About 4 days ago, I was going into the kitchen to check on some beans I was cooking for soup later... I spied a cat eating out the bowl of my cat, I had put the bowl outside, because sadly in summer one gets an ant infestation in SA regardless if you have 'ant-proof' bowls... I went outside to give my cat whatfor for being so gross, and the cat skidaddled.
Inside I notice my cat is inside... this cat is a complete dobbelganner of my cat!
Later it returns and eats the fresh biscuits, mince, water I have laid out for it... yet it is extremely skittish everytime it sees me near the sliding door. Finally it vanishes into the abyss that is cat nothingness because the annoying Yorkshire terrier from the across the road that assumes it lives here, scared it.
My husband made all the tut sounds and reassured me that at least it went wondering on a full belly.
We have had extremely heavy rain for the last 3 days and I was really worried about this cat! Today, the cat appears and I go out and give it some biscuits, my worsiedog goes outside to do her business and starts barking at the flowerbed where the cat is hiding so it dissapears for an hour or so.
It reappears later and I go outside and see it sitting in the bushes meowing sweetly. I manage to coax it to the food and finally it comes and rubs itself against me... it is quite friendly, it can't be a feral cat, sadly I just think someone moved and 'forgot' about it:(
Later we went out to check again, and my daughter was with me, it seriously loves my daughter, yet again proving it once belonged to a family. It comes and sits in our laps and all we feel is skin and bones:( I am so seriously disturbed by this since I am a cat lover. How can a house cat get into such a state I ask myself?
We have finally coaxed her(i think) into the house, yet she is still skittish, my 16yr old puss sat up to attention for 5 secs and then turned over and decided that sleep was more exciting, and my worsie seems that she wants to play more than anything... but having to fend for a LONG while for itself I guess the cat is skittish of dogs.
My daughter and I have for now named this cat "LUCKY", though it is answering to PussPuss. I hope that it will be around tomorrow morning so we can take it to the vet for a checkup. My heart is very sore that ppl abuse animals in this way with no feeling. It does not mean because they have no 'voice' they have no feelings!
I will keep you posted on Lucky/PussPuss.
Aw, that's so sweet and sad. People who "forget" about their pets should just rot.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad Lucky found you, and it doubt it was a coincidence. Cats know which people are cat people.
Best of luck to Lucky. Sounds like a kitty who has found a very good spot to be.
ReplyDeleteI really hate the ones that dump their cats near parks or the like to fend for themselves. In Australia, that's particularly irresponsible because cats who do learn to hunt are devastating to the wildlife here.
Once when we were getting ready to move house, at least one cat vanished because it was all too strange and the moving van scared it. Unfortunately we didn't find the cat again before we had to go. :(
On the other hand, Mom knew and feed a lot of cats for a long time behind her house in Fort Myers. Some might well have been strays but others were just visiting neighbors.
That's so sad. That's sort of how I got my little ms prissy butt. A neighbor asked my husband to climb a tree because she saw a cat in it. He told her the cat would come down when hungry and she did nad the neighbor took her in. My husband went out on the porch the next night watching it snow and heard purring from behind one of the chairs we had folded up for the winter. She appeared to be about 3 or 4 months old and was just a ball of fur. We still don't know when she was born but do know she wasn't full grown, so we decided her birthday is November since we discovered her in February. My other cat wanted to kill her so we put her in the laundry room with food, water and bedding. I let her into the rest of the house when I could keep an eye on them. After a few days they were ok with each other. She has been with us all these years and hates the outdoors. She is terrified of children (the neighbor had small children),strangers and the sound of plastic bags to this day. I don't know what happened to her when she was a kitten but am glad she found us. She has never even offered to scratch the furniture or damage anything in the house. I was thinking it had been 15 years but husband says 16.
ReplyDeleteWe have a outside table and chairs under a little thatch roof thing, Pusspuss is hiding under there, at least it is warm and dry, but it did not rain last night.
ReplyDeleteI put food out this morning and she came, moewing quietly and settled down to eat.
My sausage dog and cat sat inside next to me at the dining room table, surveying this new 'thing'.
Just now my cat wanted to go into his fav bush to do his business but she is sitting in there and he looked for a minute or two then bolted inside. LOL, scaredy cat!
She is still very skittish, I will see if when my daughter wakes up if she becomes less nervous, then maybe we can coax her into the cat basket for a vet visit.
PiB, my cat does not catch birds at all, but I see this one is eyeing the birds I feed on the back lawn, and I guess that is because it has had to fend for itself. It must be a few months as it is really skin and bone!
My cat went missing for 2 weeks when he was a teen... I was so upset, eventually we found him. The neighbour's had been doing extensions and he had gotten stuck in the roof bit. I am so grateful that he was ok, he had lost a bit of weight but was no where near skin and bone like this poor kitty.
Dee, that is lovely I am so glad ms prissbutt found you too! It is not nice to think what they might have endured before they were found.
PussPuss is very lucky to have found you. We have four cats; all rescued from the local shelter. You can tell a little from their behavior if they had a rough time before they made their way to us.
ReplyDeleteThe person who turned the Maine Coon into the shelter who became our Spencer went through the trouble to contact us and gave us some background on him after we adopted him. They'd seen him around the neighborhood for over a year and thought he belonged to a neighbor down the street. Finally fed up with the way he was being neglected (he was sick and hungry) they went to the neighbor and found out he wasn't their cat. They determined he was a nursery cat and when the nursery went out of business they just left him there. He survived by hunting and eating anything anyone left out. He's the sweetest cat. He loves everyone and would eat constantly if allowed. He's now very fat and very happy.
Please keep us updated.
PussPuss Update
ReplyDeleteWell, officially she is a 'he' LOL
On Sunday afternoon I got him to lie on his back and expose his tummy for a rub and well I saw his errr... you know.
I think that is great that he trusts me enough to do that. He is still quite skitterish though but he is not as weak and is eating like a champ. I am holding off with the vet for a day or two more as I am worried the cat basket and car ride is going to freak him out.
I moved his bowl to just outside the sliding door now and he is eating there, this morning he even ate there with the sausage dog on a carpet about half a metre away and he did not do the cat growl.
Last night we managed to coax him into the house and he sat on the carpet just by the door... I left the door open so he would not feel trapped. The sausage sat on the other side of me with her head in my lap giving him 'let's be buddies' brown eyes, but he was still doing that deep cat growl, but not so desperate and loud now, just softly.
He did eventually go and sleep outside though.
Atm he is sitting just oustide the sliding door, peeping in, but not quite brave enough yet to step over the threshold without coaxing.
At least he is still here and he is safe and is getting fed.
And off topic, we have a G I A N T spider in the kids bathroom! LOL, I am so arachnophobic it's not funny! For now the bathroom door is closed and the window is open, it better skidaddle! Worst thing is I went to the loo before 6 this morning before I made hubbies lunch for work and I sat right next to the darn thing and did not see! I am deeply traumatised!
Again, pusspuss is so lucky to have found not not anybody, but somebody who knows how to treat a frightened cat. This is a heartwarming story.
ReplyDeleteAt the moment my kids are in the pool, it is over 30 degrees today, which is a relief, as last week it was freezing(weird weather), anyway.. they have these Jonty Rhodes baseball bat/water gun combos.. they are busy shooting at each other and my sausage is going bananas..
ReplyDeleteshe has a thing about water hoses and water in general.. it is plotting along with the hamsters in the cage in the lounge the demise of all sausage dogs *rolls eyes*... anyway.. the point...
Yes, the point is that PussPuss was about to come inside but all this noise is a bit intimidating, but he is sitting under the table with his head just peeping from under the cover... very interested what the kids and the mad dog are up too, very encouraging to see...
I will try to get some pics with my cam if I can and load them up on my google acc.
I mean... lol.. photobucket account...
ReplyDeletehttp://i876.photobucket.com/albums/ab323/sims3worsiedog/personal%20pics/Picture047.jpg
ReplyDeleteThat is PussPuss up close
http://i876.photobucket.com/albums/ab323/sims3worsiedog/personal%20pics/Picture048.jpg
That is PussPuss lying down, but I don't think you can really see how skinny he is, but perhaps you can slightly see by looking at his hips :/
http://i876.photobucket.com/albums/ab323/sims3worsiedog/personal%20pics/Picture055.jpg
That is Nikodemus, my cat... isn't the resemblance striking!
Sorry I don't know how to upload images here:( I have tried before.
I was not able to click on the links here but was able to click on them in my email. The two cats do look very much alike. That poor pusspuss.
ReplyDeleteI was almost ROFL at the spider story. I have a love/hate/fascination thing with spiders. I know they serve a purpose but I want them to all serve their purpose outside. Outside I love to watch them do their thing but if I find one inside, I freak. For the next week you will be looking around the room everytime you enter to make sure one isn't there.
Sorry I forgot to put the [url] thingie in...
ReplyDeleteThe spider... EEK! LOL, So Becca goes and opens the door before bed to 'check'...
"Mom, it's safe, it's gone" So I go double check...
Here the thing is on the floor right by the door about to make an esape under the door into the rest of the house... LOL... so I scrunged up a WHOLE WAD of loo paper so I would not touch it, and gently scooped it out and flung it out the window... sealing ALL windows on that side of the house right after.. LOL...so we will just suffocate for a few days.
LOL. You're nicer than I am. If husband isn't home I take the broom to them. I avoid their homes and they should avoid mine.
ReplyDeleteIf husband is home I yell for him.
He knows that yell. He knows it's either a spider or a bee. I'm allergic to bees. I could keep the wasp and hornet spray company in business all by myself.
Sheesh Dee, we had a swarm of bees here the other day, I think they were looking for a new home, luckily they moved on, but a few years ago there was this giant swarm in my hometown and it actually killed a toddler and a rotweiler:(
ReplyDeleteLOL, my hubbie is more scared than me of spiders! I usually have to 'act' brave for the benefit of everyone else.
I'm allergic to wasps, too. I found out when I got stung by a wasp as a teen and my arm swelled up grossly. Scared the shit out of my mother because the nearest doctor was in the next town over.
ReplyDeleteI love spiders as long as they're not in my house. I don't know enough to tell the venomous ones by sight, so I'm wary. If I can, I get them to crawl on something and shake it out outside. I was once bitten in my sleep by a brown recluse. I read later that they're one of the most venomous spiders. I have a scar, but it's tiny and you can't really see it.
I got bitten by a wasp when I was 4 between the web of my middel and index finger, as I was grabbing onto the swing.. still remember the pain to this day.
ReplyDeleteI usually catch the spiders with paper and a glass, but I did not have a glass big enough for this baby!
Funny how people can be with things like this. I don't mind spiders and will get them to climb on a broom and go outside. Husband doesn't do spiders very well.
ReplyDeleteBut one time we had a very big centipede in the house, a couple of inches long. That freaked me out and I couldn't get close to it. Husband got to remove that one from the house.
My husband handles the spiders and bees very well. I know not to ever call him for a snake though. He has a thing about snakes. I've never been afraid of snakes for some reason and I've walked up on many of them since I was raised in the country.
ReplyDeleteWhen we first bought this land it was all trees and apparently the spiders wanted us to leave because it took a few years for the spider population to decrease.
I have a screened in back porch so I can sort of be outside in the summer without getting stung.
As a child I was stung too many times to count and never had a problem with it, but then when I was in my teens I became allergic to them for some reason.
Yesterday, the darn dog across the road who gets in under the gate by almost breaking it's back, was in my yard and PussPuss went into the front lawn and that little brat dog went for him. I chased the twit, PussPuss had no visible injuries but he ran away and hid for hours, I saw him last night, and fed him a can of tuna for his troubles... I saw him this morning and fed him again. but he has since vanished:(
ReplyDeleteI am very worried
Oh gosh. I won't tell you not to worry because of course, I would too. I'll just say that we know pusspuss can take care of herself; she's proved that. Understandably she's scared to be anywhere near that dog, but she's still taking food from you and I think that proves that she still trusts you, she knows where to come to get food and comfort, and when she's ready she'll be back.
ReplyDeleteI mean "he."
ReplyDeleteI managed to get PussPuss into a basket this morning. He came back last night.
ReplyDeleteThankfully the cat aids/leukemia test came back negative.
The vet estimates him to be 7 or 8 years old. He has lots some teeth on the one side including a fang, possibly due to cat fighting.
He and Nikodemus all got the relevant innoculations, deworming, etc.
PussPuss was surprisingly good in the basket.
Both old boys have to go in on Wednesday again. PussPuss for castration and Nikodemus has some gum/teeth old age related issues to sort out, they will also be checking his kidneys again and he appears to have developed some authritus in his hind legs, so they will be checking the severity of that.
When I brought them back home they got a can of tuna, but PussPuss bolted for under the table again. He did come out to eat but he has not allowed me to put his new fancy purple bell collar on him yet LOL, though Nikodemus is sitting highly indignified with his blue one on.
He always chews them off, but hopefully this one will be chew proof.
Anyway, just wanted to update you guys.
I got a scare, PussPuss vanished again on Monday afternoon. Something spooked him, I am not sure what. We had very heavy rains here, and I was so worried that he had gone to hide in a storm water drain and drowned:/
ReplyDeleteEventually he appeared on Wednesday morning... right on queue for his vet visit of course. He was not pleased.
Suddenly the manlihood the vet saw on Saterday, had vanished? He even phoned me to check and make sure if I had brought in the right cat? LOL, a real mystery.
I had to put him in my room as they had to put him under while they examined him. He was very groggy, but not as groggy as Nikodemus who had to have all that old age checking done(he is fine).
He did not like the idea very much, I kept the door closed so he could not escape. He found a 'safe place' under my table next to my bed which has a tablcloth on. He has not come out much since then.
Last night in the middle of the night, in the dark, since we had no lights of course, Nikodemus suddenly realised that he was there, and a growling fest ensued. Quite a rude awakening, I assure you.
Anyway, I settled them down and all was well after that.
At the moment I am wondering if he will ever come out from under there...
:)
How can a vet make a mistake like that?
ReplyDeleteHmmm, maybe pusspuss was so frightened that his manliness jumped inside.
That poor kitty is having it rough.
It was weird Dee, because I also saw them the one day when he was lying down on his back for me to scratch his tummy. The vet even felt for them.. I really can't understand how they vanished.
ReplyDeleteBut it is definately PussPuss because he is still wearing the purple collar I put on him on Saterday.
Maybe he had an infection of some sort which cleared up after all the shots he got on saterday?