Six-Dinner Sids, or Cats Gonna Be Where They're At
March 28, 2021 3:29 PM Subscribe
"The neighbours just put the house up for sale. Couldn't resist checking it out on Zoopla." [Photo of orange kitty, stretched out on a bed in a staged room.] "That's our bloody cat." A Twitter thread full of pictures and stories of cats making themselves at home wherever they please.
Six-Dinner Sid: "Sid resides in six homes simultaneously, where he relishes "being scratched in six different places...and sleeping in six different beds'' and--most importantly--devouring six daily meals. Though they are neighbors, Sid's six owners do not talk to each other, so he gets away with this duplicitous lifestyle."
Six-Dinner Sid: "Sid resides in six homes simultaneously, where he relishes "being scratched in six different places...and sleeping in six different beds'' and--most importantly--devouring six daily meals. Though they are neighbors, Sid's six owners do not talk to each other, so he gets away with this duplicitous lifestyle."
I had a cat who was an inveterate roamer; when I lived in Mountain View he would visit one neighbor, break into their house, and sit on a table taunting their dobermans. When I moved next to SJSU, he became a campus cat, with people setting out little sleeping boxes for him and treats. I even once got to my English class and found him sitting in the classroom, being admired. It was slightly embarrassing!
He had worked out how to get to upper floors; he would sit by the elevator until a human came along, then stroll in with them and out again. I actually had tried to keep him in once I moved, but he could tear or push through any screen, and he had even figured out how to pull down sliding windows by hanging from them. Since it was a non-airconditioned place, keeping the windows locked shut wasn't an option.
posted by tavella at 4:18 PM on March 28, 2021 [19 favorites]
He had worked out how to get to upper floors; he would sit by the elevator until a human came along, then stroll in with them and out again. I actually had tried to keep him in once I moved, but he could tear or push through any screen, and he had even figured out how to pull down sliding windows by hanging from them. Since it was a non-airconditioned place, keeping the windows locked shut wasn't an option.
posted by tavella at 4:18 PM on March 28, 2021 [19 favorites]
I wonder if cats in real estate photos have the same impact as fruit bowls. That's an industry niche waiting to be filled.
The two cats who showed up at our place when I was a kid stayed for good. I doubt they had any other safe place to sleep. And it's been a very long time since I've lived in a place where it's at all reasonable to let cats roam. But, this is delightful.
My childhood neighborhood had a lovely wondering dog. Everyone had their own name for him. He'd walk right in through any open door and make friends with all the animals and people. Everyone fed him. One day he showed up with a collar and we learned that the people who brought him to the neighborhood called him Chester. We became close friends with them because of that dog. There were lots of other random dogs in the street, but he really went out of his way to make friends.
(Don't read this if you want to avoid ugly, cruel things -
posted by eotvos at 4:49 PM on March 28, 2021 [7 favorites]
The two cats who showed up at our place when I was a kid stayed for good. I doubt they had any other safe place to sleep. And it's been a very long time since I've lived in a place where it's at all reasonable to let cats roam. But, this is delightful.
My childhood neighborhood had a lovely wondering dog. Everyone had their own name for him. He'd walk right in through any open door and make friends with all the animals and people. Everyone fed him. One day he showed up with a collar and we learned that the people who brought him to the neighborhood called him Chester. We became close friends with them because of that dog. There were lots of other random dogs in the street, but he really went out of his way to make friends.
(Don't read this if you want to avoid ugly, cruel things -
sadly, he died drooling on my lap in the car on the way to a vet after being intentionally poisoned, or so we were convinced. Not all the neighbors were as fond of his roaming as we were. We found out later that his territory covered miles and many households. I don't know whether living half an unusually engaged, dangerous life was worth it, but I can't say that I wouldn't personally choose it over many alternatives available to dogs.)
posted by eotvos at 4:49 PM on March 28, 2021 [7 favorites]
I was delighted by this tweet and I wish I had never had the follow up suspicion that the author works for Zoopla.
posted by Horace Rumpole at 4:56 PM on March 28, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by Horace Rumpole at 4:56 PM on March 28, 2021 [3 favorites]
Down that rabbit hole I went. Great thread on Twitter.
I had a friend in college who would come in, grab a beer from our fridge and leave without saying a word. He would also sleep on our couch on occasion. Should have given him the nickname, "Cat".
posted by AugustWest at 5:02 PM on March 28, 2021 [3 favorites]
I had a friend in college who would come in, grab a beer from our fridge and leave without saying a word. He would also sleep on our couch on occasion. Should have given him the nickname, "Cat".
posted by AugustWest at 5:02 PM on March 28, 2021 [3 favorites]
I once “owned” a golden retriever for like four hours because golden retrievers are as friendly as they are dumb and this one was plenty of both. It just sat on my back porch until I let it in, walked into my living room and fell asleep.
posted by mhoye at 5:09 PM on March 28, 2021 [4 favorites]
posted by mhoye at 5:09 PM on March 28, 2021 [4 favorites]
A neighbor of ours once woke up from a nap to find our cat Stanley sleeping on her head. A thing he did with us as well. He would regularly visit and they kept treats ready for when he did.
posted by calamari kid at 5:35 PM on March 28, 2021 [5 favorites]
posted by calamari kid at 5:35 PM on March 28, 2021 [5 favorites]
That was such a fun Twitter thread to read. I have a Six-Dinner Sid. I adopted an adult stray, Romeo, had him neutered/vaccinated, then we moved in with my parents for awhile. Romeo started visiting all around, making friends all around the neighborhood. (Once, a NextDoor app user posted his pic, asking whose cat he was, and four people answered that he visited them, too!) A few years later, I moved back to my old place and took all three of my kitties with me. Two of them adjusted fine, but Romeo walked SIX MILES back to my parents' place to return to his other families.
posted by jhope71 at 7:24 PM on March 28, 2021 [9 favorites]
posted by jhope71 at 7:24 PM on March 28, 2021 [9 favorites]
I did that as a seven year old boy. Would walk down to the nice lady at the end of the block and say I was hungry.
"Didn't your mother feed you breakfast?"
"No." And I'd get maybe pancakes.
It was a sweet gig until my mother found out.
posted by mono blanco at 7:30 PM on March 28, 2021 [27 favorites]
"Didn't your mother feed you breakfast?"
"No." And I'd get maybe pancakes.
It was a sweet gig until my mother found out.
posted by mono blanco at 7:30 PM on March 28, 2021 [27 favorites]
When I was in high school we shared custody of our dumb enormous mutt with a beagle mix from down the road. Not the beagle's humans, the beagle herself.
Up to that point our dog had been a 125lb escape artist in a neighborhood where it really wasn't safe to run off or wander, so were a little worried when we moved to the middle of the woods. The beagle (by a MILE the smartest dog I ever met) took to arriving at our house each morning to collect Sam for the day's activities, and usually escorted him back, socialized with us a bit, and then took herself home. If his friend didn't come a few days here or there, he had no interest in exploring alone. She actually lived with another dog, but that dog was I guess not invited to whatever it was these two had going on.
I'm not really sure where they went and after a while we stopped worrying, but we eventually learned they maintained an active social life and regular food hookups with various other humans and pets in the area. I cannot quite describe the oddness of being fifteen years old and taking your dog out for a walk one day and stumbling on a fully robed Franciscan friar in a clearing in the woods who makes direct eye contact with the dog, direct eye contact with you, and silently produces an entire cooked chicken leg out of his pocket.
posted by jameaterblues at 7:42 PM on March 28, 2021 [87 favorites]
Up to that point our dog had been a 125lb escape artist in a neighborhood where it really wasn't safe to run off or wander, so were a little worried when we moved to the middle of the woods. The beagle (by a MILE the smartest dog I ever met) took to arriving at our house each morning to collect Sam for the day's activities, and usually escorted him back, socialized with us a bit, and then took herself home. If his friend didn't come a few days here or there, he had no interest in exploring alone. She actually lived with another dog, but that dog was I guess not invited to whatever it was these two had going on.
I'm not really sure where they went and after a while we stopped worrying, but we eventually learned they maintained an active social life and regular food hookups with various other humans and pets in the area. I cannot quite describe the oddness of being fifteen years old and taking your dog out for a walk one day and stumbling on a fully robed Franciscan friar in a clearing in the woods who makes direct eye contact with the dog, direct eye contact with you, and silently produces an entire cooked chicken leg out of his pocket.
posted by jameaterblues at 7:42 PM on March 28, 2021 [87 favorites]
I once came downstairs and found 2 young boys aged about 6 playing Lego in my lounge.
I have 2 girls.Never seen the boys in my life.
1 of them said they'd seen Lego through my window and thought they'd just come and play with it. They stayed for lunch then left. #NotOnlyCats
posted by medusa at 9:20 PM on March 28, 2021 [13 favorites]
I have 2 girls.Never seen the boys in my life.
1 of them said they'd seen Lego through my window and thought they'd just come and play with it. They stayed for lunch then left. #NotOnlyCats
posted by medusa at 9:20 PM on March 28, 2021 [13 favorites]
Haha, my husband's uncle did that as a little kid, too. Only got busted when he requested eggs the way the family down the street made them one morning.
posted by bowtiesarecool at 4:20 AM on March 29, 2021 [8 favorites]
posted by bowtiesarecool at 4:20 AM on March 29, 2021 [8 favorites]
There's also a Facebook group, My house, not my cat
posted by cheshyre at 5:16 AM on March 29, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by cheshyre at 5:16 AM on March 29, 2021 [1 favorite]
While his wife was having cancer treatment, he had an affair, wrongly handed public funds to mistress, falsely said he was visiting her for IT lessons, lied about the affair, lied about the money, and then lied about lying about all of it.
That's either the worst cat ever, or I still don't understand the Twitter UI.
posted by grog at 5:34 AM on March 29, 2021 [8 favorites]
That's either the worst cat ever, or I still don't understand the Twitter UI.
posted by grog at 5:34 AM on March 29, 2021 [8 favorites]
Every ground floor flat I lived in while in England came with at least one unofficial cat resident. Some with multiple. They paid rent sporadically with non-legal tender (frog parts, the occasional mouse and sometimes feather arrangements in the yard). I am allergic to cats so I had to start taking antihistamines because who am I, as a mere peasant, to deny their divine rule just so I could continue breathing.
posted by srboisvert at 6:33 AM on March 29, 2021 [5 favorites]
posted by srboisvert at 6:33 AM on March 29, 2021 [5 favorites]
you do now
posted by acb at 7:36 AM on March 29, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by acb at 7:36 AM on March 29, 2021 [2 favorites]
A while back we got a call from someone in the neighbourhood we didn’t know because one of our cats was looking through the third-story window of their house, so close she could read our phone number on his collar. We went over there, the three of us looked up at him and my wife and I confirmed that it was indeed our cat, but there wasn’t anything any of us could do about it so we just went home and waited for him to return (he did).
posted by The Card Cheat at 8:28 AM on March 29, 2021 [4 favorites]
posted by The Card Cheat at 8:28 AM on March 29, 2021 [4 favorites]
When I was growing up, my parents let out four of the cats to enjoy the nice weather one day. Five came home. We kept the fifth cat.
A few years later, one of the two cats belonging to a family a block away died. The surviving cat apparently had nothing to keep him there anymore, so he moved in with us.
posted by adamrice at 8:30 AM on March 29, 2021 [7 favorites]
A few years later, one of the two cats belonging to a family a block away died. The surviving cat apparently had nothing to keep him there anymore, so he moved in with us.
posted by adamrice at 8:30 AM on March 29, 2021 [7 favorites]
This is how my family got our first cat when I was a kid: he was a youngster (about 3 months old) in a next-door neighbor's household where there was already an adult cat with whom he did. not. get. along, and one day he came over the fence to investigate alternate living arrangements. We spent a lot of time playing with him, and then my mother put him back on the fence so that he could return home. He begged to differ.
posted by thomas j wise at 9:33 AM on March 29, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by thomas j wise at 9:33 AM on March 29, 2021 [2 favorites]
We had a neighbor cat that was sorta like this. Sammy would come over, meow at the window, and then come in to get a snack in the morning. He wandered all around the neighborhood and was quite the charmer. I was unemployed in the time—his visits in the afternoon were a great morale boost.
He was also a thug, too. When the family moved out and took him with them, it was like a great weight had lifted from the local cat population. We saw so many more cats wandering around once his reign of terror was over. "Is he gone?"
posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 10:06 AM on March 29, 2021 [4 favorites]
He was also a thug, too. When the family moved out and took him with them, it was like a great weight had lifted from the local cat population. We saw so many more cats wandering around once his reign of terror was over. "Is he gone?"
posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 10:06 AM on March 29, 2021 [4 favorites]
At least two episodes of The Cat Hospital (a mainly gentle show about an Irish Veterinary cat based practice which I watched on Acorn TV) included as a part of the storyline a cat who was taken in for care by one family but in a plot twist another family came looking for "their" cat. All ended well for all parties involved thankfully.
I share a cat with at least two other households in my apartment building. He gravitates toward my place because he's got a serious crush on my kitty Mitsy but I swear he has never met a door he didn't want to see the other side of pretty insistently. Despite having every pleasure here, yummy food, multiple scratchies, warm soft spots to snooze, a water fountain, a girlfriend, catnip etc. etc he just can't keep from ramblin'!
posted by rdnnyc at 10:14 AM on March 29, 2021 [2 favorites]
I share a cat with at least two other households in my apartment building. He gravitates toward my place because he's got a serious crush on my kitty Mitsy but I swear he has never met a door he didn't want to see the other side of pretty insistently. Despite having every pleasure here, yummy food, multiple scratchies, warm soft spots to snooze, a water fountain, a girlfriend, catnip etc. etc he just can't keep from ramblin'!
posted by rdnnyc at 10:14 AM on March 29, 2021 [2 favorites]
Everything I know about cats was crystalized into this one moment.. We were out to a property to pick up race supplies in storage, for a triathlon event, and this monster of a cat crossed in view and I asked about it. "Oh that's Ballsy" and he proceeded to tell me about Ballsy. Ballsy was the outdoors cat, he lived in and around the outbuildings and shop and otherwise held court on the property and the dogs knew he was the alpha. He was aware of the indoors cat because it would stare from the office window. One day the friend returned to find the window had been left open, Ballsy had entered the house and scattered papers on the office desk and left a bowel movement on a document on the desk. The indoors cat was nowhere to be found, they eventually found her cowering deep in a closet. Ballsy had gained entry, that much is clear, though by the time this was all pieced together he'd been in and out, and my friend was inclined to shoot him with the .22 for one moment. I love cats, most evenings I have one on my lap, but deep down they really do strike me as amoral assholes.
posted by elkevelvet at 10:16 AM on March 29, 2021
posted by elkevelvet at 10:16 AM on March 29, 2021
Such a lot of great cat stories! I would love to have a cat, but my dog is very jealous. However, it seems I do have a big fat cat who isn't worried about the dog and spends time clearing my yard of vermin. I see him when the dog is inside. He probably has another family, but his range must be huge, since there is at leat a kilometer to the next home. Sometimes I put out food on the other side of the electric fence where the dog doesn't go, but I don't know if he or the foxes eat it.
posted by mumimor at 10:18 AM on March 29, 2021
posted by mumimor at 10:18 AM on March 29, 2021
Takashi Hiraide's "The Guest Cat" is a short read, and well worth your time.
posted by elkevelvet at 10:29 AM on March 29, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by elkevelvet at 10:29 AM on March 29, 2021 [1 favorite]
A friendly orange tabby started showing up in our carport.
Once when he showed up, I needed to pick up my husband from an appointment, and I was terrified of running over him, and he wasn't going to be shooed away, so I went upstairs and opened a can of tuna and put it on a plate a safe distance away from the car.
After that, he showed up a bit more frequently, and showed some interest in coming into the house. My husband lets him in so I can pet him. He even sat on my lap for a while once.
We'd never seen a cat that was so aggressive about going into someone else's house. So my husband went on NextDoor to see if anyone was missing a cat, and posted a photo of the cat.
The owners said, "That's our boy Nacho!" and said that if we ever needed to contact them, he had an Instagram account.
From Nacho's Instagram, we learned that at least three of our neighbors were also suckers who fed him.
posted by creepygirl at 10:39 AM on March 29, 2021 [4 favorites]
Once when he showed up, I needed to pick up my husband from an appointment, and I was terrified of running over him, and he wasn't going to be shooed away, so I went upstairs and opened a can of tuna and put it on a plate a safe distance away from the car.
After that, he showed up a bit more frequently, and showed some interest in coming into the house. My husband lets him in so I can pet him. He even sat on my lap for a while once.
We'd never seen a cat that was so aggressive about going into someone else's house. So my husband went on NextDoor to see if anyone was missing a cat, and posted a photo of the cat.
The owners said, "That's our boy Nacho!" and said that if we ever needed to contact them, he had an Instagram account.
From Nacho's Instagram, we learned that at least three of our neighbors were also suckers who fed him.
posted by creepygirl at 10:39 AM on March 29, 2021 [4 favorites]
Thanks to the pandemic we have spent the past year taking walks in our neighborhood at times when we are usually not home due to school or work. As a result we have now mapped out the homes of most of the friendly cats in the area. Some have names that we learned from their tags, others from the owners, but for a chubby lil' guy named Meeko, we learned because my wife found him on social media - neighbors asking "do you know this cat?" and multiple households responding "yes, he's nice, he comes over for snacks". The actual owners replied that they don't mind him visiting but he really doesn't need any more meals!
He's super friendly though. At this point he recognizes us and comes running over for skritches and belly rubs when he sees us walking by. (he's one of the rare cats who truly enjoys a good belly rub...)
posted by caution live frogs at 11:38 AM on March 29, 2021 [2 favorites]
He's super friendly though. At this point he recognizes us and comes running over for skritches and belly rubs when he sees us walking by. (he's one of the rare cats who truly enjoys a good belly rub...)
posted by caution live frogs at 11:38 AM on March 29, 2021 [2 favorites]
I live on a busy urban street and I feel BAD that I don’t let my cat outside; he is definitely a roamer at heart. He’s taken over my entire apartment building and thank god my neighbors convincingly tell me they enjoy running into him. I’ve seen treats left for him by by neighbor with an lady cat, I know they like to sit on either side of the doors and hang out. He patrols the basement daily and I hear him accepting pets when he sits near the front door. When I don’t let him out he’s extremely aggressive with me, so I really don’t have a choice.
posted by jeweled accumulation at 12:22 PM on March 29, 2021
posted by jeweled accumulation at 12:22 PM on March 29, 2021
Yeah, I’ve unwittingly co-owned a few of these cats. I call them “community spirited.”
posted by The Underpants Monster at 12:29 PM on March 29, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by The Underpants Monster at 12:29 PM on March 29, 2021 [1 favorite]
My parent's neighbours got a dog about 4 months before my parents got me, so of course Kimo adopted me immediately. Anytime I was outside he was certain to be beside me looking out for me. So I grew up time sharing a golden retriever/ lab mix who was super smart and a cunning escape artist.
When I was old enough to be left alone he developed a wandering habit. One time my Mom was driving me home from somewhere and I spotted him about 4 miles from home, pulled over to the side of the road called his name and we gave him a ride home.
We found out later that 4 or 10 families in the area fed him on the regular.
One day I was outside with my dad washing the car when an old guy in a bathrobe and rubber boots came running up the street and yelled at dad that he was going to kill "our" dog. Once dad got the guy to calm down a bit we found out that the guy had 4 prized pure breed lady dogs, kept in kennels with 8 foot high fences. Kimo had hopped these fences and "introduced" himself to the ladies. For the duration of the story I'm watching Kimo peak out from behind the house across the street. Dad managed to convince the guy that we did not in fact own a dog but we were sure we'd seen such a dog a few blocks to the east.
All my cats have been indoor kitties so while they have only had one family they will happily beg food from anyone who has ever visited.
posted by cirhosis at 10:55 PM on March 29, 2021 [1 favorite]
When I was old enough to be left alone he developed a wandering habit. One time my Mom was driving me home from somewhere and I spotted him about 4 miles from home, pulled over to the side of the road called his name and we gave him a ride home.
We found out later that 4 or 10 families in the area fed him on the regular.
One day I was outside with my dad washing the car when an old guy in a bathrobe and rubber boots came running up the street and yelled at dad that he was going to kill "our" dog. Once dad got the guy to calm down a bit we found out that the guy had 4 prized pure breed lady dogs, kept in kennels with 8 foot high fences. Kimo had hopped these fences and "introduced" himself to the ladies. For the duration of the story I'm watching Kimo peak out from behind the house across the street. Dad managed to convince the guy that we did not in fact own a dog but we were sure we'd seen such a dog a few blocks to the east.
All my cats have been indoor kitties so while they have only had one family they will happily beg food from anyone who has ever visited.
posted by cirhosis at 10:55 PM on March 29, 2021 [1 favorite]
We live in converted "steading" - Scottish term for a farm-yard built with stone buildings around a courtyard. Our home is one of several at the site. Our cats have woven in and out of the houses of neighbours we get on with and talk to regularly. They've made friends with the family that nobody gets on with. They are best pals with the 2 German Shepherd dogs down the road, that everybody else is scared of, and they have led to us becoming firm friends with a couple that did not really talk to anybody else before. They have probably been sworn at, but I suspect they have been hugged more. They have several sets of toys, preferred perches and nicknames. Cats are really expert navigators of communities.
posted by rongorongo at 3:15 AM on March 30, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by rongorongo at 3:15 AM on March 30, 2021 [2 favorites]
jameaterblues : I cannot quite describe the oddness of being fifteen years old and taking your dog out for a walk one day and stumbling on a fully robed Franciscan friar in a clearing in the woods who makes direct eye contact with the dog, direct eye contact with you, and silently produces an entire cooked chicken leg out of his pocket.
I think I just might have an idea!
My dad (and brothers and uncles and friends...) went to a small, Catholic college in rural Minnesota called St. John's. It has a big Benedictine abbey attached, and monks are part of the community. There's a short stretch of road where one of the monks liked to stand and watch the buses go by that carried students back and forth to the girls' college nearby, St. Benedict's. That brother, whose name I have now forgotten, was befriended by a deer that lived in the nearby woods. The deer liked the flavor of tobacco, and the monk would feel the deer hand-rolled cigarettes.
Passengers on the bus would get a brief glimpse of a hooded monk, wreathed in smoke, standing at the edge of the woods alongside a companionable deer that was calmly chewing away at something.
posted by wenestvedt at 1:39 PM on March 30, 2021 [3 favorites]
I think I just might have an idea!
My dad (and brothers and uncles and friends...) went to a small, Catholic college in rural Minnesota called St. John's. It has a big Benedictine abbey attached, and monks are part of the community. There's a short stretch of road where one of the monks liked to stand and watch the buses go by that carried students back and forth to the girls' college nearby, St. Benedict's. That brother, whose name I have now forgotten, was befriended by a deer that lived in the nearby woods. The deer liked the flavor of tobacco, and the monk would feel the deer hand-rolled cigarettes.
Passengers on the bus would get a brief glimpse of a hooded monk, wreathed in smoke, standing at the edge of the woods alongside a companionable deer that was calmly chewing away at something.
posted by wenestvedt at 1:39 PM on March 30, 2021 [3 favorites]
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