Thread: John Doe
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Old August 4th 17, 02:33 AM posted to rec.pets.cats.health+behav
cshenk
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Default John Doe

Peter W. wrote in rec.pets.cats.health+behav:

The point of the exercise is to question your behavior if you were to
encounter a true feral cat - and known to be such. But, nonetheless a
cat.

Up near our summer house (north-central PA) we are adjacent to a
fairly large state game land. There are several walking trails, and
during the non-hunting months, we sometimes take the dogs on long
rambles on early mornings as we see the most then. One day, we came
heard some meowing and thought we came across a lost kitten, or
several. Not even a little bit. We walked around for an hour looking,
with the dogs on their leashes (they love cats, by the way) That was
about eight years ago. Today, there are still cats up there, but we
have yet to actually lay eyes on one - but for one fleeting view,
that first time. These last couple of years we have stopped these
walks during the summer as the deer population has exploded, along
with the associated ticks.

This is what I mean by a true feral. These are not, nor will they
ever be cute little housepets, and to force them into permanent
kittenhood does them no favors. Alley cats, strays, lost cats, all
these are fair game for 'rescue', and I have done my share of that.
But after perhaps 3 or 4 generations with no human contact, any cat
of that nature has no need for humans. We do not have wild domestic
cat analogs in North America, so there is no direct comparison. But,
by the he same token, would you attempt to domesticate a lynx?

We spent several years living and working in the Middle East, and
learned a great deal about cultures and attitudes in the area. And we
did venture out into the countryside more than most Westerners, and
so experienced some interesting encounters. We learned to drink
cardamom coffee in vast quantities, to always carry honey or sugar -
just two small things of many.

Peter Wieck
Melrose Park, PA


Well Peter, you may be one of those people who uses the term in the
most strict sense based on a specfic area you lived in and if you wish
to do that, that is your right to express.

And yes, I had a bobcat (Lynx related). Named him Bobby and the vet
laughed a lot when he found out I didnt know he was a bobcat as he grew
up.

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