Cat for sale: CHEAP

[Rorey]

Like free. Like I'll pay YOU!

She just brought a little lizard into the house. She immediately took it to her "spot" where she sets down her prey. Then, when she realized I was coming to save it, she started to take it downstairs into my finished basement. It got away half way down the steps. I didn't think I'd ever be able to find it. Amazingly I found it hiding in a corner in the bathroom, and, even more amazingly, I managed to catch it and put it outside. I'm hoping it'll be okay.

She is not my favorite cat.

[Claire Oh Nette]

1. Lizards...

skinx, chipmunks, voles, birds, baby frogs, and a rabbit.


is yours a little calico, too?

[Rorey]

2. She's a tortie

What is a skinx?

This cat should be on a farm.

[Rorey]

6. Last year I found a baby rabbit in my house

I have no idea how it got in, but I'm assuming that the tortie was the culprit.

Sadly, that little guy didn't make it.

[Claire Oh Nette]

8. lizards...

Little black lizards with bluish tails. My buddy says they're not skinx, but I like to say skinx...


The bunny startled me. I saved it. Saved half a dozen birds. Torties are just calicos on black cats instead of whit ecats. Those tri colored cats are a handful.

THey're happy spot with prey? my closet and under my bed.
sigh.

[getagrip_already]

3. You haven't lived till you see snake dangling in their mouth.....

And then the little darling drops it....

[Rorey]

4. I'd have to move

These little lizards don't really scare me, but I'm absolutely freaked out by snakes.

[Rorey]

5. Oh, and it would likely be a rattlesnake around here

So it'd be the last thing she'd ever catch.

[Random Boomer]

28. Not necessarily....

Many years ago I found a dead rattlesnake on our driveway. There was a neat puncture wound in its head, made by one of our cats.

[Claire Oh Nette]

9. The calico stole a piece of bacon

she was a kitten, about 4 months old.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see a pice of bacon as big as my kitteh floating across the room....

If there's a snake by our babbling brook, she'll find it. Dag!

[csziggy]

27. I don't worry if the snake is only dangling from the cat's mouth

It's when it's writhing . . . . . and then the little darling drops it.

We had that happen just outside the house, fortunately not inside since it was a baby rattle snake, not quite dead. The cat was distressed that we would not let him inside (this was before we put in a cat door, thank goodness). We later found the snake dead a bit down the driveway.

It startled us - the cat looked and acted like a Ragdoll cat - fluffy and sweet. But he had been a found cat so I guess his mother taught him enough to survive before she sent him to the side of the road to be found and adopted.

[NQAS]

7. We can trade

One of my cats decided not to come in when called last night, stayed out in the rain until I finally got out of bed to check on her. I can't say she sheepishly came in. I think she boldly came in, soaking wet. I found her this morning all cozy and warm in one of the cat baskets scattered around the house (we have three cats).

As for "gifts," I'm not sure if it's the cats or dogs who leave dead mice as tribute. But over the years I have become the rodent disposer (mice, skunks, possums, etc.). In my next life, that job is a deal-breaker.

[I_UndergroundPanther]

10. Othello gifts

Me his toys. I'll find a bizzy ball in my bed,his mint stick,the silver vine tootsie roll..etc.
He's strictly an indoor Cat, he goes outside in my cat pack with leash and harness on. I take him everywhere. The ladies at the pharmacy where I get my meds adore him. So do the baristas at starbux.

They give him whipped cream in a little cup and Othello licks it up. One of the few things that's not cat food or cat treats he'll eat. I think he just likes the baristas doting on him.

[Rorey]

14. If I had actually chosen to have a cat, it's be an indoor cat

I don't see how that would be possible at this point. They all spend more time outside than inside. They do all stay relatively close, so I think they're probably as safe as an outside cat can be. They mostly hang out in my back yard and my neighbor's back yard. My neighbor has told me she is happy they're around because they keep the mice population around her woodpile down.

I think their biggest danger at this point is owls. So far they've been okay.

[Random Boomer]

29. Sounds like my crew

They were all feral kittens who wandered into our yard and decided to stay. With steady work we've tamed most of them to the point where they spend the night indoors, but they're in and out all day long. We've resigned ourselves to the risk. These cats were born outside, and they know what they're missing. Logistically, given how often the back door is opened (for us and for the dogs), there's no way we can keep them inside when they're determined to go outside.

One of our two males basically treats us like a truck stop. He'll come in to get food and maybe some snuggles, then he's antsy to go back out. He gets really surly if we try to keep him in. During summer, when the weather is so fine, he won't even spend the night indoors, but he'll show up first thing in the morning for breakfast.

Our other male, however, who showed up on our back porch when he was about 4 weeks old, is just the opposite. He'll wander out the back door for a moment, then turn right around and come back in, even on the nicest days. He'll sometimes play outdoors in the evening, chasing bugs, but he's always the first to come back in. At 12lbs (and still growing), he's my baby and I'm frankly relieved that he's more of an inside cat. But I'm glad he has the skills to at least get by outside for a few hours without freaking.

[Rorey]

15. Oh, and Othello sounds super cool NT

[I_UndergroundPanther]

17. He is.

Cool cat pose ..

[Rorey]

19. He definitely looks like an "Othello"

Good name

[Ziggysmom]

25. That's so cute. My kids are strictly indoor for their (and wildlife) safety and I also

walk them in harness. Last fall Ollie and Sophie discovered stinkbugs are better left alone LOL!

[Rorey]

13. I have four

Three of them are not tame. They're the offspring of the tortie, and she hid them right after having them. I was able to trap them when they were two months old and kept them in my office until their spay/neuter appointment. I was never able to tame them, but they come and go through the two cat doors. They mostly stay outside, but come in when the weather is bad.

Their wildness is really sort of insulting. They're three years old, and they often hang out in the same room as me, but if I happen to get too close when walking by they act like I'm the most monstrous creature ever.

[Random Boomer]

30. I know that feeling all too well

A neighbor's unfixed cat had litter after litter of kittens, almost all of them feral. During a particularly bad time in my life (I was recovering from open heart surgery), I fell in love with one her litters, that lived right beside our garage; those three kittens gave me something to distract me from myself. I started feeding them from the time they were about two months old, twice a day in all kinds of weather. My wife dug a trench through four feet of snow so we could put food out for them near their lair. We caught them and paid for their neutering and shots, but we were never able to tame them.

The tortie always came running when I brought out the dish of the day, then stood in my path and hissed at me. One day she simply didn't show up and we haven't seen her since. After about a year, the female tabby let me pet her, but she took off in search of territory of her own; we glimpse her every so often on the next block. That left their brother, a small, slightly deformed tabby who's been living in our backyard ever since. He'll let me get close sometimes, other times he runs like I'm the devil. If I try to touch him, he hisses. He's six years old now, and just this last year he finally came in the house to look around. He cased out the kitchen and the dining room, then walked back out the door. Even in winter he's showed no interest in coming back inside.

[Claire Oh Nette]

11. They leave you the best parts....

... you're their Alpha Cat. And King.

[Rorey]

12. The thing about lizards

At least with this cat, the lizards are just for sport. She doesn't even try to eat them.

So I caught that little guy and released him, and I think he's okay. THEN I heard the telltale meow that she gives when she's bringing something in, and I discovered she brought in another one. I thought it was the same one, but this one was much bigger. Fortunately I was able to quickly catch him and release him too.

[Claire Oh Nette]

16. Just keeping her skills sharp....

They're vicious little predators!!!!


Where cats go:
[https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-22567526]

[Rorey]

24. What a fun job those researchers had

Tracking the daily antics of cats - how fun.

When this tortie hid her kittens, I thought it would be awesome to be able to put some sort of tracking device on her. I also thought about getting a drone. In the end, I don't think it would have mattered. She had them hidden under a shed in my neighbor's back yard. There was no way anyone was going to get to them, other than actually moving the shed.

I think the fact that cats feel compelled to torture their prey before killing it is what makes me prefer dogs. I mean, catching a cute little lizard is just plain cruel.

[Buckeye_Democrat]

18. My favorite childhood cat, an amazingly smart Calico...

... was finally given away by my parents because she kept managing to escape outside to inevitably kill rabbits, birds, mice, snakes and other animals. Then she'd carry them inside, like gifts for us.

Mom ran a tight ship inside that house, and she kept complaining about it until Dad found a farmer from miles away who wanted it.

They didn't tell me until it was done, probably because they knew I'd moan and plead about it. Plus I'd let the cat outside several times too, where the cat would walk with me like a dog! Well, except for the cat quickly wandering around to explore the area until it would later walk alongside me again. So I felt guilty about it too.

[Rorey]

20. My son told me he knows a guy with a very nice farm

He's lying. He doesn't know anyone with a farm. He's just not fond of cats. But he doesn't live here, and he doesn't have that soft spot for animals that I seem to be cursed with, so I just ignore him. I'd honestly love for all four of these cats to go live a nice, safe farm, but it's probably too late for that to happen at this point. This neighborhood is their home. I can't bear the thought of how confused they'd be if they were relocated.

[Buckeye_Democrat]

21. My father tried to console me that our cat...

... would be given free reign to kill pests at that farm, but it didn't really help because I knew it was strongly attached to us.

[Rorey]

22. Oh, I want you to know I wasn't implying anything about your cat

I mean, they probably do adjust quickly to their new home.

Many years ago I found a cat. It was freezing cold outside and he was super skinny. I simply said "hi" to him and he hopped into my car and I took him home. I kept him inside for several days because I didn't want him to get lost. There was some serious meowing about that, but when I did let him out he came right back. Nobody ever claimed him, and we kept him for the rest of his life.

[Buckeye_Democrat]

23. Oh, I know.

I was mostly trying to agree with you about your cat's attachment to your home.

My former cat might've indeed been living in kitty-paradise on that farm, for all I know. The farmer was some guy he met at his job, who was apparently eager to get cats with hunting prowess.

The cat that we kept wasn't that way. He'd probably just look at a mouse scurrying by it before taking another nap.

[pansypoo53219]

26. i only have hostages. indoor cats. less killing, tho, my last male found mice to kill.

his sister found a dried mouse when a baby.

[Demsrule86]

31. A cat will hunt. It is their nature. And she brings them to you...a high compliment.