Meet Buddy, aka Budward, Butterkins, and @#&%* cat! Buddy entered our lives very much like Amber. My husband was standing in the front yard talking to a gardener when this little ball of fur showed up. The gardener thought the kitten was ours but my husband assured him it "was not". Bob carefully carried the critter across the street to the neighbors yard. (Does this sound familiar at all?) Of course by the time he returned to the house the kitten was in our "backyard" yowling and trying to get in the door. After two attempts to convince the kitten it did not live here Bob came in the house and announced, "It has happened again." I went out and took a look, and sure enough the kitten convinced me he was not giving up. So...we took him in. He looked harmless enough.Amber was not thrilled with this new addition and Dallas was sure we already had more than enough cats. Buddy however was just as sure this was where he was supposed to be and literally took over the house.
Now this is not a big house, but cats fly from one end to the other snarling and chasing each other several times each day. Meanwhile Dallas hides under a table and covers his head. Amber was slow to accept this intruder until the "kitty city", mentioned in a previous post, made things more interesting. Then the chasing became more fun. They chase each other in and out of the city and try to remove the balls that I keep putting in the box. Now Amber, when she is in a good mood, washes Buddy and is his forever pal. When she is in a bad mood she simply ignores him.
Fortunately we have a king size bed. Yes, all three animals sleep on the bed with us. Buddy did a lot of walking around on the bed, and us at first, but he has finally settled down and no longer tries to sit on my head while I am sleeping. (It did make breathing very difficult.) I am grateful they don't jockey for position on the bed.
We on the other hand are tearing our hair out because we can't keep the little monster, Buddy, off of the kitchen counters or my ceramic-top stove. This makes it necessary to disinfect the aforementioned items, and the dining table, several times a day.We have strategically placed water bottles with spray tops, all over the house to shoot him with when he misbehaves. I think all they do is encourage him. The most aggravating part of this is when scolded he just looks at you and continues with his had behavior. I am open to suggestions other than the obvious "stop taking in strays".
These are not the only abused or thrownaway pets we have t
5 Comments on SOMEHOW THEY FIND US - PART THREE, last added: 2/21/2010
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By: Shari Lyle-Soffe ,
on 2/15/2010
Blog: Shari Lyle-Soffe (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: declawed, tabby, orphan, cat/kitten toys, neutered, tortoise shell, domestic shorthair, dogs, dumped, Add a tag
A few years ago my husband and I were harrassed one summer night by a kitten. This kitten wanted in our house late at night and spent the night climbing our screen door and yowling to be let in. Since it was very hot we couldn't close our sliding glass door to shut out the noise. There had to be another solution. Thinking that the kitten belonged across the street (the neighbors had some cats) my husband picked it up, grabbed his flashlight, and walked it "home". It was dark and this was not a short walk because we, and our neighbors, all have at least an acre of land and very long driveways. By the time he got back to our house the kitten was right on his heels. He tried once more to "take it home" but she was too fast for him and was waiting at our door when he got back.Now this kitten was no dummy. This orphan knew for sure that our house was "her house" and she was not going to leave until we understood and took her in. My husband finally gave up and went back to bed, where neither of us slept because of the yowling and the pockety, pockety sound that kitten claws make in screen doors as kittens climb up and down.
By morning I was exhausted and decided get up and take a look at this kitten. I brought her inside and put her in my lap. (I convinced myself that as long as I didn't let her run around it wouldn't be a problem.) She was a beautiful domestic shorthair. Her coloring has black, orange, and gold and she had stripes and patches and beautiful green eyes. We have been told she is a tortoise shell but some dispute that. If she is a Tabby, she is the most beautiful Tabby I have ever seen. She immediately curled up in my lap and went to sleep.
I was still grieving the loss of our "Toby" a darling Lhasa Apso/Poodle mix that we had loved and lost the year before after a long battle with heart disease. So needless to say, I felt sorry for this tiny kitten who needed me as much as I needed her. I knew she must have had been taken away from her mother and dumped in the woods behind our house in the middle of the night. This is a common occurance in rural areas. She had to be terrified and desperate. She could have been eaten by a coyote, cougar, or an owl and she would have been defenseless.
I will never understand how people can be cruel enough to dump cats and dogs and think they can take care of themselves. Contrary to what they tell themselves there isn't always someone willing to take them in. If a wild animal doesn't get them they usually are hit by a car or die of hunger and thirst. What a horrible example these people are setting for their children about the value of life.
Anyway, I did what you should never do when you are trying to get a kitten to go away, I fed her the only thing I had, dog food. She gobbled it up like she hadn't eaten in a month. So..........what could we do? We had a vet check her out and we kept her ,even though I had sworn I would never
4 Comments on SOMEHOW THEY FIND US, last added: 2/16/2010
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By: Shari Lyle-Soffe ,
on 2/1/2010
Blog: Shari Lyle-Soffe (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: free, recycle, craft project, bird feeder, cat/kitten toys, paper mouse, Add a tag
Today we are all looking for ways to save money and I love this one. If you have a cat of any age, or especially if you have multiple cats, as I do, you will love this too. Cat toys are expensive but cats and kittens need to be able to entertain themselves so I am offering some tips today on how you can make lots of playthings from things you have around the house.
#1. Make paper mice...fold a sheet of paper in half, and half again (computer paper is perfect).Cut or tear on fold lines into 4 pieces. Roll each quarter sheet of paper into a small tight wad or ball. Hold in the open palm of your hand and with the fingers of your other hand flick it across the room while saying "Get the mouse!" Flicking it is important because it gets the cats excited. Cats love to retrieve things and they love paper mice. (If you see your cat trying to chew up the mouse, take it away and say,"No!".) You will find yourself making a lot of these. Cats and kittens especially love to play with these under chair rungs in the kitchen or dining room.
#2. Save paper towel or toilet tissue tubes...kittens love to pounce and wrestle with things. Be careful not to offer your fingers or toes for this purpose, because kittens have sharp teeth and claws. Cardboard tubes are perfect for wrestling. Rolled up socks are also good wrestling toys. You can also insert a paper mouse inside to make the tube more interesting.
#3. A brown paper grocery bag...can be a wonderful place to hide. Open the bag and stand it up so that you can roll the top down an inch or so making a cuff. When you lay the bag on its side it will help hold it open for play. Toss a paper mouse inside and watch the fun. Kitty will run in and out and bat the mouse around.
#4. Kitty House or Kitty City(drawing at left)...You will need a cardboard box big enough for the cat to move around in. Tape one long flap closed. and one or two short flaps closed. The other long flap can be left loose and used as an awning. (Not shown in drawing) This should leave an opening big enough for the cat/kitten to jump in the box when it is laid on its side. Have an adult carve a door on the opposite side of the box just big enough for the cat to go in and out. The house now has a front door and a back door. Holes a little larger than paw-size can be carved on either end. If you have the space you can put a group of these houses together and watch as your cats go in and out with their toys and have great fu
7 Comments on SAVE YOUR PENNIES - KITTIES PLAY FOR FREE!, last added: 2/2/2010
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Shari,
You really have to write a book about all these "furfaces" you have taken in. I am enchanted my your stories on your blog, so just think how children would love reading about these creatures too! Go for it, my friend! Hugs, Nancy
I have a couple of books I have written about our "Toby" but I haven't done anything with them yet.
Thanks,
Shari
Buddy is beautiful, and I'm sure God makes them that way so we can't refuse them when they show up at our doors.
It's happened to me twice, so I understand your pain. I'm allergic to furry beasts, so that means I have to try and keep things relatively clean around here or my asthma goes into all sorts of overload.
Unfortunately, I don't have any suggestions for you on the kitchen counter and dining table because all my cats do the same thing. Our Siamese never did it, but when we took in our Pixie-Bob and Maine Coon from the shelter, I didn't want to discourage them from exploring because they had both been abused. We didn't see the Maine Coon for almost a week after we brought him home. He hid in the basement and only came out to eat.
Now I wish I had made it a point to take them to task right away for walking on counters and napping on the table.
Good luck!
Cheryl
Cheryl
I suspect most cat homes have contaminated counters and tables. You and I are honest enough to admit it. LOL
Shari
That is so wonderful!
Maybe you should look for that sign on your house that says "Takes in all lost animals - inquire at back door."