Worst thing the cat's done.

Fransurrey said:
The furry nobheads excelled themselves last night. We were late home/to bed following a farewell drink with a friend returning to NZ. Cats tried to say they hadn't been fed. We disagreed and went to bed. As it's been cold, we hadn't been shutting the door as they'd just popped out for the odd wee/poo, which was fine by us.

Until last night.

I *think* it was about 1.30 am when I first heard growling, Big Nobhead's signature for 'I've got a mouse/vole/rabbit/squirrel/bird/rat...'

Cue much chasing of the shit around the bedroom and then house. Couldn't get to him but it looked dead and hadn't been running around, so I left him, as whilst he's playing with that, he's not terrorising anything else.

Until about 2.30. Suddenly a tiny squeak. Feck. This time I managed to get the mouse and although it looked like it was about to expire, I gave it the benefit of the doubt and put it in a shoe box with a cheesy biscuit and water in case it recovered.

All good for about 30 minutes, at which point Teeny Tiny Nobhead brought in a dead vole. Out of bed again and tossed vole in undignified manner out of bedroom window.

By now I'm wound up, partly due to felines, partly due to the gentle snores of partner. Git.

We get to about 3.30 before Big Nobhead brings in another live mouse. I'm back on form and capture this one quickly in my hands. Out it goes into a nearby bush.

I'm genuinely not sure if I dreamt another live one coming in, so we may have fun and games this evening. I know I was still awake at 5.35. Meanwhile I was so dog tired this morning I forgot to take my morning cuppa to the yard. Survived meetings and checked on box mouse to find it a little more alert, but still looking shocked, so decided to leave it until this evening. Went out to run an errand. Got back to find box moved and the slate on the lid dislodged. Feck. Heard growl from bedroom. After a couple of 'I'm going to effin kill you!' threats, he lost it and I captured it. Mouse by now was quite alert, so I released the poor bugger into our wood yard.

Two nobheads free to any home. Meanwhile, we most definitely are shutting the flap this evening. Jerry is still a good boy.
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Just to update I have heard clinking in the coat cupboard, so suspect the second live mouse from Big Nobhead was not a dream. I plan to relocate our humane trap tonight to that cupboard. I release them under my field shelter storage, as they seem to do ok up there. I did sadly find one of them drowned in a water bucket the other day, despite it being covered, but it did look quite healthy (aside from being dead. Obvs.).
 
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The face of a Horrid who spent the entirety of the time my mother was in the bath singing a song about how alooooooone he was (because the bathroom door was locked), bit her several times for ignoring him when she did open the door & then demanded 15 minutes of bed cuddles (on the bed that he’s not even technically allowed on) as compensation for the trauma of being locked out of somewhere
 
We have a few yard cats and they are hilarious!

My favourite one is Rambo (ironically named as he jumps at everything!) - he loves to sit on top of my haylage bale and waits for me each morning - I say hi to my two horses and then give Rambo a scratch behind the ear before he disappears for the day.

Salem on the other hand is known for being the world's most lovable but biggest asshat to ever exist - he'll hang from any height and swat at you with his front paw whilst you go past, he'll chase cars, he'll chase the horses, knock over whatever you have left on a ledge and he'll do it all whilst looking absolutely adorable so that you can't stay pissed at him 😅 His most recent episode was the following :

Picture this - a beautiful sunny morning, birds chirping away, horses grazing peacefully in the field and a general sense of calm and serenity around the stables - which is then abruptly shattered by the most gut wrenching yowl I've ever heard come from an animal. I break into a sprint (was previously ambling down the lane enjoying the calmness) and start yelling the cats names (Rambo, Salem, Lucas, Roger, Gerald and Anthony). All cats bar Salem answer so I usher them into the tack room and chuck a few sachets of food into a bowl for them to eat whilst I go and locate Salem.

At this point I'm starting to get really worried something bad has happened to Salem as despite being a pain in the ass, he's a lovable pain in the ass and we all adore him. After what seemed like an eternity, I managed to find Salem and a wave of relief came over me, quickly followed by a wave of complete and utter disgust - the daft cat had decided that he was going to start a fight with the bloody male goat whilst said male goat's female friends and babies were also around! Of course the male goat was not about to put up with Salem's crap and was gently threatening to beat the ever loving life out of Salem if he didn't vacate sharpish. I quickly cursed Salem and leant over the goat pen to try and gently scoop him up, and as I gently scooped him up, Salem decided to take his tantrum out on me and sunk his claws right into my arm and shoulder - I didn't want to let go as didn't want him hurt, so I proceeded to curse him some more whilst rescuing him. After the successful rescue of Salem, I'm checking him over when the yard manager comes out and sees me bleeding, said yard owner then goes off panicking as hates the sight of blood. I tuck Salem under my arm (the non bleeding one!) who is now protesting that he can't finish the fight he started and yowling his head off like his life depends on it :rolleyes: I casually wander onto the yard and put Salem in with the other cats so that he can grab whatever food is left and the daft cat legs it out the tack room window and goes right back for round two with the goat......
 
AppyLover1996 said:
We have a few yard cats and they are hilarious!

My favourite one is Rambo (ironically named as he jumps at everything!) - he loves to sit on top of my haylage bale and waits for me each morning - I say hi to my two horses and then give Rambo a scratch behind the ear before he disappears for the day.

Salem on the other hand is known for being the world's most lovable but biggest asshat to ever exist - he'll hang from any height and swat at you with his front paw whilst you go past, he'll chase cars, he'll chase the horses, knock over whatever you have left on a ledge and he'll do it all whilst looking absolutely adorable so that you can't stay pissed at him 😅 His most recent episode was the following :

Picture this - a beautiful sunny morning, birds chirping away, horses grazing peacefully in the field and a general sense of calm and serenity around the stables - which is then abruptly shattered by the most gut wrenching yowl I've ever heard come from an animal. I break into a sprint (was previously ambling down the lane enjoying the calmness) and start yelling the cats names (Rambo, Salem, Lucas, Roger, Gerald and Anthony). All cats bar Salem answer so I usher them into the tack room and chuck a few sachets of food into a bowl for them to eat whilst I go and locate Salem.

At this point I'm starting to get really worried something bad has happened to Salem as despite being a pain in the ass, he's a lovable pain in the ass and we all adore him. After what seemed like an eternity, I managed to find Salem and a wave of relief came over me, quickly followed by a wave of complete and utter disgust - the daft cat had decided that he was going to start a fight with the bloody male goat whilst said male goat's female friends and babies were also around! Of course the male goat was not about to put up with Salem's crap and was gently threatening to beat the ever loving life out of Salem if he didn't vacate sharpish. I quickly cursed Salem and leant over the goat pen to try and gently scoop him up, and as I gently scooped him up, Salem decided to take his tantrum out on me and sunk his claws right into my arm and shoulder - I didn't want to let go as didn't want him hurt, so I proceeded to curse him some more whilst rescuing him. After the successful rescue of Salem, I'm checking him over when the yard manager comes out and sees me bleeding, said yard owner then goes off panicking as hates the sight of blood. I tuck Salem under my arm (the non bleeding one!) who is now protesting that he can't finish the fight he started and yowling his head off like his life depends on it :rolleyes: I casually wander onto the yard and put Salem in with the other cats so that he can grab whatever food is left and the daft cat legs it out the tack room window and goes right back for round two with the goat......
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Salem!!!
 
Rumtytum said:
Salem!!!
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He does pick fights with the worst possible animals - I'll never forget the day he picked a fight with a friend's 17.2hh, 3/4 of a ton heavyweight hunter - he latched onto the hunter and said hunter promptly booted him and he hit the wall - our hearts all sunk as we assumed that Salem was gone (there was no way he was surviving a kick to the chest from a shod 3/4 ton of a horse and then bouncing off the wall!). Salem got up, walked slightly crooked for a few steps, meowed his disapproval and then went to sink his claws into the hunter once more...... we managed to bundle Salem into a cat carrier and to the local vets, told them the story and they said we were making it up and only believed us when we showed them the cctv footage.... Salem walked away with nothing more than a tiny concussion from hitting the wall and continued to pick fights with my friend's hunter until my friend sadly lost him due to old age... I swear Salem has more than the average 9 lives of the normal kitty cat!
 
AppyLover1996 said:
He does pick fights with the worst possible animals - I'll never forget the day he picked a fight with a friend's 17.2hh, 3/4 of a ton heavyweight hunter - he latched onto the hunter and said hunter promptly booted him and he hit the wall - our hearts all sunk as we assumed that Salem was gone (there was no way he was surviving a kick to the chest from a shod 3/4 ton of a horse and then bouncing off the wall!). Salem got up, walked slightly crooked for a few steps, meowed his disapproval and then went to sink his claws into the hunter once more...... we managed to bundle Salem into a cat carrier and to the local vets, told them the story and they said we were making it up and only believed us when we showed them the cctv footage.... Salem walked away with nothing more than a tiny concussion from hitting the wall and continued to pick fights with my friend's hunter until my friend sadly lost him due to old age... I swear Salem has more than the average 9 lives of the normal kitty cat!
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Talk about boxing above your weight 🙈!
Love your Tales of Salem but am very relieved I don’t have charge of him 🤣
 
Rumtytum said:
Talk about boxing above your weight 🙈!
Love your Tales of Salem but am very relieved I don’t have charge of him 🤣
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We've all come to the conclusion that Salem is a law unto himself and the best thing to do is remove him from the various dangerous positions he puts himself in, and if he goes back to remind him of what will likely happen (usually results in the grumpy sod hissing at you!) and after that clean up whatever chaos the daft cat has caused.....

We once had to have some remedial work done on one of the stables and Salem managed to scare the contractors so much that they politely asked us "Where's the scary cat who hisses and runs at you whilst spitting to please?" every day for the remaining 3 weeks that they were there - and these guys were all 6 foot plus - Salem weighs like 7kg max soaking wet!!!

Salem is getting on now in age though so the yard owner is trying to convert him to be a house cat - that way he can stay out of trouble and everyone can get on with their day without wondering when they'll next be ambushed by the giant ginger oaf....although we're so used to ducking as we go through doorways or looking up I don't think it'll ever leave us 🤣

On the other paw his brother Roger is the complete and utter opposite of him - Roger always makes sure to stay out of the way of the horses, helpfully catches any rats or mice, makes sure he puts them deep in the muck heap once he's disposed of them so they can't be dug up by the other cats , poops in the wheelbarrow, always washes his paws before coming into the tack room, stays off the saddles, will happily sit on your lap for cuddles and generally is the goodest boy.... poor Roger however gets bullied by Salem and Lucas (I swear Salem is training Lucas to be his apprentice!) so he spends most of the time snoozing on the cat bed or ontop of my haylage bale with Rambo xx
 
Salem update :

As much as I adore all animals and wish no ill harm on anything - if I catch the delinquent of an old sod pooping in my horses water buckets one more time (and it's always after I've thoroughly scrubbed them and they are gleaming with fresh water) I shall be having very firm words with the git! And to pour salt in the wound the sod will look at me whilst doing it! And I brought him his fave cat food too.....guess he's always destined to be a grumpy old ginger oaf.....good job he's the yard favourite!

Rambo and Roger sadly both got hit by a van driver Sunday afternoon (to add horror to this - the poor yard children saw it all happen before we could whisk them away 💔) and despite our best efforts they passed before we could get them to the emergency vets 😭 I shall forever miss my morning snuggles with Rambo on my haylage bale and Roger meowing at me as I walk up to the yard 💔
 
AppyLover1996 said:
Salem update :

As much as I adore all animals and wish no ill harm on anything - if I catch the delinquent of an old sod pooping in my horses water buckets one more time (and it's always after I've thoroughly scrubbed them and they are gleaming with fresh water) I shall be having very firm words with the git! And to pour salt in the wound the sod will look at me whilst doing it! And I brought him his fave cat food too.....guess he's always destined to be a grumpy old ginger oaf.....good job he's the yard favourite!

Rambo and Roger sadly both got hit by a van driver Sunday afternoon (to add horror to this - the poor yard children saw it all happen before we could whisk them away 💔) and despite our best efforts they passed before we could get them to the emergency vets 😭 I shall forever miss my morning snuggles with Rambo on my haylage bale and Roger meowing at me as I walk up to the yard 💔
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Salem pooping in water buckets is well off 😱
Am so sorry about Rambo and Roger. Absolute tragedy and devastating for you and the poor yard children 😭
 
Rumtytum said:
Salem pooping in water buckets is well off 😱
Am so sorry about Rambo and Roger. Absolute tragedy and devastating for you and the poor yard children 😭
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Salem is certainly down in the dumps today - I think he's realised that Roger has passed away as he was really cuddly and sweet this morning bless him - he even let me snuggle him which is a miracle as usually it would result in your eyes being gouged out your head...…despite the sad circumstances I made sure to get a photo as evidence that Salem can in fact tolerate human contact and seems to be alright with it!

I tried to hold it together when the yard children came running up to me this morning, but broke when they asked if Rambo and Roger are in cat heaven playing with their toy mice 😭 It totally sucked seeing Rambo and Roger's food bowls and not filling them up - it felt so wrong 💔

The yard children are all being very brave about what's happened - we asked them last night if they wanted to talk about what happened and how they felt - they were very mature and made me proud to call them my yard children with their responses.... we all sat down and had a conversation about our favourite memories and what type of tree we are going to plant in Rambo and Roger's memories - us adults were all blubbering like mad and the children were the ones giving cuddles and saying comforting words - children truly do amaze me with how mature they can be in the most difficult circumstances ❤️
 
Rumtytum said:
It’s always their empty food bowls that gets me too 😭
Your yard children sound wonderful, due perhaps in no small part to the way you and the other adults react with them.
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The yard children are wise beyond their years - forever grateful for them ❤️

When I first brought my rising 2 year old onto the yard, I let them know that he might be a bit different to the other horses as he is a baby so he is a bit more afraid of the world as he is still learning, but that they are not to stop doing whatever they are doing as they will be helping me train him to get used to random things popping up and happening out of nowhere - and gotta give credit to them - they always ask if they can come past, give him a pat, say hi to him etc.

I always let them have a sit and pony ride on my retired lad around the farm (it helps keep him mobile and I love hearing their joyful squeals as we're plodding along - they're very young children but so wise beyond their years) and they're always so grateful and will "help" with stable jobs as a way of saying thank you - I'm not a fan of children but I absolutely adore my yard children and would do absolutely anything for them ❤️
 
Couldn't sleep last night asthma playing up and the was woken at 4am by a cat fight in the garden which went on for 2 hours!! We thought they were next door and nothing we could do about it as none of the security lights came on.

For context M sauntered home on Saturday afternoon with some tufts of hair loose, definitely had a fight and seemed cool with it ( he's distraught when he loses).

Looked out this morning and it was 2 massive cats, one we know as he likes to break in and beat up M, standing on the patio calling out M. Husband thinks M beat up his pal so he came back with muscle for revenge 😬 loud loud revenge.
 
My cat is 16 years old and has already done a lot in his life, but the worst thing for me is that he often likes to run away from home when I open the door, I always worry that he will disappear or get sick outside.
 
Mine kept me awake most of the night, but I shouldn't complain, really. Little Willy (he of trying to bankrupt me/die fame) kept pawing at the kitchen door, desperate to get in. We get the odd wood mouse in the kitchen, so I eventually gave up on sleep and let him into the kitchen and watched him hunt around the cooker/cupboards. No sign of mouse, so tried to go back to bed. Gave up again about half an hour later and let him in again (I should say he doesn't normally try to break in to the kitchen, so I knew something was in there). This time I opened my baking cupboard and he was straight in there, quick as a flash. One squeak later and he was off like lightning straight upstairs to our loft room. I went back to bed. The storage hatches are left open, in our loft (we get wood mice in there, too!), so there was no point me following him. Lots of thundering around and growling from little Willy. Not much sleeping by me. I don't know where the mouse is or even if it's alive, poor sod. I was quite heartened that he was absolutely enjoying himself, though. He deserves it (even if the mouse doesn't). Hoping I can catch it and add it to the mouse commune under my field shelter (these are all ex captives of our humane traps).
 
My ginger boy has developed an awful habit of weeing on my head when i'm in bed. Last night I awoke to find him piddling on my hair. before anyone asks he has a perfectly clean litter tray downstairs that he does use and also there would have been a window open somewhere in the house for him to go outside.
 
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