The Crew

Eli

Muffin

Fleurp & Twee

Jack

Jack

Jack wants cookies..

Muffin

Fleurp

Skippy

My husband and I were sitting at the kitchen table discussing financial matters, and The Crew was milling about.. Kit likes to be near her Daddy and while trying to find a place to settle she put a foot in this very small wooden bowl.  I laughed at her and said she would NEVER fit in that bowl.. Well didn't she didn't show me!!

talking to kittens

I'm starting to believe that cats understand a LOT more then we give them credit for.  There have been incidents with my own crew, but I've chalked that up to the whole spending so much time together thing.

The other day I was down with the four girls and I was watching TV.  I looked around and saw Lucy sitting in front of the water bowl. I don't spend a lot of time worrying about water for the kittens since they eat so much canned food and it is rare that I get a set of kittens that actually drinks water.. well she was sitting there patiently and I had to wonder if the bowl was empty so I asked her.  She looked at me, stood up, and then walked over to the bowl and stepped in it as if to say "YES! it is very much empty!!"   I couldn't help but laugh and I went over and filled it up. she took a lick and walked away.  I don't think she was thirsty, I think she just wanted it filled up - which is so like her.

Then today while I was down playing with them Sally was hanging back.  I get the distinct impression that she is much like a 4-5 yr old kid hanging out with 8 yr olds.  She wants to play but they overwhelm her.  So she sat on the side lines.  After a few minutes she started backing away then turned around but she was doing it a bit oddly.  The best way to describe it would be if another kitten jumped on her, but there was no one around her.  I called her name and she perked right up, turned on a dime and RAN towards me.  We snuggled for a bit and then climbed up on the couch.  I gave her a mouse to play with to build up her confidence, but after a few minutes she did want to play with the bigger kittens.  she didn't want to jump down from the couch, so she ran over to the window seat (which is higher up) and tried to jump down,  so I called to her again and told her to come back and she squeaked and ran right over to me.  It was just the cutest thing.

Kate and Pip have made HUGE strides.  Kate has adjusted to Bug just fine.  Pip is a little upset by the whole thing.  She's growling pretty easily at things.. but she's not hiding.  DH came in and sat with them for a bit and was able to pat Kate's belly.    I had to trim their claws because they were drawing blood.  I thought Kate would hate that more, but it was Pippa who ended up in the burrito.  There was also no poop in their litter boxes today.. I know raw causes things to be dramatically less and is very healing to the colon, so hopefully things are back on the right track.  They ate like fiends this evening so I don't think that they are having issues.. but I will be keeping a close eye on things.


Edited because I just remembered the Jack incident.  I was sitting on the couch and he was on the arm trying to be cool (it was leather, so it was a little hard for him to perch like he wanted) Jack is a jealous boy, and likes it when I give him attention in front of the other kitties.  I was talking to him and told him I wanted him to give me a kiss.  Well this isn't something he normally does, leaning in for me to kiss him, and again he was perched on leather and he was having a hard enough time keeping his footing, but I kept asking him, and he turned and leaned in and let me kiss him.  It was so sweet.

and Happy World Cat Day!

animal communicator part two

Ok, you are going to start thinking I'm the crazy cat lady here - and maybe I am - and maybe I'm ok with that - but still.  You are going to like this one.

The other day we went to Target and bought a remote controlled mouse for the crew.  We've tried battery powered toys before and they always look at us like we are crazy.  They know their natural prey isn't supposed to make noise (according to some it is supposed to lay in a basket in the corner of the room and smell like cat nip, but that's a different post)  

Well this toy was a hit.  Unfortunately the toy broke pretty quickly.  The front wheel fell off it's axis, and as a result it doesn't move very well. The crew doesn't seem to mind because they like the fur it is covered in, and it moved once, so it must still be a toy.

After they gave up and went for their dinner, I picked it up and put it on the counter (which they aren't supposed to go on, but they do) and went down stairs to exercise.  While I was exercising I heard a few suspicious bumps and a clang, that sounded very much like mouse making it's way (with a great deal of help) off the island across the floor, and dropping through the railing and down the stairs.  I didn't stop exercising figuring I'd nab it on the way up.  Well when I was done there was nothing on the stairs. I glanced around the room and didn't see it, so I gave up and went upstairs.  Later that night I had some of the cats in the room and I told DH what happened, and threw a comment out to the crew that if they could return the mouse that would be very helpful.

Well the next morning it still didn't show up.  So before they ate breakfast I very pointedly told them that I would like the mouse returned.  I pictured the mouse being in the kitchen, and asked them to help me out.

Wouldn't you know it, when I came home from work.. the mouse was in the kitchen, pretty much where I was standing when I made the declaration.  Just sitting there like it had run around exploring the house and returned on it's own.

Go ahead.  Tell me I'm crazy..

:)

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.