Found a cat in my engine

[Chilly807]

We've got one named Figment, Figgy for short. My wife decided we should have another kitten, and I told her it'd better be just a figment of my imagination.

Funny part was, we were told she was male. Seemed kinda rude to check, so we took the owner's word for it. Took her in to the vet for her first checkup, first thing the vet says "My my.. isn't she a cutie!" Me being me, I say "Umm.. it's a he.." She looks at me, says "I don't think so", flips the kitten over and says "See what I mean?" So, luckily the name Figment is pretty much non-gender-specific.. the woman we got her from hasn't heard the end of the ribbing over that one.

Sean

 

[EddieWalker]

Serendipity means a "happy accident" or "pleasant surprise"; a fortunate mistake. Specifically, the accident of finding something good or useful while not specifically searching for it.

Thank you, we both love this and will call her Sere (Sarah) for short.

Eddie

 

[SPIKER]

My ole cat, (just called her meow-meow) was left at the farm and the people who owned it took care of her but left her when I bought the place it came with a gray tabby. She was real skiddish for first few months in cold weather she would stay hidden but there was an old flannel coat that was also left in the barn that I put on one day she came running. Seemed the old guy who owned the place wore it to play with her or do chores outside. She got up to about 10 feet away from me with that coat on and looked close and freaked out jumped into the air about 10 feet & was gone in a shot! lol. Well a few min later as I went about my way she was shadowing me looking like she thought she knew ME (coat) after a couple days of me doing chores in the coat and feeding her while wearing it she got closer and eventually after about 2 months the wild cat was as friendly as could be. She would come running and give two quick"meows" to get my attention. Where a couple pets she was happy to set back and or follow me. (dangerous when I was plowing so I got her to hop up onto the tractor in my lap at first.) After a few feet she would get nervous and hop off. After the 4th or so time she got comfortable on my lap. I then put a 2x2 square of carpet on the hood/dash. She got to love riding up there with me as long as I wasn't mowing I didn't mind. She disappeared while my brother was out with his dogs, think she got scared off, lots of foxes, coyotes and even chicken hawks.

Funny story (she was pretty small for a cat) one day I went out and she was hiding under barn under the trailer and I was walking out there. She saw me and came running like a shot. She was looking UP constantly for a LONG TIME must have had a close call with a hawk, she went to being really nervous out in open

Mark

 

[dave1949]

Thank you, we both love this and will call her Sere (Sarah) for short.

Eddie

You are welcome. I wish you many years of enjoyment with your cat.

 

[haveissues]

The best cat is one that picks you. Ours worked hard to come home with us and he follows me around the house like a puppy.

 

[cartod]

The best cat is one that picks you. Ours worked hard to come home with us and he follows me around the house like a puppy.

:laughing:

 

[cartod]

Thank you, we both love this and will call her Sere (Sarah) for short.

Eddie

awesome call

 

[jinman]

I am glad you have decided to keep her and she was unhurt. She needs to learn to keep out of those engine bays though. So many kitties have met a bad end by crawling into the fan shroud.
James K0UA

James, you nailed it. A kitty with that habit will repeat it over and over if left outside. It's just a matter of time until it ends badly. By the time you have a female cat spayed and get all their shots annually, you don't want to lose them to a freak accident. You will need to pop the hood each day before leaving in your vehicles and scold the cat strongly if she repeats her habit. She is no doubt going there for warmth, so maybe a nice warm bed could be the solution as a better alternative. If you don't get her spayed, you may find yourself with a whole litter of kittens stashed atop your engine.

 

[Soundguy]

remember.. dogs have owners.. cats have staff.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

I had one under the hood once that threw a belt off, skinned the tail right off, but the cat lived.

sere is one pretty kitty. We lost one cat this summer, and our oldest has cancer. All of ours are strays that came around as kittens.

 

[k0ua]

remember.. dogs have owners.. cats have staff.

Ain't that the truth! one of our friendliest kitties was a stray that came up to my wife on the porch one day looking really hungry and wanting a friend. She fed him and he is a great companion. He is our outside cat.

 

[s219]

Great story -- that cat clearly knew you were a sucker Eddie, and chose to adopt you! Cats can be great pals. We've got one boy that acts like a puppy, and a girl who's the queen of the house.

 

[EddieWalker]

Sere has made herself right at home. So far we haven't let her outside, but might sometime this weekend. We are mostly concerned about Athena, our Akita, and what she might do. She has killed raccoons before and can be very aggressive. We've had a few close calls, but no all out attacks. Just a growl and a lung towards Sere, and a snap at her that didn't connect because Karen was holding Athena back. Every day seems to be better, so it's probably just a matter of time until they become friends. Sere also starts it with her by hissing at her and bearing her claws. It's cute, but Athena goes from totally calm when it happens to excited right away.



Eddie

 

[dave1949]

Cats and dogs usually make up. Two cats, maybe never. :laughing:

Food rewards for Athena when Sere is nearby might help as long as you don't reward the wrong behavior. You may have to reinforce with Athena that you are the pack leader who decides who is welcome and who is not, for a month or so.

 

[charlz]

Sere has made herself right at home. So far we haven't let her outside, but might sometime this weekend. We are mostly concerned about Athena, our Akita, and what she might do. She has killed raccoons before and can be very aggressive. We've had a few close calls, but no all out attacks. Just a growl and a lung towards Sere, and a snap at her that didn't connect because Karen was holding Athena back. Every day seems to be better, so it's probably just a matter of time until they become friends. Sere also starts it with her by hissing at her and bearing her claws. It's cute, but Athena goes from totally calm when it happens to excited right away.
Eddie

Same for our new kitten and the dog. The dog can't see to well so she gets close on smell and then as soon as the cat hisses it's on! If you are holding the cat she will jump and snap. I have the stairs blocked so the cat has free roam upstairs. I was hoping the dog would just get used to the idea but now she spends all day sitting on the stairs and waiting for a glimpse of the cat and then starts barking and growling. Doesn't help that the cat is getting more used to the idea so she will walk back and forth in front of the blockade knowing the dog can't get to her. Or she will hang over the railing and tease the dog.

Here is the new addition:

 

[Pilot]

A 12 week old kitten followed us home from our afternoon walk. The whole mile home, my wife was saying, "we are not keeping this cat." Got home, it stayed on the porch and after awhile we fed it some left over cat food we had for a previous cat that the coyotes killed. 2 weeks later, the cat was still there but Kathy was saying, "It's a pretty nice cat, now I'd like to keep it."

I noticed that in the morning, he'd greet me, jumping out from somewhere under my pickup.

Next day, it went to the vet, got all it's shots, etc. Vet said he'd be groggy for a day or 2. Next day as I left for work, since I hadn't seen the cat, I pounded on the hood and satisfied myself that he was somewhere else. Drove 15 miles at 55-60 to the first stop sign, a few miles thru town, then 12 miles on the freeway and a couple more miles surface streets to work. About noon, Kathy called asking if I had seen the cat. No, but I went out the parking lot to see if we had shredded cat under the hood & he came out to greet me. There was a flat area next to the battery & I guess he slept there for the 32 mile drive to work.

Still have him, he once spent 2 nights in a tree--coyotes. He's an indoor cat now.