Tag Archives: cat

Grandma’s New Cat

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A couple of months ago, my mother-in-law’s beloved cat, Finnegan, died at a fairly young age. I wrote about his adoption three years ago here. Recently, a stray cat started coming to her door. I think the word has gotten out amongst the homeless cat community that her house is the place to go.

This new cat was very friendly and must have had a home at one time because he had worn-out nail covers, but he was not neutered.

I don’t know how long he was coming around. I assume long enough to know he was separated from his original family. So my mother-in-law decided to bring him in and make him an inside cat.

We were there visiting Sunday morning and the cat was happy getting attention from all of us. She had an appointment to get him fixed this week and the only thing left is to name him. Someone suggested Zorro and she liked that name but I don’t know if she officially decided yet.

Frankie’s So-called Walk

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I took Frankie for a walk on Saturday and we stayed relatively close to home this time. Frankie spent a lot of time doing things other than walking.

After hanging out by the pool area we spent some time relaxing at the picnic area. By that I mean napping.

Eventually we made our way back home but when I opened the door Frankie didn’t want to go inside so I had to pick him up and put him in the house. When I did that, Chris was at the door waiting to go out but we needed to leave for a wedding, so Chris didn’t get his turn. I felt really bad about that.

Our Huggable Cat

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My stepson, Nick, flew in yesterday with his girlfriend and the four of us are going on vacation together this week. I posted recently about how Puck was nervous around Nick, but not so with Chris.

Chris loves everyone and he especially loves to be hugged, which is not a typical cat behavior. Of course, Chris is not a typical cat.

Floki’s Vet Visit and Near Disaster

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My wife called me at work yesterday and said Floki was behaving strangely when he ate so we decided it was best to call the vet right away since the weekend was coming up. She got him an appointment for 11 a.m. this morning.

I noticed when I got home yesterday that he did seem a little off when he ate, like he was having trouble swallowing or something but then, on the next bite, he seemed fine. Nevertheless, we wanted to make sure he was okay.

So, amazingly, we were able to get him in his carrier and I brought him to the vet. I didn’t get any useful photos but here is one from another trip to the vet.

The vet checked him out pretty thoroughly and found nothing serious wrong with him. He did say he had slight gingivitis but not enough to cause problems. He also said he had wax build up in his ears and suggested we clean them. I laughed at that because Floki is a Cat 5 tornado when we try to do anything that he doesn’t want done. That is why I asked them to clip his nails while he was there.

When I checked out it was raining pretty hard outside. I usually wear moccasins that are comfortable but are slippery when wet. I didn’t think about that since it wasn’t raining when we left the house.

So I went out the door in the pouring rain and walked quickly to my car. As soon as I stepped on the asphalt I slipped and fell forward. If Floki wasn’t with me it probably wouldn’t have been a big deal but Floki’s soft carrier hit the ground and I was about to land on top of him. I twisted my body to the left to keep from crushing Floki but hit my elbow hard on the pavement. I also got very wet because I ended up laying on the flooded pavement. Fortunately, I only hit Floki with a glancing blow so at least he is okay.

Come to Mama

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The other night my wife and I were sitting in bed, winding down before bedtime. Frankie was on my lap like he often is.

This is a photo from last year.

Rose looked at him and said something like, “Do you know that Frankie never lies on my lap? Not ever. And I’m the one that saved him.”

It’s true. We adopted Puck for Rose but Puck took to me more so she wanted her own cat. . . again. When we found Frankie he let Rose hold him and snuggled up to her enough to win her over and get adopted. After that, he was my cat

So, while Frankie was on my lap, Rose said to him, “Frankie, you come see Mama! C’mon Frankie, come to Mama.”

Then, as if he understood English, he got off my lap, walked over to Rose and let her pet him for about eight seconds, then walked back and got on my lap again.

You just can’t make this stuff up.

Wrong House, Frankie

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My wife is looking for a housekeeper so our next door neighbor, April, recommended somebody that she knows. April is at our house quite often and she watches our cats when we go away sometimes, so our cats are very familiar with her. Of course, when April came over to introduce her friend to Rose, Frankie ran out the door and escaped.

I don’t have a picture from yesterday but here is Frankie during another escape.

It seems that everything interesting that happens with our cats lately happens while I’m at work. Rose sent me the following text yesterday morning.

A few minutes later I get this one.

When I got home I found out the whole story. Apparently April went back to her house with the lady and must have had her door open because Frankie ran inside her house. I don’t know what happened while he was inside but April then carried Frankie home.

It reminds me a lot of what happened when Chris was young. This might be my favorite story about Chris. You can read it here.

Our Fearless Cat

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Chris has always been an unusual cat, which is why I thought he would be a good subject for a blog. One thing that makes Chris different from most cats is his fearlessness. You may remember posts about his indifference to the vacuum, or the post about him watching fireworks with us.

Last week my wife told me about something that happened while I was at work. She said one of those bucket trucks pulled up and a man got in the bucket and proceeded to trim the palm tree next to our house.

The noise freaked out Floki and Frankie, who came running into the house from the Florida room. They were both very nervous as they listened to the noise coming from outside. But Rose did not see Chris so she got up to check on him and was surprised by what she saw.

Chris was sitting on top of his crate, less than ten feet from the tree, watching the man trim the palm fronds.

If someone else has a cat like Chris, I would love to hear about it.

Lazy Cat Chris

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Chris is no longer the adventurous, trouble seeking cat he used to be. Now he just causes trouble whenever he can do so with little to no effort. For example, I noticed recently one of the food bowls is often turned over on its side. I know Chris was doing it but never actually caught him in the act. He has become so lazy that he can’t even stand up to eat his food. He tips the bowl over and eats while lying down.

While I was at work yesterday my wife sent me the following photos from the scene of the crime, where the culprit was caught on camera.

I guess I need to put up a sign that says, “No tipping, please.”