A little excitement at breakfast this morning.

[walkin jack]

Like most house cats, ours being no exception, and Dink CERTAINLY being no exception, something like this was bound to happen some day. Anyway, this morning Miss Pam and I were enjoying a quiet and pleasant breakfast and just talking about our trip to the country we're planning for the 4th holiday. All 3 of the boys were at their stations on the flower table just under the bay window in the dining room keeping an eye on the critters in the back yard.

I might mention that, owing to the occasional, err, uhh, ACCIDENT/light investigative munching, there arent' nearly so many flowers on the table as there used to be. The good side of this though is that there is now ample room for all 3 cats at the same time. I find it a bit disturbing to think that this was their plan all along and they worked and conspired together to accomplish this so I just chalk it up to "just one of those things." and let it go at that.

Lots of time a fly or a lizard or some insect will go marching up the window and one or more of the boys will see it and try desperately to get at the hapless interloper. They seem to handle the frustration well when they are roundly unsuccessful. They will eventually loose interest in that one and settle back down and wait for something else. On more than one occasion a hawk has made a pass at something at the feeders which are about 20' outside the windows and when that happens any and all of the boys that are on the table and see it will immediately clear the deck. If you aren't looking directly at them you won't see it happen. Have I ever mentioned that they are FAST? You will hear the crash of potted plants and chairs but you might not see anything but a gray/white blurr headed for the back of the house.

So right in the middle of the fore mentioned tranquility, Dinky starts trying to climb the window to get at something that has caught his eye. I looked up and noticed that it was a red wasp....and it was on the inside of the window. Just as I was running all the ways this could go wrong through my mind Dinky, with complete confidence, Stretched his left front paw up and took a swat at the nervy intruder. The wasp expressed his objection in the usual way. Dinky flew about 3' in the air and took a couple of plants with him on his way to the floor. He was in the bedroom hiding under the covers and licking his left front paw when we caught up with him.

We determined that he was alright and I went back into the dining room and armed myself with a fly swatter. The wasp was still buzzing around looking for a way out. Had he known what was about to happen to him he'd have been trying a lot harder and in a different place. The first swat stunned him (he was on the window so I pulled my punch a bit) and when he hit the floor I administered the Coup de gras. I scooped him up on the fly swatter and carried him back to the bedroom where Miss Pam was holding our brave little soldier and comforting him. I held it down where he could see it and he raised his hackles and bared his teeth and jumped down and ran away. I sent Mr. wasp for a ride in the porcelain bus and things eased on back to normal. Dinky is fine and shows no effect of being stung.

There is never a dull moment with cats in the house.

[LVSteve]

Dinky needs lessons from a feral that used to live near me in England. That little girl ate bumble bees regularly and I never saw her get stung.

[kozmic]

And they say cats are smarter than dogs.....Whatever!!!!!!


Glad the little fella will be ok WJ!

[walkin jack]

Yeah he's alright. I think this was his first go round with something like this. We got him when he was about 4 weeks old. He and his two brothers were found in the walls of an abandoned house and the mama cat was nowhere to be found. So he hasn't been outside since then and if he ever had a painful encounter with any other critters I doubt he remembers it now since he's led such a sheltered life since 01/07/13.

He never shows any interest in geting outside the house but he loves the critters in the yard and get very excited while seeing them through the window. He makes a kind of chittering sound. Actually all 3 of the boys make that sound while they are "hunting".

I'm hoping now that he has had a taste of what his curiosity might bring him he will use some discretion in the future about messin' with things he doesn't understand. I ain't placin' no bets but I can always hope.

As far as a cat's intelligence, I can't decide if they are super smart or super stupid. Just about the time I make up my mind one way I see something that makes me change it back to the other way. If they are smart then they are very aloof and in control and choose when to show their intelligence. If they are stupid then that explains why they don't respond to their name or even look your way when you try to get their attention....unless food is involved of course. Then they love ya!

All we can do is take them as they are and enjoy them as they allow. These three are good. None of them is ever going to replace my Frito but each one has his good qualities and we love them all. One thing for sure they never cease to amaze and entertain. We'd be lost without them.

[LedFowl]

Originally Posted by LVSteve

Had he known what was about to happen to him he'd have been trying a lot harder and in a different place.

Yes. One would think so.

[pownal55]

We have a dog and a cat and neither one will mess with a wasp or a bee of any kind. How or why is a mystery to me. I don't think either one has been stung before but they know better anyway. No offense but I think you need to have a serious talk with Dinky.

[bgrafsr]

Our one cat, Boo, used to go after spiders, and we always knew if one was around. One time Boo got a hold of one, and it must have bit him in his mouth, because he ran and hid, and seemed to have gotten a little sick. He never went after another spider again.

[rog8732]

You know W J,... I don't like cats much, but I DO like the stories you guys tell about them. My youngest Son adopts one readily, and I am elected to see to it's food and so forth, when Son is out of town for a day or two.
I have seen his kitty climb a bare wall to about 6 feet and take a fly out of the air.

That PBS special on cats, all cats, is amazing.

[Vulcan Bob]

Well I don't really know how smart cats are supposed to be but I do know that with our cat Sam it took only one wasp sting. After that the wasps were safe from attack by cat.

[A10]

Our old wolf dog used to eat bees and wasps. I didn't think it was too smart of him but I never saw him get stung. Never had a cat that would tangle with them though.

[JcMack]

When I was married we had a black curly haired 15lb dog named Roscoe. The wife would let him out the door and he would run to an empty field about 100 feet away and do his business and come straight home. On one such occasion I was sitting on the porch and watched him as he ran to the field, stuck his butt in a bush, and lept in the air about a foot. He ran home like a bullet squealing all the way. When he got in the house a yellow jacket emerged from his posterior fur. That episode ended his field trips.

[bgrone]

1) Cats do what they want.
2) They rarely listen to you.
3) They're totally unpredictable.
4) They whine when they are not happy.
5) When you want to play, they want to be alone.
6) When you want to be alone, they want to play.
7) They expect you to cater to their every whim.
8) They're moody.
9) They leave hair everywhere.
10) They drive you nuts and cost an arm and a leg.

Conclusion: They're tiny little women in fur coats


Jim in Iowa

[RonJ]

WJ, I wish I could write as well as you. You and Shouldazagged should collaborate on a book.

[Marshwheeling]

Originally Posted by bgrone

1) Cats do what they want.
2) They rarely listen to you.
3) They're totally unpredictable.
4) They whine when they are not happy.
5) When you want to play, they want to be alone.
6) When you want to be alone, they want to play.
7) They expect you to cater to their every whim.
8) They're moody.
9) They leave hair everywhere.
10) They drive you nuts and cost an arm and a leg.

Conclusion: They're tiny little women in fur coats

Why do you think they call it pussy?

[the ringo kid]

Originally Posted by Walkin' Jack

Like most house cats, ours being no exception, and Dink CERTAINLY being no exception, something like this was bound to happen some day. Anyway, this morning Miss Pam and I were enjoying a quiet and pleasant breakfast and just talking about our trip to the country we're planning for the 4th holiday. All 3 of the boys were at their stations on the flower table just under the bay window in the dining room keeping an eye on the critters in the back yard.

I might mention that, owing to the occasional, err, uhh, ACCIDENT/light investigative munching, there arent' nearly so many flowers on the table as there used to be. The good side of this though is that there is now ample room for all 3 cats at the same time. I find it a bit disturbing to think that this was their plan all along and they worked and conspired together to accomplish this so I just chalk it up to "just one of those things." and let it go at that.

Lots of time a fly or a lizard or some insect will go marching up the window and one or more of the boys will see it and try desperately to get at the hapless interloper. They seem to handle the frustration well when they are roundly unsuccessful. They will eventually loose interest in that one and settle back down and wait for something else. On more than one occasion a hawk has made a pass at something at the feeders which are about 20' outside the windows and when that happens any and all of the boys that are on the table and see it will immediately clear the deck. If you aren't looking directly at them you won't see it happen. Have I ever mentioned that they are FAST? You will hear the crash of potted plants and chairs but you might not see anything but a gray/white blurr headed for the back of the house.

So right in the middle of the fore mentioned tranquility, Dinky starts trying to climb the window to get at something that has caught his eye. I looked up and noticed that it was a red wasp....and it was on the inside of the window. Just as I was running all the ways this could go wrong through my mind Dinky, with complete confidence, Stretched his left front paw up and took a swat at the nervy intruder. The wasp expressed his objection in the usual way. Dinky flew about 3' in the air and took a couple of plants with him on his way to the floor. He was in the bedroom hiding under the covers and licking his left front paw when we caught up with him.

We determined that he was alright and I went back into the dining room and armed myself with a fly swatter. The wasp was still buzzing around looking for a way out. Had he known what was about to happen to him he'd have been trying a lot harder and in a different place. The first swat stunned him (he was on the window so I pulled my punch a bit) and when he hit the floor I administered the Coup de gras. I scooped him up on the fly swatter and carried him back to the bedroom where Miss Pam was holding our brave little soldier and comforting him. I held it down where he could see it and he raised his hackles and bared his teeth and jumped down and ran away. I sent Mr. wasp for a ride in the porcelain bus and things eased on back to normal. Dinky is fine and shows no effect of being stung.

There is never a dull moment with cats in the house.

Heh heh, Also, if anyone si interested? look at the last few photos in the Pictures for Walkin Jack thread. I think it will give you an idea on what his Cats are capable of.

[the ringo kid]

Originally Posted by A10

Our old wolf dog used to eat bees and wasps. I didn't think it was too smart of him but I never saw him get stung. Never had a cat that would tangle with them though.

Id rather see my cat mess with bees and wasps--but noooooooooooo,she likes to mess with Brown Recluse's instead.

[rwsmith]

Good thing he didn't get it on the nose.

[walkin jack]

Originally Posted by rwsmith

Good thing he didn't get it on the nose.

If he could have gotten his nose up that high on the window he would have got it on the nose. When that little guy gets to snoopin' his nose is always the first thing in if he can possibly manage it.

[fat tom]

Originally Posted by Walkin' Jack

There is never a dull moment with cats in the house.

So I've been told.





f.t.

[BigBill]

My six cats are pretty much the same way except for 17yo grandpa his name is Rambo and is really like John J Rambo. With the three tamed feral cats nothing alive is safe outside nothing. I took some turkey feathers out of one's face the other day. The three of them are scared from Turkey claws. Now my two kittens are hitting 1 year old now with these two brothers who are fully Lazer pointer red point trained are practicing there skills they have honed inside nothing is safe inside not even our yellow lab.
When the lab walks by a chair the kittens are on he's fair game and the claws come out. The kittens go after the feral cats but it's game over really quickly. The feral cats can hold there own anywhere. There lazer point red dot trained too. Once the kittens are shunned by the feral cats it's poor old and slow Rambo. But Rambo still has lightening paw speed even though he walks slowly. This attack didn't last for long. Then everyone takes a cat nap and it's quiet for a while. There's peace in the house once again. We've had up to nine cats at a time as I find them abandoned. We get a discount from our vet for multiple pets. I find them deep in the woods were I fish. I have to save them. It's my chance to save a life and give back. I find the abandoned one's are traumatized to a point. At first some canned tuna gets there attention and let's them know it's going to be ok. I find that having at least two family members together makes a more happy cat that there not alone. If I adopt and have my choice I take two kittens or two dogs. My son took the other pup. The pups when there together have a ball my son lives nearby.

God bless, bigbill

[walkin jack]

Originally Posted by fat tom

So I've been told.





f.t.

The first pic looks like the cartoon character Bill the cat. The second one looks like my Dinky