Do you have a strange pet story?

[keith ouellette]

I have a number of them but the one about how we found our youngest cat (we have 3 strays and we won't have 4).

I was up late at night, about midnight, watching tv. I got up to get a drink from the fridge and heard a cat crying. I figured one of our 2 cats was shut up behind a door someplace in the house, as often happens, and started to look for it. After I found both cats sleeping I realized the noise was coming from the outside.

I opened the front door and heard something rustle a bush near the door. After turning on the light I saw a little face peaking out from the closest bush and it started to meow over and over again.

"Great!" I said to myself. Knowing My wife would not be able to find a home for this little guy and we would have another cat. Worse things could happen to be sure but if I don't keep a lid on the situation we would have every cat my wife saw living with us. L wakes up from the little critters persistent cry and comes to investigate.

The little guy was tiny and fuzzy and cute and really fast for a kitten. I tried gently picking him up but when my slow moving hand was about 3 inches away He bolted. He lept from bush to bush with L telling me to get him and offering all kinds of advice and very little help. If we lost track of him all we had to do was wait and listen for a few seconds and then he would start crying again.

"He's not that great at hiding. Is he?" I cursed half wishing I lost him but now I was on a mission. Don't get me wrong. I love animals but the only thing on my mind was winning. L kept telling me the kitten wanted our help and I kept wondering if that were true why was it so hard to catch the little guy.

I crawled through bushes. I jumped trough bushes. I dove on the ground. Dove into a bush (don't try that. I almost lost an eye). We got out two quilts and tried throwing them as nets. I formulated little battle plans to try and trick him. I got out my cast net only to have my wife tell me I was stupid and would hurt the kitten. For close to an hour we chased that little flea bag all over the place. Farther and farther from the house we chased him into this hiding place and then that one until he got across the street and through a neighbors fence about 300 feet away.

"He wins!" I yelled. " I give up" and I went inside defeated by a kitten.
Plenty tired now I went to sleep, My loving wife worried about the poor kitten. "I almost poked my eye out you know"
"Yes honey. I heard you the first time. What is that poor little kitten gonna eat." I could see where her loyalties lay.

About 3:30 in the morning I wake up to the sound of "Keith! come quick. I need your help!" Before I could get out of bed I hear L say "Oh never mind. I got him.

ALL SHE DID WAS REACH DOWN AND PICK THE DANG THING UP. FIGURE THAT!

After all that chasing, scaring the kitten half to death, it came back to our door and started crying again. To this day I have no idea why. No it wasn't left there at the door by someone with to many kittens. At least not in my opinion. It was covered in fleas and had 4 ticks so I know it had been outside on its own for a while. We put him in a spot with a water dish and some canned cat food. He ate and drank and passed out pretty quick. That was a little more than a year ago and he's a welcome addition to the family. Of the 3 cats he is the only one that NEVER tries to get outside and if he hears the door bell (don't ask me how he learned what a door bell is) or a knock at the door he runs and hides.

No more outside for this guy. I tried to post a picture of him but I can't upload for some reason.

[Ben Hatcher]

Nice story, Keith. Cats do seem to have a strange way of finding a family. We had an all white cat show up at our door back when I was a kid. My sister wanted to keep it, but my parents insisted that she stay outside so that she could find her way home. If after a week she was still there, we could keep it. Well, my sister laid out the most wonderful spread any cat could ever have for a week. There was no way that cat was going anywhere. We were worried that she was pregnant, and our vet, who was a friend of the family, just happened to be over a few days after the week was up. He checked her out and decided that she wasn't pregnant. At the cat's first checkup, he also discovered that the cat was male.

[Jim Rimmer]

About a month before Huricane Ike hit the Houston area I got up on Sat. morning and found 2 kittens and a mother cat in the backyard. I thought they would move on so I ignored them. An hour or so later one kitten and Mom were gone but one kitten stayed. It was so friendly (it actually crawled up my leg) I didn't think it could be wild. After 3 days of looking for lost pet signs and asking neighbors if they recognized the cat it got to stay with us. It is a beautiful blue Persian. I would have no problem giving it away because everyone that sees it falls in love with it. However, I would have to go with the cat because LOML is crazy about it. LOML evacuated early for Ike and Speedy (sounds like the name for your cat and mine got the name because she is Speedy) and I evacuated together as the storm blew in.

[Belinda Barfield]

Several years ago we evacuated and headed inland as Savannah was expected to take a direct hit from Hurricane Floyd. The hit turned out to be more of a glancing blow and we were allowed to return home after one day. The following day my SO calls me up and says "I'm bringing home a surprise." That could mean anything from a daisy to a car someone was getting rid of . . . you just never know.

He got home from work and called me outside to the back of the Suburban, opened the door and handed me a sheetrock mud bucket. I said, "Gee, thanks, I really needed another bucket." He told me to look in the towel that was inside the bucket and when I pulled the edge of the towel back I discovered a tiny, eyes not yet open, dehydrated, barely alive baby squirrel. Apparently the hurricane blew it out of its nest. My SO was leaving a friend's house and saw four cats sitting in a circle in the front yard, all staring at something in the middle of the circle. Thinking they might have a snake, SO goes over to check it out. Lo and behold, there in the middle of the circle was little Floyd the squirrel. We have no idea why the cats hadn't eaten him, I guess he was just lucky.

So, get out the medicine dropper, and the formula. . . get up every two hours to feed the poor little thing. I really didn't think he would make it, but he did. I was now the proud owner of a pet squirrel. He actually was pretty fun and was a big fan of Brave's baseball. He would stretch out on the arm of my chair to watch the games with me. He slept in a birdcage on the screened porch. I swear if I tried to put him out before a game was over he would have a hissy fit. We actually reached the point in training him that I could take him outside, he would run up a tree, and he would return to me when called.

Hurricane Floyd hit in September and we lost Floyd the squirrel on Thanksgiving the following year. He traveled with us for the holidays and the first night away from home he was in his birdcage in the suburban, having stuffed himself on walnuts and pecans. We left the windows down just a bit so he would have fresh air. Unfortunately, we left them down just enough that the little rodent managed to get out and we never saw him again. I cried for the entire day.

Then there's the story of Tommy Turtle. My Golden Retriever brought home a box turtle one afternoon. I took it away from and put the turtle back in the woods. Next day, I find the dog and the turtle back on the deck. Repeat rescue procedure. After a week of the dog bringing the turtle home every day I just gave up, and so did the turtle. He decided to live in our backyard.

[Roger Newby]

I won't start on how all of our critters allowed us to adopt them...too many years and too many cats and dogs to keep track of. But ain't it funny how they can wrap you up with just a look and become a best buddy with almost no effort. One of our cats knows when it is time for me to go to bed during the week and will come in about 15 min. before bedtime and just stare at me, or pace the floor. She sleeps at the foot of the bed and "guards" me. On weekends, she changes her schedule. Holidays still throw her though... guess she can't read the calender

[paul cottingham]

I grew up on a farm, and we had tons of barn cats. My dad was a real dr doolittle, and he named and grew attached to every one of those barn cats, all of which disappeared. Finally, my sister brings home a tiny orange tabby, and pop says, i am not going to name this one...she'll just run off. Well, that cat lived with my family for 22 years. She was 8 pounds, and so tough that she only had 2 litters of kittens before dad finally spayed her at 12 years of age. She also never spent a day inside in her life, and would literally "guard" my dad when he was working outside. We also never had raccoons or other cats setting foot on the farm either.

Alll those years and her only name was "kitty."

I still miss that old cat.

[Mike Henderson]

I'll offer the story of how our latest cat adopted us.

I was standing in my neighbor's driveway talking to her one day and this small tabby cat comes up to us. It was obvious he was hungry, so I get some cat food and feed him at my neighbor's house (if he was going to stay, I wanted him staying with her).

I go home and didn't say anything to my wife. But later, she looks out the window and sees the cat sitting in my neighbor's driveway. The window is open and she says,"Ohhhh, look at the little kitty." Well, that's all that cat needed. He came bounding over to our house and Norma opened the door. He came in, looked around, and said, "This looks okay to me, I'll stay."

We took pictures and posted them in the neighborhood but didn't get any responses. So about ten days after Bernie moved in, we decide to take him to the vet. We had him neutered, got him all his shots and flea treatment, and put in a micro chip in case he got lost again.

We were to pick him up about 4pm after the surgery. About 3pm, we get a call from someone who says, "Did you find my cat?" I ask them to describe him but that's useless because I put his picture on the flyers.

So I explain to them that he's at the vet and we're going to pick him up that afternoon. I also explain that the vet bill is about $250 and I expect them to pay me for it since they're going to get the advantage of everything we had done. I finish by asking them to call me the next day to make an appointment for them to come pick him up.

Next day, no phone call. Following day, no phone call. A week later, still no phone call. That was about five years ago so I guess they're not going to call.

Mike

[Oh, that's Bernie in my avatar. I added a picture of him shortly after he moved in. He liked to get in trash cans, and the bathroom sink. He's a big fat cat now.]

[James Jaragosky]

One day I find myself early for work and decide to get a cup of coffee from down the road. Traffic was particularly bad in this Chicago suburb and I found myself stuck for ten minutes trying to make a left to get back to work. There was a dead cat in the center of the road with cars whizzing by at 50mph + all within inches of the dead cat. Well just as my chance to make my turn approaches the dead cat blinks at me. At first I think I am seeing things and curse my luck at having missed my opportunity to get back to work on time. So I am sitting there wondering if I hallucinated seeing that cat blink or not. So I get out of the car and risk my life darting into traffic to check on the dead cat. The cat turned out to be a very much alive and very sweet. He went to live with my girlfriend and her family for many years after. Ebony was his name. And the girlfriend I married and we have been together for 26 years.

[Belinda Barfield]

One day I find myself early for work and decide to get a cup of coffee from down the road. Traffic was particularly bad in this Chicago suburb and I found myself stuck for ten minutes trying to make a left to get back to work. There was a dead cat in the center of the road with cars whizzing by at 50mph + all within inches of the dead cat. Well just as my chance to make my turn approaches the dead cat blinks at me. At first I think I am seeing things and curse my luck at having missed my opportunity to get back to work on time. So I am sitting there wondering if I hallucinated seeing that cat blink or not. So I get out of the car and risk my life darting into traffic to check on the dead cat. The cat turned out to be a very much alive and very sweet. He went to live with my girlfriend and her family for many years after. Ebony was his name. And the girlfriend I married and we have been together for 26 years.

Okay James, you win hands down for the best story ever!

[Greg Peterson]

One day about nine years ago I was at home sick, laying on the couch. I heard a loud crash in the kitchen. Upon entering the kitchen I could see the garbage can had been tipped over and there was Brandy, out Humane Society dog looking at the carnage. Buddy the cat was investigating the situation too.

Well, I looked at Brandy and said "Bad dog". She went and cowered under a table in the corner of the living room, shaking like a leaf. I felt bad for making her feel that way, but since she was barely a year old and hadn't lived with us for more than a couple months I wanted to make sure she knew the ground rules.

I picked up the garbage, set the can back up and crawled back onto the couch. I shut my eyes and drifted off. Again I was awakened by the same loud crash. I looked over in the corner and there was Brandy, really cowering and shaking under the table. Perplexed, I got up and went into the kitchen and there was Buddy the cat, pawing through the garbage.

I felt even worse about scolding Brandy. I picked up the garbage, took it out and laid back down. I called Brandy and she shot out from under the table and leaped halfway across the living room onto the couch. I can't say if her tail was wagging faster than she was licking my face, but it was close. I just kept petting her and saying I was sorry.

Buddy just sat there and looked at us like we were strangers. Perhaps there was some contempt. Cats are generally pretty hard to read.

Last Monday morning, we had to say good bye to Buddy. He was fifteen.

[Doug Shepard]

My big boy cat started off life here as a neighborhood stray. My next door neighbor had a 140Lb Kuvacz (sp?) and he would toss Buddy's uneaten dog food out by a pine tree "for the birds". One night during a 2 AM nature call Jim looks outside to see "the birds" is a big cat. So Jim starts feeding him but the cat is hanging out on my porch most of the time and this is February. I'd leave for work and here's the cat with ice in it's fur. My neighbor made a shelter for it in his shed but we dont think it ever got used and nobody can figure out where this thing is living. I already had 2 cats and after a year of them fighting and finally deciding to cohabitate peacefully, there's no way I'm going through that again.
After about 4 months the cat finally decides to trust us enough to not run off when we approach but still cant be petted without bolting. Eventually Jim decides to retire to Florida so I built an insulated cathouse complete with heated pad and a heated water dish outside. During all this, the cat went from being call Porch Kitty to just P.K. and P.K. was thrilled with his new house. Two mild winters go by and he lived happily outside. By then he had become one of the most affectionate cats I've ever met. He wanted a good 20-30 minutes of quality time when I'd get home from work then he was set. Then my very anti-social indoor cat passed away and the next winter was pretty brutal. So I opened up the door and called P.K. and from Dec. through March P.K. decided being an indoor cat wasn't such a bad thing and decided he liked sleeping up on my bed with me at night too. The other cat I had at the time didn't have a big problem accepting him. Once warm weather hit, he was real happy to return to his former life outside though. A couple more years go by, an adopted shelter dog (which P.K. loves) and he's mostly an indoor cat now. Meows like crazy when he wants to go out for a potty break even when it's snowing so litter box cleanup is pretty low from him. Even the dog isn't that easy.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

We had to put down a dog with a bad temperment. When 2 of my kids ended up in the ER with stitches in their mouths, I had had enough. The registered black cocker spaniel was a birthday present for our youngest son.

Immediately the youngest son wanted a replacement and we went to the local pound to save one from being put down. We came home with a 1 year old female samoyed. Meanwhile the wife fell in love with a 6 week old wire-haired minature daschhund female. So we had two.

Our backyard is surrounded by a chainlink fence with two 36" gates closing the opening between our house and attached shed under the carport roof.

A week or so after getting the new dogs, the wife went out to bring the dogs in from the backyard and they were missing. We finally found them a block away and she scolded me and the 3 kids for letting them out.

A day later she heard the dogs barking ...opened the backdoor onto the carport and the dogs were sitting on the back steps and one of the gates was open. She let them in and scolded us all.

This kept reoccurring until one day.....She put the dogs into the back yard and latched the gate. As she started up the steps, the samoyed stood up on her hind legs, unlatched the gate with her nose and beat my wife to the door.

Sharon was humble when she apologized to us for scolding the rest of the family for letting the dogs out!

BTW...the samoyed....large and all white thought the black minature daschund was her pup. The daschund would start a fight with another larger dog and the samoyed would defend her. We enjoyed their company for 12 years when we had to have both of them euthanized due to severe health issues. That's been 13 years ago and I still miss Snowball today.

[James Jaragosky]

Okay James, you win hands down for the best story ever!

Belinda, before the wife made a honest man outta me I live through many strange and interesting stories. I would retell a few of them, but I am not sure the statutes of limitations is up on some of them.
Regards
Jim J

[Mark Rios]

One day when I was 9 I was walking down our street and a dog ran up and bit me. I hated that dog.

[James Jaragosky]

One day when I was 9 I was walking down our street and a dog ran up and bit me. I hated that dog.

That made me laugh. That's just the type of dry humor that kills me.
Thanks for the chuckle.