"Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life and attend to your own business and work with your hands........" 1 Thessalonians 4:11

Monday, April 11, 2016

Homer..............the roamer


As most of you remember, a little while back, I posted about this cat that was dropped on me.
I did not want another cat........and he cant be a house cat because my other two house cats will fight with him.
But he has such a heart warming personality and how can I resist those gigantic feet?

Convincing me even more to let him stay, he has proven himself to be quite a good farm cat, catching all of the rats that have been attacking the wires in my car. 
So in the beginning, I named him Hobo........but soon changed his name to Homer.........
after Homer Laughlin........my favorite vintage dishware. 
He agreeably stays in the chicken house with my chickens to stay safe from predators at night and for shelter during harsh weather. He and the chickens get along wonderfully.

If any of you have ever had an independent tom cat..........you know how they love to roam.
Homer has been disappearing for a day...........coming back either extremely late at night or showing up in the early morning.................worn out.
These past two weeks, he has been coming home with severe injuries.  His nose has such a huge gash on it. I thought it was from another cat.....that he possibly got into a fight with.............


but the next couple of days he came home limping with a hole in one back  foot and the pad of his front foot sliced.  It looks that maybe he has fought himself out of a metal trap.
Still unsure, there is nothing I can really do, but treat his wounds and patiently wait for the next
" free neuter" day that comes once a year.......in May,  in  a local town.
Hopefully that might cure his appetite for roaming and it might keep other tom cats from fighting him. 
Friends tell me ..........
"not likely"


Whether it does or not.........it is certainly more healthy for him.


He is such a loving  cat and deserves to get some TLC and protection
whether he wants it or not.
Do you have a roamer? ..........or do you have a lap cat that never leaves the house?
I would love to hear.


16 comments:

FlowerLady Lorraine said...

Boy, he does have 'big' feet. It makes him more adorable, although he probably wouldn't want to be called that. But he is and lovable. Cats will roam if they are allowed out at night that's for sure. I hope getting him fixed will help.

What a good 'helper' he is, catching rats for you.

Have a great week ~ FlowerLady

Jimmie said...

Homer is just gorgeous. I worry that he may have an abscess (or more than one) from his wounds. Cats develop abscesses when a wound closes up, but leaves infection beneath the skin. It truly can kill an animal. I know you'll do the best you can to keep check on that. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that you'll be able to catch Homer and have "his suitcase unpacked" in May, if not before. That's what my husband calls neutering. Homer is just too precious to let him suffer.

Diane in North Carolina

Connie said...

We have a stray cat hanging around here, too. My husband wants rid of him, but I have convinced him that, that cat could be the reason we haven't seen any mice around. He seems content around here and he looks healthy . . . cats do like to travel and explore so whose to say he doesn't belong to a neighbor. I would pick cats over mice any day of the week, LOL.

Connie said...

He is a beautiful cat. It's a shame about his injuries. At least he tries to earn his keep by keeping down the rat population.

Anonymous said...

Oh my! He does have large feet! ha! Such a good cat. Neat how you discovered that by giving him time. Poor thing...I hope he keeps safe. I suppose he would be more miserable not having his freedom. There are just certain things about nature we can't control. Andrea

Debbie said...

Kathleen, I'm sending you a link that might answer some questions regarding Homers 'big' feet.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polydactyl_cat
He seems like such a sweetie. The surgery should eventually deter his roaming and maybe make him more compelling to your other felines. Neutered males are usually healthier and more amiable. Hope it works out well.

Karen said...

I didn't notice Homer's large paws before, they are adorable! I love Homer and wish him the best. Sometimes there is only so much you can do, but I think you are taking very good care of him!

peggy said...

My cat is neutered and when the neighborhood cats come around, they just sit and stare at each other. No fighting just staring. Weird. I hope Homer will stay closer to home. He is so pretty.

Debra said...

Homer is adorable! We are also taking care of a feral cat-unneutered male. I can't get close to him, he's so wild. Well, I can get close-about a foot away now-but no touching! He's been wild so long that it will take a while for him to be petted. Our boy also has his times away, and comes back just a little scratched-nothing like your kitty though. Peroxide on his cuts maybe? I know that stuff won't sting him, and should clear up an infection. Our boy is orange too!

lil red hen said...

Homer just stole my heart! I have several "roamers", male and female.

Elaine/Muddling Through said...

He reminds me so much of Claude, who was the same color, though his feet were not that big! He disappeared and I truly hope it was that someone took him in and loved him. Now we have the next door boy, Midnight, who loves the top of our chicken house. He, too, is a loving boy. Bless their hearts, they have so much love to give.

A Colorful World said...

He looks like a sweet at and I am glad he took up at your place where he is appreciated and cared for! I'm so surprised he gets along with the chickens! Our daughter & s-I-l had an orange female cat get away from them as they were trying to put her in the car prior to the move, and she has totally disappeared! Very sad because I don't know if she'll make it here on her own. I just hope someone adopts her.

Nancy J said...

I did do a comment here, and then it vanished, Homer is stunning, those feet, and we do have a stray but semi tame big ginger boy, after 2 plus years I can pat him, and this week, another first, bathed his eyes with cold tea. Is your boy part Norwegian Forest? I would keep him on as well.

Wonky Girl said...

What a wonderful cat. I hope he does not wander so he cannot make it to the neuter day. Any cats we had that were wanderers did not live very long lives. We no longer keep cats at our place. It's sad because both husband and myself love the little fur-balls.

letslearnembroidery said...

Cute and lucky cat!

betty-NZ said...

Aw! He's just adorable. We had one that didn't like a move, so went to live in the trees at the old house. One roamed so much, he never came home one day (I believe he found a better home) and the two we have now from the shelter are polar opposites--one is older (we have no idea of his age), has a wonky leg and only goes out occasionally. The other, just a year old, bring home baby rabbits, birds and mice--most of them were already dead. She roams a lot but never for long.