Homeless Cat -- Now Spotacus' Legacy

[Wanderlost]

On 18 Dec, a very large cat showed up at our house. It was late and cold, and he looked in the door and made it clear he wanted inside. Well, since we have two cats already and he was a stranger, we could not let him in the house. WLToo walked out and the cat ran to him, so he walked the cat into the garage and into the climate controlled room out there.

He was extremely hungry and thirsty, but in otherwise good condition and very clean. We fixed up a bed for him, set up the feeding and elimination stations, and went to bed.

Next day, we worked in the garage all day, while the big guy slept or supervised. We found him to be an intact male, no sign he's ever worn a collar, and he has a strong need to be in the general vicinity of humans. For an intact male, he's remarkably mellow - I don't think he was the alpha cat in his previous home.

Have had zero responses to the "found cat" notices around the area and online, so we'll be working with the local rescues to get him neutered and all his shots, then find him a home. We can't keep him because he's just too big for our two cats to share our small house. Alex would have another emotional meltdown, and I don't want to go through that mess again (long, ugly story).

For now, we're calling him Spot, not that he answers to it (does answer to "Kitty, Kitty"). No idea how he travels; we'll find out when we take him to the vet on Tuesday.

If anyone knows of someone who would like a large (about 15-18 pounds) cat who needs to be with people, please let me know. No cat novices, please; this cat needs someone who knows exactly how to handle an adult cat of this size, especially when he's feeling frisky.





We're at Canyon Lake, TX, so if there are any Winter Texans nearby who would like to meet him and maybe give him a home, that would be great.

[Code2High]

Retirement is not what it's cracked up to be! People who are looking forward to having "more time" are in for a shock.

[Wanderlost]

July 1 already, and we've only had two days of 100+ temps, much to Spot's relief. He's been able to lay on the porch furniture the last two days without getting hot. It even sprinkled this evening to further cool things down.

WLToo is still battling pneumonia, and he doesn't sleep well. That means I have to drive everywhere, so things have been really busy for me. I thought being retired meant less time running around doing "stuff...."

Mama Doe Lassie's boys are all hanging around with her again, plus another buck with really magnificent velvet who seems to be the young buck herd alpha male. Interesting how they all want to hang with MDL in our meadow. I noticed one eyeing MDL's bowl on the porch. When I looked closer and called, "Solo?" he marched right up to the porch and checked out her bowl. Yep, it was him, all right. He's the boldest of her three bucks. Haven't seen Notch lately (the one she adopted), and that's good, because he's way too bold for our comfort.

I was sitting on the porch reading this evening, and two rufous hummingbirds flew up and hovered, looking at me. There's plenty of nectar in the feeder, so I guess they were just checking me out. Bold little things.

Wow. Today was exhausting and I'm not very awake anymore, so I'll stop now. Later, y'all.

[Wanderlost]

Alex woke us up with Concerto por Chat in G Minor this morning, doing the wandering minstrel through the house. He finally found his way into the bedroom and jumped up to purr in my ear, but I was now wide awake. I'm retired, I don't have to do sunrises anymore, but it sure was a pretty one.

The yearling and two-year-old buck herd moved into the meadow yesterday, and provided some very pleasant viewing for several hours. Han and Spooky were there, not too certain about Solo or Notch.

I got swarmed by hummingbirds this morning, as I changed out the nectar. One nearly got caught in my hair, and one did land on my hand, but quickly realized it was not the perch and flew off. Twas a lively few minutes.

Otherwise, it's been very quiet here. Ahhhh....

[Wanderlost]

Starting to get hot, into the 90s now. Not like the last two Junes at all, though, so it's quite reasonable compare to them. But when it gets hot, Spot becomes pure house cat.

That's good. Last night, WLToo went out to the pool and saw ears and eyes just below it. He's not sure if it was a fox or a small coyote. Getting kinda brazen, coming right up to the house. We'll be keeping watch now.

Alex loses bladder control in his sleep, sometimes. It startles him awake, but he's already done the deed. Tuesday night, he peed on the bed twice, so we were up all night washing bedclothes. Other than that, and his "old cat" concerts and occasional disorientation, he's doing pretty well.

Spot's search for a high place continues. All this week, he's been lying on one of the counter stools. He seems to like it better than the buffet, which has no padding. He also can sit there and watch us work in the kitchen without being stepped on. But during the day's heat, he's on the bed, directly under the air conditioner vent.

Have to keep this short. Tennis elbow's under treatment, but it still hurts. Later, y'all.

[Wanderlost]

We spend most of our summers on fire watch, Gary. The humidity here is unusual, but since it brought some rain, we're not complaining.

Stay safe. The long summer may well go into a long, dry autumn.

[Dashonthedash]

There is one thing worse than hot and humid, and that is hot with low humidity and high wind, and that is the situation here. Fire danger is off the scale. A week ago, there was a 10-acre fire just a couple of miles away, and they evacuated the whole area. The situation is even worse now, and no relief is expected for the next week. With no central air, the dogs and I will be spending a lot of time in the cooler lower level family room. It's going to be a long summer.

[Wanderlost]

Spot has a big ding on his jowl and a rear foot. Both are clean and healing nicely, so whatever happened won't require another vet visit. He looks a bit funny, though, with two big clumps of hair sticking up from where they're stuck in the scabs.

He decided that since Alex has a safe spot up high, he should have one, too. Spot really has a very strong sense of what's fair. So he decided to hang out on the built-in buffet, next to the printer. Well, we don't use it for food or dishes, just the printer and some tchotchkes, so we'll let him lay there -- when he's not laying in a sink. He doesn't do hot and humid, and it's both, so anywhere cool is his favorite spot.

Tennis elbow's acting up again, so I'll keep this short. Later, y'all.

[CORNFED__5-0_]

That is cool. We have helped many feral cats find homes, after a few 'Alterations', and I think it is cool.

[Wanderlost]

Welcome, Stephany, and thank you for your interest.

Gary, Alex started his "concerts" some time before WLToo got sick. It's just old kitty syndrome.

We started this morning with a straight down rain, while the sun shone until the clouds got over there. It was gorgeous. We sat on the north porch and watched as the rain completely hid the lake from view, then sat over us long enough for the rainfall to measure. Spot laid on a chair and Alex sat on the sofa with us, until the rain began to splatter closer to us all, then they went inside. The humans ate breakfast al fresco/al raino. It was lovely. Still doesn't end the drought, but every little bit helps. We won't have to water the garden, anyway.

WLToo harvested all of the potatoes, about 2.3 pounds, and we enjoyed a potato evening and breakfast. The basil is going so strong that I filled the dehydrater and need to do it again. The cilantro/coriander has seeded out, but I'm not sure when to harvest the seeds. The last broccoli harvest will likely be this week. WLToo planted cantelope, and they seem to be coming up ok. The carrots are a major failure, not even little finger sized. Ah, well, it's our first garden in this climate, and we knew it would be a bit of an experiment.

Mama Doe Lassie has some kind of bugs tormenting her, so she's particularly jumpy now. Nothing we can do for her, poor thing. At least we don't have horse flies this year (knock on wood).

The robber fly is prolific this year. Creepy looking little buggers, and I hate it when they try to use my hair as camouflage. They're carnivores of other insects, not really aggressive toward humans, but if annoyed will inflict a painful bite. Unfortunately, several have decided our presence in the swimming pool is annoying, and WLToo got bit. So any robber fly around the house and pool is not welcome -- the flip flop o'doom comes out quickly.

Cleaned a drowned giant red-headed centipede out of the pool. Since they kill scorpions, they're welcome in the meadow, but not around the house, and definitely not in the swimming pool. Shudder...

The orioles tried again to get the hummingbird nectar, and figured out how to tilt it so the other bird can drink. So WLToo changed to the flat feeder, and they're stumped. Now the black chinned hummers can actually get the nectar. Black chins are all we have now -- they've completely run off the rufous and ruby throats -- and they're the tiniest of the three types. Amazing.

We lived for years in Virginia, under the East Coast flyway, yet we see more cardinals here, under the Central flyway, than we ever did there. Even though they're local birds, yesterday was the first time I've seen a painted bunting in our meadow. Absolutely beautiful bird.

Time to get busy. Later, y'all.

[Dashonthedash]

You know, pets are very intuitive about our medical and physical problems. I'll bet that Alex was trying to tell you that WLToo was sick.

[vickiebec]

Welcome to this thread. I love reading about their animal family. By the way my daughters name is Brier

[Stephany]

Just a note to let you know that I am a new fan!

I stumbled onto this thread last night and I just now finally made it to the 62nd (!) page. Can't believe how attached I am to MDL, Spot, Alex & the rest of your crew.

But now that I am all caught up and now free from the spell of your thread, I can actually go get something done today.

Thanks for a great read. You can be sure I will keep following.

Stephany

[Wanderlost]

Put the boys in the kitty hoosegau for the weekend, while we attended an ROTC reunion. When we got them back home, they both made a beeline for our bed and stayed there all evening.

Alex has become very talkative, especially in the middle of the night. It's part of old cat syndrome, where he gets confused as to where he is, so he announces loudly that he's lost. I can go right back to sleep after one of his concerts, but WLToo hasn't been sleeping more than 2 hours a night for a month now, so Alex' noise was not helping.

Well, WLToo finally went to the doc to find out what's wrong, and he has pneumonia. Finally, something easily treatable. He should be back to normal in a few weeks.

Speaking of talking, Spot is also rather talkative, but he doesn't do it in the middle of the night, and is never loud. Really kind of funny how such a kitten-like meow comes from a cat so large.

Alex is seriously into bumping my face right now. Time to see what he wants. Later, y'all.

[Wanderlost]

It's been rather lively around here the past couple weeks. Add to that the tennis elbow, and I've been unable to type much.

Spot's been a pretty good boy of late. Seems to have gotten over peeing on stuff, now that he can spend most of his time on the porch, sleeping in our new outdoor furniture. He has developed a dislike of Mama Doe Lassie, though. I believe it's because he can't intimidate her -- or else he's jealous that she interacts with HIS humans.

He's taken to sleeping on my head at night. It started when he laid his head on my cheek, which was very pleasant. Now he lays his back against the back of my head, so I wake up with a sweaty head. I keep the air conditioner around 67 at night, and it might feel a tad cool to him. Alex, meanwhile, still plants himself firmly against the nearest stomach. I frequently find myself imprisoned under the covers, anchored by two deeply sleeping felines.

WLToo had mentioned a couple weeks ago that he'd heard something crying out in a fight for its life. Yesterday, he found the remains of a fawn near our motorcycle trailer. I have to think that it was Mama Doe Lassie's. Sad that she's lost two fawns in two years. But with her maternal instinct, she'll be adopting and/or caring for a lot of fawns this year, too. What killed the fawn is still a mystery -- the only predator we've seen this year is that small gray fox, too small to have killed a fawn. The big gray fox might still be around, although we've not seen it since 2011.

I think the black chinned hummingbirds have run off the rufous and ruby throats. We only see the black chins now. And the orioles are back at the feeder, so WLToo attached the yellow feeder attachments with museum putty, so they can't pull them out and drink all the nectar. Seems to be working.

Speaking of which, I need to make more nectar. Later, y'all.

[Wanderlost]

Neither did I, Gary.