Cat pics

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Permalink Reply by mombat on August 11, 2008 at 10:53am

He has such a classic cat face- "so you know I am charge, and you will feed and adore me."

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Permalink Reply by Black is the new Black on August 20, 2008 at 6:05pm

A noble puss indeed.

"Damn the torpedoes!"

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Permalink Reply by Black is the new Black on August 20, 2008 at 4:07pm

Here is our Kafka Kitty

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Permalink Reply by mombat on August 20, 2008 at 4:52pm

Oh cat belly, love the cat belly!

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Permalink Reply by Mike Connealy on September 4, 2008 at 5:21pm

Cats are cats



We had the pleasure recently of a lecture and field trip with Dr. Travis Perry and Harley Shaw under the auspices of the Natural History Museum . The subject was cougars. One of the things that most caught our attention was the resemblance of the described behavior of the mountain lions and what we have observed in the feral housecats that pass through our back yard. For instance, we were told that the female cougar kittens will often hang out for two or three years with their mother with no apparent friction between them. That is just what we are seeing with the feral mother and her two grown kittens in our yard who seem to be great friends.

The males are a different story; they are implacable enemies. Young male cougars need to find new, unoccupied territories as soon as they are able to fend for themselves; failing to do so brings a death sentence, the executioner being a mature male. Feral housecats are quite a lot further down on the predator-prey ladder and have many more dangerous enemies than cougars, but it does seem likely those big, battle-scarred males are a serious threat to the male kittens.



There are many other obvious parallels that one can observe through a visit to the feline exhibits at the Albuquerque Zoo. The bobcats stalk the birds which flit through their enclosure. The lions, tigers and cougars lounge and play in a manner that is instantly familiar to any cat owner. When we were shown the cougar kill sites, I was reminded of how our tabby paws the floor around his dish when he finishes a meal.

I've spent a lot of time in prime lion habitat in Idaho and New Mexico. However, I've only once seen a cougar close up. It was a couple years ago when I was trying to do some Fall foliage pictures in a ravine on the West side of the Organ Mountains just outside of Las Cruces. I first heard a yowl, much like that of a prowling tomcat, but many times louder. Moments later the big cat jumped down into the ravine about fifteen feet away. I thought very briefly about trying to get a picture, but taking my eyes away even for a moment from the cat seemed not the thing to do. I threw up my arms, yelled and stepped forward, and I was relieved to see the cougar turn away and disappear into the brush. I was certain from the lion's lithe form that it was a female, and it seemed likely that she had a kitten or two in the vicinity. My impression was that she was reacting to me much as she might toward a trespassing male cougar. I moved away cautiously up the ravine, and soon some noisy jays far down-slope to the west announced that the cat was not in pursuit of me.

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Permalink Reply by mombat on September 5, 2008 at 9:32am

Nice post. I am always impressed at how the Bobcat at the zoo makes exactly the same face as our Miss Paws.

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Permalink Reply by Luann Wolfe on September 5, 2008 at 9:44am

Great photos!

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Permalink Reply by Mike Connealy on October 5, 2008 at 7:35am

This big fellow at the Albuquerque Zoo inspires expressions of awe from many of the visitors. I suppose the fact that the design of the exhibit allows very close proximity has something to do with that. Perhaps many like me also consider that it is possible to actually meet up with one of these big cats at the edge of the city limits.

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