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Conference misery::feline_v1

Title:Meower Power is Valuing Differences
Notice:FELINE_V1 is moving 1/11/94 5pm PST to MISERY
Moderator:MISERY::VANZUYLEN_RO
Created:Sun Feb 09 1986
Last Modified:Tue Jan 11 1994
Last Successful Update:Fri Jun 06 1997
Number of topics:5089
Total number of notes:60366

3486.0. "The First Mouse of Spring for us!" by CSC32::K_KINNEY () Tue Apr 03 1990 19:44

    
    
    	It is a sure sign that spring is truly here in the
    	Rockies (aside from the hay fever that generally
    	ensues I mean). Catnip just caught her FIRST MOUSE
    	OF SPRING! Yep, a momentous occasion. Marked it on
    	my calendar. I was eating dinner at my table and had
    	the slider open about cat-wide so she could pop in and
    	out and play. I caught something out of the corner of
    	my eye go zinging by under my feet. It was big and
    	furry. I kinda thought it was Catnip and wondered what
    	was going on. Then I took a REAL look with my whole eyes
    	and AAAARRRRGGGHHH! An extremely large, furry rodent
    	(a mouse the size of a cadillac) and a short little tail
    	was booking for my dining room. Ok, thanks Nipper. Mom
    	needed this during dinner. Apparently she dropped it off
    	(alive and kicking) as a gift for mom and was outside just 
    	viewing the world from the garden wall. I caught the little
    	varmint by herding him with a clothes brush into a box. 
    	Took him outside (both of us relatively unscathed) and 
    	set him on the porch. He took off like the devil was after
    	him around to the front while Catnippy watched him go.
    	It's going to be a long summer I think.
    
    			Kim_who_is_ever_appreciative_of_Nipper's_gifts 
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3486.1Squirrels!HAMPS::MOXLEYJThu May 17 1990 13:1910
    My two "kids" have only recently started hunting - they are not
    yet a year old.  At first they just caught the usual twigs and leaves,
    they then progressed on to stale bread and meat bones (presumably
    from peoples bins) but last week the hunting started for real. 
    In one night they caught two birds - one was even headless - plus
    a squirrel.  These were all left in the kitchen for "mum" to admire!
     If only they'd go back to bread - it was so much easier to clear
    up and it didn't make me scream!
    
    Jenny, Boris and Penny
3486.2NRADM::ROBINSONdid i tell you this already???Fri May 18 1990 09:2822
    
    
    	Sara has just caught her very first mouse ever! She and
    	Squeek were outside playing, and I had left the front door
    	open a little bit for them. I heard the poor thing squealing
    	before Sara even got in the house with it, a tiny little
    	mouse which she promptly released in the kitchen for my 
    	amusement....Seeing that I was _not_ too amused, Sara picked
    	it back up again and proceeded to play with it (drop it, wait for
    	it to move, bat it, pick it up, drop it, wait for it to move...)
    	Well, this was too much, it was only a baby! So, I went to 
    	catch it (haha, with what, my hands??) and Sara picked it
    	back up  - so off we went to the door, Sara carrying the mouse,
    	and me shaking Sara out the door (c'mon Sara, drop the little
    	guy, okay? [yeah, right!]). Back to the kitchen again...This time,
    	I managed to catch it in a cup, scoop it up, and deposit it
    	back outside. After hyperventilating for a few seconds, he was
    	gone, just a little soggy after his ordeal....I wonder what they
    	will bring home next time....??
    
    	Sherry, Sara, and Squeek
    
3486.3DYO780::AXTELLDragon LadyFri May 18 1990 11:128
    My HORSE caught her first mouse last night.
    She reached down for a mouthful of grass and
    came up with this critter by the tail.  Both
    creatures were quite stunned and confused.
    
    
    She didn't eat it.
    
3486.4got her squirrel!KOOZEE::PAULHUSChris @ MLO6B-2/T13 dtn 223-6871Mon May 21 1990 11:5615
    	Vanessa had a large size tree rat (squirrel) done in this morning.
    She was tossing the limp body (3/4 as long as her!) a couple of feet up
    into the air and leaping/catching it as it fell, shaking it violently,
    batting it around on the ground, etc.  THIS is my affectionate kitty?!
    	Got to remember that these animals are hunter/carnivores at heart.
    Was reading the breed standard on Maine Coons: Coons are supposed to be
    good mousers - a'yup.
    	Got a couple of questions for the experts: the standard says a 
    concave nose - her nose has a concavity at the bridge, between the
    eyes, and a bump (convexity) half way down the nose. Is this allowed by
    the standard? The standard says 5 toes in front, 4 in back. If I count
    pads, there's 4 plus main front and back, the there's a toe/claw a ways
    up the inside of the front legs - is that the 5th toe? And lastly, is
    there a class for non-purebreds who match a breed standard. She's got
    all the other Coon traits... - Chris
3486.5CRUISE::NDCPutiput Scottish Folds - DTN: 297-2313Tue May 22 1990 08:249
    Chris
    
      I can't answer your questions about the breed standard for Maine
    Coons, but I can answer your last question about cats that match
    the breed standard but aren't purebreds.
    
    There is a class for those cats, its a subclass of the Household pets
    and is called Apparent Purebreds.  You have time to sign up for the
    Salem Ma show on June 30-July 1.  Info is in note 1093.