Tag Archives: Bad Cat

Stubborn Cat Chris

We had a party Saturday afternoon for Rose’s staff. I moved the bikes outside and we put a table on the patio for food and refreshments. It was something different and too much for Chris to resist. He kept jumping on the table and we kept making him get down. But being a bad cat is in Chris’s nature so he would not stop getting on the table.

Bad Cat Chris on party table

Rose wanted me to put him in the house so I pulled him off the table twice and put him inside. After the second time she realized the cat door was still open. I knew it was open but I felt bad about locking him inside. Rose didn’t feel bad and closed the cat door. That only worked until the first guest arrived and then Chris was on the patio the first time the sliding door opened.

The patio was just the first step. From there it was outside. The party was an outdoor event so people were constantly coming in and out of the patio and our bad cat Chris was constantly going outside with them. I would usually let him stay out for a little while because it was easier to watch him outside then try to keep him inside.

When I got tired of watching him I would put him back inside the patio. Sometimes I even put him in the house, but he would get out as soon as someone went inside to use the bathroom. He would then be completely outside when that person came back out. I sometimes feel like I have a two-year old child again.

It was a great party but it was also a long, exhausting day. I thought for sure Chris would be tired and let us sleep through the night. I thought wrong.

Photo Friday: Shelf Space

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Doing laundry in our house can sometimes be a challenge, especially with a bad cat (or two). Sometimes I have to deal with Puck climbing into the washer or dryer, other times Chris jumps on top of the machines and then has to explore all the shelves in the laundry room. Those shelves are just packed with stuff but he always manages to find room to move around up there.

Photo Friday: The Great Outdoors

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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.

Our cat Puck wanting to join Chris outside

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.

Photo Friday: Happiness is a Dresser Drawer

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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.

Chris the Locksmith

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I mentioned in an earlier post that we have been able to keep our bedroom door shut since moving to our new place. I also mentioned that we need to lock the door to keep him from making a lot of noise by pulling the handle down and letting it flip back up. Another reason for locking it is because he has now figured out how to open it.

A few weeks ago he opened our door in the middle of the night even though it was locked. I assumed that it was not completely shut and he was able to push it open. After last night I am not so sure.

We got home late because I picked up Rose from the airport and we were both tired when we went to bed so I forgot to lock the door. So as soon as I fell asleep Chris starts flipping the door handle, causing me to get up and lock the door. About an hour later Chris is on the bed biting my nose.

I assumed he opened the door slightly while flipping the handle and I didn’t push it shut when I locked it. I picked Chris up, put him down outside the door and pushed the door completely shut and then locked it again. This time he was staying out. At least he was staying out until 4:00 a.m. when he showed up on the bed to wake me up.

How does he do it? I know it’s a simple lock and can be defeated with a toothpick but he’s barely tall enough to reach the handle. And then there’s the whole opposable thumbs thing. I guess it is just one of those mysteries that may never be solved.

We Can Now Sleep Through The Night

When One Door Opens, Look For Chris

Catnip Bender

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I have a catnip plant that I have been growing for several months now. It has been outside all this time because the first time I brought it inside for the cats they didn’t seem interested in it. Yesterday I decided to try again. What a difference a few months make. I don’t know if it smells different now but the cats had their faces so deep into the plant that I thought they were going to get sucked in and disappear.

Chris was being a bit possessive of the plant and would whack Puck every now and then. When I saw how funny they were I ran to grab my camera. I wanted to also grab my video camera but the memory card was full because of my wretched procrastination. I snapped some pictures and took a short video using my Canon SLR but as always happens when shooting video with my Canon, I managed to screw up the focus. I am sure there is an auto focus setting but I have not taken the time to look for it.

After less than a minute the memory card on my Canon filled up too but I did manage to catch a bit of the action. Now I have so erasing to do.

The Biting Continues

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When Chris was a kitten, we had a big problem trying to sleep because when he wasn’t biting our ears or noses he was attacking our feet under the covers. I was hoping very much that this was the kitten in him and he would stop when he matured. He is now four years old and we are still waiting for him to mature.

He did eventually stop biting our feet at night but he still is a nose biter. He especially like to bite my nose for some reason. These last few months I have noticed his biting has been getting worse, not better. He has taken to biting my arms and legs like he is a kitten again. He does not always act that way but he gets into these frisky moods where he feels like he has to bite me.

I caught him in one of thee moods a few months ago and recorded it and then forgot it was on my camera until I noticed it the other day.

Does anyone else have a cat that does this? I’m just curious how common this behavior is.

Does Smart Cat Equal Bad Cat?

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I recently got a nice review for the Bad Cat Chris book on Amazon by someone named Mia (If you are reading this Mia, thanks for the review and the insight). She said she had a cat like Chris and suggested that smart cats misbehave more because they need more mental stimulation.

I have not heard this before and I don’t know if it is true but it makes sense. Chris is probably the smartest cat I have ever had and has a knack for figuring things out that most cats won’t even attempt. I can’t tell you how many doors he has figured out how to open or how many things he has managed to get on top of where other cats would not even think to go.

I used to let him outside on “supervised” visits and he learned that going under cars meant I couldn’t catch him so he could stay out longer. Puck and Tigger also had short outings but never made the connection.

Perhaps there is something to that theory. maybe I need to stimulate him by giving him math problems, or perhaps a Rubik’s Cube. No, that won’t work. He would need opposable thumbs for that.

What do you think? Is the smartest cat you have ever had also the baddest?

The Bitter Taste of Freedom

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I had the day off from work today because it has been very slow. Since I was planning on riding my bike to work I decided instead to take the bike out for a fun ride this morning.

I keep my bikes on the patio and we normally keep the patio door locked so nobody can let the cats out but I left it unlocked this time. There is no way to lock it or unlock it from the outside and I wanted to be able to put my bike back without having to walk around to the front door.

I was gone for about an hour and a half. When I returned, it was almost 11:00 and it was already pretty hot. As I walked the bike around to the back, I heard Chris crying on the patio. At least I thought he was on the patio but when I looked closer, I noticed I was looking at him through two screens.

The far side of our patio was built with a small space for the air conditioner. Chris was outside in that space, probably trying to figure out how to get back in. He was crying and panting and for one second, I thought about taking his picture, but it seemed cruel to make him wait. I walked around to where he was and when I got there he cried some more and indicated he wanted me to pick him up. So up he went onto my shoulders and we walked into the house together.

This picture my help visualize where Chris was when I found him.

I was concerned Puck got out too. I didn’t see him on the patio or anywhere nearby. I also didn’t see him when I walked into the house. After a quick search, I found him in the back bedroom looking out the window.

I don’t know how Chris got out. He is a master at opening doors, perhaps he figured the screen door out. It is also possible that it did not latch when I closed it or someone opened it after I left. I don’t know. I just hope this experience makes him less likely to want to go off on his own again. I know I will be locking that door before my next ride.

Who Needs Room?

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Not long after we adopted Puck I mentioned in a post that he had taken over Chris’s routine of hanging out with Rose in the bathroom while she got ready for work. In a recent post, I said that Chris regained that position after we moved into our new place.

Now, every morning, Chris is on the counter while Rose is putting he make-up on. Our last bathroom had plenty of counter space but this one does not, and Rose is constantly trying to get Chris to lie on the other side of the sink where there is more room. That, of course, is a fruitless effort so every morning I hear the call, “Chuck, come get your cat!”

I try, but there is no way I can reach him where he is so Rose pushes him down which only causes more disruption when he jumps back up and tries to get back into his spot. Eventually Rose gives into the fact that she has an unwanted guest that won’t leave.

I think it is both cute and funny, but don’t tell Rose I said that.