Show me your blacksmith pets

[Les L]

I used to have to check where the cats had been, but both are gone now.  Didn’t have to worry about deposits from one, but the other loved to leave surprises, sometimes even after I’d checked everything out. 

[LeeJustice]

Not really my pet, but it was persistently returning to hang out with me as I worked yesterday in the hot box.

[JHCC]

I don't have a photo, but there's a short-tailed shrew that's been traversing my shop on a regular basis for some weeks now. It must have rather poor vision, as yesterday while I was standing at the grinder, it bumped into one of my feet and then into the other.

[Irondragon Forge ClayWorks]

A lot of folks don't know that the Northern short-tailed shrew's saliva is poisonous.

[Scott NC]

  Maybe that shrew was blinded by rabies.  

[JHCC]

Venomous, not poisonous. Also, not strong enough to affect humans (or indeed anything larger than a big rodent), apart from a painful bite.

[TWISTEDWILLOW]

Or maybe it’s cursed!!!

curse of the wershrew! Beware the bite John!!!

[Steve Sells]

Let us know how the taming goes John

[JHCC]

Another advantage of steel-toed work boots.

Which reminds me, I was looking at a local FB Marketplace ad for a heavy leather welding apron, which showed that almost all of the surface was covered in heavy metal staples. While researching what this might be good for (they seem to be intended to provide protection from abrasion and impact), I discovered that leather gloves with such reinforcement are sometimes bought by people who handle venomous snakes. 

1 minute ago, Steve Sells said:

Let us know how the taming goes John

If Shakespeare had been Scottish and had written a play about insulting a pair of trousers, the title would have been "The Shaming of the Trews".

[ThomasPowers]

Will your wife allow you a "House Kate"?

[BillyBones]

New additions to the herd came out today. 

One is still in the shop and there is one in the cinder block. Just now starting to eat food and get weened from mamma cat. 

[ThomasPowers]

And yesterday I buried one of the 8 kittens currently hanging around outside; vet said it was a terminal condition.  So 8, -1 given to friend at church, -1 dead.  So far no losses to hawks, dogs, coyotes, cars or falling anvils.

[TWISTEDWILLOW]

It’s been a year since I had a litter of shop kittens, 

i got on female fixed that lives In here and the wild one disappeared 6 months ago,

but I always loved having those mangey little xxxxx climbing around the shop it made for some hilarious times!

[Daswulf]

Love kittens but glad we ended up getting all the ferals and our cats fixed. There was a virus going around them and it was pretty devastating. No more kittens but the cats still here are great and I look forward to rescuing a cat some day instead of begging people to give them a home. 

[Goods]

I actually like having cats around, but two big problems for us: our dogs really like cats to (hasn’t ended well for the few they caught…), and we discovered the hard way that my younger son is very allergic to cats. 
This summer did manage to rescue what survived out of a litter at our house. At least our dogs weren’t the culprits for the rest of the litter.

[BillyBones]

These guys are semi feral. I have cats in the barn to keep out other critters. Like the skunk i came face to face with one night. There are about 10 altogether, including 2 Hemmingways or polydactyl.  The only one that has not been fixed is the mother of these. My wife works with these ladies that go out and do the trap, neuter, and release thing. These kittens we will keep rounded up and in a coupe of weeks will get fixed and most likely to a local rescue. However the wife has already mentioned bringing them in. I may be alright with one or two but not 4. On top of the rescue we already have. 

[Frosty]

Trap neuter release is a good way to keep ferals away from your place, when we started doing that we stopped having stray litters in the barn and barn vermin disappeared. 

Groups of cats are called "groups" or a "Clowder." 

We're down to one cat in the house, he's the last of the last litter born in the barn and since we no longer have livestock there's no longer bales of hay and straw so there're no good places for a litter. 

I love kittens but we probably won't keep a cat once Qiviut is gone. <sigh>

Frosty The Lucky.

[Charles R. Stevens]

I bet that would work on “stray” children too ;-)

[Frosty]

[Daswulf]

Little black kitten ended up with us. Neighbor called and asked if we were missing a black cat.  Liz had been talking about getting a black cat so the stars aligned.  I asked him to bring it over and we brought her into the family. Our 4yo named her black crayon lol she is feisty and healthy. 

[Frosty]

Cool, kittens are fun and you wanted to reupholster that couch anyway. 

Frosty The Lucky

[Daswulf]

Been holding off getting a new couch due to having a 2 and 4yo. anyway. Kids are tough on furniture. So nice having a spunky kitten again. Other than eye color and nose shape she reminds me of my most dearest cat I had, Spooky. 

And my hat was tore up before the kitten lol. Tho she went after the threads.

Funny, people buy pre tore up clothing.... I can wear it out on my own. Don't need help. Sometimes it is hard to find hats I like that arnt pre beat up. 

[Frosty]

I tacked carpet rems to the wall beside our closet so our adopted feral cat Qiviut could claw and climb up to his hiding spot on the top closet shelf without shredding the wall. Sometimes he just hangs from it about 5-6' off the floor and strops his claws. Wary is an understatement and he's huge largely Maine Coon.  All over you loving after he decides you're okay, especially if you pick up his comb.

He's our invisible cat.

Frosty The Lucky

[BillyBones]

On 9/17/2022 at 9:38 PM, Daswulf said:

she reminds me of my most dearest cat I had, Spooky. 

Das, My mom and my ex-wife both had black cats named Spooky. My mom's was Siamese and one mean little ...

Frosty, i learned long ago how well carpet on the corners of walls will keep cat damage at bay. We had a really nice wood bar that one cat decided would be a perfect scratching post. A piece of carpet saved it from him and me having to shell out a wad of money to the landlord for repairs. 

[The Jeff]