12-14-17 Thursday

Posted on by Robyn

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The results of the poll wherein I asked if y’all could guess which cat has handled this move far better than we expected:

Alice: 63
Archie: 11
Dewey: 8
Frankie: 14
Jake: 7
Joe Bob: 41
Kara: 110
Khal Drogo: 123
Maxi: 99
Newt: 12
Stefan: 18
I just want to click on something: 25

And the cats who are handling this whole thing far better than we expected are… drumroll please…


Maxi.


And Archie!

I was most worried about Archie because he has such a low tolerance for anything. But with that said, he also never attacks cats or humans, and the worst he does is unleash a hellcat growl. If given the chance, he’ll stomp off and find a place to cool down. I worried that being inside 24/7 would drive him crazy but – while he would clearly like to be outside – he spends a lot of time calmly sitting at the window, watching the world go by, and curled up in a cat bed.

Fred was most worried about Maxi because she gets very hissy and growly at the other cats, and will attack if they get too close to her, especially when there’s food involved. I’m not kidding when I say that she wishes other cats did not exist. I’m pretty sure she would LOVE to be an only cat. But with that said, she is spending the better part of her day curled up on the heated blanket on the couch and when she gets too warm she moves to a non-heated area for a while. She plays a little, eats a little, and the other cats are pretty much giving her a wide berth, and so there’s been very little drama from her. (Although Jake did do a little stalking the other day and she got pretty irate.)

It’s funny to me that Khal Drogo got the most votes because while he’s an ANGEL during the day, and he even slept on my bed for a few hours (WITH me in it!) one night, he continues to be a complete nightmare at night.

After two nights with our sleep constantly interrupted by his howling (and that boy can work up some VOLUME), we finally shut him downstairs when we went to bed. Basically he, Kara, Maxi and (I think) Jake had the living room (front and back) and kitchen to run around in, and everyone else was upstairs with us. (Well, with me. Fred sleeps with his door shut because he continues to proclaim that he’s a light sleeper. YEAH, RIGHT.)

We had one night of decent sleep, and then the next night Khal figured out the perfect pitch and volume so that the sleeping humans would clearly hear his woes from a floor away. I mean, I sleep with ear plugs in and had a pillow over my head and could still clearly hear him. Fred finally got up around 1:30 and went downstairs to snooze on the couch. Every time Khal started up, Fred would call him over and pet him, which would quiet him for a little while.

I don’t want to put him in the garage, because I fear that his voice will carry over to the neighbor’s house and I don’t want the neighbors to start hating us already. Fred has gotten the first part of the cat fence up, and hopefully before too much longer it’ll be up completely and we can allow at least Khal to have some outside time, which will maybe calm him down.

In the meantime, my white noise machine has arrived, so I’m planning to give that thing a workout.

(If that doesn’t work, then I’m just going to stay up all night and sleep all day!)


Angel brat.

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Stefan ain’t no night owl. He does, however, like to sleep at the end of my bed, exactly where my feet prefer to be, and between Stefan at my feet and Frankie pressed up against me, I wake up in the oddest twisted positions. I’m not complaining about those two, though – at least they’re QUIET.

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Previously
2016: In summation: might be pregnant, but I don’t think she is. We’ll see!
2015: “She’s sniffing my tail again, isn’t she?”
2014: No entry.
2013: Paulie doesn’t have the most graceful of dismounts.
2012: DO NOT BE FOOLED.
2011: We start with the ducks, standing around looking confused (this is their natural state).
2010: Now, I ask you – how is that “just under” two pounds?
2009: Mike, on the other hand, would have slept on my face if I’d let him.
2008: No entry.
2007: If I got a really bad cold AND the cats made it a 24-hour barf-o-rama around here. That would be FABULOUS.
2006: It’s tough to pet 5 milling kittens when you only have two hands, believe you me.
2005: No entry.

Comments

35 thoughts on “12-14-17 Thursday”

  3. Hmm, I’m going to have to pore over these stats a little more closely later on. Meanwhile, keep us posted on the white-noise godsend. And at least there haven’t been too many daytime shenanigans!

  4. I hope that once the cat fence is finished and kitties are allowed outside again that Maxi and Sheriff Mama will say “You know what, we’re good.”

    They’ve been outside for many years and I think it would be super sweet if they suddenly decided that indoor life was better for retirement…and all the young whippersnappers can go out there and leave them in peace while they snooze in warm beds. 😀

    1. I 100% expect Maxi to spend the rest of her life indoors except maybe for the occasional foray outside. Kara, on the other hand, is DYING to get out there!

  5. 🙂 Super happy the cats are adjusting well and pretty happy I finally got a question right!

    P.S. You may have time (with no littles around) to update the sidebar. The Forgotten Feline part still mentions Mercury and the “impending” kittens. Now that they are adopted it might be time to modify that-but I know you’ve been busy and it’s not a big priority.

    1. I’m glad you said something – I tend to forget about the sidebar, and it desperately needs updating. I also have to move Belle to the “adopted” section!

      1. If you ever want a free, part-time cat-lovin’ whippersnapper to help you with updating the sidebars and HTML and CSS ‘n’ things let me know.

  6. I think that Archie and Maxi deserve an extra kiss on their cute little heads (cracks me up that Jake “stalks” Maxi).

    Whoa, is Khal Drogo ever a handsome piece of candy! Look at that boy.

  7. The first cat I ever had, Punkin, was a howler if she didn’t get outdoors time. After we moved, she accidentally got outside, and went missing for a few days. Fortunately, she turned up. But about a year later, one day I let her out…she walked to the edge of the porch, sat there looking around and wanted back in. From that day forward, she NEVER wanted outside again! She lived to be 19 years old too. It was like one day she just decided she was a house cat. LOL I do notice the strays I feed seem to prowl at night, so I guess that is why Khal tunes up then.

  8. I voted for Maxi!
    As for Khal, have you considered a harness and leash? That worked for one of mine. He was nine years old and had never been on a leash, I moved to a place where he could not go out. He made the other cats and me MISERABLE. I put the harness on him, took him out each evening for about an hour, did a few circles around the house, he ate some some grass, sprayed a bush, then laid on the porch for a while. All was well! It was amazing!

    1. If you try this, Robyn, please get us some video! Five bucks says he’s one of those cats who go all limp when the harness goes on…like their bones have turned to jelly.

    2. I hadn’t thought of this, and can’t convince Fred that it’s worth a try. I bet he IS one of those cats who goes completely limp, though!

  9. I voted for Khal because he’s been a “former feral” for the shortest time…and then I thought, no, maybe that’s the wrong idea…only to discover that lots of other people thought the same! And I’ve always loved the fact that you give the “I just want to click on something” option in your polls.

    1. I know – because I’m one of them – that there are people out there without much of an opinion on the topic, but still like to click! 😀

  10. I voted for Khal because he used to be a feral, and warmed up to you after the move. Did not even think of the howling. That’s enough to drive anybody insane.

      1. I have a feral that lives in my fenced back-yard and sun room. She did let us touch her at some point, but then we took her to the vet that was it. No more touching for Ms. Nikita.

  11. Poor you. Whenever my cats keep me up at night I take great pleasure waking them up from their naps the next day. I hope he calms down soon. Who’s the cat that’s not doing as well as you thought with the move?

  12. My inside/ outside boy became inside 24/7 after a teeth cleaning. He yowled for 6 solid days. Then he gave up and became best inside kitty ever.

  13. My daughter has a cat who sings the song of his people every night! They of course are used to it and don’t even hear him anymore. When I spend the night – he does keep me up – he is so excited that a human is awake with him……

    1. I imagine that after some time we’d get used to it… but on the other hand I never got used to Jake (who has mostly been behaving himself), so maybe not!

    1. She’s been amazing!

      On the other hand, Archie must have heard that I was talking about how good he’s been. Today he’s picking fights (just growly, hissy, no-contact fights) with Maxi and Stefan!

  15. I’ve had a couple cats that sang the song of their people at night as they got older. I had good luck with a nightlight for them.

    1. We’ve got nightlights (and other lights) on throughout the house and they don’t seem to make a difference.

      Fred thought that maybe seeing his reflection in the windows was making Khal howl, so we turned all the nightlights (and other lights) off one night and it didn’t seem to make a difference.

      I think the boy wants out – or he THINKS he does. Maybe once he’s allowed out he’ll change his tune and decide that inside is the place for him.

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