After Frankie’s bad behavior on Saturday. I decided I was not going to take him outside on Sunday. He bugged me most of the day. Every time I got up he pleaded with me to take him out, but I held firm.
Later that afternoon, Chris sat at the door and asked me to let him out. Since Chris didn’t scratch my face yesterday I opened the door and let him out. Frankie was in the other room and didn’t see me do it.
It didn’t take him long to figure it out. Before long he was in the window very upset that Chris was outside and he was inside.
I felt bad for him but he needs time to think about how he can improve his behavior, which I am sure is exactly what he did.
I took Frankie out for a walk Saturday morning. Since I started a new job on Thursday I am not able to take him out every day, and he was really hounding me to go outside.
After about fifteen minutes we came upon one of the same cats that we saw recently with pretty much the same result.
After this incident, the other cat was hiding so I thought it best to pick Frankie up and move him away from the area. As I was carrying him I passed a neighbor who commented on Frankie’s cuteness. I told her I was carrying him because of aother cat.
She said, “Oh, that’s Sampson.” I could be wrong about the name but it was the name of an ancient warrior. So now I know the other cat is male. What surprises me is that Frankie would be the aggressor since we were on the other cat’s home turf.
I put Frankie down and we wondered for another fifteen minutes or so. My wife and I were heading out soon so I needed to get Frankie home. I was willing to let him walk home but he was going in the wrong direction and my efforts to turn him around failed.
The only thing left to do was pick him up and carry him home. So I picked him up and started walking. Frankie was upset and started hissing. I said, “Frankie, don’t hiss at me!”
“Hssssssssssss,” was his response.
I don’t know what made me think kissing him on the top of the head would calm him down. Instead, he twisted and launched both sets of claws into my face.
I dropped him to the ground and yelled at him. I won’t repeat my words here. I then picked him up and continued home. I could feel blood flowing down both sides of my face. He got me next to my right eye and just above my mouth on the left side. I worried that they might be deep scratches that would scar my face.
When I got home my wife was shocked to see my bloody face. I told her what happened and she said, “That’s it! Frankie is not going outside anymore.”
I then wiped the blood off my face and was relieved to see that both wounds were more like punctures instead of scratches.
I don’t think I will stop taking Frankie outside but I do think he could use a time out right now.
It is pretty cool that our cats get along as good as they do. This photo was from Wednesday evening but as I write this on Thursday evening they are all grouped together on the bed in a similar way.
I previously mentioned how Frankie can sometimes be oblivious to what is happening around him. Case in point: Two days ago we were outside and Frankie decided to start rolling around in the dirt, probably to the amusement of the cat lying on a nearby table.
The cat saw us but remained quiet and seemingly unconcerned. Frankie never saw the cat there watching us.
Today Frankie did notice an outside cat.
The cat made a short, howling noise and then remained quiet. Surprisingly, after about ten seconds, Frankie got bored and turned and walked away.
I have been taking Frankie for a walk almost every day since my job went out of business. This means there are many more chances for meeting stray or outside cats. Yesterday, a stray saw us and started walking toward us.
I thought it might be a friendly encounter but Frankie had something else in mind.
I can’t help but wonder what happens when he escapes and is gone for three hours.
By the way, I did accept a job offer yesterday so I will be spending less time at home soon.
My wife and I usually sit in our bedroom for about an hour before we go to bed. Within the first ten minutes, all three cats usually filter into the room and join us. I have to get under the cover to protect myself from betting scratched by Chris.
I might be a bad pet parent for saying this, or even thinking it, but I love one of our cats more than the others. I know that sounds terrible. It’s like saying you love one child more than another.
I’m talking about Chris, of course, but I’m not sure love is the right word. It is harder to define than that. It is like I have formed an emotional bond with him and I know when our time together comes to an end, breaking that bond will be the hardest thing to do since my dad passed away. To be fair, I do love all our cats but Chris is a bit different.
The reasons I have formed such an attachment are many. The badness that I talk about on this blog is just a behavior. There are many other sides to Chris. There is funny Chris, cute Chris, Talkative…
Frankie has been going on many walks since I have been out of work. Yesterday morning he took me to the street behind our house. There, about five or six houses up the street, Frankie found one yard that had a lot of captivating smells. I’m sure the smells had something to do with the gray and white cat that was lying in the grass and casually watching us. The cat had a collar and was probably wondering what we were doing in his or her yard.
Frankie was far too busy smelling to pay attention to his eyes. After some time, the cat decided to be friendly and started walking toward us. I thought it would be a good idea to pick up Frankie and move him out of sight before he noticed the cat.
He was upset that I took him away from all those smells but he soon found other interests. Eventually, we worked our way back to our street. This time Frankie noticed another cat.
This one didn’t have a collar and I believe it was the same one Frankie encountered before.
I do not know if these encounters with cats would end up friendly or not so friendly, but I prefer not to find out. I turned off the camera and took Frankie away from this cat too. I set him down out of sight of the cat and Frankie just sat there for a long time, perhaps waiting for the cat to come into view. After a while, I picked him up and carried him home.
On a separate note, I want to share a funny story about Frankie. About a week ago, Frankie was sitting on the cabinet that we have in front of the dining room window. I was in the kitchen and watched Frankie jump from the cabinet to the dining room table. It was a simple jump, perhaps two feet, but he missed. His front paw missed the table and he landed on his head and did a summersault and popped back up on his feet on the table like he was performing a comedy act in a circus. I wished I had it on film because it surely would have gone viral.
When you came into our condo, the stairs were to the right and a long, kitchen counter was to the left with a walkway between them. Chris could never be bothered with walking around and would jump from the stairs to the kitchen counter or from the kitchen counter to the stairs.
My friend was at our house on Sunday and as he was coming in Chris ran out the door. With quick reflexes, my friend grabbed Chris before he made it past the first stair. Unfortunately, the delay in closing the door was long enough for Frankie to slip out. That, in turn, was the distraction Chris needed to get away as well.
Chris usually stays close so I don’t worry too much about him. Mostly he just eats grass but he will wander away if given enough time.
Frankie is the one I worry about because he just takes off. I think he searches the neighborhood for fleas, at least that seems to be the result sometimes. If he is not going under homes then he is hiding under cars so I can’t catch him.
On this day I just gave up and waited until Frankie was ready. While I was…
Bad Cat Chris 