I was feeling nostalgic and pulled this picture from the archives. It was from February, 2011, taken when Abbey and Tigger were still alive. Those two used to lie together and Chris would interrupt their nap by lying on top of or in between them. They didn’t like the interruption but would graciously tolerate his presence.
A couple of weeks ago we picked up a cat scratcher called Scratch-N-Maze. It is basically a scratcher and toy in one. It has a ball inside with one hole on top and several along the sides.
When we brought it home we should have just put it down and left it alone but instead we put a little catnip on it. This, of course, got the cats artificially interested in it. They were mostly interested in the catnip and not the scratcher or the toy. Since we had to go out again, we decided to wait and see how they liked it after the catnip effect wore off.
When we got home we found the Scratch-N-Maze pulled apart, catnip everywhere, and the ball on the floor. Not what we expected after two hours.
Since then I saw Chris playing with the ball through the holes once and I have yet to see either cat use it as a scratcher. This may be a great item for some cats but for ours, I would give it two paws down.
Chris loves going outside and sometimes he is just downright annoying about asking to go out. The other day I gave in to his demands and let him out.
When I let him out, it is usually for just five or ten minutes while I stand there and watch him. Sometimes he runs out the door when I come home, despite my best efforts to contain him, and I just give him a few minutes before retrieve him.
When he goes outside he usually just eats grass for the first few minutes, unless a lizard crosses his path. I have heard that cats eat grass when they are not feeling good but Chris always wants to eat grass. I hope that doesn’t mean he always feels bad. He sure does not act like he’s sick.
Chris enjoying the great outdoors.
Mmmm. Good grass.
What happened to the catnip plant? (Note: my plants are not always in disarray)
After Chris was outside, I noticed Puck inside watching him. I felt bad but it is difficult watching two cats at once.
What about me?
Finally I couldn’t take that sad look anymore so I let Puck outside too.
Hi Puck. Glad you could make it.
Let me show you around. This is our neighbors door. I think we can find trouble here.
I don’t know about trouble, Chris, but I found either poop or charcoal briquettes.
Letting Puck out proved to be a bad decision because when it was time to go in, he was the bad cat this time. Whenever I tried to pick him up, he would run off to a different location. I must have looked pretty funny chasing him around the yard.
Chris’s book, Bad Cat Chris: The Baddest Cat you’ll Ever Love, will be free on kindle today and tomorrow only. Amazon allows only five free days per 90 day enrollment in their KDP Select program. I already used three of those days, and since I don’t plan to re-enroll in the program, this may be the last chance to get it free. If you haven’t already picked up a copy, you can get it by clicking here.
I just want to ask everyone a big favor. Please, please, please, if you have read the book or plan on reading it, I would really appreciate a review on Amazon.
A good part of the book is taken from this blog and there is some added material as well. It is less than 30,000 words and can be read in one good sitting. Best of all, you don’t need a Kindle to read it. You can get an app for just about any device you have.
Chris is great at opening doors but I am usually on the other side of the door so photo opportunities don’t come along everyday. This photo was taken as Chris was desperately trying to get out the front door. Until recently he never bothered trying to open the door to the outside but I think he realized it is just like the door that leads to our bedroom that is so easy for him to open. This door, however, is a bit more difficult. The wet, humid summer has swollen the door so much that I can barely get it open, if Chris manages to open it I will have to start calling him SuperChris.
This is a great picture for a caption. You can see mine here. Can you think of one?
The title may be exaggerated but lately it seems like I find the cats playing with a lizard almost everyday. Sometimes it happens more than once in a day. I can only guess that they come in under the patio door, Chris or Puck finds them, asks them nicely if they want to play, and when hearing no reply (lizards can’t talk silly) bring them into the house for fun and games. It always seems to be a group event. Apparently they think they are pack animals like wolves.
This past week I had to dislodge three lizards from either Chris or Puck and put them outside. A couple more times I was too late.
The other day I walked by the bathroom and noticed Puck in the litter box and Chris standing next to it as if he was waiting his turn. Upon further inspection I noticed that Puck had brought a lizard into the box. I was too late to save it and I am not sure if it was a ceremonial burial that I interrupted.
Hurry Puck! If they find it we will be in trouble.
I am burying it as fast as I can.
Chris bothers Rose every morning while she is in the bathroom getting ready for work. That is one routine that I have already talked about on this blog. The truth is, Chris can be a creature of habit and his behavior can be quite predictable throughout the day.
For example, almost every day when I get out of the shower I can count on Chris to be there waiting for me. I don’t even get a chance to dry myself before he is trying to climb on my shoulders. Once he is up there it is very difficult to comb my hair, shave and brush my teeth. His cue to get off is when I brush my teeth and lean over to rinse my mouth.
He is also right there looking out the window by the front door when we get home from work. When I open the door I can count on him to try to run outside. He has learned some cleaver maneuvers and is getting by me more often now.
What I really find interesting is a habit that Rose noticed recently. When we sit down to watch TV, Rose puts a pillow on her lap and Chris lies on the pillow, but before he does that, he walks over her lap to me, kneads on my stomach for ten seconds and then walks back and lies on the pillow.
He does this every time. I never noticed it before. Perhaps he comes to me as if to say, “hey, I like you too so don’t get jealous.” Maybe he is just obsessive compulsive. I don’t know.
Does anyone else have a cat with a cute or funny routine? I’d love to hear about it.
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Getting on top of tall things like the china cabinet has always been Chris’s area of expertise. Puck usually just watched as Chris traveled the upper reaches of our home like Tarzan swinging through the vines. But he did more then watch; he learned. Now Puck is able to get on top of the china cabinet like an old pro. He even climbed inside one of Rose’s baskets one day so we decided to turn it on its side and now it is like a little penthouse with a view. It seems to be his second favorite place to be, right behind the top of the couch overlooking our living room window.
Of course, one cat can’t do something interesting without the other getting jealous and wanting to join in. So was the case this day when Chris spotted Puck in his “penthouse” and wanted to see if there was anything he could do to annoy him. In the end, Chris got bored and was off to a new adventure, leaving Puck alone to enjoy some peace and quiet.
Dad! Tell him its my turn!
I’ll wait ’till you’re done.
I can’t wait. I have things to do.
Was it something I said?
Alone at last.
I’ve had a passion for photography since my youth. Part of the reason I like it so much is that it helps my memory. Some people are gifted with a great memory, I am not, so it is nice to look back at old pictures and think, “oh yeah, I remember that now.”
I also like to take pictures that are a pleasure to look at, like landscapes, wild animals and pet cats. Yes cats, because they can be so cute and funny and who doesn’t enjoy a good cat picture?
I noticed that a few blogs do “Wordless Wednesday,” which I think is a good idea, but I happen to like words too. I even have a website devoted to funny animal pictures with captions called Just Fur Laughs (don’t click yet). So instead of “Wordless Wednesday” I decided to do “Photo Friday.” This will give me an opportunity to share some photographs that I think you will enjoy and a few words to go along with them. So let’s get started.
This photo was taken after Rose had her top drawer open and Chris climbed inside. He made his way to the back and then up and over so he was behind the drawer. I had to remove the top drawer to get him out, and when I did, Puck jumped inside to see what all the fuss was about. Chris has done this before so now we are more vigilant about keeping him out of the drawers when they are open but sometimes we are not vigilant enough.
Now, can anyone think of a caption for this photo? Once you have one, click here to see what I came up with.
Last week Rose and I took a short vacation. We stayed one night in Cocoa Beach, where we met up with Rose’s Dad and his wife, then we boarded the Disney Dream for a three night cruise to the Bahamas. It was a much-needed vacation but unfortunately we couldn’t bring Chris and Puck with us. That meant we had to find a reliable cat-sitter.
I am sure people who think of their pets as animals would be comfortable with googling pet-sitters and choosing the one with the best price, or better yet, finding someone they know that will do it for free. We think of our pets as children so the process for us was more like looking for a baby-sitter.
The last place we lived, the next-door neighbor had a seventeen year old daughter who would watch our cats. She was very responsible and loved cats, especially Chris. She would not only take care of their food and litter but she would also stay and spend time with them. Since moving, she was no longer an option so we had to look elsewhere.
By pure luck, we happened to live next door to a young mother who also happens to love cats. She agreed to take care of our “children” while we were away and we were sure she would do a good job but we still planned for the worst.
My biggest worry was that Chris or Puck would get out and she would have trouble catching them. I wanted to take the cats to get micro-chipped but we just never had the time. Another worry was that something bad might happen that would cause her to not be able to come, so we bought large food and water dispensers that would hold enough food and water for at least a week. It may have sent the wrong message to the sitter that we didn’t trust her, which was not the case, but even the most responsible person can be victimized by circumstances.
Rose called her the first evening we were gone to see how the cats were doing. She then told her we would be on the cruise so she would not be able to call the next day. After the call ended, I mentioned to Rose we would still have cell coverage for another day but she didn’t want the sitter to think we were checking up on her. I said nothing but I was thinking that checking up on a sitter is perfectly normal. I don’t think any parent would not call to see if their kids are okay and having cats is just like being a parent.
In the end everything worked out very well. The cats were fine and the sitter survived. Shockingly, she even offered to watch them again if needed.
