From commentor Dangerman:
There is an ~8 year old Orange Tabby cat that just lost its owner where I live (call it San Luis Obispo, which explains the SLO in my email nym). My location is a bit of an advantage as I’m almost exactly halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco.
That said, a place “more country than city” would be better for him. His owner passed at 85 and loved this cat in a very big way (I’m a friend); in other words, this cat is spoiled in the extreme, but also very, VERY smart.
There is already kind of an option in place to house this cat but I believe that is much more of a trial/boarding thing than a permanent home thing, so I need to look for options in case of a further emergency.
So, about the cat in a few lines:
(1) VERY friendly, but not really a lap cat; he’ll do laps for a few minutes here and there, but it really isn’t his thing. Sleeping in a sunny spot someplace is his thing. He’s presently being boarded for a few nights and all the Vet Techs are gushing about him as to how chill he is (“so, you want to take my temperature, huh? *yawn*, OK, just make it kinda quick, OK, I got a nap to get to here”)
(2) He’s fixed but still has his claws; he doesn’t believe in cat scratching posts (walks by them, looks, and appears to laugh), so if people have antique furniture or similar, this is not the cat for them
(3) I stated it previously – this cat is SMART; I’ve never seen a cat so well trained. Now, he is a little older and I have no idea about old cats and new tricks. He either has an amazing biological clock or he has learned how to tell time as I could set a watch by his arrivals to be fed morning, evening, and noontime snacks each day (“lessee, big hand there, little hand there, I get food, WOOHOO”)
(4) He just had his shots and annual checkup; there was a minor anomaly in his urine results, but the Vet said no concern at all, just maybe something to watch for in the future
(5) Oh, important, this cat does his business outside; he is litter box trained but from all available evidence (you seriously don’t want to know) he only uses the litter box if his bladder or bowels are about to explode. He might use the box once a week or so
(6) Oh, also very important, this thing is an amazing hunter; he has a bell around his neck but still finds a way to bring in birds, rodents, and bats (yes, bats). He doesn’t kill; he just wants to play. Well, that presents a problem since the animals involved aren’t into the whole play thing. (ESPECIALLY the bats, who are otherwise highly skilled at playing dead, which places the human, generally me, at some risk when I go to dispose of the presumed dead bat.)
If you are interested, know someone who might be interested, or have other helpful suggestions: Leave a comment below, or contact me at annelaurie (dot) bj (at) gmail, and I’ll forward your message to the Dangerman.
WereBear
He’s the kind of cat who would love those walled back gardens like English row houses.
TaMara (HFG)
Shared with my SoCal friends. He is beautiful!
Amir Khalid
Cats have an excellent internal clock, and they are good at learning their humans’ daily schedule. I knew of one who would wake his (Muslim) humans for dawn prayers every morning. Does this clever boy have a name?
Mo MacArbie
This could describe my late orange tabby. Did laps for a bit, but woe betide the fool absently petting him. Attention shall be paid. My tortie was the one with the clock. She told me every day when it was an hour and a half before lunchtime.
laura
That first picture of a grieving Orange Boy brings a tear. I know he will be finding a forever home soon.
The Dangerman
@Amir Khalid:
Tango. The owner liked T names (hated Trump though; wise woman. There was Timmy, then Tammy, then Toby, finally Tango. All Orange Tabbies (sp?). He was a rescue by the owner and when she saw the name already given to him by the previous owner (i.e., Tango), the deal was done.
I wish I could find a photo of him when he is doing the cat yoga thing as he sleeps. He is amazingly flexible. I’d take this cat in a heartbeat (and I’m not really a cat person) but my world is …. complicated. Unless I hit the lottery last night (although I didn’t play; if my numbers DID hit, I’ll be …. um, disappointed).
HinTN
We have two similar indoor/outdoor cats, fixed but with claws (de-clawing is barbarous IMHO), who bring us “presents” – the going assumption being that they’re trying to show us lower order creatures how it’s done. I saw some meme yesterday that said: one cat, two cats, seventeen cats – there’s no in-between. We’re planning to stay at two. He is gorgeous.
Major Major Major Major
Aw man. I have a deceased friend who would’ve loved to take this cat.
The Dangerman
@Mo MacArbie:
This cat welcomes being petted, all the time. When you stop, he will kind of reach out with a paw to say “you’re stopping? did I say you could stop? I don’t THINK so…”
Perhaps one of the coolest things I saw him do, and it was repeated reasonably often, was, when the food dish was empty, he would go stand next to the bowl and put his paw in a pointing manner inside it as if to say “dude, the food goes here; how MANY times have I told you stupid humans this?”
Also, very quiet. When he meows, I check for what’s up (generally, empty food dish, see above).
Mary G
He is a character, but the outside thing is impossible for me. We have a neighborhood tomcat that is viciously territorial. According to himself his territory includes the inside of our houses and we are constantly on guard, because he’ll come in and beat up my two together (they are lovers, not fighters) then eat their food.
Comrade Colette Collaboratrice
Holy cats, Tango is the spitting image of our Scoot. He sounds wonderful but we already have two orange tabbies and adding a third would probably create some black-hole-like energy sink that would drag our house into the vortex. (Uh, OK, I’m not an astrophysicist.) I’m in for transport costs, though.
laura
@Major Major Major Major: My first thought was Jon Carroll, he of the Intied Way, wrote so lovingly of the ways of the orange tabby or Orange Boys – regardless of name or gender. See also, Kliban.
Tango is not awful for a cat so marmaladish.
CaseyL
How is Tango with other cats? Particularly two older, established cats? (Older female, younger male, both fixed.)
schrodingers_cat
Orange Cats unlike the orange human in WH are pretty chill. I have one orange zen kitteh too.
BTW I bring another FP lol at ICHC/lolcats for your Caturday pleasure
J R in WV
We are a long way away, but would love to take Tango, which as a name has meaning for us. Plus orange tabby, we had a wonderful orange tabby alley cat that disappeared when we brought him home, he was so invisible for the first weeks that we named him Harvey.
If no one close volunteers, have Annie Laurie email me.
ETA: We do have other cats and dogs but have lots of outdoor room, a hundred acres of forested hillsides. So if other critters would be a problem, we wouldn’t be an answer.
The Dangerman
@CaseyL:
I saw him with Tammy that I mentioned above; at the time he was only a kitten and he wasn’t too much older than a kitten when she passed. Their interaction was OK as I recall; he wanted to play, while she wanted to sleep. She was much older.
I think he would be fine with it as his personality is really calm (as at Vets). He does have some high strung aspects to him however; for example, he lived on a very quiet street and would jump at the sight of a car (not a bad thing, actually).
All of the prior is kind of a longer way of saying I don’t really know.
Oh, a comment above reminded me that I’ll spring for the costs of transport (unless it gets ridiculous, but I don’t see that happening) and a whole pile of food. He’s easy to figure out on food. He has eaten the same identical wet food since I have known him, which is basically from him being a kitten, off and on. More the latter at times, more the former at other times.
I don’t think he has a mean bone in his body, actually; I saw him once approach a possum to presumably play with it. I jumped as I didn’t need to see a Possum vs. Cat fight. Which reminds me, I’ve never heard Tango in a cat fight. He’s California Laid Back.
Miss Bianca
@Mary G: we had a neighbor cat who was like that. Come into our house, annoy our ladylike calico, eat her food, hiss and bite at us when we tried to shoo him out. Then he made the mistake of thinking he could take on the Siberian Huskies we had adopted. Larry picked him up, shook him practically in two. Hundreds of $ in vet bills on our part. Which we gladly paid, because we really liked our neighbors, even tho’ we hated that cat. But boy, was he a changed animal after so many of his nine lives were chewed up in one go – never gave us ANY shit after that.
MazeDancer
@J R in WV:
It’s just one airplane ride. For which we’ll all pay.
Ply him up with CBD oil and when it wears off, he’s in kitty nirvana.
CaseyL
@The Dangerman: I live in the city (North Seattle) but in a townhouse complex with landscaping/nearby green belt and a whole parking lot between my house and the street.
My kitties are indoor-outdoor, come and go pretty much as they please, esp. in summer when I can leave sliding glass doors open for them. I’m not sure how the outdoor-potty business would work out: I keep 2 litter boxes in the house, and am not sure who uses which. FAIK, Oscar does most/all of his business outside, using the indoor box only in extremis.
During most of the year, I can’t keep the doors open for Tango to go out as he wishes. If he refuses to use litter boxes until he’s ready to burst… I think that’s the sort of thing that can lead to serious urinary issues, esp.with boy cats.
I am interested, but it might be better for Tango to stay in a mild weather zone if possible.
Rico
Dangerman, I’m in SLO, but I think the furniture issue is deal breaker. Otherwise, we are definitely more country than town. I can mention Tango at work, as I’m at one of the larger employers in town. I’ve always wondered how many Juicers are this part of the world. I just moved out here about a year and a half ago from the Bay Area.
The Dangerman
@CaseyL:
All understood. One possible location for him is not far from you (it’s my Family) near Salem, Oregon so that gives me something to think about. It’s a country property (blueberry farm) … with the downside strike of it being on what amounts to a highway. I don’t think Tango will ever be hit by a car (see above) but if was ever in that street and doing his Zen mellowing out thing, it would be all over.
Thanks everyone. Just did a nap and need to go in search of food. I’m loaded in terms of cat food (Tango: “Well done. servant boy”) but no real human food. Gotta do something about that soon.
grammypat
RE: The time thing. I regularly ask my gray tabby, Mi’ja, if she has a clock in her butt.
She knows when it’s 10 o’clock, without regard to time zone or Daylight Savings. Therefore, AT 10pm (by positioning herself in my line of sight and politely raising her left front paw) she demands her dinner.
Same in the mornings, except her 10am feedings sometimes slide if I sleep in; but, breakfast is then expected *immediately* upon arising. All polite demands escalate to vocalizations if not acted upon with necessary haste.
I’m well trained and obedient.
chris
He reminds me of my Steve. Litter box shy except in the winter, super hunter, even the scatching post!. He manages the time change on the first day and will prod me if I’m late. I hope your guy finds a good home.
The Dangerman
@Rico:
Welcome to Paradise. If we found more Juicers around here, we could do a meetup. I bet there are more than us.
FWIW, I’m Pismo Beach, although I hope to be moving to Los Osos very soon.
Kattails
One quick note about scratching: Some cats prefer vertical posts, some horizontal or incline. They do not like the vertical ones that are too flimsy/not tall enough. Both mine like the inclined cardboard one I have and will go at it from either end. Not sure how many options have been tried in this respect in reference to Tango. Can’t otherwise help, I’m in NH and am maxed out financially w/ my two for the moment. I’m sure things will work out. Beautiful kitty. Thanks so much for stepping up for him!