Curiosity You-Know-What the Cat
The Boss left a ladder in front of our front porch rail yesterday, as he's working on the house. This morning, when I let the cats out, what did Tarzan do? Immediately checked out the new equipment in his jungle. As I watched from the window, I saw him climb the ladder. I know exactly what he was up to. He thought he might be able to get up on the porch roof! The ladder was mostly under the eaves, but I wasn't taking any chances, so I moved the ladder to the porch. I had to pull him off the ladder while he tried to hang on. He wasn't happy and let me know it with his usual loud meowing. He looks at me RIGHT IN THE EYES when he complains this way.
So my question is: what dangerous things have your cats tried out of curiosity? Or your dogs for that matter. Cats are curious, but also usually very cautious, at least mine are. Maybe because they both lived as strays and have street smarts? Do you think a cat cared for by humans since kittenhood is less able to take care of themselves in these situations, as they never had to fend for themselves, or does natural instinct kick in just like for a stray cat who had to develop more survival tactics?
Pictures above: On left, Alice's cats "Larry and Trouble snuggling on the fuzzy pillow and Scooter nearby. A cozy moment." Hmmmm. Is Scooter being shunned? The third wheel? The "other" cat? I just love seeing pictures of cats snuggling together, as so many people think all cats are loners. I love seeing Catfish and Tarzan cozy up, as I felt so sorry for Tarzan when he lost Jane.
On the right are Ramona's (birdie) cats Birdie on the right and Socks on the left. Socks looks like he's having a GREAT time. As I mentioned before, Birdie was at Cats Are Us and I loved her so much. I wanted her to be "Bubby's Bride" as she looks so much like Catfish. But it was not to be, and I'm just so glad she found a wonderful home. Her name at the shelter was "Coo-coo Bird."
posted by Sandy at 3/23/2007 09:31:00 AM
Pet People
12 Comments:
Ssandy,
I think cats are the same as other animals when it comes to having been raised by people. I don't think they can quite take care of themselves as well when they've been inside all of thier lives, they don't completely develope that "I can take care of myself thing" even though they think they can. I saw a documentary on cats that said that in fact. It showed this mother cat and her kittens and it said that cats who haven't been taught to "mouse" or catch mice don't understand why they catch them. They said they will just chase and play with them and even if they play with them till they die they won't eat them. I know when our Sammy caught the one she got that is all she did was chase it till I felt too sorry for it. Fly Boy took it outside and killed it. I wish he hadn't had to do that. I wish he could have let it go, poor little mouse. Sometimes it's better to go ahead and put them out of thier misery I know but I still feel sorry for the animal. And I know a mouse is a rodent but it's still a living breathing cute little creature.
Hey I saw in the paper's crime watch this morning where someone broke into a house and took a Columbian redtail boa constrictor and just want ya'all to rest assured it wasn't me that took that snake!LOL
Sandy have you heard anything about how Harley is? I'm still praying everything is ok.
Also did you hear about the tests showing that rat poisen was in the dog and cat food that is making all the animals sick? Talk about sick people to do something like that! I am outraged!They are supposed to have a press conference about it soon.
On the dangerouse thing. Penelope has learned hot to take out the protective plastic things from the electric outlets with her paws. It scares me to think she could get shocked. And all of my cats at one time or another have climbed way way up on top of the kitchen cabinets and the entertaiment center. They will run as hard as they can across the top of the cabinets just to make a cartoonish looking stop at the edge scaring the crap outta me! I yell at them but that does about as much as if I'd say go girls, run fast as you can! They have been known to chew on electic cords and I told you all about how Brittany and Penelope tried to eat the glass Christmas lights. I can't leave ribbons or anything that looks anything like that in thier reach. And you've heard the stories aof how Brittany eats everything including plastic bags and etc. Once she ate into a ziplock bag that had some onions in it and although she only wanted the bag she got a little taste of the onions so had to take her for blood tests to make sure she was ok. I'm sure there are other things they have done but right now that is all I can think of. Something someone on here says may trigger my memory.
Stella likes cats and wants to sniff them. We used to own a moble home and she thought she was sniffing after a cat, WRONG! She was sniffing a skunk and followed it under the trailer. Where she got sprayed in the face. Another reason we call her Stinky Stella. It was on the 4th of July too. So it was hot out. Not only did she smell, but the entire house smelled too! She still wants to case after cats and sniff them, but she's more cautious.
You've seen my picture of Trouble and Scooter sitting on the chest of drawers watching the birds. One evening, I was at my computer and noticed it was very quiet. I got up to check on the cats and found that the screen on the window over the chest of drawers had come out in one corner and Trouble and Scooter had jumped through. Neither one of them have been outside and I was sure they were long gone. I got the flashlight and went into the back yard and called them. Trouble was sitting in the yard and started crying when I called her and she seemed very glad to go back inside. Scooter had discovered the tarp that hubby uses to cover the lawn mower and ran under it while I tried to catch him. He was having fun! I finally caught him and brought him inside. I think my mistake was putting seeds on the window sill. Scooter would charge the screen and slowly but surely pulled out the spline that hols the screen in. Now the window stays shut. The kitchen window is open and Scooter lies on the sill. Since the birds don't land there, he doesn't charge the screen. It did scare me when they were missing. I didn't know how far they would go.
Scooter and Larry snuggle together occasionally but Larry will start licking Scooter's head and then Scooter gets miffed and starts chewing Larry's neck and then he skeddaddles. Scooter is fearless and very independent.
I may get the prize in best story for being scared over a cat... When we lived in Germany, we were in the penthouse of an apartment building. Most apartment buildings are only 4 stories high as they are not required to put in an elevator until the 5th story. Germans being thrifty (Cheap according to my German friends) mostly build 4 Story buildings. There are no screens on windows or screen doors of any type either. Germans do not have air conditioning either (well rich Germans do) and we lived in the hottest region of Germany so we had to open our windows and doors for circulating air at times.
Okay now that you know your German Trivia for the day, let’s move on.
We had a balcony that went around 3 quarters of our apartment. It was a high cement type wall about 3 inches thick. (I bet you smart cookies can see where this is going already) I had flowers boxes all over the balcony and we really enjoyed spending time out on the porch especially on sunny days. Skeeter would go out on the porch and be just happy as can be sniffing in the flower boxes. He would find himself a nice sunny spot and sun bath.
One night the Saint and I were in the kitchen staining a piece of furniture and Skeeter went outside to explore. I was bent over with a paint brush in my hand as the Saint was wiping with a cloth and something caught the corner of my eye. I looked up to see Skeeter 4 floors high walking the balcony railing! I was afraid to yell at him for fear of scaring the dickens out of him and him falling. The Saint and I were going nuts and trying to decide what action to take. We decided he was just being a curious cat and exploring and that he would get off the wall soon. We stayed calm and then he was gone! Nope not over the side but past the sectioning wall and next door to the adjoining porch! I was dying inside my body for I knew he was about to fall and die as he arched his body around the wall! We wanted to go to the neighbors and ask for their help but we were new to the country and could not communicate too well at this point. It was late and past most Germans bed time and here we are out on our balcony with a flash light trying to get Skeeter to come back home. The Saint leaned over the balcony wall that separated our apartments to see Skeeter up on his hind feet while peeking in the window to the neighbor’s apartment! He was laughing so hard that he got me to laughing as well. It was scary but also a funny situation we were in. We quietly called him and he just looked at us and gave an arrogant meow and then peered back into the neighbors windows! We shook the treat can to no avail also. We decided to ignore him and go about our business and hopefully he would come to his senses and get back home. Sure enough a few minutes later, which seemed like a life time to me, and he calmly walked the railing back home. I saw him and somehow managed to keep calm while walking to him and I gently picked him up and took him into the apartment with a death grip! I was kissing him and fussing at him all at the same time!
Needless to say, the next day I examined the windows really well and took a trip to the local Bauhaus for supplies to make my own darn window screens! And Skeeter was forbidden to get on the porch again. He was so smart and trainable, I would be on the porch with the door open with no screen and he would sit inside the apartment and not go over the threshold. He knew his boundaries and was a good boy. But even good boys can give mommy a dam near heart attack at times!
Alice,
I did not know you had a black cat also! How exciting for me... How many pets do you have? I am having such a hard time keeping up with what baby belongs to what mommy that I have started to jot them down on paper!
Birdie,
Are Birdie and Socks siblings? They look so similar to each other. Like two of Pam’s babies resemble each other. I love black and white colored cats. The white always looks so bright up against the beautiful shiny black fur. I really adore the Tuxedo babies. They look so dressed up and ready to go to the ball…
Pam,
How funny that Penelope is a little eletrician! It is amazing how smart our pets are. I think I would be worried about her getting shocked too...But I am definitely a worrier. Thanks so much for asking about Harley. Sorry- I have not been on here in a few days. My daughter has had strep AGAIN so I have been busy with her. The morning I was to take Harley in our vet was off so I planned to go the next day. Then kiddo got sick and we are just getting back into the swing of things today. Harley is old(11- I think that is old for a boxer?) and she has been passing out for no apparent reason about once a day-just out of the blue while she is walking she will fall out, collapse...very scary. It doesn't last very long and there is no seizeing but something is wrong.I also notice the edge of her eyelids and her gums get extremely pale when this happens. I automatically tend to think the worse but I am keeping my hopes up that its not. I am going to take her in tomorrow. Every now and then it would be nice if the hubby was home to help out. Sorry-not really complaining just a little vent.
Skeeter your story is hysterical! I can just see Skeeter peeking in the window and the look you were given...Cats just crack me up .They are all so different and have such unique personalities. My Mo-Jo was sitting in the open window one day. This window was on the backside of our house on the 2nd story.There is a deck that runs along the back of the house close to this window. We had a little stray black cat that was on the deck meowing at MJ. The black cat leaped over to the window and clung to the screen with its claws.My kids screamed that the kitty was going to fall to the concrete driveway below. By the time I was half way down the deck steps to the ground the kitty let go and fell. Luckily it landed on its feet and was fine. It scared me to death tho-we were all hugging and loving the kitty, feeling for broken bones, but it was ok. Happy ending for the stray-a tech from our vets office took it and gave it a good home.
Just an FYI, NOT meant to scare anyone or make anyone worry, but strp can be passed from dogs to humans. There have been cases where recurring strep was finally attributed to the family dog and once treated, the cycle stopped.
Skeeter, we have 3 cats and 3 dogs. Two cats came with us from fresno and Scooter was a foster kitten from a local vet. His mother died and we took in 3 of her newborn kittens. Sadly 2 died and Scooter was the only one who survived. After feeding him every two hours for 6 weeks, there was no way I was gonna give him up. He is much more people-friendly than my other two and that may be due to the frequent handling when he was so very tiny.
Skeeter, Well well well now we know "the rest of the story!" Your Skeeter literaly was "A Peeping TOM"! Ha HA!
I am picturing him looking in at those people, too good!
Shannon, so sorry your daughter has strep, hope she is feeling beter soon! I went through that with my daughter when she was younger, she had it quite often. And on Harley's symptoms, has Harley ever had any problems with blood pressure? It sounds like it could be a symptom but then people and animals are so different.And of course at her age you have to consider CHF ( congestive heart failure ) which can be treated in animals as well as people. I will keep Harley in my prayers.Keep me posted. And bless you for taking care of that sweet little stray kitty and helping it to get a home.
Alice, where did you get that information about dogs passing Step to people? In my intire medical background I have never heard of a case of that ever being able to be passed from animals to humans. In fact in nursing school we we taught that you just can't pass that type of bacteria from human to animal and vis versa. Now please don't take that the wrong way I'm not trying to undermind what you are saying( you know I love ya ) it's just not what I know to be true and there is so much misinformation out there.Most things going around out there are just myths and that really sounds like one. They do make they sound so real.
God bless you for taking in Scooter and his sibblings and all you did to save Scooter. I wouldn't have been able to give him up after all that loving care either. You are so good!
I found this link:
http://www.google.com/search?q=cache:TKBVQ1UOii4J:www.cfsph.iastate.edu/Factsheets/pdfs/streptococcosis.pdf+zoonotic+strep&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=3&gl=us
• S. canis (beta-hemolytic; Lancefield group G) is an op-
portunistic pathogen found in dogs and other species.
Some Streptococcus spp. are adapted to humans and
have no natural reservoirs in animals, but can be transmit-
ted to animals (reverse zoonoses). The colonized animals
can then re-transmit the infection to humans. S. pyogenes
(beta-hemolytic; Lancefield group A) is a human pathogen
that causes pharyngitis (strep throat), skin disease and many
other infections. S. pyogenes from humans can infect the
bovine udder; as a result, contaminated raw milk can cause
outbreaks of human disease. S. pyogenes has been isolated,
in at least one case, from the family dog. Recurrent strepto-
coccal pharyngitis in this family was cured only when the
family dog was treated concurrently with all family mem-
bers. Such cases seem to be unusual; in one study, numerous
attempts to isolate S. pyogenes from pets, including those in
households where the children had S. pyogenes infections,
were unsuccessful.
It's very technical. And you're right, very controversial... But, I would say, if I wanted to prevent continued recurrences... better to be safe than sorry.
Thanks Alice, that was great info! I have never heard of that and as it said it is very rare so I really wouldn't be concerned enough to treat a animal for it right away, only in a rare case but that is really interesting. See goes to show you can learn something new all the time. I certainly seem to.I did know about the raw milk contamination causing human diseases but that is more common and pretty much taught in all medical programs. I used to tease some of my friends ( when they had Strep )and tell them they had a positive beta-hemolytic Streptococi and needed immediate treatment from a non resistant bacteriacidal antibiotic! Ha. Some asked me if it was that serious and I just said, nan you got a strep throat and need some antibiotis. I didn't do it long enough to really scare them so don't think I was a mean person. Most knew it wasn't anything to worry about anyway and now pretty much everyone knows more about Strep and the rest.Again, thanks Alice.
Speaking of, Shannon, hope your daughter is feeling better.
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