12-13-13

Posted on by Robyn

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Awwww…. (Cats are amazing, continued…)

I love it!

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Just wanted to say I love this blog! Also, apropos of nothing, if you like cats and you like literature satires, you’ll love Yacht Cats.

Thank you – and that Tumblr is awesome!

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This morning I saw a video I’ve seen before but it still made me go awwww..


YouTube link.

I think I need one of those, don’t you?

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Here’s that nameless puppy Heaven’s fostering, with a cat for comparison purposes! Want to name her? See how, here!

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There is no way on God’s green earth I could sit calmly next to a vacuum full of angry wasps and not be screaming my head off and having a major case of the heebie jeebies.. Carefully putting a baggie over the end where one of the monsters could come shooting out.. NOT ever gonna happen! You’re a hero, Robyn because if just one of those things got in, I’d be going out!

That aside.. Why am I imaging a scene like this happening: Fred decides he needs some ice cream and opens the freezer but instead of a yummy treat, he finds a group (flock?) of frosty escaped wasps sitting on a frozen sweeper plotting revenge, trying to start a campfire by rubbing two fish sticks together when they see the light and swarm out and icily sting the face of someone who’s only thought two seconds ago was having the last of the rocky road…

Ok, one more thing then I’m done.. I know you send a lot of critters to freezer camp, but if you start sharing recipes for chocolate covered frozen vacuum wasps, I’m outta here!

Andrea‘s comment cracked. Me. UP! (And there’ll be no chocolate covered wasps in MY house!)

For some reason, this made me think of a picture I took after we’d bought this house and while we were renovating it. I used to burn candles while we worked, and after we’d spent the day working I went into the dining room to blow out the candle and found this.

A jar of melted wax? Yes, I think that’s the perfect place for that wasp! (I didn’t put the wasp there, I swear it! S/he must’ve flown too close to the flame.)

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what was in that trash can???

I think there must have been plastic wrapping from the pork chops we’d had for lunch. I still can’t believe all three of them got into the trash can like that!

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Robyn – perhaps you need this shirt for Christmas.

I think so! 🙂

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So I have to ask – did Miz Poo sneeze on you after that photo was taken? She looks like she was saving one up! 😉

Miz Poo saves ALL her sneezes for me – but luckily I was too far away from her for her sneeze to get me this time. I start my mornings with Miz Poo sneezing in my hair, which is one of the reasons the first thing I do when I roll out of bed, is take a shower!

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Robyn, did you make the crocheted blanket that the kittens are not supposed to be sleeping on? I knit and crochet, and my cats love my blankies!

I got that crocheted blanket off of Etsy. I don’t knit or crochet because I never learned how (well, I did a little knitting when I was a pre-teen, but nothing in the 95 years since), and I’ve been too much of a slacker to get serious about learning how. Maybe one of these days!

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I’m surprised at Jake’s snapping. I thought that he was pretty much ok with kittens. Or maybe he’s ok with their food.

Jake’s generally pretty good with the kittens unless they come at him in a state of high dudgeon. Melfi was all worked up about her run-in with Alice, and he wasn’t having her nonsense. He’s a laid-back guy, but he knows those kittens need to be taught their manners sometimes.

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I don’t usually comment or read the comments, but I had to today because I jumped when reading one of the featured comments in your post. Specifically, the one from Sephy Cat about her adopted-out kitty, Sara. Because my name is Sara. And I have a cat named Persephone. Who we call Sephy Cat (among other things.) Too. Weird.

That is really cool, actually!

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Got a bit of a cat quandary I wanted to run by you.

My 7-year-old male (neutered) cat who is usually non-vocal and very mellow gets very loud (meowing & growling) and aggressive towards ANYONE visiting our apartment. Normally, he NEVER meows and used to get “beat up” on the regular by our much smaller girl-cat (spayed). He never growls, hisses or smacks at his kitty sister but any time we have anyone visiting he howls and growls and runs at them very aggressively, whilst smacking at them (he’s declawed, so no damage done… he was declawed when we got him, I’d never do that to a cat).

This is especially problematic right now because we have a friend staying with us and Willow is on the warpath. We speak to him reassuringly when he is encountering new people and no one who has visited has ever been aggressive toward him, so I have no clue what is causing him to be so upset. (Unless there has been a time or two when we aren’t home that a maintenance person has been in our apartment and treated him badly, but it’s never happened to my knowledge).

Any insight and/or clues as to how we can mellow him out with guests? Part of me is flattered as I sort’ve see it as him defending his territory and his people (he seems much more upset at anyone who goes into our computer room or towards the bedroom (which is right by the bathroom).

I told MsD that the only thing that came to mind for me was maybe trying Feliway – but to be honest, I’m not sure it would make that much difference! So this is where I’m hoping y’all will come in – got suggestions? Helpful hints? Words of sympathy for MsD? Leave it in the comments, and thank you!

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I saw this over at CuteOverload and when I saw Hamilton…at first I thought, “Puff!!!!!” 🙂

If you watch the vid Friskies will donate a can of cat food (up to 500,000 cans). It’s very cute and it’s good to see the five most popular internet cats participate. My favorite scene is when Oskar the blind cat is hugged by his roommate.

That video is adorable (and gorgeous!) And Hook (formerly Puff) only has the half-‘stache, so I guess he’s only half hipster! 🙂

You know, I just went and watched it again, and I noticed that it has 300+ thumbs-down/dislike ratings on it. Seriously?! Who could hate that video?

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All the kittehs are truly growing… Do you know when they may go up for adoption? Bet you’ll miss the little pitter-patter of kittens! Unless, of course, you surprise us with another batch.

We’re just waiting for room to open up for them at Petsmart – though adoptions have been really slow lately (I’ve noticed that every year at this time I complain about how slow adoptions have gotten!), so they could be with us for a while. There won’t be any more kittens until these guys have vacated the foster room, because I have nowhere else to put kittens since Fred stole my second foster room for his office.

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My friend found a baby squirrel in her yard. They watched & waited inside for the mama to retrieve him. She never did. After 12 hrs, they brought him inside, kept him warm & syringe fed him. As he grew, he bonded with their Golden. They had him in an open cage outside so he could leave anytime. He eventually left & found a partner. He continues to visit, his partner keeping her distance. He’ll still come to them, take family walks & come inside the house. These pics were taken last week.

My favorite:

And the rest, in a collage. Click on it to see a larger version!

I LOVE that he comes back and visits while his partner stands back, all “I don’t like those people, but if you MUST visit….!”

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“UNHAND ME, LADY.”


Silvio, chattering at birds (naturally, the instant I tried to capture it on video, he stopped doing it. BRAT.)


Silly monkeys (Silvio and Tony.)


“Hey, Mister Tommy, look! I gots a butt!”


Carmela marches over to see just what I think I’m doing.


Miz Poo watches Carmela, who’s watching me.


“What doon, lady?”


Carmela and Paulie aren’t sure just how to get past each other.


Paulie opted to hop down and run over to see what Mister Tommy was doing.


And Carmela said hello to the ceiling fan.


“HALLO, YOU BE PAYING ATTENTION TO ME NOW!” Meadow demands.


“No, ME.”

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Corbie certainly is one GORGEOUS boy.


He’s no fan of those kittens, though. When they race around the house like crazy racing things, it stresses him out, and he has to squeak angrily at them. We’ve discovered that leaving the back door open until bedtime (so Corbie can go outside and get away from the monsters if he needs to) helps a little.

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Previously
2012: Kohle takes toe cleanliness seriously.
2011: “Hey! Lady! You come here and pet me!”
2010: Vampire kitteh is feeling bitey.
2009: No entry.
2008: No entry.
2007: The vet tech said that Stinkerbelle was a beautiful cat, and I could see Fred’s ego swell to twice its size.
2006: “You tawkin’ to me?”
2005: No entry.

Comments

32 thoughts on “12-13-13”

  1. What a wonderful selection of photos, along with the usual stellar texts today, Robyn — and that squirrel story is so touching. So far this is the best Friday the you-know-what ever!

    1. He has such a funny little squeak – I keep trying to get it on video, but I never know when he’s going to do it, so have had no luck!

  5. A tip for Willow’s aggressiveness toward strangers. I think I learned this from Jackson Galaxy’s show, My Cat From Hell. Have the visitor/s offer Willow a treat as they come in the door. If he’s even a little food motivated, he will start to associate strangers with good things.

    1. Also, Jackson’s website sells Stress Stopper by Spirit Essence. I used this two summers ago when my Russian Blue was stressed over my teenaged step son moving in with us. While Silver wasn’t being aggressive toward my step son, He was definitely unhappy with the situation and would cling to the back of the couch with every muscle tense, lashing tail, and “crazy eyes”. A drop of Stress Stopper between his shoulder blades or “petted” through his fur from my hands calmed him down and made accepting the situation easier for the poor little fuzzball.

  6. First, about the over-protective kitty (love the name, Willow; we once had a cat by that name)… I wonder what happened to him in a previous (pre-forever home) life? It almost seems like someone/something attacked him in his home/safe place. We had an indoor cat when our house was broken into. We didn’t know what happened to him, but from that time on, anyone coming towards the house carrying a bag (or briefcase) caused him to react – hissing and spitting, violent behavior, etc. We took the time to reassure him, told him what a good cat he was to be protecting us, and loved all over him when he got upset like that. It took a long time, but he eventually calmed down. Time heals, maybe? Right now we have a scaredy cat living with us. We can’t do anything to scare her and she won’t flick a whisker when we come in (thru the garage door) but “front-door” people are terrifying. She will run for the safety of the dark space under our bed if she even hears a stranger at the front porch. She’s not changed this behavior in over 13 years, so we’ve modified ours; if we know there will be visitors, we will put her up in our room beforehand and if we have guests staying with us, we give them the code to the garage so they can come in the door that doesn’t scare her. Perhaps MsD could limit the interaction between the guest and Willow. Being shut up in a part of the house that the guest won’t visit might be less stressful on Willow than confronting a stranger.

    Also, what’s up with people wanting a squirrel as a pet? I worked at a wildlife rehabilitation place in college and we had a resident squirrel there. He was hit by a car and was mentally unstable – so much so that he couldn’t be placed back in the wild. He was the worst creature in the place! Vicious, vindictive, horrible creature. Bit everyone who had the misfortune to have to feed him. The only worse creature there were the opossums who once opened their cage, got out, opened the baby bird cage and proceeded to eat several of the baby birds. The supervisor deemed the opossums were old enough to survive on their own and we released them immediately. I’ve disliked opossums (and to a slightly lesser extent, squirrels) ever since.

    1. I know a number of people that have hand raised baby squirrels that have fallen out of their nests or their cat brought home a still alive present. All those squirrels were wonderful and sweet. One lady would even take her squirrel outside and hold him up to get the cedar nuts off of her shrub. The only catch that I have ever seen, was after she showered, her squirrel did not recognise her scent and would bite. She just learned to wait a couple of hours after bathing till she picked him up. I think that perhaps the head/brain trauma that the rehab facility’s little squirrel endured caused behavioral problems.

      As for the oppossum….he was doing what opposums do – albiet terrifying to watch.

    2. I’m pretty sure that “mentally unstable” is the correct diagnosis for all squirrels! 😀 I only want one ’cause I’ve never had one, I’m sure – and I also know that it would be a bad, bad idea in this house!

      (Thanks for the suggestions about Willow!)

  7. Cute squirrel! There are LOTS of squirrels here in the city, due to the big, ancient trees for nests. I get a kick out of watching the babies play in spring; they play like kittehs, though sometimes a bit wilder. Race up and down the trees, and occasionally act as if they are playing tag.

    About Corbie squeaking at the kittehs…my eldest dog will bark sometimes if the other two (younger & playful) get a tad too wild. It’s as if he is the referee! 🙂

    1. I know nothing about horses or equine nutrition but i laughed and laughed! And then sent it on to my friend who loves, cats, horses, and squirrels.

  9. So, the over protective kitty: My recently departed cat Cooper used to do a similar thing. He once thought a pizza delivery guy got to close to me and launched himself at the guy. Also, if I called for help (like if my BF was tickling me) he’d attack that person. He was very protective of me. I got him to calm down a bit by always holding him while others were around, then sit next to the person, then pet him, then touch the other person, then pet him again. Sort of like showing him that the other person was ok. He, of course, didn’t do this with everyone. There were just some people that he didn’t trust.

  10. Jake reminds me of my Tommy….fine with the kittens but more than willing to put them in their place (cause heaven knows they need it).

    The image of Fred staring into the freezer with frozen wasps cracked me up – thanks Andrea! 🙂

  11. The Beet Pulp Safety Warning should come with a warning- “Put down your beverage before reading” – Thanks, Abigail!!
    And Robyn, last week when I went to the mailbox and saw your return address, I had to stop myself from doing a happy dance in the driveway. I made myself wait until I was inside and seated before carefully opening your card – delaying the moment of truth as long as I could. It was SO WORTH IT. Honestly, if there’s anyone who hasn’t requested a card yet – do it NOW. (Sorry for demolishing your postage budget, Robyn)

  12. The Japanese cat with the kitty box looks exactly like my bottle baby Wesley (named after Wesley Crusher on Next Gen, because no one else in the house likes him). I had asked for advice about stopping Wes from scratching and biting. He has steadily grown past that stage but is still a pain in the neck. As I type, he’s in my lap sucking on the sleeve of my fuzzy robe. Anyway, Wesley would love that kitty box, too, except he would have dismantled it to get at what’s inside, and there would be parts all over the house. At Thanksgiving he snuck onto the counter when I wasn’t watching and stole marshmallows off the yams before I got them in the oven. He took a new roll of paper towels off the holder and carried it into the living room and shredded it. He’s always looking for a new adventure.

    1. I am imagining him with the paper towels and laaaaughing at you, Jan. Because I’ve SO been there, though it’s usually with toilet paper in our house!

  13. I can think of reasons why people would dislike the cat Christmas video: First of all, it’s an ad. It’s advertisers taking something people like and co-opting it to their own purpose, which happens all the time, but is still manipulative, and people don’t like being manipulated.

    Also, the references to Hannukah and Kwanzaa seem rather… perfunctory. It’s as if they remembered at the last minute, “Oh shit! We need to be inclusive! Quick, include a couple of one-second shots of cats celebrating other holidays!”

    I wouldn’t thumbs-down the video myself, because kitties. But I can see why people would.

    1. You have an excellent point! 🙂 I had honestly spaced on the fact that it’s a commercial and had to go back to figure out what it was a commercial for.

  14. The cats in the trashcan brought back memories. I had a big classic butterscotch tabby that would get in the kitchen trashcan. She’s the only one I’ve had that ever did that. She dearly loved the smell of fried meat–especially minute steak or pork chops. Ironically, she never offered to eat any of it.

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