Small Talk: The Prayer Closet

[MunichNark]

After 2 incredibly stressful months, I've just heard this morning that the second issue is now happily resolved in my favour. I am so bloody relieved........I shall celebrate by treating myself to a Pizza with Chips (french fries) tonight....

[Happyfatchick]

The recording is long gone, I assure you.  It's just a theory, and because it's gone I can't prove it.  No way was he letting my daughter stumble across that one.  He'd have some 'splainin' to do...

i obviously can't fight him much from here when he's there, but when they get home, we'll have some fun.

ETA: Micks, I'm so so sorry about your vision.  I don't miss anything, really from my youth except my eyes.  Mine aren't nearly as bad as yours, but they're bad enough, and I MISS them!

Munich, yay for your good news!  I'm sure you deserve a pizza and some chips!!!

Edited June 27, 2016 by Happyfatchick

[Love2dance]

13 hours ago, Micks Picks said:

 Eyes are so bad I had to increase font size to max and then use magnifying glass where you only see a few words at a time.  Geeze don't text me if you are in a hurry for a response.  They gotta do something for this lack of vision thing.  Now I'm going 500 miles to a research center to see if anything is coming down the chute that might help.  

MICKS PICKS, HOPING THE CENTER WILL HAVE HELPFUL ANSWERS FOR YOU.

(I'M NOT SHOUTING, JUST TRYING TO MAKE IT EASIER FOR YOU TO READ.)   HUGS!

Edited June 27, 2016 by Love2dance
Spelling counts!

[GeeGolly]

Oh Micks, so sorry for what you're going through with your vision. I can't imagine how utterly frustrating that must be. I hope your 500 mile trip results in some promising news!!

[Arwen Evenstar]

Micks, hope you can get some answers and help with your vision.  Have a safe trip.

[Happyfatchick]

So my son works at the Atlanta a/p, he is a big dog for a large carrier in our area (won't name them, but it starts with Delta...).  He's always in the terminal, and works the International side.   Yay!  I told him last night I'ma need for him to quit his job immediately and go to work for an HVAC or a grocery store.  I've never heard of terrorists targeting either of those.  He didn't respond.  I'm guessing that's a no...

Is anybody else getting those weird pop ups for a zip/postal code?  I feel like I'm being stalked or something.  

[lookeyloo]

HFC, well, maybe our paths have crossed with your son.  Being as we don't know each other at all, hard to tell.  I have not been getting any of those ads.  Right now it is get rid of rats, and download an ebook.

[Happyfatchick]

I'll trade you one stupid rat for a way-too-smart chipmunk

[Absolom]

Is the chipmunk gone?

I'm getting ads for the cable company that I currently use and the particular DVR that I use, but they're in Spanish.

[kathe5133]

HFC - you need to get a cat.  They'll kill that chipmunk real quick and have a blast doing it!

[Happyfatchick]

The chipmunk is patiently waiting for the traps to be removed.  Meaning: haven't caught him yet, and haven't heard a peep from him since the exterminator put the traps out.  

Yes, I thought about a cat.  But we have 3 dogs.  Let me describe the dogs: in a word, SPOILED.  Tonight we had creamed chicken over biscuits.  It was delicious.  Before my husband made his plate, he broke up a biscuit, poured the chicken over it and split it between the dogs.  If we HAD a cat, it would be fat as a hog and expect lasagna for dinner.  Garfield.  And I'm a little offended by the dogs.  They are house/yard dogs (except the cocker who is always 3 inches from my left foot).  The big dogs are well acquainted with wildlife - WHO WOULD NEED AN EXTERMINATOR with DOGS all over the place?  But at this point, even with the pricey flea treatments and regular vet bills for this and that, I'd say they are cheaper than the exterminator, and accomplished the same thing.  Nada.

[Catlyn]

My sister discovered she had a hole in her attic by seeing a squirrel run past her in the kitchen. They kept trying to catch it. She had a cat. The cat thought it was a new playmate.  It would watch it eat her food. She would chase it, never trying to really catch it. One night my sister fell asleep on the couch, she woke up with the squirrel sitting on the back of a chair near the stairs to the attic.  She said it looked like it was asking for help. It wanted to go up the stairs to the attic, but the cat was sitting on the stairs blocking it.  So much for getting a cat.

They did finally get rid of the squirrel and fix the hole in the attic.

[Happyfatchick]

Once upon a time, I had a huge yard full of beautiful pecan trees.  Much shade.  But my flower beds were important, and so I figured out plants that love shade and had lovely flower beds.  And then.  We had a yard full of chipmunks, who dug under the flowers and ate the roots out.  Dead flowers.  A friend of ours was a landscaper at a golf course, and he told us to get some kind of smokey bomb thing, drop it in their holes and kill them.  And we did.  We stood there at what we thought was THE HOLE (snort) and carefully dropped in our bomb, plugging the hole afterward.  In just a few minutes, we had 10 curling smoke wisps coming up all over the yard.

[kathe5133]

Squirrels are a horrible scourge!  I've had them in a few homes where I lived.  Luckily, not the home I owned so I never had to deal with their elimination.  But, moth balls repel them.  Of course moth balls don't last forever, but I lived in a house where they got in through a hole in the roof.  The landlord knew the roof needed replacing, but was trying to sell the house as is and didn't want to incur the expense of replacing the roof first (he wasn't being sleazy, you could eyeball the roof and know it was time for a new one....)  Anyway, once a month he'd hurl handfuls of mothballs into the crawl space and it kept the squirrels away.  It worked!

I wonder if mothballs work on chipmunks?

[Happyfatchick]

What chipmunk?  Apparently I don't have one.  

This house was built around 25 years ago.  Back then, trash compactors were the thing.  So there was one in here when we moved in.  Doesn't work, and I didn't want to buy something to fill the space at the time, so we left it.  Well, the drawers the chipmunk was behind was next door.  The exterminator said I need to pull that out and see if I can tell where the critter was coming in.  I (happily) said, OK.  In fact, you can pull it out completely if you want.  

So he did.  It weighed a ton.  Then I went away for the afternoon.  I text'd the hubs that night asking if he wondered where I was.  (I swear, I could leave for DAYS before he noticed I wasn't here.  Doesn't matter, if I'd TOLD him, he still wouldn't have known where I was).  So he answers the text and says, "I wasn't wondering about you as much as I was wondering about this hole in our cabinets".

[Arwen Evenstar]

2 hours ago, Happyfatchick said:

What chipmunk?  Apparently I don't have one.  

This house was built around 25 years ago.  Back then, trash compactors were the thing.  So there was one in here when we moved in.  Doesn't work, and I didn't want to buy something to fill the space at the time, so we left it.  Well, the drawers the chipmunk was behind was next door.  The exterminator said I need to pull that out and see if I can tell where the critter was coming in.  I (happily) said, OK.  In fact, you can pull it out completely if you want.  

So he did.  It weighed a ton.  Then I went away for the afternoon.  I text'd the hubs that night asking if he wondered where I was.  (I swear, I could leave for DAYS before he noticed I wasn't here.  Doesn't matter, if I'd TOLD him, he still wouldn't have known where I was).  So he answers the text and says, "I wasn't wondering about you as much as I was wondering about this hole in our cabinets".

ALVIN!!!!!!?

[GeeGolly]

Yuck. Tornado watch. 5 years and 1 month to day of the one that hit. Anxiety.

[Love2dance]

12 minutes ago, GeeGolly said:

Yuck. Tornado watch. 5 years and 1 month to day of the one that hit. Anxiety.

Oh no. So sorry GEEGOLLY. Stay safe.

[GeeGolly]

8 minutes ago, Love2dance said:

Oh no. So sorry GEEGOLLY. Stay safe.

Thanks Love2, Sitting at the computer with the TV on.

[Happyfatchick]

GeeG, that has to be terrifying!

[ChocolateAddict]

It's election day down here.  I'm about to go off vote and get my democracy sausage.  Being the absolute politics nerd that I am, I will be watching the live election coverage all tonight. Screw going out and clubbing, I'll be spending my Saturday night with ABC news!

[zoomama]

4 hours ago, GeeGolly said:

Yuck. Tornado watch. 5 years and 1 month to day of the one that hit. Anxiety.

just checked the weather map where my kids live in texas and your tornado watch is not by them. good for me, scary for you! hope all is well.

[GeeGolly]

Some funky clouds, rain, some wind. The watch ends @ 10 pm. A little more than an hour. Feeling left anxious.

[Love2dance]

1 hour ago, GeeGolly said:

Some funky clouds, rain, some wind. The watch ends @ 10 pm. A little more than an hour. Feeling left anxious.

So glad the bad stuff missed you this time, GEEGOLLY. Hopefully the storm is calming down everywhere.

[Almost 3000]

On ‎6‎/‎30‎/‎2016 at 1:13 PM, kathe5133 said:

Squirrels are a horrible scourge!  I've had them in a few homes where I lived.  Luckily, not the home I owned so I never had to deal with their elimination.  But, moth balls repel them.  Of course moth balls don't last forever, but I lived in a house where they got in through a hole in the roof.  The landlord knew the roof needed replacing, but was trying to sell the house as is and didn't want to incur the expense of replacing the roof first (he wasn't being sleazy, you could eyeball the roof and know it was time for a new one....)  Anyway, once a month he'd hurl handfuls of mothballs into the crawl space and it kept the squirrels away.  It worked!

I wonder if mothballs work on chipmunks?

Interesting about the moth balls. I had a mountain vacation home and decided to scatter flowering bulbs around for a natural look under the tall pines. Next day I noticed little divots and holes all over the yard. The gophers must have had a feast. Anyway back to the moth balls, someone told me next time to sprinkle foot powder into the holes before placing the bulbs.

[NewDigs]

My BIL gave up a "hillside" of bulbs because of deer dining on the plants. And they (bulbs) were so beautiful. He threw out handfuls so they'd land randomly, (for the @Almost 3000 natural look). They are now doing a small Japanese garden. Not much for wildlife to molest.

My Mom had a mole problem in her yard and one, I think temporary, fix was hairclippings at entrances. And I think some kind of urine. Can't remember how she finally got rid of them. I'll ask. What works for moles might work for chipmunks and/or gophers.

Havahart makes some good products. We used a similar product to trap a couple of indoor mice. Overnight success! Didn't want to kill the little buggers or have them die, painfully, in the walls. 

Edited July 2, 2016 by NewDigs

[Jynnan tonnix]

We seem to be having an infestation of rabbits here this year. There have always been one or two around - you'd see them out in the field occasionally - but this spring there was a litter born somewhere close to the house, and they have been happily munching on all our new landscaping (we replaced all the ugly plantings at the front of the house and added a few things to the perennial borders). They were there before the new plants went in, but we have various varmints around here (coyotes, hawks, the occasional bobcat or fisher cat) which seem to keep their population under control. But they are not doing their jobs! And the rabbits are building nests, so we will have new baby rabbits before long. And I don't have the heart to dig a nestful of baby bunnies up and toss them away...

[NewDigs]

Oooh. That's a tough one! Start leaving mini birth control pills around? Those critters breed like...

Are they relocateable? Make them someone else's problem? (see above Havahart link) But that sounds really difficult, at best. 

Humane rabbit control looks iffy. I think there are wildlife removal/relocation companies but rabbits...  I think even Havahart says to move them at least 5 miles.

[Arwen Evenstar]

Yes...wabbits breed like Duggars! 

Those of us who live in South Texas and Southern Louisiana, swear by sprinkling cayenne pepper around our plants to keep varmints away.

There's a plant or product called Gopher Purge that's supposed to help with keeping gophers and other burrowing varmints away.  AFAIK, it's a humane product. I won't recommend anything that would be cruel to animals, even if they are vermin or nuisances.

[Happyfatchick]

OH, you guys....almost make me feel guilty for trying to kill our vermin.  I'm not a catch and release kinda girl, not in my house.  No critters bother me out in nature, even rats don't send me over the moon to psycholand.  (I saw one at Epcot once - I jumped, and grabbed onto my son, but didn't set off any air raid sirens).  They can have alllllll of nature.  Not my house.  I was reading about flying squirrels (we lots have those in the back) and it said if you catch one, you should take it 4-5 miles to release as they have great "homing" skills and were going to come back.

two sides of my house are fully, thickly wooded.  Only 10-12 feet to the tree line.  The front was all trees but we've removed 50 trees since moving here.  Additionally, there are 2 ponds nearby.  Most of the trees are straight-as-a-stick spindly looking pines, and as a group are easily 60 feet tall.  When the wind blows hard, they all clack together at the tops.  We have a wind band.

[kathe5133]

I live in a city, but we have rabbits.  My cat loves to catch and kill baby bunnies.  Turns out when a baby bunny is in the jaws of a house cat they scream really loud!  My roommates run outside, scream "drop it" at the cat, who steadfastly ignores them.  Then they pummel the poor puss until she releases the bunny, which by now has died of fright caused mostly by all the human screaming!

Then the cat is lectured, called an asshole, booted up the butt, with threats of more severe beatings is she ever kills a bunny again.  The cat pays no attention and just heads to her food dish for a nosh.  Thing is, I don't want her to go outside.  There are other fighting cats, dogs, and cars!  I've lived in the city my whole life and I can't count how many dead cats I've seen lying in the road!  

But, I live with idiots.  They are baffled as to why a stern lecture forbidding bunny killing simply produces more dead bunnies.  I point out that since the bunnies do not come inside the house, if they don't let the cat outside.......

So, kitty and I retreat to our room and play "The Circle of Life", loudly.  

[NewDigs]

Bolding mine

 

15 minutes ago, kathe5133 said:

I live in a city, but we have rabbits.  My cat loves to catch and kill baby bunnies.  Turns out when a baby bunny is in the jaws of a house cat they scream really loud!  My roommates run outside, scream "drop it" at the cat, who steadfastly ignores them.  Then they pummel the poor puss until she releases the bunny, which by now has died of fright caused mostly by all the human screaming!

Then the cat is lectured, called an asshole, booted up the butt, with threats of more severe beatings is she ever kills a bunny again.  The cat pays no attention and just heads to her food dish for a nosh.

 Thing is, I don't want her to go outside.  There are other fighting cats, dogs, and cars!  I've lived in the city my whole life and I can't count how many dead cats I've seen lying in the road!  

But, I live with idiots.  They are baffled as to why a stern lecture forbidding bunny killing simply produces more dead bunnies.  I point out that since the bunnies do not come inside the house, if they don't let the cat outside.......

So, kitty and I retreat to our room and play "The Circle of Life", loudly.  

I became a firm believer in housecats for all those same (bolded) reasons. Plus, in my area we have the possibility of rabid racoons, coyotes and more, Oh My! Sorry you can't get cooperation. 

NPR reported on a study that involved attaching little cameras to domestic cats allowed outside. Turns out they spend a LOT of time in drainage pipes, usually have at least one other family feeding them and are majorly involved in the decimation of the songbird population!

Ours had been abandoned so was a half-feral male who was very attuned to scents. Turning that little monster kitty into a housecat was challenging. 12 years on he can still be a little nuts.

[Jynnan tonnix]

Maybe we need an outdoor "mouser" cat...We have two indoor cats, and have actually considered adopting a couple of mousers, but with all the coyotes, etc, around here, we figured they would be just as likely to get eaten themselves as catch other vermin. Pretty much everyone we have talked to around here says outdoor cats don't last long. Though as much as the rabbits don't seem to be having that problem, maybe a cat would manage to survive as well.

My husband talks about a cat they used to have when he was young which would love catching baby bunnies and smuggling them into the house to play with. She apparently had it down to a science to sit at the door waiting to be let in with a baby rabbit stashed somewhere underneath her. They would always check her for stowaway rabbits, but as soon as they let her in she'd produce it like magic, and there it would be hopping about the house.

[kathe5133]

I used to be very squeamish about killing mice.  I could not stand to use the old fashioned snap traps cause there was blood and frequently, amputations.  So I would buy the have a heart traps that you put peanut butter in and they go inside, are trapped and you set them free outside.  But, the mice wouldn't go inside.  So I got the sticky traps.  But that doesn't kill the mice just traps them.  But the mice were getting out of control.  It was winter so I would triple wrap my hands with paper towels, get three plastic grocery bags inside each other.  I'd glance in the direction of the trap with the mouse to aim.  Then I'd squint pick it up, put it in the plastic bag, and throw it over the fence into the side yard.  I guess if they didn't freeze to death, they starved.  I felt so bad.  But the mouse population go out of control and learned to avoid the traps.  The 80 lb foxhound did not.  I'd come home to him, a trap on each foot, clomping about the house, distraught.  Then the girl dog retriever mix, liked to roll in anything fragrant.  I guess the sticky traps have a mouse attracting scent.  Well it attracted the girl dog.  I'd come home to her, draped in sticky traps, sometimes containing a half dead mouse!

They say for every mouse you see, there are 10 more you don't see.  I was seeing 20 or so mice a day!  They'd walk right up to my dinner plate, unfazed by my presence!

So I borrowed a cat.  17 dead mice in two days.  She'd stay up all night killing.  She'd pile the corpses by the boy dogs food dish.  Freaked him out!  Once I gave her back I got two cats of my own.  They were in their glory!  I discovered mice are mostly cartilage and are flushable.  Kitties would bring me the dead mice and then watch it circle the toilet on the way to its watery grave.  

I was mouse free in a month, but the cats were depressed.  I bought them toy mice, but they kept wanting me to flush them cause they knew they were dead.  I toyed with the idea of buying mice from a pet store, but that just seemed cruel.

But I've never had mice again.  Cats are the best defense against small vermin.  The cats were so happy catching and killing, that, well it was still cruel, but the cats were so happy it seemed less cruel than letting the mice freeze/starve in the back alley.

[NewDigs]

I'm sorry but I admit I chuckled at the image of your poor guy clomping around the house, then felt terrible. Poor thing. Probably thinking, What happened? I was being a good dog! Like they asked!

Glad you solved your mouse problem. Loaner cats! Who knew?

We actually release lizards that have found their ways inside. Sometimes they hitchhike on a container plant. Inside they either eventually die of dehydration or the cat gets 'em and disembowels them.

We had a big ol' toad in the toilet once. I guess they come down through that ventpipe. I turned the light on to pee at night for years.

[lookeyloo]

Enjoying this conversation. We had four rescue house cats when we moved into our previous house over 20 years ago. It was built where a field had been. There were mice in the outside room. Great - we thought naively - we have cats. Brought them out one at a time. Mice skittered over their feet. The cats looked alarmed as if they wants to say "look!! There's a mouse! Somebody do something!"  Four different cats of varying age and type. All of them terrified by mice. They loved those big roaches that we had in South Louisiana. And one of them loved to catch a cicada in his mouth and it would be sticking out like a cigar and buzzing and the cat would walk around like that blinking his eyes. It was funny to watch. 

[frenchtoast]

We had chipmunks and squirrels and ground hogs in our yard. Now we have greyhounds. One of them has killed 1 squirrel and 2 ground hogs. There are no more small animals in the yard. If they saw a cat, a chipmunk, a squirrel or small dog they will catch it and they will kill it. Our previous dogs showed no interest, but the two retired greyhounds we have have quite a high prey drive. I've taken to muzzling them when we go to the farmer's market in case a small dog gets loose or too close.

[kathe5133]

I was dog sitting a friends black lab when my mouse infestation was at its worse and the cats hadn't come yet.  Boy dog was terrified of the mice, girl dog wanted to cuddle with them.  The black lab?  Chomp. Swallow. And no more mousey!  He ate 5 in a row!  He was a great mouse trap.  No bodies!  But then it was pointed out to me.  What if all those mouse bodies made him sick?  It's bad enough cleaning up dead mice, but dead mice "parts"?  Fortunately he digested them well, but further evidence that cats were needed.

[NewDigs]

1 hour ago, frenchtoast said:

We had chipmunks and squirrels and ground hogs in our yard. Now we have greyhounds. One of them has killed 1 squirrel and 2 ground hogs. There are no more small animals in the yard. If they saw a cat, a chipmunk, a squirrel or small dog they will catch it and they will kill it. Our previous dogs showed no interest, but the two retired greyhounds we have have quite a high prey drive. I've taken to muzzling them when we go to the farmer's market in case a small dog gets loose or too close.

I had no idea that greyhounds could be so predatory. But, considering their training it makes sense. Most people talk about them as big lapdogs! But that would fit with their training too.

There are tracks here in Florida that want to do away with greyhound racing but there's a "glitch" in the law that if tracks want to continue with more of the much more profitable Vegas style gaming tables they have to keep the doggies running. Sad. 

It always warms my heart to see people with greyhounds.

Ain't animals grand?

[Love2dance]

I'm not super squeamish about bugs, and my hubby has convinced me that spiders are our friends. But I have a rule......if I see one in the house, I'll try to save it and catch it in a paper cup and put it outdoors. But if it is on my couch or bed, it is a dead spider!!

KATHE5133, I have the same technique as you for picking up mouse traps/sticky pads. I can't stand it. Ugh, ugh, ugh.

Edited July 3, 2016 by Love2dance
Spelling. Sheesh.

[CherryMalotte]

Three big cats and one kitten...the oldest Ringo is a mouser and hunter extraordinaire, then the big black beastie Charlie hunts but doesn't kill right away, bit sloppy really, then Oliver Hardy Orangie kitty has no idea and no interest, and young kitten...well he's already killed flies so we have another kommando kat in the making.  Good thing too, this year we had mice but between the cats and couple of traps I had they were never really around that much luckily.      

[Tabbygirl521]

10 hours ago, kathe5133 said:

I live in a city, but we have rabbits.  My cat loves to catch and kill baby bunnies.  Turns out when a baby bunny is in the jaws of a house cat they scream really loud!  My roommates run outside, scream "drop it" at the cat, who steadfastly ignores them.  Then they pummel the poor puss until she releases the bunny, which by now has died of fright caused mostly by all the human screaming!

Then the cat is lectured, called an asshole, booted up the butt, with threats of more severe beatings is she ever kills a bunny again.  The cat pays no attention and just heads to her food dish for a nosh.  Thing is, I don't want her to go outside.  There are other fighting cats, dogs, and cars!  I've lived in the city my whole life and I can't count how many dead cats I've seen lying in the road!  

But, I live with idiots.  They are baffled as to why a stern lecture forbidding bunny killing simply produces more dead bunnies.  I point out that since the bunnies do not come inside the house, if they don't let the cat outside.......

So, kitty and I retreat to our room and play "The Circle of Life", loudly.  

Please tell me you don't literally hit your cat. 

[MunichNark]

Germany's through to the semis after what seems to have been a thrilling game against Italy with shootouts. I really wish for a Iceland vs Wales final. One can dream........

[Happyfatchick]

Haha!  All these posts about predator house pets kills me!  I have an 80 lb BABY who's a pit boxer mix (Rocky), a 70 lb boxer (Sophie), and a 20 lb mop (Ollie).  Three shots to catch a chipmunk...and well, not so much.  I can't BELIEVE nine of these dogs thought we had an issue with a critter in the house.  The night that thing plopped out from under the cabinet : don't you sort of picture the dogs lined up, listening to that scratching, trying to figure out how to catch it?  Nope.  Crazy.

when we first got Rocky as a puppy (he was a rescue) my very opinionated and very vocal DIL announced "well, WE won't be coming to your house anymore once he gets out of that puppy stage.  I've heard too much about pits turning on their owners, or mauling children [and she had 2 small children].  I care too much about the safety of my children to take a chance!!!"  I just reminded her of that the other day, because guess who is Rocky's biggest fan?  It became obvious fairly quickly that Rocky was the guardian of the kids.  When I get after any one of my grands, he gets between us with the sweetest wrinkle between his ears.  Once I was on a bed playing with my grandson, tickling him and pretend spanking, making him squeal.  Rocky came and jumped between us.  Well, I thought that was funny, so I kept on.  He wouldn't "bite" me, but he made it very obvious he was NOT happy.  I was playing, he clearly wasn't.  When he couldn't get me to stop, he laid down on that bed between us and pushed me out.  Pushed me right off and onto the floor.  That was the first time I knew how protective he was, so we don't play like that any more.  I respect his position.  Now whenever the 6 month old is here, he sits guard over her every minute.  If she fusses, I get that forehead wrinkle.  But he's a licker, too, and he is DYING to love on her and lick her face.  We are constantly wiping her fingers and toes, as he'll lick anything he can reach...

when my son was young, he kicked up a fuss to have a cat.  We got the tux cat, Oreo.  We sold a house before the house we were moving to was ready and had to rent a house for a few months.  It was a very old house, and mice came with the house.  Oreo thought that was the TICKET.  One night, we went to bed, and Oreo was crouched down in front of a kitchen cabinet with his tail straight out and twitching.  Staring intently at the door.  Next morning I got up, Oreo was still in front of that cabinet in the exact same stance.  If I didn't have the 3 dogs, I would SURELY get one of those again.  My BFF has a Jack Russell, and they're bred for catching.  He lives in a very very old house, it "looks" like mouse territory.  The dog is 12, and in 12 years, he had one mouse.  For about 5 minutes.  The end.

Edited July 3, 2016 by Happyfatchick

[Almost 3000]

20 hours ago, NewDigs said:

NPR reported on a study that involved attaching little cameras to domestic cats allowed outside. Turns out they spend a LOT of time in drainage pipes, usually have at least one other family feeding them and are majorly involved in the decimation of the songbird population!

I think that must be true about multiple families feeding cats in the city. While I was doing mom's shopping and errands, her friend, who lives fairly close to her had me do hers too. Well she feed this cat that she insisted wasn't hers. She had me buying only a certain canned food but only with the blue label and not the green one because the cat wouldn't eat the green labeled food. For sure that fussy cat was dining elsewhere!

[Muffyn]

Our neighbors had a beautiful white longhair cat named Houdini. His magic trick?  Getting 6 different families to feed him.  He would make the rounds in the back yards where they all had food bowls for him.  I finally pointed out to some of the neighbors that he had a home. 

[kathe5133]

My cat is actually not "mine".  My roommate offered to cat sit for a friend (who's life is a bit unstable through her own actions).  Since they aren't very nice to her, she's adopted me.  I don't think she'd be successful getting other neighbors to feed her.  She is fat!  Really fat!  I try to limit her food, but, the roommates to make up for the times they've yelled at her and "booted" her (by boot I mean they nudge her with their foot, not a kick but not something any animal would enjoy) they offer her milk, cheese, chicken, pork, etc.. Kitty is a pig and takes all they offer, but still withholds affection from them.  She does a starving cat act for me that is just laughable!  I imagine it would have the same effect if she tried it on strangers.

[BitterApple]

Is anybody watching the Euro? Holy hotties on that Iceland team. I know where I'm booking MY next vacation, lol....

[NewDigs]

14 minutes ago, BitterApple said:

Is anybody watching the Euro? Holy hotties on that Iceland team. I know where I'm booking MY next vacation, lol....

 

Hmm. Maybe I should put Iceland back on the vacation cruise table.

[lookeyloo]

1 hour ago, Muffyn said:

Our neighbors had a beautiful white longhair cat named Houdini. His magic trick?  Getting 6 different families to feed him.  He would make the rounds in the back yards where they all had food bowls for him.  I finally pointed out to some of the neighbors that he had a home. 

We had a sweet cat named Winnie. She was part of a litter named Winnie, Vinnie and Earl. We kept the name. Back in those days we lived on a cul de sac and I let her out. She would always come home and puke. One day a neighbor had us all over and they were talking about the cute little cat that spent time in their respective houses and they all fed her a little something. In addition to the regular meals I fed her. I asked them to please stop. Her favorite place to puke was in the track of the sliding glass doors which as you can imagine wasn't easy to clean. I finally taped a note to her collar that said "please don't feed me. I am fat". 

Later we adopted a tuxedo and named him Hydrox. 

Edited July 3, 2016 by lookeyloo