Hi Tucker, First off, I envy you having cool enough temps to have a Den cuthbertsonii blooming. Congratulations. Got pics? We have two cats. not "BOB" ignores the orchids but used to scatter pots when he was chasing moths and flies. Now that he's 14, the orchids are safe. If I leave orchids on the kitchen or bathroom sink counter, Kerplunk chomps off spikes and shreds leaves on almost all of them except the Phals. When they were younger, carnivorous plants were some of their favorite toys. If you're close to the Twin Cities and are interested - Peter Lin of Big Leaf Orchids is speaking at the Orchid Society of MN this Saturday, August 17. Dunno if he's still accepting pre-orders, but he'll have at least a few extra Phals for sale. http://www.bigleaforchids.com/store/ WhiteCat8 Here is a link that might be useful: Orchid Society of Minnesota This post was edited by whitecat8 on Fri, Aug 16, 13 at 6:22

Your boy sounds like one of the three intact toms who showed up on my farm a couple of summers ago. One of the toms was completely tame, one was completely feral, and then there was Feather - semi-feral or timid stray. New cats normally show up on my farm one at a time, making it reasonably easy to sequester them from the other cats by putting the newbie in my bedroom/bath area during the integration process. When Feather showed up with the other two, though, I couldn't keep them together in the bedroom/bath because they were all too aggressive with each other. So for a while, Feather had to stay in the master bath by himself. Unfortunately, he was such an emotionally unstable boy that the seclusion drove him over the edge of reasonable behavior. Every time I entered the bathroom to visit him, he would hiss at me. Then he would approach me and rub all over me, rolling in delight on the floor next to me, purring up a storm while I gave him a full body massage. But when it was time for me to leave the bathroom, he would viciously attack me. He simply couldn't handle being left alone. The attacks on me quit as soon as I was able to get him out of that bathroom and integrate him into the rest of the household. Now, two years later, Feather is still emotionally volatile and is still problematic with several of the other cats, but he is much improved. He'll never be what I would consider psychologically normal, but he's close enough. I don't allow him outdoors because I believe he would become frightened and overly aggressive toward the other cats again. At least indoors I can monitor his behavior and prevent him from harrassing the other cats too much. I can also put him into time-outs with one or two of his cat buddies, if need be. Your boy sounds like an emotionally sensitive animal who is being badly stressed by his solitary confinement at night. I suggest you try to find an alternative for him so that he doesn't have to feel so alone. You might consider bringing him into your home and keeping him in a room with a screen door when you're not able to monitor his activity with the other cats. The screen will allow him to view the goings-on of the household and interact with the other animals from the safety of his side of the screen so that he doesn't feel so isolated. Good luck with him. Laurie

Yes! I have six neutered/spayed indoor cats and one of them (male brown tabby) does this all the time, just about every day. Lately his mom (gray tabby) does it as well, usually in the wee hours of the night. It is so distinctive--it really does sound like someone calling out "HELLLLOOOO?" I've been on the phone before and people have heard his call and said, "Who's that in the background?"--thinking it was a person. I think in our male tabby's case, it's his sonar. Like he's sending out a signal to our other cats about where he is because he wants to know where they are. (He's very companionable with our other cats.) When he really gets started up, I'll call out to him, "Cal, everyone's upstairs" or something along those lines. Sometimes that will send him off in pursuit of our cats. In his mom's case, which has started up lately, it usually accompanies her dragging a toy to our bedroom or her nest, in which case, I think she wants to be praised for her "kill." It's pretty darn adorable, whatever the reason!

Do you know how old Dustin was when he was neutered? Although certainly every cat has his individual personality and behavior patterns, it has been my experience that males who are neutered before they reach sexual maturity (around 6 mos) tend to mature into more mellow boys than the ones who are neutered as fully mature adults. My family currently includes nine male felines, eight of whom were neutered after reaching adulthood. The one who was neutered at between 5-6 mos is a very mellow dude. He's no pushover, though. In fact, he is the undisputed king of my pride. He rules peacefully unless one of the other cats really pushes his buttons. It takes quite a bit to get Noddy riled. Such is not the case with the late-neutered boys. They tend to retain an obnoxious level of "testosterone memory" in their behavior patterns. They are quick-tempered with each other and often ready to rumble. My household would be a lot more peaceful if they had all shown up here as kittens who could have been neutered early. Instead, I sometimes feel as though I live in a mine field, just waiting for the next explosive device to require defusing. It's not likely that neutering would be responsible for an escalation of aggressive behavior in Dustin, but boredom surely could. Lots of interactive playtime will help wear him out and mellow his mood. A laser pointer is a great toy for many cats. They love to chase that little red beam. You just have to take care not to shine it directly in his eyes. If Dustin continues to bite, blow HARD directly into his face. That stops most cats in their tracks. Laurie