Struggling With Play Time

[JesseJupiter]

Thanks. We actually have a little track with a light up ball in it. They paw at it sometimes, but they got bored with toys rather quickly. It's mostly covered so they can't get the ball out, but I think that's also part of why they get bored with it.

Go outside and find a nice sturdy stick, go inside and find about 5 feet of string, go to the craft store and buy a package of colored feathers. Now tape the string to a couple feathers and tie the other end to the stick. PRESTO you have 90% of all cats favorite toy. whip it around and watch them jump for it.
hope this helps.

 

[calicosrspecial]

I'm sure she did eat it too fast! It was a decent size. Not huge, but bigger than what she usually gets and it was gone by the time I got to her. I had given them a few bites from that piece anyway, but I don't usually give them the outside since that has the seasonings. It was my fault though. I was trying to get up and got the plate too close to her.

Oh, I'm sure it's fine. The stand is made of metal, so I'd imagine the floor took more damage than the stand. I was more worried about it falling on him since I could see it fall out of the corner of my eye.

That's interesting. Like little werecats that go crazy with the moon. Lol.

I didn't really think they would, but a part of me always doubts. I definitely do want to learn though.

Yeah, at least this one thing was done right. I think it's great as well.

I like Ember's name as well. When I got Ash, I actually already wanted to name a cat that, so his name had been decided before we even picked him out.

She was definitely very nervous. She had completely frozen like she wasn't sure if she should run or stand her ground. She wouldn't move and once I noticed her eyes, I didn't want to get too close and bring something back to my bunch, so I went around.

That's sad that someone was taking them to animal control. I hope that doesn't happen here, especially with the cats who are out in the open and wandering around. I have seen someone with a trap in their yard, but it's just sitting there. It isn't set or anything.

Wow. Okay, so I saw both cats I was worried about on my way home from our (second) walk. First was the orange cat who kind of scared me. I saw a movement on top of the carport behind the house. I didn't know what it was at first, but it looked like it was coming right at us! I looked up and there was Mister Squinty Eyes looking down at us with a disdainful look on his face. Then the mackerel tabby was on the stairs of the front porch. At least I'm pretty sure it's the same cat. It's fur looked shorter, but I guess it might've blown it's winter coat already.

Ahhhh, yes too fast and seasonings. That will do it. :/

That is good. But hopefully the floor wasn't damaged and thank goodness it didn't fall on him.

Hahahaha, yes!!

They will most likely. Just explain that you want to learn and try to balance helping with staying out of the way. As long as they know they should help some. I know it can be hectic and stressful so sometimes it is hard to teach someone but I am sure they will try their best.

Agreed.

They are great names. Ember is a perfect name. And Ash and Frost are great. Very creative.

That is very normal and common. You handled it very well.

Yes, and what is worse is that after I found out about it I went to her house and talked to her about TNR and why it works etc. Gave here information. Etc. Told her that having them TNRd keeps other cats away. The whole thing. And she said I don't care, I want them dead. And she kept trapping. And the worst part is she is a minister, supposedly religious. Well, she trapped another one of mine but I knew to watch animal control. I saved that cat from death row and now she is happily living in my house, the sweetest cat. But I don't know how many she has killed. It is really sad that someone can be so ignorant and mean. Hopefully it doesn't happen to the ones in your area but we can't control it and we can't always know what happened and save them. And others in other areas may do it without us even knowing it. Interesting someone has a trap around. Hmmmmmmmm.

Whew. Thank goodness. That is what happens sometimes. Even when they have a routine they do that sometimes. once you get a colony settled (TNRd) they tend to be more regular and stop roaming as much.

 

[Animal Freak]

Well, I don't know what was on the chicken. It was pretty plain, but it seems likely there was something on it.

Ash was playing with a toy mouse last night. Figures. He wants nothing to do with me and my toys, but he'll play with a mouse in the middle of the night. I had to get up and take it away from him.

I will though I haven't heard back from them in a little while. I'm sure they're busy and all, but I haven't gotten anything back from them.

I think Ember really is perfect. It fits her looks as well as her personality.

Wow. I really don't understand people sometimes. I'm not sure how anyone could want to kill any creature. And I can't say I completely understand what people have against ferals. It's not like they're getting in the way. They don't even usually let themselves be seen! It seems like more work to get rid of them than just let them be. I don't have a problem with them being around and fully believe they're a part of the natural world. My reasoning for helping them and lowering the population is because people make their lives so much harder than they need to be.

Yeah, and I saw the orange cat again today. I'm not sure if I'll get out later or not because it's currently very windy and there's a chance for rain. The car wasn't there this morning though. Another change in schedule.

One thing I do wonder about is how they ended up with so many blue cats. Is it normal for a colony to end up with so many cats of the same color? There's solid blues, blue tabbies, dilute torties… I think close to half of the cats I've seen have been some shade and form of blue.

 

[calicosrspecial]

Oh, then maybe it was just that she ate too fast. It happens with one of mine once in a while. Poor thing.

Hahahahaha, it never fails, does it? That is pretty good though. That is hunting time for them.

Hmmmmmmm. Maybe they are just a little busy. If you don't hear back from them in a week or so then just send them another email.

It really does!! Perfect.

I know. It really is astonishing. Ferals do eat wildlife and that bothers people. And they use gardens for litter boxes. This person had a raccoon problem and she blamed some of those issues on the cats. Long story. I understand they concerns but TNR will lessen those issues. Killing does not change the issues. But the person just does not care. I have done TNR though and I know the issues have lessened. But whether she believes it was because of TNR or because she was killing them I don't know. It is sad.

That is good. Interesting. Maybe they work early and get home early?

That is a good question. That is not my experience but I guess it is possible. I can imagine they are gorgeous.

 

[Animal Freak]

Go outside and find a nice sturdy stick, go inside and find about 5 feet of string, go to the craft store and buy a package of colored feathers. Now tape the string to a couple feathers and tie the other end to the stick. PRESTO you have 90% of all cats favorite toy. whip it around and watch them jump for it.
hope this helps.

Haha. Yes, that's something that would probably interest them. Though if I brought a stick inside, they'd probably be obsessed with that.

 

[Animal Freak]

Oh, then maybe it was just that she ate too fast. It happens with one of mine once in a while. Poor thing.

Hahahahaha, it never fails, does it? That is pretty good though. That is hunting time for them.

Hmmmmmmm. Maybe they are just a little busy. If you don't hear back from them in a week or so then just send them another email.

It really does!! Perfect.

I know. It really is astonishing. Ferals do eat wildlife and that bothers people. And they use gardens for litter boxes. This person had a raccoon problem and she blamed some of those issues on the cats. Long story. I understand they concerns but TNR will lessen those issues. Killing does not change the issues. But the person just does not care. I have done TNR though and I know the issues have lessened. But whether she believes it was because of TNR or because she was killing them I don't know. It is sad.

That is good. Interesting. Maybe they work early and get home early?

That is a good question. That is not my experience but I guess it is possible. I can imagine they are gorgeous.

It's not the first time Ember has eaten too fast and thrown up. She'd do that every once in a while when they all ate in the kitchen and she'd steal their food.

No. I shouldn't have ever given them their mice back from the linen closet apparently. First it nearly caused a fight because Ash growled over one of them and now he's keeping me up at night. Rotten cat.

Maybe. I'll have to try to remember to send another email if they don't reply.

All animals eat wildlife though. People have and do as well. I mean, it's terrible. Tragic. But killing an animal because it kills doesn't exactly help anything. It's natural to kill for food. We all have to eat. Honestly, humans seem have a tendency to take issue with animals doing things that humans do as well, often to a much greater extent and with fewer reasons.

I don't know. They had been there at that time before. And they weren't there for my second walk today. Strange. More often than not they seem to be there from around 2:30 to 4, but I haven't seen the vehicle at all today. And not as many cats outside either.

They are gorgeous. All of them are, of course. But it seemed strange. Including the inside cats, there have been five brown tabbies, I believe two or three black cats, at least two orange cats, and two orange and white cats. The rest are blue.

 

[calicosrspecial]

Yes, it is very common with cats sadly.

Hahahahaha. I know how you feel. Been there.

Yeah, I think that is a good idea.

Yes. I have coyote and owl and hawk problems. I get upset at them for targeting my wildlife but I don't kill them. I try to protect my cats as much as possible. I hate seeing a hawk or owl take a rabbit away etc or my cats get a bird (when they aren't hungry). But it is life. I agree with you.

Hmmmmmmm. Maybe there wasn't any food so therefore no cats? I wonder. Maybe they were shopping or have flexible work hours. So difficult to figure out.

Wow that is a lot of visible cats. Yes, it does seem a bit strange.

 

[Animal Freak]

Two of the mice ended up back in the linen closet! I don't know what happened to the third. Last I saw it Ember had it in my room.

Oh, I forgot to mention. There have been a couple of fights. We went a really long time without having any and it's still not too bad. Both of them have happened at night, but before going to sleep. They don't last long and have broken up by the time I get out there. The only new thing is now Frost is losing fur too. I go out and find several clumps of fur from both Ash and Frost. I'm not sure how that's happening. The fights don't last long at all for Ember to be going after two cats and she's never done anything to Frost before, even when he hisses and slaps at her. But quite a bit of fur is pulled out in those few short seconds.

Yes, it's certainly hard to watch. Life can be tragic, especially when it comes to an end. I hate the deaths. But I love the animals. I know my animals come first and I'll do whatever I can to protect them, even again against other animals, but killing would be very far from the first thing I'd do.

I don't know. There's certainly been some weird changes. They were there today when I went by, but almost no cats. None outside. I think I saw one sleeping in the window of the enclosed porch, but could barely see it. It seemed sort of strange not to see anyone. It's colder than it has been the last few days, but not that cold. Just a bit of a chill due to the clouds and wind.

 

[calicosrspecial]

Hahahaha. Ember brought you a present. At least it wasn't real.

Really? Do you know it is Ember or is Ash and Frost maybe getting into it? Do you know anything about what happened before it? Could it have been just rough play? How did they act afterwards?

How far is that house with the cats on your walk from your house? I wonder if those cats are around sometimes causing some insecurity. Cats can easily roam a good distance.

Agreed.

Well during the day cats do tend to sleep, hang out etc. So it is not too surprising not to see all the cats. Well, if it was a home health car person one would think they would come around and leave at about the same time every day. It is interesting.

 

[Animal Freak]

She does like to bring presents. Though she only brings them about half way.

Ember is definitely getting into it. Last time she was making some weird noises that I don't even know how to describe. Like a yowl, but closed mouthed, quiet, and lower. And she had a strip of fur on the bottom half of her spine sticking up. I've seen the tail puffed up, but it doesn't usually go beyond that. But I'm not sure how it starts. I thought maybe Ash and Frost were roughhousing and Ember attacked Ash as she sometimes does, but that doesn't seem to be happening as often and I don't hear anything beforehand. Usually you can hear the thump of a cat hitting the floor or other hard surface and Frost has gotten pretty vocal when playing. It's not often Ember gets as tense as she was, but she came out of it pretty quickly. I was surprised with how her fur was sticking up. Some treats totally solved the issue.

Hmm... I haven't honestly kept track. Not long. Maybe ten minutes, give or take. No more than fifteen minutes, I'm sure. And I know there are cats closer to us. We actually had one on the porch the other night. But no fights or any issue that night or the following day. I kind of expected there to be issues.

It is usually pretty calm for my first walk, but there's still typically one or two outside and a few in the window. It got more active though. And I do believe I've been seeing at least two black cats. I wasn't sure because it could have been different positions making one cat look like two, but I saw a black cat in the yard across the street today. It was leaner and maybe a little smaller than the other black cat who's on the chubby side. I think that's the one that I thought was dead. I thought it didn't look as chubby as the first black cat. It seemed really calm and comfortable out in the open. Walked down the sidewalk like it was normal.

 

[calicosrspecial]

Yes, some of them do. I kind of figured Ember might like to do that.

Interesting. At least she is getting out of it quickly. Ember is the mother so she tends to want to discipline and break things up etc. It doesn't sound too bad but it would be nice if it didn't happen.

I have a feeling you are getting ferals coming around and that is what is causing some of the unease. I do have a feeling that maybe your cats are getting more comfortable with them coming around which is good.

It does sound like there are at least 2 black cats. It is difficult to tell but usually there are a lot more than we ever think. Sounds like a cool cat.

 

[Animal Freak]

No, the fights themselves aren't too bad. They're very brief and didn't lead to any other problems. It just seemed weird how much fur was lost in such a short period of time and included fur from Frost. He's usually nearby when there's a fight and tends to walk in between them, but he's never been directly involved.

I hope they're getting used to them. There's not much I can do about ferals coming around and I don't really care to do anything. They don't bother me. I'd like to partake in caring for a colony sometime, but it would be a bit difficult with cats who fight because of them.

I kind of figured there's be multiple black cats. The chubby one is one of the originals though and the one I usually see. The leaner one had some really pretty spots in it's fur. They showed nicely in the sunlight when I thought the cat was dead.

 

[calicosrspecial]

It is weird. Cats are usually pretty careful with their claws. Maybe he did just get caught in by mistake.

Yes. At first they tend to feel insecure which can lead to bad things. But when the inside cats figure out that the outside cats don't really pose any harm then they tend to be ok with them. But it does take time.

They can be really beautiful. Mine has this reddish tint in the sun that is so cute and adorable. It is interesting how the sun shows more than what we normally see.

 

[Animal Freak]

Ember is usually really good with her claws. Poor Frost seemed a bit confused afterwards. It's odd that it's just now happening and hasn't happened before. And then twice in a row.

Well I'm glad they can get over it. I worry about Ember with her insecurities. I don't want her to be stressed. Then everyone is stressed because she takes it out on Ash.

They certainly can be. I've seen the reddish tinge and the faint pattern, but I can't say I've ever seen it so prominent. The spots were the first thing I noticed.

 

[calicosrspecial]

Yes, they usually are. Well, it is unexpected for him so it makes sense he is surprised. My youngest chased the oldest male in my house. My goodness, you would think the world was turned upside down. He was so confused. They like the expected. Weird things can happen but it isn't much to worry about. It should pass pretty quickly.

Yes, but Ember has come a long way. She is much more confident nowadays. I wouldn't worry too much about her. She is doing great.

They are really cool. I love that look.

 

[Animal Freak]

Ah, I meant to be on yesterday. It was a very busy day and I'm still a bit tired. I got up a bit early to make sure I had time to walk the dog before we left and ended up finding a lost Chihuahua, so we still ended up late because we were trying to find his home. We had some running to do, went car shopping, and then went to the shelter to volunteer where I got chewed up by a dog.

Sometimes it does feel like the world has turned upside down. I'm sure that was a surprise for the oldest male. Ember is the youngest, but the fiercest of my three. Though in many ways she does respect them. Sometimes she still seems very much like a kitten and sometimes she seems like the oldest of them.

That she has. There could still be some improvement and I'd love to see a little more, but she's definitely a lot better now than she was.

So I've been early the last two days for my morning walk. Yesterday no car. Today car. There really doesn't seem to be much of a pattern at this point.

 

[calicosrspecial]

Oh wow. What a day you had!! Sounds like a good (for helping) day though. Did you find the home for the chihuahua? Good for you for volunteering. Chewed up??? I hope you weren't bitten badly. I hope it was just playful and not bad.

I know exactly what you mean. Cats can be very interesting. My youngest respects but she is really bad at playing and the other cats take it as more aggressive (which it isn't). It can be shocking for the other cats. It is cute when they act like a kitten. Very cute.

It is terrific. She will continue, you are doing a great job with her. I think she is doing really well.

Hmmmmmmmmmm. No pattern is hard to figure out.

 

[Animal Freak]

No home for the Chihuahua yet. I found it laying in the sun next door to the cat house. I knew there was a big dog there, but never saw or heard a small dog. My mom came and knocked on the door and sure enough it wasn't theirs. He ended up going under the porch and we weren't able to get him as he was very scared. We had to leave since we had so much to do, but went back later. The lady who lives there was able to get him and her granddaughter had him in the basement away from the big dog. The granddaughter posted on Facebook (and so did my mom) and apparently they already had a number of people wanting to adopt him, but no owner. We think he may have been dumped. He's very skinny.

I don't know about the dog that chewed on me. He seemed calm and timid until I opened the kennel door. Then he went a bit nuts with jumping and biting. It really started off as mouthing, but he got rougher and rougher with it. Only drew blood once, but I have close to a dozen bruises I think.

Cats are definitely interesting. They're a lot more complex than a lot of people believe. Ember is definitely more of a kitten than I sometimes think though. When I really pay attention her actions, I can see how she's still a bit of a kitten with the boys. She wants to play with them, but a lot of times they want nothing to do with her. I do love watching her play with the little mouse toys.

I'd be happy if she felt comfortable enough to not supervise the boys when they play. That would be fantastic. But she has gotten better. She doesn't attack immediately and a lot of times they stop before she does.

Not many cats today. I'm not sure why as it was quite warm. I saw a kitten that looked like the tortie, but with shorter fur. I'm not sure if it's another kitten or if she blew her winter coat. Looks like the same pattern on her face, but the I only saw her from a distance and the difference in fur length is quite dramatic. But I didn't even see the classic tabby today and I see that cat every day as long as the weather is decent.

 

[calicosrspecial]

Wow, thank goodness you were around to help. It sounds like someone probably did. It is sad but it sounds like there will be a happy ending. Good job!!

Wow. At least it doesn't sound too bad. Though it is not good. What kind of dog was it?

So true!!! Very complex and their minds are really active and sharp. I think it is good she still has that kitten in her. Yes, boys can be a bit lazy. It is cool when they play by themselves (with a toy). It is good they have that energy.

Well, I think that is the mother instinct as well. And sometimes cats are not exactly sure how to play so it gets misinterpreted. There are probably a couple of things going on. But she is doing well with them which is great.

Interesting. Maybe they went out to eat earlier and then went back to sleep. I wonder if it is a different kitten.

 

[Animal Freak]

Well, the Chihuahua's owner was found. I wish I could be happier about it though. Apparently there were two dogs that got out and they live off of the busiest street in town. These dogs are lucky to be alive. The one I found was out all night. But he was so thin. There's no way that's from being out for one night.

Yeah, I don't know why he acted like that. His description on the site says he's a friendly dog who loves to cuddle and is willing to do anything. Nothing about this biting. He wasn't aggressive, just over excited. I'm not sure about breed. He doesn't look like any one kind of dog. Maybe a little bit of boxer, maybe a little bit of pitbull. Not too large, but still fairly big.

I'm glad they all seem to have a little bit of that kitten left in them. It would be nice if they'd play with Ember. The boys will play with each other, but mostly ignore her. She tries to play with Frost fairly often and he used to play with her, but now he just hisses at her. He's gotten kind of mean to her. The boys are definitely pretty lazy though.

Yes, she does well. She's been getting along with Ash a bit better. I woke up with the three of them in my bed this morning.

I don't know. Not many cats this morning either, though there are fewer in the morning than in the afternoon. I'll be looking for them later. I did see some in the house though and it's a bit concerning. Even if the outdoor cats aren't allowed inside, there's still a lot of cats inside. I saw three in the window today and I know I haven't seen two of them. One was solid black, so I'm not sure if I've seen that one. But one was a blue and white bicolor and one was a tortie. All the torties up until now have been dilute, but not this one. And I've seen three or four brown tabbies in there.