Genders...

[kangoat 583]

2 hours ago, birdguy said:

I don't know how much cold a cat can endure

While not house cats, lynx live in northern Canada and Alaska where it can get very cold indeed.

[martin-w 3,315]

54 minutes ago, W2DR said:

I think it's important to note, though, that Mrs. Chippy was killed while Endeavour was trapped in an ice pack. Ice packs, by definition, are floating objects in the ocean. The ice pack which trapped Endeavour was located in the Antarctic Region and, as such, was not part of the continent of Antarctica, per se. Therefore, Mrs. Chippy was never in Antarctica.

 

Was he? I read that he was killed by a member of the expedition, along with dogs. 

 

Quote

This afternoon Sallie's three youngest pups, Sue's Sirius, and Mrs. Chippy, the carpenter's cat, have to be shot. We could not undertake the maintenance of weaklings under the new conditions. Macklin, Crean, and the carpenter seemed to feel the loss of their friends rather badly.^[2]

 

Quote

McNish was very attached to Mrs Chippy and never forgave Shackleton for having him killed.

 

 

[martin-w 3,315]

3 hours ago, birdguy said:

I don't know how much cold a cat can endure but I have a 7 year old black cat (Blackie was born in our basement) who doesn't mind clod weather at all.  It will be in the lower 20s in the winter sometimes and I can find him curled up asleep on the back patio on one of the chairs.

Noel 

 

Yep, I recall some years ago, it was minus 10 in the UK and what did my cat do? That's right, straight out of the flap that night to check his territory. Didn't bother him in the least. 

 

[Mike A 357]

6 hours ago, martin-w said:

Yep, Just had to do it. The "spot on" treatments are very effective. Its important to contact the vet though and ask which particular drug is working at that time because the pesky fleas do become immune. Essential to spay the environment too, or the little devils just hang out in the carpets till they can jump back on. 

Yes, we use Cheristin spot treatment for our cats, but not year-round. We want to minimize using those treatments for our two oldest boys (18 yrs & 14 yrs).  What we do is manage their environment.  In addition to vacuuming, we have plenty of small & inexpensive blankets that we put in those places where they like to lounge, nap & sleep overnight.  Those blankets get changed & washed frequently.  As a result, we only have to use the spot treatments for a few months during the summer & early fall.  So the flea comb my wife wields is mainly used to check if there is any flea activity.  As a result, we usually can get by with using the spot treatment for only 3 doses a year.  Our vet is happy with the plan, cats are OK, we're happy that they get minimal exposure to the treatment. (I know, it's safe, but this way we have peace of mind.)

 

Mike A.

[W2DR 1,867]

4 hours ago, martin-w said:

I read that he was killed by a member of the expedition, along with dogs.

That's true. But at the time the animals were killed the ship was still trapped in the ice and was then over 300 miles from land. So Mrs. Chippy still hadn't made it to Antarctica. It's explained here:  http://www.purr-n-fur.org.uk/famous/chippy.html

[martin-w 3,315]

6 hours ago, W2DR said:

That's true. But at the time the animals were killed the ship was still trapped in the ice and was then over 300 miles from land. So Mrs. Chippy still hadn't made it to Antarctica. It's explained here:  http://www.purr-n-fur.org.uk/famous/chippy.html

 

Antarctica? I didn't say Antarctica for my abandoned cats story... I said Antarctic.

[W2DR 1,867]

Well, my bad then. When you said "Antarctica is a big places, lots of associated islands not so far south." I just assumed you were referring to the continent, per se, as the islands are a part of the Region not Antatctica proper. 

[martin-w 3,315]

4 hours ago, W2DR said:

Well, my bad then. When you said "Antarctica is a big places, lots of associated islands not so far south." I just assumed you were referring to the continent, per se, as the islands are a part of the Region not Antatctica proper. 

 

Nope, you objected prior to that, your "tells you three things" post. Along with WingZ.

AntacticA was my later brain fart.

Not that it matters, just a misunderstanding. 

Edited April 18, 2021 by martin-w

[charliearon 3,143]

Now.....how did "Genders" morph into cats and Antarctica?  🤔

[birdguy 3,994]

I started this by asking why we generally call dogs 'He" and cats 'She'.  Like most conversations, and these threads are conversations, they often branch off into something else.  That's what makes them  interesting and even educational.  So interesting that sometimes the moderators get involved.

Noel 

[W2DR 1,867]

1 hour ago, martin-w said:

 

Nope, you objected prior to that, your "tells you three things" post. Along with WingZ.

AntacticA was my later brain fart.

Not that it matters, just a misunderstanding. 

Well, at least we didn't yell at each other 🙂. Good discussion though even if we were going down two different trails. But that's often what discussions are all about. Especially when folks are thousands of miles apart. Now I'm off to have a pint, or two, and ponder the fate of the universe.

[martin-w 3,315]

19 minutes ago, W2DR said:

Well, at least we didn't yell at each other 🙂.

 

HOW DARE YOU!!!! I am utterly insulted you $&*£*%£&%!!!

😁

 

Quote

Now I'm off to have a pint, or two, and ponder the fate of the universe.

 

Let me know what your conclusions are. 

Here's one mystery of the universe I came across today... HMS Westminster. Parked in the ocean by me. Photographed it today as I went past on the ferry. It's here doing exercises. So why, when I blew up the photo, did I notice that the central portion of the ship has lots of squares beneath the skin? You could see them. How are Frigates constructed? Is the skin really that thin? Are they built for speed or something? 

Edited April 18, 2021 by martin-w

[martin-w 3,315]

On 4/17/2021 at 10:42 PM, Mike A said:

Yes, we use Cheristin spot treatment for our cats, but not year-round. We want to minimize using those treatments for our two oldest boys (18 yrs & 14 yrs).  What we do is manage their environment.  In addition to vacuuming, we have plenty of small & inexpensive blankets that we put in those places where they like to lounge, nap & sleep overnight.  Those blankets get changed & washed frequently.  As a result, we only have to use the spot treatments for a few months during the summer & early fall.  So the flea comb my wife wields is mainly used to check if there is any flea activity.  As a result, we usually can get by with using the spot treatment for only 3 doses a year.  Our vet is happy with the plan, cats are OK, we're happy that they get minimal exposure to the treatment. (I know, it's safe, but this way we have peace of mind.)

 

Mike A.

 

Sounds like a good strategy Mike. Those pesky fleas are remarkable creatures. My cat has recently had a bad bout.

When we moved to our rented place we had no alternative to keep him in the cottage untill we buy a new home. He's been fine with that and adapted well. As long as I help him deplete his adrenaline tanks with a hide and seek game every day, plus throw his favourite cable tie across the kitchen floor for him to chase, he's happy. 😀

However... thinking we wouldn't have an issue with fleas because he's not in contact with other felines, we hadn't given him the spot on for a while.

A bad mistake. Despite being away from other cats he/we got infected badly. Then we realised what had happened, before I came here to live with my daughter, she had allowed a local cat into the cottage. No doubt he was infected and dropped a few fleas or eggs into our carpet. Then, like something from an Alien movie, they remained in hibernation until our cat walked past and their dastardly cycle began all over again.

The carpets have now been sprayed and he's had two treatments but it can be a full three weeks till the cycle is broken.