This is a picture of Puck as a kitten in his foster home looking out the door with his big foster brother. We felt bad taking him away from his foster family but he couldn’t stay there forever and I think he is pretty lucky to have us now.
Puck as a kitten.
We have unusual cats, especially Chris. There is just no better way to say that.
Yesterday we had a lot of company at our house and, as usual, Chris was up in everybody’s business. There is nothing surprising about that. Chris is a very social cat. What is a little surprising is what happened later.
We had planned on walking around the corner where we could watch the city fireworks display but a thunderstorm rolled in just before the fireworks were supposed to start. We sat on our patio as the wind pushed the rain through the screens. We were hoping it would be like a typical summer shower and be over quickly but it lasted long enough for us to give up on watching the fireworks.
Then the rain ended as suddenly as it began and several locals began setting off their own fireworks that we could see from our patio. It quickly became very loud and Chris jumped up on the cat perch to get a better view.
He never ceases to amaze me. I know Chris and I knew that he would not be afraid of the fireworks but he was actually fascinated by them. He watched them with the same interest that he would watch a squirrel running up the screen.
Frankie was also not afraid of the fireworks and spent much of the evening on the patio as well but he took a more passive interest in the fireworks. Puck, as expected, was nowhere in sight but even he surprised me. Instead of being under the bed, he was actually napping on top of our bed and seemed not to notice the noise.
After a half hour or so the fireworks started getting better. It seemed that several neighbors on the other side of the marina spent a lot of money on fireworks, one in particular. Rose and I went outside and sat near the dock to watch the display. There was a ten minute stretch were it seemed to be more spectacular than most “official” fireworks displays.
While we were out there I kept thinking I should have brought my video camera with me but I was afraid it would be over by the time I got it. Eventually, I did get it and captured some good moments but not as good as what I missed. Someone even had a remote control helicopter that was probably filming everything from the air. Some people just have all the toys. I was told this morning that one homeowner spent $25,000 on fireworks for our enjoyment. Did I ever mention that I love where we live?
Our patio gets flooded with sunlight every morning, making it a great place to hang out. Here, Chris and Puck are soaking in the sun.
When you have a bad cat in the house you learn to expect the unexpected.
When we adopted Frankie, Chris behaved very uncharacteristically toward him. He did whatever he could to show Frankie he was not a welcome cat (See here). Eventually Chris accepted Frankie’s presence and took steps toward making peace with him but unfortunately Chris burned those bridges. Frankie turned the tables on him and became the aggressor and started attacking Chris on a regular basis.
Lately things have settled down a bit and I see Chris’s efforts are starting to pay off. Yes, there are still fights. Some of those fights are even started by Chris, but more and more I see the two of them hanging out relatively close without one trying to whack the other. Perhaps there is hope for the future.
We weren’t fighting. We were just meowing. Honest.
I’d like to be your friend, Frankie, but first I must smell your butt.
Recently I found a cat toy at a thrift store. I am not sure who makes it. The closest I could find was a toy called SmartCat 3836 Tick Tock Teaser perhaps this is a predecessor. They really loved it for the first ten minutes but now they barely notice it.
This is Puck hanging from the cat tree under Chris. Sorry about the less-than-perfect quality of the photo. I think the lens fogged up when I brought the camera from the cool house to the hot and humid patio.
While Chris and Frankie still don’t get along, at least Puck is here as a good nap buddy for Chris.
Originally I was going to share only these two photographs, which were taken several days ago, but when I removed Chris from the keyboard and put him on my lap so I could write this post, he left to go hang out with puck on the bed. This is what happened next:
Since the first day Chris entered our home, he has established himself as the alpha kitty in all areas except food, especially canned food. He likes the canned food and will eat it but doesn’t place a high value on it like our other cats (past and present) do.
Puck, however, was originally named “Chow Man” because of his love for food. Indeed, we named him Puck because, in part, he was into food as much as Wolfgang Puck.
I feed the cats wet food twice a day, in the morning, when I get up, and when I return from work, or around 5:00 on the weekends. The same thing happens every time. Puck and Frankie jump on the counter while I am opening the cans. Frankie then jumps back down to the floor where Chris is waiting. He knows that is where he is fed so he wants to be there waiting. Puck doesn’t think that way. He is on the counter eating out of the first bowl as soon as I scoop food in it. That is when Frankie starts talking to me, telling me to hurry up. I quickly scoop food out for the other two cats and set it down in front of them.
Chris will then eat for about thirty seconds and walk away. I think he anticipates Puck coming to take his food so he just leaves it before that can happen. I then have to pick up his food and bring it to him because Chris is somewhat of a dry food addict and I want him to eat as much wet food as possible. Sometimes I move his food two or three times but every time, before he finishes, Puck shows up to take over.
Let me help you with that, Chris.
Oh, you’re done? Thanks.
I don’t know why big, bad, alpha-cat Chris allows his food to be taken from him so easily but he does. I also don’t know why Puck has to leave his bowl, which still has plenty of food in it, to take the same food from another bowl. I usually then grab Puck’s bowl and put it in front of Chris but it isn’t long before Puck covets that bowl of food.
This kind of behavior reminds me so much of another species. Hmm… I can’t quite put my finger on which species that is. Anyone have any ideas?
Frankie at Petsmart Adoption Center
June is Adopt a Shelter Cat Month. I assume it is because most kittens are born in the spring so shelters become overwhelmed with kitties that need homes. I would love to help by adopting another cat but Frankie put us over our limit so all I can do is remind people that there are so many cats out there that need a home right now.
If you or anyone you know could use a great companion, please check out your local shelter… and don’t forget that in addition to the kittens, there are many older cats that have been behind bars for too long.
Bad Cat Chris 