Tag Archives: Cats

King of the Lizard Catchers

Sunday I decided to take Frankie for a walk. He loves to be outside but since he is an adventurer, I have to bring him out on a leash and harness. That means he doesn’t go out much because I am either too busy, too tired, it’s too hot outside, or I am just plain lazy. These are the same reasons I don’t have a dog.

Frankie likes to travel in a straight line down the sidewalk, like he knows what it is for, pausing occasionally to smell stuff and then moving on.

I let him lead and keep hoping he will eventually start travelling back toward home but he rarely does. I usually have to pick him up and carry him home. I tried to pick him up on this day but he would have none of it and changed direction on his own and headed home.

When we got home he walked up to the front door, instead of the usual side door, and I opened it a bit for him to go inside but he changed his mind. I changed it back for him and picked him up and put him inside.

Chris was at the door wondering why Frankie got to go outside without him so I let Chris out. Chris usually goes out the side door and eats grass next to the driveway so this was a bit of a treat for him.

He started by looking for lizards but found none so he ate a little grass for a while.

Before I knew what was going on, Chris was at the door with a lizard in his mouth. Even with his added girth, he is still the King of the Lizard Catchers.

I tried unsuccessfully to get him to give up his lizard but he is stubborn. Finally I was able to get him to drop it and the lizard ran away, but Chris was off in hot pursuit. He caught him, lost him and followed him into the brush to catch him again. Check out the video of the incident below.

Just so you know, the lizard survived the ordeal.

500th Post

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It is hard to believe that I have been blogging about my cat for almost four years now and have today written the 500th post for Bad Cat Chris.

When I started, I told Chris’s story from the beginning in short Anecdotes. I worried that when I reached the present, I would have difficulties finding things to talk about. I was wrong.

Chris, Frankie and Puck are a source of daily entertainment. Much of what they do is worth sharing and I enjoy sharing it. I even have another lizard video coming up if I can find time to edit it. Thank you all for reading this blog and I look forward to many more stories.

Goodbye My Ferals

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I am starting a new job on Tuesday so Friday was the last time I will see my feral cats at work. The week and a half after I gave my notice I saw very little of them. Sometimes I would put food out at 8 a.m. and it would still be there at noon. Other times it would be gone but I couldn’t be sure the birds weren’t eating it. I was actually glad about that because it meant that the cats didn’t need me and I could stop worrying about not being there for them.

Then the shy one showed up on Tuesday morning.

I was off on Wednesday and the gold and white cat was there Thursday morning, waiting in the parking lot for me.

On my last day both the gold and white cat and the grey and white were there waiting.

I feel bad about leaving them but I do have to live my life too.

I’ll leave you with more recent pictures since I won’t be taking any more. So sad.

Photo Friday: Lost and Found

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I ran across this picture in my downloads folder and I really liked it but I thought it was odd because I don’t remember ever seeing it before. I must have seen it or I wouldn’t have downloaded it. That brings up another mystery, Why would I download my picture? It’s possible I was looking for a picture on my Flickr page, saw this one, and decided I could use it for something. I guess what really bothers me is the fact that Rose is right. If I develop Alzheimer’s, nobody will notice.

This is a picture of our three cats, Chris, Tigger and Abbey (in the background). It was taken February 12, 2011, three months after returning from South Carolina where we found Chris. Chris is three months shy of his second birthday in this picture. Sadly, only Chris remains of the three.

Photo Friday: Chris Turns Seven

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We don’t know when Chris was born but I set his birthday at six months before we adopted him, May 14, which I missed. Sorry Chris. Here he is sleeping with Frankie. When Chris was young, he was far from a normal cat because he rarely napped. He was always up and getting into trouble. He still naps less than Frankie or Puck but he is closer to normal now.

Escape is a Team Effort

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My friend was at our house on Sunday and as he was coming in Chris ran out the door. With quick reflexes, my friend grabbed Chris before he made it past the first stair. Unfortunately, the delay in closing the door was long enough for Frankie to slip out. That, in turn, was the distraction Chris needed to get away as well.

Chris usually stays close so I don’t worry too much about him. Mostly he just eats grass but he will wander away if given enough time.

Frankie is the one I worry about because he just takes off. I think he searches the neighborhood for fleas, at least that seems to be the result sometimes. If he is not going under homes then he is hiding under cars so I can’t catch him.

On this day I just gave up and waited until Frankie was ready. While I was waiting I retrieved Chris and put him in the house. Eventually, Frankie came out of hiding and I coaxed him to the front door. I didn’t want to scare him by trying to pick him up so I just opened the door and let him walk inside.

But wait…. As he was about to enter the house I could almost swear he had a look of surprise on his face like he thought he was about to explore a strangers house and found out it was his own. When he saw where he was he quickly turned around and ran off. Not long after that I found him too pooped to resist and carried him home.

Forget Cat Food, We Want Steak

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At dinnertime in our house, Chris is, surprisingly, our best behaved cat. Last night I was cooking steak and they all lined up waiting for it to be done because they know I am a sucker and will give them some.

Frankie is the worst. He will just steal a big chunk of meat off my plate and eat it with no remorse.

Puck is a little better than Frankie but Puck is all about food, always has been. That is part of the reason we named him Puck. Think Wolfgang.

Chris, and to some degree Puck, are dainty eaters when it comes to meat. They don’t like large chunks so I have to make sure they have little pieces. It is like I am feeding babies instead of full-grown carnivores.

Frankie could live in the wild and probably did. He has no trouble scarfing down big chunks of steak.

Yes, we have spoiled our pets and created beggars and thieves, but why not? We don’t have to worry about them going to college and getting a good job or a nice woman. They are only with us for a short time so why not spoil them?

Photo Friday: Use It Or Lose It

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My wife sometimes works from home and has do deal with this whenever she gets up to take a break.

Chris Demonstrates Dominance

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I have been around cats long enough to be able to predict their behavior somewhat and not be surprised by behavior I didn’t predict. Of course, predicting behavior and understanding it are two different things and I sometimes think I will never understand why cats behave the way they do.

Chris, for example, will often straddle Puck and hold him down by the neck and then he will wash him like nothing ever happened. It seems like he’s showing his dominance but Puck never challenges Chris’s position so I don’t know why he feels compelled to do what he does. If anything, Frankie is the one that challenges Chris leadership but Chris doesn’t hold him down by the neck although he does whack him from time to time.