A one-way ticket to the poor-house!

[Thumper]

If nothing else, I may get a pass to heaven IF it exists. But, I'll be in the poor-house until the time comes. As you know, we rescue stray cats. We don't go LOOKING for them, they just seem to "find" us somehow. The first thing we do is feed 'em until we gain their trust, then I break that trust by trapping them! The next step is to get them spayed/neutered and get their shots. We can occasionally find homes for them (rarely), but we usually end up "stuck" with them. It takes a while, but even the feral cats we catch usually turn out to be pretty cool once they're "fixed" and they quit wandering so much (and coming home all beat up). The latest addition just "dropped in" a couple weeks ago. A little mama cat with 4 kittens ... who are still nursing. She shows up every morning around 6:00 am and again around 10:00 at night. Like a robot, I handle the feeding. I have her trusting me enough to eat while I sit beside her in a patio chair on the pool deck, but I can't catch her yet because she's still nursing and she keeps the kittens at a distance while she eats. Once the kittens are weaned, I'll try to catch all of them and get the doctor visit out of the way.

Why am I writing this just so youse bozos can give me hell? Just to give you some extra ammo to give me even MORE hell! I just made a Sam's run to grab enough cat food to last until the end of next month. It's NOT my favorite way to blow a quick $150.00! (Mama gets canned food because she's nursing and needs her protein) Here's 150 lbs. of dry and 48 cans of "wet" food. I need my head examined! :(


7069

[Chicken Dinner]

Amazon Prime has good prices in cat and dog food.

[LJ3]

Yes, yes they do. And litter too. Cat fag.

[Thumper]

Ohhhhh, don't even get me started on litter! I swear, if it weren't for cats, I'd have enough $$$ for a new bass boat by the end of the year! :(

[airbud7]

Dogs are more fun!

7070

[BarryBobPosthole]

Reminds me of the old rodeo joke about the guy with the sick cat. I heard this at the annual Frontier Days Rodeo in my hometown when I was about twelve and thought it was funny as hell. I think the bandleader of the Prison Rodeo Band told it.

A guy once came to visit his vet and said he had a sick cat. The vet was hard of hearing and though he said calf. So he told the guy to make him drink a quart of mineral oil every day. A few days later the guy ran into the vet in town and the vet asked him about his calf. The guy said "Calf hell, I said I had a sick cat!" The vet was shocked and asked what had happened. The guy said "Welp, the last time I seed him, he was with six other cats. He had two diggn', two coverin" up, and two looking for higher ground!"

I think its still funny.

BKB

[Big Skyz]

Ive got a cat I'd love to shove in a box and mail to you.

[airbud7]

Ive got a cat I'd love to shove in a box and mail to you.

Lol^...Bobcat?...Thump would shit when he opened the box....:blob10

[Arty]

Amazon Prime has good prices in cat and dog food.
Too bad you can't buy 22 Ammo on Amazon.

[DeputyDog]

How many cats do you feed? That is a shitload of cat food.

[Thumper]

7 stay in the house. 2 of those go out during the day, but come in at night. There's 1 (recent stray) who stays outside and pretty much lives on the porch. Now there's the new mom with 4 kittens. Plus Lynn carries food and water (and bowls) in her car. If we spot a stray in a parking lot for example, we'll put food/water out for them. She also has strays that show up at the hotel from time to time.

[Arty]

7 stay in the house. 2 of those go out during the day, but come in at night. There's 1 (recent stray) who stays outside and pretty much lives on the porch. Now there's the new mom with 4 kittens. Plus Lynn carries food and water (and bowls) in her car. If we spot a stray in a parking lot for example, we'll put food/water out for them. She also has strays that show up at the hotel from time to time.
Are we gonna see you on an episode of hoarders?!?

[Captain]

7 cats! That's just nasty... One maybe, 2 not sure but 7! Are you crazy....

[BarryBobPosthole]

Cat huggers.

BKB

[Thumper]

The most recent stray is coming around nicely (the one who stays on the front porch). I can pick him up and hold him for extended periods of time. He won't let anyone else do that. Lynn calls me the cat whisperer. Same with the new mom we just started feeding. I'll sit on the pool deck right next to her while she eats ... talking to her the whole time. Lynn can't get anywhere near her. (I have a way with wimmins) ;)

[Captain]

But WHY???

[Thumper]

Dogs are more fun!

A/B, I always had a dog while growing up (my sister had a cat). Dogs don't work with us because we're away from home so often. We're prolly out of town 50-60 days out of the year. Lynn gets 4 weeks paid vacation plus personal time and we're constantly doing 2-3 day weekend trips without cutting into the vacation time. With a dog, ya' have to take him with you (doesn't work for us), put him in a kennel (ain't gonna pay for no doggie hotel), or have a friend/neighbor/family member take care of them for you while you're gone (we're not set up for any of those). With cats, we put out a barrel of food, a kiddie pool full of kitty litter and a bucket of water. Cats take care of themselves. Heck, we took a 10-day trip to California as well as a 11-day cruise recently and had no problems. For the outside guys, we have two feeders with timers.

[Thumper]

But WHY???

It keeps mama happy and when mama is happy ... well, you know! ;)

[Chicken Dinner]

7 cats! That's just nasty... One maybe, 2 not sure but 7! Are you crazy....

Some day I'll tell you how many my Mom has. (Thump is just getting started.)

[Big Skyz]

Hoarders nothing, he is turning to a prime candidate for My Strange Addiction!

[Thumper]

Some day I'll tell you how many my Mom has. (Thump is just getting started.)

Ha ha! Our numbers vary. We've been able to place quite a few, but it's hard with an adult cat ... everyone wants a kitten. My mom does live here in town, but unfortunately, she's allergic to cats. Man, her eyes swell shut, she turns all red and she sneezes her head off! Believe it or not, we had 13 here at one point and we actually DROVE 3 of them to Los Angeles (or was it 4?) and left them with Lynn's mom (she already had 2). We then flew back home. They were great company for her and immediately fit in with the others.

We are down to 8 now ... but with the new mom and babies, that gets us back up to 13 ... that is IF all the kittens make it. Heck who knows? The numbers change constantly.

The one outside cat has calmed down quite a bit since we had him neutered and he spends his whole day lying on an Adirondack chair we have on the front porch. He's actually turned into a very loving cat and enjoys the attention he gets. I spend time with him during the day and he's become very friendly. This pic was just taken a few minutes ago (that's my leg on the left) as I sat out on the porch with him for a little bonding session. Not bad for a cat that was feral just a few months ago. This is Hobo.


7076

[HideHunter]

I ain't got the words....

[Thumper]

Here's my little buddy Smokey. We were on the way to spend the weekend on the beach at the Hilton Hotel in Ft. Lauderdale one weekend and stopped at a BBQ joint for lunch on our way there. We got out of the car, walked toward the entrance and as we passed by their wood pile, heard a faint "meow". There was a tiny kitten hiding in the wood pile, so I reached in between the logs and picked him up. We asked the waitresses at the restaurant what the deal was and they said the day before, somebody pulled into the parking lot, threw him out the car window and took off. Crap! Lynn stayed with him while I drove back down the highway to the nearest town, stopped at a Dollar General and bought food, kitty litter and small litter box. I drove back to the restaurant and gave him food and water while Lynn went in to order our meals. We sat outside with him while all of us ate (he was skin & bones and starving!). We put him in the back seat, he curled up and went to sleep and we continued on to Lauderdale. The hotel had a $150.00 pet fee! (NOT a deposit mind you, a FEE!) DAMN! We were NOT going to pay that, so we snatched a hotel towel from the pool area, I wrapped him up in the towel and smuggled him past the desk and up to our room. We set up his food/water/litter box in the bathroom, informed the desk we would not need any house-keeping services during our stay and started our baby-sitting vigil. We were afraid to leave him alone in the room, in case he started meowing and was heard by the staff, so Lynn and I took turns going for take-out while the other stayed to baby-sit. We never left the hotel room and spent our whole weekend in Ft. Lauderdale watching tv!

He's a real character and actually a lot of fun to have around. Extremely playful and mischievous! Here he is at home shortly after his rescue ... he's fattened up nicely in these pics. He insists on being with me in my office at all times and is right here with me now. (he's grown now) He smelled like the smoke from the BBQ place for a full week after we rescued him, soooo ... hence the name Smokey. This pic was taken after I'd picked up a large (dog) water bowl from an estate sale and had it sitting on the floor next to my desk. I had just emptied my paper shredder and GUESS WHO decided it would be fun to shred the paper bag I had all the "confetti" in! After he made the mess, I hollered at him, he climbed into the empty water bowl, "apologized", then curled up for a nap. ;)



7079 7080

[Thumper]

This little guy is Piper. We were at a friend's house for dinner one Sunday and as we went outside to get into our car and head home, an older woman was standing over a drainage grate on the side of the road and she told us she could hear a kitten meowing, but couldn't see anything. I went over, lifted the grate and reached in to pull this little guy out of the sewer! I have no clue how he got in there. He also loves to spend his time in my office with me. He normally sits on my shoulder until I decide to relax a bit and play a few hands of solitaire. That's when he ALWAYS thinks I need his help deciding on which cards to play. The name? Heck, we found him in a pipe, right? Hence the name Piper! ;)


7085 7086

[Thumper]

Here's my bestest buddy, Duke. Anytime we fill the dishwasher, he insists on supervising as we fill it with dishes. If we open the dishwasher door ... he's in there in a flash! He's really a cool dude and prolly my favorite. I'll stop now, I promise. I won't torture youse dufes with all 13 "baby pics"! They all have their own distinct personalities. ;)


7088

[LJ3]

7 stay in the house. 2 of those go out during the day, but come in at night. There's 1 (recent stray) who stays outside and pretty much lives on the porch. Now there's the new mom with 4 kittens. Plus Lynn carries food and water (and bowls) in her car. If we spot a stray in a parking lot for example, we'll put food/water out for them. She also has strays that show up at the hotel from time to time.

Your neighbors must love you.

[Thumper]

Your neighbors must love you.

Ha! Well, actually they do. Luckily we're on a cul-de-sac and there are only 4 houses here. The Pakistanis work elebenty-bazillion hours/day. They leave at 8:00 am and and don't get home until 10:00 - 11:00 at night. Our next door neighbor is a retired Sheriff's Deputy and he feeds the outside cats for us when we're out of town. The people across the street have 4 cats of their own and they (the cats) spend a good part of their days over here since everyone in their household works long hours. They're pretty cool. When they want to eat, they all jump up on the chair arms on the porch. Each has their own spot and it's always the same arm! The neighbors had no idea they ate over here all the time (I guess our food tastes better than theirs ... or they just don't want to be alone) and they're constantly giving us gift cards for Olive Garden or similar restaurants as a thank-you for taking care of their cats! They're cool guys and we enjoy their company.

Here's (in order) ... Scrappy, Smokey, Casey and Stumpy (on the floor, the farthest from the camera). This is a daily ritual. If we're away, as soon as we pull in the driveway, they run across the street and jump up on their corresponding chairs. ;)


7090

[johnboy]

Saw this on another forum and thought it might fit here:

Wussification is the systematic sissyfying of men

Men use to be real men, now they are becoming wimpy and sissy like ( wussification), afraid to speak up now, afraid to take charge or command, losing their mojo, all this because of our politically correct society.

:poke

[BarryBobPosthole]

We tax that shit here in Oklahoma

7091

[LJ3]

Two cats are manly. Jimmy's waaaaaayyyy over the line.

7092

[yellowk9]

Birds and other small critters don't stand a chance around your place. Maybe some of those Burmese Pythons will move into the neighborhood and restore some balance to things :-) My wife has a cat (it prefers me over her and I actually kind of like the stupid thing some days), but I refuse to let them roam outside.

[Chicken Dinner]

I actually like cats, grew up around them, and would have some barn cats around if I lived out in the country. My wife and older boy are highly allergic though which is probably a good thing as I don't want the damn things (or their litter) in my house.

[HideHunter]

I had an extra trail cam last week. Set it up in the corner of the yard... "Caught a cat (I've never seen it before), a 'possum and a 'coon. Live trap will be going out soon.. I can tell you from experience; None of the three swim well in a live trap.

[Chicken Dinner]

What do you have against a raccoon?

[LJ3]

And if the cat is self-identifying as a delicious wild pig? what then, pray tell?

[quercus alba]

7093

[HideHunter]

What do you have against a raccoon?

Possibly the most destructive critter this side of bears and termites.. Terrible egg eaters.. I don't bother them, in the off-season, unless they get to bothering around the buildings.

[Thumper]

Birds and other small critters don't stand a chance around your place. Maybe some of those Burmese Pythons will move into the neighborhood and restore some balance to things :-) My wife has a cat (it prefers me over her and I actually kind of like the stupid thing some days), but I refuse to let them roam outside.

Ha! Look at the initial post ... these cats are WELL fed. I haven't found so much as a feather in the yard and have many times seen them simply lay on the porch and WATCH the birds in the yard. Now Duke ... the squirrels "F" with him. They constantly come down the trees and taunt him, knowing there's no way he'd ever catch them. It's comedic actually. Almost as funny as that mama Mocking Bird that messes with him all day. Anytime he walks anyplace, she dive bombs him and pecks his tail. He totally ignores her and when she gets overly aggressive, he just lies down. I laugh my ass off watching that show!

That said, I'm afraid the little mama cat I've been feeding has lost one of her kittens. She had 4, but I've only seen 3 for the past few days. An owl or hawk may have snatched her. Who knows? It's a rough world out there. :(

[Captain]

Well fed ain't got a damn thing to do with a cats nature to kill stuff. They kill to kill and hunt to hunt. Not to eat. You can feed them till they are about to pop and show them a baby bird and it kill it as fast as it can.
You are in a dream world.

[Thumper]

Ok cat expert. I'm not around them that much, so I guess I have some learning to do. I can understand though, it's kinda like all Mexicans are murderers and rapists. ;)

The good thing though? I'm going to Heaven for helping God's creatures and youse haters are going straight to Hell! Hey! I should'a been a preacher! :biggrin

[Captain]

I've sent a BUNCHA' cats to heaven in my time.. You should have plenty of company when you get there.

[quercus alba]

One of these nights old duke will climb upon your face while you're asleep and smother you. The. He'll chew your nads off for a snack before going out and destroying the local songbird population

[Thumper]

Such negativity around this joint. I think youse dufes need to roll a doobie and relax. ;)