Until we get to the berbs, reptiles, fishies, platypuses, and echidnopodes, and a few others besides…
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Great minds, etc. 
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I’ve had three close encounters in which I didn’t get sprayed and I’m pretty sure it’s because I remained chill and still. Interestingly they all came when I had gone outside for a smoke, lol.
The first one I was outside in the driveway by the front of a pickup, heard something behind me, and turned to see the biggest skunk I had ever seen ambling around the back of the truck. It stopped, looked at me, and then calmly turned around and ambled off the way it had come.
The second time I was out in the carport near the gate to the back yard. I was looking out that way when I felt something step on my toes. It was a baby skunk on its way to the back yard, there was plenty of room under the gate for smaller animals to go through. It was followed a moment later by its mom who paid me no never mind.
The third time I had just stepped out the front door and closed it behind me when I saw a small skunk about 5 meters away on the front lawn. It turned and gave me a bluff charge, I just stood there and lit a cigarette. It went back to rooting for grubs and gave me another bluff charge a few moments later. I didn’t react and it soon wandered off.
Moral of the stories is don’t panic when you see a skunk, it freaks them out and you may get sprayed.
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all of the stories i’ve heard of people dealing with nasty skunk smell usually comes down to their dog doing something real stupid 
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With cats, it’s usually stink bug rather than skunk…cats seem to understand they need to leave skunks alone.
I’ve had two different cats FAFO with stink bugs though
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One time two of the three cats wanted in really, really badly, scratching at the door.
The third black and white cat was busy eating. “Come on FuzzBrain, come on in”. Cat looks up. Errr, black and white not cat looks up. Close the door really, really quietly and leave him to his meal.
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Various names, including a stench, an array, and a surfeit, describe a group of skunks. A ‘stench‘ is the most often used term for a group of skunks due to their strong and unpleasant odor. An array describes the large number of animals that make up a group when they huddle together in winter to stay warm. Finally, a surfeit refers to an overabundance or excess, which can be attributed to the fact that it’s not uncommon for groups of skunks to congregate around one food source at any given time.
What Is a Group of Skunks Called? - A-Z Animals
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My family’s first cat rescue was an indoor/outdoor cat. Very smart and affectionate female cat, who once in a blue moon would catch things and bring them to us as presents. One time i was watching TV and kept hearing a racket by the patio door, i look up and see her with a live cicada in her mouth and she really wanted me to have it. I had to wait until she set it down, i shooed the stunned cicada away and she was most disappointed in me.
The last time she brought me a gift was the same set up. I’m watching TV and i just FEEL her staring at me, i turn and see her sitting there proudly with a whole mouse. I just… noped the situation and ignored her for a solid 5 minutes, when i glanced back in her direction i see her licking her chops clean, there is no mouse and there’s a lone tail on the floor. I left her out there for another 5-10 minutes before i let her back in.
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“Dogs think people are God, but cats don’t. Cats are aware of God’s existence. Cats know that people act as middlemen to God’s will. They’re not ungrateful, they just know better.”
Kedi - Gatos (2016) - IMDb
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Our cat Ally (RIP) ate a stink bug once. Wouldn’t stop puking so finally had to take her to the vet. She stayed a night or two but was fine after.
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Mrs. Feral and my wife sleeping again.
It makes my wife so happy knowing she’s in the house and not outside with the heat, storms, and bugs.
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I saw the store cat again, through the window, this morning.
So, she lives in a fireplace store…can you guess what her name is? (If you can zoom in on the photo, you may be able to read the tag on her collar.)
After that, as I was walking down the sidewalk, there was a man walking up the sidewalk toward me. He stopped me to ask if I had been looking at the cat at Woodland (that’s the name of the store: Woodland Stoves and Fireplaces) [1]. I said yes, and he said he worked there and he was on his way there to feed her. Then he eagerly told me about her.
He said that she showed up outside the store around Thanksgiving, and they started feeding her. She wouldn’t go inside, so they gave her a heated house outside, behind the store, and she stayed outside all winter. It wasn’t until winter was over that they were able to scoop her up, and they took her to the vet for spaying. Then she had her own room above the store to recover in, and after that she got full run of the store.
He said she’s in charge of the place now, and the customers love her. He said she meows a lot, and greets each customer who comes in. I said that I had thought of going in just to ask if I could pet the cat, and he said “You wouldn’t be the first!”
So, her name is Ashley. I saw it on her collar today, and the man mentioned that her name is Ashley, but he didn’t say anything else about it. I silently cringed a bit in disappointment because I’ve just never really liked people-names used for pets, especially girls’ names (YMMV, of course). An hour or more later, at home, the penny dropped and I got why they named her that. Oh, duh! (And after that I looked at their facebook page to see if they’ve posted anything about her, and they have. They said there that she’s Ash for short.)
[1] A mystery: How did the man know that I had been looking at the cat? At the point where we crossed paths and spoke, I had already walked to the other end of the block from the store, turned the corner, and was halfway down that block.
I wonder if the store has a security camera that he had been viewing remotely? Or maybe he had driven past the store and seen me there, gone home and parked his car, and then was walking to the store from home? Or maybe there was someone else in the store at the time (it was an hour before opening) and he had been on the phone with them and they mentioned a woman at the window? There’s all kinds of possibilities! If I ever stop in to the store to pet the cat, if he’s there perhaps I’ll ask him.
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A related story, about pet names.
So, I have a recognizably girl’s name for my first name. I won’t say what it is, but think something like Mary, or Susan, say.
One day on the job I was helping a customer carry her order out to her car. When she opened her car door, a dog shot out of the car and tore off across the parking lot. The woman angrily screamed my name, and I thought, What the hell, lady, I didn’t do anything. You’re the one who opened the door!
Then it became clear that the dog had my name 
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Maybe he saw you interacting with the cat sometime earlier and recognized you?
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Oh, maybe! Today was the third time I’ve interacted with the cat through the window. But both other times were Sundays, when the store was closed…but that doesn’t mean there couldn’t have been someone inside there working…
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We had a dog named Kesha, but we didn’t name her.
Our Elliot pupper had been named by the Humane Society,
and, well, he really did look like an Elliot, even after he was no longer a little 'Yot, as seen in his shelter mug shot. He was so little when we got him, his nosie didn’t even reach the top edge of the couch cushions.
I named a cat Bruce, but I was in jr high, and it was ELO’s fault. Don’t Bring Me Down came on the radio w/in minutes of her appearance, and while I knew it’s not what is sung in the chorus, I just couldn’t resist. Somehow the name suited her, too.
I named a cat Smeadley about five minutes after we met. Smead demanded “in” the first night we spent in this house! Soooo, in the back door he came - we’d been sitting in the kitchen with some of the friends who’d helped us move.
Another bowl of cat food was immediately produced and placed before the much too slender, battle-scarred gentleman. I asked, “Well, what are we gonna call him?” There was no time for anyone to even consider this. He paused and looked up at me after a few mouthsful of what he felt a fine repast, and it hit me like a thunderbolt. I told him, “You’re Smeadley!” He looked more deeply into my eyes, and said, “RANK!” Thus we knew he accepted my bestowal. We soon learned his vocabulary was primarily “RANK!” and “GRUNK!” My GF who lived around the block said he was a neighborhood stray whomst she’d been seeing for about a year.
I named a tortoiseshell kitty Moon. She had color change eyes, and her coat was the color of dead leaves.
Years later, I named a blue-cream tortoiseshell Migina (Mi-GEE-nah - G, not J) - Omaha Indian for Moon Returning.
I named a BF’s stunning tortie momcat Aditi - an Indian Great Mother Goddess. She was very sweet and very long lived.
I have many baby name books - you need ‘em when you write fiction, and/or have animals around who require naming. My favorite is The New Age Baby Name Book by Sue Browder. It was the source for the last two names above. It could be more accurately retitled The Multicultural Baby Name Book. It’s not as woo’d out as one might reasonably expect: there are names from the world’s mythologies, native peoples’ names, ones from all over Africa, Asia, and Europe - including some that had become archaic or uncommon when pub’d.
They’re up on the 3rd floor, and the door has stuff piled in front of it, and there’s stuff in front of the bookcase they’re in. This is extremely annoying. Why?
I grabbed a sweet, affectionate, almost adolescent, gray and white stray girl kitty off our porch a few days ago.
Young Topaz became so obviously lonely over the last couple months. D and I had discussed bringing in another cat as soon as his loneliness became so apparent, and had been talking about it again not long before I grabbed her.
I told D about her the first time I met her, the morning after I’d saved her from Karen - the mean, nasty stray who beats up on everyone, and wants to see the manager right now! when there’s no food.
I heard a cat fight last week, ran outside, and saw Karen, of course. I waited, and saw the poor smol kitty who was trying to get away from her. Karen jumped on her, but the little girl rolled over on her back, and uttered the loudest, most blood-curdling scream I’ve ever heard out of a cat. Karen was even more astonished, and took off like…well, a cat outta hell (which she is). She sat down at the end of the next door neighbor’s walkway, near the curb, and watched us.
The little one ran up the porch steps right past me as soon as Karen ran off. She watched K for a sec, then began eating once she realized I was gonna stand there on the steps until K finally took off, which she eventually did.
I went over to her, and was delighted that she let me pet her. She purred like mad and rubbed and rubbed on me.
D met her either that day or soon after, and was likewise besotted. Topaz met her too, through the screen in the open living room window. No unpleasant words were spoken, just perfectly reasonable meows. They had a few similar ahem chats, and were very interested in each other.
After D, Topaz & I each had several pleasant visits with the young lady, I suggested D get a flea collar when he went grocery shopping. I said I’d pop it on her outside, stay out w/her for a bit (so the fleas would jump off her outside), and bring her in. He concurred. He got the collar the next day, and that night I was able to suit word to deed.
She and Topaz are beginning to get along, tho it’s only been a few days. He’s been a perfect gent the entire time! but she was a very scared little girl who hissed at him when he got too close. Today they sniffed noses. A bit later she let Topaz quite thoroughly sniff the tip and base of her tail. Didn’t even look at him. Not long after that, she was sniffering him, too, and he also acted like it was no big deal.
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The Libre sensor should last 14 days but we were told we’d be lucky if kitty didn’t shed the sensor in 5 - 7 days.
The sensor was still firmly attached but it failed.
I called Libre, they asked some questions, verified the error from the sensor log and said the new one would arrive in 3 days.
But, we’re up to 6 units twice a day and we can’t get his glucose under 350.
It should be well under 200, we’d be happy under 300.
I talked to the vet last Monday on the phone, gonna call tomorrow and see what’s next.
The tech that installed the sensor used some serious glue, he was a trooper as I coaxed it off with alcohol and baby oil.
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