It took me a while to process the pictures and videos I took the day we adopted our kitten, Floki. This was his first evening at our house. He decided that this pillow was something interesting to play with. Wait until he’s a teenager. Then he will expect expensive toys.
When we first adopted Floki, the first thing he did was find this rope toy to play with. Kittens are just so fun to watch. Who needs television?
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.
I’m sure almost everyone reading this understands the difficulties of making the bed with cats around. In my house, it is usually Chris who wants to be covered with a sheet or blanket, but the other day Frankie ended up under the sheet. When Puck saw him under the sheet he got all frisky and started attacking Frankie.
It’s funny to watch those two sometimes. Often we will see Frankie chase Puck through the house and a few seconds later we will see Puck chasing Frankie. It usually seems friendly but there are also many times when someone loses a big chunk of fur.
I might be a bad pet parent for saying this, or even thinking it, but I love one of our cats more than the others. I know that sounds terrible. It’s like saying you love one child more than another.
I’m talking about Chris, of course, but I’m not sure love is the right word. It is harder to define than that. It is like I have formed an emotional bond with him and I know when our time together comes to an end, breaking that bond will be the hardest thing to do since my dad passed away. To be fair, I do love all our cats but Chris is a bit different.
The reasons I have formed such an attachment are many. The badness that I talk about on this blog is just a behavior. There are many other sides to Chris. There is funny Chris, cute Chris, Talkative Chris, Smart Chris and affectionate Chris. Deep down, Chris is the most loving and affectionate creature on four legs that I have ever encountered and you can’t help but love him back.
From the beginning I noticed that everyone just loves Chris and I’m sure that is because Chris loves everyone. “Give and you shall receive” is true for cats as well as people.
Below is an example of Chris’s affectionate behavior.
There is a drawback to all that affection. My wife is away on a business trip so I thought I would let the cats sleep on the bed. I should have known that would never work. Chris always keeps me up half the night doing what you see on the video. I don’t know why I always think this night will be different.
I recently commented about how Chris is sleeping more now that he is older and he sleeps almost as much as a real cat, but after last night I take it back.
What do you think? Any other “bad” pet parents out there?
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.
Chris slipped past me and out the door twice on Sunday. The first time he caught a lizard right away. Even though Chris has gained some weight lately, he is still better at catching lizards, and everything else, than all the other cats we have ever had. When he does catch a lizard, he wants to immediately bring it in the house.
I’m not sure why he has to bring his catch inside but he will just sit at the door with a lizard hanging from his mouth until someone lets him in. That was not going to happen Sunday and I tried to get him to let it go but he was not up for that.
Does anyone else have a cat that has to bring their catch inside?
Our cats entertain us in countless ways, especially Chris. If I were to count, I would add snoring to the list. You may need to turn your speakers up a little for this one.
Do your cats snore?
The day we brought Chris home from the shelter, he declared himself “King of the House” and as the king, everything in the house was his and others could use it at his discretion. Nobody ever challenged Chris except Frankie, so Chris feels the need to keep showing Frankie who is in charge. Watch the video and you will see a great example of that.
C’mon Dad! You have the keys.
Bad Cat Chris 