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#1
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Cat Behaviour
I have 2 stray male (and neutered) cats that my grandkids names Cutie
Pie and Whiskers. When they appeared about 2 years ago with their mother in my back yard and stuck around, I contacted the local Cat Coalittion who came out and caught the kittens (but we never could catch Mom). Now the policy of the group is to release the strays where they were caught, so they were released in my back yard - the two males and a female the kids called Pumpkin because they showed up around Halloween time and she was an orange tiger. Well, Mom soon left leaving the 3 with me and I of course continued feeding them. Mom showed up twice more with litters of 2 kittens each time. I figured I did'nt need 5 and later 7 strays in the neighborhood, so I got traps myself and caught the kittens which I took to the shelter (I felt they were young enought to get adopted). I finally caught Mom and took her to the shelter, where she was either adopted or put down. Within a short time, Pumpkin, lost all fear of me and would let me hold her, etc. She however would not 'stay' in the garage in a bed I make for her. The two males continued to avoid me. All went well for a while and then the two males started attacking Pumpkin when she would show up for a meal. She began to come around only at night and would come in the house and eat. One day she showed up with a terrible gash on the underside of her throat. I was able to take her to the vet who said her wound was not the result of a fight with the other two cats or with a racoon or shunk but was a medical problem and would need to take medication on a regular basis. Well that was not possible so I paid to have her euthanized. This left her 2 brothers. I have noticed a behaviour which really surprises me and am wondering if anyone has an explanation. Cutie (an orange tiger) will often be waiting by himself on the deck in the back yard for food in either the morning or evening (I feed them twice a day). I'll put food out for them (two bowls) and then 'signal' Whisker (a gray/black tiger) by rattling a metal cage that's associated with security for my sliding glass door that leads out to the deck. It makes a noise and sure enough Whiskers will soon be bounding over the wooden fence separating my lot from either the neighbor in back and/or on the side. Now as soon as I make the noise, Cutie will sit up and turn his head to the corner of the yard and wait for Whiskers to show up. When Whisker gets on the deck, Cutie will walk over to him, smell him around the head and then the two of them will walk down to the food. Now if Whisker doesn't show up for a few minutes, in some instances Cutie will come on down and start eating, but not too often. Now is this the Alpha Male syndrone or something like that? I have never seen them fight with each other, but it just blows my mind to watch Cutie kow tow to Whisker like he does. Now Whiskers is just slightly bigger than Cutie, but not that much. Both cats are in great shape, definitely not fat. Any ideas??? John |
#2
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You really had Pumpkin euthanized?
This is upsetting. Rhonda John Sandy wrote: I have 2 stray male (and neutered) cats that my grandkids names Cutie Pie and Whiskers. When they appeared about 2 years ago with their mother in my back yard and stuck around, I contacted the local Cat Coalittion who came out and caught the kittens (but we never could catch Mom). Now the policy of the group is to release the strays where they were caught, so they were released in my back yard - the two males and a female the kids called Pumpkin because they showed up around Halloween time and she was an orange tiger. Well, Mom soon left leaving the 3 with me and I of course continued feeding them. Mom showed up twice more with litters of 2 kittens each time. I figured I did'nt need 5 and later 7 strays in the neighborhood, so I got traps myself and caught the kittens which I took to the shelter (I felt they were young enought to get adopted). I finally caught Mom and took her to the shelter, where she was either adopted or put down. Within a short time, Pumpkin, lost all fear of me and would let me hold her, etc. She however would not 'stay' in the garage in a bed I make for her. The two males continued to avoid me. All went well for a while and then the two males started attacking Pumpkin when she would show up for a meal. She began to come around only at night and would come in the house and eat. One day she showed up with a terrible gash on the underside of her throat. I was able to take her to the vet who said her wound was not the result of a fight with the other two cats or with a racoon or shunk but was a medical problem and would need to take medication on a regular basis. Well that was not possible so I paid to have her euthanized. This left her 2 brothers. I have noticed a behaviour which really surprises me and am wondering if anyone has an explanation. Cutie (an orange tiger) will often be waiting by himself on the deck in the back yard for food in either the morning or evening (I feed them twice a day). I'll put food out for them (two bowls) and then 'signal' Whisker (a gray/black tiger) by rattling a metal cage that's associated with security for my sliding glass door that leads out to the deck. It makes a noise and sure enough Whiskers will soon be bounding over the wooden fence separating my lot from either the neighbor in back and/or on the side. Now as soon as I make the noise, Cutie will sit up and turn his head to the corner of the yard and wait for Whiskers to show up. When Whisker gets on the deck, Cutie will walk over to him, smell him around the head and then the two of them will walk down to the food. Now if Whisker doesn't show up for a few minutes, in some instances Cutie will come on down and start eating, but not too often. Now is this the Alpha Male syndrone or something like that? I have never seen them fight with each other, but it just blows my mind to watch Cutie kow tow to Whisker like he does. Now Whiskers is just slightly bigger than Cutie, but not that much. Both cats are in great shape, definitely not fat. Any ideas??? John |
#3
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Rhonda wrote:
You really had Pumpkin euthanized? This is upsetting. Yes it was upsetting; however the gash in her throat was about 2 inches long and one could see her windpipe, etc. going through the throat. When the vet said she would need to be sewed up AND that regular medication was very important and since she refused to stay in the garage, I didn't want her to suffer any longer. That was my reasoning. I'm still hoping to get answers the behaviour of Cutie and Whiskers... |
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