Arfie, for the love of all things furry and wonderful....Let me lecture on my avatar's genus, and apologies, as I know you're Wildlife-Tuned to start.

Treated with kindness, a cat is a loving and intuitive companion. Treated with dislike and abuse, a cat is a giant ball of Fight-Flight reflex, and no stepping down.

Whatever her history, her hostility is Nature's way of reminding you that though you are "Natural Enemies".... She still came to you. Sorry, Arfie. *you* have been adopted. You may hate it (cats have staff, dogs have masters, as the saying goes). If so, it's easy to send her to the local shelter.

Just please remember....She is terrified. Like us, she lashes out from fear, not malice. (*Yet*, I add. Mammals are all alike that way.) Someone somewhere can give her a great deal of love and patience. If it's not to be you, then ave atque vale to her, but I do again ask she be sent to a reputable shelter. I'd actually offer to take her in (I'm infamous for taking the "nobody can socialize that cat" cats, and they end up as lap cushions, don't ask me how I do it, I don't even know)... but I can't afford to have her flown here from there, alas. If, however, you find she needs a "sponsor" for neutering and shots, PM me. I'm a sucker for the little lost ones of the world.

Gentlest vibes of feline understanding.... And canine understanding.... Tend those scratches carefully, and I hope your dog's nose heals soon:-)

My landlord has a cat that can be a wicked little girl at times.... When I first moved into my apt in the home every time I patted her she drew blood

THEN I decided to tune into "My Cat From Hell" the show on Animal Planet and I learned all... The big secret.... TREATS!!!.... A soft voice, and good things that she equated with me turned things completely around... She's now a gentle we thing and she loves her auntie!....xo

I like what Leo and SunCloud wrote ... I have a psycho-kitty of my own, whose PTSD has not been amenable to 12 years of stable good treatment - but I love the little creature and we get along fine as long as I don't give her more loving than she can take in.

I also want to say, watch your skin closely - "Cat Scratch Fever" isn't just a song, and you can get a serious infection.

Yes, that grey tabby is a "survivor" and scared and defensive, that's how she survived. I would help her too like leo, cats are often misunderstood IMO...I could tell you stories of cats that turned into little "furry love balls" in my animal shelter days...OY..animals have helped me more than any humans...they saved me...when I thought I was saving them!! I offer to be a sponser too if needed...healing hugs for doggies nose! My name cheesecake is for a rescued cat left stuffed in a bunny hutch. I'll get off my soapbox now..I can't help myself arfie! Hugs

cats are so peaceful and healing

Turns out, she showed up a while back. Hubs has been doing the soft-voiced thing. His mellow baritone is really fit for the job. Got this beaten crazy bitch wolf asking for encores of his favorite romance poets. . . 35 years worth.

He is trying to understand how she is already wrapping around my ankles, etc. "Well, hon," I answered as I brushed her off, "Someday you will learn how to spot an ass kissing pussy when you see one."

Romantics. . . Go figure. . .

On another note, after her concave belly had a little poof in it, I watched her stalking the space between the porch and the chicken roost and do believe I recognized the moves of another natural carnivore who had had to hunt for their own dinner. The neighbor's storage building has had time to turn into a rat condo. Not mice. Rats enough to rattle even my hardened senses. I watch them running the spaces between the fences on a regular basis. Rodents love double fences almost as they love storage units. Double fences, chain link on my side, cedar privacy on the other side. Fortified rat zoom way. . . They pause every so often to sing, "Nanny nanny boo boo!!" in three part harmony.

I don't have to like you to recognize your value in the natural order, you ass kissing pussy. I think I have a job for you. . . One that might make good use of the neglect and abandonment I see all over your undernourished form, as well as your less than playful stalking technique.

So how much do you feed a cat before it forgets that rats are the all-natural dinner? The neighbor has two storage buildings on the other side of his poorly cared for cedar fence. The rat population is enough that I have been thinking about re-locating the chicken coop. The neighbor is a bachelor who rents out his spare rooms. Doesn't seem worth the effort to talk to him about the rat condos.

Hiring a good rat catcher might be less work than moving the roost to a safer location. Is there a carnivore in nature that doesn't like chicken for dinner? I am still quite new to chicken care, but my gut is not trusting the rat presence in the slightest. I still have haven't learned how to talk to rats. In general, cats and I are not great friends, but we have a mutual respect. We can "talk" about not stalking the chickens. Rats are fair game, though. The cat acumen for rat stalking would be what I most respect about them.

Cats are not always comfortable hunting rats, particularly when the rats are en masse. Rats can kill a cat, particularly young ones, and I've seen many a cat wounded by a rat, squirrel (tree ratwith fluffy tail) and smilar.

Yep, rats will go after chickens. Chicks and eggs especially, but I've heard stories where they'll overwhelm with numbers if they're hungry enough. Never seen it, so can not confirm.

Our dogs did the ratting when we had the rare rat on the farm. They took care of anything rat and larger; cats took care of the moles and mice.

As a rule of thumb, when I see rats, I call the animal control folks. Yech. And yech again. I've few critters that revolt me but rats and coyotes make my list. Yech a third time.