SO, WHAT IS A CAT?

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Thomo
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SO, WHAT IS A CAT?

Post by Thomo »

That may sound like a daft question as I am sure that most of us already know, but there is more to it than that and I am going to attempt to bulk out the obvious answer with a little extra detail. Those of you who own or love cats are welcome to put your stories in here, share your experience, your pictures and memories.

The domestic cat "Felis Silvestris Catus" or just plain "Felis Catus" is a small usually furry domesticated carnivorous mammal, valued by humans for companionship and ability to rid their environment of vermin and pests. There is one modern breed of cat, "The Sphinx" which has so little fur it appears quite naked, created by man to its disadvantage and extremely expensive for a would be owner, and yes there is one in Barlick. Whilst domestic cats are similar to the other felids with strong flexible bodies, quick reflexes and sharp retractable claws they have enhanced senses that make them extremely efficient predators, a cats eyes require only one sixth of the light that we need in order to see, they can hear sounds that are inaudible to us and hear frequencies way out of our range of normal understanding, a bit like passive sonar, their sense of smell and perception is quite amazing, we have one cat, "Molly" an ex stray who knows what I am about to do concerning food when I am still thinking about it! and this whilst fast asleep at the other end of the house. I am not sure what the top speed of a cat going flat out is, but the acceleration rate is impressive, if I could do that I would either be in London this year or dead.
A group of cats is a "Clowder" a male cat is a Tom or a "Gib" if neutered whilst a female is a Queen or a Molly, Kitten comes from the medieval word "Catling". The word "Pussycat" is from around the 16th Century and could be linked to the Swedish "Katepuss or Norwegian "Pus, Pusekatt" derived from the low German "Puuskatte". The story of the domestic cat begins over ten million years ago and first became domesticated in the neolithic age. A genetic study in 2007 revealed that all house cats are descended from no less than five female African Wildcats "Felis Silvestris Lybica" circa 8000 BC. Currently the most popular pets on earth the population exceeds 500 million, In 1998 there were around 43 million in Western Europe, 33 million in Eastern Europe, 7 million in Japan, 3 million in Australia and 37 million in the US. One thing that sets the domestic cat apart from its larger relatives like the Tiger and Lion is its eyes, it has slit pupils which can focus bright light without chromatic aberration, it does not need to wear shades! it has however relatively poor colour vision and sees in a range between blue and yellowish green. Although most cats are covered in fur they can withstand higher temperatures than humans without seeking shade and if supplied with water can tolerate a heat of around 54 degrees C.
There is much more to tell as this develops but I will end this part with a tribute to the cats that have been a part of my life for the past 66 years:-
"Smut" my Sisters cat, black as night, "Frisky" my first cat, Black and White male, "Sukie", tortoiseshell female, brought home after a few "wets" at the Eastney Tavern whilst on leave, "Jinx" male silver tabby, ex Portsmouth Dockyard male kitten, more about this one later. "Cesterfeld Thim Sultan" or Thim, brown Burmese male, a cat and a half that one. "Greenacres Chimney Sweep" Chimmy, black Angora male, "Greenacres Total Eclipse" Clippy, Chimmy's Sister, Chimmy was the one that brought a snake home and dropped it at the wifes feet, spectacular to say the least, on a bad night I still hear the screams! Then "Gingerpuss and Sylvester", both male strays, followed by "Baghera" as in Jungle Book, another stray, Then comes the more recent bunch, "Jethro and his sister Ellie" "Elmo and Frankie" "Evie and Lucie" and last of all "Bobby and Molly" then came old "Katie" mother to Jethro and Ellie, her owner had a new wife and her kids with alergies!! and there have been others, Kittens used to follow me home, there have been cats that stayed overnight whilst in transit, lost cats that were found and returned home and unwanted cats that were rehoused. Every place I have ever visited around the World there have been cats, Portugal was heart breaking, only two main places exist where cats are not normally found, Antarctica and the North Polar Icecap, good judgement perhaps!
I am not daft enough to believe that what we have here now will be the end of it either, another one will turn up and common sense will evaporate like mist on a summer morning. So lets have your stories and pics, and thank you for your time.
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Re: SO, WHAT IS A CAT?

Post by Moh »

We always had a cat before I got married - very original names, a ginger one called Sandy who abandoned us for a neighbour who was at home all day; a black one called Sooty, a barred one called Tiddles and the first one I remember was a black & white one called Whisky - whose name choice I discovered later in life when I saw Black & White whisky!!
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Re: SO, WHAT IS A CAT?

Post by Bruff »

I have been a butler to several cats in my time. Oscar, Quincy, Rufus, Stinker and Possum. All dead now.

I've often wondered why they ever became domesticated because they seem to me to serve no purpose whatsoever. I'm sure the terrier-man would be a better form of vermin control. For some reason we were happy to invite these creatures into our homes despite their treating us with not-so-borderline contempt.

Someone once said to me it was gratitude for their not being 4x the size as then, they would take enormous pleasure in hunting us down, torturing us until they got bored and then eating us, head first.

I love cats

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Re: SO, WHAT IS A CAT?

Post by Thomo »

At that size Richard, they would make a Bull Terrier or indeed any other terrier look like a complete wimp. One of the many advantages of a cat is that on an absolutely dreadful day when one is getting on a bit, they do not have to be walked!
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Re: SO, WHAT IS A CAT?

Post by Wendyf »

I can't imagine a life without cats, and I'm going to get carried away here. What constantly amazes us is that no two cats are ever alike, they have such varied personalities. Our first one arrived as soon as we had moved into our first house 36 years ago. She was a tiny, delightful, black kitten from a hairdressers in Chester and she always kept that special "born within the city walls" attitude. We called her Puss to start with, hoping that a more interesting name would come later....but it never did, and Puss she remained. Soon after she settled in we started to see black kittens everywhere, and we realised that a feral tabby had deserted two terrified little mites in an old shed. We started feeding them and they slowly found the courage to come in to the house. They were full of worms and a bit rickety, one had legs that bowed out, and the other's bowed in. Wormed, flea treated and eventually spayed, they became part of the household. Bobby, because she used to cough just like our elderly neighbour called Bob, and Spot because she had a white one. They both survived till they were 20 years old.
We all made the move to Scotland from North Wales and over the years non of the three black ladies seemed to age till suddenly it seemed to catch up with them all at once. Much loved Puss was the first to go at 19, and we decided to try and find a new kitten straight away. It wasn't easy in January, but the local cat rescue came up with a very handsome little chap. He was white with a grey W on his head, so he became Wesley and boy, was he a charmer! A couple of weeks later the Cat Rescue phoned us to see if we could take another kitten, and a minute, mewling, clinging black mite arrived. He was suffering from digestive problems so we called him Monty (after Montezuma's revenge). It wasn't too long before old age took Bobby & Spotty - they both reached 20, so they had a good innings!
The two boys adored each other and got into all sorts of boyish trouble together. Wesley, or Wezzy as he became, was a gorgeously handsome, loving chap and it broke our hearts when he was killed on the road at 18months old. He must have been chasing a squirrel, which he loved to do, because the squirrel got hit too. (That was the week Di & Dodie died, which is how I remember the dates.) Always up for a new challenge we headed for the SSPCA in Edinburgh, (neatly avoiding The Funeral on the TV) my hubby wanting to give a home to an older cat and my son wanting a kitten. We came back with a beautiful 3 year old tabby who had demanded that we take her, and a little black and white female kitten from a batch shipped down from the Hebrides!
The tabby, who we called Milly, was a strange personality..slightly disturbed by her previous life I think. We tried to keep the new cats in for a few day's but she had an eye out for an open window and on that first day she found an open top light in my son's room. We assumed we had lost her, but 20 minutes later she popped back in through the same window. Later she would bring gifts to our bedroom window, climbing up a tree and over the roof to get there....what was wrong with the cat flap? She only died last year, and we had come to love her despite her odd ways.
Little Lizzy the kitten was never going to be a cuddly house cat. She was always off hunting, and preferred a cool spot in the utility room to snuggling up with the rest of the family. Monty loved her lots, and the played and played together. Sadly she went missing after about a year, we searched and searched for days but couldn't find her. One day I found her body in a ditch flowing into the burn beside the house, I think someone may have thrown her in there after hitting her on the road.
So down to two cats again, and we were just thinking about calling Cat Rescue when a friend asked me to take on her cat as she was going off to the other side of the world. A mature but very feminine, black & white lady, all round and fluffy like a cartoon lady cat, she was called McRobber because of a black mask across her eyes, but to us she was Tinkerbelle or just Tinky.
With these three cats we moved down here, and found an elderly grey lady ensconced in the barn. She quickly moved into the house with the rest of the gang. None of them are with us now, old age crept up on them. It came a bit early for my pal Monty, he was only about 14.
Now we have Feebie a black longhaired lady who likes her comforts in life, sleeps most of the day on top of the warm fish tank and helps me in the garden when she can. (She is the one who was shot last year and only has one working eye) A customer at the charity where I worked brought her in, sat on the palm of her hand..."you like cats don't you Wendy?" Then there is Tinky 2 who we found on the freecycle website, already named, and we didn't want to change it. Yet another black cat, three legged since last year's accident she is quite a character despite her small size.
So, down to two now, after last years traumas we didn't want to disturb things...but you never know who will turn up!
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Re: SO, WHAT IS A CAT?

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Two modern bits of terminology fit a cat just as easy as their original subjects. "Armed rapid response unit" and "Stealth fighter", a third could be "Undercover agent!" We have on that can circumnavigate the whole house including several pelmets in under ten seconds.
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Re: SO, WHAT IS A CAT?

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I've been reminded this morning that cats are ruthless killers. After making the journey all the way back from Africa to our barn, one poor swallow has fallen victim to tiny three legged Tinky.
Then she comes in and expects a cuddle! That is a cat for you. :sad:
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Re: SO, WHAT IS A CAT?

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What is a cat? it was the cause of much meowing outside our back door at 10.30 last night, not one of ours as they were asleep indoors. On opening the door this cat let itself in and set about emptying our cats food dishes, interspersed with a great deal of fuss. This soon got the attention of our own cats and we closed the inner door. With a full tank it went out again but remained in the yard until about 11,30, all dishes were then washed and replenished. It was quite a large cat and appeared healthy, but extremely hungry, mostly white with a black tail which had a small white dot in the end, and with black patches, possibly a speyed or pregnant female, it had come over a six foot wall to get in to the yard, and I fully expected to find it out there again this morning, there is time yet!
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Re: SO, WHAT IS A CAT?

Post by Chrissyp »

Just love cats. I'm always a little suspicious of people who dislike cats. Mid Summer Murders as nothing on what goes on in my kitchen at night! One morning there was a rabbit and a rat. Most days theres just the green bits left, presume its the stomachs?. Their list of kills are 3 stoats, 3 pheasants, 1 magpie, 1 mole and too many rabbits, voles, rats and mice to mention. Luckily they rarely murder little birds.
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Re: SO, WHAT IS A CAT?

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I think the green things are the gall bladders Chrissy. Too bitter to eat and very unpleasant to tread on with bare feet first thing in the morning. One of my cats once caught a huge dragonfly, it was so comical to see the slightly surprised look on her face with bits of irridescent blue sticking out of her mouth. It crunched a bit when she ate it too..
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Re: SO, WHAT IS A CAT?

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Our cat Fred is a killing machine, he even catches squirrels and pheasants. The dogs, two GSDs are controlled by Fred, he lies outside of the stable yard gate just beyond their reach and flicks his tail in their direction. He knows when both gates are closed and they are unable to get out, so he parades back and forth looking smug, as only cats can. The horse and he have a special relationship, they spend ages together, doing not much in particular but winding the dogs up.
Our cat has a life of bliss, and if there is an after life I am coming back as our cat Fred.
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Re: SO, WHAT IS A CAT?

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We have a big bell on our cat's collar to deter it killing stuff, its worked so far. It jumps at passing insects.......
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Re: SO, WHAT IS A CAT?

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The relationship between Jack and the local cats fascinates me. He doesn't chase them and they tolerate him. They'll let him pass within a foot without moving but all eyes are on deck!
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Re: SO, WHAT IS A CAT?

Post by Thomo »

That Stanley sounds to me like the result of responsible pet ownership, sadly lacking in some pet owners.
Our Sunday night visitor returned at 8.45 yesterday evening and we were treated to a second invasion of the food dishes amid much fuss. When it left I followed it but it vanished into the undergrowth nearby. We left the outside utility room door wedged open, with a bed, food and water, some of the food was eaten before morning, but that could have been an Hedgehog, they can get under the gate.
We had an early start this morning as our Molly had to be at Colne for 8,20 for removal of some teeth, there now follows an anxious wait for news.
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Re: SO, WHAT IS A CAT?

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Cat World Records culled from the net:-

Oldest living cat
The average life expectancy of an indoor cat is between 9 to 15 years.

According to the Guinness Book of Records, the oldest living cat is a Burmese called Kataleena Lady who lives in Melbourne, Australia. Kataleena Lady was born on March 11th, 1977 making her 35 years old.

Oldest cat

The oldest cat was Creme Puff of Austin Texas. Born on August 3rd 1967, Creme Puff passed away in August, 2005 at the age of 38 years.
Also deserving a mention are Puss, who was born in 1903. Puss was owned by Mrs T. Holway of Devon. Puss passed away on 29th November, 1939, one day after his 36th birthday.
The second is Granpa who lived to the ripe old age of 34. Granpa Rexs Allen (Granpa for short) was a Sphyx adopted from the Humane Society in Texas
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Re: SO, WHAT IS A CAT?

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Anxiety over now, just had a call from the Vets. Molly is fine and in recovery and can be collected after four. Goodbye to bad teeth and this months Navy Pension!
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Re: SO, WHAT IS A CAT?

Post by PanBiker »

Good, glad to hear she's OK Peter.
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Re: SO, WHAT IS A CAT?

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Peter, I can't claim any credit, he just doesn't have the 'chasing gene'.
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Re: SO, WHAT IS A CAT?

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After collection from the Vets, Molly's day went well, she was a bit groggy but was soon eating again and I got a lot of love and affection from her later. The sight of the cat transporter yesterday morning sent little Lucy under the duvet where she stayed for half the day, she went without food until this morning and is still keeping out of the way, its 13 years since she last went to the Vets.
Our visitor didn't appear last night but some food had been eaten. At 7.30 this morning the wife went out to work, to return a minute later, the visitor was in the basket in the utility room, food dish empty, just inside the door, payment for board and lodging, one dead mouse, laid out neatly and not a mark on it. The food and water dishes were replenished but she spent the next half hour sat looking up at the back door. I have given her details to the vets in case anyone makes enquiries and I will post a pic of her shortly. We now have a dilemma as several years ago we decided not to adopt any more cats as we are both getting on a bit and do not wish to leave anyone else with a problem. my hope is to outlive the ones we have, however if this cat is determined, resolve may evaporate, I cannot turn away an animal in need.
If any of you know of a missing cat in this area please let me know,
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Re: SO, WHAT IS A CAT?

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I don't think you have a choice in the matter Thomo, the cat has adopted you.
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Re: SO, WHAT IS A CAT?

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Quite so, and here she is,

Image
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Re: SO, WHAT IS A CAT?

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It is often difficult when practicalities come into conflict with compassion. In the past it was resolved fairly easily, nine years ago two strays started to appear in the garden in the late evening, we used to put unwanted cat food out for the hedgehogs. In time they would come into the house for some food and it wasn't long before they became part of our little family, Bobby was the first and soon followed by Molly, Bobby we lost a few years ago. Both were examined and found to be free of pest and infection, both were already neutered. Another cat, Sylvester was a frequent visitor to the garden, but was feral and used to sleep under the shed. When winter approached it became clear that this was not good so I had a small cabin made for him, insulated, and with a sleeping compartment and a covered area for his food and water. When he disappeared, it wasn't long before another cat, also feral moved in, Baghira, a sleek black male, neither of these two were ever a problem and did not interfere with our own cats. Something similar may be the answer for our current visitor.
Eighteen months ago, a couple travelled some distance to visit Boundary Mill at Colne, when they got out of the car, they could hear a noise coming from underneath the car bonnet, in there was a tiny kitten. They picked it up and took it into the store, a kind assistant found a box, put some soft material in it, and the kitten, this girls Mother worked in my Wifes department and was soon told of the kitten in the box, she took it home with her, had it checked out, and now has a young cat that is a credit to itself and her, happy ending!
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Re: SO, WHAT IS A CAT?

Post by Wendyf »

You can try the Burnley branch of the Cats Protection League as well Thomo, they have a Lost & Found service. Apparently you can get a paper collar from them to put onto a cat that you think might be a stray. If it goes back home then the owner should be able to report back that it isn't a stray.
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Re: SO, WHAT IS A CAT?

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Thank you Wendy. I found it earlier fast asleep in the basket, it is a big cat, if this turns into a battle of wills I think it may have the advantage!! I will not turn my back on it, but it will take time.
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Re: SO, WHAT IS A CAT?

Post by Gloria »

From what can be seen on the photo the cat looks very well, maybe just fancies what you feed to what it gets fed at home----cats are very clever that way. Putting the paper collar and a note is a brilliant idea well worth a try.
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