Three Stray Cats

F1 Savannah Cat Magic Wakes Up Andreas

mjbmeister@gmail.com (Freddie Fox) — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 20:53:00 +0000

Well, here is another video of Andreas and Magic together. This time Magic wakes up Andreas. The thing is, Andreas is sleeping on the top bunk of bunk beds. So what happens is a WOW. Well it's a totally normal for Magic as she is the world's tallest domestic cat (I think the Guinness World Records call the record Tallest Pet Cat). And she is extremely athletic and a great jumper because her father is a Serval. And the serval cat is a medium sized wild cat with very long legs. The serval kills prey by jumping high and down onto the prey to stun it and kill it.

Enjoy the video, MAGIC and Andreas are fantastic in this. This is a beautiful relationship. Please see it in large format here: Waking Andreas Magically.

Savannah Cat Magic with Andreas and Leonie

mjbmeister@gmail.com (Freddie Fox) — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 17:10:00 +0000

Here are two videos I made of F1 Savannah cat Magic with Andreas and Leonie. Andreas and Leonie are the son and daughter of Martin and Kathrin Stucki who own and manage A1 Savannahs and who raised Magic. That is why she is so beautifully socialised and domesticated:

Savannah Cat Magic with Andreas and Leonie to Pictures of Cats

Tortoiseshell Cats Video

mjbmeister@gmail.com (Freddie Fox) — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 06:50:00 +0000

Here is a Tortoiseshell Cats Video that I think I need to spread around a bit. It is one I made some time ago but I think it is really good because the photos are by the very talented and respected Helmi Flick. The best cat photographer in the world - oh yes it's true.

I think the music goes well with the cats and I don't know why. It just feels right for some reason. There are quite a range of tortie cats (it's much easier to type "tortie" than the full word!).

If you take into consideration the tortie pointed cats the range is vast. You can see a torbie pointed Persian in the video. You can read about and see torbie, tortie and torbie/tortie and white cats here:

F1 Savannah Cat TITAN

mjbmeister@gmail.com (Freddie Fox) — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 06:13:00 +0000

I also can't resist showing a video of an F1 male named TITAN. He is going shopping with his human companion. And as can only be expected most of shop comes to a stand still. Well not quite but walking a fantastic cat like this on a lead in a store is pretty well bound to make other shoppers stop and ask and talk.

TITAN, then, is a great way to meet people. Probably the best way! And I think that for a cat like TITAN (who is still growing by the way) it is a perfect way to both satisfy his need to be stimulated and to do it in a safe way.

It seems to be winning way all round. You can see lots more videos of cats on my YouTube channel: Broadsurf. Also see Savannah cats generally.

A1 Savannahs F1 Savannah Cat MAGIC

mjbmeister@gmail.com (Freddie Fox) — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 11:15:00 +0000

A1 Savannahs F1 Savannah Cat MAGIC - this is the cat everyone is or should be talking about! I mean when did you see a domestic cat like this? This cat is probably the biggest and most glamorous domestic cat anywhere. MAGIC is magic and a female Savannah cat who has a Serval for a father and a Savannah cat for a mother. She is 2 years old at the time the video was made (early Sept 2009) and is spayed. You can see the video in large format here: F1 Savannah Cat Magic.

Not only is she glamorous she is very exotic, a heady combination of wildcat, domestic cat, wild spirit, passiveness, gentleness, energy, and perfect socialization. Look how she accepts all the handling by Kathrin Stucki's young daughter. MAGIC now resides at Bellina Gattini Cattery which is owned by Kimberly and Lee Draper.

I can't help making posts about this cat. She is certainly the most impressive domestic cat I have seen except for Motzie of course. You can see Motzie an F2 Savannah cat of great fame at the top of this page: Savannah Cat, and on this page: MOTZIE

A1 Savannahs F1 Savannah Cat MAGIC to Home Page

Analysis of the Big Cat Video UK

mjbmeister@gmail.com (Freddie Fox) — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 04:10:00 +0000

It has been claimed to be "one of the best pieces of footage of a big cat in the UK". This is my brief analysis of the big cat video UK.

First it has to said that this is simply not a big cat. If it is a wild cat it would be classed as one of the small wild cats (see Wild Cat Species). It is about 2 feet long (excluding the tail) and looks like it weighs about 20+ pounds. This is gauged by comparison with the tracks (apparently 4 feet 8.5 inches wide in Britain). This cat walks like a small cat or domestic cat meaning lightly and without that slightly arrogant and slower paced walk of the bigger cats. Its shape is neither cobby (stocky) nor slender. The smaller big cats like the puma and leopard are quite slender with long limbs. This cat cannot be either. It cannot be a lynx because there is no ruff.

This cat has been described as "fearsome" and a "panther" by the tabloid press. Well it is not fearsome it seems to me. And it is not a panther as this is a term to describe melanistic (black) leopards and pumas. The smallest leopard weighs about 20 kg (44 lbs pounds - small female Cap Province -- Wild Cats of the World) and are normally about 50 kg (110 lbs the size of female person). The puma is quite a large cat with some small cat characteristics and weights at the lower end about the same as a small women. Both are larger by a factor of about 4 or 5 than this cat.

Domestic cats can weigh on average about 8 lbs but some weigh over 20 lbs. The all domestic cat, the Maine Coon can and frequently does weigh over 20 lbs. But this cat is not a Maine Coon as the fur is short on this cat and the Maine Coon is longer bodied.

It is more likely to be a large (top end) domestic cat than a wildcat. And this cat is behaving like a domestic cat wandering down a railway line. This cat is not behaving secretively as a wild cat would. It is very hard indeed to see a Scottish wild cat. It takes a lot of tracking and patience.

One viewer of the video made the comment that it could be a domestic cat/Scottish wild cat hybrid (first generation). This could be the case. They are black apparently and although the Scottish wild cat is the approximate size of a domestic cat with hybrid vigor the offspring could be larger than the parents.

I think it is also worth mentioning that this cat is not very elusive, is it? It is calmly walking down a railway line in broad daylight when it could be hold up in a den and coming out at night as black panthers are meant to do. And why is this oh so fantastic video footage, some of the best ever pretty poor, frankly. Over all the tens of years we have been told about fearsome big cats in the UK the best evidence we have is this poor camera phone video of a 20 lb domestic cat!

Analysis of the Big Cat Video UK - conclusion: Can the papers please stop exaggerating as this is irresponsible and puts fear into some people who might react badly to the cat and try and kill it? Being at the very top end of the domestic cat range it is more likely to be a very large domestic cat or a Scottish wild cat first generation hybrid and it is certainly not a black panther.

More reading:

When a Stray Cat Comes to You

mjbmeister@gmail.com (Freddie Fox) — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 17:17:00 +0000

What to do when a stray cat comes up to your home? Or there is a cat wandering around in your area and you feel that it is stray. A lot of people take what only can be described as hostile action, against the cat, for example, kill it by poison or kick it etc. (see cat poison). In fact there is a post on this blog made a day or two ago in which the person said she loved cats but puts down poison to deal with stray cats! See Stray Cats.

I have lost the credit for this photo. I think it could be MAR please advise - sorry

But the question is what is the thing that we should do? The proper thing throwing out all other considerations? If the cat is tame it is probably a stray cat as opposed to a feral cat. And in that case it probably lives with someone - but who? And if you can't find out, then what?

One way to find out is to ask around the neighbours. This might seem troublesome to many people who don't care about cats or animals generally. Fair enough but it is the right action to take. Another way to try and find the owner is to place a collar on the cat in which the question as to who is the owner is asked with your contact details provided. You can see an example here.

If the owner (keeper) comes forward you should try and convince them to act more responsibly and I realize that that is going to be all but impossible but at least you know who the person is and can deal with the matter in a better way if things get worse.

Another way to try and find the owner is to contact the local shelters (in the UK - here is a list). Once all reasonable steps have been taken (and ideally recorded) but without success, you can move on to the next stage, which is to rehome the cat. That means deciding whether ownership should pass to you (a very serious commitment for the remainder of the life of the cat) or whether the cat should be rehomed by a local shelter.

Provided you have done all you reasonably could have done to find the owner no one can accuse you of theft. If the cat is feral and therefore wild there can only be one course of action, which is to support the cat (which is effectively wild), while ensuring the cat cannot reproduce. This is called trap, neuter, return and it is probably best left to the experts, provided the experts are simply just not going to kill it after a couple of days at the shelter.

When a stray cat comes to you, you should take the above action provided you are convinced the cat is stray. What I did was to take in the stray cat. He is called Timmy (middle picture above) and he is possibly a time share cat because he lives somewhere else as well as at my place. I took the hardest step and that has to be for life.

When a Stray Cat Comes to You to Home Page (main site)

Cat-Photo-Technique Flickr Group

mjbmeister@gmail.com (Freddie Fox) — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 06:58:00 +0000

Here is a photo stream from the cat-photo-technique Flickr group that I started to encourage good cat photography. Of course Helmi Flick the best cat photographer very generously allows me to use her photographs on the main site: Pictures of Cats but inspired by her fine photographs and knowing that there are a lot of cat photos on the internet, I thought it would be nice to see if we could find the best amateur cat photoraphers. Professional photographers can submit to the group to, of course.

In fact it would be great if some professionals did submit their work to the group as it would intruct and train the amateurs. That said there are some fantastic amateurs who could teach the professionals a thing or two (fofurasfelinas and Dani Rozeboom come to mind immediately).

Anyway, these are the pages to visit:

cat-photo-technique at Pictures of Cats (PoC) website
cat-photo-technique at Flickr
PoC home page for an example of a group member's work (as at 29th July 2009 - the pictures rotate so it won't be there for ever).

Our Relationship with Cats

mjbmeister@gmail.com (Freddie Fox) — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 16:01:00 +0000

There are many millions of people who tenderly love and care for the domestic cats with which they live. There are many millions who are concerned about the wildcats. But there are not enough. Today I was shocked by a submission to the main website (www.pictures-of-cats.org) by a person who said she (or he, not sure) loved cats but poisoned them because her neighbours were irresponsible in letting them stray. And these stray cats upset her by defecating and urinating around her home. She also said that they bring fleas and "other insects". What she was doing or what she said she was doing was quite possibly a felony in her state of New York.

The person was arrogant and ignorant enough to state her views and actions on the internet on a site that gets a lot of hits. Beware doing such things as it can backfire. It does show us the level of "out of reality" lives some people live. The person's arguments were totally lacking in sound thought. And upon this ignorance, cats were, on the face of it, being cruelly killed - quite mindless and idiotic but an example of behaviour not that uncommonly seen.

I know that for many people who are not that fond of cats, feral or stray cats can be a nuisance. But the only way to deal with this is to deal with the owners. And as to the feral cats that can only mean being dealt with by trap, neuter return and plenty of investment in time and effort. There is no other way. Our relationship with cats can be quite fraught. And our relationship with cats is certainly very polarised. What I mean is that people have very widely held views, which makes a coordinated approach impossible.

Take feral cats again. There is the beginnings of a new direction in how to deal with feral cats at the governmental level in the potential city ordinance (laws) of Beverly Hills, Los Angeles. Beverly Hills could be the beginning of change and a proper approach to dealing with feral cats. Millions are killed each year. Some go into cat food - yes it's true. And one comment on a YouTube video about how some feral cats or unwanted domestic cats were turned into cat food, said that is was a good idea. Maybe you do too. But it cannot be right. It is not the way things were meant to have turned out when the wild cat was first domesticated. We thought that our relationship with cats would be beneficial to both cat and human. Now that "dream" has turned sour.

If feral cats are generally badly treated (and they are only surviving like you and me) then the domestic cat can have it pretty hard too. People in the USA have created a country where the domestic cat has to be kept in permanently. How odd and unnatural is that? And an unlikely and horrendous spin off from that (and I believe a contributory factor) is that 20% or about 20 million domestic cats in the USA are declawed. This is a crime in many European countries. America is a decent and good country with good and decent people, so what happened on this one? Something went badly wrong and I say it is largely to do with commerce and the veterinarians who encourage non-therapeutic declawing, a truly unethical process of great cruelty.

That said many people in the USA will say that declawing is OK and that they love cats. I just think that they don't understand and that misunderstanding comes from the people who do understand but hide behind euphemisms and denial, the veterinarians.

Our relationship with cats works brilliantly when we love our cat and let our cat be his or herself. When we accept out cat as he or she is. Is that so hard? If we can't do that it's OK. Just don't keep a cat. Is that so hard? If we wan companionship from a cat we should respect the cat. Declawing is highly disrespectful and much worse. See AVMA policy on declawing cats.

As to the wildcats, for me it is more sadness. Once again a different form of business is destroying the cat, businesses like the timber business destroying forest and the habitat of forest dwelling cats (African golden cat, Sumatran tiger and Clouded leopard to name three - there are many more). If it is not timber it is farming or some other business. Sure we have a right to make a living but it is time we did it in a way that doesn't destroy the planet. Is that so hard?

Three Stray Cats Update

mjbmeister@gmail.com (Freddie Fox) — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 03:41:00 +0000

This is a three stray cats update. My three stray cats are Binnie who has lived with me for 16 years or more and she is no longer a stray I suppose! She was though. Then there is Pippa, a small black girl. I would see her dice with death crossing the road outside the kitchen window but could do little about it as she belongs to someone else - I know who - but I would still consider her a kind of stray or perhaps a better description is a part-time cat. Well, I have not seen her for a considerable time. This is mainly because Binnie chases her away and the pecking order is that Binnie is above Pippa.

It also may be due to the summer weather. There is less need to seek warmth and food etc. Or she may have been killed, I don't know. I wish I did.

Then we have Timmy, the top cat who still comes in for his nosh (UK terms for food in case you are from another country and hadn't heard the word) and then he either stays a while (less in summer) before disappearing. Timmy is very skinny and very athletic. I would expect him to come in a lot more when the weather turns colder and wetter in about 3 months or so.

We have another stray cat in in fact. We have called her Marty. She is a fast mover, darting in to grab some food (only if it is fish or prawns!) before scampering out. Binnnie accepts her but chased her off last week. Binnie is about aged 90 in human terms so it was very impressive to see although I wish she wouldn't!

She is also overweight so to see her running pretty fast is awesome. It is probably awesome for the other cat too. I think her sheer size is intimidating. That's about it. All is calm and at the moment is is more like 2 stray cats with 2 in the background.

How to Create a Stray Cat

mjbmeister@gmail.com (Freddie Fox) — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 20:47:00 +0000

This is how to create a stray cat. Buy a nice house with a large mortgage. Buy nice new, all white furniture and put in a new kitchen. Go on holiday 3 times a year and have three kids. To complete the image and the perfect family scene buy a purebred pedigree cat, say a nice Siamese, they are one of the most popular and impressive looking cats and the white body and dark pointing (extremities) go oh so well with the white kitchen and the new cushions you just bought for the large sumptuous sofas that could barely get through the front door when they were delivered. Keep doing that sort of thing for a time.

Wait for the inevitable economic crash, the bust after the boom. Then try and hang on to the job, but to no avail. The wife works part-time but the debt that you accrued over the last ten years amount to $50,000 and the family home has been remortgaged four times and now property prices have plummeted there is negative equity. You stop paying the mortgage and the HP payments on the sofa got too much so you lost that. Next you lose the house.

You pack your bags and cart away what possessions you have left. You, the wife and the kids shut the front door for the last time. Inside the home is your Siamese cat, without food or water and locked in. You just couldn't see a way to paying for her. The cat had to go. That's how to create a stray cat in the recession.

{based on the true story of Bandy a 1 year old Siamese cat who was left in a foreclosed house and who became a stray cat with no where to stray to}

From how or create a stray cat to feral cats

Australians are Hostile to Stray Cats

mjbmeister@gmail.com (Freddie Fox) — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 07:28:00 +0000

Why do I get the distinct impression that Australians are hostile to stray cats? I mean Australians as a nation not individual Australians lots of whom are very much for, and care for, the stray and feral cats. And lets not forget that stray cats are quite possibly domestic companion cats that are simply outdoors. All over the internet are stories of stray cats in Australia being ill treated.

There seems to be a kind of culture that approaches that found in China with respect to the stray cat or indeed feral cat. This culture seems to have been promoted or even generated by a long term and on-going campaign by government officials who have claimed that the poor maligned stray cats and feral cats of Australia are responsible for the death of millions of native wild animals. A reality check indicates that this is not the case. Here are a few facts that come from a very reliable source, Sarah Hartwell (unless otherwise stated), who was assisted by http://www.catassist.org.au:

there are pro and anti feral and stray cat camps. I sense that the anti camp is winning because of government backing (my view)
there are no accurate figures on the numbers of stray cats and feral cats in Australia. This fuels guesswork and alarmist assessments. The figure is, apparently, between 3 and 30 million.
an influential survey carried out in 1994 by Dr David Paton claimed that cats kill 3.8 billion animals and birds annually. A vast number. But this survey, which may be etched in the minds of some Australians, has been found to be lacking in objectivity (Dr. Paton disliked cats) and accuracy. It is, in short, misleading. More birds are killed by cars than cats in Australia (survey result not guesswork).
another study of 1994 (by Reark research for Petcare Information and Advisory Service) confirmed that cats preferred hunting introduced wild species (rabbit and mouse) rather than native Australian species thus debunking the claim that precious native species are being slaughtered by cats.
habitat destruction by people is probably the biggest killer of native Australian wildife (my view)
it seems that a considerable percentage of vets are also against the feral and stray cat. Witness the case of Possum who was shot 27 times and the owner couldn't find a vet to assist until after 4 tries a kind a decent vet did assist. (see Worst Case of Cat Cruelty) -this is my view and not Sarah Hartwells.
Ms Hartwell supports my view that wholesale shooting of feral cats is inhumane and it doesn't work either. (see Ground Shooting of Feral Cats and the Vacuum Effect). She also supports proper, humane and organised action using TNR techniques. The Australians seem incapable of accepting this. It isn't, it seems, in their nature as it would take a long term approach and a concerted approach.
all the signs are that, generally, as an electorate, Australians are hostile to Stray cats.

Some selected posts on this topic:

From Australians are Hostile to Stray Cats to Home Page

Stray Cats Smell

mjbmeister@gmail.com (Freddie Fox) — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 20:45:00 +0000

Do stray cats smell? Timmy, the cat I feed and give a bit of tender loving care to, does. He washes etc. But he always has dirty paws, a messed up and scratched face and he smells of a very badly kept room. You know those homes where the owner or tenant has simply given up (don't blame them) or they are old etc. and the whole home is a complete disaster, with piles of newspapers, mess on the floor, a massive pong of filth, old dirt, that kind of place. Well Timmy smells of that kind of place and I wonder if he is time sharing. I don't think he is, though, as he is very hungry when he comes in, as if he hasn't eaten since the last time I fed him.

He may be living in some sort of run down place, a garage or something that has junk in it and he smells of the junk he lies on. He occasionally stays with me for a while but seems eager to get going back to his filthy home. When I pick him up I get dirty and feel itchy (due to his allergens) at the same time. I still love him though!

It is much harder for a stray or feral cat to keep clean. When I washed him he hissed! Timmy's head wound has healed nicely (see cat abscess). I feel (and this is not a boast) that I have saved his life.

Stray Cats Learn to Stay

mjbmeister@gmail.com (Freddie Fox) — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 15:03:00 +0000

Pippa on a bed in the flat for the first time. She has eaten and she is having a rest.

Stray cats learn to stay in a new home, if what we do is better than what the "owner" does. Of course, we do not try and entice a cat away from her his owner but if the stray is Pippa (see above) and if she is not that happy in her home she might stay despite that fact I am doing nothing different than normal.

I saw Pippa out the kitchen window dicing with death walking near the road. She approached the flat, and seeing her, I opened the window and called out fearing that she might get hurt. She heard me and recognized my name but would not jump up through the window (no surprise as it is high and she is unsure). However, about 10 mins later she came in through Binnie's (my cat) cat flap and was I pleased to see her. I fed her and loved her. And for the first time Pippa went to one of the beds in the flat and installed herself on it to wash herself and have a rest. I loved her some more and she is still there right now as I type this post. She is a complete sweety but nervous. She likes good quality cat food and is jet black.

Also for the first time the "owners" have added a name tag to her collar. Her name is Kelis. I will still call her Pippa because she has this Pixie-like face.

Stray Cats are Very Stoic

mjbmeister@gmail.com (Freddie Fox) — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 17:50:00 +0000

Stray cats particularly, are very stoic. They are very accepting. I am referring to a story, about a not that unusual event, in which a cat was resting inside the engine compartment of a car (perhaps it was cold) when the owner turned up and turned on. The car driver smelled burning and realising there was a cat stuck in the engine compartment drove to the Baltimore SPCA for help. I am shocked that she was unable, as reported, to recover the cat. What was going on? It can't be that difficult, surely, to open the hood (bonnet in Britain) and get the cat out. I would certainly not move off if I knew (as she apparently did) that a cat was on top of the bl**dy engine. Well she did!

With great good fortune the cat survived with third degree burns to one paw and the others blistered. He was on top of the engine during the drive. He is unchanged and relaxed, accepting people and being very nice about it all. I take care of a stray cat called Timmy (see the header) and he is similar. He is uncomplaining and very laid back. He seems to accept discomfort very well. When he was in a fight recently and I took him to the vet he behaved impeccably. It may have been the first time he was in a cage but he took it all in his stride. It seems that the more difficult life that they endure makes them more quiet. It knocks the rough edges off their character. It also teaches them to endure better. It is the equivalent to putting a banker on the street for a few months. It would improve them! Although I am not advocating that cats and bankers should be turfed out on to the street - just bankers.

Stray cats are very stoic and make great companion cats. Get down to that cat rescue center!

Difference between Stray and Feral Cat

mjbmeister@gmail.com (Freddie Fox) — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 19:29:00 +0000

Feral cat - a boy cat and it shows - photo by Wabana

The difference between stray and feral cat is that the stray is a domesticated cat that has strayed from its home. The cat is at the first stage of being feral. It is pre-feral. Its offspring will be feral if they are born outside of a permanent human home, that is on the street or in the woods etc. Feral cats are domestic cats that are evolving back to wildcats but they are ill equipped to survive outside the human environment because of thousands of years of domestication.

The feral cat's life is considerably shorter than a domestic cat's life and a permanent indoor cat's life is the longest of all because it is the most protected. The feral cat might live 3 years, while the domestic cat should live 15+ although purebreds live shorter on average (say 11). The true wildcat will live a decent length of time, say 11 years or so because despite the harsher lifestyle they are well able to cope.

Feral cats are often quite a mess, being caught up in territorial fights and getting ill. Domestic cats are protected from this and receive medical care (usually). See damaged cat ears. I feed two stray cats and my companion cat was a stray. The 2 I feed a quite well but one, the male gets hurt in fights requiring veterinary treatment.

Photo:

Feral Cats of Los Angeles

mjbmeister@gmail.com (Freddie Fox) — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 19:22:00 +0000

The feral cats of Los Angeles. There are one million. There are about 60 million feral cats in the United States. About 2.2 million feral cats (some say 14 million) are euthanized each year in the USA. Thee are about 80 million domestic cats in homes in the USA. Most of these live decent lives but they are cancelled out by the tough, short and sometimes miserable lives of the feral cats. Is this going to be the outcome for the forseeable future of the arrangement we made with the wildcat 9,000 years ago when the cat domesticated him/herself? At that time it worked. Can we claim that, overall, domestication of the cat actually works based on the above figures? I am not sure.

Update: A colleague of mine, Valley Girl (VG), has made a nice post about how people dump unwanted companion animals at Angeles National Forest. This apparently happens infrequently but VG makes the good point as to what that means. Does it mean one incident every week or more? Any dumping of pet like this is irresponsible. The "owners" of these cats and dogs (and rabbits) think that the animals will survive by reverting to the wild but this is not true. Domestic cats are conditioned and adapted to be domestic and find it hard to survive in the wild but will no doubt do so for a period of time. This is a cruel practice, though. Companion animals are for the life of the animal and we should not enter into an agreement to adapt a cat, say, unless we are totally committed to long term care. Here is VG's post:

Angeles National Forest Dumping Ground for Unwanted Animals

Stray Cats of Winnipeg

mjbmeister@gmail.com (Freddie Fox) — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 19:06:00 +0000

The stray cats of Winnipeg are multiplying and it is becoming an area of concern. Is the increase in stray and feral cats due to the economic downturn? Possibly, yes as there are reports in the USA that this is happening. What is a bit shocking is that the euthanasia rate for the stray cats of Winnipeg at cat shelters is four times higher than for dogs!

View Larger Map

And the numbers are, as usual, large and daunting. 34% of the 5,900 cats admitted to the Winnipeg Humane Society shelter were euthanised (2,000 in 2008). The problem of feral cats goes on across the globe. I have just made a post about a successful trap, neuter, spay program in Doha, Qatar, not a place, necessarily where you might think that this would happen but happening it is and successfully on all accounts. Do they have a TNR scheme in place in Winnipeg? If so it needs to be carried out with a level of conviction to make an impact. In Doha they have four government teams involved in managing feral cats.

Stray Cats of Qatar

mjbmeister@gmail.com (Freddie Fox) — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 12:15:00 +0000

The stray cats of Qatar in Doha, are being managed humanely on an official basis with the help and advice of the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) and the Qatar Cat Coalition. Like many major cities in many countries, Doha in Qatar had a "feral cat problem." A lot of people don't like to see stray cats in public places. Not everyone is tender towards them, in fact, many are downright cruel and one can see their argument. But the big issue is how to deal with it and the only way, and this has been supported by the authorities in Qatar, is to go through what might seem to be the slog of trap, neuter, medicate and return.

View Larger Map

It seems that, initially, ad hoc attempts were made to deal with the complaints. No doubt these were pretty ineffective and probably cruel. The Qatar Cat Coalition (QCC) became involved and asked the WSPA to step in and advise during a meeting with central government people. It seems that this was dealt with (at this stage) in a professional manner, with the three best organisations involved at the same time.

This in outline seems to be the order of events (and some people in places in Australia might well learn from this):

Complaints by the public about feral and stray cats
Local authority probably round up and kill cats in reaction to complaints
This fails to reduce population of feral cats as unneutered feral cats are very good at surviving by breeding and fill the void (see vacuum effect)
Qatar Cat Coalition (QCC) calls for change in policy as a result
Meeting set up with government+QCC+WSPA and a humane program devised based on TNR (trap, neuter and return)
Qatar Gov. officials visit a project in Dubai where TNR is practiced
Dubai authorities provide glowing report and the evidence is in front of them
Qatar authorities ask QCC and WSPA to set up TNR scheme in Doha
WSPA delivered an initial training course on trap neuter return methods, which is well received (note: it is nice for people involved in this kind of work and motivating, to be doing things in an humane manner)
Practical training is set up to train Government and QCC workers in humane TNR. Vets are involved too
2008 - In Doha there are 4 government managed trapping teams, monitored by the QCC
The stray cat and feral cat populations are managed at last
The Qatar government ask WSPA and QCC to get involved with a similar scheme to control stray dogs.

The stray cats of Qatar in Doha are now managed humanely. The only way, it seems to me, to do this is as described. Shooting and ad hoc killing of feral cats will fail and demotivate not to mention cause a lot of suffering to innocent and vulnerable animals to whom we owe a duty to treat properly because, ultimately, we put them there.

Stray Cat Harmony

mjbmeister@gmail.com (Freddie Fox) — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 05:23:00 +0000

There is a kind of stray cat harmony amongst my three stray cats now. For example, Binnie has frightened off my little Pippa. I miss Pippa but Binnie had to exert her authority over someone and that has to be Pippa as the lowest in pecking order. Pippa will be back, I am sure, as the food is just too damn good.

As for himself, Timmy, the boss man with the wounds he now joins me on my bed all night. He has finally figured it out that life is better on my bed than in a shed. This works well for him as Binnie gets off when I go to bed because I move my legs around too much for her. So the night shift handover is smooth.

The trouble with Timmy is that I am allergic to him and he makes me sniffle all night. This blocks my nose in the morning. Hellfire and damnation, it's a heavy burden. My girlfriend says that she would like it if he went on her bed! I said fine.

Cat Fights Can Cause an Abscess

mjbmeister@gmail.com (Freddie Fox) — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 15:23:00 +0000

Yes, cat fights can cause an abscess and Timmy got into a bad cat fight, got bitten and then an abscess formed and I had to take him to the vet. Well, you know, despite being the only cat I am allergic to (true - I only have to look at him to itch), I love him and care for him. And I am glad to say that his abscess is beginning to subside gradually. Fortunately he still comes in every day for rest and food. This gives me the chance to feed him and bathe him. I put antibiotic power in his food. I break open one of the antibiotic pills the vet gave me and pour it over the premium quality (he only eats premium!) cat food and mix well.

I have also prepared a salt solution and bathed his wound with it. There is still quite a bit of puss under the skin in the area of the wound (the area is raised and hard), so I was pleased today to see that the wound was seeping puss. I was worried that the infection would cause the puss to continue to build up. As I said. there was a hard bump on his head around the area of the puncture wound after going to the vet. Well, after giving him antibiotics, daily, since the operation and cleaning his wound with salt water, the amount of puss seems to be going down. I am not completely sure but I am fairly confident Timmy is on the mend.

It was good to see him again and eating well. These are good signs but he is still shaking his head occasionally. It just may be that the infection has spread to his inner ear as he scratches his ears. He is a real worry for me. The next worry is to decide whether to neuter him. Neutering should be automatic and I recommend it but he is a "whole" boy and I just do not want to take his manhood from him. I don't want his boyish character to change. He has a standout boy cat character. Anyway, we'll see.

Stray Cats Can Get On

mjbmeister@gmail.com (Freddie Fox) — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 21:16:00 +0000

Stray cats can get on even when confined to a relatively small space. I should know as I have three stray cats in an apartment! Well Binnie is no longer a stray cat, she is a long term companion of mine. But Timmy the alpha boy cat and Pippa the girl all get on now. It really is a question of time. I see people asking questions about introducing a new cat to a household where there are already cats. There can be problems and certainly there can be initial problems but with patience and a little human intervention and management things gradually settle down.

At first Timmy would hiss and strike out at Binnie and indeed Pippa but right now he has come in from the cold and plonked himself on my bed as I type this and he is about 12 inches from Binnie. He just sniffed her and Binnie made a little trill and that was it. He just curled up and she got comfortable.

I think Timmy has come in because he is still a little poorly after the visit to the vet to lance, drain and treat his bite wound. See Cat Fights of Male Cats and Cat Abscess. Stray cats can get on, just give it time with a bit of temporary management.

Homeless Cats and People

mjbmeister@gmail.com (Freddie Fox) — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 20:33:00 +0000

There are more homeless cats and people right now. As people become homeless due to repossessions by lenders, so too do companion cats. The trouble is that people still treat cats as "objects", when push comes to shove. The net result is that the domestic cat is sometimes going to be abandoned. And I do not see the need for that.

Binnie the cat on the left in the heading picture was abandoned about 16 years ago by one of my neighbors. I just saw here under a car on a cold evening. I knew she was abandoned by a neighbor because she would go back to the house she lived in (but was empty and locked) for a while. I feed her and eventually she became a wonderful companion animal to me. And anyone can be the type of person to abandon a cat. ASPCA (American organisation) project that there could be up to one million domestic cats and dogs at risk at this time due to the mortgage crisis in America. And the situation is nearly as bad in the UK.

This is tragic news because there are already too many stray cats in the UK and the USA. As I said, I don't actually see the need to abandon or give up a cat because our house has been repossessed. In the UK if we have children and our house is repossessed by the lender (mortgagee) then the local authority (Council) will house us as a priority. And I am certain that there would be no restriction on cats. There might be temporary accommodation that was unsuitable for a cat, yes, that could be the case, but if the people involved could find a temporary home for their cat (foster care) that would solve the problem. We should treat our cats as one of the family and a lot of people do just that and make the necessary effort to care for their cats come what may; but some people don't.

I think anyone, be they American or British, will manage to continue to care for their cat under any circumstances if they really care for their cat as one of the family making no distinction between person or cat. There will be more homeless cats and people but the people should stick with their cats, that was the deal when they got together in the first place.

Cat Fights of Male Cats

mjbmeister@gmail.com (Freddie Fox) — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 05:10:00 +0000

Timmy's damaged nose. I'll show a picture of his wound next post.

The cat fights of male cats can be heard at night around here. For territorial reasons male cats get into cat fights. This shows how close to the wild dometic cats still are. Obviously a cat has to be an outdoor cat to get into fights although it might happen indoors too. Only indoor cats living with other cats are so close together they will have adapted to the lack of territory and come to accept it - i.e. no cat fights for territory in the conventional sense.

Timmy, the stray cat I feed, keep warm, rest up and generally care for when I can, gets into cat fights. There is nothing I can do about it as he is not mine. Well there is something I probably will have to do about it (see below). After the last fight he got sratched. He had small cuts all over his head and shoulders etc. and on his nose (see picture). I discovered late in the day what appeared to be a fairly innocuous scratch on the top of his head. This over a period of a day or so developed into a lump and off to the vet we had to go as it was almost certainly an infected wound, which turned out to be the case.

He was very well behaved throughout the journey and the minor operation to drain the puss from his wound (there was quite a lot of it). He was given a pain killer and anti-imflammatory and antibiotics. I have to give him an antibiotic pill daily and wash his open wound with salt water daily. The wound is left open for more rapid healing but I am worried about this because he sratches it. What can I do? He just comes and goes.

One last point. I asked the vet to confirm that Timmy is "whole" -- not neutered. And she confirmed this. So the next thing to do it to have him fixed, I guess. This is not something I want to do but we owe it to cats generally to do this as there are too many abandoned cats and Timmy could make more of them! The cat fights of male cats are normal but I wish they could apply a bit of commonsense. Some animals balance the benefits and downside to their actions.

The Cheetah will not fight for her prey that is being stolen by other large predators because if she gets hurt she will lose her speed and that is her main weapon of survival.

Update next day 20th Feb 2009: No sign of Timmy today, yet. He left our home yesterday after the visit to the vet. He ate well and as I said, he left. I couldn't keep him in. I tried but cats have well developed habits and his is to go home, wherever that may be. I am worried for him. He may be a time share cat, sharing accommodation with another person's home. If he is the other person has a bl**dy smelly home because Timmy always comes in smelling. Anyway, that person, if he exists, may keep him in as Timmy now has a noticeable wound on his head that needs to be aired but he needs antobiotics regularly. I am concerned that if he doesn't get them he will become seriously ill. We'll just have to wait and see. - further update about 8 hours later - he turned up, ate well, I washed his wound with salt water and gave him an antibiotic pill and them he left! I love him. This is the wound one day after the vet's treatment.

Timmy's puncture wound after treatment.

Timmy had a cat abscess - see what this means and how it is treated.

Declawed Cat Are Unloved

mjbmeister@gmail.com (Freddie Fox) — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 16:22:00 +0000

I say that declawed cats are unloved. How can I say such a thing? There will be thousands who disagree. What I mean is that declawed cats are not loved perfectly or unconditionally and this is the only true love that can exist, I think all will agree.

Love between animals can only exist when there is equality between the animals concerned. In the case of the cat and the human it is down to the human to accept and agree equality. Where there is a sense of equality by the human keeper the cat will not be declawed and the situation will foster a fine relationship. Where the human keeper maintains the old fashioned view that they are superior to other animals (and cats, of course) then the possibility of declawing is present. If declawing takes place the love or attachment between cat and human is conditional upon the declawing taking place. Conditional love is imprefect.

Also, a more perfect love will allow and accept the perceived imperfections of one party and that includes claws in a human/cat relationship. Once again an imperfect love allows for delawing, which is simply putting the furniture before the cat. Declawed cats are unloved in a true way.

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