My new neighbor, Denise, is a great neighbor who also happens to love animals. Good thing since I have a few and she has a few too. One of her pets is this little smokey gray male cat. He has quite the personality and his name is Hurricane. He shares his home with five dogs, a few other cats and a guinea pig. He has no fear of people or of dogs or of other cats. Therein lies the problem. He has no concern for my little Orkin kitty. The two have not fought, it is more of an uneasy truce with LOTS of loud and long meowing. I try to encourage him to go home so that Orkin can eat and rest in her yard in peace, but this little guy seems to love me and my yard. He is probably after those pesky chipmunks that also love my yard. Denise warned me he is a good mouser-great!
He doesn't mind dogs like I said. BJ would never ever harm this kitty but has enough to deal with when our own little Orkin hangs around and does nothing but antagonize him. Poor BJ. He literally quakes when Orkin rubs up against him. I think it is a 'cat' thing. Orkin will rub up against BJ wanting some attention, then turn around and smack him a time or two. BJ is at a loss as to what he should do. I sternly tell him to behave. Good dog that he is, he always minds. But Hurricane is another story. He doesn't think he should put up with two cats! One is bad enough.Orkin is a pretty smart kitty. She stays out of the backyard; which is the dogs' domain. This little kitty was not so smart and got caught in the yard early one morning. Where Orkin will quickly exit the backyard, the gray kitty decided to climb a tree. A large tree. Can you see him in the crook of the branch on the right side of the trunk? He is literally 20 feet in the air. His eyes glow; which is a good thing since he is so dark he blends in with the canopy of the tree. BJ refused to leave his position at the base of the tree. He got so comfortable he had to lay down! Poor kitty. Can you see BJ intently focusing on the cat in the tree?
I had never seen BJ so intent on getting any animal as he was with poor Hurricane. Normally BJ is a ball dog, so I was surprised and amused with his behavior on this day. I finally called BJ into the house. Hurricane made it down safely from the tree and hasn't been seen in the backyard since. He still visits the frontyard, but that is fine with me, not sure about Orkin though. Hurricane may have learned the lesson Orkin learned a long time ago, stay out of the backyard-it is DOG territory or he'll be up a tree!
in the garden....
We also have a neighbor's cat that seems to prefer our yard to his. Unfortunately, he is a little more aggressive than our kitties and has to be shooed away.
ReplyDeleteJan
Always Growing
Loved this! BJ was looking so serious --all work and no play --determined to get the job done. Glad to hear little Hurricane made it out safely --guess he knows where he can venture now:0)
ReplyDeleteWhat cat doesn't like to rub up on a dog then slap them for thinking it! Thinking they'd nosebutt the kitty! I'm sooo fortunate I have no other kitties around, for the time being at least.
ReplyDeleteJan, Hello and good morning! Those kitties are something else! Not at all like dogs.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous, Thanks! BJ WAS so serious. You summed it up perfectly and I too am glad Hurricane is safe.
Dawn, Surprisingly I was not sure how any of my dogs would react with a new pet-especially a cat. Never had cats and dogs together before except when we were kids. I had no clue cats would be so mean. Yours smacks Tartarus around? What is up with those kitties?
Poor BJ seems to think why am I having to do this. But it seems to have worked--kitty stays out of the back yard. Trouble with most kitties they don't stay home unless they are completely house kitties. Some of my neighbors have kitties & they are always in my yard.
ReplyDeleteLOL, something similar happened at my house except instead of the tree it was my roof! BJ is doing his duty and keeping out the trespassers to his yard. Good dog!
ReplyDeleteThat is too funny. Bella is great in the house with the cats, but cause she doesn't see them outside much she chases them up trees all the time if there is one outside! So warn Hurricane and Orkin, they will not want to be in the back yard when your grand-puppy comes to stay with you!
ReplyDeletePG, You have a cat chaser as well as a bird chaser then? Dogs!
ReplyDeleteChristine, We'll get ready. With a Rottie around should be interesting. How was your trip this weekend? Great I am sure. Stay safe!
Lola, Sorry out of order. Kitties can be difficult. I know I would not like kitty prints all over my car, but since I have one too I just kind of deal with it. They do keep down the rodent populations; which is great! Now the dogs, those are another story. They have to stay in their own yard. Gotta say though, I sure go thru a lot of cat food.
ReplyDeleteThat's a great story. Our cat Sylvester is strictly an inside cat but sometimes the neighbors cats come by and look in on him - it drives him nuts.
ReplyDeleteI am glad the kitty got out of the tree safely. It is a funny story though. The dog is the ruler of the backyard. I think cats like to mess with each other. I can just see them now. Go ahead and go in the backyard that dog won't bother you...(-: We had a lab/golder retriever cross and it was the sweetest dog ever. He put up with ducks/chickens/cats/deer you name it. he would just lay down and let them walk all over him. Until he finally had enough. At that point he would just get up and walk away.(-: Jack on the other hand is another story.(-:
ReplyDeleteFunny story. My problem now with cats and dogs is Ruby and Rascal. I think with Ruby being a Boston Terrier and Rascal almost as big as him, Ruby always wants to play with Rascal and Rascal DOES NOT wanna play with Ruby. I keep telling Rascal to cuff Ruby but she is such a mellow cat, she will not do it. I figure if Ruby got cuffed with a cat claw a few times she might leave Rascal alone. But cats do not mind like a dog does. LOL
ReplyDeleteMy border collie Aggie has the same problems with cats. Mostly the young cats, the older ones ignore Aggie.
ReplyDeleteAggie will be sleeping and suddenly yelp and jump up. One of the cats sleeping beside her has stretched and sunk a claw into the dog. I don't think it is intentional, but it hurts.
Marnie
My long-haired calico use to wait under the hydranga or the truck and when I got my daughter on the bus, she would ambush Tartarus! She'd pop out, swip his nose then run! At first he chased her (that's what she wanted) but then he got wise. The same thing would happen when he caught up with her!
ReplyDeleteOne day we had company, strolling around the yard, kitty came out from the bushes and found a stranger.....Tartarus took full advantage of her friendliness. Nosebutted her over and over, even before she could figure it out! I had to stop him because it was making my company nervous. Kitty half-heartly swiped, but she purposely missed. After a fierce glare from her, she ran off,....she never played her game from that day on!
It is fun to observe animals in their kingdoms! My two kitties stay inside only and play tag all the time. One will smack the other then take off running with the other on her heels! It sounds like a heard of elephants when they run on the woods floors especially when they blast down the wood hallway and up the stairs and down that hallway! They are so comical together.
ReplyDeleteCC kitty from next door has been making my pine straw landscaping her personal poop box lately! Argggg, nasty stuff to find while smoothing out the humps of straw.... I do find the occasional dead mole and vole so as long as she works for potty space, I dont mind. But when I find a baby bunny or bird limp on the ground, I am not too happy with CC.... I am not happy when I find paw prints on the new car either!
I really do wish people would keep their pets in their yards. Even though I keep doggie treats for the visiting dogs, I wish they would stay home also....
The climbing weekend was great mom. Bella is less rotti by nature than border collie. She has a much more border collie personality than the rot or german shepard. You always talk about the "rotti" part of her, but rottis are good dogs and Bella is a GREAT dog. She is not aggressive in the least and loves everyone regardless of what they do to her. You'll see when she comes down, her only down fall is food and that just takes her being fed away from them until she knows her place.
ReplyDeleteMy mom's cat went up a tree...stayed there for 3 days. We finally had to call a tree climber in to get it down because it was up about 60 feet.
ReplyDeleteChristy, Bella is a great dog but I think her downfall is that darn tounge. She loves to lap everyone and you know how I hate that!!!
ReplyDeleteMimi-That is another downfall, but she stops for a little bit when you are very firm and tell her too...though that only seems to work I tell her to stop. I can even make her stop panting at night when it is keeping me up. All I say is "Bella Stop" and she does. She loves her Mommy.
ReplyDeleteI usually just let any cat that wanders into our yard, work it out with my cats. Sometimes I will yell at them but for the most part, I just ignore them. I know my cats visit my neighbors too so I try to treat them like my own if they come into the yard.
ReplyDeleteSolo loves all cats. He grew up with them, so there is no problem there.
Cindy, That happens with other dogs and my dogs-drives me crazy!
ReplyDeleteCindee, Your golden/lab sounded like a sweetie, the best kinds of dogs. Someday I am getting some chickens like you, I enjoy their antics.
Mom, Cats are like men, they get over grudges quickly, but dogs are like women-we remember that smack upside the head forever. BJ will never forget. Rascal is a super good cat. Trying to get Orkin to come in but she still ain't having it. Though the dogs don't mess with her inside she is petrified. Not like Rascal who knows he is the king.
Marnie, Poor Aggie to get clawed by the kitties! I would be laughing really hard if I saw that!
Dawn, Tartarus is such a sweet guy.
Skeeter, Ewww! But it is good she is earning her real estate in your yard. Cats! They will roam, now dogs are another thing and should not. Dangerous to them and others.
Christine, Rotties are great dogs! I love Bella or I would not agree to have her vacation here. She will be fine. Got a good fenced in yard and she can roam. She and mine will have to adjust though, that is my only worry. CeCe can be a butthead at times and doesn't like being bottom dog. She will let Bella know she is now bottom dog and Bella will have to adjust. Do you think she will okay? My dogs are not like Mimi's and Bella is grown up now. My only worry.
Jillybean, That silly cat! I bet it was starving to death when it was rescued. Funny!
Eve, It lowers my blood pressure knowing my cat visits others, so I can't mind little Hurricane at all. Plus they do a good job mousing. It is great Solo loves all kitties. He is a good dog for sure!
I'm glad Hurricane got safely out of the tree, but I bet he doesn't venture into the back yard again!
ReplyDeleteMom, Bella will be fine. She has been put in her place by dogs before. The only time I have had an issue with her was one day at the beach like 4 loose dogs came after her and she finally turned on one after she had enough of other dogs coming at her. She is top dog with me cause she is the only dog, but I believe that at Mimi's house she is not and she excepts that. She is just a really big puppy. Loves to romp...doesn't get it when others dogs don't want to, but her and Cece will be fine I am sure of it. She took the abuse from Precious when Liz came here with the dogs until Liz tried her feed her dogs in front of Bella and not Bella. That was an issue and Liz had been warned of Bella and her food issue, but then again Bella is gentle enough to allow Josh to take her food from her and not even look at him for it...plus she will stand there and wait if someone (one of the cats) is eating her food.Like, I said Bella is not a dominating dog, just an only dog in my house. They will be fine. It will be fun for her and your dogs to all play...but get on her if she chases the cat, she listens to women better than she does men, so chances are that you will be the only one able to command her and I no longer yell at her either. My best trip if she is really bad is to make her sit and look at me when I talk to her. She hates it cause me looking her in the eye and her not wanting obtains alpha role. I also grab her checks when she is REALLY bad and get real close to her and talk very, very firmly about what she did wrong.
ReplyDeleteWe have two yellow tabbies that are sort of preventing me from getting a dog. I'm afraid they wouldn't like it.
ReplyDeleterose, Haven't seen him since-a pretty smart kitty!
ReplyDeletechristine, Bella will get adjusted I am sure.
tc, I think you are right, the cats would have a hard time adjusting. My kitty is a yellow tabby too.
Actually Tina, I do know garden bloggers who don't have pets, and so do you because I'm one of them.
ReplyDeletePhilo and I had pets when we were children and also when our own children were young...everything from fish and lizards to gerbils, guinea pigs, cats and a dog. Then our children grew up and some of them have pets of their own, which occasionally appear on my blog.
I visit with dogs and cats at friend's houses but once I'm home I don't miss them a bit.
My neighbors' wandering animals on the other hand? They don't lower blood pressure - they raise it, Tina!!
Annie at the Transplantable Rose
Annie, You are the first to not have pets but I bet there are more as well. Pets can be a pain in the garden and I bet you and Philo love your freedom. I see myself maybe someday getting to that point too but with a teenager around they are good. I'm with you-wandering pets should stay out of my yard!
ReplyDelete