# My Cat



## SeaBreeze (Feb 15, 2013)

...as a kitten last year, welcoming spring...


----------



## pchinvegas (Feb 15, 2013)

Oh, What a sweet picture.  I enjoy cats too.


----------



## TICA (Feb 15, 2013)

Lovely picture.  I can hardly wait for Spring to arrive.


----------



## TWHRider (Feb 15, 2013)

Your cat is really pretty

I have managed to collect six, none of them by choice and of course they all needed fixed when they crossed my path - lol.  Two ended up in the house, the other four are at the barn.

I think the neighbor stopped feeding the young cats whose mother showed up on her doorstep last summer.  The two males, who are fighting each other for dominance, are showing up at my barn.  If I catch them, they're going to the vet and get cut.  If the office gals can find good homes before I pick them up, so be it and I will pay for the neutering.  I do not need, nor want, 8 cats even if they are all fixed:help:


----------



## SeaBreeze (Feb 15, 2013)

Thanks all for your kind words.   TWH, I don't blame you for not wanting to be overrun with cats, you have enough on your plate to take care of.


----------



## Knightofalbion (Feb 16, 2013)

'Take time to smell the flowers'...

A fine looking cat, dear SeaBreeze.


----------



## Ozarkgal (Feb 17, 2013)

Love your kitty pic Seabreeze, you have such an eye for great shots.

 I am not a cat fan either, but they are pretty much a necessity living out here. I have 5 barn kittys, did have 6 but my favorite one, an orange tabby disappeared last summer. She was not the stay at home type, preferring to hang out in an old abandoned house next door. She came every morning when I called her, loudly meowing the whole way. This was probably her downfall, being too vocal. A coyote probably got her.

When we moved here I went to the animal shelter and bought 4 young cats to help keep the vermin down.  Then were 3 females and one male (felt sorry for him).  They were spayed, neutered and had shots for $25 each. 

 When we went to adopt, there was a young, pregnant female cat there. She immediately came to us and began climbing up my husband's leg. She made three attempts at this until we agreed she could come and live with us. They would not release her until she had her kittens though. They called us a week later and said she had miscarried and could come home now. She is very much a pest and would love to be a house cat. She is the gangstas favorite chew toy and follows them everywhere. She taught them how to hunt moles and is in love with Squiggy as he pays the most attention to her. Her name is Lovey and it fits.



Then my  neighbor has a female cat that pops out kittens every month it seems.  They generally end up in the engine of her truck or fall out from underneath on the highway.  Her husband prevailed upon me to take two of the female kittens and they were going to keep a male.  I did so with the stipulation that they get the female spayed or they were going to have kittens with 2 heads. 

I took the kittens and had them spayed (they were old enough by now} They never did hold up to the end of their bargain to get the mama spayed and she keeps having kittens to this day.  I don't know what they do with them, but they haven't asked me to take anymore.  It cost me significantly much more to have them spayed than to go to the shelter and buy theirs.

 We have recently spotted a grey cat stealthily roaming around the property and he knows where the cats are fed now. I have tried to live trap him to no avail, but I sure don't want him bringing any parasites or diseases to my cats. They do not get shots, only rabies and they are wormed on a schedule and that is the extent of medical treatment. They are all beautiful healthy cats, that have amazing coats and have never been sick a day. 

While I don't do indoor cats, I appreciate my outdoor cats and the work they do. They all are hunters and take care of business.  I have not seen a rat or mouse around here, and I think they keep the snakes at bay with their presence as (knock on wood) they don't seem to venture up in our living space.  
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	






.


----------



## TWHRider (Feb 17, 2013)

The barn cats keep the snakes away with their hunting.  Snakes eat rodents - without any rodents to eat, they will settle elsewhere.

Just for the record, I won't throw a Black Snake off the property because they, in turn, are fast and can out hunt a viper snake, which are slower movers. 

 That means between the cats and the Black Snakes, I have yet to see a Cotton Mouth or a Copper Head.  They all live in/by the creek down at the end of the road; I know because I've seen them down there - lol lol lol

I almost ran over a Cotton Mouth with the 4-wheeler when it was crossing the road one day - lol lol  I didn't know I could still get my feet up on the handle bars so fast and jerk the 4-wheeler out of its path.  Thennnn when I was telling that story to someone, they said they knew somebody that did run over one, with a dirt bike and the snake flew up and onto the person on the bike.  I still don't know it that's the truth or they were jagging me - lol lol lol  Either way, it gave me the heebee-geebee's - lol lol lol

The worst I have had to contend with was a big fat snapping turtle and, of course, when opposum decide to move in the barn and we've got to trap them and get rid of them.  Watching a horse die or never completely recover from EPM is not on my list of things to do:sorrow:


----------



## SeaBreeze (Feb 17, 2013)

I've had a couple of rattle snakes in the yard that I've had take out in the past, usually with a long-handled shovel.  I started paying attention years back, when my dog was bitten and we had to take him to an emergency hospital for anti-venom, and keep him there on IVs overnight for a hefty vet bill, thankfully he was okay.  I don't mind the garter or bull snakes, anything that's not poisonous.  Although, and snake hanging from a tree would freak me out...hubby said he had that encounter in our yard while relaxing on the chaise lounge.


----------



## TICA (Feb 19, 2013)

Haven't seen any kind of snake around here for years and plan on keeping it that way.  I can handle the domesticated animals, not a big fan of the wild variety.


----------



## modlishka (Feb 27, 2013)

Beauty picture, a cat is sweet. Cats are mysteroius and the majestic. I love cats, but I dont have cat, I have dog. My dog is a husky, is very active and loves to run.


----------



## SeaBreeze (Feb 27, 2013)

modlishka said:


> Beauty picture, a cat is sweet. Cats are mysteroius and the majestic. I love cats, but I dont have cat, I have dog. My dog is a husky, is very active and loves to run.



Thanks Modlishka, and welcome!   Huskies are very lovely too, I used to have an Alaskan Malamute, which is a larger version of the Husky, he was chocolate in color.


----------



## SifuPhil (Feb 28, 2013)

Great pic, Sea - is he a Russian Blue?

I'm one of those rarities - a guy who prefers cats to dogs. I know that animals, like people, all have their own personalities but I can't help generalizing the two species - 

*Dogs* - willing to please their Master / Mistress at any cost; beat them and they come back for more; psychotic need to be close to you; will hump anything in sight.

*Cats* - ignores their Master / Mistress most of the time; beat them and they'll plot revenge; healthy urge to avoid people; a bit more choosy in what they hump.


----------



## SeaBreeze (Feb 28, 2013)

He's a medium-haired Manx...no tail.  That little bump on his butt is all hair, pushed up from sitting.


----------



## TWHRider (Feb 28, 2013)

Now that's  a set of chops that reeks of attitude - lollollol

If he doesn't have attitude, he should have, as pretty and regal looking as he is:sentimental:


----------



## SifuPhil (Feb 28, 2013)

Cool! I never "knew" a Manx before - do you notice that his balance is often off, because I thought they use their tails for balance?


----------



## SeaBreeze (Feb 28, 2013)

It's not noticeably off as he climbs across my kitchen curtain rod to get to the top of some off-limit shelves pretty well , and he walks on that narrow edge of my husband's truck, when the window's closed.  He also walks backwards to get out of situations pretty well.

  I had a Manx a long time ago, but that one had a small stub tail.  I like them because they are extremely dog-like, Loki (Norse God of Mischief) follows me from room to room, is let loose on camping vacations in the forest and comes when called, and has buddied up to my dog just like he was a puppy...my dog (10 yrs. old) had never been around cats, and Loki was never around dogs.


----------

