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The stray cat's dream-come-true

(41 Posts)
grandtanteJE65 Wed 25-Aug-21 13:51:23

Some of you have kindly asked what Trold's apprentice and successor is called.

Well, as you probably can't pronounce his Danish name, we have decided on a pen-name and in deference to Harry Potter and because he is black he is calling himself Sirius here.

As most of you know, he started life as a stray and neither my efforts or those of the lady across the road where he sometimes was fed served to find out where he actually came from.

Neither chipped, tattooed nor apparently missed by anyone who saw our adverts, he seems to have reached the age of three (judging by his teeth) by sneaking food off more fortunate cats' plates - the cat-flap is such a boon to cat-thieves!

All the while the little soul apparently dreamed of two things: being able to sit in a window and look out at the world outside, especially when it is raining, and lying in a bed.

He is, as far as I can see, an entire tom, although there is no smell of tom cat, which I thought there always was in uncastrated males. If anyone knows better, do please enlighten me.

When he is a little more used to being a house cat and valued pet, a visit to the vet is indicated, as he needs to be chipped for my peace of mind and vaccinated against cat's flu, rabies and other nasty things. If the vet is likewise of my opinion that he is capable of siring any amount of unwanted kittens, obviously a further trip to the vet is indicated, as there are too many unwanted kittens in this sad world.

Charleygirl5 Fri 26-Nov-21 15:07:21

They are gorgeous- both appreciate they are being well cared for and loved. If I lived closer I would happily cat sit.

Aveline Fri 26-Nov-21 14:56:20

This is an old very sad thread. I remember being so sorry to hear about Trold. Did you ever get another cat?
I see that I mentioned that we were to re-home two Maine Coons and worried about how domesticated they'd be. Well. They turned out to be the most loving and devoted boys anyone could home for. So friendly and cuddly. They mob me when I sit down and fight for a place on my knee. The first photo is of them both wanting up and the second is of the winner!

Charleygirl5 Fri 26-Nov-21 14:17:07

brazenp75 if you put the food in a dish as the days go by slowly bring the dish closer to the door and then he may have to step inside if he is so hungry. He will slowly get used to you- that is what is happening with soop's feral cat. Poor little fellow.

HowVeryDareYou Fri 26-Nov-21 12:57:06

grandtanteJE65 Only just seen your more recent post. Sorry for your loss flowers

HowVeryDareYou Fri 26-Nov-21 12:55:02

What a very handsome boy! He's very lucky to have found you.

brazenp75 Fri 26-Nov-21 12:53:01

A cat has started to arrive at the end of our little patio and I have started to feed it, it is sooo hungry. It is very frightened and I just manage to quick head-touch before I feed him otherwise it scoots off. I don't know if its male or female! how can I take care of it outside? I can't imagine ever getting it to a vets or even indoors. It seems cold and wet.

fatgran57 Sun 19-Sept-21 03:44:54

I am so sorry - what the dear little soul dreamed of did come true for him so there is that lovely memory.

It is so hard when we lose our little friends.

CanadianGran Sun 19-Sept-21 03:36:15

Oh Grandtante, I am sorry to hear you have lost your little friend. They certainly do make a house welcoming.

Our wonderful cat we had growing up was also a stray that just showed up one day, he was black but long haired. He was a very gentlemanly cat, unfortunately had the undignified name of Puss.

I do hope you get another cat, and you will have to let us know when you do. We have only a dog now, maybe one day a stray will bless us .

SueDonim Sat 18-Sept-21 23:15:13

I didn’t see this thread before but I am so sorry about Sirius, Grandtante. ? A cat-shaped hole in your heart.

What beautiful creatures, Aveline. My DD’s friend has two Norwegian Forest cat siblings. They’re live rurally and are almost self-sufficient for food in the summer. ?

PinkCakes Sat 18-Sept-21 21:39:06

My Mr Cooper was feral until I managed to trap him, take him to the vet to be neutered and microchipped. He's been with us for 10 years now, is approximately 17 years old.

He's the most gentle, lovely cat I've ever had in the 40 years of being a cat owner. Another cat attacked him a few weeks ago, scratched my boy's cornea. After 3 lots of different antibiotics, he had to have the eye removed, but he's been perfectly fine.

Grandmajean Sat 18-Sept-21 18:58:27

Am really upset to hear that. I suspect the same thing happened to our stray but we will never know.flowers

Bridie22 Sat 18-Sept-21 17:22:30

Awh so sorry to hear that, you loved and lost him so quickly.?

grandtanteJE65 Sat 18-Sept-21 17:10:16

Well the stray's dream-come-true was short-lived. Our little Sirius was killed by a car early this morning.

He looked as if he hadn't suffered at all, which is some consolation.

A neighbour kindly rang our bell, as his wife was convinced it was our cat lying dead on the pavement. She was right.

We will miss him, but at least he loved us and we him for the short time we knew him.

Holding off on a new cat for a while. I think I will get my 70th birthday out of the way at the end of November first, as I don't want a party, and now DH and I can go away for a few days then with a clear conscience.

Grandmajean Thu 26-Aug-21 17:36:54

Aveline I know how you feel. We had a beautiful black cat regularly appearing at all hours of the day and night. He clearly had no home and I suspect had lived on a farm . He was lovely. I had him neutered , chipped and vaccinated. For seven months he lived with us but went out in the morning and didn't return until about four o'clock each afternoon. I knew he went on a busy road but he went frantic if I tried to keep him in. The best I managed was to keep him in at night. One day he didn't return. Of all the cats I have loved over the years he is the one I think about most.

Aveline Thu 26-Aug-21 15:43:20

How lovely Lauren59. What a treat for you with those two arriving on your doorstep.

Lauren59 Thu 26-Aug-21 15:17:14

I have two lovely black cats, a mother and her baby, now aged 13. The mother cat showed up one evening with a tiny black kitten following her. I fed them, so of course they stayed!

Aveline Thu 26-Aug-21 14:44:06

Oh dear. It's been a long time since I got down on my hands and knees! Will just have to manage somehow.
As an aside we had a Norwegian Forest Cat once. A lovely creature who was devoted to me but avoided DH. Sadly, she went out one day and never came back. That was worse than having to have a dear pet PTS. Just not knowing what had happened to her was agonising. She was such a chatty puss who'd come rushing in to tell me all her news!

grandtanteJE65 Thu 26-Aug-21 14:01:41

Aveline, if you are still young and healthy enough to get down on your hands and knees the best way of removing cat hairs from carpets and upholstrey that I have yet found is a pot scourer of the cheap sponge variety wrung out in cold or lukewarm water,

It worked well with our Norwegian Forest Cats, so should work with Maine Coone hairs too.

Don't be fooled by the "special pet hair mouthpieces" sold for practically any make of vacuum cleaner. They don't work very well in my experience.

Aveline Wed 25-Aug-21 20:42:25

Lovely! Both the cat and the person sitting reading on the bench!
Black cats are beautiful. Little panthers.

Grandmajean Wed 25-Aug-21 20:18:05

Here's my big lad.

Grandmajean Wed 25-Aug-21 19:25:39

Beautiful !

humptydumpty Wed 25-Aug-21 18:33:56

Aveline thy're stunning, best wishes to them and you for their new forever home.

Aveline Wed 25-Aug-21 17:46:06

There's both boys. Retired from breeding. They've been together since they were kittens so the breeder didn't want to separate them. I suspect they won't exactly be domestic pets but we'll take our time and let them get to know us. My only concern is for the hoover!

Charleygirl5 Wed 25-Aug-21 17:31:38

Aveline he/she is just gorgeous.

Aveline Wed 25-Aug-21 17:28:39

We've just bought several dog beds for the cats we're rehoming. They're very big Maine Coons but usually snuggle up together. I thought the beds we found were pretty reasonably priced. We also splashed out on new litter trays with filters which are easy to remove and empty and more economical on the wood pellets. We're getting so excited!