so the best thing about this is that bobcats, like just about every feline besides lions and domestic cats, are pretty solitary. they don’t really have friends. they aren’t really equipped to make friends.
domestic cats, on the other hand, do know how to make friends. they are friendly to the point that lots of feral cats live in colonies— the females hang out together, even raise kids together, and the males like to spend nonsexual time with their baby mommas. they groom each other, play around, and have a particular tail position to signal to one another— straight up with the tip curled— that they’re friendly and happy to see each other. cats learned how to be chill with each other in order to take full advantage of human food sources: an ancient granary supplies enough rats for a lot of cats, as does a modern lady with a big bag of frisky bits, so it would be a waste of time and energy for any one cat to try and stake the entire foodsource out for exclusive use. less fighting means more eating and resting which means a longer, nicer life and a lot more kittens.
so this stray cat, she obviously has no colony if she’s wandering around and sneaking into zoo enclosures, so she’s like ‘hey! there’s food here! what up, other cat, let’s be friends, let’s be friends and share that food’. and the bobcat is like ‘??????’ because actually wild cats are pretty cautious about initiating hostilities and anything new and aggressive makes them very worried. and the domestic cat is like ‘haha cool, ok, we’re friends now, big guy. no problems.’ and the bobcat is like ‘????? well…?? ok?’ and then they are friends.
the super interesting thing about most wild cat species is they don’t really have the capacity to make friends on their own, especially outside of sibling bonds, but, if someone comes along and does all the friend-making themselves, they’ll totally roll with it. zoo cats can get really attached to their caregivers— or, in this case, a very confident little calico demonstrating exactly why her species has been so darn successful over the last nine thousand years .
so anyway that is the best thing: bobcats are not equipped to make friends, but luckily for this bobcat this homeless lady did not give any shits and made friends anyway. and now they are both happy.
THESE COULD BE YOUR CATS. candice.velasco@gmail.com #formerferal #catandkitten #mamacat #tuxedocat #blackcat #adoptacat #fostercat #fostercats #fostercatsofinstagram #cats #catsofinstagram
Meet Scardeycat, and her intrepid son, Toast.
I first met Scardeycat circa late 2015/early 2016. She used to freeze when she saw me sat in the chair outside my back door, and then run away. I would feed her, but she wouldn’t start eating until I had gone. It took about a year, but soon she safe minimum distance shrank to about 6 feet and she became a regular. And mostly she lived under the deck on top of the garage.
Emboldened, with the help of my bff @lemonsharks I built two DIY winter feral cat shelters and place them outside my back door. I was convinced I had failed, and the shelters were useless, but Candice insisted they
were but just not when I could see cos cats are nocturnal mostly.
Then in the cold and wet spring of 2017, Scardeycat had a litter of kittens under the deck. She moved them, when the weather got colder and wetter, into one of the shelters.
I spent pretty much all of April and May feeding mama and babies, and hanging out with them and unknowlingly socialising Scardeycat, who stopped hissing (mostly) and safe minimum distance shrank to about 8 inches. But four kittens was a lot of kittens and it was stressing her out, so Candice and I kidnapped the babies, who I’d named Flynn, Jones, Stone, And Cain. They came to live at Candice’s apartment, and we socialised them mostly through Stockholm Syndrome, and we kept Flynn and took the other Librarian kittens to the Anti-Cruelty Society who got them adopted out in less than a week.
Flynn is the best cat ever, except for your cat, who is also the best cat ever.
We kept saying we would TNR Scardeycat, but before we could, in most likely September, she had another litter of kittens–this time just two. I named them Shadow and Ghost, based on their behaviour. Shadow never left Scardeycat’s side, while Ghost took off like their ass was on fire every time I came outside until the lure of free wet food and heated cat shelters proved too much to ignore.
When I came back from two weeks with my family, during which time Boo and my upstairs neighbours had been in charge of feeding the ferals, Ghost disappeared. I choose to believe they were adopted and are now an indoor cat living the cushy life of a beloved pet. In the meantime, I bonded with Shadow, and Scardeycat had moved permanently from beneath the deck to the heated cat shelters.
Then in mid-January, Scardeycat went into heat. Tomcats from miles around appeared in out back garden, and annoyed one of the owners in my building, who gave me an ultimatum: stop feeding the cats, or bring them inside, or he was calling Animal Control. On top of that, one tom was very aggressive, and kept cornering and attacking Shadow. So I lured Shadow into my basement apartment with wet food. We got her into the guest bath after a week in the Utility Room with the intent of socialising her and getting her adopted.
At this point, I should probably mention there was water damage from a massive leak next to my HVAC system, as well as mould and mildew and God knows what else in the Utility Room. So I ended up with bronchitis in February, but it passed and I realised one day that o shit I was screwed, I was in love with Shadow the Pineapple Upsidedown Cat.
Fast forward to April. Scardeycat had another litter of kittens in the cat shelter, which was now located directy outside my back door. We got the entire nest into the utility room, and then like a horrible person, used the babies as bait to get Scardey to follow them inside. Mum and babies were transferred to guest bath, and the PLAN was to socialise them and get them all adopted.
The PLAN went all to hell when, less than a week later, I had a severe asthma attack and ended up in the ICU with acute respiratory failure, and spent 10 days on a ventilator. Candice and her wonderful roommate Mel took in Shadow, Scardey, and the babies, I recovered, spent three weeks with my family in Florida after rehab, and three of the four kittens–named Pita, Tortilla, Baguette, and Toast–were adopted.
Long story short, we would prefer it if the now completely non-feral Scardeycat and her ridiculous intrepid son Toast can be adopted together, because we feel guilty for repeatedly kidnapping Scardeycat’s babies. Also, for those of you who are concerned, Shadowcat is still at Candice’s, and I visit her and Flynn as often as I can.
Scardey and Toast have lived with Candice since April 16, and are wonderful cats. Toast is a slut for cuddles, and he has been altered, and his ears are too big for his head and he’s ridiculous. Scardeyca has all her shots and had her 3D Kitten Printer removed in May, and is still small, and quiet, but she will come up onto Candice’s bed and allow herself to be cuddled and even picked up and snuggled, but she mostly is not a lap cat.She is however a wonderful cat. She has had a very very hard life, and now deserves a Forever Home with humans who cater to her every desire, and she and Toast can have long and happy lives as indoor cats.
Here’s where you come in! Do you or someone you know love cats? Are you within driving distance of Chicago? PLEASE ADOPT THESE CATS. They are amazing pets, and need a home. They are fixed, vaxxed, and chipped, and ready to go onto their next great adventure!
PLEASE REBLOG THIS POST. Spread the word, and help us find a Forever Home for Scardeycat and Toast.
Let’s find these precious babies a home, internet! We can do it!
i hate self identified “nerds” because they give their cats shit names like Sherlock, or Katniss, instead of proper cat names like Weed, or Dirt Man, or 2018 Ford F-150 Supercrew
there have been 2 distinct types of responses in the tags of this post that I would like to address
1. A Human name is a good cat name so long as it is a very common and boring one, ex. “what the fuck sharon why did you step in my cereal you’re so fucking fat”
2. If you give your actual real life pet cat a Warrior Cats name im afraid of your raw power
I once lived with a cat named Ezio Meowditore, and one of my next cats is going to be an orange tabby male, so I can name him Fritti Tailchaser.
My cats are in danger. I’ve posted a little about it, but here’s the summary: Yesterday, 12/1/17, my abusive father called me to tell me he’s tired of having 4 cats in the house (2 are mine, 1 is my brother’s and the remaining cat was the family/my dead brother’s cat). He proceeded to graphically describe the horrific, painful, bloody deaths he wanted to give them. But then tell me, in typical manipulative abusive fashion, that he “just couldn’t do it, because it would be like killing a part of [me].” I said I would try and find a home for them ASAP. I do not trust this man. I do not think they are in a safe place. I am constantly worried about their safety but I live ¾ of the way across the country and have no way to get there, get them, and bring them safely to me. My apartment complex has a pet limit, and we’ve hit it. Even if we hadn’t, there’s no way I could scrounge up the money for me to retrieve them AND $1000 in pet fees/deposits AND comprehensive vet checks to ensure they’re ok.
But wait, you think, if I knew he was such a horrible human being, why are my cats living with them? Short answer is, I didn’t know that he was such a vile, disgusting person as to threaten the health and safety of innocent animals that have never done anything to him. When I originally left my cats at my parent’s house, my parents were still married and mom took care of them. When they got divorced, my mom refused to take the cats (because it was inconvenient for her), but my dad had a girlfriend that loves cats, so I felt like they were safe. They’ve broken up, I’ve been in a really tight spot financially and I can’t figure out if this is an attempt to further control my life, or get back at her. Both, maybe. My mom now lives with her fiance, who has a husky who thinks cats are food and they’re about to get a puppy. Neither cat does well with dogs.
This is my plea: If you are in the Northern Connecticut/Hartford Area and would be willing to adopt one, or both, of my fuzzy boys please let me know. They’re both wonderful, loving cats and they don’t deserve this.
This is Tiger. I adopted him as a kitten in 2008, so he should be around 10 years old this coming year. He is neutered and is absolutely an indoor only cat (he is literally scared of the sky, the few times he has darted out the door because the other cats talked him into it, he would run off the porch, look up, and run back on the porch and hide under the porch chairs and yell until someone came to get him). He does not have a microchip. As you can see, he needs to go on a diet. He’s a loud, whiny drama king that likes to follow people into the bathroom so that you have to pet him while you’re on the toilet. He isn’t a fan of new situations so I expect that he would take some time to warm up to a new home. I think he would be happy in either a home where he’s the only cat OR in a home where there are other cats. He’s never lived with dogs. He prefers to typically lay NEXT to you (but touching) than on you (thank goodness because that’s a lot of cat). Tiger will pat at you with one of his paws when it’s time to pet him, and he purrs like a motor. He is not up to date on shots or vet checks or anything like that. The last one he had was most likely when I brought him last, in 2013, prior to having to leave him at my parent’s house because I was in provided housing for internship where I wasn’t allowed to have pets. I haven’t been in a situation where I could take him myself, and my parents don’t see the point in bringing a cat to the vet.
This is Mumford. I adopted him in 2012. I think he’s about 6-8 years old. He is neutered and has been an indoor cat. He does have a microchip. Mumford is a super chill cat that does like to snuggle right in your lap. My dad’s girlfriend used to scoop him into the baby hold and walk around cradling him while he purred loudly in her arms. He loves people. Absolutely loves them. He would be most happy in a multi-cat household. He snuggles with the other cats and grooms them. When I brought Mumford home, Tiger had been an only cat for about a month. This was, apparently, enough time for Tiger to get adjusted to being an only cat and he threw a hissy fit and wouldn’t even stay on opposite sides of the bed as him for 9 months. Mumford, on the other hand, was ready to be bros for life from day 1. When Mumford was introduced to the 2 other cats they now live with, he again transitioned smoothly and with grace. He is a sweet boy that wants to jump on your back and lay down while you’re bent over to tie your shoes. He gives little love nips to let you know if it’s time to stop petting him. Again, He is not up to date on shots or vet checks or anything like that. The last one he had was most likely when I brought him last, in 2013
prior to having to leave him at my parent’s house because I was in provided housing for internship where I wasn’t allowed to have pets. I haven’t been in a situation where I could take him myself, and my parents don’t see the point in bringing a cat to the vet.
These are 2 incredibly sweet boys who deserve a safe, loving home where they are wanted. I’m stuck in a horrible position, where my hands are essentially tied and there’s not much that I can do except hope that someone, somewhere, will be willing to take them in. I would consider splitting them up, mostly because Tiger does seem like he would be very happy to be an only cat with a human that would dote on him.
I don’t know that they’ll come with anything, even carriers. I used to have 2 large, roomy, hard-sided carriers for them but I don’t know if my dad still has them or not. I just want them somewhere safe and loved.
Please, feel free to share this around and please message me if you’re interested or have any questions.
( @pangur-and-grim would you be willing to signal boost this for me?)
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