MY GARDEN IS PROTECTED !

i'm hoping for some light snows this winter. that would allow me to track both cowboy n big cat to their dens.
then, if we get a deep snow that hides the mice, i can deliver meals to their homes.
big cat could move around in heavy snow, but cowboy couldn't, unless it crusts over.
anyway, the only way i can see of getting pics of big cat is to set up a cam at his den.
i will try to bait him here when drifter goes into heat with her litter box pee, but i bet cowboy will mostly trip the cam.
if that easy way works, i'm set, but finding the den is a sure thing.

you know, rationally, these cats came because i had a female in heat, but it almost seems to me they talk to each other, letting everyone know this is a cat friendly place.
 
kurusu, you have a truly beautiful cat.
big cat is bigger than a maine coon.
plus, pics i've seen show them to be kinda flabby, with excess skin.
big cat is all muscle.
he is shorter than a coyote, but much more stocky.
i think he weighs about the same as a coyote.
his skull is bigger.
he looks like a house cat.
remember, when i saw him on the a/c, drifter was standing in front of him. i could compare the two,
i am not off in saying he's 4 times as big as drifter, a normal size cat.'a
 
trying to ID big cat is driving me crazy.
i thot we had a hunting sub forum but i guess not.
so i gotta ask you guys for trail cam ideas.
i need one that's cheap but will last one season. it needs to take a bunch of pics in a night because other animals will trip it.
it has to be easy to understand n set up.
plus, it has to be easy to move pics onto my comp n then move them here.
can anyone point me to the right cam?
if i get a pic, you guys can tell me what it is.
 
Took a while but my wife and I just finished reading this entire thread.
Susie, congrats on the home companion. Sounds like you got yourself a regular Indoor/outdoor cat there.
One day when my wife was walking home, a scrawny long haired bag of bones climbed up my wife and attached himself to her jacket. He wouldn't let go until he was well inside the house.

He would eat anything even remotely edible. After a trip to the vet., we found out that he was about 8 months old and was probably born feral. He had 2 different kinds of worms, was undernourished but otherwise healthy.
He was treated for the worms and fleas.
We got him some kitten chow to fatten him up.
I named him the Blackfoot word for cat, Natayo. Creative huh? I named our cat "Cat".

He became Zachary's little buddy and was taught the ways of being a house cat.



When Zachary died.


Natayo moaned around the house for days. So we went to a shelter and got him a coupla girlfriends.
They're sisters.

That's Sandy on the left and Sarah on the right.

They get along well and are perfectly happy with keeping the great outdoors, outdoors and staying indoors.


Time for an afternoon nap.


We catch them having an occasional pow wow in the middle of the hall floor. They lay there and I swear they're talking to each other. Just wish I knew what they were talking about.
 
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trying to ID big cat is driving me crazy.
i thot we had a hunting sub forum but i guess not.
so i gotta ask you guys for trail cam ideas.
i need one that's cheap but will last one season. it needs to take a bunch of pics in a night because other animals will trip it.
it has to be easy to understand n set up.
plus, it has to be easy to move pics onto my comp n then move them here.
can anyone point me to the right cam?
if i get a pic, you guys can tell me what it is.
Could it be a Lynx or Bobcat? Does it have a short stubby tail?
 
kurusu, you have a truly beautiful cat.
big cat is bigger than a maine coon.
plus, pics i've seen show them to be kinda flabby, with excess skin.
big cat is all muscle.
he is shorter than a coyote, but much more stocky.
i think he weighs about the same as a coyote.
his skull is bigger.
he looks like a house cat.
remember, when i saw him on the a/c, drifter was standing in front of him. i could compare the two,
i am not off in saying he's 4 times as big as drifter, a normal size cat.'a

Not my cat. I was quoting saemetic.:o
 
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Wow....guys, I'll have to update my thread on Lucky!! He just had his 2nd visit to the vets today, last trip he had been treated for his round worms, and had his first kitty shots, and this week he was treated for tape worms which he had shown since his first visit. He also fit a booster shot. He goes back again in 3 weeks for another worm treatment and a final shot. He went from 2.6 pounds 3 weeks ago to 3.8 pounds today. He is doing well...

susie, I hope that you are able to find out about all these mysterious kitties...including the big boy!! Sounds like you may end up with some great friends out there!!

Best Regards, Les
 
Just some trivia triggered by the confusion with saematic's post.

In the Iberic Peninsula (where both Portugal and Spain are located) there is a Lynx subspecies that is now on the verge of extinction. Combined efforts are being made by Portugal and Spain trying to prevent the extintion.

Keeping my fingers crossed.


Just in case you want to know more about it.
http://ec.europa.eu/environment/lif...x.cfm?fuseaction=search.dspPage&n_proj_id=564
 
I am neither advocating nor decrying but after 35 years and 20 felines, we have yet to give a cat a bath.

Thoughts?

My mother could do that. Always wondered at that. She also tamed several generations of feral cats. Working her magic right now on the new black cat that started to appear in our backyard.
 
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DRIFTER EARNED HER KEEP TODAY!
It was nice out, so i went out to garden n read.
when i was set up, i called drifter, because she likes to hang with me
when i'm out.
i didn't hear her call to tell me she was coming.
that happens when she's too far away for me to hear, so i thot
that was the case today.
i was wrong. when she climbed the fence she was carrying a big rat.
country rats can go a foot, from nose to tip of tail.
coming down the ladder, as she does, she dropped the thing.
i worried it might be alive, so i was gonna get my gun.
but then i heard bones crunching as she ate.
i went over n told her that she was a wonderful kitty. she was eating the whole thing, about as much as 2 cans of cat food.
when i went to lie down n read, i wanted her to come over, but didn't think a come to dinner call would work. so, i yelled BRUSH BRUSH BRUSH, the same words i use when i brush her.
she zipped right over, to get brushed.
it is very convenient to have a critter that loves being brushed.
 
Drifter sounds like a wonderful little companion.
I read your post about her earning her keep to my wife and when I said, "brush, brush, brush," Sarah came into the room expecting a good brushin'.
Sandy's indifferent about brushing and Natayo's not fond of getting brushed at all.

A coupla more pics of a young Natayo. You can kinda see how skinny he was.


He liked to climb.


It's pronounced, Nuh tie yo.

We picked up a rotisserie chicken for supper one day. My wife wanted a chicken leg for supper. She turned around to get a drink out of the 'fridge and when she turned back around.


Fortunately, I was able to get the camera before the whole leg disappeared.
 
Suzy, you have done an AMAZING job with Drifter and friends! It took a year before Ralf kitty would come in the house. There is another old boy who we have been feeding, call him Hisstopher. I bet you can tell why! He has just started letting us scratch his ears a bit. I think the old boy has been around for a bunch of years....dont think he will ever trust us, but at least he's fed.
 
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well, i can't feed cowboy. drifter objects.
if i take him food, drifter gets out n won't come in til she eats it all. she abandons her full dish to do this.
i tried locking her in the bath. that worked twice.
i used a broom n siren noises. all these things were big fights, we were both always upset.
we started hating each other.
i have given up. drifter will not allow cowboy getting fed. trying to made everybody miserable.
drifter has won.
i won't feed cowboy any more.
 
Hmmm, that is normal behavior for a male cat to do to other male cats to show he is the alpha and make the other male cats leave the colony. That is how my cat Newt became "plus-sized" or "sumo-wrestler-esque". I have never seen that in female cats. Sure, females might hog a dish and swat away others until she has had her fill but I have never seen a female guard a dish and not let others eat. I guess that means she doesn't like him.

The only thing I can think of is to keep some food outside in a plastic container so she can't see or smell you feeding Cowboy and try feeding late at night when Drifter is already inside. Is there a barn or shed away from the house you can keep food and feed him in or near?Cats don't like to be squirted with water. Carry a water bottle squirter with you so when you come inside you can squirt her back inside if she tries to go outside. Generally stomping your feet as you come inside should make her run away too.
 
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