Tag Archives: Cats

The Elusive Red Dot

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Last weekend I was at Dollar Tree buying poop bags. I buy the four-gallon garbage bags that come 50 to a pack for one dollar. I’m cheap like that. Anyway, while standing in line I saw a pen/stylus/flashlight/laser pointer all in one for a dollar. I have a laser pointer at home but I figured it would be easier to buy another one than to try to figure out where the heck it is.

So I bought the laser pointer and imagined myself traveling back to 1960 and showing it to the guys at Bell Labs, and then telling them what I paid for it and what people use it for n 2017. But I digress.

When I got home with it and turned it on, it surprised me that I was able to get the attention of all our boys at once.

Do your cats still get excited by the laser pointer?

Boxed In

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cat in box

Finally, I have a box to myself.

cat in box

Whacha doing, Frankie?

cat in box

Go away, Floki. I was here first.

cat in box

What’s going on here? Oh, where did that box come from?

cat in box

Why can’t I have just a little peace?

cat in box

I have my own box, Frankie. I don’t need yours.

cat in box

It’s my box now, Frankie.

cat in box

I don’t care, Chris. I have a new box.

Lightning Crashes, Frankie Gets Loose

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Saturday afternoon I took Frankie for his weekend walk. We walked across the street and up three houses. Frankie did his usual plant sniffing while I waited in the hot sun. Even though it was close to evening, it was still fairly hot.

Cat Frankie

When he was done smelling everything he led me behind the house where the edge of the community meets the fence that separates us from the power lines. We stood under a tree while Frankie did more investigating with his nose.

Suddenly I heard a crackling noise that was followed by a bright flash and almost instantaneously came the very loud bang of thunder. For about two seconds both Frankie and I were frozen in shock, especially since I didn’t even notice a dark cloud until after it happened. I didn’t see exactly where the lightning struck but it was very close and I became aware right away that we were standing under a tree. My first thought was to scoop Frankie up and get out of there but before I could move, Frankie ran and jerked the leash out of my hand.

He ran straight home and hid under my car while panting heavily. I tried to talk him out but he wasn’t budging. Finally, I decided to take his picture and pulled out my phone. That is when he exited on the other side of the vehicle.

I didn’t get the picture but this is a picture from the past that shows what he looked like under my car.

Our cat Frankie under a car

Once he got out from under my car he went for the back door and waited for me to open it. That was something he rarely does.

Once inside, Chris was relentless with his begging to go out. He knows he goes out after Frankie and he would not let me forget it. After a short time, I decided it was safe and let Chris out.

He was so happy to be out, no matter what the danger.

Our Prize Arrived

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A few weeks ago The Island Cats’ blog had a review and giveaway of some Petmate products designed by Jackson Galaxy, the star of the Animal Planet show, “My Cat From Hell.”

To my surprise, we were lucky enough to win. I got to choose between the “Comfy Clamshell Bed” and “The Vault Marinator,” which is used to freshen up catnip toys. I thought the clamshell bed would be a great addition to our house so I chose that.

It was waiting at the door when I got home from work the other day The box was way bigger than expected, which was fine because . . . well, we have cats.

cats and box

 

cats and box

cats and box

Once I opened the box and took out the clamshell bed, the cats were torn between investigating the bed and the empty box.

The bed seems to be of a high quality and the fabric is very soft. Chris especially likes it, as you can see from the video.

open clamshell bedA pull of the strings easily turns it into a clamshell.closed clamshell bed

The bad thing about that is there is only room for one.
cat and clamshell bed

That means someone has to wait, whether they want to not.cats and clamshell bed

Floki and Chris were the most interested but Chris was the first to use it for what it was meant for, to lie in. Of course, he had to make some biscuits before doing that.

Floki was more interested in the strings.

I didn’t know this at the time but there is a pocket to put the strings to keep them from becoming toys, possibly dangerous toys.

I ended up putting the bed in its open position on our coffee table. Frankie, Floki and Puck mostly ignore it but Chris loves it. I see him on it often. He is on it as I write this.

cat on clamshell bed

Meanwhile, in the cats’ room . . .

cat and box

The Mystery of the Strays

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The last time I mentioned anything about the stray mom cat and her two kittens that have been coming to my house was June 18 (see here). After that, we didn’t see them much. Over the next week or so we saw the mom twice, three times at most. Each time she as without her kittens. That caused us to worry about what might have happened to them.

Stray catI believe the last time I saw the mother cat was June 25 when I took the picture above and the video below. She seemed a bit despondent and was not as friendly toward me as in the past. She seemed nervous by my presence which was a far cry from a week earlier when she was rubbing up against me.

Rose and I thought someone might have captured her kittens but not her. That would explain her behavior. We didn’t know who would have caught them. The guy at the TNVR place had scheduled to come out and set traps that weekend but cancelled until the next weekend. He never showed up the following weekend and we never heard from him again.

I set up an email alert for Petfinder just in case the Siamese kittens ended up at a shelter for adoption. At least I would know what happened to them.

Not too long after my encounter with mom cat, Rose spotted one of the kittens outside the cats’ room. It was the shy one with the lighter face.

stray Siamese kittenHe was walking from the neighbors house to the back of our house and he was alone. The mom and other kitten were nowhere in sight. I quickly opened a can of food and put it outside but he never showed up to eat it.

Since then I continued to put dry food and water out for the cats. Sometimes I would wake up or get home from work and the food would still be there. Other times it would be gone. It seemed to be eaten more at night than during the day which made Rose think it was being eaten by a racoon. I thought it was possible but unlikely since I have not seen a racoon in the two years since we lived here.

Then one morning I went outside to take the trash out. Once I got outside I saw who had been eating he cat food. It was a possum, or technically an opossum. Now I have to wonder if the possum is the only animal eating the food I put out or is one or more cats eating it too?

I started putting less out but I don’t want to stop completely until I know none of the cats are coming around anymore. And if they are not, what the heck happened to them?

The Instigator

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Floki is our resident fight instigator. Sure, all the cats will start fights occasionally but Floki excels at it. Often, Floki’s “victims”  turn the table on him and he will cry for help. I’ll usually just look at him and say, “You started it so you get what you get.”

The video below shows Floki picking a fight with Chris who just wants to relax on the cat tree.

Do you have any instigators in your house?

Update on Our Friendly Stray and Her Two Shy Kittens.

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The stray cat and her kittens have become somewhat regulars at our house recently although their visits are still somewhat unpredictable. They seem to come between 6 p.m. and 7 a.m but some days I don’t see them and some days I do. When I do see them, sometimes it is just the mother. Other times there is one or both kittens with her.

I have learned that the mother is not feral and is actually quite friendly. The other day she even rolled upside down on top of my foot and let me rub her belly. It was very brief but It amazed me at how quickly she learned to trust me. She still hisses at me sometimes but that is usually when I come out with food. I think maybe she is not sure who I am at first.

I noticed one of the kittens has a darker face than the other. That one is shy but he does take risks while the lighter faced kitten stays in the shadows. The lighter faced kitten has a hint of tabby marking which makes her, or him, somewhat unique.

Below are a video and some pictures that I took Thursday morning. The kittens were here at 5:30 in the morning eating and then I noticed them an hour later playing on the other side of the house while the mom lied in the grass watching. Our cats watched too. They seemed just as comfortable at our neighbor’s house than at ours.


cat Floki Cat Puck Cat Floki

stray Siamese kitten

Notice the tabby stripes?

stray Siamese kitten

I wonder how the planter got knocked over.

stray Siamese kitten

I was late for work when this playing was going on which is wy the video is so brief but my wife says she was quite entertained watching them play for a while after I left.

This morning I was able to get another video that shows how friendly the mom is and I captured a funny moment when one of the kittens was torn between fear and hunger.

My wife talked to a person at the TNVR place and he said they only trap on the weekend and put us down for next weekend so cross your fingers that everything goes well. I just fear that we will catch one or two but not all three and that would leave that kitten alone and scared.

Forgotten Photographs

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Recently I came across a folder on my computer dated December 15, 2009. It was simply labeled “Camera Tests.” I’ve seen it before but I didn’t think it was anything important so I just ignored it until I came across it the other day.

It was a month after we adopted Chris and the camera my wife ordered for me for Christmas arrived. I don’t remember but I assume she allowed me to open it and make sure it worked before she put it under the tree. So naturally, I took pictures of cats.

I thought it would be interesting to share these pictures of Chris’s early housemates since so much has changed since then.

We’ll start with Chris on the bed with Abbey, He probably annoyed her and caused her to leave.

Here is Abbey during a moment of peace.

cat Abbey

Chris when he was still skinny.

Best buds, Alex and Tigger.

Another cute picture of Chris.

Our cat Princess did not come with us to Myrtle Beach but she did join us later. I don’t know if she was there when these pictures were taken but here is her picture.

Our other cat, Flash, was Tigger’s brother and a bit of a recluse. He was probably hiding somewhere when I took the other pictures.

So what do you think of Chris and his early siblings?