the summer so far (long, mostly on-topic)

I live on the edge of a small town--technically outside the city
limits, but it feels like it's in town, since I can see a main street
from my house. For years, I've had just rabbits and the occasional
cat coming through the yard, but lately, it's been one weird (or at
least notable) thing after another.

A couple weeks ago, I saw a woodchuck bounding through my yard. Well,
that's different. The next two days, it was a deer, probably a buck,
since he was stomping his foot and "snorting" on the second day.
That's even more different.

Last Monday, it's back to cats--heard one yowling near my house in the
middle of the night (Sun night/Mon morning). Sounded like a female in
heat. That day, I saw http://web.mr-happy.com/pets/yardkitty06-1.php
at the front of my house making the same noises, but... nope, not a
female at all. Very friendly, very skinny, very male. He still comes
around regularly, and I feed him well. I'd love to take him in, but
he'd make 5, and I've done that before--just too many. And it's
getting to where I really don't want to stress out the old man of the
house. I'll definitely get him vetted/snipped, though. And I won't
leave him out for the winter if it comes to that. (No-kill shelter
never has room, but I have some leads, so I expect it'll be ok.)

Monday night/Tuesday morning, I woke up from a sound sleep by what
sounded like Stampy the Deer doing his snorting again. Never would
have expected a deer to wake me up. Especially since I can apparently
sleep through my pager going off less than 6 feet from my head.

After I fell back asleep and then got up for the day, I noticed a
brownish tom meatloafing on my back steps, facing the house. to run
away from me, though. I thought briefly that he was a tortie, but not
with jowls like that. Not sure what to make of his colouring. I've
seen occasional, brief glances of him since then, but he's not much on
people.

Got home Tuesday afternoon, and there's the B&W boy out front... or is
it? Nope, this one's got an all-black back and has no black "smudge"
on its face. And it's scared of me and the cats.

This (Monday) morning's early wake-up was provided by mind-bending
skunk odour. Right underneath the deck outside my bedroom window from
what I can tell. It was so bad that I couldn't get back to sleep.
Even my basement smells bad, since the sauna in the basement has a fan
that exhausts right under the deck. I can't imagine it's nearly as
bad as having a skunked pet in the house, but it's plenty for me. The
smell is still there, though the skunk doesn't seem to be, so I guess
it must have let loose.

Got home from work this afternoon, got on the phone and started pacing
around the living room as I tend to do. And what the heck is that in
a tree across the street? Tuesday's tux, as it happens. Well, ok.
Went to check it out, didn't seem like there was necessarily a
problem. Left to hang out with friends a couple hours later, still
there. Got home 6 hours after I first saw the cat up there, and not
only was it *still* there, but it seemed to be in the exact same
position, draped over a branch in such a way that it looked like it
could be actually stuck, and it was frequently shifting its back end
around while not moving the front end much. So I was getting somewhat
concerned. It was dark out, but my neighbours were on their deck, and
one came up and sized up the situation with me. He helped me fetch my
tall ladder (this cat was about 15-20' up), but when we got back to
the tree, the cat was suddenly several feet higher up, either not
stuck or just scared out of stuck by the noisy aluminum ladder. Well,
that's a relief (though a bit of a BCT by a cat that's not even mine).
Hopefully it'll come down on its own, and if not, well, maybe I'll see
what I can do when it's not dark out.

When I went to investigate the treed cat before I left for the
evening, my B&W buddy followed me down the street, meowing at me the
whole way as if to ask where the hell I was going. when we got near
the tree, he gave up and started back toward the house but then
abruptly decided that the middle of the (mostly quiet) street was as
good a place as any to play cello. I had to laugh, but not for long,
as a car turned onto the street toward us. Fortunately, he was very
good about being picked up, didn't squirm a bit as I rushed him to
safety.

Interesting times, at least for me...

Jeff
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Jellicle Ball: Da Gest Buk
    ... willow you can tellz her whut you seed. ... and Dad Cat are not here to help mineslefz. ... Dinky, House of Roads, in the book. ... Ralph de Ralf, House of David ...
    (rec.pets.cats.community)
  • Re: So many new cats
    ... >> toward the house, he'd meow at me, repeat, repeat, repeat. ... so I set down a bowl of food for him on the deck and let him eat. ... Very much a first for me, a cat jumping directly from my lap ... > war, but if Pua's sleeping, Chloe will come up and sniff her tail. ...
    (rec.pets.cats.anecdotes)
  • Re: Jellicle Ball: Da Gest Buk
    ... Dinky holds tightly to Barbi's paw. ... Ur Dad Lewi D. Cat and ur Mom Kitty Schottland ... Dinky, House of Roads, in the book. ... Ralph de Ralf, House of David ...
    (rec.pets.cats.community)
  • Meowmie Is Home!
    ... trace scents of ANOTHER CAT on her luggage. ... I'd like to go back to Florida, but I won't go in August! ... we just walked back and forth between the house and the beach. ... catching various lizards, toads, frogs and lizards. ...
    (rec.pets.cats.anecdotes)
  • Re: the summer so far (long, mostly on-topic)
    ... cat coming through the yard, but lately, it's been one weird (or at ... at the front of my house making the same noises, ... the tree, the cat was suddenly several feet higher up, either not ... stuck or just scared out of stuck by the noisy aluminum ladder. ...
    (rec.pets.cats.anecdotes)