When we moved into our current home in June, there was an egret that would come by every day and hang out by our back door waiting for us to feed him. We assumed the woman that lived there before us would feed him everyday and he came to expect it. I did not really want to continue the tradition but I felt like we should wean him off the handouts. Unfortunately we had no meat to give him other than cat food so I put some out for him but he was not very interested. Eventually he went away but then suddenly showed up at our door the other evening.
All the cats were on the patio, interested in what this bird was doing so close to their space. We only had sliced ham for him so I tore a piece into smaller pieces and threw them to him. He gobbled those up quickly and stuck around begging for more.
Rose gave me another piece so I did the same thing. This time Puck ran out the door and chased the bird back but he didn’t leave the yard. I then had to spend the next ten minutes chasing Puck back and forth until Rose finally opened the door and I was able to corral him back onto the patio.
Last week Frankie discovered how to get from the house to the patio using the cat door. He has loved the patio since we first introduced him to it and suddenly he could go out there whenever he wanted to. The problem was, he apparently didn’t realize that the cat door worked in both directions.
We came home after work one evening to find Frankie at the door wanting to come in. I don’t know how long he was out there but I did know he needed to learn how to get into the house before we left for work the next day. I tried a couple of times to put him in front of the cat door and open it so he could see it worked both ways but he would not pay attention. He just walked away like he was bored. Finally I picked him up and gently shoved him through the door. I felt bad doing it but I did not want him to go on the patio and then not be able to get back inside where his food and litter is.
Since then he goes out and comes back in at will. He likes lying on the chair and watching the goings on of the outside world but he does not like Chris out there bothering him.
Fortunately, he discovered a place where he can be relatively free of other annoying cats (or should I say cat?) and still have a great view of outside.
Now, if we haven’t seen Frankie for a while, we have a good idea where to look first.
We cleaned the house the other day so I picked up the cats toys and Turbo Scratcher and put them on the bed so I could vacuum. At that point, Frankie decided he wanted to play with the Turbo Scratcher.
I have introduced many cats to our household over the years and it is never easy but usually after two or three days the war is over except for some minor skirmishes now and then. This time the war lingers on after eight days. It is getting better though. This weekend has been a bit of a turning point and the war has gone from the Civil War to the Cold War.
I did not expect Chris to be this bad. When we introduced Puck, Chris was eager to play with him. It was Tigger who had the problem. I can’t say it is all Chris’s fault though. Frankie gets very defensive when Chris or Puck enters the room and hisses and growls at them. Puck does the right thing and keeps his distance but Chris is undeterred and pushes forward, causing Frankie to retreat under the bed or stand his ground and fight.
Sometimes a fight starts just because Chris is too close. He seems curious about Frankie and wants to smell him but Frankie feels the need to defend himself. Other times Chris wants to show Frankie who is boss and will Chase him under the bed. We were leaving the house today and as I was locking the door I saw Chris chase Frankie out of the living room and down the hall. Out of pure impulse I went back in the house and chased Chris from the bedroom making a show of stomping my feet as I followed him out to the patio. I think I might have over did it though because it looked like I scared Chris. I felt bad about it but I also think Chris needed to learn that what he was doing was not acceptable.
We did have some good moments this weekend and I think we can at least leave the bedroom door open when we are gone. There was one moment yesterday when the two of the smelled each others nose without a fight starting. They also spent time together on the patio, although not too close.
Frankie keeps a watchful eye on Chris.
Frankie, enjoying some time on the patio, has to keep an eye on Chris and Puck.
Puck made it to the second perch but Frankie’s hisses forced him back to the table.
Things are slowly getting better. A little too slow for my taste but we don’t know what kind of trauma Frankie went through before we took him home. He may just need more time before he trusts the other cats. I think he might also have to accept Chris’s role as the alpha or we may never see peace.
I took this photo a couple of weeks ago, before we introduced Frankie and turned our house upside down. I also thought this would be a good photo for Valentine’s Day.
Since the first day Chris graced our home with his presence, he has had a fighting spirit. He would attack the other cats, hoping to find someone willing to play with him but would instead just get growls and hisses.
That changed when we got Puck, who was a kitten at the time and is now about a year and a half old, still young enough to keep up with Chris. That may change when Puck matures and Chris doesn’t, but we shall see.
The other night the two of them got into a major fight, taking it from one room in the house to the next.
My box, stay away!
Oww! You’ll pay for that, Puck!
This should show you who is boss around here. (Chris will sometimes hold Puck down by the scruff to show dominance)
No, wait! That tickles.
Let’s dance.
Do you want a face full of this?
You can’t hide from me!
Who’s the boss now, Chris?
We are fortunate that our two cats, while they fight a lot, are also friends. By that I mean Puck is able to tolerate Chris’s behavior and occasionally put him in his place when necessary.
I believe in an ideal world, every indoor cat would have a cat-door leading to an outside area tightly enclosed by a cat-proof fence so the cat could come and go as they please. Of course, this is not an ideal world so we have to make due with what we have. In our case, I try to let the cats outside for a supervised “recess” once or twice a week.
I think being able to run around outside, eat grass and soak up the sun is good for them. I also think there are many dangers outside which is why I won’t let them out unless I have the time to make sure they stay close to the house. It can be difficult to watch them when both cats are out at once but Rose was out there yesterday for a second set of eyes.
They really enjoyed their time in the sun and both were in no hurry to go back inside when we tried to collect them.
I usually make lunch for Rose and myself every morning. This lunch usually includes a salad which Puck waits for so he can steal a piece of lettuce. I don’t know why. Perhaps he thinks he is a rabbit.
Chris can’t have Puck on the counter without himself being up there to make sure he is included on anything good that might be given out.
Our house gets dirty pretty fast for a home with two people who are gone nearly 12 hours a day, five days a week. Of course the majority of the dirt that accumulates throughout the house is cat hair and cat litter. This means that we do a lot of sweeping and vacuuming. We do what we call a quick vac a couple of times a week and then, once a week, we do a major clean that involves picking everything up off the floor.
The things that populate our floor and must be removed include rugs, cat scratchers and cat toys. It is that cat toys that always amaze me. Every week I pick up more toys than the average six-year-old has in their closet.
These are just a few of the toys I collected one day.
We have a toy box where we keep the cats toys. Actually, it is more of a toy basket.
Is this too much?
Chris and Puck know where their toys are kept and have no problem taking the toys out and playing with them. Chris is surprisingly playful for being almost five years old. I see both him and Puck (who is about one and a half) chasing toy mice around the house quite often. I just can’t seem to get them to put their toys away when they finish playing. I don’t suppose there are any parents out there that know what that is like…
I mentioned before that Puck loves getting on top of the china cabinet and lying inside a basket that is up there (see here). Chris sometimes gets up there when he sees Puck in the basket and tries to take over. Puck never gives in until the other day. I wonder what changed?
It’s my turn and if you refuse I will tell Mom and Dad who knocked over the Christmas tree.
All the cats were on the patio, interested in what this bird was doing so close to their space. We only had sliced ham for him so I tore a piece into smaller pieces and threw them to him. He gobbled those up quickly and stuck around begging for more.
Bad Cat Chris 