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.
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.
He did eat his treats last night. Early this morning, I woke up when I felt something unusual. Spotacus had his head resting on my ankle. The unusual was that he was doing a throat purr. I stayed still until he moved over against WLToo's leg, then got up.
The fog was so dense it was hard to tell that it was actually 0615. So rare for me to sleep longer than four hours straight (aging is not for wimps). I got up, put Spotacus into the litter box, and while he did his thing, I did mine. Then I was awake, so I got him some water, while I liquified more moist food for him. He drank a little of it, refusing his dry kibble with treats in it. Probably had filled up on plain water already. I'm sure his stomach is the size of a black-eyed pea by now.
Must have slept like that because I watched/listened to the entire William Tell opera on YouTube, by the Wichita Opera. Even when I was in my university's pit orchestra, opera has always had a somewhat sedating influence on me. Good thing I was percussion and rarely had something to do in the pit. We never did William Tell, which has a very nice amount of percussion. For the interested, the overture is the most interesting music. Practically none of its themes or motifs were identifiable in the opera itself. The singing parts are very difficult, especially the tenors, so even though I understood maybe one word in twenty (was in French), I did appreciate the singers' overall musicality.
There was a bit of nostalgia there. One of the chorus/dance troup was a tall, slender blond who looked so much like a college buddy that I watched him far more than the lead characters. My friend died suddenly a few days ago, at a much too young age. RIP, Gene.
Strolling out of the fog was a lovely 8-point buck. He's not particularly afraid of humans, just looking up when the sliding door opened, then back to grazing. I'm pretty sure he's one that our neighbor hand feeds (please do not do this, folks. It's incredibly dangerous, especially during the rut). He's so nice looking that I'm sure one of the local poachers will have him before long (can't hunt on less than 10 acres, and there aren't that many 10 acre plots around here, therefore it will be poaching).
Meanwhile, a very industrious spider decided to build her web on the poolside glider, in spite of wind blowing the occasional hole through it. She's hugely pregnant, too. I do wonder how spiders survive outside in the winter, when there's so little food flying around.
Fog isn't lifting much; in fact, it seems thicker now. Good thing we don't have to be anywhere until late afternoon. But WLToo will do that by himself; I'm not leaving Spotacus alone.
Until then, I think I'll try to edit a book. Later, y'all.
The fog was so dense it was hard to tell that it was actually 0615. So rare for me to sleep longer than four hours straight (aging is not for wimps). I got up, put Spotacus into the litter box, and while he did his thing, I did mine. Then I was awake, so I got him some water, while I liquified more moist food for him. He drank a little of it, refusing his dry kibble with treats in it. Probably had filled up on plain water already. I'm sure his stomach is the size of a black-eyed pea by now.
Must have slept like that because I watched/listened to the entire William Tell opera on YouTube, by the Wichita Opera. Even when I was in my university's pit orchestra, opera has always had a somewhat sedating influence on me. Good thing I was percussion and rarely had something to do in the pit. We never did William Tell, which has a very nice amount of percussion. For the interested, the overture is the most interesting music. Practically none of its themes or motifs were identifiable in the opera itself. The singing parts are very difficult, especially the tenors, so even though I understood maybe one word in twenty (was in French), I did appreciate the singers' overall musicality.
There was a bit of nostalgia there. One of the chorus/dance troup was a tall, slender blond who looked so much like a college buddy that I watched him far more than the lead characters. My friend died suddenly a few days ago, at a much too young age. RIP, Gene.
Strolling out of the fog was a lovely 8-point buck. He's not particularly afraid of humans, just looking up when the sliding door opened, then back to grazing. I'm pretty sure he's one that our neighbor hand feeds (please do not do this, folks. It's incredibly dangerous, especially during the rut). He's so nice looking that I'm sure one of the local poachers will have him before long (can't hunt on less than 10 acres, and there aren't that many 10 acre plots around here, therefore it will be poaching).
Meanwhile, a very industrious spider decided to build her web on the poolside glider, in spite of wind blowing the occasional hole through it. She's hugely pregnant, too. I do wonder how spiders survive outside in the winter, when there's so little food flying around.
Fog isn't lifting much; in fact, it seems thicker now. Good thing we don't have to be anywhere until late afternoon. But WLToo will do that by himself; I'm not leaving Spotacus alone.
Until then, I think I'll try to edit a book. Later, y'all.
