Washingtonians

[FirewifeJess]

Quote: I am so sorry that happened!
I have two cats, one that is stand-offish and won't let you get near her unless she knows you and one who is very friendly if he gets used to you.
I tend to put my cats in our bedroom when kids or lots of people come over just so it doesn't cause any issues and so my cats don't get stressed out or out in a bad situation or worse, hurt. We have little kids that come over and I don't trust them!
I definitely don't think it's the cats fault and I think the mom should have been more watchful over her son, so maybe next time taking the cat out of that situation of having to protect its self would be good.(not being judgmental, just an idea)

I would worry more about my cats health anyway with what sounds like a kid who does not know how to be gentle.
Hindsight is 20/20 though and I think it will be fine. Just give her time to make sure her son is ok. You know how moms worry.

Thanks to both of you and anyone else who commented. My cat isn't aggressive in the slightest and he was simply doing what animals do when they're attacked: defending himself. I don't blame him. It was both our faults. I didn't lock him up (never, ever had the need to before!) and she didn't watch Caleb. He's perfectly fine, albeit a bit swollen. Her doctor did prescribe him antibiotics because cat bites are SO infamous for infection; in fact, just last year our same cat was pile driven one too many times by my own toddler and he was bitten. Almost seems a pattern but really he's a very sweet boy (and is generally left alone by the kids) and I know he was just scared of those rough and tumble toddlers because they were hurting him. I feel worse for the cat actually,

he thought he was in trouble and hid downstairs all afternoon though I did everything to coax him out and show him all was fine.

I offered to pay for Caleb's antibiotic and my friend would have NONE of that. Happy ending. She even said he's so dense that despite the lesson he could have learned, the very next cat he sees she is sure he will do the same thing. LOL

As for watching children All.The.Time...I don't believe in it. I don't even think my friend "should" have been watching him at that time; he was in a bedroom with other children playing with toys and happened to notice the cat on my bed. Oh well. Stuff happens. My own kids play on our street and in the backyard unsupervised basically full time and all is fine, always has been. Sure, they get hurt sometimes. That's what kids do. We're all different parents though and I'm sure Renee thinks I'm nuts in some of the ways I let my kids play! (no bike helmet, ring a bell?)

Don't worry, despite our differences we can always be friends

 

[itsren]

Go big or go home.

Or just build more coops!

 

[FirewifeJess]

Quote:

to both of you! Great advice

 

[itsren]

We're all different parents though and I'm sure Renee thinks I'm nuts in some of the ways I let my kids play! (no bike helmet, ring a bell?)

Don't worry, despite our differences we can always be friends

Yep! BTW... I have bike helmets for your kids.

LOL! I'll try to remember to bring them.

 

[TheReidHomestead]

Quote: My hens are Blue and Black, My rooster is Blue but as with all BBS you get splash as well as blues and blacks.
I currently have 2 splash chicks (sold) that are broody raised. They will come sit on your feet but don't handle very well yet but just need a little work and they will be fine for handling. My Rooster gets picked up every night and my hens get checked every night so they are fairly mellow about being handled, they come sit on my feet during feeding time, they come sit on my shovel if I'm digging something since they know I will let them get all the bugs at each shovel full.... It is very rare for any of my birds to be flighty or freaky. Main reason I think it is that way is just due to my handling them all the time and teaching them that people do not mean harm so they have no need to freak. Even my broody chicks have always come and gotten feed out of my hands as young as 3 days old.

I will try and get a photo of the 2 splashes before they go to their new home.

Yes please on the photo's of my new babies!!!!!

 

[TheReidHomestead]

Quote:
YEP! What he said!!!!

We built a pallet coop, actually it's a long duplex coop, so two sides to it. We used the pallets assembled, you will find that taking them apart is a LOT of work.
I used to have a page here showing photo's of us building it, but I don't think it came over correctly when they upgraded the site. If you can view my uploaded photo's here, it's in there somewhere!

 

[UrbanEnthusiast]

Go big or go home.

Indeed! We are going to go as big as we can afford. And even though we're going to use as many "freecycled" materials as possible, cost is still a limiting factor as we are some of the 50% of Americans currently struggling with poverty.

We want to include a very small, enclosed "room" in the structure for storage if we can, though it may have to be added on later when we have more time/money/materials.

That's a cute coop! I bet you could find a free door on Craig's List to put in your coop, too.

Yes, we are not sure if we are going to make it tall enough for a human-sized door, but I certainly want to if we can find a free door somewhere.

Does anyone know a good place to find free or very cheap scraps of hardware cloth, lumber, concrete, hinges, screws, etc.? Also, anyone have any tips on raccoon-proofing? We don't have foxes, coyotes, or weasels around here, just a lot of raccoons and a few birds of prey. For instance, how deep can/will raccoons dig?

 

[itsren]

So, I have an idea, and I don't know if it will work. I have a bunch of lattice that my mom gave me before she moved. The side yard, where my garden is, is where the biggest spider-fest is going on, and where they come up through the flooring in my boy's room. I wonder if I can fashion some sort of temporary fence with that lattice that can be easily moved, but not easily knocked over. That way, I can position the temporary fence between the neighbor's fence and the side of my house, put the chickens out there and hope they have a spider hay-day.

Anyone have any ideas on how to build a sturdy temporary fence?

 

[itsren]

Does anyone know a good place to find free or very cheap scraps of hardware cloth, lumber, concrete, hinges, screws, etc.? Also, anyone have any tips on raccoon-proofing? We don't have foxes, coyotes, or weasels around here, just a lot of raccoons and a few birds of prey. For instance, how deep can/will raccoons dig?

Well, I go over-the-top on safety proofing (it's that over-protective momma in me), so listen to the others on this thread about that. They are probably more down to earth. Sad to say - the hardware is going to be the spendy part. It was and is for me. My 2nd coop that I'm working on has been free so far, with the exception of screws. They are expensive. I'm not sure where to get cheap hardware.

 

[Rainwolf]

So, I have an idea, and I don't know if it will work.  I have a bunch of lattice that my mom gave me before she moved.  The side yard, where my garden is, is where the biggest spider-fest is going on, and where they come up through the flooring in my boy's room.  I wonder if I can fashion some sort of temporary fence with that lattice that can be easily moved, but not easily knocked over.  That way, I can position the temporary fence between the neighbor's fence and the side of my house, put the chickens out there and hope they have a spider hay-day.

Anyone have any ideas on how to build a sturdy temporary fence?

 

metal fence post and wire to tie the lattice to the said post?
the post do not have to be way down in the ground... just enough to hold steady and the pull up and move when needed.