From commentor Mudge:
Both of these cats were rescued. The one in the grass was named Catfish. She was found wandering in our lawn in the early 90s when we came back from a trip to a soccer tournament for my son. She was hunting in the less tamed portions of the yard and acquired the name Catfish Hunter after the baseball pitcher. To my 6 year old daughter she was always “Baby”. Given a bowl of food, she stayed for 15+ years. She died last February.
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During her last 3 years, Catfish had kidney problems and my wife administered subcutaneous fluids ( I couldn’t even watch her do it) to her every 3 days. One day when at the vet’s in 2006, the vet, who knew my wife liked tortoise shells, showed her one they had who had lived with 5 other cats, was the runt, was picked on and had kerosene spilled all over her. She had been at the vet’s for a week or so and was at that point an orphan. She was pitiful and almost hairless. My wife asked me if she could be brought home for a “test run”. When the cat was well, she slyly brought her home over Thanksgiving weekend when my daughter was home. I was outnumbered (although I liked her too). She has been here ever since. She’s in the chair in the picture and was named Goose Gossage, hence Goose, although she responds to Gooey as well. This runt weighs 11 or so pounds now; Catfish weighed 6 or 7 pounds at her heaviest.&n ;
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We had heard stories about tortoise shells, but Catfish was the sweetest cat we have ever known and Goose is both affectionate and full of personality. When she first moved here (10 years ago), my 89 year old mother in law stayed with us for a year or so. Catfish would sit/sleep in her lap for hours at a time every day. She moved to her own house, and in 2007 my 84 year old mother moved in. Goose adopted her and would sit/sleep in her lap for hours. Catfish ignored my mother. She already had a Grandma. I recommend tortoise shell cats based on these two. Our next one will most likely be Ducky Medwick.
asiangrrlMN
Sniff sniff. What a way to wake up from a nap, AL. Mudge, Catfish is a beautiful girl. I’m sorry for your loss. Goose is gorgeous, too, and looks so fat and happy. Thank you for taking in both these girls and giving them a good forever home.
TrishB
Pretty kitties. Obviously the next cats will be Guidry, Righetti, Pettite, and Rivera?
asiangrrlMN
Pissed off at the ACT Blue thread for not taking my comment, so I’m repeating here. srv, if you see this, I kicked in a hundred. I hope I made the time limit.
And, Balloon Juice C.R.E.A.M. for the 501c. Just sayin’.
zattarra
I think here is the wtf moment of the day. Ohio Tea Party Republican candidate for the House liked to dress up as a member of the Waffen-SS as part of a Nazi Army admiration re-enactment group.
zattarra
Apparently it did not like my link above, let’s try again:
http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2010/10/why-is-this-gop-house-candidate-dressed-as-a-nazi/64319/
asiangrrlMN
@zattarra: I knew I shouldn’t have read the comments underneath. The story itself is depressing enough–those defending him are just putrid. Ugh.
stuckinred
Morning all you night owls. How bout them Braves!!!!!!!
asiangrrlMN
@stuckinred: Did they make a comeback? I’m still pissed off at my Twins.
asiangrrlMN
@stuckinred: I see they did, in eleven innings. Wow!
electricgrendel
Tortoise shells are great. My friend has a rescued tortoise shell and she’s the smartest cat I have ever met. She has a lot of personality, though some times that personality is a bit cold and distant. But once she warms up she’s a little love blackhole. Great cat!
electricgrendel
Tortoise shells are great. My friend has a rescued tortoise shell and she’s the smartest cat I have ever met. She has a lot of personality, though some times that personality is a bit cold and distant. But once she warms up she’s a little love blackhole. Great cat!
debbie
My first boyfriend had two tortoise shells, a gray and a brown. They got along great with each other and with all the humans moving in and out of the apartment. They’re absolutely beautiful cats.
debbie
@zattara:
From TPM http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/10/ohio-tea-partier-spent-weekends-playing-nazi-games.php
Apparently, the Confederate Party’s been out-Confederated.
WereBear
Our Olwyn is a dilute tortoiseshell; this is how it’s done in pastel.
See her with our new kitten.
She’s been quite the nannycat for our sudden tiny guy.
bk
Keeping with the slightly-off kilter pitcher theme – I have a cat named Mark (after Fidrych). He may have feline ADD, but I love him.
Just a note to say (again, in keeping with sports talk ) I am a first time poster/long time reader. Love this website, and the comments, especially from the “regulars”.
Poopyman
Based on the torties I’ve known, including our own beautiful Maxie, they have the sweetest dispositions of any cat. Nobody doesn’t get along with Max, and Archie absolutely worships her.
I’d recommend a tortie for anybody.
JPL
Mudge, Thank you for sharing your story. Goose has that get off my lawn look.
@WereBear:
Cutest kitten ever!
WereBear
Meant to add that these are two beautiful torties, Mudge, and it’s no wonder you all have become fans.
The genetic mix that creates the coat color also means they are strongminded females with lots of charm. Nothing better than that :)
In practice, torties are often the ones who make sure everyone gets what they need. This is certainly the role Olwyn plays in our household.
WereBear
Thanks. We immodestly think so!
Suffern ACE
@debbie: Those freedom loving folk who signed up for Nazism in the occupied territories are more commonly known as traitors.
Skepticat
My tortie wandered into the yard and took over, and she was the smartest, bravest cat ever. She died at about eighteen three years ago, and I miss her every day. Condolences on the loss of Catfish.
JAHILL10
Mudge, wonderful stories. My Hubby got a kick out of you naming them for ball players.
My sister adopted a full grown tortoise shell kitty that wandered in off the street and named her Daisy. Daisy was a darling, quite the hunter, and lived 21 more years. Tough kitty.
ellie
I had a tortie I rescued from a shelter. She was beautiful and the best kitty ever. She moved back and forth across the country with me several times. She died in 2003 and I almost had a nervous breakdown. God, I love that cat.
Mudge
Thanks to you all for the comments. We miss Catfish, but now that Catfish is gone, Goose has taken her place in the bed. Goose never slept on the bed when Catfish was alive. I see that Daisy was a hunter. Goose is as well. Sadly she gets an occasional bird (including a flicker once), but a few days ago she caught a red squirrel. I was amazed. The squirrels sit in trees and scream at her and tease her. She hates them. How she caught one, I’ll never know, they are incredibly quick (maybe not so smart). I heard the commotion and got up just in time to see Goose carry it into the house. She went down the hall and dropped it, causing me to have horrific visions of a squirrel loose in the house, but she just changed her grip and by the time I got to her, she had killed it. She’ll play with birds and mice, but she dispatched the squirrel with a vengeance, no playing at all.
Riggsveda
I ‘ve known many many torties, and owned one. In my experience they were the most emotional, neediest, and hands-down sweetest cats I’ve ever known. (And excellent hunters!) Gingers come up a close second.
Southern Beale
Oh gah. I had a Tortie once. She was absolutely psycho. Cost me a fortune in special food because she was so high strung. Didn’t get along with any of the other cats. I finally determined that Torties are genetically weird and need to be the only cat and that’s that.
She was the only cat I had for a few years and finally had to find a new home for.
Mnemosyne
I’d better make sure G doesn’t see this post, because he still misses our tortie Natasha (who died relatively young at 10 from cancer).
She was about 4 or 5 when we started dating and, though she was usually shy about people, it only took a few months to realize that she could have her own personal monkey to pet her and fuss over her instead of having only one that had to spend its time between her and Boris. Once she figured that out, G was a goner and they were best pals. She was affectionate and snuggly right to the end.
She definitely had a little torti-tude, though. If she was mad at you, she would follow you from room to room just so she could turn her back on you and ignore you.
Mnemosyne
@Southern Beale:
I don’t think they necessarily need to be the only cat as long as they get to be top cat. Tashi was just fine with Boris as long as he accepted that she was Queen and he had to do everything she said. Fortunately for her, Boris was very sweet-tempered, so it all worked out.
Poopyman
@WereBear:
Word.
Odd how coat can indicate personality. Black/white mixes I’ve known all tend to have strong personalities (that have tended towards either good or evil, in my experience).
Poopyman
Oh God, yes! Nobody can touch Max for quickness and a quick and sure kill. The three indoor-only cats chase and kill shoelaces, and look cute doing it. Max walks into the room, follows the string with her eyes for a few seconds, then BAM! On top of it and gives it a quick shake. Another shoestring dead, and she walks away.
The birds outside aren’t as lucky. I wish she’d lay off of the cardinals and go after the grackles.
Chat Noir
@Mudge: Beautiful girls, Mudge. I’ve been owned by a tortoiseshell, Natalie, for 11 years now. She wakes me up every morning to make sure I don’t forget to get up and get everyone breakfast.
At night during cooler weather, she’ll get in bed with me to watch TV; she settles onto my legs and purrs contentedly. She had her picture displayed on a Balloon Juice open thread in the summer of ’09 which continues to be a source of pride for her.
@WereBear: That picture is beyond delicious. It’s no wonder I love cats as much as I do. And speaking of which, Pete Rouse, the new (interim) Chief of Staff in the White House, loves cats.
John - A Motley Moose
Although I usually read all of the pet posts on BJ, this one was especially interesting. I discovered my new home came with some pets when I moved this summer. There were three feral cats living in a patch of raspberry bushes in one corner of the yard. Whenever I opened the backdoor they were either on the porch or at the foot of the steps. It didn’t take long to realize that the former tenant must have been feeding them. I thought they might have been abandoned, but soon realized they were far too wary to have been tame for a long time, if ever. photo here
I still haven’t figured out what it was about the tortoise shell that struck me so much. I guess it was mostly in the way she looked (looks) at me. She was also much braver than the other two cats, both of which seemed younger. The tortise shell was also pregnant, although I didn’t notice that at first. I came to the conclusion that the other two cats, both of which were a kind of dirty black, were her kittens.
I’ve started to feed and water them every day at the same time. It quickly became a routine. They would be waiting for the food and would gobble it down as soon as I moved away from the dish. I would sit on the porch steps and watch them eat. My dog, Al, would wander around the backyard. He’s lived with cats and doesn’t pay much attention to them. The younger cats didn’t trust him, but the tortie would let him get about a foot away before she would hiss at him. That’s all it would take to get him to back off.
One day, they weren’t in the yard come feeding time. They eventually showed up so I didn’t think anything about it. Then, over the course of the next few days, I noticed they were never in the yard anymore, except when there was food in their dish. I noticed they always came from the same direction when I did see them come to eat and didn’t seem to eat as much. I realized someone else must also be feeding them. They haven’t been around much at all lately. I’m kind of disappointed even though they were a bit of a nuisance at times.
Now to get to the reason I started writing this long comment. I’m hoping some BJ’rs might know something about trap-neuter-return programs. These cats seem too wary (wild) to be tamed. I looked for info on how to deal with feral cats and came across the TNR method. There are pros and cons, but I think the positives outweigh the negatives. Without some change, the females will be forced to bear several litters per year. Few, if any of the young will survive more than a few days or weeks. Any that do survive will increase the number of feral cats in the neighborhood. All of the cats will be malnourished and sick most of the time. I really feel like I need to do more than set out food and water. Anyone have any experience with the TNR program?
Bmaccnm
I found a tiny tortie kitten (fit in my hand, couldn’t chew yet) in a dumpster. Persia lived with me for 15 years, tolerated a toddler who grew up, several other cats and two adopted dogs. She was always Queen of the house and every other being, human or non-human, had to give her tribute. No one ate from Persia’s dish, no one slept on Persia’s chair. She could be loving and affectionate when she wanted, but she would haul off and bite you in the middle of a scritch. I figured she was cross-wired. She went outside one morning about a month ago and didn’t return. I miss her.
WereBear
@John – A Motley Moose: The folks here have a lot of information on their website:
Alley Cat Allies
You are right, all the reasons you state. I hope you can reduce, and then eliminate, the misery.
Kit Smith
I less than three torties. I have a small tortie that I was given by an ex who was tired of hearing me talk about how much I loved cats but never actually go out and get one. Eastwood isn’t a rescue since I got her as a kitten, but she’s an adorable ball of skittish curiosity. More than once I’ve woken up to her knocking things off of my desk in an effort to get me to come play with her.