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#11
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You could put out a leeetle bit of catfood for the extra nutrients, but not
enough to keep from catching mice, eh? I don't know nothin' about barn cats, Miz Scarlett. Maybe that's a nono. Still, I hope kitty takes up barn residence and is not coyoteized. Can't you put lion dung around or something to reduce the possibility of coyotes? I got four feral cats several years ago for barn cats. We have coyotes, too, but after all this time, I still have three of them. They get fed everyday, and it doesn't stop them from catching rodents. They *must* be doing their job, because before we got them there were rats running across the rafters in broad daylight. Haven't seen a sign of once since they've been in there. They still don't let me come near them. I've never named them, or gotten emotionally attached to them, which is weird for me. I didn't think they'd last this long. The H.S. here euthanizes ferals, no exceptions. I figured they'd at least have a chance, even if they ended up to be coyote meat. I think their wariness (is that a word?) has helped them survive. I don't think it's good to have tame cats as barn cats. Barn cats ought not to trust anything or anybody, for their own survival. Just MHO. Sherry Sherry |
#12
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My grandfather was a farmer. He always had barn cats, always
fed them just as if they were indoor cats (which farmers in "those days" never kept), and they were great mousers. MaryL I don't remember my grandfather feeding the barn cats. I do remember, very vividly, how they would line up when he milked the cows and he'd squirt milk at their mouths. Then when he was done they got a bowl. Sherry |
#13
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My grandfather was a farmer. He always had barn cats, always
fed them just as if they were indoor cats (which farmers in "those days" never kept), and they were great mousers. MaryL I don't remember my grandfather feeding the barn cats. I do remember, very vividly, how they would line up when he milked the cows and he'd squirt milk at their mouths. Then when he was done they got a bowl. Sherry |
#14
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"Sherry " wrote in message ... My grandfather was a farmer. He always had barn cats, always fed them just as if they were indoor cats (which farmers in "those days" never kept), and they were great mousers. MaryL I don't remember my grandfather feeding the barn cats. I do remember, very vividly, how they would line up when he milked the cows and he'd squirt milk at their mouths. Then when he was done they got a bowl. Sherry Same here (squirting milk at cats' mouths, that is). That is one of my most vivid childhood memories. MaryL |
#15
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"Sherry " wrote in message ... My grandfather was a farmer. He always had barn cats, always fed them just as if they were indoor cats (which farmers in "those days" never kept), and they were great mousers. MaryL I don't remember my grandfather feeding the barn cats. I do remember, very vividly, how they would line up when he milked the cows and he'd squirt milk at their mouths. Then when he was done they got a bowl. Sherry Same here (squirting milk at cats' mouths, that is). That is one of my most vivid childhood memories. MaryL |
#16
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"TBird" wrote in message
k.net... Well, ya' see, I like living healthy cats. I'm kinda partial to that version over the half eaten by foxes variety that comes home as a bloodied collar. I did not steal my neighbors cat, although the little thing really wanted to be mine. I knew where he belonged, and while I'm personally not an advocate of outside kitties, some folks are and that's up to them. I have in the past had an outdoor kitty, Franny, and she was more than capable of handling all 7 pounds of herself. But even Franny knew when not to be outside, and when we moved from Mass. to Colorado, she made herself an indoor kitty. So, back to the neighbors cat. I did not steal him, though he wanted me too. In the end, I probably should have stolen him. One day, what was left of him was found in the manicured field in the middle of a suburban neighborhood, and found by small children at that. His collar was returned to these neighbors. Now - we KNOW there are foxes in the area, and maybe coyotes. We can hear them, we can see them. These people now had first hand experience of what happens to outdoor kitties in that neighborhood. Which, of course caused them to go right back out and get another kitty and let it out. ARGH. Okay fine. I didn't steal that one either. My neighbor from the Audubon Society did put a flier in their mailbox on why kitties should be kept as indoor pets. That Audubon neighbor also took note of yet another cat, obviously young, laying in the middle of the street (thank god we were on a quiet circle). He was out there for several days, and then one day she opened her door and the kitty dashed in at top speed. She's allergic, so she sent her daughter over to my house with the cat, and before I could open my mouth, my kids had named him Joe Kitty. (I think I have told this story already.) Anyway - I put in only a half hearted attempt to find if he had owners. He was not chipped and had no collar and was out where there were foxes. A couple of posters out, called the Humane Society, and then let it go. Stolen kitty. Then we moved up here to 6 acres of land including a barn and two horses. And way more coyotes, I've seen them come up to the house. We also have barn mice, and thought about making these two into barn cats, and when we got finished laughing we realized how stupid *that* would be. (Joe has been known to get "trapped" in a paper bag, I don't think he live in the wild more than about 2 hours.) This year, we had a bazillion and a half mice in the barn. In the past, the neighbors had outside cats that took care of this, but they seem to have been coyote-ized and we never saw them again. So we resorted to mice traps. (Animal cruelty my ass, ever been bitten by a mouse?) Just now, I went to bring the horses in and was pleasantly surprised to find... *a barn cat*!!! WAHOOOO! A gorgeous calico medium hair feral. S/he was terrified of me, did not respond to trills at all, and ran at the earliest opportunity. I put out a bowl of water - it's going to be 98F here today. I'm so excited! Another cat, and a mouse catcher! I'm so excited! I'm gonna work on stealing this cat, wherever s/he came from. Gonna lure the cat with fresh water and maybe a cozy nest. I should be ashamed of myself, but I'm not. Because I know that A) cats pick their own humans, and B) I take really good care of the cats in my life. So there. I confess. And you can't stop me. TBird --- cat thief If you're ever tried for stealing cats, I'll be a character witness. Joy :-) |
#17
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"TBird" wrote in message
k.net... Well, ya' see, I like living healthy cats. I'm kinda partial to that version over the half eaten by foxes variety that comes home as a bloodied collar. I did not steal my neighbors cat, although the little thing really wanted to be mine. I knew where he belonged, and while I'm personally not an advocate of outside kitties, some folks are and that's up to them. I have in the past had an outdoor kitty, Franny, and she was more than capable of handling all 7 pounds of herself. But even Franny knew when not to be outside, and when we moved from Mass. to Colorado, she made herself an indoor kitty. So, back to the neighbors cat. I did not steal him, though he wanted me too. In the end, I probably should have stolen him. One day, what was left of him was found in the manicured field in the middle of a suburban neighborhood, and found by small children at that. His collar was returned to these neighbors. Now - we KNOW there are foxes in the area, and maybe coyotes. We can hear them, we can see them. These people now had first hand experience of what happens to outdoor kitties in that neighborhood. Which, of course caused them to go right back out and get another kitty and let it out. ARGH. Okay fine. I didn't steal that one either. My neighbor from the Audubon Society did put a flier in their mailbox on why kitties should be kept as indoor pets. That Audubon neighbor also took note of yet another cat, obviously young, laying in the middle of the street (thank god we were on a quiet circle). He was out there for several days, and then one day she opened her door and the kitty dashed in at top speed. She's allergic, so she sent her daughter over to my house with the cat, and before I could open my mouth, my kids had named him Joe Kitty. (I think I have told this story already.) Anyway - I put in only a half hearted attempt to find if he had owners. He was not chipped and had no collar and was out where there were foxes. A couple of posters out, called the Humane Society, and then let it go. Stolen kitty. Then we moved up here to 6 acres of land including a barn and two horses. And way more coyotes, I've seen them come up to the house. We also have barn mice, and thought about making these two into barn cats, and when we got finished laughing we realized how stupid *that* would be. (Joe has been known to get "trapped" in a paper bag, I don't think he live in the wild more than about 2 hours.) This year, we had a bazillion and a half mice in the barn. In the past, the neighbors had outside cats that took care of this, but they seem to have been coyote-ized and we never saw them again. So we resorted to mice traps. (Animal cruelty my ass, ever been bitten by a mouse?) Just now, I went to bring the horses in and was pleasantly surprised to find... *a barn cat*!!! WAHOOOO! A gorgeous calico medium hair feral. S/he was terrified of me, did not respond to trills at all, and ran at the earliest opportunity. I put out a bowl of water - it's going to be 98F here today. I'm so excited! Another cat, and a mouse catcher! I'm so excited! I'm gonna work on stealing this cat, wherever s/he came from. Gonna lure the cat with fresh water and maybe a cozy nest. I should be ashamed of myself, but I'm not. Because I know that A) cats pick their own humans, and B) I take really good care of the cats in my life. So there. I confess. And you can't stop me. TBird --- cat thief If you're ever tried for stealing cats, I'll be a character witness. Joy :-) |
#18
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In the fine newsgroup "rec.pets.cats.anecdotes", "TBird"
artfully composed this message within nk.net on 10 Jul 2004: I should be ashamed of myself, but I'm not. Because I know that A) cats pick their own humans, and B) I take really good care of the cats in my life. So there. I confess. And you can't stop me. TBird --- cat thief You're a sweetie. I hope the kitty has a better life now! I used to see a lot of cats wandering around my neighborhood (busy main road, LOTS of traffic) and last year I had trapped some to get fixed, found homes for two of them, friendly cats and I figured they had been dumped. Even earlier this year I trapped one to get him fixed only to find out he already was, and had a home. He doesn't come here anymore. I see him occasionally, but he stays close to their house. I see no other cats at all. I figure that someone may have noticed their cats gone missing and people are a little more careful. At least I hope that is what is happening. The ones I rehomed are very happy and taken care of, and indoor cats now. I don't know for sure if they had homes but either they did but just liked to eat out, and had owners who didn't give a damn, or they were somehow lost or dumped. I think the fact that I rarely see a roaming cat now tells a story. -- Cheryl |
#19
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In the fine newsgroup "rec.pets.cats.anecdotes", "TBird"
artfully composed this message within nk.net on 10 Jul 2004: I should be ashamed of myself, but I'm not. Because I know that A) cats pick their own humans, and B) I take really good care of the cats in my life. So there. I confess. And you can't stop me. TBird --- cat thief You're a sweetie. I hope the kitty has a better life now! I used to see a lot of cats wandering around my neighborhood (busy main road, LOTS of traffic) and last year I had trapped some to get fixed, found homes for two of them, friendly cats and I figured they had been dumped. Even earlier this year I trapped one to get him fixed only to find out he already was, and had a home. He doesn't come here anymore. I see him occasionally, but he stays close to their house. I see no other cats at all. I figure that someone may have noticed their cats gone missing and people are a little more careful. At least I hope that is what is happening. The ones I rehomed are very happy and taken care of, and indoor cats now. I don't know for sure if they had homes but either they did but just liked to eat out, and had owners who didn't give a damn, or they were somehow lost or dumped. I think the fact that I rarely see a roaming cat now tells a story. -- Cheryl |
#20
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TBird wrote in message k.net... Well, ya' see, I like living healthy cats. I'm kinda partial to that version over the half eaten by foxes variety that comes home as a bloodied collar. SNIPPAGE Just now, I went to bring the horses in and was pleasantly surprised to find... *a barn cat*!!! WAHOOOO! A gorgeous calico medium hair feral. S/he was terrified of me, did not respond to trills at all, and ran at the earliest opportunity. I put out a bowl of water - it's going to be 98F here today. I'm so excited! Another cat, and a mouse catcher! I'm so excited! I'm gonna work on stealing this cat, wherever s/he came from. Gonna lure the cat with fresh water and maybe a cozy nest. I should be ashamed of myself, but I'm not. Because I know that A) cats pick their own humans, and B) I take really good care of the cats in my life. So there. I confess. And you can't stop me. TBird --- cat thief Actually, I'd say you're more of a cat BURGLAR. =o) If people are careless with their cats when they know there are dangers awaiting them outside, I don't think they have a lot of grounds for complaint if the cats end up choosing new humans. Melissa |
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