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Cats are Clumsy


Cats have a reputation for being very graceful but in reality, they can be quite clumsy. They are graceful under certain circumstances. For example, they can walk across a display full of porcelain collectibles and leave them all undisturbed. Yes, they are graceful walkers, but what about running and jumping?

Running, and especially jumping, is where they all turn into a cat version of Inspector Clouseau. I don’t know why, maybe nature didn’t prepare them for indoor living, but every time one of our cats jumps on something I hold my breath while I wait to see if something, or someone, falls over. All of our cats have fallen, knocked something over or slid into something but our most clumsy cat has to be Puck.

cat puck

Who? Me?

scratch from catOne example happened Friday morning. I was sitting at the computer when Puck jumped onto my lap, stepped onto the desk and then jumped to get on top of our laser printer. He missed, and grabbed onto whatever he could to keep from falling. That happened to be me. I supposed I could have backed away and saved myself but I hung in there to save my dear, little klutz.

I ended up with a large scratch on my arm, two scratches on my side and a puncture at the edge of my fingernail. In addition, he hurt an already sore shoulder and I spilled coffee on myself.

That was just one example. It seems whenever a wound from one clumsy cat incedent heals, I end up with another one.

We are not the only household with clumsy cats. Shortly after I started writing this post yesterday evening, I saved it to eat dinner and watch a movie with my wife. She did not know what I was writing about but relayed a story to me after the movie was over. She said her friend’s cat tried to jump on a cabinet and missed. He ended up breaking his femur and now she is faced with a $1500 vet bill.

Okay, it’s your turn. Tell me about your clumsy cats.

To Catch a Cat


Frankie escaped three times last weekend by using a trick that Chris figured out years ago; He no longer hesitates when the door opens. As soon as the door cracks open, out he goes. Once out, he is nearly impossible to catch. I have to wait until he wears himself out before I can catch him.

The following video was compiled from two separate escapes, Friday evening and Sunday afternoon.

It is very similar to what Chris used to do four years ago.

In other news, we could not get Chris a vet appointment until late Tuesday. I am concerned because when we got home today I noticed that both of his eyes are compleatly dilated. I called the vet back but they had closed by then. I did leave a message that I was concerned and asked if they could squeeze him in on Monday. I will be at work so Rose will have to bring him.

Photo Friday: Special Delivery


Chris has not been feeling well lately and spends a lot of time sleeping, which is typical cat behavior but not typical Chris behavior. The last couple of weeks, while our other three cats are gathered in the kitchen waiting to be fed, Chris is laying down somewhere in the house and I have to bring him his dinner, which he does not get up to eat.
cat eating while lying

We have been debating on whether or not to take Chris to the vet. His eye is still bad but slightly better and he does eat and he does come out for attention sometimes, but not as often as before. I worry that if I do bring him to the vet they will just give him antibiotics and steroids (which he has never had and I would like to keep those out of his system) and I will be out several hundred dollars. On the other hand, I would possibly find out if it is something different than what Frankie, Puck and Floki had.

Couch Pooper Puck


About a year ago a cat pooped on our brand new sofa and we assumed it was Chris. I even accused him in this post. We later realized it was Puck doing the bad deed (see here). We assumed he was doing it because the addition of the sofa interfered slightly with access to the litter boxes, so we moved them to a new location and the pooping stopped.

A couple of weeks ago the pooping started up again. I thought it was because our new addition, Floki, was adding to the amount of poop in the litter boxes and Puck didn’t like that. I scoop more often but it’s hard to keep up when I am sleeping or at work so we decided it was time for another litter box.

I went to PetSmart about two weeks ago on Sunday but their litter box choices were very poor. An employee told me a truck was coming in the next day but I needed something right away so I bought the biggest box that I could find, which my wife thought it was too small. I went back the next day but the selection was still terrible so I just returned it.

We went to a different PetSmart the following Saturday. I was looking for another Giant Litter Pan but the box in the center of the below picture was the best we could find. I should have just ordered it on Amazon since we waited almost a week just to settle for okay.

cat litter boxes

Since adding the new box, Puck has pooped on the sofa one time. I thought I might have to move the new box in front of it but I don’t want to do that so we will see if the badness continues.

The New Computer… Box


Hey Chris! Check out the new cat box.

cat and box
Someone tell dad to take his new computer out of our box.
Cat and computer box

Look, there’s pillows too.

Cat and computer box

This is awesome!

Cat and computer box

 

Frankie, what about this weird thing.

kitten and computer

 

Oh, that’s just Dad’s computer Floki. They can’t send empty boxes for some reason so they put worthless stuff in them to add weight.

Cat and computer box

Thanks for keeping the box warm for me, Frankie.

Cat and computer box

I love these pillows.

Cat and computer box

Dad! You can’t take my cool pillows and give me this lame pillow. Did you think I wouldn’t notice?

Cat and computer box

Frankie! Dad thinks I’m a baby and took my plastic pillows, like I’m gonna suffocate or something. Isn’t that crazy…? Are you up there Frankie? Frankie…?

Cat and computer box

Photo Friday: Enjoying the Outdoors


Our cats are stuck inside most of the time so I can’t blame them for trying to get out every time someone opens the door. Lately Frankie has been relentless. He stands by the door and cries or he runs to the door every time someone in the house gets up.

I try to put a harness on him at least once each weekend. When I do, Chris is right there ready to run out the door. I try to stop him but I often fail and he is outside with Frankie. That is what happened Saturday. I tried watching Chris while I had Frankie on the harness. It was easy at first because Frankie and Chris were both content with staying close to home while eating grass.

cats outside eating grass

The problem started when Chris wandered to the back to see what Frankie was doing and then kept going to the neighbor’s driveway behind us.  I then had to put Frankie inside the house and retrieve Chris. I then brought Chris inside and let Frankie back out again. It was a pain but Frankie was happy in the end.

Sparring Partners


These were fun days. We still have a lot of sparring matches going on here but most of them are Frankie and Floki now. Sometimes Floki fights with Chris and Puck but Chris has been sick lately and lays around most of the time. I hope he feels better soon.

Charles Huss's avatarBad Cat Chris

Since the first day Chris graced our home with his presence, he has had a fighting spirit. He would attack the other cats, hoping to find someone willing to play with him but would instead just get growls and hisses.

That changed when we got Puck, who was a kitten at the time and is now about a year and a half old, still young enough to keep up with Chris. That may change when Puck matures and Chris doesn’t, but we shall see.

The other night the two of them got into a major fight, taking it from one room in the house to the next.

Bad Cat Chris and Puck fighting My box, stay away!

Bad Cat Chris and Puck fighting Oww! You’ll pay for that, Puck!

Bad Cat Chris and Puck fighting This should show you who is boss around here. (Chris will sometimes hold Puck down by the scruff to show dominance)

Bad Cat Chris and Puck fighting No, wait! That tickles.

Bad Cat Chris and Puck fighting Let’s dance.

Bad Cat Chris and Puck fighting Do you want a face full…

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Chris’s Turn For Eye Problems


A couple of weeks ago we were concerned because Frankie’s left eye was dilated (see here). His eye slowly got better so I am not as concerned now that Chris has the same problem. That does not mean I am not concerned at all, especially since Chris has been a bit lethargic lately. I will have to monitor him closely. A vet visit may be in order but since Chris has never been injected with chemicals like steroids and antibiotics, I would like to keep his system clean, which won’t happen if a vet sees him.

Cat Chris bad eye

Sorry about the poor quality. Chris kept moving his head.