I saw Chris napping with his arm around Floki yesterday and thought it would be the perfect photo so I grabbed my camera and quietly walked toward them but not quiet enough because Chris pulled back his paw as he looked up to see who was making all the racket. He then went back to sleep leaving me still a very good photo but not the one I wanted.
Chris is the most affectionate cat I have ever seen and that affection is not limited to humans. He is equally affectionate with the other cats in the house and he always has been that way. Because of that, all of our cats, past and present, have thought of Chris as the annoying one. Rose and I would sometimes call him Baby Huey. The other cats would tolerate Chris but none of them would seek him out for attention.
Recently things have changed. A couple of months ago we saw Floki go to Chris and push his head into Chris’s face. Chris then washed him and the scene repeated many times after that. Now it is common to see Floki join Chris for a nap and not the other way around.
Does anyone else have a cat that seeks out attention to the point of annoyance?
Chris figured out how to get into the cabinet above the refrigerator. That wasn’t easy because the door opened towards him which blocked his way in. He somehow figured a way around that and probably thought he could enjoy some time to himself but that was not to be. Frankie saw what he did and came to investigate.
Better luck next time, Chris.
My wife invited four of our friends for dinner on Saturday night as a quasi house-warming party. She thought it would be a good idea to have some board games that we could play so we bought Monopoly and Yahtzee. The opportunity to play never came up on Saturday but the next day Rose challenged me to a game of Monopoly.
Everything went well for a while but then Chris jumped onto the table and lied down on top of the board after walking over my money and messing it up. I picked him up and put him down on the floor but he jumped up on the table again. This time he lied down off to the side a bit so I thought it would be better to leave him there than to constantly play the game of up-down. I was wrong. He started swishing his tail and Rose’s houses went flying so down he went.
He didn’t get back up, probably because Floki was now on the table wondering what was going on.
Since nothing attracts a crowd like a crowd, Frankie had to get up on the table to investigate.
Eventually, when all our cats were done monopolizing our game, we were able to play again. Naturally, I won but don’t tell Rose I told you. Shhh.
A similar thing happened years ago with Tigger while playing Monopoly. You can see that here on my blog Just Fur Laughs.
Our cat tree has a cubby with a small window. It is a place where a cat can go and get some privacy, as long as someone with a camera is not bothering them.
It seems like we have assigned seating in our house. Most every time I look, our cats are in the same place.
Naturally, with cats being cats, this will change by next week.
We made it through another move and we still have three cats. The bad news is that they are stuck inside without a catio.
The time leading up to the move went well for the cats. I thought they would be more stressed but they seemed to enjoy investigating all the changes.
Floki was not as bold but he was less nervous than I expected. I did feel bad for Frankie’s new favorite spot because I brought boxes to the new house during the week before the move and Frankie’s basket had to be lowered until there was nowhere to put it.
The movers were here at 8:00 a.m a week ago on Saturday. We moved most everything out of the catio and then put the cats out there while the movers emptied the house.
When they finished Rose took Floki in her car and I took Chris and Frankie in my car. I put Chris in front because his carrier was the biggest and put Frankie in the back seat.
Frankie was good but Chris was much more of a whiney baby than I expected. He cried practically the entire twenty-minute car ride. I posted a video below but Youtube rotated my video sideways with no option to rotate it back so it is what it is.
When we got to the house we had to keep them in one of the bedrooms until the movers finished and then we let them out to explore the house. Chris and Frankie were excited and explored everywhere while Floki hung out under the bed. You can see a brief glimpse of Floki at around the four-minute mark.
The new home has a Florida room with big windows that let in more sunlight than our last home, which had awnings that kept much of the sun out. As you probably know, cats love lying in the sunbeam.
Of course, it not always sunny in the Sunshine State.
My wife thought it would be a good idea to put curtains up but I thought it would ruin the view. She said they were sheer curtains and they were transparent so it would be no different than looking through the window without curtains. I said, “of course there is a difference.” If there was no difference than why are we wasting time and money putting them up? I didn’t actually say the last part.
I did open the curtains in the corner just to be a rebel.
That’s it for now. I’m sure I will have more stories to tell as we continue to unpack and settle in.
Back in January 2010, while I was still living in Myrtle Beach, I bought a film camera from a coworker who only used it for a college photography class. By that time I had long since given up my film cameras and was on my second digital SLR, which I got for Christmas a few weeks before and which I just replaced for my birthday last month.
This camera was called a Canon Rebel X and I bought it because I planned to sell it on Ebay for a decent profit. I also missed shooting film and thought it would be fun to buy a roll of film and test it. I practically grew up shooting film and I can understand why some people, even today, prefer it over digital. I am not one of those people but I can understand it.
Naturally, some of my test subjects were my cats. So sit back and relax while I wind the clock back eight and a half years.
Chris
Chris
Flash
Abbey
Tigger and Alex
Okay, we are back in 2018. How was the ride?
Recently we needed to bring Frankie to the vet to get his rabies vaccination so we could get him registered with the county. We needed to do that because the place we are moving to requires it. We also needed to bring Floki in to get his nails clipped so we thought we could bring them both at once.
I inquired about the price and was told that an examination was required by the state and the cost would be well over a hundred dollars. I forgot the exact amount. I called the vet around the corner from them and they charged under $50 on Saturdays and Wednesdays, no examination needed. Hmmm. Anyway, we made an appointment at the rip off vet for Floki’s nail trimming that Saturday and decided that Rose would bring Floki to that appointment while I brought Frankie to the other vet for his shots.
I brought two carriers inside very early that day so they could get used to them being there. It was Floki I was concerned about but he seemed indifferent about the carriers.
Chris and Frankie were more interested.
When it came time to go we decided to get Floki first because he was the most likely to run and hide. We recently bought a top loading carrier because Floki is so difficult to get in the carrier. He struggles like nothing I have ever seen before. Rose grabbed him and I assisted in shoving him inside and zipping it shut. Except the Tasmanian Devil managed to twist his way out and he disappeared down the hall and under the bed. We had to call the vet and cancel the appointment. I told them the truth, as embarrassing as it was.
Frankie was much easier to deal with so Rose and I both brought him in for his shots. He seemed pretty comfortable in the vet’s office.
There was so much to explore.
After a short time, the vet came in, gave him his shot and license and we were home in no time.
Now we need to find a new vet close to our new home. I don’t mind though because I have never been too impressed with our usual vet, especially after what happened to Puck.
I think I inherited a nomadic gene. We are moving again and this will be my twenty-first home in my lifetime. Since 2007 it will be our seventh home and since adopting Chris late in 2009 it will be our sixth home. Chris is an old pro at moving but Frankie has only moved once and Floki has not yet gone through a move.
So far, everyone is fine. I think Frankie is actually enjoying the disruption.
Floki is also enjoying the moving boxes.
Chris is happy when I open a drawer to pack its contents.
Frankie is the most excited by the growing pile of boxes. Rose set a basket down temporarily until Frankie found it.
Now it is his favorite spot. We removed the uncomfortable pieces and now have it as a “crow’s nest” for Frankie to oversee the operation.
The reason we are moving is that we need a bigger place. We have been downsizing for several moves and now it is time to upsize. Unknown to me at the time, we bought a house that wasn’t prewashed and it has shrunk. It is no longer able to house all my wife’s clothes.
In addition to having more room, we are moving to a better location. My wife and I spend a lot of time at the beach, either at the beach itself or at one of the many great restaurants on the barrier islands. This home will put us closer to our favorite activities.
The bad news is that we are losing the catio. This will not be welcome news to the cats. Worse, the pet restrictions at the new place are more strict than here so taking Frankie for a walk and letting Chris out to eat grass could be difficult. We will try to figure out a way to add a catio to the new place but the side door is too close to the front so enclosing it will cause our driveway to be too small for two cars. Hopefully, we will figure something out.
Bad Cat Chris 