tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27276563.post4706385712387919024..comments2023-09-18T06:38:04.194-04:00Comments on Palemaleirregulars: Red-tails and What Prey is That?Donegal Brownehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09809720759418462703noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27276563.post-77655100481749043942008-11-12T02:23:00.000-05:002008-11-12T02:23:00.000-05:00My response to Sally's comment on the post for Nov...My response to Sally's comment on the post for November 10, 2008, PREDATORS IN THE HOUSE.Donegal Brownehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09809720759418462703noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27276563.post-42966485615414020692008-11-10T06:23:00.000-05:002008-11-10T06:23:00.000-05:00Sally,With the various kitties I have had over the...Sally,<BR/><BR/>With the various kitties I have had over the years, some of the ones who have been fending for themselves outside do initially want to go outside, even when they were doing awfully out there in terms of not enough food, getting hurt in fights with other cats, etc.<BR/><BR/>It normally took them a few weeks of not going out to get used to the inside.<BR/><BR/>I think that is so much better, not only for the birds, but, as you note, for the cat, and for the owner too. With an indoor-only kitty, there won't be any times when the kitty doesn't come home for hours or perhaps days (or perhaps never) and your parents are worrying themselves sick that she's been hurt.<BR/><BR/>Have they taken her to the vet for a checkup, to make sure nothing is bothering her?<BR/><BR/>I did have one cat who initially nipped at ankles, but he was a male and that stopped 2-3 weeks after he had been altered. <BR/><BR/>Another kitty, a female, used to nip in general to begin with, but someone suggested that I "cry" quietly when she did that (not enough to scare her, but enough to get across what I was doing so that she'd realize nipping hurt, since other cats have some protection with their fur and so a little nip to a human hurts more), and after a few times of that she stopped nipping. I used to lick the nipped area like a cat would for good measure :-)<BR/><BR/>I'll add that when I lived in a suburban area, I think every friend who told me their pet cats should have access to the outdoors was heartbroken within the next 2-3 years because their pet had been hit by a car.Karen Annehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13306986336556283751noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27276563.post-69552317152376915722008-11-10T02:06:00.000-05:002008-11-10T02:06:00.000-05:00Betty Jo,I don't think that Pye is feral either. P...Betty Jo,<BR/><BR/>I don't think that Pye is feral either. Particularly now that I've brought her in and she's such a lap cat.<BR/><BR/>Out of curiousity, even though when a human appeared she ran for it and shot into one of Fluffy the opossums only holes, I decided to test her for feralness. One day when Pye was about half way across the yard, I pulled out a box of cat chow, opened the glass door a crack, stuck it out, and rattled it. Pye, stopped dead and turned around to look.<BR/><BR/>Ah ha! Feral cats don't recognize the sound of a box of cat chow.<BR/><BR/>I have checked to see if anyone is looking for Pye, but found nothing. And actually as some of Pye's reactions lead me to believe that she may have been abused, I'm just as happy I didn't find anyone looking for her.Donegal Brownehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09809720759418462703noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27276563.post-2357624319595732912008-11-08T11:04:00.000-05:002008-11-08T11:04:00.000-05:00Donna, Pye is beautiful. Through our experience h...Donna, Pye is beautiful. Through our experience here, she doesn't seem to be a true feral cat, though perhaps an outdoor cat,who is lost or was abandoned. How great for both her and the birds that you took her in.<BR/>Betty JoAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27276563.post-24996143115882293942008-11-08T10:11:00.000-05:002008-11-08T10:11:00.000-05:00What a beautiful kitty Pye is! Is she missing her...What a beautiful kitty Pye is! Is she missing her jaunts outside? My parents, in their 80's God love them, recently adopted a stray from the neighborhood and this cat is insisting on being outside, pacing and meowingat the door and windows and sometimes getting agitated enough to go up to my Mom and nip her leg to say let me out! She is not content to sit at the full-pane patio door and mew at the birds outside as my cats do. I say she will get over if they ignore her meowing, play with her and give her lots of toys. I've told them how bad it is for both cat and wildlife to let her out but, they are insistent that she is meant to be outside. Any suggestions? I suggest my parents are more stubborn than the cat but then I don't want them bitten either.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com