Pets' Corner

Lilymary

@Sh8ron He's just gorgeous! I love B&W boys, (I've had 3) and rescue cats are just the best. He sounds like a lovely character. Well done you having an older cat too. They have so much to give. I ended up with two aged 8 and 10, and the 10 year old outlived all my other cats, making it to 17. The younger ones succumbed variously to road accidents and cancer. The two I have now are wrapped in cotton wool - it's hard not to get overprotective when you go through it so often.

Looking forward to hearing more about the wonderful Boris!

Sh8ron

Hi LilyMary, Well, he's just come home (11.30pm) and it's freezing cold outside! I know this because he has to use either the patio doors (now locked) or the bedroom window to get in and out. He was yowling/talking for ages outside, like he forgot how to get in or he expected me to get up and let him in! Eventually though he's got in and is now settling on the bed. I can now warm up a bit too! We looked into installing a cat flap but it's a rented property and the cost is excessive (plus if we move we have to remove it and repair). So, roll on summer!!!

I tried the wheat bag tonight. It didn't work for me and seemed to make things worse? I'll try again another time. I'm really achey tonight. Is it true what they say about cold weather?

Take care.......Sharon 🐱🐱🐱

frogmorton

@Sh8ron he is saying hello!! cats are very very clever. Mine holds quite lengthy 'conversations' with me bless her🙂

He looks a really lovely puss is he quite big?

My puss willl go out in rain, but can usually avoid it and if she gets caught out comes back in running shrieking at the top of her voice 🤗

Sh8ron

Hi Toni,

Trying to type with one finger as Boris has just "landed" having been out this morning. Yes, he is a big boy, stocky and with muscles like I've not seen or felt before in a BSH! His tail is very strong too and he's knocked over a few things. Thanks for your other message, yes it's a matter of acceptance and getting used to it. Have a good day. Sh8ron.

frogmorton

https://community.versusarthritis.org/discussion/comment/673823#Comment_673823

I can see Boris is a big boy and must be a great distraction and comfort as is my puss. Those tails can do a bit of damage!

You too have a good day Sharon take care 

🙂



Lilymary

We have some new neighbours, Toby went to greet them

Lilymary

This one had just spotted Elsie, my other puss, but she wasn’t brave enough to say hello

frogmorton

Don't sheep have the most adorable faces @Lilymary? so gentle.

Toby is a very curious puss indeed!

Lilymary

@frogmorton They do, they were taking turns at sniffing the tips of my fingers through the fence, they're so sweet. There's one ram in with a small group of ewes, but not all of the ladies have yellow bums yet (he has a big patch of yellow dye on his chest so they can tell when he's done what's required of him), so he needs to up his game a bit!

Most of my cats have been very curious about the sheep, and it seems to be mutual. They used to put cows in the field years ago, and it was just the same then. The cow's nose was bigger than the cat's head! Before I "Colditzed" the garden, the cats were quite happy wandering around with the sheep in the field.

I used to have just chicken wire on the metal post and rail fence to stop the livestock eating my garden, and at that time I had one very bold cat, Mo, who used to like nose touching with the sheep. He also used to follow me from house to house, so when I was in a neighbour's garden which didn't have chicken wire on their fence, he was nose touching with the tups as usual, and one of them decided to show him who was boss and head butted him down the garden!

stellabean

He is so handsome I love tuxedo cats, all our cats have been rescues they have their own personalities.

frogmorton

Lillymary we have cows or sheep in the field next to us cows in the field behind....the one next to us is only that stuff the farmers use and my puss can get through no problem. So far 'no-one' has taken the slightest bit of notice of her thank goodness.😮

Do you have a sheep nut shed in your field? OUrs do and this year in the warm they used to play 'I'm the king of the castle' on top of it! The sheep not the cats😁

Stellabean my youngest's pusskin is a tuxedo cat. I must post a pic of her in her pyjamas if I can find one. So cute.

Lilymary

Hi @frogmorton, no our sheep are out in all weathers, they get fed once a day in their trough. I've been throwing fallen apples over the fence for them today, it was so funny watching them all crunching away together! Some of them will come and try to nibble your fingers, they're so sweet. I think they're the farmer's daughter's sheep, she likes to show them or buy them in to put the tups out to stud, so there's never many in the field at once and they're mostly used to being handled. Unlike the fellside sheep who view everyone with deep mistrust. I do love watching the lambs in the field at the front of the house playing king of the castle on hay bales though. I remember watching them ganging up on some ducks once and shouting at them, it was so funny!

Lilymary

These are my previous two before Toby and Elsie, Lily (left) and Mitz (right), who had spent two years in an awful rescue centre together. They'd been with me around 4 days when I took this. They were sooooo relieved to be in a warm home again. I thought they'd have all sorts of emotional baggage, but they settled in and became wonderful funny loving cats from day 1. We realised Mitz was blind soon after we got him home, but he coped really well and had a happy life with us. They were 8 and 10 years old when we got them, but they were wonderful cats. Lily was the older one but despite so many health problems she lived longer than all my other pusses. We lost dear Mitz to cancer when he was 12, and Lily to multiple conditions when she was 17.

Mitz was such a huge cuddle munchkin. When I went into their enclosure in the rescue he put his big white paws out and asked to be picked up, and he snuggled into my neck. He stole my heart from that moment. When we realised he was blind there was no way I was sending him back.

Lily was such a shy thing in the rescue, and Mitz being blind didn't put on a performance for visitors, and they weren't exactly a matching pair (he was huge and she was tiny, and tuxedo cats are often last to get picked), which I guess is was why they got overlooked for so long, but look at her on day 2 in her new home! She was such a stoic little cat, she put up with an awful lot during her life, including awful arthritis. They were wonderful cats. I still miss them.

frogmorton

Aw Lilymary....

What lovely looking pusskins and such happy ending to their stories. I'm so glad you got them and they were happy with you. All cats deserve to be happy loved and looked after. You will never forget them and what they added to your life 😍

My Lucy has a tuxedo kitten (currently wearing pink pyjama top and due to be spayed on Wednesday bless her little cotton paws. My Charley also has a black and white cat. Now she (the cat) is a proper challenge she can turn on you, but she was rescued from my ex SIL's back garden pregnant and no-one else could surely cope but Charley and her GF.

The sheep next to us aren't inside sheep either there is a small shed where Henry keeps the sheep nuts. I don't think he shows his though. He's just finished filthying the village with his pumpkin field.....there is mud everywhere!🙄

frogmorton

frogmorton

Not the best pic, but you get the idea!

stellabean

Well Meg seems to have cracked the housetraining BUT we have a HUGE problem with behavior problems. She has taken against the oven( it makes a squeeking noise if you move the shelves.) but you only have to open the door with the thing off to send her into a total panic and she tries to climb onto the window sill to jump through the glass. She panicked as she was let out into he garden the other day and leapt the wall she was found in a house the other side of the road a field away having gone through their cat fllap!!. We are going to get in touch with a specialist trainer. We have had dogs with behavior problems before and her reaction is similar to a Ridgeback we had but more extreme we have started her on Scullcap and valarian to help her a bit but it takes time to work.

Mike1

I know it is expensive but have you tried Felway? You can get it as a plug in diffuser and a spray, I used it when I moved house with my previous cat, Fluffy, and also used it when I first had Vixen to help her settle in and it worked well. I also used the spray on the blanket in her cat basket when I took her to the vets as she doesn't like going and it helped a bit then too. There are alternatives available too! 😺

stellabean

Thanks Mike we are using the dog version someone has lent us I am going to get a new refill as we are not sure how old the one in it is.

Lilymary

@frogmorton Wow, I see what you mean! They could be siblings! Toby loves company but doesn’t like being handled - he’s not scared, he just finds it pointless and annoying! The only time he wants cuddles is first thing in the morning when he snuggles up in bed with me before I get up. Every cat brings their own challenges!

Lilymary

@stellabean , that sounds so distressing for your poor dog. I do hope you can get her sorted. I’m a bit of a cat whisperer, but am clueless when it comes to dogs.

frogmorton

@Lilymary They are alike aren't they? Oh yes they are all different aren't they? I wish my puss would let me dry her when she comes in from the rain instead of hiding under tables.....when I do catch her (if?) the purring is so loud!

Oh Gosh @stellabean that must be so distressing. Meg's hearing must be so sensitive! You could improve it with training rewards and desensitisation, but it wouldn't be a quick solution🤔 I hope your doggie feliway helps ((())) Let us know how she gets on.

Mike1

I keep an absorbent tea towel on a hook by Vixen's feeding place so I can dry her off if need be whilst she is eating. She has a mat and two bowls - sometimes three - on the worktop so I don't have to bend over to feed her; a suitably positioned bin helps her jump up which she now does on being told.

Sandy1964

Here is a picture of my 2 springers liver and white is called Bailey and the black and white one is called Benji Bailey is 3 and Benji is 1 they always make me laugh even when having a bad day.

frogmorton

Thanks Mike - I will have to do that. Then I can catch her chomping !

@Sandy1964 Bailey and Benji look like really lovely boys🤗 Of course they make you smile even on bad days bless them. They made me smile and that was only a photo!🙂