Author Archives: Charles Huss

The Paper Forest

Floki’s favorite toy, by far, is a rolled up piece of paper. It is like an addictive drug to him and my wife is his dealer. When Rose records receipts in the checkbook, Floki is there waiting for the crumpled up paper when she is done. He will chase that paper all through the house and sometimes will bring it back to Rose and wait for her to throw it.

Often the paper just gets lost somewhere in the house. I had another post where I discovered our broom closet was a receptacle for lost wads of paper but I discovered an even bigger place where paper goes to die.

I saw Floki sticking his paw under our coffee table one day. There is only about an inch of space so I had to get a flashlight and put my head on the ground to see what he lost. I was shocked to see a whole forest of wadded up pieces of paper under there.

I got a stick and pulled out a few of the wads of paper. There was even a mouse in the mix. It was like Christmas all over again.

Of course, I quietly disposed of some of the balls while he was busy and not paying attention.

Siamese cat and paper ball

I love a cat who can appreciate a cheap toy. I am not looking forward to his teenage years.

Forgotten Photographs

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Recently I came across a folder on my computer dated December 15, 2009. It was simply labeled “Camera Tests.” I’ve seen it before but I didn’t think it was anything important so I just ignored it until I came across it the other day.

It was a month after we adopted Chris and the camera my wife ordered for me for Christmas arrived. I don’t remember but I assume she allowed me to open it and make sure it worked before she put it under the tree. So naturally, I took pictures of cats.

I thought it would be interesting to share these pictures of Chris’s early housemates since so much has changed since then.

We’ll start with Chris on the bed with Abbey, He probably annoyed her and caused her to leave.

Here is Abbey during a moment of peace.

Chris when he was still skinny.

Best buds, Alex and Tigger.

Another cute picture of Chris.

Our cat Princess did not come with us to Myrtle Beach but she did join us later. I don’t know if she was there when these pictures were taken but here is her picture.

Our other cat, Flash, was Tigger’s brother and a bit of a recluse. He was probably hiding somewhere when I took the other pictures.

So what do you think of Chris and his early siblings?

Our Unpredictable Ferals

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After my last post about the feral cat and kittens that have been coming to our house, I didn’t see them for about a week. I kept food out for them and some days it would be gone when I checked on it and some days it would still be there. We were never sure if the cats were eating it or some other animal was coming around until Wednesday evening when the mother cat and her two Siamese looking kittens showed up.

I wasn’t expecting them to be there when I walked outside to do laundry. I was surprised to see two kittens take off in opposite directions. One hid under my car and the other crawled under the home behind us and one over. That made me wonder if they were living there.

The mother stayed close and hissed and growled at me. Actually, it wasn’t really a growl. It was more of a low pitch sound that I sometimes hear from our cats when a strange cat comes around.

I decided to skip laundry for a while and went back inside. Soon, one kitten was back and I took these pictures through the window screen.

I then put a small can of wet food on a plate and brought it outside. The kitten ran away but the mom let me stay out there and take pictures while she ate. She does not seem afraid of me which makes me think she is not feral like her kittens. Even so, she is not overly friendly either.

I wanted her kittens to come back so I went in the house and waited. Sure enough, one of the kittens showed up.

I took this video which is a bit long but at 4:16 it skips ahead to a new can of food and a kitten eating it. I am unsure if it is the same kitten or if the timider of the two came back for a meal. Perhaps your eyes are better than mine. Also, my wife thinks the kitten’s belly shows signs that he or she has worms. I don’t know. Also, at 2:53, Frankie scares the kitten away by pulling himself up to the open window.

I called the TNVR place on Thursday morning but I am still waiting to hear back from them. In the meantime, I have not seen the cats since Wednesday and I have only seen the food in the bowl get eaten twice since then, including some time last night. Maybe they are being fed somewhere else or maybe some days they feast on rabbit, which is plentiful around here.

Pull ‘n Play Cat Toy

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Our cats loved this toy, especially Chris, until I put healthy treats in it.

Bad Cat Chris

Two weeks ago we bought two cat toys from Friskies called Pull ‘n Play. The toy is like a Weeble. which they call Wobbert. It is weighted on the bottom and it wobbles. It is shaped like an animal but I’m not sure what it is supposed to be, perhaps a bear. The head twists off so you can put treats inside. It comes with a bag of Friskies Party Mix and it also has a string-like treat that you thread through the ears. There is a small hole at the bottom so treats will fall out when it wobbles just right.

When we introduced it to our cats, Chris dominated the toy. As expected, he was the first, and still only, cat to figure out how the toy works. I recorded the first few minutes of them playing with it but later, after the camera was put away, I…

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Our Cat Has an Eating Disorder

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For many years now, we have had a tradition of turning skinny cats into fat cats. Case in point:

Frankie, on the other hand, has stayed skinny.

I’m sure this is because he scarfs up his expensive, canned food and home-made raw, organic chicken cat food, and then pukes it out. I feel bad for him when he does that but, I’m ashamed to say, I feel bad for my wallet too.

I think I would feel worse for Frankie if I thought there was something physically wrong with him but he seems pretty healthy otherwise. If he was human, I would think he has bulimia, but what he probably has is something called Eatwaytoofast Disorder.

I don’t know if there is a cure. Anyone else have experience with this?

Fifth Blogiversary

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Today marks five years since I started writing this blog. Time sure does fly when you are having fun. When I started I read that most blogs don’t last a year so I guess I am doing good.

When I look back, some things amaze me, like the fact that I wrote 693 blog posts. I know some of you are far ahead of me but for me, that’s an accomplishment.

I also have over 1700 pictures in my media library. Virtually all of them have been posted on this blog. You can almost say this is a photo blog with some words in it.

My most viewed post ever is “Are Ginger Cats Friendlier,” which doesn’t definitively answer the question but does show how many people are asking it. I will have to do me research on the subject.

My personal favorite post, it think, is “The Great Escape.” It was one of my first posts and it really showed a bit of Chris’s personality during those early days.

My favorite picture is a tough choice.

Maybe it’s Tigger washing young Chris.

Maybe it’s Daredevil Chris

Maybe it’s Chris sleeping on Tigger.

Maybe it’s baby Chris.

Maybe it’s not Chris at all, Maybe it’s Frankie . . .

. . . or Floki . . .

. . . or Puck.

Do you have a favorite?

What I really enjoy about blogging is the wonderful people that I have met, or at least virtually met. There are over 10,000 comments on my blog and then there are everybody else’s blogs too. It’s hard not to feel like I am surrounded by friends. Hopefully, before another five years passes, I will be able to meet some of you in person.

Until that time, Happy Blogging.

Photo Friday: Puck’s Profile

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Puck is a handsome cat but he is also difficult to photograph. As a result, he is a bit unrepresented on my Photo Friday posts. When I do manage to capture a good image of him, I feel like sharing.

On another note, the stray and her kittens that I wrote about in my last two posts may, or may not, be gone. I saw them last Sunday evening but since then the food I left out went uneaten until I noticed the bowl was empty yesterday morning, just when I was about to give up. I put more food in the bowl that morning and when I returned from work, the bowl was half eaten. Who, or what, ate it I don’t know.

My wife finally got a call from Meow Now who said they don’t catch kittens before the are old enough to be fixed, about eight weeks or so, because they are a TNVR organization and have no place to hold them. Rose said they were about three to five weeks. I think they might be older but I have little experience with young kittens Can someone help give me a better estimate. Please look at the picture on this blog post and tell me what you think.

Three Cats and a Toy

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This was a fun toy while it lasted. Click on “View Original Post” to see the video.

Bad Cat Chris

Recently I found a cat toy at a thrift store. I am not sure who makes it. The closest I could find was a toy called SmartCat 3836 Tick Tock Teaser perhaps this is a predecessor. They really loved it for the first ten minutes but now they barely notice it.

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Ferals at Our Door Update

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On my last post, I talked about the Feral or Stray mother and her two kittens who started coming around our house. I mentioned that they did not come around all day Sunday and I was worried about them. I’m happy to report now that they were back Sunday evening.

Rose saw her with her two kittens but by the time I got my camera out and opened the window, the kittens ran away under my car.

The mom quickly ate the dry cat food that was out there so I prepared a plate with some raw meat cat food. I spread out three teaspoons of meat around the perimeter of the plate so the kittens could eat. I also added more dry food. When I brought the plate out the mom cat hissed and growled at me but she eagerly started eating. I was able to pet her one time but dared not risk a bite from an unknown stray.

She let me sit there and photograph her while she scarfed up all the wet food meant for the kittens.

I went back inside while she fished eating. She seemed very hungry. After a while, one kitten came out but I could not photograph him because it was too dark by then.

That is the last time I saw the cats. They did not come here yesterday and I have not yet seen them this morning. I expect to talk to someone from a TNVR organization today about trapping them if they have not already been trapped. We will see.