Urban cats and rural cats are, as they say, two big differences. Now I am surprised to see cat food in rural shops. Twenty years ago, it was a shame to think about it. Cats in the village were needed to catch mice. Behind the cats from the cat-rysolov was always the turn. No one knew exactly how many cats were in the herd in the yard - well they ran and ran. In the morning and evening, after breastfeeding the cows, they poured milk into them - well there and puppies, and eggs fled - the hell you will take them wherever anyone. In the winter, they lived in the barracks and ate with pigs. The population of rats and mice was reduced to a minimum. The main in the herd was the oldest cat - mother, grandmother, aunt, and you don't know who all the other members of the praide. Only sometimes let her into the kitchen, not chased if it passed. The cats, often, fed all together. The cat gave birth in a secluded place and for the second month brought the kittens to show - first their own, then all came together to call the masters - to tell, see what beautiful ones they brought. The cats were wild - they were not given into the hands, and, in general, these cats were not affectionate. No foot massage was done. But the owners admitted and appealed to us for help. Once the older woman ran - she calls somewhere - went to see, and there the young woman can not be born - well, they helped, her mother was a veterinarian. Often came, when they had the vertebrae of the fish on their teeth - asked to remove. We were protected as we could. I once watched two cats kill a snake. They have snakes in every yard, they also have their own territory. We decommissioned the old barrel and a swing of chess jumped out of the half - there are such people living in the south of Russia. This is the only poisonous snake. As a poison, I was bitten once. I caught a fish, hanging my legs in the water, well, it caught me on the heels, and apparently took the heels for the frog. I had a fever for three days and it all passed. Don’t believe those who say that snakes don’t bite in the water, just like they bite. So, this snake didn't have time and went five meters away - there are two older cats and another one. They took positions on different sides of the serpent and began to kill her. At first, the cat, which was behind the snake, struck her with a lightning blow on the head, the snake, turning around, made a stroke in her direction, trying to bite – it jumped one and a half meters up, leaving the attack, and, at this time, the snake was beaten by another cat. So they beat her in turn until she died.
Cats in the second or third year of life, after mating, in the spring left the house, sometimes returned, but more often not. The cats, feeling the approaching death, quietly left somewhere and I never saw bodies. Only the oldest came to say goodbye. He shakes his feet, looks in his eyes and leaves.