when u hear a noise @ night and look for ur cats reaction to gauge if it’s serious or not
My feral-turned-house-cat always follows me when I go deep into the rural woods to forage mushrooms or whatever. Having spent the beginning of his life with his feral mama surviving in the predator infested forest, he’s a veritable alarm system. If he goes towards the noise with interest, we’re good. If he runs up a tree and yells down at me like “GET YOUR ASS UP HERE” I pull out the bear mace because I know I’m fucked.
he’s actually kept me from going into the woods before, even though he loves our walks, by crying hysterically and getting in my way. He also freaked out once and kept me from walking into a patch of tall grass. All it took for him to calm down, both times, was for me to simply turn around and go a different way. He wasn’t looking for attention or treats, he just wanted to keep my ignorant ass in one piece.
We have giant packs of coyotes out here that have unpredictable roaming habits, some mountain lion sightings, and quite a few copperheads that can kill your limbs (requiring amputation) before an ambulance can even get all the way out to you. My cat’s super chill 99% of the time so when he flips out I don’t take it lightly, I’d bet money he’s kept me from walking into a coyote lunch party or from stepping on a copperhead multiple times.
I like to think of myself as his savior, bringing him in from the wild and all, but he takes care of me just as much.
