Say “hello” to Archie, because he’s got plenty to say to YOU.
I first mentioned Archie at the beginning of December. He’d shown up at the feeding station around the beginning of November, and at first any time he saw either of us, he ran. Then Fred worked at wooing him, and he came around to being petted (and fed); the first picture I took of him sitting next to Fred and eating off a plate was on November 18th. He showed no interest in coming inside, which was a good thing, because I didn’t think the integration of a new adult cat would go over well at all.
(Some of these pictures may look familiar to you; Fred has posted some on Facebook, and I’ve posted some before, too.)
Archie started accompanying Fred to the back forty. The first time Archie climbed over the fence into the back forty, Fred about had a heart attack, thinking that George and Gracie would go after him. They didn’t, though, and I don’t know if it’s because he was with Fred or they “knew” him as not being a threat, or what. It’s hard to know, but I will say that I’ve never seen Archie out there without Fred.
Archie checks out the chicken coop.
I adore this picture so very much.
On Dirt Mountain, in the middle of the back forty.
Checking out the ducks.
Trying the pond water (yuck.)
If you look closely, you can see him coming around the side of the pond, in the middle-right part of the picture.
Sniffing noses with Gracie, who is unconcerned (possibly because Fred was right there.)
Near the side stoop.
By the time I was ready to get serious about finding Archie a real home, I’d waited too long. Fred had gotten attached. I stomped my foot and told him that we were not letting that cat inside, and he agreed. We now have four Rubbermaid containers stuffed with straw under the side stoop and another one on the front porch, by the way.
So, Corbie died on the 18th of January, and the following Friday I walked into the laundry room to find Archie standing there. I picked him up and put him outside on the side stoop. A while later, there he was in the laundry room again. Fred spent that entire weekend trying to stop Archie from coming into the back yard (which would have stopped him from coming into the house), but he’d get a barrier put up, we’d congratulate ourselves for stopping him, and a couple of hours later Archie would be back inside the house.
Sunday evening, I gave up. I told Fred that we could try to integrate him into the permanent residents, but if spraying started, then he was going to be rehomed. Fred pretended to agree.
It’s been, I guess, two weeks now? So far, it’s going pretty well. There’s been little pushback from the permanent residents, though Tommy makes sure to let Archie know at snack time that he’s getting tired of his shenanigans. But Tommy’s also tired of Stefan’s shenanigans, so I’m thinking Tommy’s just generally anti-shenanigans in his old age.
Archie has tried, literally, every single cat bed in this house, and he appears to have found his favorite – the big self-warming bed on the dining room table.
He comes inside first thing in the morning, joins in on snack time, spends the whole day sleeping, and then disappears around dusk. I honestly don’t know where he goes – I’m not discounting the idea that he really does have a home out there somewhere, but a collar with a note on it brought no response at all, so I don’t know. We’re committed to making sure he’s fed and cared for, and in the future maybe he’ll start spending the nights inside, but for now he’s an indoor/outdoor cat like Maxi, Newt and Stefan. (I typed that with Newt laying in a bed on my desk, snoring. At night, he settles into a cat bed on the dining room table and snores the night away. That’s a real indoor/outdoor cat I’ve got there, huh?)
The thing that’s the funniest to me is that when he was outside all the time, he LOVED following Fred around. He’d accompany him on his chores, rub up against him if he stopped, ask to be petted all the time. Now that he’s inside, he’s very much a “Okay, enough of the petting. You may go.” He doesn’t snuggle at all, he tolerates being petted and kissed, but mostly he just wants to sack out in his favorite bed and snooze the day away.
I’m hoping that it continues to stay as relatively peaceful as it’s been. Fingers crossed! (And yes, I’ll add him to the permanent residents’ page one of these days.)
Here’s a longer video that includes the clip at the top of the post. When I come out of the bathroom after showering in the morning, this is what I’m greeted with (the first section) and then they all accompany me to the kitchen whereupon everyone gathers at my feet as I prepare their snack, and Archie sits in the middle of the kitchen floor and lets me know he’s DYING of STARVATION.
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“Hello lady, my weird friend. You’ve come to rub my ears again?”
Getting the paw of That’s Enough.
“Brinnnng down the belly-rubbin’ hand!”
Smilin’ Garfunkel.
Flirty boy.
“You gonna pet me, or what?”
Bros, chillin’.
Sweet boy.
Simon in the sun.
He reminds me SO much of Stompers in this picture.
Simon and Garfunkel will get their last vaccinations Tuesday, and then Thursday they’ll be off to Petsmart! It’s been a bit of a whirlwind stay with us – only three weeks – but I think they’re ready to go. They’re skittish and lean toward being scaredy-cats, but if the people who adopt them are willing to give them time to come around, they should be okay. Over the weekend they started venturing out of the foster room, hanging out on the pagoda in the hallway, and checking out Fred’s room. Dennis went up to hang out with them several times, and it went well. They were both a little hissy the first time, then less hissy each time after that. By Sunday they were interested in what he was doing, and I expect that in the next few days they’ll even play with him a bit.
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Last week, I walked around the house every day at 10:00 in the morning, and snapped pictures of all the napping cats I could find. Then I took the pictures for each day and put them into a collage, and I’ll post one a day for this entire week.
Not all the cats are represented in all the pictures – some of them were outside or had disappeared to another dimension or whatever – but I think everyone’s represented at least once throughout the week. Also, you can click on the picture to see the bigger version over at Flickr.
Top row: Tommy on the platform in the front room; Sugarbutt in the doll bed in the dining room.
Second row: Archie in my recliner in the front room; Newt atop the Room with a View in the computer room.
Third row: Miz Poo in the huge self-warming bed in the computer room (next to my desk); Sheriff Mama (Kara) on the dryer in the laundry room.
Bottom row: Alice in the pile o’ beds on the dining room table; Dennis on a pile o’ blankets in the front room (near Fred’s recliner).
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Previously
2014: No entry.
2013: No entry.
2012: “Come here, my beloved bird seed. Come ever so closer…”
2011: “Where’s my mama?” starring Reacher.
2010: Skeptical Truvy.
2009: No entry.
2008: No entry.
2007: No entry.
2006: No entry.
2005: No entry.
Aw, welcome Archie! I’m happy I’ll be able to see more of your cute monkey face, little man!
How old do you think Archie is?
Fred guessed him to be 2 years old, and the vet didn’t disagree. His teeth look awfully shiny white and perfect, he may be younger, though!
{{smiles}} I love the look Joe Bob gave Archie, in the video, when he made his first squawk of a meow.
That cracked me up, too!
Yes! that was so funny! I adore Archie’s gravelly meow but it must have taken Joe Bob by surprise. I would think that it becomes less adorable the longer it goes on, though, so be sure to feed that boy ASAP! lol
Aww, hi Archie! Welcome, squawky meower. He sounds like a Siamese. Is he?
Not that I know of, but maybe he has some Siamese in him. 🙂
Is he named Archie, as in Bunker? Somehow, I got the idea that your were naming brotherhood newcomers after tv show characters.
Yep, that’s the Archie he’s named after! It was Archie or Meathead, and Fred wanted to save Meathead for a future cat. 🙂
Welcome Archie, lucky and very smart boy!! Love the video of you walking with all the cats, looks as I thought it might…. Adorable with that many hovering around you for love! Archie takes a place by a mat pretty quickly huh?! 🙂
Sweet Simon and Garfunkel, wouldn’t a home together be perfect?! And the cat bed pix – love it!!! Too cute!!
He definitely knows what those mats are for! 🙂
“Hello lady, my weird friend. You’ve come to rub my ears again?” That makes me laugh so much, there is a future for you in song parodies.
Archie’s rattle of a meow gave my younger cat a scare! Thanks for taking in this handsome boy (oh, that close-up) — another Crooked Acres rags-to-riches success story. And may things continue to go well.
I coudn’t help but laugh when you said a few weeks back there was NO WAY Archie was going to be one of the inside cats. I’m like that but with rodents, even when i say we have enough cages i manage to find a spot to squeeze one more
Well, I do have to say that if Corbie were still with us, I’m pretty sure that things wouldn’t be going as smoothly. Corbie was never a fan of new cats, and to have an adult male enter the house, well, I shudder to think.
Oh… has Corbie ever chased Archie?
if not why is he coming in just after Corbie’s gone..
oh and please tell him to stop drinking gross water :p
probably the dogs don’t know if that cat’s one of the 50 from the house? hahaha
anyway the roosters can chase a kitten away, no?
Any guess on Archie’s age?
Fred decided he was about 2 and the vet and vet techs didn’t disagree. I’ve taken a look in his mouth, and I don’t think I saw any tartar at all, so I’m thinking he could be even younger. I wonder if it’s going to be a case like it was with Newt – when we first saw Newt, I thought he was a fully grown cat, but looking back at his pictures, I can see that he wasn’t much more than a kitten!
It will be fun watching any changes.
Sugs, darling, you are my favorite rivaled only by the Mistress of Poo, but for the love of the little fishes DO YOU HAVE NO SENSE OF SELF PRESERVATION? What is up with this hanging out in beds that are falling off of their original resting places? Have we not learned that tempting fate only leads to fate chortling nastily? Please take better care of yourself. Hearts!
Hey, at least this way if he falls he doesn’t have far to go, so he won’t break a hip! 🙂
Dennis’ faces crack me up. I loved his chubby roundness as a kitten and then he lost it when he got older and (I may get some frowny faces for saying this) then he just looked like your average brown tabby… but you’ve caught him with some really adorable facial expressions so I no longer think he’s just average, heehee
He has turned out to be quite the little character. 🙂
Oh the squawking! I’m developing quite a soft spot for The Archie… (Love the “dude, put a lid on it!” looks he gets from the other cats. And he’s all “I just gotta do me, you know what I’m sayin’?” Snerk!
I think Archie’s Meow betrays a touch of Siamese somewhere in his ancestors …*grin*
and Dennis is AMAZED!!!
Welcome Archie….good work buddy!
I love his little raspy voice. So cute! Er I mean ferocious!
That last picture of Dennis is priceless! “WOAH! Lady, I iz tryin to nap over here and my slumber haz been disturbed! Disturbed, I say!”
And Tommy, he just looks like he’s tired of everybody’s shenanigans. Being ambassador is hard work!
Great pictures!
I love the Acrhie´s Meowwwwwww! So cute!
So Archie’s always going to have that scar across his nose?
I’m kind of surprised how domestic he’s gotten already. Sleeping with the other cats around him, demanding food on a regular basis, having a sleeping routine/location down.
That bit about Fred pretending to agree cracked me up. He’s bonded. I wonder if Alice will have any issues sharing her daddy?
Poor Tommy, we all love you. And respect your territory and authoritay!
Actually, the picture(s) that show that scar are older. It’s healed, and I just went to look, and the cut is gone. I don’t imagine he’ll gain any more cuts across his nose, unless something falls onto the dining room table, since that’s where he spends his days. 🙂
Also, I meant to mention this in the post – I am 100% sure he’s been in a house before. The first time he came into the living room when the TV was going, he didn’t react at all. He uses the litter box beautifully, too.
Excellent. Laney is a champ at the litter box, but house noises and quick movements scare her.
Whoa, even that voice is pure Tomcat. Bet it’s really loud at 3 in the morning. Even louder when its inside the house rather than in the alleyway.
OMC! That soft gray color and squawky voice. He looks to be a charmer. Welcome Archie! You done good!
That is SOME voice on that boy. Sounds like he once spent a LOT of time crying at some point in his life.
I loved the “Why are these food mats still empty?” look there. He is definitely a character!
Gotta love The Arch, he wouldn’t take no for an answer! What a voice! Guess you can tell who’s meowing in the dark!
Where did you get those big self-warming beds? They look so cozy I want to get in one!
I wish Fred would share his kitty-taming ways. My parents have a family of kitties living in their backyard, and while the mama is pretty friendly, the two kittens are super-scared. Any advice for how to get the kittens to come around? One of the kittens is slowly starting to warm up, but the other one takes off and hides every time a person comes into the backyard.
Love Archie’s meow! I must say I wasn’t expecting that voice to come out of that cat!
Amazon! This is the smaller one (the one on Sugarbutt’s doll bed), and this is the really big one, that Archie likes to sleep in on the dining room table, and Miz Poo likes to sleep in in the computer room. They’re definitely always occupied!
I’m pretty sure I can speak for Fred when I say that luring them closer with food (the stinkier the better), petting them as much as you can, and then eventually grabbing them up for forced cuddling, is what works. It’s a lot easier when they’re confined in a small space, though!
Archie’s arrival couldn’t have been more fortuitous..
I played the video to listen to him, and Muffin said quite promptly that if he is getting food so is she. since no food was to be had she promptly flomped on my chest and I have been stuck under her now for quite some time. it took a while for me to work my arms free from her floofitude..
Haha, all across the country, cats are heeding Archie’s call to snackin’!
I just came back for my second visit of the day, mostly to read comments, and the 10 a.m. Pics have been replaced with a North Alabama Spay/Neuter poster, and the last pic of Garfield is a poster of a Cozy Kitty Fundraiser.
Those things are in the sidebar – it sounds like the page didn’t load properly. Try refreshing?
So what you’re trying to tell us…is that 10 AM is nap time? Because that’s a cause I can support! Also: that last pic of Dennis is just BEGGING for some LOLspeak…
Archie’s voice is hilarious. What a cutie — and what a lucky guy!
I’m glad to see I’m not the only one with bossy cats when I get out of the bathroom. I only have 2 and they yell at me as soon as they hear the shower stop – or maybe that’s just when I hear them. “Feed us! We’re starving!” Never mind that they both used to be homeless and ate what they caught.
Awww, love Archie’s meow…had to watch the video multiple times because it just cracks me up. Hilarious that he’s already so demanding! Bless you both for taking him in!
That video of the cats waiting outside the bathroom kills me… they’re all waiting politely for you to go downstairs and get the food, but Archie hasn’t learned manners yet; when he miaows and they all turn to look at him, you can just see the little appalled thought bubbles over their heads:
“*gasp* How rude!”
“I know! He hasn’t got ANY manners!”
“Was he raised in a BARN?! Gracious!”
“Obviously he must be a YANKEE, he just has no sense of decorum!”
And then when they’re downstairs around the placemats, you can tell they’re trying to ignore his continued rudeness…
Another new member at Crooked Acres and Miz Poo? Good day! 😀
Archie’s meow cracks me up! Any cat that shows up at Crooked Acres has landed in clover, I hope Archie appreciates that 😉
I LOVE Archie’s meow! And I also love the look that Joe Bob (?) gives him at around ten seconds into the video. “Dude. Shut UP.” And Archie just looks back like, “Hmph. I will not. I’m freakin’ hungry!” Since he follows Fred around, will he not be getting a collar to keep him in the yard?
Also, that picture of Dennis is so unbelievably hilarious. “Oh haaaaai!”
Awww, he’s just darling! I never thought I liked super talkative cats until one of mine became super talkative during the last few years of her life. She’s been gone over a year now, and I miss her talking so much. (Ironically, my two ‘new’ cats have tiny, squeaky voices that you can barely hear at all, which makes me miss my talker even more!)
ermehgerrrrrd! I love Archies meow!! I love all the kitties! I love the feed-me looks!! Kitties yay! 🙂
Oh, I am just catching up on your blog. I LOVE Archie, his meow sounds like a baby tiger. Sweet. He probably has a home down the street but likes your house better. Kinda like my son, the only child. He would spend all his time at his friend’s houses with big families so they didn’t know there was ever an extra kid. Always had to hunt him down. LOL