Orange Tabby...He Stays and His Name is Finn (Update with Videos Dec 31)

Most cats do better getting to know a puppy. It does depend on the cat. I've had cats that will play with dogs and cats that are terrified of dogs. Our current cat get chased occasionally but seems smug when he gets high and safe, and has occasionally taken a swipe at them. Finn seems to be a confident cat, he should do fine with a puppy, but you should probably ask him first.

Yeah, that is a tough one and hard to call. I agree it could go two ways, Finn accepts puppy and lets it know who is boss or Finn’s nose gets put out of joint and he goes for a wander.

He made a smart choice in picking you guys as his new Mum and Dad but not knowing his history is tricky. He could have been dumped or deserted but could also have decided to move on because something changed that he did not agree with. He is a special little guy and probably thinks you need him more than he needs you If you get a puppy he may decide you do not need him anymore.

After losing my much loved dog nearly 6 years ago, I have recently thought about another one but I know that our cats and chickens would not be impressed. It may sound silly but they are family and if they could vote I would probably be outnumbered, so I push the thought to the back of my mind.

Funny meme Teila!

I suppose it could go either way with Finn accepting/not accepting a dog. The last pup we got came to a house that already was ruled by an older cat. The cat pretty much showed the pup who was boss and once "pecking order" was established, they co-existed peacefully. Guess it just depends on how their personalities mesh.

Teila said:

Yeah, that is a tough one and hard to call. I agree it could go two ways, Finn accepts puppy and lets it know who is boss or Finn’s nose gets put out of joint and he goes for a wander.

He made a smart choice in picking you guys as his new Mum and Dad but not knowing his history is tricky. He could have been dumped or deserted but could also have decided to move on because something changed that he did not agree with. He is a special little guy and probably thinks you need him more than he needs you

If you get a puppy he may decide you do not need him anymore.

After losing my much loved dog nearly 6 years ago, I have recently thought about another one but I know that our cats and chickens would not be impressed. It may sound silly but they are family and if they could vote I would probably be outnumbered, so I push the thought to the back of my mind.

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I've seen that one, funny! Finn had interaction with a blue heeler puppy that the guy who did our pasture brought with him. Bella apparently was used to playing with their cat but Finn was not having that. The pup would peek around the corner of the compost pile and get close, get in a play stance, but seemed to read something in Finn's posture/face and was afraid to go too close. Finn did not seem very impressed by the puppy, either, but he wasn't afraid of her, he was just ready to give her a claw to the face if she got too brave, it seemed to me. But, that's different than a puppy who just comes to stay.

Fortunately, if we do get a dog, we have room in the barn for a bed for it to stay near the chickens so Finn wouldn't have to deal with it too much if he didn't want to, I suppose. Still, a hard call. DH and I really miss our dogs, but we also know the cost of their care is what's holding us back. But, those were pretty much indoor dogs, being short and slick-coated, cold natured. I don't want a dog that spends that much time in the house any more.

Sounds like Finn knows how to deal with a dog and if it was mostly outside, that would give them both room to avoid each other. I hear you on the vet bills, that's why it took us so long to get our 2 cats. Hard to believe you've had Finn 2 years already!

Oh, dear Lord, our hearts absolutely stopped today. We were heading to town to Walmart, had just left our little alcove and turned onto the road, were almost to where there is a mobile home across the street from the pasture that is down the hill from our house, which is where Finn had been hanging out before he decided to live with us when my husband says, "What's that in the road?" I see a lump but the sun is too glaring. As we get closer, I can tell it's an animal, then I see it's a cat, then an orange striped cat. He says in panic mode, "Is it FINN?!" We got jump out of the car. I can't tell. It has been hit and the jaw is broken and smushed some. Tom reaches down and picks it up and lays it off the road. The blood is congealing, but dripped thick drops from the mouth when he picked up the poor cat. He yells, "Oh, no, I have to go back!" So he shoots into the driveway of the trailer, turns around and we race back to the house, gravel flying while I try to be the voice of reason and say, "We've seen Finn just a while ago, but this cat has been dead for quite awhile, right?" He thinks so, but he can't do anything except race to see if Finn is at home. I jump out and open the gate and motion to him to go on up, which he does. By the time I get up to the SUV, he says, "He's right here!" Finn is sitting, pretty as you please, watching us run toward him and rolls over for a belly rub. He probably wonders why we left and came rushing back just to rub his belly.

I think this poor orange cat was probably killed before sunup today. It seemed older and was slightly larger, but the fact that it was laying on the road in front of Finn's former hangout was scary. What is weird is that I didn't even think at the time to check and see if it was male or female, but I got the impression that it was a tomcat. My husband said, considering where Finn was before he came to us and the color of the cat, this could be a relative of Finn's, maybe even his daddy. Cat hater was frantic when he saw this poor cat in the road. He really loves the Finnikins.

Gees! My heart was skipping beats just reading it!

While I am sorry to read of the little guy’s passing and if he is not a stray, I feel for his owners ….




… it was NOT Finn!

I did chuckle at how Finn rolled over for a belly rub … I imagine him telling all his friends “My hoomans love me SO much that if they go out and forget to give me cuddles, they come back!”

OMG - what a story! I was SO worried!!! Thank heavens Finn was home and ok! Poor Tom - he's such a good-hearted guy and he had a bad fright. I laughed in relief reading how Finn rolled over for belly rubs! I bet he was amazed at this sudden rush of attention!

robhuncor said:

OMG - what a story! I was SO worried!!! Thank heavens Finn was home and ok! Poor Tom - he's such a good-hearted guy and he had a bad fright. I laughed in relief reading how Finn rolled over for belly rubs! I bet he was amazed at this sudden rush of attention!

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He has become a fixture here, that's for sure. We know the risks of him being an outdoor cat, of course, but Finn won't have his life any other way and since he came here of his own free will and wouldn't be happy any other way, we let him do as he pleases. I don't believe he goes as far as he used to roam when he first got here, though. Naturally, if he was a dog, he'd be corralled in the fence, but with a cat, it's inside or outside, no fence would hold a cat unless we built a cattery.

So glad to hear Finn is fine! Poor cat-hater...that must have really shaken you both.