Author Archives: Charles Huss

One Night Suspension of Bedroom Lockout

I thought I would reblog this post because Rose is away and I have been letting the cats sleep with me just like in this post. The results are about the same as before with Chris waking me up at 2 a.m. and again at 4:45.

Bad Cat Chris

Do you think putting this sign up would help?

I always feel bad for the other cats, Puck and Frankie, because they must be locked out of the bedroom because Chris is bad and can’t be in there. The reason Chris can’t be there is because he is the most annoying cat ever when we are trying to sleep. Nevertheless, I decided to leave the bedroom door open last night since Rose was away. I decided I would just give him a chance and if he was too bad I would just throw them all out and shut and lock the door (I have to lock it because Chris knows how to open it).

Chris and Puck immediately took advantage of the open door. Puck laid at my feet like the good cat that he is and Chris laid down by my head and immediately began clawing at my face…

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Floki’s First Birthday

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Today our little Floki turns one year old.

We don’t know when his exact birthday is but, if I remember the story correctly, Floki, his brother and one or more kittens from another litter were found in a box in a Walmart parking lot on Memorial Day last year. I subtracted his estimated age when we adopted him on the Fourth of July and came up with April 18.

I thought I would show some highlights from the past year.

Below is the picture my sister-in-law sent us to let us know she had kittens available. We don’t know for sure if this is Floki or his brother.

This is the first known picture of Floki at the vet where we came to see him and other kittens.

This was one of his competitors.

Here he is with his brother and another cat. We wanted to take them all.

Here is Chris meeting Floki. This went better then when he met Frankie.

Below is our first vet visit.

Chris shows him who’s boss.

Floki takes to the cat tunnel.

And he turns out to be a daredevil.

He makes friends.

And discovers new heights.

All while finding his place in the group and in our hearts.

This Little One’s Not Worth The Effort

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Frankie came across a snake during our walk last week. He seemed only moderately interested in it as if he couldn’t decide if the little fellow was worth the effort. His behavior was not very cat-like since most cats would go out of their way to catch the smallest insect. Well, at least our cats would.

Happy Easter

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Chris, Frankie, Puck, Floki and family want everyone to have a very happy Easter.

“Did you just lay an Easter egg, Frankie?”

“Of course not, Chris. My breakfast was carrying it in a basket.”

Photo Friday: Outside Bath

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Chris, unlike Frankie, is content with hanging out near home while eating grass or just soaking up the sun. Sure, sometimes he wanders off and needs to be watched but mostly he is just happy being outside. Here he is washing himself in the sunshine.

The Tables Have Turned

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I am happy that now things are pretty good between Chris and Frankie. They still fight but only occasionally.

Bad Cat Chris

When Frankie arrived at our home, alone and scared, Chris decided that he was the enemy and set out on a campaign of torment. We were very distressed about that because he did not do that with Puck and we were not expecting that kind of behavior from Chris. Nevertheless, whenever Chris got the chance, he would attack and, of course, Frankie would defend himself.

Eventually Chris warmed up to Frankie and gradually would not only instigate fewer fights but seemed to want to become friends with him. Unfortunately the damage has been done. The fighting continues but now it is Frankie that does most of the instigating while Chris seems to play a submissive role. Don’t get me wrong, Chris still thinks he’s the boss, but many fights with Frankie occur with Chris lying down while Frankie circles for a good spot to attack.

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Photo Friday: Planning His Escape

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This photo shows Frankie sizing up the tree he plans to use to get over the tall fence. I had to drop my phone and grab him as he reached the top of the fence, and then pull him back to my side.

A Not-So-Friendly Meeting With The Neighbor Cat

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When I took Frankie for a walk on Saturday (after he smelled my tires thoroughly) he walked right past the neighbor cats who were watching him from the window. Frankie pretended not to notice and walked on by.

On the way back I had to carry him because he rarely comes back on his own. As we passed the neighbor’s house, I could see one of the cats looking out the window near the door. The other cat was further away looking out a different window. I put Frankie down on the sidewalk in front of their house just to see what he would do. As expected, he walked right up to the nearest kitty to say hello.

I thought Frankie was a gentlecat but the female cat inside was not buying his pickup line and he was greeted with a lot of hissing. Fearing the neighbor lady would hear that and think (or know) I was contributing to this invasion of privacy, I quickly picked up Frankie and brought him home. That was close.

Who Peed on My Car? A Bobcat?

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Yesterday Frankie and Chris both got their time outside in the sun. Frankie always goes first on a cat-harness and leash and then when we return I let Chris outside without a leash. It works out good that way because he usually runs out the door anyway as I try to bring Frankie in.

As soon as Frankie got outside and walked near my car he stopped to smell my front tire.

20170401_112930 Frankie smelling tire

This smelling went on for a long time.

I thought an animal might have peed on my tire but I didn’t see any discoloration. This happened over Christmas on the front bumper of my wife’s car (see here). Frankie would not stop smelling the tire so I pretended like I was going to pick him up. That got him moving.

After our walk, I brought Frankie home and carried him inside. As predicted, Chris ran out the door. I removed Frankie’s harness and went outside to watch Chris. Once outside, I noticed Chris had already discovered the pee on the tire.

I knew it had to be pee at this point.

I just wondered who was doing the marking. Since it also happened to Rose’s car there is a good chance it happened in our driveway but I never see any loose animals around here that would do that. We live in a well-kept 55 plus community (because living with a bunch of people older than you makes you feel young). Outside cats are not allowed here and dogs must be on a leash.

Perhaps it’s a bobcat. I was told there were a couple of bobcats around here a few years ago. I can understand why since there is an endless supply of rabbits but I was also told nobody has seen them in years. I wonder about that after what I saw last week.

Frankie found what looked like bunny parts.

I don’t know what did this but it looks like a policy of indoor only cats is a good idea. I would hate to think of Chris or Frankie outside with a bobcat or some other large predator.