A year and a half ago I was walking up to my front door and something jumped out of the cellar window well. It was a cold night and I saw a black cat running away. Looked ing the window well and saw where she had been laying in the leaves. The wife started to put food out for her. We could never get close to her but saw she had a collar on that looked way too tight. It took a few months but she finally came around to us and we were able to get the collar off. She still wasn't very friendly. Bad news was she was already pregnant.She had 5 kittens in the window well . We tried to move them after a few weeks but she took them 2 houses up the street where they had put a deck on the house that was for sale with no one living in it.It took us a few days to find them and I had to pry up some boards to get them out. We found homes for them and got her some food with a little sedative in it so she was a little "out of it " . Got her fixed and now she thinks she lives here. I was putting a alternator on the Avanti one day and she climbed up and sat on the air cleaner and watched me. She meets me every night when I get home from work at 11 PM. Her boyfriend has started hanging out . He is really feral and get skittish when you get too close , but maybe he will come around too. He watches what we do to her like pick her up , and pet her. Here are some pics. She is sleeping on top of my 72 Suzuki GT 750 Water Buffalo.
Jason, me thinks you are a better man than me. I don't think I could have gone that far for a stray. But then I have this story.... We had a cat adopt us, well one of our horses really. Went out one morning about a month ago to find this cat sleeping next Abby my daughters grey Quarter horse who was also laying down (see pic of horse, cat already bolted). They were just snuggled together. The cat took off when I got within 50 yards, can't get any closer to it. The cat hangs out with the grey but not the Pinto. No one can get close to it but she sleeps with Abby. I'm afraid the coyotes are gonna get it though as we have a real problem with them. Had one run my daughter back to her truck one night and neighbors have killed 6 in the last month all within a half mile of us. I'm considering a Donkey as they will kill every dog/coyote on the property. So here I am worried about a cat that no one can get close to. Mikey
Good on you. We've adopted more than a few cats over the years. With one exception they all matured to affectionate pets. Some were semi feral factory cats- they were the most grateful- if one can impose human emotions on a cat.
Thought I would update this thread. Looks like Custer is making her last stand. Custer was diagnosed with bad kidneys. At the peak of her health, she was 8 lbs. Shes now at 6lbs and dropping. We're giving her subcutaneous IV fluids daily and assisting her with syringes of food because shes not eating enough. Shes wasting away and its something I cant fix. We're going to continue to fight for her and try our best to stave off the inevitable. Sucks, shes such a good cat.
Very sorry, Jason. You have given Custer the best life she could have had. You, and all those who have previously posted that they have rescued cats (and dogs as well), are great examples of being God's Caretakers. I just wish that everyone on Earth was like you. We have two female felines that we rescued from certain death. Two of the best family members in our home now.
Jason,you did everything you could...this thread was a good read and even with a sad ending,made the highlight of my day.
You're a great man Jason. You provided Custer with a great life even if for only a short time. What a great story that really touched me. We have a calico "Kalli" that we've had for 18 years. My step kids brought her home when a neighbor discovered several kittens in an abandoned house. She has been and still is a sparkle in our eyes. Thank you for sharing your story.
All of our cats have been rescue cats. Presently we have a tuxedo cat (Black with white markings) She was a barn kitten, although you wouldn't know it now. I found out the rest of the litter was killed when no one showed up to get anymore of them. Nermal rules the roost in our house. The other is a black cat (seems to be a recent theme of ours) who was dumped off on the side of the road. She was picked up and brought to a house, but they couldn't keep her. She is so tiny, they thought she was a 3 month old kitten. My son found her on social media and since our first cat, Nermal had disappeared 3 months earlier, I took him to get her. She is a small cat and was about 6 months old, but looked 3 months old. We took her home and named her Baby. She hid under my youngest son's bed for 3 days. At that time, my eldest son, who lives in the basement yelled "Mom, Nermal just came down here!" She was scraggly and thin, malnourished. It looked like she was stolen and lived in the wild while finding her way home. Okay... 2 cats it is. Nermal recovered and is fit not fat but muscular. She likes to live indoors now. Baby loves the outdoors, but since my youngest was killed in an accident, has become my cat. You don't own a cat. They pick and own you.
Yup. When we got Nermal, she was so small and cute, it made sense. No, she is a large cat and doesn't fit the moniker, but, it's far too late to late to change her name as she is about 12 years old. My Cockatiel is kind of a rescue bird as well. I saw him at the pet store and he had been beat up by the other Cockatiels. He has only 1 claw on each of his feet and falls off his perch on a regular basis. I felt sorry for him as no one wanted a damaged bird so I brought him home. i bought a large (4 ft x 3 ft x 5 ft high) parrot cage for him and a budgie for company. she henpecks him mercilessly, but when I took her out, he got depressed. Back she went and while henpecked, he seems happy. Guess he is like a lot of husbands. He is an @$$ though. Hisses when you clean his cage or restock his water. I like him, he has attitude.
Sorry to hear Jason - she had a good life with you! Last year I was in need of a barn cat for the critters running around in the garage. My friend had a garage cat he hated - hiss bite scratch whenever anyone approached her. I didn't care about that as he claimed she was a good mouser. I get her home and she warms up to me after several months and now is affectionate. I take her to the vet for a check up and look at her papers - she's 18 years old! Almost blind, can't hear, doesn't give a woop about mice. Ah well, now I heat the garage for $100/month to keep her warm - what can you do?
I never was a cat person until I found my little buddy. He followed me everywhere and often just appeared from nowhere. In order to get the paper from the top of the driveway, I had to use a "Simon stick". He would get all tangled up in my feet so I used the stick to guide him. It REALLY messed me up when he passed. It was completely unexpected. He seemed fine, and the he was dead.
It's been awhile since I've logged onto V8BUICK but I am very happy to have found this thread. Been busy with my frame off work on my 70 SKYLARK and just had the rebuilt 455 and TH400 put into my 69. Anyway....I'm very happy knowing that it seems like I can always count on V8BUICK to renew my hope and belief in mankind....and our love for animalkind. Just want to share this.....our youngest rescue cat is MADISON, our niece found her in some bushes, said she was there all day just meowing away, probably only 6 weeks old if that. Anyway, a rescue dog we had adopted about six weeks earlier was pregnant and had four puppies so Madison and the puppies got to know each other at about 6 weeks old and grew together for a couple of months. Long story even longer......Madison is now 6 years old and the only cat I've ever had (and I've had a few) that loves to play fetch. Only problem with her is that she hates for me to give any of our other pets any attention.
We have one that is approaching her 23rd birthday. She is blind and deaf. She navigates by walking into walls and such. Seems to be in no pain, finds food, and the cat pan for the most part. Honestly.. I hope she just passes in her sleep so that we don't have to make that decision. I know I can't do it.
