My Cat Story

As previously mentioned, when we moved to our current residence, two kittens, brother and sister, adopted us. They came and never left. We had them both castrated and they received their immunization shots. They are now family. The boy, we call “Schnitts” became friends with a stray cat and she came often to visit. The sister of Schnitts, we call “Ding” didn’t care for this friend of Schnitts and always hissed at her. This friend, a black cat with white markings on the nose, throat and feet (very pretty) had kittens. We first saw them in a field next door. Schnitts could not possibly be the father, but she came to us with her litter of two black kittens – a boy and a girl. The Cat that I began to call “Mutti” (Mother) nursed her kittens and they soon began eating regular cat food. We tried to find the owners of this cat, but no one knew, or didn’t want to know where she belonged, and this stray cat family is still with us. We sit on the balcony in the evening and enjoy watching the kittens with their playful antics. The small one, a girl, is the aggressor and is always on the attack.
In the meanwhile, The Schnitts and the Ding left home. Apparently they didn’t want strangers taking their place. We became concerned for their welfare.
A neighbor told us that a number of cats meet under a tree in the meadow and that’s where we found them.
Having five cats in the house just won’t do over winter. Our good friends Günter and his wife Hilda told us of a Lady in a nearby town that took in strays and gave us her number to call. This Lady already has ten cats and couldn’t take more, however she is connected with the “Tierheim” (an animal shelter) and suggested that the Cat be castrated and that the cost would be born by the Tierheim. She came by to see the cats and brought with her two large sacks of Cat Food. We took the Cat to the Tierartzt (Vet) yesterday morning and brought her home in the afternoon. In the meanwhile, the two kittens must have gone looking for their mother and were not here when we returned. Mutti immediately went looking for her kids calling for them. Her call is a strange sound emanating from the throat. We were concerned that Mutti would hurt herself as she was still woozy from the operation. She went down the outside stairs in a shaky manner and then over a fence. We were concerned that she would injure herself in that the wound was not bandaged and the stitches could get ripped. On the morning of the operation she could not be fed. We knew she would be hungry, however before she went to the food bowl when we returned, she went looking for her kiddies. I didn’t sleep well last night not having seen the kittens or the mother before bedtime. This morning she was here with her kids and they all ate as though famished. I didn’t see them nurse and assume that they could smell the medication on their mother. This afternoon I saw one of them nursing so things appear back to normal. I like Mutti, but still don’t have a solution. In the meanwhile, the Ding came home in the middle of the night, using the cat door, and jumped on the bed wanting scribbles. Then she ate everything in the cat bowls before she took off again. The Schnitts made an appearance in the garden, we brought him in the house and he ate his fill and then left again. Gisela said, “I want my children back”. What to do? Still have no solution for the Cat and her kittens and with winter approaching, it is a problem. In any event, they will not be left out in the cold. They will just have to learn to get along.
This is Mutti:
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8/11/2012

Beautiful ! Reminds me of a cat I had named Suki

she lived to be 19 1/2 yrs old. I would asopt the

whole family...



Cheers...Joe..

I may have shared this story before. If so, please forgive me for being repetitive.

Almost immediately after they began sharing their lives together, Lynn and /Chris (my daughter and son-in-law) got their first two tiny kittens. As soon as the kittens were old enough, they had them both "fixed." They came to my house for dinner on the first evening afterwards that they felt it was OK to leave them alone for a few hours. They didn't stay long because they wanted to check on how the cats were doing. As they left, Lynn said, "I suppose this is how it will be when we have children," to which I replied, "except that you won't be able to leave the children at home alone, even for a few hours," to which Chris replied: "At least we won't have to have the kids neutered."

Mutti looks like Jaycie's Max.



Ann

Dear Joe,

I have had a cat named Smokie who lived that long. In the end, he just went off. I never knew what happened to him, but he was a lovely cat person. I think he knew he was dying and left to do it in cat fashion, by himself. Cats do not need anyone to die.

Love,

Betty

I am violently allergic to cats - and always have been. I can enter a spotless home and immediately start gasping - sure enough, a cat. Now my lungs are also damaged, so my allergies are worse. Therefore, I have no love of cats. I am very fussy about my kitchen and bedrooms and cats walk everywhere and whatever sticks to their paws go with them. I was at a friend's for a party. She had beautiful appetizers on the table and the cat ran across it a couple times, helping herself along the way. I was ready to go home. I certainly never ate another bite. The cat also walked across the furniture and the cupboards. She went in and out her cat door.

At least a dog can be trained as to what part of a dwelling is off limits.

Dear Diane,

I have known many, many cats in the time we have lived here. That would be thirty years. Something about a dirt road in the country where no one else is around that encourages people to open a car door and let an animal out. Mostly cats and dogs. Well, mostly dogs. I imagine it does not cross their mind how that animal will eat or drink, who will take care of the fleas and ticks and where it will live. They do not care. My David and I are not the kind of people who will let an animal starve if we can help it. Here is the story about the many cats.



Larry, Curly, and Moe were the three most homely cats anyone would want to meet. They had no spots, no blotches and no stripes. Their hair was not long and beautiful. They were not sleek and shiny. They were lazy and not particularly intelligent. They were always hungry and did not have the first clue how to be a cat.

Larry, Curly and Moe lay around all day waiting for Wooffer’s mom to fill their dish, and then complained that there was never enough milk as they picked out the good stuff and left the rest.

Margaret, the chicken, ate from their food. Cho Lee Yen, the peacock ate from their dish. Snouzer, the dog, who lived next door, ate a little. Wooffer had some too. Even some of the Thousands had a bite to eat, and the blue jays and cardinals got their share. The only things wonderful about Larry, Curly, and Moe were their big, beautiful, yellow eyes!

Wooffer loved them very much.

When Wooffer was just a puppy, twenty-three cats lived in the yard — cats of all colors and sizes. For a long time, people had been secretly dropping off cats they did not want at the gate in the dark of night until there were so many cats Wooffer’s mom could not go out of the house without tripping over them. They would all run up to her at once and ask for milk and food. She had to do something about all those cats! Twenty-three was just too many!

So, she placed an advertisement in the newspaper which said, “FREE CATS NEED GOOD HOMES”

All week, people who wanted cats were coming to the house. By the end of the week, every cat had a new home except for Larry, Curly and Moe. No one had wanted the three homely cats.

Wooffer was glad because Larry, Curly, and Moe were his friends. They always rubbed noses with him when they saw him and let him chase them up trees. (Wooffer does love to chase).

One day, the three homely cats were lying around the dish, waiting for Wooffer’s mom to feed them, when a big yellow Tabby cat strolled nonchalantly into the yard. From the way Larry, Curly, and Moe ran and hid behind the tree, you would have thought a monster of the worst kind had just walked up. Not knowing how to be cats, they did not know what to do. They all watched with their big yellow eyes as the yellow Tabby cat went right up to their dish and began to eat.

“What should we do?” said Larry.

“We should run him off, I suppose.” said Curly.

“But how?” asked Moe.

“We will just go out there and ask him to go away,” decided Larry. So they all three cautiously approached the Tabby. No one had a chance to say a thing.

The big Tabby put out his claws and gave Larry a great scratch across his nose! Larry let out an awful cry! Curly and Moe ran under the picnic table and lay as close to the ground as they could get.

Wooffer was at the greenhouse helping his mom pull pots apart when he heard Larry’s terrible cry. He was at Larry’s side in no time at all. The big Tabby saw Wooffer running up with his long tongue hanging out the side of his mouth. Wooffer pulled his lips back and showed his teeth. He was a frightening sight to see! Wooffer did not stop and the big Tabby took off, running for his life. Wooffer chased him clear out of the yard and into the neighbor’s tree and would not let him come down for a very long time.

That day, Wooffer decided that someone had to teach Larry, Curly, and Moe how to be cats — something Wooffer himself knew little about.

Wooffer promised Larry, Curly, and Moe to teach them how to be cats, but he really only knew one thing about cats — they ran if he chased them.

He meant to find out all about cats so he would be a good teacher. Early the next morning, Wooffer went out by the neighbors fence and peered through the grape vines and watched the slumbering big yellow Tabby, whose real name was Amber Jack.

Wooffer sat there for a very long time watching him, and was about to decide that all cats did was sleep, when Amber Jack got up and stretched out his front paws and all his claws, slunk his back way down, stuck his tail way up in the air and gave a great tooth-showing yawn. Wooffer watched it all and waited.

Amber Jack washed his face and combed his hair. Wooffer waited. It seemed to take cats a long time to do anything.

At last, Amber Jack was on the move. He sauntered over to the nearest tree and raised his tail and sprayed the tree. He moved on to the next tree and sprayed it. Amber Jack did not miss a single tree in his yard.

Wooffer understood what Amber Jack was doing because he did it every morning himself. He did not “spray” but he did go around and re-mark his territory each day. This was something to teach Larry, Curly, and Moe!

When the “how to be a cat” lessons began, Larry, Curly, and Moe paid close attention. Wooffer told them that the first thing a cat does in the morning is mark his territory. He proceeded to explain how they should go about it. They understood right away. Wooffer told them to practice marking all day and tomorrow he would tell them something new. So Larry, Curly, and Moe “marked” all the trees, the low bushes, lots of blades of grass, the fence posts, the house steps, the car tires, the burn pile, the old tractor, the pig pen, the rabbit houses, the potted plants … everything they came across that day.

The next morning, Wooffer was out looking through the grape vines and spying on Amber Jack. Larry, Curly and Moe were busy “marking” territory as instructed.

Wooffer watched Amber Jack go through the same routine as the day before — stretching, yawning, and marking. Then Amber Jack stopped and froze in mid-stride; his neck went out and his body went down. His tail began to switch from side to side; his eyes were straight ahead. Wooffer tried to see what he saw. He could not.

Then, Amber Jack started to creep forward, one paw at a time, keeping very low and his eyes on something that Wooffer could not see. All the time Amber Jack’s tail was switching from one side to the other. Amber Jack was almost on his belly creeping forward. His eyes never moved. He began to hunker down to spring upon what he was watching.

That was when Wooffer saw the green lizard.

The green lizard saw Amber Jack and took off running and ran right under Wooffer’s belly!

Wooffer sat tight. (That means he did not move even with a lizard under his belly).

Amber Jack did not see where the green lizard went. He licked his paws and washed his face and tried to look like nothing had been there at all.

Wooffer and the green lizard had a few kind words and the lizard ran up the tree. Wooffer went to teach the cats what he had learned about being a cat.

It was a lesson on tail switching and slinking low down to the ground. First, Wooffer found a very large grasshopper. It was a Lubber, a great lumbering hopper that could not fly, at least not very far. He put it on a large blade of grass a few feet from the cats. He told them the game was to get as close to the hopper as they could without the hopper noticing. He showed them how to slink and creep and how to twitch their tails. They were having a good time, but the hopper noticed them every time and hopped as far as its great legs would allow. Soon it was nowhere to be seen. Wooffer thought Larry, Curly, and Moe were doing very well. After all, the only thing HE had ever caught was the big grasshoppers. He never hurt them, he just carried them around for a while and played with them. For him, it was all about the CHASE. He thought it was the same for cats.

Wooffer was later than usual to take his place in the grape vines the next morning. Amber Jack had already done his marking and had his bath and when Wooffer looked through the leaves and saw Amber Jack holding the green lizard down with his big front paws and saw his big sharp teeth just about to take a bite out of the green lizard, Wooffer ran as fast as he could, screaming “NOOOO!” and ran right into the side of Amber Jack, rolling him over three times! Amber Jack was on his feet in no time and smacked Wooffer on the ears with his sharp claws four times fast. Wooffer howled, “OW! OW! OW! YOU MEAN OLD CAT!” Wooffer was hurt.

Amber Jack stood there facing Wooffer with every hair on his body stuck straight out and his back humped up as high as he could get it, standing on his tip toes, and spat at Wooffer. His green eyes were about to pop out of his head. He was that mad!

Wooffer was trying to find the green lizard and bark at Amber Jack at the same time. He hoped the green lizard was not hurt very badly.

Amber Jack was about to give Wooffer another swipe with his claws when Moe jumped right on his back and held on to the back of his neck! Amber Jack rolled over and was kicking Moe in the stomach with his big back feet as Curly leaped out of the bushes and grabbed a hold on his tail. Just then, Larry appeared in front of Amber Jack and gave him a swipe across the nose with his own claws, just to even the score! Amber Jack broke loose and ran into the swamp.

Wooffer thought he had learned all he needed to know about cats for a while. Larry, Curly, and Moe never had any more trouble with Amber Jack. He went a long way out of his way to avoid meeting them. The green lizard came around about a week later and thanked Wooffer for saving her life. Larry, Curly, and Moe now knew how to be cats thanks to Wooffer.

Love,

Betty

I am glad for the kind people who care for the animals to whom others are unkind. I appreciate the joy that animals provide; I just don't have the proper health to enjoy them myself.

I appreciate an animal's special senses that tell them who is kind and who is not - for the most part...

I also know they sense human emotions and adapt to them.

Loved your story, Betty. Your observations of cat behavior are very good.

As for DK, I feel sorry for her that she can't enjoy the small creatures due to her allergies. I've known people who are allergic to animal fur and it is a real problem.

Actually, it is the oil and dander on the animal skin. It attached to the hairs as they release and become even more harmful as they float in the air and are sucked into the lungs. People say, "oh, I have a poodle." I had a poodle, too. I was on allergy meds that gave me headaches all the time of it. At least in this point in my life I can choose to take fewer medications and control the environments I choose. Many friends have animals and I cannot enter their homes or ride in their cars. Many men at this age have pets they adore and I stay clear. Several years ago I dated a really fine person who had a cat and dog; I just could not face a life of medication for animals and he could not face a life without his animals and those two impasses contributed to a waning relationship (among a few others).

I love cats, but ours always lived outside. Just passed through the house and came in the kids' windows and stayed a bit.
I do not like to go to dog owners' houses where the dogs roam about and jump all over me.

Dear Diane,

I know people who are alergic to pet dander...cat and dog. I would hate to have that malady and commiserate with people who do. Sometimes, even coming into contact with a person who has a dog or cat can cause itching and sneezing and swelling of lips and eyelids. Some are so alergic that their breathing is affected.

My dogs may bite you and bark you to death but they never sniff crotches or jump up onto people. I hate that myself. It seems that it is always the big dogs who are the worst at sniffing and jumping. In fact, I am very wary of large dogs who are not controlled. Most of them are bigger than me. They know I am afraid of them, too.



Love,

Betty

Betty Fasig wrote:

Dear Diane,

I know people who are alergic to pet dander...cat and dog. I would hate to have that malady and commiserate with people who do. Sometimes, even coming into contact with a person who has a dog or cat can cause itching and sneezing and swelling of lips and eyelids. Some are so alergic that their breathing is affected.

My dogs may bite you and bark you to death but they never sniff crotches or jump up onto people. I hate that myself. It seems that it is always the big dogs who are the worst at sniffing and jumping. In fact, I am very wary of large dogs who are not controlled. Most of them are bigger than me. They know I am afraid of them, too.



Love,

Betty

Betty, Are you trying to scare me? How many people have been bitten and barked to death by your dogs?
Are there no laws in Florida?

Dear Alice,

I have control of my dogs. They bark if anyone drives up the drive. It is 400 feet long. The just warn me that someone is here. The only time they would bite is if someone made an agressive move toward me or David. Living out here in the wilderness, that is a good thing....for me.

Love,

Betty

Betty,

Thank you:)