CHRISTMAS CAT TREE

There was a mystery gift and it wasn't under the Christmas tree. Rather it was sequestered in behind the tv and covered over with a blue blanket ~ its hasty wrapping paper. When, what to my wondrous eyes should appear...

A brand new cat tree for the cats to enjoy! Me too, actually, because now they won't be on every other surface in the house and since they lost their last cat tree this past spring, they've been wanting one back. 
My husband made this tree from bits of rough hewn wood he found round the dairy. When, I don't know and when he got it into the house and down the stairs into the basement where I rarely go, I don't know and he isn't telling...
But I've been asking for one for a-g-e-s to keep the cats off other kitchen surfaces that they've claimed as their own and out from under my feet.

four cats in a tree

 

After putting it in the kitchen for the time being its become the most popular place in the house! Come January it will go in the living room front window.

This is the only way Molly and Sassy will share - 1. when they can't see each other and 2. when they are on different tiers.

The morning's entertainment on Boxing Day 2012;

For once Molly isn't hitting Winston and she can't see Blackie, so he's safe.
Of course, there's a story here, the grey cat on the highest tier is a little female; the one beside is a male...

Since she was fixed she's gained weight and  attitudes toward every cat that used to beat her up. 

So guess what?

Winston and the Grey male sharing the cat tree on Boxing Day morning.

Pretty much, you guessed it; she will take after any cat now...

Barn cats sharing a homemade cat tree

Happy Christmas to Everyone, including you're pets!

Prosperity, Family and Good Friends are all very welcome in the New Year ~ 2013

Catspaw

Kijiji Ad # 392154507

Good Morning

I have a very unhappy story to share with you today.

This cat lives in Nova Scotia. I doubt very much the place he lives is a cat colony, most of them are registered. He lives on a property that has too many cats and that number is constantly growing because the females are constantly pregnant. A couple of the kittens have been rescued and some of the cats the neighbors have either taken in or at the least, offer food, shelter, a place to heal from their wounds and some love and attention. That is the case with this young adult male. He lives his life alone, wandering from neighbor to neighbor. When he's at the house where he was born he is picked on and abused by the other cats so he is low on the scrapping ladder because he is not a fighter. He will make noises to try and scare other cats away but usually he is the one who gets hurt and driven off. He's had a very hard life and has been injured many times; the neighbor who offers help to him can't afford to take him to a vet, so instead offers him a place to rest and heal as best he can each time he's hurt. He's been an outdoor cat all his life but again, this neighbor brings him inside as often as she can to try and get him used to it. I have had cats exactly like that on the cat colony where I live and have tamed them to the point that they adapt well to being indoors. Abandoned to live out of doors year round, he is driven by loneliness and pain when he's hurt, to visit this neighbor for the only kindness he's ever known.

In spite of the cruel hardship and the abuse from the other cats he gets along with kids and adults; he tries to please so he won't be hurt. He tends to be very timid but warms to people kindness and loves any attention humans can spare for him. He's very affectionate with a gentle personality and although he tries to get along with other cats; he won't fight. He seems to get on well with dogs but will hiss at them if a dog gets too close for comfort.  He has a gorgeous coat and seems to be in good health, he'd adapt well to being an indoor/outdoor cat since he's been an outdoors all his life. One of his known injuries was he had a claw or something stuck around his tail area that must have festered and ruptured. By the time he got to the neighbors, he had a hole about the size of a nickel by his tail. She couldn't afford the vet so gave him children's aspirin for the acute pain he was in and put healing cream on the injury and it finally healed.  He has never been to a vet and has had no vaccinations, nor is he neutered but he looks healthy.  He likely suffers the added torment of ear mites as most of these unwanted, abandoned throw-aways do and he digs, painfully, at his ears. 

I first learned about this cat with the last Kijiji ad I placed to re-home a kitten that had started coming round again since last winter. Since then my contact and I have been emailing back and forth about this abandoned and thrown away animal. She tells me that ' He is just an awesome cat, plain and simple, who deserves to take it easier from now and be loved.  That's all I want to see for him.  If you ever met him, I am confident you or anyone would fall for him. He's never been hit as far as I know, just left alone and without 'the neighbor', he would be completely alone.'

 

My contact lives on PEI and visits friends in Nova Scotia, she says 'I can bring him home (to PEI) anytime I come back from Nova Scotia as long as he's there. Because the cat is not used to being indoors I really do not want to bring him here unless it is to go to his forever home. It would likely be too much for him going from home to home and trying to adapt to being an indoor cat for the first time in his life.'

 

In the place he stays now there is very little chance of finding enough food to sustain his life for much longer. The person only feeds the multitude of cats there by dumping some leftovers and some dry cat food but very likely there is not nearly enough for all of them; the cats that don't fight for dominance and control over the territory and food get pushed out along with the kittens. As is the case with this cat. My contact adds the following, 'He's super sweet, loving, very gentle and loves attention. He's been picked on by many other cats but he doesn't want to fight himself. His fur is super soft and thick; he's an average size.'

Together we decided to place an ad on Kijiji to try and re-home him from Nova Scotia to PEI. I placed an ad for him early this morning: Kijiji Ad # 392154507

'I told my friend about the possibly of finding this cat a home and like me, she's over the moon happy. We put up fliers before but no one wanted a full grown male cat it seemed, especially one who he isn't fixed. Maybe we could put an ad on Kijiji explaining things and if or when we got someone who wanted him, I could go get him within a week or two.' 

Well dear readers, what can I tell you. Between the two of us we are desperately trying to find a 'forever' home for this lost and hurting cat; the only people now who hold his fate in their hands is you. This is what my blog is really all about ~ to get the word out and to help the unwanted and cast aside in our society. The Forgotten. Will someone of you answer my ad and give this animal a new home and a new start in life? Really, is it asking that much to make room in someone's life for him?

I sure hope not. I would take him in a heartbeat but I already have four and live on a registered cat colony. My contact has cats and a dog of her own...  So, we are asking you to give this unfortunate a forever home. 

P~L~E~A~S~E --- go read the ad at Kijiji Ad # 392154507 and contact me, either through Kijiji or through the email address on the upper right of my blog; here it is again:

catspaw04@gmail.com

Catspaw

I have checked the status of the ad, it has been delayed but I am contacting Kijiji concerning it.

Homegrown And Cheaply Made Cat Tree

Ok, this coming weekend we have to ourselves and we are planning to finally build a new cat tree for our four felines. They've been missing their old, defunct one for several months now. 


We still have the original one we made and plan to use it for the basic structure and build it up and out. It should prove for an interesting afternoon. In case you no longer remember the old one, here are some pictures of it.

Winston discovered a new place to sit...

While Sassy comes out of her box for a stretch.



The new homemade cat tree will have this structure but will very likely turn out completely different as we plan to add areas for boxes and platforms for them to sit.

Merrill brought a tree home one afternoon...

 

That became our cat tree for the cats.



Right now the old cat tree is leaning out on the porch, the only thing that was really wrong with it was the base that was no longer secure because the tree had dried out too much to support it. 
I could very likely strip off all the bark now and paint it will a sealant or varnish. I will have to look into that. 

This base looks flimsy now but when it was first built and for months after, it held very well.

The bark is very easily striped off now after months of being outside.

 

 More next weekend when we build the new one...

Catspaw

Sailor and the Ruined Castle, Con't

In mere seconds Sailor's paws would reach the sunlight at the edge of the blue woods and he would feel again the warmth of an autumn day caress his body. He knew the woods ended, he could see the end but he could not reach the end. The more he gained the edge, the more the strange woods seem to extend outwards preventing his taking leave of them. Sailor stopped running and crouched on his hunches as his lungs drew in ragged breaths. What he could see he could no longer attain for himself. Instead he lay in the cool, dry earth with night resounding in his ears, gazing at the warm sunny day just beyond his reach. Confused and exhausted sleep descended on Sailor in among the leaves of the forest he was now trapped in. This time he opened his eyes to an altogether different village. 

Catspaw

Sailor and the Ruined Castle, Con't Chapter 2

Peculiar sensations sweep over him as he infiltrated the wood. There was an instantaneous sense that he was somehow removed from where he had been; that he was somewhere in-between. The woods were enveloped by a blue haze not unlike the fog that overtook the town. It seemed to be nighttime in the woods; there was a full, glowing moon riding high in the sky above him. Sailor crouched low to the dry ground and listened to the sounds of evening approaching him. A chill breeze was the first thing he felt, then an owl hooted overhead and he could follow the soft sound of wings on the air, a bird reaching its nest perhaps. In the rustling sounds of leaves scraping dry earth he spotted a mouse coming out of hiding to forage. All around him Sailor could hear the familiar sounds of night creatures emerging at their usual and correct time at dusk. Yet the town he'd just left was in daylight; the beginning of the day not the end of one. Up on his paws he gained a high tree branch and gazed out past the tree line. What he beheld next both shocked and terrified him!

Catspaw

Cat Hybrids - Elf Cats

I just KNOW you think I'm the 'cutest' thing you've ever seen!

Ok, just keep an open mind here.  

The Elf cat is a very new, extremely rare hybrid breed created by Karen Nelson and Kristen Leedom. They started this breed by crossing the Sphinx and the American Curl. What an idea! 
Aside from inheriting the hairless appearance of the Sphinx, they also have the curled ears of the American Curl. Like the Devon Rex, Elves are not hairless as short fine hair can be found on feet, ears, nose and tail; this is more like down fur and comes in different colors. Obviously they hardly shed and believe it or not, you DO have to groom them on a regular basis but this is more to remove sebaceous secretions that develop on their skin that can become sticky to touch and can lead to the development of skin difficulties. So its necessary to sponge bathe from time to time; its good to know elves tolerate their baths well and some grow to really enjoy them.

Of course with any engineered breed, its very important to limit an elf's exposure to the great outdoors, especially in extreme weather;  cold and overexposure to hot sun are hazardous to this breeds health. But overall Elf cats are healthy and remarkably free of genetic defects.

Baby, tabby elf kitten - Love the EaRs!

Elf's have athletic and muscular bodies similar to that of the Sphinx. Sharing an almost lack of fur with their hairless ancestor, Elf cats have very prominent cheek bones and whisker pads. The whiskers and eyebrows are so sparse and short you'd think they lack those as well. Their skin is intensively wrinkled in the shoulder area, their ears and muzzle, though this is especially obvious in the kitten stage. Ears are curled backwards which is a trait inherited from the American Curl. Unique ears together with hairless appearance make up the most recognizable features of the Elves and the long tail tapers into its tip. They weight in at between 10 to 15 pounds.

Elves were originally bred to retain the best qualities of their parent breeds; this makes them highly intelligent, very friendly, intensely social, outgoing and ever so affectionate. Lively and active but gentle best describes this new breed of cat; they literally thrive on human attention and love. Together with being loyal and often be found by your side or on your lap, they also have a mischievous side. Lovers of high perches to climb on and playing with absolutely anything within their immediate grasp, lots of toys are a necessity, especially hanging ones and a must have if you are the owner of an Elf cat. Providing them with a few high shelves or other high locations in your home will prepare their new environments for their homecoming. Highly adaptable, Elf cats can fit themselves into almost any home situation easily and readily. They also adjust to other animals remarkably well so they are social with people and other cats and dogs. It's not recommended to leave your cat alone all day long unless you have things that will stimulate their interest while you are gone. So aside from getting a companion for your Elf  you might also consider building a more elaborate cat tree system ~ any cat would enjoy that!

My name is Helios and I have noticeable fur!

My husband is planning a reversible cat tree this time. Made in two separate sections that come together and can be taken apart one way to make it up in another. I also want a runway system that goes up the wall and across. There will be little sitting nooks, boxes and niches for our four to play on, sleep in and explore. 

Elf's are pretty pricey and not for the average cat owner with kittens starting at two grand each ~ this price includes first vaccination, deworming, one vet exam before it leaves for your happy home and TICA registration papers.  Kittens also exit they breeders place with a written comprehensive health guarantee. Why the expense? Seems they are not the gold mine one might think. 
Back Yard Breeders and pet shops make their money selling the kittens, most legitimate breeders don't even make enough to cover their own costs. So it’s a very expensive hobby. Most breeders can only hope they can just about break even but usually fall short of that goal. What looks, at first, to be a gold mine can be a financial pit if these breeders aren't careful. Going through the expenses involved limits turning a profit for a authentic breeder. They do it for the love of cats and their new breed, not for the money.

This is a parent elf for breeding 

These cats are easily show cats and can earn some of their expense back for their owners if so inclined. For more information check the Official Elf Cat Foundry Breeders Group and I am including the website of the Cattery I got this information on (www.elfcats.com) in case someone wants more info. I, like the owner of said site, believe that any animal, be it cat, dog, bird or fish, should be a pet first and foremost and they are NOT disposable! If you have an animal, they are part of your family and entitled to all the benefits that their human families can provide. Its just plain wrong to throw them aside because they become 'inconvenient' should you move or something else comes up. 


I hope you enjoyed meeting and getting to know the Devon Rex and the Elf Cat ~ there's more to come. 


Catspaw

The Barn Cats Call This Home

At this moment, 7:30 in the am on the Island, I have three barn cats in the house along side my four. The three, two greys and a black, are playing with each other around the rocking chair. Usually there is a fourth grey but he decided he'd be outside this morning. So the others are playing, hissing and snipeing at each other while my own are sitting somewhere and watching the entertainment. The fourth grey is a male, he asks to come the same way Winston and Emerald do, pawing at the window. The little grey cat is a female that I was able to get Cat Action to fix; her friend, the black one is a female too, while the two other greys are males. 

These two females are great friends, they finally discovered they could get up into the cat tree box and nothing bad would happen. That, of course, was just before we had to put it out on the patio. 

It took quite a long time for these girls to trust me. I had to make friends with them using food and coaxing, then manage to catch them and bring them in. Finally they decided I really was their friend and one day, each came in on her own.

When I took her in and the Vet spayed her, she made no difficulties at all. She is so small that I think if she did have kittens, it would be a risk to her life. She's been quite happy since and the fur on her belly is starting to grow back.

I call her Blackie. This is where the cat tree has ended it days for now.

Blackie is curious about the new addition to the back porch.

All the barn cats play on it and in it. Over the weeks it has rained some so I had to remove the boxes when they got soggy and flatten out. 

My hubby is now saying that he will reuse this same tree, shaped different (without the limbs) and with a sturdy stand to make another one. 

Recycle. Reuse. 

How many cats can you see?

Bet you can't pick out which are mine?

Once we actually get a hint of spring, the barn cats will be outside, permanently and they will go back to their hunting. 

Catspaw

New Cat Tree Needed, Buuuuuut...

Winston took the cat tree to a whole new level, literally speaking, by creating a new sitting/sleeping spot! Check it:

New highrise level! Discovered by Winston!!

Cats do like to be in HIGH places. Winny discovered this new spot and its been his favorite ever since. Now that the cats love their cat tree, its going to be pretty hard to take it away from them without replacing it with a better built one.

Winston, Emerald and on the other side, Sassy.

Winston is pretty happy about his discovery. Now more cats can fit up there thanks to his ingenuity. 

Here's looking at us from their new perches!

This weekend we have off so we'll see about building a new cat tree. If not over the next two days, then a little later. 

Think they are enjoying the views...

Can you see three cats here?

1. Winston

2. Emerald

3. Sassy

How 'bout now....

Catspaw

Interesting Stuff About Tree Preserving; Especially For Natural Cat Trees

Ok, apparently a Christmas tree lasts longer if you cut it down yourself and get it into a bucket of water; 2 gallons at least, seeing as how the outer layer of the bark consumes about 3.79 liters a day. If its left too long, sap will cover the bottom cut making it impossible for it to draw in water and you have to re-cut the bottom a second time to open it up again. Using aspirin or other tree preservatives helps as well as does drilling small holes at the base of the trunk and keeping the tree away from any heat source. 


Here is what I've found out so far for preserving natural cat trees. First, I can't use terms like 'cat trees' in my search; it brings up all the wrong stuff! So I tried 'preserve natural cat trees' as a search term and found the following information. Its better if the tree itself is thicker than the pencil cat tree we have now and striped of its bark so it can dry out some. Then treated with a non-toxic wood sealer to protect the wood and repel insects. 

You have a personal choice as to how tall your cat tree is and how many perches or boxes you have on it; you can design them to fit exactly what you need and where it will go in your home. Its better, I think, to use trees that have come to the natural end of their life cycle and are already somewhat dried out. Then you can strip it, treat it and build a nice, sturdy stand for it. Build cat-sized platforms with a washable rug or other material or simply secure cat-sized boxes. Or do both!

I found this one online and liked the design.


My hubby just decided one day to make one for our cats as a test and its worked well for the half month we've had it, but now its time to get more serious about making a more long-term version that we can have around for awhile. 


Of course another alternative is if you're handy with wood and tools, you can simply build one from sheets and long two by fours and add a rug or two. 


These are some ideas we are looking at for now.


Catspaw

Homemade Cat Tree UPdate

Yes, our cat tree made from well, a tree; has served us and our kitties well. They have loved it and used it a great deal. But just the other day I noticed something ~ odd ~ was happening to our beloved cat tree... Remember this from March 21st?

You may recall from my March 21st and 22nd blogs that Merrill cut a tree, lugged it in from the great outdoors and set it up as our indoor sit-and-watch, sleep-and-watch tree, with boxes included for the comfort of our four cats. 

He has been planning to make an even better one, an improvement on this current version and I think this coming weekend of April 7-8th will be the time to do it.

 
Because...

Well, it kinda began, uh, leaning on March 31st. 

Since then I've had to 'prop' it up against the window frame to make it more secure. 

To solve this problem I did the following:


Keep in mind these are temporary fixes and another will be built soon.

Secured against window frame, temporarily

With the end table and sofa holding it in place there won't be any incidents of falling over.


Its a good thing to note that while building a cat climber from a live tree is as cheap as getting it from your backyard, some other steps are necessary to keep it from drying out and losing its strength once its brought indoors for use.

It has served us fairly well for half a month now and although I have a little research to do as to just how to keep it strong, I will share that information with you once I get it figured out myself.


Once version two is build I will share pictures of that one as well.

For now, its 'Molly' approved for use. 


But I maintain that its a wonderful alternative to putting a lot of money out of pocket, to purchase a store bought cat tree when you want one for your indoor cats but can't afford to spend a few hundred dollars. It may be a cheap way to go, however our cats have certainly used it and enjoyed having a special place just for themselves, that they can go to get away from having to share absolutely everything, all the time. After all, only one cat can fit in a box at a time. Our next cat tree will be quite a bit different and will have more boxes. 


Catspaw

Sassy Has a Tail to Tell

Cat Friend Two

We’d been hearing an otherworldly meowing for three or four days. Boo and Molly were inside but we could never be sure if it wasn’t them playing. Winter hit hard that year, a cold snap that included gale force winds and freezing rain like daggers, turning to blizzard blowing snow. We lived in a trailer less than a quarter mile from the farm Merrill worked at; since he had decided it wasn’t much sense to drive such a short way he walked. This particular morning I was to discover where the source of the ethereal meowing was coming from. 

Just before 8 am I opened the porch door for Merrill when we both caught a glimpse of an orange cat before it vanished down a hole in the skirting around the trailer. How long it had been under there we didn’t know but now we had an accounting for the ghostly meowing we’d been hearing. After he left I opened a can of tuna, bundled myself into my parka, boots, mitts and scarf and sat myself down next to the hole with the tuna held out just far enough that it had no choice but to crawl out to get the food. The bribe didn’t take long to work but the feline fought like a wildcat to get free of the towel and my grasp. In the dead of winter and so obviously a  ‘throw-away’, an unwanted that someone dumped because, being near a farm thought there would be a means of survival or they just chucked the helpless little thing out to die in the freezing cold. Someone was grievously in need of a heart.

Once I managed to get this struggling little bundle inside and while the cat ate I had a better look at it. ‘It’ was not a cat in the real sense of the word, more like a pale shadow of one. The sad package before me was a dirty orange color, more bone than skin or fur and ferocious when defending food. Boo and Molly didn’t know what to make of this unwelcome, belligerent stranger suddenly in their midst so they stayed at a constant distance and gave way in everything so now, there was a perpetual tension in the house. Kitty was equally vicious towards us. Talk about biting the hand that feeds you, I had to be extremely careful when putting food down so as not to lose a hand to a sudden flash attack at anything that threatened the food and milk dishes; the cat was utterly convinced that I would the food away from it. 

Puss was sick, undernourished and piddled everywhere. I soon learned that we had another female in the house, unsprayed. Now I had to practically reinvent patience when it came to teaching her to use the cat box, this only when she would allow me to touch her, let alone to pick her up but as time went on and with slow improvement, she started gaining some weight. As her health improved so did her temperament, somewhat, but still she remained openly defiant and distant as if afraid to give in and rely on me for her care. It took several months to win her trust and more than a few more months before the three of them would learn to like each other and get along. It was a long winter! 

She took delight in doing her level best to dominate Boo and Molly. Taking over their personal places and making them hers; eating out of their dishes and playing with their toys. I think it amused her to annoy them and get away with it but eventually Molly began to take exception and quarreled with her over things that were rightfully hers. So the sparing events started. It was not unlike the Roman Gladiators, all one had to do was put armor on them and a sword in their paws and Wawla!  Gladiator Cats!  

They never actually hurt each other and even Boo would wake up and take notice; it was the loud caterwauling that got the neighbors attention and brought an almost endless stream of visitors and sudden friends to my door. For obvious reasons we named her Sassy because of her sassy disposition. Eventually, Sassy and Molly worked out their differences and played together, this usually involved racing up and down the hallway to see which of the two was faster and squabbling over the highest seat on the cat tower Merrill made for them, much to the annoyance of Boo. 

For a time Molly forgot about venturing outside to follow Boo, now she had a new friend to play with. Summer wore on and after a time it became a little too quiet in the house; I went to check. Merrill had repaired the screen in the spare room window, now I found it torn again and this time, two kittens were out and about in the neighborhood. 

Sassy has had a happy home with us for the past few years and joined us on our adventurous cross Canada road trip to PEI. 

Catspaw