Impossible Cat

[susieqz]

man, it's really hard to get el estupido gato to come for breakfast if you have sheets on the line.
hunger finally drove her in, but she doesn't like hanging laundry, even tho she sees it every week.

 

[maggiedemi]

Put the camera under her tail and snap a photo really quick.

 

[ailish]

Right from the beginning, when I had to keep them separate, or if guests came over, I used the cage to move them from room to room. They hate being picked up, so they would rather just go in there to be carried around. I would say Get in your cage, go side side (outside in the garage). Or Hurry, get in your cage, go see your boyfriend/girlfriend (what they call each other). I just always treated it as a positive thing, in an excited voice, like they were going somewhere fun. They even sleep in there sometimes. They don't go to the vet very often, so they don't associate it with that.

Thanks, this gives me some ideas!

 

[susieqz]

well, i missed my chance to check between drifter's back legs.
i swear, when she got here, she was a very short haired cat.
, but today i got a look at ms. fuzzy britches.
her legs, her tummy look like a long haired cat.
she could hide a ton of equipment there, that i'd never find, at least til spring.

look, boy dogs only squat to pee when they are babes.
girls squat all their lives.
are cats different?
drifter squats.

 

[maggiedemi]

Both my cats pee the same, squatting in a sitting position. If you Google cat testicles photo, it will show you what it looks like, look at the photos of the cats standing up, that pouchy looking thing, it's not hidden at all.

 

[orange&white]

Boy cats squat to pee too. The standing up spraying is different from just relieving their bladder.

Cat cajones are noticeable. You would have seen them after this many months.

There is some possibility that someone owned Drifter when she was younger or she spent some time at a shelter and they spayed/neutered her (him). It's a lot harder to tell if a cat is a boy after they are neutered.

 

[maggiedemi]

Thanks for posting the photos Orange! Do you have any photos of a neutered boy cat so we can compare?

 

[orange&white]

After neutering:

 

[orange&white]

Sorry.

 

[susieqz]

thanks. if they are that promanant it's safe to say drifter is a girl.
no way she can be a castrated male.
by the time a cat is old enow to be cut, the cat would be socialized.
drifter was, n is, feral.
with constant caresses, associated with food, i have given her a surface overlay
of civilization, but she is what she is.
personally, i find that adorable, so we are a good fit.

 

[orange&white]

Well, it is curious that she hasn't gone into heat yet.

 

[susieqz]

can this mean disease?
when she first got here, she was too malnourished to make babies, but
she is healthy now, except for no heats.

 

[orange&white]

I don't think not going into heat means she's sick. From your description, she's very active and has a good appetite. We assume she's peeing and pooping normally. But is does lead to wondering that she may have been spayed at some point. She could have been someone's barn cat and they took her to a private vet that didn't tip her ear. Just conjecture because of no heat cycle.

 

[maggiedemi]

She looks healthy to me. Maybe she's younger than we thought. But she looks over six months old in the photo to me. It's a mystery...

 

[susieqz]

never heard of bar cats getting neutered.
especially out here where cats are treasured.
i'll feel kind a stupid if she was a barn cat.
i've worked so very hard training her.
even today, if she;s within reach, i drop everything
to stroke her.
this is 100% of the time, even when inconvenient.
i can honestly say that she has never been within arms
reach without being touched.
she thinks i'm a nicer person than i really am.

 

[susieqz]

perhaps i don't understand what you guys mean by barn cats.
the ones i knew could be picked up, if you were slow n gentle.
they were a very stable population.
cats don't leave where the milk is.
never saw strange cats.
they might have been run off.
barn cats often enjoy a cuddle, tho they may not want to play tea party with you.

 

[orange&white]

If I hadn't picked them up after spaying, both Farrell and Misfit would have been adopted out as barn cats...feral cats that the shelter thinks are too old to be socialized to become suitable housecats. The shelter gives them away free to people who want an outdoor mouser. Some farmers/ranchers may socialize them after that, or they may just be left feral as mousers. That last part depends on the human(s). The adoption papers for barn cats say that the adopter will provide food, water, and shelter and that's it.

 

[susieqz]

funny. that's all i set out to provide.
food, water, shelter.
part of the no heat thing might mean that i'm right about drifter's age.
i think this may be her first winter.
no data for that. it's just how she seems to me.
you know, i thot that her using the outdoor potty was nice.
the big problem is she wont tell me when she wants to go out.
i have hear of polite cats, but this is crazy.
when she wants out, she goes n sits quietly by the back door.
only if i happen to go there do i see her waiting.
i just never know she wants out.
i doubt i can get her to ring a bell.

 

[orange&white]

I wasn't even sure Misfit would stick around after I brought her home from TNR. She did disappear for 3 weeks, showed up sporadically for a couple of days, disappeared for 10 days, and so on. I only brought food out when I saw her face. She figured that out and started "showing face" more regularly, until she moved into the patio/backyard permanently.

So yes, food water shelter only when she showed up. Now she doesn't go away and sits on my lap for treats.

We're such suckers, aren't we?

 

[maggiedemi]

Maggie's really quiet too, she goes and sits by the door if she wants to go out in the garage. But if she keeps waiting and nobody lets her out, she will throw herself at the door!