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Gandolorin
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on: January 28, 2017 03:02
An interesting (to me, anyway) fact is that in German, the term for the squirrel family as a whole (Latin "Sciuridae" ) is "Hörnchen". Literally translated, it would mean "hornlet". The Eurasian red squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris) (which also has a black-coated variant) is called "Eichhörnchen" - oak hornlet - in High German, but interestingly "Eichkatzerl" - oak "catlet" - in some southern German dialects. So lacking an actual Felidae inhabitant in our apartment, I may occasionally contribute the odd tale about the "honorary cats" whose antics I am privileged to view from my loggia from time to time.

[Edited on 01/28/2017 by Gandolorin]
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Evil~Shieldmaiden
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on: February 08, 2017 11:17
This is a picture of my old fella Seamus who is 19 going on 20 and his pal Oscar the dog I got in May. They're enjoying a rare January late morning sunbath.

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BelleBayard
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on: February 09, 2017 02:20
Wow... Seamus looking good. Obviously they are well acquainted with each other and consider each other family.
NenyaGold
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on: March 09, 2017 02:31
This is not my cat. But when I saw it on the internet, I thought it was so appropriate for this thread on this site.

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Anyone have a better caption? Something about Queen Berúthiel?

"He had a ring, a golden ring, a precious ring." ~ from The Hobbit
Gandolorin
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on: March 09, 2017 02:58
I think I've read this before ... oh wait, THAT'S where my marker is!
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Gandolorin
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on: May 28, 2017 03:05
I very recently met one cat from the neighborhood which is allowed out a lot by her (I think it’s a she) owners. She has a collar, and I’m guessing she lives in the (elevated) ground floor apartment nearby which has a “cat-ladder” leading up to its balcony. While I have shushed her away on occasions when decidedly juvenile squirrels have been around, she is also still not averse to some cuddling.
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BelleBayard
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on: May 28, 2017 12:02
We inherited our daughter's cat, who would not come when they moved. She likes being outside a LOT and is quite the mouser. Given we are in the woods, that means a target rich environment. Heh... She has long hair, which gets horridly matted. We do the best to cut it off, but she gets totally done with us and will bite and scratch if you push it too much. Heh... We bring in her in at night and if the weather's inclement she's smart enough to stay inside where it's warm and dry. My old 20 year old calico is still hanging in there, but oh my is she frail. Not sure how much longer she will be with us. Just enjoying every day as it comes.
Evil~Shieldmaiden
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on: September 01, 2017 07:38
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Happy 20th Birthday, Seamus! It's been a slice.
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Gandolorin
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on: September 02, 2017 01:42
Looking good!
Does he have (much) gray fur? Only looks like in the ears (now why does THAT sound familiar???), while dogs tend towards gray around the muzzle.
Eyesight and hearing still OK?
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Evil~Shieldmaiden
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on: September 02, 2017 02:20
The picture was taken a while ago and he's lost a bit of weight, and acquired a few more grey hairs on his head and neck mainly. His ears have always had white fur in them and it's been the way that I was able to tell him apart from the other black cats. LOL

He has mild renal failure but it's holding steady and his recent lab work was normal for an old git. He's mellowed out a lot unless it has to do with food, then he's very annoying persistent.
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Evil~Shieldmaiden
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on: September 01, 2018 01:26
A whole year has passed, and Seamus is celebrating his 21st birthday; that's 100 years in human terms. He's still doing well.
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ItarildeSirfalas
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on: September 03, 2018 12:14
This is our cat, Sir David Lister pretending to be a lion. (Don't ask why he's named this way, unless you've heard of 'Red Dwarf'. We didn't name him, my other half's sister was his original owner).

We're not actually sure how old he is, because we inherited him from the sister as an adult, and he's been an adult for at least 9 years we think. Not that you can tell, he still plays like a kitten.

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[Edited on 09/03/2018 by ItarildeSirfalas]
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"Yet such is oft the course of deeds that move the wheels of the world: small hands do them because they must, while the eyes of the great are elsewhere." ~ Elrond ♥
Gandolorin
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on: September 03, 2018 03:11
I've read somewhere that domesticated cats can be real masters at eliciting the "awwwww" reaction from the Homo sapiens (a highly debatable term by all available evidence) who delude themselves as being their "masters". All outside cats are still quite skillful hunters, but when they come back home to their "can-openers" (a term made popular by some comic-strip oddly named for a US president of the 1920s), making maximum use of their short-nosed baby faces (just compare lions, tigers etc. in profile) to elicit this response. Sneaky little manipulators!
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Evil~Shieldmaiden
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on: September 05, 2018 08:48
Saying that cats are manipulative is like saying turtles have shells. I have no illusions in that regard having owned numerous members of the feline persuasion over the years.

As for Sir David Lister, he is a lovely boy, even with his mouth agape. And, I was a huge fan of Red Dwarf so I am familiar with the character as well.
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Gandolorin
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on: September 06, 2018 12:10
Red Dwarf? Doesn't ring a bell. I'm only familiar with the orange tiger-striped giant made popular by Scott Adams.
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ItarildeSirfalas
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on: September 06, 2018 09:04
I'm glad somebody else knows of 'Red Dwarf'! It seemed silly to just name him 'The Cat' which would have made sense, because Sir Dave is exactly the same in mannerisms. He likes to go around the house and claim things as his, stare at himself in reflective surfaces, eat a lot, clean himself and then sleep for most of the day.
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"Yet such is oft the course of deeds that move the wheels of the world: small hands do them because they must, while the eyes of the great are elsewhere." ~ Elrond ♥
Gandolorin
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on: September 08, 2018 01:09
Yes, cats do seem to be the champion sleepers among mammals. Male lions are peerless in this, sleeping up to 20 hours a day, if I remember correctly. While lording it over a pride (something that they only get to do about three years on average), they don't take part much in hunting - except if the pride has specialized in big prey, where the male's weight and strength is necessary to bring the prey dow. Their main job is to beat up on spotted hyena packs (which can shoo away smaller prides of females, but will not mess with big males, especially if their's at least two of them). But even though our apartment is not small by German standards, a lion as a pet would still just hog too much space in it for comfort. I've heard vague rumors about other issues - I'll guess the litter boxes would very much be one of them!
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