Tag Archives: Cats

Our Prize Arrived

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.

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 bed A 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.

That means someone has to wait, whether they want to not.

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.

Meanwhile, in the cats’ room . . .

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.

I 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.

He 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?

Cat and Mouse and Cat

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Perhaps Chris should be nicknamed “The Spoiler” for his ability to spoil a good time, especially if it is Frankie having a good time. Check out the video below of Frankie having fun with a catnip mouse.

You may also remember a similar incident a few years ago.

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.

Notice the tabby stripes?

I wonder how the planter got knocked over.

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.

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?

Fifth Blogiversary

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Today marks five years since I started writing this blog. Time sure does fly when you are having fun. When I started I read that most blogs don’t last a year so I guess I am doing good.

When I look back, some things amaze me, like the fact that I wrote 693 blog posts. I know some of you are far ahead of me but for me, that’s an accomplishment.

I also have over 1700 pictures in my media library. Virtually all of them have been posted on this blog. You can almost say this is a photo blog with some words in it.

My most viewed post ever is “Are Ginger Cats Friendlier,” which doesn’t definitively answer the question but does show how many people are asking it. I will have to do me research on the subject.

My personal favorite post, it think, is “The Great Escape.” It was one of my first posts and it really showed a bit of Chris’s personality during those early days.

My favorite picture is a tough choice.

Maybe it’s Tigger washing young Chris.

Maybe it’s Daredevil Chris

Maybe it’s Chris sleeping on Tigger.

Maybe it’s baby Chris.

Maybe it’s not Chris at all, Maybe it’s Frankie . . .

. . . or Floki . . .

. . . or Puck.

Do you have a favorite?

What I really enjoy about blogging is the wonderful people that I have met, or at least virtually met. There are over 10,000 comments on my blog and then there are everybody else’s blogs too. It’s hard not to feel like I am surrounded by friends. Hopefully, before another five years passes, I will be able to meet some of you in person.

Until that time, Happy Blogging.

Ferals at Our Door Update

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On my last post, I talked about the Feral or Stray mother and her two kittens who started coming around our house. I mentioned that they did not come around all day Sunday and I was worried about them. I’m happy to report now that they were back Sunday evening.

Rose saw her with her two kittens but by the time I got my camera out and opened the window, the kittens ran away under my car.

The mom quickly ate the dry cat food that was out there so I prepared a plate with some raw meat cat food. I spread out three teaspoons of meat around the perimeter of the plate so the kittens could eat. I also added more dry food. When I brought the plate out the mom cat hissed and growled at me but she eagerly started eating. I was able to pet her one time but dared not risk a bite from an unknown stray.

She let me sit there and photograph her while she scarfed up all the wet food meant for the kittens.

I went back inside while she fished eating. She seemed very hungry. After a while, one kitten came out but I could not photograph him because it was too dark by then.

That is the last time I saw the cats. They did not come here yesterday and I have not yet seen them this morning. I expect to talk to someone from a TNVR organization today about trapping them if they have not already been trapped. We will see.

Photo Friday: You Put Your Right Leg Out . . .