>>> Part 1 of 2...
 
-=> I hacked a hairball when, Walter Luffman said,<=-
-=>Hey, Ivy Iverson, "Rocket (the cat tha...,"<=-
-=> Quoting Ivy Iverson to Walter Luffman <=-
 
Hi, Walter;
 
 II> My error... it IS Comet.  (I knew it was SOMETHING tht moved fast!)
 II> 
 WL> Sheepish?  Wouldn't a grin like that be off-topic here?  A
 WL> Cheshire-cat grin would be more suitable in this echo...
 
Sorry, but I can't do Cheshire, so we'll have to settle for sheepish. :->
 
 WL> see, like the one on _my_ silly mug!
 
{...SQUINTING...} Sorry, I can't quite see you through the screen.  Of
course, you posted it after 9:00 pm... you should have turned on the
lights before you get eyestrain.   |-{
 
 WL> over thirty years,  but I do have a soft spot for all kitties.
 II> As you know by now, so do I.   ^oo^
 WL> Who in this echo doesn't?  (If anyone raises his/her hand, ignore
 WL> them until they go away.)
 
Yep!  Let 'em join the Neo-Nazi echo.  
 
-=And now... back on topic!=-
 
 II> the park).  Nowadays I rarely see a feral cat (or dog)... the local
 II> constabulary keeps them pretty well off the streets.
 WL> Around here, the leash law applies only to dogs.  You'd think this
 WL> little town would be overrun with feral kitties, but it isn't.
 WL> Some fall to predators, I'm sure, but mostly the cats' humans
 WL> prevent overpopulation by neutering.  And the kittens that are
 WL> born around here usually find homes quickly.
 
Mine always do... Everyone that sees them falls in love, so finding homes
isn't difficult.  Out of perhaps 15-20 kittens Spiker has produced in the
last 6 years or so, I have only had to send 2 to a farm to be barncats,
and I will _NEVER_ send a cat to the pound!!!
 
 II> Good idea.  That way you are less likely to have any rodents, (not to
 II> mention the reduction of bird population.)   :-<
 WL> It's been ages since I've seen a cat catch a bird.  Most of the
 WL> local cats are indoor kitties, and most of the bird-lovers (myself
 WL> included) have learned to position feeders and birdbaths where cats
 WL> can't approach from cover.  Doesn't stop the cats from trying, of
 WL> course...
 
No, but it does give the birds a lot better odds!  If you put the feeders
and birdbaths at least 10 Ft. off the ground on metal pipes it would make
it more difficult for MOST cats to get to it, but then it will be harder
for you to see them.  Everything is a trade-off.
 
 WL> like many cats, Meko even makes a high-pitched "bird call"
 WL> when one perches anywhere nearby while she's sitting in one of her
 WL> favorite windows.
 
Mine just watch intently, and follow every movement.  If I were to let
them out, Spiker MIGHT try to catch one just for the sport of catching it,
but Shadow would want back inside, unless a bird were stupid enough to
walk right in front of her.  In that case, that bird would probably
benefit the avian gene pool by getting eaten.   :-/
 
 II> The only "problems" which COULD be genetically-related that I have
 II> seen, one of Shadow's upper "fangs" was underdeveloped, and has come
 II> out.  One of Scamper's siblings had a deformed leg when he was born,
 II> however it was completely straightened out and normal by the time he
 II> was weaned.  I put that down to being cramped in the woumb.
 WL> Sounds like Goldie passed along some good genes to Spiker and the
 WL> rest of her line.
 
Yes, she and Tiger T. Barncat, (Spiker's father), were good sturdy stock,
and both could fend for themselves if they had to.  Unfortunately Tiger
didn't stick around, (he was very unhappy in the confinment of an
apartment and wanted to get back to the barn!), and Goldie never had the
opportunity to train Spiker in the ways of a hunter, so all these have is
their inborn "Attack whatever moves" instincts.  They are well fed, so I
consider it unlikely that either of these would consider a bird or rodent
to be food, though they would definately consider them toys.
 
 II> This is how the different breeds of cats, (longhair/shorthair/special
 II> markings/bone structure, etc.), dogs, miniature horses, potbellied
 II> pigs, sheep, or any other breed of animals... they were ALL bred the
 II> same way: by inbreeding!  I am breeding for a particular pattern ...
 WL> Outbreeding (to other individuals with desirable characteristics)
 WL> is also necessary to keep the line strong.  Otherwise, you wind up
 WL> with the situation that endangers the cheetah today -- a gene pool
 WL> that is much too small, resulting in some serious recessives
 WL> throughout the entire cheetah line, and a low survival rate in the
 WL> wild.
 
Consider for a moment the new Munchkin cat breed, (the ones with the very
short legs).  They occur rarely as a mutation, but the woman who is
breeding them started off with ONE short-legged kitten, and bred it back
to it's relatives, (since no others were available).  From what I have
heard, the breed is strong and thriving.  Last time I heard, she was not
releasing any of them yet, waiting until a larger "herd" can be built up,
and so she can be sure that they will breed true.  This is the same way
that many breeds of animals, not just cats, are created: start with one
mutation and inbreed for what you want.
 
 WL> (For any who aren't familiar with the situation, geneticists say
 WL> the entire breed nearly died out through natural causes at one
 WL> point, and today's cheetahs share far more of their genetic
 WL> heritage than most other breeds of big cats.  Zoos are doing what
 WL> they can to breed captive cheetahs as diversely as possible, and
 WL> the offspring of captive-bred cheetahs may someday be used to
 WL> strengthen the "free" cheetah population.)
 
True, however with a small gene pool over hundreds of generations of wild
stock living under adverse (wild) conditions, the situation is different
than less than a dozen or so generations of linebreeding in controlled
conditions, well-fed and away from the diseases and chemicals which are
likely to cause mutations in this apparently strong line.  And I am
watching them very carefully for any negative effects, but so far I have
found none other than what I have already mentioned.  And the fact that
the litters seem to be getting smaller and the females seem to be breeding
later is an advantage AFAIAC.  Shadow is 2 years old, and while she has
been in heat before, it wasn't the full-blown, loud-yowling, back-arching
heat until this time, and her mother was over a year old when she had her
first and only litter.  (She was then spayed as a condition of the home
she went to taking her.)
 
 II> coloring: Black/gray bullseye shorthairs with a "cross" marking accross
 II> the shoulders.  Spiker is the basic prototype, but he has absolutely NO
 II> tan color anywhere, although the females of the line do have slight tan
 II> coloration.  These two latest babies, (I now believe they are both
 II> males), do have some tan in their faces, so I am on the right track.
 
OOPS - The darker one, (first born), is pretty definately male, but the
lighter one, I now believe to be female.
 
 WL> I'm glad the selective-breding program is going well so far, but
 WL> there must be unrelated cats with complementary genes in your area.
 WL> Is there a cat-fanciers' club near you?  You might consider joining
 WL> one.  Another possibility would be taking one-page (or even
 WL> half-page) advertising flyers to local veterinary clinics,
 WL> explaining your goal and soliciting suitable breeding stock of both
 WL> sexes -- with you getting the pick of the litter, of course.
 
Of course.  There is one disadvantage of bringing in "strangers": I don't
know what they could be carrying, from feline leukema to who-knows-what.
Tiger was a literal flea-and-ear-mite factory, which it took my vet and
TWO bug-bombings to clear it up!  NOT something which I wish to repeat!
 
 II> There have been a couple of heartbreakers from previous litters, I
 II> know at least one was because the mother laid down on the poor thing. 
 II> (IIRC, this was the runt in a litter of 6.)  I only remember one runt
 II> that died of "unknown cause."  Both of the current litter are plump and
 II> growing like weeds: they are at least an inch longer than they were at
 II> birth and a lot heavier.  BTW, one is starting to open his eyes.
 
Make that TWO inches now!  One is 7 inches from nose to base of tail, the
other is 7 1/2 inches.  (I couldn't get them to hold still long enough to
include the tails in the measurements.)
 
Their eyes are open and they are looking around and starting to want to
explore, but they are still pretty unsteady on the legs yet.  I had them
out of the birthing box for about 15 minutes today, letting them practice
walking around and getting a bit of a look at their (current) world.
(They don't have a lot of walking room in the box.)
 
 WL> Another indication of good genes.  The rather small genepool still
 WL> concerns me, though.
 
So far so good.  If anything shows up I promise to reconsider, ok?
 
 WL> ... A cat is easier to train than a sysop...and usually better behaved.
 II> Well, I'm a SysOp, and some people think I'm not too well behaved.
 II> 
 
                        -=OFF TOPIC WARNING!=-
 
 WL> I'm getting there myself.  The 486 box still has a lot of software
 WL> to move onto the new machine, and I still have to finish configuring
 WL> Wildcat!
 
Appropriate for the echo,  but I have heard some stories about WC
that aren't favorable, especially when it comes to networking!  (WC has
it's own method of netting which isn't compatible with anything else,
INCLUDING FidoNet, and to get into a FidoNet-style net, you have to buy
a VERY EXPEN$IVE interface pgm.  Have you looked at any other BBS pgms?
I recommend and support TriBBS - It's easy to configure, VERY flexable,
and not nearly as expensive as the others I have looked at... and to
network, all you need is a tosser/scanner, (needed with any BBS), such
as TriToss, and a mailer, such as FdontDoor or BinkleyTerm.  (Bink is
easier to set up, but FD is more flexable.)
 
 WL> (of course) and Platinum Xpress; but I'm aiming for a launch
 WL> around June 1.  Naturally, KATTY_KORNER will be one of the first
 WL> echoes I request once I get my node number.
 
Of course!  
 
 
 >>> Continued to next message...
 
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