Oh God I bet somebody put them out
August 31, 2015 12:34 PM Subscribe
A new meaning to "Catfishing", as two fishermen rescue two kittens from Alabama's Black Warrior River.
oh poor orange babies. You know those will make good house cats.
posted by Countess Elena at 12:41 PM on August 31, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by Countess Elena at 12:41 PM on August 31, 2015 [2 favorites]
Sweet babies. So brave.
posted by agregoli at 12:45 PM on August 31, 2015 [4 favorites]
posted by agregoli at 12:45 PM on August 31, 2015 [4 favorites]
"Comown, Ahm gonna gitcha."
You gotta love y'alls' sweet men!
posted by Oyéah at 12:46 PM on August 31, 2015 [20 favorites]
You gotta love y'alls' sweet men!
posted by Oyéah at 12:46 PM on August 31, 2015 [20 favorites]
If you could fish up kittens I might be interested in this hobby.
posted by jeather at 12:52 PM on August 31, 2015 [6 favorites]
posted by jeather at 12:52 PM on August 31, 2015 [6 favorites]
Really, the only superpower I want to is to punish people who hurt cats. Like, punish them a lot.
posted by Kitteh at 12:58 PM on August 31, 2015 [35 favorites]
posted by Kitteh at 12:58 PM on August 31, 2015 [35 favorites]
Too bad they had to toss them back in afterward because they were too small.
posted by Atom Eyes at 1:00 PM on August 31, 2015 [35 favorites]
posted by Atom Eyes at 1:00 PM on August 31, 2015 [35 favorites]
So these kitties were abandoned on an island in a river and swam out to a passing boat? those are some brave kitties.
posted by Bee'sWing at 1:01 PM on August 31, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by Bee'sWing at 1:01 PM on August 31, 2015 [3 favorites]
I like how he keeps looking over at the shore. "How many more of 'em are there?"
I imagine that, after they put the phone down, hundreds of little orange kittens began swimming towards the boat with their tiny mews.
I hope the kitties find good homes with lots of love.
posted by Elly Vortex at 1:09 PM on August 31, 2015 [20 favorites]
I imagine that, after they put the phone down, hundreds of little orange kittens began swimming towards the boat with their tiny mews.
I hope the kitties find good homes with lots of love.
posted by Elly Vortex at 1:09 PM on August 31, 2015 [20 favorites]
If I met these guys in person I would buy them each a beer.
posted by Elly Vortex at 1:13 PM on August 31, 2015 [29 favorites]
posted by Elly Vortex at 1:13 PM on August 31, 2015 [29 favorites]
I imagine that, after they put the phone down, hundreds of little orange kittens began swimming towards the boat with their tiny mews.
I think there is probably a portal to a cat world on that island.
Our little cat was also a surprisingly friendly stray. You've got to watch out for those - they're cute and mewey until they have you locked down, then they turn into dictators.
posted by Frowner at 1:26 PM on August 31, 2015 [17 favorites]
I think there is probably a portal to a cat world on that island.
Our little cat was also a surprisingly friendly stray. You've got to watch out for those - they're cute and mewey until they have you locked down, then they turn into dictators.
posted by Frowner at 1:26 PM on August 31, 2015 [17 favorites]
Aw, the way he reaches down to give the anxious first-rescued kitten a comforting stroke. That's a man who likes cats.
Kittens appear to be surprisingly good swimmers!
posted by We had a deal, Kyle at 1:30 PM on August 31, 2015 [16 favorites]
Kittens appear to be surprisingly good swimmers!
posted by We had a deal, Kyle at 1:30 PM on August 31, 2015 [16 favorites]
My favorite quote about this I saw on a Facebook share was something like "and you know when they tell this story later they'll say the kittens were a foot longer."
posted by phearlez at 1:36 PM on August 31, 2015 [51 favorites]
posted by phearlez at 1:36 PM on August 31, 2015 [51 favorites]
I think the requirement might be to make the kittens tinier. Eventually these kittens will have made that swim when they were so small their eyes weren't even open yet.
posted by bilabial at 1:48 PM on August 31, 2015 [5 favorites]
posted by bilabial at 1:48 PM on August 31, 2015 [5 favorites]
"Hey! He's rubbin' up against my leg!"
posted by GenjiandProust at 2:07 PM on August 31, 2015
posted by GenjiandProust at 2:07 PM on August 31, 2015
Although, would it be asking to much that they do this from a catamaran?
posted by GenjiandProust at 2:09 PM on August 31, 2015 [6 favorites]
posted by GenjiandProust at 2:09 PM on August 31, 2015 [6 favorites]
Those little chaps were really motoring ... like little feline torpedoes.
posted by GallonOfAlan at 2:11 PM on August 31, 2015 [4 favorites]
posted by GallonOfAlan at 2:11 PM on August 31, 2015 [4 favorites]
Really, the only superpower I want to is to punish people who hurt cats. Like, punish them a lot.
The cat who came to live in our house when she was a few months old was one of a litter abandoned in a swamp.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 2:12 PM on August 31, 2015 [7 favorites]
The cat who came to live in our house when she was a few months old was one of a litter abandoned in a swamp.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 2:12 PM on August 31, 2015 [7 favorites]
I agree with his assessment of the person who put them out there: JACKASS. Actually I think that's mild.
Also cute when the guy pulled the second kitten out of the water and put it down beside the other: "They're twins!"
I couldn't believe how well those kittens could swim. Amazing! Thank goodness those guys saw them and rescued them. I did laugh at the end at how the kitten rescuer turned toward where the first two had come from and just started scanning the horizon for more kittens.
[One of my own dearly departed cats came to me as a rescue kitten, after she was abandoned in the middle of the winter to die out in the snow. Who the fuck does that to a living creature? A terrible person, that's who.]
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 2:20 PM on August 31, 2015 [2 favorites]
Also cute when the guy pulled the second kitten out of the water and put it down beside the other: "They're twins!"
I couldn't believe how well those kittens could swim. Amazing! Thank goodness those guys saw them and rescued them. I did laugh at the end at how the kitten rescuer turned toward where the first two had come from and just started scanning the horizon for more kittens.
[One of my own dearly departed cats came to me as a rescue kitten, after she was abandoned in the middle of the winter to die out in the snow. Who the fuck does that to a living creature? A terrible person, that's who.]
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 2:20 PM on August 31, 2015 [2 favorites]
Awwwwwwwww, poor widdle kitties! I hope those guys took them home.
posted by sarcasticah at 2:40 PM on August 31, 2015
posted by sarcasticah at 2:40 PM on August 31, 2015
A candy store near my subway stop took in a stray recently. He found a very cozy place to nap.
posted by jonmc at 2:53 PM on August 31, 2015 [4 favorites]
posted by jonmc at 2:53 PM on August 31, 2015 [4 favorites]
A candy store near my subway stop took in a stray recently.
Probably she. Tortoiseshells are usually female (but can be XXY males).
posted by jeather at 2:57 PM on August 31, 2015 [4 favorites]
Probably she. Tortoiseshells are usually female (but can be XXY males).
posted by jeather at 2:57 PM on August 31, 2015 [4 favorites]
I was unreasonably annoyed that nobody put down the damn camera to snorgle those two wet scared littled moppets.
posted by sparklemotion at 3:21 PM on August 31, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by sparklemotion at 3:21 PM on August 31, 2015 [1 favorite]
Was i the only one who was scared shitless that an alligator would grab the kitty before it reached the boat?
posted by ramix at 3:21 PM on August 31, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by ramix at 3:21 PM on August 31, 2015 [3 favorites]
My little chap was left in the cold as a kit and lost a paw, to this day he claws at the floor to break the ice before drinking out of his bowl. Then he was given up by his first owner, then his second owner had to give him up to go into a refuge. No one looked at him at the shelter for six months as he was missing a paw. He is the sweetest little chap, loves to cuddle for hours and likes a good brushing and he's pretty athletic. When we got him home he ran up and down the hall for hours - it was like he couldn't believe how much space he had. Now he loves the garden and has places all over to lurk and nap. If any of you are thinking of adoptng a stray kit you definitely should, my life is way better for having him around.
posted by biffa at 3:29 PM on August 31, 2015 [29 favorites]
posted by biffa at 3:29 PM on August 31, 2015 [29 favorites]
A++ would kittie again. My recent rescue is fascinated by my taking tub baths. He's fallen in once.... imagine being naked in a tub beneath the claws of death while trying to rescue a surprisingly good swimmer who just cannot seem to climb slick tubs. He still likes to hang out on the edge of the tub. Maybe they're making kittens2.3 with swim feature now....
posted by mightshould at 3:39 PM on August 31, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by mightshould at 3:39 PM on August 31, 2015 [2 favorites]
Biffa, it might not be residual ice-breaking behaviour. Four of the five cats I've ever lived with have done that, although three of them would never have seen ice-covered water or even temperatures colder than "put a sweater on" room temperature. Mind you, we're in Canada; maybe checking for ice is hard-wired in cats over here.
posted by angiep at 3:44 PM on August 31, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by angiep at 3:44 PM on August 31, 2015 [1 favorite]
Fair enough, that was what the cat protection guy told us and we have been repeating it, could well be something else..
posted by biffa at 3:47 PM on August 31, 2015
posted by biffa at 3:47 PM on August 31, 2015
I was unreasonably annoyed that nobody put down the damn camera to snorgle those two wet scared littled moppets.
To be fair, they don't really seem scared. Happy, wet, maybe cold (but not shivering - Alabama is pretty warm). Those cats, though, they are tough little nuggets who know what they want. And they've surely got it now.
posted by amtho at 4:03 PM on August 31, 2015 [3 favorites]
To be fair, they don't really seem scared. Happy, wet, maybe cold (but not shivering - Alabama is pretty warm). Those cats, though, they are tough little nuggets who know what they want. And they've surely got it now.
posted by amtho at 4:03 PM on August 31, 2015 [3 favorites]
Aw.
My grandmother's cat could swim for sure. On visits to their camp (which we had to boat into), they'd let her out of the carrier because she liked to catch the breeze on the bow. She'd usually do a graceful little leap onto the dock on arrival, just before the boat made contact. On at least one occasion she misjudged and ended up in the drink.
That's how I learned that cats can swim pretty well, but it's a grudging "Oh, screw this. Sigh. Undignified in the extreme. Well, if I must..."
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 4:09 PM on August 31, 2015 [2 favorites]
My grandmother's cat could swim for sure. On visits to their camp (which we had to boat into), they'd let her out of the carrier because she liked to catch the breeze on the bow. She'd usually do a graceful little leap onto the dock on arrival, just before the boat made contact. On at least one occasion she misjudged and ended up in the drink.
That's how I learned that cats can swim pretty well, but it's a grudging "Oh, screw this. Sigh. Undignified in the extreme. Well, if I must..."
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 4:09 PM on August 31, 2015 [2 favorites]
Hey, it looks like there's a happy ending! The kitties were adopted after a day of playing with the guys on the boat.
posted by Elly Vortex at 4:42 PM on August 31, 2015 [30 favorites]
posted by Elly Vortex at 4:42 PM on August 31, 2015 [30 favorites]
I love that news story, Elly Vortex!
And I love the teamwork of the kitties. I want to imagine the stronger one telling the more tired one, 'This seems promising. I'll go ahead. If it goes well, jump in and follow me. Otherwise, conserve your strength and I'll do my best to make it back to you.' And then they have a tense soulful moment and the first one jumps, swims, and doesn't look back until the human has lifted her onto the boat.
I love their dialects too. This whole thing is perfect.
posted by Salamandrous at 4:52 PM on August 31, 2015 [3 favorites]
And I love the teamwork of the kitties. I want to imagine the stronger one telling the more tired one, 'This seems promising. I'll go ahead. If it goes well, jump in and follow me. Otherwise, conserve your strength and I'll do my best to make it back to you.' And then they have a tense soulful moment and the first one jumps, swims, and doesn't look back until the human has lifted her onto the boat.
I love their dialects too. This whole thing is perfect.
posted by Salamandrous at 4:52 PM on August 31, 2015 [3 favorites]
jonmc, she's got the half and half nose like my tortie! Now I love this thread even more.
posted by Salamandrous at 4:55 PM on August 31, 2015
posted by Salamandrous at 4:55 PM on August 31, 2015
\\\\\\\\\That's a man who likes cats.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
(All of those backslashes are courtesy of Gerald, who was living in the bushes outside my office until three weeks ago and now is the most spoiled rotten of all the beasties in our house.)
Anyway, yes - from pulling them up by the scruffs of their necks, to the little squeegee tail rub he gave the first one. I'm not usually one to believe in angels, but that kitten swam to the right boat.
posted by Sweetie Darling at 5:08 PM on August 31, 2015 [13 favorites]
(All of those backslashes are courtesy of Gerald, who was living in the bushes outside my office until three weeks ago and now is the most spoiled rotten of all the beasties in our house.)
Anyway, yes - from pulling them up by the scruffs of their necks, to the little squeegee tail rub he gave the first one. I'm not usually one to believe in angels, but that kitten swam to the right boat.
posted by Sweetie Darling at 5:08 PM on August 31, 2015 [13 favorites]
I had no idea cats could swim like that!
And I also felt there should be more petting of the kitties. Hopefully their new homes will take care of that!
posted by bunderful at 5:12 PM on August 31, 2015
And I also felt there should be more petting of the kitties. Hopefully their new homes will take care of that!
posted by bunderful at 5:12 PM on August 31, 2015
So I am glad that those kittens found a home. But am I a horrible pessimist to worry that there were other non-swimming kitties on that island?
posted by maryrussell at 5:43 PM on August 31, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by maryrussell at 5:43 PM on August 31, 2015 [1 favorite]
As a teenager, me and buddy were out in a swamp paddling around in a canoe, when I heard scratching on the side of the canoe and something hauled itself up over the side. I think I was ready to give it a wack with the paddle (there were many things in that swamp you wouldn't want to share canoe with) before I realized it was a very wet kitten. Must have heard our voices. We went into town and got some kitten food (I nearly got searched in the supermarket as a shoplifting suspect - I had the kitten inside my coat and it stopped cooperating with this arrangement at some point).
posted by 445supermag at 5:55 PM on August 31, 2015 [6 favorites]
posted by 445supermag at 5:55 PM on August 31, 2015 [6 favorites]
“They played with us all day,” Frost said. “They were loving on us and people went by and thought we were these crazy people who took their cats fishing.” (From the Elly Vortex link)
That made me laugh so hard. I can totally imagine the looks they got all day. Good guys, I am happy they went fishing right there.
posted by gemmy at 6:07 PM on August 31, 2015 [7 favorites]
That made me laugh so hard. I can totally imagine the looks they got all day. Good guys, I am happy they went fishing right there.
posted by gemmy at 6:07 PM on August 31, 2015 [7 favorites]
I can't help but wonder whether there are more kittens back in the woods on that shore -- kittens who refused to swim, or who were maybe not quite up to it...
posted by amtho at 6:07 PM on August 31, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by amtho at 6:07 PM on August 31, 2015 [1 favorite]
I wondered about that ... but I saw that at the end of the video the guys appear to be scanning the woods. I think they were thinking the same thing and on the lookout for more kittens.
posted by bunderful at 6:29 PM on August 31, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by bunderful at 6:29 PM on August 31, 2015 [1 favorite]
There is not much about cats that's an actual mystery to me, but the seemingly instinctive way that some cats can figure out that certain members of the most dangerous species in the history of the planet are safe to approach and associate with - that is something that I can't find a just so story to explain.
I didn't have a particularly dramatic rescue story, but I pulled a kitten lose from under a friend's porch, where it had gotten stuck. And that kitten might as well have been born in my home for all the stress it exhibited.
posted by wotsac at 6:37 PM on August 31, 2015 [3 favorites]
I didn't have a particularly dramatic rescue story, but I pulled a kitten lose from under a friend's porch, where it had gotten stuck. And that kitten might as well have been born in my home for all the stress it exhibited.
posted by wotsac at 6:37 PM on August 31, 2015 [3 favorites]
Also - this does a great job of showing just how willful a cat can be. That's a long and dangerous swim for a kitten, and cats aren't very fond of water. And those two cats decided that they wanted to be on the boat, so they did it.
posted by wotsac at 6:40 PM on August 31, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by wotsac at 6:40 PM on August 31, 2015 [1 favorite]
Those kittens BOOKED it across that water. That guy knows cats; he knew just how to pick them up by their scruff. And they were adopted before those guys finished fishing!! This would be a totally heart-warming story, except I have the mind to head to that town with an obscenely large knife looking for whoever did such a thing. How dare you. How could you. *calms down by thinking of kittens*
posted by missmary6 at 6:56 PM on August 31, 2015
posted by missmary6 at 6:56 PM on August 31, 2015
And growing up, we had a cat with a huge personality, just a spectacular, hilarious, loving boy. Someone found a tall cardboard box on the side of the road, full of dead kittens save one. That cat was tough.
posted by missmary6 at 6:59 PM on August 31, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by missmary6 at 6:59 PM on August 31, 2015 [1 favorite]
This is a delightful story. Love it.
posted by Joey Michaels at 7:16 PM on August 31, 2015
posted by Joey Michaels at 7:16 PM on August 31, 2015
Was i the only one who was scared shitless that an alligator would grab the kitty before it reached the boat?
I just had to assure my partner that this was not going to to happen to get him to continue watching the video I'd made clear I'd already seen because apparently he thinks I'm a god damn monster who would show him that kind of video.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 8:50 PM on August 31, 2015 [6 favorites]
I just had to assure my partner that this was not going to to happen to get him to continue watching the video I'd made clear I'd already seen because apparently he thinks I'm a god damn monster who would show him that kind of video.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 8:50 PM on August 31, 2015 [6 favorites]
I'm duly impressed with the kittens' swimming ability, wow.
posted by LobsterMitten at 10:06 PM on August 31, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by LobsterMitten at 10:06 PM on August 31, 2015 [1 favorite]
Wonderful video, and a story with a happy ending. I certainly didn't know kittens could swim like that. I can't swim like that.
And that is a gorgeous cat, ricochet biscuit.
posted by bryon at 10:38 PM on August 31, 2015
And that is a gorgeous cat, ricochet biscuit.
posted by bryon at 10:38 PM on August 31, 2015
First thing I've looked at this morning (thanks, LM!), and it's made my whole day already. So much love to these two good guys; bravo, sirs! Well-done, adorable, brave kitties!
posted by taz at 11:20 PM on August 31, 2015
posted by taz at 11:20 PM on August 31, 2015
Also - this does a great job of showing just how willful a cat can be. That's a long and dangerous swim for a kitten, and cats aren't very fond of water. And those two cats decided that they wanted to be on the boat, so they did it.
Willful is exactly the word. I cannot recall now who said it or the precise phrasing, but I recall someone once observing that if you if you confront a baby, a puppy and a kitten with danger, the baby will instinctively turn for help, the puppy will cower, and the kitten will brace its tiny body for frantic resistance.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 3:26 AM on September 1, 2015 [8 favorites]
Willful is exactly the word. I cannot recall now who said it or the precise phrasing, but I recall someone once observing that if you if you confront a baby, a puppy and a kitten with danger, the baby will instinctively turn for help, the puppy will cower, and the kitten will brace its tiny body for frantic resistance.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 3:26 AM on September 1, 2015 [8 favorites]
courtesy of Gerald, who was living in the bushes outside my office until three weeks ago and now is the most spoiled rotten of all the beasties in our house
I always thought that Gerald might be a good name for a good cat. Looks like I was right.
We're fostering kittens at the moment: Jake and Jaqueline.
posted by We had a deal, Kyle at 2:25 PM on September 1, 2015 [1 favorite]
I always thought that Gerald might be a good name for a good cat. Looks like I was right.
We're fostering kittens at the moment: Jake and Jaqueline.
posted by We had a deal, Kyle at 2:25 PM on September 1, 2015 [1 favorite]
All of my cats have been either shelter, or rescue. They have also been, to a cat, amazing.
posted by evilDoug at 2:37 PM on September 1, 2015
posted by evilDoug at 2:37 PM on September 1, 2015
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posted by MartinWisse at 12:38 PM on August 31, 2015