Jimmy The Cat Refinds His Home
April 13, 2017 9:56 AM Subscribe
Woman Looking At Shelter's Facebook Page Sees Her Cat — Who's Been Missing 2 Years "He walked over and head-butted me and I just starting crying."
Oh wow --- very lucky cat, considering he's somewhat of a senior citizen. Still, I hope they don't let him out to wander any more!
posted by easily confused at 10:21 AM on April 13, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by easily confused at 10:21 AM on April 13, 2017 [3 favorites]
Our cat ran away 1.5 years ago and I hope this happens to us :(
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 10:24 AM on April 13, 2017 [47 favorites]
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 10:24 AM on April 13, 2017 [47 favorites]
the two new kittens the family adopted while Jimmy was away welcomed him just as much.
When I was in middle school, we adopted two kittens when our adult cat pulled a Jimmy. I don't think he ever quite forgave us for thinking he could be replaced with those upstart little furballs.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 10:29 AM on April 13, 2017 [5 favorites]
When I was in middle school, we adopted two kittens when our adult cat pulled a Jimmy. I don't think he ever quite forgave us for thinking he could be replaced with those upstart little furballs.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 10:29 AM on April 13, 2017 [5 favorites]
The good kind of cat story. Our young cat here set out a year or two ago for more adventures. I have a paralyzing suspicion she is currently disrupting MLB baseball games.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 10:32 AM on April 13, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by ricochet biscuit at 10:32 AM on April 13, 2017 [4 favorites]
This entire website is so delightful, thank you. I love Woman Takes Dog To Furry Con Because She Thought It Was For Pets and Dog Pretends To Love The Tiny Bed His Mom Ordered By Mistake. No way I'm getting any work done this afternoon.
posted by R a c h e l at 10:42 AM on April 13, 2017 [20 favorites]
posted by R a c h e l at 10:42 AM on April 13, 2017 [20 favorites]
I'M NOT CRYING YOU'RE CRYING
posted by ZakDaddy at 10:54 AM on April 13, 2017 [39 favorites]
posted by ZakDaddy at 10:54 AM on April 13, 2017 [39 favorites]
Jimmy The Cat Refinds His Home
I initially read that as "refines his home", and imagined Jimmy wearing a little tool belt and safety goggles, hammer in paw, building a catio...
posted by Greg_Ace at 10:57 AM on April 13, 2017 [19 favorites]
I initially read that as "refines his home", and imagined Jimmy wearing a little tool belt and safety goggles, hammer in paw, building a catio...
posted by Greg_Ace at 10:57 AM on April 13, 2017 [19 favorites]
I think it's just when they circle around and around on a pillow, shaping it into a proper nest.
posted by Artw at 10:58 AM on April 13, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by Artw at 10:58 AM on April 13, 2017 [1 favorite]
About a decade ago, Cannelle vanished. She was gone for two weeks, and I'd called her original owner to relay the sad news that Cannelle had probably passed away. Then, one day I'm getting ready for work, I go out onto my concrete-slab "front porch" and Cannelle drags herself out of a groundhog hole that went under the slab. I don't know if she'd been away, came back and ducked inside for shelter the night before, had gotten stuck in there and for some reason had chosen not to meow. But she was filthy, angry, and skinny as a rail; she shouted at me for about an hour while I gave her multiple bowls of food and water.
Cannelle is now 19, and has spent the last decade with her original owner, husband, and (more recently) little boy. She is a very good cat.
posted by Shepherd at 11:06 AM on April 13, 2017 [56 favorites]
Cannelle is now 19, and has spent the last decade with her original owner, husband, and (more recently) little boy. She is a very good cat.
posted by Shepherd at 11:06 AM on April 13, 2017 [56 favorites]
We've taken in a stray recently. It's integrating into the family as well as a cat can, (remembering of course that all cats are complete me-first assholes). It responds to the names Willis, Willow, Other Cat, New Cat, Dave ver. 2.0 and Skittles. Posters have been up around the neighbourhood for a couple weeks and there have been a few calls, but the cat is still as yet unclaimed.
Last night an old lady called, "You've got my cat, where do you live so I can pick him up?" Slow down, grannie. What is the gender of your cat? Text me a picture of your cat. Talked to her about five minutes and things didn't seem right. After ten minutes she came clean, she hadn't lost a cat, she was looking to gain a cat. Ha! Scammy old lady.
And if she had been honest up front she may own a new cat, but there's no way Willis, Willow, Other Cat, New Cat, Dave ver. 2.0 or Skittles is going to live with a disingenuous old witch, he'd probably be baked into a pie already.
Realted; FOUND CAT, email to claim.
posted by Keith Talent at 11:12 AM on April 13, 2017 [33 favorites]
Last night an old lady called, "You've got my cat, where do you live so I can pick him up?" Slow down, grannie. What is the gender of your cat? Text me a picture of your cat. Talked to her about five minutes and things didn't seem right. After ten minutes she came clean, she hadn't lost a cat, she was looking to gain a cat. Ha! Scammy old lady.
And if she had been honest up front she may own a new cat, but there's no way Willis, Willow, Other Cat, New Cat, Dave ver. 2.0 or Skittles is going to live with a disingenuous old witch, he'd probably be baked into a pie already.
Realted; FOUND CAT, email to claim.
posted by Keith Talent at 11:12 AM on April 13, 2017 [33 favorites]
he'd probably be baked into a pie already
My understanding is that this is much more of a problem with missing priests.
posted by hippybear at 11:15 AM on April 13, 2017 [7 favorites]
My understanding is that this is much more of a problem with missing priests.
posted by hippybear at 11:15 AM on April 13, 2017 [7 favorites]
I'm not even a cat person, but why are there no videos…?
posted by cichlid ceilidh at 11:20 AM on April 13, 2017
posted by cichlid ceilidh at 11:20 AM on April 13, 2017
She is a very good cat.
They're all good cats, Shep.
posted by Devils Rancher at 11:55 AM on April 13, 2017 [25 favorites]
They're all good cats, Shep.
posted by Devils Rancher at 11:55 AM on April 13, 2017 [25 favorites]
I'm not crying...yes, I AM crying. And that's ok.
posted by thebrokedown at 12:17 PM on April 13, 2017 [9 favorites]
posted by thebrokedown at 12:17 PM on April 13, 2017 [9 favorites]
A few years ago we had a cat show up on our front porch, asking to be let in. We dithered, because we were on our way to work, but agreed that if they were there when we came home, we'd take it in. Now, this would have in theory been our first cat as a pet, and we'd already agreed that our cats would be indoor only. So for an evening, we had a cat. We fed it canned tuna and let it use a spare litter pan from our bunny, and it slept on the couch, warm and full for the evening. That night it became a demon spawn from hell, and cried and screamed and walked across our necks the entire night. "Growing pains," we shrugged, "he's not used to being an indoor cat." When we left for work the next morning, he slipped out the door between our legs like a pro. We no longer had a cat. :(
Then a few days later my husband was walking home from work, and we see the cat. On our neighbor's porch, a few blocks away. The cat's porch. Where he really lived. "Oh, he's a roamer" his owner said. We still refer to him as "the kitty con man" when we see him. We were played. I have no regrets.
posted by librarianamy at 12:43 PM on April 13, 2017 [37 favorites]
Then a few days later my husband was walking home from work, and we see the cat. On our neighbor's porch, a few blocks away. The cat's porch. Where he really lived. "Oh, he's a roamer" his owner said. We still refer to him as "the kitty con man" when we see him. We were played. I have no regrets.
posted by librarianamy at 12:43 PM on April 13, 2017 [37 favorites]
I see these stories and I just can't even. I hate it when my indoor cat merely decides she needs a closet day.
posted by srboisvert at 1:12 PM on April 13, 2017 [9 favorites]
posted by srboisvert at 1:12 PM on April 13, 2017 [9 favorites]
Excuse me, I must cry on my cats who will tolerate it for a short time and then decide it would be better to be somewhere else.
posted by thefang at 1:19 PM on April 13, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by thefang at 1:19 PM on April 13, 2017 [3 favorites]
Meanwhile, in canine news today: Dog party out on the roof!
posted by rewil at 1:29 PM on April 13, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by rewil at 1:29 PM on April 13, 2017 [4 favorites]
One of my parents' cats, Houdini*, recently decided that he would have a wee bit of adventure, so he snuck out the front door--and disappeared for nearly three weeks. Their other two ex-ferals have zero, count 'em, zero interest in the outdoors (their attitude amounts to "we have been there, we have done that, and now we are staying in climate-controlled conditions with liberal access to noms"), but Houdini has always retained a little hankering for the great outdoors, despite otherwise transitioning to being a full-time indoor cat. In any event, my parents left the garage side door open a little bit, with his favorite food and toy available, and lo and behold, there he was one morning (granted, two pounds lighter). The female cat, who had been thrilled to see the last of him, was...deeply resentful of his return.
*--Yes, this is an indicative name.
posted by thomas j wise at 1:34 PM on April 13, 2017 [11 favorites]
*--Yes, this is an indicative name.
posted by thomas j wise at 1:34 PM on April 13, 2017 [11 favorites]
Oh my god why is there so much sand in here...
posted by ovenmitt at 1:35 PM on April 13, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by ovenmitt at 1:35 PM on April 13, 2017 [1 favorite]
A few years ago we had a cat show up on our front porch, asking to be let in.
The lady who lives in the apartment next to mine has a cat who pulled this on me my second week in the building. As such, I didn't yet know whose cat he was. He comes out of nowhere and waaaaaaiiils at the outside door, so I let him in. He purrs. Chirp-meows at the hallway door. Trots in under my feet making a beeline for what I figured would be his home. He sets himself in front of MY door and goes, "meow?" confidently. I looked at him, nonplussed. "Meow?" he repeated with complete aplomb. "You're pretty well-fed," I told him. "Purr." "I'm pretty sure you're someone else's cat." Calculated silence without budging a muscle on his part.
I walked him back outside where I'd found him.
A couple days later, same cat ran over to me while outside and asked for ear scritches. "Oh I see you've met my Toby!" comes my neighbor's voice. This was Toby this morning. He gets a kick out of meowing plaintively at me when he's in his tree. The rest of the time he meows happily.
posted by fraula at 1:56 PM on April 13, 2017 [8 favorites]
The lady who lives in the apartment next to mine has a cat who pulled this on me my second week in the building. As such, I didn't yet know whose cat he was. He comes out of nowhere and waaaaaaiiils at the outside door, so I let him in. He purrs. Chirp-meows at the hallway door. Trots in under my feet making a beeline for what I figured would be his home. He sets himself in front of MY door and goes, "meow?" confidently. I looked at him, nonplussed. "Meow?" he repeated with complete aplomb. "You're pretty well-fed," I told him. "Purr." "I'm pretty sure you're someone else's cat." Calculated silence without budging a muscle on his part.
I walked him back outside where I'd found him.
A couple days later, same cat ran over to me while outside and asked for ear scritches. "Oh I see you've met my Toby!" comes my neighbor's voice. This was Toby this morning. He gets a kick out of meowing plaintively at me when he's in his tree. The rest of the time he meows happily.
posted by fraula at 1:56 PM on April 13, 2017 [8 favorites]
This post is my most absolute favorite thing right now.
posted by CoffeeHikeNapWine at 1:57 PM on April 13, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by CoffeeHikeNapWine at 1:57 PM on April 13, 2017 [4 favorites]
This entire website is so delightful
you aren't kidding
"Sick Man Gets Better After His Horse Visits Him At The Hospital"
"French Corgi Goes on the Best European Adventures"
there is MORE THAN ONE story about a cat and a rat who are best friends and sleep curled up together the one between the other's paws. nobody eats anybody, apparently.
posted by queenofbithynia at 2:07 PM on April 13, 2017 [2 favorites]
you aren't kidding
"Sick Man Gets Better After His Horse Visits Him At The Hospital"
"French Corgi Goes on the Best European Adventures"
there is MORE THAN ONE story about a cat and a rat who are best friends and sleep curled up together the one between the other's paws. nobody eats anybody, apparently.
posted by queenofbithynia at 2:07 PM on April 13, 2017 [2 favorites]
Then, one day I'm getting ready for work, I go out onto my concrete-slab "front porch" and Cannelle drags herself out of a groundhog hole that went under the slab.
Obviously on the other side of the hole, there's a magical realm that was celebrating the defeat of their ruler, the evil rat-sorcerer. Happens all the time.
posted by happyroach at 2:11 PM on April 13, 2017 [12 favorites]
Obviously on the other side of the hole, there's a magical realm that was celebrating the defeat of their ruler, the evil rat-sorcerer. Happens all the time.
posted by happyroach at 2:11 PM on April 13, 2017 [12 favorites]
I'm not crying, we're all crying
(I found my Gece in the shelter last September, or rather, she found me; I lost her to FIP at the end of January. I miss her so much. And I miss having a cat, and I can tell the feelings apart now, so it's time—I'm going to go looking for my next friend next week. But the headbutting... The one time I was away from Gece for a three-day trip and wasn't even mad at me when I got back, but her headbutting... it was so intense, so fierce... So that detail you took as the pullquote hit very hard and this is a lovely post and I have all the feels now and thank you.)
posted by seyirci at 2:18 PM on April 13, 2017 [4 favorites]
(I found my Gece in the shelter last September, or rather, she found me; I lost her to FIP at the end of January. I miss her so much. And I miss having a cat, and I can tell the feelings apart now, so it's time—I'm going to go looking for my next friend next week. But the headbutting... The one time I was away from Gece for a three-day trip and wasn't even mad at me when I got back, but her headbutting... it was so intense, so fierce... So that detail you took as the pullquote hit very hard and this is a lovely post and I have all the feels now and thank you.)
posted by seyirci at 2:18 PM on April 13, 2017 [4 favorites]
When I was a kid (maybe 6?) my parents and I left town for a week, and the neighbors came to feed the cats every day. Well, they show up on the first day, and before they even came in, they spotted one of the cats outside. Thinking fast, they opened a can of cat food and tried to lure her in, but she took one look and ran off.
Fast forward a week, and we're pulling back into the driveway, ready to be sad. By the time we turned off the car, she was walking up, meowing mediumly angry at us, but looking remarkably well fed. They were good kitties.
posted by Phredward at 2:24 PM on April 13, 2017
Fast forward a week, and we're pulling back into the driveway, ready to be sad. By the time we turned off the car, she was walking up, meowing mediumly angry at us, but looking remarkably well fed. They were good kitties.
posted by Phredward at 2:24 PM on April 13, 2017
Pumpkin sleeps on the bed with me and I get head buts every morning, along with demands for breakfast noms. She was a shelter cat. I can't imagine ever having an outdoor cat. Couldn't do it. Pumpkin does enjoy walkies on her leash, however.
posted by KleenexMakesaVeryGoodHat at 2:28 PM on April 13, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by KleenexMakesaVeryGoodHat at 2:28 PM on April 13, 2017 [2 favorites]
People, if this has happened to you or you don't want this to happen to you, PLEASE see Missing Pet Partnership, especially Displaced Cat Behavior. Indoor/outdoor cats may have run from a disturbance but are probably not all that far away. Indoor cats or recently moved (displaced) indoor/outdoor cats are most likely hiding in silence nearby, afraid to answer your calls. The good news is they eventually come out in the evening and can be lured home or trapped. I had a shy cat in a new neighborhood and it took almost two weeks of setting out sardine trails in the cold, but I got her back!!!
posted by serena15221 at 2:36 PM on April 13, 2017 [15 favorites]
posted by serena15221 at 2:36 PM on April 13, 2017 [15 favorites]
This entire website is so delightful
posted by Lanark at 2:47 PM on April 13, 2017 [13 favorites]
I just finally figured out how The Dodo is consistently able to pull content from people’s social media accounts without running into copyright law issues. And it’s hella shady.[source]
Buried in their terms and conditions is this:
“*By pasting a link to your social media account(s) you understand that you are granting to The Dodo full access to and permission to use any of your animal content.”
So even if the content you’re submitting has nothing to do with that social media account, if you put a link to the page in that box, you’ve given away all rights to your own animal media. You no longer have control over what they use or how they frame it, and you don’t get compensation. There’s no time limit on that clause - they can now scrape your content and use it for their own ends indefinitely.
posted by Lanark at 2:47 PM on April 13, 2017 [13 favorites]
When I was a kid (maybe 6?) my parents and I left town for a week, and the neighbors came to feed the cats every day. Well, they show up on the first day, and before they even came in, they spotted one of the cats outside. Thinking fast, they opened a can of cat food and tried to lure her in, but she took one look and ran off.
In the late 1970s, my family spent a summer brownstone-sitting for John Leonard while my father participated in an NEH seminar. At the time, Leonard's family had two cats, Catherine (Siamese) and Papaya (generic black cat). Catherine just about put up with my father intruding on her territory, but when the rest of us showed up, she decided that she had had enough, thank you very much, and promptly ran away to an abandoned restaurant behind Leonard's house. (Someone who recognized her kept her fed.) Needless to say, my parents were mortified, but Leonard just said, "eh, she's snobby, she'll come back after you leave." This proved correct.
posted by thomas j wise at 3:29 PM on April 13, 2017 [3 favorites]
In the late 1970s, my family spent a summer brownstone-sitting for John Leonard while my father participated in an NEH seminar. At the time, Leonard's family had two cats, Catherine (Siamese) and Papaya (generic black cat). Catherine just about put up with my father intruding on her territory, but when the rest of us showed up, she decided that she had had enough, thank you very much, and promptly ran away to an abandoned restaurant behind Leonard's house. (Someone who recognized her kept her fed.) Needless to say, my parents were mortified, but Leonard just said, "eh, she's snobby, she'll come back after you leave." This proved correct.
posted by thomas j wise at 3:29 PM on April 13, 2017 [3 favorites]
Microchip your pets, folks!
posted by Hypatia at 3:34 PM on April 13, 2017 [7 favorites]
posted by Hypatia at 3:34 PM on April 13, 2017 [7 favorites]
I am so glad that Jimmy was reunited with his owners. Now chip your goddamn cat!
posted by ActingTheGoat at 6:39 PM on April 13, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by ActingTheGoat at 6:39 PM on April 13, 2017 [2 favorites]
I'm glad they found him but I'm not crying. Why was the cat outside in the first place?
My little guy was a stray - as in, wandered into my apartment building off the street on a cold rainy night. I did my due diligence in trying to find the owner via craigslist, Facebook, NextDoor, knocking on doors, contacting shelters, checking for microchips. He was in good condition (albeit FIV+) so he was someone's cat, but no one ever came forth. I don't know if he escaped or if he was an outdoor cat, but if the latter, fuck them. He has a good, safe home now.
posted by AFABulous at 7:24 PM on April 13, 2017 [3 favorites]
My little guy was a stray - as in, wandered into my apartment building off the street on a cold rainy night. I did my due diligence in trying to find the owner via craigslist, Facebook, NextDoor, knocking on doors, contacting shelters, checking for microchips. He was in good condition (albeit FIV+) so he was someone's cat, but no one ever came forth. I don't know if he escaped or if he was an outdoor cat, but if the latter, fuck them. He has a good, safe home now.
posted by AFABulous at 7:24 PM on April 13, 2017 [3 favorites]
True story:
A few years back, the cat of a professor friend in Statesboro, Gus, turned up missing. While Gus is definitely an outdoor animal and a real cat's cat, perfectly capable of surviving on his own without human assistance, his loss was felt keenly among all who knew him, which included a husband and son, another professor, and myself, slightly. The fact that he didn't return despite his high cat skill led us to assume the worst.
Time passed. I moved out of Statesboro back to Brunswick. The professor in question fell upon hard times and was let go by the university. They could no longer afford to stay in their house (in walking distance of the other professor I mentioned), and they moved a few miles away with their remaining pets, two dogs. Over a year passed. (It may have been two even.)
I kept in touch with Other Professor. One day talking to her, she informed me of an amazing fact. She was walking her own dogs around the neighborhood and heard a meowing around the cat owning professor's former house. She ventured a trip into the backyard of the now-vacant residence.
And it was Gus! After being missing for so so long Gus had finally returned home, to find no one where his past owners had lived. She managed to catch the cat and put him into a carrier than then take him to his owner's new place.
It was an exceedingly happy day for someone who deeply needed it. Gus lives there to this day. We still don't know where he had been for so long.
posted by JHarris at 11:19 PM on April 13, 2017 [12 favorites]
A few years back, the cat of a professor friend in Statesboro, Gus, turned up missing. While Gus is definitely an outdoor animal and a real cat's cat, perfectly capable of surviving on his own without human assistance, his loss was felt keenly among all who knew him, which included a husband and son, another professor, and myself, slightly. The fact that he didn't return despite his high cat skill led us to assume the worst.
Time passed. I moved out of Statesboro back to Brunswick. The professor in question fell upon hard times and was let go by the university. They could no longer afford to stay in their house (in walking distance of the other professor I mentioned), and they moved a few miles away with their remaining pets, two dogs. Over a year passed. (It may have been two even.)
I kept in touch with Other Professor. One day talking to her, she informed me of an amazing fact. She was walking her own dogs around the neighborhood and heard a meowing around the cat owning professor's former house. She ventured a trip into the backyard of the now-vacant residence.
And it was Gus! After being missing for so so long Gus had finally returned home, to find no one where his past owners had lived. She managed to catch the cat and put him into a carrier than then take him to his owner's new place.
It was an exceedingly happy day for someone who deeply needed it. Gus lives there to this day. We still don't know where he had been for so long.
posted by JHarris at 11:19 PM on April 13, 2017 [12 favorites]
I keep hoping for this kind of happy ending for my current house guest, the stray ferret.
She was found begging for food in my neighborhood, and I took her in, assuming someone was desperately searching for her. It's been two weeks, and Stray Ferret is still here with no owner to be found. My cats are pissed and my spare room now smells a little like an old fur coat, but I can't seem to give the damned thing up. Sigh.
posted by tryniti at 6:04 AM on April 14, 2017 [3 favorites]
She was found begging for food in my neighborhood, and I took her in, assuming someone was desperately searching for her. It's been two weeks, and Stray Ferret is still here with no owner to be found. My cats are pissed and my spare room now smells a little like an old fur coat, but I can't seem to give the damned thing up. Sigh.
posted by tryniti at 6:04 AM on April 14, 2017 [3 favorites]
My very cool black cat led a double life. I mean, he was my cat most of the time - he'd jump up on the hood of my car as I was parallel parking, or he'd walk me to the bus stop in the morning and then jump out of the bushes at me when I came back in the afternoon, or follow me on mile-long walks (stalking me from behind cars). But he also did this to pretty much everyone else in the neighborhood too. When people saw him with me, they'd say, "oh, is that your cat? That's the cat who hangs out with me in the garage when I work on my car." Or "that cat? He comes and sits in the garden with me every morning and watches birds," or "he waits for the bus with me every day and I share my yogurt with him."
Of course, the damn cat was adopted two or three times* by well-meaning people who were tricked into thinking he'd never been fed in his life, and I'd have to go around the neighborhood putting up signs, and eventually I'd get the call from someone who had taken him in and named him Ninja or Midnight and had started to love him.
He died three years ago of colon cancer as a young boy of six. He was a good cat. (He was the best cat.)
* He was indeed chipped, but after he lost four or five collars I stopped trying to put them on him.
posted by autolykos at 9:38 AM on April 14, 2017 [5 favorites]
Of course, the damn cat was adopted two or three times* by well-meaning people who were tricked into thinking he'd never been fed in his life, and I'd have to go around the neighborhood putting up signs, and eventually I'd get the call from someone who had taken him in and named him Ninja or Midnight and had started to love him.
He died three years ago of colon cancer as a young boy of six. He was a good cat. (He was the best cat.)
* He was indeed chipped, but after he lost four or five collars I stopped trying to put them on him.
posted by autolykos at 9:38 AM on April 14, 2017 [5 favorites]
Cats and ferrets make good playmates, really. I've owned both at the same time, and they were adorable together.
*sigh* I miss my ferret.
posted by hippybear at 9:46 AM on April 14, 2017 [1 favorite]
*sigh* I miss my ferret.
posted by hippybear at 9:46 AM on April 14, 2017 [1 favorite]
Cats and ferrets make good playmates, really. I've owned both at the same time, and they were adorable together.
My hope is that eventually they can make peace, but right now the cats are just NOT HAVING IT. So Stray Ferret gets half the upstairs to herself and the cats get to act all huffy every time I go in that room without them.
posted by tryniti at 9:51 AM on April 14, 2017
My hope is that eventually they can make peace, but right now the cats are just NOT HAVING IT. So Stray Ferret gets half the upstairs to herself and the cats get to act all huffy every time I go in that room without them.
posted by tryniti at 9:51 AM on April 14, 2017
The fact that he didn't return despite his high cat skill led us to assume the worst.
They all have high cat skill, JHerris.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 10:05 AM on April 14, 2017 [1 favorite]
They all have high cat skill, JHerris.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 10:05 AM on April 14, 2017 [1 favorite]
I've been to the high Catskills. Lovely place.
posted by Greg_Ace at 10:33 AM on April 14, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by Greg_Ace at 10:33 AM on April 14, 2017 [2 favorites]
I don't know if he escaped or if he was an outdoor cat, but if the latter, fuck them. He has a good, safe home now.
Well I hope you don't live in my neighborhood... My indoor /outdoor cat was a feral stray who took up residence in our back yard, apparently because he fell in love with my dog (they are constant companions, sometimes despite the dog's wish to have her bed to herself ). Our cat has been with us for 7 years, he is very definitely a member of our family, but he comes and goes as he pleases, as he is still definitely a feral cat. He tail hugs the dogs and my husband and we are occasionally permitted to pick him up for snuggles, but the one time we tried to keep him as an indoor cat it traumatized his little kitty brain so badly, I swore I would never do that to him again .
If you ever see my cat out and about (which I doubt since he hides from all humans but us) , I'll thank you to keep your "good, safe home" to yourself, or I'll enjoy thinking about the tazmanian devil our cat turns into as he figures out how to free himself from the "safety" of your (no doubt well - meaning) clutches, in order to return to his family, who he loves, and who loves him very, very much in return.
posted by WalkerWestridge at 1:47 PM on April 14, 2017 [2 favorites]
Well I hope you don't live in my neighborhood... My indoor /outdoor cat was a feral stray who took up residence in our back yard, apparently because he fell in love with my dog (they are constant companions, sometimes despite the dog's wish to have her bed to herself ). Our cat has been with us for 7 years, he is very definitely a member of our family, but he comes and goes as he pleases, as he is still definitely a feral cat. He tail hugs the dogs and my husband and we are occasionally permitted to pick him up for snuggles, but the one time we tried to keep him as an indoor cat it traumatized his little kitty brain so badly, I swore I would never do that to him again .
If you ever see my cat out and about (which I doubt since he hides from all humans but us) , I'll thank you to keep your "good, safe home" to yourself, or I'll enjoy thinking about the tazmanian devil our cat turns into as he figures out how to free himself from the "safety" of your (no doubt well - meaning) clutches, in order to return to his family, who he loves, and who loves him very, very much in return.
posted by WalkerWestridge at 1:47 PM on April 14, 2017 [2 favorites]
I would hope that "I hope I kidnapped someones pet" is fringe assholerly even among people with strong feelings on outdoor cats, TBH.
posted by Artw at 2:02 PM on April 14, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by Artw at 2:02 PM on April 14, 2017 [3 favorites]
If you'll re-read my comment, I did my due diligence in trying to find the owners. The vet suggested he may have been abandoned when they found out he was FIV+, especially since they didn't bother chipping or neutering him, but nevertheless I spent several weeks looking for his home.
posted by AFABulous at 2:45 PM on April 14, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by AFABulous at 2:45 PM on April 14, 2017 [2 favorites]
Well, I guess it's nice that I'm happy crying for once?
posted by Space Kitty at 4:17 PM on April 14, 2017
posted by Space Kitty at 4:17 PM on April 14, 2017
If you ever see my cat out and about (which I doubt since he hides from all humans but us) , I'll thank you to keep your "good, safe home" to yourself, or I'll enjoy thinking about the tazmanian devil our cat turns into as he figures out how to free himself from the "safety" of your (no doubt well - meaning) clutches, in order to return to his family, who he loves, and who loves him very, very much in return.
Apparently you missed the part where AFABulous said "I did my due diligence in trying to find the owner via craigslist, Facebook, NextDoor, knocking on doors, contacting shelters, checking for microchips. He was in good condition (albeit FIV+) so he was someone's cat, but no one ever came forth. I don't know if he escaped or if he was an outdoor cat, but if the latter, fuck them. He has a good, safe home now."
I'm severely biased (indoor cats all the way! forever!) but if your cat goes missing and it's not possible to reconnect them with you via any of "craigslist, Facebook, NextDoor, knocking on doors, contacting shelters, checking for microchips" then maybe the cat's better off with the new person.
Even setting aside the indoor/outdoor difference of opinion, get your damn cats chipped.
posted by Lexica at 4:47 PM on April 14, 2017 [2 favorites]
Apparently you missed the part where AFABulous said "I did my due diligence in trying to find the owner via craigslist, Facebook, NextDoor, knocking on doors, contacting shelters, checking for microchips. He was in good condition (albeit FIV+) so he was someone's cat, but no one ever came forth. I don't know if he escaped or if he was an outdoor cat, but if the latter, fuck them. He has a good, safe home now."
I'm severely biased (indoor cats all the way! forever!) but if your cat goes missing and it's not possible to reconnect them with you via any of "craigslist, Facebook, NextDoor, knocking on doors, contacting shelters, checking for microchips" then maybe the cat's better off with the new person.
Even setting aside the indoor/outdoor difference of opinion, get your damn cats chipped.
posted by Lexica at 4:47 PM on April 14, 2017 [2 favorites]
I am sitting here with horribly swollen eyes after the news that my baby's injection site sarcoma has returned and is now in her lungs. The vet tells me she may be gone in a month. Maybe a few weeks.
Current best practice is to have vaccines (if needed) administered at the end of the tail. I'm not sure what they are recommending now about chips. But be aware of this.
posted by 2soxy4mypuppet at 3:29 PM on April 15, 2017
Current best practice is to have vaccines (if needed) administered at the end of the tail. I'm not sure what they are recommending now about chips. But be aware of this.
posted by 2soxy4mypuppet at 3:29 PM on April 15, 2017
oh no! I'm so sorry!
posted by AFABulous at 3:45 PM on April 15, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by AFABulous at 3:45 PM on April 15, 2017 [1 favorite]
My cat Lucky ran away a few months after I brought home Buddy the puppy. Buddy loved Lucky, but the feeling was not mutual, so he said "I'm outa here". Well, first I thought he would come back when he got hungry, but as the days turned to weeks, I became certain that he had met an untimely demise. Buddy and I were both quite sad.
Fast forward about 4 years and Lucky is snooping around in my back-yard. I called him and he started to come towards me, but just then Buddy popped up around the corner, and Lucky was like "Oh I see that beast is still here. Catch you later." It was quite nice to know that was alive and well-fed in a new home, but I wish he would write or phone or something, at least once in a while
posted by ambulocetus at 6:44 AM on April 19, 2017
Fast forward about 4 years and Lucky is snooping around in my back-yard. I called him and he started to come towards me, but just then Buddy popped up around the corner, and Lucky was like "Oh I see that beast is still here. Catch you later." It was quite nice to know that was alive and well-fed in a new home, but I wish he would write or phone or something, at least once in a while
posted by ambulocetus at 6:44 AM on April 19, 2017
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posted by FirstMateKate at 10:09 AM on April 13, 2017 [29 favorites]