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.

Frankie and neighbor cat

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.

cat Frankie smelling tire

20170401_112930 Frankie smelling tire

This smelling went on for a long time.

cat Frankie smelling tire

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.

cat Chris smelling tire

I knew it had to be pee at this point.

cat Chris smelling tire

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.

Cat Frankie and dead bunny

Frankie found what looked like bunny parts.Cat Frankie and dead bunny

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.

 

Litter Boxes are for Cats

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Here is a classic from the past and one of my favorite information posts.

Charles Huss's avatarBad Cat Chris

When I met Rose she had one cat, Sneakers, who had a typical litter box. Later, when we added more cats, we added a couple more standard litter boxes. These boxes came with a cover that is designed control odors and keep more of the litter in the box. It is a great idea for humans, but what about for cats?

I never liked the covers and either threw them out or bought the box without the cover. I tried to look at it from the cat’s point of view. Would I like to crawl into a small cave to do my business? That is essentially what an outhouse or Port-O-Potty is and I never like using those and only do so when left with no choice.

The idea that those covers control odors, in my opinion, is a fallacy. They may somewhat contain the odors inside the box, in…

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Hello Neighbor

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Our neighbor on the north side of our house moved in a few months ago with two cats. I often see one cat or the other, sometimes both, sitting on their patio and looking out the window. I see them but I have never been aware that any of our cats had noticed them. Our patio, also known as the cats’ room, is on the opposite side of our house and the cats don’t look out the other windows too often except when they hear me pull into the driveway after work.

Chris and Frankie have been outside countless times since the neighbor moved in but every time they both seemed blissfully unaware of the other cats’ presence, even though they were only 10 feet away at times. Of course it helps that the other cats just casually watch Chris and Frankie without making a fuss. I found it hard to believe that they couldn’t smell them but I guess they were both just busy enjoying being outside.

The other day I brought Frankie out for a walk and he surprised me by walking right up to their patio door to say hello, like he knew they were there.

cat peeking in wingow

Unfortunately, the cats were not on the patio so we missed an opportunity for a meet and greet, but maybe next time. I guess Frankie knew all along there were kitties next door but chose not to let me know that he knew. Or something like that.

The Importance of a Cat Count

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I still do a cat count before leaving for work but not always before going to bed. I will have to follow my own advice.

Charles Huss's avatarBad Cat Chris

We have been living with cats for many years and on a few occasions we have come home from work to find one of our cats shut in a closet or some other small place. Once Abbey was stuck in the armor squeezed in next to the television. Fortunately I discovered her just before walking out the door.


fingersBecause of these traumatic events, I have developed a habit of doing a “cat count”  before leaving for work. We now have three cats so it is quick and easy but we did have six cats a few years ago.

Yesterday morning I did my usual cat count and then we went to work. When we got home I followed my standard routine. I fed them (first, of course), swept the litter, cleaned the litter box and took a shower. I then folded the clothes that were in the dryer while Rose…

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Puck the Pooper

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After several years of dealing with Chris pooping on the floor, we now have a new bad cat giving us the same trouble. Chris pooped his way through three homes before finally stopping when we moved into our last home.

Puck started pooping in our current home well over a year ago when we bought a new sofa for our enclosed patio. He surprised us by pooping on the sofa and we naturally blamed Chris. The pooping on the sofa happened a few more times and we eventually figured out that Puck was the culprit.

We concluded that the sofa was too close to the litter boxes for Puck’s comfort level so we moved them across the room. That ended the pooping, for awhile, but we still kept a cover on the sofa as well as pillows and cat toys to discourage pooping.

Things went pretty well after that with just an occasional “accident.” I don’t remember exactly when the pooping problem started again but it may have started when we brought Floki home last July.

A new kitten in the house may have caused some trauma for our timid Puck but Floki was traumatized a little too. He didn’t enter the house and take over like Chris did. Puck and Floki also get along well now, although they do a bit of roughhousing now and then.

I tried changing the litter. I tried scooping the boxes as often as needed. I tried adding another box. I even tried adding Dr. Elsey’s Cat Attract, which partially worked for Chris. Nothing worked for Puck.

I’m sorry for the graphic picture below but you can see what I am often presented with when I go onto the patio. The brown stuff in the box is the Cat Attract which guarantee​s 100% litter box use. Perhaps I should send them this picture.

cat poop

By the way, we solved Chris’s problem by moving the litter boxes from various rooms to the same place. This allowed him to pee in one box and then poop in another. I don’t know what to do about Puck

As I wrote the last sentence, I noticed a strong smell of poop. I turned around ans saw Puck just now pooped on the floor while I was busy writing.

I Don’t Know How They Do It.

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This morning I woke up to the soft blue glow of our living room television. 


This happens about twice a month and I can’t figure out how they do it because I have trouble turning the beast on. 

It has a weird quirk and can only be turned off by the remote control, not on. To turn it on, one must find the far right button in a row of flat buttons that cannot be felt nor seen in low light. Once the button is found, a simple touch won’t work. I find myself pressing firmly on it for a couple of seconds before it decides to work.

The real mystery here is, if these cats are smart enough to figure out how to turn on this very difficult TV. Why not turn on the cable box? That one is easy.