Ella & Bubba

Discussion in 'Pets & Critters' started by Ken Anderson, May 28, 2020.

  1. Ken Anderson

    Ken Anderson Senior Staff
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    Not in the two that I have now, but older cats, like in their twenties, tend to lose interest in eating, which is why I started buying such a large variety of wet foods, to begin with, in order to keep Cutie and Lydia interested in eating. In the process, Ella got used to eating that way. Ella eats more kibble than wet food, while I don't think I've ever seen Bubba eating kibble. He eats his wet food and whatever Ella leaves behind.
     
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  2. Dwight Ward

    Dwight Ward Veteran Member
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    They're weird like people. All different.
     
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  3. Dwight Ward

    Dwight Ward Veteran Member
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    I bought a new camera. This is my Barney boy. The rascal wouldn't stay still for a picture. He finally laid down for a second.

    upload_2020-9-17_10-41-38.jpeg
     

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  4. Ken Anderson

    Ken Anderson Senior Staff
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    It's been a long time since I've had a male cat so that may be a part of it, but I am finding that Bubba is harder to train than Ella or any of my more recent cats have been, all female. He thinks everything is playing and it's all okay with him. Ella hates him, yet every time she slaps him down, he clearly thinks she's playing.

    He likes to go out but when I bring him in, that's fine with him, and if I don't offer to let him out, he doesn't care. When I yell at him, he might think I'm crazy but it doesn't have anything to do with anything he might have done, as far as he's concerned.

    He's not hard to please but he's not particularly interested in pleasing anyone else.
     
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  5. Dwight Ward

    Dwight Ward Veteran Member
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    Your descriptions of Ella and Bubba are always interesting. Ever thought about becoming a professional feline psychiatrist? It must pay well. A lot of cats are half crazy.
     
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  6. Ken Anderson

    Ken Anderson Senior Staff
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    I have thought about writing a book, though.
     
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  7. Ken Anderson

    Ken Anderson Senior Staff
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    I fell asleep in my office chair yesterday afternoon. I was awakened by Ella gently tapping me on the cheek. Her back legs were on my storage desk, one front leg was on my shoulder, and she was waking me up with the other one, while staring at my face. She gladly accepted a treat but I think she was checking to make sure I was okay. Maybe I was snoring and she was trying to get me to shut up.
     
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  8. Ken Anderson

    Ken Anderson Senior Staff
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    I haven't been around much the past couple of days because I haven't felt much like talking. We've lost Ella; at least it looks that way. She has been outdoors only during the daylight hours, and rarely goes far. On Wednesday, she was outside. I was out there too, with Bubba. I picked Bubba to put him back inside. Ella was heading for the tracks. I said, "Don't go far, Ella. You're a good, good girl." She gave me a tailwave, and I haven't seen her since.

    Shortly after that, we were hit with a sudden storm, with heavy rain and high winds, which kept up all day and all night. When Ella didn't return, I hoped she had found shelter somewhere and didn't want to go out into the bad weather in order to get home. Whenever she's outside, I leave the porch door open so that she had an inside place to retreat to. I went looking for her as soon as the rain and the wind came. I walked the tracks and a couple of blocks around, although I've never seen her go beyond our block.

    I was up, literally, all night Wednesday night, walking the tracks, calling for her, or waiting for her in the library. I didn't sleep Thursday, but I did sleep about five hours last night. I've put posters up on poles for a couple of blocks around, and am hoping that someone took her in, although I seriously doubt she would let anyone get near enough to pick her up. That same day, someone two doors down, in the direction Ella was walking, lost his cat. While I am not feeling very positive about this, neither have I wanted to read a lot of consolation stuff because I haven't given up on her. I have been crying enough as it is.

    I had cameras up in my yard and I literally have a short video of Ella walking toward the tracks the last time she was seen.
     
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  9. Ken Anderson

    Ken Anderson Senior Staff
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    I think Bubba will be an inside cat. No, I haven't changed my mind about allowing a cat to go outdoors. Ella would have been miserable if we had confined her to the house. Bubba is a different cat. He has never been outdoors except for a an hour or two at a time, while I was out there with him, and going outdoors doesn't seem to be so important to him. If, by a miracle, I get Ella back, I will be very tempted to keep her indoors as well, not so much for her sake, but because I won't want to go through this again.
     
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  10. Von Jones

    Von Jones Supreme Member
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  11. Beth Gallagher

    Beth Gallagher Supreme Member
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    Hoping for your miracle, Ken.
     
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  12. Dwight Ward

    Dwight Ward Veteran Member
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    Ken, I'm so, so sorry. It's like losing a child.

    Barney went from a stray outside cat to a totally inside one. He doesn't try to get out. I think he's happy with me and knows where his bread is buttered, so to speak. If I lost him I'd be devastated.

    Maybe Ella survived and has been taken in by someone or gone stray, don't you think? While that's not that comforting, it's better than if she had passed. Keep us informed.
     
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    Last edited: Oct 10, 2020
  13. Yvonne Smith

    Yvonne Smith Senior Staff
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    Prayers for you, Michelle, and little lost Ella cat. Hoping she has an angel bring her home, or you find her, @Ken Anderson . It truly is like losing a child when we lose one of our pets that we love so much.

    One of the things they encourage for lost animals, is to leave an article of clothing that has been close to your skin, outside where the lost cat or dog can smell it and find their way back home again. Since they have much better smell, this might work.
    We actually found a lost hamster once because I had made fried chicken, and the little fellow smelled it and was trying to get back up the stairs from the basement.
    He apparently went down there when he escaped, and could not get back up, and was hiding when we were searching for him.
     
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  14. Nancy Hart

    Nancy Hart Veteran Member
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    I'm so sorry Ken. I know how awful it is to have a missing cat. Don't give up looking too soon.
     
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  15. Martin Alonzo

    Martin Alonzo Supreme Member
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    I have been a cat person all my life. And a cat i had sailed the Caribbean with me and finally died at 19 years. Now settled in a home here in the D.R. I finally convinced my wife to accept a cat we got a stray kitten from a farmer after the dogs killed all others. It is a great house cat but kind of anti social it loves my daughter but no one else, makes me a little angry as I the one that wanted the cat. It is a female and will not go outside even when she comes in heat. So we now are probably start looking for a male kitten.
     
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