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“Unadoptable” shelter cats get second chance at life by chasing mice

cats.club

21–30 of 49 posts

Re: “Unadoptable” shelter cats get second chance at life by chasing mice

#21

I used to work with a cat and I was quite amazed at his contribution to software development. This cat lived a few hundred yards away from the office and there were multiple gates and doors for him to get through. Often he would start work before anyone else, often he would want to work late. He chose my desk rather than the sixty or so others to work at. He was very adept at using a mouse, however, this would not be…

When is the book out?

Well, the cat happens to be extremely photogenic and a lot of time was spent taking pictures of him. So maybe a calendar? With a legendary tale that is based on a true story, mildly embellished, every month, proceeds going to the local animal rescue charity. There is talk of that.

Re: “Unadoptable” shelter cats get second chance at life by chasing mice

#23

I used to work with a cat and I was quite amazed at his contribution to software development. This cat lived a few hundred yards away from the office and there were multiple gates and doors for him to get through. Often he would start work before anyone else, often he would want to work late. He chose my desk rather than the sixty or so others to work at. He was very adept at using a mouse, however, this would not be…

Thank you, I didn't expect poetry when opening the comments

Re: “Unadoptable” shelter cats get second chance at life by chasing mice

#24
post #13

Nothing new here. Less desirable kitties have become important rodent hunting 'barn cats' as long as I can remember. The problem is they tend not to discriminate prey, and decimate already hurting bird populations. The real unspoken issue here is overpopulation, please spay and nuter your pets! /rip bob

The study for the amount of birds they eat made a lot of assumptions so there's doubt on whether it's actually accurate or not. I do agree on the spay / neuter, though. Also it's news because these are cats shelters generally kill

I'd believe it, cats have the urge to hunt whether there are mice to be hunted or not. We had one particularly ferocious hunter who would go after chipmunks, birds, and snakes after the barn was clear of mice.

Re: “Unadoptable” shelter cats get second chance at life by chasing mice

#25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think FIV positive cats should be let outside or into possible contact with other cats.

Yeah at RAPs the FIV+ cats have their own little closed off zone. RAPS will potentially let people adopt them if they promise that they'll be inside cats. FIV+ cats can live ok with other cats so long as they don't fight. The disease is spread from cats exchanging blood through fights, so from my understanding it's mostly a feral male cat disease. (I adopted a FIV+ cat from RAPS so that's why I'm a bit familiar with…

Adopted a very loving FIV+ cat that lived way longer than the shelter said he would. Adopting him was one of the best decisions I ever made. He never went outside, but he never showed one hint at ever wanting to go out. He went from feral cat to comfy spoiled house cat.

Re: “Unadoptable” shelter cats get second chance at life by chasing mice

#26
post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As someone who has dedicated years of behavior modification training a rescue dog with genetic fear aggression (actual clinical diagnosis), I wish we'd get away from the "there's no bad dog, only bad dog owners" dogma. I'd agree with you that the majority of behavioral problems with dogs can be removed or mitigated with training. However, dogs as with all other species have their temperament spread a long a distribut…

The spirit behind the phrase "no bad dogs, just bad dog owners" fits very well with your example. Your dog is not bad, and its owner (you) are also not bad. Now, if you took your dog, who you know to have behavior issues to a home and locked him in with some kids...then you are now the bad owner. You are smart and caring enough (thank you!!) to recognize and properly handle your dog. Your dog is not bad, he is just a…

Okay, replace bad with inherently badly behaved then.

The worst thing is that many people are fucking awful to other people who return a dog to a shelter when it doesn't work out.

Re: “Unadoptable” shelter cats get second chance at life by chasing mice

#27
post #13

Nothing new here. Less desirable kitties have become important rodent hunting 'barn cats' as long as I can remember. The problem is they tend not to discriminate prey, and decimate already hurting bird populations. The real unspoken issue here is overpopulation, please spay and nuter your pets! /rip bob

The study for the amount of birds they eat made a lot of assumptions so there's doubt on whether it's actually accurate or not. I do agree on the spay / neuter, though. Also it's news because these are cats shelters generally kill

The study for the amount of birds they eat made a lot of assumptions so there's doubt on whether it's actually accurate or not.

Any link to reputable/scientific doubts on this? All my Google Fu churns up in reiterations of the popular narrative.

Re: “Unadoptable” shelter cats get second chance at life by chasing mice

#28
post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah at RAPs the FIV+ cats have their own little closed off zone. RAPS will potentially let people adopt them if they promise that they'll be inside cats. FIV+ cats can live ok with other cats so long as they don't fight. The disease is spread from cats exchanging blood through fights, so from my understanding it's mostly a feral male cat disease. (I adopted a FIV+ cat from RAPS so that's why I'm a bit familiar with…

Adopted a very loving FIV+ cat that lived way longer than the shelter said he would. Adopting him was one of the best decisions I ever made. He never went outside, but he never showed one hint at ever wanting to go out. He went from feral cat to comfy spoiled house cat.

I picked up a stray (ok, so she jumped in the car) took her to the vet for the eye crusties found out she was unadoptable due to FIV+ they said they could put her down, or I could keep her indoors and she would just have a shorter than average life, six or seven years if she was lucky... that was 14 years ago and and is still doing fine. Has no interest in going outside, ceilings are too tall out there for her, suspect that is why she jumped in the car in the first place
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