# MooMoo's encounter with skunks



## imamuggie (Jul 1, 2021)

I just wanted to share a few photos of MooMoo's encounter with this big family of 6 skunks that sometimes digs up our garden from time to time.


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## miscellaneous (May 24, 2021)

Wow that's a lot of skunks. Good thing MooMoo is on the hunt... with a very sturdy window between you and the LePews!


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## Mosi (May 17, 2021)

I always train my cats to come to a whistle. I start the day the kitten comes into my house by whistling a certain very specific whistle tune every time I put down food for the cat or give him or her a treat. I continue this for the cat's entire life, every time I give a treat, although I do stop doing it at mealtimes after a couple of months. I never, ever make that whistle tune at any other time.

the result is that when the cat hears the whistle, he comes for a treat 98% of the time. No cat comes 100% of the time, I think. But by doing this simple thing I have been able to find my cat when he got outside and was in a dangerous situation and I got him back. He didn't come to me, but he replied with a meow which allowed him to find me. And other cats I have had....actually all cats all of my life...have been trained to come to that whistle.

It's such a simple thing and if you do it every time it may train your cat to come to you reliably.
I say "may" because.....well, cats. You never know for certain with cats.


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## imamuggie (Jul 1, 2021)

Mosi said:


> I always train my cats to come to a whistle. I start the day the kitten comes into my house by whistling a certain very specific whistle tune every time I put down food for the cat or give him or her a treat. I continue this for the cat's entire life, every time I give a treat, although I do stop doing it at mealtimes after a couple of months. I never, ever make that whistle tune at any other time.
> 
> the result is that when the cat hears the whistle, he comes for a treat 98% of the time. No cat comes 100% of the time, I think. But by doing this simple thing I have been able to find my cat when he got outside and was in a dangerous situation and I got him back. He didn't come to me, but he replied with a meow which allowed him to find me. And other cats I have had....actually all cats all of my life...have been trained to come to that whistle.
> 
> ...


Thank you! I'm not very good at whistling but I can probably carry a whistle to do that for me. Are your cats allowed to be outdoors supervised or do you only do it when they escape the house? I'm letting my cat out twice a day for around 10 minutes and trying to confine her to our yard but she's pretty agile and jumps out which it when I call her back into the house. I just don't want her to get hurt, eat something she isn't supposed to eat, or cause damage to other peoples property.


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## Mosi (May 17, 2021)

imamuggie said:


> Thank you! I'm not very good at whistling but I can probably carry a whistle to do that for me. Are your cats allowed to be outdoors supervised or do you only do it when they escape the house? I'm letting my cat out twice a day for around 10 minutes and trying to confine her to our yard but she's pretty agile and jumps out which it when I call her back into the house. I just don't want her to get hurt, eat something she isn't supposed to eat, or cause damage to other peoples property.


My cats always are and have been indoors only unless I am living in a place that has virtually no danger. There are always dangers, but when I have lived some distance away from other residences, not near a busy road, and have had many many large trees for the cat to climb to get away from predators, I have let them go out. Otherwise, I think it is very inadvisable to do so, and if you take your cat outside supervised but she can get away, that's just as dangerous.

If you take a Cat outside sometimes but cannot really allow them to be out on their own, you aren't doing them any favors in most cases. Some cats can do OK with that....I have seen it.....but most cats will only become frustrated and want to go out all the time and you have essentially created another problem. Better just to keep the cat indoors.

It doesn't have to be a whistle, although that carries farther than a call. It could just be a certain noise that you can repeat 100 times without getting a sore throat, and that carries over distance....maybe a high-pitched little yip-yip sound or something. Experiment, because of course it has to be something that doesn't freak the cat out.  

I use it indoors as well. For instance, if I am leaving the house and want to be sure the cat is not shut into a room before I go out, or someone came to the house and the cat went and hid and now that they are gone I want him to come out again, and so on. But it is of course most useful if the cat accidentally gets out.

I tried to take him outside on a harness for little outings now and then and he turned into a monster who demanded to go out all the time and it took a while to extinguish that behavior.


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## imamuggie (Jul 1, 2021)

Mosi said:


> My cats always are and have been indoors only unless I am living in a place that has virtually no danger. There are always dangers, but when I have lived some distance away from other residences, not near a busy road, and have had many many large trees for the cat to climb to get away from predators, I have let them go out. Otherwise, I think it is very inadvisable to do so, and if you take your cat outside supervised but she can get away, that's just as dangerous.
> 
> If you take a Cat outside sometimes but cannot really allow them to be out on their own, you aren't doing them any favors in most cases. Some cats can do OK with that....I have seen it.....but most cats will only become frustrated and want to go out all the time and you have essentially created another problem. Better just to keep the cat indoors.
> 
> ...


Thank you! I'll definitely try to keep her indoors but sometimes it feels a little sad. I'll definitely keep this in mind!


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## Mosi (May 17, 2021)

imamuggie said:


> Thank you! I'll definitely try to keep her indoors but sometimes it feels a little sad. I'll definitely keep this in mind!


I understand. 
We want to give our beloved animals everything they want to have! But you would feel a whole lot more sad if you let her out and she never came home again. That is how I look at it.


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