Chris isn’t always bad, although he was very, very bad yesterday morning. Before I tell that story, let’s just look at him and Frankie, on our new sofa, actually getting along.
Photo Friday: The Good Side of Chris
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Tag Archives: Cats
Early Morning Drama
Chris was being very annoying this morning, crying at the door to go outside. Rose asked me to let him out for a few minutes so she could have some peace while she got ready for work. I complied, since I had things to do outside anyway and then brought him back in after a few minutes of him eating grass.
While he was out, Frankie was very upset that Chris was out and he wasn’t, so when I got back inside Rose said I should put Frankie’s harness on and take him for a walk. I didn’t really feel like doing that but I got his harness and my camera (just in case there was something worth sharing) and opened the door to let him out.
Frankie was a little nervous at first, for some unknown reason, but he soon was on his way. Within two minutes of being outside, Frankie managed to slip out of his harness. Fortunately I caught him in time. I brought him back inside, Rose put his harness back on and then I tried again. Chris slipped out the door at the same time and Rose said not to worry, she could see him from the door. It soon became clear that, despite Rose’s assurances, she was not watching Chris. I tried to keep Frankie close so I could also watch Chris but it wasn’t easy. Eventually I had to bring Frankie in, a little earlier than Frankie wanted, so I could go get Chris.
That was more difficult than expected because Chris pulled Frankie’s old trick that Frankie learned from Chris. He hid under Rose’s car. My efforts to get him out resulted in only growling, hissing and biting. It didn’t help that the lady across the street chose that time to take her two dogs for a walk.
Rose needed to leave for work so my only recourse was to turn the hose on and squirt him out. That worked, but then he got under my truck. Eventually, I was able to get him close enough to the edge to pull him out. He was not happy about that.
Photo Friday: Spoiler Alert
I get blamed for spoiling the cats to much but in our house, there is another spoiler.
Photo Friday: Old Cat Tree
After we got our new cat tree, Rose insisted I throw out the old one. I thought it still had some life left in it but it was easier to throw it away than to argue about it. This is one of the last pictures of it before it went away.
Chris and Frankie.
Our New Cat Tree
When we moved, the plan was to get rid of the cat’s old, beat-up cat tree and replace it with a new one for the new place, but the high cost of moving delayed that plan until now. Saturday we found a very large, slightly used, Armarkat Cat Tree Condo for the ridiculously low price of twenty dollars. On Amazon it sells for $124, and even more elsewhere, so I think we got pretty lucky. It was in excellent condition except the second shelf from the top was broken, as if a very heavy cat jumped on it. A more likely scenario is someone attempted to move the cat tree and it tipped over.
We were in Rose’s Mustang and did not expect that we would be bringing home something so big. We didn’t feel like driving home to get the truck so we had to figure out how to make it work. We put the top down and tried standing it on the back seat but it was very tippy and I was worried it would fall out. It also didn’t work leaning to one side. I finally leaned the front seat back on put it there while I got in the back to hold it.
Once we got it home, we cleaned it good and I screwed a piece of wood under the broken piece to hold it together. We then scared Puck under the bed when we brought it inside.
Frankie and Chris weren’t scared. They jumped at the chance to investigate the new tree. They checked out every inch of it, including the top shelf which was very close to the ceiling. They also seemed to like the little built-in house. Frankie even squeezed through the little window, I feat that Chris can only dream about these days.
The ceiling in our Florida room slopes down to its low point near where I put the cat tree so the top shelf is almost useless, but as I said, they are able to get on it but since the first day, I have not seen it get used. The rest of it does get used though so I am very happy with our purchase.
Wow! This thing is awesome.
I call first dibs on the house.
Hey Frankie, lets rub our scent on this thing before Puck sees it.
Chris, do you get the feeling we are being watched?
Hello Dad! Don’t you have somewhere better you can be with that camera?
As king I claim this as my castle.
Hey Frankie. I can see you through this hole.
Do you think this is what they call an outhouse?
If this is an outhouse, I need to figure out how it works.
Hey Chris! I’ll bet you can’t fit up here like I can.
Oh yea? I’ll bet I can.
There, see?
I wouldn’t call that fitting.
Who cares? I like this shelf better.
Too bad Puck isn’t here to see this.
Did somebody say my name? Hey, why didn’t you tell me we had a new cat tree.
Not my job, Puck.
Where are you going? Don’t you want to check out the condo?
There’s No Hiding the Catnip
A few days ago I took the blender out of the cabinet and before i could close the door, Chris was in the cabinet. I knew getting him out would be difficult but I was certain I could lure him out with cat treats, so I took them out of the cabinet, that was right next to Chris, and made a big announcement that I had kitty treats. Puck and Frankie came running but Chris held his ground.
I passed out the treats to the boys, thinking Chris would not be able to resist, but when I looked back, he was gone. He didn’t leave the cabinet but made his way the five or six feet, over all our clean dishes to the other side. The cabinet above the sink has three large doors and no dividers between them. When I opened the door on the left, there he was chewing on the catnip bag. I moved the catnip there after he managed to find it in one of the drawers. (see “Catnip, I Have You Now“).
I took it away from him and thought about pulling him out of the cabinet but that would have resulted in some of our good dishes crashing to the floor. Instead I had to reward his bad behavior with the catnip.
The Building Inspectors
Cats love new things. Bring something new in the house and every cat will come out to give it a thorough inspection. That is especially true when you have to put that new thing together, as I did last night with a new shelving unit. All three of our cats were busy investigating every nook and cranny.
After it was mostly put together, they each had to get on it to test for structural deficiencies. There was even a bit of a disagreement when two of the inspectors found that their work areas overlapped.
Photo Friday: Peace and War
It is so nice to see Chris and Frankie getting along.
It rarely lasts long.
Bunnies, Bunnies Everywhere
Our new neighborhood is loaded with bunny rabbits. They tend to stay hidden during the day and come out to eat later in the afternoon and evening. Since we have moved here, we have seen them every day not far from our driveway. For some reason, they never seemed to show up on the other side of the house where our enclosed Florida room is. That is the room where the cats love to hang out because it is all windows on three sides.
That changed the other day when a small, adolescent bunny showed up just under one of the windows on the patio. Puck was the first to notice and he went crazy.
That was three days ago and we haven’t seen them since on that side of the house. I hope in the future the cats will see these bunnies more often.
Our Third Blogiversary
I can’t believe it has been three years since I started this blog. It seems time really does fly when you’re having fun. When I started blogging, I remember reading that many bloggers quit after a short time because, among other reasons, they set their expectations about readership and the ability to make money far too high. Fortunately, I set my money-making expectations very low. My goal is to make more than zero dollars on this blog during the first five years and if everything goes as planned, I may just do that.
To be perfectly honest, I have accumulated $24 in ad revenue and, at this rate, I should reach the $100 needed to get paid by 2024. Obviously, I am not doing this for the money, which may be why I haven’t given up on it. I see this more as a hobby that I enjoy.
I enjoy it for two reasons. The first is because I like to write. I wish I had known this about myself when I was younger, I might have chosen a different career path. The second reason is because I have met so many wonderful people who share my passion for writing and for animals. While I have not yet met any of them in person, I feel like we would be instant friends.
There is a third reason that I like to blog. I enjoy photography and this blog not only gives me a place to post some of my pictures, it motivates me to take more pictures too. With that in mind, here is a picture of Chris on our new cat perch.
Finally, I want to thank all of you for reading and following this blog. My biggest hope is that the value you get from it, whether it be entertainment or information, will be worth your time. I encourage you to let me know if there is anything that I can do different to make this a more enjoyable read.
Bad Cat Chris 