Cat stare-down

[Shule]

I was minding my own business using TomatoJunction.com when suddenly, I heard some cats yowling outside in broad daylight. I looked out the window and saw the neighbors outside. They appeared to be amused or entertained by something. Then, I noticed in our yard, there were two cats (a black and an orange) facing each other (really, really close). They looked mad (their ears were back and stuff), and like they were doing some kind of stare-down for some time as I watched them wondering what in the world they were doing. Just after the orange cat lost the stare-down, a huge flock of low-flying birds unexpectedly swished by in the sky above the cats. The cats immediately looked after the birds, their ears went up, and they forgot all about their own conflict. They just kept staring in the direction of the birds.

[agee]

I wonder if they thought or wanted to make sure that the birds weren’t predatory.

[ddsack]

Since it sounds like no physical fight broke out besides the yowling, they were probably both ok with finding an excuse to deescalate the conflict, and the birds were a perfect excuse!

[bower]

Interesting, the etiquette of social priorities for a cat. Bird action, more important than squabbles.

I was startled by my neighbor's cat this morning, and said ' Oh it's you, Mrs. Cat ' and she answered by blinking her eyes but also raised her nose in an interesting expression... like she was acknowledging me as a hapless underling.
Yep, she's way too good for me, and I've been letting her know, with all kinds of obsequious chatting whenever she passes by on her rounds. I'm the fool who puts out crops that attract rodents, while she devotes herself to patrolling at their peril. I don't feed her or pet her, I'm just the bad keeper of these here vole and shrew grounds....
As long as she puts up with me, I'll continue to be very deferential!

[Tormahto]

Here, it's food above all others things.

I've got a momma and her kitten who took up residence in my garage several months ago. I'm not going to let them starve, so I started feeding them. At first it was some dry food, but I found that cooking chicken (at .40/lb), rice, peas and carrots were about equal or maybe less expensive than the dry stuff. After awhile they started picking around the rice, which was the only cooked food that I did not puree. So I pureed the rice.

Then they stated sniffing at the food and sometimes walked away. I'd mix the cooked with the dry and they'd gobble it up. A week later they would get bored again. I think one week of the same food over and over was their limit. I'd get free cans of mush light tuna in extra water (which is becoming almost inedible to me, not withstanding the tiny pin bones that I'm finding in it, leading me to believe that trash fish are being mixed into the tuna) that they get on occasion. And free cans of pink salmon that they go crazy over (these cans now have flaps of skin added, to get them up to weight). Rarely they will get boiled ground turkey.

And the latest is chicken gizzards. But when they get bored with the pureed, I have to serve it shredded. A neighbor will bring over boiled chicken livers, when her cat rejects it, but my cats will sniff and stare at it, and simply will not eat it. All of their food gets broth from the cooking or the cans, added until the food can no longer absorb it, and runs out on the plate. They usually lap up the juices before eating the solid food. Now, they rarely use their water bowl.

[bower]

IDK what my neighbors are feeding Mrs. Cat, but she leaves her kills intact. So there doesn't seem to be any mouse in her diet.
Picky, picky picky....

[JayneR13]

I brought Miss Yin in from the great outdoors, and I fed her for several months before that. A deaf kitty is very disadvantaged outdoors, and she was quite thin. Once inside, she quickly got used to Purina Pro Plan and put good weight right back on. She (and any other outdoor cats) got Friskies at that point. The one time I tried making chicken & rice from scratch, neither Morty nor Kona would touch it. Not even puréed! Pity too, because even these days it has to be cheaper! And I like knowing what’s in my food, and hers. But as the feline gods command, I do. I’m a well trained cat slave!

[JRinPA]

I've seen dogs have stare downs like that, but not cats. Not too many cats around here.

[Shule]

I wonder if they thought or wanted to make sure that the birds weren’t predatory.

They were birds about the size of big sparrows. I'm not sure what they were. There seemed to be a lot of them. The cats looked very interested and moved toward the direction they had gone a little. But they didn't look afraid.

[GoDawgs]

Every once in a while Lester will just stare at a spot on the wall and make us try to figure out what he's looking at. Maybe he's just focusing mindlessly while listening to something. Or maybe he's just amusing himself by driving his caretakers (never owners!) nuts. LOL!

Yep, cats get picky with their food. When Lester gets bored with what he's eating (several flavors, rotated daily) he'll go "eat out" and sometimes bring whatever it is home to dine in.

There aren't many other cats around out here. Herman used to be the Defender Of The Domain when he was alive. I'd hear such face offs or downright fighting in the middle of the night sometimes. Lester is more laid back and I haven't heard much since Herman's been gone. Maybe Lester uses some other sort of persuasion because no strays have been hanging around like they want to join the crowd.

[agee]

Here, it's food above all others things.

I've got a momma and her kitten who took up residence in my garage several months ago. I'm not going to let them starve, so I started feeding them. At first it was some dry food, but I found that cooking chicken (at .40/lb), rice, peas and carrots were about equal or maybe less expensive than the dry stuff. After awhile they started picking around the rice, which was the only cooked food that I did not puree. So I pureed the rice.

Then they stated sniffing at the food and sometimes walked away. I'd mix the cooked with the dry and they'd gobble it up. A week later they would get bored again. I think one week of the same food over and over was their limit. I'd get free cans of mush light tuna in extra water (which is becoming almost inedible to me, not withstanding the tiny pin bones that I'm finding in it, leading me to believe that trash fish are being mixed into the tuna) that they get on occasion. And free cans of pink salmon that they go crazy over (these cans now have flaps of skin added, to get them up to weight). Rarely they will get boiled ground turkey.

And the latest is chicken gizzards. But when they get bored with the pureed, I have to serve it shredded. A neighbor will bring over boiled chicken livers, when her cat rejects it, but my cats will sniff and stare at it, and simply will not eat it. All of their food gets broth from the cooking or the cans, added until the food can no longer absorb it, and runs out on the plate. They usually lap up the juices before eating the solid food. Now, they rarely use their water bowl.

First off where do you get chicken for $0.40 a pound these days? Years and years ago I could get a family pack of leg quarters for that unit price but those days are long gone.

Has the mother and her kitten been fixed? If not, it's a matter of time before you have more mouths to feed. Many communities, hopefully yours, have programs where you can get outdoor cats fixed at no / low cost. If they have been fixed then this is moot, but just putting the info out there if they have not been fixed.

[Tormahto]

Here, it's food above all others things.

I've got a momma and her kitten who took up residence in my garage several months ago. I'm not going to let them starve, so I started feeding them. At first it was some dry food, but I found that cooking chicken (at .40/lb), rice, peas and carrots were about equal or maybe less expensive than the dry stuff. After awhile they started picking around the rice, which was the only cooked food that I did not puree. So I pureed the rice.

Then they stated sniffing at the food and sometimes walked away. I'd mix the cooked with the dry and they'd gobble it up. A week later they would get bored again. I think one week of the same food over and over was their limit. I'd get free cans of mush light tuna in extra water (which is becoming almost inedible to me, not withstanding the tiny pin bones that I'm finding in it, leading me to believe that trash fish are being mixed into the tuna) that they get on occasion. And free cans of pink salmon that they go crazy over (these cans now have flaps of skin added, to get them up to weight). Rarely they will get boiled ground turkey.

And the latest is chicken gizzards. But when they get bored with the pureed, I have to serve it shredded. A neighbor will bring over boiled chicken livers, when her cat rejects it, but my cats will sniff and stare at it, and simply will not eat it. All of their food gets broth from the cooking or the cans, added until the food can no longer absorb it, and runs out on the plate. They usually lap up the juices before eating the solid food. Now, they rarely use their water bowl.

First off where do you get chicken for $0.40 a pound these days? Years and years ago I could get a family pack of leg quarters for that unit price but those days are long gone.

Has the mother and her kitten been fixed? If not, it's a matter of time before you have more mouths to feed. Many communities, hopefully yours, have programs where you can get outdoor cats fixed at no / low cost. If they have been fixed then this is moot, but just putting the info out there if they have not been fixed.

One WalMart store, out of many in my area, has had 5 pounds of chicken drumsticks for $2 each for several years. Since this early spring, it's been on again off again several times at $2 or $4.96. I fill the chest freezer at $2.

I've been waiting for a few months to hear from the local rescue and shelter, about all of the options for the cats, but nothing yet.

[ddsack]

IDK what my neighbors are feeding Mrs. Cat, but she leaves her kills intact. So there doesn't seem to be any mouse in her diet.
Picky, picky picky....

All my previous cats that hunted would at least eat part of their kill, often just the heads were gone, but left the gut piles and back ends as is. The two I have now, have never eaten any dead animal. They deposit the dead mice or voles intact near the downstairs entrance. They won't even eat raw meat if I offer them any venison or buffalo uncooked. One will eat some canned cat food if he feels like it, but the other one wants nothing but dry kibble. So I switch every other day between two different good quality brands. I hate cooking even for myself, so mixing up my own cat food is not going to happen, even though I know it would be healthier for them.

[Tormahto]

I wonder if they thought or wanted to make sure that the birds weren’t predatory.

They were birds about the size of big sparrows. I'm not sure what they were. There seemed to be a lot of them. The cats looked very interested and moved toward the direction they had gone a little. But they didn't look afraid.

Starlings?

[Shule]

I wonder if they thought or wanted to make sure that the birds weren’t predatory.

They were birds about the size of big sparrows. I'm not sure what they were. There seemed to be a lot of them. The cats looked very interested and moved toward the direction they had gone a little. But they didn't look afraid.

Starlings?

They didn't seem like starlings. (I only got a glimpse of them, but I think they were a different color; more like a sparrow color, and I think their wings when in flight were more curved). We used to have a lot of starlings, but they rarely visit our street now. I believe there's a family of them on a parallel street, though.

They were the sort of birds that like to swoop stylistically when they fly (while flying fast).

[GoDawgs]

I wonder if they thought or wanted to make sure that the birds weren’t predatory.

They were birds about the size of big sparrows. I'm not sure what they were. There seemed to be a lot of them. The cats looked very interested and moved toward the direction they had gone a little. But they didn't look afraid.

Starlings?

They didn't seem like starlings. (I only got a glimpse of them, but I think they were a different color; more like a sparrow color, and I think their wings when in flight were more curved). We used to have a lot of starlings, but they rarely visit our street now. I believe there's a family of them on a parallel street, though.

They were the sort of birds that like to swoop stylistically when they fly (while flying fast).

Maybe cedar waxwings? They like to swoop around in groups.

[Shule]

I wonder if they thought or wanted to make sure that the birds weren’t predatory.

They were birds about the size of big sparrows. I'm not sure what they were. There seemed to be a lot of them. The cats looked very interested and moved toward the direction they had gone a little. But they didn't look afraid.

Starlings?

They didn't seem like starlings. (I only got a glimpse of them, but I think they were a different color; more like a sparrow color, and I think their wings when in flight were more curved). We used to have a lot of starlings, but they rarely visit our street now. I believe there's a family of them on a parallel street, though.

They were the sort of birds that like to swoop stylistically when they fly (while flying fast).

Maybe cedar waxwings? They like to swoop around in groups.

Hmm. I've never seen those around here. I don't believe they had crests (crests are pretty uncommon on birds here). They were less colorful.

[rxkeith]

if any of your cats will eat turkey, i get turkey necks, and giblets from a local restaurant for free.
they throw them out otherwise. necks, gizzards, and hearts get cooked in the pressure cooker at
two rings for 23 to 25 minutes, not sure what that translates to lbs/pressure. our cooker has two red lines
on the valve that pops up. livers get cooked in a separate pot. they don't take long to cook. our dog slorps
it all up mixed with kibble. make soup with the stock or cook rice in it. comes out good. use neck meat, and
giblets in soup if you like. only cost is the gas to get it and the cost of cooking it. now, will a cat eat turkey?
turkeys are birds, big birds. cats like birds. should work right?


keith

[Shule]

… now, will a cat eat turkey? …

I believe we used to give our cats canned turkey chunks as a treat sometimes when I was a child. They loved it.

[worth1]

I remember a couple of tomcats I had that would square off on the kitchen bar.
Both fixed but huge not fat.
One was a stray that showed up and decided to take charge of his new people slaves.
His name was Snaggs.
The other I raised from a kitten.
His name was Cruiser.
No fighting just looking at each other with their ears flat about a foot from each other face to face.
Tails flipping back and forth.
Hair up on end.
Nice fat tails.
Backs humped up.
Occasional hiss to let off excess cat pressure like the boiler on a steam engine.
You can't have excess cat pressure.