Tag: cats

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We have a new addition

I realise it’s been a while since I posted, but numerous things were going on and numerous irons are in the fire. I am in a touring company for a play in Alaska this fall, a multitude of around the house projects finished, and I have finally set a retirement date at the college. There has certainly been enough going on to justify posting; however, getting around to it has been an issue.

However, there is a good reason to put up a new blog post. We had a new addition to the family. A bit over a week ago, we got a new kitten.

kitten2

We named her Belle, short for Sprinkle Belle. The previous owners named her Sprinkle, so we kept the first name and shortened it to Belle at their request. The name needs changing since, after her first visit to the vet today for the traditional shots and de-worming, two vets have declared that Belle is actually a Bill. We still haven’t confirmed a new name.

For what it’s worth, we were told he was a she and I never bothered to look. It does seem a bit personal, after all.

He is adjusting to the house, although he seemed to accept things much more easily than the other cats. Eventually, Furball has succumbed to his charms and thinks the kitten is pretty great.

furball kitten

Darcy, however, is a bit more reticent, although she is showing occasional signs of warming to the little fluff ball.

He is rather active, chases his siblings constantly, and other than being another sex than we were expecting, is otherwise perfectly normal and healthy. And, he possesses the amazing talent that most kittens have: the ability to go from pure terrorism to angelic in under 30 seconds flat…

kitten1

 

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Cat speak

Animal behaviourists has determined that, while a cat meow is a quite common thing, it’s not used by cats to communicate among themselves. Meowing is used by adult cats for communicating with people.

After a year and a half, I’ve found that Darcy and Furball both use distinctive meows for certain situations.

For example, Darcy goes “meow-wow” when she wants something not food-related. Usually, it means turn on the tap so I can drink from it or play with the drips. Another common one is a “mrrrrow?” with a very obvious question mark on the end. You often hear this one at about 3 AM and it seems to mean “Are you awake because I need a cuddle and if you aren’t, I’ll head butt you until you are.”

Furball has his own unique meows, too. A short meow apparently means “I want treats.” A longer, drawn out one that follows ignoring the former is, I suspect, “I’m dying of treat deprivation.” He also has a short meow with a question mark on the end that also means, “I want to play with the water from the sink.” And, if I go to bed before he does and the downstairs lights are off, you’ll hear this long drawn out mournful wail. “You left me all alone!!” Calling him is instantly followed by the sound of feet running up the stairs and the thump of him jumping on the bed.

There are few non-verbal ones, too. Darcy will lay on her back and using her claws, pull herself on the floor around the bed. I’ve come to learn that this means, “I want you to play fight with me.” (She’s a scrapper, to say the least, as her long suffering brother has learned. Being about 3 pounds heavier and about 10 inches longer hasn’t helped him in the least.)

She’ll also climb up on your chest with her front paws on your shoulder. This definitely means, “I’m standing here so you can rub my belly.”

Furball’s most distinctive non-verbal clue is what my sister-in-law, Dianne, refers to as the “drive by.” If you head to the kitchen, he’ll run in front of the cupboard where the aforementioned treats are stored and just fall over on his back.  Treat deprivation is a terrible thing to live with.

The other thing to understand about meowing, by the way, is that different cats have different meows with different meanings. There’s really no cat-human language. Nope. No cat speak.

The main takeaway from this is that it is true that cats really do have servants.. And, in the case of my cats, one that seems to have been easy to train…

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Camping considered: the first road trip

The weather is turning nice. We have a new car. It was time for the first short road trip of the year.

I wanted this to see if I could get a few pictures. It’s also time to see how long I can drive with my knee recovering. And, I wanted to know, now that we’ve hit the break in period, how the car would be on a longer road trip. And then, there is the final reason. It’s time to start preparing the cats for the road.

Everything worked out the way I expected. The short drive, about 45 minutes, was fine for the car and my knee. I didn’t get any pictures, but that happens. Darcy, as usual, approached this with the attitude of, “Road trip. They’ll wake me when it’s time to eat.” Furball, however, is not my little road warrior. The mournful meows started in the driveway. He sounds like you’re pulling his soul out of his body through the pores of his skin. The good news is that he settled down after about half an hour. But, he was a pretty happy kitty when we came in the house…

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Cats and meditation

I’ve been a bit remiss in posting, since I’ve been on the road visiting family and came back to go back to teaching classes. And, now that things have slowed down a bit, I can do a bit of writing.

I get a chance to consider some of the meditation apps I’ve tried to deal with the fact that I haven’t slept properly for more than six months. I’m going to look at this in consideration of comparing meditation to cat ownership.

First of all, you aren’t going to get a chance to really relax. Putting on the headphones and stretching out with the meditation app usually means that one cat will climb on your feet and go to sleep, while the other will perform the same task on your chest. Once the surprise ends, mind you, this is really relaxing. But, you probably will want to restart the app from the beginning, particularly when Darcy jumps on your chest. She often lands on your stomach and she does weigh almost 13 pounds.

Second recommendation: wear socks. That relaxation thing plays second fiddle to your reaction to having two cats simultaneously decide to lick your bare toes. I don’t know why both decide to do exactly the same thing at the same time, but it’s happened more than once.

One app I tried told me, “I must learn what complete calm looks like.” I listened to these words looking down at Furball lying on the top of my legs, upside down, with all four legs in the air, and Darcy sprawled like a corkscrew… a cat in liquid state…  laying across my feet. (As I sit in my recliner writing this, I currently have two cats demonstrating complete calm on my lap.) I think I know what calm looks like without someone else telling me.

Lastly, the newest one I tried tells me at the beginning that, “Meditation is safe. You are in complete control.” I have three cats. I don’t think I have control over a damn thing….

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The experiment continues

In a fit of persistence or insanity, the cats and I are spending the night in the camper again. I have rum. It may be necessary.

I have not only rum, by the way. After Darcy’s failure to appreciate the joys of camping the other night, I have two weapons. I have the kitty tent, given to me by a friend, and I brought the cat carrier. Both are quite friendly, safe places the cats enjoy.

Furball picture
Furball and the carrier

Oh, I forgot. I have something else. I have catnip, and now, so do the carrier and the tent. This may work…

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Science

As you may know, we conduct experiments because we don’t know how things will turn out. Research is not done on things where we know the answers, but because we don’t know the answers.

Last night’s experiment had mixed results. Furball seemed to take reasonably well to the camper, although he took a long time to settle down and didn’t stay settled the whole night. Darcy did not settle down at all, except for a short period between 5:30 and 6 AM when she and Furball curled up together on my feet.

She tried to find any way out, and was skittish at any noise at all. This becomes a bit of a problem since the robins chirp loudly all hours by this time of year and there was a bit of a wind last night. At 7 this morning, I gave up and brought them in. Since none of us really slept, we all trundled upstairs to bed. By the way, Clara was so worried over how the cats would adapt that, even though she was in the house, she didn’t sleep a wink last night.

I guess the next step is to try again some night this week. When we travel, they’ll be in the big carrier anyway, so I’ll bring that out as well. The carrier, or as we call it, kitty jail, is actually something they’re both rather fond of and they may find it a bit of a comfortable place to hide out from the evil robins that dwell outside the camper. I’m not sure how it will turn out, but, this is how science works, after all…

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Indocrinating new cult members

For those not aware, we got two cats two months ago. They were rescues, and friends brought them up from Port Alberni. However, after taking this time to get used to us and the house, tonight is the time when we determine if they will be real Rutherford cats or not. Tonight is the first night they get to sleep in the motorhome. We are only spending the night in the driveway, so this should be easy enough.

This has not progressed without trauma. Furball is the first to find the upper bunk. Darcy is still trying to find a way out. She knows where the door is, and is sitting in front of it rather expectantly.

Image of Furball

Furball and the upper bunk.

Darcy at the window.
Darcy at the window.

Soon they will be willing members of the camping cult. After all, as a good Daddy, the bag of treats came out of the house with me and I have learned the power of bribery. When I turn the lights out and go to bed, they will probably climb in with me as usual and all will be normal… even in the camper…