Cats

[Sahara]

Our cats are a calming influence on me. We have four rescues and all have individual personalities. Chika is our Mexican street cat, tough and bossy, but as she gets older she is becoming the matronly caregiver. Gary is our grumpy old spinster, seriously smart and an evil genius. Jimmy is our elder statesman, always up for a cuddle and can purr, loudly, nonstop for eight or ten hours. Yet as soon as he goes outside he switches into ninja mode, all business. Stanley is our youngest. A complete boneheaded half wit, but the sweetest, most loving cat we’ve ever had. I can’t imagine life without them, and sitting now in Mexico a few thousand miles away we miss them greatly and can’t wait to see them again, and to wear them “cat blanket” as we watch TV on the couch. The cat blanket is when they all lie on you at the same time. Our 82 pound rescue dog joins in as well, and it can be a mad scramble when the phone rings and you have to get up in a hurry.

 

[Nutso]

We adopted Sweetie a few months ago after losing our previous cat. She is a sweetheart most of the time - kittens are a hoot.

 

[440 4 speed]

Our cats are a calming influence on me. We have four rescues and all have individual personalities. Chika is our Mexican street cat, tough and bossy, but as she gets older she is becoming the matronly caregiver. Gary is our grumpy old spinster, seriously smart and an evil genius. Jimmy is our elder statesman, always up for a cuddle and can purr, loudly, nonstop for eight or ten hours. Yet as soon as he goes outside he switches into ninja mode, all business. Stanley is our youngest. A complete boneheaded half wit, but the sweetest, most loving cat we’ve ever had. I can’t imagine life without them, and sitting now in Mexico a few thousand miles away we miss them greatly and can’t wait to see them again, and to wear them “cat blanket” as we watch TV on the couch. The cat blanket is when they all lie on you at the same time. Our 82 pound rescue dog joins in as well, and it can be a mad scramble when the phone rings and you have to get up in a hurry.

Question, why name spinster Gary?

 

[Sahara]

Question, why name spinster Gary?

Well, you’re in for a long story. Stick with me here.
When wife got cancer in 2017 she was going to be stuck in the house for a year getting treated. All of the cats we had then were bonded to me and she wanted a comfort cat of her own. So we go to the pound to see what they had. There was a mother in there who gave birth while in the pound, and her one remaining baby who by this time was nearly full grown. We took the baby.
She slowly settled in, and in the weeks to follow wife, daughter, and I tried to find an appropriate name. Our daughter, who was quite young at the time liked the name Gary, after the snail on SpongeBob. Wife liked Sparkie, or Sparkles, because of the cats bright, inquisitive nature.
While the debate is going on Easter Sunday arrives, and in a rare move for us we invite people over for a fairly lavish Easter dinner. Unbeknownst to us the cat is in heat. Deeply in heat. Determined to be bred by whatever was handy. She spent the entire afternoon rubbing her, umm, pussy against anything she could find. Corners in the hallway were her favourite. Until we sat down to dinner, at which point you would see various people jump when the cat decided to mate with their ankle under the table. By the end of the day she had worn the fur completely off of her backside. Everyone felt the effects of her. I have never seen a cat so hard in heat.
After the meal we decided that her **** star name would be Gary Sparkles, or just Gary, for short. We got her fixed as soon as we could.
She is single-handedly the smartest cat we’ve ever seen, and we’ve seen many. Without exaggerating I would say she is about as sharp as a five or six year old human. She can puzzle through or reason her way through a problem like no animal I’ve ever seen, except perhaps ravens.
We love her dearly.

 

[440 4 speed]

Well, you’re in for a long story. Stick with me here.
When wife got cancer in 2017 she was going to be stuck in the house for a year getting treated. All of the cats we had then were bonded to me and she wanted a comfort cat of her own. So we go to the pound to see what they had. There was a mother in there who gave birth while in the pound, and her one remaining baby who by this time was nearly full grown. We took the baby.
She slowly settled in, and in the weeks to follow wife, daughter, and I tried to find an appropriate name. Our daughter, who was quite young at the time liked the name Gary, after the snail on SpongeBob. Wife liked Sparkie, or Sparkles, because of the cats bright, inquisitive nature.
While the debate is going on Easter Sunday arrives, and in a rare move for us we invite people over for a fairly lavish Easter dinner. Unbeknownst to us the cat is in heat. Deeply in heat. Determined to be bred by whatever was handy. She spent the entire afternoon rubbing her, umm, pussy against anything she could find. Corners in the hallway were her favourite. Until we sat down to dinner, at which point you would see various people jump when the cat decided to mate with their ankle under the table. By the end of the day she had worn the fur completely off of her backside. Everyone felt the effects of her. I have never seen a cat so hard in heat.
After the meal we decided that her **** star name would be Gary Sparkles, or just Gary, for short. We got her fixed as soon as we could.
She is single-handedly the smartest cat we’ve ever seen, and we’ve seen many. Without exaggerating I would say she is about as sharp as a five or six year old human. She can puzzle through or reason her way through a problem like no animal I’ve ever seen, except perhaps ravens.
We love her dearly.

View attachment 1823629

Both of our son’s families have cats. Before the one son was married we took in a street kitten that looked like Gary. He named it Sixpack. Also decided that it was a Russian blue point. That cat became a real fetcher of the little bottom rings on drink containers. Then the next cat same colour was Hemi, he might have been the fetcher. Hemi would spend hours in a cloth lined drawer in the big tool box.They now have Holly another blue point that is about 13 years old. Last year our granddaughter and boy friend picked up Lenny and Lucy. Nothing to do with automobiles because they were named by the original owners.
Lenny spends time out in the garage in Hemi’s old drawer.

 

[Sahara]

Gary is the second cat we’ve ever had that would fetch a ball like a dog. She would do it for hours. We would watch TV and toss a ball for Gary, nonstop. Then you would be sitting on the toilet and she would wander in and drop the ball at your feet to toss down the hallway. When Chika, the Mexican came into our lives Gary became inhibited and didn’t want to fetch in front of Chika, for whatever reason. So now, occasionally when Chika is involved in something else we will hear a soft, distinctive meow. Gary wants to play fetch. So we go back and toss the ball, usually in the laundry room, until Chika finds out and the fun stops.
We used to have a large, black, completely lovable but totally asshole cat named Hawkeye. For whatever reason Gary hated him like I can’t describe. We had to keep them separated. If she was inside and he outside she would try to smash through a window to get at him. Like run across a room and leap like Superman to try to smash through a window to get to him. We would hear a BANG! and realize that she had spotted him through the window. One time she beat him so completely that she collapsed in the driveway from exhaustion and we thought she had a heart attack. He hid in the culvert out front for eight hours and we thought we might have to dig him out. There was literally his black cat hair floating in the air like snow. Man, did she hate him. She had good reason to, but it was something to see her kick his ***. If you remember The Tasmanian Devil on Bugs Bunny, that was Gary tuning Hawkeye.

 

[440 4 speed]

Gary is the second cat we’ve ever had that would fetch a ball like a dog. She would do it for hours. We would watch TV and toss a ball for Gary, nonstop. Then you would be sitting on the toilet and she would wander in and drop the ball at your feet to toss down the hallway. When Chika, the Mexican came into our lives Gary became inhibited and didn’t want to fetch in front of Chika, for whatever reason. So now, occasionally when Chika is involved in something else we will hear a soft, distinctive meow. Gary wants to play fetch. So we go back and toss the ball, usually in the laundry room, until Chika finds out and the fun stops.
We used to have a large, black, completely lovable but totally asshole cat named Hawkeye. For whatever reason Gary hated him like I can’t describe. We had to keep them separated. If she was inside and he outside she would try to smash through a window to get at him. Like run across a room and leap like Superman to try to smash through a window to get to him. We would hear a BANG! and realize that she had spotted him through the window. One time she beat him so completely that she collapsed in the driveway from exhaustion and we thought she had a heart attack. He hid in the culvert out front for eight hours and we thought we might have to dig him out. There was literally his black cat hair floating in the air like snow. Man, did she hate him. She had good reason to, but it was something to see her kick his ***. If you remember The Tasmanian Devil on Bugs Bunny, that was Gary tuning Hawkeye.

Don’t the females win in most species?

 

[Nutso]

I’ve read female cats are more aggressive and alpha territorial.

 

[Sahara]

Our Mexican rescue, Chika is very alpha. As she gets older she is mellowing somewhat but when we first got her back to northern Canada in 2019 she strutted in like a Chicano gang leader in prison. Her attitude to the other cats was “Yeah? What are gonna do about it, bitch?” But she had to live for a while on the tough streets of Mexico where the weak don’t survive. She is totally bonded to me, and is trying to bond with our rescue dog, who is having none of it.

 

[OneWheelPeel]

I've seen it go both ways with the female cats. I have two older cats that spend most of their time in the backyard, one of them Lynxette, is very alpha and will chase an intruder cat down most of the time. Sometimes it will be a large male and she does the math on that fight and backs down, if its a smaller guy she takes the fight, other times she's gone after a new cat and once I make it kind of clear to her that I approve of the cat then she backs down again.
Her twin sister on the other hand, usually avoids all conflict or tries to make nice with everybody.

 

[SSmoothie]

Cocomo

 

[toolmanmike]

So much for watching TV. Charley wants his supper first.

 

[64plymouth]

This is Gomez. He is #14. I let my cats outside during the day only 5or6 go out everyday the others only if it really nice out. So at the end of October last year Im calling for my cats to come in. When a black streak ran into the house. I went and found him and he acted like he belonged. So I took to the garage. He was so lovey I knew he was staying. So I took him to the Vet had him checked out and fixed. After a couple weeks in joined the colony in the house.

 

[OneWheelPeel]

Looks similar to CryBaby who is a recent addition, she showed up one day and acted like she belonged, was super chatty and wanted in the house. When winter started she got her wish and I quarantined her in the garage until the vet checked her out etc. She's mostly integrated into the house group now and goes out during the day if the weather is good. She also has a twin who is more feral. I always wonder what went on in her life that made her walk up to me and my neighbor one day and start meowing.

 

[Scott Engelhardt]

I think Zeus sees a bug

 

[64BEL]

I think Zeus sees a bug

View attachment 1824323

Our Andy looks like that when he's looking at sunbeams or his own shadow when the sun comes in the east windows in the morning.

 

[Sahara]

Looks similar to CryBaby who is a recent addition, she showed up one day and acted like she belonged, was super chatty and wanted in the house. When winter started she got her wish and I quarantined her in the garage until the vet checked her out etc. She's mostly integrated into the house group now and goes out during the day if the weather is good. She also has a twin who is more feral. I always wonder what went on in her life that made her walk up to me and my neighbor one day and start meowing.
View attachment 1823995

That is one beautiful cat.