When the Cat's Away, the Mice Will Play

     When no one in authority is present, the subordinates will do as they please. 

It Looks Like Something the Cat Dragged In

     If someone looks like something the cat dragged in, then they are very untidy and dirty.  That's not a good thing.

Let The Cat Out Of The Bag

     If someone lets "the cat out of the bag," then they have just revealed a secret or a surprise by accident. 

Curiosity Killed The Cat

     You can get into trouble if you are very curious and act on it.  Someone might warn you by saying to you, "Curiosity killed the cat." 

The Cat Has Nine Lives

     This saying refers to a cat's ability to survive things that are severe enough to kill him. 

Cat Got Your Tongue?

     When someone asks you, "Cat got your tongue?" they are asking  you why you are not saying anything.  Perhaps you should respond to them.

A Scaredy Cat

     A "scaredy cat" is someone who is frightened when there is no reason to be.  I would venture to say that if you live in the United States, you have heard the phrase. You have probably heard it more than once. It is especially used by children.  "Don't be such a scaredy cat!"

Upcoming in future weeks, I will be contemplating more cat phrases.

The cat has certainly left his mark on our daily use of language!

It's a Hard Life

      He was a regular cat who came to eat.  He was a bully with others stepping aside giving him dominance.  The big long haired light grey male cat got the name Fuzzy Wuzzy.  I gave it to him.  I always said it was because beneath his tough exterior there was a fuzzy little bear trying to get out.  I always wanted to rub him and show him love.  I never ever dreamed I would someday be able to rub him.                                                                                  
     Elephants go to a place where elephants go to die.  Do other animals do it too?  I think maybe so.  I think I have seen it.                            
     For a cat to live to get old as a stray is a mystery in itself.  It is such a hard life for a stray cat.  There was the cat Rags.  I felt he came here to die.  But after a few days he disappeared.  There was the cat Buddy.  He lay in a rocking chair on the front porch in his later days.  He soon disappeared.  I saw others come that I figured would surely die.  If they died here, I would bury them.  But they disappeared.  I assumed they crawled off to die.  But Fuzzy Wuzzy was different.  He came and stayed.  On that day, July 15, 2013, I found him dead.  In the path that cats made crawling underneath the fence to enter the patio area, there lay a motionless Fuzzy Wuzzy.                         
     In those days leading up to his death, he kept eating.  His body was so skinny.  He cried loud when I brought the food out.  I reached out my hands and to my surprise, he allowed me to rub him.  I wondered if human hands had ever touched him before.  He stayed in the area out back during the day.  He seldom left the patio area.  He did though on the day of his death.  He crawled only a few inches outside the area.  But there he was dead at a place he called home.  He was laid to rest under the pear tree close to the very spot where he took his last breath.  The place we call our pet cemetery.                                                                                                                             
     Every living creature on earth will die eventually.  Modern man  has tried to change this.  But as we well know, there has been no success at it.  It is said man has a purpose on earth.  Can this not be said of the cat or other animals?  It is true the cat brain can not compare to the human.  But the cat has to be a thinker.  He knows when to eat, sleep, etc. He too has to have purpose or what reason would God have had to create him?  I figure Fuzzy Wuzzy had a purpose.  I didn't get to know of him until there at the end.  But like all strays out there that come on my patio for food, I gain a bit of love and respect.  To many people they may be just animals.  To me, I don't find it so.  They are little creatures of God with love to give.  I am almost certain Fuzzy Wuzzy left his mark in this world.  As the male dominant cat of the colony, he is almost certain to have left little Fuzzy Wuzzy's behind.                                                                    

Cats! Cats! Cats!  More cat stories and such to come.

Technical Dificulties

Due to Technical Difficulties, I have been unable to post on my blogs for the past two weeks.  Posting will begin again next week. 

Tobias Finds a New Home

            It was a hard decision to make, but Tobias had to go.  A cat especially sought to find by his owner, he was bought at a Pet Store in a surrounding town.  The drive was no problem as many Pet Stores were called in search of that special white cat.  The cat’s name was chosen before he was already purchased.  Home he was brought to live with three female spayed cats.  Himself neutered was seen as no problem to his fitting in.  But constantly he fought with one of the females.  She was separated and lived in a small room by herself.  Tobias dominated the area with the other two cats.  They were allowed free run of the house.  The one cat separated seemed to adapt to her limited space.  The owners hated doing this, but could not see any other solution.  They did not want to get rid of Tobias.  They did not want to get rid of any of their cats that they had grown to love.  Well, not until new baby came along.

            Even I could sense some change with Tobias when I visited.  He stayed close to the baby.  At first it was believed he liked the baby.  But was he just checking things out?  His personality was changing.  He fought more and more with now the other two cats.  And if the cat limited to space and kept up got out, Tobias attacked.  It was a scary day when the baby was in the arms of her Dad that Tobias charged after one of the cats.  In line of his attack was that baby in the arms of her Dad.  Tobias just missed the baby.  This incident was one of many.  It made the parents leery of their cat Tobias.

            Reviewing their options, there was releasing him outside.  Btu having always been an indoor cat made them wonder if he could survive outside.  This was definitely out!  There was the taking him to a shelter.  But there were no guarantees against him being put to sleep.  This was definitely not a solution.  The best solution was to find him a home.  It was kind of like knowledge that most people did not want a grown cat.  Tobias was a good six years old.  But the search was on for a new owner.  Surely someone would want him.  First come contact with friends.  And lo and behold, a person stepped forward immediately.

            “I’ll try to take Tobias,” said Angela.  “I have a male cat already.  If he can get along with him, I will keep him.”

            Off Tobias went to what everyone hoped would be his new home.  First, Tobias found a hiding place.  But slowly he began to come out.  There was never any fighting among the two cats.  It was as if they had been together forever.  Occasionally a telephone call to the friend brought good news.  The family loved Tobias.  And their cat apparently did so as well.

            The moral of the story is:  There’s always the possibility of placing a cat in a loving home if keeping him creates a problem for the original owner.  Give Tobias up was hard.  And it is with any cat who has become a member of your family.  But sometimes it is better to let them go if he/she can be happier somewhere else.  Tobias has a new family and is very happy.  His original owners took the time to search and found that “Perfect Home.”

Hungry Hungry Kitty

            It was a rainy day.  Perhaps this was the reason for the cat’s behavior out of character.  It was normal feeding time for the stray cats that do appear regularly at my back door.  I was not behind in my scheduled feeding time.  A back bathroom window had me looking out to see how many I should count this time.  It was then I counted thirteen strays waiting.  And other strays would surely come later.  But the ones present already were drenched in rain.  Having a tarp over picnic tables (I have two) gave them all dry spots to wait.

            Hurriedly I made preparation to go out the back door with a bowl of dry food, gravy packages, and several cans of wet cat food.  It had become an expense to feed them.  But giving up certain leisure items of my own, gave me the extra cash to feed them.  I enjoy seeing animals eat who ordinarily would have their lives cut short with starvation.  Some of these cats I do believe do not have the survival techniques.  There’s Sticks that has leukemia.  There’s Ricky that has a crooked head and crossed eyes.  I have seen many cats that have eye problems, etc.  But still they live, whereas others are victims of accidents in street, predators, and such.  For the cat with leukemia, he is one of the longest survivors.  All God’s creatures deserve a chance at living.  I do feel good about feeding them.  I see nothing wrong with it regardless of what some people may think.

            But today may seem quite different.  Immediately upon opening the back door, they all come running.  It was not so in the past.  Before I could close the door, in ran two. I had a tough time getting out my door. I head for a picnic table with food in hand. I place food upon the table now going to an outside cabinet to get bowls. I have to pick up containers at night before scavengers eat what is left over from the day. With a rash of kittens being killed in the past, I have to put up food at end of day.

            I have never been able to come close to a big grey male cat I call Fuzzy Wuzzy. But there he was meowing at the bowl I was filling. He was starving and I appeared to be no threat to him. If I had wanted to touch him, I could have. But I held back. He could have bit the hand that feeds him. There was Tarzan, who meowed like a lunatic. It was just last night they had food before it was taken up. But all thirteen acted like a hungry, hungry kitty. They acted as if they had not eaten in days. But then again, could it have been the change of one of the cat foods I was giving them? It was last weekend I bought an item from an area store that was a phase out item. It was expensive cans of cat food at half price. I have been giving it to the strays this week. I think this may be the change of behavior. Will I be able to go back to the regular kind I have been putting out? My daughter said, “They are afraid they won’t get any of it if they don’t get to it first.” Cats, I guess, are much like humans in their taste buds. We like certain foods and pass up others. I guess they are no different. But if a cat gets hungry enough, I guess they will eat a cheaper brand.

            I look outside after just a short time. The good food is all gone. And then so are the majority of the cats. Remaining behind are only a couple of cats. There’s a 100% chance of rain today. With the cat’s belly now full, it is probably now nap time…..

The Visit

            My husband’s brother, wife, and two children lived in Jefferson City, Missouri.  Their visits were far and in between.  We were always glad to hear they were coming.  But one thing always had us regretting it once they got here.  Although we were cat lovers, we would always have a problem.  It was hardly unlikely that they did not have the money to pay someone to care for their cat.  (Perhaps they could get a neighbor or even a kennel to care for their cat.)  They both worked as teachers.  But not so; as here they came with their cat.  Two cats that didn’t spend any time together were expected to get along.  Our only cat at the time was a female named Tina.  She generally hid from this big male cat named Jerry.

            Articles written do talk of how to introduce cats to one another.  But there was no time since Jerry only came for occasional visits.  It was not his house, but he was the dominant one.  Tina had been spayed.  Jerry had been neutered.  But still they wanted to fight.  One visit should have told my husband’s brother and family that the cats did not get along.  Try it once and next time don’t bring the cat again.  It was a blessing that we all slept upstairs.  The cats spent the whole night downstairs.  With Tina hiding most of the time, the fighting was kept at a minimum.  But the next day, they were at it again especially when food placed out.  But those years, like everything else, had their time and place.  It seems like so many years ago.  But it still leaves memories that stay with me.  With my husband deceased and his brother gone as well, communication with his wife and children ended.  I did try to relocate them, but without luck.  They all moved from Missouri.  Even if she and I were no longer related, the children were still cousins.  Maybe there is a lot to say about related only by marriage.  It is kind of funny to think that the only thing I remember most about them was their cat.

            This does make for kind of a sad story.  People have a habit of changing.  We live in a fast paced world.  People have so many things that keep them busy.  Or so, they always say they are busy when they don’t stay in touch.  Perhaps this explains the brother-in-law’s family.  An animal (a cat) is never too busy for you.  If you love them, they will return that love.  It took me many years to realize that a cat’s love is forever.  Unlike the human, I don’t think a well-cared for cat is ever too busy for you!

Happy Fourth of July!

Happy fourth of July to all cat lover's out there.  With taking off this week for the holiday, the next cat story to appear the weekend of July 12-14.

Not a Tarzan; but a Jane?

             Tarzan was born to Devil eyes.  Devil Eyes disappeared, but Tarzan stayed on.  Devil Eyes had managed to teach her kitten to eat solid food from the food we put out.  We were unable to tell Tarzan’s gender as from a distance the long black hair was everywhere on her.  It was not until Tarzan come bringing seven kittens that we knew Tarzan was a girl.  We considered renaming her Jane.  But Tarzan had already stuck.  And slowly but surely, her seven kittens met their demise from some predator. 

            Whether Tarzan continued to eat from our solid food afterwards, we did not know.  But we never saw her.  She was not present when the food was placed out.  One is not outside twenty-four hours a day.  How many cats come and go is not known.  What is known is that the food all disappears.  What started as one feeding a day has now turned into two.  There’s one in early morning and one in afternoon.  It is rounded off to treats in the evening when dishes are taken up to avoid wild animals from feeding. 

            Would we see Tarzan again?  She evidently was a wanderer.  Whatever survival techniques this cat has learned, she has been using them.  For in the backyard I finally see Tarzan eating from a bowl.  I have a habit of looking out a back window sometimes.  From here, I see the patio clearly.  This is where I put out cat food.  And excited I am on this particular day to see Tarzan again.

            Today, Tarzan is not alone.  Eating out of the bowl with her is one long haired black kitten.  I laugh as this kitten is the spitting image of her mother.  I look closer and there really is just one kitten with Tarzan.  It’s a good feeling to know that a cat that has lost so many kittens in the past has finally got one to survive.  But also; I can’t help but wonder how many kittens did she start out with?

            There’s a lot of sickness and a lot of deaths with strays.  There’s also a lot of excitement that comes with it as well.  It is entertaining to watch kittens play in the yard.  They seem to have not a worry in the world.  Then they grow up and are on their own.  This outlook on life seems quite familiar.

            If this little kitten of Tarzan’s continues to survive, we will be faced with the task of naming it.  And it is pretty certain that we won’t be able to get close enough to tell its gender.  Is it not a Tarzan, but a Jane?  I am sure that time will give us the correct answer.

Most Popular

Sections of this article are taken from Most Popular on the dog blog.

             I don’t think there is any topic that the internet doesn’t comment about.  Where was the internet when I was in school?  Maybe my grades would have been a bit better then when researching for that term paper.  But all this is hindsight. 

            I was wondering about if there was a most popular name for a cat.  There is one for a baby.  Also, there is one for a dog that has already been mentioned in my dog blog.  It was out of the most popular list for the cat, I made the top ten for the names Tiger, Lucy, and Buddy.  I never made the rest of the 100 list for female and the 100 list for male thereafter.

            I could list all 100 names for male cats and the other 100 names given female cats.  But ask the question on the internet, “What are the most popular cat names and most popular dog names?”  It will take you right to the list with the click of the mouse.

            The ranking on the internet comes from the names compiled by the Veterinary Pet Medical insurance policies purchased mostly within the United States.  How accurate this is one can only guess.  Many may not have pet insurance.  I don’t for now.  I guess this subject to change if Congress and the Senate require it.

            I give below the top ten male names and female names for cats.

Rank              Male               Female

1                      Max               Chloe

2                      Tigger             Lucy

3                      Tiger               Molly

4                      Smokey          Bella

5                      Oliver              Sophie

6                      Buddy             Princess

7                      Charlie            Cleo

8                      Simba             Angel

9                      Sammy           Lily

10                    Oscar              Maggie

*Making the list of top ten on both cat and dog lists:  Max, Lucy, and Molly

Grief

                Does a cat grieve over another cat’s passing?  I don’t know for certain.  I haven’t researched the experts’ findings.  I judge by what I see.  Perhaps in this case, experience is the best teacher.  When something happens to Mother cats, one hears the meows of the kittens.  This for certain is hunger.  But grieving when mother does not return, I feel is possible.

            No Name had four kittens.  They were Fred, Ricky, Lucy, and Ethel.  When No Name got ran over in the street, the meows came.  But having taught her young to eat solid food I put out, they were surviving.  But Lucy and Ethel came up missing.  Pieces left from a predator were found.  And now remaining were Ricky and Fred.  Out in the street, Fred became a victim of a car just like his mother.  But grieving did not seem to come from Ricky.  Instead it came from a cat named Sticks.  They were two male cats who played constantly together.  It was almost comical.  I think maybe getting along so good was that Sticks was neutered.  Fred was not.  But they played together.  Being a male though and perhaps not being neutered, Fred would wonder off.  Sticks stayed mostly in the yard.  The fact he had leukemia may have made a difference too.  Sticks had been hurt from being kicked by neighbor kids.  When deciding to bring him in the house, he got tested for it.  We were unable to bring him in since he would possible infect our indoor cats.  He was left outside.  I couldn’t see putting him down.  The fact that he could infect others has become no problem.  He’s outliving the healthy ones outside.  Fred was very healthy looking.  But his demise came from a speeding vehicle.  There is apparently no cure for cat leukemia.

            Sticks stopped playing and hardly moved from laying around in the yard.  It happened when Fred was gone.  We had buried Fred in the yard.  Sticks went and laid on the spot where Fred was put to rest.  How could he know?  He never watched us bury him.  But I already figured we would be burying Sticks.  I just knew he was dying.

            I constantly went to where sticks was laying and put out treats.  These were his favorite.  At first, he would not eat.  But finally he did.  I would rub him.  A cat just loves the stroke of his hair.  It took a few days until finally Sticks was back to his old self.  I can only pass this off as grief.  What else could it be?  Sticks is about to reach two years old.  Leukemia or not, he’s reaching the life expectancy of outdoor cats.  It would not surprise me if Sticks was around for some time now.  He’s called Sticks because of his long legs and skinny body.  He runs and hops like a rabbit.  His eyes are crossed as he had an eye disease that took him for his first vet visit.  If any cat had nine lives, Stick does.  He certainly had a longer life than Fred.  Fred was just one.  In humans, it is said we all have our way of going.   What’s to say that cat’s don’t either?  Leukemia may not be Sticks way to go.  As for now, he’s okay.  I show him the love of that rub as often as I can.  I look for him every time I go outside.  And like clockwork, he comes hoping with his long legs.  He’s not a pretty cat, but he sure is a loveable little fellow.

A Tribute

             You could never prove it to me that there are millions of cats out there. Until I started feeding cats in winter 2009, I never saw any. They apparently hide from humans. But it all began for me when my son came in the house saying there was a mother cat and her kittens in our hedge. What shelter she had found as it had been snowing. My son lay down a paper plate with food. We hoped the cats were the ones who ate it. The mother cat and her kittens disappeared as well as the food shortly after.

            Perhaps there is something to that, that cats tell other cats,” There’s food down there!” Slowly but surely; the number of cats increased. People say, “Don’t feed strays.” They are God’s creatures. They get hungry and need to eat. Once you start; then how can you justify stopping?

            In the four year span, I have seen many come and many go. I have seen them die. I look; and they discontinue coming. I figure they met their demise somewhere out there. It is said they have a life expectancy of two to five years. I think maybe that is true. So, why is it reported to be so many strays out there?

            A cat is an independent animal. He comes and goes as he wishes. And to feed them does not make them yours. If I could bring every cat indoors, I would. But I know my limit of how many I can feed and take care of with routine vet visit. I EVEN ASKED THE VET’S OPINION ON THIS. How many I can have and maintain sanitary conditions. I know how many keeps me from being a hoarder. To those cats that remain outside, I do give names. This way I ask myself, “Where’s such and such?” I give a tribute now to many I have seen go.

Skillet               Rags        Hope             Joyce              Neil

Illa                    Calico      Little Calico   Cotton Tail       No Name

Devil Eyes        Moe         Lucy              Ethel               Waco

Ugly                 Buddy      Tangerine      Moth Ball         R.J.

Midnight           Bushel     Scared           Fred

                The Seven Dwarfs were brought by their Mother so she could teach them to eat solid food. But bits and pieces in the yard showed they had become some predator's lunch. So many kittens have met their demise in the same way. They never reached the naming stage. I do see this. But the internet prepares one when feeding stray cats telling you that you will see this. It becomes obvious to me that it may well be what is called the “Circle of Life.” It still hurts though to see any abuse of animals whether predator, or whatever. Starvation could have them meeting their demise sooner. So, I continue feeding.

Kat's Cat

This story was written by my daughter, Teresa Bartock.

            I’ve always been a cat lover.  It was no surprise when I got a place of my own that I soon had two kittens.  They were both domestic short hair.  One was a gray eight week old female that I named Shadow.  The other was a black six week old female that I named Midnight.  For a little over a year, it was just the three of us.  I treated Shadow and Midnight like they were my children.  They were very spoiled. 

            Two years later I got married.  My husband and I didn’t really have a desire to have any children.  But since we were both pet lovers, it didn’t take long for our two cats to turn into four cats and two dogs.  The additional two cats were also domestic short hair:  a white male named Tobias (Tobi for short) and a black and white female named Zena.  Shadow and Midnight have always been “my” cats.  So it worked out quite well that Tobi and Zena were closer to my husband than they were to me.   

            After five years of marriage, we found out that we were having a baby.  We had the same worries that most first time parents have.  Are we ready?  Will we be good parents?  Can we afford a baby?  But we also had another thing to worry about:  How will our spoiled cats react?  I was especially concerned about how Shadow and Midnight would react since I had given them so much of my time and attention for almost eight years. 

            It didn’t take long for nine months to pass by and before we knew it, we were bringing home our little bundle of joy.  We were the proud parents of a beautiful, healthy eight pound baby girl.  I had always loved the name Katherine.  Since my husband and I didn’t agree on any boy names, I was thrilled that he immediately agreed with the name Katherine if we had a girl.  We thought about what her nickname would be.  Would we call her Kathy, Kate, Katie, or Kat.  My husband and I thought it would be cute to call her Kat.

            When we brought Kat home, my cats didn’t know what to think.  They hid for a few days.  After that they would come around and sniff her.  But Tobi acted a little different than the rest of the cats did.  This cat that didn’t really hang around me often before Kat was born was now suddenly everywhere I was…as long as Kat was with me.  There were many times that I sat on the couch feeding Kat or just holding her and Tobi would come cuddle up next to us.  You can tell that he likes her.

            It’s been two months now and the cats all seem to be adjusting well to their new “little sister.”  They all love her now, but it is still obvious whose cat is whose.  I still have Shadow and Midnight and my husband still has Zena.  But it’s obvious that Tobi is now Kat’s cat.                  

A Good Imagination - Part III

After our vacation was over, we brought Goldie home where she adjusted quite well. The vet had completely removed her tail and it healed quickly. People would, and still do, come to our house and simply assume she is a bob tailed cat. We will never know how she came to be under the hedge in our front yard. We wondered for the longest time if someone had simply dropped her off in our yard, knowing that we are animal lovers and would take her in. We asked the vet what could have happened to her tail and she didn’t know.  She said maybe she got it caught in a fence or something.  Years later, it occurred to me that perhaps Little Goldie had hitched a ride under the hood of my husband’s car from his workplace; that could better explain the damage to her tail. It’s pretty commonplace for kittens to climb under cars out of curiosity or a desire to get warm.

The kitten, who was once frightened by our big dog Abby, became friends with the dog. Every time she sees her, she rubs up against her in greeting. Sometimes they will lie together.  Goldie truly became Adam’s cat and still sleeps on the end of his bed every night. The name Goldie really does seem to fit her.  We love to tell the story of how she came to us, but when Adam was still just three, he added something to the story. I overheard him telling my sister-in-law how Goldie used to be a boy.  “Really,” she asked? She used to be a boy?”

 “Yes,” Adam replied.  She used to be a boy, but then they cut her tail off at the vet and now she is a girl.”

Adam is older now and would probably be a little embarrassed by this part of the story! In fact, I just read this to him and his face turned bright red! I thought it was so funny at the time he said it, though.  I did not correct him.  I was just proud to be the mother of a boy who thought things through.  A good imagination can go a long way.

 

THE END