Cat-nabbing adventures.

[PMC]

@KennyR

Absolutely right.  Cats are generally solitary creatures, but they seek companionship in people for more reasons than just because we give food and shelter.  

You can keep two cats together, but they don't generally socialise together unless they have to.  Even then there's a strict hierarchy.

@Odin

I've heard of Norwegien Forest Cats but don't know much about them, tell me more?

[odin]

They can become very massive, are very friendly, a tad ehm....'goofy' or perhaps 'simpletons' (at least the few my mother imported from Norway).

The first one my mother took home (by plane :-)) got run over by a car quite soon (IIRC he didn't live to become one year of age). The second my mother imported had more success (she still lives) and had a litter here, among those kittens a few have grown to gigantic sizes. My parents' neighbours have the most colossal one. My brother emigrated to Norway some 2 years ago and he took one of the offspring of the cat my mother took from Norway back to Norway :crazy:.

Here's a pic of the 2nd one my mum imported, quite large when compared to the cute little black one :-). Though this cat (Sylvi) isn't that big when compared to 'proper' forestcats.  I think it's a halfbreed.

[PMC]

odin wrote:
They can become very massive, are very friendly, a tad ehm....'goofy' or perhaps 'simpletons' (at least the few my mother imported from Norway).

Sounds exactly like Jasmine (my expanding black rescue cat).  She was vast, incredibly friendly and thick as a prize yoghurt.

Leonard was the one who figured all the difficult stuff out, she just sat there watching as if to say "feed me, I'm cute!".

Here's a pic of the 2nd one my mum imported, quite large when compared to the cute little black one :-).

Geez!  That thing's massive!  Good job it's friendly or it would have your leg off without too much difficulty.

Actually, it kind of resembles Jasmine...  

[bjjones37]

KennyR wrote:
Cats like to live alone and have the run of their territory - that's what kind of animals they are. Another cat doesn't keep a cat company, it often stresses it out. Eventually you may even find that one wanders away and finds some other owner. Territorial predators are like that. You wouldn't be doing it any favours getting it a friend - it just doesn't need or want one.

Thanks for the information. :-)  Now if I can just convince my wife... :-D

[odin]

And she's small compared to the one the neighbours have :-). But when you remove the hair you don't have much left. The one  my brother has had to have her hair removed at the vet some time ago. She looked pathetic! :-).

[Vincent]

odin wrote:
Here's a pic of the 2nd one

Right, I see one cat and a big bundle of fluff, so where's the cat? :-P

They are cuddling like ours cats used to do, although they were both the same size, one white with black spots and one tortoise shell (with a white belly - that's him in my avatar).  We've got a couple of photos of them lying like that on a chair.  Sometimes they looked like a yin-yang :-)

[cecilia]

manic cat

[PMC]

bjjones37 wrote:

Thanks for the information. :-)  Now if I can just convince my wife... :-D

What?  That two predatory carnivores need their personal space?

:-)

@Cecilia,

Haha!  Loved the scratch-mixing moggy!  Now that's what I call a clever cat.

[bjjones37]

PMC wrote:

bjjones37 wrote:

Thanks for the information. :-)  Now if I can just convince my wife... :-D

What?  That to predatory carnivores need their personal space?

:-)

This may require a little explaining.  To my wife they are little warm fuzzy creatures, more along the lines of a tribble than a carnivore.  Check this out. We have a box with a blanket in a cabinet outside under a covered patio against the house.  And what is under that box plugged into an extension cord?  A heating pad! :-D

[Vincent]

bjjones37 wrote:
Check this out. We have a box with a blanket in a cabinet outside under a covered patio against the house.  And what is under that box plugged into an extension cord?  A heating pad! :-D

Right, I'm banning Siouxsie from reading this thread incase it gives her ideas :lol:

She thinks they're warm, fuzzy, movable dusters :-D

[PMC]

bjjones37 wrote:
This may require a little explaining.  To my wife they are little warm fuzzy creatures, more along the lines of a tribble than a carnivore.  Check this out. We have a box with a blanket in a cabinet outside under a covered patio against the house.  And what is under that box plugged into an extension cord?  A heating pad! :-D

My ex used to collect animals.  I've posted the full list elsewhere, but suffice it is to say that our house was full to the brim with varying mammal / reptilian (and I include my ex in the latter) lifeforms all needing care, cleaning, feeding and affection at once.

Can't believe your wife puts a heat pad outside for the cats...  It's why the almighty designed them with a shaggy warm overcoat!  

My ex struggled with logic sometimes.  Faced with the observation that rabbits live outside and not indoors, she replied "well these ones don't!".  I think you can probably guess the scenario.

Oh and a long haired cat makes a superb duster, draught excluder, lap warmer, bed warmer, pillow, armrest etc.  A true multi-purpose household gagdet.

[Speelgoedmannetje]

odin wrote:
@speel:
The wonderful completely-utterly-positively boring and nothing-to-be-done-there town of Veendam.

:roflmao:
under the smoke of Groningen, tad suburb, nothing to do, not really countryside and not really city. Really flesh nor fish :lol:
Well, my parents live in Houwerzijl (somewhere near Leens, Ulrum and chavtown Zoutkamp :-/)

[odin]

Zoutkamp....they have chavs there? :inquisitive: I thought only 2,5 fishing boat and a dog lived there :-). Actually...I was on the annual (I guess it was annual) fair with stands selling lots of crap in Leens in september. I almost bought a T-shirt of the local radio :crazy:.

@pmc&vincent:
Here's a pic of the first Norsk skogkatt (not an 'official' pedigree one though) my parents had, Plumeau. He was particular big and stupid, really really really stupid, but so friendly and sweet :-). Shame he got run over.

[Vincent]

Awww :-)

That looks a lot like Sioux's ex's mum's old cat Lucifurr.  Very evil wee thing she was.  She only had half a brain and she attacked everything.  She gave Sioux a black eye years ago and later on she almost got one ripped out :-o

There was a funny moment that I wish I saw though.  They had other cats, some of which had collars and bells on, who could catch almost anything (how they could catch things without their bell going off I don't know, but that's beside the point).  Luci couldn't catch a cold if she was sneezed on, she just bounded towards everything thinking she was being quiet and stealthful.  About quiet as a chav in a burberry shop.

The other cats had come home fairly regularly with pigeons, crows and other birds.  Luci never managed that.  Although one day she came bounding into the house all happy with something in her mouth.  She dropped it by someone's feet.

It was a used burst old teabag! :lol:

[PMC]

If a cat brings a souvenier home, it's an offering to you and is a very high compliment indeed.  The fact that it's either dead, barely alive or partially dissected is immaterial, but it's a cat's way of telling you they are returning the favour and that you look hungry.  They do the same for their kittens.

Leonard was a very chilled creature, who just used to sit and watch stuff all day long.  The only things he'd bother to catch were frogs, who were always physically unharmed by their ordeal, but would often pass out through fear.

First thing I'd know about it would be the strained, pleading "Meeeeeoooooowwwwwww!" which meant "Help!  I've got something in my mouth that I don't know what to do with!" so I'd have to go outside to him where he'd present me with a very bewildered amphibian.

Jasmine (Wookie sized cat) was a killer.  She'd stalk stuff and bring home the remains frequently, although if you told her she was beautiful, she'd roll on her back and demand you tickle her belly.  A real Jekyll and Hyde character...

[odin]

Jasmine sounds just like Sylvi. That cat has a tendency to clear my parents' garden of anything mouse-like and deposit it on the living room floor :-).