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You are here: Home / Pet Blogging / Cat Blogging / They Know (Open Thread)

They Know (Open Thread)

by Tom Levenson|  January 7, 20146:57 pm| 44 Comments

This post is in: Cat Blogging, Open Threads

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Alright — Tim’s been having too much fun dominating the blog.  And pets. Lots of pets. Can’t allow that to stand w/out Tikka representing.

So, whilst whiling away the hours on my much delayed Acela “express” return to Boston* here’s a shot of Tikka at the point he realizes he’s heading to the vet:

Tikka under cover

When that cage appears, he knows.

Here’s a different angle:

Tikka from beneath the cover

And here he is in a happier moment:

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Open thread, y’all.

*from New York, where, inter alia, Neil deGrasse Tyson shepherded me to the middle of the 34th St. crosswalk where he took the first Manhattanhenge photo — the man risked life and limb to get the shot.)

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Reader Interactions

44Comments

  1. 1.

    Jane2

    January 7, 2014 at 7:02 pm

    Such a familiar sight! And Phil and Izzy yowl and howl all the way to the vet because they know they are about to die, and then merely meow all the way back home, because they’ve lived but it’s all my fault they had to go through it in the first place.

  2. 2.

    gogol's wife

    January 7, 2014 at 7:04 pm

    I can’t even tell you what we go through with our “semi-socialized ferals.” Tikka is adorable!

  3. 3.

    Citizen Alan

    January 7, 2014 at 7:06 pm

    Love the middle pick — a shot of the rare White-Nosed Panther, I take it.

  4. 4.

    JMS

    January 7, 2014 at 7:07 pm

    Little AKA Skittle AKA Percy Jackson “pees his pants” pretty consistently on the way to the vet, even though it only takes 10 minutes. At least they clean him and the carrier up before we’re sent home.

  5. 5.

    geg6

    January 7, 2014 at 7:11 pm

    Beautiful cat is beautiful.

    I’m worried about the marmalade strays we’ve been feeding and sheltering in our greenhouse. They simply will not come in to the house, no matter how cold. I made John put out extra food because of the weather. As long as the food disappears, I’ll try not to worry.

    Had to call off work due to a malfunctioning furnace. And then John’s SUV wouldn’t start. So he took my car today and I’ve been sitting here worrying about those damn cats all day. Even Koda, who loves to go outside at any time, just goes out, does a bit of sniffing around, pees or poops and runs right back into the house. She never does that, usually preferring to delay having to come in as much as possible. Otis has basically told me that he can wait until morning to go outside again. Once a day in this crap is enough for the old guy. Thankfully, he has great evacuation control.

  6. 6.

    Litlebritdiftrnt

    January 7, 2014 at 7:17 pm

    I had to reschedule Ms. Peaches’ spaying appointment TWICE because as soon as she saw the cat box she promptly went missing for three days. Once I actually got her there and got her spayed I had to take her back to the vets within 30 minutes of picking her up because she had removed every single one of her staples. She is a handful that is for sure, but she is my husband’s baby and can get away with anything.

  7. 7.

    Elizabelle

    January 7, 2014 at 7:18 pm

    Tikka looks pensive and smart in the last photo.

    She’s thinking about science.

    Hey, Tikka gets a cat carrier. We used to tape the late, great Boots into a cardboard carrier, and 2-3 memorable trips in a pillowcase.

    Some cats were just not made to ride.

    PS: she went to the vet only when she had to, and lived to be 17 or 18. Only frail in the last 6 months.

  8. 8.

    Roger Moore

    January 7, 2014 at 7:18 pm

    A helpful trick is to leave the carrier out year round, rather than only bringing it out when it’s time to go to the V-E-T. Jake actually likes hanging out in his, since it’s a nice little cat den. It makes it easier to lure him in when it’s time to take him somewhere.

  9. 9.

    ranchandsyrup

    January 7, 2014 at 7:18 pm

    Nice pics Dr. Levenson.

    h/t to basset man Tbogg for this: My local paper, which was fairly recently purchased by the local conservative plutocrat, is cutting 401K contributions because of Obamacare. They’ll “revisit” matching contributions later on, after they lay off a ton of people.

  10. 10.

    CaseyL

    January 7, 2014 at 7:21 pm

    My carrier has a top-load option, which is by far the easiest way to stuff a kitty into one. I put the carrier out on a chair at least one day before the appointment time, so they get used to seeing it and don’t immediately associate the sight with Going-to-the-Bad-Place.

    I have to say, the most recent visits (regular check-ups) were the least dramatic ever. Jeannie cried once, as we pulled out onto the road; Oscar gave just a few half-hearted laments. Neither tried to hide under the chair in the furthest corner once we were in the examination room. it’s possible they’re finally realizing that they’re not being taken to their doom when we go to the vet. (I think they remember the time Ariel went to the vet and… never came back.)

  11. 11.

    lamh36

    January 7, 2014 at 7:25 pm

    This has got to be an onion article right?

    Study Finds White Americans Believe They Experience More Racism Than African Americans

  12. 12.

    ranchandsyrup

    January 7, 2014 at 7:27 pm

    @lamh36: was just reading that. Un-sane.

  13. 13.

    j

    January 7, 2014 at 7:27 pm

    My late and great cat (had a stroke at 15 years old) cat LOVED “going in the box”. I would bring it up from the basement and he remembered it from when he “went to his forever home”. He always ran into “the box” every time he saw it.

    Loved going to the vet.

  14. 14.

    MomSense

    January 7, 2014 at 7:28 pm

    Can we call him Chicken Tikka?

  15. 15.

    MomSense

    January 7, 2014 at 7:30 pm

    @lamh36:

    I really want to know more about their sample. That is crazy.

  16. 16.

    Tom Levenson

    January 7, 2014 at 7:31 pm

    @MomSense: Never. His full name is Kitten Tikka Masala, and don’t you forget it.

  17. 17.

    StringOnAStick

    January 7, 2014 at 7:32 pm

    I like to sit on the couch sideway so I can put my feet up, and this time of year I use the couch blanket to cover my legs. My Steve-lookalike has decided that I must now make a tent out of the blanket for her so she can be extra toasty while lying between my legs and under the blanket, and she’s pretty damned pushy about demanding it too. I’ve been home recovering from feeling crappy the last 2 days, which is basically cat-warming paradise as far as she’s concerned. My legs and the tent even outrank the heated cat bed, something I didn’t expect.

  18. 18.

    WaterGirl

    January 7, 2014 at 7:33 pm

    @lamh36: Unbelievable! What is wrong with these people?

  19. 19.

    WaterGirl

    January 7, 2014 at 7:36 pm

    Love the whole “if I can’t see you, you can’t see me” thing going on in the first photo!

    Beautiful kitty. I have to admit, though, that the kitty in photo 2 scares the crap out of me.

  20. 20.

    Robert Sneddon

    January 7, 2014 at 7:42 pm

    News on the BBC, a USAF helicopter has crashed in Norfolk, England, four crewmen reported dead.

  21. 21.

    YellowDog

    January 7, 2014 at 7:48 pm

    My cat, BJ, would do the same thing whenever the carrier appeared. I once had to remove a mattress and box spring to get him from under a bed. I finally figured out how to handle it. I would put the carrier in the living room three days before the vet appointment. There would be the usual reaction, initially, but after three days he would forget about the carrier. It worked every time. At the appointed hour, I would use a treat to lure him into the living room, grab him, and get him into the carrier before he had a chance to figure out what was happening.

  22. 22.

    Poopyman

    January 7, 2014 at 7:48 pm

    From the Wikipedia Manhattanhenge article:

    The two corresponding mornings of sunrise right on the center lines of the Manhattan grid are approximately December 5 and January 8 – spaced evenly around the winter solstice.[3] As with the solstices and equinoxes, the dates vary somewhat from year to year.[citation needed]

    So did you get to see the sunrise down the canyon, or is that still tomorrow this year?

  23. 23.

    Anoniminous

    January 7, 2014 at 7:50 pm

    @lamh36:

    White Americans suffer from a glaring ignorance about what it means to live as a black American.

  24. 24.

    shelly

    January 7, 2014 at 7:50 pm

    @lamh36:

    So who’s doing the oppressing? Martians?

  25. 25.

    Turgidson

    January 7, 2014 at 7:55 pm

    My puppy has not realized or been told that he’s supposed to fear the vet. So far he just views it as another venue to make new friends – people and animals alike. He was so excited to get to know his new vet that he hardly noticed the tech pick him up and hold him while he got his vaccinations. No squirm, no yelp, no sad face.

    I don’t imagine this misperception will last, but it’s nice for now.

  26. 26.

    Ripley

    January 7, 2014 at 7:56 pm

    I really want to know more about their sample.

    Um, white people?

  27. 27.

    Tom Levenson

    January 7, 2014 at 7:59 pm

    @Poopyman: Didn’t — and the shot from 34th st. really is a sunset one; the slope to the East River makes it impossible to get far enough back (to place the Empire State Bldg. in the foreground) to get a shot down to the horizon for dawn.

  28. 28.

    Roger Moore

    January 7, 2014 at 8:01 pm

    @CaseyL:

    My carrier has a top-load option, which is by far the easiest way to stuff a kitty into one.

    The mistake is to try to stuff the cat in. The best way of getting the cat into the cat carrier is to lure them in. I can usually get Jake into his by pretending there’s something fascinating inside that I’m investigating. He goes in to investigate, and the door closes behind him.

  29. 29.

    schrodinger's cat

    January 7, 2014 at 8:13 pm

    @YellowDog: I have done that too! Does your kitteh yowl in the car?

  30. 30.

    schrodinger's cat

    January 7, 2014 at 8:16 pm

    Kitten Tikka Masala is gorgeous. Kitteh thread also needs kitteh lol

  31. 31.

    Mnemosyne

    January 7, 2014 at 8:39 pm

    That reminds me, Charlotte has a non-anesthetic dental appointment tomorrow, followed by an exam. I’m pretty sure they’re going to tell me she’s too fat, but I’m not sure what I can really do about it since the two other cats are both normal weight.

    One of her many nicknames is “Miss Bitey,” so it should be an adventure all around.

  32. 32.

    schrodinger's cat

    January 7, 2014 at 9:10 pm

    @Mnemosyne: Will they put the Hannibal Lecter mask on her? You can blog about it!

  33. 33.

    Mnemosyne (iPhone)

    January 7, 2014 at 9:26 pm

    @schrodinger’s cat:

    She hasn’t had to have it before, so hopefully that won’t be needed. It’s more that she’s a snapper — if you do something she doesn’t like, she snaps at you like a dog would.

    Fortunately, I haven’t yet had a cat that goes berserk at the vet like the late lamented Tunch did, but I’m sure I’ll end up with one eventually.

  34. 34.

    Yatsuno

    January 7, 2014 at 9:33 pm

    @Mnemosyne (iPhone): You do realise you’ve curesed yourself here n’est-ce pas?

  35. 35.

    Mnemosyne (iPhone)

    January 7, 2014 at 9:43 pm

    @Yatsuno:

    It’s not so much cursed as the law of averages — given how many cats I’ve had and how many I expect to have in the future, I will eventually draw that short straw.

    How’s the recovery going? Have the border collies licked your face to a nub yet?

  36. 36.

    Citizen Alan

    January 7, 2014 at 9:44 pm

    I’ve been subjected to vastly more discrimination in my life over the fact that I’m seriously overweight than I have for being white, and I’m also honest enough to admit that any discrimination I’ve experienced for being overweight is vastly outweighed by what the typical black person has experienced on account of skin color. I honestly believe that poll results like this are driven mainly by people who think they’re being discriminated against when they aren’t allowed to be as racist towards others as they used to be.

  37. 37.

    Yatsuno

    January 7, 2014 at 9:53 pm

    @Mnemosyne (iPhone):

    Have the border collies licked your face to a nub yet?

    And beyond. They both mobbed me as soon as I opened the car door. It was indeed quite fun. They’ve been keeping tabs on me since that was the order Mom gave them and they’ve both alternated getting on my bed and standing watch at the bedroom door. Right now though their attention is on my parents who are both eating dinner (I got some as well but I finished and I’m on my chocolate creme pie now) and bites must be begged for after all.

    Tomorrow I set everything with the home therapist. I probably don’t get to do outpatient therapy until I get cleared to put all my weight on the left legs, which shouldn’t be for another four weeks. Right now I can do 50%, which is severe limp territory. We’ll have to see what happens when that PT starts.

  38. 38.

    Keith G

    January 7, 2014 at 10:07 pm

    @Yatsuno:

    I probably don’t get to do outpatient therapy until I get cleared to put all my weight on the left legs

    That was a hell of an operation.

    Anything else you got more of?

  39. 39.

    opiejeanne

    January 7, 2014 at 10:07 pm

    My kitty, Annie, likes to “help” us pack by sitting in the suitcase. She usually comes with us on long trips and when the carrier comes out she gets into it several times while we load the car. I gave her a treat every time she got into it when she was little so now when it comes out she has to check for a treat she might have missed. She seems to like riding in the car and motel rooms are new places to play.

    The last visit to the vet was not pleasant though, so we may have problems the next time we take her along, at least at first. She got two shots and tried to bite the vet. She’s a little over a year old and hasn’t minded visiting the vet before.

  40. 40.

    Yatsuno

    January 7, 2014 at 10:12 pm

    @Keith G: I have to have both hips replaced. Which means when the left one is in decent shape I get to move on to the right one. And do this whole process all over again. Fortunately I have pretty awesome insurance and my work just needs to know how long I’ll be out for and that’s that. It’s what happens after the right one gets done that things get really interesting.

  41. 41.

    Retr2327

    January 7, 2014 at 10:13 pm

    @Roger Moore: ch@Roger Moore: let me second those suggesting that the best way to get you cat into the carrier is to get the cat used to hanging out in it. With that in mind, these carriers are designed to be good houses for the cats: thefriendlytraveler.com

  42. 42.

    pat

    January 7, 2014 at 10:19 pm

    My Susy is entirely relaxed in her carrier, sitting on the car seat beside me while we drive 4 hours to my sister’s place where Susy will be staying for weeks at a time…..Really an easy cat.

    Just wish she didn’t want to take her half of my pillow out of the middle. ;-)

  43. 43.

    Patricia Kayden

    January 8, 2014 at 6:31 am

    @lamh36: Fox News will be pleased at those findings.

  44. 44.

    YellowDog

    January 9, 2014 at 10:27 am

    @schrodinger’s cat:

    He would yowl in the car, but not every time. But, when I moved from the midwest to the east coast, he yowled for the entire drive. Five hours, with the only break when I stopped to give him food and water.

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