Animal Communicator?

Ok, so I am not an official animal communicator, cause I have no idea what they are thinking at any moment in time - but I can generally figure out what they are about to do by their body posture - but I am starting to believe I have the ability to TELL the cats what to do..

now for the most part my kitties are much like other kitties, they don't listen.  They take a message and get back to you sort of thing.  Often if you want them off something they are on, you have to walk up to them and threaten physical removal in order for them to care.

but recently I have started asking my cats to to get down, or come here, or leave their sibling alone... and it worked!!

I am sure it has a LOT to do with my tone.  If I tell them to get down in a sing songy happy voice, they just bask in the praise they think they are getting.. but there is that no nonsense tone I have that means *I have absolutely had it with whatever you are doing and the next time I speak you are NOT going to like it*.  You know the one, when you say, no, get down, no, go away, leave my food alone, no, NO, GEEZE  COME ON!!, no, down, sit down.. and THEN you get the tone, so you could pretty much tell them to fly to the moon and they'd slink down and sit somewhere close and watch you.  Maybe I've come to be able to use that tone the first time, but I got Kit to lay down on the first command the other day when she was so excited over seeing DH that she was about to step in his dinner for the fifth time.  I got Fleurp to get off the counter, twice.  I got Ollie and Muffin to drop their little scuffle (those are interesting.  Muffin is 1.5 times the size of Ollie, but Ollie is older and meaner.  They've never actually fought, but they have been having quite a few vocal scuffles lately)

I also haven't been able to do anything in my house with out an entourage.  DH thinks it is quite funny when I walk down the hall with at least four cats following me around.  Last night when I got home from work, I had six, and they were all squeeking and whining wanting my attention.  I was in the kitchen trying to talk to DH and I almost couldn't hear myself from all the hubub.  I told them to be quiet a few times, but not in "the tone" finally I had it, and told them to leave us alone! and surprisingly a moment later there wasn't a kitty in the kitchen (they were all on the far side of the island which I refer to as the dining area of our great room kitchen/living room/dining room room) no crying, no noise of any kind.  I almost went giddy with my power.  If I could get Jack to not cry for treats, could I take over the world??

I then went down to exercise, and my entourage came with me.  Fleurp has taken to sleeping in a blanket that is on the floor in the basement where I work out.  She comes down with me and takes a cat nap while I work out.  I have not worked out alone since... well since I can remember :).  But last night I had Skippy running around playing with a ping pong ball and trying to goat Fleurp into playing.  Muffin was there too, doing her best to distract me with her beautiful belly.  She so loves to flaunt that thing at me when I'm busy knowing I have a very hard time resisting it. Life according to Muff is that NOTHING is more important then paying attention to Muff - unless she's busy. 

We do have a little bit of a situation though.  Twee has ended up with a few scabs on her head, so someone is not playing fair.  She had a tiny one at the base of her ear on the back side last week, and on Sunday I found a rather large scrape/scab under her chin.  I see her playing with Skippy and Muffin (ok so Muffin doesn't play she tells her to go away with some rather aggressive tones but I can't see her getting physical) and I've never seen anyone trying to hurt her.  Not quite sure what is going on.  She's lost several patches of fur on her head previous, but with no scabbing, no irritation of any type.  Just a small round patch of fur missing (maybe the size of a pea) and smooth white skin peeking through.  *shrug*  I'll have to keep an eye on it and see what comes of it.

a few photos

I interrupted Fleurp when she was grooming. She looks like this a lot, as she spends a lot of time grooming, and is easily interrupted.



Skippy carving out a little sun bathing time. Looks so relaxed doesn't he?



Quality time with the kitties. Fleurp in the far background. Eli to the left, Twee to the right and the Skipster lounged over my thighs. I had the worst time taking this photo since he is on my upper thighs, angling the camera and seeing through it was impossible, so I kept taking shots and trying to reposition the camera to make sure they were all in the shot.  Eli got annoyed the flash going off so much that he left shortly after this photo was taken.


This is the whole crew.  I can't hand feed them treats as doing so often ends up with me shedding blood (claws in the thighs, teeth in the fingers) so I toss them on to the ground.  This is the ONLY way Twee eats treats.  If I ever catch her alone and try to offer her something individually she completely ignores it.  If I am bold and try to hand feed treats and toss one in front of her, it usually bounces off her nose and she completely ignores it.

*headpalm* or why 8 kitties is a bad idea

Ok, seriously, I know owning Skippy would be a bad idea.  Doesn't mean I don't want to do it anyway though....

but this morning my kitties showed me very clearly why.  Mostly it would be that there would be more of them then I could handle.

So in the wee hours of the morning I woke up.  Not one of those *oh crud I'm awake in the middle of the night and I can't get back to sleep* bits.. but I had left my heating blanket on and I was a little warm, so normally I would have rolled over, shut it off and fallen back asleep.  But there were kitties on the bed who were missing me terribly, so when they realized that I might be conscious they sprang into action, and surrounded my head purring up a storm.  15lb Muffin, 12lb Jack and 6lb Fleurp were all there.  9lb Twee showed up a few moments later jockeying for a position to worship at the head of the sleeping mom.

Now if you have never had this experience, let me tell you it is a bit overwhelming.  I have blogged about it before, but it really is something to have four cats up in your face when you are barely awake... not to mention the fact that their bodies are the perfect length for their noses to be all up in your face, and their back feet to be targeted to your bladder.  *sigh*  off they all go as I stumble towards the bathroom.  I hate kicking kitties off me, but sometimes the bladder wins.

I stumble back into bed, get comfy, and once again there are cat noses where there shouldn't be cat noses.  Those things are COLD when it is cold in the house.  I finally convince all the kitties to settle down somewhere around the area of my legs, and drift off to sleep (but not before annoying the daylights out of DH who went to sleep on the couch.  Kitties were happy - more room for them)

Morning begging is reserved for DH who feeds them since he gets up first.  But when I got up, Jack was all up in my business begging for attention.  Fleurp dug out a superball and was playing with it.  I picked it up and realized that someone had chewed chunks off it.  I probably should have put the ball in my pocket to be stored in a drawer (ok I admit it, I really like superballs.. and yes it is appropriate to give me a gift of one) but I bounced it into the other room, and watched Fleurp fly at it, and look so adorable doing it.  something between a rabbit and a flying squirrel (I so wish I had video proof of it).  The ball ended up back at my feet, so I bounced it again, and this time she was so intent on getting it she missed the fact that the ball was bouncing towards the fridge, and she ran right into it.  Yes, Fleurp makes me laugh every single day.

But later, after I exercised, I went back into the bedroom to get dressed for work, and realized that a flipflop I have not work in over a year (wore them the summer previous) was on the middle of the floor.  I shook my head, knowing my Fleurp thought it was irrisitable and some how had dragged the thing from my shoe rack in the front of the house, through the kitchen, down the hall, and into the bedroom.  I KNEW it was her, only from the evidence of the lone flop on the floor.  Sure enough a few minutes later, she came and flopped next to the shoe and proceeded to "kill" it. I got a photo, but it only looks like she's laying on it.

Then I went to feed the rabbit.  Her water bottle was empty, so I bent over to take it off the cage, and went and filled it.  I bent back over to reattach it to the cage, when Kit in all her claws decided to jump up on my back.. OUCH!  I had been saying for a few days I needed to trim claws, well now was the time!!!

I also think one of the other kitties has convinced Twee to play Hide and Seek, because she has taken to hiding behind the curtains in the kitchen.  They are floor length, and mostly sheer.  When I went to pat her through the curtain, she was quite disturbed that she wasn't properly hidden, so I pretended I was just fixing the curtain so she could be happy.

Ollie is still quite annoyed with life.  He's annoyed that the other kitties want to do what he wants to do, and there for are in his way.  Doesn't matter if they were there first, and he walks in on them, if they are in the spot HE wants to be in, they get smacked.  If he offers his head for grooming and they don't groom fast enough, the smacking will commence.  Not quite sure who I feel worse for, him or them.

They definitely bring a depth and richness to my life.  The love, the cuddles, the laughter.  They do add a certain emptiness to my wallet though, the annual vet visits, the $800 surgery for Ollie, then the $500 revisit this year.  Eli needs a dental.  He has for a while, but I put it off, well I can't put it off any more.. Jack is having issues with his bladder.. at least I'm assuming his bladder is a little uncomfortable and he doesn't just like the Brazilian look.  All of my kitties are under 10 years of age, so I'll have multiple seniors at the same time in a few years.  Being proactive costs money, not being proactive either means more money or the loss of my kitties too young.

I just wish my heart understood all that..

The Crew

So I got a coupon for some free digital prints, and I have some cute photo frames I want to fill up with photos of the crew, so this morning I took my camera (yes, the stupid Kodak one who will NOT focus on the cats no matter how hard I try) and took about 100 photographs of the kids. These were the only ones who came out half decent (and one that isn't half decent but is too cute anyway)
Click on any photo to view the larger format:

So first I took photos of Ollie. Sitting on the fridge I figured I had a half decent chance of getting a good photo


Then Fleurp decided she wanted in on the action


Then I took a few of Jack that did not come out at all (the rug he was on was clearer than he - the item in the CENTER OF THE PHOTO) and Fleurp was not amused she wasn't the center of attention


So then Muffin came around, and I got one of her on the chair. Unfortunately that was all blurry too, and the first one of Muf and Kit was bad, but this one was cute.


seriously, you would think this kitten never gets any attention!!



Tweedle walked by, and the first few of her were all blurry, but I got this one


Eli's first photo was horrid, the second was good, and he was out of there, because he knew I was going to want to clean his face


More Fleurp.. I swear...


So then Muffin jumped up on the cat tree and proceeded to pose for me in the MOST DIFFICULT POSITION POSSIBLE. I love her.. really I do, and she totally makes me work for it


so I got her to turn around with a few well placed complements and some begging



but then she decided she needed to wash up.


and because that picture was just so priceless, a few close ups



Then I thought I'd go get a photo of Brianna, the Bunny. and guess who showed up


Tried to get one with out Fleup. Tried...

Photo Hunts - Plastic

Here is my Tweedle as a baby sleeping in a plastic bowl

Photo Hunts

Its Official!!

Well, today I officially adopted my little Fluerpy Face. I went to the shelter with Happy and Joy and the manager asked me if I was bringing back Fleurp. I said no. So she processed the paperwork and I paid my fee.. now she's officially mine.. all mine..

but of course she's currently all cuddled up with Jack..


and she is getting closer to Tweedle which is nice.

very confused

Well when I started thinking I wanted Fleurp, I introduced her to my crew. She was THRILLED to have kitties to play with, loved the whole thing, and didn't show a nanosecond of hesitation.. because that is just the kitten she is.

I was expecting my crew to growl at her, and show me their general displeasure.. which they never did. They all seem to love her.

HOWEVER...

Ollie has gotten excessively grumpy at EVERYONE, including myself and DH.. Jack has urinary issues again - I'm assuming brought on by stress.. and there seems to be general discord in my house.. last night I had to lock up Jack because he was attacking Kit. None of this seems directly related to Fleurp..

Even this morning when I gave out treats, some boiled chicken, no one cared that Fleurp came in and took their piece. She even took Muffin's piece right out from under her nose and Muffin did not react at all. Simply let her take it and then sniffed around for another piece. When I went to take it back from Fleurp, she was quite posessive, but I split it up and gave most of it back to Muff, who chewed it right up.

Now Muffin doesn't stand for ANYTHING, but she stood for this?!?!?

so is Fleurp a good addition to the house since she plays with Kit and Twee, or should I send her back to find a new home? I've always said my kitties would revolt if I tried to bring anyone else in.. and there does seem to be a revolt going on, but NOT in any way shape or form tied to Fleurp..

I'm just so confused..

Merry Christmas Kitties

Buttercup and Wes went back to the shelter on the 27th. Apparently there had been quite a bit of interest in them - as they were featured as pet of the week in the local paper - so I'm sure they are not still there now. I'm glad they got a home for the new year. Wes's adult teeth were starting to come in..

Fleurp had a LOT of fun at Christmas. She loves playing with wrapping and bows. She's been clear since a few days after starting the antibiotic. Today is day #10, so we'll stop it and see what happens.. Part of me hopes I'm so very wrong and the puss / congestion doesn't come back.. but the other part hates to be wrong.. :)

Ollie spent the holidays in a major grump. It's just so sad. I don't know what to do to bring him out of it. I've tried putting him on RR, but he hates it, and I think it is making him grumpier... but I'm still trying. He's back to chewing on the insulation again too. Going to have to make a point to hide all of that and cover up what we can't hide.

Jack - well Jack was peeing in the tub again, so he's back on antibiotics. I found him some of the new color changing litter.. as soon as he's done this next round I'll get him to pee in it and see what's up..

Muffin - I don't know what's up with Muff. I swear she's being haunted. She has been tearing through the house as if she's being chased, but there is no one there. She acted a little off too which is so unlike her.. no one specific symptom I could pinpoint, just.. off.. but she's seems to be back to her ol self.

Eli - Eli is just Eli.. this boy never changes.

Twee - Poor Twee wants more attention than can be given her. She's rather quite annoying about it too. Walks right up to your face and SCREAMS at you.. like that is endearing. I was hoping one of the kittens could give her the attention she wants, but alas, no.

Kit - nothing new to report on Kit either. She's fluffing up nice for winter.. but she's still so small.. it is funny to see this tiny kitty with a huge fluffy mane.

Happiness - she seemed to be better, so I stopped the antibiotic a few days after she stopped weezing, but she was weezing again this morning, so back on it she goes.. Joy - well Joy is SLOWLY coming around. She sits at the front of the cage now, and if I don't look at her, she stays there. I've tried tempting her with treats, but unless I put them right in front of her nose (which by that time is usually in the back of of the cage) she won't even sniff at them. I usually can get her to walk to the front of the cage if I've let her taste that what I have is good.. oh well.. one step at a time.

Benny.. Benny is still at the shelter. *sigh* poor thing. She's in a condo in the lobby, so there is more to look at and more room for her to move around, but with out some serious advertisment on their part, I fear she wont find a home.

Tweedle and Muffin

this is getting worse and worse, and I'm not sure what to do about it.

Poor Tweedle has been lost since Emerald died. Twee used to hang out and gain a lot of comfort from Em. I was scared when Em died, that Twee would go into mourning, but she never really did. She seemed to accept that Em just wasn't around.

Then she started to bond to Ollie. It was a weird pairing, but it seemed to work out.

But apparently it didn't, and Twee has turned to Muffin.

Now Muffin is very fickle. Sometimes it is great that she is being worshiped by Twee, other times Twee is in her air space and that is cause for extreme reaction. Fortunately Muffin runs away - unfortunatly Tweedle doesn't understand and thinks it is a game of chase and goes after Muff.

This ticks Muffin off even more, and she starts to hiss and swat at Twee - who still doesn't understand and still goes after her.

Muffin will not allow this, and Twee will not stop it. Usually I have to yell at them and intervein. I try not to do it often because I know this will happen when I am not around and need them to find a work around that works.

But this morning it got VIOLENT. I was scared. I can't much fault Muffin for wanting her space, and defending it, and I can't much fault Twee for wanting attention.. I'm usually yelling at Muffin for hissing, but I know I shouldn't. So this morning I told them to stop it, and I threw Tweedle in the spare room we were near and locked her in there for about an hour.

She was scared of me for the rest of the morning, and in the afternoon when I stopped home for lunch. I know she doesn't understand.. but I don't know what to do to make her understand... she is challenged

*sigh*

I'm actually considering adopting - or at least fostering an older cat from the shelter to see if Twee will bond with that. She and Kit don't play together, which is one reason I got Kit..

My kids

I also took some new photos of my furkids. You can see Ollie's horrid scar. He's been picking at the bottom of it.. and he isn't as capable of jumping as he was pre surgery. I need to call my vet about it.

we are also a little concerned about Twee. She is meowing more, and it sounds off.. today she was purring, and it reminded me of a squeekey toy who's squeeker was slightly broken. Her throat doesn't seem any different. no swelling, no hot spots, and her mouth looks pretty normal from what I can see. *shrug* last thing I need right now is another trip to the vet.. Ollie's bill was just shy of $600

Click on photos to see larger images:

My kitties and the strange visitor

We had company last night. My Dh's sister (the owner of his kidney) and her husband and their 1.5 yr old granddaughter..

now, I'm not a person who is particularly fond of kids and babies, but this little girl is obnoxiously cute.. and she just got cuter as the night wore on.

Because it was late in the evening (or maybe because they hadn't yet had dinner) most of my kitties decided running and hiding the whole time wasn't the best course of action. Usually they all scatter, and then Jack might stop by and beg for treats (yes, I think he was a dog in another life) from the strangers... but this time it was Tweedle who was first out! It was soo funny. Tweedle started walking towards us, but then the baby saw her, and started walking out toward Twee. Well Twee had NO idea what to make of it, and froze. Well this made the baby freeze too. So then we had two frozen beings staring at one another. There was no distracting either one of them.. Her GM called the baby, I called Twee.. Nope.. stuck in a stairing contest. Finally GM got up and took the baby's hand and led her away. I ended up being covered in cats.. Jack, Twee and Kit all came to me for comfort. Eli checked them out from down the hall... which is actually quite impressive. Ollie and Muff were no where to be seen.

We then proceeded downstairs, where a game of Wii Golf ensued. the men played, the women watched and played with the baby and the kitty. Kit came down. The baby found all the cat toys, and had fun throwing them. Kit wasn't sure what to make of it, and didn't want to get TOO CLOSE to the baby, but did want to play with the balls. They even had a good game of chase going on .. baby chasing kit, kit chasing baby..

What was so amusing though, is the baby goes on pause if something bad/negative happens to her. She doesn't cry, doesn't fuss, doesn't look around in wonderment.. nothing. Just sits or stands or stays in the position she landed in as if frozen in time. so bizzare, but so cute.

Can you feel the love

The down side to six cats, is when most of them miss you during the night and ALL vie for your attention in the morning.

It doesn't happen often, and truely I actually love it when it happens, but it can be a bit overwhelming when you get five cats all wanting to be patted and you only have two hands..

This morning Jack showed up.. Jack often just wants to sit near me and doesn't really want to be patted or cuddled. Sometimes he does.. like the other morning when he woke me up by sticking his nose in my face and when that didn't get me to respond to him, he actually bit my arm (a gentle love bite, but still) But this morning, he was fine just being close.

Then Muffin showed up. She took prime real estate, by firmly commanding the spot created by my shoulder and hip (I was laying on my side) Tweedle showed up, cautiously walking closer and closer (Muffin has issue with the air Tweedle seems to disturb) I distracted Muff and started patting Twee.. Then Eli showed up.. I was starting to feel a bit overwhemled, but seemed to manage, until Ollie showed up. Fortunately Ollie took over and started grooming Twee (I'm so glad someone does.. it used to be Em's job) But Eli shoved his head in there wanting grooming too.. which of course resulted in Twee's leaving, then Eli left, then Muffin left, so I started patting Jack which made him leave, and then Ollie left. So I was kitty-less.. But moments later Kit showed up - sans collar. She has leared to take off her break away collar.. smart little thing - and started prancing around wanting attention. When I wasn't quite as quick to give it to her, she left, found another mouse, and came back and we played fetch for a few minutes. I talked sternly to her this morning about keeping her collar on, and when I finally got up and started making my breakfast, she started playing with her collar, so I put it back on her. If it is off again tonight, I'm not sure what I'll do. I might start by taking the bell off and see if that helps (why do they put bells on decoritive collars??) and if that doesn't work I'll have to get her a non breakaway one like Muffin has. Muffin's collar is so loose though that if it gets caught on anything it will immediately come off.

When I finally left for work this morning, Jack was giving me sad eyes.. I told him not to worry, it was Friday - a short day for me - and I'd be home soon and we could take a nap together. Of course I'm sure when I get home he'll have forgotten all about it and will ignore me till supper time.

Made cat food again last night. I am seriously considering buying it from someone, but I need to find a company that makes a food that I'd be willing to feed (I don't want a lot of fillers) and that won't cost me an arm and a leg to get shipped to me. It's just hard for me to consider plunking down $90 for 20lbs of food.. when we make 40lbs at a time and it costs maybe $50.. ok maybe a smidge more with the supplements..

I love my kitties..

but some times I wish they didn't love me SOOO much.

Yesterday I woke up to Kit sleeping right next to my left shoulder. I turned a little bit in my sleep, and she reached out and patted my face. Uber sweet no? I loved it. Well moments later Muffin - realizing I was awake - plomped herself on my chest and started giving me a facial. Jack had been on my chest, but he moved when the Diva came and sat on my pillows. Tweedle then showed up and started SCREAMING at me. I have no idea why she does it.. she's just a screamer.

This morning.. no cute wake up by Kit, but pretty much the same routine. Although after I got screamed at, Kit wanted me to throw her mouse for her. Well she didn't bring me a mouse to throw, so I mentioned that, and off she went to get one. She came back and we had a few minutes of fetch before Muffin decided I was moving around too much and ran Kit off.

Guess Kit has forgiven me for letting Spud go.

Speaking of Spud... I haven't heard from his new owner yet.. despite her assurances that she'd email me. *sigh* I wish they wouldn't do that if they aren't going to..