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CATCATCATCATCATCATCATCATCATCATCATCATCATCATCATCATCATCATCATCATC Cat Stories ^^^^^^^^^^^ Now You See Me, Now You Don't I recently moved from the west to the east coast. In order to give myself some time to get settled in and spare my 2 cats a cross county drive I left them in the west with my partner. This is the first time in my cats 2 years of life that their mommy has been away from them for more than five days. Not only that but even when I have left them they've still been surrounded by the "stuff" they grew up with. After I had been gone for a bit over two weeks my partner put up a new picture of me. As she was doing so my very smart cat Kirby saw that it was a picture of me and propped himself up to get a closer look. Noticing his interest my partner took the picture off the wall so Kirb could get a better looks. She said he got right up to it sniffed it, then peered around the back side to try and figure out where I was. I swear, cats never cease to amaze me! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A Halloween Story??? I recently adopted a stray brown Tabby who looks like she has some Persian in her. She is very dignified. A friend of mine had been seeing her hanging around his river cabin. She would come in to spend the night only if his Standard Poodle was not there. With winter coming on here in Montana he got concerned and the more we talked about it the more I realized I was ready to take a new cat into my life (my Siamese Hoboken had been hit by a car about five weeks before). I realized that this stray cat sounded like a good kitty. So we agreed that he would bring her in from the river in a few days. As I was thinking about a name for her before she came, I remembered that my friend's cabin is near a place called Clearwater Junction. The words "Eau Claire" (French for clear water) came to mind and I thought Claire might be a fine name. I mentioned this to my friend. When she arrived at my house, however, I began calling her Clara. When I told this to my friend, he laughed and said he'd been calling her Clara, too. O.K., here's the spooky part. Two nights ago my friend was back up at his cabin and was just getting ready for bed when he saw a reflection in the window. The cabin has a ghost - the woman who built the cabin many years ago. All the members of my friend's family have seen her there when they have been alone in the cabin. He has described her to old-timers up on the river and they agree that my friend is describing the woman. So he's sitting on the bed, sees this reflection in the window and thinks "Oh, Claire is back." Now, how did I come up with the name Claire/Clara . . . really???? - Mary Frances Schjonberg - ............................................................. Cat Alarm Clock My cat "Casey" will wake me up in the morning by gently biting my nose until I get up and feed him. - Bill - ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, Flashlight Frenzy My cat loves chasing the light from a flashlight. In fact, we have her trained so that she jumps high enough to turn the overhead lights on and off if we shine a light on the switch. It is funny how smart cats are though. I found that even if I hide the flashlight and light coming from it, and flick the switch, the cat goes wild. She knows that infamous "click". ````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````` Cat Story I inherited a full Persian who was raised initially with 3 dogs. She stands up on her hind feet and "begs" just like a dog - hardly ever meows; instead she GROWLS when she hears someone ring the doorbell or knock. If she is asleep on my bed at night and we have family sleeping over on holidays, she knows their footsteps are not familiar and will growl at them if they get up to the bathroom during the night. - Marie G. - ............................................................. The Cat Came Back Olivia was the world's best cat. People even asked about her on the answering machine -- that's how well loved she was by everyone who came into our house. Part of her charm was the way she would run up to anyone who came in, purring and issuing little yelps of gladness. One day, however, she greeted a car with a little too much eagerness. It was weeks before the depression even began to lift from the neighborhood. Even the other two cats seemed lost -- they hated each other, but loved Olivia to the point where they'd actually step back and let her eat first. They took to hanging out in her old favorite spots, interminably searching as though they'd find her somewhere. One night last month, I looked up from my reading to see Nell, our youngest cat, standing at the window. She didn't seem to be trying to attract my attention, so I continued to read. Suddenly I heard this great woompf, as though the window were going to cave in. I got up and went to the window, hoping by my stern expression to convince Nell to be a bit more patient. To my shock, Nell was no longer there. Instead, there sat a little white cat with blue eyes and a bright pink collar. "No", I said to myself, over and over, but I kept looking, and it was, without a doubt, Olivia, looking at me sternly. I felt admonished for not treating her sister with the same lovingness that came naturally for Olivia. I felt thrilled, hoping against hope that the little white cat buried in our garden was somehow not her. But when I ran to the back door to let her in, there was nothing there. My husband says that the loud noise was the sound of a cat so spoiled that they threw her out of heaven landing on the patio steps. But I think Olivia wanted to give me one chance to remember her as she was, instead of as I saw her when I buried her under her favorite dwarf maple. All The World's A Kitten When Peabody had her litter of black and dark grey kittens, my other two cats didn't quite know what to make of it. Peabs was a fat cat to start with, so we hadn't even realized she was pregnant when we got Olivia. Nell was a shy cat, who didn't associate much with anyone. But suddenly, there were five new little squeaking lives crawling around our library floor. Nell seemed disinterested, so I didn't worry about her. But Olivia was only six weeks old herself, and extremely curious. The first few days, she just stuck her little nose over the box and watched. Then one day I came home from school and pulled out the cat box to check on our new charges. And there were the kittens - two black, two grey and one tiger - and a slightly larger pure white one, all snuggled together against Peabody. Peabs looked a bit confused about this large, bright new child, but seemed utterly content to have her there. And Olivia, as the kittens grew more active, took on the role of nursemaid, rounding them up and bringing them back to Mom whenever they strayed too far from the nest. Even stranger was Nell's reaction. She either ignored the kittens or growled if they came too close. But one night we woke in the middle of the night because there was an endless stream of yips and yows coming from the floor beside the bed. We turned on the light to find that Nell had lined up four of my husbands rolled-up socks, and was alternately curling up with them and pushing them around and talking to them On occasion, she's pick one up in her mouth and move it. Sp, without the pangs of childbirth, or having to put up with Olivia, she'd somehow managed to have a litter of her own. When all of the kittens had found homes, Both Nell and Peabody adopted Olivia, curling her up in their own, larger warmth. I think they were as devastated as we were when she died. Both of them walked around the house for weeks, crying and poking into all of her favorite hiding places. - Carol Wallace - ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, "Goodbye" My long-haired calico follows me around the house wherever I go. It's odd, because she's kind of persnickety. She doesn't particularly like to be petted, and she certainly doesn't like to be picked up. But she's my constant companion wherever I go. For reasons I don't understand, my working at the computer seems to really annoy her, much more than my being occupied with other tasks. As soon as I sit down at the computer, she starts vocalizing. I'll reach down and pet her or scratch her head, but she goes on. Finally, she'll give up and find a comfortable spot for a nap. She's come to understand certain signals from the computer, even in her soundest sleep. For example, when I sign off from AOL, she hears the "Goodbye" and dashes down the stairs, thinking that I'm done with the computer. She does this even before I get up from my chair, so it has to be that she knows the word "Goodbye." Several times, however, I've gone on to other computer tasks and so didn't get up from my chair. Then, she sheepishly creaps back to my office, settles back into her original napping place, and pretends nothing has happened. - Carol Wallace - ............................................................. Computers And Cats My cat, Tigger, loves my computer. He is the same cat who sits across the newspaper as I am trying to read it. Anyways, he gets jealous (or something) when I use the computer. He generally jumps up on the table and stands directly in front of the screen so I can't see anything. He's a medium to long haired cat who's really fluffy with a bushy tail. He covers the whole screen. After being pushed out of the way a few times he comes back and lies down across the keyboard. This plays havoc with my typing, and he has even shut down the computer once! Does anyone know how much damage cat hair can do to a keyboard? I always try to get it out, but it's kind of difficult! - L. Gillian - ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, Saving A Stray Cat There is nothing like the feeling of satisfaction that saving a little life gives you. I never considered doing anything but feeling sorry for a stray cat I saw tearing into garbage bags for food. But last night I took action. As my boyfriend and I were leaving a chicken restaurant, I caught sight of the cutest kitty. Her fur was matted, she was dirty, afraid and starving. It took about 20 minutes to gain her trust but she finally came to me. I had my boyfriend run back to the apartment to grab the pet taxi and using food as persuasion, the kitty finally went into it. I think the taxi was the most secure place shed ever been in. She was so good, hardly cried at all as we drove her home. Unfortunately, we just adopted another cat from a shelter, so we really couldn't keep her. We called a shelter in Boston (it was 9:00 P.M.) and we brought her. She was so sweet, so trusting and loving that it killed me to give her up. Now I'm thinking about going back and bringing her home. She really won my heart. I guess I have to think about it some more. But I felt so good that I saved this poor kitty from sure death either by starvation or cars. (She was wandering around a busy street.) At least now she has food, water and is warm. If anyone has a story about saving a cat, I would love to hear it. There's enough bad in this world that it is rewarding to hear a few happy stories once in a while. - Andrea Ehleiter - ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ivan's Story It was 1985 and I had just graduated college. While interviewing, I took a job delivering newspapers to local stores early Saturday mornings. One cold, late summer morning I met him. During my route, I found a kitten outside the store I was delivering to. The kitten was cold tired and very dirty, he had gotten into some of that 90 weight gear oil and must have been ingesting it while trying to clean himself. The store was not quite yet open for business, so I took him inside the delivery van. He was very affectionate and trusting even in his poor condition. When the store opened, no one knew or seemed to care much about the kitten. They didn't have any cat food in the store, so I bought a can of Spam and some mineral water for the kitten. Once I gave them to him, he ravenously ate and drank as I gingerly drove on to my next stop. Fortunately, I was near the end of my route and I finished quickly, returned the van and drove home with the kitten. I was living with my parents at the time and my mother remembers me bringing him home. She said he was the scragglyist looking thing she'd ever saw; I kept saying "isn't he cute?" A trip to the vet and a bath or two later revealed he was all white, except for a grey spot on his head! After a few days it became clear he was going to stay - much to the chagrin of the resident Siamese. We named him Ivan the Terrible; the White Russian. Well, eventually the grey spot disappeared, and Ivan became all white. He still lives in the rural area of western Massachusetts today, and my mom often tells me "ya know, he's really a good cat.": - B. C. Lamore - ````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````` Mama Kitty She was beautiful -- black, and sleek, and WILD! My next door neighbor started feeding her and we discovered her living under a storehouse in our back "pasture". We gradually moved her to my house and she knew exactly when I would be home and when feeding time was. We were about to catch her with a trap when I discovered that she recently had kittens. Of course, we couldn't separate her from her babies, so we just kept on feeding her. Soon, the kittens (2) came out and we adored them! I caught one in a trap and gave it to a friend. I worked over a year just to get Mama Kitty to let me touch her - barely! Caught her in a trap, took her for shots and had an appointment to go back for spaying. She BROKE OUT of my 2nd floor bedroom; clawed her way through the panel at the side of the window A/C unit. A few days later, she shows up again for food! I plotted for several weeks to catch her again -- she was entirely too smart for the trap again. Then, notice she was very pregnant AGAIN. Had to do something, quick! I lured her on to the back porch with food, but could not get the door closed behind her fast enough. Then, came upon the idea to tie a string on the porch door handle and "hide" inside the house. Propped the screen door open enough for her to get in to the food, then pulled the string and the door closed! She was "captured", but inside the porch. After chasing her around for a while, we caught her and she spent the night in the cat carrier. Straight to the vet's the next morning for an abortion and neuter. I found out that she had an "adhesion" - bladder & uterus had grown together. It may have ruptured when she delivered the kittens, so glad we found it. She recovered in the upstairs bedroom (secured against another breakout!) and is now one of the family. She's still a little skittish, but really loves to be petted, and seems to love me. By the way, the 2nd kitten came in of her own will -- Button -- a perfectly marked little Tabby. They are both a little wild around strangers, but I love them dearly! ............................................................. Gato Madre I was staying with my folks out in the country and noticed a little black wild cat who looked like she had recently had kittens. Followed her around for awhile and discovered where she had hidden them. There were three calicos and one all black like his mama. I dug them out of the rock pile where they were hidden and brought them in the house because I wanted them to survive. We would let Gato Madre in to feed them but kept her outside the rest of the time. One morning I got up and went outside. There by the front door, on a chair, were three tiny mice, lined up neatly in a row, one for each kitten. I have never forgotten what a good mother that little black cat was. - M. Lowe - ............................................................. Retriever Cat We have a cat named Oliver. He is two years old. domestic longhair - black and white. I have had lots of cats during my 55 years, but this guy is the smartest cat ever! He will retrieve a small toy mouse all night long. I throw the mouse and he brings it back, rubs around my legs and drops it between my feet. He then goes back and crouches behind a chair and waits for the next toss. If a small box is placed at my feet, he will drop the mouse in the box on return. At supper every night, Oliver is unrelenting, as he rubs and cries for me to open the drawer where his mice are stored. Then the game begins. He is something else!!! - R.M. Dawson - ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Doggie Masseuse One day while I was visiting my friends Mary and her daughter Katharine, I saw a most unusual thing. Her female terrier mix, Ginger was taking turns massaging their three cats! She was doing this by rolling them with her head and licking them from "stem to stern." Even General Gore, a huge white with grey patches male, was loving it. He doesn't usually let people touch him! Jupiter, an orange and white kitty and Tiger Lily, a Tortoise Shell, were also most grateful participants! - Hester B. Golden - ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, Long Lost Kitten? Our long-haired calico cat, Penelope must think that my husband, Jeff is her long lost kitten! When he is relaxing on the living room floor, she comes up and starts grooming his hair. She sneezes about every seventh lick. It's great fun to catch her in the act. It's even more fun to see how she "styles" his hair! He looks like a real Mod guy out of a 70s' B movie! Sometimes when he's reading in the recliner, she will lay on his chest and groom his beard, too! Yesterday, at a cross country ski outing, a woman told me about how her male tabby that tipped over her alarm clock, which shut off the alarm - causing her to wake up an hour later that morning. This same cat also knocks the receiver off the phone! She thinks he does it out of jealousy. And that he wants her to spend more time with her. Jealous Big Brother The other night while at our friend's house we saw something really cute! After dinner, Lorna and I were talking in the kitchen. I looked over at Toby, her huge gray male kitty and he was opening the bottom drawer with his paw, he then opened the cupboard door where Tawny, the other orange and cream male tabby's food was. He then bumped his head against the drawer he opened earlier to close it! Quite the clever cat! - Linne Bailey - & - Lorna Romano - Guard Cat My sister's little Blue Point Siamese used to sleep on her chest, under the blankets. When anyone would come into her room to wake her up, the protective cat would hiss and meow, hoping to drive us out so that her beloved owner could sleep. This same kitty was a retriever, just like a dog. Her favorite game was to chase after lemon twists (hard candy wrapped in celophane with a twist on either end). We'd throw the lemon twists across the room, she'd run after them, bring them back, and drop them at our feet so that we could throw them again. Guided Tour Our female calico cat likes her window tour. She makes noise until I pick her up, and carry to every window in the house, one after another. She will look out of each window, quite contentedly as I hold her. A Grand Night For Caterwauling Our cat was late for breakfast, an unusual circumstance. Later that day, we found that our neighbors, the Kampff's, who lived across the street and four houses down, had him in their Have-a-Heart trap since 3:00 that morning. He was giving out such a woller in that little tiny metal box that it woke Mr. Kampff up. I wonder what Poozle thought when he discovered that there was no way out? Probably something like "This isn't quite right, is it?" or "How did this happen?" Or perhaps, "Now I know what they mean with that cat and curiosity stuff!" He may have also thought, "So this is my punishment for sneaking off at night!" His son, Ronnie told me that his dad was VERY upset about it! And, that the "Pweege" (nickname for Poozle) was wollering and carrying so that he was afraid to get close enough to let him out! - Jeff Napier - ............................................................. The School Kitty My friend Hester told me about a television documentary about a male tabby alley cat who became famous. It all begin one fall morning at a downtown Los Angeles, Californa elementary school. As the children arrived, there was the school kitty waiting to greet them. He was followed several times to try and find out where he went everyday after school. No one ever found out. He even left school and came back to school when the kids did! Sure enough, when the kids came back, there was school kitty waiting to greet the kids as they arrived! Eventually, everyone in the school got to know and love this devoted stray. Mail poured in from across the globe. Some even sent money to feed and care for the homeless, but not schooless kitty. So much money was sent, that they had to open a bank account for him! The bank had a special ink pad they used for putting his paw print on deposit slips! He got so popular that he made several personal and television appearances. And, there were so much fan mail that school kitty had to hire a staff of several answer them! Needless to say, school kitty got a little big-headed about all this hub-bub. He was said to have a very proud bearing - held his head high and was very self-possessed. The best thing about school kitty is what he taught the children. From answering the thousands of letters, they learned how to reach out to others. And, most importantly, from feeding caring and grooming him, they learned how to be more responsible, gentle and loving. Water Cat I once knew a young male, black cat who loved water! Everytime members of our household showered, he'd paw open the curtain and walk around with the most curious of expressions. He'd purrposely walk under the shower until properly soaked and then calmly walked out. Twas The Night Before Christmas Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the house, Not a creature was stirring, except the cats. Tiberius came in with the frost on his tail, Chasing Wilson who flew across the floor, Waking the kittens and Thomas like never before. Mom and Dad were asleep all snug in their bed with Ming-Soo snuggled between them. Killashandra watched the spectacle from atop the Cat Tree, Shaking her head and nodding to Whitley below, That the party was ready to begin. The balls with bells were rolled across the floor, Making tinkling sounds like never before. The kittens began chasing the balls, bumping into Thomas and cleaning his tail. He chirruped and mewed, and raced in the kitchen, hoping the fridge was open to serve milk and baked chicken. But alas, it was only Tiberius et al, munching on cat kibbles, and chasing tinkling balls. Santa will come to this house tonight, but instead of cookies and milk, He gets Science Diet Lite!! - Carmel W. - ............................................................. End Of Chapter