In the spirit of the recent "Raccoons under the deck" thread
I wish to report a back alley encounter which may or may not
be unusual -- you tell me.
A few blocks down there is a friendly little cat which has
come to greet me on several occasions as I would pass in the
alley; this evening while on an errand, after the time when
the skunks emerge, I noticed the little cat following a
little skunk. By the time that I arrived, the little cat
was sitting next to the little skunk, sniffing at its nose
every so often (wondering about its latest meal perhaps?),
and then it came up to greet me, leaving the skunk to watch
with indecision. As I left, the cat resumed following the
skunk.
Do you suppose Mel Blanc ever had such an encounter?
On Sun, 26 Jul 2009, in the Usenet newsgroup alt.internet.wireless, in article
<HYydnaFy4YZBYPbXnZ2dnUVZ_uydnZ2d@posted.cpinterne t>, msg wrote:
>By the time that I arrived, the little cat was sitting next to
>the little skunk, sniffing at its nose every so often (wondering
>about its latest meal perhaps?), and then it came up to greet
>me, leaving the skunk to watch with indecision. As I left, the
>cat resumed following the skunk.
Feral cat? Or merely a cat owned by a horribly negligent owner?
>Do you suppose Mel Blanc ever had such an encounter?
Wasn't Mel Blanc. Pepe was the creation of Chuck Jones. See "The
Charm of Stink: On the Scent of Pepe Le Pew" (a "Behind The Tunes"
featurette) on disc 4 of the Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume
3 (2005 ISBN 1-4198-0599-1) among many others. Mel created the
voice, a parody of the French actor Charles Boyer who was a movie
star in the 1940s when Pepe was created (see "Wild Lines: The Art of
Voice Acting" on disk 4 of Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 4
from 2006, and "Mel Blanc: The man of a thousand voices" on disk 4
of Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 6 from 2008, as well as the
autobiographies of both men.)
On Sun, 26 Jul 2009 01:56:51 -0500, msg <msg@_cybertheque.org_> wrote:
>A few blocks down there is a friendly little cat which has
>come to greet me on several occasions as I would pass in the
>alley; this evening while on an errand, after the time when
>the skunks emerge, I noticed the little cat following a
>little skunk. By the time that I arrived, the little cat
>was sitting next to the little skunk, sniffing at its nose
>every so often (wondering about its latest meal perhaps?),
>and then it came up to greet me, leaving the skunk to watch
>with indecision. As I left, the cat resumed following the
>skunk.
>
>Do you suppose Mel Blanc ever had such an encounter?
One of my friends mentioned that skunks don't spray where they eat. As
proof, he produced a photo of his two cats and a skunk all drinking
from the same bowl of milk. Later, the skunk brought her family. It
was a regular thing with the critters for many years.
<http://www.projectwildlife.org/living-skunks.htm>
"Having adapted well to neighborhoods, it's not uncommon to find
skunks and domestic cats dining peacefully together."
Moe Trin wrote:
> On Sun, 26 Jul 2009, in the Usenet newsgroup alt.internet.wireless, in article
> <HYydnaFy4YZBYPbXnZ2dnUVZ_uydnZ2d@posted.cpinterne t>, msg wrote:
>
>> By the time that I arrived, the little cat was sitting next to
>> the little skunk, sniffing at its nose every so often (wondering
>> about its latest meal perhaps?), and then it came up to greet
>> me, leaving the skunk to watch with indecision. As I left, the
>> cat resumed following the skunk.
>
> Feral cat? Or merely a cat owned by a horribly negligent owner?
Sadly, an owned cat let out without supervision, as is the case with
many cats in the neighborhood.
>
>> Do you suppose Mel Blanc ever had such an encounter?
>
> Wasn't Mel Blanc. Pepe was the creation of Chuck Jones. See "The
> Charm of Stink: On the Scent of Pepe Le Pew" (a "Behind The Tunes"
> featurette) on disc 4 of the Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume
> 3 (2005 ISBN 1-4198-0599-1) among many others. Mel created the
> voice, a parody of the French actor Charles Boyer who was a movie
> star in the 1940s when Pepe was created (see "Wild Lines: The Art of
> Voice Acting" on disk 4 of Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 4
> from 2006, and "Mel Blanc: The man of a thousand voices" on disk 4
> of Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 6 from 2008, as well as the
> autobiographies of both men.)
Thanks for the references; after I posted it struck me that I should
have referenced Chuck Jones rather than Mel Blanc...
Jeff Liebermann wrote:
> On Sun, 26 Jul 2009 01:56:51 -0500, msg <msg@_cybertheque.org_> wrote:
>
>> A few blocks down there is a friendly little cat which has
>> come to greet me on several occasions as I would pass in the
>> alley; this evening while on an errand, after the time when
>> the skunks emerge, I noticed the little cat following a
>> little skunk. By the time that I arrived, the little cat
>> was sitting next to the little skunk, sniffing at its nose
>> every so often (wondering about its latest meal perhaps?),
>> and then it came up to greet me, leaving the skunk to watch
>> with indecision. As I left, the cat resumed following the
>> skunk.
>>
>> Do you suppose Mel Blanc ever had such an encounter?
>
> One of my friends mentioned that skunks don't spray where they eat.
I can understand why they might not relieve themselves where they eat
but if threatened at the food dish you say they wouldn't spray in
defense as well?
> As proof, he produced a photo of his two cats and a skunk all drinking
> from the same bowl of milk. Later, the skunk brought her family. It
> was a regular thing with the critters for many years.
>
> <http://www.projectwildlife.org/living-skunks.htm>
> "Having adapted well to neighborhoods, it's not uncommon to find
> skunks and domestic cats dining peacefully together."
I've heard of pet skunks cohabiting <grin> with household cats but
this is a revelation; thanks for the link.
On Tue, 28 Jul 2009 11:39:27 -0500, msg <msg@_cybertheque.org_> wrote:
>> One of my friends mentioned that skunks don't spray where they eat.
>
>I can understand why they might not relieve themselves where they eat
>but if threatened at the food dish you say they wouldn't spray in
>defense as well?
I don't know how it works for skunks, but they don't seem particularly
defensive when there's plenty of food around. I was there when a
skunk came in through the cat door, helped herself to some munchies,
and left, all without even noticing my presense.
>> As proof, he produced a photo of his two cats and a skunk all drinking
>> from the same bowl of milk. Later, the skunk brought her family. It
>> was a regular thing with the critters for many years.
>>
>> <http://www.projectwildlife.org/living-skunks.htm>
>> "Having adapted well to neighborhoods, it's not uncommon to find
>> skunks and domestic cats dining peacefully together."
>
>I've heard of pet skunks cohabiting <grin> with household cats but
>this is a revelation; thanks for the link.
I know of a local trailer park where the residents have decided that
it's better to feed the skunks than to fight them. They're careful
not to let them burrow under the house or hide inside, but otherwise,
it's peaceful coexistence. Mostly, they seem to have adopted much of
the lifestyle of the local cats. When I was giving one cat a back
scratching, a skunk came up and demanded the same treatment. I was a
bit hesitant but nothing bad happened. I don't think I would try that
with a totally wild skunk.
On Tue, 28 Jul 2009, in the Usenet newsgroup alt.internet.wireless, in article
<Pdqdnb0lV9EHtfLXnZ2dnUVZ_sVi4p2d@posted.cpinterne t>, msg wrote:
>Moe Trin wrote:
>> Feral cat? Or merely a cat owned by a horribly negligent owner?
>Sadly, an owned cat let out without supervision, as is the case with
>many cats in the neighborhood.
Hit your favorite search engine, looking for ``coyote "domestic cat"''
and you'll likely come up with a string of articles about a recent
study (Universities of Arizona and Montana) published in the Journal
of Wildlife Management.
>>> Do you suppose Mel Blanc ever had such an encounter?
>
>> Wasn't Mel Blanc. Pepe was the creation of Chuck Jones.
Apparently the idea for the character (first seen in "Odor-Able Kitty"
from 1944) came from Mike Maltese.
>Thanks for the references; after I posted it struck me that I should
>have referenced Chuck Jones rather than Mel Blanc...
Two very entertaining books:
Mel Blanc and Philip Bashe That's _Not_ All Folks 1988
ISBN 0-446-39089-5 (Softcover), ISBN 0-446-51244-3 (Hardcover)
Chuck Jones Chuck Amuck The Life and Times of an Animated Cartoonist
1989 ISBN 037-412348-9 (1999 version may be 037-452620-6)
Both are apparently out of print, but widely available. Your local
library probably has (or can borrow) copies.
Real life Pepe le Pew? 
Linear Mode
