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shantell Mar 26, 2006

This is a little ferral cat who showed up at my door one night absolutely starving.  She was just a little thing and has one paw that I believe has been caught in a trap.  It's difficult to see in this photo but it hangs down at the "wrist" and she hops like a rabbit to get around...but let me tell you she can run like the wind if she wants to.

We've named her Skippy...I like to call her Skipita.  She looks friendly but she is NOT.  I took this photo just a bit ago because she has taken roost by the sliding glass door on the outside mat.  She thinks she owns it and will tell you so with a swat of her paw or a deep little growl.  She thinks the food dish is hers (she doesn't share very well) and will get under your feet and swat at you while you are trying to fill it with food.  She's a stinker...and I just adore her attitude.  I only wish she'd let me pet her because I know she's just wanting to be loved.

Animals are so funny...

P.S.  I suspect that she may be expecting but I'm afraid to try and trap her and take her to my friend who is a vet.  I do believe she may be too smart for that.

thumperantiques Mar 26, 2006

Oh Shantell, I am such a sucker for a "poor Kitty" story.   What a beautiful girl.  It will be interesting to see if she is pregnant, as a high percentage of orange tabbys are male.   I'm glad you are feeding her, poor wee darling.  If you try and trap her, make sure you are wearing thick gloves when you try and pick her up.  KItties can really do some damage when they are scared.  Ooooooh, I can't wait to kind out what happens! 
This is exactly how we ended up with our orange and white tabby, Thumper.  He just came in with the other cats, one cold, wet, October night and never left.  He has that same feisty attitude and even though he's friendlier now, he won't tolerate people much.  He loves my hubby (which is really odd LOL!) but we think he was abused, because if you try to pet him with your hand approaching from the front of his face, you are dead meat - he bites.   You have to go slowly from the back of his head.  I have literally made my real estate agent PROMISE she won't let anyone try and pet him, cuz I don't want anyone to be bitten.  If I put him out when there is a showing, he hangs around the door and rubs peoples' legs, and THEN bites, when they try to pet him LOL!  But, you know what - I love him to death and feel quite honoured he chose us to live with. 

We also had a wee girl come to visit us for a few weeks in the spring, as the sun was starting to come out more.  She was a beautiful long haired tortoiseshell, but wouldn't let me pet her at first, until I started to feed her Whiskas treats.  Then she would come to the porch and meow this tiny noise, hoping for a treat - not stupid are they.  Someone in the neighbourhood took her in and she now has a home, which I am happy about.  Really didn't want another one, but couldn't let her go hungry LOL!   Keep me posted on how you make out.

                                              Hugs,

                                              Brenda

Sandi.S. Mar 26, 2006

I am such a sucker for stray or wandering cats! We have a cat that visits us. It lives somewhere down the road from us. She's never sick or hungry looking, but I feed her anyway. Actually, I do it so she'll come back to visit us. She was timid at first, but she's a real sweetheart now.

krystolla Mar 27, 2006

Congratulations! There is no greater gift than to be able to make friends with strange cats, and no greater luck than to have strange cats make friends with you. Here's hoping she'll learn to trust you enough that you can get her some vet care and cuddle her like she deserves!

-- Erika Fawcett
Fuzzbutt Bears

Judi Mar 27, 2006

Shantell, what a sweet cat....and how sweet of you to care for her.  She looks like a barn cat.  I have seen barn cats injured by cattle. Either way a broken arm has got to be painful.    It's aweful but you'll be amazed how tough these critters are.  How nice of you to take care of her.        What a lucky kitty.            

JeannieB Mar 27, 2006

That's one lucky kitty to have found you! Is she missing a tail also? Hard to tell from the picture. Maybe she knows she needs your help for her kittens!?!!

shantell Mar 27, 2006

Is she missing a tail also? Hard to tell from the picture.

You are right!!!   She doesn't have a tail.  I completely forgot about that.  I'm just smitten with this kitten.   She's only been around less than 6 months and I have no idea where she came from.  Perhaps she was dumped...that happens a lot in the country

We actually have another ferral cat who I have yet to get a photo of.  He is a HUGE ball of white fur we named Surrender.  He would run like crazy when we first saw him and didn't want anything to do with anyone until he figured out that it was us putting food out for him.  Now he hangs around but he's old and in very bad shape.  He was gone for a couple days about a week ago and came back looking like he'd gone to war....eyes all weepy, ear all torn up and bloody, fur all dirty and matted.  Poor boy.  He's quite verbal and will just talk talk talk but  doesn't want anyone closer than about 3 feet from him.

Then...we have our regular cat who is abnoxiously affectionate...Samech!!!  Another adopted kitty.  I believe he was left behind when his family moved for whatever reason.  He showed up skinny and HUNGRY...and has never left us since that first bowl of water and bits of food almost three years ago.  He's an outdoor kitty too.  I tried letting him in the house but when he peed on my leather sofa right in front of me...that was it.  He got the boot outside and I scolded him for days.  He tries to come in but I just let him right back out.

Can you tell I love animals...then there are the cows in the neighbors pasture...haven't figured out how to sneek one of the babies into the house yet.  I know they'd like a good snuggle...wouldn't they Judi?

thumperantiques Mar 27, 2006

Sounds like you have your hands full, Shantell!  Poor wee thing - no tail and a broken paw, and maybe pregnant as well.  It's definitely mating season for cats - we have one old scoundrel of a cat in the neighbourhood that isn't neutered and he yowelled all through February, always at night - sounded a lot like a baby crying.   He drove my two crazy as I won't let them out at night because of the Fishers we have around here.  I hope you can convince her that you only want to help her.

                                                     Hugs,
     
                                                     Brenda

Dilu Mar 27, 2006

I have to tell you I love orange kitty kats-they are smarter.....

Congratulations.  Its an honor to be adopted by a cat.  They are very discerning.

hugs

dilu

SueAnn Help Advisor, Banner SponsorMar 27, 2006

Oooooh, Shantell . . . your new little kitty does look waaaaay pregnant!  Perhaps she is Manx (no tail)??  I have a calico Manx and she's a hoot.  Hope Skippy warms up to you soon and lets you in on the birth of her babies (if she is actually pregnant).  We have a similar saga going on.  About six weeks ago, all of a sudden this big, skinny orange tabby (a male that hasn't been fixed) invited himself into the house via the cat door, helped himself to the cat buffet (since I have several cats, I have a lineup of bowls in the pet room), then strolled through the house talking to himself.  We didn't try to do anything with him and he left after awhile.  Well, he still comes and goes at will, but is friendlier now and spends A LOT of time sleeping on the comforter in my spare bedroom.  My cats tolerate him pretty well and he seems to especially like one of them.  Thank goodness all four of my girls are spayed!!!  Have zero idea where he goes when he's not with us, but don't think he has a real home - we've checked around.  The strange thing about him is that his tail doesn't 'work'.  It just hangs down limply no matter what he's doing.  My guess is that it's been injured somehow - maybe broken, and he has no control over it.  As far as I know, the only nutrition he gets comes from us, but he does have a real fondness for half 'n half (half cream, half milk).  If I put any out for my girls, he's right there to drink it all.  We've named him Arby, but he doesn't respond to it at all.  If we decide to "claim" him, think we'll have to get him neutered . . . although he doesn't seem much 'interested' in having a family with any of my cats.  Shantell, keep us posted about Skippy's progress.

Another story . . . just a little bit ago, I got bitten by a cardinal!!!  Really!!!  My little Manx kitty brought it in and of course we yelled at her to drop it - which she did.  But the terrified bird just panicked and flew everwhere with the cats, our dog, my husband, and me in pursuit.  After much ado, I finally caught it and it latched onto my finger with its beak and wouldn't let go.  I took it outside and tried to put it on a tree (wasn't too sure it was up to flying again) but it just kept on biting down on my finger as hard as it could.  Big OUCH!!!  Finally it flew away and I looked down to see the imprint of that bugger's bill on my finger.  The skin wasn't broken, so think I'm fine.  I had no idea a male cardinal could bite that hard.  Live and learn.

thumperantiques Mar 27, 2006

SueAnn, your Manx kitty must be an amazing hunter as we have lived here for 12 years with zillions of cardinals, and my cats have never caught one -even the old girl we used to have that was an incredible hunter.  Cardinals tend to stay at the top of the tallest trees.  Maybe kitty surprised him while it was eating!  I had a similar incident with an evening grosbeak, when we lived up north.  My kids were all upset about this grosbeak that was injured in our yard.  We did have 4 cats at the time, and I decided to pick it up and relocate it to a nearby park.  Well, I picked it up and it bit my finger and drew blood - they are birds that eat nuts etc.  Well, turned out it wasn't injured at all - mommy bird was sick of feeding it and had thrown it out of the nest to fend for itself.  As soon as I picked it up, I had young bird biting me and mommy bird swooping down at me!  I did relocate it a couple of yards away, but I was ready to feed it to my cats LOL!

                                                      Hugs,

                                                      Brenda

shantell Mar 27, 2006

I suspect she's only a 2-4 weeks along if she is.  Surrender (the big white one I  mentioned) would NOT leave her alone for about three days.  She wanted NO part of him but he herded her around the deck, wouldn't let her eat (I had to intervene) and well...when I wasn't looking...no need for details....after that he just ignored her.   I'm hoping that she warms up a little more so I can at least get her in and spayed in the near future.   I hope if she does have kittens they are where we can find them instead of out in one of the many hiding places around here.

She's just a adorable...I can hardly stand it that she's not affectionate.

SueAnn...OUCH!!!  That sounds so painful...lucky you it didn't break the skin.

thumperantiques Mar 27, 2006

Oh, those big, bad boys - they need to find their manners .   Doesn't take much to keep them happy does it - just a quick roll in the hay! LOL!   Hopefully,  won't take to long to get her to trust you, Shantell.  Good luck.

                                                         Hugs,

                                                          Brenda

shantell Mar 27, 2006

I was able to snap a ONE TIME photo of Surrender (the big white ferral kitty).  As you can see he is not in very good shape right now.  Poor boy...and Skippy is trying to eat all his food....she was JUST fed.

Surrender is actually a very beautiful cat when he's not been out doing whatever it is male ferral cats do for entertainment.  He has gorgeous sky blue eyes and lush white fur with hints of red on the tips.    He sits in the flowers and talks to me...but boy if I move to quick he's off.

thumperantiques Mar 27, 2006

Surrender looks like he is a real sweetie.  Too bad you can't get him fixed, cuz I'll bet he'd turn into a lap kitty, pretty quick.   Poor Skippy, if she's really pregnant, then she's probably hungry all the time.  It's a good think she's down there, I'd be outside all day, trying to make friends with her.  Oh before I forget, I sent you a PM about another post of yours.  Talk to you soon.

                                                        Hugs,

                                                        Brenda

Tracy Mar 27, 2006

Oh, what a pretty kitty Skippy is!  And she does look like she's expecting! I hope you can get to the kittens to handle them while they're young...makes all the difference in how wild they end up.  As momma isn't so very trusting, she'll pass that on to her babies too.  She should warm up to you eventually though.  Sometimes it takes months!!  I have gone through that process SO many times (am doing it now with two toms that showed up a few months ago and never left).  Seems like people are always dumping cats off for us to adopt........they see the herd of 20 or so barn cats outside and probably figure "what's one more"!  Either that or the word's out among the cats that our house is a good place to go if a kitty is homeless!  
I have been taking steps to get all of our females spayed.  Last year I happened across a low cost spay/neuter clinic that travels to various counties around us (including our own) March-October each year.  $38 to spay, all shots, worming, and a microchip!  So, had all unpregnant females spayed last summer.  The two who were pregnant both ended up with emergency C-sections (ouch!  for both me and the kitties----that was expensive! And we lost all but one miracle kitten, who lives in my house now)  Just three young girls left, and I am determined to get them fixed before they get into trouble!!

Oh, I thought of something else......sometimes the mommas get extremely loveable after they have their kittens.  It must be hormonal!!    Anyway, that may help you get closer to her.

:hug:
Tracy

toadbriar Mar 27, 2006

I tried letting him in the house but when he peed on my leather sofa right in front of me...that was it.  He got the boot outside and I scolded him for days.  He tries to come in but I just let him right back out

I am loving this thread, hearing about the outdoor kitty guys who find homes!
That's how we got two of our three Feline Overlords.

I did just want to comment on the above tho - while there sure are kitties who have
issues about peeing, a lot of times, inappropriate peeing, esp. in males, is
be a symptom of a urinary tract infection or crystals - & really this stuff ought
to be ruled out @ the vet before it's assumed to be a behavioral issue. Cause
really, how else can they let us know that something is wrong?

& that great big white fluffy guy is gorgeous. The local animal control & shelters
quite often will let you borrow cage traps if you wanted to catch those guys &
get em vetted, adopted, neutered, whatever. They are both stunning kitties.

krystolla Mar 28, 2006

Let's see if I can dredge up my feline genetics knowledge here . . . with blue eyes I'd bet Surrender is actually a red-point or cream-point (like a siamese cat with red instead of black). The color develops on the head, feet and tail because those are the coldest points of the cat so kitties who live outdoors with wilder weather tend to be less defined than the pampered show cats. If he has white feet I'd guess he has Ragdoll in his background, or maybe Birman.

If he's the only daddy of Miss Skippy's hypothetical litter they should be all red tabby like Mom unless she also has siamese points in her genetics (in which case you get half like Dad and half like Mom). If Skippy is genetically Manx I believe you'll find shortened or kinked tails in the kittens but if she lost her tail in an accident that won't be passed on.

But then, since cats can have litters of kittens with multiple fathers it's still really a toss-up. Any girl kittens will have red on them (from Mom) and any boy kittens will be red (because boys inherit color only from Mom). So you could get calico, patched-tabby or tortiseshell babies, or solid white which is a different gene entirely.

Sorry, that's probably more than you wanted to know . . .

-- Erika, proud caretaker of Grand Premier Coons Landing Ripley Lovelace (brown patched tabby with white Maine Coon), Premier Fuzzyland Amalthea Softpaws (black and white Maine Coon) and Premier Coonbitzky Xander (blue tabby Maine Coon). Plus Gizmo and Bluesette who were way to smart to do that cat show thing.

shantell Mar 28, 2006

So I guess I shouldn't hold my breath for a long haired orange kitty with stunning greenish blue eyes 

Shelli Retired Help Advisor, Banner SponsorMar 28, 2006

Ooh, Erika.. have you posted pics of your big Maine Coons here?  I saw some a while back but my 40 year old memory is failing me and I can't remember who posted them.  I ADORE Maine Coons!   I saw some once at a cat show and just couldn't believe how huge they were in the flesh.

We also have four cats.  I'm allergic to them, minimally, so I just tolerate a stuffy nose or use Beconase spray to get by!  All of them are rescued; two from the Humane Society here in Chico, and two were feral (a brother and sister) and were adopted thru a private foster/placement agency.  Nobody else wanted them; they were little hissers, those two, and very unfriendly.  But after some peace and consistency and love (and spaying and neutering!) they've come around.... the boy more than the girl, who is still very skittish, but gets along very well with our original male cat, CHANCE.

The feral boy, SEALY, is one of the prettiest cats I've ever seen; he looks to be part Ragdoll or Himalayan or longhaired Siamese cross, and his fur is so soft, and doesn't even mat!  He's hysterically funny as he's figured out how to get just what he wants.  He discovered hands bring tickles and scratches, so he will come up and butt his head against my hand VERY hard when he wants some.  And if I don't accommodate him immediately with a response, then he will take his paw and BAT me with it!  And he's not terrifically gentle about it either; those claws are out.  Not to scratch me, really... but not retracted entirely, either.  As if to warn me to hurry up.

Interestingly, when I do get to petting him behind the ears and along his spine, he starts drooling like nothing I've ever seen, in huge, slobbery droplets.  What's with that???

I love kitties.  Your new pudgy girl, Shantell, looks just like our orange tabby, GINGER.  She's another odd duck; she eats paper and if you walk by her too closely, she'll swat at you. 

thumperantiques Mar 28, 2006

Shelli, the drooling with males is VERY common although I don't know why.  Our big 22 pound cat is a male and he drools like a St Bernard, when he's being petted.  He sleeps right by my side, and if he doesn't get his back rub before going to sleep, he torments me to death LOL! 

Maybe the orange ones are just a little odd - our orange and white one will sit on my counter till he gets a treat, and if I try and open the silverware drawer, he will smack me like crazy.  This is the first orange one we have ever had, and he definitely is different - smarter, really.

My sister found a purebred Birman at a campsite in GrandBen National park in the U.S., while on holiday.  Someone must have lost him and evertually left with out hime.  They still have him and he's lovely.  I do like my cats.

                                       Hugs,

                                       Brenda

millie Mar 28, 2006

A few years ago, we took in a stray kitten.  He is also a yellow tabby, and his name is also Skippy because he was such a little clown.  He has now calmed down and is a very laid back kind of guy.

shantell Mar 28, 2006

Millie, your Skippy is adorable.  I absolutely love it when they sleep like that...all stretched out completely relaxed and totally secure in their safety.

My precious boy Oz (I no longer have him....he became lost in a move and I miss him terribly) use to like to jump up in my lap and pat my face with his paws, meowing at the say time as if to say ... PAY ATTENTION TO ME!!!   No claws...it was the funniest thing.  I miss him terribly.  I hope someone found him and gave him a good home.  I spent months looking for him to no avail.  I was and still am crushed.      

Jellybelly Bears Mar 29, 2006

Shantell, we adopted another cat not long ago, a stray, lovely black with huge green eyes.  We've named him bubble coz our other cat is named Squeak...bubble and squeak lol
has the most hideous meow you've ever heard lol but we couldn't turn him away.  We had a note pinned to a collar we bought him for ages and no one responded so he is ours now.  Can't get him out of street cat ways tho...down the gutters etc...yuck!  They are outside cats...our pooches rule the house lol
Hope Skippy will trust you soon and her babies are all healthy :)
xox Sarah

krystolla Mar 29, 2006

Shantell: Red cats with green eyes happen, and every so often you find a red cat with lots of white that has blue eyes. Blue eyes come from variations of the albino gene, so there's always some white involved. There's a new breed called Oros Azul (I think) which claims blue eyes on non-white cats so maybe in twenty years or so you might have your blue-eyed red.

Shelli: Here's two of my herd, Ripley on the top and Xander on the bottom. Thea loves to get her picture taken but taking pictures of black cats is really hard, even if they have white. Bluesette is solid blue and even harder to get a good picture of. 'Sette has gorgeous sea-green eyes, I really wish I could have posted a good picture of her for all the green-eye fans.

Ripley is coming out of her winter coat so not as fluffy as a month ago -- the fluff is now attached to the couch and clogging the vaccum cleaner. Xander is only two years old so he's still in his kitten coat, he's got another year of growth and filling out before he's done.

I wish I could somehow express how neat it is to live with domestic cats that are just so large. Thea's whiskers spread wider than my hand can stretch, Thea has champion whiskers. All other cats look like kittens to me now, I can't imagine not having coonies in my life.

-- Erika

PS. if anyone is looking to add a coon to their lives I know a few breeders with new litters . . . :twisted: