phxmtngirl
arizona
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Oh my a skunk??? ugggggggg
Got some news, looks like we are taking care of an outside cat that someone has dumped. A cute fixed boy that is declawed. (how anyone can put a declawed cat outside is beside me). Anyway we have named him sweeheart gray baby. Eats breakfast & dinner here everyday, and is just fine with our cats through the glass.
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Wanderlost
Texas Hill Country
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Joined: 10/29/2004
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Hope you can get him inside, either yours or someone else's home, before something happens to him. I don't understand why anyone would even declaw a cat, much less declaw then throw away. Nothing I own is worth a cat's life, should it get outside without claws.
Alex and Bobbi saw Spot through the glass for several weeks, as we'd let him go for a walk before putting him back inside the office. Then one day, Spot went for a walk and we'd forgotten Bobbi was outside. She ran right up to him and demanded he play, and he was happy to do so. A few nights after that, it got so cold that I decided it was time, and invited Spot into the house. Bobbi greeted him, and Alex decided to ignore him. Been pretty much that way ever since.
This morning, Bobbi found a scorpion trying to come into the house. I evicted it, permanently. Later, I saw the gray fox strolling along the hillside just on the other side of the fence. I gathered the cats back inside.
The mystery scat is solved. It's the gray fox marking its territory. Nothing much to live on around here, due to the extreme drought, except the juniper berries and assorted other sturdy plants, and the gray fox can live on those fairly well. Explains why the scat was all vegetation.
Might also explain why the fox was out in broad daylight - has to travel a long way to find food, then return to the burrow. Makes me even more nervous about Bobbi, who's still much too brave for her own good, but just try to keep her inside when it's not real hot. Sigh.
I wonder if a gray fox would eat a skunk?
Last night, Mama Doe walked up on the south porch and stared through the glass as we prepared supper. Bobbi sat in the door, and they were nose to nose through the door. Had to clean the glass on both sides...
Mama Doe is just soooo not afraid of us. She even answers to Mama now, because we've greeted her with "Hi, Mama" each time we encounter each other. When she hears that sound, she looks for us. She brought the baby to the yard on Monday, and didn't seem concerned at all that the fawn was just a few feet from where we were sitting on the porch.
It's fascinating, but slightly disturbing at the same time. I don't want the deer to be domesticated (I'm not about to touch her and share deer ticks), but I don't want them to starve or die of thirst in our meadow. Several of the other herd does know to come to our water trough, but she won't let them graze on the grass around the house - the only place we'll water (and we're only watering it for her to eat).
I grew up with mule deer and antelope way out in our pastures. Still getting used to white tailed deer in my yard.
* This post was
edited 06/16/11 09:07am by Wanderlost *
"The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated." -- Mahatma Gandhi
Czarny, black cat
Rainbow Bridge: Spotacus, Alexander the Grrreat, and so very many more
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phxmtngirl
arizona
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ok, I have to come visit you ![[emoticon]](http://www.coastresorts.com/sharedcontent/cfb/images/smile.gif "smile") You are both so inspiring and loving to animals, like we are. I am now even naming the birds around the house.
Take care
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Wanderlost
Texas Hill Country
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Come on up. We have RV hookups, but only 30 amp service. But there's a nice RV park about 2 miles away...
The big doe across the fence has run the rest of the herd off that area. Now it's just her and the fawn. She's stopped snorting at the cats, or at least we haven't heard her snort lately, but it's too late. Her name is Snort.
What little there is to eat is causing the entire herd to establish boundaries. Luckily, Mama Doe is getting enough in our meadow and around the house to keep her fawn healthy. The fawn also comes right up to the porch and looks at us. I guess she figures if Mama's not afraid, she won't be.
Today was Advantage Multi day, so the cats are all staying inside and napping. We went to our writers' group, and when we came home, they all looked like Bill the Cat -- it was pretty funny.
We have at least four new barn swallows, in the new nest on the south porch. They're much easier to watch, since the nest is right outside the laundry room window. They can't see us, and we don't have to be outside in the heat to watch them.
A few days ago, my nephew was visiting, and he went into our bedroom to mess with Bobbi and Spot. He saw something standing up and waving an appendage or two, and asked me what it was. I went in and saw Bobbi staring at a giant red-headed centipede, crawling up the cat tree and waving its front legs (the ones that inject the poison) threateningly. Luckily, it was a very young one, only about 2 inches long and not black yet. Some toilet paper and the toilet took care of that one. Those critters are seriously creepy and get to be so large that they creep me out even more than the scorpions. On the up side, they eat scorpions.
Giant Red-headed Centipede
Time for a swim.
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Wanderlost
Texas Hill Country
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Three nights in a row, Spot awakened us around 0300. He called, then climbed onto the bedside table. I petted him, and whatever was bothering him seemed to go away. He then climbed down and I went back to sleep.
Luckily, he didn't do that last night, because I couldn't have petted him. I was pinned by Bobbi on one side and Alex on the other. They were on the outside of the covers, my arms were trapped under the covers.
Spot seems to think the absorbent pad we put the wet dishes on to dry makes a good bed, so he's gotten into trouble several times. He just doesn't understand that laying on the counter by the sink is not acceptable cat behavior. I just might buy another one and give it to him.
Right now, I'm the only critter awake. Everyone else is soundly asleep. Think I'll go make some noise....
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phxmtngirl
arizona
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I just keep smiling everytime I read your posts We have named the outdoor cat that showed up, and she is going to the vet next week for shots. If she's going to hang around, she need to be up-to-date on all medical things. And you are not the only pet that our masters wake up at night, it is now decided in this new house that our bed is the perfect jumping off spot for travels down the hallway, then skidding into the wood floors for a romp around the kitchen, then all back again, and all this MUST happen at 3 am
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Wanderlost
Texas Hill Country
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What's her name?
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Wanderlost
Texas Hill Country
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I had a pet blanket on the other leather chair, but no one would sleep on it. They all prefer the leather. So I washed it, then thought maybe Spot would like a bit more padding on the cat tree platform he prefers to sleep on. Put it on there, then lifted him up. Soon as he saw it, he balanced himself on the platform edges, until he could thoroughly sniff the blanket. Then he stood on it and kneaded biscuits for a while. He's been sprawled all over it ever since.
I think he likes it.
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Wanderlost
Texas Hill Country
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Went into the bathroom and found Bobbi lounging on the sill of the tiny window above the shower. When she saw me, she stood up, but lost her balance. As she started to fall, she grabbed hold of the shower stall top moulding and tried to pull herself back up -- didn't work, and she finally slid down into the shower. She then walked out, marched over to me with that stubby tail all bottle brushed out, and tolerated me petting her while I laughed until my cheeks hurt.
WLToo and Spot came to see what was going on, and Bobbi put her head up high and stalked out into the bedroom. I guess it was sort of ok with just us gals, but when the guys show up, it's too humiliating.
I wish I'd had a video camera going. Maybe she'll jump up there again, but I doubt it. She's scary smart and doesn't need more than once or twice to figure out whether or not she wants to try something again.
Meanwhile, I've counted nine barn swallows hatched, and two nests still sitting. Unfortunately, we had to dissuade one couple from building a nest directly above the outdoor grill, so they've gone somewhere else entirely. But we have plenty to eat the flying insects, so we can sit outside without being bothered by midges, flies, mosquitoes, gnats, etc. I do like these birds.
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kokosfriend
Nashville, TN
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Joined: 09/06/2004
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Years ago we had a very dignified cat named Chester. One day I was standing near a table he was laying on and he decided to get up and walk over the the edge of the table. However, there was a magazine pushed out beyond the edge. He assumed that was the edge and walked out - slipped and fell on the floor - got up and glared at me because he thought it was my fault, but I was laughing too much to even talk. Cats and their dignity! He didn't like my laughing either and stalked off.
Barb
Barb and the 4 chocolates
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