h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Nah, Nimbus uses plastic dishes since he is up on a tiled rooftop. Btw, gave him the last of his de-worming meds today so I'm not feeding worms anymore.

I doubt I'd get him castrated. Hell, I can't even get near him (yet). Though again this morning he came to eat while a crouched down a short distance away and talked to him. Since he was eating spiked sardine & whitefish Whiskas paté I doubt he cared about what I was doing anymore.

Turns out he's quite talkative. But very timid. I passed another street cat on my way home tonight and she walked right up to me and let me pet her. Perhaps Nimbus has had some bad experiences.


az

I've heard that if cats aren't socialized to humans and handled a lot by them in the first six weeks of life, they never really warm up to them.

Perhaps that explains the difference in the street kitties?

thats true,to a point, domestic cats that have been booted out of home and had kittens,with plenty of contact they do come round, but kittens from ferral cats that is those 2 and third generation of street cats never can be domesticated, they will tollerate us humans but not let you pick them up not that you get the chance to get close enough to them,

these street cats in spanish holidays resorts tend to be a cross between the two rather like squirrals in the park ,as long as food is available will hang around.

Have you tried yawning around him yet Az its cat talk for look i'm tired i'm no threat to you, also the cat knows whilst your yawning your eyes are closed or almost closed, try yawning a couple of times
and keep your eyes open at the same time, its pretty hard to bodys natural reflex is to close em ,
catch you later 8 sleeps

Just seven more sleeps now.


az

hi Big Red and logicus,

<>

Well, the cat I took in from the streets nine years ago - Azar - was quite 'wild' when I finally got him here, at five months old. I had to sneakily trap him (placing a tin of tuna at the back of a big cat cage and then snapping the front door shut once he went in to eat) and he went totally mental after I let him out at home. In fact, he didn't let me touch him at all for three months! But eventually he came round and he has ended up being the most affectionate and *demanding* thing - always wanting me to cuddle him and brush him and massage his paws and stuff like that. But he still won't let anyone but me touch him - the weirdo. Of course, since someone once tried to kill him in the street and 'only' managed to break and ruin his left front leg, I guess I can understand this. Kitten-hood trauma runs deep, apparently.

Perhaps it's just personalities? Lua never enjoyed being cuddled or petted, though she did like being stroked under her chin and kissed on the head. Since I adopted her when she was two I had no idea how her previous humans had treated her. But she never really came round. Crankiest thing on four paws, that one. But sometimes she would cuddle up in bed at night, next to my head. I am really missing that now.

As for Sunny, Lua's son, he was practically born into my hands and since he was an hour old he was always picked up and cuddled. Which is why I think he ended up being a 'dog'. Whenever anyone comes over he immediately goes over to greet them and expects them to appreciate the fact (by giving him lots of cuddles) that he is the centre of the universe!

As for Nimbus, well, who knows? He now tolerates me sitting a couple of metres away from him while he eats. I've taken some photos but it will be awhile before I finish the roll of film. But I am still perplexed by the fact that he meowed at me so much that first day, when I was cooking chicken in my kitchen with the window open. I mean, he was obviously asking for food. So perhaps he is an abandoned cat? Used to humans feeding him?

Also, as I think I mentioned before, Nimbus is *very* talkative. When I am up on the roof talking to him he meows back constantly to everything I say to him. This morning he even - almost - came within touching distance as I was dishing out his breakfast. Progress?

Anyhow, I really have no intention of bringing Nimbus into my home to live. But I am quite happy having him as my 'rooftop cat' and I will continue feeding and caring for him as long as he lets me.

I did the same thing with Azar's father, Cat. He was my street cat for ages and I even left a bag of catfood at my friend's bar and they quite happily fed him and even let him into the bar.

I just can't see bringing a fully-grown male rooftop cat into my flat - he'd probably make mincemeat out of the other two boys here (who are now curled up on the sofa together, best-mates that they are). It worked with Azar because he was still quite young.

Anyhow, rambling again . . .

az

Get this!

I was just in the kitchen making myself a snack (kitchen window open but I wasn't actually cooking anything) and suddenly I get - meow, meow, meow! I look out the window and up and there is this little charcoal grey face looking down and screaming at me!

I yelled up - WHAT??? - and the face disappeared. But he was back a minute later meowing at me.

*sigh*

So I trudged upstairs with a second helping of food for the day.

I can't believe this guy. First he treats me like I am his worst enemy, and then he demands that I feed him more than once a day! But tonight I demanded 'payment'. I sat no more than two feet away from his dish and said - 'you want it? then come and get it!' And he did.

I was close enough that I could have reached out and touched him, though of course I knew better than to try. For awhile he would snatch a bit of food and run away. But eventually he settled down and just ate normally(ish). Looking over his shoulder at me between bites. And his tail was still tucked between his legs. I kept up a bit of chatter, telling him what a silly thing he was but that he was also quite gorgeous (he really is) and then I got up - Nimbus stopped eating but didn't run - and told him I was going back downstairs to have my own snack, if he didn't mind.

But I mean, how cheeky can you get?

I have a feeling Nimbus and I are going to get along just fine.


az

Well, I'm looking forward to watching the next steps of this saga unfold in person after I get back on Wednesday. Hopefully Nimbus will soon be used to having two humans around.

Noggin

Oh good - you can take over the evening feedings then.

Once a day up those rickety stairs is quite enough for me!


az

*waves at Noggin...

We had a big cat-fight out in my back yard the other night. "The Interloper" (whose name, I discovered, is Pippin) and a ginger and white neighbourhood hoodlum. There was fur all over the yard in the morning.

Your relationship is Nimbus is progressing great, looking forward to the next installment!

I have this sneaking suspicion that Nimbus won't be a roof-top cat for long

I once knew a cat that started as 'that mangy stray', progressed to 'the poor tabby that looks like it's been mistreated', and then became 'not to be allowed in the house under any circumstances'. Then one wet day Dad came in with a cat-shaped lump under his jacket; he said 'It's raining so hard and the poor thing is drenched; he can sit by the heater for a while. Is there any spare cat food I can give him?'

Well, that was that. Fred stayed for more than a decade. Dad pretended not to be attached to him. Dad wasn't much of an actor.

Well, that's cats for you.

But you gotta love 'em.

Noggin

*waves back to Mudhooks*

It's the foxes that keep me awake at night. Noisy b*ggers sometimes.

I have a question for you all: I know foxes have "colonized" some town centres in England. How do they get on with cats? Are they on the foxes' dinner menu or can cats hold their own?

Just curious!

SC

"colonized" some town think you will find they are just as much at home in the towns as the country, have seen "cubs" playing with ferral kittens,but not sure if norm, once picked up a litter of cubs that where wrongly identified as abbandoned kittens, by then it was to late to replace so they went of to a rescue centre fox fox cubs,
.
Az what do the two boys think of you returning from the roof with the scent of Nimbus all over the feeding bowl, or have you not let them sniff the plate ?.I take it that they dont wander up the stais after you to see what your up to, at feeding times.

We have foxes trot through our suburban garden, often first thing in the morning.

Cassie keeps her distance, she doesn't try to wind them up as she does with dogs. Whether she has learnt from experience or it's just instinct, I don't know.

I often wonder ,if its because they both prey on the same animals, sort of mutual respect ?. Since not heard of a large amount of cats falling prey to foxes, given that they are not much larger than some rabbits.

What a sweet story about your Dad and Fred, Ivan.

logicus, Nimbus has 'disposable' plastic dishes, one for food, one for water. I cut them from the bottom of mineral water bottles (the water one is deeper) and just replace them when they get dirty. So the boys don't get to smell him or his dishes. Though Sunny did get upset and start howling the time I opened the salmon and whitefish Whiskas paté and then walked out the door with it.

They never seem to notice when I've been playing with or petting someone else's cat or dog. Even on Wednesdays when I spend two hours teaching with a little blonde Maltese/Yorkie on my lap. Though they do sometimes seem very interested in my shoes after I've been out.


az

We have a family of foxes living under the old granite wall at the bottom of our garden, between us and the neighbours. The downside is the weird shriek of the vixens, but the upside is to see them in late summer jumping up and biting plums off the plum tree! Sadly, I think they were responsible for the disappearance of the frogs from my pond.