"[FLORIDA] A large nest of carpenter ants near an electrical outlet sparked a Daytona Beach house fire this morning that killed several cats [nine]..."
Thirty-six cats, however, were saved. No report on the ants.
A couple in Florida were arrested the other day because their two- and three-year-old boys were riding Hot Wheels naked! Hell, I don't know how many times I qualified for arrest - streaking was in style when my kids were small.....Florida is flakier than California.
If you read the original story they link to it says the owners did not have fire insurance. Amazing that they could not afford insurance, but they could afford to feed 80 cats.
I think that when more than two cats are kept in a suburban home, the line has been crossed and the slippery slope to cat lady land looms not too far in the future.
Seven is the minimum number. That way, when you need a cat, you stand a pretty good chance of finding one that's awake.
There must be some details missing.
Ants aren't conductive unless they were "trooping" through some water. :-)
Andy
I suspect the issue was not affordability....a home with 80 cats and an ant nest large enough to even entertain it as a cause of the fire ... well, it isn't "home" as you and I know it :o) With all of that mess, it almost HAD to be falling down from termite damage or lack of maintenance. Well, mebbe the carpenter ants were of a much more social variety and went for a swim in salt water and then came back home, all holding hands to cause the conductivity/short? Hmmm...
When does one *need* a cat? I mean, they're cute and friendly and all, but what function to they serve that can't be more economically accomplished by other means?
"wake up, Fluffy, this is important!"
"F--k you, I'm a cat, I don't do requests."
"But we need you RIGHT AWAY!"
"Well, I had a busy day of napping in sunbeams, licking myself, sitting on top of your newspaper, and harassing rabbits planned, let me see if I can fit you in between my 2 PM nap and 3:15 nap..."
nate
Do a search for "Towser." Towser, passed on now, was, for 23 years, the mouser-in-chief at the Glenturret distillery in Scotland. During that time, she earned a place in the Guinness Book of Records for dispatching 28,898 mice (plus a few rats, a phesant or two, and an occasional bunny).
"wake up, Fluffy, this is important!"
**************************************When extra guests suddenly show up for dinner and you want to put more meat in the sauce pot.
You didn't hear? Now, everything is illegal.
At least a dog will go for help after the burglars leave. Help, Lassie, help! Cat just rolls in the sun, and tries to nap on the window sill.
Y'know, I just thought of one. If you feed a cat regularly every morning first thing after you get up, you will find that you have a damn fine alarm clock.
However, said alarm clock is not easily reprogrammable nor does it recognize weekends or holidays...
nate
Must have been very small boys...
It doesn't take long to accumulate a boat load of Florida carpenter ants and they don't seem particularly interested in nesting in that old, wet wood I always hear about. I have had them in the coffee maker, a big diskette case the linen closet and in lots of electrical boxes, probably what caused this problem,. They may move in with 1,000 eggs and pack it solid. They can do that overnight. It is one of the first things you look for when you get GFCI tripping problems.
Shrug. Small kids are very pragmatic. At that age range, my nephew and niece were the same way. When it is hot out, clothes are annoying, so off they come. He has mostly grown out of it, outside at least, but she still has to be reminded to put on clothes when company comes over.
I don't remember if I was like that at the same age, but I do remember their mother was.
-- aem sends...
Those folks are known as Collectors in the cat newsgroups. Heart is in the right place but the brain isn't functioning correctly.
I've had two cats for 20 years or so (not the same ones - they tend to die). The big problem is leaving out food for outdoor cats (we also get them neutered). I took in a third cat two years ago when it was 8F outside one morning.
Now I have another one that I'm feeding and he wants to come inside. It isn't even cold yet. It's already dangerous in the house with three cats; walking down the steps can be life-threatening with furballs racing past your feet. The Significant Other says no more please. So Scooter is unlikely to move in. But I can see how it it happens.
By the way, the one I took in is far and away the best hunter of the group. Every other week or so she brings me one of those horrid water bugs. I keep asking her to make sure they're dead before she brings them into the bedroom but sometimes she still wants to play with them and keeps them alive. I can really do without that.
In my experience, 3.5 cats per human--maybe 3.5 per adult (never had kids) is the limit. My girlfriend and I had 7 cats between us, no problem, but when we split, she took 3 cats and I took 4. That was too many for me so she took one of mine and that was too many for her.
Two cats is generally optimum, because they can play with each other when you're not so inclined, and you can pet one with each hand when you all cluster.
You should be aware that here in New Jersey everything is either Illegal or Mandatory.
EJ in NJ
And many things are both.
re: I've had two cats for 20 years or so (not the same ones - they tend to die).
I had two cats for 20 years or so - the same ones.
Brother and sister. Got them when they needed to be fed baby food through an eye dropper every 4 hours for a week or so.
Female died at 19, male died at 20.
You know those curled up fake cats you can buy at giftshops? We saw one on a weekend trip and I said to my wife "We might have one of these when we get home."
She laughed, but sure enough, got home on Sunday night and found the male curled up "comfortably" on the TV room floor, already stiffening up. The new kitten came over and pawed at him...I wonder how many times she tried to wake him up that weekend.
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