Mitigating a Machine Shop disaster.

[spro]

I suppose I'm on some kind of roll here about cats. I want you to think for a minute about the power these critters have. A little one could slice a major vein with one claw. They are very particular about their claws and sharpen them daily. "Domestic" means something different with cats. They are not the canine who dies with you or has been your trusty. Your partner. Cats have a role and more, it's different.. I suppose I shouldn't mention the lifeless carcass of a cat. The teeth were still ready and exposed. The claws were out and ready for a battle. To the very end he was a fighter yet he didn't know the enemy.

[GK1918]

Ha Ha, The cat dont use money. Plain as day warning keep away from my mill its mine now. Just joking, I went thru all of that , like he knows
I am leaving he would spray my shoes and my hat walk away with my truck keys in his mouth. He is trying to tell me something. Enough,
25 bucks to the doctor. No more spraying but he sleeps all day & night??????????

[spro]

The enemy was time. No claw could reach as far as time reached into him. He was not constructed to span decades.
During his time, he did very well. He was docile because I was larger. They know about size and what could crush him.
Over time he was one of my "watch cats" at a pivotal time and enjoyed the outside freedom. He wandered in investigation. I recall going to animal rescue searching for him to have been found.
I believe I wore out my welcome there. All the time he was playing "cat and mouse" with me and before that, he was a happy cat. He strutted down the sidewalk like everyone loved him. I recall now a sound of a cat screaming. I recognized his voice and he was so tore up. He didn't know about the possums and big raccoons, damn near tore his leg off. A mess and they sewed him up. That aged cat was a kitten and born here. His cat momma was very small as a kitten once. No better cat than that one. Love? That kitten to be the mother was all love. She would snuggle and purr and seriously, if the rhythm changed, she would wake me up. Don't know if it was about love as we know it. She knew I could open those cans and clean that box.

[spro]

GK I just saw your post and think I understand about this. Extremely territorial, He was "marking" you as his person.

[spro]

All the time fresh water. They drink and wash around the water bowl. They get sick like anything else with bad water. You can't expect a cat to live 15+ years if it is drinking fouled water. Their kidneys are not as large and we would be ill. I used the same filtered water I would use for coffee or drinking. When I say 15 years that is true. Nothing like them. No reptile, even though I like reptiles for many reasons, no trust at all with them. They could lick you in the evening and eat you in the morning. Cats don't usually do that but they know they have a shot at this life thing. They will find a way.

[warmstrong1955]

You people need to learn how to train your cats.

Trespassers beware!
'Fang' is on the left....'Claw' is on the right.....
Note the attack ready position....
Note the hairy eyeball.....
Would you dare to walk in under that arbor?
They don't getcha....my Lathe Dog will.....

No shortage of feral cats in Nevada. These two wandered in as kittens, apparently abandoned.
God's creatures. To be taken care of....

Bill

[rustyh]

Yes Spro, love my 13 year old cats (one a house cat the other pretty wild). Mango (he's orange) has the habit of running into the bathroom and jumping up to the sink whenever someone goes in and he needs water. He sits patiently waiting for the hand washing to occur, for us to leave the cold dribbling, then climbs down into the sink and slurps (there are times in the heat of the summer when he sleeps in the sink as it's cooler). He also goes on long walks with us and is the same size as the 2 year old dog, whom he rules. The dog is oblivious, thinks he's the boss. They play together for hours. When it invariably gets out of hand the cat grabs the dog's head by both paws and bites his nose (not very hard), means game over, and they both go to their beds. They have worked it out themselves, no input from us (other than to have to go out and buy another bed because the cat has taken over the dog's by the fire).

My shop tends to get over run with mice (there is a 5 acre field right next door) when it gets cold and I can see their tracks in the bench dust. The cats slay 'em, especially the outside cat Morris, the Grey Ghost, who likes to leave the dead on the front door mat. That impresses my wife no end. Lord help me when she accidentally steps on one...

I'm not sure why they don't spray anywhere near or in the house (we are surrounded by forest and field). But if we do smell urine around, it means a wild cat has shown up. There is a one eyed black cat we call One Eyed Jack that makes the rounds of the neighborhood on a monthly basis and usually sits well down the driveway. He evaporates when he sees our pets come out into the yard. I think he's been down that road, so to speak. He'll hang for a couple of days watching the food bowls, estimating his chances, then moves on or is moved on....

All in all they are a lot of fun to watch.

[dgoddard]

While cats have a reputation for going after mice, there is another job I have for them. If you have snakes hiding out around you place cats will tend to get rid of them, because cats eat many of the things that snakes eat and their scent tends to drive away the vermin. The snakes then leave for lack of good hunting.

[rustyh]

Yes, ours are snake hunters in the summer. Like to bring them in the house to play with, wife gets really impressed. Unfortunately the weed-eater and ride-on lawnmower kill far more, no matter how careful I am. Then we have red tail hawks that hunt the big field when raising young, and I have even had a Bald Eagle take one of our cats.

I was having my morning tea out on the deck and watched an eagle (they are like robins around here, they're everywhere) come across the field on glide when it flared and dropped into the grass. I thought it was getting a mouse or snake but it flew up clutching a cat. I laughed, saying to myself, "Wow it's got a neighbors cat!" I watched it fly off north over the tree tops carrying the cat, until out of sight. I then went and strolled over to where I figured the eagle landed and found a nice cat nest set in the dry summer grass.

A couple of days later my wife mentioned she hadn't seen Peezum lately and I had a bad sinking feeling, told her what I had witnessed. We figured Peezum was cat food for nesting eagles. About 3 weeks later I heard a rustling up in my tractor shed and there was Peezum hiding in the roof with eyes the size of pizzas (they never did go back to normal size). I managed to get the poor thing down and sure enough he had a series of scabby lumps in his hide. We think when the eagle went from talon to beak, Peez went nuts and got dropped, from what height I can't imagine, but probably close to tree tops. It took him 3 weeks to get back home and he forever lived out his life, hidden in the tractor shed. A shame, as he was one of the nicest cats we have ever had.

One benefit was the swallows didn't nest in my tractor shed anymore, so no poops to clean off the seat when I needed it.....lol

[ronm]

This guy came to live with me when my daughter's dogs were making life miserable for him...no, they didn't hate him, they loved him...wouldn't leave him alone, wanted to play 24/7. I've never been a real cat person, but he basically adopted me, & when it came down to just him & me here, he was a good buddy...I've spent enough getting him patched up from scrapes with the neighbor's tom to almost buy another lathe, but you do what you gotta do...
Goes by the name of Mr. Memnoch...

[spro]

Very attractive mr. memnoch... and the other posts are the same. Cats really don't need to groom as they do. They do it to be more attractive to us. They know who holds the key to salmon and other delights. WE hold how much, so they don't get pukey.. They know who holds the cards. The more they get rubbed, the more they are around, they hold power of our scent and gain in power over other critters. Other pets know this and it is probably a consternation to their arch domestic enemies.
Cats will become confident and show their AXX to others who could take them apart for that. Over time, there is a balance where they all live in peace for US.

[seal killer]

dgoddard--

It is time to re-cat.

--Bill