My family and animals

[Memento]

For a disclaimer, my immediate family has owned cats, not dogs, and it really starts with my mom's first cat, Mist: a pure Russian Blue.

Mist, you could say, was a very lucky cat. Survived getting hit by a car, survived cancer, and lived until he was twenty-one. We had just moved when I was in fifth grade (2001), and he didn't live long enough to move with us.

Flash-forward to a month after his death, and my mom hears meowing from the basement one night. She wakes up my dad and is naturally freaked out. They open the basement door, and this cat is there, and it looks exactly like Mist, only female. I woke up to my mom's screaming and I saw the cat. Naturally, I'm quite shocked, but she wants food, and we go get her food. Later on, we looked over the neighborhood and beyond for someone who lost a cat. Nobody replied, so we kept her and named her Misty.

Well, turns out, she had a surprise. As in two kittens: a Maine Coon male and the other a Russian Blue female with tabby markings. We named them Phoenix and Valkyrie respectively. Unfortunately, my parents didn't keep Valkyrie, but we kept Phoenix, so we'd have two cats.

Fast forward to two years ago. Phoenix had mouth cancer, and we had to put him to sleep. Meanwhile, Misty is growing more and more senile by the year. She's still alive today, but we're concerned about her health, given that she's so old.

Now, I bet you're wondering why I have this long exposition. Today, a friend and I found a Russian Blue kitten with tabby markings at a Red Lobster parking lot. We don't know the gender yet, but if my sister and dad aren't too allergic and if it doesn't have a microchip, we're apparently keeping it.

Isn't that the weirdest twist of fate?

 

[Mackeyser]

Why yes, yes it is.

 

[ozarkram]

I was never a cat person until I met my wife who brought one into the relationship. I am a dog person having several, but have come to like cats over the years. I live in a rural area so cats are not the top of the food chain, anyway about a year ago some of my dogs had about a 2 month old kitten treed not far from my house. I pulled the dogs off the tree and we were able to rescue it and now its a fat and happy inside cat. Curiously a year later in almost the same place one of my daughters found another same age but this one is a tortie I believe they are called. And it now has a new home with us. The little bugger is quite aggressive trying to attack my Great Pyr several times who calmly looks at me as if to say can I eat it? No sorry you can't.

 

[LesBaker]

I was never a cat person until I met my wife who brought one into the relationship. I am a dog person having several, but have come to like cats over the years. I live in a rural area so cats are not the top of the food chain, anyway about a year ago some of my dogs had about a 2 month old kitten treed not far from my house. I pulled the dogs off the tree and we were able to rescue it and now its a fat and happy inside cat. Curiously a year later in almost the same place one of my daughters found another same age but this one is a tortie I believe they are called. And it now has a new home with us. The little bugger is quite aggressive trying to attack my Great Pyr several times who calmly looks at me as if to say can I eat it? No sorry you can't.

Cats are close to the top of the food chain, and if you let one go in the wild they can live well. Dogs struggle. Cats are less domesticated and still have a little bit of that feral streak. I've been around them most of my life. I have had some really,really great ones. I could tell stories but I won't bore people LOL.

Also, if your cat and dog get into a fight it'll almost always be the dog getting the short end of the stick. Usually it's just a bloody nose or a bloody lip, but it can be worse. Try to get them to get along and play together. When it comes time to really fight cats don't play fair and will go for the eyes straight away. And they are way faster and smarter than dogs too.

If by saying tortie you mean tortoise that's a type of Calico and they are very much Type A personalities. And very good looking. Can you post a pic? My girl has one that is maybe 6 pounds right now and you cannot keep her out of things, she thinks she runs the house LOL. Calicos are known for their personalities and are almost always female. After being around this one I think I know where the saying "curiosity killed the cat" stems from because she cannot keep her nose out of anything, she always wants to be in the mix.

Beautiful and affectionate though.

 

[ozarkram]

@LesBaker I will defer to you on cat behavior. As I said I am a dog person. But cats have grown on me. And I agree dogs are most likely to starve to death if dumped. (most don't realize this) But would like to add almost everything in my area considers cat on the menu. Coyotes, (three of witch I watched crossing a field out of my kitchen window yesterday morning.)foxes, bobcats,feral dogs,hawks, eagles and especially owls and sometimes bear and Mt. Lions. My dogs do what I tell them so the cat is safe. I will try to post pics of what the two Gladiators would look like. Place your bets.

 

[Selassie I]

@LesBaker I will defer to you on cat behavior. As I said I am a dog person. But cats have grown on me. And I agree dogs are most likely to starve to death if dumped. (most don't realize this) But would like to add almost everything in my area considers cat on the menu. Coyotes, (three of witch I watched crossing a field out of my kitchen window yesterday morning.)foxes, bobcats,feral dogs,hawks, eagles and especially owls and sometimes bear and Mt. Lions. My dogs do what I tell them so the cat is safe. I will try to post pics of what the two Gladiators would look like. Place your bets. View attachment 28246 View attachment 28247

Cool pup!

 

[coconut]

I'm not a cat person but i can tolerate this cat. My wife has a nebelung which is a killing machine despite sleeping 20 hours each day.

https://browse.startpage.com/do/sho...sp=6abe9bf54b5cf6ae985c935b4abcf475&t=default

 

[LesBaker]

@LesBaker I will defer to you on cat behavior. As I said I am a dog person. But cats have grown on me. And I agree dogs are most likely to starve to death if dumped. (most don't realize this) But would like to add almost everything in my area considers cat on the menu. Coyotes, (three of witch I watched crossing a field out of my kitchen window yesterday morning.)foxes, bobcats,feral dogs,hawks, eagles and especially owls and sometimes bear and Mt. Lions. My dogs do what I tell them so the cat is safe. I will try to post pics of what the two Gladiators would look like. Place your bets. View attachment 28246 View attachment 28247

My friend that is a RARE girl right there. Very rare. Assuming it's a girl. If it's a boy it's even rarer!

And yes the critters you named are mostly dangerous to a cat or dog, other than the birds of prey which will not go after a grown up cat. Coyotes are menacing creatures for sure. I just had a bear 30 feet from my garage door here in Florida. They are mostly harmless and if you yell at them they run like hell.

The kitty you have is a true Calico. A tortoiseshell actually, there is no white like an actual Calico as it's called. What a beauty!

They are considered good luck in many countries, so dress her in Rams gear Sunday. At your own risk haha.

My wife has a nebelung which is a killing machine

Every cat, from lions and all the big cats down to little kittens are killing machines. It's in the genes, they are the land version of sharks.

Kill. Eat. Sleep. Kill. Eat. Sleep. Kill. Eat. Sleep. Kill. Eat. Sleep. Kill. Eat. Sleep. Kill. Eat. Sleep. Kill. Eat. Sleep.

Poop.

Kill. Eat. Sleep. Kill. Eat. Sleep. Kill. Eat. Sleep. Kill. Eat. Sleep. Kill. Eat. Sleep. Kill. Eat. Sleep. Kill. Eat. Sleep.

Poop.

That sums it up. Other than snuggling if it's a housecat.

 

[ozarkram]

I know as a group there are a lot of animal lovers here on ROD and its one of the things that endears me to this site. So as a rural resident I would like to take a moment to ask people not to dump their pets. I have seen it for years and there are a thousand reasons and excuses. They will be free and live in the wild or someone will pick them up. The reality is much grimmer. Most starve to death. Many will stay very close to where they were dumped and if that is a road the road will get them. I get it many times people take on more than they can handle or afford. This will sound cruel but its better to put the animal down than dump it. Farmers see a large dog roaming and fear for their livestock and will shoot it and they are well with in their rights. I came upon a Boxer that was starve to death last summer it was beyond help all I could do was comfort it till it pasted. It had a collar and had once been a beautiful animal. A couple of years ago I saw a Great Dane dumped but when I turn around to go back it was gone. So please pass the word take them to shelters and give them a chance. Don't dump them.

 

[Selassie I]

Hey @LesBaker

Fun Fact... ALL calico cats are female. There is no such thing as a Male calico cat.


Why do I know this? I'm fucking allergic to calico cats. No other cats... just those damn calico cats. So I did a little researching on them back in the day. Genetics are cool.

 

[Memento]

I know as a group there are a lot of animal lovers here on ROD and its one of the things that endears me to this site. So as a rural resident I would like to take a moment to ask people not to dump their pets. I have seen it for years and there are a thousand reasons and excuses. They will be free and live in the wild or someone will pick them up. The reality is much grimmer. Most starve to death. Many will stay very close to where they were dumped and if that is a road the road will get them. I get it many times people take on more than they can handle or afford. This will sound cruel but its better to put the animal down than dump it. Farmers see a large dog roaming and fear for their livestock and will shoot it and they are well with in their rights. I came upon a Boxer that was starve to death last summer it was beyond help all I could do was comfort it till it pasted. It had a collar and had once been a beautiful animal. A couple of years ago I saw a Great Dane dumped but when I turn around to go back it was gone. So please pass the word take them to shelters and give them a chance. Don't dump them.

Agreed. Speaking from personal experience, the kitten near the Red Lobster was most likely dumped, and she (we just found out her gender) was very lucky that my friend and I found her because it was bitterly cold that night. We're looking for her owner, but honestly, I think that she was dumped because there aren't any homes near that Red Lobster.

It's absolutely inhumane to dump pets, no matter what the specie. I can't stress how right you are, Ozark. Animals that are dumped will die, unless they get very, very lucky.

 

[LesBaker]

Hey @LesBaker

Fun Fact... ALL calico cats are female. There is no such thing as a Male calico cat.


Why do I know this? I'm freaking allergic to calico cats. No other cats... just those damn calico cats. So I did a little researching on them back in the day. Genetics are cool.

Not so..........male calico's are incredibly rare but they do exist. 1 out of about 3,000 from what I read, and they are almost always sterile. There have only been a few noted exceptions.

I was looking around on the net because my girl got hers at a shelter and the paperwork indicated an age that was weeks older than the other kitten she got, but the calico was smaller, yet almost twice the age.

Turns out she has one that is a small breed, I can't remember the type of cat, and will be about 8 to 10 pounds when full grown and that's all. Right now she is a little less than a year old and is tiny for her age compared to a normal cat. But ferocious for her size.

 

[Selassie I]

Not so..........male calico's are incredibly rare but they do exist. 1 out of about 3,000 from what I read, and they are almost always sterile. There have only been a few noted exceptions.

I was looking around on the net because my girl got hers at a shelter and the paperwork indicated an age that was weeks older than the other kitten she got, but the calico was smaller, yet almost twice the age.

Turns out she has one that is a small breed, I can't remember the type of cat, and will be about 8 to 10 pounds when full grown and that's all. Right now she is a little less than a year old and is tiny for her age compared to a normal cat. But ferocious for her size.

Well, technically you are correct, but any male calico is actually a mistake by nature.

For a Male cat to have a calico pattern, the feline has to have 3 sex chromosomes: two Xs and a Y. That is a genetic flaw/mistake/freak.

This XXY combination can occur when there's an incomplete division of the male's XY chromosome pair at the time of fertilization... this can actually happen in people too... but it results in a genetic disorder known as Klinefelter Syndrome.

As you said, the males are almost always sterile as well. There have been fertile males though, but remember, they all have serious genetic disorders. Not good.

So I should have said that there is only 1 kind of healthy calico cat... a female. But I hate those fucking things. They make my eyes swell shut and cause me to sneeze uncontrollably. F the females and the freak males too.

 

[LesBaker]

I know as a group there are a lot of animal lovers here on ROD and its one of the things that endears me to this site. So as a rural resident I would like to take a moment to ask people not to dump their pets. I have seen it for years and there are a thousand reasons and excuses. They will be free and live in the wild or someone will pick them up. The reality is much grimmer. Most starve to death. Many will stay very close to where they were dumped and if that is a road the road will get them. I get it many times people take on more than they can handle or afford. This will sound cruel but its better to put the animal down than dump it. Farmers see a large dog roaming and fear for their livestock and will shoot it and they are well with in their rights. I came upon a Boxer that was starve to death last summer it was beyond help all I could do was comfort it till it pasted. It had a collar and had once been a beautiful animal. A couple of years ago I saw a Great Dane dumped but when I turn around to go back it was gone. So please pass the word take them to shelters and give them a chance. Don't dump them.

Great post.

It's heartless and as cruel as can be to dump an animal.

 

[coconut]

Every cat, from lions and all the big cats down to little kittens are killing machines. It's in the genes, they are the land version of sharks.

Kill. Eat. Sleep. Kill. Eat. Sleep. Kill. Eat. Sleep. Kill. Eat. Sleep. Kill. Eat. Sleep. Kill. Eat. Sleep. Kill. Eat. Sleep.

Poop.

Kill. Eat. Sleep. Kill. Eat. Sleep. Kill. Eat. Sleep. Kill. Eat. Sleep. Kill. Eat. Sleep. Kill. Eat. Sleep. Kill. Eat. Sleep.

Poop.

That sums it up. Other than snuggling if it's a housecat.

Not where I live. Neighborhood cats here either don't go outside or if they do they don't hunt or suck at it. My wife's two cats are always dragging dead stuff into the yard and into the house. Gets really bad during spring and summer. Neighbors complain about it but they are cats. Though they don't complain about the drastic drop in the mice and vole population.

 

[coconut]

Great post.

It's heartless and as cruel as can be to dump an animal.

We've always had dogs that were dropped off. Only dog I've paid for was one from the shelter.

 

[Memento]

Update about the kitten:

We kept her! No microchip, no collar, no missing cat notices in the area we found her. So she's getting spayed tomorrow. Her name is Destiny because it was destiny that my friend and I found her.

 

[ozarkram]

Update about the kitten:

We kept her! No microchip, no collar, no missing cat notices in the area we found her. So she's getting spayed tomorrow. Her name is Destiny because it was destiny that my friend and I found her.

Kudos Memento.

 

[Ram Quixote]

Petey died and I am upset about it.

 

[Memento]

Petey died and I am upset about it.

I'm so sorry for your loss, Quixote...