The Sanctuary

[Mike N]

A conversation this morning in front of my hotel while smoking my pipe:

30-something: “Look at you smoking a pipe. I’ve seen that in the movies but never in person.”

Me: ”Sounds to me like you’re watching some good old movies, but hanging out in the wrong places.”

30-something: “HaHa”

 

[pipersalmanac]

Back porch, with a pipe, a cocktail & my little buddy.

 

[HawkeyeLinus]

My deck, I guess - always good company. A couple of years ago, when the young one first came home.

 

[Sig]

View attachment 424820
Back porch, with a pipe, a cocktail & my little buddy.

What did your buddy do to be imprisoned?
Either of our cats would giggle, then proceed to exit their prison cell.

 

[woodsroad]

Our little guy roams freely, and brings us little furry gifts.

 

[pipersalmanac]

What did your buddy do to be imprisoned?
Either of our cats would giggle, then proceed to exit their prison cell.

Lol! She went on an extended walkabout one too many times, so now she is in the penalty box! This one is a little sweetheart; she just paws on the screen when she wants out.

 

[Sig]

Lol! She went on an extended walkabout one too many times, so now she is in the penalty box! This one is a little sweetheart; she just paws on the screen when she wants out.

One of our cats disappeared for 38 days. This is when we lived in suburbia temporarily. She was about 10 years old at the time. Due to our lifestyle at the time, we moved 3x in 5 years.
The cat just disappeared one day. Exactly one month, one week, and one day later my wife was letting the dogs out. She came in with tears in her eyes saying she can hear the cat. I went outside, and sure enough, old Heehaw ran right past me, in the door, and directly to her food dish.
She had lost 1/2 her body weight.
She layed on my lap for the next week. She passed a couple years ago at 26 years old.

 

[WVOldFart]

One of our cats disappeared for 38 days. This is when we lived in suburbia temporarily. She was about 10 years old at the time. Due to our lifestyle at the time, we moved 3x in 5 years.
The cat just disappeared one day. Exactly one month, one week, and one day later my wife was letting the dogs out. She came in with tears in her eyes saying she can hear the cat. I went outside, and sure enough, old Heehaw ran right past me, in the door, and directly to her food dish.
She had lost 1/2 her body weight.
She layed on my lap for the next week. She passed a couple years ago at 26 years old.

I had a cat do pretty much the same thing. He was gone for a month or more and I could hear him coming home from the meowing up the country road. He had lost a lot of weight. His one ear drooped and had lost hair on it and other parts of his body. He was dead tired. I told him that I hope she was worth it, because his romancing would be the death of him. He left for more love making about a year later and never returned.

 

[pipersalmanac]

One of our cats disappeared for 38 days. This is when we lived in suburbia temporarily. She was about 10 years old at the time. Due to our lifestyle at the time, we moved 3x in 5 years.
The cat just disappeared one day. Exactly one month, one week, and one day later my wife was letting the dogs out. She came in with tears in her eyes saying she can hear the cat. I went outside, and sure enough, old Heehaw ran right past me, in the door, and directly to her food dish.
She had lost 1/2 her body weight.
She layed on my lap for the next week. She passed a couple years ago at 26 years old.

26 years old! Wow, what a good long life!!!

 

[Brad H]

 

[Sig]

I had a cat do pretty much the same thing. He was gone for a month or more and I could hear him coming home from the meowing up the country road. He had lost a lot of weight. His one ear drooped and had lost hair on it and other parts of his body. He was dead tired. I told him that I hope she was worth it, because his romancing would be the death of him. He left for more love making about a year later and never returned.

I was going to leave a heart emoji halfway through your post. By the end I figured a thumbs up was appropriate.
During my time as a veterinarian, ive had a LOT of people ask if their pet will return on their own.
Its any easy question for cat owners. Ive heard of cats being gone for over a year and returning.
For dog owners, the question isn't so easy. Dogs very rarely return home after 3-4 days. Most returned dogs are caught by someone and the people find you. This is why I always tell dog owners out here in the country to have your dog tagged and micro chipped. Ive reunited probably 50 or so dogs with their owners because I have a chip reader. Chipping a cat is a toss up. I've reunited maybe 4 in 25+ years. Cats tend to stay on their own and not seek out humans....like needy dogs do.
Things are probably different in the "cities", we are very rural.

 

[dottlejockey]

1. 15 x 15 smoking lounge in the back of my workshop.
2. Covered front porch and back deck on the house.
3. My truck.
4. On the fly i find spots wherever i go. Just takes a little sleuthing. If all else fails, a walk and a smoke.

 

[Eireprof]

For me, it’s deep in the woods behind the soccer fields where my kid practices.

 

[Brad H]

For me, it’s deep in the woods behind the soccer fields where my kid practices.

So you found a place to smoke while the kids are practicing? Smart man!

 

[HawkeyeLinus]

One of our cats disappeared for 38 days. This is when we lived in suburbia temporarily. She was about 10 years old at the time. Due to our lifestyle at the time, we moved 3x in 5 years.
The cat just disappeared one day. Exactly one month, one week, and one day later my wife was letting the dogs out. She came in with tears in her eyes saying she can hear the cat. I went outside, and sure enough, old Heehaw ran right past me, in the door, and directly to her food dish.
She had lost 1/2 her body weight.
She layed on my lap for the next week. She passed a couple years ago at 26 years old.

Years ago when my youngest daughter was still at home her cat slipped out unnoticed at night when one of the dogs was being taken out. We were heartbroken and it was winter, and I can’t even guess how many hours and days we looked for her when we had the time. About a week later I was taking out one of the dogs early morning and I heard a little “mew” and looking at me under the stairs to the deck was little Noel - I almost cried, my wife and daughter did, lol. No idea where she’d been, but she was skinny and so pathetic and never ventured near an open door again. Love these stories!

 

[BriaronBoerum]

This is my spot until I move next May, we'll see if I can find a similar space:

 

[wyfbane]

Ugg, im pretty happy about our last couple Guineas "moving on".
They were a great alarm system.....but EVERYTHING was alarming to them.

I love our Guineas. They just die at an alarming rate. We had 32 but are down to just 6 now. They wander far enough that the noise isn't too bad for us, but predators are bad for them.

 

[Egg Shen]

That’s an awesome porch swing!

I was thinking the same. It looks like it has the depth of a couch

 

[Sig]

I love our Guineas. They just die at an alarming rate. We had 32 but are down to just 6 now. They wander far enough that the noise isn't too bad for us, but predators are bad for them.

Ours never wandered past where the dogs patrol. There were very few predator threats......but try to tell them that. Every time an acorn fell, they freaked out. Every time a gun fired, they freaked. Every time a cow mooed, they freaked. And Every time we heard something that MIGHT be dangerous, we couldn't hear it because the Guineas were freaking out.