Category Archives: Uncategorized

Rebuilding Burnt Bridges


For Throwback Thursday, this post is from almost five years ago when Chris decided Frankie was a better friend than an enemy but Frankie was not so sure. Today they mostly get along.

Charles Huss's avatarBad Cat Chris

When we adopted Frankie, Chris behaved very uncharacteristically toward him. He did whatever he could to show Frankie he was not a welcome cat (See here). Eventually Chris accepted Frankie’s presence and took steps toward making peace with him but unfortunately Chris burned those bridges. Frankie turned the tables on him and became the aggressor and started attacking Chris on a regular basis.

Lately things have settled down a bit and I see Chris’s efforts are starting to pay off. Yes, there are still fights. Some of those fights are even started by Chris, but more and more I see the two of them hanging out relatively close without one trying to whack the other. Perhaps there is hope for the future.

Cats Frankie and Chris We weren’t fighting. We were just meowing. Honest.

Cats Frankie and Chris I’d like to be your friend, Frankie, but first I must smell your butt.

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Chris Turns Ten


Time flies when you’re having fun. It’s hard to believe that we are already celebrating Chris’s tenth birthday today. We celebrate his birthday on the 14th but we don’t know the exact date of his birth. We only know he was around six months old when we adopted him on November 14th.

If you haven’t already read Chris’s ebook, Bad Cat Chris: The Baddest Cat You’ll Ever Love, it will be free until midnight today (Pacific Time) to help celebrate his birthday. The book only covers the first three plus years after we adopted Chris but those three years were quite an adventure.

Today, I just want to share, or reshare, some of my favorite Chris photos from each year since we adopted him.

cats Chris and Tigger
Chris and Tigger, 2009
Abbey, Chris, and Tigger, 2010. I assume Chris was annoying Abbey here.
Bad Cat Chris, Abbey and Tigger
Abbey, Chris and Tigger, 2011
Chris jumping down from Window
Chris jumping down from Window, 2012.
Bad Cat Chris outside
Chris by the pool. 2013.
Chris in the tree in our front yard, 2014.
Bad Cat Chris with lizard
Chris showing off his lizard, 2015.
Cats Chris and Puck lying together
Puck and Chris, 2016.
cats resting
Floki, Puck and Chris, 2017.
Chris was still getting into trouble in 2018.
Chris showing off his ample belly, 2019.

I hope you enjoyed this journey through time. It was very difficult to choose the best photo from each year so I just didn’t spend too much time thinking about it.

On another note, if anyone is interested in Genealogy, I am starting a series of posts about my efforts to research my family history and what I found along the way. The first post is up at http://charleshuss.com/2019/05/discovering-my-ancestry-part-1-a-difficult-beginning/

Happy Mother’s Day


Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms out there. Even if all your kids have fur, you are still a mom that deserves to be pampered today.

The above photo is Abbey and Flash, taken in February, 2010. Abbey never had kittens of her own that we know of but she was very nurturing and was like a mother to some of our boys, including Flash and Chris. Below is Chris with his human Mom the day we adopted him.

Early picture of Bad Cat Chris and Rose
Early picture of Chris and Rose

Photo Friday: Bed Making Will Have To Wait


It was time to make the bed the other day but who would blame me for not wanting to break this up?

Mark your calendars. Chris will turn ten on May 14 and his eBook will be free that day on Amazon. If you haven’t read it, it covers the first few years after we adopted him, which were the most difficult. Click here for the link.

Our New Easy-On Cat Harness


For Throwback Thursday I thought I would share a post I did almost exactly four years ago. It is when I bought Frankie’s harness that he still uses today.

Charles Huss's avatarBad Cat Chris

After the trouble Frankie caused for me during the last couple of cat outings, I decided it was time to put him back on a harness. The harness he had was just too hard to put on a struggling cat so I looked for a harness that was very easy to put on. I found one from a company called Bark Appeal. Judging by the name, I assume it is a dog harness but it also works for cats. This harness has two Velcro strips and putting it on is just a matter of wrapping it around his neck and abdomen.

Bark Appeal cat and dog harness

Frankie seemed perfectly fine wearing it. He made no attempt to get out of it and gave no indication that it might be uncomfortable. I bought the mesh version because I thought it would be cooler and lighter but there were other fabric choices. I also got a size large…

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Frankie Loves His Blankie


I have talked about this before but I never get tired of it. Frankie loves soft, fleece blankets, especially a small green one that we sometimes put on our bed just for him. He treats this blanket like it is his little cat girlfriend.

I have several videos of Frankie with his blankie but never from the beginning, until now. My wife put the blanket on the bed the other day and I started filming as soon as Frankie jumped on top of it. He always starts with the corner which would not be unusual for a human but it is nice to know that cats are smart enough to know that the corner is easier to work with than the middle.

Friskies Pull ‘n Play with Substitute Treats


I wrote about the Friskies Pull n Play toy a few years ago (read post here) but that toy disappeared not long after that post and I recently bought a new one. This time I skipped the included treats and put in treats that I consider to be much healthier. I realize that that toy is like a computer printer, sold with the intent of making big money on the refills, so Purina will not be happy with me.

The Pull ‘n Play comes with Friskies Party Mix, which is a favorite of many cats, and some kind of string-like treat, which most cats don’t care too much about. Both treats, in my opinion, are not healthy options so instead I filled the toy with Instinct Raw Boost Mixers. This is a freeze-dried, raw cat food that I believe is a much healthier option than most commercial treats out there and our cats love them. They also love a similar freeze-dried, raw cat food called Stella and Chewy’s, which has the advantage of coming in larger sizes that are cheaper per ounce but the morsels tend to be too big and flakey for use in this toy.

There is one drawback to substituting the treats; They don’t fall out as easily as the intended treats, but that may not always be a bad thing. My plan is to fill it up before going away on vacation. I tend to worry that something may happen to the cat sitter and having a treat dispenser might just help a little if they don’t get fed. If I will use it for entertainment then I might want to make the hole a little bigger. Perhaps with a file or large drill I can increase the hole size just a little and all will be right with the world.

Here is a video of my first attempt. Of course Chris dominates the toy just like he did with the catnip.

What do you think? Have you tried this toy? Have you tried Instinct or Stella and Chewey’s?