, yet still a total goofy floof:
https://twitter.com/XtinaSchelin/status/634401028079779840
Her favorite position is putting all of her feets on me, or sitting juuust out of reach upside-down and staring at me like "hello i have a BELLEH".
posted by XtinaS at 5:36 AM on October 2, 2015 [5 favorites]
My Magic was a shelter cat. She was being pushed on me by the shelter runner, which I resented. But I went to the shelter, opened the door... and she walked right onto my shoulders and snuggled me. "Well okay I suppose you're my cat then!" (She then hid on top of the fridge for two weeks.) She sadly passed away due to acute lymphoblastic lymphoma at the age of 9, because the world sucks.
My Sophie, current cat, was a street foundling. She kept going out and yelling at people to take her home; she had No Interest in being an outdoor cat. My partner naturally brought her home, where we discovered she's also a living avatar of noise when she's distressed. Polydactyl, plus some missing teeth because poor nutrition, yet still a total goofy floof:
https://twitter.com/XtinaSchelin/status/634401028079779840
Her favorite position is putting all of her feets on me, or sitting juuust out of reach upside-down and staring at me like "hello i have a BELLEH".
posted by XtinaS at 5:36 AM on October 2, 2015 [5 favorites]
My kitties birthdays were yesterday. They weren't shelter cats, but they were feral. My friend, who works at a mortuary found them under a bush and took them home dirt fostering. Three coal black cats. Brought home on Halloween. In a box labelled "Human Remains".
We have they most gothic kitties ever.
posted by happyroach at 6:59 AM on October 2, 2015 [15 favorites]
We have they most gothic kitties ever.
posted by happyroach at 6:59 AM on October 2, 2015 [15 favorites]
We have two rescue cats, one of which is from a shelter and one of which... well, gather round, children.
The year was 2004, and my wife was teaching for her first year at a public middle school in an inner suburb of Houston, Texas. It was a public school that served one of the poorest and most heavily-Latino populations in Texas, which is really saying something. She made it through the year pretty well, and had earned the trust of a handful of kids who had previously had nothing but bad experiences with educators. On the last day of classes, one of them approached her, carrying a shoe box. With air holes in it.
"Miss! Miss! Look what we got for you! We watched him in the gutter where we found him for three days to make sure we weren't stealing him, and we know you had another cat that died and we wanted to get you a present."
The poor cat was half dead from starvation and exposure, but otherwise healthy, and bounced back pretty quickly with some food and time indoors. Eleven years later, she now happily resides in a first-floor condo in Boston, honing her skills by chasing moths around the place. She's always been a little antisocial (I'll out myself as having asked this question anonymously six years back), but then an amazing thing happened: we had a baby, and the baby turned into a toddler with grabby hands, and the cat.. puts up with it. She's more tolerant of a fast-moving, loudly-talking, tail-pulling toddler than she is of anyone else. She'll keep that little hellion kid amused for half an hour at a clip, jumping from one piece of furniture to another but never quiiiite getting out of reach.
Cats, man. They're good people.
posted by Mayor West at 7:46 AM on October 2, 2015 [12 favorites]
The year was 2004, and my wife was teaching for her first year at a public middle school in an inner suburb of Houston, Texas. It was a public school that served one of the poorest and most heavily-Latino populations in Texas, which is really saying something. She made it through the year pretty well, and had earned the trust of a handful of kids who had previously had nothing but bad experiences with educators. On the last day of classes, one of them approached her, carrying a shoe box. With air holes in it.
"Miss! Miss! Look what we got for you! We watched him in the gutter where we found him for three days to make sure we weren't stealing him, and we know you had another cat that died and we wanted to get you a present."
The poor cat was half dead from starvation and exposure, but otherwise healthy, and bounced back pretty quickly with some food and time indoors. Eleven years later, she now happily resides in a first-floor condo in Boston, honing her skills by chasing moths around the place. She's always been a little antisocial (I'll out myself as having asked this question anonymously six years back), but then an amazing thing happened: we had a baby, and the baby turned into a toddler with grabby hands, and the cat.. puts up with it. She's more tolerant of a fast-moving, loudly-talking, tail-pulling toddler than she is of anyone else. She'll keep that little hellion kid amused for half an hour at a clip, jumping from one piece of furniture to another but never quiiiite getting out of reach.
Cats, man. They're good people.
posted by Mayor West at 7:46 AM on October 2, 2015 [12 favorites]
"I'm a good boy."
I have six cats now. It's ok, I have a big house with lots of room.
There's Neko, all black, from a loving family as a kitten.
Hobo was when the neighbor's cat had kittens and then she got a big dog that wanted to eat the kittens. The cats were thrown outside. Everybody gradually disappeared except Hobo. Some other neighbors fed him but they moved away. We brought him with us when we moved 800 miles, even though he was a neighborhood feral, because no one else would feed him.
We got Rocket and Butters when my mom died. She had got a pair of siamese about eighteen months before. They joined our odd household.
I was fostering for the humane society when I got a call about some feral kittens. One of them was so tiny I couldn't imagine her being ready to adopt out so she stayed around. Tiny Bear just turned one.
My friend was feeding a bunch of feral cats in his neighborhood but his girlfriend said it was getting out of control. We spent the spring and summer catching and fixing all the adults and socializing and placing the kittens in forever homes. There was a kitten from the first litter of spring that we couldn't catch until she was about four months old. Too old for quick socialization and adoption. I guess Connie is Bear's little sister now. She sure loves her new colony.
Kaliope, who died a year ago, was given to us at a funeral. Her litter had been dropped on someone's driveway. All her sibs were adopted but no one wanted her.
They are all good boys and girls. All good kitties. It just breaks my heart but then I look at my happy cats and want to keep donating and volunteering.
tl:dr get kitties! more kitties!
posted by irisclara at 11:43 AM on October 2, 2015 [10 favorites]
I have six cats now. It's ok, I have a big house with lots of room.
There's Neko, all black, from a loving family as a kitten.
Hobo was when the neighbor's cat had kittens and then she got a big dog that wanted to eat the kittens. The cats were thrown outside. Everybody gradually disappeared except Hobo. Some other neighbors fed him but they moved away. We brought him with us when we moved 800 miles, even though he was a neighborhood feral, because no one else would feed him.
We got Rocket and Butters when my mom died. She had got a pair of siamese about eighteen months before. They joined our odd household.
I was fostering for the humane society when I got a call about some feral kittens. One of them was so tiny I couldn't imagine her being ready to adopt out so she stayed around. Tiny Bear just turned one.
My friend was feeding a bunch of feral cats in his neighborhood but his girlfriend said it was getting out of control. We spent the spring and summer catching and fixing all the adults and socializing and placing the kittens in forever homes. There was a kitten from the first litter of spring that we couldn't catch until she was about four months old. Too old for quick socialization and adoption. I guess Connie is Bear's little sister now. She sure loves her new colony.
Kaliope, who died a year ago, was given to us at a funeral. Her litter had been dropped on someone's driveway. All her sibs were adopted but no one wanted her.
They are all good boys and girls. All good kitties. It just breaks my heart but then I look at my happy cats and want to keep donating and volunteering.
tl:dr get kitties! more kitties!
posted by irisclara at 11:43 AM on October 2, 2015 [10 favorites]
My current little black puffball adopted herself to me, a decade ago. She strolled right in the back door and started eating my cat's food. I thought she might just be visiting, but when I put a collar with a note and a phone number no one called or even took it off. And she was pregnant, so she shortly became mine.
I suspect she had been dumped by students (it was about graduation time), but she might also have been living on her own for a while, because she was a hell of a hunter. The first time I met her, all 5 or 6 pounds of her, she was eating a adolescent squirrel she had killed, who was about the same size as she was nose to tail. In subsequent years she would do things like bring in a live dove and release it in my shower. While I was showering. One time she even managed to get a full grown live pigeon half way in her cat door. Said door being in a window and requiring a jump of about a foot and a half.
posted by tavella at 3:07 PM on October 2, 2015 [8 favorites]
I suspect she had been dumped by students (it was about graduation time), but she might also have been living on her own for a while, because she was a hell of a hunter. The first time I met her, all 5 or 6 pounds of her, she was eating a adolescent squirrel she had killed, who was about the same size as she was nose to tail. In subsequent years she would do things like bring in a live dove and release it in my shower. While I was showering. One time she even managed to get a full grown live pigeon half way in her cat door. Said door being in a window and requiring a jump of about a foot and a half.
posted by tavella at 3:07 PM on October 2, 2015 [8 favorites]
"hello i have a BELLEH"
You have to be careful with this with some cats. I've mentioned it before, but around our house we refer to this move as "the fuzzy bear trap".
posted by Mr. Bad Example at 3:55 PM on October 2, 2015 [6 favorites]
You have to be careful with this with some cats. I've mentioned it before, but around our house we refer to this move as "the fuzzy bear trap".
posted by Mr. Bad Example at 3:55 PM on October 2, 2015 [6 favorites]
In subsequent years she would do things like bring in a live dove and release it in my shower. While I was showering. One time she even managed to get a full grown live pigeon half way in her cat door.
I think she loves you a lot, and thinks you really need some intensive hunting training.
posted by sebastienbailard at 6:13 PM on October 2, 2015 [8 favorites]
I think she loves you a lot, and thinks you really need some intensive hunting training.
posted by sebastienbailard at 6:13 PM on October 2, 2015 [8 favorites]
We got Harry when housemate went over to check on the local feral cat colony and saw a new ginger. She knelt down and said "Hello, baby," at which point he charged her and jumped into her arms and started purring. We took him to the vet who estimated he was six-ish, malnourished but not too badly infested, had at some point been fixed and had all his shots, and had been declawed in is front paws. He was a great big lump who loved footwarming and balls of yarn. We had him for another twelve years, the last several involving insulin shots for his diabetes. (He didn't mind, as far as he knew it was just extra petting.)
posted by Karmakaze at 7:52 AM on October 3, 2015 [10 favorites]
posted by Karmakaze at 7:52 AM on October 3, 2015 [10 favorites]
Everyone. Look at this magnificent bastard I'm getting tomorrow. Meet Carrot Ironfoundersson. He was pulled out of a rain sewer and he is bitey and hissy good times.
posted by fluffy battle kitten at 1:14 PM on October 4, 2015 [18 favorites]
posted by fluffy battle kitten at 1:14 PM on October 4, 2015 [18 favorites]
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posted by joseph conrad is fully awesome at 10:12 PM on September 30, 2015 [6 favorites]