[Catersun]

A friend of my brothers found a female garden snake full of baby snakes close to giving birth. Thought it would be cool to take home and have the kids see it give birth. He put it in a cardboard box to transport it. Apparently this stressed the snake and she gave birth in the cardboard box in the car. Dude thought he got them all out, never told his wife what happened, she was driving the car and some of the snakes came out on the floor when she was driving. They had to trade in the car she was so freaked of the snakes reoccurring.

I would have traded that car in too.. ECK... I hate snakes.

[Huntertwo]

'Don't know what kind of area your trainer was driving through, but, any chance little black kitty has an owner that wants her back? What if she had escaped from a window or something and got lost and that's why she was running in the street?- I know I'd be worried sick if any of my cats went missing.

I'm not trying to be a stick in the mud - honest! I'm glad your barn is willing to give her a home.

Good idea Barnfairy,
I got so caught up in the story of the rescued kitty, I didn't even think there may be an owner worried sick over a lost kitty.
I know I would be too...

[Foxtrot's]

Usually, if you have lost a pet you would post pics and ads around - and the finder will do the same, so there is a strong likelihood of them being reunited.

[Sing Mia Song]

Best. Thread. Ever.

Years and years ago, working at the emergency clinic on the coldest New Year's Day in modern history, someone brought in a dog they found by the side of the road, saying he was in a bad way and needed to be put down. They had stuck him in a cardboard box and put him down on the floor of the car near the heater.

Apparently that's all he needed, because when we opened the box, a grizzled old poodley head popped out. He seemed fine, so we stuck him in a cage to warm up and he became the clinic mascot.

He was about 10 pounds, white, intact, with horrible cataracts and a missing jaw. Someone had evidently spent the money to do a mandibulectomy on this ancient thing. He didn't have a tooth in his head, which was a good thing, because he was a biter. I'd laugh at him and say, "What are you going to do? Gum me to death?"

We called him Methuselah. He lived about another 8 months, gleefully biting us at every turn, peeing all over the clinic and trying to hump the clinic cats, before we put him down for glomerulonephritis.

I figure he was some old lady's dog and when she died, her kids probably kicked him out into the wilderness. He was found not far from a little community, but no one responded to the flyers I put up. S'okay--he had a great last 8 months.

[MistyBlue]

SingMiaSong...I think that's *awesome* keeping the grouchy old guy. Somewhat similar, ages ago on Christmas Eve my brother showed up at my moms with a bag of bones that had Siamese skin stretched over it. He stopped to buy smokes on the way and heard it crying in the store's dumpster. My mother did NOT want that cat but felt since it was Christmas and the poor thing was soooooo old and in bad condition she'd let it stay in a warm house and it probably wouldn't last 24 hours.
2 years later Flash finally passed away. The vet said he couldn't even come close to aging him...just said it was really really old, LOL! I named him Flash because it took him about 20 minutes to walk across a room.

Back to birds, Mistyblue. Someone bought us a baby pigeon. For want of anything better to feed him, I buzzed up granola in the blender, and then spat in it, in the hopes of adding some digestive enzymes (!). It lived and became my husband's pigeon going round the yard with him on his shoulder or hat. If anyone came near he would bob that person with his wing and even a pidgeon can deliver quite a smack. Daughter called him Squeal.
Eventually he matured and left to find a mate at the railway siding where they unload grain.
He soon returned with a beautiful white and black ladyfriend, stayed a day, and then left, never to be seen again.

Animal lovers - we are quite nuts and quite happy being so.

Birds are so cool...I don't know a whole lot about them but learn as I go. I have a Bird Box I keep in a kitchen cabinet...because I also have two big picture windows that little birds fly into on a regular basis. (despite hanging things on the glass) So if I hear a feathery thump I run outside and if it isn't dead it goes in the Bird Box until it regains it's wits. I also have 6 bird "friends"...4 crows hang out on the cell tower next door to my house and swoop me often to see what I'm doing...I swear they also laugh at me. Sounds just like laughing to me. I leave shiny stuff outside for them to steal and fight over sometimes, they like that. Then there's Gwen the red shouldered hawk with the BIG mouth...she loves the sound of her own voice. She gets a raw chicken leg once a week or so, she likes to hang out in my trees. And last but not least is Morticia...the turkey vulture who likes to hang out on my barn roof or hopping up and down my driveway. She likes chicken legs too.

[QUOTE]lol.. WHERE was the hidden camera to catch that. [QUOTE]

I hope they didn't have one in their parking lot Catersun...maybe I better check Youtube, LOL! Talk about embarassing.

[Sakura]

We had a wee barn kitten that was scampering around the barn isle while I was grooming my horse. It was a warm summer day and the flies were biting... horse was swishing her tail and stomping her feet. Barn kitten happened to be underfoot as one of the mare's back feet cam thumping down... Poor little thing flopped over... totally limp. I scooped her up, to see if she was still alive... no sign of life whatsoever. Went to get a box to put her in until I could bury her... Tacked up my horse, went for a ride... came back and the little black kitten was up, alert and meowing for her momma. The darnedest thing ever.

[Susan P]

You are definitely not alone. A few years ago on a cold and raining November night I saw a kitten walking like a zombie. I parked where there was no place to park, on a steep hill at a blind curve and fortunately the guy behind me was cooperative and considerate. Oncoming traffic had no clue. The kitten kind of went under my car and I finally got her out and took her inside the car, held her to my chest where she instantly purred like a motor. I got home and put on on my table on the deck because I thought she would freak out when I opened the door and let my German Shepherd out. As soon as my shepherd came out she jumped off the table and went to her and rubbed up against her. Can you imagine, my dog was a cat magnet everywhere she went cats would do this.

I took her to my vet and got Amoxicylin for her, the vet said to start her on this cause it worked faster then switch her to Clavamox. Someone that rescues greyhounds said their neighbor wanted a kitten so I took her there and said this is an indoor cat, she probably has something contagious like Feline Leukemia or something but they accepted that. She was so sweet. I told them to get her to a vet because she'll need to change meds and I told them how to give her the meds and the neighbor agreed to help. I trusted the rescuer neighbor to watch. She didn't, they didn't give her the meds, the neighbor said take her to the vet now, they did, he said she probably has what I said and he put her down. I wanted to kill them. I would have taken her back if I had known. They of course didn't bother to test her to see if she had it, a lousy $15 test to save her life.

This is an outstandingly weird thread. So glad to hear I'm not the only roadside animal rescuer out there. So far, only dogs, cats, turtles, snakes, but no livestock. (trying to keep this horse related, somehow)

[silver2]

They have quite strong wings, stronger than I thought.

That reminds me of the time we rescued a loon that had managed to get stuck in a fishing net. It tried to beat and peck us to death while we were releasing it and it actually remembered our specific boat and came and attacked us a couple more times over the next few days. Loons are surprisingly vindictive and stab-happy birds; I don't recommend making one mad

[Susan P]

info@forgottencats.net If anyone wants a barn cat or two in the DE area, Chester County, PA, Cecil County, MD southern, NJ or parts of the Philly area please email Forgotten Cats. They have a lot that need to be released.

[tikihorse2]

A hawk, chasing a smaller bird, flew into my picture window one day. Found it lying on its ass in my shrubbery, wings spread out. I now know where the expression "spread-eagle"--err, "spread-hawk" comes from! (Made a terrific bang, incidentally!)

Anyway, I wasn't about to touch it even if it were dead (and I wasn't sure if it was), so I left it there. About an hour later, it was gone. Sure enough, it was just badly stunned. I wonder if it thought, "Man, that little sucker packed quite a punch!"

Kim

[MistyBlue]

Silver2...few birds ever seem to be very thankful, do they? I won't go into detail but one of the *worst* ass-kickings from wildlife I ever got was from a swan. Good Lord those things pack some serious wallops! Graceful, gentle distinguished birds my arse!

Tiki...I've got a little hawk or falcon in my yard this past week that I'm just waiting to hear thunking into my windows. It's a tad too fast for me to get a very good look at it to identify what it is but it's chasing the snot out of every small bird on my property.

[tikihorse2]

Tiki...I've got a little hawk or falcon in my yard this past week that I'm just waiting to hear thunking into my windows. It's a tad too fast for me to get a very good look at it to identify what it is but it's chasing the snot out of every small bird on my property.

This was a red-tailed hawk. I have no idea if they're considered "little" or not, but it looked pretty big to me, so I left it there. I admit that although I was worried if it were dead or not, I couldn't help laughing--it looked so silly sitting on its butt, all spread out--all it needed were those stars going around its head, like in a cartoon!

Kim

[MistyBlue]

They do look just like that, don't they??? The one I put in my car was all kerfluffled from flying into a car I think...and I've seen them after they've flown into fences. They slap backwards on their butts and just flop their wings out...I'm laughing over the image of seeing stars flying around their heads because it's pretty spot-on!

[RU2U]

I was always told "You can't kill a CAT" I have seen some sad cases come in and do amazing turnarounds. If anyone would like to meet any of our cats for Christmas check out the sig. line. We are having a special on "lucky black cats" seems like there is a run in the neighborhood and every cat we get is black. All are adorable!

[HorsesinHaiti]

Silver2...few birds ever seem to be very thankful, do they? I won't go into detail but one of the *worst* ass-kickings from wildlife I ever got was from a swan. Good Lord those things pack some serious wallops! Graceful, gentle distinguished birds my arse!

Swans are a pretty variety of geese, and if you know geese..........

[MistyBlue]

LMAO...yep, I've been knocked around by geese plenty of times. Gotta say the swan took it to a new level though...they make geese look small and wimpy. Not used to getting bum-rushed by a bird that can look me in the eye and then make it a black eye! I told the person I was helping out, "Thanks for the experience but I think I'll stick to the safer animals I'm more used to; like badgers and fishers."

[danceronice]

Great. Between EqTrainer and rodeio, I may never sleep again. EW.

I have to say, I've done the turtle move (though snappers larger than hatchling size are on their own) and I would want to help domestics or birds, but if it's a possum the only reason I'd turn back would be to make sure it was dead and stayed dead. I'd never take one to a rehabber. (Sorry. Lost a horse to EPM and though I've never been 100% with our procedure at home where raccoons are concerned, I am now cheerfully, fully on board with dad's shoot-on-sight policy for possums.)

I'd be really torn with a skunk--they're cute. They're pretty friendly as wild animals go. (We have one who views our live trap as his bed and breakfast and will trap himself to get the marshmallow bait, then just sit and wait for Dad to let him out in the morning.) But a stressed-out injured skunk....well, that smell NEVER comes out.

[NRB]

Tiki...I've got a little hawk or falcon in my yard this past week that I'm just waiting to hear thunking into my windows. It's a tad too fast for me to get a very good look at it to identify what it is but it's chasing the snot out of every small bird on my property.

little hawk, like a Kestrel aka the Sparrow Hawk?? Very pretty little bird, has blueish gray and pinkish red feathers.

Anyway one day I was walking to my grandmothers cabin and I noticed a puff of feathers and bird parts on the front lawn, right near the front door. And there sitting perched on one of the logs of the cabin was this little Kestrel. He was like "Duuuude I am soooo stuffed, I couldn't possibly eat another bite." And he stayed there until he'd digested his meal enough to move on.

On an even further tangent. I dated a Falconer once, he said the origin of the phrase "Fed Up" came from Falconers. As in the bird has eaten too much and won't return to the falconer, he's sitting up high in a tree, fed up. When he's hungry he'll return to the trainer.

So the little Kestrel was fed up, to full to fly off. I guess, was nice to see him/her up close like that.

[MistyBlue]

About the size of a pigeon, maybe a tad larger but wold just be a tad.
From the warp speed flashes that buzz by me all I can tell for color is buff chest/belly and the head has some dark markings on it. The wings look darker but hard to tell since I usually see the underneath and I've yet to see it sitting still. Looks fantailed and not spike tailed...but again the thing is travelling the speed of light.

[MunchkinsMom]

Many years ago I was keeping my horse at a co-op barn, and we had a female barn cat that was semi feral, she hung out in the barn, but we could not ever catch her to get her spayed (not even with traps, she was too stinking smart that one). Well, she would bless us with kittens at least once per year. And she would hide them, so we didn't always know about them for weeks and weeks.

One day as I was walking into the barn I heard some frantic kitten mewing, I looked up just in time to see one black kitten tumble off the open overhead door at the end of the barn aisle, and I caught him, and then put him down to quickly catch his brother!

You would think he would be grateful that I saved his little life, but he was hissing and spitting and biting me all the way to the tack room! Pretty fiesty for a tiny kitten! He never did become friendly, we called him Psycho Kitty from that day forth.

Oh, and when I was a kid, my dad got a call from one of his buddies, and had to make a midnight run to do some car trunk deer hunting, I guess his buddy had a similar situation with a deer he thought he had killed (it was hunting season), but he didn't dress it in the woods, and stuffed it in the trunk, and I guess he didn't kill it, and it came to and was kicking the crap out of his car. I don't know the details to this day, but I assume it was not a pretty scene.