I woke up this morning to find one of my boots, for lack of a better word, shredded. Not just the laces, which is a common occurrence in my household, but the boot back and pull-on tab as well. I had heard the party noises coming from the living room last night but was too tired to get up and check out the commotion. I guess I should have. 
And speaking of cats, most nights they only bother me a few times (per cat that is, and since there are 6…well you do the math), but last night I was apparently blocking the main thoroughfare in a highly traveled part of catworld. Not only did they run across me every few minutes, but they also did things like drop their fetching balls (do NOT take that in a naughty way) and cat-nip filled whales on top of me. They also attacked my appendages every time I so much as twitched. Oh the joys of being owned by a herd (Gaggle? Flock? Troupe?) of cats.
There were also mysteries afoot in the house of cats. This morning as I staggered to the kitchen for coffee, I noticed that the cat condo was tipped over. Nothing new there and I vowed to return it to its upright position when I had taken care of my first-thing-in-the-morning chores (i.e. turn on the computer, log in to my work and Google email, and look at the newspaper online). Usually this part of my morning is interrupted at least a dozen times by W Kitty, aka Orange Belly. She brings her fetching balls (ok, go ahead and laugh) to me and then digs her darling claws into my leg. I throw the ball, she brings it back, I throw the ball, she drops it and comes back empty mouthed expecting me to produce a ball out of thin air (which I am able to do because I keep a couple of spares on the computer desk).
This morning, no W Kitty. No claws digging into my thigh. No constant “Meowrrrrr”. My sleep-deprived brain vaguely registered this fact, assumed that she was still sleeping and went on to answer emails and drink stout coffee. I looked around the room and noticed that Mini Cat was staring intently at the cat condo, which was still lying on the floor. Thinking that she probably wanted to sit on it and look outside, I walked over, reached down and started to lift. Then I saw it…a little cat face peering out of the side of the condo. W Kitty jumped out, looked at me as if to say “what took you so frigging long” and then went to find one of her fetching balls.
She was obviously traumatized by the event.
Such is life in the cathouse.
41 comments:
Have you ever heard the song "Zombie Jamboree"? Dan (who loves parodies), came up with a new twist on it -- "Kitty Cat Jamboree." I'll have to trick him into performing and then YouTube it. That's what this post reminds me of, though.
Poor trapped kitty. Sorry aboot your boot!
Courtney, I'd love to see that! Will you be able to post it if he does? If not, will you send me a copy? ;-)
Squirl, I felt pretty bad about her being trapped, but not so much about the boot. I now have an excuse to get new ones, which I will hide in the closet.
Those pictures are great. I couldn't help but notice the eyes, they seem so "innocent".!
We have to be careful that the cats don't get locked in the van. They love to get in there.
Kitty is adorable, I used to have one like him years ago.
Ginnie, they are wonderful kitties. I love them all. I'm not sure I would call them innocent though. :)
Butterfly, momma cat is the only one of mine that goes outside. She loves to get in the car so I always check carefully before locking it.
Laurie - this is more fun. Really - I didn't know cats would interact like this - I mean actually bringing you a ball to toss. How sweet and delightful. If I weren't allergic I'd have a cat(s) Hmmm. Interrupted sleep could be tough, but what the heck - it sounds so cute.
I'm not sure this one knows she's a cat, Cathy. She is more like a cog or a dat. One of our other cats will fetch too, but only rings from water bottles. She just bats the ball around and plays socker with it.
I LOVED this kitty story. I've had many cats and they are so entertaining, especially in the "middle of the night"! I giggled throughout the whole story and although I felt sorry for your lack of sleep, I felt more sorry for the trapped kitty, LOL! Sweet story. I had a cat named Mini, a maine coon, and she had the best personality...she died at an old age in '94 and we still miss her.
Don't you know we exist on this planet for their amusement and to do chores for them? :o)
Mary, they are fairly high maintenance, lol! As a matter of fact, I am sharing the computer chair right now with M Kitty (W Kitty's sister). My Mini cat is Siamese, complete with bright blue eyes. She's a sweetheart like all of them.
I love Maine Coon's. They are beautiful cats. I'm glad yours lived to a ripe old age.
Littlepea, that we do, and we do it gladly!
and, oddly enough, I had zombie jamboree playing on my site the other day.
Jock, yes you did! I was thinking about that when Courtney left her comment.
I'm a cat person, also, and think that cats are often underestimated. My daughters and I had a cat that would fetch, once upon a time, and my Hattie is very interactive. As for boots, she likes to hide her dead mice in them. yuck.
Good story and pictures...love the "who me?" eyes.
I very much like cats, but six would be the end of what little sanity I retain.
I love reading about the entertainment cats provide to OTHER people.
;-)
I loved the ball-fetching pics!
We have two cats who love to chase a laser pointer light all over the livingroom floor. I'm not sure when my boys started tormenting the cats with this light, but it is their favorite. We can get them to run around in circles, then topple over in dizziness.
Great post. Sure made me smile.
I would love to see Courtney's video on U Tube too. Let us know when and where it is posted.
We had a cat that loved to chase his food. He would pester and pester and pester until we would throw dry food for him to chase down and eat. He wasn't content to just nibble on the chow in the bowl. He wanted the joy of the hunt and capture. We had to throw food for him many times during the day.
When we traveled we arranged for the young girl next door to come in and cat-sit. We had to train her how to throw Scutter's food for him. It had to be bounced along the floor just so, so he could track it and pounce on it. Sheesh! He had us wound around his little finger/paw!!!!!
Pam, lucky me, the only thing I ever find in my boots are cat toys. Of course 5 of mine are indoor only cats and I don't think any sane mouse would enter a house that was this full of cats. Momma cat, however, goes in and out, and leaves dead things on the front step for me to admire.
AC, sometimes I think the six cats are why I have any sanity left at all. :)
Laura, I know you prefer your bunnies, and I have to say they are adorable! The fetching photos are hard to take because every time I lay on the floor all of the little darlings come over to investigate.
Bonita, HWDDD and my son both like to do that to the cats. It must be a man thing because even though I think it's kind of funny, it would never occur to me to do it.
Cuppa, that is so cute! Scutter was spoiled rotten, just like pets are supposed to be. I love that you trained the cat-sitter. Even though we have self-feeders and automatic watering stations, we have a couple of people that are trained to take care of ours as well. They know the food drill (which plate/bowl and can goes with which cat) and what toys each prefers and they give them love for an hour or so a day.
It's funny you should mention Scutter's passion for stalking his food, because last night W Kitty was stalking her fetching ball. I would throw the ball into the kitchen, and she would wait on the edge of the living room carpet until it stopped bouncing. Then she'd cock her head to the side and run over to attack it. It was hysterically funny and by the time she was done, the rugs in the kitchen were in total disarray. HWDDD was downstairs watching TV and text messaged me asking if there was a herd of buffalo in the kitchen. I texted back that it was wildebeests.
Laurie~ You reminded me of a darling kitty I had many years ago. He was all white except for a small dot of black on his forehead. He would fetch for HOURS, only he would bring it back to you! His fetch toy of choice was a soda bottle cap, because he could hook his teeth in it. I MISS HIM NOW! WAAAAAaaa! Oh and his name? "Velcro". I think I may have to blog about that one sometime :) Thanks for the great memories!
DH, W Kitty does bring it back to me, most of the time. Emphasis on most! I think she considers herself to be my personal trainer.
It sounds like Velcro was quite the kitty. He must have had an awesome personality! One of mine likes to fetch bottle cap rings and is quite theatrical about it. But she doesn't like to bring it back so you have to keep a stash around to throw. I will try to get a photo or two of her doing that sometime.
I look forward to reading your post about Velcro.
In answer to your question, I used to sell my work. Since I've been restricted to the computer I haven't as it is all still a learning process. I do, however, make prints of pieces for friends when there is something they like in particular.
We need more people in your line of work and more who have a passion for the environment.
Oh how I miss having cats around the house. As I am having a rat problem at the moment (not rattus rattus or rattus norwegicus) and I am unable to kill them, perhaps you would like to lend me your cats. My rats are native rats (oh the joys of living in the bush) so they don't actually eat anything in the house - they just bring their toys in and romp around like your cats (and they are very noisy on wooden floors). This morning I found a whole pile of fruits from a palm tree in the middle of the floor in the spare bedroom. So far they haven't damaged anything so I am trying to leave them alone - but if I get woken up again I may ask you to send your cats!
Pam, thank you. I absolutely love that piece and will use it in my powerpoint. Thank you for allowing me to do so!
Carol, just how big are these rats? I think my cats might be afraid of them! And since the rats are bringing you gifts, maybe you should just domesticate them?
Great post, Laurie! It sounds as if all your cats were hyper at the same time. Alex was the same last night. I wonder if it has to do with the phase of the moon?
Geez, Laurie, you're a fantastic writer! And those pix make it all come more to life.
I like cats but I've always been a dog person more just because I've found cats were so independent and really, not very interested in playing like dogs.
But if you've got a cat or cats that fetch balls, I'll have to change my attitude.
Sorry, have to go fetch my balls now...
Nick, so Alex was on a tear too? It must have been the moon. I'm hoping that they are a little less hyper tonight. I could use the sleep.
WW, maybe I should do all my writing when I'm sleep deprived?
If I've had any part in changing your attitude toward cats, I'm glad. They really are a joy to be around (except at 2 am when they have dropped a toy on your head).
Have fun with your...balls.
Laurie:
I just grew up in a family that always had dogs that I could wrestle and rough-house with and do almost anything to and they still always wanted to curl up next to me on the couch.
Who can beat that?
My experience with cats, when they weren't scratching me or running away, was to be standoffish and independent.
Great for them, I always thought, not so much for me. They did what THEY wanted, not what I wanted.
Harumph.
When my ex and I split, I agreed with my kids, much younger then, to get a cat.
I actually quite enjoyed him, even though my furniture didn't. Except when he'd lie on my face and coo into my ears and almost smother me to death while I was in bed.
Then one day I woke up to a huge crashing sound. He had toppled over a big mirror that I hadn't secured correctly.
Still, if this place I'm in now allowed pets, I'd have a cat. My kids would love it if I did.
(Geez...sorry for taking so much space yapping on your blog)
WW, We had both dogs and cats when I was growing up. Our cats always had interesting personalities, but then so did the dogs.
One of our dogs used to climb ladders and another went to the local bar every afternoon for a beer sausage.
One of our cats used to hide scary presents under my mom's pillow all the time and another followed me around like a puppy.
My current cats all have distinct personalities. Two of them are so affectionate you would swear they were dogs, another is skiddish unless you are sitting or lying down, then she's all over you. The big male cat (aptly named Goober) is like a puppy and loves to play.
What I'm really trying to say is that I love them bunches and they enrich my life in every way.
I hope that you are able to have pets again. I think everyone should have the pleasure of having cat toys dumped on them in the middle of the night. ;-)
And by the way, I very much enjoy it when you yap on my blog.
Did the male dog bring home a female from the bar with the beer sausage too?
And isn't that bordering on a sexist comment, "aptly" naming your big male cat Goober?
(It's OK...that's what I call HE and my son all the time...)
Actually, Finnegan always came home alone. It might have had something to do with the "surgery" he had when he was a puppy.
And the name Goober really fits this cat. He's the slow kid in the slow class, but he's very loving.
I can't believe that's what you call HE and your son! What do they call you?
You had Finnegan FIXED??? I hate that term...and no doubt the poor guy wasn't too crazy bout it either.
I call HE much worse, but then he calls me much worse too (see his responses to my comments on his blog, that's just the tame stuff).
No, usually they call me handsome.
It sounds bad, doesn't it? FIXED...like something was broken.
I've seen how you two give each other a hard time on your blogs. I can only imagine what it's like in real life!
I love your cat stories Laurie! I used to have two cats that were more than a handful - I can't imagine SIX cats! I can relate to your stories. IMHO according to cats we are here to serve their every little need.
Naturewoman, yes, it's true, I only exist to serve. And I don't mind that at all! They are so cute and sweet. Last night I could barely turn over because I had 4 of them on the bed. I didn't need an extra blanket, despite the cold!
Hey, I love love love your blog site! And the pics are awesome, absolutely fab! I'll be up for some roadtripping as soon as this weather breaks - you game?!! NM ~.~
Nicole, I am always game! I thought you knew that. ;-) So good that you left a comment, now when are you going to start to blog?
hmm...in the case of your wild tribe, I think 'pack' may be the best word. Wolves hunt in packs...and I think even tigers come in packs.
yours sound ferocious. sorry about the boots...looks like they had a few hikes left in them!
Pink, pack it is then! They are pretty funny to watch. Last night two of them had a boxing match. By the time I had the camera out of its case, they were done, though.
As for the boots, I put new laces in them and I think they'll be fine for quite a few more miles.
Oh I just love these photos. My cat Tarzan would fit right in. My favorite is the boot photo. Thanks for sharing these.
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