Got Lucky

2lumpy · Sep 19, 2017

I share my yard with a small tom cat, that I adopted from a neighbor kid, that was beating the sh!t out of him when he was a kitten. Over the years he's done a great job keeping the mice and snakes out of my house and garage. I feed him, scratch his ears and rub his belly in return for his yard maintenance work. He's never allowed in the house, but slips in when I've got an arm full of stuff. I boot his butt right back out. He knows the routine, we've been friends for 7 or 8 years.

My son drop off his two bird dogs, "for a year" while he builds a new house. They came with a pair of nice kennels but I can't stand to see them locked up all day, so I pull the pin and let them run the yard (it's a big yard) for an hour or so every afternoon. One is a vizsla and the other a drahthaar. Neither dog has ever been around a cat, on any kind of social basis.

I know my old tom, he's dodged the neighborhood dogs for many years and has kind of got things figured out, when it comes to the dog wars round here.

On Saturday I let the dogs out, the drahthaar made a bee line for the cat's food bowl, on the back porch, like she always does. She's a pig. She inhales her food, then tries to get at the vizsla's, if I don't lock her out of the other kennel, and then makes damn sure the cat's bowl is empty, when ever I crack the door on her kennel.

The minute every bowl of food on the property has been cleaned out, which takes a full 30 seconds, she's off to hunt the cat. On Saturday I was distracted and before I know it, I hadn't seen the drahthaar or 4 or 5 minutes. I called her and she came. I let the two dogs run for another 15/20 minutes then put them up.

Sunday morning, no cat. Never touched it's food. Monday morning, not cat. I 'm thinking. Damn dog, killed my yard cat. Tuesday morning, no cat. I'm pissed but thinking, well, dogs kill cats, what do you expect. Should have put the cat in the garage while the dogs where out. Can't fault a dog for doing what dog's do. My own dang fault. Should have taken better care of my ole friend.

It's fall, when the field mice come calling, looking for a place to spend the winter, and me with no cat. Damn dogs!

This morning, I leave to tweak the muzzleloader, one last time before the pending deer hunt. Get to the range. Too windy, so I head home. As I'm heading up the sidewalk, I hear my old buddy, bawling for something to eat. I'm mean, he is really howling, like he hasn't eatin in three days.

Hot damn, the cat's back.

I got lucky today!

Figured you'd want to know.

DC

feddoc · Sep 19, 2017

LAST EDITED ON Sep-19-17 AT 05:45PM (MST)[p]I have a tom similar to him. I also have three Brazilian Mastiffs, used to hunt jaguars in Brazil. The two oldest are trained to hold intruders by the neck.

So, Junior gets dropped off at my house to be a barn cat. Great cat, no mice, rats, nothin...in my barn. Great cat.

Little sob even took a ##### in my old ranch truck.

Anyway, the male dog is about 170 and appears to hate everything except my family and I. And Junior. He and the tom are best buds.

Go figure.

pufftuffly · Sep 19, 2017

Drahthaar's are notorious for killing anything with fur, they were breed for that. It WILL kill your cat if it gets the chance. I have lots of stories about Darhs and fur.

2lumpy · Sep 19, 2017

Sounds like I better hire your Brazilian Mastiff to teach this drahthaar some yard protocol feddoc. If a Brazilian Mastiff can change his strips maybe a dratthaar can as well.

How you betting?

A year's not too long......... is it?

DC

BIGJOHNT · Sep 19, 2017

>Drahthaar's are notorious for killing anything
>with fur, they were breed
>for that. It WILL kill
>your cat if it gets
>the chance. I have lots
>of stories about Darhs and
>fur.

I was toying with the idea of getting a bearded dog. The neighbors may not like it. I guess your saying.

eelgrass · Sep 19, 2017

You got lucky DC. Good to hear, although outdoor cats are notorious for disappearing on occasion, only to show back up and chastise you like it's your fault.

My best animal buddy was a cat. He had all the neighbor dogs figured out. He would hide from most of them, but a few he would attack if they came into the yard. I heard a commotion one day and that cat had a Spaniel pinned to the ground. Poor dog was laying on it's back afraid to move, until I went out and rescued it.

I cried when I had to put him down after 14 years.

RELH · Sep 19, 2017

It's funny you guys brought up your cats. Wife and I have not had a pet since my K-9 died about 17 years ago.
Just recently a pretty calico cat has showed up at the house to share the dog food we feed the three wild foxes that come in every evening.
You can tell the cat is not a feral cat and has been raised by humans and is about 1-2 years old. We figured after being raised by someone, for some reason they abandoned the cat after moving out of the area.
Just a week ago, my son who is the field supervisor for the local joint agency narcotics team, raided a illegal marijuana grow that was about 5 houses North of us. They took the plants but no bodies due to no one being home at the time of the raid.
I suspect the growers fled the area after finding the narcs had taken their plants and left their cat behind as the cat kept coming from that direction to feed at our home.
well the cat adopted us and we now have a pet cat.

RELH

2lumpy · Sep 19, 2017

Best drug story I've heard this year.

Cat's earn their living at my house eel. I have no use for feral cats but I've had a couple that have become good buds. Like all my dogs, they live in the yard, not the house. Animals stay animals at my place but that doesn't mean I don't warm up to and appreciate the good ones. I had a cat years ago my kids named Maria, after their mother. Turns out "it" was a male. We still call him Maria, to the consternation of my little wife. He lived to be 14 - 15 as well, went blind in one eye, this tail was in the shape of a well formed S, lost ever tooth in his head, gummed mice to death. Got throat cancer and could barely breath when I took him out to a pretty little meadow and shot him. I know he was grateful. I'll bet that ole rascal crossed the road in front of my house over 10,000 times without getting hit, working the neighbors feed lot for rodents. Twice a day, everyday.

I did get lucky, eel. I hope to prove Mr. Tuffly wrong but I wouldn't wager a satoshis on it. Hoping to extend the ole tom's life long enough......... until he figures out the drahthaar's tactics.

Maybe I should box him up and send him to see the redwoods for a few month's............. Hell, I just wormed him two weeks ago, he's good to go!

DC

Homer · Sep 19, 2017

LAST EDITED ON Sep-19-17 AT 08:55PM (MST)[p]I had a cat killing jagd terrier named Karl until last month....actually I still have him but I can only enjoy the rotting smell of him from under a seatrain....you can not convince a determined 12" diameter Jagd not to go too deep into an 8" diameter hole.....after a rabbit.

....he was a cat killing machine....all 23 lbs of him. I'll give him credit....he killed rats too.

he saved me several times when my kids would come home with a baby rabbit or bird to rescue.......they would always drop it at least once....and Karl would have it swallowed before I had to feed it ....

2lumpy · Sep 19, 2017

..............sometimes you're the windshield, sometimes you're the.............

Hard to loose the one's doing the job for ya!

One level down, it's still a jungle........

DC

foundation · Sep 19, 2017

Never been a cat guy until the last few years, and now they are growing on me. We don't let them in the house, but they have a nice home in the barn and tack room. Pretty good at keeping the mice at bay, and decent entertainment. One of the horses is buddy buddy with the barn cat. The cat lets the horse lick him and the cat climbs the fence and gets on the horses back.

One of the cats disappears every soo often for a week or two, but after a while it just shows up. I don't think they will be allowed in the house anytime soon, but I find myself petting and scratching them more every day.

Glad your cat came home 2Lumpy.

2lumpy · Sep 19, 2017

Great to hear from you foundation. It's been a while, hope you've been well.

DC

foundation · Sep 19, 2017

>Great to hear from you foundation.
> It's been a while,
>hope you've been well.
>
>DC

Doing well. Thanks. I'm still lurking around here, but haven't contributed much because I cant draw a tag to save my life. Hopefully soon.

2lumpy · Sep 19, 2017

I'm still hunting the Monroe but haven't killed a deer up there in over 20 years now. If I had to depend on Utah for hunting satisfaction I'd be pretty bummed. Hope springs eternal though, maybe one of these days we'll both get to punch another tag.

Stop by if you get back down this way.

DC

bullskin · Sep 19, 2017

Most cats won't give me the time of day, so I don't like them much. On one occasion, however, my wife and daughter brought home a kitten that I had grudgingly agreed to and then decided to risk another without mentioning it to me first. I made no secret that I was not happy and hoped he'd skip under log truck. But somehow that kitten knew that his health depended on good relations with me. He followed me everywhere. While running the wood splitter I'd look up and find him sitting on the wood pile ten feet away. He'd stare down gopher holes for hours just a few yards from where I was running the backhoe. He would ignore anyone but me when we called him in. It was like having a four year-old son who could catch his own lizards. That cat was my favorite dog.

eelgrass · Sep 20, 2017

The cat I had was a killing machine. when it started bringing home birds my wife got upset and bought a collar with a bell. The bell was supposed to alert birds so they would escape. Within 20 minutes the cat was sitting on the wood box by the front room window with a bird in it's mouth. I swear the cat knew.

1911 · Sep 20, 2017

>LAST EDITED ON Sep-19-17
>AT 08:55?PM (MST)
>
>I had a cat killing jagd
>terrier named Karl until last
>month....actually I still have him
>but I can only enjoy
>the rotting smell of him
>from under a seatrain....you can
>not convince a determined 12"
>diameter Jagd not to go
>too deep into an 8"
>diameter hole.....after a rabbit.
>
>
>....he was a cat killing machine....all
>23 lbs of him. I'll
>give him credit....he killed rats
>too.
>
>he saved me several times when
>my kids would come home
>with a baby rabbit or
>bird to rescue.......they would always
>drop it at least once....and
>Karl would have it swallowed
>before I had to feed
>it ....
>
>
>
>
>

Dogs don't have a good projected life expectancy at your place.

2lumpy · Sep 20, 2017

eel, you always see things from an enlightened perspective. I call it, "eelisms".

Your latest: "outdoor cats are notorious for disappearing on occasion, only to show back up and chastise you like it's your fault".

Made me smile. You and Will Rogers are kindred spirits.

DC

eelgrass · Sep 21, 2017

LAST EDITED ON Sep-21-17 AT 07:50AM (MST)[p]DC, If anything you inspire me and bring out the best in me.

feddoc · Sep 21, 2017

When I was a kid in rural NM...well, back then it was all rural...anyway, I was out rabbit hunting with my friend Neal. We went to a house that was abandoned in the 50s I think. Way out in the prairie with a few outbuildings. They even left some stuff inside the house. None of us kids would go in there because we woulda got our asssses beat.

Anyway we were walking around an I felt, then heard, this pathetic crying thing. It was a kitten and it looked to be abandoned...junk still in it's eye, skinny, no tail, looked it's tail had been chewed off.

So I put it in my pocked and went home.

Fed the cat with an eyedropper and it survived. Little male kitten I named Mortimer (Mortimer G. Snerd, to be exact...can't remember how I came up with that name). It got healthy and started playing with stuff that normal kittens do and every night it would sleep on my chest.

It was a really health cat and kept growing. And growing.
Mom would let it outside when she got up to make breakfast for me and dad and then let it back in when it was almost time for me to get up for school. Little sob never once pooped or peed in the house. Once let in he would haul butt down the hallway so fast I could hear his claws on the floor. I would cover up my head, and Mortimer would still pounce on my chest and wait for me to uncover my head.

Kept growing. Put him on the scale for the first time at 23 lbs. Not a bit of fat on him. Walked with his butt arched up in the air...tufts of hair on his ears and that stubby twitching little tail. I soon realizied I had a bobcat. I thought it was a Manx, but biology teacher at high school said he was a bobcat. He eventually grew to be 35lbs at his last weigh in.

We moved to rural southern Colorado in the 70s to a place where we cut down some huge diseased elm trees in the back yard. The stumps were about 3' across. Mortimer would sun himself on the stumps. Magpies would show up and he wouldn't move. Not so much as a twitch until one would get close enough for him to swap ends and he had his meal for the day.

We lived near an artesian well that was good water for pheasant, quail and other critters. Mortimer would come back with pheasant once in awhile for his meal.

And he still (tried) to sleep on my chest.

I miss that cat.

2lumpy · Sep 21, 2017

First lier don't have chance in hell around here!

But I believe you feddoc, since I know you're a man of integrity and virtue.

Living on the edge of the civilized world is the best place to grow up as a child, I'm betting the dogs gave your house cat a wide berth.

Thanks for sharing feddoc, that the kind of stories that keep me coming back to this caldron.

DC

feddoc · Sep 21, 2017

Virtue???

heh...never had that accusation.

I had one dog in Colorado, a black lab named Zeke, who got along well with the cat.

Mortimer left and didn't come back not long after I left boot camp.

kilbuc · Sep 21, 2017

Another kind of cat story.

A friend of mine from Kali told me the following, this was probably back in the 80's,

A friend of his in the Redding area trained hounds. Every couple weeks he would go to the local pound and adopt a couple cats.

One day they (the pound workers) accussed him of using the cats to train his dogs.

He got indignate ( couldn't under stand what he did wrong) and said.....I gave them a head start!!