[SmartCat]

Originally Posted by Venkatesh.C

As a dog person, I love watching cats in YouTube videos where the cats slap the living daylights out of dogs and snakes! Their reflexes are out of this world!

Those cat vs snake/croc/bear encounter videos are fun to watch, but is likely to be extremely rare. Cats might be curious, but also smart enough to stay away from unusual or large animals. Those cat vs dog Youtube fights makes it look like cats are brave or arrogant, but that's exactly how cats behave among themselves. A kitten/juvenile can and will launch a similar 'attack' on mother/father/older cat. An adult cat might launch a similar attack on human's hand. It is just 'playtime' for cats & one of the ways it shows affection. The dog in the Youtube video has just "seen it all before" and probably just playing along.

Originally Posted by coolmel

I am a community animal care taker

Question to those who take care of community cats. Wherever there is a largish hungry street dog population, the cat population vanishes over time. They see cats as a rival who competes for food. In our neighborhood, cats are almost non-existent. So if we decide to NOT give away the kittens & also NOT spay the female, I'm thinking the cats will have a chance in our neighborhood too - especially if food/water is taken care of. I'm assuming they will take less risks looking for food. Spoke to two of my immediate neighbors and they sometimes feed the cats too.

Note that because of non-existent cat population, mice/rats are having a free run in the neighborhood. And because of mice/rats, we have frequent spottings of venomous and non-venomous snakes. And mongoose too! (they prey on snakes)
https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/shift...ml#post4500739 (Snakes!)
https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/shift...ml#post5552031 (Snakes!)

Keeping this in mind, does the plan of 'letting things unfold' sounds like a reasonable idea? Or will we soon have a cat population explosion in the neighborhood, despite the presence of street dogs? By feeding/sheltering the street cats, we will be messing with the existing 'neighborhood ecosystem' - but from where I stand, I think it is for the better.

Articles on the internet go on and on about controlling or reducing cat population. Nobody talks about building/increasing cat population!

[Thad E Ginathom]

Please don't get romantic about all these cat-beats-dog videos.

it is true that a cat can cause very severe pain to a dog by going for its nose with its claws. Dogs do not want this to happen. A cat beating one dog, even an India urban street dog, is conceivable. But our street dogs do not come in ones, they come in threes, fours, fives, and what that amounts to here is that any cat that goes to our street, especially at night, is dead.

That's a very tough statement, but I know it from sad experience.

[amol4184]

90% of the kittens our stray cat had over 3 years are dead courtesy street dogs in the colony. Those sweet photos I shared few weeks ago - all dead because of dogs. None survived. I was in India last month and there were no kittens around the house. My neighbor tells me they all fell prey to a couple aggressive dogs.

There is no need to spay the females (apart from to save hardship they go through) if there are dogs running around. Their population is automatically controlled.

Also, compared to dogs kittens are more susceptible to illnesses and are generally more delicate so if dogs don't get them various other ailments do.

[ramnaresh_2000]

I used to have 2 dogs, Nicky (German Shepherd X Indian) and Bunny (Lhasa X Pomeranian). Both expired 8 years back. I was heart broken, my mom was more heart broken. Then decided not to raise anymore animals. However, we exchange a lot of funny/cute dog videos over social media.



Both sleeping together after having a huge fight. Bunny is more dangerous than Nicky.



No option but to tie up as Bunny was jealous of small kids.



Our family genuinely loves animals. My mom specifically used to carry bananas when we go on devotional trips on hill stations to feed the monkeys.

When I was a kid I raised parrots, small birds, pigeons, rabbits (for few days), fishes, and stray dogs.

I always wanted to adopt another dog, but my son had allergies kicking in due to climate changes etc. Doctors clearly instructed to keep him away from pets.

Few days back, a stray cat started roaming around my house. It was small (maybe 6-10 months old). It was trying to steal our milk kept on stove in kitchen. My wife shooed it away. I then took a plastic bowl and left some milk outside. It drank and ran away. Next day it started visiting outside and demanded for milk. Then it started cuddling around me and became more frequent visitor and it adopted us

My son named her Lilly.

[AsphaltNomad]

Our family (wife, daughter and me) are very fond of dogs and we spent lot of time playing with the society dogs. However adopting or raising one is a big responsibility and I'm always skeptical on whether we would be able to raise them as giving them away after few months would really traumatize them.

[Sa!lor]

I can very well relate to your post, we had a Pomeranian dog when I was a child and his passing left a trauma on my entire family such that we never dared thinking of getting another dog but destiny had other plans, we were just fostering a dog who was abandoned and left to die, bond grew so strong we ended up adopting him and this is on top of our society dogs who sleep at our home and a family of cat with mother cat, father cat and two baby cats staying in backyard.

I have understood none of us can stay away from animals and so we decided we will be adopting whenever we can even though we know the heartbreaks, can't miss the wonderful journey with pets thinking about future heartbreaks.

[NomadSK]

Originally Posted by AsphaltNomad

Our family (wife, daughter and me) are very fond of dogs and we spent lot of time playing with the society dogs. However adopting or raising one is a big responsibility and I'm always skeptical on whether we would be able to raise them as giving them away after few months would really traumatize them.

That's a good decision if you are unsure about the long term commitment. They are a big responsibility as much as towards your kid if not less. However, you can always give a thought of fostering dogs around your community/society.

We have a great fostering community here, which is of great help to us whenever we are traveling. Such people are god send and is a peace of mind for us. So indirectly you can have dogs at home for short period and can also decide if you can handle them in the long run.

[Kosfactor]

Originally Posted by AsphaltNomad

Our family (wife, daughter and me) are very fond of dogs and we spent lot of time playing with the society dogs. However adopting or raising one is a big responsibility and I'm always skeptical on whether we would be able to raise them as giving them away after few months would really traumatize them.

It gives immense joy when you reach home and the dog is always happy to see you , play with you, it's a stress buster and a conversation starter.

In equal measure it's a bloody headache to take care of them , you have to be committed to the task of no less than 'raising' a dog - keep in mind I'm taking about urban confines, the farm dog will need much less input in terms of socializing, you don't want much of that except for your own immediate family.

So who will take care of it when you travel ?! Who will let the dog into their Hotel/Restaurant etc are questions to ask oneself. What if tomorrow you cannot find time to walk the dog in the morning and evening etc , will someone else pitch in?!

[SmartCat]

Status update: Found a home for one kitten. The mother cat frantically looked for the lost kitten for around 24 hours, but now seems fine. So does this mean mother cat can count? There were 6 before, and now there are 5? Not sure if it is related, but I think she now spends more time with the kittens these days.

Now, the outdoor cat den is not as functional as I originally thought. Some heavy overnight rains over the weekend showed its flaws. The balcony is open at the top and bottom, for air circulation & also to let the cats go in and out. Without these openings, the curtains trap heat inside the balcony and it can get uncomfortable in the afternoon. So because of this, the balcony is not exactly rain-proof -> slanting rain means rainwater will get inside the balcony, from top and bottom:



Because of this, the floor gets wet and water seeps into the carpets, despite foam under carpet. A tarp cover for the floor might work, but there will still be cold 'running' water underneath. Solution? An old coffee table, covered with foam on both the 'floors'.



Sure, it does not look elegant/cozy now, but form follows function. It is now a lot easier to clean under the tent. Foam on table is used as a scratch post. Heavy table pinning the flimsy lightweight tent against the balcony/wall keeps it stable under strong winds. And more importantly, cold flowing rain water on the floor will no longer affect its occupants. Your move, rain Gods!

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by SmartCat

So does this mean mother cat can count?

Probably better than I can, although that is not saying much.

Whether they count in numbers, anything like we do, will probably remain a mystery, but they are absolutely aware of their family being complete or not.

A family of cats was at a Chennai park, and I saw them when I parked next to it. I think there were four or five kittens. Although small, one was obviously the adventurous one, and It was coming out through the fence to explore the road. I picked it up and put it back in the park. Just as I did so, mum appeared, with a where's my missing kitten expression.

No, I am not adopting them. I have two. Neither my cats nor my wife will accept any more.

[amol4184]

Originally Posted by SmartCat

Sure, it does not look elegant/cozy now, but form follows function.

I see that that shelter provides a nice window to outside while protecting their paws from getting wet. Cats have a special attachment to such spaces. One of my cat has found one such spot in the house. We have our dining table pushed against the wall and a chair is pinned between the table and wall. The cushion of the chair goes underside of the table and creates a nice tight spot that is covered from top by the table, rear side is blocked by wall and other 3 sides have chairs pushed in for most of the time.

This is his go-to spot in all cases of emergency e.g. dump truck outside or a knock on the door, even though it is pretty tight (he can't even stand there).

Don't think it needs to be comfy at all. It just needs to be tight and that's good enough for them

Look at this gentleman in his vantage point.

[skyocean]

Originally Posted by ramnaresh_2000

My son named her Lilly.

This is beautiful. We had a similar experience few years ago, now cats are at the helm of our house. We have around 6 of them at the moment.

Wisdom is in accepting Cats own us, we don't we own them.
All animals are the rightful inheritors of the earth.

[horseblood]

Originally Posted by SmartCat

Attachment 2623103


Attachment 2623105

Your move, rain Gods!

'Smartcat' with smart cats! A sight to behold
I hear the rain gods trembling already.
Lovely setup & the cozy cats seem to like it as well.
Cheers!

[rkv_2401]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

But our street dogs do not come in ones, they come in threes, fours, fives, and what that amounts to here is that any cat that goes to our street, especially at night, is dead.

That's a very tough statement, but I know it from sad experience.

Yeah, some idiot left our gate open one night during the COVID era and a stray dog or group of them came in and killed the (stray) cats living here and dragged them away. No idea why the cats, having lived here for multiple years and very familiar with the terrain (they climb up to a safe haven even when I walk down ), did not just climb away to safety. Unless dogs can climb up the walls, too...

[SmartCat]

Originally Posted by rkv_2401

Yeah, some idiot left our gate open one night during the COVID era and a stray dog or group of them came in and killed the (stray) cats living here and dragged them away.

That's why I did not setup the stray cat shelter on the front porch/portico or the garage. Balcony is super-safe. This is how the fur balls get to the balcony from the compound wall:

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

Please don't get romantic about all these cat-beats-dog videos.

Sometimes there are small heart-warming victories, like today. Mother cat takes the troop out frequently. Suddenly a street dog appeared and rushed towards the kittens. The kittens quickly bolted under the car. The father cat (who keeps making guest appearance in my posts) was under the car at that time. It took on the dog head-on and swiped its face twice in quick succession.



The startled dog froze for a second but launched a counter-attack. The male cat stepped aside, away from the car/kittens. Instantly, the mother cat leapt into action from behind and swiped the dog's hind legs (dog was facing the male cat). This time the dog bolted from the scene, with its trademark kui kui kui cry!



The articles about cats being solitary animals, and male cats having no role to play in protecting the kittens might not be true. Perhaps different cat colonies have different dynamics. Either that, or it was just a coincidence that the male cat was there at that time, and it thought the dog was attacking him.