MY GARDEN IS PROTECTED !

[susieqz]

drifter will not let me get near the door withut shadowing me. if she sees food, she will get out one way or another.
squirting her with water or stomping my foot means another fight.
after a fight we both walk around growling at each other.
we are both miserable.
i have surrendered.

 

[snubbyfan]

I dunno, it kinda sounds to me like drifter's found herself in a pretty good situation, doesn't want to share and doesn't want it to go away.
"This is my human, my domain and my food."

It'd be interesting to see how she'd handle a human visitor.

I'm glad our 3 cats all get along. They each have their own little personalities.

I don't know what happened but Sarah was mad at Natayo the other day.
I heard a low growling coming from under a table. Sarah was standing there growling at Natayo and he was laying there cowering.
Whatever it was apparently she got over it. They we're running around and playing again the next day.

 

[susieqz]

grip, i have been assuming cowboy is drifter's brother because he is a large identical version of drifter.
it could also be her mom.
would that make more sense?

 

[susieqz]

snub, drifter doesn't get along with anybody, even me.
if she has a litter with big grey kittens, i'll keep them. maybe she will play nice with her own offspring.
my house would be burglar proof with 40 lb cats roaming around.

 

[Grip_Maker's_Wife]

grip, i have been assuming cowboy is drifter's brother because he is a large identical version of drifter.
it could also be her mom.
would that make more sense?

Typically, no, that would not make sense if they were from the same litter, but same mom different litter could happen. It doesn't make sense though that Cowboy is 4x bigger either unless Drifter was a kitten and we know she is almost a year. We need pictures of Cowboy. I hope you are able to snap one before he runs away for good (if he hasn't already).

 

[susieqz]

oh, i guess i was sloppy in my communication. cowboy is probably 10% bigger than drifter, maybe a pound heavier.
he is black n white like drifter.
big cat is solid smokey grey n weighs maybe 40 lbs
he is the size of a wild cat, but they don't come smokey grey.
i think big cat was drawn here by a female in heat but i think he's too big to have sex with drifter, who is a normal size cat.

 

[susieqz]

hey, guys, has anyone seen a second heat in a cat?
it's been more than a month since drifter's first heat n i'm confused.
she spent that heat tromping around n shouting at the top of her lungs.
now, i'm not seeing that.
but, yesterday night she woke me by meowing quietly for a couple of minutes, constantly, but quietly.
today, i saw a beautiful orange n white striped cat in my garden.
remember, there are no cats on the plains.
is the second heat less dramatic than the first?
if she's in heat, i'll keep her in, but i hate to do that. drifter is still feral n her outside time of 8-12 hours/day is very important to her.

 

[snubbyfan]

oh, i guess i was sloppy in my communication. cowboy is probably 10% bigger than drifter, maybe a pound heavier.
he is black n white like drifter.
big cat is solid smokey grey n weighs maybe 40 lbs
he is the size of a wild cat, but they don't come smokey grey.
i think big cat was drawn here by a female in heat but i think he's too big to have sex with drifter, who is a normal size cat.

Could be a sister too.
Little Sandy's a 9 pounder and her sister Sara runs between 11 and 12 pounds.


Sandy's on the left.

 

[susieqz]

maybe it's her sister she hates, then, that's some size difference, snub.
all i know is i'd like to feed cowboy, but drifter won't let me. now, i'd like to feed stripes, but i'm not even gonna try. those fights between drifter n me took too much out of me.

 

[Engineer1911]

It's tough when you lose to a cat.

I have the scratches / scars to prove it.

 

[susieqz]

well, i kept drifter in for a week, but i'm still not sure she was in heat.
i just let her out, because it feels cruel to keep her in.
she hates being indoors during the day.
plus, she has been gaining weight. she looks like a sausage.
when she asks me for something to eat, she gets it.
i'm unable to refuse her.
i explained to her that she's too young to have sex, but i give up. if she wants to get preg, she gets preg.
it would take me under a minute to find homes for kittens i don't want.
i'd keep a bunch outside anyway.
no such thing as too many mousers.
i was so happy when i saw drifter carrying that huge rat.
rats are disgusting.

 

[Engineer1911]

Susieqz QUOTE: [i was so happy when i saw drifter carrying that huge rat.] QUOTE

Drifter is truly blessed to have "staff" that is so easily pleased. Susieqz, your training is almost complete. Congratulations on having a happy Drifter and a Merry Christmas to you and your many followers from this thread.

 

[susieqz]

thanks, eng

HUGZZZ TO EVERYBODY !!

 

[steelslaver]

As you know I have followed this thread from the beginning. I find it interesting that you had a firm belief that there was no way there could be any cats around your area and Drifter was a rare survivor. Since drifter has shown up and moved in 3 more cats have appeared in the are.

Here were get lots of snow, harch cold weather, have lots of coyotes, bob cats,foxes and what have you. Yet, I have seen cats miles from the nearest house. Cats are only domestic because it is convenient for them. They can easily go wild. The survival rates for litters may be poor, but eventually they became excellent survivors and just as capable of making it in the wild as the coyotes, the foxes and the bob cats.

Drifter has found her self a good deal, she attracts other cats. My cat lovess to snuggle and be pamperedd, but when I go away sometimes for a couple months she survives her fine, (someone fills her food dispenser) I have seen her face off other female cats, but, I think even though the growl and snarl at each other I think she gets along with some of the neighbor cats. The other night one of them came in the house. I sometimes wonder if she lets them in when I am gone.

 

[susieqz]

steel, i made a mistake relying on ''common knowledge''. people here believe that cats cannot survive here because there are coyotes everywhere n they think cats are yummie.
to be fair, it is a reasonable belief because one never ever sees a cat.
i saw drifter only because she started her night's hunt while i could still see.
i now know there is truly an invisible network of cats, hidden from the eye.
i see the boys when they come to court drifter,, but they are clearly entirely nocturnal.
i sure wish she would let me feed them.
the more little killers the better.

 

[susieqz]

by the way, it now seems that cats can obtain the water they need from game.
the canal has dried up. there is no surface water for miles around.
the cat population needs no drinking water, even tho drifter always drank a lot.

 

[steelslaver]

They might be getting some by licking dew or frost off of plants.

 

[susieqz]

it's too dry here to get dew, or even frost. sometimes, my throat hurts because the air is so dry.
you know, if cats are all over, they are filling a niche that needs to be filled.
coyotes are certainly not eating enow mice n rats.
i think feral cats should be protected by game laws.
yeah, drifter has stopped my bunny shooting, but i want them dead anyway.
i guess birds may suffer, but that;s a small price to eliminate rats.

people complain about cats eating out of dumpsters, but if there were no cats, something disgusting would be eating the dumpster food.

 

[nachogrande]

IF ALL THEY KILLED WERE MICE.

well, i kept drifter in for a week, but i'm still not sure she was in heat.
i just let her out, because it feels cruel to keep her in.
she hates being indoors during the day.
plus, she has been gaining weight. she looks like a sausage.
when she asks me for something to eat, she gets it.
i'm unable to refuse her.
i explained to her that she's too young to have sex, but i give up. if she wants to get preg, she gets preg.
it would take me under a minute to find homes for kittens i don't want.
i'd keep a bunch outside anyway.
no such thing as too many mousers.
i was so happy when i saw drifter carrying that huge rat.
rats are disgusting.

Unfortunately they do a number on birds. I used to dislike rats too. Recently while turning over my compost I shish kabob'd one & felt bad. Just another animal doing what animals do, must be getting soft. Really want to be kind to feral cats???, find a free clinic & have them neutered/spayed. They don't have such a great life, fleas/worms/mange alone.

 

[DA/SA]

On Long Island. N.Y., my Dad would lather this really, really, thick greasy tar-like stuff in a wide band on the trunk of some of our trees just high-enough so we wouldn't get it all over ourselves. It stopped those huge, nasty bugs from consuming the leaves. I suppose if a plastic "brim" was placed around the trunk or some plastic obstacle placed and greased, you may be able to keep out even squirrels. Good luck. Varmints!