I have known for a while that cats learn behaviors from other cats. In our house, Chris is always the teacher. Puck and Frankie learned about getting on my shoulders from Chris. Puck learned how to get on top of cabinets from Chris. Frankie learned from Chris that hiding under cars prevents capture. This morning, Frankie learned the lazy way to eat breakfast from Chris.
Before Chris, Frankie, and Floki, there were Tigger, Alex, and others. Here is a photo of Tigger and Alex taken on this day in 2007.
I first reviewed the Art of Paws Heated Pet Mat in February 2018. You can read that review here. Since then it has been chiefly used without the heating element. That changed when we spent some time in West Virginia. You can see that story here. Since we returned to Florida the heating element has been packed away and the mat was on one of the cat perches.
I brought in a pile of laundry on Saturday and put it on the bed to fold. Floki immediately made a nest in the laundry and decided to take a nap at that very moment. My wife said he likes the heat and I should plug the heated mat in for them. Since Saturday was a bit chilly, 68 for a high, I thought that was a good idea.
As soon as I plugged it in Chris was on top of it.
Rose thought it should be on the sofa so she moved it.
Soon Frankie was lying next to it. It seemed like he wanted to feel the heat but he did not want to get too close to Chris. It didn’t work. I found Chris with his head on Frankie’s butt. As soon I got my phone to take the picture, he sat up.
After a while, Chris got up to inspect his food bowls and Floki took his spot.
As I write this on Sunday evening Chris is sleeping on the mat. The last time I looked Floki was on it.
Does anyone else have a heated mat or pet bed? Is it popular?
Okay, so Frankie is not technically a polecat but he can be considered a pole cat.
I don’t know what kind of pole dance he was doing here. Since this was shortly after our encounter with the stray, perhaps he was trying to lure her back.
We took our Christmas tree down on New Year’s Day. I have a large orange bag that the tree goes in for storage. After I got a section of the tree in the bag, Frankie got inside to supervise the operation.
Sunday afternoon I was bringing a handful of laundry outside to the washing machine in our shed. I had just fed the cats and saw Frankie in the kitchen with his head in the food bowl. I figured it was safe to open the door, which I did quickly, and turned around to walk out backward so I could catch Frankie if he tried to get out. I obviously did it wrong because there was a second between when I cracked the door open and when I was turned around enough to see Frankie’s tail wiz past me.
He immediately went under a vehicle so I couldn’t catch him.
I talked to him nicely and managed to coax him out a bit.
I should have tried to grab him then but I worried if I missed I would never catch him. Instead, I had an idea. I went back into the house and grabbed his harness. When I got close, I pulled it apart. He knows that the sound of the velcro means he is going for a walk so he came out and let me put it on. Unfortunately, I was rushed and put it on upside down. In the process of trying to reverse it, I nearly freaked him out a little. Before he got too nervous I turned it around and soon we were walking.
We did some sitting too.
We made our way to the clubhouse where I think a bingo game just ended. There was an old lady in a car with the window down marveling at a cat on a leash. I talked to her for a minute but Frankie was interested in the door that was propped open. He stuck his head inside to the delight of another two older ladies.
Eventually, we made it back relatively close to home, perhaps half a block. Frankie decided to take a rest in someone’s yard.
I let him stay for a short time but since he was literally against someone’s house I decided to pick him up and bring him home before we got yelled at.
Saturday morning, after the bed was made, my wife put what we call “Frankie’s Blankie” on the bed while Frankie was waiting for it. He somehow managed to get under the blanket during the process. I came into the bedroom sometime later and saw this.
That evening, while we were in the living room watching a movie, Chris and Floki were sleeping next to me. After a while, Chris put a paw on Floki. I thought it was too cute not to get a picture, but there wasn’t a camera in sight, so I quietly got up, retrieved my phone, and snapped this.
The lighting is not the best but I think the cuteness still shines through. What do you think?
I have discovered, or rediscovered, that I have a ton of photos of Chris inserting himself between Abbey and Tigger. Here they are on January 14, 2011.
The next one is a few minutes later.
This is my 1500th post on this blog. I know it is not that many considering I have been doing this for over ten and a half years, but it feels like a lot.
My wife had the can of whipped cream out the other day. As soon as Chris and Frankie heard that beautiful sound, their ears perked up. I gave them a little and Frankie licked it off the lid I put it on. Next time I will have to provide him with a spoon.
Here is Tigger, Chris, and Abbey eleven years ago today. Chris would often insert himself between Tigger and Abbey. If there wasn’t room, he would make room.
Bad Cat Chris 