Canis lupus hominis

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged cat, golden retriever | 34 Comments

34 Responses

1. on July 11, 2009 at 1:06 pm Jean

   All I see is a failure in interspecies communication, and a spectacular failure on the part of the clueless laughing owners.

   That is an annoyed cat that apparently isn’t doing much damage to the pup despite having a puppy nose rudely shoved into its face and having the pup constantly coming back to the cat and the toy, which is apparently a point of contention.

   Maybe I’m a bit proactive, but as somebody who has 14 year old indoor cats and a 3 year old 60 lb dog, I would have intervened instead of grabbing the video camera and laughing my fool head off.

   Really, is there anything wrong about teaching your pets how to behave appropriately around each other?

   
   
   • on July 11, 2009 at 1:52 pm retrieverman

     I think that’s how puppies learn about cats. I have no problem with older dogs disciplining puppies this way.

     I remember that I learned as a two year old not to pull my grandmother’s dachshund’s legs. She simply nailed me on the finger, and that was it.

     Of course, I’ve never had dogs around cats, and those that I did have were used as feral cat control.

     
     
     • on July 11, 2009 at 4:05 pm Jean

       Yes, but I err on the side of caution because the cat and the dog are not speaking the same language. As I see it, it is up to me to teach appropriate behavior, just as it would be if I finally manage to get my ES some chickens or other livestock that he could potentially seriously injure.

       It has worked out well for me. I can’t blame 10 year old cats for being less than thrilled when a crazy pup arrived. However, at this point the dog respects an outraged mew, and the cats put up with occasionally having their ears washed by a slobbery dog tongue.

       
       
       • on July 11, 2009 at 4:36 pm retrieverman

         Dogs can actually learn cat body language.

         I do see your point.

         Do you have any younger cats for the dog to play with?

         
         
         • on July 11, 2009 at 4:50 pm Lo

           Er….this is the right place, but I’m sure you can follow, lol. I’m kind of new to teh series of tubes we call teh interweb. Just a life long bird dawg gal.:)

           
           
         • on July 11, 2009 at 5:16 pm Lo

           As you can see, my call name changed, too!

           Whoa! I did not mean to start a range war here. This is my source for good red fieldy prey-driven soft-mouthed Golden Retriever love. :)

           You may have another name: Weaselman. Or Stoatman. Do you like??:P

           I rarely see squirrels where I live……hmmm…..

           I prefer cats to terriers, I think. Plus, all my Goldens have hated the domesticated ferrets they have met. Not nice when someone takes their ferret out of its carrier on a small ferry. But no harm was done, except to my blood pressure!

           
           
     • on July 11, 2009 at 9:21 pm Katie

       It may be a way for a puppy to learn about cats, but it’s also a good way to get your puppy a scratched cornea.

       
       
       • on July 11, 2009 at 9:41 pm retrieverman

         That’s a risk that’s worth taking, sometimes.

         
         
       • on July 11, 2009 at 9:47 pm retrieverman

         If I had a cat that ever did that sort to one of my dogs, it would be gone.

         Cats do not equal dogs in my creature calculus.

         
         
     • on July 12, 2009 at 4:57 am Pai

       The video was sped up… so the cat looks like it’s being more violent than it really is. The two look like they’re playing, to me.

       
       
2. on July 11, 2009 at 3:04 pm Shirley

   Shame on you, Retrieverman! That sounds horrendous the way you put it. I hope by now you know about TNR.

   You know, you should learn about a cat…….maybe even get one. What about the Maine Coon?– those are fantastic ‘landrace’ cats. I have a Maine Coon mix myself — my Goldens always have cats.

   In fact, my first Golden, a male, helped raise a motherless kitten. I thought I was going to lose her, since she screamed all the time. I put her up next to the Golden’s chest while he was lying down, and she purred for the first time — ever. After that, they slept together for the rest of this life. She used to love to tease him, and he let her lie on top of his head.

   To be fair, you should have linked this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xq_c8RPOtH0 called “Cat and Golden Retriever in Love.”

   For heaven’s sakes, cats are long domesticated pets. You don’t turn your dogs on them. They’re not squirrels……and they’re not weasels!

   Remember, “you can trust a dog AND cat man.”

   Now ‘man up,’ or ‘human up,’ or ‘cat up,’ or whatever.

   
   
   • on July 11, 2009 at 3:19 pm retrieverman

     If there is cat without a collar and it has a native species in its mouth on my property, it’s dead.

     
     
     • on July 11, 2009 at 4:13 pm Jean

       I will say my indoor cats both wear collars just in case they sneak out. Thankfully I’ve only had one escapee in 14 years, which was the fault of my roommates at the time. However, I will admit to being a bit concerned by your statement as I have a longhair and a semilonghair. Those collars are unfortunately tough to see unless you are right next to them.

       …but I guess that is why I keep them indoors, and keep close tabs on them when any door is open.

       
       
       • on July 11, 2009 at 4:35 pm retrieverman

         You are responsible cat owner.

         We need more of them.

         
         
   • on July 11, 2009 at 3:20 pm retrieverman

     Cats are okay– inside or under supervision or fences.

     
     
   • on July 11, 2009 at 3:21 pm retrieverman

     TNR is irresponsible.

     
     
   • on July 11, 2009 at 3:23 pm retrieverman

     I don’t keep cats because we are game bird people.

     And a terrier or a ferret can do the work of a cat without endangering birds.

     
     
3. on July 11, 2009 at 3:48 pm Shirley

   Well, I guess we differ on TNR. I think it has a time and place, especially in urban settings.

   I do understand your love of native game birds, really.:)

   One of my cats in Florida did kill a dove. We had a lot of doves. My mom wouldn’t let me keep the cat in the house.
   The cat raised by the Golden wasn’t imprinted, so she didn’t kill successfully. I saved a dove from her once. It was just startled. 2 doves out of hundreds there.

   Get a humane trap and take the cats to a shelter. There you can administer ‘blue juice” yourself or better yet, try to find a better place to send the cats.

   My Maine Coon mix hangs out in my house and garage — where he mouses quite well. I have sheep, and thus I have grain. And between winter and grain, you get mice everywhere — inside your summer car, for heaven’s sake. I have had mice suck soup out of a waxed cardboard carton in my cupboard. This cat saves my sanity. He demands little but fresh running water, some petting, and food. Someone was going to leave him to die because ‘he was my boyfriend’s cat and reminded me too much of him after we broke up.”

   My Lab/American Pit Bull Terrier helps the cat mouse. He also moles and voles. But the cat is a better mouser.

   OTOH, my English Setter/APBT/Australian Cattle Dog mix got a bird at 6 weeks, before I “adopted” her. There wasn’t enough left of it to identify. She points and herds sheep. My Lab mix points and fetches.

   But my Golden points, fetches, and herds after a loose-eyed fashion. He doesn’t mouse.

   Personally, terriers are nice dogs but not for me, unless it’s a Pittie mix. My middle name is not ‘Terriorwoman.’

   I don’t know what the ‘fisher cats’ and ermine eat around my place, as they keep their distance and are rarely seen.

   I still think you should get to know a good cat. They have their uses :D, and are affectionate. It’s always worth learning about another animal up close.

   Maybe we need to develop a ‘softer-mouthed’ cat? :))

   Go after the people dumping those cats on your property or letting them free range. Seriously. Educate them. It’s not the cats’ fault.

   What can I say, I shoot the ‘coydogs’ with fireworks, not a gun. I’m not firing a gun into the woods in the middle of the night…..

   
   
   • on July 11, 2009 at 4:45 pm retrieverman

     Fishers eat squirrels and porcupines. Weasels and ermines (also known as stoats) are big time predators of all sorts of animals.

     Cats are fine as barn animals– the Norsk Skogkatt and Maine Coon are good landrace farm cats. Barn cats have their place.

     A farmer wouldn’t have to have terriers; you could just call up someone who wants to rat with his terriers. It may be illegal to let ferrets work rabbits in most states, but letting them rat is probably a good substitute activity.

     It could be a monthly or quarterly thing.

     Education only goes so far. In my state, cats have virtual carte blanche to do anything they want. What we need are better laws to control cats as domestic animals. That’s how I regard them. A feral cat is an unadoptable pet, and we know what happens to them.

     As for shooting guns into the forest at night, I guess we also differ. In West Virginia, people are allowed to shoot coyotes at night using an amber or red light to indicate they are not illegally spot-lighting deer.

     
     
     • on July 11, 2009 at 4:55 pm Lo

       All I need is Terriorman showing up at my house, rofl.

       Yes, I would like a Norsk cat, but for cats, I adopt. Just so darn many of them in shelters.

       Unfortunately it is difficult to walk the line between cat laws and people not letting my dog ward off coyotes by barking….And I’m not even a libertarian…

       btw, as I haven’t been around here, just slogging through your old good dog stuff, did you see the Vermont Farm Dog bill that passed???

       
       
     • on July 11, 2009 at 5:01 pm Lo

       I live on only ten acres, and I might hit an escaped dry ‘kiow.’

       But the fireworks must be purchased in S. Carolina. They work well, as does the dog barking. Screaming at them does nothing.

       I actually think we have a family unit in the woods, which is okay by me. I have lights on the sheep, etc. But I heard a lot more coyotes this winter, nearby.

       BTW, can you help me prove or disprove this ‘coydog’ thing? It’s driving me nuts. I do know about the coywolf. :D

       I guess I could advertise my sheep and wool as ‘predator-friendly.’ LOL

       
       
     • on July 12, 2009 at 7:41 pm Shirley Adams

       You obviously underestimate the extent of my mouse problem. It requires 24/7 surveillance — indeed the critters come out at night, primarily. I have a Maine Coon mix on duty, as well as the Lab/Pit, and I could use another Maine Coon mix. I use traps for the mice, too.

       A weekly ferret or terrier man/woman wouldn’t help. Plus I have no desire to have ferret pellets around to repel mice.

       The cat gets love, good vet care, a life or ‘a better life’ at least, kills mice, requires decent food, and brings pleasure to my dogs and my family. Owning a ferret would be a pain for me. I don’t think I can manage to set up a room solely for a ferret. I’m not big into caged mammals.

       Oh, I did rescue one more bird from a cat — that’s a presumed cat or dog attacking it — it was a heron chick in Florida. Went to the Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary, as did I mature heron I found with a broken leg.

       We don’t have a cat or dog problem in my neighborhood, fortunately. I have run into feral cat colonies in urban locations, such as around universities. (surprise, not!)The dogs that attacked my sheep were visiting a neighbor. My dogs weren’t home to alert the people sheep-sitting. The attacking dogs’ owners paid my vet bills.

       
       
     • on July 16, 2009 at 9:58 pm Lo

       Your ‘poison the mice’ comment isn’t showing up on my browser, but I did get an email about it.

       No poison. Wrong on several levels, the most obvious to me is how icky it is to have to remove rotten corpses from walls and crawl spaces. :(

       But I’m thinking of getting a second Maine Coon mix next winter…:)

       
       
       • on July 16, 2009 at 10:02 pm retrieverman

         If you’re uncomfortable with that, the ferret poop trick can also work. It may sound strange to your ferret owning friends to ask for poop every couple of weeks, but it’s a good way for them to get rid of a waste product.

         I’m telling you it works. It really does.

         
         
         • on July 18, 2009 at 3:37 am Lo

           I have no ferret-owning friends, btw. :)
           Looks like you would have figured that out by now, lol.

           Nor do I want ferret poop in my mudroom pantry. Nor wherever my dogs might eat it. I don’t need ferret poop ‘posterior barks’ in my living room..:D

           
           
           • on July 18, 2009 at 11:49 am retrieverman

             You put ferret droppings outside your house, usually in crevices or any place where it looks like a rodent might enter.

             I don’t recommend keeping it in the house or in any area where a dog can eat it.

             
             
4. on July 11, 2009 at 4:45 pm Lo

   No, just one Maine Coon. Fiance had a Siamese mix for 20 years who hated me, Bob Dylan records, any attempts to play the slide guitar, and the harmonica.

   I will stick to a Maine Coon mix. They are common in these here parts. I should probably adopt a younger one, but I just took in 2 new dogs in a year, and I need to sell some sheep that a guy backed out on…..:(

   Also, Maine Coons are found in Key West. Hemingway had one with double toes, I believe. If that sort of thing floats your boat. :D

   They can have a heart defect, that’s another reason to go for a mix and hope for the best. Hobbes is only about 9 lbs, but looks and acts just like a Maine Coon.

   I will admit I rather like the idea of an eighteen pound cat, though.

   And I see you just had to go and start another debate above, instead of sticking to the good stuff, like outcrossing red Goldens.:)) Will stay out of that debate, I am after all, a Golden Retrieverwoman. :)

   I need more background on red-and-white setter genetics, if you have a source.

   
   
   • on July 11, 2009 at 4:49 pm retrieverman

     I’ve seen Hemingway’s cats!

     Some people on this blog think I hate cats.

     This is wrong.

     My favorite cat of all time is the Siamese. One of my good friends has one, and I almost walked out the door with her.

     I don’t have sources on red and white setter genetics specifically, but here it is on the generic dog:

     http://abnormality.purpleflowers.net/genetics/white.htm

     
     
     • on July 11, 2009 at 4:58 pm Lo

       Yes, I know that site. I even learned of a better one from a coat colour geneticist, but I am not on my home computer and have a bookmarking problem. :(

       I am looking for genetic disease info.

       
       
5. on July 11, 2009 at 4:47 pm Lo

   We don’t know how old Hobbes really is — between 9 and 11, I think.
   Maine Coons are known for remaining playful late into life, another reason I like them. Plus they can walk on snow with their big feet and have ear tufts.

   I hope you ‘get’ his name. Not named after the cartoon, at least once I adopted him.;)

   
   
   • on July 11, 2009 at 4:53 pm retrieverman

     Is he named after the philosopher?

     
     
     • on July 11, 2009 at 4:56 pm Lo

       Yes, because life for mice is “nasty, brutish, and short.” :D

       
       
6. on July 11, 2009 at 4:48 pm Lo

   Sorry, I am hitting the wrong buttons and replying in the wrong places. :(
   My fail. :-O

   
   
7. on July 18, 2009 at 1:51 am cyborgsuzy

   Just like a puppy – annoying the crap out of the cat.

   
   

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