Cat chases bear up a tree

[Swift]

I love this story and the photo that goes with it. Jake is one tough cat
Link (http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2003053971_cattale11.html)
WEST ****ORD, N.J. — A black bear picked the wrong yard for a jaunt, running into a territorial tabby who ran the furry beast up a tree — twice.

[Moose]

Yeah, I've been seeing that story pop up here and there. Turns out the cat's declawed too.

[Nicolas]

declaw a cat...get a goldfish if you don't like claws!

Anyway that bear seemed to be very keen on a scar free nose :). Nice story!

[weatherc]

I kept seeing the headline for this story on the internet, but didn't realize that it took place in West ****ord. That's where I grew up!

Just goes to show that you don't mess with a ticked-off cat. Even a declawed one!

I agree with Nicolas about the whole declawing thing. It's about the same as defingering a human.

[Moose]

It's about the same as defingering a human.

Yup. Mine's rear-paw-drive by her previous owner, so I'm pretty careful about keeping an eye/ear out for her when she's getting air and indulging her grass fetish. Lots of pets and wildlife* in the neighborhood.

(*Including a good sized, but very nervous doe on the neighbor's driveway early morning a few days ago. Didn't see any young'uns nearby, so she might have been a yearling.)

[Celestial Mechanic]

We used to have an orange tabby cat like that in my neighborhood. I called (her I think) "The Orange Cat With the Attitude". She was missing much of her tail and a portion of an ear.

My dog Missy (a black labrador-setter mix, 1981-1995) got a scratched nose from her for her trouble. One night while observing a lunar eclipse the cat was involved in a drama in the yard next door. The cat walked right in and proceeded to drink out of Mina's water-bowl (Mina was a golden retriever mix). Mina was right there and didn't dare do a thing.

[Doodler]

I'm not convinced cats are truly domesticated. They just put up with us so long as the food keeps coming.

[Nicolas]

...as long as the food keeps coming on command. :)

When one of our cats had 8 mini-me's hidden closeby, she managed to scare away a hunting dog :). (I'm not into dog brands ;) )

[Lance]

I'm not convinced cats are truly domesticated. They just put up with us so long as the food keeps coming.
I don't think there is a cat owner^W feeder on the planet that will disagree with you.

[Nicolas]

I think of cats as being domesticated whenever they want to.


I know a cat with an easy going character, which is quite domesticated (quite polite, quite good listener, will only sit on its allocated spots..) however other cats who have gone through the same domestication process simply have a bit more rough character, and live i quite an anarchy, yes even play dictator :). But even the nice domesticated cat will sometimes do whatever she likes as long as it beats being domesticated.

[Celestial Mechanic]

I'm not convinced cats are truly domesticated. They just put up with us so long as the food keeps coming.
To which Nicolas added:
...as long as the food keeps coming on command.
I used to wonder what my cat Bert (1983-2001) was thinking. The "Mallard Fillmore" comic strip suggested (in one of their few funny ones) "If I were any bigger I'd eat you!" I asked Bert if that was what he was thinking a few times, but he never answered me! :lol: :whistle: ;)

[Nicolas]

Quite an old cat you had there!

[HenrikOlsen]

My parents had a cat that lasted 18 years as well, it's not that uncommon.
In the end it had some backproblems, so it started pacing instead of trotting but apart from that it was ok, still had most of it's teeth as well.

[Nicolas]

Most of our cats (living outdoors all the time) were broken after 9 to 11 years, with some reaching 14 years. A neighbourhood cat reached 21 years though IIRC.

[Doodler]

My great aunt had a siamese make it to 22.

[Gillianren]

D's just a year old, but "his" window (the one over his litter box) looks out on a duck pond, and he's certain he could take those ducks if only we'd let him out. (The complex has a no outdoor pet policy. Probably because of kitties attacking the ducks.)

[sidmel]

I have a girl that's 12, with three toms ranging from 1 to 5 years of age. You can only guess who the Queen of the house is.

[AGN Fuel]

Just on tough cats - last year one of our cats failed to come in for dinner one night, which was very unusual for her, especially as it had been raining (which she hates). My wife & I thoroughly searched the front and back yards, then extended our search out to through the neighbourhood, without luck.

Around 2:00am, we were both awakened by meowing from the back of the house. We went out to find our cat lying by the back door, obviously in a very bad way. Took her to the local 24-hour vet who confirmed that she had broken both hips and had nerve damage to her tail and back legs. X-Rays later showed that both her hips were crushed and her right leg badly broken. She basically could not move her back legs or tail. Vet suspected she had tangled with a truck based on the severity & crush-nature of the injuries.

Thing is, she definitely was not in our back yard earlier in the evening. Our back yard is completely fenced off with a 5-foot paling fence on all sides. Somehow, this gritty little animal had climbed a 5 foot fence and dropped down the other side, then dragged herself to the back door with those horrific injuries. Toughest thing I have ever seen.

Five grand's worth of surgery later, apart from some stiffness when she lies down, she is practically as good as new. She has so much titanium in her, we call her our bionic cat! She's a bad tempered cat, but we wouldn't ever part with her - she's our survivor.

[Van Rijn]

Most of our cats (living outdoors all the time) were broken after 9 to 11 years, with some reaching 14 years. A neighbourhood cat reached 21 years though IIRC.

We had a family cat that lived to 22. She was mostly an outdoor cat, but always stuck near the house, rarely venturing out of the yard. She did well for most of that time, with few obvious age related changes, except slept more and more. Then around 21, she started a sharp decline and became obviously senile (not taking care of herself, and so forth). She died just a few years ago, and was over half my age . . . it was a really odd feeling when she died, since she had been a fixture in the family for so long.

[Tog_]

I'm allergic to cats, so Naturally my girlfriend has one. I have a lizard at the moment. She's a leopard gecko I've had for 14 years so far. She's almost a cat... to me. The book I got said the oldest known was captured as an adult as was still alive 22 years later.

When I had the iguana we had a big tomcat in the area. I've heard this cat get into many fights and it was obviously a battle veteran. The GF at the time had a daughter who had this freakish ability to befriend any cat. It eventually would come to the house and scratch on the door. I had never heard the sound before so I opened the door and the cat ran in. This was bad, as the iguana was roaming around and happened to be very near the door at the time. (I knew he wouldn't leave, he was afraid of blue and it was a clear day.) The cat and lizard looked at each other for a bit, the cat obvioulsy curious and the lizard in full combat mode. I figured I'd have to pry the cat off any second and as I started to move, the cat twiched and the iguana flipped his tail. It hit the cat on the right front/side and pretty lightly compared to the way he's hit me. It was all over for the cat. It looked up at me, then at the door, then back at me. I could tell it just wanted out as fast as possible. The whole thing lasted about 10 seconds but I only saw the cat once after that. I'd heard the battles for a couple more years. That was definately not the way I thought it would have turned out.