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I have a strange cat ....
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DanielLB
Immortal


Oct 12 2012, 9:51am

Post #1 of 34 (696 views)
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I have a strange cat .... Can't Post

We have a 7/8 month old cat, who is affectionately named Gimli. He's big and ginger, and very lovely! He's an outdoor cat, but he does love spending time indoors. He'll follow me wherever I go, so he doesn't really explore very far.

For the last couple of weeks, eggs have been appearing on the patio. The first two were broken, so I assumed there was a nest in the guttering, and perhaps they had fallen out. The next egg was whole, just lieing on the patio floor.

The other day the cat came running in with bloody paws and half a shell in his mouth. I just thought it was another one that had fallen from somewhere.

Yesterday, I found him stuck at the very top of a tree just outside out garden. After a little coaxing with food, he came down. But ... today ... I see him in the tree again. This time, he comes running straight down back in the house ... with a bird egg in his mouth!

He's climbing the tree, stealing the eggs, and then bringing them back home!

Shocked

Does anyone else have a strange pet, with strange habits? I've never known a cat to bring home eggs!

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grammaboodawg
Immortal


Oct 12 2012, 2:38pm

Post #2 of 34 (386 views)
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Should you change his name to Gollum? [In reply to] Can't Post

He likes to suck eggsessessss, precious boy ;)

I've never heard of a cat doing that before!



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DanielLB
Immortal


Oct 12 2012, 2:51pm

Post #3 of 34 (392 views)
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That name would suit him so much! [In reply to] Can't Post

Luckily the eggs are unfertilised - I presume they are left over from Spring. Do birds lay eggs all year round?

He's obviously had too much excitement. He's crashed out on the sofa now. Wink

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Arandiel
Grey Havens

Oct 12 2012, 5:07pm

Post #4 of 34 (409 views)
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Sorry to be the bearer of bad news... [In reply to] Can't Post

predation of wild birds by domestic and feral house cats is actually a major problem. Try googling it some time; the number of birds killed is in the millions annually. I'm not linking an article because I only found one that wasn't from an advocacy group, and the article itself dealt with an aspect of the subject that might be unsettling to some.


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DanielLB
Immortal


Oct 12 2012, 5:14pm

Post #5 of 34 (397 views)
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Oh, that is awful. [In reply to] Can't Post

Perhaps I'll try and deter him in the future.

After I found the egg I did some research. I'm 100% sure it's a pigeon egg - identical size, shape and colour. Since I live in a town, I can't imagine there would be many endangered species (of course, I'm not justifying it at all).

All the eggs I have found were unfertilised. I could see the yolks by holding them up to the sun. They were also stone cold. Perhaps the pigeon is long gone?

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Arandiel
Grey Havens

Oct 12 2012, 5:28pm

Post #6 of 34 (381 views)
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Yeah, if only we could [In reply to] Can't Post

aim the cats at the pigeons, that might help!

Maybe Gimli limits himself to abandoned nests... Is he a go-getter or a bit of a wimp?

On a side note, your ginger cat reminded me of an interview I saw once with Catherine Tate. She was on a list to get a rescue cat, and the shelter phoned to say they had one, but there was "a problem" - he was a ginger. Her reply was something like, "Don't you do anything to that cat; I'm coming to take him home!"

Around our neighborhood, the number of outdoor cats has gone down lately due to another wild animal/domestic pet interaction: we have raccoons and foxes. Sadly, I don't think the cats fare very well with that one.


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SirDennisC
Half-elven


Oct 12 2012, 5:42pm

Post #7 of 34 (397 views)
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Around here something called a fisher is taking them out [In reply to] Can't Post

though it could be coyotes as well. We hardly ever see stray cats about these parts, for very long.


DanielLB
Immortal


Oct 12 2012, 6:14pm

Post #8 of 34 (392 views)
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Absolute wimp! [In reply to] Can't Post

He likes his home comforts too much, and submits and rolls on his back when there's another cat in the garden. Wink

I Heart big ginger cats. I'd have more if I could! I always wanted Rufus from The Rescuers as a child. Evil

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DanielLB
Immortal


Oct 12 2012, 6:32pm

Post #9 of 34 (360 views)
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I just googled Rufus ... and he's more brown then I remember :-( / [In reply to] Can't Post

 

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grammaboodawg
Immortal


Oct 13 2012, 1:29am

Post #10 of 34 (390 views)
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Some birds do... [In reply to] Can't Post

the crunchable ones :) I know that I find shells from newly hatched eggs in August.

I wish I could crash like that! zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz



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zarabia
Tol Eressea


Oct 14 2012, 2:43am

Post #11 of 34 (340 views)
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I had an indoor cat [In reply to] Can't Post

who got out one time. I was so worried because she wasn't very "street wise". When she turned up, she had a bird that she laid proudly at my feet. The bird was stone cold and stiff as a board: she had "caught" a long-since dead bird. Bless her heart, she thought she was a mighty huntress.


DanielLB
Immortal


Oct 14 2012, 9:16am

Post #12 of 34 (434 views)
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I see my cat run across the road all the time [In reply to] Can't Post

I wish he looked before he ran. Wink It's ridiculous how attached you get, I just wish he had more common sense!

I'm not looking forward to the day he brings back a dead (or half dead) bird or rodent ... I can deal with the eggs. I saw a pigeon fly into the tree yesterday, so they must still be coming and going. SIlly cat!

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zarabia
Tol Eressea


Oct 15 2012, 5:55am

Post #13 of 34 (338 views)
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There need to be signs [In reply to] Can't Post

that say either: "Cat Crossing" or "Caution - Cat Hunting Zone." Smile But, as worried as I was for my Maya, I think cats are savvier than we (or at least I) give them credit for.
BTW, what's Gimli going to do when you're in South Georgia? Shocked


DanielLB
Immortal


Oct 15 2012, 7:06am

Post #14 of 34 (374 views)
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I'll build him a tree house, so he can feast on as many pigeon eggs as he likes ;-) [In reply to] Can't Post

I live with my partner, so he'll be well looked after while I'm gone. Tongue

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Padfoot
Bree


Oct 15 2012, 8:50am

Post #15 of 34 (343 views)
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Be glad he won't steal clothes! [In reply to] Can't Post

Have you ever heard of the cat in England who loves to steal other people's clothes and underwear from the clothes line?Wink
Apparently he prefers female lingerie and takes it home to present it to his family... His owner said that in the beginning she had a hell of a time giving all the clothes back, but by now the neighbours have become used to it. Sly

Cats can be very odd sometimes! My cat loves shoe boxes and boots. She always tries to climb into my boots. However, she's Garfield-sized, so usually it won't workWink

Oh, and she loves to bring in mice. Most of them are dead (not a really nice sight, but one des get used to it), but sometimes she'll bring in one that's alive, for practise (not her practise, MY practise... then she'll sit and watch me trying to catch the poor mousie.)


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(This post was edited by Padfoot on Oct 15 2012, 8:52am)


sherlock
Gondor


Oct 15 2012, 10:00am

Post #16 of 34 (323 views)
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We have foxes & [In reply to] Can't Post

Raccoons in my neighborhood. I often take my dog out for walks around 4or 5 am & we almost always see or hear a fox. One morning it was trotting down the main road coming right towards us. Naturally, when it spotted us it hightailed it out of there.


Loresilme
Valinor


Oct 15 2012, 3:13pm

Post #17 of 34 (321 views)
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Is there any other kind? [In reply to] Can't Post

I have a cat, and like every cat I've ever met, he's a bit odd. I find they all are but that's why people find them interesting.

Our cat is an outdoor cat. We got him from a shelter when he was a kitten. And we had these nice little imaginings that he'd be a cute lap cat, an indoor cat. We had no intention of letting him go outside. Except that, he had other ideas. He absolutely, positively, in no way possible, would remain indoors. To the point where he started getting nasty - nippy, bitey, that type of thing. So we finally just had to sigh, open the back door, and let him run free. And then he totally changed, and became in many ways the nice lap cat we'd hoped for. He became a happy cat, and rather affectionate. But on one condition: he has to be able to roam around outside whenever he wants to. He goes out every day, sometimes stays out all night. But when he's inside, he's very happy and well-mannered.

And also he brings us - hmm, shall we say - presents :-), yes. Leaves them by the back door. He has not brought home eggs (yet, lol), but he brings back birds, mice, frogs, chipmunks. He's a very good hunter.

Sounds like your cat is quite a climber!


Annael
Immortal


Oct 15 2012, 4:18pm

Post #18 of 34 (310 views)
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same here [In reply to] Can't Post

there is one black cat who has managed to survive, but the coyotes tend to do for cats and small dogs who roam free pretty quickly. They'll even band together to pull down a big dog.

We've got weaselly types as well. I think I saw a fisher the other night, and a marten ran right out in front of me chasing a vole the other day.

We were very sad when we lost a bunch of our favorite goldfinches to a family of Cooper's hawks earlier this summer. But then the young ones got full of themselves and tried to take on the crows, who drove them off in short order, and the songbirds came back.

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Annael
Immortal


Oct 15 2012, 4:23pm

Post #19 of 34 (329 views)
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that was my experience [In reply to] Can't Post

cats who are used to going out WILL go out - and make their point in any way possible until you bow to it.

We try our best to keep Mandu in at night, at least. He's a pretty savvy cat and has made it 10 years without being eaten or squished.

He doesn't appear to be a bird-catcher though. What he likes is rodents, and I have no problem with that. As long as he doesn't bring them back and let them go in the house.

The way we imagine our lives is the way we are going to go on living our lives.

- James Hillman, Healing Fiction

* * * * * * * * * *

NARF and member of Deplorable Cultus since 1967

(This post was edited by Annael on Oct 15 2012, 4:24pm)


dernwyn
Forum Admin / Moderator


Oct 15 2012, 4:29pm

Post #20 of 34 (341 views)
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My cat drinks from the toilet... [In reply to] Can't Post

I put out a full, fresh bowl of nice double-filtered well water for him, and what does he do?

He laps water from the floor of the bathtub and the shower stall. And I've caught him balancing on the toilet seat and dunking his head down in the bowl.

He also does the "normal" activities, bringing home chipmunks, mice, and moles, usually dead. The most unusual was a live small bunny, which we took outdoors and released. We think he thought it was a large kitten that was lost... And he also loves nothing better than a human lap when he's tuckered out.

But he's not brought home any eggs yet! I agree, you should re-name your cat "Gollum"! Laugh


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DanielLB
Immortal


Oct 15 2012, 4:54pm

Post #21 of 34 (304 views)
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That's hilarious dernwyn! [In reply to] Can't Post

I'm sorry, I laughed out loud. Toilet water?!

Just look at the positives ... at least your cat is well hydrated! Laugh

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DanielLB
Immortal


Oct 15 2012, 5:08pm

Post #22 of 34 (330 views)
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He seems to enjoy both being outside and inside [In reply to] Can't Post

He hates the rain (and wet paws), so if it's wet, he'll just sit by the door looking outside. Smile

I couldn't deal with dead or half dead animals being bought back. We don't have a cat flap at the moment, so he only comes in if we let him. He'll be left outside if there's a living animal in his mouth!

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Loresilme
Valinor


Oct 15 2012, 7:52pm

Post #23 of 34 (322 views)
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You never realize just how fast chipmunks can run [In reply to] Can't Post

until your cat brings a live one into the house.

Another time he brought a live bird in, but I managed to trap that in one room with all the doors closed and then we were able to catch it and put it outside.

The chipmunk though, I had to call an exterminator to track it down and lure it out, because it ran and I couldn't tell where and the idea of sleeping in a house with a live chipmunk on the loose just grossed me out.

I was so mad, as I paid the exterminator I asked him if he wanted to take the cat too :-).

To your point about your outdoor cat being savvy though - I have noticed outdoor cats tend to be remain very alert and agile, even as they get older. I guess the exercise is good for them - just wish they'd leave their 'exercise toys' outside :-).


Magpie
Immortal


Oct 15 2012, 8:19pm

Post #24 of 34 (352 views)
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as someone who encourages wildlife in her backyard... [In reply to] Can't Post

I am not happy to have the neighborhood roaming cats treat it like a cafeteria.

We live in a very urban area but allow for a lot of natural cover in the yard, let plants go to seed for food, supply water for the birds all years (heated birdbath), etc. We enjoy watching the nuthatches, cardinals, woodpeckers, chickadees, juncos, and goldfinches and the rare turkey, towhee, and cedar waxwing. I even enjoy the rabbits and glimpse of mice (although they are not allowed in the house!).

Our neighbors' cat killed one of the mating mourning doves who built a nest on the ground in our backyard one year. I have to say, we never had another dove visit the yard after that year.


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zarabia
Tol Eressea


Oct 16 2012, 1:45am

Post #25 of 34 (297 views)
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Oh yeah, I knew that :P Sorry for the dumb question :) // [In reply to] Can't Post

 

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