My new addition.... Sooty the Second. Options

[Muffy]

Poor baby. It's amazing how well they cope

[kittenmitten]

amazing how they cope with things like that, but sadly these are the things that will happen when you allow the cats to free range here there and everywhere - injuries and expensive vet bills go hand in hand

[Herbert]

amazing how they cope with things like that, but sadly these are the things that will happen when you allow the cats to free range here there and everywhere - injuries and expensive vet bills go hand in hand

The problems my cats have encountered have never occurred anywhere except on our own property.

It's other cats coming onto the property that has always been the cause of FIV or abscesses needing lancing.

I'm not going to make them prisoners in their own home.

I'm not in the breeding business, and I don't keep cats as indoor ornaments.

With freedom comes certain risks - and this is just as true with humans as it is with cats.

[kittenmitten]

As well you have said many times Herbert. There are things you can do like capping the fencing to stop other cats coming onto the property but guess only you can decide if ou would rather your cats are continually exposed to this and getting injuries and vet bills or keeping them safer. I only know I have never had a fighting injury to deal with from any neighbours cats and the incipient risks that brings not the least things like cat aids apart from minor problems like fighting wounds but know there is no point debating it - your mind is closed to any risks from free ranging cats and the nuisance it creates

[lynh]

Muffin is looking very beautiful in both photos, and the Rembrandt pose is well worth having enlarged.

How is she getting on now - any sign of a limp?

[Herbert]

As well you have said many times Herbert. There are things you can do like capping the fencing to stop other cats coming onto the property but guess only you can decide if ou would rather your cats are continually exposed to this and getting injuries and vet bills or keeping them safer. I only know I have never had a fighting injury to deal with from any neighbours cats and the incipient risks that brings not the least things like cat aids apart from minor problems like fighting wounds but know there is no point debating it - your mind is closed to any risks from free ranging cats and the nuisance it creates

Thank you for your comments, kittenmitten. It would be almost impossible for me to make my property cat-proof against intrusion.

My cats are active, happy, and enjoy the freedom of the garden at front and back. They come and go through cat-flaps in the front and back doors. When it gets dark, they get locked in and sleep in my bedroom, with either one or two of them sleeping on the bed.

They eat well, and they get plenty of affection and attention from me. If I ever come back as a cat in my next life, I sure as hell hope I end up in the same loving environment that I provide for my three cats.

At this very moment 'Fat Boy' is again upside down on my computer desk and sleeping off a good evening meal.

Muffin is looking very beautiful in both photos, and the Rembrandt pose is well worth having enlarged.

How is she getting on now - any sign of a limp?

Hello lynh. Muffin's leg is still very tender, and she's been finding it painful to put any weight on it. She has a long way to go before that leg is fully healed and strong again. Her morale is very good though, and that's so important. She's not at all depressed.

Yes - I think I'll frame that picture. I also want to make a montage of all the cats I've had over the years.

[Patti]

Sooty is a very pretty kitty. When I was a little girl I had a black Persian cat named Sooty she was so pretty I had her most of my childhood years.

[Herbert]

Sooty is a very pretty kitty. When I was a little girl I had a black Persian cat named Sooty she was so pretty I had her most of my childhood years.

Hello Patti. We never forget our little friends who have passed away, do we? They really are 'family'.

It was always dogs with my family. We never had a cat during my childhood. At 47 I moved into a new house to live alone, and found an abandoned ginger cat living on its wits under the house and in the neighborhood.

It was quite a novelty for me. I'd never had a cat up-close-and-personal. After setting out bowls of food it slowly lost its fear of me, and then began eating in the kitchen, and then progressed to watch TV on the lounge with me, to finally sleeping on the bed in luxurious and blissful contentment.

That was Rupert.

I became a slave and a servant to cats ever since Rupert came strolling into my life. I've had therapy but nothing has helped. Medications and shock-treatment have been useless. The cost of keeping my current 3 furballs has made me a frequent visitor to the local Soup Kitchen for the Homeless. But I just can't help myself.

Perhaps brain surgery is my only option. I'll make inquiries. I think I once saw a map of the brain that had a little area that was labeled 'Cat Addiction'. Perhaps if they can probe this with an electrode and burn it out I might be free again.

Wish me luck, Patti.

Being a slave to three cats is wearing me down.

[Catsfriend]

Get better soon, Muffin! I hope your leg will heal well and you'll be jumping around again soon.

And for your initial messages, Herbert: THIS STORY IS JUST WONDERFUL! That's the kind of stories I really love to read. Thank you so much, Herbert, for adopting this poor stray cat and giving it a forever home, where all the proper vet care will be provided as necessary (i.e. in case of injury or disease). Well done!

[Herbert]

Thank you for your kind comments, Catsfriend!

Muffin is doing fine. Her bandages are off and she's racing around the property just as before. She's also resumed her favourite pastime of stalking the little skinks that like to bask on the warm concrete pavements.

She and her brother Gizmo have presented me with dozens of these little crawlers since I rescued them from a pet shop. I've been scooping these little mini-lizards up off the kitchen and lounge-room floor and returning them to the safe haven of tall grass where the furkidz won't find them for awhile.

Sooty-the-Second-Edition is one of the most contented cats I've ever seen. He has the most amazing coppery-green eyes set into a large head of non-reflective matt black fur. When he opens his eyes to look at me I never get tired of being amazed at how beautiful these living gems are.

Unfortunately my constant worry is what will happen to these three when my time is up. Thankfully I have an adult niece who lives in the same city as me, and I'm hoping she'll take over from me with their care.

Sooty and Gizmo have natural 'street-smart' qualities - but poor little Muffin is quite a different kettle of fish. She's a shy, timid little girl with a permanent limp from her broken leg, and she needs heaps of love and reassurance.

Incidentally, Catsfriend, my niece speaks perfect Russian. She and your pussies would get along very well. "Niet! Use the kitty litter not the floor, Igor!!"

[Catsfriend]

[Herbert]

спасибо!

That's the only Russian I know!

(means 'Thank You' for those interested).

[hitcher]

I really like the couples..