Today is the unofficial National Cat Day in the United States. I think, since it is “unofficial” anyway, why not just make it “World Cat day?” Okay, let’s make it official. Every year on this day henceforth, it will officially be the official, unofficial “World Cat day.” Done!
Did you hear the news about Cat Day?
We took out the suitcases for our upcoming vacation and, as expected, all the cats had to lie on top of them. It happens every time. I think they know what is coming and they want to make sure we know that they don’t want to be left home again.
We’re going with you.
I’m staging a sleep in until you agree to take us with you.
I hate leaving them alone for so long. We do have someone who will come in twice a day but that won’t be the same for them. Honestly, I don’t worry about the diminished attention they will get. They have each other and they can survive a week with little human attention.
What I do worry about is the unpredictable. What if the cat-sitter accidentally lets a cat out? Worse, what if something bad happens to her? What if a burglar invades our home and leaves the door open? What if someone gets sick? What if there is a fire? The possibilities are endless.
Yes, I’m a bit of a worrier, and no, I’m not going to let it ruin my vacation. I will just make sure I do everything possible to lessen the chances that something bad will happen and leave it at that.
I’ve taken out of storage our gravity feeder and water dish that holds several days worth of food and water. The cat-sitter may be a bit insulted by this but that is the least of my concerns. I also plan on giving a key to the neighbor for emergencies. In addition, I will unplug everything I can to reduce the risk of fire. I can’t do much about burglars but hopefully our lack of valuables will be a good deterrent.
Hopefully I will be able to enjoy a worry-free vacation. If anyone has any other tips, please let me know.
After months of fighting, Chris is now going to the extreme in trying to be Frankie’s friend. He always seems to follow Frankie when he notices him get up to leave. He walks alongside him and pushes his head into Frankie’s. It reminds me of the scene in Jurassic Park where the Tyrannosaurus headbutts a jeep as it is running next to it. I’m afraid Frankie is ready to file a restraining order.
He also has to butt in when Frankie comes to me for attention. I’m not sure if he is jealous of me giving Frankie attention or the other way around.
How can I lose this guy?
Every time I clean the house, I can’t help being amazed at Chris and Frankie’s total lack of fear of the vacuum cleaner. I have shared videos like this in the past but, at the risk of beating a dead horse, I would like to share one more.
Out of our three cats, Chris, Puck, and Frankie, I am starting to think that Frankie is the most photogenic. That is not to say he is better looking but he does not have the disadvantages that make things more difficult for photographers.
For example, Puck is a good-looking cat but he is all black and it is difficult to pick up fine details, especially when you must underexpose him to keep the background from becoming too overexposed.
Chris’s problem is “eye boogers.” He always seems to have a bit of goo in the corner of his eyes that can be a distraction. On the other hand, he has had that problem his whole life and that may be considered a distinguishing characteristic.
Does anyone else have one pet that seems to be more photogenic? If you’d like, post a link to their picture.
I have learned that if you want to get a cat’s attention, start making the bed. They could all be sleeping in the other room but once you start to pull the sheets up, you’ve got a party.
I didn’t always know that bed making was a favorite activity of many cats. I first noticed it with our cat Tigger many years ago. I would pick him up and put him on the floor and he would jump right back up on the bed. This became the routine every morning. I started singing a song by Chumbawamba while making the bed; “I get knocked down but I get up again. You’re never going to keep me down.” I never knew the rest of the lyrics so I would just repeat those to Tigger while I struggled to finish the bed.
Now that Tigger is gone, Chris and Puck are happy to take over the duties of making my job as difficult as possible and they are very good at it.
Our cats are not normal. It’s true. I don’t know how else to word it. Even Puck, who is as normal as they come, sometimes gets caught up in the craziness.
Yesterday evening, just after sunset, I looked out our back window to blackness. There was plenty of light still coming through the front window but I could see a major storm was coming from the east. Then the rain started, slowly at first but soon it was pouring down and the wind was blowing it through the screens into the patio. Soon there was lightning all around us and the loud thunder was cascading through the house.
Any normal cat would have been under the bed at that point, and that is exactly where I expected Puck to be, but he wasn’t. He was on the patio with Chris and Frankie, standing on the wet floor and watching the lightning show from the best spot in the house. I wish I was able to get pictures of that but Rose shooed them inside before I had a chance to get my camera.
I don’t think I will ever fully understand cats, or at least not my cats.
Paper or Plastic? Our cats are very conscious of the environment and much prefer paper. Of course, that could just be because paper bags are easier to climb inside of. Here is Frankie and Chris making good use of a paper bag.
I know what you’re thinking, Chris.
That’s an interesting bag you have there Frankie. Can I join you?
No! It’s mine! Go away!
C’mon Frankie! Look at all the room.
Fine! Take it! You always get your way, Chris.
Don’t be mad, Frankie.
Frankie, Look! There is room for both of us… Frankie?
Frankie has about a half-dozen “favorite” places that he likes to nap. One of them is on the patio blocking the cat door. Recently Chris and Puck decided to join Frankie and they all lined up against the wall.
The first time I heard the word “woobie” was in 2005. Rose heard her mother use it to refer to a blanket that her brother would carry around with him like Linus from the Peanuts comic strip. I thought it was a made up word but it really exists and it means “security blanket.”
I was introduced to the word after we adopted Tigger and Flash. Initially, Tigger was adopted by Rose’s mother, but the next day the shelter called and said they wanted him back because his brother Flash was in much distress without him. We tried to talk her into adopting Flash (they had different names then) but she only wanted one cat at that time so we ended up adopting both of them.
They lost their mother at a very young age so Tigger developed a habit of sucking on Flash’s belly. Rose referred to Flash as Tigger’s “woobie” and would jokingly say to tigger “No sucking on the woobie!”
Tigger sucking on Flash’s belly.
Tigger and Flash with Alex watching.
Later we bought a fleece blanket and discovered that the cats were attracted to it like catnip. Soon the blanket was referred to as the “woobie blanket” and we bought several more over the years.
Last week Rose put one of the woobie blankets on one of the chairs in the living room and it instantly became Chris’s new favorite place to nap.
Chris napping on the woobie blanket
Related Post: Life Before Chris
Bad Cat Chris 