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the albatross
Gym climber
Flagstaff
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May 24, 2015 - 02:49pm PT
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Cool cat.
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SteveW
Trad climber
The state of confusion
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May 24, 2015 - 08:03pm PT
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meow!
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Hardly Visible
Social climber
Llatikcuf WA
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May 30, 2015 - 05:31pm PT
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so Albert,
I gotta ask how did you train Sylvester to hang out so well without a leash or anything? I have a cat that goes on a leash and travels in a car well and likes to camp out, but out here where I live if I didn't have her on a leash I'd soon lose her in the jungle. You did yourself proud Sylvester's a very cool cat.
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the albatross
Gym climber
Flagstaff
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May 30, 2015 - 06:40pm PT
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Hardly Visible, thanks, Sylvester and I are very lucky to have each other. I think a lot of cats can be trained (or train us) given enough patience and time. I've never put Sylvester in a collar or on a leash, thinking that is not something I would want either. I did buy him a life jacket last Fall, when he wore it around the house he was staggering around like it weighed 40 pounds! It's on the boat for emergency use in high waters.
I have never said Sylvester's name in vain (out loud anyway) when disciplining him. His name should be said with warmth and love. If he is doing something I don't want (like running off and hiding in some rocks when it's time to leave), I say "No". We are trained well enough that by the third or fourth time I say "NOOO", (in a deep voice he is not used to hearing) he crouches down and waits for me to pick him up.
I started out slow camping with Sylvester and since most of the favorite places we camp are in the desert, there has been plenty of wide open spaces for me to be in a little better oversight of his roaming.
Good luck camping with your kitties! Some of them love it.
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Todd Gordon
Trad climber
Joshua Tree, Cal
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May 30, 2015 - 08:39pm PT
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mouse from merced
Trad climber
The finger of fate, my friends, is fickle.
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May 31, 2015 - 07:00pm PT
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Roofus, the mascot of The Flames. His first appearance here.
This is actually Roofus III. He lives in my hood and spends a great deal of his day lounging on the roof of the office complex next door, sunning and napping.
His grandsire had much more rufous, or reddish coloring, hence the name.
He is not feral, but neither is he tame nor anyone's pet.
He never chases the pigeons. He's too laid back. but Grampaw was a mighty bird-hunter.
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Darwin
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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May 31, 2015 - 08:15pm PT
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I like the cat's body language, Mouse!
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Hardly Visible
Social climber
Llatikcuf WA
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May 31, 2015 - 11:36pm PT
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Albert,
That's funny about Sylvester's initial reaction to his life vest. Sophie reacted the same way the first few times that I put a harness on her that weighs maybe an ounce. She would walk around as swaybacked as a harvest moon and to look at her you'd of thought I'd strapped some exceedingly heavy weight onto her back.
One of Sophie's favorite things to do is speed ascents up trees which ordinarily is fine except of course when you had other plans, because she comes down only when she's ready to. Hence we use a leash to expedite getting where I want to go.
When we visit more arid climates where the trees are shorter and further between I often do let her roam about more freely without the leash, especially around our campsite. If we were traveling around by boat and camping where there were no other people, dogs, cars and tall trees like Sylvester and you appear to be Sophie and I could probably get by without using a leash.
I think that most folks miss out on a lot by not experimenting with taking there cat out into nature with them because like you say and Sylvester so clearly demonstrates some of them really like it.
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Hardly Visible
Social climber
Llatikcuf WA
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Hey all you nice cat people June is adopt a shelter cat month!
For those of you in the Pacific Northwest here's some nice kitties we currently have at Peninsula Friends of the Animals. http://safehavenpfoa.org/
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jaaan
Trad climber
Chamonix, France
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Good luck with finding homes for these guys, Kevin.
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the albatross
Gym climber
Flagstaff
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When we visit more arid climates where the trees are shorter and further between I often do let her roam about more freely without the leash, especially around our campsite. If we were traveling around by boat and camping where there were no other people, dogs, cars and tall trees like Sylvester and you appear to be Sophie and I could probably get by without using a leash.
I think that most folks miss out on a lot by not experimenting with taking there cat out into nature with them because like you say and Sylvester so clearly demonstrates some of them really like it.
You said it right there. Even if it is just letting your cat outside in a backyard or some place safe from cars and dogs and coyotes. Start slow. Gain trust in each other.
When we first met about 8 years ago I didn't know too much about cats. Kept him locked in the house, fed him mostly dry food. He would sit in the window and watch me in the yard. Eventually just kept letting him out for longer and longer, then taking him truck camping. Now he roams freely when we camp on the lake or in the deserts or forests.
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tripmind
Boulder climber
San Diego
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Jun 10, 2015 - 12:26am PT
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I used to have a black and white tabby cat, she was a stray that we adopted from a shelter. She was initially very defensive and aggressive, but at times would accept a stroke across her belly.
It took her a few years for her to form a solid bond, eventually I could hold her and pet her anyway I wanted to and she wouldn't fuss too much, but strangers weren't allowed to do this. She had the typical antics of a cat, would chase ghost rodents at 2 am in the morning. We never formally named her, just called her "Smelly".
Eventually she developed mammory tumors. When we noticed the first one, it was about the size of a small olive, unfortunately my dad didn't take action on them, and the tumors spread and grew throughout her mammary system. We eventually had to put her down, but she definitely lived a long life, and she was a big fat happy cat.
These types of tumors are very common in cats especially chubbier cats, so its recommend to do a yearly formal checkup on your cats, and even to do a feel check every few months.
I definitely liked having her, probably won't get another one though, they tend to be a little too spastic and confrontational in my experience, and can take years to warm up to in some conditions. Dogs aren't necessarily calmer either, but their loyalty is much more unconditional and they can be amazing climbing partners with enough training.
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Hardly Visible
Social climber
Llatikcuf WA
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Jun 14, 2015 - 11:09pm PT
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We just got a new kitten in at our shelter that was rescued from the Quilaute Indian Reservation. Unfortunately we were not able to capture his siblings before they disappeared and this little guy even had a head and an eye injury from a narrow escape from something. You can see from the first picture below he was in pretty rough shape when we first got him. The second picture is a few days later after a visit to the vet and a couple days of medication to help with his issues, obviously looking and feeling better. Despite his feral family roots he is quite friendly and playful.
I know it seems weird to ask for $ here, but I've seen other posters soliciting cash for less charitable causes. If you love cats and you would like to help out a really good rescue organization visit this link:
http://www.gofundme.com/wft69h8
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jaaan
Trad climber
Chamonix, France
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Jun 15, 2015 - 09:22am PT
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they tend to be a little too spastic
A strange adjective to use there?
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Hardly Visible
Social climber
Llatikcuf WA
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Jun 16, 2015 - 12:11pm PT
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Thanks for the info on mammary tumors there Tripmind.
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