Personality Differences of the Feline Variety

It’s that time of year again when I’ll be watching people’s cats while they’re away.  I work this in between my part-time job.  Thankfully most pet owners don’t have a set time for me to look in on their animals and give them fresh food and water.  I like to play with them too and squeeze in as much extra time as I can just for this.  The little darlings miss their humans and want to be petted and loved as well. 

Cats have such different personalities from one another.  Sometimes the only thing they really have in common is fur and four legs. 

A couple of months ago, I signed up with SitterCity to watch pets in my spare time.  Of course by pets I mean cats, because I don’t think I’d take a dog walking job.  I’m a cat person all the way.  The extra money comes in handy if work is slow and the place isn’t too far off the beaten path.

Over the weekend I got to take care of the sweetest little angel.  Of course, I know black cats have the best temperament.  They are mellower than other cats, or at the least the ones I’ve known.

 Bella

Now I have to say that even though Bella and I didn’t know each other we got along great.  She would meet me at the door and let me know she was happy to see me.  This is definitely a lap cat.  She sucked that up and purred constantly while I petted and talked to her.  We also played with a feather toy and I think she really had a good time.  I hope the opportunity presents itself again later, so that I can take care of her in the future.

Snuggles

This week I have a different cat altogether.  This one is rambunctious and a bit wild. Now maybe it’s the age difference, but I don’t think so.  This yellow cat has a very bold personality.  She loves to bounce off the walls and “go crazy” after she lets me pet her for five minutes max.  She isn’t quite the lady that Bella is.  Snuggles tries to trip me when I’m carrying her water dish.  She’s definitely not a lap cat.  But I love taking care of her anyway.  I watch this one a dozen times every summer.  I’m sure there will be more cat tales to come.  Until then, I’m off to see a crazy cat.

Raven has a new bag

And you can see how long they last around here.  This one lasted a week.  He plays in the bag every night after dinner.  He got carried away a couple of days ago and played about two hours eventually tearing this hole in it.

Raven after my feet

From there it was downhill.  We got the laser out and Koki got involved too. 

Koki

 This is how things ended up.

Raven

So now he has another new one again.  I’m glad they opened one of these grocery stores near us a couple of weeks ago.  You can’t find paper bags in many places these days.

 The new "cat sack"

 

At the end of the night everyone was worn out and ready for bed where Raven has taken to sleeping on my pillow.  He’s a pillow hog, but I don’t have the heart to throw him off the bed.

Does anyone else want to share a pet story?

A Winning Combination

Raven

I just had to post some of these photos of Raven and a paper sack we brought home from the market.  He’s having so much fun with this that you’d think it was a million dollar toy. 

 Raven

It took him about a week to destroy the first paper bag, so we got him another a few days ago.  He seems to like this better than the “cat sack” we bought at a cat show in California years ago.  The price of this one is certainly better – FREE.

 Raven

Enjoy the photos.  I bet you knew I couldn’t go long without posting cat pictures.

Raven

Have a great upcoming Labor Day everyone.  Is it really September already?

Plugging away at life

Look at the fabulous desert sunset

I’m busy working on my NaNo project and not much else.  Nanowrimo (National Novel Writing Month) holds this competition every November.  We have a week to go and I still need 6,345 words.  Of course winning is only for my own satisfaction and I get a neat badge to display on my blog and website.  But I also get a sense of satisfaction that I did it and that’s important to me, even though I know I can do it because this is my third competition.

Some days the words are stuck and some days they flow easily and my imagination is in overdrive.  I cranked out 5,000 words yesterday.  Maybe that’s why I had a headache when I went to bed.  I overworked my brain.  That helped a lot on my word count though, so it was worth it.

 Raven sleeping in my chair

The cats (Koki and Raven) keep me company and are always up here (my office is upstairs) napping on my reading chair if they aren’t running like crazy little fur babies chasing each other from one end of the house to the other.  The old gal, Tootie, stays downstairs and sleeps all day so she can wander the halls at night.  I don’t know what’s gotten into her the last month, but she meows a lot during the night and wakes us up.  The vet said it’s an attitude problem.  Oh great, so now we have an old cat with an attitude.

Speaking of vets, I was shocked to open the paper late last week and find my vets obituary staring back at me.  “Wow!  How can this be,” I asked myself.  The guy was younger than me.  He helped a lot of animals at PAWS and various other animal sanctuaries where abandoned animals wait to be adopted.  So I contacted the gal I got Raven from and found out he choked to death on something stuck in his throat that his wife couldn’t dislodge.  That’s just awful to die by choking.  The paramedics arrived too late.  So now I’m waiting to see if the wife will close his practice or give it to another vet who helped him out part-time.

My husband made a cherry pie.  check this out:

On the weather front, it’s been livable so far.  We’ve had some cold mornings and, while it never really gets warm, it does warm up to the 50’s during the day.  It’s supposed to be in the 60’s on Thanksgiving, so we’ll see if that really happens.  I’m not holding my breath.

 Tootie and Raven on the bed

 

The bed’s getting pretty crowded at night because the cats snuggle into the covers to get warm.  They don’t like the cold anymore than I do.  Maybe I was a cat in a former life.  Hee-hee.  Raven’s still getting cat slobber in my hair when he wakes me up every morning.  But I love him so much and just want to mish his little face.  He purrs loudly all the time.  Even my old ears can hear it.

Raven’s First Birthday

Raven - 1 year old

Can you believe my little man is no longer a baby, but is grown up?  I keep telling him not to get old on me.  Time goes by too fast.

He’s so happy he’s big enough to jump on the counters now and get into more things, but he’s good if I tell him to get down.  I don’t mind if he looks out the kitchen window and watches the birds and chipmunks.  I just don’t want him up there when I’m cooking and he knows it and minds well.

 Cat tree destruction and the culprit

He’s still biting on things, as you can see by looking at the corners of the cat tree. It’s even worse now, but that’s the cat’s furniture so I guess its okay except for the fact we have to drag this heavy thing out on the patio and repair it once in a while.

 Raven

Raven’s sleek and shiny.  Overall, he’s a handsome little guy and loves people, always ready to love up on anyone that comes over.  He likes to be doing things and loves to go visiting to the neighbors to see her cat, Snuggles.

 Raven and Koki enjoying the feather whirl

He’s really is happy that Koki is finally playing with him.  That only took her seven months!  It’s on her terms, but he loves it when she’s in the mood.  She seems to like him much better as a grown up cat, even though he’s bigger than her now.

So Happy Birthday to the best natured cat I’ve ever owned.  Raven loves the attention so much that he doesn’t care what I do to him.  He never fusses about anything and always turns that motor on full blast.  I think he’s so grateful to find a forever home and not be out in the cold like he was when they rescued him a year ago.

 Getty Images

On another note, the dreaded day has come to turn the clocks back.  Ugh!  It’s going to be cold and dark for a while.  It’s already crappy here today with dark skies, a brisk wind blowing, rain, and the temp sitting at 57 degrees.  I had to move my tropical’s into the garage two weeks early and about froze out there doing it.

I don’t think this time change would be as bad if we didn’t lose a whole hour all at once.  That’s hard on me every year.  I guess the spring countdown will be starting at my house.

Feather Whirl

Raven investigating the feather whirl

“Oooo, mom, a new toy?”  Raven looked on as I put the batteries in this thing and put the feathers on.  All this took me longer than expected.  This little gadget has a Phillips screw that comes out revealing a small compartment for the AA batteries on the bottom.  It surprised me that I was able to get them installed properly the first time.

What I like about this toy is that the bottom is weighted so the cats can’t turn it over.  It also has an on/off switch and the toy flicks the feathers in a random motion, similar to something alive.  It stops and then starts up again.

 Raven up higher than this "critter" so he thinks he has the upper hand

Raven approached it carefully, as cats do when it’s something they’ve never seen before.  He crept slowly toward it but was too afraid to get too close.  About then, Koki came out from under the furniture to see what was going on.  She was braver about it and actually attacked it after her creeping act.  Raven looked on with wonder when it didn’t attack her back.

 Koki attacking the feather whirl

I picked it up and took it downstairs where there’s more tile.  The cats followed me.  Once I turned it back on, I got the camera and sat back to watch.  Tootie was too afraid to come near it, but she’s older and not feeling well right now.  Koki and Raven had a blast for thirty minutes taking turns attacking this toy.  Here are some of my pics.

 Raven and Koki

Koki

Koki in a sneak attack

Raven sneaking through the coffee table

Raven says, "What?  I''m not doing anything."

 

Breaking the ice

Have you ever wondered where that expression came from?  I did so I did a bit of research and found this expression came about in the 1500s and had to do with the navigation of boats through ice.  In the 1700s, it took on the meaning we use today, to break the social awkwardness between two strangers.

 Koki

I think this is finally what’s happening with my cats, Raven and Koki.  As you know, if you read much of my blog, Koki is a female cat I rescued as a wee kitten nine years ago.  She’s been the baby in the house until I adopted Raven from PAWS in February.  She hasn’t taken to him well.  In fact, Koki seems insulted that I even brought him into her space.

 Raven

This past week they’ve taken to chasing each other through the house upstairs.  They hang around up here now and he’s not even waking me as he used to by licking my face and biting my toes.  He’s too busy trying to make nice with his new-found friend.

I’m actually happy to see this – finally.  I didn’t know if it would ever happen and I hate to say much about it since I don’t feel it’s the norm yet.  I’m hoping this behavior keeps up.  I intended for them to be friends from the moment I brought him home.  I was disappointed that Koki was disgusted with me.

This interactive play will keep both of them in shape and younger longer.  Maybe entertainment is coming my way.

 Dark desert skies behind the house

On another note, we finally got a few sprinkles late one evening.  We’ve heard thunder all around for several days, but the rain passes us.  The humidity is up and it’s very hot here, but at least it’s dropped down to the low 100’s.  Some evenings it’s actually cooler outside than in the house, or so it seems to me.

One thing about the desert, there aren’t many time when it’s pleasant weather-wise.  Usually it’s burning up or freezing cold.  I won’t miss that one thing about living here.  The thing you learn is that there’s no perfect place all the time, no matter how much you wish it could be so.

 The desert behind my house - remote and harsh, but beautiful

If I had never moved to the desert, I wouldn’t have Koki and Raven now because this is their birthplace.  It’s been worth it just for that reason alone.  Fate brought me here to find them and give them a loving home.  I’ll never be sorry about that.

A Herd of Elephants?

Royalty Free Clipart



One cat running sounds like a herd of elephants when they get a wild hair and start racing through the house from one end to the other, from window to window, flying over the furniture, or anything else in the path. That’s really the only time cats are noisy, other than when having a disagreement with each other.

The top floor of my house is mostly carpet and I imagine that’s why it sounds like bowling balls up there, their little claws digging in for traction. Downstairs isn’t so easy being mostly tile, so they slam into walls during these escapades, which doesn’t seem to hurt them at all. They just shake it off and take off again.

Koki "Should I or shouldn't I?"

Sunni's Photos

 

I’m not sure what causes these wild urges, but at least they’re getting some exercise and sometimes it can be quite comical, unless they break something in the process. I guess that’s why I love cats, they’re quirky and independent and, for the most part quiet, which is what you need if you’re a writer. In addition, you don’t have to walk them, rain or shine, hot or cold, like a dog.

Koki "I think I will."

Sunni's Photo's

I have some cute little videos I’ve taken with my camera that I’d love to post ,but I’ve got to figure out how to turn them right side up. The cats love playing with the laser light we have, so go absolutely crazy, but unfortunately, I had my camera turned sideways and I’ve got to figure out to rotate that video – much more complicated than a rotating a picture.

Of course, they aren’t always like this. There are always plenty of catnaps to fuel those energy spurts. As you can see, they sleep with abandonment and total oblivion.

                             

Koki "Well now I'm just plain tuckered out"
Sunni's Photo's

Tootie "Me too...I'll join you."
Sunni's Photo's

                           

                                                      Comet "I'll join you. That was fun!"

Sunni's Photo's

Have a great weekend everyone!

My Cat Kept Me Up All Night

Originally posted Feb 16, 2012

The following is part of the Old-Post Resurrection Hop at

http://awriterweavesatale.com/

This little creature kept me up all night.  This is my baby Koki.  She scrambled around the bedroom all night and too occasional breaks by sleeping on my legs.  I finally just got up before dawn and then discovered she had been playing with a tiny wad of crumpled paper all night.  It doesn’t take much to keep them amused.

I looked all over for it later today when I was cleaning so the same thing doesn’t happen tonight.  Of course wouldn’t you know the little thing has carted it off somewhere.

She is an absolute little dear though and I don’t know what I’d do without her.

My cat kept me up all night

This little creature kept me up all night. This is my baby Koki. She scrambled around the bedroom all night and took occassional breaks by sleeping on my legs. I finally just got up before dawn and then discoverd she had been playing with a tiny wad of crumpled paper all night. It doesn't take much to keep them amused.

I looked all over for it later today when I was cleaning so the same thing doesn't happen tonight and of course wouldn't you know the little thing has carted it off somewhere.

She is an absolute little dear though and I don't know what I'd do without her.