Monday, January 21, 2013

Gerrard and hiking with Callie

In addition to the pack of dogs, our home also has Gerrard. He is often referred to as The Wonder Kitty since it's a wonder he survived his few weeks.  

It was over six years ago that I found him out in the wilderness while walking with Cairo. He was a tiny little kitten whose eyes weren't open.  There was no sign of Momma Cat, no nest, no litter mates.  Home he came, to be fed every few hours with a syringe of kitten milk replacer (KMR) and fussed over by Cairo, who became his surrogate mother.  At the time of his first vet visit, his age was estimated to be four or five days old.  

Gerrard is somewhat of a nature vs nurture experiment.  He's not the attention demanding cat that most people thought he would be.  He's not much of a lap cat, he prefers to not be fussed over and usually likes to be left alone. He does, however, let the dogs know when he's had enough of their attention. Hiker is the one who likes to pester him.

Hiker and Gerrard

The weather lately has gone from a few inches of snow to really warm, melting all the snow and then back to cold with a dusting of snow. At least with the cold, the ground went from soft mushy mud to frozen mud.  Much easier for hiking, so out we went!

Callie was smelling or hearing something during the first part of our walk.  As I was taking this picture, she was staring intently and huffing occasionally but I didn't see or hear anything.  I told her that since we were only ten minutes north of town, I wasn't too worried.  Now, if we were out in the true wilderness, I'd be concerned about bears. 

Typical Callie gave me that, "I warned you" look.


Whatever it was, it didn't bother her for long and then we were on our way.

This is where she usually jumps in for a swim, but it was frozen over. 


The creek adjacent to this was still flowing.


There were quite a few areas of standing water along the trail that were frozen but then we came to one that wasn't frozen but had a slightly greenish/gray tinge to it.  Callie "asked" to go in and I said no way! There was something in that water preventing it from freezing so stay out!

We found some other water that looked more normal so in she went.


Then it was time to head for home to let the others out to play.

Forest being tough, Azule not taking him seriously.

19 comments:

  1. Anonymous1/21/2013

    Eww, don't even want to think what could possibly be in that water causing it not to freeze...glad she found some more "suitable" water!

    Microfiber holds up just okay to dogs...we have had rips in some of them that the warranty covered. If the dog licks the couch (like old Chloe does...ugh), it gets wet and soft and is easier to rip. I definitely wouldn't recommend it to someone with a whole house full of dogs though!! :)

    Thanks for the good luck vibes!

    Elyse and Riley

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    1. Our boy Forest is a licker, clothing, furniture, blankets, pillows etc. Okay, so no microfiber couch for us!

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  2. The first picture is priceless! Gerrard is so lucky you found him! It's funny that people assume that all bottle-fed kitten will grow up to be clingy. I raised my kitties the same way from the same age(5 weeks) and they are SO different. Looks like a fun hike, dogs are so funny how they don't care about the cold and wet:D

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    1. I always find it so interesting how personalities differ with animals in the same environment. Our pack of dogs are so different but all have the same affectionate and lovable personality part.

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  3. Well done, Hiker. Cats are supposed to be harassed...just our opinion.

    Looks like a great walk.

    XXXOOO Daisy, Bella & Roxy

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    1. Oh, come on now, don't encourage her! Hiker takes great delight in chasing Gerrard around but he seems to know that she can't see or at least can't always find him.

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  4. Goodness, what a beautiful bruiser Gerrard is! Looks like his rocky start in life didn't stunt his growth any, lol!

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    1. Gerrard is actually kinda scrawny but he's long, so he looks big there!

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  5. What a trooper that kitty must be! Sounds like the perfect cat for your household...gotta be tough with all those cattle dogs around :)

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    1. Oh, not to worry, Gerrard is a very clever and quick kitty! One rule we do have though is that everyone must get along.

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  6. Yep, the kitty is doing just what they are suppose to....I only had that happen ONCE....I know when to just walk away now....

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    1. Remington, you're a smart guy. Hiker is a bit stubborn and won't give up easily!

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  7. What a wonderful story about Gerrard! It's just amazing that you happened to find him! He's beautiful. Callie looks like she had a ball and really enjoyed her one-on-one time on the trail with you. It's crazy warm here again--it's supposed to reach 70 today! Our winters seem to get shorter every year.

    Susan and Wrigs

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    1. I'll trade you weather! We are having a cold snap...high temperatures of -11C/12F but feeling like -22C/-8F with the wind chill. Very cold and blustery winds. A few highways north of us are closed due to the blowing snow.(typical)

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    2. That's a bit chilly. ;-)

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  8. Love that you saved Gerrard! He's a very handsome adult now!

    So what is warm for you guys? Here? It's going to be in the lower 80's a few days this week. Ugh. I had to hide my mittens - I could stand looking at them. I think they were mocking me that I wouldn't be able to wear them again until next "winter"...

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    1. Thanks!

      See my comment above to Wrigs and Susan about the weather. I'll trade weather with you also!

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  9. Wow it's amazing that Gerrard survived - you just have to wonder how he ended up there all alone! I am so glad you saved him - I know how much work that can be!! Callie is so pretty. She looks like she'd gladly take on any bears you might meet!

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    1. It was a lot of work taking care of Gerrard. Like having a really, really tiny newborn. Well, actually, he was, wasn't he?! At the time though, Cairo was a huge help. She loved cleaning him and did so for months.

      Callie taking on a bear? Ya, she sure would. She's a tough one. I hope we never have to though!

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