Wednesday, January 28, 2009

....Possible Second Addition?

Sorry for the delay in posts.
So, you have all met Orson the octopus. He is fitting in quite nicely.
Now, onto the possible second addition. You all know I can never turn away a stray animal. Well, another stray cat has shown up in my yard for the past couple of months. I'm still not 100 percent convinced it is a stray, yet I've sent out an email to my neighborhood listserv about him/her, but have gotten no takers so far. The cat is in wonderful shape and has a shinier coat then some of my cats. He is all black except for a little white patch on his chest and some white on his belly.

I've named him Pyewacket. Quick! Does anyone know the history of that name? No Googling either!
Someone at work told me "if you are feeding it and you've named it...it is no longer a stray!" I used to have to put food down into the bushes but he now comes up to the front porch to eat. He will hiss and run away if I come near him though so sorry for the bad photo but it was taken through my storm door.


I've put out one of my covered cat beds that I've wrapped in a fleece blanket and also put a fleece blanket inside. I then heat up a Snuggle Disc (a great safe device that you heat in the microwave and it stays very HOT for 6-8 hours, then it will slowly lose heat but stays nice and toasty warm for 10-12 hours) and put that under the fleece blanket. I've seen him curled up and sleeping inside it during the day. But, he always leaves at night, which makes me think he belongs to someone. Lots, and LOTS of folks in my neighborhood have pet doors.

I'm hoping he will continue to get used to me so that I can eventually pet him and pick him up. That's how Greybeard became part of my family. My neighbor and I have put out a couple of cat traps but so far he has not gone near them. It's also been too cold lately (I feel) to try and trap him at night.

I certainly don't need another cat, so I'm hoping I can figure out if he does really belong to someone. But, I can't turn my back on him either. So, for now, Pyewacket will continue to get fed and have a warm place to sleep at Possumlady's Home for Wayward Animals.


7 comments:

Ramblings of a Villas Girl said...

Hi Christine! You are a good soul and the cats in your neighborhood are very lucky.
I remember when I took Ralphy to the vet for the first time and told him that his mama was feral. He made the mistake of calling Ralphy feral. I was all over him. He backpedaled and said stray. Another bad move. Like your co-worker said, 'if you named them, they are no longer strays.' Very true.
I have never heard of a Snuggle Disc. Is this something that is sold in pet stores?
Well good luck with Pyewacket. He'll warm up to you soon enough. Lisa

Dog_geek said...

I had to look up "Pyewacket" on wikipedia. It's good name - I hope you are able to find his home, (if he has one out there) or win his trust (if he doesn't)!

Lynne at Hasty Brook said...

Christine- I love your big heart!

KGMom said...

I'm with Dog Geek-cheating and looking up on Google. I assume you picked it because of "Bell, Book and Candle." The thing is, I have watched that movie--but AGES ago when my kids were little.
If Pyewacket is to become one of your kitties, he will.

possumlady said...

Hi Lisa, I purchased my Snuggle discs from Drs. Foster and Smith. I think they can be found elsewhere, though I have not seen them at Petsmart. I have two that I've had for about 4 years now and they still work great. You just have to make sure you put a couple of layers between the disc and the kitty to make sure they don't get burned. They really do get hot and I have to take them out of the microwave with an oven mit.

Dog-geek and Donna, yes I do love the name Pyewacket and yes, it is from the movie Bell, Book, and Candle even though the actual cat from the movie was Siamese! The name has been floating around in my head for a number of years now and I'm glad it surfaced when I needed a cat name.

Thank you Lynne! I think my family thinks otherwise...more likely they think I'm out of my mind.

Anonymous said...

Hey Possumlady. I have been absent from your site for quite a while. I just read through your posts back through Christmas. Very nice and informative. I was happy to catch up with what's going on with you. Love the Octopus and the video of the cats with their Christmas present. I, too, needed lots of kleenex on inauguration day. That would be so exciting if the Pres came to the annual conference!!
Love, Cat59

Moki The Wobbly Cat said...

Possumlady, you have a heart of gold. If only there where more people like you in the world! Pyewacket is very lucky to have found you and couldn't ask for a better home!

P.S.

On a different note, thank you for purring and praying for Moki, and for all you have done to help both him and Bella!