Thursday, July 25, 2024

The feral mother that started it all

 

Or why we have so many cats.  She had a litter of four in the yard next door a few years back.  Time went by and we eventually decided to take in three, don't know where the last one went and took them all to the vet.  We finally with the help of my sister also took the mother cat to the vet to get spayed and get her shots and she lived with us for a while until she found greener pastures.  Named her Misty.  Just prior to that she got pregnant again, apparently a favorite of the toms in the neighborhood and we adopted one of her male tuxedos from that bunch and a cat rescue group took the other two.  She taught all her litters how to hunt and kill squirrels and to this day some of our cats will occasionally catch a stray squirrel or two.  Caught the tuxedo eating a fresh squirrel one day in the backyard and had to turn away.  Never went to a shelter to adopt any of our cats down through the years.  They still have a bit of the wild in them.  We prefer it that way.

28 comments:

  1. We have squirrels teasing any animal that passes by. It must be in their genes. They spent a couple hours amusing the Raven family, doing back flips, rolling over, running right at them. Much faster than the big black birds. Our old Maine Coon preferred rabbit. Mother Nature is neutral.

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  2. Had a nice black cat back in the day. Ruby. Caught a lot of mice outside. Would leave just the heads. Had another cat Herbie. One day in our neighbor's backyard the Blue Jays were dive-bombing him. Ran back in the house.

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  3. Christian Brothers Brandy Department - Runs about $23 a fifth here.
    Googled around and found the price ranges from $9.49 up to $52.99.
    Kind of a large free market range. How much in Yonkers?

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  4. 'Bout 22, 23 for the bigger bottle. Then there's Christian Brothers VSOP. Hard to find in most liquor stores. Haven't had that one in a while. Seems lighter or milder or something. Got it up the line at a place past Graymoor. Did the monks have something to do with it?

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  5. Got an email this morning if you've been sexually abused in an Uber or a Lyft you can join the claims. Is this a problem now?

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  6. Watched some of the Jimmy Dore Show podcast. Looks like a nerd and likes to drop the f-bomb for no reason. Comes across like a nerd trying to curse. Look at me I just cursed.

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  7. Google sent me an ad for a hat that says "I'm voting for the convicted felon'. AI can't tell me from JD Vance.

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  8. What does JD Vance have against childless cat ladies?

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  9. Probably some sort of allergy. You got a couple of cat ladies in the family, what do they think...or even care?

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  10. Not to bail ol JD-DC out, but just maybe he might say, "Hey lighten up, folks, I meant who did you like best as Catwoman..ya know Halle Berry, Lee Meriwether, Yvonne Craig, , Julie Newmar, Michelle Pfeiffer, Anne Hathaway or any of the dozen others?"

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  11. That many women played Catwoman? I mean this ain't Shakespeare.

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  12. Misty, the momma cat sure looks like our old cat. Did she sleep in a paper sack (or sleeping bag) like ours?

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    Replies
    1. She liked an alcove we have by our bookshelf. Sometimes the dresser drawer with the afghan.

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  13. Big role. Wasn't CATs on Broadway? How could a politician even come up with such a concept? Hope your sisters don't find out.

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  14. But he framed it as an actual conspiracy then said it was taken out of context and was only a quip. Was it the Tito's?

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  15. Knew a guy that raised fancy pigeons. Cat got into the loft and committed a lot of carnage. He collared the cat, but required the rabies shot series. I got to thinking - was nationally recognized for his work in pigeon genetics, alleles, cross-linking, 4 generation, sex-linked, etc. All that stuff goes on with feral cats too - you get orange, black, striped, tuxedos, short hair etc. So why isn't there a good study of feral cat genetics? Huh?

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  16. My cursory knowledge of the ferals is they have better winter coats than domestic housecats and for some reason they don't meow. They also don't live as long on average as the domestics. I think Jackson should get the feral gene studies going instead of selling hairball remover.

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  17. Out west there are several remote places that have herds of wild horses. I'm guessing Yonkers has a herd of wild feral cats.. Has Jackson Lightyear found a market for hairballs yet? Presumably, the hairball problem is mostly their own fur? Ours is on a hairless diet,
    only rarely trying to eat a dust bunny in the basement. he can hack one up, usually someplace where you sit.

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  18. I see that the Bengal cat is going for $6000-10,000. Look like a baby
    leopard, don't nap much and likes going swimming. Don't know about Jackson Starburst, but I think ferals are nicer.

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  19. I think the Savannah is still the most expensive. Not legal in all states.

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  20. Is that a lap cat or a bragging rights fancy feline?

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  21. Justin Bieber has one or two. Can jump on top of your fridge without the aid of a stool. Don't think it's a lap cat.

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  22. They say they are hard on your hamsters too.

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  23. Biologist daughter in Topeka has a couple of ferals, Julius the Orange and Cleo the Calico. Won't come in the house, but like their bellies scratched and the heat pads in the garage in winter. Cleo is fixed but Julius has avoided even tuna based traps. Also got a bat living up in the garage and a nightly racoon. Is Topeka a suburb of Yonkers?

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  24. Dogs- In Space Balls, John Candy played Barf, the Chewbacca). Princess Vespa asked " What breed are you?" "Oh, I'm half dog and half man....I'm my own best friend." Dog's are naturally social animals. Now cats, I'm thinking are like "Frankly (insert name) I don't give a damn"

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  25. Pretty much nailed it.

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