Christmas Cats

Fervor under the tree. Actually, he is there because he is directly next to a heat register.

Fervor.

Arnold.

Arnold.

Recent Photos

Arnold and Cleo keeping company with Peggy.

Obviously we are not too particular about kitchen table cleanliness. They are so spoiled!

This is unusual. Cleo usually does not let Arnold invade her space.

Arnold in my formerly-dustproof digital video cabinet.

Arnold chowing down on, well, cattails.

A close-up of those chompers.

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Nighttime Antics -- II

You'd better get off there, mister!

Nighttime Antics -- I

Arnold likes to share Peggy's pillow. She does not seem to mind.

Late Night Reading

In an effort to distract Arnold from clawing at the venetian blinds at 5 AM, we put out a magazine for him to peruse. He tends to be a little tough on them but we save on electricity for the shredder.

Judging from where he stopped shredding, I'd say he was a political junkie.

Bad Cat!

Arnold has an unusual habit of going on the prowl at dawn. He walks around emitting a mournful howl while trying to open cabinet doors or push aside the venetian blinds in our bedroom. We have had to take down a framed picture from above our bed because he tries to push it aside apparently thinking it is a door.

Last night he pushed on a lamp on the bed headboard and it came crashing down, luckily not on my head.

What happened next gave both Peggy and me pause. Immediately after the crash he quietly left the room like he knew he did something wrong. We are probably over anthropomorphizing but the behavior seemed unusual.

Oh, by the way, the photo shows one of our less active cats, Tom, surveying the crime scene.

Arnold Poses

We often wonder what goes through a cat's mind. This photo, above, shows Arnold with a far away, thoughtful look on his face.

The below photo shows Arnold in an artistic pose. He stretches out on the floor like this a lot while we are watching TV.

Cleo and Arnold's Excellent Adventures

The photo above not only finds Cleo and Arnold enjoying the "crows nest", but also shows their view of the deck. They spend a lot of time watching birds and chipmunks scurrying through their view of the outside world. We do not let them go outside but Arnold must be watched carefully because he will dart through an open door if given half a chance.

We have not had trouble with Cleo trying to sneak out and that is why what happened yesterday was such a surprise.

Cleo was apparently watching the door as Peggy opened it to go out on the deck. Just at the moment the door opened, a chipmunk darted across the opening and Cleo was out like a shot. She was not able to overtake the chipmunk but when I finally caught up with her she was looking into some nooks and crannies where the creature escaped.

We got quite a laugh out of Cleo's hunting instinct but little did we realize there was more to come.

At 4 AM this morning Peggy heard some commotion and found that Cleo was chasing a mouse in the bathroom. It apparently came in when a door was left open too long. When I got there with the camera, Cleo was more interested in just watching this little guy rather than killing him as evidenced by this eye-to-eye photo.


After I took a few photos, I got the video camera and took about 30 minutes of video. I will edit that and post the highlights here in a few days.

Social Cats

Most cats we have owned in the last 10 years have headed for the hideout when children came into the house. Arnold and Cleo are different. They actually like to be around kids. Cleo is shown here with grandson Russ.

My Baby

Cleo likes to be snuggled like this. Peggy says she is my baby.

She is no slouch at napping either.

Relaxed Cat

Arnold really knows how to relax. He is an expert at catnapping.

Breakout!

Apparently my plastic screen is no match for Fervor's determination. I will have to go to Plan B (heavier screen).

Danger Cat

The integration of our "Baltimore Cats" (Arnold and Cleo) has not been without some difficulty. I thought any cat could join another group of cats and eventually be accepted. Fervor, aka "Danger Cat", has not only not accepted Cleo but he treats her like an enemy. Now Fervor is not mine. He belongs to Martha. So I am glad that Cleo's defenses are superior to Fervor's offensive methods. While Fervor has suffered a nicked ear and 2 or 3 nose nicks, Cleo looks unaffected.

I have had good results by keeping them apart. I put up a sort of screen door in the upstairs hallway and we keep Fervor in Martha's area much of the time. When we let him out we keep Cleo in our bedroom. We have gone more than a week now with only 1 minor skirmish.

Arnold and Fervor get along fine. They have been seen to touch noses and they play together occasionally.

Lending a Helping Hand

Arnold was helping me inventory the seafood stores.

Fabric Fancying Felines

It seems that many cats like to assist Peggy with her sewing and quilt making (See the May 21, 2008, entry). Arnold and Cleo fit that pattern (!). Arnold shows he is not afraid of the buzz of the electric scissors (above) and he keeps watch for any invading forces (below). Meanwhile, Cleo (below) gives Peggy's sewing machine a "cat scan".

All Quiet on the Western Front

Arnold and Fervor have made peace with each other. They can sleep on the same sofa, as shown in the photo, above. They will sometimes touch noses. Strangely, however, they do sometimes "have words". I am not sure if it is a form of play or a power play.

Below, the photo shows Arnold taking a little time out from his birdwatching hobby.

Living with a Cat

Cat people and dog people usually are two different breeds (a little play on words there). Dog people understand and accept the impact on their lives such as walking the dog, cleaning up after the dog, etc. Cat people should understand that cats are different from dogs. It is difficult to impossible to train a cat so you must accept certain intrusions. For example, we typically do not force the cats off the table unless there is food present. We do try to keep them off the counters where food is prepared but we understand that they may get up there when we are not around.

When I was in college, my friend had a cat and he tried very hard to train it to stay away from his stereo equipment. That worked as long as he was at home. One day when he opened the door to his apartment, the cat, who had been in with the stereo equipment, bolted out because she knew she should not be in there. In the process she got tangled in wires and broke her hip. He had to take her to Michigan State University to have a rather expensive operation. My memory of his experience is a powerful incentive not to try to train cats.

Bathroom Buddy

Cleo and I have a morning ritual. I get up and stretch and so does Cleo. Then she follows me into the bathroom where we spend some quality time.

Sometimes, as shown in the photo, above, I have to explain that I need to trade places with her.

Bill's Cats

When we adopted Arnold and Cleo, it was curious to note how similar they were to Bill's cats named Harry and Cleo:

Crows Nest

After we adopted Arnold and Cleo, we had 3 cats in the house with claws. In hopes of avoiding more furniture shredding, I purchased a "crows nest" climbing structure for them. All 3 like to look out the window or snooze in one of the levels. So far, I see little or no scratching on furniture (except for Fervor who had already developed the habit). This photo shows both Fervor and Arnold enjoying it at the same time.

Introducing Arnold

Along with Cleo, we adopted Arnold on April 20, 2008. Arnold is "some cat" (recall "Charlotte's Web"). His personality is precious. When he comes into the room he says, "Hi!" with a funny little semi-silent meow. He walks up to you and looks straight up at you and it makes you laugh. You give him a little pat on the head and he goes about his business. He sleeps with us most nights and helps us get up early by becoming active and vocal at sunrise!

Fervor pays little attention to him and they even seem to play together a bit. I think a good part of it owes to Arnold's good "self image". He does not (any longer) hiss or growl at Fervor.

Introducing Cleo

We adopted Cleo, along with Arnold, on April 20, 2008. She is about 8 years old although she seems much younger. She only weighs 9 lbs. Cleo is sweet and delightful and follows us around like a dog. She is quite affectionate. Unfortunately she is a bit shy and that may account for the occasional confrontations with Fervor. I think Fervor would just like to get to know her but Cleo does not allow him in her “personal space”.

Introducing Fervor

Fervor was rescued from an animal shelter by Martha when he was a kitten. He is about 6 years old. Fervor is a hoot. He plays with toys and sometimes runs through the house at breakneck speed (at such times Dick calls him "bullet"). While he is quite social and even tolerates being cradled like a baby, he keeps to himself a great deal.

Fervor had a run-in with a closing door in November 2006 and lost a couple inches off his tail. Recovery must have been somewhat painful and we thought his personality had changed for the worse but, given enough healing time, he got back to his old goofy self.

Remembering Savannah

Savannah was put down on Monday. She was only eight years old but was genetically predisposed to being obese which undoubtedly contributed to her health issues. She was so big she was not able to clean herself which led to urinary tract infections. Since last October her left rear leg was mostly unusable which prevented her from using a litter box.

Savannah came to us as a kitten and seemed unique from the start. She was quite the character. Once I was stripping wallpaper on a wall at ceiling level when all of a sudden Savannah jumped up to grab a loose piece of paper. I had not noticed her climbing up the ladder behind me. She used to lick Peggy’s ears and lips in bed so Peggy had to envelope herself in the sheets like a burka.

Although she was Martha’s cat, she loved to help Peggy with quilting or knitting. She also loved a foot massage. That is she loved to be foot-petted by Peggy with her shoes off. Peggy called her a “footy cat”.

While she could be very lovey-dovey, she had a snarly side too. One time when Martha took her to the vet he complained that she was vicious and wouldn't examine her unless she was sedated. When Amy came to visit with her Labrador, Nina, Savannah cornered the dog in a bedroom and wouldn't let her out. Even after she had only three working legs, she still totally intimidated Nina.

Savannah had the most beautiful coloring and facial features. She was probably the prettiest cat I ever shared a house with. We will treasure the good times we had with her.